#healing for my heart as a woc | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

detransraichu · 3 months

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seeing feminist events and protests etc being ruined breaks my fucking heart :( like what do they think they're even accomplishing? even if they hate radfems there should be alternatives to just thrashing every feminist good deed radfems do for women in their often impoverished communities

if AT LEAST they had been working hard replacing it with their own trans-positive feminist version or whatever in the area that would've been one thing. but often they just destroy and just go aha! job well done, that'll teach those bitches. when women in those communities actually really truly need these things and all they do is ruin those resources for others and losing the movement activists that the movement badly needs. if they only knew that other activist movements that they respectfully bow down to ARE ALSO FULL OF WOMEN WHO HOLD RADFEM BELIEFS!!! and if every woman who thought that sex mattered, which is especially common with woc from outside the west or with family outside the west since they know first-hand how horrifyingly bad oppression can get for afab people, if they all had gotten called out cancelled banished from the spaces etc the movements would've failed before they even began and that would've led to SO MUCH more marginalized suffering!!!!

i truly believe that these kinds of extreme trans activists tend to be more on the privileged side outside of being afab, and use that activism as a way to prove they're not bigots like their white middle-class parents were nope they're radical and they fight the cistem and are cooler than those freaky bigoted genitals-obsessed gays and transsexuals... the same ones that fought hard for decades to earn them all the rights they currently enjoy and were oppressed on the basis of being same-sex attracted and are now being thrown out of pride events

it's also interesting with different cultures, bc for example with french instances of trans activists going batshit, the french world is much newer to the concept of gender identity than english folks, like there's SOOO many stolen english words that young french qweer activists are trying to awkwardly make a Thing in french spaces and they have the intense righteousness of trans english tumblr but the people around them are just like huh ????? bc the words and the concept of gender identity just aren't as widespread in french spaces, esp since our language is so sex-based. it makes them feel even more like martyrs and seeing the entire french world as bigoted. it makes for some wild shit in france like sex-based feminist events being trashed and cis feminists being assaulted and only english radfems hear of it and call it out, bc english trans activists don't care about news like these, it makes them all look bad and they assume it's all just elaborate fox news type shit or cis women are being dramatic again

i just think that the way trans activists are treating the feminism vs gender identity divide is really unproductive, surprisingly violent, very dangerous, and negatively impacts the afab women who need feminist events and protests etc the most. especially woc, disabled women, senior women, and other women w few resources. i'm seeing women being turned away from SHELTERS and other life-saving resources for using the words man/woman in a sex-based way or wanting only people with vaginas in trauma victim spaces for safety and healing reasons. would a homeless dude spouting the same language be turned away from a shelter or lead to activists rallying and protesting outside the shelter for daring to home him bc he's unsafe for transmasc people??? would a trans activist say nope we shouldn't give him a safe home we shouldn't give him a space in a shelter we should record him and post a video of him and shame him and laugh at him???? I REALLY DON'T THINK SO

#rambling #radblr #gender critical

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mrs-lockley · 2 months

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Results of WIP Poll

Thank you to everyone who participated in my WIP poll! Here are the results, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on which character you think it was 🥰 In ranking order!

Tagging: @soft-girl-musings @writefightandflightclub @venting402 @musing-magpie @sleepy-timaeus @marc-spectorr

I was supposed to protect you, not fall in love with you (34.8%)

Pairing: Jake Lockley x Southeast Asian Fem!Reader, (Platonic) Steven Grant x Southeast Asian Fem!Reader, (Unrequited) Marc Spector x Southeast Asian Fem!Reader Fic Title: Reach for the Moon | Series Masterlist | Part I. The Breaking Summary: To heal your broken heart and move on from your unrequited crush on Marc Spector, your family sends you to help establish your cousin’s bakery in Singapore for two years. You return to New York as a more confident woman, but you find yourself picking up the pieces of your broken heart (again) after meeting Marc as he continues to heal from his divorce. Sensing the pain and heartbreak between you and Marc, Jake steps in to create some distance to protect you, but he was never meant to fall in love with you. No Moon Knight AU.

In another world, I would have loved to do laundry and taxes with you (23.7%)

Pairing: Miguel O'Hara x Southeast Asian Fem!Reader Fic Title: Forever the Name on My Lips Summary: Chasing an anomaly through the Spider-Verse, Miguel finds himself stranded in a house that seem so familiar, but unfamiliar at the same time. He expects to find his way out, but what he does not expect is to see you standing in the doorway, your eyes wide as if you have seen a ghost, a wedding ring on your finger, wearing one of his college shirts. In his universe, you and Miguel never made it, but in yours, he was your late husband buried six feet under.

The dragon eats the moon, and I am afraid you will consume me whole (16.3%)

Pairing: Namor of Talokan (K'uk'ulkan) x Filipina (Kapampangan) Sirena Fem!Reader Fic Title: Where the Spirit Meets the Bones | Part 2 (Title TBD) Summary: Part 2 of Where the Spirit Meets the Bones. After reuniting with his Sirena, the King of Talokan returns to Asia’s Pearl of the Orient to see her again, only to learn that his Sirena is not what she seems (aka her human backstory revealed).

I never break a promise, but I broke my promise to you and fell in love with you (14.8%)

Pairing: Marc Spector x WOC!Reader Fic Title: A Thousand Cuts Cornelia Street Summary: Heartbreak is something you and your friend, Marc Spector, are familiar with. After one night of drinking and tears, you and Marc make a promises to each other to never fall in love again, but you soon find yourself breaking that promise. But you’ll be alright, it’s just a thousand cuts

We were never meant to be, but came to be, and only in this way. (10.4%)

Pairing: Jake Lockley x Southeast Asian Fem!Reader Fic Title: We'll Always Have New York Summary: Wanting to get out of California, you temporarily move to live with your aunt in New York to help take care of her after her fall. Not wanting you to spend your time looking after her, she suggests setting a blind date between you and one of her old coworkers, only for him to stand you up at the restaurant. Mortified and heartbroken, you seek refuge at a nearby coffee shop where you meet a taxicab driver, Jake Lockley. Takes place before the events of Moon Knight.

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spite-and-waffles · 11 months

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I stan nobody but if I stan anyone I stan Candice Patton and her Iris West. The absolute hailstorm of racism, misogynoir, trauma and alienation this lady and her character has been subjected to from the get-go is unreal. And yet for nine whole years she breathed beauty and warmth and genuineness into her character, even when delivering the worst lines of dialogue she was made to say that she knew would cause huge backlash (apologies for linking Screen Rant. Broken clock etc.). She co-founded "Shethority" with her friends Maisie Richardson Sellers and Caity Lotz in the wake of the Kreisberg scandal. And she always put herself on the line to speak out and hold her bosses accountable as much as possible.

