#Saying he’s not abusive is whitewashing

[metamatar]

soo curious what made you say armand's story wasn't 'well done' cuz i havent seen many ppl criticize the way they handled his race/backstory/etc

i mean his being indian is mostly just window dressing till s2. he is violently trafficked and abused, so he has no memory of india but "arun" (plausibly hindu name), new delhi, and a time period. he's a great character tbc, just that his race is very generically done.

the one obvious site for commentary – where he pretends to be his own muslim servant is mostly cast on the show in the context of his history of prostitution. the poolboy in the vampire mansion. when daniel sees through the performance, it supposedly because he's not sure he's performing "dubai" native correctly... but! when it comes dubai in specific, it actually enslaves south asians in large numbers through the kafala system. it also has a large number of south asian expats. the show is really only interested in armand as rashid in terms of what it means for his relationship with louis. so far? i guess there's stuff to be mined about how south asian men are demasculinised and considered weak and armand was young and dying when he was turned, forever immortalised as fragile. mostly though iwtv only uses armand's race as it likely marginalizes him in a very generic sort of it got him trafficked and he got whitewashed sort of way. there's none of the verisimilitude we get with louis being southern creole usamerican, lestat being french, santiago's british theatre pretensions and so on.

the show has like, watsonian reasons to be lazy – its not armand's season, he seeks to control and manipulate people with what he reveals, he's avoidant, etc etc. its inoffensive, but its not interesting. it feels like an oversight on a show obsessed with the clash of the old world and the new in lestat and louis, the dynamics of race and class and gender.

[midgardianqueenreturns]

Not a “MVK wasn’t abusive he was a good dad actually” person nor a “MVK was nothing but horrible to Miles and Franziska from day one and never loved or cared about them in the slightest” person, but a secret third thing.

[cadaveerie]

cw: child abuse and non-sexual grooming

VEILGUARD SPOILERS (from lucanis' writing, a mission towards the ending and a little general)

About Lucanis and the Antivan Crows...

after finishing datv, I can finally say for sure that despite the fact that i find this game was overall fine, there are several things about it that have disappointed me. one of those things is about lucanis (and it's not even the only thing about lucanis that bothers me, but we'll leave that discussion for another time, because there's a lot to say about the writing).

in this game, Caterina Dellamorte (lucanis and illario's grandmother) is portrayed as a woman that's cold and demanding. not particularly nice, lucanis fully acknowledges that she's not exactly the loving type, and it's easy to assume things about her and about their relationship based on that... but for some reason it's never addressed that she abused lucanis when he was a child, by beating him and starving him. this is something that you can read in lucanis' story in tevinter nights, the wigmaker job, which was lucanis' introduction.

"Memories of sweat-filled days without food or water came unbidden Lucanis’s back tingled from where his grandmother’s cane had bruised his flesh for letting his guard down or fumbling his footwork. For years, he’d hated her. But his time as a Master taught Lucanis that Caterina’s cruelty was her way he was prepared for this life—that he survived."

I was waiting to finish the game before I said it, because I expected him to mention at some point but... no, nothing. I don't know if there's anything in a codex or something specific I missed, but even if that's the case, I expected it to be significant at all. it wasn't.

i'm not even going to get into what lucanis should feel about this. before the game came out i talked about some of my hopes for him based on the info we had about him, and imo there was not even half of that level of depth to his character. but i wouldnt have minded if the game went in another direction, or if lucanis simply just wasnt open to discuss it, or if he came to the conclusion that it was fine. i won't get into how "problematic" thinking that is, because i could understand that he tells himself that, and as a fucking assassin, i understand that he's come to terms with it because otherwise he probably wouldnt have survived in such a dangerous enviroment. i won't get into it bc as i said, i can understand it. my problem is that lucanis never says it. he never tells rook or anyone else that caterina abused him, or that the crows overall are very abusive and that they do this to children and break their minds basically in order to become emotionless living weapons. and if this is said in any banter, then i missed it in my 91h of gameplay, and i had lucanis in my party every single time we went outside. or it might be in a codex entry, idk. the point is that even if that's the case, that's not a great way to tell this info, especially when in the story theres no other way to learn anything like this about the crows. ppl that i talked to that didnt read tevinter nights didnt know this fact abt caterina and lucanis' past, they simply didnt cause how could they. I just wanted to say this because I think it's important to know if you like lucanis, or the antivan crows, and it's never even actually implied.

I also have many other issues with his writing, but the antivan crows are unfortunately also whitewashed. at least if you've played dragon age origins you know this, but our first antivan crow companion, zevran, talks about how he was taken as a child by the antivan crows. how he was literally bought by them as an orphan, and forced to become an assassin, and when he tries to flee, they attempt to murder him throughout the game. he even talks about how apparently some crows even made their members go through blood magic rituals to acquire abilities (SOUND FAMILIAR? IT'S LITERALLY WHAT ZARA DOES TO LUCANIS, ISN'T IT. HOW FUCKED UP). i think it's so disrespectful to dragon age's worldbuilding and so appalling that they simply... ignored all of this. I'm very upset that this was completely whitewashed. i wont get into it, but i assume they didn't show the crows being awful because, well... they have to be the good alternative for government in antiva. the bad guys are the antaam, and that's it. but one of the things i always loved about dragon age is how they treat these sort of political things. as i said, in origins the crows were more of an antagonistic figure, but at least it made them feel more real and serious. and people loved the crows like they were, fucked up assassins. in this game... idk, am i supposed to believe the assassin guys are nice? why hide the ugly? of course it's gonna be there, and it's ok. irl it happens a lot that oppressed people have to rely on groups that are less than ideal for their liberation, and a lot of times citizens are kinda ok w it bc no one else will stand up for them, so they have to work w what they have, and they're just relieved theres someone there for them. and it also shows that people are not perfect victims. if you're putting ppl in a corner, at some point ppl are rarely gonna care about being "good", and it's only human. and im not even gonna get into being an antivan crow rook because... sigh, it's more of the same. just disappointing. rook even mentions that theyre an orphan. and im pretty sure in the final mission about treviso, at least if you helped jacobus, he is like "i'll take in orphans and give them a chance". oh man, yeah. cool. please tell me how you'll raise them to be, im so curious to see how you won't groom children and abuse them into becoming mindless cold soldiers. that's fucking insane. this feels like fucking US army levels of propaganda and grooming. i love when we normalize child soldiers that's so fucking awesome i love this "woke" game when it's pro-military and anti-fucking-questioning-anything-a-military-force-does.

i even wondered if all of this has been retconned or simply ignored. i dont have a problem w retconning overall, and it's only natural it would happen in a franchise that's as old as DA, but the thing is... why would you do it. it literally just makes them flatter, it doesn't make any fucking sense.

so yes. im VERY disappointed in this game and the writing. this is one of the many things in the writing that disappointed me. the antivan crows are an organization that bring hope, and im perfectly fine with them being portrayed as "saviors", but im not ok with them conveniently not addressing any of their very bad issues. it's unrealistic. it's disrespectful to our intelligence, to dragon age fans and to dragon age origins. it's disrespectful to characters like zevran, who got into an insane war with them for a fucking reason. it's disrespectful to every antivan crow character to be honest. and im sorry, i dont even think this is insane to ask from them. like.... im literally just asking for consistency. they had it already, i dont understand why they did this. i had faith in them, but perhaps that's on me. im so heartbroken.

