#I don't subscribe to that that negative thinking

[respectthepetty]

Chica, doesn’t Dead Friend Forever translate to El Amigo Muerto Para Siempre? Why you gasping in Spanish? 🤣

Anon, that's the problem! Tell me why in English, I keep writing "Dead Friend Forever" and the words are absolutely meaningless, but the second I saw them in Spanish, I was like

HE'S DEAD?!

He's a Dead Friend?!

He's a Dead Friend . . . FOREVER?!

Sometimes it takes seeing something in another language for the connection to connect, you know? I had to hurt my own feelings in another language for me to come to the realization that

Non. Might. Be. Dead.

Pero no quiero que esté muerto.

In English, it just sounds like "Best Friend Forever" pero en español?

But . . . I'm not subscribing to that negativity, and my boy is alive. In my mind, el amigo muerto is all these other amigos who are about to die out there in the woods.

[seventh-district]

wow!!! nothing better than watching your AO3 subscribers stat go down every time you post a new chapter of your current fic!!!

[three--rings]

One thing I haven't seen a lot of talk about in the fandom so far is about the financials of this season.

It took us two whole months to get a confirmation of renewal from Max, and I talked at the time that I think there was probably a lot of heated negotiations going on at the time with contracts and that's why it took as long as it did.

I think we see a huge number of indications of the compromises that were made in order for S2 to be made. One obvious one that has been talked about is being making in in NZ instead of LA, to save $.

But there's also the eight episodes instead of ten. And then the cast aspect. One downside of moving overseas was having to fly out and house the cast, not just pay day wages.

We knew immediately about Guz Khan not coming back, losing Ivan as a character. At the time I was sad but I thought it had the air of a pretty harshly practical call. If you went through the main recurring cast and said okay which character will affect the fewest things, has the least character interactions of anyone? It would be Ivan. (With the only competition being The Swede IMO, but he's Stede's crew and therefore a little more central.)

And then this season started and we got first The Swede sidelined and taken out of major scenes. And then I noticed that different members of the crew were simply absent for long stretches, like Wee John isn't around for ep 5 at all. And then Buttons takes flight.

Lucius and Pete aren't at the party for most of it. Fang isn't in the torture scene. Roach and Fang aren't in the bar. Etc. SCHEDULING IS HAPPENING.

The new characters are almost entirely played by NZ local actors, which is great, but also...cheaper.

In other words there are big signs that they did everything possible to give us a giant cast of almost everyone we love from S1, and cool new characters, in the most economical way possible.

And I'm grateful for it. I'm grateful we got S2, and it looks great, and it's well written, I'm having a blast, and we get to spend more time with this awesome cast.

But I also kinda think it needs to be said that the cost-cutting shows. That it shouldn't have been only 8 episodes, the pacing is off. That we miss every time someone from the ensemble isn't on screen.

That despite what they've put on screen looking very good, there's far less costuming budget, there's less elaborate sets, and it's a little disappointing. And it's clear it's not a lack of will or talent or vision but blatantly lack of money.

Look, streaming networks want brilliant shows that people love (that will get them to subscribe) but they very don't want to pay anyone to make them. That's like, the whole moment we're having right now.

Max puts out promos about how great it is to not have unions messing shit up in NZ. Well I have friends who are union costumers in LA and guess what union costumers did amazing last season. This season, well, I guess Stede got three whole shirts, so that's cool.

So I dunno. It's just stuff I think about. I'm not trying to be negative about the show in any way. I'm extremely happy with this season; I love it more than well, possibly any show I've ever been in fandom for.

But I see you, Max. You're cheap. You weren't that cheap when you were called HBO.

[genderkoolaid]

hey i’m sorry to bother you but what are some warning signs that someone is a terf? i would very much like to be out as gender-fluid at my small town southern school (surprisingly supportive) but the school nurse had that “fallen sisters” book on her desk :( i don’t want to put myself in danger and i don’t know if she was reading it because she’s a terf or because she was curious about what was in it. thank you for your time!

Quick note: a lot of transphobes are not TERFs; they don't subscribe to the movement of radical feminism. But especially right now TERF ideas have become more widespread, since a lot of transphobic people turned to TERF speakers and authors for support. But that's also because a lot of TERF ideas meld very nicely with traditional patriarchal ideas (like the idea that the gender binary is required for safety of women). Things like "trans men are manipulated girls suffering from misogyny!" has gotten really popular recently, but in the past your average transphobe would probably be thinking more along the lines of "huh what a freaky dyke" than assuming it's the patriarchy's fault trans men exist.

Anyways! That's all to say that someone might use transphobic or radical feminist rhetoric without being a radical feminist themselves. Here are some things to watch out for:

Use of "female" and "male"; in medical contexts I tend to give people more grace, but if she's really insistent on sex language that's a red flag.

Highly concerned with pushing womanhood on students AFAB; if they're a TERF this is less likely to look like "pink and bows" and more likely focus on Female Power, uteri and menstruation, and identity with womanhood as a feminist act itself. Comments like "remember you can dress/act however you want and still be a woman!" can be well-meaning but they can also be a subtle way of trying to prevent GNC students from thinking about transitioning.

Fearmongering about the effects of HRT (especially T); educating about all possible effects is important, but if she focuses on negative effects, treats them as horrifying or more dangerous/common then they actually are, that's a red flag. Especially when it's tied to reproductive ability. Same when it comes to surgeries.

If she believes ROGD (rapid onset gender dysphoria) is a real thing, she's transphobic. If she doesn't use that term she might talk about transness/transmasculinity being a social contagion or trend, something young girls are pressured into (esp. by misogyny/lesbophobia), even if this is dressed up with "obviously SOME trans people are real but there's just too many now!!"

