#I couldn't put more quotes because tumblr limit

[lady-corrine]

[jules-ln]

Viktor and Jinx as Zaun, Jayce as Piltover, Arcane's use of art movements as a storytelling device

I am once again writing about Arcane because I am mentally ill and I also love Art history

So anyway I've already talk about Viktor being Art nouveau And how Art nouveau's history was similar to Viktor's story, and I wanted to talk about Jayce being Art Deco, because of his fashion choices in the last episode are pretty much art deco

But then I thought, what if it isn't just about Viktor and Jayce, but it's about Zaun and Piltover in general, and how the relationship between these two cities reflects in these two characters

And somehow I ended up writing this because FUCK

Look, I even got subtitles and everything

But anyway, I won't put citations on this because I'm not that crazy so this isn't a serious academic essay, and as anything else you read on the internet, take the parts about Art history with a grain of salt and you should read more about it (yess, this my elaborated plan to get people into Art history)

Jinx and Viktor as the personification of Zaun

Zaun actually has more of a punk on top rather than just art nouveau, a lot of people seem to think it's steampunk, but honestly, I think that's the result of putting punk and art nouveau together rather than it being pure steampunk

The thing that made me connect the characters as the embodiment of the cities was the fact that I've noticed that Zaun actually has a lot of art nouveau elements; is just that this art nouveau elements seem to be old and broken (I would show you but Tumblr's dumb image limit won't let me)

Now, I've actually talked about the story of art nouveau on another post but to make a brief summary, art nouveau started as a way to give common people art, to redistribute it rather than it just being something for rich people, it failed. But the important part is that art nouveau originally was a leftist art movement, like punk. Punk was a response to the social and economic crisis at the time of its origin; but where Art nouveau was a solution (solution that didn't work, mind you) punk was more of a response (again, don't quote me on that lmao)

Similar to this we can see, how both Viktor and Jinx then embody different responses to the same thing. Viktor is proposing a solution for the problems of Zaun (solution that didn't work) meanwhile Jinx is a reaction to everything that has happened to Zaun, she isn't a problem, she's a consequence

But not only are they the responses to Zaun, they ARE different parts of Zaun

We can see this with Jinx in the relationship she has with Vander, Silco and Ekko.

Both Vander and Silco nurture her and Zaun, and she wouldn't be what she is without both of them

That's why neither Silco nor Ekko could leave her. Silco couldn't give her away because that would be equivalent to him giving away Zaun, and Ekko couldn't give up on her because that would be like giving up on Zaun

Meanwhile with Viktor the influence of his style predominantly being art nouveau reflects in the background at different parts of the city,

And most noticeable is that when Zaun is in a better place, the elements of art nouveau are more prominent, like in episode 7 where punk takes a back seat to the art nouveau. It seems that generally art nouveau signifies a better Zaun, or the potential of it being better

We also see a lot of elements of art nouveau in Viktor's commune, and I know that the commune is interpreted as a negative thing. But look at it this way, what Viktor is doing, is probably doing more good than whatever the hell Caitlyn had going on during the first act (no hate to Cait btw)

Like, I know there are Caitlyn fans out there that defend her decisions of using the gray to attack the Chem barons, but in reality doing that wouldn't solve anything, just create a power vacuum that later could be filled by someone worse (like Renata Glasc) without solving the addiction to Shimmer (again, No hate to Cait). But what Viktor is doing, offering a safe space to recovering addicts and sick people, is actually solving the shimmer problem by eliminating the demand of it; and it's making Zaun better

(I also want to point out that the decision of framing Viktor's commune as a mind controlling cult is very politically charged, because even if it's not perfect; think about it; they're framing a commune in which money probably isn't used at all, and that accepts both recovering addicts and sick people freely and without judgment as something negative)

Add the fact that Viktor is one of the few characters that didn't talk negatively about Jinx (If I remember correctly); neither when he is disarming her bomb nor when he's in the commune talking directly to her; this could be interpreted as Viktor always seeing the potential within the Zaun of now

