#or just blatantly biased in the worst direction

[symbioticsimplicity]

"HoW cAn yOU LiKe x tHinG iTs pRobLemAtic??!?11!?"

My dude I simply don't care for the morals of men.

#rip to you but i'm different #i dont give a shit what humans find acceptable #because a lot of the time one of those things is ill disguised nazi-ism #my moral code is an ever shifting thing dependant on circumstance #i will NEVER agree with the popular view of things #because its almost always stripped of nuance #or just blatantly biased in the worst direction #I'm gonna call my own shots based on the principles of Not Being A Dick #so I'll just go ahead and like what I want to thanks

[incorrectpuyotris]

Lo and behold, hate reblogs!

Anyway this dude is spouting bullshit based on outdated and biased information that I’ve addressed before, so I won’t get into much of the specifics. Announcement at the end.

is a bad source of info

I cited the original tweet, what the hell else do you want from me?

repeatedly bullied or sexually harassed minors in the fandom

This is just blatantly dishonest and a loaded accusation. The “or” is doing a lot of heavy lifting here, equating something that’s only mean to do and something that’s morally reprehensible.

The only reason why people assume that I “sexually harassed minors” is because someone younger whom I met when I was 16 proposed to me first, and people rushed to assume the worst once they found out.

It also bears mentioning the concept of “Romeo and Juliet laws”, laws in some US states that rule that, if two people were both minors when they met and close enough in age (usually 5 years), statutory rape does not apply. It was made to correct this kind of stupidity happening, where two minors started dating and one turned 18 first so they’re called a pedophile.

has forged a leak for Fever1&2 remakes to rile up the fandom against Sega (she ADMITTED to this)

The fact that I edited box art for Puyo Puyo Fever Box (a remastered compilation for Fever, Fever 2, and 15th) has nothing to do with “riling up the fandom against Sega”. The only purpose for that fake leak was just to make a fake leak and see if the fandom wanted that game to be real as much as I did. I always planned to reveal that it was fake after a handful of days.

has harassed the members of Precise Museum and spread false rumors about them

Nope, no idea what this is about.

created hate subreddits entirely dedicated to slandering fandom members she dislikes

What are you on about? You mean the “cringe” subreddit? That was for everyone to post whatever they deem cringy in the fandom, including themselves in self-deprecation. People loved it when they could laugh at themselves sometimes.

has re-spread lore misinformation to further her headcanons while countering the spread of the correct info

This is the direct opposite of what happened. I countered the spread of lore misinformation in order to counter non-canon headcanons about the genders of the characters, in an attempt to further the spread of correct information, even if that correct information is “we don’t know for sure”.

Speaking of spreading correct information, it was I who dug up an unused set of lines within the data files of Puyo Puyo Fever 2 that seem to be a scrapped version of Amitie’s HaraHara cutscene with Klug. You guys verified that I was telling the truth, right?

has slandered meme tumblr accounts and their mods for the “sin” of using questies in their memes

I’ve never called it a “sin” to use obscure characters when a character from a main game fits the bill better. Re-editing the memes with those alternative characters is not “slander”, it’s making a derivative, the natural lifecycle of a meme.

is also a Transmedicalist Terf

Holy contradiction, Batman! It doesn’t help your case when you use buzzwords with no regard to what they actually mean.

A transmedicalist is someone who posits that being transgender is principally a physiological and psychological condition whose symptoms can be managed with the right healthcare. This shouldn’t be considered a bad thing, since it advocates for the right for trans people to get the care and resources they need to lead a better life, and to prevent people who would be harmed by the necessary harsh chemicals from getting harmed by them.

A TERF, however, is someone who doesn’t believe that trans people actually exist. To a TERF, a trans woman is “a trans-identified male”, a man who’s pretending to be a woman. This is incompatible with any view that defines transgender people in any way other than “they aren’t real men/women”.

“A transmedicalist TERF” makes as much sense as “the only choice”; if there aren’t at least two options, there isn’t a choice to make, making it not a choice. It makes as much sense as “a triangular square”; a shape can’t have 3 sides and 4 sides at the same time, nor can it have internal angles that add up to 180° and 360° at the same time.

has harassed minors for being nonbinary

I did no such thing. Just because someone makes fun of some ridiculous statement that happens to be said by a person who considers themself to be nonbinary, it doesn’t mean that said person “harassed” them to be “for being nonbinary”.

Sadly, lots of people still use their race, gender, or other minority status as a “get out of criticism free” card, and interpret any disagreement as being hostility towards their entire identity. If you disagree with the things I say, I won’t even think that you’re racist against Japanese people, sexist against women, nor transphobic against trans women, unless your dissent directly involves my being that minority.

Bonus hate reblog:

What makes you assume that they won’t start now? SEGA just revamped the whole app; what makes you think they won’t voice the cutscenes like in other competing gacha games?

Announcement

Anyway, I’m getting sick and tired of being unfairly gatekept out of the fandom of a game that I grew up with and still care a lot about. But I think it may be time for me to let the trolls win and stop caring about it, if it means I don’t have to be constantly talked over by self-appointed e-vigilantes who barely know how productive I’ve been and how many friends I made in a new community I’ve created for myself. (It’s a certain trivia game that I’ve programmed, written, and voiced myself.)

I’ll no longer be posting to this blog, because it’s impossible to overpower all this hostility in this so-called fandom. If anyone else wants to carry the torch, please DM me at @haleyhalcyon. Mention my name (Mod Klug) and we’ll start discussing.

So long, and thanks for all the dancing bare-legged fish.

—Mod Klug

#puyo puyo #mod klug #not incorrect quotes #discourse

[coffeepoweredlesbian]

yeah I’m making the post the way that the gentleman jack fandom treats anne lister is really odd at best and blatantly butchphobic at worst. both of the ann(e)s engaged in harmful/toxic behavior but I only ever see virulent hate directed at anne. if it’s not hate then it’s fetishization.

like. Yes Anne did cheat yes she is at tory we Know she’s problematic. but I will see people reblog a scene where ann walker is being blatantly cruel/homophobic and be like Yaaaaaaaasss Ann Walker is so strong!!!! Standing up for herself!!! and the standing up for herself people are talking about is her calling Anne a filthy degenerate sinner. both of them have made mistakes. both of them were landowners who wanted to protect their place in society and their privilege. and both of them are deeply flawed.

and there’s post after post of people talking about how cute and pretty and special ann Walker is. And most posts that portray anne as attractive are the weird hyperfetishistic way that people sexualize butches (like: wow she can step on me! literally punch me in the face! etc etc).

it just strikes me as odd that despite both ann(e)s having flaws, toxic behavior patterns, and issues in communication, the fandom consensus seems to be that anne lister is always the villain who isn’t doing enough for her wife while ann Walker is precious and can do no wrong. To make matters worse, I frequently see tags/comments (this is NOT just a tumblr issue!) that accuse anne of engaging in toxic masculinity/acting like [insert man from the show]. Do I even need to spell out why that’s butchphobic?? lister does not benefit from male privilege and to accuse a masculine lesbian of behaving like a man (no matter how otherwise yikesy her behavior is) reeks of an absolute lack of respect towards butches

That’s not to say you csnt criticize lister or love walker. Just ,,, please be mindful of your personal biases and how they might reflect in your media analysis

- one tired butch

#gentleman jack #anne lister #ann Walker

[gorgon-heap]

That magic schools graphic was actually fan made btw… not even commenting beyond that but perhaps this one is a pretty big L for kneejerkers everywhere

well that’s fine, but the problem is that most (7 out of 11) schools are not fan-made. while researching i could only find descriptions of 7 schools (and saw mentions of koldovstoretz, the russian school, but that was from secondary sources).

your argument is flawed from the get go, because over 70 percent of this map came straight from the brain of good ol’ jkr. moreover, this ask was mostly likely sent as bait (i only ever get asks from friends or bots), but fuck it, i’ll engage.

putting aside the bigotry, jkr is notorious for adding representation after releasing the hp series, most of which feels performative and superficial. however, it is unproductive to discuss harry potter and jkr while ‘putting aside bigotry’, because her bigotry and biases have a direct influence on her writing and the lore she released after the fact.

this is where i think the jokes made on the post you’re referring to can be used as serious criticism. the most poignant criticism is that these schools and their locations (and the countries they serve) are very obviously from a colonialist point of view. as the replies on the tweet said, it is almost willfully ignorant of population, geography, and most importantly, socio-political history. (i’m just gonna use examples from the schools we know about from jkr, because i am conscious that this is a fan work.)

Having the Balkans all fall under one school? has she ever opened a history book? having the school that serves Latin America (largely Spanish speaking) in Brazil, in which the national language is Portuguese? why would one school serve the entire continent of Africa? it ignores the complex history of the continent, and how the arbitrary borders drawn by european colonizers further destablized the continent, in order to utilize its resources. (im not going into detail for the sake of brevity. google is free, and wikipedia is a good source for general info.)

at best it’s lazy world building, at worst it’s actively colonialist and imperialist.

it’s dismissive to refer to people pointing out the bigotry and colonialist views that jkr shared so blatantly as ‘kneejerkers’. it takes a quick google search to see that her beliefs cause real harm to real people.

#besides it seems to me the real kneejerker is the one sending asks to random fucking blogs on tumblr lmao #this isn’t even mentioning the antisemitism or transphobia btw #but again that’s a quick google search too #sorry to my followers also #harry potter #hp #jk rowling #anti jkr #long post #< for blacklist #asks #anonymous

[madi2112]

I'm Genuinely Scared

I've never been one to delve much into politics.

I had my political party affiliation and voted with what I thought was an appropriate amount of thought process.

I would listen to any given debate, try to weigh the pros and cons and react accordingly.

But for the most part I just lived my life, worked hard and faced my own issues.

That, however, was pre-transition.

Over the last 6 years I have taken more notice of things in politics and how they may effect myself and the community I belong to.

Of course I refer to the LGBTQIA+ community.

And for the first time in my life I'm genuinely afraid.

Scared is more like it.

The hate filled, biased based, blatantly unconstitutional laws raining down on those of us undergoing some level of gender transition is truly frightening.

States are banning our medical care. Forcing people to detransition. Threatening felony charges to people who assist transgender people. Banning any books from public spaces if any mention of lives unapproved by by a government board are on the shelves. Being unable to even talk about your same sex wife or husband if your a teacher under threat of law. States passing laws on how someone can present themselves in any way they deal inappropriate or face criminal prosecution.

This year (SO FAR!!) there have been over 300 bills introduced across the nation that discriminate and those of us in the LGBTQIA+ community.

The worst happening in Florida, Texas and Tennessee.

I live in Florida. Occasionally visit Tennessee and have lived worked and visited Texas in the past.

I'm scared for all of us.

Truly scared.

For ALL of us. Not a selected part of the community. But for all of us no matter with letter is yours.

We need to support everyone in the community.

Sadly there is even a fracturing between us.

While I can only speak of my own experiences I can tell you some of the most hateful things I have had directed at me come from other lesbians.

I am both the L and T in our alphabet soup.

And often the L's hates the T's.

A Facebook group I belong to for older (age 55+) lesbians had a post recently blasting transwomen.

The internet is of course filled with hateful people who love to post about thier hate. They love to gatekeep anything and everything.

So to see a post being anti transwomen, while being sad, isn't uncommon.

What was more disturbing was the amount of those who supported the post.

Not just sad, sickening.

So here we are facing proposed bills and new laws threatening us all from outside forces trying to erase our lifes and we are cannibalizing members of our own groups.

And for truly the first time in my life

I'm genuinely scared.

