#that's actually just you creating problems. you're not supposed to acknowledge it. you're supposed to shut up and smile into the mirror.

[sergle]

what I was talking abt earlier. we have fully looped back around and away from feminism, societally, whereas before it was very Feminism 101 to acknowledge that many parts of existing as a woman in a misogynistic society are painful and upsetting. not that being a woman is Inherently Negative in a bubble. but that living on this earth, in the conditions we're living in, is hostile to women. and that gender is a performance. that many of the Staples Of Femininity as accepted by society are things that you have to create and perform and mold artificially and aren't inherent, that COMPLAINING about day to day difficulties of existing as a woman is something that you're allowed to do. acknowledging these basic, again, feminism 101 things, that something tied to womanhood is more time consuming or more expensive or more dangerous Because Of The Problems. does not CREATE the problems. that when women complain about having to perform femininity, they are not, in fact, oppressing themselves. the call does not come from inside the fucking house. saying that you HAVE suffered does not fucking equate that you believe you SHOULD have suffered.

like I could talk about this for hours. how braindead and one-dimensional the Takes are getting. "being a woman is looking in the mirror and going fuck yeah i'm a woman" damn. I guess any negative experiences you have by living in a misogynistic world... are your fault if you are anything but positive? "you don't actually want liberation" we've fully gone back to telling feminists "you WANT to be oppressed" when anything negative about our society is pointed out. it's not real until I say it out loud, I guess, and then I'm actually the one who caused it. if anybody expresses any unhappiness with how they're treated or the status quo or the language and culture surrounding womanhood and femininity. they've created it, right that second. they invented it just now. it wasn't a problem before somebody complained, right? also trans women aren't braindead zombies who just follow the flow of whatever cis women around them say. I am pretty fucking sure they are very much aware of pain, and are MORE than aware of the swirling torrent of misogyny and standards of femininity than anybody else. actually. and I am pretty sure someone complaining on tumblr that being a woman means always putting on a performance is going to make someone change their mind about transitioning. also "performing femininity" as a necessity to being treated well as a woman is not fucking NEWS to your Local Trans Woman. I AM PRETTY SURE SHE GETS THE CONCEPT. using trans women as a scapegoat for this braindead perspective on gender politics is spineless, meritless, and pathetic.

#how I feel about my gender is not the same as how I feel about the living conditions of my gender #when I saw that post I screenshotted here I literally sat w my mouth open for a minute #sent it to my friends and was like am I fucking crazy. is this what we're doing now #Forced Positivity and that there is no war in ba sing se and actually #you're ruining children's lives if you complain about misogyny on twitter #I don't HAVE to tell little girls about the downsides because they are already being mistreated #before they have even heard the word 'misogyny' let alone know what it means #you do not have to be fucking happy all the time about the cards you're dealt. #you don't live in a bubble where it's just you and your mirror and your pretty dress and nothing bad has ever happened to you #unfortunately bitch. we will have negative experiences that are in fact. part of the package of being a woman #and IGNORING them doesn't make them not exist. actually they will continue to remain status quo unless acknowledged #sergle.txt #I see so much rhetoric that is JUST old-fashioned gender ideals being presented with liberal language on tiktok #that is just telling women that womanhood is just being a girllll and loving pretty things and being kind and gentleeeee and nurturing #and not working and just like being wholesome and being happy and being a light in ppl's lives and just LOVING LOVING LOVING being a woman #so if for even one second. you don't love it. you are actually failing at being a woman #if you complain about the standards for shaving or putting on makeup. which used to be Baby's First Feminism online #that's actually just you creating problems. you're not supposed to acknowledge it. you're supposed to shut up and smile into the mirror.

[itsclydebitches]

Let's tally things up, folks!

Ruby's entire depression arc is "resolved" by a one sentence exchange wherein she just... decides she's better now? 'Is this the message?' Ruby asks, on her knees in front of a not at all subtle broken piece of glass. 'That I'm just supposed to give up?' and then literally the next moment she sees Crescent Rose, the weapon she's been flinching from because it represents all the failures she hasn't actually grappled with this season, and decides that depression and suicidal ideation are for losers. Let's go fight a randomly evolved cat!

The group still doesn't care about Ruby's Volume-long struggle. What are you talking about, evil kitty? Ruby's never been confused, or weak, or feeling like she's broken. We're oblivious to all that. That's why we follow her, because we can easily ignore everything that's going on in her life and instead just focus on ourselves. Didn't she have a breakdown a couple of hours ago about having to lead all the time? Should we really be announcing the moment she steps out of the tree that we expect her to be in charge again? ... nah, it's fine!

I guess the overall message is that any and every horrific act is excusable because you're just being yourself? Sorry we doomed a Kingdom and have actively helped Salem in trying to take over the world. The horrors we've enacted are good things though because it means we're being ourselves.

Ruby is conveniently the only Ascended who retains all her memories. Can't have the protagonist undergoing any kind of actual change, after all.

Neo throws herself into the tree despite that going against every iota of her characterization. Will we ever see her again? Who knows.

Is the blacksmith lady Alyx? I still have no idea.

Jaune is made young again, because of course he is. Love that they act like this is some curse he's suffered from - "It's been so long..." - and not an actual life lived across several decades. If I got stuck somewhere for twenty-ish years and then someone tried to magic me back to my 18 year old self I'd be like wtf? No? I'm not a teenager??? Will the show ever acknowledge that Jaune is actually an old man in a de-aged body now? I doubt it, considering this plot-line had no impact on his personality, skill, or outlook.

Also love that the brothers' story is treated like this wonderful tale of growth and exploration. The blacksmith is going on about how amazing it is that you don't know what you'll get when you create something, tone all fond for the demi-gods that have left her world to toy with new ones, and I just wanted one of the characters to start screaming about all the horrors they've caused. They killed an entire population in one fell swoop and have cursed two individuals for funsies, with the entirety of Remanent permanently under threat of annihilation if they don't meet the Gods' ambiguous standards of unity. Oscar didn't fall into the void because if Ozpin had been there he would have gone feral and attacked the blacksmith with his bare hands.

We're heading back to Remnant and Ruby still doesn't know that Jaune killed Penny! Ruby didn't even get her sword back. Or consider her in the tree therapy session. Why was killing her off necessary again? Oh yeah, Jaune angst🙃

We got a "when you're needed" from the blacksmith, so expect that time-skip in Volume 10. Can't wait to see how much important stuff the story skips over...

Also, this is so minor in the grand scheme of everything else, but I YELLED when Summer admitted that she'd lied about the mission. For nine Volumes these characters have been dragging Ozpin for every problem under the sun including, in Volume 7, for the mysterious disappearance of Summer, only for it to turn out that she LIED about where she was going and on whose orders, setting him up to take the fall when she doesn't come back. Who's going to have Qrow apologize to Ozpin for blaming him for years? Who's going to have Ruby unpack that her whole family is made up of liars and she was foolish to think that anyone, including Ozpin, could survive this war with a completely clean record? Hell, who's going to have Ruby simply tell anyone - including her sister - what she now knows about her mother's death? Not the RT writers, I'd wager.

Especially when they gave us a scene of Summer leaving on what she recognizes may be a suicide mission and leaves a token of affection for one daughter but not the other. Summer is Yang's mom too! Yeeeeeaaah the story is really bad about actually writing that.

Overall this Volume just feels like a colossal waste to me. The story ignored most of what was set up in Volume 8, introduced a world it didn't have time to flesh out, threw in an unnecessarily shocking story line about the hero trying to kill herself, 100% dismissed the ramifications of that, reset everyone so that none of the characters have to actually grow or change, and has now implied that all the plot important stuff - the Atlesians' survival in the desert, trying to ally with Theodore, Salem's next attack on Remnant, the development of most of our B Team, etc. - has occurred off screen.

The only thing this Volume accomplished was getting the bees together, which was something we should have had years ago. That admission hasn't changed their dynamic in any way, or introduced new conflicts (remember, no one cares about Ruby's breakdown, including her correct accusation that Yang has cared more about her girlfriend than her struggling little sister). It's just... there, not queerbaiting anymore, thankfully, but that feels like a very low bar to meet.

