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strangestcase · 1 year

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For the people that are going to do Dracula Daily this year:

One of the subplots that Dracula covers, and arguably the most important subplot, is one centered around a psychiatric patient confined to an asylum- it touches upon the way he sees the world, his relationship with his doctor, and how he relates to and perceives the villain VS the heroes, since for most of the plot he believes the villain to be good and strives to serve him.

Both the patient and the doctor characters (who are part of the main cast and very important to moving the plot foward in their own ways!) are portrayed as sympathetic victims to the main villain and mostly on the side of good, but in different ways, and, of course, the way they are written is informed by the beliefs of the time.

I won't spoil anything too important about it, just warn you that this subplot depicts Victorian Era ableism, which is... pretty extreme, and forms of medical abuse (specifically, psychiatric abuse) that still exist today!

This plotline involves:

-depictions of hallucinations, delusions, and irrational thinking

-medical malpractice: delusions being encouraged, patients being dehumanized, prolonged use of dangerous restraints

-unsanitary behavior (eating live animals)

-ableist attitudes from most of the hero characters

(other Dracula fans pls tell me if I've missed something)

What do I make of this? you ask. Well...

Do not excuse medical abuse, even if it's fictional. The doctor character is, for all his medical malpractice, depicted as a complex person that has some likeable traits and he undergoes a pretty sad arc relating to loss and trauma, like most of the heroes of this novel. This doesn't make him any less of an abuser, nor makes his patient any less of a victim!

Refrain from using ableist language or rethoric. The patient character, being written for a very old horror book, is often depicted as "unsettling" and his strange behavior is sometimes played for horror. This 1) doesn't make his situation any less deplorable 2) doesn't make him any less sympethetic and most importantly 3) doesnt give you a free pass to treat him as a scary horror monster. He's a victim of both the real monster of this story and the system he lives in.

Listen to psychotic fans. Research the history of Victorian asylums. Understand the historical context. Look at this subplot from a holistic perspective instead of treating it as a horror story within a horror story (although, it is a horror story, but not for the reasons some think it is!). Just don't be a dick to disabled people.

If any part of this subplot triggers or squicks you, you are not obligated to read it, just be aware that it exists and that it is important to avoid perpetuating ableist stereotypes, be they present in the original text or not. (Hell, you are not obligated to read any part of the book if you don't want to do so. Dracula Daily is supposed to be fun. Analyzing literature is supposed to be fun. Enjoying literature is supposed to be fun!)

For the love of God, don't get angry if some fans dislike the doctor character for what he's done and take the patients' side. This was an issue during the last Dracula Daily run. He's literally the victim in this relationship. I'm not saying you can't like or dislike either character but I have to reiterate: do not erase either character's contribution to the plot, do not demonize the patient character for being mentally ill in an "ugly" way and beliveing the villain is good, and don't woobiefy the doctor character because he said a funny thing once. Both are complex adult human beings so don't expect them to be caricatures.

Do not be afraid to call out ableist behavior from other fans, but also be careful to not overstep or talk over disabled fans, especially psychotic fans.

During the Dracula Daily run, some blogs will warn about the entries in which this subplot takes place, and what triggers apply for each one of them. If you need those warnings, don't be afraid to reach out for them!

Happy reading!

#dracula daily #dracula #dracula daily 2023

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bohemian-nights · 11 months

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HOTD has a misogynoir problem and it’s the reason why the fandom refuses to see Rhaenyra as a “villain” in Nettles story

The HOTD fandom has divided itself along the lines of the two factions of the Dance, team black vs. team green as if they themselves are actual members of the teams they root for. The inability to see nuance has resulted in major disagreements between the two camps. However, there is something seemingly that the majority of fans irrespective of their chosen team will agree on.

When it comes to the Rhaenyra, Nettles, and Daemon situation, Rhaenyra is viewed as an unquestionable victim of equal, near equal, or in some cases greater status to Nettles.

Despite the fact that she is the one that orders Nettles to be executed in her sleep, she’s somehow a woman we should all feel sorry for and take pity upon because she just had a little “breakdown.” It’s really Mysaria’s fault because she told a “lie” that Daemon and Nettles were sleeping(according to Team Black). Or it’s Daemon’s fault because he “groomed” Nettles like Rhaenyra(according to Team Green).

To put it plainly, Rhaenyra’s victimhood is due to the fact that the fandom will not view a “white” woman as the antagonist of the situation when a “black” woman is involved. It does not matter that she orders the death of an innocent young woman for merely sleeping with her husband. It does not matter that she used classism and racism(before you say “Rhaenyra isn’t a racist,” go ahead and replace “low creature” with the “n-word” then get back to me) to justify murdering said innocent woman.

Her actions are labeled as a result of stress brought about by the loss of her children. Pinning or rather passing the blame upon others who are less sympathetic. Mysaria(who though white in the books is now half Asian in the show and book(s) she is both a foreigner and a prostitute) and Daemon(who’s a white man). The HOTD fandom will not see Rhaenyra as being in the wrong because they view her as an innocent white woman. This article details this assumption, particularly in this paragraph:

In the case of Nettles, who is a brown-skinned black woman, while Rhaenyra does not cry she does have a strong emotional outburst that fans sympathize with. Nettles is seen as a victim, but the woman who tries to perpetuate racially motivated violence against her is also seen as an equal(and depending on who you ask greater) victim. Thus her own victimhood and innocence is lessened.

As far as the “lie” and the “grooming” accusations go, that too can be blamed upon fans' inability to see past their own innate racial bias.

To these fans, Nettles is only an acceptable and likable character when they can put her into a specific box of characterization. That box being that she is unquestionably a child.

She could not have slept with Daemon because she’s a child(she’s his child or he sees her like his child). Or she was groomed by Daemon because she’s a child. She can not be competition, sexual or otherwise, to Rhaenyra because she’s a child. If Nettles is a child she is not a threat because who is threatened by a child?

(Note, this is the whole reason why fans will “fawn” over Rhaena and Baela, when they don’t ignore that they exist or when they are trying to prop up a dead deformed fully white baby, because they aren’t “competition” in that way since they are Rhaenyra’s stepdaughters. Plus they are “white” in the books).

Nettles is a child in their eyes even though by Westeros standards she is an adult:

She did not sleep with Daemon even though the text explicitly frames their relationships as being romantic and sexual(unless you consider it normal for a father to bathe with his daughter).

She was groomed like Rhaenyra(again bringing in Rhaenyra’s victimhood so as to take away from her crimes) even though she’s an adult and her relationship with Daemon is described in a different manner than Daemon and Rhaenyra’s relationship beginnings.

This:

Versus this:

The only similarities are the gift giving and even then the gifts are of a completely different nature with a different motivation attached to them.

Nettles literally was homeless prior to the Dance so Daemon gifting her clothes, a hairbrush, and a mirror was actually what she needed. Daemon gifts these items and his affection without getting anything in return besides her company.

Daemon’s most selfless acts are done for Nettles. When it comes down to it, he is even willing to lay down his life for her. He sends her away to save her life, the life of a bastard girl who is looked down upon by even her defenders (like Corlys who calls her dirty and ill-favored) at the expense of his own. Disobeying his wife and queen's orders in the process, thus if he is grooming her, he sure is going about it the wrong way.

Unlike Nettles, Rhaenyra was actually underage(14 seeing how she was born in 97AC and the events detailed here happen in 111AC) by Westeros standards when Daemon begins his “courting” of her.

(The last little tidbit also proves that Daemon can not be Nettles' biological father seeing how he was in the Stepstones from late 111 AC until 115 AC and since Nettles turns 17 in 130 AC she was born on Driftmark in 113 AC).

Keep in mind that many of these fans who call Daemon and Nettles relationship abusive, label it as grooming, or deny it exists will gleefully ship Daemyra or Alysmond while saying that they are #toxic couple goals in an approving manner, that they are an epic romance and are or are going to be the OTP of the show, or wanting to see them be a #power couple.

Daemyra is straight-up grooming and as established earlier, even by Westeros standards Rhaenyra was actually a minor.

As far as Team Greens ship goes, Alysmond has the same power dynamic problems Dattles(Daemon x Nettles). Alys is a 40+ year(s) old woman(she’s described as being at least twice Aemond’s age). While Aemond is 19 or 20 in the books and 16-18 in the show.

Aemond is a prince while Alys is a bastard and a wet nurse. When Aemond takes Harrenhal he kills her entire family while sparing her and taking her as his mistress or rather a spoil of war. The stuff of romance novels people. (Note, I do like Alysmond, but to say it’s somehow better than Dattles is a huge stretch).

What do Daemyra and Alysmond have that Dattles does not? All parties involved are white. Fans don’t mind or are willing to overlook and ship emotionally manipulative incestuous based relationships or questionable power dynamic relationships, as long as both partners are white.

Both sides of the fandom infantilize Nettles to give her a sense of innocence, of blamelessness to the circumstances that befall upon her, while at the same time protecting Rhaenyra’s innocence by giving them a shared “villain.” Usually Daemon(and in some cases Mysaria).

The fandom can only sympathize with her when they view her as a child because a black woman who is a victim of racial violence at the hands of a white woman isn’t relatable. It just shouldn’t be because Rhaenyra is innocent.

