#it does not feel good especially when people block me for simply posting source links (LOL) or when “popular” users belittle the work | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

losthomunculus · 3 years

Text

Online Safety Relevant to the Current State of the Internet

On twitter I made a tweet about how online safety lessons in school can be very out of touch but that the advice of people who are familiar with the current internet shouldn't be disregarded. So here's my informal collection of online safety tips

Sources: unrestricted internet access since elementary school (not recommended), being a formerly involuntarily home bound person for several years that amassed way too much online experience

This could possibly hold upsetting reminders to people who had bad experiences online including mentions of grooming and emotional manipulation so please proceed with caution!

Information Sharing

Make an online pseudonym for public profiles and websites.

Don’t feel like you have to list everything about you for the world to see.

Sometimes it’s not a question of “can this information be used to locate and identify me irl?”, but simply “do I want this information publicly available and linked to my online persona?”

Unlike offline, being online leaves a constant trail of who you were accessible at all times. People are constantly growing and changing. Try to limit the information you share so you can ditch that trail and start over if need be.

Sharing information with people you make friends with and trust is a judgement call on your part, but always be on the safe side and be protective of your information.

Start as cautious as possible with online safety. Any risks or judgement calls can come later when you are 1. aware of the risks, 2. ready to address them if they occur, and 3. have gathered plenty of information instead of doing something blindly and hoping for the best.

Do not share your triggers publicly, they can very easily be used against you. Instead use websites with a large amount of filtering options to curate your online experience. If you are going to share them, only do it privately with people you trust.

Importance of Boundaries

It doesn’t matter how mature you are, don’t enter age limited spaces you don’t qualify for. It’s disrespectful to the boundaries of the people who made that space. Boundaries like this exist for the comfort of both sides involved.

Just because you can “handle it” doesn’t mean it’s good for you. Desensitization is not something to brag about.

Venting or making r18 posts as a minor on a public account is VERY dangerous. Intense emotional vulnerability is something manipulators will look for as a way to get to you. The same with sexual jokes to develop your comfort talking about those topics casually and eventually escalating the situation. If you are going to talk about such things please keep that in private conversations with people you trust in your age group.

Note the difference between public and private online space. Tweeting something on a public account is not the same as having a conversation in the cafeteria with your friends.

If an adult tries talking to you about r18, run the other way. Doesn’t matter how cool you are, it says something weird about THEM if they’re willing to talk to a minor about that stuff.

If someone( like 3+ years, honestly depends on how old you are) older than you wouldn't be comfortable saying what they're saying to you in front of other people (like a teacher or guardian), that's suspicious as hell. Run in the other direction.

The younger you are, the more age gaps matter. There's a bigger difference in development between a 13 year old and a 17 year old than there is between a 20 year old and a 24 year old. It helps to try to contextualize it with real people instead of numbers. Instead of thinking "oh just 4 years? that's not that weird" consider "oh. that would be like a freshman (13/14) dating a senior (17/18). yikes."

Be just as wary of people your own age talking about things that make you uncomfortable. Just like irl, sometimes you’ll meet people your age that are hurtful.

Friends complain to each other and talk about their issues, that alone is fine. But when people are doing it without permission, draw a line. When people are making it feel like you’re responsible for maintaining their mental health, you need to draw a line. When it starts to effect your mental health, PLEASE DRAW A LINE! I know it feels like your responsibility sometimes, but it’s not. You cannot be there for others if you’re not taking care of yourself first and foremost.

Don’t be afraid to block people. Even for petty reasons. It’s good to block people. Don’t force yourself to see stuff you don’t want to see.

Being Constantly Online

The 24 hour news cycle is not a good thing to follow 24/7. Taking social responsibility is a good thing, but your brain is NOT built to worry about every issue in the world at once. One strategy I use for staying sane is I try to only check the news once a day, and if something needs more attention to set aside an amount of time I’m going to focus on it before I need to take time to step back.

Touch grass. Not literally, unless you can in which case I highly suggest it, sometimes it’s just good to lay in a field. What I mean is you need to dedicate a good portion of your time to being offline (sleep does not count). What your offline time looks like is going to differ depending on your level of ability, but even if you are house bound it’s important to build some hobbies that don’t rely on the internet. Talking to people offline is also a good goal if possible, even just to your housemates.

Social etiquette greatly differs online and offline and sometimes the reminder that were all just Some People gets lost behind the numbers and the fabricated personas. Keep in mind the difference in how information is shared without forgetting that the fact we are all people remains the same.

Be generous with your etiquette. You will avoid a lot of stress if you conduct yourself with the same politeness you would have in an offline interaction. Master the art of "minding your own business" for your own sake.

Arguments and Competition

As soon as you can, you need to internalize the fact that leaving an argument is not losing.

It is inevitable you will be exposed to many people who disagree with you. Some people only want to argue to rile you up. Sometimes that’s not their intention, but it’s what they’re doing. You do not have to remain in conversation with people, especially if they’re not interested in actually coming to an understanding. Even if they are interested, sometimes they just suck!! Leave!! You can leave!!

On that note, sometimes you are going to get valid criticism and it’s going to hurt. That is part of learning. If someone says you messed up and did something hurtful, take a second to step back from your defensiveness and consider: intent ≠ effect. Apologize, repair what you can, and move forward with the ability to do better in the future. You’re going to mess up every once in awhile, it’s inevitable.

To summarize the past two points: don't waste your time on unnecessary hostility but don't close yourself into an echo chamber either. Debates should be about learning.

Sometimes people are not going to like you. This happens offline too but people tend to be a lot more blunt online. Sometimes people dislike you for no reason or for really petty reasons. That’s not your problem, move on.

Don’t actively seek out people you don’t like or who don’t like you to argue with. Whether or not your side is the “right side” doesn’t matter, it’s going to cause you so much unnecessary stress. Feel free to keep posting your opinions on your own profile but don’t seek out unnecessary conflict.

This is a different type of competition than previously mentioned, but be aware of the danger of comparing yourself to other people. Especially if you’re a creative or student, DO NOT GET SWEPT UP IN THE GRIND CULTURE. It’s more subtle in some places than others, but anytime you see the notion that you should be working yourself to the bone be VERY critical. Also be critical of any online cultures (such as gaming and art communities) that brag about unhealthy habits or act like it’s ~part of the culture~ (ex: all nighters, not taking breaks, getting hurt. Any activity that neglects health to work toward a goal).

Not just grind culture, any community of subculture that shares anti recovery sentiments is a huge red flag. Even if they're joking, it's not worth the risk of internalizing those statements.

Everyone’s social media presence is to some degree doctored because it’s a purposefully selected collection of what they allow you to see. It’s fine to like the persona you see being displayed, but never forget that it is not reflective of the entire person. Everyone online is JUST SOME PERSON. Do not forget that and start holding yourself to a standard you can’t even see every side of.

By posting online you are opening yourself to criticism. Whether or not it’s justified can vary, but either way it’s going to happen. Mute stuff, go private, disable comments, etc if you need to.

Misc Tidbits

these are technically just general info that is also good for offline but I have seen things that make me think people online need the extra reminder.

Learn what cults are, how they recruit, and what they do to their members. I'm not kidding. This is particularly relevant at the moment because of current societal unrest and widespread loneliness. No one is immune to cult propaganda, and not every cult is based on pre established religion or family. Many exist ONLINE and are able to manipulate people without ever meeting face to face. (learn more: Loneliness as a Pandemic: The Dangers of Online Cult

Familiarize yourself with the concept of pseudoscience. Please familiarize yourself with the concept of pseudoscience and then learn how to identify pseudoscience. (learn more: Karl Popper, Science, & Pseudoscience: Crash Course Philosophy #8)

Q. How do I know if a source is reliable?

Final Thoughts

It's important people of ALL ages learn these lessons, because the internet is constantly changing and we are all vulnerable when in the presence of other people.

Be cautious and stay safe

2K notes · View notes

alpacaparkaseok · 3 years

Text

Inside “The Pact”

Hello! For those of you that followed along with The Pact, I received a few questions and requests to get an inside look. I’ll link the post here that explains a bit more about what this is gonna be about.

We’re gonna break this down into sections: first will be answering your questions about The Pact & the characters. Then I’ll show you guys a little about my notes & decision making process (which is very obscure because I just tend to keep a hypothetical tab open in my brain most of the time lol) as well as some pictures of my ideas!!

Thanks for requesting such a fun thing to do now that this series is over. It’s been fun to look back!

Q. What song did the boys dedicate to y/n?

A. “Her” || This is a sad song, but I felt like it fit so well with how the boys had to hide a part of themselves (their feelings) away for the sake of the pact!

Q. Did the boys get mad/how did the boys react to Jungkook’s kiss?

A. Jungkook was a little shocked, and felt extremely guilty on the drive back home. He wasn’t sure if he could stand to tell his hyungs, but he also knew he couldn’t lie to them. Naturally, the second he walked in the house and everyone saw his face, they knew. It was just quiet, everybody was a little hesitant to say anything/bring it up because they were all upset. Only Jimin has heard all of the details of JK’s kiss, whereas the others are simply aware that he kissed her and that’s that.

Namjoon was the most upset, although he didn’t say anything. He just sat there on the couch and did the jaw-clenching thing he always does. Yoongi just tried to change the subject and ask about other aspects of the date. Taehyung was actually pretty pissed, especially because he’d been so good about refraining from kissing you even when you’d asked for it. Hobi had a chat with him later that night and calmed him down. Jin wasn’t angry so much as he was worried that he missed his shot & couldn’t stop replaying his date in his head.

Q. Who fell for y/n last?

A. Namjoon. He’d had a little crush, and that’s why he was willing to go along with the pact. But it hit a point less than a year ago when he fell hard and fast. (you called him in the middle of the night when he was on tour and he realized that your sleepy voice is possibly the most beautiful thing he’s ever heard) The boys noticed and as a result teased him endlessly about it, because he doesn’t quite know how to navigate his feelings.

Q. Who did the boys bet on? (We already know that Jimin bet on Yoongi and won lol)

A. Namjoon bet on JK, Tae bet on Hobi, Hobi bet on JK, Jin bet on JK, and Yoongi bet on Jin, and JK bet on Namjoon (because we all know JK would pick Namjoon lol)

Q. Didn’t y/n ever date other guys? How did the boys react?

A. hahaha ok I actually would have such a fun time writing this Yes, she dated around a bit. For the first year of the pact, she had an on again, off again bf. It wasn’t very serious, and she always made that clear to the boys. They still hated the dude. After they broke up, she only went on a few dates here and there. Didn’t really seriously date. (except for that one time she went on vacation and had a fling, but everyone has decided to forget that) They just smiled and supported her, although Tae was always very clear that he didn’t like any of the guys she dated.

Q. In Namjoon’s date, who was the 1950′s author mentioned?

A. Agatha Christie, the queen.

Q. How did y/n meet Jimin? (he was the one that introduced her to the rest of the group)

A. She was a PR intern for Lee Hyun. Jimin and Lee Hyun are close, and they crossed paths fairly often until Jimin decided to invite her to hang out.

Q. What is y/n studying in school?

A. Public Relations (which will honestly come in handy with her new relationship lol)

Q. Where was Jin in the last chapter when y/n came to the studio?

A. Agh how could you ask me this and bring back all that pain?! Jin was at his brother’s restaurant for some much needed R&R. He ended up staying the night with him, not wanting to go home just yet and have to face his decision.

Q. Who would you personally choose to end up with and why?

A. KIM SEOKJIN. Date #5 was basically for me lol. Like, unapologetically wrote that for myself. Not just because he’s my bias, but because I personally felt like I could picture myself chilling on that couch watching Dateline with him. And it was beautiful. 🤧 Also, while Jin can be loud and goofy, he’s an introvert. I’m an extravert with introverted tendencies, so I just feel like his date would have been the most comfortable for me.

CREATING THE PACT - AN INSIDE LOOK AT MY NOTES

First thing’s first, I have an on-going page in my notes on my phone which is FILLED with ideas & half-formed thoughts. Before I began writing The Pact (or even Spooked, for that matter), this happened:

So you can see that I had no idea what I was doing lol, but I thought that it would be cool. Mainly I wanted an excuse to write OT7 and display all the members in a sweet light. Also, we see that not all of these actually made it into the series. (Tae w/ the family)

BUT THEN, “SPOOKED” HAPPENED, AND A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY POPPED UP

ngl, I cracked up when I looked back at my notes and saw this.

“Sweet Gloria what am I doing to myself” 😂😂 this was when I was pushing “Lost & Found” out and planning for Taehyung’s series (which is why so much is blocked out on my notes, because it’s riddled with spoilers lol) so I literally had no idea why I was jumping into another project as I was already super busy. That’s why I scheduled it for just Saturday’s! (and also why I sometimes posted super late at night lol)

As you can see, Seokjinnie’s date was literally always on my mind. From the very beginning. Which is odd, considering the fact that he didn’t end up being endgame. wow it’s like he’s my bias or something

Occasionally I’d take breaks from hw and work on getting to know how the boys were with y/n. Quotes and poetry serve as a great source of inspiration, and I assigned a quote to each member. (notice the little stars by Jin, Yoongi’s and JK’s names lol, they were my top three as I’m sure you’ve noticed by now)

There were a couple of things that I didn’t think of adding until I was reading through your theories and got an idea of what you needed to push the series in the right decision. i.e. bringing Gina back to explain that she closed the door in Spooked.

I have a whiteboard in my room that I use to map out what I need to do that week for whatever series I’m working on (as well as jot down ideas for new series, which I why this photo doesn’t show the whole board haha)

So here’s a peek at my thought process for writing about how the pact was formed. Sorry if you can’t read it haha

NOW, the last few questions you guys had:

Q. Did you ever change your mind while writing the pact?

A. Yes! I actually originally intended for Hobi to have written the note. It fit very well with how angry he was at first and how worried he was during the date. But by the time I'd gotten to Jin’s date I kinda knew that he wouldn’t be that petty but Jin would haha

I also planned on Yoongi kissing y/n on their date. It was supposed to be on a rooftop somewhere, which we know didn’t happen. In fact, I didn’t really intend for their date to be so disastrous until I was coming closer to having to write it. I think I was a mess, so the date was a mess lol

I had no idea what I was doing for Tae’s date until I wrote it, all I knew was that there had to be a museum. The rest I just made up as I wrote and hoped that it made sense. (also, for some reason I hated the museum portion of the date. Idk why, but it just felt so stark to me. still don’t like it lol)

Q. When did you know how it was going to end?

A. That’s a....difficult question lol. Honestly, I thought of just doing an audio recording and uploading it because it I didn’t really know how to put it into words, but then I realized that most people probably wouldn’t wanna listen to that lol. So here we are.

I had the ending scene in mind before The Pact even became a thing. I knew I had a series that I wanted to end with baking cookies. (weird, I know.) It didn’t exactly go how I planned, but I remember having the thought while writing Spooked (when I thought I was just writing a one shot) that it would be nice for y/n to be with Yoongi. I just instantly felt like they had a connection, when he was the first one she went toward. From then on out, I always kinda kept Yoongi in the background.

I had a crisis about halfway through (right before Jin’s date) when there were a bunch of people rooting for Tae, because he hadn’t even been on my radar. But then Jin’s date went much better than I thought it was going to/received better, so I think that got me back on track.

But from the beginning, Yoongi was #1. (I wrote this in the back of my Career’s notebook lol) when I was trying to figure out for myself who wrote the pact.

So yeah! There you have it! Just an FYI, I had to physically restrain myself from throwing caution to the wind and making Jin endgame. Especially when so many of you were on board. :( However, the survey helped because Yoongi was the majority of votes (closely followed by Jin & JK) and that showed me that we were still on the right track!

Ngl, my brain stopped working around Wednesday of last week, so writing the finale took FOREVER because nothing would compute. But I’m so happy you guys enjoyed it and reached out to me about it! This really is like a part-time job most days, and I really felt like this series paid off.

Hopefully I covered everything! To end, here's the most satisfying part of every project for me:

Thanks guys!

#the pact stuff #b:rants #about me #bts fluff #bts dating au #ot7 bts #bts x reader #ot7 bts x reader

90 notes · View notes

storiesungaa · 3 years

Text

mobile rules & information

Since people don’t read rules all the way through i would like to preface this by saying: TRIGGERING MATERIAL WILL BE WRITTEN HERE. THIS INCLUDES BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO: INCEST, DUBCON, SUICIDAL IDEALATIONS, CHEATING, AND ANYTHING ELSE I WANT TO WRITE. BY CLICKING FOLLOW, YOU AGREE TO BLACKLIST THE TAGS PROVIDED IN THE FORM OF (trigger here) tw. DO NOT FOLLOW ME IF YOU THINK FICTION EQUALS REALITY OR IN ANYWAY HAS ANY REFLECTION ON A MUN’S MORAL STANDING.

HATE WILL NOT BE TOLERATED AND ANY ANON’S I GET ABOUT THIS THAT IS HATE WILL BE BLOCKED/NOT AT ALL ACKNOWLEDGED.

THANK YOU.

about: this is an indie mutuals only rp blog for a multimuse with various fandoms from tv shows, movies, anime, and video games. mun is 25+, genderfluid lesbian, goes by he/him pronouns (but i am genderfluid so i don’t mind she/her pronouns, most just call me he/him) online and name Jay. Previously known as Ares and Snow.

Callout culture: Do not involve me in this. Period. I want no part of it and will block as soon as I see it, tagged or not. I believe it does more harm than good and something like tha is extremely harmful..

content: there will be some pretty heavy material featured here. such as suicidal thoughts, mentions of rape, incest, and anything else I want to write. I will not tolerate hate being sent to me about this and I will block anyone who tries to police me. The only hard limit i have and absolutely refuse to write is pedophilia.

