#But it’s blatantly clear that they will! And also that plenty of people are just saying Jews at this point with naming who they don’t like

[rotzaprachim]

list of things that make one a Zionist: holding the political belief that Jews have a right to a unilaterally “Jewish state” as a political entity (medinat yisrael) in Palestine and also have the right to the mechanisms to maintain the “Jewishness” of that state and arguably to defend it over time. Many Zionists are not Jewish.

list of things that do not automatically make one a Zionist: being Jewish. Having Jewish friends. Condemning Hamas. Condemning antisemitism. Acknowledging antisemitism exists. Speaking modern Hebrew. Being Israeli. Having an Israeli passport. Living in Israel. Visiting Israel. Making hummus. Eating falafel while Jewish. Using the words “tziyon” and “yerushalayim.” Going to a temple with “yisrael” in the name. Using the phrases “am yisrael” “Haaretz yisrael” “klal yisrael” and “ahavat yisrael.” Being just soooo sketchy and Jewish. Wearing those funny little hats. Wearing one of those funny little stars that’s even on the flag!!!! Playing funny little songs. Being Jewish

[outivv]

I’m so disappointed with the natlan teaser because like. Girl. All of those characters would straight up look better if they had even the tiniest bit of melanin don’t even lie hyv.

I’m gonna go on a fat rant here so below the cut, fair warning because it’s messy as fuck I’m just pissed off

No because how are you going to straight up take the inspirations, and clear liberties from Aztec, Māori, Qichwa, Nigerian, Hawaiian, Native American, And Mayan (according to this image from @ HYVboycott on Twitter highly recommend btw they have good info imo)

And then you’re not gonna represent them in terms of their skin color??? Yes there are pale people in all these countries and pale people apart of these cultures, HOWEVER the vast majority of people, or the native people are not typically fucking white. I am white and I literally am darker than the majority of the genshin characters, even in winter when I don’t fucking tan. Like the genshin characters don’t even look ALIVE for Christ’s sake. Hyv are a bunch of cowards who take inspiration from poc, and don’t properly represent them, even in their other games like honkai Star rail. Boothill is Native American. Blatantly. “Oh, no he’s not!!” Yes the fuck he is, his entire backstory is based off of native people, he’s also part Hispanic because the original cowboys were Hispanic people called vaqueros, his home planet in the original CN version of honkai Star rail is literally two native tribes put together I believe. He is Native American, and Hispanic, and hyv TOOK that inspiration and that culture and then was too much of a coward to AT LEAST make him tan. Don’t even get me started on aventurine. So it’s not just with genshin that they do this shit, it’s a hyv problem as a whole, but with genshin it’s so like… common, and genshin has so many issues that make it feel like a cash-grab kinda game, and like the devs are just spitting in our face CONSTANTLY, especially when it comes to characters, and representation. It’s so depressing to see a game that at first had so much fucking promise, now just be such a fucking letdown after like what? 5? 4? Years? Like you’ve built up so much hype, and lore, and excitement just for Sumeru and Natlan not having any representation like fuck off. Hyv CAN fix these issues, they just don’t want to and they have expressed that time and time again by making dark skinned enemies, and enemies with dreadlocks. They know that they can, they just don’t want to because they’re too pussy. And it’s not because they’re a Chinese company, I mean obviously I understand that there is a complicated relationship with tan skin and China, HOWEVER that is no excuse because genshin, honkai Star rail, zenless zone zero, and honkai impact 3rd are all worldwide games and they need to appeal to their WORLDWIDE customers, and I’ve seen plenty of CN players fucking just as pissed off that there isn’t any actual diversity for like any of their games. Plus other Chinese companies have made diverse games, like Dislyte which I’m honestly a huge fucking fan of because of their diversity. Having diversity would BENEFIT hoyoverse a hell of a lot, but they are just trying to appeal to greasy old white men who are the same men who have a tantrum while making a reaction video to a game trailer and go “OH MY GOD SHE ISNT GOT ENOUGH!! LOOK AT HER!! SHE ISNT SEXY!!”, “OH MY GODDD THEY HAVE PRONOUNS NOW!! THE WOKE SNOWFLAKES GOT TO THEM”, and “OH MY GOD ASSASSINS CREED IS MAKING A BLACK SAMURAI THE MAIN CHARACTER!! NOOOO THATS NOT HISTORICALLY ACCURATE!!” Because they’re all pathetic, and that’s who hoyoverse is trying to cater to.

Okay I’m done, this went all over the place but I’m so pissed off so fuck hyv, give them the feedback they deserve, have a great day.

[callimara]

Important PSA

Criticizing Israel is NOT antisemetism or an attack on Jewish people because

ISRAEL =/= ALL JEWS

And while I am not saying that there is no antisemitism because there is plenty of that too, this is not a case of that. But grouping all Jews together as Israeli and presenting them as a monolith erases their individuality and identity. It's like calling all Asian people Chinese, and that if you criticize China, then you hate all Asian people. It doesn't make sense.

I am so frustrated seeing people who are trying to raise awareness about Palestine be called antisemetic and disgusting by people who cannot perceive Jews and Muslims as anything but a monolith. That's the reason why so many people are having trouble distinguishing between Hamas and Palestinian civilians, because to them, they're all the same.

And that's why they don't see an issue with collective punishment.

And you know what? Palestine is NOT just the Jewish holy land. It is also the Christian holy land, and the Muslim holy land. Palestine wasn't even the first choice for a Jewish homeland because it was heavily contested by Jewish rabbis at the time.

Turning Palestine (I say Palestine because the entirety of what is now Israel used to be Palestine) as an exclusively Jewish ethno-state means that people of Christian and Muslim faith all over the world are stripped of their holy land. The oldest church in the world, dating back to the times of Christ is located in Gaza, and who are the ones protecting it? Palestinians.

And you know who bombed it? Even though it had 500 refugees of both Muslim and Christian faith inside? Israel.

Even the slogan used for the founding of Israel itself, "A land without people for a people without a land." Is blatantly revisionist and erases the existence of Palestinians already living there. It erases all the historic religious sites that stand there and are frequented regularly by their respective devotees. Or worse, does not consider the Palestinians as 'people.'

Some people tend to forget that religious belief is NOT the same as race, and so you CANNOT claim indigeneity just because you are a certain religion. I am an Indonesian Muslim. Born Muslim, raised Muslim, and every generation of my family have been Muslim. That doesn't mean I can say I'm indigenous to Saudi Arabia. Let alone that Saudi Arabian land is my birthright.

If a white American woman born and raised in Seattle decides to convert to Hinduism, can she then say she is now indigenous to India? Or if she has a child, and that child had a child, and they were all raised as a Hindu, but have always lived in the US all their lives, can they claim that they are indigenous to India?

No.

And the fact is, the first Jewish settlers during The First Aliyah (great Jewish migration to Palestine) came from Eastern Europe and are genetically closer to Russians and other Slavs than they are to the Jews who remained in the Middle Eastern region after their exile (and I guess some people forget that you can convert into Judaism even if you didn't come from "The Promised Land." Like for marriages and stuff.) That's why they feel the need to distinguish themselves from the word "Arab."

Granted, there were also Yemeni Jews that migrated with them (whom I would say have stronger claims to indigeneity), but even in the transition camps, there was a clear divide between the European Ashkenazi Jews and the Yemeni Jews, who literally had their kids taken from them to give to the Ashkenazi Jews.

And let's not forget that when Jewish migrants from Ethiopia came, they were given contraceptives without consent to make sure they didn't impact the "desired" population.

Wake up. This isn't a religious war. This is European colonization.

