#ALL media is worthy of being criticized. that’s what makes it MEDIA

[sapphic-bf]

ppl who are unable to criticize or accept/see the criticism of their favorite media literally just proves that consuming media isn’t for everyone. 🤷

[mythalism]

i feel like all of my pondering and analyzing and criticizing veilguard over the past few months has actually truly given me a better understanding of what dragon age meant to me, what about it specifically was so meaningful, and why, as a result, veilguard felt so wrong. it took a while for me to figure it out. about three full months of relentless essay writing, actually. but i think if you had asked me a few years ago what the core of my love for dragon age was, whatever answer i gave would not have truly gotten to the root of it, because i think i had to experience the disappointment of veilguard to fully understand why i love dragon age. and ive realized that core is that i loved how the previous dragon age entries demand so much of the player, and deliberately prompt introspection and critical, often political, thought.

dragon age games have historically forced the player to be self-reflective and introspective about their worldview and beliefs. solas is obviously a fantastic example, as he was deliberately written to be a reflection of the player in order to prompt them to reflect on how they treat people, how our expectations of people influence their behavior, and how people are pushed to extremes and turned into monsters or saved by love and kindness. how do people become monsters? what drives them to blow up buildings or start rebellions or destroy the world as you know it? are they right or wrong? does it even matter? how did you contribute to this? are you innocent? it puts these insane, politically and morally charged situations in your face and forces you to confront them. slavery, a refugee crisis, poverty, class disparities, racism, foreign occupation, the list goes on, and you are not given the option to look away or be a bystander. you have to ACT. you have to choose, you have to make judgements, you have to take responsibility and explore your role in this world as someone with the capacity to act upon it, to make your will a reality, to fail, to make mistakes. i honestly can't think of any other video game that does this to the same extent? nor any media at all because the act of being IN the world as one of it's people through the act of role-playing is essential to how it provokes this experience in the player. its ballsy. they deliberately try to make you uncomfortable. these games are full of liars, deceivers, betrayers. the games themselves lie to you. its character try to deceive you. did you catch it? or were you fooled? what else might you be fooled by? who else might be lying to you? in the game? in real life? and then you get to play it again knowing the end, and what the game prompts changes with your new knowledge. now it asks, do you forgive them? what makes someone worthy of forgiveness? where do you draw the line? what do you think?

i dont think i realized until recently how impactful this was for me considering how i first got into dragon age at 16 years old. i dont think i had experienced anything up to that point that would put a situation like judging a war criminal who ordered the deaths of children or another war criminal who just left me to die and orchestrated a near-coup or a traumatized terrorist who just blew up a church right in my face, and said MAKE A DECISION. and i didnt know it at the time, but looking back i can see how valuable it was for me at that age to have what was effectively an avenue of exploration and self-expression of all of these moral and political issues that i was grappling with as a young adult. i played inquisition for the first time just months before i voted in my first presidential primary. i already had a political consciousness at this point, but it was nonetheless new and vulnerable and still blossoming into something more concrete. inquisition, then, almost provided a sort of political, moral and personal sandbox for me from ages 16-20 to better help me understand myself in relation to the world. the RPG-ness allowed me to put myself into these situations - like the mage-templar war and its metaphor for mass incarceration and police brutality - while i was also simultaneously grappling with and trying to understand these issues in real life. having dragon age to help me further unpack my own beliefs and conception of these issues was undeniably impactful. it provided a space, through a narrative i enjoyed and cared about, to make choices and judgement calls and better understand who i was, and what felt right to me. it asked, "what do you think?"

veilguard lacks this. completely. and lets be clear that the previous games did not always do a perfect job. many of these depictions are messy and harmful and problematic, but they at least, by extension of their own existence in a narrative that forces you to THINK and JUDGE and DECIDE, give me the space and opportunity to judge them as messy, as problematic, as harmful. i can confidently say that i think da2 is too sympathetic to the templars as an organization because the fact that da2 presents me with so many narrative conflicts regarding the templar organization allows me to not just make in-game decisions and play as a staunch advocate for mage freedom and circle abolition, but to form opinions on the game itself by extension. i can confidently say that i believe the qunari's portrayal is islamophobic because the game has prompted me so many times; what do i think about the qunari? what do i think about the oppression of the elves? what do i think about dorian being a seemingly good person but defending the practice of slavery? who should rule orzammar; the progressive asshole or the conservative traditionalist? do i forgive loghain? do i forgive anders? do i forgive solas? this in-world critical thinking about issues in thedas leads to meta critical thinking. further questions naturally follow -> what message did the writers intend to send through anders? how can i notice the echoes of how this story came into fruition in the shadow of 9/11? what do solas's endings tell me about the writers view of retributive punishment? how is bioware's portrayal of the dalish, as inspired by indigenous north americans, reflective of deep-seated anti-indigenous canadian sentiment? why did the writers stop prompting these hard questions at all in veilguard? did they only like it when it was about characters, not when it led to critical thinking about them and the company as a whole? through these processes of in-world interrogation, i am inevitably invited to analyze the effectiveness of their narrative portrayals and the writing itself. perhaps this is why dragon age is so famous for its discourse lol.

ive said before that im not sure that veilguard could ever have been as impactful for me as the previous games, partly because when you are 16 everything is more impactful because your brain is an eager sponge, unless it did something that really resonated with me as an adult. but what it should have been, at the very least, is something that could have been as impactful and formative on a current 16 year old that sees a gif on tumblr and decides to check out the game, as inquisition was to me 10 years ago. and im sure there are teenagers and younger adults out there playing this game and loving it and loving the characters and the world and thinking its great, good fun. thats great. however it fundamentally cannot have the same profound, developmentally catalytic experience it had on me because it simply does not challenge the player. it does not prompt them to question their own beliefs and the power structures within their lives. it does not prompt them to reflect on the political narratives they may have been fed all their lives. it does not confront them with the sorts of topics that get books on banned lists in florida and force them to bear witness, to think deeper, to feel guilt or horror at the outcome of your own poorly-made decision, to make moral judgements, to make mistakes, and to live with the consequences.

i think i now understand why veilguard was so disappointing to me and ultimately would be a failure in my eyes no matter if i enjoyed the combat or the exploration or whatever other shiny coat of paint sits atop it. veilguard does not ask much of you. it does not prompt any sort of introspection or interrogation of your presently held beliefs. it does not demand anything from the player except to dodge at the right moment. this is a fundamental, core departure from what made me fall in love with dragon age in the first place. if you love dragon age because you want "fantasy escapism" and fun characters to smooch, then i am happy for you. but i would remind you that can find fantasy escapism all over the steam library - farming sims, cozy games, a witch looking for her cat in the alps, etc. what you cannot find are games that are willing and brave enough to challenge and provoke the player into a better, more thorough understanding of themselves in relation to our world and it's many, complex and daunting political and moral issues. to have lost such a thing, when media like this has become so few and far between, and during a time when we need it more than ever, is a devastating loss.