and i promise i actually think the game overall is ok. it was fun. definitely one of my least favorite games, if not my least favorite, but still. i appreciate it, and LOVED. LOVEEED some scenes. in fact, it might have at the very least one of my favorite scenes from the whole franchise. i think this game has very low points, and very high points, so it's hard to say what i think about it in few words.... but there are so many things like this in the writing, and it's just SO upsetting and disrespectful. im sorry. im truly sorry, you don't know how much i wanted to love this game and the writing. you have no idea. but i have self respect, and i don't lie to myself when i see something i dont like. it feels like they're whitewashing the crows cause we'd be too stupid to understand complex political issues. i thought this game was mature and could handle mature themes, but it doesnt seem like it's the case anymore. perhaps bioware is dead. i still want to believe they can come back from this but......... the post credit scene doesnt reassure me AT ALL. sigh. im just upset and sad. and as i said, this is only one of my many issues. i'll talk about the rest in the future, but im writing all of it down and i need time for that. i hope you understand that this comes from a place of genuine love. sorry i can't be happy about this game, but some of the stuff i see just ruins the rest for me.

edit: someone told me that apparently theres a banter when you go to dellamorte's villa and lucanis *implies* that he was beat by his grandmother (at least to another antivan crow rook). this whole post still stands though. i think that should have not been a banter that i (and im sure others) missed. and again, it also ties to how i think the crows as an organization and their methods were whitewashed. even if it's not particularly a lucanis problem, it could have been to some extent addressed by him.

[dalishious]

Alistair vs. Cullen

It really annoys me when people act like Alistair and Cullen are the same character, when they are very different.

Alistair grew up with child neglect. When visiting Denerim, Eamon kept him in the kennels. At Redcliffe, he slept in the stables on a pile of hay. Alistair also recounts a time when he was locked in the dungeons for a day before someone came to get him out. And of course he also talks about how Isolde despised him, and “made sure the castle wasn't a home.” But is still convinced that Eamon is a good person and he deserved all that. Cullen had a very fortunate upbringing with a loving family who supported him and what he wanted in life.

Alistair never wanted to be a Templar; he was forced into joining the Order by Eamon. He is vocal about how much he despised this, and considers Duncan recruiting him for the Wardens as “saving” him from them. The only thing he says he enjoyed about Templar training was the educational component, which he did not receive previously. Alistair was a poor recruit because he frankly did not want to be there, and therefore did not take it very seriously. He saw practices like the Harrowing as horrifying, and deepened his dislike of being a Templar further. And as time goes on, he becomes even less of a supporter of the Order; he outright says Meredith is the biggest threat to Kirkwall in Dragon Age II, if made king of Ferelden. It was always Cullen’s dream to be a Templar, and would even force his younger sister to “play the apostate” for his “training” before being recruited. Cullen was an enthusiastic recruit who considered Templar training “all that he had imagined”, and “did not hesitate” in taking his vows. Even the Harrowing did not waver his devotion to the Order, which by Dragon Age II becomes downright fanatical and tyrannical, practically worshipping Meredith. (Though this was later attempted to be retconned in Dragon Age: Inquisition… just as poorly as all the other retcons in that game, taking the path of “just pretend he never said and did all those things!”)

There is a lot of dialogue from Alistair about how much he dislikes the Chantry. Cullen, on the other hand, is extremely faithful and the only criticism he ever has about the Chantry is that they don’t treat the Templars well enough.

Alistair has a good sense of humour—in fact, it’s one of his biggest coping mechanisms. Cullen wouldn’t know a joke if it hit him in the face.

The player can disagree with Alistair on every turn. He is presented as sometimes being right, and sometimes being wrong, like most people. (Side note: more than that, you can be downright verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive to Alistair. Holy shit, I didn’t even realize how bad it can get until reading through the dialogue in the toolset, because I’ve never picked those options in game. I was honest to god flabbergasted and very uncomfortable through much of it.) The player rarely has the chance to even mildly disagree with Cullen. On the rare occasion you do, the dialogue is painted as if the player is being an unreasonable asshole, and he never even addresses what they say. (Example.)

The only reason I think people are capable of mistaking them for another is because fandom likes to donate Alistair’s personality onto Cullen. That and the the ever-frequent whitewashing of Alistair doesn’t help matters. But I’m not even a Cullen fan and I think it’s a disservice to both of them to act like they’re just Alistair and Alistair 2.0, honestly.

[despapillon]

Can’t believe what I’m finding out from the bird app but hey I think Henry stans need to shut up about the Byers family and stick to talking about their ugly incel serial killer that enjoys bullying children.

The gall to claim Lonnie is not an abusive father is insane. When all points to the fact he absolutely was abusive to Jonathan and Will. But I guess some idiots need everything completely spelled out to them!

I’m sure Lonnie is so mindful he was just gossiping to Joyce behind Will’s back and never called him slurs or said anything homophobic to his face.

Lonnie commenting on Jonathan getting stronger was about what? Jonathan’s baseball skills? And not a reference to Lonnie probably physically abusing him?

Why did Jonathan suspect a simple non-abusive deadbeat would hurt his son and hide him in a trunk? Huh? How in any way is that normal if Lonnie was not abusive? Can you imagine, idk, Nancy suspecting Ted of murdering Mike?

And treating Will not being completely against spending time with Lonnie as proof he couldn’t have been that bad. Are you kidding me? Do you know anything about how complicated the relationships can be between an abusive parent and their child? That’s his father. He just wants to be loved. He just wants his acceptance because he keeps trying to mold him into someone he’s not. How media illiterate you have to be to not get such a simple thing.

He’s abusive. Verbally, emotionally, hinted to even physically. Abuser, plain and simple. Not tossing the word around, just saying it how it is.

Fuck anyone that tries to whitewash Lonnie. Fucking Lonnie of all people. That’s the guy you wanna defend? I suggest getting a lobotomy.

[folk-enjoyer]

Song of the Day

"Call of the moose" Willy Mitchell, 1980 As you might know, September 30th is Truth and Reconciliation day (more commonly known as Orange Shirt Day), a national day in Canada dedicated to spreading awareness about the legacy of Residential schools on Indigenous people. Instead of just focusing on a song, I also wanted to briefly talk about the history of the sixties scoop and its influence on Indigenous American music and activism.

The process of Residential schooling in Canada existed well before the '60s, but the new processes of the sixties scoop began in 1951. It was a process where the provincial government had the power to take Indigenous children from their homes and communities and put them into the child welfare system. Despite the closing of residential schools, more and more children were being taken away from their families and adopted into middle-class white ones.

Even though Indigenous communities only made up a tiny portion of the total population, 40-70% of the children in these programs would be Aboriginal. In total, 20,000 children would be victims of these policies through the 60s and 70s.