Of course, any kind of weirdness around trans people in locker rooms/bathrooms is a major red flag

If she does end up being transphobic, since you mentioned your school is supportive you might be able to tell the admins about that and have them back you up. If there are other trans people at your school, definitely ask them if they've noticed any transphobic behavior from her (you can ask cis folks too although they may be less aware of what subtler transphobia sounds like)

[azaharinflames]

Hello! I apologize for any awkward expressions, as I'm not American and not very proficient in English.

I wasn't part of the 9-1-1 fandom and watched it whenever I had time. It was a light show for me, but while watching 9-1-1, I hoped that Buck would find a partner to settle down with and be happy. (And I never felt even 1% of romantic feelings between Buck and Eddie.) When Buck broke up with Taylor, I understood the reason but felt regretful. After that, Tommy appeared as a meaningful LI. I sincerely cheered for Buck, seeing him happy.

I had high expectations for S8, but in 801, Tommy appeared briefly, and until 804, no one mentioned Tommy, which I found strange. Then I watched 805 and thought Henren's story was forced, but I liked Buck and Tommy's story. Then I watched 806, and... Buck and Tommy can break up. If it had been for a convincing reason like with Buck and Taylor, I would have been sad but understood. However, I couldn't understand the story in 806 at all, and the characters felt unfamiliar, as if they weren't the characters I knew. And the interviews with Tim and OS gave me trauma after enjoying watching 9-1-1 all this time.

Only Lou understood and empathized with me. I didn't know Lou and didn't remember Tommy from S2. I supported Buck and Tommy solely because Buck was happy... Especially OS's interview made me feel like Buck and Tommy were ignored as if they didn't exist. I don't usually have expectations for actors, but I was really disappointed. So, even though I subscribed to Disney+ annually because of 9-1-1, I no longer watch 9-1-1. I know that my not watching won't change anything. And I know that Tim doesn't have the ability to create good, creative stories. Knowing that Buck will just keep running in the same hamster wheel, I really lost expectations for Buck. Of course, knowing that other 9-1-1 characters besides Buck will also run in slightly different hamster wheels without development, I lost interest in the show itself.

Furthermore, I was honestly disappointed with the production team and the broadcasting company for not thinking of protecting the actor who was insulted and attacked in all sorts of ways just because they were Buck's LI. In the country where I live, if such a situation occurred, there would have been an official message from the broadcasting company and production team to stop the attacks and hatred.

I'm sorry for sending such a negative and pessimistic message. I wanted to confide in someone. Even if Tommy doesn't appear again, I plan to continue enjoying BuckTommy content on Tumblr and AO3, but I really miss the time when I was looking forward to and waiting for S8.

Hi, Nonnie! Sorry for taking a bit, physical therapy is kicking my ass rn lmao (kids do not tear your meniscus)

Okay by points. First of all - your English was perfect, don’t sweat it. English is my third language so Iunderstand where you come from, but you’re good!! Now:

you🤝me with this whole post. You were on my mind fr because I do share all of your thoughts.

Perhaps confession time: I liked Taylor! I ultimately understood why it wouldn’t work between Buck and her, but I liked her and I thought they were really cute. I was sad to see her go (although I’m glad by leaving we were able to eventually get Tommy)

Season 8 is the perfect illustration of something I’ve been thinking about 911 for a while - it is the land of missed potential. I’ve gone about it a few times so I won’t go over it again, but Season 8 is the perfect example of having lots they could do yet refusing to attempt to do it.

Your point on the break up is 100%. I would’ve actually understood and accepted it if it made sense in a larger scale, or if we had been introduced to it better. As it is, you do understand Tommy’s motives, but only if you look at the episode. Meaning: everyone acted so out of character during 806, it seemed like a different show. Therefore the break up (to me) does not make sense in a broader, more general view.

Your point on interviews: yeah I get it, sadly. The interviews left a sour taste in everyone’s mouth, because it did seem like Lou was the only one who truly cared for the couple and its fans. And for everyone who had been harassed for months for liking them, the nonchalant attitude of nearly everyone felt cruel and hurtful. It’s more than normal that many people felt like stop watching the show after it (me included). It does seem like OS has started to realize how big Bucktommy actually was and how liked they still are. So, progress? But it feels too little too late. Idk.

I also understand it does feel bad to see how they’ve ignored the bad treatment LFJr has received. Ofc we lack a lot of context (meaning: perhaps Lou himself asked them to ignore it, perhaps he did have a lot of support BTS), but the fact is that they let a group of deranged ‘fans’ bully and threaten an actor, and did nothing. No, instead it very much felt like those fans were being rewarded. It’s normal for us to not want to support that. I know I feel uncomfy with the idea of doing so.

We are lucky (infinitely lucky) that the Bucktommy fandom is filled with truly lovely and amazing people - people that are lovely to read, discuss with, and enjoy their art from!! If 911 doesn’t got my back, I know the BT fandom does ♥️

I hope you can continue to enjoy fandom life, anon! Ultimately they cannot take away what we enjoy!

My inbox is open for ranting, venting, giving opinions and confessions! And if you do not want them publish, please say so in your message 🥰 it’s cool with me, but I do need to know!

Take care <3

[anon-sect]

Picture source: @spencer-kicks

PART ONE......

Kevin had a popular YouTube channel where he would show off his shoes and give a review about them, all the positive, and negative notes. He had over 5K subscribers and was approaching 6K. He decided that he would do a special celebration the moment he reached 6k subscribers.

A few weeks later, he reached 6K. He posted a contest to celebrate reaching a milestone since starting his YouTube channel. One lucky subscriber would get to help out with a video review on his channel. After a week, he picked the winner of the contest. The winner was invited to his house to participate in the next video review.