Don’t ever be afraid to ask me to tag something!

side note: if you believe fiction equals reality, please don’t follow me.

discord: is open to those who follow me. simply ask for it. i do not write on discord though. ooc contact is highly encouraged!

disclaimer: i'm in no way affiliated with any of the actors, fandoms, or characters on this blog. Banners, promos, and icons belong to me. Theme was made by inkfated. all screencaps used to turn into icons on this blog are not mine and belong to their rightful owners. Lara Croft screencaps come from soulcluster. tsunade icons belong to hellspath. rectangle tsunade icons belong to me. Some psds are not mine. Credit to iconholic for Red Velvet psd. Credit to plutocommissions for psd 183 - wild. some psds used are made by rivercraze

Drama: There won’t be any. I’m too old for tumblr’s drama, if you try to start something, make me choose, or drag me into drama - you will be blocked.

DNI’s will get you blocked. I don’t agree with making people choose between people when there are things like blacklist and tumblr’s own filtering system to help you avoid a person

Hate: Character hate, show hate, etc will get you unfollowed. I don’t have time for that negativity, pls tag it so I can filter it out, thank you.

IMs: pls refrain from sending me multiple messages all at once as I’m autistic and it sends me into sensory overloads!!

follow/unfollowing: i usually follow back pretty quick. if i don't follow within a week, i'm probably not going to follow back. 9/10 i do follow back. i will not follow if i see vaguing, callouts, or any sort of drama on blogs. i also will not follow any under the age of 18.

if i’ve been following you for a month and you don’t interact with me within that time limit, I’m unfollowing. I won’t soft block because I’m totally okay with people still following me but I don’t see the point in following if we’re not gonna write.

If I do not follow you back, do not message me asking to write or become mutuals - you will be blocked.

If I block you, do not come to me asking why. It will only get you blocked all over again. Do not ask why i’ve unfollowed you, either.

DO NOT FOLLOW ME IF YOU’RE A MINOR.

side note: if you’re the type to blindly believe a callout because that’s what everyone else is doing save yourself the trouble and don’t follow me.

Memes: Send as many as you want for as many muses as you want just be sure to specify muse or they’ll get deleted! Always feel free to turn meme answers into threads, too.

Do not use me as a meme resource. Send something in or reblog from the source, please.

note: if you send memes multiple times and there’s clearly a way to continue them, ESPECIALLY if we’ve never interacted before, and you keep sending memes but have NO INTENTIONS on replying to them, I will be less likely to respond to them. memes, in my eyes, are used as alternatives to starters. if you don’t respond to them after i’ve responded to quite a few, that’s me putting work into it for no reason really, so yeah.

My triggers: Sharks. That’s it. Just tag pictures of sharks for me please

nsfw: smut will be present here. i can not play the dominant party in smut, please don't ask me too. if you don't feel comfortable with it, we can fade to black, easy peasy. i won't make myself uncomfortable for some smut. All muses involved in smut or ships are 18+. If you think that aging them up is pedophila, do me a favor and get off my blog. Smut may happen with aged up characters but that does not mean it was done specifically for smut. Do not assume.

OCS: I love them. Send them my way, please!

OOC: I post ooc, sometimes quite a bit, sometimes rarely. I am human and I will act as such. I will not tag ooc posts mostly bc i’ll forget. Sorry if that bugs people but like i said, I’m human and I like to write things down and share things with the dash.

OOC note: please do not flirt with me or ask me to date you, thank you!

Shipping: all muses are LGBT+ in some shape or form so if you want to ship, just let me know. They’re pretty open to anyone, though gay and lesbian muses will stay gay and lesbian. I ship toxic pairings and incest so if that’s your cup of tea, just lemme know, and we can work something out if not? That’s alright too!!

As previously stated, all ships and smut scenes are involved with characters 18+. I will never under any circumstance write something with underage characters. Characters, however, can be aged up but are never simply just for the sake of smut. Smut may happen with aged up characters but that does not mean it was done specifically for smut. Do not assume.

wait time: sometimes i can take months, sometimes seconds, sometimes days. I’m not a fast rper, please respect this.

writing: i generally prefer writing multi-para or novella. one-liners or one-paragraphs usually end up getting dropped or made into much longer threads as i have absolutely no chill.

edit: from now on any drafts that are below three paras will be deleted, i don’t have muse for short things.

End note: Do me a favor and like this post if you’ve read my rules. Not needed but deeply appreciated. Also below you’ll find important links:

MUSES & NAVIGATION & MUSE INTEREST CHECKER & SHIP INTEREST CHECKER & COMMISSIONS INFORMATION & MOBILE MUSE LIST & THREAD TRACKER

#mobile rules

64 notes · View notes

griimhilde-a · 3 years

Text

if you know, you know.

——— a response to those who refuse to move on.

EDIT: after some encouragement and realizing that, while i tried to be respectful and private about this situation, i was not given the same treatment, i’ve decided to be upfront and filterless. here is a link to my page of receipts that i did not provide in this post.

i would like to point out that when i made the DNI, it was buried and sandwiched in my super long rules purposely so that it wasn’t explicitly visible and drawing attention. it was specifically put there for mutuals to understand my boundaries for the new blog, and as soon as i moved blogs, my guidelines underwent heavy reconstruction and the DNI section was removed overall ( i don’t like DNIs for myself ), as well as on this blog. all statements made in the DNI were what i felt to be true and based off of not only my experiences, but others’ as well, backed up with evidence i have saved that i didn’t feel the need to provide because it wasn’t meant to be a big deal, but i also felt i needed to explain why this person was on a DNI and that it wasn’t done out of malicious intent. again, if something sounds bad it is because “bad” things were done and i can’t control that.

reading the call-out had me ( and others ) confused on where it was i had bullied her, when i had her blocked since november, where it was i had manipulated her, and so forth. i’m always wanting to be a better person, so i was extremely confused on where i had done anything wrong. i also didn’t appreciate my new blog url being attached to it as it had nothing to do with it and i was trying to move forward, and it read very much like an attempt to blacklist. despite everything, i never wanted it to be a spectacle. the pinned, public call-out by this person doesn’t read to me as someone wanting to move on, but wanting to drag things further. this is not a call-out post, this is me defending myself. i will not name drop. if you know who this is about, i ask you just read this to understand the full story.

this is going to be a long boi ( i really tried to keep it short but alkfjdklfksldf nope ). i would also like to apologize for any dryness here, but i am aiming to just state facts as they are. it feels ---- ridiculous writing this all out because it’s something that could and should have been handled privately. but, here we go !!

everything on the DNI is true. i will not post or reveal the sources because one, they are not my stories to tell, and two, i am not going to give her the excuse to bother them. they deserve to be safe, and i am walking proof of what happens when you speak out against someone like her. if i have to bear that burden, then so be it.

it stopped being about “just a url” a long time ago. it became more about how i was treated in that interaction, and how i was continued to be treated afterwards. not to mention the increasing tension within the rpc and having to second-guess whether or not i was truly wanted. it was about how it was affecting those around me, my time in a hobby i love, and my mental health. the amount of times a mutual has tagged me by accident when they meant to tag her is insane. it most definitely did not feel good !!! if that kept happening, it was a problem. i also had to shut off the anon feature because of the amount of anons i was receiving. some had good intentions, but others had resorted to hate.

regarding the messages on discord --- i stand by them. i thought if you were friends with someone on discord and have previously talked over time, it was okay to message, otherwise what was the point of discord? i didn't realize it would make her uncomfortable to do so, and i’m more careful about how i approach people now !!!

regarding the messages: there was no change in tone other than that i grew exhausted and extremely anxious ( shaking !!! palms sweaty !!! knees weak !!!! mom’s spaghetti !!! ) and wasn’t in the proper mindset to sound happy while i was being invalidated to my face. i have even apologized there if i came off as mean. i don’t “present myself” in a way. that’s just how i talk, i prefer communicating one-on-one and i try to alleviate tension that arises no matter what because these types of conversations aren’t always a walk in the park. i wanted things to be good and not stressful for all parties involved. i’m sorry my tone came off as insincere. after being in desc rpc for a year, i was a little surprised seeing a near-identical url so i think it was fair for me to message her about it. she made the decision use it, and i was allowed to react. it was said misspellings in urls made her anxious so i wanted to help and i was shot down and vilified, essentially told i made her feel unsafe and shouldn’t have messaged. if it wasn’t okay to claim i felt “unsafe” and “paranoid”, why was it okay for her to claim the same based on a choice she made herself, but not me to feel anxious about those choices?

i have never told a blog to block her. i have never initiated conversation about her, nor have i spoken negatively about her as a person. ever. i have, in fact, even stated that i didn’t want anyone blocking and that it would be okay to interact. here’s one example after i was approached about her. i cannot control what other people do.

hardblocking her on my end was to avoid seeing her on dash as much as possible.

i am allowed to softblock / unfollow people who interact with her after months of trying to be okay with it. what kickstarted this process was someone i thought was a close friend had dropped me and suddenly i realized i didn’t need to sacrifice my comfort for the sake of keeping a mutual. if they could do it, so could i. while i adore the descendants rpc, the rpc is not a family, we’re not obligated to interact IC or be mutuals with every single person in the rpc. it’s not causing a rift when we don’t interact on dash. i have even emphasized that i would love to stay in contact via discord and write there if possible !! why am i being vilified for trying to make my blog a safe space for me?

regarding the “vagues”: they were all responses. a mutual wrote the post, i reblogged it, my tags were in response to the post ( said mutual’s url wasn’t even blocked out so ... ). if it felt like a vague, i can’t control that. the meaning behind the url post was circulating on dash, i didn’t see any vaguing in it other than me recounting my process of choosing this url, which was true ( was i not allowed to participate?? ). the shrek meme was in response to a public dash event ( which i originally thought was a joke ) that had received copious amounts of criticism for. it wasn’t a vague and it was explicit on what it was referring to, it was meant to be silly dash commentary, nothing deep.

this is in my rules but i have explicitly stated that my headcanons about my characters are not a vague if they differ from yours. the talk about hair styles was actually initiated in a conversation with my friends in private. it had absolutely nothing to do with her. if it sounded like a drag, i encourage everyone to look at how i’ve “dragged” many other things including the original outfits for descendants, evie thinking mermaid dresses are ugly, evie not liking wine, and so forth. my portrayal of evie =/= other portrayals of evie. while she may never do so-and-so, it doesn’t make it wrong for another portrayal to do it. ( why was my blog being kept tabs on and compared with, in the first place? that’s not duplicate friendly ).

regarding sex week: i've stated it was an inappropriate event because the descendants rpc had been heavily criticized for smutting and felt it wasn't the best response, nor was it the best way to promote sex positivity. it was insanely uncomfortable to witness, as someone in this rpc. it doesn’t matter if the people or the muses involved were adults, i would still call it inappropriate had it happened in any other rpc. it wasn’t a “block and move on” situation. i’m also allowed to defend myself because i didn’t want to be associated with something she posted. i didn’t want it tied to my url. i would like to clarify that when i said "embarrassing" in the responses under that anon, it was directed at the anon for misreading the url, nobody else. ostracizing occurred when the descendants rpc was being added to DNIs because of sex week / smutting, which was posted by this person ( if you post it, you start it. simple ). i had been blocked simply because i am a descendants blog and that had never happened before.

i was also notified that people uninvolved with this have been namedropping me on dash in an attempt to have me “written off” ( their words, not mine ) because my rules stated that i was open to exploring evie’s sexuality. below is a screenshot of my rule regarding smut. i deleted the rules page from this blog when i moved so i snatched it from my other canon descendants blog that i reuse on all blogs. the second is my elaboration on sexual content in my new evie rules. the third is what’s on my google doc, a condensed version of my rules. there is a major difference between smutting and posting a public dash event dedicated to sex versus being open to explore sexuality as a topic. they are not the same. also, me not choosing to smut does not dictate my opinion on smut, so do not make assumptions about that either. if you want to move on, why are you still talking about me on dash, especially when unprompted? if you just want to move on, why are you upset that i’m not “written off”?

this person has vagued me multiple times ( which they conveniently did not show in the call-out ), this person has been shown to talk badly of me in private ( and now, publicly as well ) ---- all of which i have not done. i have screenshots sent by others to show for it, but do not feel it’s relevant to share because this is not about her. this is just about defending myself.

i have spent three months apologizing for feeling things, apologizing for reacting, apologizing for things i should not have been apologizing for. i have spent so long accepting blame because i felt it would help. i’m done doing that. i know what i did and what i didn’t do. people know what i did and didn’t do.

all in all, i am confused on why a call-out was made when the content provides nothing other than catty remarks meant to air out personal drama. the messages exchanged only show how i tried to remedy things. the screenshots of my “vagues” were just responses, and most of which had nothing to do with this person. my initial silly dash commentary and later discomfort over a sexual dash event posted by this person is not a vague.

if you ( referring to maker of the call-out and others who partook ) are upset about people not talking about me in regards to the “rest of the call-out”, maybe consider the fact that there was nothing about me in it that warranted a call-out in the first place. people saw that i did nothing wrong. the only thing of substance in the call-out was something the maker themselves did : the public, sexual dash event. people are allowed to identify that as a more prominent issue as opposed to how my messages or public posts could be perceived through basic, biased narrative manipulation.

me deciding to unfollow / softblock blogs that interact with this person =/= involving the descendants rpc or making it public. i am allowed to softblock whoever i want to cultivate my dash experience. most people i know have it in their rules that they are okay with people softblocking for their comfort and that it won’t be taken personally. you know what IS making it public and involving the entire descendants rpc? this person messaging a descendants server and name dropping me in the server, reducing the situation to just being about a “url” and publicly announcing it in the server. here are the facts to consider: her message was sent jan. 21. my DNI went up feb 2.

so, regarding the call-out: there was no bullying, no manipulation, no harassment, no gaslighting, nothing from my end, and the call-out shows precisely that the claims are just that: claims. whatever was felt is valid, but feelings =/= gravity of the actual action itself - the most common thing pointed out in therapy: feelings are valid, but are they justified? call-outs should be reserved for people who cause actual harm, not because someone wants an excuse to blacklist. if i am a “bully” for unfollowing blogs for my own comfort, then i think the rpc really needs to reevaluate what these terms mean because the misuse is harmful.

here are the things i did do: treated everyone i talked to with respect. approached things civilly. communicated. tried to accommodate for others. attempted to make a safe space for myself. did not involve the entire rpc by announcing it in a server. did not make a call-out post nor pin it. did not continue to name drop afterwards despite claiming to want to move on.

this entire situation is absurd and should have never been public, much less made a call-out for !! while this was meant to defend myself and state facts, i understand it may not change minds. a friend has told me that people will hate me because they want to hate me, no matter what. and i can’t do anything about that !! all i have to say is that holding hate in your heart never ends well. i hope everyone can find peace at some point.

so please, let me move on. let me write with my friends. let me unfollow / softblock people to keep my dash comfortable. let me take a break from descendants while also having the choice to return at anytime. please stop talking about me when i’m not even giving this another thought and haven’t since i moved blogs. please stop name dropping. stop keeping tabs on me, stop stalking my new blog. please leave me alone. i hold absolutely nothing against anyone i may have softblocked / unfollowed or am not currently interacting with on my new blog. my IMS / discord is always available, you will not be violating my safety by messaging me, everyone is welcome, but i also understand if you feel the need to separate yourself !!! as for those of you who have interacted with the call-out post, i wish you the best but i hope you understand why i do not want to interact with you by any means in the future.

i’m hoping this post lays everything to rest, seeing as my first one did not. honestly, what are you trying to prove if you still have to post about this? it helps nobody. this back-and-forth is exhausting and unneeded. no more. let’s be better people, yeah?

i hope everyone takes care of themselves, i hope you all have a great day / night !!! thank you for reading this long boi !!

#this is a long boi.#thank u to everyone who's offered their support these past few days!#i refuse to let people push me out with baseless claims !!!#so here are all the facts #i really don't want to talk about this anymore but if u need proof of the things this person has done u can msg me #otherwise. this ends here.#pls don't reblog!

64 notes · View notes

jedi-order-apologist · 4 years

Text

A Refutation of Telltale’s “Is the Jedi Order a Cult?”

I was directed to this video that claims that the Jedi Order is a cult during a discussion on reddit earlier, and while the person who linked it respectfully asked to end the discussion we were having, I figure the video is worth addressing on its own, separately from that discussion. So I’ve cleaned up the points I made over on reddit and stripped out the stuff relevant to that conversation, to explain just what I took issue with with this video.

To the video-maker’s credit, he does acknowledge that the Jedi are presented as correct within the narrative of the films. Having run into one too many “the point of the prequels was the flaws of the Jedi” across the Internet, I have to say it’s refreshing to see Jedi-critical arguments made without that assumption.

I still disagree with pretty much all of the points made in the video, and found it to be uncharitable, blatantly incorrect at times, and almost completely lacking in concrete examples and evidence of his claims, but he has a right to his own interpretations, especially in that he acknowledges that they’re not the intended takeaway. But I hope that my response will show that it’s not something actually reflected by the source material, and that the Jedi are not actually a cult, even setting aside creator intentions.

Disclaimer – I’m not familiar with this video-creator’s other work, but from what’s said in the video, it does seem that this isn’t his usual kind of material, and that he intended this as “lighthearted” video. With that in mind, its lack of robustness and misinformation is forgivable – this response is mostly meant as something for me (or you, if you want) to point to the next time someone brings this video up to support their position, not as a criticism of this video-creator or his work in general. If you choose to engage with the video directly, please be kind.

