#just by exploiting how he was literally at his lowest point

[lukewarmchicken]

I love my silly little AU so much. <<< Guy who is actively drawing Byakuya suffering through feelings about his situation and how fucked he is.

#like he's essentially a declawed cat that was thrown to his own devices and he's fucking t e r r i f i e d of how Hope's Peak #The school with a reputation for building a future #stripped him of his #stripped him of who he could have been #just by exploiting how he was literally at his lowest point #like no one deserves that level of horror and torture #even this asshole (affectionate) #i think in a side timeline where his dad survives #he would literally throw a fucking chair at him and break at least one one of his bones #he isn't obligated to forgive him by any means because look at what happened #but they would at least get to talk out their shitty feelings and process them in a healthier way #instead of turning them into repressed rage wine and misery champagne #byakura au

[eroguron0nsense]

I want more Robin and Law interactions

I'm sure I'm not the only one to point out that their backstories are so similar and the narrative parallels are so, so obvious (Law literally occupies the exact same role as she does in that he was child victimized by the WG, unjustly isolated and endangered after the greatest traumas of their lives, and then taken in by a regime-changing Warlord seeking to exploit him. Also, saved by a marine who defected to do the right thing). Law being obviously emotionally stunted works even better when contrasted with Robin's very open, slightly morbid, teasing eccentricity. She sees him at his absolute lowest after Doffy nearly kills him in Dressrossa, sees the moment he insists on seeing her precious captain through his mission or dying alongside him, and understands implicitly how much he means to both of them. He trusts her more than any of the Straw Hats except for Luffy, enough to tell her his secret name, and I just enjoy the way they clearly have a lot of mutual respect, and I hope to god they get more chances to understand each other better and maybe interact or share some of what they've been through with each other in the future

One of the things I wish I would have happened in Wano was seeing Robin's reaction to/perspective on Law, who's so much like her (not that she really knows that) and who she's seen at his lowest and most vulnerable, who's a staunch ally she respects and has fought alongside in a way that none of her allies except Luffy have so far, being driven away from by Shinobu in a moment of fear and anger. How does she feel about Law (very, very justifiably) leaving them with no confirmation of when she'll return? Granted enough was happening in Wano that I don't feel bad about Oda not fully exploring *every single plot point* to its fullest potential because god knows he did enough already and stuck almost all the landings in ways that very few authors could pull off half as well but I woulda liked to throw in just a few lines from her or frankly, have her to advocate for him alongside or instead of Kanjuro. She, more than any of them, likely has a lot of empathy for him even without knowing all the details or just how alike they are.

#Also some parallels with Nami's Arlong Park trauma #trafalgar law #one piece #monkey d luffy #dressrossa #dressrossa saga #kanjuro #trafalgardwaterlaw #wano kuni #wano spoilers #wano arc #wano country arc #nico robin #seven warlords #donquixote doflamingo #Law put up with so much mistreatment in Wano holy fuck #the Shinobu scene is fine writing even if it coulda been developed further but it just was not justified. understandable but unjustified

[pinkandpurple360]

Hey, as someone who was nearly groomed, I find the line “two deadly sins taking advantage of a traumatised scared disabled kid who lost everyone and was lied to that his closest friend did it on purpose” kind of odd? Well ok for Mammon I agree it applies. But for Asmodeus? When did he lie to him about his closest friend? The RoboFizz situation’s not one I really see as Asmodeus “taking advantage” of Fizz because a. he clearly doesn’t want to do it and b. what the hell does Asmodeus gain from it (especially if apparently he’s not getting any of the profit per Viv’s Patreon?).

I’m not saying the man’s a saint, but I felt your original Fizzarozzie criticisms were legit and got me thinking deeply about codependency and taking risks. I enjoyed them a lot, and I liked how you didn’t demonize (no pun intended) anyone. But This just kind of seems like a stretch, and kind of disrespectful to compare a fictional character to a groomer when that’s not what happened at all!

I’m very sorry that happened to you, but none of these shallow characters in this story can accurately represent that. Its a show that works within its own logic and has protagonist centric morality.

Mammon 100% groomed and exploited Fizz for one, but it was Asmodeus who still designed, built, shipped out, sold, and advertised those robots all across his ring and in his businesses. For nine solid years. And he only decides to have the “I’m pretty sure you might be uncomfortable maybe”conversation on year ten. The best he could do to stop it was to try make fizz quit his job? Why does she make some of the men in her stories so…weak?

Apparently this is, like with stolas, trying to retcon all the bad things the royal boyfriend did to make him look better in the peasant x Prince otp. But it doesn’t, it only removes all depth. Even though it’s completely and utterly illogical. Her patreon literally contradicts her own story. The products have Asmodeus’ brand on their foreheads. He makes them in his factory, he sells them, he does profit off of them. When people see and hear his ads, they buy from him. He partook and contributed in the exploitation. And why did he have to make them all conscious? He’s like Lyle Lipton times a thousand, except he donates to an orphanage. Billionaires with pure hearts of gold like Warbucks just don’t exist.

It seems that it wasn’t the sins who lied, but they did “swoop in” so to speak, to “save” him. And he was vulnerable because of the lies he was fed. When he was at his absolute lowest, both of them do all the things they do without fizz’s informed consent. Emphasis on informed. It’s only this ep they ask if he’s sure. But he feels unworthy of them both because of it all.

Point a. …he still did it though, he still made those things. He owns that entire factory, it’s assets, and pays all of its employees. You’re telling me he gets them all to work for free, he pays for this all just with his savings account?

I think you kindve..are saying he’s a saint? Can you tell me a few things he has done wrong in episode six or seven of s2? Products don’t appear on shelves for free and you don’t keep making them for free either, you get a cut, or you can’t keep building them. Mam and Oz were clearly business partners in all of this. Asmodeus isn’t stupid and he isn’t weak…why are we doing this all again..

if he had regrets about it after experiencing love that’d be one thing. And an actually good story. But saying he did it for free cause he just…can’t say no to mammon or fizz?? It’s exclusively the moustache twirling mammon who has an ounce of evil for some reason, while no other sin has any? I’ve literally seen better written fanfic dude.

#helluva boss critical #Fizzarozzie crit

[knyplotrewrite]

my thoughts on canon Akaza

(Will have manga spoilers!)

He’s basically perfect. No joke. I can rag on literally everything else about KNY, but when it comes to Akaza and how his characterization was executed in the story? I really cannot find any fault at all, except maybe that he might have been a little too overpowered, but I’ll go over that later.

People love to talk about his backstory as a human, and yeah, it does pretty much encapsulate all the things that made this manga so good in the first place. The beauty of love both familial and romantic, the harsh way it was taken from him simply because of someone else’s jealousy. He wasn’t punished, he was merely unlucky, and his motivation to becoming a Demon completely aligns with how he felt at his lowest point; what point is there to care any more? If he can’t be strong, he doesn’t deserve to love, and be loved in return. The world treats him as a monster, so he might as well lean into those perceptions completely.

But, his actions as a Demon and in the story are handled so well, too. He serves as the formal introduction to the pure power the Upper Moons possess. He causes one of the biggest casualties in the series. The way he explodes into the scene in the manga, or walks out from the mist in the anime, are moments that would be seared into my brain forever, its just so iconic and drastically shifts the tone from the scene prior, where it feels our heroes have won. It’s just so damn good, Mugen Train is already pretty nice already but the way Akaza was dropped in instantly makes this arc one of my favorites, and personally what I think is one of the best in the story (screw RLD and Swordsmith Village, Mugen Train is the best arc and that is a hill I will die on).

Then, there is the follow up in Infinity Fortress. In theory, it’s once again a fucking amazing concept, this idea that Tanjirou would finally avenge Kyojuro after seeing what Akaza had done to him so long ago. In practice? I wouldn’t say it’s poorly done, but it’s like, okay.

This fight is where we actually see how truly powerful Akaza is, however, I always thought he was a bit too powerful for Tanjirou and Giyuu to realistically handle. The two literally can’t find any weakness to exploit because of his compass ability, and it’s not like they were throwing crap around to mess with it either. The way the Anatta state had to be used to defeat him is like so cringe too, because this concept wasn’t ever brought up prior to this battle. It was just thrown in there, and not really touched on afterwards either, except as a way for Akaza to reconsider what he was trying to pursue as a Demon. Would have been better if it was never brought up in the first place.

But yeah, overall, Akaza is fucking fantastic writing-wise. It’s a shame that the series doesn’t handle its other characters as well as it did for him, though.

@lavender-rosa

#kny #kny meta #kimetsu no yaiba #demon slayer #akaza #kny manga spoilers

[yourturntosimp]

Keiji Shinogi Alphabet request: F, H, M, U, V.

A/N: i spent far too long on the tws for this one-- not bc of the amount (there arent many), but js bc i couldnt think of how to briefly surmise the content into the warnings,, the formatting is beating my ass rn bc it doesnt wanna work CMON TUMBLR TWs: implied murder, abandonment-ish?, general delusion, verbal degradation, emotional abuse, general toxicity bc this is a yandere blog–

Fight (How would they feel if their darling fought back?): you’d think he’d just be annoyed, but tbh I think he’d be more amused than anything else??? It’s so cute that you’re stupid enough to think that you could actually fight him, but you know it won’t work, right? If it goes on for too long, that’s when it might start to irk him, so if you could just make your little outburst quick that would make everyone’s lives easier, thanks <3

Hell (What would be their darling’s worst experience with them?): I think it would be if his darling were to ever just blow up at him, screaming at him to leave them alone, etc. So, he’ll concede. He’ll agree– rather, threaten– to leave you alone. That sounds ideal, right? You don’t have to deal with this crazy possessive guy any more, he’s leaving you alone. Until you come to realize that him leaving you alone is more than literal– easily disposing of everyone you had ever grown close to. Parents? Not a problem. Children? No moral obligations here, he doesn’t care! You’re all alone, just like he promised– and since he’s the only one you have left to crawl back to, for a place to live and supplies to live off of, he’ll gladly hold those over your head too. Didn’t you want him to leave you alone? What’s up with that? It’s fine though, he knows just how dependent you are on him, so he’d be glad to support you! Just know that the little outburst you had, yelling at him? You won’t ever do that again, because now you’ve learned that he’ll do exactly what you ask of him, right?