[thatsexcpisces]

My least favorite placements (personal opinion)

‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾. ‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾. ‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾. ‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃

• please remember that these are just my personal takes and observations mostly based on people I’ve met/know and if it doesn’t apply to you, it’s most likely aimed at the undeveloped versions of the placement! 💕

#1: Virgo moons

I’m sorry I have way too many people in my life with this placement (especially family members) and y’all just know how to get under people’s skin. Every virgo moon I’ve met seems to physically be unable to hold back their unwanted opinions and criticism. Y’all will serve the meanest comment on a silver platter when no one asked or wanted to hear that shit in the first place and then label it as “just being honest/trying to help” like nah you’re just straight up being annoying. So many virgo moons are also control freaks and want to project their routines and habits onto other people and enforce all their little rules onto them and expect everyone to accommodate them and their needs without considering other people’s needs. Also, this placement tends to be very insecure with themselves and their own inner critics so must of the time they also protect their insecurities onto other people cause they can’t fix them within themselves and that’s probably also why they dish out little snarky critiques to the people around them. They can also be way too pessimistic and “conservative” which gets on my nerves sm like you take these people somewhere on a night out and they complain about the music being “too loud” or people “talking too much and being annoying” like chill Karen. Stop trying to be a perfectionist babe, it’s okay to make mistakes

#2: Venus/sun/stellium in the 10H

Having this placement on its own in your natal chart is a blessing in a sense because you may receive a lot of good luck when it comes to your public reputation and people like you but personally, I feel like being around people with this placement isn’t as great. A lot of people I know with this placement tend to come off as superficial or “social climbers” who use others for career and reputation benefits. These are the types of friends that will ditch you if you’re not popular enough or if people are gossiping about you because they want to make themselves look good and will ignore you in public but then be your bestie in private cause they don’t wanna be seen with you. They also only seem to always talk about their image or what other people think about them. For example, I know people with this placement who would complain about their social media or followers every time we hung out. They would always complain about losing followers or why they can’t “have enough followers” and what to do to gain many. I had friends with this placement who would also ask for a lot but never give in return and put themselves on a high pedestal thinking they are constantly worthy of praise or deeds from others. On the downside, these people may put a false mask to the public. They can appear as kind and good-hearted when in reality they may not be that way and know how to manipulate in order to get what they want.

#3: Leo/Sag mercuries

I will say that these people are super fun and know how to tell the best stories and they are also very good at making people feel included in their life. However, on the flipside people with this placement seem to live in a world that is only made for them and only has space for them to be in. I’ve met so many ppl with Leo & sag mercuries and it always seems so hard for them to acknowledge the fact that other people have feelings too and what they say can hurt others. They just think of themselves as the main character most of the time which when they do it excessively, it becomes really annoying. I feel like people with this placement just don’t have the ability to be introspective and reflect on their actions and things they say to understand if maybe someone took it the wrong way or if they’re being too much. They also have little to no patience or tolerance when someone else is speaking and they find it impossible to let someone tell their full story without interrupting or sharing something about themself like it’s okay to let others have the spotlight for once (Im a Leo moon so I’m lowkey dragging myself a bit here). Also similar to virgo moons, they may make rude or “honest” comments because they are very direct and when someone expresses that it hurts them, they get super defensive and fail to see it from another person’s perspective. Also talking louder doesn’t mean you won the argument

#4: Gemini Venus

Please figure out what you want omdssss. Being in a relationship with these people is not for the weak let me tell you. I have an Aquarius Venus so in some aspects I get along well with Gemini Venus but in others it’s like I can never read their mind and they’re constantly changing it every 5 seconds. You would expect these people to be very good and open communicators since they’re associated w mercury but most of the time it just feels like they’re on a non-stop adventure with whatever their brain tells them to do and you just have to guess what they want and do it or they’ll get bored of you and ghost you. I know y’all need constant mental stimulation but I feel like most of the time the other person is offering that to you but you just want an excuse to get with someone else. CHEATERS. Especially the men with this placement. Options exist and y’all love that. Also in general and with friends these people can be very flakey they’ll make it feel like you’re their best friend one day then you barely know them the next.

#5: Moon square Mars or Pluto/moon in the 8H

These people know how to get what they want and can be incredibly manipulative. Be careful and try not to play their game cause once you do, it’s a never-ending mind fuck. Many people I know with this placement are the definition of “secret opps” or your “secret haters”. They most likely have a lot of unresolved baggage or problems so they look for any opportunity to hurt someone else and take it out on them (when the placement is unhealthy/undeveloped ofc). Also, this placement to me screams “evil/narcissist” mother. These people probably had a mother that was really controlling or emotionally toxic and they grew up repeating her habits and will continue to act just like her. My step sister has one of these placements and she would do whatever manipulative things her mother put in her head, to other people and report back to her like a dog. These people are usually completely blinded and owned by their mothers. They’ve most likely had life on hard mode and they resent anyone who’s had things going better for them and they find it hard to be happy and supportive of others. Everytime I see this placement in someone’s birth chart, I know not to share too many details with them or trust them that easily cause they know how to hide and are calculated with betraying you.

#6: Cancer Sun

Idk some of them just rub me the wrong way. It really depends on their other placements but usually cancer suns with air placements in their chart get on my nerves cause they can be so passive aggressive and when you meet them at first glance you get this vibe that they’re trying their best to be fake nice to you but they secretly have it out for you. These people are moody asf bonus points if they have a water rising and when you ask them what’s wrong they’ll just sulk in silence and have an attitude until you actively do something to give them attention or make things better. These people also hold a grudge for life and sometimes over the dumbest and smallest things. They’re the type of people to dedicate their whole life to hating you cause you accidentally bumped into them when walking past them. Also their victim mentality is so tiring, they constantly seek attention and validation over small things and have a hard time taking accountability for their actions and admitting they were wrong.

[bloomzone]

skincare mindset ?

So what if your skin has breakouts? So what if someone points it out? Your beauty, confidence, and power don’t disappear because of acne !Real beauty isn’t about perfectionit’s about being you .

You are strong enough to face the world, with or without clear skin. Keep showing up, keep taking care of yourself, and keep loving the person you are beyond the surface. Because u exactly as you are are already enough.

There will be days when your skin feels like a battle, when you avoid mirrors, when you wonder if people are staring. But listen your skin is not your enemy. It is healing, growing, and protecting you every single day. Instead of criticizing it, start appreciating it.

Every small act of care washing your face, applying moisturizer, choosing not to pick is a step forward. Even if progress feels slow, u are healing pooks

And to those who mock, judge, or act superior because they don’t have acne their words do not define you. Their validation is not needed. You don’t owe anyone “perfect” skin to be worthy of respect, love, or confidence.

Walk into every room knowing that you are enough, exactly as you are. Your skin is a part of you, but it does not define your beauty or your power.

also it's easy to feel discouraged when someone with flawless skin claims they only use water or some 1k dollars products but your skin has different needs and that’s okay and you are not forced to buy flipping shh that y'know damn it's just aesthetic . Instead of chasing quick fixes , build a routine that works for you.

Start with the basics and go to a parapharmacie and ask about what is right for u : a gentle cleanser to remove dirt and oil, a moisturizer to keep your skin hydrated, and sunscreen to protect it. acne ? add products that support healing, like niacinamide, salicylic acid, or a soothing toner there is no shame in googling ur needs and know the acids that ur skin need to feel calmer and healthier. But remember less is more. Overloading your skin with too many products won’t speed up results it might just make things worse.

The problem arises when tiktok viral skincare “cures” are presented as quick fixes, and many users expect instant results, leading to impatience. This unrealistic expectation can cause frustration when results aren’t immediate, and people begin to doubt their routine or skip essential steps . Worse, influencers might promote products that don’t align with their actual skin type or needs, leading to confusion among followers who are still figuring out their own skin.

Filters and editing apps only add to the distortion. Everyone looks flawless in the perfect lighting or when skin is digitally smoothed. This creates an unrealistic standard that makes those with natural skin feel less than. It’s hard to focus on what’s healthy when your feed is filled with “perfect” skin, and everyone seems to have found the one magic mask or whatever..

In reality, skincare is a long-term journey, and no product or trend will work for everyone. What works for someone else may irritate your skin or give no results at all. The constant influx of trends makes us forget that our skin isn’t a trend to be followed it’s a unique part of our body that deserves patience, self-care, and a personalized routine.

Be cautious of what you see online and take advice with a grain of salt. Don’t let any social media platform pressure you into thinking your skin isn’t good enough because it doesn’t match the “perfect” standards set by influencer Not because you don’t use high-end products like La Mer, glowrecipe, or drunk elephant means you’re failing at skincare. Your skin’s journey is your own and it’s okay if it doesn’t look like anyone else’s .

Don’t fall into the trap of quick fixes or comparisons. Instead, remember that every step you take in your skincare routine is a chance to show yourself love, to slow down and care for your body. u are worthy of care

with love @bloomzone

[maddie-grove]

What do you think are some legitimate things (trends, author problems, etc) to criticize about in romance novels?