Adding to that, I want to make the point that Viktor and Jinx probably would be friends if they got to know each other. And I think this headcanon is so popular because they both are expressions of Zaun, of course they're going to be similar and get along

Art deco

Now, I'm not an expert in art deco (I've always been more interested in art nouveau and impressionism). But I know some things about it

Basically Art Deco comes from from the words art décoratif; and it was an art movement that emphasized the utility of art; it had different influences like Mayan art, Egyptian art, Art Nouveau, Rococo etc etc

Some of its characteristics are: straight lines, geometric patterns; a lot of gold, lots of triangles, more is more ideology and ornaments

But the important thing is that Art deco is supposed to be a very superficial art, merely decorative (hence the name); that signifies wealth. It also became strongly associated with machinery and progress. I would argue that in recent years there has been a new connotation of corruption and darkness to it thanks to media like Bioshock

It's definitely a perfect art movement for Piltover; to show the shallowness and money the city has. But the show not only attaches this art movement to the city, it also gives it different characters

Mel and Art Deco

This is the part where my ramblings got out of control because at first I was going to just point out how Jayce has an art movement too; then I realized that Viktor also uses clothes with an art deco pattern in them: (red lines to make the pattern more clear)

But that's weird; why does Viktor uses art deco here when later his main style is art nouveau? Then I realized, it's not just about Viktor and Jayce. But as Zaun and Piltover in general

And I realized that because of a character that also uses a lot of art deco without being from Piltover herself

Mel

Mel during the series uses different clothes, but most of them have in common the geometric pattern of art deco

But she isn't from Piltover; she isn't part of the city in the same way Jayce is. While she has a very big connection to it; the simple fact is that Mel's story is about finding herself; and she can't do it while in Piltover. In Piltover she's only doing what she's always done, searching for her mother's approval

Then why is she associated with art deco?

But I noticed, she isn't. Not completely

Let's look at what Mel actually does instead of what she's wearing

Here we can see one of Mel's paintings

Let's not look at what it is, (it's Noxus) let's look at how Mel painted it; it's has more emphasis on colors and ambient, the form is not very defined; it plays with the light, it almost gives you an impression of Noxus

Yes, Mel is an impressionist painter (think Claude Monet (Vincet van Gogh is post impressionsism btw))

And I think this is important for her character because at the end of the season, she goes back to Noxus looking for who she really is; who she is beyond her mother's influence and beyond Piltover. And guess what

If you hate abstract art blame it on Impressionsism. It came to be around the same time of the invention of photography. Photography filled the role painting had of representing reality, and it did it better, faster, and cheaper. So painting had to change to be more abstract instead of simply aiming to represent reality and all of that started (at least within the context of Europe at that time) with impressionsism

What I'm trying to say it's that impressionism was painting as a medium trying to redefine itself again, it was trying to find its own identity apart from photography. Just like Mel is trying to define herself

Now, if Mel is impressionism; it stand to reason that she's using Art deco, not because she's representative of the city, but simply as a way of showing how she adapted to the city, how it influenced her and helped her grow as a person

I was thinking about that before she debuted as a champion, but I think her voice lines kind of confirmed it

So, hers and Viktor's use of art deco signifies how important Piltover is for them; and if you look at it in a certain way, it's could also be a connection to Jayce

Jayce as Art deco

Now, before anything, I want to analyze Jayce's first design, when he's young

Here it is (and Viktor's, for reasons)

And you know, the first thing it jumped out to me while analyzing it, is that there isn't a lot of art deco elements; more than that, it's too simple for art deco, and he looks almost childish; like if you told me the guy was 18 here. I would believe it

But it also applies with Viktor, the clothes make him look so young and are too simple for art deco

So let's see how both of them look after the timejump

Now, Jayce here has his white blazer (is that the right word?) but again, where are my patterns? My ornaments? My geometric shapes and straight lines? There are some on the blazer; not enough that I would call it art deco

But take it off and boom

It's almost the same as his academy uniform, just change some things and colors here and there, but other than that, it's the same

Compared it with how different Viktor looks

Now, I know the first thing that stands out with Viktor is his change in health, but let's look beyond that, his clothes are completely different

Sure, he still uses elements that are reminiscent of his academy uniform, but that definitely isn't his uniform. The shape is different, the pattern is different, even the colors are a bit different. Viktor changed, but Jayce didn't?

