#also in both instances they deserve to be bullied | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

frankie-bell · 7 months

Text

An Essay Exploring Psycho-Pass's Most Controversial Character

I know I’m opening a huge, slimy can of worms and potentially incurring the wrath of half the Psycho-Pass fandom, but I feel compelled to share my feelings on Mika Shimotsuki and how I believe she serves as a lightning rod for fan culture misogyny. Now, before I start, let me just say that this essay isn’t targeted at any one individual, and it’s just my personal opinion, which you are more than welcome to disagree with. I’d also like to stress that, despite my love for Mika’s character, I’m going to try my very best to approach this topic from an academic standpoint rather than an emotional one. I recently picked Parasocial Relationships and their effect on female celebrities and fictional characters as a thesis for my Gender and Media course, and it really got me thinking about this anime in particular, so here we go…

Let’s tackle the female side of things first, because it’s the one that shocks and disappoints me the most. Don’t get me wrong -- I think fandoms with a strong female presence are awesome, complex, uplifting, and oftentimes incredibly positive and inclusive spaces. I love being a female genre fan and interacting with other female genre fans. That said, I’ve noticed female fandom can sometimes fall prey to online bullying and misogynistic groupthink when it comes to (a) female characters they find arrogant, bossy, mean, etc. and (b) female characters who are positioned as potential love interests for their collective male "blorbos," "husbandos," "faves," whatever the term may be. These two things very often overlap, which I’ll touch on later, but for now, let’s talk about the first point.

There was a big movement online several years ago urging creators to “let women be mean. Let them be angry. Let them be petty and complex and difficult. Let them be messy.” I fully support this idea in both theory and practice and wish it were that simple, but unfortunately, it’s not, because uncomfortably large swaths of fandom don’t like/appreciate unapologetically mean female characters the way they do male characters. Men in fiction are allowed to be cutthroat, selfish, cruel, narcissistic, arrogant, and even evil without garnering even a fraction of the judgement that female characters receive for simply being “difficult” or “unlikable.”

Take, for instance, Shougo Makishima. The Psycho-Pass fandom at large adores this character (myself included), despite the fact that he’s a remorseless sociopath who touts the importance of free will as a wholesale excuse for murder. He is a bad person, full-stop, and yet he garners love -- even sympathy -- in abundance. He’s the subject of fawning fan fiction, chibi art, thirst tweets, and endless Reddit analysis. Fans are capable of seeing him, murderous warts and all, as a product of the warped dystopian society Sibyl has created. But Mika? Nope. Just “a bitch, a whiner, an arrogant little girl who deserves to get slapped in the mouth.” (I am not making this up. These are the type of comments I see *female* fans making left and right about her character). She receives far more hate for giving up the location of Akane’s grandmother as a blackmailed, frightened teenager than Makishima does for slashing Yuki’s throat or blowing up Masaoka. Hell, she catches more heat for Akane’s grandmother than Sakuya Togane, the woman’s actual murderer and -- I can’t stress this enough -- a 41-year-old adult man.

Now, I know what some of you are thinking -- Makishima and Togane are villains, so their personality flaws (putting it lightly) and horrible actions are essential to the narrative and indicative of good storytelling. We’re meant to “love to hate them.” All correct, and yet this doesn’t change or excuse the fact that their standing in the fandom, when compared to the equally complex and emotionally fractured Mika, is textbook pernicious misogyny. But, for the sake of argument, let’s compare Mika to another character ostensibly on the side of good -- Nobuchika Ginoza. [Note: Ginoza is my favorite character in Psycho-Pass, and any commentary regarding his PP1 shittiness is made with pure love and appreciation for him and nuanced character growth in general.]

When we first meet Ginoza, he is rude, terse, unyielding, intellectually smug, and totally unforgiving of those closest to him. He’s a brilliant character, and his behavior, no matter how insufferable and seemingly cruel, is the result of compounded trauma -- the trauma of having his father ripped away when he was only nine, the trauma of being unfairly judged for the “sins” of said latent criminal father, the trauma of his mother numbing her pain with medication and eventually becoming something akin to a human corpse, the trauma of finding a new support system and best friend in Kougami only to once again be “abandoned” for the other side of the law. In many ways, he’s still a hurt child lashing out at the world, unwilling to see it for the complicated, morally gray place that it is, because being mad is easier. Telling himself that Enforcers are nothing more than dogs for him to guide and use as shields is easier. Blindly trusting the judgements handed down by Sibyl is easier.

In this way, he and Mika are remarkably similar. When she first joins the MWPSB, she’s a 17-year-old minor whose best friend (and probably first love) was dismembered by a latent criminal under the direction of a serial killer disguising himself as a teacher -- a trusted authority figure. She’s filled with guilt and self-loathing over her failure to act, and the easiest way for her to sort out her feelings and ensure the same thing doesn’t happen again is to harden herself to all latent criminals. Distrusting them, treating them as “other,” is her form of self-preservation. Yes, it makes her come across as mean, as closed-minded, as unlikable, but that’s not a bad thing. It’s good storytelling, and it presents her with plenty of potential for growth, which she is certainly given.

[Upon discovering that her best friend, fellow Oso Academy student Kagami Kawarazaki, has been murdered by Rikako Oryo, Mika breaks down in tears, blaming herself for the tragedy. This is the moment her distrust of latent criminals is solidified.]

But, unlike Ginoza (a 28-year-old adult man), over half the fandom decided that Mika was so awful, so totally unforgivable, such a “heinous cunt,” that they were unwilling to allow her the time and space to grow beyond her trauma and immaturity. But why? Is it because we’ve been taught to judge women, even fictional ones, based on a different set of criteria than men? I think the answer is obvious, and I urge fans who dislike Mika’s character with such intensity to seriously examine their reasoning. I don’t mean to say that she’s infallible (hardly) or that it’s wrong to dislike her. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and no one person’s take is more valid than another’s, but it’s definitely something to think about in the larger conversation that is media analysis.

Which brings me to Akane Tsunemori, someone who fits all the abovementioned criteria for a “likeable” female character. [Another note: I love Akane, and none of this is meant to disparage her. I am simply trying to point out that she’s a more easily digestible female when viewed through the patriarchal lens of pop culture.] She’s smart but not arrogant about it, strong-willed but never disagreeable, empathetic but not easily led by her emotions, and most importantly, she’s always kind to the fandom’s male faves. She is, in almost every way, trademark "Best Girl" material, and Mika is her foil (at least in PP2). She’s set up to be the anti-Akane, both in personality and narrative function. If Akane trusts someone, Mika doesn’t. If Akane wants to bend the rules, Mika is rigid in upholding them. If Akane isn’t afraid of clouding her Hue, Mika is downright terrified.

Though it’s never stated outright, she probably hoped her senior Inspector would serve as a mentor figure, yet we see none of that from Akane, who often abandons Mika to chase down seemingly wild leads and appears to be stuck in the past, yearning for the original Division 01. (Mika even says as much to Ginoza in a novelization of the first film.) On top of that, I think it’s important to remember that we’re predisposed to side with Akane, as she is both our POV protagonist *and* the hero of the narrative. We have unprecedented access to her private moments, motivations, and methodology. We know she means well and trust that her unconventional strategy will pay off in the end. Mika does not. All she knows is that her direct superior is habitually breaking the rules, overloading her team with what feels like excessive busywork, and ignoring the more bureaucratic side of the job in favor of unconventional/unsanctioned detective work. If I’m being perfectly honest, I would also be submitting concerned reports to my boss.

[When Akane blatantly disregards Sibyl's judgement of bomber Akira Kitazawa, talking him down from a Crime Coefficient of 302 to 299, Mika confronts her for putting both their colleagues and nearby civilians in danger. This later proves to be the right call, as Kitazawa attacks Inspector Risa Aoyanagi and escapes police custody.]

[While investigating Kirito Kamui, Akane keeps her suspicions/theories close to the chest, leaving Mika and the rest of Division 01 in the dark as to her game plan.]

[Although Akane's decision to entrust Hinakawa with all 185 Halos proves to be the right one, it's understandable why Mika is taken aback by her placing so much responsibility on a single subordinate -- especially one with Hinakawa's history.]