[burst-of-iridescent]

Your response to that anon makes it pretty clear they're right lol. Katara did support Aang unconditionally, especially with his trauma as she could empathise as someone who is ALSO a survivor of genocide and the last of their people (water bender and air nomad). But Aang also was supportive of her- when she wanted to free the earthbenders, him and sokka helped, he wanted to refuse to continue teaching from Pakku because he wouldn't teach Katara, he helped her with the Painted Lady, and the Southern Raiders comment is not as condescending as you think. Yes, it was shitty, but you really think they would've turned their back on Katara? They shouldn't have said that to her but him and Sokka know if she kills Yon Rha, it will not bring her closure. And as for her doing all the labour, that's blatantly untrue. In Bitter Work the whole argument between Toph and Katara is that Katara is (rightfully) mad that Toph only wants to do her share, arguing that everyone around camp does their part.There’s multiple episodes in which the gaang help pitch the tent and perform campsite duties. There’s a whole episode dedicated to how katara and sokka are both sick, resulting in aang having to run across the world to retrieve them medicine, and he continued trying to get the frogs for his friends even when captured. There’s an entire episode dedicated to how the gaang cannot get anything done without sokka, who usually manages their schedules and itineraries and helps ensure that they’re on track. There’s plenty of moments in which aang and katara are goofing off, and sokka gets mad at them for not sticking to his carefully curated and meticulous schedule and for putting a wedge in their plans to save communities (see: imprisoned and the painted lady). There’s moments when toph assumes responsibility; there’s moments when aang assumes responsibility. and then there’s moments when none of them have any clue on what to do, when they literally act like children navigating a world that’s constantly trying to kill them. Because they are children, which in episode 1 we see Aang telling Katara she is still a kid. Whether you ship it or not, a big part of their relationship is that they are children. They're a team, they all support each other. Saying she shoulders everything and that Aang is just selfish and callous is a blatant lie. They have helped each other throughout the series a lot. There are moments when they both say and do things that aren't good to eachother, but that doesn't make their relationship instantly toxic. Aang kissing Katara w/o consent was wrong, it's why I don't ship it, but saying Katara was reduced Aangs mother figure, especially when he played a large role in her acting like a kid again, and also grew up communally so the concept of a mother isn't something he would even think about. The constant adultification you insist on of Katara is just weird, there's a reason black and brown women hate it so much, especially when katara has stated she dislikes being seen as motherly

wow that is a whole lot of words you're trying to shove into my mouth, huh? don't worry though; unlike you, i know how to make a good argument, so let's go through this flaming pile of garbage you've dumped in my asks to see exactly what that looks like!

i don't know where you got this idea that i think katara does everything for team avatar while the rest of them sit by and twiddle their thumbs; i have never said that, and i never will. my argument isn't about katara's relationship with the gaang (though for all that she says they divide the chores equally in the chase episode, you will notice that much of the time it is always katara you see in the background cooking, training aang, or doing work around camp - make of that what you will), it is about katara's relationship with aang, and the severe imbalance of emotional labour in that relationship.

let's look at how many times katara supports aang in the show when he's in need of it:

S1:E3, The Southern Air Temple: katara pulls aang out of the avatar state when he's grieving over the loss of his people, then holds and comforts him afterwards.

S1:E12, The Storm: katara listens to aang's regrets over running away, assauges his guilt, encourages him, and ultimately inspires him to move on from his past and start anew.

S2:E3, Return to Omashu: katara listens to aang's worries about bumi and tries to reassure him.

S2:E9, Bitter Work: katara coddles aang when he's sad about not being able to master earthbending, motivating him to keep going and trying to convince toph to give him an easier time.

S2:E10, The Library: katara pulls aang out of the avatar state again, this time actually putting herself in danger (the only one to do so, you might notice) by walking into the middle of a sandstorm while aang is in an highly volatile state of extreme power. keep in mind that katara knows exactly what can happen when aang isn't able to control himself, because of that lovely incident back in book 1 where she was burned thanks to his recklessness, and yet the duty of calming aang down falls to her yet again.

S2:E11, The Desert: aang snaps at katara and then leaves her to take care of herself and the rest of the gaang all on her own in a highly dangerous environment. don't worry though, she'll still find the time to sympathize with him and comfort him, though he certainly isn't going to apologize and will, in fact, have this lovely exchange with her instead:

"What's anyone else doing?! [Pointing his staff at Katara.] What are you doing‌?!"

oh nothing aang, just keeping everyone alive and together, and being the entire reason they survive the desert at all. thanks for the support, though!

S2:E12, Journey to Ba Sing Se Part 1: katara reaches out to aang multiple times in this episode, offering her love and support, and ultimately helping him to snap out of his depression over appa's loss (he still hasn't apologized for his behaviour in the previous episode, in case you were wondering).

S3:E1, The Awakening: katara tries to help aang deal with his feelings of guilt over Ba Sing Se, heals him, brings him food, and even stays behind to look after him (funny you don't see either sokka or toph doing that)... all while dealing with her own sadness and anger over her father. aang does notice this, by the way! though naturally, he does nothing about it.

S3:E9, Nightmares and Daydreams: i'll cut this one a little slack, because sokka and toph do try to help out with aang's anxieties too. note, however, that katara checks on aang five separate times in this episode alone - far more than either of the other two by a clear margin.

S3:E17, The Ember Island Players: katara is the only one to notice aang is upset after the play, goes to see if he's okay and... well, you know how this one ends.

let's do a little tally and... that clocks in at a whopping 10 times that katara offers aang her love, support and comfort, including almost all of his lowest moments.

now let's look at the number of times aang supports katara when she is in need of it:

S1:E9, The Waterbending Scroll: aang encourages katara to waterbend, pushing her to have faith and be confident in herself, allowing her to waterbend successfully and defeat the pirates.

S1:E18, The Waterbending Master: aang defends katara against pakku and cheers for her during her fight; he does also, however, undercut her very real anger at pakku and tries to dissuade her from fighting at all under the impression that it's for him instead of the injustice that's been done to her so... we'll consider this a wash.

S2:E17, Lake Laogai: aang rests a hand on katara's shoulder in wordless support after jet dies.

S3:E8, The Puppetmaster: aang pulls the hand-on-shoulder move again while katara cries after defeating hama... except this time, sokka's on her other side doing the exact same thing so it can't even be counted as an emotional support moment exclusive to aang, the way all of aang's are to katara.

final calculation: 2, 4 if i'm being generous. four against ten, and even if you combined all of them together, aang still doesn't provide even half the depth of support and care that katara does for him in just a single incident.

see how that might be what we call an imbalanced relationship?

They shouldn't have said that to her but him and Sokka know if she kills Yon Rha, it will not bring her closure

except who brought up killing yon rha? aang. who immediately conflated justice with revenge? aang. who pushed his own culture's values of pacifism onto katara? aang. and who was ultimately wrong about blanket forgiveness and inaction being the path to closure for katara? aang.

you don't need to take my word on it. katara corrects aang herself when he inaccurately assumes she did what he wanted her to: "But i didn't forgive him. I'll never forgive him."

if aang had his way, if katara had never confronted yon rha, her rage and grief and resentment would've simply continued to fester inside her. katara made peace with her trauma on her own terms, by finally getting to see yon rha for what he really was: not a nightmarish bogeyman who left her powerless and afraid, but a weak, pathetic, human man who didn't even deserve the mercy of death, and whom she was able to reclaim her power over.

aang doesn't extend to katara even a fraction of the empathy, understanding and faith she always offers him; rather, he instantly jumps to the worst judgements about her intentions, preaches to her about how she should heal from her trauma, and only deepens her stress and anger while she's reliving the worst moment of her life.

that is not support. that is not friendship. that is aang making katara's struggle about himself, just as everything else in their relationship already is.

saying Katara was reduced Aangs mother figure, especially when he played a large role in her acting like a kid again, and also grew up communally so the concept of a mother isn't something he would even think about

buddy, i assure you i'm not the one making katara aang's mother. you can take that up with the writers who made a self-referential joke about katara acting motherly to aang (unless you think "stop rubbing your eye and sit up straight when you talk!" is somehow a romantic thing to say to your future husband), who have katara coddle aang multiple times, who framed katara holding aang's dead body like the virgin mary holding jesus, and who literally had her dress up and pretend to be his mother.

and for your information, katara is a motherly figure - not just to aang, but to every member of team avatar besides zuko (and suki, if you count her). that's not my opinion btw, as you seem to believe. that's canon, confirmed by both sokka and toph in S3:E7, The Runaway:

Sokka: When our mom died, that was the hardest time in my life. Our family was a mess, but Katara? She had so much strength. She stepped up and took on so much responsibility. She helped fill the void that was left by our mom. It really seems like my whole life, Katara's been the one looking out for me. She's always been the one that's there. And now, when I try to remember my mom, Katara's is the only face I can picture. Toph: The truth is sometimes Katara does act motherly, but that's not always a bad thing. She's compassionate and kind, and she actually cares about me. [Wipes away tears from her left eye.] You know, the real me. That's more than my own mom.

