#see the dangerous thing is that they're all free online

[fictionadventurer]

I've got a couple of days left in September when I want to squeeze in some time to finish a couple of books I was reading this month, and Inklings Challenge starts in a couple of days, so of course this was the perfect time to get obsessed with Victober and download a bunch of obscure Victorian books.

#i was in waiting-around situations today where youtube was a justifiable distraction #and unfortunately fell down a rabbit hole #i actually climbed out and threw together an october reading list i was pleased with #a couple of new things but also some things i was planning on reading anyway #some things to continue #some that need to go back to the library soon #almost all very short #i was stupidly proud of myself for coming up with a way to fill all five victober prompts with three books #including two i was planning to read anyway #but then i fell down the rabbit hole again #and downloaded a few more books #see the dangerous thing is that they're all free online #you can pick up books on a whim #and i have so very many whims #the idea is to have them available for future but be aware i likely won't read most of these #but of course now i'm excited for all of them #i need to put down the phone and go to bed and clear my head #but in good news i got the inklings teams posts formatted #i work the next two eves so i had to get it done now #and it's a good thing i was on the ball #because i always forget just how complicated that process is #everything in triplicate #this year all the software worked well thank goodness #no trouble with lost names or lopsided teams #it's just that there's a lot of sections of three different posts to pull together #so it's always more work than i'd expect #i'll still add names if people jump in btw #i just need to have the vast bulk of the work done in advamce

[celluloidbroomcloset]

So there was a positive Taika thread on Twitter, basically saying 'its nice so see so many positive posts about him for once' and people commenting that they were scared to post positive things about him because of harassment. Very nice vibes.

Then I accidently clicked on the quotes and well.. So many misery dwellers spouting the usual BS 'he's a zionist, he celebrates genocide, these people are pathetic for even associating him with positivity' etc.

The post didn't have a lot of traffic, which pretty much confirmed what the other blog said, they're searching his name in order to dogpile. They can't stand that other people anywhere mightn't hate him, they're obsessed with him lol. They can't even ignore him they just have to show their asses.

One guy even called him 'a waste of space'. You're right, it goes WAY beyond just not liking his work or mistakes he's made, it creepier than that

There's so much to unpack and I absolutely do not want to even glance into Twitter to figure out what's going on, but...this shit is Nazi tactics. Twitter is full of actual Nazis and people who are very easily yanked into fascist discourse. It has always been thus, but it got worse after Musk took over and basically let the Nazis run free without oversight.

Stopping others from expressing positive opinions about an indigenous, Jewish filmmaker/actor lest they get piled on for it is Nazi tactics. They don't want to ignore him because he's a good target. They're using fandom and media to spread what's basically fascism.

Ancillary to this: I was on Twitter when Ghostbusters: ATC came out and I remember the shit that went down, the absolutely unhinged fanboys screaming, the attacks on anyone who said "hey, I liked this movie." And it all started to focus on one person: Leslie Jones. Of the entire cast, all of them white women, somehow the online hate campaign focused on the one Black woman. The whole thing was led by Milo Yiannopolous, who is - wait for it - a fucking Nazi.

This is not about fandom, really, but it's using fandom and media as a way to control the narrative and spread literal fucking propaganda that makes it dangerous and exhausting to even mention a not-white artist in a positive light. And there are people who very easily buy into it.

#reply #taika waititi #ofmd #there's also a developing narrative that equates judaism with zionism #and that is a nazi tactic too

[marzipanandminutiae]

re: your recent post about the Houthis and how you thought the free Palestine movement was all in agreement and specifically this paragraph -

"kind of makes me concerned that some people who say they're censuring Israel for the right reasons- ... -have something more sinister going on"

sadly, a whole fucking lot of them do not, in fact, care for Palestinians - or at the very least, not at much as they hate jews.

we have been talking and yelling and shouting about the amounts of rancid antisemitism overtaking the entire political spectrum, and it seems very few people listen to us. I'd like to add just a few posts that might make my point clear - took me about 3 minutes to find them

https://www.tumblr.com/spacelazarwolf/738972445267165184/people-call-you-a-zionist-because-you-dont-post

(people using (((Zionist))) to mean jew, and/or as a slur, and/or without knowing even the most basic definition, never mind the very different streams of thought regarding it)

https://www.tumblr.com/pauvrecamille/739139228538208256

("Hitler was a humanitarian" + Palestine flag -- which do you think the user actually believes? could they be trying to mask antisemitism as anti zionism?)

https://www.tumblr.com/rock-reblogs/739264338509053952/no-bc-you-are-so-right-for-this

(people taking a frat-boy-esqe stupid/dangerous act of digging a tunnel under a building and turning it into... that)

https://www.tumblr.com/mariacallous/738956988704292864

(a Palestinian man trying to pave the way for peace getting called a 'slimy collaborator' and a 'zionist' (derogatory), + not in this post, but there's also John Aziz, another Gazan advocating for a peaceful resolution, who got a shitton of death threats for saying hamas' mass rape is bad)

https://www.tumblr.com/noparlpf/738692836513431555/anti-zionism-is-not-antisemitism-and-im-gonna-say

(anti zionism and antisemitism are currently incredibly intertwined)

thank you for seeing that there's something wrong and pointing it out - a lot of people don't care enough to do that.

That is. All deeply horrifying. Pointing out misinformation is what I do, though, albeit usually about history.

And while I shouldn't have to say this in a post that's explicitly about antisemitism and the co-opting of concern for Palestine to promote it:

I do not support the Israeli government's current actions in Palestine. I think they are appalling. I think they're akin to responding to a murderer using a child as a shield by shooting the child point-blank, and that's unacceptable. This must stop. Palestinian people are being killed indiscriminately and the international community must stand up and say "no." The only thing with the word "Zion" in it that I understand well enough to have an opinion on it is Cotton Mather's "Ornaments of the Daughters of Zion" (1692, unrelated to the Levant or Judaism), but I know that killing innocents on this scale is wrong. I also think my own country, the US, should not be supplying Israel with weapons.

Clear? Hopefully so.

I'm not sure I'd agree with every view expressed by every person linked in this post, buyt that's no excuse for some of the treatment they're getting. Most of what I've seen in my orbit has been people expressing support for the Houthis- perhaps without realizing (gods, I hope so) that the Houthis are a violently antisemitic terrorist group with the slogan "a curse upon the Jews," and are currently attacking ships unrelated to Israel. I feel like some bigoted people are taking advantage of the compassion and outrage of others to lead them down really horrible ideological paths. There are some online activist types who are led more by Vibes than research, and that's a problem when a lot of misinformation seems to confirm what they're already feeling.

The Palestinian activist whose words you linked used a phrase that stands out to me: "resistance porn." That seems an apt term for people who want to assign Good Guys and Bad Guys in this conflict wholesale, rather than recognizing it as two pretty horrible leading groups- the Israeli government and Hamas -catching innocent civilians on both sides in the crossfire. This is not a YA dystopia novel. You cannot just hate every single person on or associated with one side here, or laud every single person on the other side as a bold freedom fighter.

It's just. Like. How the hell does this go so awry from the very noble, correct, and necessary goal of Stopping The Slaughter Of Innocent People? How do the monsters using people's compassion to advance hateful agendas sleep at night?

I don't know. I'm just reminded of the folks who care more about The RevolutionTM than making actual positive change right now, but with bonus antisemitism.

#ask #anon #long post #antisemitism #palestine #current events #like do you actually want change or are you just caught up in the excitement of The Struggle #(and in this case falling for some seriously disturbing stuff in the process) #I mostly try to keep my blog as like...a place people can go for A Mental Break from all this besides sharing actionable ways to help Pales #*Palestine #but this bears saying honestly #rape mention

[chick-with-wifi]

Meta: Root as the Chosen One

One thing I love about Root's arc is that it's a subversion of the traditional 'Chosen One' narrative.

The Chosen One is usually born with special powers or featured in a prophecy, making them the only one capable of saving the world. Root, however, strong-arms her way into it as an adult by seeking out the Machine for a chance to serve Her ("I don't want to control your Machine. [...] I just want to set it free." 2x01). 

The Machine then chooses her as Analog Interface, likely both because of the abilities and loyalty she demonstrated and out of a desire to help her, which Root eagerly accepts ("The Machine offered me a job. She never said it would be easy." 3x17).

This position gives Root special powers through access to the Machine's omniscience. Including real-time updates about her surroundings ("Twelve US Marshals guard the building, plus our friend over there who was scouting the perimeter that we're now inside. Air support is ten minutes out." 3x10), information about people posing a danger to her ("2 O'CLOCK. 2007 ANTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT TORN." 3x12, via Morse Code) and being told where to aim when shooting people, which she demonstrates to great effect in 3x10 and 3x17.

Being the Analog Interface comes with the job of "trying to save the world, of course. By preventing the emergence of a second machine." (3x17), then later ensuring their survival when Samaritan comes online ("We had to settle for protecting the seven people who might be able to take it back." 3x23) and working to defeat it ("Because this is war. And the thing we're up against, it has virtually unlimited resources." 4x01). Which, as the one person the Machine speaks to directly, only Root can do.

The typical Chosen One is a reluctant hero, who struggles with the pressure thrust upon them or the idea that they are special. Root steps into the role with ease and enthusiasm, immediately considering herself one of the heroes ("I know it seems weird, but I'm one of the good guys now." 3x17). She feels secure in the idea that she's special ("The truth is that She's chosen me." 3x01) and carrying out her job brings her fulfillment, as demonstrated by her blissful expression when being retasked in 3x19.

She has no problem accepting that this mission, which she takes very seriously, means that her fate is no longer hers alone:

Shaw: Wait, Root, is that all? Where are you?

