#or it's like. kids media. which can be good - but i'd like to be allowed to have content that can be both for an adult audience

[aro-culture-is]

aro culture is getting so fucking tired of people using the fact that there's a queer romance in something as a reason you should watch it. like haven't allos had enough of romance? queer or otherwise? I'm not saying queer representation is bad, of course, I'm just fed up with asking what a book is about and in response all I get is "oh it has queer people in it" cool! what is it about? having queer representation is not the be all end all of media can we please have ONE thing without romance in it. please.

.

#electroniccollectiondonut #aro culture is #aro #aromantic #actually aro #actually aromantic #ask #mod phoenix #yeah... it's like. this is a bad metaphor but it's all i got right now: #i'm vegetarian. it's not uncommon that if an event is hosted 'with food' that every single main dish contains a fair amount of meat #and most of the side dishes too #maybe the salad has chicken. the soup is a meat broth soup. the main course is steak. i literally cannot tell you how often this happens. #and if you're lucky there's like... bread rolls and butter. sometimes there's the Cheap Salad that's just tossed lettuce #and i promise you from experience: if i ask beforehand i am always told there will be something for me to eat #but like. believe it or not 1) that's not filling 2) it's usually the two poorest quality items on the line 3) i prefer salads as SIDES #i see similar stuff on the occasion i'm told there's any sort of 'rep' for aro folks #it's like... okay but the vast majority of the media is still very romance focused and the elements that aren't are usually... hm #not comparably interesting in how they're executed? #or it's like. kids media. which can be good - but i'd like to be allowed to have content that can be both for an adult audience #and NOT romance

[hadesoftheladies]

actually, I DID have gender dysphoria as a teenage girl without being exposed to anything about it on the internet, on top of "racial dysphoria" and body dysmorphia

there were points I DID want to kill myself because i wasn't, or bleach my skin or change my body, i would have done anything to be a white boy at one point

which is both sad and funny to me because i remember two of my then good friends explain being enby and transgender to me and me being like "that doesn't make any sense" and it's because of trans-discourse we eventually broke up. the closest i ever got to accepting trans-ideology was transmedicalism with weak support for "queer" culture. i did not understand pronouns, but i understood dysphoria. but i did not understand how one could be a man or woman without the sex characteristics.

how did i heal?

one, i left church. that was one of the places i was most scrutinized for my physical body. two, i distanced from my parents, especially my mom. who often made my ocd and body-image worse (not because she was mean, but because she was always fretting about "decency"). three, i focused on bettering my personal space. writing, reading, watching my comfort shows, getting the focus off me. four, i started eating better, and my body became less burdensome. i stopped getting horrible period pain. five, i surrounded myself with self-confident women and stopped trying to resurrect toxic friendships with girls and boys (especially boys). started eliminating each toxic friend and focusing my efforts on healthier relationships. six, i'd started educating myself on my own history, watching and listening to more black and African people. even when i didn't enjoy what they made or resonate with it, i found i appreciated the experience and could allow myself to hate or love whatever i found.

by the time i discovered radical feminism, this was like, the final step for me: consuming women-centric literature and media. this was HUGE. i'd see paintings and photography of women in all shapes, colors and sizes. i'd listen to master musicians, read women philosophers, anthropologists, etc. this started mending a lot of what caused initial disquiet when it came to my dysphoria or dysmorphia.

basically, i took myself out of bad environments (especially those which force you to scrutinize every detail about yourself, like social media, i took long breaks from that), drew boundaries with people i couldn't get rid of, learned about myself (ocd, dyscalculia, anxiety, female biology) so that i developed understanding and could empathize, stopped centering men and white people.

now, while there's still a hint or trace of dysmorphia and dysphoria, it doesn't plague my life. it's like the occasional itch. more of a mild temptation to go down a dark hole than an actual threat. and i've learned how to handle those.

i learned the root of things. not just my history, but the root of how society worked and how it affected me. and i'm still learning, and my life is still improving.

so yeah, girls and women going through this is normal and common. anyone who is used to who they are being shameful is more at risk (like gnc lgb kids), but you can recover. usually better if you get out of the places that are making you sick.

#mine #radblr #dysphoria #dysmorphia

[neil-gaiman]

Hi Mr. Gaiman, I'm not sure if you'll read this in time but I thought I'd try anyways. I'm not sure how familiar you are with US government and bills, but there's one that Congress is looking to pass that is only bad news.

It's called KOSA (Kids Online Safety Act) and the basis is that it's censorship and for people to use social media sites they will have to upload their government ID or drivers license to shows that they are over 18.

It gives the government unprecedented control over the internet. I'm sure you can see the consequences of this as it would endanger kids trying to escape unsafe environments, identify theft would skyrocket because all of this sensitive data can be accessed easily, this bill would also allow parents of minors to see everything the kid does online which is obviously not good and can be deadly for the child.

This bill would also affect people globally since any company from the US would have to Comply or be sued, so this isn't just a problem for people in the US.

Also fun fact! Tumblr is a US company.

I thought I'd try reaching out to you since you can reach more people than I can and I really admire you. With that being said, sorry if I made your day worse with this news.

I just feel like not enough people know about it. I've also included 2 links, one is a petition to stop KOSA which you can sign even if you're not in the US or are a minor. The other is a link to Bad Internet Bills, which provides more information on KOSA and other bad internet bills. The second link provides much more information, so you can understand it better. Also sorry if the links don't work, Tumblr didn't want them to be links.

Stop KOSA

Bad Internet Bills

I hope you have a wonderful day or night or whatever time you're reading this. Also how are doing? And do you have any advice on editing a piece of writing? For context I'm used to writing shorter pieces but I wrote a long one and I'm editing it but I'm not sure how to go about it since it's a long piece for me and I get stressed every time I try to edit it.

P.S. - Please ignore my bad grammar and sentence structure.

Thank you for the information.

[balioc]

Holiday Engineering: Lamptide

OK, let's put my money where my mouth is.

Lamptide is the invented-from-scratch holiday that I actually celebrate. It has its roots in a roleplaying game that I ran some years ago with @cloakofshadow and @mirror-lock, but after the game finished, I decided that I wanted to import a modified version of the festival into real life.

And it's worked very well! Or so I posit. We've had well-attended Lamptide celebrations for a couple of years running, and not only do people show up and enjoy themselves, there's a distinctive holiday spirit. The weird rites and activities do in fact happen. Which is possibly just because my friends are good sports, but...I think we're reaching the point where some version of Lamptide might well take place without me pushing it along.

As a holiday-engineering project, it's a work-in-progress. I am still tinkering with the observances, and the pieces definitely aren't yet all in place. I don't personally have the expertise to create some of the holiday stuff I'd want to create. Moreover, the population that celebrates Lamptide is still very small, and in some ways homogeneous -- mostly childless urban professional-types -- so the holiday doesn't have the context that it would need to manifest in all the forms that I imagine for it.

But I'm proud of it. And, at the least, it provides an example of what it looks like for a holiday to be built from the ground up.

Vibe. This is where I started. (Both in the RPG and in real life, actually.) In the RPG, Lamptide is an intercalary day, and like many intercalary festivals it's a weird and occult time. In real life, of course, I do not control the calendar. But even so, Lamptide is meant to have that same feel, manifesting as a carnival of spooks and revelry. To some extent, it's meant to serve as a Halloween-like that works better for me than actual Halloween does.

And much like Halloween, in theory, its core rituals can be practiced in three different "modes" depending on context. For families with kids, it's a cutesy holiday of flamboyant fun. For older kids and adolescents, it's a holiday of mischief and boundary-pushing (in a way that is, I hope, less obnoxious than the adolescent version of Halloween). For independent adults, it can be contemplative and/or literary and/or Spicy and Sexy, to taste.

Theme. In a highflown theoretical sense: Lamptide is the festival of narrative conquering material reality, of ideas and illusions becoming more-real-than-real. It is the day when you leave the sunlit world behind and walk back into Plato's cave, because our art allows us to create such beautiful shadows on the walls.

(The "lamp" of Lamptide is, notionally, the lamp whose light reveals what-is-not.)

In a more-everyday sense: Lamptide is a festival of magic.