Now, that’s not to say Mika’s feelings about Akane are purely altruistic. She’s definitely jealous of her senior Inspector and resents her standing within the Bureau, which makes her behave in ways both petty and vindictive. But I’d argue that this, too, is understandable, if not wholly forgivable, when viewed through Mika’s eyes. Picture this: You’re the youngest-ever recruit to a highly coveted position. You follow protocol to a T, are deferential to your superiors, and show a genuine aptitude for the job. Even your callousness toward the Enforcers (again, your childhood best friend was butchered by a latent criminal) is in accordance with Sybil’s will. Shitty, yes, but standard for someone raised within the Orwellian hellscape of 2100s Japan. And yet, everyone around you prefers your senior Inspector. Your subordinates defer to her when you’re the officer in charge (Hinakawa) and even help her game the system (Ginoza). The Chief tells you you’re boring, but displays obvious favoritism toward her. This severely harms your self-esteem and colors the way you interact with everyone around you. After all, it’s hard to feel like a valued member of the team when you’re being undermined and lectured at every turn. This doesn’t excuse Mika’s behavior, and if she didn’t evolve, I might understand some of the hate, but she does evolve. Spectacularly. She’s just not Akane, and that’s okay.

[While dealing with the hostage situation in PP2, Mika notices Hinakawa working on something off to the side. When she confronts him about it, he admits that he's acting on Akane's orders, even though Mika is technically the officer in charge.]

[A similar incident occurs in Sinners of the System: Case. 1, when Ginoza shoots down Mika's (admittedly ridiculous) plan, which she interprets as him once again siding with Akane over her.]

Again, this is good storytelling at work, and you can acknowledge that these two women are diametrically opposed and still appreciate -- hell, even like -- both of them for the well-written characters they are. After all, most Psycho-Pass fans like both Kougami and Ginoza in PP1 despite their many differences, not to mention the fact that Ginoza is (and I say this with love) a giant asshole. Let’s not forget, he was *this close* to microwaving Kougami at Chief Kasei’s behest. You can tell yourself he wouldn’t have, but are you sure? Are you really sure? But we forgive him, because he’s a man. Anyway, back to Akane and Mika. For reasons I’ll never understand, many fans find it borderline impossible to love two women with beef, whether it’s one-sided or mutual. There can only be one Best Girl, and everyone better be on her team. It reminds me of the Sansa vs. Daenerys discourse that gripped the Game of Thrones fandom in its last few seasons. This is doubly ridiculous in Psycho-Pass’s case, because Akane and Mika come to trust, respect, and depend on each other. But people decided to hate this 19-year-old forever, so none of that matters.

[Notice how Ginoza's gaze narrows ominously in the last frame, suggesting he might actually have pulled the trigger, thereby killing his best friend, had Akane not intervened.]

Now, let’s return to my earlier point about certain fans irrationally hating any female character they deem unworthy of their blorbo, husbando, etc. This is where Parasocial Relationships become extremely interesting. As mentioned above, Ginoza is my favorite character in Psycho-Pass, which I think is pretty common. While I myself have never been one for self-insertion or creating OCs to pair with my favorite characters, I understand that it’s a popular trend, and if you enjoy it, more power to you. It becomes problematic, however, when those who engage in self-shipping/OC-shipping decide to collectively gang up on the female character creators have paired (or hinted at pairing) with the object of their affection. Enter GinoMika. Now, I know what you’re thinking -- “But Mika’s a lesbian!” I don’t necessarily agree. Do I think she was in love with her best friend at Oso Academy? Yes. Do I think she had a crush on Yayoi at the beginning of PP2? Yes. Do I also think it’s obvious she currently has feelings for Ginoza, which have been steadily growing since Sinners of the System? Absolutely. For this reason, I interpret her as being both bisexual and demisexual. But that’s beside the point --

The point is that many Ginoza fans who ship him with themselves, their OCs, or Akane (remember, she’s Best Girl) seem to enjoy trashing on Mika like it’s an Olympic sport. And when I say “trashing,” I don’t mean your normal yet still disappointing level of ship nonsense; I mean unhinged, violent rhetoric that makes me feel like the Internet is a place where women can never win. And why? Because she was mean to him when she first started working for the MWPSB? As if he was oh-so-kind to the Enforcers who worked under him. I seem to recall him screaming at his father and threatening to “make him pay” for visiting his sick wife without permission. Oh, and then there was the time he introduced Akane to her new colleagues by telling her, “Don’t think that the guys you’re about to meet are humans like us.” But yes, Mika once told him that she didn’t want his opinion as a latent criminal, which is so much worse. And before you can say that she’s still a bitch to him, let me point out that she is a textbook tsundere. That’s how she flirts, shows affection, etc. She can never come right out and say what she means, because that would make her vulnerable. But she can surreptitiously tell Ginoza he better come back alive by insisting he return her special Dominator. You know, because it would be a real hassle if she had to replace that thing.

[The language Ginoza uses when introducing Akane to the Enforcers, including his own best friend and father, is deeply dehumanizing.]

[When Aoyanagi takes Masaoka to visit his estranged wife, Ginoza reacts with explosive anger, reprimanding his father in front of their colleagues and threatening to retaliate should he do it again.]

Which brings us, at long last, to the male portion of the fandom. While many female fans like to call Mika out for her more negative character traits, completely ignoring any and all growth she’s experienced since PP2, male fans tend to direct their anger, dislike, etc. in a much more aggressive manner. I wish I was exaggerating when I say that I’ve seen multiple posts praying for Mika’s rape and subsequent murder. You can’t dive into a single “Season 4 Wish List” thread without finding at least one person wishing extreme ill on Mika Shimotsuki. It's pure misogyny, classic “I’ll fuck the bitch right out of her” rhetoric, and it has no place in this fandom or any other. You would never see a male character being talked about in these terms. Consider this: There’s more fan fiction featuring Mika being raped or coerced into sex by her tormentor, Sakuya Togane, than her having a positive, consensual experience with any other character. Love her or hate her, that is extremely fucked up. We as a fandom need to do better, because once this type of misogyny can be weaponized against fictional characters, it becomes much easier to use against real people. Fan culture, though it might seem trivial, says a lot about us and our values.

[This is just a sampling of the comments you'll find on Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, and other social media sites.]

That said, I’d like to end this essay on a more positive note, so let’s take a look at all the ways in which Mika has become a better, more compassionate human being over the course of the series...

By PP3, she shows obvious concern for her Enforcers, values their opinions, and treats them like integral members of her team. In an especially cute scene, she even fist-bumps Tenma Todoroki after they work seamlessly to defeat Koichi Azusawa’s henchmen. She also makes a point to attend the party thrown in the Enforcers’ quarters, as she now longs to be part of the gang -- a gang she would have actively shunned in PP2.

[During First Inspector, Mika shows time and again that she's willing to work with and for her Enforcers.]

[As Chief, Mika realizes that Enforcers deserve respect and gratitude from their superiors. They are no longer dogs to her.]

[In PP2, Mika tells Ginoza she doesn't care what the Enforcers think of her. By PP3, however, we see her display concern that her team might find her dull. She wants to be liked and accepted by them.]

She becomes far more flexible with her co-workers, allowing Inspectors Arata Shindo and Kei Mikhail Ignatov plenty of freedom to conduct investigations as they see fit. Yes, she consistently scolds them (textbook tsundere behavior), but this is done in a manner far more humorous than anything else. We know she actually trusts them and has their best interests at heart; she just can’t bring herself to say it aloud. She also repeatedly takes heat from Chief Hosorogi on their behalf and is genuinely worried for Arata when it seems like Sibyl might “eliminate” him. The palpable relief on her face when she finds out he’s allowed to remain an Inspector speaks volumes.

[Throughout PP3, Mika allows Kei and Arata to play to their individual strengths, even if it means bending the rules -- something she would never have done in PP2 or the first film.]

[Just look at that excited face. No caption necessary.]

She goes out of her way to make sure the immigrant prostitutes saved by religious leader Joseph Auma are protected following his death. This is an especially big deal, since many of these individuals are latent criminals, and Mika is forced to ask her newfound nemesis, Frederica Hanashiro, for a favor in order to secure their safety. When she tries to pretend it’s no big deal, Frederica calls her bluff by pointing out that no one would stoop to asking someone they hate for help in order to protect people whose fates they don’t care about.