These adoptions would have disastrous effects on their victims. Not only were sexual and physical abuse common problems but the victims were forcibly stripped of their culture and taught to hate themselves. The community panel report on the sixties scoop writes:

"The homes in which our children are placed ranged from those of caring, well-intentioned individuals, to places of slave labour and physical, emotional and sexual abuse. The violent effects of the most negative of these homes are tragic for its victims. Even the best of these homes are not healthy places for our children. Anglo-Canadian foster parents are not culturally equipped to create an environment in which a positive Aboriginal self-image can develop. In many cases, our children are taught to demean those things about themselves that are Aboriginal. Meanwhile, they are expected to emulate normal child development by imitating the role model behavior of their Anglo-Canadian foster or adoptive parents."

and to this day indigenous children in Canada are still disproportionately represented in foster care. Despite being 5% of the Total Canadian population, Indigenous children make up 53.8% of all children in foster care.

I would like to say that the one good thing that came out of this gruesome and horrible practice of state-sponsored child relocation was that there was a birth of culture from protest music, but there wasn't. In fact, Indigenous music has a long history of being erased and whitewashed from folk history.

From Buffy Saint-Marie pretending to be Indigenous to the systematic denial of first nations people from the Canadian mainstream music scene, the talented artists of the time were forcibly erased.

Which is why this album featuring Willy Mitchell is so important.

Willy Mitchell and The Desert River Band

This Album was compiled of incredibly rare, unheard folk and rock music of North American indigenous music in the 60s-80s. It is truly, a of a kind historical artifact and a testimony to the importance of archival work to combat cultural genocide. Please give the entire thing a listen if you have time. Call of the Moose is my favorite song on the album, written and performed by Willy Mitchell in the 80s. His Most interesting song might be 'Big Policeman' though, written about his experience of getting shot in the head by the police. He talks about it here:

"He comes there and as soon as I took off running, he had my two friends right there — he could have taken them. They stopped right there on the sidewalk. They watched him shootin’ at me. He missed me twice, and when I got to the tree line, he was on the edge of the road, at the snow bank. That’s where he fell, and the gun went off. But that was it — he took the gun out. He should never have taken that gun out. I spoke to many policemen. And judges, too. I spoke with lawyers about that. They all agreed. He wasn’t supposed to touch that gun. So why did I only get five hundred dollars for that? "

These problems talked about here, forced displacement, cultural assimilation, police violence, child exploitation, and erasure of these crimes, still exist in Canada. And so long as they still exist, it is imperative to keep talking about them. Never let the settler colonial government have peace; never let anyone be comfortable not remembering the depth of exploitation.

Every Child Matters

[queenoftheimps]

Artistic Expression as a Form of Love: aka Some Meta About Interview with the Vampire

hey guess who spent all of today putting off a really boring work task

So I'm just suddenly just having a lot of feelings about how love is tied to creation in Interview with the Vampire.

Specifically, each character's artistic impulses and what they say about their relationships, and how they use their creative output as a sort of love language.

From the very first episode, we see hints of this. Miss Lilly asks about Lestat's music box, which plays a song he wrote for Nicholas once upon a time, evidence of his love for someone who's been dead for over a century.

He later writes his own song for Louis, 'Come to Me', and Claudia makes the connection explicit while deliberately poking at him -- he wrote a song for each of his true loves, but does one signal love more strongly than the other?

She's being facetious to prod at him, but the show seems to genuinely make the point that we can track each characters' relationships through the art we see them create.

After all, we see it with Claudia herself later -- even before there's any discussion of becoming companions, we can feel Madeleine's compatibility with Claudia in the way she makes dresses for her.

Madeleine dresses Claudia as the grown woman she wants to be seen as, as she really is, even before she fully understands the circumstances of Claudia's age. It's telling that in Madeleine's dying vision, the one that convinces Louis of her love for Claudia, that Claudia is wearing a dress that Madeleine made for her.

By contrast, we see how Claudia is incompatible with the coven in the role that they have quite literally written for her. If Madeleine shows her love by treating Claudia as an adult, the coven shows their lack of caring by creating artwork where Claudia is forced into playing a part that diminishes her.

In turn, we can see Claudia's enthusiasm for the coven tied into her willingness to perform -- she starts off trying to smile her way through the situation, before quickly growing tired of the performance (and, relatedly, the coven itself).

But then again, how does the coven show its real loyalties? Well, with a painting.

We don't know who painted Lestat (Armand, possibly?), but having artwork of him in a place of prominence is pretty telling. But then again, the theater's creation is itself a reflection of art as a signifier of love & bonding -- Lestat suggests a theater to a lonely Armand as a way to regain a family/coven structure, after the last one fell apart.

Which makes particular sense for Armand, the character who most explicitly equates artistic expression with love and understanding. We see him underline it in his own telling of his backstory -- "No one has painted me in over 400 years." He associates painting with being seen and cared for by his maker --

-- and yet we, the audience, can plainly see what a warped, toxic relationship it was from the painting itself : a whitewashed version of Armand's face that doesn't truly look like him.

Hell, we even see Armand's betrayal of Louis in the form of creative expression -- to quote Daniel, "He directed the play!"

His treason isn't just that he sold Louis & Claudia out, it's that he participated in a creation that would condemn them. Artistic expression shows us love and loyalty in this world, yes, but it can also be used as a tool of abuse or betrayal.

Which brings us to Louis, he who has the eye for art but maybe not the skill for it, who never said 'I love you' to Lestat and wouldn't call Armand his companion, who ultimately gives up on creation in favor of becoming a collector.

It's especially interesting that his abandonment of photography is also explicitly tied to the end of his visions of Dreamstat. Even the one photo he takes that garners praise is one he tries taking of Armand & Dreamstat at the same time -- as if the closest he can get to expressing love through creation is something that blurs the lines between both men he has complicated feelings for. (Note that the scene where he develops the photo is directly after the "Show me the only way you know how to love" sequence of Louis bashing some guy's head into a wall.)

Hell, if we want to take it even further, we can even see some of this pretense in the inclusion of the Fred Stein photos (assuming Armand actually did sneak them in). On one level, we can see it as Armand trying to build up Louis' happiness, but on the other, it's him trying to build up the image of their romance.

After all, if artistic creation is a sign of love -- especially to Armand! -- what does it mean if Louis is openly disparaging his own abilities to make anything at all?

Taking it further, what does it say that he and Armand have a collection of photos of various boys over the years and expensive artwork hanging on every wall, but Louis doesn't seem to have taken any pictures of Armand in almost eighty years?

And hey, speaking of fascinating boys: what does it mean when Louis hasn't made anything creative of Armand since the 1940s, but he has no problem writing a book for ten hours with some guy he picked up at the bar?

Hell, writing a book where Louis spends ten hours talking about his life and hasn't even gotten up to the part with Armand yet? The supposed love of his life doesn't even garner a mention, to the point where Daniel didn't even know he existed when he arrives fifty years later.

And what does it mean when that book you never wrote is a giant hanging thread in your life, enough to create a connection strong enough that you remember that guy fifty years later and go back to that writing it? Even over the objections of the love of your life?

Especially when find out that Daniel's entire writing career is sparked in part by inspirational words given to him by Louis -- a sign of their bond withstanding the test of time, enough to make them friends after a fifty year absence.

That said, if we're working with the idea of artistic expression as proof of connection -- especially when it comes to Armand -- then it also makes perfect sense why Armand would insert himself into the interview once he's been revealed.