2+ months later and all I'm feeling is

#rwde #rwby #mymetas #suicide tw #also also a lot of the dialogue was just AWFUL #not Ruby's with the Blacksmith so much #but the Cat's? #Weiss'? #Jaune's? #god I was cringing through so much of that fight #'Nooooo these FEELINGS!' #like putting aside that none of Jaune's plan makes sense #(why is this hallucinatory Alyx suddenly helpful instead of ~evil~ like what the girls saw?) #(why would the smoke impact Neo if she supposedly has not connection to Remnant anymore - the reason the Cat can't leave?) #(why would feeling things fix possession when it's clear that the Cat feels SO MUCH via that broken heart?) #it was just awful to listen to #honestly highlights of the episode were Ruby looking cool going after Crescent Rose #and the newly introduced mystery of what Summer and Raven were up to #that's it #that's all I've got

[khanrelli]

kamala khan and the downsides of being a superhero | kamala & nakia

a fanfic with Nakia Bahadir and Kamala Khan from Ms. Marvel

When Kamala unintentionally creates chaos in her neighborhood, she is overwhelmed with emotion and confides in her best friend, Nakia. word count: 692 warnings: none read it on archive of our own!

Kamala had found herself thrust into the world of superheroics – what originally was her biggest dream, turned out to be her living nightmare.

Being a superhero means there's bound to be bad you have to fight. She was up fighting a supervillain that went by the alias 'Kaboom'. She looked to be about her age. Kaboom could manipulate, control, and harness electricity.

The fight left her bruised, shocked (quite literally), and exhausted.

Through her pursuit of justice, she had unintentionally created problems in her tight-knit neighborhood. Electricity lines collapsing, scorch marks on buildings, and the general atmosphere of unease. The same people who supported her, now held her responsible for the troubles in their neighborhood.

She dragged herself to school, not being able to find Bruno, but instead overhearing a conversation that some of the students have.

"How am I supposed to believe she's the city's 'superhero' when she can't even stop some electro-freak?"

And another.

"No Ms. Robinson, I couldn't do the homework because the whole Kaboom incident cut my power out." 

And another. "Why does New York get all the actual good superheroes?"

And the final blow, from her own best friend, Nakia Bahadir. 

"I dunno, but this Ms. Marvel is giving us a bad rep. As if things couldn't get worse for the mosque, now there's more surveillance on us." She mentioned to Miguel.

Nakia had spotted her best friend in the corner of her eye, "KK!". She didn't bother to acknowledge her and instead briskly walked to the bathroom, overwhelmed.

"Hold on." Nakia had told Miguel, following Kamala, determined to find out what was going on.

The bathroom was empty but she still opted for the more private space. Kamala locked herself in the bathroom stall and sat on the closed toilet lid. She held her face in her hands, gently sobbing into the cuffs of her jacket.

She heard the bathroom door open and footsteps walking towards her stall. "KK?" Nakia called out to no response. 

But she could see her friend's sneakers with doodles all over them at the small opening below the stall door and knew it was her. "Are you okay?"

Kamala couldn't keep it in anymore. She had to tell someone. Her muffled voice trembled as she tried to compose herself, "Naks, I feel like I'm failing everyone." She sobbed out. 

"Oh, Kamala. Open the door." 

Kamala hesitated for a moment, wrestling with the vulnerability of unlocking the stall door. Eventually, with a shaky breath, she clicked the latch open. The door creaked as it swung ajar, revealing Kamala's tear-stained face and disheveled appearance.

Nakia's concern deepened as she took in the sight of her distressed friend.

She went down to meet Kamala's eye level. "What's going on?"

Kamala sniffled, trying to gather herself before speaking. She looked into Nakia's eyes, searching for understanding. "The more I try to do good, the more I mess things up. I just don't know if I can keep doing this." 

Nakia didn't fully understand what she was talking about but she did understand that her childhood best friend needed her support.

She wrapped her arms around Kamala, a silent reassurance exchanged in the tightness of the embrace.

Nakia gently sighed and holding her friend's shoulders, "Kamala, I wish you could see yourself the way the rest of us see you."

"If you could, you'd see that you are a radiant and amazing person. You aren't messing things up. We all stumble, but that doesn't define who you are. You're still that same incredible friend, no matter what." Kamala met Nakia's gaze, a lump forming in her throat as tears welled up. 

"I don't know what you're going through but I swear, if you need anything and everything, I am always here." Nakia continued, offering a warm and reassuring smile. Kamala pulled her back into the hug, seeking solace in her embrace.

As the weight of Nakia's words settled between them, Kamala felt the sting of guilt and the ache of a friendship hanging in the balance.  

She sobbed into Nakia's shoulder, hugging her. How do you tell your best friend you're the one person she despises?

#ms marvel #the marvels #kamala khan #marvel cinematic universe #marvel #mcu #nakia bahadir

[kulay-ng-banaag]

Filipino* Hetalians are bothered by how vocal people are to criticize the US state but not CN. We only wished for others to be as critical, because Filipino Hetalians have been criticizing the CN state for trespassing — no, literally violating international law that was settled years ago and ineffectively implemented after our former president elected to court the CN state in the name of anti-US imperialism. The coast guard of the CN state rammed the boats of our fisherfolk — one of the, if not the, poorest sectors of the Philippines. It doesn't matter who you are, if you are in their way, they won't hesitate. Why they do this has more to do with capitalism than racism per se (even while racism is ultimately rooted in capitalism).

We're critical because WE DON'T WANT IT TO ESCALATE INTO A CONFLICT THE LIKES OF PALESTINE RIGHT NOW. The White House is literally intervening because the CN state refuses to take accountability. We are forced to invoke a law that most of us did not even exist to protest before. It doesn't help that they have used the military bases they built here as a jumping point for other wars (one example with the keywords: Clark Air Base, Allen Lawrence Pope, 1958 PRRI/Permesta Rebellion). What happens is we end up holding some level of responsibility for something we as a people did not sign up for. Then, we have to pay reparations but our taxes literally get pocketed, so we only further suffer for the sins of capitalist pigs.

But since no children have died yet, I guess it doesn't matter? Our government is debating over the reimplementation of mandatory ROTC for university students. One student was killed years ago for exposing the hazing rituals that have been normalized in the ROTC system. This is the same ROTC that obliges us into military service when the state calls for our specific names, only this time everyone has to go through it, and therefore anyone can be called on. Of course, that is unlikely unless there is war. Now put that next to our West Philippine Sea issue and you see the dots connect.

You would have known that if you had just listened to Filipino Hetalians from the start, instead of scrambling for excuses and copy-pasting racist rhetoric as a clapback to defend your victim complexes.

Nobody asked for you to explain your trauma. Nobody asked because we're completely aware and SYMPATHIZE with that. That's not our problem. That was never our problem. Your trauma is not our oppression. The problem is a neighboring government refuses to acknowledge and intervene in the aggression of its own resources. Nobody said iT's yOuR fAuLt ThEy'Re DoInG tHiS, it's honestly worrisome how people hear things that were never uttered...

But what are we supposed to expect when you have informants everywhere to keep track of any form of disagreement so you're basically a panopticon over the fandom that nobody wanted in the first place? Do Filipino Hetalians have to go into detail now about how we here are under constant surveillance from the Philippine state because any form of vocal disagreement will get us red-tagged and possibly killed as retaliation for offending the egos of those in power?

You demand we respect your trauma while irrationally labeling someone else's trigger as racism? Did you actually believe that would contribute one step closer to a ceasefire? Be honest with yourselves and think it through realistically: Did you actually believe that your online, inflammatory retaliation will contribute a step towards a ceasefire?

The honest and realistic answer is NO, because you wasted energy that could have been put into organizing on the ground. You wouldn’t have to get snarky about how you spend time helping elsewhere because your lack of training in working with fellow organizers with mental health issues indicates your lack of experience. Your lack of experience indicates you have yet to touch real grass and organize beyond huddling your friends into online harassment campaigns.

You don’t get to sprinkle disclaimers of not harassing people while adding #hater tag. You literally gossiped about me in your circle. You cherry pick receipts in your favor. The worst part is I’m not the first person you’ve done this, and I doubt I will be the last one. You only visibly condemn public harassment in order to wash your hands clean of your private harassment.

