#also not to put you on blast but putting '/discourse' at the start of your ask was an immediate flag you came from twitter lol

[atthebell]

/discourse

Yeah I come from twitter and like, it’s so disheartening tbh. People are demanding things out of people who don’t normally talk about politics. For example, they are demanding things out of Roier, Iron Mouse and Quackity. And they say it’s “oh it’s because we are concerned for them, if they use their platform more people will know!!” Well yes, that is true but there’s a slippery slope between asking for help and harassing CC’s so you can have a morality high ground. People are already shitting on Roier because he commented on fanart instead of rting. Like dude, give him a moment he probably doesn’t know anything that’s happening. And when people try to say this, to give CC’s space to learn, your called a Zionist and get immediately blasted. “It’s a genocide! They should use their platform, their silence is deafening” <<<<legit words I’ve seen. I’ve seen people immediately drop CC’s and said that anyone who likes said CC’s is a horrible person.

yes it's ridiculous to demand every single cc talk about this or that they need to use their platforms to raise awareness about the issue-- this genocide has been the biggest news and politics conversation topic for the last several months since october. awareness has been made, there is no one on the internet rn unaware of the conflict (which, yes, it is a conflict, that does not make it not also a genocide). it is completely unavoidable, so unless you live under a literal rock there is no way you're gonna learn about it from some twitch streamer. and so roier or whoever tweeting about it does not make anyone more aware than they were before. also roier is sick, as is mouse, and quackity does not talk about politics, never has, and never will, so expecting that is ridiculous.

it's ridiculous regardless-- like doc brought up, this shit is blatant virtue signalling and i'm tired of it. it is not every single cc's responsibility to tell you how to feel about an issue or to speak out every time something terrible happens, and frankly it is not your business what they do in support of it or not in private so long as they don't act like a shithead. any of these creators could be donating a ton of money behind the scenes and just not speaking about it because that's not necessary, or they could not be and frankly i don't care either way. content creators do not exist to be twitter users' perfect idols of morality and expecting that of them is ridiculous and clearly all about you (not you specifically anon, the general you of stupid twitter users) and how you desperately need every creator you watch to have the exact morally agreed upon beliefs or else they're morally bereft and so are you.

if a cc acts shitty or says something off, sure, kindly point out where they've gone wrong or, if you don't feel like watching them anymore, don't, but don't act like their head belongs on a guillotine because they haven't talked about/aren't aware of every tragedy going on in the world right now. like you said, people are treating it like a moral high ground rather than the serious political issue that it is. and if you want a cc who's super informed about politics and is raising money for palestine and talking about it a bunch, go watch hasan ffs. maybe you'll actually learn something for once.

anyway everyone stay the fuck off twitter and stop engaging in this kind of guilt trippy bullshit.

#asks #anons #discourse #also not to put you on blast but putting '/discourse' at the start of your ask was an immediate flag you came from twitter lol

[pretty-weird-ideas]

IWTV Twitter and the so-called "Fake Black Fans" Invasion

Something that I've been seeing a lot after it gained traction on Max is white fans condescendingly talking down to Black fans, some of whom have been in this fandom longer than they have, and acting as if they don't know what they are talking about because of their critique including a concept or subtext they wish to ignore. I want to repeat that this doesn't happen in the same amounts to white fans who make analyses or memes, it seems to uniquely be Black fans speaking AAVE or with Black pfps (visibly black bc of this) being bombed in the comments for having valid opinions.

I reached about the fifth tweet of white women going onto posts of Black people (particularly older women on Black Twitter) talking about IWTV and saying "You don't know what you're talking about, read the source material/finish the show" or entirely saying that "You don't understand fandom culture". Prompting those Black people to respond curtly that they, in fact, have read the source material, finished the show long before they have, and have been a fandom elder since before they even rolled into town. I witnessed someone doing BABY talk to a 30-year-old Black woman who was talking about episode 5, with "Well you see, it's not my fault you can't read". And when the woman professed anger back, she was the one blocked.

I witnessed this backhanded shit FIVE TIMES over the course of this week. With different white women doing the job of whitesplaining fandom culture and Anne Rice to random Black fans who already know unprompted with a level of passive aggressiveness and annoyance that only comes with doing it repeatedly. I must assure you (white people who are doing this) nobody asked, you can put down your task and stop pretending like you are doing something Sisyphean. You are not legally required to explain and describe IWTV poorly while getting into screaming matches with far more educated Black fans on Twitter and Tumblr.

People are acting as if there's a rising population of Black fans who are "Fake Fans" and must be stopped, lest they start up the freaky discourse. OOHHH NOOOO! Whatever are we to do then???? And therefore it is completely normal and a civic duty to blast Black fans in the comments of everything that they say about the show or the books.

I've been seeing people unironically football tackle reaction posts of the show with paragraphs worth of text that is inflammatory and backhanded. This is even more apparent when the poster is visibly black or uses AAVE. The association is that Black people who use AAVE or memes obviously are uneducated, lack media literacy, and cannot consume content the way that "White" fans do.

It is an attempt to tone police Black fans away from creating new topics of discussion or creating/expanding the fandom space with the growing watcher-base. It always has to happen in their chosen language, on their time, in the places they can reach us and yell some more. They are very discomforted when Black fans have pockets in fandom where they can't be outnumbered and they do in fact control discourse in a way that isn't productive to respectability. (As much as I am a big fan of big words and rambling, that is somewhat what is expected in this fandom as a Black person to be considered "respectable" and I'm not willing to ignore or shy away from that).

This is also hand in hand with my previous thoughts about fans' dog-whistling about media becoming accessible/mainstream and how "Others" will ruin it and outnumber them. I noticed that in the IWTV fandom, it seems like white fans believe that the "Others" is just Black Twitter in general. Not just "Twitter" but specifically Black people who don't fit into their narrow respectability politics.

I hate to tell you all this, but Black fandom culture is still fandom culture, and Black people do in fact read and write. I should not be seeing a pattern of random white fans going into the comments of Black people who mention IWTV and automatically assuming that they have no clue what they're talking about.

Like clockwork, exactly as when the show came out, racist white book fans started up the discourse of "The Black people are going to ruin fandom with their racism discourse and spit on Anne Rice!" and then when that time passed, the show reaches Max, and here they go barking again.... We really need to get a muzzle.

#iwtv #iwtv amc #black fandom #louis de pointe du lac #amc iwtv #iwtv fandom

[itsclydebitches]

Have you seen the posts going around saying shit like "If a mutual likes Hazbin Hotel I will block them"?? It's genuinely upsetting me tbh, not just the idea that people don't like the show, but that they despise it so much they can't even stand the thought of someone they know liking the show. It reminds me of the Steven Universe hate train only worse. They also say shit like "the show is just someone saying swear words and expecting you to laugh", and if for a second we put aside the fact that that is blatantly not true, what's wrong with that? I'm allowed to like something that's a bit trash, right? I've already seen two different people I follow reblog posts to that effect (and worse, someone saying all a character boils down to is "i love being sexually abused <3" and i don't know how they ever came to that conclusion) and it's driving me mad. And somehow I just know that they don't actually give a shit about any "controversies" surrounding vivziepop, that's just a convenient excuse for most of them. I don't even care if Vivzie is a bad person, that's none of my business. just live and let live, you know?

Sorry for ranting, you're literally the only blog i follow who posts Hazbin fan content

Rant away, friend! Luckily for me I haven't come across any of those posts yet. Plenty of discourse surrounding whether fans are allowed to make romantic and/or sexual content for Alastor, the expected shipping wars, and - as you say - vague references to Vivzie controversies (which I'm too new a fan to even be aware of yet)... but nothing that's a complete rejection of the show itself. That's probably because I've only engaged with blogs posting a lot of Hazbin content though.

I'm a big fan of old school Internet rules which includes an emphasis on cultivating your own online space. You know, the thing tumblr is explicitly designed for. So in theory I applaud anyone blocking users/tags for a show they're not a fan of. Performatively posting about it more as a way to guilt others for liking Hazbin at all... not so much. If you want to block something just block it. If you're mutuals with someone you both presumably like each others' content. Not all of it necessarily, but enough to have followed in the first place, and often being mutuals for long enough leads to friendship because you're both getting interacting with one another a lot. All of which isn't to say that people don't unfollow mutuals, or that you can't drop a mutual because they've started posting something you dislike. Obviously both situations do happen, but it feels like an extreme enough response that these posters probably aren't actually doing this very often. Most people will wait the mutual out until their interest gets hooked on something new, or block the Hazbin tag and keep the friend, or just block without making a big announcement about it. So posts like that feel more like a way to show off how much you dislike the show and guilt others for their enjoyment which yeah, can be upsetting to see. Especially when, as you say, it costs nothing to just let people like things.

