#(also I have VERY specific characters/fandoms in mind but I don't feel like arguing with aphobes so I'm not tagging them)

[touchstoneaf]

You know what baffles me? It's actually two things, but it's both related to Doctor Who's fandom. Clearly I've been here for a very short time, so I guess I just missed something? But frankly it makes no sense to me when ppl argue between NineRose and TenRose. Like... it only matters when you are picking which era to write/read/draw in! Sure, their interactions are different, but why would anyone look at the two of them and think one is better than the other, when they are literally the same two people loving each other in beautiful ways?! It's a continuation of the same story, part of the arc of the exact same love affair! You can't take one away from the other! Yes their interactions have a slightly different cant, but you can literally hear moments where you could hear Nine saying a line that Ten said, or vice versa! It's just...

I don't get it. And why in the hell would somebody claim the age gap exists with Nine but not with Ten?! They're the same age? They're both 900 years old? Just, like, what?! Ten specifically acts younger because he's trying to make Rose (and Jackie) feel more comfortable with the relationship, but that's all! (I also write ships with aliens and humans and vampires and humans, so at some point I think the age gap thing just does stops being relevant, and it's just about experiences... but that's just my mileage. But IMHO you can't complain about it with one iteration but not the other of the same person!)

The other thing that baffles me in this fandom is people arguing about the whole Tentoo thing. It seems I've missed some kind of historical quarrel or something? Like... I personally don't prefer it for a couple of reasons, but it's not (as ppl seem to want to accuse others) because I don't think Tentoo is really the Doctor, or whatever ppl like to think is the basis, so stop accusing me of that! That's not the reason at all!! He *obviously* is, and just by the way he is able to say those three words to Rose without hesitating (and of course a little bit of anger), they were obviously going for a sort of combination of Nine and Ten so that Rose would get the best of both worlds there. And that's great. My issue with it is just that Ten prime has to go off by himself after, when Rose told him she would never let him do that, which... My main issue with that ending is just that Rose is only like 22 years old, and I don't think she needs to be settling down and having a kid already, and I think people shortchange her character when they say she only wanted to take him somewhere and settle down with him and quit traveling, when she *clearly* loved every minute of her life with him, and was the happiest she had ever been when she was out traveling with him, so I feel like it's character assassination to say she wanted to stop entirely and go get a house and have a baby with him right away. I'm sure she wouldn't have minded it after a little while, but I certainly wouldn't have wanted a baby at 23, I'm just saying. So my issue with it (though I understand why they had to do it, that they were doing their best to give Billie the correct sendoff with what they had), is that I think that it breaks the character's promise and her clear intention to stay with the Doctor who's stuck traveling... but...

Look. I don't think that the argument about whether Tentoo is "really the Doctor" makes any sense at all. I mean like it's just not applicable to my conceptualization of the characters, so why are am I getting accused of that when it's not even a consideration for me?! I understand for instance arguing about the shape of the triad between NineJackRose (or the existence of TenJackRose) and whether or not you think that was going on (which I don't think is even an argument either, it was at least emotionally happening, & whether any physical action was happening as well is up to interpretation! But why is that an argument, again? It's clearly there, and as to what you think the fallout is... that this entirely up to viewer's mileage and how it varies!).

Is it just me alone by myself thinking that none of these stupid wars even make any sense or should exist? Am I crazy, that i don't understand the purpose of these nonsensical arguments, or the necessity to keep having them at this point, years on?!

What am I missing, here?!

[ngage2003]

There is a joke that always stuck with me from the blu-rays/cast commentary, that being that Jay is a nepo baby and that is how he kept affording motels and gas and food for years, even with no job and a growing obsession. Like a dog to a chewed on and wilting sock, this is an idea I have latched onto and grown unreasonably obsessed with, which I personally believe kind of explains aspects of Jay's character.

⟦content warning: serious headcanon territory, but also still a lot of character analysis bc im coocoo⟧

At the start of the series and even into season 2 of Marble Hornets, I think it could definitely be argued that Jay is a passive character before his continued exposure to the Operator.

Now, that isn't to say he is meek (quiet, gentle, and easily imposed on) but he is very guarded, very willing to fade into the background or just go along with other people. I honestly think that is part of why Alex chose him as script supervisor. Because Alex can be fun but he is bossy and has a very specific vision and likes getting his way. (A trait thats honestly pretty normal, especially in artistic types.)

It is important not to conflate Jay's willingness to avoid conflict with submissiveness, gentleness or a lack of care though. Jay still has his own ideas, and when left to his own devices, a deadly curiosity. (That is why Marble Hornets as an online series started.) He still gets angry too, like when Alex is leading him around in circles because he refuses to/can't kill Jay, but also refuses to tell him what is going on. Jay is forced into action after dealing with this behavior for months, but even before then we see him getting more and more frustrated behind the scenes. (Entry 39 is the first example that comes to my mind.)

It also is important to not misconstrue his selfishness, as many people in this fandom do. Jay Merrick is a bit of a dick. (That is why he gets along with Alex.) He lies to Tim very poorly the first time they meet to get information out of him rather than try to directly ask, he didn't help Masky to the hospital after his leg was broken—yes, he thought what Alex did was wrong but ultimately stayed with him and kept following him for answers. Even with Jessica, part of the reason he cares so much is because he feels guilty/responsible and he is, he pulled her into this out of his damn curiosity!

Statement: I believe Jay holds extreme guilt over Jessica being brought into this and what happened to her. Evidence: in Entry 77, when Tim is saying, "there is two possibilities for what happened to jessica," Jay out of the blue says, "It wouldn’t be my fault!" at about 2:43. Tim never implied it was and the only reason I can see Jay to unprompted say this is because he believes it was.

Jay Merrick is someone defined by curiosity and selfish, but while habitually passive. He lies to hide what he wants and what he is doing, sometimes for an understandable reason but also sometimes out of just, once again, habit.

The question easily comes, why is he like that?

Well! Stick with me here—I think is because Jay Merrick IS a nepo baby. Specifically, I think he grew up in a household where his parents were neglectful, and when he was visiblly upset, that was repaid with harsh rejection and then money or expensive apologies rather than concrete change. It was a situation where, while his needs weren't being met, getting angry at it also feels bad because of how we as a society (and his parents specifically too) worship money.

I think his curiosity partially comes from this neglect too, as growing up his parents brushing off questions and lacking support always left him wanting more but without a way to voice it, leaving him with this lifelong unease and need for answers. His parents kind of forgot what it was like to be a kid and how you literally don't know anything, and would often brush off certain things because of this. Additionally, growing up this way also left him a bit selfish, as coming from a place of wealth, being neglected, and being somewhat isolated growing up as a "weird"/visibly autistic kid, that all left him struggling to connect to people and with his own empathy, as we see in canon. This doesn't make him a bad person inherently or anything, but is just a part of who he is. Aside from the obvious case of Jay dragging Jessica into this, I think an example of this is how in Entry 66, when Tim is laying out all his trauma, there is an interaction that goes like this:

Tim: One of the problems I was having was hallucinations. I had a lot of them. [...] [W]henever they would find me [after i escaped from my room,] I would say that I was hiding from whatever it was I was seeing so they’d bring me back and they didn’t have much of a choice except to lock me in here. That’s when it was at its worse. I’d be clawing at the walls and screaming at all hours of the night, they had to up my dosage just to calm me down, to the point that I was almost numb. Jay: But these hallucinations, what did they look like?

You could say his disregard is due to shock, but in my opinion that'd be a bit too forgiving. Sure, Tim is talking about his awful childhood and he is being pretty vivid but, Jay already knew about it to some extent due to his records, and while generally he is closed off and hard to read, he seems more uneasy with Tim's yelling than shocked. Jay's default is just curiosity and wanting answers, that is just kind of a pattern with him, even/especially at the expense of others.

I think he is so passive also because of his home life. Specifically, that was what made living at home easiest, with parents who like having you as a trophy but don't actually care about you. Keeping your head down is how you survive, and he kind of just accepted that "ok this is how the world works." Everyone wants something from you (a compliment, a second opinion that is more vapid support than substance, praise,) and giving it to them makes it easier. I think Alex wheedled him sometimes to try to get him out of that shell, but to some extent also he liked it, liked having someone who agrees with him, and in turn Jay admired his outspoken nature, blatant hatred of his parents, and tolerance for Jay's "weirdness". (Hyperfixations.) They weren't necessarily super duper healthy, but they were two traumatized kids clinging to each other, and sometimes that's just how the cookie crumbles, especially when you're isolated.

I also think, due to being a late 80s-90s kid, Jay did grow up with the internet and probably to some extent was unmonitored, which definitely influenced and impacted him but also did inspire his love of technology. (Specifically film/cameras.) I think it also to some extent fed into his worse habits by accident though, just the unfortunately common attitudes highlighted by the internet, but also was the original way he sated his curiosity. I think his propensity to tell "white lies," could have easily come from this exposure too.

I have a lot of specific instances tie to Jay's childhood that in my brain define why he is Like That, but this is just an overview of my main thoughts and I hope it makes sense.

[gophergal]

Perhaps an obvious one, but for the ship ask game – HeavyMedic? :3

"What do you mean, obvious?" I ask dumbly, looking at my laser engraved HeavyMedic coaster

What made you ship it?

Funnily enough, I do this thing when I'm considering getting into a fandom where I just kinda peruse as much of the fanworks as I possibly can. Probably very common. I saw that Heavy and Medic were a popular ship, looked into why, was rapidly convinced. Definitely helped by the similarities they have to my other Main Ships from previous fandoms.

What are your favorite things about the ship?

