#I'll be better tomorrow probably

[lunarbun87]

Ofmd season 2 Finale rant (BIG Spoilers and big feelings)

I don't think I'd go so far to damn the writing of the show or even be mad at the writers. I understand there were some budget cuts and it's understandable that things didn't feel right/felt rushed because of that. But emotionally, to me (who is a mentality ill softy), Izzy's death hit so so so bad. I identified so closely with this character and the direction they were going with him seemed to invite viewers to get attached (which may have been the point but that's kinda cheap). As this season went on, I was thrilled to see that stupid asshole be happy! The idea that even if you're a nightmare, even if you've been a bad friend or partner, you can change, you may not 'deserve' love and care but there will still be those who will love and care for you, and it's your responsibility to rise to the occasion and be a better man for them, for your family, for your community, for your crew, that everyone can find self-love and acceptance for being their true self. I was so invested in this narrative that the final episode hit me out of nowhere hard. Izzy dies, telling his closest friend to let him die, that Ed doesn't need him, he's sorry for all he did, etc. I get that this is good for Ed's character development but in that moment, it hit like a suicide note to me, like dead ass things I've thought or said during a really suicidal moment (and it especially hits that way because of everything he's lived through, and all the near death experiences everyone has survived, it's like he chose to die). And everyone is just staring at him, no reactions, Ed is upset but honestly kinda calm for someone losing his very long term friend. Like I understand they had a really challenging and toxic relationship, but like that's a man who was devoted to you for a long time, a man whose taking the full responsibility for his part in things and has been growing, a man who you literally disabled but is still apologizing to you on his deathbed!!! Just the underwhelming reaction from every character hit so fucking bad, like a real 'no one will mourn you' or 'so anyway' moment. And then everyone is happy, there's a wedding, Ed and Stede get their Inn, celebration all around. The juxtaposition of these two scenes almost feels like we're celebrating Izzy's death, which felt super icky as someone who thought he was really bonding with the crew, it felt like he was still unloved, uncared for, still an outcast. I mean maybe I'm just a crazy little Izzy stan but I was really thinking they were gonna maybe give him a love interest or maybe when he sees that Ed is no longer Blackbeard, he realizes he needs to find himself, that he should live his life in devotion to himself instead of a capitan. Idk, I just felt there were so many ways you could take his character, but now I just feel so very bleak and pessimistic about it all. Like (and I know this is my silly haha bpd hell brain speaking) seeing no one deeply mourn for a character you see yourself in and everyone just move on really triggered me, like more than I expected, it felt like I was seeing validation for all my worst thoughts. I know this wasn't the writers intention, I don't blame them for this interpretation, but it just sat so poorly. Cause if this is how they're going to do him, if everyone is just gonna shrug and move on, then maybe Izzy's mistrust and defenses were valid, Izzy thought no one cared about him and it felt like (in death) that was true. It throws into question all the healing, if he still dies focused on Ed, and convinced no one needs him. Thank you for listening to my emotional take 🤙 Again no hate to the creators or people who loved the finale, this is just how it hit me.

[harpoonsnotspoons]

Happy pride, have a scribble

[temeyes]

i don't usually post wips here but ashahsshas but gonna draw the rest 141 as wild west marshals i guess??

[a-s-levynn]

iv & iii

[auriidae]

goofy hermit doodles!! because uhh why not!!

[tosteur-gluteal]

Again, gouache painting I made to relax

[somegrumpynerd]

Time for a new toy!

Camera stayed ahead pretty much all week, so tomorrow there will be a camera in the garden!

So now...

("Nothing" option will still attract a cat!)

[gh-0-stcup]

Riley failed because the writers didn't understand the archetype they were trying to convey and their audience.

Riley's the all-American boy next door. His character model was so pervasive in other media because it's wholesome, simple, and nostalgic. Calling back to a nebulous time when people were nice, helpful, and virtuous. (Actually a rose tinted view of a nonexistent past - it calls back to the viewers childhood when everything felt that way.)

