#even though not exercising does not equal lazy either

[donttouchtheneednoggle]

tropes that need to die a horrible death preferably now please: the only characters with asthma are fat and/or nerdy and the implication is that their asthma is caused by lack of excercise/disinterest in athleticism and that it's not in fact... the other way round

oh, and the asthma's only there for comic relief 🙃

#*through gritted teeth* osgood... #idk if its so common any more but jfc #ppl of all weights can have asthma and it's way more likely to stop u doing exercise and cannot be CAUSED by not doing it #sure regular exercise can help but at a level that's accessible to u!! #bc guess what feeling like u can't breath and are imminently gonna die SUCKS and is not funny!!!! #as for the nerd thing... just why #there are athletes with asthma #its really not attributable to one demographic #mine #ableism #sorry for the random rant just thinking about how deeply osgood pissed me off :') #A L S O the idea that if you just exercise enough and you won't be fat anymore is bullshit anyway #there are so many fat athletes and fat people who exercise #fat /= lAzY #even though not exercising does not equal lazy either

[whatsmyline-pb]

Saw this for the first time today and just about died. Then this happened:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/32013415

(Edit: a big thanks to @stevieshelby for a much better quality picture.)

Alfie Solomons does not run. Ever. Men who run, in his opinion, are silly and weak; either running from or to something and either way showing far too much desperation in doing so. Alfie is a firm believer in acting with as little urgency as possible.

He knows, of course, that most people running are doing so for the sake of exercise. But it’s a bloody foolish way to achieve fitness, if you ask him. Likely does more harm than good, slamming your joints together against hard pavement. Swimming is a much more sensible form of exercise.

Point is, Alfie doesn’t run.

—

Leave it to Tommy Shelby to ruin Alfie’s first true holiday in years. It’s summer and it’s Margate and Alfie is altogether content to let work fade into oblivion and get some much-needed rest. But of course, he can’t get one fucking moments peace before the little prick is calling him, demanding that they meet, that it’s urgent, cannot be discussed over the phone, and what’s Alfie’s rental address, he’ll be there first thing in the morning.

And mornings, right, mornings are sacred to Alfie, especially when on holiday. He likes to take his fucking time, stretch languidly while the last remnants of sleep slip away, stay in bed however long he pleases and not leave a moment sooner. And then, when he deems himself ready to rise, make his way to the terrace with coffee and biscuits and a book and cigar. Greet the day with leisurely intent.

And fuck if he’s gonna let Tommy interfere with that pleasure. So the next day he goes about his morning just as he normally would, and when Tommy pulls up in his sleek Royce he’s just opened his book and taken his first sip of coffee.

“Just come on up, for fucks sake,” he hollers down when Tommy knocks on the front door. Moments later Tommy is standing in front of him, looking incredulous. Or really, looking entirely impassive, if you don’t know him. But Alfie does, so, yes, it’s definitely incredulity swimming behind those flat eyes.

Thing is, another part of Alfie’s morning routine is not getting dressed. Dressing really defeats the point of lounging around, doesn’t it? It’s boxers and a loose robe for him, and there’s nothing like the feeling of the warm morning sun on your bare chest, is there?

“You forget I was coming, Alfie?”

“Naw mate, how could I? Been anxious for my groceries, haven’t I?” He’d texted Tommy as soon as they’d hung up last night, Be a dear and stop by Kosher Kingdom before you leave, followed by a rather extensive grocery list. Just to be a prick, really; hadn’t expected any follow-through. But Tommy’s holding a grocery bag.

“Those ‘em?” He asks and grabs it from him. Tommy pays this no heed.

“You didn't think a business meeting warranted, I don’t know, putting some trousers on? Maybe a shirt?”

“Business meeting? Naw. I’m on fucking holiday, ain’t I?” He says it into the bag, busy shuffling through the contents. Only half his requests are in there. “Where are my bourekas?” He asks, looking up.

Tommy glares at him and pulls out a cigarette. His eyes flit unwittingly over Alfie’s bare torso as he lights it. Alfie suppresses a smug grin.

Could be that not wanting to disrupt his normal routine isn't the only reason Alfie declined to dress for Tommy’s visit. Could be, yeah, that they’ve been in business together for seven months and those seven months have felt like a fucking eternity, all of them spent with Alfie not so secretly lusting after Tommy and Tommy, cunt that he is, determinedly ignoring his advances (even though Alfie is damn sure his desires are reciprocated). So yeah, he stayed half-naked to make a point about holidays and respect and all that, but also to taunt Tommy.

Rather transparent. Could be he’s getting a bit desperate.

“So what’s this big emergency, then? You finally set the factory on fire smoking those godforsaken fags? Tear a hole in that favorite suit of yours, hmm? Someone finally snap and off Arthur? Out with it, treacle.”

Tommy sighs as he slides into the seat opposite Alfie. “How’s it you’re even more fucking irritating on holiday, Alfie?”

Alfie just smiles.

“Alright,” Tommy says, pulling some papers from his briefcase and onto the table. He launches into a story, and Alfie immediately forgets to listen. Thing is, there’s a lot going on in Margate in the summer, even this early in the day. Folks are up and about and Alfie can’t help it if he’s an avid people-watcher. Not really in the headspace for business, is he?

Alfie’s somehow getting away with not paying attention to Tommy when the group of runners pound by. They look equally smug and miserable and he can’t help but mutter, “Ridiculous fucking hobby.”

This stops Tommy mid-sentence. “You hear a word I just fucking said, Alfie?”

Alfie nods. “Yeah, mate, sure. Something about a shipment and a fuck up.”

Tommy’s jaw clenches, his eyes narrow. He looks from Alfie to the runners and to Alfie again. It’s a long, heavy silence. Long enough that Alfie grabs the grocery bag again and begins pawing through it. He can practically feel the annoyance radiating off Tommy.

“You remember when you set me up with that cousin of yours?” Tommy asks, an eternity later.

Alfie can’t help it, he breaks into a toothy grin. He remembers it. Often and fondly. It’s not every day Tommy is in need of a last-minute date for an important business dinner and turns to Alfie for help. And really, Tommy should have known better. Of course, Alfie was going to hire an escort to accompany him, paying her extra to pretend to be his cousin. Of course, he was going to relish the opportunity to fuck with the great Tommy Shelby, delight in the knowledge of him prancing proudly around London with a high-end prostitute on his arm.

Hadn’t expected him to ever find out, at least not until a few years later when he’d randomly decide to let his duplicity slip. Hadn’t anticipated that there’d be an adversary present at the dinner who knew just who his ‘cousin’ was, did little to hide it and, in fact, outed Tommy on spot. Alfie can’t quite regret this, though. Would never have gotten to see his cheeks flushed so darkly, red with rage and embarrassment, the next day, would he have? It made the fist to the face and ensuing month of stony silence entirely worth it.

“Course I remember, treacle. One of my finer moments. Really though, you were rather ungrateful, weren’t you? Just trying to give a mate a pleasurable night and all I get in return is a black eye and broken nose.”

Tommy is looking at him with that look of his, the one that means there’s a scheme brewing and you’d best brace yourself.

“Tell you what, Alfie,” Tommy says, leaning forward and stamping out his cigarette. “You make it to the pier and back in under a minute, and I’ll return the favor.”

“What, you’re gonna hire me an escort?” Alfie asks, amused.

“No.” His eyes bore into Alfie, the blues in them much darker than usual. His meaning, suddenly obvious, clicks.

There’s not many things that can stun Alfie into silence. He blinks stupidly at Tommy for a few beats, then leans back, dragging his hand over his beard.

“Let me get this straight. I go for a quick jog and we fuck?”

“Think it’ll have to be more of a sprint, Alfie.”

Tommy knows Alfie’s feelings about running. Knows them because Alfie had told him, can never keep his fucking mouth shut and stop the landslide of damning information that falls out.

A run for a fuck. It’s tempting, for sure. But Alfie has his pride. There’s lots of things he’d do for a fuck, but running definitely ain’t one of them, no matter how desperately he wants it.

“Naw mate. Don’t feel like getting dressed, quite yet.” Tommy quirks an eyebrow.

“Didn’t say anything about getting dressed, did I?”

Alfie laughs at this. Of course, it’s his unkempt appearance that Tommy thinks adds an extra punch of humiliation to this bargain. But Alfie could give a fuck, and Tommy should really know better. He’d meet the Queen in his boxers and robe, head held high, wouldn’t he? But running? No.

“Tommy, sweetie, it’s not going to happen. Now, isn’t there some world-ending urgent reason you are here?”

Tommy shrugs and starts over.

Alfie listens. Or tries to. Tommy himself proves to be the distraction this time. First, he takes off his suit jacket, and fucking well he should, he’s got too many layers for this heat, so that’s just fine.

Then he starts to roll his shirt sleeves upwards. Not in the messy, rushed way that Alfie shoves his own up, but slowly, methodically, one careful fold over another. It takes a tedious amount of time for his forearms to emerge and Alfie tracks the progress hungrily. He’s always had a weakness for those arms, which Tommy, of course, well knows. Another stupid thing he’d let slip. But no matter, they’re just arms, after all.

The lazy recline against his seatback is definitely unexpected. So unlike Tommy, to don a posture of such ease. Yet it suits him, stretches his body out more fully, allows Alfie a more substantial view. And there’s the leg too, that has slid out as result, and is now pressing firmly against Alfie’s own, calf to calf. It’s not moving or anything, so, really, it’s no big deal.

Tommy keeps talking and Alfie keeps listening. Problem is, Tommy’s doing this thing, and it’s definitely the most distracting of all the things. He keeps slipping his eyes from Alfie’s face, raking them over his body, slow and deliberate, licking his lips as he does. And that, well that is just fucking sinful and cruel and underhanded and right up Alfie’s alley.

A run for a fuck. It’s ludicrous, yet…

The leg next to his gives a forceful nudge.

“Asked you a question, Alfie.” There’s a drop of sweat running down Tommy’s throat, spilling onto his clavicle. When had Tommy undone the top two buttons of his shirt?

Maybe, maybe, just one, short run won’t kill him. He clears his throat.

“A minute, you say?” Tommy blinks, then nods, trying and failing to keep his lips from twitching upwards. The hair on his forehead has begun to curl slightly in the humidity. Alfie wants to run his hand through it, brush it away, feel how soft it must be.

“Fuck it. Where are my goddamn trainers, then?”

—

Alfie runs like the wind, or so he’d like to think. It’s not far in that he first considers, with slight panic, that this distance might not be doable in under a minute, not for an avid non-runner, such as himself. But there’s no fucking way he’s not getting his reward for this ridiculous exercise in humiliation.

He picks up his pace, stiffens his hands, pumps his arms with vigor. He runs like the devil’s chasing him and there’s a naked Tommy Shelby jumping and cheering his name at the finish line. He can only imagine what he looks like, face set with anguished determination, robe billowing behind him.

Tommy’s holding in laughter, eyes brimming with tears, when he heaves to a stop beside him, gasping violently, his hands on his knees. He’d silence him with a righteous punch to the dick if he could only catch his breath.

“Well?” He asks, a moment later. Tommy holds out his phone to him.

“Minute three seconds,” he says.

“Fuck off,” Alfie breaths, but the timer indeed reads as Tommy says. Three fucking seconds. “This goddamn robe, too much resistance.”

Tommy laughs. “Nah, I must have hit the start a bit too soon,” he says, and closes the distance between them, wrapping an arm around Alfie’s waist and kissing him vigorously.

—

And so that’s how Alfie finally managed to get Tommy Shelby into his bed. Still fucking hates running. Hates it with unyielding passion and will never partake again. But, he figures, just that once, it had been worth it.

#Tommy Shelby #Alfie Solomons #Tommy/Alfie #tommy x alfie #fanfic #ao3 #oneshot #Peaky Blinders #Tom Hardy

[lunarreaper-ut]

Will cross ever be on better terms or rather... More trusting/less on edge with nightmare later (i dont only mean as king and guard but as persons too?) I mean sure nm is still a king and cross a royal guard (of dream) but that doesn't mean they on good terms. I just wish their relationship will kinda develope too... Oh yeah does cross even know how highly nm thinks of him as a guard and how much killer doesn't like that fact? 🤭

What exactly did dream think of killer first and after more time? I mean he surely, didn't like the idea if having an serial killer as his Brothers guard and didn't trust him one bit but i just wanna now more about his thoughttrain...

