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celluloidbroomcloset · 2 days

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So I'm trying to get at something here, bear with me (and I welcome any discussion; just be aware that I'm not criticizing Stede and Ed, but how I've seen Stede and Ed criticized):

There are an awful lot of words/phrases used about Stede and Ed in some meta that are not supported by canon but very much reflect underlying assumptions and perhaps unexamined desires to push them both into more standard main character modes.

With Ed, they tend to be racially coded, usually exaggerating or cherrypicking incidents without context and holding him to a higher standard of emotional control than the white characters: codependent, erratic, naturally violent, psychotic, insane (note that a number of these are things that Izzy especially says ABOUT Ed).

With Stede, they tend to be based in misogyny and Stede’s proximity to attributes often applied negatively to women: selfish, weak, soft, cringe (derogatory). People often talk about Stede in terms of what he’s not and tacitly critique his failure to live up to stereotypical masculine standards (and those standards are almost always reinforced by antagonists: Izzy, Jack, his father, the Badmintons).

In these analyses, there's often a conclusion that Ed needs to be controlled and Stede needs to be taught masculinity, correcting their perceived flaws to fall into line with straight white maleness (again, something which the show explicitly opposes). In other words, the underlying argument is often that what’s wrong with Ed and Stede is that they’re not straight white men who perform to patriarchal standards, and they need to be fixed or controlled by white men until they are brought into line with those standards.

Critique of characters and discussion of their flaws is interesting and important, but if someone is basing their critique on things that the show explicitly does NOT represent or that are based in biased language (Ed’s moods are never erratic, Stede is not weak), then it’s a good sign that it’s a bad faith reading, at the very best based in unexamined biases and at the worst actively malicious.

Tl;dr: if someone is agreeing with the antagonists about the main characters, don’t trust that analysis. If you find YOURSELF agreeing with the antagonists, step back and ask why.

#ofmd #our flag means death #stede bonnet #edward teach #ofmd meta #hope this makes sense

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angry-geno-is-score · 3 days

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I wanna write something that's light and funny but I also want to write something that's deep and emotionally devastating but I also want to write something that fits a lot of the popular, somewhat cheesy tropes in my fandom but I also wanna write something that's "mature" and "adult" but I also wanna write something easy to read and easy to love but I also wanna write something that's a deep reflection of how I feel about life.

and it feels like there's not nearly enough time to write all those things. and what I do write is never enough. and the criticism I get on it feels far too real. and the praise I get for it feels fake and disingenuous. and sometimes I hate that I chose to be a writer, because there's no clock-off, there's no end to the thoughts about what to write next or what I'm doing wrong or what I could be doing right or how I should be improving or what more I should be doing.

I want to write something incredible. I want to write something niche and beloved. I want to write something with hundreds of thousands of hits and boatloads of kudos. I want to write something that makes just ONE reader sob uncontrollably, even if it has less than a thousand hits.

I don't really know what I want, at the end of the day. Maybe I just want to write in a way that makes me happy. It's hard to find that.

#sorry for the rant I guess #been feeling the Big Sad lately #seems like a monthly thing for me lol #writer things #writer thoughts #writing

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marcasmacmanus · 2 days

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Three Nobleman (Pt. III)

Lord Ambroys Belrose Desoleil

The last one I worked on. May one can tell this character is something really special to me.. and maybe that's one of the reasons this last portrait was a hell of a roller-coaster to me. Almost leading me to quit and abandoning the whole project. The reason why this particular painting has a different background than the other two is that I had to start over completely. The first mistake I made was the scale. At first I wanted to show way more of the character itself, what meant on the other hand, that all the details got way smaller and I just wasn't able to adequately handle that. The second problem was that I somehow messed up his face/expression and wasn't able to figure out what went wrong or what it was exactly, that make it seem so odd to me.. And last but not least, my absolute lack of understanding color.. yep, I like painting stuff but I don't really understand how colors work.. His mane/hair became my arch nemesis. Not that it is hard enough, to work with bright colors that are pretty close to each other, without outlines, no, I had absolutely no idea how many different colors are needed to mix blonde.. just to make that slight difference to his coat. The decision to use the "older" version of him wasn't helping either. His younger self doesn't have the straight mane/hair, which makes it way easier to let it look like "hair". Well, at least to me. But in the end I think I somehow managed it to a degree that it is acceptable (for my fourth time with oils). To end the part of my struggle with this one, there was one thing left I wish I had noticed earlier, and that's the position of his left arm. I just took the sketch from my first try and scaled it up, not noticing that the arm may look a little bit odd now.

But that's aside, I also had a lot of fun with the painting. I totally got lost in the rose on his revers (because I love roses the most) and there are some more details which made me really happy how they turned out. But I have to confess that I cheated a little on this painting as well. It's the only of the three portraits that isn't exclusively painted in oils. His horn is actually painted over with nail-polish to get that opalescent shimmer.

Ambroys' portrait took me about 90 hours (first try included). It's based on this drawing by @kwillow - how-much-conditioner-do-you-think-olderamby-goes -, which again means that I don't want to take any credit for the artwork itself.

