#I'm just... So tired of this particular issue in fandom

[jojosquires]

I mean, but for why?

So, as is the way of this site, I've been seeing more and more Reverse!Robin AU breakdowns recently and... I just can't. (Disclaimer: Like what you like, I don't care... It's your life don't let others dictate your taste AKA this is my opinion and I'm allowed to have it just like you're allowed to have yours)

Why? Why? Why? Why does almost everyone just flipflop Tim and Jason's stories, huh? Everyone else still gets to be themselves (Damian is still grumpy yet skilled, Dick still gets to be an acrobat that lost his parents (though his anger gets downplayed, but that's a regular fanon issue not relegated to just this AU)). Tim always, always seems to have to be the one who dies in this AU and becomes Red Hood (except for like... Two that I've seen) and Jason comes in and takes Tim's "save Batman" role. Which, inevitably, leads right back to the fanon Jason&Tim dynamic that I'm also just.... So tired of.

It's just... Such a fundamental misunderstanding of their characters (not the least of which is due to the fact that Tim's hero is always Dick moreso than anyone else... So why would he even become a vigilante here unless the circus happens at a weird time?). Tim is not five seconds from a homicidal rampage. Even when he's close to murder he pulls back (usually of his own accord... Drags other people away from it too). Honestly, compared to the rest of the Batfam he's got decent mental health a lot of the time with some very reasonable rough patches. Jason has a lot of trauma already from dealing with piss poor adults. He's not emotionally prepared enough to be the light to Batman's darkness if he just lost a different Robin. It's also kinda why he shouldn't have been put in the Robin suit right away. Dick needed justice when he took on Robin and then learned to do the same for others over time. Jason needed a home and to see how systemic issues can be solved through investment in the community and social change. Beating up thugs in Gotham doesn't solve the injustice Jason had to deal with as a child (poverty and homelessness and drugs and domestic abuse). (Sorry, I think that's a separate rant and doesn't mean I don't think Jason should've been Robin... Just that the justice he needs for his childhood trauma is different than Dick's or Damian's or even Steph and Cass)

So, yeah, I don't know. In general, I really just dislike this AU as a whole. In comics, I think characters reign over story because there are hundreds of different storylines. If your characters suck... The story probably is gonna die out anyway. So, flipping the script on these characters just invalidates a lot of other characters. A ripple effect.

Jason and Tim are both great characters on their own. Jason's story as Red Hood makes way more sense than it ever would for Tim. Please stop molding them together. It makes both of them worse.

That's it. Sorry for the rant. I just really dislike how interchangeable all the Bat fandom makes Jason and Tim.

Others can probably articulate this better, but I need drive to work and I'd rather think about the next scene I'm writing than this. So, now that this is out in the void, I can focus.

Also, if I see "Jason is Tim's Robin" one more time today...I think I might go on an entirely different rant. It won't be as polite, I think.

[incorrectbatfam]

Types of obnoxious batfam stans

Written by an obnoxious batfam stan

Not really a rant but something I've noticed over the years interacting in different spaces and I've decided to make your problem now.

Please note that I'm not saying there's any "right" way to be a fan because we all suck by virtue of being comic nerds, but there are certain kinds of batfamily fans that stick out to be in particular.

Anywho, here are 12 kinds of annoying batfam stans that you've probably run into and you better get a laugh out of it *points gun to your head*.

1) The Newbies Who Never Heard of Google

There's no shame in being new to something. It's a phase that we're all guaranteed to go through, whether we're 11 or 101. However, in this day and age, so many things can be easily googled that you don't need to shout every question you have into the VVorld VVide VVoid. If you need comic recs or a reading list, google it. If you wanna know a character's origin story, google it. If you need to know the color of Batman's underpants in a particular issue in 1965... well that's probably too specific for Google but Reddit will definitely have an answer.

2) The Middle School Authors

Before the 13-year-olds get up in my notes, I'm not saying everyone that age writes like this. Middle school is a state of mind. These fanfic writers usually stand out in a few ways.

They're oftentimes first-person POV or reader-insert. Give Y/N a break, she's tired.

The grammar is stunningly atrocious. I get if you're inexperienced or if you're writing in a second language, but we are in the prime era of autocorrect. If you need help, it's right there. Also, fuck c*nsoring b*d w*rds and fuck "unalive."

The characters do things that are out-of-character because the author is projecting their own personality. Bruce Wayne is a lot of things but he does not listen to the fucking Mountain Goats.

There's a lack of experience or research when it comes to certain topics. That's not how physics works. He can't walk that injury off. And that's definitely NOT how you do the horizontal hokey pokey.

3) The Neckbeards

Unfortunately, these basement-dwelling mouth-breathers tainted the image of what a comic fan is, though that's been changing recently. Still, we've all seen them. They gatekeep via pop quizzes, 'cause obviously you're not a real fan unless you know what page 10 of Batman #138 smells like. They give unsolicited commentary on people's cosplays, nitpicking the guys and being gross toward women. And heaven forbid the comics add a little diversity.

4) The Moviegoers

Nothing inherently wrong with getting into the fandom via the movies, nor is there anything wrong with sticking to that. I just feel like we're two different species of Galapagos finches, you know?

5) The Christopher Nolans

Separate from casual fans of the Nolan movies. I'm calling them the Christopher Nolans because these people have a tendency to reach for the grimdarkest thing possible. It's like they cannot fathom Batman having any other emotions besides punching and gargoyle brooding.

6) The Canon Purists

Wanna share a fun headcanon? NO, because Stephanie Brown never used cherry lip balm in the comics so therefore that must be the absolute truth. These people are a stickler for comic accuracy to the point where it's like... why bother interacting with the fandom in the first place? The worst part is when they're adamant on following a single continuity and refuse to consider anything else. This is comics we're talking about. Everything either has been or will be canon at some point.

7) The Fanon Worshippers

On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have the people who base their entire perception of the characters on something either they pulled out of their ass or that their mutual with 16 followers came up with, despite evidence directly contradicting it. I love WFA, but I feel like that's partially responsible for further perpetuating certain popular myths. Also, these fans tend to focus solely on the batfam/their ships. It's one thing to have some people in the foreground vs. background, but put some respect to Bart Allen's name you goddamn cheesecakes.

8) The Golden Age Dads

These guys aren't really obnoxious. I actually find it kind of cute how they think Jason Todd is still dead.

9) The Chronically Online

I have a rule of thumb when it comes to discourse: if it's not something I'd hear about at a bar, it's not worth my mental energy. Some people haven't gotten the memo, though.

These are either the well-intentioned but misinformed teenagers or grown-ass adults beefing with children because they don't have a life. They have takes that are oversimplified, rage-inducing, TikTok algorithm attention-grabbers that no one cares about in real life.

Don't get me wrong, we've got a bunch of issues in comics and fandom that are worth discussing. However, there comes a point where you're splitting hairs and need to go the fuck outside. I'm not gonna link the post 'cause I don't wanna call them and their 7 notes out, but the other week I saw someone saying Stephcass was a racist ship because something something colonialism parallel. You gotta be Elastigirl to have that kind of reach.

10) The Corporate Simps

I love comics. I appreciate the writers and artists. However, you will find my carcass in a ditch before you catch me licking the boots of DC/Warner Bros. Basically, these fans, fewer as they are, can't seem to fathom that their favorite franchise can (and does) put out some steaming motherfucking garbage.

11) The Hot Cosplayers

Not actually annoyed, I'm just a little jealous. Stop being hotter than me, please and thank you.