[Even though Mika detests Frederica, she puts the well-being of the immigrants before her own pride.]

In Sinners of the System: Case. 1, her distrust of latent criminals is permanently altered after dealing with Izumi Yasaka, whom she works tirelessly to rescue and comes to view as brave, capable, and worthy of reintegration into society. She also displays genuine concern for and lack of discrimination toward Takeya Kukuri, the young son of a latent criminal, and is horrified to discover that the latent criminal inmates at Sanctuary are being used as disposable tools to move nuclear waste canisters.

[Sinners of the System: Case. 1 marks a decided shift in the way Mika views latent criminals. Instead of lumping them all together, she begins to see them as individuals who deserve basic human rights.]

[Even though Mika is unable to save all the latent criminals at Sanctuary, she does everything in her power to ensure Yasaka and Takeya walk away clean.]

When Enforcer Mao Kisaragi turns out to be the “fox within the CID,” Mika and the rest of Division 01 are united in supporting her claim of innocence. Mika trusts (without concrete proof, mind you) that she’s telling the truth about being an unwitting accomplice, something she never would have done in PP2 or even the first film.

[While the old Mika would have been the first person to distrust Kisaragi, here we see her standing up for the beleaguered Enforcer.]

She comes to respect Division 01 (Akane, Ginoza, Sugo, Hinakawa, Kunizuka, and Shion), views them as a surrogate family, and misses them once their unit is disbanded. In Sinners of the System: Case. 3, Frederica Hanashiro, who temporarily worked as part of their unit, says, “CID Division 01… They’re not just capable; they have a rare teamwork that overcomes the barrier between Inspectors and Enforcers.” Yes, this is mostly due to Akane’s guiding influence, but it’s clear Frederica is talking about the whole team. It’s taken Mika years to get there, but she is now definitely part of the group, not a jealous outsider looking in. In fact, even Mika’s obvious dislike of Frederica in PP3 is a clear result of this affection. After finally finding a place to belong, she feels as though Frederica swooped in and stole her found family, leaving her right back where she started -- on the outside.

[Though she'll never admit it, Mika views Ginoza as both a mentor and a friend. When he leaves the PSB to join SAD/MOFA, she misses having him around.]

[During her lowest moment in PP2, a jealous Mika actually hopes that Akane's Hue will darken. In Sinners of the System: Case. 2, she pleads with her to take her own safety more seriously. It's clear a big change has occurred in the intervening years.]

[Instead of feeling constant competition with Akane, by PP3, Mika is finally able to give her her due. It's clear they trust and respect each other despite their many differences.]

She’s grown from an immature young woman who couldn’t bring herself to take responsibility for her failures -- most notably her involvement in Akane’s grandmother’s murder -- to a responsible PSB Chief who holds herself accountable for anything that goes wrong with her Inspectors and Enforcers. This is most evident in her reaction to Koichi Azusawa taking control of Nona Tower and subsequently endangering the lives of MWPSB faculty and agents. We first see inklings of this change near the end of PP2, when Kunizuka tells Mika she’ll never forgive the person who gave up Aoi Tsunemori’s location, and Mika responds in kind. It’s clear that she’s not merely parroting a response to save her own skin but is deeply troubled and filled with regret over her own actions.

[In PP2, Mika is constantly blaming others for her mistakes. By First Inspector, she's owning mistakes she didn't even make.]

[Mika trusts her team so much, she's willing to put her job on the line.]

[Although Mika doesn't come clean to Kunizuka about her role in Aoi Tsunemori's death, it's clear she’s haunted by it. Later, when she confesses the truth to Ginoza, he admits to feeling a similar guilt over the way he treated his late father, telling Mika they'll have to bear their respective shame silently for the rest of their lives.]

And lastly, I believe the biggest example of Mika's growth can be found in what is arguably her most important relationship -- the one she shares with Ginoza. Whether you view them as mentor/mentee, begrudging friends, potential love interests, or all three, you can't deny that they have one of the most interesting and entertaining dynamics in the series. As mentioned above, when Mika first meets Ginoza, she views him as a cautionary tale. His demotion from Inspector to Enforcer is her worst nightmare, something that could conceivably happen to her, though she'll never admit it. Because of this, she treats him with hostility, disregarding his opinions and shunning his advice. But the longer they work together, the more we realize that Ginoza brings out the best in Mika -- and vice-versa. His calm, cool demeanor tempers her fiery spirit, and her enthusiasm makes him feel like he still has a purpose. By the time PP3 rolls around, he's become her #1 confidant, the person she calls whenever she has intel to share, grievances to air, etc. And you can't deny that Mika is the one person who makes Ginoza funny. Their flirtatious banter is genuinely charming and shows the softer, more human side of both their characters.

[Given her history with latent criminals, Mika refuses to listen to Ginoza, even when he's coming from a place of experience and genuinely trying to help her.]

[After working together for several years, Mika learns to value Ginoza's opinion and even feels proud when he compliments her.]

[During the Sanctuary case, Ginoza admits to both Akane and himself that being an Enforcer isn't so bad, as long as Mika is the one calling the shots. He knows she has a good heart, and working for her reminds him why he joined the MWPSB in the first place.]

[Notice how Mika's body language changes from PP2 to Sinners of the System. She now looks at Ginoza with appreciation and, in certain instances, affection. The fact that he views her the same way speaks volumes about how far their relationship has come.]

If you made it to the end of this mammoth post, thank you for sticking with me. Hopefully, we can all treat Mika with a little more patience, kindness, and respect when PP4 arrives.

108 notes · View notes

loveandmurders · 1 year

Note

hi hope you are having a nice day , i have a tiny request michael myers from rob zombie film x female s/o that used date Michael before he kill his family and when he escape from smith groove he found that the reader was a single mother ?:0

Hello darling! It's been a while you requested this and I'm sorry about that! I really hope you'll enjoy <3

I slightly changed the request as baby Michael and reader weren't dating yet.

I kept the gender of reader's child neutral and they are unnamed.

Female reader with no physical description.

Warnings: mentions of murders, mentions of a bad relationship witht the father of your child, a few strong words, mentions of poverty and unhappy life, mentions of Michael's anger and lack of empathy/feelings, mention of Michael as an abused child, stalking, breaking in

Michael perfectly remembered you, despite all those years apart from one another. With his baby sister and his mother, you were the person he loved the most. You were his best friend, and he knew that deep down, one day his affection would turn into more than friendship. But he snapped and killed his family and was sent away from you before you two, kids, could become teenagers and fall in love with each other.

Despite your strong bond, you never thought he would kill his family, even if you knew what he did to his bully. But you were an innocent kid who just loved him and enjoyed creating universes together, so you could both pretend that everything was perfect.

Despite how much you loved him and how many times you asked his mother to take you with her for one of her visits to the asylum, Dr Loomis never allowed you inside the place. He was worried for you and he told your parents it was better if you stayed away from such a dangerous child. He wasn’t certain what kind of influence Michael had on you, but the truth was you were both bringing the best in each other. He was calmer and happier with you around, and you felt braver and more creative with him. You were certain that if his sister and father had let Michael celebrate Halloween with you, none of this would have happened. At least, it was what you were telling yourself. And once he was locked away, you couldn’t stop yourself from thinking how wrong it was to keep a child away from the people he loved; you knew Michaell truly needed your presence, even more once he lost his mother and found himself all alone.

Several times, you tried to come and see him as you grew up, because you weren’t the kind of person to let go so easily. And no matter what your parents could tell you about this “monster”, Michael was still someone you loved, and you were loyal to. All the guards at the asylum knew you but Dr. Loomis always found good excuses to keep you away.

A part of yourself knew your life would have been different if Michael had been by your side. For instance, you would have known better than hooking up with some shitty guy and then staying with him because you got pregnant. And abortion wasn’t an option back then.

