#I am not a pro nor anti. I do not ship everything. in fact I am very picky about shipping

[samantha-and-her-chaotic-desires]

Um

Crack ships ARE proships

Since....when? /genq

[goresuki]

my thoughts on Charlastor and Alastor calling Charlie "the daughter he never had"

this will be a very long rant/vent/whatever. also, a kind of... agressive one. if u wanna read, read it, if u don't, don't, idc and idm. I don't know if some antis take things for convenience (that way) or if they really are naive, because the fact that a manipulative guy like Alastor, whose intentions are unknown, tells Charlie that he sees her as "the daughter he never had" DOES NOT SOUND as CUTE to me as many DO seem to think it does.

I don't know if they don't realize the relationship Charlie has with her parents and how Alastor seems to take advantage of her.

From the pilot we realize that Charlie has no contact with her mother. In the series it is established that they have not seen each other for 7 years.

The first episode JUST talks about Charlie having so called "daddy issues" as her father, Lucifer, is an absentee father.

Charlie appears to NOT have had a close relationship with ANY of the two for some time (or quite some time).

The only person Charlie has is Vaggie, to protect and care for her (here's why Vaggie is so "boring", as some people call her, as she is acting as a guide/parental figure for Charlie, even though their relationship is romantic).

Where am I going with these points? That I think it's complete nonsense for people to take super-literally what Alastor has said: "you're like the daughter I always wanted to have".

Isn't it convenient for the most feared overlord (not the strongest) to approach Charlie and find that she's not as vulnerable as he thought (because Vaggie is there)? Isn't it convenient for Alastor to make a very absolute polarity between Vaggie and him in the pilot, where Vaggie comes off as the "bitter one" and he as the "fun guy"? Isn't it convenient for Alastor to PROVE to Charlie over and over again that HE knows what SHE NEEDS by pulling his tricks? And, oh, surprise… Isn't it even more convenient that when Lucifer arrives, who has a lousy relationship with his daughter, Charlie, Alastor rubs it in his face that he is doing everything that he (Lucifer) is responsible for, and furthermore, hits him right where it hurts, manipulating Charlie so that she seriously BELIEVES that Alastor REALLY sees her that way, and thus making her STILL not have a GUIDE other than HIMSELF?

I'll make it simple for you. You know how narcissists work? They will make you believe that YOU are special, and at the same time, they will ALIENATE you from your loved ones to keep gaining whatever they need from you. Charlie is, literally, his supply.

Alastor is a psychopath and narcissist. Do you really think that someone who can't genuinely empathize and love is literally going to feel affection for a grown woman who is very naive and doesn't even have power over her kingdom because she is so immature? Don't you think it is VERY OBVIOUS that he has literally said to her face: "I'm going to manipulate you in my favor because thanks to me you have all these upgrades in your stupid hotel"?

Alastor hasn't as such made a deal with Charlie, but he's winning her over in HIS way.

And I don't know who's crazier: charlastor shippers like me, who don't give a damn about canon and want to enjoy shipping WITHOUT bothering ANYONE (and don't come out with the stupidity that it's a "proship". Proshipper doesn't even mean "problematic ship", it means that you are FOR shipping whatever you want, living and letting live, without HARASSING others. Let's remember that Hazbin Hotel characters DON'T. FUCKING. EXIST. Alastor is not going to come out of the screen to say: "omg, user, thanks for defending me from those evil shippers uwu", or Charlie to say: "thanks for defending me, you're so good, user…. You're such a good person". Pro: "in favor of", shipper: "shipper, ship", however you want to call it. Don't modify terms to suit yourselves because you can tell that many don't even know how suffixes and prefixes work in words. Neither Charlie nor Alastor are going to die because someone shipped them. They are FICTITIOUS characters. The FANON is not going to change the CANON. Learn to sepparate stuff, ffs. Go out and touch grass once in a while) or antis who put on a pedestal what Alastor said, believing it as a justification to ATTACK people in the fandom who shipped something different, according to them, "problematic".

There they do forget that Alastor is a manipulator, that he is a person with a LOT of arsenal to get his way. There they forget that he IS a guy Charlie should NOT trust. There it DOES count because IT CONVENIENTS THEM. That's when the canon MATTERS to them. There it COUNTS. It doesn't matter if Charlie gets hurt because of trusting Alastor, they only see what they want to see. If you guys are going to humanize this fucking characters, at least be a little bit logical. Got me? Remember what Viv said?: "ship whatever you want, JUST DON'T HARASS ANYONE". These people say: "fuck what Viv says", but on this occasion, since she DID say something convenient for them, it DOES matter what Viv says now, doesn't it? Hypocrites.

Charlie has no one beyond Alastor, and I don't remember where I read that theory, whether it was here or elsewhere, where they talked about Alastor looking for a way to alienate the hotel itself in one way or another. That's why he doesn't use very flashy technology (Vox can travel through the latest electronics, and the hotel has an old box TV), nor does he go out of his way to provide anything of good quality (like the video camera). The hotel has its own power supply (we see this when the blackout occurs during the song between Alastor and Vox).

Alastor DOES NOT WANT Charlie as his daughter, he's just taking advantage of her to get whatever he needs to get out of her.

Charlie doesn't even seem to know exactly how her powers work, and the only person who can teach her is Lucifer, her father. And if Lucifer is out of the equation, Alastor can do whatever he wants.

He's hit Lucifer right in the jugular, and Lucifer knows that all the power in the world can't make up for the wrong he did to Charlie.

Anyway, if a real anti thinks Charlastor is problematic because "AlASTor AlreADy SaiD hE sEES hEr As a DauGhtER," I remind them that they are not dealing with a character who cares about others beyond maintaining his own status, and ffs... they're not even real. KEEP SHIPPING. KEEP DRAWING. KEEP MAKING FANFICS. FUCK THESE PEOPLE THAT TRY TO HARASS YOU, FUCK THESE PEOPLE THAT TRY TO MAKE EVERYTHING "PURE" ON A SHOW ABOUT DEMONS AND HELL. FUCK THESE PEOPLE TRYING TO MAKE A FANDOM THEIR OWN FUCKING WAY BECAUSE THEY CAN'T HANDLE THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT VIEWS. FUCK THEIR SAVIOR COMPLEX, JUST COMING AROUND WHEN IT'S ALL ABOUT CHARACTERS THAT DON'T EXIST, FEEL, OR THINK FOR THEMSELVES, BUT DISAPPEARS ANYTIME SOMEONE REAL COMES, HARASSING AND SENDING DEATH THREATS TO THEM. FUCK THESE PEOPLE, GIVING PSYCHOLOGICAL DIAGNOSES OVER A FUCKING TIKTOK VIDEO OTHER ANTI MADE JUST BASING THEIR THEORIES ON THEIR FIST RESULT ON GOOGLE. FUCK YALL, CAUSE YOU'RE THE REASON YOU WHINE ABOUT THIS FANDOM. JUST AS WE SAY IN SPANISH: O LA BEBES, O LA DERRAMAS.

[proshippers-against-censorship]

UWU stop interacting with antis. If you’re anti-censorship then act like it, you can’t stop people from having opinions <3 coming from someone who isn’t pro or anti ship because I’m not a 15 year old porn addicted gooner

This is a discourse blog. A discourse blog that speaks quite a bit about sexual topics. If a 15 year old was running this blog, I would have concerns, in all honesty, because they really shouldn't be interacting as publicly and openly with NSFW content.

However, your comment alone helps to display why, while I'm perfectly fine running my discourse blog as a discourse blog, this may not be the place for you. So let's break this down:

• No adult with any desire to be taken seriously by anyone uses the term 'gooner' unironically. That being said, you give off the red flags of being a younger teen, and interacting directly with NSFW content easily breaches the boundaries of adults.

• If a 15yo was regularly interacting with porn to the point that this is easily known, their parents can be held liable in multiple states. You could try reporting me to the police for being a 'porn-addicted minor'. Unfortunately, you will come off as a laughingstock, because I'm not a minor and I also just...don't watch porn. Unlike you, presumably, I am in a lovely relationship with a significant other who can handle those desires.

•The APA and DSM-5 do NOT classify porn addictions as real, and therefore, they aren't a thing. Multiple studies, as well, have disproven the existence of the 'porn addiction'. This idea can be traced back to - wait for it - Christian Puritanical anti-sex culture. Now, as much as church needs to be better separated out of everything, the Christian God does not run my life nor most countries, and so his religious anti-sex ideals are irrelevant.

• I'm guessing you just, don't read (shocker), but if you check out that beautiful intro paragraph that is pinned on this blog, you'll notice that I welcome opinions shared in a civil way, even if they oppose my own, and am in fact quite stern on the idea that you shouldn't lock yourself in an echo chamber. Hearing contrasting opinions can help strengthen or even change your core beliefs. But that whole idea leans on the idea that neither side is pissing their pants over discovering that their ideals don't extend to everyone, which is what you appear to be doing here. I am welcome to conversations on why you think what I'm doing is stupid, but I'm not going to bother with you unless you put on your big boy pants and be a mature person.

• You aren't 'neither', you're an anti. You scream it throughout your whole message. So if this account bothers you, why don't you do yourself a service and block it instead of being annoying in my DMs?

• This point is just here to see if you have the capacity to actually read things, since you obviously know nothing about this account despite the big ole pinned post. Go have some tea, get in a better mood, and then feel free to come back for a more progressive, civil conversation. It'd be good for you.

[ladyofthelake]

I posted 6,045 times in 2022

That's 1,170 more posts than 2021!

702 posts created (12%)

5,343 posts reblogged (88%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@everythingfox

@dean-winchesters-bacon

@fandom-hoarder

@almondchalice

@that-gay-jedi

I tagged 2,255 of my posts in 2022

#thasmin - 63 posts

#fanart - 54 posts

#merlin - 51 posts

#anti jared hate - 46 posts

#lmao - 46 posts

#obikin - 41 posts

#anti jensen hate - 41 posts

#merthur - 38 posts

#fave - 35 posts

#anti destiel - 26 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#this is why ily guys because you put into words so beautifully exactly what i feel about merthur and these heartbreakingly beautiful scenes

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

25 notes - Posted April 8, 2022

#4

I'm fucking tired man and am not here for hate

I can dislike something someone has done or said

But still fundamentally they're important to me

And more importantly they're important to Jared

I'm not here to fight his battles

I'll certainly defend when I can but he and Jensen's friendship is their business

Some people have been in too deep and this is a reality check that nobody and no relationship is perfect

But they clearly have something special and are bonded for life

You're not a better person if you're hateful to Jensen nor if all you do is defend Jared constantly

I think some people clearly love drama and tbh it's really immature

None of us are in this friendship all we can do is support and love the people we do

NOBODY IS PERFECT and everyone makes mistakes

I'm not thrilled about this but I'm so done at seeing shitty stuff on my dash from people who clearly couldn't wait for another chance to drag Jensen

Some things are just not that deep people and imo this has been blown out of all proportion

30 notes - Posted January 18, 2022

#3

Saw a really good post (I can't find it now) about all the bullshit surrounding Jensen and the prequel drama basically fans taking a measured and supportive response to it instead of blindly hating and turning Jensen into some sort of supervillain. Jared would be proud and not of those who spend all their time smashing Jensen down (or anyone tbh) and pretending they're better fans of Jared for it. He would be appalled at the way some people talk about Jensen and hating him certainly doesn't make you a better fan in fact it makes you worse because it goes against everything Jared has taught me. They are grown men they have dealt with this grow the fuck up

36 notes - Posted February 19, 2022

#2

Someone on Tumblr: Elrond may not be perfect

Me: Let me stop you there

37 notes - Posted October 11, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Merlin 10th Anniversary of the Finale Christmas Eve 2012

I want to celebrate (and cry) about the show I miss so much and celebrate the 10th anniversary of the finale with the immortal Merlin Fandom.  Basically, I’d love to, from now until Christmas, celebrate it being a decade since our beloved show ended and wanted to put together just a casual thing for everyone who is interested.