Then it's no longer about Louis & Daniel, or Louis & Lestat, it's about Louis & Armand and artistic proof of their connection! They're both now creating a story, a book that will include their entire romance! It's the first time that Armand has had the possibility of being an artistic subject in decades, so no wonder he's quick to latch onto it.

Even then, though: I think it's interesting that when Armand is talking to Daniel alone, the first story he thinks to tell him about is his relationship with Lestat. Make of that what you will.

(Also, I've said this before, but I am very curious what Armand's feelings towards Daniel will be after having an entire book written in which he plays a starring role.)

I think that this is all very rich with subtext and possible further progression, especially since we are about to enter a season where a new book is being written by Daniel and there's going to be an entire tour's worth of music being performed, all of it ripe with potential for further relationship nuance.

And while I don't want to wander too far into book spoiler territory, I think this might even neatly factor into a potential Season 4 -- especially since book fans will know that a specific musical performance is the catalyst for a lot of what happens in The Queen of the Damned.

[blue-mint-winter]

Theory about king Jaehaerys the Conciliator - was he sexually abusing his daughters?

Alright, so I came upon the theory that Jaehaerys was sexually abusing his daughters. After reading the chapter at first I was disbelieving of the theory, because:

just because he was a shitty, patriarchal and neglectful father doesn't mean he was lusting after his own daughters,

the description leads you to believe that he was a great king and very upstanding and moral, he didn't even have any affairs and refused any women even when he and Alysanne were in separation,

GRRM wouldn't do that with a king he's portraying as the greatest and most successful, with the longest and peaceful reign. Jaehaerys couldn't be a great king and a monster at the same time.

...or could he?

However, it's undeniable that the personal stories and tragedies of Jaehaerys' daughters are disturbing. Especially Saera's story. And as I was thinking about it, I realized that all arguments against this theory can be rebuffed.

"GRRM wouldn't do that" - well, he actually did it once, with Craster and his daughters, showing that he doesn't shy away from difficult topics. And he did show a great man with a reputation of being loyal to his dead wife as a flawed, monstrous man - in the person of Tywin Lannister, a successful statesman, administrator and politician. And at the same time he was a monster - destroying the Reynes, ordering the murder of Elia and her children, organizing the Red Wedding. Despite his deeds, Tywin maintained a stellar reputation as an upstanding and moral man, while in private he was employing services of prostitutes.

This leads to the next argument - the book in-universe is a history book. Archmaester Gyldayn uses historical sources on Jaehaerys, mostly from his maesters and Septon Barth. Understandably, these sources would have no idea what and who Jaehaerys would get up to in private. Besides, Jaehaerys had the best PR, certainly not worse than Tywin. His deeds as king, keeping the peace, maintaining good relations with Oldtown, made him beyond reproach. And still, the history couldn't completely whitewash his treatment of his daughters and wife.

How interesting that for all that befell his daughters, Jaehaerys is never blamed. He is their father, innocent of any wrongdoing, but the daughters are: stupid and picky when it comes to suitors (Daella), cruel, nasty and promiscuous (Saera), vain, manipulative, ambitious, reckless (Viserra). They're also 13-16 years old. Basically, the book tries to say they got what they deserved, despite their young age and immaturity being a reasonable excuse for their bad choices. The only ones who might be considered tragic victims of circumstance are Daella and Gael. In all cases, who could expect young teenagers to be fully responsible for themselves? They were underage even by Westerosi standards and they had parents that were responsible for them - Jaehaerys and Alysanne, who both obviously failed as parents to their daughters (and arguably Vaegon too), even if the sources and Gyldayn don't want to admit it (but Alysanne herself clearly did).

I decided to gather all the evidence in text that could support the theory that Jaehaerys was sexually abusing his daughters:

Saera's story is the first clue, especially Jaehaerys' words:

The truth did not come out until a year later, when the former princess was seen in a Lysene pleasure garden, still clad as a novice. Queen Alysanne wept to hear it. “They have made our daughter into a whore,” she said. “She always was,” the king replied.

This gave me a pause. What father, even an angry and disappointed one, would say something like that? And enough time passed that it wasn't said in the heat of the moment and we can't say that he didn't really mean it. Jaehaerys meant it. According to him his daughter, the girl who was his favourite for years, who he bought expensive gifts for whenever she asked, "was always a whore". This sounds like something an abuser would say after his victim got away. Basing his words on what he knows he did to her.

Bonus evidence: in the time before his death Jaehaerys confused his caretaker, 15 years old Alicent for Saera and according to Mushroom she was serving him in a sexual way as well. It's probable an old and ill man would repeat his past behaviours and take advantage of a girl that looks like his past victim and is constantly around him and under his power. Alicent couldn't refuse him and couldn't quit being his caretaker (and obviously couldn't talk or she'd ruin her own future).

2. Second piece of evidence is Daella, Saera's older sister. Jaehaerys for some unknown reason pressured Alysanne to arrange Daella's marriage, despite many factors suggesting that it was unnecessary and she was not ready. The chosen suitor was lord Arryn (36 years old):

Short and balding, with a kettle belly, Arryn was not the man most maidens dream of, Queen Alysanne admitted, “but he is the sort you asked for, a kind and gentle man, and he says that he has loved our little girl for years. I know he will protect her.” To the astonishment of every woman at the court, save mayhaps the queen, Princess Daella chose Lord Rodrik to be her husband. “He seems good and wise, like Father,” she told Queen Alysanne, “and he has four children! I’m to be their new mother!”

What does that mean, "he loved her for years"? Daella was 16, looked small and childlike. Lord Arryn seems like another predator. AND he reminds Daella of Jaehaerys. She literally chose him from among many other, younger and more handsome suitors, because he reminded her of her father. What does that say about Jaehaerys? Did he look at Daella with the same "love" as lord Arryn?

3. Jaehaerys had a type. Jaehaerys refused "lissome maids and handsome widows" which is treated as some proof of loyalty. It can be refuted easily - Jaehaerys had a clear preference and that's Alysanne - a pure-blooded Targaryen. That preference was proved when Rogar's plot to send women to seduce Jaehaerys failed and not even other Valyrians - the Celtigar women - interested him. I doubt any woman offered to him looked like Alysanne or was related to him. Unfortunately, their daughters fulfill the criteria. What's more, he literally had people preach how Targaryens are different from other humans like lions are different from aurochs and therefore Targaryens are allowed to have incestuous relationships. Jaehaerys' refusal of other women makes sense in that context.

4. Another important part of Jaehaerys' characterization was his belief that only a married couple is allowed to have sex and an unmarried woman has to preserve her virginity. And that's how I came to the last bit of evidence - his relationship with Alysanne when they fled to Dragonstone in their youth:

If servants’ tales may be believed, the king and his new queen slept naked and shared many long and lingering kisses, abed and at table and at many other times throughout the day, yet never consummated their union. Another year and a half would pass before Jaehaerys and Alysanne would finally join as man and woman.

Jaehaerys was fine with doing sexual things with his 13 year old sister, as long as he didn't penetrate her and take her virginity. Alysanne is the precedent and quite possibly he later wished to repeat his experience from those early years with girls looking like her, aka their daughters. Or at least Saera. He was very oddly fixated on her virginity.