Timing. Lamptide is observed on the spring equinox. There are a few reasons for this, some of them rooted in stuff from the RPG, but the big one is that it's almost halfway around the calendar from Halloween. I really don't want to compete with Halloween, to the extent that I can avoid it; I would lose that competition very hard. And there are enough obvious points of similarity that it's a real danger.

Early spring is also a good time for holidays generally, in the contemporary US. There's relatively little going on then, and people feel kind of festive because the worst of winter is over.

Mythology. The personification of the holiday is Father Lantern, an ogre-like character who carries a lamp. In the (notional) tales, he shines his lamp on you, and in its light you see an otherworldly version of yourself -- a creature that you could be, if you left ordinary reality behind. More prosaically, if he shows up at your doorstep and you offer him candy, he will tell you stories (or gift you with media).

Father Lantern is mostly a funny and approachable figure. He is long-winded and pretentious, in love with the sound of his own voice. But there is meant to be an edge of menace to him; he is an ogre, which means that there's always the danger that he'll just eat you, especially if you're a child. (This is not a behavior-enforcement thing -- he's not Krampus, and Lamptide is not that kind of holiday. Father Lantern's whims are inscrutable.)

I haven't yet experimented with having someone play Father Lantern, in the way that people play Santa Claus, but it's an obvious possibility.

Decorations. You put lamps and lanterns everywhere. If you can keep your celebration space lit entirely by lantern-light, that is to be commended. Silhouettes and shadow-plays are very much in the holiday spirit.

Holiday attire. Masks -- masquerade-style masks, the kind that allow people to eat and talk comfortably -- are very strongly encouraged. (When I throw Lamptide parties, this is the only thing about which I actually nudge people.) In terms of creating distinctive atmosphere, this fires on all cylinders. A space full of masked people feels otherworldly and ritualized and, well, magic. And the symbolism is super on-the-nose.

Fancy and flamboyant clothes are also encouraged.

Ritual interactions. The Lamptide tradition is to greet people with curses and maledictions. This is done in the spirit of theater superstition; it is a topsy-turvy intercalary carnival, after all. "Die in a fire" is the standard form of cheery holiday well-wishing, although you're encouraged to be creative if you're so inclined.

(Does this mostly give little kids an excuse to be gleeful about saying stuff they'd normally never be allowed to say? Maybe.)

Activities. There are two big ones.

Divination. Lamptide is a time for fortune-telling. Tarot cards are my go-to, and offering Tarot readings at Lamptide parties has proven to be a big hit, but any form of divination at all -- ranging from Actual Fucking Haruspexy to "let's ask ChatGPT about our future husbands" -- is praiseworthy. When my son was less than a year old, I had him crawl around the floor and choose Symbolically Portentous Objects like he was the infant Dalai Lama or something, and it was great.

Bribery, especially candy bribery. One of the core dynamics of a Lamptide celebration is that you walk in carrying candy, or other things that you're happy to give away, and you offer your prizes to people in exchange for them doing stuff that you want them to do. For families with little kids, this is a chance for the parents to reward their children for showing off cool skills / desired behaviors in a concrete ritual framework, and for the children to get their parents to do silly stuff. For teens, it's a structure for something that's essentially Truth or Dare with more flexibility. The applications for Spicy Sexy grownup parties are left as an exercise for the reader.

(I have thoughts about expanding the candy bribery thing into a practice of Reverse Wassailing / Trick-or-Treating, essentially, where you walk around town offering strangers candy in exchange for singing with you or otherwise doing cute harmless stuff. I haven't yet worked out exactly the right feel, though. And, well, things being how they are, you need a pretty thick social skin to be willing to offer strangers candy without a widely-accepted social framework.)

Undeveloped aspects of the holiday, which I hope to flesh out in future years:

Traditional food. We don't really have anything other than candy, right now, and it's an obvious lacuna. Lamptide isn't really a sit-down-for-a-nice-dinner kind of holiday...although I guess it could be...but I suspect it would be useful to come up with some kind of Classic Lamptide Hors d'Ouevre or Classic Lamptide Crudité or something else appropriate for a party where people are milling around doing different things. (Not a dessert, I don't want to compete with the candy.) Sadly, I have no culinary genius, so I'm going to have to outsource for this one.

Music. @cloakofshadow has written some alternate lyrics for Christmas carols, but a thriving holiday should really have its own songs with their own distinctive melodies. Which means that I should probably find a competent composer to help me out.

Gifts. It would be very In-Theme for Lamptide to be the holiday when you give people the books / movies / video games / etc. that you want them to consume for your sake. I haven't yet done anything with that idea, but I am definitely considering it strongly.

#holiday analysis #lamptide

[justa-smalltown-gargoyle]

Hey batman/batfam people, I wanted to talk about something. I know this might not be received well, but...this is my blog. So if you disagree with me, feel free to block me! Literally that's what's great about this site. (I've been trying to do so on my end, but I thought I'd reach out a bit.....idk maybe try to form some understanding?)

I have been a batman fan since like...age 13 or something. Batman as a character means so fucking much to me, as does all his kids and massive extended family. (can't forget Alfred, Kate, Lucius, and Jeff Gordon!!) And I know that they mean a lot to you guys too.

In comic book and fandom spaces we talk a lot about misrepresentation of characters in fandom, but even in "canon" or rather published/produced content. I have beef with a lot of live action adaptions of Batman for example.

The thing with comic book characters, even more than some fandoms/pieces of media, is that there is SO MUCH content out there, that two people can say they like this one character but those two versions might be in total contradiction. But does that make one right over the other? does that make one superior?

Now, I hate Ben Affleck's Batman. And to fans of his, I'd say, you want the punisher, not Batman, because to me, that goes against who Batman is fundamentally. I read the comics, watch a lot of the animated stuff, and formed my own opinion and version of Batman. However, and this seems to be a controversial take, i really enjoy Wayne Family Adventures.

I see a lot of hate on here for WFA (and on tiktok but they're another beast), which, it's not for everyone, that's okay! Not everyone has to like what I like. But what I don't agree with, is that people who like WFA are seen as "not true batman fans", "they haven't ever read a comic". "they only like the flat fanon versions of the characters", etc.

These comments I would like to rebut- some comic readers such as myself might enjoy WFA. There might be people that have never read a comic or even watched anything batman related but like WFA. Are they not valid to enjoy that and have their own fandom for that? Are they not allowed to be fans of Batman?

I also would ask, how much of WFA did you actually read? In it's nature, it's suppose to be the bat family on their time off, or more light stories, but it actually addresses things like Jason's trauma, Duke moving in to the Manor, Damian struggling to fit in at school, things like that. Now if you read pretty far and still didn't like the portrayal of the characters, that's fine, I'm not asking you to change your opinion, however I am asking you to make space for those who do enjoy it, or that WFA is their first introduction or only experience with the Batman and co.

WFA isn't perfect, but it holds a special place in my heart, and gives me more content for Not Perfect but Trying and Cares Dad Bruce Wayne which I am grateful for. And tbh I feel like it just shows other sides to the characters we don't see that often!

And again, obvi people have their opinions, I guess I'm just asking for us to be more aware and create a space where people can feel free and excited to talk about these characters that we all love. I enjoy content and discussions I see in the tags and different blogs but then I see the hate for WFA fans and it just puts a real damper on otherwise really good content.

Anyways, thanks for reading!

#maddy if you see this i know this is dumb but i had to talk about it #batfam #batman #dc #fandom #and like we all agree we don't like male fantasy batman right? #i mean maybe some do #idk #also again yeah i could block everyone that disagrees and i do that sometimes but i dont want to do that all the time #and yakno #im gonna say it #getting mad at people for only reading wfa and not the comics its giving dude bro #do you really want to be that way #so do we think this was how the ancient greeks were about their gods or no #because tbh comics and mythology are very similar #anyways

[lousymoonwalker]

Why you (probably) didn't like Spider from Avatar TWOW

Social media is ruining the film industry in so many ways I couldn't begin to cover them all. I don't think this is a profound statement, but I want to explore my point in the context of Avatar The Way of Water, specifically with the character, Spider.