So, romance novels can be offensive in all the ways that fiction in general can be offensive, but, if I had to pick one thing that's pervasive yet fairly specific to the genre, it's the rigidity of gender roles in m/f romance. The hero is more often than not physically bigger, older, richer, and (especially in historical romance) higher-class than the heroine, and, when he doesn't have the advantage in every category, the narrative frequently (a) makes him even more powerful in the areas where he does have the advantage (i.e., she may be more aristocratic but he's very, very rich and he's friends with aristocrats now and he's big and strong and blah blah blah) or (b) is super-self-conscious about the dude being less powerful in some ways (i.e., over-explaining why he's still worthy as a partner and/or isn't put off by the heroine being taller or older or richer). I think this is sometimes a trend that comes from the top (I remember Courtney Milan saying something about getting flak for not making a hero a duke back in the early 2010s, even though he was still a confident, good-looking gentleman with money) and sometimes one that comes from readers (there was a romance review blog that I lost patience with because the reviewer couldn't relate to tall heroines). Plus, when the heroine does have more power in some way, it's usually not by a lot; like, it would be totally unremarkable if the genders were reversed. I remember reading a romance novella anthology specifically about older women/younger men, and I think only one novella had an age gap of ten or more years. (In one novella he was literally a day younger.) Meanwhile, how many historical romance novels have a twenty-year-old heroine and a thirty-year-old hero and it's treated like nothing?

On the more meta side: I think it's generally bad when authors have to spend a lot of time doing self-promotion on social media. That means less time to actually write and sometimes more self-consciousness because the book is kind of being written for people the author knows online. That's not exclusive to romance, but it is a genre largely written and read by women, and I think that results in a lot of pressure to be Nice (which includes not giving a negative opinion about a book).

I'm not a fan of the move towards "rom-com" contemporary romance, but that's largely because that's not my thing inherently. However, I do feel like many authors simultaneously want the hijinks of a romantic comedy and a romance that would be Healthy in Real Life. Which isn't impossible, but it takes more finesse than they usually have.

[fritesandfries]

I remember when I first moved back to Minneapolis, the food scene was a bit sad with the options on Eat Street being the most "exotic." In the past 10 years, I've loved seeing all the new chefs and concepts come in. It's been great to live and eat here (see Le Burger, pictured above), and watching the area grow.

However, in the past 2-3 years, I've noticed a huge influx of new Instagram and TikTok influencers dedicated to Twin Cities food coverage. Food is subjective, so opinions are valuable. Take a closer look, and you'll notice a few things.

Everything is a "hidden gem"

Everything tastes great but no one directly talk about what was a miss or terrible. Instead, you'll see subtle workarounds in reviews and influencer posts. Beautiful dish, pretty cocktail...and notice the lack of food/drink descriptors.

Regurgitation of the same restaurants on social media that doesn't highlight anything new. Instead, they all look and feel the same.

No one is capitalizing on a specific angle, but instead, hoping to ride the rave and revenue that people used to make a decade ago. But part of it is the culture here and the circles are small. If you are not from Minnesota and have watched trash TV like Love Is Blind Minneapolis like I do, you may have sensed this. If you're from here, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Because the industry is small, critiques are hard for a lot of the restaurateurs and chefs here to take. Many people don't want to be critical or honest about their opinions for the fear and risk of being ostracized from their Instagram circle or whatever. Secondly, there's a vast network of food writers and chefs who are friends. It makes it difficult to be objective when social circles are small.

Take a look at this review from Rick Nelson of the Star Tribune. This is the most critical thing this man has said: [ ] Just kidding, he's never said anything critical. By comparison of a similar era, Sam Sifton of the NYTimes: "Cabbage said to have been steamed with garlic and chilies, then drizzled with lardo, tastes of cardboard and water, a school-lunch nightmare that is hard to shake." In Minnesota, if a writer wrote like that, they would probably get demoted to Obituaries. 12-years ago, another food writer called it out in the most, subtle Minnesota way: "How many three- and four-star restaurants can one metro area have? Well, we have thirty-six, yep, thirty-six. According to The New York Times, New York City has just thirty-four restaurants of that rank. Now, I am not saying we don’t have a bevy of quality restaurants, I just think the star system that is used in many cities has been bastardized. There are, in my opinion, a very small handful of four-star caliber restaurants in the Twin Cities, but not thirty-six."

Blind item: Which MN chef kicked a restaurant critic out of their restaurant because of their review?

It's the attitude like this that prevents growth here. I will probably not be welcome into that restaurant anymore after I post this. Again, the circles are small here.

Minnesotans have also taken issue with current Star Tribune critic Jon Cheng's writing, but I think his take and experience as a diner in multiple cities is a breath of fresh air. It lacks the kowtowing that was done in the past...and even in the present by some. I'm biased though, as a chef's [ex] wife, experiencing the NYC restaurant scene and now in the Twin Cities. But I understand why people have issues with it: the food scene here is evolving beyond adding more Buca di Beppo's and a 13520th concept from Travail. (Hey, there's nothing wrong with either of these things). "His work is so incredibly condescending to both local restaurants and local eaters!" they say. The question is ultimately, how big do you want your local food scene to grow? Michelin-worthy? Or just a big city with a handful of okay restaurants like Philadelphia?

Other hot takes (my opinions):

Some of the new restaurants are truly overrated even when the concept and intention is solid. Example: Minari and its dim sum carts. It's a bit strange and it could be executed better. The heart is lost and felt like it was built for Instagram moments. There are definitely stand-out gems.

"Hidden gems." I wish this phrase was written out of influencer vocabulary.

I LOVE seeing small businesses like Abang Yoli and Egg on a Roll thrive in getting the capital they need to grow.

What else am I missing? Would this really be considered a hot take anywhere else? If I was still writing this in New York, it would be another Monday. Except here, I might be uninvited from a new restaurant opening.

[etoilesbienne]

re: boundaries

I've made many posts previously on this subject already, so people are already aware of my stance regarding disliking the way "boundaries" as a concept are used by the mcyt fandom, however I want to have a brief meditation on why this is the case, and a look at common arguments about them.

however i do want to make clear that i don't mind boundaries as a concept, actual boundaries. as in "if you do x, i will respond with y" kinds of boundaries. I think cc are completely fair and understandable in this kind of perspective. if someone makes a kind of content they dislike, they're free to block that fan or express discomfort over it. That's normal.

my critical eye is turned toward the fandom's perception of "boundaries" as a sort of fandom ruleset, either you follow them with the in-group, or you're thrown in the out-group and labelled all sorts of insults, anywhere from a criminal offender to just having people be plain nasty toward you. this in my opinion, really feeds into the fandom habit of having "cliques" as fandoms are social networks that are voluntarily joined. i find it juvenile at best.

at worst, on the other hand, is the concept of mcyt having mixed in kpop stan culture around 2019 with smplive (great server. horrific fandom at the time it was run. all of the smplive fans still left are veterans worthy of respect for surviving that.), which caused a very explosive mixture.

kpop fandom has this outlook and parasociality toward idols because these idols are borderline unreachable. even in smaller groups, companies generally (not always.) discourage idols from talking one-on-one selectively with fans. there deserves to be a more thorough examination of kpop fandom with stan culture, that i believe i am not fully qualified for. my point is that kpop idols are a hell of a lot harder to reach for english fans, whether through language barrier or through professionality done by companies.

the explosive mixture is bringing this same mentality - the mentality that these people you look toward as the main source of the fandom as being untouchable, perfect people. it's dehumanizing in its own right, but aside from that, it creates a dangerous fandom situation. as best shown using smplive with CallMeCarson from before.

