#imo all women deserve to be evil

[don1t1red]

I know that this is a very unpopular opinion but hear me out!

I think not enough people consider Corvo as an unreliable narrator. We see the story from his point of view and all we know about Jessamine Kaldwin comes from his perspective. So, to think on that, do we really know how good Jessamine was as the Empress? 

I know that she is usually portrayed as a good person if not a saint but what if it wasn't that way? A lot of people in the streets are indifferent towards her image, if not hostile; the situation with Delilah; how both Geoff Curnow and Corvo are treated because of their nationality; two hatters recalling how greatly Corvo dealt with workers uprising under her command  – a lot of things are a tell-tale signs that something is not quite right. 

And at this point I have to clarify that I'm not saying things like "boo no I hate Jessamine". No, it's actually quite the opposite, I love her character. But the way it is usually portrayed seems to be so dull and static. Let her not be a saint. 

Let her be manipulative. Let her tell Corvo that "he is not like other serkonans, he is sooo special and that's why he is where he is and not somewhere deep in the silver mine", while being (just as any nobility in Gristol) not very welcome to any outlanders. 

Let her be power-hungry and afraid to lose this power. Remember a bonecharm in her hidden room in the Tower? Who knows how it ended up here! Maybe she knew (or felt) that Delilah was coming, capable of overpowering and taking everything from her. Maybe Jessamine was so afraid to lose her posh life that she was ready to use some kind of a black magic! 

Let her be disloyal. Obviously, she and Corvo developed some kind of codependency. But along with that, she was the Empress so who could stop her from having an affair or two? And Corvo was just the safest option, with a way less unnecessary risks and questions. 

Let her be an imperfect person. 

Obviously, Jessamine could be easily born a perfect ruler and a perfect loving woman for her chosen one and her daughter. But maybe she had to learn it the hard way. 

Maybe she changed along with Corvo. Maybe the plague was a critical point for her character, maybe those months without Corvo made her rethink a lot of things. 

And isn't it tragic, finally understanding and becoming the Empress everyone wants to see in you, just to be killed the other day, because all those changes have been seen as a weakness? Have nothing but faith in your closest one, faith that these people will be more wise than she was? 

Give her some development, give her some motion! She could easily  be a saint, static point.  But in my opinion, she deserves to be not perfect but in constant motion. Trying and learning, understanding and making mistakes. She was too young when she became the Empress, she was a part of gristolian nobility, not so kind to anyone but themselves, she literally had no prerequisites to become a good person. And yet somehow she did. 

It's always so easy to be a "saint" from the very beginning. And it's always so hard to learn how to become one.

#dishonored #jessamine kaldwin #imo all women deserve to be evil #(as a treat) #and esp disho women #ngl i kinda feel as a great part of Emily criticism could be applied to Jess as well #which doesnt make either of them a bad character #just as a fact #oh and also - while im still there - its not a bad thing to write Dauds development as a reaction to her death #but i feel like it was rather a reaction to the *changes* that her death triggered #i understand that she is a “woman in the refrigerator” trope in canon but we all are better than this #so again imo but it would be better to concentrate Dauds character growth aroud those changes and leave this poor woman alone #i really want to write a separate post about him rn lol #anyway thanks for coming to my ted talk #dt (stands for doni talks)

[margridarnauds]

The answer to the question of whether I love BG3 or hate BG3 is "yes"

#wonderful game. some of the best and worst writing you will ever see #nearly limitless options that also break whenever you test them a little too much #a wide variety of lovable characters and it's immediately obvious who the writers spent the most time on #and who they expect you to like and dislike #and all of them have been slightly sanded down to be palatable #women are allowed to be fighters and barbarians but still get bizarrely sexualized #at a rate that imo is disproportionate to the men #you're allowed to be evil but the game will go out of its way to remind you you're doing a Bad Thing #it absolutely deserves the praise and is also overhyped

[johannestevans]

i've been listening to a lot more fat liberationist stuff recently and like...

so obvs i already had some backing in a lot of the basic theory, stuff like institutional anti-fatness in medicine, fashion, travel, etc, but like

so as a really thin guy who's always found it impossible to gain weight, its been unbelievably emotionally and mentally liberating to hear people talking really casually about the disability that's associated with thinness

so like being really thin, you lack additional joint and bone support - if you fall, you have less padding and less STRUCTURE to protect your bones from breaks and fractures, right?

obvs theres plenty of fat people that do have issues with bones and joints, im not saying thsres not, its just that normally i feel like im the lone person saying "being this thin is bad for me and is part of various health problems i also have"

and idk its just like. my whole life i was such a sickly child lmao

like i couldnt stand for long periods except "long period" would often be like. any period. i didnt understand how my peers were just standing for so long and just weathering that, bc to me it wasnt possible at all - i breathed badly, my joints were fucked etc

and looking back and realising as i get more disabled like the extent to which i was similarly disabled in my youth, and how i lacked the language to verbalise or sometimes even recognise my own pain and struggle

but also like

the treatment of me as so evil and lazy because i wasn't exercising, or because like. a PE teacher would pick me out as an example because i was so thin, and then be furious that i wasn't remotely physically fit, and that i was disabled

i remember multiple times esp from cis female teachers just. frothing rage at my diet and the things i ate, or when i wrinkled my nose at talk about diets, bc i was so thin so i had to be doing The Right Things, and if i was that thin and doing bad things i had to be punished

and its bc a lot of these ppl thought of fatness and being fat as a punishment, a target for abuse that people deserved, and bc i was a young disabled trans guy like. i deserved punishment for my laziness and nonconformity, and it became a lot about my weight

like expressing that i wanted to gain weight, that i was cold all the time, that i had no energy etc, that eating was hard but that i enjoyed food, all of that was met with such fuckin aggression and really sharp policing, esp from PE teachers and esp from women

and obvs all that is to do with the way that diet culture particularly targets women and those perceived as women, and the desire to engage in lateral violence to police others into complying with gender roles etc as they were upholding them

but idk like. fat liberationist politics is imo inherently tied up with disability liberation, because of the way that "health" is weaponised as a symbol of being good or deserving, and how fatness and disability are both used as targets and symbols of evil and punishment

MOST OF ALL for fat & disabled people

but for nondisabled fat people disability is often threatened as punishment - if you don't become less fat, you'll (deserve to) become disabled

and for disabled thin people, if you don't act less disabled, you'll (deserve to) become fat

and its not a punishment to be fat or disabled or sick. its just how some people are. its not BAD to be this way - and what makes things hard for us is not something inherent to the badness of our bodies, but instead the lack of kindness and accommodation anybody is willing to extend to them

#musings

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

Since it seems, I need to point all this out... again...