All this while her character was barely allowed to kiss her co-star onscreen, let alone act with the same casual sexuality of any other married TV couple in a 7pm slot, under the guise of The Flash being a "family show". My heart broke for how utterly worn down and traumatized she was by the end, because not only did Berlanti Studios or the CW not protect or accommodate their Black artists and those of colour, they're also known for subjecting them to racist, misogynistic harrassment and severe exploitation of even their white male talent. This woman wasn't allowed a Black hairdresser or makeup artist for eight seasons, was only allowed to show her natural hair on-screen after five years, and had to watch her black co-stars being sidelined, suppressed and subjected to all manner of indignity with little space to offer solidarity or speak out (I don't care if Berlanti hired them for Love, Simon, the way his fucking studio treated Keiynan Lonsdale was a crime). Even her co-star Grant Gustin only woke up and came to her defence against the online abuse hurled her way eight years in.

Berlanti has cultivated a wholly unearned reputation as an envelope-pusher for the gay community in the entertainment industry, while playing it so safe that the gay couples in his shows are barely allowed to make out– the same way they treat interracial couples with one white partner. His buddy Kreisberg finally met his downfall after sexually harrassing the female workers in his shows for four years, but Marc Guggenheim, Wendy Mericle and Geof Johns are also known racists and misogynists. Even after Stephen Amell's breakdown, Ruby Rose going public with her physical trauma, firing Superman and Lois's Black writer Nadria Tucker, numerous attempts by Black actresses to speak on their working conditions in the CW, and the consistent bald misogyny, ableism and racism of these shows' storylines, the white queers in fandom continue to valorize Berlanti. Now with the release of Red, White and Royal Blue on Amazon Prime in August, again using a Mexican director and characters of colour to use QPoC fans as a shield and buttress, Berlanti's stock is going to be even higher.

The Flash had the potential to be a truly great show, and Candice's Iris West a real foothold for Black actresses and interracial romances in the white-dominated TV entertainment industry. Instead it was just another opportunity for it to grind them to dust. Just like so many other Black women and WoC who try to lead the charge. But through it all, Ms. Patton held the line. Y'all never deserved her. I hope she gets to heal and move onto projects that value her and allow her her full range of voice and expression, that recognizes and rewards her incredible talent and work ethic.

Fuck Berlanti, fuck the CW and fuck DCtv.

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allamericansbitch · 11 months

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as a WOC (and really just someone with morals but maybe i'm being too harsh) this whole situation is so fucking upsetting. i'm not gonna get into it too much because you've already talked about it several times (which, btw, tyy!!! i really feel seen by your blog and i love you for it mwah) but i just don't know what to do.

i can't look at taylor the same way which sucks so bad. she's been my safe space for years. she and her music has helped me through so much, and that might sound parasocial or whatever, but she's such a huge part of my life and i'm so so disappointed. whenever i see gifs of her on my dash of her being all "cute" on tour with the captions of like "oh she's so cute and baby" they just make me mad. this is a woman who is actively associating with a goddamn bigot who is a fucking racist, antisemite, transphobic piece of shit. i'm upset and i'm pissed and i'm disappointed and i'm so fucking sad.

i've already taken a step back from taylor but i'm not sure if i can let her music go. i feel so guilty about it but her music means so much to me i don't know if i can. i haven't really been listening to her lately because i just feel this overwhelming sense of sadness, but i have so much personal connection to these songs i'm not sure if i can fully let them go. does that make me a bad person?

first of all i'm so sorry about all of it, it hurts me- so i can only imagine how this cuts so much deeper for you. it means the world to me that you feel seen by me talking about it and made me heart so happy, i really appreciate it 💕.

second of all it's not parasocial at all to think the way you're thinking. i think the people who are writing this outrage off as 'parasocial nonsense' and making people feel overdramatic really messed with us in a bad way. parasocial just means to speak about a celebrity as if they are a close personal friend, to cross boundaries you would never cross with a stranger. so saying that an artist has made music that helped you through some tough times isnt parasocial at all, that's exactly what art is supposed to do and that's beautiful. it's also completely understandable as to why we feel so hurt and disappointed by it all. and for people online to simply be ignoring that pain, a pain that goes even deeper in yours and others communities, and simply look the other way and say 'look at her on stage!! how cute!! omg new candid today!!' is like they are invalidating all of your pain and acting like it doesn't matter because to them it simply doesnt- which is wrong. they're so wrong for that.

with art being made to get you through tough times, it's also made to be yours. once an artist releases a song it's no longer there's, it's the listeners. we make our own interpretations and memories with the song and it becomes a new thing. but that comes with time. obviously right now it's hard to listen to taylor's music because it was so closely tied to her for a lot of us, but time heals things and separates. one day you'll get the songs back without feeling bad and that does not make you a bad person. it makes you mature and allows you to take control of what is yours. it helps you set boundaries and know what you can tolerate and what you can't. that makes you a better person and that's growth ✨. and there's nothing wrong with that.

#answered #anonymous

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jandjsalmon · 1 year

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2023 FFRC - February ❤️

HELLO everyone! I hope you had a wonderful February! It was a short month so there were slightly fewer stories to read and there was this ghost show that came out (you might have seen it flood your dash) that needed to be binged over and over again so we get a season two - but I still found moments to curl up with some favourite fics and I hope you did too! I was pretty focused on crossing off fic challenge tasks so I felt less enjoyment in my reading as usual. I hope this next month will be better.

Throughout February, I had a surprisingly large number of new followers (a substantial number of whom are not bots - shocking, right?!) and though I'm not sure how you all found me, I'm thrilled to have you here (and happy to see that you're real people and not bots).

As most of you know, I'm a regular participant (and low-key assistant) at the @fanfic-reading-challenge - additionally, for the last couple of years, I've been tracking all the fic I read and I've reported back here once a month with some stats and some recs, and a little bit of boring stuff about my life. (Or not boring - like traipsing after my daughter and her basketball team as they work their way to Provincials - their record is 22-4 so it's a possibility! Go Spartans!)

ANYWAY - I'm always looking for new fic recommendations, so if you have any stories you think I'll love, please drop me a line or send me a dm. Almost any pairing and any fandom. Shoot me a link!🖤

February 2023

As I said above, I've been plugging along on the @fanfic-reading-challenge. This month I've cracked 3million words and completed 143/309 tasks which means I've completed the "Regular" mode of the challenge. I'm working on the "Hard" mode so I need to do some searching for fics with minorities. Do you have favourite stories with minorities in them? Most of my fandoms appear to be a little lacking in that department - or at least I never think about it (like Inej is a woc - but I forgot about that until right this second). Anyway - I need to branch out - so any suggestions would be great!

As for my recs for you! Let's look at what I did read this month that you might enjoy. Try these:

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Violent Delights by @ozmathegreatand (Wenvier - M 4/4)

Summary: Romeo and Juliet is far from her favorite Shakespeare play. (That honor goes to Titus Andronicus, of course.) But the crypt scene is achingly romantic, particularly the part where Juliet stabs herself. Few of the Bard’s heroines subject themselves to such violence in the name of passion. She wonders what practical effects the drama department has access to and imagines the torrent of blood she could rig.

Why you should read: Valentine's Day. Romeo and Juliet is being performed by the drama department and Romeo Xavier's costars keep meeting untimely ends. SUPER jealous (and hilarious) Wednesday. Mutual Pining. Shenanigans. This is Super Hilarious.

