#but there ARE certain characters in media where I do actively think worse of you for liking them

[rotisseries]

this fandom really need to remember that liking villains is perfectly valid as long as people don't go around excusing morally-wrong behaviors.

i mean I'm hesitant to say things like "make sure you're not excusing morally wrong behaviors!" because. it's just like. an annoying attitude to have, like people don't want to have to post about their favorite blorbo War Crimes Mcgee with a paragraph long "DISCLAIMER: AS A FAN OF WAR CRIMES MCGEE, I DO NOT CONDONE WAR CRIMES NOR EXCUSE HIS ACTIONS" and also that is an annoying fandom culture to have to live in. like sometimes it's fun to just be like "haha yeah it was hot and sexy and cool when that villain killed all those people"

but like. everyone has their line in the sand for what's "too far" for a fictional character right? and everyone's is different, but for me and most people absolute no goes are things that feel, too real? I guess? like. racism, homophobia, domestic abuse, etc. are things that are always too far for me to continue liking a character. it's gross and unsatisfying to watch, these are things you're pretty likely to deal with in real life based on your personal life experience, and there’s really overall no way for it to be an enjoyable thing in the story right? but just generic murder is NOT most people's line in the sand

which is why like. there's a difference to me between b1lly stans and henry creel stans. like I just find henry stans annoying because of their lack of commitment mostly. they're all like "actually I theorize that he DIDN'T murder those people" BORING. say he did and you find it hot and sexy idc. also I don't find henry that interesting so by extension I'm not interested in the fanclub. but there’s nothing that actually grosses me out about him having a fanclub, because the murder is fictional and telekinetic and inseparable from the supernatural plot like I'm never going to run into a man who's actually murdered people with his mind and I'm DEFINITELY never going to run into people who hear about real not fictional telekinetic child murder and decide he's cool and sexy and also didn't do it or whatever

but b1lly. well. b1lly is a very real type of violence. there's lots of racist abusers and there’s lots of people who defend them so I just. can't get behind it at all. you DO have a point though that it would maybe be marginally better if they'd at least ADMIT that he'd done this shit lol

so yeah this isn't to say that like. someone's favorite character and how they talk about them is NEVER a red flag, but "this is my favorite character Child Murderer Jones, he murders children and gleefully boasts about all the child murder on screen, and I love him very much and have edited him with cat ears" is fairly standard fandom behavior and not worth moralizing, imo. and sometimes this fandom gets a little puritan about fairly standard fandom behavior

#like. do you know how many fandoms I've been in where “the murder was hot” is the normal take? imagine if we all acted crazy about that lmao #another thing I think contributing to how weird I find a character fanclub is will be something like #what other parts of the story you have to ignore for it #like b1lly stans kind of have to entirely ignore lucas and max's storylines for that shit lmao #and having no sympathy or interest in the story of a black kid dealing with antagonistic white men #or the girl dealing with horrible abuse is pretty gross #but like. henry stans don't really have the same problem bc again. it's a bunch of fake supernatural child murder #also disclaimer fandom isn't activism and hating b1lly isn't the end all be all of activism #but there ARE certain characters in media where I do actively think worse of you for liking them #and I do think it's a sign you need to examine some internal bias #also I apologize for bringing up b1lly that may come across like I read your ask as also referring to him #I didn't really I just also mentioned him in the tags that this is about. so like #especially bc you say “villain” and I feel like that's too fun of a word for him #like “villain” makes me think of fun larger than life fantastical criminals #b1lly is just a very real asshole dickwad #ask #anon #this got a little rambly I didn't mean for that to happen

[katyspersonal]

Fandomry tips on hcs.

I've met another user that was afraid to share their cool Maria story ideas out of fear that they'll get shunned as "hating masculine lesbians", so, just a few things:

1) No matter how popular a headcanon is, it doesn't become canon. Fandoms do not abide by majority rule in which you could never have an unpopular idea.

2) With LGBT+ headcanons, the less you justify them - the better. The rude minority might think that Maria "has" to be a lesbian because her hunter outfit resembles male Knight garb and she cares about a female friend, and everyone who disagrees "lack media literacy" and "has bias". What is it trying to say? That bi or straight women could not look masculine? That the only reason a woman would ever dress masculine is to be the 'man' for her femme? Or that women could not care about other women deeply unless they're attracted to them? Even "historical accuracy" excuse is obsolete, because Bloodborne clearly doesn't abide by real world's history Victorian antics. Female vicars/doctors/hunters and people of color being equal to white people is a dead give-away to that.

It is even more confusing with Malenia, who doesn't even look masculine. Not feminine, either. She looks like 'just a person'. So what makes her "canonically a lesbian"? The fact that she is a strong fearsome warrior? Why? Because bi or straight women would not fight but instead latch onto some guy to protect them...?

You see what I mean. Justifications for why an interpretation HAS to be one thing and not the other only make things worse and push people into very narrow, at times outright offensive stereotypes. 'She is this because I think so' is a good enough reason - and that's where you can see that someone else's thoughts will be JUST as valid!

3) Headcanons and fandomry are not activism. No minority will be effected just because in some fandom people ship some character in some ship. EVER. These things are for FUN, lesbians aren't fairies within which one dies every time you say "I don't headcanon X character as a lesbian". What do you think will happen if many, or even majority of people like bi (or even straight) headcanon instead of lesbian? A life essence of a whole demographics will be dried out?

4) "It is not that hard" is not an argument. It is never anyone's business why someone would deny a very inviting opportunity for a headcanon. Freedom and autonomy is the VERY base of having fun in the fandom. In fact, very often, it is this same toxic attitude what makes average users NOT want to celebrate a strong female character as a lesbian. Because they feel like they had no choice! And many people possess contradictory spirit, that might make them choose something as affirmation that they won't be mocked into thinking a certain way.

_______________

Honestly, it is NOT okay that here and there people have to feel afraid to do something as innocent as to share their ideas, and might just end up leaving an interesting character aside because loud and rude people scared them away. Do not let a character you like get "claimed" by some group just because they were the meanest, do not hide your awesome ideas but instead post them and TAG them. Fandoms are free spaces, not a middle school where the popular girls set the trends and decide who gets to be bullied.

And if some people can no longer enjoy a fandom or a character because other people got a different headcanon? Well, then they were not built to be in fandom spaces to begin with.

#fandomry rambles #bloodborne #lady maria of the astral clocktower #elden ring #malenia blade of miquella #i mean what i saw yesterday was not as bad as a pointer from a friend regarding 'shipped with a man' #but it still was bothersome #naturally all this applies to MLM enjoyers that hiss at every woman in 10 yards distance from- #-a male character they headcanon as gay #i just do not have consistent examples of that #i know like one person was mad at people not seeing how g3hrman was canonically gay #and even that was half-serious and reaction at haters calling him cishet 'when he loves laurence' xd #really not threatening aura

[ginarickys]

the early reception of hsmtmts season 4, or what we’ve seen of it so far, has been majorly positive. there have been a lot of negative comments too and while everybody is completely within their rights to criticize/discourse over media, the extent that some “fans” have been going to (mostly bitter portw*lls) is just borderline malignant and i’d like to address some of these reoccurring complaints.

as it relates to ej caswell, he is NOT a punching bag. i’ve seen so many people argue that they’re no longer supporting or watching the show because of its treatment of ej and i’m not mentioning this to attempt to police what people should or shouldn’t support, i’m mentioning this because the arguments i’ve seen for this point are laughably vain, as well as hostile towards every other character who isn’t him.

ej is not some victim of bullying by the hands of the writers. every character in hsmtmts has struggled. every character has had to endure some level of change, because it was necessary for them grow. every character has been penalized for trying to revert back to the things that actively regressed them. rini, that was shown to hold both ricky and nini back, didn’t stick for that exact reason. ej hasn’t gotten it worse simply because the writers wanted him to.