That's because Viktor grew up, Jayce stayed the same, just add some things on top

Jayce's character design in season 1 reflects his mental state, he stayed innocent, naive

Now, why does all of these matters? Because it wasn't until I was looking at Jayce's design in season 2 that I noticed he's Art deco;

The straight lines, the geometric patterns, the ornaments. But he only won the art deco elements after he learned about Zaun, after he had to go through what Viktor had gone through. Before that he wasn't ready yet

Now, I think it's important to say that I'm interpreting Jayce as not only related to Piltover, but as the representation of the best of Piltover itself; he's the best side of Piltover in the same way that Viktor is the potential for a better Zaun

A tale of two cities

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times and I'm a nerd

Now, I think that even after the whole magic plot, Arcane is still fundamentally a story about two cities, and that same relationship it's reflected on its characters; more than that. The dumb ending where Zaun and Piltover forget their differences and work together; I think it was the plan all along and as proof of that, I present to you Viktor and Jayce's relationship

I've seen a lot of people say that the dynamic between Piltover and Zaun reflects itself in the dynamic between Vi and Jinx, and honestly; that doesn't makes sense to me

Because, I understand Jinx being Zaun, I've already said it myself; but Vi isn't Piltover, and the relationship Vi has with Jinx isn't even remotely similar to the relationship Piltover has with Zaun (If you want to make the case, I would say it would be more accurate to say that Jinx is Zaun and Cait is Piltover, and Vi is the person trapped between the two, unable to choose)

But if look elsewhere, you know who would be a perfect comparison for Piltover and Zaun? Jayce and Viktor, and you might say "well, Jayce and Viktor's relationship isn't at all like Piltover and Zaun's relationship either"

That's because, like I've already said, Jayce is the better version of Piltover, and Viktor is the potential yet to realize in Zaun. So basically if Caitlyn and Jinx's relationship is meant to reflect the problems the two cities have in the present. Jayce and Viktor's relationship gives the solution, which is "put aside your differences and work together as equals"

And you can see that as well in their design

Side to side, these two designs exemplify the fundamental differences between Art Nouveau and Art Deco

Art Nouveau looks flowy, soft, feminine, floral patterns, asymmetry. Art Deco is expensive, machinery, modern, sharp angles, symmetry and straight lines, but that's not all

I've already said that Jayce design changed at the end of the season because Jayce finally matured, he's ready to be the best of Piltover, now he has earned the art Deco. But what do my eyes see here?

A flowy soft pattern on Jayce? A Floral pattern even? That's art nouveau right there

And then you look at Viktor's final form (in this picture is easier to see) and What's that on his chest? Symmetry? Straight lines? Machinery? That's art deco

So are you telling me that Jayce will always have some Viktor in him, while Viktor will always have some Jayce in him?

Are you telling me that the best of Piltover will always have some Zaun in it? While the potential of Zaun will always involve Piltover?

And you might think that is a bit of a stretch, but it makes sense with the ending Arcane has

Think about it; the show says that the best solution for the two cities is for them to put aside their differences and work together as equals; and I can't help but think that's what Jayce and Viktor are already doing

Jayce doesn't care that Viktor is from Zaun, and Viktor trust Jayce even with him being from Piltover; and it's only working together that they can reach their true potential. As in every time-line in which they aren't together, they never invent Hextech

The ending of arcane

Tbh, I'm not saying that the ending of the Piltover and Zaun conflict was good even if it was planned all along; but I also think a lot of people expected a leftist masterpiece, like the moment the most revolutionary character is also a mob boss and the main villain of season 1, you can totally tell that it wasn't going to another disco elysium (funnily enough disco elysium also has the mob boss being the union leader lmao)

I'm just analyzing the things I found, and while some might seem like a reach, I'm a 100% death of the author guy and I believe in making my own meaning

And I want to say this is the first time I've seen art history used in this way for visual storytelling. They could've very well just use generic steampunk visuals; but they decided to do something meaningful. Just for that alone I consider Arcane a masterpiece of animation

[helenofblackthorns]

Honest question but why do you think CC should've stuck to the pre-TLH stories rather than treat them as broad strokes? I feel like that'd be incredibly limiting. I get that COT was disappointing but that's because it was messy in general. I don't think sticking to the short stories would fix its issues at all.