A few things that is becoming more apparent, due to social media:

1) General audiences can't tolerate cliff-hangers anymore. They're referred to as "plot holes" now. (Yes, I know lots of movies include actual plot holes, but actual cliff-hangers are getting called plot holes when they're two different things) (and sometimes, the writer of a story will specifically include unanswered questions, because our imaginations can be more intriguing and allows us to play "detective" and discuss, unanswered questions are not inherently bad, sometimes they're quite interesting). This leads to people wanting answers now, right now. We have a question, we search it and can get an answer basically immediately. When we can't find the answer immediately, we get upset.

2) Cancel Culture. - need I say more? (no, but I will anyway). This leads to one giant problem within the context of how social media is changing the film industry. People are actively trying to "cancel" characters, fictional characters or the authors of those characters for not aligning themselves as either a "good" or a "bad" character. Cancel culture is actively morphing our brains to think that if you make a mistake, you can never come back from it. That if you did something wrong, you are "toxic" and irredeemable. I can rant all day about cancel culture, but for now, just think about how it is shaping our tolerance of people. (Also, keep in mind that within the world of literature, film, art, etc. this topic comes up all the time about "morally grey characters" and is never something that is condemned, the only time this is a problem is when it makes its way onto social media sites)

So looking at these two points, we see that audiences don't like unanswered questions and they don't like morally grey characters.

I think Spider from Avatar TWOW is the most perfect example of a morally grey character out of the entire series. At least up to this point.

Everyone, even in the first movie ranges somewhere from either "Good" or "Bad" but, none of them are directly in the middle. I could argue that Mo'at, Norm, Neytiri, and Max are very good. Their intentions are always to be good. Quaritch and Selfridge are very bad. Their intentions are always to be bad. Jake is the most "grey" of all the characters in the original because of his internal conflict between wanting to fit in with the military again by spying on the Na'vi and slowly realizing he loves Pandora and the people and wants to help them. Even though he actively tries to help Quaritch in the beginning, I'd argue that his intentions are always "alright" I don't think he is ever on the "bad" side of the spectrum, although he starts off close to it, by the end, he solidifies himself as "good".

Then we have Spider.

My boy Spider is at the butt of everyone's jokes, all over TikTok and Instagram. The comments section is full of people just absolutely bashing him, hating him, making fun of him calling him a "Tarzan wannabe" and saying that he probably "sheds and smells like a wet dog". People have no sympathy for him, even some of those comments saying how they'll "never forgive him" or simply "hate him".

:Spoilers:

Spider is introduced as this lone human kid on Pandora, who hangs out with Jake and Neytiri's kids and has grown up with them. However, Neytiri has never accepted him. (A lot of people are mad at her about this because they say that he's just like Jake, which I would argue is not entirely correct because Neytiri was going to kill Jake (because she hates and distrusts humans) but Eywa chooses him for some reason and she's compelled to save him).

Spider is absolutely enthralled with the Na'vi culture. He speaks the language perfectly and paints himself with blue stripes. He genuinely loves and cares for the Na'vi despite being human.

Then, he gets captured and meets his dad, Quaritch. While it isn't entirely Quaritch, it is kind of his dad and he only agrees to leave with them on their mission because he doesn't want to be actively tortured by the scientists anymore. (I think that decision is understandable). Then, he gets to be the cultural ambassador of the Na'vi, translator, teacher, and guide as he spends more and more time with the military avatars and gets to be important to them. Then when all hell breaks loose, and he has to translate to a Metkayina village asking for Jake, he is visibly scared and desperately trying to help them and begs for Quaritch to stop terrorizing them. Then they burn down the village and take Spider with them, against his will.

Later, he gets the chance to fight and help in the end battle and he helps to wreck the ship, runs away like twice (?) before being successful thanks to Neteyam. Then is used as a pawn by Neytiri who threatens to kill him if Quaritch doesn't release Kiri. (This whole time, Spider is begging Quaritch to let Kiri go and to not hurt her).

But, for many viewers the nail in the coffin was when he saves Quaritch from drowning. He has seen the destruction caused by Quaritch, even if he doesn't know Quaritch's full history, he knows he burned down villages, staged the killing of a Tulkun, was willing to kill Lo'ak, Tuk, and Kiri all in an effort to hunt down and kill Jake.

But, I think the key moment was during the stand-off between Quaritch and Neytiri. For the first time in Spider's entire life (keep in mind he's like 16), an adult (a parental figure) stood up for him and showed genuine concern for him. Whether you like it or not, Neytiri has never liked him and Jake has never went out of his way to make him feel welcome. But now, in the heat of the moment, Quaritch, this big bad military man, stops what he's doing for fear of Spider's well-being.

Between the wreckage, Spider and Lo'ak were trying to find Jake. But, Spider happens upon Quaritch, who is at the edge of death. Then this, sixteen-year-old kid, sees this man just went out of his way to save Spider's life a few minutes before and now this man is about to die. Spider had to make a split-second decision and he made it. He saved Quaritch from drowning, then immediately leaves him and joins the Sully's.

I think Spider's intentions change from "I love the Na'vi, I basically am Na'vi" to "This father figure isn't too bad" to "I get to be helpful and important to someone" "oh no, what are you doing?" to "you saved my life, I'll save yours"

I CANNOT, overstate how much I love morally grey characters, they are so much fun to analyze and there's nothing worse than a plain "static" character. Give me a dynamic character with conflicting motivations. The reason I think Jake never went into the "bad" intentions side was because he genuinely was blind to the Na'vi at the beginning, but the more he learns, the more his actions reflect the newfound love and respect. Whereas Spider knows all about the Na'vi, and he loves and looks up to them, he was basically raised by the Sully family. I'm sure he is smart enough to understand that the humans and military avatars are "bad" with bad intentions. So when he starts to give into that side those intentions start to shift and his character becomes more and more grey.

And people on social media simply cannot compute. Cancel him! people cry. Screw him! He's the worst character ever! I can smell him through the screen!

People don't like that he did some bad things so the masses cry out, "bad! Bad! He's a bad character"

I'm not saying that I absolutely loved him, but I did like his character and I think he'll play a bigger role in the next film. He's a conflicted 16 year old, dynamic, character. I'm excited to see where his character goes from here.

But please, stop letting social media trick you into thinking that people are "good" or "bad". Not a single person on this planet can be accurately described as simply "good" or "bad". People are dynamic.

And for the love of everything, just because you don't have all the answers handed to you on a little silver plate, doesn't mean that the story had plot holes and is objectively bad. Unanswered questions and cliff-hangers can be very effective if done well.

People are fighting to not have to think on their own and form their own thoughts and opinions, because what if my opinion isn't a popular one or is the wrong one????

We don't know what is going to happen with Spider, but now, we can theorize and discuss until the next film comes out.

Anyways, I won't tolerate Spider slander anymore unless you can formulate an actual genuine reason to not like him besides, "he's bad", "he sucks", or "I bet he stinks".

#leave my boy alone #avatar #avatar way of water #avatar twow #jake sully #spider #spider socorro #quaritch #na'vi #morally grey characters #james cameron #social media is ruining y'all #avatar 2009 #avatar 2

[virgilisspidey]

If you do not mind me asking, how protective, on a scale of one to ten, are each of the brothers, Splinter and Aoi of Leo?

Does April know why the older brothers are a bit over-protective of Leo?

Have a good week.

This is actually a very interesting question, I love this so much.

I characterize Splinter the same way I would my own mom, so the experiences of Leo and his brothers are sometimes directly from my own experiences having a single mother.

Splinter is a hands off asian parent as his kids got older. When they're toddlers, or little babies, he definitely is very hands on, but once they start to figure out how the world works on their own, he doesn't get involved. When his sons do get sick, that's when he starts to scold and take care of them at the same time and it's different for every brother. He's stern on Raph because he's the eldest and overworking himself is bad, he's exasperated at Donnie because he should know better, and he's indulgent to Mikey because he knows that his you begs needs all the affection he can get.

But with Leo, who is a very sickly child, he's cautious, he's softer, because at any moment something bad could happen.

Pulling from my own life experience, my mom almost had us go to the doctor to diagnose me with asthma because I just kept on coughing and coughing until I couldn't breathe.