And the above book passage made something click for me. Young Jaehaerys and Alysanne on Dragonstone with Rogar Baratheon ruling in Kings Landing and plotting against them sounds extremely similar to Viserys and Daenerys in Pentos with Robert Baratheon plotting against them. The parallel is startling. Jaehaerys was smarter than Viserys, but his sexual abuse of his underage sister is clear, even though it's described as "romance" by his maester propagandists. Viserys simply didn't have anyone who would rewrite his disgusting actions towards Dany in a positive light. Also, Alysanne might be just as delusional and brainwashed about the mutual love with her brother as Dany was.

The evidence is scarce and circumstantial, but when put together, it seems to support the theory that Jaehaerys was molesting one or more of his daughters. Which in turn could explain the daughters' behaviours and Alysanne's reactions as attempts to escape from Jaehaerys or find some form of protection from him.

Apart from Daenerys who died when she was 6 the rest of the daughters are:

Alyssa - a tomboy that was clinging to Baelon and then married him (protection by marriage),

Maegelle - pious from a young age, joins the Faith when she's 10 and goes far away from Jaehaerys (protection by Faith),

Daella - Jaehaerys forces an early marriage for her, despite her being fearful of everything, the wedding is a small and quiet ceremony on Dragonstone and there's no bedding ceremony, because "she'd die of shame" (was she possibly not a virgin?), she's taken far away to Eyrie (protection by marriage arranged by Alysanne), then dies in childbirth,

Saera - attention seeking, able to get anything from Jaehaerys, alcoholic at 12, after she's caught having affairs with boys in her friend group her father personally kills her lover and she's forced to watch, she tries to claim Balerion (probably to protect herself from Jaehaerys or run away), is sent away to the Faith, eventually runs away to Essos (rebellion and then seeking various forms of protection),

Viserra - also has a drinking problem, Alysanne arranged her to marry old Lord Manderly, a renowned warrior, then Viserra tries to seduce Baelon to marry her and save her from marriage to an old man (she saw what happened to Daella!), she dies in an accident when she's drunk and racing on a horse (or running away on a horse with her six protectors?),

Gael - most suspicious, all we know she had a stillborn with "a travelling singer" and drowns herself in grief when she's 19. Despite it being a point that she was constantly with Alysanne and even slept in her bed. The whole story with the singer was covered up by a story of her dying of summer fever. The existence of the singer is unconfirmed and doubtful. It's the same as just saying it was an anonymous man. And if Jaehaerys was still on the prowl... he had access to her and Alysanne couldn't personally protect her - she was going deaf and the last time she rode Silverwing was when Gael was 13, then Alysanne broke her hip and started using a cane to walk.

To finish this post, I'm not saying that this is definitely what happened. I merely wanted to gather the evidence for the theory and organize my thoughts. I think the theory isn't completely baseless and explains a lot about the treatment of the daughters by both Jaehaerys and Alysanne as well as some of the daughters' behaviours (and even Alicent if she was molested by him as well).

Probably someone already did a better write up of this theory, but I had fun doing this by myself.

I might write next big theory post about Maegor's conception.

[danmeiconfession]

I saw a post recently about someone being angry about people defending Shen Jiu while also criticizing Luo Binghe. Then, went on to say LBH had it worse, and he only took out his trauma on one person (his abuser). Neither of these things are true.

Unlike LBH, SJ had no mother and grew up in the streets as a slave when he was far younger than LBH was. Then, he was horrifficly abused by his master when he was sold at 12 until he was 15/16. Afterward, he had his cultivation forever ruined by someone he thought of as his teacher. Then, he was taken into another toxic situation where he didn't trust anyone, no one trusted him either, and that any act of kindness backfires and makes his situation worse.

Luo Binghe always had some form of support, Shen Jiu never did (not even YQY because there was no trust between them, and all he ever did was make things unintentionally worse).

I'm not saying that SJ was a good person or that any of his abuse was justified, because he isn't and it wasn't. But let's not pretend that LBH didn't become a far worse person than his abuser.

LBH took out his trauma on the entire world, not just SJ. He burnt down Cang Qiong to the ground, killing the peak lords, and who knows how many disciples (many of which were children, let's not forget). He merged two separate worlds with two very different cultures and environments together. Who knows how much history or culture was lost. Who knows how many ecosystems were devastated, or how many species of plants/animals went extinct because of it. Who knows how many innocent people died in either the crossfire of LBH's warmongering or the merging of the realms.

Not to mention that Luo Binghe is a r*pist.

If you're angry about people whitewashing Shen Jiu, that's fine, but don't be a hypocrite by turning around and doing the same with Luo Binghe.

.

[babybutchianthe]

explaining tlt fandom drama to people is so funny because i have to be like yeah someone once said terrorist isn't a racialized term, and someone else once argued with me about what qualifies as a crime & at one point said it is still a crime even if you don't break law & that the definition of war crimes is vibes based, and also there's this prominent coalition of vote blue no matter who big name fans that pitched a fit whenever you mentioned imperialism in a book series that has an empire that literally runs on death, and also there's some big name fan that threw around cryptoterf allegations around the time people were discussing how a character essentially grooms someone & then they dmed me when i commented on that & upon me suggesting they were just being performative agreed with me, and also i have multiple times seen either myself or fellow survivors of sexual abuse be condescended to for seeing our experiences or experiences that parallel them featured in the narrative, and misogyny is so prevalent it's not even worth commenting on at this point, and also people throw around the word terrorist casually in the same breath they try to cite a character's indigeneity as immutable proof he can do no wrong, and also they are always whitewashing his daughter, and also when they don't whitewash her they reduce her to being a 'golden retriever', and they ignore the fact the word chattel gets dropped in relation to her, and the limited number of bipoc in the fandom often resign themselves to silence out of sheer frustration with how pervasively they are spoken over, but yeah other than that it's fun. do you want to see a post where someone says for the 50th time that it's insane and terfy to think there's political subtext inherent to a city full of displaced people being told to not accept aid from a resistance group deemed as terrorists by an empire that is fuelled by death lol

[angelwhisp3rs]

⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ nuance

Pairing: DI!Leon x Fem!Reader

Summary: Always at eachothers throats, they just don't know they've been doing that in a lot of ways.

Tags: Smut; fluff; p in v; oral (m); i imagined reader being 23-25 and leon in his late thirties; breeding kink; brush play (shh its hot don't judge it); reader is called bunny; daddy kink; enemies to ???; leon is a perfect soft dom; clit spanking;

Notes: hehe older leon makes heart go brr; also: i changed the characters in the header, bc jasmine and alladin looked whitewashed (i always put a filter on the header to tone down the colors on the collage bc i always think they look like a hot mess unfiltered). I wanted to apologize and explain to clear any misunderstanding, and i'm sorry to have ever caused any doubts, i aim to make this a safe space for everyone!

Minors do not interact!

Whenever they went on the field, the rest of the agency always wondered how they came back alive, seeming as if they could, they would the other by their own hands, no need for bio-weapons. They were always bickering, Leon with his cocky ways, and her with her serious and diligent one.

No one ever understood how they worked, but their results never lied: a mission that usually took weeks, was successfully squashed in days; their cases solved higher than anyone else’s in the whole organization.