I mean, I don't see it as limiting?? because generally speaking if an author wrote something & then published it, you would expect anything written & published in that series/universe afterwards would follow that established canon. like you would expect a sequel to follow the canon of the original, and in my opinion its the same principle here.

I do understand that a lot of time has passed since the Midnight Heir, and some things change. but my issue is more that so much changed, characters started to become unrecognisable (James and Grace mostly). For example, Jesse's death is described differently in The Midnight Heir, and it's said he died at 16, not 17 like it is in TLH. I don't really have any strong opinions about that changing; it's relatively minor & doesn't really change much. Similarly, it's hinted James might be an alcoholic, and somewhere along the line that's obviously been changed to Matthew having problems with alcohol. Again, its minor & does still appear in some capacity in the main series. I'm okay with that.

My issue more arises from things like Grace explicitly being a warrior in TMH, a very good one at that and loyal to Tatiana. Or James' self destructive behaviours and general personality in TMH (very snarky and cruel for funnies). Both are very major things that TMH establishes, and probably two of the biggest takeaways from the short story. Yet, neither of these characterisations are followed through with in the main series. It feels more like James and Grace are two completely new characters then their TMH counterparts. (I am my mother's blade & my father was cursed whereas I? I'm damned are probably the two most well-known TMH quotes and they sum up Grace & James pretty well)

The Midnight Heir was also published as it's own book outside of the Bane Chronicles. It was written and presented as being important to The Last Hours... and then it wasn't.

Also there's definitely a difference between stuff CC published on tumblr/twitter/etc and actually published content. Stuff that she said would happen on tumblr in 2018 that didn't end up happening is disappointing, but I get that. Things change, and I can see trying to follow all of that as incredibly limiting for an author. But a fully published short story is a totally different matter. because they're canon! Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy is pretty much required reading after finishing TMI & before starting TDA, so many important things happen in it (like Simon becoming a shadowhunter & parabatai with Clary for example).

obviously a lot of freedom comes from writing a book/series from scratch with no expectations, but TLH was never going to have that freedom; it's the sequel series to a prequel series 😭. That presents certain challenges, sure, but sometimes the best art comes from limitations & working with them. at least in my experience lmao.

It might be hard to believe, but I actually enjoyed ChoT for what it was (I know I complain about it a lot 😭😭). Like I couldn't put it down, and ended up rating it 4.5 stars on storygraph. My issues are more about TLH as a whole, and missed opportunities/potential that could have made to series better. wistful thinking mostly.

[rockinlibrarian]

Starting a fresh post because that reblogged content was getting a little long

But @stephsageek tagged me to do this (and you can GO back and read all the reblogged answers here):

Rules: Tag 9 people you want to know better and/or catch up with, then answer the questions below!

Last song: Well, "The Lonely Goatherd" is again stuck in my head since I'm still writing that chapter (I added two more sentences since last time I mentioned it!). I haven't had music on this morning, so the last song I actually listened to was when my clock radio went off, and it was on this eighties r&b ballad I don't know the name of and can't remember the artist, either, but the guy keeps belting out what I think is "find one hundred ways," except my brain always processes it as "five one hundred ways" and I'm always like "why can't he just say five hundred ways like a normal person? Or fifty-one hundred?" and it probably ruins the earnest effect he was going for.

Oh, I guess actually the last song I listened to was that cool stringed instrument I reblogged last.