Ultimately Nettles is not viewed as a dynamic character who is worthy of a complete arc that includes a heterosexual (I imagine fans would cheer on Rhaenyra and Nettles being together a la “Rhaenyra and Laena” which many fans cared more about than Laena’s relationship that she had with her husband, the father of her two girls who she had a loving marriage with in the books) romantic relationship. Especially with someone like Daemon.

She has to be a child because otherwise if Nettles is seen as a fully sexual being capable of making her own decisions, capable of consenting to a romantic relationship with a man who wants her in turn, a man who is willing to choose her over his white Valyrian(Aryan) wife, a wife who in her anger and jealousy seeks to enact violence upon her as a result of said consensual impossible relationship, she disrupts the natural order of things.

This phenomenon of desexualizing Black women characters who are love interests isn’t new or unique to HOTD. In fact, it’s pretty common in fandoms and is born as a result of misogynoir. This article is on the character Nyota Uhura from Star Trek, but it mirrors what is happening to Nettles right now:

The whole blog is a goldmine on fandom racism, particularly fandom misogynoir. I urge you to check it out especially if you are going to “speak out” on Black female characters when you yourself aren’t Black(this includes other “WOC”).

And before you say, “But Bohemian people ship Nettles with Daeron or Jace so they aren’t trying to completely desexualize her nor do they care about her being with white men because both Daeron and Jace are white,” hold onto that.

While there are some genuine fans of these crackships(neither have any basis in canon and Nettles never even meets Daeron) most of these “fans” are doing so because they know that it looks racist to desexualize Nettles, the only in-canon black character, to the point where she’s the only one without a love interest.

Yes, both Daeron and Jace are white, but you need to look at who their characters are. Daeron has no love interest in book canon so Nettles doesn’t threaten any white woman’s desirability since there is none to threaten.

Jace does have an in-canon love interest(s), Baela. and Sara Snow. They might change it up in the show, but in the books, Jace and Baela aren’t really a couple for long since he goes to the North and meets Sara Snow who he may have married. Sara Snow is a controversial character.

Most fans either don’t believe she exists(and they think she’s Cregan) or they don’t want her to exist(the fandom has a classism and a bastard problem in addition to racism, but again I’m not getting into that today).

Daeron hasn’t even shown up on the show yet(so mostly book fans are invested in him)and while he’ll probably be popular I doubt he’ll reach Daemon let alone Aemond’s popularity.

Jace dies soon into the narrative(he might die this upcoming season). He’s pretty boring in the show and outside of him being one of Rhaenyra’s baseborn sons I don’t think too many people actually care about him.

People are comfortable with putting Nettles with characters like Daeron and Jace solving many birds with one stone while not really stepping on any toes(especially the toes of white women who they actually care about).

It stops people from shipping Nettles with Daemon, because he is too desirable to be with a black woman especially when it would impact his Valyrian queen, it gives Daeron a love interest, keeps Sara Snow from showing up, and keeps the racist allegations off fans back. They are the comfortable choices. They are the non-threatening choices.

So to wrap this commentary up, the HOTD fandom has finally found something which to unite both the Greens and the Blacks. Trying to pidgin hole black female characters into narrow boxes of “acceptable” characterization that desexualizes them which serves to protect white female characters, who they sympathize with, innocence and desirability. As always, nothing brings together a fandom like good old-fashioned racism repackaged as “caring.”

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self-loving-vampire · 2 months

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While on that subject, one of the stories about abuse that resonated the most with me (besides Tsukihime, which is also about a ton of other things) is the short manga titled May My Father Die Soon.

Part of this is that it avoids the "perfect victim" narrative I complained about the other night (although not to the same extent as some other characters I know).

Spoilers and discussions of child abuse (including a couple of personal things) below the cut.

Asuka is obviously the sympathetic party, but the abuse coming her way is not depicted as just random outbursts with no rhyme or reason like in some other stories. Abusers like that do exist, to be clear, but my experience was more with violence as a tool to coerce and attempt to shape behavior.

The abuser often has some kind of excuse for what they're doing. Something that helps them convince themselves that what they are doing is right and proper, maybe even necessary. It doesn't mean their behavior is good, but it means there's a logic to it that the victim comes to understand and navigate.

The first time we really witness what Asuka's home situation is like is when she neglects her chores to play video games with her sister.

Hitting children for not doing the laundry is wrong, but it is something that a lot of abusive parents would find to be justified. They think they are teaching their children discipline and virtuous behavior when they do that. They think they are preventing their children from becoming spoiled and lazy.

Sometimes people are even abused after doing things that are legitimately wrong, but this does not justify the abuse. It's a type of nuance that is missing from depictions in which the abuser is just a gleeful sadist who just hates their victim and enjoys hurting them.

A lot of these parents think they are doing the right thing and use violence as a means rather than an end. After stomping on his own daughter he refers to what he just did as "discipline" and acts as if it's just a burdensome duty he has to deal with rather than an act of violence he inflicted on an actual human being.

He is also quick to pull out the "I give you food and shelter so be eternally grateful and always obey me" card.

Which is, again, something I have heard expressed by multiple authoritarian parents both in my personal life and online. "I pay the bills so they must do everything I say" or "I am a good parent because I do the legal minimum to provide for them".

I also like how Asuka does not react to her abuse in a perfectly meek and submissive way like the "perfect victim" archetype usually does. She not only eventually contemplates patricide out of desperation but also shares her sister's anger even if she tries to put on a more "role model-like" front about it.

She hates how she's being treated, and she even lashes out against her sister and feels disgusted with herself afterwards. It's very different from the depictions where the victim only has "nice" and endearing symptoms like low self-esteem.

The scene in which she tries to get help from the law only for her to be dismissed (her father is a respected and influential person) and punished for it also carries a sort of despair that I'm very familiar with.

One of the times my mother came to sleep in my room because my father was being violent (I used to protect her from him) I naively suggested calling the police. She said it would only provoke him into potentially lethal escalation and that the police would not act unless he did something extreme, like killing or hospitalizing someone. Hearing that from an experienced lawyer would have been pretty chilling if I had not already been dissociating for years at that point, but the information and its implications sank in regardless of how I felt about it.

He was a rich business administrator and CEO considered a good and successful person in the adult world. He once even mockingly dared me to call the police on him, knowing nothing would come out of it.

The only reason I still bothered to fight back against him physically is because I did not care about myself enough not to at that time. Might as well inconvenience and hurt him if I'm fucked either way.

Her father then proceeds to draft her into his company (hey that seems like a very specific and unusual thing but it also happened to me!) in a way that further highlights the way in which his behavior is actually in accord with authoritarian parenting norms.

His reasoning is that he's not going to just give her handouts. She needs to work for a living. This sounds reasonable to a lot of people, who worry about "spoiling" their children by being too generous in providing for them without demanding effort, but here we can see the ways in which it tightens the leash.

She can't decide on her own future and is impeded in independently financing her escape because her finances are going to be dependent on him and his approval.

This is something that a lot of people actually miss when thinking about the children of abusive but wealthy parents. You don't actually have free access to your parents' resources. You have purely conditional access that relies on pleasing them and conforming to their wishes. Meanwhile, they have an increased level of reach, resources, and respectability to prevent you from escaping.

Another heartbreaking bit is how the abuse has become so life-defining for her that she doesn't really know what she wants to do with herself. The one wish she can think of is just not being abused anymore.

She is eventually forbidden from freely leaving the house entirely, and while sexually abusing her again he once again makes it explicit that he considers her property...

And when the subject of Hotaru (Asuka's younger sister) comes up, he goes on a monologue that those of us who defied authoritarian parents may be familiar with.

The whole "I have been too nice but it only made you spoiled (as proven by your defiance) so from now on I'm going to hurt and control you more" thing.

And he also drops this line.

To an authoritarian parent, disobedience of any kind to any degree is a deadly sin that must be beaten out of children as if they were dogs in training. If you read conservative parenting "experts" like James Dobson you can even find them saying this kind of thing explicitly.

I also like that Hotaru provides a different, also resonant exploration of how someone might react to abuse in addition to Asuka. Even after being hit to the point of bleeding by her father, she remains willful and tries to hold on to her own independence even if obedience would hurt less.

And, like Asuka, she's not a Perfect Victim either. She is the one who helps finish her own father off after all (after being given a lecture on rehabilitation no less). The conversation she has with her sister regarding worker ants also shows she is interested in her own autonomy and leisure to a degree that would be considered "spoiled" by a lot of people. She should aspire to be a hard worker who pleases others at the cost of her own happiness like her older sister was raised to do, right?

I especially like that she's wearing an "I love myself <3" T-shirt during the scene in which she rejects the efforts to beat her into submission as well as Asuka's recommendation to give in and obey. Kind of heavy-handed, but cute.

I also like the flashback that shows that there was once a time Asuka's parents were kind to her and she sincerely loved them.

Children are in a situation where they are strongly predisposed towards loving their parents by default and need to be loved back. It often takes a lot to change that. Some people, like Hotaru, change pretty early on while others try to cling to this need for a lot longer.

This is complicated by the fact that the parents may start out "kind" until their children start disobeying them, at which point they turn increasingly violent and controlling.