And I’m not even white, yet you spit inflammatory statements about me as if I was a white racist. Between us, who’s the Westerner to the other?

This is not about racism from white supremacists anymore. This is elitism, and we Filipino Hetalians have too much of that already. It’s elitism because you constantly enforce your intellectual superiority over us like some evangelizing conqueror holding dominion over the poor, unenlightened savages. It’s elitism because being Asian by blood doesn’t change the fact that you’re entitled to privileges not so within the means of non-migrants. Note that I write “by blood” because tying identities to the state is conclusively dehumanizing. Does my being Filipino automatically make me anti-indigenous? Does someone being American by citizenship make them racist freaks, regardless if they are also black/indigenous/Asian/Pacific Islander?

We’re as upset over the racist-motivated attacks of Chinese people because of the racist framing of the CN state as the source of COVID-19. We’re as ashamed of the lingering sinophobia in SEA. At the same time, we here in SEA are in closer geographical proximity to the CN state puts us in a higher vulnerability to exposure to aggressions on a state level. You could have also learned of our genuine opinions if you had just asked. Instead, you assumed for us. We may both be Asians by blood, but what happened to the whole respecting our nuances because Asians aren’t a monolith? Please understand where the nuances lie.

Elitism is also satisfying your freedom to freely speak of your traumas while policing the traumas of other people not shared by you, because the conditions you have grown under have instilled a hostile and ableist perspective for mental health breaks in general. That is the fault of the normalization of capitalism that every one of us must live under. The good news is that it can be dismantled. The bad news is having a petty fight with someone you dislike because they explained why they disagreed with your fandom opinion on the internet is not going to leave a scratch on the foundation of capitalism we mutually want to destroy.

Lastly, elitism is also the combination of residing in Western countries — all the more in the core of all cores of imperialism today that is the United States of America — and having a significantly larger following, and therefore influence, on social media than most non-migrant SEAsians in the Hetalia fandom. You hold a privilege and leverage over other voices; I mean, just look at how much traction the racebending disk horse received. As far as I can speak for my commentary — though I wasn’t the only one — we only wish for acknowledgement of the nuances alongside the impossibility of total depoliticization of nation-state personifications.

You speak of fighting racism, yet you constantly patronize the people from the communities you demand more representation of. It should not be any harder to realize the unappreciated double standards than the history of racism against diaspora communities in white-majority countries. I hate that it happens. We hate that it happens. But the internet is not restricted to the Western experience alone. The internet is not occupied solely by Westerners. Sheesh, guys, I know the US is even colonizing the digital space but don't give them that validation lmao?

And at the end of the day, this bizarre drama was never about the Chinese identity or the anti-Asian racism or the genocide of Palestinians. It was about a neurodivergent SEAsian expressing that her sudden quiet presence on social media is because she needed to recover from an anxiety attack that was preventing her from functioning, which includes platforming her support for Palestinians and other obligations in her every day life with sincere intentions. Understand that you are enforcing an unwanted power dynamic every time you make everything about you, again and again and again and again.

Understand that in creating a false rumor in mocking someone's trigger, you are establishing that the Hetalia fandom is not a safe space for the neurodivergent.

Understand that in creating a false rumor in mocking someone's trigger, you are establishing that the neurodivergent are useless, and therefore have no right to participate, in the fight for the freedom of Palestine.

UNDERSTAND THAT YOU ARE A VICTIM OF RACISM AS MUCH AS YOU ARE AN ENABLER OF ABLEISM.

THE GOOD NEWS IS THIS: It can be unpacked. Here are some articles on the impact of frequent media exposure to extreme violence. Mental health wellness is as much a part of the peace process.

Media Exposure to Collective Trauma, Mental Health, and Functioning: Does It Matter What You See?

Witnessing images of extreme violence: a psychological study of journalists in the newsroom

Media’s role in broadcasting acute stress following the Boston Marathon bombings

You are free to email the authors to argue about why dedicating time for recovery is morally wrong and a privilege that can never be a right. Don't take it to me or to any other Filipino Hetalian anymore, take it to the specialists in the field. Argue against the foundations of their profession. Shake them to the core, for all we care. Tell them how you think their works supplement racism because you want so desperately to be right about your bad-faith reading. Understand that your stubborn inability to hold others in good faith for once is toxic and destructive.

EDIT (01/09/24): Here are abridged infographics of a webinar addressing mental health and systemic violence, and organized by an advocacy network that works with indigenous communities and environmentalists. To quote them: "mental health must be addressed with collective care that is inseparable from collective action in solidarity with the Palestinian people's national liberation movement." If that still does not humble you, then accept that there are Hetalians — not just the non-migrant Filipinos — who are actually uncomfortable with your constant aggression and you just don't know it because you don't listen when they choose to speak up about it.

Now that that’s all said, take the time to comprehend how our pains now stand as equals in magnitude with respect to our dignities as humans.

*Bluntly, me and my friends and mutuals in the Hetalia fandom who are all non-migrant Filipinos. I don’t want to assume for others not in my circle, but I am extremely tired of all the cop behavior over us. This is not Martial Law.

P.S. Stop using “mainlander” like a slur. Not even as a joke. Stop it before it blows into full-out racism.

#war cw #violence cw #death cw #racism cw #sinophobia cw #ableism cw #mentions of genocide cw #long post

[viktoriamagrey]

At some point we're going to have to talk about how much damage social media has done to certain groups of vulnerable, mentally ill people by convincing them a certain thing is supposed to be their entire personality or something to completely accept rather than work on. This milquetoast approach, this shrugging of the shoulders and simply telling people that they're "fine the way they are" and that they don't have to do anything, that they just need "more support from others" (as if that solves their problems) is backfiring really badly on people who really don't need even more cushioning from their problems. In certain online pockets, it has actually alienated people who seek recovery from their own spaces by creating an echochamber of despair that makes people even more likely to scowl at the entire concept of accountability, or acknowledging the part they play in their issues. It just goes back to a basic problem with identity "culture". If you convince an entire group of people that they are always the victim for simply being who they are, they never have to be held accountable for anything, no matter how much it affects them or others. That's why so many people crave an identity to latch onto, and why it's such a dangerous mindset to have towards mental illness in particular.

...I'm really resentful of this mentality, because to some degree I fear that all it has done in the end is make certain types of people even less likely to seek help or treatment, simply scapegoating other people or pointing to "the stigma" as an excuse whenever anything negative is said, which is what happens when people overidentify so much with the broader strokes of a mental illness; that even just admitting its negative impacts is viewed as a big, personal attack. Those that really do need to hear more acceptance usually just stay completely out of the conversation to avoid being associated with certain, more conflictive types of people, and only get to see negative comments being made from either side.

It's incredibly disheartening to see. I understand that certain things arose as a direct response to the villification of mental illness, which is definitely a problem that is still very much in the process of being addressed at all in some ways. But there are plenty of people who could definitely use a much bigger push and are not getting that because people think that if you don't treat the very mention of everyone's condition with kid-gloves you may be "responsible" for someone being hurt or otherwise hurting themselves. The thing is, that's not anyone's responsibility but the person's. (I've seen so many comments on videos on mental health topics where people confess to going there specifically to self-harm. Does that mean we shouldn't talk about them?) If it's just the truth, you should be allowed to speak it. There are certain comments you seem to be not allowed to make, no matter how much they're backed up by people who know what they're talking about (even just part of a diagnostic criteria!); simply because you're supposed to avoid upsetting the "vulnerable" group who somehow always keeps finding their way back to the things that they want to get mad at specifically to yell at you about it instead of focusing on recovery.

#my thoughts #original text post #ramblings #my text #text post #mental health #discourse #tw discourse #accountability #mental illness #sh mention #self harm mention #self-harm mention #serious #real life topics #serious topic #This is a heavy topic... Here have a flower 🌸 for reading this. #But seriously though. It's just disheartening is the right word. #There is nothing fair about the way mental health is treated. It's always something about which way the pendulum swings. #I am absolutely not saying that there isn't a stigma or that people aren't allowed to want to be treated like human beings! #But there is a very big difference between that and outright DENYING that you have a problem and that it is very much a problem. #The rose-tinted glasses don't help anyone. #I was about to say something else but that is a big can of worms I don't want to open right now. #...Some people probably don't even want to read the DSM V at this point. #Catering to these types of people is not a good thing.