~Madison

#transgender #trans lesbian #mature transgendered #transwomenmatter

[andyquynhnickyjoebookernile]

Joe & Nicky (Part 2)

[Part 1]

Another thing the TOG fandom has picked up on is that while Joe might be the more romantic one, Nicky isn’t exactly subtle about his feelings for Joe. Like, in a single conversation, he calls Joe his destiny and the love of his life. Then his expressions throughout that whole “Nothing that lives lives forever” conversation is very telling.

Apparently, some people were wondering if they would follow through on the whole sleeping cuddled together thing but as far as I was concerned the follow through was never in doubt, the only thing that was a surprise was in regards to what shape it would take.

I still can’t imagine that the very next conversation we have featuring these two has Nicky taking a bull-dozer to everyone’s doubts. This conversation is literally too much, because it goes on to establish Joe and Nicky as an inter-racial, inter-faith couple who literally were on opposing armies in the CRUSADES, like I can’t even begin to fathom just how much these two much love each other to overcome such seemingly insurmountable odds.

But, more than anything what got to me was that Nicky is blatantly flirting with Joe when he replies to Joe’s “We killed each other” with “Many times” like this guy has zero chill when it comes to loving Joe, Zero.

And the worst part is that, these aren’t even the most romantic moments between them, like the worst is yet to come.

The Van Scene – God, how do I even begin to tackle that scene.

First of all, hands down it is the most romantic scene I have ever witnessed on screen and that is saying something because there are whole movies devoted to romance which don’t even come close to the level of emotion these two display in this scene. Like, how do you even come to terms with what this scene is.

From the very first “Nicolo” and that shoulder graze to that kiss, every beat in this scene keeps compounding the effect till your heart bursts with the sheer emotion coming across the screen.

Marwan Kenzari deserves a fricking Oscar for that performance because he fully committed to the scene. For anyone who couldn’t comprehend what their relationship must be like, he gives you the most effective crash course possible. Like, this is who they are, this is how much they love each other, this is how much it hurts to imagine life without the other even though you have been together for centuries, you still want more centuries together. This love which is as deep as an ocean and maybe even deeper because you can never find the end of it. It conveys all that and more.

I have seen that scene so many times but it manages to get me every time because it is just so sincere, that it’s heartbreaking and I feel like crying typing this because it is an overload of emotion that is just staggering in its depth.

I feel like I have almost memorized all the lines to the scene because it hits so hard, like it just goes all out and decimates everything in its path with just how powerful it is.

And it’s the little things that make the scene, the way Joe is speaking Italian when he is trying to get Nicky to wake up and then when he’s trying to get himself oriented. Like, the whole “Destati – Sono qui” thing is romantic as is but this train has no breaks and it keeps going.

In the middle of all this and amidst hostility from the guards, Joe decides to appeal to the guard’s humanity and tells him “I need to know if he’s okay”. Considering what follows we often overlook how powerful this statement is, I need to know if he’s okay because that’s the only way I’ll be okay. Like how will I figure out when I should release this breath I’m holding if I can’t ascertain that he’s okay. Like, that statement is in itself loaded with implications.

Then the dreaded question followed by Nicky’s not this again face, like the last thing you want to know when you have barely managed to orient yourself to your surroundings is the fact that you are surrounded by people who are biased against who you are from the get go.

The thing with that particular question “What is he, your boyfriend?” is that it is something you are supposed to vehemently deny. The question frames itself in such a way that it lends itself to denial irrespective of what the truth might be. It also plays into that whole if you show emotion you are somehow a lesser man thing, it’s also a rhetorical question, no one asking that question in that tone actually wants an answer to it, it’s a question that’s supposed to make you cower and afraid but well that question had clearly never met Joe.

He systematically takes the question apart and renders it powerless and he does it by showing them a glimpse of the love that lives under his skin, the love that is a living, breathing thing, a force unto itself, something so powerful it can’t be denied and he nails it.

Even though on the surface it’s about answering a question, we can all agree that the answer is meant for Nicky and Nicky alone. It’s Joe’s attempt to remind Nicky that no matter the situation they find themselves in, Joe loves him and no matter how dire things become as long as they are together they can get through it all. It is love wrapped in reassurance wrapped in comfort.

But, the sheer honesty and sincerity of it is staggering and makes the moment so poignant.

“I love this man beyond measure and reason. He’s not my boyfriend.”

This is where he turns to Nicky.

“He’s all and he’s more.”

It’s painful to experience so much emotion and the only one who could have taken this confession of love and known how to respond perfectly was the person this devotion was directed towards.

“You’re an incurable romantic.”

God, and that kiss. It is the biggest affirmation of their love and the fact that even when things seem dire they will always have this. Always.

The thing that really surprised me later is that Joe and Nicky haven’t had a single moment alone since the start of the film till they are strapped down together in a lab. Also, this is the first time when they are talking to each other, unobserved by others and the scene is so good.

I like how Nicky’s mind works. I mean the scene starts with Nicky dismissing his worries with the line “as much as I like to watch you sleep, I’m glad you’re awake” and Joe immediately turns it around to make Nicky laugh.

Joe like really gets Nicky, two times so far he has managed to diffuse the tension with his words and he makes Nicky just brighten up. Someone already pointed out that this is the first time Nicky laughs so openly, like these two instinctively get each other.

Well, then comes the Malta conversation and like I can’t get over the amount of innuendo they were able to compress into five words.

“Oh, that time in Malta.”

Like, it makes me laugh, it’s such a gooey scene.

These were the things that stood out during my first viewing. Tumblr has been amazing in educating me about “Nicky’s death scene” like that has been dissected and studied every which way. But, it is worth mentioning that the moment Nicky wakes up he touches Joe, first and foremost reassuring him and then immediately gets up to go help Andy.

These two are so incredible. I feel like there are lots of reasons for that. But, I think I want to do a quick recap of everything I missed the first time that made the sense the second time.

So, first off, this movie presents Joe and Nicky as a unit since the very first time Andy mentions them. Her question is just that – Joe and Nicky? The next significant moment is at the kill floor, the first thing Joe does on waking up is look towards Nicky only to find Nicky looking back, unfortunately they don’t cut back to Joe which would have made this even more apparent but they do share a look.

The next thing I can’t believe I completely missed on my first viewing is the way they fight. Truthfully, do all action movies, do this, like Nicky and Joe fight like they are telling a story. They are literally fighting half a fight that only makes sense when you put them together and they do it so effortlessly, that it feels so natural that you can’t even tell the amount of years spent fighting together that must have gone in to make this work so flawlessly.

Since the very first fight where they are completing each other’s moves and especially in the case of Nicky, keeping track of Joe’s weapons because Joe seems to discard his weapons before Nicky manages to get his hands on another one, like they are that in sync that they know how to complete each other’s moves instinctively.

Hands down, this was one hell of a phenomenal decision to have their very fighting style say something about their relationship and has this even been done before, like it’s one hell of a statement but like with everything it just builds up their story and their relationship even more.

Again, these two are incredible. Like, god I love them so much and this is just what we get in the movie like this is literally the tip of the iceberg they have a millennia worth of story beneath this and it shows.

These two are so incredibly in love but at every turn their love makes them stronger.

The movie sets these two up so well like even imagining these two together in a potential sequel has me breaking out in squeals, like literally if they make out, if they so much as touch one another, in fact forget about touching if they so much as look towards one another, it will be the best thing to happen ever. Because now we know just how deep this particular well of love runs which also, makes separating them a very interesting scenario but I would literally give anything for them to get some alone time in the next one, because I will probably die from the feels but it will have been worth it.

#the old guard #joe x nicky #kaysanova #immortal husbands

[broadwaycutie16]

Earlier today, I watched a video by TheTake on YouTube, exploring and deconstructing the “Nice Guy” trope in popular media.

Basically, the trope explained the Nice Guy trope and how toxic it really is, devaluing the girl’s feelings in a relationship and promoting male entitlement. Now, I’ve heard many people in this fandom complain that Adrien Agreste is the embodiment of this trope. The underdog sweet boy, pining after a girl who has rejected his feelings multiple times, persisting in his romantic advances towards her despite her making her disinterest clear.

While I must admit that Adrien does check many of the boxes for the standard Nice Guy, I quickly remembered who else in the show, besides him, checks out many of the same boxes, and perhaps a few more than him. Someone who exhibits many of the same behaviors of the Nice Guy, but whose less-than-healthy attitude of love is often overlooked and/or pardoned by most of the fandom, while they bash Adrien for similar behaviors.

Can you guess who it is?

It’s Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

I know what you’re thinking. How dare I accuse Marinette of such a toxic mindset! She’s the hero of our story! She fights off the bitches that are bad for Adrien and yet he doesn’t even give her the love she deserves! Adrien is the one who should consider himself lucky that she adores him! Hashtag Marinette Deserves Better!

But you see that right there? That, my friends, is what makes Marinette Dupain-Cheng, in my opinion, more of a Nice Guy than Adrien Agreste.

The whole purpose of the Nice Guy trope is to make us root for the underdog. Because who doesn’t love a good story where the loser that everyone expected to fail spectacularly ends up winning it all in magnificent fashion? Almost every movie has it’s underdog. With sports movies, it’s the unathletic wimp with a skinny, small, and/or weak body. In high school movies, it’s the outcast weird kid who’s been ostracized by the popular crowd for their unusual interests and/or attitude. In romantic comedies, the underdog is the hopelessly romantic Nice Guy who adores the girl and worships her like a goddess, as opposed to the cooler, more aloof, more sociotially successful man who takes her for granted. And since the cardinal rule of feel-good films is that underdog must end up getting what he’s been wanting throughout the whole movie, the movie then directs the story narrative to favor the Nice Guy’s desires, manipulating the audience to cheer him on and, in the process, blatantly dismiss all his unhealthy behaviors and obsessive traits, like stalking the object of his affections or trying to edge out any competition he has.

Sound familiar? That’s because that’s exactly what many Marinette stans who are also Adrien haters do.

I’m not saying Marinette is a bad person, but as far as Nice Guys go, she has shown us many red flags. She often stalks Adrien, trying to sneak into parties she has not been invited to just to see him, or following him to his house when he goes to study with one of her enemies. She often tries to keep away any girls she sees as competition for Adrien. With Chloé and Lila, it’s semi-justifies, because they can be total bitches. But not Kagami.

Is Kagami kind of cold? Yes. Can she be competitive? Absolutely. But she is not evil. Many Adrienette shippers often hate on Kagami, saying she is a stone cold bitch who will stop at nothing to “steal” Adrien away from Marinette. They misinterpret what she whispered in Marinette’s ear during Frozer. Kagami said, “The reason you cannot stand on your feet is your hesitation. I never hesistate.” Adrienette shippers translate this to, “He’s mine, bitch. Back off, or I’ll kill you.” But what she’s ACTUALLY saying is, “I know you like Adrien, but I like him, too, and I’m not gonna just back off out of curtesy while you fumble the ball. So if you want Adrien, you’re going to have to win him from me fair and square. That means you have to suck up whatever insecurities you have and really work to win him over.” She knows Marinette loves Adrien, but Kagami loves him, too. And she’s not just gonna wait around for Marinette to get over her nervousness and ask Adrien out of curtesy. She’s telling Marinette that if she wants Adrien, she needs to get herself together and go after him while he’s still available.

Kagami is not a bad person. She is simply lacking in social experience to properly express her emotions and desires without coming off as an ice queen. And yet, many Adrienette shippers view her through the same toxic lens as many fans of romantic comedies view love rivals of the Nice Guy. If the rival is even the tiniest bit self-serving or emotionally detached, they are automatically dismissed as bad people and therefore, less worthy of the main love interest than the Nice Guy. Thus, viewers are quick to pardon any attempts made by the Nice Guy to sabotage or undermine his rival as a necessary evil, something that must be done so that “true love” can prevail. Like say, I dunno, setting the rival up to be humiliated at a fancy party, despite all that they did to supposedly deserve such treatment was show up to said event, which they were invited to, and act friendly towards the main love interest, because they ARE friends?