Guidelines:

1. Create something for Merlin, gifs, art, fic, writing, fanvids, anything that shows your positivity and love for the show and characters

2. It can be about Merlin in general but extra cookies for things dedicated to Merthur and the ‘Diamond of the Day’ Finale

3. Pro-Ship friendly (but no ship hate) Pro-character friendly (but no character hate)

3. Please tag me and use the #merlin10 so I can reblog your posts/creations

4. Open from now until Christmas

Thats it! Even if you just wanna make a post about why you love Merlin thats fine too! I just really wanna celebrate with you guys and don’t wanna step on the toes of the other amazing Merlin weeks going on the rest of the year. This is just a casual ily and miss Merlin thing and you’re all welcome to take part <3

161 notes - Posted November 5, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[madamtrashbat]

A couple of thoughts

We doin' okay, Cats family? We're good? Good. I have one last thing to add.

This is kinda about pro- and anti-shippers, but it's really more about fandom culture in general and just my experiences. You can read it, if you want, or not.

Up to you.

I've been doin' this for a while. A good fifteen years at least, closer probably to sixteen. I've been doing things in fandom for longer than some of my mutuals have been alive.

(Oh Jesus)

And there's something I gotta tell you guys, both as a person who has been doing fandom-y stuff for years and for someone who literally has college degrees in English Literature and Creative Writing.

Being an anti is not normal.

And I know that comes across as harsh and mean and it sounds unreasonable but I'd like to explain what I mean by that.

I can trace back being an anti to two main sources: Voltron and Star Wars. I was never into Voltron or really even around anyone who was but I remember the screaming and fighting over the ships, and I remember the hellish crusade that began when people dared to ship Rey and Kylo Ren together. It was nasty, guys. It was absolutely insane that suddenly people were doing this over fictional ships, that people were being sent actual abuse and hatred because someone wanted the broody shitlord man and the unwashed desert scrounger to smooch. Like... imagine that in real time.

I was not, nor have I ever been, a Reylo shipper, but you know what I did, when that ship began, and I didn't like it? I ignored it and went about my day. Because that's how I was taught. Nothing in the fiction world was worth fighting over. It was not worth getting into arguments over. What was the point?

Then the antis got bolder, started branching out, and when people like me started standing up and saying, "Hey, stop being a dick to people!" someone hired the world's best PR machine and suddenly people who were not antis were pedophiles and abusive and incestuous.

How's that for some whiplash.

This anti movement of berating, bullying, harming, and threatening has been their MO, and it's dangerous. And now, they all buy their own bullshit. They actually think people like me are all out here twisting our mustaches like Snidely Whiplash and diddling kids. Without a shred of irony, they believe this.

Proship only labeled itself that as a response to the antiship, and antiship, make no mistake, named itself first. It was not anti-pedophile. It was not anti-incest. It was not anti-abuse.

It was all about disliking fictional ships that other people enjoyed, and thus attacking people over it.

And it's pointless. It's driven a child to suicide. It has gotten people fired. It has ruined careers, livelihoods, friendships. For nothing. For a boogeyman that doesn't exist.

Sex experts across the board all agree that what gives us our jollies is not at all what we want in real life. There's some wild statistic like 70% of women have had a sexual fantasy about rape at least once in their lives. About rape! That act that most AFAB people have a deep ingrained fear of! And we've used it to get off! Because sexual fantasy isn't that deep. Our brains are idiots. And since time immemorial, we as humans have written just the most fucked up shit.

It's even in the Bible. Humans have been nasty forever. And it doesn't mean shit.

It's in the TV shows. It's in our movies. It's in our books. It's in our music, our podcasts, everything. Being an anti is not the way of humanity at all. Ever. Except for like... maybe the puritans but they sucked so who cares about them.

Antis believe a lie. They believe a lie and they hurt people for it. I am not in any way, shape, or form exaggerating when I say I am fearful for those who regularly interact with me, because I am worried that one day the art they make or the "clout" they carry isn't going to be enough to save them from their friendship with me and antis will tear them to shreds. Because that is how they behave. They may not think they're bullies, and they may think they're in the right, but I want you to look up the Youtube RPF kid who killed themselves over anti harassment. Look at that horrible ask I just got. This is how they behave.

And that is what proshippers stand against. It's a stance against bullying, harassment, threats. That is it. There are plenty of proshippers out in the world that would never, ever think of writing anything involving someone underage, or between relatives, or involving anything gruesome. Because that's not what it's about.

Antis are new in the world of fandom, and they are the absolute root of toxicity. I do not exaggerate. They waste the time of agencies actually trying to eradicate CSAM by sending them art someone drew of a teenage character that isn't real. They've driven people to suicide. They've outright admitted to not caring about actual humans as much as they care about fictional ships. They have shown time and time again that they are not above abuse, vitriol, and bullying. There are blogs that post stories from ex-antis who say they were afraid to say anything different than their anti friends for fear of righteous backlash.

I repeat: I am legitimately afraid that my friends are going to get dogpiled and harassed because they dare to be my friend. That fear is not baseless. And it's all because of the way antis act.

I am liberal with the block button. I try to maintain boundaries because I don't want to see any of that shit as much as they don't want to see any of mine (though only a very scant few actually block me back, which is a joke in and of itself). But it still slips through. And I hate it, every time I see it.

Because this is not the way we're supposed to be. We are not supposed to be at odds with each other. We are supposed to share and have fun and be joyful about some people in lycra.

But because some people wanted to put on the pilgrim hat and play Morality Council to someone who's been doing this for years, I gotta tiptoe around people that think I'm actually out in the world diddling children. Do you know how fucked up that is. Do you know how that feels? To not only have someone make that judgment without any evidence, but to tell it to other people who don't know me either?

When someone finally snaps and starts biting back, it's not out of nowhere. And antis never, ever see themselves as doing something wrong. But they are. They are wrong.

Can I let you in on a little secret?

Seriously, just between you and me, come here.

If you think it's wrong to bully someone because of fiction, then you're proship. That is the long and short of it. No more or less. I hate to break it to you, but that is the only definition, and anyone who says it's something else is lying to you for their own gain.

And sure, there are lots of people who try to hide behind the proship label as they do shitty things. But antis do the same. Humans being assholes and trying to blame it on something else is not new.

The fact that people have come to me and told me that the antis have made them feel uncomfortable, that they're afraid if they do something they might view as negative they might receive hate, that people are actually AFRAID of people in this fandom, is not okay.

There was a fandom I was involved in where one of the prominent people actively hated me and I was never afraid of what she would do. I am afraid of the antis in this fandom, though. Because they have teeth and they like to use them.

Fandom isn't supposed to be like this. Nobody should be screaming at teenagers for talking to adults in fandom, infantilizing them like they're not a whole autonomous human. Nobody should be telling someone to kill themselves because they ship Tuggerstrap. Nobody should be afraid of the other people in their fandom.

Antis, if any of them even read this (I doubt it, but just in case), I want you to look around. The people who are neutral are not afraid of what the proshippers will say to them. They are afraid of you. You and your ilk are the ones causing the damage, and you are the outliers in the entire world of fiction. You're a loud minority that thinks it knows better when it knows absolutely nothing.

Ruminate on that.

My blog is still a safe space from bullying, abuse, and nastiness. If someone is being mean to you, you will always find a friend here. And if you can't say the same, then what's wrong with you?

Be excellent to each other. Stop making people afraid.

And sit down and ask yourself what it is you really want when you make vague posts about people and tell people vicious, awful things. What are you hoping to gain.

[whattheheehaw]

Once upon a time, I saw someone use this scene as anti-Zutara and pro-K@taang evidence:

Katara: So let me tell you something, right now. You make one step backward, one slip-up, give me one reason to think you might hurt Aang, and you won't have to worry about your destiny anymore. Because I'll make sure your destiny ends... right then and there. Permanently.

The person said something along the lines of: “Katara threatened to kill Zuko so that’s why Zutara is toxic. Also, this shows Katara really loves Aang because she’d do anything to protect him.” 

I have to admit that at first, I laughed. Literally every Zutarian and their mother have stated multiple times that Zuko and Katara’s friendship does not end here. Like, I guess we’re just going to ignore everything that happens past this episode. But you know what? If people can’t accept the fact that Zuko’s and Katara’s friendship blossomed into something pure and beautiful by the end of season 3, they’re a lost cause, so why bother interacting?

What I want to focus on is the fact that some people actually think this proves K@taang is a better ship.

Yes, it is true that Katara is protecting Aang in this scene. And yes, protecting someone can be a form of affection. But what kind of affection is Katara showing here? Is it romantic? I don’t think so. If anything, I think this highlights how motherly Katara is toward Aang.

Ursa: That's what moms are like. If you mess with their babies, they're gonna bite you back!

I can’t be the only one who thinks Katara’s dialogue parallels what Ursa said about motherhood. It’s almost like these epiosdes were written by the same person—oh wait.

Huh, Elizabeth Welch really is a legend.

And I get it, people are going to call me crazy because Katara and Aang kissed 2 episodes ago, so the whole “Katara is Aang’s mom” argument should get thrown out of the window by now. However, Katara’s treatment of Aang throughout The Western Air Temple only highlights Katara’s maternal nature. 

Exhibit A:

Teo: [The Western Air Temple is] so different from the Northern Air Temple. I wonder if there are any secret rooms.

Haru: Let’s go check it out!

Katara: You guys go. I think [Sokka, Toph, Aang, and I] need to talk about some things.

Aang: Why can’t I go?

Katara: We need to decide what we're gonna do now, and since you're the Avatar, maybe you should be a part of this.

Aang: Fair enough. So what’s the new plan?

Sokka: Well, if you ask me, the new plan is the old plan! You just need to master all four elements and confront the Fire Lord before the comet comes.

Aang: [Sarcastically.] Oh, yeah. That's great, no problem. I'll just do that.

Katara: Aang, no one said it's going to be easy.

Aang: Well, it's not even gonna be possible! Where am I supposed to get a firebending teacher?

Katara: We could look for Jeong Jeong!

Aang: [Shooting her idea down.] Yeah ... right. Like we'll ever run into Jeong Jeong again.

Exhibit B:

Katara: Aang, can we talk about you learning firebending now?

Aang: What? The wind is too loud in my ears! Check out this loop!