CMC is the origin point of boundaries within the MCYT fandom, having held a live in fall of 2019 talking about how a popular danganronpa themed wattpad smplive fanfiction was upsetting for him to read. CMC had an intense fanbase that could and would look up to him no matter what. of course the fanbase would go after and harass this author off of the internet and deleting their work (which remained lost media until this January of 2024. Almost half a decade.) after this situation, only months later it comes out that CMC had in fact been manipulating women aged 17 to early 20s, into sexual dms and sending him explicit photos of themselves for around a year. i am of the opinion CMC would have done this behavior regardless, however, the fact he had access to so many women who put him on a pedestal without considering he could exploit them was exacerbated by the stan culture mentality of mcyt's fandom at the time. this is not a criticism of the women, it is a criticism of the fandom culture of the time for failing to treat carson as a human being who had every capability to treat people like this.

no cc is exempt from that mentality by the fandom. carson knowingly used his position within the fandom to make the choice to do that to those girls. no cc should be exempt from the real possibility of the consideration that they can fuck up, not always in the way that they necessarily need to be cancelled or deplatformed, carson is an extreme example that is absolutely not representative of cc as a whole, but there needs to be a healthy level of doubt and separation between creators and fans.

to reiterate: cc are not your friends. cc do not need you to speak for them. you do not know these people personally. to present your defense of them and their personal opinions like you spoke to them directly and are close friends is dangerous, both for yourself, and for other fans in the community.

everything i have listed is why i always will be critical toward any fan group or clique that presents themselves as being pillars of the community, and why i am critical of any page or resource that tries to list "boundaries" as hard fast rules to be self policed by the fandom. not only is that punitive mentality, it's careless and poor understanding of how communities at large work.

i don't think a "boundaries" list is necessarily a bad idea in the long run either, if these lists were, like, compilations of streamers' twitch chat rules, that'd be cool! but generally these lists lack any nuance of why and where some boundaries may apply. like a ton of streamers hate ships being spammed in chat, but could give less of a fuck about people making ship fanart. or like wouldn't care as long as the ship art isn't put in their main tag.

as well as the general ignoring of regular boundaries, we all remember the horror show of people dono-ing to cc in 2020-22 asking for their boundaries right? like just so we're explicitly clear, walking up to someone and asking what someone's opinion of making adult content of them is very much sexual harassment. that's objectively something fans should not be asking to cc. if they want to say something, they can speak up on their own. they do not need your prompting. if you wouldn't ask it to your boss in an office, don't ask cc it. tangentially related is the ignoring of boundaries based on disliking fans harassing each other or other cc. those boundaries never get to be prioritized for a reason, as those behaviors feed into the stan culture mentality of pitting sources against each other in fan wars.

parasociality and stan culture turn mcyt fandom into a power vacuum where fans who like to self-police to a dangerous extent try to take charge. this makes the fandom worse.

[daughterofsisyphus]

I don’t post opinions on here often - or ever. But recently, the Rhaegar discourse on Twitter has, somehow, reignited, and I sincerely don’t understand how it doesn’t get tiring for you people - I am very much endeared to the character and even I can’t take it anymore. It’s the same five frases FOR YEARS - and I consider myself a late fan of ASOIAF, only reading the series in 2018. I don’t know how you don’t evolve, either culturally or just personally. How you don’t get fucking tired of discussing the same thing over and over again. We get it. You think he’s horrible.

That, by itself, has no big effect for me whatsoever. He is a small character, and an understandably flawed character at that. The thing that really infuriates me is that you seem to lack the smallest reading and critical abilities. And I am no expert, but I do believe it comes from being interested in absolutely nothing. You spend your days on social media consuming whatever it is that you see on TikTok or Twitter and don’t bother to know or, better than that, read, anything at all. I honestly don’t even think you’ve read the books you so desperately want to discuss.

It really is a little humiliating for me to write such a big text over something so small and trivial as this, but please, I beg of you: read more. And pay attention to it. It is not only good for your mind, but, as Nietzsche would argue, the act of thoroughly and close reading is a critique of modernity. Attending to the form and use of language is refusing to instrumentalize and commerce it. If you read even one classical tragedy, just one, you’d be able to interpret the events of the Rebellion much better. Either way, I want to go over some arguments that are always repeating themselves on these forums, and that drive me absolutely nuts.

First, the marriage to Elia. This is a delicate one, because her story is absolutely sad and tragic, and I know it can ignite some spirits. The thing I see the most is that people seem to not understand, or pass over purposefully, the fact that it was not, in any way, a marriage of love. Aerys spent years looking for a bride for Rhaegar, even in Essos, and no one was ever good enough. Not even Cersei, a beautiful rich girl, born a high lady and daughter of his best friend, could fill the role. And at this time his relationship with Tywin, though strained, was not completely broken. By the point Steffon died on the task to bring Rhaegar a wife, Aerys had descended much more into madness and reclusiveness, while Rhaegar grew and thrived, becoming a favorite of the realm.

It is stated in the text that Aerys was jealous, and it is stated in the text that he married Rhaegar to Elia because he, in his madness, saw dornish people as inferior and not worthy. It is textually proven that he did this to undermine Rhaegar’s claim and popularity. It is also a theme that is often repeated throughout the story - arranged and failed marriages. Robert and Cersei, Lysa and Jon, Sansa and Joffrey (though they were never past the point of engagement, it was clearly an arranged and unhappy relationship), Sansa and Tyrion, Dany and Drogo, Cat and Ned (though they grew to love each other).

And the clear incapacity to understand this pilar of the story is what I mean when I say you lack the ability to read, critique and interpret things. I go so far as to say you don’t know the difference between criticism and opinion. On top of that, you can’t seem to analyze fiction without measuring it by your own morality scale. This is literary analysis 101. It is textually expressed, through a thousand different ways, that marriage, in this fictional society, does not mean unconditional love or a voluntary relationship. It is an arrangement, a political act. It is stated, in the text, that this specific marriage was a form of punishment. Yet you insist on interpreting it in a romantic manner and on “analyzing” it through a contemporary lens.

And that reality makes the story even more tragic, not less so, because it was a punishment intended to Rhaegar that, inevitably, stuck Elia, an innocent, into a loveless marriage in a prejudiced place. And it goes to show that, even under those circumstances, Rhaegar wasn’t senseless. He took her to Dragonstone to be far from the cruelty of court and they very clearly respected each other, proven by the conversation Dany sees in the House of the Undying, by the lack of children after her almost death (that really was not to stop a cruel husband from getting what he wanted) and by the implied fact that Elia and the children very much trusted him, given she stayed on Dragonstone during the conflict after he put them there and Rhaenys hid under his bed during the Sack of Kingslanding. It is basic character building. It’s really not hard to read and interpret those things.

What I urge people to at least try to consider is that you cannot, by no means, use real modern social rules to judge a medieval fictional society. It’s just not going to work. Ever. It is very enraging and sad to see a husband cheat on his wife nowadays, because he chose to marry her, and that was, assumedly, under the premise of love and partnership. The same cannot be said for a medieval political marriage. Those people have no emotional attachment whatsoever, and though it can be built, like Cat and Ned did, it was not, and the text portrays it. You need to learn how to read. Here enters the difference between criticism and opinion I was talking about.

According to Terry Eagleton, you critique literature by analyzing a) its form (how it is written, and why it is written like that) and b) the context (when was it written, what does it represent in that space). What I mentioned above about their relationship it’s clear by the form of the text, and the context of the analysis here is represented by knowing how to separate fiction from reality, and understanding not to use your morality to judge the morality of the world you’re reading.

What I mean by mentioning that is to explain that your opinion on the situation does not need to meet your critique of it. You need to learn to analyze and criticize things and then form an opinion that can agree with your criticism - or not. Meaning: you can understand all of the facts presented here by me and still dislike Rhaegar. Understanding someone does not mean you agree with them.

