#please go watch all of this jewish creators content

[pfenniged]

The Holocaust is Not a Metaphor: The Grey Zone (2001)

#tw: the holocaust #the grey zone #personal #world war two #please go watch all of this jewish creators content #it's all so good

[wings-of-fire-confessions]

I have been in the wof fandom for a while, since at least 2016, and I absolutely adore the creators in the fandom. I love getting to see how people view the books and making good critiques of the book series.

However, it annoys me how some people try to make claims that either don’t hold up or may have some validity at first, but falls apart when you put it in context of story of the books, or the world, or when you even just think a bit further about the point.

One of the things I have seen include Tui using Native American stereotypes in a tumblr post and using the fact that the characters (specifically the humans during the scorching) used feathers as accessories and were people of color. At face value, it seems like a valid claim, until you realize that all of the human characters are people of color and their societies don’t try to resemble that of Native American people in the books. Or the fact that the humans were the ones that stole dragon eggs and tried to use them as weapons of war. In total, I think there was one white person ever mentioned in the books (Axolotl).

Additionally, if you are going to talk about an issue in the fandom on a YouTube video, make it an actual video! By that, I mean if you intend to make a point about something, you don’t make a video that has no relevance to the topic at hand and then put the discourse in the description!

If you know the video I am referring to, the creator made a PMV for the fandom then put in their description why they aren’t making wof content anymore and that people should stop reading the books because of “Tui’s dangerous and bigoted writing.” I’m not saying that the person shouldn’t talk about issues in the fandom, but at least if you are going to do that make it its own video so people can actually SEE IT. Not everyone who clicks on a video will read the description, and when people go to read the comments, they are bound to get confused! (For context, the biggest thing being fought over was the freaking Glorybringer ship and how it is/isn’t pedophilia with op arguing it is).

I also watched the video they added in the link that was critiquing the “complacency in fantasy” (but mostly talking about wof) and it had some good points, until it went into saying that the Nightwings mirrored the Nazis and represented Jewish stereotypes at the same time and how it was “trauma porn.”

As I said before, some good points in the critique such as the treatment of Winter and the false DoD, and I get some of the points that the person was trying to make with how some subjects should be handled with more care such as arc 3’s slavery and the racism between tribes in wof, but other things such as comparing the Sandwings to Arab stereotypes without ya know, acknowledging how people that read the series treat the characters outside the books and how the books themselves handle their own characters (Such as Qibli and the whole Deserter winglet) is frustrating.

TLDR; if you are going to make a statement on fandom discourse or want to make an in depth critique about the series and want to make your point known, don’t relegate it to what basically equates to an optional footnote. And if you are going to make claims that relate to the real world, please back it up with evidence of both the in-text and information about the real-world facts (plus acknowledge at least some of the context around a series such as arc 1 and the fact that Tui is flawed but doesn’t mean that it can’t be enjoyed).

Sorry for the rant/long post, the way that some people handle criticizing the books and try to paint them like the worst thing ever just infuriates me because there is good and bad things about this series as all series are bound to have. Crafting a perfect story is hard to do and there will always be shortcomings in some authors stories, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy them or be inspired to create something that may improve or even tackle the issues within the books with more care.

I definitely understand what you are saying. As a Jew (Bar Mitzvah'd so I am connected to my community), the comparison to NightWings is pretty far-fetched and actually pretty offensive.

It's just like how people called Tigerstar a cat Nazi back in the day, when he was more like a racial purist, and even then he somehow was pro-race blending.

#wings of fire confessions #wof confessions #wof #wings of fire #racism #antisemetism

[dovesndecay]

If your criticisms of media aimed at people under the age of 21 consists primarily of "it's baby media for babies, wah" (kindly infer the whiny voice I'm saying this in) then your opinions mean nothing to me because you're not approaching the content with any level of nuance or even the basic common decency to acknowledge that something doesn't have to be for you to have value for someone else.

The number of y'all that I see out here watching these popular middle grade range of cartoons and absolutely ripping them to pieces is honestly baffling to me -- if you're not enjoying it, why are you watching it?

Like, don't get me wrong -- there are plenty of criticisms that are legitimate and should be talked about by some groups of people.

But y'all are out here accusing Queer Jewish creators of fascist apologism, ignoring the contributions of Black creators (if not outright saying that their work is racist) [please go read Ian Jones-Quartey's commentary about the Pizza family on Steven Universe, where he talks about how they were directly inspired by and designed to reflect his Nigerian [edit] Ghanian immigrant family], or accusing those same Black creators of being predators for not being upset over NSFW fanart (like, WOW y'all gotta stop), and a wide variety of other utterly unhinged hot takes that I cannot even begin to list here.

If you think that it would have been better for Steven Universe to depict the SIXTEEN YEAR OLD (as of SU:F) sentencing the Diamonds to be shattered (essentially and literally executed), congrats, you missed the entire point of the show.

It's not about fascism.

It's about intergenerational trauma.

As someone who has suffered the effects of multi-generational abuse and toxicity, I wish I could sit my grandmother down and point out the ways she hurt my mother and help her find a way to be better. I don't want to hurt her; I want her to heal. (I have not always felt this way; my own self-healing journey has led me to this point.)

It's not wrong to want zero contact with people that have hurt you, or have been the catalyst for hurt you've experienced.

But it's also not wrong to want to help them heal.

People process things differently, make different decisions, and shows like Steven Universe, and She-Ra, etc, they show that healing is not a zero sum game; the healing process is not one-size-fits-all, but also, no one is beyond helping.

You don't have to be the one to help them, but you don't get to tell anyone else that they aren't allowed to.

Anyway, if y'all don't even like kids' cartoons, don't fucking watch them.

[go ahead, clown in my notes; i'm just gonna block ya, bud]

#original post

[cowpokezuko]

At the risk of actually having an opinion on the anti/proship fandom wank, something that I see often and would just like to take a moment to refute is the idea that propaganda and transgressive content have the same effect. 

I often hear the argument that “media affects reality, i.e Jaws made people afraid of sharks”. Yes. Some people are afraid of sharks because they saw the movie Jaws and that made them scared of sharks. HOWEVER, you are forgetting that humans have been afraid of sharks for centuries. Jaws was made because people have always been afraid of sharks. There was a market for that type of thrill. Horror movies are supposed to scare people, and had Jaws not been made, people would have been scared of sharks all the same. Jaws is a product of a fear, not a cause. 

This same idea goes for fear mongering propaganda against marginalized people. People in 1920s Germany were already anti-semitic, whether they watch Triumph of the Will or not didn’t make them hate Jewish people more, it just made them more confident in this belief. This kind of hateful propaganda is something that gets whipped up by news media, artists, and interpersonal relationships and is built off preconceived biases. It’s the kind of things that permeates the entire world of people who are already more susceptible to this sort of confirmation bias. They get so consumed by their hate because they literally never experience anything outside of it. However, that still doesn’t mean the fictional content they’re consuming caused this hate. New stories, misinfo or not, social biases, upbringing, and pseudo science are more often the culprits for making people into bigots than film or literature, though it does play a part. 

This is not taboo/fetish content though. This is targeted hate at an already marginalized group. They are not born from the same stock and they do not serve the same conversation. There is a very real and legitimate conversation to be had about the effects of propaganda and the damage it does, but that conversation does not carry over to incest porn or whatever. 

Taboo content is oft created because it is extremely interesting to the creator as either a storytelling device or as jerk off material or even because of something suffered in their past and now they make weird art to vent about it. None of these motivations have nearly the same end goal as the men who created Birth of a Nation. Sometimes transgressive content is made to make people afraid, uncomfortable, horny, or all three at once, and that’s okay. It’s important to make weird shit that shakes up the rather drab status quo. 

It’s also important to remember that there are better and worse ways to handle dark topics in fiction, but for that conversation, I would like to direct you all to Folding Ideas video “A Lukewarm Defence of Fifty Shades of Grey” as he is a better writer and presenter than I. 

Also please remember to block any tags that make you uncomfortable, shit talk things amongst friends, and bear in mind that not everything is for you and that’s okay. You don’t have to like taboo content, I truly don’t care, but it’s not worth it to bother other people about it. If you feel the need to rb something that makes you uncomfortable with mean words, please go outside and touch some grass, listen to some birds, and go for a walk. 

TL:DR please stop using racist propaganda to justify your discomfort as shitty false equivalency. They are not the same at all actually and both deserve more nuance than just comparing them. Block things liberally. 

#sorry about that #just had to get it out #long post #i hope this makes sense #it just frustrates me that something so horrible and vile routinely gets compared to something rather benign #like we don't all consider GoT as sisterfucking propaganda #why do people think its bad when dudes on the internet write simillar things #scale is suchhh a factor in this and no one bothers to point that out #but thats another post #media literacy #propaganda #tw nazi mention

[thataurifox]

On Stanley Milgram’s Social Experiments and the Application to Generation Loss

Essay Word Count: 2,222 words

(Title and Headings not included)

About the Poster

Hello! My name is Auri. The start of this essay is a brief blurb of conversational talk from me to you as the reader, largely addressing the credentials I have to begin a discussion on this topic. Which isn’t really much! It really only amounts to the fact that I have passed a singular college/university class in general psychology in which we discussed and researched this specific experiment. In no way am I a professional psychologist, and I do not expect my words to be taken at face value. If you are interested in the topic, do your own research too! I am fully willing to have conversations and debates regarding the material in this essay, especially if you have more knowledge and education on the topic than I do.

All of the information in this essay will be presented for a more rounded basic understanding of the experiment and my thoughts on whether or not the application of the experiment to the events of Generation Loss is appropriate. I will be covering an explanation of one of the simplest versions of the experiment as presented to me by my psychology professor. This will not be an extensive explanation of every variable, although it will go beyond the information that was included in MatPat’s Game Theory video about Generation Loss. Above all, please do not take my words to be the end all be all of this experiment and Generation Loss itself! These are my thoughts with the information I currently have. Doing your own research and developing your own thoughts and opinions on the subject is very important and highly encouraged.

Additionally, please do not give hate to either creator in the discussion of this topic. This essay is meant to be informative so that others may draw their own conclusions. The thoughts and feelings I express in this writing are my own, and I do not expect everyone to agree with me, and the content creators are doing nothing more than freely producing content for viewers to watch and discuss. Be respectful to everyone, including the creators and other Tumblr users who may comment or reblog. Thank you!

Warnings

Please do note that this essay will discuss events such as the Holocaust, World War II, death, perceived torture, Nazis, and concentration camps in uncensored ways. Nothing in this essay will in any way be graphic, but topics in this list may be brought up and discussed in various ways. In no way are anti-Semitic views or intentionally harming another person endorsed in this post, and endorsing either of these in discussion will not be tolerated. Please keep your own mental health in mind while reading, as this is a serious topic.

Introduction

On Sunday, May 30, 2023, MatPat released a video on the Game Theory YouTube channel regarding Ranboo’s horror series Generation Loss. This video, titled Lies of the Founder, covered the events of Generation Loss since the release of the T_1 video. This included information given in The Inauguration and Generation 1: The Social Experiments. During this video, MatPat also included the idea that the social experiment designed by Stanley Milgram could be comparable to the Social Experiments of Generation Loss. However, this should not be taken into account without considering the full scope of the experiment and its design, including ethics, historical context, and social implications.

