#Acknowledge it; Face it; Deal with it

[marengogo]

The Thing Is: - 3 : The Ni99a In The Room.

HARD PLACE - by H.E.R.  [I Used To Know Her]

[Music is a very big part of my life and I’m MOSTLY INCAPABLE of writing without music, so I just thought I'd share what I am listening to while writing this]

–🐺–🐺–🐺–

Time to give elephants a break, so let’s talk about the ni99as in the room instead. So here I am offering my two cents, as one of your resident black people, cause I heard it’s about to be some tough years ahead, economically, so every cent will have to count I was not gonna say anything as I feel like this chapter 2 is surrounded by crazies, but the crazies done did it, so I needed to get this out of my chest. Oh and this sentence right here will be the only one where I will use the word nigga, as you’ve seen, I’m writing ni99a, in the same way in which I’d be writing fa99ot instead of faggot, which in a way is kinda related to what happened as Tae didn’t say the word, but regardless we all saw it being mouthed right? And, In case you just so happen to not know what went down, during his WEVERSE live, two days ago 28 August 2023, Tae was vibing to a song, during which, he didn’t say, but did mouth the word ni99a.   

As ALWAYS solos, in this case Tae’s, and diet ARMY began to deny everything, to the point in which they were downright gaslighting people, when it is all out there to see. And as always every non-black person, and their mamas, begin to yap, yap, and yap; but not listen to those who are directly affected by the usage of this particular word; us. Black people. And let me tell you, there’s been all ranges of reactions and opinions in regards, and when I say all ranges, I mean ALL.

I, for example, once it was clear that it he had indeed mouthed ni99a, loudly sighed and mentally yelled at Tae “for fuck sake!”. I personally feel that Tae’s heart is in the right place, he is not the type of person to intentionally mean to harm anyone and it wasn’t like he was yelling ni99a, while wearing a durag over cornrows. YET it was made clear that he didn’t understand the fact that “just not saying it, isn't enough” meaning that there is a deeper level of understanding, which is still not clear to him and I, talking about me personally, can understand that. And how can this be fixed? BY ACKNOWLEDGING THAT IT HAPPENED IN THE FIRST PLACE AND CONSEQUENTLY PROVIDE MEANS TO FURTHER EDUCATE.

But how, I ask you, is he to even realise any of this well now that he caused a ruckus he knows for sure, if the first thing the majority of “his fans” did was pretend like it didn’t happen? In order to what? Continue to make him look stupid and ignorant? Aren’t we supposed to be walking this path with him, and all the other members? As friends rather than fans? If your friend says or does something out of order, won’t you let them know? Doesn’t the same happen to you when you make a mistake? The saying is live and learn for a reason. To be honest with you, all I did was hope that perhaps having people like Namjoon, Yoongi and Hobi around, who are actually rappers and as far as I know haven’t been going around publicly mouthing ni99as left-and-right, would sit his ass down and explain what’s up.

That’s how I saw it, and I am sure there are other people who thought the same, BUT there is a whole other section of black fans who were deeply disappointed, aggravated and just felt frustration and hopelessness; and THAT is ALSO VALID. There are black fans out there who can’t comprehend why it is that Tae doesn’t know, or understand, still, after all this time, that even just mouthing ni99a is just as bad. These people feel like black lives don’t matter after all, that perhaps it was all just a facade and that the extra mile wasn’t taken, and now it has made this whole experience, being his fan, tainted. “But Tae didn’t mean …”, “But Tae didn’t …”, etc, it doesn’t matter; none of that changes the fact that what happened, happened and nobody has the right to tell anybody how to feel and react about anything that directly involves them.

If you are a non-black person, and perhaps don’t understand fully, and maybe, all you want to do is make things better for Tae, then LISTEN TO YOUR FELLOW BLACK FANS. Understand their emotions, the positive and the negative in particular, understand why it is jarring in some cases, and why it is not seen as a problem in others, but don’t discount one for the other. ALL BLACK OPINIONS MATTER. 