Alex couldn't believe he was selected out of the many that entered the contest. Kevin had really picked him to be in his video. He was surprised when Kevin had paid for his flight out. He was also informed that his hotel arrangments had been made as well. He just needed to catch the flight out to him. He would pick him up at the airport.

When the day came, Alex was curious as to why there wasn't a return flight ticket. It was just a one-way ticket. He was sure Kevin would explain once they finally met. True to his work, Kevin was at the airport waiting on him. On the ride to his place, both him and Kevin had a wonderful conversation. But back at Kevin's place, was when he started to suspect something was wrong.

"I have a question." Alex asked. Kevin nodded for him to ask. "I didn't get a return flight ticket, and what hotel will I be staying at?" He was curious on both questions.

Kevin just smiled. "Actually, don't worry about the return flight ticket. And as for the hotel, you will be staying with me." He paused. "Now, to your assistance with my next video, you will be helping showcase my new pair of sneakers, Nike Air Zoom Flight 95s." He added.

Alex had seen a pair of those sneakers online before. "So will I be doing the camera shoots?" He asked after he was sort of satisfied with the living arrangements. He saw a smile appear on Kevin's face that told him something different he would be doing.

"Actually, you will be part of the video showcasing my new shoes that just arrived today. The reason why you don't have a return flight ticket is because......well......you will see." Kevin explained as he went to his room and came back with a device in his hand. He programmed the transformation. He pointed the device at Alex and hit flash.

Alex saw a bright light flash at him, and there was an instant change. His body felt different. It felt like he was split in two halves. His field of vision had limited light. He also found himself incapable of moving on his own. No matter how hard he tried to move or speak, he was both immobile and voiceless. The only thing he could materailize is the thoughts in his mind.

"As the winner of my celebration contest, you was selected to be my new pair of shoes to be added to my ever growing colletion." Kevin paused. "But you will be my favorite pair, because you are my very first pair of living shoes. I will wear you many times during every week. You and my feet will get to become best friends. As the winner, you will be in my next video featured on my feet. The only thing is that no one will ever know what happened to you. Even those who will watch the video will only think of you as normal shoes. I hope you enjoy your reward for winning." Kevin finished as the put on his new pair of shoes.

Alex was mortified. He did want to in the video, but not as literal shoes. He saw the light blotted out as a pair of feet crushed his insole face with tremendous pressure. He could tell the sock Kevin was wearing was slightly dirty and had a bad odor to them. To make things worse, all of his senses weere increased by almost 1000%. The odor from the sock was intense. Each step was like being crushed by a mountain, extremely painful. Even feeling the ground that he was being crushed against was no walk in the park. It fetl like he could feel the gravel, sand, and even concrete up against his back. To be walked on was mentally crazy, and he was wondering if his mind would survive being stuck this way forever.

Alex could hear Kevin talking while recording the video. Every word was in reference to him as though he was normal sneakers. He mentally screamed for help in a hopeless situation, wishing his thoughts could be heard through the recording. This was not what he had hoped for when he thought he was going to be in the youtubers next video. It all made sense when there was no return plane ticket or list of hotel reservations. This was Kevin's plan the entire time, and his fans were clueless on it. His only hope now was that help would come rescue him from this fate. He only had one hope of seeing his humanity again. It was a good thing he made a backup plan in case something went wrong on his trip.

After recording the video, Kevin loved how his new shoes felt. They felt way better than normal sneakers. He definitely had to get himself another pair like these. Human material does make for better sneakers, the thought to himself. He knew Alex wasn't expecting this fate. Actually, none of his fans would have suspected it. Neither will anyone know what happened to the winner. The secret about his new pair of Nike Air Zoom Flight 95s would just be that, a secret, only between himself and the very sneakers. That thought cause him to laugh at the situation.

Continuation in PART 2............

[dnpbeats]

Ive been seeing some big youtubers and creators announce (seperately) that they're going on tours, and a lot of of them are full on stage shows. These are people with tens of millions of followers each.

And then I think about the fact that dan and phil are the reason they can. Dan and phil completely pioneered the industry for online creators. They were the first youtubers to do a world tour of a stage show. First youtubers to show that they are actually professional enemtertainers and not just ameteur comedians. They were the first youtubers to have their own radio show in the uk. They were the success story that a lot of people built their success on the back of. If tatinof didnt work, it wouldve taken so much longer before online creators would've been taken seriously by venues as comedians/artists/entertainers. If internet takeover didnt work it would've taken so much longer for creators to be offered jobs in mainstream media, as tv/radio presenters, in documentaries, on gameshows etc.

Like yeah, it probably would've happened eventually anyway, but it happened a lot earlier than it would've bc of them. They were the first. And absolutely no one acknowledges that. No one even knows, except for them and us.

Even though dnp in 2024 are by far not the most prominent creators out there, I do think they have had one of the most successful careers of any youtuber/streamer out there. I think they achieved far more in terms of career success and opportunities with their 4-6million joint subscriber count than most of the people with 20million plus subs have, which is pretty cool. Their careers are not built on 5mins of fame. They have understanding of the industry, work ethic, and skill to ensure long careers, even if those careers morph over time. They wont be youtubers for ever, but they will be successful in whatever they do, that I am certain of.

Idk im just feeling emotions about them. Im proud if them. And im excited to see where they go.

NO NOTES ANON!!!!! this is all so true!