Anonymous asked:

Like, I have no trouble seeing WWX as a good guy, or even the least bad in the cultivation world, but if he can subject a man to forced autocannibalism and orchestrate a scenario where a woman is made to put her mouth around his penis before biting it off, then he’s far from an ideal guy imo. There are things no one deserves no matter what they’ve done. Mxtx could have done more to distinguish his actions from the way XY subjects people to cannibalism and JGY forces women to rape his father.

I've answered a bit of this before, I will repost my response as well as respond further to my own view as to why I don't condemn him the same as Jin Guangyao and Xue Yang. As well as how it is a fandom fallacy he did the act to force Wang Lingjiao to do anything.

About the supervisory office:

First, let me at least mark the difference between “gui dao” and “mo dao” as it will be important for the courier station antics.

魔道 (Mo Dao): Lit. Devil’s way/path/truth

鬼道 (Gui Dao): The Ghost’s/twisted/sly, way/path/truth

心 (Xin) Soul/center/core/heart

心魔 (Xin Mo): Devil, Soul/center/core/heart

鬼 (Gui) lit. A ghost/demon/crafty/cursed

With these in mind, the way Mo Dao is crafted as a cultivator, is that you have to have a center/a core, that is innately tuned to be crafted as evil, hence, a corrupted core. To use real mo dao, it needs to come from within to manipulate, not from outer external references, it is the corruption of the self and the still living to craft evil beings.

To use real gui dao, it comes from the dead, the ghosts and the supernatural, in other words not of much of the self. It is using the outside forces of death and non-living beings to use techniques. It is simply using what already existed before to craft an entity.

Now, on to the Wang Lingjiao and Wen Chao scenes and why these distinctions are important and it was just Wei Wuxian manipulating the two’s already heightened paranoia’s to exasperate the negative energy they fostered between themselves.

1:

In that moment, as soon as she opened the chest, she was able to peer inside.

It was none of her beloved treasures, but the body of a pale, curled-up child!

2:

She snuck within the room once again, found a long clothing pole, and flipped the chest over. Inside of it, her treasure sat peacefully.

There was no child whatsoever.

Wang Lingjiao sighed in relief. With the pole in her hands, she squatted down. Just as she was about to brace herself, she suddenly realized that two bright spots were shining underneath her bed.

It was a pair of eyes.

That pale child from before lay prone under her bed, staring into her own.

3:

As he turned around, the rest of what he wanted to say stuck within his throat. He was staring at a woman in front of his door.

The woman’s features were broken, as though they had been smashed and then pieced together haphazardly. Her eyes stared in two different directions; the left upward and the right downward. Her entire face was horrendously disfigured.

Wen Chao, with some difficulty, was able to recognize her from her scanty robe. It was Wang Lingjiao!

4:

Still on the ground, Wang Lingjiao immediately picked up one of the stools legs, and frantically, she began stuffing it into her mouth, laughing all the while, “Fine, fine, I’ll eat it, I’ll eat it!

Haha, I’ll eat it!”

She had already stuffed a significant length of the stool leg down her throat!

Remember, that just before these confrontations Wang Lingjiao had already assumed that Wen Chao’s time was up as well as she herself making plans to run away. They had already turned on each other, as she was planning to move on to a more prospective target, and he wanting her out of the way as an annoyance.

As such, both have created a negative space for themselves, also, remember all of the talismans for protection that they had placed on the outside of the courier station, and their effects which had been reversed by Wei Wuxian. Their 风水(geomancy) physically and mentally has been disordered. Their harmony is broken. Thus, they have cultivated an outside force for Wei Wuxian to manipulate and turn the two against each other.

The above scenes are simply the inner hell they created from their own paranoia and negativity they trapped themselves in. Wei Wuxian only had to change a few character strokes on the protective talismans to sic them on each other while he was on the outside looking in.

5:

Wen Chao cried sharply in pain. It sounded piercing within the silence of the courier station.

Jiang Cheng asked, “Why is his voice so pitched?”

Wei Wuxian responded, “Of course it would sound like that with a certain something gone.“

Jiang Cheng replied in disgust, “You’re the one who took it? ”

Wei WuXian said, “It’s wretched if you think that. Of course I wasn’t the one who took it. It was bitten off by his woman when she went mad.”

There is no reason for Wei Wuxian to lie here, he has already proudly admitted to his tortures of Wen Chao before hand and his physical abuse against him and Wen Zhuliu. Wei Wuxian’s entire persona here was meant to be cruel and monstrous and he continued further torture of course, but it was added on to the existing abuse that Wen Chao and Wang Lingjiao cultivated together already.

So, no, anon, Wei Wuxian was not a rapist in any capacity here. He simply played dirty tricks to make these two ruin each other even more by themselves.

Now, to the second part of your ask. Personally, I am content with the way MXTX portrayed the act of his vengeance as being different than Jin Guangyao and Xue Yang. Because ultimately, when he did choose to do this, it was for all the violence these two (Wen Chao and Wang Lingjiao) reaped themselves, by the mandate of heaven and Chinese Buddhist belief, they have gathered their merits of "negativity" to face the consequences of their own actions. Cruelty is met with cruelty it has accrued. Nothing more, in Doaist terms, it is the way of nature righting it's harmony that humans are not made for. An eye for an eye.

The way of the world is for a human to be able to balance the self in it, and not for the world to cater to humanity. In this sense, the only ones who are in turmoil are those that have misrepresented their own words and actions (i.e. Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian).

And, as I said, Wei Wuxian took revenge on none other than those that had wronged him. To Daoist principal that is as it should be. As for Jin Guangyao and Xue Yang however, they did not leave it to just that, they steeped in obsession of hate. To be doaist, you cannot place obsession, of any sort, over the tranquility of your own choices and way. They continued to cause ruin without the give. This has already set them apart as lost to the moral code of a daoist.

Daoism is not about the call of morality humanity is, it is simply the act of natural actions. Good and bad, are human and a fight that is constant to make peace with.

And for further details, let's get what geomancy is out of the way since it is critical to the usage of this scene and how the Wens there were easily turned against each other with just TALISMANS.

For starters, in China the art of geomancy is also divination , I Ching, specifically and has been used to say that by following the earth's natural patterns harmony can be achieved for life and home.

To garner negativity is to welcome negativity by being unaligned with those patterns. Which brings in the warding talismans that have been used all over by the Wens during this time. To shift the ward meanings is very simple and expounds the paranoia and hate that have already festered within this particular place. It has no Feng Shui based on natural energy that these people have. Harmony that is vital for daoism and cultivation has already been ruined and altered enough for it to be easy to manipulate through simple divination and the manipulations of the outside force that already is in existence.

Wei Wuxian already had the tools for all there to hurt themselves. Gruesome yes, but also in line with what is deemed as the energy accumulation and disruptions humans made themselves for revenge.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #wei wuxian #is not morally grey #literally this does not work if we philosophically play into what daoism is #yin and yang are the two extremes of each other #to balance them doesn't mean morally grey because enlightenment means to let go of human morality and be above human thought #ascension means you are above human crisis #and why the primordial soul is so important it can be swayed to either extreme #please just look up basic philosophy for doaism as it is very much in extreme contrast to human hardship

[reddbuster]

I've talked about this before but I don't think I worded it all that well so I kinda want to try again to articulate what it is that bothers me about Dahlia's writing cause I have some thoughts.