(Which also reminds me on the question /how & why dream accept killer as his Brothers guard? How did killer gain his trust or at least his approval, leading dream to even apologizing to him?/ u said it was an big event so will this be answered later as an story??? OwO )

My last question(s), in one of my last asks u sad that "at times killer might even gets physicaly get in the way of nm's work, just so nm puts it aside for at least a few minutes" ... So my question is: how does he do that?? Is he laying down across nm's desk like a cat, or just turning him around with the chair and shoving him somewhere else, or taking nm's pen throwing it somewhere or hides it quickly o make him stop, or maybe idk more subtle ways... Like looking at nm with puppy eyes?

Wait... Did he ever try that move on nightmare at all? If yes, When? Was it effective???

Ah that's a good question

Cross and Nightmare rarely interact with each other, so their opinions of each other are that of people who have only seen what the other wants to show. Cross is a bit too caught up in his worries for Dream to see Nightmare's true nature.

Cross has been complimented on his skills directly by Nightmare, and it certainly shocked him. The interaction was odd to him, because of how nonchalant Nightmare was. When Nightmare saw his confusion, he'd said: "Why wouldn't I praise your skill? Only a fool would ignore your capabilities."

Cross isn't aware that it bothered Killer.

He's wary of Nightmare still, and honestly it's not like we can blame him. Nightmare hasn't done anything particularly big to show that he's changed at all. Besides, Cross never knew Nightmare before the incident. He'd only heard stories, and then his first meeting wasn't... the greatest either...

It will take a bit for Cross to feel more at ease with Nightmare. For now, he doesn't see him as a direct threat, and respects him as a King. That doesn't stop him from questioning a lot of Nightmare's decisions (silently), but it's progress.

What does Dream think of Killer?

At first, Dream thought Killer was a despicable person. He couldn't understand the need to cause harm to another, and he had even more trouble processing it after speaking with Killer at his trial. How could someone who had killed so many innocent people seem so... unbothered?

He believed that Killer was wholly and truly insane. When Nightmare told Dream he was taking Killer on as his Royal Guard, he practically threw a fit. (as much as a thousand year old King could do at least). He refused initially, saying they had already sentenced him to death.

That is until of course, Nightmare pointed out the fact that they didn't, Dream did. Nightmare didn't say much as to why he was taking Killer in, and he wouldn't listen to reason. For once, since Nightmare's return, the two Kings had disagreed.

Dream was hesitant to push against Nightmare too much, and he wanted to trust his brother's judgement, but he just couldn't. Unfortunately for Dream, he also couldn't prevent Nightmare from assigning Killer as his Royal Guard. The Kings had equal power in their Kingdom, regardless of who supported them.

There are many things that require both Kings to be in agreement, but a King choosing their Royal Guard was not one of them. Nightmare was exercising his right as King by choosing Killer, even if Dream was sure it was a terrible choice.

After Killer became a Royal Guard, Dream was... well he tried to be polite. Killer was annoying, he was rude, unmannered, and he didn't care for his job. Dream was frustrated nearly every time he saw Killer. Eventually Dream couldn't stand it anymore and talked with Nightmare. He said he didn't need to have a Royal Guard if he really didn't want to, and he would understand.

When Killer remained as Nightmare's Royal Guard, Dream was confused, and a little frustrated again. It seemed after that, however, that Killer was becoming more tolerable. Dream had begun to get used to Killer's jokes, but honestly? His manners were much better. Dream was still wary about him.

It was the night that Killer lost his arm that Dream's entire point of view changed. He hadn't thought Killer would do something so selfless, and when he'd heard about what happened he hardly believed it.

He only truly believed it when he actually saw Killer after the fact. The entire castle could practically hear the scolding Killer got from Nightmare, and when Nightmare put Killer on leave. Dream was... conflicted to say the least.

Killer was still trying to insist on doing his duty, even when he was meant to be recovering. He was frequently asking Cross to train with him so he could get back to his duties, trying to speak with the guards who wouldn't let him see Nightmare, and he even asked Dream if there was anything to be done.

It was probably the first time Dream realized Killer actually cared about his job. When Killer returned to work as a Guard, with a new arm- made from Nightmare's own magic even!- Dream apologized to him.

How does Killer physically get in the way of Nightmare's work?

Oh he'll do anything he thinks won't get him in trouble. Taking papers Nightmare is working on, "misplacing" his files, getting in the way of his writing, all sorts of things. He doesn't try to move Nightmare though, since he's sure that will get him in trouble. He might lay on the desk if he's feeling particularly lazy that day, and he will indeed try his best for "puppy eyes". Which is a bit hard without eyelights, but it comes across.

If getting in the way doesn't work, he'll resort to his secret weapon. "Please, Your Majesty? For me?"

Killer started doing that after he lost his arm, and 9 times out of 10 it works. He says it in the gentlest voice he can manage, and he has to make sure Nightmare is looking him in the eyes, or it's effectiveness goes down.

#answered asks #Kingdomverse? #Kingdomverse #KV!Dream #KV!Killer #KV!Nightmare #Killermare #KV!Cross

[uncloseted]

https://youtu.be/kJcpTSNWXdQ

https://youtu.be/yIZ8zUOXh2g

Can you watch these when you have the time? Im curious about your opinion on this because I think youre really smart and these are some topics rhats been on my mind lately! Thnk you so much ❤️❤️

Okay, so there’s a lot here.  I feel like I should admit upfront that I dislike Joe Rogan.  I won’t really dig into why because you didn’t ask for that, but I will say that if you want to listen to someone wax philosophical, I feel like it should be someone who was actually a philosopher (like Contrapoints or PhilosophyTube) instead of UFC commentator and former host of Fear Factor, Joe Rogan.  Anyway, let’s dig into these videos…. 

The first one is called “Unattainable Beauty Standard Outrage” and it’s with stand-up comedian Bill Burr.  Frankly, I find it to be frustrating because they’re both average looking white men complaining about an issue that they’re really not subject to in any meaningful way.  Throughout this video, they conflate a lot of different issues-  the beauty standards average men and women are held to, the (edited) beauty standards present in advertisements, and the physical requirements actors and actresses are held to are all the same in this conversation.  They make them seem like it’s all the same when in reality that’s just…. three different conversations completely.  I think that’s a result of the fact that they’re just kind of talking, not making an argument or even really trying to get to a point.

Let’s start out with what they’re saying about the beauty standards that average people are held to.  Basically, their point is that if you cared about how you looked, you can compensate for it in other ways. The point here boils down to “ugly people won’t take the time to develop a personality like the rest of us, and they’re mad that they get treated differently.”  But the reality is that you can have a great personality, but discrimination based on physical appearance will still exist.  Similar to how discrimination based on sexuality isn’t cancelled out by white privilege or discrimination based on race isn’t cancelled out by being male, discrimination based on appearance isn’t cancelled out by having a winning personality.  Ugly people earn less than their attractive counterparts, on average have fewer friends, worse social skills, and less active sex lives, and are seen as less moral, trustworthy, and competent.  Women have it even worse; while men are able to compensate for their looks somewhat (and there are more “acceptable” looks that a man can have) through factors like wealth, social capital, and personality, women are taught from a young age that being attractive is the most important thing that they can be.  Because of that, women suffer more from looks-based discrimination than men do and are more impacted every time the standard for female beauty gets raised.

Moving on, they start complaining that the UK is banning advertisements that feature impossible standards of beauty.  To my knowledge, it’s actually only the London underground that did this, and I believe it specifically concerned advertisements that are digitally altered but selling a beauty product (correct me if I’m wrong here).  Specifically in this episode, they’re talking about products that promise you a “summer body” with a digitally altered image of a bikini model.   It’s false advertising when you show an edited model who supposedly got their body by using your product- and that should be illegal.  False advertising is illegal in lots of other realms.  You’re not allowed to claim that your dietary supplement will cure cancer, and you shouldn’t be able to claim that your “summer body” product will make you look like a digitally altered model.  Joe and Bill comment that people are being overly sensitive, and that these advertisements just make them “want to go to the gym”, but that misses the point completely.  Even if you went to the gym, there’s still tens of thousands of dollars of cosmetic surgeries and digital alterations that went into making that model look like that.  It’s not about work.  Those bodies aren’t achievable with work- the models themselves, who work out for hours a day and follow very strict diets, don’t look like that in real life either.  Pretending that those images are achievable through “hard work” is actually really damaging.  It can lead to people engaging in dangerous diets and exercise regimens, taking untested supplements, and feeling that their lack of results is a moral failing because they’re not “working hard enough” (which decreases self esteem).

Then they start talking about actors and actresses who are asked to lose weight for movies, and one actress in particular who publicly complained that she was asked to lose 15 pounds for a role.  Their takeaway is that the actress who complained is being lazy, that she was hired to be hot, and that she’s being ungrateful for the opportunity.  A quick fact check suggests that the person they’re talking about is Jennifer Lawrence, who said she “was told by producers of a film to lose 15 pounds in two weeks."  That’s a very different story to the one that they’re telling.  To lose 15 pounds in two weeks, 5′9, 140 pound Jennifer Lawrence would have had to burn 52,500 calories.  Even if she ate absolutely nothing and worked out at the level of an Olympic athlete 7 days a week, she would still have only burned 39,354 calories in two weeks.  That’s still 3.75 pounds short of 15 pounds of weight loss.  It was literally an impossible ask.  Upon telling the producer that she thought the weight loss demands were not appropriate, “he said he didn’t know why everyone thought I was so fat, he thought I was ‘perfectly fuckable.'”  And so to paint it as Jennifer Lawrence being lazy is a bit disingenuous.  But I’m willing to accept that maybe they just didn’t have that context, because it seems like their goal wasn’t actually to have a discussion based in research or argumentation- it’s to make the point that people are overly sensitive now and asking the world to cater to them.

Closing this conversation out, I don’t think it’s wrong for studios to ask actors to change their appearance for a role.  A big part of why people get cast for particular roles is their appearance, and as an actor, you have to be willing to adapt your appearance for the role. Just like you may be asked to dye your hair or wear colored contacts, I don’t think it’s necessarily wrong to ask an actor to gain or lose weight for a role (especially since both men and women are asked to do that, and the studio provides them with the support to be able to do that safely).  Those bodies are achievable with work, and I don’t think it’s wrong to show those.  But I think there’s a larger conversation to be had about who’s being asked to change their weight and why.  Christian Bale lost 62 pounds for The Machinist because his character was supposed to be emaciated from his insomnia.  The studio didn’t ask Bale to do that.  He made the decision to do it on his own, even though it made sense for his character to be that thin.  By contrast, Jennifer Lawrence was asked by the studio to lose 15 pounds to... what?  Look hotter in the movie?  Almost every female actress is expected to look a certain way in order to even be considered for a role, whereas men can be fat, mediocre looking, older, balding, and still be cast.  Even when a woman is playing a role where being hot isn’t part of the narrative at all, she’s still expected to be hot.  Even when you’re playing a character that’s “let themself go” or has “hit rock bottom”, the actress needs to look hot.  For men, there’s not that same requirement.  Having hot girls in your movie absolutely do get more people to see it, sure, but the cost is that you’re reinforcing the idea that women must be, above else, hot all the time.

So that’s that.  Let’s move on to the second video,  “No, It's Not "All Men"”, featuring comedian Iliza Shlesinger.  I should say that I like Iliza quite a bit and I’ve seen her perform, so I’m curious to see where this goes.  It’s also important to note they’ve been smoking weed, which... provides some context to this episode, I think.

So again, they start by bitching about this “beach body ready” ad that got “pulled in the UK” (actually just from the London underground) that Joe is so up in arms about.  This time he shows the ad, and it turns out that it was pulled due to “concerns about a range of health and weight loss claims made in the ad”.  The concern is false advertising.  So again, to paint it as, “ugly women are too sensitive because some women are actually beautiful” is disingenuous, and serving the narrative that “people these days are too sensitive”.  They’re also making the assumption that this ad hasn’t been digitally altered, which I find difficult to believe.  