I have seen a lot of people mention the fact that d&p are not as popular as they used to be/don't get as many views as they used to as if it's a negative but I don't think it's bad at all, because of all of what you said. they were doing shit that no one else was doing! they paved the way for youtubers to break out of the yt sphere!! which is so amazing but also they were doing SO MUCH for so long. they were carrying the industry on their backs lmao. so now I'm so happy for them that they have the opportunity to chill out and just do what they wanna do. they're just making the content they wanna make and they aren't concerned with how many views they're getting or trying to remain relevant (which I think they still are, but yk what I mean), and they deserve that. because while everything they did was awesome and should absolutely be celebrated, I think it's great that now they have the opportunity to create more casually and they don't need to worry about doing numbers. like yes yt is still their livelihood but in a much more laid-back way yk? and I think that because they did so much, and like you said have understanding of the industry and a good work ethic, that's what allowed them to build a fanbase that has stuck around and that fanbase is why they can be more relaxed now

I agree they might not be youtubers forever but I'm also excited to see what projects they eventually move on to bc they'll slay fs

[acourtofthought]

The book Sarah had displayed "The Once and Future Sex" just triggered something for me after looking over the synopsis:

Enshrined medieval thinkers, almost always male, subscribed to a blend of classical Greek and Roman philosophy and Christian theology for their concepts of the sexes. For the height of female attractiveness, they chose the mythical Helen of Troy, whose imagined pear shape, small breasts, and golden hair served as beauty’s epitome. Casting Eve’s shadow over medieval women, they derided them as oversexed sinners, inherently lustful, insatiable, and weak. And, unless a nun, a woman was to be the embodiment of perfect motherhood.

I always thought it was a bit strange how Sarah continually reminded us of Elain's small breasts but seeing the above makes me wonder if it's because she took inspiration from the likeness of Helen of Troy as a pear shaped, small breasted figure which was the ideal of attractiveness during that time period.

It makes a bit of sense as Helen of Troy's face was one that launched a thousand ships with Elain's being a face that could bring kings to their knees.

The Trojan War began because Paris took Helen from her husband, Menelaus and in SF we have Rhys warning Az that his actions, his lack of concern for her mating bond with Lucien, could lead to a battle to the death and ruin the peace of their lands.

On the one hand, the Paris of Homer's Iliad is depicted as a handsome and charming young man motivated by his love for Helen and his belief that she is destined to be his.

It's debatable whether Paris truly loved Helen or whether he believed he did because her love was promised to him:

Still, Paris could not decide, as all three were ideally beautiful, so the goddesses attempted to bribe him to choose among them. Hera offered ownership of all of Europe and Asia. Athena offered skill in battle, wisdom and the abilities of the greatest warriors. Aphrodite offered the love of the most beautiful woman on Earth: Helen of Sparta. Paris chose Helen and thereby Aphrodite.

"His belief that she is destined to be his." sounds a lot like Az feeling he should have been given Elain because his brothers are with her sisters.

"Some stories say that Aphrodite put a spell on Helen to make her fall in love with Paris, while others say she loved him without the goddess’ help."

Helen regrets her decision to be with Paris, and her resentment of him intensifies as the war progresses. She is disgusted by Paris's cowardly behavior when he fights Menelaus.

If Sarah went with the first story, she could have played into that with Elain's interest in Az where she felt influenced by what she thought her sisters wanted of her (which Rhys all but acknowledges in the Feyre bonus, about her being worried that she'd disappoint them if she acted out of character for what they expected of her). It's clear that Feyre initially had animosity towards Lucien in ACOWAR and it was very evident that Nesta only started coming around to him later in her book so it's not a stretch to believe Elain thought that since her sisters were interested in Rhys and Cassian, she as the third sister should also try to be happy with the third brother so as not to make waves.

Also, Elain is bothered by cruelty and though the circumstances would be different (since I don't imagine Sarah would write Lucien and Az battling it out to the death), I do think that had Elain actually hooked up with Az she would have later regretted it. I think she would have been bothered by Azriel's threats of Lucien, his indifference to killing him and causing issues between courts.

In Homers account, Helen is eventually reunited with her husband Menelaus.

I also think it's interesting how in what is clearly a negative way of thinking, the above book mentions men who considered woman to be the embodiment of "perfect motherhood" and Sarah chose to write Az thinking of how innocent and pure Elain is in his bonus chapter, how he will taint her.

[cripplecharacters]

Heya, wanted to, first of all, thank you for your work here! It is very educational and deeply appreciated! Secondly I do have a bit of a question regarding the portrayal of a character with facial difference, specifically a visible and rather big scar on the face.

Character context: an adventurer/mercenary lady in a fantasy setting, comes from a culture that puts high value on perfection in all things, looks included, but stays separate from it for a decently lengthy time period as a part of a mercenary company

Scar context: is acquired (?) as a result of a dungeon delving expedition gone wrong early on in the heroine's career, is not a focal point of a stories with said character, but more of a part of a picture and a life journey

Would you say that any of the following would be asking for revisions to make them better and/or exclude something unintentionally offensive? Unless I would note otherwise, story bits would not be major focal points, just something revealed about the character during the Typical Fantasy Adventure Story.

Character initially struggles with having the scar due to the cultural influence, but thanks to the support of the friends from a mercenary company she is a part of (many of whom naturally have various scars of their own) comes to be more neutral toward it and later on adopts a more "this means something tried to kill me really hard, but I was stronger" attitude.

In the same stretch of time character goes from saving up money to hire a restorative magic specialist (to see if scarring can be fully healed or minimized) to discarding the idea and later on refusing an offer of this nature

While character does face some negative reactions to their scar - and especially they intention to don't "have anything done" about it - from some members of their culture, those events are relatively rare and not a major focus point. And the characters behind this are very unambiguously shown to be rude jerks.

Character meets other people of her culture who either do not share/come to drop the perfectionism view regarding to looks, or other people of her culture who have visible scars and other facial differences and therefore both support character and find support in her, if it makes sense?

Character's significant other from the same culture at some point in the relationship, inquires if she would be still looking for a restorative magic specialist, and if she would want help with either references or money, vaguely knowing that she was originally planning to save up for a visit. Receiving a confirmation that these services are no longer of interest to the character he does apologise for assuming before dropping the topic on a note of inquiring if there are any things that would make character more comfortable in their day to day life

If you would require any additional context and/or need to refer to me somehow, let it be Anon with Perfectionist Elves

Hello!

