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nazghoulz · 4 years

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The Definitive Ranking of Richard Armitage’s Acting Roles, Rated Exclusively by How Hot I Find Him In Screengrabs

Richard Armitage. As a diehard Thorin Oakenshield fan I certainly have a complicated relationship with him, mainly because I can never decide if I find him inherently hot or not. On the one hand, I’m a hardcore Thorinfucker. On the other hand my gay ass sees a headshot of Mr. Armitage and I’m just like, “Oh, no thank you.” So in order to set myself to rights, I have gone through Mr. Armitage’s IMDB and done a definitive ranking of all his 44 screen roles on there, based completely and arbitrarily on how hot I find him in screenshots. (Thank you to all the hardcore Armitage Fuckers who keep wordpress blogs with screengrabs of his various cameos and bit parts; my respect for you cannot be put into words.) I haven’t seen like 90% of these properties, and I didn’t bother to research them, so these are mainly just gut first impressions. I hope this helps anyone else out there who as confused by him as I am. Enjoy ?

44. Father Quart in The Seville Communion/The Man From Rome (2020) — ??/10

I don’t think this movie is out yet? Idk I haven’t been able to find any stills of him, let alone much information about the movie itself. It’s listed on his IMDB though! And apparently he’s playing a priest...which could be extremely 👁️👁️ if done correctly.

43. Unnamed Naboo Fighter Pilot in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) — 1/10

OH SWEETIE NO!!!!! This physically pains me to say this, because I unironically love this terrible movie with my whole heart, but unlike a yung Kiera Knightley’s role (pictured front and center) as Padmé’s loyal body double Sabé, this is probably a cameo that we would all like to forget about. The only thing Richard has to offer is this unfortunate turtle-faced realness. This helmet does him no favors.

42. Man in Pub in Boon (1992) — 2/10

As far as I know this is Richard’s first acting credit on IMDB, and he for sure is working the background extra energy. Go on girl give us nothing! He does have a decent backside though, and it’s better than looking at unfortunate turtle face, so I give this one a 2.

41. Paul Andrews in Between the Sheets (2003) — 2/10

I can’t really articulate why, but I absolutely despise every screenshot I see of Richard Armitage in this role. He is completely unhot, and not even in a way I can laugh at. He takes no advantage of his assets, he has no charisma, no magnetism, no nothing. This is Richard Armitage at his most white bread rando, in a way that makes me actively dislike him. Pbbbbttth. Bad. Throw this whole thing away.

40. Craig Parker in Casualty (2001) — 2/10

I don’t know, it’s like the perfect storm of the gelled 2001 hair, the terrible quarter? eighth? zip sweater, and overall, er, skeezy vibes that he gives off that makes him particularly unhot in this role. Perhaps not as reprehensible as Unhot Paul, but still. I think the sheer boringness of this has to count for something. Blech.

39. Dr. Tom Steele in Doctors (2001) — 2.5/10

He honestly looks like a villain in an early season of Alias, which... well. Quentin Tarantino was cast as a bit-part villain in Alias season one, so take that as you will. But at least he’s compelling here, which is why he gets half a point over Unhot Paul.

38. Steven in Frozen (2005) — 3/10

Get some rest, tall child! You can’t keep burning the candle at both ends! Also short haircuts do nothing for you, Richard. Styled like this, they just serve to make you look sort of like a sleaze.

37. Peter Macduff in ShakespeaRe-Told (2005) — 3/10

He honestly looks like he could be a guest star in Friends in this one, where he’s a guy named Jason who Ross meets in Central Perk where they find they have a lot in common. Ross introduces Jason to Monica and they really hit it off, but it all comes crashing down because while Jason is sensitive and writes poetry, he also thinks that the Earth is flat. The rest of the episode is trying to get rid of Jason while he becomes increasingly obsessed with Monica, and Ross cannot quite let go trying to prove to Jason that the world is round. Anyway. Macduff Flat Earth Jason isn’t quite as unhot as Unhot Paul, but he’s pretty much on the same level as Tired Steven.

36. Phillip Durrant in Marple (2007) — 3/10

Something about him in this image really makes me want to punch him in the face. It’s huge Peter Parker in Spider-Man 3 energy.

35. Young Claude Monet in The Impressionists (2006) — 3.5/10

I’M LOSING MY FUCKING MIND THE FIRST THING THAT COMES TO MIND IS !!! CARNIVAL BARKER !!!!! STEP RIGHT UP TO SEE THE WORST GOATEE IN HISTORY !!! I was actually going to give Yung Claude a 2 but the more I look at this terrible beard the more impressed I am with the boldness of this look, so I had to bump it up to 3.5. Idk. Just look at this. It’s incredible, especially knowing what kind of beard Armitage can grow himself !!!!!!!!

34. Heinz Kruger in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) — 3.5/10

This is definitely the best looking he’s been so far in this list, but he’s a Nazi in this one, which makes him unsexy on principle. But do I feel a little something when he gets pinned to the ground by jacked Chris Evans with the above look on his face right before he swallows his cyanide pill? Can neither confirm nor deny. They are also truly playing into his inherently sinister bone structure, so I can respect that.

33. Percy Courtney in Miss Marie Lloyd (2007) — 4/10

Even including Yung Claude and Nazi Heinz, I think Nothing Percy is probably the weakest of Richard’s period looks, mostly because he looks like, well, nothing. He certainly doesn’t pull off that top hat like he does in North and South, and the secret to that might be the lack of sideburns. In this one he just sort of reminds me of the asshole fiance in Titanic.

32. Philip Turner in The Inspector Lynley Mysteries (2005) — 4/10

He’s really giving off bargain bin Hugh Jackman as Wolverine vibes here, if Logan’s energy was more “murderer in a Hallmark channel mystery” than “superhero.” Though, given what sort of show this is, that may be the point! Idk, this isn’t the worst. At least he has a decent haircut in this one. Still, I feel absolutely nothing when I look at him. He’s simply royalty-free stock music given human form.

31. Dr. Alec Track in The Golden Hour (2005) — 4.5/10

I could see how this conceivably be sexy in this role, but to be honest, he’s still nothing to me, sorry. He gets some extra points because he obviously worked out for this role and the hard nips through a white undershirt is a commendable look. I whole-heartedly respect Doctor Alec’s thottitude.

30. Daryl in Staged (1999) — 4.5/10

Speaking of thottitude!!!!! This is one cream-faced business boy that I can certainly get into! He looks like the love interest in a pre-Hayes code homoerotic thriller from the early 1930s. I’m sure that’s just because of the lighting and general staging of this production, but hm... demure. Love it.

29. Capt. Ian Macalwain in Ultimate Force (2003) — 4.5/10

Well, he looks like a character from M*A*S*H but with no charisma, or like an extra in The Great Escape who snitches on Steve McQueen to the Nazis. Also in half the pictures I find of him from this he’s wearing this terrible beret, which I know he can pull off because of a role that ranks much higher on this list. Whoever styles this man really needs to pay attention to what sort of headgear they put on him.

28. Epiphanes in Cleopatra (1999) — 5/10

Speaking of headgear, you know what?? He doesn’t look awful here. A solid 5, perfectly acceptable. I think the helmet does a lot to accentuate the sharpness of his face in this extremely bit part, though the eyeliner definitely also helps as well.

27. John Mulligan in Moving On (2009) — 5/10

Mr. Armitage’s characters can really have potential when a production’s stylist allows him to wear scruff (IN A WAY THAT LOOKS NATURAL, LOOKING AT YOU YUNG CLAUDE). However, as it is with John Mulligan in Moving On here, he just sort of looks like a rando? They’re not playing into the inherent angularity of his face, which for me makes it sort of confusing regarding what sort of emotion I’m supposed to feel while looking at him. As it is, I’m just like, “Yup, that sure is a regular human man, right there.”

26. Smug Man at Party in This Year’s Love (1999) — 5/10

This is the face of a man who less smug and is more DRUNK OUT OF HIS MIND !!!! Idk. He’s cute here, I’ll admit. That’s all I have to say about it.

25. John Standring in Sparkhouse (2002) — 5.5/10

I enjoy the bold choice of giving him wavy hair in this one, but I’m not sure he quite pulls it off. It doesn’t look bad, per se, just... he looks completely nonthreatening. Which I guess could be someone’s thing, but not mine. He honestly looks like a knock-off Will Graham, sans dogs and trauma.

24. Gary in Into the Storm (2014) — 5.5/10

I think the thing that really gets me is that this character’s name is Gary. Who on God’s green Earth looks at Richard Armitage and goes, “Ah yes, you do look like a Gary” ??? I don’t think I know of a single non-American Gary, especially since the name Gary only got popularized after Gary Cooper renamed himself after his hometown of Gary, Indiana!!!! It wasn’t really a name for human men before that!!!! I want to live in the alternate universe where Frank Cooper was originally from Albuquerque and named himself Albuquerque Cooper and this character is named as such. Gary. Really.

23. King Oleron in Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016) — 5.5/10

I truly hate how much his facial expressions in these stills remind me of Thorin, considering how bad he looks otherwise. Like his face his fine, I guess, especially since this is the first instance of his full beard. I’m charmed despite myself! Take me to wonderland, O King.

22. Adam Price in The Stranger (2020) — 5.5/10

For as compelling as people call this series, Richard here isn’t very much so imo. But despite my utter lack of interest, he doesn’t look bad per se. He just sort of has that stubbly white man blandness that colors a lot of his more recent roles. Like, at least his bad mid-2000′s styling had character. This is just the visual representation of a vague handwave.

21. Harry Kennedy in The Vicar of Dibley (2006) — 6/10

Gosh... floppy hair, cute sweaters... he also seems to be smiling a lot in this one, which is nice! The only thing I have to complain about is that he looks very much like if Bradley Cooper and Hugh Jackman circa Kate and Leopold had a baby, which may not necessarily be too much of a bad thing, but I can’t unsee it.

20. Sgt. John Porter in Strike Back (2010) — 6/10

Ah, back to poorly suited haircuts. At least he’s a little bit gritter and grimier than we’ve seen so far, and I will say Richard Armitage does look good covered in dirt, as we will see later on. Also he’s got biceps in this one, which, hell yeah.

19. Ricky Deeming in Inspector George Gently (2007) — 6/10

I’M HAVING THE HARDEST TIME RIGHT NOW RANKING THIS ONE BC OF THIS INCREDIBLE LITTLE WHITE SCARF-RIDING LEATHERS COMBO!!! WHICH ABSOLUTE GENIUS DECIDED THIS!!!! EVERY SCREENSHOT OF HIM IN HIS EPISODE HAS THIS!!! Part of me just wants to give Stylish Ricky a big fat 10 because I’m gay and adore the sheer audacity of this look, but I still have to be fair and rank his overall aura accordingly. I think he’s a handsome extremely gay-coded motorcycle lad in this one, but he doesn’t exactly rev my engine, so to speak.

18. Lucas North in Spooks (2008) — 6/10

The tattoos really spice this one up. Luke could have been plagued by the problems inherent in Regular Mulligan’s Moving On styling, but this guy has an edge to him. He has a good haircut and 5′ o’clock shadow, which is something I’ve figured out is integral to Armitage Hotness. I feel like if I got to know this character I could possibly find him sexy.

17. Raymond de Merville in Pilgrimage (2017) — 6.5/10

Speaking of bad haircuts, this one is his undoing. This is almost the perfect balance between full beard and short haircut, which is the only way a short haircut works on this man, but they ruined it with this one! They gave him a bad bowl fade, which completely undoes any inherent sexiness that comes with being a knight. Not even the fact that he’s covered in dirt can turn me on at this point, ugh. Guy of Gisbourne he is not!!!

16. Tom Calahan in Brain on Fire (2016) — 6.5/10

Oh hell yes, WELCUM 2 DA DILF ZONE!!! I’m not super duper thrilled with the looks I’ve seen from this movie, but he seems scruffy and comfy in a way that is slightly refreshing for ol’ Richard. This is certainly the best of his normie looks so far. I’m just sad it took them 24 years to figure out how to style him properly for sympathetic roles in a contemporary setting.

15. James in My Zoe (2019) — 6.5/10

It’s another DILF look, slightly edgier than Comfy Tom but none of that sexy tired energy that we’ll see from Ocean’s 8. I don’t know !! Jimmy here doesn’t exactly thrill me, I think I prefer Tom’s flannels to this sharp bomber jacket/white t shirt combo seen here. Oh well! I am extremely 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 that he can just casually palm that soccer ball like that.

14. John Thornton in North & South (2004) — 7/10

Alright. I’m sorry. I just don’t find him that hot in this role. Like yeah, he’s got the scruff and the sideburns that work to his advantage, and the setting does make this character inherently sexy, but in some screenshots he screams too much of an aforementioned Kate and Leopold (the best Meg Ryan movie, imo) era Hugh Jackman to me. And if I was particularly into that, I would just watch Kate and Leopold again. I will admit, however, that this rating could be subject to change if I actually took the time to watch this show.

13. Chop in Urban and the Shed Crew (2015) — 7/10

...I’M??? INTO IT??? He’s dirty and scruffy but also has kind eyes.... I feel like this is knock off Will Graham who has blossomed into his own. His run down, grime-covered own. He’s back edging into Bradley Cooper territory, but somehow it works for him in this one. Like, I’m 89% sure it’s the DILF vibes I’ve been getting from the other screengrabs I��ve seen of this role, and this particular flavor of DILF is way sexier than Jimmy or Comfy Tom.

12. Francis Dolarhyde in Hannibal (2015) — 7/10

His Caesar cut doesn’t bother me quite so much in this, probably because he is pretty explicitly playing a villain in a series that doesn’t have any basis in reality. A villain who is ripped, and who can effortlessly throw real Will Graham around. Armitage uses his inherent sinisterness to great effect as the Red Dragon, which is good actually! I think a lot of how hot he is in any particular role really depends on whether the styling allows him to play to his strengths...idk! I’m not usually a huge fan of clean shaven Armitage, but it works for Frank here.

11. Daniel Miller in Berlin Station (2016) — 7/10

As much as I adore this particular look (beard + fade + green army jacket), I have to compromise and give Danny a 7/10 because it seems like the first season they styled him in usual stubbly white man blandness. I’d say screengrabs from s1 are a solid 6, while this might be an 8, so the average is a 7. That’s all I have to say about this!

10. Claude Becker in Ocean’s 8 (2018) — 7.5/10

!!!!! I love him in this role, I about had a conniption in the theater because I absolutely was not expecting him!! He looks perfectly ruffled and scruffy, edgier than either Comfy Tom or Jimmy, which I’m very into. That plus his two borzois (objectively the best looking dogs on the planet) really put Old Claude over the top for me. Thank you, thank you Hollywood stylists for finally figuring out what to do with him for roles as a Normal Man.

9. Richard Hall in The Lodge (2019) — 7.5/10

I don’t know anything about this movie, but it seems pretty spooky, which I’m into. I think Richard is well suited for this sort of horror/thriller role, where his angular features can play into the overall vibe rather than some hapless stylist trying to work around them. He looks like another cozy DILF here but with a bite to him, like someone who would do anything to protect his brood. I mean, he’s teaching this child to shoot! But idk, he also has the potential for Jack Nicholson in The Shining energy, which I also could be....hm... into. Idk. Is this on Netflix??

8. Lee in Cold Feet (2003) — 7.5/10

FUN!!! FLIRTY!!!! OTTER VIBES!!!!! I LOVE THIS, he seems so goofy here, and Armitage doesn’t usually pull off goofy that well! I’ve giggled at literally every screenshot I could find from the four episodes he was in this show, he seems like a real himbo. I’m a huge fan, even if it comes at the cost of dehydration abs.