Iliza goes on to talk about how her boobs are real and some people ask her if they’re fake, and she doesn’t like that, and how women shouldn’t judge other women to their faces about how fake they perceive them to be.  I think that’s a fine claim to make on an interpersonal level, but I also think that if we don’t start acknowledging all of the manipulation and work that goes into appearing “effortlessly beautiful”, we���re going to fall deeper into this beauty standard arms race.  Iliza kind of gets a pass on this because she openly admits to having a “fake nose”.  Then she makes a good point about how women will be hated no matter what they do, and so it’s important to remember that when someone doesn’t like you, it typically has more to do with them than it does with you.  She also says that when you don’t like someone, it’s important to do some introspection to figure out where that’s coming from, which is also great advice.  Then they wander into talking about how feminism doesn’t mean that you like women more than men or that you’re asking for special treatment, just that you support the idea of equality, and that’s fine. Joe rogan praises Iliza for being “a feminist, but not annoying”, which is gross.

Iliza then says that feminists who say, “all men” are part of the problem, and I think she’s just missing the point.  When feminists say, “yes, all men”, what they mean is that all men are benefiting from male privilege, regardless of the actions that they’re taking (or not) to better that situation.  People in positions of privilege have to acknowledge that privilege in order to be able to better the situation, and by separating yourself out as “not one of those men”, you’re saying “it’s not my problem because I’m one of the good ones, so I don’t have to think about myself critically or alter my behavior in any way.”  That said, I think Iliza is right that that stance can be taken too far and serve to alienate the men who are allies in the feminist fight for equality.  

Then, Iliza equates the phrases “all men are bad” and “all women are sluts”.  I think this is a bad take; “all men are bad” is a generalization made by a marginalized group about a powerful group that they’ve been victimized by.  Every woman I know has had some type of intimidating, frightening, dangerous, humiliating, or dehumanizing experience with a man during their lifetime.  “All women are sluts” is a powerful group insulting a group that they marginalize, with the intention of controlling that group’s actions (by making them feel ashamed of being “slutty” they’ll stop being “sluts).  “Slut” is also particularly charged in this scenario, because it centers maleness.  What is a slut?  A slut is (usually) a woman who sleeps with men but who won’t sleep with the man calling her a slut.  Which, coming full circle, is why some women say “all men are bad”.  

I get their larger point that generalizations are rarely helpful, but again, they’re making this false equivalency between a political slogan (”all men”), a gendered insult (“all women are sluts”), and random, unhelpful advice, (”women want you to slow down in the bedroom”).  In the first case, the generalization serves a purpose- it’s to let men know that they’re not exempt because they’re a “good guy”.  In the second case, it’s an insult that contributes to a gendered power structure.  In the third case, it’s just shorthand for “the majority of women that we’ve surveyed” because repeating that phrase over and over again will take away from the point they’re trying to make (that maybe you could be better in bed by listening to the sluts, Joe).

All in all, I like this one better than the first one, but Joe Rogan hasn’t grown on me over the course of watching these videos.

#Anonymous #effys-closet #effys closet

[one-abuse-survivor]

(TW: anorexia? I think) So I’ve always had a complicated relationship with my weight. When I was really young I would refuse to drink anything but breast milk and it got so bad that a normal stomach bug got me hospitalized. Later on I became depressed largely due to what I think was my mother being verbally and emotionally abusive. This caused me to use food as a coping mechanism, I was constantly eating and when I wasn’t I was chewing on either my cheeks or nails. Luckily my parents got (1/?)

me a therapist who helped break the habit. However I was still fat, and because of my depression, rather lazy. So sophomore year of high school (I’m going to graduate in 2022) I started skipping meals. I was eating breakfast at lunchtime, eating lunch at around 3 and completely skipping dinner. My therapist basically called it a borderline eating disorder. Luckily I was hospitalized for suicidal ideation before it got worse and I recovered there. Now throughout all this my parents weren’t (2/?)

really helpful. Before they were aware of my starving myself they would mention my weight fairly often, even complementing me on my sudden weight loss. The problem though was that even after the hospitalization and finding out about the starving they still mentioned how much I was eating (even though my 10 year old brother gets the same serving size as me). I told them to stop mentioning food/calories/exercise/weight in general citing my fear of relapse. Yet they still continue. (3/?)

I’m aware that I’m fat, I’m aware that it’s not good for me, but personally I’d rather be the most obese person ever than go through that again. Hell my mom not a week ago mentioned that with my butt and my breast I would have an amazing body if I just lost some weight. And yes she’s constantly complementing my butt and breasts even though she knows I abhor them. And at first I thought maybe I was the one who was thinking about weight too much (4/?)

but I KNOW it’s not just me because now my underweight 10 year old brother wants to go on a diet. When I asked him why he said that he WANTS to be underweight. And thinking about it I’ve might be partly to blame because I mention how much he eats whenever my parents mention my weight, but when I do that it’s trying to prove the opposite point, that me and my 13 year old sister should be eating more than a ten year old. Idk maybe I’m crazy, (5/?)

maybe my parents are right and I am a fatass, but like, I’ve asked them nicely to not mention it. I’ve told them why. And being honest I think that they’re projecting their own self body hatred onto us. And I’m sick of it. I’m trying to lose weight but it’s hard to not fall back into bad habits at the same time. At one point during one of our talks about weight I proposed that I eat when I’m hungry and stop when I’m full, reasonable right? (6/?)

Well my parents found that ridiculous. Listen to what your body is telling you? Ridiculous. Later the same day my dad told me not to accustom my body to feeling full. Like wtf?! You shouldn’t tell that to anybody, let alone someone who might relapse into a borderline eating disorder! Again, I know I need to lose weight, and I’m trying, I’m 185 lbs at like 5’4. But they just mention it so often I can’t help but feel like they care more about my looks than my health! (8/?)

I go swimming daily despite fearing covid and I’m eating less but it’s just never enough for them! I’m trying I really am. I don’t know what to do anymore. Should I just give in and starve myself again? Would they notice? Maybe I’m just a fatass who needs to stop making excuses. Maybe they’re right. But it can’t just be me if my siblings are feeling the pressure too right? Idk, I’m getting an eating disorder specialist soon but I just needed an outside pov sooner than that. Thanks. (9/9)

-----

I am really, really sorry that your parents have put you through all of this 😔 they are not in any way, shape or form right, and they do indeed sound like they care more about your physical appearance than your physical, mental, and psychological well-being. And you have every right to be sick of it! No one deserves to hear those kinds of comments or to live around people who think your worth as a person depends on your weight (it doesn’t). Also, your mom’s comments about your body and how “amazing” it could potentially look according to her are completely inappropriate. You shouldn’t have to care about whether you have an amazing-looking body or not. And the fact that they’re projecting their own issues onto you and your siblings does not excuse or justify the harm they have caused and are causing in any way.

It’s okay to be fat. It’s also okay to pay attention to what your body needs in order to live a healthier life with the guidance of doctors/profssionals that you can trust regardless of your weight (for example, I have really bad back pains and I’m trying to stretch my back every day like my osteopath recommended so it doesn’t bother me as much). What’s not okay is what your parents are doing: ignoring the boundaries that you explicitly asked them to respect and hurting you knowingly, and constantly reminding you that they would rather have a dangerously sick kid that hates themselves than a healthy, happy fat one.

You shouldn’t even be trying to exercise more and eat less without consulting a professional first (one that isn’t biased about weight, too, because many of them are 🙁), and much less during a pandemic, where going swimming could expose you to the virus. You shouldn’t have to put yourself through diets and unwanted exercise and the sensation of “never feeling full” just because the people around you refuse to respect you based on your body type. Fat doesn’t always equal unhealthy, and even if it did, being unhealthy NEVER equals being deserving of less respect than others, being worthless, or deserving to be shamed for living your life like any other person. And I completely agree with you in that I’d rather you--or anyone else--was obese than go through the hell they put you through.

I really hope your appointment with your ed specialist goes/went well! ❤

#ask #anorexia tw #ed tw #anorexia #depression tw #emotional abuse #verbal abuse #fatphobia tw #borderline eating disorder #eating disorder #suicidal tw #suicidal ideation tw #starvation tw #self-starvation tw #starvation #underweight tw #unsupportive parents #toxic parents #weight loss #thatonegayfeline

[danganronpedits-archived]

Yo! DR(any game+UDG)matchup pls?INFP-T, I enjoy creative work! I act+look big & scary but that's just cuz I'm trying to stay strong 4 the people I love. I always have good, nonjudgmental, supportive intentions but I find it hard 2 read the room so I come off as mean. I'm always protective/take care of others. 0 energy. Never talk about my emotions. Willin to risk a lot even for strangers. Not shy, not loud either. I'm cheap. Too much fightin spirit 4 my own good-like it gets me in trouble. Thx!

hey, anon! i was super willing to do this for you- you seem like a really chill person !! so i hope you like the matchup, haha... oh, and also! just a quick thing, i wasn’t sure if it was okay to add anime characters, so the one you reminded me of is at the end!

first off, you remind me of...

nekomaru nidai!

this was one that really jumped out at me! first off, nekomaru’s a chaotic “yo!” guy. being the tallest character, with gonta, and i believe the physically heaviest in muscle? he definitely looks scary, and his overconfident and loud act goes with him sort of acting scary too. he is, however, just doing this to try and be strong for the people around him! you have chaotic dad vibes, anon, and nekomaru is to me one of the best people in the danganronpa series- he’s genuinely not judging anyone around him, only wanting to support them and do the right thing! and that desire to do the right thing is both something he wants to hold in himself, as well as spread to other people. his jokes and other remarks, however, like his aggression in class trials, can come off as rude. in fact, i thought he was just Big Angry Buff Man until i tried to pay a bit more attention to him.

he’s definitely protective of others- i mean, his talent is team managing, he’s the world’s biggest dad. keeping sports groups under control has to be a well-trained skill, and again, with his size i wouldn’t doubt that it’s a little easier for him. he doesn’t really talk about his own emotions much, unless it’s meant to inspire others, and i wouldn’t be surprised if that’s also to try and be strong and support towards them!! he definitely has, like, 95843985 fighting spirit, and he’s definitely shy though he’s... very loud. that’s your biggest/only real difference, though! plus, his protectiveness definitely makes him able to sacrifice and take risks for the rest of the group. oh, one more little difference, he definitely supports creative work- like, endlessly, but i don’t think he exactly does it himself. sports can definitely be considered creative, but not... typically. still though! big nekomaru vibe!

second off, you remind me of...

gonta gokuhara!

okay, you’re also very big gonta vibe. first off, in the games, he’s only second smallest to nekomaru, but still equal to him in height! and, of course, he definitely looks intimidating until you talk to him. a lot of this appearance and him trying to be a gentleman for his original family, who he obviously loves dearly. plus, gonta is an extremely non malicious individual- he’s extremely kind and would likely never approach anyone with bad intentions. he can also come off as forceful, specifically when he’s passionate about a topic like bugs- leaving him as being seen as a little cruel depending on the situation(cough cough, insect meet and greet, who remembers that, haha..), or just a bit rougher in lesser examples, like his gruffness towards the manhole. 

gonta is also very protective of others- i mean, he literally wouldn’t hurt a fly. like nekomaru, he’s probably one of the sweetest and least malicious characters in danganronpa. that’s not to say the characters of danganronpa are malicious, but he’s one of the only ones with just- complete lack of judgement and anger towards anyone. i’m sure that you, anon, aren’t exactly like that- but both of you seem like you’re trying your best to be good people. he doesn’t really talk about his own emotions much, i assume in part because he can’t put them into words, and he’s more than willing to risk a lot even for people he hasn’t really met. he’s not exactly shy, and while he can get a  bit louder at times, i wouldn’t say that that’s his default at all. lastly, i’m not sure what you mean by cheap ajfsdj sorry, but gonta also has a lot of spirit to fight like you do!

and lastly, you remind me of...

kaito momota!

once again, character with chaotic dad vibes. kaito’s a bit less like you, but he still just has... a really similar vibe to you! sorry, i’ve been bringing up vibes a lot, but still! kaito does actually enjoy creative work, i think, mostly shown by how he likes milk puzzles and those are more of a thinking exercise? plus, his biggest thing is that he tried to put on this masculine, gruff persona and appearance, to protect himself and his friends. specifically, maki and shuichi as v3 goes on- he cares a lot about both of them along with others, and his stubbornness tends to be directed towards them and the family we hear about ingame! he doesn’t always have completely good and non malicious intentions, i don’t think, but he does seem to be working on becoming a better person, and a lot of his actions (mostly including his philosophy about belief versus doubt) are based around being good to others and having faith in them.

sometimes, kaito can have a bit of an airheaded disposition, like you, where he struggles to read the room- this is at certain times, of course, but this can make him come off as overly arrogant or rude. he doesn’t mean this at all, of course, but he can occasionally be manipulated into aggression by other people like kokichi. by default, though, kaito is a little lazy(like you say with 0 energy) but wants to help others how he can. this can also include wanting to protect them- as we saw in the first chapter, where he tried to get everyone to fight monokuma and the exisals. he really doesn’t talk about his emotions much at all, unless he’s specifically close with someone. he has... a lot of fighting spirit, i mean, the only characters i can think of that actually hit someone else in the games are him and mondo. he’s definitely not shy, and though he is outspoken, he’s not excessively loud the way nekomaru is, i don’t think! at least,  not at first.