Asuka eventually realizes that she will never be truly happy if her life revolves around being her father's property. That even if she was to hollow herself out into exactly the kind of obedient doll he wants her to be she will be miserable. With no options left to escape, she becomes suicidal.

This leads to a panel that is like... pretty much straight-up an exact conversation I have had before.

"I provide. I have money that you benefit from. Your life is way better than that of poor people. You should be grateful and do everything I say." again.

Like paying the bills mean they own you and can do as they please.

It really feels like a good understanding of not just the victims involved but also of this type of abuser as well, and even now I get the impression that if I had failed to think of a plan for how to escape them my own situation could have also ended up with a murder, a suicide, or both even though I'm not a violent person at all. The desperation as all of your peaceful options are cut off is very real.

I'm really happy it did not come to that in my case, but I still did many things that a "perfect victim" would not be allowed to, like becoming manipulative and deceiving my parents for the sake of escaping. I don't feel guilty about it either, and eventually lost much of my sense of empathy (oddly, this happened after I had already gotten away).

So even though I did not actually kill my abuser I still relate to characters who end up doing that, because to me it feels like a bad ending I was this close to getting despite not really wanting that to happen.

Anyway, I feel really seen and understood by this story to a much greater degree than I do in more sanitized, black and white stories about abuse in which the victims never do anything remotely bad and the abusers are moral aberrations who just enjoy hurting people for fun.

#long post

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ambrosiagourmet · 1 month

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mx. glitz have you seen this. (@ atissi here) /post/744351681315291136/hadnt-seen-anyone-post-the-full-comic-about-laios

i feel like chewing on dry concrete. the toudens......

Post link: atissi.tumblr.com/post/744351681315291136/hadnt-seen-anyone-post-the-full-comic-about-laios

I haaave, and I honestly have like some very complicated feelings about this one, which is part of why I haven't talked about it here.....

In general I very much dislike the tendency for media (and culture at large, at least the culture I'm familiar with) to push reconciliation as the main, or sometimes ONLY happy ending for people estranged from their family. Which isn't exactly what this comic is doing, buuuut... it IS very in line with a sort of like "well you don't understand, your parents had complex reasons, you should forgive them, etc," especially when paired with the fact that it's noted in Falin's bio that she hopes Laios and her parents will reconcile.

With a little more space I've been more able to take this comic as something very anchored in Falin's perspective, rather than necessarily an objective declaration that the Touden Parents Were Right, Actually. Which also was a little hard, honestly, because A) I kind of like to imagine that in post-canon, Falin would be a little less likely to dismiss her own pain in favor of empathizing with others, and B) its kinda shitty to Laios to frame things this way, imo?

Or like... it's one thing for her to have a different perspective on her parents, but framing it as like a "Laios misunderstood" thing, especially in context of her explicitly wanting him to get back in contact with them... eugh. Girl, he is allowed to have his own feelings on the matter and make his own choices. Downplaying his trauma in order to empathize with your parents (who were ADULTS in this situation, while both you and your brother were kids) is not a neutral action.

ANYWAY that all being said... I do find it kind of believable that she might still be caught up in some messiness with all this. Navigating trauma and parents and estrangement is already hard enough on its own, and adding in a sibling - who has different needs and different coping mechanisms - doesn't make things any easier. I hope she can sit down with Laios at some point and actually talk things out.

Also I hope she can give herself a little more space to like. Acknowledge that some shit happened, even if she can empathize with her parents here?? Like... even if you can understand sympathetic reasons for them to have done what they did... they still did that. Her father still failed to communicate with her or Laios. Her mother still lowkey assaulted her. Reasons aren't the only things that matter, especially when it comes to a parent's treatment of their kid. The actions they took were still harmful, and I think that it's important for Falin to have space to acknowledge that. Honestly, if she's anything like me, its gonna hit her like a TRUCK someday, once she finally has the space and safety to sit down and work through things.

Above all else though, this comic definitely gets one thing EXTREMELY right in my book: Marcille is fucking ready to throw down with the Touden parents and give them the lecture of their lives, as is her friend-realizing-the-shit-her-friend's-parents-did given right. o7 Marcille, go with my blessing.

#ask #I'd also request that if anyone has like strongly different opinions than mine on the Touden parents #and like whether or not the sibs were abused/neglected #and whether Laios has ever right to go no contact #don't bring them to me! I'm not comfortable with or interested in debating that with people online #also: yeah. the touden siblings T.T

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scaryspears · 4 months

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My rant on ITSV and ATSV

So I've just finished watching the ITSV and ATSV because I'm a late watcher, and when the movies came out I wasn't myself. I'm glad I took the time to watch them, although I had to buy ATSV online because it's no longer in the cinema. This means I got to watch my favourite scenes without issue. With that being said, I have a lot of things to get off my chest regarding both films, mostly with the characters.

Warning: Long post and slight bashing of characters and terrible screenshots.

I don't want to be one of those people who hate Gwen just to hate on her, and I don't hate or dislike her character, but right from the jump her vibe was just off. She felt like one of those characters that disliked the main character for no reason despite barely interacting with her/him (them). I know that isn't the case but I didn't like the way she was blankly talking to him. I'm using the word 'blankly' because I can't think of another word other than 'coldly'.

During the chase scene where Miles and Peter steal the computer, she comes out of nowhere and helps save the day. I was glad but at the same time what the hell. Anyways, Miles compliments her haircut and she snaps with "You don't get to like my haircut.", referring to when he accidentally got his hand stuck to her hair and she had to get half her hair shaved off, I understand getting angry about that. It was an accident, and Miles could've apologised (I don't remember him saying sorry), but she's acting like he did it on purpose.

To top it all off she knew he was like her, which meant she knew what he was going through as he was transitioning. Getting taller, hearing multiple voices, hands sticky, and all that stuff. So that means she's aware that it was an accident, and there's also the fact that she pretended to be a student at his school and hovered around him. She bumped into him on purpose knowing he was a fellow spider.

When you think about it, why didn't she try to get to know him and investigate with him about what's going on? She just left him to discover his spider side chaotically. She should know how scary and confusing that is, but not once does she attempt helping him out.

I'm gonna sweep it under the rug because they are teenagers, and even if they were adults they shouldn't be expected to be more sympathetic to each other. But you'd think she'd be a little bit more understanding. (Don't get me started on her going into his artwork and opening his collectable in ATSV)

Now, Uncle Aaron. I love his dynamic with Miles, the true cool uncle. His love for his generation of hip hop and us seeing Miles' taste of music. The graffiti art bonding, loved it. There were small hints that he was the Prowler. The 1610 Peter getting killed near where Miles and Aaron did the graffiti, Miles calling him while he's being chased by the Prowler, and the Prowler appearing in Aaron's home. I'm thinking "Where's Aaron in all this?" dun dun dun, he's the Prowler. I loved every bit of it. This also makes Miles different from other spider men, being the fact that his loved one ended up being an antagonist, and one scarier than Kingpin. There's no "With great power comes great responsibility." instead it's "In a bad person you can find good in them." Also, the inner torment that he was about to harm his own nephew is chef's kiss. Uncle Ben who?

Moving on to ATSV. It opens up with Gwen and her meeting Miguel and Jess. She looked at Jess and said "Will you adopt me?" Like??? Where yo mum at? I know she passed away, but still. You've only had one look at this woman and that's one of the things that comes out of your mouth? You don't know this woman! Jess sounds like one of those women that only talk with attitude no matter what so I had a hard time rocking with her, like what is her problem??? And she's fighting while pregnant... smdh.

Spot. Funny villain, I liked his banter with Miles, but he's a pu**y punk bi**h. He's blaming Miles for what he became, when he's the one that decided to become a mad scientist and work with other mad scientists under Kingpin. I'm pretty sure there's more to it than a bagel. Lesson is: once you become a mad scientist something happens to you. Norman Osborn became Green Goblin, 65 Peter (Gwen's home) became a monster and died, Shang Tsung got Rick Rolled by himself, you get the idea. Spot made himself like that not Miles.

So Gwen didn't talk to Miles for a really long time because of the whole Spider society thing. When you think about it, none of the other spiders he met did, and I get that they couldn't with the exclusion of Peni. But not one visit? Not one letter? Something??? Now Miles has a little short conversation with Hobie and admits that he only wants to get into the Spider society to talk to his friends and help out with defeating Spot. He just wants to hang with his friends, but Peni and Gwen decided not to do that.

Moving on, I'd like to talk about Miles' walk through within the spider society. They acknowledge Gwen and only Gwen, they don't bother saying hi or even looking at Miles. It was like Miles wasn't even there. Never thought I'd say it, but these Spider men are arse holes. I also got annoyed at the way Jess was talking to him, I get that he's not supposed to be there but she needed to chill.

This anger went when Miles bumped into Margo, and she looked like she was about to lose her cool but she lightened up once she saw who it was, a complete stranger. I'm not a MargoMiles shipper, but I don't mind it (granted so long as they are the same age).

So the scene that goes 0 to 100 quick: I watched a bunch of memes and edits that painted Miguel as racist and I didn't understand why, and thought it was like a Millie Bobby Brown situation. Re-watching the scene where Miles meets Miguel I can see why.