The most important thing with this character model is the feelings it evokes in the audience. The character must come across to the audience as

A moral paragon

Safe

The problem is that this type of character also has deep associations with heteronormativity, sexism, and racism. They have been used numerous times in media to help uphold and propogate these ideas.

But BTVS' very premise stands in direct opposition to the American values this character model tends to embody. It's more likely that this archetype will evoke the exact opposite feelings it's supposed to in fans of BTVS. They're more likely to have been victimized in their lives by the messaging imbeded into it.

It could have worked extremely well had the writers considered what would evoke the same feelings with their own audience.

Take one of Riley's early scenes - punching Parker for his comments about freshman girls and toilet seats. It's mentioned after that Riley does not take issue with his friends talking about women in "worse" ways. He reacted the way he did because he's got a crush on Buffy.

Imo, this is the moment the character failed. If you want to sell a character like Riley as a love interest to audience like BTVS', you must ensure the line between chivalry and chauvinism is never crossed. Once it is, that character's virtuousness will forever come across as a facade. A way to have control and possession over women under the guise of protecting their honour.

A minor adjustment to this one scene would help reframe Riley's motivations. He doesn't take kindly to men speaking that way about women, but it is odd for him to react violently.

In this version, he's someone who respects women in general but has more rash reaction than normal because his crush on Buffy is shaking him up. It also suggests he's not a man who's typically quick to violence.

Another important scene is when Riley finds Buffy outside at night and insists on walking her home. She puts up a fight, commenting on the sexism of assuming boys can take care of themselves but girls need to be walked home. Riley's response is that yes, this is absolutely what he believes.

Now, Riley is a trained soldier who knows there's very serious danger lurking around at night and does not know that Buffy is anything other than a tiny civilian. It's understandable that he would insist upon protecting her. The issue is entirely with how the dialogue is framed.

A better answer to Buffy's question would be "You shouldn't have to." Set him up as a man who understands many women can protect themselves, but believes his role is ensuring they never have to.

It shifts these gender roles from "woman weak, man strong" to Riley's sense of honour. Focuses on how he derives meaning from protecting civilians and those he cares about. Helps shed light on the mentality that led him to becoming a soldier and suggests that being a soldier is tied to his sense of identity and personal values.

It also more firmly shifts being a soldier from a day job to a duty for Riley. It gives him a connection with Buffy, who also believes it is her responsibility to use her strength to protect people.

Just two very simple shifts in dialogue and Riley's a much better character. Amazing how they got it so wrong without even understanding what mistakes they made.

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

and happy pride to these assholes. it's still june so i can technially still make that joke right

[wyverncult]

say "i hate cigarettes". now replace cigarettes with women. not so funny now, is it? i have covid

[theresthesnitch]

Remus should have fought harder for Sirius and Harry!

No, but... how do you know he didn't? Canon is absoluely silent on it. What we know is that Remus didn't see Harry again until he taught at Hogwarts. Canon tells us nothing about what he was doing during this time.

We also know that Dumbledore had Hagrid pick Harry up from Godric's Hollow on October 31 and fly him straight to the Dursley's house. Hagrid tells us that he went straight there on the bike he borrowed from Sirius Black. Harry was placed with his aunt and uncle, by Dumbledore's order, and kept so completely unaware of magic that he didn't have a clue that magic--magic that he could do, by the way--was real until a giant burly man knocked on a shack in the middle of the lake on his birthday.

Harry was hidden by the most powerful, well respected wizard of the time. Sirius was blamed and put in Azkaban without a trial. This is already a terrible starting pace to *finding* and *rescuing* them, even if Remus had the capability to do so.

Remus is not Harry's godfather, he's got no means to care for Harry, and he's got once a month that he knows without a doubt that Harry is in more danger with him than without. Perhaps he knew that Harry was with his aunt and uncle, but no one suspected that the Durselys would abuse Harry as they did. Even if they hated magic, no one expected them to turn him into the boy in the cupboard under the stairs. That's perposterous. It's unthinkable.

Remus has no power. He's a kid with a wand and very little else. He doesn't have a name, he doesn't have money, he doesn't even have a clean bill of health. If he's going to try to get Sirius out and Harry back, he's going to go to the most powerful wizard he knows. Which, after the War, is Dumbledore.