I'm a sucker for ships that are dangerously devoted to each other. Mostly when they're dangerous to anyone who threatens their beloved. They make each other better, have one another's back, serve as a center point of the team. I think it's really beautiful how their popularity isn't just based on secondary source material (the animations and comics), but also the gameplay itself! A good Heavy/Medic duo in game is a force the whole team can rally around, and- honestly? I've got quite a few scenes in mind inspired by Heavy/Medic pairs I've seen in game (none I was part of though lmao. Forever alone medic main)

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

HEAVY IS NOT AN ACCESSORY TO MEDIC. THEY ARE EACH THEIR OWN CHARACTERS. THATS WHY THE SHIP IS SO NEAT. I can't STAND fic where Heavy's entire character boils down to "I Love Doktor <3". If you write it, thats fine, but man. I love Heavy, if I didnt like him as a character I most likely wouldn't be shipping Medic with him. Heavy CANONICALLY shows discomfort towards some of Medic's antics. Not only is is totally fine if they experience conflict on that front, it makes the ship more interesting. Let them argue and question if their relationship is going to make it. They dont need to be Goals to be worth shipping (though they certainly can be. Both Is Good is what I'm trying to say) While Red Oktoberfest is my favorite merc/merc pairing and I'm thus biased toward them, PEOPLE CAN SHIP HEAVY AND MEDIC WITH OTHER CHARACTERS. Even OCs. I know thats not specific to this ship, but by god do I see people try to enforce that "Heavy/Medic is CANON so you have to ship them". They are not canon. Makani's artwork that wasn't part of the published comics is Non-canon. The VAs' shipping them and making (psuedo official???) fanworks, despite how FUCKING COOL that is, doesn't make it canon. In the comics, SFMs, and games they are not explicitly shown to be or described as a couple in a romantic/sexual sense. Now, the ship is LAMPSHADED (alluded to by the creators) frequently. Which is fun! And they are meant to be close! But I feel like this very much a K/S situation. Yknow, since Gene Roddenberry was like "well, if I want Captain Kirk to be popular, then I have to make people associate him with Mr Spock, so now they're besties" then that close friendship and deep devotion read as homoeros to folks and was later alluded to by other writers of the source material? I'm not saying it had the same motivation. I don't think this was meant to be a way of making either Heavy or Medic more popular, but I do think Valve originally just wanted to depict them as a Duo. A well oiled machine. Doing so makes sense, given it mirrors how they work in the game. But over time they realized that fans picked up on homoeros undertones, and not wanting to alienate either the fans who saw HeavyMedic nor the homophobic fans (as alienating either would cut into their profits/cause a backlash), Valve began walking the tightrope of shipteasing, but not being too explicit I dont want to call it queerbaiting, because really? It's not used so much in the marketing. But it is kinda a frustrating thing to see. But uh, long yap short. I suppose my most unpopular opinion is "Red Oktoberfest isn't actually canon, even though it easily could be"

[horse-girl-anthy]

this is gonna be an off the cuff ramble/vent so don't read if that doesn't interest you.

I am thinking I'm going to back away from Ikuhara fandom in the next six months (coinciding with when I finish the rewatches I'm doing in my server). I feel like I've exhausted what I have to say about his shows, and I've also developed a very specific way of understanding them which clashes with others. I'm torn between feeling like it's worth trying to delineate my own understanding and feeling that I'm just being territorial, pedantic, or close minded. at a certain point, even if I could be proved "right" on my interpretations, I'm losing the enjoyment I should have in the stories by caring what other people think about them. at the moment, I'm thinking I want to flesh a couple more ideas and then let it rest. I'll always be grateful to Ikuhara and happy I put time into this blog, but nothing lasts forever.

so all of that to say... I was on the fence about writing what I'm about to write. I recommend people who don't want to read someone objecting to common RGU fan interpretations to just check out now. I'm not trying to start anything. but after reflecting on it, I decided it to share my thoughts on this topic; I think it's worth saying, even if it makes me look contrarian or problematic.

---

I watched RGU in 2014, right as the western fandom was experiencing a shift in how it approached the show. I won't detail all that went on during that time--today I'm specifically interested in two characters: Nanami and Miki.

before, I'd say the fandom was overall less critical. things were taken more at face value. for instance, Nanami was not always taken seriously, while characters like Miki, just because they were "nice," were seen as "good guys." however as time's wore on, there's been a backlash to that way of approaching the show. the characters most likely to have received misogynistic hate in the past (Anthy, Shiori, Nanami, and Kozue, mainly) were reinterpreted, while "good guy" characters were increasingly scrutinized.

that was a good thing, as it was a counterbalance to the previous attitude. however, it's been more than a decade since I joined the fandom, and I still see people talking like it's 2014. the way that people have reinterpreted the anime has, often, not resulted in interesting readings. this is because people are still applying an ideological lens to the story, rather than engaging with how it presents itself.

I specifically want to highlight Nanami in this regard. I check the RGU tag almost every single day, and I have seen scores of posts which are nigh-identical to each other. it's always people talking about how she's a "calf to the slaughter," she's actually a victim, etc. and I just... don't get anything out of it.

I think a lot of this shift began with this essay series called Palace Perspective. it's been a long time since I read it--actually before my Utena renaissance--but I didn't like it at the time. it was written in this very self-serious style, and all I remember it arguing was "Nanami is a victim, Touga is a bad guy." I'd loved the Touga/Nanami relationship since I first watched RGU, and that was never how I felt about it. Touga certainly harms Nanami, but based on the series itself, it seemed to me that in large part, Touga was the victim, and Nanami was harmed by his victimization.

anyway, since around the time that essay series came out, people have had this attitude of "actually Nanami is a very deep character, you guys," as if it needs to be repeated over and over. and there's a denial that Nanami is a comic relief character--"actually her being funny is just a ruse because the show is camouflaging that she's a victim!" okay, yes, they do lure you in to Nanami's story slowly; she's initially silly, but all along hiding under that was some serious shit. I'm not denying that. but I'm also not buying that line entirely.

the Shadow Girls do an entire play about how Nanami's comedic suffering is the result of her own actions (they call it "divine justice"). take episode 16 specifically. yes, we have Nanami dreaming about being a calf for the slaughter. that is a great scene and indicative of the unhealthy relationship between her and Touga. but isn't the crux of the episode that Nanami is making a fool of herself??? she tries to one-up Juri at a party. her failure to realize what the cowbell is highlights her ignorance. the show is absolutely poking fun at her. you can go into why Nanami ended up this way, but I don't understand how we've gotten to the point where people are so over-serious about Nanami--and RGU in general--that they can't laugh at it.

I'll take a detour here to talk about Miki. it's become increasingly popular to frame him as a sexist--I've even seen him termed a "raging misogynist." he gets blamed for his strained relationship with his sister and written off as "just as bad as the other male characters." that's another case where I really don't see it. or at least, I feel like people have lost track of degrees in these things. Miki seems unsure of what he believes, sometimes expressing progressive views but other times regressive ones, and he does act within a patriarchal system. but does he comport himself that badly? or is he just a normal 13-year-old boy who falls into temptation?

I want to make a comparison between him and Nanami here. I think you could make a very real case that Nanami has far more sexist beliefs than Miki. she treats every female character as competition, as a hussy out to steal her brother. when she finds out the truth about Anthy and Akio, she immediately jumps to victim blaming Anthy. and another thing: Nanami plays princess.

the fact that so many people write about Nanami but this aspect of her character is rarely commented on is mind boggling. it's like, her whole thing. Nanami wants to be the center of the universe; Touga is her everything and she wants to possess Touga. she constantly acts the victim and tries to manipulate things so her enemies look like the villain.

I'm not saying this to shit on Nanami! I love Nanami, she's one of my favorite characters of all time! but I've found it alienating to be in a fandom where whitewashing is framed as appreciation. even her backstory: people make post after post about how it wasn't Nanami's fault she killed the cat, because she's a victim. here's the problem with that: why are we engaging with the story on the level of blame? I recently read an essay on methods of analysis that placed "vilification and heroization" as the lowest form of engagement with fiction. I understand why someone would want to defend a character from attack, but aside from like, youtube comments or old forum posts, who exactly is attacking Nanami? and also, how is saying "actually she's a victim so that explains everything" accomplishing anything?

I am being unfair here, because some people do engage with the work enough to say more than that. people will point to the neglect Nanami experienced as the cause of her behavior. that's there, it's certainly there. I'm not objecting to serious attempts to explain character motivation in reaction to vilifiction, but more to the impulse to try to paint characters as morally pure. isn't Nanami so great because she's so complicated? when people approach the story with the drive to whitewash, so much of the nuance and feeling of the work goes unnoticed. episode 31 and 32 do portray Nanami as a victim (of Touga and of her parents and of Akio). however, they also portray Nanami's motivations, and not all of them are pretty. over the course of the arc, you watch her entire worldview fall apart. it doesn't matter whether it's "her fault" she has that worldview--the process is painful and humiliating either way.

all of this carries through to how people react to both Nanami's final scene in the show and her comic relief section in the film. the comic relief scene is bad because it doesn't take Nanami seriously enough, while her final scene is bad because it shows her waiting on Touga and Saionji, which is sexist because she's partaking in traditional gender roles. the only way I can understand those reactions is that people didn't actually pay attention to how she was portrayed in the show, as a comic relief character or as a serious character. I'd understand the objection if Anthy's final scene involved her waiting on Akio, but Anthy and Nanami are different characters (I also don't get much out of the endless Anthy/Nanami posts because of how they are flattened in comparisons). unlike Anthy, Nanami spent the entire show demanding to be waited on, but when we see her for the last time, she's contentedly serving others. that is called character development.

I wanted to highlight Miki and Nanami because I feel they point to a major problem of the fandom: the maintenance of the prince and the princess, just with new definitions. the prince is bad, masculine, harmful, and needs to be rejected. the princess is good, feminine, eternally victimized, and above question. I find this sad because I thought we were supposed to be transcending the gender binary. I know saying this makes me sound anti-feminist, but I'm not. I'm not saying "oh we need to transcend the gender binary by never criticizing men or ignoring how women are victimized"; that would be stupid. but my vision of feminism is vigilantly critical of all things, evaluates each situation on an individual basis, and avoids self-flattery and self-deception.

[hunter-sylvester]

Skullflower is Autistic: A Breakdown.

Buckle the fuck up.

Disclaimer: Don't take any of this too seriously.

Also all of this was written over a year ago with only minor edits. I'm just posting it now cause it's been rotting in my drafts and, like, fuck it.

I've wanted to try and make a comprehensive breakdown like this for a while just because I love these characters and very heavily interpret them all as autistic (with ADHD as well.) But this is just the perspective of one guy. And I probably overstate it but the fact that we can all have our own very personal interpretations about media is what's great about analysis & fandom.

Hunter Sylvester.

Yes I'm doing Hunter first, what do you think I am? Unbiased? Please.