In both instances, it seems like Katara has taken the role of “mom that’s trying to get her kid to do their chores” rather than “concerned girlfriend trying to limit her boyfriend’s distractions”, and this all comes to a head at the ending scene between Zuko and Katara. Katara, who has been treating Aang like her child for the entire episode, is now shown to be protecting Aang from a possible threat in a similar way that Ursa described mothers protecting their children back in season 2. Again, I’m not saying that whenever Katara (or anyone in general) protects someone else she’s acting motherly. However, her actions towards Aang throughout this episode did carry a motherly tone and the way her dialogue mirrors what Ursa, an actual mother, said are indicative of a mother/son bond between Katara and Aang.

The ending scene of The Western Air Temple is not an anti-Zutara scene, nor is it a pro-K@taang scene.

[catcatb0y]

I'm so far burnt out that I am literally just kicking fucking ashes right now. I'm short and hot tempered and it's gonna get worse from here lmfao. Life seems fully committed to digging it's heel into me, and I'm clawing at everything I can fucking reach.

I don't care to be the bigger person. I don't care about making friends. I would love to care about my interests, but those are a fucking bust, too.

Every term to describe myself as 'a person who likes Bakugou' has been fucked over by all of you, so I'm just going to say I hate the fucking kid and hope you all leave me the fuck alone.

To everyone joking about the manga spoilers, just fucking block me. Right now. Go the fuck away thank you. To all of the other antis, get some common sense.

Like, I've gotten this far and this bitter, because I want to like the series/ships/characters, but y'all literally just have the option of leaving. If seeing Bakugou or BakuDeku is somehow actively distressing, just- well leave for one, lol, you can't read the series and ignore how important Bakugou is too Midoriya, the kid never shuts up about him. At the very least, Bakugou will always have relevance because of his connection to Midoriya-

That being said, I don't want that shit. Get out.

No one deserves to be told or to be proven or to THINK that they only have worth because of someone else- much less someone they're in a relationship with. (Canon or not) that's a really toxic dynamic (and what led to their friendship getting fucked up in the first place)- it's INCREDIBLY shitty to BOTH sides, and it's not stable or sustainable.

Unlike the rest of the fandom, I care about Bakugou first and foremost. This kid has fought tooth and nail to achieve his one dream of becoming a Hero. He's strong, smart, dedicated, and deserves good things. His character has grown leaps and bounds, and, if no one is going to acknowledge and boost that up... I don't want it.

He deserves to be seen for all of the things that he's done. The only person who made him better was himself. In the past, I would talk about Midoriya's influence, but genuinely that only goes so far. Bakugou's drive and dedication is his own. No one else's. He doesn't deserve to be stuck in a ship that sidelines him and constantly puts him on a place where he compares himself to someone else- and if that's your idea of a perfect BakuDeku, you need to step back and think about the way that you view this ship, because that's exactly what antis have been gagging for this entire time. It's not somehow better just because it's gay in the end.

Other than that, I love to hear nuanced takes and have constructive arguments! Despite not liking or enjoying several aspects of fandom, I am very pro ao3 and I am against any censorship of it. Ao3 was founded due to the fandom purges of the past, and, even if the youth of today think they want that, I promise you guys: You Don't.

As much as I talk about being an asshole, I tend to match the energy of the people around me, so whatever you give me is what I give you- to a point, obviously. I will admit that I'm even shorter tempered than usual given the fact that my life is a fucking hellhole and I have spent the past- three fucking months now- unfollowing and blocking eighty percent of the people on my fucking dash because suddenly everyone is fucking rancid.

I don't come here to put up with that shit. As much as the gods and the shitty assholes in my head want to fight it, I do deserve to be fucking happy.

And let it be known that I don't want any part of a BakuDeku that only benefits Midoriya. I don't. If you're excited about Midoriya shining or saving the day, congratulations, but I don't fucking care, nor do I want to hear it. I've blacklisted his character tag, and I'm damn near close to going full Midoriya anti. Keep it away from me- that's been my one goddamned boundary for three fucking months and still not a single person has consistently upheld it.

I had hope for the series, for the ship, and for the characters, so I didn't want to cut everything out; but clearly that's the only way to not feel like absolute and utter shit, so congrats. I've blacklisted the BakuDeku and Midoriya tags.

Anyone with Bakugou-centric rarepairs that don't highlight this kid's suffering or force him to feel inferior to others- you're welcome to hit me up! Ship wise, I've had a bit of a rocky past with Kirishima, but their dynamic is cute and I still enjoy them. I headcanon Todoroki as ace (and a majority of the smut I've read is horribly ooc, so I don't usually go for it anyways), but I enjoy their friendship a lot, too. Sero and Kaminari are also very nice! I don't really see Ashido that way, but I'm open to it. Uraraka... I tend to ship more with Toga, but I'm flexible.

If anyone wants to talk crackship with me, I'm more than here for that XD bring on the cringe. Canon is dead and I'm a mourning widow who's "oh so devastated, truly," taking the prized jewels (Bakugou, ofc) and running.

[frobin]

Okey serious question here. How much do you actually believe that Oda ships Frobin? Like do you think he actually have like doodles/sketchs of them in a pairing kind of way? like for the strong world film riding the motorbug? (Personally i would love it to be true but he has stated one piece isn't about romance in that way)

Hey there anon! Thank you so much for your question and I hope I can answer it seriously enough. Also once more sorry for the late response. I felt like a question like that needs some research and that is what I did these last few days.

So... I think I'll start with the tl;dr because that way people can read that and ignore the rest.

So, long answer short: I 100% believe that Oda has one or more sketchbooks with drawings of his characters that are absolutely self-indulgent. I am 98% sure that he has drawn Franky and Robin in a romantic way at least once (and supported the ship). I am 80% sure he still is shipping FRobin.

Little disclaimer: I actually have no idea if any of this is true. I pull everything in my arguments out of my own experiences and knowledge and since I'm not a 46 year old Japanese Mangaka my perspective might be WAY OFF.

argument - reason- example - conclusion... behind the cut (or in the google doc)

So, why do I think that Oda has a secret sketchbook?

Simple answer is that he is an artist. He is drawing a lot and no artist will publish everything. That can have multiple reasons like imposter syndrome or because the artist thinks it’s not good or interesting enough or they just forget. There are even more reasons I forget and every person has their own.

For Oda I can imagine two big reasons as to why he would keep secret sketchbooks.

First: He is a horndog. You can skip this part if you don’t want to read about it, to the second reason.

Anyway, we know thanks to answers in the SBS, the way he likes to draw big-breasted women and how some of his characters are classified as perverts that he can be considered one too.

Let me show you a few of a few lewd SBS questions he likes to answer in a funny way:

Chapter 228, Page 46

D: How are ya, Odacchi? I know how much you like getting butt-naked, so this must be a favourite season for you. <3

O: Yes, yes. I just LOVE getting completely naked. In the summertime, after I take a bath I just run STRAIGHT OUTSIDE!! And when the girls' softball team running on the sidewalk looks over at me, they say, "Yup, it's really summer now!!" ... AS IF!! I'D GET ARRESTED!!!

(x)

Chapter 433, Page 68

D: If Lady Robin can use her Hana Hana Powers to make any part of her body sprout somewhere else, does that mean she can do it with her ample bosom as well? "Nyurin-zaki" (Breast Sprout) Boy, I'd like to take a hit from that sometime... P.N. Ero Ero no Mi Devil Fruit User.

O: "Ichirin-zaki" (Single Sprout) "Nirin-zaki" (Double Sprout) "Nyurin-zaki" (Breast Sprout) Very clever!! NO IT'S NOT!! STOP THAT!! I'm sure she CAN do it though ♡

(x)

Chapter 798, Page 64

D: Oddachi, I'll give you a pornographic book, so please answer my question. Sanji won't allow anyone to waste food, but what will he do if a woman does so? P.N. Smoker's Cigar

O: I think he would grab the plate and eat it up. Now please give me the pornographic book.

(x)

Nowadays I’m sure there is a focus on those lewder questions compared to the beginning because that is what 13 year old boys laugh about and we all know that is Oda's main demographic (of course).

I think a very good picture of that is given by Tekking101 in his breakdown video of SBS Volume 100.

“Let’s get diving into these questions (...) now, this is a huge moment. I mean, not many Manga manage to reach 100 Volumes, Okay? Now I know Oda usually starts these off with questions relating to boobs and things that don’t really… you know, aren’t really relevant but you know, this is a big celebration so we’re gonna dive right into it. I bet the most important things that we need to know about the One Piece Story are right here in these pages, okay? I printed them out. That is how important this is. So let’s start off, shall we? Epic voice, Barry!

‘Mister Oda, there is a UFO over there with huge big-breasted beauties on it. That memorable 100 Volume of the SBS is about to begin.’

[pause] Yeah, like the first five of these are all related to boobs in some way. You know what Oda? Sticking true to your guns! Godspeed, Sir Oda. Godspeed.”

(end at around 2:30)

So, Oda is a man who likes beautiful women and who draws.

Coming to the conclusion that he will draw his own characters in suggestive poses, naked and even doing adult stuff is not hard.

Obviously he would not show these sketches just around. He would probably keep them in a secret sketchbook that he keeps at a safe location. Maybe his wife and some close friends know about it? Maybe it is his and only his little secret.

I don’t think it would be unlikely to learn about this years into the future, maybe the next generation of Anime Fans will hear about this.

And it would not be the first time that something like this happened.

Not that long ago the daughter of Osamu Tezuka - groundbreaking Mangaka, known for his works of “Astro Boy”, “Kimba the white lion” and many more - found his adult Furry art. Source; Japanese article;

It’s a fact that many Mangaka did indeed start their career with art of the more risque kind and/or as doujinshi artists.

So again, I have no doubt that Oda, a known pervert, has one or more secret sketchbooks with „the p0rnography“ in it. Is there only hot stuff in there? Not necessarily.

The second reason to keep a secret sketchbook would be to collect information in there, that could be considered canon but he is not willing to use it in the Manga. Maybe they are not important enough or will be used later.

What am I imagining here? Anything that could be considered too weird for the normal sketchbook but isn‘t too risque. Funny things that might still not be „appropriate.“

Like a sketch of the male Strawhat ding-dongs with the sizes beside it. All the lewd jokes the fans did about Luffy's stretching qualities? I’m sure Oda thought about them too and drew that in the past if he had the time and it made him laugh enough.

But also maybe there are scenes in there that never made it in the Manga. The Strawhats interacting with each other in their daily lives, ideas for colorspreads and maybe chapter-titles. Oda probably has noted/sketched down a lot of unofficial stuff somewhere.

Another example, even an artist like Oda himself would have needed to exercise drawing two people kissing. Why not use Characters he thinks that might work out together?

Why not Franky and Robin? I would imagine he sketched up a few panels of Franky and Robin having a romantic date, going shopping together in Dressrosa, having a conversation that we never got to see because it was too on the nose.

Which brings us to the second point of me being very sure that Oda had drawn FrankyXRobin at one point.

I’m sure in those sketchbooks there is at least one drawing of them doing anything couple-related together. Again it does not have to be downright nasty but it could be them holding hands, kissing or even just Robin leaning onto Franky while reading, like all those fanarts that exist out there.

It’s not hard to imagine. Even for other Characters I think that is possible

And there might even be proof for that idea. The sketch of the Strong World movie you also mentioned, anon. The one movie that can be considered canon is Strong World. It was basically written/directed by Oda. Shiki the antagonist had an appearance in the Manga.