Mask (Are their true colors drastically different from the way they act around everyone else): Honestly? No, not really. Around other people, he’s charismatic, a bit snarky, and very calculative– but it’s not really any different with you. The only change is a more violent temper if you can’t seem to behave as a rational human being, but if you can just act as he wants you to, everything’s fine! At the end of the day, he still loves you, but he just needs you to learn to listen to him, and nobody will get hurt

Unique (Would they do anything different from the classic yandere?): Surprisingly, I feel like he’d have a bit more patience than the classic yandere– he’d be more than willing to wait until you’re at your lowest point to introduce himself and make you indebted to him, and he’d be willing to put up with what he’d only call “domestic disputes” between the two of you– but I feel like he would also have a heavier hand than the typical yandere, with harsher reprimands and penalties for doing or saying “nonsensical” things. Vice (What weakness can their darling exploit in order to escape?): Once he “trusts” you, he never fully trusts you, and he feels highkey bad about it. Complain about it 4 or 5 times, and he may just leave an opening for you to leave! Don’t think it’ll be easy though– the first few are accidental, but after that he’ll knowingly leave something unsecured, leaving it up to you to find it. If you never find it, then ig you never find it, and that’s on you!

#zuzu writes #tw yandere #yandere alphabet #yandere #headcanons #kgs #kimi ga shine #yandere yttd #kimi ga shine x reader #yttd #yttd keiji #keiji shinogi #kgs x reader #yandere kgs #yttd x reader #your turn to die #your turn to die x reader #gn reader #gender neutral y/n

[gingerthesnap]

The illusion of choice - a Hadestown rant.

Disclaimer - parts of this rant mention sexual violence. There are parts where I deliberately imagine the worst possible intentions/outcome to drive home a point, and I try to clarify at the end that these situations could have been much more innocent than I portrayed. I am very mean to Hades in this. At the end, I cut him some slack, but if you’re a Hades-stan or whatever, maybe don’t read this? Or at least give me the benefit of the doubt: he’s a cool character, I’m just really mad at him right now, for reasons that are somewhat valid.

I really hate the interpretation that Hadestown is about a failure of willpower on the part of Orpheus and Eurydice, when in fact, I think it’s about how systems create the illusion of choice, when in fact there is none. So often, we hear that “anyone can succeed in America if they just try hard enough”, and this narrative leaves a bitter taste in the mouth of anyone who faces much more barriers to success than someone in luckier circumstances. Hearing that Orpheus and Eurydice “could’ve had a happy ending if Orpheus just hadn’t looked back” or “if Eurydice had just turned Hades away, nothing bad would’ve happened” makes me angry, because while true, I think these takes completely miss the point of the entire musical.

Let’s look first at Eurydice. Her entire life has been spent struggling to survive in a wasteland that Hades created. He polluted the earth with his industry and his discord with his wife threw the seasons out of balance. To be fair, part of the whole “no spring or fall” thing is not Hades’ fault directly, but he DOES pick Persephone up early/send her back late. In “Way Down Hadestown”, he sees Eurydice and stares at her inappropriately. Even head-in-the-clouds Orpheus realizes that he’s creeping on her, and so he steps in front of her. Then, Hades sees Eurydice again, at her lowest point. She has been robbed, and while it’s unclear, she’s likely hypothermic and half-starved to death. She’s lost in the woods, dying. Hades offers to save her life, IF she agrees to work for him forever, AND it’s heavily implied that he’s also asking for sexual favors. Eurydice does not reciprocate these feelings. She is silent as he approaches, just as she was silent when he stared at her earlier. She’s cold and starving and scared. She does not want to go with him. Eurydice has no sexual or romantic interest in Hades, she literally sings an entire song about how she loves Orpheus, but she’s starving and doesn’t want to die. Eurydice makes it abundantly clear that she does not want to go with Hades. But she is literally going to die if she does not.

Just imagine this, imagine if you had been struggling to survive in a wasteland your whole life, BECAUSE some rich idiot is actively ruining the climate by building some technological hell-scape, through the use of slave labor (or indentured servitude whatever you wanna call it). Your sweet husband is writing a magic song to convince the rich idiot to stop ruining everything, so you go out to get food and firewood for you both. A storm hits while you’re out, and suddenly you have nothing, alone in the snow. And then the rich idiot finds you, and tells you that if you’d like to not die, you can sleep with him and work in his factory for the rest of your life. Like that’s a mercy. When Hades finds Eurydice, the right thing to do would’ve been to take her home. When you find someone who is lost and dying, you don’t take advantage of them, you fucking help them. Can you imagine if like, avalanche rescue crews told people they wouldn’t dig them out of the snow unless they agreed to be indebted to them for life? That’d be disgusting. And then, imagine if those avalanche rescue crews created the fucking avalanche, then had the audacity to go around, offering people respite if they sell themselves away.

Eurydice was exploited, essentially kidnapped, and potentially raped. That’s all BEFORE she signs the fucking papers.

Now let’s talk about Orpheus. He’s a kind boy who loves Eurydice and wants to help the world. He has a gift, and instead of using it for his own gain, he uses it to help others. He could incite a riot in Hadestown, he could try to use his gift to trick Hades, or exploit people to better his lot in life, but he doesn’t. Despite everything Hades has done, Orpheus sees the humanity in him. Orpheus sees that he and Persephone have fallen out of love, and he wants to help them regain what they’ve lost. Orpheus wants to help Hades, because he believes that if he does so, Hades will take the next step, and help the world. Orpheus loses himself as he strives towards this goal, and he doesn’t realize his wife needs help until it’s too late. Eurydice goes out on her own to find food, by choice. Their marriage is a partnership - she’s okay with him working on his song, because she knows it can save the world. She only calls out for help when she’s lost and dying. She is stolen by the man Orpheus has sacrificed everything to try and help.

Orpheus loves Eurydice, so he goes to get her back. That’s all he wants. He just wants to find Eurydice and bring her back home. Although he doesn’t know everything that happened, think about how fucking sad this is for one second. While Orpheus was distracted writing a song to save Hades’ marriage, Hades came across Orpheus’ dying wife, and offered to save her life if she agreed to become an indentured servant. When Orpheus arrives, Hades sics his workers on him. Orpheus’ wife is stolen, exploited, and potentially assaulted/raped by Hades. Orpheus is beaten. And he doesn’t want vengeance. He just wants to take Eurydice home. He still wants to help Hades, and he DOES. He sings his song, under threat of death, and it reignites the love Hades and Persephone have lost. He shows Hades that he doesn’t NEED Hadestown to keep Persephone by his side. She loves him, not what he’s built, and Hades' crimes against humanity are hurting their relationship. And in return, all Orpheus wants is to take his wife home.

Yet Hades has the fucking audacity to hate Orpheus, after this. He sings his whole little song, about how afraid he is his workers will leave him, despite the fact that Orpheus has shown him he does not NEED them to be happy. He cannot claim ignorance. He’s fueled by pride, jealousy, and greed, and he can’t let go of them for one fucking second to give these kids a shred of human decency. He creates a term he KNOWS Orpheus can’t meet, because it is something Hades himself has not been able to do. If you compare Orpheus’ trial to Hades’ trusting Persephone to return, you realize that Hades has metaphorically “looked back” quite often. At the beginning of the show, he drops Persephone off LATE and picks her up EARLY. Hades has been “looking back” for years now. The line “it’s time for spring” in Wait for Me (Reprise) is Hades’ attempt to stop this pattern, to stop looking back, because it’s unclear if he’s ever succeeded in doing so. And if Hades fails, he has little to no consequence. He won’t lose Persephone if he comes early, or drops her off late. She’ll just be grumpy, and that’s it.

And Orpheus looks back, and he loses Eurydice. And Hades has the audacity to say this was fair. Orpheus was scared and tired and hurt, and he still did a better job than Hades did. The parallel of Hades riding a train, while Orpheus has to walk on the tracks, is so good, like. It’s the same “journey” but the two experiences are vastly different, with one much, much easier than the other. I’m writing an essay for class now about how this compares to the experiences of disadvantaged people trying to succeed in America. It’s not fair. No one should ever fucking pretend it’s fair. Orpheus and Eurydice are victims, and Hades is a bastard.

An afternote, somewhat defending Hades. I don’t hate him as a character. He’s a compelling, layered guy, and I don’t think he intended to do half the things he did. He didn’t mean to make the wasteland worse, it was an act of apathy, not malice. He didn’t connect the terrible conditions to his actions, and I think he views himself as fair. I talk a lot about him potentially assaulting Eurydice, and I wanna acknowledge that’s the worst case scenario. It’s completely possible that he was just a little creepy/flirtatious, and that’s it. The issue with Hades is that it doesn’t matter if he meant to do terrible things. Because of the power he holds, his actions have consequences that affect thousands of people (or millions, IDK how big this world is). What would be redeemable flaws in a different character become literal crimes against humanity, because of Hades’ position in society. I think part of the message of the musical is that no one should have that much power. What happened is not entirely Hades' fault, and again, I do not think he’s necessarily a bad person. However, even in the best circumstances, even if he had the purest of intentions, Hades has done terrible things. Hades is afraid to relinquish the power he holds, and it is this doubt that dooms Orpheus and Eurydice.