7. William Chatford in Malice Aforethought (2005) — 7.5/10

Hoo hoo HOO DO NOT JUDGE ME!!!!!!! Maybe it’s just because I’ve been watching the new season of The Alienist and the new dark and gritty HBO reboot of Perry Mason back to back, but sue me, I love the bold choice they made with giving him a pencil moustache here. He looks like a hot Howard Hughes; if cream-faced business boy Daryl from Staged is the young ingenue in the pre-Hayes Code thriller I cast him in, Bill here is the sexy antagonist. I desperately want to hear a perfect Transatlantic accent coming out out of that mouth. This look fucks and I’m sticking to that no matter what.

6. Trevor Belmont in Castlevania (2017) — 8/10

Ah, yes, speaking of king himbos... do me a favor and look me right in the eye and tell me that you wouldn’t fuck Trevor Belmont. You can’t, can you?????? At least 80% of Richard Armitage’s inherent hotness stems from his voice, and you can’t tell me there isn’t anything sexier than thinking about letting that guy loose in a recording studio and letting him say fuck. Look, Trevor may be drawn that way, but it’s the absolute stupidity coming out of his mouth in that sweet baritone that makes me want to be raw-dogged by 100% pure Romanian beef.

5. Dr. Scott White in Sleepwalker (2017) — 8/10

Much like I had intimated when talking about Hot Danny in Berlin Station, this is Peak contemporary normie Richard Armitage styling. I honestly think The Hobbit either awakened something in him, or casting directors finally figured out he looks way good with a full beard. His crew cut even works with his whole look, which is a miracle!!!! I think he should be contractually obligated to have a full beard in all of his future roles, but that’s just me.

4. Guy of Gisbourne in Robin Hood (2006) — 8.5/10

I honestly can’t believe I’m ranking Guy so far up here, but honestly, THIS RULES!!!!!! THIS FUCKS!!!!!!!!! Which is incredible due to Guy’s lack of beard, but I’m weirdly okay with it? Like sure, he looks like he’d probably call me a slur in front of his shitty friends, but he also looks like he could tenderly pound me into the mattress in a way that would have me questioning my commitment to the “no emotions” clause of our clandestine no-strings-attached sex agreement. Anyway. Guy of Gisbourne if you see this im free thursday night. please message me back if you’re free thursday night when i am fr

3. Angus in Macbeth (1999) — 8.5/10

HHHNGHGNHNGHGN HE’S SO HOT.....!!! HE’S SO HOT!!!!! Leather jacket!!! Scruff!! Dirt!!!! Flattering beret!!!!! He’s so hot, and the worst part about this is that this was filmed in NINETEEN NINETY NINE!!!!!!!!!!!! Which means we could have always had this, had stylists and makeup artists PLAYED TO HIS STRENGTHS!!!!! He’s so hot I’m getting legitimately angry. Without scruff and dirt this man is nothing. N o t h i n g.

2. John Proctor in The Crucible (2014) — 9/10

Look, I know I have a type. But... this guy is just so hot, Daniel Day Lewis please step aside!!!! Contemporary theater historians describe John Proctor as a “strong beast of a man,” and... hhhHHOOOGH HELL YEAH!!! HELL !!!! YEAH !!!!! Like, his dick got almost his entire Puritan village, including himself, accused of witchcraft and like, looking at this guy, I kind of get it. I would probably go to war over the raw animal beauty of this horrible dirty, greasy man. Sue me, I confess. I saw Goody Osburn with the devil.

1. Thorin II Oakenshield in The Hobbit Trilogy — 9.5/10

Come on. You knew it was going to be this guy. Look at my icon for christ’s sake. I am completely biased, I cannot look at his pictures objectively. Anyway. Thank you so much for reading, this was a very stupid list.

#rene rambles #this is the worst thing ive ever done tbh #richard armitage

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thelittleredheadedmusician · 4 years

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Negative Effects of Habits

PG 2,921 words Gen AO3

There were weirder places to wake up than Gotham City – believe it or not – though that really only applies if you also fell asleep in Gotham City. Which Mia had not.

This wasn’t the safehouse that Ollie kept. Or the one Roy kept. Or Dinah’s apartment. Or even the fancy loft the Queens publicly owned. Mia was fairly sure this was a warehouse. An abandoned one by the dust that tickled her nose.

She pushed herself up from the wooden pallet she was laying on, thankfully it seemed that her pajamas had made the trip with her. Mia might have to start sleeping with her boots on after this because she wasn’t eager to introduce the bottom of her feet to the broken glass and rusty nails that were bound to litter the dim space. At least she had her tetanus shot up to date. Though she was a little annoyed Ollie’s paranoia was rubbing off on her.

And how did Mia know it was Gotham that she woke up in? Well the man’s voice that floated out of the darkness was cursing up a storm about the city. So, Mia had a pretty good guess that was where she was.

“Hello?” Mia called out cautiously. She curled her fingers into fists and shifted her weight the way Dinah and Ted had taught her. No bow didn’t mean she was helpless, Mia could pack a punch and she was proud of it.

The cursing quieted. “Someone there?” the voice called back, a low grumble with an accent. British, not anything crisp and high class but beyond that Mia couldn’t place it.

“Yeah! I’m here! Not that I actually know where here is.”

A chuckle sounded from the darkness. “Ok, love. Just hang on, I’m on my way. D’you think you could give us a shout? Lighter only does so much.”

“Normally when I wake up in places like this, I have a flashlight or a flare or at the very least my phone. I’m not really a fan of this gloom,” Mia offered.

A laugh came again, closer this time. “Don’t tell me, you’re a cape?”

Mia weighed her options, no harm telling him if she didn’t say which cape she wore. Right? Even though there was a touch of venom in the voice now. “Well right now I’m more of a plaid pajama than anything.”

“Clever,” he said, a light materializing and the man coming with it. He looked vaguely familiar, a glint of blonde hair, loose tie, and sweeping trench coat revealing itself in the flame. His eyes narrowed as he caught sight of Mia with her flannel pants, oversized t-shirt, and bare feet standing on the wood. “You’re not the chipper Batgirl, are you?”

“Nope. Definitely not,” Mia tried to assure him.

“You sure?” An eyebrow lifted as his eyes narrowed.

Mia frowned. “I’m positive. I went to sleep in Star last night. Where I live.”

“It’s just the hair and the locale,” he waved his free hand vaguely.

“Maybe I’m Supergirl. Or Miss Martian,” Mia said defensively, “she shapeshifts. Stargirl’s another blonde. And how do you know Batgirl doesn’t wear a wig?”

He laughed and tried to wave her off, “Ok, ok, love. Point taken. So, who are you? If it’s not one of the above.”

It was Mia’s turn to level him with a skeptical look, she didn’t have the best record with keeping her secret identity in check but that didn’t mean she had to go blurting it out to strange men just because they had a light and she didn’t. “You first,” Mia countered quickly.

His lips twisted into a smirk. Nodding, he reached into his coat and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, tugging one from the box with his mouth and lifting the lighter to it. Once the pack was put away and he’d pulled a long drag he smirked around it again. Taking the cigarette between two fingers he exhaled a stream of smoke and the words, “John Constantine, at your service.”

Mia pulled her own lip between her teeth; Ollie had warned her about this man. So had Dinah and Roy. He was a powerful magic user who only helped if it suited him. He saved the world because he was a current resident of it, no other reason. More importantly though, he left a well recorded trail of death and destruction in his wake. Granted, Mia had no idea how she got here, in her pjs no less, so maybe some magical assistance wouldn’t be so bad.

“Speedy. As in the kid with the bow, not a runner.”

John – Constantine? The first felt too casual, the latter too formal for someone who’d seen her in her bleach stained pajama top – chuckled at that again. “I met your mentor once,” he gestured with his cigarette, the smoke curling up into the rafters, “he’s a whole lot more tolerable than the rest of the super friends. So, we’re both in the same boat here?”

“What do you mean?” Mia rubbed at her bare arms; she was starting to get chilly standing here.

“Figure of speech, love,” he winked.

Mia rolled her eyes, “I know that. And you knew what I meant.”

He shrugged and kept smoking, making her wrinkle her nose at the smell. “Well, you said you woke up here, right? I didn’t get to Gotham the conventional way myself.”

“Great,” Mia sighed. “Magic.”

“Now that is the type of response I wish more people had.” John dropped the butt of his cigarette, grounding it out beneath his heel. “C’mere, I’ll give ya a lift.”

She raised an eyebrow as he held out his arms, flicking the lighter closed and plunging them into the half-light of morning that made its way through the grimy windows.

“I’ll carry you out so you don’t cut your feet,” he sighed. “Mage’s honor. I’ve never seen the point of scouts.” She could still see the slash of his smirk in the dark.

She hadn’t wanted to step off the pallet in the first place but Mia felt more than a little awkward just letting him carry her. “I’m heavier than I look,” she warned. And it was true, since moving in with Ollie she’d put on weight and more than that, muscle.

“I can handle it, love,” something about his smile changed, seemed kinder. Mia nodded and John stepped closer. She slung an arm around his shoulders and held on as he slipped his arms under her knees and around her back and lifted her up.

Mia was hit with the scent of stale smoke and sweat and a wave of memories of her old life. She stiffened involuntarily. Freezing at the images and sounds that flashed through her mind at the smell.

John must have noticed because he stopped walking. “You alright?” He sounded genuine in his concern; Mia knew what the opposite sounded like.

“Yeah, fine, thanks.” Mia didn’t believe herself and she knew that John certainly didn’t but he kept walking and didn’t bring it up.

There was a door, heavy metal with rust peeling the paint off in flakes. John spun slightly so he could kick at it before shouldering it open. Mia squinted at the sun managing to break through the clouds. The parking lot around the warehouse was cracked macadam but relatively clean of debris and gravel. John set her down on a patch and Mia muttered her thanks, shocked a bit by the cold ground against the bottom of her feet.

Rummaging in his coat, John pulled the lighter and cigarettes out again. He offered her the pack this time and Mia leveled a flat look. “You really think you ought to be giving cigarettes to teenagers?”

His smile flashed behind the cupped hands of his lighter. “Just trying to be polite. So, who did you piss off?”

“Recently?” Mia returned the smirk as she thought about patrol the past couple nights. “Some gang bangers, a couple jackass pimps, handful of corrupt cops, and some neo-nazis just for good measure. Though there was an overlap between them and the cops.”

John laughed, “A girl after me own heart.”

“Hmm, sorry I swore off older men. And smokers.”

He motioned at her with his cigarette, “Now if the Justice League talked like that I might be more inclined to help them.”

“You obviously don’t hang around with enough sidekicks,” Mia raised her brows. The sass might be a natural trait, but it was honed by a tried and true tradition that she upheld.

“Actively try to avoid it. Do my best work alone, ta.”

“That why we’re still standing around instead of figuring out how we got here in the first place?” Mia crossed her arms and tilted her head in the way that made even calm and collected Conner shoot her an exasperated look.

John’s smile just slipped a little and he shook his cigarette in her direction. He half grumbled before turning away and taking another drag. “Well, I have a running list of those out to get me and believe it or not neo-nazis are on it.”

Mia lifted a brow. She wasn’t exactly surprised but…

“I’ve been a part of the punk scene since before you were born, love. Skinheads were never welcome.”

She matched his smirk. “Point taken. So how do a bunch of alt-right assholes manage to get us to an abandoned warehouse in Gotham. Why? And how’d you know it was Gotham?”

“Places give off energies and if you know what to look for you can sense it,” John said around the end of his cigarette, lighting another off of it.

“Like, auras?” Mia paid attention to Conner’s hippie friends. Even if she thought their healing crystals were a load of bull.

“Like auras,” John agreed with a grin. “Gotham’s is very distinct and very overpowering. S’a bit like waking up with a hangover and a bloody skunk shoved under your nose.”

“Delightful,” Mia said dryly.

“Ennit? Why? They’re probably just pissed. Petty revenge from some arseholes who think a parlor trick makes them bloody Merlin. Fact we haven’t seen anyone says this was more to inconvenience us than anything, I’d say. The how…” John trailed off and flicked the butt of his second cigarette onto the ground. He mumbled what Mia could only categorize as hocus pocus as he did so, the smoke from the butt swirling up and taking shape between his hands. John grew silent as he studied the shapes. Mia waited for him to shed some more light on the situation, or maybe conjure her up some shoes and a sweatshirt.

Mia shivered as a breeze tickled over her arms and lifted the loose hairs framing her face. It dissipated the smoke John was looking at too. “So?” she prompted.

John blinked, like he was surprised to see her still standing there. He shrugged off the trench coat and passed it to her with a half-smile. Mia ignored the stale scent and slipped it on gratefully.

“Well, it’s a pretty rudimentary teleportation spell. Sympathetic magic, you take something of the person and say a few words then put it where you want them to end up. Say a few words again and do a ritual and there you have it. Those blokes get some of your hair when you fought them? Maybe even blood?”

Mia shook her head, making the messy bun on top wobble. “One of the first rules of archery, you don’t want anything getting caught on the string so I keep it tied back. And I’m a ranged fighter, I didn’t get close enough for them to land a hit.”

John hummed. “Me it’s easy, leave a bit of a trail,” he nodded to the cigarette butts on the ground, “bit of salvia’s all it takes.”

Thinking back to the other night, Mia tried to remember the exact details of the fight but she took them out from perched on a fire escape. They were trying to harass a group of kids coming out of one of the city’s gay bars and with a few shots her arrows had them pinned to the wall of the building. She’d left a note for the cops to find.

“Crap.” Mia pressed her palms into her eyes. “Bubblegum.”

“What’s that, love?”

“I might have a bubblegum habit, but at least I’ll only be getting a cavity and not cancer,” she added when John’s eyes lit up, “I may have used some to stick a note saying ‘Punch me! I’m a nazi!’ to the one guy’s forehead.”

That had John laughing again. “Well, points for style, love.”

“So what now?” Mia sighed.

John rolled his sleeves down, even laughing magicians weren’t immune to the cold it would seem. “Well, I happen to know where the Gotham door for the Oblivion Bar is located, that should get me back to London. You, on the other hand.”

“I can get to a couple different safe houses, but I need shoes.”

“Ah,” John’s smile stretched wide. “That I can help with. Can’t make something out of nothing, magic doesn’t actually work like that, but if you give me my coat, I should have the supplies to do a little teleportation spell of me own.”

Mia slipped it off again and handed the worn trench coat back to him, wrapping her arms around herself immediately missing the warmth. “You’re not going to just drop me in a safe house?”

“No,” John chuckled. “I can bring your costume to you though.”

She raised a skeptical brow as John pulled out some chalk and began drawing markings on the parking lot between them. Well, if it didn’t work than she’d just demand John give her a lift, she’d already stolen his wallet from the trench coat’s inside pocket.

“Alright then, love. Just picture your costume in its display case or wherever you keep it,” he instructed as he held his palms up over the markings.

“Try closet,” Mia muttered but closed her eyes and imagined her Speedy gear. The sturdy red pants and Under Armor like top. The red breastplate/vest with its yellow arrow and her yellow gloves and arm guard. The yellow shin guards and knee and elbow pads, utility belt and hood. Red mask and bow and fletchings on the arrows. Yellow quiver and sturdy yellow boots. Most importantly those sturdy yellow boots.

As Mia saw her uniform in her mind’s eye John began chanting. There was a sudden flare of heat and then an even colder wind whipping it away. She peeked an eye open. Sure enough, her costume sat neatly folded on the chalk markings. Bow and fully stocked quiver next to it. Most importantly, her boots on top.

She snatched for them and John shrugged his coat off again. “Here, love, should be able to use this to change.”

“Thanks,” Mia said, draping it over her shoulders. She shoved her feet in the boots without tying them, taking everything over to change against the warehouse wall. “Do you mind holding it up? No peeking.”

“No peeking,” John promised, lifting his coat from her shoulders and stretching it out before him. He even closed his eyes and turned his head away. Mia was impressed.

