#I think this addresses your ask???

[jinkieswouldyoulookatthis]

if you ever have the desire i’d love to hear your thoughts on the unprincipled relationship dean has with being normal/outsider. for someone who never cared about school or the white picket fence or being liked/accepted by civilians at all, and didn’t empathize much with young sam’s yearning to be part of a common (healthy, 'proper') whole, etc., it always blew my mind how judgmental he became in the s4 arc. suddenly 'can you not see how far off the reservation you’ve gone' when it felt to me like a dean who was actually deeply validated by sam's deviation from 'normal' (things that might make him leave dean) would have shown more integrity to the character as he was otherwise painted quite consistently. what purpose does that wild nomad unconstrained by social contracts persona serve if it isn’t applicable to the most selfish, soft white underbelly parts of him? the staunch resistance to seeing sam get all twisted up like that (and almost entirely over dean), when for all intents and purposes (and as you’ve been saying recently) his self worth pretty universally hinges on everything sam, just never sat right with me. it felt like we could have seen a much more complex and interesting dynamic evolve and still lead us to swan song, if dean had appreciated sam's spiral for what it was - a deeply unhealthy attachment to dean - instead of alienated him and in turn made them both vulnerable to everybody's influence. i've always blamed bad writing but would love to know if you ever had thoughts on this

So, Dean and normalcy, huh? Okay.

Dean is a wounded child wearing a mis-matched, layered up, suit of armor. He found the pieces of it as he grew and did his best to graft them onto himself, to make them a part of his skin, so he wouldn’t get hurt again.

Dean’s armor is made from shit his dad’s said, stuff he saw on tv, ways he saw other guys, tough guys, acting and the things they said, the way they said them, and how they moved through the world. One of the layers of his armor was made by convincing himself that losing his old “normal” life was a good thing, a blessing in disguise. Because he gets to grow up to be a hero now. Everybody knows that heroes don’t come from normal, picket fence, suburban lives. Heroes are outsiders, set apart from everyday people by the extraordinary circumstances that set them on their journey. So not only is it okay that they don’t have a home, don’t have roots, or friends, or boring stuff like that, it’s better that way. Not having friends is a good thing. Friends tie you down, friends can be used against you, they can turn on you, ask you questions you don’t want to answer, can’t answer, or call your bluff, or find out enough about your family to think that they should pity you or laugh at you. But he doesn’t need friends that he’ll just have to leave behind in a few days or a few weeks, months, when he has his brother and his dad.

And hey, moving so much can be great because then you can be whoever you want to be in this town, because you won’t stick around long enough for them to find out that you’re faking anyway. Because that’s what Dean did growing up, he crafted a persona that he could wear that would make him stronger and use it to slip through the cracks in the everyday world leaving little to no trace of himself.

But Sam, well, Sam never understood the power or the freedom in living like that. Sam wanted roots and he wanted friends, he wanted to feel like he belonged, because it was something he’d never had, so he’d never had to go through losing it (not until he lost Jessica).

When we first meet Dean in season one, almost everything we see is his armor. We get little glimpses of the real Dean here and there, like in Route 666 (1x13) when we learn about Cassie and how serious Dean was about her before she broke up with him (for being honest with her, which reinforced his need for armor in the first place). But the first real good look we get underneath is during Shadow (1x16) when he’s talking to Sam about why he came and got him from school and how he wants them to be a family again. We see how vulnerable he is and how desperately he needs the only two people he actually feels a real connection to. Because that’s the drawback to not having other people you care about, that you can trust, the ones you do have become that much more important and necessary to you. But even as much as Dean needs his dad and his brother, he doesn’t believe that they actually need him. That armor protects him, but it also stops him from feeling how much John and Sam rely on and need Dean. Even though he exhausts himself holding his broken little family together, he doesn’t get that they need him or that he even really matters in the grand scheme.

So he teases Sam for wanting what Dean has worked so hard to protect himself from, that’s part of the armor too, the teasing. But Sam still says over and over that he doesn’t want to hunt forever, that he wants a normal life, which Dean hears as a rejection of their family and of him. So he believes that Sam will be better off without him anyway, finally free to go back to being normal. And then Dean gets back from Hell and sees that Sam has gone the opposite way. And now his little brother is consorting with a demon and it freaks him out. Because Sam is good and Sam wants normal and Sam doesn’t need him. But here Sam is falling off the edge and behaving in very un-Sam-like ways because Dean left him and it’s all wrong. So Dean addresses it the only way he knows how, he gives Sam shit about it. He tells Sam that Sam is out of line and messing up. And in trying to get Sam back on track but then having to let Sam go jump with the Devil into Hell, Dean finds himself turning to normalcy because he’s got nothing left. His dad and brother are both gone and Sam made him promise that he would try. So he goes to Lisa and tries to be normal as hard as he can, but it doesn’t ever fit right, it can’t because he’s worked too hard and for too long to make sure he wouldn’t fit in.

Supernatural was always the story of two broken, lost boys growing up and learning to accept their lives, not for what they wanted them to be but just as they were.

#I know I said it might take me a few days but well I'm nothing if not obsessive #I think this addresses your ask??? #anyway thank you this was really interesting to think about #dean winchester #long post

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

MDZS x ISAT part 2: Grandmaster of Time.

(Part 1)

#in stars and time #ISAT #Siffrin #Loop #digital art #I was going to wait a bit longer to post the other side of the swap #but we are coming up to the 'come back to gusu' moment in the audio drama so it has been on my mind. #Yes. That is indeed a screenshot of the demon baby blood cave from The Untamed. #It is so over the top edgy. I love how far WWX leans into his Evil Yiling Laozu role in this arc. #Better yet he invites LWJ over and is so unapologetic about it. It really does feel like a 'damn you live like this?" moment. #I think there are two kinds of friends in this world; #those that see your blood pit cave and say nothing and those that tell you they'll come by tomorrow to help you clean up. #ISAT thought time: I know Loop hangs out under a nice big tree 99% of the time but lets be honest; #If there was a evil bloody cave in the vicinity - that is 100% where they would ask Siffrin to meet them in. #Loop sends texts to their stardust with Ominous black images and says 'Go here. Into the dark.' #That or highly specific IP addresses that are right over sinkholes. Or in graveyards. #Point is; I think Loop and the Yiling Laozu would thrive in each other's aesthetics.