We really aren't supposed to like Dahlia. The text does not like her. She is supposed to be an evil, manipulative girl. A wolf in sheep's clothing. This is made very clear. From the moment we are introduced to her character, Mia herself very clearly doesn't like her. She is written to be a difficult and frustrating witness, having already wrapped most of the courtroom around her finger. Cross examining her is even more of an uphill battle than usual. The first time we beat her in turnabout memories is satisfying to the player, because we know justice is being served. Even when we learn her story, we aren't really lead to closely examine or to sympathize with it. Because Ace Attorney is not a game in which we decide if someone deserves to go to jail. It's a game where we deduce whether or not someone is a criminal. And Dahlia, by definition, is undoubtedly a criminal. She's a liar, and a manipulator, and a serial murderer. Mind you, the game isn’t COMPLETELY unsympathetic to her situation. Iris, her twin and narrative foil of a sort, Is an example of the kind of person Dahlia could have become if her circumstances were different. Iris even says as much herself. Ace Attorney acknowledges that Dahlia is a victim of her circumstances, at least to an extent. But it also treats her as if she’s too far gone to be worthy of any kind of closure. And more than anything else that's what bothers me about her story. Because if you take a minute to think about her at all beyond this very orthodox formalist lens she's SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT. She's suuuuch an interesting and complex and compelling character if you look below the surface but the game really doesn't encourage you to do that and that makes me really sad honestly. From a psychoanalytic lens I personally think that agency (or the perceived lack-thereof) is a big point in her story and that more than anything is what makes me want to write about her from a feminist lens, because agency is a really big point of feminist literary theory.

I've seen a couple people say that they don't think Dahlia needs to be thought about deeply because they see her as a cartoonish sort of villain character like Manfred and Engarde. And obviously this isn't an objectively wrong reading, anyone who follows me knows that I'm the first person to tell you that are multiple good and valid readings of a text. But PERSONALLY I disagree with this. I think Manfred is easier to read like that because he doesn't really have an.. understandable reason for any of his crimes? Like lets be real the murder of Gregory Edgeworth was petty as hell. Personally I think he's pretty interesting himself and worth thinking about deeper esp after watching the anime but I also thinks he fulfills the role of capital V Villain in the game really well so you don't need to if he doesn't compel you that much. Engarde imo is much more interesting as a character if you view him as a culmination of the game's themes, or as a device to cause conflict within other characters. Ofc you can psychoanalyze him to hell and back if that's what you wanna do, but you really don't need to at all. Dahlia on the other hand.. way too much has happened to her for me to comfortably read her as just Girlboss Manipulator Villain™. The more I think about Dahlia the more I appreciate her as a character, and it makes aa3 even better to me. Of course it also brings to light some of my issues with the game, but even so everything just hits harder when you consider the ending of aa3 from everyone's perspective. It's just such a bittersweet conclusion it hits me in the feels very time.

anyway TLDR I support women's wrongs and I personally think Dahlia deserved better from the story. I dunno the more I think about her the more her story just makes me sad and I just wish they gave her some kind of closure in the end. This is just my take tho don't come after me ok thankies

#one of my original posts defending Dahlia got someone really pissed at me LMAO #fey girls tag #ace attorney #dahlia ace attorney #dahlia hawthorne #aa3

[yellowspiralbound]

Since season 3 of The Witcher Netflix comes out tomorrow...here are some of my concerns on adaptation from this season onward. Potential spoilers for the future seasons and definite spoilers for the books. Long post ahead.

The Hansa's Dynamic

I am so worried about how the Hansa is going to be handled in the show. Like shaking in my boots terrified. The showrunners already really messed up Dandelion & Geralt's dynamic...and that's one of the easier dynamics present in the Hansa imo. The dynamic is already going to be screwy because Cahir is a middle aged man and not a petulant teenager if he's present in the Hansa at all (though I think he will be since Emhyr called him and Fringilla out at the end of s2).

Emhyr as a Character

Speaking of Emhyr...I think they might attempt to give him a redemption arc, and I cannot emphasize how bad of an idea that is. They're going to retcon the whole "wanting to impregnate Ciri" bit, which I have mixed feelings on. Like yes, on one hand that's fucking gross but on the other hand, that bit is in there to show how fucked up Emhyr is and why Geralt needs to get to Ciri so quickly; it adds a sense of urgency to the Hansa's travels. If I see Emhyr sympathizers on my dash after this season I will lose my fucking mind.

Milva's Pregnancy & Related Scenes

I suspect that Milva's pregnancy is going to be cut entirely or play up the rest of the Hansa's concern for her as a weird "men think they can control women's bodies" thing which Milva will have to fight with them about so the show can be appropriately pro-choice without exploring any of the pro-choice nuance the books bring up. I can just see Regis talking to the guys about it being turned into a "the father deserves a say in a woman's choice to abort" scenario instead of the "I will give this woman her abortion regardless of what you all think about that (and I've made that VERY clear) but I think she's making this choice because she believes you all will abandon her/not support her if she wants to keep this baby and someone needs to make sure that she knows that won't happen" scenario that it actually is. This is also plays into my concerns about the Hansa's dynamic as changing that scene changes it irreparably.

Characterizing Nilfgaard as a Nation

Right now I feel like the show could go one of two ways 1) Nilfgaard is wrong in everything it does or 2) Nilfgaard is right in everything it does (if Emhyr gets a redemption arc). The show has already made a show of the Northern Realms' racism, which is book accurate mind you, but I fear this will translate to a sort of "Nilfgaard is the better nation as its less racist" scenario. While Nilfgaard is better in that aspect and a few others, it is still a militant slave nation. Nilfgaard and the Northern Realms both have their evils and their virtues; that's a big point in the books and the games. Neither nation is 100% good or 100% bad - they're just nations. I don't think the show will be able to handle that kind of nuance.

Jaskier & Radovid...

Apparently, Radovid is supposed to be one of Jask's love interests this season. Radovid is a massive racist, a war criminal, and a teenager. I'm sure all of that's going to be retconned but for fuck's sake just make a new character if you're going to age up and completely change the personality and insanity of an existing one. Important note: I am 1000% in support of queer Jask. I have never shipped that man with a woman in my life (even in the books and games) but for the love of God why did his LI have to be fucking RADOVID??

Mistle & the Rats

If they make Ciri and Mistle a love story, I am going to be disappointed but not surprised. Let me be clear: Mistle is a rapist and an abuser. I suspect they will change that to shoehorn in a queer relationship (even though Triss and Philippa are RIGHT THERE if they want a semi-canon wlw couple). The Rats as a whole are definitely going to be made into more robinhood-like characters because God forbid a main character like Ciri is morally grey or does questionable/bad things.