Autistic Perfectionism. Hunter's autistic perfectionism is something I've mentioned before and somewhat struggle to describe satisfactorily. But to me the most obvious example is his inability to deal with the idea of Emily joining Skullfucker as a cellist. Obviously, there's the queer angle to this but I think two reasons can play a role at once. He's in love with Kevin so he doesn't want a girl that Kevin picked to be a part of their band. Additionally, I'd argue that he can't deal with the idea of having a girl cellist as their bass player because it in NO WAY fits the mental image that Hunter has in his mind of what he wanted Skullfucker to be. It doesn't match the perfect idea that he's dreamed of, that he holds onto for dear life, so he can't deal with it.

Hyperfixations. "Hunter's been into a lot of things since I've known him but he's stuck with metal longer than any of them." - Kevin. Need I say more? Well, I will anyway. The guy hyperfixates. I think the closest thing we have to a canon confirmed hyperfixation is Dungeons & Dragons. Because of what in my mind is a combination of Autism and ADHD in Hunter, they don't fully leave him. He still likes and plays D&D, but he's not as obsessed with it as he used to be when he made his dad buy him the most ridiculous game terrain that fucking lights up.

Special Interests. I think one of the easiest claims to make is that metal is a special interest for Hunter. He entrenches his entire life in it and reaches for it when a stressful situation happens to try and make himself feel more okay. (getting his hair cut off by Skip and relating his new look to Jason Newsted) It's clearly something that comforts him, having been obsessed with it ever since his mom left. Which, regardless of the specific circumstances, is a horridly stressful situation for any 12-13 year old.

Struggles with social interaction. He doesn't seem to have a lot of friends. He gets along with Robbie, Kevin (obviously) and the people he plays D&D with but that seems to be it. Especially whenever the situation gets very stressful, Hunter's mind immediately reaches for his comfort interest to try and make it through (or to lash out). He can't easily just be comfortable in a strange social situation. Or a strange situation in general.

Stims. Hunter stims by playing guitar. That's it, that's the whole point. And there's this little move:

Kevin Schlieb.

Neutrality. The way Kevin just takes Hunter and Emily as they are feels autistic to me.

Struggles with social interaction. And he clearly wants it to be easier for him. He wants to connect to people but he doesn't know how. It's not like he doesn't understand people. He does. He understands Hunter better than Hunter understands himself. "sometimes he's not so nice to people when he's uncomfortable" "You are afraid of everybody" "you treat everybody like shit and you make them hate you" But that understanding of how people think and work doesn't translate to his direct interactions with most of his peers. Maybe because he understands other neurodivergent people but not neurotypicals. The fact he does have a decent read on, at the very least, his best friend could also be indicative of the extra work Kevin has had to put in over the course of his life to try and understand people to begin with.

Directness. A lot of Kevin does feel direct to me. I suppose in a 'what you see is what you get' sort of way. He obviously has the whole protagonist thing going on which tends to end you up with pretty neutral, earnest and open characters.

Stims:

Emily Spector.

Gets overstimulated. Emily's outbursts could be attributed more to a struggle regulating her emotions. It's not a huge stretch to assume her mystery medication is a mood stabilizer. However, the idea of it being a combination of being overstimulated and then no longer being able to deal with her anger on top of the distress she's already feeling feels apt to me. This is a stretch, but, we only ever see her have outbursts at school. A nightmare environment for the stimuli sensitive. Emily is by far the character out of the main three we spend the least time with, which could easily explain my previous point away. We hardly see her out of school to begin with. But I think there can be merit in taking it as a part of the story, rather than an incidental effect of her being left by the wayside.

Black and white thinking. "So first you tell me that I should hate him, and now you want me to help him?" - Emily. No, he didn't say you should hate him, Emily. "You have every right to be mad- especially at Hunter!" - Kevin.

Directness. I mean she literally calls up Kevin to ask him if he wants to go fuck in a parking lot and more power to her. But it is very direct.

Struggles with social interaction. And apart from Skip & Co. having a particular hate-boner for Hunter, Emily might actually be the most widely ostracized for her lack of social finesse. Which would check out because society is brutally cruel to girls. Kevin is shown to have some positive interaction outside of the other two main characters, so is Hunter. And, yes, so is Emily. But it's only with the janitor of the school, who she is implied to have had previous interactions with. Having your only friend at school be the fucking janitor is not a neurotypical experience. I know I certainly got along easier with a handful of teachers than I did with my peers back when I was at school.

Whatever this is. Fam, I've BEEN there...but it's not neurotypical:

A 'little' note to end on: I want to state that I love all three of these character very dearly. I don't pretend that I don't have a favorite, but they are all amazing. There's various reasons why Metal Lords is such a comforting movie, but a big one, is that the characters act in a way that feels incredibly familiar. They act like me. They act like my autistic friends. We make weird facial expressions, we understand the world and each other through our interests. The way all of them talk feels so close to home. (The swearing is actually part of that. A lot of real people swear and over-censoring of that tends to bug me but that's kinda beside the point lmao)

[isuckatgaymes]

rating every fandom i've been in from the last 5 or so years in no particular order. because i can do that

cult of the lamb: LIKE THE BEST FANDOM IVE BEEN IN??? omg like everyone is just chill and cool and epic. i am yet to see ANY proshipping or weird incest shit and that's a very good thing. and no ship wars! no one cares! everyone ships narilamb and if you don't that's fine no one cares!!! also am i a furry bc they draw the goat so HOT like HOLY MOLY GUYS

night in the woods: i feel like calling it a fandom is generous because i have to hunt the internet like a hungry predator to find the goodies i want but they are so nice and mentally ill 🙏 points off for the weird ppl who hear mae is a girl and draw her really sexualized but they cant all be winners

ace attorney: the fandom live been in the longest. holy molyyyyyy theres way more good than bad but the bad is pretty bad. i think the fandom is the perfect size and i never feel like im losing my mind bc theres no fic for the specific thing i want. but if there isnt then i can just make it bc these characters have been my life for 3 years! but the aa fandom has like one of the biggest proship debates i've seen. there aren't rly ship wars besides the occasional feenris shipper hating on narumitsu but OMG the narumayo trupollo and cykesquill shippers are just WILD. but as someone deep in the trenches of the fandom it honestly isn't too bad. also REALLY good fanfiction holy shit

tmnt: ok guys wtf is up with the incest. the rest of the fandom is just fine and dandy but the INCEST. jesus CHRIST guys just make ocs stop shipping the brothers together. AND STOP MAKING PORN OF TEENAGERS.

hazbin hotel: ok what the hell happened here. the fandom can be fine one second but then a radioapple fan will hate on radiostatic and then it's a whole thing. and there's that one fan. the ANGEL NOOOOOO one. also the entire internet hates the fandom but honestly whenever i check it out its just fine. but also the fandom is crazy like. delulu? viv will tweet out "i had salad for lunch" and the fandom will be theorizing that charlie will die in season 2. i have no clue what's happening man

cookie run kingdom: JESUS CHRIST YALL. ok to be fair i was in this fandom in like. 2021? early 2022? so maybe it's changed but HOLY SHIT IT IS SO TOXIC. i was deep in the fandom and i got death threats for shipping sparkherb??? like what??? and they were always so mean to beginner artists it made me so sad :( AND THE RACISM???? how are yall racist to COOKIES they are COOKIES. and the like gender debates. poor strawberry crepe cookie... istg every time there was a post abt them i would see ppl arguing that they were every gender under the sun. like. guys. what are we doing here. these are cookies.

total drama: a very. interesting fandom. the people in it are very clearly... younger? i think that's the right word. it's not outstandingly good or insanely terrible, it's just. fine???? honestly i can't really dunk on it or sing its praises. besides island of the slaughtered that was epic

gravity falls: ok i don't want to judge the fandom for what it was like in the 2010s. BUT. holy moly there's a lot of bipper shipping. i know why it was like that but jeez there is just. a lot. the fandom is much better now and very fun! but id say the fandom from the end of the show to 2020 was very... it was a fandom!! i'll give it that!

ghost trick: this fandom is hanging on with duct tape hot glue and prayers. there are like. 7 people TOPS in the fandom and i honor them o7 they are so brave and i admire how they've managed to stay sane

steven universe: another pretty mixed bag. honestly the worst part of this fandom is its haters bc like. woah the children's show about peace and love ended with peace and love instead of violently beating up white diamond. this is crazy guys. but lowkey from what i've seen it isn't too bad. it's the lesbian rock show what more does one need

sonic: inside of you there are two wolves. one of them is a sonadow shipper. the other is a sonamy shipper. and every day they are beating each other up to assert dominance while the secret third wolf in the corner is drawing little ocs to post on deviant art

a hat in time: WHY ARE YALL SO DEPRESSED???? like this is the funny little platformer game that barley has any story and everything is so SAD. ITS THE SELF PROCLAIMED CUTE AS HECK PLATFORMER. i once read a series of fics where the conductor is suicidal and tries to kill himself. and i've seen some of the most soul crushing fanart of the snatcher. DO YOU NEED A HUG????

mlp: honestly this fandom got a crazy glow up. i'm pretty sure it's bc the audience the show was MADE FOR when it was produced has grown up and still loves the show and not because they think the ponies are hot. bronies made it very hard to be into the show when you were a young girl who liked ponies and friendship. i would know bc i saw cupcakes when i was 8 and cried for 2 hours. but the show is goated and the fandom now is honestly pretty good

[utilitycaster]

I’ve never actually watched a campaign of critical role live, like I first heard of it at the start of c3, didn’t finish campaigns 1 and 2 until episode like 80, and decided to just let c3 finish airing so I could binge. You’ve been in fandom since c2, and I wanted to ask two questions. How does criticism of c3 differ from c2, or even c1? Also, since the fandom has grown and the cast is now much more removed from the fans, do you think if they ever do another long form campaign they’ll try and address some complaints people have had about c3? Or will they just continue to do their own thing? It just feels (to me with no point of comparison) that a lot of people have a lot of valid complaints about c3 and I can’t imagine they’d just ignore all of it, but I could just be naive

Let me answer the ending question first, which is that I do not know how much the cast sees and honestly I wouldn't even blame them for ignoring most commentary during the campaign because I think it's hard to actually run a campaign constantly trying to make the fandom happy. I also have some guesses that the cast has their own doubts that are perhaps less harsh than what many of us have been saying, but are present. Like I can't imagine they missed how rushed the emotional beats of this campaign felt, and how bad this party is at making decisions that feel earned and interesting and don't take them 3 hours, even if they might keep that private. I think the flaws of this campaign are also a bit of a perfect storm, namely, Matt had a very specific plot in mind but ran this campaign with too open a hand, and the cast of characters they played could have used a bit more balance. I mean, I'll admit to being unimpressed by a few of Bells Hells' initial premises compared to other parties, but most actually could have become great if they were in a more character-tailored campaign like the previous two. I think without this goal of creating a big culmination in a hypothetical future campaign, this problem of having ill-suited characters for that type of plot and then pushing development aside in the service of that culmination becomes a nonissue.