--*--

What Doesn't Kill Me Makes Me Want You More by sciencefantasy93 (Lucy/Lockwood - E 8/8)

Summary: It was all her fault. All her fault. He was losing his damn mind, and it was all because of her. One move, one second, one heartbeat, and his world crumbled apart like a warm cookie.

Or: Lockwood realizes he's attracted to Lucy, which sets in motion a chain reaction of events as he and Lucy try to take the next step without actually talking about their feelings.

Why you should read: The first steamy Locklyle fic that I've ever read and it did NOT disappoint. Very VERY in character - but also hot? Super good.

--*--

Chrissy and Eddie’s Infinite Mixtape by @little-scribblers-heart (Hellcheer - E 26/26)

Summary: Eddie was right when he told the Hellfire kids that there's no shame in running, which is why he takes a running leap to grab for the floating cheerleader in his living room.

OR: Chrissy lives and fixes what the Duffers broke.

Come for the canon-close Season 4 rewrite, stay for the explanatory chapter notes and the healing.

Why you should read: Epic in scale. Well researched and emotional without being sappy and trite. I should have known it would be amazing because it was a rec from my girl @feelavalanche - who has NEVER steered me wrong in over 10 years of fandom friendship. There is even a chapter named after David Bowie. See - you need to read this.

--*--

Hope is a Waking Dream by @writeradamanteve (Lucy/Lockwood - M 1/1)

Summary: Nightmares, dreams, it was all part of the agent package. Oh, and tea. Always tea.

Why you should read: FIRSTLY (and I shouldn't have to say this to long time followers) - It's adamanteve. You should read it because she wrote it - that should be good enough. Everything she writes is amazing. But then. SOFTNESS. The characterizations are THEM. Their mannerisms are real and their voices are beyond perfection. Comfort and lovely and wonderful. Read it!

ALSO - as I said last month, you should read and then subscribe to the_retro_witch's entire Sweet Nightmare series. It's a post-canon universe where after Crackstone's defeat, Wednesday and Xavier get together before they leave school and now it's grown into this amazing saga with mystery-solving soulmates and psychic and witchy amazingness. The other characters are developed and the plots are rich and fun. It updates pretty darn regularly and every word is a delight. Honestly. Read the series, you won't regret it. Let it be your first foray into Wenvier if you are on the fence. Don't be on the fence. Come ship with me! 🖤🖤

(lastly- I'm a little bit in love with this gif of Xavier waving - and I've been purposely flooding my dashboard with Percy for reasons - so the wave might become a theme for my year).

Anyway -👋🏼 Hiya -I'm happy you're here! I hope you have a wonderful March and I'll see you back here in a few weeks! Happy reading! 🖤

#jandy's fanfic reading challenge adventure 2023 #reading fics with jandy #fanfic reading challenge 2023 #2023 fic reading challenge #2023frc

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antipolin · 4 months

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Just remembered that on April fools day last year the polin subreddit mods changed their entire layout to be about kathony and made shitpost after shitpost trashing Kate Sharma/Simone Ashley and Marina Thompson/Ruby Barker. No matter what, that group of bridgerton stans will always be the fucking worst, truly repulsive creatures. I’m sure it surprises absolutely no one that the two characters/actors they have the biggest problem with are both woc.

They need to ESPECIALLY leave Ruby Barker alone I'm so serious.

She already has been very honest and public about her various mental health issues (bravo to her for speaking out and talking about it!) and most of it stems from how those fans and the production on the show treated her.

This isn't to say they shouldn't leave Simone alone either, ofc they should. But she's never publicly gone through mental breaks because of the fans or production either.

But Ruby Barker has gone through SO MUCH in regards to her mental health publicly.... Even more so recently if you've seen her recent post on Instagram. (I'm not going to post it here, it's VERY upsetting and triggering but you can go read it on her Insta if you want) My heart truly breaks for her and I hope she finds peace and healing and that those assholes leave her alone.

#anon #asks

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divinedryad · 2 years

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I’m hosting a Heart Alchemy Circle for WoCs 🤎

I believe in the power of communal sharing of experiences, insights, and intention setting, and my purpose of facilitating this space is to allow WoC to connect with like-spirited individuals in a sacred, safe environment.

The upcoming circle will focus on self-compassion along the healing journey.

Investment is only $12, and there’s limited capacity, so if you’d like to go ahead + reserve your spot or would like more information, click here 🪷

#witches of color #spiritualjourney #spiritualgrowth #black witches #spiritualhealing #spiritualawakening #black tarot readers #black woman magic #women of color

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burberrybaby · 2 years

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𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦 - 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞

━━━━༺❀༻━━━━

the following is my own work. i do not give permission to anyone to repost under their own name, plagiarize, or translate any of my works, regardless of the platform.

━━━━༺❀༻━━━━

pairing: stephen strange x woc!reader

summary: you take care of your love after he gets hurt, and he comforts you from your anxiety.

warnings: fluff, lots of angst, mentions of injuries (they’re minor,) mentions of blood (also minor,) pet names, over-protective reader, minors DNI.

author’s note: my first stephen strange fic! i’m very excited for multiverse of madness and writing this really fed my addiction… i plan on writing a part two as well! hope you love it <3

word count: 899

masterlist

━━━━༺❀༻━━━━

“I don’t know why you’re so worried, sweetheart.”

“Well can you blame me?” You take his hand and carefully dab at the blood. Avoiding eye contact, you clean his hands and toss away the rag.

Stephen had come back from a training session with Wanda; he wanted to do his part in helping her after everything that happened at Westview. The sorcerer felt it was his responsibility, and felt bad for not doing more to help her after she lost Vision. So they’d been training consistently every week, and Stephen started seeing significant progress.

This session though, hadn’t gone as planned. Teaching Wanda a new technique with her magic had gone haywire, and she ended up hurting Stephen. The harm wasn’t too bad, but Wanda still felt horribly about it, apologizing profusely.

Later on, he returned to your apartment in New York, heading to the bathroom to clean himself up before you arrived home. Stephen knew you wouldn’t be too happy to see him in the state he was in, but you found him anyway, half-naked with a towel around his lower half.

Under normal circumstances, you’d have been all over him; he was quite the sight. But noticing the cuts and bruises you dragged him out so you could clean him up yourself.

You grab a clean rag and move onto Stephen’s lap to start working on the cut right above his eyebrow, but he holds on to your wrist, “stop.”

His touch wasn’t rough, but it was firm. You knew you couldn’t squirm out if you tried. His other hand goes to your chin, forcing you to look at him. Stephen’s expression is soft, his usually ice blue eyes looking calmer, like a quiet cerulean. They had a certain fondness to them, emanating a sense of safety that only you had access to.

Your free hand holds his face tenderly, and you speak quietly, “I’m sorry. I just… you know I worry about you, Steph.”

“And you know there’s nothing to worry about.” Stephen’s voice is just as comforting as his touch.

“I know but-” you cut off your sentence, lips pressing into a fine line as you look away. He lets go of your hand and chin and you drop the rag next to you, rubbing your hands together tightly.

He didn’t say anything, allowing a moment of silent understanding between the two of you. Stephen simply took your hands in his, a small gesture to comfort you.

