#Does anyone even know LOTF

[spiderlilyvalley]

Simon's Conversation With The Lord of the Flies

Definitely not my usual content, but I thought I'd share to tumblr too.

This was done without any planning/layouts, with only pen. It's very experimental because I was experimenting with different ways of shading and comic panel layout so... bare with me there.

I love Simon very much, and the interaction between him and the LOTF is my favorite scene of the entire book. I made this in a week long frenzy for my AP Lit class and... well, here it is.

(Also, sorry for any formatting/text issues, it's very hard to take good pictures of warped paper...) 🪰 🐷

[marmaladeinlemonade]

Guys does anyone know wth golding meant when he put the double sided spear in ch 12 of lotf. Like not even ralph knew, genuinely what did roger have in store for bro

[mccall-me-maurice]

ERRR I DON’T LIKE LOTF THAT MUCH ANYMORE BUT I’D LOVE TO HEAR ANY ROGER HCS!! roger my fav

HELLO!!!! ROGER HCS ON THE WAY !!

> rogers parents died when he was 5-6. the only thing he got out of the wreckage that they died in was a cat named nastya and he’s kept her ever since

> roger doesn’t really consider anyone (even the choir) his “friends.” he associates with them either because he has to or because they benefit him in some way

> roger is maurice’s cousin from his father’s side, but neither of them mention it very often

> despite what it may seem, roger is pretty hard to make mad. he’s calm probably 99% of the time

> he’s an alto with a wicked falsetto when he feels like he wants to do it. he really never does

> roger isn’t actually that short. he’s somewhere in an average height range when he stops growing (so like 5”9-5”10 ish). it’s just that he looks tiny because jack is huge

> roger is right hand dominant for writing and left hand dominant for everything else. on the island he holds a spear with his left hand and writes with his right

> roger gets fostered by simon’s dad while he can’t find a family and during that time he NEVER sees simon because he’s considered too dangerous to be around other kids

> roger learned how to throw rocks so well from his father. his rock throwing abilities also make him strangely good at skipping stones

> he was a warrior cat child. he hissed and bit people on the playground

> rogers last name is volkov which means wolf in russian

> roger is russian on his dad’s side and vietnamese on his mother’s side

> in modern headcanons, he has snake bite piercings that he did himself because he’s just an absolute menace

> doesn’t smile like at all ever and while it’s mostly because he doesn’t feel as though he has anything to smile about, he also hates the way he looks when he smiles

> wears the same hoodie daily and it’s like really gross with cigarette burns and GET A NEW ONE.

> the family that adopted him is a little old lady and her husband and they’re the only 2 people roger shows a soft spot for and if you mention that he likes them to him, he gets hostile

> extremely knowledgable about the human body, in a kind of creepy way. he knows where every artery is, the quickest way to kill someone effectively by looking at the person ONCE, he’s just scary

> not christian like at all. he’s a satanist 100% but in a chill way in most cases, not the stereotypical christian portrayal of a satanist

[2xmiu]

lotf fanfic thing

started this over the week when i had no internet. probably not going to continue, but here it is anyway

Jack Merridew was not friends with Ralph Allenbach anymore.

They had had a very long and dramatic fight, something that belonged more in a late-night soap opera than Ralph’s medium-sized bedroom. It involved a lot of screaming, and thankfully Ralph’s parents weren’t home, because a lot of childish insults and embarrassing secrets were thrown around, and Ralph is extremely thankful nobody heard them.

Jack doesn’t like Piggy, thinks he’s a ‘little bitch who clings to your side cause he’s got no other friends’, and Ralph can’t stand Roger, that ‘creepy asshole who’s cheated on his girlfriend too many times to count’. Jack gets annoyed by the way Ralph lets others cling to him, and Ralph isn’t a fan of how Jack treats everyone around him like shit.

Jack says he doesn’t treat Ralph like shit, and Ralph tells him that doesn’t matter, that being the exception to a terrible rule doesn’t make him feel any better. Jack says that apparently nothing does, and Ralph says that isn’t true, that it’s like Jack doesn’t know who he is anymore, and doesn’t want to know.

Ralph can’t remember what started the fight, only knows it was something stupid Jack said. Maybe something about how he’d kill Piggy given the chance, and though Ralph tolerates Jack’s occasional murderous impulses, it’s never been against anyone specific, so Ralph would’ve called him on that, and Jack wouldn’t have taken it well.

Or maybe Jack told him he didn’t like anyone in this stupid shitty town, except Ralph of course, and Ralph got annoyed by his attitude and said something unnecessarily cruel, and then Jack elaborated on why, and Ralph got pissed and told him off.