Which might sound hypocritical on my part given my RWBY interests, but I think there's a big difference between critically examining a show while supporting others who genuinely love it, and simplistically blasting it. I COMPLETELY get why Hazbin wouldn't be to everyone's tastes and, like with the SU example, anything that gets popular enough is going to develop its haters (especially cartoons trying to tackle non-childish subjects. That's always going to be a fandom landmine). But if you're going to make claims about a show, at least watch it to ensure you can back up your stance? And if your takeaway is still, "This is the worst fucking thing I've ever watched"... cool. Go forth and write about that on your own, personal blog. But no one should be surprised when they're also blocked for bragging about how many Hazbin fans they've blocked.

#Hazbin Hotel

[evoilvx]

If the RE8 ladies were properly introduced to modern society I think they would have a field day.

(An extensive list of things they might enjoy)

I might even make something about the things they would hate

There might be some mild inaccuracies but it’s all just some fun little hcs of mine :>

Will be updated sometimes!

Alcina:

Alcina using the speech to text and voice message feature everyday to sent angry, irritated messages to Karl whenever she wants

Lazy rivers at water parks

Aquariums and fish tanks

Bidets

Roombas

TV shows like TVD and The Originals (ironic I know).

Miniature toys, like tiny french fries, tiny sodas, tiny furniture, she would have an entire box of them

But also those ridiculously large pencils

Massage chairs

Expensive cars

Amazon. Don't ask, just know she would LOVE it

Rolling chairs

Foster care systems, you can’t tell me she wouldn’t love taking care of children until they’ve found a suitable home, her maternal instincts will never grow cobwebs as long as I have a working brain and fingers to write

Those head scratchers/massager

Detachable shower heads (take that however you want to)

Standing desks

Hot tubs with jets

Credit/debit cards, for obvious reasons (sexy, rich lady)

Bela:

Unhinged access to books and video games on the internet, she would never leave her room. She can now live in complete solitude with nothing but her little pixels and endless letters on a screen

Fostering animals

Self warming beds

Motorcycles

Wattpad and Tumblr

Hot wheels, but only because she loves finding exact/close replicas to Alcina's car collection and putting them on display

Museums

Skateboards and rollerblades

Airpods

Air conditioners and humidifiers

Invisible ink and diaries

The RGB cloud lights that you can put on your ceiling

Facetime

Digital art

Chapstick

Faceless Twitch streaming

Mini fridges

Hoodies

Reddit

Cereal

Rubiks cubes. She's collected all the variants she could find, solving them, then unsolving them, then repeating the process. She has them all lined up on a shelf

Cassandra:

Cassandra finding boxing classes and learning she can beat the shit out of people, call it a lesson AND get paid. (We’re going to obviously ignore the fact that if she seriously maimed someone she would get fired.)

Amazon, she would have a field day ordering all sorts of things

Haunted houses

She would LOOOVE the Jigsaw movies and just scary movies in general

She likes Twitter just to start discourse and argue with people (and win)

Call of Duty, she would be a beast at it

Activities that use 3D glasses

VR games

Paintball tournaments

Workout equipment

Florida (pls don't ask on this one, just take my word for it)

Convertibles

Word searches

Unofficial, definitely illegal, might get arrested boxing tournaments

Swing sets

Football

Wrestling

Gogo squeez

Extremely-really should not be doing-dangerous outdoor activities. She drags Daniela along with her while Bela watches in concern before shrugging and going back to reading

Fidget cubes (I love these things) She would have a blast going through the different fidgets. The idle clicking noise will never stop when you're around Cassandra

Super glue. She breaks something? Super glue. Mother will never have to know (she'll know)

Daniela:

Daniela and gay bars. Nuff said.

I think she would like working at endangered species centers, where she can be around and care for extremely dangerous apex predators

Onesies

Tumblr

I feel like she would be really good at those claw machine games

She would also love amusement parks and dangerous outdoor activities like sky diving, running of the bulls, volcano boarding, would probably give Alcina multiple heart attacks at once (she also thinks Cassandra is so cool for doing all these dangerous stunts and wants to join)

Tattoos

She would definitely become a tattoo artist

Trampolines

Touch screen fridges

She would go to paintball tournaments with Cassandra

Goldren Retrievers

Glitter sticky hands

Gogo squeez

Megaphones

Fire extinguishers

Whipped cream

Just Dance

Lunchables

Stress balls, preferably ones that are designed like an animal so she can watch the eyes comically pop out. She has approximately 23 stress balls, her favorite is an orange fish

Donna:

Unlimited cartoons and animations on a flatscreen TV

Modern kitchen appliances

Jobs that teach wood work, design and of course: doll-making

AMAZON and online grocery shopping. Donna, especially, would love Amazon. She can buy everything she needs without any other interaction? Just a push of a button? She’d go wild with it

LED RGB lights

Sticker books

I’m feeling my neurodivergent nerves tingling and pointing towards Donna so I’m going to say she loves those smooth hardcover books with gloss papers, especially if they’re about gardening or cartoons (I say this because I love the same type of books, makes my brain tingle nicely)

Sprinklers

Emails

Tea play sets

Humidifiers

Youtube and Netflix

Slime, she would make her own slime all the time

Golden Retrievers, just loyal, working dog breeds in general

Zip ties

All natural body products

Mother Miranda:

Mother Miranda would go insane, simply put.

New science equipment? Donors? New scientific breakthroughs?

She can now pay people off to leave her alone and get her own modern lab? She can work in peace with lots of new opportunities?

A NEWS CHANNEL? Don’t even get me started, for some reason I have a feeling Miranda would absolutely love the news channel

Aquariums and fish tanks like Alcina, she would have them everywhere in her house

Goldfish (the snack that smiles back)

Grey’s Anatomy but only to criticize the methods (she won’t admit she likes it)

Automatic pet feeders, even if she doesn’t have a pet

An iPhone, I feel like she would make her widget theme something really unique, and she can bother the other Lords whenever she wants for whatever she thinks about

Rolling chairs

Mint chocolate chip ice cream

Face masks

Romantic, drama shows (she won't admit she's cried to a few of them or that some of them ruined her day)

Skin care products

Coupons

Antibacterial wipes

The Dimitrescu daughters introduced a fidget spinner to her and since then she has not gone a single day without mindlessly spinning the toy as she works/relaxes

#resident evil 8 #re8 lady dimitrescu #re8 dimitrescu #re8 shitpost #alcina dimitrescu #lady dimitrescu #bela dimitrescu #cassandra dimitrescu #daniela dimitrescu #donna beneviento #mother miranda

[babblingfishes]

The discourse on my dash is fucking exhausting this week.

You people will be like "triggers can be anything 🥺 always respect triggers" but as soon as it's sex-related it's "ace freaks oppressing us", and as soon as it's something that's been used as a slur it's "falling for the exclusionist psyop". Triggers don't end where your self-expression starts.

Let me put this very simply:

If someone asks you to tag something (let's say for example, the word "dyke"), you have two options:

you can say "sure" and tag it

or you can say "no" and you both go on your separate ways

You don't know what kinds of abuse someone has been victim to. You don't get to harass them for it. You don't get to put them on blast in front of your thousands of tumblr followers or whatever the hell. You say no, privately, and you both leave.

Notice I say "both".

If someone tells you they won't tag something, you should probably unfollow or block them, but that does not give you the right to act like it's some kind of moral failing. (Thankfully I don't see this as often.)

This also applies to real life.

If someone keeps calling you a queer dyke after you've asked them to stop, break ties with them. If you go to a pride parade and you see something that upsets you (maybe kinkwear, maybe your abuser, maybe cops, maybe a particularly scary horse), you can leave. (If you're like my OCD ass at the age of 16, where anything remotely sexual was triggering, you can also simply not go.)

Sometimes peoples' lives are incompatible. Such is life. Be nice.

#rwp #fish babblings #fish yells about ace stuff #(note: this is mostly about triggers; that's just my 'block this to avoid any mention of ace disc horse' tag)

[voxofthevoid]

Hi Vox! Is me, werewolf anon. How you been? Hopefully feeling better from your sickness?

I took your advice and started reading "The way it follows you home" and so far it's been a fun ride! Past Gojo being jealous of Future Gojo over Future Yuji is adorable lol. Also your "Itadori sensei" seems so much more responsible than Gojo ever was! But I must admit my favorite part was Future Yuji giving the watch to Past Nanami. Even though for this Yuji, Nanami has been dead a thousand years, he still misses him so much. I thought you wrote that wistful nostalgia and pain really beautifully and I'm glad that Past Nanami understood how significant this gesture was. Good job! I'm looking forward to you finishing the rest!

And I usually don't wade into ship discourse because I find it exhausting but I read you've been getting some negativity and I'm so sorry to hear that. I truly don't understand why people want to invest that much time and energy into shitting on other people's likes when they can just focus on what they like. The tags are RIGHT THERE. The back button is RIGHT THERE. It's the reader's responsibility to set their own boundaries. The whole point of AO3 caters to that.

Also I really appreciate how THOROUGHLY you tag. You even expand on the author notes. So these haters literally have no excuse! For example, I tend to stay away Noncon and am selective about dubcon. I'm really grateful the care you put into first warning the readers because then I can make my own choice if I am in a headspace to read it.