#orphydice #hadestown #hadestown musical #im going through something here #just cut me some slack yall #also please for the love of god if you disagree just let me know civilly #that is totally fine and i want to hear other ppls interpretations and thoughts just in a nice way #mod post

[sepublic]

Tbh, there’s something appealing about that initial impression of Bara Magna as this truly nowhere, inconsequential place. As a world and storyline entirely unrelated to the Matoran Universe...

Aside from how this services the soft reboot direction that Lego was taking the series (that can feel kind of refreshing to be free of the backlog of previous storylines, by starting anew with a blank slate/fresh start), I feel Bara Magna’s initial lack of relevance helped to hone in just how worthless this place felt. How the inhabitants felt, struggling every moment for a meaningless life where they end the day only to wake up and do it all over again.

It really was the boonies of the universe, forgettable and truly in the middle of nowhere, which fit with how the power scaling was drastically cut down, and how Greg emphasized more ‘human’ problems such as the constant struggle to survive, without any supernatural powers... Like some sort of period piece in our world.

This really made Kiina’s desire for more feel all the more personal and impactful- This desire of escapism from this world of nobodies to find something greater, more fantastical and magical even. She was essentially the Luke Skywalker of this storyline and Bara Magna her Tattooine, fittingly enough... It really was a bleak place. It was hopeless, and so that makes it all the more compelling when Bara Magna, a planet that could’ve died and the larger universe wouldn’t have noticed, is suddenly thrust into the center of destiny when Mata Nui and Ignika arrive.

It adds to Mata Nui being at his lowest point if Bara Magna is truly this alien, unconnected world that could be part of an entirely different franchise if it weren’t for the pieces... And even Hero Factory indicates that it didn’t need different parts. Bara Magna being nowhere, a forgotten shell, adds to Mata Nui finding himself at his lowest point;

Only to find salvation from the people and vice-versa, breathing a new life and relevancy into this world when the Matoran Universe becomes involved. It fits with his sand motif, the idea of worthless and forgotten specks of sand, only to come together to be something great, just as Click the one-in-a-thousand of identical beetles rises up to be his own distinguished hero, with a name and everything.

Things that are ignored and underestimated prove their might, to defeat giants like Mata Nui, then Tuma, and finally Makuta- Who ends up falling to the same folly and distant arrogance that he exploited against his brother, not paying attention to the ‘insignificant’ backwater parts of the world and thus left off-guard.

...So admittedly, these vibes are kind of ruined when it’s revealed that Bara Magna is the literal origins and homeworld of it all, where the Great Beings came from and created Mata Nui, and the sole driving force behind the story; The entire meaning behind Mata Nui and the Matoran Universe’s existence, the trials of the Toa. Bara Magna being nothing is suddenly made front and center for the franchise...

Which is why I’m genuinely considering changing this up a bit for YaBr. I know, probably a controversial idea... I guess I feel a bit more emboldened because the Bara Magna saga is so brief and not particularly beloved nor sacred to fans. So a part of me feels a bit better in changing this up, and probably by extension Mata Nui’s mission as well... But there’s also a part of me that feels obligated to keep it connected.

Because I DO like that idea of Mata Nui banished to the most useless edges of the universe, only to rise up with the forgotten people in defeating Makuta. Mata Nui and the Magnans help one another reach greatness, it’s like a Meek shall inherit the Earth type of deal... An empowering story to see Mata Nui become the lowest of the low, only to elevate those around him, paying the Magnans back by repairing their world when it’s all said and done.

There are honestly a lot of different ideas I have when approaching the ‘Magna’ portion of Bionicle’s lore, that giant planet where it all began and ended... Many of these takes contradictory and mutually exclusive with one another. I suppose if I were daring I could attempt to expand the storyline even further by doing both, by adding another planet, and/or converting Bota Magna into one of the two (I do somewhat want to incorporate the lost Bota Magna arc), so I’ll see.

The idea of Mata Nui being sent on a mission to save his original world, acting as its savior and salvation, is compelling in its own way... I think it’s this thing where as long as the original spirit of the story and world is kept, people are less likely to care about the specific details and logistics;

Which is why I feel inclined to keep that ‘worthless and unnoticed backwater world rising to greatness’ vibe, even at the change of certain fundamental lore bits... Because again, I recognize that the Magna arc isn’t particularly beloved, and this IS a creative playground of my own anyhow, purely self-indulgent. I guess I’ll figure it out, but I would appreciate some feedback or other thoughts.

(Perhaps all of these thoughts add to why I like the inclusion of Sakaar into Thor’s Lowest Point journey in Ragnarok, for reference- And why I think Thor Ragnarok, which also has a gladiatorial plotline to its planet of ‘unloved and lost things’ is a good source of inspiration to reimagine Bara Magna.)

#Bionicle #Bara magna #mata Nui #Glatorian #agori #kiina #meta #YaBr

[shelobussy]

I know you talk abou st*cky in the interracial ships stuff, but can we talk about st*ny? Iron husbands is literally right there, but I also always sees Rhodey as Tonys moral support only. And ik Tony is very shippable with most characters, but the fact his ship is Rhodey is one of the lowest ships in ao3 (ironstrange, winteriron and god forbid stark*r all had more fics in ao3).. It's pretty telling this side also has racism problems...

I'll go ahead and answer this here, but letting y'all know that I do have a marvel sideblog if you want to hit me up there (@themarvelarchives).

Hey, I'm going to ramble for a good minute.

So after I posted my very incoherent, controversial take on St*cky vs SamBucky, there were a ton of ppl who came onto anon saying that St*cky shippers were racist. I think I only answered a few, but y'all were pretty insistent on it. I personally have not observed that St*cky shippers are so I'm not calling anyone out on that side of the fandom for that.

I also did not call out anyone on this side of the fandom bc that's not what my meta was about. I think I mentioned maybe once or twice in the whole post that there was underlying racist in the fandom, but since you asked, we can talk about it here.

Covert Bigotry In Fandom Spaces.

To understand what's going on in the MCU, we have to first look at what I call "woke-queer" fandom.

So "Woke-Queer" Spaces is the phenomenon where certain fandom members like to call ppl out on their bigotry, while covertly harboring their own queerphobia/racism/etc. An example of this that we're all familiar with is TERFS and how they like to claim that they are progressive and woke, while also claiming that trans women are fake and trans men are sexist.

How this translates to fandom, however, is the hypocrisy that is cancellation and callout culture.

For example, Supernatural in particular is a fandom that likes to call out the writers on their homophobia and racism, and yet, somehow, the fandom is chalk full of homophobia and racism. If you want to read more about this, here is a truly excellent article from the perspective of a queer woman of color.

Moving on, I've also talked in a previous meta post, on the internalized acephobia that exploded in 2019 after Good Omens was released. Rather than reiterate everything I said in that post, I'll just leave it at this: the controversy in the Good Omens fandom can be summed up by the fact that queer audiences are claiming that Ineffable Husbands is the wrong kind of queer. The hypocrisy oozes off the screen, doesn't it?

A final way this viably translates to fandom, is in how the Doctor Who fandom evolved over time.

So Steven Moffat takes over as head writer and showrunner in 2010. It's a new series, a new Doctor, a new Tardis, and new branding. He steps up the action, changes the color grating, and raises the stakes. Women are sexier, the Doctor is smarter (and more of an asshole, but that's another meta post), and every companion comes with their own impossible mystery that makes them Special™.

Series 5-10 got tons of woke points for having lesbian characters, an episode where the Doctor is homoerotic with James Corden, and an underlying trans narrative with the Master's reincarnation. What a lot of people forget, however, is that his series was incredibly sexiest, incredibly lesbian/biphobic, and basically turned the Doctor into everyone's fantasy sex-object.

This, unfortunately, brought out the worst of the fandom. There was RTD Era vs Moffat Era wars exploding in certain corners, TenxRose shippers vs ElevenxRiver shippers.

What does this have to do with covert racism in fandom cultures though?

Hnnngng ok, so back in RTD era's we get Martha Jones, the Actual Best Companion On The Entire Show. Except for the fact, of course, that she is written to be in love with the doctor. She's a brilliant character--smart, sassy, flawed, funny, flirtatious--and her entire plotline is reduced down to a school-girl crush on a white man.

She doesn't do well with fans, they scrap her after one season.

We move on to Donna Noble (The Other Actual Best Companion On The Entire Show) and RTD's era ends with them scraping her too and regenerating David Tennant's Doctor.

It will be five more series (not seasons, SERIES) until Doctor Who will have another black companion--who gets extra points for being gay--only to fall victim to "bury your gays" at the end of the season (but not really bc no one stays dead on Doctor Who).

The fandom's reception of Martha Jones was historically bad. The comparisons to her predecessor, Rose Tyler, were rampant and everyone was finding a reason to hate her.

The fandom's reception to Bill Potts was also historically bad, as everyone was screaming that she was being written for more "woke points" and that they wanted Clara back.