He begins his arguments by claiming that the Jedi erase people’s identities by having them block their emotions completely - this isn't true; what we see the Jedi say is "be mindful of your feelings" (Mace Windu, TPM), and "don't let your personal feelings get in the way" (Obi-Wan, AOTC), and "don't let your feelings cloud your judgement" (several times). All of that requires acknowledgment of one's emotions and dealing with them appropriately.

He then claims that those who leave are shunned - this is again, blatantly untrue. For instance, at the beginning of AOTC, Dooku is still spoken of highly long after he has left the Order - the Jedi are reluctant to even entertain the idea that he could be behind the attack on Padmé. The Sith are for one thing, not necessarily ex-members of the Order, and for another, they’re "shunned" because they're going around torturing and murdering people, not because of heretical views on the Force. We see in TCW that the Jedi Order co-exists peacefully with other Force traditions, even dark-sided ones like the Nightsisters.

Another claim he makes is "There aren't any checks and balances for the Jedi Council", which is again, untrue - the Jedi are accountable to the Senate, and, if anything, that arrangement is skewed in favor of the Senate, because the Senate is not truly accountable in turn. The Jedi Council is ultimately pressured into decisions against its will, especially as the war goes on – most notably, Anakin’s appointment to the Council in ROTS.

He is critical of the Jedi taking in children, but the same can be said of any adoption - simply taking in children is not, in of itself, cult behavior, or else every adoptive family is a cult. The approach the author of this video takes to this category is too broad and does not adequately establish how to distinguish cults preying on children from healthy child-rearing.

He then claims that Jedi are expected to obey unquestioningly – but I disagree that this is evidenced in the source material. The Jedi are expected to respect their elders but we don't see harsh punishment for disobedience or dissent, merely disapproval. For instance, the most trouble Qui-Gon, as a noted maverick, gets is some exasperated side-eye. Similar to the previous claim, the approach the author takes is too broad and doesn’t distinguish a cult’s expectation of obedience from a parent’s expectation of obedience.

He claims that the Jedi control clothing and hairstyle - this is misleading at best. While the padawans all are expected to wear the braid, the hairstyle isn't set beyond that (many species don’t even have hair!), and even with the Jedi sporting a traditional outfit, we see their robes and tunics come in many different shades and colors. Some forgo the traditional robes all together, such as Ahsoka Tano, Luminara Unduli, Aayla Secura, some of them even wearing the ornamentation of their homeworld cultures on top of that (again, Ahsoka, Luminara, and Barriss Offee, and Depa Billaba, and Shaak Ti...).

Sith are, again, not ex-members as the video-author implies, and again, the issue with them is the torturing and murdering and enslaving people, not simple philosophical differences. The Jedi are perfectly allowed to speak with outsiders and presumably critics of their Order; they just don’t want to let a bunch of genocidal despots have their way with the galaxy. The video also makes an unfair assumption that Jedi can't get information from outside sources; there is no evidence for this – in fact, we see in AOTC that Obi-Wan turns to an outside source when he can’t get the results he wants from the Temple droids, and even trusts that outside source over contradicting information coming from within the Temple’s information base (i.e., the existence of Kamino – he does not simply accept that Kamino doesn’t exist, he seeks further wisdom on the matter).

The video-author completely omits the fact that Palpatine is arrested not merely because of being "on the dark side", but because the man had orchestrated a war for his own sake and was attempting to turn the Republic into a dictatorship under his control. That is a very good reason to arrest someone.

Regarding the good versus evil section - first of all, the Jedi in the first six films never once refer to "the light side". Not once. I don’t recall if it came up in TCW (aside from the beings on Mortis, but they are not Jedi), either. Luke does refer to the "good side" in the OT but his teachers don't call it that. This point also goes against the visual metaphors that Lucas makes use of: “Color plays an extremely important part. The bad guys exist mostly in a black and white world; the good guys live in an organic world of browns and greens. Philosophically the bad guys live in an absolute world of black and white, where the good guys live in a more naturally nuanced world.” - George Lucas, the Making of ROTJ. The Jedi’s belief system is more nuanced than “this is good” and “this is bad”, and their rules and Code are not purely about morals.

The video goes back to the identity thing – but as I've already said, several Jedi are seen wearing the garments and ornamentation of their birth cultures. They also keep their birth names, and seem to value names highly given how they approach the clone troops under their command. Here’s a good post going into that even more.

The "Code" and swearing-in ceremonies he cites are not used in the films or TCW. I’m not sure where the swearing-in is sourced from, either, and the “Code” is a meditation mantra.

The things the Jedi say are not to stop complex thought – his example of Obi-Wan even at once point telling Anakin to “use the Force! Think!”, indicating that he would like for Anakin to think things through – he echoes this later in ROTS, trying to get Anakin to consider the Chancellor’s suspicious behavior. There’s also the fact that the way Yoda speaks is by George Lucas's own words, designed to get people thinking about what Yoda is saying.

Comparing meditation to hypnosis is...completely uncharitable.

And again with the emotions thing - at no point are any emotions labeled evil, nor do they avoid them - they are expected to be mindful (i.e. cognizant) of them, and to not let those emotions rule their actions. There is nothing to indicate that their teachings are the most uncharitable and extreme interpretation you can take from their words (as this video does) instead of a reasonable and healthy approach to self-control that is actually valuable psychologically.

His final claims repeat the earlier claim of “shunning” - again, there is no evidence for this behavior towards non-believers, especially as we see them having friends outside the Order. And at no point does anyone say that there is no happiness outside of the Order.

I hope I addressed all his points and sufficiently explained why they don’t match up with what we see in the source material. If you want further reading on how the Jedi actually function, with robust sources, I recommend checking out @gffa’s reference guide for the current continuity. There is also my “in defense of the jedi” tag, which collects my and others’ meta posts on the Jedi, their philosophies, and actions.

#in defense of the jedi #the jedi order #jedi order #the jedi #jedi #discussion #the jedi are not a cult

449 notes · View notes

severelynerdysheep · 4 years

Text

Hiya @yellow-lemon-lime I absolutely respect that you blocked me form replied to the Zoos post, but since I did spend a fair bit of time responding to your last response I do want to post it anyway since it does include answers to some questions you asked pre block. I’m just gonna paste it down below and feel free to pop into my inbox anytime if you want to discuss the issue anymore.

I do tend to try and include information relating to the US when I talk about these issues since the majority on Tumblr are from the US. But no, ive only ever been their once myself.

“ And ZOOs do need to make sure their animals are being treated well. I definitely agree with anyone on that.”

The problem is that simply living captive in a Zoo is actively detrimental to the animals, no matter how “high welfare” the Zoo it. And since there is no reason why Zoos need to be in existence, far from it. There is no justification for these places to still be in existence no matter how “high welfare” they claim to be. You only have to look at Zoochosis which is a standard condition faced by animals captive in the worst to the “best” Zoos.

“Any zoo that has its main focus on entertainment rather than conservation and education is not a good place for animals to be. Animals should be able to thrive.”

Again, this simply is not a reality of Zoos. Zoos usually raise money in three ways: taxes/government support, wealthy individuals and organizations, and earned revenue from ticket and merchandise sales. As a result, amusement is a vital function of zoos because people want to be entertained sand If a zoo wishes to remain financially sound it must cater to the people, which always comes to the detriment of the animals. A zoo is nothing more than a business in the sense that it that must remain profitable to remain open. And like all business based on animal exploitation, the animals always suffer. And we cannot forget that the reality is that if conservation is the goal, more effective methods include tackling habitat loss and climate change, investing in conservation programs in the wild, education, working with local communities, seriously addressing poaching etc. Zoos are not necessary for conservation, far from it the money could be so much better used helping conserve animals without exploiting them to the detriment of their mental and physical wellbeing.

In regards to the link to a response to the great article form @acti-veg. First I think its important to note that almost all of the the sources used to defend the existence of Zoos are from Zoos themselves. Its also important to recognise that the response doesn't actually dispute many of the claims made in the article (the issue of surplus animals being one example) but attempts to defend the issues by accusing any concern over these issues as being the anthropomorphising of these animals rather than just the recognition of them as sentient beings who shouldn't be exploited/murdered.

“An animal can be a city’s shared pet, or it can be a quasi-agricultural team member whose work is to be seen and to breed and, perhaps, to die young.”

This is disturbing stuff.

And when trying to defend Zoos on the basic of education, which isn't a justification for keeping these animals captive. The sources used to back up this defence are either sources saying that visitors are simply more likely to visit again, use very unreliable methods of reporting the educational effects of Zoo presentations on visitors, or are from Zoos themselves. Yes, this person is right that most people in studies generally will give the opinion when asked that Zoos teach people (children especially) how to protect animals and their habitats and a great places of education, this is not the case. And in reality, viewing captive animals in zoos only teaches people how animals react to boredom, depression, and stress in captive situations. Heck the sources themselves used in the response to the @acti-veg article admits that the most effective methods of education in zoos come via presenting videos, documentaries, interactive modules, graphic displays, and computer simulations. which all show animals in their natural environments and do not require any animals to be kept in zoos.

And I’m very happy to talk in more depth about the response to this article of you want though. Its a pretty iffy response.

“ Small question I forgot to ask. What’s wrong with some of the animals being fed to other animals? “

Do you mean animals that were never exploited (i.e. kept captive) and died of natural causes, say a bird you find in the woods. Or do you mean exploited animal who are murdered for the purpose of feeding them to other exploited animals? Its a pretty broad question with different answers depending on what you mean specifically by the question.

Also always agree with the no hate request.

#zoos #zoo #captive animals #animals in captivity #animal welfare #animal exploitation

4 notes · View notes

pumpkinpaix · 5 years

Note

You do realize that not allowing Wei Ying the ability to just freely be a bottom, and hell, even a little feminine is being problematic in itself, right? Acting like either of those are shameful things for a man to be, just because he's in a relationship with another man, is gross. Acting like they absolutely HAVE to switch to fit some standard that women or non gay men feel the need to hold them to is not being politically correct. It verges closer to being fetishizing. Not trying to be mean js

hello anon! i assume you’re referring to this post of mine (and potentially also the linked post within? though that one is more specifically about translation, so maybe not).

if so, i have to admit I’m… a little confused? i’m not sure where i said or implied any of the things you’re talking about, but i still want to address your accusations thoughtfully since they’re important things to consider.

if it wasn’t clear, i was only trying to explain my personal discomfort with assigning a fixed sexual role to wei ying (though this goes both ways—i would have said the same thing about lwj had the question been reversed) due to its complicated position within a larger cultural context. i say in that post that I don’t have this problem with a ship like crowley/aziraphale from good omens specifically because saying “aziraphale is a top” (or “crowley is a bottom”) simply isn’t as politically charged as saying that about wei ying or lwj because of how each ship relates to the source material and the cultural context that surrounds them.

good omens, while not a perfect show (i’m going showverse specifically bc i haven’t read the book in a long long while), makes a lot of concerted effort to be queer-friendly and is clear about its queer-friendly intentions, both publicly stated by the creative team and shown through its narrative choices. i’m generally familiar with current queer theory in the west, and i feel safer and freer to headcanon and write whatever i want because i’m not as concerned about the political statement my personal thoughts and choices re: a fictional character is going to make in relation to canon.

mdzs/the untamed is not that. we can argue about it all day, but i can’t in good faith really imagine either was written or made with real queer people in mind, given what i understand about queer rights on the chinese mainland, and also specifically about how queer people (mostly mlm) are portrayed in genres like BL. so i, personally, feel that i want to be careful about how i position myself with regards to that. if i decide wei ying only bottoms, like is implied in the mdzs novel, how does that read? what, if anything, am i implying about real mlm? regardless of my intentions, i don’t think i can escape all the cultural baggage that comes with it. the personal is political, as they say. alas!

does that mean that i think wei ying HAS to switch? no!! but by that same token, i don’t think he HAS to bottom either! what i want is to promote more respectful diversity in the way a character like him can be portrayed or headcanoned when the original text is so thoughtlessly restrictive, so that maybe in the future i would feel fine about writing/headcanoning him as anything i want without getting bogged down with all of this. that’s the dream, are you kidding me?? respectful portrayal of a bisexual chinese character that i personally love??? of course i have intense personal stake in that lmao, how could i NOT. on that note, regarding your first point, i can’t “dis/allow” wei ying anything because wei ying is, again, a fictional character who has no agency and whom i cannot personally ask about his preferences. none of this has anything to do with respecting him—only how our treatment of him impacts real people.

i never meant to imply that being a bottom is shameful—i meant that when a mlm character is LIMITED to being a bottom BECAUSE of preconceived, heteronormative notions about mlm relationships by content creators, that is uncomfortable. neither bottoming nor being feminine should be considered shameful, of course not, but we don’t live in a perfectly equitable world, and historically, those are traits that are associated with shame by larger societal forces—my point is that we don’t interact with media in a vacuum. even if i’m not saying “bottoming/effeminacy is shameful”, someone is. because that previous ask was focused on wei ying and bottoming, i understand why you might think that because my stance on it wasn’t unequivocally positive/validating, it sounded like i was implying it was shameful because that’s what we’ve all been primed to assume. if i rewrote the response to that ask, only this time talking about lan wangji being pigeonholed as a top, would that have made my stance more obvious? because again, it goes both ways.

you say that i’m trying to fit mlm into a standard that i, as a non-mlm, am imposing upon them, but i really have no idea where you’re seeing that in what i’ve written. if you still think i’m doing that, then i want to state here that that is the furthest thing from my intentions.

the top/bottom dichotomy that exists in mdzs is just an expression of a larger trend that sees and fetishizes mlm as defined by their sexual roles, especially asian mlm (looking at you, seme/uke terminology). i cannot see it as existing divorced from that. what i really want, more than anything, is for this to not even be a conversation i feel like i have to engage with every time it comes up. it sucks that queer people’s identities and private sexual choices are politicized!! i, too, just want to live!!! i don’t want to feel like i have to endlessly, carefully debate mlm’s sex positions as a political statement, but i also don’t think that i can stay silent as a bi woman(?) while they’re used and disrespected for others’ gratification. they’re my siblings too.

here’s the thing: i like bottom wei ying! I love feminine wei ying! i want to read fic containing both of those aspects! i want to write fic like that! in fact, i probably will! is everything i make and say going to be perfectly unproblematic? of course not! everything is problematic because everything is nuanced and everything is complicated. all i can do is try my best to make sure what makes me happy isn’t at the cost of someone else’s human respect.

so, i hope that makes my position more clear? i’m not trying to say that everyone has to do exactly as i do, or think exactly as i think. i just want to encourage more complex, critical engagement with media because i think interrogating why and how we like what we like helps us grow. i get that sometimes we just want to enjoy things, and that’s okay! i get it, it’s exhausting!! feel free to block me and never interact with another one of my posts again if they make you too angry. i love mdzs, and i love the untamed just. so much!! i haven’t felt so overwhelmingly moved by a piece of media in a while, and i happen to express my love by…. well, doing things like this, which i’m FULLY aware is not everyone’s cup of tea. (sometimes, it isn’t mine either!)

i just want to end by saying that i’m certainly not trying to outright condemn anyone with these posts. this is largely prompted by my own personal, discomfited reaction to comments i’ve received on my fic/things i’ve seen tossed around by the fandom at large. i absolutely don’t think any of the people making those comments are bad people (i mean it!!), but that doesn’t mean i can’t still feel conflicted about it to the point where I feel i need to address it. i can’t police the way someone else enjoys their content, and i’m really not interested in trying. i’m trying to control the way I engage with and present myself to fandom. haha, as wei ying said, to live my whole life with a clear conscience. that’s all i can do.

EDIT 16 APR 2020: My views have changed since I wrote this post. I will not delete this post because it reflects my views at the time it was posted about 7 months ago, but I now feel very differently about the issues discussed here. Hopefully, my views are more nuanced and carefully considered in the present, but you know! Please keep that in mind when you read this.

#mdzs #the untamed #i... really did it again huh #comin at u hot with 1.3k words of... something #mine #mymeta #again idk if this counts as meta but it's the only tag i got for it #meta #Anonymous #asks and replies

30 notes · View notes

marshmallowgoop · 5 years

Text

@kuribo4indahouse replied to your post “[[MOR] Getting my stuff reblogged by big blogs always kinda feels...”

Don't worry too much about tumblr. Tags are weird. People often just won't see things they would like. My tumblr isn't anything to write home about, but sometimes I'm sirprised nobody sees some things I post that I think are of interest. And then snothr blog posts the same thing and it gets tons of notes. I think tumblr's system gives preference depending on several factors. I have like 1200 followers, I guess that is quite a bit but not that much? So your stuff is probably being missed by many KlK fans on this very site, it's weird. :/

Don't worry about it. Your coverage of the KlK game is absolutely amazing btw, I think you'd work well as a game's journalist for example...or just media/film journalist.

I hope I made sense lol, I'm a little sleep deprived

You made perfect sense. Thank you for writing all this when you were so tired. I have too much to say to put well in a reply, so I hope it’s okay if I post this as a non-reply. Do let me know if not; I’ll take this down right away.

I agree that Tumblr is highly flawed. If content includes outside links or somehow seems “spammy” by the site, then that content won’t be searchable. You might be able to find the content by scrolling through the tags, but tags aren’t looked at as much as the search—in fact, it’s actually impossible to go through Tumblr tags using the mobile app—and if content isn’t searchable, it will never be recommended to other users, either.

Because I’m careful to cite my sources (and write a lot, I guess?), the majority of my work isn’t searchable. That means that the only way folks will find anything I do is if they happen to go through tags, follow me or check out my page, or if a big blog reblogs my work. And that’s the thing: Tumblr—and social media in general—is so much about being noticed by the right people.

And if you go to your Tumblr settings, click “Labs,” and opt to enable the “Reblog Graphs,” you can really see this phenomenon in action.