Now, fan criticism. This gets tricky, because a lot of criticism, to be blunt, sounds similar on the surface no matter how valid it is. For example, "this ship lacks chemistry and development" is basically a criticism people throw at any ship they dislike. Chemistry is ultimately subjective, or at least impossible to measure in a meaningful way (this is why the But Number Go Up crowd hates when it gets brought up, like, doesn't matter how many fics your ship has if I think the characters are cold fish with each other; I'll never like it) and development is not but requires strong meta to back it up and it's hard to prove a negative.

Shipping aside, though: I think the clincher for me is that people who ended up disliking Campaign 2 any time between the ending of the hiatus or after the finale, were as a rule invested in one very specific outcome: either they quit because their ship didn't happen (including the many, many people who thought Fjord and Jester or Beau and Yasha would break up in the finale, apropos of nothing); in the case of Shadowgast that the ship didn't happen in the way they expected; or they quit because Molly was not resurrected. There was certainly a lot of trepidation going into the finale that not all stories would have a satisfying conclusion (notably Caleb, Yasha, and Fjord, all of whom did get meaningful resolution in the finale) but, at least in my circles, no one was arguing that the Nein as a whole felt robbed and that the campaign did them dirty. You had the weirdass Caduceus stans who failed to understand that his story was precisely what he wanted, or the Caleb Should Have Killed Everyone In The Assembly people, but honestly at least in my recollections a lot of those were secondary to various shipping/Molly complaints and grew out of there as a means to bash the campaign for additional reasons, rather than as a root cause for dissatisfaction themselves. Here, we have people who are ostensibly thrilled with the shipping outcome and the endstate with the gods becoming mortal and who were crowing about that up until the finale announcement at which point they, in their own words, crashed out and suddenly began agreeing with everything this campaign's detractors had said re: lack of character-focused arcs and rushed pacing, and I think that's notable.

I don't feel qualified really to speak about Campaign 1 because I wasn't there, but I think in addition to the violent misogynistic hate which Critical Role obviously did not nor should have listened to and taken as guidance, there was the usual "MY SHIP DIDN'T HAPPEN SO THIS CAMPAIGN IS BAD AND PROBLEMATIC" complaints we saw with Campaign 2.

I guess my point is, getting back to that first paragraph about shipping, you can't go off of the phrasing of criticism; you really do need to take it in context.

[aworld-inpink]

just a quick warning, I do read most of the cast as trans in some way, especially the siblings, so if you get easily triggered by stuff like that, just don't interact please 😸

please be respectful of the space I have curated ★

Trans Obey Me! Headcanons ("brothers" edition)

Lucifer:

transmasc Luci genuinely brings me so much joy

like, the idea of him being the oldest and first to come out?

im in love

Lucifer is one of the more cut and dry ones to me

but I do love people who draw/write him as transfem, theyre the biggest troopers ever

Luci definitely acts as the main support for a lot of the others

especially when it comes to appointments for hormones

he/him, FtM

Mammon:

i am so insanely obsessed with this man

me and him are t4t trust

nah, but for realz

trans guy Mammon with the COOLEST top surgery scars, you will not catch them lacking

probably got a sick ass tattoo to give them a cool shape too

similar to the white on his chest in his demon design

off topic, but chubby Mammon actually makes me 🤤

need to be squished between his thighs yesterday bro

jjhjhjhjh they're so handsome look at that little guy go

i feel like he would say his pronouns are he/him but secretly wouldn't mind they/them also

he just feels like he would be seen as less of a guy

i love them

he/they, FtM (and so devastatingly bisexual (affectionate))

Levi:

everybody say thank you to Levi for inventing being transgender

she ..... she's my everything

if Mammons my boyfriend she's my wife bro

(Mammons my favourite, Levi just has more whimsy)

gamer girl

i NEED her bathwater gang you don't understand ......

i made a whole post about transfem Levi, you should check it out ;)

tho trans guy Levi also has a special place in my heart and my bed (he's just like me fr)

do you wanna know the good that flat girl Levi would do for the ecosystem??

it would end climate change

she/her, MtF, Ruri chan was her trans awakening (half joking (not really))

Satan:

oh Satan the demon that you are

yknow they do say that Satan invented the gays

this NERD

book lover? likes cats? BLONDE?

how much more she/he/they can you get bro

demon born out of hatred, aged from transgenderism

that's all I'm saying

do you think Satan would feel the need to tie himself down to one specific gender identity?

fool.

Satan is everything and Satan is nothing

she/he/they, shrugs (genderfluid would be most accurate, but they're mostly unlabeled)

Asmo:

see the fandom argues about Asmo all the time

"is it ethical to headcanon them as trans just cause they're feminine?"

well, no, not necessarily, but that's besides the point

Asmo's similar to Satan in the way of not being tied to one specific gender or expression

but I feel like she's much more aligned to being a guy than Satan is

like, he doesn't mind other pronouns and sometimes enjoys them

but I think she's bigender with a heavy masc lean

expression wise he's more fem, but gender wise she's more masc

she/him, bigender and so full of love

Beel:

him.

i. i love him so much.

he's genuinely one of the sweetest characters in the game, and someone I would genuinely like irl

anyways however

I feel like this one is very stereotypical of me

cause this is the same headcanon as most of the trans part of the fandom

but Beel is so very trans man

like, didn't have top surgery just exercised to turn his boobs into pecs typa trans man

he's so powerful

and so lovely

and so, so transgender

he/him, FtM

Belphie:

similar to Levi, I do actually have a separate post just about Belphie

so if you want a less brief headcanon, check it out

anyways

Beel and Belphie are both trans to me, even in scenarios when I don't see the others as such

but my thing about Belphie is massively projection and based off my own identity

I think Belphie is also trans, but doesn't pass, doesn't want surgery, and doesn't necessarily want testosterone

like, I think he would feel a bit isolated from his siblings, especially Beel sometimes, since they're all relatively passing

but Beel would reassure him and they would cuddle on bad dysphoria days together, tons of snacks piled onto the bed for Beel and movies on autoplay for background noise :)

he/him, nonbinary

[lostcauses-noregrets]

Why is the answer always "Levi said this Levi did this" whenever one asks about the signs of Eruri in canon? Levi's side is pretty clear, but every time I talk to an Eruri and I ask "but why do you think Erwin loved Levi" the answer is very long but it's mostly empty and just "I am sure he did" or "but Levi loved him so Eruri is canon". Sorry this isn't a "hehehe your ship is one sided it's not canon" type of question. It's more of a writing-wise question, since you are a writer yourself I thought you'd give the best answer to this.

I am wondering, is this because of lack of Erwin's pov in aot manga or anime? I know Erwin is important and plays an important role and story revolves around him in s3 p2 and all that but when you look at the bigger picture he's mostly just there. He's in the story but you don't see his pov. We don't get to see the inside of his head until the end. Is this why "does Erwin love Levi" question is a hot topic in aot fandom always? Or are there any side stories like smartpass aus that suggest Erwin had feelings for Levi? I'm sorry I don't know those very well I only know the manga and the anime.

Lastly, I am sure you answered this before but my question is very specific, do you actually believe it was mutual? After all it's fiction and you don't need their love to be mutual to ship them. People ship characters who barely interact. It's what fandom is and that's totally normal and valid. I guess I am wondering if you ever doubted, th ship or even yourself which I do a lot (in a "oh I love this so much and I read so much fics I made myself believe" way) Thanks I hope this doesn't sound rude or offensive, my English isn't very good so if I sound rude that must be it it's not my intention :)

Ooof there’s  a lot of different questions here but I think they boil down to the following: 

Are Erwin and Levi’s feelings for each other mutual? / Does Erwin reciprocate Levi’s feelings?

Why do people question Erwin’s relationship to Levi? 

Do I personally believe their relationship was mutual, and have ever “doubted the ship”?

I’ve answered the first question many, many times over the years. You can read all my various answers here.  In short I do think that Erwin reciprocated Levi’s feelings and I think the evidence is there in the manga, the official guidebooks, the Smartpass stories, and the side content for anyone who cares to see it. I’m not going to list all the side content here, but there’s a very old post by @erbeansandravioli that links to a lot of it: Eruri receipts.

As to why people question Erwin’s relationship to Levi, well that’s an interesting one.  Some people clearly just don’t get Erwin’s character (see the previous ask I just answered), they don’t understand his role in the plot or the significance of his relationship to Levi.  For example I’ve seen people arguing passionately that Levi’s vow had nothing to do with Erwin, which is just mind boggling to me. It’s certainly true that Erwin is a much harder character to read than Levi who very much wears his heart on his sleeve.  Erwin is more reserved, and holds his cards closer to his chest.  However the fact that Levi is the only one who he reveals his true self to is significant. Daisuke Ono put it beautifully when he said in an interview that the amplitude of Erwin’s feelings is so great that it can be hard to see.  

It could also be that some, perhaps younger, readers just don’t recognise their relationship for what it is. It’s certainly not a typical shounen romance, but it is a deeply believable adult relationship; one that is based on mutual trust, respect and understanding. This is from a previous ask I answered on the subject:

It frustrates me enormously when people deny their canon relationship, despite Yams being at paints to explain it repeatedly in the guidebooks. I want to shake them and ask what the hell they think a relationship looks like when you’re an exhausted 30 + year old war veteran who has spent their entire life fighting for survival.  It looks like this; finding someone who you can trust with your life. If you were to ask me what characterizes a successful adult relationship I would say it’s exactly this; mutual trust, respect and understanding, and when push comes to shove, the willingness to do everything in your power to help the person you hold most dear, even if that means letting them go. 