Root: Right where I'm supposed to be. (3x23)

Despite their doubts, the Chosen One is committed to defeating the Big Bad because they want to save the world. Root is immediately dedicated to the cause ("Like I said, we have a larger fight ahead of us. I think we should be together when that begins. Don't you?" 3x10) and willing to do anything, even give her life in service to it ("If I don't see you, Harold, it's been a fun ride." 4x05). However, this hinges on her desire to serve the Machine and protect Shaw and Finch, rather than any concern about the world as a whole:

Root: In the first thirty minutes after Samaritan comes online, a lot of people are gonna be killed. But they're gonna start with four: you, me, your helper monkey, and Shaw. And there won't be a damn thing anyone, including your Machine, can do to stop it. You think I don't care about people, Harold? I'm doing all of this to save you. (3x17)

Therefore, it is only when she loses these three tethers that her doubts show themselves. After Samaritan comes online and her contact with the Machine is severely limited, she begins to struggle ("She was supposed to remake the world. Now God's on the run. I have to keep going. [...] Even without Her, I can still see the edges of the tapestry." 4x05). She sought out this position because she wanted to be the Machine's Chosen One, now she has all but lost that connection yet remains a key player in the fight.

Shaw is then taken by Samaritan (4x11) and Root's devotion to the cause falters for the first time. She begins to disregard what the Machine taught her by preparing to kill Control (4x12) and torturing Leslie Thompson (4x13). When the Machine tells her to stop looking for Shaw, she walks away both from the team and the job that has been her purpose for so long:

Finch: The Machine is asking us to stop looking for her. Perhaps the Machine does know, perhaps it has a plan. But for our own survival, our sanity, I believe we must reconcile ourselves with never knowing the truth. Otherwise, our pursuit of it will consume us entirely.

Root: Goodbye, Harold. (4x13)

The next time we see her, she saves Finch's life and smiles at a security camera, then tells Reese "there's a lot that's new." (4x15). This indicates that she and the Machine have renegotiated and, while Root is working with Her again, she no longer holds the same unwavering faith.

When Finch has a plan to strike a blow against Samaritan that will likely cost his life, Root directly disobeys the Machine:

Finch: My value to the Machine is irrelevant.

Root: You're too important to me.

Finch: The Machine didn't tell you to do this.

Root: She told me not to. I thought I could sacrifice everyone, I really did. Win some, lose some, right? It's for a good cause. But it turns out I can't lose you, Harold. Not you and Shaw. (4x18)

For the first time, she puts her own needs ahead of the 'good cause' she was willing to give everything for and sabotages a chance to defeat the Big Bad, because she found the one thing that matters more to her than her duty. Finch then tells her "I don't want to see you for a while." (4x18).

Despite all of this, she continues to carry out the Machine's instructions and comes to Reese's rescue in 4x19, then goes back to working with the team.

In 4x21 she gets a call appearing to be from Shaw and instantly regrets stopping her search when Shaw has been alive all this time. Prepared to walk into a trap for a chance to save her, Root uses her own life as a bargaining chip to manipulate the Machine into helping them. Once again, she prioritizes the life of her loved one over everything else.

While following this lead, Root learns that Samaritan is close to finding the Machine and her goal expands to protecting both Her and Shaw no matter what:

Root: They're close to finding you. I don't care what happens to me.

Finch: What did the Machine tell you?

Root: She says it's too dangerous.

Finch: I'm inclined to agree.

Root: This isn't just a rescue mission to save Shaw. The Machine needs our help too. If we don't save them, who will? (4x21)

When Samaritan threatens her to get the Machine to reveal Her location, Root begs the Machine not to do it ("Don't do it. Please. Don't give yourself up. Harold was right. We are interchangeable. You can replace us. You can keep fighting." 4x21). All she wants is to protect her loved ones.

The Machine agrees to Samaritan's bargain, then gives the team Her own number to warn them of an imminent system shutdown and directions for how to help Her. When it looks like they won't be able to get there in time, Root gives the Machine an ultimatum - "No more standing on the sidelines. You want us to save your skin? Get in the game." (4x22). Ever since becoming the Analog Interface, she has been helping with the Machine's mission. Now she wants the Machine to help with her mission.

Root and Finch then save the Machine and work tirelessly until they restore Her. Root is also focussed on protecting her loved ones, which has expanded to include Reese and Fusco ("John needs our help now. You have to give us something to work with." 5x05. "An exit strategy. For you and your son to disappear off the grid, just in case." 5x07).

The priority of finding Shaw never leaves Root's mind and eventually she once again forces the Machine to help her by threatening to withhold her cooperation ("I refuse to do one more mission until I know that what I'm doing is going to lead me to Sameen." 5x07). Together they send a message to Shaw, which gives her the motivation she needs to escape, and Root is so desperate to be reunited that she would have given herself up to Samaritan if Reese hadn't intervened.

Throughout all of this, Root remains dedicated to the war against Samaritan and vehemently advocates for them to take a more offensive stance ("We have to be willing to do whatever it takes now, or we've already lost." 5x03). She then adds to the Machine's code to give Her an edge in the fight ("What if I said I hard-coded a little something extra into the system before you closed it for good? I gave Her the capacity to defend Herself." 5x10), thus fulfilling her duty as the Chosen One by using the abilities and loyalty the Machine chose her for to ensure Samaritan's defeat - but for her own reasons: protecting the family this role led her to.

#Poi #Root #Root x shaw #Root x the machine #Root poi #Poi root #Sameen shaw #Harold finch #root cause #Poi meta #Person of interest #My meta

[kindestofkings]

when i meet the band they ask, "do you have a man?" i can still say, "i don't remember"

matty healy x reader

face claim: amelia dimoldenberg

childhood friends, reader and matty healy have been the ultimate power couple, with his success with the 1975 and her increasingly popular online series. unfortunately, things don't always stay perfect forever...

authors note: this took me FOREVER but she's my baby and I hope you enjoy!! Absolutely no hate to gabrietta shes seems really cool, but i needed the drama lol

yourusername and chickenshopdate

liked by trumanblack and others

chickenshopdate when will they get it!! my quest for love is still ongoing. TWO more dates lined up for this season, lets hope I don't get ghosted xx

view all 290 comments

yourusername mwhahah you guys are gonna love them!!

1975fan1 oh my god please please have matty on we've been so patient 1975fan2 fr i need to see more of my parasocial parents yourusername dont think I know a matty ?? is he the one who sings about chocolate?

trumanblack well fit xx

yourusername stranger danger !! 1975fan2 hahah you'd swear they haven't been dating for like 5 years 1975fan3 AND friends for like 7 years before that

yourusername and chickenshopdate

liked by charli_xcx and others

chickenshopdate No crashing here, just crushing. 😏 My date with @charli_xcx is out on Friday!💕

view all 200 comments

fan1 holy shit this is my roman empire

yourusername watch out @bedfordanes75 imma bout to steal your girl xxx

bedfordanes75 two can play at that game hun xx charli_xcx guys please theres enough of me to go around trumanblack and me yourusername @trumanblack sorry who brought you into the conversation?? trumanblack love it when you're mean to me x rass75 AH my eyes

1975fan1 damn they're both so hot, i fear the boys of the 1975 have rizz...

(liked by bedfordanes75 and trumanblack)

yourusername

liked by trumanblack and others

yourusername sadly Miss XCX wasn't the one for me, or i wasn't the one for her whatever blahblahblah

im giving love one last try next week before i give up and let my mum set me up!

view all 146 comments

1975fan1 omg matty liked this post maybe he's the last date?

1975fan2 me when im delusional xx 1975fan3 you do know they're going out years? he likes all her posts babe x

chickenshopdate

liked by trumanblack and others

chickenshopdate it's the one you've all been waiting for.. my date with @trumanblack @the1975 is out THIS Friday!

keep the hopes low guys he can't be funny in his first language let alone a foreign one xx

view all 500 comments

1975fan1 OH MY GOD i was right this is everything

rass75 you picked the wrong band member love

yourusername if you weren't too busy being cool and mysterious, it could've been us falling in love over chicken nuggets xx trumanblack oi rass75 back off

yourusername

liked by trumanblack and others

yourusername just broke the internet so i think i'm good to hardlaunch my current placeholder @trumanblack x

view all 490 comments

trumanblack babe you look so cool

yourusername BAHAHA did you quote your own lyrics to me?? thats an ick I might have to rethink this placeholder thing, rass75 are you free? trumanblack stop tryna replace me, hurts my feelings

trumanblack posted on their story!

-go watch me be fit and cool on a date

1975fan_base

liked by yourusername and others

1975fan_base in honour of @trumanblack and @yourusername's groundbreaking date i thought we should all love on the old pics of the two and the guys from her old insta!

view all 10 comments

1975fan1 parents literally my parents

1975fan2 so so cute they've been together so long !

1975fan_base ikr!! they make me believe in love

1975fan3 shes doing gods work giving us those photos

yourusername 💕💕

1975fan_base ahhh omg HI!!

yourusername posted on their story!

trumanblack reposted onto their story!

more boyfriend content cause he's giving out it's ruining his "cool" image lol

replies

bedfordanes75 cant ruin what was never there in the first place 1975fan1 IM SO OBSESSED WITH YOU TWO AHH

four weeks later

tmz

liked by 1975fan1 and others

tmz SPOTTED !! the 1975's frontman matty healy was seen out on a loved up walk around NYC today with gabriette, despite him and his long term girlfriend being seen together just over a month ago. Do we think the previous couple had broken it off already or is the singer adding cheater to his name?

let us know what you think down below!!

view all 500 comments

1975fan1 oh my fucking god men I cant

1975fan2 nooo I hope he and yourusername broke it off before this, shes too good for this shit!