Historical Context and Social Implications

Milgram’s social experiments occurred in the early 1960s following the end of World War II. During this time, many of the people who had working in concentration camps during the Holocaust were on trial for a myriad of crimes, including the slaughter and injury of Jewish people. This included not only scientists and leaders of the Nazis, but also people of working class backgrounds who believed in the cause. These people were asked why they would intentionally participate in mass murder, to which they responded that they were told to.

Society would largely like to believe that people have a moral compass that would keep them from performing such acts. Therefore, it was thought that these people must either make up a small portion of the population or that they were lying as to their motivations. This was the basis of Milgram’s experiments: to determine whether or not the average person would intentionally cause another harm because they had been told to by a figure of authority. The expectation was that they would not, however this would not turn out to be the case in the majority of situations.

The Experiment

Before discussing the outcome of the experiment, it is important to understand the structure of the experiment itself. It had many different iterations with the same basic design, all intended to simulate a similar experience to the people who had been running the gas chambers in a more controlled environment. There were even iterations that appealed to different demographics, including women, which did show minor variation in data. Despite this, each time the experiment was run the general outcome remained the same.

In a basic version of the experiment, an ad was placed in the newspaper that stated that volunteers could apply to take part in an experiment at Yale, which they would be financially compensated for. However, volunteers were not told the true purpose of the experiment. Volunteers were told that the experiment was a test to see how the introduction of pain impacted how well a person learned. This was similar to other experiments that had taken place to see the influences of pain versus reward in learning behaviors among animals. Upon applying, each volunteer would be given a date, time, and place that they were to go in order to partake, and told that they would be paid upon arrival.

The times and dates were set so that only one participant would arrive at a time for each experiment session, and all of the sessions were done late at night when no one else would be in the area. Even the police had been told that there would be strange and potentially disturbing noises coming from the building, and that these noises should be ignored. Volunteers would arrive to see another person sitting in the waiting room, who would introduce themselves as another volunteer. Unknown to them, this person was not another participant, but instead a paid actor who had been told how the experiment would work. The two would be left alone in the room together while waiting for someone to begin the experiment.

Eventually, a person wearing some kind of designation of power, such as a lab coat, and referred to as the experimenter, would come into the room. The experimenter would then present the volunteer and the actor with the money they had promised the volunteers, and the volunteer was told that they could leave at any time. If they wished, they could take the money at that moment and walk out the door without proceeding further into the experiment. If they chose to proceed, the volunteer would then be given a choice to select a piece of paper from the experimenter’s hand, which they were told would determine their role in the experiment. They were told that they could be either the learner, the person who would answer questions, or the teacher, the person who would ask questions and administer the punishments. It was intended to appear as random chance, however both of the papers in the experimenter’s hands would say teacher, thereby rigging the roles that were given. The remaining paper that wasn’t chosen would then be given to the actor, who would pretend that the paper told them to be the learner. After being given their roles, given that they still wished to participate, the volunteer and the actor would then be taken back to the area that had been set up for the rest of the experiment.

The volunteer and the actor were then separated into separate rooms where they were not able to see each other, although there was an intercom system set up so that they would be able to hear each other. The volunteer was then told that they would be asking questions and would be administering a controlled shock to the actor if the answers that they had given were wrong. In many cases, these questions were a series of associated words that had to be repeated in order. Given that the volunteer might have concerns about shocking someone, volunteers were also given a light sample shock to show that each shock would not equate to more than a pinch. They would then be told how to work all of the necessary equipment and instructed to proceed with the experiment. Nothing would change until the first time the actor intentionally got a question wrong.

After a question was answered incorrectly, the volunteer would be directed to give the actor a shock. For every wrong answer after this, they would then be told that the voltage would be raised by a given interval, so that each time the actor answered a question wrong, the “shock” would be more painful. Eventually the shock would rise to a voltage that should have been painful, and increasingly distressed noises would either be acted out by the actor or played from a previously recorded tape. Should the volunteer refuse to administer the shock, the experimenter had a few statements along the line of, “The experiment must continue.” This was intended to make the volunteer continue to administer the shocks, however the volunteer was still free to leave at any time. In fact, some volunteers would. For those that continued with the experiment, the shock levels would continue to increase to the point where shocks could be potentially fatal.

At this point, the actor or the tape had lines that were intended to convince the volunteer that they could die, such as yelling that they had a heart condition that could be made worse or kill them because of the shocks. Regardless of this, the experimenter would continue to say that the experiment should continue. This had the potential to reach the point that all sound would cease to come over the intercom from the actor’s room altogether, even though questions are still being asked. The experimenter would then inform the volunteer that should no answer be given, it was to be taken as an incorrect answer and a shock should be administered. After a shock or multiple shocks had been administered in pure silence, the experimenter would then tell the volunteer that the experiment had been concluded and escort them out of the room.

The Outcome and Ethics

It is important to remember that no one was ever physically injured in these experiments. All of it was acting, rigged to see how the volunteers would respond. A majority of the volunteers did proceed all the way to the end of the experiments, a number of almost 66%. This shocked the general society at the time, who had estimated that the majority of people would not go through something like this. The rest of the volunteers who did choose to walk out or threatened to call the police were then told how the experiment worked, and were asked to remain silent about their experience so that they could continue to collect accurate results.

However, volunteers experienced major trauma because of this. Instances of survivor’s guilt were recorded years later regarding the experiment, with some volunteers admitting to having persistent nightmares. So while there wasn’t any physical harm, there was certainly potential for mental harm done to the volunteers who followed all the way through. In addition to the deception as to the true purpose and methods of the experiment and the lack of informed consent from the volunteers, this experiment violates multiple sections of the modern code of ethics. As such, this experiment would never have been approved or allowed to continue today.

Application to Generation Loss

In my personal opinion, this is an experiment that should not be applied to Generation Loss. While I do understand the concept of Generation 1: The Social Experiments being about the audience and seeing how far they would be willing to take things, I do not believe there is truly enough similarity to use them as a one-to-one comparison. The roles of learner, experimenter, and teacher are not significantly filled out from the cast we have in Generation Loss in my opinion. Additionally, there is something about using an experiment that breaks the code of ethics and was designed in regards to behaviors from the Holocaust, a very serious historical event, to describe elements of an entertaining horror story that rubs me the wrong way. I do believe the appropriateness of this can be subjective, but I would like to give other people evaluating this all of the information that I also have.

In Conclusion

This essay has been designed to give readers more information as to a particular subject that was brought up in a Game Theory video. It serves the secondary purpose of displaying the reasons that I believe it is not appropriate to use in the way it has been compared to Ranboo’s Generation Loss series. I am more than willing to hold an ongoing conversation and civil debate on this matter, and encourage everyone to do their own research if this matter interests you for if you feel there is something important that I have missed.

#generation loss #genloss #genlosers #genloss the social experiments #the social experiments #genloss theory #matpat #game theory #matpat theory #informative #stanley milgram #tws now #world war 2 #the holocaust #death #physical harm #this is literally just an informative essay about the last game theory video on gen loss please read lol

[shapeshiftrr]

I hate that J.K is a transphobe and I don’t want to support her but is the show really going to include transphobic and racist undertones? I still want to watch it even if in private.

Nothing in the post says for certain about whether or not the show will contain those kinds of undertones.

The fact of the matter is that JKR is a certified transphobe and her "commentary" or "comparisons" to racism in HP are not well-executed or politically correct/just/kind. Here's a bit of a comprehensive breakdown of her transphobic statements. I am not the right person to elaborate on the racism and antisemitism in the HP series, but do your own research, and you'll find that it is there. The links I have provided should be a starting point, not your only source of information regarding this subject.

As the comment on the post says, "No one is emotionally attached to the Harry Potter Television Show™ fandom yet, and it’s entirely within our power to keep it that way. You don’t need to watch it."

If you decide to watch it, that's your decision. But I – as a person who falls under the trans umbrella – do not feel comfortable with supporting JKR any longer, especially regarding new content, and I do not feel comfortable interacting with JKR supporters. I made HP RP content as a way of separating the story from its creator, as a way of taking back and reclaiming a childhood interest of mine from someone who actively thinks people like me are horrible just for existing.

If you are going to watch this show or support JKR despite knowing all of the bad that she has caused, you are likely privileged enough to not be personally affected by her cruel values. I know I'm not active on this account anymore but please unfollow me if you seriously think watching a tv show (which you can ignore like many, many other series that you have not watched, because i know that there are countless shows out there that I don't even know exist) is more important than the lives and rights of transgender people, of Black people, of Jewish people, etc..

#there are many reasons why i decided to abandon this account and jkr supporters is one of them #dear anon your privilege is showing. you sound dense and incredibly inconsiderate #'i hate that shes a transphobe but i still want to watch it' then that's supporting a transphobe. sorry. it's simple #if you're going to watch it then do so but don't make it my problem or the problem of anyone else who fits into these groups #we're not here to entertain your support of her and we're not here to be your one and only source of information #and my response may sound rude but i have no time to defend or side with anyone who thinks what she has done is acceptable #jkr discourse #answered #anonymous

[trustkosher]

Aim sucks on shotgun farmers

Aim sucks on shotgun farmers movie#

Aim sucks on shotgun farmers tv#

The Englishman Who Went Up A Hill But Came Down A Mountain. Set Fire to the Stars IMDB - An aspiring poet in 1950s New York has his ordered world shaken when he embarks on a week-long retreat to save his hell raising hero, Dylan Thomas.

Aim sucks on shotgun farmers movie#

The movie is mostly in English with parts in Welsh and Yiddish. Solomon & Gaenor IMDB - A tragic love story between a Jewish young man and a Welsh woman in the beginning of the century. Very Annie Mary IMDB - After her father suffers a stroke, his daughter is forced to take care of him. Patagonia IMDB - A young Welsh couple travel to Argentina to work on their relationship in Argentina. gay activists work to help miners during their lengthy strike of the National Union of Mineworkers in the summer of 1984. Rick Steves Europe - North Wales: Feisty and PoeticĪmerican Interior IMDB - In 1792, John Evans, a farmhand from Snowdonia travelled to America to discover whether there was a Welsh-speaking Native American tribe walking the Great Plains. Great Performances at the Met - Bryn Terfel & Friends in ConcertĬurious Traveler - Curious Southern Wales Live from the Artists Den - Marina And The Diamonds It would be great if PBS stations could have a ‘Wales night’ and dedicate a couple of hours to a travel documentary, a music special and maybe a movie. The Welsh are the 23rd largest ethnic group in the USA, but seemingly have very little representation. Would it be possible to add screen some of the following PBS shows or Welsh films on or around March 1st for St. For more information about CPB’s stewardship of the federal appropriation, you can view its Business Plan online: CPB’s commitment to funding diverse content creators is reflected in its longstanding investments in organizations such as the Independent Television Service (ITVS), the National Multicultural Alliance, the Firelight Media, Native Voice One, Urban Alternative, as well as support to individual producers and programs reflecting the diverse American experience. Within the statutory formula, CPB supports public radio and television stations, independent producers, and diverse informational, educational, and cultural content and services. Each year, CPB distributes the federal appropriation for the public media system in accordance with a statutory formula outlined in the Public Broadcasting Act. Note from CPB: Thank you for contacting the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) about CPB’s FY 2024 federal appropriation from Congress. Please stop this and just let us what your shows. There are plenty of podcasts to listen to while I'm doing housework.