Yes, Ambroys means a lot to me and that may be the reason I look more critical on this one. But the most important thing for me is, that the new owners, @chocodile and @kwillow, like them and can gain some joy out of my work. You guys gave me so much through your characters and their stories, and helped me through a very hard, and so far the darkest chapter of my life. And therefore, thank you!

#oil painting #oil on canvas #canvas #paintings #kwillow #chocodile #Ambroys #unicorn #<3

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helluvatired · 6 hours

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i see a lot of people criticizing that stoltiz and their daughters are a mess but honestly that's what makes me like them??

i like that it wasn't mutual love at first sight, and i like that they can't express themselves properly, all the misunderstandings and lack of communication and all this difficulty in expressing themselves, that's very entertaining to me

and even their daughters are terrible like their dads, i mean just look at loona's advice in this scene!

and she's saying all this because it's what she genuinely believes and she thinks she's helping blitzo

and octavia is a child of an arranged marriage and parents who divorced, she is still too immature to deal with all of this, and is so blinded by nostalgia and thinks that one day they really were a happy family

honestly i think even if stolas said "via i'm fucking gay and my dad forced me to get married since i was a kid", octavia would still find a way to still be upset with stolas. she's still too immature to deal with all of this

in fact, i think that the four of them are still very immature, that's why they can't express themselves properly or see the complete picture. they are so consumed by their insecurities (and think they are the truth) and they don't even try to express them. these things take time and i'm honestly happy to discover a cartoon that doesn't have linear character arcs like this, i know this can be tiring for some people but it's this realism that makes me like it

that's why as a stoltiz shipper i can never understand the discussions stolas vs blitzo on who is right, because in my opinion they are both wrong (maybe not for the same thing, but still) and they are horrible at expressing themselves and they are also horrible at understanding the that the other (and their daughters) are feeling, but even so i can understand their line of reasoning even though i know it's not true

it is also important to remember that in many scenes only we, the audience, know that information (again, their difficulty in expressing themselves and lack of communication)

i wouldn't exactly say i "defend" them, because i just understand their point of view and where this is coming from, and 95% of the time they are all indeed wrong x3

basically it's all this mess that makes me like the ship and the daughters, it's clear that this family loves and cares for each other, they just don't know how to express themselves or interact with anyone. but they have the most important thing, which is love, and with that they can heal and improve

they are worst and they are the best, i love them and i love this story <3

#my post #helluva boss #stolitz #helluva boss blitzo #helluva boss stolas #octavia goetia #helluva boss loona #loonavia sistp #analysis

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uncharismatic-fauna · 3 days

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I'm trying very hard to come up with a constructive way to say these polls have been more of a source of frustration and annoyance than fun. It's not that you've done anything wrong, tumblr is just the wrong place for this I think. Tumblr users are ignorant at best of basic geography and biology concepts more often than not. Sitting through a month of confidently incorrect "propaganda" from people has been maddening. Most of these match-ups have had one objectively correct answer and people are still getting it wrong, making it into a popularity contest even though every post has said it's not that. It's become the only thing you post, too, which is upsetting because that's not the content I followed you for. If you do it again maybe make a new sideblog for it?

First of all, thank you. I do appreciate your input! Constructive criticism and suggestions are always welcome here.

I can try running a sideblog for the tournament ext year, although I will say that running this blog (even without the tournament) is already fairly time consuming, especially on top of grad school and a full time job, and I'm not quite sure i could juggle two blogs on my own. I'm sorry if the polls have been a nuisance-- I've tried to keep up with the Uncharismatic Fact of the Day, as I'm aware not everyone wanted to participate. I've also been tagging the polls themselves so that people can blacklist them as they like; unfortunately I can't do much about other people's posts.

I'd disagree that most people are choosing the winner based on popularity; I've seen some rousing arguments in the replies, and most of the tags are full of people reasoning out why they chose who they did. In general I'd say that the winners have been largely consistent with who "should" win (although I'll also say that "should" is subjective; for example, in the official tournament i believe the northern elephant seal should've won, but the simulated competitions bore a different outcome).

Nevertheless, be assured that the tournament is quite literally less than a day from being complete, and then we will return to our regularly scheduling programming.

#jack speaks #may mammal madness #also. i think peoples engagement in general has also been way higher now than it ever was previously #which was part of the point; im running this blog as a way to get people engaged in science and the environment #and if i can do that through a silly little tournament then thats what ill do

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lover-of-mine · 8 hours

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i'm fine with the bt scene being what it was because it showed what is. a shallow superficial relationship that is not being written as endgame so I'm fine with them not having a more emotional connection make it more obvious its BONES in s8.