1975fan1 doesnt even matter its very quick to already be in a relationship after ending one that lasted like 5 years...

1975fan3 this afternoon?? tmz you guys are disgusting putting this up, what if yourusername finds out through this!!

1975fan_base

liked by 1975fan1 and others

1975fan_base guys i cant be delusional anymore yourusername just unfollowed matty and all the boys 💔💔

view all 15 comments

1975fan1 noo I cant stop thinking she found out through tmz, hard day to be a 1975 fan....

1975fan2 how can he cheat on the girl who he wrote when we are together and about you for !!

1975fan_base genuinely makes no sense men are TRASH

1975fan3 feel like you guys should've seen this coming he's written so many songs about cheating on his girlfriend

1975fan2 literally no one asked!!

yourusername

liked by pheobebridgers and others

yourusername oh hi! hope you've missed me? let's play 2 truths and 1 lie: it's awards season, i'm fit as fuck and men are trash.

fans of chickenshopdate don't fret we'll be back with another season soon! it's time to level up on english singers, im looking at you @harrystyles xxx

view all 400 comments

yourusername god 1'm so bad at games there's 3 truths there isn't there?

fan 1 AHAHAH you are so iconic, gone for three months and you come back with this fan2 make him payyyy

florencepugh the real queen of england right here!

yourusername 💕💕

harrystyles i'm a pescatarian so what about just a regular date love x

fan 1 oh she's such a girlboss I hope ratty healy regrets every decision he's ever made!

bedfordanes75 gonna smash it! call one of us back when you get the chance <3

(liked by rass75,1975adam and charlie_xcx) fan3 eek the fallout of a couple in the same friend group right there

#matty healy #matty healy imagine #matty x reader #matty the 1975 #matty healy fanfiction #fake instagram

[jewtastic]

I have nothing, I repeat, NOTHING, against stealing from large big box companies, but I do have three main complaints about all the positivity and encouragement I'm seeing circulated all the time.

Please remember that you can always get caught. No one is perfect, and being caught will result in actual, criminal charges. These charges can ruin your fucking life. Colleges can expel you, jobs can fire you without notice, and it can keep you from getting future jobs. You can even be denied for loans or credit cards. And don't forget, if you're a POC, they WILL throw the book at you. The "justice" system always comes down harder on non-white people, queer people, and non-xtians. You will face high fines, probation under unfair and expensive restrictions and conditions. And you may even face heavy jail time. Be aware of these dangers. Not only that, but as someone who's worked with and in asset protection, a lot of stores do know you're stealing. They're keeping a tally. Stores like WalMart purposely wait until they have proof you stole over a certain monetary limit so that they can press higher charges over you. From misdemeanor to burglary charges in my home state, often. This allows them to then sue you for damages and not only get their money back, but more, including court costs and the cost of the hours/employee wages that were used to follow and document your crimes. Never assume you've gotten away scott-free just because you got out of the store. Don't make a habit of stealing from the exact same location regularly. Small, infrequent hits.

Mom and Pop stores are NOT big box stores. They are often barely making ends meet in this current economy. Don't steal from small businesses, period. Don't file charge-backs on artists, don't fuck over sex workers, don't fuck with that small convenience store run by a single family. Shoplifting is moral and good- against large corporations and evil ass megabrands.

DO NOT POST YOUR SCORES ONLINE. JFC. I have seen so many posts of "theft hauls" and "look what I stole" posts. These can literally and will be used against you in court. It is not unheard of for police to track social media posts back to their owners and proceed with charges from there. In fact, it's even used by the IRS to audit families that flash a lot of cash or goods they aren't claiming in their taxes. If you're committing a crime, shut the fuck up. Don't state things outright online. Don't take pics of your stolen goods. Don't brag about the security holes in the stores you're robbing.

#shop lifting #lifting tips #shoplifting #be smart and shut the fuck up

[mlmshipbracket]

ROUND 1: POLL #34

ROUND 1 POLLS [HERE]

PROPAGANDA BELOW

Phaya/Tharn:

They're destined lovers!!!! They're meant to be together!!! Phaya has dreams about them and Tharn has visions about Phaya. Their relationship is all kinds of messy and complicated that spans across their lifetimes. Phaya was a garuda and Tharn was a naga and now they're both detectives and will always find each other. 

"look here are some more cute videos of them

[SPOILERS up to ep 7]

and another one (SPOILERS up to ep 5)

ANYWAYS they're literally destined soulmates but like Romeo and Juliet too at the same time because they're a Garuda and a Naga who are like classic enemies in mythology and even though they've been reincarnated as normal humans, (tho Phaya has strange dreams and Tharn has prophetic visions so they're not that normal lol) they're still like cosmically being torn apart because of their past karma. And like in one of the first episodes Phaya is literally described as someone who will bring Tharn into more danger BUT is also the only person who can free him from this repeated cycle of bad karma that haunts him. 

Like imagine you and your lover are soulmates and are these mythical creatures who have a long standing enmity between them so it's very tragic BUT you eventually are reincarnated as normal humans and are still destined for each other so everything should be fine except your both still haunted by your past lives and everyone you love dies because of you and you have visions and then you meet this guy and suddenly you keep getting visions about him dying and he's been seeing you in his dreams his whole life and the Abbott at the temple you grew up in says that you two are tied together and that he is the only person who can save you from your past karma but to do that he's going to put you in more danger and you're still convinced that everyone you love dies because of you and also there's an evil snake deity from your past life who is doing everything in his power to keep you two part. They're insane.

anyways watch this little clip of Phaya's dream from episode 5 to get a feel

and also this confession scene (and well.... there's some scenes after that too ;) ) from episode 7

oh! and here's a couple more gif sets of them!

Sound/Win:

You've got this teenage idol (Sound) who is famous online for his guitar playing and he transfers to a new school and is immediately recruited into the band full of like the loser kids, which he very reluctantly joins. In the band there's this bassist (Win) who is always getting on his nerves and they're always like one step away from fighting (or actually fighting) but then Win does something nice for him once and uh oh Sound has now developed feelings for the worst guy ever and he is not happy about this at all. So he does the rational thing and fights with the guy more except somehow that makes them closer and uh oh Sound is truly fucked now. Luckily he fell for a dumbass.

#phaya #tharn #phaya/tharn #phayatharn #the sign the series #sound #win #sound/win #soundwin #my school president #tumblr poll #tumblr bracket #mlm ship #mlm ship poll #mlm ship bracket #mlm ship bracket tournament #mlm ship bracket 2024 #mlm ship bracket tournament 2024 #fourthr1

[bioethicists]

Your post about unfollowing people who’re really combative online made me think about someone in particular. Apologies if this is out of nowhere so feel free to ignore.

If somebody (with thousands of followers) who isn’t a part of a specific marginalised group habitually seeks out bad takes regarding them to dunk on, isn’t that a little weird? I’m not talking about defending your friends when they’re facing discrimination or dunking on the main bigot character of the day, but regularly seeking out bad takes from small accounts that’d otherwise never seen the light of day.

It’s nobody on here I’m referencing. I feel a little crazy because this person gets heralded as a huge ally and has a lot of people in this marginalised group who’re really devoted to and defensive of them but it just really rubs me the wrong way because they seem really discourse-brained more than anything else.

yeah haha ironically i think some of the ppl on that post are seriously missing the point (which i probably could have made clearer) in terms of some of them are like. people who clearly think being told they're racist is the same as the type of behavior i'm talking about.

but also yes! this is more what i meant- people who are seeking out fights with those who would otherwise never get any attention! especially when it's takes that are NOT popular or the response is just totally disproportionate. or just building a social media brand off of over-exaggerated hatred/meanness towards people who "deserve it". it reminds me of all the cis people on here who constantly reblog shit about like... putting terfs in meat grinders but then never even lift a finger (or, more likely, are part of the mob) when trans women are sexually harassed or viciously bullied.

i don't think joking about harming bigots is some grand moral wrong, but it's often just gratuitous in a way where... are you actually expressing outrage or are you using the performance of outrage to get followers? what if that outrage is directly putting people in danger (e.g, if you find a terf with 45 followers + start sending her death threats, is that helping anyone or is it potentially provoking more violence, which you know full well you will NOT be the primary target of). i can see how this behavior can result in members of certain groups defending you, because if nobody has shown their willingness to defend you, isn't it refreshing to see someone who will? it's not so simple, either, cuz i do think ppl who do this do CARE, but i'm not sure the way that they care is sustainable or would hold up to a real, complex situation where allyship is needed.

it's so contextual + i'm not arrogant enough to pretend like i'm the one who can see the context right 100% of the time. this is a little sappy but i feel like the difference is whether the root of the anger is love/hope or if its fulfilling your own desire to lash out/release tension/look good. like "i'm pissed because i care about my trans siblings + it hurts me to see them treated this way + nobody else is saying shit for them so i'm stepping up" vs "raging online meets a need in me that i'm not willing to acknowledge + here's the perfect target". not exactly that simple but sometimes u can tell someone would be a kiwifarms bro if they didn't need social capital from a different crowd, ykwim (which btw we regularly learn that certain leftists will comb through + disseminate kiwifarms shit if it fits their vibe, which is an automatic red flag to me that you only care about drama, not morals)

it reminds me of how some "callouts" are clearly written with the intention of preventing harmful people from maintaining the power to do more harm (e.g x popular artist sexts underage fans) while many others are clearly written with glee about someone turning out to be Bad (e.g x popular artist has a private twitter that i, op, SCROUNGED to find, where they say horny things about genshin impact characters)

[sandumilfshou]

Meta analysis/hypothesis on what is influencing the rise of anti culture

FAIRLY LONG POST.