so no, anon, i'm not the one "insisting" on katara's adultification. she was adultified the moment her mother died, because she was forced to step into her mother's shoes - and she did it so well that she became a surrogate parent to her own older brother. she is a child who was forced to sacrifice her childhood, and who will never be able to find it again. that is the fundamental tragedy at the heart of katara's character, and an integral part of what makes her who she is.

there's a reason black and brown women hate it so much, especially when katara has stated she dislikes being seen as motherly

really? women of colour hate being pushed into motherly roles, and seeing female characters like themselves being forced to do so? damn, i wonder if there's any way that i, a south asian woman living in southeast asia, would know that?

i don't need you to tell me what brown women think and feel. i understand first-fucking-hand what we go through, because i've seen it in my own female relatives, in my friends, in their families, in every aspect of my society. i've felt the expectations of my culture on my gender since i was a child, and that is just one of the many reasons why i ship zutara: so that at least in a fictional world, some fictional brown girl is able to have an equal relationship with a partner who respects her, admires her, supports her, cares for her, and loves her just as much as she does him.

i'm glad we can both agree that katara hates being seen as motherly. i hate it too, which is why i despise kat.aang, because the last thing that katara needed after losing her childhood being a mother was to lose the rest of her life to it too, stripped of her agency and legacy, forever stuck looking after a man who will always make her do too much labour without once recognizing it, let alone returning it.

now kindly get out of my inbox with your faux progressive concern, and take your subpar media literacy skills with you while you're at it.

[dreamchasernina]

like for real so many people miss detaimed moments where it is clear what aang means to katara.

For example in the library. Sokka looks for ways to defeat the fire nation, aang looks for a lion turtle a d what does katara? She looks for information about his past lives and admires him for being a left hand back then.

Or when she is clearly embarassed that aang makes fun of her hair in the piamdao episode, but she never cared when sokka teased her about her loopies

You’re right. Just because she’s not nervous around him or blushes at every opportunity, doesn’t mean she doesn’t have feelings for him. It’s called a slow burn. Yeah, at first she only sees him as her friend, but even then she’s very protective of him. But then she starts developing actual romantic feelings for him, something she might not even notice herself, but we, as an audience obviously do. And denying all of that is just blatantly ignoring something the show is explicitly telling you.

Also, I loved that moment in the library. I never payed much attention to it, cause it’s so small, I was more focused on how funny it was that Aang thought he was special because he was once left handed. But on my last rewatch it totally jumped out at me. Sokka’s looking for something to help end the war and Katara’s like “let me look up information about my crush”! That is such a girl thing to do. I don’t even know how many times I did that as a 14 year old girl with a crush. And the way she finds that information fascinating and actually shares it with Aang…how can you not see it??

There was also a thread on Twitter about how Katara asks how she looks in the Headband, something I never noticed before. But she asks Toph, who’s blind, Sokka, who couldn’t care less about how she looks…and Aang…why? because he’s the one whose opinion she cares about. It’s little moments like this that just feel right.

Again, it’s fine if this pairing is not for everyone, but saying these two character never had chemistry is just next level of delulu. And I still see plenty of these stupid takes online. It takes all of my strength to not respond, it’s just not worth it, people see what they want to see.

I have also been seeing a resurgence of Kataang too and I’m so happy about it!

[adolfusraptor1985]

Very long post, but PLEASE read

Saw someone very angerly saying some absolute bullshit about physical nonhumans and related things in a post. I promptly blocked the user, but I feel as though I should address some of the things they were saying for the sake of spreading accurate information.

Statement One:

The very first thing this individual stated was that believing you are physically nonhuman is "not good" and that it is "clinical lycanthropy". While it's true that some physical nonhumans do in fact struggle with clinical zoanthropy, lycanthropy, etc., not all of them do. There are other reasons to consider oneself physically nonhuman besides delusion. I also want to point how this user made a very clear statement that clinical lycanthropy (assuming they mean zoanthropy) is a bad thing and should not be accepted or normalized in the therian community. Reoccurring statements like these throughout the post were blatantly sanist and ableist. I don't believe in actively encouraging delusions, but the idea that all delusions are bad and require immediate treatment doesn't sit well with me. This user acted as though anyone with delusions should not be accepted or even interacted with.

Statement Two:

The second point they brough up was the concept of "losing control" during shifts. Once again, they immediately claimed that this is "a problem" and again, "not normal therianthropy". While I once again understand that there could be some underlying issues causing oneself to not have control during shifting, I don't believe it's any reason to act negatively towards those people. The way this user equates "not normal" to "bad" is bizarre. It's one thing to encourage people to get help, but it's another to claim their experience is invalid and should not have a place in the community. I personally do not have full control during shifting due to it being an issue related to dissociation, but that doesn't make me a bad person or an invalid therian.

Statement Three:

This next part starts to get a little wild, but I'll try my best to dissect it. The user went on to state that they do not say they are not human. Which... is fine and all, except for the fact they made it clear that they believe no one should claim to not be human; that it's alright to say that you are [insert theriotype] but not that you aren't human. And this just makes no fucking sense to me. Plenty of therian who aren't even physically nonhuman still say they aren't human. They then try to make the most bullshit statement of their whole post which reads as follows:

"And don't pull up with that bullshit of "it's like saying 'oh trans women-'" NO IT'S FUCKING NOT. Ur opinion is fucking invalid"

I know exactly what fucking statement they are referencing here, because it's something I have personally written on this blog and stand by strongly. What they were going for was the old "it's like saying trans women are physically (I use the phrase biologically) men". WHICH IT ABSOLUTELY FUCKING IS! As someone who is transgender and doesn't have a problem using the phrase transspecies, I can say with confidence that someone calling me "physically female" is just like calling me "physically human". Just because you were born a certain way does not mean that's what you really are. There are plenty of nonhumans out there who do not identify as human and do not want to be referred to as such, and that is perfectly valid. Why? Because you can't dictate other people's identities. The fact that this user tried to claim otherwise is mind boggling.

Conclusion:

First of all, there's no way the user in question was above the age of 16. I have never seen such misinformation, ableism, gatekeeping, and poorly worded arguments from someone who isn't an uneducated minor.

Secondly, the fact that people make mental health something to be afraid of is sickening. This person is the reason why so many people with psychological issues don't feel comfortable reaching out. It's people like this that make it hard for those with mental illness to find a sense of community.

Lastly, it's startling how quickly people will hate on things simply because it doesn't make sense to them, especially when they themselves have identities that are misunderstood. Like- at what point can you just start taking people's word about how they identify? At what point do you realized you don't have to understand someone's experience to respect it? At what point do you realize you can't know what someone else truly experiences?

As a bit of a closing note, I want to point out that the user in question is also very strongly anti-endo, further proving their immaturity and lack of understanding and respect. My advice? Stay away from these people. They will never understand.

If you would like to see the post in reference for yourself, here is a link. But please, do not harass this user. Block and move on. If you would like to write a counter point like mine either as a reblog to that post or separately, by all means do so. Just don't start an internet feud, alright?

[tumblingxelian]

I saw a post earlier today that really kinda got my goat so to speak so I wanted to re-post my take without starting shit on tumblr dot com.

I categorically disagree with the idea that Adam was ever planned to be the main leader of the White Fang pre coup.

We meet Adam leading what was suppose to be a resource acquisition mission that he turned into an attempted mass murder for shits and giggles because he is a blood thirsty idiot.

Not only is that incredibly wastefully and politically stupid of him, it is also not reflective of what Blake described the White Fang's methodology as during Volumes 1. IE the methods that actually were working and were introduce by said new leader which Adam was blatantly ignoring.

It also makes clear his relationship with Blake is awful given the manipulation, the lies, the dismissal and using her as a shield, and maniacal cackling ETC.

The second time we see Adam its in volume 2 right after its revealed that a ton of Faunus died because of Cinder's plan and Mercury wonders if they will still obey. Adam arrives and promising to continue throwing his people's lives away for Cinder. Making it quite clear where Adam stands on the subject while showing the White Fang itself lacks any loyalty to Cinder.

Before V3 we have two possible mentions, one being the silhouettes in V1, one of which could be argued to represent Adam, but also contained two other people. & the masks reference which, if Adam was the leader, you'd think Blake would just say it was an idea their leader came up with. The fact she didn't should make it clear to any viewer that Adam was just popular, but not in charge.