[saiki-sideblog]

Shipping saiki with anyone is aro/ace phobic it is clearly implied he doesn't feel any attraction to anyone the closest thing we got was when he became obsessed with someone not even romantic

Uuuuuh??? Ok???? I'm not sure if you're trying to call me out for something or if this is just supposed to be a general PSA that you're coming to my blog to get out there, but I'm gonna try to dissect this from every angle I can think of.

First of all, if you're trying to accuse me, I myself am incredibly aro ace and am fucking so grateful for the representation. That's so hard to find and is part of the reason I was drawn to the show.

I know I've reblogged a few posts regarding the Saiki and Satou ship in the past, but I don't actually ship it myself. If I'm reblogging content regarding the ship it really has more to do with the dynamics surrounding it that I think are fun concepts. Usually related to how his powers affect his ability to form relationships in one way or another. Honestly I'd like to see all these concepts in the light of a QPR or something could be cool and more accurate representation. It's not like ace aro people can't love at all. They just aren't attracted to people's physical appearances

I think it's incredibly important to acknowledge that he's aroace, but the thing is... most people aren't aroace and those people are going to have a tendency to instinctively pair characters off in their heads without thinking about it. Especially when one of those characters is explicitly shown to be obsessed (your own words) with another character. If someone wants to explore those dynamics that's fine with me, as long as they aren't actually actively rooting for these ships to occur in canon. Shipping something doesn't necessarily mean you want the relationship between characters to happen in the actual franchise. The whole concept of shipping is kind of complicated tbh. But as long as someone is making content about how Saiki is aro ace in canon while also creating side concepts regarding the possibility of possibly dynamics, I don't see a big problem with it

The next point I have is something I'm kind of conflicted on myself. That's the point of cupioromanticism and romance neutral aromantics. I myself love to refer to myself as "very aro" but I was calling myself that even as I was in a relationship. It's possible to be aromantic and in a romantic relationship. The conflicting part is that a lot of people use that as an excuse to ship aro characters and completely disregard their orientation. But it's a whole lot more complicated than that. I consider myself mostly romance neutral (which is the aromantic equivalent of being a sex neutral asexual, which is probably more commonly known and understood) but I still had very strict boundaries about it when I was in my relationships, and I didn't always have the energy to keep up with my partners. My most notable relationship was an open relationship so my partner could fill in the blanks, because I have a fairly low romantic threshold if we did something particularly romantically investive I would need to straight up take a break from the relationship altogether. Just a few days to recuperate and reenergize.

Basically my last point (that last paragraph) comes down to "You can totally be in a romantic relationship and be aro, but a lot of people use that knowledge to ignore a canon minority and essentially demonstrate erasure."

Not to bring in a completely separate media franchise into this, but Bojack Horseman did a really good job at explaining some of this stuff in regards to their asexual character. They dive into how asexual people can be in romantic relationships, but not all asexuals want to. Some are also aro. And while it is in passing, they mention that some asexuals do have and enjoy sex. This doesn't explore all these concepts and ways people experience these things in depth, but it does open up every angle, leaving all of the other ways people can experience these things on the table and easily able to be figured out by an audience of people new to these concepts if they just think about it for a minute. But they keep it well defined where the character stands and how his asexuality affects his relationships and how it complicates things.

All of that is to say, shipping culture is super weird, but as long as someone is very vocal and supportive of the fact Saiki is in fact aro ace, I would allow the allos a little bit of shipping content. As a treat. Just don't ignore his practically confirmed identity just to get all mushy on a character who would hate that.

But honestly, I don't see much of a need to ship Saiki with much of anyone when Shun and Aren are right there.

#saiki kusuo no ψ nan #saiki kusou #kusuo saiki #the disaster of psi kusuo saiki #saiki k reawakened #the disastrous life of saiki k. #saiki k #saiki kusuo no psi nan #asexual saiki kusuo #asexual kusuo saiki #asexual saiki k #asexuality #ask #answered ask #anon ask

[rovermcfly]

not all choices are created equal in a system where one choice is punished, while the other is an encouraged tool of oppression.

Women with hooked noses getting rhinoplasty to get a button nose aren't #empowered. Women shaving their mustache daily and using 3 types of concealer to cover up any stubble aren't #empowered. Women getting liposuction before going to the beach in a swimsuit aren't #empowered. Women who'd rather give up on sleep than leave the house without a full 3 hour makeup routine aren't #empowered. Women using skin-lightening creams to "glow" aren't #empowered. Women spending thousands on skincare products and editing software trying to get rid of acne or wrinkles aren't #empowered.

"If it makes her feel good about herself, she should be allowed to do whatever she wants" except, the only reason she feels bad is because someone actively benefits from her thinking these choices are the only way to feel good. You can be supportive of women and don't have to judge their choices, but you cannot ignore why these choices are made in the first place and act like they're isolated decisions that are being made.

Why do women feel the need to make those choices? Really think about it. Why is it supposed to be empowering to think of your natural state of existence as repulsive and spend endless amounts of money, time and even pain trying to fix it? Which part of that is the empowering one?

and arguing that you should be supportive of cosmetic surgery and blemish-hiding makeup and airbrushing because we still do live in a society that treats people differently if they don't meet certain beauty standards so people wanting a quick fix for their "flaws" should be supported if they want to avoid the bullying or whatever they may face, is only reasonable to a point. these things are a bandaid on a gunshot wound at best.

so if you only ever go around defending the """choice""" to do those things but never do anything to advocate or actively fight the misogyny and racism and transphobia that are underlying these beauty standards and unfair treatments, and don't recognise these choices as manifestations of the self-loathing that can come from a lifetime of oppression, you're just putting a #girlboss sticker on an expensive bottle of snake oil and refusing to acknowledge what the actual fix for the problem would be. You can and should say "I'm not mad at her for this choice and I understand that life is easier for her now, but we cannot idolise these decisions as isolated choices and must address the root of the problem, because there is a problem".

#If a single person reblogs this with ''I just think makeup is like fun art for your face 🥰'' I am literally going to set you on fire #I will not tolerate any discourse on this. I am making this unrebloggable the second one person acts up #yes this is bc I want to hunt plastic surgeons on social media for sport #negativity

[mister-snake]

It's crazy, but sometimes, it takes years to recognize you went through abuse as a kid. Maybe because as a child, you have a naïve and oversimplified view of the world. Also because your little kid brain managed to make you see the good in people as a defense mechanism. Because it's hard to take a step back when you're still so vulnerable, under the care of adults you're supposed to be able to rely on. When your very small social world revolves around the people who raised you for so many years, how are you supposed to see what's wrong. Maybe it's needed for some kids to idealize their caretakers, in order to survive, to be blind to the pain, to make what's not okay be okay, to be normal and find a way into happiness, Hell, even create one of their own.

I've come to realize that what was normal for me may seem abusive for someone else. And even just writing it down like that sounds inappropriate to me. Growing up as a kid and a teen, I got close to some people who had really terrible relationships with their parents and wider family. I heard it all, all that toxic crazy shit an adult could do to their own flesh, the one being they're supposed to look after, love and protect. That one woman I remember the most of would hit her child with a fucking frying pan, tell her to die, that she was unwanted trash, she would insult her, slap her, lock her outside of the house, tell her anorexic daughter how fat and ugly she was, all so she could mentally detroy her as much as possible. With such parenting models, to me abuse meant violence, verbal degradation, anything that could be clearly seen and pointed out as cruel.

I never got to acknowledge the fact that there are some invisible forms of abuse. Neglect was never spoken of. To me, still, it all feels so normal. I never really fully understood what was wrong, the lacks, the flaws, the mistakes I was exposed to as a kid, the needs left unattended. I just made my own bad choices, learned to fight on my own, and my parents would pick up the pieces I left behind, afterwards. To me, they did their best, they acted the way they learned to act from where they came from, with the best intentions. There is no such thing as a guideline for being a parent and we are all humans with emotions, flaws, fears. I always felt like I had pretty good parents and my past relationships' toxic parents strengthened that belief. Yet, whenever I now talk about it with my therapist or when my buddy compares his own stable, normal and healthy parental experience with mine, I can clearly see how bad it actually was.