Three ships: Huh. Five/Viktor is really the biggest I've interacted with lately. And since I am still reading primarily TUA fic the only other (and this time CANONICAL!) ship I'm into there is Lila and Diego (sorry, @stephsageek, I've gone and split up your main ship into two separate ships in response to your own post, oh well!) (I grant you, Five and Lila are my favorite BROTP (ironic turn of phrase there), but that's not what we're talking about. I don't think). So let me cast my nets for whatever are my Biggest Ships of All Time instead, which would be... Howl and Sophie? Yeah, they'd do. You could instead name a property and I'd tell you who (if any) I ship within it. Who else have I written for on AO3? Oh, Melanie and Oliver Bird. Do I ship them or are they just being them (even though that is a flat-out romcom-tagged fic)? The only other non-Gen fic I have there is Tesseract, which will go into the workings of Alex and Kate Murry's marriage a bit quite romantically by my standards, but still isn't really SHIPPING. --I'm not a big shipper, if you couldn't tell, but I DO have ships I care about out there, I promise.

First ever ship: Speaking of the Murrys, Meg and Calvin

Currently Reading: The Astonishing Chronicles of Oscar from Elsewhere, by Jaclyn Moriarty, which has set me off on my how much I just love Jaclyn Moriarty and why don't more people know her raving again. I swear every single character in her books has ADHD and it makes it such a weirdly comfortable world to live in. My kids are like "I KNOW THAT FEELING!" every two paragraphs. She's just so creative and has SUCH a way with chararacters. I'm not fixing that typo, I like it.

Currently watching: I'm actually not sure when the last time I watched ANYTHING was. Not counting videos of cool psychedelic stringed instruments on Tumblr. And cat videos. My son playing Splatoon is what's usually on the TV in the living room, but I wouldn't say I watch all that closely. I just hum along to the music and annoy him.

Currently consuming: Aldi's brand mini wontons mixed with leftover Thai noodles, because why limit oneself to one inauthentic Asian cuisine at a time?

Last movie: again with the What DID I last watch question, which I think means I haven't watched a movie since New Years, the last one of which was STILL (since last I answered the What movie did I last watch question) Arsenic and Old Lace. I got The Music Man out of the library recently because I was quoting "Trouble" at the kids and they didn't know what I was talking about so I have to educate them, but I haven't actually put it ON yet.

Currently craving: Shockingly, not much of anything. Maybe because I just had lunch. Maybe peppermint just to counteract the wontons and Thai noodles.

Tags: do I even know nine people? I don't even know who actually follows me. I'm going to go ahead and tag the last nine people that have interacted with me here, not counting @stephsageek unless she wants to answer all these questions again. @frimframs, @joasakura, @dannypageoflight (that's my brother), @sunnymarbles (that's my youngest kid), @rj-anderson (that's a quite successful author, I don't know why I'm bothering her with this), frimfram and joasakura again, oh, @vovat (that's my friend from college), @e-louise-bates (that's one of my most long-time online friends!), @callmealx (I'm afraid I have NO idea who you are, besides I assume Alx, but that's what this meme thing is supposedly for, after all!) and @rebel-by-default. Is that nine? That's nine. Why hasn't it made Vovat a link? No, none of those suggestions are correct, Tumblr, you fail me.

[rottenstawberrygirl]

Asya, my beloved!

I apologize that I’ve been offline for a couple of days. I’m so glad that I saw your message just now :) I love how your blog is a safe space for us. I just sometimes forget to check my phone because I prefer my laptop lol. And I use tumblr on my phone (I forgot my login, so couldn’t log on the laptop 😭) I hope you know that I’ll never forget you :)

I’ll make sure to spam your inbox often! So, tell me, have you read any books recently? what’s your favorite quote from your favorite book?

🍓🐛 anon

I'm so glad to hear you're okay, honey. You don't have to apologize for not being online. Because I completely get it. I'm not an overly clingy wife, so do not worry. Just please let me know in advance if you need some time alone or if you're very busy so I don't worry too much about you (I probably will anyway).

I use Tumblr on my phone, I prefer not using it on my laptop, our opposite choices. I will also be delighted to see you in my inbox.