Trust me, our experiences come in all shapes and colors. An African American life will most likely be radically different from the one of an African European, such as myself. I never was called a nigga, in fact just using the word black in the purposefully harmful was offensive enough, even though the equivalent of ni99a exists, but also that was never used on me. Yet, what really aggravated me, was for example being refused a house, no matter how much money they possessed, which happened to a friend of mine I’ve moved out of that country long ago, just like me black, and just like me born in that country. So for those like us being called ni99a is the last of our worries; YET doesn’t mean it is not a real problematic, damning and serious issue for an African American. And then there’s Asian Africans … chile, and etc etc. As I said, all walks of life, all different triggers, same fucking skin.   

The way I’ve always seen ARMY, was a benevolent force that is there with the boys in the good times and the bad times. This is an example of bad times. This is the time where ARMY can, in an educated manner, let their fav know that “hey, we know you didn’t mean it that way, but look, this, this, and that”, and if in this specific case it is probably impossible to reach them through the useless loud noise of the majority of the fandom in this stupidass chapter 2, then at least don’t go around hypocritically gaslighting and invalidating people’s emotions. As I said an I’ll keep repeating, I really do think that Tae’s heart is in the right place and just needs, some/more guidance, the way I see it, if I had to cut every friend that made a mistake in my life, I’d have to move to Mars, and many a person would send me to Venus based on my own mistakes.

I remember the time my brother was so angry at someone, not present, and described them as a fa99ot, and I literally gave him the lecture of a lifetime, we were at my church and he’s sinned in front of his pansexual sister “You know i wasn’t talking about you” he said “But that’s not the problem, is it? …” I began. Took a bit for him to properly understand and a while longer for him to stop using the word out of habit, but I haven’t heard him say it ever since, at least not in front of me, or in public, and for now, that is the most I can ask for. What he does in his private time, is his own karma, but none of that shit will happen around me. 

So I’m just going to hope that someone in his life is able to get to him, and help correct where needed. It would be great if ARMY helped as well where possible and all we have to do is watch and see how things change from here on. However, if there are people out there who are not ready to give Tae the benefit of the doubt, ever again, I’m afraid that this is a consequence of his actions and we have no place to tell these people otherwise. All we can do is listen, understand and keep it moving.  

And that’s my 2 cents. I know I need to give y’all that CHAPTER 2 BPOST, keep bearing with me, that is a reaaaaaally long as blog, so it will come eventually. So be there for Tae if want, don't if you don't. It's a free world and once again, in such instances, all decisions and emotions are valid and ultimately, it is what it is. But most of all be kind with one another, don’t be scared of facing adversities, everything happens for a reason, and most of the time, it is not about the mistakes in itself, but is what you do after it or to prevent it from ever happening again.

Always respectfully yours.

Marengo. 

[butwhatifidothis]

I LOVED To Be a Creature, and it genuinely creeped me out to see the things Edelgard and Hubert said to Byleth (though it's the same as the game, stripped out of its voice acting and background music, the dialogue is so much more horrifying). Really makes me wonder if Edelgard's love for Byleth is genuine in any way. Do you think there's any real love there or is it just obsession?

Thank you!!! I had a feeling that placing Edelgard and Hubert's words in a context that isn't meant to make them look flattering would really let their casual racism shine, and I'm glad it's seeming like that is in fact the impression people are getting lol. SO sorry for the late answer btw 😭😭😭

As for whether Edelgard's love is genuine... I got opinions lmao.