From the lack of emotional support and presence ever since they lost their first child to me having to take care of my younger brother for several years before they started acting like parents again. The fear of judgement and pain leading to covering up all the bad things that happened, the rapes, suicide, family drama, my own fuck-ups, with no safe space to ever talk about it, no closure. The complete freedom I got that allowed me to break the law as an impulsive kid with mental illnesses, leading to alcohol abuse, skipping school, disciplary issues. The lack of warmth and love demonstrations with relationships based on simply solving problems, answering material and financial needs.

I grew up with no guidance, no consequences and no reassurance. I never had any, so I never felt these needs. However, I do regret not having those growing up, because damn, so much of my struggles make sense, looking back.

#abuse #neglect #child abuse #child neglect

[thestarseersystem]

I suppose the problem is with endogenic systems is that if no one posed the idea that there is "natural plurality", then there would be no debate and we'd be in a much more unified community.

Which yeah, it sucks and is harsh to say, but genuinely so many problems would not exist if there was no idea of "natural" systems.

So that's where we're at I think. I want to be more kind and genuine towards other systems, and I think there is no real, concrete difference between us. But like, the things that we value here are completely different. It's like, the first thing I can think of, it's like we're different hogwarts houses where you "value" knowledge vs courage vs ambition vs kindness idk. like. It's like we're at the same school but we live in different dorm rooms based on our different values.

And thats dumb, right? That has to be fucking dumb. It doesnt even matter.

All that anti-endos want is that there is acknowledgement of DID, that its not all just made up in our heads, not just an identity that you're able to slap on, but truly a real and concrete thing. So that's why they do not like it being "natural" or something you're just able to "create". Because it's been real this entire time, if you experience symptoms, its significant and legitimate and an actual thing.

And yeah, being queer aint a choice either, but those identities are rooted in personal experiences and feelings. There is nothing physical wise that caused you being gay or trans, that is literally essentialism at that point, and can lead to eugenics.

So, when people are saying DID is not something you're born with, not something that can be made or be inherent, not something like a feeling or a personal experience, but caused by repeated trauma and a detachment to your primary caregiver in childhood. They mean that this was something that was caused, that its disordered, not natural, not regular, caused by distress, caused by needing to survive.

And I'd say it would be pretty offensive to say that being queer can be caused by trauma, so its a stupid argument to compare the two. And there are disorders that are endogenic, ASD is, ADHD is, a lot of neurodivergences are caused by something that's in your genes, something that you're born with.

DID is circumstantial, when will y'all learn that? Why do you think the onset is so damn aggressive that it causes you to lose your own damn memories?

#post.txt #discourse.txt #this wont ever be natural #because why the fuck would singlets just turn out to be singlets #why is it your parents your grandparents why do they not have a system #why is it only you?

[egg-emperor]

Seriously, though, I have to wonder what you're even here for if you want Eggman to reform and be redeemed. We already have his archetype in the form of Gerald. Why don't people want to use Gerald? (Gerald's cool, can you tell I think so? xP) But I mean, you knew from day one that Eggman was selfish, greedy, apathetic, and rotten to the core, so why are you clamoring for him to become something he's not? Are you not entertained by bad men? Must suck to be you, then. xP

That's what I've been asking for so long. People say they're fans but don't like that he's evil and want him to have a nice side/not be so bad or even be entirely changed and/or redeemed and I don't understand it. He's the main villain of the series, "evil" is literally supposed to be one of his main descriptors to define his whole character. It shows in everything he does with his plans and goals, it's supposed to be evident within all his core traits, it's what fuels his methods and motives, and most of the series' stories wouldn't have happened without him and his evil specifically.

I've also always been wondering why people won't just give Gerald love for being the exact things they wish Eggman would be. Sure he didn't have a lot of screentime (but recent events show that the fandom doesn't seem to need that or even much development at all when it comes to certain other things so I don't see how it would be a problem for them ahem) But personality and motives wise, he's exactly what people want Eggman to be. A guy who had good intentions of caring and wanting to help others but losing his way, snapping after a tragedy and wanting to do something so evil for it, but ultimately having actions that end up helping to redeem him in people's eyes in the end.

And I love Gerald because that's actually the kind of character he was created to be. People think I hate characters that are capable of both good and evil like Gerald but I just don't like when people say Eggman can do the same. Gerald has that type of interesting complexity that isn't forced randomly out of nowhere. Even though you hardly even get to see him on screen, you can tell it's real and it doesn't feel fake, it doesn't have you scratching your head wondering how it can make sense, it manages to make a real impact and the story telling was done well without them needing to do much.

It's something Eggman doesn't need and doesn't work for him because his true personality is his evil side, he doesn't have Gerald's goodness in his heart or intentions, he doesn't have desire to help people or the ability to care for anyone other than himself, nothing bad is known to happen to make him this way. Being a genius that's strikingly similar in appearance to his grandfather is enough, he doesn't have to be the exact same in personality too come on now. It would lessen the impact that Gerald's character has and makes my point about how it's boring and no longer fun when repeated over and over for every character even more.

It's way more interesting and compelling to me when acknowledging their similarities but also their vast differences. I like how tragic it is that Eggman is an evil selfish horrible person despite having the same intelligence and abilities to do good for the world and help people, which he could do easily if he wanted to follow in his grandfather's footsteps in personality rather than just skill from an academic perspective, but specifically chooses to be evil instead- while his grandfather was kind and really had good intentions and selflessness and a lot of love for those he cares about in his heart.

Trying to draw parallels between them in specific places where they don't work isn't deep and impactful and emotional, it just feels forced and is pretty boring in comparison to the above. What's great about Eggman is that he isn't so predictable, that despite his admiration of Gerald he's still a terrible deeply evil person, and despite Gerald's death, he isn't said to be involved in his reasons to take over the world like that. He's an egomaniac that does everything all for himself and nobody else, he knows he's evil and he acknowledges it and is proud of what he has accomplished in it.

I wish Gerald got more appreciation and the real true evil Eggman would be accepted too, instead of missing the point of what's great about them separately and in comparison with their similarities and vast differences, rather than trying to make them into the same person beat for beat. Pure evil asshole men like Eggman are entertaining and interesting exactly the way they are. Him being a real bastard that can be so dark and serious one minute and a silly cheeky menace the next is great and already gives range and fun, he's far from a boring unlikable character just because he's genuinely evil!

But yeah I love them both for very different reasons overall and wouldn't want them to the same and I don't get why other people seem to. They're both lovable as they are, the way they were really created to be.

#dr eggman #eggman #dr robotnik #dr. eggman #professor gerald robotnik #asks #my post

[sunder-the-gold]

Hello again! Hope you're having a swell time. What exactly ARE the Brother Gods? Wikia says that they originally one entity that split itself into two out of loneliness, but whether that story was the truth is subjective, so, drawing in other real-life and literature, as well as wild theories, what manner of entity was it that created the Brothers, or what they actually are? Entities that are cosmic eldritch things that had their more montrous aspects filed down in the filters of their creations to appear more comprehensive? Also why did GoL choose Ozma to return to unite humanity instead of someone that has no ties with Salem? What is GoL's definition of a united humanity? Why do the gods have no eyes? Seeing as eyes are windows to the soul shtick is Remnant thing apparently. Are the Brothers' "arrogant" countenance justified, seeing as they are immortal cosmic entities? How do you think RWBY would resolve the Judgement thing? Is humanity indeed lesser in the absence of the Gods? Did they truly abandon Remnant, or are they still watching the second wave of humanity, like scientists do? What would they think of Salem and Oz's mimicry of being gods like them, in a way? Eat breakfast!

That's a lot of individual questions. I feel some of the bigger questions could have been separate Asks, and the various little ones could have been bundled together on their own.

Each one of these following sections could have been a separate Ask.

Uncreated Creator

The extra-canonical story about the brother gods originally being one god who split himself in two... doesn't contradict any of the facts presented in the canon, but also doesn't really matter to canon. The most important take-away, I feel, is that it reinforces the message that the brother gods are the only divine game in town, and we shouldn't waste energy hoping or fearing that any other gods will intervene in their squabble.