In no time she’d slipped out of her pajamas and into her Speedy costume. Most importantly she had her boots on and tied tight. “Ok,” Mia said to John as she shoved her pjs into her quiver. “Guess this is where we part. I can walk to a safehouse from here and call Black Canary, she’s got friends in Gotham who can help me out from there.”

John nodded, fixing the collar of his coat before slipping his hands in his pockets. “Well Speedy, I’d say it’s a pleasure but…”

Mia laughed. “Agreed. Let’s never meet like this again, though I appreciate all your help.”

“Anytime, love. Anytime.” He pulled his hand out of his pocket, holding out a slightly bent and discolored business card.

Mia accepted it and raised her eyebrow. “‘John Constantine: Exorcist, Demonologist, and Master of the Dark Arts.’ Really?”

He pulled a face and half snapped his fingers, “Been meaning to get those reprinted. Point is, you seem to piss off the right kind of people so if you run into something a little above your paygrade in the future feel free to give me a ring.”

She slipped it into a pocket on her belt. “You have a phone?”

“It’s a recent acquisition.”

“Right. Oh,” Mia remembered suddenly, digging in her quiver for his wallet and tossing it to him. “You might want that back. Uh, it was insurance in case you wanted to disappear on me. Your reputation proceeds you.”

John caught it and laughed, shaking the wallet at her with a smile before he slid it back into his coat. “You. I like you.”

Mia flashed him one last smirk as she headed towards the city, “Told you Constantine, sidekicks are where the fun’s at!”

Laughing, John lit yet another cigarette and raised it to her in salute. “Cheers, love. I’ll have to remember that.”

A sudden thought had Mia spinning around. “John,” she called but he was still walking the other direction. “Constantine!” she yelled again.

He turned and squinted towards her, “Yeah, love?”

“You wouldn’t happen to be interested in catching the guys who did this?”

John smiled, slow and wide. “Actually, I really would.”

Mia grinned back. “C’mon then, let's play karma. I'm feeling bitchy.”

#dc comics #mia dearden #speedy #john constantine #hellblazer #fanfiction #fanfic #my fic #writing #own writing #green arrow #the blonde brigade #i love john constantine the little shit

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kob131 · 5 years

Text

https://rwdestuffs.tumblr.com/post/187342767682/not-be-be-all-double-standards-but-taiyang-has

I’m tackling his reblogs from here.

I think it’s more about how the narrative built them up rather than the actions.

The narrative made Tai out to be a guy who was struggling to put his life back together for the sake of his kids and had a definitively good relationship with all of them and would go to the sun and back for them. Then it turned out that not only did he drown himself in his work, but he also opted to garden instead of go with Yang to look for Ruby.

Notice how he tries to treat ‘struggling to put his life together and ‘drown himself in work’ as if they were happening in the same timespan, not, you know: one after the other. Dudeblade, you don’t get to rewrite the order of events to support your headcanon while arguing it to be truth.

And let’s honestly think about this for a second. Do we REALLY want yet ANOTHER character to the cast? I could give the same argument of ‘he’s suppose to teach at Signal’ but let’s address the actual reason why Taiyang can’t go with Yang: He serves no purpose. There is NOTHING for him to do as Yang’s issues need to be dealt with by Yang, Ruby is closer to Qrow, we already have Qrow as the tragic member of proto-Team RWBY. We already have issues between Oscar and Jaune, we don’t need ANOTHER fight for screentime. So the question is: Do you want Taiyang to eat up screentime, especially considering your hatred of him is because of your issues with your mom, or can we just accept the excuse since it makes sense AND prevents more writing problems?

Willow, on the other hand, was made out to be neglectful at best, or abusive at worst. Since she got married to Jacques and ended up being an alcoholic, she was indeed made out to be neglectful.

No, that’s RAVEN.

Willow is portrayed as a victim who incidentally caused issues with Weiss, since her being an alcoholic is DIRECTLY related to Jacques using her. And by your rules, that means she should be attacked.

And Raven was made out to be a bitch.

You know Dudeblade, you’d be more convincing if you didn’t have a history of trying to portray Raven as basically being Summer or trying to downplay her abuse while completely rewriting canon to demonize Taiyang.

TL;DR: Willow and Raven fulfill what their characters were made out to be, Tai was not. Which is why he gets demonized while Raven and Willow do not.

Except by your own rules: Willow isn‘t fulfilling her character.

You BLATANTLY ignore canon with Taiyang.

And one look at your ‘savior mom raven’ series says otherwise.

Also, at least Raven saved Yang’s life once. Taiyang just belittled her and made callous comments about her lost arm.

Raven: Saved Yang’s life once which she used to try and manipulate Qrow into siding with her while also using Qrow to tell Yang that she didn’t actually care about her.

Taiyang: Gave not one, not two but THREE speeches about how great Yang is while using moping as a way of empahsizing how little her depression is in comparison to her while raising her alone for over a decade and even trying to make Raven look good to Yang despite all the damage she caused not just to him but Yang and Qrow as well.

THAT is what you are comparing.

You could have directly had this conversation with me instead of doing it like this. I mean… Bashing me for my ship preferences? How much of a warning is that?

Dudeblade you BLOCK him in this chain because he corners you.

And your shipping preferences actually DO matter here since it feeds into the idea that you’re a man hater.

But also, your idea of Taiyang needing to teach at Signal is kinda debunked by the fact that both Port and Oobleck point out that it would be perfectly reasonable for him to go out and look for Ruby. Taiyang instead states that he has to take care of Yang instead.

And Port and Oobleck are right...why again? Also refer to my previous argument about this.

But let’s give the benefit of the doubt here. let’s say that Taiyang wasn’t teaching because he was taking care of Yang. Then why does the narrative choose to show him gardening instead of teaching or defending Vale/Patch?- That was a choice on the narrative to show him gardening instead of teaching or clearing out grimm. Which means that either a) Taiyang wasn’t teaching at the moment (In which case, that needed to be better conveyed to the audience), or b) that Taiyang is slacking off.

Because the narrative needs to show Taiyang noticing the feather of Raven in order to communicate that he knows she’s there. It also gives us some insight into what he actually thinks of Raven (seeing as he looks miserable at the sight), connects Raven to the home in Patch (which itself acts as the grounds where the family lives) and makes Raven more pitiable (The ONE person left who might have accepted Raven is visibly miserable at her arrival? That’s pretty fucking sad even for Raven.)

Also, what canon evidence do you have that Taiyang is absolutely needed to teach at Signal? What evidence do you have for Taiyang even teaching at all?- That’s all your headcanon.

“With Beacon gone they'll need Dad at Signal more than ever-”

Nope, that’s what Ruby said. And if Oobleck and Port, two people who we never knew had a connection to Taiyang before are right, then Ruby Rose, Signal graduate and his fucking DAUGHTER, is most certainly right.

And Yang has two moments where she says that Taiyang wasn’t entirely there for her. She explicitly says this twice.

Yeah, bullshit.

A. Don’t think I didn’t catch that manipulative little detail of yours. ‘entirely there’ and ‘always there’ imply VERY different things, with entirely saying that Taiyang is somehgow distant to Yang and always implying a period of tie of disconnect. You choose that word because while it’s surface level means the same thing, the actual meaning is very different.

And B. That second example also says Yang was being emotional and has Yang placing blame on Summer for dying. That is disingenious as fuck.

Do you have evidence to the contrary? Last I checked, all you have is a headcanon that Tai is best dad™. Meanwhile, I have actual canon evidence.

“ She's actually a really great fighter! You can tell she's learned a lot from Dad!”

The fact that TAIYANG TAUGHT YANG, meaning considering Yang’s level of skill and how she went through all years of training at Signal, means he was there for a significant amount of time.

And your evidence is one manipulation of intent and one disingenuous. So no, you don’t.

And “Sociopath”?- Really? Just because I sympathize more with Yang over Tai?

More like you demand fictional characters be killed off or maimed in brutal ways (Jaune or Taiyang) because you project onto them...or the numerous incidents where you either call people Nazis, call them brainwashed because they don’t fit your narrative or ACTIVELY CALL FOR DEATH.

You reblog from known harasser/stalker/racist/sexist KOB.

Cool-

You reblog from known racists, know sexists and known SUCIDE BAITERS while all being ONE YOURSELF.

If he’s wrong, then you are. And funny thing is, I don’t believe that.

1: I never told anyone to drink bleach. I wanted it for myself because of knightof “BLM Is making things worse for black ppl by making more racists” balance. A person you reblog from regularly. Guess you didn’t catch him saying that.

Yeah-

He’s probably talking about Mage. The bisexual guy you said that to after you preached about LGBT suicide rates and he called you out ad then ‘apologized by putting the blame on him and saying you wanted him to go into a coma. And just for reminding me of that: I’m gonna be as sadistic as possible.

2: I apologized for that, and I took the post down.

You said you took it down because ‘neo-nazi right wingers’ were ‘harassing’ you and added on a fake ‘and it was wrong’ thing while keeping that waterboarding tag of yours. Also, that JSWV incident you keep pulling out even in THIS post? I did the same thing AND MORE. So you’re actually worse STILL by your own rules.

3: I headcanon Yang as a lesbian. I just get angry when people shove other headcanons down other people’s throats.

Then I assume you punch yourself whenever you call people homophobic for disagreeing with you?

Yang doesn’t have to resent Tai for him to be negligent. She can have other reactions to it. Like, say, not opening up to him about her issues. Or her calling him by name instead of “dad” like she did when she was talking to Weiss. It’s a complex thing.

Or you know, open up to him about her issues and call him dad like EVERY OTHER APPEARANCE?

Also: You ignore the resentment against Raven.

Aside from this, you are ignoring what my original response was about. It was about intended characterization

And you’re full of bullshit either way.

Y’know what?- I’m going to block you after this. And don’t think about using that as an excuse to claim that you won or anything, I’m just tired of your bullshit. Also, don’t think you can just pull a kob and just copy/paste my posts so that you can argue them. Otherwise, I’d have to report you.

Yeah, how many times have you tried that with me? It never works.

And you ARE silencing him. SO guess what? Time for a classic KOB-style beatdown.

(I’ll unblock you after this for convenience sake, but next time, don’t pull this shit because it could be seen as block evasion).

Oh fuck off.

All I’m saying is that it should have been better conveyed. It was also the middle of the day when Tai was last seen, he should have been in school teaching if that were the case. I would have less of a vendetta against Tai if he was shown in a classroom, or out in vale clearing out some grimm when Raven went to him, but the narrative chose to show him gardening. Which is a poor look for Taiyang.

If you ignore everything we know about school, like days off, or the limitations of the budget while also maliciously misinterpeting scenes: sure.

Although you never seem to accept that with Yang or Raven...

And again: I have to go back to intended characterization.-

Once again: You CANNOT try ‘intended characterization while ignoring the intentions in other scenes and EXPLICTEDLY trying to make things look worse than they are. You’re bullshitting.

Lastly: It was bad writing that made Taiyang out to be a bad dad.-

No Dudeblade, as seen by how the writing continuously CONTRADICTS you: it’s personal bias.

On top of all of that, Yang got shafted on screentime in volume 4 because the writers said that it would be “boring” watching her mope around a house all day

Citation needed and when they tried that you all proceeded to huff paint and demand more fight scenes.

It’s your choice to like Taiyang and not ship ros/ebird, just like how it’s my choice to do the opposite. I ship rosebi/rd because I’m a slut for angst. And that Raven is leagues more interesting than Tai.

Except that A. You ship rosebird because you have a yuri fetish and B. you project a perfect vision of your mom onto Taiyang. Just more bullshit.

No really, if you love angst so much: PHOENIX should be your ship as there’s more angst on Taiyang’s side than Summer. Or SummerXQrow. Or hell, QrowXTaiyang. All of which have more positive chances (and thus, more angst) than from Rosebird, where one side nuked Ruby in the face for sounding like the other side.

Plus, I find it irritating that criticism about Tai always has to go in the rwde tag while criticism about Raven can go in her main one. It honestly feels like a double standard… Which is something that I have found to be commonplace in the fndm.

It doesn’t.

You just do it because the main tag isn’t your echo chamber in regards to Taiyang.

Did you know that some people unironically called Jacques “A stern parent trying to discipline Weiss” but then turn around and call Willow “A bitch who should take care of her kids”?

Citation Dudeblade, that sounds like a troll.

And it’s still not as bad as Taiyang “abusive parent who was never there for Yang” and Raven “misunderstood loner mom who totes cares for Yang more than the loving father who raised her.”

#dudeblade

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putris-et-mulier · 5 years

Video

youtube

There is new edit of this without any content from Dr. Bones since it turns out he's a rapist but this is the link I was given to review so that's what I'm going to share with you guys. If you'd rather watch the new edit you can find it here

This video addresses people in the "far left" and their lack of engagement in politics. NonCompete urges his viewers to join the revolution and includes a clip of AngieSpeaks calling out people for using mental illness as an excuse.

NonCompete preemptively addresses being called out as ableist by saying there are some people who are incapable of doing anything to fight for their own liberation. He adds that this digression is necessary to prevent "bad faith" interpretations.

In many other NonCompete videos he admits that he is not right about everything and invites dialogue. Someone requested I review this video so let me instigate some dialogue.

Liberals talk about disabled people as often as they talk with disabled people. Which is to say, never. You'll see people attempt to appear inclusive by adding "disabled" or simply "mentally ill" at the end of marginal roll call sheets, and that is a huge advancement from a few years ago, but they never actually talk about disability. They don't talk about our specific issues, they don't use our names, and they make no effort to include us.

I'm sure NonCompete isn't aware that he's perpetuating the idea that those who cannot physically protest are useless. I'm sure he's not aware of how often we are called lazy freeloaders by his comrades. I'm sure if directly asked he would say that the activism we do is legitimate and affective. The problem is the same can't be said for his audience.

"If you fall under the category of completely unable to contribute anything at all because of any form of disability."

If a person has the ability to consume this piece of media in any way then I think what AngieSpeaks says applies here, there is no excuse.

Helen Keller was a woman who was both blind and deaf in the early 1900s and yet still fought for the liberation of the disabled, women and the working class as a whole. I'd argue that she would be far less disabled today but the only way she could be in NonComplete' s audience is if the videos were personally translated to her.

I say this as someone who is homebound. I say this from experience because I know that doing something as simple as talking about being disabled on social media is a type of activism that has real-world effects. I also say this is a person with depression and anxiety who knows something as simple as this isn't always simple. When you mention your disability, let alone get political about it, people unfollow you, people send you hate mail, people send you good intentioned mail where they congratulate you on not killing yourself yet. This simple activity has contributed to the suicide of some of my friends and some of our favorite activists.

Our activism means a lot, it accomplishes a lot, and we sacrificed a lot to achieve it.

Disabled people certainly haven't been gifted civil rights. We've had and continue to have our infamous die-ins (physical protests) but that's never been our entire plan of action. The Internet has given rise to many great disabled subcommunities like the Cripple Punks, Spoonies, Krip Hoppers, etc. all of which utilize our talents in activism. We use fashion, music, art, literature, philosophy, and more to force society into acknowledging how they disabled us and we use our intersectionality to build bridges between marginalized groups.

There is more to activism than punching Nazis and we are really fucking good at it. We could be better at it if able people would stop holding us down.

NonCompete very accurately says that people need to stop waiting for revolution and begin to create one. This, I believe, excludes disabled people without it needing to be said because we've never had the luxury of waiting. Being visible in public, speaking our minds, and not apologizing for existing are all revolutionary acts and come with great cost.

I'm not being theatrical.

Being seen in the wrong place, saying the wrong thing to the wrong person, and not being the right kind of disabled person can cost you food, shelter, and medicine. I urge my disabled followers to keep this in mind; whatever you feel safe doing is enough and you shouldn't sacrifice your well-being over some activist pissing contest.