Going into V3, we already know he's fine throwing Faunus lives away for Cinder, so anything he says when rejecting Cinder needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Yeah Adam wasn't just gonna work with some random human cos he doesn't like humans and his people are watching so his behavior is performative. Cinder leaves, then returns and makes it clear she can kill him if he doesn't obey and he instantly bows because, shock and horror the manipulative abuser is not actually all that brave when its 'his' ass on the line, setting the stage for what we already know happens by V2.

Adam was never meant to be the leader, Adam was never a genuine revolutionary, Adam was always an abusive cowardly liar and manipulator seeking power and appeasement for himself.

Losing Sienna was a tragedy and genuinely a huge mistake on the writers part and Ghira taking over again is in no way ideal, but Adam is not some tragic loss. He's one of a dime a dozen would be revolutionaries who only care about the 'revolution' for their own ends. Any passing glance at historical revolutions and rebel movements will show people like him.

One can criticize the White Fang plotline without needing to big up someone like Adam; just like one can endorse revolutionaries without advocating for war crimes. Discuss Sienna and how she could have been introduced earlier or avoid her demise. Bring up how Ilia's arc could have potentially led her to being the one leading a revitalized White Fang. Or how Blake herself could potentially have taken the reigns more overtly, as challenging as that might be to portray given the overall plot line.

There's plenty of ways to emphasize the new generation, and tackling bigotry head on without raising Adam as a viable candidate and especially without engaging in historical revisionism as to his slated role in the series proper.

[highgoon69]

Confessions

♥Pairing╰┈➤ Levi Ackerman x Reader

♥Content/Warnings╰┈➤ Really it's just fluff, maybe a little bit of hurt/comfort?? Fuck if I know

♥Word Count╰┈➤ 1.6k

♥Author's Note╰┈➤ First of all, the divider I'm using is from @cafekitsune and they have plenty of other really cute ones! And also this is literally the first thing I've written in like,,,,,,, six years?? I'm not sure and I can't Remember. If it sucks tell me and I'll leave it up because I simply do not care. Thank u one and all who actually read it!

“So,” Hange began, their tone light as they dragged you into their office. “Want to tell me what’s on your mind?”  

You shrunk backwards a bit, lowering your gaze to the (disgusting) floor. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.” Hange wasn’t dumb, you knew that. They were far from it. So why was blatantly lying your go-to response? It didn’t help that Hange was clearly trying to hold in a laugh at your response.

They placed a hand on your shoulder. It was meant to be comforting but it made you feel nothing but dread. Your name fell from their lips. “I know you. I know when your mind is elsewhere. You fell flat on your ass during training today, so just tell me what’s wrong.” Seeing Hange so strangely serious was remarkably nerve wracking. 

A moment of silence passed between you. You felt like a complete mess; a complete jumble of incomplete thoughts shrouding your head. Would telling the truth even help? Hange was your best friend, so surely they’d give you sound advice… right? You sighed, deep and heavy, before lifting your eyes to theirs. “If I’m being honest…” you took a breath, “I’m not sure what’s wrong.” 

Hange tilted their head to the side. Glasses gleaming under the dull light of their office, they moved a bit closer to you. “You’re not sure? Then what were you being so cagey about?” 

“I wasn’t being cagey.” 

They cackled. How annoying. “You were and you know it,” they said. “Elaborate on whatever you’re not sure about.” 

You sighed again before turning around to face the door. Grime coated the surface. When was the last time Hange cleaned it? “Lately, I’ve been feeling sort of… shy?” It shouldn’t have been a question, but it was nonetheless. The word you truly wanted to use eluded you. Honestly, you almost felt sick. 

“You’ve been feeling shy?” Hange repeated. You nodded once and a snort came from behind you. “Shy about what? How badass you are all the time?” You whirled around and slapped them on the shoulder. They grinned and rubbed at their arm. “What?” 

“You’re so annoying!” you groaned out, dragging a hand down your face. “I’m trying to open up here and you make a joke out of it?” Hange nodded. Another sigh came out before you could stop it.

Hange laughed again and put their hands on their hips. “Seriously, what do you have to be shy about? The only people you’re actively around is me, Erwin and  Le…” they trailed off and suddenly your face felt warm. Their mouth dropped open and they descended upon you, gripping the life out of your shoulders. “Is it finally happening?”

“What?” you asked. “Is what finally happening?” 

“Are you finally realizing you like Levi?!” 

If you thought you felt warm before, now it felt like you were being burned alive. “Hange!” you scolded, voice probably a little too loud. “Absolutely not! You know how he is! And why are you saying ‘finally’?” You could hardly believe them! Why would they even think that, much less say it? 

They pulled you into their chest, roughly patting the back of your head. “Oh, sweetie, how can you still not see it?” Despite practically whispering, it was loud and clear in your ears. Fear rolled down your spine. “You guys always sit together for meals, you’re always in his office helping with paperwork, the two of you actively seek each other out throughout the day, you even learned how to clean to his standards even though you hate cleaning. You still don’t realize your own feelings for him?” 

Every word was like a bucket of freezing cold water hitting you. Was Hange right? No, they couldn’t be. Though… they weren’t necessarily wrong. But so what if you and Levi were friends? You were friends with Hange and Erwin, with the kids from the 104th. Hell, you were practically friends with everyone. So why did Hange seem to make so much damn sense right now? 

Slowly, you put your forehead to their shoulder. Your chest grew tighter and tighter with every passing second until a tear dribbled downwards. “Hange…” you whispered. “What am I supposed to do?” 

They let out a soft sigh before pulling away. Your head stayed down and you watched as tears hit the floorboards. “You tell him.” You shot up, neck cracking at the motion. “Don’t look so shocked. What else is there to do?” 

“I don’t know! Cry, wallow in my own self pity, maybe?” you shrieked, Hange grinned. “Anything but that! He’d call me an idiot then either pretend it never happened or just not speak to me again.” 

“Hah!” Hange’s outburst startled you, making you jump a bit. “Like Levi would ever do that. Though, I really do think you’re an idiot!” They began to cackle again. Why were you friends with someone who found so much joy in your misery?

Before you could begin to say anything, a knock jostled the two of you into silence. A beat passed before Hange asked who was there. The last voice you ever wanted to hear in that moment responded, already sounding pissed off. “Levi,” he said. 

You dropped your face into your hands as Hange bounded to the door. They practically ripped the door off their hinges in their excitement to let Levi into the embarrassing conversation you were having. “Levi!” they exclaimed, hopping from foot to foot. “Fancy seeing you here, what can I help you with?” 

“You told me to stop by when I had the chance. Want me to clean your disgusting fucking room again?” he asked before peering inside. He noticed you, head still in your hands, before his expression softened. He called your name and shoved past Hange, whose smile was so wide it beat a titan’s. “Are you okay? What did this freak do to you?” Levi put his hands on your shoulders and spun you around to face him. You obliged and let your hands fall to your sides. 

“Levi, hi.” You couldn’t think of anything more to say. Seeing him was a shock and while you weren’t surprised to hear that Hange had told him to come, you were still confused nonetheless. 

He glanced across your face then turned back to Hange. “Were they crying?” he asked. You weren’t sure how Hange didn’t cower away from him; you definitely would’ve. His voice was filled with venom. Your friend merely nodded before slinking out of the door. 

Levi watched them go and waited until the door was shut before turning back to you. “Are you okay?” It took you a second to answer before giving him a simple nod. “What happened?” 

You looked away from him. “Hange was just… being Hange.” Levi clearly didn’t believe that was it, because he clicked his tongue in a remarkably disapproving way. “I’m serious.” 

“Yeah? Then what were they being so ‘Hange’ about?” As soon as the words left his lips you felt your head begin to ache. Maybe Hange was right. Maybe telling him wasn’t as difficult as you were making it seem. Maybe, just maybe, he’d reciprocate. Or you’d let it slip and he really wouldn’t ever talk to you again. The longer you stayed silent, though, the more irritated Levi seemed to get. “Well?” 

So you decided to not overthink it. “They were telling me that I obviously have feelings for you,” you said. “I didn’t agree with it at first but the more I thought about it, the more I realized they were right! I mean, I absolutely hate cleaning! But I do it all the time because I know how you are and I’m always on everyone else’s ass to keep things neat and orderly. You deserve to be happy and if something as stupid as shit being to your standards can make you happy then I’ll make sure it’s done. And I love sitting next to you, and I love when you kick my ass when we spar but I love it even more when we’re on our own and you pretend to let me win. And I know I”m, like, rambling at this point but the more I talk the more I realize I’m completely in love with you, Levi.”