You look at his hands. Those big beautiful hands. Sure they were scarred, but that didn’t matter. Stephen healed with those hands. Not only on his patients and not exclusive to his magical talents. They healed you. Your heart. He was the only man you felt safe with, the one you trusted with all your deepest thoughts and secrets. You were his and he was yours.

Taking a deep breath, yet still avoiding eye contact you speak softly, “I’ll never stop worrying about you. No matter how hard I try, I can’t. I care about Wanda too, you know that, but what if… what if something happens?”

“Nothing is going to happen, love. She has perfect control over her powers, this was just an accident.”

“But what if it wasn’t,” you whisper but your voice still cracks.

After everything that happened with Thanos, after those five years of hopeless hell, you couldn’t stand the thought of loosing your love again. And you knew you were overreacting, but watching the bruises on his body change shades, you couldn’t help but let your mind wander to dark places.

“Wanda lost Vision, and look where that brought her. I got lucky, Steph, I got you back, but if I ever truly lost you, I- I wouldn’t-”

“Don’t go down that path, sweetheart, nothing good comes from it.” Stephen brings your hands to his mouth, kissing them each softly.

“I know I don’t know what it was like for you during those five years, and I am so so sorry you had to deal with that. You didn’t deserve it.”

You look up at him, looking at those eyes that radiated with you. You’d do anything for him, anything and everything to keep him safe.

“I love you. For eternity. I don’t want you thinking of worst-case scenarios. I want you living in the now. You and I, we have happiness right where we are.”

Smiling contently, you take a deep breath, “I love you.”

“Now,” Stephen returns the smile, and hands you the clean rag, “fix me up, doctor.”

You sigh and laugh lightly. He always knew how to bring you out of your bad moods.

Adjusting yourself to straddle his lap, you take the rag and clean the last of his cuts; applying salves to the ones that needed it and insisting on kissing them better.

Stephen wraps his arm tightly around your waist and places a hand on the back of your head. You tuck your face into his neck and likewise wrap your arms around him. You lay there for a few minutes, not speaking, just enjoying each other’s presence.

Breathing in his scent you’ve memorized over the years as he draws figures with his finger on your back. Losing track of time as you settle into bed for the night, and cuddling against his side, his arm around you as you both doze off into the night.

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manikas-whims · 3 years

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Recently, I'm seeing a rise in the most awful misinterpretations of some characters in Six of Crows, so I'm gonna address how wrong they are.

Before I start: if you haven't said any of what I'm going to mention here, then it means I'm not pointing fingers at you. Don't take offense for something you didn't do.

Now I'm gonna try to keep it as short as possible...

Part 1

"I don't think Inej loves Kaz." "Inej doesn't love Kaz as much as he does her." "Inej is ignorant." bla bla bla...

A cousin of mine (15 yo) read the books and said the same things as above.

I asked her what does love mean to her and she responded it meant "two people showing their emotions by acts like kisses, cuddles, etc." and "by being together with that person by the end of the story".

Obviously, that's not all to love. Younger audiences tend to not take note of the faint nuances the same way grownups do. Its just like watching disney movies and only later realising the ambiguous meanings in certain dialogues. But we can't simply say that age plays a major factor here.

While SoC is a YA novel and aimed for age groups 13-17 mostly, many adults enjoy the books.

I myself read the books this year (23 yo) and my perception of love is different from my cousin's. Love isn't simply an emotion or feeling or gestures. LOVE IS WORK. It requires both the parties involved to put in equal effort.

And so, when Inej says "I will have you without armor." , she isn't being ignorant at all. She does mean it in the literal sense. But also more than that. Inej is an honest person and says whats on her mind freely. She expects the same honesty in return. She says this dialogue because while Kaz seems to know a good amount about her— her full real name, how she was taken to Ketterdam and sold to Tante Heleen, etc. Inej knows nothing about him, not even his real name. The first thing she learns about him is that he had a brother and a vague "i had a lot of things."

And even with things Kaz doesn't know about her, she's ready to share. She tells him that it was easy for her to entirely dissociate when seeing her clients but she couldn't do it with one guy, the guy who'd seen her perform on the high wire as a kid. She shares this deep, awful experience with him and says its not easy for her either. In doing so, being honest about her past, she encourages him to take a step as well. To try and be a little honest about himself, share a small part of himself. She wants him to put some effort into their relationship because a simple "i want you" isn't enough. They both need to work on a lot of things to reach that "i want you". SHE ISN'T IGNORANT.

Later on, Inej realises, she can't ask so much honesty of Kaz because that one bathroom scene is an eye opener for both of them. She realises that she may have handled that kiss on the neck but what if she couldn't have? What if she had dissociated on instinct, as her defense mechanism? What if? Kaz adds to all that when he tells her to take the money and leave, forget him. But does she do that? NO. She thinks whether it would be better for her to find a kind man, bear his children and then sharpen her knives at night. And she realizes she doesn't want that because she can only be her true self (a kind woman who wields knives) with Kaz. She can only be her genuine self with Kaz. She thinks "he'd tried, they'd tried. They could try again." She wants to try again with Kaz. SHE WANTS HIM JUST AS MUCH.

Now for a moment, lets consider the other female character in SoC— Nina Zenik. We all call her an "Unapologetic Queen" for being herself, being proud of her body proportions and such. But if Nina was a woman of color, would she get the same hype? Don't say "Yes" because we know that won't be the case. Nina wouldn’t get the same hype for her plus sized representation if she was a poc.

And this, I'm speaking as a Desi. I know what I face in real life from people of other cultures. I've experienced a lot of stereotypes about myself as a South Asian woc. And while not everyone treats me the same, I do encounter alot of obvious stereotypical assumptions about myself.

Similarly, so many people when they read the "I will have you without armor" dialogue, completely stop looking further into Inej. Age factor is very miniscule. Most of this, whether you like it or not, stems from the internalized stereotype that "brown girls are mean and insensitive". Thats how we've typically seen them portrayed in majority of media and that's where many readers' thoughts immediately head to when they read the "without armor" dialogue. Those of you who say the quoted things mentioned at the top, don't bother to look as deeply into Inej's perspective as you do for Kaz or Nina or the others. You simply settle for calling her ignorant.

Did you ever give her more thought instead of reducing her to the stereotypical brown girl?

Did you ever consider that this girl has her own demons? That this girl was captured forcefully and sold into prostitution at 14!? That this girl sometimes even gets scared of touches from her own friends? That this girl finds it harder to handle contact that she doesn't see coming? That she suffered abuse and was rewarded with kindness by the same hands that touched her at the Menagerie!? That at some point she just fearfully anticipated for whatever was to come, be it a gentle caress or a harsh slap across her cheek? That this girl was raped again and again and again every single day when she was only 14? That she was violated and touched in places too private without her consent? That she was continuously treated so by men twice, thrice, even four times her age!?

Did you ever consider that this girl who struggles with so much didn't let her suffering define her!? That she rises above these atrocities and finds a purpose!? That she chooses to pursue her own goals and save any other kids from whatever horrid things she went through!?

Did you ever consider that despite everything this girl suffered at the hands of innumerable people, she wants to try again with Kaz?