-

you also very strongly remind me of great gozu from the dr3 anime! i would’ve put him as a major one, you remind me of him even more than nekomaru, but i wasn’t sure if anime characters were alright. additionally, you remind me rather strongly of sakura ogami, somewhat of masaru daimon, and a bit of yasuhiro hagakure and mondo owada!

i hope this was okay, anon!! ajdfsjdfj they’re... almost all guys. if you’d like that or anything else changed, please let me know!! i’m more than happy to change this for you!!!

-mod tsu!

#kin matchup #danganronpa kin #dr kin #fellow cosplayer! / inbox answer #shsl cosplayer! / request fulfilled #and with that im going to bed #it's very late #you're too slow! / queued post

[nataliawhite92]

Paper Planes

Lena doesn’t regret much in her life. There are moments that she might change if she had the chance but at the end of each day she lives firmly in the camp that everything happens for a reason. If she changed one thing would she be happier or would it be that one change that snowballed into her not moving to National City? Not changing L-Corp to be a force for good. Not meeting Kara. No she doesn’t believe in regrets. Until she shows Kara a song and her whole lifes goes off the rails.

It was a normal Tuesday morning. Lena was in their home gym doing cardio to jump start her day, a routine she took up after Kara had moved in and not just because she was now comparing herself to an actual goddess but also because she loved Kara’s reaction when she happened upon her sweating and cursing any for of exercise that wasn’t yoga. The first time Kara had walked into the gym still rubbing sleep from her eyes and yawning only for her open mouth to widen further Lena knew she would be continuing. Though it was rare that she finished a workout these days, Kara never was a patient person and seemed to take great pleasure in disrupting her only to make her heart race in other ways. Sometimes she will sit down in a patch of sunlight and just watch Lena. And if Lena puts a little extra swish in her hips that’s neither here nor there.

She’s half an hour in when Kara greets her with a soft kiss to the cheek, floating near the treadmill to reach Lena’s face and almost sending her to the ground in surprise.

She pulls out one of her headphones and smirks at her girlfriend who is very obviously staring at her legs which stumbled a little before regaining their stride.

“One of these times you are going to send me straight into a wall,” she huffs, a little out of breath but not nearly as much as she had been a couple months back when she started. She’s made good progress and Kara’s constant appreciation is motivation enough to get through a workout.

“Psh, I would catch you before you even left the treadmill. Super reflexes,” Kara says smiling, now doing a sort of running man impressing in the air.

Lena laughs and turns the machine lower for her cool down. She grabs the towel hanging on the armrests and dabs at her chest and face.

Kara’s eyes trace the bead of sweat that makes its way down between her sports bra clad breasts and she smirks at Kara’s darkening eyes.

“Have I mentioned how much I love starting my day finding you in here?” Kara asks, eyes finally meeting her face in a dazed look that’s too adorable for Lena not to pull towards her and kiss. She tastes the salt on her lips as Kara’s mouth meets hers. Sliding a little in the sweat as Kara deepens the kiss and pulls Lena up into her arms.

“I do believe you have made your opinion known,” Lena kisses into her mouth. She tastes the smile and toothpaste as Kara’s tongue enters her mouth, her breathing starting to shallow as it had when she was running.

She pushes back a little on Kara’s shoulders, giggling when Kara searches for her mouth. She kisses the crinkle that appears between her eyes and watches Kara blink her eyes back open in a lazy smile.

“Darling, you’re going to need to put me down so I can stretch out and take a shower. I’ve got a meeting in an hour.”

“Need any help stretching?” She tries to wiggle her eyebrows but ends up blinking and Lena laughs again. She really has fallen in love with the goofiest, sweetest woman.

“Your help will surely make me late,” she gently chided, feet touching down softly and Kara reluctantly letting her go.

“Fiiiiiine,” Kara whines.

Lena starts working through some of the easier poses, feeling the pull of a good workout and the soreness that will probably set in by the next morning.

Kara floats on her stomach, arms lazily making swimming motions that make Lena smile as she bends at the waist to move into downward dog.

The music that had been playing on her iPod comes on over the speakers as Kara plugs it into the aux cord in the wall. Lena’s workout playlist is a mix of heavy bass songs she found during the stress of college, late 90s and early 2000s artists who kick her ass into gear when she’s sure she can’t move another step forward. VIC’s Beast tails off and she hears the opening chords of Paper Planes begin as she comes back to standing, head rolling in a circle to finish off her stretches to the sound of the bop.

She closes her eyes to center herself just as the chorus comes on. Her eyes widen as she sees her girlfriend, her ridiculous still floating now upside down girlfriend dancing in mid air, blissed out expression on her face.

“All I wanna do is…”

Finger guns blasting.

“And I,”

Whole arm cocking her finger guns and finishing with her hand opening in a wiggling explosion at the cash register ching.

“And take your money.”

She bursts out laughing, bending again at her middle as she struggles to catch her breath. Tears are pouring down her face when she stands up, wiping them away and still laughing.

“Kara! What in the world are you doing??”

“Lena this song is so fun! Why haven’t you showed it to me before??” Kara asks touching down beside Lena and pulling her into an improvised dance session. Lena knows she should be heading to shower. She really can’t be late to this meeting but she can’t even be mad at herself as Kara twirls them around the room.

___________________________________________

She makes it to her meeting just in time, smiling as Jess does last minute prep with her. As she moves toward the conference room she schools her face and converts smoothly into business mode.

Four hours later she is exhausted but victorious, the meeting going exactly as she had desired. She relishes the finer points before opening her office door and being met with a dancing Kara Danvers, headphones in her ears and spinning around to what she suspects is the MIA song from earlier if her moves are any indication.

Kara stops when she sees her, and then shoots her with her finger guns once more before pulling the buds out of ears and sweeping Lena up in a hug.

“How did it go?” She asks after kissing her in greeting.

“As if you couldn’t hear, though you seem so taken with that song maybe you weren’t listening for once.”

“It’s a good song Lena!” Kara protest, pout forming on her face.

“It is. Though you’re a little late to the party. I believe it’s been out for some years now.”

“Lots of time to make up for then!” Kara says around a smile. The same smile that Lena will never tire of seeing. Kara has a lot of smiles, she’s noticed. But this one is reserved for her alone. And puppies. She can share though.

If she’s on the same level as puppies she must be doing something right.

___________________________________________

Lena’s enjoyment of Kara’s antics last a week and about 200 renditions of the song. The morning she wakes up from a dream where nefarious looking bandits are chasing after her on paper airplanes she’s had enough.

All her efforts to find help are thoroughly thwarted.

J’onn refuses to wipe Kara’s mind, though he looks pained about his decision. Lena remembers a passing comment by one of the Danvers sisters about Kryptonians being impervious to psychic abilities and pats J’onn’s shoulder in camaraderie as she leaves.

Alex bursts out laughing at Lena’s dilemma. When she gathers herself enough to look at the CEO standing impatiently in the doorway of Alex’s office she starts back up again at the glare on Lena’s face.

Lena turns on her heel and stalks away. She raises her middle finger over her shoulder not bothering to turn around as Alex calls after her.

“Consider yourself lucky to have missed her Bye Bye Bye phase!” Alex yells at her retreating back.

Lena shudders at the thought.

Winn suggests contacting the artist and offering incentive for them to make a statement about being anti-potstickers in an effort to affront Kara enough to get her to stop listening.

Lena considers it for all of a minute before the image of Kara’s falling face breaks her resolve. She has her limits, Luthor name notwithstanding.

Sam, like Alex, finds the whole thing far too funny to be at all helpful.

“She doesn’t even do the finger guns right Samantha! She curls her pointer finger when she shoots! Her thumb still straight up in the air like a stubborn hitchhiker trying to bum a ride!”

She leaves Sam in her own office, snorting and crying, mumbling about how she hopes Alex has some sort of equally annoying tendency that she soon shows.

Lena tries calming breaths but they start to follow the rhythm of that damn song and she almost screams.

___________________________________________

When she gets home she hears it playing again and officially reaches her capacity of tolerance.

“Kara Zor-El Danvers I cannot listen to that song one more time!” She yells slamming her finger down on the pause button.

Kara is mid fire and she squeezes her finger once more, smiling bashfully at Lena.

Lena falls to the floor, crumbling at how she can’t even be mad when Kara’s in front of her. Probably still smiling.

She hears her girlfriend kneel down in front of her, feeling her eyes watching as Lena’s shoulders shake with repressed laughter, her head in her hands.

“Lena…”

“How did I manage to fall in love with such a dork?” She sighs exasperatedly, shaking her head back and forth.

Silence.

She peeks out confused. Only upon replaying her last statement does she realize what just snuck out of her mouth.

Kara is staring at her gobsmacked, eyes wide and looking suspiciously wet.

“You love me?” She whispers.

Lena sobers immediately. She places her palms on either side of Kara’s face, holding her gently. Her world in the palm of her hands.

“How could I not?” She says back, equally as soft.

Kara blinks, one tear falling down her cheek before her whole face lights up in a smile Lena had never seen before. It was her smile but somehow impossibly fuller.

Before she even consciously decides to she’s in Kara’s lap, her enthusiasm knocking down the most powerful being on Earth. She kisses her, lips brought together not very softly to begin with but quickly escalating to a full fledged battle.

It’s Kara this time who pulls away first. Lena making a noise of displeasure at the now missing contact.

“I love you too,” Kara says, sure and strong. Lena knew, Kara shows her in a million little ways everyday. But to hear it from her mouth. She kisses her once more before cuddling down into her prone body, head tucked in her hero’s neck.

“If you want me to stop listening to that song I will,” Kara says one hand stroking Lena’s hair, the other wrapped around her middle pulling her as close as possible.

“How about we compromise?”

Kara hums to show she’s listening.

“Two times a day and you let me show you how to actually do finger guns.”

Kara’s laughter envelopes her, her whole body shaking underneath Lena. She nuzzles closer and decides she might be lenient on the second point. Sharing that song with Kara might be the cause of her eventual insanity but Lena Luthor doesn’t believe in regrets.

#supercorp fic #paper planes by MIA #fluff #established relationship #supercorp #my writing

[the-citrus-scale]

I respectfully disagree. Your articles have become increasingly negative over the last few months, as if you are discouraging fan creators, making them feel guilty for loving their fandom. You go looking for problems, in a fandom. I take issue with your statement that you are the only outlet that is positively supporting fan creators. You’re a bit full of yourself in that regard. You are definitely NOT the only outlet that supports those of us who create for the fandom community.

We’d like to apologize to our readers for this exceptionally long post.

We literally know of no one else who interviews fanfiction authors and treats them with any sort of respect. If there are other sites or communities, please let us know. We’d love to hear about them! As for the increasing negativity, see below for the actual statistics. You’ll see that your arguments do not hold up. 

6 weeks ago

We began our Relaunch Week as we transitioned from The Lemon Magazine to The Citrus Scale. 

“How Stranger Things Ruined My Life” 

Tone: Positive

Note(s): The title is clearly a joke. It listed all the wonderful ways that the Duffer Brothers and Shawn Levy have taught us that women are allowed to demand more of the media and entertainment they consume.  

“Chaotic Neutrals: The Walking Dead Edition” 

Tone: Critical

Note(s): For the purposes of this exercise, we’re going to say that all critical articles automatically equal negativity. We DO NOT feel this way, nor does any news and media organization, but we talk more about that at the end of this post. 

Then we posted a game, a picture of the prize to win that day, and another game the next day.  

“Please, Sir, Can I Have Some More?”