Fandom has a historically bad reputation of being problematic and, I would argue, the majority of it has to do with these toxic undertones of bigotry that slip under the radar. "Woke-queer" spaces, as I call them, are these instances above where spaces that claim to be inclusive of gender/orientation/race are covertly bigoted.

Marvel and Cancelling

Now is an excellent time to talk about the MCU.

Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson) has recently come under a lot of criticism from fandom members for shutting down shipper speculation.

"The idea of two guys being friends and loving each other in 2021 is a problem because of the exploitation of homosexuality. [...] something as pure and beautiful as homosexuality has been exploited by people who are trying to rationalize themselves."

I can't find the rest of the quote, but Mackie goes on further to say that it was important to him to portray "a sensitive, masculine figure" without insinuating that there was romance involved.

Woke culture lost it's shit. Everyone was suddenly claiming that Mackie was calling them exploitative for shipping a gay ship as a queer audience, which could not have been further from the case.

Mackie actually makes some very excellent points in that sensitivity is not gay/queer. Woke culture loves to rag on Toxic Masculinity, but the minute someone plays a character who is loving and sensitive with no queer narrative in mind, they are immediately canceled.

What Am I On About

Okay, let's actually address what your ask was about, Nonnie. You pointed out--rather truthfully--that it is unfair to call-out racism on one side of the fandom, while ignoring it on the other side.

Well, I've gone back through my St*cky vs. SamBucky analysis (which is incoherent at best, I apologize for that) and I see maybe once instance where I called out fandom members for being racist. Here's what I had to say about racism:

"[...] Iron Husbands is a rarepair, probably because it’s an interracial ship."

"[there is] nothing wrong with shipping two white men, but it does become a problem when you ignore/bash POC/interracial ships to the determinant of your own white ship."

And then there was the post you brought up where I addressed interracial ships in the fandom. That one is probably more relevant to this topic, to be honest, as I actually addressed fandom racism there. I assume that your reason for bringing up Stony is because it's a ship that is more relevant to my side of the fandom, HOWEVER, the reason I highlighted Stucky instead was because I was comparing the fact that they've both been around the same amount of time and are relationships that feature the protagonist and their best friend.

You brought up St*ny in the ask, however, so I'm going to talk about St*ny for a minute.

As someone who never has nor will ship St*ny, it never even occurred to me that some of the problem behind the Iron Husbands tag being so small is because everyone ships the white, boring ship. You brought up a very valid point, but because I was never in that part of the fandom, I can't really speak to any possible underlying racism there, besides what I've already said above.

I would be interested in hearing a St*ony shipper or ex-St*ony shippers thought on this, but sadly I don't know any. If you have any more thoughts regarding this, Nonnie, pls drop back into my inbox.

You do make some excellent points in this ask though, and I would like to talk about racism on my side of the fandom.

So back to Mackie and his Twitter cancellation. Notice that Disney made him address the rumors and not his co-star, Sebastian Stan. Anthony Mackie is put on blast and made to answer fan demands and receives backlash, while Sebastian Stan gets to fly under the rader. This is not, by the way, a criticism of Stan, but instead of the blatant racism Disney has been displaying over the past few years.

How this ties in with the rest of my post has to do with my "woke-queer" spaces bit. The outcry across the MCU fandom over Mackie was swift and unforgiving. He was cancelled on charges of homophobia and bigotry--all the while these same fans turn a blind eye to any queer interpretation of other interracial ships and discourse in their own fandom.

The racism that I'm speaking about, of course, is an almost passive racism. Of course if you don't ship a specific ship for reasons other than their race, it's perfectly fine. It's okay not to ship Iron Husbands or SamBucky or any other interracial fandom ships. However, the distinct lack of shippers in the fandom IS telling because there are people who would ship that exact ship if not for the fact that one of men is black.

I don't have much more to say about this except to thank you for bringing it up and for listening to my long rambling post.

(Feel free to bug me about Tony Stark, MCU ships, MCU Meta and anything you want to talk me about on this blog and @themarvelarchives.)

#this got long sorry #iron husbands #sambucky #james rhodes #tony stark #sam wilson #anthony mackie #doctor who #moffat critical #my meta #ash does meta #ash does fandom #marvel #mcu #fandom critical #fandom criticism #long post

[other-cullen-ficrecs]

MLM!Cullen Fic Rec List

Inspired by this post. Here is my fic rec list of some of my favorite fics with queer Cullen. Happy Pride :)  🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍🌈

Cullen/Dorian

Only True in Fairy Tales by Dragonflies_and_Katydids

Summary:  In which Dorian is a special forces operative, Bull is his partner, and Cullen is the guy they're sent to rescue. Hijinks ensue. // Words: 110150

Modern AU. Dragonflies_and_Katydids makes me read the weirdest stuff. But their work is always captivating. The more ridiculous set up the better outcome, I promise. This one is both ridiculous and absolutely perfect. And somehow one of the very few modern au fics in which Cullen's lyrium addiction is well transfered without making it literal.

Fashionably Late by tsurai

For the tumblr prompt: Cullen/Dorian Soulmates AU? <3 "Maker’s breath, this is absolutely the worst timing, he thinks distantly." // Words: 1038

This is but a tiny thing but I'm a sucker for a soulmate AU. Would I love it more if it was 150,000 words? Yes. But I'm just greedy.

COLD HANDS, WARM HEART by spicyshimmy, stonelions

Summary: Cullen and Dorian's friendship deepens. Cullen is a romantic. Dorian is literally cold. Cullen is no longer certain what he would consider surprising. Mages and Templars working in perfect cooperation, perhaps. Evil and corruption disappearing into the ground along with the blight, blood magic falling so far out of favor it ceased to be. A united Thedas: that would be a surprise. // Words: 25369

I think this is most recced Cullrian fic and for a good reason. Slow burn, drama, all the delights. 

Light In This Darken'd Time Breaks by RamonaDecember

Summary: Cullen wouldn't say he hates mages, not anymore, but he can't see himself ever trusting one again. Dorian is no exception. The mage is off-color, self-important, and all together too much for Cullen to deal with. So why is it that every time Cullen is at his lowest, Dorian seems to be the only person by his side? // Words: 121289

Slow burn with 121289 words, what more do you want?

Cullen/Bull

Jump In by Dragonflies_and_Katydids

Summary: In which Cullen is almost terminally awkward, Bull and Dorian are literally brothers (because why not?), and Bull tries really hard to be good. Or: In which Dorian tries to set up his brother and his roommate, if he can avoid killing them for being so clueless. (You might get cavities from reading it. Don't say I didn't warn you.) // Words: 33700

What did I say about Dragonflies_and_Katydids and ridiculous premises? But if you're as delighted with awkward Cullen as am I - enjoy.

Dragons from Stars in an Empty Sky by Midna_Ronoa

Summary: The one in which Bull takes Cullen dragon-hunting. // Words: 10423

Fluff and smut and dragons!

Stuck on the Puzzle by thespectaclesofthor

Summary: Once, back in Kirkwall, Cullen had an arrangement with a member of the city guard that satisfied his needs. But time changed all things, and he despaired of ever finding a similar arrangement again - that was, until he met The Iron Bull. Problem being that Bull seemed to care far more about sorting out the nitty-gritty of such an arrangement than Cullen ever has. // Words: 235586

No fic rec lists that can involve Bullen canot do without Stuck on the Puzzle. If you haven't read it - please give it a try. As far as I'm concerned - the best fic in the fandom. And definately one of the best fics in general. <3

Cullen/Dorian/Bull

Exit Light by Dragonflies_and_Katydids

Summary: In which Cullen is suicidally depressed, Dorian is a high-functioning alcoholic, and Bull just wants them both to be happy, except when he wants to crack their heads together for being emotionally stunted idiots. // Words: 77427

This premise is actually very close to canon, compared to some other stories by the same author recced here. The angst? Delightful. The smut? Delicious. The exploration of issues? Delectable! Cheff kisses all around.

to burn cool and collected by toomanyhometowns

Summary: Dorian hums. "Here is the function of the spell: Upon invocationne, ye caster's spyryt shal sterte to ye form of whomsoever mofte recently achieved releafe by hys hande." He taps the page in punctuation and looks back up. "And then there's a lot of text about the vast joys we may experience together, et cetera, et cetera." // Words: 16121

Ok, this list shows more than anything that my main delight is issues and angst wrapped in with porn. Anyway - cracky premise (body swap!), and angsty, sexy outcome.

Hold by queeniegalore

Summary: Everyone knows Cullen doesn't trust magic. But he trusts Dorian and Bull, so maybe they can make this work. // Words: 6654

Issues? Trauma? Kink? I'm a one trick pony when it comes to recs.

Cullen/Cole

Okay now that we’ve gotten the obvious out, let’s enjoy the trully unexpected enjoyment.

Into The Light (Cole/Cullen Ficlets) by Sinister_Kid

Summary: A series of what I hope are tasteful Cole/Cullen fics that don't exploit or overly sexualize Cole's developing character. Based on a prompt I filled out of boredom in which I imagined the spirit actually hearing someone's pain like a physical noise in his ears that caused discomfort. Explores the option of making Cole more human, with my own original take on how that affects him as a character, and depicts Cole developing romantic feelings for the Commander as he discovers what it means to be human. // Words: 20454

I admit I don't often read Cole shippy fics but this one stays true to the info in the summary and it is careful and tasteful. Also Cullen learning to speak with Cole properly - <333

Cullen/Varric

Verse & Volley Triptych by boycoffin

Summary: POSSIBLE TITLES: This Shit Was Even Weirder: A Surprisingly Not-Doomed Romance In The Shadow of the Apocalypse The Commander and the Rogue already taken, Antivan maritime smut with an elf girl in it How The Hell I Ended Up With That Guy: A Tale for The People Who Keep Asking Me About It In Bars The Short and Curlies that's just terrible Love Among the tropey garbage A Tale of Two Names pretentious and unclear The Penman's Paramour Memoirs of a Moron (That He's Going to Regret Publishing and Will Never Hear The End Of for As Long As He Lives) // Words: 133354

One of the very few fics in which I can not only accept but love 1st person POV. Crack. Slow-burn. Pennames. Lovable OCs. DELICIOUS. Also a fic that made me start this blog, so love all around.