That scares any parent and let me tell you, my mom stayed up all night every night making sure I didn't get sweaty, that I had water next to me, that I was breathing.

Consecutively until it was manageable on my own.

That's what Splinter did to Leo when he was younger and you can imagine that ten times harder because they're in a very much unsanitary environment.

He's not overly protective like how some media would exaggerately protray, but he's watching and he's ready to take care of Leo when he needs to because a parent can't always lower their guard, even if their kids are all grown up.

I'd say 6/10, normally, and not because he doesn't care, it's because he knows his boys can handle it, he's just there in case they can't. Definitely a 10/10 when he gets in trouble (bodyswap chapter)

Raph and Donnie are on different wavelengths.

Raph has adapted Splinter's style of worrying since he's seen it and remembers it most clearly being the eldest. He knows all the stuff he needs to do when Leo gets sick, he's ready for it. He knows more about how to take care of Leo when he's sick than remembering to grab an epipen for his peanut allergy (which his brothers always carry for him anyway). But he lets Leo do his thing anyway and let him whine about thw consequences later, he still would've liked for Leo to avoid getting sick.

Raph is a solid 7/10.

Donnie on the other hand, had a much deeper connection to Leo because they're the sickly boys. Donnie can't play because of his shell, Leo can play because he can't even stand up for more than five seconds.

Donnie's approach on things is tryong to figure out a solution to the problem before it gets to Leo. Hence, trying to bust the ghost which backfired.

If you can also notice, Donnie's the most careful around Leo, unlike in the show where he just lets his brothers fumble, he puts in the effort to help Leo from time to time and he's the first to know something is wrong.

Donnie is a 9/10 but he doesn't really show it.

Mikey is mostly a bystander. He doesn't remember much about Leo being sick because he's young and typically when older siblings get sick your parents forbid you from seeing them much.

He does know the basic rules about the things Leo isn't allowed to do, but other than that, he doesn't do much, which again, reflects on my own home situation.

Leo in this instance can be compared to my older sister. She's not sickly or anything when she was younger (unlike me) but when she does get sick it's really bad. And watching my mom take care of someone I consider as strong really pulls my heart, and not in a good thing, because watching your big sister be like that is scary sometimes.

Mikey considers Leo getting sick scary, even more so when he experienced it himself (the bodyswap chapter) so he's more aware and conscious about it now.

Probably like a 7/10 as well.

Aoi, of course, is pretty protective, that's definitely a solid 10/10, but he's protective about all of them.

All of them, however, do not have the exaggerated sort of overprotectiveness like

"DONT WORRY LEO, I'LL CARRY YOU SO YOU DONT HAVE TO TOUCH THIS DIRTY PUDDLE LEST YOU GET SICK!!"

No, they're not like that, because Leo refuses to be treated like that.

Like how they are with Donnie's softshell, they tease each other about it, but don't actively refer to him being immunocompromised as a burden or a problem that needs to be fixed.

It's a part of their day to day lives.

There's no need to romanticise it. To glamorize it or to bring more attention to it or make it an even bigger deal than it really is.

Because trust me, the more you put more attention to that part of a person, they'll view themselves more as a burden than it being a normal part of themselves that they have to just deal with.

Leo isn't a baby, his family knows that.

This applies to anyone and everyone with disabilities as well!! Treat them like you would treat a normal person.

EDIT: OOPSY FORGOT THE APRIL QUESTION. Nah she don't know much other than the fact that Leo is sickly.

#tmnt 2012 #rottmnt two souls #rottmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles 2012 #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles two souls #two souls ask #i love answering asks about two souls so much it makes me motivated to write more #college applications had me fcked up so apologies for the months and months of delays

[fairuzfan]

hi! I've seen you talking about archiving a few times and I wanted to ask:

how do you think we should go (if at all) with documenting israeli atrocities?

i am specifically thinking of that horrible trend on tiktok where IOF soldiers kidnap west bank palestinians, blindfold them, and force them to listen to that godawful kid's song. i feel like it's important to keep an archive of the people doing these things, because once palestine is free, they should be held accountable for their crimes

but I've seen your posts saying you worry about uploading that kind of content to archive.org, in case israelis use this to punish the palestinians in the video. so, im wondering if you have any idea of how we should go about keeping this kind of evidence - if you think we should keep it at all

thank you for replying. i know it's not worth much but im sending you love and strength. and I will do everything in my power to ensure palestine is freed

Hello, thanks for sending this in.

I'd suggest taking a look at this post (click) for more info about social media archiving. But I do want to let you know about some personal thoughts regarding those videos:

I'm honestly not sure (at least personally) if videos like that should be saved without explicit consent of the victims, mostly because they're visual accounts of Palestinians being humiliated and, frankly, just tortured for pure enjoyment. Archiving is a wonderful practice that can allow us to remember some things or hold people accountable to their crimes. But regarding these sorts of videos, I'm not sure saving them on our personal drive will be of much help in the long run, when there's videos of Gazans saying their last words being taken down — of course I am *not* suggesting we shouldn't save those videos at all. I'm also not a seasoned veteran archivist. But I can say, that I question for who those videos will most benefit in the long run. Will they be needed to hold the perpetrators accountable? I don't know, really. In what way would they be held accountable? Through international court? I have very little faith in the methods we've currently established to hold people accountable.

I cannot think of a reasonable way to hold them accountable that cannot just rely on the testimony of the Palestinians affected, the witnesses, and the proxy-witnesses (meaning us and people who view those videos) giving their accounts.

I'm not discouraging archiving these types of videos — I do think it's important to a certain level to archive them but I'm unsure of ways we can do that safely and respectfully so that the victims don't have to live with this looming over their heads for the rest of their lives. Again, though, if you receive permission from the victims themselves, I can't exactly disagree with any sort of archiving as long as they give the greenlight with everything you do. I feel like it (personally) is a better choice not to archive them.

SO really, this is just a long-winded way of me saying I don't know LOL. I've yet to reach a conclusion about this myself. I can only point you to resources of people who have been doing this much longer than I have, which WITNESS is pretty good. I can only ask you to do what you feel is right as a person who wants to fight for the safety and sanctity of each human being. Just so you know, I myself won't be archiving those videos. I know what they do to my people — we've been passing down stories for nearly a century now. I think leaving it in the control of Palestinians who are affected is probably the best course of action and the one I plan on taking.

#palestine #gaza #archiving

[earlgodwin]

omg i read blood and beauty and its sequel last week bc it had been on my reading list for months!!!! and is this a safe space where i can just say that it hit the nail on the head for all of the borgias without unnecessarily vilifying one or the other (i mean basically considering how most writers hold some vendetta against juan) and i loved how u could really see lucrezia's growth from her childhood innocence to being forced to mature and grow up AND obsessed w any media that portrays cesare as ferocious and sharp and ruthless and juan finally got his flowers bc they obv showed his flaws but without making him the big bad evil when instead he also started off a kid but ended up being dragged to the bottom of the river by his father's ambitions 😔

i wish the 2nd book had progressed a little further to lucrezia's childbirth bed death so the story could come full circle and sometimes the pov switching was confusing for me but aside from that, the borgias will always be famous to meeeeeeeee and i love a good book that portrays them well!

ive been on the hunt for more borgia-centric books so if u have any recs......... <3

zaynab omg hello!!!!! i was kinda waiting for someone to talk to me about this book because it's my absolute #1 favorite historical fiction book <3

i'm so happy you enjoyed reading it! the way miss dunant brilliantly humanized the borgia family by creating striking and compelling narratives for them was truly *chef's kiss*. it's safe to say that her portrayal of them has even made her my favorite author as well (and made me want to check out her other work, lol). the way she made them so sympathetic is truly admirable to me, which is also a standout aspect of the book as we manage to develop a deep understanding of their motivations and complexities through her nuanced portrayal, you know? i say it could've been done more when it came to lucrezia, as she is truly one of the most compelling figures in history (and my all-time favorite). i'm not criticizing dunant for lucrezia's portrayal!! but it's more like i wished she added more of lucrezia's lore...but alas! other books did her more justice, i must say!