In short, I do like this. It's pretty obvious you thought about this a lot and I appreciate it. Not only does this help me with answering this, but it also just sounds promising in general.

I don't think you need to change anything if you don't want to, this is more in the vein of suggestions re:societal views you can consider;

You mention that the characters who support her do not share the perfectionist views, but I wonder if there would be a second group of people who do have FDs (or other visible disabilities) and still subscribe to that view. If someone grew up believing that physical perfection=good and suddenly stopped being physically perfect, there are two options;

First is the one you already have, reject the concept entirely; physical imperfection=still good.

Second would be to keep the concept and warp it to fit them: physical perfection=good, and I'm still good, meaning that whatever my "imperfection" might be it's still part of what "perfect" can be. You know how some old people who thought the same thing for the past 60 years and suddenly have something challenge that belief will just... make exceptions? I think that some people in that kind of society would do it too. Expanding the definition to fit their expanding worldview.

In real life context of facial differences, you could I guess see it as the difference between "I'm no longer as attractive as I was before, but I'm still a good person deserving respect" and "I'm a good person deserving respect, but I also think I'm still just as attractive as before". There's no wrong or good way to think about it, these are just views people have about themselves. Some people are fine with no longer being seen as conventionally attractive, others will fight tooth and nail to stay in that category, even if the category dislikes them by definition. Humans are weird.

For the significant other being from the same culture, you have a rare opportunity to give him genuine character development from another person's disability. If his partner does something that is pretty "against" what they were both told since they were children, his worldview will shift to some degree.

The main character's facial difference is something she has to "deal with" pretty urgently in this way; it's on her face and affects her public perception, she has to get an opinion on this societal view of "imperfections" fast, and it has to be a positive-to-neutral one if she doesn't want to be miserable with herself. He on the other hand, probably also has some "imperfection" that just isn't as obvious as hers; almost everyone does. Does he have something he maybe hid really deep down because he was afraid to show in fear of negative reaction? Some sort of failure - or "failure" - that maybe the realization of imperfections and "imperfections" not being the end of the world would allow him to process rather than repress. I imagine that if a close one clearly told him - "I don't want to change this, I'm okay with this" - then it could trigger a thought of "hey, maybe my 'this' could be okay too".

This is just my idea on how you can potentially expand on what you already have going on. I think it's an interesting setup, and honestly just sounds like you know what you're doing with it; good luck with writing your story!

mod Sasza

[stormblessed95]

Hi Stormblessed (dope name btw),

Don't know if this is the best place for this essay or the right time but I need to word-vomit this out, or I'm gonna be a JK-style spaced out zombie all day.

It's a truth universally acknowledged that a big part of the fandom tends to mis-characterize the members based on edits, fanfics and out-of-context clips. Something probably mostly to do with how social media platforms have been pushing for these short videos over the last few years. Why watch 300 hours of original content (some of which is behind a paywall) if you can get the gist of it (you think) from TikToks?

My particular point has to do with how that allows for the narrative (aka made up shit) especially around Jimin to grow. All of the members get that treatment, the maknaes worse due to their popularity, but due to how a big part of Army are also tkk shippers, Jimin is the one who's portrayal often skews more negative. The others' perceptions just are neutral or fantastical in a sense that they're more like badly written male leads. Don't get me wrong, solos throwing around bs is nothing singular to him but no one gets accused (said completely seriously btw) of sleeping his way into BTS or the release of his album.

After I saw this vitriol for the first time I had to actually sit down because wtf.

And then I started wondering why that is, and came to the conclusion that it is:

(Internalized) misogyny and sexism

Blatant homophobia

Jimin is the member the most obviously in tune of his femininity. He hasn't subscribed to gender norms for a decade at least, and once his hyper-masculine-esque persona from the debut days was dismissed, he ventured further. (That isn't to dismiss the growth they all have shown in that area.)

But antis, akgaes, Solos and shippers take that femininity and apply every stereotype and misogynistic idea to JM.

Traits they f.e. hate:

He is openly flirty with many people (members especially)

He is very physical, and touch is arguably one of his love languages and go-to way of comforting smn

He is pretty af and knows it

He's sensual and sexy and knows it

He's cute

He's sweet (aka a good fucking human)

But why does that make "them" hate him so much?

Because they have been taught that these traits in women (like themselves) are bad. What makes it worse, however, is that the men around JM all know these things to be true, acknowledge them as true and compliment him on them. In the case of JK (since this is about Jikook at the end of the day):

He loves flirty JM despite sometimes not knowing how to handle him (ehem the 'shameless convo'). He flirts back (fe the whole live where he was in bed begging for JM to come over)

Tkkers and such love pulling the "JK hates it" card. Which is nonsense, considering how he seeks JM's comfort when he's down (esp during concerts), actively cuddles JM (In The Soop) and never uses all his big muscles to shove JM but rather to just carry him around. Compare that to the jokingly disgusted face Yoongi pulls when Tae tries to hold his hand, and it becomes glaringly obvious that no one who says the members dislike touching each other has a leg to stand on. Calling it harassment goes so far beyond any line of sanity...

JK - like all of BTS - acknowledges that Jimin's beauty is simply out of this world. They are regularly stunned by his appearance

Just gonna point to JK's reaction to Filter, Blood Sweat & Tears, Black Swan, and Set Me Free pt 2 here. JK calls JM sexy so often it's hilarious

* inserts clip of absolutely WHIPPED JK after JM cutely punches him during that performance of Boy With Luv *. Also we know that "cute" his JK's type as he himself admitted.