Tone: Positive 

Note(s): Well, we will preface it by saying that it’s not at all positive if you are a white guy in entertainment who refuses to tell any story that isn’t their own and continually puts women down. If you, Anon, are one of the fanboys who whined and cried when Jodie Whittaker got cast as the new Doctor then #sorrynotsorry. We won’t apologize for calling people out for oppressing minority groups. Not now. Not ever. 

“In Defense Of… Self-Inserts” 

Tone: Positive

Note(s): It is literally “in defense of” self-inserts and authors who write them. The only thing remotely critical is at the end when we stay if you don’t like this type of work, you aren’t obligated to read it. As an overall tone, it is positive. 

“When A Villain Can’t Be Redeemed: A Study In Severus Snape”

Tone: Negative

Note(s): We do not hide our disdain for Severus Snape and his routine abuse of children.

“Adapting Comics For The Screen”

Tone: Informational (Neutral)

Note(s): Again, the only thing that could be considered critical is at the end when we discuss oversaturation in the Marvel fandom and how exhausting such a catalogue of works can be, and that reader/viewer fatigue is very real and you are allowed to take a break if you need it. 

“The Fight Against Fiction Censorship” 

Tone: Critical

Note(s): We discuss how you, as the reader, should be curating your own experience and how characters are allowed to be morally gray. That these characters do not and should not be automatically deemed as representative of writers’ actual views on sensitive subject matters. 

“Get Fridged, B*tch!: The Short Lives of Women in Supernatural” 

Tone: Highly Critical

Note(s): We discuss the fact that in the show Supernatural specifically, most women are killed for the character development of their male counterparts. We point out that this is not okay and leads to the accepted convention that this is good writing and not, in fact, incredibly lazy and sloppy. 

Then we did six posts, in a row, on our Instagram that were silly, funny, or light-hearted, but we’ll chalk those up to neutral even though they’re definitely more positive than anything. We did Signs as Quotes, Kiss. Marry. Kill., The Alphabet Game, and a D&D alignment chart with characters. 

So, at the end of our relaunch week, we were at sixteen (16) informational or neutral, four (4) critical or negative, and three (3) positive, with only one being truly considered negative and not simply critical.

5 weeks ago

We began our Pensacon 2019 Convention Coverage. We featured three (3) cosplayers we met at the convention, linked their profiles, and not one of our questions was negative. Again, we won’t add them to our positive list, but they definitely count as us being supportive. We know we’re not the only who interviews cosplayers in a positive fashion, but there can always be more. We also included four (4) fanfiction authors. There were other informational, infographic, or neutral articles (like interviews), interspersed between these articles: 

“Pensacon 2019 Intro Review” and the “Pensacon 2019 Wrap-Up Review”

Tone: Positive (x2)

Note(s): We had a blast at Pensacon, and will be returning next year as well. All our coverage was overwhelmingly positive. 

“Using Fandom To Teach” 

Tone: Positive 

Note(s): The article states fun ways that you can include fandom in the classroom to help engage the students so they don’t automatically tune you out. It was also a small summary of the panel we saw at the convention, which is clearly referenced. However, all the ideas were original or credited appropriately. 

We also had a TWD Trailer Reaction Video. As far as we know, there’s nothing to be seen as negative (unless we were talking about Rosita). If you really, really tried, you could count it negative though, since every single thing we said it in wasn’t nice to all the characters. For those keeping score, we’re at twenty-eight (28) informational or infographic, six (6) positive, and four (4) critical or negative. 

4 weeks ago

We began our Marvel-themed month here. Honestly, we’re getting tired of linking most things, so here’s how Marvel month stacks up. 

There were eighteen (18) informational articles or infographics, eleven (11) interviews, four (4) playlists, and two (2) games. This leaves us with thirty-five (35) neutral articles. 

“AUs Becoming Original Fiction”

Tone: Positive

Note(s): This article featured information on how to possibly transform an AU fanfic into original fiction, if you so desire. It included examples of popular fiction that had done just that. 

“Faithfulness in Adaptations”

Tone: Neutral

Note(s): We list the ways why it’s okay to like both and that one isn’t superior to the other. 

“Being First Doesn’t Mean Going It Alone” 

Tone: Positive

Note(s): It was written shortly after seeing Avengers: Endgame and was a glowing recommendation of the movie due to the girl power scene. However, upon further reflection we realized that thirty minutes of representation in an almost three hour movie isn’t as good as we thought it was and several other things caused the movie, as a whole, to miss the mark. As it relates to this article, though, it was positive. 

“The MCU and Buffet-Style Representation”

Tone: Critical

Note(s): We criticize Marvel’s lack of representation and how they are continually putting down any fan interpretation that sees a character as homosexual. We do end it on a positive note by saying we’re going to hold out on passing final judgment since they are promising to do better soon. We’re middling at best here, so we’ll say critical. 

“In Defense Of… Steve Rogers’ Happy Ending”

Tone: Critical

Note(s): We simply state that Steve is allowed to be happy and that him being miserable shouldn’t be his only real characterization or arc. 

“The Importance of Fan Service” 

Tone: PositiveNote(s): This one is about the importance of fans feeling like valued members of their community by original content creators, and how it only adds positively to the overall experience of fandom. 

“Rule 34: The Rise of Super Sex” 

Tone: Informational 

Note(s): It doesn’t take a stance either way regarding how we, as an organization, feel about this practice, though it could be seen as more comedic since there are many, many sex puns. 

“The Squick Factor: WinterPrincess” 

Tone: Critical 

Note(s): We break down a controversial ship in the Marvel fandom and explain why it shouldn’t be seen that way, based on the arguments given from inside the Marvel fandom itself. 

“Trope Scope: The Isolation of Being Super”

Tone: Informational

Note(s): We explain the lonely superhero trope and how to use it in your own writing. 

“All the Feels: Standing Up For What’s Right” 

Tone: Positive

Note(s): It’s called ‘All the Feels’, so… yeah. 

“Get Fridged, B*tch!: Marvel Edition”

Tone: Critical

Note(s): Again, we take a stance against using women as plot devices to further male character development. Marvel has a lot of characters, so it was easy to come up with examples. We’d like to note that we defend Stan Lee in this one as he wasn’t for fridging Gwen Stacy. 

“You Need To Calm Down: And Other Advice From Taylor Swift” 

Tone: Highly Critical

Note(s): We wrote an article in response to another from Hypable.com, where we defend binge-watching television, new or old, and list all the ways it isn’t a bad thing. As always, the responses and points in this article were well-researched and thought out. 

“Women Behaving Badly: Why the Movie Hustlers Is Important” 

Tone: Positive

Note(s): We can’t wait to see this movie and talk about why showing women doing the same thing as men, even if it isn’t prim and proper, is a good thing and helps us gain more equality in entertainment and in representation. 

“#NoHomo YouTube Video” 

Tone: Critical

Note(s): We take Marvel to task over Avengers: Endgame and we still have no desire to apologize for it. If you’d like to know why, please watch the video linked above. We can also send the talking points, if that makes it easier to follow. 

So, at the end of six weeks, which brings us to today, we were at sixty-three (63) informational or infographic, twelve (12) positive to ten (10) critical or negative. 

If you came to a different conclusion, we’d love to hear your reasons as to why. However, all we ask is that if you want to make accusations about our overall tone, you be able to back it up, as we did. It seems to us, and anyone paying attention, that we are overwhelmingly informational first. The problem seems to be that any time we are remotely critical of a character, original content creator, or a fandom, we are marked as negative. Which, frankly, is not true. We are a news and media organization. We are allowed to interpret things in a light other than positive. We will continue to bring our readers as much fandom-related content as possible and we promise to be truthful and to never sugarcoat anything. We also pledge to be respectful always. 

If there are any other concerns, we urge you to send them to our ask box as this anon did. Understand, though, that critiquing us does not mean we will blow up, act foolish, or remain anything other than responsible fandom members. We have receipts to back up everything we do, so don’t assume we’ll take accusations lying down either. We welcome all criticism and will apologize where necessary. This just wasn’t one of those times. 

#ask the citrus scale #informational first

[prettywordsyouleft]

Different Kisses with Ken / Lee Jaehwan

Thanks so much for requesting Ken’s kisses too! Jaehwan is so much fun as a person that I’m hopeful you enjoy his kisses!

(I’m sorry I couldn’t find a better gif yet we all know he has plenty of kissy moments. If you find a better one that Tumblr will allow let me know!!)

Kissing Jaehwan happens so often you can always taste him on your lips.

First kiss:

Your first kiss with Jaehwan happened very early into your relationship. Jaehwan classes physical connection just as important as emotional, and he had already started holding your hand and hugging you incessantly right away, which you had readily accepted. He was smitten with you from the beginning; everything you did made his heart swoon. The one thing he couldn’t cope with is how adorable you could be without even intending to be. And that’s how he ended up kissing you, falling for your charms when you least expected it. He chuckled as he leaned over, the smile fading as he placed his hands on your face and met your lips for the first time. The kiss, apart from shocking you initially, was very soft and slow, his luscious lips further imprinting against yours the longer they were attached to you. And when you pulled back to catch your breath it wasn’t long until the first kiss was followed up by several more as if Jaehwan couldn’t quite decipher what he thought of your lips. When it was officially finished, he brushed the hair away from your face, surprisingly quiet for someone who normally talked so often. His eyes were shining though, and you could tell he was just as affected as you were from this stellar first kiss.

Public kisses:

Because physical connection is high on Jaehwan’s priority list, of course it makes sense he has a strong PDA game. Lots of holding your hand, hugging you at all times and endless kisses to your cheeks or forehead are common when out with Jaehwan. He’s a love-fool for you, his eyes are often just soaking you in and this lazy smile crosses his lips the longer he swoons over you. I’m certain you’ve often seen the hearts being emitted from these gazes towards you and equally shot them back, right? If there was a definition of totally being in love regardless of the environment, it would be you and Jaehwan!

Unlike some idols I write for, Jaehwan encourages you to shower him in physical attention when out together too. He is very open to loving on you and expects it back; teasing you until it’s gone too far and you’re both looking for an enclosed space to sweat out the loss of control you’re both facing together. Whilst stepping too far into this dangerous territory doesn’t happen often, when it does, you can count on Jaehwan enjoying the thrill of this semi-public lovemaking.

Private kisses:

Much like Hyuk, private life is lively. Jaehwan is loud, excessive and naturally playful so there is always something going on when you’re home together. Even if it’s something as simple as playing games or watching TV together, it’s hard for the atmosphere to be all that serious. I’m not saying Jaehwan can’t be serious, he most certainly can and knows exactly when to be so, but for the most part, it’s light and carefree. Kisses fill every space of your time together, from the moment you wake up, till the time you close your eyes, Jaehwan’s lips are often busy kissing you. The majority are soft and brief, followed with the cutest smiles that make his eyes crease up and you reach over to give him another kiss for being so darn adorable. Most kisses are initiated with his hands finding your face and holding you steady so you can enjoy the full experience. 

Domestically though, Jaehwan is a chore. It’s not that he’s not good at doing tasks around the house; he’s pretty decent at most things. But this doesn’t make him all that dependable. Tasks that should only take five minutes can sometimes take thirty due to his energetic moods and constant need to lock lips. You’re cleaning the dishes? You need a kiss. He’s sweeping the floor and sees you over the room wiping down the coffee table? You need a kiss. Even one time he tried to kiss you whilst you were cleaning the toilet but you stopped that one before it came into fruition. If you allow him to, he’ll slow the entire schedule down just so he can love on you. And whilst it can be rather endearing, getting your chores done when he’s not home feels like a breeze and you wished it was like this more often. Everything you do excites him, and he feels a constant need to be touching you in some way, not teasingly or anything, just to be in connection with you no matter what you’re doing. Kissing you is just an added bonus that really brings you closer to one another in his mind and he isn’t ashamed with how often he does it, enjoying every chance he gets to lock lips with you.

He spoils you more than just with his affection, an avid lover of setting up date nights at home if you can’t go out and using all the most sentimental touches. You often come home to find little gifts waiting for you and when he’s overseas he’ll send care packages if he’s away for too long. Even if he’s not at your side, you can always feel his love.