12) The One With A Punchline For Everything

Wait–

[creatingblackcharacters]

Thanks so much for your hard work, it’s always great seeing in-depth conversations about doing Black people justice in media 😊 If you haven’t answered this before, what made you decide to start this blog?

I have a bunch of answers to this lol so I'll just bullet point them:

Two things I sincerely hate are willful ignorance and bystanders. And so often when it comes to antiblackness in life, media, and fandom, people go "well I didn't know!" when asked why they allowed or participated in racism. Okay. Well let's address that problem! Now you've been presented with the resources. Now you have the ability to Know. Now, if you choose to do nothing, you are making a Willful Choice to allow and/or participate in antiblackness. I made this blog because I wanted to remove that excuse of "not knowing" as a reason for being racist. We've normalized antiblackness and it's time to stop acting like it's because "people don't know" rather than "people don't feel the need to do anything/are happy to benefit". Now that you know, what are you going to do?

As I have been told many times, I have the patience to do it! I don't expect my Black peers to constantly answer or want to answer these questions, because I know everyone is tired of hearing them. But I like discussing these things, and I've said it many times- as long as you are willing to learn, I am willing to speak. So... I figured I'd do it so no one else has to. 🤷🏾‍♀️ I won't say it doesn't upset me sometimes, but that's what I signed up for and I'm allowed to say that. Bc my Black peers are not crazy! We're all seeing it. So I want YOU to see it.

It's my way of contributing to the war. I've always been the one willing to point out the elephant in the room if need be. If nothing else, I go into this knowing that I had a particular skill set to contribute to fighting against antiblackness and that's what I'm doing.

I enjoy information lol. Teaching helps keep me sharp too. I've had to notice my own issues as well. So it was a bit of self challenge as well- can I communicate to y'all what I am seeing in these spaces? Can I find the dots and connect them on screen?

I think that's bout it 👍🏾

[sage-nebula]

WatcherTV Debrief

I said I was going to write down all of my thoughts yesterday, but I was simply too tired after work. So I'm going to do so now, in a post that is likely going to be very long, but hopefully will still be worth the read for some of you anyway.

TL;DR: I believe this is a very poor decision on Watcher Entertainment's part and it is at the very least going to cost them a huge swath of their fanbase, if not their entire company in the long run. And at this point in time, I myself will not be subscribing.

With that said though, I don't want this post to merely be a rant about how much I dislike the decision, so I'm going to start off by looking at things from their perspective and explaining why, although some people in the fanbase might feel betrayed, none of the three (yes, three, because Steven, Ryan, and Shane were all equal parts of this decision) personally betrayed anyone in the fandom. If you're still angry, I understand that seeing what might seem like a "defense" might be upsetting, but again, I hope you'll find some value in it regardless.

All of that said, that plus my extensive criticism of this decision is going to be long, so let's go beneath a cut.

First, let us state the obvious: Watcher Entertainment is a media company -- a business -- and Shane Madej, Ryan Bergara, and Steven Lim are not your friends. They are business owners first, and media producers + actors second.

I italicized actors to draw attention to it, because this is something that I think gets . . . not forgotten, per se, but pushed aside in people's minds when they consume video content online, particularly when that video content is on YouTube, which originally began as a point and shoot video upload website that was meant to give anyone and everyone the ability to upload their vlogs or silly little videos. The term "parasocial relationships" is one that has proliferated across the internet, but I think the issue here -- with Shane and Ryan in particular -- is not only that people are thinking of them as "friends," but also that they are thinking, "These are their authentic selves, this is who they really are, I know them." And the fact of the matter is, that isn't true. Shane and Ryan are actors. What we see in their videos isn't their authentic selves. We don't know them.

Now, that isn't to say that it's all a lie. It isn't quite the same as, say, Ryan Gosling or Leo DiCaprio playing a role in a film. But every internet celebrity (and that is what they are at this point) presents themselves in a particular way to their audience. Even in the Pod Watcher podcast, where ostensibly they're having Just Friendly Conversations About Whatever's On Their Minds, they're mindful of the fact that their audience is listening, their audience is judging, their audience is making gifs and fanart of moments they like. They're acting. They're playing up personas to keep fans engaged, to keep fans coming back for more.

So Shane and Ryan (and Steven, when he can be) are actors. You don't know their true authentic selves, and you never have. Anything they say has to be taken with a grain of salt, because they are saying what they want you to hear. Even their live shows are rehearsed. And what this means -- that they only show you what they want to show you -- is that they did not betray you, because they couldn't betray you. They don't know you, just like you don't know them. Betrayal is not possible here.

To that end, Watcher Entertainment is a media company -- in other words, a business. And businesses must generate not only revenue, but profit in order to stay afloat. Now, I don't know what Watcher's financial books look like right now. I have seen people throwing around a lot of numbers about what they have to make from Patreon, from ticket and merchandise sales, et cetera, but without looking at the expense reports, the bank statements, and the budget sheets, it's difficult for any of us to say just what state Watcher is in financially. We can guess, but that's the best we can do.

That said though, we don't have to guess to know the very basic principle of running a business. A business has to, at the bare minimum, break even. Ideally, the business would profit, so that they can not only do things like pay their employees fairly, but also so that they can expand and grow. Any business requires money in order to make product, whether that product is food, an item that you can purchase, or entertainment media that you consume as a viewer. As nice as it would be if Watcher could make their content without needing money to do so, they can't. Even independent YouTubers, including video essayists and Let's Players, require money to make their content. The equipment, in both purchasing and upkeep, requires money. The games (for Let's Players) require money. Internet and electricity bills, food, books needed for research, props, et cetera -- all of that requires money. No matter how simple a video may look, it still requires money to make. There is a reason that most people aren't able to make YouTube a full time job, and it isn't because they aren't talented; it's because it is a deceptively expensive venture to get into.

So with that said, even without knowing Watcher's current financial situation, it does make sense that they need money to run their business, purely from a "businesses need money" standpoint. This is common sense. This is why things like Watcher selling merchandise, having sponsored ads, having a Patreon, et cetera always made sense. And it is possible, too, that even if their present financial situation is okay, that they are thinking about the future, and costs they are likely to be incurring within the next year.

I don't know how many people within the fanbase listen to their podcast, Pod Watcher, but I do. A few episodes ago, Steven revealed that he wants to open a Malaysian restaurant within the next year. This is his dream, to bring Malaysian culture to the United States with food. This is an amazing dream for him, it's wonderful for him, I wish him success in this venture.

However, running a restaurant -- and not only running one, but building one from the ground up and running it -- takes an astronomical amount of time and energy. This is time and energy that Steven is currently expending keeping Watcher Entertainment afloat as the sole person in charge of managing their financials. (He has the official title of CEO, with Shane and Ryan having stepped away from that title In Name Only to focus on production, but the job that Steven is actually doing is CFO -- Chief Financial Officer.) So when Steven announced that he was going to be opening a restaurant within the next year, what I heard was, "Oh, Steven is leaving Watcher within the next year." This is supported, in my opinion, by Steven saying things like how Shane and Ryan will get free drinks whenever they visit, and then hastily tacking on fans can have it, too. He was trying not to show that he was leaving just yet to the fanbase, but the writing is on the wall and they all know it.

What this means is that when Steven leaves, they will need to find someone to replace him. Either Shane and/or Ryan will need to step away from producing and acting in their shows to take over CFO duties (which the reason why they stepped away is because they handled CFO duties poorly while Steven was better equipped for it, so I doubt either of them would like to do this), or they will need to hire someone to do that for them. The lowest CFO salary in LA I can find is $140k/year, and that isn't including benefits. Since Steven helped found the company, it's doubtful he's making that much, but his replacement won't be a founder and will likely want competitive compensation. There is a good chance that, considering this, Shane, Ryan, and Steven feel pressured to bring in a lot more money than they're currently doing right now.