This sketch is drawn by Oda. Robin is holding onto Franky.

Can it be read as romantic? Yes. Can it be read as Robin holding onto Franky because there is nothing else to hold onto? Also Yes. But couldn't she just have used her power to keep herself secured on the bike without holding onto Franky? WELL YES. Could Oda never have thought in these circles like I do right now? I hope he did not because I hate it and I don’t wish it upon him.

In the movie Robin is NOT holding onto Franky. Now the really interesting thing - that is neither proof pro nor anti FRobin - is that we can see the sketch provided by Oda as a “between the scenes”.

In the movie Strong World the old trio is collecting information at the Pirate assembly. The next time we see them they use the Batta GT-7000 to slowly approach the destroyed village, which had been ravaged by the animals, and start to look for their friends. No need to hold onto Franky and no need for Brook to lean back. They are looking around.

The sketch is clearly not the same scene as the one we see in the movie.

In conclusion the drawing is indeed a between the scenes drawing. And yes if there exists one, who is to say there aren’t more?

Talking about Animal-Bikes...

Is there any meaning about the fact that in the opening scene (that is part of the talked intro after the opening ‘We Go’ - a huge thanks to antiherofangirl, ccb0nnet, JFL_Estudios and Maems, over at twitter!) Franky and Robin build another grasshopper-based vehicle? Maybe not but I still feel like it’s quite a callback.

Where did the idea to put this in the beginning come from? a) an editor had the idea inspired by Strong World; b) maybe it’s another sketch that Oda provided.

Neither seems very far-fetched in my opinion.

So yes, I am very sure that Oda has drawn things that we would consider FRobin.

Now to the last point (the first being Oda having a secret sketchbook, the second me arguing that Oda might have drawn FRobin).

As I said in the beginning I’m very sure that at one point Oda did and kinda that he still does ship Franky and Robin. Because even though every Interaction of two characters can be depicted as romantic or platonic, Oda used ROMANTIC TROPES with Franky and Robin.

They have never kissed on screen but we had

finishing each other's sentences

coordinated clothes

one using the others lap as pillow

hand on cheek caressing

and we can’t forget that Robin had answered Franky's invitation to ride on another animal-themed bike with a heart.

Edit: I didn‘t say anything about „no romance in OP“ so ask again if you want me to talk a bit about that. Sorry!

Those are things an author of Oda's level would not write or draw without being aware about how teasing this is. He has to be aware that every single line he draws will be analyzed to the end of the universe and back. People earn money by saying their opinion and interpretations about the Manga on Youtube.

These interactions are not something outlandish like “There was once an Anime Scene in which Robin was wearing something blue and exactly 28 episodes later Franky was wearing something violet and then 39 episodes later they both stood beside each other for exactly 69 seconds.”

Whenever I think about these facts, things that are not about interpreting but are factual, black ink on white paper but also about the little things, about how Frank and Robin help each other to become better, how they support each other… I want to say YES! ODA IS 100% on board! While in reality I’m 80% sure and 20% of me is wondering if I’m not actually analyzing too much into it. If maybe he really is abandoning ship. Maybe I will become the person who will curse his name and throw my Mangas and fanfictions in an active volcano?

I don’t know and it’s impossible to say what is going to happen.

And with that I've concluded this answer, and it only took me around 2k words and four days.

[daeliariddle]

In defense of SessRin.

"The SessRin is pedophilia."

“They are father and daughter. He was her protector. "

"But the girls got married young, they already received marriage proposals at the age of 13."

“But in Japanese folklore, the yokai took the girls and later married them. It is part of their culture. "

Can we stop tagging the SessRin on all these things? Because these things do not help the couple, nor the terrible antis arguments that speak of manipulation, of how Sesshoumaru marries the "girl he knew and raised", and that "he waited for her to grow up to make her her wife ”. Because they turn out to be like the pro arguments, in the end they become a euphemism for what we criticize.

Let's leave behind the antis arguments that contradict themselves, that if they are only a fraternal or parental relationship, and then say that there is grooming, because he woos her with kimonos, the cd-drama and other hints of how couple A will develop FUTURE.

As proshippers that we are, we must also leave behind the arguments about the Japanese culture, because we reduce the ship, we forget about Sesshomaru and Rin as individual beings.

The SessRin is much more than any argument, for or against it. It is not the relationship of a human girl devoted and given to everything a daiyokai says; Antis, stop staining the relationship that way. Here, Lolita does not apply. It's not the relationship of a daiyokai who must raise a human girl to learn how to be a parent, either. The SessRin is nothing they write.

It is just the story of two completely different beings who met in their worst circumstances. Mortally wounded, marginalized by her people; and that despite everything, they had a gesture of empathy and compassion for the other despite the stigmata, hatred and prejudice.

Try to give food, clean wounds. Insist on helping. Ask a how you were. Look with genuine interest. Smile.

The SessRin is just two people who wanted to accompany each other, in the most disinterested way there is. She is the girl who wants to always be with the only person who had more consideration for her, in her way, and she is the monster who learned to see the good things in humans, in the most innocent way of her.

Let's stop dirtying their relationship with the fact that "she would do everything he told her to", because he would never do something against her will, wasn't their disinterest in each other clear? They are not father and daughter, they are not brothers, he is not an “adult cajoling a girl”, they are just two companions who were only a few months together, and each one will go their own way until she wants to be with him again. In love or not, he will seek a way for her to heal her wounds as well, as he has done.

And if they want to be together, what stops them?

We must stop reading ourselves as the worst face of Ned Flanders, do you, antis, do not see much fiction apart from Inuyasha / Hanyo No Yashahime? We are used to novels, anime / manga, movies, series where they deal with forbidden loves, immoral ones: Adultery, age difference, teacher / student, love triangles, stepbrothers, incest, boss / employee, humanoxser of hundreds of years. Why are they so upset about the SessRin when, ironically, it's the relationship where the character with authority never forces her henchman to anything she wants? It's like they don't really know the pairing, and it shows because they only criticize SessRin.

The SessRin is not shipped for whatever reasons they give, it is shipped because of the relationship and the way of being of each one, which makes them related. Don't you shipe a crack couple just because you imagine their relationship? It's easier than you think, people shipe because they want to shipe and that's it.

And it is incredible that, Sunrise despite showing what you criticize and want to avoid (the relationship of Tamano and Homura) you put back the SessRin, which is the least toxic ship in Inuyasha / Hanyo No Yashahime. The obsession.

That resentment for the ship is not healthy, it makes them hypocrites. Let people ship at ease. And enough with the argument that real life is wrong and what we think if it were a case happened as is, because it is ridiculous. There is no point of comparison in fictional characters with real people. I can't imagine if Inuyasha happened in Ancient Egypt, surely the characters and fans will be treated as incestuous for something that was common there, despite the fact that no one currently shares that belief. Learn to separate your taste from you, as a person.

So proSessRin, let the antis write whatever they want. And this I will put it strikingly:

  ⚠⚠⚠  Do, don't do, or stop doing anything Sesshomaru for Rin's well-being, the antis ALWAYS, I repeat ALWAYS, will see it as a way to manipulate and access her.

The SessRin had to be given as Rin was a child, like it or not, in order to see how Sesshoumaru was curious about the innocence and naivety of humans, in their purest form. And at the same time, that you, antis, realize this. Because if Rin had been an age more in line with Kagome's, then you would have misjudged their pure relationship. We would mistakenly think that Sesshomaru fell in love with Rin because he got horny with her if Rin was a teenager. ⚠⚠⚠

If I need to write something else, I will leave it in comments, that I always forget to write something.

Enjoy that the SessRin is canon, it is enough to say at convenience what is canon and what is not, and measure the same yardstick if you just have another ship where "they have filler scenes", because in the end they act like what they criticize.

And yes, I blocked some because they are still foolish in not understanding the ship. They are not worth it that way. 

I don't care about the cultural. The cultural thing is that we must stop thinking that it is correct, we must think that Sesshoumaru is not human if he wants, and he had to adapt to concepts that are alien to him, and get away from Rin because of the affection (platonic and innocent) that he had it. Why are antis so foolish to see love romantically or sexually, or to see it as father and daughter? They are basic.

And no, anti. I did not write this for you to answer me, because I know that you are going to see everything wrong with your mentality full of poop. So do not waste yourself in offending me because I put a brake on you. You, harassing and attacking other people for a ship are trash. I'm sorry. Yes, I used your favorite hashtags, I will not remove them. I am in my right. You can move on from me and now. Just as I block them. Or is freedom of speech just for you, to harass us? Don't be unfair.

And remember: let the antis burn like Homura.

[werevulvi]

I wanted to write a bit about sex segregated spaces, in regards to people who pass as the opposite sex. This is not actually about trans people, as much as it is about the safety, integrity and general rights of male-passing biological women. I am not the only gender non-conforming woman who gets tossed out of female only spaces, based on the false presumption that we’re men. I do not care about validating trans women, or even trans men, for that matter. I care about real life practicality, risks and safety for ALL women, not just those who look conveniently clearly female, which starts with accepting that some women, whether they've medically transitioned or not, pass as male. And none of them should have to feminise themselves to access female only spaces. Whether that be to ensure safety from males, or to just take a leak.

The fact that I choose to keep my beard has almost nothing to do with that I'm male-passing. It may be my strongest "male" feature, but it's hardly the only one. I still pass as male with a clean shaven face, which makes shaving my beloved beard rather pointless, in my opinion. I would realistically need to go through more than just facial hair removal to pass as my own sex again. I'd probably even need facial feminisation surgery, hair transplant, voice feminisation and full body hair removal, at the very least, to even get close to passing as female again. But even then, I'd probably STILL be read as a trans woman, i.e. male. And even IF I did all that... WHY should I have to mutilate myself (a second time) by buying into harmful patriarchal beauty standards, which would worsen my dysphoria and reduce my comfort in my own skin significantly, to be allowed the safety of male-free spaces?

Does that sound feminist to you? Because to me, it's incredibly misogynistic, and strongly counterproductive. To uphold patriarchal gender roles for the safety of women... is the most insanely anti-feminist double standard I can possibly ever think of.

To lay out my argument on this topic, I'm going to use my own experiences as examples a lot. Mostly because I cannot with any conscience speak for anyone else than myself, at least not in such detail and with such harsh judgement. But I'm sure a lot of my experiences are applicable to other masculine women as well.

First off, I still consider myself gender critical, but my allegiance to radical feminism has been waning lately. This is mostly due to that although I agree with the base premise of radfem, I tend to disagree with the proposed solutions to almost all of the issues, because to me they come across as unfounded beliefs (yes, BELIEFS) that "it would just work" without much of any evidence to back up such a claim.

And when it comes to trans people, I've noticed a lot of... shall we say, willful ignorance, going on among many radfems, which does affect opinions on gender abolishion as well as sex segregated spaces to appear rather... intellectually dishonest, to be frank. Although this is not intended as a call out by any means, I merely want for people of all sides of the radfem/gender critical/pro-trans fence to stay critical and keep questioning everything, even one's own beloved ideology. Which I don't see a lot of. Instead I see almost religious defending of radfem as the ultimate/perfect ideology... oh, guess where I've seen that before? I've come to believe that "hivemindedness" is probably part of every possible ideology out there. Even radfem.

So, anyway.