my favorite theme of the book is the immense love the pope has for his children. the way [spoiler] juan was taken too soon from him is profoundly melancholic and it added emotional depth to the story and it highlighted the power of a father's love and the devastating impact of losing a beloved child. also, YEAH, the book felt like a breath of fresh air when it came to juan borgia! he was unfairly demonized with no reliable narrative and mostly used as a prop to hype up cesare at his expense *yawns*… but dunant made him an individual, likable character in the book, countering the unjust treatment he always receives. her portrayal of him allowed us to discover the vulnerability and sensitivity that lie beneath his outwardly arrogant and handsome demeanor. we really can't help but feel deep empathy and pity for him as we read about his inner struggles and emotional depth. he became a truly compelling and sympathetic figure within the borgia family, especially when his death is met with cruelty and brutality. the tragic nature of his demise evokes an even stronger sense of empathy and sorrow in the narrative of juan losing himself and being overwhelmed by the heavy task he was entrusted with…

and cesare, of course, was portrayed as that sulking, bitter, cruel but incredibly intelligent, cunning, and charming guy! lowkey a recurring theme for him, but the flavor in making him extra dark in the slayest way possible made me insane in a very positive way! you should watch "los borgia (2006)" for a delicious portrayal of cesare (and personally, i think it's the most historically accurate).

more books? i'd recommended emma lucas's 'lucrezia borgia' and maria bellonci's 'life and times of lucrezia borgia' - both are biographies btw! their work is a solid read, very unbiased without any manipulation of the letters about/between the siblings to push certain narratives (hello sarah bradford!!), well-researched, sheds light on the family's complex relationships and their rise to power, and is highly sympathetic to all of them. you won't be disappointed!!

for historical fiction, i'd recommend mario puzo's 'the family' ...you will never be disappointed after all it's by the dude who wrote the godfather!

i hope you enjoy them <333 i'll be waiting for your feedback :)

#zaynab 💌 #giggles i love this family #i'm glad you enjoyed the book <3 #the borgias #history #historical fiction #book recommendations #historical book #house of borgia #borgia #blood and beauty #mario puzo #sarah dunant

[thedawningofthehour]

I just had a morbid thought. But, what if Galois die? Either by an anti-mutant Yokai group, in a kidnapping attempt by the mercenaries or by members of the resistance? How would the characters react?

Well, that would be an incredibly unfulfilling end to the story, for one. And don't get me wrong, character deaths that are by design unsatisfying absolutely have their place, (Finnick's death in Mockingjay comes to mind) but I feel like it would be more frustrating here than make a point.

Honestly, I could see it going either way for Draxum. He could either give up right then and there and die with him, or he could go total Rhaenyra after Luke's death. Total liquidation on his enemies, and no mercy for his allies who object. Once that was over, though, he wouldn't really have any direction and would eventually end up destroying himself. He means it when he says he can't lose Galois. He could handle losing anyone else, everyone else. Even Cass, he'd totally go Angry Murder Dad for her as well, but it wouldn't destroy him like losing Galois would. (it might have been different if he was lying to himself about Cass's origins as well, but he still lies to himself and says she isn't his daughter)

If Cass is still alive and Galois is dead, then the world would end. Instantaneously. She'd explode like the birth of a star.

It would also kill Splinter. Not right away, he'd live long enough to get revenge on Draxum and everyone who contributed to his son's death, but he'd end himself not long after. He wasn't lying when he said he couldn't lose another kid. That also applies to losing the same kid twice. Losing Donnie the first time almost killed him as it was.

(Leo ramble under the cut because I went way off the rails-but fuck it I wrote the end scene of the next chapter in one sitting today I am allowed to go a little insane)

I'm hesitant to go all 'two halves of the same whole, twins can't live without each other' because we literally have proof that Leo can live without Donnie. We don't know how long Donnie's been dead by the point the movie starts-Leo having his bandana wrapped around his sword implies that it wasn't very recent, while Casey's familiarity with Donnie and the fact that his gear is certified GeniusBuilt shows that his death must have happened when Casey was old enough to remember him, or even after Casey started training and Donnie built weapons to suit his fighting style. So Leo's probably been without Donnie for at least a couple of years at that point. And he is still kicking ass and serving cunt, in his very homosexual way-though he does kind of have a whole-ass kid to raise and the resistance to live for, which he doesn't have in doth. And even in the movie, Future Leo throws himself into a Krang incineration beam rather than return to the past with Casey and live without the family he's lost. And there's the whole deal with Leo sacrificing himself so there's no chance whatsoever of living to see his brothers die.

I just don't see Leo being able to move on from something like that. Knowing his brother died pointlessly, maybe even painfully, never remembering who he was. There would be no closure, no point to start moving on. I talked about this with another fic author, the whole thing about fulfilling vs. unfulfilling deaths in media, and I think Future Donnie's death is as good as any to talk about that.

Like, let's talk about Replica's Donnie. He died epicly. In the midst of battle, sacrificing himself to plant a spy probe, and even got in some snappy comments to Prime (and maybe killing him too? I'd have to reread) before ending his own life. From his family's perspective, yes, it felt pointless and awful and they would much rather Donnie back than whatever bullshit he sacrificed himself for. And it's tragic for the audience, but it still feels satisfying. Donnie went out on his own terms, for a cause, in a literal blaze of glory. We see his family mourn, but we also see Leo receive some measure of closure from Omega telling him how proud Donnie always was of him. And crying right after-but as he tells Casey a frame later, he felt just a little better.

Or a more subtle example in Cass's series. Donnie's (temporary) death is none of that. He dies weakened to the point where he can't even stand up on his own, he dies quietly and he dies slowly. It was heartbreaking-like, bitch, I cried, but I don't think a single person would call it unsatisfying. Even with his quiet, demure death, so undeserving of him and his awesomeness, there was still a sense of satisfaction in the fact that he was such a threat that the Krang had to resort to such tactics to kill him. (and that he stuck it to them one final time, outliving their expectations and coming back to fuck them up when they thought they were safe, he had to be dead) And in the end, he's accepted his death, he tied up all his loose ends and feels ready to go. He dies peacefully, spending his final moments feeling his brothers' love for him. His brothers get to hold him and say goodbye. Yes, they're in mourning, but they show hints of healing and moving on-until Mikey finds out that Donnie's spirit isn't with their ancestors. That pulls the wound right back open, and Leo doesn't really seem to move on from there.

Having Donnie die as Galois I think would be a lot like that for Leo. Raph, Mikey, and even April would find ways to move on-after getting their revenge, of course, but they would use Donnie's memory to drive them forward. "Plant this tree because Donnie would have liked that." "Buy only produce from sustainable farming practices for my restaurant because Donnie would have approved." "Get that degree because Donnie would have kicked my ass if I didn't."

I don't think Leo would be able to do that. I think he'd feel very lost, with a lot of rage and sorrow and no real direction for any of it, no drive to find an outlet and get his life back on track. Maybe he wouldn't outright shoot himself, but he'd stop caring about keeping himself alive.

#like i said i wrote a very intense scene in one sitting today #i always go a little nuts when i do that #doth asks #tw suicide #fuck i didn't add a trigger warning for the last ask i mentioned it in did i #i'm sorry i am so bad at tagging shit #a lot of stuff kind of falls under the umbrella of 'if you're reading this fic you already know what you've signed up for' #but i feel like suicide talk deserves an extra warning just in case

[linesonscreens]

Let's Read Peanuts (Yes, all of it) - October 1950

As much as I'd like to comment on every strip I don't think the copyright gods will allow it. So instead I'm going to pick a sample of around 4-5 to discuss directly and then list a few others that are interesting or noteworthy at the end using text only. If you want to go read them (and you really should) you can do so at the official GoComics page.

This month starts HERE.

Oct 2, 1950

The first strip! And it's a pretty good one I think. it establishes what the strip will be about (kids being little assholes to each other) while also delivering a solid punchline. In fact I'd argue that this mean streak makes it feel in some ways more at home with modern media than with other stuff from the 50s which often went out of it's way to sand off the rough edges in these kinds of interactions.

Oct 4, 1950

Snoopy's first appearance!

I'm just going to come out and say it: Actual Dog Snoopy is infinitely better than the later versions you're more familiar with. I will get into physical altercations to defend this point.