I actually have read a book!!! Maybe you know of it. It’s Blindness by José Saramago. I was very impressed by this book, it tells how weak human beings are, what they can do for their own benefit, how wrongdoing becomes normalized when it is done by the majority, and how it causes social blindness. In this book, we also see that adjectives are used, not nouns, and that this is a stylistic feature of the author. I definitely recommend reading it!

There are some books I really love, but I don't have a favorite yet... I mean, I don't think I've read enough variety of books to have a definite favorite yet. I have so many quotes that I love too. I even have a board on Pinterest dedicated only to them. Because I don't like to mark my books with highlighters, or any other pen. But I'll try to put down some of the ones that I can remember for you:

“I cannot make you understand. I cannot make anyone understand what is happening inside me. I cannot even explain it to myself.” Franz Kafka , The Metamorphosis

"Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing." Oscar Wilde , The Picture Of Dorian Gray

“I can never read all the books I want; I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want. I can never train myself in all the skills I want. And why do I want? I want to live and feel all the shades, tones and variations of mental and physical experience possible in my life. And I am horribly limited.” Sylvia Plath , The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

“Here my tears are falling, Nastenka. Let them flow, let them flow - they don't hurt anybody. They will dry Nastenka.” Fyodor Dostoevsky , White Nights

(This was the first Dostoevsky book I ever read and I finished this while I was at school. It traumatized me and my friends were all worried for me because of my sudden depressive mood lololol)

“I love mankind, but I find to my amazement that the more I love mankind as a whole, the less I love man in particular.” Fyodor Dostoevsky , The Brothers Karamazov

“Your worst sin is that you have destroyed and betrayed yourself for nothing.” Fyodor Dostoevsky , Crime and Punishment

“The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched, they are felt with the heart.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery , The Little Prince

“You're beautiful, but you're empty...One couldn't die for you. Of course, an ordinary passerby would think my rose looked just like you. But my rose, all on her own, is more important than all of you together, since she's the one I've watered. Since she's the one I put under glass, since she's the one I sheltered behind the screen. Since she's the one for whom I killed the caterpillars. Since she's the one I listened to when she complained, or when she boasted, or even sometimes when she said nothing at all. Since she's my rose.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery , The Little Prince

(It used to be my favorite book as a child *sighs*)

What about you my sweet Mariposa? What’s your favorite quote/quotes from your favorite book/books? Would you like to tell me about a book you finished recently? ♡♡♡

[truncatedgrip]

PSA for new tumblr users!

there's plenty of posts like this going around, but one more can't hurt lmao

Tumblr is NOT like Instagram or Twitter or TikTok! Likes don't do SHIT here. There is no algorithm, no fyp.

If you enjoy a post, REBLOG!!!

Reblogging a post helps it gain traction, plus you can leave private comments in the tags that only op and the person you reblogged from will see.

This is ESPECIALLY important for art and fic!!! Reblogging supports the artist/writer, and i can guarantee you that any little comment you put in tags will make their day.

Also, unlike a lot of other social media, tumblr posts have no "expiration date". It's common for old posts to randomly resurface and be mass-reblogged by people. It's also fairly common to go through someone's blog and spam-reblog (some people don't like this, and will say so in their bio or pinned post. usually tho, you can assume spam-reblogging will only bring a smile to someone's face). It's also common to reblog a post multiple times in a row!

Also, reblogging =/= reposting! Reblogging still gives op the traction and notes, unlike (as i've heard anyway, i don't use twt) quote-retweets. When an artist says "don't repost", they mean don't save the image and share it in an entirely new post of your own.

Next topic! Tags. Tags in a post itself won't do anything. Use the tumblr tags for it! Tumblr tags also let you make comments in a sort of "whisper voice", and sometimes someone will see your tags and find them funny enough to screenshot and put in a reblog. This is colloquially known as being peer reviewed, and is both a blessing and a curse. People can also see who you reblogged from, and sometimes will reblog from that person instead if there's "unnecessary comments" in a reblog, such as an @ or an in-joke with a mutual.