All the other spidermen showed up to gang up on Miles.

"You can't ask me not to save my father."

"I'm not asking."

And hit him with this.

While Miles is freaking out at the sudden imprisonment we can hear Miguel say "We just need to hold him a few days." They were treating Miles like a criminal and/or a confused wild animal. And then Miguel had the nerve to say "All he had to do was listen." when Miles escaped them. I don't think Miguel is racist, but the memes I will support.

Hobie was looking out for Miles as soon as he met him, and I love that so much. He knew Miles wasn't like the ones in the spider society, and made sure to tell Miles to be better. Gwen didn't do that. She did, but she didn't if you know what I mean. She followed along with the crap Miguel was spitting.

And then there was the chase scene. Bro had a bunch of spider men chase Miles and not one of them could catch him. That is the biggest L I've ever seen. One 15 year old boy, and he didn't use his other 2 powers until after Miguel slammed him onto his back. Miles was not playing. Also, Miguel was endangering the lives of people who were driving. And yes, Miguel's at fault and not Miles.

They gave Miles crap just because he didn't want his dad to die, unlike Miguel who actively replaced the life of his other self. Gwen was really going to let her dad die, and Peter B tried to justify it by saying their uncle's death made them who they are. Pavitr was just supposed to get over his love interest's dad dying? They knowingly let that happen.

Miguel calling Miles an anomaly is mega projecting. Miles becoming Spiderman wasn't on purpose it just happened, and that's always how the story goes. No one is simply meant to be Spiderman, they just become him/her. It's also funny coming from a man who crawled on all fours chasing down a teenager.

42 Miles. Prowler Miles. Gonzales. Kilo Immorales. I love him already, can't wait to see the next film where we'll see him in full action. I love how we as a fandom collectively agreed that these two would have a sibling dynamic even though we've only seen 42 Miles for like a minute. I love the Boondocks comparisons as well. I need 42 Miles to hate everyone. I need Miles to be full of rage in the 3rd film Adult Gon style. Prepare for double and make it double.

In conclusion, I should've watched these films when they first came out, they are so great. The art, the incorporation of hip hop and correctness of Afro related backgrounds and the storyline. I honestly felt like Miles was a great representation of the new generation. I saw myself in him, and not just being black but the graffiti and finding out that a family member of yours isn't really a good person. I don't do graffiti or art but I do find them beautiful whenever I see them. Also, the Air Forces. Step aside Peter Parker, we have a Spider man with more drip.

#spiderverse #miles morales #spiderman atsv #atsv hobie #miguel o'hara #miguel spiderverse #42 miles morales #aaron davis #the prowler #gwen stacy #spider gwen #ghost spider #pavitr prabhakar #peter b parker #sunflower #spider punk #itsv #atsv

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captain-amadeus · 3 months

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Do you think Cedric is overrated, or just given so much attention that the fandom forgets the other characters exist? /gen

Also, I couldn't agree more about how wrong it is to put Cedric on a pedestal to make Roland look terrible; the man is an amazing father, and I will die on that hill!!

My opinion on Cedric in the fandom isn't as interesting as my opinion on the fandom's one-sidedness with King Roland.

I know I talk about Roland a lot, but man, I have so much to say about him that just doesn't get said enough.

I have so much to say about how the fandom is so biased with him and Cedric. The fact that he can't be a character who makes mistakes and learns from them is insane, especially since Cedric isn't a perfect person himself.

Even if Cedric's motives to take over the kingdom are sympathetic, it doesn't justify his actions. He was wrong in wanting to take over the kingdom and in hurting others like Sofia in his attempts, but people like Roland were wrong for doubting him for so long and believing the notion that he's not capable of great things.

Although Roland wasn't the main driving force in Cedric wanting to get back at everyone, those rightfully go to Goodwyn and Cordelia, he failed in being a needed support for Cedric because of how he was raised off the idea that Cedric isn't capable of being like his father.

There is so much grey area where Roland has a reason for thinking and acting how he does, just like Cedric in how he thinks and acts. There is nuance to both of their characters that the fandom neglects with Roland in favor of making him this black and white character, and it ultimately makes him unrecognizable to how he was in canon to the point that I could mistake someone's depiction on him for Roland's father. That's what they all remind me of: his father, whose been said to have been a great king but not a great father.

I feel there's so much untapped potential in regards to Cedric and Roland having their fathers be emotionally absent and growing up to give their next generation what they didn't. It's more interesting than having Roland be a bad father without considering the things he did as a father in favor of Cedric being the only one to care for Sofia. (There is a difference between making stuff mainly about Cedric and Sofia and making Sofia's own family useless with Cedric being the only one who can help her. Really, Sofia loves her family and her family loves her.)

People just haven't thought about it as deeply with Roland as they do with Cedric when it comes to reasoning, and at worst, they intentionally interpret his actions in bad faith.

It is so easy to interpret Roland as someone with good intentions. I just don't get why people would willingly make a character bad in their heads, but it always circles back to Cedric because it's always him that replaces Roland as Sofia's father.

It's never Sofia being comforted by Miranda, or spending time with Amber and James, or even talking to her animal friends or visiting her best friends, Ruby and Jade.

And even when it is about them, they're always overshadowed by Cedric. It is so rare to see something focus on anything other than Cedric to the point where I wonder what's the point in having any of the other characters present when they are just props for Cedric.

And there's nothing wrong with liking Sofia and Cedric's bond, no matter how you view it (except if it's in a romantic way, in which you need to reconsider why you feel that a full grown adult and a child would, eww.) I just feel there could be more to having Cedric being the only focal point in things, and even have him be a supporting role instead of the main focus. Having him accompany Sofia but focusing more on her interactions and relations with other characters would be so refreshing. Even exploring Cedric with other characters (cough maybe with Roland) could be a good change of pace.

All in all, I don't have anything against others or how much Cedric is focused in the fandom because some people may just like Cedric better. And if I don't want everything to be about Cedric, then I can just make my own things about other characters. It just bums me out the things I've mentioned, and I hope to make it to where there's a bit more diversity in the fandom when it comes to other characters.

Also I love Miranda ok bye

#stf #sofia the first #sofia the fandom #cedric the sorcerer #king roland #answrs #obviously no hate to anyone at all #these are just my opinions heidjdhsisjdh #captain txt

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esther-dot · 4 months

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Same anon and what you said about the desire for a healthy relationship for D vs Sansa because of their respective ages and experience in canon is sooooo true I never thought of that. I definitely think that contributes to my feelings about it. I also totally agree with what you said wrt to powerlessness and Sansa because they hate show!Alicent for the same reason. For me it doesn’t make Sansa boring or frustrating but actually more relatable but in an uncomfortable way. Sansa reflects a lot about me. I am a romantic, gentle-hearted person. I daydream a lot and I’m prone to idealization and have had a lifelong fixation on romance and relationships. I’m an escapist who loves movies and songs and books and an artist. I’m an aesthete with a strong sense of style. And I’ve always felt trapped by the expectations of femininity but have not been strong enough to meaningfully reject them (besides, there are some I actually enjoy, like having long hair). I was an ugly duckling around Sansa’s age so I think there’s a bit of disconnect I feel because of that, but I grew into someone that people generally consider to be very beautiful and it feels like a cage at times. My life has been marked by both older men and male peers idealizing me, using me, preying upon me, listing after me, etc. I have taken back a lot of that power and healed a lot but I still hurt and I still feel the heavy burden of the male gaze that makes me feel I must perform. Sometimes I fear that beautiful is all I am and I’m cursed to be wanted but never loved. And Sansa reflects this all so so well and I think the fact that she’s still in the throes of it all just lampshades these aspects of me and my life to myself in a way that’s uncomfortable. She doesn’t reflect much upon it in canon but I imagine being a warg whose wolf died makes it feel like there’s this emptiness inside you, something missing, that everyone else seems to have (because their animal is alive or because they are not skinchangers) and that feeling that you’re missing a piece somehow is also so relatable to me.

Last thing: it seems like Sansa fans are generally much more sympathetic to me as a Sansa and D fan than D fans are. I’ve been accused of only pretending to be a D fan despite my entire blog theme being based on her character, just because I accept the likely possibility of villain D. Whereas Sansa fans seem to have an attitude of “you like Sansa? I like Sansa too! Not everyone loves Jonsa, that’s okay!” I wish more fans could be more willing to interact and engage with people who have different opinions and interpretations. I even follow people who hate D because they have other opinions that I agree with! And I think that’s normal!

(continuation of this convo)

Oh, reading this message I can certainly understand why her story would feel triggering to you in some regards. Many Sansa fans identity with her in this way. She's like us or has experienced things we have too. Sansa's story is simply inundated with adult men lusting after her. It’s tiresome to have all the men perv on her. The Hound, LF, Tyrion….Dontos and Marillion...so many! I imagine the pressure to perform/live up to exacting standards is something we have each experienced as well, but for many, the failure to do so is prolly what makes Arya more relatable, whereas Sansa is trapped by her dedication to the role, the work she puts into that dismissed, and the damage that burden has done to her ignored.