Geralt's Disability

If this season ends with the Vilgefortz and Geralt fight, as I suspect it might, Geralt will be disabled permanently by the end of this season. The dryads do not fix it. Magic does not fix it. Geralt becomes disabled and stays disabled. His disability becomes a hindrance during the books and the reader actively sees him grapple with the fallout of this. I do not trust this show to handle that - especially with how much more closed off Geralt is in the show compared to the books. If I had to guess, Geralt's disability will be handwaved away or mentioned in passing and never actually shown to impact him which is not cool.

#the witcher #the witcher books #the witcher netflix #twn critical #books vs show #the hansa #milva barring #maria barring #regis #cahir #cahir mawr dyffryn aep ceallach #emiel regis #jaskier vs dandelion #jaskier #dandelion #geralt of rivia #cirilla fiona elen riannon #the witcher s3 #spiral's thoughts

[vole-mon-amour]

3x08, part 1.

Opening the episode with literally Jamie's name is !!! I'm already smiling. My boooy. <3 A streak of four wins just bc Jamie saw the flaw in Total Football, fixed it, and there we go <3

I am so incredibly sad for what Ted has to go through. This SUCKS. Some other man is bad enough, but your fucking therapist is a punch in the gut. Especially when you still have feelings for the woman you love, but she doesn't love you anymore.

I don't UNDERSTAND! If TedBecca isn't supposed to be romantic like Hannah and the writers say, why this? Like, yeah, they've been to the same party, obviously. And the mention is casual, "they're brother and sister to me", but I still see the foreshadowing. Like, I'm all TedTrent and bi Ted, but ????

Mae is so sweet. What a woman.

Seeing wlw in s3 of Ted Lasso was the last thing I expected, but hell yeah. Please don't make Jack evil. Please. If they're gonna break up, let it not be a scandal and a mutual breakup or something. However, I can see Keeley staying with Jack and Roy telling her he has feelings for Jamie and they hit it off pretty nicely. But that's just my shipper heart's desire. We'll see bc I don't think this show might be that bold.

I wonder how many women actually sleep with their bra on. It's the most uncomfortable thing EVER imo.

Keeley is such an excitable puppy. Just like Jamie when with Roy. :)

I'm actually surprised about Nate and Jade. Like... it's almost a complete 180? Idk, I still dislike him. I think I understand the point, be kind and and not judgemental, all of that, but I can't with him. I don't like him and his storyline. A lot of screen time was wasted on him when imo when it could've been something way more interesting.

She might as well might be a butch bi.

Laughing. Trent with his what I almost sure is an empty mug, just for the drama of it. Doesn't matter that he 'drinks' from it after. Show me liquid in there or I'm not fooled.

S1 Roy would never, and I'm proud of his development. Ted is one of his people now, isn't he? A good friend for sure. It's also very interesting for me to watch in terms of Roy's other relationships and interactions. He already went somewhat there with Jamie in Amsterdam, "I was a dick today, I'm sorry" and how he realizes that he often releases his negative emotions on Jamie "whether you deserve it or not".

Crying with laughter. Roy is ready to "talk about it", but definitely isn't ready to do THAT. It makes me feel good for getting this part of a relationship right in my fic, lmaoooo. Also, where is Higgins?

A real conflict here, hehe. Hopefully, one day, he's gonna be ready to join them and talk about it. That would be fun to watch.

Higgins summoning succeeded.

What are you doing there, Helga soft boy, with your sparkling pencil? This makes me think of that "Jamie — Jamie" thingy. Yeah, no, Roy and Jamie are in love.

This is more like a soft howling/whining :')

Babe, wake up, new reaction meme just dropped.

He sure does, but he's still repressed about it.

Trent Crimm woof'ing with a soft look on his face can be SO personal. I love him, your honor. I wonder what he'll write in his book about that. I also wonder when is Roy gonna join them. Oh, i'l watch him barking and woofing, alright. Jamie wouldn't let that go, EVER. At the same time I feel like Roy would refuse to imitate barking & they would let him just bc that's Roy. A simple "fuck you" and that's ok.

The difference in body language, wow. Love hounds though? Nate, you need to get back with Ted then. Gosh, this entire storyline is SO awkward.

I think I'm still in love with her a little bit. What a woman.

#natiswatching #ted lasso #roy x jamie #rebecca welton #trent crimm #keeley x jack #jamie tartt

[transmutationisms]

this isn’t rly a coherent point just a thought but i feel like the succession audience anon might be getting at the fact that the sociopolitical commentary of the show is lost as its audience increases? imo jesse’s political commentary is very clear but i also have my commie goggles on. but i know for a fact that the show is was not written nor marketed the way i’m consuming it. maybe jesse leans that way a bit but like he’s obviously descriptive and not prescriptive in his art so there’s that, and the constraints of tv are that it has to have broad enough appeal so you can’t be shoving your politics down the people’s throats necessarily. i think it is marketed to the brooklynite class you’re describing and i think they don’t fully get it and i also think as more people watch the more its themes are ignored in favor of stuff like omg who’d make the best successor, despite that not being what the show is about at all (also jesse has told us from day one who would make the “best” successor). idk like the people who get excited abt kendall becoming ceo you know? like omg it’s a win for him! like… are we watching the same show

ok i agree with a lot of this, and i am certainly also a known user of commie goggles lol. i think the fundamental limitation with the show is, like you said, that it's more interested in a descriptive mode than a prescriptive one, which means at its best it can nail character development and political satire, but it isn't really trying to offer any coherent alternative worldview. the portrayal of logan's gender / body politics is not flattering and doesn't flinch away from either the interpersonal trauma he inflicts on those around him or the broader political harm done by liberal capitalism; the show has also always been fairly sharp i think on the fascistic tendencies of capitalism and the way the latter turns into the former—again, shown both through logan's ideology of domination, social darwinist thinking, valorising certain types of bodies, etc, and through waystar's engagement with politics and politicians. however, i'd agree that this is all motivated by a description of the characters' worldviews and by satire of them, and we would probably see more of the cracks in the writers' and showrunners' politics if they tried to put forth some kind of more active alternative political platform.

that said, the fact that people miss these aspects of the show says as much to me about the political consciousness of viewers as it does about the intentionality of the writing. people with certain beliefs about masculinity are always going to watch 'fight club' and think tyler durden rules, no matter how effectively the critique is or isn't being made. similarly, people who think capitalism is a good or necessary system and doesn't derive value from fascism, or that succeeding in business is a matter of skill and mystical genius powers rather than a game of luck and accreting wealth, are always going to watch 'succession' and think that logan rules, or that the point is to identify the person who 'deserves' to take over waystar, or that capitalist electoral politics is a noble exercise in rhetoric that has simply been corrupted by a few evil apples, or what the fuck ever.