And as to whether I’ve ever doubted the ship, the answer to that would be no, never.  Sure we’ve never seen them swear undying love in canon (though some would argue with that and point to Erwin’s "Arigatō Levi".) I wrote this in response to an ask about Eruri canonicity: 

Do you mean that you don’t believe they’re canon because we never see them kiss? Because they never marry?  Because the main focus of the story isn’t romance?  All those things are true, but in my opinion, they’re also not the only things that make a relationship canon.  Particularly when that relationship is between two war-weary 30 year old men who have been fighting for survival almost their entire lives. The irony is that, in some ways, Erwin and Levi’s relationship is actually quite conventional. They really do behave a bit like an old married couple.  They have a long standing relationship that has matured over many years, they have their own weird sense of humour, they’re not afraid to challenge each other, but they care about one another deeply, and they also trust each other unconditionally.  That’s all the canon evidence I need tbh.

Having said that, you are absolutely right that you don’t need any canon evidence to ship a couple.  Hell, I’ve had great fun written Hanji and Petra as a side ship and I don’t think they ever even interacted in canon.  In Erwin and Levi’s case though there is more than enough evidence in canon to attest to the significance of their relationship. 

Hope this answers your questions.

[moralesmilesanhour]

Every time i think about atsv and its themes, my mind keeps going back to the scene with Miles and his parents in that college counselor’s office, and what its purpose is.

It establishes the strain that being Spider-Man has put on their relationship, yes - it also establishes that Miles feels trapped and limited, yes - but a lot of fandom discussion overlooks the important parallel that that scene sets in motion between racism in academia and Miles' rejection from Spider Society.

By now, everyone has already figured out that the issue with the 'Canon Event' theory is that it assumes that trauma - specifically experiencing the "right" traumatic events - is what makes a Spider-Man, and it is wrong for Miles to be required to accept this. It isn't enough that he had his uncle die, his father must die also because then he will have sacrificed "enough" to keep the canon intact. No one questions why arbitrary sacrifice is required at all.

The concept of the personal statement being required for college applications, I would like to argue, has the exact same issue.

Miles even says so in the beginning of the movie: "Having 'a story' in the first place sounds gross" (notice how Miles vocally critiques elite academia contantly and has been from the get-go. He is not an apolitical character like some might portray him to be).

It is not enough that Miles is an exceptional student with a variety of interests (art and science), he must have the appropriate traumatic "story" for white academic institutions to find him interesting enough as an applicant, even if the story they want him to tell is not actually his story (no, he is not from a "struggling immigrant family". They own an apartment floor and PR is in the United States). Just like the "Canon events" that Miguel describes are not Miles' story, and Miles does not want them to be because it requires the preventable deaths of innocent people.

In a similar way that has been touched upon more in wider fandom, Rio gives Miles a speech telling him not to let the people in these overwhelmingly-white spaces that he will be entering tell him that he doesn't belong. That speech, as we all know, ends up being a direct parallel to the way Spider Society treats him: he is simultaneously a charity case and a threat just by his mere presence. His very existence is disruptive to the canon: The spider wasn't "supposed" to bite him, he just got lucky. There is a reason why the visual of the ball with Miles' lottery number is constantly paired with the number on the spider that bit him; they are one and the same.

(Side note: this is also what makes Hobie's function as a character so interesting - The idea that you can just simply quit. You do not HAVE to be in these privileged spaces if they don't have your best interests in mind. You don't have to prove yourself to these people to be who you are. But that's a post for another day)

The reason I've been thinking about all this is because I feel like no one really touches upon why Miles' character exists. Like, on a thematic level. Yes, he's there to show that "anyone can wear the mask", but there's a lack of specificity in that statement that I wanted to address with this post.

Miles is a love letter to every black kid that's been told that they're only in the spaces they're in because they "got lucky". He's for every black kid that's ever looked at a college app and been told that they have to take their trauma and put it on display for some white admissions officer to shed a tear over. He's there to argue that you don't have to bend towards any of society's attempts to make a spectacle or a serviceable machine out of you, and that you can just be.

TL;DR: it was never just about the mask MWAH 🫶🏾

[brainrot-yumm]

I got heated and made a Zuzu from Dogman appreciation post lmao

this one's a long one folks and in a move of pure hypocrisy I argue for her importance by mostly decompiling other characters instead

I think it's slightly funny and a little disappointing that zuzu (and Sarah to an extent but very specifically zuzu) has been pushed so far to the side that the last time she had an actual character moment was like 6 books ago and it was genuinely her first character moment and all she did was alert someone more important to an issue that was going on.

like originally it's obvious she was pitched to be a standard love interest that would be just as awkward and vaguely horrifying to fully process as any other part of Dogman lore,

(ex: is it more understandable for Dogman to be with a dog or a person considering he has a person's body but a [very smart but still a] dog's mind? Does fandom consider Petey the best pick because as an anthropomorphic animal he's the best of both worlds? if we consider the fact that this is a kid's comic book and therefore probably runs on babies-come-from-storks-and-everyone-is-inherently-asexual logic, what then is actually wrong with zuzu as a love interest? I know the immediate reason why it makes people [me included] uncomfortable but if that part is removed it would be technically okay and I'm gonna stop arguing for a point I don't actually stand by now. And also why is it that dogs are literally the only creatures in the entire Dogman universe besides fish that are explicitly animals and aren't people why is literally every other creature either bipedal, capable of speech, and/or crazy smart, and with how smart the dogs can be sometimes why are they not I but oh golly my brain hurts-)

anyway.

It's obvious she was gonna be the love interest, and that hilarity would ensue around that. But then stuff happened, and Petey cloned himself, and then Dogman sought partial custody and the storyline changed. And in book 3 I believe, Zuzu was bought by Sarah, and whether that was intended to make her more important to the plot doesn't matter cause after that she was simply an extension of Sarah. Prop first and foremost, character occasionally.

and I genuinely think that kinda sucks, cause there's actual character stuff that could be written out for Zuzu. It would be a little difficult with the language barrier, but like, think.

One of Dogman's current big internal struggles is his fight between the expectation everyone has on him to be a human and his "doggy instincts" AKA behaviors and actions that he has been exhibiting for the entirety of his life with very few issues that only suddenly now do people have a problem with, to such a degree that he has been sent to jail 1.5x over just how bad people hate him. The expectation to be "normal" when you very obviously aren't and can't do that, that even well-intentioned friends can mess up with (like LIl Petey and the focus test - basically clicker-training him to be terrified of the stuff he loves in a way that would make him incapable of relaxing or enjoying a massive chunk of his life if it had actually stuck) Everyone is trying to Nekopara bell test him and it's very much a neurodivergent/disability allegory that I really appreciate. As well as the worry he's been given through bullying of feeling like an outcast. As a Frankenstein he fits nowhere, that kind of thing.

And he has a good support group at this point, but it's mostly people with experiences with the human side, and whether they are mostly supporting him just to try to turn him human or not, that's the perspective they bring. Zuzu could be a really, really good friend in that way, maybe the friend that Dogman especially needs right now, because she is just a dog. She is a dog that isn't expected to be a human, who is still allowed to be a dog and follow dog instincts without being yelled at, who doesn't have all this extra pressure on her.

And in that way, hanging out with Zuzu would mean no judgment if he followed those instincts to chase a squirrel or roll around in mud or do something stupid, because she would probably join in. There would be no expectations to do really anything besides the right thing, no matter how its done. I could even see fun interactions with her being weirded out at the human behaviors that have been trained into him. But at the end of the day she would be really good for just letting him still be Greg, which no one else really lets him be (the only one even mildly close is Lil Petey but that's his adopted son). And being allowed those moments of pure acceptance would do wonders of solidifying his self-acceptance and self-confidence. The support and understanding that he still fits with his fellow misfits even when he's more dog than man.

Plus, that's another good value to give kids, that the friends you want should be there for the whole you and not just the mask. Plus plus I can see in my brain a very cute scene of Zuzu doing the dogman-head-comfort thing to Dogman himself since he's had to be the emotional support for a lot of people but it's pretty uncommon that he gets that emotional support himself.

and that's only one way and only one character that she could bounce off of. I really think she has potential to do some good stuff if she's given the chance to have a more active role in the storyline. At the moment even with Sarah it's a little nothing right now, that's a complete nother story and awkward/vaguely horrifying mental riddle to attempt (like again why are dogs literally the only animal seen as pets when cats are bipedal. They sell dogs as pets but do they sell anything else. Where's the line. If the pigs are anthropomorphic where do hot dogs come from-)

I've spoken of Zuzu mostly in relation to Dogman but the core point of a supporting character is to support the main character and influence them in interesting ways. If they don't do that then they are either a weirdly emphasized background character or a painfully underdeveloped main character. But either way I'm disappointed that for almost every single book she has been pointed out as an important supporting character, as the world's greatest/bravest poodle, but she barely ever has an important roll in the comics, much less gets to actually show off that greatness/bravery, and I want justice. Give Zuzu a dynamic and important roles in the plot now peas and tank ewe.

That's it that was the whole point of this. Justice for Zuzu. Hashtag make Zuzu a character now. That is all.

[genshinconfessions]

Hello !! So sorry if this is not allowed, I just saw an absolutely horrible ship take online and I need to rant because I hate HaiKaveh. This is just overall negativity and will likely start ship discourse so please do skip this if you (general) are particularly sensitive to it !! To battle this, I will also send a more positive ask afterwards.

HaiKaveh/Kavetham as a fandom is the shittiest shit diarrhea from an ass with external and internal hemorroids this world has ever had the misfortune of enduring. The ship itself is fine, yeah whatever "roommates" and "couple that argues like they're old and married" are nice tropes and all, but it's the fandom that I specifically want euthanized. Scratch that, not euthanized, bcs I want it to be painful and inhumane as to reflect all the trouble they've caused. I understand it's a loud minority of the most insufferable people ever but when a ships fandom gets as big as it does, it's no longer a "small but loud group of people" that can be easily dismissed, it's literally the fucking majority of them atp.