And I want to emphasize that I think you should write whatever the hell you want because it's YOUR space. Just like it's MY job to create the online experience I want.

THAT BEING SAID...you are definitely the author I go: "Hmm...I usually don't read fics with this tag but I'll try it because it's Vox." 😂 Like the captured mermaid Bucky fic. Oooh yeah I definitely did a thousand yard stare after to process that one lol! But I love how your fics help me get out of my comfort zone and explore in the safety of fiction. And no surprise, I've loved every single one.

So what I'm trying to say is, you do you. I think there's many readers who are grateful for all your hard work.

Here's a token of my appreciation. It's not much but hopefully it puts a smile on your face. Once again cursing Tumblr for being unable to attach an image file on anon asks! Take care!

https://u.cubeupload.com/Anon9000/Xu1nOV.png

Hello there!

Ahh, I’m glad you’re liking that fic so far! It’s close to the end. Penultimate chapter will go up in a few hours, and the final chapter will be out in Feb, the cosmos willing. Gojou reacting to his own self entertains me endlessly, so I keep writing it. Two versions of that…very loud personality existing at the same time in each other’s vicinity would have one hell of a blast radius, and putting Yuuji squarely in it is one of my favorite things to do in JJK. And I do write Yuuji as a more responsible teacher than Gojou, true! But you can guess that his decency and restraint rarely last.

Not over Nanami’s death yet, huh? Mood though 🍻 It’s great to know that was your favorite scene! And I'm glad the emotional elements came through well.

Stay safely out of ship discourse, my friend. It ain’t worth it. It tends to come find me, but ah well. In JJK, it’s not even ship discourse that keeps haunting me; it’s fucking top–bottom discourse. I haven’t run into anyone pissy about my choice of Le Problematique ships yet (and I sure hope it stays that way). And top/bottom is one of the few things I don’t tag, solely because several instances of hypocrisy in general fandom pissed me off and I’m spiteful on a good day, but it’s also not something that’s hard to figure out. Those familiar with me know I stick to a single dynamic, and others will learn. Otherwise, there’s trusty CTRL+F. That all aside, I’m glad you like my tagging practices! I try to make it so that those who want spoilers/warnings will be able to access them, while those who don’t can hide the additional tags and ignore my drop-down warnings.

I did do a double-take when you said you tend to avoid noncon and then name-dropped the captive mer!Bucky fic—but in a good way! I can’t tell you how wonderful—that’s not a strong enough word, really—it is to know my fics can be that kind of a safe exploration for you. That’s hands-down one of the greatest compliments I’ll ever hear about my stories 💗

And don’t worry, I’ve mostly found very lovely people in fandom. JJK is a little more obnoxious about certain things than I’m used to, but the vast majority of my readers and fellow fans are kind, supportive, and delightful. I’m prone to getting pretty pissed off when assholes pop up in my inbox, but it usually leaves me ten times as determined to keep doing my thing.

I LOVE THAT YUUJI! Holy shit, he’s adorable. I want to pinch his cheeks and also eat him 🥺

I've saved that to my fanart folder for future pick-me-ups. Thank you so much! You’re a sweetheart 💗

#werewolf anon #i love my anons #anon

[causesciencethatswhy]

There have been several explanations, from the get go, that the companion program is a 24/7 deal. Not one, not two, but at this point at least half a dozen. I think anyone "having doubts" at this point just secretly enjoys creating false drama. Bit like when Jikookers are so bored with the lack of content that they start reading the cult crap instead of just blocking on sight as they should if they truly valued Jimin and Jungkook (and BTS). BTS makes zero drama about their situation, the same can't be said for ARMY so far. Especially in shipper spaces. As a Jikook lover from my very first day knowing BTS in 2017, I find disturbing that so called Jikook-supporters are more aware of the cult rethoric than most ARMYs. Maybe take a minute to wonder why that is and how healthy this is for your mental health.

I won't say that anyone having doubts , is secretly looking for drama. I would say it's quote the opposite, and most people who do get wrapped up in what antis/tkkrs are saying do so is because when you care very deeply and invest a high amount of emotional energy into anything, people who are trying to ridicule or diminish it's value get under your skin much easily.

I've also had my fair share of fandom induced spirals, where someone said something terrible or misinterpreted the words of the tannies or jkk and it really disturbed me for a while. I seeked out the thoughts of other fandom people I trust for reassurance. Is it the most healthiest way for engaging in fandom, not really. But it does happen and the best we can hope for, is that slowly we're able to disengage from the constant discourse without it affecting our mental health and if that involves seeking out what others in the same space as , feel, its not really a problem.

Insecure jkkrs that are hellbent on showing others that their opinion on jikook are superior or better are the ones that i personally really hate and avoid and block..

But yes, I do agree that jkkrs who constantly keep up to date with what tkkrs are saying and put them on blast to their big followings do more harm to jikook than good, and should refocus their energies to celebrating jikook/bts than the constant shooter Olympics. It's not healthy for themselves or any of their followers who are prone to anxiety and depend on bts/jkk as a safe space.

#jikook

[littlemisssquiggles]

... I think we need to have a small talk about how discourse in certain certain fandom communities should be handled....

Am I the only one who gets a bit bothered whenever I go into fandom community tags and there are these strange posts that ultimately call out the whole community and put everyone on blast for a certain problem currently happening within the community… when in actuality, the problem isn't with whole community per say.

Usually, the real root of the problem lies within a much, much smaller population of the community.

That being said, I'm not saying that fandom communities can't have their fair share of discourse. It's just that, as a member of said fandom community, I'm just tired of being put on blast or being involved in some kind of petty drama that I have no direct correlation to, y'know what I mean?

Shoot; most of the time I don't even know what's going on yet when these moments of discourse occur, the people actually involved have the nerve to create posts either blaming the whole community for their personal grievances with certain members of the community or worse blaming each other for "upsetting the community" when the reality of the situation is:

Homie; no one else outside of that small inner circle directly involved with the issue would know of its existence if ya'll did not bring attention to it with your posts.

And in this instance, this is NOT an "entire community" problem. This is a YOU problem or a YA'LL problem.

This is an issue that started because one person or a small group of people within a community got into a scuffle with one another and now that scuffle has been escalated to the point that these folks are no longer just fighting amongst themselves behind closed doors but are also bringing that fight out into the open; bringing it to the attention of the rest of community (and any other onlooking spectators).

But even if this is the case, this is still not a whole community problem. It's ya'll problem.

Because most of the time when these so called problems arise, half of the community don't even know what the f*** is going on yet here we're being indirectly mentioned in posts that imply that the issue is with the whole community (inclusive of oblivious, innocent parties) or something the whole community just needs to know about or be involved in when really, it isn't…? Or shouldn't. Not really.

It's a personal problem within a very, very small group within the community and from the perspective of an innocent party, I just don't think its fair for the rest of the community to be held at fault or roped into it a fire started by a certain certain "dramatic" group; y'know what I mean?

And in respect to that certain certain "dramatic" group, if the folks involved can't handle their issues on their own behind closed doors amongst yourselves like reasonable and understanding individuals then perhaps it would be best to not bring that mess into the rest of the community .

Whether doing it is an attempt to garner sympathy from the rest of the community or to turn the rest of the community against their opposing party in the drama, either way it STILL isn't fair to the rest of the community since the rest of the community wasn't involved from the start with the drama and aren't aware of all the details in the issue i.e the full REAL truth.

That's as much as I'll say on this topic.

While I may not be as vocal on here as I used to, this squiggle meister has been noticing some weirdness happening in certain certain communities that I genuinely liked.

This isn't to target any fandom community in particular. This is just a repeatable habit I've noticed in fandoms I've been in over the years including one happening recently as I type this.

And while I may not have all the details on what's truly been going on under the surface, the most I can say is that I don't like what I'm seeing and really wished the folks involved would "handle things much better" to sort things out amongst themselves.

~LMS (2022)

#squiggly rants #honesty hour

[stanleyl]

Hi, I just stumbled onto your blog and I want to have a little chat. This is going to be long and I hope you bear with me. I am both a T and Z fan but online I engage more with Tom's content (coz it's scarce enough as it is) so I would say I'm more of his fan. I think Tom fans have this thing where you internalise what you percieve (or what the Internet perceives) as his failures and i feel like that's not the most fun way to engange with fandom online. The internet these days is just a cesspool where a popular actor just has to be compared to his peers and right now all of Tom's peers seem to be doing better than him by metrics I think are important to you guys or at least what I've seen from your blog (critical acclaim outside of marvel).