Okay, I'm gonna say this and I need everyone to know I genuinely mean it, I'm not fine with it. I am tired of the show giving Buck and Eddie love interests that exist to have no agency besides girlfriend/boyfriend or plot device for an exposition dump. I desperately wanted to care about bt. Buck being bi is such incredible representation and I spent the whole season waiting to be convinced I should like T and bt together for anything beyond the fact that they are a queer relationship but I keep coming up empty-handed. I like being a hater right now because no criticism of him is allowed without someone screaming that you're homophobic or hate gay people and that everyone in the show is problematic why doesn't he get a pass too so I am grabbing on to every wrong thing about him the same way people are blowing the good things to justify my aversion to him. But the thing is, T is a character who's being written in a way that is so hard to sympathize with when it comes to Buck. He has this shell that makes him rigid and he has this dry sense of humor and he could be interesting if he was willing to bend a little bit for Buck. That relationship was not something I could get behind when T left Buck on the curb, because while I do believe T was incredibly justified in not liking the situation Buck put them in, he could've communicated that better before he was literally in the car leaving Buck behind, so there Buck was once again in a relationship with someone who left him because they can't handle who he is. That was the impression I got from that first date and I keep waiting for them to be cute for me to move past it and the show is giving me nothing. Why did they make the choice to not let T dress up for the bachelor party and indulge Buck when the job by definition requires for him to change into a uniform so he could've put in some effort? Why did he let Buck walk around with his face covered in soot when they could've shown us a shot of him cleaning Buck's face before they walked into the room holding hands and give the impression that there's more going on there than a few makeout sessions? Why weren't they affectionate at the ceremony? Why wasn't that conversation in the hospital, where it would've shown a level of care and that joke could've been seen as an attempt to make Buck feel better about what was going on? Why are they always two steps to the left of being cute or having any fighting chance? And that's ignoring how intertwined Eddie is with the beginning of their relationship because that's just disturbing. The triangle thing is annoying as fuck if Eddie was not gonna get confirmed as queer and the sides wouldn't actually connect.

I think narratively Buck and Eddie getting together is the thing that makes the most sense for both of their characters, but if that's not gonna happen, I wanna care about the people they're with. I love Buck as a character, I want him to have a nice love story if for whatever reason we are not getting buddie because love is the thing he's been searching for, and whatever bt has going is not it. And the thing that's killing me is that it could be. It's the same thing they did with Taylor because if Taylor was as intense about Buck as she is about the job, they could work, but the show made a choice to use the development of her character to stir away from Buck. And T, he's just there. And it's frustrating. I don't even wanna get into the comparisons between buddie and bt because imma be honest I'm still processing the way the show had T refusing to dress on theme and then had Eddie suggest matching outfits in the next scene, what even was that?? But the way the show constantly takes the chances they have to give depth to their relationship, looks it in the eye, and runs the other direction it's just........... yk? This is Buck's fifth relationship and I can't for the life of me look at it and see where it's going because they are making it seem like it's going nowhere. T parallels Taylor all the time visually, when it comes to screentime he's just a step above Ali, he's nowhere near as developed as Taylor was at this point. I had hopes for that scene when they started to talk about parents, for 20 seconds, I believed they were gonna give emotional depth to them, but they didn't. And I was literally sitting here begging them to give me something to care about when it comes to them if they are gonna keep them together but I have nothing to show for it and I hate it. There's no emotional connection, they will probably breakup at some point during s8 and I'm just gonna be there "oh wow another failed romance what a surprise" while they keep playing up Buck and Eddie's partnership and not letting them go all the way, and it's just tiring.

And this is ignoring the way we keep getting yelled at for not resonating with them. I sincerely don't want to hate them but I can't find a reason to care about them.

#sorry i went off #this is not what you wanted but i have feelings apparently #didn't know i had them until i started to type oaksasoaksa #911 #911 spoilers #anti bucktommy #to be safe #i really need a tag for asks #anon 😌

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smaeemo · 2 days

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As a whole, I think so many people don’t truly understand what “being an adult”/having a developed brain, can look like. What I see so much of the time is writers/fans making these fully grown characters act well like teenagers. Which, isn’t suprising given that most of us are in fact teenagers. AND THIS IS NOT A CRITICISM. But more as an observation. I think that when we see a character, say, Buck, and we start to project onto them we turn them roughly to our age. Or whenever we really look at characters/character relationships, we are looking at them, from OUR ages. And so, when I see people head cannoning/speculating things that are very “teenagery” I get the sense of this. And AGAIN there is really nothing wrong with that, until it becomes toxic. And so, you know, I interact and I enjoy these things, until it starts to get out of hand. Such as, the whole “lets all hate on tommy/lou ferrigno jr” situation. And I am FULLY aware this wasn’t just buddie shippers. TRUST. But, what we see there, is that their own insecurities are showing through, and their own perceptions of what relationships will look like in a (teenagery) personal perspective.

And I really, trully and honestly relate, understand, and totally get where we are coming from. And I would be super hypocritical to say I don’t sometimes do this, but when it gets to the point where there is such intense infantilism and drama coming from/to these 40y olds, it starts to get a little tiring. Because, so much of what makes (healthy) adults, “adulty” is the way they interact and view relationships and themselves.A

And because we as teenagers/trauma havers/etc. don’t really see what it’s like/have experienced it, specifically if you’ve never been in/seen a healthy relationship OR the contrary, we don’t really understand what it means to really have this healthy developmental understanding. So, when we look at these characters and relationships, we see it from a teenage/etc. perspective, rather than the target age that the characters are themselves.

Which is why, if you’ve ever rewatched a show, even if just a few months or years apart, you start to notice and see more things. And that just shows that we as people are always maturing and developing. Which is why, when we get older/a broader perspective, so many shows and characters will become so much more intense or understandble.

So again, I will reiterate, I understand and relate to everyone that continues to project onto or understand characters from these perspectives, the only time I don’t is when it starts to become an issue.