Cullen/Krem

Last but not least, my delightful fave (maybe, possibly, probably) and involving a shameless self-plug because it’s the month of pride.

Swordplay by orphan_account

Summary: The Bull's Chargers are undisciplined, untested, and unprofessional; but Cullen can't stop thinking about their lieutenant. // Words: 3910

I have a soft spot for whoever Krem being shipped with not knowing he's trans at first. But also oblivious, pining Cullen <3

If you have been starving, a creature of bone by missivesfromghosts

Summary: Cullen is content with where he is. He has a life and a purpose. He’s doing the Maker’s work and he’s cut the Chantry’s leash on him. He barely thinks about the fact that he’s trans anymore. The last person who knew he was born anything different, barring his sister Mia, died during the Blight. This works for him. That is, until he starts falling for Krem. // Words: 769

A tiny thing but I have a soft spot for the idea. Also what's better than a ship with trans character? A ship with two trans characters. Keep that in mind for further recs actually.

Sweet, Merciful Andraste by Tainaron

Summary: PWP. Honestly, Cullen should invest in walls and a ceiling that don't have holes if he's going to keep having such loud sex. Pure, unapologetic smut between trans men who love each other. // Words: 4187

¯\_(ツ)_/¯  What more do you want from me? Sometimes porn is just porn. Enjoy.

Champions of the Just by Tainaron

Summary: En route to Griffin Wing Keep before the battle of Adamant, Cullen falls prey to an injury that reveals a shameful secret about his trauma with magic. As Cullen struggles with his past, his duty to the Inquisition, and his love life, he becomes increasingly uncertain if he’s the target of an assassination attempt or just his own personal demons. // Words: 67885

Well, I also have some plottier and angstier fics in my rec disposal. This one actually explores the problems Krem and Cullen could encounter in their relationship and all within the canon plot line. Plus bonus points of Cullen actually interacting with other Chargers.

cabbage: a love story by psikeval

Summary: Krem’s grin fades into a quiet smirk, his eyes warm and amused, and Cullen does not forget how to move his legs because he is a grown man, a leader of soldiers, commander of the Inquisition’s army. He breaks the silence by coughing loudly, because he is also an imbecile. // Words: 18932

Creme de la creme of Krem/Cullen fics <3 Fluff, crack, porn <3 This delightful series has it all! 

#fic rec #pride month #dragon age #dragon age inquisition #cullen rutherford #bi cullen #cullen/krem #bullen #cullen/bull #culrian #cullen/dorian #culric #cullen/varric #cullen/cole #rec list

[crow-with-a-knife]

Do you ever just think about how feeble our lives our in the wake of corporations dominance over us as people? How in any moment they could take a action that forever alters the course of the planet, one day we could wake up and they’ve decided to start trying to influence our dreams so their products appear more. How they’re actively phasing out the most simple of jobs such as being a cashier in favor of robots and self-checkout options rather than actually pay someone. In seconds thousands of employees who live bill to bill fired because the higher ups and shareholders want to thicken their wallets. They’re like that one species of ant; formica sanguinea, going out and kidnapping weaker ants to do their labor for them. The most fucked part is that the ants don’t even know they’ve been taken from their nests— they were indoctrinated into their roles at such young ages, still larvae— and that’s what we’ve been doing. we are so brainwashed into thinking these corporations want what’s best for us that were blind to the bigger picture, which is that they don’t care if we die working for them they can always replace us with shinier, dumber, newer, naive employees— at least until they can make a robot to replace us. These corporations can do things to seem like they have our best interest in mind like pride merchandise, but then turn around and support bills that suppress those exact people they’ve exploited for cash. They do things to motivate people into buying more of their products like ‘splitting the company’ into two groups for example; the Mike & Ike war where they only sold Mike & Ike or Mike & Ike, and the left Twix right Twix propaganda. What’s the point in working— doing anything in a world where we can’t even enjoy the little things, what’s the point when everyday something happens and we earn all left wondering “it can’t get worse than this?”

Yes actually pretty often. My grandpa was one of the highest paid employees at his job and was considered a boss for the majority of the people on site. He conducted most interviews, people weren’t fired without his consent, he attended the majority of meetings for that particular site. You get the point, he did a lot. But soon enough after several years at the company he felt like he’d be fired soon simply because he was one of their more expensive employees. You can’t win. He worked his way up for years and earned his way to the top of his site but then because the high ups deemed him too expensive to keep they get rid of him. There is literally no way to win. They always want to get rid of you and replace you with someone willing to work for less pay even if you have years of experience and knowledge that takes several years of practice. The world is now designed in such a way that it’s damn near impossible to work your way up in the majority of jobs because you will be deemed too expensive. We’ve been doomed to always be cycled around and treated like mindless worker bees. Once I took a class about this sort of thing and we were asked to find some solution to the growing issues we both mentioned here and the other people all suggested things that could work but me being myself I took it upon myself to debunk every one. (An actual solution should be solid in my mind. i’m not a huge risk taker) They could all easily be debunked in one sentence. “But whats the incentive for the CEOs and the higher ups to do that?” because really there’s no reason for them to want to pay their lowest employees more unless there is public pressure to do so. All of the other answers said were great but they relied on the richer people being empathetic. But the thing is they’re not. They couldn’t care less if their work force isn’t paid enough to make rent and have to have several roommates and still scrape for tips. They get money so what’s the point in changing the way they do things? It’s living by the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” mentality (which is a shit mentality, things can always be better). Anyways I couldn’t really tell you “what’s the point?” because I myself don’t know. What I love for now is the really really simple things mainly cause it’s all we have these days. So my point is seeing my friends smile and laugh, seeing a walkout in support of the lgbtq community from all the youth who really want to (and very well might) make a change, or just walking outside and seeing a bush full of bees.

#asksss #wow that got sappy at the end #but yeah there you go that’s my rant #my hill to die on

[moonenjoyer]

actually fuck it whats the point in not complaining when you have something to complain about? staying positive? fuck that im a negative person and i want to rage

today i was called into work early bc we were apparently sOoooOoooOooooOooo busy they needed help. which i (the lowest paid person there) was actually super busy all morning. i was doing like 15 things at once, helping everyone with dumb shit, and answering the phones all on a harsh stressful time limit for like the first 3 hours i was there. all while my computer was having issues.

but all the shitty evil old white republicans i work with just stood around talking about politics instead of helping. and the things they were saying were so upsetting ive been working here half a year and it still ASTOUNDS me how evil these people are but theyre CONVINCED that theyre not only good people. but like. the best. the nicest. the Most Right. theyre F O U L !!!!

but what really ruined my whole day is that for the second half of my shift today someone from a company we work with was coming in to do a presentation and ik most people hate stuff like that but i was actually excited bc i was looking forward to just sitting down and turning my brain off for a few hours while he did his little presentation

so tell me why that ended up being the most infuriating part of my day and HOURS later im still heated about it? he started the presentation by asking us all our names and position and i swear to god this mf just let everyone else answer normally but he FIXATED on me and kept asking follow up questions and putting me on the spot for like 3 minutes straight. can i fucking help you???

the next step was i guess his idea of ~connecting~ with us before his presentation (i hate when people do this just say your goddamn peace we dont need to be friends oh my GOD) which ended up being a T H I R T Y minute conversation with all my shitty evil white upper middle class boomer coworkers who have been working at this kushy job since their 20s about how young people are so lazy and we're ruining the economy and how we all still live at home and we dont want to get off of our asses and work and they literally said we're all going to fail and be losers and its our own fault and like.

at the end they were literally like "not you becca we love you you work so hard 😍😍😍" like first of all you mean you EXPLOIT me so hard second of all ive been desperately DESPERATELY trying to find a new job and get away from you people for months. no. one. is. hiring. third of all the reason everyone is living at home longer and not supporting themselves and getting married and shit by 18 like yall did is because YOU ruined the fucking economy. YOU. the few jobs that actually are hiring rn are trying to pay like $10/hr which doesnt even cover rent anymore let alone other bills and expenses

it made me so fucking pissed. anyway once they finally stopped jerking themselves off to how much better their generation is for the remaining 3 hours of the presentation i swear this guy would not leave me alone. like he kept asking me questions and putting me on the spot and everytime he used some fake scenario as an example for a point he was trying to make (which was often) he used my name and he kept like staring at me while he talking instead of making eye contact with anyone else. so while i was sitting therr STEAMED by how close to home their little "young people dont want to work and are losers" conversation hit i wasnt even allowed to tune out and had to actually pay attention to his boring corporate propaganda presentation

anyway if you actually read this i love you and i hope you have a nice week ❤️❤️❤️ xoxo

and scene.

#::

[cogentranting]

Arrow 1x05 Rewatch

. Oliver’s little smirk when Lance is interrogating him. I live for it. 

“You can speak to Mr. Queen’s attorney when he gets here.” He? Where’s Jean Loring? 