like, i'm not saying the writing is perfect or denying that it hits a wall in terms of actual radicalism. but i do think there are certain critiques the writers consistently and clearly make, often specifically via satire, that large swathes of the audience simply don't pick up on because they're approaching the text through their liberal capitalist ideological lens. you can see this, for example, in the journosphere's takes on the cruises storyline, which by and large completely failed to engage with the broader critique of capitalism as inherently producing death, exploiting bodies, and specifically preying on those deemed other or marginal—namely sex workers, migrants, women, etc. these points were very clearly made in the show and the meliorist viewpoint very clearly satirised (eg, in 'argestes'). ultimately, though, you can't rescue viewers from their own liberalism and you can't make them read the text from beyond those parameters. it's an issue of political consciousness, and although it can certainly be exacerbated by bad or milquetoast writing, even an explicitly radical piece of art will be interpreted through that liberal lens by people who are liberals (anyone remember the reviews of 'sorry to bother you'?)

i also would add that, in my opinion, this season has actually been more willing to overtly engage with the political threads than season 3. viewers can no longer hide behind the idea that the problem starts and ends with logan as an individual. matsson and his people have consistently been characterised as staking their own worth on their supposed biological superiority, with specific references to athletic ability, bodily strength, élite education that forms a class barrier, and the general idea of racial and genetic superiority ("nasdaq master race," "shallow end of the gene pool"). i'm aware there are many viewers, including on tumblr, who are not stringing these things together and seeing an overall discourse on capitalist eugenics and racism—but i do actually think that the satire here is being laid out pretty clearly in front of our faces. is this a show interested in exploring imaginative political alternatives? no, and you could convincingly argue on that basis that its fundamental stance is more self-satisfied snark than anything resembling actual leftist politics. i think, though, that this would be pretty evenly true since day 1, and that, at its best, the writing does hit on some key aspects of how capitalist spectacle functions, the power abuses it creates and enables, and how these things are inherent to capitalism writ large rather than being a unique pathology of the roys or waystar.

ultimately i love to see art that is actually communist / leftist in nature, is interested in alternatives to capitalism and ways out of our current political economic arrangement, etc. 'succession' is not that, clearly. part of the reason i do shit like blog about it is because it used to annoy me so much that no one was connecting certain more radical dots (like the obvious path from the show's historicised thinking -> a critique of capitalism as contingent) that are implied or allowed-for by the writing but never unpacked or explicated. so, often what interests me in the show is at least as much the lacunae left in the writing as the things it explicitly says. again, commie goggles. i also would tentatively agree with you that it's primarily marketed to people who are basically liberal and milquetoast, for reasons of profit motive, although again i honestly take in so little television advertising that i don't have much that's cogent to say about this angle of things lol.

i'm certainly not lying to myself that this show is any kind of radical statement of communist party values—i just also think that there are points of actually interesting satirical critique that the writers are very deliberate about, and that the guardian-new yorker-industrial complex is pretty much inherently going to miss these points or ignore them, for reasons that don't necessarily reflect one way or the other on the actual quality of the writing.

anyway, it was maybe goofy to write this out like an hour before the election episode airs, but these are certainly questions i will continue rotating after i see it lol.

#blood sacrifice

[reasoncourt]

if anyone is wondering why i care about taylor swift discourse it’s genuinely just because i think people lose their point in their hate for her. and they lose perspective.

like she’s actually not the most evil woman in the world. she gives her workers insurance (bare minimum) and good bonuses (she’s mega rich so also bare minimum) and she buys carbon credits (bare minimum but also opens an interesting convo - i.e. how much should we value carbon credits?). she doesn’t use her voice enough imo but she also doesn’t speak out of turn (i.e. she doesn’t pretend to be well-versed and authoritative on topics she has no knowledge in (arguably she should educate herself on certain topics but tbh i’m inclined to view it as a positive that she doesn’t introduce global political issues beyond “trump bad” to her crazy af fan base… like she could do more but i also don’t have much faith in her politics cause she’s so so so out of touch so i prefer the silence)).

an important note here is that i do think she’s absolutely fucked for not condemning the genocide of palestinian people (especially when she’s supposedly close friends with the hadids who are outspoken on the issue and would greatly benefit from her public support (obv she shouldn’t just speak out bc it affects her personal friends but the fact that she isn’t speaking out when she has personal friends is honestly bizarre to me)).

but she's not unique for any of this. she does more than most of her peers and also way less than she should. that's all i see.

and yet ultimately it’s like - people side with kanye when he put a naked wax figure of her in his music video without her consent when she was 25. that situation was obviously misogynistic but people hate her so they largely glossed over it and decided she deserved it for "lying"about a phone call she didn't lie about. people also seem to think it’s funny that football bros are making ai porn of her (arguing she “deserves” it) despite that line of thinking obviously being detrimental to all women and especially those who are so much more vulnerable than her. people got angry at her for donating $250,000 to help with kesha’s legal fees in her case against ‘Dr. Luke’ because they considered it a publicity stunt even though taylor swift wasn’t the one to make that donation public. people called her performative for taking a man to court for sexually assaulting her and only asking for $1. and obviously they would’ve criticised her for asking for more.

the thing that really aggravates me is that there is so so so so so much to criticise her for. but it’s so so so so so obvious that a lot of people just hate her and don’t actually have any legit problem with the things they say they have a problem with. their favs could do the exact same thing and they won’t find any issue with it. cause they just really hate taylor swift and won’t step back a bit in order to just critically think about what their principles are and how those principles apply to this situation with taylor swift and whether they’re actually consistent with those principles and will apply them to someone other than taylor swift.

there are such valid points and important discussions i see being completely missed because the complaint is about Taylor swift and people seem to be incapable of thinking beyond the fact that they just, first and foremost, hate her

and let it be said that this is not a taylor swift defence post. i could not give a single shit about her specifically. i do find her music fun and nostalgic but i also think it deserves more criticism than it gets (but that’s not what this post is about). it’s just that she’s one of the most talked about people in pop culture and i feel like legitimate and productive discourse is rlly hindered by people’s disproportionate focus on her

#sursh.pers #a rant that wasn’t needed probs #i’m genuinely procrastinating #and i know this will be taken as me defending taylor swift #but i’m genuinely not #i just don’t find a lot of the posts criticising her to actually be based on #any coherent principle other than ‘i hate taylor swift’ #which is totally fine - like hate what u want obviously #but i just hate fake activism #idk it’s a pet peeve #like do u rlly care about taylor swift doing x y z or not doing x y z? #or is it just another thing u feel validates ur already hostile feelings towards her? #like people are always talking about the trend where people find something annoying and try to make it a moral thing #rather than admitting that they just find the thing annoying #and i think this just especially applies to taylor swift discourse #because half the time i stg people actually don’t care about the thing they say they care about - they just hate taylor swift #which is fine!!! it’s perfectly valid to hate her. just be honest about it idk sjdjdksksk #like i just beg u guys to actually have coherent and consistent principles that apply to more #than just the people u already hated #idk if this rlly made sense #it’s more a rant i’m writing while not writing my assignment #but ah well