One thing I come across time and time again is the belief (yes, I dare say "belief") that people never pass as the opposite sex, although it's mostly directed at trans people, this very much applies to people who are just gnc as well. Let's not forget that. And this belief seem to often lead to that transitioned/gnc people can just use the space intended for their biological sex, no problem. However, this is not the case. There is a problem. Very many trans people, and some gnc people, pass well enough to at least blend in enough to not raise much of an eyebrow among the opposite sex, and to most definitely stand out as an outsider among people of the same sex. OR they pass barely enough as either sex, and thus stand out as an outsider among both the same sex and the opposite sex, which can cause similar problems with single sex spaces.

There's also the thing that it generally is easier to pass as the opposite sex among complete strangers, compared to people who know you/your background. They tend to read you differently, depending on that.

At least in my experience, complete strangers assume I'm male and don't even as much as raise an eyebrow about how male I come across as. They accept their false assumption at face value. And why wouldn't they? 99,97% of people who "look like me" are biologically men. Then people who know I'm transitioned, but didn't know me pre-transition, tend to see me as a female who looks very convincingly male, whether that makes me a masculine woman, trans man, or any other (female) label in their eyes. They claim to be able to "see" my female nature, yet they somehow had no idea before I told them about my true sex. Then people who know about my history and saw it happen from the time before my transition (now only really my family) never quite succeeded to see me as anything other than a gnc woman. To quote my dad: "You look like a woman who's trying to look like a man." Although I'm sure my mom and sister don't have quite as harsh views about me, lol. They still seem to see me the way they always have, regardless of what name or pronouns they use for me.

This matters, because although people who know I'm transitioned and may even have witnessed my transition from the beginning, struggle to see me as a man (which I respect entirely and I'm VERY careful to not push wanting to be seen/read as anything in particular, but also, people do not want to be rude, especially irl) that does not go for people who have never even seen me before the moment I walk into... say, a public bathroom. To them I cannot possibly be anything other than a man, and it's almost impossible to change their view of me as male once their brains have registered me as such. I need to conjure up pretty fucking compelling evidence to shatter that view they have of me.

This is important, because it means I cannot feasibly use female only spaces, unless someone else (who is also female) vouches for me and explains my situation for me. This is, most likely due to people being more likely to believe an unlikely explanation when it's told by someone else, because maybe I could be lying; and only someone of the same sex as me can accompany/escort me into female only spaces, obviously. But even then, there's a ton of tension around my presentation. An air of distrust, basically. The question that hangs in the air: "Is that a trans woman?" even after they've been given a thorough explanation of my situation. It's uncomfortable for everyone involved. Imagine how it goes then if I'd just show up unannounced, and without someone to vouch for me. I just get booted on sight.

Yes, I can whine about this all day, but that is NOT my point.

My point is that I'm either directly, or implicitly, unwelcome in female only spaces, despite being biologically female, because of my transitioned appearance... despite I'm not even on testosterone anymore since 2 years ago. Sure, most gnc women (whether transitioned or not) don't seem to have turned out quite as passable as me, but clearly, it happens. So let's stop pretending that it doesn't.

So with that in mind, I don't always have access to a gender neutral space. Like for example when I travel with the ferry that goes between my island and the mainland of my country, there is only men's bathrooms and women's bathrooms. No third option. That's a 3 hour boat ride, and with my coffee drinking habit, I will need to pee at some point or another while aboard that ship, alright. And no, peeing in the ocean is not an option, as squatting over the railing would be incredibly dangerous, and most likely not even remotely allowed. Granted, I don't take the ferry often, it's just the most clear example I can think of. Because it's my only means of transportation to/from the mainland, except from flying, which is incredibly expensive, less reliable and obviously an environmental hazard. So when I do have to use that ferry, I'm kinda stuck with my choices.

So then, am I better off going with the men's or women's bathroom? I am much more likely to be left alone to do my business in the men's, so even though that is not the space I want to be in, nor do I think it's "right" for me to be there, sometimes it's even a bit scary, other times even impractical if there's only urinals and no stall, and it's absolutely not validating at all - it's the only bathroom that I can realistically use, without too much trouble. And I don't want trouble. But I also hate having to put my own safety on the backburner for the perceived safety of other women, who are not actually at any higher safety risk when left alone with me.

So, onto the more general, political aspects of this issue:

Women in male only spaces may be less of an issue in regards to safety, at least for the majority of people (men) in that space, especially if the woman in question passes as male. No one gives a fuck, generally. But problem is then that she is at far greater risk than the majority of people (women) would be with a single male, in a female only space. As I think a group of women against one male is generally less risk towards the women, when compared to a group of men against a single female, which can be extremely dangerous for her. Although I've so far never been faced with any sort of violence in a male only space, let's not pretend that my presense in a male only space is somehow LESS dangerous for me, than how dangerous the presense of ONE male in a space with a whole group of women, would be for those women. Statistically and realistically, I'm at a far greater risk than they are, and no, I do not have any more choice in the matter than they do.

Thus, this kinda skewed idea of safety and choice, becomes a question of ethics, I think.

Furthermore, I'm a person of principles, and it wouldn't sit right with me that if males should never under any circumstances be allowed in female spaces, but females could be allowed in male spaces. I refuse to be a hypocrit on purpose! No, if males should never under any circumstances be allowed in female spaces, then females should also never under any circumstances be allowed in male spaces. OR, if females CAN under some special circumstances be allowed into male spaces, then males should be allowed the same in female spaces. Both of these solutions pose serious problems, which I keep seeing being brushed under the carpet a lot, and that annoys me.

But if we go with the first idea, of barring people from using opposite sex spaces altogether, then where the fuck do I pee? Should I utilise my "right" to use female spaces, despite making everyone uncomfortable and feeling threatened by my presense, as well as risking being kicked out and forced to use the equivalent male spaces anyway, which is exactly what that idea is meant to prevent - or should I completely avoid being in places which I know does not have a gender neutral bathroom, such as the ferry? Would that not be discrimination? Which is the most reasonable option here, what is the most practical, what's wrong and what's right? Do I even have a RIGHT to use female bathrooms, and if so, how do I prove it, considering my ID still says I'm male?

Trans men aren't gonna be nearly as willing to use female only spaces, and trans women definitely not eager to use male only spaces. But aside from that validation factor, I have the exact same struggle as trans people do on this particular point. Quite often they do toss and turn at which bloody bathroom to pick, not just out of validation, but because they genuinely struggle to figure out which one is the best option for them practically. Especially if they don't quite pass as either sex, and most and foremost just wanna do their business without unneccesary drama.

Also, to clarify: barring trans people from opposite sex spaces is NOT discrimination, as they never belonged there to begin with - but leaving them with no other option than to pee themselves, is. Which means that I think it's fucked up to barr them from those spaces BEFORE having solved the problem of "if they can't go there, then where?"

Perhaps I'm the only one around here who cares about males' integrity, safety and human rights. But even if so, I should not be the only one to care about gnc females' integrity, safety and rights. Male-passing females, whether transitioned or not, whether bearded or not, are still female, and if we don't want them in female only spaces, and not in male only spaces either; why? Because they "chose" to medically transition and/or dress in men's clothing?

Yeah, well, in most cases of transitioned females, they transitioned because of dysphoria, which no one chooses to have. It's a medical condition. Barring people from spaces they'd otherwise be welcomed into, due to the visual outcome of the treatment of their medical condition... is ableism. Barring a woman from a female only space she belongs in, solely because her unusual physical appearance freaks you out... is ableism. Also, simply being gnc and being viscerally uncomfortable with presenting femininely is also not a choice. And even if it was... shouldn't it be? That's why I cannot roll with that sorta solution. I dunno if it counts as a form of discrimination by definition, but it just smells a lot like it from where I sit. That it's no more right to toss me out of, or give me trouble, in a women's bathroom, than a masculine women who also passes as male but who has not medically transitioned.

That said, however, women's safety DOES matter a lot to me. Hence my reluctance to join their spaces, despite being a woman myself. I guess, what I'd want is complete sex segregation to work in my favour, but I can't promote a rule that would discriminate against me. I'm sorry, I just can't. I desire FUNCTIONAL sex segregated spaces, but realistically they cannot function. Truth is that the only womens spaces I've been allowed into since I began passing as male, are "trans inclusionary" ones that openly allow in trans women, ironically. I care about the safety of other women, and their right to have their own spaces... but not at the expense of my own rights, as a fellow woman. To say otherwise would be a crime against myself. I really wish this could be solved in some way that would work in practice, but honestly I don't think it can anytime soon. Not without some seriously tried and proven, practical and humane methods to check what sex people entering single sex spaces actually are.

That is the reality that people have to face. And personally I'd rather focus on women's rights than trans rights, but as a woman who's medically transitioning, I'd shoot my own foot no matter which one I'd choose. That's quite a dilemma.

So where my opinion stands on this right now, is basically this: I think female only spaces should only be for biological women, but I'm reluctantly okay-ish with males who pass as female utilising female only spaces, and vice versa for females in male only spaces. However, this does not feel ideal at all. It's a compromise. Ideally, I want such spaces to be entirely sex segregated, and for even people who pass as the opposite sex (like myself) to be allowed into spaces of their biological sex. My appeal here is both realistic practicality with the reality that some people really do pass as the opposite sex, as well as the safety, rights and integrity of male-passing women.

[beclynn-herondale]

Thoughts on Cassandra Clare ? Are u pro cc ?

dear Anon,

So I am gonna start this out with I wouldn't say I am pro CC,

do I enjoy her writing? Yes

Do I think she does ignorant and hurtful things? Also yes

Do I think it is okay to criticize her In a non hateful way? Yes, i don't approve of hating on someone that's something you can never take back, nor do I support pulling people apart cause let me tell you it fucks people up I have experienced this it is one of the worst things you can do to a person, you make them doubt everything about themself and for some you can fuck them up mentally and it can lead to more extreme measures.

Criticism doesn't need to be hateful or mean, it can be civilized and educational instead, in my opinion we need to educate and explain why it's wrong not hate them or cancel them that's not gonna solve anything, it's not gonna erase what the person said or did, you're only causing more pain and hate and let's be honest there's enough of that already.

Do I agree that she doesn't handle her POC well? YES

Do I acknowledge she said some islamophobic things? YES

Do I agree she may fetishises? Yes

Do I acknowledge she mistreats her wlw ships? Yes but also I do understand that LGBTQIPA+ rep is harder to get in cause publishers can be assholes and the world is still not as accepting of LGBTQIPA+ as we wish it would be.

Do I think it's wrong that most of her POC are half white? YES, and she needs to acknowledge it and give better representation.

Do I think her incest fetishization is wrong? YES, but also I wish you all would stop bringing Clace into this I have my reasons on why I love them but also keep in mind they were teenagers who Valentine manipulated and tried to take away what they loved most, he saw how much they loved each other and used it to try to destroy them cause he knew how powerful they are together and that together they could take him down, but also he saw that he was losing control over Jace and an abuser can't stand that, I know cause I have abusers and everytime I do something that's out of their control they do something to get it back. I saw through it from the beginning and maybe that's why, but it was never a story about incest, was some of it wrong? Yes but also they loved each other so much and you can't just stop loving someone with the snap of a finger, if you did then It wasn't really love, it would be lust, so the fact that Jace and Clary never stopped loving each other proved how much they did love each and that it wasn't lust. Listen I'm not saying it was right or that CC handled it well but I am saying that I get Clace and Valentine knew what he was doing, also CC is who you should be criticizing, as you can see Clace is actually later on a healthy couple and we need that for Heterosexuals just like we need healthy mlm and wlw relationships, the world is so negative right now so why do we have to make it more negative?