A creator god who was never created (a Prime Mover) isn't any more paradoxical than a Big Bang consisting of matter that no one created. Atheists with their belief in an ageless cycle of Big Crunches and Big Bangs are stuck with the same "turtles all the way down" problem as theists. Theism at least embraces the absurdity of the paradox as a proof of theism, by supposing the original creator god 'pre-exists' the very notion of Cause And Effect.

Of course, the Brother Gods are far less cosmically eldritch than the Abrahamic God, since existing outside of Time Itself doesn’t seem to give them the ability to foretell the future. But maybe that was what their original form did, and when it divided itself in two, its two components became subject to Time when Time began.

Eyes

For modern audiences, eyes are windows into the soul, and that implies a sort of vulnerability or mortality or relatability.

The brother gods are already so expressive, so human, so relatable in their behaviors and flaws... if you gave them eyes like Jinn and Ambrosius, I don't think they would really seem like gods. I think it would be too easy to forget how godlike they're supposed to be.

Spirits like Jinn and Ambrosius, as powerful as they are, are still closer to the level of humanity than they begin to approach the power of the gods. Like humans, Jinn and Ambroius are created beings who labor under heavy restrictions. So you can give them eyes without risking anyone forgetting the scale of the gap between them and regular mortals.

Arrogance?

The God of Destruction is arrogant in that he doesn't want to acknowledge that he's his own worst enemy. "Boo hoo, the humans don't want to worship me, but I'm not willing to get rid of my Grimm or let my brother share the water of everlasting life with them, oh poor me."

The God of Creation isn't generally arrogant, he's just willing to enforce his boundaries when he can. Cashiers don’t deserve to be yelled at by Karen customers who insist the cashiers violate company policy specifically for them.

Lessened?

Humans lost magic when the gods left. By that metric at least, humanity is lessened by their absence.

Whether or not that loss is worthwhile is a related matter, but still a separate question, and not one I feel qualified to decide.

Why Ozma?

I believe the God of Light chose Ozma to return to Remnant because no one else would go. In life, Ozma was this too-perfect hero who lived to help other people, but even he found death so restful that he refused to go back to help anyone until he learned that the woman he loved would never join him in restful death otherwise.

Salem was the only human of First Humanity 'spared' by the God of Destruction, so none of the other resting souls had anyone left on Remnant to go back for. And certainly, none of them gave a shit about seeing Salem.

Except maybe her father, but I doubt Salem's tyrannical, murderous father was the sort of person that the God of Light would trust to leave Salem alone and help Second Humanity.

The Gods' Criteria For Success

The God of Light's exact words were, "if your kind is unchanged, if you demand our blessings while still fighting amongst yourselves".

That's two separate conditions. Taken literally, it would be technically fine if the humans continued fighting other humans as long as they didn't also demand blessings from the gods. This was more or less the situation on Remnant before Salem lead humanity to wage war against the gods to steal blessings from them.

Certainly, neither god intervened to save Salem from her father, to protect her father from the interlopers Salem's messages brought, or to save the interlopers from her father's guards. Humans killed humans, and the gods stayed in their dens.

Though definitely, the "without fighting amongst yourselves" part does get more emphasis from the God of Creation. But that may be more of his personal wish than anything his brother demanded.

Which makes sense. Would the God of Destruction really want to see humans stop killing each other? If he can't destroy them all, and if he can't count on them worshiping him like they do his brother, then at least he can take solace that they keep killing themselves.

Are the gods still watching?

The God of Creation was definitely still watching at least up until the point he sent Ozma back, or how else would he know how bad things were getting? He might not be watching anymore, since he can just wait for the summons from the four assembled Relics to deliver the good or bad news.

I think the God of Destruction might not have cared to watch Remnant until the new agreement with his brother gave him a new opportunity to just destroy it all and be done with created things. And now he might also not be watching, but just listening for the proverbial bell.

Reaction to Salem and Ozma’s global take-over?

Assuming they’re watching:

The God of Destruction might have found their antics pathetically amusing, while also envying that they got to go around bullying and killing anyone they wanted whereas he had stayed confined to his Grimm-infested den. He was likely waiting for them to fail.

The God of Creation was almost certainly horrified and disgusted the entire time.

How will RWBY solve things?

Ruby’s going to convince Salem to accept that she was wrong to lie, cheat, steal, and murder as though her pain made her more important than anyone else in the world.

Salem accepting that it’s wrong to hurt other people in order to get her way will allow her to serve as an example when Ruby lectures the God of Destruction into admitting that he was wrong for hurting his brother by destroying his brother’s creations, and that as co-creator of humanity he has also abused them undeservedly.

With Salem’s threat neutralized and the God of Destruction changing his mind, the criteria for sparing humanity can be relaxed so that humanity doesn’t have to get along any better than the brothers did. If the brothers could be allowed to quarrel until they came to an agreement, then humanity can be allowed to have quarrels, especially if they don’t drag the gods into it.

Regarding what happens after that, I already gave my answer to tokufan400.

My views on the ending of RWBY are split between what I think should happen, and what I actually want to happen.

What I think should happen is the God of Destruction changes his mind, magic is restored to Remnant, possibly all of the dead are brought back to life, everyone is immortal, maybe even the Grimm are erased, and the gods live among humanity in peace.

But that solves every problem so thoroughly that Remnant becomes boring from a storytelling perspective, so what I actually want is for Remnant to remain a Monster Hunter world that serves as a setting for a future video-game that doesn’t suck.

#ask #rwby #rwby character analysis #brother gods #two gods

[aikoiya]

Hello I saw a post you made about you hating sans and saw that you shipped Fran’s before. No hate but yea, Frisk is a child because they are apart of the fallen children. Frisk is also their own character because at the end of the pacifist, they reveal their real name, Frisk, and Flowey even asks you to let Frisk live their life once you complete it. Also, Frisk is controlled by the player like Kris is in deltarune and if you played, Kris is a child who’s adopted by toriel and can rip out their soul whenever they want control of their body. So just like Kris, this happens to frisk who is not a self insert but their own character. Also, Toby has never once called Frisk him or her. He always refers Frisk as they/them.

Okay. This is certainly more like the evidence I was looking for, but I suppose that I meant that Frisk was a self-insert in a similar way to how all silent protagonists are self-insert.

You see, silent protagonists are silent to make it easier for the player to insert themselves into the protag's place. The whole point is for immersion. Now, I'll concede that Frisk is probably a child in canon because you're actually going through the effort to not be rude about it.

Now, if Fox really did design Frisk & Kris & Chara to be non-binary, specifically, & they aren't referred to that way as some sort of next-level immersion idea, then fine, sure. I'm all for it.

At the same time, even if you are right, that won't stop anyone from deciding they'd rather have a boy Frisk or a girl Frisk or a trans Frisk or an intersex Frisk because that's just what fandoms do.

It doesn't stop them from doing it with other characters from other franchises & it won't stop them from doing it to Frisk here.

Why? Because these characters aren't real. Never were & never will be. They are malleable.

Now, I agree to a certain extent. If something is canon, then you should acknowledge it as such. Hartman & J.K. Rowling say their characters aren't trans, so, canonically, they're not & I don't like it when people say that they are as if it were canon.

Because it's one thing to headcanon something, it's another to disregard the creator's intent in favor of your own wants & beliefs & push them as canon. That's disrespectful & it shouldn't happen.

However, in fanon, everything is free real estate. You can do whatever you want so long as you say it's just your headcanon.

As for aging characters up. People age, unless you're saying that characters should always stay the age they were in the source material as unageing dolls even inside fanfiction? If so, then there better be a good explanation as to why.

Not to mention, monsters I bet, age very slowly.

Listen, I'm not advocating for freaking toddlers to date full-grown men. The hell kinda shit is that?!

Nor am I okay with grooming. It's part of why I'm Not Okay(TM) with SessRin. She's literally still 14 when she gives birth in the Yashahime series! No! Yuck! Absolutely not!

If the storywriters had instead waited till she was 18 & they hadn't seen each other in a few years, then sure. Fine. I'd still feel a bit squicky because I always saw them as father/daughter, but that's a me problem.

All I'm saying is, time is a thing & if you want to make believable stories, you include it. Time does this magical thing called aging people. Some like it, some hate it, but it happens regardless.