Making out:

Jaehwan meets the opportunity to make out with you often. Even though his lips are on yours so frequently, there’s always an underlying hunger to taste more of you when you’re together. He’s an energetic lover and making out sessions are always heightened with a playful, teasing aspect. He isn’t one to take charge all the time, he’s too busy losing himself with your mouth upon his. Whatever happens isn’t planned, sometimes it’s slow and sensual with endless kisses all flowing one into the other until you feel like you possibly couldn’t have his mouth against your swollen lips any longer. Others it’s fast paced, with open-mouthed kisses being pressed into every inch of exposed skin he can find on your upper body, his hands roaming all over you at the same time. Either way, there is a heavy element of body worship from Jaehwan, making sure you know just how much he loves you with every kiss and touch. Jaehwan doesn’t have the best resilience and soon he’s too lost within the lust of making out with you that this session is definitely going to head to complete pleasure and connection in the bedroom (or if you can’t make it there in time, wherever you find yourselves positioned comfortably enough). The great thing about this is you equally need further attention by this point and rocking it out together is the only path you have left to travel.

Morning kisses:

When you go to bed at night, Jaehwan insists in holding you within his arms as if you’re cuddled into a giant teddy bear full of comfort and warmth. And that’s where you wake up most mornings as well, sleeping so peacefully in his arms that he whines grumpily if you try to disturb this to get up for the day. He’ll sleepily hold you hostage for as long as he possibly can, and in the process, he’s becoming alert that the new day has begun, smiles gracing his lips as he grows playful instead. You can expect a shower of kisses like little love bullets all over your face until you’re whining and he’s chuckling at how adorable you are getting worked up. Conversation is light, and any time you tried to talk about the day ahead he’ll change the topic, even covering you in more kisses just to avoid what needs to happen. Aegyo is often displayed in the mornings, his way of trying to sway you for five more minutes of cuddle time, until you’ve had enough, flinging him and the covers off and starting your day with him at your side or not! He’ll soon be up at the smell of breakfast, full of adoration for all you do for him. Naww.

Making up:

Arguing is actually rather rare with Jaehwan because despite all the crazy banter, he’s actually an excellent communicator. He’s observant enough to know when to approach things before they become a problem and if one slips through, he’ll quickly try to solve it so you don’t start arguing. For Jaehwan, he holds a lot of insecurities over who he is as a person and actually pretty self-critical, so letting things get to the point of an actual argument makes him anxious that he’s not doing a good enough job as a partner to you. If things get to this point, and you start to yell or worse, shut off from him, Jaehwan is going to do everything to stop it right there and then. He can’t stand disconnection and will try to cling to you both in a figurative and literal sense, attempting to pull you into his arms to calm you down and using soothing language to slow your thoughts too. But sometimes you really just need to let off steam and he’s not sure how to deal with it, retreating back into himself and taking it on as a personal attack. He’s sensitive by nature, and arguing really doesn’t sit well with him unless it’s the playful bickering you both express on a regular basis. It might take a few attempts on his behalf to placate you or if it’s gone too far, it will be you reaching out for him, but once reconciliation is on the table, Jaehwan is immensely relieved. Although he trusts in you and your relationship, he is still plagued by doubt that you might eventually leave him for someone better. You assure him he’s the only one for you and he’ll be desperate for physical connection, kissing you softly until he’s certain you’re not going anywhere.

I feel Jaehwan would be 50/50 over make-up sex. Sometimes he’d crave that complete connection to settle his nerves entirely, but other times he’ll know you’re his with all the kisses and cuddles you’re both giving each other.

Aegyo and Stop it! Kisses:

Here we go, the section I’m sure you all expected to see! Whilst Jaehwan does have a serious side and he does exercise that with you in all the appropriate points in life, he’s mostly this adorable dork, who acts waayyy too obnoxiously cute on a regular basis. Like Hyuk, Jaehwan is excessive in talking and at acting out – he’s more adept at it than his maknae! You want to say you’re used to it, and in some instances, you can carry on with life without batting an eye at his antics. But this just evokes a challenge in him and he drives you insane with his cheesy lines, puns and excessive cuteness. Aegyo is something you don’t mind too much, after all, you had to have some acceptance of it in your life to be with Jaehwan, but he can get too much and you only have two options left – to find a way to make it all stop or leave him for good. Knowing full well that you need your daily dose of Jyani much like you need your morning beverage to kick-start your day, you turn to him and pout heavily, asking him to quit it. Of course, he’s going to love this, knowing you’ll fight fire with fire and attempt to out-cute him until all he can think about is rewarding you with kisses. Sometimes you might need to kiss him hard to shut him up when all else fails, but kissing away all that cuteness with something a little more passionate will surely change the mood.

Needy kisses:

Like most needy idols, having your attention is a must. He is naturally affectionate and often at your side, but when feeling particularly needy for more of you (honestly is there more to give?!) he will literally encase you in his body and hold you to him, mumbling that you’re his and keep you hostage. Like in the mornings, he can get this needy and clingy at any stage of the day and night, holding you to him and planting kisses on the parts he can easily reach, whether it be your face, the crown of your head or if he’s nestled lower, your shoulders, upper chest – just anywhere he can get his lips on! Even if it’s sometimes a nuisance when you were busy doing something, it’s such a rush to you to be bundled up in his affections, unable to hide the smile that is now wide across your face. Equally, Jaehwan feels the same rush of emotions and love for you whenever you get needy yourself, babying you with affectionate touches and endless talking about how much you love him and need him. Of course, you definitely are not going to refute something that is so accurate so you merely look up at him and pucker your lips up, ready for his to start kissing you into a realm of pure bliss.

Lazy/ relaxed kisses:

I know I normally write some soft scene where not much is spoken about, with gentle kisses and a healing experience for this section, but with Jaehwan lazy days are rarely like this. I mean, there are endless snuggles and lots of kisses – this wouldn’t be Jaehwan if either of those are missing. But lazy moments are louder, there is something playing on the TV and whether you’re watching it or not is down to the focus you both have at that time. You could spend hours just stationed on the sofa curled up in each other, talking about anything and everything, lots of light laughter and affectionate nose bopping or nuzzling one another. Warm and gentle rubs of your arm with his hand as he holds you to his chest, and kisses on your forehead that make you swoon with every one that is delivered. And sure, this could have gone under private kisses, because you do a lot of hugging, kissing and swooning most days, but having the time to actually enjoy this for long periods isn’t as frequent. And even though it’s decidedly louder than most idols, it’s still a healing experience to let go of the schedule and just submerge in each other instead.

Reassuring kisses:

Being the communication king that Jaehwan is, whenever something is troubling him, he won’t hesitate to tell you. Sure, he holds his values of being the best boyfriend to you pretty high and with some idols I’ve written for who are like this; they would mask their concerns as not to worry their partner. Jaehwan is far too open with you for this to happen. Connection is huge for him (I keep saying this but it’s really true) and emotionally being able to express himself is rewarding when he knows you’ll so readily let him lean on you. Physically, he’ll place himself in your lap and tell you of his woes, glancing up at you often to gauge your response. You’ll mindlessly play with his hair in a rhythm that is soothing for both of you, and share your thoughts when you can. If it’s something you can’t quite help him with, you support him the best you can and that is enough as it is. Just speaking his problems into the universe makes the weight of them bearable. Kisses happen softly throughout, Jaehwan grabbing your other hand that you had rested over his torso and brings it up to anchor his lips there when he isn’t talking, making you smile down at him when he nuzzles into your stomach too. When he starts to be needlessly affectionate, you know you’ve settled most of his concerns and he’ll reluctantly peel himself out of your lap and then thank you before kissing you in a slow and lingering kiss.

I Love You kisses:

Jaehwan tells you often that he loves you. He loves the way you look in his clothes, how you cook him delicious food and even the cute messages you send him throughout the day to remind him to eat well and on time make his chest swell with love and pride that you’re his. So he has something to say I love you for every day. Not that he needs a reason for it, of course! And usually when he says this he doesn’t leave room for you to say anything back, instead he dives in for your lips, kissing you with demand or pecking you excessively if he’s in a playful mood.

But when you get the chance to say it, wow. It’s generally at night when you’re both in bed together with no distractions to throw off the weight of your words, uttering them out with such conviction that sometimes they make you emotional too. Jaehwan gets overwhelmed every time you tell him that you love him. Although he knows you’re his, hearing you proclaim how much you love him and want to do so forever literally makes him combust with all the feels. He wraps you up in his arms further, allowing no space between you and whispers back that he loves you too before kissing you. It’s soft, as if he’s barely touching you but soon builds into a heated and passionate embrace that you’re both breathing heavily when you fall apart, smiling at each other with complete adoration for each other. Stop it, I’m jealous.

 You never expected to love living in such a squishy, fluffy ball of warmth and love, but now that’s all you want to do. Jaehwan is the ultimate boyfriend, he’s thoughtful, cheesy and fun, and he knows when he needs to be serious with you too. Although he kisses you so often you’re forever buying chapstick to keep up with the demand, you know that you’re ready for a lifetime’s supply of his luscious lips on yours.

_______________

All rights reserved © prettywordsyouleft

Other VIXX members: Hakyeon // Taekwoon // Ken // Hyuk

[Different Kisses Masterlist] | [Main Masterlist] | [Request Guidelines]

#lee jaehwan #jaehwan #ken #vixx #vixx imagines #vixx scenarios #kpop imagines #kpop scenarios #lee jaehwan imagines #lee jaehwan scenarios #boyfriend! jaehwan #boyfriend! lee jaehwan #boyfriend! ken vixx #pwyl; different kisses #prettywordsyouleft requested

[toomanysurveys9]

What was the last thing that made you feel good? eliana’s little smile. she is the cutest little girl.

Do you have an annoying neighbor? no. we’re probably the annoying neighbors, to be honest, with all the people who live here, plus three dogs. Do you have anyone who tells you to let others walk on you? i mean. i guess jacob kind of does when it comes to his family. evidently they should be allowed to say or do anything to me and i’m supposed to just let it go. Do you get exercise daily? i usually walk at least a little if i can. So far, what has been the best decade of your life? this one, only because of my kiddos. but i’m only twenty-five.

Are you ready for your next birthday? i don’t really care, to be honest. they are just any other day.

Has this year been overall good or bad for you? definitely highs and lows, but the highs are way better than the lows. What type of magazine column would you like to write? i don’t know. i don’t think i’d like writing for a magazine, but if i did, i would probably do an advice column or something about life. What type of designer would you like to be? i wouldn’t want to be a designer. i don’t care about fashion, even a little. What school subject do/did you hate the most? i always disliked math. Who taught you how to apply make-up? my mom. Do you dress your best and try your best, or are you lazy? depends what i have to do that day.

Do you know anyone stupid? i mean. i guess. Which parent do you feel the most affection for? both. i love them both equally.

How do you feel about God? i don’t believe in god. What do you do when every new survey is boring? i usually just push through it. What is one thing you would hate about living in the era before yours? i’m not sure right this second. Which historical era interests you the most? there are certain things about, like, the 1920′s that interests me. Which is better: historical fiction or modern fiction? i prefer modern fiction. Which is better: fiction book or nonfiction book? i usually prefer fiction. Which is better: book or movie? books. i always prefer books. Have you read “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”? no. i did watch the movie though. What is one thing you currently can’t find? jacob’s charger cord. Do you like it when people are jealous of you? Why or why not? i don’t like it, but i don’t really care either... Are you disabled in any way? no. Would you rather live in an apartment or a house? house. i don’t think i could handle an apartment with all their rules and no room for the kids to play. Which platform do you use to listen to music on the most? pandora or spotify. Do you wear earplugs in loud environments? not usually. What do you do when you can’t sleep? just lay there, play on my phone, or read. Who do you wish you were still friends with? i don’t know anymore.

Do you feel like your life is too hard for you to handle? sometimes, yes. Are you bothered by your past? yeah. especially when it wants to randomly pop up. jason randomly messages me every few months to tell me he misses me and wants to see me again (he’s one of my cousins that sexually assaulted me). then he blocks me until he wants to talk to me again. Have you ever ridden in an ambulance? in the front seat, not the back. my mom rode in the back. What was the most fun 5k you have ever run? i’ve never run one. Do you prefer Small Business Saturday, Black Friday, or Cyber Monday? none of them. Will you be voting in this November’s election? i didn’t vote. Who do you care about the most? my kids.

What is unique about you? nothing.

#survey #surveys #personal #question #questions #random

[novarasalas]

Second Look Review: ‘A Little Adventure’

And here begins a review series of Voltron’s season 7, written up as i re-watch it. This is equal parts as a writing exercise and as me just wanting to share my thoughts and observations.