[mokeonn]

Before I go to sleep I leave you all with this piece of advice: sometimes you don't actually have to answer big political questions, sometimes you can just say "I am not smart enough to know that, I just know the small things I do to help." Like you can often times completely avoid making a fool of yourself if you just say you don't know.

#simon says #to explain here and not in a reblog: #sometimes when you try to explain big picture solutions you're gonna sound dumb #you might not have done enough research #you might not have a rebuttal to a counter argument #you might not be articulate enough to explain why you think this #sometimes you gotta take a step back and give the simple solution. the one man solution #you do what you can to fight against the problem #you talk to people to help spread awareness and how to fight the bad problem #and you vote and invite others to vote for bigger steps towards solving the problem #like you can talk about theory and how you believe we need to do a huge drastic thing to solve and issue #but people will disagree and argue til you're blue in the face #they'll poke and prod until you mess up or lose your temper and use it against you #and you'll feel dumb and they'll learn nothing #sometimes the best thing to do is step away from the big picture and just say 'idk what the solution is I just know the things I can do“ #sometimes you gotta admit you're not a scientist/expert and you can't answer that #i used this while talking with my Dad tonight #he brought up our climate crisis and space travel as a possible solution #and I said I think that's just addressing the symptom and not the cause and we need to care for our Earth now #and he asked me what solutions I think would fix it #and knowing my incredibly smart Dad who is articulate and ready to throw rebuttles at a moments notice to play devils advocate #and my past experience in struggling in this topic with him before #i just told him I didn't know. all i knew is the little things I can and do do to help #and that hopefully by spreading the word and habits and encouraging others to vote for those bigger solutions I could help make a change #but all I really could do is the little things I have control over #and the topic became much less stressful about the little things we have control over #like planting native plants and recycling and adopting habits that are healthier to our planet #which was 100% more preferable to if I tried to give a big solution. because I would reveal i didn't have all the knowledge needed to argue #and my articulation would make me sound like a stupid kid who only thinks they know what's best #so yeah I basically suggest that if you dont wanna feel like shit after debating someone just step away from the big picture for a moment

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

The whole discourse about the privacy/secrecy/support thing has been sitting with me for a few days (I mean other than it always does to a certain degree) thanks to all the excellent discussion happening and I know I'm not saying anything that hasn't been said a million times before, but I think what we're seeing and what we're going to learn (e.g. from TTPD) is that it wasn't just the support issue, but how it was shown/handled.

We've all gone out of our way to show that introversion =/= lack of support. Someone can be shy, reserved, etc. and still show up for their partner, whether in public or at home. To chalk any of the differences up to the clash between introversion and extroversion is unfair to folks who count themselves among either tbh.

@thisisctrying said something the other day that hit the nail on the head about how if that support had been offered in private, there very well may not have been a Joever to begin with, or at least not at this point in time. (Sorry for loosely paraphrasing, and for namedropping you! Long time listener, first time poster.)

If this were a case where the "shy" partner said, "I am really uncomfortable with the spotlight personally and do not want to court it, but I will support you in your ambitions and offer you whatever you need to make them happen and make the glare bearable," I suspect that would have gone a long way to making Taylor feel seen and comfortable in pursuing her goals in the way that she now has. Again, that might have been more akin to the balance that seemed to have been struck around 2019 from what we can see, but even speaking in a general sense, there are lots of couples out there, celebrity or not, that have similar approaches where there are highly driven people and busy careers involved.

(A famous example being Dolly Parton's marriage. Tbh I know next to nothing about her and Carl, but she's always heralded as an example in this regard, because her husband is famously uncomfortable with the spotlight and hasn't accompanied her to public events in decades, but she's said that she never minded that because that was always work to her, and what was important was that he supported her in pursuing all her career goals and basically ensured she had a place to call home to return to at the end of the day.)

We're kind of in a brave new world with her current relationship because it felt like, at least at the start, we were maybe watching her figure out her boundaries in real time as to what she was comfortable with or not and adjust accordingly. Like so many have said, I fully believe the extreme privacy thing was initially driven by herself and her experiences in 2016, and she needed that quiet time to recover from all of the things and figure out how to exist in the world again.

Stating the obvious, it seemed like eventually privacy was equated with secrecy, turning the relationship and the celebrity into the elephant in the room and something to never be spoken of to the outside world. People are free to choose whatever works best for themselves and their relationships, and for some the separate public lives might work, but the “kept me like a secret but I kept you like an oath” theme is all over her work and it’s clear that it’s a sore spot for her, because she’s been made to feel shame just for the life she leads so many times in the past.

What I’m trying to say is that it’s pretty obvious something Not Great was happening behind the scenes, which didn’t just amount to “she wanted to be a public celebrity and he wanted to be a private hermit.” (Also, in case anyone forgot, this is a person who also chose a public-facing career who also has to engage in press for it, but I digress.) As her career reached new heights post-folklore, if she had the support at home to do all the things without judgment and with encouragement, and in turn offer the same support to her partner, she may have very well lived just fine with that, not unlike Dolly Parton’s case.

By reading between the lines in all the press since, as well as comments on tour and general ~vibes~ with TTPD teasers, it seems like one of the issues was that that was likely not the case. There was all the stuff that we saw — the reticence to acknowledge each other in the media (particularly on one side), the lack of public support even at events at which they were both in attendance for their respective jobs, the great lengths they went to not to be photographed together at events they attended yet no problem taking pictures with other friends and coworkers, the jobs that separated them, the withdrawing from the public even for work accomplishments, etc. Which could all be manageable if a couple chooses to do so together and are not inherently a sign of trouble in themselves.