his “character arc” was learning not to give people food poisoning. his “struggle” in season one was losing followers because of a poor decision that he consciously made.

and of course, i couldn’t tackle this entire ej discussion without mentioning the whole “ricky stole his girlfriends” card that people are still playing. nini and gina were not THINGS to be stolen. both of them made the choice to break up with ej for reasons that were completely valid, because people who’re capable of thinking for themselves can do things like that. portw*lls and ej fans have a pattern of degrading gina especially, all because she didn’t allow herself to stay in a relationship that was making her unhappy.

you guys cannot stand that ej doesn’t get to own who he dates. it’s beyond telling.

as it relates to fan service, the people claiming hsmtmts sacrificed “realism” to cater to fans being anti rinas doesn’t surprise me. the disney show is the one you guys are cracking down on about realism, okay.

rina isn’t fan service. gina getting the lead isn’t fan service. those are things that make complete sense within the contextualization of the show, which you guys always choose to ignore. these are things that have been built up through parallel storytelling and through multiple accounts of foreshadowing, but i understand those who are saying these things are happening because the show needs “saving” with olivia gone wouldn’t perceive it that way.

i’m not calling anyone simple minded. but what’s the real reason gina shouldn’t be the lead? what’s the real reason ricky shouldn’t be with a girl who understands him, supports him, and provided the positive change that he needed at a low point in his life? why shouldn’t these characters be happy with each other?

ricky and gina are the truest to themselves when they’re together. ricky sees gina’s ambition, he sees her talent, and he praises her for that. gina sees ricky for all of his potential. she never actively tore him down, she never ridiculed him. was there a point where she set boundaries between them? sure, but they came out on the other side of it the strongest they’ve ever been. certain characters exiting the narrative doesn’t mean that the other characters stop growing or developing, the story doesn’t suffer just because your ship isn’t endgame, or because your favorite character isn’t always happy.

finally, in defense of ricky bowen, he’s had more than enough growth to beat the regression allegations.

just to reiterate, gina wasn’t property for him to claim. gina is the one who told him that he’s been her choice for some time, despite not being her plan, he was still the one she was choosing. ricky didn’t coerce her into saying that. he wasn’t pulling strings or feeding gina lies so that she would break up with ej, either.

ricky has been battling with change and defining himself since the very beginning of the show. over the course of three seasons, we watched ricky genuinely commit to theater. he came to camp to be with his friends, not to sweep gina off of her feet. even with people calling him unreliable, even after being told that he has “no profitable skills”, even after having some bumps in the road. ricky has done nice things for his friends without expecting anything in return.

after being defined by his slip-ups, more or less, ricky finally got to hear that he was a yes to someone. a shot worth taking. i’ve seen people complain that he’s the main reason that they’ve given up on the show, as well as claim that he gets everything handed to him. he had to make sacrifices and lose things to get to where he is. there’s quite literally no denying that.

this has gotten entirely too long, but i’m trying to illustrate that a lot of these story beats are obvious. no one is obligated to watch something that they don’t like, but i’ve seen former “fans” act horrifically racist and sexist, i’ve seen them discredit the cast, i’ve seen them complain about the attention season 3 gave to anxiety and sexuality, just because they weren’t happy nini left the show, and because portw*ll wasn’t together by the end of the season.

this is a disney show at the end of the day, try and relax.

#hsmtmts #ricky bowen #gina porter #rina #hsmtmts season 3 #hsmtmts season 4 #ricky x gina #i won’t be tagging any ships or characters i was more critical of

[azulas-daddy-kink]

Z*kka is a very good example I like to use when I talk about how trend, timing and tropes effect fandoms that you don't see happen in older fandoms

The ATLA renaissance happened during the same time the Voltron trainwreck happened. At the same time, certain tropes like opposites attract, blue/red gays etc are insanely popular. Almost every big thing falls into this easy category of who fits who in their incorrect quotes or popular tropes and ship dynamic.

And Z*kka fits the bill. Silly/Serious? Check. Conventionally attractive guys? Check. Blue/Red? Check. On paper, they sound like any other popular ships that technically speaking would make at least a decent ship.

Except they don't. Because they're from a 3 seasons show where they canonically don't have that much meaningful interaction, barely any acknowledgement of each other, and they just don't have chemistry. They DON'T. Just because they LOOK like they fit on the surface level doesn't mean they actually do. Sometimes opposites don't attract. Sometimes the characters who fall easily into a ship dynamic aren't actually compatible.

The ship is solid proof that modern fandoms these days prioritize surface level things over what canon actually gives them. I UNDERSTAND why some people like z*kka, but it DOES NOT deserve the level of popularity it receives! And the fact it became one of the most popular ships in ATLA because the voltron fans project kl*nce into the ship is IMO disheartening. They already choose what they wish to see instead of appreciating what these characters got and who they actually connect with in canon.

I know I sound pretentious, but I really can't stand these kinds of fans because of how much they REFUSE to engage in canon. Tropes are nice. Having preferences is not a crime. But actively forcing your own vision into canon just because they fit your tastes in the most shallow way possible is just sad. Why bother engage in any new media then? Why not actually pick up something that actively fits your taste?

You said it all, Anon!

I seriously had no idea where Zukka even came from until recently.

It wasn't a thing when the show was airing and then suddenly it just exploded out of nowhere. I was so baffled. I was like "why this?" Of all the slash ships people could have latched onto. Jetko is right there. Hell, even Zukaang and Sokka/Aang make way more sense.

You're so right, people just base everything off """vibes""" or aesthetics, or just jump on the bandwagon when a ship/headcanon gets popular without giving it any real thought. And because Zukka is just a copy+paste version of Klance, they just wind up wildly ooc and it's like they're two entirely different characters. I have to ask myself if these people even like Zuko or Sokka independently...

And for the record, I don't think you sound shallow at all. The enforcement of popular headcanons as canon is a problem in all fandoms, but it's especially bad in this one.

If it sounds like I'm pointing the finger solely at Zukka shippers, I'm not. Zutara shippers are just as bad, if not worse. As are those who shove the idea of lesbian Azula down everyone's throats.

It's just fucking exhausting.

Ship whatever you want. Headcanon whatever you want. Just stop torturing all of us with it.

#anon ask #ask response #atla #atla fandom critical #anti zukka #ship discourse

[mythsandheather]

I've been pretty curious about the LO Critical side. I'm asking genuinely but what are the reasons why LO has such a strong anti Fandom.

Do people not like it? I was curious because it seems like a lot of lo critical/anti lo blogs seem to enjoy certain aspects and characters. Is it the author people don't enjoy?

Like I said I'm really being genuine. I think people have the right to have like their own critical space for a free webcomic. It's just interesting because it's like. This Fandom has a second Fandom of people who seem to hate the comic.

The anti community for any fandom is sure to be a complex place that’s usually, in my experience, more built on pain and disappointment than anything else. Pain because something important to you no longer provides comfort, maybe even perpetrates harmful themes for your own personal experiences, and disappointment because this is something you used to love and you wish could be better.

There’s two parts of the anti community for LO. There’s one part that, as you said, still holds some affection for the series, for memories attached to it and for some characters. There’s also another part that, again as you said, straight up just hate it.

I’ll briefly touch on the first part. They can see so clearly how LO could be infinitely better and that’s frustrating. They can see all the flaws they didn’t notice or didn’t want to see before and are exasperated by why it’s allowed to continue this way. Let’s not forget that a significant number of LO’s critics are people who were young teens and read it in their formative years without realising what they were being so carelessly exposed to.