All you have to do is hit the little bubble icon at the bottom of posts on your dashboard or blog:

For example, check out the Reblog Graph of a recent post of mine that did fairly well:

The orange dot here is my root post, and each of the blue dots represents one reblog. Because I’m a small content creator (and this post isn’t searchable), only four blogs reblogged the post straight from me, whereas 13 blogs reblogged the post from a bigger blog. If that bigger blog hadn’t reblogged my work, it’s likely that none of those 13 blogs would have reblogged my work, either. They probably wouldn’t have even seen it.

Of course, this is just how society works. Joe Nobody’s not gonna make much of a name for himself until he’s noticed by someone powerful and influential who can help make him big. But social media sites like Tumblr hurt so bad because it’s just so clear to see how much you don’t matter unless someone huge thinks you do.

I mean, I fall into this thinking, too! So often I’ll see a post that I think is really good, but it’ll have very few notes, and popular blogs won’t have picked it up at all. I’ll wonder to myself, “Is this creator someone that I shouldn’t be supporting? Is this a repost of someone else’s work that people are ignoring as they should?”

And... that’s sad! It’s sad that I think this. It’s sad that I’ll have blogs “like” my posts and only reblog them when someone big and popular does—and sad that I catch myself doing this, too. It’s sad that your worth is so decided by a few powerful people at the top.

On a personal level, I’ve had so many doubts and insecurities about my work because I’ll see essays that make similar arguments to my own but garner so much more praise. I’ll see YouTubers make videos on topics I’ve literally written a book’s worth of meta about cite “recommended reading” and never include anything by me. They say that “comparison is the thief of joy,” but comparison is also a way to help push yourself to be better. What are others doing that I’m not that gets them noticed?

Maybe Tumblr isn’t the best place for my kind of content. Maybe I need to start making video essays. Maybe I format my posts badly. Maybe folks have a personal problem with me.

My frustration is that I’m unsure of my own quality. I know I have a lot to learn and improve on, but I believe in what I do. I cite my sources, I proofread, I strive for accuracy and make sure that I can back up all of my arguments and claims. I’ll spend hours writing and rewriting until I get a post the way I want it, I’ll scrub through tons of video footage to confirm that I’m spelling that word right, I’ll take numerous photos to be sure that the one I’m putting on my post is the best it can possibly be.

I think about presentation and readability and keep my paragraphs from going on too long. I include pictures and gifs to break up the word blocks, and I think about the placement of these images and the relevancy of them. I think about making my language engaging and exciting, even when talking about more academic concepts, and I’ve worked a lot on improving my grammar and making myself as easy to understand and as accessible as I can. I’ll watch an entire movie or read peer-reviewed journals or papers to make my responses to asks extensive and interesting and nuanced.

Everything I write that’s longer than a few sentences generally takes, at the absolute minimum, two hours of my time (including this!) I’m sure some of my more ambitious posts have pushed 30 hours, if not more.

And some of those ambitious posts? They get maybe 20 notes and not a single comment.

So, I wonder. Am I making content that people don’t like because it’s bad and I need to get better, or am I just doing all the wrong things to get noticed? Or do people—especially the big, influential people—simply hate me?

This is why social media contributes to such poor mental health, and I know I’m far from alone. There are people who work so much harder than me who get so much less for their efforts. There are so many passionate, dedicated, kind people who don’t receive the attention they deserve—such as yourself, kuribo4indahouse!

Thank you for your sweet words. I know I shouldn’t be a game journalist because I’m not really a gamer and that’s not my expertise, but to be taken more seriously and become more recognized as a media journalist or commentator would be a dream come true.

I don’t know if I have what it takes, but nobody can know. All I can do is keep improving and trying, and even if I don’t “make it,” I love what I do, and I’m very thankful to those who support me.

#kuribo4indahouse #replies #ramblings #goop makes a personal post #gifs i made

15 notes · View notes

multiversal-archive · 5 years

Text

((Hello guys, I have some hot fuckin’ tea, and it’s about Yamcha. Come join the tea party and take a sip, babes.

Alright, so for context, there was conversation on @dragon-ball-meta [sorry if you think it’s weird to be tagged in a random rp blog’s post I will delete it from the post if you want me to-] about the potential of a pairing between Android Eighteen and Yamcha, the majority agreeing that the pairing really didn’t make a lot of sense. No big deal, right?

Then comes one user, I will not name them because I don’t want to turn this into a witch hunt, who basically argued “IT DOESN’T WORK BECAUSE YAMCHA IS SEXIST TRASH”

And it. Really annoyed me, you know? Especially since there seems to be this trend of shitting on Yamcha for dumb or made up reasons.

And if you know me, you know that I can’t stand people shitting on him and Krillin.

Now, Dragon Ball Meta has done a good job in rebutting against their arguments, but I wish to make a response of my own, since this character assassination has been going on for years, and I think it’s time to stop.

Fuck your memes, the only valid Yamcha meme anymore is Yamcha juggling turtle shells.

Now before I start, I’d like to preface a few things.

First, no, I do not ship Eighteen and Yamcha. Not only because of the context that Dragon Ball Meta has pointed out, but because their general characters would really make the ship make no sense. Yamcha’s fear of girls would really not mesh well with Eighteen’s ‘spit it out’ kinda attitude. Not to mention, as much as I like Bulcha, Bulma is proof that bossy women just aren’t the best match for Yamcha. He’s too passive to make the relationship work. Yamcha is so afraid of getting dumped that he just nervously accepts that she’s right, and sometimes your partner needs to be told that they’re wrong. And while Eighteen is quieter, she’s kinda bossy too. So no, I don’t see this ship working, with or without Krillin.

Second, just so there’s no mistake, no, this is not me arguing against Dragon Ball Meta. I might elaborate, or even correct him on a few things on the subject, but in general, I agree with his assessment of Yamcha’s character. This is a response to one of the users that reblogged his post. Please do not think for a second I’m trying to start beef or anything.

Also, the person will not be name dropped because one, again, no witch hunt, and two, this is unfortunately an opinion of Yamcha that the majority of the fanbase seems to hold. So I will be arguing them all to fuck.

And if you find out who it is by going to DBM’s blog, do not, I repeat, do not harass them. If you do, I will block you. No exceptions! I don’t care if you’re following me, I don’t care if you like my writing and my characterization, I don’t even care if we’re mutuals. If you harass someone over works of fiction, you’re fucking dead to me.

Third, I know that being a Yamcha roleplayer might make me biased, but believe me, in order to write for this character, I had to do a fuck ton of research, especially since I’m actually relatively new to the series [I fuckin started binge watching it last year from Dragon Ball to Dragon Ball Super, still debating on watching GT], reading up on anything that I missed so that I can stay as true to his character as possible.

That being said, the research I’ve done on this series and this character is why I think the notion of Yamcha being sexist, a cheater, etc. is erroneous.

Now, Let’s begin.

You really don’t bring up a lot of points, your main ones being one, he sees girls as objects and not people, and two, he cheated on Bulma [ah that classic misconception among fans], So I will shoot them down one at a time.

One; You claim that Yamcha is sexist, that he sees girls as objects and things to be exploited.

... When?

No, I mean it, give me one fucking example. You made the claim, the burden of proof is on you, as the one making the argument. I’ll even provide links that let you view the mangas and animes for free so you can point me to one manga panel, one episode with the time that it happens. Give me one example, and I might, might, take that claim seriously.

You also say that he feels justified in his fear and distrust of women, so he’s sexist.

Uhm....? No??? You’re right that he’s afraid of women, but distrustful??? The fuck did that come from?

Oh, but you might zone in on the fear and be like, “That’s proof enough that he’s sexist!”

Uuuuuhhhhh no.

See, fear can mean different things depending on what it’s bred by. With things such as homophobia, transphobia, and, yes, sexism, those are fears bred by hate.

In Yamcha’s case, it’s clear that that’s not his case of fear. Not only does he express his want to get over his fear so he can talk to a girl without freezing up or being a blabbering mess, hence his motivation for trying to steal the Dragon Balls from Goku and the others, but the other characters’ outright point out that he’s shy. On numerous occasions. Usually by Bulma, but still.

Not to mention that usually his reactions to being around a girl or being flirted with by one, it’s usually very anxious, leaving me to believe that he’s got some sort of social anxiety going on.

If you need proof, look no further than episode six of Dragon Ball “Keep an Eye on the Dragon Balls”, where it shows various instances of Yamcha going into panic attacks over Bulma, even going into an outright catatonic state when he realizes he accidentally grabbed Bulma’s boob. [which also discredits the notion of Yamcha seeing girls like objects, as he’s constantly horrified of seeing and touching a naked girl. If he saw girls as objects, he would have been creeping on her all to hell.]

The only reason he got over his fear with Bulma is because her safety was in jeopardy, and he had to put his fear aside to protect her. Once again, this discredits the idea of him seeing women as beneath him, as well as your other point, which I will get to in a while.

“But why is he only like that with girls?” you might ask. Well, not only is there several real life examples of boys being too shy around girls and feeling more at home with talking to boys, Yamcha has expressed wanting to get married one day. And as someone with social anxiety myself, I do find it very hard to approach people IRL because I’m afraid of being judged, if it makes sense. So it’s very easy to argue that the same could apply to Yamcha, just with girls his age.

Two; Your argument is that he cheated on Bulma and that in general, any ship with him would be abusive.

Uhm??? The only source for the cheating issue was Trunks, who got it from his mother... Who’s known to misunderstand situations Yamcha finds himself in as him cheating. Who’s known to get jealous if a girl shows interest in him, not him showing interest in the girl, but the girl showing interest in him.

Not to mention, does this look like someone that’s willing to cheat?

Because to me this looks more like someone that takes his relationship with Bulma seriously and wants to take it further. And remember, the only prompting was Goku telling Bulma to “take care of the baby” with no context.

Oh, also here’s the link to the manga page so you know I’m not bullshitting.

Oh, what’s that? You’re going to bring up the episode in Dragon Ball Z where it shows him as a baseball player? Where not only were they broken up at the time when he asked someone to go on a date with him and was talking with another girl, but the entire episode was also filler? Once again, think back to his shyness. Even Toriyama confirmed that it’s always going to be there.

“Oh but then you’ll have to say all the fun stuff like Chichi making Goku learn to drive and Yamcha, Tien, and Chiaotzu kicking the Ginyu Force’s ass.” you may say.

I mean. Yeah. It’s not canon. But unless it’s deconfirmed by Toriyama himself or doesn’t contradict established characterization, then we can still imagine that they happened. Most of the filler are things happening during timeskips anyways, or just don’t happen during the main story, so it’s really up to the imagination what all happened, and Toei did just that.

You also claim that Yamcha behaves like a fuckboi, to which I have to say bitch where?

Yeah, he was a bit annoyed that Bulma had Vegeta’s child, but that was never, I repeat, never directed at Bulma, or Trunks for that matter. In fact, by the looks of it, he was helping Bulma take care of him. It’s quite clearly directed at Vegeta.

Why?

Simply put, Yamcha’s ultimate goal was to settle down and start a family. And not only does Vegeta do that, with his ex no less, but he also just... Completely ignores them.

Can you imagine how infuriating that is, not even flaunting something they have that you don’t, but completely ignoring it like it’s nothing.

Vegeta had started this family, the family that could have been Yamcha’s, and he wasn’t even willing to take responsibility for it.

Now I’m not trying to imply that Yamcha was owed anything or that Bulma owed anyone anything. Hell, I don’t think Yamcha thought that either. I’m just trying to illustrate his mindset.

And you know what? After the Cell Games Saga, he stopped being cross with Vegeta. He’s still friendly with Bulma and Trunks, and he’s even friendly with Vegeta. Hell, when Bulla was born, he was excited to meet her.

Pretty sure if he were a fuckboy, he’d be trying to win Bulma back.

But no, he’s content with being friends with Bulma and her family. Because, at least I think, he cares about what she wants and what makes her happy. I think so long as she’s happy with what she has, then he’s happy too.

Does that sound like a fuckboy to you?

“Well then why did they break up? Are you saying Bulma did something wrong?”

No.

Just like in real life, sometimes break ups don’t happen because one slighted the other.

Sometimes things just don’t work out.

Think about it, throughout the series, up until the Android Arc, their relationship has been on and off, usually Bulma accusing him of cheating. And like I pointed out earlier in the post, Yamcha is just too passive to make the relationship work. If he were more assertive and willing to stand his ground and assure her that no, he’s not cheating, then maybe it would have had a better chance of working.

I think at this point, the healthiest thing for them was that they stopped being in this relationship. For good.

And if their break up was really the result of one of them wronging each other, they would not still be friends.

So, can we end this character assassination? It’s been going on for yeas, and it needs to stop. Same with Krillin’s character assassination.

The memes may have been funny once upon a time, but they’re getting old now. And people are starting to view them as canon.

And that’s it for my tea. If you have something you wish to add or to correct me on, please be sure to share your thoughts. I’d love to know. ^^

Sorry that this is so long and probably all over the place holy fuck-))

#OOC #yamcha #long post #tea

9 notes · View notes

larriefails · 5 years

Note

+ seasurfacefullofclouds*tumblr*com/post/183771544610/sea-sometimes-i-just-think-what-if-they-hadnt

I really shouldn’t be wasting my time addressing this mess, but I just… can’t help it. I’m gonna take the shortest possible break from studying to drag this. If I fail it’s your fault for sending this link and you’ll be the one explaining it to my mom!

“I think the boys lost a huge opportunity.”

None of the following text addresses how she starts it. What huge opportunity did they lose? If this is the first sentence you write on a long ass text, I at least expect an explanation s for why you said it. What opportunity?

“They were signed and worked as employees, initially, without creative or financial power.”

Yeah, no brainer, since they were 16/18 with zero musical experience other than performing at weddings and their high school musicals and were all from middle class families. Imagine if these guys had been given the creative reins of Up All Night

“It seems that Sony/ Syco had no confidence in their longterm potential as artists (whether individually or as a group), so the corporate tactic was to wring as much out of them as possible within the time frame of their contract.”

That’s a whole lot of assumption, what’s it based on? Why does it “seem” that way? What part of Syco’s strategy hinted at them not seeing long term potential? With boybands, labels tend to be more focused on the financial gain they can squeeze off them in the immediate, sure, but that doesn’t mean that they see no long term potential. In fact, I would argue that these corporate people would have to be terrible at their jobs for that to be the case. Name one boyband with even mild success, ever, that’s not still giving bucks, whether as a group or as individuals. One. Just one. New Kids On The Block? Westlife? Backtreet Boys? Justin Timberlake? Take That? The Jonas Brothers? Seriously… one. This is a ridiculous statement that isn’t backed up by reality. Of course most boybands have a shell life and their initial success fizzles out. Most of them won’t even bring a fraction of the cash 10 years in, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t still money to be made. It’s not that Syco didn’t have confidence in their long term potential as artists, it’s that they knew that boybands are usually like fireworks, and they were right..

Current numbers for all their albums according to Wikipedia (because I cannot be bothered looking for music specific sources, send them if you want)

Up All Night 4,754,434 X

Take Me Home 4,966,424 X (UP!)

Midnight Memories 4,607,667 X (DOWN!)

Four 2,698,500 X (DOWN!)

Made In The AM 1,935,300 X (DOWN!)

They went from almost 5 million albums certified to under 2 million. Touring went from theaters with Up All Night, to arenas with Take Me Home, to stadiums with Where We Are, but by that point, it started to decline as well:

Where We Are total attendance 3,439,560 people in 69 shows, about 50K average X

On The Road Again total attendance 2,337,938people in 80 shows, less than 30K average X

Boyband audiences grow out of them and move on to different artists. A label squeezing all the money they can get out of the first few years is just the smart thing to do, but that doesn’t mean that there’s no money to be made afterwards or that there are no long term plans. This statement is simply idiotic, not surprising given who it comes from

“In the meantime, both Irving Azoff and Sony recognized Harry’s potential as the traditional boyband breakout star, as well as his relative youth, vulnerability and ambition. They knew he had the star quality, if motivated in the right way.”

I’m convinced she doesn’t reread what she types because here she contradicts her statement from before

It seems that Sony/ Syco had no confidence in their longterm potential as artists (whether individually or as a group)

and

In the meantime, both Irving Azoff and Sony recognized Harry’s potential as the traditional boyband breakout star

So which one is it, Sea? Did Sony not see individual potential or did they see it? You can’t use “in the meantime” for a sentence that contradicts the one that comes right before

Syco is owned by both Simon Cowell and Sony Music. If Sony saw potential, then so did Syco, because Syco is part of Sony

Also this had me cackling “as well as his relative youth” .. what was “relative” about Harry’s youth when he met Jeff Azoff? He was nineteen. That’s not “relative youth” that’s just youth. Otherwise you should be mummified, Sea. I’m not pointing this out for any other reason than the fact that she clearly tries to embellish her sentences with pompous adjectives without care for what they actually mean

“On the other hand, Louis had a differing view of what the band could accomplish within the framework of what they’d signed. He wanted the boys to learn about the creative aspects of music-making (songwriting, recording, performing, producing) as well as the business aspect. They all knew they were being used as money machines— but Louis wanted to look behind the machine.”

Don’t get me wrong, I adore Louis, but… what evidence is there of this? That he wanted to write more? That’s not what he said over and over. Louis explained that he didn’t feel he had a place in the band, that he felt like he wasn’t paying his due, so to speak, so he wanted to make himself important by writing. This whole “Louis was the brains of 1D” is nothing more than Larrie Lore. There’s absolutely nothing to back this up at all. This backstory to his songwriting isn’t backed up by Louis himself

And he only talked about songwriting, he never talked about producing, or recording, or performing. I just really wanna know why the real Louis isn’t enough and why they have to fabricate this entire new persona for him. He opens himself up and tells the world what his insecurities are and you just erase them and replace HIS STORY with your new version. For no reason other than because it suits your conspiracy better. It’s sick

“I’m sure they all independently wanted this, but as we learned from Savan’s interview, Louis was the instigator, and he was willing to make himself the bad guy in order to get what the band wanted, to stir up bad feelings.”