Jimin has been Jungkook's comfort person for so long, and with such depth that he dedicated a whole trip and video to him. They care for each other so deeply that the only logical conclusion was to go to the military together.

Aka: he is all that they hate in the girls/women in their normal life so they can't do nothing but tear him down. They envy how comfortable he seems in his own skin, how easily he goes from sexy to cute, how loved he is by those around him. On top of that is how gay people are still perceived and treated by a lot of countries around the world. No matter what they say, being an army and shipping men doesn't make you automatically an ally and non-homophobic.

They treat Jimin like they would most likely treat the lgtbqia+ people in real life: something to be careful of, someone dishonest and slutty.

They conflate everything they hate about themselves and gay people and * boom * out come frankly terrifying tweets, fanfics and shit.

Contrast that with how these very same people fetishize the relationship between Tae and Jungkook - either viewing them like men who watch p_rn involving two women, or a self-insert with how little character they have - and that's the state of the army shipping community. They could be Barbie dolls getting smashed together and you wouldn't know the difference.

I'm not saying Jikookers are better in that, but the language they tend to use is incredibly different.

---

That was a lot.

To end on a sweet note: I saw a quote on Twitter "If you want to find out what someone fears losing, look at what they photograph."

And...well. that just screams Jikook

Hi! Thank you, I like my name too 🥰

And yeah, basically I agree. I think there is more to it as well, but that a lot of it could be boiled down to all this. And yeah, jikookers are just as guilty of this too, but not always in the same way. Sometimes in a way that is more fetishizing but is just as harmful. Take it from someone who has seen it all in my inbox from people who feel safe on anon 😂😂

Thanks for sharing! And your quote at the end is SOOOOO cute!

[respectthepetty]

Me, trying to find eighty ways Non could still be alive solely because I need him to be.

El amigo muerto para siempre

El amigo muerto para siempre

El amigo muerto para siempre

El amigo muerto para siempre

El amigo muerto para siempre

El amigo muerto para siempre

¿Para siempre?

Call me DW because I'm not seeing it!

[wizlizbelle3]

Helllooo! I found this post and now I'm asking this here cause its really confusing me https://www.youtube.com/post/UgkxIyGBNiULoxEXbqIYRS8QPRthe5U8O9NO

The OP says so, but I want to know if they're implying that manifestation or shifting through the void is NOT actually possible or what- Even if they say so, I don't think I'll be believing them. Cause I'm gonna continue to assume that the void state=instant manifestation. But I need this to be clarified, THANK U ^_^

Thanks for linking this. So many people could have seen this and been so terribly misinformed. I'm Hindu so I know that this person is using words in Hindi/Sanskrit to act like they're an expert. People do that. Even yoga influencers do that by saying "Hatha" instead of hands. "Shunya" just means zero. People like Joe Dispenza use the point zero stuff in their lectures and they're not wrong.

The void is pure consciousness. Does this person know what consciousness means?

"Consciousness - the state of being awake and aware of one's surroundings."

"Unconscious - unaware of."

How can you be "pure consciousness" and not be conscious of anything? The state of pure consciousness strips your perception of physicality and focuses on CONSCIOUSNESS. THOUGHTS.

Now, this person obviously doesn't believe in having control of their own lives. I need all of y'all to focus on Neville Goddard's teachings and not spirituality experts who promote bs like DMT and weed to get into meditative states. Neville Goddard did indeed teach many to manifest so much. In fact, I'm the living proof that you can indeed be the creator of your own reality.

So, you most absolutely can manifest through the "void" or state of pure consciousness because it is NOT a trance like state. You're not hypnotized. You're aware of only your thoughts and not your body or your 5 physical senses or reality around you.

People often say things like "oh you can't manifest through the void because the void is just nothingness" because they couldn't grasp the concept of having everything they want so easily. It's like when your favorite actor gets into a relationship and your first thought is "she doesn't deserve him" and then you theorize that she's probably with him for money and doesn't get him as a person etc....

But SOMETHING comes from NOTHING. Everything is created from this space of nothingness and people who try to dispel that are just so sad honestly. Sometimes it feels like this is more forced programming from those who don't want people to succeed truly and subscribe to them or help them get monetized by those 10 minute feel better meditation videos. It's so stupid.

So do whatever you want, get into the void and manifest your dreams. This person literally can't stop you from doing that. Too many people have induced pure consciousness for one person to try and act like they're experts on the topic and claim the opposite.

Also, even if their perception of the void is different, why would they claim you can't manifest in the void that we talk about? Terms can have different meanings. So regardless, the techniques and methods and stories are all true even if we're using the wrong name. The name doesn't manifest anything, you do in that state.

Lastly, the reason you manifest in the state of pure consciousness is because all your cluttered thoughts are stripped away leaving your entire consciousness (source of life and energy) to be focused on your desires. When you desire is the only thing on your mind (impossible even in meditation because you're still aware of the 3D unlike the void where you're only aware of 4D), it manifests immediately or almost immediately.

Here are some links to uplift you if you were discouraged by this person's negativity.

[dorkynerd23]

My Problem With Vanitymoth/My Thoughts.

Hello guys!! Hope you're all doing good and well and you've been having a good and wonderful day/night. Now, this will sorta be a mixture of a critical/rant post, as this is someone I've been wanting to talk about as they're someone who's been criticized and talked about (mostly negatively) In regardless to the Murder Drones Community and I wanted to give my thoughts and opinions on this dude, as I don't think he's a very good cartoon reviewer but before I start PLEASE DON'T SEND ANY HATE!! This isn't meant for me to bash and send hate towards this dude, please don't do that shit as it's not worth it and doesn't make you any better, I just wanted to give my thoughts and criticisms about Vanity and his content, your allowed to critique him but don't send any hate. Anyways, the one I'm gonna be talking about is Vanitymoth and if you're not familiar and haven't heard of him, Vanity is basically a cartoon reviewer with about 12.8K subscribers and his first video which was uploaded back in 2022 (around the same year his channel was created) and was about Panty And Stocking and his channel wasn't as popular when he first started out and I discovered him around this time and thought his videos were decent and fine enough at the time, especially as he had a small following around the time but I honestly think it wasn't until he made his first MD video is when he really started to get more popular and I subscribed to him once he started making MD reviews as I was a huge fan around the time.