If you don't reblog anything, people will tend to assume you're a bot and block you on sight. This site has a history of pornbots who will like a post on someone's blog and thus create a connection for google searches. Most people don't want that connection, and thus block empty blogs. Having a profile picture and a blog title/bio will help prevent this, but even with your likes public an empty blog will often get blocked on sight.

Speaking of public likes! They're useless. Mostly, likes are used to save posts for later, such as a recipe you want to look back on, or a video you couldn't watch while in public, or something you couldn't reblog because you hit your post limit. Tumblr's post limit is iirc about 200 posts a day (incl reblogs), so go ham! If your post limit has been hit, you can always queue things up for later. In your blog settings you can find your queue, and adjust how often and when it'll post. You can have up to 1000 posts queued, so when i say go ham i MEAN go ham.

TL;DR always REBLOG rather than LIKE, and use TAGS to comment!

[robertdowneyjjr]

Okay gotta say props to this anon for being dedicated enough to send an essay into my inbox and being generally irritating as all hell but I’ll bite. Let’s unpack this.

I didn’t say that only white people are offended by him. I said that most of my POC friends didn’t have an issue with RDJ’s role in Tropic Thunder and that it feels like people who criticize him for that role are white people being offended on our behalf, which we didn’t ask for. Never have I spoken for all members of a racial group, but I, as a POC myself, am saying that I don’t need someone to come in here to speak for me either.

So RDJ publicly asked people to forgive Gibson. That’s not so different from Gibson personally vouching for RDJ at a time when he was uninsurable and thus unable to find work. RDJ never excused Gibson’s actions, did he? Nor did he claim that Gibson didn’t need to face the consequences of his actions. Gibson has hardly even been in the public eye for years now. How do you know if he’s changed or not by now? And anon, how shitty of a friend must you be, if you’re the type of person who believes in ditching someone who was there for you over a drunken mistake they made? Empathy must not be a concept you understand, because real human connections aren’t like social media. You don’t just unfriend or unfollow someone after seeing them make bad comments in a post and expect to wipe your hands clean of them. Gibson was there for RDJ in a time when no one else was. RDJ feels a sense of loyalty. There’s no fault in that.

Super convenient that they don’t have a link handy, but lucky for you, I do. Here’s the profile in question and if you don’t want to read the whole thing, here’s the quote: 

“I have a really interesting political point of view, and it’s not always something I say too loud at dinner tables here, but you can’t go from a $2,000-a-night suite at La Mirage to a penitentiary and really understand it and come out a liberal. You can’t. I wouldn’t wish that experience on anyone else, but it was very, very, very educational for me and has informed my proclivities and politics every since.”

Never once did he use coded language or outright state that he became politically conservative because of black people specifically. Read the whole article if you want. It’s an interesting piece.

You might remember when RDJ walked out of an interview a few years ago during the AOU press circuit because of a reporter’s inappropriate line of questioning. It was a huge deal at the time, and almost every entertainment news site and channel was reporting on it. That interviewer tried bringing up this exact interview about RDJ ~not being liberal~ and asked him to clarify what he meant. Before RDJ walked out, he said this:

"I could pick that apart for two hours and be no closer to the truth than giving you some half-arsed answer right now," Downey replied with a smile. "I couldn't even really tell you what a liberal is, so, therein lies the answer to your question."

Now, since RDJ’s two biggest crimes are apparently racism and conservativism, here’s another source to debunk such claims. In 2012, RDJ donated extensively to Obama’s campaign. He has a history of donating to the DNC and you can search for all of that easily here. I’d post screenshots, but Tumblr has a limit on the number of images I can add to a post, so here’s a quick exercise in simple math: in 2012 alone, he donated over $75K to the DNC. In 2014, he donated $32K to the democratic senate campaigns.

And if that’s not enough for you, here’s an entire expose that shows you a year in the life of RDJ during his time in prison. Not once, ever, did he say anything about anyone’s race, and when asked pointed questions about whether he was treated in any negative way (sexual harassment, fights, etc.), RDJ never put anyone on the spot and tried diverting the conversation elsewhere.

Learning more yet?