No, you completely stripped Savan Kotecha’s interview from context. Savan doesn’t say that they’ll never have any creative input. He specifically says “in the beginning” LINK to Savan’s podcast

“Yeah, I think, like, it was a lot in the very beginning. And I’ll take a lot of blame for some of the stuff in the very beginning. They were a manufactured boyband. That’s what it was. They weren’t all hustling musicians trying to make it. They were on a TV show and, and we purposefully, and I was open about that. Like ‘you’re gonna hate hate the music that you do in the beginning.’ Like, I was open about that. You’re 17, 18 year old boys, you’re not supposed to like what a boyband does.”

I’m not going to transcribe the whole podcast here, you should listen to it, it’s not that long. But basically, he explains that, because he met them during the X Factor days, it was harder for him to go from seeing them as those reality show kids to people that actually knew a thing or two about music. He says that he directed them to Julian Bunetta (who took over as the overall creative director of the albums) and that it was easier for Julian to work with them rather than being authoritative because Julian didn’t have that bias of meeting them so young and inexperienced

He admits he was wrong for seeing them that way because he thinks they’re all incredibly talented now and doing amazing things. What Sea here fails to point out is that for this same album that Savan talks about, he wrote with Harry, and he had this to say about it, in the same podcast that’s used as proof of the opposite

“So, with Harry, it was really interesting. Harry always, especially since album two, you really saw he’s a really fucking good writer. Like, we did a song together, like for the third album, the only thing we did for the third album, and the song “Happily” which I’m really proud of, and I think he is, as well. He was, it wasn’t like that thing, where like, writing down for the artist, he was like fucking great, like bringing ideas. So that was cool to see.”

So how does this go with Louis being the instigator? Savan doesn’t say that at all. He doesn’t imply that. What he plainly says is that he didn’t see Louis in that role

But I think, especially, with like one of the particular members, it was hard to see that person, and like take that person the way he wanted to be seen, and he became, like, the loudest voice of the group. And at that point, I just told the label, it became kind of like unhappy for me to feel like, ‘why’s he doing that?’

There’s a lot of projection and a lot of reading between the lines of this podcast. And this is used as fodder for a lot of the Lore in the conspiracy of Louis being sabotaged (it’s the basis of most Rads theories). Louis didn’t sacrifice himself like a lamb so the others could get creative input. Read the quote from Louis himself that I pasted before. Louis wanted to make himself important because he wasn’t getting many solos and he was insecure as to what his place in the band was. It’s not only stripping Louis away from his own words, but it’s also stripping all the other four from their artistic wants and needs. You think Niall, the Niall that scrapped a whole album and started from scratch didn’t want creative input? You think Zayn didn’t want it? You think Harry didn’t want it? Liam who wrote almost as many songs as Louis? Of course they wanted it, they just went about it differently. Louis has said several times that he has trouble holding his tongue, I think he’d be the first one to admit he probably could’ve handled things differently here. He has that personality, and as a fan, you don’t get to take that away and replace it with something that you find more palatable. You don’t get to make him Jesus, crucifying himself so the others can be free of sin. You don’t get to silence him when he admits to his own faults and takes ownership of his flaws. And you don’t get to change history

Savan’s mistake was not loosening the reins and for having a prejudice about Louis. And he admits to it. No part of this podcast and no quote from Louis indicates that Louis sacrificed himself for the creative input of the band. these are the facts

Savan had a hard time giving up control, true, but he was also willing to work with Harry

Savan had a (wrong) prejudice against Louis

Louis wanted more writing freedom because he (wrongly) believed that he wasn’t earning his keep in the band

All your other conclusions are nothing more than bullshitting from reading wrongly between the lines

And I’m gonna say something controversial.. they were still green in Midnight Memories. Look at this

That’s the aggregated score of the main music critics all over the world, it isn’t just one biased review. As fans, we love the album because we love the band and that’s that, but it was the worst received by critics. Five points difference with Up All Night, that is a lot by Metacritic standards. A steep decline of nine points from Take Me Home. I think Midnight Memories could’ve been better if they had more of a companionship when writing because most of its flaws come from poor lyrics, at least in my subjective opinion

“Louis thought the contract would end at some point, and then they could use what they had learned— the industry contacts they had made, their new knowledge— to either continue with 1D on their own terms, or to do whatever they wanted individually.”

Bullshit. What do you even say to contradict something that’s a complete fabrication? There’s not a shred of proof of any of this. Louis has never talked about any of this. No one else has ever talked about any of this. These words put together have no meaning other than them sounding cool in Sea’s head

“Challenging the industry’s endgame isn’t something that industry tolerates lightly.”

And see, this is where we completely lose track of reality. Savan was talking about them wanting to write more and divide the voices in tracks and that sort of stuff. Louis was talking about wanting more songwriting credits. Neither of them (nor anyone else) talked about contracts and beyond 1D and terms and challenging the industry’s endgame

This is why I went into so much detail and was so nitpicky on what Savan said and what Louis said, because Larries/rads take “Louis wanted to write more and Savan didn’t have faith in him so Louis cuss him out” to “Louis pushed the whole band and made them open their eyes to the malice of the industry and it’s because of that he had to be PUNISHED”

“Sony knows One Direction was lightning in a bottle. They’ve tried numerous times to duplicate the boyband formula, but have failed. No one else is One Direction.”

Bullshit. I mean, One Direction was unique, and many (all labels, not just Sony) have tried to replicate the boyband success since them and failed (I’d argue that BTS is not that far off, selling out Wembley and all that), but Sony has seen success in a lot of other artists from a lot of other genres since 1D, they’re not bleeding without it

“Instead, Sony’s best bet (if they were going to lose 1D) was to shift the lightning to Harry Styles, with the help of Irving Azoff— an industry titan. It seems foolproof.”

Another conspiracy. Irving and Sony came together to push Harry. Bullshit. Harry nearly signed with UMG just before signing with Columbia. He had a major offer from Apple that pushed Columbia’s offer to be higher. What would Sony gain from partnering with Irving and pushing Harry as a solo mega star when they weren’t guaranteed to have him sign with them? More so, Columbia’s CEO was another guy when Harry met Jeff. Sony’s CEO was a different guy. There were shifts all over their boards. A label doesn’t take one of their biggest current acts (One Direction in 2013) and risk their current profit, making moves they wouldn’t otherwise make, in order to potentially get profit four years down the line

What Sea is saying here is that Harry was pushed as the front man of 1D in 2013 in order to have him as the breakout for Sony later. That’s not a strategy anyone with a brain would agree on. One Direction was selling FIVE MILLION ALBUMS A YEAR. Why would they mess around with that just to get a breakout star that they had no idea they’d even sign in the future?

Was Harry the frontman? Yes. Was there a push for it from within? Sure. But that’s not how this works. You know who was the frontman when 1D was formed? Liam

Look at the amount of solo shots he has, even a shirtless one..

These snapshots were taken on the same day, October 6th 2010

Liam had 5 thousand more followers than Harry, that’s 30% more. The reason is that Liam had already auditioned for the X Factor in 2009, and he’d made it through until bootcamp, where he was eliminated. When he came back in 2010, he was already sort of known, especially for the X Factor audience. The X Factor pushed him as the face of the band because of that

THAT is how it works. They pushed a frontman because it was convenient for the band AS IT WAS HAPPENING, not in an unknown potential future. For whatever reason, Harry took more with the public, and because the people running the show (and the labels) aren’t stupid, they went with it. Harry became the center of more photoshoots, and he started sitting next to the host in talk shows, and stuff like that. In that sense he was “pushed” but not because of some weird “he’ll be the breakout star” conspiracy

This is what you sound like

Every single band has that one more popular member with fans. Every label pushes that member more to the forefront when they notice. This has the effect of making that member even more popular, and on the circle goes. It has nothing to do with “future breakout star” conspiracies

“And it still may be. The way that Louis’ personal life has been slowly degraded over time, with negative media coverage, their portrayal of him as a cussing, drinking, fighting, partying, dissolute has-been who pines for his glory days, is an image that even the fandom now believes. He’s required to constantly relive this image and bring up in interviews, the son he helped conceive in a moment of hard partying (whereas he’s been with Eleanor for seven years with 100% effective birth control).”

The fact that you believe you’re a fan of Louis’ is frankly, the worst insult you could hurl at him. We don’t see Louis like that, the world doesn’t see Louis like that. YOU may see him like that, but that’s where it ends. Niall cusses and drinks more than Louis. Liam parties more than Louis. I don’t think anyone particularly sees any of the 1D guys as beefers. No one sees him as a “has been” he’s twenty seven for fuck’s sake. He’s not pining for his glory days, he just liked being in One Direction

Who “in the fandom” believes that? And don’t bring up random haters because random haters believe Zayn is a meth addict and Liam is an idiot who can’t read. Random haters don’t represent “the fandom”, if you can even call 1D stans that anymore

What part of what you said is Louis “required to constantly relive” in interviews? What regurgitated version of his interviews did you consume? I could start guessing that you mean what he said during promo for Miss You about how he was partying to mask the pain of missing Eleanor, but that’s giving you too much credit, trying to decode the absolute bullshit that spouts off your fingers. Obviously that’s not what Louis said in Miss You promo, but I’m not even gonna try and guess, you decided already that Louis is being sabotaged, so you’re looking for it, and you’re gonna see it in the most innocuous of his interviews

“Sony couldn’t have done a better job if they tried. Harry, the star of their choosing, has fans rushing to defend him whenever the disparity in image and opportunity is even hinted at. Louies usually go quiet— because even pointing out this fact earns one the moniker of being a “Radical.””

All members have former 1D members have “fans rushing to defend” their faves when someone says one word seemingly negative about them. It’s called stan culture. You personally just receive more from Harries because he’s the only one you pick on, you absolute moron

And the words immediately after are proof of that “the disparity in image and opportunity is even hinted at” what disparity? There’s “disparity” among all of them, they all had different sets of opportunities because they have different goals and strategies. Harry’s goal wasn’t radio and chart single success, it was album and touring, so he and his team went for that (but you judged his success throuh radio and chart single success anyway, skewing his results, of course). Niall and Liam went for the former. Louis had an incredibly difficult time because his mother passed away right as he was starting his solo career, and he has the added difficulty of being the eldest of many siblings and having a child in a different country. Reducing his personal life issues as nothing but noise and pretending that Louis’ actual problems were, instead, artificially created by TPTB is incredibly demeaning for the strength of character Louis has shown and it pains me that he has “fans” like you

You’re called Radical because you believe in the conspiracy that Louis’ life has been manipulated and his opportunities cut short so Harry could have his chance. Aside from the fact that it’s an insulting thing to say because of all the reasons I described, how would it even make sense? Louis is Harry’s competition? If Louis is put down then Harry thrives? How? How does that work? Are they the only two people in the music industry? Is this Apple Music vs Spotify? If Irving and Sony quash Louis, Harry rises because he’s the only competitor left? Do you not think that if the music industry truly worked that way (putting one artist down to lift another up), which, let’s be very clear here it doesn’t and it never has, The Rolling Stones and The Beatles were both super successful at the same time… do you think that Louis would be Harry’s only rival to defeat? Or even just the other members of 1D? Where does that put fucking Ed Sheeran or Justin Bieber or Shawn Mendes or Charlie Puth or The Chainsmokers or Halsey or Ariana Grande or..

Harry, Louis, Niall, they’re white men. They’re not black women going into a business ruled by males. They’re not Cardi B and Nicki Minaj, having to dispute the entire audience for a black female rapper. White men make it in the industry all the time. The media will pit them against each other and so will fans because it’s fascinating to watch a rivalry, but more than one, two, three, ten, white males can make it at the same time. Go back to the Rolling Stones and Beatles example

“If there’s any doubt that Louis has been singled out, just look at who Simon Cowell keeps by his side, despite the fact that Louis was specifically mentioned by Savan as the pain in corporate’s ass.”

Back to this conspiracy. Savan didn’t “specifically mention” Louis as “a pain in corpirate’s ass”. Savan complained TO corporate that Louis was being a pain in HIS ass. His own specific ass. And “corporate” told Savan “kay then leave?”, then they hired someone else to do Savan’s job, and allowed Louis to write as much as his heart desired. How is this making any points for you? It’s actually the opposite! Yeah, Louis is Simon’s protege, which is a great position to have…??? And Louis has spoken plenty about how much he likes Simon??

“Who got to do America’s Got Talent? Who started an imprint under Syco?”

This is such a self drag. “Who got opportunities!!!” Uh, Louis..

“Who got Rusty Eslamifar and Simon Jones as a package?”

Louis hired them. His family is still close to Russell, and he still chooses Simon Jones, so.. another self drag

“Who had to do TXF for six months? Who sent out an email to fans about his girlfriend?”

Who has lots of siblings? Who has blue eyes? Who’s from Doncaster? Who doesn’t like avocado? Who - oh, sorry, I thought we were just naming random facts about Louis, yanno given the fact that none of what you’re describing is a problem for anyone other than fucking Larries

“Incidentally, the interaction between Simon and Louis on TXF was weird as hell, as were the interactions between Louis, Rob Stringer, and Simon at the Hollywood Walk of Fame. You could cut the strain with a knife, like two cats with the mouse they’re torturing while making it look like play.”

Are you like, okay? I mean, that’s a rhetorical question cuz I know you’re not but I mean… wow

“I think the band lost its chance when Sony executed its plan.”

Here you go back to the first sentence that you never explain, and you still… don’t explain it. What chance did they lose? They made five records that sold millions worldwide and they did two stadium tours. Zayn didn’t wanna continue, neither did Harry, so they stopped. Once again, I’m not even gonna try and guess what you’re implying here… Zayn leaving was a stunt? Harry wanting a break was Sony’s plan? God, who cares about anything you say? You’re a certified nutjob. You’re making conspiracies out of EVERYTHING. Why am I wasting my time?

“I don’t know what choice Harry had, but we are made to think that he’s hsppy with all of it. I think the way that his image rolled out shows us what they planned to do and what they promised him— with comparisons to The Beatles, Bowie, Prince, Freddie Mercury, Elvis— not lightweights lol.”

You’re doing that thing conspiracy theorists do where you act like what the media says about an artist or celebrity is all concocted by the “team”. Harry was not compared to any of those people by anyone in his team. That was the media

Like, this is my problem with everything Sea says, she just says it as if it’s a forgone conclusion but she doesn’t back any of it up with anything. She doesn’t elaborate her conspiracy theories, she just jumps to the conclusion as if it’s obvious, treats everyone that realizes how ridiculous what she’s saying is like an idiot (and patronizes anyone that dares question her thought process), but never actually explains why she’s reaching such conclusions

“The band lost its chance when Sony executed its plan” What chance? What plan? How did they execute it? You didn’t talk about any of that or define any of those terms in any part of the long ass text I just posted, and I would know because I’m reading it bit by bit. You vaguely said that Louis fought for more creative control (debunked), that Harry was pushed as the frontman so in the future he could be the breakout star (debunked), that Louis got punished (debunked), but you never connected any of those dots, so I’m left here having to debunk a theory that you didn’t present. I can debunk the individual dots that you presented, but since you don’t actually connect them I’m left scratching my head as to what you really mean, and I find myself in this position of saying “do you mean that…”

With this part in particular, I’m left asking myself, do you think Harry decided to leave 1D because he wanted to be compared to Bowie by NME magazine? Like, how… what?

“His sound is relatively unique in the market right now, and they are spending lots of money building Harry’s career, connecting him to Fleetwood Mac and so on.“

Because Niall’s sound is so mainstream, right? Because there’s no money being put into his or Liam’s careers, right? What’s “and so on”? What are they spending all this money you’re claiming on Harry’s career on? Are they bribing Fleetwood Mac? Did they buy him a spot inducting Stevie in the Hall Of Fame? Or maybe they bribed the Recording Academy to have Harry perform with them at Musicares last year (too bad they couldn’t use that money for an actual Grammy, I guess). You don’t ellaborate further, so what’s this “and so on”? Of course there’s money invested in Harry’s career.. That’s generally how it works. Labels put money upfront so the artists can get them more money back in return. How is Harry such an anomaly? What does Fleetwood Mac have to do with it? Gah, I hate you so much

“I think it’s complicated. Azoff and Stringer are people who hold all the power. I’m not sure if Harry turned them down, the boys would be any better off.”