Ralph could have understood the sentiment of not liking anyone here, though. He didn’t really, didn’t feel like they could really understand him. Except Jack, who was so similar to Ralph but different also, or Simon, who understood everyone. So it probably wasn’t that. 

Then it was the former, and even though Ralph disliked Piggy at times, and couldn’t stand him in others, he didn’t want Piggy dead, and he wouldn’t have wanted to hear someone say they’d like to kill Piggy.

But whatever it was didn’t matter, because they most definitely were no longer friends.

Unfortunately, their biology teacher had not quite gotten the memo, so, because Ralph was her favorite by a mile, they were partnered together for the dissection of a fetal pig.

[teddyreblogslotf]

hi! anon bc i’m scared but i think u’ll know who i am. i’m rlly sorry abt the hatemail that u n others have been receiving recently and ik u don’t need to hear this from me but i want u to know that u don’t deserve it at all, u’ve been so unbelievably kind and patient w me and u and everyone else in the lotf fandom makes me feel happy to have spent my time in such a loving and welcoming fandom, even tho i look back on myself during this time in embarrassment. best wishes 💓💓

thank you so much for reaching out! i am so thankful for you doing this because i will admit, it has been rough for me! however, people like you really make being in the lotf community worth it. i’m honestly glad that i can help people be comfortable in the fandom in any capacity, and that there are people who do feel welcomed and safe in the community. that’s one of my only goals and i’m so thankful for you sending an ask! it really does mean a lot to me, i cant really put it into words. i just hope that everyone finds a space that they feel safe and welcomed in, whether it be here or somewhere else!

also in my opinion, nobody here is a bad person! people make choices that may be bad (i’ve done so many times), but the most important thing is growing and i’m honestly so happy that people are given the chance to grow. nobody is a bad person here, and everybody always deserves multiple chances because that’s a human right imo! i have never looked at anything anyone has done and hated them for it. we are all learning and human :) ❤️❤️❤️

[cienie-isengardu]

Woah. I know you did not post a comic in a fandom tag framing an issue that's suffered by actual real people in a fictional world with little to no basis in the canon just to angst about how much you hate a fictional character. Does someone really need to point out to you how that's poor taste? and making a mockery of the suffering of actual people? Karen Traviss wrote the fist gay couple in Star Wars who were Mandalorians. They don't care about sexualities. Get a clue.

Hello Anon,

I did not create and post the comics with ill intention to mock real people or their struggles, just used this certain scenario to show how narrow-minded Kal’s views may be hurting other vulnerable people under his care. If this comic offended anyone, then I sincerely apologized. 

However I do not agree that being critical (or even satirical) toward fictional character means I must hate them the same as I do not agree my latest arts are baseless commentary of Skirata���s behavior as the book series made a lot points about his, at best, casual misogyny and how he framed normality for himself and clones (or in general, men) as to have a wife and kids that, for from my perspective and experience, seems to be the ground for Fi’s depression in True Colors, going so far as expressing the willingness to be in potentially abusive relationship just to have any girlfriend (double highlighted by the fact that non-Skirata trained clones like Deltas, Maze, Corr or even Atin did not have much second thought about the need of romantic and sexual relationship with women to feel “normal”).

I’m really glad you mentioned the gay Mandalorians* brought by the same author because their existence is what makes Republic Commando’s narrowed narrative stands even more. The two book series were written almost at the same time - RepCom from 2004 to 2009, LotF from 2006 to 2008 and since characters like Jusik, Jaing & Venku/Kad could migrate to the “bigger galactic” picture of LotF while sadly, the gender and sexual neutrality of LotF!Mandalorians did not bring anything to RepCom, then coming to the conclusion that Skirata - and presented by him ideals or in general, book narrative - does not represent the typical mandalorian social norms is not that far-stretched concept (and again, comics and previous arts of mine has never made fun of mandalorian culture as a whole, only Skirata’s narrow mindset and was never “Kal would hate his sons for not being straight" but rather "Kal is not really prepared to confront the possibility that clones may not want this kind of life").

To not keep the text too long, I again sincerely apologize to those who may feel offended by my art but I can’t apologize for my interpretation of Kal Skirata’s characterization as it is coming straight from the books. I do acknowledge though that everyone is free to interpret the source material according to personal experiences and understanding of the presented situations the characters were put.

 (*and anyone old enough to be already in star wars fandom during Legacy of the Force book series release may remember how a certain group of fans lashed out because of openly homosexual Mandalorians but like always, fandom can easily become a toxic place , so nothing new here, sadly). 