You really loved your child though, you did, but you hated the life you had. It got even worse when your partner left you. You needed to work a lot because you didn’t have enough money for both your child and yourself, and your ex refused to give you anything. He just disappeared, probably having sex with other girls and not caring about anything. You liked to imagine how Michael would have killed him if he had been around. You were a little bit ashamed of those fantasies so you always tried to push them away. And you were trying your best, no matter the situation, because you wanted your baby to have a good childhood, not like the one Michael had.

And no matter what, Michael was still in your mind, and you hated when people were using his story to get some cash. You thought he deserved respect and understanding. Everyone thought he was a murderer; and yes he was. But he also was a victim. He was abused as a child, he was bullied too, and then you couldn’t imagine what happened to him in the asylum. You were certain that the isolation didn’t help his sanity, and all the awful things they must have said to him when he needed care and affection… You hoped he was doing okay, and you hoped one day you would be able to see him again.

You didn’t know Michael was out of the asylum the day you pushed two shitty journalists from his house. You yelled at them that it wasn’t their home, that they should be better than using such an awful story to make money. You were so angry, so ready to fight that the two people left, crumbling to each other that everyone was clearly insane in this town. You promised yourself to come by the house often during Halloween so you could keep the children away from here too. Michael was a really sensitive subject to you.

You didn’t know that you actually saved the journalists because Michael listened to you from the basement. Something inside of him sparkled with life. He knew he hadn’t been forgotten or hated by you, and it was a nice warm feeling spreading across his chest. He was barely feeling anything anymore, just pure rage and bloodlust. But for the first time in a long time, he felt something positive.

He knew it was you, because he recognised the way your voice was raising up when you were calling out someone for an injustice they were causing. You were the same, back then, when kids were throwing rocks at a cat. He barely smiled behind his mask, half wondering why you never came by at the asylum during all those years, even if he could imagine it was because of Loomis.

He waited for you to leave the property too, and then he started to follow you. He saw you at your work, not really understanding what you were doing, but he could tell you weren’t particularly enjoying yourself. A part of himself wondered where all your dreams went in the years. But just like his, they disappeared as you grew up. Life wasn’t as happy as you thought when you were children. He still recognised the same strength inside of you, the same glistening goodness, the same kind intelligence. It brought back some happy memories to his mind, as he continued to stalk you. He tilted his head to the side when he saw you picking up a young kid from a house. He heard you gently talking to the child as you were hugging them and cuddling them against your chest. The kid was giggling and kissing your cheek, happily snuggling against you as their little arms were wrapped around your neck. You softly put them in your car, safely settled them, before driving home.

Michael found his way there as well.

As you arrived at home, the news that Michael had escaped was on all the channels of your television. You didn’t know he was observing you from the living room window, and he noticed you didn’t seem afraid. He swore he even read on your lips saying something like “Good for you, Micky”. You kept watching the TV a little longer before you got up and put your child to bed. You went out of Michael’s line of vision as you grabbed your kid and climbed upstairs with them in your arms. You tucked them into their bed and opened a book to read them their bedtime story. No matter how exhausted you were, you needed to take care of them the best you could. Even if their father was gone and was refusing to pay for his child, it was going to be alright, you promised it to yourself and your baby.

You fell asleep with your child but when you woke up, you saw a man standing in front of you. You jumped and instinctively moved in front of your baby to protect them. You tried to find a weapon, but there was nothing in your child’s room. And the masked man was so tall and carrying a kitchen knife. You didn’t think it was Michael.

“Please, leave my baby out of this. If you want to hurt me, do it somewhere else” you begged. Michael tilted his head to the side as he tried to watch past you the sleeping form of the child.

He slowly reached for his mask and lifted it long enough for you to see his face. His expression was blank but you recognised his eyes and his features. Your eyes widened.

“Micky?” you whispered and he put the mask back on as a way to positively answer your question.

You slowly moved closer to him, so surprised he was there after all those years, but also so happy he was finally back to you.

“You won’t hurt me, right?” you asked, even though you couldn’t imagine how your childhood best friend could do you any kind of harm. He slightly shook his head, and you fully relaxed.

“I’m so sorry I haven’t been able to come see you, you know. Loomis never let me. But I never forgot about you.” you whispered to him as you reached for the hand that wasn’t holding the knife, so he wouldn’t believe you were trying to sweet talk to him to disarm him.

He let you touch him before putting the knife away and his now free hand reached for your face and hair. You smiled up at him.

“I’m glad you came by, that you didn’t forget about me either. Hope you didn’t break down my door completely though” you half joked “You know you could have rung and I would have opened the door to you” you teased as you were feeling quite at ease with him. He simply shrugged but you could tell he was listening and enjoying the sound of your voice and your cheekiness. No one had talked to him that way in years, like a human being, like someone you can be relaxed with, like someone you enjoy.

"You’re tall now" you giggled, and his silence was disturbing you but you knew he must have gone through a lot of stuff during all those years. And it was going to be alright because you were going to take care of him, like he was going to be there for you and your baby, you knew it.

“This is my baby” you whispered as you let Michael see your child “The father is an asshole who left us but it’s life I guess” you added as Michael’s attention went back on you. He came a little bit closer to your kid, to have a better look at them before reaching to very softly pet their head. You smiled as you watched this sweet interaction. You carefully grabbed his hand again and you gently tugged him away from your child’s room so you both settled in your living room.

“You hungry or anything?” you asked Michael as he was sitting down on the couch but he shook his head and simply brought you closer to him. He awkwardly hugged you and you hugged him back, your head on his shoulder.

“You can stay here as long as you want and you can come back whenever you want too. I won’t call the cops on you and I hope you’ll be able to get revenge on Loomis.” You whispered and his hold tightened on you. He felt like he was finally home, especially with you in his arms. You had so many questions you wanted to ask, but for now, silence was alright and you were feeling safe enough to close your eyes and snuggled in his embrace.

“Promise me you’ll be careful and you won’t let them take you back” you whispered as you were about to fall asleep. Michael simply removed his mask and pressed his lips against the top of your head, as a silent promise that, yes, he would never leave you again.

Taglist:

@feathery-ass

@g0thl3zz

@erasable-mustache

#hallloween #halloween rob zombie #halloween x you #halloween x reader #halloween imagine #michael myers x y/n #michael myers x you #michael myers x reader #michael myers imagine #slasher x reader #slasher x you #slasher #slasher x s/o #slasher x y/n #michael myers x s/o #michael myers rz

392 notes · View notes

ultrone · 9 months

Note

Can you describe the dynamics of jackienat?

I know it is not naty bully jackie and jackie start crying like people are characterizing it in their fic.

ofc 😁 i can write some bullet points on the way i see it

keep in mind that i haven’t had time to rewatch the show so maybe some details might be off lmaoo if there's anything i forgot to add u can lmk

i honestly don’t think they’d bully each other at all 😭 i see that more as a headcanon. i know that many people like to think that since nat is an “outcast” and jackie is the stereotypical popular blonde girl, they would pick on each other and stuff, but i disagree. although they do fit those stereotypes in terms of looks, that doesn't necessarily dictate their actions lmaoo.

on the show, you can see that most of the times that jackie was portrayed as a brat or an asshole was through shauna's perspective/narration or when she was calling everybody out for doing weird shit, like when the girls almost killed travis and then pretended that it didn't happen.

the one time i remember jackie being actually mean was when she lashed out and called nat a slut for sleeping with travis instead of getting food, which obviously was wrong because she was in fact mean, but haven’t we all lashed out at someone at some point? that doesn't mean u're a bad person 😭 this explains it more in-depth.

and in general, regardless of jackie's stubborn attitude when adjusting to the wilderness, you can see that she's a very nice person. for example, it's evident when she helped misty put on makeup and told her that she deserves to be loved, or when she gave her last piece of food to shauna cuz she was feeling sick. not only that, but most people also acknowledge that she's a nice person. for instance, when the girls were talking about excluding allie, someone said not to tell jackie about it, probably because she wouldn't be cool with doing that. the coach chose her as the team captain because she influences and motivates people. and when shauna noticed jackie's stubborn behavior after the crash and gave her the pep talk, she said, and i quote, that she “makes people feel like things are gonna be okay just by showing up, and her dumb hot awesome self" lmaoo 😭 that should be enough proof.