"oh but they're canon !! They have so much implied interactions !! You're homophobic !!" KILL YOURSELF??? YOU (general) ARE LITERALLY MAKING THEM THE MOST HETERO NORMATIVE SHIT IVE EVER SEEN ??? I'm sick of acting civil and pushing past my annoyance to come off as respectful and understanding, I'm just as much of a hater as the next person, I want to get violent about this but it'd be stupid if I did. The same fuckers who say you're erasing gay rep when you ship one of them with a female character are the same no life dipshits who will dox and send death threats as they dumb down the ship to being "uwu soft bottom princess bunny Kaveh x alpha dom ultra top borderline (definitely ON THE LINE) abusive Alhaitham" which is literally every mainstream m/f shitty booktok novel made by the straightest millennial white woman to ever rightwing American that these people apparently hate so much.

"Kaveh is a rabbit, look at his hair !!" HIS HAIR IS MEANT TO RESEMBLE A LION. YOU MAKE **SUCH** A BIG DEAL OVER HIS KEYS YET YOU CANT EVEN MAKE THE CONNECTION?? IT REPRESENTS HIM AND HIS HOUSE/COURSE. "Kaveh dresses so femininely, and his wrists are so dainty he doesn't even wield his claymore like the others !!" LOOK CLOSELY, LOOK REALLY FUCKING CLOSELY, his designed is Iran inspired specifically during the Zand Dynasty (iirc, I'm not exactly a Kaveh buff) and his particular style of fashion (though modernized) was popular between both men and women, this doesn't make him feminine, he's more so androgynous get your terms right fucking spuds for brains. Kaveh does in fact use his hands when using his WEAPON OF CHOICE. Yes, he flicks his wrist after plunging but look at how he does it. He only uses one hand instead of the usual two, so all the recoil (idk man I'm so upset rn) goes into one hand instead of being distributed between two. He also, I can't remember if it's after being hit or putting his claymore away, definitely holds it up for some time. Mehrak is there more so for support, and even Mehrak should be very heavy since it's a fucking tech toolbox or whatever made from a machine core. That shit heavy.

The mischaracterisation of Alhaitham is also very shitty and I, as someone who yumeships with him and also really appreciates his character, am very upset at it. I admit I am also guilty of mischaracterisation but I feel that's unavoidable when you yumeship so much that your f/o just becomes an oc who takes the core basics of the original original character. Unfortunately most of my rage was directed at Kaveh because his so-called fans are the worst of the two and genuinely might just be fetishist who only care about their yaoi more than the actual characters. Nothing wrong with loving yaoi, just saying that I don't trust anyone who loves it more than the characters involved. He's a chill guy who just wants a peaceful life for himself and the people he cares about. He's caring, his mind full of joy and whimsy, a love for the world around him that he keeps neatly inside himself. He most likely can see Aranara !! Everytime someone makes him this super dominant and aggressive lover an angel gets burned by your sins. Everytime someone makes him a bratty sub who's sex obsessed an angel gets it's wings ripped off. I'm so fucking tired of all the shitty HaiKaveh on my timeline, not even blocking tags or blocking users gets them off.

On another note, I have a deep appreciation for the artists in the fandom. I can't say much for the fanfic writers because I personally don't read anything related to HaiKaveh or canonxcanon fics, but you guys rock just as much !! Every fan work I've seen from this wretched fandom is just so beautiful that I'm not too put off when I see a particular bad piece in a sea of genuine adoration for this pairing. In the end, when I manage to block out all the shitty takes and the general toxic community, I find myself to be at peace with them. I don't prefer them as lovers, no, I've always saw them more as sworn brothers/friends who've been through so much together that they are in a way family.

TL;DR ship discourse is the downfall of every fandom because people are too selfish and stupid to take a step back and be rational, they are so caught up in themselves that they don't even care about the characters themselves anymore. 2020 was the last good year before everything took a very big curve downwards because of people who are new to fandom spaces and don't bother to learn proper online etiquette.

.

[suzannahnatters]

ROTK Re-read: Book 5, Chs 1-5: I'm Always Thinking About Eowyn

Ch 1 - MINAS TIRITH

"we shall have great need of folk of courtesy in the days to come" love that Pippin is also going places because he too has empathy and courtesy - he understands that the way to Denethor's heart is to recognise Boromir's sacrifice by pledging his own life to the service of Gondor, even though everyone in the room fully expects him to be useless.

"oath breaking with vengeance" hmm hmm but Aragorn does not do this! Aragorn offers a literal second chance to the Dead!

this chapter is reminding me what a noble tragic figure Book! Denethor is compared to his perception in popular culture. it's also a brilliant bit of scene-setting for the big battles ahead, as Tolkien whisks Pippin (and us) from top to bottom of the Tower of Guard, getting to know people at all ranks of society!

Ch 2 - THE PASSING OF THE GREY COMPANY

"he is not so mighty that he is beyond fear" and no one ever is are they

okay so this is THE Eowyn chapter and I have such a lot to say, let's start by noting that Eowyn begs Aragorn not to go to the paths of the dead under the guise of giving him sound military advice - the fact that she cloaks her feelings in military tactics is so great

anyway I love this conversation between her and Aragorn so dearly, it's so complex and it's ALL ABOUT gender roles and sexism? like he tries to set the tone up front by being like, look, if you weren't staying some bloke would be, I'm not saying stay home because you're a woman. and she claps back with, if it isn't sexism why am I ALWAY the one chosen to stay home. and of course she is right.

but he continues to See her! he sees that she wants glory and he tries to talk her out of it, but she comes back with this supremely medieval rejoinder: I'm a member of the warrior class, not a serving-woman - she's insisting on her rights, not based on the equality of the sexes so much as her high status as a lady. it's just so well written because Tolkien captures both an everlasting feminine mood (treat me like a person!) AND makes sure she expresses it in a way that's authentic to her cultural context (medieval style classism). histfic goals honestly.

and it's quite lovely that Aragorn spends the whole conversation gently insisting that he doesn't think she's less because she's a woman - what he fails to address is that thirst she has for glory in death. her contention is "since we're all going to die, why throw your life away on an inglorious death?" and his contention is "since we still have a chance of surviving, why throw YOUR life away in a battle we're all begging you to stay home from?" like the fundamental disconnect here is her despair. "fear is the mind-killer" is a huge theme of this book

and this is THE thing I think most of the fandom, perhaps thanks to the movies, doesn't understand about this character: which is that she's like Denethor right now, she's lost all hope and only wants to die in the way that seems good to her. Eowyn is not a spunky girl power figure, fighting for a woman's right to do battle! she's going because she wants what she conceives to be a noble death. like, the fandom usually types her as an ISFP, all High Ideals and Chafing Against Social Constraints, but I don't think she is? she reads to me far more as a brittle INTJ (or even, as @eomira argued, an unhealthy INFJ) - she isn't driven by a moral crusade but by a complete cold certainty of death, which actually leads her to act in some very amoral ways.

anyway the funny thing about all this is that it's serving a specific literary purpose: we've had Gandalf and Frodo going through a death-and-resurrection motif, with people left behind to mourn them. and that's what Eowyn is, literarily, for Aragorn - she's the one who is left to mourn him when he takes the paths of the dead. except that Tolkien takes Eowyn so seriously as a person, even when using her for this literary purpose, that he gives her her own motivations that are so much more complicated than "oh this woman Aragorn has known for five minutes has fallen MADLY IN LOVE with him". because she hasn't.

anyway we're off on the paths of the dead and once again Tolkien chooses the shortest/humblest person as the audience viewpoint character.

Ch 3 - THE MUSTER OF ROHAN

ok but it means so much to me, and is very healing actually, that NOBODY thinks any less of Éowyn for caring very much about Aragorn and obviously grieving for him. nobody's telling her she should feel ashamed for not being able to control her feelings or trying to get a man that doesn't belong to her. they're just like "oh yeah, big mood, let's try to cheer you up."

military strategy note: it strikes me just how incredibly risky it is that the riders head off to Gondor while the orcs are already attacking the Eastern border. they really are staking the entire future of their kingdom on the siege of Gondor!!!! like, if they can beat Sauron at Gondor then the orcs attacking Rohan will have to fall back across the river because their supply lines will be threatened. but if they lose in Gondor - or heck, even if they can't force a quick decisive battle - then they'll be stuck miles from home with Rohan wide open to invasion. my goodness it is just the BIGGEST gamble and shows what an INCREDIBLY desperate position they are in and just HOW selfless they are being by going to Gondor's aid. seriously I need to lie down a minute.

Ch 4 - THE SIEGE OF GONDOR

as cinematic as Tolkien is I love that he keeps his magic fairly low key, even when Gandalf is confronting the Ringwraiths themselves!

middle earth's Worst Dad

"let us not forget that a traitor may betray himself and do good that he does not intend" CAN WE GET AN AMEN

"he will not come, save to triumph over me" does Denethor have delusions of grandeur

military tactics win: denethor sends out a sortie to bring in the defenders of Osgiliath, but calls them back before they can join full battle, which is bound to be costly. this isn't abandoning your nice safe siege for a serious stand in the open - it's a limited, strategic attack and retreat. if you're going to do fighting outside walls in a siege, this is a sensible way to do it.

it's interesting how in ROTK Tolkien does a lot of omniscient narration; this makes the book read more like a medieval chronicle than like a novel, and it's a mark of how well he's set up the emotions and the stakes, and how absolutely glorious his language is, that the book remains so immediate and gripping even though we're hearing everything at such a long distance.

the relationship between Denethor and Faramir is so incredibly well written!!! like, Gandalf tells Faramir that his father will remember he loves him ere the end - but Tolkien makes it so clear, even as Denethor mourns his son, how deeply selfish he is in his grief. like, so selfish that he loses all interest in commanding the siege, because what's the point of remaining the lord of a city if he's not going to have descendents to rule after him? feels like Tolkien is walking a fine line here between, yes, Denethor loves his son, but also, yikes, that love is incredibly twisted and unhealthy.

"go now and die in what way seems best to you" not only is this a complete banger of a line, but it draws this extraordinary link between Faramir's father and his future wife. like, do we want to bet that part of Eowyn's attraction for Faramir is the fact that he couldn't save his dad but he can save her?

anyway the end of this chapter is SO FACE MELTINGLY EPIC!!!! you've got this intimate tragedy of Denethor, you've got the massive assault on the city, you've got this climactic confrontation between Gandalf and the Witch-King.

plus tell me if I'm going absolutely crazy but. this cock's-crow moment. does this have anything to do with the cock crowing as the apostle Peter was denying Jesus. like. something something the moment at which the spell of evil breaks.