“He also thinks I dress up in a mask and a green hood and shoot people. With arrows.” The audacity of Oliver. 

“she knows me better than anyone. She knows I could never be this guy.” OLIVER. I mean. Again. the audacity. Especially because he reveals later that he planned this. That he WANTED to get arrested. And he just has this whole plan revolving around this front of “Laurel knows me so well. She’s the only one who really knows me and she knows I’m not a killer.” When really the crux of the plan is how much Laurel does NOT know him and he plans on exploiting that. Amazing. 

“He raised her to do the right thing and that includes representing an innocent man.” Okay. So. My indiscriminate glee with the irony and Oliver’s attitude aside. This whole set up is really interesting. It reminds me actually of the moment in the season 5 flashbacks when he goes to see Galina (Taiana’s mother) and lies to her and manipulates her with this nice persona which is actually at that point more a mask than his Kapiushon identity. And that scene has always been really interesting to me because it’s Oliver pretending to be a good man at a time when he’s not, and while he lies a lot and puts on masks throughout the series, that particular aspect of it is fairly unique because it comes at what is basically Oliver’s lowest point (morally). And this episode (1x05) is similar in it bringing out this very manipulative side of Oliver that we don’t see in this way all that often (and remember that moment in 5x17 and this moment in 1x05, are actually very close together chronologically. Somewhere between 2 and 7 months apart.) The idea that Oliver, knowing full well that he is attacking and killing people, gets Laurel involved on the basis of this very emotionally laden appeal, citing their history and the connection they had, especially considering the role that Laurel believing oliver to be more moral than he really was played in Oliver cheating on her, and using not only her perception of him, but the way that him reaching out to her would be perceived... it’s cunning, and it’s effective, and it’s kinda messed up. 

But like.... legally... can Laurel represent her ex-boyfriend who her father arrested?

It’s ALL so calculated to manipulate how people perceive him. Appearing in court without a lawyer until Laurel agrees to do it. Protesting the tracking anklet. Throwing the party. His response to the plea deal. 

Speaking of calculated. Oliver knows what that blue sweater is doing to make his eyes pop. He knows. 

But Malcolm and Walter acting like they have no idea why Quentin would have a grudge against Oliver. LIke come one guys. You know. 

I just. I love the polygraph scene. For so many reasons. 

In the same vein about Oliver manipulating people’s perception of him in this episode, what makes this episode great are the places where it’s unclear even to the audience how much of Oliver’s reactions are genuine and how much is purposefully done to affect how Laurel and Quentin see him. Even in the polygraph scene-- did he get pushed into revealing that he was tortured on the island? Or did he see a way around that answer and reveal it anyway to gain sympathy? Did he actually get hung up on his guilt over Sara’s death (which is of course very real) or did he use that guilt as a way of covering up the answer to “have you ever killed anyone” because he knew he couldn’t beat the polygraph on that one? Did reliving his torture and Sara’s death actually overwhelm him to the point that he had to run out, or was he able to keep those reactions in check but put on the act to convince them?  The same idea is present in the scene later in the episode where he shows Laurel his scars and talks about how damaged he is. And we know that there is intentional manipulation going on because Diggle and Oliver’s conversation at the very end-- “So you lied. Or maybe you just gave her a version of the truth.” “I told her what she needed to hear.”-- and we know that there is truth (Oliver IS damaged, he IS guilt-ridden over Sara’s death, he IS traumatized by the torture he suffered) but we don’t know exactly where the line is between the two. 

I also think that Laurel and Quentin’s different reactions are interesting. When Oliver says that he was tortured, Laurel’s mouth is literally hanging open, she’s so shocked. But Quentin doesn’t react. Unlike Laurel he already knew about the scars so part of it is probably just that he put together that either Oliver was tortured in some capacity or he was horrifically cutting himself. But even if he had forewarning of it, just the idea that at this point he is so broken and angry over Sara’s death that he can look at someone who, even if he never really liked, he’s probably known since Oliver was in jr high. To hear this kid you watched grow up say he was tortured and not even react...

Love how little effort everyone at this party put into the theme

“If you think this is what prison’s like you are in for a rude awakening.” So i think this is mainly a joke because clearly Oliver doesn’t think prison is like his little rave thing. But. I do think that even though Diggle has some sense of what Oliver’s been through, because he still thinks Oliver spent those entire 5 years on the Island, Diggle thinks that Oliver doesn’t have a great sense of the real world. Just the world of the fabulously wealthy and the world of deserted islands. While in reality Oliver actually has spent time in some very different walks of life between Russia and Hong Kong and Hub City. 

“I just don’t like being played. Now you might have gotten used to lying to everyone else in your life but I’m the one guy you don’t lie to.” And here we are with that manipulation motif again. Oliver who at this moment actually has no reason to lie to Diggle, can’t trust enough to actually just present his plan to Diggle. He has to pull strings and manipulate to get him to go along with it. At this point trust is so hard for Oliver that it’s easier to just have a different mask for everybody. 

“I can’t remember the last time that I was in this room.”  “I can. Halloween 2005.”  But that’s 2 years before the Gambit sinking. Why was Laurel not in this room for 2 years prior to  that? she was dating Oliver? this is presumably his room? and if it’s NOT his room then its... just a random one? And why would she even comment on it? 

“There were times that I wanted to die. In the end there was something I wanted more.” The clear implication that Oliver is making is that Laurel was sort of his inspiration to keep going throughout his five years. And I’m not so against the Laurel Oliver ship that I’d deny that that is a factor of Oliver’s motivation during his time there. Particularly during the seasons 1 and 2 flashbacks, and at the very end of season 5 (which, if we understand the story chronologically, is probably the specific moment that Oliver is referring to here-- when he was drugged and in pain and had a gun to his own head and hallucinated Laurel convincing him not to kill himself. Which was only like 2 months prior to this conversation). But Laurel and getting back to her is really only referenced a handful of times throughout the flashbacks. That’s probably in part due to the series moving away from her as the main love interest/female lead. But I think its also a disservice to Oliver as a character to reduced his motivation down to that. Oliver is much more driven by 1. a general will to survive (something that is a dominant trait of his but also often in conflict with his suicidal ideation) 2. a concept in his mind of owing his life to others-- he feels he has to fix his father’s wrongs, he has to protect his mother and sister, he has to come make amends to Laurel etc.-- what he owes to others takes utmost priority (and that’s why often his suicidal thoughts come in this form and also have to be combatted in this form-- he thinks he should die because others would be better off without him, vs he should live because they love/need him) 3. a need to atone for his own sins. Interestingly, I think that even when Laurel is serving as Oliver’s motivation, it’s not as much his love for her driving him as a need to make things right with her (in the flashbacks. In the present in season 1 and somewhat season 2, his love for her is more dominant, and often in conflict with his desire to set things right which is why, especially early on, you get weird back and forth between pushing her away and trying to get close to her). 

“Impressive. you have resolve I didn’t credit you for.” Oliver’s iron will is such a central part of his character and contrary to what a lot of people believe, its not something forged into him on the island. It’s something he starts with. And I wonder what that looked like in his youth? Probably a lot more like season 1 Thea (who has that same iron will). 

This arms dealer looks like a discount Vince Vaughn. 

It hurts my heart to see Quentin and Oliver at odds like this. 

“But if any member of my family so much as gets a papercut... I will burn your entire world to ashes.” I love the Queen family so much. 

Oliver: “Good heart to heart Diggle. I’m gonna go kill someone now.”

#arrow #arrow rewatch 21 #arrow 1x05 #cogent metas #cogent liveblogs #cw: suicide #oliver queen #this is one of my favorite episodes and it was fun picking up on some aspects I hadn't thought about before. so maybe this one got kinda lon #*long

[eucat]

I have to admit I always thought Gandalf and Faramir had a fairly uncomplicated, loving relationship. And I still want to hold on to this idea that there's sincere love! But I think I was mistaken to think it’s not complicated. At the heart of it is perhaps one of the most widely accepted (and widely caricatured) assumptions about the steward’s family: that Denethor excessively favors Boromir over Faramir.

I actually think the entire idea that Faramir is in competition with Boromir for Denethor’s love only actually starts to take shape after Boromir dies! In fact, if you read closely, it’s largely shaped by Gandalf himself. The most cynical take is that Gandalf uses this “subplot” as a device to ensure Faramir doesn’t work it out with Denethor and thereby potentially complicate Aragorn’s return!

When Gandalf tells Denethor “don’t be unjust in your grief,” it’s not clear that Denethor has said anything to warrant an accusation that he’s being unfair to Faramir. It’s...interesting for Gandalf to say this. Because it’s Gandalf’s words that escalate the existing tensions that exist between Denethor and Faramir into this much more emotionally intense idea that Denethor hates Faramir. Sure, Denethor and Faramir argue in ROTK, but if you read what they actually say to each other, it’s not actually vitriolic and there’s basically no reference to favoritism from either of them. It’s Gandalf who is always insisting Denethor loved Boromir best. Now! I DO believe Denethor was “closer” to Boromir, and that this probably, from time to time, created friction--but I don’t think even at the lowest points before Boromir’s death that Denethor and Faramir ever doubted that they loved each other! 