as for nat, i have nothing to say other than i think we can all agree with the fact that even though she puts up this strong and aloof facade, on the inside, she's very sweet and caring. despite being labeled as the "outcast" who engages in drugs, drinks, and possibly breaks the rules, it doesn't mean that she's a bully or anything of that sort. most of the times i recall her being mean or acting like an asshole were when she was defending herself because someone else had picked on her first. for instance, when tai would tease her about her addictions or when she threw the alcohol bottle at those guys who were teasing her and her friends, or during that fight with jackie, that jackie started. i know there might be other instances where she lashed out first, but i honestly don't remember right now 😭 nonetheless, i think y'all get what i'm trying to get at lmaoooo. i also don't think she'd bully anyone because she's just not that type of resentful outcasted bitch LMAOO. a proof of this is that she was always against the plan of excluding allie—and then confronted shauna about it at the bonfire when everyone started arguing 🥊🥊 my girl might be bold and blunt but she's mad chill and don't even argue with me about that 🙄

WITH THAT BEING SAID, taking all those things into account, i don't think either of them would bully the other for no reason, as they're not the type of people to go around bullying others for fun. just because nat is your stereotypical alternative rule breaker and jackie is your stereotypical hot popular girl, it's not a good enough reason to believe that they would bully each other.

NOW, let's talk about their relationship.

the initial interactions we witness between them, occurring both in the pilot and throughout the show, involve nat bringing some sense into jackie lmaoo. for instance, in the pilot, when jackie mentioned that allie's wound "might not be as bad as it looks," nat responded, "you could see her fucking bones, jackie." this highlights nat's unwillingness to indulge in jackie's optimistic—and perhaps slightly naive—outlook and shows her straightforward and blunt nature. so, right from the first episode, we start to see the contrast in their personalities.

then, the first direct interaction that we see between them is jackie telling her, "nat, i love that you don't care what anybody thinks, and you're so completely yourself." instead of viewing her as an outcast or teasing her due to her addictions like others do, jackie admires how she doesn't care about people's opinions, probably because jackie herself does care about what others think.

i don't recall seeing many (if any) deep conversations between jackie and nat that highlight their friendship more in-depth out in the wilderness. however, one thing i know for sure is that by the last episodes of the first season, jackie and nat are pretty much the only two team members not buying into lottie's beliefs. even if they did argue and have disagreements, what would have happened if nat had been present in the cabin during jackie and shauna's fight? in my opinion, nat would've definitely defended jackie. i know that there might've been some recent resentment toward jackie cuz she slept with travis the night before, but they share a similar perspective regarding not worshiping lottie, and we know about nat's blunt and outspoken nature, which contrasts with jackie's. nat would've seen jackie struggling without anyone defending her and would certainly voice her thoughts, especially when jackie confronted everyone about nearly killing travis, because nat would've agreed with her. not only that, but she could've even defended her from shauna. although it's technically none of her business, shauna was clearly coming at jackie out of jealousy, and even admitted that she slept with jeff and was pregnant with his baby. not a single person called shauna out on it, letting it slide due to their resentment toward jackie for calling them out on their weird-ass behaviour, but nat wasn't being blinded by that, because she didn't believe in that bs. i just know that nat wouldn't have let that slide. she would've shut shauna's and mari's ass in record time and left the cabin with jackie.

and nat was literally the only one who buried jackie's remains when no one else would, not even shauna, who was consumed by guilt for what happened to jackie.

if nat had intervened, jackie might probably still be alive, and we could've seen more of their friendship. perhaps they would've grown closer or formed an alliance of some sort, but i guess we'll never know 😔

#𓏲 📨 ࣪˖ inbox #yellowjackets' thoughts 💭#jackie taylor thoughts #nat scatorccio thoughts #jackienat #jackienat thoughts #jackie taylor and nat scatorccio #nat scatorccio and jackie taylor

69 notes · View notes

impishtubist · 1 year

Text

pureblood mating dances

Okay, so, I tried to bully a fic out of @oxydiane, who then requested something in return from me: a ficlet set in the Courtship Rituals universe.

This is pure crack, and I do not claim that it is good. Also, credit must go to @/quietlemonhush and @/second-sister for helping me with some of this, but I won’t tag them directly to spare them the ridiculousness of this fic.

Your move, @oxydiane :)

----

“Sirius,” Harry whispers frantically, “Sirius, what is he doing?”

It’s only his second Christmas living with Sirius, so he knows there’s still a lot yet for him to learn. Sirius has been exceedingly patient with him, explaining the ins and outs of Pureblood society. For instance, it’s expected that Sirius, as head of the House of Black and member of the Wizengamot and the sacred Twenty-Eight, throw a Winter Ball each year for the upper echelons of wizarding society. Sirius has to invite everyone, even the Malfoys, whom he and Harry both despise.

This year, Harry’s been allowed to invite his boyfriend, Cedric, and Cedric’s parents. Cedric went through the Courtship Rituals with Harry last year--another element of Pureblood society that Harry knew nothing about--and they’ve been dating since then.

But right now, Cedric is in the middle of the makeshift dance floor in Grimmauld Place’s library, performing an elaborate…dance. All the guests have cleared to the edges of the dance floor, all one-hundred-and-six of them, and they’re watching the dance with rapt attention. Rapt attention that Harry isn’t sure it deserves. He’s not even sure it can be called dancing. Cedric is sliding, shuffling, wobbling across the dance floor, his hips moving in ways that look downright painful.

“It’s a mating dance,” Sirius murmurs to him, his eyes locked on Cedric.

“It’s a what?”

“It’s part of the Courtship Rituals,” Remus says gently, resting a hand on Harry’s shoulder. “Now that you’ve been dating for a while and Cedric thinks this relationship might be long-lasting, he’s asking Sirius for permission to--”

“Yes, alright,” Harry hisses, his face flaming. A mating dance. “And everyone has to watch this, do they?”

“Well, yes, that’s the point. Cedric has to ask permission in front of all of wizarding society,” Remus says. “Otherwise it wouldn’t count.”

“Not bad, not bad at all,” Sirius murmurs, eyes still glued to Cedric. “A bit sloppy in places, but the spirit is there. What do you think, Harry?”

“What do I think? It’s awful, Sirius!” Harry whispers frantically. “Does he have to do this in front of everybody? Does he have to do this at all? Make him stop!”

“He’s almost done,” Sirius says, and mercifully, the dance does draw to a close, with Cedric shimmying over to Harry and then landing at Harry’s feet on his knees. He beams up at Harry, and Harry tries to smile back.

“Excellent!” Sirius proclaims, and applause erupts around the room. “Harry?”

“Well,” Harry says weakly, “I think I just found my new Boggart.”

----

Here’s a bird mating dance video, for no reason whatsoever:

youtube

#hedric #wolfstar #imp is writing #harry potter #cedric diggory #sirius black #remus lupin #wolfstar raising harry

241 notes · View notes

comicaurora · 1 year

Note

I don't wanna stick my head into an ongoing argument especially as a non-artist but it frustrated me how quickly you got dismissed out of hand despite. Idk. Also being a content creator and artist who relies on people seeing and engaging with your work, both with Aurora and OSP

I was not expecting a full adult blogger whose posts I like and respect to publicly dunk on me for things I did not say and opinions I do not hold because my two-sentence post about something unrelated pinged the little "this is about me so I am justified to scold" sensor, and I was not expecting them to double down into condescension, and then I was further disappointed to conclude that they probably blocked me, because my two attempts at reblogging with a de-escalation and apology vanished into the tumblr error dimension and I didn't have it in me to rewrite the whole thing a third time.

Tumblr's reading comprehension is poor for sure, but I think the larger problem is how the platform is optimized for sweeping statements to be read as intensely personal. If a generalized statement crosses my dash that could be read as in some way negative or dismissive of me or an identity I hold, it's easy to feel like there's nothing in the world but me and that poster purposefully sniping at me personally. If that were the reality, maybe it would be fine for me to retaliate. But the fact is, that poster doesn't know me, the post is presumably about what it says it's about, and reading farther into it would require context it's impossible for me to know.