Quickly, you clamped your hands over your mouth. You were totally, totally in love with him. And you just said it, like a fucking idiot. Levi stayed silent, eyes wide. The quiet was deafening and you vaguely heard laughter just beyond the door. 

Finally Levi seemed to come out of his stupor. “What did you just say?” he muttered. You cringed. 

“Are you really going to make me say it again?” Levi nodded and you let out a sigh. “Levi, I’m in love with you.” 

Uncharacteristically, he smiled. It was barely there and maybe nobody else would’ve been able to tell, but you could. At that moment, he looked so beautiful and soft. His grip on your shoulders tightened before his smile grew just a bit more. And, before you could stop yourself, you pressed your lips to his. The kiss was soft and tender, and your stomach felt like it was about to fall out. You smiled into it, your teeth hitting his for just a moment. Slowly, your hands reached up to tangle in his hair. You tugged at the short strands before pulling away. Levi put his forehead against yours before letting out a content sigh. 

He pressed a kiss to your head. “I’m in love with you, too.”

[ot3]

Something I really appreciate about no home in retrospect is the fact that haejoon calling eunyung out for not having any real friends near the beginning is just patently untrue. Like haejoons only experience with eunyung up to this point is him being extremely volatile and blatantly manipulative, and as we later find out his only past experience with other kids is ostracization and cruelty. So of course he's looking at this situation and projecting those dynamics onto it. But as we learn more about eunyung and haejoon starts treating him as an actual person it becomes clear that he's a genuinely charismatic guy who plenty of people actually care about. It just so happens that a lot of the people he's close with are, understandably so, also kids with unstable lives making for friendships that may not look like what someone like haejoon thinks they're supposed to.

[karalianne]

NaNoWriMo Fire

I have been posting comments on NaNoWriMo's Facebook page, to the most recent three posts there (copied and pasted). My latest one has apparently been blocked or something, so I'm going to start sharing here. Please do share this far and wide.

If you don't know what the NaNoWriMo fire is, I have two resources for you:

Reddit Post (took two to post the whole story)

Google Docs summary (being actively updated as things continue to burn)

So below the fold I'm pasting the comments I put on Facebook, in order. Enjoy!

March 5, 20204

It's becoming increasingly obvious that the goal here is to shutter NaNoWriMo as an organization. I wish you guys would just DO IT ALREADY instead of pretending you're trying to do right by the community. That ABSOLUTELY ATROCIOUS ABOMINATION of a new ML agreement is reprehensible. I hope NOBODY signs it, because it is BLATANTLY trying to put ALL BLAME for anything that goes wrong directly on the ML's. Which is ludicrous. On top of that, if people have concerns about the agreement they are automatically being removed as ML. That's not good faith. It's not transparency. I've been trying to believe the best but obviously that was really silly of me and I apologize for believing that everyone is capable of actually doing better.

March 7, 2024

The Board Update is laughable and reinforces the impression I offered in my previous comment. Basically, nobody on the Board right now was even there when all this stuff happened. NaNoWriMo the organization is not actually listening to the feedback from the community; supposedly there have been focus groups but none of the people I'm in contact with (which is a lot of people who have all been very heavily involved with the organization over the years) ever got an invitation. I am just one person, and I am aware that I am not owed anything. However, this entire thing continues to be mismanaged, and I do not for one second believe that the organization is heading in the right direction.

Again, I suggest you just shut things down completely like you're obviously planning. All the noises about trying to do the right thing, followed by this alarming lack of actually doing the right thing and incredibly tone-deaf approach, are not helping the situation. Support for the organization is dwindling, and I am not surprised. That's what happens when you ignore and/or woefully mismanage your response to concerns.

March 9, 2024

Well, I'm back for another round of "I thought I told you not to do this kind of thing." Again, I know I'm just a person and nobody has to listen to me, but I know plenty of people who agree with me.

First, regarding the FAQ for MLs, there are contradictions and missing words. I try not to criticize that sort of thing too much (in spite of being a trained proofreader) but this is supposed to be a writing organization, and you people at HQ are supposed to be writers. Do better.

Second, it has come to my attention that both the Terms & Conditions and the Codes of Conduct have been updated with no notification. That is ridiculous and unethical, not to mention poor business practice. Literally every organization I am connected to sends an e-mail to let me know when there are changes upcoming, and often those changes are outlined so I know what to expect. And then I have the option to leave if I don't agree with those changes.

If you did send a notification e-mail prior to these changes being implemented, well, hey, we already knew the e-mail system was borked so whatever. But it looks like literally NOBODY got a notification of the upcoming changes, which indicates that there was no attempt to follow best practices.

It is clear to me, and to many other people in the community, that nobody at HQ actually knows how to manage a non-profit. I'm also pretty sure you don't understand ethics or best practices. You're trying to get ahead of bad things that ALREADY HAPPENED, and if you're actually consulting a lawyer about all of these things before you do them, they are giving you horrible advice. You also needed a PR team back in like November (maybe even October).

There's a weird attitude that I've seen all over the place, that people who are being vocal about this disaster are being mean or trying to destroy NaNoWriMo or something like that. I want to be crystal clear here: People who are being vocal are speaking up on behalf of people who needed a voice. People were being abused and others decided to help them get out of that situation. When the expected solution (reporting to HQ) did not result in appropriate actions, they moved to make the situation public. (That's when I found out and got involved.)

When we were discussing problems and asking questions on the forums in November, we were trying to be productive. We were looking for answers, making suggestions, explaining what was wrong (because as we talked we learned that there was far more than just the Mod X situation that was wrong), offering our assistance... and we got shut down.

Now I'm also hearing that there has been a focus group. Who was in that focus group? How did you get the participants? Nobody I know was contacted to be on that focus group. Are you actually LISTENING to the participants? Are the people you're recruiting all folks who've made it clear they're mad at those of us who are using our voices to call out abuses of power, poor organization and business practices, and unethical behaviour? I don't care if I'm not approached to be a part of a focus group, but making sure you involve an assortment of viewpoints would be beneficial.

I am just incredibly disappointed in how everything has gone and is going. The yacht has sailed. It's time to accept that and move on.

March 12, 2024 (the one that isn't showing up)

Every time I turn around, it seems, there's something new to facepalm over. It is becoming increasingly clear that HQ is on the defensive. You need someone on staff, like, six months ago, who is actually capable of professional communication. Right now, we're receiving passive-aggressive whinges about how many e-mails there are and how you're giving up vacations in order to reply to them. At least some of the foolish "answers" on the FAQ (which again, why is that on Zendesk? That makes no sense.) have been removed. The thing is, nevermind Pepperidge Farm, the Internet remembers. EVERYTHING.

It is not professional to tell your subordinates (whether staff or volunteers) that you're giving up personal time in order to deal with a mess that is your responsibility to deal with. It is not professional to complain about having to do a job you agreed to take on.

It is not ethical to try and get anti-union verbage into an agreement for volunteers. It is not ethical to try and get volunteers to take on all liability for events they organize on your behalf.

It is incredibly rude to treat adults as if they are misbehaving children. Especially not when they are bringing you legitimate concerns and criticisms about how your organization is handling a serious situation.

And yes, a lot of this one is specifically about Kilby, because WTF? How have you been on multiple boards and not learned how to do all of this stuff properly? You were absolutely NOT the right person for the job, and it's laughable that you think you were.