Everyone kept teasing Leon for working with a “human leash”, while the women teased her for not trying anything with him, since he was so ‘perfect and dreamy’ - their words, she would rather be dead than ever say that.

It always bothered him how she was too correct. Always with a bun in her hair, and her squared glasses, she hated whenever they didn’t follow her plans, believing that Leon definitely had a death wish, and was pulling her into a suicide mission every time.

In her case, it bothered her that he was a show-off, always doing way more than it was needed, just to prove how “awesome” and “skilled” he was. While fighting with an infected with chainsaws, instead of just walking back, he just did a fucking flip. Why?? He saved the president’s daughter, for fucks sake, there was no need to prove people that the was the goat. That encounter always made her seethe, since when he ended the battle, she only looked baffled at him as his cocky smirk never fell once from his stupid, and way too handsome face.

On the field and in life, they always had their differences, wondering everyone how they kept being scheduled together, but with the interesting thing that life is, they managed to find just one place where they could meet their interests.

'•.¸♡ ♡¸.•'︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵'•.¸♡ ♡¸.•'

“Just like that, bunny”, he grunted breathless, hips moving to meet her face, holding her hair in place.

Fucking her pretty throat as her eyes got teary, he felt how thigh and warm it always was, always begging to be fucked with his big cock. Her hair was down, her cheeks all blushy and she behaved beautifully on her knees, Leon sitting on his bed as he drilled into her sweet hole.

“Love fucking you like this. Always the perfect way to celebrate the end of our missions”

She whined in agreement, her face wet, as her spit coated his member and his heavy balls, since he hadn’t fucked his pretty toy in so long. She gagged and rolled her eyes back, loving being used as a fuck doll, seeing that hunk lose himself in pleasure as he used her smaller body.

“G’nna give my bunny her favorite meal”

He grunted out, cumming in her throat and making her swallow it all, watching as a line of spit connected her abused lips and the pink head of his fat cock. He had a relieved and proud smile as he panted, pulling her up to sit on his lap and pressing kisses to her overworked lips and sensitive neck.

“So proud, baby. Daddy's little throat sleeve, aren't you? Gonna reward you for being such a good little girl” 

He spread her legs as she sat on his lap, her hips squirming on his hold, making him hiss as she ground her perfect ass on his spent and sensitive member. At that, he slapped her right thigh, making her whine.

“Don't make me punish you, bunny. Daddy just wants to play properly with his toy”

“Too needy, daddy, ‘m sorry” 

Leon taking pity on her, managed to lock her legs apart with his strong ones, letting his fingertips travel through her soft skin.

“I know, baby girl. Bunny always needs her little cunt to be played with, and I've been neglecting you, hm? Don't worry, gonna reward you for being such a good doll for me”

With a slight and feathery touch, he caressed her thighs, moving up to the top of her mound, and descending to her wet and puffy cunt.

“Will you let me stretch and play with this hole, baby? Till you are too sore to close your legs?”

She whined in response, nodding eagerly.

“Yeah, it's gonna feel so nice, isn't it, bunny? Then, I'll use you some more since you are gonna display yourself so nicely for me”

As he said his filthy words, his teasing fingers began to softly touch her pussy up and down, just barely there. She was creamy for him as if he taught her pussy to get ready for his thick dick.

She tried inching her hips up, desperate for more friction, but he put his fingers away, slapping her clit. This made her keen and throb around the air, the pain feeling welcoming on her puffy, wet button.

“Fuck… I knew you were gonna enjoy that. Little sluts love to feel pain, right? And I just got the prettiest one to play with”

He spanked her cunt again, making her sob at the friction, her hunger heightening tenfold since it's been weeks since she felt any contact at all. 

“Daddy, please… need you to play with my pussy”

“Behave and I will then”

Taking pity on the girl, his fingers circled her clit with a little more pressure than the last time, his other hand scissoring her lips open to grant direct contact with her. She moaned and tried to keep her hips from moving, squirming just a little as his fingers brought her into delirium. 

“Good job, bunny. Let me use you, daddy's just gonna appreciate his bunny's little cunt.”

He stayed like this for minutes, till she creamed on his fingers, her thighs almost cramping from being spread like that. After she came, he massaged her legs, kissing her cheeks and jaw.

“That's it, baby, made me so proud. I know you are sensitive, but can daddy play with you some more?”

He asked as he pinched and rolled her erect nipples, making her clench again around nothing as she squirmed on top of him. She nodded, and he grabbed something from his nightstand that she couldn't see.

“Saw this on a video and almost came in my pants. Kept imagining myself playing with my baby like that as she made a mess”

He moved her to lay comfortably on the bed, letting her spread her legs again. He pressed an adoring kiss to her clit, making her moan. He chuckled, groaning at her taste on his lips.

“As much as I wanna eat this pussy, don't wanna overwhelm you. Later I will, angel” 

Then, he grabbed what he had hidden from her sight: a makeup brush. The bristles looked soft, with a round top. She looked at him curious and kinda unsure: is he seriously planning to fuck her with his thin thing?

He chuckled at her reaction. “Not gonna do what you think I will, doll. And I promised I washed it thoroughly before you came, I didn't want to harm you. Do you trust me?”

She nodded, and it was the truth. As she trusted him with her life on the field, she trusted him to heighten their pleasures to highs she had never felt. She was always pleasantly surprised whenever he planned something new, so she trusted him to make it good.

Sensing her newfound trust, he tentatively toyed with her clit as he brushed it gently, her hips twitching at the new feeling, not feeling bad at all.

“Good, bunny?”

“Yeah, daddy”

Glad with her approval, he kept “brushing” her cunt as if he was a painter making his new masterpiece. He always pressed the item firmer on her swollen little clit, watching as her slick gathered on the item and her entrance.

He grunted at her moans and the sight. The video was hot, sure, but seeing this in front of him made him want to go crazy and fuck his cock into the sheets like a fucking teen.

She was sensitive already from the spanks and his fingers, and now the soft bristles made her pleasure skyrocket. He began rolling and going back and forth with it, and she knew that she was done.

“D-daddy!”

“That's it, baby, cum again. Let daddy keep having his masterpiece”

She groaned and held tightly onto the pillow underneath her head, legs shaking but not daring to close as he played with her, her heartbeat quickening by the second.

Soon enough, she came hard, seeing stars. It wasn't a completely different feeling or a potent sex toy, but the novelty and thought behind it made it so hot that she swears that she almost passed out.

He kissed up her legs, letting her lay down on her side as she shivered in pleasure, moving behind her and hugging her.

“That good, bunny?”

“Y-yeah, fuck. Don't even know why” She giggled, her mind pushed deeply into that sweet and welcoming submissive place her job never allowed her to reach, but the asshole behind always granted her.

“It looked even hotter to see. Cock throbbed so much I thought I would cum untouched.”

“Maybe you are losing your hand, daddy”

“Says the shaking bunny from a mere brush”

She giggled, turning her head back and kissing him. Her gentle hands moved to his hair to let her fingers caress it as his strong and big hands push her more into him, trying to be patient but his cock screamed for attention.

“Daddy, want more” She begged between the kisses.

“So do I, bunny. Let my fat dick kiss your womb, baby” 

He raised her leg to his hips, allowing both to keep spooning as he gently slid his shaft in her, groaning at her wetness and warmth. He put his foot down on the bed to use as leverage, and as he held onto her flesh, he began thrusting.