If Harrry turned what down? Having a solo career? Because that’s what he has with “Azoff and Stringer”. So no, of course “the boys” wouldn’t be “better off” if he had turned a solo career down. His career has nothing to do with Liam or Niall Louis’. Once again, I’m here having to guess if I have to debunk something you didn’t (have the guts to) say

I have a feeling that in this long ass text, what you leave between the lines is that Harry was told “we’re gonna make you the breakout star” and he said “sure”. And something something 1D is over something something Louis is punished something something. But that’s impossible to debunk because you don’t present it. You don’t even say it in as many words, let alone explain how you think Sony pushed Harry to be the breakout star or how it affected 1D. You kind of just vaguely hint at a few things

Just so we’re clear, I could absolutely destroy every single one of those arguments if you presented them, it’s just that I can’t do that if you don’t even spell them out. And you don’t spell them out because this way you get to live in a limbo between Larrie and Rad, when you’re, in reality, just fully rad. As long as you don’t spell out your bullshit arguments, you can pass off as being a “critical Larrie” (which isn’t actually any better than being a rad in the real world non-conspiracists live in, but it’s slightly more popular in conspiracy land, and gets you less hate from your peers). If you spelled out these bullshit theories, you’d get a lot of hate from the cult you’re still a part of, so you just vaguely hint at them. You’re able to garner support from the Rad group (just look at the people reblogging this specific post), while not being subject of attacks from the Larrie group. I’d call you smart if I didn’t have evidence to your incredible lack of intelligence all spelled out in this very text

“TPTB are going to do what they want anyway— and find their next Harry Styles, or Shawn Mendes. It’s difficult. Trying to understand it, even if it threatens prevailing head canons and a happy ending, is valid— not radical. Being curious about the truth is the least one could do to speak up for Louis”

This conclusion has nothing to do with any part of this text. It is very, very radical to believe that Louis is being sabotaged in order for Harry to have a bigger career. You’re not curious about the truth, you’re absolutely twisting it to fit your conspiracies. And I can GUARANTEE YOU that Louis wants you far, far away from him and his music

#seasurfacefullofclouds #larrie fails

22 notes · View notes

blooddrinkingbartender · 5 years

Text

Rules Post for Mobile Users

Quick Disclaimer: Bar prices, processes, and other such things probably won’t be all that accurate. If that’s you wanted and came to this blog for, I apologise in advance.

Also, please be aware that this is a sideblog and follows back from my main blog: pushspacetocontinue. I will most likely send you an ask alerting you of this too, just to be safe.

Things I will RP:

Violence

Fluff

Fights

‘Slice of Life’ stuff.

Crossovers (although there are some fandoms I won’t, but that’s because I’m not really a fan of them or don’t know much about them.)

Gore

AU.

General Situations (e.g. Helping someone if sick, helping to rescue someone, etc etc)

Some Magic Anons (if they’re interesting enough for people to want to RP with - e.g. Like the ‘Pocket’ one I got.

Ships. The blog is multiship and each ship is set in a different verse from the other. However, that doesn’t mean I’m only out for shipping our characters in a romantic way. I love friendships, enemies, and plots away from shipping too.

Things I won’t RP:

Smut (although I am okay with innuendo, suggestive asks, and the typical Sexual Sunday/TMI Tuesday/Fetish Friday stuff.) I am of age, but I don’t feel comfortable writing it. If sex actually happens, I’m happy to ‘fade to black’ and then skip to afterwards.

Rape/Non-con (it’s just not something I’m comfortable with. So if Bill tells your character ‘No’ or I say ‘No’ from a mod to another, it means ‘No!’ Just because he can mesmerise doesn’t mean he’ll use it for that.)

Pedophilia (No. Just no! No! I don’t think I need to explain why I won’t. At least, I hope not.)

Bestiality (Again. No. I see that kind of stuff as being very wrong, although I am willing to discuss things regarding werewolves, splices etc.)

Pregnancy (once again, not something I’m comfortable with. it scares the shit out of me and grosses me out)

Alpha/Omega/Beta verse. (Not to sound shaming to anyone who does like it, but I really don’t. It creeps me out way too much. It makes me shudder.)

Age regression to the point of depending on other muses. (It makes me uncomfortable too. If Bill ever gets turned into a kid, he will stay at an age where he is fairly independent and capable of looking after himself.)

Some Magic Anons (e.g. body swaps, weight gain, ones that change his personality in his extreme way, make him attracted to someone else, change his sexuality, ‘smutty’ stuff (e.g. aphrodisiac/heat effects) etc.)

With ‘real’ muses. If you have a real person (e.g. a youtuber, an actor, a kpop artist etc.) as your muse or one of them if you’re a multi-muse blog, I would rather not roleplay with them. Nothing against you, it just makes me feel a bit iffy. I’m okay with them being faceclaims for muses and I’m okay with alter egos (e.g. Antisepticeye or Darkiplier because they’re fictional characters as well), but if it’s an actual real person as a muse, I’d rather steer clear. Self-inserts also count under this I’m afraid. If you roleplay as yourself in threads, and the mun and muse are one and the same, then I’d rather not. Again, just like with roleplaying with real people, I just feel iffy about it.

Other things:

Please don’t godmod. Of course, minor things like passing something to Bill and assuming he took it is fine. I will let you know if you are because it can be an easy mistake to make sometimes. However, if you continue to do it, then I will not continue with the thread.

This blog is 18+. While I don’t smut, sometimes asks can be rather suggestive, and the blog does sometimes delve into more sensitive topics. For that reason, I’d rather minors stay away.

When it comes to replies, I can be rather fast. That doesn’t mean I expect you to be. There is never any rush or pressure to reply quickly. I promise. Don’t stress yourself out. Take as much time as you want and remember that you never need to apologise or anything like that. There’s no deadline. It’s a hobby. Not a job.

I am mutuals-only but I am not completely closed off. Feel free to send an ask if you would like me to check out your blog and see if our muses are compatible.

The same goes for matching post length, especially when I write a starter. I have a habit of setting the scene and I do sometimes use a few too many details. As long as I have something to work with and it’s at least a paragraph, then don’t worry about matching reply length.

If you can’t answer an ask I’ve sent because you’ve got too many already or you feel you just can’t give a good answer, or you feel a scenario wouldn’t work, don’t worry. Just don’t answer it. Delete it, forget, and don’t sweat it.

Same for dropping a thread. If you feel a need to drop a thread with me, because you don’t have anymore ideas, you’re not enjoying it anymore, you’ve got a lot of other threads going on and you feel overwhelmed etc., just do it. I will not hold it against you.

Basically, your comfort is important. Do what’s what right for yourself and I will do what I can to accommodate you.

If you have any problems or you want me to tag something or you want to discuss anything, just talk to me. I don’t bite.

If we’re going to roleplay, I would find a lot easier if you have an About Page (for canon characters, even linking back to a Wiki page will suffice) and a Rules Page. Just enough so I know what you prefer and what your character is like. I think it just makes things a lot simpler for everybody involved.

I love getting asks. I really do. If you want to continue the ask as a thread, I would really appreciate it if you made a new post for it (linking back to my answer or quoting me) and then tag me in it. It just looks a whole lot neater and makes trimming tidier.

That said, if you want to reblog the ask just so you can keep it on your blog (I know some people who have done that), then you are more than welcome.

If you’re going to reblog an ask meme from me, please at least make the effort to send something from that meme in. It’s why I reblogged it after all. If you can’t or don’t want to, try and get it from the source instead. This is something you should keep in mind for everyone you roleplay with. I will do the same for you.

If you want to kill Bill, please talk to me first.

Bill is pansexual, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to jump into your muse’s pants the second he meets them. I do like there to be some chemistry.

If I’ve missed a reply (as much as I try not to,) please do not hesitate to message me.

I, the mod, occassionally post OOC things (e.g. things I’m interested in etc,) but I tag them as such (e.g. ‘BillMod is a butt’ or ‘OOC Interest’ for example.)

I won’t get angry or offended if you choose to unfollow me or want me to unfollow you (just tell me if you do want that by the way.) It’s your choice after all and I won’t question it.

My timezone is GMT. Which means I may go to bed a lot earlier than expected.

It’s sad that I need to add this rule, but unless I know you (drop me an ask letting me know who you are), then I’m afraid I won’t be allowing personals/non-roleplay blogs to follow me anymore. They will simply be soft-blocked. That said, if you are a personal and your roleplay blog is a sideblog, again, drop me an ask and let me know.

You don’t need to send me a password or anything like that for reading these rules. I’ll quickly know if you haven’t.

I understand that Bill’s mesmerism ability could be considered overpowered, so I will only have him use it with the other mod’s permission, if he ever really has a need to.

#ooc #ooc post

6 notes · View notes

pushspacetocontinue · 6 years

Text

Rules Post for Mobile Users

Pretty much my rules page. But I’ve just realised I hadn’t got an actual post for it, which could pose some problems for mobile users. Hence why I’m posting it here now, mainly for the purpose of being able to being able to link it to mobile users. To those who have already seen and read my rules, don’t worry. As I said, this is just for mobile users who might not be able to get to them otherwise.

Things I will RP:

Violence

Fluff

Fights

‘Slice of Life’ stuff.

Crossovers (although there are some fandoms I won’t, but that’s because I’m not really a fan of them or don’t know much about them.)

Gore

AU.

General Situations (e.g. Helping someone if sick, helping to rescue someone, etc etc)

Some Magic Anons (if they’re interesting enough for people to want to RP with - e.g. Like the ‘Pocket’ one I got.

Things I won’t RP:

Smut (although I am okay with innuendo, suggestive asks, and the typical Sexual Sunday/TMI Tuesday/Fetish Friday stuff.) I am of age, but I don't feel comfortable writing it. If sex actually happens (a miracle really, who would want him?), I’m happy to ‘fade to black’ and then skip to afterwards.

Rape/Non-con (it’s just not something I’m comfortable with. So if Russell tells your character ‘No’ or I say ‘No’ from a mod to another, it means ‘No!’)

Pedophilia (No. Just no! No! I don’t think I need to explain why I won’t. At least, I hope not.)

Bestiality (Again. No. I see that kind of stuff as being very wrong, although I am willing to discuss things regarding werewolves, splices etc.)

Pregnancy (once again, not something I’m comfortable with. it scares the shit out of me and grosses me out)

Alpha/Omega/Beta verse. (Not to sound shaming to anyone who does like it, but I really don’t. It creeps me out way too much. It makes me shudder.)

Age regression to the point of depending on other muses. (It makes me uncomfortable too. If Russell does get turned into a kid, he will stay at an age where he is fairly independent and capable of looking after himself.)

Other things:

Please don’t godmod. Of course, minor things like passing something to Russell and assuming he took it is fine. I will let you know if you are because it can be an easy mistake to make sometimes. However, if you continue to do it, then I will not continue with the thread.

This blog is 18+. While I don’t smut, sometimes asks can be rather suggestive, and the blog does sometimes delve into more sensitive topics. For that reason, I’d rather minors stay away.

Basically, your comfort is important. Do what’s what right for yourself and I will do what I can to accommodate you.

If you have any problems or you want me to tag something or you want to discuss anything, just talk to me. I don’t bite.

That said, if you want to reblog the ask just so you can keep it on your blog (I know some people who have done that), then you are more than welcome.

If you want to kill Russell, please talk to me first. He’ll respawn in the TF2 verse, but it’s always good to have it established and planned out. Otherwise, I would like to discuss it and see if it would work.

Russell is gay! But he isn’t really open it unless he knows another muse won’t care or they’re gay or bisexual as well. Your muse shouldn’t know this or be able to guess this unless they are a telepath or unless he tells you. He is not “stereotypically gay”(Whatever the hell that means, person who said he showed a lot of gay stereotypes.)

Remember, just because Russell doesn’t like your muse, it doesn’t mean I don’t like you.

If I’ve missed a reply (as much as I try not to,) please do not hesitate to message me.

I, the mod, occassionally post OOC things (e.g. things I’m interested in etc,) but I tag them as such (e.g. ‘RussellMod is a butt’ or ‘OOC Interest’ for example.)

I won’t get angry or offended if you choose to unfollow me or want me to unfollow you (just tell me if you do want that by the way.) It’s your choice after all and I won’t question it.

My timezone is GMT. Which means I may go to bed a lot earlier than expected.

You don’t need to send me a password or anything like that for reading these rules. I’ll quickly know if you haven’t.

#ooc #ooc post

8 notes · View notes

the-seas-song · 6 years

Text

Kiliel Week Post Response

Hello. This is a follow-up post to my Kiliel Week Day 2 headcanons post. @milesofkeeffe asked for clarification and quotes regarding my statement that “contrary to popular fan opinion, according to Tolkien's texts Kiliel would have much more acceptance with elven culture than dwarven culture”.

A bit of necessary info about me is that I mainly write essays – what little fanfic I have written is not coming online! Unfortunately, my respective essays on elven and dwarven culture are not finished; so I apologize for the roughness of this post.

Something that I have noticed is that the majority of fans/fanworks that I've come across (especially for The Hobbit fandom) code dwarves=masculine=good and elves=feminine=bad. This makes logical sense on two counts – the dwarves are the protagonists of TH, and this is what the Patriarchy/sexism says.

However, Tolkien explicitly did the opposite. Yes, he coded the dwarves as being a fundamentally masculine race, and the elves as being a fundamentally feminine race. At the same time, he made dwarven culture the most sexist, and elven culture egalitarian. This wasn’t a coincidence - it’s part of his overarching and systematic takedown of sexism.

I'm going to start with the dwarves, because Tolkien wrote a lot less for them, so it's a lot easier to go over!

Dis was the daughter of Thrain II. She is the only dwarf-woman named in these histories. It was said by Gimli that there are few dwarf-women, probably no more than a third of the whole people. They seldom walk abroad except at great need. They are in voice and appearance, and in garb if they must go on a journey, so like to the dwarf-men that the eyes and ears of other peoples cannot tell them apart. This had given rise to the foolish opinion among Men that there are no dwarf-women, and that the Dwarves 'grew out of stone'.

It is because of the fewness of women among them that the kind of the Dwarves increases slowly, and is in peril when they have no secure dwellings. For Dwarves take only one wife or husband each in their lives, and are jealous, as in all matters of their rights. The number of dwarf-men that marry is actually less than one-third. For not all the women take husbands: some desire none; some desire one that they cannot get, and so will have no other. As for the men, very many also do not desire marriage, being engrossed in their crafts. - Lord of the Rings, Appendix A

Dwarf-women are not named on family trees. They do not go outside. Nor do they partake in dwarven crafts - Tolkien specifically states that is only a reason for the men. Dwarves only fall in love once, and both male and female dwarves are “jealous” of their spouses and spousal rights.

For the Naugrim have beards from the beginning of their lives, male and female alike; nor indeed can their womenkind be discerned by those of other race, be it in feature or in gait or in voice, nor in any wise save this: that they go not to war, and seldom save at direst need issue from their deep bowers and halls. - War of the Jewels, Concerning the Dwarves

Again, Tolkien says dwarf-women do not go outside. They also do not fight.

This is followed by the information attributed to Gimli concerning the Dwarf-women, which was preserved in Appendix A (RK p. 360). There is no difference in substance in the present text, except for the statements that they are never forced to wed against their will (which 'would of course be impossible'), and that they have beards. This latter is said also in the 1951 revision of the Quenta Silmarillion (XI.205, $5).

[cut]

Finally, there is a note on the absence of record concerning the women of the Dwarves:

They are seldom named in genealogies. They join their husbands' families. But if a son is seen to be 110 or so years younger than his father, this usually indicates an elder daughter. Thorin's sister Dis is named simply because of the gallant death of her sons Fili and Kili in defense of Thorin II. The sentiment of affection for sister's children was strong among all peoples of the Third Age, but less so among Dwarves than Men or Elves among whom it was strongest. - The Peoples of Middle-earth, Durin's Folk

Dwarf-women are not named on family trees. They join their husband's family. The “sentiment of affection for sister's children” is the least strong amongst dwarves. At least dwarf-women can't be forced into marriage.

According to Tolkien, Fili and Kili were never Thorin's heirs.

There fell also Fíli and Kíli, his sister-sons. But Dáin Ironfoot, his cousin, who came from the Iron Hills to his aid and was also his rightful heir, became then King Dáin II, and the Kingdom under the Mountain was restored, even as Gandalf had desired. - Lord of the Rings, Appendix A

Many fans feel this quote is ambiguous, because the part about Dain comes after saying Fili and Kili died. However, Tolkien (somewhat) clarified the matter.

First, though, in The Hobbit, A Warm Welcome it says:

“And who are these?” he asked, pointing to Fili and Kili and Bilbo.

“The sons of my father's daughter,” answered Thorin, “Fili and Kili of the race of Durin, and Mr. Baggins who has travelled with us out of the West.”

Thorin does not refer to Fili and Kili as his heirs. If they truly were, that would be a great slight to them, after Thorin had proclaimed his own title so proudly.

In The Peoples of Middle-earth, Durin's Folk Tolkien wrote:

Elsewhere is told of the wanderings of Thorin Oakenshield, last of the direct line of Durin,(3) in search of revenge and the restoration of his fortune; and how by the help of Gandalf the Grey he was indeed avenged at last,(4) and Smaug was slain, and after the Battle of Five Armies the kingship under the Mountain was restored. Yet Thorin Oakenshield, grandson of Thror, was slain in that battle, and the right line was broken, and the crown passed to Dain, a kinsman of Thorin.

3. Thorin Oakenshield was not the 'last of the direct line of Durin'; no doubt my father meant that he was the last in the unbroken descent of the kings from father to son (cf. 'the right line was broken' a few lines below).

This is pretty clear – there is nothing about Fili and Kili, only about Thorin and Dain. The “right line was broken” by Thorin's death, otherwise Fili and Kili would be mentioned. Note three is explicit about Tolkien's meaning of “last of the direct line of Durin”.

Going back to dwarven culture, it fits. Putting all of the facts together - Dwarf-women are not named on family trees. They join their husband's family. They do not go outside. They do not go to war, or partake in dwarven crafts. - shows a strong parallel between dwarven culture and some of our world's most sexist cultures.