Furthermore, the mere presence of sensitive themes like abuse or violence does not mean the normalization or romanticizing of it. And I see that people on the internet don’t understand that - take the ‘Lolita’ or the ‘Nosferatu’ discourse, for example. You are not condoning cheating by understanding that, in this context, the regular sense of the term doesn’t apply. You are not a cheater or less of a feminist because you like a fantasy couple that is extra-conjugally written. You do not condone abuse because you understand that Elia’s death has as little to do with Rhaegar as it has to do with her mother for allowing them to marry, for example. The world is built on a thousand little acts that amount to big things, but those acts, by themselves, don’t mean much. Yes, Rhaegar was hasty and thoughtless, but he did not keep her unprotected. This is not the point I want to make here, however - I can write about it later, if it interests anyone.

Another quick point I would like to make is that of the age gap in the relationship between him and Lyanna. I do get the problem here, but again, here enters the not knowing how to analyze a text. It is a GRRM problem, not so much a character trait that is written to portray Rhaegar as a bad guy. I say that because the whole ASOIAF universe is full of weird age gaps that are, unfortunately, romanticized: Jon and Ygritte, Dany and Drogo, Barristan and Ashara… on this point, I agree with the criticism, it is absolutely appalling. But it’s important to know that, textually, Rhaegar continues being written as your regular hero.

The age gap was not written to signify his immorality, rather it is a (sad) characteristic of GRRM’s writing. I even get the sense that those age gaps are a little fetishized, but it’s not my place to judge. Again, I urge everyone to learn how to closely read and understand a text, and to know when something is written as a building of character and when it is simply a writing style. I repeat that you do not have to like it: I don’t, and I am by no means a Rhaegar hater. But it is necessary to understand the language of the text.

In short: get out of online discourse. Read a book on literary analysis. Read a book on how to interpret poetic language. Understand world and character building. Learn to differentiate between the meaning of the text and your opinion on it. Don’t be anachronistic. Don’t insert real, modern social rules in fantasy, medieval worlds. Don’t analyze stories based on your own sense of morality. All of that doesn’t mean you have to suddenly like all of the sensitive themes included in them, but you cannot change the meaning of a text based on your personal beliefs.

[momentomori24]

I swear to God, Twitter being able to accumulate so many brain-dead, malicious, pseudo intellectual low lives all in one place at the same time is a phenomenon worthy of being studied under a microscope in a science lab. And no, that is not a compliment.

Thankfully people have already spoken out against this bullshit-- the fact that people needed to is already maddening to think about-- but as someone who got the basic gist of what happened literally yesterday I'll also put my voice out there: Don't you fucking dare try to paint Hbomb as a murderer over this situation.

Somerton may be a lying, misogynistic plagiarist and conman, but he obviously doesn't deserve to die and while I do make fun of the guy, I genuinely hope that he continues to have a life after the dust has settled on everything. Not on YouTube or any social media platform for a long time at least, but just a life nontheless. I don't wish what he's potentially going through on anyone, and I hope that he makes it through this. But regardless of if he does or doesn't-- and God forbid he doesn't-- none of this is Hbomb's fault. It's not his fault, or Kat's fault, or Jessie's fault (because apparently there's people blaming her too cuz WHY NOT), or anybody's fault. All they did was call out his actions, hold him accountable for the harm he's done. They have done nothing to deserve having to carry this on their shoulders should the worst happen. They did nothing wrong. They didn't kill James (he's not confirmed dead yet either btw). They are not murderers. And to the people saying they are: say those words out loud, listen how they sound like, and re-evaluate. Just cease.

And to people like this:

''Oh I'm not blaming him for anything I'm just blaming him for what his audience did because according to HIM you're responsible for your audience'' Yeah, you people can shut your mouths too. Of course you're responsible for your audience, and that includes Hbomb too. However, your tiny, godless little monkey brain can't see why your argument is still rubbish even with that in mind. The difference between James, Internet Historian and Hbomb is that Hbomb never promoted problematic behaviour to his audience. If you promote problematic shit like harassment or misogyny or racism, then yeah, you're absolutely responsible for how your behaviour influences your audience. But that's not what he did. He made it very clear where he stood on those things, literally stating that ''if anyone were to harass Somerton on his behalf they are worse than him and will not see the light of heaven''. He's done his part in making it clear that harassment is wrong, so if someone went out of their way to go against that and harass James anyway that doesn't reflecf on him at all. Also, what the hell do you mean ''hatemobbed'' to suicide? I don't doubt there are people who went to extremes because those bad apples always exist, but most of the things I've seen are valid critisisms, memes and call outs about that guy. If holding people accountable for their actions and poking fun at them a little counts as 'hatemobbing'' (which has Filip calling his critics a ''lynch mob'' energy tbh) what the hell do you call actual hatemobbing then? Do we just let people continue being shitty because calling them out ''damages their mental health'' or ''drives them to suicide'' then? Is that a world you want to live in?

Same thing goes for people like this:

Criticing someone for their objectively bullshit content and wanting them dead are two seperate things. What the actual hell is wrong with you. The plagiarist in question is a person. Those ''harshest critics'' are still people. And because we're people, we care. I'd rather James pump out more plagiarised slop than commit suicide. I'd still hate him for it, but I'd prefer him being alive over the alternative any day. We all do. None of us would sleep easier knowing he's dead just because he wouldn't be ''committing the cardinal sin of putting out a 'pure content mill' video'' because someone taking their own life is horrific-- especially Hbomberguy, how dare you even try to imply that?

And this gets me to the reason I'm furiously typing all this out in the first place: Hbomb is the fucking victim here, so stop treating him like he isn't. He tried making things as right as possible by compensating those that were burned by James through a video where he revealed everything there needs to be known about the guy so that less people fall victim to his actions and lies. To just ignore the harm James was causing while he had the evidence to prove it and platform too big to threaten into non existence should he speak out would've been bad. So he didn't. He did the right thing by sticking with the people James had stolen from, giving them a voice and making them known after they've been scrubbed from the picture by decidedly being uncredited for their works or bullied into silence. He shouldn't have to deal with this for doing the right thing. He shouldn't be labelled a murderer for doing the right thing. He shouldn't have to have the death of a man on his conscience for doing the right thing. People claiming otherwise are obviously wrong, but I can't imagine what all this must feel like right now. Because even tho they're wrong, guilt isn't a rational thing, and I know that if I were in his position I'd still feel like a morally bankrupt individual were the worst to happen even if I knew that it was not my fault. This isn't a funny story. So to add to this dumpsterfire by using it as a prop to bash on a creator you don't like and immediately write Somerton off as dead even when he's not even been confirmed dead yet to do that shows how little these people actually care about the thing they're talking about. They don't care a guy potentially killed himself-- what they care about is using it to paint Hbomb in a bad light because they don't like him. Here they are, posting memes and ill jokes about this very delicate situation while barely a day since the news broke out had passed. It's opportunistic, it's sickening, and literally the exact thing he criticised in his video when talking about 'content mills'. Like, I know none of these clowns bothered to actually watch it, but have some self-awareness. And some shame too, while you're at it.

This long story short: I'm writing this to contribute to the narrative not getting twisted to make Hbomb out to be the villian. Same goes for everyone else. Don't let these people paint them as the villians. If I see another person pull this shit again I will literally bite you and shred you into salad and spit you back out because I hate you so much and I mean that wholeheartedly.

To Hbomb: you will never see this but if you do, take care of yourself.

To the asshats this post is about: Delete your account. Cease all together. Stop talking about this. Just leave him the fuck alone.

[cinnamoncilla]

Songs on my Love looks pretty on you Deluxe album are about in my Fame Dr

♡₊˚ 🦢・₊✧⋆⭒˚｡⋆♡₊˚ 🦢・₊✧⋆⭒˚｡⋆♡₊˚ 🦢・₊✧⋆⭒˚｡⋆♡₊˚

will be long post

1:35 ───ㅇ───── 3:47

⇄ ◃◃ ⅠⅠ ▹▹ ↻. ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ : ▮▮▮▮▮▮▯▯▯

Tracklist:20

1. -Someone like you(interlude) ->This song is about express a sense of longing and unrequited love waiting for someone that gets you and then how you finally found them (my man Chris heheh)

2. -Bed Chem -> How we met and we have good 'Bed Chem' if ykw what i mean (im sorry)

3. -lover -> this song touches on themes of trust, loyalty, and commitment, and celebrates the joy and contentment that a strong and steady relationship. It reflections on your feelings towards a significant other or partner, and the love and happiness that you share with them.