[mex-sickos]

William golding really was a sick little freak but I honestly don't even feel like LotF even gives you like all of the context on this his bibliography in its entirety are all poorly written edgeposting that I can only assume got popular by the fact that racist could jerk off to perceived "human nature", his next best known work, pincher martin, is basically just a 20th century equivalent of an m night shamalayan movie, with the premise "having themes of sanity and insanity" but is just a guy surviving a shipwreck, floating to an island, having a bunch of hallucinations, and then finding out he actually died and this is hell or smth, and the real reason I don't respect any British literature award given out is because to my knowledge I only think he only ever won one for any particular book (he also won a nobel prize for his bibliography as a whole but they'll give a nobel prize to anyone famous enough) his book "rites of passage" was the start of his trilogy and the last of what I consider his "real" works (paper men was blatantly written to fuel his alcoholism in his later years "a look into his psyche" my ass all writing is a look into the writers psyche, and other writers have more on their mind then "please let me just drink myself to death") but yeah rites of passage is literally I shit you not about a guy sailing to Australia and he's gotta keep the crew from turning on each other for like really no reason except for golding just really wants them to fight, the reverends plot line is literally just meet guy, think he's nice, he does something stupid, fights with the captain, gets drunk, has gay sex with a crew mate, dies and I shit you not "of shame", gets a burial at sea, then the main character feels bad about not getting to know him better, and that's basically the fucking book, William Golding was an absolute dogshit writer and the only "illumination of the human condition in the world of today" he did was make me respect a whole lot of establishments know for their prestige a whole lot less for thinking his work was anything less then shitty proto-fanfiction

🤝

Us predicating our least favorite English class """classic""" based on the merits of it only being a classic because it's racist and frankly poorly written early english doomposting

Lord of the flies always reminds me of that one teacher who left the class by themselves as a test/proof that children left alone would naturally cause chaos and instead they ended up just like being confused before a couple of the kids were like ok I guess we gotta teach ourselves like wow I guess William Golding was just a sick old freak

[chunsoftie]

I know it was like five centuries ago but you mentioned that Piggy is the most important character in Lord of the Flies. Can you tell more about it, please?

Thanks for the ask! I’m sorry it took me five centuries to respond, I honestly didn’t even see I had asks in my inbox until now. So, thanks for the question!

I honestly haven’t really touched LoTF in a while, so this explanation might be a little rusty. I’m sorry if this isn’t very detailed, I’ll just answer this how it’s in my head.

I feel like Piggy is the most important character to LoTF because everything revolving him matters immensely to the people around him and the story itself. If it wasn’t for Piggy, there likely wouldn’t be as much of a gap between Ralph and Jack when it comes to their ideals. Piggy is the main person who convinces Ralph to be wary of Jack and to try to be level-headed as chief.

Piggy also has shown to be very loyal to Ralph and his loyalty is what helps him have determination in finding a way for them to be rescued. This isn’t a way for me to say Piggy is better than anyone else, after all he participated in the feast and we all know how that ended. I think Piggy does a great job of trying to make something out of nothing when it comes to getting off the island.

I think Piggy’s relationships with others is what really makes him so important altogether.

[bloodstainedconch]

LOTF Characters' Responses to Sickness

Ralph: Calls in sick or takes an MC, stays at home and tries to take care of himself and rest but ends up still overworking somehow. His healthy immune system fights off the sickness in a flash, and he recovers almost immediately after.

Jack: Mans up and goes to work or school, only to be sent home grumbling about how he's 'fine' while on the verge of collapsing. When he gets back his body just gives out and collapses. He recovers in a day or two and is back to being a jerk almost immediately. If he's sick enough, he'll have a complete personality change and be overly nice to everyone. This causes problems when he recovers since he basically looks the same as when he was sick, resulting in some unpleasant interactions.

Piggy: Whines about it all. Day. Long. Calls Ralph 50 times during the day to ask about schoolwork and pesters him to take notes for him or record the lesson. Spends his sick time studying but makes sure to not overwork himself. His aunt constantly checks on him to make sure he's sleeping, so he deduces a pattern in her checks and studies for the rest of the time.

Simon: Poor baby can't even get out of bed to call in sick :( he basically is in a coma till probably the next day, when he checks his phone to see a million missed calls and texts from multiple people regarding his absence. Makes sure he sleeps a lot and makes soup for every meal.

Roger: Like Ralph, calls in sick but does his own stuff all day like playing video games, so his recovery takes way longer than it should. He takes the following few days off even after he recovers just to have time to himself. Also doesn't bother finishing the work he missed while sick, but still manages to get away with it somehow.