[look-how-they-massacred-them]

Preliminary Poll

Madelyne Pryor

Submission reason:

Maddy is a clone of a huuugely famous and important character, Jean Grey. After Jean tragically dies saving the world, her bf Scott meets this woman Maddy who looks identical to Jean! Weird! But they talk about it and decide they want to be a couple anyway. Maddy starts as a strong, well-rounded character who has no superpowers but is an amazing asset to the team. She and Scott are very in love and get married. WELL this only lasts for so long because Jean is brought back from the dead and Maddy gets completely cast aside. Scott abandons her and then she has to give birth to their child alone on the kitchen floor and he won’t even call her. And then the narrative begins to massacre her. Maddy becomes the “jealous bitch ex wife” of Scott who is “getting in the way” of the Scott and Jean pairing. She’s written as a spiteful, petty, hateful woman who will do anything to bring her ex husband and his new gf down. And then she gets seduced by demons and becomes the Goblin Queen of Hell and tries to sacrifice a bunch of babies. But to be fair it doesn’t work. Also the demons take advantage of her and there are many non consensual undertones. And then she is blamed by the narrrative for going “evil and crazy”. And then they kill her off, and right after she dies Jean claims she wasn’t even a person but just something “stolen” from Jean herself. Even though SHE WAS. Anyway all the x-gays are insane about her.

Propaganda:

I think traumatized women should be allowed to be evil and slutty and kill people sometimes. She deserves it.

#look how they massacred them poll #look how they massacred my girl #madelyne pryor #xmen madelyne #x men madelyne #x men comics #xmen comics #x men #xmen

[night-dark-woods]

15, 21, 23, 24!!

THANK U ECHO this got so long oops.

15. that one thing you see in fanart all the time

hmmm not destiny-specific (i dont have any d2 specific gripes i dont think) & i mostly follow cool gay & trans ppl so this is much less of an issue than in the wider fandom (every so often some Main Fandom Art makes its way to me and i do a full double take) but like. i knowww they are almost all the same character model in-game but can we please get some characters who arent super skinny supermodels in here. please.

21. part of canon you think is overhyped

not to sound like an edgelord but. the traveler. if we can acknowledge that the Darkness isnt ontologically Evil, i think we can (PLEASE) acknowledge that the Light isnt inherently good. and im not talking about the superpowers we get, they've (narrative team) made it quite clear that individuals choose to do what they will with based on their own morals. but the traveler is, imo, positioned as a Morally Good Agent Of The Light far more than the witness is Of The Darkness, and i think we need to talk more about the traveler's agenda!!! again, this complexity isnt completely absent from the narrative, but it doesnt feel like those interpretations are... metatextually supported igss? like zavala's frustration with the traveler leaving feels more like a very christian (as someone who was not raised religious) test of faith that zavala (and the canonical YW) have Passed and will be Rewarded.

where's tevis my best friend tevis. we need more characters with that pov. god is real god resurrected you god gave you a second chance at life with no memories of your past and a guardian angel (a "chattering oversoul," to quote toland) to tell you where to go and who deserves to die and raise you every time you fail just to throw you back into the divine crusade. like. lets talk about that a little more!!!

23. ship you've unwillingly come around to

this is hard bc i am in general very willing to "yes-and" ANYTHING with a hint of chemistry or a fun dynamic. it may not compell me but if you can point out a narrative similarity btwn characters i will almost always be down. unless its one i hate ("hate" being a strong word. really its just the strongest possible apathy) bc i contain multiudes :thumbsup:.

i can't think of a pairing i started out disliking and then changed my mind about due to fandom unfortunately. the closest would be igss that i hate crow/amanda as its written in the text BUT my perhaps controversial opinion is i think transitioning could fix crow specifically the version of crow i have in my head who did not get uldren's memories back. SotL was so good for the overarching plot of d2 but so so so bad for the type of awoken-enjoyer i am & imo the like... thesis statement of what a guardian is lol!

so unfortunately i dont have an answer for this one (i dont think "i like the pretend version i made up in my head" counts as coming around on a ship lmfao), bc you can pair any two destiny women and ill be like yeah for sure! and i have curated my online space well enough that i rarely see any other kind of ship, and when i do its gay men (o14, uldren/jolyon, someone i follow is cooking something with saladin/drifter which is inspired. i love whatever is happening there) which is like cheering absently for a sports team idc about but support on principle.

24. topic that brings up the most rancid discourse

mara. its always fucking mara. literally spent an hour and a half last night rehashing d1 mara-course in a server with someone who has not read any lore. which is fine! thats a fine way to engage with the game! its a valuable perspective! but use i-statements and accept that you are coming to the table with 10% of the facts about the character.

honorable mention goes to anything about redemption arcs (and savathun specifically)- most recently that fuuucking saint killing sav repeatedly lore tab. and if you (general) cant be assed to care about evil women (skill issue, but whatever), thats also backsliding YEARS on saints characterization and i dont even care about saint!!!

so really the answer is misogyny lmfao.

#ask games #planet4546b #thank uuu

[nicnacsnonsense]

My version of a Wicked-style Maleficent would start with the same basic premise of the fae and humans are at war, and Stefan and Maleficent having a romance that ultimately ends with him betraying her so he can become the next king (but we’ll make his future wife the king’s grandniece or something distant like that to make her a weaker contender for heir). Maleficent does become more ruthless and merciless in the war against humans as a result of this interaction, but not full on evil or anything.

One day, a woman is brought before Maleficent after she was caught trying to sneak into the Moors. Maleficent recognizes her as the Queen and is about to sentence her to something brutal when the Queen is like, wait, no, please I need your help to protect my baby!

And Maleficent looks a little closer and yep there sure is a baby bump there. So she tells the guards to let the Queen go and conjures up a tree stump or something for the pregnant lady to sit down on, and then is like Explain Yourself. Why would you come to me for help?

The Queen is like, I didn’t know where else to go. My husband hurt you once; I’ve seen your beautiful wings he keeps mounted on the wall like a gruesome trophy. He hurts me too. And I’m so scared he’s going to hurt our baby.

Of course Maleficent is immediately on the Queen’s side, like stay here with me, Stefan is scum, I’ll protect both you and the baby from him. But the Queen is like no, I have to stay and do everything I can to protect my people, but I need to know my baby is going to be safe. And Maleficent is like I have an idea.

Now is when you get the christening scene, except the whole thing is a show, designed to get baby Aurora out of the castle without any attempts by Stefan to find her and without implicating the Queen. And now Maleficent has the heir and 16 years to come up with a plan to overthrown Stefan once and for all.