Oct 10, 1950

Oh hey, this is the one I got my avatar from! I love the expression work here.

Oct 18, 1950

That last panel is one of my favorites in the entire strip.

Also, note that Patty has the traditional lemonade stand while Charlie Brown is selling flowers. It's not in your face about it, but Peanuts actually has a pretty progressive attitude towards gender roles which you will see come up quite a bit as time goes on.

Oct 25, 1950

I find it interesting that Snoopy was fully sentient from day 1. He will go through a LOT of changes over the years but the seeds for it were present right from the start.

Other Noteworthy Strips:

Oct 3, 1950 I love that the punchline here is just Patty slapping the shit out of Charlie Brown. It's so good. Oct 5, 1950 A solid visual gag and one of my favorite early strips. Oct 6, 1950 This is the first example we see of reality operating in very weird ways for comedic effect. This will come up a LOT.

Oct 30, 1950 I never caught that Charlie Brown's birthday happened here. I know for a fact that he's confirmed to be 4 years old later so this means that he was actually 3 years old when the strip started.

Oh? Did you think he was like 9 or something? You naive fool. Oct 31, 1950 This is the first “Snoopy likes candy” strip. There will be a LOT of these. And yes, the fact that Charlie Brown has fed his dog enough chocolate over the years to wipe out an entire network of animal shelters is not lost on me.

Thoughts:

I think these early years are my favorite parts of the strip. There's less emotional nuance but the art is crisper, the jokes are funnier, and everybody is kind of a dick in the best possible way. Schulz really gets how friend groups can actually be kind of horrible to each other despite nobody involved really intending to do so.

#comics #peanuts #peanuts comics #charlie brown #charles schulz #shermy #patty #comic strips #snoopy

[rey-jake-therapist]

Hob Gadling's wives and girlfriends, the forgotten women of The Sandman

DISCLAIMER: the following posts contains major spoilers for Season of Mists, World's Ends, The Kindly Ones and The Wake.

A couple of weeks I told @writing-for-life my next meta would be about the women who shared Hob's life. There's not much to work on in the comics for most of them, but the fact remains that they exist and that Hob probably loved them all. And his second wife in particular, Margaret/Peggy aka Jim, had a story dedicated to her journey, in World's Ends.

Hob's canon romances always interested me because these women were all mortals, while he was not. We know he had at least one kid who died, and he saw almost all his lovers/wives die while knowing he would never follow them in the grave unless he wanted it. We didn't see it happen with Gwen, but it will, eventually.

It makes me wonder: how does he do it? How does he manage to be completely invested in a relationship knowing that the people he loves will all grow old and die, while he will stay the same and live forever? I would have loved it if the comics had him discussing that, and I still hope in the show he will. We never saw what his last conversation with Hob was, after all... I like to think that Dream stayed a bit longer than usual with Hob, and that they opened up about their respective lives and experiences with love. Audrey is still alive and probably in Hob's life at this point, it would be nice if she showed up, met Dreams and asked him embarrassing questions... but I digress haha

Before I continue I'd like to confess that not being a shipper, I don't read Dreamling fics - I rarely read fics revolving a ship in general... I prefer Morpheus x oc or non romantic fics -, so any comment I can make about the fandom is based on what I see on social media, and not on fanfic contents. I'm sure that Hob's wives and girlfriends are often evoked and maybe sometimes, even more developed there than they are in canon.

Hob's first wife: Eleanor

Eleanor's just a portrait, we don't know much about her except that Hob probably cared about her since in the show he still calls her "my Eleanor" long after she died.

She exists only to show that Hob's situation stabilized after he started making money. Also, their son's death and hers may have been the first time that it hit Hob in the head that while he could live forever, he couldn't prevent his loved ones from dying. The loss of his family affected him very much and yet, he still wanted to live. I'll probably write a meta later about how his situation purposely mirrors Morpheus', about how they both lost everything they loved at some point but reacted in a completely different manner.

Hob's second wife: Peggy/Jim

We meet Margaret/Peggy/Jim in World's End. She pretends to be a man hence why she calls herself Jim, as she did during all the trip during which she met Hob Gadling. It's quite obvious that she did it for safety issues, as she would have probably not been allowed to travel on a boat let alone work on one if she had revealed as girl without a chaperon, and she clearly enjoyed the freedom and advantages she got as passing for a man. It's good to emphasize how brave she was to do that, as if her secret had gone out it could have put her in great danger.

Hob was the only one who saw through her, but he protected her secret. He also confirmed her doubts that he was much older than he seemed, a secret she protected as well. It seems she never believed he was immortal though - see the part about Audrey - .They bonded over having secrets they could possibly not reveal to anyone else, so it's a really sweet love story.

Later, in The Kindly Ones, we learn that Peggy died in his arms, during the Blitz. If they had kids, he doesn't say, but it's obvious he loved her very much and was deeply affected by her death, as he says on Audrey's grave, in The Kindly Ones, that Audrey's the first woman he was with since Peggy died.

Now I know that certain fans want Peggy to be trans or non-binary because she disguises as a man and asks to be called Jim. It's generally not as much because they care about her character or representation,than because it would make Hob canonically queer. Now I have no problem with anyone's headcanons: there are no right or wrong headcanon, no stupid or offensive ones - as long as they're not hateful, homophobic, racist, transphobic etc. - and whatever makes people feel represented and happy is fine by me. That said, I personally believe it's a bit simplistic to reduce a woman's refusal to follow societal norms to her being a man or non-binary, but again, whatever floats your boat guys.

I personally think that Peggy/Jim was written as a strong young woman who wanted to travel and see the world, knew she couldn't do that if she was seen as a woman, so she disguised as a man, took a man's name and enjoyed the role because let's be honest: the life for white men during this period was wayyyyyy funnier and easier than for women. What do you mean, it still is? I don't understand, are you saying institutional patriarchy is still very much a thing? *pretends to be shocked*.

You can find many stories like Peggy/Jim's in modern literature, and of course, in real life!

As for Hob, he knew Peggy was a woman quite early, and when he talks about her on Audrey's grave he says "Peg' ", not "Jim", which tells me he kept seeing her as a woman. But again, that's my headcanon and I won't argue about that, I just feel like Peggy/Jim deserves better than being discussed solely regarding Hob's sexuality. Her story is one of my favorite in the comics :)

Talking about the particular subject of Hob's sexuality is immortal and even though the comics doesn't mention any male boyfriend, he seems open minded and hedonistic enough to have at least tried... I always headcanoned Hob Gadling as pansexual, because it doesn't make sense to me that a man who lived for hundred of years would be straight, simply.

I really hope that the show will give us Peggy/Jim's story on screen, she highly deserves it. I love this character, I just wish it would be clearer in the comics that she's the future Mrs Gadling... I learned through social media that the Peg' he mentioned on Audrey's grave was the Peggy he met in World's Ends. It's very confusing, the way it's written.

Hob Gadling's girlfriends

We of course don't know every girlfriend that Hob had, in the comics we're just introduced to two: Audrey, and Gwen. We learn a couple of other names in The Kindly Ones though: Lisabet and Anne.

Audrey

Audrey's another woman who's never part of the conversations, yet the panel dedicated to Hob's reaction to her death is the first panel that made Hob sympathetic to me. But whenever this panel is discussed, everything that's related to Audrey is ignored so the focus is entirely on Hob's concern for Morpheus. Before I read the comics, I had no idea that Hob had just buried his lover, and begged Morpheus to resurrect her because the pain of losing her was too hard to handle.

A bit like for Margaret/Peggy/Jim, it's not clear at all that in Season of Mists, the woman we see with Hob in bed is Audrey, the woman whose grave he visits in The Kindly Ones.

It's really in The Kindly Ones that we can see how much he cared for Audrey, as he cared for all the lovers he had before but died. The reaction he has, he admits it himself, responds to a question we probably all asked: does he ever get used to it? Become insensitive, with time?

The answer's no:

I always wondered why Morpheus visited him at this moment: was it because he felt his pain and wanted to be here for him? Or was it because he wanted to say one last goodbye and it happened to coincide with the moment Hob was drowning in his grief? Was it because he himself needed a friend, more than ever?

