#I'm a lot less cultured than everyone thinks apparently

[its-hai-time]

i notice that a lot of people have been dropping into your askbox to talk about dreams so here's my contribution:

i have a weird "recurring" dream where im doing something really stressful and theres this like. weird rhythm to everything that's going on. like that scene from A Wrinkle in Time. im always desperately trying to avoid falling into the rhythm (be it with my breaths or my words or my footsteps) but i can never fully stay out of it. it doesnt matter what im actually doing either. sometimes im wandering through a hedge maze, sometimes im trying to stop this weird superweapon, one time someone was killed by a falling piano and that was the entire plot of the dream. its strange and wacky.

oh yeah and sometimes if im not careful the rhythm appears in real life

I UNDERSTAND THE DREAMS SINKING IN TO REAL LIFE

I have a recurring thing in dreams where I feel the need to fight someone. Either they're trying to fight me or they're being enough of a dick that dream me forgets all pretense. Yet somehow I'm NEVER able to hit them properly. Either I miss or the blow glances off or I literally can't muster any strength for the strike. This has bothered me to the point that I end up not knowing my own strength on days after these dreams.

[gallusrostromegalus]

In honor of the season, what are holidays like in the spirit world? Have they been infected by Christmas yet? I imagine they inherit some popular ones from the world of the living, but also the unique holidays of the afterlife must be wild.

You come to me, on the eve of the High Holiday of Halloween, and ask me about Christmas??

I'm kidding, you're asking about holidays in general but my unsuspecting Agnostic Ass just got jumpscared by Mariah Carey, and I'm sensitive. It's not the season. Not for another 48 hours at least. Do Not Violate The Sacred Treaty.

.

..

...

Anyway, this ended up in my drafts for a few days, so: Christianity has not really gotten a foothold in soul society, but via cultural osmosis "Xmas" has. Nobody in a Shinto afterlife believes in monotheism, but they love a holiday and a Saint is practically a Kami anyway, but.... It's "Xmas" because the holiday in no way remotely resembles Christmas as practiced in the living world.

---

Scene: 4th Division hospital, a few days after Rukia is rescued and Aizen departed for Las Noches:

"-CHAD!!" Ichigo bellows, almost falling in through the doorway of the hospital room, wheezing.

"I am very sure you are not supposed to be out of bed." Chad frowned, looking up from the copy of the history of soul society Captain Komamura had lent him to read while he recovered.

It was strange, to be in the care of the very people he had thought to be senseless killers not two weeks ago, but he was finding the Shinigami a generally agreeable lot. Even if the captain that controlled the hospital reminded him unpleasantly of a nun with her chaste dress, soft voice and understated but constant threat of violence.

"YOU NEED YO HEAR THIS-! He- hee-" Ichigo stumbled over to his bed and curled up on his side overcome with giggles.

"... I'm beginning to think I am incorrect." Sighed the pale-haired man at the door, frowning down at Ichigo.

"Jushiro Ukitake, I don't think I've had the pleasure of your acquaintance yet, Mr.-?" The man introduced himself and offered Chad a hand.

"Uh. Yasutora. Sado Yasutora. But everyone calls me Chad." He mumbled, cautiously shaking hands with the stranger. "You're um. You're Miss Rukia 's boss, right?"

"Yes! I believe you are her friend with the pet parakeet and good throwing arm, yes?" Ukitake beamed at him and Chad was suddenly struck by the idea that he'd seen Ukitake at a family reunion before - Impossible, obviously, but the man had the intense aura of a distant uncle. "Good show that, she loves being hurled at an opponent!"

"Oh. Thank you." Chad mumbled, Ichigo finally catching his breath. "...What are you incorrect about?"

"Christmas, apparently." Ukitake frowned, and Ichigo dissolved into snickering again. "He says you're something of an expert on the actual mythology, I only have third-hand accounts, you see-"

"No!" Gasped Ichigo, reaching over to tug at Mr. Ukitake's sleeve. "You gotta tell him!"

"I am Catholic, yes." Chad nodded. "-go on. It can't be less accurate than the version Dr. Kurosaki- Uh, Ichigo's dad- gave me last year."

"Yeah it can-" Ichigo wheezed.

"Well, ah- Christmas is a birthday celebration for an important religious figure, right?" Ukitake tried.

"Yep!" Chad nodded, giving Ukitake a thumbs up.

"The birth of Rudolph, the Star-nosed reindeer?" Ukitake tried.

Chad stared at him blankly for a moment, before his thumbs-up slowly wilted into a thumbs down and Ichigo vibrated silently with hysterics. Chad opened and closed his mouth a few times, hand waving, then covered his mouth, searching for words. Eventually he reached out and gently put his hand on the captain's shoulder to explain as delicately as possible-

"...No." Said Chad.

Ichigo rolled off the bed with a dull thud.

"-I am, however, fascinated." Chad elaborated. "Please continue."

"...I'm really sorry that I am this ignorant of your religious dogma." Ukitake winced.

"It's- don't worry about it. Tell me what you think happens on Rudolph's birthday." Chad said, sitting back and pressing his hands together.

"Well- oh, how does it start? Right- there's the Monks- Saints? that give out presents to well-behaved children during the winter holidays- Saint Claus, Saint Nicolas and Saint Kringle. And they're all very old men, and with good judgement about who does and does not deserve presents, so they're called the three wise men!"

Ichigo made a noise like a teakettle from the floor.

"Oh. Oh no." Chad giggled.

"And they travel the entire world giving out presents, but that's A Lot of houses and it was taking them longer and longer so they prayed to... I forget the name Catholics have for Amaterasu. Guadalupe?"

Chad made a noise not unlike a violently squeezing a rubber duck, and started to shake.

"-So they pray for some help getting all the presents to the children, and Whoever She Is says they're doing good deeds, but she wants to see if they're REALLY worthy of that kind of miracle, so she sends them on a journey to recover some lost holy treasures, and on the way each of the holy men wrestles with and tames a demon representing some vice or another-"

"-I. I think you've gotten the Star of Bethlehem mixed up with The Journey West." Chad realized, hands pressed together in front of his face.

"Yes that's right! She marks the direction they're supposed to be going with a bright star! So they go West, following the star! "-Ok the three wise men traveling from the east following a star part is, in fact, accurate. What's this about demons?"

"It's some sort of allegory about how all the Saints are virtues so the demons represent the vices people fall into around the holiday- Being punitive or penurious and ruining good things for others. They all had weird names-" Ukitake frowned.

"What's going on?" Captain Kyorauku asked, sticking his head in the door.

"You'll know!" Ukitake chirped with excitement. "-What are the three demons the saints conquer in the Christmas myth?"

"Krampus the Child-beater, Scrooge the Miser, and... Ah fuck I always mispronounce the last one. He's green and he sucks? The Goonch?" Shunsui frowned.

"THE GOONCH?" Ichigo shrieked from the floor.

"I. I think you mean The Grinch." Chad said, experiencing a brand new combination of horror, delight and fascination that felt like the emotional equivalent of a shrimp color.

"That's him! Oscar The Grinch!" Shunsui nodded. "Why, its only August? Also, what's Kurosaki doing on the floor?

"We are apparently very misninformed about the mythlogical origins of Christmas. This amuses Kurosaki to the point of hysterics." Ukitake explained, lightly nudging Ichigo aside with his foot and sitting on the foot of Chad's bed.

"Your version is so much better." Chad said, vibrating with excitement. "What are these treasures they're supposed to get?"

"Oh you had to ask- Shunsui love, you were the one that heard it all from Captain Kuchiki when he did his tour in the living world."

"Oh for fuckssake of course it's Byakuya-" Ichigo groaned from the floor, and Ukitake gently kicked him in the ribs to shush him.

"Uhhhh... Let's see-" Shunsui scratched at his beard."There's Eight Lost Treasures, they're all magical bells that give anyone who rings them supernatural abilities- there's the Bell of Speed, Bell of Grace, Bell of Balance, Bell of Cunning, Bell of... ah fuck. I always forget the two in the middle... -Oh! Bell of destination- not like fate, like, always being able to find your way to where you're going. Bell of Affection, Bell that gives power over wind and Bell that gives power over lighting!"