I actually think the fear of being wanted, not loved, is quite poignant in Sansa's story (wanted for her beauty or wanted for her claim), and that is why I believed she will have a romance on the page because this is a major issue in her story that needs to be resolved. Even while I understand all the squicks around Jonsa, over and over, we realize, part of how all women are victimized in this world is that they're all a means to an end. A prophecy baby, an ally, a castle...Sansa is going to be our opportunity to see someone love her for herself, care about the girl as an individual, not only for her own personal fulfillment, but as a way to address this problem in their world. And obvy, the guy who will do that is Jon who has a) already refused to take her claim, b) already helped a girl escape a marriage in which she was being used as a means to an end, c) already been recognized as Sansa's hero in the the the text (Slynt's severed head). There are other characters we might love and want good things for, but this particular issue will be answered in her storyline. There's groundwork for it.

Even though I pointed to Dany’s past sexual relationships as a reason fans are primed for her to have a healthier one, I actually think Martin was using it for a different purpose which doesn’t bode well for her at all. He said a certain series of essays got her completely right and I pulled some quotes from them:

(link)

Obviously, the fandom at large doesn’t agree, Dark Dany is a big no-no, but I believe they’re very wrong about that and setting themselves up for disappointment.

She doesn’t reflect much upon it in canon but I imagine being a warg whose wolf died makes it feel like there’s this emptiness inside you, something missing, that everyone else seems to have (because their animal is alive or because they are not skinchangers) and that feeling that you’re missing a piece somehow is also so relatable to me.

Absolutely. I think a lot of people feel this way. Most people have a period of searching because we have a sense that there is more, that we are more, even if we don't have such a clearly defined aspect of ourselves stolen.

Thank you for the follow-up message, anon. I enjoyed reading it, and I hope you can curate a little corner of the fandom that you're able to enjoy!

#dot chat

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vennyvenadito · 10 months

Text

I would say it

What they did to Chloe is not justice or karma

What the writers did to her is cruel and disgusting

Sure, she is a bully and a spoiled brat, what she did need to face consequences for that

But this…is just…I don’t have the words to say it

The fact that Andre don’t face any consequences for his actions and also as a reward he now has a new kid to raise its piss me off

That man is not innocent, he did not deserve this pathetic excuse of redemption arc

It also make me sick how people are celebrating this, even saying she deserves this and how they were right all this time about her been an “irredimible monster” and even saying Andre was a caring father to her

Caring father my ass, he is pathetic, an hypocrite, a man child and an coward

Are you telling me the man who raised that child to be an spoiled and mean person is now the victim???

“B-But his dreams to be a movie director where crushed because he become a mayor to impress Audrey and then Chloe came and and-“

Please….SHUT UP!!!

This is NOT Chloe’s fault, no child should be blamed for the parents decisions and actions

And despide her attitude and her actions, you liked or not, she is still an abused child

I’m sick of this “if you are an abused child but you behavior is awful then your as bad and even worst than your abusers”

What is this “perfect victim” thing going on in this show???

“But Mylene was abandoned by her mom and she is not-“

Shut up

“But Zoe-“

I said shut up

No every person reacts to trauma the same way, everyone reacts different

So please, stop doin that

Stop blaming the kid for being abused and not behave as the “poor and perfect victim 🥺”

And also

Can you guys stop blaming Adrien for not telling Mari that he was gonna live Paris??!!

May I remind you he is son of Gabriel Friking Agreste!!!!???

And also stop blaming him for not standing up, this is not his fault, he is a kid under his father’s control

And sadly I really can’t see any moment he would do it because the show want him to be just a trophy for Mari

Just a damsel in distress for our protagonist because this show forget the title of the series “Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and CHAT NOIR”

And Miss Bustier, Damocles and every fucking adult of this show….all you guys sucks!

How the heck you let a child to be the mayor in the first place!!??You guys should know better!

No one did shit to help Chloe, all you did is just “am Chloe please don’t be mean, you have to be nice uwu”

You really tough this was gonna work??

No even you Marinette, you just told her to vibe with her shitty mom because they are both “mean”, no shit why didn’t she change for the better

But you know what, I’m not goin to blame Mari on this, because this is not her job, she is a kid as well, is the grow ass adults job

What this show built up in season 2 was pointless, because why give us a redemption arc for Chloe, why give her deep, why make her sympathetic, why make her the Bee holder if this wasn’t going anywhere??

I hate season 5, I take it back what I say about season 3 and 4, this is by far the worst season of the series in my opinion

That’s all folks

Deer out 🦌

#miraculous ladybug #mlb fandom #mlb season five #chloe bourgeois #mlb salt #mlb #ml writers salt

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zalrb · 3 months

Note

Vampire diaries characters who they be if they was in harry potter

I was like, did I do this before but I think I only did the houses. Also, I'm annoyed because I can't put all of the images/gifs I want to in this post. Anyway.

OK. So. For a few characters it can go a few different ways. What do I mean?

Elena and Harry are nothing alike in terms of personality or upbringing but everything revolves around Elena much like how everything revolves around Harry

Harry had a grown ass adult try to kill him for a good chunk of his life

Elena had thousand year old vampires trying to kill her for a portion of her teen one

so it could be said in terms of their roles/functions, Elena could be Harry.

At the same time, I think Stefan could be Harry

from being great at quidditch to being great at football (even though they dropped that storyline) and Stefan has more of Harry's sass

even going back and forth with Tanner could be aligned with Harry "no need to call me sir, professor" Potter and Snape.

In terms of personality, Hermione and Caroline wouldn't be a perfect match but they're the most aligned in terms of the bossiness, the judgment

the TVD version of Hermione juggling a whole bunch of classes

would be this

At the same time, Bonnie is the one who always come in clutch

Hermione is not treated as horribly as Bonnie was and the trio all have parts to play in what gets them as far as they do and so it's more equal but she's the one with the vast knowledge of magic (for their age) which keeps them alive

and she and Hermione are more alike in terms of their sense of morality so I could accept Caroline being Hermione but I could also see Bonnie being Hermione.

Bonnie also has elements of Harry because while Elena is at the centre and has to deal with antagonists who are after her specifically, Bonnie is the one who faces off with the antagonists/villains one-on-one "in the field"

and the loyalty she has to her friends can be aligned with Harry's faith in his friends although the way that's treated by the characters around them differ.

Draco, to me, is the most aligned with Tyler. Pompous, wealthy, complicated etc. except I think Tyler has more of a redemption arc and is more active in his redemption whereas Draco, to me, is never quite redeemed, it's just that we see how complicated his situation becomes in the later books and he becomes more nuanced and for some readers, more sympathetic because of it but the two are more emotionally aligned for me

But even Tyler being sired to Klaus, I think you can align with Voldemort tasking Draco to kill Dumbledore.

Matt is my beloved Ron. At first I was like, RON HAS NO COUNTERPOINTS IN TVD but it's literally Matt even though their personalities aren't the same.

They're both poor, they both feel overlooked and pushed to the side

and they're both extremely loyal.

Ron is always down for the plan and Matt somehow always ends up down for the plan (but with more reservations).

Damon "I-met-a-girl-and-she-made-me-good-but-I-continue-to-murder-people-and-be-an-all-around-piece-of-shit" Salvatore is Severus "I-couldn't-care-less-that-Voldemort-is-wizard-Hitler-but-he-killed-the-woman-I-love-so-I-will-change-sides-and-look-out-for-her-son-while-also-emotionally-terrorizing-him-and-other-students-to-the-point-that-one-is-so-terrified-of-me-his-boggart-turns-into-my-likeness" Snape.

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soullessjack · 4 months

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don't want to wade into discourse but do want to say i appreciate your takes on Jack's character. it's just really refreshing. a lot of fandom straight up does not want to engage with Jack's thematic core, aka 'young man is INCREDIBLY powerful & he has to struggle w/ his relationship to his powers / learning to use them for good' when that character idea is very compelling & also doesn't work if Jack has no agency/autonomy/makes no real choices/is a child. it is complicated, because Jack is a young adult (say, an 18-year-old and a 40-year-old are both adults, but their maturity level is VERY different) and didn't choose his power, but I don't understand why the fandom framing that Jack shouldn't have that power/responsibility/should be a child is more sympathetic than Jack learning how to use his powers & coming into his own. (which is how I read his story even if the writing was thin at times.)

hi, thank u!! 🫶🫶

I think most of the fandom’s refusal simply stems from the idea that he doesn’t deserve what he goes through/the burden he has to carry, and that’s all well and good, but it obviously starts to spiral into never seeing him as a complex autonomous person who can handle responsibility or experience trauma, which then gets grossly simplified into never seeing him as a person at all.

I honestly think it’s become kind of a cycle. People don’t want to acknowledge what he’s experiencing beyond “he doesn’t deserve this,” so -> ppl refuse to engage with him as a full complex adult character -> then don’t understand that autonomy is a fundamental part of him and his narrative -> so they make the decision to de-age him -> which hinges on the idea that he’s giving up his autonomy or never had it to begin with, and -> that becomes the most popular way to see his character, so -> they shut out anything that opposes it -> and they don’t see the problem with it because they don’t understand what they’re taking away because (see above).