And ofc. If none of this applies to you, it’s fine to just scroll, reblog, etc. Just don’t provide negativity or hate. lol.

Also, I am speaking more from a sense of self reflection more than anything else. As I continue to mature I start to realize so much more of everything. Like rewatching friends has been a JOURNEY.

Anyways, send fic recs and q&as if you made it this far!

XOXO,

Leenya

#911 #9-1-1 #9 1 1 abc #buddie #bucktommy #kinkley #buck #evan buck buckley #spn #supernatural #dean winchester #destiel #castiel #sam winchester #evan buckley #9 1 1

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chaifootsteps · 3 days

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Hi chai, I saw your Twitter yesterday. Fans getting weird about your opinion on stoliz and claiming that’s the ‘true conspiracy’ behind why you critique SH and Viv. But that holds no weight at all, is very silly, and is absolutely as stupid as the dragon discourse. I hope you know there’s only maybe 5 people who think that.

I definitely get how hard it is being critical of something that is genuinely harmful, but feeling guilty in a way, that you’re in the minority while saying it. Everyone ignoring things and sweeping them aside makes you feel “am I the crazy one am I just overreacting?” But I promise you that you aren’t. Maybe talking about it negatively is taking up a bit too much of your thought space, but it’s not as if you’re alone in that. Maybe making a side blog for writing critique, headcanons, especially all the stolas critical stuff, separate to legitimate allegations and important receipts, community discourse etc, could be a good idea?

And I can understand feeling bad when you are seen as negative while everyone else can just quote on quote ‘turn their brain off and enjoy’ so you try do the same. Maybe I’m wrong but I can kinda see you trying to make yourself do that. But if something makes you uncomfortable you don’t need to hide or minimise it. This writing and rhetoric it creates is legitimately damaging on many levels. And all of your arguments are very clearly substantiated. They brought me a lot of comfort to know I’m not alone.

I was bullied out of a lot of HB social media platforms Reddit, discord servers, Pinterest, even my YouTube just for existing in the fandom and not shipping it, when push came to shove I barely even had to say this ship makes me uncomfortable. In the most mild way possible. I was just suspected of it then made fun of for being “too sjw” A lot of people are chronically online and extremely defensive because they’re deeply obsessed with the ship. With some saying they’ll hunt Medrano down and hurt her if she doesn’t make it canon immediately and give the best owl boy a happy ending. Now, those people are the dangerous weirdos.

It's silly and stupid, but the people parroting "It's all because of Stolitz!" like it's the end of the world are profoundly stupid people. They've got nothing on me of substance, so they have to make up stuff in a desperate attempt to be taken seriously.

(As for my thought space, I've got plenty of it and only devote as much of it to Viv stuff as I want to. When I'm tired of it, I step away or close the inbox. No problem.)

Sorry to hear you were bullied out of HB platforms. The people behaving this way are ghouls and they'll eat each other alive sooner or later, probably sooner.

#Anonymous #vivziepop critical #viv stuff #actual blog post

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tocomplainfriend · 3 hours

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Oh no

TW - racism and Slavery, power dynamics

really meh. IDK why they went mecha with the cherubs. The energy of the fight and how much it lasted was really lacking. I'm annoyed still by the "GUYS STOLAS IS SO SAAAAAD" bullshit. Why is the thumbnail so bad? I thought it was fake.

There is not an understanding of classism or power dynamics or anything.

Blitz was right, Stolas is a privileged asshole that constantly reduced their relationship into something sexual and belittled blitz, in remarks of him as a lower / IMP. Stolas did a scenario where Blitz job depended on them having sex. The series is creating a scenario where Blitz needs to love Stolas back because Stolas is so UWU sad baby that 'loves' him.

The main reason i hated the re-write of Stolas and blitz meeting-is because is exactly this: (something I've been aware of for a while.)

This exact situation of white slave owners making the kids of their slaves play with their white kids (I originally got introduced to this idea for a long form criticism of the Princess and the frog Story from Disney). IDK why would you make a scenario where there is inequality to the imps and how they suffer racism- if you just want Stolas to be in the right and Blitz in the wrong

I do not care if Stolas is sad and his life (even tho better because he is rich and has a literal book that gives him powers, vs being an IMP that could die, suffer from property and any possible scenario they are exposed to- or be a slave servant to the richer people because they were born imps.) he doesn't get to freed from all his wrong doings. No matter how depressed he is, his power is still higher and over Blitz. And creating a terrible scenario for blitz or any Imp for that matter.

They are really going for the plot line of But Stolas is a good rich privileged person.

Also, a scenario where the discriminated x privileged... There is the direct connection to the "what about everyone else".

If a non discriminated against person with big power is not bigoted to the person, the one they fell in love with. Does only that one discriminated person get saved from their social situation? Does everybody else still suffers because they don't happen to be the one. But what if the privileged person still discriminates against those people, but not their "special one".