In the beginning I thought Vanity was a fine and decent enough reviewer and he seemed valid and gave some interesting points in his videos, but I started to notice some changes once he started putting out some more negative videos with one of the ones being his trashfire of a review on Lackadaisy and most of the time for his review he's just complaining and nitpicking as some stuff, (even though I do think in some aspects he can be valid) being negative most of the time, the only thing he really praises in Lackadaisy is the animation but doesn't bother really giving any more positive thoughts even though there is so much to adore and love about Lackadaisy, even if you aren't 100% familiar with the source material I think you'd still be able to follow along fine and enjoy the Pilot. But with Vanitymoth, it seems just didn't seem to understand and get the Pilot or what even the concept of a Pilot Is..the whole point of a Pilot Is to introduced you to the world, the setting where the story is taking place in and introduce the characters we'll be following along, and although Lackadaisy isn't perfect at all, no piece of media is, but I think they did a good job. Another thing Vanitymoth is that in his reviews for most of the time he thinks his opinions are the definitive answers to the direction the show is going and bashes people who actually know to have fun with the show and sees his opinions as definite facts.

He also constantly whined and complains about TADC getting more attention than MD, like he's complained about it a lot, he mentions it at some points in his "The Slow Death Of Murder Drones Fandom" and it seems he had an issue of another Glitch having another show going on that was more popular, like...you don't have to enjoy and like TADC but you don't need to put one show down to praise the other, why not enjoy both shows?? Also, the thing about the MD fanbase dying after the show ends, which I don't think will happen as the fandom has gotten bigger and popular since the Pilot's release and the show will still be rewatched and beloved by fans and others even now the show's over and just because a fandom doesn't interact 24/7 doesn't mean it's dead, that's like saying the Gravity Falls fandom died after the show ended..like the show is still popular and the fandom is still huge even years after the show's finale, besides Glitch has expressed that they wanna do more with MD in the future so we'll probably be seeing more of these characters in the near future, so that doesn't make sense and it seems Vanity only wants Glitch to favor MD only and it's just frustrating.

Now, let's discuss his MD reviews..alright so first let me started off my saying that I'm fine with being critical and being criticism and there's many things you can critique about MD as it's NOT a perfect show but as I said the thing with Vanity is that he seems so damn negative in almost all his MD reviews even though some points can be valid, but most of the time to me..his criticisms just seems in bad faith, not valid and just him pulling stuff and random theories out of nowhere to fit his own narrative. Let's point out and start on how he just doesn't understand and gets the characters in the slightest, he doesn't shy away or even try to hide in the slightest that he's got hatred for both N and Uzi, Nuzi especially as a couple..but is totally fine and ships Cyn and N together and then got pissed at the fanbase and acted like a baby because nobody liked the ship, like jesus dude..

And he's also mischaracterized the characters like most in the fandom do unfortunately but he's done it the most to both N and Uzi especially, like I said he doesn't shy away that he hates them with a burning passion. He's shown his hatered for Uzi (not even surprised in the slightest as he commissioned some hate art of Uzi getting beat up by J) and mischaracterized her and saying how her whole character is only involved around N and is blaming her just like some haters of Uzi and it's just frustrating..like UZI DIDN'T do anything wrong at all and characters can be characters on their own and have a love interest, I'm really sick and tired of all the Uzi hate is annoying as hell and frustrating, even after the finale Uzi is still getting hated and it's just so unjustified, Vanity and others need to realize that Uzi has gone through something called..."CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!!" ✨💜 Y'all seem to NOT understand and get it and just wanna say certain things to make characters look worse and awful and overall don't get these characters, oh and don't get me started on his video about N's character analysis..and similar to Uzi, he doesn't understand and get N and called him "obsessive" over Uzi and and killed "Tessa" without a second thought and seems to see N as some yandere or something. And he's doing this all because he hates Nuzi, like you don't have to like this ship but acting this way and getting this mad and acting the way you do over a FUCKING ship is childish as shit, and another thing is that he literally pulled something from non-canon and called it a "pattern" because of Liam Vickers or some stuff like that and reading Vanity's so-called theories and analysis just reminds me of "Analysis so bad you don't even know what it's talking about anymore" thread over on Twitter, his video and the way he analysis N's character by ignoring his feelings and trying to paint him as this savior lunatic that's so obsessed with Uzi that he'd sacrifice the universe and loved ones just to have her is just...mischaracterization is an understatement, a straight-up bastardization of his entire personality and arc, Vanity doesn't understand or get any of these characters and gives these bad takes to make them look worse.

He's currently working on his review on the finale and I'm not looking forward to it in the slightest like as I said, I'm all for giving criticisms and you're allowed to love and be a fan of show I'm the same way, and I'm sure others are the same and don't blindly praise whatever they like 24/7 and see them as perfect, you're allowed to feel how you feel and you're valid and allowed to not like the finale. But most of the time in Vanity's videos is that it's mostly negative and he complains about almost anything, even nitpicking the smallest things and he barely discusses the positives about he reviews and uses his opinions as definite facts. It sucks because I really did enjoy and liked Vanity as a reviewer in the beginning as he did bring up some valid points and was decent as a YouTuber but as he kept on putting out more videos, getting more popular he just seemed to get more and more negative and I saw a quality drop in his videos, he's barely positive in his videos and it just makes him unpleasant and boring to watch and hard to fully enjoy his stuff.