I admit it sounds like pointless discourse from that perspective, but

A) this fandom has complained about far less for far longer, especially when it comes to their favorite characters being misunderstood and misrepresented

B) people have a right to be frustrated over their passions, especially when the problem is persistent and basically an open secret that nobody wants to change. this isn’t just about the autistic perspective on him. It’s general fandom, as well.

C) the added perspective of jack being autistic (which frankly goes beyond headcanon or simple interpretation, but that’s its own post) makes this more than petty discourse. fiction and reality go hand in hand with each other, especially in any issue concerning representation of a real group. that being said, when a marginalized community tells you that something is harmful, you listen.

sorry for the long reply lol. ofc it’s not directed at you, I’m just putting it out there in general. and thank u again! It’s nice to know that my silly ramblings are appreciated 🫶🫶

#holdthypeace.txt #spn #spn fandom #jack kline #fandom discourse #but not really discourse like this is kind of important actually ^_^

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phoenixyfriend · 2 years

Text

Anakin Gets Pregnant and Causes a Scandal in Defense of the Jedi

Hey do you want a fic where Anakin's solution to a major political problem is something that many people would consider insane and irrational, and using the propaganda machine to grab galactic attention?

Because I wrote a fic where he does that, and everyone is very done with him.

Read here

Summary:

In which the Senate is trying to force the Jedi to up their numbers via a staggering violation of reproductive rights, Barriss is grumbling her way back to the Light, and Anakin's decided the solution to the Jedi's problems is to get pregnant himself. Problem: He doesn't have a womb. Solution: Bother Barriss, resident healer on parole, into helping him get one.

Gonna be honest, the only reason this is omegaverse is for the suspension of disbelief regarding the violation of reproductive rights. I tried it both ways, and the without-omegaverse version just left a bad taste in my mouth about Many, Many Countries trying to control access to things like abortion and birth control, so omegaverse it is!

-----------------------------------

The end of the war, the freedom of the clones, the return of Ahsoka—all of this should mean that Anakin is happy, and content, and watching the galaxy pull itself back together after all of Palpatine’s machinations were revealed.

(And going to his Council-mandated therapy after his near-Fall and the reveal of his little incident on Tatooine, but that’s a different matter.)

All should be well.

It is not.

“They can’t do that,” Anakin says, utterly blank. “That’s not—can they?”

“Not technically,” Obi-Wan says. He’s looking—exhausted. More exhausted than he has since the war had wound down. “But they can demand a certain number of missions fulfilled, and our numbers are currently too low to do so.”

“Because Palpatine sent us into a war that wiped out a third of our population, which is over half the adults, with the Senate’s support.”

Obi-Wan ignores him. “And nobody will give us their Force-Sensitive younglings.”

“Because Palpatine organized a propaganda campaign that made everyone hate and distrust us, with the Senate’s support.”

Obi-Wan continues. “And they can, of course, offer to make childbearing a mission to offset the mission minimum quota.”

“That’s insane.”

His Master gestures at nothing. “We’re working on it. They can withdraw funding—which we can’t afford right now, not with how skewed our age demographics are right now, and the lack of public donations—or filibuster on the clone rights.”

“So instead we let them walk on reproductive rights?” Anakin asks. “Omega rights? You—Obi-Wan, can you even handle a pregnancy right now? After everything in the war…”

His Master shrugs. He is so exhausted. “Like I said, Anakin: we’re working on it.”

“I’ve got a lot of people working on it,” Padmé says, and Anakin just bounces Leia in his arms for want of a better way to help. Padmé looks almost as frazzled as Obi-Wan had. “But the Senate views the Jedi as indispensable, and those who are on the fence about this ‘compromise’ are being pushed by long-term concerns regarding the piracy along the hyperla—Luke, no, honey, don’t put that in your mouth.”

That is in fact an entire braid that Luke is trying to stuff into his piehole.

“Let me take him,” Anakin says, and manages to take Luke in his other arm. Padmé gives him a grateful peck on the cheek, and then turns back to her desk. Moteé offers him a sympathetic grin from the corner.

“Obi-Wan won’t… he’s not…” Anakin trails off, because it’s not like it’s a secret that Obi-Wan is Stewjoni, or that he’s an omega. It’s not like Padmé, or even Moteé, are unaware of just how often Obi-Wan was tortured during the war.

He is the kind of carrier, in demographic, that the rich and powerful of less-egalitarian planets would salivate over. He is certainly already being talked about.

Obi-Wan has suffered so, so, so much damage. It could kill him. Regardless of gender equality and secondary dynamics and reproductive autonomy and species rights, a pregnancy could kill him.

“I know, Ani,” Padmé says. She scrubs at her eyes. “I’m a woman, even if I’m a beta, but I’m one that is in possession of a functioning uterus. Fully human and wealthy and well respected, but… already a mother, proven to be willing to have children, even suspiciously unmarried to the public eye, a… I’m too close to the problem for my opinion to be objective, according that testosterone-ridden hive of bullshit.”

Anakin grimaces. It’s always a slap in the face when Padmé curses.

“Mon Mothma?” he tries.

“Hardly better; she may not have carried any children, but still is theoretically capable of doing so,” Padmé says. She sits in the chair behind the desk and drops her head into her hands. “It’s all riding on alphas and men like Bail, despite the fact that he’s part of the demographic that has the least to do with this.”

“That’s insane,” Anakin says, not for the first time.

“It is what it is,” Padmé says, sounding distracted. She starts parsing through the datapads on her desk. “Right now, the problem has little enough media presence that we can’t rely on public pressure getting the Senate to cave, so… we’re looking into precedent, mostly. If the Senate pressures the childbearing members of the Jedi to procreate by way of coercion, or actual law, then it’s possible that more conservative elements of the Senate will look into attempting to reimplement such laws on their own planets with the Jedi situation as precedent.”

Anakin blinks at her.

“Okay,” he says. There’s nothing he can do to help with politics. “Do you… want me to take the kids for a few hours so you can focus on this unti—”

“Please.”

Anakin is halfway out of the building when a thought occurs to him. It’s not a very smart thought, by many measures. He decides to think on it.

(This is the start of many problems, for many people.)

“I bring children,” Anakin announces, shoving open Obi-Wan’s door with the Force since the hydraulics are glitching, and pushing the floating carriage with his twins in. “Okay, tinies, who wants to see Uncle Obi first?”

“Anakin, I’m—we have guests,” Obi-Wan protests from the armchair. “That’s not—oh, fine, yes, hello Leia.”

Anakin settles his baby girl into Obi-Wan’s arms, and turns to the guests on the couch as he picks up his son. “You’re not guests.”

“Rude,” Aayla says from the middle seat. She’s lounging back, and her fond amusement overpowers the annoyance and general malaise that’s suffusing the room.

“He’s a menace,” Anakin says, pointing at Quinlan, and then shifts the pointing finger to Aayla, “and you’re family, ergo, you don’t count as a guest.”

“I don’t count as family?” Quinlan demands. He looks like shit right now, honestly, when did he last sleep?

“Menace outranks family,” Anakin dismisses.

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan sighs. “You’re a menace.”

“Yeah, but you got me young enough that it was cute at first,” Anakin rightly points out. He rocks his son a bit. “Anybody want to hold Luke? Warning, they are both still in the phase where everything goes into the mouth for investigation, so he will be grabbing for your hair or lekku.”

“You didn’t warn me of that,” Obi-Wan grouses.

“You already know Leia’s going to be yanking on your beard,” Anakin says.

“Give him here,” Aayla says, and true to form, Luke grabs for her lekku and attempts to stuff it in his mouth the second he’s settled. “Well, that’s clean enough.”

“Bet it feels weird,” Anakin says. He drops into the seat next to her and slings an arm around the back of the couch, using his other to brush over Luke’s scalp. “At least they’re not teething yet.”

“I expect you’d tell me if they were,” Aayla says. “Did the senator kick you out?”

“I kicked myself out,” Anakin protests, trying to keep his voice lofty and poised, if only because it makes Aayla laugh, and she looks like she needs that right now. “Or rather, took the kids for a few hours so she could concentrate.”

“On?” Quinlan prompts.

Anakin winces.

“Same as us, then,” Aayla mutters.

Anakin tilts his head. “Eh?”

Aayla gestures at Obi-Wan, and then at Quinlan. “Discussing the breeding law.”

“Eurgh,” Obi-Wan expresses, “don’t call it that.”

“That’s what it is,” Aayla mumbles. “Have a womb? Omega or beta? Put it to use or we’re cutting you off, medical exemptions be damned.”

“I thought it was coercion in replacement of missions,” Anakin says blankly. “You…”

“Officially? Yes. Unofficially…” Aayla gestures vaguely. “Council’s still fighting it, but they’ve sent out a memo through the medical offices to get a back-up plan for the other parent. There are rumors that some Senators are pushing for influence over who gets to play such a role; half are arguing for fellow Jedi, to increase the chances of the child being Force-sensitive, and half are arguing to be able to fuck us themselves.”

“Aayla!” Obi-Wan snaps, aghast.

“What? That is what is happening,” Aayla mutters. The only reason she isn’t crossing her arms in a huff, Anakin reckons, is that she’s holding Luke. “A single pregnancy is equivalent to three missions of the same length, with the current draft. They’re adding quotas. They are going through our medical records.”