In my opinion, online discourse surrounding Tom has reached peak hate because he's dating Zendaya (please note that I like them as a couple and any casual fans or stans of hers who go out of their way to spread hate are in denial about their parasocial behaviour) and those people are going to use anything in their arsenal to just put negative energy about anything concerning him out there. Look at how they tried to make Francesca dealing with racial abuse about him not speaking out rather than putting assholes like Elon Musk on full blast for allowing that shit in the first place. Logically we could all assume that since Tom is working with this woman everyday he has shown her support in person unless it's proven otherwise and that would have been the case if it wasn't someone twittersphere has a hate boner for. And now I see some fans worried about how that will have him perceived by the public which is a waste of time of atp it is what it is. The play sold out in 2 hours, the extra tickets in less time which is extremely rare in theatre. It shows that the demand is there for Tom's projects he just has to want to do more interesting projects. I know it's hard coz I understand the need to be part of an online community where you see other actors being praised for something you just know someone will nitpick if it was about Tom. But I just wish we as Tom fans would try to inject more positive energy about things that involve him rather than engage with content/ people who's main aim is to get people to dislike him.

I agree with all your frustrations about him pigeonholed as spiderman and him needing to do more roles outside of that but so long as he's not doing anything about it it's just going to be a frustrating conversation that goes round and round. Maybe it's because I'm older than a lot of people that run fan accounts but Tom is still relatively young and i think his career will be fine in the long run because all he really need to do is pick a great script that will guarantee him praise from critics coz as we have seen he can still sell shit. Whether he shoots another spiderman without another project outside of that I promise you he will be fine. I've realised that fans in all types of fandoms want things to happen now or else the conversation is that their faves career is doomed and its just not healthy. Coz if it is actually doomed none of us as fans can change that. I feel like it's magnified with Tom because of the haters I already mentioned but it just feels like the fandom feeds into that energy a little too much. There's too much illogical negativity and it's a bummer coz I join these spaces to have fun, real life is already a big bummer as is. Anyway, I'm glad there's a space for Tom fans on tumblr with your blog and I will be checking it out frequently. If you read this far you deserve compensation.

Actually, I think the majority in this fandom is quite positive (I am talking about the fans on TikTok and Instagram, and the ones in real life too who probably don't have any social media). I started this blog trying to engage with others by posting positive/fun stuff, but also as a place where I can express my own frustrations and complaints as a fan 😂. But as someone who was on Twitter for years, I watched many other fans' enthusiasm slowly dying because there's too much negativity over there (and when I say "fans," I don't mean fans of his Spider-Man, fanfiction writers, Z fans who "stan" him because of their association. I mean the fans of the actor). I know he'll be fine, but when I think abt the other fans, I feel like these days it's hard to follow someone who barely "goes outside," so there is barely any content to focus on when there's too much negativity and hate going on, on a daily basis, lol. I still wanna see him win with critics (not bc of my ego as a fan, but bc I think he genuinely deserves) and get the recognition as an actor, something beyond that character. But right now, unfortunately we don't have any concrete answers about anything 😕 except he's doing a play for three months.

#and yes i read everything

[redmidnights13]

Hi! Just wanted to let you know that I read your Bejeweled music video re-recordings post (btw this is the first Very Long Swiftie Theory post I've ever read in its entirety - I love Taylor and her music a lot and have been listening to her for a long time, but don't tend to dive into happenings of the fandom itself that much - just thought you might like to know that I read the whole thing lol)! First, thank you for the time and effort you put into making that post! I can only imagine how much time it took to type out, omg. Secondly, I have very much been (and part of me still is tbh, I love that album) a Speak Now TV is Next person for a while, but now...I'm thinking you could be right. Also wanted to add that some people have pointed out the "You know how scared I am of elevators, never trust it if it rises fast" line in Labyrinth - which I think could tie in really well to your theory, like so many people are making a big fuss over the elevator buttons, but what if it's not the buttons we're supposed to be paying attention to, and that they're more of a distraction from thinking about like the actual floors it's stopping at, and the outfits etc!

First off let me say: Thank YOU so so much for taking the time to read the whole post. I know it was a long one! It also means a lot that you took the tame to read it’s entirety! Thank you so much again!! I had an absolute blast writing this! Speak Now truther almost turned? I’m honored!

Secondly: Speak Now TV is my most anticipated re-recording. I live and breathe Speak Now. So, I, at first was hoping the next re-recording was Speak Now, until… well until I made this, haha!

So, as Anon stated above the theory (which I believe originated on Twitter by who I couldn’t pinpoint, and if I’m wrong on the origins please correct me) basically, because of Labyrinth’s lyric about not trusting elevators we shouldn’t trust the Bejeweled elevator. Now as you can imagine this started some discourse. Some people were pushing the idea around while others were just screeching from the heavens “SPeaK nOw! sPeaK noW! The music video isn’t for Labyrinth so it doesn’t count!”. (for the record if you believe Speak Now TV is next, believe Speak Now TV is next. No harm done). However, even if we eliminate the Elevator sequence from my original theory and just focus on the floors and outfits, as Anon stated, it still works.

Now when that theory came out at first I too said: “But the music video is for Bejeweled?”

However, I took some time to think on Anon’s message and looked back at the theory. Instead of thinking “Nope don’t see it” and moving on it kept nagging me constantly. Yes, it takes away one part of my conclusion on the importance of the …Ready For it? parallel when Taylor steps into the elevator and once again taking the bedazzled hand out of the equation. Funny enough though, my theory still holds weight. Even if we just focus on the order of the levels and the outfits she’s wearing on those levels the order still remains.

I think the best theories are the ones that even when you take away some of the evidence it can still be pieced together cohesively. It speaks volumes that taking away the elevator still leaves my last post completely viable.

Thank you, Anon, for pointing this out! And thank you again for taking the time to read my theory in it’s entirety, I can’t stress enough how much seeing that made me smile!

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 313: Deku VS Lady Nagant

Previously on BnHA: Hawks’s super-hot badass murder senpai Lady Nagant showed up to fire a cupid’s arrow into my heart, and a bunch of literal bullets into my son. Deku was all “oh shit it’s Hawks’s super-hot badass murder senpai, what do I do, let me think back to Hawks’s advice for a sec.” Flashback!Hawks was all “anyway Deku so if my super-hot badass murder senpai ever shows up you’re basically screwed so you’d better abscond the fuck out of there.” Present!Deku was all “lol idek why I flashed back to that conversation since I’m just going to do the exact opposite of what Hawks said” and charged directly toward Nagant because WHY NOT. Overhaul was all “waah I need to get back to my boss who I put in a coma out of love” and Nagant was all “jesus christ why did I even bring you here” and had a flashback to AFO who was all “ILU NAGANT IMMA GIVE YOU AN EXTRA QUIRK SO PLEASE CAPTURE DEKU FOR ME PLEASE AND THANKS” and yeah. Shit is all over the place right now and I love it.

Today on BnHA: All Might gets attacked by a pair of discount assassins and is all “Call an ambulance! ...BUT NOT FOR ME” and it’s really badass but also I really wish he would stop tempting fate like this. Lady Nagant is all “[casually flies around town shooting shit]” and I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t read an entire chapter of just that. Deku is all, “[gets shot (≥_<)]” and releases a giant Smokescreen which prompts En to show up. En is all, “( •᷄⌓•᷅ ) (⌣̀ Δ⌣́) ( •̀_•́ )σ (¬､¬) (눈_눈)” which I consider to be a high point of both the chapter and of my life. The chapter ends with Deku using the Third’s quirk to launch a bunch of random objects at Nagant so that he can jump up and grab her arm all sneaky-like, and I’m sure this is going to prompt another week’s worth of discourse that I don’t care about at all, but fuck it, I’m having a good time.

OH WE’RE CUTTING BACK TO ALL MIGHT WELL THAT’S NICE I GUESS. CONGRATS ON NOT BEING DEAD

you named your car??

you named it Hercules??

I love you so much??

please marry me you giant fucking dork???

lmao speaking of huge fucking dorks

who the fuck are you clowns. la dee da we’re gonna murder All Might with our synchronized spear attack!! I mean... they’re clearly trying their best... maybe I should just be nice and politely hype them up like All Might is so clearly trying to do

like okay, but we all agree that this is actually the least intimidating attack any of us has ever seen, right?? these guys zipped up their hoodies all serious-like and are trying to attack All Might and Hercules with their Walmart tiki torches, but just, no?? right?? like the only way this could possibly be effective is if they were trying to kill All Might with secondhand embarrassment

“those are assassins” this is a VERY generous assessment, All Might

OH MY GOD THE TIKI TORCHES ACTUALLY KILLED THE FUCK OUT OF HERCULES

[slaps roof of car] this baby can fit so many weaponized festive backyard lighting solutions in it

and yet, even after watching this with my own two eyes, I still can’t take these dudes seriously. idek what it is. anyways r.i.p. Hercules, I loved you a lot but I guess you weren’t actually a very good armored car were you

omg they didn’t know it was All Might??

okay 1) for a moment there I was like “oh hey maybe they’re not so bad after all” but then a moment later it was like “ah nope, they are.” like, that was an interesting .06 second emotional journey there. anyways 2) All Might you have my permission to kick their asses for this disrespect, and 3) anyone else all of a sudden getting “wouldn’t this be an interesting time for Stain to suddenly show up” vibes?? no?? just me???