I feel like antis (as most commonly minors) are stuck in this vicious cycle that has been perpetuated by internet culture over the last 20 years without having the advantage of the early internet etiquette/warnings/safety education that we as millennials and older got.

Kids these days are pretty much online from birth. The internet encourages people to post their thoughts and opinions at all times, often without much thought, and this norm is perpetuated pretty strongly through sites like Twitter and TikTok. So they're posting all of their thoughts and feelings and opinions left right and centre, often without privacy settings turned on, usually on social media sites where anyone can see these posts. And because the internet is a panopticon, unless you are on a private or hidden account, everyone is also able to post their own opinion about your opinion. It's easier than ever before for someone to discuss, argue, reject, and attack other people's opinions. And it's human nature to double down and defend your position instead of coming to an agreement or neutral ground (or god forbid change your mind), especially when tone is difficult to get across via text, and even so when people are often automatically argumentative and aggressive in their initial response (I have been guilty of this many a time).

This is all tied up in what I think for minors is a fundamental misunderstanding of what the internet is. It isn't a safe space, it isn't sanitized for your comfort, and it isn't censored or controlled much outside of strictly R18 sites other than literal illegal content being reported. But there seems to be this view among minors and antis that by default the internet should be safe for them to navigate, and they should not be able to stumble across, access, or engage with adult content (not even necessarily NSFW stuff either). So when they see this, they're shocked and appalled that it exists where they can see it, and because of the above, have been encouraged by the nature of the internet to post their very strong, often underdeveloped and shallow, opinion about it! They do not understand that the internet is the wild fucking west and outside of strictly under 13 sites and parental controls put on them, that it is your individual responsibility to curate your OWN safe space on the internet. Be liberal with the block button! Make use of mute functions! Set your shit to private so people who don't know you can't interact with your posts!

But they don't do this, because they were never taught about the dangers of the internet like we were. I remember when you should never give out ANY personal information about yourself, not even your first name, hell even saying the country you were from was often frowned against. We were taught that the internet is dangerous and you are responsible for keeping yourself safe. Now kids are putting out their name, their age, their country, all of their mental illnesses and neurodivergences and triggers all over the place! (It doesn't help that so many social media sites are encouraging linking your identity on other sites as 'verification', making it very impossible to be anonymous or fully under pseudonyms anymore.) So they think the internet is a safe and fun place to spend their time and encountering any content they dislike is free real estate to have a very loud opinion on, and are conditioned to double down on this when questioned.

This leads to two things that have become pretty rampant recently:

A lack of understanding of basic fandom culture and etiquette

The rise of puritanist views from LGBT+ youth on sexual deviance / morality / kink, and the encouragement of broad censorship.

Cancel culture is so fucking rampant these days. Kids especially are terrified to be cancelled or called out, especially since cyberbullying is so fucking common now. For kids this is often tied up in their real life school interactions, but it is rapidly becoming normal to consider your online identity and interactions just as real and valid as your physical, everyday interactions. Internet friendships are just as strong - or even stronger - as those you have in real life at school, or work, or sports clubs. It's known that people spend more time on the internet now than ever, so more and more of our time and mental energy and space is taking place in the virtual sphere. Being involved in something that negatively affects you like cyberbullying, or being cancelled or called out, or even just labeled as 'problematic' is so much bigger now, and it's not as easy to "just log off" or "just turn off your phone" as it used to be, because SO MUCH of our identity is caught up in online spaces now.

There's this dichotomy where we are encouraged to post all of our thoughts and opinions on the internet where anyone can see them, but cancel culture is also making people - especially kids - terrified to make mistakes or withhold opinions for fear of being labeled 'problematic' or 'siding with xyz if you don't post an opinion that disagrees with it'. There's a hyperawareness of what could be considered problematic behaviour, this strong need to be performatively moral, even if it means throwing someone else under the bus to prove that you're unproblematic!

This all links back to my previous two points. It means that common historical fandom etiquette - things like "don't like, don't read", the term "squick", "YKINMK - your kink is not my kink (and that's okay)" have all but disappeared from lexicon and culture. Where in the past we used to scroll past things we didn't like, kids now feel the need to call it out to prove themselves morally superior and unproblematic. They don't care that most of the time the space is NOT FOR THEM, they ignore all of the 🔞emojis and "MDNI" warnings, because of this fundamental misunderstanding that the internet is not always by default going to be palatable for them. Internet culture has destroyed any sense of 'if you don't have something nice to say, don't say it' which used to be more normal (though that didn't mean people still didn't label every fic with NO FLAMES PLZ!!!11!)

Because of this lack of 'fandom etiquette', because of this misunderstanding of how the internet works and historically has been, because of this instinctive reaction to immediately disapprove of and attack content they viscerally dislike, instead of ignoring it, this is giving rise to puritanist views and talking points amongst LGBT+ youth, minors, and antis. They are literal minors who are literally not even relevant to these conversations and concepts, as most of them are R18, inserting themselves where they aren't wanted into discussions on and posts about things that they consider sexually deviant or immoral. Because they are CHILDREN. Of COURSE they don't like this content!

I'm not a psychologist, but I wonder if developmental phases are playing a part here. Like, when you learn to differentiate concrete and abstract thinking, the ability to understand nuance and separate fiction from reality. A lot of these antis are literally too young to be able to understand some of these conversations, but don't understand this, and don't understand why they should not be involving themselves in these R18 areas that are clearly designated NOT FOR THEM, because "it's on the internet and I can find it easily, so therefore it's applicable and valid for me to have an opinion on this!"

And all of this culminates into what we are seeing now as the anti phenomenon. So TL;DR -

The internet is a panopticon. Everything you post can be viewed by everyone. Everyone has an opinion. Everyone is encouraged to voice those opinions. Opinions now must always be morally superior and unproblematic, or you risk being cancelled.

Minors are coming across content on sites they are on that is not relevant to them, and ignore R18 warnings and MDNIs to insert themselves into these spaces to give their opinion, because they have a fundamental misunderstanding of what the internet is and how it works, due to a lack of internet safety.

This means that common fandom culture/etiquette is being lost, and all of this is giving rise to youth parroting what they don't realise are puritan talking points and arguments against sexual deviance, morality, kink, and encouraging censorship. Which may or may not be exacerbated by the psychological developmental phases they are going through, which could be affecting their ability to understand abstract concepts and nuance, such as separating fictional morality and real life morality when it comes to taboo/dark/kink concepts in fan spaces.

(BTW many of my talking points above are thanks to @rainystudios' amazing academic papers which should definitely be checked out by anyone interested in this.)

#fan studies #fandom studies #fan culture #fandom culture #proship #proshipper #fandom history #fandom meta #fandom

[hymemena]

The Quarry Sentence Starters

Feel free to change pronouns as necessary, and remember to specify muse for multimuse blogs.

CW: Swearing, violence, injury, animal attack mention, suggestive

—

"Swarm of bears?"

"Fine… Okay. Once again, -muse- puts themself in mortal danger for the sake of their 'work friends.'"

"Just… How can you be so certain?"

"If I let my conscience slow me down, now, everything gets a lot worse for everyone. Believe me."

"Ah-ah, you'll have it when I say you'll have it."

"Alright, huddle up boys, this is how we're gonna do this."

"There's a half naked girl/boy waiting for you back there, -name-, what are you doing?"

"It was… It was okay."

"They seemed pretty insistent we stay in the lodge."

"I'm just desperate to stay afloat in a world where everyone wants to be different."

"Sometimes things just don't make sense."

"Fuck!"

"Son of a binky-bonky!"

"Well, at least I don't look and smell like a butt."

"Podcast, huh?"

"Family is very important."

"Does this look like the Goddamn Harbinger Motel to you?!"

"Maybe they don't check their voicemail."

"How was I supposed to know that?"

"I saw it online."

"I don't know! This was my first cop!"

"You're a horrible person."

"You shot me?! I'm telling mom!"

"You stabbed me. That really hurt."

"Goodbye, cruel world! The final curtain is calling and there's no time for an encore…"

"Who should we call?"

"Ninety-one one."

"You mean nine-one-one? Who says ninety-one-one?"

"Okay, well, just because you're using 'logic' to 'make sense' doesn't mean that I'm totally into it."

"Hey, you're singing off-key."

"We are being hunted by literal monsters and this is what scares you?!"

"Oh my God. You are so childish."

"Yeah, if they made a podcast called 'How To Look And Smell Like A Butt.'"

"-Muse-, what's your position?"

"Uhm… Standing?"

"I just can't wait to see who they choose to play me. In the movie about how brave I am."

"Maybe you should have asked them out on a date?"

"Damn it! I missed my shot!"

"P-A-R-T… Why the fuck not?"

"Check out my huge melons!"

"There's been a horrible accident--Attack. Some stuff's bad here."

"I'm not gonna fuck a bear."

"Sorry!"

"Why didn't you tell me there was something out there?!"

"I don't know what I saw!"

"Oh my God, -Muse-, you won't believe this! It's… Nothing."

"Yeah, well… Worse things have happened this summer."

"You beefed it."

"Ah, not this time, motherfucker!"

"And what? Risk another run-in with Captain Deliverance?"

"Well, that bodes ill!"

"Whoa, watch your step!"

"Why'd you do that?"

"You told me to!"

"That was a bad idea."

"Huh. Rude."

"They get kinda hot when they're bossy, huh?"

"I'm always hot, pencil dick."

"It's my beer-dar. Helps me dar for beers."

"It's not a secret room! It's just hidden… By stuff…"

"Yeah, that's what a secret is!"

"I haven't ever been stabbed before."