So instead of focusing on the bad parts (I'm not saying to not acknowledge them cause I do, but i also acknowledge people grow and change ) let's focus on the good parts as well like how much they love each other, Jace showed me that I can heal from my abusive past and that I can love and be loved in return. They showed us to never give up. Jace showed us Family isn't Blood. Clary showed us that you can be both a warrior and still be whatever hobby you like. Even Simon said in City of Heavenly Fire that they are a team and that's development and in my opinion what a relationship should be. Emma Carstairs said that they are girlfriend and boyfriend but also best friends again an important part of a relationship. Let's acknowledge the fact that Jace went from and Ignorant, angry, broken, mentally unstable boy to as he says a happy man and he isn't who he was at 16, he has grown a lot and it's time to acknowledge it, you wouldn't hold other characters to their past mistakes so why do you do it with other characters? And yes in order to acknowledge the growth we need to acknowledge the mistakes but I have done that myself and I love Jace cause he wasn't perfect, he wasn't automatically a the best person, he had to grow, he had bad qualities and that is human, and I don't think we are gonna hate people for being human? Jace showed abuse victims they can be happy and heal. And honestly I hate how I have to explain personal things for people to understand how important he is to me, and I am tired of hearing how I should find a different character to love this much cause Jace is shit, well I will say I am very much like Jace so i guess I'm shit too then, but also I have sadly tried to not but I can't help but love this character cause he came into my life when I was not great and I needed him and he's always there for me in my darkest moments along with Clary, I could be having a panic attack and guess what I see fanart of Clace and I feel better and it calms me down. Also of it weren't for Clary's bravery I would have had something really bad happen to me recently but because I remembered how brave Clary was and still is I made the brave decision and saved myself from bigger trauma then I already have. Recently Clace is one of the only things keeping me going. So just be respectful and try to understand. Also again it wasn't incestuous. Also when you say Jace is terrible it makes people like me who love him and relate to him feel evil and like we are terrible people for liking him, at least for me it does, i am constantly doubting myself after someone told me Jace is shit and a terrible person. Keep in mind when wording things what you are saying and how it will effect others. (Please be civil about this and remember that we all interpret the story differently, I saw things a lot of people didn't see) also we need to keep in mind that TMI Gang were all teenagers except Magnus and Alec and Alec was a young adult at the time, when they all went through all that stuff and had to save the world, they had to things Teenagers shouldn't have to do and make decisions they shouldn't have had to, and let me tell you as someone who has had to do things as a teenager that I shouldn't have had to, it sucks and you don't know how to feel about it or how to act about it.

Do I think some of her POC are stereotyped? Yes, but also some people like the characters for that, and some see other things in them that. I am no way saying your opinion is invalid, you can be offended and hurt by the stereotyping and feel unrepresented, that's your right. And I really do hope she does better in the future, cause I want POC to feel as represented as i do, and you all deserve it.

No CC's books are extremely important to me, but I can also acknowledge she can be problematic, but everyone can in their own way, and sometimes we need to be called out. So we should criticize her in a none hateful way. Hate Breeds Hate.

And do I think she should give her LGBTQIPA+ couples explicit scenes? Yes but I can understand how CC may not want to mess it up and maybe she is trying to handle it right, and publishers don't always allow LGBTQIPA+ explicit scenes. CC did have to fight for Alec to be Gay in the time she was writing him. Am I hoping for better rep? YES!! And maybe TLBOTW will give us that but I don't know.

Also even if you don't agree or don't understand, Listen To POC When They Say Something Is Racist! Hear their opinion and take their opinion and thoughts into consideration.

I would also say to stop whitewashing characters and find models, actors/actresses, singers, that are the same race and ethnicity and use them for reference for art and edits, and writing descriptions in fanfics and books. Educate yourself on it and ask people, get other prospectives.

But no I wouldn't say I am Pro CC but i am not Anti either, I acknowledge her mistakes and ignorance, I acknowledge her mishandling of POC and wlw and her problematic ways. But I also enjoy her books, I can criticize the author and still love the books.

So in conclusion Listen to POC when they say something is Racist and take it into consideration. Acknowledge that you may not know why someone loves a character, and respect them. Try to be more sympathetic towards others. Remember you can criticize the author and still love the books. Educate yourself and try to learn. Try to understand others. Ask yourself if what you are saying is the right way to be going about things. Just try to be nice and respectful and listen, try to see where the other person is coming from.

( again like I always say you don't have to have the same opinion and you don't have to agree that is your right however you can be kind and respectful and civil)

( I will add more later )

[demented-dukey]

put me on the anti list. everything about remrom is severely triggering and i despise that people think something that traumatizing is okay. and honestly i couldn't give two shits about the fact that you're shaming people for not liking it or not wanting incest shippers to interact with them, but i don't want anybody who ships incest to follow me or interact with my posts EVER. put me on your problematic list 🤠👊

You have been added to the anti list.

For the record, I’m not shaming anyone for not liking it, nor am I shaming anyone who is triggered for not wanting to interact with pro-shippers.

(As always, a message to the pro-shippers - please leave ephemeral-afterlight alone. Do not message him, do not interact with him, just let him be.)

[vermiculus-incipiens]

OOC INFORMATION:

   What’s your name? Kendall

   Preferred pronouns: She/her

   Timezone: MST (For now. It’s Arizona. We don’t do daylight savings here lol)

IC INFORMATION:

   Character Name: Dorcas Meadowes

   What’s a hobby or pastime that your character enjoys?: Writing. It helps me get out of my head for a while and allows me to put down on paper what’s happening inside my head especially when I’m on the verge of a panic attack. I find it easiest to use a muggle pen and notebook but I’ll write on anything that I can get my hands on. Random notebooks and parchments, pens and quills can be found throughout my house. I’ll write basically anything. Non-fiction. Fiction. It doesn’t matter as long as my mind is working and my hand moving. I’ve never published anything nor do I think I ever will. It’s not something I really show anyone either though if you pick up a notebook while at my house I’m not going to stop you from reading it.

   Do you have any preferred ships or anti-ships?: Maybe it’s the fact that I came of age in the 60s but love is love. As long as you treat the person right who am I to judge who a person ends up with? If you love a person then treat them right. Simple as that.

   What do you think your character’s Boggart would be? If their greatest fear isn’t something that could easily take a solid form, what is it? Why?: I think my boggart would be the darkness. Things can easily hide when there is no light especially deatheaters and Voldemort. The darkness can take something simple like a tree branch hitting the window and make someone think it’s deatheaters attacking the house. The darkness represents the unknown and that terrifies me.

   What’s your character’s biggest pet peeve?: People just randomly showing up both at my house and at work. I think that goes back to my fear of the unknown. What if they’re there to hurt me or to bring me bad news? Just the thought of someone coming sends shivers down my back and makes my heart race.

   What would you consider to be an eccentricity of your character?: Some of my listeners on WWN think it’s odd that I’ll led meditation sessions sometimes on the radio but the boss loves it. I lie and say it’s because I think the listeners need to relax a bit because of everything that is happening in the world but really it’s for myself. Without I think I’d go insane.

   What is/was your character’s favorite subject in school? Why?: DADA. It’s the only subject that just came naturally to me. Everything else I struggled with. My potions were always on the edge of exploding. When I tried to transfigure something there was always some resemblance of the original object. And I still can’t figure out the different constellations. But give me a defense spell and I was usually one of the first in the class to master it. It was nice actually feel smart at something.

   What time of day is your character’s favorite? What time of year?: The dawn because it means the darkness is going away, I survived another night, and it’s a brand new day. I’m less fearful during that time. Summers are the best because the daylight last longer. The more daylight we have the better in my opinion.

   What’s your character’s Patronus? If they can’t conjure one, what would it be if they could? Why?: A robin. I think it’s because they’re active during the daylight and that they represent renewal and rebirth. Or maybe I’m just looking too far into it and it’s nothing.

   What is your character’s biggest vice (bad habit or immoral craving)?: I think my biggest vice would have to be the fact that I’m starting to rely on dreamless sleep potions to get a good night’s sleep. I hide them in a box under my bed and they’re the one potion that I can get correct on the first try. Without them some nights I would just lay there staring up at the ceiling and doing some breathing exercises or even worse I’d be in my closet doing the same thing. I would never tell anyone about the vials in case they would judge me or even worse take them from me.

   Is your character an introvert or extrovert? How well do they handle social situations?: An extrovert. I’m a pro in social situations. I’m the one everyone is looking at. The one doing a lot of the talking. I’m in my element when I’m around people. Probably one of the reasons I became a DJ.

   What is your character’s diet like? What’s his or her favorite food?: I try to eat healthy. I read once that a healthy diet helps with anxiety but sometimes it’s hard. Between the Order and work I don’t always have time to eat healthy food. Sometimes it’s a lot easier to just grab something at a restaurant instead of cooking. That is when I actually remember to eat. I love mac and cheese. The gooier the better if you ask me.

   How do you think your character’s psychological issues have manifested and changed your character up to this point?: This brave face that I put on is starting to crack. Of course I would never let anyone see that. Some may suspect especially when they walk up behind me and I jump ten feet and almost cry. That’s not a normal reaction but in my mind I can’t help but think what if it was a deatheater? What if they had finally caught up with me? As the war worsens I find it harder and harder to leave the house sometimes which unfortunately has caused me to be late for my job. If I wasn’t so popular on the WWN they probably would have fired me a long time ago. I’ve started accepting missions no sane person ever would. I’ve found that the busier I am the less likely I am to have a panic attack. I can’t have during a mission though that doesn’t stop me from worrying that maybe I’ll have one. Sometimes, when I’m alone at night, I look at myself in the mirror and wonder how I was ever put into Gryffindor. Then I remember the people counting on me to help win this war and I know I can’t let this anxiety win.

   Give us a headcanon for your character. Anything is acceptable.: Since joining the order she has spent many nights in her closest. Not sleeping because she’s too afraid to do that. She just lays there curled in a ball with a muggle flashlight by her side and her wand in her hands. On those nights her breathing exercises and meditation failed her. It’s only when she knows the sun is up that she finally moves out of the closet.

[impressivepress]

The Political Life and Cinema of Comrade Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin’s sympathy for the working class defines all his most famous silent films.

In September 1952, Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977) looked back at New York on board the Queen Elizabeth. He was bound for Europe, to introduce the continent to his latest film Mousieur Verdoux. On the ship, Chaplin learned that the US government would only let him return to the US – where he had lived for the past three decades – if he subjected himself to an immigration and naturalisation inquiry into his moral and political character. “Goodbye,” Chaplin said from the deck of the ship. He refused to submit to the inquiry. He would not return to the US until 1972, when the Academy of Motion Pictures gave him an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement.