In this case, for instance, this person doesn't seem to know anything about me, so they don't know that I am myself an artist, that I know a little something about building an audience, and that I enjoy having a platform that enables me to draw attention to lesser-known but extremely high quality work. Instead, they saw my flippant two-post "kinda rude and entitled when this very specific rude thing happens" and decided I was an ignorant child who needed schooling because I was being rude and dismissive to the struggles of them and theirs.

I know why this happens. Tumblr, for all its size, feels intensely personal. It feels significantly worse when it actually GETS personal, like their responses were to me. Their post makes good points and I'm glad it's raising awareness for lesser-known artists and workers in need of support, but I don't enjoy being turned into a strawman and paraded for ridicule, especially by someone whose experience on this platform runs deeper than mine. Frankly, I expected them to be experienced enough to be kind.

It feels very shitty, obviously. Like many neurodivergent people - not to play that card, but, ya know - I am very, very used to being misunderstood and then bullied or ridiculed for whatever misinterpretation is funniest or sounds the snappiest for a crowd. I am prone to overexplaining to avoid this - in case this post didn't make that obvious already. Of course, overexplaining is not a healthy solution and it doesn't even work. It took me a very long time to even begin to accept that ultimately I had no control.

The conclusion I eventually came to, after years of trying to find the perfect way to comport myself so I would never, ever be hurt in this way again, is that there is no way to do that. People can always choose to read you in the most uncharitable way possible, to disregard your personhood and turn you into a posterboy for whatever crack or hot take they want to use you for. However, the flawed premise I was operating under was that, if I failed to be 100% understood, I would deserve whatever shittiness followed because I had failed to prevent it.

And I don't. Nobody does, ever. Pain is not a thing made okay by deserving. I understand why they reacted the way they did to me, but what they did was wrong. It was unnecessarily cruel and harsh and it came unprovoked. I feel bad right now because someone hurt me because they thought it was morally righteous to do so, and even if I didn't comport myself flawlessly and beyond reproach, I didn't deserve to be hurt.

So I feel shitty right now, but I managed to have a nice evening regardless and hopefully I can digest this bad mood fast enough that I stop dreading checking my notes. Thanks to the people who unprompted sent me cute pet pics.

#asks #not aurora #personal

255 notes · View notes

theloganator101 · 1 year

Note

Vent Ask anon is here again! Hello 👋

I have another vent for you in regard to Hori's writing. Something I've seen both you and @mikeellee speak about is how Hori loves his abuser characters. I've noticed this too and I hate it.

Two main examples of this for me stick out.

Bakuguo and Endeavor.

But I'll talk about some other (dis)honorable examples of this at the end.

First Bakugou Katsuki (kind of controversial to label him as an abuser) however with the severity of the bullying dealt to Izuku and the length of time he dealt it - that's abuse. And yet:

He is favoured by the narrative

Izuku is never allowed to think negatively of him or grow out of his mindset of "Kacchan is the best"

Bkg has characters that exists as a 'simp' for him in Izuku, Kaminari and Kirishima.

He has friends despite treating no one with respect, screaming at everyone and giving everyone degrading nicknames.

Said "best friend" Kirishima hates bullies and somehow can't see his "manly" best friend is one.

He is favored by the 'hardass' homeroom teacher since Aizawa is a favored mouthpiece of Hori

He is deemed a prodigy of 1A despite his only prior experience to UA being beating up others who couldn't fight back - which implies nothing good. How severe did he beat Izu and others up to get that good?

All Might thinks well of him despite Bakugou berating and beating up Izuku as well as berating the past OFA holders. (As soon as Bkg did that AM should have kicked him straight out of the OFA talks.)

The apology scene and the 1A vs Izuku scene were all there to act as a gotcha moment to the Anti-Bakugou fans and put him back in Izuku's story.

Yet why does Bakugou have to be in Izuku's story? He adds nothing. He contributes nothing. He is a parasite on Izuku's life. And Izuku is FAR more interesting as a character and would have been allowed to shine if he were allowed to be away from Bakugou - But Hori can't allow that!

Second Endeavor - I hate him. He began the story as an irredeemable trash father, the dark side of heroics yet Hori has now attempted D worthy "atonement" narrative.

He is favored by the narrative

He has a character that exists as a 'simp' for him in Hawks.

Rei is not allowed to think negatively of him despite how he ruined her mental state, physically and (implied SA'd her depending on the reading of the manga - why is Hori giving an implied rapist a redemption arc?)

Only realised his wrongdoings when he got the position he wanted in being the Number 1 hero and realised it was empty. (Fucking laughable, he didn't see it when Touya grew unstable, when Rei burnt Shoto or when Touya supposedly DIED. How am I meant to believe this guy deserves a redemption?)

No hero / hero in training outside the Todoroki's is allowed to say a bad word about him. Hawks acts now as his simp despite his abusive childhood and Jeanist is joining Hawks in helping support an abuser while giving off strong abuse apologist vibes... This leads me to my next point-

Endeavor remains the number 1 hero despite being outed as an Domestic Abuser... What the fuck? I thought being a hero is meant to be more than about power HORI? That was the message at the start of MHA! If it's just about power now - why not let All for One rule and be the number 1!

Then there's the issue with how the rest of the family, primarily Dabi and Rei are handled - Hori's retcons. Smacking Rei for not watching Touya and separating Shoto from his siblings to keep him away from 'dangerous' Touya who attempted to kill him as a baby. But there's also the instances with Fuyumi not understanding Touya and Natsuo telling Touya to tell Fuyumi about his problems because he needs to sleep. These instances exist solely to shift the blame off Endeavor for the established abusive behaviour he committed by showing the other family members had some fault for their circumstamces. That's it. There's no other reason to any of those instances being there.

Some fans claim that there is complexity in abusive situations which is why those scenes (in the above bullet point) are there and that does exist in real life but this is a Shonen Manga. Authorial intent needs to be considered. Subjects like this needs to be handled sensitively and while not leaving any room for doubt (especially when the audience/readers are young children/teens) who is at fault. The fact that Hori muddles the water like this (just take a look at any of the E stans takes on Rei or Touya) isn't good. AT ALL.

Shoto. Endeavor's "atonement" led to Shoto being shafted as a character and powerful in his own right so so bad. There's something so wrong about this. The victim should ALWAYS remain the focus of their story especially their recovery and telling of it.

There's also the fact that Endeavor's victims are so so much more interesting than him. Shoto is a main character and he's great - give me more of him. Give me more Rei, Dabi/Touya, Natsuo and Fuyumi, their mindsets would be so much more interesting to see than Endeavor's "change" the majority of which occurred in his own head.

Now for the quick fire dishonorable mentions.

Overhaul. A piece of trash truly, yet he appears in MHA once again as an willing 'accomplise' to Nagant and broken man. He is also asked if he would like to apologise to Eri by Izuku. Like no. This man deserves nothing, in fact he deserves Shiggy to decay the rest of him. He added nothing to the Nagant arc and there was no need for him to be there. Other than to be someone for Izuku to save which would have worked better being anyone else really.

All for One. Arguable, Hori at the very least doesn't try to shift the blame off of him. However he gets more focus than First and the rest of the OFA holders despite them being his biggest constant threat. AND despite Izuku (our narrator) being an OFA holder and seeing the other vestiges! Hori! Come on Hori! The opportunity to explore all the OFA holders was RIGHT THERE!

Shimura Kotaro - again arguable. However with the way the story treated his abuse to his family, the blame for his abuse seems to be shifted to Nana's abandonment of Kotaro for 'causing him to act that way.' Although he at least is such a minor character most fans seemed to think "wow fuck that guy" upon learning Shigaraki's backstory and moved on.

Your thoughts?

To give a proper response, I'll be talking about each of the characters you listed.

Bakugou: You're all right about this, at this point he literally has the narrative wrapped around his finger. He's the worst of what happens when you give a side character the screentime of a second major character but with no development. He serves no purpose to the plot and just serves to take away screentime to characters that could really use it to make them more important than they are now.

Endeavor: Yeah you pretty much hit the nails why this atonement doesn't work.

I would even like to add Fuyumi to this equation since she chose to forgive him so they could be a happy family. While I get what Hori's trying to convey and having multiple sides to this, but it just comes across as her invalidating Natsuo's feelings without trying to see it from his POV.