The position was so intimate that it made his mind think things that he never had before. And honestly, it made his heart ache the same way it had done previously with Ada. Fuck, he didn't want to think about that now.

He fucked her harder to make him forget about it, which wasn't hard since that was the first opportunity he had, other than her great blow job, to properly blow his load inside his bunny's hole.

She held tightly onto his hand, the other one supporting her leg up too, as she screamed and drooled in pleasure, completely cock drunk. He groaned at his baby's situation and moved his hand to her abused clit to rub it again.

“Can't hold it, you were so hot, baby… gonna blow my load deep into that delicious” thrust, “wet” another thrust, “thigh” another one, “cunt” he thrust harder.

She was babbling nonsense, feeling the welcomed pressure on her lower tummy again, begging him to cum in her and breed his bunny. Her voice and pussy tightening around him made Leon feel like he was about to explode, so he kissed her roughly.

Both came together as they shared a kiss, her legs shaking as they felt him coating her gummy walls with his much-needed cum. He gently lowered her leg, staying inside her as he kissed her neck, tending to her gently to not make her drop.

Sex was always the best way to find a middle ground, after all. Maybe tomorrow they would be back at screaming in each other's faces, but with their voices just a little strained, since right now they only wanted to scream in pleasure.

[aniseya]

i’m teetering back and forth between how helaemond was dealt with in the finale.

on one hand, i hate that they made him go there and yank her around. it’s not what i consider the same domestic abuse as daemyra, but it’s a form of abuse that is expected when a man descending into madness from trauma, power, grief, and the hunger to be good enough. he tried to drag her in a fit of rage and then the next time she threatened him with accusations and told him of his death, he couldn’t even bring himself to show the same rage.

i never expected helaemond to be healthy, because incest is NEVER healthy. but i feel like with the way they’ve been treating aemond this season to seem like the true villain of team green, it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. like i love toxic pairings, but this just isn’t something natural for aemond to do, so it feels disappointing. it’s just there to reinforce that aemond is now the big bad and everyone else on team green aren’t as bad compared to him now. helaena is by the general audience’s opinion the purest character, so to have aemond hurt her feels like a way to hammer that home to the audience. not organic at all, not something in his character, just there.

which is why i’m thankful ewan played into helaemond in that moment on the balcony. aemond seems to regret what he did and the only time he’s shown properly crying is when he’s begging her to come with him. trying to appeal to the fact that they are same blood, that they understand each other when others might not. it’s acted and written like a proposal to fuck off to the ends of the earth together, phantom of the opera, anakin and padme, and gothic romance and all. and even when helaena refuses he still is crying, giving paper thin threats that he doesn’t mean, but just because he’s hurt by her rejection.

istg that balcony scene was perfect imo, in the sense that if it was just written a little bit better and didn’t have the looming connotation that aemond is mr villainous prototype used to make everyone who loved aemond from s1 feel humiliated for loving him and poke fun at helaemonds for enjoying their pairing. and now aegon is being propped up for god knows what, whitewashed in the sense that he’s given more development than aemond, helaena, and more characters above all. like nothing is coming from this, i don’t expect the writers to touch upon helaemond and that scene going forward whatsoever. it all felt like a way to get aemond stans to finally turn against him and to make helaemonds feel bad for enjoying the pairing to the point of making it popular. i’d say helaemond deserved better, but truly the entirety of the characters and the show itself deserved better.

so in the end, i may ship helaemond out of spite for what feels like a slap, simply because ewan delivered so hard for it. and i might not, because my efforts feel just so dull and fruitless that idk if i have the will to carry this energy and love for something that went so so wrong. it feels like got s8 where i needed time to recuperate and process everything before deciding what i wanted to take from it as a fan.

[bobbydagen24]

ngl People really do exaggerate Creek as a jerk at the start of the film as well it has to be said given all he does is hit back against a guy who is openly antagonistic towards him and his friends.

Like we saw that Branch was openly hostile to everyone even when he's trying to warn them about the noise they are making attracting Bergens

He's still openly rude and hostile about it to which all of the snack pack do hit back not just Creek but he's the only one people seem to focus on for some reason?

I'm not saying Creek or the rest of the snack pack's behaviour was 100 percent the right way to deal with the Branch situation but it is perfectly understandable

Given he's just an acquaintance who goes out of his way to act hostile towards them and mock them for their way of life.

To which Creek rightly hits back at him for, given his many many warnings have turned out to be false which makes Branch's arrogance in insulting them all very misplaced tbh.

And as the meme above suggests ( all hail memes 🙏🙏🙏🙏) this is a bit of a blatant double standard certain people in the fandom have when it comes to jerkish behaviour towards Branch

Creek is an utter jerk and Branch's arch enemy for making snide remarks towards him after he was openly hostile towards him and his friends on no doubt multiple occasions over the years

But JD and Bruce are caring brothers who just made a whoopsie despite abandoning him showing no remorse for doing so and later being emotionally abusive to him for no real valid reason and people say Branch has to love them.

This line of thinking from people cough Tezzbot cough honesty kinda worries me because it really does seem like people only view Creek's behaviour towards him as worse

Because he isn't Branch's family and therefore it wasn't his bloodright to use him as an emotional punchbag and be forgiven time and time again like it is for Bruce and JD

Even tho Creek actually had a much more valid understandable reason for behaving this way towards Branch ( as he did for all his other actions in the film unlike Bro zone ) than any of Branch's Brothers did.

to be clear People liking Bro zone wouldn't bother me so much if they didn't try and whitewash their relationship so much and blatantly be hypocritical

With their reasons for disliking characters like Creek while going out of their way to defend Bruce JD Clay and Floyd from any fair criticism when their Behaviours really aren't at all defensible tbh.

[maxdibert]

I think, out of all the insults antis throw at Snape, calling him homophobic is top-tier when it comes to stressing me out. I saw your response, and honestly, how can someone think like that? They literally write Barty as some poor, uwu, misunderstood little thing who suffers so much, when canonically, the man is completely unhinged and has a twisted obsession with Voldemort. The others are so irrelevant that some are barely even mentioned by name in the books.

"Oh, but Snape is homophobic, I can feel the vibes." You mean the same Snape who wore his mother's clothes? The same Snape who is described as having feminine handwriting? The same Snape J.K. Rowling herself said "wanted both Lily and Mulciber"? I'm pretty sure we're not even talking about the same character at this point.

Headcanons and fanon are great, really. But it's frustrating how people create nonsense, based on absolutely nothing, just to justify liking a character — and in the process, they turn them into complete idiots to make them more "acceptable." Like, your favorite character is an asshole. Embrace it. Don't strip away what makes the character good in the first place.

I mean, I can deal with people calling him racist and fascist because at least I can understand where that’s coming from. I can deal with the whining about how bad of a teacher he was because, honestly, being a jerk is basically his personality throughout the entire series. But homophobic? Or some kind of sexual predator? Where the hell are they getting that nonsense from when Petunia mocks him for wearing women’s clothing? When one of the reasons the narrative treats him pejoratively is precisely because his appearance, mannerisms, and interests don’t conform to the masculine standards of the time?