Chad blinked at him, then slowly crumpled into a ball.

"...Mr. Yasutora?" Ukitake asked, gently touching his shoulder.

"This is amazing. I love it. I'm going to die." he whimpered, voice high and tight as he struggled to breathe from laughing.

"We may have already lost Mr. Kurosaki." Shunsui muttered, poking Ichigo's shoulder with his toe. "Anyway, they conquer the demons, get all the magical bells and make it to the distant city, aand Amaterasu says 'Great job!" Ukitake continued, enthusiastic as they approached his favorite part. "-But she says 'Here's your final test: I'm going to give a special gift to one of these creatures, you tell me which is the most deserving of my favor.' and then she turns them loose in some kind of farm with talking animals. They're all good and noble animals that have done many brave deeds- dogs saved children from drowning, horse that ran across a battlefield to deliver a message that stopped a war and so on- eventually the saints find a brand new baby fawn with a bright red nose. Since it was born just that morning, it's never done anything of note, and the other animals don't really like it because it's red nose means its kind of sickly and it cant see well so they don't want to play with it."

"YES!" Chad cheered, making the connection.

"Oh, that part is right?" Ukitake perked up.

"Not even remotely, but it's amazing. They pick the fawn right?

"That's right! The saints tell Amaterasu that the Baby deer Rudolph is the one that deserves her blessing, because while all the animals here are noble and good, no good deed is better than another, and of all the animals, the sickly little deer is the one that really needs her help."

"Oh no." Ichigo whimpered from the floor. "That's actually like. genuinely heartwarming."

"Amaterasu applauds them, because they've made the right choice, and she gives the power of the star to the baby deer so it very literally glows like a headlight, and She turns the eight magical bells into a herd of deer that all have the powers the bells they were made from had, so Rudolph has a family and the three wise men have a team of nine magical deer to pull the flying sleigh she gives them, and then they are able to deliver all the presents to all the children of the world in one night, and they do it every year on Rudolph's birthday, because he was the first one to receive a proper Christmas present!" Ukitake finished, giving Chad an excitable two thumbs up.

Chad, slowly tipped forward, faintly hissing with silent laughter, then rolled off the bed to join Ichigo on the floor. Ukitake peered after him with concern, until chad slowly raised a weak, shaking hand up to give Ukitake a thumbs up back.

"-What I can't figure is how the bucket of fried chicken fits into all that?" Shunsui pondered, and the boys shrieked with laughter.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I love your work and enjoy your theories, so I thought I'd pop up and ask a question, my question being; why do people like yuu so much? They don't really have a point in the story and stuff-this kinda sounds like I hate yuu but I don't I'm just curious on why they're liked in the EN Fandom so I apologize if I used the wrong choice of words or anything, also why is yuu called 'the therapist'?

Rather than saying “the EN fandom likes Yuu”, I think it’s more accurate to say “the EN fandom likes the idea of Yuu”. Yuu is not a character in of themselves, but is an easy proxy for anyone and everyone to self-insert (be it the player themselves or an OC of theirs) because they are so loosely defined. This makes it very easy to “project” (ie insert whatever traits you want) onto a blank slate on an individual level and to be more personally invested in the events related to Yuu.

In an ironic way, Yuu not having a major impact on the story encourages fans to create their own alternate tellings and scenarios (typically substituting their own interpretation of Yuu or an OC into their role) to change things. This, in turn, heightens the attachment to Yuu because of the time and effort being devoted to this insertion. Over time, the feelings can grow stronger with each repetition, and it forms a sort of bond and all the affection that may come with it.

This is in part why the self-insert and OC culture of TWST is so strong; Yuu is practically designed to be projected onto. Even the name may be a reference to this—Yuu as in, “you”. They’re meant to be “you”, so many people become attached yo Yuu because that is essentially a representation of “themselves” in the world of TWST (especially when you consider that one’s imagination amplifies this relationship).

Brief aside for a second, I want to emphasize that this is a phenomenon that is specific to the EN fandom. The JP side also has Yuusonas and OCs, but they are often not as fleshed-out as the ones you’ll see from the EN fandom. Most of the time, the Yuusonas/OCs from JP are more generalized (less individualized looks, far less details in backstories, etc.) so that any onlooker can still insert as the Yuu. Meanwhile, the Yuusonas and OCs from the EN side tend to go into a LOT of detail about their creations. I believe this reflects a fundamental cultural difference between JP and EN (more specifically America/Canada): collectivism vs individualism, conforming to a group vs standing out from the crowd. (I discuss other differences I’ve observed between JP and EN in this post.)

The “Yuu is NRC’s therapist” line is a joke from the earliest days in the fandom; this was way before most of the main story had come out and no one knew how little of a role Yuu would actually play in the overall narrative and changing the characters’ lives, nor the fact that the OB boys would get treatment from an actual therapist (a detail revealed in book 6, I believe). The therapist role was likely derived mainly from something Crowley says in the prologue about how Yuu can be the one that teaches the boys how to get along with one another. However, the more main story content released, the more it became apparent that what Crowley said was just flat-out untrue. (I go into more detail about that in this post.) Nowadays, I think that the term is used more ironically.

[lunar-years]

would love to hear your thoughts on the team bullying/forgiving jamie in s2, in particular what you disliked about it. imo i think sam’s treatment was harsh but not at all undeserved, while others like colin and isaac were a bit twisted considering they fully participated in the prick-ish behaviour in s1. and the whole led tasso bit was entertaining to watch, but it really reveals how problematic ted’s hands-off approach to conflict can be. to the point where ted refuses to refer jamie (and later on isaac) to speak with sharon, and never fully acknowledge’s each player’s feelings.

There was a really good meta I saw on this topic the other day that i cannot for the life of me find in my tags to link here. But yeah, there are definitely things I disliked about it! For me it's less about the players than about the leadership & Ted. I actually think the players reactions/responses mostly make sense. It's a bit weird, like you said, that EVERYONE suddenly hates him when half the team was literally participating in and/or endorsing him in season 1 (remember that episode where the team is split into two factions and one of them is Jamie's? lol. Like it wasn't even just Isaac and Colin participating in the behavior, it was half the team). However I can see that their opinion of Jamie might have changed given distance and their own growth.

Also, we don't really see any instances of Jamie publicly bashing his old team apart from singling out Ted and Roy, but apparently at one point he was off calling Colin a jaundiced warm to his hometown newspaper, so yeah I can see why that might've left a lingering bad taste in his mouth. Also the boys have gotten used to Richmond without him at that point, and it HAS been a much better environment, so I think it'd be easy to overlook that they were actually sort of starting to like him at the bonfire the night before he went back to Manchester (which was ultimately only just one night), in favor of focusing on all the times he was made the locker room worse. Also, there's probably a bit of misplacing their hatred for their past selves onto Jamie because it's easier to shift that blame around a bit than accept their own culpability in the bullying. Just like it's easier to blame relegation on Jamie, because he's there to blame, then on their own shortcomings in the game. Is it a bit unfair to Jamie? Sure. But it's realistic and I don't mind it.

Actually the only one I'm a bit ??? about is Dani, because he was absolutely getting along with Jamie in Two Aces even despite Jamie's prickish exterior. Dani hadn't even been around long enough to be negatively impacted by Jamie's effect on the locker room culture so? what gives? I also don't see him bandwagoning on just because everyone else hates him (which does make sense when jan does it hahah). So it's very weird to me that he holds as much of a grudge as everyone else, lol.