got a bit long lmao under the cut it goes

If Edelgard felt the way she does for Byleth on exclusively SS and CF, I could maybe see how this is a "genuine" love (insofar as a love steeped in "I may hate your race but you're special and Not Like The Other Ones because I think you're special to me" can, uh, ever be genuine, in any case). But because Edelgard still feels as strongly towards Byleth on AM and VW where she quite literally never talks to them directly in any meaningful way, it becomes waaaaay more like she's just weirdly obsessed with this person who saved her one singular time ever five years ago from an attack Edelgard set up. It makes the "love" way more forced and contrived and obviously trying to squeeze tears out of the player for standing up against the cute girly trying to murder them. Or, alternatively, it makes Edelgard come off as manipulative, saying that she just wanted to walk with Byleth and it makes her so sad to HAVE to fight Byleth because BYLETH wouldn't stand by HER - and she's saying this on AM/VW to a person she's talked to in conversation a cumulative, what? Hour? Two? Maybe a few days, being nice? Over the course of, being as absolutely generous as physically possible and not counting the five years Byleth was missing... two fucking years? She's shitting herself over fighting this stranger she doesn't fucking know? Yeah, sure buddy, whatever you say - you see what I mean?

And honestly even outside of those two routes, I think it's more that she sees Byleth as being hers rather than actually liking them for who they are. A body to stand next to her and tell her how right she is and comfort her - who doesn't have the background of "I was literally raised to think this is my only purpose in life" muddying the sincerity of the brown-nosing - who also happens to also act as The Perfect Fighter and The Perfect Strategist to actively help her get what she wants. That view of Byleth being a tool doesn't really go away unless they marry her, seen by how they quite literally get nothing for all they've done for Edelgard should they go unmarried to a noble (guess they just weren't meritable enough once their use to her was done).

As well as how much more Edelgard doesn't like Byleth disagreeing with her or otherwise going against her flow than pretty much anyone else in the game - you lose supports points if you don't think the Black Eagle Strike Force name she made is good, she quickly denies the notion that Byleth is detached from others/emotions and insists they are just like she is, she gives them the same callous and thoughtless words she was apparently given once in her life while they are in the midst of mourning their recently murdered father so that they get over it already and get back to being useful to her (directly saying she will only reach out her hand when it's time for HER to move forward, not when BYLETH heals from WATCHING THEIR DAD DIE IN THEIR FUCKING ARMS MAYBE A WEEK AGO). She never treats Byleth kindly unless they do everything she wants, which like. Isn't love???? At all????

There's just this... weirdly possessive air Edelgard has around Byleth that always threw me off, especially with how easily she admits to have been willing to kill them so far into CF and how readily she cuts ties with them the second the fighting's done (which is particular because how just how clingy she was to Byleth everywhere else - you know during all that time Byleth had a use to her). Incorporating that into being an intentional part of her character is certainly interesting, but not in a way that's flattering to the idea of Edelgard genuinely being in love with Byleth lmao.

Personally tho, even disregarding almost everything else, the simple explanation is that I don't think you can really sit there and say you love someone while openly hating part of their racial heritage. Wild thought, I know lmao

[perenlop]

havent seen this take in a while thankfully but it popped up in my head and i wanna post this anyways. i think everyone who talks about how siffrin “got off too easy” at the end of isat and his friends should have abandoned him should go read warrior cats if they want an example of a character using their trauma as their god-given jailbreak card to treat their family and peers (a good amount of whom who were completely innocent) like dogshit, and who faces zero consequences from the narrative for it (and in fact bends over to blame their peers). like read all the shit jayfeather does while the narrative sobs over how tragic but awesome and quirky he is and then look me in the eye and tell me siffrin’s ending was poorly written.

[roses-and-elixir]

.

[murdererofthumbs]

Listen, although I do find it pretty exciting to see Kendall entering his Evil Era and actually becoming a killer, I can’t stop thinking about the consequences of him leaking all the shitty mud information they have on Logan. Like yeah, PR-wise that might be a great idea, it might actually solidify his position as a CEO (and he is obviously going to try and fuck up Matsson deal and take over the Waystar - I don’t know why he would want to captain the fucking sinking Titanic, but okay). But on the other hand, all the dirt coming out about Logan will be potentially catastrophic for Roman. Apart from the fact that Kendall is very clearly betraying his brother, literally like 5 seconds after he preached about them being a team; Roman will very likely suffer the most if stuff about Logan being an abusive father comes out.