Lastly, I do recommend NonCompete's channel and I've been subscribed to it since last year. I appreciate the work he does and look forward to seeing it develops. If you have a question or comment for him please engage him respectfully because he does strike me as someone who is willing to listen, if you have a bad experience with him let me know.

#ableism #Disability #actually disabled #Cripple punk #spoonie #politics

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shookethbrooketh · 5 years

Text

stars

chapter 20

dan closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. when he opened them again, he saw the phil he knew loved him. he still held on to a bit of anger, but most of it had dissolved right in front of his eyes. his next sentence came out in a different tone; his anger was replaced with defeat. “if this is for me, why does it hurt so much?”

summary: dan grew up in a normal 1930s london family with his parents and little brother. everything was completely and utterly normal… until the bombs started dropping. When dan was fifteen his father went off to war, and when he was sixteen he and his brother hayden were sent off to a foster family in rural england. he looked up at the stars and couldn’t help but wonder how something that beautiful could exist in such a broken world. just when he thought things would never get better, dan met phil, and he became the shining star of his life. but when phil turned eighteen and went off to war, dan couldn’t help but wonder when, if ever, the stars would twinkle the same way again.

rating: t

genre: angst, fluff, history au, strangers to lovers, teenagers

whole fic warnings: warfare (not descriptive), bombings, fire, panic attacks, ptsd, epilepsy/seizures, homophobia, death, fighting/arguing chapter warnings: fighting/arguing

chapter word count: 1.4k total word count: 27.8k

read it on ao3 read it on wattpad fic masterlist

Dan awoke to the sun shining through his windows. He rolled over and moaned in a sleepy state of oblivious happiness. It was a peaceful moment, and he treasured it as the last he’d have in a long time.

Then all the memories hit him, and he felt as if he’d been physically punched in the gut. He gasped for air, fighting back tears as he remembered more and more. Finally, he closed his eyes and took deep breaths, as if that would make it go away. He knew it wouldn’t, but it was really all he could do. It took a few minutes of lying motionless and letting the tears fall for Dan to gain even the tiniest inkling of motivation to get out of bed. When he did, he glared down the hallway towards Phil’s bedroom door; it was still shut, so he was hoping he was still asleep.

Dan slipped out of his room and down the stairs, peering around the corner into the kitchen and finding Margo and Harold sitting and reading their paper. Phil, luckily, was nowhere to be found. Dan made himself breakfast, refusing to speak to anyone until he sat down.

“How are you doing?” Margo asked. Dan hated that he knew it wasn’t a normal question; her tone told him all too obviously that she was referencing Phil’s draft.

“Fine,” he said, short, succinct, and soulless. He dug into his toast as the couple looked at each other, obviously concerned about him despite having gotten the message that he didn’t feel like talking. An awkward silence loomed over the group as Dan ate his breakfast. He ate quickly in hopes to escape before Phil woke, and dumped his dishes in the sink, happy to make Phil do them, as it was his turn.

“Going up to the hill,” Dan said, voice still emotionless as he walked through the foyer. He heard a door open upstairs, but he ignored it and continued, preferring to put as much distance between him and Phil as possible. He wasn’t quite sure what he’d do alone up there all day, but anything beat the house with Phil in it.

It was the first time he’d trekked the hill on foot, and it definitely wasn’t his favorite activity, but he pushed through it and climbed the tree. He clung to the trunk for a few seconds, looking at the two branches that would support his weight. His brother almost broke his neck falling off one of them, and the other was full of memories of the boy who broke his own heart. It wasn’t exactly the best choice to make, but Dan eventually settled on the branch he’d sit on with Phil. He might as well attempt to cope a little bit while running away from his problems.

It couldn’t have been more than an hour before Dan heard footsteps crunching up the hill behind him. It could have been any of the four members of the family, but Dan still refused to turn and look at the risk of it being Phil.

“Dan?” Phil said timidly. He should have known.

“Still don’t want to talk to you.”

“Please just hear me out,” he pleaded.

Dan sighed angrily, rotating his body around to face Phil. “You have one minute.”

“I didn’t know. I really didn’t. They came to school for recruitment in November, and I signed up. If I had known you were coming, I wouldn’t have done it.” He sounded sorry, but Dan knew he wasn’t.

“Then why are you still doing it? And why did you tell me you planned on going to college?”

“I hadn’t heard from them since that day, and I didn’t know. I didn’t want to scare you away. And I can’t quit now.”

“Yes,” Dan said, jumping down from the branch and walking briskly over to Phil, standing a few inches from him. “You can. I’ve seen the recruitment days too. You could tell them you’re gay, and they wouldn’t let you anywhere near the army.”

“I-” Phil stuttered. “I can’t do that.”

“Your minute’s up,” Dan said, pivoting back towards the tree.

“Dan, wait!”

He groaned, rolling his eyes as he turned back to Phil. “What.”

“You don’t understand,” he said, and Dan had to bite his lip to keep him rom interjecting. “I’m doing this to protect you.”

Dan threw his arms up in the air, heat rising in his stomach as he marched back over to Phil. “From what, Phil? From finally having people who stay in my life? Well, thanks, Phil. Definitely needed someone to keep me from happiness.”

“You know that’s not what I mean. I am doing this to protect you, both you and this entire country. What happens if everyone like me stays home and the Nazis show up? What happens to us then? We die.”

“Maybe, but at least then I’d die happy, Phil. I’ve lost almost everyone I’ve ever loved to this damn war, and I’m not about to lose you too. You’re the one who doesn’t understand here!” he shouted, rage spewing from his mouth.

“What about Hayden?” Phil asked, voice soft and lacking anger.

“What about him?” Dan muttered.

“You would rather die here with me than live here without me. What about him? What happens to him in a universe where we die? Wouldn’t you do the same thing?” Phil spoke in a calm voice Dan refused to admit he couldn’t manage to use himself.

“I wouldn’t leave him alone, that’s for sure.”

“What if he was still with your mum? In a universe where your family was completely intact, and you had a chance to go to war to protect them, would you?”

“I-” Dan eked out. He knew in his heart of hearts that it was a lost argument. “I don’t know. Maybe. I don’t like combat.”

“Neither do I, Dan, but this is just something that I have to do. For me, for my family, for Britain, and for you.”

Dan closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. When he opened them again, he saw the Phil he knew loved him. He still held on to a bit of anger, but most of it had dissolved right in front of his eyes. His next sentence came out in a different tone; his anger was replaced with defeat. “If this is for me, why does it hurt so much?”

Phil took his hands, showing him a weak smile. “I’ve been asking myself the same thing.”

Dan looked down at the bright, green grass at his feet, refusing to make eye contact with Phil as he asked the question he knew he didn’t want the answer to. “When do you leave?”

Phil hesitated, and Dan knew he didn’t want to say the answer any more than Dan wanted to hear it. “Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow!?” Dan exclaimed, and it was like his soul fell out of his mouth. He flung himself back onto the grass and sighed. “Why now?”

Phil threw himself down beside Dan, adding a playful undertone to the somber situation. “The world works in mysterious ways.” He pointed up to the blue, cloudless sky. “For example, the stars. They’re all up there, even though we can’t see them. During the day, they become invisible, but during the night they’re beautiful.”

Dan chuckled. “That’s got to be a perfect metaphor for something, although I can’t imagine what.”

Phil laughed back, pushing himself back onto his feet. “You know, you’re right. I’ll have to think about that one.” He reached out a hand to pull Dan up, but when he took it, Phil didn’t let him go. “I love you, Dan. I hope you know that.”

He smiled, unsure if there was an emotion to describe the mix of happiness and love seeping into his base of sadness. “Of course I do. And I’ll never forget it.”

Phil pulled him into a kiss, and it was undoubtedly one of the most passionate they’d had. It was a much needed reminder that despite it all, they did love each other.

When they finally pulled apart, Phil wrapped one arm around Dan’s neck, turning him to face down the hill. “Hate to remind you, but today is my last day here.” He gestured to the world around him, then turned to Dan, a wide grin on his face. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

#phan #phanfic #phanfiction #phic stuff #stars #chapter 20 #dong and ping

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breegullbeakreviews · 5 years

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My hopes and dreams may have been dashed by the Jim Carrey who stole Christmas and a Tony the Tiger’s luchador cousin, but we still have DLC to look forward to. Here are my out there and not so out there ideas on who should join the roster in the Smash Pass.

Rules: No echos. The announcement claimed these types of new fighters won’t be a part of the pass. This doesn’t mean a new fighter may not come bundled with an echo of themselves, but these types of fighters won’t be a part of this list.

Also no Assist trophies. As much as I want Spring man and Ribbon girl to punch in I don’t see them replacing or removing an existing assist trophy to add a character in.

Fighter: Banjo & Kazooie

I am still holding onto the dream. The duo of bear and bird are tied to the Nintendo 64 despite no longer being owned by the big N. Phil Spencer is down to get Banjo in the game so the only real question is if Sakurai thinks they are worth adding. As far as Nintendo wanting them, it would only be if some deal was worked out for the N64 classic. I’d assume both announcements would be near one another.

I’ve gone over their endless potential for moves before and that hasn’t changed. Grant Kirkhope killed it on the soundtrack for these games so there are plenty of tracks to choose from. The only real question is what the stage will be. Smash is usually inspired by stages more often than it copies a direct area, so in that regard I think Spiral Mountain would probably make the most sense. I think the Rusty Bucket has a lot of potential as well, but if the idea is to go for something iconic I think you have to go Spiral Mountain.

Fighter: Doom Slayer

Not giving up on this one either. Odds probably aren’t great though. Doom is a very western franchise and not one super linked to Nintendo, and let’s not even get into the violence and religious aspects. The one thing it has going for it is that it is a very important franchise to the history of gaming and Bethesda seems to be on good terms with Nintendo. Doom Eternal is coming to the Nintendo Switch so it could be a cool marketing move to drop this fighter in to build up hype.

Just because he wouldn’t be a Snake echo anymore doesn’t mean he doesn’t have potential. The Doom Marine has plenty of weapons to pull from in his past games and it wouldn’t be too hard to pull some from the upcoming Doom Eternal. I also don’t think it’d be much of a stretch to give the Doom Marine an echo fighter in the form of B.J. Blazkowicz. He is equally important to the history of first person shooters. Doom Marine would certainly get the stage though as Nazi Germany isn’t something I see getting shown off in Smash. A space station on Mars with maybe a transition to hell seems perfect for a stage.

Fighter: Lara Croft

Odds are if we get another Square Enix representative it would be Geno, but Lara Croft is another major gaming icon, just again more western focused. She has appeared on Nintendo consoles so the only issue is coming up with her moves, and I don’t have many ideas for this. Her combat style is very weapons heavy, but she doesn’t have much that would work for close range at least from my experience with the franchise. Like Doom Slayer, I only see Nintendo green lighting this if we are getting some Tomb Raider title on the platform before February 2020.

Stage wise Lara Croft has tons of crazy set pieces to draw from. I assume the stage would be a tomb of some kind with plenty of hazards and maybe even a guest appearance by the iconic T-rex. Lara has plenty of costumes to pull from. If one major thing keeps Lara out it’ll be her moves.

Fighter: Geno

People want Geno. I am not one of those people. I have never played Super Mario RPG, and unless it comes to Nintendo Switch I probably never will. I really have nothing else to say except that I think he is rather likely to be in the game as DLC. Geno could be tied into a remaster or rerelease of the game on Switch, but it is possible Nintendo will just bring him in because fans want him.

Fighter: Shantae

Being a spirt does not preclude one from being a fighter. Despite having yet to review it, I was a backer of Shantae: Half-Genie Hero despite having zero history with the franchise. Shantae has history with Nintendo. Debuting on the Gameboy Color Shantae is a mix of traditional platforming and some metroidvania mechanics. Now I’m sure plenty of people would be pissed if she got in over Shovel Knight, but I think she has a lot more to offer.

For one thing we don’t have another fighter who uses their hair. That alone will give her some interesting standard attacks. She also has a plethora of magic and transformations that could make for an interesting set of special and smash attacks. As far as a stage goes I think the central town would be the best representation of the series as a whole. Maybe have part of the stage feature a dock so that Risky Boots can dock.

The music in the latest game is fantastic. You could bring everything over unchanged and it’d fit in. Every track has a beat that makes you want to get up and dance while still getting across the mood. Overall I don’t think Shantae’s chances are great. Mostly because she is an indie character and she’d be pretty obscure for Nintendo to pick for one of five DLC fighters. Let’s just say I’m not holding my breath on this one.

Fighter: Dixie (& Kiddy?) Kong

Another much more likely fighter with a ponytail. I have not played a Donkey Kong game featuring Dixie. I also don’t like the Donkey Kong Country games, though I do like DK64. That all being said I understand people want Dixie in. She is one of two playable characters in DKC2 which is regarded as the best of the trilogy.

Now why did I say Dixie and Kiddy? Well I think there is potential to make Dixie unique by having her nephew help out in some way. One thing that neither DK nor Diddy get across is the weird health system of the old games. If a Kong is hit you switch to the other one who was running alongside. I think using that relationship between the two could make Dixie really stand out. That being said I could also see her coming in on her own. Potential have it be a Zelda/Sheik style swap.

Now I also think there is echo potential with Tiny and Chunky, though I think it’d be more likely to have s singular Dixie have Tiny as an echo than getting all four. Dixie’s single ponytail versus Tiny’s two could change the range and speed. People talk about Tiny as Dixie’s replacement so I don’t think it’s a stretch. I have no idea what sort of announcement this could tie into. Maybe another DKC game or a DK64 remaster.

Fighter: Gen 3, 5, or 8 Pokémon

I expect this would be a gen 8 Pokémon over a gen 3 or 5 one if only because outside gen 1 additions new fighters have been from the latest generation. Melee added Mewtwo and Pichu. Brawl added Pokémon trainer and Lucario. 4 added Greninja and Ultimate is adding Incenaroar. Who knows what Pokémon it’ll be, but I’m for a grass type.

If we do roll back to gen 3 I’d hope for Sceptile or Grovyle. We need a fully evolved Grass starter in the battle. As far as gen 5 goes Emolga would be a third electric type but it’d be interesting to have in there with its flight and thunder. Outside that maybe Krookodile. I’d also not be opposed to a new Pokémon Trainer as long as the Fire starter isn’t the third stage. Ideally it’d be Tepig, Dewott, Serpirior or any combination if the Hoenn starters without Blaziken.

If the stage is gen 8 I don’t know where it’d be obviously. As for gen 3 the Sky Pillar could work, but I would not be opposed to a plethora of locals. Fortree city, and Mt. Chimney come to mind. I think Shoal cave could be interesting using the games internal clock to change the stage with the tide. Gen 5 I’m not picky. Mostly because I hated gen 5 and forget almost everything about it.

Fighter: Fire Emblem: Three Houses character

I actively do not want this, but knowing Sakurai it’s possible that we will see another anime sword boy or girl. With Nintendo selecting odds are lowered, but it is still a possibility.

Fighter: Tetris Block

Yes I watch GameXplain. I think this might be a bit far outside the box for Nintendo to pick, but if a Gameboy Classic is in the works this is some easy cross promotion with the system’s killer app. Music is obvious. Having the stage be a game of Tetris seems to be obvious. If the Tetris block is a fighter the stage would need a different art style than the character. Don’t ask me how it’d fight. Only Sakurai truly knows.

Fighter: Steve & Alex (Minecraft)

Most people know Steve’s name, but less know Alex. This is again Microsoft owned, and outside getting representation from the second bestselling game of all time, I don’t know what would compel Nintendo to select them as fighters. Stage wise the possibilities are endless. In a world of blocks and biomes it is hard to pick just one. I could see a stage divided into multiple areas like Delfino Plaza. I could also see a destructible stage that rebuilds like Luigi’s Mansion, though maybe not always the same way.