If the scenario seems familiar, that’s because that’s exactly what Marinette tried to do to Kagami in Animeastro.

One thing I’ve noticed about this fandom, is that people seem to have a double standard when it comes to Marinette’s negative behaviors vs. Adrien’s. In Glaciator, Adrien seems to accept Ladybug’s rejection, claiming that her friendship was what mattered most, then takes back everything he said in Frozer, acting salty towards Ladybug for her earlier second rejection. After that, the whole fandom was on his case, calling him a jerk and a liar.

Am I happy Adrien went back on his word like that? Of course not. But in that same episode of Frozer, Marinette accepts that she may not be more than Adrien’s friend, and even helps him on his date with Kagami, despite her heartache and despite how everyone thought she was crazy for doing so. Super sweet, right? Except when Animeastro happens, she goes back on her mature acceptance and teams up with her worst enemy, all for the purpose of embarrassing the same girl who she supposedly accepted Adrien might like instead of her. Funnily enough, no one in the fandom seemed to give her any flack for that, despite the fact that it was an exhibitation of the same possessive, hypocrital and selfish behavior that Adrien displayed earlier on, which everyone hated on him for.

Many Marinette fans are projecting the same toxic, biased mindset onto her that fans of romantic comedies project onto the Nice Guy. They excuse any negative behaviors done by the protagonist, insisting that it’s for the greater good, all while hating on the love interest for not immediately falling into their arms. They prioritize the needs and feelings of the Nice Guy/Marinette while completely disregarding those of their love interests.

Marinette stans insist that she deserves Adrien’s love more than anyone else, bashing Adrien for overlooking her in favor of other girls. After all, Marinette has done so much for Adrien, while all Ladybug does is reject him in favor of some other guy, despite how he’s put his heart and life on the line for her. That means he should just cast aside his feelings for Ladybug and settle for Marinette, right? Well, by those standards, shouldn’t Ladybug do the same? After all, Chat Noir has risked his life for her several times and made it clear he adores her, while all Adrien has done is ignore her feelings in favor of other girls, even though she’s been right there the whole time. If Adrien should ignore some of Marinette’s stalker tendacies and easily-jealous nature, shouldn’t Ladybug be able to overlook some of Chat Noir’s less-than-acceptable behaviors?

Marinette fans often share the mindset of Nice Guy stans of romance as a moral issue, harboring the idea that goodness and unwavering affection should automatically earn romantic feelings. They believe that being nice to someone automatically means they owe it to you to love you back. Sadly, life isn’t that clear cut. Love is often given to someone, whether they deserve it or not. It’s both the best and worst part of it. This close-minded, morally black-and-white mindset is given to fans by the Nice Guy, as it’s his expectation that his being kind to the girl and showering her with romance should mean that she should know he is the one for her.

Sadly, this thinking by the Nice Guy is often hypocrital in the movies, because the same Nice Guy is attracted in his crush at least in part to some sort of superficiality (ex. she’s beautiful, popular, dresses well, is the Cool Girl who drinks beer and watches sports while looking hot in a tank top and short shorts). He says she’s superficial for not wanting a dork like him, but it’s not like he’s looking around for some socially-awkward, plain-faced girl on his own level or lower and falling for HER because of HER kind treatment of him and the intensity of HER feelings. Fans get upset when Adrien the teen heartthrob doesn’t give Marinette her due attention, but it’s not like they’re clamoring for her to settle for Nathanael in “Evillistrator” or Nino in “Animan”, even though they had intense feelings for her and were kind to her.

Because of the partial superficiality of the Nice Guy’s attraction to his crush, he has this fantasy built up in his head. He puts her up on this pedestal, much like the pedestal Marinette puts Adrien on. It gets to the point that he’s in love with the IDEA of her, this image of a perfect angel that he’s made her out to be, and not the real her. He refuses to admit that she is flawed, much like how Marinette overlooks Adrien’s doormat attitude and overwillingness to forgive, seeing him instead as the perfect boy who can do no wrong. This is a set up for disappointment later on, as when the love interest does not do what the Nice Guy expects from her, like instantly return his love, the illusion that he has so carefully crafted for his pleasure is shattered, and everything goes downhill.

Many people blame the love interests for not instantly favoring the Nice Guy once he’s shown his romantic dorky side, thinking they should pick up on the feelings right away, like it’s their job to know who they should be with immediately upon meeting them, that it’s their fault they miss the signs. But this misconception shifts blame away from the Nice Guy for not properly acting on his feelings. This is where the Nice Guy becomes his own worst enemy. He automatically convinces himself that he’s below the girl’s standards and gives up before he even tries. He hesitates to act on his feelings, much like Marinette is so certain that Adrien is out of her league that she lets her insecurities get the better of her and avoids confessing to Adrien or even talking to him because she’s sure she’ll mess up before she even tries. Then when the girl doesn’t immediately realize that she is loved, despite getting no clear signs or even the words “I love you”, she is blamed for leading the Guy on, much like how Adrien is blamed for not recognizing the mixed signals from Marinette as affection.

Even after Adrien has told her that he loves another girl, Marinette still decides to keep pursuing him, much like Chat Noir kept pursuing Ladybug even after she told him she loved someone. Yet, while Adrien is bashed for not immediately accepting her choice and working to move on, Marinette is pardoned from not accepting Adrien’s feelings in the matter. Viewers excusing all her Nice Guy traits while prosecuting Adrien for displaying all the same traits is what makes Marinette, in my opinion, more of a Nice Guy than him. Because the Nice Guy is usually the one that shippers root for, despite the warning signs of their behavior and the fact that the love interest has said flat out that they are not into them that way.

Do I think that Marinette is a bad person? No. Do I condone Adrien’s behavior over hers? Absolutely not. But these are fictional characters. We can’t control their flaws or talk some sense into them anymore than we can change the past or rewrite the movies that have sold us this one-sided mindset. I don’t hold their flaws against them and act like their imperfections define their whole character. I focus on the good they do, and if the characters forgive them, I forgive them, because they’re the ones who choose who to forgive, who to love, who to be friends with. So kiss off, Adrien salters. Y’all are a bunch of hypocrites. Peace out.

#adrien agreste #adrien x marinette #adrienette #marinette dupain cheng #miraculous ladybug #miraculous season 3 #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #miraculous salt #ml salt #adrien sugar #adrien deserves better #anti Adrien salt #Adrien stan #adrien protection squad #ml fandom salt #salters salt

[klahadores]

something just doesn’t sit right knowing that today marks the two year anniversary of detroit: become human and the main actors who played crucial figures in the game, jesse williams and valorie curry, are excluded from such celebration. their characters, markus and kara, have never been truly embrace by the fandom and many forget their significant impact in DBH. 

without kara, you wouldn’t even have a game. valorie was the one who set the precedent, she is the one who kickstarted this whole thing. without her short film, this game wouldn’t even be possible. without markus, you wouldn’t have a plot. you wouldn’t have a revolution to which the story lines of kara and connor are contingent on the consequences of this revolution. to be honest, the way the response of the game was centered around connor and his story shouldn’t really come as a shock to me or anyone because in our society, we are made to pay more attention to white people than people of color. that’s the plain simple fact: our implicit biases are shaped by the racist society that we live in.

the fact of the matter is that to have connor and bryan (along with his wife) at the helm of marketing for dbh, to have people care more about connor than the black character? to only care about a white cop in a game that is exploiting the traumas and profiting off of the painful history of african americans during the civil rights movement? in a game that bases elements off of jewish history from those triangles and armbands to help differentiate androids from humans to literal fucking concentration camps? that’s just good ole racism (and bias) that’s sugared as “look at this cute connor character! his story line is written well because the writer and director doesn’t know any other plot to write!” as an easier pill to swallow.

you all choose to only “stan” the white character because they’re more “interesting” and you “empathize more” with them? don’t even start with that bullshit of “markus was boring” or whatever anti-black reason you got because there isn’t a good reason for you to only focus on connor and not markus and kara. the way y’all lack empathy for black and brown folks is racist (and unsettling) and unless you unlearn and actively choose to fight against your implicit biases brought by your racist environment/upbringing then you are going to continue to exhibit racist behaviors.

like, i DOUBT y’all couldn’t find a SINGLE interesting about markus, the black main protagonist, throughout his entire narrative arc bitch i FUCKING doubt it. i’m sorry to be te one to tell you but if you’re white, you’re racist and all your white faves are racist. even if you are person of color and want to defend white people by saying “i’m not white and I find markus boring and I stan connor” then i got some news for you: please check your anti-blackness. if you find a character of color bland once, that’s okay. if you find out that you often find characters of color as plain and boring, then it’s not a coincidence, it’s a pattern of your own biases.

bryan and amelia dechart are racist because they enable their fandom’s (it’s essentially their fandom name manifest destiny teas) racist behaviors. david cage is racist because he chose to write about a game as a civil rights allegory and made androids as placeins for people of color, specifically black people, and made us feel as be viewed as anything but human. if you are a gavin reed stan and/or ship reed900, you’re racist because you have this man the WORKS for a minor white character that spoke less than ten lines yet consider markus as monotonous and dull...youve could’ve put that energy into fixing his character but y’all didn’t. if you are a rk900/nines stan and create fan works like fanfiction about a white character with no lines and is found in the worst ending where the revolution fails and millions of androids die? that’s racism. before y’all say anything, yes, i did contribute to this behavior but i learned from it. the way that the fandom continued to foster this culture of paying more attention to connor to the point where the only works that gained attention were of connor is to blame. we must all step back to think about it, learn from this experience, and to do better next time however the more i watch the fandom from a distance, i know it’s hopeless optimism because racism has consumed the DBH fandom whole.

the exclusion of markus and kara is the direct result of the brain rot within the DBH community. there is no excuse for y’all not to include them when you talk about Detroit because they put in just as much work as bryan did. just because they don’t engage with the fandom as bryan does, it doesn’t mean that you should blatantly erase them from the narrative. how dare you put community engagement as some sort of requisite to be given attention? in y’all’s clouded minds you forget that these are actors who have other projects that they’re passionate about and want to explore instead of staying stagnant by continuing to promote and talk about a shit slavery simulator game that has very little redeeming qualities to it? where they have personalities not built around a character they play in a game from two years ago? it’s one thing to acknowledge you were in this project and humbly respond to stans, praising their fanart and showcasing them from time to time and it’s another to continue to profit off a game that is not rightfully your own.

markus and kara were let down by the fandom.

jesse and valorie were let down by the fandom.

#dbh #detroit become human #detroit: become human #jesse williams #valorie curry #bryan dechart #amelia rose blaire #david cage #do not get me started on the fandom’s treatment of the stans of color

[90slevi]

Butterflies {Draco Malfoy x Reader} - Pt.1

Sitting at the front of the potions classroom was certainly nerve-wracking. Being watched at all times by none-other than Professor Snape was terrifying in itself, but being right under his nose as you tried your hardest not to mess up your potion created so much anxiety in your body that you thought you'd shrivel up and die. Maybe you'd even hex yourself just to get out of the lesson.

It wasn't the class you hated; in fact, Potions class was something you enjoyed quite a lot. It was just... Snape. Even though you were a Slytherin.

