violomana

[violomana]

“we need to stop the stigma towards drug users and addicts” and “we need to challenge the idea that being sober makes you boring” and “we need to stop acting like binge drinking to the extent you’re doing medical damage is fun and normal for young people” are all ideas that can and should coexist.

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Happy 2nd Anniversary to CQL Finale. 🤍

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THE UNTAMED ONSCREEN vs. BTS: XIAO ZHAN AND WANG YIBO

for @lzswy ❤ i love you, happy birthday!!! 🥰🎉

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the untamed 2 year anniversary

chaotic bts moments with cql cast

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i am never going to tell people not to headcanon kaz as ace or tell them they’re wrong simply for that headcanon because i know and understand seeing myself represented in characters that may not have been “intended” as such and saying: THIS CHARACTER IS THIS THING BECAUSE I RELATE AND I SAID SO. 

however. however.

if you say “kaz has touch aversion and it’s because he’s asexual” you are literally erasing his trauma. kaz is not touch averse because he’s ace (or at least, not ONLY because he’s ace, if that’s your hc!) - he is touch averse because he has trauma. and the representation of that trauma is just as important and valid as representation of asexuality. 

#exactly

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It’d be a missed opportunity if I ignored the date

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List of Non-sexual forms of intimacy

#tl cleansing after that weird-ass Shadow and Bone article claiming Kaz's aversion to touch of all kinds PTSD as asexual rep #how to write representation #asexuality #writing

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shadow & bone producers watching the fandom ignore the blatant racism, terrible acting, and total butchery of all characters and events in the original trilogy in favour of fawning over kaz brekker with a goat must be twiddling their rich baron moustaches in triumph right now

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Thank you for this. You’ve written the perfect words to describe what I’ve been struggling to define:

“At the end of the day, most of the creative team behind the show is white. I don’t want to be retold my oppression from the perspective of white creators, no matter how respectful their intentions might be.

”As an Asian-American myself, I don’t feel seen. I feel used.“

"why does fantasy racism have to exist" for the same reason fantasy enslavement, fantasy forced prostitution, fantasy sexism, fantasy classism exists etc. fantasy is often a mirror for the real world and real world issues. just bcs there's racism present doesnt mean the racism is endorsed or supported. it clearly isnt in this case & a lot of asian fans have commented how alina's experiences make them feel seen

I appreciate your comment, but I think I have to respectfully disagree. Yes, fantasy can hold up a mirror to real world issues, but to what end? For what purpose? I think it’s important to consider that fantasy is also a place readers — especially BIPOC and LGBTQ+ readers — go to escape the negative feelings we experience in everyday life. Representation is a double-edged sword. It can be freeing, yes, but when mishandled, it is incredibly harmful to the groups it tries to represent. This is especially true in cases like Shadow and Bone where fantasy countries are such clear analogs of ones in our real world.

As a longtime fan of the Grishaverse, I was disappointed by Heisserer’s choice to make racism such a big part of the series. It’s been a while since I read the original trilogy, but as far as I remember, Toyla and Tamar do not face the level of racism that tv!Alina experiences at the army camp. Same goes for Kuwei in SoC. Though the conflict with Shu Han still exists, no one calls them “h*lf-br**ds” or “rice-eaters” (phrases I found violent and gratuitous). I’ve been called some of these names myself, and re-experiencing them through Alina’s perspective was not a positive experience. Besides, if anything, anti-Grisha hatred is the Grishaverse’s mirror to real-world racism. Asian-Americans do not need to be exposed to any more hatred, especially now.

I actually love that Alina is half-Shu. I was overjoyed when Jessie Mei Li was casted because I DID feel seen. But using her Shu identity as a racist character device weakens her story and harms POC representation. Unlike the Fjerdans, we know nothing about the Shu except that Ravkans don’t like them because of the war. The show reduces this entire culture — rich with their own histories and religions (and, as I remember, a fascinating relationship with Fabrikators) — to the oppression and sorrow its people face elsewhere. (Not to mention that Russia, the country which Ravka is based off of, has always had people of East Asian descent.) Fjerda isn’t looked on favorably either, but at least its portrayal is not as one-dimensional as Shu Han’s.

It isn’t enough that racism isn’t endorsed or supported. If you make the deliberate choice to include such violent racism in your series, especially when it’s not present for cultures played by white actors, you have to think about the effect your actions have upon BIPOC. Media does not exist in a vacuum. Yes, fantasy’s reflections of real-world issues can be illuminating, but it shouldn’t be abused to the extent that it harms real-world people. At the end of the day, most of the creative team behind the show is white. I don’t want to be retold my oppression from the perspective of white creators, no matter how respectful their intentions might be. As an Asian-American myself, I don’t feel seen. I feel used.