Sam: Basically the same as Ralph, just doesn't recover as fast or work as much. Makes sure most people know he's sick so they don't come over to visit. Mood swings galore.

Eric: Takes some medicine, goes to school or work with a mask and makes sure not to share anything with anyone. If anyone asks him about it he shrugs it off. He's pretty good at hiding it, and recovers in a day or two.

Maurice: Just sneezing and coughing all over the place. Needs 5 boxes of tissue beside him and uses all of it up by the end of the day. Forgets to call in sick until someone calls him and mopes the whole day. His sneezes are so loud his neighbors hear him and are very worried.

Robert: Goes to a clinic to get medication, goes to school or work looking just fine. Nobody can tell he's sick. The only signs are a little bit of sniffing and clearing his throat. Nobody knows when he's recovered. It's a bit terrifying.

Percival: Freaks out when he realises he has a fever, frantically rushes to the clinic and gets an MC. Calms down after that and sits in bed all day, feeling miserable and probably failing to sleep or rest. Poor guy :(

Mulberry: Still goes to school, and it's almost as if he wants to spread the sickness with how many people he mingles with. Instead of being tired he somehow has a buttload of energy and can't help being the social butterfly that he is, talking to everyone he knows in a single day. Gets called gross and gets sad, goes home. Sleeps surprisingly easy for someone with so much energy.

[eliomoons]

LOTF Characters' Responses to Sickness

Ralph: Calls in sick or takes an MC, stays at home and tries to take care of himself and rest but ends up still overworking somehow. His healthy immune system fights off the sickness in a flash, and he recovers almost immediately after.

Jack: Mans up and goes to work or school, only to be sent home grumbling about how he's 'fine' while on the verge of collapsing. When he gets back his body just gives out and collapses. He recovers in a day or two and is back to being a jerk almost immediately. (If he's sick enough, he'll have a complete personality change and be overly nice to everyone. This causes problems when he recovers since he basically looks the same as when he was sick, resulting in some unpleasant interactions.)

Piggy: Whines about it all. Day. Long. Calls Ralph 50 times during the day to ask about schoolwork and pesters him to take notes for him or record the lesson. Spends his sick time studying but makes sure to not overwork himself. (His aunt probably constantly checks on him to make sure he's sleeping, so he deduces a pattern in her checks and studies for the rest of the time.)

Simon: Poor baby can't even get out of bed to call in sick :( he basically is in a coma till probably the next day, when he checks his phone to see a million missed calls and texts from multiple people regarding his absence. Makes sure he sleeps a lot and makes soup for every meal.

Roger: Like Ralph, calls in sick but does his own stuff all day like playing video games, so his recovery takes way longer than it should. He takes the following few days off even after he recovers just to have time to himself. (Also doesn't bother finishing the work he missed while sick.)

Sam: Basically the same as Ralph, just doesn't recover as fast or work too much. Makes sure most people know he's sick so they don't come over to visit. Mood swings galore.

Eric: Takes some medicine, goes to school or work with a mask (let's just assume this isn't a common thing now) and makes sure not to share anything with anyone. If anyone asks him about it he shrugs it off. He's pretty good at hiding it, and recovers in a day or two.

Maurice: Just sneezing and coughing all over the place. Needs 5 boxes of tissue beside him and uses all of it up by the end of the day. Forgets to call in sick until someone calls him and mopes the whole day. His sneezes are so loud his neighbors hear him and are very worried.

Robert: Goes to a clinic to get medication, goes to school or work looking just fine. Nobody can tell he's sick. The only signs are a little bit of sniffing and clearing his throat. Nobody knows when he's recovered. It's a bit terrifying.

Percival: Freaks out when he realises he has a fever, frantically rushes to the clinic and gets an MC. Calms down after that and sits in bed all day, feeling miserable and probably failing to sleep or rest. Poor guy :(

Mulberry: Still goes to school, and it's almost as if he wants to spread the sickness with how many people he mingles with. Instead of being tired he somehow has a buttload of energy and can't help being the social butterfly that he is, talking to everyone he knows in a single day. Gets called gross and gets sad, goes home. Sleeps surprisingly easy for someone with so much energy.

[cuyanir]

META. — here comes the long overdue post abt boba’s attitude towards his identity as a clone !!! i am mostly rephrasing this post that i’ve committed before but i added a bit more to it uwu. 