And I understand all of that. I have supported them where I can; yesterday I literally wore my $80+ Mystery Files jacket to work, which felt a bit bitter after the news broke and I realized I wouldn't be able to watch future seasons of said show. I overpaid for a denim jacket because I wanted to support them. It's not as if I don't understand.

However . . . here is where the criticism begins.

To begin with, there is an old saying: you have to spend money to make money. To go back to my previous statements about how even smaller scale YouTubers spend money to keep producing videos to keep their channels afloat, what this saying means is that if you aren't going to put any money into your business or product, you aren't going to have a business or product to generate any revenue. However, some young business owners take this to the extreme, and figure that if they pump tons and tons and tons of cash into their business at the start, it will start to generate revenue more quickly. What ends up happening is that they overspend, sometimes even despite their best efforts not to, and end up not being able to claw their way back out of the red in the end.

Unfortunately, that is what I think that Watcher is doing with their new streamer.

Let's be clear: There have been valid criticisms about how they seemingly over-budget on shows that don't need to have such high production values or budget. Someone mentioned that their Let's Play show (I don't watch that one because horror games are uninteresting to me, so I don't remember the name) credits something akin to 26 people, which is silly when you consider the fact that there are independent Let's Players who are able to produce content themselves. Of course, you have to remember that the LPers on YouTube are editing their own videos, which Ryan and Shane probably aren't able to do -- but even then, that would be one or perhaps two additional editors. The number of people they have working on that particular venture does seem excessive.

With that said though, those 26 people were already employed and being paid, so having them work on the Let's Play show was likely not a new business expense. The streamer, however, is a completely different story.

First, they had to have paid likely multiple people to build the WatcherTV streaming website for them. Granted, I could be wrong since I have never used Squarespace, but I find it difficult to believe this is something Squarespace would be capable of handling. So unless they already had experienced programmers on their staff, they would have had to hire programmers to build the streaming website. They would also need to pay for hosting the streaming website, which includes not only the domain, but server space for all of their videos, and videos take up a lot of space. Previously, YouTube hosted all of their videos. Now? That needs to be on Watcher, and server space and maintenance is not cheap.

So they are paying for programmers, domain name, server space, server maintenance. They are also going to need to pay for security. Not only do they need to be concerned about any potential DDoS attempts, but more importantly they need security to ensure that they can't suffer a data breach and lose the credit card information of their subscribers, something which happens all the time to other companies. Now you may say, if it happens all the time and those companies are fine, Watcher will be too, right? Well, does Watcher have lawyers on retainer? Because litigation can be raised against companies with insufficient website security that puts customers' financial information at risk, which means Watcher could find themselves facing a lawsuit if their streamer is hacked and credit card information is stolen.

So they will need to pay for systems administrators to not only build security for the streamer, but also maintain security for the streamer, because cyber attacks evolve each day and it is a constant battle against them. It is possible that whatever third party they partnered with to build the streamer for them bundled all this together (if that is the route they went), but either way, services like that do not come cheap -- and if they do, you are not getting a service of value.

So what this comes down to is that Watcher Entertainment has likely spent a ton of money they allegedly do not have to build this streamer, taking the "you have to spend money to make money" adage to the extreme. Their hope, near as I can tell, is that they will generate enough revenue from the streamer so that they will be able to recoup the cost of building and maintaining the streamer and generate profit. However, judging by the reaction from the fandom, I think that is unlikely.

As everyone knows, the reaction to this news has been abysmal. While some of the responses toward Steven and Ryan in particular have been racist vomit, I do think there are valid reasons for why this news has been received so poorly. These reasons include:

Watcher built hype for a week, with a countdown timer and everything, teasing an announcement as if it were a new show or similar "gift" to the fandom, when in reality it was the news that the fandom would now have to pay for content that was previously free.

Patreon subscribers are expected to continue paying the same amount, but for far less content than before. Access to the streamer is not included in the basic tier; they'll need to double their cash output.

Many fans are international fans who can't access the streamer at all without a VPN to switch their location to the United States. Even if they want to pay, they are barred from doing so, meaning that Watcher Entertainment is shutting a large portion of its fanbase out for the foreseeable future.

Watcher took a very patronizing tone with their audience in both the announcement video and their Patreon letter. In the announcement video, which was fourteen minutes long when the actual pertinent information took half that time to deliver (if that), they began with a long diatribe about their careers and how much YouTube meant to them, and how sad they were to leave it -- as if they had guns held to their head, and weren't making this decision of their own volition. This is condescending; it implies they believe their audience is stupid enough to believe they were backed into a corner and have no choice. In the Patreon letter, they had a line that read, "And part of that change includes a bit of news that will surely be met with some fits of sobs- we're bringing Watcher Weekly+ to a close. We know. We know." Again, this is patronizing language. They are talking down to their fans, and assuming their fans will be heartbroken by losing a behind scenes the video, or whatever Watcher Weekly+ is. This arrogant, condescending tone does not help soften the blow of being told they are going to pay the same amount of money for less content.

As you can see, the way that Watcher Entertainment executed the announcement that they would be moving future content behind a paywall was abysmal, and the fanbase reacted accordingly. Provided that the anger isn't empty and that the current fanbase sticks true to their word about not subscribing (either out of principle, location, or because they can't afford it), Watcher Entertainment has lost a huge chunk of expected revenue directly out of the gate. And it's possible that they expected this; they had to know they would be shutting out international fans (at least for a time, presumably) and that there would be fans who couldn't afford it. But it's possible that they felt that there would be enough fans to support and subscribe anyway (hence the arrogant tone about people sobbing over losing Watcher Weekly+; that attitude screams of "you're so devoted to us you will do whatever we ask no matter the cost"), and also that they would be able to pick up enough new fans that it would cushion the blow of losing old fans.

Here is where the next problem lies.

Watcher's current subscription model is $5.99/month or $60/year. If you go monthly, you end up paying $72 for the year, so the annual plan is the better deal by $12. When you compare pricing to other streaming services, this may not seem so bad at first; it's on par with DropoutTV, and it's cheaper than Netflix, Disney+, and other big names such as those.

The difference, though, is that all of those other streamers -- DropoutTV included -- have far more content than Watcher does, meaning that the customer (and keep in mind that we are customers, we are not friends, and truly we are not fans when we are paying them money for product from their business) gets more bang for their buck.

I have seen the argument from defenders of the streamer in fandom that say, "So you care about quantity over quality?" And this argument is flawed for several reasons:

There are plenty of quality TV shows on other streaming platforms. DropoutTV has Game Changer. Hulu has Schitt's Creek and Abbot Elementary. Peacock has The Office and Parks & Recreation, so on and so forth. Watcher Entertainment has good shows, but they are not the only good shows in the whole of the media industry. Dare I say, they aren't even the only good shows on YouTube.

While Watcher does produce shows of high quality, their shows have tiny seasons of only six episodes each, and their seasons are spaced out months apart. They also cancel their shows without warning or announcement, meaning fans can wait (and wait, and wait) for a new season of a show they like that will never come, because Watcher dropped the show and didn't bother making official word on it. If you go through Watcher's entire content library (which is easy to do even if you like all their shows, and even easier if you only have a handful of shows you enjoy), then you will be paying for a streamer that you do not use for months on end while you wait for the next batch of six episodes that you maybe want to see if, again, you don't like all of their shows. (I myself only follow five: Puppet History, Mystery Files, Too Many Spirits, Top 5 Beatdown, and Ghost Files.) That is money you have spent on a service you rarely use. In other words: money wasted.