I’ll try to go light on meta and theories, sticking to just the facts, ma’am.

Well, that’s what I intended to happen, but this episode was very personal from the start, what with all the Shiro backstory. 

So join me for this two-part review, where I switch on the projection machine and smash the overshare button.

Part 1: Laugh So You Don’t Cry

Let’s start with the easy stuff, yeah? 

It features Coran, finally going full Thornberry:

...truly gorgeous.

We also have this amazing pair here:

And, most unexpectedly, a demonstration of yalmors linking at the ears, something we haven’t heard about since season 1:

I don’t have much else to say about this part. I would, however, like to formally request a spin off of Hunk and Romelle being so, so done with everything.

Part 2: The Meeting

So hey! It’s that back story everyone’s been screaming for, and boy, does this episode deliver. I really wish it had been solely dedicated to that story, though. I’m not a fan of the high drama/humorous aside splits they keep giving us. I know they do that to keep things interesting, cause hey, rated TV-Y7, right? But I always come out the other side of it feeling like I have emotional whiplash.

First, look at this:

Thank you.

So Shiro’s a bit of a celebrity? That’s pretty cool. I’m impressed.

Too bad Keith isn’t.

He’s even in the classic “anime protagonist seat”. Oh, Keith.

The subtitles here say: Shiro broke the record for the fastest orbital velocity, beating the old heliocentric speed by about 50 kilometers per second. 

I’m a big damn nerd, so you know I had to look this up. Here’s what I found:

In 2018 though, a new NASA mission - Solar Probe Plus - will be launched. Designed to come as close as 8.5 solar radii to the Sun (that’s about about 5.9 million kilometers or 3.7 million miles), it will hit orbital velocities as high as 200 kilometers a second (450,000 miles an hour).

To just put that incredible figure into perspective - going this fast would get you from the Earth to the Moon in about ½ an hour. It is also about 0.067% the speed of light. (source: Scientific American -”The Fastest Spacecraft Ever?”)

I have no idea if they’re counting his record against something like that, or manned flight, for which the record is 107,000 km/h. That’s uh..that’s us. On Earth. We haven’t sent people into independent solar orbit yet.

Also, one day I’ll learn how to post links without breaking the tags, cause my source article was very interesting. Please go find it.

And now we have the simulator. We get that call back to “Taking Flight”, which I found to be a nice touch.

Keith, you’re the only one who could possibly fly through this.

And then Keith steals Shiro’s car and his heart, wasting no time in attempting to push him away. And he doesn’t just keep it between the two of them; Keith’s got a lot of misguided anger to share.

Nothing will endear you to your new classmates faster than signing the whole group up for a collective punishment.

But lessons are learned and everyone calms down.

..oh. Whoops.

Yes, the good ol’ collective punishment: let the jerkass’ peers sort them out. And maybe it would have worked in this case, except for the fact that Keith respects exactly no one.

When this episode first aired, I was seeing yelling about James being a bully, but to be honest, this is more of a case of two shithead kids being shitheads to each other. Keith doesn’t care how his actions affect others, and James reacted by going for a low blow about Keith’s parents.

I suppose they sorted each other out in the end, didn’t they?

So here’s Keith, the angry, lost kid, acting out in desperation and loneliness, and Shiro, who we now see risking his own good name to help him.

Why would he do that?

Now, a lot of what I come up with in the next part is my interpretation of Shiro based on my own experiences, because that’s all I have to go on. My one big gripe about this is that we don’t see Shiro until he’s a young adult. What was he like growing up? Does he try to help Keith because he’s a sweet guy, or does he relate to him in some way?

We may never really know. For my own purposes, I’m going to assume that it’s more of the latter.

Let’s look back at this interaction:

Shiro: “That’s the Calypso, the first ship to carry astronauts to the moons of Jupiter.”

Keith: “It took them three years to get there. Longest voyage of its kind.”

Shiro: “That’s right. Reading about that mission is what made me wanna be a pilot. Those astronauts braved the unknown.”

Nerd break: 

The Juno probe made it to Jupiter in 5 years, arriving in 2015.

Right now it takes 9.5 years to get to Pluto

/nerd

Keith knows about the Calypso. You might think that the tiny, emo kid doesn’t seem the type to be into nerd stuff, right?

But I get it.

I didn’t have the best time growing up, and we know that after the death of his father, neither did Keith. I had one big obsession that got me through the badness: space. Sorry, two: space and dinosaurs. And giant mech shows. Er...three big obsessions.

But space was the biggest and realest. The 90s were an exciting time for space exploration, with the Voyager probes finishing up their grand tours, the ISS being built, and the first rovers being sent to Mars. It felt good. It felt hopeful.

And I think maybe Keith may have felt the same about space. After all, space was a big unknown. By nature, it couldn’t be good or bad, right? Not like home.

Or maybe it’s because he’s half Galra and always knew that he wasn’t fully of Earth. Or maybe it was both.

I can imagine that Shiro may have thrown himself into space for similar reasons. Because you know what really sucks having deal with growing up? Chronic Illness.

Part 3: Invisible

We come to realize, right along with Keith, that Shiro is sick.

When I’d first heard about this, I was both saddened and ecstatic. It’s not often that I get to relate in any way to a strong, capable, wonderful fictional character. ‘Cool!’, I thought to myself, ‘He’s a sicko like me.’ Immediately, my next thought was ‘Damn, he’s a sicko like me…’

Then a few things about his character began to fall into place.

I think we all noticed Shiro pushing Keith into the place of leadership via the phrase “If anything ever happens to me...”. And Shiro being chronically ill explains that. I’d been wondering for a while about what Shiro’s deal could be. Why did he think something was going to happen to him? Was is just planning for every eventuality, or was it something else?

Shiro’s a great leader, so it was probably both. But him being ill puts a new perspective on things.

When you’re chronically ill, you have to think about things a lot more than other people. You have to plan heavily for ‘what ifs’, and you had better be prepared. 

Back in July, a friend and I took a trip to a con. This had been the first trip I’ve been on in years since I’ve been so damn sick. The preparation alone was exhausting. I had to make sure I had everything with me, and backups of everything just in case something happened. I had to make sure my meds and supplies were in reach if I needed them right away, but I also had to make sure that they were cool and out of the summer sun, because if they got too hot, they’d stop working.

The con was six hours away from home, and if I had needed replacements of these things, I would have to make soooo many phone calls and likely beg for help.

I had to have a conversation with my friend about what to do in case I had “an incident”. It’s humiliating; I’m a grown ass adult that has to preemptively ask people for help. Even though she’s my best friend, and I trust her so very much, it sucks.

In the end, everything was fine, but only because of careful planning. I can’t tell you how much I miss the days of just being able to go, to do, to not have to think about everything that could go wrong and possibly kill me.

So what I’m really saying here is that Shiro most likely has a lot of experience planning for eventualities. He’s also swallowed enough of his pride to discuss these things with Keith by the time the main story begins. And note: it’s only Keith he shares these things with, not the others. I don’t share these things with people who aren’t very, very close to me either.

Well, present company excluded, of course.

And here’s the part that  I go projecting onto Shiro again, but as I said previously, until they give more backstory, it’s all I have to go on.

So, what about Shiro’s family?

That’s something that’s been talked about in the fan space for a while, too. Is he an orphan? Did they disown him? Unfortunately, the flashbacks we get don’t go back that far. All I have to go on to answer that are my own experiences, which are not good.

My heart swells every time I see someone talk about how their family supports them as they deal with their illnesses. How good it is that they have love and stability to help them through.

I don’t have that. I never did. My home life sucked before I got sick, and illness certainly didn’t help.  I can say with certainty that if I had spent years in space out of contact with them, I wouldn’t be too broken up about it. There’d have been no video messages home, is what I’m saying.

I could see Shiro at this point in the flashbacks, gifted and celebrated, throwing himself at everything he could, working hard to prove that he’s worth something, proving that you’re not a lost cause just because you’re sick. I found myself wanting to prove things, too, taking on tasks and making plans and trying to show the world that I’m still useful, that I’m not lazy. See? I didn’t cause my own illness in an attempt to get out of responsibilities.

You’ll still get rejected, though.

So you learn to hide your illness from people that don’t need to know about it.

Shiro may have been like Keith: a lost, angry kid, pushing people away before they can make the decision to leave. It’s a difficult thing to grow up and only see disappointment in the eyes of the people who are supposed to be there for you. Again and again, they let you know in so many ways that you’re difficult to deal with, that somehow you’re a burden on them.

I can’t know for sure about Shiro, but I know that this is the truth for Keith. I completely understand why Keith would end up so attached to Shiro, the only person who was actually putting in a real effort to help him. I wish I’d had my own Shiro, ya know?

I can’t be all doom and gloom about this, though. I still like that one idea that Shiro was raised by his grandparents. I like to think that it was a happier time for him, as my time spent with my own grandparents was for me.

Of course, I could be completely wrong about all of this, and projecting way too much of my own problems onto him. For the sake of any alternate realities where Shiro is a real person, I hope that I am. 

Next up: Part 2 - relationships are hard -and- an appeal to societies greater sensibilities.

#second look review #shiro #vld shiro #keith #vld s7 #vld #voltron #voltron s7 #meta #long post #such a long post #i'm so sorry #but that's why the read more #i swear the others won't be like this. #vld keith

[othercat2]

Fic: Build a Life From Scratch 6/?

Exercises in Attempting to Keep Two Idiots from Killing Each Other  

Highblood wants no part of your ashen wiles. “Could break you in half, with a snap of my fingers,” he says when you bring it up during arts and crafts hour. He’s knapping flint and you’re sanding the wood pieces of the macuahuitl that Demoness had shaped.

“I’m not exactly thrilled either, but apparently someone needs to cock block the pitch thing,” you say.

“You know fuck all about pitch,” Highblood says looking up at you from his work. His eyes are weird, bright and sharp, looking right into you and seeing who the fuck knows what. He goes back to shaping his current flint. “It’s not pitch I’m feeling for a blaspheming dirt blood heretic and it’s not ashen I’m feeling for a pasty little legume like you.”

“Well, why don’t you school me?” you ask. Yeah, you’re not going to address the little bean comment. Highblood is fucking huge; you’re shy of six feet. Not getting into a pissing contest about you’re comparative heights.

“Demoness set you on me ashen, and you don’t even know pitch?” Highblood asks.

“Blah blah rivalry, blah blah hate sex,” you say, making mouth movements with one hand. “Catskin does apparently hate you like that and doesn’t want to. You apparently don’t hate her like that.” You point a thumb at your chest. “Therefore me, from my understanding of the ashen thing.”

“Like fuck you,” Highblood says. “How do you know she’s pitch for me?”

“I talked to her, remember? It didn’t translate well, but I’m pretty sure that’s what she was saying. You being the first troll she saw after however long fucked her up.”

Highblood doesn’t say anything for a while. He finishes off the point and sets it aside with the others. “It’s a powerful thing, being alone and lost for a time, and then seeing another face,” he says. “I thought my ticket had been torn when I awoke in the wilderness, and was mad with the grief and rage of it. I saw the Demoness and blamed her for it, and we spent a season fighting over it. She can bowl me over like I’m a wiggler, and her mind knows no mortal fear. You are not equal to that in the ashen quadrant.”

“Fuck you, I chopped a huge as fuck goddamn meteor in half,” you say. “While it was falling. I could take you.”

Highblood snorts, and glances up at you with a lazy sort of amusement. You feel the sweep of his personal terror field and struggle not to shiver at the weight of it.  “How big was that meteor?”

You give a one shoulder shrug. “Bigger than your ugly ass,” you say, trying for a casual tone.

The fear is a sharp anxiety, a hyper focus on how dangerous the huge ass troll is on the other end of the table. Sharp teeth, gleaming eyes, a goddamn monster that can pull you apart, break you like a doll. He was so much bigger than you, so much stronger than you, he could do whatever he wanted, and you wouldn’t be able to stop him. He could reduce you to pulp; make you beg for death for days before actually killing you.