“you’re clone, i’ve heard your voice a thousand times.” “mine might be the last one you’ll hear.” (THE MANDALORIAN S2E8)

CLONEHOOD; IN RELATION TO SELF -- boba doesn’t care that he’s a clone, end of sentence. he doesn’t feel robbed of anything, he doesn’t think he’s somehow a lesser person because he’s a clone. this is not a source of shame to him. what boba knows is that his father loved him so much that he CHOSE to bring him to life like this, it was a DELIBERATE, CALCULATED DECISION. there is NOTHING random about boba’s existence, it wasn’t left up to a chance and this is very comforting to him. it’s very comforting to know that he was wanted and loved from the moment he was brought into this galaxy. the fact that he’s a clone is simply proof of that. 

it’s not hard to realize that he’s a clone, if his last name doesn’t give away some kind of relation to jango, everything else does. boba was officially labelled as the property of the republic when he was sentenced and sent to prison during the clone wars (yes, when he was eleven years old). there are records of him stating that he’s a clone, so anyone with access to pre-empire intelligence can easily find this out. and there have been people who tried to blackmail him with this information or tried to just rile him up by calling him a clone. this doesn’t work because he sees nothing, absolutely nothing, wrong with the fact that he’s a clone. what he finds annoying is when people think that he’s somehow inferior because he’s a clone. or that they assume he’s just like the other fett clones which leads me to my next part: 

"did you ever hunt clone deserters?" "no." boba had seen plenty, though. "didn't pay enough." "did you care about them, ba'buir?'" "not really." "they were your brothers." "no, they weren't." he motioned her to get off the speeder. "blood isn't everything. you know that's the mando way." (LOTF: SACRIFICE)

CLONEHOOD; IN RELATION TO OTHERS -- his attitude towards other clones evolves throughout his life. it starts off as pure hostility. at first, other clones are seen as a challenge to his sense of identity. after losing jango, they become reminders of his grief. this anger and the need to set himself apart from them is the reason why most of his encounters with them are tense at best. by the time he’s an adult, he will have killed or wounded several clonetroopers, either for a job or in self-defense. as with everything, he grows numb to that. 

boba will never feel like he’s part of the “clone family”, nor does he want to. this is because he was raised in a completely different environment, he was a son first, a clone second. he was given a name right after his birth, he never had to earn it in a battle or training exercises. he hasn’t faced half of hardships clonetroopers go through. that and he’s an unaltered clone. he doesn’t age at an accelerated rate, so his personality and way of thinking developed differently too. he also doesn’t have the bioengineered additions other clonetroopers have. all of this means he’s very, very different from the rest of fett clones and that’s precisely how he likes it. they are not his brothers and he doesn’t want to pretend they are. boba already had a family, he lost it and feels like nothing can even begin to come close to the love his father gave him.

once the clone wars are over and the imperial era begins, boba’s attitude towards clonetroopers shifts. the clone army is phased out of active use and replaced with human recruits, the word ‘clone’ stops coming up in everyday conversations. eventually, people forget. boba forgets about the resentment too. he stops seeing other clones as a challenge to his personhood, sometimes even feels sorry for them. there is some sense of survivor’s guilt here, because boba will be the last pre-empire fett clone and he’s fully aware of that fact. but overall, the older he gets, the more understanding he is of what other clones went through.

still won’t like being compared to them though. that’s because he’s a fett and

"fett's not like the rest of your people. i can see that even after a few days." "no. he's a fett. he's his own species." (LOTF: REVELATION)

[mccall-me-maurice]

Hello!

So I have seen A LOT of people getting stressed or overwhelmed over the tensions rising within the fandom.

I’ve been here for a while and I’m not saying my experiences are any more valid than anyone else’s but I will tell you from personal experience, while breaks are good (and honestly stepping back is a good thing!!! it’s mentally healing), leaving the fandom in shambles is not something that will fix a goddamn thing. This happens a lot more frequently than you’d think and I don’t want people worried or fretting that one day you won’t have a fandom to turn to. Whether it be thousands of people or just me, I will always be in the LOTF fandom and nothing can chase me off. So if you’re ever stressed, worried or just generally not feeling well, my dms are always open to talk or just merely listen.

I don’t know who needs to hear this, or if anyone even does, but the fandom is going to be okay. We are going to recover as we always do and we will just be a tighter knit community than before. Things happen, I can recall like seven times that mimicked these in the past and we’re still here! I think a toxic environment was accidentally created and all we need is a little time to rebuild the castle we once had.

I hope everyone has a very lovely break and remember, you are not alone and the LOTF fandom isn’t going anywhere.

[let-me-be-your-comet]

There's been a lot of questionable behavior in the fanbase lately - I understand emotions are running high. But certain people, in my opinion, are losing sight of the cause and unintentionally damaging the cause.