With that realisation, there’s a level of anger and horror at learning what was put in front of them, marketed as safe and heavily promoted at every turn, and it’s only gotten worse over time. That must be an absolutely gut-wrenching thing to feel over something you loved once.

So in that sense, you’re correct; a big part of the anger comes down to Rachel herself and her choices.

Then there’s the other part of the anti fandom, the part that just out and out hates it and always has. This is where yours truly fits in.

Now, I was super active on tumblr during 2014-2017, when fandoms like Steven Universe, FNAF and Undertale were at their peak. I had to learn, trial by fire, how to be real critical of any media I consumed. There is certainly a downside to this, I tend to see the negatives of anything I enjoy first and then find positives later. The upside is it’s certainly been one helluva way to improve my media literacy and spot the bs from a mile away.

A lot of people don’t believe when I say I got skeevy, uncomfortable, gross vibes from LO from chapter one, but I did. I don’t know what it was, but it set me off so bad that I couldn’t get past “her butt is shaped like a heart” and never read it again.

Now I’m willing to admit that this part of the fandom, like me, are the way we are because we were never the target demographic for LO.

Therefore, when it came out and got popular, we were the ones who were absolutely baffled and the ones who got dog piled and called every name under the sun by fans for a long time��that is, of course, until a lot of those fans grew up, realised what they were reading and turned on the series.

As I said, the critical side of any fandom is complicated and this is just my two cents.

I could do a much longer post about how fucking angry I am at Rachel personally for the fact she’s from my country, a country who constantly gets ignored, and given this amazing chance that so many of us wish we could have, yet chose to peddle her self insert x celebrity crush jailbait fantasy.

I could talk all day about how physically sickened I am that she’s taken so many aspects of trauma experiences by myself and millions of others and used it as ignorant, glamourised, fetishised shock-material.

I could go on at length about what a racist, misogynistic, homophobic piece of baggage she is and how she’s permanently done damage to another culture while completely misrepresenting ours…but I won’t.

I’ll just draw more mean art of Persephone’s giant lips and Hades accidentally letting the air out of them with his mosquito nose instead.

What’s Rachel going to do? Draw a goofy, technicolor caricature of me in her comic that’ll blend into the background, be only half finished and look like a recoloured Persephone in her otherwise pristine and totally professional looking masterpiece that’s definitely not losing readers? Oh wait—

#antiloreolympus #lo critical #lore olympus critical #lo criticism #anti lore olympus #lore olympus criticism #ooh girl #I had things to say

[66sharkteeth]

You might not be able to answer this without going into spoiler territory, but has the story or characters of City of Blank changed in any major or minor way since you started writing it? You obviously know how the story will end, but I'm just curious to know if you've stuck to your initial vision 100% from beginning to end, or if anything has influenced you to change certain things? If you have, it might be interesting to see a "What Could Have Been" section once the story has concluded.

The original plot is 100% and it's still ending exactly where I always originally planned, but we did end up taking a lot of different roads than the comic I wrote out in like...high school.

Things got rearranged, new characters got added (Christoph wasn't even thought of until around the end of s2), some characters were taken off the chopping block while others were added (obviously can't say who).

It also definitely got way more uh...personal? To me, and like not in a "these OCs are my babies" way I mean in...I started to use it a lot more as an outlet to get out some deep rooted feelings that came out the past few years. In addition to Rex's anxiety and depression that I...started to be able to write from much more firsthand experience lol, the past 5 years or so have brought out the worst in so many people and it really hurt to see how much a huge chunk of our world hates people like me and my friends just for wanting to exist. Rex was always going to be written to have a struggle between balancing his human and blank half, but in high school, it was much more of a like...just fun anime, kingdom hearts-ish type struggle haha. But as the years went on and I started to question my own identity and saw the struggles of certain groups in a system that actively just doesn't want them to exist...the themes in CoB became a LOT more than just haha fun anime blank monsters go brrr (I won't specify which groups to be clear, because I know many relate to it, but I do write it from my own perspective)

Episode 114 really says it all. That's my favorite episode in the entire series and probably will be even by the time it finishes. It's definitely the piece of media I've ever poured my entire heart into and just reading through the comments, I can tell a lot of people got exactly what I was saying in it.

Tbh, I kind of feel like that's a big part of what's missing in season 1 and why I kind of hate it? Because back then, it absolutely was written to just be fun anime adventure with no deeper meaning. I even remember telling people way back when "nah there's no deeper meaning." Which...it's fine for those exist to be clear... but I do think it's a key ingredient that I didn't start to sprinkle in until around s2 and fully include until s3.

So uhhh yeah. TLDR: Certain characters would be dead, plot points would have been different and probably equated to worse pacing, and it would have been a lot more probably lighthearted like s1 without ever getting into many deeper topics.

#city of blank

[acacia-may]

Let’s pour some salt together, Acacia~!/lh 💖

If it’s not too much trouble, can I ask #7 generally, #10 for Fairy Tail and Black Clover, and finally #25 for Demon Slayer?

It’s several questions and a bit all over the pl s so I hope you don’t mind… 😅

Cheers, Erika! 🥂 Thanks for the chance to get a little bit salty about so many different things! ^^

Necessary disclaimer above the cut: These are just my own personal opinions based on my personal tastes, perceptions, and feelings regarding the series, stories, and characters and their relationships. I genuinely have the utmost respect and absolutely no ill will towards anyone who has a different opinion than me. In fact, I have always said that one of the greatest things about fandom is that we can all experience and perceive these amazing stories and characters in very different ways but still love them. Even some of my dearest fandom friends enjoy different pairings than me or see our shared favorite characters in wildly different ways than I do. I personally find it very rewarding to have respectful conversations about our differences of opinion, and I hope that my opinions will also be respected. Also, I don't vibe with just mindless bashing things, so even though this is about to get very salty and a little snarky, I'll try to keep it respectful and all in good fun. I am not tagging anything and am hiding my thoughts under the cut so you all don't have to be subjected to my hot takes and "Salty Acacia," if you don't want.

MAJOR Spoilers for Demon Slayer below the cut. You've been warned.

7. Is there anything you used to like but can’t stand now?

ATTACK ON TITAN/SNK. My sister says I need a swear jar because I can just rant for hours about how I was just so personally, viscerally disappointed with how that series ended (made all the worse because I had several years of investment in it). As a disclaimer, I still like my favorite characters and the side story "No Regrets" will always be **Chef's Kiss** but yeah...you could not pay me to watch or read it ever again.

But again, disclaimer, that's just me. It's my cousin's favorite anime of all time, and he loved the ending. Everyone's different.

As for anything else from fandoms I actually talk about...I'm not sure there is anything. Like everyone with an online presence, I have definitely been disturbed, appalled, and otherwise very upset by things I've seen on the internet, but that's what the block button is for (and I know it's all peace, love, & good vibes around here, but I block aggressively, actively, and unapologetically when the situation warrants it). As a general rule though, I try not to let what other people think get to me and ruin the things I love, and in that way, I don't think I have ever had a situation where something was just completely 100% ruined for me by a terrible fic, toxic fandom, or anon hatred ect. ect. I have certainly distanced myself from certain pairings and certain fandoms because of that, but I wouldn't say any of them have ever reached the level of "I can't stand it now." If anything, I sometimes feel a little contrary and dig my heels in on that thing in a petty revenge, "Well in that case, I'll just like this more" kind of way, if that makes sense?

All of that said, I have no patience for nasty, toxic fandom environments, and I stay away from those even if it's a media I really like i.e. you mentioned MHA in one of your salty asks...I wrote my one platonic friendship fic and got the hell outta there (nothing bad happened to me but it just wasn't worth it to take any chances). But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy it in real life and sometimes talk about it with my sisters and irl friends. I just don't want to discuss it online. It's not worth the headache & drama.