“That’s…” Anakin trails off. Horrific.

“Pretty sure Vokara’s editing any records that aren’t public knowledge already,” Quinlan says. He’s got his head tipped back, staring at the ceiling. “But that’s not going to help everyone.”

Anakin tilts his own head back to look at Quinlan past Aayla, “so you’re here as moral support?”

Quinlan is, after all, not only male, but alpha. He’s not going to be directly affected, even if plenty of his friends are.

“I’m Obi’s backup,” Quinlan says, face turning just a bit to the side to meet Anakin’s gaze through half-closed eyes.

“Backup?” Anakin asks.

“As Aayla said,” Obi-Wan interrupts, “we’ve been told to have some idea of who the other parent should be, in case the motion goes through with the severity we expect. I’ve asked Quinlan to play such a role for me.”

That makes more than a dash of sense. Obi-Wan and Quinlan have been… not dating, but not not dating, since Anakin was a wide-eyed nine-year-old who was surprised to find that this random guy on his Master’s couch could understand all the Mos Espa swears Anakin was spouting after catching his hand in a drawer.

“You?” Anakin asks Aayla.

“Bly agreed,” she says, a slight blush on her cheeks. She looks at Luke, instead of Anakin. “If it weren’t for… I mean… if this weren’t being forced on us, and I wasn’t a Jedi, I’d actually consider it. Maybe. Some day.”

“With Bly,” Anakin prompts.

Aayla huffs a little breath. “If I ever decided to follow a more traditional family route, then yes. Probably with Bly. As it stands, I’m not inclined to do that, because I’m a Jedi, and also because I value my bodily autonomy.”

Anakin grimaces and also focuses on Luke again, mostly because he really doesn’t know how to respond to that.

The situation is worse than he thought.

“Can you keep an eye on the twins for a bit? I have to go ask someone a question.”

Obi-Wan makes a noise. “That can’t mean anything good.”

“Trust me?”

A.Sky: Sabé, need an opinion. Bad plan percolating. You available?

Tsabin: I’ll be free in a few. Send now.

A.Sky: Padmé says that there isn’t enough of a media presence for anyone to care about the Jedi reproduction thing right now. Would a high profile Jedi getting pregnant and using the ensuing media backlash to speak out about it mean people pay attention and get the Senate to You know Fuck off?

Tsabin: Whatever you’re planning, please tell me first.

A.Sky: But would it?

Tsabin: Technically, yes, but there are very few Jedi that are high-profile enough and capable of a pregnancy to my knowledge. Kenobi, but that’s a medical risk Secura, maybe Unduli or one of the council members Tano, but she’s too young

A.Sky: But someone really famous getting pregnant would work.

Tsabin: Ani. Please tell me what you’re planning

A.Sky: I need to check with someone about it first thanks for the help

Tsabin: Comm me before you do something stupid

A.Sky: I make no promises.

(Continue on AO3)

#star wars #the clone wars #rexanidala #anidala #rexwalker #anakin skywalker #obi wan kenobi #barriss offee #padme amidala #captain rex #bant eerin #dorme #sabe #skywalker twins #mild #quinobi #because if Obi-Wan is legally mandated to get pregnant then he's going to ask Quinlan to do it #they don't actually get Obi-Wan pregnant in this fic because the motion hasn't gone into effect yet but anyway

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vividaway · 10 months

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mini analysis on the finale

yall im not even gonna lie..........i liked the season 5 finale. the concept that these are teenagers who have been beaten and worn down to a crisp to the point of multiple mental breakdowns from both marinette and adrien.........like of course marinette didn’t tell adrien. she’s a literal child, and she loves him, and honestly? its really not her PLACE to tell him. emilie knows about gabriels involvement with the miraculous. nathalie knows about EVERYTHING. there are multiple ADULTS who can step in and talk to him about this, and they chose not to. multiple people have said it: of COURSE adrien deserve to know, and i will be very upset if they never write in him finding out. but it also seems excessively cruel to do that to adrien. as far as adrien is aware, his dad was trying. he thinks his dad is a man chiseled away by depression and grief, who turned towards his works to cope with the loss. he believes there was a turning point where his father started to try. he allowed him to go to school, to make new friends and go to their house, allowed him to quit, started to show up to school events, and finally started to show him affection. adrien is none the wiser on WHY, and it feels extremely cruel to take away what little happy moments he had left with his father. what is the bare minimum to us, is literally EVERYTHING to adrien, and to me, that does mean something. to me, seeing gabriel sacrifice himself for adrien and his wife-- means EVERYTHING. it is what differentiates an evil, unrecoverable person, from a dynamic character who was never meant to be a good person. we were never meant to like gabriel. he’s the villain! but that doesn’t mean we aren’t supposed to be sympathetic to certain aspects of his journey. i really do think his character was written well. gabriel is a bad, unredeemable man, who did one good action. i personally can’t look at gabriel from season one and say, “he shouldve sacrificed his life in place of his wives life sooner”, it feels wrong. gabriel from season 1 was EXTREMELY different from gabriel from season 5. we see him change (for the worse) over the course of five seasons.

and the thing about how gabriel is written is like, its realistic. gabriel isnt just a cartoon villain from some kids show, he show’s patterns of real life villains as well. the manipulation, the lying, the guilt tripping, the abuse-- all of it. and thats why, i understand why some people are pissed he got redeemed. but for me, i see the build up. lila has the photographs from gabriels house, and she knews he was monarch. on top of this, it seems like she’s the successor to the butterfly miraculous. people know what he did, and its not just the people on the good side. i don’t see gabriel staying a sympathetic figure for much longer. but all this being said, i dont think it was the worst. the pacing was great, and the animation was top tier for me. theres so many episodes where i can predict whats going to happen next, but i couldn’t with this one. some thing about it just felt....special. like if you showed alyssa from 2016 the finale, i could literally die. no need to show a peasant child, just showing Season One Era fans what happened and how it looks and we’d just. die. everything about it 10x better than we couldve imagined. the writing, the animation, the pacing, the score, the dialogue, the way the world has expanded and been built up and how often we’re interacting with “background characters”. for once, it felt like i was watching a real show, with a plot that made sense, and wasnt a dumpster fire. but...from reading the #MLBS5Spoilers tag....yall do NOT agree with my sentiments! and thats okay!

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ichayalovesyou · 2 years

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Hello! I saw that you were taking requests for Captain Pike, and was wondering if you could make one for me? The scenario could be where the reader and Pike have a father/child type relationship (the reader views Pike as a father figure), and he protects the reader from some people that corner them in the mess hall? The reason why is up to you! If you can't do this for whatever reason, I totally understand.

Oh don’t worry I got your back! I took the getting cornered relatively literally and as being bullied I hope that scratches the itch!

Especially When It’s You (Platonic Pike x Reader)

Rating: E for Everyone

Word Count: 793

Content: Non-descript verbal bullying (to avoid triggers but you’ll get the idea), implied alien and/or neurodivergent!Reader, Cadet!Reader, GN!Reader, established friendship, non-violent Protective!Pike, Paternal!Pike, hurt/comfort, paternal advice.

P.S. Just watched Balance of Terror and decided to cope by giving Stiles (the a**hole who’s racist at Spock) a hard time in this one! Hope you like it! >:)

Teaser: You hoped that a semester aboard the Enterprise would help you avoid your Academy bullies, you thought wrong. Luckily for you the Captain is a family friend, and he’s not about to allow anybody to get away with hurting you.

It wasn’t the first time you’d been harassed by your classmates, particularly these two. You had hoped that they’d be too distracted by their duties. That the pressure and prestige of spending a whole semester aboard the Enterprise would keep them away from you.

It seems you were wrong. Starfleet was supposed to be different, but it seems prejudice could worm its way even into the most noble of institutions. You covered your ears to block out their childish jabs at you, unwilling to provoke them further.

“Stiles! Andova!”

Both Cadets froze in their tracks at the sound of the Captain’s voice. He was tall for a Human, he towered over them both despite the two cadets being (supposedly) adults, save for their behavior.

“Is there a problem?”

Pike glared at them both with a look of irritation and disappointment usually reserved for only the most asinine and incorrigible of Federation diplomats.

“It’s nothing sir-“

“We were just talking to Y/N-“

“Didn’t sound like it. In my ready room, eighteen hundred hours, not a second later, no excuses. Back to your stations now. Or I’ll have you assigned to Lieutenant Noonien-Singh for patrol drills until the end of the semester.”

The two young men fled the mess hall like cockroaches from a lamplight. The Captain pulled up a chair and sat across from you. Sympathetically waiting for you to recover from the overstimulating and humiliating interaction.

“You alright Y/N?”

“Yes sir, I will be sir.”

“You don’t have to ‘sir’ me Cadet, you’re off duty, and I should be too, but, you know how it is. And, not to pull the nostalgia card, I’ve known you since before you could walk.”

“Hahah, sorry Chris.”

The icebreaker melted and Chris’s frown returned, he subtly reached his hand toward the middle of the table, sensing you might want to take it but not pressuring you to do so.

“I enjoy checking up on you, you know I do, but I don’t have a lot of time. So, I need you to tell me exactly what happened before I showed up so I can recommend them both for disciplinary action and psych eval.”