Ch 5 - THE RIDE OF THE ROHIRRIM

absolutely love the way that Tolkien depicts Ghan-buri-Ghan and the wild men. he doesn't other them the way he does the Haradrim. in fact one of the first things he tells us about them is is that they are craftsmen - and good ones too. which is basically him acknowledging their humanity and dignity. they bring a bit of needed diversity to the world; after the Numenoreans going on about High and Middle and Low men it's a bit of a breath of fresh air to have these lil wild men getting this very sympathetic very heroic portrayal

ha ha ha not Theoden explaining why the Riders are pressing on despite the enemies behind, and he gives exactly the same reason I did in ch 3.

FORTH EORLINGAS *endless screaming *

how does this book never get any less epic

[positivelybeastly]

I'm just curious what the Beast and Abigail Brand relationship is like? (I haven't really read any of the x men comics until now.)

Ouaghhhhh . . . okay, so.

Full disclosure, I am a late comer to the truth of Wonderbeast, and, in fairness, I have an excuse! My trajectory for getting into Beast was reading him in X-Treme X-Men and New X-Men in the early 00s, then falling out of comics for a good long while until X-Men: First Class got me back in. When I got back home from watching the movie, the very first thing I did was go on Amazon, and type in 'X-Men comics.'

This was the very first result I got.

That is my legit Amazon purchase history right there, by the way. December 2011, verified, right there for you.

I bought the first volume, consumed it voraciously, then bought the other three volumes rapid fire. I still have them.

And this is how the Beast/Brand pipeline begins.

When we meet Hank in Astonishing X-Men, he's at a very rough place in his life, still. His best friend, Jean Grey, has recently died, he's still struggling with his anxieties and insecurities over his secondary mutation, still reeling from the psychic attack by Cassandra Nova, and, as if to rub salt in the wound, he's presented with the simplest solution to at least most of his problems.

A cure.

Because let's be real here - we can call it a mutant gift all we want, but some people have it worse than others. Beak, Glob Herman, Maggott, Dummy, Forget-Me-Not, Beast - these people have powers that suck exponentially more than Storm or Cyclops or Emma Frost. They just do. And I am well aware of the fact that this is a nuanced discussion, that Scott has to wear his glasses/visor, and that Ororo has to maintain control over her emotions so that she doesn't wreck the weather systems, I get that. I know that.

But.

It always hits me, the fact that Logan cannot respond to Hank's point specifically. He cannot argue that Hank's X-gene specifically makes him dangerous, because to do so would be fucking insulting - all he can do is blow it out to a macro level, and make it about Hank's status as an X-Man, about the fact that an X-Man admitting that some mutants just want to be cured and all that implies would be a massive blow to everything they represent.

And that is a point, one that has to be weighed up, but you can't act like this isn't literally dehumanising for Hank. Logan literally says he's not a human being, he's an X-Man - his duty outweighs his right to peace of mind and humanity.

Also, no, I don't care that Hank 'did this to himself.' Hank turned himself blue and furry, yes, and he made his peace with that.

But he did NOT choose to mutate into a feline monster with less fingers, new predatory instincts, less humanity. This is a nuance that is almost always lost in this conversation - Sage made this choice for him, and that will always colour this stage of Hank's life. It's very well likely that he might've chosen to go ahead with the mutation anyway, to save his life, but it doesn't matter because he never got the chance.

Treating Hank's different mutations as broadly the same, despite the fact that they are eminently different and they make him feel differently, is one of the many nuances that is often lost by both writers and the fandom at large, and it makes him a less complex character as a result. It is important that classic Hank would not have chosen to cure himself, but feline Hank would. That is important.

This probably seems like I'm getting off track, but I promise you I'm not. This is all vital context for this relationship.

So, the cure is destroyed, although Hank has one sample of it sitting in his lab by the end of the story.

Now, by this point, Abigail Brand has entered the story. She is, to put it bluntly, an asshole - Nick Fury with less warmth.

It's also vitally important that you know that Hank and Abigail's literal first interaction is him making fun of her. I'm not kidding.

So, we fast forward a little bit, and Cassandra Nova comes back, and. Well.

Hank's literal stated worse fear. Thanks for the second dose of trauma, Nova! Really love that!

This is also very important to their relationship. Swear down. Hank is, unfortunately, an unwilling cannibal, and it's all continuing his increasing alienation and isolation and dehumanisation. For someone who is, I would say, best characterised as a humanist, to become, if you'll forgive the ghoulish joke, a humanitarian, is ego shattering.

Anyway, Hank and Abigail begin to interact more and more as S.W.O.R.D forcibly recruits the X-Men to help them with their problems.

And thus, a. Tension, begins to develop.

Anyway, remember how I said cannibalism would be important?

And things continue to roll along . . .

Oh my . . .

Ouuaughhhhh . . . I love heart on his sleeve Hank . . .

So, what is this all building to? Well . . .

And there it is.

Abigail Brand is a massive monsterfucker, confirmed. Love her for that.

Now, this exchange kinda reads differently now, after all the mud that Hank's been dragged through since the mid-00s, especially with X-Force and everything, but at this point in continuity, Hank was still very much one of the most moral, ethical, well regarded heroes in the entire Marvel Universe. He would often be given maxed out stats for conscience and wisdom in expanded material, people would repeatedly state that he didn't have it in him to kill, that he could be trusted to do the right thing - he was a moral counterweight.

And the fact that Abigail wants him on her side because of that? To be her professional bullshit caller? To bring her up to snuff? That speaks a lot about her, honestly. She is not just a thug. She feels. She cares. She has a sense of right and wrong, it's just distorted sometimes by the wider scale of dealing with intergalactic politics and all the attendant bullshit that goes along with them - and Hank gives her perspective. He grounds her.

And to Hank, this is a fucking brand new epoch. He's just coming off a relationship with Trish Tilby where she explicitly rejected him because his form repulsed and scared and unsettled her - and now, this woman wants him because his form is familiar to her. Because it conforms to her sense of attractive. It gives him an all new perspective. He looks like her people. What must that feel like to Hank?

Suddenly, it isn't, I'm a monster to my fellow humans, it's, to the right people, I look beautiful.

(Well, Abigail would likely not use the word beautiful, but.)

That is immensely attractive! And let's be real here - this is all kinda mercenary, to begin with. Abigail wants to fuck Hank because he's hot, and she wants to work with him because she's trying to be a better person but can't trust herself to do it properly; Hank wants to fuck Abigail because he's lonely and isolated and wants to feel wanted, and he wants to work with her because it's a chance to be a contrarian full time!!! What more could he goddamn want?! Feelings have not yet begun to enter the equation.

But that's fine, because this is fun.

And we can let things cook . . .

And it's clear that it takes a little bit. Feelings are entering the equation, but it's not impossible for things to take a backslide here and there. They don't quite completely trust each other yet. They're cute together! But they're still brittle at this stage.

Things could still break apart - except, Abigail does have a heart.

Look at that smug motherfucker.

What really seals it for me is this, though, from a later arc of Astonishing X-Men.

For someone like Abigail Brand, for whom work is everything, there is no clearer way to say 'I love you' than this. She wanted to protect Hank from the consequences of his actions. She wanted to protect him from the perversion of his work, done with good intentions but perverted for ill. She worked, for months, off the books, on things that weren't her jurisdiction, because of Hank.

There's so much that she's not saying here, but this is the EXACT SAME WOMAN who, if you scroll up, just panels ago, was saying there was NO-ONE she would not sacrifice, no enemy she would not sleep with, if it meant that Earth was safe.

The Earth . . . and Hank, apparently.

That is huge.

Also, they kinda have a kid together? Sort of?

That's Broo, Hank's protege. He happens to be around because of a whole adventure where Hank pulled the X-Men into a Brood related nightmare that ended up producing a mutant Brood with compassion and emotions and empathy.

A Brood related nightmare where Abigail was in danger. And why was she in danger?

Because she was being heroic, huh?

And then there's this . . .

Now, this is from Siege (2015), part of Battleworld, so it isn't quite 616 canon, but it's the exact same writer as S.W.O.R.D, so I have absolutely no hesitation in saying that this is exactly how Abby feels about Hank in 616 as well.

"After McCoy, she will never let herself love anything."

Ouauuhhghhhhh . . . they complete each other, quite frankly. He's the moral counterweight to her pragmatic solutions. She's the realist that reminds the optimist that the world isn't sunshine and daisies all the time. He's the bright, colourful, bounding genius, she's the insanely deadly workaholic who hates you. Enemies to lovers.

This is crack to me, friends. This is crack cocaine.

Also, I reject the idea that they're on-again, off-again. These two were locked in from S.W.O.R.D onward, and I refuse to hear otherwise.

It's incredibly clear to me that the X-Men never understood this relationship, just like how they never really understood what makes Hank tick in general, and so they just make assumptions based on what they think they know, because we're literally never shown these two in the middle of one of their supposed arguments. Every time they're on panel together, they're flirting and backing each other up, consistently, every time. Even during X-Force, Abigail is pretty much the only person that Beast treats with respect, and love, and care. They hug, which is unheard of for that version of the character.

Well. There is one other character evil Beast treats with care.

Man, X-Force #50 was all kinds of gay . . .

Anyway. If it weren't for Simon, Beast/Brand would absolutely be Hank's One True Pairing. As it is?

Hank has two paws. He can hold two hands.

[peonycats]

So I was recently informed that my latest post caused someone to accuse me of posting Chinese imperialism apologia, specifically for my tag comment that says: "If you accuse me of being hypocritical because I'm so anal about tying the nations to their states when it comes to the West but shy away when it comes to China, 1) you clearly don't know how Sinophobia works and 2) I ain't no coward."

Now, it may perplex you how people can accuse me of being a CCP apologist for a post where I called China a slut and specifically noted China's poor treatment of Uyghurs, but unfortunately, it's not the first time I've received accusations of being pro-CCP despite no supporting evidence.

I know I don't talk a lot about my personal life or internal goings-on on this blog, but I want to say this- I'm not completely unaffected by these frequent accusations. It hurts to see me being reduced to my Chineseness. My Chineseness being weaponized to discredit me as a wumao feels incredibly dehumanizing, and it hurts even more to see people believe those accusations. 