Why did the US government exile Chaplin? The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) – the country’s political police – investigated Chaplin from 1922 onwards for his alleged ties to the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA). Chaplin’s file – 1,900 pages long – is filled with innuendo and slander, as agents exhausted themselves talking to his co-workers and adversaries to find any hint of communist association. They found none. In December 1949, for instance, the agent in Los Angeles wrote, “No witnesses available to testify affirmatively that Chaplin has been member CP in past, that he is now a member or that he has contributed funds to CP.”

Beside the charge that he was a communist, Chaplin faced the accusation that he was ‘an unsavoury character’ who violated the Mann Act – the White Slave Traffic Act of 1910. Chaplin had paid for the travel of Joan Barry – his girlfriend – across state lines. Chaplin was found not guilt of these charges in 1944. It has subsequently been shown in a number of memoirs and studies that Chaplin was cruel to his many wives (many of them teenagers) and ruthless in his relations with women (Peter Ackroyd’s 2014 book has the details). In 1943, Chaplin married the playwright Eugene O’Neill’s daughter – Oona. She was 18. Chaplin was 54. They would have eight children. Oona Chaplin left the US with her husband and was with him when he died in 1977. There was much about Chaplin’s life that was creepy – particularly the way he preyed on young girls (his second wife – Lita Grey – was 15 when they had an affair and then married; he was then 35). FBI director J. Edgar Hoover had considerable evidence to sift through here, but none of it was found to be sufficient to deport Chaplin.

What was the smoke that got into Hoover’s nose from the fire of Chaplin’s politics? From 1920 onwards, it was clear that Chaplin had sympathies for the Left. That year, Chaplin sat with Buster Keaton – the famous silent film actor – to drink a beer in Keaton’s kitchen in Los Angeles. Chaplin was at the height of his success. With Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and D.W. Griffith, Chaplin created United Artists, a company that broke with the studio system to give these four actors and directors control over their work. Chaplin was then working on The Kid (1921), one of his finest films and based almost certainly on his childhood. Keaton recounted that Chaplin talked “about something called communism which he just heard about”. “Communism,” Chaplin told him, according to Keaton, “was going to change everything, abolish poverty.” Chaplin banged on the table and said, “What I want is that every child should have enough to eat, shoes on his feet and a roof over his head”. Keaton’s response is casually insincere, “But Charlie, do you know anyone who doesn’t want that?”

Chaplin came to the US just after the Russian Revolution. He saw the growing lines of unemployment and distress in the US – an unemployed population that grew from 950,000 (1919) to five million (1921). This was a time of great class struggle – the Palmer Raids conducted by the government against the communists, on the one side, and the general strike in Seattle as well as the Battle of Blair Mountain by the mineworkers of Logan County, West Virginia, on the other side.

Chaplin’s silent films were anchored by the figure of the Tramp, the iconic poor man in a modern capitalist society. “I am like a man who is ever haunted by a spirit, the spirit of poverty, the spirit of privation,” Chaplin said. That is precisely what one sees in his films – from The Tramp (1915) to Modern Times (1936). “The whole point of the Little Fellow,” Chaplin said in 1925 of the tramp figure, “is that no matter how down on his ass he is, no matter how well the jackals succeed in tearing him apart, he’s still a man of dignity.” The working class, the working poor, are people of great resourcefulness and dignity – not beaten down, not to be mocked. Chaplin’s sympathy for the working class defines all his most famous silent films.

It was Chaplin’s popularity and his message that disturbed the FBI. “There are men and women in far corners of the world who never have heard of Jesus Christ; yet they know and love Charlie Chaplin,” noted an article that an FBI agent clipped and highlighted in Chaplin’s file. Chaplin’s plainly-depicted criticism of capitalism did not fail to impress the world’s peoples nor disturb the FBI. “I don’t want the old rugged individualism,” Chaplin said in November 1942, “rugged for the few and ragged for the many.”

The great limitation in his films is the depiction of women. They are always damsels in distress or rich women who are desired by poor men. There are few ‘women of dignity’, women who – at that time – were in pitched battles for their own rights. In fact, many silent films in both the UK and the US disparaged the Suffragette movement of their time – from A Day in the Life of a Suffragette (1908) to A Busy Day (1914, which was originally titled A Militant Suffragette). In this latter film, only six minutes long, Chaplin plays a suffragette who is boorish and then dies by drowning.

The film was released the same year as Sylvia Pankhurst (1882-1960) founded the East London Federation of Suffragettes to unite suffragette politics with socialism. Pankhurst, unlike Chaplin, would join the Communist Party and – in 1920 – would author A Constitution for British Soviets. She would leave the Communist Party, but remained a devoted communist and anti-fascist for the rest of her life. If only Chaplin’s sexism had not blocked him from celebrating his contemporaries such as Pankhurst, Joan Beauchamp (another Suffragette and founder of the British Communist Party) as well as her sister Kay Beauchamp (co-founder of The Daily Worker, now Morning Star) and Fanny Deakin.

What drew Chaplin directly into the orbit of institutional left-wing politics was the rise of fascism. He was greatly troubled by the Nazi sweep across Europe. Chaplin’s film The Great Dictator (1940) was his satire of fascism – a film that should be watched by all in our times.

Two years after that film was out, Chaplin flew to New York City to be the main speaker at a Communist-backed Artists Front to Win the War event. Chaplin took the stage at Carnegie Hall on 16 October 1942, addressed the crowd as ‘comrades’ and said that Communists are “ordinary people like ourselves who love beauty, who love life”. Then, Chaplin offered his clearest statement on communism – “They say communism may spread out all over the world. And I say – so what?” (Daily Worker, October 19, 1942). In December 1942, Chaplin said, “I am not a Communist, but I am proud to say that I feel pretty pro-Communist”.

Chaplin was impressed by the principled and unyielding stand taken by the communists against fascism – whether during the Spanish Civil War or in the Eastern Front against the Nazi invasion of the USSR. In 1943, Chaplin called the USSR “a brave new world” that gave “hope and aspiration to the common man”. He hoped that the USSR would “grow more glorious year by year. Now that the agony of birth is at an end, may the beauty of its growth endure forever”. When asked a decade later why he was so vocal about his support for the USSR – including with appearances at the communist fronts such as the National Council for American-Soviet Friendship and the Russian War Relief – Chaplin said, “during the war I sympathised much with Russia because I believe that she was holding the front”. This sympathy remained through the remainder of his life.

Chaplin had not calculated the toxicity of the Cold War era in the US. In 1947, he told reporters, “These days if you step off the curb with your left foot, they accuse you being a communist”. Chaplin did not back off from his beliefs or betrayed his friends. At that same press conference he was asked if he knew the Austrian musician Hanns Eisler, who was a communist and who wrote the music for many of Bertolt Brecht’s plays. He had fled Nazi Germany for the US to work in Hollywood. Eisler had composed songs for the Communist Party (he would write music for the anthem of the German Democratic Republic – Auferstanden Aus Ruinen). Chaplin came to his defence. When asked about his association with Eisler at that 1947 press conference, Chaplin said that Eisler “is a personal friend and I am proud of the fact…I don’t know whether he is a communist or not. I know he is a fine artist and a great musician and a very sympathetic friend”. When asked directly if it would make any difference to Chaplin if Eisler was a communist, he said, “No it wouldn’t”. It took a lot of courage to defend Eisler, who would be deported from the US a few months later.

When Chaplin died in Switzerland in December 1977, he was mourned far and wide. In Calcutta, where a Left Front government had only just come to power in a landslide in June, artists and political activists gathered the next day to mourn him. The main speaker at the memorial service was the Bengali film director Mrinal Sen. In 1953, Sen had written a book on Chaplin – illustrated by Satyajit Ray.

Neither Sen nor Ray had made any of their iconic films as yet (both released their first films in 1955, Ray’s Pather Panchali and Sen’s Raat Bhore). “Without a moral justification,” Sen said at the memorial meeting, “cinema is ridiculous, is atrocious, is an outrage. It is a social activity. It is man’s creation.” The gap between art and politics should not be too wide, Sen warned. He was thinking of Chaplin’s films, but also of his own. At that time, Sen was working on Ek Din Pratidin (One Day, Everyday), a superb film that chronicles the possibilities of women’s emancipation. Here Sen went far beyond Chaplin. His communism included women.

~

Vijay Prashad · 29. Jul 2017.

Vijay Prashad is the author of The Death of the Nation and the Future of the Arab Revolution from LeftWord Books.

[starwarsolo]

of TLJ

I just want to cry. I want to fucking cry. Why does the world hate women so much? Since TLJ opening it’s like the world has turned into reylo and this is my personal Hell™. Stephen Colbert, of all people, doing that disgusting thing with Rey and Ren’s figurines, Mark Hamill, of all people, saying there’s romantic tension between Rey and Ren and saying that “girls love the bad guys” and that kind of bullshit, even the fucking Emo Kylo Ren twitter account whom I thought understood his character, and all the shit that I probably haven’t seen and have no intention of seeing, it really feels like everybody is fucking pro-reylo and I’m fucking devastated because now I learned that Rian Johnson actually INTENDED for them to be romantic in the movie when I came out of it thinking this was a great depiction of what toxic and abusive behavior is and how to recognize it and flee the second you realize it is being done to you, a very well done cautionary tale not just for women but for everyone to identify the way you can be manipulated and played with and degraded by other people, that’s what I took from TLJ where Kylo Ren and Rey were concerned. But no, here we are, a-fucking-gain, al-fucking-ways with this “ooooh this is a romance and a great one at that” utter bullshit, why? Why? How on EARTH can you think Ren feels anything romantic for Rey when all he’s ever done since TFA was hunt her down, neutralize her, torture her and want to literally kill her and her friend right after having killed his own father whom she just had taken as the parent figure she’d seek all her life, and probably even worse in TLJ where he STILL wanted to kill her, then being literally forced to communicate with her when he had 0 intention to (the Force bond was forced on both Ren and Rey) and taking this opportunity to manipulate her into feeling compassion for him, resulting in pitting her against Luke and being able to neutralize her once again to take her straight to Snoke so she could once again get tortured and abused, taking the opportunity of her being there and seemingly being on his side to serve his selfish ambitions to be able to strike down Snoke and the Praetorian Guards, offering her a place in his godawful world-domination plan just because he’s probably even more scared of her than of Snoke and he knows damn well that if she’s not on his side then she’s a formidable opponent and probably the only one who can stop him, doing that BY BELITTLING her and being toxic and abusive ONCE AGAIN, and finally ordering his army to take down the Falcon, which he damn well knows she’s on, and later declaring to Luke that he’ll “destroy” her, among others. HOW is that either attraction or love? All this gets even worse when you get Rey’s POV: she ultimately rejects him and his offer because she realizes what a gigantic mistake she’s made in not trusting her original instincts and opinion of him in the first place. She flat out rejects him, still leaves him one last chance to do the right thing by not apprehending him (like he would do and has done to her in her place) after Holdo hyperspacing into the ship they were on in hopes he could stop the First Order from hunting down the Resistance, amongst whom her friends and surrogate family, then ultimately both figuratively and literally closing the door on him and all the compassion she might have briefly felt for him because he did not and never had the intention of taking that last chance she’d offered him. Once again NO romance on her side, compassion maybe, mutual understanding when it comes to feelings of abandonment by blood-family surely, but it just stops there. Yes they have traumatic childhood issues in common but that’s about it, that’s all they share except for the fact they’re both very powerful Force-users (which they’re not the only ones either in TFA nor in TLJ -see: Snoke, Luke, Luke’s ex-students of the Jedi academy, the stable boy from that last TLJ scene, even Leia and maybe Finn too), nothing else, na-fucking-da. And really even with that in common they still can’t seem to truly understand each other, this romance is not only wrong it’s just plain implausible and illogical.