But what we’re seeing now I think is a reflection of the things we weren’t seeing then, and it seems to indicate some very deep hurt. (I know, call me Captain Obvious.) And like so many have been saying, it feels likely that that part of that hurt is rooted in that very lack of private support where a person would expect it from their partner. Obviously as a Taylor fan blog I’m going to be more inclined to understand her side of a story, but tbh, it’s also because… this is sooooooo common, and something I’ve experienced in my friend group. (@taylortruther is right when she says most breakups are the same one way or another lol.)

One partner is resentful of the other’s success, or resentful that the other’s priorities begin to evolve as new experiences unlock new goals, or feels the other’s ambitions are not worthy of pursuit, and coupled with perhaps their own struggles in the same domain, it’s easy to see where that can chip away at the other partner’s morale and faith in the relationship. I know I’m just speculating here, but I also don’t think it’s totally unfounded. (Again, because a) I’m picking up what she’s putting down and b) it happens to sooooooo many women even among us dull normals.)

With all the pointed mentions about how much Taylor feels supported in her current relationship and how she in turn loves to offer the same show of support to not only her partner but other loved ones, how she’s stepped out more in the last year to a whole host of events, how she’s mentioned feeling like she locked herself away for years and she’s just proud of her partner and happy she can show up for him even if the chaos around it is unsettling, it paints a picture of what perhaps was happening before last year.

To feel like you’re all alone in carrying the weight of the relationship (or burden of it), of twisting yourself into knots to accommodate the other person’s boundaries (or insecurities) but not feeling reciprocity for your own has to be so painful. (The idea that it may have been even darker and to have a partner not only be unreceptive to your own needs but even perhaps resentful/dismissive/belittling of them is even more painful to think of. I guess we’ll find out when TTPD comes out if that was the case, too.)

At a certain point, that lack of acknowledgement will force your hand to be able to reclaim yourself. And it feels like the further removed Taylor in particular is from it, the more she moves from being sad about the life she felt she gave up by leaving, to angry at the life she felt she was giving up by staying. Especially being in a relationship now where it seems like everything comes much easier, where she can be open about the person she’s with and show up for them, all the stuff that seemed as challenging as climbing Mount Everest in her past is nothing more than a molehill at best in her current life.

TL;DR: I don’t think it’s privacy that inherently spells doom for a celebrity relationship like this; it’s the mutual support and respect that does. If Taylor had felt that in the later years of her previous relationship, I think we could be seeing a different, though not necessarily unfulfilled, person right now in 2024, who’d be happy on tour but whose personal life would look a little different. But it seems like by losing that support she lost parts of herself, and we’ve seen her reclaim that in spades in the last year, and perhaps to degrees she didn’t even realize she could from before all the Bad Stuff started happening in her young adulthood.

I know this was extremely long-winded and unnecessary, especially about total strangers we only know through scraps fed through the media, but I just always bristle at this idea that issues like these boil down to “personality differences,” as though one person wants to live in a city and the other on a remote island, or some shit like that. The whole support (and gender tbh) issue is one that’s just very close to my heart because again, I have seen it play out with so many of my friends in long term relationships and marriages and I just think people in relationships (and women in particular in some circles) deserve better than to feel like they’re being, well, tolerated.

#thisisctrying and taylortruther sorry for tagging you two! #can remove if needed! #but you guys made me think a lot #this was inspired by a conversation i had with a friend the other day #where she relayed an argument she had with her partner #who basically felt slighted that he wasn’t getting acknowledgement for all the housework he does — which is. just. the dishes #and she was like ‘wow congrats you’ve done the dishes — i do every other fucking thing to keep this household afloat in ways you see #and don’t see and i never ask for praise because it’s just stuff that needs to get done because that’s how you support your family’ #and it just reminded me that some partners (and a certain kind of man in particular) just… think their struggles take precedence #when their partners drown in them everyday but keep things afloat out of necessity and are never recognized or supported for it #(my friends have shitty husbands/boyfriends can you tell lol) #long post #again the way i just feel like i know the vibes of ttpd in my bones are 😵‍💫 #i feel like i have a lot more thoughts but I’m trying to be more gracious and less parasocial so #also just want to again defend the introverts of the world by reiterating that being introverted does not mean unsupportive #being a shitty partner does though! #writing letters addressed to the fire #it’s also just like… i feel like if Taylor had had even a modicum of the support in private and even public she needed #she’d probably still be with you know who and wouldn’t have considered leaving let alone doing it #because it would have felt like enough and like it was what was needed for both of them #whereas we’re seeing a completely new side of her open up now because this is the first time she’s ever had that support from a partner #in her adult life at least #and it’s like it’s opening up things she didn’t know she needed or wanted

[hella1975]

all hate to tiktok for taking 'having a space to more openly and actively talk about different cultures' to mean 'cultures are NOT to be shared and we must be vigilantly defensive of our cultures for fear of appropriation, a word that can be applied to any multicultural interaction'. like of course cultural appropriation is a very real problem but ive seen with the access to global multicultural conversation that tiktok provides it's made people TERRIFIED to even interact with cultures other than their own for fear of 'doing it wrong'. like at some point you have to acknowledge that in the real world of the great outdoors, the majority of people are eager to SHARE their cultures. yes there are ignorant questions and biases but also... how do you think those things get unlearnt? i dont understand how deciding that multiculturalism is an elephant in the room instead of a normal thing that should just be talked about and lived with is supposed to benefit anyone? and kids on tiktok are CONVINCED that it's a time bomb of a conversation to have and therefore must be avoided at all costs but like. people generally LOVE their home and their culture and are PROUD of it and want to share it. how have we made it so that showing genuine interest and a desire to understand something so integral to a person's identity is now feared and borderline demonised?