Dumbledore received numerous awards for whatever it was he did during and at the end of the war. He received honors. He was the only one that Voldemort ever feared. he was given designations and authority, and no one really questioned him.

So Remus goes to him and pleads for his help. Let Sirius out, he demands. You know Sirius would never do this to James. He would never do this to Peter. They were his friends. Dumbledore says I didn't think he would either, and yet their dead. Remus says give him a trial, because there must be an explanation. Dumbledore tells him that Sirius laughed hysterically on the way to Azkaban. Sirius confessed, he says. "It's my fault their dead," Sirius says, because he believed it to be true, and they accepted his confession.

Remus begs, but Dumbledore tells him it's settled. Who is Remus to fight Dumbledore? Perhaps he tires, perhaps it's hopless. Or, perhaps, he asks to have contact with Harry. Even if he can't care for him, because no one would trust the boy who lived with a werewolf, let him at least have contact with Harry. Harry deserves to know his parents. Dumbledore tells him no. It will be too confusing for the boy. It will be dangerous if you bring death eaters with you. It's better for him if he grows up believing he is a member of that family. it is better for him if he doesn't have contact with you.

Remus has los everything, and the only person that he thought might help him has turned him away.

Remus has nothing left. He has no one left. No one will listen to him if Dumbledore is against him, and everyone is celebrating while Remus can only think of what he's lost.

What did he do for the next fourteen years? Personally, I think he left the country. Traveld the world as a magical creature exterminator for hire. He had nothing left in England. Why would he stay? Perhaps he didn't even keep track of the years--what do they matter anyway--until he gets a letter from Dumbledore asking him to come back.

He has nothing else. Why not return? Perhaps it's safe for Harry to know who he is, now. He just has to get on the train the morning after the full moon, but it's fine. he can sleep all the way there.

[alkeneater]

sharing random details because why not

If you visited my wiki (which is still WIP and i'm kinda sick and busy to update it rn so pls be patient) you've probably seen this on Abe's page

Well you should know that Abe's obsession with living up to his clonefather's name is my roman empire and I just LOVE that, because Abe chose a great role model :) This is why I wanted to bring up this topic way more often in my comic, because this is pure angst material (and also extremely relatable).

SOOOOO about that so-called debate contest...

Of course Abe lacks charisma and attractiveness so nobody listens to him. YES, I MADE ELECTION BLU-GALOO BUT MORE DRAMATIC BECAUSE..... BECAUSE WE LOVE ANGST 😋😋😋 IT'S ENTERTAINING

ALSOOOO not only do other clones not care about Abe, but the shadowy guys as well (which is not surprising cus they don't give a shit about anyone in this place). They literally don't treat him like a human just because he is not as great as the Abraham Lincoln himself. They wanted to raise him to be a leader but they gave him anxiety, low self-esteem and a strange obsession :(

So yeah after some failures he tends to spend a couple of days in his room, crying to his Lincoln posters (fun fact some of them are ai generated) and literally talking to them because..... coping mechanism? 🤷‍♂️

I tried my best to add something but this sketch comic thing basically explains everything so okayyyyyy you got my point :з

I'm thinking about his character development in the comic, I want him to start loving himself, be able to defend himself and just FIND HIMSELF. Because OKAY you can't be THE EXACT clone of your clonefather, it's not the 19th century, but you're still a human, right?? So just be a good human!! :) You're already on the right path since you began to fight for your friends' well-being.

Omg wait i'm already talking to him in second person OKAY YOU GOT ME PLEASE READ EXCLAMATION!2080 THE THIRD PART IS IN PROGRESS BLAH BLAH BLAH BYEEEEE

[lost-in-fandoms]

Your wingfics live rent free in my head. I can't stop thinking about it. They were so good omg. It's such a beautiful universe, so amazing ♥️ Do you plan to write more about it? 🥹♥️ I hope so but if the answer is no, I will read them again and again because I love them ♥️😍

adsfndjd anon you are the sweetest!!! I'm so happy you enjoyed them and were so kind to tell me, I really appreciate it!