The biggest issue for me is (once again. woop.) Ted. Because he didn't want to get rid of Jamie in the first place. He was in fact IRATE when Jamie was sent away, and got into his first real argument with Rebecca over it, that's how upset he was. So why is he soo hesitant, suddenly, to let Jamie come back? His whole speech to Jamie at the Crown & Anchor makes me uncomfortable, because the whole "You burned a lot of bridges" thing doesn't even add up to the real reason Jamie was sent away and totally dismisses the progress he had already started to make before leaving. It seems to reiterate that Jamie was sent away because he'd been Bad and Done Something Wrong. Sent away after he'd in fact had a significant breakthrough with the team. No wonder Jamie is confused. Ted is crossing all kinds of wires and it's ??? Not to mention that he tells Sam Jamie isn't coming back, then brings Jamie back seemingly without even pulling Sam aside and explaining to him circumstances have changed, Jamie is coming back, and why. It's one thing to have told Sam and then change your mind. It's another thing for Sam to tell you he's upset at you for withholding information, explain that's not the case, then go and do the thing you JUST assured Sam you wouldn't: not consult the team re: Jamie. Idk, the whole thing rubs me the wrong way.

Ted having a conversation with the team beforehand, explaining why Jamie is coming back, would've already gone a long way to help Jamie, instead of just springing him on them and throwing him to the wolves. Led Tasso was typical hands-off Ted problem solving, and it's a funny comedy show bit but not exactly an appropriate workplace solution, is it? I might not mind it so much if it wasn't the start of a pattern of behavior where Jamie needs help, asks for help, and then is like...ignored or gone around or "acknowledged" and not helped. it happens with his return to the team, it happens with Roy refusing to coach him, it happens with fucking Zava. And it's extremely annoying that the team leadership fails him specifically again and again. ugh.

Re: Sharon/therapy and referring the boys, that one is soooo mixed up in ted's own mental health stuff I'm willing to give it a pass. of course Ted's not to going to refer players to see her when he doesn't see what she does as helpful and doesn't respect therapy as a possible tool/solution.

[mewtwoandme]

Also, you can answer this privately if you'd like, but I really love how you hold your ground with your ideas. I've seen plenty of creators kinda change their mind on ideas because a few people were offended or just didn't like the concept and it bums me out because while yes sometimes you should listen to critism, other times it's not actually criticism but just people being dumb.

You know honestly, I'm convinced I'm a 40-50 year old stuck in in a 24 year old body XD I'm such a hardass. I just don't have the patience or mental strength to deal with people who are like that, especially the younger generations. Even some people who are are my age or slightly older.

What I'm about to say below is not directed towards anyone, but how I feel generally on the matter. Read more if you want to

When something like cancel culture exists, you know you're not going to please everyone with what you do or what opinions/ideas you have. There will always be people who hate them regardless of what it is or what it's about. Whether it be fandoms, storytelling, art/character preferences, dare I say political views, etc. It goes on and on. But just because they don't like something, it doesn't mean I have to change things to appease them. And that's what a lot of those types of people can't stand. If I don't agree with them or abide by what they command me to do, suddenly I'm the asshole? XD God forbid they hold any accountability for themselves in their decision-making. They can just... not view my content. Scroll over, block whatever, but no, apparently, that's just too hard, and it's easier to bitch about and/or blame the creator. Like honestly my thoughts are I don't give a fuck how offended someone is or if they don't agree with my personal choices on a matter. It's my blog, I run it how I want to, I create what I want to create and I tell a story how I want to tell it.

I'm not going to cater to every individual who thinks they're holier-than-thou and entitled to say I need to change this or that just to fit their views or so it appears less offensive to them. Damn right I hold my ground! It is not my obligation to appease people by having my art/story/characters dictated by their every whim and what they think it should be. If they feel so strongly about what I do, they can easily write or draw their own stuff and make it more ideal for themselves, but if they claim, "B-but, I'm not good at doing that." Well, that ain't my fault, nor is it my damn problem. Don't come to my blog acting like you can manipulate me to draw or write things you want to happen or how you want things to be. You ain't my boss, you're not paying me to do your bidding, so until you somehow become my boss and actually obtain authority over what I do, leave me to write my characters and stories/make my art in peace!

[copperbadge]

Radio Free Monday

Good morning everyone, and welcome to Radio Free Monday!

A note before we begin -- normally I don't do this (as you all know) but I happened to see a comment on one of the RFM posts this week by someone offering help in their crowdfunding campaign, and it reeks so strongly of the worst kind of predator that I wanted to get the word out -- kendrajanesblog is apparently running around fundraising posts offering to help, but the only post on their own blog is an offer to build an email campaign on kickstarter for $20. I don't think this is reportable but it is absolutely appalling, so I suggest blocking this person and passing the word if you see them commenting on a fundraising post. I'm hoping this is not a new trend but given the last spam trend on Tumblr was people sending asks about fake fundraisers, I can't be sure this isn't the next wave.

Ways to Give:

Anon linked to a fundraiser for Jack "Rocky" Payne and his wife Cloie, who are trying to offset the cost of his care for ALS, including medical bills, equipment, and accessible renovations to their home. He is no longer able to work due to the disease, and she has had to take leave in order to care for him full-time, which has obviously left them struggling financially. You can read more and give to the fundraiser here.

kitsumo linked to a fundraiser for his family, a single autistic mother with five neurodivergent kids, which has recently become homeless in California and need funds for necessities like food, covering phone bills, and shelter. You can read more and reblog here or give directly here.

grindthebones linked to a fundraiser for Kelsey and her dog Annie; Kelsey is a young disabled woman who isn't on social security yet, and her family recently stopped paying her rent and will not allow her back in the home; they're trying to prevent homelessness while she finds housing and aid. You can read more and support the fundraiser here.

gorkhandsmcschmuck is raising funds to cover an overdraft; due to some banking nonsense around Memorial Day he ended up with a negative balance, and needs to raise $50 to cover it, hoping to raise $100 to help with food until the first paycheck comes in. You can read more and reblog here or give directly via paypal here.

wolfsbanesparks linked to a fundraiser for friends who just lost their house in a flood, including almost all of their possessions; their insurance is balking at covering anything, so they're having to pay for repairs out of pocket. You can read more and support the fundraiser here.

News To Know:

blackestglass is running the fourth annual Chromatic Characters Podfic Anthology, which collects podfics of stories of less than 1500 words and center characters of color. This year's optional theme is "solidarity" and the due date for submissions is September 12th; this is a final call for volunteers of color who would like to lend their services as contextual content betas (formerly known as cultural sensitivity listeners) which is their biggest need at this point. You can read more and comment here to volunteer or ask a question, DM the mods on twitter at ccpamods, or email ccpamods at gmail.com.

Recurring Needs:

Anon linked to a fundraiser for dee-the-red-witch, a trans woman who needs to raise $10K to keep her home. You can read more, reblog, and find giving information here, give via paypal here, or purchase her leatherwork here.

frenchroasted's cousin, who has been fundraising for a used wheelchair-accessible van after herniating her back lifting her stepson's wheelchair and had to have surgery for it, has partnered with MyDMDHero which is now hosting their fundraiser on GiveButter so that their donations are tax-deductible. You can read more and support the fundraiser, formerly at GoFundMe, here. (Also to Frenchroasted -- got your request, can do.)

alirhi linked to a fundraiser to get herself, her mother, and her sister stable housing; they are currently staying in their cars in a a dangerous parking lot. They have a friend who will let them park a camper in her yard, but the camper there currently is unlivable, and they haven't been able to find an affordable replacement. With two of the family on disability it is difficult for them to keep up with bills and also save for housing. You can read more, reblog, and find giving information here including a few new ways to give.

And this has been Radio Free Monday! Thank you for your time. You can post items for my attention at the Radio Free Monday submissions form. If you're new to fundraising, you may want to check out my guide to fundraising here.