Anyway he certainly didn't expect Hob's request. For the first time that we know of, Hob asked Dream to use his supernatural powers. Hob, the immortal who saw all the people he knew die, not only wasn't used to it but asked Dream basically the same thing as Orpheus asked him: help him to get his lover back. It must have been very painful for Dream, but poor Hob couldn't know that. I doubt he even knew that Dream had once been married and had a son.

So yeah, afterwards he runs after Morpheus and tries to make him confide in him, he even feels his friend's death is imminent and he shows a deep concern, but that's not all that this panel is about. I think it's about saying that no matter how old you are, how many lives you lived, how many people you loved and loved you.... The death of a loved one is always painful.

2. Gwen

Gwen is Hob's last girlfriend that we know of. She's also, in his own admission, the first Black woman he dates. Considering that Hob used to be an enthusiastic slave trader who needed an ethereal entity to tell him that slavery was wrong to think that he should find another way to become rich, I find this information.... interesting. After 600 years, it was about time... did he refuse to date Black women because of guilt for what he did? Or because he remained racist for a long time and didn't think Black women were worth his attention?

I feel very protective of Gwen, first because I dislike how she was written as a moral caution for Hob, as she absolves him for his sins but without knowing the extent of his sins - she has no idea he's immortal and was a slave trader - . When she appears in the show - and I really hope she will! - , I hope she'll be written in a way that she doesn't exist solely for Hob to express his guilt while being too coward to tell her the truth about what he did.

I was going to say something very personal about me, but I'm not sure the comparison I want to make would work, so I prefer keeping it for me, finally. If anyone's interested in knowing me better they can join me in private though :)

The second reason why I'm very protective of her is that as Audrey, on social media she's generally treated as non existent by the fandom - who focuses entirely on Hob's grief regarding Morpheus' death - . I recently saw a wish regarding Gwen that made my blood boil and almost made me hit the 'deactivate' button, but I'm not here to start a war, let alone to point fingers. I just really wish some people paid more attention to what they wrote, because some stuff I've read these last days came off as very insensitive.

And I'll conclude with one last panel featuring the gorgeous Gwen:

Also tagging @violetoftheendless and @tickldpnk8 , in case you're interested in discussing this subject :)

#sandman women #hob gadling #hob gadling's lovers #hob and women #the sandman #season of mists #the kindly ones #the wake #sandman comics #sandman spoilers #the sandman meta #fandom misoginy #fandom racism #fandom critical

[hellfiremunsonn]

Beth I hear you calling. Eddie Munson x Reader.

Beth I Hear You Calling.

Part Two of “Mrs. Freak” (Read part one

HERE

) 

I do not allow my writing to be republished anywhere other than my own blog without my consent

Summary:

"Your ‘Mrs Freak’ story was so freaking good!!! My heart combusted with cuteness. Can you please do a part two where their baby is born??! That would be so adorable cause dad! Eddie would be everything"

(Requested)

(Suitable for younger audiences) 18 + IF YOU ARE NOT 18 OR OLDER DO NOT READ OR INTERACT WITH MY WRITING. IT IS NOT INTENDED FOR MINORS. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MEDIA YOU CONSUME.

Warnings: mentions of throwing up, mentions of sex, other than that pretty fluffy,Dad Eddie! Word count: 747 

AN:Definitely the shortest one I've written, but I couldn't bring myself to write anymore, it was so simple and sweet that I kept it the way it is. 

I always knew Eddie was going to be an amazing father but seeing him in action with our baby girl was enough to make my heart explode. He was holding her every second of everyday and would only let me hold her when I had to feed her, and even then he was right next to me, praising her, and praising me. We named her Beth after that one KISS song that Eddie sang so much and it just kind of stuck. Our little Beth. 

I walked back into the living room of my parents house after throwing in a load of laundry. We stayed at Eddies most days but came home often to steal their laundry machine so we wouldn't have to go to the laundry mat with a screaming infant. Not that she screamed often, she was almost always happy, especially when with her daddy. 

Standing just in the doorway of the room I watched them together. Eddie was laying on his side next to her, where she was laying on the floor with one of those weird hanging toy things over her. He talked in response to her babbles as if he could understand exactly what she was saying. Eddie wasn't always this clam and collected with her in the beginning. Not to mention during the whole birth experience. There was lots of panic and screaming and not from me. He paced frantically around the hospital room probably the whole time. It frustrated him knowing he couldn't do anything to help me other than be there for me and hold my hand. He hated knowing I was in pain and it was sort of his fault. 

But now here I stand, watching my fiancé play with our child. The floor creaked under my foot and Eddie looked up at me still smiling. "Hey pretty mama" 

I walked over and joined the two on the floor, tickling Beths tummy lightly and she kicked her feet with a laugh. "How's my favourite girl doing" I asked.

 "Great, as per usual, except for when she threw up directly on my face, isn't that right princess" He said cooing at her. I wrinkled my nose at the thought. 

Leaning my head onto eddies shoulder a content sigh left my lips. "Did you every think we'd be here?" I asked.

"Never in a million years did I think I'd find someone, let alone someone who'd be willing to have my kid and marry me" Eddie said quickly. As if this was something he had thought about before. "I got really lucky with you" He said while pulling Beth into his lap and tipping her nearby bottle into her mouth which she sucked on gratefully. "I never thought someone like you would even look in my direction" 

"How could I not?" I questioned. "You're hard to miss" I said teasingly. "Ha, ha, very funny" repositioning himself so he could rock Beth slightly side to side, her eyes drooping slightly. "I'm serious though" He said in almost a whisper. "You were just so happy, and full of light, and laughter, everyone around you loved you and you bring out the best in people. Hell you even got me and Steve to become friends and that's something I really thought would never happen... You are just simply perfect" He said looking up at me.

 Through watery eyes I tucked his hair behind his ear and leaned forward to kiss him slightly on the lips. "You are the best thing that's ever happened to me" I said. "Well maybe Beth is but you helped"

He stifled a laugh in fear of waking our tiny baby in his arms. "Yeah I guess I did kinda help with that... Was a good night" He smirked. "Apart from you getting food poisoning"

"Not one of my finest moments I'll admit"

"I didn't think such a small human could puke so much, and I'm not talking about Beth"

"I didn't even think any human could puke that much, I was out for like three days!" I said laughing. "Thankful I had you to take care of me" 

"Forever and always" He said leaning over to kiss me on the forehead. "Although were probably never having sex again"

"Not with you holding her 24/7"

"Well I can't just put her down babe, I mean look at her, how could I not" He said softly looking down at her. 

"I guess I can live without sex when she's getting the best daddy ever out of it" 

#Eddie Munson #Eddie Munson fluff #stranger things #Stranger things fic #Eddie Munson Fic #Stranger Things Fluff #Eddie Munson x reader #x reader #Eddie Munson Imagine #Stranger Things Imagine #hellfiremunsonn

[ship-discourse-confessions]

I feel like the only way this blog can ethically exist is if there's a basic requirement of civility. If you allow and post "confessions" like "proshippers should be neutered" this blog just becomes a way for ppl to anonymously bully folks.

I'm just gonna post these both together and respond to it all at once. I had to chew on it for a while and I had a meeting, so I'm sorry I didn't respond to your first ask right away.

Under a cut since this got a little long.

I honestly thought that person was being sarcastic. To me, it read very similarly to a lot of the things people were saying about the whole paraphilia thing from a few days ago, the whole "Right, because we should seriously kill people for kids they MIGHT hurt in the FUTURE" sentiment I saw a few people toss around.

But whether they meant it or not, whether they're seriously someone who holds this belief or someone mocking said belief, it's clearly ambiguous enough to hurt people regardless.

Posting that in the profic/proship tags (especially with no trigger warnings) was irresponsible of me and I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry to anyone I hurt, especially since I didn't give you any way to effectively prevent seeing stuff like that.

Honestly, I've been kind of skimming my asks for a few days, ever since the paraphilia shit I mentioned. All of that made me kind of want to vomit and I hated reading anything about it. Everything involved in that was kind of disgusting and there were several asks I genuinely couldn't finish. But...