"Y/n," a voice from beside you hissed, almost making you jump. You turned your head to see Lucy Stoneward, your best friend since you were kids, stop your hand, and you looked down to see yourself almost put too much powdered unicorn horn into the cauldron. You were making a Draught of Peace, which could put the user into a deep sleep if too much of each ingredient was used. "You need to focus."

"Sorry," you muttered, trying your best to focus on what you were doing. This was an incredibly difficult potion to make, which was ironic since it was supposed to reduce anxiety, but there was too much on your mind to focus. Not only were your OWLs coming up and a horrific teacher had been put in charge of the school, but you'd heard rumours of a certain blonde-haired boy in your house having... feelings for you.

It wasn't that you didn't like Draco; in fact, you'd been friends since the first year and only gotten really close in the third year, leading him to ask you to the Yule Ball in your fourth. Despite a lot of people's opinions, you found him fun to be around, actually being quite a nice person when he wasn't... well, being a bully, and you couldn't deny he was very attractive.

It was just surprising that he fancied YOU, and not Pansy Parkinson or any of the other girls in Slytherin.

"Y/n, has your potion turned pink yet?" Lucy asked, a pout on her face as she watched her potion stay purple and not... pink, as it was supposed to. She was still adding powdered unicorn horn, but to no avail, whereas you'd only added a bit and it'd turned pink already. "Did I do it wrong?"

"I have no idea," you chuckled, beginning to stir your potion and watching it turn a deep red, as the instructions had said it would. "How much porcupine quill did you put in?"

Lucy was silent for a second before her eyes widened and she face-palmed. "Shit, I didn't see the turquoise bit. I started stirring at green!"

"And that's where you went wrong," you chuckled, hearing a loud groan from one of the Hufflepuff boys behind, indicating he'd done something wrong too. You couldn't blame them, though; the Draught of Peace was one difficult potion to concoct. "You gonna start again?"

"I'll have to, won't I?" Lucy grumbled, tipping out her entire potion and starting again. "You have any spare moonstone?"

"Not much, but you can use it," you answered, passing her your tray. She pouted, wondering if it'd be enough and if she could ask around without being caught, but from Professor Snape's expression, it appeared he'd seen her anyway. "Right, I can help you if you want. My potion just needs to simmer for a bit- hey!"

You exclaimed loudly when an enchanted piece of paper hit you in the shoulder, shaped like a small butterfly that floated in the air. You sighed, recognising the enchantment as one Draco used often to piss off people like Harry, and you glanced over at him. However, strangely enough, he wasn't looking in your direction. Instead, he was speaking to Goyle in frustration, the dumber of the two clearly having messed up his potion. And, from where you were sitting, it was obvious Goyle had messed up. Instead of his potion being ANY of the colours it should've been, it was a murky brown.

"What's that?" Lucy asked focusing on her new potion, and you shrugged.

"It doesn't matter for now," you said, tucking it into your pocket. "Concentrate on your potion! Lucy, look! You've almost put in too much moonstone!"

"Ah, my bad!" she exclaimed, grimacing when she noticed her potion turn a darker green than it was supposed to. "Erm... do I need to start over again?"

"Nah, it'll be fine," you said, not entirely sure yourself. However, when it turned blue after stirring it, you sighed with relief. It was fine. "Mine's purple now... oh you're kidding!"

"What?" Lucy asked, stirring it again. "What's up?"

"I need some more moonstone," you muttered, having just given her all you had. Thankfully, she hadn't used it all, and she'd probably have to go get some more from either Snape or another student. You took it, much to her protests, and watched as the potion turned purple to grey, just like it was supposed to. Another loud, angry exclamation was heard from across the room, and you turned to see Goyle getting increasingly frustrated at what he was doing. Draco rolled his eyes at what the other had done, which was drop his tray of powdered unicorn horn onto the floor.

Thankfully, it would take a while for the potion to turn from grey to orange, so it gave you a chance to read the note Draco had sent you without Lucy looking over your shoulder (she was too focused on her potion to care). Usually, it was just stupid stuff like him complaining about how useless a certain class was or just teasing you, so you weren't expecting much. However, you were surprised.

Meet me outside the Slytherin Common Room at lunch. I need to talk to you. Forget about dinner, I'll bring something if you need it. - Draco

That was... certainly odd.

It was against the rules to roam the corridors when not permitted, and at dinner especially, everyone was supposed to be in the Grand Hall to make sure everyone was safe. Although Draco was a rule-breaker and not too bothered about any of that, it was still strange for him to want to spend time with you alone outside the Common room. And with dinner, too!

You started writing your own note back, keeping your eye on the potion you were making to make sure it didn't simmer too long and glanced towards Snape to make sure he didn't notice. There wasn't anything incriminating on the note, though.

Why? Can't you tell me at dinner? Y'know, in the great hall, where we're supposed to be?

With that, you sent the note over in the form of a small bird, catching the attention of two Ravenclaws who were about to tell on you before being very intimidated by your glare. Draco caught it and read it, before looking at you with an expression of disgust, as if why it was secret was blatantly obvious. For a split second, you thought you'd got the wrong person, but was glad to see you hadn't when he began writing one back.

Turning back around, your eyes widened in surprise to see your potion turning from orange (what it should've been) to yellow, and you quickly stopped it from simmering before adding powdered porcupine quills, the last step before you'd finished. You crossed your fingers behind your back, praying it'd turn white soon and that you'd done it right, and thank your lucky stars, it did. You heard a familiar laugh from behind you, and you turned your head with a frown, ready for one of Draco's snarky comments.

"Messed up again, Y/l/n?" he asked, his eyebrows raised. It appeared that only in classes, he'd refer to you by your last name. In the Common Room or in private, he'd refer to you by your first, something you liked. "I thought someone like you would get this right."

"I don't know whether that's a compliment or not, Malfoy, but I'll have you know, it went fine," you replied, looking back at your cauldron to look for any flaws. Snape wandered over, his piercing eyes sending a chill through your spine as he looked inside. However, to your surprise and relief, he nodded at it, his eyebrows raised.

"See, Longbottom, if Y/l/n is able to make a potion like this, then you should be able to too," Snape said, a disgruntled expression on his face when he looked at Neville's. For starters, it was bubbling, which it shouldn't be doing at all, and it was a strange, yellowy-green colour after he'd put in the unicorn horn, which wasn't supposed to happen. "Ten points to Slytherin."

Lucy whispered a pleased 'yes' underneath her breath, giving you a high-five underneath the table. Neville grumbled something quietly about him being biased, only to throw his whole potion away and start from the beginning. Despite there only being five minutes left of class.

"No! I only have five steps left!" Lucy exclaimed, trying to rush through it. You shook your head, knowing that rushing the Draught of Peace was the worst thing to do, but you chose to say nothing. "Crap, do you have any-"

"Nope," you chuckled, looking at your desk. Snape had bottled up your potion and left it at the front as a good example of what it was supposed to look like, and you watched as other students tried to finish in time. Hermione Granger had finished hers just a few minutes after you, and so had Harry. The only others who'd completed it were Draco, Pansy, Seamus, about three Ravenclaw students, and a Hufflepuff. You were pretty pleased if you did say so yourself.

You'd also almost forgotten about the note you'd sent Draco about fifteen minutes ago until another hit you in the shoulder. Once again, it was an enchanted butterfly, which was odd since he usually sent a bird, but you didn't question his choice of origami animal.

Are you brain-dead? There's a reason I want to talk to you by the Common Room. Why the Hell would I tell you something secret in the Great Hall? - Draco

You couldn't help but laugh at your stupidity and face-palmed, quickly tucking the note into your pocket before anyone saw it. Lucy raised her eyebrow, and you just looked away, trying not to raise suspicion. You heard Draco also chuckle quietly from behind, and you turned your head to notice him walking down the classroom to put something away, his eyes meeting yours for a split second.

He acted completely differently when it was just you two or just you guys and some friends. He was kind (well, as kind as he could get, anyway) and, although insults were thrown towards each other, was an overall cool guy to hang around with.

"So, Y/l/n, I see your potion got put as an example," Draco said, leaning against the wall and raising his eyebrows in surprise. "Since when did you get so good?"

"Since I actually started studying," you chuckled, trying to forget the first three years of Hogwarts where you just messed around in classes and did pretty much nothing outside of class. "It's funny to beat the Ravenclaws, so I thought I'd continue."

"Your priorities are so messed up," Lucy muttered with a chuckle, packing her things away before class finished. You laughed and nodded, Draco sighing with a shake of his head.

"Yeah, but at the same time, I don't fancy failing my OWLs," you sighed, stretching as you checked the clock that hung at the top of the room. "Retaking those must be a pain in the ass."

"God, from what Goyle was doing this lesson, I wouldn't be surprised if he has to retake them," Draco responded, shaking his head at the brown-haired boy struggling to finish his third potion this class in time. It still wasn't the right colour, turning a navy blue after letting it simmer. "Somehow he made it bubbly earlier."

"Yeah, quite a few people had that issue," you answered, finally tidying away as Lucy pouted at her grey potion, supposedly finished. "Why don't people know how to simmer things?!"

However, your conversation was interrupted by Snape calling an end to the lesson, humiliating both Neville and Harry in the process (which was unfair, but you couldn't be bothered to call him out) before letting you go. You wandered into the corridors, talking to Lucy and two other Slytherin girls named Anastasia-Rose Richards and, of course, Pansy Parkinson, who you'd known since your first year and shared a dorm with. To your surprise, Draco was nowhere to be seen, either teasing you or making fun of another student. You couldn't even hear his voice, and Crabbe and Goyle were just walking awkwardly behind, talking about how boring that lesson was. You ignored them.

"Where's Draco?" Pansy asked rather loudly, looking around. "He was just here a minute ago!"

It was no shock to anybody that Pansy had the biggest crush ever on the blonde-haired boy. It was clear as day ever since she'd cried over his injury in the third year, and just to confirm it was when she had a huge, heated argument with you over the fact he'd asked you to the Yule Ball and not her, as he'd supposedly promised. You hadn't fully forgiven her for embarrassing you in front of the whole Slytherin House by using the body-binding hex, but at the same time, you weren't really one to hold grudges for years.

"Dunno," you shrugged, looking around for the familiar blonde. It was like Draco to just wander off, but he never did it without telling at least someone where he was going, whether it be you, Blaise, Pansy, Crabbe or Goyle. "Bathroom, maybe?"

"But what if he's late to Defence Against the Dark Arts?" Pansy asked, her eyes wide. You sighed, shaking your head.

"It's Draco, as if he cares," you answered, stuffing your hands into your pockets and cursing at a Hufflepuff second-year who decided to barge past you. "Oi, watch where you're going!"

"But-"

"Pansy, seriously?" you scoffed, looking at her with a dead-pan expression. "Stop worrying so much. He'll be fine."

Lucy tried to hide back her snickers; despite Pansy being one of the most popular girls in Slytherin, she wasn't particularly liked much, especially because of her whiny attitude and desperation to get Draco to like her. Plus, when she had the fight with you, a lot of people's respect for her vanished, comparing her to a baby who wasn't allowed to get what it wanted.

"In all honesty, where has he gone?" Anastasia asked you quietly, and you shrugged. You were tempted to tell her and Lucy about the notes Draco had passed you in class, but then changed your mind when you remembered it was supposed to be secret. "Damn, even Y/n doesn't know."

"Pfft, he doesn't tell me everything, you know," you chuckled, shaking your head. "I wouldn't be surprised if he was skipping class. I don't want another lesson with that old hag."

"The bitch," Lucy mumbled, her nose wrinkling even at the thought of Professor Umbridge.

Although the teacher was already hated amongst school students, there was nobody who hated her more than you and Lucy. After speaking out in class multiple times about how 'shitty and useless' her lessons were, you'd both recieved such a harsh detention that you'd left with a scar on your hand. Being forced to write lines of 'I must not swear' in your own blood would leave anybody with a burning hatred of the lady in pink.