Also... if you get a scenario as the discriminated one where you get to be saved from your situation, that's fucked. This person loves you if you say yes to them then you don't have to deal with being poor and as oppressed by the system but only you! Your entire group of people lives in the same conditions as you... If you say no, then you'll go back to being oppressed. This person on power hold power over you still. How much can you wight in with your own problems and boundaries, if the other one can throw you away into your old way of living. Can you leave the relationship? If you leave, you can get all the things you did with the privileged person cause maybe they don't hate you for being from a certain minority group, but the system over all hasn't changed. Can your group of people only get better life conditions by loving the pre-existing group in power? Those that person even like you, or do they like the power they hold onto you? Or maybe they like your race for your race more than you as a person.

Just a thing in the writing of this kind of story.

Also, character can have flaws, but they need to be recognized as flaws in writing.

Stolas are constantly victimizing himself (just like any sad privileged asshole would). He can't take the fact that if blitz is angry at him is for a reason, because he doesn't see his treatment of his as a bad thing. Cause in Stoals pov he enjoyed having power over blitz and calling him an IMP and forcing his romanticized view of the situation on to him- But Blitz was pulling a fast one to get money, This rich guy who he got gifted to as a slave playmate now is holding his job over his head in exchanged for sex, the same guy constantly does sexual advances towards him even when he explicitly says he doesn't want that (remember all of Loo loo land episode?), he gets call plenty of imp based "petnames" (“My impish little play-thing”) from a guy that can literary buy imps as slaves any day, suddenly he has to reciprocate his romantic feelings because he is sad, and apparently he wanted something more even thought he made it entirely empty and sexual all this time.

Stolas fake apologized, got fairly screamed at and victimized himself.

And apparently calling him out is bad for Blitz to do? Victim blaming.

I think by the last episode, they are going to kick Stolas out of the castle, technically putting him in a similar social position to imps with nowhere to go. Even if it doesn't magically work that way. -and Stolas is going to be "more sad and more in the right, so Blitz has no ground to complain now, right!?" ...

The way all of this episode and series is written tries so hard to delete any negative feeling against systemic problems, classism related issues, etc. if it's against a character the series wants you to like. If it's Stolas then he did nothing wrong, the power dynamic doesn't exist... if it is Mammon then he is a terrible person holding his power over others' capitalism sucks... oh but not Stolas tho! If it is Ozzi there is no power dynamic over a disabled imp, constant searching for appreciation from someone he fells is above him (like he tried to get with Mammon, because Ozzie is a good highly privileged person. No bad things to look out for! Fuck capitalism, but I'm one of the good rich people, no criticism is possible!

All that bad stuff could that people in my position of power is awful! But I would, could never do that! Because I'm a good one! Hmm

If you don't see the problem here, you may be a problem or may be justifying something terrible.

Also, funny enough about the short of Millie and Sally... I can't believe you only get content of a female character AND MILLIE IN SPECIFIC in extra side content that Viv didn't even care enough to write herself... and also the short gave me nothing new about her, I got more for Sally (and finally something normal! More than a line and she gets to have a character).

I hope there is a better episode for her.

#vivziepop critical #hazbin hotel critical #vivziepop critique #helluva boss critical #helluva boss criticism #vivziepop criticism #hazbin hotel critique #helluva boss critique #hazbin hotel criticism #anti vivziepop #tw racism #tw slavery

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lucky-clover-gazette · 1 day

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capri chapter 9 thoughts: erasmus and torveld are interesting foils to damen and laurent. damen is a well-written biased protagonist. ironically, given this book’s reputation, ethics are absolutely at the forefront. controversial topics are not brushed over or excused, in fact they are meant to be heavily criticized. and damen’s slow burn of mutual respect with laurent is deeply compelling, romance aside.

so, yeah. towards the end of chapter 9, damen visits erasmus and torveld the night after the party. erasmus is happily obedient to torveld because he is afraid of receiving abuse elsewhere, and torveld is going out of his way to be considerate and kind to a person/possession who knows nothing but obedience. damen sees them together and tries to interpret it as sweet, as he would have done in the past, but can’t quite view the dynamic in the same way. erasmus says it’s good, torveld says it’s good, and damen pre-vere would have said the same thing. but now, he hesitates—it’s not a fully formed thought for him, but to the reader it’s like… no, this isn’t honorable, this is the outcome of an irredeemable institution that strips people of their free will and frightens them into submission. it’s wrong, even if it looks sweet.

damen and laurent, meanwhile, refuse to profess or accept obedience respectively, and they are neither considerate nor kind to each other. but by the end of chapter 9, they’ve recognized the honorable traits they share through their interactions with others, and have unintentionally laid the groundwork for mutual respect. for the first time, in their own ridiculous way, they have worked together to reduce harm in the world.

through getting to know laurent in books 1&2, damen very slowly realizes that niceness is not necessarily a sign of goodness. he can’t trust people just because they seem good, or because he wants to BELIEVE that they’re good (like the regent and kastor and the akielion institution of… you know).

but in chapter 9, so early on in the series, he’s just starting to figure this out. and i honestly can’t blame him! combine damen’s deeply-ingrained instinct to associate niceness with goodness with laurent’s cruelty towards damen thus far (which he believes is completely impersonal), and it makes sense why he can’t see what’s right in front of him:

laurent is somehow the most morally decent person with any kind of authority in this court, AND he’s a total cast-iron bitch about it.