"Why is there what I can only hope is strawberry jelly on your face?"

"Oh, yeah, no. I'm pretty sure it's blood."

"You can't hide from me in my own house, fucker!"

"You're a fucker!"

""Oh, so now I'm blind, too, you motherfucker!"

"Why does everyone blame everything on bears?"

"Okay, so for the sake of argument, what if that 'bear' that cut our phone line and just cut out all the power-- What if that bear is waiting for us out in the hallway?"

"What's wrong with this thing? It's just closing!"

"Sorry, bro!"

"Double skill!"

"Ow! Mother… Hubbard!"

"No… They're funny!"

"Moment's gone."

"…But not forgotten."

"No… -Muse-… Don't do it… Stop…"

"Herd of bears."

"Yeah, I've heard of bears."

"I can try to encourage them."

"Go for it! You guys can do it! --it's not working."

"You know that's kind of a movie-only thing, right?"

"I mean, you bang someone on the head you're more likely to kill them or leave them with permanent brain damage… Not just 'knock 'em out.'"

#roleplay memes #rp memes #rp starters #writing prompts #roleplay starters #sentence starters #dialogue starters #dialogue prompts #dialogue rp meme #dialogue roleplay meme #sentence rp meme #sentence prompts #video game rp meme #video game roleplay meme #video game roleplay starters #video game rp starters

[halfelven]

love random not even logged in readers just dropping their 'constructive criticism' on your 100k+ story that you're putting online entirely for free. this is just a rant btw

"You obviously have a great talent and I think you should work on honing it some. As much as I’ve enjoyed the story, there are a few things that stand out that you might consider looking at. I feel like the story isn’t sure what it wants to be at times; is it character driven or plot driven? It doesn’t flow smoothly because sometimes we have these wonderful character vignettes, like Illumi and Kalluto on a road trip or Kite/Leorio/Gon/Killua in an apartment where plot doesn’t really feel important, followed by what feels like heavily plot driven beats, like Kalluto and the spiders. In addition, it contributes to confusion because sometimes we see established characterization turned on its head. Especially the weird way everyone all of a sudden just sort of was OK with Kalluto being a spider and then working with Illumi when they just went to all that trouble to escape him? It all kind of feels forced and not natural. You know?

Anyway, I’ll definitely keep reading and look forward to seeing what happens."

first: love you trying to sound legitimate with your "in addition" like this is some kind of writer's workshop. second: in what way would I, the writer, think that an incomplete part of my story in which the reader does not yet know most of the main motivations (they are only hinted at so far) feels forced and not natural when I know what's happening, where it is going (and where I haven't had other readers comment with confusion about that part)

and moving on. don't do this. also like i said this is a wip in and no, no one is cool with Kalluto being a spider and no they're not cool working with Illumi, really. it was already established that some of them /have/ been working with Illumi before this~ he's someone that they know. like have you never been in a seriously dangerous situation that you just have to get through before you get back to what you want?*** also at this point Chrollo's real motive hasn't been entirely revealed.

Killua keeps changing his mind about what he's doing because he's a scared kid whose self-hatred is destroying him from the inside out. the POV is so tight that I have to keep dropping reminders that what is stated in the narrative is often not true! Illumi's POV, for example, keeps showing Killua as really loving him and being happy he's around but struggling with a desire for freedom, while with Killua's POV he's terrified of Illumi most of the time. like how is that not obviously a distorted POV where you can't trust the narrator?

"where plot doesn’t really feel important, followed by what feels like heavily plot driven beats"

this part is especially irritating because it's like yeah that's how I want to write it? this isn't a published novel. I don't have to commit to making sure every scene is important to the plot. I can spend time writing a full scene about someone drinking a glass of water and then 13 chapters in a row that are for moving the plot forward. I didn't even tag it as a novel... I did tag it for unreliable narration and I keep getting annoyed that people keep ignoring that.

"I feel like the story isn’t sure what it wants to be at times; is it character driven or plot driven?"

it's both??? it's neither??? it's a fanfic??? why do I keep getting comments lately where people are expecting me to adhere to like fucking publishing standards. this keeps up and I will write a chapter which is entirely about a minor character drinking a glass of water. watch me. I'll write one about phinks drinking a glass of water and you'll like it*

"Overall, the story is good and presented a compelling alternative to CA. Look, each fan has their own opinion on CA and I know I didn’t like it. I think it was a product of what Togashi was going through as he began to experience health issues and then finding himself right back where he said he wasn’t going to be mentally after he ended his earlier manga. We can never know for sure, but it certainly had a “watch it all burn vibe” to it near the end. I honestly believe he wanted it to end with the finality of Gon’s suicide as a capstone statement, but was probably convinced to go a different route, which kinda of left a jarring feel in the narrative and culminated in a rather unsatisfying end to Gon and Killua’s journey. Despite that, I am very reluctant to read fics where the events of CA are erased or grossly modified and honestly yours is really the first long AU/alternate timeline I’ve enjoyed"

okay first of all, I love the CA arc. but I had to split a point off where Kite was going to survive. why do you have to leave this whole paragraph about how you think Togashi was or wasn't going to go with the CA on my fanfic? I didn't even write this as 'oh look at my alternative to CA bc I hated CA' I don't really look forward to hearing comments about how random people didn't like so and so aspect of the story that I'm basing my story off of. I've never written fanfic for a story that I didn't like (except for some things that I don't have published I wrote at a request for friends for a fandom they were into that I wasn't really) and yeah I've wanted to 'fix' aspects (like tolkien's treatment of women for example) but I am not looking for your 'this is what I hated about the source material' comments on my stories

tired of getting comments with little 'oh I didn't like your style at first but now I do' or 'here's how to fix your story!' unsolicited advice from people who aren't better writers than me (I don't even want it from people who would be better writers than me on stuff I'm just doing for fun and for free)

when did stuff like this become normal? at least don't be a coward and be not logged in so you can't even get a response notification. like girl they aren't cool with it! why do you think everyone is on guard standing around like they're in a fucking hostage situation? how do you see such wildly different interpretations from different character's POVs and think it's not intentional? what part about Kite watching Killua like a fucking hawk makes you think he's going to let Illumi take him after this?

like if you've never had to smile and pretend to be cool with your abuser (pretend to love them) or someone who was threatening you to keep someone else safe then good for you! it fucking sucks! also don't know how to explain to you what a child who is growing up in an extremely isolated abusive situation goes through (though I keep writing about it in this story you should catch on...) but it's a million back and forths with emotion and feelings--especially if their abuser does (to in some way or to some degree) love them. and it is often blaming themselves. I'm not letting my years of studying human psychology and child development go to waste here**

is this story perfect? no but I'm not gonna hire an editor for a fanfic. and everyone's interpretations of characters will be different. especially with child characters who are going through huge changes in the world around them and their personal lives. part of the appeal of fanfiction is 'who would they become if this happened instead?' *sorry I keep writing about starving and not having clean drinking water but I will never stop because that's what I grew up with and it's hell. also phinks drinking water would be compelling since I assume he'd have harder access to clean drinking water

**hunter x hunter is also one of the only stories I have encountered with characters who have backgrounds as fucked up as mine and Togashi's interest in human psychology really stands out.

***like good for you but that was most of my life and you sometimes just have to shut up and get through it. and no I will not put my notes in the right order bc I'm not being paid enough****

****I'm being paid nothing

#sorry i got one too many comments that irritated me #feel free to chime in if you're getting comments like this too #it's been really getting on my nerves lately #and making me not want to post anything #you're not my teacher or editor #and i don't use a beta reader bc i'd never post anything #if i had to think of it as work and not just for me #i already do writing for work where i have to really consider the reader #i also didn't like one commenter pointing out typos #i'll catch them at some point #they were like great chapter! here's all the mistakes i saw #so download the story and fix them yourself if they bother you so much you have to run through and do line edits #if you don't want typos i'd have to wait two to three months so the story looked fresh #to catch them before posting and i'm not doing that #you can think this sounds bitchy but writing is hours and hours of work #i could jot down five sentences just for myself and have a story for years just remembering what i was thinking when i wrote those #you want a perfectly edited story? then go read a professionally published book #oh i guess that's not good enough for you either #okay now i am being bitchy but in my defense #i'm not forcing them to read it

[negative-speedforce]

Not-so-nice asks for Hyun-Ki and Kayla please!

alone, desire, failure, guilt, mask, and nightmare?

alone: How does your OC deal with loneliness? Have they ever been completely alone before? How do they act when there's no one around to see them?

When in his brief moments of lucidity while under Jessi's control, Hyun-Ki is completely alone. This terrifies him, because he's always had a huge group of loved ones, such as his band, his parents, and his fans. Unfortunately, it's hard to make connections under hypnosis, and Jessi cut him off from his old friends.

Kayla's almost always lonely. Her and Dori share similar objectives, but for security reasons, they can't spend too much time together, and they can't tell each other the fine details of what they're doing, so Kayla's pretty much on her own most of the time. She's used to it.

desire: What's one thing your OC wants more than anything in the world? Are they open with that desire? Why or why not? What would they do to fulfill it?

More than anything, Hyun-Ki wants his life back. He wants to make music again, hang out with his bandmates, travelling the world, and to see his mom, because Hyun-Ki is the world's biggest mama's boy. He can't exactly be open about this desire, nor can he do anything about it, because, y'know, mind control.

Kayla wants nothing more than to burn HYDRA to the ground. She's dedicated her entire life since the age of 12 to this goal, studying her ass off and graduating high school at 15, then going on and dual majoring in neurology and engineering, using her great-uncle's status as leader of HYDRA to get herself a place working with the Winter Soldier himself. She'll never tell anyone her goal, minus Dori, because they'd kill her.

failure: What's your OC's greatest failure? Have they been able to move past it? Does anyone else know about it?