4. -All the girls you loved before -> This song touches on themes of feeling grateful for the girls/boys your partner has been in a relationship with and making them the person you're in love with.

5. -False God -> This song speaks to the trials and tribulations of a tumultuous relationship, highlighting the resilience and strength that comes from overcoming obstacles together. The lyrics touch on the idea of a couple facing difficult challenges, such as the disapproval of others, but staying committed to each other anyway. The relationship it is built on a foundation of devotion and mutual worthiness.

6. -love looks pretty on you-> This song touches on being a hopeless romantic and how being with your partner in this relationship, love transformed them into better people.

7. -The Boy is mine -> This song touches on how being in a relationship with this person is problematic but you don’t care because you’re in love.

8. -But daddy I love him-> This song is about the media (fans) hating on your relationship but you and your partner not caring. Along with wishing that people would leave you alone instead of criticizing your relationship and how all the judgers are just white noise you cannot hear. (i had to end it right here cuz if i kept going to analyze the song for you it would’ve been a whole essay) The song itself is so self explanatory so it’s really easy to connect the dots.

9. -Birds of a feather ->This song touches on deep unwavering love and devotion to your partner. The relationship being so profound you cannot imagine a life without them also feeling like you are destined to be together!

10. -Slut! -> This song touches on knowing going into this relationship will be criticized but you accept the the negative parts of it for your partner and somewhat embracing it. Also goes through how women who get into relationships with high profiles men with fan girls will tear them down and the man gets no hate at all E.g “I’ll pay the price you won’t”

11. -Waste -> Self explanatory wanting to waste all your love to your partner

12. -Juno -> Now… ykw…uhhh… devils tango

13. -love song-> about two people who are deeply in love and feel safe and comfortable enough to be themselves without holding back

14. -pov -> wanting to be viewed through the lenses of your partners eyes and understanding why your partner loves you so much despite your flaws

15. -TV in black and white -> wanting your partner to think of you while away and how they transformed your life from black and white into color!

We are finally done with Love looks Pretty on You!! Now onto the deluxe

1.- my hair-> this song is more than just letting your partner touch your hair but allowing yourself to be vulnerable and how you feel confutable doing that in front of your partner

2.-R.E.M-> Falling so in love with someone it feels like a dream and not wanting to wake up from it

3.-just like magic-> The use of Loa to help you're achievements throughout your career and being grateful for it

4.-imagine-> about a perfect world with your partner and just enjoying the simple times together without any outer distractions

5.-soulmate(it’s the song pete davidson) -> the feeling of finding your soulmate⠀

took like two hours jesus

IF YOU WANNA LISTEN!!!

♡₊˚ 🦢・｡⋆ ✧Love looks pretty on you Deluxe 🦢✧⋆⭒˚｡

Outtakes-credits to @premiumbitch for helping me with the album cover YOURE THE BEST . All the songs on the album are about my mans hehe it's actually a love album dedicated to him

bye🧍‍♀️

[gffa]

I made the mistake, after episode 7 of the acolyte, to look through the tags (I’ve given up on Reddit for sw discourse lol) and there are so many bad takes out there. It’s like people watched a different episode. I’m glad there are some good meta takes from people like you, or I’d be lost! I think nuance is dead in fandom and people just can’t see things as more than “Jedi Bad!” When there’s so much more nuance than that. Were the Jedi perfect? No! Of course not. That would be so boring. If all Jedi were always perfect, SW would be dull. It’s because they aren’t perfect that they are so compelling. That they try to do the right thing, even if it doesn’t always work out.

A quote that came to mind by Teddy Roosevelt: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Anyways, thanks for your continued good meta and cultivating a nice pro-Jedi space!

Hi! I hear you, it can be tough going into the tags sometimes (and I've given up on both Reddit and Twitter for any kind of discussion, I just do not have the time/energy for that when sometimes I still have to fight for my life on Tumblr) but I will say that the best remedy I have for that is to start posting the content you want to see! It's so satisfying to write down your thoughts just to have fun in your own space, I don't need other people nearly so much because I'm having a great time just making myself laugh or cry over my faves or nerding out over worldbuilding. It's a bonus that I've collected a bunch of really great people around me, both ones I vibe with and ones who are chill when our vibes don't match and we disagree on stuff. I've been having an absolute joy of a time after episode 7 of The Acolyte because I've seen some great posts, I've had some hilarious conversations, etc. And part of that is just. Letting go of a lot of fandom. I'm a lot more relaxed about the Star Wars media I consume because it's not Lucas' Star Wars, I can take or leave it as I will and, most importantly, I don't need the Jedi to be perfect to be good. So much of my need for the Jedi to be perfect once upon a time came from that any little mistake they made, ones that were completely reasonable, ones that were simply just "didn't solve everyone's problems instantly", ones that were present in other characters who were allowed to just be instead of being raked over the coals for it, and how fandom would use those as a bludgeon against the Jedi. And that wasn't fun! So, instead, yeah, the Jedi are flawed, because any character ever is allowed to be flawed. The most cinnamon roll character ever is flawed and that's okay. Luke Skywalker is flawed. Padme Amidala is flawed. Bail Organa is flawed. Yoda is flawed. Obi-Wan Kenobi is flawed. Mace Windu is flawed. Ahsoka Tano is flawed. Leia Organa is flawed. Han Solo is flawed. Lando Calrissian is flawed. Ezra Bridger is flawed. Kanan Jarrus is flawed. Hera Syndulla is flawed. And on and on and on. If those characters can have flaws and be seen as good, well, then that's how I'm going to proceed with my Jedi faves, too. Oh, Mace wasn't bending over backwards to smile and be soft when he was having the worst day ever? That's what you're bringing me to show that he was bad actually? Babe, please, Luke started out as whiny and annoying and he's amazing, so Mace is amazing, too. The Jedi were in a no-win situation, not fighting would mean people would die, fighting meant compromising themselves, they had to make a choice, there was no third way out, there was no secret magical answer in Star Wars, so they did what they could to the best of their ability. And it's not on them to fix everything in the galaxy, they're peace-keepers who were drafted into a war, they're not the whole of the government, they're not there to be social service agents, that's not who they are or what they're equipped for. And yet they still tried to help whenever they could. Everyone fucks up sometimes and that's okay, it doesn't suddenly mean they're the real villain all along, because otherwise they would have to be literally be perfect to be "good" and that's just bad writing imo. Ultimately, just take a break from scrolling through the tags if you can and join me in writing your own stuff, it's hard at first to get the words to come out the way you want them to, but with some time and energy put into it, I've found it to be so much more rewarding. <3

[3416]

okay none of this is coherent bc i'm on the verge of sleep at 9pm rn but that right hand man as dog post literally has my gears turning bc that's mitch fucking marner bro. that's mitch and there are so many levels to it. mitch who has made his whole career being the assist guy... takes pride in the fact that he can help the team even if that results in his point accumulation seeming lesser bc they're not goals. taking advantage of the skills and iq he possesses to try to make the people around him better and literally set them up for success...always the first one there to congratulate them on it too.... literally naming his whole foundation the marner assist foundation bc he embraces that role on a team with a generational goal scorer who's made it clear he wants to play with MITCH and appreciates mitch's talent and communication. like. actually his right winger... his right hand man. okay and even happy with being the second best, as he's been for large portions of his life w an older bro who's good at everything right on into a stacked draft class.