In fact, I think the whole favoritism angle is actually not at all how Denethor, Boromir, and Faramir think of their internal family dynamic. I think it’s literally gossip (that Gandalf actively contributes to!) that has currency only among people in Minas Tirith look at them from a distance as high, remote figures, whose fairly mundane disagreements and conflicts get amplified in the register of gossip and rumor into this idea that Denethor is an unfair, even cruel, father. Other than perhaps the appendices, it’s left very ambiguous in the text itself if we’re supposed to think this is really how it is! We hear Gandalf deliver the favoritism spin, and then later when Faramir goes out to Osgiliath we also hear that the crowds of Minas Tirith are murmuring to each other “Denethor pushes Faramir too hard.” So it all really depends how reliable you think these sources are when it comes to buying this idea that Denethor doesn't really love Faramir--which within the universe of LOTR itself is shown to be a highly-mythologized sort of metanarrative that is floating around Gondor!

And Gandalf’s participation in this mythologizing is truly crazy, especially when you think about how, as Faramir is leaving the city to defend Osgiliath in the most acute mental and emotional distress we’ve been privy to so far (he’s struggling against what Aragorn will later call the “black breath”), Gandalf calls out to him, “your father loves you and he’ll remember it before the end!” (this is only a few days after Gandalf has referred to Faramir as a moving chess piece). Maybe Gandalf says this because he is actually a little taken aback at how much Faramir has internalized this idea that he needs to ask his father to “think better of him.” Faramir loves and looks up to Gandalf! And he has feelings! So of course he will believe Gandalf and he will not just casually get over the suggestion that his father doesn’t love him. It does Faramir no favors to doubt Denethor’s love for him. I do believe Denethor finds it easier to be close to Boromir--he still loves Faramir, but it’s difficult. And it is this existing situation which Gandalf didn’t create, but he did exploit.

#gondor #this has been brought to you by my brain reacting to erran starting rotk today in the reading streams!!! #IT'S A LOT!!!

[flowerflamestars]

10, 17, 23?

These are so fun, thank you!

10. Most disliked arc? Why?

This is controversial, so disclaimer: I like Morrigan. I am extremely happy to have queer lady rep on a personal level.

But all rep is not automatically good rep, and in this case, I think the real problem is bad writing. 

It is extremely clear in acomaf that sjm had one dynamic planned...and in between books canned it for another, but kept pieces...which further makes EVEN LESS SENSE. Feyre is super interested in how close Mor/Cas/Az are- she doesn’t really get what’s happening, but the focus on closeness is repeated, again and again and again. I’m going to come back to this, but basically, in no version is their history not Complex and not Something Feyre is Probably Getting Wrong for Assuming Straightness.

And then we have queer (and I’m using queer because the books don’t make it clear what her sexuality is- maybe she’s a lesbian. maybe she’s bi but only romantically attracted to women, we don’t know) Morrigan. And it takes what acomaf set up and makes it so much worse?

We go from Morrigan who forged a path and chose a family (a very queer trope, hey I wonder, that whole found family cannot also be straight???) to Morrigan, trapped between her two best friends by several entangled, terrible things. Azriel, who now scares her? Cassian, who she slept with at a cost that was ultimately MegaTrauma for both of them, and literal torture for her. Morrigan who maybe slept with someone she wasn’t even attracted to just for autonomy as a teen....and then definitely slept with Helion when she did not want to..to set a boundary with Az??

Can you hear me screaming?

Okay- so how do we fix this? How do we make this less of a goddamn weird choice? First of all, let’s take out the homophobia at all. High Fae are immortal- they have partners that aren’t the same species, why on earth would gender matter?

Cool, Morrigan is queer, but Morrigan didn’t live in fear of her best friends for five centuries. 

But what do we do with the closeness, the rabid protectiveness? High fae don’t care who you bang, but you know who would, if we have to stay in canon’s shitty lil world? Illyrians, who safeguard their bloodlines in horrific ways already.

Azriel hates Illyria so much in the books- so much more than Cassian or Rhysand. Why might that be? Why won’t he go back- hey, maybe Azriel is gay.

Feyre’s Straight Vision, and also the viewpoint of a twentyish woman whose never gotten to see..anything: is that, LOVE? since you a man are looking at Morrigan who is wearing a wild cool dress

Az, watching to make sure no one is bothering Morrigan in the crowd: Solidarity (maybe based on horrific trauma or something)

Let’s compound further. Canon does it for us- Rhysand tells Feyre that Cassian slept with Morrigan as a dumb teen because he was jealous of all the time she was spending with Az. Not- he was jealous over Morrigan, he was jealous of Morrigan. 

Bisexual Cassian babes- still figuring it out, but jealous about his hot best friend. And then, hello, terrible plot, totally traumatized by his first sexy exploits with a lady. 

This closes the final loop: if Morrigan doesn’t want Az or Cassian, why is she so aggressive with Nesta? Because, after all they’ve been through, they’re all obsessed with protecting each other. I do think a happier, freer Mor would be a lot less terrible about Nesta, but a little shovel-talk bullshit would remain.

Because they all found each other and chose each other and protect each other, because they know being who they are isn’t always safe. Queer solidarity. Not to mention that Nesta is the first woman it’s been clear Cassian is going to absolutely fall for! No one wants him to get hurt again.

In sum: canon queer Mor bad, the possibility that didn’t happen of queer IC good?

17. Instead of XYZ happening, I would have made ABC happen…

Okay, I totally went this way for the first question, but I have a different answer!

Instead of the solstice party being the lowest point for Nesta, I would have made it the breaking point for Cassian.

He notices there’s no gift for her in the pile. Assumes kind of tiredly/sadly/bitterly that she isn’t coming- but then watches her show up. Sees the way no one even says hello to her, the resigned, sad face she makes when Elain hands her that glass of wine she didn’t ask for. Further watches Elain uncharacteristically throw back a drink, just to have to deal with peacekeeping.

And Cassian just feels sick. She’s lost so much weight- still beautiful, still so heartbreakingly Nesta, but like she’s going to shatter at any moment. And Cassian whose grieving, who lost so many of his people and in the end couldn’t protect her- Cassian cannot stand to watch that.

He makes it easy for her. Jokingly steals the glass of wine with some aside and drinks it himself. Doesn’t leave her alone. Doesn’t even look up to watch the self-made spectacle of Morrigan unwrapping lingerie- he’s too busy very quietly handing Nesta her single present, from him. She pockets it, wrapped, but Cassian will swear there’s something there to her nod, a softening for just a second.

When Nesta leaves- the second she can, the moment it’s over, Cassian finds her coat, goes with her. His presence stops Feyre from chasing after her. They don’t even talk. He just keeps up with her angry storming across town, lets her rage with her entire body because it’s like all the light suddenly returned- she’s hurt.

Nesta is hurt and he can help. Nesta is alone, and how could she not be? She doesn’t fit in this Court, doesn’t belong playing nice when Rhys hates her, when Feyre is happiest ignoring her- when Cassian himself feels like he’s outside looking in from the icy peaks of Illyria, out of place with the world feysand want now.

Walks her to her door, safe. Doesn’t press to go in, doesn’t overstep. Just tells her good night, tells her, happy solstice Nesta. Returns the next morning with breakfast he won’t mention goes uneaten, the day after and day after, until she’s waiting when he arrives and stomps down to the actually good bakery down the street with him. 

Cassian never really leaves her alone again.

But first, behind six locks, under the light of the moon, Nesta will sit in her bed and look at the precisely wrapped beautiful gift Cassian, of everyone- her whole family, her whole world- thought to give her. She won’t open it until she’s ready, but Nesta will keep it.

Nesta will never forget. 

23. Unpopular character you love? No one talks about him, but I can only imagine Varian is very, very cool dude. I cannot fathom anything but the complete lack of toxic masculinity that would be needed to look at a monstrous celestial being of a lady and be like, yep, I’m Just A Hot Sailor whose Kind of a Prince but I’ll love her quietly forever anyway.

Cresseida! Like, what, we’re supposed to dislike her for responded to Rhysand’s shitty flirting because she’s lonely because ya know, Amarantha killed the people she loves? Come on. Gimme that difficult woman rep.

He’s from ToG instead, but I love Lorcan. He’s just...such a dweeb. An emo little himbo mess. He’s so massively dumb about all his feelings unless they relate directly to Elide while she’s standing in front of him and even then, is getting them right at about 60% capacity unless it’s life or death and then he abruptly Gets It. Is willing to become Lord Lorcan Lochan for the rest of his days. Ruthless mess. Love it.

[nosunsetsjustsilence]

The Manics and Gender Identity, Part 1

There is a lot to unpack in Nicky and Richey’s early lyrics pertaining to gender, particularly in terms of identifying with women. Richey approaches the subject — as he is wont to do — with regard to the exploitation and degradation of the female image, while Nicky’s attitude is more inquisitive and casual. Both use lyrics to express their own personal “What if?”

Make no mistake: I’m not claiming that either Nicky or Richey is/was non-cis or trans or anything other than curious. But it’s clear from their personal lyric struggles and hard-won lifestyle choices that this was a different time they were living in. In the 1990s, gender identity was not a topic with any kind of mainstream recognition, at least beyond those who wanted a “sex change” or girls who were considered “one of the boys”. I think it’s fascinating, at least from my perspective, to go back and examine the themes of gender dysphoria, identity, and frustration in lyrics written before any of it was part of popular conversation, and in a way that emphasized the then absolute cultural disconnect between desire and society.

Also, it’s important to note that both Nicky and Richey have presented gender in ways that don’t have anything to do with lyrics. Nicky is comfortable in traditionally female clothing and wears dresses on and off stage; both band members wore makeup and feathers on a regular basis. I’ve tried to write about gender in terms of lyrics only, but at times I do take examples from visual media.