[zukosdualdao]

Im glad to read the takes of a fellow zuko stan :)

Honestly, it feels like people just hate on him way too much lately. The posts ive seen on twitter, on tik tok, on tumblr... Do people just not like him anymore? Why did everyone turn against him so suddenly? I've been hoping it's something temporary, just a trend, but. I don't know anymore. People mock his disability, spit on his trauma, wish death on him and interpret everything he says or does in the worst possible way. I saw someone crying about how entitled he was because he took aang's seat when watching the play just the other day lmao. Another person wrote about how mysoginistic he was because he didn't remember katara's name when asking about kya's death to sokka? There are those who even call him a colonizer on the same level as iroh lmao. It seems their justifications for all the salt they throw his way are along the lines of "he's been loved for too long, aang stans have suffered way more, people just watched the show again and realized how bad he actually was, he's catching strays since his fans keep setting him up, his fans paint him as perfect and erase every bad thing he's done" etc etc. I'm all for criticism and deeper character analysis, but this is just said in bad faith. I also think it has a bit to do with how different engagement has become in fandom spaces recently (things people support in fiction need to be morally correct) and well, zuko was the perfect target. He's done bad things, sides with the villains for a good portion of the series, redeems himself but there are things he still has to work on... I don't know, it's been getting to me. There are many other harsh things ive read said about him (like implying how every single member of the gaang hates even after redeeming himself), but i honestly don't have the energy to delve into each and every one. His arc was poorly executed and his development was badly written now, apparently. I kind of just ranted here, i apologize. Im very happy to read the posts of someone who genuinely likes him and doesnt throw him under the bus to defend or elevate other characters...

hi! i'm glad you're enjoying my blog <3 and no need to apologize for the rant, i'm always happy to talk about zuko!

about to theorize a bit as to why it seems like maybe zuko has become a more contentious character, but it should be noted i have not been exceptionally, actively involved in the fandom very long. i loved atla as a kid, have retained fond memories, have witnessed some discourse from the fringes over the years, but only recently has it overtaken my brain to the point of making a whole blog about it. lol. so, like, grain of salt, etc.

i think a big part of it is what you said - in the last few years of fandom in particular, it feels like there has been a huge upswing in purity culture, moralizing liking/not liking certain ships or characters, and an overall increase in very black-and-white thinking. there's also an emphasis on "holding people accountable" (good in theory), often without specifying what, exactly, that looks like (less good). the idea then becomes that if you've done harmful things, there's no way you can ever make up for them and should just, like, hate yourself for all eternity and also die, probably, which is not actually helpful to anyone.

so, i think for those who ascribe to that mindset, zuko is a prime candidate for them to criticize. and while there's nothing wrong with criticizing a character or their arc or writing if you truly have a problem with it, as you've said, a lot of the time, criticisms against zuko don't seem to be made in very good faith. after all, a big part of zuko's arc is having to unlearn some very black-and-white thinking. also, zuko is not a real person. he is a character, and therefore a narrative tool, and if we want him to be 'held accountable', we need look no further than the story itself, in which he is probably the character the narrative holds the most accountable for his actions due to his prior status as a villain.

(it reminds me a bit, actually, of another favorite character of mine: alec in the tv series shadowhunters. he starts out the story already in a heroic role, unlike zuko, but a big part of his narrative is unlearning some prejudiced cultural mindsets and challenging not only his previous ideologies, but his conception of himself and the people in his life as well. as a result, alec can look sometimes more obviously flawed than the other main cast, but the point is that the narrative asks him to examine those flaws and change and introspect and grow in a way that it doesn't always ask of other characters when they are showcasing their own flaws. which does make me thing about zuko vs. aang in the atla narrative.)

the other thing i think is contributing to zuko's more contentious status in the fandom is how long atla's been in the cultural consciousness, and how common it is for things that used to be popular to cycle through to people starting to criticize or actively hate it to people saying "no, actually, it's still pretty good, you just don't want to like a popular thing" (this is me rn), to maybe eventually getting popular again/at least in certain subsects of the audience. zuko was probably one of the most talked-about aspects of atla for a long time, and while i can understand how that could get frustrating (because there are some other really great characters and aspects of the story!), that's not, like, for no reason. people connected with and admired his story for a reason, and many still do, and (in my humble opinion) that is because it is one of the most thought-out, intentional, and nuanced character arcs of the show.

the ableism, i think, really gets to me because like... even if every criticism from the people who hate him were 100% accurate and said in good faith (they're not, but let's pretend for a minute)... that still wouldn't be an excuse for ableism against a character with a prominent facial difference (or making fun of abuse survivors for the permanent injuries they sustain from abuse.) if zuko had never redeemed himself and stayed a villain, it would still be wrong to talk about his scar and abuse the way some of his detractors do. and the show agrees with me! you know how i know? the only two characters to ever make fun of zuko's scar are villains in the narrative: zhao and azula. ("make fun of" might not be quite right for zhao, since what he said - "you have the scar to prove it" - is far more matter-of-fact than azula imitating him by covering her eye or "make sure they get your good side", but he's absolutely being a huge jerk about it.) other characters react to zuko's scar in all sorts of different ways, even when he's still in a villain/antagonist/anti-hero role: zuko's crew is horrified to learn how he got the scar, song sees a point of connection and tries to reach out to him, but, while i think well-intentioned, she breaks a major boundary by trying to touch his scar when he hasn't conveyed he's okay with that, jet makes assumptions about his background because of it, lee, the kid from zuko alone, asks with curious, childish naivete how he got it, only for his father to reprimand him for asking, aang reacts with annoyance/boredom to azula's ableist joke, and katara trips over her words to correct him when zuko thinks she's essentially calling him "scary to look at". not all of these interactions are positive, but the characters (all of whom are written as pretty sympathetic, even if also flawed) aren't outright trying to make fun of him for it, and the narrative never implies he deserves to be treated as less than because of it, even before his redemption.

anyway. if people don't believe in characters' (and, hell, irl people's) capacity for growth and change and don't want to have nuanced discussions about how trauma can impact these things, i mean... that's their prerogative, but i don't understand why they enjoy the show, because those are big parts of it (and not just wrt zuko.)

i know it can be frustrating, anon— trust me, i get very frustrated. but i promise you, there are plenty of people out there who a) still love zuko and his story and b) are capable of and willing to talk about things with nuance and in good faith. i'm happy to be part of that corner of fandom, and i bet you can manage to carve out a space where more people like that exist, too! <3

[cxcewg]

This will go down like a lead balloon with the person who has been messaging you, but the sanctimonious attitude all over social media toward Lando this weekend is every bit as awful as anything he did or said.

99% of those people, including I would put money on the person who has been messaging you, could not have cared less about that trophy before it got broken and I can guarantee knew nothing about its origin or worth and yet now they are acting like he deliberately smashed it against a wall and then personally insulted the artisans. Half the F1 fandom including a lot of the people who have been sending him abuse on social media, were calling it ugly and saying it looked like an urn and should be used for grandma's ashes last week. That is far more disrespectful toward the artist and company than anything Lando did. Not once did he or Max or Red Bull aim any of their jokes toward the artist or the company or the trophy itself. Their jokes were purely aimed at each other.

He apologised to the company who said they weren't angry at him and know it was an accident. They are the only people who deserve an apology. He doesn't need to send them a five page handwritten note self-flagellating himself and publish it on social media for the satisfaction of a bunch of jackals who would then only tear him apart for being 'insincere' or 'only doing it for pr'. He found out how much time went into it and what it meant and he said sorry to the people who made it. He owes nothing else to anyone else, regardless of what those who sit in self-appointed moral judgement believe. There is a nothing wrong in pulling someone up in a polite way or having an opinion that someone is being bit of an ass. However sitting on their high horses and passing judgement and acting like someone's faults makes them the worst person in the world and demanding public apologies for mistakes (I'm not talking bigotry or hate here obviously, that's a different thing entirely, I'm talking the kind of faults that EVERYONE has, yes even those of you who act like self-appointed moral judges) does not make those sitting in judgement good people. Quite the opposite in fact. It's one of the worst parts of online culture, this pitchfork mentality where people go on self-righteous mob crusades. It says nothing good about the people who do that.