That last point is particularly important when you consider that Watcher Entertainment hopes to draw new customers in to subscribe to their streamer.

Pretend, for a moment, that you have never heard of Ryan, Shane, or Watcher before. You are browsing YouTube, and you come across the season premier of season three of Ghost Files. You enjoy it, so you think, oh, I would like to view the rest of the season. You learn that the rest of the season is on a streaming service called WatcherTV, which only hosts series that Watcher themselves have produced. Their library is very small right now. New episodes for ongoing seasons are weekly, they only have one season airing at a time, new seasons have month long gaps between them. This service costs $60 a year annually, or $6 a month ($72 annually). You've never seen any of their other shows before, and while you could technically afford it, it's not as if money is no object to you. You'd likely have to give up a streamer that has a much, much larger selection of shows and movies you already know you like to give this one a shot. (This one that, mind you, doesn't work outside of your internet browser, so you can't watch it on your television either.)

Would you do it? Really put yourselves in the shoes of someone who has no familiarity at all with Shane, Ryan, Steven, or their shows before that moment. Would you choose to pay $60 for a streamer with low accessibility, and a tiny, infrequently updated library? Especially if it meant losing access to so much more?

It isn't just that numerical value of the price that makes it a bad move. It's the price relative to the product being offered. Watcher's own fans, who love their content, are fiercely divided over whether to subscribe, with many saying they won't. In what universe does someone who has never heard of Watcher sign up to pay them that much for so little offerings? Particularly when they'll only be advertising via YouTube, and infrequently at that given that they'll only be posting season premiers?

(And this is not getting into how they were originally going to pull all of their content before the backlash. Yes, they walked it back -- but not only did they say in the video that the content would only be live until May 31st, but the Variety article says that the company originally told Variety that they would be pulling content, only for Ryan to issue a statement saying they wouldn't do that after. Meaning, they walked that part back because that's the part they could walk back. They have undoubtedly sank far too much money into the streamer to back out of that now. It's way too late.)

Businesses need to make money. Steven, Ryan, and Shane are business owners who are trying to make their business profitable. But I believe that this was one of the worst ways to go about it. I'm not saying that I know exactly what they should have done instead. I don't have all the answers. But I do know that from the terrible execution of getting everyone excited only to tell them (in the most patronizing way possible) that they would now have to pay for a previously free service, to deciding to sink a bunch of money into a streamer that they seem to have done no market research on beforehand and that they don't have the content library to support, this absolutely seems like the wrong way. Moving their content to an existing streamer like Nebula would have been a better move, in my opinion. (And it would have prompted me to actually sign up for Nebula, since there are several video essayists I haven't followed there . . . but I would have followed Watcher, since it would give me access to Watcher content and the content of those video essayists I've been missing.)

But what's done is done. As I said, I think at this point Watcher Entertainment has jumped off the cliff and they didn't do so with a bungee cable. I don't think they can walk this back. I'll be interested in seeing if they succeed, but I have very strong doubts they will.

[fernsnouveau]

Not really the issues I was talking about, there's the "make your own posts" etiquette, etc

If the Miraculous writers want to make the point that abuse victims are immature and infantile and volatile and need to be controlled by an authority for the sake of their own and the greater good, and therefore Adrien simply cannot be treated as an equal to the Great Marinette, then... I don't think they should be writing the two of them as a romantic couple. The inherent power imbalance is just no good.

(Don't get me wrong, even more so I just think that they shouldn't have taken that stance on abuse victims to begin with.)

[and-the-times-we-had]

As a somewhat newer member of the Silmarillion fandom (I've been here for two years but compared to a lot of people I've come across that seems pretty recent to me) I'm not entirely familiar with the history of arguments and discourse in this fandom but I feel like I know enough at this point to have thoughts about it. I know it's there because I've seen discourse posts on here as old as 2011. I know the feanorians v lathrim/Thingol's line discourse in particular has a nasty history (including fans verbally attacking other fans) and I know that this fandom has had an issue with misogyny in regards to female characters (and even more importantly in regards to female fans).

I just have to wonder when we as a fandom and as individuals in the fandom are going to make the choice to stop doing this. Because it seems like it's been going on an awfully long time, and it comes back in cycles. And because of that, every time someone new comes into the fandom and says anything even vaguely adjacent to that discourse (and others), someone who has been around longer and experienced that discourse inevitably jumps down their throat about their take. A take that is clearly not connected back to that old discourse given that they are new to the fandom. A take that they most likely came up with while engaging with the text themselves (yes, even if it sounds similar to a take you've seen before. of course it is. We're all working off the same text/story).

How is this in any way welcoming or helpful? All it serves to do is drive away new fans who do not want that drama, add tension to a space that should be fun, restart the discourse that people say they are tired of seeing but do absolutely nothing to stop, and make it difficult to have any interesting discussions without worrying about inadvertently causing drama.

I've been in a lot of fandoms and been involved in discourse before (even in this fandom to an, in my opinion, limited extent) so I'm in no way going to say I'm above it but like, aren't you guys tired of this? Because I am. I'm tired of feeling like I'm going to be lambasted every time I post something. That's no way to engage with a hobby as far as I'm concerned. I could choose to leave the fandom out of the sheer level of frustration I feel about this, but there are still lots of things that I like, and honestly, I don't really want to. I dont think I've ever felt as creative or engaged in thinking analytically about the source materials in my fandom as I have in this one. I just want the fandom to be a generally more positive experience for myself and others.

I'm going to do my best to not contribute to the discourse issue and while I can't tell anyone else what to do, I hope you guys might also take a few moments to think the next time a post you disagree with comes across your dash or you see it in the tag. If nothing else, can we please avoid bashing other fans during the course of the discourse? It sucks to see the characters we like questioned/disliked/villainized/etc, but it sucks even more to be an actual person being bashed and told that they shouldn't even be able to consider themselves fans because they don't agree with your take on the text.

Can we just try to be better about this? Please?

[velvetvexations]

can I be honest I feel like people in the fandoms (and to an extent the IH) treatment of KLCK compared to Fabian is a clear case of misogyny

our rich privileged soft boy vs their rich privileged annoying bitch

our boy who makes race insensitive remarks sometimes but it's not his fault vs their bitch whose mental issues make her make bad remarks in private

our self centered but adorable cute boy vs their self centered narcissistic bitch

idk if I'm onto anything honestly I'm very tired and have my brain on npd mode and if I posted anything about KLCK's mental issues on the subreddit I'd be ridiculed so I need to scream at someone who gets it. hope you've been doing okay! fbdnfnds

Brennan really honeypotted all the NPD members of the D20 fandom with her, huh?

But I think you're half-right. The immediate and insane reaction to KLCK having an annoying tone of voice and going hogwild on her to the extent that the fandom did, especially the infinite repetition of calling her bitch and cunt, definitely smacks of misogyny. There are other factors, though, chiefly the parasocial relationship making the fandom not only reflect but greatly amplify the opinions of the Intrepid Heroes. Like, if Brennan said he didn't like mustard this fandom would riot in the streets until mustard was removed from store shelves. With Siobhan and Ally going as hard as they did on despising KLCK, the urge to partake in the activity with your fake internet celebrity best friends did what it does.