Hey Hori, your sexism is showing again by having the females in the family forgive your abuser with implications of r*pe.

And that isn't going into how Shoto is literally made into a plot device IN HIS OWN FUCKING ARC FOR ENDEAVOR'S ATONEMENT!!

Overhaul: Nothing much to say here.

AFO: Nothing here either.

Kotaro: Yeah this guy was a pos. And his family isn't any better by letting the abuse too. I will die defending Nana as she was only doing what she thought was best to protect her family and didn't have any say in the choices that led to her son being an abuser.

#bnha critical #mha critical #endeavor critical #anti katsuki bakugou #anti bakugo #anti bakugou #bakugo critical #bakugou critical

55 notes · View notes

faramirsonofgondor · 8 months

Text

I was rewatching 2x03 Do the Right-est Thing, and I do find it a little concerning how Ted just doesn’t actually step in for Jamie when they’re all ganging up on him?? Like he does his whole Led Tasso thing but I still feel like he should’ve spoken up before that. Especially when Sam sent him flying. Like I can understand that it’s training and that being injured is part of the sport but he fell so hard he flipped over??? Like he could’ve actually broken his collarbone or arm from landing like that. And then both Sam and Colin just sat there, taunted him, and walked away??? Like when Jamie is a dick to his teammates when they’re possibly injured, he gets benched. But when he two of his teammates taunt him when he could’ve been injured too, Ted literally says nothing??? And while in both situations, neither Sam nor Jamie were actually hurt, it seems so hypocritical to me?? Like Ted just constantly has double standards for Jamie.

I also feel like Sam tackling Jamie wasn’t the only time the team was overly aggressive with him during that training session. It kinda seems that they were taking out all their frustration on him until they reasonably couldn’t anymore (when Jamie stepped in and told Ted to knock it off). And I do understand Jamie was a complete dick in season 1 and does deserve to have some consequences for that but this is simply not it. Like half of the people who were mad at him were the people who were also behaving like dicks or siding with him in season 1. And even if they didn’t, it’s so fucking stupid for them to treat him the same way he treated him. Honestly giving people “ a taste of their own medicine” just comes off as immature and hypocritical to me most of the time. There are some instances where it actually makes sense but this isn’t one of them. Like you’re mad at him because he was a prick and a bully, so when he’s put in a position where he can’t push back at you, you decide to be a prick to him instead?

And while, yes, I do think that a lot of the responsibility of this comes down to the individuals on the team themselves, Ted (and the other coaches) had a responsibility to ensure that Jamie’s integration back on the team went smoothly. And they didn’t really try and do anything until the problems already started happening??? They should’ve had a talk with the team about Jamie coming back, and how it might be hard for them to do so, but they need to get it over it and be professionals. They didn’t to be nice to Jamie, they didn’t even need to talk to Jamie outside of training, but they decided to be pricks to him instead. I can understand having mixed feelings and being angry and resentful towards Jamie, but it shouldn’t be impacting their workplace relationship to the extent it did. I really hate how non confrontational Ted is when it comes to most problems, because he never actually gets to the root of the issue.

I’m not trying villainize any of the characters but sometimes they just do things and I want to grab them by the shoulders and shake them so hard.

Also side note but now I kinda want to read a fic where Jamie actually does get hurt from the tackle thing Sam does. It would be so interesting to see. There’s not enough fics out there written about the beginning of season 2 and all the dynamic between Jamie & the team before the Dubai Air protest.

#jamie tartt #ted lasso #sam obisanya #forgiveness #toxic workplace #toxic work environment #unhealthy power dynamics #power imbalance

31 notes · View notes

anti-spop · 28 days

Note

tumblr keeps showing me posts by that part of the fandom and

gotta love it when c//a stans try to take the moral high ground by talking like we're just poor tortured souls who have such sad lives that we are "incapable of forgiveness".

like,, first off, catra is a fictional character. disliking catra isn't the same as sending hate to a real person (which, surprise surprise, c//a stans do all the time). "trying to be better" i just know that if i ask this person how catra was trying to be better, they would say "she saved glimmer" or "she said she was working on her anger issues", completely ignoring the context behind both of these instances. catra wasn't trying to be better, that's why we dislike her arc. also "people who are in love" that's her sister

also most of us don't think that "catra doesn't deserve redemption", we're just saying that she doesn't deserve forgiveness. but it's almost as if they're ignoring that so they can continue putting on their "holier than thee" persona.

secondly, do they think that spop antis are just hunched in front of a computer all day, making tumblr posts? LMAO it takes like two seconds to type out a post. or just make a few posts in your free time and queue it. most anti blogs i've seen only posts like twice a day so idk what this person is on about.

anyway, sorry about the rant! this post just riled me up a little lol

do not harass the OP of the post in the image.

lmao, yeah. it's so hypocritical considering i've been grossly harassed and STALKED by a spop stan for merely stating i didn't like lonnie, even though i ALSO said that lonnie had potential and i would've liked to know more about her other than her bullying kyle. the same counts for catra. as i always say, i actually relate A LOT to her but i don't think catra should've been in a relationship with adora, and her redemption was so cheap. none of those opinions mean that i want catra to die a horrible death or whatever, contrary to stan belief.

and true, sometimes i may post more than usual on this blog but it's not like i spend 24/7 on my spop salt mode, lol. and i don't post only salt, sometimes i post silly regular spop stuff too. even then, i know i have more important things to care about, this is why this isn't even my main blog.

stans think we're pathetic idiots who care too much about a fictional show, but honestly, most of the time it's the opposite, it's stans calling you ableist, racist, homophobic/lesbophobic etc. for not looking at c//a or the show overall with rose-colored glasses.

#asks #long post #anti stans

16 notes · View notes

captain-hen · 28 days

Note

I think a lot is down to perception depending on who your favorite is, though. I've seen so many good posts on eddie and his character development, also people pointing out that buck hasn't even had a scene that wasn't related to eddie. So I kinda feel the opposite sometimes, some people only see buck as a love interest for eddie (even though... he has a girlfriend) and some people are annoyed at every bit of screentime he gets, it's exhausting and kinda sad. They're both main characters and deserve the screentime

i'm just gonna put the rest of this under a cut because it gets quite a bit negative:

it's not that people are annoyed at every bit of screentime buck gets—they're frustrated and upset after season 6, which was particularly bad in the way it focused on him. season 6 had roughly twelve or thirteen episodes where buck had something major going on. that's insane! that's more than what eddie and chimney combined had! i don't think any other 911 season which had a particular character at the focus was so unevenly distributed in terms of screentime. so, no, i don't agree, and i think it's perfectly reasonable for people to be annoyed and frustrated about this, especially when buck's arc wound up going in circles.

and btw, this is still an unpopular opinion. most people are thrilled that the 100th episode is named after buck and will likely focus on him. i saw way more instances of people being told to shut up and stop being upset about 7x04 being buck-centric, than i saw people complaining about it. when people point out that buck gets way too much screentime, they'll instantly be accused of being negative and buck stans will act like you're personally bullying oliver stark by saying this.

so, like, it's not in any way comparable to the way the buddie fandom consistently disrespects eddie's character and makes literally every aspect of him about buck. i'm not denying that there are still some really good posts about him that go around, but for the most part? ao3 is a hellscape. there are posts that will just invent things about eddie's character that never happened in canon for the sake of shipping. people are so resentful and weird about eddie dating someone, even though it's the only thing he has going on rn, and they're never this way about buck's love life.

like...this is just the way it is right now. and i doubt it's gonna get better.

#sorry to go off on a tangent lol #*captain holt voice* apparently that was a trigger for me #neethu answers #anon #seriously do not look under the read more if you don't want to see some pretty heavy critique of season 6 and the fandom #negativity

12 notes · View notes

crossroadsserpent · 8 months

Text

Rufus Junior "RJ" Firefly boyfriend headcanons.

(Gender neutral reader but I will be doing a nonbinary reader and a transmasc reader later on.)

I'm low key offended on how little RJ Firefly content there is, he's a big sweet guy and deserves all the love and attention. Please enjoy these headcanons for our favorite quiet bear man!