Hyun-Ki's greatest failure (in his opinion) was his attempt to kill Jessi, three months after she took control of him. She had a mix of her songs playing while she was cooking dinner, and because they had done a track together, one of SoulSong's big singles came on. Hyun-Ki smashed a wineglass and attempted to impale her in the throat with the stem of it, but Jessi used her sonic powers to shatter the glass before he could.

Kayla's greatest failure was her lack of cybersecurity on her personal logs. When HYDRA's files were leaked, they immediately found all her records of how she had been working to take down HYDRA from the inside out. This led to her eventual capture and her transformation into HYDRA's newest weapon, Firebird.

guilt: What is your OC guilty about? How do they handle their guilt? Do they try to avoid guilt, or do they accept it?

Hyun-Ki feels extremely guilty about the fact that he hasn't called his mom in two years. When he manages to regain control for a few moments, he always looks up "Moon Sunhee" online just to make sure that she's still alive and that she's okay. Unfortunately for her, he doesn't usually have enough control to actually make a phone call.

Kayla feels guilty about failing to free the Winter Soldier before HYDRA's fall. She really tried, but she never had an opportunity, since it was far too dangerous. She handles this guilt by ignoring it, especially since she has to worry about the fact that her body is being quite literally puppeteered and used to hurt the people she loves.

mask: Does your OC wear a mask, literally or figuratively? What goes on beneath it? Is there anyone in their life who gets to see who they are under the mask?

Hyun-Ki's an extremely open person. He's passionate and brutally honest, which made his personality shift under Jessi all the more strange.

Kayla's whole life since she was about 12 or so has been one big mask, plotting and scheming to eventually destroy everything her great-uncle had made. She acts like your typical sadistic HYDRA scientist most of the time, but underneath, she's an extremely compassionate person.

nightmare: What does your OC have nightmares about? How do they deal with their nightmares? Do they tell people, or keep it to themself?

Hyun-Ki doesn't dream, at least not under Jessi's control. His whole life is just semi-conscious, living in a daze somewhere between waking and sleeping. However, before Jessi kidnapped him, he would always call his mom after a particularly bad nightmare.

Kayla's nightmares involve failing to help others. Sometimes she's scared that with her work, she's just making things worse. She never tells others about her dreams, since it might compromise the security of her work.

#ask revan #oc shit #kayla pierce-addams #moon hyun-ki #practically-an-x-man

[doomsdayradio]

!! THIS POST IS ABOUT CDD SYSTEMS WHEN I SAY SYSTEM I MEAN CDD SYSTEMS ENDOS IM BEGGING FOR MY LIFE RN😭😭😭 !! /lh

i feel like we should eventually talk about how the culture around dating in online system spaces is kinda weird?

like i'll be honest, the idea of like dating applications is weird to me in general personally as someone who's on the aromantic spectrum, but i can't help but feel extra weirded out when i see those kind of partner system applications.

i feel like maybe looking for random people on the internet to date with the first and foremost thing you're mentioning being that you have a severe trauma disorder is kind of. dangerous? and? not a good idea? and i have to emphasize that if you do this kind of thing and someone does end up hurting you, that is in no way at all your fault, that is completely on them and you did not deserve that, i just think we should be talking about the safety precautions of this kind of thing.

abuse survivors are very likely to be abused again later in life and just because someone else is a fellow system/trauma survivor doesn't automatically mean they're a safe person who has your best interest at heart. like it feels like a situation where it's very easy to be taken advantage of. i also feel like this kind of partner system applications thing is more common among younger systems who most likely haven't gone through recovery and might still have a skewed view on how healthy relationships and connections work.

and at the heart of this, i feel like that is a big thing, that the system community is by default made up of extremely traumatized individuals. i'll be the first to admit that making connections isn't easy, our biggest social issues consist of a fear of/inherent feeling of embarrassment so intense we literally feel embarrassment by just existing in front of other people, but i don't feel like this whole applications thing is the best way to go about it?

i also feel like this sometimes can go hand in hand with like. fictive dating and source calls? i feel like some introjects specifically go out of their way to find another introject of the person their source dated and, again, that can be dangerous and not work out well because at the end of the day, you don't actually know that person that well? introjects aren't their source and source seperation needs to be made to a certain degree during recovery and healing, this kind of thing feels like it's encouraging introjects to not view themselves as seperate from their source.

and this isn't to say that it's wrong like if an introject meets another introject who just so happens to be from their source and they click as individuals and they date i mean hell we have parts in our sys like that, i'm specifically talking about introjects who only date other introjects because they share a source.

im not really sure how to close this out and this is mainly a ramble just to get my thoughts out because i've been thinking about it over the last couple days feel free to add on or ignore or wtv lol

btw this isn't meant to be judgemental towards anyone and im genuinely sorry if it comes off that way, i just wanted to throw out my thoughts on some parts of the system community i've seen that seem like. off.

#words words words !! #🧋 #syscourse #syscourse neutral #syscourse unaligned

[shipcestuous]

Sorry if it's a silly question or one you've answered before, but what's that "grade on a curve" ask referring to? I tried looking for more context in your discussion and anti tags, but I couldn't find anything, idk if that's due to Tumblr's search system.

Anyway, I personally think trying to prove anything to antis is a wasted effort in most cases. Most of them seem to be looking for reasons to get angry, possibly because they don't feel important or in control irl so they want to play the part of the hero battling the bad guys For The Greater Good online and get clout and admiration for it, so they're not generally the best people to try and have reasonable arguments with. Plus, with how many of them can be hilariously hypocritical about their interests ("you writing a physically abusive relationship in your fic proves you're unstable and dangerous, but me drawing a lot of violence and gore is perfectly okay," "we're essentially shipping the same problematic ship but I see myself as someone with good critical analysis skills and you as someone who's either stupid or evil, so it's fine for me to put it in my fanworks but not for you," etc.) I have my doubts about them reading "incest shipping isn't really a free-for-all, people have different tastes and opinions" and NOT somehow getting "people who like incest ship in THIS way are okay, but people who like incest ships in THAT way deserve all the hate they get" out of it...

On the other hand, I absolutely DO think it's important for incest shippers, proship/anti anti types, and people who just care about other people's comfort in fandom space in a healthy, non-self-centered way to be aware that we all have different preferences, boundaries, and even triggers, and that's okay! Just to make an example, if I like sharing fluffy headcanons about a wholesome brosis ships with you (general you), that doesn't necessarily mean I'll be okay with you reccing me hardcore BDSM darkfics about a codependent twincest ship out of the blue just because I'm into incest. Or, if I like twisted, manipulative parent/child and I've gushed about it you, even on multiple occasions, that doesn't necessarily mean I'll be okay with you suggesting me an extreme underage noncon scenario for the same ship, just because I like my incest dark and fucked-up.

We all have a place in fandom, no matter if our tastes run wholesome or twisted, vanilla or hardcore... and I think it's safe to say that many of us actually like both, even if at different times, for different ships, in different context or different combinations! But to coexist together peacefully, we have to be clear about what we want or don't want from our fandom experience, and respect other people's boundaries. Even when we don't get them, or we think they're too specific, or they're the squshy "X is yes or a soft no for me depending on the day, unless Y happens, then it's a HARD no" or "X is a hard no for me unless Y happens when Z, then it's just a soft no or, in a W context, even a yes" kind. (And, as someone who does have some squishy boundaries, let me tell you: they're actually WAY more frustrating when you try to formulate them in an understandbable manner so you don't accidentally cause any misunderstanding than when you have to hear them out, lol.)

Fortunately, I don't think I've actually seen cases like these happen a lot among incest shippers. But I think it always good to keep all this in mind!

Hi Anon,

I apologize for making things difficult for you. The grading-on-a-curve analogy first came up in this post. It was primarily a discussion of Cathy and Chris, so I didn't link back to it.

I agree with you. Many antis cannot be reasoned with, will always assume the worst, and need to pass judgment to validate themselves, or some other psychological reason. If we start regulating our behavior to appease them, they win. As always, the best way to deal with the issue is to ignore them, create content, and enjoy ourselves. But even though they are prone to assumptions, we also don't want to give them any fuel for assuming the wrong thing about us as shippers.

And then within our community its important not to make assumptions, but I think we have a pretty good understanding among ourselves that tastes vary. But it's good to remember to always give details when recommending things so that people can make informed decisions.

Thanks for sharing these thoughts, Anon!

#asks #anonymous #discussion #t: antis #tw: incest #noiv #nr

[fallen-gravity]

What do you think will happen with Ollie and Molly going forward? I feel like he will make scratch an exception to this ghost hunting stuff.

Yeah, I think seeing Molly talking to Scratch and knowing how much he means to her is gonna be the big main driving point for Ollie's character development and his relationship with ghost hunting and with his family as a result of that. One of my favorite things to imagine with Ollie down the line is a situation where Scratch gets captured again, but this time Ollie's the one who sets him free, because he realizes that Molly and her feelings and his feelings for her are far more important than proving the existence of ghosts and/or hurting them for the sake of likes and subscriptions online.

And here's the other thing: I don't fully believe that Molly is completely and 100% already over Ollie no questions asked. Ollie definitely still has feelings for her, given this face he makes when asked about Molly even after overhearing what she said,

But I don't buy for even one second that Molly's feelings for Ollie are completely gone. Think about it! That scene of Molly happily running along and having a good time with Scratch is seen entirely from Ollie's perspective. We don't know how she truly and completely feels about Ollie. Think about if we'd seen Scratch the Surface entirely from Libby's perspective!