A bower is “a lady's private apartment in a medieval hall or castle” (source). However, she does not live in it alone; she is merely constrained within it:

The idea of a more private refuge that we expect from the home was in many ways gendered female, not just ideologically but also architecturally (see Wood, Medieval House, and Lámperez y Romea, Arquitectura Civil). It was most associated in the Middle Ages with the residential upper-story solar block, the part of the home most associated with with women and such female domestic activities as sewing, reading, birthing, tending the sick, childcare, sexual activities, and laying out the dead (solars, chambers, and bowers were all names for women's rooms). Women were as closely associated with the chamber as men with the hall: “knights sat in the hall/Ladies in the chamber all” (Zupitza, quoted in Girouard, English Country House, 46). [cut] Modern architectural history, though generally treating the chamber as peripheral to the main interests of the family, offers structural evidence of its centrality: halls were not always defended, but the solar wing – often in the form of a residential tower – was (Faulkner, “Manor House Plans”; Wood, Medieval House, chap. 12). The separate spaces of women, however, were shared rather than truly private, refuges from external rather than internal threats. - Violence Against Women in Medieval Texts, by Anna Roberts

One young Chinese woman explains the mentality behind not being on the family tree:

In China, only the males are recorded in family trees. When my brother was born, a huge fuss was made because he was the son of an only son, and therefore, he was the one who would continue this branch of the family. Never mind that he had an older sister. His name will go in the family tree. My name will not. [cut] One’s paternal relatives are considered to be more closely related and more important. [cut] This shows a blatant preference for the paternal side of the family, once again stressing the masculine link as the more important familial link. Genetically speaking, one receives equal amounts of DNA from both parents, and yet the mother’s bloodline is considered to be of secondary importance. (source)

In Yemen, women cannot leave their house without their husband's permission. Dwarven women are not allowed outside of the Mountain unless something like Smaug happens, and then they must disguise themselves as men (the binary clothing structure is explicit).

It continues to fit even more when we look at the rest of the hypermasculine dwarven culture.

About parenting:

To these they are devoted, often rather fiercely: that is, they may treat them with apparent harshness (especially in the desire to ensure that they shall grow up tough, hardy, unyielding), but they defend them with all their power, and resent injuries to them even more than to themselves. The same is true of the attitude of children to parents. For an injury to a father a Dwarf may spend a life-time in achieving revenge. Since the 'kings' or heads of lines are regarded as 'parents' of the whole group, it will be understood how it was that the whole of Durin's Race gathered and marshalled itself to avenge Thror. - The Peoples of Middle-earth, Durin's Folk

Thorin, to Gandalf about Bilbo: “He is soft,” he snorted. “Soft as the mud of his Shire, and silly. His mother died too soon.” - Unfinished Tales, The Quest for Erebor

Thorin implies that it is mainly the mother's job to raise the children, and says soft is bad. Parents are “harsh” so children grow to be “tough, hardy, unyielding”. Vengeance is very important.

They are a tough, thrawn race for the most part, secretive, laborious, retentive of the memory of injuries (and of benefits), lovers of stone, of gems, of things that take shape under the hands of the craftsmen rather than things that live by their own life. But they are not evil by nature, and few ever served the Enemy of free will, whatever the tales of Men alleged. - Lord of the Rings, Appendix F

Therefore they are stone-hard, stubborn, fast in friendship and in enmity, and they suffer toil and hanger and hurt of body more hardily than all other speaking peoples; and they live long, far beyond the span of Men, yet not for ever. - The Silmarillion, Of Aulë and Yavanna

A warlike race of old were all the Naugrim, and they would fight fiercely against whomsoever aggrieved them: servants of Melkor, or Eldar, or Avari, or wild beasts, or not seldom their own kin, Dwarves of other mansions and lordships. - The Silmarillion, Of the Sindar

Thus there grew up in those regions the economy, later characteristic of the dealings of Dwarves and Men (including Hobbits): Men became the chief providers of food, as herdsmen, shepherds, and landtillers, which the Dwarves exchanged for work as builders, roadmakers, miners, and the makers of things of craft, from useful tools to weapons and arms and many other things of great cost and skill. To the great profit of the Dwarves. Not only to be reckoned in hours of labour, though in early times the Dwarves must have obtained goods that were the product of greater and longer toil than the things or services that they gave in exchange - before Men became wiser and developed skills of their own. The chief advantage to them was their freedom to proceed unhindered with their own work and to refine their arts, especially in metallurgy, to the marvellous skill which these reached before the decline and dwindling of the Khazad.

[cut]

In the battles that followed the Dwarves were outnumbered, and though they were the most redoubtable warriors of all the Speaking Peoples they were glad to make alliance with Men. - The Peoples of Middle-earth, Of Dwarves and Men

We see clearly that this dependency on others for food does not equate to perceived worthiness. In The Quest for Erebor, Unfinished Tales, we get a good look at dwarven prejudice against hobbits.

Gandalf narrates:

I soon understood that his heart was hot with brooding on his wrongs, and the loss of the treasure of his forefathers, and burdened too with the duty of revenge upon Smaug that he bad inherited. Dwarves take such duties very seriously.

[cut]

We actually passed through the Shire, though Thorin would not stop long enough for that to be useful. Indeed I think it was annoyance with his haughty disregard of the Hobbits that first put into my head the idea of entangling him with them. As far as he was concerned they were just food-growers who happened to work the fields on either side of the Dwarves' ancestral road to the Mountains.

[cut]

“What!” cried Glóin. “One of those simpletons down in the Shire? What use on earth, or under it, could he possibly be? Let him smell as he may, he would never dare to come within smelling distance of the nakedest dragonet new from the shell!”

“Now, now!” I said, “that is quite unfair. You do not know much about the Shire-folk, Glóin. I suppose you think them simple, because they are generous and do not haggle; and think them timid because you never sell them any weapons. You are mistaken. Anyway, there is one that I have my eye on as a companion for you, Thorin. He is neat-banded and clever, though shrewd, and far from rash. And I think he has courage. Great courage, I guess, according to the way of his people. They are, you might say, “brave at a pinch.” You have to put these Hobbits in a tight place before you find out what is in them.”

“The test cannot be made,” Thorin answered. “As far as I have observed, they do all that they can to avoid tight places.”

“Quite true,” I said. “They are a very sensible people. But this Hobbit is rather unusual. I think he could be persuaded to go into a tight place. I believe that in his heart he really desires to - to have, as he would put it, an adventure.”

“Not at my expense!” said Thorin, rising and striding about angrily. “This is not advice, it is foolery! I fail to see what any Hobbit good or bad, could do that would repay me for a day's keep, even if he could be persuaded to start.”

[cut]

Thorin's eyes glistened as the memories of lost treasures moved in his mind; but “A paid thief, you mean,” he said scornfully. “That might be considered, if the reward was not too high. But what has all this to do with one of those villagers? They drink out of clay, and they cannot tell a gem from a bead of glass.”

“I wish you would not always speak so confidently without knowledge,” I said sharply. “These villagers have lived in the Shire some fourteen hundred years, and they have learned many things in the time. They had dealings with the Elves, and with the Dwarves, a thousand years before Smaug came to Erebor. None of them are wealthy as your forefathers reckoned it, but you will find some of their dwellings have fairer things in them than you can boast here, Thorin. The Hobbit that I have in mind has ornaments of gold, and eats with silver tools, and drinks wine out of shapely crystal.”

“Ah! I see your drift at last,” said Balin. “He is a thief, then? That is why you recommend him?”

At that I fear I lost my temper and my caution. This Dwarvish conceit that no one can have or make anything 'of value' save themselves, and that all fine things in other hands must have been got, if not stolen, from the Dwarves at some time, was more than I could stand at that moment. “A thief?” I said, laughing. “Why yes, a professional thief, of course! How else would a Hobbit come by a silver spoon? I will put the thief's mark on his door, and then you will find it.”

[cut]

But you know how things went, at any rate as Bilbo saw them. The story would sound rather different, if I had written it. For one thing he did not realize at all how fatuous the Dwarves thought him, nor how angry they were with me. Thorin was much more indignant and contemptuous than he perceived. He was indeed contemptuous from the beginning, and thought then that I had planned the whole affair simply so as to make a mock of him. It was only the map and the key that saved the situation.

[cut]

So I had still to persuade Thorin to take him. There were many difficulties on the road afterwards, but for me this was the most difficult part of the whole affair. Though I argued with him far into the night after Bilbo had retired, it was not finally settled until early the next morning. Thorin was contemptuous and suspicious. “He is soft,” he snorted. “Soft as the mud of his Shire, and silly. His mother died too soon. You are playing some crooked game of your own, Master Gandalf. I am sure that you have other purposes than helping me.”

[cut]

“Do so then!” I said. “I can say no more - unless it is this: I do not give my love or trust lightly, Thorin; but I am fond of this Hobbit, and wish him well. Treat him well, and you shall have my friendship to the end of your days.”

I said that without hope of persuading him; but I could have said nothing better. Dwarves understand devotion to friends and gratitude to those who help them. “Very well,” Thorin said at last after a silence. “He shall set out with my company, if he dares (which I doubt). But if you insist on burdening me with him, you must come too and look after your darling.”

So we have an exceptionally hypermasculine culture that exalts fighting, vengeance, and crafts of stonework, mining and crafting, and weaponry; and also derides femininity. They are also the only culture that exalts secrecy and prejudice in it's theory (reality is a whole different matter, because there are prejudiced people of all races). Unfortunately, their treatment of females doesn't surprise me in the least.

Now, the elves!

First, the basics of elvish nature.

Whereas the Elves remain until the end of days, and their love of the Earth and all the world is more single and more poignant therefore, and as the years lengthen ever more sorrowful. For the Elves die not till the world dies, unless they are slain or waste in grief (and to both these seeming deaths they are subject); neither does age subdue their strength, unless one grow weary of ten thousand centuries; and dying they are gathered to the halls of Mandos in Valinor, whence they may in time return. But the sons of Men die indeed, and leave the world; wherefore they are called the Guests, or the Strangers. Death is their fate, the gift of Ilúvatar, which as Time wears even the Powers shall envy. - The Silmarillion, Of the Beginning of Days

Whereas their own fëar [souls], being designed to remain in Arda to its end, imposed long endurance on their bodies; for they were (as a fact of experience) in far greater control of them. (Author's Note 5, p. 341)

Note 5.

They were thus capable of far greater and longer physical exertions (in pursuit of some dominant purpose of their minds) without weariness; they were not subject to diseases; they healed rapidly and completely after injuries that would have proved fatal to Men; and they could endure great physical pain for long periods. Their bodies could not, however, survive vital injuries, or violent assaults upon their structure; nor replace missing members (such as a hand hewn off). On the reverse side: the Elves could die, and did die, by their will; as for example because of great grief or bereavement, or because of the frustration of their dominant desires and purposes. This willful death was not regarded as wicked, but it was a fault implying some defect or taint in the fëa, and those who came to Mandos by this means might be refused further incarnate life. - Morgoth's Ring, Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth

The Elves had (as they said themselves) a 'great talent' for memory, but this tended to regret rather than to joy. - Morgoth's Ring, Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth

“Nay!” said Legolas. “Alas for us all! And for all that walk the world in these after-days. For such is the way of it: to find and lose, as it seems to those whose boat is on the running stream. But I count you blessed, Gimli son of Glóin: for your loss you suffer of your own free will, and you might have chosen otherwise. But you have not forsaken your companions, and the least reward that you shall have is that the memory of Lothlórien shall remain ever clear and unstained in your heart, and shall neither fade nor grow stale.”

“Maybe,” said Gimli; “and I thank you for your words. True words doubtless; yet all such comfort is cold. Memory is not what the heart desires. That is only a mirror, be it clear as Kheled-zâram. Or so says the heart of Gimli the Dwarf. Elves may see things otherwise. Indeed I have heard that for them memory is more like to the waking world than to a dream. Not so for Dwarves.” - Lord of the Rings, Farewell to Lórien

The elves' souls are bound to the Unseen Plane (see here), and so their souls control their bodies – they can just lie down and reject bodily life if they decide to. But there is a great grief in this – their memories and emotions never fade the slightest bit, no matter how many millennia's pass. And if they do 'die' from grief, oblivion still isn't theirs, because their souls and memories still go on. They just become disembodied spirits in the Halls of Mandos, completely consumed by their memories and emotions.

Now, elven gender roles.

In all such things, not concerned with the bringing forth of children, the neri and nissi (12) (that is, the men and women) of the Eldar are equal - unless it be in this (as they themselves say) that for the nissi the making of things new is for the most part shown in the forming of their children, so that invention and change is otherwise mostly brought about by the neri. There are, however, no matters which among the Eldar only a ner can think or do, or others with which only a nis is concerned. There are indeed some differences between the natural inclinations of neri and nissi, and other differences that have been established by custom (varying in place and in time, and in the several races of the Eldar). For instance, the arts of healing, and all that touches on the care of the body, are among all the Eldar most practiced by the nissi; whereas it was the elven-men who bore arms at need. And the Eldar deemed that the dealing of death, even when lawful or under necessity, diminished the power of healing, and that the virtue of the nissi in this matter was due rather to their abstaining from hunting or war than to any special power that went with their womanhood. Indeed in dire straits or desperate defence, the nissi fought valiantly, and there was less difference in strength and speed between elven-men and elven-women that had not borne child than is seen among mortals. On the other hand many elven-men were great healers and skilled in the lore of living bodies, though such men abstained from hunting, and went not to war until the last need.

As for other matters, we may speak of the customs of the Noldor (of whom most is known in Middle-earth). Among the Noldor it may be seen that the making of bread is done mostly by women; and the making of the lembas is by ancient law reserved to them. Yet the cooking and preparing of other food is generally a task and pleasure of men. The nissi are more often skilled in the tending of fields and gardens, in playing upon instruments of music, and in the spinning, weaving, fashioning, and adornment of all threads and cloths; and in matters of lore they love most the histories of the Eldar and of the houses of the Noldor; and all matters of kinship and descent are held by them in memory. But the neri are more skilled as smiths and wrights, as carvers of wood and stone, and as jewelers. It is they for the most part who compose musics and make the instruments, or devise new ones; they are the chief poets and students of languages and inventors of words. Many of them delight in forestry and in the lore of the wild, seeking the friendship of all things that grow or live there in freedom. But all these things, and other matters of labour and play, or of deeper knowledge concerning being and the life of the World, may at different times be pursued by any among the Noldor, be they neri or nissi. - Morgoth's Ring, Laws and Customs Among the Eldar

A little bit of subconscious sexism comes through here on Tolkien's part, but he wrote this later in life and most of it fits. The bit about elven healing doesn't – it is contradicted by pretty much everyone (Glorfindel, Elrond, Elladan, Elrohir, Beleg, Mablung) (tinw has an excellent essay on healing here, which includes all cases of elven healing).

As for the sexism, Tolkien states several times in these two paragraphs that any elf can be and do anything they want. Looking at his elven women, we see a large variety in personalities:

While still in early youth Fëanor wedded Nerdanel, a maiden of the Noldor; at which many wondered, for she was not among the fairest of her people. But she was strong, and free of mind, and filled with the desire of knowledge. In her youth she loved to wander far from the dwellings of the Noldor, either beside the long shores of the Sea or in the hills; and thus she and Fëanor had met and were companions in many journeys. Her father, Mahtan, was a great smith, and among those of the Noldor most dear to the heart of Aulë. Of Mahtan Nerdanel learned much of crafts that women of the Noldor seldom used: the making of things of metal and stone. She made images, some of the Valar in their forms visible, and many others of men and women of the Eldar, and these were so like that their friends, if they knew not her art, would speak to them; but many things she wrought also of her own thought in shapes strong and strange but beautiful.

She also was firm of will, but she was slower and more patient than Fëanor, desiring to understand minds rather than to master them. When in company with others she would often sit still listening to their words, and watching their gestures and the movements of their faces. Her mood she bequeathed in part to some of her sons, but not to all. Seven sons she bore to Fëanor, and it is not recorded in the histories of old that any others of the Eldar had so many children. With her wisdom at first she restrained Fëanor when the fire of his heart burned too hot; but his later deeds grieved her and they became estranged. - Morgoth's Ring, Of Fëanor and the Unchaining of Melkor

Míriel was the name of his mother, who was called Serindë, because of her surpassing skill in weaving and needlework; for her hands were more skilled to fineness than any hands even among the Noldor. - The Silmarillion, Of Fëanor and the Unchaining of Melkor

and:

Silver was her hair and dark were her eyes, but her hands were more skilled to fineness than any hands even of the Noldor. By her was the craft of needles devised; and were but one fragment of the broideries of Míriel to be seen in Middle-earth it would be held dearer than a king's realm, for the richness of her devices and the fire of their colours were as manifold and as bright as the glory of leaf and flower and wing in the fields of Yavanna. - Morgoth's Ring, Of the Silmarils and the Darkening of Valinor

and:

She was a Noldorin Elda of slender and graceful form, and of gentle disposition, though as was later discovered in matters far more grave, she could show an ultimate obstinacy that counsel or command would only make more obdurate. She had a beautiful voice and a delicate and clear enunciation, though she spoke swiftly and took pride in this skill. Her chief talent, however, was a marvellous dexterity of hand. This she employed in embroidery, which though achieved in what even the Eldar thought a speed of haste was finer and more intricate than any that had before been seen. - The Peoples of Middle-Earth, The Shibboleth of Fëanor

Indis: She was not of the Noldor, but of the Vanyar, [of the kin >) sister of Ingwe; and she was golden-haired, and tall, and exceedingly swift of foot. She laboured not with her hands, but sang and made music, and there was ever light and mirth about her while the bliss of Aman endured. [cut] Therefore she remained unwedded, when her people departed to Valinor, and she walked often alone in the fields and friths of the Valar, [turning her thought to things that grow untended >] filling them with music. - Morgoth's Ring, Laws and Customs Among the Eldar

Aredhel: When she was grown to full stature and beauty she was tall and strong, and loved much to ride and hunt in the forests. There she was often in the company of the sons of Fëanor, her kin; but to none was her hearts love given. - The Silmarillion, Of Eldamar and the Princes of the Eldalië

Galadriel: Her mother-name was Nerwen ("man-maiden"),1 and she grew to be tall beyond the measure even of the women of the Noldor; she was strong of body, mind, and will, a match for both the loremasters and the athletes of the Eldar in the days of their youth. - Unfinished Tales, The History of Galadriel and Celeborn

I do not have any short quotes to give for Luthien, Idril, or Arwen; but the great deeds of Galadriel and Luthien are well-known (Luthien also wandered alone in the forests a lot in her youth). Idril is a remarkable politician; and though Arwen is often overlooked by fans, she has a great influence in LotR (for more on that, see my Arwen essay).