[yandere-fics]

♡ How They Take Their Darling's Virginity ♡

♡ You being a virgin is a very welcome surprise, she wasn't expecting it considering how she is super not a virgin but she is still very pleased with this. She'll only realize it one day when she's got you cornered in a hallway and is trying to stick her head under your skirt and you blurt it out. After that the game is on, she must get you to allow her to take your first and last time, she'll be damned if someone else pleases her little maid, you can't even finger yourself quietly without her somehow knowing and barging in. ♡

♡ She loves this cute game the both of you are playing where you try to run from her aggressive advances and fail because it's her castle, where could you possibly go to, this is very amusing to her and honestly she's just getting off on knowing she has you cornered but you're still fighting. You don't need to know this but the longer you don't give in, the more she is planning on edging you when she gets her hands on you later. ♡

♡ Eventually she does grow weary of the game and so she just calls you blatantly into her office and keeps you there and she forces you to sit on her face and allow her to have what she wants, and after she gets your knees to buckle and get you to sit down properly she has you in her office for hours, she cleared her schedule for two days just for this. You're going to be so drained when she's finally had her temporary fill. ♡

♡ By the way, she did take your virginity so that means she needs to take accountability and marry you right? It's only right, you can't say no or put it off, you made a big deal about your virginity so you clearly care and so you had better let her take accountability otherwise you were just lying about it being important in order to reject the crown princess which would make you a very ungrateful maid and you wouldn't want that would you? Good then enjoy being her queen and settle down darling. ♡

♡ She's very happy mostly because it means you won't notice she has experience in theory but no real experience. There's no way she's going to initiate because she's aggressively shy, sure she'll say she wants to sleep with you but she is talking out her ass to mask how incredibly worried she is about fucking up, she will combust if you take her up on that offer because she doesn't think she can actually realistically handle it. ♡

♡ She needs to make sure you have somewhere nice to do it and rest, unless you insist on doing it in just whatever inn is closest, she'll accept your judgement on whatever you say plus she's a bit scared she might chicken out if she waits too long, this is just very nerve wracking, she doesn't want to admit it but being in catholic school might have made her overly anxious about the idea of virginity. ♡

♡ She's very emotional but will try to hide how she is on the verge of crying because she's just so happy. While she has a plethora of sex toys available, this is very special and she'd like to stick with the basics for now, you two are in love right? Otherwise you wouldn't have let her have this so needless to say she will get plenty of opportunities to do what she wants. ♡

♡ She's so clingy after you've done it for the first time and very delusional. She also is 100% more defensive of your relationship than she might be normally because she views your relationship as super strong since you both lost your virginities to each other which means she wants to work extra hard to keep it together. People aren't even allowed to be alone with you when she's not there anymore. ♡

♡ Pauline gets very soft and sweet when she finds out you're a virgin and you actually want her to take your virginity, she was still worried you might think of this as just a contract relationship but surely this means you're taking it very seriously. You might expect her to be degrading and bossy like she is every time you make out but you're shocked that she's so soft as she tells you she would love to take it and thanks you for trusting her with this, she tries to avoid vulnerability but since you're being it first then you deserve it from her. She will wait a few days after you ask before she actually takes it. ♡

♡ She's extremely aggressive in the days where she's preparing so you might think that small moment was a one off and will never happen again but she's just very stressed out as she prepares to make sure this is perfect for you and so she's just a bit snappier than she would be regularly. She just has so much running through her mind and she really is worried you might back out which makes her meaner leading up to it. ♡

♡ Once you're actually there she is incredibly soft, she massages you with relaxing oils that she had to sneak from the capital since her family hates capital imports and normally she wouldn't risk it since she wants the dean title at the academy but you are more than worth it for it. She's extremely focused on your pleasure the entire time though she does assure you this is a one time thing and in the future she's going to make you serve her to make up for her treating you so well, idiot. ♡

♡ She's very soft with you, well soft for her so not that soft actually, afterwards and she'll take very little crap from her family. In all future encounters with her she also is sure to make it known she is a sadist so that sappy shit isn't going to be happening as often as you might want, though she is going to make room for the sappy shit too when she's less stressed out. ♡

♡ She can't decide if she's shocked about it or not, on one hand you are perfect and beautiful and there must have been many who wished to have you in such an intimate way but on the other hand well why would you grace those pests with your time, you are so far above them that she can hardly believe you're giving her your time. She'll gladly accept however, it only makes sense, you want to lose your virginity and while she is nowhere near as good as you, she is the only one who could possibly even come close to being entrusted with such a task. ♡

♡ She did have very through plans but the moment you suggested her drinking your blood during it, all thoughts and plans flew from her head because now she's just thinking about how to make that happen, sure she is still going to take care of you but this is just so good that she's not going to waste what her precious sunflower has offered to her. ♡

♡ She eats you out for hours on end trying to get you completely tired and then she bites you and drinks your blood, she just wants you to be so tired that you don't feel as much of the pain from the biting as you might normally. To her shock and delight however her biting at the moment of your last orgasm of the night makes it so powerful that you almost black out. ♡

♡ She just has to marry you after this, sure she feels bad but she's not going to let the opportunity to force you to be completely off limits to everyone else to go to waste. She's also going to be offering herself up to you for release constantly no matter where the both of you are, she won't ask to drink your blood like that again unless you offer but you can tell it's forever imprinted on her mind. ♡

♡ Despite being a pent up mega virgin herself, she never really considered the possibility that you were a virgin, fine ladies usually take several lovers and even in her romance novels the lady has had other lover in the past so she just didn't consider it and she has odd feelings about it. She's happy no one has touched you but it just throws her off because she was always expecting to potentially have to duel her ladies past lovers but now she doesn't. She'll want to do it almost as soon as she finds out, sure she had previously been waiting but now she needs to have you. ♡

♡ She's not as aggressive in her pursuit as some others might be but she definitely makes it clear she very much would like to do this with you. She'll wait for you to tell her you want it but she'll constantly tell you about all the special things she's bought just for your first night together, she bought you a cute comfortable lingerie set and she got pajama pants and a silky pajama shirt that match them so it's very clear you're future duke and duchess. ♡

♡ For the love of god guide her through everything she's doing so she doesn't start trying to do things to you that happened when one of the ladies in her novels did wind up losing their virginity, human bodies don't bend the way her books describe, once you get her on track it's a very nice night though! ♡

♡ Abigail wants to start wedding planning even during the sex so it only makes sense she and you are getting married very quickly after you've spent the night together. Under normal circumstance she wouldn't try to force you into a quick marriage after one night, she'd wait until you've been dating longer, but judging by how you gave this to her, it means you must want to be her duchess and lady that badly so she must make both of your dream come true! ♡

♡ Veronia has thought about it alot, she thinks about it every time she's out on a hunt thinking about how maybe if she gets you a shiny enough gem this time then you'll allow her to finally complete the bond. She's not expecting you to do anything in gratitude, adjusting to the forest and her has likely been difficult and she doesn't mind if she has to wait a good amount of time to finally have this, though beware once you tell her you want it, she's on you, no waiting a day or two to get things prepared, she needs you now please.(You can push her away and tell her there needs to be preparation if you're cruel and don't feel anything when you see how devastated she looks.) ♡

♡ There's already a bed in the cave that you sleep in most nights when she's not shifted and having you sleep in her tail but she's actually really worried it might not handle it, not that she's planning on completely destroying you the first time but the bed already creaks a bit when she lays next to you on it so it's worrying. She'll drag the mattress on the floor and put a bunch of furs on it just to make sure your bed frame doesn't snap while you're doing it. Remind her to make the merchant get a very very sturdy one next time he drops by. ♡

♡ She's acting on pure instinct alone, she's not dumb enough to just shove both of her cocks in at the same time, she knows she should only use one on you, she is however dumb enough to not know that you need to be prepared, she discovers that on accident because she's too curious not to touch you first and that's when she realize your hole is actually really tight around her fingers so how is it going to fit her and that's when it hits her she might need to loosen you up first which she does. Once she's in you she's extremely whiny, can't fucking shut up about how happy she is she gets to keep you forever now. ♡

♡ She acts extremely affectionate afterwards, whereas normally she would sit away and allow you to come to her, now she actually begins to come to you. She's going to take every opportunity she can to initiate for the first while until you tell her you need a break or you might get sick because she's literally insatiable and would go all week if you didn't need food and sleep. You also wake up with the largest jewel you have ever seen next to the mattress and a huge bear she's planning on skinning and having made into a very nice fur for you. ♡

♡ Surprisingly takes it seriously instead of turning it into an experiment, mostly because you're only a virgin once which means an experiment related to that would not be replicable so why would she do anything related to that when there's no way to make the results conclusive. She's very pleased you're a virgin, if not she would have to kill anyone who had laid their hands on you previously, she'd use their blood in order to expand your life. ♡

♡ When you ask she does use it to get to know your preferences in order to cater any future experiments around the things you seem to really enjoy this first time. She'll make sure it's extremely comfortable and will likely get maybe some wine or aphrodisiacs to lighten you up, will give you a bit of her uhm.... just to make you feel a bit lightheaded and very nice for this first time. Don't ask what she mixed in with the food, you aren't getting an answer. ♡

♡ She spends the first two hours just picking you apart with her tongue and tracing every part of your neck, chest, thighs, any of you really to figure out which points are sensitive, not to worry you have one of those gags that opens your mouth so that way she can hear which things get you the most worked up. After that she makes you cum on her fingers a few times to figure out what pace and angles you enjoy and then you'll be trapped on her cock for another few hours and she figures out how far she can push the limits of your stamina before you pass out, she wants to make you faint on her when you do it for the first time and she will get what she wants. ♡

♡ She's not going to initiate for a while as you need rest and relaxation plus she had a lot of idea for you in the first night and so she's having trouble even deciding what she wants to do first because she's just way too excited for all the ideas she had and while she knows she has infinite time to get them all done she's just so worked up up everything she gets to do now that it's too hard for her to pick. Eventually she'll just get a wheel and spins to decide. ♡

[mauesartetc]

I've observed that some HB fans with trauma feel so attached to the characters and the show that they defend every writing decision and take any criticism as a personal attack. I can understand relating to and feeling sympathy for a character because of personal experiences, but Helluva Boss is a terrible media for emotionally vulnerable teenagers and young adults to uncritically consume.