Move wise the two have a lot of tools, potions, and blocks to pull from. If a Creeper doesn’t show up here or as a stage hazard, than it needs to be an assist trophy. Music may be an issue. The music doesn’t seem like it’d transition well to battle music.

Fighter: Tails

I have never owned a Sonic game. I am not a Sonic fan. That being said with Shadow out of the picture I think Tails could be a great addition. From what I know of the character he seems to be more about verticality than speed. He also has gadgets that could make up his final smash.

As for a new stage maybe pull something from Mania or Forces. I assume most of the music is already going to be in the game so that might be an issue.

#super smash bros ultimate #smash pass #video games

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elodieunderglass · 7 years

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(in reference to this post, in which I suggested that combining anti-fascist activism with self-care is generally a good thing.)

Imagine being this angry about the idea that useful activism might include disabled, sick, pregnant, immunocompromised, housebound and frail people. Imagine being this angry that I’m not telling my followers, who include a high proportion of minor children, chronically ill folks and people of color, that the only way to fight fascism is to literally punch grown-ass Nazis in the face. Imagine trying to punish someone for being supportive of people who are tired, and for suggesting that there are constructive ways to fight fascism when you are tired.

I can actually imagine this, because I’ve been wildly angry before in my life, not caring who I hurt or why, so I know that this happens when you are lost. These are the words of someone who is lost and alone in the dark.

When you write things online, sometimes people get mad at them for absolutely bizarre reasons. As a writer, sometimes you just put some words together and they strike sparks in someone's brain, so they want to punish you for it. This is nothing to do with the words. Anonymous didn’t actually read my words, or understand them. My words just struck a few sparks in their brain and they went haywire, and they were lost, so they tried to hurt me.

Now, no good comes of arguing with someone whose brain has just gone “ping” and started smoking like this. They skimmed the words I wrote and felt bad about them, so they created a fictional construct of my words in their own heads to argue with, so they could feel right and they could feel better. You can’t argue with someone who is furiously arguing with a fictional construct, trying to drag others into their gaslit pocket universe where it all makes sense. But you can still use these messages for an educational purpose.

So, I’m showcasing these messages for a few reasons:

This is how much some people hate the idea of accessible activism. I think it’s good for abled people to see this, because it may surprise them.

Some people internalize these sentiments - these are the exact flavor of dark thoughts that run through your mind when you’re a little bit lost - so it’s good to debunk them, because it can help people be found.

Anonymous made up a fictional construct to argue with, so they didn’t have to sit with the reality of the words I’d written. Because my words hurt them somehow (we may never know why, or how - it’s probably deeply personal) they had to make up a fake world so that they could center themselves as the innocent victim. This contortion forms part of soil that fascism thrives in. This belief that you can deny facts, science, ethics, the humanity of minorities, the fundamental rights of people, or in this case the actual words in front of your face - simply because they made you feel kinda bad, so therefore they shouldn't exist. This belief that it's better to construct a fake world than to sit with the discomfort of the real one. The belief that you can live in the post-facts world because it feels nicer. Post-truth politics, kids; that's where were at, and this is how we got here, step by step. As soon as you get people believing the first step, you can get them to believe anything.

Anonymous says that “[promoting self-care in activism] is why fascism will rise”. That is incorrect on every level. Fascism has already risen. It is already here. And it is not here because of diversity in activism. It is here because the cultural conditions in the West are encouraging it. Like I said in my previous post - fascism is gaining power because of social inequality; because people are tired, frightened, broke and vulnerable, and are looking for others to blame. Fascism deliberately offers hope and security to these people, by pointing to the disorder and diversity of this world, frightening them about it, blaming it on others, and promising that the cleanest/best/whitest/richest people can get to a better ordered world if they take action now. “The only thing holding us back from this stable perfect world...” (says fascism) “is all these disorderly people... who will need to be cleaned up first.”

Now, Anonymous appears to think that the correct way to fight fascism is to look for others to blame, and to blame tired people for being tired; in fact, blaming the downtrodden for their oppression, and suggesting that the work would be done already, if we minorities weren’t wasting time being oppressed, and by occasionally being kind to one another. I think Anonymous is very, very lost. But I know that some people believe this too. I think that if you compare this train of thought to point 4, and look at history, that you will find that this actually is an ugly facet of how fascism takes root.

Now, finally, because I know that some of my followers will find Anonymous’s words to be scary and hurtful, and will ask me about them: don’t worry. I know who you guys are. Some of my followers can’t even make a fist with their hands. Some can’t leave their houses, let alone get to a populated area where they can hunt down skinheads and punch them in the face. Some of my followers are precious young children (sorry pups, you are my actual babies, I don’t make the rules) and I desperately want to watch them grow up. Y’all don’t have to punch skinheads to impress me, or to get Performative Points from Anonymous here. I know that your intrusive thoughts often sound a lot like Anonymous, and look how wrong they are - they are so wrong!

This is for you guys: It is far more valuable that you are alive, that you are trying, that you are building a better world with whatever tools are accessible to you. That will never change. I will never tell you otherwise. You guys are doing your best. You are the People, you are the Reason, you are the Point. You’re the ones we are all fighting for. You don’t always have to fight every battle, physically, by yourselves; you are also allowed to be the protected, the innocent, the vulnerable, the tired, while the rest of us fight for you. And when you do fight, it is good fighting. You are so good at fighting. I am so proud of you, and I am so glad you are at my side.

#The Discourse #long post #Long post warning #cw: politics #accessibility #activism #they didn't do their best and I don't respect that

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carolingcreations · 6 years

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I want to talk for a second about fandom because I just had a super positive experience with somebody on the periphary of a major fandom and I think it deserves to be said.

It’s perfectly acceptable to hate on an actor and to despise any character that you dislike, for instance. I personally dislike Kylo Ren a great deal. He frustrates the shit out of me and I’d be perfectly fine if he just went away especially after killing Han Solo.

I’m going to use Kylo Ren as an example, just because I know that is a common issue for people.

Now, I dislike Kylo Ren, and I’m saying that I dislike Kylo Ren, but I’m not going to specifically tag people and say “Hey, You like Kylo Ren? That makes you trash.”

No, because I’m going to sit here and go “I dislike Kylo Ren immensely.”

Where the line begins to blur is if I tag people who like Kylo Ren by name and I say-

“Hey, you like Kylo Ren? You? You? Listen. I hope your whole family dies in a fire. I hope you kill yourself and your cat dies in front of you and you get raped. You human refuse, you worthless piece of garbage. I hope your life ends abruptly because you like this particular character and you lose everything you care about you worthless piece of scum.”

And before you go - “What me? NEVER I WOULD NEVER SAY THAT-”

Yeah no. You have. You did. I have. I have jumped on anon and said things like that to people on social media. I’m not proud of it.

You’ve said it about people who root for Bucky Barnes and Loki. You’ve said it about Snape fans, you, Internet, have said it about every single character that you personally dislike because you can say shit to people that you would never dream of saying to a person’s face.

I’m writing this because I’m only now realizing how fucked up my brain was and I want to send a warning to people on both sides of the argument.

It is never okay for you to send death threats to cast, crew, creators or anyone else and even if you just sit and look people in the eye and go- YOU SUCK, YOU’RE TRASH. LOL YOU NAZI PIECE OF GARBAGE SCUM KILL URSELF.

It’s never okay to send that kind of shit to fans if you have explicit official proof that they’re an actual nazi then if they are, punch the fucking shit out of them. You’ll have a million allies.

but when you feel like you can openly tell a creator or an actor or anyone “Wow you evil opportunistic piece of shit I hope you die and get raped.”

That is not acceptable.

Under any circumstances.

That makes you the villain.

I don’t care how traumatized you are, I don’t care how marginalized you are, I don’t care two shits about your history because I have a history too.

Now this next part is to the people who like those kinds of characters and what I want to tell you - the lesson I want to share as we jump into Winter TV is-

Why do people hate this character you love so much?

Set them aside for a second and really think. What is it about Loki that people dislike so much? Or Snape? Or any of these so-called “woobies”? Why don’t they like them? What is it about these characters that bothers people so much? Is it because they sexually assaulted someone? Is it because of their choices? Is it because they killed a major character or represent something in real life that needs to be fixed?

Let’s take Kylo Ren again. In the books, Kylo Ren was basically ignored and neglected by his dad and mom while trying to restart the government. Left abandoned and alone that made him easy prey to Snoke if my wikipedia searches serve me well.

Maybe take that story and have Kylo Ren come back. Write something of your own. Delve into fanfiction and don’t read the comment sections. Fix it for you and see what about your life that connects to his that makes you want to see him get better or be protected and safe.

Or be evil. but if you want to be that evil then maybe you need to sit with that for a few minutes.

I’m gonna be brutal and blunt here. Last year in November, I took an extension cord, I wrote a letter to the showrunners of my TV favorite TV show because I couldn’t live anymore, and I tried to hang myself in my closet.

I couldn’t live with the sheer number of people on my social media praising something that made me want to die.

I was frequently driven to thoughts of self harm about this, not because of anything the actors or creators or characters actively did, but the fans.

The rape threats.

The death threats.

The people who hid behind a mask and a facade saying they loved heroes but that anybody who didn’t think like they did was garbage and should get raped because they loved rapists and abusers and nazis and needed to die, all people who liked this needed to die and were garbage.

Why did this affect me so much? Because prior to watching it, I was homeless. I witnessed real non-fictional violence. I saw people get the shit beat out of them. I saw people selling their bodies. And when I came to a place that should have been a place of safety, y’all ripped me a new one simply for having an opinion.

So I wanted out. And now, approaching new tv season, I want back in and I saw somebody standing up for people who had those kinds of feelings. People who might have seen the great fandom wars and not survived.

So to those on both sides, here’s the thing. If you like a problematic character or a problematic fave, that’s fine. I’m going to tell you that 100%. Maybe ask yourself why. And don’t hate people who hate those characters. Unless they tag you directly or jump into your inbox, they’re assholes. Just be you. but again, maybe try and see things from the other side. Just a thought. “Why do people hate Kylo/Loki/Hannibal/Whoever/Whatever so much? Hm.” I bet you’ll find some interesting things.

And to those who are blessed enough to be neurotypical enough to love the hero and identify with them.

The moment you tag a creator/actor/artist/anyone with hate, you become everything you despise. You become every monster, you become every creepypasta piece of shit, you become every garbage thing you accuse other people of. Speak your truth, to you, but there’s a hell of a lot bigger truths you need to be fighting for then “People who like X-character is garbage and should kill themselves.”

Don’t deny it. You’ve done that. You’ve said it and even if you haven’t said it you’ve thought it.

Two things are going to happen now. You’re going to read this and ignore it or you’re going to read this and go “really” and feel a little uncomfortable. You’re going to deny you’ve ever wanted someone to kill themselves or you’re going to protect your thing with your life.

Don’t.

Trust.

The world needs more empathy if anything so we can find the real fucking enemies and punch them. When you think critically you realize how much clearer these things can be.

Be excellent to each other.

#cw: suicide #cw: hate #cw: abuse #cw: homeless #loki #kylo-ren #hannibal #star wars #marvel #agents of shield #comics #movies #tv shows #once upon a time

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eddeha · 7 years

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Tldr: We should worry about preventing Nazis as much as punching them.

Please reblog this if you can.

I’ve seen a lot of talk about what we need to do about the current, blatant Nazis that showed their faces this weekend. About whether they are what they say they are. About whether their names and faces should be shared. About whether they deserve harm for causing/advocating for harm. But none about how to prevent them from gaining in numbers, which is the biggest threat we have, should their current numbers truly be in the minority we assume they’re in.

A lot of folks talk about leaving room for debate in order to convert Nazis back to... well, not Nazis. There are a lot of reasons this won't work, but I don’t think enough people talk about the cult-like mindset it takes to BECOME a Nazi. I don’t think enough people talk about what a vulnerable person, susceptible to ANY cult, looks like. And right now, that vulnerable person looks like how a lot of us white folks actually are, especially those closest to spaces that can radicalize them.

I’m talking about online communities in particular, especially gaming communities. Think about it: you’re already isolated due to some stigma or another, have a hard time connecting to people, and do so best in fleeting instances online. For online gamers, the community is often already full of racism and sexism. The kind you feel like you MUST put up with in order to play this one game, the one that helps alleviate the stress in your life. Then someone reaches out to you. You become friends, closer friends than you’ve had with anyone in a while. They said something x-ist that makes you uncomfortable here and there, but who doesn’t? Everyone’s entitled to their opinions and flaws.

Then you find out they’re a neo-nazi. They frame their ideals in the most appealing way, as they’ve probably been trained to. It makes you more uncomfortable than anything else, but this guy’s one of the few you look forward to talking to, the one that makes you feel special and proud of yourself, someone who has been kind to you. So you tolerate it. It’s just an opinion, maybe you can get past it, or get them to convert back later.

Instead, you find yourself leaving room for them to be right in light debates. Because you don’t want them to stop liking you. You deeply consider their ideology, and you can’t ignore how this ideology benefits you, something the ideologies you were taught don’t. Then maybe you’re invited somewhere, an online forum or an event. Once you participate in these, that’s when you feel stuck. That’s where stuff starts to get normalized further than it’s ever been. That’s the point where even when someone calls you out, you feel like you can’t turn back, because you’ve already said X, you’ve already done X, you’re already a part of it and can’t get out. And then, eventually, you start believing it.

I don’t believe in debate with Nazis. Either they’re set in their ways, or they’ll find the strength to pull out of what they know is wrong on their own. What we need is a world that provides that strength. We need a world where Neo-Nazis have no target conversion ground. But we don’t have that world right now, so we need to fight for it.

I’m not trying to frame this issue as more about us saving anti-social white people than neo-nazi targets. To be clear: I am not concerned for the safety of myself or my immediate family, when it comes to what Nazi people do and are capable of. We are secondary targets. They will try to convert us or have us allow them to hurt other minorities, before they inevitably turn on us. I’m concerned for the army my SECOND family will be facing, how big that army needs to be to have a chance of harming them. Jewish folk, black folk, and other minorities are the ones on the front lines, just as Guam is the actual, conceivable target for WWIII versus US soil.

But even after we’ve donated to causes, after we’ve denounced these people, after we’ve said we’ll be there and be good allies, there’s still more for us to do. And one of those things is to be there for each other, including those vulnerable to conversion like this.

So step one: Reach out to people. Be kind. I don’t care how weird they are, if they’re not actively causing or permitting harm, you have no reason to throw them out. We’re about to hit harder times anyway, and if that’s not a reason to see your loved ones more often and then some others, I don’t know what is.

Step two: Stop permitting the lower level bullshit. If someone says something racist, sexist, or anything, even the smallest acknowledgement-- “I dunno, man, that’s not okay” “Thaaaaaat’s gross,” before continuing with conversation, helps everyone else in the room know they’re not alone and keeps this from being normalized. If the commenter tries to make a debate out of it, “But it’s TRUE though!” then they’ve asked for hell. Give it to them. Politely.

Step three: Okay, freedom of speech, that is important, no arguments there. But there are consequences to that freedom. Advocating for freedom of speech and being okay with Neo-Nazis having a platform are NOT the same thing. Do not let yourself get lost in the sea of being politically correct: put this shit DOWN. Show that there is no tolerating the condemnation and genocide of entire races. Before saying they have a right to speak, you should be saying “Never again,” loud and clear, for everyone’s sake.

We need to recognize that this IS us. Recognizing Nazis as monsters should not come short of recognizing they are still human, and that the humans around us all have that potential. That if we are negligent with others in our white community, they can get lost in this far too easily. We need to look at white supremacy and say yes, this is our problem; yes, this is part of white culture; yes, this is us. But it doesn’t have to be YOU. You do not need this. You don’t need to be held above others to have any inherent worth. You are worth more. We all are.

And if you can’t see that and threaten my family, I’ll punch you in the face.