The stuff on the radio - EVERY driver gets rude on the radio. They are driving at huge speeds with adrenaline coursing through their bodies and have engineers wittering in their ears often at the worst possible time when they are trying to concentrate. I can promise you that not a single engineer in F1 cares or takes it personally when a driver gets snappy. F1TV only play select radio clips, usually ones that either are important in terms of the race or they think the commentators can turn into some kind of drama. Lando, Lewis and Max are three of the drivers who fall victim to this more than others and every time it happens, people go on a tirade about them being rude whiny awful people and yet in reality they are the 3 drivers who have the best driver/engineer relationships on the grid. They are genuine friends with their race engineers, they have worked with them for years andt their engineers love them. That should tell these judgemental people how much anyone cares about people snapping or getting stressed on the radio in F1 but no, it apparently makes them the devil incarnate.

The comment about the backmarkers - it may have sounded rude but in that instance he was absolutely right. Yuki held him up for almost two minutes, passed 17 blue flags and had to be told 3 times by his engineer to move out of Lando's way before he finally did so and even then he made Lando go out on the marbles to pass him. Checo made up 3 seconds on Lando in that time Yuki was quite frankly being an ass. Magnussen and Zhou were also very slow to let both Lando and Checo past (Checo also complained about it after the race) - not as bad as Yuki but they also held them both up for the best part of a lap allowing Lewis to hone in. People dragged Alex every which way last year when he did the same to Charles in Monaco and Charles said something similar on the radio to what Lando did, and everyone went with 'poor Sharl, evil Alex', but because it's Lando who said it, he's the villain not the guys who almost ruined his race. Not one of those drivers was fighting for anything at the time - they were alone on track, nobody anywhere near them, them getting out of the way would have cost them nothing but some dirty tyres for a lap. Lando (and Checo as well) had every right to be angry.

As for the absurd 'he was so rude about Lewis' carry-on - No, he wasn't. All he did was stated facts. There is something about certain parts of Lewis's fanbase who for some reason lose their minds when anyone points out he has been in front-running cars for the vast majority of his career and even when he has had cars that are not so great, they have not been backmarkers, not even the 2009 McLaren despite what they try and claim. I watched that season, I can promise you it was not close to the slowest car on the grid. Nobody is putting Lewis down by pointing this out. Not Lando, not other drivers in the past who have mentioned it, not the media, not other fans. They are simply stating facts. Max openly says he wouldn't be where he is without having the best or one of the best cars and his fan readily admit it as well, and he spent more time not in front-running cars than Lewis ever did. But when it comes to Lewis, his fans cannot accept the same is true. There have been times in the last 18 months where Lewis has carried on like he is driving a 2021 Haas. Yes he's used to having the best and it's all relative, but can you imagine how galling it is for those who are truly driving cars that can barely fight for p15 week in week out to hear him moaning about having a car that is still capable 90% of the time for fighting for high points scores and podiums? I can promise you they all think far worse things about Lewis and his woe is me comments than Lando's jokes about Lewis never having fought over 19th & 20th. There was more than one race this season where Oscar and Lando were doing just that, where they were dead slowest car on the grid. Also Lando adding "it's the one thing I've achieved that Lewis hasn't" is not a dig at Lewis, it's a self-deprecating joke about himself and how awful McLaren were in the first part of this season.

Lando has joked about this stuff in front of Lewis before. Lewis is not offended. Lewis doesn't care. Lewis likes Lando and his sense of humour and actually knows him and chooses to spend time with him. He's a grown man with his own agency capable of making his own decisions about who he likes and hangs out with. He does not need a bunch of chronically online people with massive parasocial relationship issues getting endlessly offended on his behalf. There is a reason he liked that awful twitter fan's tweet saying she would unfollow him if he posted the selfie he took with Max and Alonso and then posted the selfie a few minutes later. He's not proud to have those people as his fans. He's too polite to say it directly, but knowing what we do of Lewis, I have no doubt he finds them disgusting and has no interest in being associated with people like that. If they think he would admire them or thank them for behaving as they do and going after people he likes and respects like a bunch of rabid dogs in his name or in his behalf, then they know nothing about who he is.

Sorry this is so long, just really needed to rant about all of this. Some people's behaviour in the last couple if days has been abhorrent - far worse than anything Lando has ever done.

please let it all out :)

first of all A-freaking-men.

but this is exactly what im saying, they'll find any excuse to target him. they didn't give a shit about the trophy until it was broken.

to be honest, it's funny how friendly all the drivers are (i can't think of one driver relationship that is bad right now) and how the fans are just at each others throat constantly.

and the backmarkers thing is something that needs to be repeated. lando got held up for almost TWO MINUTES. as an athlete i empathize because i get frustrated all the freaking time and i say things that i wouldn't say if i wasn't chock full on adrenaline.

but thank you.

[yakuzacanons]

Hallo! First of all, thank you about headcanons, even though I found this blog just a few days ago, I already read mostly everything and they are wonderful!

And secondly: what do you think about the characters' love language? I get some ideas, but it's very interesting what you can write about it.

Thank you in advance, and have a nice day!

This is so sweet and YES love languages are very good. I'm just gonna be operating off the big 5 basic love languages: words of affirmation, gift giving, acts of service, quality time, and physical touch. I know there are probably other specific offshoots of these but I'm keeping it simple. Thanks for your patience and have a good one!

ALSO I am done with Yakuza 6 and am on Yakuza 7 so 6 related asks are officially ok. Ichiban coming soon, promise.

Kazuma Kiryu: Words of Affirmation

Kiryu isn't always the best conversationalist but he's a really good emotional support person. Great at hearing people out and even better at comforting or motivating them. In his most romantic of moments, he can be quite expressive, even if a little blunt.

Majima Goro: Quality Time

You'd think by the amount of weird and cutesy nicknames he gives everyone, especially his significant other and Kiryu, that he'd be a word of affirmation kind of guy but Majima actually just wants to spend the most amount of time possible with his boo. Spends the night as often as possible. Plus, spending quality time means he's got time to do all the other love languages and more.

Akiyama Shun: Gift Giving

Bless his silly stupid head but Akiyama is sorta no thoughts head empty. Less of a smooth talker and more just really lucky at saying the right thing. Great at planning gifts though, especially experiences like vacations, concerts, or festivals.

Saejima Taiga: Acts of Service

Out of all the boys, Saejima is the most traditionally manly man. Holding the door open, walking on the part of the sidewalk closest to the street, paying for the bill when on a nice date, etc. It's a total contrast to the brutish vibe people tend to get off of him but in reality Saejima is just REALLY nice and he figures there's no better way to say it than just showing it.

Tanimura Masayoshi: Gift Giving

In an ideal world, Tanimura would actually be a quality time type of guy but work gets in the way too much for that to be realistic. He compensates by getting you lots of gifts. Nothing too lavish but lots of small things, like your favorite snack while he was at the store because he thought of you or surprising you with a new CD by your favorite singer. For fancier gifts, they usually have lots of cultural significance than monetary value.

Ryuji Goda: Physical Touch

Even though Ryuji can afford to spoil you rotten with gifts, which he will do anyways, his love language is actually physical touch. The gifts are a nice gesture but its the physical intimacy that carries way more meaning to him personally. He won't go full PDA on you but he'll still hold your hand in public or have his arm around your shoulder. He always finds some way to gain physical closeness to you, even if it's not the most upfront or obnoxiously romantic way.

Nishikiyama Akira: Quality Time

He pretends his love language is gift giving because he wants to impress you but in reality he just wants some one-on-one time, just you and no one else. That becomes rather apparent once he realizes he doesn't have to try hard to seem cool in front of you. Secretly just a cozy little guy.

Mine Yoshitaka: Gift Giving

Total gift giver and not ashamed of it. Has a gift for everything. He's also pretty gentlemanly to acts of service sometimes end up going hand in hand with his gifts. In the bedroom though he's a words of affirmation type of guy. Probably the only one of the guys who distinctly changes his love language when having sex versus just spending time with his romantic partner.

Dojima Daigo: Words of Affirmation

Don't be mistaken, Daigo values quality time a lot but is often not available consistently to actually be with you due to how hectic his work is. Behind his somewhat quiet and hesitant demeanor is actually a man who just wants to sing you the praises you deserve and he will do his best to say so whenever he can.