The thing is, Tana probably knew Brandon was working on his own statement, which was LotF. And ALL she wanted to ask was...'hey, I'm not famous, but surely there's something I can do to help, what can I do?' And people completely ignored her own voice, her own power, as her own person, and immediately (and for a lot of them, exclusively) told her to talk to Brandon and make him say something instead. That's fucked up with a capital F. She has a hell of a lot on her plate as it is, she absolutely does not need us adding to it and I'm appalled that some people don't see the problem with that.

As for the situation in general, these are my thoughts...people were so quick to doubt, and I don't understand why. There was so much jumping to conclusions, assuming 'they're not gonna say anything, they must be against BLM!!', even though we have a decade+ of hard evidence they fall on the liberal side of the spectrum. Hell, Brandon is on record about abortion, of all things, as a very religious Mormon. So it really boggles my mind that so many people jumped straight to 'oh god they're racist, they're against Black Lives Matter' as opposed to 'Maybe they're taking their time, gathering their thoughts, gaining perspective'.

Obviously what they did takes time, and frankly they were very quick - I'd like to see one of the 'tHeY wErE tOo LaTe' people rewrite a song in under a week! Such a heartfelt, beautifully genuine statement they issued, in the format Brandon has always turned to when he really cares and doesn't want to fuck it up by talking.

The band provided a very clear statement with zero room for misinterpretation. Their positive stance on Black Lives Matter is crystal clear in that song, and still so many people - who claim to be on the same side as the band - are spewing hate at them and at anyone who dares to confront or argue with them, all while claiming to be against hate...Instagram in particular is very hostile right now.

It's unproductive, unhelpful, and frankly very damaging to the movement they claim to support - it discourages people who actually do agree with the message from speaking out, because people see that and they internalize this: not only are they going to have to deal with people on the other side attacking them (which is, of course, a given), now they have to be attacked by people ON THE SAME SIDE who say they didn't do enough, they didn't make a statement in precisely the same way they wanted? Nothing is ever enough!

It is okay to say 'hey, the song is great, and I appreciate what you've done, but I was hoping you guys would provide resources as well - here is a link to donate/learn more if anyone wants it!'

It blows my mind, however, that the majority of the comments were outright vitriolic. Those people were not providing constructive criticism. 'OPEN YOUR WALLET' is not a valid response. It's a very peculiar type of gatekeeping, to belittle and bully those on your own side of a cause (fans included).

Curiously, I went through all the comments on their FB post and their Insta post yesterday, and found exactly TWO comments from people who were against the BLM movement and we're angry that the band supported it. TWO. Out of over a thousand comments between the platforms, only two people were against the movement. All the 'god I'm so disappointed in you guys, what the fuck, this is pathetic, this is lip service', whatever the fuck they wanted to say...all of that came from people who were claiming to be on the same damn side as the band, and yet they're spitting venom at their peers for not advocating in a way that fits their apparently extremely narrow definition of activism. How does that benefit the cause? How does that move anything forward? How does that encourage others to speak out, how does that make them feel safe enough to do so?

It doesn't. People already know that by speaking up on potentially divisive issues they're going to face hostility from people on the other side of the fence...so why are people choosing to attack their friends, their allies, those who stand for the same values as they claim to represent?

We know the people in this band, we know where their hearts are. They're good people. They've spent years filling their music with empathy, with compassion. Brandon spent years tracking down people he'd hurt in the band's early years and apologizing to them (sometimes even in public), he has very open about his flaws as a person and his quest to grow and leave them behind, from being an outspoken stuck-up little shit to not being the husband he should have been in earlier TK days.

Brandon at least is on record about pretty much every issue under the sun including abortion...and yet so many people readily turned their backs on them simply because they took longer than a day to post a heartfelt, thoughtful statement.

Before they put out LotF 2, I 100% understood being disappointed - I was a little disappointed myself, but I had enough trust and faith in them as people, in their history, to believe that they would make a statement when they were ready. At no point, though, has this matter been worth the anger some people are flinging at it. That energy would be better spent writing politicians or protesting themselves, not harrassing the band (and their families- such a huge red line).

They took the time they needed and they produced a statement which is clear, moving, and very thoughtful. The song speaks for itself. We have no right to demand more and to insult Brandon and Ronnie and Tana - or any others who speak out on behalf of this cause or any other - for not doing as we may think they should, for not doing it "right".