Really hope this little rant sounded fair and was okay, I don't really do these type of posts anymore and don't wanna be mean as the intension of this post was to give some opinions on this person. Once again, this isn't me trying to send any hate to Vanity and I'll say once more, please DON'T send any hate and bother him, I just wanted to give my thoughts and opinions about him and his content as I've had some issues with his content since 2023'ish and wish he could improve as an reviewer and just be more fairer when it comes to what he reviews, along with seeing that people are allowed to enjoy and love more than one show and just because one show is getting more popular doesn't make another show any lesser, both TADC and MD are great and incredible shows made by talented and amazing people, Meta Runner is also another good (very underrated, btw) show and I know Gaslight District will probably be a great too, nobody shouldn't be holding and putting these shows against each other, bashing and praising different shows, please support all shows and indie animation as a whole. ❤️

[genericpuff]

On your post about rather having 100 mature readers than having a large group of immature readers for your comic, in the tags you mentioned the "hanza situation". If you don't mind me asking, what's that?

So there's been talk about Hanza , the creator of The Guy Upstairs on Webtoon, supposedly wanting to drop the comic altogether due to how their fanbase ships the main characters (one of which is a serial killer) and just due to the fact they've fallen out of love with their own comic over the course of publishing it on Webtoons. The comic isn't confirmed cancelled yet, it's just what they apparently want to do and are gonna be running it by WT for approval.

Which like, yeah, I don't blame them if that's true and if they've "fallen out of love" with their work, that shit can and does happen all the time especially when your work winds up exploding to a degree that you become 'detached' from it. And I don't blame them for being ick at the fandom for their comic shipping their main characters, apparently that started when it was being pirated on another site and miscategorized as a romance when it's a horror / thriller comic but that's just what I've heard from others who do read the comic.

The actual vibe on the whole situation is unclear, they posted like last week about how the two characters were siblings which I THOUGHT was an April Fool's joke because it was legit posted on April 1st. But now apparently they actually ARE siblings? So they deadass just spoiled their comic before it was over? Though apparently this was for the purpose of trying to get their fandom to knock it off, but it's just led to people getting even more pissed because they see that as Hanza 'baiting' them into reading a dark romance comic which... it never was.

IDK man I'm getting such mixed signals off the whole thing esp because we haven't seen these DM's/emails/etc. which like... okay obviously Hanza doesn't need to share anything they're not comfortable with but there's tinfoil hat theories about them using it as a cover for just not wanting to do the comic anymore. But I don't really subscribe fully to that theory because... why? I'm just not sure which thread of logic to follow here lmao

I honestly have no fucking clue what's going on with this situation anymore because it seems to get more complicated by the day LOL I don't read The Guy Upstairs so I have zero stake in it but let's just say this - I've been on Webtoons since 2016 and am more than aware of how the WT fandom tends to behave on a regular basis, and that's just an audience that I personally don't want, regardless of how positive or negative other people's experiences are. There are people in the WT fandom who are sane and normal, yes, but I'd like to think those people are also fully capable of finding comics outside of WT if they so choose. The general demographic of WT who don't travel outside of it as I've experienced it over the years is just not one I want to tailor to so I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if Hanza was experiencing this and just wanting it to stop. Someone mentioned to me the other day that Webtoons is like the webcomic version of BookTok and ngl I couldn't agree more 💀😆

But yeah, that's about all of my knowledge on the Hanza situation lol

[aleksandracoffan]

Hi!

Guys, a lot of people are asking me about this. In general, I don't mind if my illustrations are used in your fanfiction, however, with a few conditions: 1. ALWAYS indicate my authorship and/or social media 2. I respect all ships, but I would not like my illustrations from gaalee to be used for fanfiction, which features ships where Gaara and Lee are not together or their relationship is exposed in a negative light (for example, where is this ship shown as "wrong"). I am very sensitive about my work and do not want to accidentally see fanfiction where my illustration would decorate fanfiction, where Gaara and Lee have a bad relationship or they are built only to show another ship in a better light, for example, narugaa or nejilee (I have nothing against these ships, I even subscribe to several artists who paint these ships) 3. I don't mind if you process my illustrations in any way, but this is undesirable. I tried to create the illustration not so that anyone would make their own edits to it. This may upset me, but it doesn't make me angry, so it's not so critical, but I think I have to say this so that my thoughts can be fully conveyed to you I hope the translator accurately conveyed my thoughts 😅 I really hope for your understanding 🙏💗

[cervinelich]

Until some of you start recognizing that the patriarchy also negatively affects men, you're going to remain a gender essentialist. I don't care how many "I'm not a TERF"s you say in front of the mirror.

Saying that you don't care about men's issues such as loneliness & increased suicide rates and then following that up with some anecdote about a man sexually harassing a woman is literally just the same shit TERFs do. You're just using personal experiences and statistics to avoid meaningfully engaging with the reasons patriarchy is harmful.

The way that some of you dehumanize men is seriously disgusting and reads not only as bioessentialist garbage but also doesn't align with the basic ideals of rehabilitation.

Oh, men are lonely and killing themselves more because the patriarchy conditions them not to address their feelings appropriately? Who cares! Women are statistically more likely to be raped by a partner, so men deserve it! I see no way in which all of these problems have a unifying cause. /s

You either believe the patriarchy is a social blight that destroys everyone or you subscribe to the same ideals it upholds - that men are base animal monsters & women are uwu soft and need protecting.

And I want to be clear about something - I specifically am not bringing up trans men here because I think if you need to mentally code a man as a "woman" in your mind for him to deserve compassion then, again, you're doing TERF shit.