Warnings first!: fluff, smut?, cursing, violence, murder, mild bullying, Captain Spaulding (yes, that man need his own warning.), cute lovey moments (a warning for those who don't like romance.), honestly if you've seen House Of 1000 Corpses you know what to expect from this.

~~~~~

Rufus is a huge guy, 6'10" to be precise and built like a brick wall. That being said, he's actually the most kind and gentle out of the whole Firefly family. Literally the most gentle of giants.

He is very awkward about his size at first since you're so much smaller that him. He is so afraid he won't realize he's holding you too tight and you'll end up passing out... or worse (broken bones or dead.)

RJ is touch starved. The first time you hugged him you could feel his body tense up then relax.

He is very cautious about returning hugs at first, afraid of his own strength, but once you assured him you can handle it he hugs you all the time!

Speaking of hugs, he gives the best bear hugs! He absolutely envelopes you in the tightest, warmest hugs any chance he gets.

Rufus loves to carry you around! Doesnt matter if you're skinny or your chubby, he can pick you up with ease, carrying you all around the Firefly farm.

He loves it when you tag along on vehicle pick ups! You get to sit beside him in his tow truck, windows down, the radio blasting as the truck speeds down those long back roads.

Continuing with the last one. RJ loved teaching you how to use the mechanisms on the tow truck. He also tries to teach you how to fix cars but you tend to daydream while listening to his voice.

Oh and that voice. The voice of a damn GOD! RJ was very quiet around his family, there really wasn't much to say to them anyways. The first time he spoke to you your knees went weak and your heart skipped a beat. His voice was soft but deep, like crimson velvet. And the thick southern drawl could make any heart melt.

His singing voice is just as beautiful as his speaking voice.

Rufus loves it when you sit on his lap! He'd have you on his lap all day if he could, he just loves having you so close. (Especially when you lay your head on his chest, it just makes him melt.)

Rufus tries to protect you from the chaos that is his family, but there have been a few instances where you got into an argument with Otis that ended in a laughing fit. (You honestly weren't sure what happened but someone said something funny and the both of you fell into a fit of giggles and laughs. Needless to say he likes you.)

Baby likes you but did threaten to cut you to pieces it you hurt Rufus (which you assured her you had no intention of doing that.)

Hugo ignored you for the most part, only talking to you about TV or something.

Mama Firefly likes you a lot! you do make her son happy so she adores you, you're one of her babies now.

Tiny didn't really have much of an opinion on you, he loves you like you were another one of his many siblings.

Captain Spaulding was the one who introduced you both, he was kind of like a dad to you so you know he cares about you (regardless of his loud ass opinions of you, most of which were on 'how much of a fuckin' pussy you were being' over your nervousness around Rufus.

He likes to make you things. (Just one of his love languages.) Little carved animals, animal bone/teeth jewelry, deer antler beads and buttons....

Rufus's smiles when you tell him how much you love his gifts are just so sweet! He looks so adorable when he smiles his little smiles, getting a little sparkle in his eyes every time he does.

The first date you two went on was simple but fun. You two got fast food and rode the backroads listening to music until it got dark enough to see the stars. Rufus found a good place to park his truck and the two of you stood leaning against the hood of the truck, just watching the stars and talking.

That first date was also when you had your first kiss make-out session. When the two of you were tired of watching the stars you climbed back into the truck, intending on heading back to Spaulding's. You two were softly talking about animals (especially dogs, he loves dogs) and he turned to you, looking a little nervous. He gently took your chin, tilting your head to look at him. You gave him a slightly confused look, not quite sure what he was doing at first, but it became very clear when his lips connected with yours. His lips were surprisingly soft, and they locked together so perfectly with yours. He moved his hand from your chin to your shoulder, urging you to move closer, which you did happily. The kiss turned into a gentle make-out session, one of his arms wrapped around your waist, the other hand carefully holding the back of your head. Your own hands were tangled into his beautiful long brown hair.

That night was also the first time you two cuddled. Neither of you wanted to go home so Rufus suggested the two of you just sleep there in the truck. He moved over to the passenger seat, allowing you to crawl into his lap, which you did, laying your head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around you protectively, holding you lovingly.

Rufus is very warm! You never need a blanket when you sleep with him!

He loves it when you brush his hair for him. (He wants to brush yours but is so afraid of being too rough with you.)

RJ wears his sleeveless shirts open extremely often. Even more after you started allowing your hands to explore his chest and stomach every time you two are alone.

Rufus loves dogs, especially his own. He got the dog when it was a puppy, taking it from some asshole who had been beating it. He called it Brutus (In Corpses the dog doesn't have a name and it makes me really sad.)

Rufus was the first to say 'I love you'. The real first time was when he was shitfaced after a Halloween ritual. He'd been sitting on edge of the front porch, periodically drinking out of the liquor bottle that sat next to him. You came out side looking for him and found him on the porch. He pulled you into his lap and held you without a word, picking up the bottle again, but before he could take another drink you snached the bottle from his hand. He looked down at you, watching with wide eyes as you take several swallows from the bottle. You finished, handing the bottle back to him with a giggle. He took the bottle, taking a drink from it, then, without thinking, he says "God I love you."

Rufus had been sitting on the edge of the porch by himself, wanting to be away from his family, needing just a bit of quiet time. Brutus laid beside him, sleeping peacefully to the sound of the cicadas and crickets. Rufus had an open bottle of liquor sitting next to him that he was drinking out of.

You had been looking all over the house for him, eventually hearing from Tiny that he'd gone outside. You ventured out onto the porch, smiling when you see RJ sitting there with his dog. Closing just the screen door, you move to crouch down infront of him. "Howdy, everything okay?" You ask, a soft smile on your face. He nods, reaching out to grab your arm, pulling you to his lap. You happily sit on his lap, laying your head on his chest as he wraps an arm around your waist. The two of you sat like that for a while, just enjoying the night and eachother's company. After a while Rufus picked up the liquor bottle, putting it to his lips. However, you snatched the bottle before he could even take a drink. He looked down at you, his eyes widening as he watched you take several big gulps from the bottle. You handed the bottle back to him when you were done, giggling when you see the look on his face. Rufus takes a drink, letting out a gruff sigh after he swallowed. "God I love ya..."

The second time (the first time he remembered saying it.) Was after he watched you kill for the first time. You had been put in charge of watching over a victim, a woman with long blonde hair that baby had tied to a chair. Unfortunately, the victim had managed to get the ropes undone. They attacked you, knocking you to the floor, shrieking and trying to hit you. Otis and Rufus ran in just in time to watch you roughly grab the victims hair, pulling them down close enough for you to bite down onto their neck. Otis pulled the victim off you and Rufus helped you up looking terrified. It must have been the blood that covered your chin, chest, and neck. You spit out whatever blood and skin was in your mouth, letting out a laugh. Once Rufus realized what you had done the words just came out without thinking. "Shit, Y/N. I fuckin' love you..."

You were sat on a chair across from the bound and gagged blonde woman that baby had dolled up. You had been looking through a shitty magazine while you watched the victim, waiting for baby to return. You hadn't noticed the woman undoing the ropes until it was far too late. She lunged at you, causing you to jump up, reaching for your knife, but you weren't fast enough. She had knocked you over, pinning you to the ground, shrieking and screaming as she attempted to hit you.

You tried to fight her off, continuing to reach for your knife, but she was persistent. Otis and Rufus both heard the shrieks and the banging, running into the room just in time to see you grab a handful of the blonde's hair, pulling her down close enough to sink your teeth into her soft flesh. She began to thrash around as you sunk your teeth deeper into the meat on her neck, blood flowin from your mouth, down your chin, neck, and chest. Otis pulled her off of you just as she went limp, allowing Rufus to grab your arm, pulling you up quickly, a horrified look on his face.

You spit out a chunk of flesh and some blood mixed with spit as Otis dragged the body out of the room. "She shoulda stayed in that damn chair." You said with a laugh, looking up at Rufus who let out a sigh of relief upon realizing the blood wasn't yours. "Shit, Y/N, I fuckin' love you."

#rufus jr x reader #x reader #rufus #rj firefly x reader #house of 1000 corpses #headcanons

44 notes · View notes