#thinking about this a lot lately. thinking about how fun it was comparing cultural differences in america #thinking of how when i was homesick one thing i found a great comfort in was talking about my home #and how it differed and i really loved and appreciated it when people would ask me about england #in a way that they genuinely just wanted to learn about it and not to take the piss #thinking about how the kitchen at work has chefs from all over europe. we have an irish chef and a spanish chef and an italian chef #and one of the kps is from eastern europe (i havent actually been able to find out where yet) etc and the way they banter with each other #like usually chefs are Problematic bc their humour is VERY abrasive and usually offensive #but this is one instance where it's actually to their benefit bc they're so unafraid to ADDRESS THE FACT THEY HAVE DIFFERENT CULTURES #i feel like the tiktok gen are so petrified of even acknowledging other cultures let alone discussing them #that it's actually sending the conversation backwards. like how does hoarding your culture and pretending it's not there benefit anyone #LET ALONE YOU AND THE CULTURE IN QUESTION. idk it just baffles me a bit that something that started as people on tiktok #genuinely spreading information and talking about the BAD side of this where people DO culturally appropriate or invade spaces that arent #theirs has now become 'for fear of speaking bad about it we will not speak about it at all'. and they'll crucify you if you do. like what #even at uni my best mate is indian and she's too scared to join the sikh society on her own so i regularly go to the events with her #and im typically one of the handful (or the only) white non-sikh there and i get SO welcomed each time #like there's such a genuine excitement to share the culture with someone who is effectively a blank slate #and like yeah ill ask 'dumb' questions or i'll have different experiences (tried a samosa for the first time at one of these events #and the moment that info got out i had like five STRANGERS trying to give me different samosas to try and it was genuinely such #a laugh bc yes they were TEASING me bc 'how have you never had one' but they were also really eager to share MORE as a result) #ugh idk what im saying. i just think it's a shame to watch this happen in real time on the internet #when if people would just go outside and actually TALK to people from other cultures they'd realise 9 times out of 10 the interactions #are actually really really nice for BOTH parties. and actually refusing to talk about this stuff is long-term pretty fucking detrimental #and it also goes the other way!!! like imagine if i - citizen of colonisation motherland herself - didn't interact with other cultures #and didnt ask questions or hear their opinions on whatever shared history we have from THEIR POINT OF VIEW #imagine the kind of shit id be internalising bc i only hung out with other white british people. it wouldnt matter if i was doing it #to be woke or 'respect their culture'. it would still be fucking ignorant. like half my interactions with other cultures #see me as the butt of the joke bc of this like aforementioned irish chef at work VOCALLY slates the english all the time #but it's done in an environment where we're FRIENDS and it's poking fun at each other while still addressing a very serious history. like?? #idk if any of this is worded in a way that makes sense but yeah. i have thoughts #cant believe i got inspired to make an actually serious post bc of the CHEFS AT WORK. embarrassing. no one let them see this

[samarecharm]

Man. Goro being in strikers wouldve been soooo fucking good. Especially w the surprisingly good writing and plot??? You have to live w the consequences of your mistakes? You dont get to just Die and leave the mess you made behind? You have to confront the people youve hurt and accept that they may never forgive you? That people who care about you and love you will support you even when youre at rock bottom as long as u show a willingness to change and do better? This wouldve been a perfect way to tie up Goros whole story in neat little bow 😔😔😔

#chattin #p5s #goro #having to confront the thieves. having to confront akira. having to confront HARU. #living with the mistakes you made in your quest for revenge #now that youre forced to Live; what do you do? how do u fix it? how do you start over??? #its really good i think; and it would fit goro perfectly #sophie asking about the heart; picking goro clean and exposing his thoughts and failures for the thieves to see #analyzed by akira and co under a microscope #and forced to address his own feelings about. everything. #but like. on other better things #goro having a fury ability similar to zenkichis is cute lol. throwing tantrums in the metaverse #zenkichi gets enhanced moves at the cost of health #and goro gets enhanced attack and agility at the cost of defense and luck #it would be neat :) #goro BEGRUDGINGLY eating the food that akira makes #and eventually forced to help prep if he wants food at all #(akira does not have to do this w the thieves. but he is NOT going to let goro pretend hes not on the team) #(but it doesnt take long for goro to volunteer his services. the thieves eavesdrop as he chats w akira lol) #goro hears that he has to sleep in that little tent up top and hes like. oh thats so cute! have fun in there. #as he sleeps under a boulder next to the camper #i think the heart to heart w akane would soften him a little #he doesnt Hate kids but they make him a little comfy #but shes got so much anger; anger that he definitely had at that age too #he. gets it… #oh my god. hed be so fucking annoyed w the phantom thief praise. it would kill him #and ryujis like man cmon stop actin like youre not one of us already. the acts gettin stale at this point #shuts him up for a long while lmao

[kipperlillyforpresident]

https://www.reddit.com/r/Dimension20/s/w3Hs9AWn5d to y'all

this is THE funniest anon hate i could ever receive. you can't even be bothered to write your own message...? you're just linking a reddit post...? one has to laugh.

#asks #i am perhaps being a bit ungenerous when calling this anon hate. but also im sorry like ? #i cannot possibly see what your endgame was with this. do you really think the blog kipperlillyforpresident #which has already reblogged posts which address the arguments in this reddit post #is going to be swayed by a random reddit post....? #anyway. the one thing i will address once more is the cops thing bc i could be wrong but i think thats #because of a game of telephone on twitter #where somebody called the IHs “murder cops”. as a reference to the trope “murder hobos”. which is a common D&D trope #but they thought well. thats a really cruel thing to say about homeless people #so instead ill say murder cop to refer to this trope #which. was also probably a bad choice #but then people ran with that and the discourse spiralled #i could be completely wrong! i dont use twitter that much

[beanieman]

last year you made a post saying you were going to analyze the (not)penguins from the spa more, do you think you have any conclusions yet?

How on EARTH did you remember a joke post I made a year ago?! Honestly I'm impressed.

Also I think that they are Gods.