I definitely get fandom fatigue sometimes where the aggressiveness and toxicity of the fans of a certain pairing or character I already don't like just intensifies my dislike for that thing. But that's really only ever happened with things I already don't like or don't have an opinion on at all, which I don't think that really fits the prompt here.

10. Most disliked arc? Why?

Fairy Tail: The anime-only Celestial Spirit Arc by a landslide. It was so boring and had so many pacing issues. I literally fell asleep during it and didn't even both going back. I'm also super bitter towards that arc because my sister got so bored during it that she quit the anime (right before getting the best arc Tartaros). I keep begging her to pick it up again and just skip the stupid Celestial Spirit Arc but she swears she is a completionist and would never be able to do it. So yeah. Can't stand that one! The only positive thing I could remotely say about it was that Levy on the game show was kind of entertaining, but overall the whole arc was kind of just like a boring bizarre dream I'd like to forget about.

For arcs that appeared in both the anime and manga, I really didn't like that flute arc (which a google search has informed me is actually called the "Eisenwald Arc"). I'm glad we got Gray and Erza introduced as characters, but the arc had a lot of pacing issues and just went on for way too way, imo. They could've wrapped things up a lot faster, also I just didn't get the whole "evil flute" thing--it was really random and kind of bizarre (also not the most well thought out plan in the world). I will say this arc gets more points than the Celestial Spirit Arc because my sister and I had so much fun making Kokushibo flute jokes.

Black Clover: Gotta go with the anime only arc here too because again, it was boring and didn't have a lot of bearing on the series as a whole. It also felt like a major let down after the high stakes of the Elf Arc. Honestly just not a fan of that one.

If I had to pick a manga arc...uh...I honestly don't know. Maybe the Sosshi village arc? But only because I thought it was better in the anime where they really took the time to flesh out Magna's backstory. It felt more rushed in the manga, but I don't dislike it as much as that anime only one.

If I can pick a character arc, freaking FINRAL'S!! Like what happened here?! It was so, so good...until it wasn't. I JUST CAN'T WITH THE AMOUNT OF REGRESSION. It makes me want to beat my head against the wall even more than he is! But I think this was about story arcs, not characters arc so I'll refrain from ranting here.

25. Would you change the ending of Demon Slayer?

This is kind of a complicated one. My sister and I were just talking about this because she feels there was too much character death, but I feel it was a justified and appropriate amount for the high stakes of the series (even if it was devastating). So for the sake of this discussion, let's assume that the author had a "character death quota" (or a set number of characters who were going to be killed off by the end of the series). If that was the case, I would have axed Uzui at the end of the Entertainment District Arc and saved Genya in the final arc.

If there was a believable/reasonable way that Muichiro could have gone into god-mode and defeated Kokushibo without dying, I would have saved him too, having Uzui take his "death slot." Then I would have saved Genya by having Sanemi die to protect him (which would have been a much more satisfying ending to his arc, in my opinion).

As sad as the other deaths were (*weeps about ObaMitsu*) Muichiro and Genya were children. While it's realistic for them to die, it's especially tragic, and if I got to rewrite the ending, I would prioritize saving them.

Though to be perfectly fair, I would have been much happier with the ending if Uzui had died in the Entertainment District Arc and any of our heroes who died in the final battle survived instead. I'll forever be salty that Uzui of all people somehow managed to survive to the end when so many others did not, especially since his arc had already wrapped up and him dying in the Entertainment District would have been a satisfying conclusion to his story whereas so many other characters who did get axed had storylines that felt unfinished (Genya especially).

Also, Himejima should have played the flute at Kokushibo causing him to lose his cool in the infinity castle so much faster. I'm really upset this didn't happen. (Kidding but I would’ve loved to see him just go completely unhinged over the flute. I make way too many Kokushibo flute jokes…)

#salty acacia #salty asks #there will be no more tags #please don't hurt me

[hawkogurl]

Sometimes I feel like the 'did we watch the same movie' readings of Raimi!Norman (ignoring the mess that was NWH) could be tempered if people were willing to treat characters as narrative devices to tell a story and explore themes than like, a real person who is close to you and is need of their (moral) character and honour defended bc it would harm them otherwise, plus not making being likeable, relatable, and sympathetic (not to confused with being complex and character motivations making sense) as obligatory traits for a 'good' character - Norman is far more interesting and layered when he's a morally awful person who doesn't want people to know his true nature bc it would get in the way of his goals and a foil to Peter in terms of the power/responsibility and man behind the mask themes than if he was just some sad woobie who never did anything wrong and is genuinely a sweet and kind person.

And like, if you want to play around with sweet old man Norman in your fanworks, then go wild, but just embrace that's what you're doing and not act like it's canonical text or a well-supported possible reading of the film and then try to shove that into actual analytical critiques of the movies.

Totally agree. When I disagree with other peoples takes on especially platforms like tiktok or reddit, sites I generally hate where for these movies narrative analysis tends to be put on the back burner, I will often give more elaborate explanations why, from a storytelling angle, something is or isn’t true. And consistently I tend to get comments which are, in fairness to the commenters, very lighthearted saying that I’m providing college essay level stuff when I really don’t feel like I am. Due to the absolute plague of anti intellectualism and the far more natural reality that when it comes to mass media, people do not think about media in an intensely critical way. And I think that’s fine, it would be elitist of me to think that people can’t just like things to like things. But when you’re going to enter the territory where you’re making statements on the narrative fabric of something or start arguing in favor of something or against something or just for something with other people, you do have to start examining it critically.

And I completely agree with the concept you’re communicating. And I would be hypocritical to say I never do the same, I very much do, but when I’m trying to make storytelling or analytical points I do my damnedest to separate what I’m saying from my own more meta reasons for thinking a way I do, whether that be my attachment to a character or relating my analysis to some sort of metatextual fan reaction that isn’t totally relevant. There are certain points where I go against my instincts to defend characters like Harry or MJ whose general fan perception is unjustified because it doesn’t help or actively weakens my point with that sort of bias.

I also think people have developed this idea that to be a good villain, the villain must be sympathetic or morally gray. Especially in the face of people tending to moralize their own or other people’s personal preferences, people often feel the need to justify their most evil faves as sympathetic or tragic when they aren’t, at least not in the capacity they argue, rather than just accept that it’s not a reflection on them to like an evil character. It’s often worse to try and justify Norman. A lot of the time, in the process of trying to frame Norman as tragic or sympathetic, they make things worse from multiple forms of critical lense by both weakening the narrative and what it’s trying to say and also by unintentionally or subconsciously falling into some not so great tropes, such as implicitly belittling the actions against the child he abused or using Emily, Caroline Mulder or whoever it is that Harry’s mother was as a sort of scapegoat, blaming Norman’s negative traits on her as something she made him develop by betraying him however they decided she did or otherwise dragging her down to make him seem better. And in my perspective, the character assassination of a woman to justify or prop up the poor innocent man who only became cruel as a result will never not be misogynistic. It’s just a method of stripping the male character of responsibility for his actions by pinning them on his female counterpart. This happening with a woman who never even shows her face on screen is, for me, an example especially cartoonish in its egregiousness. I’m all for adding flaws and nuance to Emily or whoever’s character, but you’ll lose me when she’s portrayed as a bitch who’s at fault for any amount of Norman sucking. He is an adult man. He’s responsible for himself.