Also, what about characters that fans create to replace Frisk? Or when a fan makes it so Frisk was an adult from the very beginning? In such a situation, Frisk might as well be a different character that's just using the name 'Frisk.'

I'm just saying. Don't try to limit the fandom's creativity. Some truly amazing stories & aus have come out because fans were able to personalize Frisk as a character they could use. And those stories wouldn't have been as good or had the same plot points if they conformed strictly to canon.

Also, even if Frisk is nb, all that is is pronouns, which are subjective by nature of design according to the current woke culture of today. Despite what some might want you to think, nbs do still conform to a binary, just not a gender binary. It's the biological sex binary.

You see, gender is a social construct & is therefore malleable according to some. However, if that is the case, then sex is a biological construct & is thusly concrete & can’t be changed regardless of gender identity or transaction due to it literally being written in your chromosomes. It is something you develop even before birth & when you die, hundreds of years from now, when people dig your bones up, guess what, they’re gonna look at those bones & analyze what dna is left & you’ll still be the sex you were born as.

As such, you can be nb & also be female or male because that's how human, & mammalian biology in-general, works.

Thing is, because Fox is so consistent with making Frisk, Chara, & Kris all theys, we have zero clue as to their canon biological sexes if he even gave them any (unless they're literally just supposed to be living mannequins under there) & that allows fans the freedom of choosing their sex & still have nb gender pronouns. So, that doesn't go against canon at all.

#ut #frisk #non binary #aging #characters #fiction vs reality #canon vs fanon #gender vs sex #anti-pedophilia

[messengerhermes]

"For the record, if you've ever done anything for attention, this poem is attention, title it with your name." --Andrea Gibson

Look, if you confide in someone that you're lonely, or feeling isolated and struggling with that, and they later on accuse you of being needy, of using people for attention (especially if you're spending time with people they don't like)---there's a flag there and I'd wager it's red. Relationships--romantic, platonic, familial, sexual--are all two way streets. You are not somehow bamboozling a friend, family member, lover or partner, if part of the reason you spend time with them is their attention and interest in your life feels good! That's supposed to happen. Spending time with a loved one should feel good and fill up your cup just as you fill theirs. Relationships should be built on mutual care and affection, not just one person pouring endlessly into the other with no reciprocation. I confess, this urging is quite personal at the moment, because I'm realizing someone I trusted and cared for deeply has been doing an odd thing of criticizing some of the people I love for not showing up for me enough, while also questioning me about whether I have tricked myself into loving other people because I like that they give me attention. They've pushed me that I need to stop being disappointed when my creative work doesn't get feedback from people, both loved ones and strangers, because I need to create for the sake of creating. (Which is not terrible advice, but also humans don't exist in a vacuum, and having the validation of "oh someone on the other end is actually enjoying this," does a lot for the creative spirit.) This has fed my brain gremlins in ways that make me doubt myself and feel ashamed for being hungry for attention. It's left me, in some ways, more lonely than I was months ago. I've struggled to write, to paint, to create, to call friends, to confess my feelings to people over the last year because part of me does all those things for attention. And if I was doing those things for the attention of others, then I must be insecure. There's a difference between wanting your efforts and existence to be acknowledged and loved and being insecure. I think we've slid so far into the space of "love and value yourself! Self confidence! Don't hold onto rejection, don't wait for other people to affirm you, affirm yourself" that we've shifted away from the value of having a strong sense of self into an unattainable standard of hyper-independence. Or maybe I'm projecting my personal journey onto a larger cultural pattern I see in the United States that seems to be a way to drive us away from community care and collectivism and sell us a bunch of wellness industry trash. Anyway. If you express being lonely, that your needs for attention aren't being met by people in zyour life, and you're told that's a you problem and you need to change your relationships with others, then get a "no, not like that" when you do go out and find people who love and give you attention in ways you like--be wary of the people who blame you for your loneliness then criticize you for finding good company.

[dream-critical]

(Context: accountability is being talked abt and threads with harmful stuff ccs other than Dream have said/done are being discussed)

The point of holding ccs accountable is so they are stopped or prevented from creating content or spreading harmful things across their large platform, correct? It’s so they acknowledge something wasn’t okay and will therefore not do it in the future, which will stop those bad things from being normalized, especially so it doesn’t reach an impressionable audience of kids and young teens. So I suppose my question is, what more can a cc do other than apologizing for past behavior, deleting any of the content that was harmful so it stops being spread to hurt more people, and then not repeating that mistake?

In my opinion (I’m poc but not bipoc), between the apologizing, deleting, and changing, apologizing is the least important factor. It should be done, absolutely, no doubt, it’s often owed but it means nothing if the other two aren’t done as well. The apology reaches less people than the initial harm will. More people know of a bad thing a cc has done than know of the apology for said bad thing. If all three are done, and people have chosen whether they are comfortable continuing to support that cc or not, I don’t see the use in dwelling on it anymore, because, at the end of the day, the initial harms impact has been stopped from spreading.

While I am mainly a Techno fan, I am disappointed by the fact that some of technos old tweets and videos are still up because of how accessible that makes them to an audience. I am disappointed by the fact that Quackity hasn’t deleted his old videos with harmful stuff even though he’s apologized for it. I can definitely tell they’ve both changed from like 3 or 4 years ago, but deleting the initial harm when you have the power to do so should also be important. The Videos especially because the YouTube audience is younger.

Thoughts?

I do agree that deleting old videos with bigoted jokes etc show the cc is changing, or at least, willing to change and is taking responsibility.

But I also feel like apologies aren't the least important bit? Like I do agree that it doesn't reach that many people anyway, like that's a fact but also.

If someone went out of their way to make harmful jokes to do hurtful things etc and it resurfaced or became relevant or even just happened, I feel like apologizing and actually showing the people hurt by said things you're mature enough to take responsibility by directly confronting the problem, confronting your past actions and actively speaking against them means a lot.

The only problem with that is that most of the time, YouTuber apologies or streamer apologies aren't genuine and are just done to get the heat off their backs or to get people to shut up about what happened.

Apologies aren't going to fix the harm done but they are important even if the people hurt by what happened don't accept the apology.

So yeah deleting the harmful content is a good step forward, but I still believe a good apology is needed most of the time

Also to answer your question, on top of doing a proper apology (after Genuine self reflection and actually understanding why what they did was wrong) deleting the content and not repeating said mistake, they could idk. Give money to charities that help the minorities that they hurt with their actions. They could hold specific days where they like and promote artists etc.

I'm not saying that they need to change their content completely, but maybe a little bit of support here and there to make up for their mistakes wouldn't be bad imo

#mercury.txt #asks #anonymous #cc critical

[unpopularly-opinionated]

I just want to cleanly describe to you that you consistently engage in behavior that shows you are more interested in having an unpopular opinion then attempting to mentally wrap yourself around a topic and understand it. After scrolling back for two weeks I've repeatedly seen you engaging in absorbing the narrative of others without bothering to check to see if they were right, claiming others are "making up people to be angry about" while they very clearly are showing you the person they are angry at and another half dozen signs that you are more interested in arguing then understanding.

You are very dispassionate towards any problems with your own stances and don't seem particularly intent on acknowledging or addressing them as much as trying to dress down the one you are speaking to, dismissing those problems as if they aren't fundamentally destructive to your supposed belief of being right. More aptly, you just want to be a contrarian.

As a short example, J.K Rowling clearly engaged in Holocaust denial and it's very strange you think "that's out of left field for her" considering she has been making friends with those types for years now. See:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ou_xvXJJk7k

Your response to her statement that trans people being targeted by Nazis is a "fever dream" is to try and argue semantics while she very clearly was just doing what she always does, constantly screeching about how trans people are babies and have never ever been harmed. It's her entire schtick, she deleted the tweet because it was going to get her in actual trouble because it was ACTUAL HOLOCAUST DENIAL.

In short, rethink most of your stances and recognize that you've created this stupid label for yourself that you need to be constantly engaging in unpopular opinions.

You don't need to reply to this because I'm not going to see it or care, but I highly doubt you'll resist the urge as you clearly are taking these unpopular opinions on for a reason, and I think that reason is as transparent as J.K Rowling's holocaust denial.