Sadly, I can't promise anything for the future tbh. I have been really struggling with getting back into writing after a really long drought, and I'm giving my brain the chance to just put down whatever it fancies, instead of forcing myself to write something specific just for the sake of it. I am always open to be prodded by an ask like this or a prompt though so always feel free to drop by! A lot of the things I write don't actually live in a wider universe, they just spawn out of nowhere, get thrown down on paper, and disappear in the void, but usually I can still create more around it if someone asks. Another reason why I really appreciate you saying this, because for once my wingfic does have a wider universe around it, and I am always glad to put one more snippet into it.

This is little baby Max in his first year in the rbr seat (part 1 and part 2)

cw: mentions of Jos not being a great father related to unsafe and painful wing care practices, description of said practices, littlest blood mention

Max doesn't like his wings.

He doesn't dislikes them either, but if he could get rid of them, he would. First of all, he can't actually use them to fly, his bones aren't hollow and his back muscles aren't powerful enough anyway, so having wings that don't actually work seems like a taunt from the universe. They're also very inconvenient when driving. Papa has taught him how to keep them clipped to lower their weight, and how to keep them tightly bound in an harness to have them take up less space in a kart, but neither of those things is exactly pleasant. Sometimes, when he drives for too long, his whole back spasms because of his wings being constricted, and sometimes when he clips too much, his wings bleed and molting becomes painful.

It's worth it, of course, to be able to race faster and better, but a part of him does wish he just had Papa's fish scales, or even Mama's diaphanous dragonfly wings.

Cleaning his wings is also annoying, because it's hard sometimes to reach all the spots, and after long days on the track it feels like there will be itchy dust and grit clinging onto them forever.

He's not one to get stuck on made-up scenarios, but it doesn't mean he has to like them.

--

Daniel is not the first bird-winged racer he meets, of course, but he is his first teammate. He has a completely different relationship with his wings than Max, always keeping them shiny and clean, no clipping or binding. He seems to love them and to love taking care of them, parading them around and showing them off.

Max doesn't understand. Not that it matters, he doesn't need to understand Daniel to be able to beat him, but. It's not that he's jealous, he's not, but sometimes he feels the heaviness of his wings on his back, skin irritated by the dirt stuck to it, looking patchy where he's taking longer to molt, and he wishes. He wants.

Most of the time though, he knows it's just a waste of time, to care about how they look so much, when it doesn't even matter, when it doesn't affect his driving.

And then one day, Daniel doesn't knock.

Max is carefully peeling his race suit off his shoulders, hissing slightly when it goes over his bound wings, when the door slams open.

"Maxy, hey, have you seen..." Daniel doesn't finish his sentence, eyebrows knotting together, eyes zeroed on Max's back.

Max feels his skin prickling under his gaze and he's almost tempted to do his suit up again, but his wings are aching, and he wants to take a shower, so he just turns around to face Daniel, frowning just as hard.

"What do you want?" he snaps, hating the way he feels his cheeks heat up. He doesn't know why he's reacting like this, he's done nothing wrong, but the way Daniel is looking at him, a mix of unbelieving and horrified, makes him feel ashamed.

"Do you always do that?" Daniel asks instead of answering his question, taking a step forward. Max instinctively takes a step back, bumping into the massage table behind him, hating himself for not standing his ground. It's his driver room, Daniel has no right to judge him in here.

"Do what, Daniel?"

He goes to cross his arms, but the movement tugs on his still trapped wings, making him wince. He wants Daniel to leave, so he can finally finish undressing, but Daniel steps even closer instead.

"Do you always keep your wings like that? Max, that's dangerous!"

Max decides to ignore the worry in Daniel's voice, feeling himself bristle.

"I am of course able to drive safely!"

"Drive?" Daniel gives a short laugh, so different from his usual one Max feels himself shiver. He wishes he had more space to put between them. "I am not talking about driving, I am talking about your wings!"

Max opens his mouth, ready to tell him to leave him alone, when his back spasms, a hot flash of pain traveling from his neck down his spine, wings straining against the constrains, and what comes out is a strangled gasp instead.