For a girl like her to let Kaz kiss her neck completely unguarded (she doesn't have her knives with her in that scene)..to still be able to give her heart to Kaz, is a very beautiful thing. It means she trusts him so much more than she'll ever trust any other person..

Everyone expresses themselves in different ways. Thats what makes each human so unique. Just because Inej isn't saying poetic things in her pov chapters, doesn't mean she loves Kaz any less.

Inej Ghafa loves Kaz Brekker. And she always will. But her love doesn't mean she must give up on her own purpose. Kaz doesn't ask her to. And she doesn't ask Kaz to give up his position as the new King of the Barrel. They're equals who support each other in their goals. They're two people in love who will take their baby steps towards healing together.

Inej and Kaz love each other.

Inej and Kaz are together.

Inej isn't ignorant, just misread.

Rant over for now. Next I'll be talking about Matthias Helvar..:)

#inej ghafa #six of crows #pro inej ghafa #kanej #kaz brekker #inej isn't a bad person #y'all are poor readers if you think so #READ THE BOOKS AGAIN

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felucians · 1 year

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tbh i need to create some more positive woc content - it's mainly sharing experiences but so many are negative in a predominantly white country - and our race isn't a negative thing; it's a beautiful thing, for all of its hardships, it's the skin of our ancestors, the features they fell in love with and wrote love poems about, unique clothes and foods and languages like soft kisses within the fabric or delicately wrapped pastry or the soft tone of a voice. Our names, written in scripts of old, still here and still strong.

Each time we embrace our race and embrace our heritage as woc, we are choosing to resist.

Romanticise yourself, take care of yourself - as woc, we deserve love, we deserve happiness and we deserve to have everything we want. Never let anyone tell you otherwise.

#woc #woc experience #healing for my heart as a woc #healing #race #ancestors #some positivity #that we all deserve and desperately need

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sunandmoongobrrr · 3 years

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Korra and her Brutalization: A Legend of Korra Meta

In honor of International Womens’ Day, I want to talk a little bit about Legend of Korra and the treatment of Korra (and to a small extent other women) throughout the show. Content warning: there's some disturbing scenes that I show here, but if you've watched all of LoK, you should be fine.

Korra starts off confident; she is a young avatar who is eager to learn and feels suffocated from the isolation she is kept in from a very young age. But that doesn’t stop her, and like the headstrong girl she is, she moves to Republic City to make a difference and step into her role as the avatar.

Korra immediately starts to doubt herself; she becomes unsure of her abilities and frustrated with herself, and through that she learns to become emotionally vulnerable with Tenzin. To me, this was really great. It showed that you can be confident and vulnerable, and that the two aren’t necessarily independent of each other.

(I’m going to be honest, the 2nd season I didn’t really remember much of, so I’m just going to skip over that. Because what I really want to talk about is season 3.)

In season three, Korra faces the Red Lotus, an “anarchist” group that essentially wants to kill her. And they get pretty close. First, I want to talk about how Tenzin is beaten by the Red Lotus. This has been brought up in Lily Orchard’s (in?)famous LOK video, and while I disagree with her on many many topics of the show, I really think she has a point here. When Tenzin is being brutalized by the Red Lotus, the camera pans away. It is SO painful to see him like this, and the directors know it. It’s TOO painful to see it, so they don’t show you it, and the episode ends before we can see him be defeated.

Contrast that with Korra. They show you every detail of this. And I mean every detail.

It’s disgusting, and they refuse to treat her with any sort of decency or respect like they do Tenzin. It’s almost like they want us to enjoy her torturing. It’s genuinely gross.

People will often refute this by saying “LoK is just a darker show! Look at what they did to the Earth Queen!” And while yes, it is marketed towards an older audience, there’s still no point in brutalizing Korra this way. The main difference between Korra and the Earth Queen is that… well, Korra’s the protagonist. We’re supposed to be rooting for her, and while the Earth Queen being suffocated was definitely dark, it wasn’t unprecedented. The audience was never supposed to like the Earth Queen—she exploited and kidnapped her own people, so of course we wouldn’t care THAT much if she died. But we’ve been with Korra since the beginning. We’re supposed to want her to be happy, and why on earth would we want her to be tortured brutally in such a disgusting way that gives her absolutely no dignity? If we want her to succeed?

(here Zaheer uses the same technique used on the Earth Queen to suffocate here on Korra. for some reason)

In Season 4, the main focus is on Korra and her healing from the brutal things the Red Lotus did to her. She is clearly still struggling, and it could have been another great way to show how being physically strong and confident doesn’t mean you can’t be vulnerable. But they make a lot of bad choices in this season.

One of my main gripes is that in order to heal, she has to return to her abuser, Zaheer, and HE has to teach her how to feel better.

I don’t want to compare LoK to ATLA, although it’s very important to mention that a show that’s a direct sequel, uses its old characters, and banks off of references, should be able to be compared to its predecessor. But I think it’s important to compare Korra’s arc here to Zuko. This doesn’t come out of nowhere; Korra has a lot of similarities to Zuko. The chopping of her hair is a significant turning point in her arc, and there’s an episode called “Korra Alone” (which is clearly a direct callback; shown below).

The difference between Zuko and Katara is that, a. Zuko never had to accept his abuser, and b. Zuko started off as a villain.

One of Zuko’s major points is when he confronts his father—his abuser. He does not bow to him and give in, saying that maybe he had a few good points or his heart was in the right place, but he directly says that Ozai was wrong for what he did. This isn’t the case with Korra. For some reason, Korra has to learn to trust her abuser. The person who did this to her:

And she has to hear him out.

This leads me to my second point, and what’s basically the complaint I have; despite being a protagonist, the show treats Korra like a villain. It frames her torture scenes as if we’re supposed to be excited that she��s being brutalized, as if we’re supposed to think she deserves it. And it’s not even handled properly as one of the villains we know so well—Zuko, who was able to overcome his abuse and become a protagonist who we root for. Again, Zuko and Korra aren’t directly the same characters, but there are parallels between the two and the show encourages their comparison. When it comes to Korra, however, we’re supposed to believe that she deserves everything that comes to her; the brutal scenes and the lack of dignity, even if she is a protagonist.

And in the end, that’s what we’re meant to believe; that Korra deserved what happened to her. In the finale, Korra says, “I finally understand why I had to go through all that. I needed to understand what true suffering was, so I could become more compassionate to others.”

This is, to put it short, ridiculous. I hate this so much I can’t even begin to say how much I hate it. No, Korra did not have to go through the torture she went through. She did not have to go through the mercury poisoning. She did not have to go through every hardship she did. This “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” is so harmful because Korra’s healing revolved around accepting her abuser and thanking him for the awful things he did to her. Korra wasn’t even that cocky by the end of the first season, so what it’s essentially indirectly teaching girls is that if you’re confident, you’ll pay. It’s disgusting.

Zuko got a banishment to the Earth Kingdom, got to have his ideas and practices challenged, but he never got physically tortured. I truly, truly believe that one of the main reasons why Korra is quite literally villainized by the show is because she was a confident, brown teenage girl. None of the male characters are treated with such disrespect and we never get told that they need to be “humbled” by abuse.