#capri #captive prince #laurent of vere #damen of akielos #erasmus #yes i’m writing essays i don’t care im having fun!#even if it’s annoying or no one cares

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zvtara-was-never-canon · 2 days

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Hey, i follow your blog for several weeks now and think you make some fresh of breth air.

What is your opinion on aang and his arc in general ? Are you critical of the lion turtle at the end and think it was a selfish moment when he did not redirect lightning back at ozai?

Despite of all the shipping wars :)

Let's make a distinction clear here: the lionturtle was poorly set up, that is a totally valid complaint. Claiming that a traumatized 12-year-old, who as a bonus was raised to be a pacifist, is being selfish for not wanting to be people's assassin for hire is complete lunacy. He's a child, a person. He's not your super weapon/soldier, and his responsibilities as the Avatar don't change the fact that what people are expecting of him is unfair and deeply traumatizing.

And actually, Aang's role as the Avatar and the way people misunderstand it ties into why I think his arc was great: he has a duty to the world. The WHOLE world. Fire Nation very much included.

He isn't there to wipe them off the face of the Earth in retaliation for what they did to his people. He isn't there to have them be ruled with an iron fist for the crime of being born in the wrong place/culture, regardless of how complicent every individual was, or wasn't, in the war. He isn't there to disregard anyone's humanity and inherent right to life and dignity, not even Ozai's, for "the greater good."

He is there to bring back harmony. To help put the Fire Nation back on the right path. To make them stop being a threat, yes, but through REDEMPTION, not violence.

That's why he learns that the kids were taught lies basically from birth, and that any form of self-expression, and even old Fire Nation traditions, are being suppressed. Why he turns to Iroh for advice in Ba Sing Se even though the old man was constantly helping Zuko. Why he could see the lonely, angry, sad child hiding behind Zuko's hostile behavior. Why he too needed to see that fire could be both life and death, and thus should not be hated but also not used caressly, because even though he is an air-nomad before anything, that is still his element too.

The Fire Nation's original culture might not be his primary identity, but it is part of him, and he's one of the few people alive that were there to witness it in it's true glory - and the only one who hasn't had time to get used the idea of them being nothing but a threat now. That's why Aang is the perfect guy to save the day. He won't let them do evil, but he won't let their potential for good be ignored.

And it's sooooooooooooooooo satisfying to see the Fire Nation needing to rely on Aang's air-nomad culture to help. To see him prove Ozai was wrong to think they were just dead-weight in the world, that they had nothing of value to offer (and grabbing the fucker by his stupid beard).

To see Aang, who lost his people, saw sacred temples and relics destroyed, and that even had to hide his arrow, screaming to the whole world that the wisdom of the airbenders was the one hope for a brighter future and being validated by the narrative for it was fucking beautiful.

Aang was a child that was constantly told he had to sacrifice everything, his beliefs, his peace of mind, his culture, his attachment to the people he loved, what was left of his childhood and potentially even his own life for everyone else's sake, and that he was selfish if didn't like that shitty deal the universe offered him. And in the finale he said "FUCK THAT NOISE!" and that was thing that ultimately saved everyone, not just himself.

He is the poster boy for "Fuck you! It's real easy to talk about sacrifices for the greater good when you're not the one who'll have to sacrifice anything!" and I love him for that.

Seriously, it's crazy how fans that go "Urgh, just betray your beliefs and traumatize yourself for everyone else's sake already, you selfish asshole" don't realize they're unironically talking like an actual cartoon villain that is know for being cowardly and cruel.

youtube

#pro aang #aang defense squad #respect aang or die by my sword

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dragonfliesareawesome · 2 days

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If you've been involved with the kaeloo fandom recently and decided to read the document Jay made you might have seen my username appear a few times. I am here just to discuss the critic I received

Since you said I talk behind people's backs I'm going to say what I think really of it, to your face.

I hate you, I hate the fact that you don't see wrong in your actions and I hate the fact that you think that what you're doing is right in any way, shape or form.

This fandom is FULL to the brim with minors, and you get angry when said minors tell you that they're not comfortable with you writing NSFW of their favorite characters? Seriously, grow up. You're almost thirty but still you're acting like an absolute child (I should know, I AM A CHILD)

You say I should stay in my own lane, but I would rather not accept advices from someone who's entire defense tactic is insulting and acting like a victim.

Half the people you have beef with are people half your age (minors), don't you think that's a little bit weird? Like, MAYBE, just maybe, you're the one in the wrong?

I already know you're going to try debunking all I said by telling me I'm just a sock puppet, but if I know one thing is that I'm able to think for myself, and I manage to not be a complete creep and use my age as an excuse.

If you thought that what you wrote about me could make me back down and stop talking about it, then you're wrong, because I know I'm not the one in the wrong here

With the tiny bit of respect I have left for you I'll tell you, please grow up and understand that what you're doing right now is nothing but a childish way of handling things

✌️

-your favorite little instigator

#fandom drama #kaeloo #kaeloo fandom

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viviennelamb · 3 days

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What do you think is the goal behind women talking so much about "purity culture?" I try to avoid feminist discussion in general now but I occasionally see this topic brought up, and they usually equate loving purity/wanting to be pure with pedophilia or something similar ( I recently saw someone say "purity culture is rape culture.") I seriously doubt it would ever happen, but I like the idea of getting to be in an actually loving relationship with a women who values the same things as me. I don't seek it out becauce there's no point in doing that, it's more of a "it would be cool if this happened" thing. But when they say things like this, it makes me feel like I'm wrong or perverted for seeing purity as a positive trait in a partner.