#You think this is a joke post but it is not #I think they're the same thing Mew-chan is #and Mew-chan is implied to be sentient while Tia addresses him with a honorific often used for deities #your turn to die #yttd #asks

[uncanny-tranny]

About that thing re "trans men dont know what its like to be seen as predatory", I feel like everyone in the lgbt community generally agrees lesbians are treated as predatory by str8 women, gay men are treated as predatory by str8 men, I (as a trans man) used to think I was a lesbian and went throught life as one. Accordingly I was treated like I am predatory. I am now a gay men, and accordingly I am treated as predatory. On top of that, cis gay men treat me as predatory (scawy transes trying to get them to have sex w a vageenay boohoo) and women treat me as predatory every time I open my mouth about sharing some of their experiences (because me needing iuds at the obgyn inherently means I, as a man, inavde their man-free space). Literally all queer people are constantly treated as predatory by cishet society at large, everyone knows it and keeps saying it and is talking about it because its no secret and everyone is aware of it.

But the second the convo turns to how terfs hurt trans men? Suddenly, we have no idea what its like to be treated as predatory and suddenly the world sees trans men specifcially as helpless little girly victims.

And honestly? Even if it were the case that trans men and transmasculine* people were solely infantilized... it's still harmful. I was initially bringing up that because it's like... I guess the only narrative people want to hear about our suffering, I guess, because it's easier to digest. It's easier to look at it and write it off as, "well you're just infantilized, show me a real problem," and that's the issue - it's twofold. It is simultaneously the need to relegate the experiences of a diverse community into one box and then say, "well, it's just infantilization, who cares when [x] issue is more dangerous" afterward.

It is frustrating, at best, to not be heard. And I've found that so many people aren't just infantilized... I think a lot of queer people are, I don't think it's unique to us. However, people are almost surprised when trans men and transmasculine* people open up more, in my experience.

It's definitely more complex to include more trans experiences with transphobia and the intersections of things like rascism, homophobia, antisemitism, islamophobia, misogyny, ableism... but it is still important. In fact, it often informs in addition to how trans people are treated. Transphobia doesn't exist in a vacuum, and it often doesn't exist alone. That is why we need to have these complex discussions.

#ask #anon #trans #transgender #lgbt #lgbtq #ftm #nonbinary #transphobia #transphobia tw #it's really tilting to see people almost deny that trans men and otherwise trans people can be seen as predatory #because (at least in my experience) that has all i have ever been seen as *because* i am trans. and for different reasons as well #this is the same experience i've had mental illness 'advocacy' groups #the ones who subconsciously think 'well i' depressed. my gran's depressed. my boss is depressed. we all work FINE' #'so because we all work fine then why are *you* such a train wreck. why don't you brush your hair. clean your room and it'll all be fine!' #the words aren't the same. but the denial of different experiences - of different realities are the same. #which is why you can not advocate for trans liberation while simultaneously rejecting the different experiences of trans people #if you can not compute that two trans people of the same identity can have different experiences of transphobia AND... #...that BOTH experiences are important to address without denying the other or ignoring it... trans liberation will be flimsy at best #because then it only takes one different experience and what recourse does that trans person have? #this rant goes for ALL trans people by the way. if you can not accept that trans people can have different valid needs... #...then i personally think that those ideas of trans liberation you may have are flimsy #again impersonal you is used

[munakataa]

the jackson hole era twitter beef was so good i desperately need them to go back to fighting on social media

#ocatc #love when tim has to ask gregg to answer his phone on twitter #ISISwithtim #ALSO i dont think its addressed in the show but the fact that tim doesjt have internet or utilities??? #where was he living #tweet your favorite patience quotes @timheidecker

[ennas-aesthetic]

Read your newest part of the retired!dream, loved it! Dream finally knowing what it feels to be truly loved was so heartwarming🥺. I'm a bit lost though, when did Dream get that scar? He said he kept it but I don't remember in the comics him getting injured

Aaaw thank you! I put Dream through the wringer in my last fic, so I guess he deserves the happiness he gets in this AU. :'DD

Re: the scar on Morpheus' cheek, that's actually a GREAT question, but I'm afraid we're going into spoiler territory for this one. So this is a fair warning to anyone and everyone who might see this and not want the Sandman Comics spoiled. Spoilers Zone from here on out:

You're sorta correct on Morpheus never getting injured in the comics. The Endless are more than humans, more than gods. It would take an entirely eldritch and primordial being to hurt the Seven enough to make them bleed.

Which is why the one time Endless blood WAS SPILT, it was both blood-curdling and terrifying, because YOU KNOW that it is a grievous threat indeed.

Dream gets the scar on his cheek during The Kindly Ones (volume 9). When he goes to Nuala after she called him for a boon, the Furies through Lyta Hall were able to enter the Dreaming so they may destroy it. After he comes back, Dream confronts them and demands them to leave; in retaliation they struck him with their barbed scorpion whip on his cheek.

Below is what the scar looks like up close.

In the next few panels Lucien actually asks him if he would be keeping the scar. In turn he says this:

And (hoooo boy prepare yourselves for this one) until his last conversation with Death, you can actually see that Dream still DOES have the scar here. He has it until he... well, you know what happens after this conversation.

The scar is quite significant arc-wise for Dream. In the panels above he says that Alianora foretold that he would receive two scars: one on the cheek, one on the heart, the way he did to her. This is expounded on in Sandman: Overture, where Alianora, his former lover, got a scar on her cheek when she defended and rescued Dream from the two gods who held him prisoner. (Of course, the scar in her heart was when Dream tire of her and grew cold and distant. Seriously, if anyone reading this hasn't read Overture yet, check it out. It'll reframe everything you know about the original comics in the best, most heart-breaking way possible.)

In the AU, while I'm keeping the details of HOW Dream gets to walk away very vague, I'd like to think that most of the events during The Kindly Ones STILL happened. I'd also like to think he kept the scar because while his self-destructive spiral was averted, Dream still hasn't fully healed and processed his issues, and thus considers it to be a literal symbol of self-flagellation. He is fully capable of erasing it, but it remaining there is a choice he made.