This is not completely resolved to LoK; there are some aspects in ATLA that I think could’ve been fixed had there been more women in the room. I tag her a lot (bc her metas are awesome), but I really recommend you read @araeph 's Katara: Consumed by Destiny series. I also have a meta here about how Katara is treated in ATLA, specifically in “The Fortuneteller.” (I want to emphasize that while I am anti-Kataang, I don’t believe that Katara’s treatment had to do with the ship itself or that kataang is inherently anti-Katara. It’s just a note about how her character is treated in this episode and beyond.)

I’ve heard a lot of people say that they’re ‘glad’ that LoK didn’t feature Suki or Mai or Ty Lee, because they can’t imagine how poorly they’d be represented. And honestly, I can’t blame them.

This isn’t to say that we need to stop watching LOK or even ATLA. I think the internet has this weird problem where we’ve been told that the way to get rid of problematic media is to just stop consuming anything even remotely problematic altogether. But certain aspects of media will always be relatively problematic, since as content creators we sometimes input our biases into the things we create. The solution, then, is not to banish anyone who puts any harmful stereotypes into their content from society, but to actively and healthily criticize it. Bryke are not God, but they’re also not demons put on the earth to suppress woc. They’re white guys that have implicit biases that have worked their way into the content they produce. I think the lesson learned here, is to have women, especially BIWOC, in writing rooms, to prevent atrocious acts from happening to future Korra's.

Happy International Women’s Day, y’all.

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mrs-lockley · 6 months

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WIP Game

Tagged by the lovely @soft-girl-musings!

Rules: Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

Tagging: @v4mpires0ap @writefightandflightclub @wint3r-h3art @starryeyedstories @themarcusmoreno but only if you want to!

List of WIPs and their summaries are under the cut!

Current WIPs:

Reach for the Moon: Sabrina AU Pairing: Romantic Jake Lockley x Southeast Asian Fem!Reader, Platonic Steven Grant x Southeast Asian Fem!Reader, Unrequited/Platonic Marc Spector x Southeast Asian Fem!Reader To heal your broken heart and move on from your unrequited crush on Marc Spector, your family sends you to help establish your cousin's bakery in Singapore for two years. You return to New York as a more confident woman, but you find yourself picking up the pieces of your broken heart (again) after meeting Marc as he continues to heal from his divorce. Sensing the pain and heartbreak between you and Marc, Jake steps in to create some distance to help both of you heal, but things don't go according to plan. No Moon Knight AU.

We'll Always Have New York: Roman Holiday/Casablanca AU Pairing: Jake Lockley x Southeast Asian Fem!Reader Wanting to get out of California, you temporarily move to live with your aunt in New York to help take care of her after her fall. Not wanting you to spend your time looking after her, she suggests setting a blind date between you and one of her old coworkers, only for him to stand you up at the restaurant. Mortified and heartbroken, you seek refuge at a nearby coffee shop where you meet a taxicab driver, Jake Lockley. Takes place before the events of Moon Knight.

A Thousand Cuts Pairing: Marc Spector x WOC!Reader Heartbreak is something you and your friend, Marc Spector, are familiar with. After one night of drinking and tears, you and Marc make a promises to each other to never fall in love again, but you soon find yourself breaking that promise. But you'll be alright, it's just a thousand cuts

Your Roots in My Dreamland Pairing: Namor/K'uk'ulkan x Filipina (Kapampangan)Sirena!Fem!Reader Part 2 of Where the Spirit Meets the Bones. After reuniting with his Sirena, the King of Talokan returns to Asia's Pearl of the Orient to see her again, only to learn that his Sirena is not what she seems (aka her human backstory revealed).

As You Wish Pairing: Santiago "Pope" Garcia x WOC!Reader The three times Santiago almost tells you he loves you, and the one time you realize he was in love with you. Loosely based on the Princess Bride. Slight Triple Frontier AU where you are Yovanna's best friend and Santiago is her neighbor.

General ideas with no details (yet)

Once Upon a December, Hades & Persphone AU First Order!Poe Dameron Miguel O'Hara x Southeast Asian Fem!Reader

Untitled, Noir AU Jake Lockley x Femme Fatale!Reader

Where There is Love, There Will Be Light, Swan Lake AU Santiago "Pope" Garcia x WOC!Reader

Untitled, Hephaestus & Aphrodite AU Din Djarin x WOC!Reader

#moon knight x reader #jake lockley x reader #marc spector x reader #steven grant x reader #namor x reader #k'uk'ulkan x reader #santiago garcia x reader #santi garcia x reader #din djarin x reader

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nessathewaterflower · 3 years

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what do you think of the rasict stereotypes in she ra? like the white saviour trope with adora and the black best friend with bow and the poc character with anger issues/is aggressive. i saw your posts on fandom rascim and was wondering what your opinion was of rascim in the show

Disclaimer I don’t speak for all poc, this is my opinion.

Listen the show was written by yt people and it shows.

The yt savior criticism is valid in my opinion but I wouldn’t really blame the writers for this. She-ra/Adora is a legacy character. There is no way Mattel would have allowed for her to be a woc. So she was always going to be yt blonde. The writers did make all the other characters poc, so the yt savior trope is a thing. But all the other poc characters are badass in their own right and they save the day together. Honestly I would rather have the show as it is now than the uber yt 80s version.

I honestly don’t see the criticism for Bow. He isn’t only a black friend. He has many skills (social smarts, his tech, archery) and there are multiple episodes were he encourages the non magic folk (the last ep and the entraptra ep come to mind). He is the heart of the best friend squad yes, but he also acknowledges that it’s hard to be friends with people when they don’t show you the same energy (Bow in season 4). And he doesn’t immediately forgive Glimmer for her actions. He isn’t as developed as Glimmer, Adora or Catra but it is a show about female empowerment. Besides, characters like Bow are very rare. He is black boy with zero toxic masculinity and he is so smart and kind. I can gush about Bow forever he is such a breath of fresh air.

I think you are talking about Catra in your last example? Catra does have anger issues yes, but it’s justified in the show. She is an abused child soldier which is very traumatic. She reacts to trauma in a way very few female characters are ever allowed, she isn’t a meek scared girl. She is angry, she lashes out, she sabotages herself. But she does get better! She heals from her trauma and accepts that her actions are wrong. She apologizes to the people she has hurt and actively works on correcting her anger issues. I really love that. Compare her to Azula who gets reduced to the very ableist trope. They put her in a straight jacked in the comics and use the ‘mental illness is evil’ trope with her.

They definitely should have had more poc in the writers room but that is a criticism for almost every show. Just look at the racist tropes in atla or tlok. But there are definitely racist tropes in the show like the whitewashing of Mara in her she-ra form, reducing Mermista’s grief of losing her kingdom to a bad break up, putting Entrapta on a leash etc.

Sorry this got so long so in conclusion, yes shera has racist issues, yes there should have been more poc (especially black people) behind the scenes, but that is a criticism for almost every show out there. I hope the writers learned from their mistakes and actively try to do better.