It just pisses me off that so many people will praise HB for representing abuse with Stolas and Stella, yet ignore the unhealthy relationship dynamics, abusive behaviors portrayed in a positive light and bad writing in general.

Real talk: Speaking as an emotional abuse survivor myself, it pisses me off to no end that Helluva Boss has failed to represent this subject with any sensitivity or subtlety.

It's important to remember that abusers are often charming and charismatic, and they exhibit positive traits (at least early on) that make the other person want to salvage the relationship.

What the hell are Stella's positive traits? In what little screentime she's had thus far, she's been elitist, rude, destructive, pouty, murderous, sadistic, and a little stupid (failing to consider that if Stolas died, Octavia would inherit all his wealth and leave her with nothing). While there's evidence to support the claim that she acted like she was in love early on in her marriage (she's smiling in the Loo Loo Land photo, sleeps in the same bed as Stolas in a flashback and has stated she used to pretend to want to fuck him), there's nothing to suggest her personality was ever anything but odious. Even when Stolas first sees her photo as a child, it portrays an awful little brat.

It's pretty clear Stolas has never had any reason to love her, so why does he stay?

He says it's because he wants Octavia to have "a normal life", aka a two-parent household. But how exactly does that benefit her when those parents are constantly fighting? You might think "Well, that's a lot of parents' excuse for not getting divorced, but that doesn't mean it's right", but the show never challenges his stance on this. There's never a moment when he realizes, "Oh shit, maybe my definition of 'normal' is actually hurting my daughter". He only declares he wants a divorce after his first tryst with Blitzo and on the balcony when he tells Stella he "can't do this anymore". He's doing it entirely for his benefit, not because it would improve Octavia's life.

(And because the writers blatantly favor Stolas and everything he says, I have to wonder if they actually believe the standard nuclear family represents a "normal"- implied in this case to be good and desirable - life by default, regardless of how miserable everyone in the family is. On the off-chance that is indeed the case, as someone who lost a parent at a young age: Fuck all the way off with that, show.)

Also, we're not lead to believe divorce was never an option at any point. If a royal in this world gets divorced, what are the consequences? Would Stolas lose his title? Would he be executed? The whole point of this marriage was to have a kid, so literally what was stopping them from splitting up after she was born (other than the bullshit "normal life" excuse)? Why can't Stolas just visit Octavia? Why does he have to live with her? Plenty of kids with divorced parents still get quality time with both of them. The solution was right there all along, but Stolas felt the need to wait until his daughter was seventeen to split with his wife? For some reason?? The writers try to pass it off as some noble sacrifice he's making, but in reality, he's just being a dumbass.

Okay, so maybe he's just afraid to leave, like many abused people are. I'll have to call bullshit on that, since he never even tried to keep his affair a secret. He's openly flirted with Blitzo in public (at Loo Loo Land and the Harvest Moon Festival, in front of dozens of witnesses) and met Blitzo at a couples-only nightclub, where they sat in plain view of everyone else there. Couldn't even bother using your powers to disguise yourself, bud? Or does that only work when it's convenient to the plot? If Stolas were the least bit threatened by Stella or what the Goetia family would think, he wouldn't be this bloody obvious. While it's possible this is a self-sabotage sort of thing, the show has never given us evidence that Stolas has those kinds of tendencies.

In short, Stella's a hamfisted, stereotypical portrayal of an abuser, and Stolas just doesn't come off like the abuse affects him at all (or at least not until the episode where it needs to for plot reasons). Obviously not all abusers or abuse survivors in real life will fit into the same mold, but there's straight-up zero logic to these characters' behavior. I've mentioned this very astute video before, but here's one quote that perfectly sums up how poorly this show handles character motivations:

There's a... character consistency issue that results from having these characters exist only to dispense abuse. Their actions stop adding up... [Stella's] thing is that she wants to be away from Stolas... Why does she repeatedly show up to the house just when Stolas is around to torment him? This behavior is quite strange. She does not like him. She does not want to be around him... We're to assume that Stella wants to feel mad, wants to feel bad, and that's what she wants to do with her life.

This isn't how real people act. And of course fictional characters aren't real people and any sense of agency they have is just an illusion at the end of the day. But ideally they should feel real to the audience.

I now fully understand why I was leery of these writers potentially exploring a character's addiction. It's because they've shown they can't be trusted to give serious subject matter the care and weight it deserves.

[chirpsythismorning]

I'm not going to say we should take every single thing official Netflix accounts post as gospel, because obviously they are not run by the Duffer Brothers themselves.

But to be clear, these people are hired by Netflix and there's more to it than just random interns scheduling posts. The people running these accounts are not the same people designing the posts made there, just like the people designing those posts have higher ups telling them what to do/not do in terms of the content they are creating. And there are plenty more levels that go beyond that, which eventually does lead to the Duffers and producers of the show, who do have a stake in how the show is promoted on a basic level to best align with their intentions and all the revelations still to come.

It is common knowledge that the Duffers work with Netflix marketing directly on a consistent basis to get their vision across, and that carries out in promotion with posters, merchandise, social media, etc., because it's really important in ST case (with it being a show made by nerds that love easter eggs), that they foreshadow what is still to come outside of the show itself.

When it comes to social media, the core purpose of those accounts is to encourage engagement for Netflix's user base, ideally ensuring they tune in to whatever is being promoted (and more), but it’s also more than that, in that it’s even more based on data and other factors.

What this leads to is the people in those less major decision-making roles, like graphic designers, simply being advised what to create, based on the information and content they are given to work with.

And so these accounts going from promoting byler subtly for years, to blatantly posting about it post-s5, is actually very, very intentional, going beyond a simple Netflix intern. It’s orchestrated by those in management positions, being advised by those in the ST production to do things a certain way, so that when all is said and done, we are able to look back and find tiny little things that point to it.

Byler can't be something they NEVER talked about even once on social media, only to have them end up being endgame with them posting about it forever afterwards when it's all said and done. It doesn't work like that, at least not in ST case. We're talking about a production that costs hundreds of millions to make, as well as being the most talked about mainstream series of our generation.

They have an obligation to make their story feel not only satisfying on its own, but to also promote the show in a way that makes the viewer feel this whole well-rounded experience, outside of the show itself as well.

And so when ST came out in summer 2022 and Netflix Geeked was making posts about it non-stop, that wasn't a rogue, low-paid Netflix intern doing whatever they wanted. That was multiple people with a job given a task and following through with it at their advisers discretion. Regardless of where it ended up, it started at the top with the Duffers informing higher ups in marketing that Byler is something that will happen, along with other revelations that they want to inform marketing about, so they can take the steps to plan ahead and create content that matches the Duffer's vision, most often to act as a foreshadowing device for the story still unraveling.

Remember when Netflix Geeked made a post acknowledging that Will the Wise drawing in El's room back in s3?? A very well known byler easter egg that only we know about??? That wasn't some ga intern watching the show once and them spontaneously coming up with content to create related to that drawing and posting about it themselves. That was very likely someone associated with the show giving suggestions to marketing, with a few of them being very incriminating in relation to byler, but with most being casual in relation to the show overall.

Just like I said in this post about how Noah didn't tweet about byler or mention it multiple times at cons unprompted bc he was feeling quirky. He was being advised to...

And look what Netflix did to that tweet Noah posted that was clearly a stunt in an of itself.? They broadcasted it and made a cheesy ass edit out of it... And it's bc several people behind the scenes were advised to make content like that specifically.