The band has no obligation at all to make everything a public statement simply because they're celebrities - they choose to speak out, but they're also just regular people and they have a right to live their lives as regular people in any way they can. There is no single right way to show support for a cause. They don't have to tell us that they've donated. If they did, we'd just have people saying 'ok how much? It's not enough' or 'only $X?! That's pennies to you!' If they gave people a link to donate, that'd be attacked as well because 'what did you donate then? How much? Why should I donate if you won't say you did/if you only donated X amount and you're worth Y amount'...there is no way to win with some people. They have a right to donate in private or to contribute in other ways, which they have clearly done. They gave us a beautiful statement, their position is clear as day. They've taken a stand.

We know their hearts are in the right place - privately, as is their right as human fucking beings. It's so disappointing and so disgusting - some seriously were willing to just throw their whole history out the window, ready to skewer them. Absolutely unbelievable. This band is made up of decent people - they have shown so much empathy and compassion, desire to grow and be better as human beings, in what they say, how they act, the music they make - for YEARS and yet people were ready to go for their heads at the slightest opportunity...and still, they are spreading hate in the comments, attacking anyone who dares to confront or argue with them. I've never been so disappointed and disgusted by a fanbase before. I've had the misfortune to be around for blowups like this before, for other artists, but never one with this little justification.

There's really not very much that is "problematic" about The Killers these days, yet some people seem to have decided to actively try to find things to complain about, even if they support the same cause. It's baffling.

I'm all for acknowledging when there is something worth calling them out on, but to me...this is not one of those things. The most problematic, anger-inducing thing I can think of is not giving Sarah Junker photo passes (and let me tell you, I have a big problem with that!)

So I just...I really don't get it. Trying to tear down artists and their families, fellow fans...that is not the point of fandom to me. The point of being a fan, the joy in it, that comes from supporting the artist and being kind to the rest of the fanbase, which a lot of The Killers "fans" seem to be struggling with right now.

[lonely-t0wn]

What do you mean by disgusting fanbase Justine? Genuine question, I'm new to the Victim-hood!! 🙏🏽As in conservative tr*mp fans? 🤮

Ok this is going to be long, i’m sorry. I’m putting it under a cut but the TL;DR version is this: 

A lot of people feel that TK’s response to the blm movement has not been enough, and they have been met with hostility from other fans in response. Being a fan does not mean blindly following and loving every single thing the band says and does. People who call them out when they make a mistake can still be fans and are speaking from a place of love. It is absolutely disgusting to me that predominately white fans are trying to silence the voices of fans of color and are ignoring the legitimate pain and anger they feel right now. The job of white allies right now is to listen to the voices of POC, especially Black voices--even if that means taking a hard, critical look at yourself or people you look up to and are a fan of. TK’s lack of addressing the issue adequately has fostered a fanbase that believes attacking fans for criticizing the band is ok. It’s not. Something needs to be done.

TK obviously have a very large white fanbase--there are memes and jokes about it, but it is unarguably true. Many fans tend to be conservative, possibly in part due to the band’s very clean-cut attitude. I think a lot of the more extreme conservative fans left after the band released Land of the Free in January 2019, as it addressed a lot of issues in the USA such as gun violence/mass shootings, racial discrimination, and the penitentiary system. The band faced some backlash from right-wing fans who were upset that the band was “getting political.” Obviously I can’t speak for what other people feel/believe, but i think it’s safe to say there are still plenty of right-wingers in the fanbase. 

Over the last few weeks a lot of very...uh i guess intense, to put it nicely, fans who are unable and unwilling to look at their faves critically have exhibited some deeply upsetting behavior towards anyone speaking up about TK’s very lackluster response to the black lives matter movement, especially Black fans and non-Black fans of color. 

More recently, a lot of fans have spoken up about the watered-down response to the blm movement that TK has shown. Many of these fans are POC, and while sometimes their comments have been blunt and are clearly coming from a place of frustration and anger, they have been completely justified. Instead of listening to what these fans are saying, many (white) fans have attacked them, yelled at them, belittled their concerns, and accused them of “harassing” and “bullying the band” and not being “real fans” for criticizing the band. It’s been very ugly.

Before TK made their LotF video with updated lyrics that reflect Georg Floyd’s death, a former backup singer (a Black woman) tweeted that it should not be surprising that some bands hadn’t said anything with regard to the blm movement yet, and that she ended up leaving a tour with a band she worked with because she received racially insensitive comments. She then listed several musicians she has worked with who HAVE made it clear they stand with the blm movement, and TK was not one of them. Many fans speculated that TK was the band she received poor treatment from, but it was never confirmed. Now that singer’s Twitter account has been suddenly suspended. I don’t want to make any accusations, since we literally do not know what happened, but based on some of the attitudes i’ve seen, it is certainly possible that these rabid fans who are angry at people for criticizing TK might have mass reported her and gotten Twitter to suspend her account. That is still just speculation though and has not been confirmed. It could have been the result of someone at the record company or any number of other possibilities, we just don’t know right now. 