#shera #adora #bow #catra #this got very long i hope it makes sense #this isnt me bashing the show or anything I think they did many things right #also if you are yt you should think critically why you immediately see stereotypes when they may not be there #anon

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spaceshipkat · 4 years

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Hi, really hope I’m not bothering you! Just wondered if you had like a big post about the problem with the representation and diversity in sjm’s books? I know the representation is obviously bad but I’d like to know about it in more detail . Thank you! Your blog was what got me thinking about sjm’s books more critically.

I was the anon who sent the ask about diversity but I forgot to censor s///j/m!! I’m sorry that was quite stupid, you don’t have to respond to that ask if it would cause trouble ! Sorry 😭

hey, no worries! i’m fine posting it :)

as for a post about the rep and diversity in her books...i don’t really have a masterpost of it bc it’s such a common topic on my blog that making a masterpost would be a little difficult. i wouldn’t even know where to begin looking to get posts to link for you, unfortunately. the best post i can come up with, at least in regard to CCity, is this one. her rep across her series has been pretty consistently bad, though CCity is where it really worsened (i didn’t think it was possible) bc she was trying to be more inclusive by including more queer characters and characters of color, but she failed to realize that including them is only one part of the solution: her worlds continue to be homophobic, racist, ableist, etc etc, and CCity highlighted that. for instance, the way she introduces Juniper as a WOC is problematic bc of the passage:

Juniper had a studio class at dawn, so she abstained from the powder and smoke and booze. But it didn’t stop her from sneaking away for a good twenty minutes with a broad-chested Fae male who took in the dark brown skin, the exquisite face and curling black hair, the long legs that ended in delicate hooves, and practically begged on his knees for the faun to touch him.

it fetishizes Juniper by implying the male fae wants to sleep with her bc she has dark skin (plus, there’s the problem of black people being associated with animals, and Juniper is a faun with hooves). plus, Hunt is coded as Asian and yet he’s a slave (of centuries) who was tortured bc he rebelled for Shahar (bc she wanted revenge against her sister Sandriel for killing their parents) made to kill for the angels he serves, lusts after Bruce (a white woman who treats him horribly), and is constantly reduced to his sexual appeal.

the queer rep is written in such a vague way that you can either read Juniper and Fury as in a relationship or as simply sharing a really deep friendship:

Fury hissed, “Juniper and I have something that is none of your fucking business.” Bryce refrained from gaping. Juniper had never hinted, never suggested—“I could no sooner stop talking to her than I could rip out my own fucking heart, okay?”

not to mention that Bruce nearly fucking gapes (faerug is just as shocked when Mor outs herself to get faerug off her back) which implies that someone being queer is so outlandish as to make someone shocked. when i came out as bi to my little sister, she was like “oh! cool! thanks for telling me” and that was that, and later told me i’m not exactly subtle so she kinda always suspected. there wasn’t any fucking gaping.

there’s also the rampant ableism that exists in CCity, particularly when it comes to how sj///m writes about therapy with such disdain:

Juniper had been seeing a therapist since she was a teenager and would tell anyone who would listen about how vital and brilliant it was.

and how she has Bruce ignore therapy in favor of essential oils and healing crystals. there’s also how she writes about Bruce keeping her leg injury bc she feels she deserves it or some such bullshit.

all in all, CCity is a great study of how deeply sj///m’s various -isms and -ists run in her writing, and just how little she understands (or cares) about writing diversity and making her worlds inclusive.

#ask #anonymous #anti sjm #anti ccity #masterpost #sorta

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where-theres-smoak-2 · 3 years

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Riverdale 5x15 Review

I really loved this episode. I do think it was more of a stand alone episode as it didn’t really contribute anything to the overall plots of the season but it was still a very entertaining one. I kind of got the same feel from it as I did from those earlier episodes of the time jump and I think its because, like those earlier episodes, it was something new, the focus was new but it still had that nostalgia about it. I loved the focus that was given to the pussycats and the other POC on the show particularly the WOC. So lets go through the episode naturally these are just my own thoughts and opinions and there will be spoilers.

The Pussycats

The episode starts out with a new narrator and this time it is Melody that is narrating instead of Juggie. I also love how she starts out saying ‘this is a story about a town’ but then changes it to ‘no this is a story about three girls.’ I like that emphasis that this is focussed on the pussycats and not the usual Riverdale town plots. We get given some information on what Val and Melody have been up to in the seven years+ since we last saw them. Melody is now a published writer and Val is an activist and actress looks like she also does alot of painting. They both are in healthy relationships. I have to say I did love how supportive Alan, Val’s boyfriend is of Val and how he doesn’t rush her on the whole marriage thing if she isn’t ready. Also love the relationship between Melody and Nancy and again they seem very supportive of each other and like I said both relationships seem very healthy. Also I love getting more backstory on them both especially Melody because she barely talked the last time she was on the show and the actress is very good so I am glad that she was given the chance to shine in this episode.

Josie arrives at Pop’s and it was really adorable seeing Tabitha fangirling over Josie. But right away its a bit of a mystery as too why Josie is back and I actually like that they didn’t tell us right away. I did think it was a little cheesy when Josie began to sing ‘It’s All Coming Back To Me Now’ but its the kind of cheese I like and I love that song, it the kind of song you just have to sing along with, plus Ashleigh did an amazing job with the song. I also think it worked well with the trip down memory lane that she takes. Also those dresses the three girls were wearing when Val and Melody showed up were stunning. All three of them just looked amazing. Also it leads into one of the best moments in the episode which is when Hiram comes to Josie’s room complaining about the noise and she calls him a little b*tch, not once but three times. I just loved how sassy she was in that scene and not intimidated by him at all. Josie goes to the school because she wants to do some writing and wants to use the music rooms which makes sense if she is trying to kind of go back to her routes and reconnect with herself then she spent alot of time writing in those rooms. Through teaching a music class as payment for using the rooms she reconnects with Archie who convinces her to come out with the gang that night. Once again we see Josie’s no holds barred attitude come through when she calls everyone out on all the crap from the past, pointing out that she was never given a choice during there old times to veronica, about jughead robbing pop’s, betty never really talking to her in school and Cheryl with the pig’s heart. As she is leaving she runs into Sweet Pea and I think he is exactly what she needed at that moment, he was able to offer her that comfort she was looking for and they were super sweet with each other.

Josie reaches out to Melody and Val and they all meet up at the Whyte Wyrm, I think Josie was really looking to reconnect with them both because they were such a big part of her time in Riverdale as were the Pussycats. Josie is hoping they’ll record a track with her for old times sake. I do love that when she asks if they still perform both girls get their own solo performances. They kill it too I really enjoyed the songs in this episode and it does make me wish we had seen more of them in previous seasons, I think episode really did show just how much their talent was wasted in those earlier seasons. Also I am glad that they called Josie out on the way she treated them back then and how she didn’t appreciate them. But I also like that when they left it wasn’t on nasty terms you know, they weren’t trying to tear Josie down or be hurtful or mean they were just saying it how it was. They tell her that it was good to see her and they promise to think about making the track with her.