Shinada Tatsuo: Physical Touch

Cuddle buddy supreme. Would smother you with hugs and kisses if he could. Loves laying his head on your shoulder or just snuggling up to you. In colder weather, he'll totally find excuses to be even closer to you, like holding your hand and putting both of your hands in his coat pocket before saying something dumb like "Now we can hold hands AND be warm!"

[bonefall]

I was wondering how you are going to handle Heartstar's political roles as leader compared to canon (leaving aside ASC which is obviously unfinished). I always found it weird how canon Tigerstar II gets set up as this cat who's willing to bend the rules, who has a forbidden mate, incorporates the Guardians into his Clan and tries to make peace with SkyClan, but then he gets assigned the role of main opposer of SkyClan and later the sisters after becoming leader for no apparent reason besides ShadowClan being the Official Bad Guy Clan. So what will be Heartstar's political leanings in the rewrite (Thistle Law/Traditionalist/Fire Alone) and will she still play an antagonist role in those plot lines? Also, how will she prove herself as a good enough leader to rebuild ShadowClan, despite their disillusionment with the previous leadership? I haven't, again, read the second half of AVOS, but I know a common complaint was that it felt contrived how everyone instantly loved canon Tigerstar and rebuilt ShadowClan around him despite their deep disillusionment with Rowanstar, making it seem like it wasn't a "natural" arc of a society falling apart and more the authors trying to improbably and exaggeratedly show how bad Rowan is and how cool Tiger is without justification. So how will that be handled in the BB AU?

Heartstar won't be changing too much, honestly! I'm just going to be adding extra clarification for their actions at certain times. The biggest difference is probably just going to be their... general yassification LMAO

That plus BB!Dovewing is a lot less gentle than she is in canon and more likely to either disagree with her or violently back up her actions.

I'll be getting into Heartstar in her own character profile but first there's some stuff to comment on that'll probably clarify how I feel about Canon Tigerheartstar;

"Why does everyone instantly love Tigerstar in AVoS?"

It's been a looooong while since I read A Vision of Snoring but I do remember that ShadowClan really didn't like being part of SkyClan. They did not like how Leafstar was trying to make them swear fealty to a Clan they didn't feel part of, and they wanted their own autonomy back.

BB!Leafstar is going to be wildly different from canon, but I still want to keep that feeling. ShadowClan cats have their own culture and sense of identity, and SkyClan is a very different group from them. Rowanstar is still alive in the replacement of Tigerheart's Shadow, Heartstar's Rise, and intentionally insisting that they don't have a leader anymore and ergo don't have a Clan.

The territory all belongs to SkyClan now. Shadow doesn't LIKE that. They want to go back to the goo. Heartstar's return feels like a new dawn and several cats get swept up in her personality.

It should also help that I'm absolutely not planning for AVoS to be an arc that assigns Rowanstar as its scapegoat! He does get flak and his clan DOES fall apart under him, but I'm not planning to write the same bizarre waffle of "Oh it's my fault the apprentices loved crime because I didn't beat them hard enough or something. I've been too soft aaaawagga."

Onestar and his cowardice is the problem behind Darktail in this arc.

(for the record I kinda sort cats into loose categories of 'overhaul' in my head, and BB!Leafstar is like... on a scale of 1 to 5, she's a 4 in terms of overhaul. I don't like how nasty and unreasonable she is in-canon 75% of the time. To me, it makes her feel like just another Forest Four leader. Ironically Heartstar's like, a 2, maybe a 3 in early OotS.)

On Squirrelflight's Hope

I think a lot of folks who say Tigerheartstar attacked the Sisters "for no reason" haven't read the book in a while including myself.

Because I just went back and reread it and, actually, Tigerheartstar is the most reasonable fucker in the room besides Squirrelflight. Stuff that happened that no one remembers;

The Clans were on the brink of war, again, with shuffled territories each including a patch that no one could use, everyone wanting to return to the 'perfect' distribution (ignore my frustration with the garbage Canon Lake Map which is set up to have naturally perfect borders)

Tigerstar was admitting that his plan to shuffle did not work; we are shown that this is true. The Clans do not use the shuffled territory.

ShadowClan was attacked by the Sisters.

We don't know the "true" story as both sides have a different version, but we DO know that Tigerstar believes they were attacked.

Strikestone, Tigerstar's nephew, was permanently mauled by this. That's where his shredded ear comes from. Stonewing landed a "large gash" on Sunset's side before the "two toms" ran away, in their own territory. NOTE: Tigerstar ALWAYS becomes unreasonable after his family is hurt, this is a very consistent character trait

Harestar was the first to escalate between the Clans. ThunderClan bought time by allowing WindClan to hunt on the 'contested patch' but still marking the border, as if it was still theirs.

MISTYSTAR STARTED ATTACKING SHADOWCLAN

YES Tigerstar was pushing to go to war, but he wouldn't do it until he had significant backing. ShadowClan, still weakened by the Kin ordeal, was ATTACKED TWICE

Harestar and Mistystar are massively at fault here because they couldn't wait, but Tigerstar gets the majority of the blame for the sister debacle.

And, lastly, Leafstar okayed the raid on the sisters. I had totally forgotten this. She is the one to SAY that they should evict the sisters but adds, "We won't join you though." I don't like this character

Tigerstar was part of the problem, yes, but he really was not the most unreasonable cat in this equation.

So obviously a lot about this SE is gonna change in BB. But anyway-- I plan for Heartstar to actually be a little more unreasonable than Canon Tigerstar. In particular, Strikestone's mauling is going to make Heart act more rashly.

[3416]

If I were to hypothetically write a Hanahaki disease AU for 1634 who should I hypothetically be torturing with unrequited (definitely 100% requited) love?

Should the flower be a symbol of their love? Or the other one’s favourite?

I definitely know it will have a happy ending because I can’t physically put myself through writing something that doesn’t eventually have a happy ending.

(Also would anyone read it? There are 0 fics about it so I want to take it upon myself to make one)

i'm gonna answer this under a cut with my thoughts flkdsjf

okay, i lowkey forgot that was even a thing. it's been YEARS since i read it, BUT my first thought was it should obviously be maple leaves they cough up, just for funsies. and i do think people would read it!! though i know the fandom for this branch of hrpf is smaller than i'd like, i still think you'd get some feedback if you're on ao3!! i keep trying to think how to get some writers back into this, but i feel like the best way to attract ppl is to do the writing yourself... i haven't been able to force myself to sit down and write for some time so KUDOS TO YOU!!

as for who should be tortured with the unrequited love.... after reading a lot of 1634 fics (mostly from the 2016-2019 era bc that's when it was booming for them apparently), a LOT of people have this idea of mitch being the one more comfortable in his sexuality/pining after auston/maybe oblivious to his own feelings abt auston specifically but knowing he's gay.... but i think the opposite way is a bit more fun, imo. mitch is someone that's grown up in this very boys-focused culture and it's in his nature to glom onto guys and show them physical affection and the idea of him trying to fit into expectations of him... dating girls... doing everything the right™ way bc of how he was raised and criticized growing up... not fully letting himself deviate from the norm bc he does have the boys to lean on when it comes to hockey... is fascinating. with auston... he's always done things a little less conventionally... from the fashion choices and his opinions changing on that overtime to playing pro in a foreign country before joining the nhl to even being from arizona ... idk. the idea of him recognizing his own sexuality and figuring it out privately is more believable of the two to me. developing/having feelings for this guy who's been by his side since he was a teenager.. the loyalty and trust there would be so important to auston, who strikes me as someone that rlly plays his own emotions and private life close to his chest. like... plus auston's not really quiet abt HOW much he loves mitch so that angle rings very true to me. anyway... those are my thoughts on that personal dynamic. i think it'd be easy for auston to look at mitch, who is endearing to everyone on the team and likes to 'keep the boys together' as auston says, and see the way he interacts w other guys in that boundlessly joyful way and feel like it was unrequited. BUT. then again, it could go anyway since it's just fic... i just personally could do with more pining auston in my life, since a lot of popular fics from the olden days do the opposite. AND auston coughing up maple leafs (even tho he himself is a leaf... it would represent that hometown love mitch has had for them anyway) would make sense that way too.

i wish you the best of luck in writing it though!! it'd be interesting no matter what you do. i think all the hanahaki stuff ive read in the past is a very cutesy take on it, but rereading about it now is so.. almost gruesome/bleak. like... DAMN. anyway, no matter what you do, i'm sure it will be interesting and good!! sending you lots of productive vibes. i'm always down to talk about them lol.