A second later, Daniel's hands are on his shoulders, forcing him to turn around with a swear.

"Did you put this on this morning? Let me help you take it off."

Daniel doesn't give him a chance of answering, fingers already working on the buckles on Max's side, as Max scrambles to push him away.

"No, no, you cannot, you have to..." he breathes in sharply as the harness start to loosen, wings cramping as they try to flutter, eyes snapping close.

"Max, you need to..."

"Slow," Max interrupts him, clutching at the straps to keep them from slipping open all at the same time. "You have to, one at a time."

He doesn't open his eyes again as he undoes them carefully, feeling Daniel hover just in front of him, keeping his wings tightly pressed against his back until he can slip the straps over his shoulders and down his waist.

"Max..." Daniel doesn't try to touch him again, but Max can hear the stress in the way his vocal cords curl around his name, mixing it with an involuntary warble.

Max ignores him. This is always the worst part, but he is practiced enough to make it go quickly.

He takes a breath, wrapping his right arm around his waist until he is able to grasp his left wing's tip, and then holds it as he works it open, fingers sliding along the length of it, straightening feathers as they come. Pain shoots through it, his back burning, his shoulders tensing, but when it's fully open, he works to close it again, and then it's done, just a dull ache left behind.

He lets himself take two deep breaths before repeating the whole thing with the other.

When both wings are resting along his back again, he shifts his shoulders, trying to get rid of the tension there, and then finally opens his eyes.

Daniel is looking at him, eyes wide and horrified, mouth slightly open. His hands are shaking. Max doesn't know what to say.

"It is of course fine, see?" is what he settles for, fluttering his wings to prove it. It's slightly painful, especially his left one where he clipped a bit too much and is bleeding a little, but Daniel doesn't need to know that.

"Fine?" Daniel chokes out, eyes widening impossibly more. "You're hurting yourself! That's not safe, Max!"

Max scoffs, letting the harness fall on the massage bed and pulling his undershirt off, carefully easing his wings through the slits in the back.

"I'm fine, Daniel."

For a second, it looks like Daniel is going to scream at him, eyes narrowing and fists closing, and Max wonders if it would be inappropriate for him to flee the room half naked, but then all the fight seems to leave Daniel's body. He sags a little, raising a hand to drag it across his face and sighing, shaking his head to himself.

"Listen, I don't know why you've decided this is the right thing to do to yourself, but you're going to take a shower, and when you're done we'll go back to the hotel, and I'll preen your wings."

Max opens his mouth, ready to argue with him, he has data to go over before tomorrow's qualifying, but Daniel doesn't give him a chance to, turning around and leaving the room as quickly as he had come in.

[cuntylouis]

Feeling kind of really sad and lonely currently. It's probably for many reasons but i'm thinking about how tumblr has been the first place where i feel i can be open about being Romani without being shunned but i've over time started feeling maybe that isn't true. Sometimes i get blatantly racist comments but often it's small things like people acting dismissive of my experiences and they don't necessarily say it's because of my ethnicity but i suspect that it is. Like this morning that post i deleted where i got a couple of people explaining me nazism and how stupid i'm for being uncomfortable with how that storyline was depicted. When i said in my post that i'm a member of the group that was victim of genocide by nazis. It's like people's brains stop working when they see the word romani, romani person's opinions and emotions are worth nothing. And i've noticed when i post or reblog something related to romani it gets less notes than my other posts. Sometimes i feel people on liberal/leftist social media spaces only pretend they're fine with romani, compared to people irl who don't bother to pretend. Like sometimes i feel paranoid that even the people i trust secretly dislike me and romani in general and then i feel guilty for fearing that because i don't want to think that, i want to believe in the good in people. But sometimes it's so hard especially when depressed

[outlying-hyppocrate]

i have officially returned. ask me anything.

[mitamicah]

Not me brainstorming ideas for my post op tattoo (context) like I'd contact the tattoo artist tomorrow and not in a 1,5 year or more

This was where my inspiration took me today I guess :'D