The hobbit hole seems to fade out; all that exists are Highblood’s burning eyes, and the awareness of how terrified you are of him. The fear soaks right in, fills you up and spills over. It freezes you in place, and you can’t breathe. You stare at Highblood--

--At Kurloz Makara who teetered between faith and the loss of that faith. Who had despaired and was only just now starting to live. Who had received the terrible knowledge of his false faith with a Rage that had not yet risen from the depths of his subconscious mind. Who was held by his devotion for his brothers in faith, by his devotion for the very few he pitied. Who--

--You throw a handful of sand into his eyes and abscond like the Devil was on your tail, in a flat out run straight for the goddamn woods. You hear a roar and swearing behind you. You don’t look back because that would take away valuable absconding seconds. You run and dodge between trees, stumble through a tiny little stream, and almost fall into a not so tiny ravine.

It takes some time to realize he’s not coming after you. You collapse on an incline full of flowers, greenery, grass and saplings, hoping like hell the greenery you’re lying on doesn’t turn out to be poison ivy or some shit. You’re surrounded by trees, and it’s pretty quiet, probably because of the racket you made absconding.

You breathe and watch the flowers and grass move in the breeze. There’s bugs too; butterflies and grasshoppers and the occasional bee. There’s a lot to watch; little glowing sparks of life that are not actually glowing, it just seems like they are. It would be easy to reach out and touch a spark and know it the way you’d known Highblood.

This feels like a weird thought to have; weird and way too intense to handle, suddenly, now that you’re not running. It’s too bright, too much. You curl up and think about how long the deeply rooted grass has been coming up, year after year. It dies off but keeps coming back, determined as the year before despite being cropped down, drowned, and frozen. Seeds germinated and sprouted, and what was deeply rooted grew back. This is as much as can be handled right now; grass and flowers and other greenery. The glow was there, you could still sense what was going on with it, but there wasn’t a lot going on; just the same cycle, over and over again. It was nice, comforting.

Footsteps are less comforting. You look up, and it’s too much again. Catskin, her grief and love fills her. The memories of her loved ones surround her. There’s a deepness to her, a strength and faith and continues on despite grief and defeat. There’s anger, a determination to survive and pass her faith and determination on to others. “Close your eyes,” she says.

For whatever reason, you do that thing.

“What were you focused on, before?” she asks. She sounds like she knows what the fuck is going on, and the part of you that went along the first order shudders in relief. The rest of you tries to find a way to tell her to fuck off, you’re fine.

“The grass.” Saying it feels like a struggle.  

“Yeah, that’s always good. Do that now. Just the grass.” Her voice is quiet. “Tell me about the grass.”

So you tell her how there was a forest fire a few decades back, during a dry summer followed by a bunch of lightning storms. What came back was a few struggling weeds, followed by the grass. You talk about the grass, its roots and seeds and the way it spreads. You talk about seasons and changes in the weather and changes in the soil. You talk about saplings and moles and earthworms tunneling through the dirt. The glow doesn’t fade, but it gets easier to deal with, somehow.  

You look up, and it’s not so bright anymore. Catskin is sitting a few feet away, watching you. “Hey.” Just catching some rays, absolutely no freaking out here. Catskin [Disciple, Meulin Leijon] is still this intense, layered presence, but it’s toned down.

“How do you feel?” she asks.  

“Like my head’s been turned inside out,” you tell her. You sit up, moving slow and cautious.

Catskin makes this humming sound. “I think that maybe, you’re like me,” she says.

“And what are you like, Sheena?” you ask.

“I can see things being alive,” she says. “Makes tracking prey so much easier.” She smiles with all of her teeth at that. They are all very, very sharp, and her jaw looks really strong. You know without knowing how, and not wanting to know at all that she’s ripped out throats with her jaws and teeth.

“I was probably not hard to track at all, princess,” you say. “Probably left a trail a blind Girl Scout could follow.”

Catskin laughs at you. “I wasn’t threatening you by implication,” she says. “Did it sound like that?” You stare at her, and hums, sounding pleased with herself. “Not on purrpose,” she says. “I saw--flares? From the hive, one almost matched my color, and one was the same color as the highblood, and you came rushing out of the hive, so I followed you.”

“Your color?”

Catskin cups her palms together briefly, and for a moment you see a bright pink flame in her hands. “That color!” she says. She tilts her head a bit. “You’re still pretty meowch that color.”

You look down at yourself instinctively, but you don’t seem to be bright fuchsia. Then you hear what she said. “Did you just…cat pun at me?”

She gives you a big Cheshire Cat grin. “Yes?”

You shake your head like, okay, whatever. “Flares?” you ask.

“It felt like something happened,” she says. “I wasn’t sure what, but it felt like what it must have felt from the outside when it first happened to me.”

You work your way through that. “And what, you wanted to help?”

 She shrugs. “I’m not, not going to help because I’m angry. It was frightening and confusing for me when it started happening to me, and if I can help, I should.”

“Even though I’m roomies with Satan and his girlfriend?” you ask, a little skeptically. Okay, she had helped, but she had also been lurking out in the woods, greatly limiting your ability to get your roam on.

“Should I judge you for doing what felt safest?” she asks.

You don’t like the way she says that. You really, really don’t like the way she says that. She says it like you didn’t have a choice or something. (Like she thinks you’re some kind of victim.) It also occurs to you that if you’re seeing her, she’s seeing you; and you like that even less. (What the hell is she seeing?) “Okay so, my options were camping, which I’ve never done because I’m a city boy, and maybe dying from bad water or berries that turned out to be bird edible but not person edible or taking up Demoness on her invitation. Is there something wrong with that?”

“Of course not,” she says. “But I notice that you ran in terror from one of your ‘roommates.’”

“He didn’t take my offer of being his ‘middle leaf’ too well,” you say. “Then I could see his soul, so I threw sand in his face and ran like hell.”

“Middle leaf?” Catskin asks with extreme puzzlement.

“Is ashen not actually a thing?” you ask. If so it was one hell of a practical joke.

“Oh, it’s a thing, but it’s obvious you and he couldn’t be ashen for each other!” Catskin says, sounding pretty surprised at the idea. “Not the way you spar.”

“…There’s a way people who are ashen spar?” you ask.

“If you’re the middle leaf, he should be intimidated by you, just a little!” Catskin says. “At the same time, he should be challenging your authority as the middle leaf, just enough that he can be reassured your feelings remain conciliatory. Of course it’s harder to tell with Highbloods, but still! He isn’t the tiniest bit ashen, from his body language.”

“Yeah well, there’s no one else to do it,” you tell her. “Demoness doesn’t want to ‘flip ashen.’”

“And the Grand Highblood doesn’t find a dirtblood worthy,” Catskin says with an ugly sneer and an undertone that sends a shiver down your spine.

“You don’t exactly find him worthy either,” you point out.

The undertone becomes a growl. “No. I have no respect for him.”

“But he’s apparently a sexy beast,” you say. “I can kind of see it actually. You’d have to have one hell of a humiliation and size kink though.”

“Wouldn’t be properly pitch, that needs respect even if you’re mocking your kismesis. Wouldn’t be properly red, he’d mean it, so it wouldn’t be pity,” Catskin says. “How could he be pale?”

“I don’t know anything about quadrants,” you say. “Demoness wants to fix him, which according to her, is what ‘moirallegiance’ is about. He seems like that she isn’t scared of him and apparently likes being dominated by her.”

Catskin snickers. “You have no idea what a perversion that should be, in his mind,” she says.

“From what I’ve overheard it apparently doesn’t count if the ‘dirtblood’ is actually a terrifying demigoddess who can hold you down and snuggle you to death.”

“They’ve piled in front of you?” Catskin asks with a little bubble of laughter.

“Not as such,” you tell her. “I’m guessing that’s pretty scandalous?”        

“Oh yes,” Catskin says. “Mother would blush so hard when we cuddled together, and tell us that the visiting block wasn’t the proper place for such shenanigans. Then Psii would drag her into the pile and she’d pretend to be grumpy about it for the first fifteen minutes before she started purring, and braiding my hair.” She’s smiling, but it’s kind of sad at the same time, you’re pretty sure.

“So, you know they’re probably alive now, right?” you ask her. This is a question you don’t know how to ask politely. You sure as hell can’t do gentle.

“Are they?” she asks, longing in a way that makes you feel pretty damn uncomfortable. “I’ve only found…him.” She makes a face. “And I suppose the Handmaiden of Death.”

“Demoness,” Demoness’ voice says from above you. You startle a bit, and look up. You just as quickly look away. She went even deeper than [Meulin] or [Kurloz] and there were things you didn’t want to see. “I am Demoness,” she repeats, angrily. “Not Handmaid. Never Handmaid again.”      

“The ‘H’ word has kind of worn out,” you explain to Catskin, who looks somewhere between startled and angry.

“I am not afraid of you, Demoness.” Catskin growls and jumps to her feet. “If my family is alive, where are they?”

“I don’t know,” Demoness says. “The world is big, we’ll find them eventually.”

“We?” Catskin asks. “There is no ‘we’ here.”

“There was a ‘we’,” Demoness says. “You don’t remember. It wasn’t a good ‘we’, and we fucked everything up and did it over again, and that was worse. Kankri remembers some of it.”

“How do you know that name?” Catskin asks, outraged.

Demoness smiles and it’s a pretty terrifying expression. “I saw all of it, every twist and manipulation of the Demon’s fucked up game, and I had to fucking follow every step. And now we live again and are free of the game, though there is one more thing we must do before this universe is complete.”

Catskin looks confused and wondering, staring up at Demoness. You’re pretty sure she’s seeing some of the same things you saw. Catskin flickers fuchsia all over, a heartbeat pulse. “Oh,” she says quietly.

“Don’t want your pity,” Demoness says, baring her teeth at Catskin.

“It continues to exist,” Catskin says. “I am still angry at what you’ve done. But I will also be angry at what was done to you.

“Fuck. You.”

“Pity is nothing to fear, it’s part of the social structure that binds us into communities and civilization. It does this far more kindly than the caste system which divides us and causes resentment and conflict. You saw it and you had to destroy it. Did you see the possibilities of a society based in love of all kinds? Were you envious of what was beaten out of you?” From the dreamy look in Catskin’s eyes, you are pretty sure she doesn’t really know what she’s saying. She also obviously can’t hear Demoness’ rising growl or the whining pitch of the wands you know are in the Demoness’ hands.

You bounce to your feet and get in Catskin’s grill. “Hey, Meulin, could you fucking not?!” You shout. She startles back from you, striking out mostly blind. You catch her arm. “Can you not see you’re pissing her off?”  

Catskin blinks at you in confusion. “I--?”

“Yes you,” you say. You are hyper aware you are too close to someone Demoness is very, very pissed at. You are also pretty sure she won’t shoot Catskin if you’re this close to her. “Demoness?” You get a growl in response. “Okay so Catskin has some kind of dealie where she can apparently see into your soul--”

“Heart. Meulin was Mage of Heart,” Demoness says. “I was Witch of Time.”

“That’s great, really great,” you say. “Anyway, she wasn’t trying to piss you off; she just saw too much and started babbling.”

“Babbling?” Catskin asks, sounding insulted. You don’t care.  

“So maybe don’t kill her,” you continue. “It wasn’t her fault, and really, you wanted to get everyone together so the gods can come through or whatever and you might need her later.”

“So she is planning something,” Catskin says.

“Gods. Coming through. One of them is my little brother,” you tell her. “Kind of important he and his friends come through and claim the prize.”

“I don’t understand anything,” Catskin says. “Let me go.”

You let her go, and you hear Demoness land behind you.

“There is a Game,” Demoness says. “A Game that creates universes. Our Game was interfered with by a Demon that infiltrates and destroys them.” She starts explaining the Game and the five or so universe pile up your conjoined sessions consist of.  

You stay between them for the whole story, until you’re pretty sure they’ve both calmed down. Catskin is skeptical of “gods” especially gods that were actually little kids when they entered the session. She asks questions and argues a little, but politely. Demoness argues less politely. You’re kind of stuck in the middle wondering how the hell this happened.

At the end of it, when they’ve gotten their argue out, Demoness asks you, “Are you coming back to the hive?”

“That depends, is your boyfriend going to tear me in half?”

Demoness snorts. “No. Worried he pushed too hard, the way you ran off.

“Eleven foot troll, a number of kinks too weird even for me, no concept of personal space or safewords, kind of homicidal, I wonder why I ran off when he tried to scare the shit out of me?” A beat. “Oh sweet Jesus, why do I know his fucking kinks?”

Catskin makes a kind of choking noise at that. Demoness cackles. 

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#homestuck #build a life #fan fic #bro strider #godstuck