[solahsaavan]

The more I age, the more my urge to stay away from fandom culture (social media in general to be honest) grows. The news of Song Joong-ki's relationship just once again confirmed my belief that being chronically online makes you a bitter loser. And as I am not entirely immune to internet culture either, I will be participating in this unnecessary conversation as well.

I will start by saying it was lovely to see a Korean celeb (male) not going to the extremes to hide their relationship. Also unexpected considering how publicised his last relationship was. Unsurpsingly, the entire conversation once again head back to his divorce a few years back. I agree with the sentiment that Song Hye-kyo was indeed the victim of misogyny by Sjk's rabid fanbase, the general public and the media during that brief period. I also believe the reaction of k-netz and media would have been much nastier if it was Shk dating a foreigner. What no one seems to be talking about is the thinly-vield misogynist comments thrown at his current girlfriend (because everyone is an active participant in this).

And this vile behavior was not exhibited by the 'culturally conservative' Korean general public but the progressive and enlightened international side of k-drama community(both his fans and non-fans included). I went to see the reaction of stan twitter once the news broke and it was largely negative and deranged to my unsurprise. Everyone kept expressing their disgust because he was dating a 'white woman'. Comments talking about how they wished he had dated a 'poc black/brown queen' or wanting to see 'poc representation' in the dating lives of Korean male celebs. This bizarre pattern of wanting non-black/brown men to date black/brown woman isn't just limited to the k-community. I have noticed white male celebs being put on a pedestal everytime they date a black/brown woman. This reeks of internal insecurity (and racism) that can only be healed if men outside your own race find you attractive. Why do you need Korean oppas to date your race for your existence and beauty to be validated anyway? And this comes all the way back to the 'y/n' part of fandom culture. If Sjk has dated a poc woman, this would have given (wishful)validation to his poc fans that they might have a chance too. And this has manifested in his fangirls by putting themselves against her. The same old misogynist tantrums thrown by fangirls in a parasocial relationship with their oppa: but this time under the more sophisticated banner of 'hating on a white woman'. To his 'GROWN' International female fans: beyond pathetic that you are unconsciously acting as the same whiny Korean 'oppa is mine' fans that start acting like immature teenagers everytime their oppa is spotted next to a woman (and that you so condemn a lot). To the others on stan twitter commenting about how 'Sjk degraded from THE Song Hye-kyo to a white woman': how very feminist of you to defend Shk from misogyny by indulging in more misogny. All of this is a consequence of hive mentality and echo chambers that come with being terminally online. These people are so deluded by the anonymity of social media, it doesn't even occur to them that the words they put on the internet can be a reflection of their deeply-held prejudices.

Might as well share some more random thoughts while I'm at it. His girlfriend is apparently half-Columbian and has more melanin in her skin than all his previous (korean)co-stars combined. This leads me to think some of the bitterness expressed by stan twitter is due to Sjk not dating one of their fave unnies(talking about delusional shippers here). And that woman is a gorgeous one and no less deserving of their oppa than a Korean beauty. Dismissing her appearance as bland and white because she is white doesn't take away from the fact you are still degrading a woman to uphold a man. Some of the commenters talking about this giving hope to middle-aged white Koreaboos need a bit of self-reflection. Having a fetish for Korean men isn't just limited to white women. Non-East Asian are very much Koreaboos. Ask anyone on the street and they might say the one with a social media account dedicated to a Korean male celeb is more appropriate for the term 'Koreaboo'. And not the woman who has no previous history with Korea or Korean men. Might I also add she is only a year older than Sjk so calling her middle-aged implying an older woman /younger man relationship is very weird and ageist.

All of this aside, the entire discourse around the experience of POC women has always seemed shallow and exhausting to me. The blanket term 'POC' itself is very vague and doesn't even remotely come close to describing non-white women. My experience as a South-Asian brown woman would be as alien to a black/East-Asian woman as it would be to a white woman. I have never felt represented by the depiction of black/East-Asian women in global mainstream culture.

[ankles-be-bitten]

i live in florida. pretty much everyone who lives here makes jokes like this--including myself--but most of the time it's just that: a joke. there are so many people up north who believe that all of florida is either the meth-head, backwater swamp hillbillies who have a pet gator in their airstream camper and eat crawdads raw out of the everglades OR the disney obsessed snowbird population who winter here and live in new england the rest of the year.

and the truth is? while these people do *technically* exist, they are by no means the majority. florida is a pretty ordinary state, 99% of the time, and i'm actually getting weary of the "[insert southern state] is hell on earth" rhetoric, a sentiment i've seen spreading pretty quickly amongst gen z, and i think part of the reason is that this presumed horror state we live in is used to invalidate our desire for a better future. don't like your governor because he wants to make it illegal for you to receive the support and healthcare you need? well shit! you live in florida, or you live in texas, no wonder you're miserable!! move to a blue state. so easy. shouldn't have been born in a red state, silly! everyone knows it's homophobic there :)

but my friends are here. up until recently, my whole extended family was here--and the family who don't live here anymore live in tennessee (where i was actually born), which is definitely more volatile than florida. i actually don't know why northerners think this about florida--is it our beautiful, diverse, and ANCIENT wildlife and native flora? is it our bloody, messy, and intricate cultural and social history? is it the anti-lgbtq+ legislature? we live in a region so geographically unique, the southernmost tip of the peninsula is the only place in the world where the alligator and the crocodile coexist naturally in the wild. is that hell on earth?

i used to hate my state. i used to hate where i live. i still fantasize about leaving, moving to some northern, walkable city, with accessible abortion care and a less volatile healthcare system to trans people. but i'm done feeling ashamed of where i live, where i grew up; i grew up in the town zora neale hurston grew up in, and one of my favorite books as a child, the yearling, was written by marjorie kinnan rawlings, who was FROM that rural florida that's apparently full of meth heads and rednecks. yes, it's overly urbanized in many places, including where i currently live; yes, it's incredibly difficult to navigate life here as a queer student; yes, there is a vast class disparity between the richest and poorest amongst us. but everyone i love lives here, and underneath the 5-lane highways is an intricate and valuable and one-of-a-kind ecosystem worth loving and cherishing.

i'm not going to condemn the place i live because it gets hot in the summer, or there's bigoted legislature, or the cities are unwelcoming to pedestrians. i'm not going to condemn my state because of the podunk, buttfuck, inbred hillbilly stereotype that originates from classism and the demonization of those who live in poverty or rural areas. remember: drugs are only morally reprehensible if it's a poor person making, distributing, or using them. when rich people do drugs, it's cool. so yeah, maybe putnam county is "full of meth heads," but have you considered why that is?

i love florida at it's worst, and i want to see it get better. i won't characterize the midwest as one-dimensional and barren; i won't call northerners self-absorbed, self-obsessed, and self-interested. please don't tell southerners that we live in "hell on earth." doing so erases all our history, natural and cultural, and boils us down to only the most classist of the stereotypes that apply to us.

the funniest thing to me is that florida is hardly even a "southern" state, technically it's a northern transplant. we're a whole lot more like you than you think--and you know what? so is everyone else.

[boimmeup]

On Star Trek, Identity, and Equality

I was a part of a conversation today that really unsettled me. I'm not going to reveal where it was or who it was with, because I don't think any of this was said maliciously and I don't want anyone harassed or thought less of, but I want to talk about it.