(ETA: hmm tbh I’ve still got those vibes and they haven’t gone away lol. Stain?? you out there buddy?? do you want to be cool for just once in your life. ball’s in your court pal.)

OH SNAP ALL MIGHT ARE YOU REALLY GONNA DO IT ARE YOU GONNA KICK THEIR ASSES

PROTECTIVE DAD MODE ACTIVATED?? BECAUSE YOU KNOW I’M HERE FOR THAT SHIT, SO YEAH, FEEL FREE

omg he’s shouting at them about how much Deku has suffered lmao and they’re just like falling over from being scolded

so they have absolutely no idea what he’s talking about though, right? “SIR THIS IS A WENDY’S” well whatever, you killed his pet car so he’s in a bad mood now

OH MY GOD

LIKE, JUST SO WE’RE ALL CLEAR, THESE FOUR PAGES SO FAR HAVE MADE ALMOST ZERO SENSE. LIKE MAYBE 2% SENSE TOPS. BUT ASK ME IF I CARE. GO AHEAD AND ASK. I SAID GO AHEAD, IT’S OKAY. ...NO I DON’T CARE AT ALL THANK YOU FOR ASKING

(ETA: also, the more I look at this panel, the more I’m just like, why the hell would you phrase it like that though, sob. way to doubly tempt fate?? are you trying to give Horikoshi a challenge??)

and now back to Deku who is randomly bouncing around the city and narrating it to himself just in case he was confused about why he was doing this

who are you talking to Deku. but thanks we appreciate it

man you gotta love that overconfidence. the smartest guy in the world warned you away from this lady, so SURE, LET’S RUN RIGHT UP TO HER. “I APPRECIATE YOUR INPUT, FLASHBACK!HAWKS, BUT I’LL TAKE IT FROM HERE” well okay then!!

I think it would be funny if RHA.com put little Buzzfeed-style polls in between the chapter pages so they could survey people at random intervals as they read their way through the chapter. like, you finish this page and then there’s a little poll there asking “do you think Deku’s plan of catching up to Lady Nagant and finding out where Shigaraki is will work?”, and you click “no” just like everyone else and then nod as the results show that 97% of your fellow readers also picked “no”, and you chuckle to yourself wondering how many of the 3% accidentally clicked on the wrong option by mistake, and then you keep on reading

ANYWAY, SO

HOW’S THAT PLAN WORKING OUT FOR YOU SO FAR DEKU. nice kick, though!!

omggggggg

ouch

update: Deku’s plan not really working out. sources tell me my boy has been fucking shot. this is an ongoing story and we will keep you posted with the latest developments as they come in

wait what

feel free to explain to the rest of us what all of this “UNLESS...” and “THAT POSSIBILITY...” shit means anytime, Deku

oh lol did he realize she could fly??

BREAKING NEWS UPDATE, CNN’s John King reports that Deku is still fucked. eyewitness reports now coming in that Nagant is doing no-look shots and basically not even giving a fuck. sources described her mannerisms and expression as “sexy, but in like an effortless sort of way.” we will continue to bring you the latest

so now there’s basically an entire page of Deku being all “ah fuck so she’s basically closing in and she could already hit me with impossible accuracy even from Far Away, so if that’s the case then her being Up Close is probably going to be even worse!” making good use of that Big Hero Brain there, Deku

so now what, you’re doing some kind of spiraling kick thing?? how is that going to help

oh lol he’s using Smokescreen to create some cover. aww, good for you Deku you named one of your Smokescreen attacks

OH NO LADY DON’T TELL ME AFO DIDN’T EVEN FILL YOU IN ON THE BASICS

seriously, AFO?? you basically told her what Deku’s exact strategy was going to be but then couldn’t be assed to drop that little, small, barely notable piece of knowledge that Deku is rocking multiple quirks?? is it supposed to be a secret or something?? you dropped the ball here man

damn this is getting intense now

(ETA: the way En is poking Deku’s head in that first panel is fucking sending me, I love this guy so much omg.)

well then what are you planning, Deku?? I’m actually really curious!! I am genuinely starting to be invested in this fight scene not only in the “wanting to see who wins and how that impacts the plot” sense, but also in the “wanting to see how it happens because the choreography and strategy is actually pretty cool” sense, which honestly hasn’t happened for quite a while now! this is fun

anyway so what’s up Deku, are you going to use another quirk?? I’ve been speculating that he hasn’t actually unlocked the last two yet (since Two and Three didn’t exactly seem convinced when we last saw them), but maybe I’m about to be proven wrong

(ETA: well he clearly has Three’s obviously, but Two’s is still MIA, and that’s the one I am of course the most curious about. that’s the one we’re all curious about, let’s be real.)

OH SNAP???

AHHHH I’M HYPED LOL. ANOTHER SHINY NEW QUIRK LOL SHOULD I PUT UP THE USUAL DISCOURSE DISCLAIMER

(ETA: so yeah, after thinking on it, I’m not gonna say “please no Deku discourse on my blog” this week, but I probably will ignore any discourse that does come my way though, just because I don’t have much interest in getting involved in what would probably be a pretty repetitive discussion. like, I can just sum up my opinions (which is what they are) here instead. in fact here they are lol:

1) I like the SIXQUIRKS and I like seeing Deku be a badass.

2) I also don’t think Deku is too OP. more like he’s exactly as OP as he needs to be at the moment, given that we’re approaching the end of the series. I expect the other kids will also be pretty damn OP when we see them fight again. we’re just at that point now where they’re all badasses (as well they should be; they’ve grown a lot and they deserve it). it’s just that Deku’s the one we’re getting to see right now.

3) of course I miss Kacchan and the others, but for me this vibes much closer to the MVA arc where even though I missed them, I was still having a blast (as opposed to the dark days of the Basement arc where I was pretty much losing it lol). like, even though Kacchan’s my favorite, I still love Deku a lot and this arc has been amazing for him getting to shine on his own (for like the first time, really).

4) y’all know I love the OFA plot and I’ve never been shy about that lol. I like all of the Vestiges a lot. Banjou and his over the top personality; En and his “guy you thought would be serious and :| all the time but is actually hyper-animated and ALL OVER THE PLACE” energy; Shiro who actually is a :| sort of guy lol; Three who I still expect will be fleshed out in a more detailed flashback at some point; and of course Two, who, well. you know what I think about him lol. Bakuverse is still on the table and I’m still hyped. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we still have yet to see Two actually talk to Deku (as opposed to talking to the other Vestiges while Deku is distracted). did he lend him his power yet?? or is he still holding out?? either way it’s definitely going to be a Big Thing when it finally happens and I can’t wait to see it.

5) Lady Nagant is Everything and just because Deku grabbed her arm doesn’t mean the fight is over yet lol. Overhaul hasn’t come into play yet either. not to mention that even if the fight is over, the “where do we go from here” part still has me excited either way. her connection to Hawks and the HPSC is very intriguing and we’ve barely touched on that as of yet; she definitely has more of a role to play in this.

6) last but not least, I feel like every week the discussion is all about how much focus Deku’s getting, and how OP he is or isn’t, and OFA this and OFA that, but meanwhile I’m actually so invested in the character development here though?? the way Deku has distanced himself from everyone (except for the Vestiges, because of course they’re already dead so it’s not like they can die again lol)?? the way he’s pushing himself far too hard and we can see the shadows in and under his eyes, and the fact that he never smiles, and even All Might has remarked on how he isn’t taking care of himself at all?? the fact that he’s so single-mindedly obsessed with focused on stopping AFO?? the fact that he’s still the same sweet old Deku despite everything and was so kind to that fox lady with the umbrella, but there was also something so sad about that scene because it felt like a reminder of the type of hero that he wants to be, but that he’s not allowed to be right now?? because the stakes are too high and the world is falling apart?? and he feels like he’s the only one who can do something about it?? and that he has to be?? and that he is putting so much pressure on himself right now, and it’s absolutely too much pressure for any one person to bear, and I feel like no one is fucking talking about this lol goddammit.

anyway so yeah. I have feels about this, and every week that slow-burn angst is getting more and more intense behind the scenes, and I feel like it’s all going to hit a breaking point eventually. sooner rather than later. it really feels like a mirror of Katsuki’s post-Kamino arc. where all that angst was just churning below the surface for like twenty chapters and then it finally was like “okay it’s time” and it all came bursting out and we got the best five chapters of the fucking series (in my admittedly biased estimation lol).

basically, I know that most of fandom is billing this as either the “villain hunt” arc or the “solo Deku SIXQUIRKS fighting arc” or whatever. but for me, it’s always been and still is the Deku Angst arc lol. the cool fights are a sexy bonus (the worldbuilding less so because even though it’s interesting to see society at such a low point, it’s also very depressing and gets old pretty fast), but for me the thing that’s really keeping me engaged chapter after chapter is seeing Deku like we’ve never seen him before. seeing him all quiet and withdrawn and brooding and focused on AFO, AFO, AFO, and seeing that “he just doesn’t take himself into account” mentality taken to extremes. I am invested in that. I’m soaking up that angst each and every week, and I’m invested in seeing what comes of it. it’s a big picture thing. week to week this arc might just seem like a bunch of villain fight scenes, sure. but Deku’s emotional journey is the thread that’s going to carry this arc through from beginning to end, and for that I’m willing to be patient.