These are my thoughts: I see grown women put on that fake mask of purity that's meant to attract men's attention (and sometimes women's bc I've seen lesbians have these kinks) towards them. One of the more obvious examples: the whole pink ribbon coquette "I'm an innocent little submissive bunny uWu" thing they do. And oc these women obviously adore pedophilia and want to roleplay having their innocence stolen again. They don't have it anymore so they have to play pretend to reach physical excitement, which is why these kinks exist in the first place. But then "purity culture" is blamed for these people finding purity sexually exciting, like it's some made-up concept, when that's literally what sex is- degrading someone else by using their body for a high. The more innocent someone is, the more degrading (aka exciting) the sex is for, therefore innocence is sexually beguiling to most people whether they admit it or not.

I've seen that the "sex-critical but not anti-sex" crowd hates people using different scenarios to act out degredation and referencing the predator/prey dymanic of sex through kink, bdsm, etc. But they think sex is fine as long as they don't overtly acknowledge that what they're doing is degrading or an exchange of power. Like an "out of sight, out of mind" thing. So they draw very random and rigid lines around what sex is okay and what sex isn't, and what isn't okay is anything that takes them out of the lovey-dovey lie they tell themselves and reminds them of what's really getting them off. To me there's something even more predatory about these people, because even if the kind of lust they engage in is less violent/extreme, they're incredibly manipulative about their intentions. Their whole shtick about sex being an "expression of love" is the most coercive thing ever.

Everyone in the world seeks to consume purity and people only ever encouraged purity as a temporary measure in one's goal of finding "the one." Like a virgin distribution system, it's about everyone getting to their fair share of innocence to taint, not about loving innocence itself. That is the real "purity culture", but instead of defending purity they think the solution to this problem is to just pretend purity is a made up concept. They decide to blame it all on a toxic ideology instead of being honest about reality, just like they do with every other problem in the world. Like if you simply decide to think about an action in a different way, that somehow changes the action being wrong. They decide that purity doesn't exist and that lust isn't harmful, which gives them the freedom to go about life feeding on innocence guilt-free, degrading themselves and others but believing they're morally superior than people who are more upfront about why they do what they do. I hope this makes sense and I'm not just writing in circles, I know why their logic is flawed in my head but I'm bad at piecing my thoughts together in a coherent way for others.

Also this is random but I had to share: The most hilarous thing I ever saw in my radfem tumblr days was a post telling you how to suck dick without it being patriarchal and degrading. As if you can take away the inherent degredation of stuffing one's face with some man's dick. It said to not kneel, to not stare up at him in the eyes like pornstars do, and to not go far back enough to gag. Sex pest logic: "It's natural and there's nothing wrong with it, just don't look him in the eye while you do it or it's degrading."

I've heard of the “purity is perversion” thing, and they're jealous. Women want to be attractive to everybody, even if they're not attracted to that individual, so they create think pieces on why they should be included in other people's dating pools, how beauty standards should change, etc. Now Twomen are engaging in the same behavior saying that you're a bigot if you're not attracted to them.

Even though 99.9% of people want an impure partner, they talk about purity way too often for it to not be an envy-based concern. Purity is the only trait that matters in a partner, everything else falls into place after that. If purity isn't the foundation for a relationship, that's when people get into these weird and oddly specific traits that don't really matter because they truth is they'd screw anything with a pulse. And they do.

When people fake like purity, they want the image of purity projected, but if you're actually pure, that makes them insecure and run for the hills because your standards are too high to live up to. And you won't fuck them, of course.

Sex-addicts also delude themselves into believing that “having sex through your heart” or “having sex with your brain” purifies their act, which is why they're so impressed with themselves when they speak like this. I can't believe I have to say this, but you can only have sex with your genitals. There's no purifying or romanticizing sex—it's for the painfully horrifying ordeal of self-sacrificial procreation. If people want to deny this, fine, but I don't want to hear them complain about rape and pedophilia. You don't get to justify sex for yourself, then criticize how other people have sex and who they have it with.

Most people are pedophiles. This goes much deeper than an orgasm, it's a state of consciousness, and it's the most evil form of it. The world isn't the way it is for no reason, the thoughts of the population materializes, which the news sheds a light on hourly. People think the news is cherry-picking to sow doom and gloom, but the news is actually very sanitized and is vastly underreporting on reality, saving airtime for the most deplorable cases.

If you want to find a genuine person, they won't have a reputation to uphold. People with reputations are manipulators. Individuals who know they're evil welcome bad karma and get off on their misfortune and the decay of their body. They're not only sadistic, but also put themselves through the ringer for sexual gratification. These are beings who intentionally contract STDs, and spread them, will burn themselves and others, put themselves in situations to get raped and rape others. Fake good people believe they're victims, even though they engage in the same behavior as overtly evil people because they engage in the New Age religion of “just think of it differently, and you will dodge karma!” You can't dodge the self-made structure of your brain.