The fact that Kipperlilly's parents were in the housing market in particular did not do her any favors. Like, the fans call Brennan a decolonial philosopher. Like I've said a few times before because it's the perfect metaphor, the fandom loves to LARP the Cultural Revolution - and that's barely even a metaphor as opposed to just literally what they're actually doing. The political aspect combines with the parasocial one, too, because now you're saving the world with your fake internet celebrity best friends. The moment, I mean the exact moment I started getting into KLCK, because up until then I was right there with everyone else going wHaT aRe YoU FoUr DiFfErEnT DoGs, was when I noticed fans on Reddit calling her a nepo baby. I started a thread about it trying to just, like, educate these children on what that term actually means and the replies drove me completely out of my mind.

So it's like, Fabian mainly gets a pass because he's a PC, because the fandom is wrapped around the cock of every PC and stubbornly refuses to accept them as anything less than perfect baby angels. Like I said, though, you are for sure correct in identifying that misogynistic element of how fans pounced on KLCK and identified her as a bitchy cunt bitch whore because her energy is very slightly grating. Or really, not even grating, honestly? Like she's clearly supposed to come off as obnoxious, but she's nothing but polite and mildly cheerful all the way up until "I want you to go fuck yourself", and even THAT was in response to the Bad Kids picking a fight.

[sweetmage]

This will probably be my last post on the situation because frankly I only have so many spoons and some of y'all exhaust me and I'm tired of racism in my inbox. I also like to keep this a fun, casual space but I think it would be irresponsible not to follow up with the newest development.

Anyway, as clipped and posted here by someone on twitter, Theo responded on stream to the situation that happened during the MCM interview in which the interviewer cut him off before he could tell his story in order to do fan questions. Check the previous link for more info.

In his response he states that he wasn't bothered by it and that he's pretty chill in interviews and prefers speaking on stream. Which is fine and honestly it's great that he's alright, we should all be very happy about that!

What isn't alright is the response to this. There are now many people on twitter saying that everyone was blowing things out of proportion, piling on, making a big deal out of nothing, etc. which is incredibly frustrating and disheartening to see for a few reasons:

a.) Even if he personally is fine with it, the fact that it happened at all is indicative of a larger issue, regardless of whether or not that issue is racism or bias. Even if there was somehow no bias involved, the fact that they managed the event so poorly that they had to cut off one of their speakers to do fan questions is still a mess worth criticizing. The next person it happens to might not be so fine with it!

b.) This very quickly became so much bigger than the defense of just one guy. This opened up a lot of much needed conversations on the nature of racism and bias in this fandom even when it comes to fanart, the in game writing, the amount of content the black character had compared to others, and the exclusion/dismissal of black characters and creators.

People are so quick to pat themselves on the back for having kept their mouths shut and are now acting like racism has been ended because one guy was fine with a certain situation. They are so quick to turn around and act like everyone else was freaking out over nothing and needs to be silent now. It's very frustrating. Racism in this fandom (and in many fandoms!) existed well before this event and it's not suddenly gone now that things have been cleared up for this one particular instance.

You can read more about my issues with the racism in this fandom here and check the notes for other people sharing their experiences because plenty of them have no relationship to this MCM situation.

I also made another post detailing some things you can do in relation to examining bias in relation to black characters, sending feedback to Larian in regards to asking for more Wyll content, participating in Wyll Week, etc. which you can check out here.

Out of respect for his wishes, we should no longer center this discussion around Theo (which I've tried not to do anyway because, again, this is a much wider issue), but that doesn't mean the discussion around fandom racism should end. It sucks that the fandom at large didn't even care about it until they thought an actor was affected and it would suck even more if they stopped caring again after the realization that he possibly wasn't. So let's try not to do that, yeah?

[youmakethelight]

I actually might delete this blog tbh. Not that anyone asked.

I made this side blog 2 months ago bc I loved season 10 of TWD so much that I got really invested in rewatching the whole series for Carol and Daryl, and I wanted to write my thoughts somewhere instead of continuing to annoy my friends who never watched the show. But all my thoughts then were really positive and fun and brought me joy. And now, ever since I've seen the reality of the turn things took in real life, it's just so depressing.

The way Carol and Melissa McBride are treated makes me feel truly fucking horrible. And I've tried to channel that into activism and using my voice in solidarity, but I'm finding it more and more depressing honestly. Most of the voices that made me feel stronger have disappeared, and I'm starting to feel hopeless. And that's especially when I realise how much shit already went on in the past few years before I was here.

It's been a whirlwind few months for me bc I stopped watching TWD years ago and just caught up and binge watched from season 9. After I finished, I found out about everything the fandom, Melissa, and Angela Kang went through regarding the spin-off. Knowing that even after that, we got Melissa back, gave me hope. But seeing how much AMC has ignored other issues and fans' voices makes me feel disheartened. It feels a bit like I'm exerting emotional energy only to be shouting into a void.

It feels wrong to try to move on and leave because the issues remain, and Melissa McBride, in particular, needs and deserves support. But I honestly don't know what I'm doing here anymore.

A week or so ago, I signed up to a website to write fan reactions, reviews etc. about tboc because I thought that could have some positive impact. So, maybe I'll do that... but to be honest, I don't think I've got it in me anymore. I guess I just feel like I'm doing significantly more emotional labour than will have positive impact.

Even when I try to consume feminist progressive media instead, I just keep being reminded of how shit it is that AMC can't do the same for Melissa and her fans, and anybody who works on or watches the show who isn't a straight cis white man. So, then I get upset by a thought I have and go on here or twitter to try to do something positive about it, but it feels sort of pointless. So, now I'm at a point where this blog doesn't bring me joy, and I don't feel like it helps anyone, so I just don't think it's worth it anymore?

I'm literally so bad at giving up on things, so there's a decent chance I won't leave. But to be honest, I want to. I'm tired.

[katy-89]

Discussing Rhaegar Targaryen in this fandom is boring. More than discussing Dany or Sansa.

Rhaegar Targaryen is literally the devil.

Reading this fandom discussion you would think Rhaegar is on par with Crastor or Ramsey. Sometimes the takes about him are literally at odds with the text of the book, subtext, and the main themes explored. I don't know why people are so hypercritical of this character, we have virtually no reliable information on his motivation or actions. I guess it's easier to blame one person for all fallout of the war than to accept it's caused by a Veriety of factors. I really think we could use a moratorium on "Rhaegar Targaryen kicked my dog" posts.

Character are supposed to fuck up and create conflict, their actions are a way for the author to explore a theme. Every single character in this book makes mistakes that have horrible unintended results.

Reducing what Rhaegar and Lyanna means for the narrative, and Jon's themes of love vs duty in particular, to just "Rhaegar Bad" is just a bad faith way of engaging with the story. It's also possibly a less interesting way of reading it but for some people outrage is fun so that's clearly up for debate.

I truly don't give a fuck if "Rhaegar fucked up", but I'm incredibly tired of seeing the character vilified just to have people shouting the same talking points over and over with out any deeper reading of the situation or speculation about alternatives. Until WOW comes out to add new information to the pile, I just think this topic is boring and doesn't justify the 50 bashing posts per week we get.

And I'm incredibly tired of seeing the age stuff being an issue ONLY when it comes to Rhaegar and Lyanna. Y'all doesn't care about age gaps, you just have an agenda. Or you would care about Oberyn, Cersei, Renly, Robert etc fucking teenagers. You don't.

Also....Shout out to the Bobby B Stans who refered to Lyanna as Roberts property and Rhaegar is wrong for stealing her. Thank you for strengthening my conviction that Lyanna Stark could have personally burned westeros to the ground and been justified. I'd support her.