#nazism #white supremacy #charlottesville #kkk #white culture #rant #long post

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citrus-feline · 7 years

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I'm kind of sick of people saying hate shouldn't be fought with hate anymore at this point. I agree to a degree, but when said initial hate is killing people? That's when it's too fucking much. Like. WAY too much. Being tolerant does not mean being blind. The "punch a Nazi" thing? It's good. You know why? Because these people are going out of their way to harm others. Even if they don't hurt someone by their own hands, their ideals being allowed to get spewed without filter affects other people and eventually someone will act on those ideals built on violence. Someone was fucking killed. And it's only going to get worse if we keep letting Nazis get away with doing this shit. Their ideals aren't simply just "extreme", they are detrimental to society as a whole. Their ideals come from wanting to hurt other people, and that means that the more widespread it is, the more hurt people will get. The "punch a Nazi" thing is NOT hurting harmless people without cause. It is about hurting people who actively endorse KILLING other people. It's not a careless attack on things we don't agree with. It is fucking self defense, if not for ourselves, for our community. I'm not going to just let Jewish people get thrown under the bus like this. I'm not going to sit idly while innocent people are being killed because I'm "just as bad" if I try to defend said innocence. Nazis are not innocent!!! They want genocide! Just fucking think about that! Nazism is built on the core belief of thinking that society needs to be purged of "lesser" people. It is LITERALLY all about genocide. You can't ignore the fucking genocidal intentions in an effort for free speech. "Free speech" has it's fucking limits! When your "freedom to speak" threatens others? It's not fucking okay. How the fuck am I just as bad for wanting to put these people in their place? I want to do this not simply out of "hmm I will silence anyone who doesn't agree with me!!", it is not that innocent. They aren't innocent. They want people to die. And say what you will about extreme left stuff like anti-fa, but the core of those beliefs? Is to protect people from shit that goes out of it's way to try to kill us. That is the core message. To protect people who need help protecting. Nazism is about killing people who need protection out of an evil outlook of "these people don't like it? Then they die". Why the FUCK should we tolerate them when they not only don't tolerate us, they want to KILL us?! I'm fucking part of this, believe it or not! Mentally ill people are on their PUBLICLY KNOWN HIT LIST and oh Jesus fucking Christ don't I have a right to defend myself and people like me? Wouldn't it realistically make me worse if I just let this happen? Why am I being told to let this happen? Because the people who say that will barely be affected if at all. It's the bliss of ignorance due to being spared as a target. You see us fighting back as an overreaction because you are not personally being targeted. It's like politics in general, we ALL want them to disappear for a bit, but for some of us, we can't do that. We can't make it go away because said things being debated are our rights to live. I get it, you don't see it as that bad, but we do. And I'm not even getting most of it. I'm lucky that my identity isn't all on their checklist of "people who need to die", but some of it still is there. I am allowed to defend myself and the people around me. When people try to kill us, we are NOT going to just let it happen. I am a soft, understanding girl who tries really hard to look at everything from everyone's point of view. And yet my verdict on literal Nazis? They don't deserve that. They are fucking disgusting people who care only about themselves and have zero interest in anyone else. They openly take advantage of our tolerance and use it against us. And when we start to finally speak up? We're thrown to the wolves again. I just. I don't fucking want innocent people to die. Is that fair? Is that okay? Nazis kill because they don't want to deal with the "burden" of us "lesser people". And uh, buddy? That is incredibly fucked up. Like... You gonna kill your own child if they come out to you? Or even talk about the possibility of mental illness to you? What about an interest in different religions? What the fuck then? Does your purge of society continue when it's people you love? Fuck, yeah, in all extensive purposes, I AM a burden to society. But does that mean I should die? FUCK NO. Everyone has the fucking right to live. I'm not saying "hey kill everyone who disagrees with you" (yknow, like the Nazis), I'm saying "we have the right to fight back against this". These people deserve to be in jail. If some of them can learn of errors of their ways, that is a win. But when we are having our literal lives threatened, it's hard to believe that they are CAPABLE of being good people. I always give people chances. Always. But that doesn't mean I let this shit go. Chances doesn't mean acting like it never happened and everything is okay. It's "hey you did something really fucking bad, and I'm giving you time to decide if you think it was bad or not. If you think the horrible thing you did was okay even after time alone (which may be MONTHS or even YEARS of self inspection), your chance to better yourself was wasted. And you should realize that after all that time. When your ideals result in the death of others, you have to think about what the fuck this all means. If you are okay with people being murdered, why? Why is that okay? Question that. And if you come up with "nah it's fine" then uh... Maybe? Isolate yourself from society? Take your shitty unmoving opinions and move to a fucking island. Chances are "here's a chance to change" not "mmm well it's okay because I'm a nice person and you get infinite excuses because of that". There is a fucking line, always. It is actively being crossed. And yet I'm being told that I shouldn't acknowledge that? When my safety and that of those around me is obviously being endangered? When someone who was peacefully protesting a march that called for the death of some people died? This has gone on too long and I could probably go for a while longer cuz I'm just so mad but whatever. Don't send me death threats about this.

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donnybones-blog · 7 years

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What’s your name? Donovan Edgar Bones, though I just go by Donny

When were you born, and where? June 27, 2007 in St. Mungo’s

What’s your Zodiac sign? I’m a cancer!

Earliest Memory? I remember my mom singing me a lullaby when I was about 2 or 3. In the middle of it, she started crying. I don’t know why, and I never asked when I was older.

What was your childhood home like? I lived in a small wizarding community near London. My mom followed in her aunt, Amelia Bones’, footsteps and joined the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Even though there are methods of magical transportation to get her from wherever to the Ministry, she wanted to stay close so she could walk on nice days.

How was your childhood? Your parents? My childhood was great. I never really knew my dad, he abandoned me when I was a baby. I had one encounter with him that I remember. He took me camping in some magic woods in Canada and left me alone for, like, five hours. I was nine years old. I had no idea what was going on, and I’m pretty sure there were werewolves in those woods which was really fun. Granted, the moon wasn’t full, but I thought they changed at will. I read some really bad books from a muggle library once.

Did you have a lot of friends growing up? Are you still in touch? I had a few good friends growing up. I remember I used to hang out with the other kids who had both parents in the Order, though it was only because we all had nothing better to do. I don’t talk to them much anymore.

Were/are you in any cliques? No, unless you count Hufflepuff a clique.

Best childhood memory you can recall? My first time on a broomstick. I was maybe 6 or 7 and my mom told me not to go too high because, yanno, it was my first time. I flew over the house and fell off (onto the roof) and she freaked out. Thought I was dead. I was stunned for a minute, then laughed. She didn’t let me fly again until I was older.

Worst childhood memory you can recall? The woods. Or Muggle school. My mom forced me to go until I got my Hogwarts letter. She said it would do me some good.

Name an event in your childhood that has shaped you into the person you are today. Probably the first time I went to the Ministry. Muggle school was on holiday, and mom hadn’t set up someone to watch me. We decided to walk that day, we didn’t live too far from one of the ways into the Ministry. When we got to the entrance, she told me what to do, and went before me. I tried remembering how to do it, but somehow, I ended up on what seemed to be the other side of the ministry than my mom. I couldn’t see her and started to cry. Some witch saw me there and asked me what was wrong, and I told her. She told me her name (I can’t remember it), and helped me find my mom. On the way there, she told me a story. I actually don’t remember that, either. It had something to do with powering through. When I found my mom, the witch was gone and my mom was scared out of her mind.

Do you ever plan on getting married in your life? Do you want kids? I mean if I find the right person, heck yeah. I want kids, too.

Would you rather have your own kids or adopt? How many kids would you want? I would do both, to be honest. And I want as many or as little kids as my partner would want. I would have ten kids if that’s what they wanted.

Do you think you'd be a protective parent or a relaxed parent? I’m a bit young to know, but I hope I’d at least be in the middle somewhere.

How would you prefer to pass away? Surrounded by loved ones and at peace, or while doing something heroic? Probably punching a Death Eater in the face. Old fashioned, without magic. If you gotta die, you at least gotta punch some Wizard Nazis.

Generally, how healthy are you? Do you get sick or injured easily or are you fit? I play Quidditch, I get injured all the time. Thank god for magical medicine!

Have you ever been badly injured before? I broke my leg once.

How many times have you been to the hospital/doctor's? yes.

Have you ever had a concussion or brain injury? Have you ever had amnesia? I’ve had so many concussions. So many. But I’ve never suffered from legit amnesia. I’ve gotten hit in the head by a bludger so bad I couldn’t remember my name but it passed within a few hours.

Do you consider yourself a more active person or a more relaxed person? So, I play a sport, but other than that I’m lazy as hell.

Would you surrender yourself to your enemies or fight to the very end? I’d make like my Great Aunt Amelia and put up a fight. She was killed by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named personally, and knowing her, she put up a fight.

Top three things on your wishlist? 1) dog. 2) dog food. 3) dog bed.

Currently, what is something you want but do not need? Food.

#garp: meme #donny #info #interview #about #facts #muse

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oncethrown · 7 years

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2x14 Review Clary Fray: Complicity Monster

You Will Not Enjoy This Review If You Like Clary

Just spare yourself the annoyance. I mostly liked Clary in the books, I was open to liking Clary in Season One, I’ve liked her less with every episode of Season 2, and after this episode I hate her, the way she is written is undermining every point the rest of the show is making and if they don’t fix it she will be the downfall of the show. I actually genuinely can’t stand her stupid face anymore after this episode.

And, to clarify, I have nothing against Kat McNamara. By all accounts she’s sweet and brilliant and I wish her well… but crying on cue isn’t acting and neither is delivering every single one of your lines in one of five different ways: -Crying while talking -Talking quietly while looking up (sometimes with head shaking) -Angry face -Flirty, talking through rigid smile while being shot from the side -Earnestly emphasizing roughly every other word “ALEC should NOT have to GIVE UP who HE IS”

You know I’m right. And maybe it’s not all her fault, because her character’s dialogue, framing, and direction all suck too, but she is the single worst focal character this show could possibly have picked, and the show is suffering as a result.

A Really Spectacularly Great Episode Structure

Okay. In this episode, Alec, Jace, Isabelle and Clary are each given the exact same plot. Each of them has to go to a Downworlder that is important to them, and force an invasive, discriminatory, and offensive Clave policy onto them at the behest of a Wicked Witch with a hard on for eugenics.

It’s a really good device, and it’s used really well for everyone but Clary. -It fleshes Raphael out in an interesting way, and gives he and Isabelle a way to carve out common ground very effectively. -It does a fantastic job locking in core character traits for Simon, which you can tell from the previews for 214 and 215 are going to be important building blocks for his plot going forward. -It gives Isabelle something to do with her recovery storyline, brings back some of her admirable back bone from Season 1, and and shows how her looser-than-typical attitude regarding relationships with the downworld is an asset that can be used in future episodes. -It gives us a wide variety of downworld politics reacting against this insane Nazi bullshit, from Raphael and Simon’s principled refusal, to Meliorn’s just-solve-the-problem logic, to Magnus and Dots world weary righteous anger, to Maia’s and some of the rest of the packs throw-the-brick-tear-down-the-wall-punch-him-in-the-face fury. It’s amazing how much substantive content is squeezed into this episode without making it feel forced. -It casts the Clave as villains in a way that hopefully stays interesting -It throws a huge and interesting wrench into the growth of Magnus and Alec’s relationship, especially as they continue to deal with issues of trust. -It allows for a really good balance of action and contemplation. -It introduces a great piece of foreshadowing when Raphael reveals that he heard Meliorn and Camille discussing how the only way to get the Clave to care about downworlders, is to get them to fear downworlders.

But Clary is A Huge Problem in This Episode’s Plot

-Everyone but Clary realizes that going off and asking their lovers and friends and whatevers to give the Clave DNA because the Clave is suspecting all downworlders for the crimes of a few is wrong. And the fact that they understand it’s wrong feeds into all their other plots. Magnus and Alec’s post Body Swap tension. Izzy and Raphael’s necessary distance after their drug fueled relationship. Jace’s realization that he is not leadership material, and that he is complicit in the Clave’s prejudice against Alec’s sexuality and downworld boyfriend, and benefitting from nepotism alone.

-Everyone but Clary endangers a relationship by leveraging their Shadowhunter privilege against someone they care about. Alec follows orders he knows will deeply hurts and anger the person he loves, who he already knows is hurting deeply. Jace’s storyline is cheating a little bit by cashing in on the Maia chemistry after the plot has already happened, but the connection is still there. Isabelle’s isn’t a huge hurt either, since she doesn’t want to get back together with either Raphael or Meliorn, but they are still important connections, proved by the fact that both men help her save her little brother from the killer.

But Clary forgets that Simon’s grandmother was a Holocaust survivor, and Simon gently hints that she’s asking him for some serious Nazi shit. Everything is fine between them, and he calls her every 20 seconds to make sure she’s safe while walking home. On that walk, she gets attacked by the killer, cause she’s like, the real victim, you guys. Simon then gets arrested trying to stay by her bedside while telling Jace to make sure Clary knows he tried.

Not convinced? Look at Clary’s Plot Vs. Alec

It’s the same plot, beat for beat, with totally different meaning.

*They go ask their lovers for a DNA sample, because they Clave thinks that all downworlders are the same (blood thirsty monsters itching for a chance to push Shadowhunters from a position of power) and they are all suspect in the murder of these Shadowhunters who keep turning up dead.

*Their lover communicates that this is utterly unjust, and a first threatening step onto a slippery slope.

*They go back to the Institute and exchange heated words with Frau Imogen

*They are reunited with their downworld lovers

*They get a reward.

There are three big divides in this identical storyline:

Alec and Clary’s Ability to Understand the Issue

*Alec understood what he was doing was wrong. In Magnus’s apartment he is dripping discomfort, he can barely get the words “I need some of your hair” out, and he’s clearly hurting as he leaves with the hair. He does tell Magnus not to be over dramatic, and does push back against Magnus outrage while Magnus is asking him to leave, but Alec at least understands what he’s asking. Also, Magnus’s anger at him is palpable. Alec has crossed a line, and Magnus is not going to let him stand there for a second not being fried by Magnus’s righteous fury.

*Clary is super blasé about asking Simon for a hair. It’s no big deal, Luke did it. She’s apologetic when Simon very gently reminds her that his grandmother (who she has met, for fuck’s sake) is a Holocaust survivor. He says he won’t go along with this, and from the way it’s shot and written, they presumably shake hands amiably, and Clary leaves, neither of them acknowledging that in Simon’s analogy… Clary is a Nazi. There’s no discussion of her blindly going along with Imogen’s demand. Clary bears none of the responsibility for her actions that Magnus pins unyieldingly to Alec. Simon lets her go, and then is really worried about her being alone, calling every 20 seconds to make sure she’s okay.

Clary and Alec’s Stakes and Position When They Stand Up to Imogen

*Fist off, Clary mostly bitches out Jace. And her position is “You let them arrest Simon. You’re supposed to stand up for people you care about. Like mostly me, but maybe Simon too. Like, through me, by proxy, because I’m always saying Simon is important to me.” She is not really interacting with the way the other characters are invoking police brutality and anti-semitism. She’s barely being asked to do so. Also even when she sort of snipes at Imogen, she’s mostly dismissed. She’s part of the regime enough to feel like she and Simon’s prison guards are peers, and like she should be carrying out the Shadowhunter orders going on around her, but she isn’t part of the regime enough to suffer any real consequences by not showing Imogen the sort of respect the other Shadowhunters do.

*Alec has already been essentially demoted by Imogen. She is a clear and present threat to his career at the Institute. And Alec has been threatened by the Clave a couple times by now. Imogen nearly de-runed and banished his sister. He almost had to marry Lydia to make his society happy. Aldertree threatened him with a psych eval. He lost a position that was rightfully his to Jace because he’s gay and dating a warlock.