Never once have I ever said that people need tor forgive and forget what RDJ has done in the past. You’re free to dislike him all you want, hold on to grudges over his mistakes and use that as a reason to continue hating him. Whatever. I don’t give a single fuck what you think about him. But don’t go around harassing people who are clearly his fans with your age old receipts in an attempt to make them feel like shit about liking him. Right now, you’re basically acting like that Channel 4 reporter while I’m in RDJ’s position. So I’m going to follow in RDJ’s footsteps and walk out now, because quite frankly, you’ve wasted enough of my time already.

[truncatedgrip]

I posted 24,800 times in 2022

31 posts created (0%)

24,769 posts reblogged (100%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@stelte23

@tfcoorock

@thetwinarmageddons

@oakskull

@i-dont-know-how-to-exist

I tagged 2,116 of my posts in 2022

#mcyt - 159 posts

#hermitcraft - 76 posts

#this is my son he has every disease - 72 posts

#pokemon - 62 posts

#submas - 62 posts

#inscryption spoilers - 57 posts

#fave - 56 posts

#eyestrain - 51 posts

#emmet - 47 posts

#byrd squawks - 43 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#summaried that end like “will the character find a way out or will blablabla” annoy me but if the premise is good enough ill still give it a

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

ik ben hiermee geobsedeerd god help me

166 notes - Posted March 26, 2022

#4

im normal i swear

216 notes - Posted November 12, 2022

#3

PSA for new tumblr users!

there's plenty of posts like this going around, but one more can't hurt lmao

Tumblr is NOT like Instagram or Twitter or TikTok! Likes don't do SHIT here. There is no algorithm, no fyp.

If you enjoy a post, REBLOG!!!

Reblogging a post helps it gain traction, plus you can leave private comments in the tags that only op and the person you reblogged from will see.

This is ESPECIALLY important for art and fic!!! Reblogging supports the artist/writer, and i can guarantee you that any little comment you put in tags will make their day.

Also, unlike a lot of other social media, tumblr posts have no "expiration date". It's common for old posts to randomly resurface and be mass-reblogged by people. It's also fairly common to go through someone's blog and spam-reblog (some people don't like this, and will say so in their bio or pinned post. usually tho, you can assume spam-reblogging will only bring a smile to someone's face). It's also common to reblog a post multiple times in a row!

Also, reblogging =/= reposting! Reblogging still gives op the traction and notes, unlike (as i've heard anyway, i don't use twt) quote-retweets. When an artist says "don't repost", they mean don't save the image and share it in an entirely new post of your own.

Next topic! Tags. Tags in a post itself won't do anything. Use the tumblr tags for it! Tumblr tags also let you make comments in a sort of "whisper voice", and sometimes someone will see your tags and find them funny enough to screenshot and put in a reblog. This is colloquially known as being peer reviewed, and is both a blessing and a curse. People can also see who you reblogged from, and sometimes will reblog from that person instead if there's "unnecessary comments" in a reblog, such as an @ or an in-joke with a mutual.

If you don't reblog anything, people will tend to assume you're a bot and block you on sight. This site has a history of pornbots who will like a post on someone's blog and thus create a connection for google searches. Most people don't want that connection, and thus block empty blogs. Having a profile picture and a blog title/bio will help prevent this, but even with your likes public an empty blog will often get blocked on sight.

Speaking of public likes! They're useless. Mostly, likes are used to save posts for later, such as a recipe you want to look back on, or a video you couldn't watch while in public, or something you couldn't reblog because you hit your post limit. Tumblr's post limit is iirc about 200 posts a day (incl reblogs), so go ham! If your post limit has been hit, you can always queue things up for later. In your blog settings you can find your queue, and adjust how often and when it'll post. You can have up to 1000 posts queued, so when i say go ham i MEAN go ham.

TL;DR always REBLOG rather than LIKE, and use TAGS to comment!

240 notes - Posted June 8, 2022

#2

non-comprehensive vibe chart of some streamers i enjoy

368 notes - Posted July 5, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

posting my tumblr banner for nickapocalypse day

402 notes - Posted April 22, 2022

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