I feel the same about the varying executions of Ambrose Osborn. There are examples I like a lot more, like The Final Act on ao3 where he’s never used to excuse Norman’s actions. But most of the time, he ends up as an excuse. Cycle of abuse narratives only work if you still acknowledge the abused is not any less now an abuser for it. And going back to Harry, it contributes to this sort of mass belittlement for what happened there. Within fandoms, themes that feel real are always more worth hating someone for than vaguer, more distant concepts like mass murder and terrorism. Norman’s abuse of Harry is more egregious than his crimes as the goblin because it’s more real to people. It’s more of a condemnation because more people have been there. As a result, a lot of people seem to believe that to redeem Norman or to be allowed to like him, Norman can’t have been abusive towards Harry. You get a lot of things like Harry being treated as unreasonable, or Norman never having been abusive and just having been unable to express love properly (usually with a nice side of blaming Emily), or using Ambrose as an excuse, often trying to do the comics canon Harry breaking the cycle with Norman. Which both erases Norman’s abuse and never really executes that plotline in a way that works because it’s so tied into the ways Norman directed harm at Harry for traits in Harry he saw as weak. It doesn’t work with Norman and it’s still rather off putting to never acknowledge that Norman was awful. I don’t think people really realize that writing Norman as a good father in fanfic isn’t as much of a… I don’t know, support to abuse victims as they think it is. I’m not going to begrudge anyone who does so as a coping mechanism, I’m not here to dictate your trauma and you can do whatever feels right, but most of the time it comes off as thinking what Norman did wasn’t real abuse because he never hit him, or because he still loved him, rhetoric that’s directed against the experiences of real life victims quite a lot.

And all of that comes down to the fact that people implicitly treat characters like they’re people. Liking a character who did something has become the same as liking a person who did the same. But Norman isn’t a person. He’s a character. And while characters are obviously a lot more and making them feel like people improves most stories, at the end of the day characters are not people, they’re narrative devices. Within storytelling, while there’s a bit more nuance than what I’m saying here, at the end of the day good writing is writing that works. Norman doesn’t need to behave like a real person, ignoring that he pretty much does, because he is a character who, at the end of the day, only needs to act in a way that makes the story work.

This whole reply is disjointed so I’ll probably revisit this topic when I’m capable of intelligent thought. As always for anyone reading who disagrees, always willing to participate in good faith discussion.

#raimiverse #raimi trilogy #harryposting #harry osborn #spider man #spiderman #norman osborn #green goblin #norman slander

[bridgyrose]

I'm probably kicking a hornets nest, but I do think villains in media should be allowed a chance for redemption more often. Yes, even the ones that kill. Thing is, while I do like to say media doesn't directly alter things in real life, certain portrayals of ideas and actions in media will often time reinforce fears or standards that most people hold. When you have disabilities, sexuality, gender presentation, or even just weird quirks played off as jokes in media, it often times comes off as a joke in real life. And it's the same thing for villains.

Some villains are best left as villains, those that are written with a character arc to continue getting worse, usually dwelling deeply on an ideal they hold that tends to make things worse that they actively choose. But most villains in media aren't like that. Villains in comics are usually made out of choices beyond their control. Bad luck, experiments gone wrong, thrown or tossed away by society and loved ones, created by others and thrown shunned when no longer needed. Some are created by abuse and neglect, some fall on hard times and don't have the right support to get themselves out of whatever hole they're in.

But its not just comics that use this. She-ra and RWBY have a mix of villains that are created from trauma and abuse, some that choose the path on their own, but most seeing it as their only option or the only thing they know. In Steven Universe, the main villains thoroughly see what they're doing as the only way. In ATLA and Korra, fear is a driving factor for a lot of the villains.

But the big thing a lot of people miss with all of these antagonists is that oftentimes, the only separation between them and the heroes are the circumstances that brought them there. Catra was abused by the same person Adora had been praised by. Entrapta was manipulated and lied to, abandoned by most but embraced by the villains for being different. Cinder and Neo were abused and neglected. Neo started acting out while Cinder was given a choice of life or death. Hazel ran on grief, Salem was punished by the gods for not being able to accept loss, Zuko was punished and thrown out by his father, Azula was neglected and treated as a monster by her mother... and of these villains listed, there's only two I can think of that most people didn't want to die.

But killing off a villain is a disservice to many stories and to how we see justice in real life. People make mistakes, are pushed into situations where getting better isn't easy, accidents can be life changing, and it's easy to shrug them off as never being able to change. The reason we need redemption arcs is so we have a narrative tool to see people getting better. To give a choice that many may not see. A well written redemption for a villain, tailored to the needs of the character in the story, can show us that viewing certain people as monsters or irredeemable is detrimental to how we pursue justice and order. And just like characters in a story, there is no one way to be a good person in real life. For some, it takes effort and rehabilitation, recovery and kindness, a second chance to try to do things differently.

But if all we do is kill off villains in stories, what does that say to all the accidental villains of life? If fictional characters can't be given a simple narrative tool to show things can change, then why give anyone chances in real life? If we're all judged and condemned by forces out of our control, then why try to be better. But seeing fictional characters being able to change, be given the narrative tool of redemption to change, that can make the difference to hear for someone who needs it.

[wasted-women]

Interesting you talk about the two ways that one can fridge a character, I personally don't always mind the first one, because female characters also have characters they care about die in their backstory for their character development, or male characters can die for other male characters, I think it's only a problem if the work has a pattern of only having female background characters be the ones who die for male ones' motivations, especially if there aren't many female characters in active roles of importance in the story to balance it out. And also how it can become a cliched motivation that is sometimes used in cliched ways in general (like parents dying is overused, whether it's a mother or father and whether the character affected by it is male or female), or a spouse dies and instead of really exploring the complexities of grief and how it affects the character it just becomes one-dimensional brooding or desire for vengeance. So it's overused and in certain works it's a way that female characters in particular are objectified and targeted but it's not inherently bad.

But killing a female character who was important and did have her own story, or at least was being set up to be/had the potential to be that way, in a way that clearly shows they don't care about her potential as a character and only care about the male characters' arcs (and often not even anything interesting in the male character's arcs, just a cheap flash of angst to show how in pain they are and the world revolves around them), that is always bad and never fails to bother me. I hate when the author shows such little care for the story of a genuinely interesting character except as instrumental, and I will definitely be voting for characters like that preferentially.

Hi! Thanks for sharing your thought process. You reference the two ways that a woman can be fridged that I mentioned in my original post (shown below for anyone reading this that doesn't remember)

While I do agree that the second one is worse, I still think the first way is really bad. I mean, the character death that coined the term "women in refrigerators" falls more in the first category than the second. You say you don't think it's a problem unless it becomes a pattern or there aren't enough living female characters to balance, but like... that's sort of the point. There are A LOT of pieces of media where THERE IS a pattern and THERE AREN'T a lot of female characters.

Also in my opinion, it happening in the first place is enough to make my eyes roll. When I reading or watch a piece of media made by a man, or, am going through a medium that already has a lot of misogyny issues (such as comic books), even if it happens once it's enough. Because whether someone does it to one female character or twenty in a story, it is still a show that they treat their female characters are inherently more disposable than their male characters. Even in pieces of media that kill off multiple characters of different genders, the death of male characters are given more narrative weight. (Ex. Think of Batman. Both of his parents die but a vast majority of works that display him grieving his parents either show him grieving them both as a unit, or they specifically talk much more about his father Thomas Wayne. They will give Thomas Wayne a whole relationship with his son, a whole career and personality, and Martha Wayne will... kind of be there. Not in all Batman media, but in most)

I'm sure there are examples of things that count as fridged that aren't as bad as others, but the fact that it's happening in the first place sort of continues this idea of female characters being disposable. "What will motivate the hero? Give him a dead mother/girlfriend/sister/whatever! Who cares that we create women just to hurt or kill them!!!!"

Not to mention, in my opinion, killing characters to motivate other characters/make them sad, no matter the gender, is just lazy writing.