First, it will flip his whole viewpoint upside down - he is so deep in denial and so trauma-bonded to Logan that he doesn’t even acknowledge his abuse, not even when in happens in real time. He doesn’t want to see his father as a monster and as his abuser, because that would actually require him to accept that he was a victim, that he was this beaten dog that everyone already sees him as (to one degree or another). Not to mention all the lies he tells himself about Logan and him being a good dad will go straight down the drain, and can you imagine what happens when something you believed for 40-or-so years cracks down in front of you? Kendall is about to break his reality.

Another aspect is that exposing Roman’s abuse to the whole world will likely destroy any and all opportunities that Roman ever had when it comes to rising to power (even if I’m unsure how much he actually cares about becoming a CEO). He might get some sympathy points, although I very much doubt that he will ever accept that form of pity from anyone. His image will be forever tainted and solidified as “the abused one” or the “one that was hit by his dad”. Can you imagine Roman’s reaction when that whole shitshow leaks? He does say at some point in the preview that he is finished, and although it might allude to Gerri putting out the whole dick pic situation, it might also very well be that his public image will forever now revolve around how his dad hit and abused him (his dad who was essentially his god in more than one way, who he was, and is trauma bonded to, who he came back to time and time again).

Kendall has a tendency of using his siblings trauma to forward his own position (even when he wanted to one up Logan in episode 2 by bringing up Roman’s and Connor’s trauma) and this is no different. But it’s a very easy way for him to blow up whatever alliance was ever between sibs. So yeah, I think Kendall as a killer is a great thing to watch, but also… well, Roman girl in me is already screaming in the void from the possible pain we might come to watch unravel in real time.

[theothermaidoftarth]

Baela and the Myth of the Child Fighting Pits

Not sure why I keep seeing from green-leaning accounts that in Fire and Blood, Baela visited the child fighting pits. But this is what F&B says about Baela post-Dance:

Nothing about child fighting pits. In fact this is what shows up when I search ‘pits’ in Fire and Blood:

The definition of a rat pit according to awoiaf:

Not the best of places, I’m not going to defend it but there’s nothing about children there (also lower down it’s stated Mushroom said these are the places Aegon II would frequent, which the show turned into child fighting pits).

Also saw it said on here that Baela celebrated Jaehaerys’ murder… Her reaction was not recorded.

Baela is many things and she is not perfect but what I’m seeing is just not accurate. And that’s not even getting into what I’ve seen on Reddit where they say she wasn’t faithful to Jace before his death and was kissing squires while he was in Winterfell. (Narrator: she wasn’t.)

[holocene-sims]

next // previous

july 31, 2021 8:00 a.m. cathal and eimear's house

[insanechayne]

~ ~ ~

[pwurrz]

alhaitham…. oh my god-

[batslinger]

Why cant I be normal why cant I be normal why cant I be normal oh my gods please

[musical-chick-13]

I know this may sound petty, but I think you're the one who will be able to understand this frustration: how come any post about special characters is always titled 'special little guy' can't girls be special?

No, I literally complain about this all the time (mostly to myself, but. you know).

First of all, there are so many posts that don't mean "guy" in the sense of "hey you guys" as a general catch-all term. They specify "boy" or "man" or "him" or you can very clearly infer from context that they are talking specifically about men. And I just...you know that women can be these types of characters too, right. Women can be sympathetic villains or have Problems™ that inspire the "I can fix them" impulse or any of the other things people usually say about men. It's not hard to say like. "Character" or "Person" or "Blorbo" or even "guy (gender neutral)."

As always, this wouldn't bug me so much if there was a similar level of popular posts circulating about the women, but. There very much is not. (And also plenty of the posts that are exclusively about the women get overtaken by discussions of male characters.)