To the ordinary person, purity culture is having to actually apply their philosophies to everyday life. If you're speaking to a feminist separatist who says she hates men, but then you point out that she has a boyfriend, she will call you a purist for expecting her to abide by the values she says she has. Purity culture isn't only about sex, it's about actually being who you say you are. This is where impurity and the split mind come into play, most people cannot reconcile reality with what is going on in their head, which is the basis of all mental illnesses.

If you call a slut a slut, you're being rude, but if you call a slut an innocent angel, she will become gleeful even though she doesn't fit the criteria. The ordinary person is begging to be lied to, and then they get upset when they get played. People love poetic whores for this reason. The individual's lack of self-awareness is why they are taken advantage of repeatedly. This level of naivety has clarified that the cabal does need to deploy mind control, as most are not interested in controlling their minds. The primary way people are controlled is through their senses. When I see people with zero discipline write pieces on how they abuse their senses in this never-heard-of-unique way even though it's very mediocre, as if they have any autonomy, it's kinda funny. Just like the essing dee example you gave.

The “think of x differently” mindset is exactly what false religions are about and how dogma springs up. If somebody is consistently having sex, their consciousness is at that level. It doesn't matter how intelligent they project themselves to be, people who are actually smart aren't popular & can see through their facade. If you're popular yet, claim to speak the truth, that's a contradictory statement. One must lie, pander and grift in some manner, or they're stupidly reinventing the wheel to gain traction in this world.

Although I absolutely despise evil, I'd rather deal with an overt devil than the covert one. The ones who openly brag about their disgusting nature and don't try to justify themselves, but these individuals are relatively rare. Overt psychopaths are the ones women hate because women are covert psychopaths who are terrified of men who make no effort to hide their true nature. This is because women like to be warmed up to the sexophile's vulturine nature slowly, then claim victimhood. Women as a collective hate the truth because women lie that much.

The language people use is indicative of their true nature. It's a sign of how versed they are in grooming, manipulation and “lovebombing." Convoluted, confusing and flowery language is meant to romanticize degeneracy. Predators are predictable, but people with smooth brains will always be easy prey. Oh well, survival of the fittest, right?

The majority of the world is still illiterate, and most of the people who can read do so at a 2nd grade level (and that is dwindling according to what these teachers are saying). So to even have good enough karma to read yet waste one's eyesight on garbage is a personal choice. What you're saying is literally incomprehensible to everybody. Realistically, there is only a small portion of the world this information is available to, a lecture room of people who can comprehend it and a handful who will actually apply it. Still worth it for those who are genuinely suffering, so any truth you can speak is infinitesimally useful.

Eating genitals is no different than drinking piss and eating shit. These are dog-people who are only one step away from eating plated feces as a delicacy, which is why westerners are projected to eat bugs soon. We're seeing more and more people with veneers for a reason. It's not just to get a Hollywood Smile. I would talk about this more, but 120 Days of Sodom demonstrates Satan Consciousness well enough. These beings are not human but take on the appearance of such. Actual humans are at least aware of their souls and demonstrate discipline and decorum. Animals are at the will of their base urges.

#if you haven't gotten outsmarting the ego yet you'd like it #ask

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itsbenedict · 2 days

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y'know, i still listen to My Brother My Brother and Me- and i keep hearing rumblings like "oh, they've gone downhill" from people. and i don't really get that? like, it's still pretty good.

i've got criticisms. the wizard is only like 80% as good as yahoo answers as a core bit, i don't much like the new theme song and i think the motive for switching was a masterstroke of totally unnecessary cowardice (did they really think they'd be cancelled over being affiliated with Bean Dad?), and it feels like the plugs and promos they always do at the end have been growing- but like, they're still funny.

except- and i just don't understand this- this one particular bit they keep doing. they mostly save it for live shows, and that's baffling to me because "With Special Guest" seems to be so thoroughly devoid of comedy that i don't know why they've decided it's a crowd-pleaser.

like- if you haven't heard it, the game is: Travis finds a clip from Saturday Night Live, in particular a bit where the celebrity special guest introduces a band that's going to be performing. just the star going "ladies and gentlemen: Name of Band". Travis tells them who the celebrity and the band are, and Justin and Griffin are then tasked with guessing the line delivery in the clip.

that's the whole bit. they try to guess how a random celebrity sounds while delivering a completely perfunctory line on someone else's TV show. and they all seem to think this is funny, for some reason! like usually, when there's a real stinker of a bit, like Play Along At Home, they can at least turn it alchemy-like into laughs by riffing on the concept or being deliberately stupid about it. but in With Special Guest, they all seem to buy in one hundred percent, genuinely trying to predict what the line delivery will be like, naming several completely banal and uninteresting possible options. all of those guesses are almost without exception totally wrong, and the actual delivery is a different completely banal and uninteresting instance of a celebrity saying the name of a band. (this is then followed up with "holy SHIT" and a shocked reaction to the reveal, as if it were somehow mind-blowing and hilarious.)

like- am i missing something? do other people think this is funny somehow? where is the joke? is it... is it like, one of those anti-comedy things, and the joke is how long they can do it without cracking? but the audience laughs, too, so like- what's going on with them? am i the weird one here?

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