But when Magnus stands up to Imogen, it’s because of Maia and the rest of the werewolves, not because of Magnus. He credits Magnus as his inspiration, but he risks himself and his career further, to tell the Inquisitor that she’s wrong and what she’s doing is wrong, and that they have no right to treat the downworld this way

And Finally, Their Rewards

*Alec is given the Head of Institute Job, which should have been his to begin with, because he’s qualified, and he’s just proven that he should be the one trusted with it, because he cares about people and will fight for them. He uses this position to stop the tracking, and in the next episode he actively tries to give Downworlders a seat at the table. He also is given Magnus’s forgiveness after going to him and asking for it.

*Clary goes to Simon’s concert, which she set up before any plot happened. She and Simon have experienced none of the relationship drama that Alec and Magnus did. Simon never blamed her for anything, and even when he was imprisoned, just hung out with Maia talking about how great Clary is, even while she’s out doing Nazi stuff. Maia, who just likened Shadowhunter Policy to police brutality against black people, whole heartedly agrees, and gives Clary free beer for being so gosh-darn woke.

This is a major fucking problem. The white girl character mostly ignoring the seriousness of what’s going on around her and then getting a pat on the head at the end is bad.

Doing the right thing was way lower stakes for Clary than everyone else. Alec, Isabelle and Jace had known some of the dead Shadowhunters their whole lives. Isabelle was testing her sobriety. Alec was looking after a career he still wants. Clary just had to go talk to her boyfriend, who didn’t even blame her. Talking back was low stakes. Clary did nothing worth celebrating and was still rewarded. This episode was a blip in Clary’s happy-go-lucky-shadowhunter-special. She learned nothing. She experienced nothing. The entire pay off of this episode for her is going to be (I’m guessing) two episodes from now, when she finds out Jace and Maia are fucking and then has a sad.

Thoughts While Watching the Episode:

*Given that Kat is one of the weakest performers on the show and her storyline from 2007 has not aged well, this new intro focusing on her is a very, very bad decision and I’m against it.

*Prior to the Soul Sword Massacre, I was really into the Jace/Maia dynamic, and these two actors have sizzling chemistry, but I don’t feel like they are doing enough with the fact that Jace’s mistake killed Maia’s pack. I mean, I totally buy that she would forgive him if she was told the truth about what happened, but… there’s no indication that she got that, even off screen. If I pretend that we got that, I really like this interaction, and I’m okay with going along with the assumption that it happened off screen.

*Solid episode theme introduction

*I like that Izzy took Simon’s advice, and that Alec knows about her recovery.

*Why the fuck is Imogen even on this show? Maryse could be filling this story role easily, so could Lydia and them in this role would have layers and nuance. Why am I being subjected to a one dimensional, wicked witch female evil when there are two multidimensional female characters who already fit easily into this narrative?

*Wow. Good thing everyone has forgotten that Luke was Clary’s Dad, or this sex talk might have been very awkward.

*”Hur dur, I’m Imogen. Hur Dur. I’m obsessed with lineage. Hur dur a Latina actress who used to be on the show could have given this speech, and would bring more a more interesting aspect to it.

*”Hur dur, I guess my only purpose in this episode is to create the nepotism that easily resolves one of the core issues of the episode.”

*Is anyone in the Institute curious about where their sketchy new british friend is? Just me?

*Clary… this is bigger than your friends…like… acknowledge that just a smidge. A smiiiiggggdddee. You are a monster. How are you the hero in this episode?

*Oh. Jace. I’m sad that he’s clearly hurt that Alec and Isabelle have this secret from him, when part of this episode is all about how he fits into a family.

*Please don’t make me watch any Max heavy storylines. Kids are boring, there are too many characters on this show.

*Matt and Harry are killing this scene. They are communicating every drop of subtext, they are working fantastically off of each other, and while I’m glad that I already know the episode makes the subtext into text, this scene would still be able to communicate everything those later conversations do. Fantastic, A+.

*Fuuuuuucccckkkkkkk yyyooooouuuuu Clary. Your purpose in the story is the person who comes in from the outside and sees the flaws in this society and then works against them. Annnnnnddddd you just forgot about the Holocaust. Is Trump not President in the 2017 of this show? The Holocaust should be on your mind. Also… you and Alec are having the same plot right now. At least Alec is smart enough to feel awful about trying to register his downworlder lover?

*I’m so mad at you I don’t even care that you got hurt. You are not the hero of my show, bitch.

*I really hope that the whole point of this scene isn’t to foreshadow Isabelle’s addiction leading to Max getting hurt/killed.

*Dot is very different around Magnus than around Clary. I prefer this more world weary Dot and I like the comfort and ease present between these two characters.

*Imogen better die by the end of the season.

*Shouldn’t some one who was killed by a vampire be full of venom? Shouldn’t there be a way to test for that? Hasn’t that been the entire focus of every line Isabelle has uttered for 13 straight episodes?

*Maia. Hero. Best Actress on Show by a factor of 10. How is Luke still the pack leader? (Oh right, as a woman, Maia is too nuanced to be given power. Thanks, Shadowhunters.)

*Yes! Maia! Hit him some more!

*No!

*Okay. Fine. Maybe the is why Luke is a leader and Maia and Jace aren’t. The authority Isaiah brings to these scenes is admirable.

*She pulled your clearance because you are covered in vampire semen, Clary. Could you like… even try to get on board with the episode theme? Fuuuuccckkk yyyooooouuuu

*I am super digging this Dot Magnus relationship.

*Good job Clary. Everyone around you has been having difficult conversations with loved ones, fighting with their consciences, struggling with their upbringings, being passed over for positions that are rightfully theres due to their sexuality and relationships, but after you guilessly asked to register your Jewish Vampire boyfriend with your militarized genetics obsessed overlords, you woke up with perfect hair and made loud mouth noise at the mean lady and the blond corner of the love triangle that revolves around you. You saved the day ( I hate you).

*It’s not illogical that the trophy thing is news to Isabelle, I’m really really happy that Shadowunters brought it up, but I do hope that they do something with the fact that Isabelle didn’t even know. Like how in Season 1 the Clave wouldn’t let anyone talk about the Circle.

*I feel like this off center diagonal camera lens is supposed to be telling me something. They used it when Alec stood up to the Inquisitor the way that Clary only thought she did, and they are using it here and I feel like there’s a reason beyond aesthetics… but also like I shouldn’t be noticing it if there is?

*No one should like Clary, Simon and Maia. People should only like Maia.

*Thank god they find a way to make the whip cool. A whip on TV looks so stupid.

*Well, Max is toast.

*Why is Raphael against Meliorn? It better than a real reason and not jealousy over Isabelle.

*Excellent. Now a woman is an extremist on the other side. Women, as we all know, don’t have middle grounds.

*I like this Lightwood sibling ending. It makes sense, and it’s warm, on theme, reinforces all their characters in a satisfying way, especially after a

*Don’t give her beer, Maia. Do not reward Clary’s behavior. She did nothing, and still managed to fuck that up.

*Jace doing the right thing without expecting or getting thanks. Love it.

*This end sequence is everyone wrapping up their story line in the same way, and Clary fails to do that right too!

#Shadowhunters 2x13 #Shadowhunters #Review #Meta

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aflyingcontradiction · 7 years

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So since I’m apparently in the process of cleaning house right now (which I am not particularly happy about, but oh well), I guess I’d rather rip that particular band-aid off in one go. Dear followers, full disclosure, I hold the following unpopular (at least on here) opinions that I don’t usually mention. (long-ass post behind the cut)

If you disagree with me, feel free to stay around and have a civil debate with me on any post I make or reblog (except for this one, I won’t answer).

If you feel like you don’t want to follow someone with my opinions, don’t hesitate to unfollow or even block if you want. Everyone should have the right to decide who they interact with.

If, however, you are planning to be a jerk about it, you can go fuck right out of my space and stay out. I have reached the end of my patience here. If I see any more posts on my dash that imply I’m a worthless person for an opinion I hold or an identity I have, I’m going to unfollow you. If you insult me personally, I’m going to block you.

Opinions below:

- Ironic misandry and similar jokes intended to “punch up” at entire groups of privileged people are eye-roll-inducing at best and harmful at worst, both to our activist causes as a whole and to vulnerable individuals caught in the splash damage.

- I’m sex positive. That includes kinks. Even the ones I personally find gross. As long as all participants and onlookers give their full and uncoerced consent and all participants have the knowledge to do whatever they are doing safely (or are aware of any remaining risks), I think people should be allowed to live their fantasies as much as they damn well please, without uninvolved people judging them. And if you think that a person’s “gross” kinks are a reflection on what they actually think of people and society in a non-sexual context without any evidence of that apart from the fact that they have a kink, then I think you’re mind-reading in a very uncharitable manner and you should stop.

- The term “onlookers” does not include people who deliberately seek out kinky material that squicks or triggers them. If it’s clearly tagged and you go looking for it and find it, the consequences are on you and you alone.

- The same goes for fictional content. In fact, I don’t believe there’s such a thing as fictional content that should be “forbidden” to produce and while no story should be exempt from analysis and criticism, likewise no story justifies harassing the author over it. No, not even the weird-ass underage ship over there or the person shipping the villain with the cinnamon roll hero. Also if you think that someone who enjoys reading or writing about a thing in a fictional context must condone that thing in real life without any evidence apart from their fictional likes and dislikes, again, you are mind-reading in a very uncharitable manner and you should stop. There are a bazillion reasons why someone might enjoy problematic content, few of them are “‘Cause I want to do this evil thing for real” and none of them are any of your business unless the person in question ACTUALLY does the evil thing for real, in which case it’s no longer a matter of fictional tastes anyway.

- Uncoerced consent means “In the mind of the person giving it”. I don’t accept “But they were brainwashed by society”. It is literally impossible to differentiate between societal preferences and “natural” preferences (if such a thing even exists beyond the things we literally need for basic survival). If you ask a person “Does this thing truly make you happy” and they answer “This thing truly makes me happy” - then for all intents and purposes it truly makes them happy and you’ll just have to accept that. Period. (Which, incidentally, applies to non-sexual things like lifestyle and clothing as well.)

- Just in general, trying to destroy gender roles by criticising individual people for their likes and dislikes is counter-productive.

- Doxxing may sometimes be justified, but it is never ever justified to spread personal information that you haven’t verified and are absolutely certain is true. That shit destroys people’s lives. Just. Don’t.

- I think it is morally questionable to escalate violence unless you are sure it’s necessary to prevent further harm. (E.g. Don’t reply with insults to someone asking a polite question or - more relevant to the current discourse - don’t answer verbal violence with physical violence.) Which means: No, I don’t think punching nazis is always a good thing unless it is in literal self defence or defence of someone who can’t defend themselves, in which case, punch away, I mean, obviously. The reason I think that, apart from the moral ambiguity, is that you are not going to scare them into shutting up. The internet exists. They can spread their filth anonymously without running any danger of being harmed. At best they’re going to stop saying this shit on the street until they’ve recruited enough people that they no longer need to feel scared and then we’ve got a serious problem on our hands. Besides, if you punch a nazi, you run the risk of making them into a martyr and giving them proof that they are, in fact, under threat from the outside. Congratulations, you have now made it harder for people to leave that swamp. I think what we need to do is find out why people join groups like that (and no “Because they’re evil” isn’t an answer. People aren’t born evil.) and work on removing those factors, if at all possible. At the same time we need to make sure the nazi groups in question look as ridiculous as they are and that everyone knows they’re WRONG, goddammit! Punching them isn’t going to do either of those things (vuvuzela-ing over their bullshit might accomplish one of those things.) Let everyone know that neo-nazi views are absolutely unacceptable and not just because “they’re not politically correct and you might get punched if you say that stuff out loud but secretly lots of people think that way” but because they are WRONG and MONSTROUS. Educate people about what nazism actually means and do it early and frequently so that they know before they run danger of being recruited. (Of course, having the state on your side helps, but unfortunately in the US that ain’t gonna happen anytime soon from the looks of it, so unlike us here in Germany, you’re on your own, which does make things harder. Punching still isn’t going to solve the problem.)

- Also, given that it’s not my circus, not my monkeys, I don’t have any opinions on being trans with/without dysphoria or whether or not the term queer should be used as an umbrella term or not or whether there should be two As for Asexual and Ally but I’ve heard enough arguments on both sides that I don’t think either side is 100 % wrong and evil and horrible.

- And also: I hate the term Social Justice Warrior because of the way it’s being used by people who are just generally against social justice, but I think we do need a term for bullying-under-the-guise-of-activism, because it is definitely a thing that happens.

- Also, the black and white worldview around here is draining as fuck. Again, people are not born evil. They have a reason for their opinions. That reason is frequently bullshit or downright horrible but in those cases there is a chance that they might be argued out of it or at least someone who’s on the fence could see your argument and go “Hey, that activist’s opinions make more sense”. Don’t get me wrong, nobody has to argue with bigots. Hell, I don’t want to do it either. But for the love of all that is good and holy, let the people who WANT to and feel equipped to do it, do so without revoking their social justice advocate card.

So yeah, do with this information what you will.

#opinions: I has them #my babbling

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judedoyle · 7 years

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Basics

A lot of debate, in the past year or so, has come down to putting a label on people’s politics. So-and-so is A Liberal; thus-and-thus is A Leftist, or A Socialist. Mostly, this serves as a reason to dismiss somebody, whether or not they’re right — you would say that, you’re a liberal, or well, that’s just purity politics talking. But, as a feminist, it’s also my job to at least try to have solidarity with women who disagree with me. In the process of trying that, I realized I’d really never tried to write down a coherent description of my politics before. I’d called myself a “socialist” until maybe 2015, found myself called a “centrist” from 2015 through 2017, took a bunch of stupid political-compass tests where I always wound up on the same square as Jill Stein and/or anarchists (pretty far left, all the way at the bottom toward the “anti-authoritarian” end, to answer your burning question) and still really had no idea how to communicate where I stood or why I stood there in discussions with other women.

Here, just because I imagine the question will come up again, is an attempt at a description of my politics — economic, identity-wise, role-of-Nazi-punching-wise, what have you. It’s not much, but as women increasingly have more good-faith arguments on the direction of our movements (which is lovely; I would rather do that than hear some man explain Why Identitarianism Is Ruining The Left any day of the week) it might give some grounds for an assessment of what I’m saying and why I’m saying it. I mean, assuming an “assessment” is the point, and not a Twitter fight — my optimism is boundless, I guess.

1) The center point of my political engagement, the thing everything else revolves around, is feminism — ending misogyny and default male power in America. I don’t think it’s inherently superior to any other locus; your activism could center queerness, black lives, economic inequality, and be just as meaningful, if not more so. But I choose feminism, because feminism chose me. By the time I left elementary school, I had seen two instances of near-fatal domestic violence within my immediate family. In one of them, a woman was shot in the spine and left paralyzed for life. I knew about other cases where women’s boyfriends or husbands controlled what they ate, or “accidentally” killed their pets. I knew two girls who had been raped by my sophomore year of high school, and that count only increased once I got to college. And, of course, I experienced my own share of violence. Basically, by the time I was sixteen, I knew I lived in a world that violently hated women — that hated us enough to kill us, and that did kill us more often than anyone wanted to admit. I have spent the rest of my life figuring out what to do about that. It’s what I care about, and I admittedly care about it more than anything else, including my own self-interest at times. You’re free to choose your focus. This is mine.

2) There is no useful feminism without intersectionality. In fact, feminism, arguably more than any other cause, is bound to intersectionality, just because every single group in the world has women in it. This makes it practically impossible to craft a universally true statement about “women,” or to issue a blanket call for “women’s solidarity.” Women will probably always have opposing interests, or disagreements, and (as long as we live in an oppressive society) some women will always be able to oppress or exploit other women. I’m pretty obviously a flawed vehicle for intersectional feminism, given that I’m white, and straight, and cisgender. So I try to stay educated about the interests and experiences of other women, to reflect on those in anything I write as best I can, and to keep those women in mind before assuming my own experience is universal. I try to fight for the interests of all marginalized groups — or at least to support fighters, where I’m not qualified to speak up myself — because all of that is essential to supporting women as a whole.