anyway that turned into a BIG OL’ RANT there but yeah! so those are my thoughts on the disk horse as it currently stands. and like I said, I’m open to discussion, but tbh I will probably just wind up repeating these same talking points endlessly so just a fair warning lol.)

anyway so Three says Deku has yet to use his quirk at ALL but now he’s trying to combine it with another quirk?? damn. also please check out En’s face here you guys

En launching a sneak attack up my favorite character list by the sheer power of his expressions alone. he really knows how to make the most of his screentime

OH DAMN DEKU

at this point the 3% from that hypothetical poll earlier are starting to feel prettttty damn smug, I’ll bet. well shit

what in the fuck

?? so like releasing his chi or whatnot?? isn’t that basically just like base OFA all over again?? also Deku did you seriously just apologize to Gran’s cape

update: Nagant has turned her eyeball into a gun

hm. hmmmmmmm. ...okay yep, still somehow sexy

anyway so she’s just floating up there building suspense, as one does. lord I sure hope she has good reflexes because something tells me she’s going to need them

OH SNAP HE THREW GRAN’S CAPE AS A DECOY WHAAAAT OKAY THAT’S SOME SMART SHIT DEKU

LOL SHE’S MAD NOW

JESUS CHRIST SHE JUST NEVER TAKES A GODDAMN BREAK FROM BEING AWESOME HUH

DEKU ARE YOU JUST THROWING EVERY DAMN THING IN YOUR INVENTORY

but without the cape and the hood how will you continue to look like an enigmatic badass. you really can’t. which means we might finally be moving on from the wandering nomad part of this arc, stay tuned

LOL YOU MANIAC

I hope he went full Kacchan with the dialogue there. his face sure looks like it lol. popped out of a building all mad fdskljlkj omg

well this was fun, shit. I still have basically no idea what Three’s quirk does though lol. like, can he use it to charge up objects with kinetic energy or something?? but then what was all of that talk about combining it with one of the other quirks?? or was that just because he was using Smokescreen at the same time??

(ETA: having seen and read an additional half-dozen explanations of Three’s quirk, I can say with confidence that I still have basically no idea what it is or does.)

anyway so!! Deku is a badasssssss but something tells me not to count Nagant out just yet even so. also I really enjoy seeing Deku flip out on people like he doesn’t have a fucking hole in his torso because it reminds me of A CERTAIN SOMEONE and I always love to see him channeling that feral energy; I feel like it’s been a while

anyways good luck to you both!! I truly wish that both of you could win. but if not, then maybe you can at least become friends instead. you have so much in common, you both can fly and have multiple quirks and you’re both badasses, and plus it would just be really funny to see the look on Hawks’s face lmao

#bnha 313 #midoriya izuku #lady nagant #bnha meta #deku meta #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha

[tutelaric]

ive seen a lot of singlets in the MOGAI community who dont allow interaction with system medicalists get a lot of flack for “engaging in syscourse” recently, so here’s my stance on that, i guess, since i’ve been thinking about it:

it makes perfect sense for the default stance for a singlet to be pro-endo. in order to be anti-endo to begin with, you have to have some understanding of what an endogenic system is, which you’re not likely to fully get (even if it’s explained to you) unless you are plural. being pro-endo is as simple as believing systems when they tell you they are systems.

it also makes perfect sense for a singlet to be uncomfortable with system medicalists. the core fundamental thing of being a system medicalist is that you as an individual are deciding who is and who is not lying about being a system. that is what you do to be a system medicalist. you may not directly fakeclaim people, you may not make callouts, you may not hunt down ‘fake’ systems to put on blast, but regardless, if you are anti-endogenic, you are making decisions in your head of who is ‘valid’ and who is not. a singlet being uncomfortable with engaging with someone who has those beliefs is fair- they’re staying out of conversations they don’t belong in this way. if you don’t want singlets getting into syscourse, then why are you pushing so hard to drag them into it? why are you starting system discourse with singlets if you don’t want them getting into sys-course?

being pro-endo is simpler for singlets to understand. being pro-endo as a singlet is as simple as going “if you say you’re plural, you’re plural. it’s not my place to say or think anything more.” to be anti-endo as a singlet is to be engaging in syscourse. to tell a singlet that they should be anti-endogenic or that they should believe system medicalists is to tell a singlet that they should be getting into beliefs & discussions that are not for them.

a final, very blunt note: isnt mogai tumblr about like, making up flowery fun little words for people to use. why the fuck are you expecting this rando making up genders about their favorite video game or whatever to listen to your hardcore anti-whatever beliefs and go “yeah OK youre right”. that shits incredibly polarizing, and polarizing opinions typically do not fly in communities like this one. if you are a sysmed you should be smart enough to know that you do not belong in radical-inclusionist, “everything goes” spaces.

#fantasy.txt #system medicalism / #anti endo / #ask to tag #unsure if those are the tags people use bc i dont usually talk about this #so if you need another tag please do lmk #and to be very clear #im 100 percent pro endo #if you tell me youre a system youre a system #im also plural for the record #unDXed but presumably DID #6 years worth of research put into that #and watching my own symptoms and shit

[hellsite-yano]

I think I can explain the anti-“Games as art” crowd pretty easily. Tell me if this isn’t what you’re thinking, but I feel it’s because people associate the idea with a certain type of dev/reviewer who’re obviously seething about not being able to work with “real art,” (read: movies) and instead of playing to/learning about the actual strengths of games as a medium, (ie interactivity,) just make/write/review them like movies. Which ties nicely to your point about gatekeeping, because they don’t share passion or core beliefs about what video games should be with their audience, nor do they want to.

You’re absolutely right anon and when I talk about how the internet culture war affected us (more than we realize) this is definitely one of the things I’m talking about.

What you said is also one of the two reasons “All art is political” gets a lot of flak. It’s an argument often used by pretentious discourse mongers to justify weak (and often unfounded) criticism about whatever flavour of the month problematique media is on the chopping block, and pass it off as objective analysis.

This still happens but it was especially prevalent in 2014-2016 when the culture war was at its peak, which is when, understandably, people really started getting sick of this talking point. I’ve noticed that most people who seethe at ‘all art is political’ (not just disagree but get particularly angry about it) are still mentally steeped in that era and are therefore still responding to this dishonest application of it, even if it’s brought up genuinely and legitimately.

But just because the argument was often used dishonestly, doesn’t mean it’s inherently flawed. A lot of the contention comes from people misinterpreting what “political” means in this context, which is the second reason the argument gets put on blast often.

“Political” in this context, isn’t necessarily about governments or gender discourse, or whatever. It simply refers to the set of beliefs and values the creator has that has influenced their art in some way, and nobody is immune to this no matter how apolitical they think they are.

Another source of confusion is that ‘political’ is often conflated with ‘significant’, when most of the time this isn’t actually the case. Yes we COULD discuss the genderpunk politics of sans mpreg art but... why would you? The politics are still there for anyone who cares or wants a laugh maybe, but they’re not important. Acknowledging they exist isn’t the problem though.

“All art is political” shouldn’t be a bad faith invitation to pointless discourse, it’s a simple acknowledgement that art does not exist in a vacuum and is influenced by the politics of the creator and their surroundings.

#Anonymous

[sokkastyles]

Y’all. Please understand genre. Yes, ATLA isn’t filled with blood and guts because it’s a kid’s show, but that also does not mean that characters were committing violent acts willy-nilly offscreen.

I’ve seen a lot of discourse that goes into both extremes. People try and argue that Zuko really burned down multiple villages and killed people offscreen at the same time that they’ll argue that Azula was a pacifist. We can assume that Zuko didn’t go around killing and maiming people because that doesn’t vibe with the character we are shown onscreen, even when he’s a villain. That’s not to say that he wasn’t a villain or an agent of imperialism or to diminish the harm he did, but acting like he was a character from Game of Thrones is just silly.

At the same time, we CAN say that Azula did have intentions to harm people because we ARE shown that onscreen. She kills Aang. She tries to kill Iroh and Zuko. She is shown to be a lot crueler and meaner than Zuko ever was. At the same time, you’re selling the show short by saying that the only reason we didn’t see her or Zuko do worse onscreen is because it is a kid’s show. ATLA is really good at addressing violence without going over the top or falling into shock value, and often it doesn’t need to.