To give you my background, I was raised in a fairly nationalist household; my grandfather was born as an illiterate peasant and consequently came to hold very pro-Mao beliefs. From an early age, I often came to verbal blows with my parents (and my extended family) over these beliefs and argued frequently with them over Taiwan, Tibet's annexation, and China's policies towards minorities. I remember representing Kazakhstan for Model United Nations and was assigned to write a paper on the Kazakh reaction towards China’s unlawful detention of Uyghurs. Just mentioning this simple fact to my parents sparked a heated “debate” where they accused me of being brainwashed by Western propaganda, and that I was incapable of understanding China’s actions because I was born in the US.

I haven’t brought up any of this because I’m a private person by nature, and I felt that my posts should speak for themselves about my political beliefs. And yet, I find myself in the position of where I need to bring this up in order to defend myself from accusations of supporting Chinese imperialism, for disagreeing with another person, or calling something sinophobic/promoting sinophobia.

Sinophobia overlaps with other forms of racism, especially anti-Asian racism when other Asians are mistaken to be Chinese. However, we have to recognize that the specificity of China itself in "mistaken to be Chinese" is also what distinguishes Sinophobia from the more general anti-Asian racism. It indicates a designation of China as a prominent actor on the world stage, and most importantly- an inherently antagonistic one. The symbolism of China being inherently antagonistic is what justifies the conflation of Chinese people with the Chinese state; if China is by nature antagonistic then Chinese people must subsequently be extensions of the Chinese government, and every action they do must be politicized.

What are the implications when the fandom gives the okay to depictions of America hanging out with countries that the actual USA has fraught history with, but as soon as China does the same, questions and concerns arise about “making light” of China’s irl actions? That China can’t be disassociated with his state the same way other imperialist powers are in the fandom?

Bear in mind, I am saying this as someone who personally interprets all the nations as inherently political entities. China is no exception to this- my most recent post was parodying an Onion article about Biden and Xi, where Alfred and Yao literally take on the roles of their heads of state. I am the last person who shies away from politicizing all the nations. 

Rather, I am pointing out how China is being exceptionalized from wider fandom trends of depoliticizing the characters; I find this pattern troubling, as over-politicizing a Western nation (like America) does not have the same implications as over-politicizing China. 

The latter reflects dangerous trends on how Chinese people, especially Chinese communities abroad, are perceived, how we’re expected to answer for and answer to the Chinese government and its actions, and how, at best, we’re dismissed as being simply brainwashed, and how at worst, we’re seen as enemies of the populace, threats to national integrity. When we are seen to be “acting out of line,” we are viewed as perpetual outsiders, agents of a foreign regime. The same judgment is not levied towards white Americans, even those who live in America, vote in America, and benefit from American imperialism. 

I witnessed the dramatic rise in anti-Asian hate crimes and Sinophobic rhetoric during the COVID-19 pandemic: I was living in Atlanta during the 2020 spa shootings and I didn’t leave my dorm room for a week afterward. I worried over my mother, who every week, went to shop at local Chinese grocery stores in the area. I heard people spread conspiracy theories about how the virus was engineered by the Chinese government and spread by Chinese in the West as part of some grand conspiracy to ensure Chinese global dominance. All of this, led me to become conscious (in a way I hadn’t been before) of how conflating Chinese people with the Chinese government was frequently employed by bigots to mask their violent prejudice under the guise of “being anti-CCP.”

As a result, being Chinese diaspora is an emotionally fraught experience. Not only are we under constant scrutiny by others, but Chinese Mainlander diaspora specifically like myself face rejection when we choose to go against our families’ beliefs. But despite that, despite me being born and raised in the United States and living with this sort of bigotry all my life, it still cuts me deeply to see someone so quickly accuse me of supporting Chinese imperialist actions, despite me never posting in favor of the CCP in the past, simply because I pointed out how sinophobia manifests. It cuts even deeper to see people, people I know, agree with that assessment, and how I have to go out and publicly reveal details of my personal life to try and exonerate myself. 

It really does hurt.

[horizon-verizon]

Why are people comparing Alicent to Visenya? I just saw a post claiming it’s hypocritical for Rhaenyra to draw inspiration from Visenya.

Let me guess. They equate (better word than "compared", bc compare also means contrasting if you're ever doing an analysis and we are doing on...or have already) Alicent with Visenya because these two women just happen to have usurped the naked heir for their own children, specifically boys. And some will cite Visenya being the one to call for Rhaena marrying her son Maegor (as Alicent does with Aegon the Elder and Rhaenyra) as further proof bc they assume that Visenya was just as sexistly/selfishly driven as Alicent in doing so.

They lack the desire to detect nuance in general AND the nuanced CRITICAL difference between the two women and their circumstances.

-----------------------------------------------------------

First of all, those fans have to learn or just stop trying to melt their modern goals with the characters' motivations. How to distinguish between the audience/readers and the characters, bc they have conflated what the characters vs the readers desire from the circumstances that the characters are experiencing. What they are really wanting or trying to say some of the time is that they don't understand why Rhaenyra stans/fans/Alicent haters, etc. criticize ( sometimes not even hate, just criticize) Alicent. Practice not projecting your own feelings and/or goals into the characters, please!

Those who say it's hypocritical for Rhaenyra to hate Alicent while loving Visenya specifically (and usually) bc they percieve both wmen as usurpers alone also try to make as if the standard for why one should support a woman is how "feminist" and pro-woman she should be, being a sort of moral hero within her world and how morally/socially advanced she actively is or not. Because they cannot fathom how their own very-much-not-that fav gets flack in lieu of them knowing that Alicent is at the very end of that spectrum as a traditionalist woman.

Why hate Alicent so much if other women, esp Rhaenyra, aren't feminists or pro woman? Why bother me about my choice/preference if Alicent is not actually that bad? It's an attempt to flatten the spectrum of women we have in ASoIaF, to try to make Alicent seem not particularly extreme as she had been by projecting her extremism onto other groups and thus shrug off the discomfort of preferring her over other female characters (they really could just say they like her because of her poltical inteliigence if they refer to the book version. If it's show version, I personally don't think they have nothing at all to admire, but that's me).

They "forget" that feminism is a social movement, NOT just individual's state of mind! For both women (Rhaenyra and Alicent) or how they are moving in their world, it has never been about feminism BECAUSE FEMINISM DOESN'T EXIST AS A MOVEMENT AS A IDEOLOGICAL FRAME FOR THEM TO BASE OR MAKE THEIR DECISIONS ON---THAT WOMEN CONCIOUSLY AND INTELLECTUALLY TRY TO USE TO GAIN RIGHTS FOR ALL WOMEN---IN WESTEROS FOR PEOPLE TO BE JUDGING WOMEN ON HOW NONFEMINIST THEY ARE!!

This the real reason why Alicent is not loved by fandom who dislike-to-despise her: her Catholic-adjacent forwardness repressive & unsubtle hypocrisy. Yes in book/orig story, thought it's worse in the show because we actually witness scenes of it and show!Alicent lacks any political acumen.

On the fandom side, already she wasn't going to be that much liked as maybe Catelyn, but then she tries to use tradition to argue for her sons' rights when Rhaenyra had much more of a claim, thus enabling armed, mobilized patriarchal violence that cause BOTH women to lose their kids, lose themselves for a very critical beat (or if you are Alicent, until the day you die). Even as both did go into a war that killed thousands of both nobles but much more small folk, WHO decided in a time of relative peace to disrupt what could have been the beginning of something good for women (even if for noble women or a first) so she could reap the patriarchally-traditonal benefits for herself?

----

Secondly, other than what I have already described for Alicent v Visenya in that linked post (above the dotted line), it is also WHO these women are to Rhaenyra: for all her obvious desire to make something more for her self and her son Visenya genuinely was also trying to keep not just her but her siblings' "work" "alive".

Visenya is her indirect ancestor/part of her family, a very important who engendered to keep the dynasty alive even though she also had her own ambitions AT THE SAME TIME, which means Rhaenyra got to live to even become heir; Alicent is Rhaenyra's direct opposer, her enemy, the one actively trying to usurp her, who already tried to degrade her standing in court since she was a child. And not just a child in her teens , I mean a small kid child, if we talk about the book/orig story. Alicent is part of the family who wishes to use the Rhaenyra family's standing to be just as influential. Yet because the Hightowers are the ones literally bankrolling the Citadel and patrons of the Faith at Oldtown--center of Westeros' religion and politically moral compass for hundreds of years.

The Faith just so happens to be the ones who tried to oust the Targs even before Maegor...were always the enemies of the Targs and their inherent magicness, dragons, "foreignness"...why in the fuck would you expect Rhaenyra to be OBLIGATED to like a woman actively using said Faith and social backing's history AGAINST HER CLAIM?! Was Visenya a Faith follower who used said things against Aenys or Aegon the Uncrowned or any Targ? NO, bc she was a Targ herself AND helped her son battle in any way against the Faith. The Faith hated Visenya! Still do. And if the Faith had it their way, Alicent or not, they also would not approve of Rhaenyra being heir/queen (religious patriarchy), what more a woman so physically close to her and living in her childhood home that she hopes to rule from one day but using said institution against her?!

The daughter of the man who while enabled Rhaenyra to become heir ironically, also wasn't doing it for her but to remove the competition he saw in Daemon/prevent him from being heir. Come on, now!

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Thirdly, Rhaenyra loving Visenya has everything to do with her looking to her for inspiration [a very important post to read bc I don't want to repeat myself] AND presenting strength in a similar way you'd think a non-warrior person would use a sword/armor to draw that conventional social cue.

Except that bc Visenya is nearly universally either feared, disdained, or hated, Rhaenyra draws on her to make another distinction about herself: like me or hate me, I will push on. Personal, in that she assures herself of her connection to that strength (thus that she is capable of the sort of power Visenya had aside from knowing how to use a sword, bc you can be trained all you are but you still need that je-nais-se-quois to back it up even without it), and to the public/court as what I already wrote above.

On the more personal side, I headcanon that she may have thought her not that dissimilar to Daemon, her prince consort, and enjoyed this little performance to herself because she both felt like she draw on his strength as well as became that much more intimate with him. Tell me, where can Alicent give any of this even passively to Rhaenyra?! Not only did Alicent already reject Rhaenyra, she had little to nothing to really inspire her! Come on, now!

Now do some people see why the show's Rhaenicent just doesn't hit and is even just a bad rewrite of the original story?!