and mitch personality wise gets the dog description sometimes too. loyal, happy go lucky, wants to be around his guys all the time, and it's where he's the happiest and thrives the most. he's energetic, he's buzzin, he's willing to entertain, he's the life and love in that room in so many ways that are loud.... that bark but don't necessarily bite (THOUGH THEY CAN BITE. criticism can be doled out and taken as long as it's from the right places with him) but like. especially when he was younger too, he was literally the team emotional support puppy who loved cuddles and attention and with age comes protection from the outside a little bit..,. dialing back what he's willing to show or admit to people on the outside but it's still there and what keeps the camaraderie alive despite an ever rotating roster. and i kNOW. i know. so much dog imagery and symbolism has to do with being protective and fierce, and in hockey for mitch that doesn't necessarily translate on the ice the same way bc he's not big and rough and physically forward the way some people wish he was, but he probably would take a bullet for most of those guys. and in ways, he has taken on the shield or become the punching bag... he was with babcock, he's taken on the scapegoat with media so a lot of critique is thrown squarely at him for group failure. he's the martyr even if that's not exactly what he signed up for.

he's grown more guarded but he's LITERALLY. literally. a dog. a dawg. auston's dawg.... their dawg. the epitome of lots of good things about hockey culture (and i'm sure some bad too), but he embodies so much of the loyalty.. the side kick.. the best friend energy in some ways.... it makes me emo. and....... and to think of him with his own dog trying to recreate unbridled joy from his childhood (cut to those pics of him as a kid w his chocolate lab vs him now w zeus).... like he's desperate for love and recognition of his loyalty and companionship. he's gotten used to being second fiddle, not necessarily in any resentful way but like. these past few weeks he's kind of gotten to step up and be the guy™. he's the heartbeat...... the dog's not usually meant to be the main character but maybe he is worthy of it.

[champagneshoey]

can i say something?

i think daniel is afraid to go back to racing. any type of racing.

and that’s silly, of course it is, but can you blame him? when you really have been vulnerable—both in a sense where you have offered up a portion of yourself authentically to be scrutinized, criticized, sacrificed, slaughtered, and also in a way where the media and the public at-large have done nothing but put you down and shamed you, blamed you—it makes perfect sense why you wouldn’t have any desire to get back in a car.

the mental strength it takes to ignore critics—especially this sheer number of them—is immense. at some awful final point, is it worth it? is it worth the agony to continue to try and tell yourself that ‘just because someone says something or holds an opinion of you, doesn’t make it true?’

because…what if it is? what if it is true? what if i move to another racing series and simply because i don’t perform exceptionally immediately, it validates everything negative anyone has ever said about me? what if they’re right and my belief in myself only serves to make me look like a fool? is it worth it? risk-taking is in my nature, but am i willing to risk myself again and again and again and again and never get anything in return? never be rewarded with anything beyond more public disappointment? what if i never amount to anything worthy of public approval? what if they keep moving the goalpost and i waste the rest of my life in an impossible game of chase?

was it all worth it?

and the answer is yes, when you really step away and look at it from afar, from behind your guarded heart. it was worth it, of course it was all worth it. but aren’t you tired of being nice? aren’t you tired of being hurt? at what point do you draw the line between what is bearable and what will kill you?

being afraid of public opinion is irrational and unproductive. just because someone says something, it doesn’t make it true. it doesn’t negate or undo any of the work you’ve done or the effort you put in. but when does intellectualizing your emotions and denying your hurt become too much? is that worth it?

he wants to find joy in the sport that he loves, that’s why he does it. that’s why any of us should do anything—because we love to do it, because we love the act of creation, of performance, we love the experience of winning, we love the pursuit of mastery. but how can he possibly be expected to find joy and love in something that has done nothing but prove to hurt him countless times over.

he offered his heart to us on a gold platter. how many more people can he let take a bite from it before it’s gone?

[crimsonxcloverr]

there’s so many talented people in this fandom, dale would think highly of us. i know, i yap about it all the time, but it’s so fucking true. even if you don’t draw or write, dale would think you’re hot shit for loving him in the first place. we’re all so cool. i love it.

ANYWAYS! also pls ignore mistakes, this was a random post LMAO

writers- dale would definitely buy you journals and pens from the family owned store nearby. he’d be very supportive and tell you how he thinks you should get your work published, throwing a little fit if you tell him they aren’t worthy enough for publication. he’d force you to sit on the mattress and push yourself to write whatever it is you desire while he worked on his dolls. i feel like once in a blue moon he’d allow you to write at his work table. he would definitely come cuddle with you and lay next you while you worked, help you figure out what to write next if you end up with writers block! he’d give you so much love and support, rub your shoulders and such while you take a break. you want a snack or drink while taking a break? both? dale has it covered. he also keeps all your finished work tucked away safely on the massive media shelf against the basement steps. you know exactly what shelf i’m talking about. and don’t get me started on the nsfw stories or writing about him in general! WHEW! his ears will turn red and he’d blush, which is comically noticeable due to his pale skin. but then he’ll either have you read it out loud while he fucks you or while he jerks off. regardless of the style of writing, he would be so, so, so excited about sharing your work with the world. he’d even encourage ruth to read them as well, who would also enjoy your writing btw, minus the nsfw stuff. i think dale would be so inspired by your work, he may even dabble in writing himself. even if it’s just diary entries or stories about The Man Downstairs.

artists (fanart included, AU) - man, oh man! dale would be gawking over your shoulder impatiently waiting for your art to be finished. he would definitely have a collage of your art all around the basement. he’d even beg ruth to frame some of your art for upstairs (digital, he’d print your art out). of course, he’d be so supportive, probably adding his own little touches himself and smiling for your approval. this man would definitely pick you up some paints and brushes/markers and pens from the hardware store. he’d also deliver you drinks and snacks if needed. and if you’re busting your ass too much or being to critical, he’d tell you to take a break, rub your shoulders and tell you to come back to it. but don’t you dare touch his paints or paint brushes! not even his pencils or pens he uses for his codes! those are his and he’d definitely make that quite clear. for digital fanart, he’d probably be so confused on how the hell any of it works. he would sit and watch, definitely asking you a million questions on how the technology works cause he’s ✨an old fart✨. you’d help him make his own fanart of him and Satan at some point, which he begged for over and over. or being the perv he is, he’d probably make you draw something hot. you rubbing his cock or something. but if your device ever decided to take a shit, he’d do all he could to help you figure it out. he’d probably nag ruth for her disability check to pay for a new device. goddamn it dale. even if it was something minor like an ipad charger, pen too, he’s got it covered!

supporters in general- you just loving on him is enough. he’d admire you regardless, artist or not. the way you spend time with him and give him the love he deserves makes him feel so, so good. he’s YOUR number one fan! he’d definitely peek over at you while working on his dolls just to steal glances and take in all your beauty. he would treat YOU like a work of art, making you model naked for him while taking polaroids of you. not just to jerk off to, but he finds you immensely ethereal. his slender fingers would trail down your body as if you were a marble statue of a greek goddess. he would cup your face and just stare at you, admiring your beauty and wondering why you’d want someone like him? he’s so flattered, he could burst. although… sometimes he gets him hard when he randomly thinks about you. he’d mind his own business, working on a doll, then need to adjust himself cause he thought about your tits or pussy/ass the night before. also, don’t ever be mean to yourself in front of him. he’s scary. not in a “i’m gonna hurt you” type of way, but an authoritative “don’t say that again” way. he’d look at you from under his eyebrows, telling you not to say anything mean about yourself again. he’d make you feel better by playing guitar or singing a song in his karaoke machine. IM CERTAIN HE HAS ONE BTW! or you guys would take turns getting each other dolled up, squeeze each other into corsets, and having a little concert downstairs while blasting T.Rex. or if you were having some sort of mental health episode, he’d run you a bath and bathe you. he’d even lotion you up and help you get dressed, brush your teeth too. he’d suffer the atrocious sounds of meditation music so you could relax, unwind while he loved on you. and if you needed space? he’d give you just that, but would definitely keep an eye on you to make sure you’re safe. he’d eat meals with you if you asked him to. you probably wouldn’t even need to ask him. he’d just bring the food down and eat, telling you how much he loves you and appreciates you.

overall, i think dale would be flattered with all the love and support we’ve given him. giving us the support he’s never gotten <3

[masochist-marmot]

In defence of "problematic" ships

CW: references to abusive relationships

There seems to be a growing mindset in fandom spaces that a ship is not valid if it's somehow problematic. Interestingly, the criticism towards a ship is rarely formed as "I don't like it"/"it makes me uncomfortable". Instead, they often attack the shipper with a "you must enjoy being abused and will end up being killed by your partner" or whatever.