But kids’ shows also have a delicate balance to walk. You can’t argue that it’s “unrealistic” that Zuko didn’t cause any lasting damage in Kyoshi village when Aang puts out the fire like this:

There are certain things you have to accept as tenets of genre fiction, and one of those things in ATLA is related to the bending. You can’t say that Zuko’s bending causes harm but Aang’s a pacifist so he can blast Zuko through buildings and no harm done! You can’t have it both ways. Which is why the show itself does not treat Zuko burning down Kyoshi village that seriously. Because if you really examined it and treated it the way a serious adult show about war and imperialism would, it would fall apart. You'd have to apply that same logic to the heroes of the show when they destroy buildings or slam people into walls.

Which is not to say that Aang fighting back against Zuko is the same as Zuko setting buildings on fire in his lack of concern for the damage he causes in his pursuit of Aang. The intentions are different, which is what makes Zuko the villain there and Aang the hero. But ATLA simply CANNOT explore the consequences of violence in the same way as a realistic show. If they did, Aang would have broken Zuko’s back a long time ago. The gaang would be destroying buildings and killing people wherever they went.

(Game of Thrones actually tried to do this, as a Serious Business fantasy genre show, and it failed spectacularly. Because when you start to do this, you then have to pick and choose which consequences of violence to explore. And your audience notices. That's one of the common criticisms of the ending of atla suddenly making a big deal out of killing Ozai when dropping random mooks into the ocean wasn't a big deal.)

The show also had plans from the beginning to redeem Zuko so there’s only so far they can take him as a villain, and they knew that. For the most part the show DOES do a good job of forcing Zuko to genuinely atone and creating a believable transition from a villain to a hero, which is one of the reasons why Zuko’s writing is so praised, but if you’re looking for a show that really examines the irreparable damage that people can do to each other, this is not the show for that. And trying to virtue signal and attack people for not seeing it that way is really disingenuous.

#the discourse #not putting this in tags but i'm seeing some ridiculous arguments

[hhunjins]

skz as roommates

Word Count: ~1200

Warning: some language

Note: just trying out something new! idk if this bullet format is going to be something i continue, but i had fun with this and wanted to share~ send me discourse asdkjfasd (also!! uni starts up again tomorrow so i’m going to hold back on writing for a while so ✌ until then)

Chan

You’re not sure if he ever sleeps because there’s always noise coming from his room but the lights are always off??

Has a calendar on the fridge delegating chores

Will send passive aggressive texts in the group chat reminding you to do said chores if you forget

Has perfected The Mom Look™ where he squints at you with his hands on his hips and says your name like this

Won’t really be in your space too much but if your door is open he’ll peek in, say hello, and ask what you’re up to

Blasts music while he showers

The one you go to to get stuff fixed

Always wants to do roommate bonding activities like making dinner together or whatever

Will go on grocery runs for everyone and send pics of things he gets if he’s unsure

Doesn’t mind if his snacks go missing because he leaves them out on the counter (its his way of feeding you)

Minho

Door literally always closed

Looks like he just woke up no matter what time of day it is

Has cat slippers that he wears only at the ungodly hours of the night when he goes to get food from the kitchen

Buys food and leaves it in the fridge, but doesn’t touch it until it expires/someone else eats it all

Will judge you for eating instant noodles but proceed to make his own because “you tempted me”

If you’re watching something, he’ll pull up a chair/plop down next to you to watch without saying anything

Will sometimes yell/make loud noises for no reason

If you find a bug, he’ll catch it and bring it outside (and scare you with it as he’s walking past, the gremlin) instead of squishing it

Leaves group chat on read/only ‘thumbs up’ reacts when he’s mentioned

Sometimes forgets to bring clothes when he showers and will walk out with only a towel and yell “don’t look, I’m naked!” when no one is looking

Changbin

If you’re sitting on the couch, 100% will come sit next to you “for company”

Gives you his Netflix password just so you’d watch movies/dramas with him

You’ll probably catch him doing sit-ups/push-ups in the living room at least once a week

Bought a step stool for the kitchen and while everyone made fun of him for it at first, they all use it too

Kind of terrible at cooking, survives off instant meals

Will ask you what you’re eating and if he can have a bite

Parents pack a shitton of food for him to bring back when he goes home to visit and that’s the only reason he’s not nutrient deficient

Does work at the kitchen table because he gets lonely

Heavy sleeper, you won’t wake him up if you’re accidentally too loud

There’s always something on the floor in his room (clothes, textbooks, his laptop???)

Hyunjin

Cuts fruit and leaves it in the fridge for everyone

Over-shops when he goes to the grocery store so the fridge is always full  

Wanders into your room, asks to borrow one thing or another, and then leaves (won’t give back the thing he borrowed unless you specifically ask for it back)

Leaves his stuff everywhere and forgets where he put them

Somehow always leaves a sock in the washing machine/dryer

Always asking to have roommate movie night (another “bonding” enthusiast)

Gives his opinion on whatever thing you’re watching if he watched it before and will sit down and re-watch with you just because

If he’s not in his room then he’s splayed across the couch on his phone/laptop

Will skip around the house if he’s in a good mood

Hums/sings to kdrama osts as he’s cooking or doing stuff around the house (will hand you an invisible microphone to finish the line if you happen to walk in)

Jisung

Sits in the living room in the dark on his phone if he can’t sleep at night (which scares you shitless every time)

Makes the bi-weekly walk of shame to the recycling with his arms full of empty water bottles

Eats in his room a lot

Does two loads of laundry at a time because he keeps putting it off (since he’s lazy) until he runs out of clothes to wear

Leaves dishes in the sink until someone calls him out in the group chat

Orders takeout at least once a week and tempts you with “do you want some too?” every time

If he catches you staring at his food, will share without even asking

Has headphones on 95% of the time so it takes a few calls of his name to get his attention

Will scream if there’s a bug and vacate the room until it is caught

Takes the longest showers

Felix

Always greets you/asks how it’s going when he sees you for the first time that day

Has a gaming system set up in the living room because his room is too small

Yells a lot when he’s playing games but will be quiet if you ask him to or if it’s everyone’s sleeping

Makes a ton of food and then wanders around the house telling people he made food

Will do other people’s chores if they’re not done on time

Sends memes/videos he finds funny in the group chat

Likes to lie down on the living room floor on his phone??

Mumbles/talks to himself

Randomly asks questions that sometimes give you an existential crisis

Likes to decorate the place according to whatever holiday is coming up and will make your birthday a Very Big Deal

Seungmin

Has a strict eating/sleeping schedule (will judge you for eating late at night)

If you’re awake in the morning, will ask you to eat with him (won’t take no for an answer)

Always does his chores on time

Will call people out by name in the group chat to get their shit together because mans has no fear

Stays in his room most of the time but the door’s always open

Periodically checks in on you throughout the day by walking into your room and standing there for a bit before leaving

Always asks before taking food that isn’t labelled

You caught him making “nyooom” noises as he walked from his room to the kitchen a few times

Sings very loudly when he thinks no one is home

Semi-disaster in the kitchen when he’s by himself but is very helpful when you cook

Jeongin

Takes naps on the couch (most are involuntary because he gets sleepy looking at his phone and just knocks out)

Cereal is his go to meal because it’s quick and easy and there’s no way he can chop off his fingers

Never has to cook legit food because someone is always down to feed him

Tags along on grocery runs but only buys snacks/junk food

Pretty good with all his chores except for taking out the trash so he needs constant reminders

Almost always the first one to wake up but makes a racket every morning while trying to get ready (and wakes up others in the process)

Will walk into your room and ask you to study/do work with him so he’s not lonely

Kind of clueless so he’ll come to you and ask how something works and you have to walk him step-by-step because the dude’s a hazard to himself

Orders things and forgets about them so there are packages by the door that go unclaimed for 2 weeks

Knocks out with the lights in his room on so someone has to go turn them off for him

#stray kids #stray kids scenarios #stray kids imagines #stray kids headcanons #bang chan #minho #lee know #changbin #hyunjin #jisung #han #felix #seungmin #jeongin #i.n.

[kittyprincessofcats]

I finished RWBY Volume 5!!

Loved it!! After volume 4 was (understandably) a bit slower-paced, I didn’t expect things to get intense and serious this quickly, but I’m glad they did! I have so many thoughts I wanted to write down, so here we go:

[There will be spoilers for RWBY up to Volume 5 in this post (duh). Please don’t leave spoilers for anything after Volume 5 on this post, otherwise I will block you.]

- I have to say, I definitely liked Cinder more when she wasn’t talking. During Volume 4, I kind of started feeling bad for her on some level, but then she got better and started being her old condescending, power-hungry self and I was like… nevermind, I hate you again.

- Qrow being super drunk when he first brings Oscar home was absolutely hilarious.

- Yang is SO COOL. Have I mentioned that she’s so cool? Like wow, I wish I was that cool! The bike, the new (amazing) outfit, the way she just punched that creepy guy and walked right up to her mom’s bandit camp making demands of her – she’s so cool and I’m here for it.

- Yang and Weiss’ reunion was so sweet! 😭 I was waiting for literally any of Team RWBY’s members to reunite and that got me right in the feels! (Also, I loved the whole “Wait, your mom kidnapped me?” “Wait, you kidnapped her?” exchange - brilliant 😂.)