#this ^^^^^ #they did such a poor job #asserting Ravkan/Grisha identity while throwing Shu heritage under the bus isn't challenging anti-Asian racism y'all #all the anti-asian racism went unchallenged which completely undermines the whole point of including it in the first place #presenting overt racism without overt pushback does nothing but normalize it #you can bring awareness to anti-asian racism while condemning it at the same time but the show failed to do the latter #you can feel represented but also offended at the same time y'all

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And all this toxic masculinity talk ^^^ still doesn’t qualify the unchallenged depictions of anti-Asian racism in the show?? It’s there just for Alina to bond with Mal as a child - he never experiences racism again as an adult in the show. They never get into grappling with these identities, or what it means to be white passing. SO?????

 I don’t want to click on the article but I know I have to in order to be “fair” when I already heard their side in their youtube video.

#keep talking circles and never address the actual issue here #you almost distracted me with this but hah I can still counterargue with half a bottle of wine in me #slurs ain't it and def don't endear anyone to watching this show #if hearing slurs feels good to you maybe you should ask yourself WHY

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???

.... it would be the same dynamic if they’re both the only Asians in the orphanage. Question is: would a half-Ravkan Alina still protect a full Asian Mal? A full Asian Mal would be even lower in the orphanage’s social hierarchy.

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

So the point this person is trying to make is: Netflix Mal is revolutionary because he’s a half-Asian who doesn’t conform to toxic masculinity bc he and Alina are equally discriminated against. A full Asian Mal would’ve been more toxic and unrevolutionary because full Asian Mal would be able to step directly into the canon white role perfectly and...what? Not feel allied with Alina? When it’s anti-ASIAN discrimination? WHAT????

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

 I don’t want to click on the article but I know I have to in order to be “fair” when I already heard their side in their youtube video.

#whut #what is this #an Asian Mal with the show's rewritten traits would've been more toxic than a half-Asian Mal with the same traits? #did someone forget it's anti-ASIAN discrimination? #did someone forget to address the shift in dynamic if Mal was full Asian but not toxic? #what the actual fuck #I reread this passage 5 times to make sure and this is the only interpretation I came up with #BAD VIBES ALL AROUND I KNEW IT #what the actual fuck AGAIN because WHAT.THE.FUCK. #this person makes zero sense and is grasping at straws and I dread reading the rest of this

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Update: Currently reading and I’m crying. Imagine using the word “nuanced” to describe the racism in Shadow and Bone.

Maybe they don’t need an ethnic studies class. Maybe they need a media or content analysis class. Or taken a literature class. better yet: an Asian or AsianAm Lit class.

The other thing is: while it’s okay to say you think we should show the realities of racism in media (and others who don’t want that are equally valid) - there needs to be a better way of wrapping up that conflict. Shadow and Bone concludes NOTHING about racism. It just happens, and it’s depicted as normal and unchallenged.

People weren’t “skeptic” about it - they were angry and uncomfortable that S&B did nothing of importance with a racist environment and plotline that led to no resolution or consequence. The portrayal of racism was SO BAD that many felt it would’ve been better if they left it completely out. IT WAS JUST PLAIN BAD.

 I don’t want to click on the article but I know I have to in order to be “fair” when I already heard their side in their youtube video.

#OMG #how hard is this to understand #the more I read the more bad vibes I get from this person holy shit

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 I don’t want to click on the article but I know I have to in order to be “fair” when I already heard their side in their youtube video.

#sometimes wish I were on mobile so I could use the eyeroll emoji #in case too vague a ytber defending the racism in S&B got to write an article for the MarySue and I have bad vibes about it #in the same way I have bad vibes about the cosplayer defender squad anon video #might delete later #like #idk how to tell them that maybe they should take an AsianAm history class #or any ethnic studies class really #you can feel represented but also offended at the same time y'all

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Woke up this morning and still can’t believe this happened. Considering I got this anon after I wrote this post and they still??? I even wrote it with this exact video and this exact anon in mind. I address every thing they could possibly say with this kind of behavior and THEY STILL DID IT LOOOOOOL

AGAIN! WITH FEELING! FOR THIS ANON!

Stop talking over Asian people who were hurt by this show.

Stop using one POC’s opinion to talk down another. Our opinions and feelings are equally valid, so why won’t you consider mine?

https://youtu.be/EFzQNALsq4w

LOLOLOL I wondered when someone would mention this video. Yes, I’ve seen it, and you obviously didn’t read my post if you didn’t catch the allusion to orcs/evil foreign race. Or maybe you did, and decided to send it anyway?