[lorelaiislatte]

Do you think there's a chance a streaming service will pick ncis:h? I've signed the petition but do we dare to hope? I'm tired of this happening all the time. I just dont understand. It was doing fine in ratings and it's a part of a franchise that keeps getting more spin offs? How that makes sense? Do you know the ratings compared with the others ncis shows? Sorry im asking you but im not from usa and i have no idea how american netwoks work. So sad rn.

okay SO i am also not from the us but have done this dance before sooooo:

1) from what i’ve heard, they were planning to move either another ncis show (i think sydney?) or another cbs show to paramount plus - which they now are no longer doing. in theory yes, this opens up the possibility for ncishi to move over there; in practice, i’m not holding my breath, as typically that negotiation would happen before a cancellation announcement

2) how does it make sense? the honest answer is that it doesn’t. like, it really doesn’t. it’s been holding steady at sixth of 14 cbs shows in the ratings (which is a brilliant number, ensures it’s profitable, and is also impressive for a procedural that’s still relatively new). it’s been beating a LOT of other crime procedurals in viewership and viewer retention, and reviewers have been singing its praises. i think this is why it feels so much as if it’s because they just view this show as less valuable (socially and economically) than their usual white guy cop shows; it’s very difficult to argue that your profitable, successful show is too expensive when you’re flying cast and crews across - or, potentially, internationally to - australia, to continue a less-highly-rated show with no issue.

3) as far as ratings go - ncis hawai’i episodes were pulling in as many as 10 million viewers last year (s2 e10 came in with 10.5 mil, as per variety telecast viewership reports) which has it going toe to toe with the core ncis (seems to pull approx. 8-10mil per episode, via hollywood reporter). for the 18-49 demographic across us series, ncis hawaii is ranking at #13 of #21 as per tvseriesfinale.com - this is significantly above ncis sydney (renewed, #15), and elsbeth (#19, renewed), two other cbs shows, one of which in particular is incredibly expensive. crucially, ncishi has actually increased its viewership, which is VERY difficult to do on a year to year basis. its up by 4.18% among 18 to 49 year olds - for comparison the core NCIS is down 0.83% and fbi international - a competing show - is down by 3.73%. bear in mind that even a single percentage point represents hundreds of thousands of viewers.

i also want to point out that ranking at #13 isn’t strictly representative of viewer numbers, it’s about percentage of viewers that are within that core age bracket. the neighbourhood is ranking at #6, but only pulling in 4.8 million viewers - ncishi is at #13, and pulling in 5.2 million. ncishi pulls in over half a million more viewers than four shows ranked above it in that chart.

so essentially - it doesn’t make sense. from any perspective. it doesn’t make sense from a business perspective (ncis sydney is more expensive to produce and brings in approx. 200k less viewers than ncishi, and ncishi crew had already agreed to a shortened, budget-restrained final season), it doesn’t make sense for a ratings perspective (it continues to outperform many of cbs’ own shows, including ones that have been renewed), it doesn’t make sense from a social perspective (people are loving it, even outside of our fandom spaces).

objectively, it’s a really, really bad move by cbs. i also thought being part of a franchise would be a kind of safety net - fool me once, i guess. all the evidence suggests that they just don’t care enough about ncishi, especially when they’ve got their bullshit white guy ncis origins show, a young sheldon spinoff (?? who asked?) and a plethora of other cookie-cutter shows they can just keep going with. and we can make a pretty educated guess as to why, when the main things that set ncishi apart from the other ncis shows are its diversity and character dynamics

(edit: it was pointed out that people aren’t being flown to sydney from the us, which is true, and bad phrasing on my part - but many are flown across australia at seemingly similar costs to mainland us/hawai’i flights, and i believe not all of the leads are based in australia either, so i’ve updated that bit for clarity. apologies!)

[laufire]

although I've enjoyed stories that went down that route before, I can't see jason & talia's relationship in the comic as surrogate mother and son. I don't think the reading came completely out of the blue (I still have this edit of the pietà cover in lost days #2 as my background pic lol. that's some culturally ingrained imagery! although given the issue it precedes, I wonder if it was more of a hint to antichrist!jason lmfao), and can see how lost days #1 would inspire it (although the same events in batman annual #25 end with talia kissing jason after the pit... and I read that first because lost days wasn't out yet when I was catching up in my jason reading, way back when. lost days erases this moment and I do prefer it that version though. that moment, at that time, made no sense).

but after that first issue that's not what I see in the run. jason's certainly not in the market for a parental figure, and he wouldn't have responded well to talia, had she approached him as one (and at this point, talia was very much about finding the right approach to manage jason... because jason had attempted to kill bruce -the comic attributes this to temporary psychopathy but winnick and I differ on this one-. and this didn't happen only because jason decided not to go through his plan at the last moment. ymmv at to why). this reading comes from a mix of things in fanon, but one of them is literally "well she's bruce's love interest and he's bruce's kid sooooo", and I just don't vibe with that, basically.

reading talia's first appearances and realising she's meant to be close to dick's age also compounded my own interpretation of talia's dynamics, sometimes for the worse sometimes for the better, but it's a canon detail that just feels so fitting for the talia comics I've read that now I'd struggle to see her differently, when beforehand I really hadn't thought about her age. this way, they're not exactly peers (dick seems around 4-6 years older than jason in new earth, ymmv), and I usually land on talia being a couple years older than dick. but this colours how I interpret their dynamic, too. how I think they'd see it, in particular.

since I'm talking about the nature of their relationship I do have to mention That Scene. very contentious and I do get why (I do not care for any m/f/m triangle dc has ever tried to pull with the bats, especially bruce vs. dick-slash-jason). but fandom either sees this as "talia, a much older woman, statutory raped jason, a teenager" (jason in the last issue of lost days and in utrh looks very much in his twenties), OR "I've decided talia is jason's mother figure, and I'm -with good reason!- tired of how often she's villianised, so I just Don't See It" [insert mariah carey's i can't read suddenly.gif], as thought there's no other possible interpretation.

and the way I see it is. it's not a Good Thing to happen, nor is it written with that intention! the characters are NOT in a good place and they're NOT making wise, healthy choices lol. and it's something that sidetracks what could've become a really interesting, closer friendship & alliance (I want them to be friends and allies sooooo badly lol. I think they'd work so well!! there's reblogs in my queue about it!!). but I don't see it as something to completely handwave if I'm writing new earth canon; just something to tackle head on, if I ever write about them after this period beyond having it as a secondary dynamic (which I plan to do, but that's another story).

ironically, these ramblings came to me because I'm developing their dynamic in a WIP for a different canon (the young justice cartoon. for reference, the ages there are: Talia, 1984; Jason, 1999; Damian, 2018), and rn if you asked me if they have a surrogate mother-son relationship in it my answer would be a solid... maaaaaaaybe? LOL. if they end up like that, it'll be with MASSIVE ammounts of spousification, though. which is how I see any parental relationship involving jason going, outside of 80s!bruce & jason, to be honest.

[dol-dee]

IK nobody asked buuuuut I'll talk about it anyways.

I somewhat fall into the category of prefering fem iterations of the dol characters. I say somewhat bc, Yeah I like women but thats not the main reason.

DoL HEAVILY relies on tropes and well known character archetypes when it comes to it's NPCs.

A lot of them are ol' reliables and (at least to me) feel very worn out when in their cis male version. Which is why I often gravitate to the version that feels more "fresh" or subversive to me.