- Ruby’s reunion with Yang and Weiss was so sweet, too! 😭 Tears were definitely shed over reunions in this volume! And it was so nice to finally have most of Team RWBY and what’s left of Team JNPR back together and see them bond and catch up with each other 😭. Found family back together! It’s what they deserve!

- Yang being so angry at Blake for leaving makes perfect sense, imo, especially considering her own abandonment issues. And even more so considering that she lost that arm while protecting Blake. Also, I don’t think it’s reading too much into it to say that Yang and Blake’s interactions and their storyline together have had romantic undertones since volume 2. (And no, I’m not just saying that because I ship Bumbleby; it’s the other way around – I ship Bumbleby because those romantic undertones were there in the first place.) So yeah, Yang always tried to help and support Blake, lost an arm protecting her from her abusive ex, and then Blake just left – I get why Yang’s hurt and angry. And that moment where she goes from complaining about how she just wants to be there for Blake, before finally admitting “What if I needed her there for me?” - that’s a really good moment for Yang, even beyond the romantic subtext. It’s nice to see Yang admit that she also wants someone else to be there for her, that she wants to receive that same love and care in return.

- I also want to point out that it’s nice to see how far Weiss has come since volume one. She really took a level in kindness and became a lot more mature, to the point where she’s now giving Yang relationship advice. It’s really nice to see.

- Ruby’s talk with Oscar about Penny and Pyrrha really got me teary eyed.

- I wasn’t that fond of Sun at first, but he had some really great moments in this volume, so he’s starting to grow on me now. I still don’t ship him with Blake, but their friendship is sweet.

- And now, let’s talk about THE standout character of the whole volume for me: ILIA!! Holy hell, I love everything about her! You know how some characters grow on you over time, and then there are those characters that you see one episode with and they just become instant favourites? That second one was Ilia for me. I watched Blake’s character short before Volume 5 and the moment I heard her backstory she jumped right to the top of my favourite character list without question AND I started shipping her and Blake right away. (Yes, I love Bumbleby and all, but I’m a multishipper. I’m perfectly capable of equally loving two ships that contradict each other.)

- It’s just – Ilia and Blake’s dynamic got me hooked! Not to compare everything to my OTP (Catra and Adora from She-Ra and the Princesses of Power), but let me quickly make this comparison: Two girls who grew up together, were both members of a certain evil organization until one of them left it and the other didn’t, now they’re on opposing sides and have to fight each other, but they still clearly care about each other. Plus, there are confirmed romantic feelings from at least one side there. I know many people (including myself) have compared Bumbleby to Catradora before – because you’ve got one blonde jock and one catgirl – but when it comes to the dynamic and the backstory, Blake and Ilia (what’s that ship called? Catmeleon, I think?) resemble Catradora even more. And it’s just the kind of dynamic I’m weak for.

(Honestly, it’s kind of funny how predictable I am both when it comes to favourite characters and favourite ships. My sister, who got me into both She-Ra and RWBY, took one look at Catra years ago and immediately predicted that I would love her. And when she first saw Ilia, she also immediately knew she’d be one of my favourites. Basically, my sister once described my “type” of favourite characters as “troubled, cute and gay” and that pretty much sums it up.)

- Speaking of troubled, cute, and gay: I’m glad RWBY finally has some CANON LGBT representation! Hell yes for that! Honestly, I interpreted Ilia’s feelings for Blake as romantic right away, but I wondered if it was just bait or my usual tendency to see romantic undertones in any interaction between two girls. But then that “I wanted you to look at me that way” line happened and… WOW. Yes. Amazing, talented, brilliant, never been done before, showstopping, incredible. I’m 100% sold on both the ship and Ilia as a character.

(One more thing before I change topics: I try to keep these posts positive and not get into discourse too much (since I’ve heard there was (is?) a lot of discourse in the RWBY fandom – but I took just one look into the tag for Volume 5 and immediately saw people arguing that Ilia’s not good representation because she’s a villain. And I just want to quickly address why that’s nonsense, in my opinion (and before you ask, yes I am a lesbian myself): First of all, she’s not even a full-blown villain. She’s clearly shown as confused and misguided from the beginning. And her feelings for Blake are never portrayed as a negative thing. She also has a redemption literally two episodes after being revealed to be queer. And in general, I don’t think queer villains are necessarily a bad thing and I’m tired of queer characters not being allowed to be flawed. How come straight characters get to just exist, but any queer character better be a shining beacon of morality or else they’re bad representation? I agree that RWBY should introduce more queer characters to balance things out a bit, but I wouldn’t say Ilia was bad representation by herself, since she’s a character I think we’re meant to have sympathy for.

- Now I just hope that future volumes of RWBY don’t pull a Bury Your Gays and kill Ilia off... I’d really hate that. (No spoilers on this post, please!)

- The entire fight at the Belladonnas’ house had me so on edge the whole time. I thought someone (most likely one or both of Blake’s parents) was going to die any second. Basically, the ending of volume 3 burned me and now I constantly expect characters to die. I’m glad it all (mostly) turned out well!

- Blake’s speech to the Faunus might have made me a bit emotional. That was a really great moment for her.

- And then there were those final episodes… WOW. Like I said, I really didn’t expect everything to go down so quickly (or for the ending to be that happy – like I said, volume 3 burned me.)

- Jaune unlocking his semblance was nice! And I’m proud of myself for having correctly predicted that he’d have some sort of healing powers. (I was waiting for him to unlock some healing semblance back when Qrow got injured in Volume 4 – I’m glad it finally happened!)

- I was worried about Weiss for a second, then I realized there’s no way she can die since I’ve already seen pictures of her outfit in later volumes. (Plus, I’m pretty sure if a main character had died, I’d have been unable to completely avoid spoilers about it. So those 4 are pretty much the only ones I’m not that worried about.)

- Raven is a really cool and interesting character, but an awful person. (I got so angry at her when she blasted Ruby after Ruby was just so nice to her*. How dare you, lady?) I love her design, though!

[*EDIT: I just rewatched it and realized that it was Cinder who blasted Ruby, Raven just created the portal. Point still stands, tough.]

- The plot twist of who the Spring Maiden really is was EPIC. Really loved that reveal! (And I honestly didn’t see it coming.) Though I have to say, I feel really bad for Vernal, and for the previous Spring Maiden.

- The Cinder VS Raven fight was absolutely epic and just stunning to watch visually. I was wondering if we’d ever get a maiden vs maiden battle, and that scene more than delivered! And while I don’t particularly like either of them, I was definitely rooting for Raven in that fight.

- I’m not sure if Cinder really died there. If so, I’m honestly not too sad about it, but I would be disappointed because I kind of expected her to become a more interesting character later on. After Volume 4, I expected at least a bit of growth there or something that would make her more interesting. And I’m not talking about a redemption, just to be clear! I just think the potential to make her more interesting as a villain was there, and if they just killed her off it’s kind of wasted now and she stayed a very flat character until the end. But I guess we’ll see.

- Raven and Yang’s confrontation was pretty intense. I liked that Raven finally had to admit that she’s afraid and doing all of this just to protect herself, and the contrast to Yang, who is also scared but still does what she thinks is right. And the fact that Raven was willing to let Yang have the relic despite the danger that would put her in – mom of the year indeed 🙄.

- Blake and the other Faunus are the real MVPs of the battle, tbh. The fact that they just completely stopped Adam and the White Fang by sheer numbers and didn’t even give them the chance to attack anyone? God tier stuff. And when Blake’s mom came in with the police? 10/10, we stan.

- Also, Blake telling Adam she’s not there for him? Hell yes, girl! I love how she’s taking power away from her abuser by showing she isn’t doing any of this for him. Really nice.

- Yang and Blake’s reunion in the last episode was super nice. I like how there was so much attention on that reunion in particular. And while I’m glad Yang wasn’t too angry at Blake and it makes for a nice happy ending, I still hope there’s a scene next volume where Blake properly apologizes to Yang for leaving and explains her side of things. And then, they should get together and live happily ever after and have lots of kittens. I mean, what?

- And finally, all of Team RWBY is back together! And they’ll have a lot to catch each other up on. Blake doesn’t even know about the maidens, the relics and Salem yet, while the rest didn’t even know about the White Fang attack. Also, I want Blake to introduce the others to Ilia and to her parents.

I really loved this volume. Lots of action, lots of really sweet moments, lots of epic fights and cool plot twists. I find it hard to rank them, but this might have been my favourite volume yet (volume 3 was also really good, though).

#RWBY #RWBY v5 #RWBY Volume 5 #RWBY vol 5 #Ilia Amitola #Yang Xiao Long #Blake Belladonna #Weiss Schnee #Ruby Rose #Catmeleon #Bumbleby #Cinder Fall #Qrow Branwen #Raven Branwen #Oscar Pine #Sun Wokung #Jaune Arc #Vernal #RWBY v5 spoilers #long post #wow this really got long #I started rambling about my new favourite chameleon girl and just couldn't stop