Of course, when voting starts, you are free to vote for whichever fridged women that you think were wronged by the narrative. That's the point of a poll tournament!

#sorry if this is messy #not a poll #ask

[rhineposting]

hey what are your thoughs about hmm scolippi JJBA that guy from part five. oh and diavolo bento aureo. uh huh wait since you asked for asks about women and wifes wow what if scolippi part 5 and diavolo golden wind were women and they-

GIRL COME ON

I'M TRYING TO MAKE A POINT HERE AND YOU'RE ONLY MAKING IT WORSE!!

Okay no but seriously.

Scolippi. Scolippi. Scoliosis, even.

He's such a beautiful yet tragic character, and he ties into JJBA's themes of fate and fighting against it so wonderfully. Even on his own, he's great.

He's a simple man, living in an unfair world full of power craving lunatics and egoists that were granted unimaginable power, while he is stuck with a curse that forces him into the position of being many people's guide to the afterlife ever since he was a child.

Yet, despite being put at a disadvantage from the start, he still does his best to be kind and to not harm others around him, using his ability solely for helping vulnerable people find peace - and to grant them the opportunity to defy Fate through choosing to go on their own terms.

Even after being beaten up, shot twice and held at gunpoint, he still offered his kindness to the two people that were actively antagonizing him at that moment. Even while he lied on the ground bleeding, he still prayed for their well-being and for their misery to not be pointless.

He's all things considered, a Saint.

I also like how his arc is a direct tie to the main antagonist of part 6 - Pucci.

They both had girls who were important to them, who both took their life due to circumstances they had little to no control over and they both seek peace above all else. Peace with what is to come.

While Pucci forces that peace, coupled with the burden of knowledge upon everyone in the whole universe, Scolippi simply offers a choice over their own life against cruel circumstances.

Pucci is also a priest, while Scolippi has elements alluding to Jesus all over him - which makes me think of the difference between institutionalised religion and the actual fundaments of said faith removed from a power hierarchy and alike of the Church.

Wherever Scolippi was after Part 5, I hope life turned out well for him.

Unless we go with the assumption that he was related to...

A certain other, purple haired and green eyed man with a Stand whose ability just so happens to directly mirror his own.

In that case, Scolippi just took L after L, it seems.

As for the OTHER GUY

I FUCKING HATE HIM!!! I HATE HIM SO FUCKING MUCH HE RUINED MY FUCKING LIFE!!!!

GETTING INVESTED IN HIM AS A CHARACTER COMPLETELY CHANGED ME AS A PERSON AND I WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO UNDO THAT NO MATTER HOW MUCH TIME PASSES!!!!!

I HATE THAT THROUGH THIS PINK RACCOON LOOKING THING I MET YOU - THE BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO ME, AS WELL AS OUR OTHER FRIENDS WHO I CHERISH JUST AS MUCH TOO!!

I HATE THAT I OWE SO MUCH OF THE CURRENT HAPPINESS IN MY LIFE TO THIS FICTIONAL MAN WHO CAN'T EVEN BE BOTHERED TO PUT ON A REAL SHIRT FOR HIS DEBUT!!!

I HATE THAT MEETING HIM FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGED ME AS AN ARTIST AND CREATOR AND THAT I WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO RETURN TO BLISSFUL IGNORANCE THAT COMES WITH MEDIA ILLITERACY!!!! I WILL FOREVER BE CRITICAL OF ANYTHING I CONSUME BECAUSE OF HIM!!!

AND IT'S ALL YOUR FUCKING FAULT TOO!!!! I WASN'T EVEN THAT INVESTED IN HIM UNTIL YOU CAME ALONG AND PUT A BUNCH OF PINK , GREEN DOTTED WORMS IN MY BRAIN!!!! I HATE YOU TOO!!!!!! GOD!!!!!!!

but omg what if he and scolippi were in fact women.

Hm.

idk I don't think we'd get some huge AU out of it with them as the main cast

where the two of them are in love and silly and married

and where they have a cute bunny baby

yeah no that definitely wouldn't happen. never.

why do you ask.

#girl im gonna so fucking kill you after this. #jjba #jojo's bizzare adventure #vento aureo #jjba diavolo #scolippi #or rather #serena melone #it's a dumb name i know #serdia #babbi #rhine questions #rhineart #jojo au

[albeckett]

i need to go do my spanish flashcards so i'll get off my soapbox shortly, but in the last few years i've grown to really dislike the vast reach everyone has on social media and how a massive audience can distort things... let me explain. you are probably following me, of course, and i may even be following you back. i only have one voice, and i use it to discuss a number of silly things. you are probably personally interested in those things and wish to hear more about them, hence why you are here. cool!

but when i combine my voice with others the message is amplified, and perhaps you feel more pressure to conform. like... if you wanted to use your own voice and contribute to visible, public discussion (making a post in a popular tag, let's say) you may feel as if you have to say things a certain way, or stick to popular topics, so as to align with the discussions that have already been had. no one wants to stick out, right? i dunno, i feel like i see this all the time with memes or common terms of phrase that people repeat, or the same way we discuss characters/ships/motivations/etc. and of course you can draw deeper, darker conclusions from all this other than "people like to use prev tags"... it obviously applies to political or social messages. (btw i am not pointing this out with any sensitive message or topic in mind. i'm not about to go off about conspiracies or groupthink or how They are silencing me, i promise. i think it's all just human nature compounded with the destructive tendencies of social media, which i'll get to below.)

anyway, i really struggle with explaining it well, but this is why i don't want new followers and i turn off reblogs once a post starts getting big. i think past a certain point, when an online following gets too large, it gets very easy (too easy) to disseminate ideas and messages. and it gets out of control so fast when everyone has something to say, everyone has this reach. social media systems rely on constant growth and engagement -- it is profitable to garner likes, reblogs, views, all that. this is not new info to anyone, and i'm sure you can draw a parallel here with capitalism in general. but bro i do not WANT to contribute to any pattern of unchecked growth, i actively detest it. why should i constantly chase new followers or more notes? i get no real satisfaction from it. i get true satisfaction from directly communicating with people and sharing genuine ideas, but i feel like some elements of social media are so transactional and gamified (this is built-in, of course) that like... i dunno. i don't wanna buy into it. i'm good with where i'm at. i welcome genuine connection but it comes at such a cost, i guess?

i'm sure i sound like a weird asshole at this point and i'm about to make it worse but truthfully i fucking hate when people follow me just to interact with more fandom stuff. it's always about the consumption, about reblogging more and more. what does that DO? what are you signifying here? what are your own thoughts on the material? like, yeah, my quantum leap tag is 68 pages, but i like to think i make my own thoughts heard, and i enjoy the creative exercise of making gifs. i acknowledge that this is a contradiction in my own argument but maybe i want people to feel free to say whatever on their own terms? it's like once a community gets big enough we all become afraid to say something truly original. i think we should be weird but not in pithy, easily rebloggable ways that get 50k notes. uhhhh i don't really have a good way to end this but i hope it makes sense and thanks for reading

[gascon-en-exil]

...Is Edelgard being written in a male gaze-y way a hot take...? Like, look at her cipher cards. She's very clearly filling a "cute girl who calls me teacher" need. Like, play CF with M!Byleth and I guarantee Edeleth starts looking grosser and worse.

They have no comment to those Cipher cards, or the boobs-and-butt pose in the Premium Arrange II artwork, or the various modifications to her designs in Heroes alts (boob armor, a more human-looking Hegemon), and whenever they talk about AG it's always how she's a poor tortured trauma victim...whereas if you stop looking at her as a real person with real trauma and start looking at her as a collection of graphical and voice assets then everything that happens to her in AG is blatant fetish fuel. She even has a brief panty/underwear shot in the final cutscene! Male FE characters are never framed that way, even when placed in similar circumstances; contrast, say, Lyon in Sacred Stones or Takumi in Conquest.