Aim sucks on shotgun farmers tv#

I was listening to NPR before COVID and I've been watching TV more now, but I am NOT willing to go without myself just to watch your programming. I get it that you can't charge stations like WKAR even more for your programming. Maybe it helps you get by,but couldn't you at least be honest about it? Like maybe donations were $100 million to keep reporters all over hte world all the time and donations have fallen to $80 million since COVID, but couldn't you tell us just how bad it is and what you'd have to let go if you don't get the $20 million that you need? And I don't need to hear from Depak Chopra and some guy who does brain research mainly to suck money out of me to buy their products. I like Finding your Roots, but I don't need a summary of what Henry Louis Gates has already provided and I've seen.ĭo you think I have the power to give you some kind of award for providing these documentaries? I don't. Now i can't see a 60 minutes episode and for the same reason, you actually interrupt PBS News Hour for the same old, same old tune. I'm on a fixed income during a time of high inflation. I'm a green donor to my local station, WKAR in Lansing pre-empts some of some of my favorite shows, like 60 minutes in favor of ways for you to nag viewers to donate. Have I been asleep at the switchor are you increasing the number of fundraisers you incorporate into programming? In any case, I resent it.

#Aim sucks on shotgun farmers

[themollyjay]

The Myths of Forced Diversity and Virtue Signaling.

In my novel Mail Order Bride, the three main characters are a lesbian and two agendered aliens.  In my novel Scatter, the main character is a lesbian, the love interest is a pansexual alien, and the major side characters include a half Cuban, half black Dominican lesbian, a Chinese Dragon, a New York born Jewish Dragon, and a Transgender Welsh Dragon.  In my novel The Master of Puppets, the Main Characters are a lesbian shapeshifting reptilian alien cyborg and a half black, half Japanese lesbian.  The major side characters include three gender fluid shapeshifting reptilian alien cyborgs, and a pansexual human.  In my novel Transistor, the main character is a Trans Lesbian, the love interest is a Half human/Half Angel non-observant Ethiopian Jew, and the major side characters include a Transgender Welsh Dragon (the same one from Scatter), a Transgender woman, a Latino Lesbian, an autistic man, three Middle Eastern Arch Angels, and a hive mind AI with literally hundreds of genders.  In my novel The Inevitable singularity, one of the main characters is a lesbian, another has a less clearly defined sexuality but she is definitely in love with the lesbian, and the third is functionally asexual due to a vow of chastity she takes very seriously.  The major side characters include a straight guy from a social class similar to the Dalit (commonly known as untouchables) in India, a bisexual woman, a man who is from a race of genetically modified human/frog hybrids, and a woman from a race of genetically modified humans who are bred and sold as indentured sex workers.

Why am I bringing all of this up?  Well, first, because it’s kind of cool to look at the list of different characters I’ve created, but mostly because it connects to what I want to talk about today, which should be obvious from the title of the essay.  The concepts of ‘forced diversity’ and ‘virtue signaling’.

For those who aren’t familiar with these terms, they’re very closely related concepts.  ‘Forced Diversity’ is the idea that characters who aren’t neurotypical cisgendered heterosexual white males are only ever included in a story because of outside pressure from some group (usually called Social Justice Warriors, or The Woke Brigade or something similar) to meet some nebulous political agenda.  The caveat to this is, of course, that you can have a women/women present as long as they are hot, don’t make any major contributions to the resolution of the plot, and the hero/heroes get to fuck them before the end of the story. ‘Virtue Signaling’, according to Wikipedia, is a pejorative neologism for the expression of a disingenuous moral viewpoint with the intent of communicating good character.

The basic argument is that Forced Diversity is a form of virtue signaling.  That no one would ever write characters who aren’t neurotypical cisgendered heterosexual white males because they want to.  They only do it to please the evil SJW’s who are somehow both so powerful that they force everybody to conform to their desires, yet so irrelevant that catering to them dooms any creative project to financial failure via the infamous ‘go woke, go broke’ rule.

What the people who push this idea of Forced Diversity tend to forget is that we exist at a point in time when creators actually have more creative freedom than are any other people in history.  Comic writers can throw up a website and publish their work as a webcomic without having to go through Marvel, DC or one of the other big names, or get a place in the dying realm of the news paper comics page.  Novelists can self-publish with fairly little upfront costs, musicians can use places like YouTube and Soundcloud to get their work out without having to worry about music publishers.  Artists can hock their work on twitter and tumblr and a dozen other places. Podcasts are relatively cheap to make, which has opened up a resurgence in audio dramas.  Even the barrier to entry for live action drama is ridiculously low.

So, in a world where creators have more freedom than ever before, why would they choose to people their stories with characters they don’t want there?  The answer, of course, is that they wouldn’t.  Authors, comic creators, indie film creators and so on aren’t putting diverse characters into their stories because they are being forced to. They’re putting diverse characters into their stories because they want to.  Creators want to tell stories about someone other than the generically handsome hypermasculine cisgendered heterosexual white males that have been the protagonists of so many stories over the years that we’ve choking on it. A lot of times, creators want to tell stories about people like themselves.  Black creators want to tell stories about the black experience. Queer creators want to tell stories about the queer experience.

I’m an autistic, mentally ill trans feminine abuse survivor.  Every day, I get up and I struggle with PTSD, with an eating disorder, with severe body dysmorphia, with anxiety and depression and just the reality of being autistic and transgender.  I deal with the fact that the religious community I grew up in views me as an abomination, and genuinely believes I’m going to spend eternity burning in hell.  I deal with the fact that people I’ve known for decades, even members of my own family, regularly vote for politician who publicly state that they want to strip me of my civil rights because I’m queer.  I’m part of a community that experiences a disproportionately high murder and suicide rate.  I’ve spent multiple years of my life deep in suicidal depression, and to this day, I still don’t trust myself around guns.

As a creator, I want to talk about those issues.  I want to deal with my life experiences.  I want to create characters that embody and express aspects of my lived experience and my day-to-day reality.  No one is forcing me to put diversity into my books.  I try to include Jewish characters as often as I can because there have been a number of important Jewish people in my life.  I include queer people because I’m queer and the vast majority of friends I interact with on a regular basis are queer.  I include people with mental illnesses and trauma because I am mentally ill and have trauma, and I know a lot of people with mental illnesses and trauma.  My work may be full of fantastical elements, aliens and dragons and angels and superheroes and magic and ultra-high technology and AI’s and talking cats and robot dogs and shape shifters and telepaths and all sorts of other things, but at the core of the stories is my own lived experience, and neurotypical cisgendered heterosexual white males are vanishingly rare in that experience.

Now, I can hear the comments already.  The ‘okay, maybe that’s true for individual creators, but what about corporate artwork?’.   Maybe not in those exact words, but you get the idea.

The thought here is that corporations are bowing to social pressure to include characters who aren’t neurotypical cisgendered heterosexual white males, and that is somehow bad. But here’s the thing. Corporations are going to chase the dollars.  They aren’t bowing to social pressure.  There’s no one holding a gun to some executive’s head saying, “You must have this many diversity tokens in every script.”  What is happening is that corporations are starting to clue into the fact that people who aren’t neurotypical cisgendered heterosexual white males have money.  They are putting black characters in their shows and movies because black people watch shows and spend money on movies.  They are putting queer people in shows and movies because queer people watch shows and spend money on movies.  They are putting women in shows and movies because women watch shows and spend money on movies.

No one is forcing these companies to do this.  They are choosing to do it, the same way individual creators are choosing to do it.  In the companies’ cases the choices are made for different reasons.  It’s not because they are necessarily passionate about telling stories about a particular experience, but because they want to create art to be consumed by the largest audience possible, which means that they have to expand their audience beyond the neurotypical cisgendered heterosexual white male by including characters from outside of that demographic.

And the reality is, the cries of ‘forced diversity’ and ‘virtue signaling’ almost always come from within that demographic.  Note the almost.  There are a scattering of individuals from outside that demographic which do subscribe to the ‘forced diversity’ and ‘virtue signaling’ myths, but that is a whole other essay.  However, within that demographic, lot of the people who cry about ‘forced diversity’ see media and content as a Zero-Sum game.  The more that’s created for other people, the less that is created for them.

In a way, they’re right. There are only so many slots for TV shows each week, there are only so many theaters, only so much space on comic bookshelves and so on.  But at the end of the day, its literally impossible for them to consume all the content that’s being produced anyway.  So, while there is, theoretically less content for them to consume, as a practical matter it’s a bit like someone who is a meat eater going to a buffet with two hundred items, and then throwing a tantrum because five of the items happen to be vegan.

The worst part is, if they could let go of how wound up they are about the ‘forced diversity’ and ‘virtue signaling’ they could probably enjoy the content that’s produced for people other than them.  I mean, I’m a pasty ass white girl, and I loved Black Panther.

So, to wrap out, creators, make what you want to make, and ignore anyone who cries about forced diversity or virtue signaling.  And to people who are complaining about forced diversity and virtue signaling, I want to go back to the buffet metaphor.  You need to relax.  Even if there are a few vegan options on the buffet, you can still get your medium rare steak, or your chicken teriyaki or whatever it is you want.  Or, maybe, just maybe, you could give the falafel a try. That shit is delicious.

#writing #original fiction #media #representation #diversity #the war of souls #the hearts of heroes #The Master of Puppets #scatter #transistor #the inevitable singularity #mail order bride

[toadygoblin]

TW: racism, antisemitism, transphobia, ableism

Okay, it's been a really long week, but I figured I might as well put my two cents in about the Schlatt situation. Sorry if this post is all over the place, and I use WAY too many parentheses, (just apologizing in advance). Also, sorry if my spelling is off, trying to type on mobile is horrible.

Okay, here goes.

First, I wanna talk about my relationship with Schlatt's content overall. I first found out about Schlatt through Soothouse, and then CallmeCarson (who I'm not a fan of anymore, for obvious reasons), and back when quarantine started here in the US, I started watching Lunch Club videos. From there I started watching Schlatt's main channel content, and I really enjoyed it for the most part (his Wii videos were always my favorites), and the stuff he posted on Theweeklyslap always made me feel better when I was feeling really sad about life. His iconic video about his mutton chops made me hate my appearance a little less, and his Weeklyslap video about parasocial relationships brings up very important points that every content creator and fan should listen to and learn from.

I will say, though, I was still pretty on the fence about Schlatt as a person, because I always heard about how frequently he was cancelled for stuff he did in the past that he hadn't apologized for. But at the time I just thought it was just Twitter being a hellscape and cancelling content creators for stupid reasons (for example, Quackity , for speaking Spanish, which is HIS FIRST LANGUAGE). And, to be fair, I didn't particularly hate the Jackbox content he's made in the past (though recently, Iv'e gotten kinda tired of getting a notification and it's ANOTHER Jackbox video), but when first saw the original thumbnail... I literally had no words.