“It’s okay sir, they were just-“

“No. It’s not okay.” Pike said, gravely.

“Hazing is one thing, bullying is another. This is the Enterprise, on my ship we don’t put up with willful ignorance from anyone. And I do mean anyone, Cadet, Admiral, doesn’t matter, I will not have it on my ship. This is Starfleet, they should know better, we should know better. Maybe the Klingon War made the Federation a little lax on prejudice, but I won’t be. Especially when it’s you. Nobody messes with my crew, not even my crew.” Chris laughed at his own joke, but there was a tinge of frustration to it.

You still weren’t used to seeing Chris angry, it’s always strange seeing a family friend in a new context like work or school. But even when you were on the Bridge during tense situations he almost never raised his voice at a crew member, it was impressive considering the pressure. You hoped that maybe you could emulate it if, no, when you made Captain and had your own ship one day.

“Thank you s- Chris. Thanks, Chris.” you took the hand he’d quietly offered and squeezed it, but only for a moment.

You took a deep breath, and told him everything, not just from today in the mess hall, but everything that the two of them had done before that. Everything you had kept bottled up, because at least with Chris, it felt safe.

He leaned back in his chair, steely eyed, chewing on his jaw slightly, processing what you said.

“Y/N” he started, clearly swallowing his knee-jerk anger over what had been allowed to happen to you.

“If you need anything, go to Dr. M’Benga, or Nurse Chapel, tell them I sent you, take care of yourself, I’ll handle everything else. If I can pull some strings, you won’t be sharing a shift, or a classroom, with either of those Cadets anytime soon. Alright?”

“Yes sir.”

Chris got up and left, letting you finish your meal and get back to work in comforting silence. The last time you ever saw Stiles and Andova again they were running laps near the port nacelles with Noonien-Singh looking on, and if you didn’t know any better, you could have sworn you saw her wink when she noticed you’d seen them.

Turns out you were right after all, Starfleet was different, and if nobody had your back, the Enterprise certainly did.

Chris had your back, and you knew wherever duty took you, part of him always would.

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incorrect-koh-posts · 2 years

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If you search Krol Tredowaty in Polish you mighy find images of Baldwin IV. An early take. Very cool.

Oh, thank you for pointing that out to me! 💛

Have some lovely Baldwin IV cover illustrations for Zofia Kossak's 1937 novel The Leper King (Król Trędowaty):

I'm particularly fond of these two - I think the minimalist art style suits both the subject and our leprous boy quite well, and I like the design the artists chose for his cloak and veil.

I also came across a rather pretty Polish cover for the Bernard Hamilton book:

My version of the Kossak novel (published in Germany in 1964), sadly, looks quite boring in comparison:

And while we're on the subject: I have to admit I rather enjoyed Kossak's take on the events in the Holy Land between roughly 1176 and 1187. Of course, it is very old-fashioned in terms of its writing style, and far from historically accurate - but considering that it was published in 1937, long before most of the decisive academic works we know had been written, I think Kossak nonetheless did an admirable job with presenting the historical events in a way that is both comprehensible and somewhat entertaining. Being nitpicky about the details while having access to almost a hundred years' worth of further research would be a little unfair, in my opinion.

That said, I'm not sure this is the right novel for you to read if you are simply looking for some good sauce about Baldwin, since Kossak's portrayal of him is a bit of a mixed bag. In some instances, her Baldwin resembled the wise, gentle king we know from KoH very closely, but in others, he came across as whiny and wallowing in self-pity, acting much more childish than he should. (Remember: In that time and place, men were considered legal adults at the age of fifteen.) So, what I missed in Kossak's Baldwin sometimes was the inner strength that - according to the chroniclers - he must have possessed in spades. His mother Agnes of Courtenay, by the way, receives a similar treatment and is presented as an overweight clucking old hag, which is, unfortunately, the default characterisation she is given in older historical fiction.

Apart from that, though, The Leper King was a hoot. This may be just my particular brand of weirdness talking - I'm currently writing my thesis about medieval German literature, so go figure - but I unapologetically love those early literary takes on Baldwin & Co. Their differing characterisations of the various historical figures are always fun to compare, sometimes I merely get a good laugh out of them while other times I end up being surprised or even genuinely impressed. This novel, somehow, managed to pair the WTF-factor with moments that I found genuinely heart-warming and dialogue that was by turns either well-written or absolutely laughable.

To be fair, some of this can probably be chalked up to the translation because - let's face it - many things that sound fine in any other language become very odd, all of a sudden, when translated into German. Towards the end of the book, for example, Kossak covers the Hattin episode and thus briefly tells how Eschiva and her sons retreated into the citadel at Lake Tiberias when Salah ad-Din laid siege to the city. Upon hearing this news, Kossak's Raymond exclaims affectionately "Meine tapfere Alte!", which is best translated as "My valiant old lady!", and if that isn't the funniest shit ever, then I don't know.

What I also found particularly wholesome - though of course not historically viable - was the way Kossak depicted the relationship between Baldwin and Raymond. For some reason, she seems to think Raymond was Baldwin's uncle (when in reality he was his first cousin once removed), but the "favourite uncle & favourite nephew" dynamic she builds between them really works for this novel. As a Raymond fangirl, it was also quite refreshing to read something that showed him as both sympathetic AND ambitious and, for once, didn't make him do the whole "cackling evil relative who is after the crown" act.

In the German translation, Raymond repeatedly calls Baldwin fondly "Mein Junge" und "Mein Kleiner", which literally means "my boy" and "my little one". I'm not crying, you're crying. Baldwin, in turn, refers to Raymond as "Oheim", which is an old German term for "uncle" (specifically: the brother of the mother - imagine that: Raymond as Agnes of Courtenay's brother! 😂). Hence, while it is simply a genealogical mistake and historically speaking, of course, a cartload of bollocks, it nonetheless warms my heart that this novel chose to present us with the one and only depiction of a literal "Uncle Tibs".

So, yeah - this was a fun read.

#asks #baldwin iv #raymond iii of tripoli #historical fiction #crusader fiction #book recommendations #book covers #zofia kossak #the leper king #kingdom of heaven 2005

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jonahh · 2 years

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i loveeee jonah and i can’t rly think of a good question for u?? maybe like how did u feel abt the amy jonah breakup proposal scene in s6? i know it was sorta unpopular in the fandom as forced but i thought it was very sympathetic and understandable on both sides tbh

narratively speaking superstore actually hit the jackpot by getting canceled when it did, because if that had been the last we see of amy i don't think they could have salvaged it—or it would have been very difficult to, at least. i definitely had my doubts on a larger scale about superstore without america, and i still don't know that amy moving to california was the smartest plot move, but they weren't expecting to lose a lead and you work with what you have i guess

that being said! given that this was the in-universe route they chose, i do think that they pulled it off in a way that felt true to the characters. it's definitely brutal to watch, but it makes sense. of course amy is hesitant to make such a big, official step. even though it's jonah, and he's been around for a long time, and their relationship is great, she's been through this before and it completely derailed her from what she originally wanted in life. and so in her mind, there's always room for things to go wrong—whether that's in an immediate and catastrophic way or a slower, boiling-frog stagnation way. because of her circumstances, it's important to her that she have an easy escape route if that were to happen.

there's also the issue of the timing. i think that, if the circumstances were different and this didn't come up at the time of the move, it would feel less claustrophobic for her. but it's sort of an insane and tumultuous period, and adding yet another life-altering decision to the mix was definitely. not great.

jonah's view is completely different here. he pretty much sees them as already-married at this point, so it doesn't feel as daunting for him. this is where i do start to feel a little conflicted, so bear with me. on the one hand i do think he should have known better than to think this wouldn't be an added stressor for amy. like, obviously he's aware of her past, and the baggage/trauma she has regarding marriage. he's not adam, of course he's not adam, but who's to say he wouldn't fall into the same rut? he has a string of abandoned jobs behind him, and frankly not a whole lot of prospects. adam has a string of abandoned hobbies. amy's always been the one to take on the role of "adult" and frankly, as much as she (and i) love jonah, the relationship doesn't...look all that different. yes, true love, etc but she has kids and so she has to look at it from a practical as well as a romantic perspective.

the thing is, while he went about it in a way that was a little thoughtless and insane, jonah's also not in the wrong for wanting something more. i mean, the dude is moving across the country for her. they HAVE been together for several years, and they've known each other for several years before that. they are, functionally, a family, so it makes sense that he would want to make that official. and as solid as the relationship is, he just needs to know that she won't pull the rug out from under him suddenly—marriage seems like the most natural way to prove the stability of the relationship and soothe his neuroses. plus, in his mind, there's absolutely no chance he's going to be the one to leave. she's the reason he's stuck around for so many years, after all. but she has no way of fully understanding that without literally being in his head.

seeing him stand up for himself and set that boundary is cathartic. watching amy have to deal with the ultimatum is heartbreaking. marriage means two different things to these characters, and that's what makes the breakup so potent.

#fictionandmusic #also they both acted their ASSES off in this scene ben especially #however again. if they hadn't ended it after s6 it wouldn't have been a satisfying ending for them. the context is essential #.txt #nbc superstore #superstore #jonah x amy #jonah simms #amy sosa

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