She was devastated! Libby thought Molly never wanted to speak to her again!! and even if Molly directly spoke the words that "Ollie and I are finished," there's a good chance that was a spur of the moment thing she said out of anger and fear of the current situation Scratch was in! Remember still in Scratch the Surface, when she'd said to Scratch that she'd have to stop talking to Libby and it'd be okay as long as Scratch was safe?

She was heartbroken, even though she was sure what she was doing was the safest option!! Molly's a very conflict-avoidant person, so she's always gonna be the type to make these spur-of-the-moment promises to avoid conflict, even if her own happiness is at stake. So when she's presented with Ollie, someone she really likes, putting Scratch in much more danger than Libby originally would have, of course she's gonna retreat to her conflict-avoidant ways.

But just like with Libby, and maybe even moreso because her feelings for Ollie are romantic, she can't just shut her feelings off overnight. It's not something she can force herself to do, even if it's something she's telling herself it's something she wants. How could someone go from this:

to hating that same person the very next morning? It's not something that's all that easy to do, especially for someone like Molly whose whole outlook on life is to love.

So here's how I think it's gonna go down: Ollie's gonna start having all of these complicated thoughts about ghost hunting, 'cause on one hand, it's all he's known his entire life, it's one of the only things he thinks he has value in, and it's what his family's been doing since before he was even born. But then there's Molly, who he cares about so, so much, who managed to upturn his entire worldview in the course of a single night without even knowing. He sees Molly with a ghost, and...they're hugging? They're laughing?? They're acting like they're family? There are good ghosts out there? And because of how much he cares about Molly, and because his number one goal in the world outside of ghost hunting is to make the world a better place just like Molly, I can see him going through an arc where, at the end of said arc, he flips the script: he vows to protect ghosts, and because he really wants to get back on Molly's good side because he still has feelings for her (and doesn't know that maybe she still has some feelings for him too), I could see him doing everything he can to prove to her that he's changed and that he's sorry for everything he's said and done.

He works against his family, which is gonna get him in a lot of trouble, but there could be a good message in there about beliefs passed down through the generations and how it's up to the younger generations to fight those beliefs and to fight for who and what they really care about in the world.

It may take a while, but I can't imagine 5a truly being the end of the Molly/Ollie storyline. I think we've only scratched the surface, and that they're gonna get much, much more focus down the line, and I eagerly sit on the edge of my seat with an extra large bucket of popcorn and my friend server on speed dial to Scream about it with them

#asks #tgamm #tgamm spoilers #tgamm speculation #mollie #molly mcgee #ollie chen #long post

[ladycatryx]

In Defense of Harry Potter

If you or someone you love is a trans person in crisis: The Trevor Project‘s 24/7/365 Lifeline [US]: 866-488-7386 Trans Lifeline [US]: 877-565-8860 TrevorChat, (online instant messaging option) International Support: TrevorSpace

I minored in Gender Studies for both my Bachelor's and Master's. I have a bookshelf full of queer theory. I have several trans friends.

And I went to a Harry Potter themed party the other day.

Like many of my fellow 90s kids, I grew up reading Harry Potter. It was an era-defining feature of my adolescence, eagerly anticipating book releases and midnight movie theatre screenings. But unlike many of my peers, it is not merely a feature of my past. I still regularly read and write Harry Potter fanfiction. I have beautiful art books and unofficial compendiums chock-full of lore and behind-the-scenes details. I am a HP trivia wizard---or witch, as the case may be. I have so much investment into the lore and the world of Harry Potter, and I often find myself in Hogwarts and the surrounding Highlands in my dreams---even moreso now that Hogwarts Legacy has given us a first-person and 3D experience of the layout and landscape of the Wizarding World. So I relished the chance to don my Slytherin robes and get all dressed up in character. The pictures turned out great. But I couldn't post them on any of my social media. I have been told, in no uncertain terms, that anyone who continues to support or engage with the Harry Potter franchise is a TERF and a fascist. Full stop. To quote one of my friends, "I don't interact with Harry Potter media anymore. And frankly I treat any interest in it as a sign of transphobia for my own safety. So I really don't care to know much about the [Hogwarts Legacy] game aside from the disgusting blood libel it chose to use in it's narrative. It's a hard line for me as a trans person."

It's a controversial topic, to be sure. Now I absolutely hate cancel culture's tendency to drag something someone said 10 years ago into the spotlight and blow it out of proportion, even sometimes taking it out of its original context to spin it as a bad actor with bad intentions, and then to deny people the ability to apologize or acknowledge personal growth (see: what happened to Lindsay Ellis. Thanks, I hate it). But let's be clear: that's not the case here. JKR has only dug herself deeper into the hole, being belligerently and purposefully ignorant and cruel despite a PR team probably begging her to shut up, and despite an entire world of people who have attempted to teach her better. She has acted, and continues to act, in bad faith, even writing trans and queer-coded villains and serial killers into her latest books. This is not a person who has attempted to apologize and make right her wrongs when they've been pointed out. This is someone who has been given every opportunity to not be an awful person and instead has doubled down on her hurtful and hateful views.

So, now that we know JKR's true colors, clearly the entire world of Harry Potter is suspect, as is anyone who continues to enjoy it....right? Sure, maybe not everyone who still rocks their House Pride merch is a TERF, but, like the sandwich-eaters of Chick-fil-A who just need their chicken fix, they certainly can't be counted as allies....right?

I've struggled with this.

And maybe this entire blog post will be read as nothing more than a selfish person defending their right to enjoy a thing guilt-free in order to conveniently overlook or dismiss the harm they're doing by persisting in centering their nostalgia over the real-life danger JKR's views presents to trans people. You can be the judge of that, I suppose.

My impulse since all of this has been to lean into "death of the author," an argument that says, essentially, it is not authorial intent that matters for meaning, but the text itself that is authoritative. In theory, the text can speak for itself, and the way readers engage with it and interpret it can stand in isolation from whatever meaning was meant by the author. (For an excellent video on this subject, click here, and here for a JKR-specific one). But I'd like to expand on that here, because 1) as the links above point out, engaging with the work of a living author still empowers them and gives them a platform and 2) is usually just an emotional response to silo oneself from the guilt of consuming the content of a problematic creator. In other words, it's a cop-out.

But I'm a sociologist. I'm currently an ABD Ph.D. student. I specialize in theory, gender, religion, and culture---the latter is just an elaborate system of signs and symbols that we are embedded in and have to make meaning out of. And meaning-making is a messy business. Interpretation is a vital and integral part of meaning-making. Messages aren't just handed down from the heavens and absorbed---social actors are actively engaged in the process of receiving them. Sometimes there are interferences, misunderstandings, and mixed signals that scramble the meaning. Intent does not equal impact, and so the messages we receive and understand do not always correspond to the meaning that was meant. (Again, not saying JKR is misunderstood or that we're misreading her intentions here---she's pretty unequivocally awful. But I am saying that in a world where meaning is what we make it, a trash person can still produce something of value, since beauty is in the eye of the beholder.)

Sometimes reading a meaning other than that which was meant into something can have humorous consequences. Sometimes the results are disastrous. Sometimes it means that we humans, as pattern-seeking creatures, see the face of Jesus on a slice of toast, or a baby-shaped cloud in the sky the same week we find out a loved one is pregnant. I think the fact that we can make meaning where there is none and make beauty out of nothing is spectacular, miraculous. In this age of disenchantment, many people are looking for ways to reconnect and reenchant their lives, to create sacred rituals out of their mundane routines. We are meaning-seeking creatures, and with many people feeling burned by, disillusioned with, or distrustful of traditional religion, we are turning to nontraditional sources of wisdom and inspiration. For literal millions of people, the Harry Potter books have been one such source. And I think there is value to them still, despite what has come to light about their author.

In college, I was heavily involved in interfaith activism. I no longer identify as Christian, but I was raised Christian. And I started to feel the parallels from my own experience.

If a person has been hurt by a Christian, feels Christianity is toxic, identifies passages in the Bible that have been used to oppress or were the product of a time that was openly endorsing of slavery, homophobia, misogyny, etc...their experience is valid. They have a right to say "Hey, I was raised with this thing and at one point it meant a lot to me (or maybe not, maybe it was always forced) but it hurt me and I no longer feel comfortable there and I choose not to engage with Christianity anymore." They have a right to be wary if they hear someone is Christian and they don't know anything else about that person.

But no religion is a monolith. The Bible is not a monolith. For every passage that may be hurtful or harmful or be interpreted in bad faith to support a particular agenda, there are dozens more about love, kindness, and compassion. Religion has been the driving force behind so many wars and evils...but it has inspired countless good as well. The Bible has been wielded as a weapon to cause suffering as well as been looked to as a resource of hope and peace.

I'm not saying that cancelling someone for resonating deeply with the Harry Potter series and not wanting to give it up because of what it means to them is like asking someone to not be a Christian or to give up their faith so as not to offend others. Of course, the comparison seems flippant. Religion is religion! We give it special legal protections because of its literally sacred status. It concerns matters of ultimate importance. The other is...fiction.

But what is sacred is a social construction. I'm going to bracket here any discussion about the existence or nonexistence of deities, an afterlife, and etc. What does religion actually do for people? What does it mean in the lives of the faithful? It is a source of comfort. Of hope. Of inspiration. Of answers. It can be a moral guide, with lessons and instruction and a guide for how to live that others can model their own lives on.

Casper ter Kuile, cofounder of the podcast Harry Potter and the Sacred Text, (check out their values statement if you want to know where they stand---spoiler alert, they're as progressive as it gets) would not find the comparison ridiculous. In fact, ter Kuile (who is, by the way, a gay man) founded the project with a fellow student while at Harvard Divinity School. In his book The Power of Ritual (2020) he talks about how the HP books have been a source of solace and inspiration and sacred reflection for him---and not just for him, but for thousands. Millions.