I really should have not clicked on the video in the first place, but I did anyway, because part of me was hoping that it was going to be making fun of racist people who do blackface and stuff, but that's not what I saw. Instead, I saw "jokes" about h*tler and the holocaust, making fun of people who put their pronouns in thier bios( which was a slap in the face for me), and all sorts of other horrible shit. I went on Tik Tok afterwards and saw SO MANY people that were upset about the video as well, and then I checked Twitter and Tumblr to see what people had to say, and the general consensus seems to be that everyone was upset with Schlatt for one reason or another.

I'm POC, but I'm not black,so I won't speak on behalf of the the black community, but the video's old thumbnail (yes, he changed it), was really the cherry on top of the rat poison sundae that was this video. I'm also not Jewish, but I think everyone can agree that it is NEVER okay to joke about the genocide of millions of Jews. Niether is it okay to use ableist slurs like the R word, or condone and defend people who do.

I think the fact that a few of Schlatts friends (Justaminx, Iamty, Connoreatspants) were upset with him speaks volumes. In Iamty's recent stream, he explained why he was personally hurt by the video. I recently reblogged a post that includes the part of the stream where he talks about it, if you wanna check it out. Fitz and Swaggersouls, of course, brushed it off, which is super frustrating. I swear, it's like trying to explain to middle school boys why saying slurs is wrong, and them just ignoring you because they don't care. I never really liked either of them, but this seals the deal for me.

Because I lack good judgment when I'm curious about something, I went back to the video to check the comments, and I was disgusted by the stuff I saw. And, of course, there were commentary channels run by 16 year old white boys defending Schlatt, using the classic excuse "ItS JUst A jOke!" and "iTs daRk HumOr!". But I saw a few channels (that usually defend Schlatt when he gets cancelled), weren't covering the situation, and I even saw one video where the commentator mentioned that they were a fan of his content, but that they were extremely disappointed in schlatts recent video. It was kind of refreshing to see, tbh. But also a little sad.

Another thing, I REALLY hate the fact that he's profiting off of the video, complete with a sponsor and everything. He also HAD to have known what kind of trouble he would land in when he A: edited the video, and B: posted it with the original thumbnail. I have heard, though, that he doesn't edit his own videos (please correct me if I'm wrong).

Closing thoughts and statements:

First of all, to the person/people that are doxxing Schlatt: what the actual hell is wrong with you? I have family members that are horrible people, and are racist and stuff, but I would never, in a million years think of doxxing them as a form of revenge. Also, DO NOT attack his innocent fans that still enjoy his content. Obviously the fans that are defending him in this entire mess are not innocent, but still don't attack them. DO NOT send death threats to Schlatt, his friends, or his fans, because that's generally a messed up thing to do.

My thoughts about this whole dumpster fire is that since this video upset me, Schlatt's fans, and his friends, he should apologize for the things that were said and done. I understand that he was probably trying to distance himself from the Dreamsmp stans, but in doing so he lost a lot of long-term fans of his content, which is actually super heartbreaking. Iv'e already unsubscribed from his main channel, but I'm still subscribed to Theweeklyslap, just to see if he'll post an apology and address the problem as a whole, but with his track record, that probably won't happen.

And if that's the case, then I'm done with his content for good.

#jschlatt #schlatt #cancel culture

[let-me-make-you-proud]

What exactly happened today with Chris Sonnenburg? I’m really confused, could you explain please?

Sure! Chris Sonnenburg has been pretty rude to Varian fans for a while. Saying they are enjoying the show wrong, that they aren’t focusing on the right things, etc. this is just one of many things.

As a fellow content creator, I know it can be upsetting when fans don’t exactly see your work the way you’d like (For example, fans preferring another character over you fav), but that’s part of being a creator! You can’t control what people like about your work, it’s something that happens naturally, and being mean spirited about it it’s very unprofessional, specially considering that Chris is an adult (And not a young one) while most Varian fans are kids. While working on the show, he was also representing Disney, and going on to people’s posts without being even mentioned to say things like “You’re watching it wrong” it’s just,,, wrong.

Not only that, but he hasn’t been able to take criticism well. Some days ago a few fans were discussing about how the fortune teller in the show feeds into Jewish and Romani stereotypes. They were acknowledging that it was a social issue and most likely not done to be harmful on purpose, and they weren’t referring to anyone individually on the crew. As content creators we all make mistakes, and we have to acknowledge them, learn from them to improve. Instead of calmly receiving the criticism or ignoring it (Hey, you can just ignore the post and no one will know!) he left a very passive-aggressive reply saying “And with this post, I say thank you for your amazing support, and log off of Tumblr!” All in all, he’s just very unprofessional.

Iwant it to be known that the people aren’t mad at the crew as a whole! We love all the artists, writers and animators behind this show, they’re all talented, professional, and amazing people! Chris is the only one ruffling the fandom’s feathers.

TL;DR He’s rude to the fans who don’t share his views on the show and can’t take criticism well (But can’t ignore it either).

#Tangled #Tangled the series #chris sonnenburg #Varian #TTS #Negativity #tangled negativity #tts negativity

[romolite]

*Important FAQ*

Aka questions that pertain to what I usually post about or stuff I don’t like getting asks about but continue to get asks about regardless.

[Insert any invasive question about my ethnicity/race]

I’m Ghanaian American. My parents were born in Ghana and I was born here in the US. I’ve seen it more on twitter and tumblr, but Black Africans don’t like me because I’m American, and black Americans don’t like me because I’m African. So I’m stuck in the middle lmao. I’m what you’d consider a First-Generation African, my parents are Continental Africans, and if I have children, they will be considered Generational African Americans.

First Generation African: A black person born in the US to parents who were born in Africa

Generational African American: A black person born in the US to US-born black parent(s)

Continental African: A black person born in Africa to parents who were also born in Africa

Non is just a prefix, black people don’t have a monopoly on the term! I suppose you think nonbinary people are racist huh?

Yeah sure it wasnt coined by black people but the context it’s currently used as was predominantly used by black people. ALL people who are not black benefit from and contribute to antiblackness, even if they are marginalized themselves. That kind of dynamic doesnt exist in other contexts (unless we’re talking about transfem + transmisogyny, but that’s something you’d have to talk to someone who is transfem about. Plus they have their own word for  “non-transfem”). Using it in contexts outside of antiblackness is appropriative (Yall are annoying as fuck with the “non-aspec” “non-lesbian”(this term also has anti-bi roots btw) “non-bi” shit etc, stop it. You also can’t complain about the “replacement terms” lumping yall with oppressors when “non-x” does the exact same thing you’re so worried about. “Cis” puts cis gays with cis hets, cis disabled people with cis abled people, cis white people with cis poc, I could go on.) 

Plus we’re talking about marginalized groups here. Black people are a marginalized group. Binary people as a whole are not so the term nonbinary isn’t appropriate at all.  I dont take issue with terms like “nonamerican” or “nonwhite” because (obviously) whites + americans as a whole aren’t oppressed for being white or american.

Basically using "non-x” in contexts to talk about oppression bad, everything else good.

Follow up: If we can’t use non-[marginalized group], what can we use instead?

There are other words to describe the people you’re talking about

non-transfem- TME

non-LGBT- cishet, or people who aren’t LGBT

non-trans - cis

Black people don’t have a monopoly on the acronym nb! I’ll call myself nb if I want to!

At this point I dont really care, go on your antiblack crusade elsewhere and out of my inbox, I’m always gonna mean nonblack when I use the acronym nb. 

And yes, you’re antiblack as fuck if you think black people telling you “nb” stands for “nonblack” is the same as exclusionists claiming “aspec” is for autistic people.

Is x AAVE?

I have a tag dedicated to what is and is not aave and how harmful it is for nonblacks to use aave given its history. I know some things overlap with southern culture but others are specifically for black people. A lot of “stan twitter” language/slang is just repackaged AAVE. No, I can’t tell you how to stop using AAVE. Don’t tell me you’re going to try to stop using AAVE, I don’t want to hear it.

Why don’t you like the n-word being compared to LGBT slurs?

Race and Sexuality/Gender aren’t comparable topics because each deals with a different history of oppression. I don’t care about slur discourse that much because I don’t even use/reclaim any myself except the n-word.

I have a problem with nonblack LGBT people co-opting black culture and struggle(like they always do), especially for trivial online discourse.

And to be honest it goes deeper than slur discourse. Every other day someone is weaponizing the oppression of black trans women, or comparing “cishet aces/aros” in the LGBT community to white/nonblack people invading black spaces (you know, something that ACTUALLY takes resources away from the people who need it, see the cultural appropriation of Black African and Blac American culture in literally any nonblack community while black people get demonized for said culture), or tokenizing their black friends to get away with something blatantly racist. And that’s not even getting into how a lot of gay slang/stan culture is just repurposed AAVE/black culture.

And I’m not gonna lie, I’ve seen this more with exclusionist accounts than inclus accounts, but it’s still not excusable for inclus to do that either. We get erased as black gay/trans/queer/aspec people up until it’s time for discourse accounts to bring us up to one-up each other

Can you give me advice on x?

Most likely not, because I’m not an expert or an advice blog. I’ll try, but don't take my word for it. I’m also tme, able-bodied, not Jewish, singlet, etc, so I’m not able to accurately answer questions about transmisogyny, (physical?) ableism, antisemitism, “sycourse”, etc.

I might be able to give advice on school-related stuff since I just graduated high school, but remember that students are not a monolith, and what worked for me may not work for someone else.

Can I follow if I’m nonblack/a minor/cishet?

Nonblack and/or cishet can follow but watch your step, minors blacklist the #minors dni tag before following

Why do you hate Ao3?

*long sigh*

I don't, I have a problem with the fact that it allows racist and (frankly voyeuristic) pedophilic/abusive/incestuous content to exist on its platform. It’s a good concept overall, but the devs are complicit in allowing “underage” and “noncon/dubcon” fics on their platform.

And there's the fact that they somehow need donations every year despite exceeding their goal several times over each year?

What’s wrong with Hazbin Hotel/The Ships/Vivziepop?

[WIP, as I have to go into extensive detail about this and I currently don’t have the energy for it]

TLDR: Viv made a half-assed apology for supporting racists (one of whom did blackface [yes the mask was used to do blackface shut up] to mock black activist) and drawing gross content. Her current projects including Hazbin Hotel are full of anti-gay/trans/aspec (Angel Dust, Vaggie, Alastor), antisemetic (Mimzy), and racist (Vaggie again, that yellow cyclops character that I’ve forgotten the name of) content under the guise of humor. If you’re into that shit, whatever, just don’t follow me and don’t whine when I make posts criticizing it.

What’s wrong with Hamilton?

Aside from the fact that it’s very obviously glorifying slave owners and made people worldwide believe the founding fathers were good people, LMM, the creator, is nonblack. This isn't his story to tell at all. 

Can you tag x?

I have a list of things I usually tag because they come upon this blog a lot. I cannot do catch all tags, as I have way too many followers for that. The closest thing to that is the “ask to tag” tag when there’s something potentially triggering but I’m not sure what it is. Everything is tagged as “x tw”. If something is extremely triggering, I’ll tag it as “major tw”

Do you tag slurs?

I tag slurs I’m not able to reclaim at all (i.e., d slur, f slur, t slur) or slurs I can reclaim but are being used as a slurs. I don’t tag the n-word, as I reclaim that one. I always tag the r slur

Can I message you about something/someone?