This is the women supporting women version of Maleficent we deserve, imo.

#maleficent #maleficent 2014

[margokesses]

I saw this post and tik tok and it reminded me of how weirdly the black widows are written compared to the dora milaje in the mcu. Like yes both groups are powerful and deadly women that can get the job done... but one of them is written better than the other imo.

When it comes to the dora milaje in both black panther movies...the way that they're written feels like they're all women that have a sense of community with each other outside of their jobs.

We see this in the first film when killmomger kills one of their own and okoye screams and they all start jumping killmomger. There's small scenes of this in the 2nd film with okoye, aneka, and ayo. And the way that they all fight as a unit is interesting too. They all have each other's back when the time is needed.

Also even though we mainly focus on okoye as the general of the group, we are able to see small moments of the other dora milaje lives like ayo and aneka. I wish we had more moments exploring them but I can see why they would have to cut those moments down for the runtime.

Now when it comes to the black widows in the mcu...its a different story. We're aware that they were basically kidnapped as children and trained to become assassins in the red room. And we mostly follow nat and yelena during the events of the black widow movie. But what do we know about the other black widows? Do we see small glimpses of them?

We see that they're able to fight together in the scene where nat gets jumped but.... that's about it.

And I know the whole plot of the film was that yelena and nat have to save their sisters from that evil man who's been brainwashed and harming them. Which is fine. But I wish we were able to see more of the other women. Like maybe they were able to get into contact with other black widows who have been able to escape.

Maybe in the scene where they're all saved and sent to stay with the parents...we could see scenes of them consoling each other. Something that shows that they're actually a group of different ppl and not just trained assassins.

Like idk I feel like in the mcu the widows could eventually have become written like the dora milaje where they actually feel like something outside of their jobs. Maybe the mcu will give them a miniseries about their recovery or smthg. Idk but they deserved better writing.

#black widow #black panther #dora milaje #okoye #ayo #aneka #natasha romanoff #yelena belova #marvel #hush ke

[limeade-l3sbian]

i was going to leave it at just the shipping discussion at first, but i decided this bothered me too much, and i need to vent it out. i've had this on my mind for quite some time but i don't know many people into atla who are radfem or adjacent, and i absolutely do not trust anyone outside of radfem circles to not have the most status quo, heteronormative, male-centric, "things are exactly as i first imagined" / "i cannot imagine right or wrong or natural outside of the literal text given to me by the original writers" views on this topic (based on my own experiences with trying to talk about atla with others).

the show would have been far better if zuko were a (gnc) girl and azula were a boy. i know you may be resistant to this because i know you had at least some level of a formative crush on azula, but i'm begging you to hear me out on this one.

aside from the fact it would give a hero role to a fully gnc girl (as opposed to partial, like suki or toph), it just makes sense. zuko not being able to get approval from ozai no matter what, while azula is favored at every stop turns into a matter of familial misogyny, rather than "azula is just naturally better at being evil" (which takes a vaguely eugenicist angle when considering the comics, which say that zuko is probably not ozai's kid, but azula is). it doesn't matter that zuko is older, it wouldn't matter if she were more cutthroat, it wouldn't matter if she were better at bending, it wouldn't even matter if she caught the avatar. a patriarchal dictator like ozai would always favor a son over a daughter.

second, it would make all of the fire nation characters' situations more realistic and more poignant, in general. aside from the aforementioned favoritism towards a son over a daughter, it would make azula's characterization as a violent narcissist who believes (s)he deserves ownership and control over the world make more sense, it would change the context of mai and ty lee standing against azula for the sake of zuko (and each other) into a vaguely anti-feminist situation to a wholly feminist one (i don't ship mai and zuko at all, so the context of being a romantic couple here doesn't really matter to me; it could be motivated by romantic love or platonic love and solidarity imo), it would make zuko and katara's relationship and growth stronger (both of them would have a history of facing near-constant misogyny that served as barricades in the way of the direction they want to take in life), and it would almost completely erase the uneasiness of the fact that zuko was entirely redeemed and azula wasn't redeemed at all (even in the comics), because the real life context of violence and perpetuation of harmful cycles committed by women vs men supports that women can very frequently recover and be redeemed, and men recovering and being redeemable is much less common (because they don't want to).

this is just one aspect of the series i could talk on and on about, by the way, but this post is already too long. as a bonus, though: i believe this minor change would give so much more potential for better lesbian ships than whatever was happening in lok (which i hate for a number of reasons; mainly that it completely destroyed previous worldbuilding and i felt that the plot was just outright stupid in comparison to the original series, and the shipping stuff in that show was sooo...ugh. as i said, a completely different topic i could go on and on about).

OKAY WAIT ANON BECAUSE - AUGH YES WAIT!

It is true that I had a crush on Azula, but I'm almost CERTAIN I would've come out much earlier if Zuko had been the female GNC sibling LMAO.

I think the decision to make Azula the evil one and all that was based on making a good, long term female villain. I think the creators were trying to break a few barriers (which, in many respects, they absolutely did!). But what you're saying would have played so much deeper and allowed so much more insight (canon or otherwise) into this world. I imagine having a GNC daughter would also foster some resentment from Ozai compared to Iroh who has shown in canon time and time again that he's not going to get pressed about a bender's sex (I avoided the rhyme on purpose).

I haven't read the comics so correct me. But to me, Ozai always appeared to be a traditionalist where it benefited him. The topic of gender bias in the series isn't nearly as touched on as they could've gone. And in a way, I understand because it is technically a kid's show and as far as I'm aware, they were constantly on thin ice with Nickelodeon. But goddamn would this have made the whole show just that extra layer of *chef's kiss*.

My basis for Zuko and Katara were the usual points made. But what you said just AUGH ANON YES 😭😭 it would've been amazing! 😭

Talk as much as you want! Leave a whole essay for me to read idc when you're this based. 🫶🏾

#ask

[starrylayle]

The SGE Movie —> Racism, anti-Semitism and More.

^^^

Holy fuck there is so much shit to unpack here it’s not even funny.

Okay, starting with the casting.

Will you guys shut the FUCK up about Agatha being Black. Sofia Wylie’s beginning to see the comments and she even had to make a statement about it. I understand people’s concern over Agatha’s self-image issues being cut out and how, visually speaking, she seamlessly fits in with the Evers. Yes, that part is frustrating — I wish the directors had made more of an effort to make Agatha stand out — perhaps being too masculine, too goth, too scruffy, or etc.

So many of you guys say that the solution to this, to Agatha’s ‘ugly’ arc was too cast a white actress. First of, all those fancasts y’all are choosing are fucking models — so no, the problem is not Sofia Wylie being too pretty, it’s about her being Black.