[autistic-beshelar]

letting everyone know that Spiritfarer: Farewell Edittion is currently only £6.24 on steam!

in the game you play as Stella, the afterlife's most adorable psychopomp, who acts not just as ferryman but as caretaker for the dead. in the game you meet many spirits, all of whom have incredibly vibrant personalities. throughout the game you fulfil their requests, travel and discover new islands on your boat, build and farm and gather resources, and cry.

you will cry. a lot. but also, you can have sheep.

like she literally has a star hat. pls play spiritfarer.

[kahluah]

Okay, let's pretend for a moment that everything in Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken is exactly the same, but instead of krakens and mermaids, there are just normal people of two different races. Do you realize how iffy the statement "well, it doesn't MATTER if one race is pure evil and the movie comes off as incredibly eugenics-y, it's just set dressing and not the primary focus!" sounds in that context?

And plus, it's a pretty well-established rule in writing that if you're going to introduce worldbuilding into your story, you're going to be expected to elaborate on it. If the film was just trying to explore a young girl's adolescence and relationships with the adult women in her life, why even bother throwing in all that stuff about mermaids, krakens, and the war that broke out between them?

Ok but here is the thing, they aren't just regular people of two different races. I understand why it's the first thing people's brains are jumping to since we've had many movies recently who explore race through a lense like this, but that doesn't mean that is what this movie was doing. If you break it down to basics, we had a conflict between two differing entities. So how about, as another pretend moment, we view them to be regular people of two different political identities. Political parties usually have some sort of symbol, so it's not that far of a stretch that a movie could have their characters be representing that. And I'm saying this because people have no difficulties writing some political parties off as pure evil; I think we all agree that nobody should side with Nazis and that they should be wiped out. Tories and Republicans are also very much hated, especially on this site. I think most people can find those views understandable for writing someone off as evil; we do it all the time and we fully believe it's correct!

So you could also totally view the movie as a commentary on two different monarchy factions, one where the Queen did not want to expand her kingdom to the land outside her borders and pretty much let her subjects live their own lives, all she wanted was to wipe out the other potential Queen and her supporters. Said other Queen wanted to invade the land outside the borders to expand the kingdom and wished to rule over the people with an iron fist. While I'm not for monarchies in any way, I know I would prefer the first one over the second if I had to choose between the two.

You are the one conflating it with race when it doesn't have to be. I get it's easy to jump to, but that does not mean it's the intent. There are multiple ways it could be viewed. But all of it would just be conjecture because that's not what the movie presented itself to be about and we don't have enough info on the world to make any solid say about anything.

I can understand a disappointment in there not being more world building, it seems like a cool world to explore, but the reason the movie didn't was because it was not necessary for the story they wanted to tell. I'm sure everyone would have loved more info on the war and whatever is going on in the ocean in this world, but all that was not needed for this movie and so it wasn't put in. Wanting the movie to go into unnecessary detail of background info that isn't needed for the story is just entitlement. The war served it's purpose of being something that gave Ruby a goal and objective that led into the "twist" and climax of the movie. It was a vehicle to move the story along and that was all. They don't need a deeper reason to add krakens, mermaids, and a war other than "they sound cool" and "more movies aimed at younger girls should totally end in a giant Kaiju battle". It's frustrating, but sometimes that's just the way it is.

I also find it funny that people are soooooooo latched on to the "Krakens were trying to genocide the mermaids!!!" when Nerissa was trying to do the exact same thing to the Krakens. Pot, meet Kettle. So sure, let's say it was a race and eugenics thing, but at the very least don't be hypocritical by saying the mermaids were any better.

[poughkeepsies]

What if, in the finale, Eddie's dying, alone, wish he had more time and unlike Buck, he can't cheat death. Maybe it will make Buck realise that death is not cool, even if you came back alive.

i'm gonna be honest you're sounding like a disney villain rn

[luxuriant-starlight]

damn. having c-ptsd is fucked up huh

[hyperfixation-tangentopia]

Bleh I ran out of quotes I have to actually sleep now

I don't wanna

Well

I do

But