"To be honest, I might skip that damned class too," you replied, and Lucy raised her eyebrows. Despite being a Slytherin, you'd never ever skipped a lesson in your life, not wanting to get into trouble with Snape and not wanting to make your grades worse than they already were. Plus, Umbridge taught you nothing anyway and you'd rather teach yourself. "Honestly, Lucy, there is no way in hell I want to see that woman again."

"Yeah, me neither," Lucy grumbled, cracking her knuckles as if she wanted to punch the living daylights out of Umbridge. "But my parents would kill me if I skipped class."

"Same, but I'm pretty sure they value my life over skipping one lesson," you answered, believing this a good time to look for Draco. Maybe if you found him, you could start talking about what he'd been meaning to speak to you about at dinner, and you wouldn't have to chance missing a meal.

"Whatever, I'll see you at dinner then," Lucy grinned, stuffing her hands into her pockets as her and Anastasia continued down the hall to their next class. You dove into an empty corridor, hearing the sound of footsteps disappearing, and sighed into the silence.

Now, where the hell was Draco?

#harry potter #draco malfoy #draco x reader #draco imagine #draco fuckingmalfoy #fanfiction #umbridge sucks #harry potter and the goblet of fire

[kingbennyboyyy]

benny’s RWBY rewrite: the white fang

so this is something that’s been on my mind for a while, and i’ve been trying to formulate my thoughts about it. the white fang in RWBY, as it stands now, is a really poorly thought-out approximation of the black panther party, an actual organization that fought for the equal rights and the equal treatment of black people in the united states. the black panther party’s actions have been long pathologized by white society and academia at large, and have been falsely contrasted with the ideals and teachings of MLK. the false dichotomy of violent and non-violent action is reductive at best, and blatantly racist at worst. while there is a whole fuckton to be said about the real-life consequences of these discourses, i’d like to focus on their impact on the writing of RWBY. i’d also like to talk about how i’d change how the white fang looks in order to make things a little less uncomfortable.

content warning for real and fictional racism, antiblackness, violence against marginalized people, and discussions of white supremacy under the cut.

so, the white fang. the RWBY wiki describes the group as “ a Faunus organization in Remnant. Founded following the Faunus Rights Revolution, the White Fang was initially a peaceful activist organization created to improve relations between Humans and Faunus and improve the civil rights of the latter.” more concisely, i would describe the white fang as a faunus rights activist group, whose modes of operation have changed over time. within the story, after the peaceful leader ghira stepped down, the faction as a whole took a notable nose-dive into violence. but why did this happen? why was the white fang written like this?

first of all, all of the following talk comes from the subjective opinion of one black genderqueer writer. i am not the voice of the entirety of my community, and i can bet that there are people who disagree with me. i’m just here to say my piece.

that said, i think that the white fang’s writing grossly misunderstands what oppression looks like to marginalized people. the RWBY writing team obviously wanted to handle racism in some kind of way- they wrote racism into the story. however, it’s incredibly clear that most of the writers don’t really understand how deeply racism runs in given societies. the oppression of the faunus is clearly mirroring the oppression of black people in the united states, and yet there’s little to this oppression other than surface-level discrimitation. ghira’s direction of the white fang doesn’t seem to understand that personal prejudice is a very small aspect of the continued oppression of the faunus. alarmingly, it’s only when “radicals” such as sienna khan and adam taurus take control that actual, structural avenues of racism are acknowledged. this has several issues.

- whether the RWBY writers intended this or not, attributing the acknowledgement of actual systemic issues to violent radicals is inherently a really bad call. the dismantling and destruction of racist structures is the baseline of most avenues of anti-racist thought, but by only assigning these beliefs to people like adam “kill all humans” taurus, you’re telling the audience that only people like adam “i’m gonna kill all my ex’s loved ones b/c she hurt my feelings” taurus think that these things are a reality. make no mistake, institutional racism and structural violence against marginalized people is a thing. by giving these ideas to violent actors, you’re sending a really shitty message. 

- another thing to note is the role of fear in the white fang’s activity. blake is quoted as saying that under adam taurus, people only pretend to respect the faunus because they’re afraid of the white fang. this is also bad. there is an actual line of racist thought that thinks that people who just want equality are a bunch of thugs using intimidation tactics to get special treatment, and by affirming this in-canon, you’re giving credence to these beliefs. in addition, adam’s literal desire to put humans in cages and make them go extinct is also an actual white supremacist talking point. actual fucking white supremacists go on about how the white race is going extinct as a means to manipulate otherwise well-meaning people into committing acts of violence against marginalized people. but RWBY says, “no, the white fang actually wants humans to be wiped off the face of the earth.” i shouldn’t have to tell you how buck fucking wild this is. 

- there’s also the role of violence in activism. the black panther party has long been attributed with senseless and anger-fueled violence against white people, but this assessment of the party is completely false. in truth, the arming of black panthers was a direct response to overpolicing and police violence against black people. the black panther party advocated self-defense, and acted as its own protective force for black americans. they had guns so that they could protect themselves from the cops, who were assaulting and killing them in absurd numbers. if the RWBY writers wanted to draw parallels between the white fang and the black panther party, they could have very easily done so by actually doing their research.

the question becomes, is it at all possible to have members of the white fang as actual villains within the RWBY universe? i’d say that it is possible, but it has to be done very carefully. there’s several things that have to be kept in mind here, and the entire understanding of faunus oppression has be to restructured in order for this to work. i’ll outline what i would change below:

- firstly, there needs to be more evidence of faunus marginalization past the surface level. this could be evident in a phethora of ways, anywhere from the trend of faunus hiding their animal traits being more common (an important thing to note is how accessible passing as a human is to the faunus), to beacon actually having much more bias than humans are aware of. blake highlighting these biases would be extremely helpful in establishing how deeply anti-faunus sentiments run. the only racists being cartoon bullies and shady billionaires rings too closely to the sentiments that white people have about racism. this is also a comparatively minor gripe, but the whole “becoming the monster people think they are” mask thing is just so... dumb. there are legitimate reasons for faunus to hide their identities during protests, and pathologizing this is just such a shitty thing to do.

- next, the white fang as a whole cannot be a terrorist organization in actuality. people can believe that the white fang are a bunch of terrorists, sure, but this can’t be the truth. for example, it would make perfect sense for weiss to think such things. her being the heiress to the schnee dust company, being fed stories about scary faunus with weapons trying to hurt her and her family would make sense. but the stereotypes humans have about faunus activism can’t be true. in addition, there should at the very least be more than one faunus activist party. the fact that there’s only one in the entire continent of remnant is so fucking stupid. you don’t think that some group of people would be dissatisfied and go and do something else?

- adam and sienna cannot be the leaders of the entire white fang. i’m sorry, but it’s just way too fucking easy for racists to say “oh, the entire thing’s just an excuse for (insert minority here) to ransack property and hurt people!” ilia could have been promoted after ghira stepped down. it would be interesting to see how she uses her ability to pass as human to actually make some changes for the people of menagerie, and the power structures that led to its creation. sienna has the potential to be someone disillusioned by strictly pacifist ideals of ghira, but she can act more in accordance to the actual black panther party, advocating for self-defense and knowing one’s rights. the arming and training of faunus, as frightening as it may be to the humans in power, cannot and should not be depicted at the beginnings of terrorism. there’s potential for actual discussion of the effectiveness of pacifism and respectability politics in activism, but all of that was overshadowed by the gross villification and oversimplification of the white fang.

- finally, adam. i think that adam is able to remain mostly the same, with a few adjustments to the environment around him (along with the previously discussed changes). i don’t think that adam should be the only person whose violent oppression is readily visible. the trope of the oppressed person going “mad with vengeance” is just adding fuel to the fire of the belief that those who speak out against their oppression should be put down. as satisfying an arc blake and yang beating the shit out of blake’s abusive ex was, it did just kind of feel like two people being like “yeah! violence wrong! pacifism good!” the unification of faunus SDC workers shouldn’t be attributed to adam. the advocacy for faunus to be able to defend themselves shouldn’t be attributed to adam. adam needs to be labled extremely clearly as an outlier, and even then this is risky. i think that adam’s group should be miniscule in comparison to the other sects of the white fang, and i think it would be interesting for his dealings with roman and company to be based on the distribution of android soldiers. adam shouldn’t come from a good place. yes, he suffered atrociously at the hands of his oppressors, but as a character and as an element of the story, he should be uniquely evil. for the few actual people in his group, he should rule through fear and violence, and defectors should be common. his brand of violence should be unique: rather than actually aiming to make changes to help the faunus, he should be solely focused on revenge. blake’s leaving him makes more sense in this way: rather than her leaving because of the inherent evil of violence, she should leave him because of his twisting the good intentions of the white fang into a self-serving cruelty. this all has to be contrasted against the well-intentioned actions of the actual white fang. the terrorist logo that appears universally on white fang regalia should either be solely adam’s, or his group should have a different name entirely.

so there. there’s my thoughts on the white fang and the stuff that the RWBY writers were trying to do. what should be taken away from this discussion is this: it is possible to write racism into a fantasy story without it being an absolute garbage fire, but it takes work. it takes understanding racism, the fact that it’s not just cruel people, but people complicit in the structures that uphold it. it takes being mindful of actual racist talking points, and making sure that your work doesn’t play into them. finally, if you’re going to make a main antagonist a member of the fucking civil rights movement, please for the love of god make it abundantly clear that they aren’t the villain because they want equal rights.

i’ve read so many stories where this defanged, platitude-ridden form of activism is treated as the only valid form of activism. in reality, it’s the form that people in power are most comfortable with. people approve of the idealized version of MLK because his activism was one that made white people feel good. the MLK we read about in schools is an illusory one. the real man kept a gun on him because he knew that as much as white media would have you believe that people liked him, he knew that people still wanted him dead. 

#benny's RWBY rewrite #RWBY #story #adam taurus #the white fang

[complexgods]

Ooga booga! Sorry, man, gotta scare you first since it’s October.

I know that my opinion is probably biased since those rules were never directed at me, BUT I think it was okay. Sure, it sucks to feel like you’re not in control of what you say because of emotions running high, but sometimes you have to get loud and get mean for people to listen.

Sometimes it sucks to see someone being mean, buuut… you don’t know the absolute nightmare going on for them to hit that point. It friggin SUCKS to have your boundaries disrespected. Especially when the people doing it are such jerks about it.

God this is turning into a novel, feel free to priv reply, what a beast.

Anyway, I’ve been in the male reader scene long enough to know that a lot of people are going to read kind rules and ignore them. They will get yelled at and still keep doing the things they’re told not to.

So hey, if they’re going to tell you that you’re the bad guy for being upset when they’re the ones blatantly disrespecting your boundaries? Fuck ‘em. They don’t deserve your time or your feelings.

Tysm for this message I really appreciate it!!

Yeah exactly what you said! If you’re not somewhat harsh, people will just disrespect your boundaries in the worst way possible and I’m so tired of it, because as much as I hate being harsh sometimes it has to be.

And of course, people are allowed to be upset but they should also evaluate what makes them upset about what I said. Was it really what was written or was it just the fact that they’re being called out that upset them?

People will get so upset and blatantly fucking rude for being told they’re not allowed to do something without thinking of the consequences. And doing it on anon is just cowardly.

Anyway, I really appreciate this, and I feel reassured in my decisions, so thank you so much. Sending you much love!!!