I mean, if you actually look at how social media promotes byler (if and when it does), it's arguably in the exact way that the Duffers want it to be promoted?. Just enough. Not too little. Not too much. I would argue if the Duffers had no say whatsoever in how the show was promoted, then we'd either be seeing byler constantly or we wouldn't see them at all, instead we see social media sort of dance around it, which tells me they are following the exact approach the Duffers themselves follow... because they were obviously given the instruction to.

And so seeing an account like UK Netflix, an account that as of recent has really went all out with posting Queer content since Heartstopper released, has also notably made really incriminating posts about byler over the years, but especially as of recent. And that's in large part because of what I've stated, but also based on data.

If higher ups in marketing at Netflix know about byler, then they are very likely pushing people lower on the payroll, doing more simple tasks like graphic design and social media management, to make connections to ST with other shows like Heartstopper, Sex Education, Young Royals, etc. And this is because if byler IS going to end up being this huge Queer love story, data is telling them to make these connections sooner than later, so that the eventual revelation will be a smooth transition amongst other content just like it. This works in Netflix's favor at the end of the day, which is the whole point of all of this.

Not saying you should take the most casual of Netflix posts as byler endgame proof if that's what you're asking. But to say that these accounts have NO association with the Duffer's and ST directly, therefore we shouldn’t even appreciate anything they post if it points to byler, is sort of over-simplifying things.

It's not like s5 is gonna drop and all of these interns are going to be like OHHH okay now i'm a byler so i'll post about it... Going into s5 they're going to be making some very side eye posts and it isn't going to have anything to do with them being an intern without any say in things, its gonna be about them getting a task list and following through with it bc it's their job.

[lover-of-mine]

Hello friend! I hope your day has been good! I know mine has! Thank you Aisha and official 911 account for that 😂

My discord is filled with some not so happy people. They don’t understand why the official account is so blatantly fueling the hate for Tommy. They thought they loved them. They don’t understand what happened to all the positive Tommy love they were promoting and pushing (I’m not really sure when that even ever happened but 😅) They got told more BT was coming and them deleting every single anti Tommy comment yesterday was proof. (Again not sure why they just believed this when there are still plenty of anti Tommy comments up)

The cropping of Lou seems to be what has really set my particular discord servers BT fans off. Because denying the clear pattern in those Hen Chim and Buck photos like they do in public, in private they see it and then to crop Lou out in the one for he. has them mad mad mad. I’m sure we all remember being accused of being homophobic when that still originally came out and people cropped him out. Well now they did too. Officially. And they also know it was a choice to use that photo for Hen when they have plenty of other ones they could have used for her solo/with friends picture. Which is the other issue they have because to them it makes it seem like the show is also saying they aren’t friends. Remember she’s supposed to be BTs biggest in canon cheerleader.

Add the insult of using multiple 7.4 stills for bucks and also not including him? Anger and confusion. Which I will say today has caused some of them to turn their back on their “insider.” They promised no more Buddie. No more Ryan and Oliver. Those photos yesterday were red herrings for the main event today aka Lou Lou and more Lou. And well…this is what they get instead. But this is also what happened on reddit before they got laughed off and came to tumblr. It’s been like watching an ever increasing bad car accident as they get more insane with what’s to come, doesn’t happen, back tracking, no more insane predictions, doesn’t happen, rinse repeat. Now if only they could open their eyes on the ship itself.

~🅰️

Hello love 🩷

Today has definitely been a gift that keeps on giving. I don't know why they believe literally everything someone says when you just have to check their comments for 5 seconds to find anti comments. But that post had to have been a hit because there are so many things that could've had him but didn't. And top it off with the way that they used Eddie on Buck's section of it? Hello???? All their narratives keep crumbling before their eyes and it's insane for real. What even is our life that every time they convince themselves they are getting a win, we get it instead? Crazy. It's almost as if the ship was never meant to last.

[66sharkteeth]

Another episode that I don't have a tonnn of thoughts on, but it was fun to explore Jericho's past a bit finally and give people one more piece of the puzzle of how he became the way he is.

I guess my thoughts are mostly around people's...understanding or lack of in this episode. I'm concerned how many people still seemed to be confused about Jericho's situation, but also relieved how many people are able to get people up to speed. Like okay... So plenty of people are following. I'm not doing a completely bad job haha.

I guess to summarize it though, because I do see a lot of...misremembering? Or just flat out forgetting?

Jericho's real name is Simon. He was born a half-blank. He has the face of his brother, who we met last season, but we see more grown up this episode. He is the exact same situation as Rex. Born to a human mother by the same father (Derek Kelman) and has a half-human brother. Rex and Jericho are not metaphorical brothers in any way. They have literally the same dad........which was very blatantly explained back in episode 124, so I'm not sure why this was such a shocking revelation to a bunch of people. Not really sure what's "metaphorical" about this:

So to summarize...

Human Derek got his face stolen. While he lacked the memories of his family with Mikiah and his mom, he hooked up with Jericho's mom and made Jericho. Before he knew she was pregnant with him, he remembered his family and went home to Mikiah and his mom and made Rex. And yes, Derek definitely wasn't uh...responsible LMAO in order to make so many oopsies.

I really hope all of this is clear if you like...read CoB in one sitting... Because it has all been explained, but maybe it's just hard to retain a lot of this when you're just reading it weekly. I dunno. I saw someone call CoB boring recently too. I know it was just one small comment from one person, but it makes me wonder if I'm not so good at writing certain things and people tune out... I really love writing my characters interacting and chatting (like in ep 124 which clearly a lot of people tuned out of) but maybe other people find that stuff kinda boring. There's not much else to say other than I just plan to keep writing this story to the best of my ability. I just hope that's good enough. Sometimes I get afraid it's not. I do know at least a good chunk of you will stick with me to the end though, and I'm trying to just look at that positive side.

[deviantartdramahub]

So Tri alerted me that I've been name-dropped again, lol. https://www.deviantart.com/oh-my-arceus/status-update/Imagine-claiming-that-I-fake-1060054245

When she sent me this, I said "Love how she's too scared to argue with me here anymore, so she turned to her toe-suckers to protect her. Also one of them claiming I talked to them and deactivated my account?? What are these bitches on."

Yeah first off, never talked to this Fae person, nor did I ever deactivate my account, so more proof DADN, Evie, and any of their allies just pull shit out of their ass. And ofc no-critical-thinking-skills Evie absentmindedly agreeing with her. I guess they're smoking too much of that weed they love admitting to take smh.(Not to mention I already proved the pedo accusations about my friend false, and would never tell someone to KYS???)

And 2nd of all, Evie posting about this situation with zero context, not that it matters bc either way her toe-suckers would believe and blindly defend her no matter what. Wonder if they do know about the slur-spouting, disability-shaming, autism-faker denying, clutch using, ect ect ect. :/

And I do know about it, which is why I called you out on it, dumbass...and because you know I know about it, you got scared and ran away, going to your toe-suckers to comfort you. Meanwhile I'm standing here laughing my ass off, having yet to be proven wrong about any of the claims I've made. Pretty sure it's safe to assume my claims are all correct. -w-

And 3rd...as you should know by now I'm not just accusing Evie of faking out of any ableism (I think it's clear she tried saying that to hopelessly mask the true accusations of HER ableism I called out.) because I have good reasons to believe this, due to the way she talks about disabled people, the way she blatantly struggled to come up with this excuse at first, the way she waited for me to say I have autism to then say she has autism, all while making it out as if I was crying about my disorder when I was really explaining how I have a disability when she doesn't, the way she spreads rumors based off of stereotypical bigotry, and the way she denies anyone has ever lied about having a disability, when yes sweetie, people do that all the time, including you! :)

And I'm sure there's plenty of other proof you're faking, if anyone reading this has other things to back this up, then feel free to share it. And I've already shared the proof for all my claims before, but if anyone wishes for me to share it again, then I'll be happy to!! ^u^

But anyways, Fae and Evie, I'd like to see proof of my friend being a pedo, me telling Evie to end herself, me ever talking to Fae, and me ever deactivating my account. (Fucking Hell you can just go to my profile rn and you'll see it's perfectly fine https://www.deviantart.com/gellygirl/gallery)

Oh and also Evie dearest, still waiting for those "papers" you mentioned! They coming anytime soon, orrr...? <3

Disability will always be a complicated issue, but there are some fine lines and it's sad those are argued about especially by a senior member. One has to wonder what that's built on.