All we know is that a lot of people feel that TK’s response has not been enough, and they have been met with hostility in response. Being a fan does not mean blindly following and loving every single thing the band says and does. People who call them out when they make a mistake can still be fans and are speaking from a place of love. It is absolutely disgusting to me that predominately white fans are trying to silence the voices of fans of color and are ignoring the legitimate pain and anger they feel right now. The job of white allies right now is to listen to the voices of POC and especially Black voices--even if that means taking a hard, critical look at yourself or people you look up to and are a fan of. TK’s lack of addressing the issue adequately has fostered a fanbase that believes attacking fans for criticizing the band is ok. It’s not. Something needs to be done.

[jackmerridoodoo]

LOTF Characters in Middle School

Ralph: The entire Navy Seal meme, every day, fluently. Mediocre grades. Flies by socially with little more than good looks and a decent personality (as long as you're at least a 5 or a 2 named Jack)

Jack: Has been in choir since DAY ONE, calls theater kids losers, hates the jocks not for any valid reason other than a personal vendetta that he, himself, cannot play sports for shit. Not even just because he's skinny, but also because he can't follow someone else's strategies and blows away with a slight breeze.

Simon: That weird kid that never says anything, even in group projects. But when he does? It's super weird and cryptic and you can tell he's trying to be friendly and helpful but how the /fuck/ do you know that. If there's a 'write about your favorite animal' prompt in English you know he's the kid raising his hand asking if bugs count

Maurice: He's the kid that sits in the back and makes girl moans really loudly. Owns a fidget spinner, but doesn't need it. "U dare me to do that?" "Dude no-" (does it). Calls himself a pro gamer, but his entire gaming experience consists of COD, Minecraft, and coolmathgames4kids.

Roger: Edgelord. He doesn't say anything to anyone unless you knew him since before he was the devil. Draws pentagrams on the desk in pencil. Claims to have been in more fights than he can remember, and won all of them, but has never been in a fight. He cuts the tails off of lizards and kills bugs. He can usually take it or leave it, but the second ANYONE, even the teacher, says leave it alone so someone can take it outside, it becomes his life mission to crush that bug. Makes death threats over the smallest jokes. Basically, he's /that/ kid.

Piggy: Teachers pet. Always has extra lunch money for cookies and chips. Straight A's. He has friends, but it's just people who don't like him or are 5th graders who just think it's SO RAD a mIDDLE SCHOOLER wants to be their buddy. Says Ralph is his best friend but every time he does you just see Ralph shaking his head somewhere in the background. Always. Even in his own home, you can almost see the reflection of Ralph in the windows, denying it. As if even in spirit he rejects Piggy's intimate friendship.

Sam'n'Eric: "Where's the homework." "I'm Eric" "Oh, sorry, (steps to the desk next to him) Where's the homework?" "I'm Eric." "??"

[drallop12]

LOTF Jack narritive part 1

By any standards, today was different.  The plane we were all on has crashed into the middle of nowhere, the same on that was to bring us away from the fresh world war.  Now when I say “we” and “us”, I mean my obedient choir and some other assorted children are here with we in this situation.  After we landed, a boy who was then unknown to me found a little shell and blew into as to gather the boys who had scattered.  I soon found out his name is Ralph, and his gathering of everyone was the end of anything useful Ralph does.  Immediately after there was enough people, Ralph decided to call for an election.  I would hardly deem the donkey called Ralph able to lead as much a a potted plant, yet the little, immature children around me had other plans.  They outnumber my choir by almost two times, and I was outvoted, even though I had tried to explain that I have had experience in keeping order amongst others, but they would not listen. I thought then if Ralph could redeem himself in practice, yet I am proven wrong. The first thing we did after I regrettably watch Ralph become a “chief” was discover that this is an island, just as I had thought.  Afterwards, he had the audacity to insult me for not stabbing a piglet that we had found, as his he could do any better.  Ralph needs to know that he is in no position to argue with anyone, including me. Even the the Smarty-pants fat kid Piggy could have done better than Ralph even could dream of.  Speaking of which, Piggy came out to be somewhat useful, only because his glasses could be used.  Seems that I am the only one here who is worth there weigh.  If they are determined to allow any willy-nilly who wants a title to have one, then I can foresee that my time on this island, if it is even an island, will end in a splinter off from Ralph’s group, or it could end worse.