Second of all, if a non-conventionally attractive woman of colour had been cast as Agatha, I just KNOW there would have been even more racist backlash. Like, idk know what kind of world y’all are living in… but u do realise being white is a big part of the beauty standard? So many women of colour feel ugly just coz they are woc and surrounded by skinny white girls. (btw this is not me saying that white people can’t have self image issues — they def can — but with woc it is more of a racist systemic issue).

Again, just to reiterate, the directors/crew could have made more of an effort to make Agatha stand out, visually and personality wise — like they did when she was in Gavaldon. However, they were too busy making sure that Agatha looked like the pure embodiment of beauty and femininity in every shot, so a lot of that story arc was sacrificed. BUT, as unfortunate as that decision was, it was not because Agatha was Black. Far from it, actually.

Before I move on to the anti-Semitism, I just wanna talk about Anadil’s casting briefly. Would have I preferred for her to be cast by an Albino actress? Absolutely. Albino actors deserve more representation. Look, the casting directors did try, they set out a casting call for teenage actresses with albinism but couldn’t find any. Perhaps an argument could be made that they could have tried harder, which is fair. However, most of the people I see complaining about Anadil’s casting, fancast a white, non-albino actress in place. How is that any better? IMO, that’s far worse — as it would seem like that the casting directors would have gone with what seemed ‘close enough’ and providing zero representation. I’m happy with Anadil’s casting and loved Demi’s performance (wishing she had more lines tbh 😭😭). I hope that in the next movie, now that more people will know about it, they can hire an Albino actress for another role? (Perhaps Princess Uma? That would be cool).

Okay, now moving onto the antisemitism. Why — just why did they do that. In case you didn’t realise, as Sophie was turning into a witch and becoming more ‘evil’, she basically she became an anti-Semitic caricature. This is 2022 — I thought we had left the whole ‘evil is when long crooked nose’. Look, I’m not Jewish, but as some one from a middle-eastern background, I remember watching this moment with my family (who have long crooked noses btw) and we all cringed. This is 2022, why the fuck did they decide keep that anti-Semitic stereotype, I don’t know, but we have to hold the crew accountable.

I don’t know if this was Soman’s decision as I don’t remember it being in the books — however either way they could have easily just made sophie turn old and stuff. (Actually, now that I think about, that could be bordering ageism. Why does evilness have to be depicted through physical appearance anyway? Is there no other way to portray evil? Man, we are really screwed up as a society.)

Anyways — Can we please not be racists/anti-semites/bigots? Please?

#the school for good and evil #sge movie #school for good and evil #sge #agatha of woods beyond #sophie of the woods beyond #representation #the school for good and evil movie #my stuff #racism #sofia wylie #if you were one of those people I discussed #please don’t attack me #just take the time to reflect on why you feel the way you do #anyways #tagatha #just in case #sge movie spoilers

[leohtttbriar]

1, 8, 10, if you want to!! :)<3

<333 yeah i've been called "opinionated" too many times in my life to not want to lol

all of these got soooo long, but i answered them on my lunch break and didn't have the energy for any proper editing so like. just remember you asked. this is on YOU. and i can only hope for a similar level of expostulation in your answers!

the character everyone gets wrong

so i don't think everyone gets her wrong but a lot of people do.

eowyn is in fact precisely concerned about the role of women. she says so. i've seen this popular reading that eowyn is not feminist-girl badass--she's really there to learn a wwi-eque moral lesson about how reknown is not going to cure your depression and so on. and i think that's fairly reductive.

eowyn is aware of her vulnerability. she is losing her protectors one by one. and "reknown" is not, like, the narcissism the other reading is implying. it's an achievement allowed only for those within the male-sphere. it's an implication of power and a sense of responsibility, to answer the vulnerability. like tolkien isn't going to write a character who wants to be sung about and disparage either being sung about the desire to be sung about. the rohan characters he wrote are very inspired by anglo-saxon culture and poetry and eowyn being like "i'm going to hang up my shield now" can mean A LOT of things, including Tolkien just being sexist. what i don't think it means is a condemnation of eowyn's previous desires to begin with. she wants to hang up her shield only after she's secured her place in history. like, as someone who wants to be a keeper of a hall and protect her people, that's an ideal heroic ending for her. idk, that last bit is probably super generous to tolkien but i still think that eowyn is absolutely a character meant to express feminist values.

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

okay i think it's a relatively common opinion that the reason f/f ships and even just female or female-coded characters are less popular than m/m ships and male or male-coded characters is due to big Misogyny. digressed.

but i also think that fandom is bad at understanding male characters, mostly because they are very busy applying an overly-good faith to all of them to the point of fantasy. my unpopular opinion is that this attitude is like when moms love their son or sons the best. my unpopular opinion is that the word "babygirl" applied to any male character is not in fact the transgressive epithet that everyone thinks it is. i opine that actually terms like "babygirl" and "malewife" are ways to emasculate male characters in a specific way that separates us from the very real realness of the kind of masculinity that suffocates shes and theys outside of fandom; while still celebrating how very Male they are. calling a man "babygirl" is not real condescension. it's pure affection. which isn't necessarily wrong. only that affection for men frequently joins hands with empathy, understanding, and impassioned defense. i just can't really get behind the sweetening of male characters--whether that's making them perfect angels in fics and stuff or calling them "my poor little meow meow" as if the media in which they're being portrayed isn't trying it's hardest to get you to feel like that to begin with.

i probably wouldn't care about these definitely funny turns of phrases for dudes of fandom, but there isn't an equivalent term for female characters. and that really annoys me :/

there are also like a few people who use the term "babygirl" in a genuinely transgressive way: like in media where gay-coded villains do something evil and we're not supposed to root for them in any way, for example. i've just seen too many gifs with the words "babygirl" or "malewife" edited over male characters faces who do not deserve that fondness, imo.

10. worst part of fanon

other than the blatant misogyny expressed throughout all fanons in just a variety of ways that only an academic could enumerate...

generally speaking, hate when fanon makes characters like books/music or political opinions that are obviously just an effort to project likeability. like when i said johnny lawrence in cobra kai probably voted republican at least once in his fictional life and quite a few someones were like "that man has never voted." like i get what you're trying to do there. but it's also very very boring to only read about characters who have the exact right opinion about culture and politics.

i think it comes down to the fact that fandom is very fun place to hang out but it also be very absorbing and so people sort of forget about distance. and the distance between "queer-reading" and simply saying this-is-obviously-gay is probably the distance that gets trampled over most. like, it turns into people using things like "toxic masculinity" to prove how interesting their babygirl character is, bc look how repressed, look how sad, look how he needs queer liberation. the power of a queer-reading is its interpretive possibilities, not its potential canonization. along those lines, i think people should call "toxic masculinity" just plan old misogyny. if your masculinity is toxic, ya probably hate womenfolk.

likeability is like the core value of all fanon i have seen and it is boring

#turns out what i hate most about fandom is the women-hating :/ #who've guessed