#squidnights #answered #i hope i am making sense shdjdjf

[jcmoneydick]

TharnType SS2 Season Finale and Final Thoughts

Thanya has done more work for TT’s relationship than Tharn ever could. I think Thanya has been learning how to deal with people from Type. Look at her face when Mr. Thiwat starts talking smack. It’s about time someone cracked that old man. Type must have never opened that chat in the first place; it’s been months since they kicked him out. And we love a self aware king. Type knows he’s a dick. It’s nice to see.

I could’ve done without Leo and Fiat. I figured their story was wrapped up enough. Pop off, I guess. 

Type seems to mention this grandkid thing a lot. Like more than his dad. It’s refreshing to see Tharn respect Type’s decisions like this. He catches himself, realizes he’s putting himself first, and changes direction for Type. I really wish there was more of this attitude throughout the show. This is a scene that demonstrates how a couple who have been together for 7 years can communicate with little words. They are coexisting in this moment, understanding the other’s needs. You can tell that even though Tharn doesn’t understand this tradition, he is fully supporting Type. I wish this was shown more during the entirety of the show. 

I also wish Type’s ordainment as a monk wasn’t just a part of an episode. There’s so many undertones in relationship changes during Type’s monkhood that should have been further elaborated. In my personal opinion. It seems that Tharn learned about himself during this month as well, and I really would’ve appreciated the acknowledgement of that. Imagine if episode 10 was episode 11 and episode 11 showed us Type’s dad learning about Tharn, and teaching Tharn. What if we were able to see Tharn and Mr. Thiwat’s relationship and respect for another grow. At the end of the day, Thanya only showed her face. Mr. Thiwat knows that Tharn is taking care of his son, no matter the racist or homophobic comments that he hides behind. I feel like this was a missed opportunity. (Lost in the film just for Leo and Fiat to have more screentime). This was also a missed opportunity to show international fans more of the beauty of this tradition. The architecture of the temple and the ceremony seem unique and fun and really family oriented, and it kinda felt glossed over. But THAT TIME SKIP/TRANSITION? OF THARN VISITING TYPE? CLEAN! That’s the best editing in the entire show. At me.

Doc and Champ also deserve a little more. Their ending seemed… slapped on. Question: Is Champ a himbo, an airhead, or blind? “Love clearly, makes you blind,” my ass. Their ending wouldn’t be like this if Khunpol took Type’s advice. *shrugs*

I hate the beanie. But I guess it works if Type’s insecure about being bald. When I saw the welcome home scene the first time, I noticed Type touched the butt and I thought it in the nemo voice; It was hilarious to me.

Tharn crying and saying his vows is so Tharn. His dreams are finally coming true and he can plan the cheesiest, most romantic, in your face, gushy, mushy wedding ever. I can’t wait. But I called it. I knew because of the pacing of ep 3, TT’s wedding wasn’t happening in the series. I’ll talk about that at the end. 

I love how tight knit the Kiriguns are. I wish this was my family. Tharn’s teasing P’Thorn until the end. (I’ve seen boomsticks in the behind the scenes pics, why is the mic work so shoddy in the entire season?) Tharn did cry though. GIL USED THARN! That’s the funniest thing in the entire season. Tharn’s face reeled them in, disappointment led them to Gil. 

P’Arm’s dress is prettier than Bella Swan’s was, and I’m jealous I didn’t do navy for my wedding!! (I guess crying runs in the Kiriguns blood, P’Thorn is up there looking like Tharn. That is a family of hopeless romantics.) 

Why did Thanya catch the bouquet? It don’t sit right with me. Isn’t she like 15?

I COMPLETELY FORGOT THAT THIS WAS BEING NARRATED BY TYPE THIS WHOLE TIME. That being said, why he know so much of LeoFiat’s business? Wild.

Do I like this season? Not really.

So, if you were to watch season 2 with zero expectations, I would assume you would have an alright experience. The show is almost typical, fairly easy to follow (although long winded) and the chemistry and acting is top notch. There’s so many variables in the show that would have easily made an excellent show had other variables shown their worth. I had all the expectations. The show was marketed with a TT wedding, a little jealousy and a lot of spice. We didn’t get that. There are some that are fine with this and some that aren’t. I’ll tell you why I’m not cool with this season, or the future special episode.

The TharnType wedding that was advertised, implied, and marketed to happen this season is instead being turned into a cash grab. I understand that the last one was pay to watch as well, but let’s talk about the content of that special episode. Season one’s special episode has nothing in it that is impertinent to the marketed plot. It was simply TT lost in a dream of the first time Tharn met Type’s parents. I’m sure it wasn’t implied that Tharn would meet them anytime soon in the first season. Essentially, you do not need the first special episode to realize that Type’s dad is biased against Tharn. That is made clear by the first two or three episodes of TTSS2. Opposingly, TT’s wedding was promised in the promotions of the second season. Blatantly. It would be different if the proposal was alluded or implied. If the promotion posters didn’t feature TT’s names intertwined with rings. (Take Thonhon Chonlatee for example. An heir wasn’t included in the promotions or alluded to in the series, but what happened happened.) Some people are like “well, the book stopped at blank” not every show follows the book, and some of us haven’t been able to read the book. It hasn’t been officially translated, and some of us wanted to avoid big spoilers and watch it fresh eyed. To me, a special episode is not a continuation of a promise, it is extra content beyond the main plot of the season.

The reason I’m not cool with the season can be inferred from my posts. I wanted a grown relationship. I wanted a grown, healthy, communicative relationship indicative of seven years of mutual maturity. I was excited to watch Tharn and Type deal with obstacles like loving, mature adults, but the show proved juvenile and problematic to me. The title TharnType 2: 7 Years of Love, to me, implies trust, understanding and openness. Maybe even their love being a positive influence for relationships around them. Or like the love bug striking the people around them. I understand not every relationship is not like that irl, but I wanted that representation on film. Some parts of the show delivered this, but in general it fell flat. 

The actors, in my opinion, are all very talented and outshine the script, editing, camera work… pretty much all the production. I really hope all the actors featured in season 2 are able to showcase their talents in another series soon. 

My rating for season 2: 5/10; the acting’s good, the chemistry’s there, but the story is too long winded for me. There are many other shows this year that have done better. I think Still 2gether being such a good addition to 2gether, skewed my opinion of what a Thai sequel could be. Rather, I should have referred to Together with Me: the Next Chapter for sequel expectations. (I honestly think the Next Chapter was better.) All in all, there isn’t much setting it apart from other Thai dramas; there are plenty that match this that you can just watch something else. Would I rewatch season 2 as a stand alone? Prolly not. I might let it run after watching season 1 while I do my nails and I need background noise. It’s not the worst show I’ve seen this year, but it is far from the best.

I’m gonna catch up with Manner of Death now (I had to put it on the backburner because I couldn’t concentrate on Thonhon, TT AND MoD). I think I’m too late for a “who did it” chart, so I may post a” scene that I laughed at, but shouldn’t have” instead. I have a stupid easy to rouse sense of humor. 

Maybe I’ll see you again for KinnPorche, or if you have any suggestions of shows I should watch let me know! (I just finished Cherry Magic, it was so sweet and fluffy.)

#tharntype #type thiwat #tharn kirigun #TharnType 2: 7 Years of Love

[bigskydreaming]

Why does nobody talk about Tim being sexist in Robin and literally kicking Steph in the stomach in Red Robin? I see so many Ohh but this One thing a poc Robin did that majes them the Worst of the Worst but for him it's silence? I really don't like the fandom's biases, it's very blatantly elitist and racist, willful ignorance isn't easy to hide.

Yeah, I mean, tbh the reason I don’t mention stuff like that is just like....at the end of the day, ALL the issues that are ever raised about these characters essentially just come from writer bias.....they’re inserted into the narrative or a characterization by canon writers who just flat out don’t even realize that what they’re depicting is gross fucking behavior. So its like, never there because it HAS to be, y’know? These characters don’t HAVE to be portrayed these ways. And that’s pretty much WHY I focus so much on the fandom side of things - because none of us have any influence on canon writers and where or when they insert these things into the narrative or fail to recognize the problem....but when it comes to fandom, there is really no excuse for why that stuff can’t be pointed out and acknowledged for the problem that it is.

And for my part, like, I’m just so focused on pointing out where the fandom narrative has become extremely skewed in regards to Dick because....it really is just all the double standards and hypocrisy that bug me, you know? I honestly do not need Dick to be everyone’s favorite character, or hailed as the best Robin, or anything, I just like....want people to stop writing him as this petty resentful asshole just because they think oh we need to give him flaws to make him more real when like, I honestly can not for the life of me think of another character I ever hear people saying “we need to GIVE him flaws to make him more real” y’know? 

The guy has existed for 80 years, he’s got enough material to be REAL, you’re not giving him flaws or overemphasizing his flaws because he’s just two dimensional without them, like, there’s just no material to write him as a well-rounded character without that....you’re just doing it because you WANT to. Like, that’s all it comes down to, its that simple, but so many people just flat out refuse to own that.....and IMO, it so often is BECAUSE of how quickly we tend to default to using comparisons as our basis for judging how ‘good’ or not a character is, if that makes sense?

So like, for me, I don’t focus on talking about Tim’s flaws or Jason’s flaws beyond the obvious references like “it drives me batshit how people can view Jason TRYING TO KILL TIM as something Tim more easily can forgive than like....Dick giving the mantle he himself created to Damian in an effort to....keep Bruce’s last son from running back to Murderville, Population Him.”

And that’s purely because.....they’re just not my focus characters, and I don’t really feel a need to go into them in depth the same way I do with Dick, and like....at the end of the day.....pointing out things they do that are worse, don’t actually do anything to improve Dick’s standing, you know? Like, to me, it shouldn’t be about oh Dick is a good character because he’s a better person than Tim, see, he’s never done anything like THAT (cites this or this or that)....that’s just not that productive to me, and more importantly, its one of those there but for the grace of God things, you know? With every character who hasn’t ever done something another character has, its usually just....honestly a matter of luck that they never got saddled with a writer who thought “oh this character doing this horrible thing to that one is a brilliant idea, lol,” quoth a dumbfuck who wouldn’t know good characterization if it kicked him in the face.

Again like, I’ll make a big deal about blatant double standards, like....I rant endlessly about making Dick punch Jason or Tim in fic or having Jason or Tim or Bruce punch Dick in fics without it being seen as a big deal, because.....Dick’s been punched in canon by all those characters without it being seen as a big deal and never done the same in return, so that’s a HUGE, glaring double standard where its like “why do so many of you think its cool to paint the one guy who actually RECEIVES this kind of treatment like...flipped entirely around to be the perpetrator”....like, that I’ll never stop being pissed about because its like....a direct one to one comparison, y’know? Its two almost parallel examples of mostly the same situation, so its pretty clear cut when people are regarding one as ‘nothing to be upset about’ and the other as ‘we must write him doing this all the time and never fail to crucify him for it in the comments as though like, this is just who he is.”

And with things like times Bruce has been abusive in canon, I don’t overlook or ignore those and focus on them a lot because like....they happened, I’m not focused on them as a way to make Bruce look bad, I’m focused on them because they HAPPENED, period, and I want to explore that for personal reasons that relate to why I project onto Dick Grayson so much.

But beyond that, when it reaches the point of like.....’people shouldn’t claim Dick is terrible for doing stuff like this, when Tim is over HERE doing stuff like THIS”......that’s when I kinda bow out and circle back around to focusing on more direct comparisons, you know? Because those just feel more productive. At the end of the day ‘good’ and ‘bad’ are pretty subjective (I mean, obviously not talking about the difference between hey this character is genocidal and this character is not), and given how interpretative comics are in general, and how many writers most characters go through....like, ultimately there’s just no real ‘ground’ to be gained by arguing that certain characters are ‘just as bad’ or ‘even worse’ than others, IMO. If that makes sense?