Can we not?

First of all, and I'm so sorry to break it to you, but these characters are not real people. They have been constructed to serve a narrative. And seeing an interesting dynamic on the screen/page/whatever and thinking it's worth exploring does not mean you want to be inserted into that situation, nor does it mean that you endorse it in real life. It makes me wonder if these people even understand what fiction is for. I've had my share of toxic relationships, and I'd rather not get into another one. So it's a good thing that I can explore these dynamics safely without putting myself in danger.

And before you bring up the danger of romanticising abuse, I get it. There's plenty of media out there that depicts abuse and toxicity as somehow desirable qualities, and I understand that media can reflect and influence the audience's worldview. This is where you pause for a second, put on your media literacy goggles, and try to see what's actually being said. Depiction does not equal endorsement. Also, shippers are usually just existing in their own spaces and not affecting the wider public in any way.

Secondly, I see a lot of variations of "these characters are not in love because they are not good to each other". Hello? Are we seriously going to claim that romantic feelings only exist in their most pure, uncomplicated, healthy form? Interestingly enough, these sentiments are usually applied to queer ships. When Honkai: Star Rail dropped an animated short containing a prolonged and incredibly sapphic dance scene that ended in Black Swan being mentally (though unintentionally?) violated by Acheron, I saw so many comments along the lines of "I thought it was pretty gay until the mental flaying happened". I mean, it's still pretty gay. Just because you don't think it's healthy, doesn't mean it stops being queer. Are we just that afraid of showing problematic queer representation? We are people, and our relationships will be messy, and I think it's okay to show that. Though once again, I'm aware that for a long time it was all that could be shown, and that wasn't great either. I just feel like the pendulum has swung a bit too much towards the other end.

I've also seen a lot of comments to the effect of "he said he hated him so your ship is invalid". I will excuse these comments if you're on the autism spectrum and have difficulty reading past the literal meaning of words, otherwise, let's dig up those media literacy goggles again. In the next paragraph I'm going to vehemently defend my beloved akeshu, so massive spoilers for Persona 5 Royal.

In his confidant rank 8, Akechi says to the protagonist, in no uncertain terms: "I hate you." And the next time you see him alone, he shoots you in the head (it's complicated, okay?). So you could take this and run with it and go bash akeshu shippers over the head with it. Or you could try to analyse his actions and motivations over the course of the entire game and come to the conclusion that his hatred is a shorthand for a bundle of complicated emotions. Morgana even picks up on it after you fight him later in the game: "You don't really hate Joker, do you?" What Akechi actually feels is admiration and jealousy, since he feels that the protagonist has been handed everything he himself had to work so hard for. It's companionship for his first ever friend and respect for a worthy rival who will rise up to all of his challenges. It's regret that he couldn't have met Joker earlier in life when his master plan wasn't already in motion and his only driving force in life. All of this bundles up in something the emotionally stunted teenager can't and probably doesn't want to unpack, and he settles on what's both very simple and familiar to him: hatred. Which he probably latches onto so that he's capable of putting a bullet in the head of the only friend he's ever had. I could (and honestly, probably will) rant about Akechi on other occasions, but I'll leave it here for now. The point is: If the best you can muster for invalidating a ship is this, I honestly don't feel like I have to listen to your opinion.

Just to be clear, I don't think you need to go find the justifications for your ships in the actual text. In this rant I've mostly brought up ships that stem from how the characters interact in canon. (Though oddly enough, queer ships tend to be subjected to this kind of scrutiny way more than straight ones.) But sometimes it's fun to explore the most unlikely relationship dynamics by shipping characters who barely even interact. They're not what I find personally interesting, but go off. You will never find me gatekeeping ships. Even if it's Hisoka/Gon, in which case you're free to do your thing but I hope I'll never see it.

TLDR; I'm sick of people attacking each other over problematic ships. The characters aren't real, you can't hurt their feelings. But I am, as hard as that may be to grasp sometimes.

[jointhefediverse]

💫 Join the Fediverse! 💫

Greetings, fellow bloggers! We welcome you to join us in discovering, honoring, and promoting the potential future of social networking—commonly referred to as the "Fediverse."

The Fediverse, or Federation Universe, refers to a collective of online platforms that utilize the web protocol known as ActivityPub, which has set a standard of excellence in regards to both protecting and respecting users' online privacies.

There's a good chance in the past few years that you've caught wind of the fedi family's critically acclaimed Mastodon; however, there are many other unique platforms worth your consideration...

✨ Where To Begin?

Conveniently enough, from the minds of brilliant independent developers, there already likely exists a Fediverse equivalent to your favorite socials. Whether it's an opinion from the critics, or from the community alike—the following popular websites are commonly associated with one another:

Friendica 🐰 = Facebook Mastodon 🐘 = Twitter Pixelfed 🐼 = Instagram PeerTube 🐙 = YouTube Lemmy 🐭 = Reddit

It's worth mentioning, too, a few other sites and forks thereof that are worthy counterparts, which be: Pleroma 🦊 & Misskey 🐱, microblogs also similar to Twitter/Mastodon. Funkwhale 🐋 is a self-hosting audio streamer, which pays homage to the once-popular GrooveShark. For power users, Hubzilla 🐨 makes a great choice (alongside Friendica) when choosing macroblogging alternatives.

✨ To Be Clear...

To address the technicalities: aside from the "definitive" Fediverse clients, we will also be incorporating any platforms that utilize ActivityPub-adjacent protocols as well. These include, but are not limited to: diaspora*; AT Protocol (Bluesky 🦋); Nostr; OStatus; Matrix; Zot; etc. We will NOT be incorporating any decentralized sites that are either questionably or proven to be unethical. (AKA: Gab has been exiled.)

✨ Why Your Privacy Matters

You may ask yourself, as we once did, "Why does protecting my online privacy truly matter?" While it may seem innocent enough on the surface, would it change your mind that it's been officially shared by former corporate media employees that data is more valuable than money to these companies? Outside of the ethical concerns surrounding these concepts, there are many other reasons why protecting your data is critical, be it: security breaches which jeopardize your financial info and risk identity theft; continuing to feed algorithms which use psychological manipulation in attempts to sell you products; the risk of spyware hacking your webcams and microphones when you least expect it; amongst countless other possibilities that can and do happen to individuals on a constant basis. We wish it could all just be written off as a conspiracy... but, with a little research, you'll swiftly realize the validity of these claims are not to be ignored any longer. The solution? Taking the decentralized route.

✨ Our Mission For This Blog

Our mission for establishing this blog includes 3 core elements:

To serve as a hub which anybody can access in order to assist themselves in either: becoming a part of the Fediverse, gaining the resources/knowledge to convince others to do the very same, and providing updates on anything Fedi-related.

We are determined to do anything within our power to prevent what the future of the Internet could become if active social users continue tossing away their data, all while technologies are advancing at faster rates with each passing year. Basically we'd prefer not to live in a cyber-Dystopia at all costs.

Tumblr (Automattic) has expressed interest in switching their servers over to ActivityPub after Musk's acquisition of then-Twitter, and are officially in the transitional process of making this happen for all of us. We're hoping our collective efforts may at some point be recognized by @staff, which in turn will encourage their efforts and stand by their decision.

With that being stated, we hope you decide to follow us here, and decide to make the shift—as it is merely the beginning. We encourage you to send us any questions you may have, any personal suggestions, or corrections on any misinformation you may come across.

From the Tender Hearts of, ✨💞 @disease & @faggotfungus 💞✨