Unless you’re a mutual, most likely no. My DMs are only open to mutuals.

Do you want to be mutuals?

I don’t usually follow back people who follow me, especially if you’re under 16 or post things I’m not interested in.

Why is it important to have byf or about?

1) So I know gross people aren’t following me. This is not up for discussion

2) So I know someone’s not speaking out of their lane, which tends to happen a lot. (i.e, someone refusing to disclose that they are tme when discussing transmisogyny, someone not having their race listed when discussing racism)

3) Some people don’t want to interact with people under 18 or over like 30 or something.

Yeah, yeah, people aren’t entitled to personal information and all that crap but I have a serious problem with people speaking on topics from a place of privilege. Not to say they can’t talk about those things, just perhaps add a disclaimer that you’re privileged when talking about these things and be open to criticism, and NOT blocking people of the said marginalized group when they tell you something you’ve said was problematic.

I also have a problem with people who are intentionally vague about their age. There’s a difference between interacting with someone who’s 20 and someone who’s 29. I don’t want to say it’s the opposite for minors but at the same time there’s a difference for saying something racist at 13 and doing so at 17, and keeping your age vague makes it harder to determine how to deal with something like that. (Not that 13-year-olds shouldn’t know better, it’s just I don’t feel whole ass callout posts and receipt blogs are necessary for someone of that age).

Also anyone under 16, I can't stop you from following, but keep your interaction limited, please. This isnt an 18+ blog but I do rb suggestive jokes from time to time

I sent you an ask and you never answered it!

It’s likely that

I never got it

You were blocked

I’ve already answered this or it’s been answered in my faq

It’s a random positivity ask (which I appreciate but not sure how to respond to those)

You were rude in your ask and I didn’t feel like answering

I forgot until it was too late, which happens when my inbox gets a lot of asks at a time.

You sent it to the wrong blog (I.e, sending asks about my ocs to this blog instead of @ochood )

Hey, the op is [insert post] is [someone on my dni]! I usually double-check myself, just to be sure.

Have you heard about [someone who is mutuals with someone I’m loosely connected with]?

Most likely, no. And unless they’re an immediate danger to someone or they’ve got my name in their mouth, I don’t care.

Do you know who [x person/group/thing] is?Most likely no. Not to sound like a hipster but I don't usually keep up to date with trends. If I do hear about something, it’s most likely from twitter or Instagram.

Why am I blocked? Check here.

Why do you continuously move mains/change URLs/update themes?

I’m inconsistent. And sometimes there are posts on my blog that I no longer stand by.

Can I tag you in posts I think I’d like?Of course! 

#lite.txt #long post #faq

[fandomsnerd24]

Review of Harley Quinn S1E7: “The Line”

Warning: some spoilers ahead!

I have some seriously mixed feelings about this episode (and about this series as well, but more on that later). On the one hand, there were some good aspects and on the other, there were some pretty messed up aspects. There were two plotlines going on in this episode: one that centered around Harley and the other around Ivy. 

I’d say the best parts of the episode were with Ivy. This focuses on her going on a date with Kite Man (god, I thought I’d never write something like that, but here we are). And it’s a lot about her going through some personal growth and coming into her own confidence a little more. I liked it. It was nice. Kite Man, amazingly, also underwent a tiny bit of character growth (you have to squint to see it), but they don’t write him quite as bad as they did when they first introduced him. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still a problematic pig. But I think he’s getting better. Do I like that DC went with the easy, heterosexual route of pairing Ivy with Kite Man? Nope, not at all. I’m actually pretty disappointed in this aspect of their show. 

We literally have Ivy and Harley being together in canon. So why the hell couldn’t they angle that that way for this series??? I know a lot of people were hoping for it! As much as I think DC does decently well portraying LGBTQ+ in their various media formats, they still have a ways to go. They don’t get a pass because they have characters who identify outside of the heterosexual patriarchy. They can do better. While I don’t think they’ll ever see this post, this is still my challenge for them to do better on representation. 

Anyway, I think that it would have been more meaningful for Harley and Ivy to get together than this stupid Ivy/Kite Man plotline is. Or for them to totally forget about any type of romantic plotline besides Harley working out her issues with Joker and becoming her own woman. I would prefer the no romance to this forced heterosexuality bullshit. Not everything needs romance!! (And this is coming from a soppy romantic.) But still, I’d say Ivy and Kite Man’s interactions are probably the highlight of the episode. Forced heterosexuality aside, Kite Man in this series is absolutely hilarious. I’m going to have to look him up to see if he’s as ridiculous in comics as he is in this series. Because I need more comedy in my life. 

I’d say most of the bad lay with Harley’s plotline this episode. So, in this episode, the Queen of Fables is released from her imprisonment in a tax codebook because a judge ruled it as being “cruel and unusual,” which he’s not wrong. It’s nice that they address this. She was then sent to Arkham to serve the rest of her sentence, but Harley broke her out before she got there. Okay, whatever, fine and dandy. Queen of Fables is one fucked up bitch and every time she killed a person, they showed it in graphic detail. Which, okay, I guess this is an adult show. But it was still pretty messed up. And over the line that they set up earlier in the series with everything Harley’s been doing. Harley is a villain, but not necessarily a bad person. She has a lot of humanity in her. To put it simply: Queen of Fables does not. The blood and gore were taken just a little too far in the episode for my tastes. I felt like it didn’t really fit the lighthearted humor and “oooh look we’re the bad guys” campiness that they’ve been doing with the rest of the series. 

But. Perhaps not. Maybe it’s completely in line. I read a couple good posts here on Tumblr about how this show has some very antisemitic sentiments with episodes two and six (these are the ones they addressed, there may be some instances in other episodes). Now, when a practicing Jew says something is antisemitic, I’m not going to argue. Another person who self-identified as Jew posted in the comments section that they’re not offended by these lines because this is a show about villains who are all fucked up bad guys. I know there’s going to be Jewish people on both sides of this argument. There’s never not sides when it comes to things like this. 

I still had mixed feelings about watching the episode today. 

I ultimately decided to watch it. Partially because I remember something one of my Gender, Woman, and Sexuality Studies professors said. The jist of what they said, is that you can like something and still realize that it’s problematic and if you address this. I’m addressing that I realize this show is very problematic in many ways. Antisemitism is not cool. In this house, we love and respect everyone. I’m not trying to justify the writers (and to a certain extent, the producers, actors, and almost everyone else involved in making this show happen) using that type of language. Certainly not my intent. Those in charge of the show should definately be held accountable for this and they should certainly address this and offer up explanations. 

Will they? That is debatable. I’m a little surprised by how this is going down because they have so many Jewish characters and because there have been so many Jewish writers and other content creators who’s contributed to DC Comics. I say I’m only a little surprised because it’s hard for humanity to surprise me with their ability to be detestable anymore and because the United States is so dominated by the Christian church and a straight, white worldview. It makes me ask the question: who’s in charge of this series and approves the scripts? 

Will I still watch the rest of the series? Probably. Re: what my professor said. Going forward, I’m going to try to be more critical. I’ve done that in some of my previous reviews, but I’ve also been super positive. About episode six, I left a pretty positive review and that’s honestly because I have the privilege of not having to think about how my religion is being portrayed in popular media. Some of the lines that the Tumblr poster mentioned, I didn’t even notice because that’s not where my background leads me to think. Having read some of those posts about what’s going on in the series, I’d probably write a very different type of review for episodes two and six since I’m more aware of what’s going on now.  

This series in general started really good with the first episode and every subsequent episode has been super rocky. Like there’s some super yikes moments and some moments where it’s like, yeah I get you’re evil, but maybe you don’t want your show to go down that road?? Who the hell is writing this thing? But then are some really good scenes where you can see the show has such potential. Like, ugh, why couldn’t you have done better with this series. It’s rough, man. They had such potential and I’ve gotta say that this is not their strongest DC Universe original series. It’s just not. Which is a damn shame it’s not better because I absolutely loved the first episode. 

So, in summary: I’m going to keep watching but I’m going to try to be more attentive and critical of what I’m consuming. I don’t really want to subscribe to cancel culture, because I feel like if we just cancel without forcing the people in charge to think about what they’ve done and make them accountable for it, we’re not really achieving anything. There are several other things I don’t like about this series (which I’ve talked about in previous reviews), but I can still see some potential in it. I’d like to see them take those good things, address the bad, and become a better show while being accountable for the bad things. Am I asking a lot? Yup. Will it probably happen? So freaking debatable. But let’s be real: it probably won’t. 

I suppose I’m a stupidly optimistic person though. 

But that’s just my opinion. You’re free to have your own. You’re free to tell me (politely, please. if you’re mean and rude about it, I won’t respond- I’ll probably just delete your comment or block you) why I should reconsider my opinion. I recognize my privilege and I’m willing to learn and grow. I think everyone should have the chance to learn and grow. 

(PS: 10/10 because Frank the plant was in this episode; 0/10 for other bullshit)

#tw antisemitism #harley quinn the animated series #Harley Quinn #poison ivy #pamela isley #dc comics

[galwednesday]

I wish you would write wholesome Shrinkyclinks! Modern AU or WS!Bucky or anything :) especially anything where people take Bucky as super intimidating and seemingly Not For Steve but he's actually soft-spoken and embarrassingly in love with his bf. Also inspiration art, take out the parentheses: coldcigarettes(.)tumblr(.)com/post/155362763256/you-know-how-i-never-do-comics-well-ive-done-one

What I ended up with is a little askew from the prompt, but it is Shrinkyclinks with besotted WS!Bucky and people being surprised Steve is his boyfriend, just with the surprise going the other direction.

Sam did one more circuit in the air just to confirm that everything was under control. The wannabe-despot of the week was being loaded into the back of a SHIELD van in handcuffs, and the three bioengineered chimeras she’d released in Central Park were all safely contained. They were part hyena, part cat, and part…actually, Sam had no idea what the hell was making them glow faintly purple, but he was pretty sure it wasn’t normal cat or hyena behavior.

Fortunately, the chimeras weren’t nearly as aggressive as their creator had hoped. Once the Avengers had herded them into a sunny area by a fountain, the chimeras had settled down to bask on the warm stone, ignoring their creator’s increasingly frustrated commands to make with the rampaging already.

“Can we keep them?” Clint was shooting boomerang arrows from the top of the fountain. One of the chimeras was lying on its back, batting lazily at the arrows passing overhead. “I’ll feed them and walk them and not let them maul any civilians, can we keep them, sir, pretty please with a cherry on top?”

“No,” Coulson said. Sam could see him standing by the SHIELD van, arms folded as he watched Clint.

“I want this one.” Natasha sat on the ground by the fountain, posture relaxed, apparently ignoring the chimera five feet to her left. The chimera ignored her back, except to twitch an ear in her direction.

“No,” Coulson repeated, but only after a pause long enough signal defeat.

Natasha rolled slowly onto her side. The chimera tracked the movement, then put its head down on its paws and half-closed its eyes. “I’m naming her Boadicea.”

“So we’re done here? We’re done here,” Sam said, and turned his comm off before he could get sucked into the argument.