So since I’m not really just...trying to yell just for the sake of yelling and I really do want at least some people to kinda....hopefully end up more aware of stuff like “hey yeah, it IS weird that we’re always talking about Dick’s temper tantrums when its usually everyone AROUND him that’s breaking shit when they’re mad”....aka, that thing where the EXACT SPECIFIC thing held against Dick is actually way more commonly perpetrated by characters nobody blinks twice at for doing that stuff......like, that’s kinda where I start and stop my focus. Specific, done in one examples that are directly comparable to an equivalent thing in another characters’ narratives or trends in how they’re perceived or treated by fandom.

The wider net, while I don’t fault others for being annoyed that fandom so completely glosses over pretty sizable displays of poor behavior in certain other characters, like.....its just not for me, personally.

[bakagamieru]

I don't think people are mad because of harry still being sad about zayn or whatever it is between them. Public image or offical narrative you name it but for some reason it's ALWAYS zayn who gets talked shit about and people at their "enough!" point me inclueded. 90% of theblogs I follow here are always critical about what's going on but after 5 years you want somethings to left behind. And at this point I can't help but ask would this mess still going on after all this time if it was not zayn?

General

There is every reason to believe that Zayn leaving is a stunt and that none of the boys ever had a problem with each other.  I’ve explained that in many previous posts, and the explanation takes up a lot of space, so I’m not doing it again here.  You can check out those posts in my Zayn Stunt Summary here: https://bakagamieru.tumblr.com/post/120840259353/zayn-stunt-summary

I think it helps to visualize this situation as a siege.  The human psyche is rather suggestible.  Even for strong, confident, self-assured personalities, it can be difficult to hold up against constantly being told the same lie from every quarter.  Sooner or later, people who are repeatedly told lies start to believe them, unless they’re very lucky, very aware, and very careful.  That’s the whole concept of gaslighting.  This has also been shown in psychological experiments where people have eventually been convinced they’ve broken bones that they never have just because they keep being told they have over and over.  

That’s why it’s important with this situation to keep reminding ourselves of the hard facts and work through every new development logically.  That’s how we survive the siege and stop ourselves from getting hypnotized into believing negative things about the boys just because we’re told negative things over and over again.

Direct Answer

I think the current badmouthing is about a sick and twisted promo strategy that all of their teams seem to share.

I suspect there would be a lot more negativity from Zayn’s side if he had proper promo.  No promo, no appearances, no performances, no interviews = no opportunity for badmouthing.  

Also, keep in mind that there are 4 people that can potentially badmouth Zayn, while Zayn is only 1 person to badmouth the other boys.  That’s obviously going to lead to more vitriol directed at Zayn than at the other boys.

Those two things (lack of promo, 4 v. 1 scenario) are probably part of the reason everything seems so unbalanced.

There’s also the fact that Zayn was cast as the villain from the beginning.  In the post I linked, you can find a post I made about why there were multiple reasons for that and why Zayn was actually the only person among the boys that could have been put in that role during this stunt.  Is there probably some racism involved in that?  Yes.  Is part of the reason that people are so willing to believe the worst about Zayn linked to unconscious racism?  Quite possibly, yes.

I know it sucks to see other people buying the negativity and feel like there’s nothing you can do about it.  The only thing I can say is that if you’re surrounded by negativity, it’s very difficult to see anything but the negative side of a situation.  

I prefer to think that most of the fans have been taken in by a targeted psychological strategy that relies more on repetitive misdirection than that most of the fans are blatantly racist.  And I really do believe that’s true.  I believe a lot of this type of racism is unconscious bias and that one day, hopefully a lot of people with these unconscious biases will at least become aware they have them and work towards trying to fix them.  

But no, in general I don’t think this negativity is still going on only because it’s Zayn.  I think it’s still going on because old 1DHQ still want it to be going on and keeps stirring the pot to make sure it does.  I think this is still going on because old 1DHQ still has some sort of hold on 1D’s public images, because the “feud” drama is being used for promo, and because the situation can’t really be fully resolved until the hiatus ends (and I predicted that before the hiatus began).  I had hoped that we might at least get friendly Zayn and 1D even before a reunion, but apparently that’s too much to ask for from the evil 1D overlords.

I, too, feel like shit every time this unnecessary negativity rears its ugly head. However, you have to either find a way to accept and move past it (which I do through reminding myself of the truth via logic) or you might need to remove yourself from the negativity.  If it’s dragging you down constantly, consider unfollowing blogs that post the news that upsets you or blocking the most common tags on the posts that upset you.  I know being told to ignore a bad situation isn’t the best, but for your mental health, it’s either that or finding a way to fight back that makes you feel better.

Showy = Putting on a Show

To me, the drama of this “feud” is just another reason to believe that nothing IS actually going on between Harry and Zayn.  Nothing bad anyway.  

When something is constantly being pushed in your face, it’s generally because someone wants you to see it.  More often than not, the things that are really scandalous are hidden in the entertainment industry and it’s the huge dramatic “feuds” that are constantly in the news that end up being all an act.

Character

Maybe I wear rose-colored glasses, but I’d like to think I’m a decent judge of character.  None of the boys are rude or spiteful enough to keep taking potshots, especially to gang up on one particular person, for years and years after a fight.

It takes a certain maturity to survive with as much grace as the boys have managed in the entertainment industry, and that sort of maturity should also lend itself towards mending a relationship after an argument / learning how to move on from an argument that can’t be fixed.

Former Friend vs. Foe 

Yes, there have been a few public scuffles with other celebs in the past, such as the Wanted, but that situation is different simply because no 1D boys were ever close to any of the Wanted.  A fight with a near-stranger is very different from a fight with someone you’ve called your brother on multiple occasions. 

The closer the people who are fighting are, the more emotional it is and the more hurt people get.  Being more emotional means being more likely to be very angry, but being more hurt means that you aren’t as likely to want to broadcast that very vulnerable, private feeling.  You’re more likely to want to shun the topic with strangers than vent about it, if you’re any sort of a private person.

If we know nothing else, we at least know for sure that Zayn and the other boys were very, very good friends.  You can’t fake the way they were together for the amount of time they were together.

It Was a Single Fight Supposedly

The story is that none of the boys are really in contact with Zayn, so according to that narrative, it’s not like there are ongoing clashes that keep any of the boys feeling like they need to keep commenting negatively about Zayn.  If you’re continually butting heads, it might make sense to keep complaining about the situation, but that’s not what we’re being told is happening.  We’ve essentially been told that there was 1 fight years ago and that’s been it aside from a small amount of supposed back and forth, almost entirely in print interviews initially.

Time and Common Decency

It’s been almost 5 YEARS.  What person with any sense of decency keeps bringing up a fight at every public appearance that happened 5 YEARS ago?  

That would be like getting in a fight with your good friend and then badmouthing them publicly at every gathering of your mutual friends for years.  No matter who was in the right originally, you’re just a jackass at that point.

Talking about something in private and complaining is one thing, but doing it in public?  That’s entirely different.  And the more time that passes, the more ridiculous it is.

Relevancy

Zayn isn’t even really relevant to any of the boys’ solo careers, so it doesn’t particularly make sense for him to be brought up over and over.  

This might be because the interviewers can’t seem to move on from 5 years ago, asking constantly about when the band is getting back together, if they’re getting back together, how is it different having a solo career, etc.  It’s been 5 YEARS.  Those questions have been asked and answered ad nauseam and it’s not like those answers have changed over time.  

Sorry, got a bit off track complaining about interviewers… Anyway, it might just be the interviewers being unoriginal, but their team clearly hasn’t blacklisted the topic which would be a more sensible and classy way to handle things given the situation and the amount of time that’s passed.  There’s no need to talk about Zayn at all really, and yet it keeps coming up.  It just makes all of them look bad, which shouldn’t be the image their teams want for them, and yet…apparently something is more important.

The Promo Connection

More than that, it specifically always seems to come up during promo, for better or worse.  Sometimes the mentions are more positive, but most of the time the narrative takes a sharp turn to the aggressively negative overnight. 

After ranging from positive to neutral when talking about Zayn for years, suddenly during Liam’s first round of promo, things turned quite negative (e.g., wouldn’t save Zayn if he were drowning) and again during this current round of promo (e.g., guess I can talk about this honestly now, etc.).  

After supposedly reconciling about 3 different times (while apparently having no contact positive or negative at all during these years?), Louis’ feelings on Zayn are apparently very negative (e.g. we’re too immature to ever make up) during this current round of promo.  

After not talking about Zayn at all, Harry was suddenly negative during his first round of promo (I think it was the Rolling Stone print interview, but I’m not sure) and brought it up negatively again, unprompted, during this round of promo on SNL.  

It’s not like Zayn ever HAS promo anymore, but when he does have interviews, there’s generally some sort of dig at One Direction somehow (pretty much all print interviews, of course).  

The only one to escape the pattern is Niall, but Teflon Niall is a real thing, enough said. 

It’s ALWAYS during promo for a single or album that things get nasty again.   My best guess is that their teams think that the “feud” = drama = attention = sales.  To me, it seems dumb, repetitive, unrealistic, etc., but I guess a casual fan or the general public wouldn’t follow everything they do, so it’s not as repetitive to that type of consumer.

Conclusion

I am 100% aware of how exhausting, frustrating, and infuriating this whole situation is.  There’s no need for the negativity, it makes no sense, it paints all of the boys in a bad light, it basically requires someone to assume the worst of Zayn in order to believe any of it, and yet there are tons of people who still do believe all of it without any critical thought.

This is why I still write posts like these over and over again.  I have to get those negative emotions out somehow, and the best way for me to feel better is by countering the official narrative by using logic.  It reassures me that even though I’m made to feel like crap about the situation, my initial and continuing judgments about the situation haven’t been wrong.  If you remind yourself of the actual proven characters of the people involved and work things out logically, it’s not dire like all the negativity makes it feel.

When things are loud, they tend to be for show.  That’s what this all is.  This negativity is for show, which means it’s not real.

TLDR;

The fact that there’s still so much public negativity between the boys and Zayn is unrealistic, and therefore suspicious, because:

the boys are too good to be acting like this

this supposed fight would be too intimate and painful to bandy about publicly like this

supposedly the boys haven’t been in contact and so all of this is over a single fight that happened 5 years ago

the boys are too smart to not know that acting like this makes them look bad

their teams have to be in favor of the badmouthing because otherwise they could easily have just not talked about it at all

there’s generally a sharp increase in negativity when one of the boys has single or album promo

there’s more badmouthing of Zayn because it’s framed as 4 v. 1 and also Zayn never has any promo

My conclusion from these points (and also from previous facts and experience) is that the badmouthing isn’t because 1D and Zayn want to be badmouthing each other.  Rather, the drama of the “feud” is being used for promo and possibly other purposes.  I firmly believe that if there were a real falling out, the 1D boys would have handled it far more gracefully than this, given the chance.  

I suppose it’s possible that there was a real fight and that the boys were forced to handle it ungracefully by their team, but I would point to Occam’s Razor.  The simplest explanation that fits ALL the facts related to this situation (from the time of Zayn leaving through now) is that Zayn was forced out of 1D as a stunt and that there was never an actual feud between Zayn and the rest of the boys.

So yes, this situation sucks, but no, I don’t blame either side for it because there are NO sides when there is no actual fight.  I blame old 1DHQ and I blame society in general and I blame the ignorance of the general public.  But I’m not here for them, I’m here for 1D, so I keep my head down and keep waiting for things to get good again.