When Josie gets back to her hotel room her mother is there and we see Josie just break down in tears and we find out her reason for coming to Riverdale, whilst in Berlin she gets a call from her mother telling her that her father passed away suddenly from a heart attack. Devastated and unable to perform she just leaves it all behind and heads back to Riverdale hoping she could disappear for a while. As a quick side note here one thing I am confused about and that is are Tom and Sierra still married? Because Josie is surprised her mother is in Riverdale but that could just be because she was expecting her mother to be in New Orleans dealing with her father’s death as Sierra told Josie on the phone that she would deal with it all. But also at the end of the episode Sierra leaves with Josie. Yet I am pretty sure I saw her wedding ring still on her hand. Also in Katy Keene which I am pretty sure was set five years after the original Riverdale timeline so two years ago in the current Riverdale timeline Josie introduces Kevin as her stepbrother so if Tom and Sierra did break up then it was in the last two years. On top of that in ep 11 which I think is the last time we saw Tom he was wearing a wedding ring. So many questions. But anyway back to business. Sierra calls Val and Melody and I love her for this, she clearly understood that her daughter needed her friends support in that moment and so she explains that Josie had just lost her dad and this is what urges them both to agree to record a track with Josie but they also decide to do a one night only concert to help raise funds to reincorporate Riverdale. Josie is inspired to do this because she was given a second chance by Val and Melody and so she wants to give the gang and Riverdale a second chance too. I do feel like that has been a theme of this season, of making amends, mending broken relationships and starting over, of healing. I think last season was very much about exposing the trauma the town has gone through and this season is about trying to heal that trauma.

So we are treated to some more amazing musical performances from the Pussycats and I actually got a really warm fuzzy and very nostalgic feeling when I saw them back up on the stage with that Pussycat symbol behind them. Also the way it was shot just looked really cool, how it started out with just their silhouettes. It was also really great seeing those iconic cat ears and tails again. Josie also had a really emotional performance when she sang a song for her dad and she sees him there. Ashleigh did an amazing job and it did bring me to tears. Come the end of the episode the three girls talk about how good it felt to perform together again and how right it felt. So they all decide to go on tour together. When they are boarding the bus we learn that Alan has chosen to go with Val on the tour but sadly Nancy will not be and her and Melody have a really sweet seeing Melody off scene where Nancy assures her that they will talk on the phone all the time. Again loving the supportive significant others. Then Sweet Pea shows up and asks if he could come with them too which is another sweet moment. I am sad to see Sweet Pea go but I am also happy that he is going with Josie and that they can be happy together. Just before they leave Josie replies to her mother asking if she is ready to go with ‘Unless this town has anymore surprises for me’ and girl honey you shouldn’t have said anything this is Riverdale. So of course a old band mate comes up to Josie and Sierra and tells them that her dad was messed up in some bad things including voodoo and that he believes Josie’s dad was actually murdered. So Josie decided that her first stop on the tour is going to be New Orleans. Personally I think this would be a perfect opportunity for a spinoff.

Tabitha, Veronica and Alexandra

The other storyline in this episode was centred around Tabitha and her endeavours to turn Pop’s into a franchise. At first she asks Veronica if she would be willing to invest but Veronica explains that it would be a bad idea because of the bad money schemes Chad has got her mixed up in. But then Alexandra Cabot shows up in Riverdale and it turns out she is one of the people that invested in one of Chad’s schemes and now she wants to withdraw her money which isn’t a good thing for Veronica. So she tells Alexandra about Pop’s and encourages her to invest in that. I do have one complaint about this plot point though and that is I wish they didn’t have the part where Alexandra has come back to withdraw her money and instead just had Veronica call Xandra up and tell her about Pop’s as a way of helping Tabitha out. As it was it seemed more like Veronica was more helping Tabitha because it was getting her out of a sticky situation than because she legitimately wanted to help Tabitha. For me just having Veronica call up a potential contact/ investor just because she wanted to be a good friend would have given that women supporting women moment more impact. I mean I do kind of understand why they did it the way they did, it was to remind the audience of that plot so that when it comes up in the next episode there is some consistency there. Also it was still good of Veronica to help Tabitha out I am just a little wary because from what I remember from Katy Keene Xandra was a bit of a shady one so I am really hoping that going into business with her doesn’t cause problems for Tabitha down the line. I really enjoyed the performance of Little Shop of Horrors but what I loved even more was when Xandra suggested changing the recipe for the milkshakes Tabitha stood up to her and explained the history behind Pop’s and how its wasn’t just a milkshake or just a diner it was a legacy. Also this is kind of irrelevant but I really liked Tabitha’s lavender suit. So now Tabitha is going into business with Xandra who after being inspired by Josie’s speech has agreed to not change the recipe. I do wonder if that means she is going to be on the show more often now or whether it’ll just be a background type thing with phone calls between them. I am also wondering what Veronica’s involvement in it all is. Is she just going to be redirecting the money Xandra put into Chad’s scheme into Pop’s so that Xandra doesn’t find out that Chad’s scheme was a bad one and tell the other investors so they don’t pull out too before Veronica can fix the situation? Finances and businesses are not something I really understand. Still I did like having that representation of three strong independent business women. I just really hope this deal doesn’t go wrong somehow.

Toni and Baby Anthony

Toni’s back! I also love that the way they introduced her again was just to have her pop up from behind a counter during a musical number. In this episode Toni is about ready to pop. I enjoyed those moments when she was hoping to induce her labour like when she was dancing. In the end she goes into labour during the Pussycat’s concert interrupting the performance. Still like they said better to be upstaged by a new baby than a dead body. I am still a bit unsure as to what the family situation is going to be and whether Kevin is still going to be involved. I mean Fangs was in the room with Toni and was often seen standing next to her like at the end when they came to introduce the baby to everyone. But then Kevin was pacing outside the room like an anxious father to be and when Josie commented about how gorgeous the baby was she congratulates all three of them, so she does include Kevin in it. I mean just because Kangs broke up doesn’t mean the three of them can’t still co-parent. I also loved that Cheryl jumped in to help deliver the baby even if that delivery did happen in true Riverdale fashion and take place in the back of a diner. She also looked genuinely happy for them too. It was also super cute that they named the baby Anthony after Toni’s grandfather.

Little Moments

There were some little ship moments in the episode, obviously Cheryl helping Toni deliver her baby and also she looked a little sad when Toni was introducing the baby at the end which I think indicated that she was regretful about how things ended up between her and Toni. Also when Josie congratulates them Fangs does look over to Kevin so I think he too is happy but also a little sad about how things didn’t really turn out exactly how they planned it. There was also a glance between Barchie and another glance between Jughead and Tabitha. But I am glad that whilst there were little moments there wasn’t anything that would detract from the Pussycats as this was their episode. There were little crumbs just to plant seeds for the next episode but the main focus of the episode was never overshadowed.

Overall I do think this was a great episode that really celebrated the POC on the show and the pussycats in particular. I just really hope that this continues into the rest of the episodes going forward and characters like Tabitha and Toni do still get the attention they deserve. So far this season they have done a decent job of giving them screen time and keeping them involved with the plot. The same with the other side characters that were often neglected like Kevin and Fangs and Reggie. I would also love a Pussycats spin off so fingers crossed for that. Anyway that’s it for now so until the next episode.

#riverdale #riverdale review #riverdale spoilers

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