2a) One place where you might disagree with me: I do believe that even extremely privileged women experience misogyny. Misogyny is a structural factor that impacts women because they are women, and for no other reason; I also believe that misogyny alone can ruin or kill a woman, even if she has everything going for her. So I don’t necessarily view even very privileged women as “enemies” — any woman can, potentially, be enlisted to the cause — and I try to frame any criticism in a way that steers clear of misogynist tropes.

2b) Another place for good-faith disagreement: I believe that getting women and other marginalized people into positions of power has real, positive impact on its own. Of course, you have to take into account what those women believe — no-one is saying Sarah Palin or Ivanka Trump are feminist sheroes — but if a woman is reasonably progressive, she represents a concrete improvement over the white man who currently occupies that position. There are different value levels to this: Getting women into government is far more important than getting women into corporations. But giving women higher-paying jobs matters, too. Sexism, like everything else, is economic; the reason women face economic discrimination is the same reason that over 90% of all abusive relationships involve financial abuse, which is that patriarchy wants to instill dependence in women. Patriarchy wants to make it impossible for a woman to survive without a man’s patronage and approval, and thereby render those women passive, submissive, and (this is important) unable to resist violence or walk away, because they cannot survive outside of the relationship. Ideally, all women would have equal access to resources. In the meantime, women should be supported in building bases of economic power within the world we have.

3) And, speaking of economics: I believe that American socialism is the goal, but that it’s not exactly a short-term goal. Which is to say: Everything I’ve read suggests that structural and identity-based oppressions are in fact improved under socialism, because the marginalized have that base of economic power from which to resist their oppressors. And, in America, class is deeply tied to identity; poverty is reliably caused by bigotry, and fighting poverty therefore fights bigotry. Yet I’m skeptical about getting there quickly, and don’t think any of us should live as if “the revolution” is going to happen tomorrow, or in five years, or in ten. The nation that elected Reagan in a landslide within my lifetime, the nation that made George W. Bush a two-term President, the nation that recently elected Donald Trump, does not seem like a nation that’s going to turn into Scandinavia (or even Canada) before I turn 40. I think we are more likely to get there via a gradual leftward culture shift, and pragmatic policies aimed at increasing the social safety net in specific ways (like the FAMILY Act or Obamacare) than we are through one huge victory or grand deluge that changes everything.

4) And, speaking of the deluge: I would prefer my activism to remain as non-violent as possible for as long as possible. Yes, I know the state is violent — more violent than any black bloc or riot could be — and I know that intolerable conditions inevitably generate violence. Still, my activism has its roots in resisting violence, and in witnessing violence, so I can’t romanticize physical force easily. I think violence tends to generate chaos and harm as many innocent people as it helps, and I can’t participate gladly in hurting or killing people.

4a) I do, however, make a distinction between violence and self-defense. Edward Crawford is not “being violent” in this picture — he is throwing a weapon that was intended to harm him back to his attackers, sparing himself from their violence. A woman who speaks up about being raped, harassed or abused is not “being violent” if that man loses his job or goes to jail, nor is she “being violent” if, in a one-on-one confrontation, she fires a warning shot into the ceiling; she needs to get the abuser or harasser away from her, to stop him, and if he will not respond to requests, she will have to use force. Taking Milo’s check mark or book deal away is not an act of aggression. Nobody reasonable has a problem with Nazi-punching. I believe that the oppressed must sometimes use force to limit or contain the oppressor’s violence, basically. Where that fits into the greater picture of limiting or containing state violence, or of “revolution,” I don’t know, except that I don’t want to shoot people.

5) Because those most impacted by economic oppression are women, people of color, and other marginalized folks, any leftist movement should be led by women, people of color, and other marginalized folks. In many cases, like Black Lives Matter (which is largely led by women, including queer women) this is already the case. But if I look at a group of “leftists,” I should see mostly women — or, at least, 51% of the attendees should be women. The reasons for this are practical, not ideological. For example, I recently saw a leftist say they supported the “Norwegian model” for abortion. Norway limits abortion at thirteen weeks. This is before any substantive genetic testing to ensure the viability of the fetus can be done (even the most expensive cell-free fetal DNA testing, which is normally done at around ten weeks, would take a while to return results) let alone before the 20-week test when many fetal abnormalities are first detected. It’s eight weeks earlier than Donald Trump’s proposed 20-week limit, which is already barbaric. Norwegian women & trans people can theoretically get an abortion at up to 22 weeks (still only two more weeks than a ban endorsed by Donald Trump, for fucksakes) but they need the government’s permission, and doctors are allowed to flat-out refuse at any point in the pregnancy for reasons of “conscience” — not exactly “pro-choice.” This is a socialist paradise, and their abortion laws are worse than America’s. There are other instances of this, like the racism of the New Deal, which have been rehashed endlessly. In short: The reason for leadership by oppressed people is that, if your socialism or leftism doesn’t specifically take their concerns into account, it will end up specifically leaving them out.

6) There are also a lot of old-school, probably “liberal” values I hold dear: I think people have a god-given right to disagree with each other, or with The Movement. I ultimately believe in democracy, no matter how frustrating it gets. I believe that it must always be safe to note that the Emperor has no clothes — and it doesn’t matter who this week’s Emperor is, or how “progressive” he claims to be. Hate speech and abusive speech needs to be checked, but “unity” isn’t a positive goal if it means you’re not allowed to make your own choices or say what you think.

7) But she voted for Hillary Clinton! Yes, I did. I grade a candidate on gender politics first (see Item #1) and didn’t much like those of her opponents. I also just like her, as a woman, for reasons I’ve gone on about before. But Hillary Clinton lost four months ago, and won’t run again, so she’s really not the most important part of my work to anyone except people who hate Hillary Clinton. More generally, I believe that voting for mainstream, left-of-center candidates in a general election is not incompatible with further-left activism. I think the two are interdependent. You vote for the candidate who has a chance of winning (which means taking into account all Democrats, not just your own stripe or social group), who will preserve gains rather than rolling them back, and who will be at least somewhat responsive to leftward pressure. Then you apply the pressure through protesting, marching, striking, and creating media and culture change. Some people understandably harbor anger toward those politicians (my husband is intense about Obama and drone strikes, for example) but I mostly don’t — they work in a system designed to limit them, and it’s our job to alter that system. Electing Clinton, or Obama, or whoever, isn’t the end goal of progressive politics. It’s the beginning, setting an acceptable battlefield in the ongoing work of activism — which belongs, not to our elected officials, but to us, and which will not end within our lifetimes.

Well, those are the basics. I imagine there are a thousand points I’ve left unaddressed. But this is the core of what I believe, so that we can argue about that, rather than someone else’s fevered imagination about what I believe, the next time we talk.

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disparition · 7 years

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I want to talk about this whole “punching nazis” thing, which I have been thinking about for some days.

To start, let me clarify that I have no moral or ethical qualms with Richard Spencer getting punched in the face on tv. I’d be happy to see it happen again.

But I do have a couple issues with much of the dialogue that has emerged in the wake of this event.

A lot of the people suddenly talking about nazis right now are people who didn’t seem to even realize they existed in this country prior to this election.

A lot of people seem to have gotten some strange ideas about how and where nazis are typically encountered, or who they actually are.

So, I’d like to talk about some of the times in my life when I’ve encountered nazis.

Before I do that, let’s try to establish a definition. There are a lot of different stripes of fascists and white supremacists out there, with varying agendas and varying degrees of organization. In the US we’ve got many types, ranging from the KKK and Aryan Nation to various unorganized skinhead rabble to the newish group calling itself the Alt Right. It seems easiest, at least for the sake of this argument, to lump those all together under one general “nazi” category. But does that really make sense? I’ll come back to that. But for now, in most of the examples I will describe below, these were people who openly called themselves such.

Also, I want to establish a bit about who I am. I don’t like to discuss any of these things publicly, but I also feel like I kind of have to, to explain where I am coming from. So: I am Jewish, I am bi, I am neurodivergent. Due to this last thing, I have certain issues navigating the physical world. I am physically fit but not athletic. I have very little self defense training. By occupation I am a musician.

And lastly I want to point out that these examples are from 15-20 years ago and describe some of my earliest encounters with these forces to provide context. And I’m going to start with some clear cut cases:

I first became aware of the existence of modern nazis my first year in high school. This was in the suburbs of San Francisco. I had a few friends who were into punk music and culture. I heard about “white power punks” and nazi skinheads who would sometimes show up at shows. When I started going out I would see them every once in a while. When I started going up to the city, at that time there were places that were absolutely notorious for nazi skinheads. I never interacted with them, I always steered clear of them, and never really fell in with the punk scene anyway. But that’s when I first became aware that there were people in modern America who called themselves nazis and directly advocated for white supremacy.

To be honest I did not think of myself as their “target” because (in my mind, at that time) Jewish culture in the SF Bay Area was practically invisible and unlikely to be on their radar. In fact I didn’t think too deeply about who their target was. I mostly thought they were crazy people who loved violence and called themselves “nazis” because it was the meanest thing they could think of, that they were in favor of “white power” because it was so obviously wrong. At this time, there was fair amount of tension in the state around the issue of immigration from Mexico. But it did not occur to me then that there could have been any relationship between the xenophobia I saw expressed by mainstream circles in conversations about Proposition 187 and the blatant, violent white supremacy expressed by the skinheads on the periphery of local punk scenes. (also please note that I am aware that not all skinheads are nazis and that there is an anti-racist element within skinhead culture as well)

In college, in Pittsburgh, I lived on a store with a convenience store on one end. One of the people who worked in this store was a skinhead who wore a jacket covered in various white power/“rock against communism” band logos. He had a group of similar buddies that often hung around nearby, a couple of whom had aryan nation tattoos. On several occasions when I woke up in the morning I would find leaflets distributed up and down the block decrying the Holocaust as a “Jewish scam to make money”. These flyers were attributed to Church of the Creator, one of the more active neo-nazi groups in Pennsylvania at that time. Every once in a while I would cautiously engage in arguments with some people on the fringes of that crew of guys who hung out in the area. Things were sometimes tense but never got physical. Soon after 9/11 most of them disappeared. I don’t know why or where to.

While traveling alone in Slovenia, I nearly ran into a parade of about 40 skinheads chanting and marching in the street while I was on the way back to where I was staying. I do not know what specific group they were affiliated with but wore patches with the common “celtic cross” symbol used by far right/white nationalist groups all over the world. At that time, fascist graffiti covered Ljubljana.

Those are just a few of the more blatant examples from that time. These experiences were not rare. The KKK and various neo-nazi groups held public parades and rallies all throughout this period, and sometimes showed up as counter protestors or forces of violence at protests for progressive causes. They marched through downtown Pittsburgh - with the local government’s blessing - and many other cities in that region.

There were protestors at those marches, and there were people who fought the nazis directly, but the general consensus in mainstream liberal circles at that time seemed to be that nazis had the right to march just like anyone else, that any violence against them would be bad. It certainly wasn’t at all common to hear college educated, NY Times-reading liberals talking about the glories of “punching nazis”. This is a problematic but very complicated phenomenon: they were to be tolerated up until the point at which they’ve come into power.

But let me explain why _I_ didn’t go around punching the nazis I saw, during those times when I encountered them personally. To some extent, part of me did follow that logic mentioned above, but that’s not the real reason. The real reason is pretty simple: most nazis are a lot better at fighting than I am, they do it more frequently, they usually travel in numbers, they are often armed, and in almost every circumstance when I’ve encountered them the odds would not have been remotely in my favor had things gotten physical.

Richard Spencer was alone and unarmed standing in front of a video camera busily talking about an internet meme while he was sucker punched. This occurred in broad daylight in a very crowded, open area with a ton of media and police present. While I applaud the anonymous puncher for seizing upon that opportunity, that’s not really a typical situation in which one encounters nazis.

Recently, Richard Spencer posted a video in reaction to this incident. In this video he mentions that the Alt Right will not succeed if they are unable to be who they are in public. I’ve seen a lot of people pointing to this video as a sign of victory over the Alt Right, a sign that they are scared. I think the latter half is true but not the former. What Spencer is saying is that they are going to ramp up security. And I would anticipate that these people will begin to receive even more protection from the current administration.

So, this is one conclusion I’d like to leave here - in most cases “punching nazis” means getting involved in serious physical violence in which your life will be at risk. And that risk is only going to increase in the future. Fantasizing about punching some idiot talking about a frog on tv is fun, but I think it ignores the realities that many have faced and many more are about to face. And while many of us have disabilities that hinder us in this department, I think it would behoove anyone who is serious about getting physical with fascists to study and learn how to do so before getting involved in a situation you are unprepared for. I would also think long and hard before making that demand of anyone else. But that’s not the most important point.

I’d like to circle back to talking about definitions. The examples I gave above are obvious. These were people who, in almost all cases, were openly wearing the actual logos of white supremacist organizations. So let me bring up a different example:

About one year after 9/11 I was in Budapest, taking an overnight train to Amsterdam. I had a spot in a sleeper compartment on a train. I got on and a couple other passengers came in. One of them was a young guy, a little older than me (I was in my early 20’s at this time). He spoke English very well and we got to talking. It turned out he was an Austrian who worked in finance. Middle management at a major bank. He bought us a couple of beers and we were getting along. Inevitably, the topic of 9/11 came up. Seemingly out of nowhere, he explains to me how “there were no Jews in the building that day”. He then goes on to explain how 9/11 and the entire War on Terror that was then unfolding was all a Jewish plot to direct money to Israel’s armed forces. And hinted that the Holocaust was a similar plot. I tried to argue with him for a bit (without letting on that I was Jewish) but it was nearly impossible to get through to him, and he soon became surly and then passed out. I tried to do the same. But what caught my attention was that this man was well spoken, dressed conservatively, he looked every bit the upper middle class finance professional. It was difficult to imagine him in a street fight. No one would have described this person as being on the fringes of his society.

Up until a year ago, if I told this story to a European, or to an American person of color, they were unsurprised. But if I told it to a white American their reaction would usually be “yeah, well, that’s Europe for you”.

But that’s never been the case.

One common narrative is that many of the groups of fascists have figured out that they aren’t going to get very far if they are seen just thugs who march around on the street wearing in leather jackets getting in scraps. many of them have figured this out some time ago, and have been infiltrating mainstream education and corporate life. And yes, that is happening.

But there is a big problem with that narrative: it ignores the fact that many of America’s institutions and businesses are, themselves, organizations that promote white supremacy. Many of our banks, many of our police departments, our prison system, much of our media. Does these mean they are all “nazis”? Not really. But what it does mean is that white supremacy is not some outside force that just suddenly popped out of Steve Bannon’s suitcase. It’s been here for a long time. It is deeply engrained in our society. Fascism is not some new danger that we suddenly need to prevent from being “normalized” - for much of America, fascism has been the norm for a very long time.

Here’s my point with all of this: sooner or later, Trump will be defeated. This regime is monstrous, but I have seen the power and anger and sheer volume of opposition to it, and I do not think that this regime will last. My worry is, once this most obvious of enemies is defeated, the liberal establishment will go right back to completely forgetting that white supremacy and fascism are a major problem in this country. The sad fact is, even when Democrats in power, even when the POTUS is the most progressive sounding person electable, the nazis are still here, white supremacy is still here, fascism is still here. And not always on “the other side”. We need to remember that, we need to keep pointing to them and ostracizing them and speaking out against white supremacy and fascism even when it looks like things are more comfortable, because that comfort is a trap.

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