#one direction #zayn leaving #zayn v. 1d feud #speculation #bakagamieru #masterpost #I wrote a massive post again #sob #why do I always do this? #when will I ever learn? #I also can't stay on topic for the life of me #Anonymous

[nico-robin-official]

Straw Hat backstories ranked by tragedy:

Luffy (a): 3/10 - honestly, not THAT bad. Luffy is broadly shielded from direct consequences of his actions, and the loss of Shanks’ arm didn’t really seem to have much effect - he still became a goddamn Yonko a few years down the line.

Zoro: 4/10 - a bit better, actual character death, and directly motivating Zoro to this day, but it’s (imo) waylaid by the “she fell down some stairs” explanation for Kuina’s death, which instantly sends me into “wild conspiracy theorist” mode and distracts from the emotional impact

Usopp: 4/10 - undoubtedly tragic, but in a very mundane and almost frustrating way. Like, seriously, NOBODY took this kid in after his mother died? No one acknowledged the blatantly obvious coping mechanism? Not a soul?

Sanji (a): 8/10 - JESUS CHRIST. The gradual loss of hope, the absolute lack of restraint in portraying how bad Sanji would look after starving for that long, ZEFF’S LEG..... what the actual fuck Oda, forreal.

Nami: 7/10 - point down from Sanji’s due to being less horrifically visceral, but still, YIKES. Not only in what happens during the backstory, but the fact that the “tragic backstory” essentially just KEEPS GOING until the current events, that Nami is STILL dealing with That up to present day... Man, fuck Arlong.

Chopper: 6/10 - the fact that his life was rough from the start adds points, but once he found Hililuk.... Hiriluk? Hiriruk? Hiliruk? Crazy Doctor Dude, things kinda settle. While Chopper was TECHNICALLY responsible for CDD’s death, it didn’t make too big a difference overall, and he found safe haven with Kureha not long after, so that’s nice. He obviously still had hang-ups by the time the Straw Hats got there, it wasn’t really an ongoing situation.

Franky: 6/10 - starts rough, directly and significantly responsible for shit going bad later on, but did later move on to his own business, what with the Franky Family and all. Also, undermined by the inherent hilarity and wtf-factor of Franky’s existence

Robin: 9/10 - NOW I MIGHT BE BIASED, BUT CONSIDER: Horrible from the start, bullied by kids and worked like a slave by her family, finally starts making some friends and then loses everything, and perhaps worst of all, is forced into continuously horrible situations for the next TWENTY YEARS. Robin’s Tragic Backstory lasted for MOST OF MY OWN LIFETIME. That is dark.

Brook: 8/10 - LOST his found family, AND trapped on a boat with their corpses for the better part of 50 years. Yiiiiikes. Bonus points for Binks’ Sake of sadness.

Luffy (b): 4/10 - a bit rougher, since it includes actual character death... from Luffy’s perspective, at the time at least. Honestly, it’s more Sabo’s tragic backstory, but unless he wants to join the Straw Hats, that’s none of this post’s business 

Jimbei.... Jinbei? Jimmbles. : 2/10 - his early life isn’t THAT bad, and it loses points bc it’s not really fixated on HIM. Jimbo’s tragic backstory is also Fisher Tiger’s tragic backstory, and Arlong’s tragic backstory, and Koala’s tragic backstory, and Kizaru’s... okay, there’s nothing tragic about Kizaru’s role, but he is THERE for some reason. This is why you aren’t allowed to stick with the crew Jim Bean, you just haven’t suffered enough.

Sanji (b): 6/10 - as if this kid hadn’t been through enough..... criminy, bad dad, dying/dead mom, bullying older brothers, Man in the Iron Mask’d at a young age... only saving graces are that he was still being fed decently while Mask’d, and that his dad was willing to just. let him leave. So, the Not As Big A Jerk As You Could’ve Been medal goes to Judge Vinsmoke, I guess.

...bettin on a Zoro (b) sometime, but maybe not.

#bluh bluh #one piece #JUST MY OPINION

[skamofcolor]

Hi! Im trying to decide which remake to watch next. I have seen the og, france (i have to say besides season 3 it was super bad) and druck. Which remake is the best in terms of representation, like how would u rank them? (I trust u wont recommend italia lol)

This is an interesting question because I’m not sure that the remakes with the “best representation” are the ones that I personally find the most enjoyable to watch? (I’m also going to assume that when you say “best in terms of representation,” you mean the most ethnoracially diverse just in terms of casting?)

So instead of doing a ranking, here’s an outline of the ethnoracial representation of each one and my brief opinion on how each show works in terms of representation:

Skam España

Season 1: Eva (Eva) / Season 2: Cris (Chris & Isak)

España is one of the least diverse remakes in terms of ethnoracial identity, there’s no denying that. Although they have a few Latin American actors on the show, there are only two characters that aren’t white (or white-passing).

However, España is my favorite remake. Season one is pretty solid and I found myself interested in all of the characters and their personalities. Season two is absolutely spectacular, and while I have a few complaints, I cannot praise it enough. They gave Isak’s storyline to their Chris Berg (Cris) character, so it’s a wlw storyline.

One of the best parts of it is how  they treat their Sana (Amira). Imo España puts in way more care and effort into Amira than any of the other Skams do, including the OG. The Girl Squad actually seems to care about Amira’s religion and they make the effort to educate themselves, and Cris especially works to make Amira feel like she belongs. That’s not in spite of her differences, either, the show acknowledges how difference affects people and why it’s also a source of pride and important to a sense of self-hood. It’s the first Skam show, tbqh, where I’m not scared for the Sana season.

Most of the racism/Islamophobia Amira experiences is from outsiders commenting on Amira and through Cris’s mom. Their Vilde (Viri) is definitely sheltered and shows prejudice on a number of occasions in S1 but seems to be the one who lets go of those biases the most out of all the Vildes. Otherwise a lot of the prejudice is misogyny, homophobia/biphobia and ableism (which relates to the themes in Eva’s and Cris’s season).

Overall, I would describe España as tender.

Skam Austin

Season 1: Megan (Eva) / Season 2: Grace (Noora)

I think Austin the most ethnoracially diverse of the Skam shows. 3/5 members of the Girl Squad are WoC, and their Isak is a Black lesbian. (Yay!!!!!!)

Season one was fun but felt a bit rushed in some places. Season two started out pretty badly in terms of dialogue and characterization, but I did think it picked up well towards the middle of the season. I think it really hit its stride in the last few episodes!

All of the characters of color are fun, lovable, and get more complex characterization by the end of S2. What I do dislike about Austin is that they seem to love putting their characters of color in painful situations with very little resolution or support from other characters. I’m not sure how to get into this without spoiling things, but I was not happy with their Sana’s (Zoya), Eva’s, (Megan), Chris’s (Josefina) or Isak’s (Shay) storylines or how they wrapped up. However, when given complex dialogue and scenes, these actresses really pull out all the stops.

There’s not too much racism/Islamophobia in season 1 besides the patent Vilde-to-Sana (Kelsey to Zoya) prejudice. Megan is actually Latina but I don’t remember that really being brought up at all. I love Josefina but at points I feel like she was also just supposed to be the comic relief as well. Season 2, imo, had a LOT of racism/islamophobia, mostly directed at Zoya but a few microaggressions against the other girls as well. Kelsey seems to grow and isn’t blatantly racist/islamophobic but is still cringe-y/funny in that white-woman-who’s-trying-too-hard kind of way. Other forms of prejudice are misogyny and lesophobia (season 2 is also the Noora season, so content note for sexual assault).

Overall, I would describe Austin as campy.

Skam Netherlands

Season 1: Isa (Eva) / Season 2: Liv (Noora)

Netherlands is extremely ethnoracially diverse as well. They’re also the first remake to give us a WoC!Noora and a MoC!William.

Season one is probably my favorite season one (besides the OG). They built on so much of the wonderful aspects of the OG and went a step further, imo. Season two started out so well, but then it began to teeter off towards the end. It felt very rushed by then and some of the changes they made to the characters didn’t affect the plot at all, which was disappointing and almost nonsensical to watch. The show is very aesthetically pleasing though and I love most of the characters because they’re so... emotionally messy. lol.

Overall, their characters of color are quirky and nuanced. They’re also treated pretty well by the narrative. However... I think the show tends to not acknowledge their ethnoracial identities at all. Overall, it gives me the impression that the show did “colorblind” casting and then just either didn’t want to or forgot to engage with ethnoracial identity on any kind of level (sort of like Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella or Still Star Crossed). This… is not necessarily a bad thing? But it annoys me because I personally think that stories inherently change when you cast marginalized actors. The exceptions to this are their Sana character (Imaan, who is only in season one) and their new Sana/Linn hybrid character (Esra who is in season two).

Again, because the show doesn’t really engage with ethnoracial identity, there’s not much racism/Islamophobia besides the Vilde-to-Sana stuff (Engel to Imaan). Engel is also painted as a cutesy, just doesn’t know any better kind of ignorant and not purposefully racist like many of the other Vildes. In season two, her interactions with Esra have a different tone like she’s genuinely curious, which can still be couched in prejudice. To me though, the dynamic is different because Esra is so much older than she is, so the power is more balanced. The show mostly deals with misogyny but not in a racialized way with Liv, which I found disappointing as well. Again, season 2 is also the Noora season, so content note for sexual assault.

Overall, I would describe Netherlands as surrealist (Also, from what I’ve seen, a lot of people who like Druck really like Skamnl too).

WTFock

Season 1: Janna (Eva) / Season 2: Zoe (Noora)

WTFock is in the middle when it comes to ethnoracial diversity.

Season one starts out slowly, but the small changes they make to the plot make a lot of sense and I really quite liked. It’s underrated but I think some of the characters are extremely strong, and for some reason it gives me the most OG vibe. Their Noora (Zoe) and Sana (Yasmina) are some of my favorites. I haven’t watched season two fully yet, maybe five-six clips. I did like the ones I selectively watched because it seems like they did change things up in a way that actually impacts the storyline (unlike in other remakes, who do small changes but ultimately stick to the exact plot of the OG).

I adore Yasmina and have no strong feelings about the rest of their characters of color so far. Their Chris (Luca) isn’t as strong as some of her counterparts, imo, but I think there’s potential to really build her up. I will say though that their one MoC, Moyo (a Mahdi/Magnus?) is arguably also the worse. He’s obsessed with saying fa**ot and is pretty homophobic. I have a suspicion that WTfock is gonna pull out some antiblackness the same way Skamfr did but again, I haven’t watched most of season 2 so I feel like I can’t really say that for sure yet. The show is good so far at hinting at Yasmina’s backstory, which I also really like. I feel like Wtfock and España have been the best at giving their Sanas a life outside of their friends, where we get more about then in early seasons then we did with Sana.

Yasmina deals with a lot of racism/Islamophobia from her Vilde (Amber). Imo, Amber is the fucking worst, and I don’t know how anyone can tolerate her. She’s even worse than Kiki which is saying a lot because I really really loathe Kiki. But anyway. Season one also has a “Mexican” themed party which was atrocious to watch, and not one of the characters seems to think that’s racist at all. The show tackles with misogyny as well, and season 2 is also the Noora season, so content note for sexual assault. I’m not 100% certain because again, I haven’t watched it, but apparently a bunch of characters, not only Moyo, have also been really gross, fetishizing and homophobic towards Robbe.

Overall, I thought season one was solid. I can’t really comment on the show as a whole yet.

In Conclusion

Anyway!

I hope this was helpful, but what you’re going to like really depends on you. This is all my opinion and ofc folks are free to disagree with me. I might be missing a lot because I wrote this all off of memory, but these are the impressions that stuck with me the most.

- mod Jennifer

#answered ask