He touched down outside the SHIELD perimeter, where Tony was shedding his suit like a lobster shucking off its shell one segment at a time. Each piece folded up neatly into the briefcase at his feet. The Winter Soldier was standing next to him, his face blank but calm.

The Soldier had been an official part of the team for a few months now. Sam still didn’t have much of a read on him. The Soldier had been invaluable during the whole Hydra/SHIELD clusterfuck, and that was enough to earn him a lot of goodwill, but just about the only things Sam knew about the Soldier were his fighting style and his call sign.

“Hey, Cap,” Tony greeted him. “Where are the spy kids? Let’s do post-battle brunch, I’m starving.”

“They’re trying to convince Coulson to let the mad science experiments follow them home.”

“Good luck to them, but God help them if they try to keep them in the Tower, Pepper put her foot down about pets. You buy out one animal shelter because the cages are too small and all the animals look sad and suddenly everyone thinks you’re a hoarder. I don’t get what the big deal was, we weren’t using that floor of the Tower for anything important anyway. Tacos?” Tony suggested. “I’m thinking that place by Fordham. BattleBot, you in?”

“Can’t,” the Soldier said, typing something into his phone. “I have a date.”

Tony stopped talking for an entire three seconds. “You. Have a date.”

The Soldier looked up and blinked, clearly nonplussed to find Sam and Tony both staring at him. “Yes.”

“With who?”

“My boyfriend.”

“You have a boyfriend. You have a boyfriend?” Tony looked like he’d just walked into a lamppost, and then the lamppost had handed him a birthday present.

The Soldier’s brow furrowed. “Is that a problem?”

“Hey, this isn’t disapproval on my face, this is flabbergast. Flabbergastness? Flabbergosity?” Tony waved a dismissive hand. “I’m just a teeny bit surprised, no need to do that thing with your face where your eyebrows try to merge with your nose. Details! I need details!”

“Tony,” Sam tried.

Tony ignored him. “Is your boyfriend also a former brainwashed Soviet assassin?”

“No.” The Soldier’s stance eased. His phone chirped and he went back to typing.

“I guess that was a longshot. Is he a Marine?”

“No.”

“A fireman?”

“No.”

“Mixed martial-arts instructor?”

“He’s a painter.”

“Pics or it didn’t happen,” Tony demanded.

“Tony,” Sam sighed, but the Soldier was already holding out his phone. Tony barely resisted grabbing it. (People who grabbed things from the Soldier had a tendency to break fingers; granted, they were usually bad guys going for the Soldier’s weapons, but there was no telling exactly how the Soldier would react to a grab in a non-combat situation, and Sam for one would not want to be the first person to test it).

“That’s your boyfriend?” Tony said incredulously. “Him? No way. I don’t believe it.”

The Soldier’s eyebrows were advancing south again. “Why not?”

“Why not? Look at him, he’s adorable.”

“Yes,” the Soldier agreed, mollified.

Sam gave up on resisting his own curiosity and leaned over Tony’s shoulder. The Soldier obligingly held out his phone, which displayed a picture of a short, skinny guy with a neat blond crew cut. He was wearing a plaid flannel shirt and giving the camera a grin and a dorky peace sign.

“When are we meeting him?” Tony said. “Is it now? Can we meet him now? Does he like tacos?”

The Soldier gave them both an evaluating look. Sam tried to radiate friendly acceptance and not show that he was dying of curiosity almost as badly as Tony was.

“Yes,” the Soldier said eventually.

“Yes, he likes tacos, or yes, we can meet him now?”

“Yes.” The Soldier’s phone chirped again. He glanced at it and said, “He’s nearby. He’ll meet us there.”

The Soldier started walking. Tony and Sam fell in beside him, Tony throwing new questions at the Soldier with every step.

“Where did you meet?”

“JDate.”

“Seriously?”

“No.”

“Are you actually Jewish, though?”

The Soldier shrugged. “It’s complicated.”

“Same.” Tony held out a fist. The Soldier bumped it without looking up from his phone. “How long have you been dating?”

“Five months.”

“Five months! You need to tell me these things, this is information I needed to know, I thought we were friends.”

“Why would you think that,” the Soldier said, so flatly that Sam was almost entirely sure he was joking.

“I’m hurt, Ice-T, I’m wounded and distraught. If I ask you about your sex life are you going to punch me?”

“Yes.”

Tony’s eyes narrowed in calculation. “With which arm?”

“You guys hear that?” Sam interrupted. Angry shouts were echoing down the street ahead of them. He put a hand down to the shield at his side to check its position, his wingpack a reassuring weight on his back. A particularly loud yell was followed by a loud thud and the sound of glass breaking, like a waiter dropping a tray of glasses. “What is that?”

A beatific smile spread across the Soldier’s face. “That’s Steve.”

“What?” Sam said, but the Soldier had already broken into a run.

The commotion was coming from the taco place. Sam rounded the corner at a jog just in time to see a tiny guy pick himself up from the ground and hurtle forward into a much bigger man’s kneecaps, tackling him to the sidewalk. The contents of a knocked-over recycling bin were spilling into the street, sprays of glass marking bottles that had broken on impact.

The Soldier dove swiftly into the tangle of bodies and hauled the big guy up by his collar. “What did he do?” he asked the other man.

“Got handsy with a server,” the man replied. His nose was bleeding, but he didn’t seem to notice. He grinned at the Soldier, and suddenly Sam recognized him. This was Steve? “You want to sit on him until the cops come?”

The Soldier put the man in an armlock and didn’t move an inch, no matter how much the man struggled, until the NYPD showed up. Sam adopted his most Captain America voice and reassured the bystanders that everything was under control. The crowd petered out once the fighting was over, not even the spectacle of three Avengers helping with a citizen’s arrest enough to meet New Yorkers’ jaded standards for a free show.

Once the cops had loaded the still-protesting brawler into the back of their car, the Soldier gave Steve a thorough once-over, eyes lingering on the smear of blood under his nose. He pulled Steve into a careful hug. Sam tried not to stare at the novel sight of the Soldier initiating non-violent physical contact. “Ribs?”

“Totally fine.” Steve gave the Soldier an extra squeeze before letting go. “What about you, did you get hurt at all?”

“Strained knee. Your nose is bleeding.”

“Shit.” Steve swiped at the blood under his nose, made a face at his messy hand, and gave Sam and Tony a little wave instead of trying to shake hands. The Soldier dug into one of his belt pouches and handed Steve a wet wipe. “Hey, you must be Bucky’s coworkers. Nice to meet you.”

“You, too,” Tony said. It was more of a question than a statement. “Who the hell is Bucky?”

“Me,” the Soldier said.

Tony and Sam exchanged a look. Steve just cleaned his hands and threw the wet wipe away.

“Is that something we should call you, too?” Sam asked.

The Soldier shrugged. “Sure.”

“And hey, you should’ve said your knee was hurt,” Sam told the Soldier as they filed into the taco place–told Bucky, and that was going to be a weird adjustment. “We could’ve given you a lift.”

“It’ll heal,” Bucky said, entirely unconcerned.

“You guys shouldn’t rely on air support so much,” Steve said, eyes wandering over the menu. “Your team has so many fliers that it’s weakening your ground game.”

“Excuse me?” Tony said.

“You almost lost the third chimera when it went under tree cover because Iron Man and Captain America were both in the air, and Hawkeye and the Soldier were in elevated sniper stands. If the Black Widow hadn’t been in that quadrant already, the chimera would’ve made it past the SHIELD perimeter. Hey, Bucky, have you ever had mole?”

“No,” Bucky said. He was standing sideways in line, his back to the wall–and to Steve, Sam noted, who was apparently allowed inside his blind spot. “Is it good?”

“Yeah, I think you’ll like it. Want to split mole and pulled pork?”

“Yes.” Bucky slipped out of the line and went to stake out a booth.

“I know we make it look easy,” Tony said, “but saving the world on a weekly basis is actually kind of difficult, and we’re pretty good at it by now.”

“Oh, sure. All of you are brilliantly effective at what you do, but that means you’re not working as a group as well as you could. You’re all playing to your individual strengths instead of cohering as a unit. Hi, could I get one order of mole tacos and one of pulled pork?” Steve asked the cashier, his voice abruptly polite.

Sam distracted Tony with questions about Pepper’s latest gallery opening until they got their food and sat down. Bucky had managed to claim a corner booth by the kitchen and was sitting on the bench that faced the front doors. Steve climbed over his lap to get into the corner seat. Bucky slid a little further in after Steve sat down, in a move that Sam interpreted as 30% doting boyfriend seeking closeness, 70% bodyguard blocking potential lines of fire.

“Okay, so you think our ground game is weak.” Tony steepled his fingers over his plate and narrowly avoided putting an elbow in the guacamole cup. “Elaborate.”

“You don’t need two fliers and two snipers on a five-person team. The Iron Man suit is a walking tank, Captain America’s shield is a perfect melee weapon, and Hawkeye and the Winter Soldier are both hand-to-hand combat experts. There’s no reason any one of you couldn’t fight in close quarters. You need to vary your approach before the people you’re fighting catch on and start staging battles in places where long-distance engagement is impossible.” Steve dragged the wadded-up tortilla end of his taco through a smear of sour cream on his plate and passed it to Bucky, who stuffed it into his mouth without comment. “Any time you can’t fight from the air, you’re at a real disadvantage. Bucky told me about what happened in the sewers last August.”

Sam’s face wrinkled at the memory. Clint had almost gotten eaten by an alligator-dinosaur-thing, and the smell had clung to Sam’s costume for weeks.

“Oh, you heard all about it?” Tony said. “Fine, bantamweight, lay it on me. What would you have done instead?”

Steve’s smile went sharp. “Well,” he said, and shoved everything out of the middle of the table. “For starters–”

Sam pulled his taco plate into his lap to keep it out of the way of the rapidly unfolding model of the sewers, which Steve assembled out of straws and sugar packets. Steve moved the salt and pepper shakers (Iron Man and the Winter Soldier) through the grid, while the straw wrapper (Black Widow) slipped ahead to provide recon and a plastic knife and spoon (Hawkeye and Captain America) guarded the exits. Tony challenged every call he made, and Steve pushed right back, questioning Tony’s assumptions and demonstrating his own reasoning. Sam ate his tacos and put in his own two cents whenever he could get a word in edgewise.

Sam’s attention was split between the conversation and surreptitiously watching Bucky. Bucky didn’t react to anything that was said, although Sam was sure he heard every word. He looked more relaxed than Sam had ever seen him, like the sound of Steve and Tony bickering was a zen meditation podcast.

“Huh,” Tony said, halfway through their fifth iteration. “You have a point.”

“Yep.” Steve sat back in his seat and stretched out his back, all that startlingly intense focus draining from his posture. It was amazing how quickly he went back to looking like a nerdy grad student. Sam might have been fooled, if he hadn’t just heard Steve argue Tony Stark to a standstill, and if Steve didn’t have dried blood ringing his nostrils.

“You said he was a painter,” Tony told Bucky accusingly.

“He is,” Bucky said. “He also has a PhD in history with a specialty in wartime tactics and strategy.”

“Seriously, how did you two meet?” Tony asked.

“I saved him from a mugger,” Steve said.

Tony stared at them. “I honestly can’t tell whether you guys are fucking with me right now.”