What he hasn't calculated is that people will be kind and caring and concerned. What he hasnt calculated is that being human means being subjected to the mortifying ordeal of being known, to reap the rewards of being loved. 😌

Hope that answers your question! :DD

#retired!dream #retired!dream as a librarian AU #the sandman #dream of the endless #the sandman spoilers #enna rambles #just-cosmere-fan #thank you sm for the ask and hope that answers your question! #i do love the idea that him walking away from his responsibilities isnt the immediate happy ever after that we think #there's a boatload of issues he has to address/ go thru #and that he would keep that scar #because Dream loves keeping mementos of things that remind him of his failures/ punish him #morpheus

[butchybats]

god my fav things about like genderswap AUs is asking like, how does this change the way the characters navigate the world or how other characters treat them, right? so like. I JUST IMAGINE LESBIAN DANIEL AS BEING EVEN MORE PRICKLY. So sick of being treated like a girl all the time, so hyper-aware of all deficits in her experience based on how sexism has treated her, MAYBE POSSIBLY MORE WARY OF CREEPS, EVEN CREEPS WHO ARE WOMEN LIKE ARMAND. Is she as unsafe, as blithely monsterfuckig??? Does he have an ounce of self preservation and survival instinct? Is it harder for fem!Armand to find her when she flees around the world?!? ALSO LIKE. I always wonder how many other characters get swapped in these situations like is Louis also a woman? Did Daniel go interview some fucking man in a seedy room all by herself???????? Where's her safety rules at I gotta know. AND ARMAND. Armand. God. I feel like the cult grinds people's personalities down so much like almost as if every COD vampire was this genderless wraith. Does that change for her? Even as a boy Armand had such a fuckd up life like HOW MUCH WORSE COULD IT REALLY GET FOR HER LOL. And like is CLAUDIA still a girl like where's the jealousy at between them? thereS JUST SO MUCH TO DISCUSS

I am so glad there’s people actually wondering about the intricacies of this because for me it’s just like woah it would be so hot if they were women hghgh but i love thinking about this so much!!!!

LESBIAN DANIEL WOULD BE SO PRICKLY!!! She is so tired of the world’s shit and I can not blame her one bit. “So sick of being treated like a girl all the time” YES!!!!!! Her gender is dyke and she’s butch <3 (this is totally not me projecting) i feel like she’d experience a lot of sexism that really ties into homophobia so she’s had to learn fend for herself and not take anyone’s shit.

Lesbian Daniel is still the ultimate monster fucker I think <33 she wants these vampires so badly it makes her look stupid! I do think she’d be more wary of Armand in the beginning though like I can not imagine her taking public transportation in the dead of night 😭 no leaping out of a taxi into traffic for lesbian Daniel lmao and I also think she’d be great at not giving strangers the time of day so it might take her a bit longer to warm up to her (but at the same time are they really strangers after hearing about her from Louis and then being locked in a cellar by her? 🤔 HGHG like they are literally uhaul lesbians)

AND I AM ALWAYS GOING BACK AND FORTH ON WHOS ALL GENDERSWAPPED!!!! Because sure ideally i love thinking about them all being women but narratively that doesn’t work out!!! Akasha’s plot line is redundant if there’s no men lol also would Gabrielle feel as estranged from everyone if there were no men?? And just like historically it doesn’t make sense </3 personally the people I would love to be genderswapped are daniel and armand (obviously lol) but also lestat and louis maybe nicki?? umm i think that quinn could be a woman too. As a treat <3 but everyone else I’m convinced could be the same I’d love to see how chaotic that story goes (also i need bianca my beloved to stay the same so that we can have venice lesbians <3)

AND ARMANDDD Armand… It would probably get so much worse for her 😭I feel like she would really really latch on to Allesandra like more than canon simply because they’re both women in the cult. Also because Armand is a woman I feel like she would need to try way harder to command everyone’s respect and fear she would have to be VICIOUS (said while twirling my hair and giggling) and while gender stuff is probably the least of her concerns when all of this is going down I think it would still fuck with her over time, especially considering canon Armand’s intricacies with gender. Would she feel like she has to perform feminity to be taken seriously? Or does she play into her androgyny (not that she has much of a choice)? But I can totally see her and Daniel having one of their big talks about gender and how they relate to it

THERE IS SO SERIOUSLY SO MUCH TO DISCUSS ABOUT THIS AND TY FOR TALKING TO ME ABOUT IT! <3 my asks and dms are always open to anyone who wants to talk about gay vampires I feel like I could go on forever about them

#i think i addressed everything in your ask? but if not thats just another conversation lol #vibrating from caffeine and excitement i love them so much #monstersinthecosmos #bat notes

[lunar-years]

it’s actually weird how the show never lets keeley be wrong. like even in situations where she is wrong they always make the other person way more wrong so it’s never explored. that trend started at the gala, where she was perfectly right to dump jamie, but then continued literally til the series finale

Yes :( and it's why so many people fundamentally misunderstand her which is a darn shame; she's a far more interesting character with her flaws than without them!!