Man, if you're gonna chastise me for my crimes, at least make sure your example of me committing those crimes actually has me committing those crimes. This entire ask falls apart because the example you chose to hinge it on doesn't even exhibit the issues with me that you brought up.

It's very obvious from the get go that despite trying to make this sound like a generalization of my blog as a whole, it was actually entirely predicated on one single post of mine that ticked you off, clearly well enough that you weren't even capable of coming up with a good excuse as to why it ticked you off.

Like I'm not joking when I say that this reads like you wrote this as you read the thread and then you got to the end of it where your entire argument falls apart because I do the exact opposite of the things you claim I do, but you'd already written all of this out so you just decided to hit send anyways.

Next time, leave it in the drafts, buddy. But anyways, to break this down in earnest:

The reason my URL is what it is is for two reasons:

Back when I originally created this blog in, oh probably 2013-14 I'd say, I used to be way more into fandom spaces than I am now, and when I was coming up with what to call this blog, I recalled how I often tend to have the opposite, less popular opinion on things people enjoy. Not to be ironic, of course, these opinions are completely genuine. The description of my blog actually used to read something like: "The Star Wars Prequel Trilogy is better than the Original Trilogy" to give an example of the kind of unpopular opinions I tend to have.

The reason my URL has stayed as it is for so long now is because of people like you. I cannot express enough how funny it is to me when people dismiss whatever it is I have to say because of my URL. They usually try and attach some hurtful line like "maybe you wouldn't be so unpopular if you blah blah blah". It's endlessly humorous to me because it just goes to show that they don't have an actual leg to stand on in an argument.

As I said though, my opinions are my own first, and unpopular second. Meaning I'm not out here needlessly contradicting people for fun. I do find writing out needlessly long responses to people to be somewhat enjoyable, case in point, but I'd never stoop so low as to be a baseless contrarian.

You are very dispassionate towards any problems with your own stances and don't seem particularly intent on acknowledging or addressing them as much as trying to dress down the one you are speaking to, dismissing those problems as if they aren't fundamentally destructive to your supposed belief of being right. More aptly, you just want to be a contrarian.

I actually find this line curious because, if anything, I focus far far too often on the problems in my own stances. Most of the time when I'm staking my claim, it winds up full of numerous caveats where I acknowledge either the failings in my argument, or my own lack of knowledge on a subject. Sure, I don't do it on every single thing I post but I also have a life and don't wish to subject myself or others to me needlessly caveating every single time I make a point. No one sensible does that.

What's funny though is that in the exact post you referenced, I acknowledged and addressed the problem with my argument, that being that we were arguing two completely different points.

Now, of course, to the actual reason you sent me this:

As a short example, J.K Rowling clearly engaged in Holocaust denial and it's very strange you think "that's out of left field for her" considering she has been making friends with those types for years now. Your response to her statement that trans people being targeted by Nazis is a "fever dream" is to try and argue semantics while she very clearly was just doing what she always does, constantly screeching about how trans people are babies and have never ever been harmed. It's her entire schtick, she deleted the tweet because it was going to get her in actual trouble because it was ACTUAL HOLOCAUST DENIAL.

This is why I said it's funny that you chose this post out of everything to use as your example of me supposedly trying to be a needless contrarian, or always be right, while ignoring any problems with my own arguments when I quite literally did none of those things in this one post.

My interaction with that post quite literally ends with me pointing out the fact that I was arguing from a completely different perspective than the person I was arguing with was, and that it was "on me" for not realizing that sooner. When the post called JK Rowling a "Holocaust denier", I was purely arguing from a semantics perspective.

Semantically-speaking, she's not a Holocaust denier. Up until that post however, I wasn't aware there was a legal definition of what it means to be a Holocaust Denier, and that that was the perspective the other person was arguing from. Legally-speaking, I gather that she is in fact a Holocaust Denier, granted I'm not a huge fan of that label being applied since, again semantically-speaking, it doesn't fit. She's more of a Holocaust Revisionist, rather than an outright Denier, but legally-speaking these mean the same thing, so whatever.

In short, rethink most of your stances and recognize that you've created this stupid label for yourself that you need to be constantly engaging in unpopular opinions.

I rethink most of my stances every minute lol. I've stated on numerous occasions that my political opinions have a way of changing with the wind purely because I have a shite memory and quite often just forget what my stance the previous day was.

I also run into this issue of differentiating my pessimistic, optimistic, and realistic opinions from one another. I have completely different opinions based on whether we're talking about the way I want the world to work, the way it does work, or the way it probably will wind up working.

I also don't "engage in unpopular opinions", I engage in my opinions which might not always be the popular one. Very important distinction.

You don't need to reply to this because I'm not going to see it or care, but I highly doubt you'll resist the urge as you clearly are taking these unpopular opinions on for a reason, and I think that reason is as transparent as J.K Rowling's holocaust denial.

Contrary to your belief about me, I don't actually write this blog solely for yours or others benefit. I don't care if you see this response or not, though given that I know what you're like, I highly doubt you won't troll my blog for this response later.

I also don't care about your weird little goading tactic meant to make this a "win-win" for you, since apparently a win is what you're looking for here. Again, I don't write this blog for you or anyone else. I'm responding to you because I can, and because I want to, nothing else.

Anyways, hope I cleared things up for you, anon. Take care.

#random #anon #asks #anonymous #long post

[panther-of-shadows]

I finished The Faithless (Magic of the Lost #2), and finally I'm saying here what I haven't before. I've been biting my tongue, expecting -and hoping- the book somehow would get better, that Touraine's toxic hypocritical attitude would get better in time. It didn't, it only got worse. And man, bite my head off if Luca doesn't deserve someone acknowledging everything she was, thought and did. Acknowledging her identity. She deserves better than fucking martyr-syndrome Touraine. Aranen told her near the end "you deserve better than her [Luca]" and no, ma'am. No, I can't shup my mouth anymore, because Aranen got it backwards.

I recognize a toxic, abusive relationship when I see one because I've lived through a couple of them myself; however, what I didn't expected in this context was for the slave soldier to get abusive with the princess of the empire that had colonized her country. And it breaks my heart that no one in these stupid books noticed the actual problem behind Touraine and Luca's "relationship". No matter what Luca's intentions are and neither what she does or does not, every action of hers is something suitable that Touraine can wield and does wield to attack her. Their relationship works like this: Touraine puts a weigh on her shoulders and then, looking twice, complains and gets irrationally mad about said weight as if she wasn't the one who placed it there, lashing out at Luca. It. Doesn't. Make. Sense.

I could point out a thousand different moments and evidence to argue my opinion, but I'm deeply tired of the same shit after so many pages. The thing is she stripped Luca of everything she used to have, leaving her with nothing but emptiness, misplaced guilt and sorrow, by making her feel responsible and holding her accountable for every event that has occurred since their first encounter until Luca wouldn't make a decision without Touraine's approval as her confidence evaporated into thin air. What's even sadder: Touraine isn't the only character treating Luca like she's the culprit of all evils - little reminder: her uncle has been on the throne for over 20 years now, and the proletarian people of Balladaire thought fit to blame the princess for their horrid situation so much they even sent a girl to murder, not the duke, but HER.

And this is how you break a person, from the inside, with blame, undervaluing and disregard as your tools. The worst part of it all is that it's not even written on purpose to put the focus on one real issue or to mess with the reader's moral compass (as Tamsyn Muir does in TLT, which is done with so much taste), it's fucking 'romanticized', it's presented as something supposed to be cute and adorable, something to aspire to, the culmination of love, and I just want to vomit your toxicity out of my brain, CL Clark.

Dear writers out there, if you're going to create a character to be a veiled victim in the name of "romantic love", just don't, let them be. They may be fictional, but they deserve better. We deserve better. It's not okay to be beaten emotionally over and over again in the name of love. It is not.

#she's not perfect and that much is obvious but that's not reason enough for Touraine's actions #Luca you're seen and loved in this house #Gil was the one person who stood by her despite everything #so we see and love him too #also Sabine will always be a better match for Luca than egotistical Touraine #luca ancier #magic of the lost #the unbroken #the faithless #and the unpopular opinion no one asked for but you got #cl clark #toxic romance #sky's rants #if you were planning to read this series don't and save yourself the trouble