“I know,” Bucky said serenely.

“Hey, Steve, you want a job?” Sam asked, because unlike some people, he had his priorities straight.

“I already have a job.”

“Come on, don’t tell me you just pulled that analysis out of your ass, you’ve been thinking about this,” Tony said.

“How would you feel about working freelance?” Sam asked. “You could do strategy consulting, be our eye in the sky on missions–”

“Help keep your Bucky-boo-boo safe,” Tony interrupted.

Steve gave him a level look, then turned to Bucky. “I see what you mean.”

“I’m choosing to interpret that as a compliment,” Tony said.

“Yeah, okay, let’s talk terms. Churros first, though. You want churros?” Steve asked Bucky, who nodded.

“I could–” Bucky started, but Steve was already climbing over his legs to get out of the booth.

“I got it.” Steve leaned over the back of the booth and kissed the top of Bucky’s head. He didn’t have to lean down very far. “You take a load off, rest that knee.”

Tony watched Steve go up to the counter, then turned to Bucky. “Okay, nevermind,” he said. “I get it. He’s scrappy, huh?”

“Buddy, you got no idea,” Bucky said, and stole the half-eaten taco right off of Tony’s plate.

#ask game #shrinkyclinks #stucky #steve is the most annoying armchair quarterback in the world #and the most annoying thing of all is that he's right #so you might as well hire him #ws!bucky loves his tiny bananas boyfriend #roticanaitaco #my fic #ficlets and headcanons

[crokedbrandon101]

This is going to be long, but please bear with me

Ok so this is something I’m going to say to the people on here. You can choose to hate me if you will, but at least take the time to read this.

If you really and truly think that Pewdiepie is genuinely a hateful, racist, anti-semitic, and scum of the Earth person, you are so painfully and misguidedly wrong, and haven’t watched a minute of his content in your life. The entire premise of Pewdiepie’s (I’m just going to call him Felix) character is meant to be sarcastic and satirical. Felix first started out as a harmless skit-like channel and game plays, and when his channel grew and exploded over time he was starting to be honest about his opinions on many things like internet culture and the (now very shitty) state of YouTube like it’s algorithms and adpocalypse. In the state of Felix’s reputation being slandered (specifically the Wall Street Journal), the moments that were exposed to the public were very hand and cherry-picked where, in context in his videos, doesn’t portray Felix as anti-Semitic, racist, or hateful in the slightest. As an example, Felix used hitler to transition subjects as a complete joke, that hitler is a faux pas. Another example is where Felix dresses up as a German soldier and showed himself looking at a speech hitler gave. Albeit it was admittedly a dumb thing to do, Felix released that clip to deliberately respond to the articles that imply he was racist, a sexist, domestic abuser, and a pedophile. The clip at the end of the video addressing this false media portrayal added in (him pretending to respect hitler) was a very and painfully obvious joke that he was pushed to be what they were slandering him to be, and lo and behold, the Wall Street Journal threw the entire video of him addressing the problem and just used the clip at the end to slander him more, being so obviously out of context, even though exactly 10 minutes and 20 seconds directly before, he addresses the problem with the media taking him out of context (skip to 1:00 to see the actual response). In fact, the very start of the video he talks about a charity livestream he set up to do with with Mark and Jack for AIDS prevention. A real monster right? I wonder why the WSJ didn’t report on that even though it was in the same video... at the very start. It’s one thing to not be perfectly represented in the media, like many famous people, but it’s an entirely different thing to be purely and purposefully slandered. Would anyone just stand there and take the slander of very false and outrageous claims like listed above?

Let’s segue to the whole situation with “All Jews Must Die”. This was a joke in its entirety with no actual intention in the message. In fact, even if it wasn’t a joke, it was meant to serve as a social commentary that you can just pay people $5 to say anything. Felix isn’t himself being antisemitic, he’s showcasing it as a commentary, and doesn’t work as a joke if you really think they should all die. It’s a joke when you’re in on the fact that you KNOW it’s a bad thing to say and do. This is even more for the importance of context: if you had the context and not be closed-minded instead of being offended for other Jewish people who might or might not have found it offensive (me being Jewish I DIDN’T), you’re acting as a content police officer, and we all know we have an extremely smart content cop on YouTube already (who recently slandered another guy on YouTube who is 10x worse than Pewdiepie, who literally makes it rain on homeless people). Last time I checked, it’s not the media’s job to portray someone as anti-semitic or not, but say it was: you still have to be accurate.

Pewdiepie’s content is very clearly satirical and comedic and is very evident with his purposefully clickbait titles, fake Try not to Laugh videos, and self awareness of extending the video to 10 minutes for extra revenue. He’s not a hateful person and the reputation he has in the media is harshly taken out of context.

I’m mostly making this to comment on people who now distrust Felix’s long time friends like Markiplier and Jacksepticeye. I like watching all 3 creators, but I wouldn’t distrust 2 of the most genuine people on YouTube because they’re in the little war between Felix and T-Series, because in actuality it is a bit of a stupid war, but this fight is being fought more for the reason that it’s one independent swedish creator who worked his ass off for years vs. a massive Indian corporation team about to take his number one spot. It’s literally person vs. corporation. If Pewdiepie was going to lose his spot to another independent creator, the rivalry would be much friendlier and not as intense as what is happening now. My followers can hate me for saying this, but I will defend Pewdiepie for the fact that his character is meant to be satirical and almost all of his content is very clearly marked as jokes, and is not the hateful person the internet and media makes him out to be. Felix is almost the exact opposite. Don’t suddenly boycott Mark and Jack for helping Felix stay above water. They all have been very close friends for many years, and for someone like Felix to openly state that he cares for the problems with demonitizing smaller YouTube channels who are fucked over in the adpocalypse is really telling, considering that he makes about $16 million a year and he really doesn’t have to.

#pewdiepie #statement #markiplier #jacksepticeye

[scifimagpie]

The Free Speech Fallacy

In the wake of the sudden and catastrophic announcement of Tumblr's new policy, I found myself startled by the collapse of something long-assumed in discussions of free speech. "Female-presenting nipples," "sex acts," and "depictions of genitalia" between consenting adults or adult characters are among those being banned, but erotica is still okay to write. Ostensibly, the purpose of all this is to protect the internet from child pornography - but as usual, the cure is almost worse than the crime. Plenty of artistic photos are getting annihilated in the purge.

Obviously, child pornography is Bad, but banning all depictions of sexuality has sent Tumblr's stock plummeting and already devastated the community. But is it even working?

Predictably, since an automated ban system is being used, both hilarious and troubling results have been reported - on my dash, a building with three windows, a lumpy slime shape, and pictures of black men smiling were all flagged as containing "sensitive content." Obviously, this is ridiculous, but more nefarious and concerning is that posts about activism and LGBTQ+ issues were also immediately flagged.

As we speak, the exodus from Tumblr to Newgrounds, which does protect NSFW content, has already begun. So have the floods of sarcastic (but very funny) memes. The rest of the users are panicking or trying not to panic, and often staggering between the two emotions haphazardly.

I'll have more honest and cutting thoughts about this below, but for the time being, here's a visual pun about free speech.

Yes, I did create this silly, mediocre art just for the blog post. Learning to make art is hard.

Censorship - like, actually

Hate speech and sexy speech - and art - are often thrown together, as if they were one and the same or shared the same traits. Anyone who wants to support pornographic or artistic works for their own sake - such as myself - is often forced to accept their nastier cousins, hate speech and violent speech, as part and parcel of the ban list.

There's been some caterwauling about liability in lawsuits, revenge porn, and other such things, but the answer to that is not blanket banning. It's lazy, ineffective, and tars consensual and voluntary work with the same brush as harmful acts. If it's hard to understand why that's a problem, please watch this video about consent.

Lessons from the Exodus

However, this event shows that all forms of controversial speech are not, in fact, created equal. This has long been an argument, but - given that hate speech is surviving this purge easily enough and that nipples, of all the ridiculous things, are not - we can now officially divorce the two. The one is being attacked without any impact on the other. As much as they have often been companions in the penalty box, they are not the same issue, and we ought to be more honest about this, rather than letting Nazis take shelter behind our protection of sex workers and sexy content.

Hate speech, which I personally do not believe should be protected, is visual, verbal, and written expressions encouraging violence towards and harm of marginalised groups. The impact of hate speech and discrimination is directly dependent on how much harm they cause towards people. So for instance, a Muslim woman is subjected to far more prejudice than a white man on a regular basis, so she might be more in need of protection than the white guy. BUT - that does not mean that the white man doesn't need protection from individual acts of violence, such as a mugging or domestic assault (because men are abused, too, and our lack of men's shelters is criminal).

However, advocating for acts of hate using coded language, such as the ((( ))) technique used by alt-righters to distinguish Jewish people, or references to the Fourteen Words and that sort of thing, can be harder to pick up on. Do we silence those too?

On one hand, people should be allowed to exist freely. On the other hand, if those people decide their existence is predicated on harming others, the conflict that arises does not need to be defended. It does not materially benefit or even defend, for instance, the European cultures being talked about. If one demands that the existence of presence of others be punished merely at their whim, that person is wrong.

I can see someone saying, "BUT SJWs OR NPCs [Social Justice Warriors, or our new nickname, non-player characters] DON'T PERMIT THE EXISTENCE OF PEOPLE THEY DISAGREE WITH!"

This is a fundamental misunderstanding of the position. What "we", broadly speaking, want, is to be tolerated and accepted as we are. We often have family members or friends who are or were centrists, right-wing, or even alt-right. It's their beliefs that are the problem. You might say, to put it in Christian terms, that we love the sinners and hate the sin.

But in all seriousness, "white pride" parades and groups have never done anything to actually preserve great works of art or literature. In fact, a lot of preservation work that's been done by various societies - such as by Muslims during the Golden Age of the Ottoman Empire - was done in a spirit of tolerance and sharing. In addition to that, questioning something is not the same as destroying it. I've talked about this stuff before, and it's a huge topic, so let's get back to Tumblr specifically and the future of the arts and queer community on it.

Where do we go now?

Well, Mastodon seems to be an option. I've heard Newgrounds, as mentioned, is a possible haven.

At this point, I think it's time for businesses to be more honest about sexual content compared to other banned content. This purge is timed to match with December 17th, the day to end violence against sex workers. I have gone on record many times as being in support of sex workers, and have occasionally tried to talk about the difference between trafficking myths and trafficking facts, as well as other related issues. Sex workers and creators of sexual content (including writers, artists, cam girls, photographers, and etc) are all being harmed by this foolish and ill-judged, puritanical move - and nobody is being saved from actual hate speech, things that could, in fact harm adults.

Maybe we can talk Tumblr down from its terrible, foolish decision. Maybe not. But I'm making a profile elsewhere just in case, and I'll keep posting and sharing there - and on Tumblr - for as long as they let me. Queer people are not a mistake, nor filthy.

"Filth" is not necessarily even harmful.

We don't deserve to be erased.

***Michelle Browne is a sci fi/fantasy writer. She lives in Lethbridge, AB with her partners-in-crime and their cat. Her days revolve around freelance editing, knitting, jewelry, and nightmares, as well as social justice issues. She is currently working on the next books in her series, other people's manuscripts, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible.