#like on the one hand her flaws are quite consistent throughout the seasons so i do think the writers were consciously writing them #but they clearly didn't address or resolve it well enough because you talk to almost anyone about keeley and it's like oh. #we love two completely different versions of this character lol #and your version is not the version that actually exists onscreen <3 #keeley jones #asks #ted lasso

[ilynpilled]

what do u think is jaime’s biggest flaw

oh he has a bunch

Biggest one: his fear of truly confronting things. his cowardice (the brave knight is deconstructed)

Arrogance is a given. His obsession with perception and his ego. His destructive dissociative tendencies and forced detachment. His self delusion and cynicism he uses to enable acts that his conscience knows are wrong. He also often falls into the trap of cynicism when he expects quick results and does not get them. When he makes choices to become better and people keep dehumanizing him and expect the worst from him he gets super frustrated and petty (less so atp, just compare his behavior to Brienne’s reaction when he gives her Oathkeeper and she misreads his intensions vs the gate not being opened for him in ADwD) His misogynistic and classist blindspots. Him weighing his values wrong even when his conscience is screaming at him (multiple examples of this, e.g Jeyne Poole: “her eyes were sad and wary”, “then why do you sound so frightened?”: vows from so many vows speech in conflict: obey your father vs protect the innocent. He obviously chooses wrong. George was telling us the way he changed by the end of ASoS is not enough he is not where he needs to be yet) His desperate want to make his “so many vows” compromise instead of making the correct choice and drawing the hard line he already did at 17. His desire to become Goldenhand the Just (just a mess frankly, gold tends to have negative symbolism in his story, his goldenhand also is associated with violence and is his desperate attempt to recreate his old self, his phantom fingers — again, has to be addressed in a dream.) While we are here also his need for his subconscious to literally repeatedly slap sense into him (his dreams addressing things he refuses to consciously address because it would hurt to do so). His tendency to repeat his father’s dogma when he is viscerally aware that that man is the worst man oat (Lannister sibling parallels! uwu!), unwittingly contradicting it in every way, then trying again. His desire to pursue glory as well as honor (and whatever they mean in the subtext) when the symbolism is very clearly established that the two cannot be achieved simultaneously for him, he cannot ride two horses at once. It might be that both get turn down at the end in some form. The honor related to the KG, and the glory related to duty to house Lannister. I think that conflict is getting picked apart right now with the choice he makes in ADwD to abandon his position/hunting down the brotherhood any kind of glory tying to house lannister pursuit etc to follow an injured and suspicious Brienne alone (mind you he was also riding Honor in that chapter, ntm the half moon). I think both honor and glory are very abstract and are rooted in some form in his desire for love as well (honor and glory paid their parts but in the end it was for cersei is something he reflects on) but “the things we do for love” has to be something not destructive and prejudiced. He is disillusioned by both honor and glory, especially after aerys. “What is honor?” A horse. Like deep down he knows. His arc in AFfC-ADwD was about about taking apart and looking at all of these flaws imo, put him in a spot to make his choice in adwd. and all that matters are choices. He is also an asshole.

#ask #jaime lannister #valyrianscrolls #this is another reason i love his arc so much bc changing is really not simple at all #to ​what and why you are changing has to be thoroughly examined #and all your flaws have to be brought to the surface #and also how our self concept plays into our choices and what altruism even means #or what becoming better even means #i also think ppl take vows a bit too literally like they also represent something more abstract in terms of his values #and he does this too like he fixates on it bc its easier to just be like yeah im just keeping this vow nothing else haha #like his self proclaimed ‘’im doing this for the bit’’ is so easy to pick apart #trying to keep that oath to a dead lady like #cat is dead. she couldnt be kicking piles of doodoo at him #like what’s he got to prove? #it is something deep rooted for him and him only #‘’let them see the cripple. i wont show them a golden lie’’ and the return to that ‘’one hand. only one. no golden one’’ #alright then lets keep going anyway #when it comes to analysis of jaime the subtext is so important #the show whitewashed him and kept him stagnant #george explores his flaws and forces him to start addressing them #and constantly presents him with dichotomies #i hope then his trajectory will be now actually confronting his sins directly #the lady stoneheart confrontation will have to be a key pivot point #especially as per her symbolism as the monster that is the product of the lannister regime #and its her family that he caused the most harm to #his biggest sins relate to her

[luxsea]

i heard karlachs monologue was rlly good but holy shit i genuinely dont think i'll be the same after that

#olive.txt #bg3 spoilers #spoilers in tags !! #samantha seriously deserves an award that was soul wrenching #i think back in interviews where they talked abt karlachs trauma and how she reverts into a scared child #the whole encounter w gortash was very much that #and he speaks down to her and calls her a brat #imagine saying ''what do you know about the greater good'' TO THE LIVING EMBODIMENT OF GOOD #he doesnt care what he did to her at all but she does care!! he betrayed her and stole her future and there is no closure! #well i felt pretty satisfied i casted a dancing scroll on him and let karlach go to town *youre gonna go far kid plays in the distance* #her pain and anger is so understandable no one deserves this especially not her #the delivery of ''my heart. it was mine. and they took it'' is so incredibly natural and heartbreaking. this scene gave me actual heartburn #shes seemed pretty confident abt dying but i guess in her own words courage isnt fearlessness :( #ugh the part where she just wants you to tell her everything will be alright and that you can save her!!! so cruel larian! #for a character that lost their heart she sure as hell didnt lose her soul </3 #''THANKS FOR LISTENING. FOR EXISTING. LOVE YOU.'' #yeah was not prepared for what im guessing is the romantic version of her scene back at camp #idk why i thought they wouldnt address it but wow when she asks if youll stay w her when its her time to go. im in shambles #might take back some of my opinions abt her endings. its still cruel she doesnt get a Happy ending but its being handled rlly well so far

[amethystpath-writes]

You Weren’t the Criminal

NOT A PR0MPT

******

“I’m happy to announce” -Hero took a breath, a smirk tugging at his lips- “that Villain has been vanquished.”

A crowd interrupted in cheer on the television, then the news cut to a video clip of a body being pulled from the rubble of a fallen building. Villain, supposedly.

When the audience out of frame quieted, Hero’s face became solemn. “Our team wasn’t without casualties. We lost one of our bests.”

The people gasped. Hero swallowed.

“Leader. He was found dead at the scene- we decided…” Hero shook his head. “The footage will be shared when Leader’s family has had time to grieve.”

Leader was dead- that much was true, but only because Villain, who watched his tv in awe, was responsible for the collapsed building. Villain sure as hell wasn’t dead, and that body on the news certainly wasn’t his own. Hero wasn’t sharing the footage because the footage already shown was Leader.