Finally, keep in mind that yours truly is non-binary, and the discussion will hopefully not reek of a cis person watching queer men from behind bars in a zoo.

Special thanks to @sinisterrouge for vetting this before I posted <3

Little Baby Nothing

Although Richey seemed to find comfort in claiming that his lyrics were about the larger world — in the case of Little Baby Nothing, feminism and the way women are perceived in media — a closer look usually reveals a personal stake. When I discussed the meaning of this song previously, I emphasized that the “Little baby nothing” in question is clearly Richey himself, writing in the first person and deconstructing his own image to align with a kind of mindless female groupie used for sex.

My mind is dead, everybody loves me Wants a slice of me Hopelessly passive and compatible Need to belong, oh the roads are scary Hold me in your arms I wanna be your only possession

Richey often refers to himself as a “slut” and a “prostitute” and uses self-referential porn star imagery in his lyrics (So Dead: “You need a fix I’m your prostitute”, Yes: “there’s no lust in this coma even for a fifty”), aligning the industries of pornography and music performance in very vivid ways most often pertaining to exploitation. Appropriately, singing pivotal stanzas on this track is none other than Traci Lords, arguably most famous (especially in the early 90s) for an underage porn scandal.  

What’s more, in the lyrics booklet for Generation Terrorists, there is a quotation or excerpt included for each song. The following corresponds to Little Baby Nothing:

“The male chromosome is an incomplete female chromosome. In other words the male is a walking abortion; aborted at the gene stage. To be male is to be deficient, emotionally limited; maleness is a deficiency disease and males are emotional cripples.” -Valerie Solanos.

Ninety percent of what the Manics said and did in their early years was intended to be shocking and/or ironic. Of course they were trying to incite anger and riots, the questioning of institutions, and a teardown of normalcy. But the fact that Richey later used part of this radical statement as the title to one of his songs (“Of Walking Abortion”, natch) proves that he took it somewhat seriously, even if only in the most simple sense — that part of him resented his own maleness.

Life Becoming a Landslide

This is another song I’ve previously discussed, mostly in the arena of Nicky and Richey individualizing their distinctive voices into lines that can clearly be attributed to one or the other. In a song about nature vs nurture and the plastic confines of greater humanity cracking down on who or what someone is really supposed to be, we have:

Life becoming a landslide Ice freezing nature dead Life becoming a landslide I don’t wanna be a man

As far as writing style goes, Nicky was always fairly straightforward. Richey loves to convolute his message with proper nouns and alternating verb cases and a lack of a subject just to throw  people off, but here’s Nicky, my boy, just saying, “Dude. Being a man sucks. I don’t like this.”

He could mean that being human in general sucks. But, since his attitude towards women leads me to believe he would not abbreviate humanity in this way, and given his and Richey’s track record with gender and Nicky’s well-documented gender presentation, I think it’s clear the lyric means that he doesn’t want to be male. Because he feels it doesn’t suit him, for whatever reason. And that nature failed by making him a man instead of a woman.

Yes

‘Yes’ is an incredible song. Its major-chord melody juxtaposed against Richey’s raw portrait of degradation is truly a thing to behold. The theme? Being used, prostitution both literal and metaphorical (“For sale? dumb cunt’s same dumb questions”), exploitation in the name of capitalism (“In these plagued streets of pity you can buy anything”), and reaching the lowest possible point of existence (“Purgatory’s circle, drowning here, someone will always say yes”). But the chorus — the chorus boasts one of the rawest images of sexual violence the band has ever used:

He’s a boy, you want a girl so tear off his cock Tie his hair in bunches, fuck him, call him Rita if you want

Wow. Okay. Where to begin? The implication here is that gender, along with everything else, is mutable if you have enough money and power to abuse people. However, it appears the change would be made not to entertain others, but to appeal to a specific person, sexually (“fuck him”). The “you” in question is clearly attracted to women, so the narrator offering to mutilate himself to please them can be seen as a last-ditch act of desperation. (“It feels like this massive defeat,” said a friend. “You can make him a woman to pleasure someone, but what’s left to change after that?”)

Richey wrote most of the song; “Rita”, obviously, is the name used for an alternative female identity. But who would Rita be? Richey seems to be wondering. Would she still be me? And would the change even be worth the affections of whomever he’s speaking to? If the means are so drastic (and difficult to picture without experiencing secondhand pain), that answer would usually be “no”. But the song is called “Yes”. I would say yes to anything at this point, Richey is saying, even the most extreme sexual violence imaginable, if that’s what you wanted.

4st 7lb

This is an extreme example of Richey using world issues to examine his own nature. Although anorexic himself, Richey writes “4st 7lb” from the point of view of an obsessive young girl admiring thin models. There could be multiple reasons for this, not the least of which is that when a person fails to fit the “classic” case of an eating disorder, they are often ignored. So, Richey says, you need me to be a teenage girl? I can do that. 

(Note that in 1994, when this song was written, any eating disorder demographic outside the “white girl who loves fashion too much” model did not exist by medical standards and was usually subject to ridicule.)

Karen says I’ve reached my target weight Kate and Emma and Kristin know it’s fake Problem is diet’s not a big enough word I wanna be so skinny that I rot from view

Embodying the anorexic female stereotype allows Richey to criticize both the world and himself; by creating a parody of a young girl with an eating disorder, he creates commentary on how ridiculous and counter-intuitive her thought process actually is. The song is brutal and often focuses on nudity and sexual imagery, as it has been suggested in studies that eating disorders occur in those who are trying to annihilate their own puberty. Though Richey was well into his 20s when he wrote this, he often expressed a loathing of aging and the entire concept of adulthood.

Stomach collapsed at five Lift up my skirt my sex is gone Naked and lovely and 5 stone 2 May I bud and never flower My vision’s getting blurred But I can see my ribs and I feel fine My hands are trembling stalks And I can feel my breasts are sinking

Ultimately, “4st 7lb” hits hard as both an experiment in identity and a vicious satire of the rich white girl eating disorder cliché. Although the lyrics do not express a desire to become female, they do indicate that Richey feels everything might be easier and fit more neatly into a box if he were a girl.

[Coming in Part 2: The Girl Who Wanted to be God, Tsunami, Born a Girl, and Pretention/Repulsion.]

#gender identity #gender fuckery #manic street preachers #manics #nicky wire #richey james #richey edwards #lyrics #yes #little baby nothing #generation terroris #the holy bible #life becoming a landslide #4st 7lb #eating disorders #gender

[dirt-grub]

So this is a little outside my normal range of posting but I’ve mentioned Jim Sterling in passing and I think its really important right now to give them support. 

Jim has been on the front line of video game journalism, continually exposing abuse and exploitative late-stage capitalist bullshit in the industry for years, decades even, on The Jimquisition (his weekly show, for those who don’t know) with very blunt and, well, colorful commentary that directly addresses those responsible. They’ve had problems with publishers and video game companies for a long time, because they do not stay silent. They continually point out the outrageous and disgusting practices of the industry, even when it’s become normalized, when it’s considered beating a dead horse, because without that voice, those companies win. These companies silence their critics and continue getting greedier and greedier, more and more morally bankrupt. I’ve watched Jim for years now, and I’ve seen the evolution of depravity from AAA publishers. This normalization of awful harmful practices is very real and very serious. Jim is providing an essential narrative in a world where video game journalism (and I’d go out on a limb and say many other types of journalism) are reduced to an extension of the PR companies of these hulking corporations. His news is not tainted by the companies he’s reporting on. They can’t be paid off or told off by anyone, and that is something I’ve respected for years, and why I stuck with The Jimquisition even after I largely stopped following games media as a whole. 

The reason I’m making this post is that about a month ago, Jim reported on the gigantic abuse scandal at Ubisoft, and how the entire company structure basically exists to protect abusers and silence countless victims. It’s incredibly serious, and the corruption goes to the very top of Ubisoft and most likely plenty of other companies. Countless folks have come out with extremely credible testimony, and the abuse goes very far back. I won’t go into explicit details because it’s disgusting and upsetting, if you want more details click the link, but viewer discretion is advised of course. In Jim’s most recent video, (which I also recommend- its about Ubisoft literally using the black power fist as the symbol of an evil terrorist group in a recent mobile game) they say that the video covering the abuse has been one of their most shared in years, but had initially gotten some of the lowest views. 

YouTube is hiding his content and burying this story, the same way the games media as a whole has. It is specifically effecting The Jimquisition, and newer videos since then have been performing poorly as well.

I’m begging you guys, DON’T LET THIS STORY DIE. THESE PEOPLE NEED TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE. As Jim and many others sadly expected, this story is on its way out of the news cycle, and now Jim’s channel is suffering as a direct result of refusing to be silent and demanding these people be held accountable. I was shocked that something this huge managed to vanish so quickly, and I’ve hardly seen any outrage about it. This is bigger than video games. I know it seems niche on the surface, but this is not a video game problem. This is an abuse problem, this is an exploitation problem, this is a capitalism problem.  

Please do what you can. Learn about the situation, watch Jim’s videos if you’re interested in that kind of thing (I really do recommend them, I’ve never seen another video game journalist be that unapologetic towards AAA companies) or just spread this for people who are. Don’t let this die. Don’t let this person’s channel suffer because they dared to call out abuse and demand justice.

Ubisoft spent years protecting mental and physical abusers. Don’t let them fucking forget it.

#i know this isn't my style but i havent seen anyone talk about it especially here so hey you want something done you do it yourself #please share this #abuse tw #jim sterling #the jimquisition #ubisoft