So while Tolkien's own subconscious sexism came through a little, it can be dismissed – the history of Middle-earth systematically shows the opposite of “invention and change is otherwise mostly brought about by the neri.”

Another relevant passage:

Aredhel Ar-Feiniel, the White Lady of the Noldor, daughter of Fingolfin, dwelt in Nevrast with Turgon her brother, and she went with him to the Hidden Kingdom. But she wearied of the guarded city of Gondolin, desiring ever the longer the more to ride again in the wide lands and to walk in the forests, as had been her wont in Valinor: and when two hundred years had passed since Gondolin was full-wrought, she spoke to Turgon and asked leave to depart. Turgon was loath to grant this, and long denied her; but at the last he yielded, saying: “Go then, if you will though it is against my wisdom, and I forebode that ill will come of it both to you and to me. But you shall go only to seek Fingon, our brother; and those that I send with you shall return hither to Gondolin as swiftly as they may.”

But Aredhel said: “I am your sister and not your servant, and beyond your bounds I will go as seems good to me. And if you begrudge me an escort, then I will go alone.”

Then Turgon answered: “I grudge you nothing that I have. Yet I desire that none shall dwell beyond my walls who know the way hither: and if I trust you, my sister, others I trust less to keep guard on their tongues.”

And Turgon appointed three lords of his household to ride with Aredhel, and he bade them lead her to Fingon in Hithlum, if they might prevail upon her. “And be wary,” he said; “for though Morgoth be yet hemmed in the North there are many perils in Middle-earth of which the Lady knows nothing.” Then Aredhel departed from Gondolin, and Turgon's heart was heavy at her going.

But when she came to the Ford of Brithiach in the River Sirion she said to her companions: “Turn now south and not north, for I will not ride to Hithlum; my heart desires rather to find the sons of Fëanor, my friends of old.” And since she could not be dissuaded they turned south as she commanded, and sought admittance into Doriath. - The Silmarillion, Of Maeglin

As Aredhel points out, the only power over her Turgon has is ordering her to keep the location of his kingdom a secret. And when she wouldn't change her mind, her escort had to do what she said. She had the power, and she knew it.

Another factor is how possessiveness is framed. Eöl and Maeglin are portrayed as villains corrupted by Morgoth, and they are very possessive. Likewise, Thingol's possessiveness of Luthien is damned and leads to catastrophic consequences.

Lúthien indeed was willing to wander in the wild without returning, forgetting house and people and all the glory of the Elf-kingdoms, and for a time Beren was content; but he could not for long forget his oath to return to Menegroth, nor would he withhold Lúthien from Thingol for ever. For he held by the law of Men, deeming it perilous to set at naught the will of the father, save at the last need; and is seemed also to him unfit that one so royal and fair as Lúthien should live always in the woods, as the rude hunters among Men, without home or honour or the fair things which are the delight of the queens of the Eldalië. Therefore after a while he persuaded her, and their footsteps forsook the houseless lands; and he passed into Doriath, leading Lúthien home. So their doom willed it. - The Silmarillion, Of Beren and Lúthien

It is “the law of Men” that believes “it perilous to set at naught the will of the father” - not elven belief.

Also, without getting into the whole controversy of Gil-galad's parentage, one of the main components of Maeglin's tale is that he lusts after the one person who stands between him and the power he craves: “Then the heart of Idril was turned to him, and his to her; and Maeglin’s secret hatred grew ever greater, for he desired above all things to possess her, the only heir of the King of Gondolin.” - The Silmarillion, Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin It is stated explicitly that Idril is Turgon's heir.

Also highly relevant is the elven attitude towards fighting. All elves are naturally peaceful, and only fight “at need.” A quote above said that dwarves often fought with each other; but there are only three cases of an elf killing another elf, and they are held as some of the most traumatic and devastating events in elven history (the kinslayings).

Regarding weapons:

While still in his early youth he wedded Nerdanel, the daughter of a great smith named Mahtan, among those of the Noldor most dear to Aulë; and of Mahtan he learned much of the making of things in metal and in stone.

[cut]

The Vanyar indeed held him in suspicion, for they dwelt in the light of the Trees and were content; and to the Teleri he gave small heed, thinking them of little worth, tools too weak for his designs. But the Noldor took delight in the hidden knowledge that he could reveal to them; and some hearkened to words that it would have been better for them never to have heard. Melkor indeed declared afterwards that Fëanor had learned much art from him in secret, and had been instructed by him in the greatest of all his works; but he lied in his lust and his envy, for none of the Eldalië ever hated Melkor more than Fëanor son of Finwë, who first named him Morgoth; and snared though he was in the webs of Melkor's malice against the Valar he held no converse with him and took no counsel from him. - The Silmarillion, Of Fëanor and the Unchaining of Melkor

And when Melkor saw that these lies were smouldering, and that pride and anger were awake among the Noldor, he spoke to them concerning weapons; and in that time the Noldor began the smithying of swords and axes and spears. Shields also they made displaying the tokens of many houses and kindreds that vied one with another; and these only they wore abroad, and of other weapons they did not speak, for each believed that he alone had received the warning. And Fëanor made a secret forge, of which not even Melkor was aware; and there he tempered fell swords for himself and for his sons, and made tall helms with plumes of red. Bitterly did Mahtan rue the day when he taught to the husband of Nerdanel all the lore of metalwork that he had learned of Aulë. - The Silmarillion, Of the Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor

But the Teleri withstood him, and cast many of the Noldor into the sea. Then swords were drawn, and a bitter fight was fought upon the ships, and about the lamplit quays and piers of the Haven, and even upon the great arch of its gate.

[cut]

Thus at last the Teleri were overcome, and a great part of their mariners that dwelt in Alqualondë were wickedly slain. For the Noldor were become fierce and desperate, and the Teleri had less strength, and were armed for the most part but with slender bows. - The Silmarillion, Of the Flight of the Noldor

Therefore Thingol took thought for arms, which before his people had not needed, and these at first the Naugrim smithied for him; for they were greatly skilled in such work, though none among them surpassed the craftsmen of Nogrod, of whom Telchar the smith was greatest in renown. A warlike race of old were all the Naugrim, and they would fight fiercely against whomsoever aggrieved them: servants of Melkor, or Eldar, or Avari, or wild beasts, or not seldom their own kin, Dwarves of other mansions and lordships. Their smithcraft indeed the Sindar soon learned of them; yet in the tempering of steel alone of all crafts the Dwarves were never outmatched even by the Noldor, and in the making of mail of linked rings, which was first contrived by the smiths of Belegost, their work had no rival.

At this time therefore the Sindar were well-armed, and they drove off any creatures of evil, and had peace again; but Thingol's armouries were stored with axes and with spears and swords, and tall helms, and long coats of bright mail; for the hauberks of the Dwarves were so fashioned that they rusted not but shone ever as if they were new-burnished. And that proved well for Thingol in the time that was to come. - The Silmarillion, Of the Sindar

Against the words 'Melkor spoke to the Eldar concerning weapons, which they had not before possessed or known' my father wrote on the typescript: 'No! They must have had weapons on the Great Journey.' Cf. the passage in QS on this subject (footnote to §49): 'The Elves had before possessed only weapons of the chase, spears and bows and arrows.' - Morgoth's Ring, Annals of Aman

Tolkien doesn't use gendered terms for the elven armies, and we are given specifics of Galadriel and Idril fighting with swords:

Galadriel: Even after the merciless assault upon the Teleri and the rape of their ships, though she fought fiercely against Fëanor in defence of her mother's kin, she did not turn back. - Unfinished Tales, The History of Galadriel and Celeborn

Now is the face of that chieftain [Tuor] grim and he looks not to live long - and there in his house upon the walls Idril arrays herself in mail, and seeks Eärendel.

[cut]

But his mother coming set about him a tiny coat of mail that she had let fashion in secret, and at that time he was glad and exceeding proud, and he shouted in pleasure. Yet Idril wept, for much had she cherished in her heart the fair city and her goodly house, and the love of Tuor and herself that had dwelt therein; but now she saw its destroying night at hand, and feared that her contriving would fail against this overwhelming might of the terror of the serpents.

[cut]

Now then Meglin had Idril by the hair and sought to drag her to the battlements out of cruelty of heart, that she might see the fall of Eärendel to the flames; but he was cumbered by that child, and she fought, alone as she was, like a tigress for all her beauty and slenderness.

[cut]

When Meglin saw this he would stab Eärendel with a short knife he had; but that child bit his left hand, that his teeth sank in, and he staggered, and stabbed weakly, and the mail of the small coat turned the blade aside; and thereupon Tuor was upon him and his wrath was terrible to see. He seized Meglin by that hand that held the knife and broke the arm with the wrench, and then taking him by the middle leapt with him upon the walls, and flung him far out.

[cut]

Then Tuor and his men must get them to the battle of the Gate, for the noise of it has grown very great, and Tuor has it still in his heart that the city may stand; yet with Idril he left there Voronwë against his will and some other swordsmen to be a guard for her till he returned or might send tidings from the fray.

[cut]

Coming now at length to a greater quiet Tuor asked Voronwë for tidings, in that Idril spake not and was well-nigh in a swoon; and Voronwë told him of how she and he had waited before the doors of the house while the noise of those battles grew and shook their hearts; and Idril wept for lack of tidings from Tuor. At length she had sped the most part of her guard down the secret way with Eärendel, constraining them to depart with imperious words, yet was her grief great at that sundering. She herself would bide, said she, nor seek to live after her lord; and then she fared about gathering womenfolk and wanderers and speeding them down the tunnel, and smiting marauders with her small band; nor might they dissuade her from bearing a sword. - The Book of Lost Tales, The Fall of Gondolin

Now, Tolkien wrote this in 1917, and Middle-earth didn't really exist yet; so the gendered pronouns of the warriors should be overlooked. However, he never really revisited the fall of Gondolin, so it's all we have. All I have to say is don't mess with Idril. She got her son out and then went to help her people, telling her guards to stick it.

The anti-fighting belief goes even further than not having weapons before evil came or not killing other elves:

Then Turin took up a drinking-vessel and cast it in Saeros' face, and he fell backward with great hurt; and Turin drew his sword and would have run at him, but Mablung restrained him. Then Saeros rising spat blood upon the board, and spoke as best he could with a broken mouth: “How long shall we harbour this woodwose? Who rules here tonight? The King's law is heavy upon those who hurt his lieges in the hall; and for those who draw blades there outlawry is the least doom. Outside the hall I could answer you, Woodwose!”

But when Turin saw the blood upon the table his mood became cold; and with a shrug he released himself from Mablung and left the hall without a word.

Then Mablung said to Saeros: “What ails you tonight? For this evil I hold you to blame; and maybe the King's law will judge a broken mouth a just return for your taunting.”

“If the cub has a grievance, let him bring it to the King's judgement,” answered Saeros. “But the drawing of swords here is not to be excused for any such cause. Outside the hall, if the woodwose draws on me, I shall kill him.”

“It might well go otherwise,” said Mablung. “But if either be slain it will be an evil deed, more fit for Angband than Doriath, and more evil will come of it. Indeed I feel that some shadow of the North has reached out to touch us tonight. Take heed, Saeros, lest you do the will of Morgoth in your pride, and remember that you are of the Eldar.”

[cut]

Mablung was in the forefront of these, and he was troubled in mind, for though the taunting had seemed evil to him, 'malice that wakes in the morning is the mirth of Morgoth ere night'; and it was held moreover a grievous thing to put any of the Elven-folk to shame, self-willed, without the matter being brought to judgement. - The Children of Hurin, Turin in Doriath

Taunting and shaming other elves is considered the work of evil, and not acceptable.

Now, relationships. Elves only fall in love once in their life (technically it is possible for them to fall in love a second time, but we are only given two cases in all of Tolkien's works, and both times there was a greater power at work).

They had few children, but these were very dear to them. Their families, or houses, were held together by love and a deep feeling for kinship in mind and body; and the children needed little governing or teaching.(3)

3. A: 'They had few children, but these were dear to them beyond all else that they possessed. (Though no Elf would speak of possessing children; he would say: "three children have been added unto me", or "are with me", or "are in my house"; for their families were held together...' (the brackets being closed at the words 'or teaching').

[cut]

But these ceremonies were not rites necessary to marriage; they were only a gracious mode by which the love of the parents was manifested,(8) and the union was recognized which would join not only the betrothed but their two houses together.

[cut]

In happy days and times of peace it was held ungracious and contemptuous of kin to forgo the ceremonies, but it was at all times lawful for any of the Eldar, both being unwed, to marry thus of free consent one to another without ceremony or witness (save blessings exchanged and the naming of the Name); and the union so joined was alike indissoluble. - Morgoth's Ring, Laws and Customs Among the Eldar

We also have the quote above that states that the “sentiment of affection for sister's children” is the strongest amongst elves.

So. The foundation of elven-kind is memory and emotion. Their souls control their bodies. Elvish memories remain crystal clear, no matter how many decades or centuries pass. They never fade, even the slightest bit. Connected to memory is emotion. Elves feel things in a clearer way. They are ruled by emotion. They can literally just lie down and kill themselves with their mind, if they wish. There is nothing more important to an elf than their relationships, of any kind. Their anti-possessiveness goes so far that they will not even say 'I have two children'. They are naturally peaceful, and consider even taunting as someone being touched by evil. All elves are equal, and nothing is restricted by gender.

This is the polar opposite of dwarven culture.

So, how do Tauriel and Kili fit into this? (for evidence of everything I'm about to say, see my Tauriel essay and my Kili essay)

Let's start with Kili. He is a complete cultural anomaly. Kili doesn't have that internal sense of dwarven pride. He is very open-minded, and exemplifies the saying, “A stranger is just a friend you haven't met yet.” He is genuinely curious and admiring of Bilbo and his house. Kili also defends him and shows faith in him by betting on him. Though raised on the evilness of elves, Kili doesn't have any prejudice or dislike for them. He sees Tauriel as a breathtaking and awe-inspiring being far above him while never showing the slightest hint of jealousy or possessiveness towards her, and has thought about the nature of nature; thus contradicting everything dwarven culture believes in. He follows his heart and morals no matter what. He is amazingly resilient and light-hearted; even though he does have a self-esteem issue. No one ever believes me when I say Kili has a slight self-esteem issue, but he does. He hides his negative emotions and has a very hard time holding grudges (which dwarven culture exalts).

Kili shows this several times – after being completely humiliated in front of the entire Company he just says “funny” and looks down (being hurt and vulnerable instead of getting angry and lashing out), and immediately joins in the food fight; he immediately lightens the conversation after telling Tauriel about his promise to his mother; he continues to play down his injury even after Thorin tells him he doesn't get to continue on the quest; he doesn't want Fili to defend him to Thorin but drop it and go with the others; and he makes his dazed speech about Tauriel.

Kili also never appears emotionally invested in fighting – he explores and complements Bilbo's house while Fili is lovingly taking out his weapons. In Mirkwood, Kili doesn't just ignore the disappearance of his weapons; he starts fancying Tauriel because of her impressive skill when she saved his life, and smiles softly after her retort. According to his culture, she has just emasculated him at least twice; and his reaction is not to get angry, but to fall in love with her. He is perfectly comfortable with being the more feminine one in their relationship.

We see in Rivendell just how quickly Kili's 'abnormality' is dealt with – Dwalin publicly humiliates Kili immediately when he catches Kili in awe of elven beauty.

Overall, Kili's personality is much more elven than dwarven.

Now, Tauriel. She is Thranduil's foster daughter and Legolas’s best friend/honorary sister. We see over and over that the only people of higher rank are Thranduil and Legolas. However, we only see Legolas co-lead a patrol, give a few small and isolated orders, hold and interrogate the orc at Thranduil's cue, and convey Thranduil's orders to their people. It is Tauriel who has to give Thranduil the report on the spiders and is immediately given charge when the dwarves escape. She is the one who essentially is Thranduil's second hand; at least in matters of security (I'm sure he has a steward as well). Legolas is more of a follower than a leader, and that explains why he does not seem to have any other role than that of Prince. Tauriel is a natural leader; and scared of her love for Kili, she hides behind her strong sense of duty. She also cannot turn away from Thranduil - Kili's life is in danger, and yet Tauriel doesn't go after him. She goes to confront Thranduil. Thranduil, for his part, realizes just how badly he's messed up when Tauriel and Legolas leave him heartbroken in Dale.

Even if the dwarves could get past her essentially being Thranduil's daughter, she would still never be accepted because the basis of her very being is not accepted – being a leader and a warrior. Kili himself is not wholly accepted by his people; he hides parts of himself to avoid being taunted and shamed.

I'm not saying that Thorin would turn his back on Kili – after the dragon sickness, I think it likely he would grudgingly accept Kiliel. But he is the King, and he is constrained by his people and culture.

While the elves don't like the dwarves any more than the dwarves like them, they would understand that Kili's it for Tauriel, and the grief mortality brings to the relationship. Tauriel fits perfectly in her culture, and seems well liked. Her people would likely care about her happiness. And personality wise, Kili would honestly fit better with the elves. They would most likely see that.

#Tauriel #Kili #kilielweek #Mine

16 notes · View notes