Villain didn’t typically care about the people, but now, seeing that Hero was clearly up to something...he couldn’t do nothing, could he? Maybe he should embrace it. If the people thought him dead, maybe it was a sign to do differently. He wouldn’t get this chance again- to start another life.

Oh, who was he kidding? Villain enjoyed this life. He enjoyed sneaking through shadows, at seeing how much he could get away with, how long he could go without getting caught. There was an otherwise unachievable amount of pride in being the country’s, maybe even the world’s, most successful criminal- to go so long without being caught that the greatest heroes of all time simply fake your death in hopes of taming you. Truly, what did Hero think Villain would do with this news?

***

“Explain yourself.” Villain was curious, having not wasted another moment before taking off to Hero’s home. And yes, he knew where it was. He wasn’t a clumsy criminal, one so naïve to not know where his enemies’ bases laid. And a base could mean anything, whether it was the team of heroes’ homes, secondary jobs, childrens’ schools, partners’ jobs, etc.. 

Hero walked to his refrigerator. After scanning its contents, he decided on a steady beer. It was either that or water, and as Villain knew, Hero didn’t like tasteless things; it was what made Hero’s betrayal against Leader so shocking.

“Hey. I’m talking to you.”

Still ignoring him, Hero parked himself on the couch. No one would bother the two. Hero didn’t make friends and he didn’t have any partners, kids, or- if he had family, Villain’s research couldn’t find them.

“What was all that shit on tv about?”

Villain might have sworn Hero chuckled if he didn’t bare a pair of straight lips.

“You killed Leader.” Hero met his eyes now, and something about that gaze, empty and soulless, unsettled Villain.  He was unsure at first; the building had been destroyed by Villain, but that didn’t mean he was responsible for Leader’s death. Hero found Leader alive, and then...“Why?”

Drawing in a heavy breath, Hero allowed himself a smirk. He shrugged.

“I’ll tell everyone.”

“You’re going to go to the media?” Hero’s tone was bored, like he knew how this would play out, and knew everything Villain would say. Was it possible that he knew Villain just as well as Villain knew him? “After you’re finally free?”

With that, Villain scoffed. Free? He wasn’t a prisoner of anything.

“You are really going to make me spell it out for you?” All this time and Hero only just now looked to Villain for the second time. “You’re trapped. You think you have to prove yourself capable of self-sustainability and you found that trait in crime. I wouldn’t care”- Hero shrugged and leaned forward to grab his tv remote- “but you’re getting in the way of things, and frankly, I have an image to uphold. On the other hand, I felt merciful.”

“Merciful?” Villain scoffed. “You dragged the man I would have claimed I killed- your teammate- out of the rubble I caused, and you took credit, for not only the destruction, but my death as well. Where’s your mercy?” In other words, What the hell are you up to?

The sound of buttons clicking on the remote made Villain grit his teeth. Hero didn’t care at all.

“Bothered?” the hero asked. “Can’t wrap your mind around my motives?”

“I don’t think you have one,” Villain admitted. “I think you’re as curious as me.”

Hero’s lips split to form an amused smile, one glittering like a white wine beneath a fancy chandelier. It frightened Villain. “Maybe. Maybe it was entertaining to figure you would show up, only to find I was right. Maybe it was confirmation, seeing how quickly a crowd’s joy could be diminished by another death.” His smile vanished. “I was curious,” he said, “about the dullness in the peoples’ eyes, hearing about Leader’s death, as if they ever knew him to begin with. I was happier to get rid of him than to chase you around.” His lip curled. “You’re a dog abandoned in the freezing rain. Whining, and whimpering, and annoying.”

Villain still couldn’t understand. “You knew Leader.”

“Obviously.”

“What made it easier to kill him rather than tracking me?”

Hero answered easily, “You weren’t the criminal. You’re just a waste of time, so I killed two birds with one stone. Take out the actual shitbag, and give you redemption, or whatever the hell you want to call it.” He sipped on his beer, then nodded his head at the tv. A video was playing on the news, a tribute to the fallen Leader- images of him and his family, a young girl, an even younger boy, and his wife appeared on screen. “His wife hated him, you know?”

“She had two kids with him; couldn’t have been that bad.”

The news paused and Hero set the remote down. The still image on the tv was of Leader and his wife, smiling in front of a great oak tree. Someone stood in the background and Villain assumed this was an image of a friendly gathering of some sort.

“Look beneath her eyes. Cheap foundation to cover sleepless bags. Her cheek,” Hero noted, “has just as much color, you see? Her skin was always yellowed in the oddest places, and her voice was so quiet on the seldom occurrence she spoke.”

“He abused her.” Villain felt a knot in his chest, but nevertheless said, “But I buried Leader beneath a building. I could have killed him.” Didn’t Villain deserve death as much as Leader for his violent acts?

“Call it a difference in morals.” Hero’s eyes never left the image on tv; he stared, eyes sharp like a knife and simultaneously smooth like butter. “Leader was evil,” he said. “You are just lost.”

What compelled Villain to sit beside Hero, he was unsure, but he found himself sinking in the cushion, and staring at the same image as his once-enemy. For once, he didn’t want to destroy a random building, or rob some bank in a big-city. He swallowed. “What now, then?”

“We find another Leader”- Hero’s nostrils flared- “and we kill him, too.”

******

#NOT A PR0MPT #You Weren't the Criminal #heroes and villains #hero x villain #hero x villain story #hero x villain snippet #hero x villain drabble #betrayal #character death #writeblr #domestic abuse #I think every time I post I ask this question so let's not skip it this time: how do I tag??? What am I forgetting??? #ladies wives and girlfriends- #this story nearly took a lot of different routes but i wanted to note that caring for yourself in a relationship is as important as the #relationship itself. If you are not being respected..you will not be blamed for leaving that relationship. And in any circumstance that you #are then you should know that at least one other person- me- stands with you. I'm not the only one..I promise. #This is true of anyone in a relationship but i wanted to address this in the context of the story. #You are allowed to care for your own well-being and you are not helpless.