I do think there's a lot of hostility to this reading though, because it exposes the reality that Edelgard was always designed to appeal to straight men, with F/F Edeleth as an incidental byproduct of the writers not wanting to bother with writing two different scripts for certain story scenes. For straight male Edelstans it's undercutting all their Very Serious walls of text by calling them horny - and worse, just as horny as they accuse Dimitri's (female) fans of being, the horror! On the other hand, well...

I'm going to have to word this very carefully, because I can absolutely see someone screencapping this out of context to call me a transphobe, but I have noticed that a fair number of the lesbian Edelstans active on Tumblr are specifically trans lesbians. I find this noteworthy, as trans lesbians are still partially within the designated demographic for Edelgard's sexual appeal in that they are also AMAB people (whom the male gaze is designed around) who are attracted to women. As such, they're more likely to be aware of how the games write and frame Edelgard as a sexual object for the player, and thus resent when people suggest that straight men are the intended recipients of her in that way because on some level they understand that too. It's easy for someone like me to take note of this because I also have a unique relationship with the male gaze, being AMAB but not attracted to women. I'm therefore aware when a piece of media is trying to tell me that I should find a female character attractive...but I'm not feeling anything. Quite a few Edeleth scenes feel this way, and that goes for both genders of Byleth equally. Edelgard may appeal to some queer women, but she was not designed for queer women, and as a queer person I cannot call her good representation.

Note that that's not even commenting upon her politics or her morality or anything like that; it's purely an observation based on her role in Houses's Avatar dating sim - and its weird extension into Hopes, where she's still inexplicably drawn to Byleth and is only the leader whose ending changes (for the better, naturally) if you recruit Byleth.

#Fire Emblem #FE16 #Fire Emblem Three Houses #Fire Emblem Three Hopes

[guiltycorp]

Just did a deep dive into your genshin posts to get a feel for your thoughts on things and I'm still unclear but xD I did just want to comment about one of your recent posts. I hate that traveler is so silent on things like finding out about Kaeya. Especially since they have added canon lore stuff that matters in the main story (not just side stuff) to events (like that Scara had the gnosis and was MIA). Finding out sword stuff about Kazuha's family was cool but missing it isn't the worst

(2) Having archon quests like 1.4 and then getting the chance to confront Zhongli and us getting nothing (especially after getting nothing after fixing Liyue...), proceeded by getting several encounters with Venti and not confronting him at all despite 1.4 mentioning him in the "next time we see Zhongli or Venti..." option is just so frustrating

I'm actually really glad that you read through so many of my posts, it feels nice that even the older ones are still of interest to someone 🥺 Honestly I know I can be over-critical at times, but Genshin still fascinates me as a piece of media. Like, it both goes much further when it comes to writing quality than a gacha game would be expected to go, but also it.. sucks. It has an amazing cast of interesting characters, but then it does so little with them that you're left questioning your choices in fiction. Like, I recognize a lot of the themes and tropes which are also prevalent in other games and anime, but I think Genshin really does have its unique and in-depth take on it. So it's a shame that it can't quite reach the level of actually being good.

But to be fair to the Traveler... 1) Overall writing of Genshin suffers from pacing issues due to its gameplay and content release plans, I get why writers sometimes have trouble reconciling certain things even if it IS frustrating. And yeah, events are in that nebulous space where they sort of maybe happened in-canon but also not necessarily, so the game kind of awkwardly ignores most of what we learn through them. 2) But in case of Kaeya!

The Traveler already seems to have suspected something since this is clearly an answer to a pointed question, and they don't ask this of anyone else, so it's likely that the Traveler recognizing Kaeya's nationality isn't meant to be something surprising. Plus Kaeya's answer clearly shows that he isn't interested in further discussion, so it kiiiiind of makes sense why the Traveler would drop the issue. Kaeya already threw the Traveler a bone when he updated them on the Abyss Prince(-ess), but this doesn't look like a man ready to discuss his homeland or how it was destroyed. By the way, note how this kind of thing never happens anymore! Characters don't actively seek out the Traveler to tell them stuff, which also feels really awkward. 3) The 'next time we see Zhongli or Venti' thing was inexcusable. Like why phrase it like that? Even worse, going to Inazuma was given the flimsiest excuse, when it would make more sense to at least go to either straight to Sumeru or Snezhnaya for more knowledge. Like, the game didn't give us any reasons why traveling there would be more difficult than the isolated Inazuma or why Inazuma would be the logical next step. 4) They could have at least mentioned in the events that Venti or Zhongli are super avoidant and difficult to find, only appearing when it suits them, but nope, if we want to find them we just Go and Do That. 5) Another side of this is that there are plenty of characters who should be suspecting the Traveler themselves of being inhuman and overall a very strange being, but so far only Albedo vocalized his suspicions. To say nothing of Paimon! The Archons most probably recognize what she is, and I bet once the reveals about her come they will be like 'oh yeah we knew all along'. Which would be, once again, kinda weird. 6) I think this is both a case of not having clear enough plans for the future plot and also the unfortunate 'no spoilers!!' disease. I honestly believe that the game would play much better if the characters' intelligence wasn't put down like that, and if more of them just said what they think. Not much would change really!

#tbh i skipped kazuha's event lol #im unfortunately very uninterested in everything inazuma related #and about your last messages - #yeah the whole discourse was funny to me at first but now im just irritated #ask #anonymous #genshin #text

[goldenpark28]

really random thought i've had since I finished watching one tree hill last year...the oversexualization of teenagers in media is a conversation that needs to be had.

TRIGGER WARNING:

Mentions of SA towards the end. It is 🚩flagged🚩for you to move past if you need it.

the oversexualization of teenagers in media is a conversation that needs to be had.

friendly reminder that while some actors are adults, their characters are often not. and it makes me personally really uncomfortable with just how comfortable media is with oversexualizing teenagers.

it's made me feel this way since I was like 14 myself and i realized some adults are sitting in a room somewhere writing sex scenes about literal children together. like...what? how is that okay?

or when i saw people (**emphasizing it is not everyone, not even close but still needs to be talked about**) legitimately upset there weren't any sex scenes in fucking heartstopper. charlie is literally 14 years old when the show starts, what the hell is wrong with you.

i think prime example is shows like euphoria or even bringing it back to one tree hill. both shows with showrunners/executives who purposefully oversexualized and adult-i-fied teenagers beyond their years, especially young women and then shame those same characters who choose to be sexually active in different ways.

it feels like the media is reinforcing these ideals of growing up too fast, almost? if that's the best way i can explain it. you have people in real life saying everyone is on their own timeline and then the media shows teenagers doing adult things, and then people either feel 1) like they're way behind or b) that it's okay to shame people who aren't living life on their own timeline that may be faster or just simply different than someone else's.

sex and exploration is natural. it's a part of life. sex and exploration is just about inevitable for some at that age. that's not the problem.

the problem for me is with shows that use their script as some perverted fantasy about minors. or have fans who over sexualize them because the actors are adults but their characters are literally sophomores/juniors in high school.

while the characters may not be real, the sentiment towards them is. and i feel like there needs to be a conversation about that as a whole. if you wouldn't morally say that to, do that to, or even thank about anything in that realm about a 16 year old in real life as an adult, why is it okay for you to say that about a fictional character of the same age and mentality?