I really don't like censoring or deleting the things people have to say in my ask box. When I created this blog, it was to post anything and everything I received, with no filter and no censorship (except for personally identifiable/directly targeted asks). Screaming into the void about silly fandom discourse and shipping two characters together. It isn't about which side has good or valid points or makes any sense at all, it's supposed to be cathartic.

I wanted to see what people would say when they knew there was no pressure or expectations to say one thing or the other, that no matter what they said, I'd still post it. Even if the content made me feel sick. Even if it were something I find genuinely immoral.

I completely understand why people wouldn't want these asks up, and especially why they wouldn't want it in the profic tags, which is why I've purged them all from the profic/proship tags. I'm also in the process of adding trigger tags to each post that might be triggering (formatted as "tw: *trigger*" if you want to block them). However, I've been posting things I don't personally agree with and things I genuinely cannot read all the way through, because I specifically don't want to delete anything anyone has sent.

I can delete the more aggressive asks completely and never answer anything like that again, but If I do that, I'll be deleting asks about my personal triggers as well. This means that asks involving discussion of incest, pedophilia, or necrophilia in any depth, real or in media, goes too. If I'm filtering out what people can send me, I'm not going to intentionally trigger myself anymore for this blog.

Or I can keep those posts "up," but with heavy trigger warnings. If I go with this, I'll put them under a cut as well so people have to read the trigger warnings and then click a button to see it.

Again, I'm very sorry for posting that ask in the profic/proship tag where anyone could see it completely unprompted. I need to be more responsible with this going forward, that much is certain. I'm going to leave the route this blog goes up to you all. Please give me your thoughts.

#not a confession

[tourneys-by-me]

So I'm going to answer some of these questions cause there aren't a lot of questions, and I think it would be better to answer them not as an ask game.

🐉 - What was the very first submission you received? Regieleki from Pokemon! Not what I'd expect to be the first submission, but unfortunately, pikachu beat them out.

🔐- What was the last submission you received before closing the submissions? Serenade.exe from Mega man Battle Network! Unfortunately, they didn't make it out of the preliminary round.

👵- Who is the oldest/most ancient character/media source/object or event, that was submitted? There a few mythology and irl animal submissions that are definitely old, but when it comes to a character from a story intended for pure entertainment, it would be the Big Bad Wolf from The Three Little Pigs. I looked it up, and the first publication of the story was in 1840, but the story might be much older since it is a fairytale.

🌪️ - Who/what did you have in mind when you started the tournament? When it first started, I was a lot more stingy on who or what could be in. But, as more submissions kept coming in, I had to let go of some things in regards of what is allowed.

🤠 - Which media did you discover through the submissions that you now want to watch/read/play/other yourself? Less "discovered" but more "rediscovered" and that would be Bionicle. I was pretty young during g1 Bionicle's run but I do remember having at least one of the toys as a kid. I also remember watching the "The Legend Reborn" movie multiple times as a kid and I played the flash games on the Lego website a lot too. A few Bionicle characters were submitted and, while reading their wikis, I was really fascinated by the lore. Like omg Bionicle lore is so deep and good y'all! I'm not that deep in, and I haven't really consumed much Bionicle media yet, but I rewatched that movie I mentioned before and now, with a lot more context, I can fully understand and appreciate that movie!

💗 - Did you submit characters (or whatever the tournament is about) yourself, to your own tournament? (not forced to say who it was) I did! here is the list:

Lewyn Fire Emblem

Azelle Fire Emblem

Ishtar Fire Emblem

Canas Fire Emblem

Lucius Fire Emblem

Lyon Fire Emblem

Terra Brandford Final Fantasy VI

Celes Chere Final Fantasy VI

Blaziken Pokemon

Tornadus Pokemon

Greninja Pokemon

Splashmon Digimon

AncientMermaimon Digimon

Duskmon Digimon

Bloomlordmon Digimon

Rosemon Digimon

Floramon Digimon

AncientWisemon Digimon

Meramon Digimon

Dark Magician Yu-Gi-Oh

Metatron Megami Tensei

Odin Megami Tensei

Gotsumon Digimon

Tumblemon Digimon

Leafeon Pokemon

Onua Bionicle

Lewa Bionicle

Kopaka Bionicle

Gali Bionicle

Pohatu Bionicle

Nikila Bionicle

Dume Bionicle

Jaller Bionicle

Lhikan Bionicle

Norik Bionicle

Vakama Bionicle

Hewkii Bionicle

Onewa Bionicle

Pouks Bionicle

Bomonga Bionicle

Nuparu Bionicle

Whenua Bionicle

Iruini Bionicle

Kongu Bionicle

Lesovikk Bionicle

Gaaki Bionicle

Hahli Bionicle

Helryx Bionicle

Kualus Bionicle

Matoro Bionicle

Nuju Bionicle

Darkrai Pokemon

Meganium Pokemon

Fiona Mayfield Arcana Heart

Metalman.exe Megaman Battle Network

Micaiah Fire Emblem

Angemon Digimon

I did mention before that I submitted characters after the form closed, and I didn't double up on characters, so these were all single submissions. I submitted characters because: 1. certain elements didn't have a lot of characters, so I just wanted to make sure that these elements could actually be in the tourney. 2. I like Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy, Pokemon, Digimon, and Megami Tensei, so I wanted more characters from those franchises to be in the preliminaries. rip fire emblem 3. I was on a bonkle high

#misc #ask game #might answer the rest of the questions during or after the actual tourney #idk tho #someone remind me

[manhasetardis]

Eight TV Shows to Get To Know Me

Rules: list eight shows for your followers to get to know you.

@thedoubteriswise tagged me. Thanks Selena! 💛 (and sorry this took me so long). thinking of 8 shows for this was hard

Morangos Com Açúcar - this was a portuguese teen drama that was on from the time I was 5/6 until I was 15. sort of like degrassi and then in later seasons like glee. there was a new episode every single day. so it was almost a decade of watching a new episode every day. i'm sure it ruined my brain. the show is awful, the writing is terrible, the acting is shit, and i absolutely loved it. everyone was obsessed with it, teachers and media were always talking about how much it influenced kids. it caused an episode of mass hysteria in portugal in 2006 called the "morangos com açucar virus" where the students in the show got sick with an unknown disease and portuguese kids from hundreds of different schools started developing the same symptoms. most portuguese actors started their career on this show. there were concerts, theater shows, a movie, and the soundtrack cds still smell like strawberries. unfortunately, there will be an amazon prime remake premiering this month.

Grey's Anatomy - a show that I started watching too young. it premiered when I was 8 and I think I started watching it the following year. I was obsessed with it and unfortunately I still watch it. it became worse after Cristina left. it still means a lot to me.

House MD - another show I definitely started watching too young.shouldn't have been allowed to watch this as a child. still remember watching the finale when it aired. it's called hate crimes md for a reason. this whole show messed with my brain so much. it scarred me. throughout med school professors kept bringing it up.

Doctor Who - i mean, it's sci-fi with shitty effects, great acting, some amazing stories and it made me cry a lot. what more can i ask? i think i started watching this in high school and binged watched the first 4 seasons in 4 or 5 days. (i still haven't finished watching Jodie's run tho). will probably always be one of my favorite shows.

How I Met Your Mother - i was obsessed with this show when it aired, haven't really thought about it since it ended. still sthink i had to inlclude it.

Good Omens - i loved crowley and aziraphale from the book. the show was made specifically to mess with me. it has david tennant and michael sheen.

The Untamed/CQL - insane show! it's perfect. i watched it at one of the craziest times in my life (pandemic + studying for the final exam of med school that will determine which specialties you can choose). it might have saved me a little. has amazing fanfic. epic romance. yibo and xz. I have to thank my mutuals for putting this show on my dash, I never would've watched it otherwise.

BBC Sherlock - I love this show and always will. in a lot of ways it saved my life. it's a great show with great writing and acting. insane times to be online! some great experiences with the tjlcitas. probably the show that influenced my life the most.

Anyone feel free to do this if you like, I'd love to see your answers 💛💛 I'm tagging @devoursjohnlock @thepineapplering @slimegargoyle @nondeducible @melatovnik @thegeyison @widowsisa2018heistfilm @thealogie @garkgatiss @victorianpining @kinklock

#personal