That kind of behavior definitely falls in line of a certain someone posting this same video on every tweet sending qualms about the anti-Asian racism to the official Shadow and Bone Twitter account. Oh yes. I saw that too.

So let me reply with a video of my own. One that recognizes the strengths and faults of the show with much more consideration while asking important questions about how anti-Asian racism was portrayed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfYMSsiKZbw

It is not lost on me that the grand total of four YouTube videos which question the show’s racism have less than 2k views (my rec’d vid above barely breaks 300) while this anon video (with a very obvious S&B fan click-bait title praising the show) has more than 15k. Anything to rationalize bad racism and validate your easy media consumption, AMIRITE? *eyeroll*

TL;DR - My feelings about the show are still valid and remain in the negative. Especially since this anon didn’t bother to read anything I wrote.

#o rite bc they only want validation and not valid criticism #does this anon think they did a mic drop? #they literally played themselves #anon ask #ask answered #Shadow and Bone #racism #anti-asian discrimination #fantasy racism

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https://youtu.be/EFzQNALsq4w

LOLOLOL I wondered when someone would mention this video. Yes, I’ve seen it, and you obviously didn’t read my post if you didn’t catch the allusion to orcs/evil foreign race. Or maybe you did, and decided to send it anyway?

That kind of behavior definitely falls in line of a certain someone posting this same video on every tweet sending qualms about the anti-Asian racism to the official Shadow and Bone Twitter account. Oh yes. I saw that too.

So let me reply with a video of my own. One that recognizes the strengths and faults of the show with much more consideration while asking important questions about how anti-Asian racism was portrayed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfYMSsiKZbw

It is not lost on me that the grand total of four YouTube videos which question the show’s racism have less than 2k views (my rec’d vid above barely breaks 300) while this anon video (with a very obvious S&B fan click-bait title praising the show) has more than 15k. Anything to rationalize bad racism and validate your easy media consumption, AMIRITE? *eyeroll*

TL;DR - My feelings about the show are still valid and remain in the negative. Especially since this anon didn’t bother to read anything I wrote.

#go get your praise somewhere else #Shadow and Bone #fantasy racism #racism #anti-asian discrimination #minorities are not a monolith so my views are just as valid #I've lurked and I know I'm not alone in thinking the show did a shitty job #why can't ppl accept S&B did a shitty job IT'S NOT PERFECT #ask answered #anon ask #lol wouldn't be surprised if one of those cosplayers was the one spamming the video #also wouldn't be surprised if Netflix paid them to do damage control #gotta get those views and that coin AMIRITE #why are y'all simping for bad rep I don't understand but whatever floats your boat I guess #it's a step forward but not in the right direction

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Reblogging with tags bc I know someone will reply without reading them [Image: #read tags to end before you counterargue #I am DONE #not pulling any more punches #this is ridiculous #anti-asian discrimination #assimilation #internalized racism #model minority myth #representation in media #I thought we were past this but guess not #we need more stories and better storytelling for something like this #Netflix dropped the ball but no one wants to hear it #waiting for someone to bring up the don't change my eyes moment #that was unearned #where was the struggle for self-acceptance in a world that is so anti-Asian #watch ppl argue an isolated orphan wouldn't be proud of Shu culture turn around and say this character is suddenly proud of her eyes #MAKE IT MAKE SENSE #o rite bc Alina can only struggle if ppl are being RACIST to her #focus is on racism against Asians ZERO focus on being Asian #zero positive things about being Asian #zero reflection or introspection on being Asian #the racists win EVERY TIME #they are even rewarded for their racism #go back and watch I will wait]

They put into words exactly what my thought was. Alina’s racism in show only appears in like 3 episode and it’s not buliding up to her finding her roots as the story or any significance to plot later on as it is about something entirely different this is why I can’t stomach it.

#come at me bro #the way LB is prbly stalking tumblr tags now I SAID WHAT I SAID #I'm aware the line:...dismissing Shu heritage as bad to embrace being Grisha good enough for you... can be read 2 ways #well guess what #both work #this is already getting messy without considering the intent behind these choices #I could go off on that as well but let's see if this VERY OBVIOUS point gets across first #waiting for ppl to bring up the different instances of racism and how the show said it was ::bad:: #and I'm ready to explain in a cinematic analysis way that the show DID NOT do that #the racists get the last word every time #they receive no lasting punishment #the camera focuses on Alina's pain any allies she has are in the background #Zoya is redeemed with zero work #go back and watch I will wait