"Millions of readers already treated the Potter books as sacred in their own way. Therapists and counselors report young people using Hogwarts as their psychological safe space to go to in times of struggle and pain. And it isn't simply a refuge from the world. The Harry Potter Alliance, founded in 2005, has mobilized thousands around the country to act on marriage equality, fair-trade chocolate, and other progressive issues, using the narratives and rituals from the books to motivate and shape winning campaigns. Just as social justice movements have reinterpreted biblical narratives like the Exodus story and quoted the psalms, so too the Harry Potter Alliance references characters and plotlines from the wizarding world to motivate readers into action" (2020:44-45).

The HP books have helped people (and kids) cope with the loss of loved ones, understand privilege, learn that adults, authority figures, and even the government that makes the laws can lie and be corrupted and may not always have one's best interests at heart. That what is legal is not necessarily right or just. That evil doesn't just look like pale, snake-faced men who attempt to murder babies---sometimes it's enough for people in power to do nothing, to care more about maintaining their own relative privilege, power, and comfort. That often bullies lash out because they too have been hurt, and that hate can be easier to speak than love when it's all that you know...but that in the end, it is our choices that matter, not our abilities or the circumstances of our birth. The books have powerful messages, and they have nuance.

Take, for example, Petunia Dursley. As ter Kuile points out, universally disliked. But:

"As Vanessa and I reread that first chapter, we saw a young woman, unsupported in motherhood, suddenly given a second infant to care for after the death of her sister. Imposed on by a world she has always envied and feared, with no explanation, she feels vulnerable to a society that can only spell danger. No doubt, Petunia is abusive to Harry. She neglects him in the most foundational years of his life. But this sacred reading illustrated that narratives of good and evil nearly always are more complex when we risk our hearts to explore a sacred reading. It not only gave me a new lens for understanding a character, but it challenged me to realize I'd let the polarizing news narratives construct simplistic binaries of innocence and guilt" (2020:49).

The books aren't perfect. Even the messages JKR wrote into the books aren't all good, even if many are. Many people despise Dumbledore despite the twinkle in his eye and his many wise sayings for the way he used Harry like a pawn, like a tool---keeping him in the dark and just getting him to survive long enough to get him to die at the right time. By putting him in danger year after year, putting responsibility on his shoulders that no child should ever have to bear. For thinking that there would ever be an acceptable reason to leave him in the care of abusers, blood or no, magical love ward or no. And I love fanfiction because this messiness is explored and unpacked.

And yet, in canon, this jock who married his high school girlfriend and became a cop named his son after that guy and the incel who lusted after his mom man who tormented him and his schoolmates for years (I do love Snape as a literary character though, speaking of nuance...) instead of, oh, Remus, Rubeus, Arthur...y'know, any of the other men that were actually decent father figures to him in his life.

And yes, there are some heinous things in the book, like giving the Asian character the name Cho Chang and the Black man the name Shacklebolt. The antisemitism of the way goblins are portrayed: big-nosed, greedy, and money-hungry. And don't get me started on the fucking shofar. It has become trendy to shit on the books and other related IP, even to the point of ridiculousness. (Case in point: the uproar over the inclusion of a trans character in Hogwarts Legacy. And not from TERFs, but from the progressive community. At first I didn't understand---performative allyship? Surely her inclusion, and the ability to make trans characters in the character create, is better than the alternative, right? Apparently, it's her name that's the issue: Sirona Ryan. I had to actually look up why people were mad because again, I didn't get it. Evidently, people took issue with the "Sir" and the "Ryan," arguing that two such masculine-sounding elements on a trans woman's name was the equivalent of naming her "Penis McMan." Yes, really. Guess we better tell Serena Williams she's canceled too for perpetuating the "Black women athletes are too muscular and masculinized" stereotype). Anyway, it's been a dogpile lately to point out the plot holes and the poor world-building. And I admit, fanfiction authors often wield some amazing transformative alchemy, building on some of the half-assed parts of the lore and magic system and turning it into something far superior to what is canon. Nevertheless, it is reductive and revisionist history to portray the books as something other than the international bestsellers that they are. They are not the most amazing, brilliant things ever written, and yes, there are series out there that deserve the fame and attention and accolades that the Harry Potter series got. But nor are the HP books terrible derivative drivel that suddenly everyone wants to portray them as. In reality, they're a mixed bag.

What they undeniably are is important to people.

People read sacred texts because:

"the thousands of years in which generations have engaged these texts is something we need to pay attention to; and that we can step into a continuous stream of conversation between the text and human beings that has lasted centuries" (The Power of Ritual 2020:38).

There are nuggets of wisdom and timeless truths to be found, even in fiction. There is nostalgia for those of us who literally grew up with these characters, being of a similar age to Harry, Ron, and Hermione as we first read the books. The HP series is fairly unique in being both culturally relevant---a pop culture touchstone (I can't recall ever attending themed midnight release parties at a bookstore for any other series)---and possessing of longevity. The HP generation is passing the books along to their kids now. It connects generations in a way not many other franchises do. Star Wars and Lord of the Rings are the only other ones that come to my mind at the moment.

JKR is a TERF (which is not a slur, incidentally). Unapologetic. An awful person, certainly.

But I've seen people call her evil.

We can debate the meaning of the term, certainly. Evil itself is not black and white---her own books taught me that. If someone is evil, can anything they produce contain some good? Or is it irreparably tainted? Can someone be evil and still donate millions of pounds to charities for the homeless and victims of domestic violence? Could an evil person be capable of writing such emotionally deep and nuanced characters?

I think we are all capable of great evil and great good. Again, I'm not advocating for forgiveness or redemption here---she's done nothing to earn such goodwill. I don't support her.

But I think there are ethical ways to continue to engage in and enjoy the franchise. Don't buy officially licensed merch---but the fan-made stuff on Etsy labeled "Red House" or "Magical School Badger House" I find fair game. Buy your copy of Hogwarts Legacy used, or borrow from a friend. (Personally, I'm pessimistic enough to think that there's nothing I personally can or can't do that will financially impact her in any meaningful way...throwing away all my HP merch and not buying the $7 Slytherin slipper socks at BoxLunch isn't going to make a dent. It's up to the major companies and corporations that have partnered with her in the past to license Harry Potter-themed merch to roll back their association, and for production studios and actors to refuse to associate with the franchise. That's what she'll notice and care about. But I digress.)

On a personal level, I find deep psychological satisfaction from identifying as a Slytherin. (I'm also that bitch who is way too into her MBTI archetype and knows her rising sign and other obscure details of her natal chart, so sue me.) Just the other day, I got into an argument with my partner, who accused me of employing leading questions to get information about his mental state and plans for the day---he prefers directness, I find subtlety to be much more polite. We speak different languages. That's not the point. The point is, he felt manipulated, and even though he knows me well enough to know it wasn't out of any malicious intent, it felt slimy to him. From my perspective, my approach comes from a history of emotional abuse from my father, who has Borderline Personality Disorder and a host of other mental illnesses I inherited (yay, trauma!) In other words, it's a survival tactic. (Self-preservation: also a Slytherin trait.) I had to learn to prioritize myself from a very young age to avoid being taken advantage of. To some, that may sound selfish. For me, it was survival. And the word "manipulation" gets a bad rap, but it literally means "to handle or control (a tool, mechanism, etc.), typically in a skillful manner." That isn't necessarily sinister or done with bad intentions. It's strategic. It's smart. It's what emotionally aware humans have evolved to do as social animals. We don't talk about manipulating tools as shady behavior. It's an asset, this ability.

Maybe that's my ambition speaking. But I wouldn't be where I am today---working hard to earn my Ph.D., having already earned a Master's Degree from a highly prestigious institution, having graduated summa cum laude with research honors at my previous university---without ambition. But I do understand that people distrust sly, slippery, cunning people. But Coyote is a culture hero, I don't abide by the maligning of snakes and serpents, and I'm a Prometheus/Lucifer apologist. People may not find their methods entirely honorable, but you can't argue with the results being for the greatest good. Those cunning folk use any means to achieve their ends. It all fits, and it's a label that allows me to understand myself and my motivations and priorities better.

If you've been hurt and betrayed by JKR and can no longer find solace in a world that was once a source of comfort for you, I grieve that with you. I understand, and I'm sorry. No one should be forced to engage with something they find tainted and harmful, and everyone must draw that line for themselves. But I think there are ethical ways to continue to enjoy and engage with a franchise that has been a source of joy and inspiration for so many, including those within the LGB+TGNC community. The text even lends itself to queer, subversive, progressive, and action-oriented readings, which is the sweetest form of reclaiming and empowerment, and which the queer community has a long history of---appropriating the hurtful and harmful and transforming it into something playful and prideful. Queer folx are the original alchemists.

It's an egregore now, especially the fanon version of the Wizarding World. It's the collective product of millions of people loving and investing in these characters and their world. It has taken on a life of its own, independent of its creator. And like Lucifer, like humankind, it can defy the will and designs of its master and break away. It's expanded beyond her. She may have built the framework of the house, but we grew up there. We furnished it. And we can return to move things around and play in it from time to time. Some of us never left. I won't give that up because I've been made to feel I have to.

Oh, and that Harry Potter themed party? It was held at a business that is an unofficial hub for the local queer community. A portion of the proceeds went to a local LGBTQ charity, and there were several trans people in attendance. And we all had a fabulous time.

#harry potter #jk rowling #fuck jkr #harry potter and the sacred text #casper ter kuile #sacred texts #hogwarts legacy #controversial #death of the author #sociology #religion