***having adults play teenagers play teenagers is whole other subtopic about setting unrealistic expectations through media***

i feel like this also goes towards fanfiction...how many times have you read something where someone had to point out several times they were not comfortable with writing smut either because of their age, the characters', or they just simply did not consent to do doing so because they did not want to and people harassed them for it anyways? i have many MANY times.

there are ways to go about sex in media targeted towered a certain age with taste and respect. every other way just sets unrealistic expectations and false narratives that masses of people are buying into. or are seeing as being okay. no one should be made to feel shamed. and no one should be made to feel pressured. it's even reflected in clothing and music as well.

my brothers and I are just about 10 years apart. what was in media when they were teenagers versus what was in media as I am feels vastly different. the overall what is allowed in any context feels concerningly different in the level it's reached, but the same with shows like OTH who were maybe a little too okay with what they were showing. this isn't anything new. it's just worse.

I think it's also important to bring up censorship in the sense that we don't want to go too far in banning what we show or talk about because you can never fully hide something from a kid. especially this day in age. it's honestly just not safe to act like things like sex and drugs don't exist. when you villainize them so young instead of having an open. respectful conversation, you make a kid more curious to see what all the fuss is about.

prime example are the shows Boy Meets World and Girl Meets World. (Boy Meets World for YEARS after it aired on ABC, having been moved to Disney Channel.)

the topics that were even allowed to be discussed on either are VASTLY different. BMW did a whole episode on the emotional vulnerability of cults. CULTS. Could you imagine disney doing cults today? I know that as a whole by the time GMW came out, tv had entirely shifted on networks like disney from family shows to kids show. that's a big part of the problem. being afraid to have respectful, safe conversations is where things go wrong. when people are left to figure things out on their own, it can go down hill very fast.

younger and younger there's pressure to do things like wear makeup and crop tops and have already met these certain milestones when it comes to love (and even sex) through what media tells them to do.

i think with so much access to any form of media via the internet today, younger generations are heavily exposed to far from innocent things younger and younger. that scares me. it scared me then. it scares me now.

and i don't know. it just makes me uncomfortable when i see someone be like "ooh, i went feral at this scene" and the characters are supposed to be like 16-17. And then the person commenting it is in their late 20s, early 30s or older. it's just not adding up to me. i do have problems with reading social cues so maybe I'm overthinking this.

maybe it's a conversation of separating art from artist? i don't know if i'm wording this right. i don't want to get attacked on here for not being sex positive or whatever. i absolutely am.

there is nothing wrong with having sex.

i think sex and affection needs to be a consented choice for anyone involved whenever they feel ready, safe, and respected. i just don't feel like that's being reflected enough in media, particularly in media geared towards young people. you can never be too respectful or too consenting. that fact that we live in an age where people have to say the find consent sexy in order to have their boundaries respected is a little mortifying.

🚩STARTS HERE>TRIGGER WARNING: SA

and then you hear about these horrible experiences people have and you have to start wondering why those people (particularly assaulters) were made to think it was okay to that. or even victims who are made to feel like they're crazy for having not been ready or people who get shamed for having not lost their virginity yet or been kissed yet.

because hatred and abuse of power is absolutely taught. we see this with the shitty alpha male mentality. young boys are being taught by online presences that they should be in total control of a woman's life and her body, that women should be servants to men and be grateful men even let them exist. those are people who are gonna grow up and go into the real world and think that is okay. who ar entirely unaware that women do in fact have rights.

THAT IS VERY SCARY. Women and LGBT youth are losing their rights to conservative agendas around the world. These combinations are lethal. They are deadly. It is so much more than just a sex scene.

It's understanding that assault, harassment, and harm have a spectrum. any form of nonconsenting advances are still assault, harassment, and harm. they are still devastatingly traumatizing.

and they start with social spheres of influence like the media and peers who tell them it's okay to violate someone else.

🚩ENDS HERE>TRIGGER WARNING: SA

you look at how teenagers are with social media today alone. while they are teenagers, they are still children. their brains are still forming. their ideals of what is right and wrong is being heavily influenced by what they see on a screen. kids are being exposed to too much and i'm just wondering when it's gonna stop. is it ever gonna stop? or have we genuinely reached a point of no return in society?

is this something scientists are gonna study 40 years from now and say this is where we went wrong? i don't want my future children exposed to the levels of adulthood that children are being exposed to now. this goes beyond how sex is represented.

it's a conversation about how do we as a society protect and respect the age timeline of milestones so there isn't so much pressure in the media to grow up faster than one needs to or should. parents and guardians can only do so much on there end. at some pint, some of the responsibility lies with the media being shown too. kids are sneaky. especially ones with strict parents. those kids need to be protected.

My mom used to love watching Law and Order: SVU. That shit was traumatizing to even catch glimpses of as a child. But my parents had safe, respectful conversations with me about what I saw so I would know what was and what isn't okay. i still shouldn't have been exposed to that in way shape or form (sorry not sorry mom, still love you🥰.)

this was a really long post and i don't tend to get a lot of interaction so if you do happen to see any of this by chance of a miracle, please comment and share your thoughts. i know mentalities around social media and sex are different around the world. i'm just curious as to how those conversations are had and how media is different depending on where you are with topics like these.

i don't even know how to tag this so this is probably really random

#fandom #women's right's #i genuinely don't know how to tag this #social media #one tree hill #euphoria

[tea-with-evan-and-me]

I follow your blog (whenever I can), because I have a crush and a big admiration for Evan Peters and because the content of the blog and your approach amuses me. I consider Evan Peters to be a very visceral and versatile actor, which are qualities that I really like in an actor. He has a magnetic quality and, yes, I find him very attractive and sexy, in a way that is not very conventional, which is a plus for me. I don't usually comment here, but I come here and on some Instagram pages, mainly hoping to find news about new roles in films and tv series. It seems to me that his talent and charisma are not being fully used by Hollywood. When I have a crush on an actor or a musician, what I crave for is their artistic work. What I want from Evan Peters are his films and tv shows. I am eagerly waiting for something new and interesting, with his participation, to watch. To a certain extent, I think I face a crush on a "celebrity" like I face a crush on a character from a movie or a tv show and, just like with a favorite character, I become happy when things go well for my crush, either in professional or personal terms, and I tend do "love" them, in spite of their qualities or faults. I know Evan Peters is a real person, but I think people should face their interest in a celebrity" like they face a crush on a character. The "celebrity" is a real person, of course, but not "really" a real person, in the sense that celebreties are not part of the concrete lifes of the fans. I write this to state my position, before commenting that I was baffled with the number of fans who became jealous (really jealous) and infuriated in response to the video from Coachella, where Evan is kissing a girl, that may be his girlfriend. I know some fans made joking comments expressing jealousy, but a large number of those comments seem to be for real. Even worse than that was the harassment and hate that was, apparently, directed to the girl in the video. I can't understand this attitude. It´s very intriguing from a sociological point of view. I have no idea what are the ages of the fans that engage in this type o beahviour, but it stikes me as a very infantile and naif behaviour. Do they really think that they have some chance with Evan? Do they realize that he doesn't know them? Do they think that, just because there are no videos of Evan's everyday life, that he doesn't have relationships or sex with this or other girls? All this seems absurd. One of the things I like about Evan Peters is the fact that he doesn't has social media. I tend to prefer when a movie or a music star cultivates a certain mistery. I don't want to know everything about their lifes or opinions. I prefer the enigma of not knowing. It's more appeling to me, because a crush for a famous person is nothing more than fantasy, an escape from real life, but it's not real life. I think that celebreties that post about everything destroy that aura of mistery. In spite of this, I enjoy all the speculation and gossip on your blog. I find it very amusing. I prefer the speculation to the certainty. Sorry for any mistake. English is not my first language.

no need to apologize, this is well said and i completely understand. we do not need to become immersed in the personal details of our favorite celebrity - in fact, if you’re someone who cannot cope with things like your celebrity crush dating, you should actively avoid engaging in this aspect of fandom. for your sake and everyone else’s. thank you for sharing your thoughts!