For Example: I love my fem Sydney but her particular character trope (corruption of the "pure" religious character) feels a bit more interesting (to me) when its M!Sydney.

Although I will admit that another reason I tend to favor the female versions is that most dol fandom depictions (that I have seen) already have a strong bias towards the male version of these characters. The ground there is plenty covered already and I don't think I can bring much new to the table there.

I don't think most people will care about my particular opinions/List on this , so I'll put it under a cut haha.

Tbf I like to let the game do it's own thing to see what it cooks up in the npcs body, sex and gender department but I do have a few characters that I consistently change like Avery.

Cis M!Avery is just suuuch a tired trope to me (probably bc it's not that uncommon in real life either?) Another man with anger issues who exclusively dates (according to canon aka Vrel) only 18 to 20 year olds? YAWN. idk I could just go look at Leonardo DiCaprios dating chart if I wanted to see that. Obviously, if it does something for you, go right ahead. I'll leave you to your feast, it's just not for me. I need Avery to be a very smarmy, maladjusted butch woman.

Okokok I'll get to the list now (for the characters that I have developed strong opinions about anyways) and I'll go into, what my current/canon run is set to as well as what I prefer depending on what I find more interesting. (with some notes if I have thoughts on the character) uhhhhh Ig I'll do it in Alphabetical order?

Avery: Preferred: F! Avery Current Run: F! Avery (note: I think I went in and manually changed it) - (Nothing more to say really, I already mentioned my reasons. Plus M!Avery just makes me feel icky)

Alex: Preferred: No preference Current Run: M! Alex

Bailey: Preferred: somewhat neutral but leaning towards F! Bailey Current Run: F! Bailey - (Bailey once again seems to have a lot of M! fanworks already and I like the idea of her being either futch or butch. Bailey just strikes me as someone who'd wear a lot of boring suits. Very nondescript/practical)

Eden: Preferred: F! Eden Current Run: F! Eden - (Eden is a case where I really wanted to live my Huntress dbd fantasies out with her but was open to the option of M!Eden. Until I ran into him in my first run and I really didn't like it very much. I prefer her as a hulking hermit woman atp also sad toxic yuri between Eden and Bailey <3)

Harper: Preferred: No preference Current Run: F! Harper - (Harper lowkey gives me Moira Overwatch vibes (mainly bc of my design lmao) so I have a soft spot for fem!Harper)

Kylar: Preferred: No preference Current Run: F! Kylar - (I do think same sex PC and Kylar is hilarious considering Kylar is so fixated on getting you pregnant, so in this case: ig whatevers funnier <3)

Remy: Preferred: F!Remy kinda Current Run: F! Remy - (I'm actually kind neutral on Remy's sex and gender but I do think its somehow funnier when it's F!Remy. Like whats going on there that she wants to give other women humongus tits and milk them?)

Robin: Preferred: No preference Current Run: M! Robin - (Robin is cute either way!)

Sydney: Preferred: No preference Current Run: F! Sydney - ( I have no real preference for Sydney and I already mentioned my thoughts on them)

Whitney: Preferred: F! Whitney Current Run: M! Whitney - (I've seen this trope so many times with hyperagressive dudes. It's not doing much for me. To see that kind of behavior with a fem character instead really revitalizes my interest in It! M!Whitney is fine and hes kinda grown on me but I think I'd have more fun with Whitney if they were femme instead)

[moretheta]

Honestly at this point i'm pronouncing "hxh has no noteworthy female characters" to be an ice cold, bottom of the barrel take. 

Come on a journey with me. 

Anyone who knows me in real life (which is hopefully almost no one on here) knows how insane I am when it comes to female characters getting shafted in media- and in shonen manga specifically. No doubt a side effects of being a girl who's favorite character was sakura in the 2015 naruto fandom- but that's another story. The point is I'm not coming at this from a "boo hoo why so woke" standpoint, or an "it's really not the deep" mentality. I care about this shit- truly i do. which is exactly why the way people talk about this issue bothers me so much. 

I distinctly remover being 13 or so when I saw HxH pop up on netflix (or some other streaming service, i don't remember) and looking at the title card with Gon, Killua, Kurapika, and Leorio and thinking "huh. no women?" bc damn, even nart had women (they were written misogynistically, shafted from the narrative, and treated like fucking pariahs by fans... but they were there), and at the time i had a disease where I couldn't dedicate time towards watching something unless it had a prominent female character for me to latch on to. that disease is called ~being tired of misogyny~ and i'm still a carrier to this day. so this past version of me wanted to do some research, so i looked up something like "does HxH have female characters." I saw one of two responses: 1) sadly no. and 2. no, shut up snowflake.

I honestly don't remember what finally pushed me over the edge to start watching it, but i'm so so glad i did. had several queer awakenings. a very formative time for me, etc. aaaaaallll that is to say: I get it. I’ve been there. i don't withhold criticism from a show just because i like it. 

Because it's true that HxH had no female characters... in 1998, when it's started it's serialization. like there were a few background women and also Mito, but that's it, that's all we got. and for a while that's what we would continue to get: every female character introduced seemed to exist as a cog in the wheel of one of the main male characters' storylines. even characters who i love very much and think have a lot of potential, like Canary, only seemed to show up briefly to supplement Killua's narrative and then leave. all of this is true. 

But the thing people need to realize about Hunter x Hunter is that it has been going on for a long time.  The chimera ant arc concluded it's serialization in 2012. and with the hiatuses that became necessary due to Togashi's health, it meant publishing continued really slowly. this current arc of the manga- the succession war- has been going on since 2017- (arguably longer, if you count the expedition arc as a prelude which i personally kinda do), but either way we have over half a decade of real time years that have passed. and one of the things i really admire about Togashi is his ability to grow as an author- to take in feedback and improve where he needed to improve. We can see it, for instance, in his history of writing queer characters- trans characters in particular. See this great video for a further breakdown.

There’s more to be said on this topic but that’s for another day. This isn’t an “in defense of Togashi” post, he’ll be ok. It’s the female characters themselves that I must rise up and defend. I fight an endless war on an empty battlefield, population Me, and this is my life’s purpose.

What I am trying to say is this: HxH is not the same series it was in 1998. It’s not the same series as it was in 2011. And what we have seen as the series progressed, was the introduction and elevation of more and more interesting female characters. This has culminated in what very well might be my favorite arc in the series -unfinished as it is- the succession war. and, without giving away any spoilers, I just have to say……

THERE ARE SO MANY WONDERFUL WOMEN. DO YOU SEE THEM?!!? DO YOU SEE MY BEAUTIFUL WIVES?!? MY LARGE AUTOMOBILES MY-

I cannot fathom how anyone who is caught up with the manga continues to parrot this take. Why would you say that. Why would you do this to our women. There are soosososo sososoooo many fantastic female characters, old and new, and more are added literally every chapter because togashi loves it when I (me specifically) have to make more flashcards. There are female protagonists, antagonists, supporting characters, antiheroes, etc. women with all different kinds of personalities and motivations that don’t feel like a copy-pasted trope. Women who (gasp!) come in different shapes and sizes!?!? Women who don’t fit the traditional standards of beauty are just as important and just as beloved as those who do. and because I’m a crazy person I have gone around and calculated “screen time” (page time?) as well as ratios of male to female characters and folks the numbers are looking good. There was a point in time when I tried to memorize the names and faces of every single female character on the wiki (see above note on flashcards) because again, I’m a crazy person, and it just made me realize how incredible this ensemble cast is looking right now and how excited I am to see more of them. I am the succession war’s biggest glazer so yes, obviously I come with a bias; but here me when I tell you this: you want more well-written, prominently featured, multidimensional female characters in your little shonens (bad place to look, but unfortunately I am the biggest offender of this) please for god’s sake. For god’s sake read the manga.  