Find her all over the internet:

*** Michelle Browne is a sci fi/fantasy writer. She lives in Lethbridge, AB with her partners-in-crime and their cat. Her days revolve around freelance editing, knitting, jewelry, and nightmares, as well as social justice issues. She is currently working on the next books in her series, other people's manuscripts, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible. Find her all over the internet: The mailing list * Amazon * Medium * Twitter * Instagram * Facebook * Tumblr * OG Blog

#freeze peach #@staff #tumblr #free speech #nazi #mastodon #shut down

[notwhelmedyet]

More than Meets the Eye, beginner’s guide / resources

This guide is long. Use the headings to find the information you need & if you’ve got resources this post lacks send them along!

Has anyone pitched the comic More than Meets the Eye to you yet? It’s a very gay action-adventure comedic drama with robots and you would probably love it (especially if you’re lgbt and/or have good taste). Here’s a few posts/articles that will tell you why you’d love it:

This article review/retrospective was what got me to read MTMTE. (warning - it has a bunch of spoilers, that didn’t bother me but might bother you)

My semi-jokey MTMTE sales pitch

@zzxid’s salespitch with dancing rats

This full entire page of radical space socialist philosophy

15 Reasons Why MTMTE/the sequel is The Best Transformers Comic (warning - has spoilers, though some will prob go over your head as a new reader)

Kiss me, Chromedome - retrospective article by The Guardian, contains some spoilers

How/Where to Read

Okay, maybe you’re convinced. Now you want to know how/where to read MTMTE. Got you covered:

Detailed guide by @gaymilesedgeworth: How to start reading Transformers Comics

My very short answer: just read MTMTE in trade paperback form. That way all the issues are in order and you get all the extra stuff (there are prose stories after a couple issues that are very important so don’t skip them!) They’re available that way as both physical and digital books.

Here’s some ways to get access, legally (US centric, sorry):

If your local library has Hoopla (digital library subscription service), you may have access to some of the MTMTE trades that way. They’d be here; but check if you library has Hoopla first.

Your local library very well might have physical copies, so check their website!

If not and you’re very patient you can often request inter-library loans (your library borrows the books from another library) or request your library purchase materials.

You can buy digital trades via either IDW or Comixology. Comixology also includes the first 5 volumes in their comics subscription service. I’ve seen the series go on sale on both of these sites at least 4 times in the past 6 months, so keep an eye out! (Sometimes IDW participates in humble bundles, which are great, but those sales are far more infrequent)

You can also buy them in trade form from wherever you can buy books/comics. US links: Amazon, B&N, Comic Store Locators

Character Guides

So you’ve picked up this comic and oh boy there are a lot of robots. You’re a little intimidated. Maybe you’re having a hard time telling them apart.

If you have the paperback, there’s a guide to the characters on the back cover/the last page of the digital volume. See a copy here.

It’s okay if you keep reading not knowing who these robots are. For real. You’ll get the hang of it. Don’t worry if it takes you awhile and you’re confused. Everyone’s a little lost the first time through.

Some helpful posts in case you’re struggling:

Here’s a guide that matches appearance -> name, and one that matches name -> background info (both spoiler free for issues 1-22)

A visual guide by @squireofgeekdom​ and @kscinewt​: here

Another helpful visual character guide by @bluering8: here

If you’re confused and need help, please ask! I’m willing to answer questions, I know @gaymilesedgeworth has volunteered to answer new reader questions. (Willing to help out new readers? Lemme know and I’ll make this a list)

Lore & Background Info

Okay, so maybe now you’ve gotten into it. You want more information, you want to know all the background lore, you want to dig deep. Awesome! Got you covered!

The holy grail of Transformers information, TFwiki. A slightly snarky, overly-minutely-detailed wiki for the digital age.

They’ve also got a tumblr if you’ve got questions.

And Chris McFeely, one of the main editors, runs a Youtube series called The Basics where he explains characters/concepts across continuities

The podcast Sound.wav has episodes talking about every issue of MTMTE in great detail.

The writer of More than Meets the Eye, James Roberts, answers fan questions on his twitter. I’ve archived a lot of those questions at @jrtweetsindex​.

More than Meets the Eye has a soundtrack, because of course it does. People have made playlists collecting it on spotify and youtube.

Further Reading

I finished MTMTE, what’s next?

If you want the direct sequel to MTMTE, go straight to Lost Light, the sequel series. It’s still ongoing and (as of right now) 12 issues have been released. There are spoilers for it EVERYWHERE on Tumblr, fair warning.

There are also a bunch of other series within the IDW comics universe, depending on what you’re interested in.

@zandergb has a chronological listing of all the IDW comics

TFwiki summarizes the IDW comics line

alt chronological guide

another guide/reading order.

You don’t have to read all the books! If you want to just read Lost Light/MTMTE, you can do just that.

There’s also a bunch of animated series, which don’t exist in the same continuity as the IDW comics. Some of them are well liked.

@ponett has a guide that’ll help you decide which you’d enjoy

And here’s a brief guide by TFWiki

There’s also the Michael Bay movies which are awful and so is he. Not gonna recommend watching them, but if you wanted to learn about film theory by listening to Lindsay Ellis dissect them, there’s a youtube series for that.

Fan Stuff

Okay...but what about fan content and fanfic and art and community events?

First thing to know: Transformers content is posted on tumblr under the tag Maccadam. (more detailed explanation why) A lot of mtmte content is also under ‘mtmte’, so look there too. I only use Maccadam if I think a post deserves to be seen by a lot of people but opinions vary.

Second thing to know - the sequel to MTMTE, Lost Light is still being published and you will see ALL SORTS OF SPOILERS for it on Tumblr. To mitigate the damage, try blocking “LL Spoilers” “Lost Light Spoilers” and “Wednesday Spoilers”. You cannot avoid it all, so if you don’t want anything spoiled, get caught up on both MTMTE and Lost Light before browsing around Tumblr.

Fanfiction:

Warning! A lot of Transformers fanfiction is smut. Please take a moment to integrate this fact into your understanding of the universe. If you can handle that, go ahead to AO3.

If you’re curious about all the terminology used in those fics, here’s a guide to it (not every writer uses every word, but this will get you started)

If you’re not into the idea of robots having sex, here’s a link to AO3 with my personal best-effort safe-search (no guarantees, relies upon people tagging properly)

And here’s a blog dedicated to recommending good sfw transformers fanfiction

If you want to know more about Transformers fanfic, I did a whole statistical survey of it, cause I’m a dork.

Here’s an old-school Transformers-only fanfic archive (I don’t see a category for IDW comics but maybe you can find somehing)

Fanart&Fanfic Events/Zines/Gift Exchanges/Collaborative Projects:

As many active projects as I could find - I’ll try to keep this one updated

Fan Artists:

(same warning as the fanfic - there’s a goodly amount of transformers pornographic art, be aware of that and block ‘nsfw’ if necessary)

There are a ton of active fanartists who draw IDW Transformers art. If you search a bit under ‘Maccadam’ you’ll find them.

@iaconlibrary reblogs a great deal of fanart & is a great place to start browsing

Roleplay:

If you’re into roleplaying on tumblr @teletrans-comm-unit runs a master list of active rp blogs

Transformers: Lost and Found is a long-running independent game set on the Lost Light

TF:Galaxy appears to be a forum-based tf roleplay game

My Favorite Jokes:

The best amazon review

Emotional labor (nsfw-ish warning)

Bros with Vows

Hands

Conventions:

There are Transformers-specific conventions, which is pretty cool! I know nothing about them but tfwiki has some info: Official and Unofficial conventions.

Regrettable Opinions:

hey this is just a quick guide of things not to do so you don’t hurt other people in the community

Do not compare Megatron to Hitler. The comparison is both vapid and offensive, as Jewish members of this community have pointed out time and again.

Don’t say transphobic/homophobic/racist/antisemitic/sexist things. You’re better than that!

Don’t attack the creators of the books/harass them on social media/make bizarre unfounded accusations of them acting in bad faith

we’re really lucky that JRo and the other creators interact with us & answer questions and don’t you dare screw that up, I’m trusting you.

on a less serious but useful etiquette note: don’t tag creators into negative reviews of their work/people complaining about their work. It’s rude to the creator & the reviewer.

That was a short list but remember to also treat other people with respect & that it’s okay to disengage with content/people that upset you.

Fandom:

There’s a guide on Fanlore, but it’s freakishly outdated and doesn’t even mention the comics. If you’re a informed tf fan maybe you should update it. 😉

Tumblr!

MTMTE is a pretty small community on Tumblr, but there are a few cool folks. Remember, ‘maccadam’ and ‘mtmte’ are your tags of choice

Various websites!

Since the transformers fandom is super old, there are a bunch of dedicated websites with traditional forums to chat on. (most of these are news sites that also contain forums) idk anything about them but maybe forums are your thing:

TFW2005 - big site with a large community but be warned there appear to be more than a few alarmingly bigoted people on that site

TFormers

Cybertron.CA

Allspark.com

Seibertron

I’m gonna throw the IDW TF reddit on this list rather than make a new section

Discord!

there’s at least two active discords at the moment. I know nothing about them or discord, but maybe one of them would be to your liking:

#1 - run by @zzxid

#2 - run by ??

The community is, like all fan communities, is a mix of good and bad, awkward and friendly, opinionated and goofy, self-serious and offensive. You won’t like or agree with everyone and there are some folks you should probably block.

Just find some people who share your general outlook & are interacting with the books in the same way you want to 💕

-Lynn. I have no qualifications to write this guide, I am not an authority of anything. I just really want you to love these books. Last updated on Dec 24, 2017, click through to check for any updates.

image descriptions below cut:

[image 1: Panel from MTMTE of Rewdind and Chromedome kneeling and holding hands while Chromedome says “Rewind, my love, it’s not for me to say.”]

[image 2: Fortress Maximus covered in small brightly colored robots shaped like various animals saying “Don’t worry, my friend, all taken care of.]

[image 3: Swerve holding a cartoonish drawing of Prowl and pointing at it, saying “No! Prowl with the head spikes and the cruel mouth and the - cross all the time! Epically, preemptively, existentially cross! And cold! Supercilious and cold! Imagine Ultra Magnus without the warmth and people skills. How can you not know who Prowl is?”]

[image 4: Trailgate in holomatter form, holding the first issue of More than Meets the Eye and saying: “Besides, I didn’t say I didn’t like it - I just don’t understand all the words. And it presumes a degree of familiarity with the Autobot/Decepticon war that I still don’t have...I suppose there’s always the wiki. Or tumblr...”

Cyclonus from off panel: “I told you to stay off Tumblr.”

Tailgate: “You’re right: spoilers. I want to enjoy it issue by issue - it only goes up to 43.”]

[image 5: Drift smiling a big fake smile and saying: “Anyway - let’s move on.”]

[image 6: A panel of Cyclonus gazing out the window in his dark and empty bedroom with a panel of narration: “Of course we’re not the only ones. This ship is a refuge for the emotionally inarticulate.”]

#maccadam #long post #mtmte #more than meets the eye #transformers #intro guide #new readers guide #explanatory #my tags for sorting: #gay space car robots: IN SPACE #mine #nazi mention #overthinking it