I was attempting to share my headcanons for Boimler being trans and the process of his transition. Things like top surgery being really non-invasive and name-changing being a simple process. Hormone therapy from practically the day he realized. That sort of thing.

I was then told that the advanced society Lower Decks exists in, that of the Star Trek universe, would make it even easier than that. As in, a nigh-instantaneous process to make a trans person pretty much identical to a cis person. Several people chimed in to agree with this sentiment.

Now, this didn't sit right with me. I tried to talk about how visible transness was important to me, how it's important to a lot of trans people, not all of whom would be cis if the opportunity arose. I was told that because Star Trek was an advanced socialist society, things like gender no longer mattered, which means transness was no longer important either. Anyone can be anything, and they're all the same, essentially.

The group went on to state that because racism was no longer a real issue, Mariner probably doesn't even identify as black. I'm not black, personally, but that statement bothered the hell out of me as well. I dropped out of the conversation about then. I know someone came in to object, but there were also people who basically painted the conversation as meaningless, who barely even read what was being said.

I hope that most people who have read this far are as repulsed as I was. Even so, it's becoming more an more apparent that younger Trek fans do not understand the importance of things like culture and identity. I want to explain those concepts as best I can, as well as discuss why the idea of a perfect utopian society where everyone is the same is A) not canonical and B) extremely harmful as a concept.

Identity does not hinge on oppression. Being of a marginalized identity does not mean that identity ceases to exist if the marginalization is purged. There is history, culture, community, joy to be found in these identities. There is a sense of pride! Mariner would be proud to be black, like her VA, Tawny Newsome. There may no longer be a movement of racists within human culture, but her skin is still dark, her hair still textured. The only thing a lack of racism changes is that no one is pressuring her to be ashamed of those features. She is free to be her authentic black (and bisexual!) self.

In a similar vein, being proud of being trans is not an unusual or rare concept. No matter how advanced medicine and surgery become, if someone identifies with their transness, you cannot take that away from them. I will concede that maybe the possibility of a procedure to be made indistinguishable from a cis person could exist, but would everyone choose it? Hell no! There are so many trans people, both binary and non-binary, who could never be happy with being cis. It's not the end goal for a lot of us. Our scars are something to be proud of, our visible transness both a message and a victory.

If you are trans and wish you were cis, you are valid. There's nothing wrong with that point of view... but to paint it as the prevailing one is incorrect. Visible transness--nay, visible queerness--is nothing to be ashamed of or ironed out of society.

Star Trek doesn't eradicate people's differences - it celebrates them. In TOS, Chekov liked to bring up Russia whenever he could. In TNG, Picard is a proud Frenchman. In Lower Decks, Boimler calls out pretending to be from Hawaii as "culturally insensitive" and reveals he's from Modesto, CA. None of these instances would exist if Star Trek had truly created a perfectly homogenized society on Earth; they would all simply be from Earth. And that's the thing--they don't want to create that sort of world. Star Trek is not about making everyone the same; it's about making everyone equal.

Equality does not say a man and a woman are the same. Equality says there is nothing wrong with being either a man or a woman, and each are given equal opportunities in life, neither of them barred from any one thing for their gender alone. Equality says a group of people may be all wildly different things--disabled, queer, POC, neurodivergent, all or some or none of the above--but each and every one of them will be afforded the same treatment by society. Amenities will be made on equal grounds, as well; things like free healthcare, aids for the disabled, therapy for the neurodivergent, and so on.

Think of Geordi and his VISOR, later upgraded to ocular implants. His impairment did not prevent him from joining Starfleet, or from rising in the ranks. He was accommodated and given all the same opportunities as a sighted man.

This is what equality is. Not a bland, palatable sameness, but a celebration of the things that make us unique, and the resources to give us all the same chance at life.

The goal of socialist progression is not to make us all conform.

It is simply to make us all equal.

If the idea of visibly queer, proudly POC, or otherwise unique and culturally significant Starfleet officers bothers you, then friend--you're in the wrong fandom.

[flameohotwife]

for the fic ask game: 1, 14, and 24!

Happy belated New Year, northern! I'm very sorry I'm *just now* getting to the end of year ask game... but here goes!

1 favorite fic you wrote this year: I think my favorite fic of the year has to be Unspoken, Undeniable (rated T). It's completely self-indulgent, but apparently that's what other people wanted to read, too? Because it's also my most kudos'ed fic of the year. I'm also really proud of myself for outlining, planning, writing out and finishing a multi-chaptered work in less than a year (I think I started planning in March, wrote a few chapters, then took a break bc the kids were on summer vacation and I could barely write, then picked up again in the fall and finished in mid-November). I could not have done it without @coyotelemon's help and encouragement and excitement.

14. a fic you didn’t expect to write: Definitely Free as the Wind (rated T). I've mentioned this in asks before but from my very first days in fandom I never ever ever wanted to write this event. When I started for the kataang week prompt "sneaking off" I honestly thought it was just going to be a mildly spicy little drabble or one-shot, but then it turned into this 6k behemoth full of cultural elements that I had to painstakingly research and that I was constantly second-guessing. I'm still glad I wrote it, ultimately, but it definitely surprised me with the direction it took.

24. favorite fic you read this year: I have read many many great fics this year, though not nearly as many as I would like to. My favorite completed fic that I read this year is I think Without Water (rated T) by @chocomd. I love love love the way choco explored that time when Aang was in a coma, its intense affects on Katara, the way physical touch--something we all know as Katara's love language--becomes healing in ways she couldn't foresee, and so much more. It's emotional, but the best kind of hurt/comfort.

In terms of long-fics that are still currently updating, I cannot praise Beautiful Boy (rated G) by @anervoussapphic enough. It has everything I have ever wanted in terms of mixed-race cloud family fic. The kids are older, but we get so many flashbacks to the post-war period, and a lot of clues into how the war affected each member of the gaang. I love how the whole gaang is aunties and uncles to each other's kids: it is the most truly authentic Asian diaspora family fic I have read, and the ways this author explores the cloudbabies' relationship with their mixed heritage is so relatable I could cry. I'm so glad to have this fic in fandom, even if I'm several chapters behind right now because life has gotten in the way of reading. EVERYONE should read this fic!

Thank you so much for the ask and deepest apologies for taking so long to answer it and not sending one in return! I will try to be better in the New Year <3

[agent-flyingfox]

Leaving Zoraxis was more emotionally hard than physically hard, to.. probably a lot of people's astonishment. Zor was probably one of the only people I knew and leaving him was like taking 32 stabs to the heart. I had regrets at first, but after a little while I felt better. It's amazing that I found someone else who switched to the good side!! It makes me feel less alone! It feels great to be good, doesn't it?

But everyone thinks I'm scary so they won't train me :( I'd love to get pointers from you and your boyfriend!!

We also might be from the same universe but I'm not sure. Apparently, I've been doing some universe hopping without realizing it. Who knows if I'm back in my own, haha. If you are from my universe, I wouldn't know from names. I only know Hivemind and Zor, actually. Zor didn't really let me talk to anyone else.

And yes, I am young.. I think I need to check how much information you have on me because this is getting a little.. I'd say odd, but it's actually a little scary, haha...

-Agent Felixian :)

"It is a bit of a culture shock, isn't it? I think it's brave how open you are about your background. How do other agents take it when you tell them? Have you run into any former rivals in the Division?

Great to be good...Hm, never thought of it that way. That's a very sweet way to think about all the change, no matter how hard this new job has been.

I'll have a chat with Nightjar on where to start with our advice. Expect something in your mailbox soon, Felixian!

I'm not sure if we are from the same universe, though... Would you have a tracker watch on you? This thing is a right pain in the arse - I shouldn't use that word in front of a kid. Apologies.

Right, right! Well...I suppose a nosy thief on both sides would know too much. I promise you, they haven't told me anything more than this."

*He lowers his voice and whispers into his watch*

"And...to any surveillance officers who happen to overhear this conversation... I swear I have nothing to hide. I just want to help a fellow defector feel less alone. Please, please, let me have this."

- Sincerely,

Omar Aziz