So yeah. Sick and fucking tired of seeing people say “HxH has no women” They’re there babe!!!! They’re there!!! You wanna say some shit like that, at least put a caveat of *up until the end of the anime so that people know that information is eight years out of date. yeah watch me be petty. It just astounds me that someone could look me in the eyes and tell me that Melody, Bisky, Theta, Morena, Oito, Woble, Kacho, Fugetsu, Camilla, Machi, Pakunoda, Alluka, Komugi, Kite(yes welcome), Cheadle, Canary, and now Longhi have no importance in the narrative.

It’s true that there is always a time and a place for criticism…  but why does it seem like there’s only five of us trapped in here in this room who are excited to talk about the potential for Theta x Vorksen work situationship... on the ethics of Morena's class war, or an Oito Phantom Troupe connection, or the thematic implications of the madonna being juxtaposed with the antichrist and also maybe satan. Yeah so we're trapped in this room and it's great but occasionally I'll hear shouting from the outside and it's some horrible take or the same unfunny, super gross joke, or some guy who thinks netero setting off a nuke was "peak aura" or smth. And we're still in here, beckoning, offering shelter from the storm.

All you gotta do is open the doors and start taking notes.

[bonezone44]

Why the Daddy/Uncle Depravity?

This is a blog post for adults with critical thinking skills. If you read this and you wanna throw hands--then you do not have critical thinking skills and this blog post is not for you.

I reference DDlg, non-con/dub-con, trauma

++++++++++++++++++

I've noticed a lot of DDlg reader fics in this fandom. MUCH more than any other fandom that I've been in, but I think that mostly has to do with the fact that this fandom is centered around a particular actor and the characters he portrays.

And part of me has always been bothered by DDlg stuff. It weirded me out. But sometimes, part of me found it hot. And I couldn't understand why.

and the more stories I read, the more conflict it caused in my brain.

Because, you see, humans exist in multitudes. Much like the movie, Inside Out, there are multiple voices and perspectives that exist within us and give us our inner monologue and allow us to reflect on ourselves and the world around us.

And in my own personal real life, I would laugh in some dude's face if he wanted me to call him 'Daddy.' I would roundhouse kick him in the balls if he tried to push the issue, too.

But then I read it in stories and I'm like, "Damn. That's HOT."

---So what's the deal???

I'm sure many of us have heard the explanation that women who write rape fantasies or depraved sexual fantasies are exercising "control." It's been said that these fantasies allow us to take back our power in a way that we desire to do so. WE get to say what goes and WE get to write an encounter in a way that allows us satisfaction. (whether sexual, emotional, etc etc).

---But that explanation is generally referring to people who have experienced sexual trauma and are using fantasies as a way to process (and likely, 'remove') the experience from their system.

---What about other people? What about their fantasies? What's really happening when writers write and reader's read?

So here's where I'm at with philosophizing on this.

As I said before, humans exist in multitudes. We exist in many different parts and pieces and as we interact and connect with other people and the world we live in, we become even more multitudinal.

Even though I'm an adult woman, part of me is still a child. Even though I'm an adult woman, part of me is my husband. Even though I'm an adult woman, part of me is my dog. Part of me is my house. Part of me is my best friend. A small part of me is the guy who works at the gas station I frequent.

Even though I'm an adult woman, part of me is young and tired and doesn't wanna do the work and wants to pout about it. Another part of me is older, wiser, firmer and more aggressive.

And those two parts of me can be turned into two characters that I can name 'Daddy' and 'Little Girl.' And I can create a situation for them to experience and react to one another in. I can provide them conflict. And I can create an outcome for them. And I can write and direct and describe what happens between the two of them in a story format, if I so choose.

and I can share that story. And someone can read it.

And as they read it, part of them might relate to the 'Little Girl' and another part of them might relate to the 'Daddy'. And they might connect to the story's situation and the conflict as it may/may have exist(ed) within themselves.

---And when the smut comes in??

well that just makes it even more fun! Because on a physical level--sex can be fun and feel awesome. It can be a full body experience. There's chemicals and stuff that happen (google it. I'm not a doctor).

Sex can make us feel good. And when disparate parts of ourselves are in conflict and we find a way to resolve the conflict through feelings that feel good?? it feels good! It feels satisfying!

And in fic, we're experiencing these emotions and inspiring physical feelings using a narrative that exists in the safety of our own minds.

---But what if I want it for real?? in the IRL??

Some people do! Some people need it. Some people have a desperate need (or simply a 'want') to experience this relationship dynamic for themselves. They have a need to find someone who understands the internal battle and who will play the opposing part with them.

That's where the real life kink comes in. And it requires lucid minds and respect and clear, unambiguous consent.

Sometimes it's a full-time dynamic. Sometimes it's temporary role-play. Sometimes people try it and realize it's not for them.

But for some people, the fic is enough!

--You haven't mentioned Uncles yet....

Substitute 'Uncle' in place of 'Daddy'. It's a title for a familial masculine, authority figure. You could even do 'Big Brother' if you wanted. (Remember that Big Brother Frankie fic?? 🥵🥵🥵)

Substitute 'Mommy' or 'Auntie' or 'Grandma Claudia Flores' if you're looking for a familial feminine, authority figure. 'Big Sister'

--Why does it have to be a family member??

It doesn't! It can be a boss or teacher or professor or etc etc etc

It depends on YOU and what YOU connect with the most and what part of YOU that you want to explore.

--What if I wanna be the 'Daddy' ?? What if I wanna be the 'Uncle'??

Go for it ! There is a dominant authority figure in all of us.

🙏 Be the Dominant Authority Figure you want to see in the world !

--Do you have anything else to say for yourself??

In every 'Daddy' exists a little girl. In every 'Uncle' exists a niece. In every Dominant Authority Figure, there is a Submissive Figure as well.

In these fanfics, the Dominant recognizes a part of themselves in the Submissive. Just as the Submissive recognizes a part of themselves in the Dominant. That connection begets the dynamic.

[young-violent-desperate]

Fun things I've noticed running the S.E. Hinton confessions

@se-hinton-confessions

This is by no means is in particular order, it's just fun things I've noticed.

Most people following have a Dallas profile picture

The most popular people to confess about are Ponyboy, Dally, or Johnny, then a toss up between Darry or Sodapop

Speaking of which Tumblr HATES tagging Sodapop or steve

Had an issue for a while that tagging Darry would give me the Darry x Paul tag

Tumblr also insists I've never tagged Steve before and im doing the guy from stranger things

If there's talk about a ship I will get quite a few all at once

Many people confess during the night

I genuinely thought about not posting the mpreg ones, and I wonder who posted them

There are three asks that I haven't posted

1. A discord link for a outsiders themed hangout/roleplay. I didn't post it due to younger folks being on here and discord can be a scary, nasty place

2. One saying I should stop posting about a certain ship because last time people questioned the morality of the ship, the shippers got harassed. They requested not to be posted

3. Someone saying that there's someone who i presume is in the fandom that they don't like and should get a job. Obvious reasons why that didn't get a post

I try to be as neutral as possible when I post, so many times I do have thoughts on confessions but decide not the comment.

I'm also the only mod on said account!

It was also created in the middle of math class after the death of the other account

I really hope this post made sense, I'm tired and wanted to share.