The worst is that it doesn’t even fucking stop here with this movie. Like, beyond the issue of reylo there’s the whole issue of absolute blatant mischaracterization (and I’m not just talking about Luke here, I’m talking about basically every.single.fucking.character.), overdone humor and confusing cinematography, and the worst of worst the treatment of characters of color, which I am utterly ashamed to have not noticed as soon as my first viewing of the movie. I’ve seen TLJ twice and I’ve seen a lot of reviews both from professional critics and regular fans like me and I’ve taken a step back to analyze and digest the movie and now I’m left with the most mixed feelings and conflict over a movie I’ve ever had (so not only out of all the Star Wars movies, but out of all the movies I’ve ever seen). I and everyone were led to believe this movie was going to be awesome and I honestly trusted Rian Johnson and Lucasfilm but at this point in time I’m just mad at Rian Johnson and do NOT want him ANYWHERE NEAR the next trilogy Disney and Lucasfilm are planning, I’m absolutely terrified of where Episode IX is going if Kathy Kennedy actually accepted Johnson’s script of TLJ and continuously praised him and this movie and even offered him the next Star Wars movies, my only hope is that JJ Abrams coming back for IX will make it all alright and back on the greatness TFA had made us believe in (help us JJ Abrams you’re our only ho). And I mean okay TFA’s main flaw was that it was basically a remake of ANH and a lot of people wanted a fresh take on the Star Wars universe and okay that’s exactly what TLJ did but the huge problem is that it did so but in the most fucking awful manner. There are things I loved about the movie and I do love it but it’s extremely flawed and honestly feels like a joke, I’m honestly more and more leaning towards it not really counting in this trilogy, this movie and its fiasco really have the possibility of not counting if JJ and Lucasfilm really deliver for Episode IX and make it right. Please bring back the gays and make it canon, bring back the badass ordinary female lead that kicks ass and defeats abusive fuckboiz with too much power and privilege and make it canon, bring back non-racist POC characterization and expand it and make it better and make it canon, I’m not asking for a movie where I get everything I want in a Care Bears kind of way but at least a movie that’s done right and doesn’t take us 5 billion steps back from what we had in TFA and from what the world should be aspiring to be (intersectional feminism, anti-racism, anti-fascism, I could go on). I know I’m in no position nor have the authority to do that but I would strongly advise Lucasfilm to actually recognize and take notes of all the criticism this movie is getting because not doing so could lead them actually losing all the precious money they intend to keep accumulating with future Star Wars content (but then again maybe that’s how they would learn since according to their latest release “the greatest teacher, failure is”).

[phosphorescent-naidheachd]

_____ said:

on one level i will always enjoy watching a cool lady ride jon's face or w/e so i am not anti-dany getting some of the old King In The North. otoh - the whole epic meet cute destined thing is too grand for me. it's like an archetype? i prefer how rooted and grounded and layered jon/sansa is as a ship - everything has resonance and a kind of unexpected joy, like Persuasion, where neither person thought they could repair the past and find happiness and yet happiness is there for them. it's just more my jam. i hope jonsa shippers have enough to work with for fic purposes after the show ends

another thing - i wish dany could have a male family member who doesn't want to bang her, especially given that monster of a brother she had... jon is a wonderful family member. i wish they could have been that to each other 

^^^

I’m not inherently against J0n3rys -- written as an epic ‘our fates were written in the stars long before our birth’ archetypical relationship or not -- as long as it’s executed in such a fashion that feels true to the characters and that resonates emotionally with me... but I highly doubt D&D are going to manage to do that. I have approximately 0.12% trust in them as writers/directors and that’s a generous estimate. Add in the fact that D&D have a fairly limited amount of screen time to build a J0n3rys relationship up from nothing, and the chances of D&D sacrificing true character/relationship development on the altar of expediency rise considerably... as do the chances for an increased amount of ‘telling’ rather than ‘showing’. Just my opinion, though.

GRRM isn’t perfect, but -- partially because of the medium, partially due to his own skills -- his writing of the J0n3rys relationship will doubtless be a lot more nuanced and believable when the characters finally meet in the books.

Actually, one thing that’s really neat about Jon’s relationship with Dany (and with Sansa, among a few other characters!) is all of the narrative parallels and contrasts drawn between their individual experiences. I recently read a piece that argued that GRRM isn’t just deconstructing fantasy tropes with ASOIAF, he’s also very much reconstructing them -- “not tearing the genre apart so much as reminding readers of why it was worth falling in love with in the first place” -- and that really struck me. I like to think that if J0n3rys does end up being endgame in the books, GRRM will use his particular “existential brand of romanticism” to make that archetype feel fresh and real and worthwhile.

Ughhh, I feel you there. Dany deserves kind, platonic, supportive family members. Like Jon, she’s always had a strong longing for a home and family and belonging, and Jon (and through him, perhaps some of the other Starks too) could really fill that role well under the right circumstances. Which isn’t to say that he couldn’t still fill that familial role in a romantic/sexual capacity, but it’s not quite the same thing, y’know? As you said, Dany has never really had someone love her who doesn’t want to bang her (maybe Missandei, but I always thought there was a faintly femslashy subtext between the two of them on the show), and I think it would be good for her to have that kind of relationship in her life.

My feelings re: show!J0n3rys are a lot more complicated than my feelings re: book!J0n3rys, mainly because my feelings re: show!Dany herself are very conflicted. I think most of the criticisms leveled at Dany by the fandom contain validity, but I also think that most of those criticisms are also strongly influenced by fandom’s sexism/misogyny and its attendant double standards. I think that Dany -- both in the books and on the show -- is a very complex character, and frankly I don’t think D&D really get that; I think they see her purely as The Once Underdog, Now Conquering Heroine(TM), and that the GOT narrative is going to reflect this sadly limited viewpoint.

I have a lot of sympathy for Dany’s position and understand why she acts as she does; her traumatic past and the culture(s) in which she was brought up have absolutely shaped who she is today: her fears, her desires, and her methods of achieving those desires. I would also argue that although show!Dany is pretty self-centered, she generally has good intentions. Nonetheless, I’ve become less and less a fan of show!Dany over the years. I have issues with some of the choices she’s made, with her frequent (albeit unintentional on her part) hypocrisy, and with the racist undertones both GRRM and D&D have (accidentally?) inserted into some of her major story arcs (indeed, to the point where I have a hard time mentally separating her from said arcs). If Dany undergoes further character growth that positively alters how she acts going forward, my feelings towards her may change again, but in the meantime… I don’t know. As I said: it’s complicated, and my thoughts about her sometimes even vary from episode to episode. (Heaven knows my thoughts & feelings re: Tyrion and Jaime often shift depending on the episode lol. But that’s a topic for another time.)

I don’t want to see Dany humiliated and humbled, the way many antis do, but I also don’t want to see her as she currently is on the Iron Throne, the way most stans do. I don’t believe she’s insane or currently in danger of becoming insane, as many antis think, nor do I believe that she’s an unusually cruel/terrible/[insert negative term here] ruler and warrior for the society in which she lives. However, none of this makes her inherently the best person to rule Westeros, either. 

Although it isn’t entirely Dany’s fault, she knows almost nothing about Westeros -- past or present -- and what little she does know was understandably given to her through a pretty pro-Targaryen lens; this lack of understanding of facts -- and more crucially, of attitudes -- will serve her (and more importantly Westeros) very poorly if she ever becomes Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Yes, having Westerosi advisors can help, but only so much. The monarchy of Westeros doesn’t seem to have much in the way of checks and balances, after all, outside of ‘it’s probably not a good idea to offend any of the major Houses too badly and definitely not multiple Houses at the same time’. Dany is still relatively inexperienced at ruling and is certainly more than capable of learning and improving... the question is whether she’ll allow herself to. Especially now that she has the ultimate power in the form of fully-grown dragons, which makes it even more difficult and dangerous to question or challenge her actions than it would a dragonless monarch like Robert Baratheon.

(Although, since we’re mentioning Robert Baratheon... I get the sense that Dany, like Robert, much prefers the fighting and ceremonial parts of being monarch over the day-to-day administrative parts. YMMV.)

It’s my opinion that Dany has gotten increasingly good at convincing herself that her personal desires are actually selfless and/or inevitable, that her way is the Right Way, that too much compromise is weakness, and that an increased volume and degree of violence on her part is both justified and necessary. This is an excellent piece of meta on the subject; although it’s about book!Dany, it’s still by and large applicable to show!Dany too... in fact, I would argue that in many ways, it’s even more applicable to show!Dany. Dany isn’t the only “good” character in ASOIAF/GOT to harden herself to violence or to make some of these sorts of mistakes, of course -- Jon probably would have been an even bigger disaster if he’d somehow wound up as the ruler of Meereen, for instance -- but that doesn’t remove the validity of these criticisms towards her, either.

Actually, speaking of Jon and Dany, there’s one argument that antis make that really bugs me: that Jon was chosen by his people, while Dany chose herself; meritocratic monarchy vs. hereditary monarchy, if you will. It’s not entirely wrong, but it’s not the full story either. Davos falls prey to this same trap when talking to Dany on Dragonstone, in fact: "He's not King in the North because of his birthright, he has no birthright, he's a damn bastard. He's King in the North because those hard sons of bitches believe in him."

I mean, yes, Jon was chosen by his nobles to be their king, and they do believe in him, but you can’t act like his heredity didn’t play a significant role in that decision. If Jon hadn’t been the ostensible son of Ned Stark, do you really think all the nobles of the North would have called for him to be King, no matter how worthy he was or how much they believed in him? Just look at part of Lyanna Mormont’s speech, for crying out loud [italics my own]: “I don’t care if he’s a bastard. Ned Stark’s blood runs through his veins. He’s my king, from this day until his last day!” *rolls eyes* But I digress. 

Moving on to address your comments on Jon/Sansa:

Unlike many J0nsa shippers here on tumblr, I don’t think J0nsa is ever going to be canon. Definitely not on the show, and probably not in the books either. And I’m mainly OK with that; that’s what fanfiction is for, after all. (Which isn’t to say I wouldn’t be delighted to be proved wrong re: canon lol.) 

I’m very much a multi-shipper in GOT/ASOIAF, and my main fannish wish is that my favorite characters survive to the end of the series. Ideally, none of them irrevocably betray other characters I care about and they all survive and they’re all at least marginally happy, but that’s probably way too much to ask. As I said, I’ll take ‘alive’. Because as long as they’re still alive, a happier ending is still a possibility somewhere ‘off-screen’ after the series ends. Dead, on the other hand, is dead. Sure, I can create AU ‘so-and-so-lives’ headcanons, but I’m still acutely aware that they’re AUs, y’know? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Yessss, Persuasion is such a great comparison! There’s something very bittersweet and healing about that kind of ship. Shades of a shared past paired with hope for a better shared present and future. The gradual realization that it isn’t too late to find/create happiness. idk, I just have a lot of feelings about this dynamic.