So you’re telling me that Sirius Black, who is described 800 times by Rowling as the ultimate macho man—because she was obsessed with reminding us over and over again that Sirius was the perfect alpha male who loved motorcycles and had pictures of half-naked women on his walls—can be turned into some kind of twink LGBTQ+ icon. But Severus, who is humiliated by guys like Sirius specifically because he isn’t as macho, aggressive, or traditionally masculine, is the homophobic heteronormative one here?

That Remus Lupin is basically considered a gay icon despite being a more realistic representation of a middle-aged man in crisis who sleeps with younger women, gets one of them pregnant, and then takes off—but the one who’s supposedly a predator and a creep is Severus, who bowed his head and walked away the moment Lily cut him off? Or that James Potter, who is canonically described as stripping a classmate in front of everyone to boost his ego, and who even blackmailed Lily by saying he’d stop bullying her friend if she agreed to go out with him, is somehow turned into the tragic hero of magical Brokeback Mountain? But the one who’s painted as some kind of sexual aggressor is Severus, who was literally the victim in those situations?

What the hell is wrong with these people?

You like the Marauders and want to erase their personalities and invent completely new ones to excuse yourself for whitewashing bullies and abusers? Fine. You want to take the biggest representations of toxic traditional masculinity in the series and paint them in rainbow colors? Great. But don’t excuse all of them, don’t slap a coat of paint on all of them, don’t even justify a psychopathic torturer and Voldemort fanatic like Barty Crouch Jr. just because he fits the Pinterest face claim you’ve chosen for your wet dreams, while villainizing and tearing down only one character—the one who actually has, by nature, all the qualities you’re trying to force onto the others.

And especially not when that character has canonically been abused at home, at school, discriminated against for his appearance, his background, his lack of money, and for not being “masculine” enough.

Honestly, they and their disgusting classism can go to hell.

[almacambiondaughterofsaleos]

lmao she ate you up

Again Stolas is an insult to real abuse victims. The show tries to make Stella into this evil harpy while excusing people who have done abuse like Loona because she gets the trauma excuse. Heck, Stolas for all claims of being a victim is actually more of a victimizer than a victim because of how he used his power to trap a guy into a coercive deal to keep his book. People say Blitzo started it when reality he was going to have him in his room and expected him to ravage him even though this was the first time they met in years. The guy has been predatory from the start and I don't care what excuses to try to make him fake sympathetic. Coercing someone into sex for a long time is not a simple mistake it's a crime but since it's hell it wouldn't be punished. Also stfu about him giving his daughter love he will regularly choose Blitzo over his daughter while having the nerve to claim he still loves her.

People claim he wants to give her a normal life while not having two minds of cheating on her mother and obnoxiously still carrying on an affair that broke the family. That is the embodiment of not caring about your daughter. Also coming out of the closet shouldn't be an excuse to hurt people. Again everyone says he's improving but those so-called improvements is still coercing people into a relationship and whining when they rebuff his advances because in the past they treated them like shit and still denies they look do on them. This is the same twit who had the nerve to say Blitzo and Striker sound the same when they told him off for being a privileged asshole he really isn't learning.

There is a difference between being a normal,flawed dad and being a neglectful, selfish asshole who puts his wants before his child. And let me tell you a child shouldn't be forced to sacrifice their stability to make their manchild of a father happy. And even worse he's doing this for a guy he forced into his fantasy and treated like trash. His so-called abuse by Stella is forced and fake. He says he did it to give her a normal life but in reality he just ended up potentially putting her in danger of a unstable mother. Also it's less of an attempt to show males can be abused but the fact that it's a way to make Stolas look artificially better so his abuses on Blitzo are excused. Also Stolas has more power over Stella than he does over him. One thing abusers tend to do is trap their victims. And let's face the fact there is nothing Stella could do to trap him. Stolas was the one who could do that to her with his privilege but he doesn't exercise it because the narrative needs to make him look like a saint compared to her for putting up with everything.

Also not being able to read the room and his microaggressions have been detrimental because it feeds into his flaws and even worse his lack of accountability for his actions. He freaking put a cigarette out on Blitzo and we just expect him to see him as not looking down on him. And again this is the guy who used his own butler as a squeeze toy and Blitzo rightfully points out how he treats his own servants. The way he treats other imps have influenced why Blitzo callled bs because his microagressions aren't actually micro when he has acted like a typical royal who has abused the lower class. And again his obliviousness to read the room has hurt his relationships because people are telling him straight to his face but he ignores them because he'd rather live in his own world where he does nothing wrong. In summary, he's a selfish asshole people are babying and pretending that he's just a traumatized, flawed man when in reality he's worse than that and acting he ain't is just whitewashing.

Also stfu about saying we hate it for no reason. We hate it because it left the og premise for a shitty love drama with an insufferable creator's pet who ends up taking away anything interesting plot and refuses to own up to his mistakes. He always is a hindrance on the story and resent him for it.

[ixiot-ghostrebel]

Some Stuff I Should Probably Address.

Alright, For most of you lot who knows what fandoms I write for, this shouldn't come off as surprising to you:

But yes, this is about the Demand to Recasting Certain Voice Actors, Natlan's Characters Being Whitewashed, and my personal thoughts about these matters. They will be under the "Keep Reading" cut if you wish.

TL;DR If You Want to Avoid This, But Want Updates About My Blog: I am closing requests for Genshin and HSR for the time being. I will still be open to discuss HSR and Genshin, but not controversy. I'm sorry.

People Waiting For "Barren Lands, Final Wishes" Letters:

They're on their way, I promise! Unfortunately I haven't been able to make time for them as much as I wanted to, but they Will be out soon!

Now back to more Serious Matters.

⌨︎ Warnings: The Follow Will Contain Mentions of Sexual Abuse, Abuse, and Whitewashing. If I Missed a Warning, or Wrote the Wrong Warning, Please Notify Me Immediately!

Alright, first off: The Voice Actors of Sunday and Moze.

I frankly am not the kind of person who indulges in drama, nor do I like reading/watching them in my free time, but it can't be overlooked at this point. Griffin Puatu and Chris Niosi are quite the controversy recently.

For those who don't know, here's a (probably oversimplified—apologies, on that part) basic idea of what's happening:

Chris Niosi has been accused with sexual and emotional abuse by his ex-partners, as well as friends.

Now, the real big problem, however, is that Hoyoverse, the company who owns the HSR character by the name of "Moze" has decided to hire Niosi to become his EN Voice Actor, which is sparking a lot of disapproval, for Hoyoverse is being blamed for not checking his background/history well enough.

(For More Information About Him: Click This For an Article About the Matter.)

Now, I don't have much to say about Griffin Puatu, who is the current EN Voice Actor of Sunday, but judging from screenshots and tumblr posts I have seen by the Reddit post he wrote, many people are not liking him as well because Puatu is standing up for Niosi.

Now, my Personal Thoughts on the matter, and, as much as I hate getting into drama (apologies, these personal thoughts will be a rant):

Just why? I'm unsure who was at TRUE fault of hiring Niosi, and I don't have full context of WHY Puatu is backing up Niosi when people say he hasn't changed, but seriously, why?

As much as I really hate to say this, but honestly, with this amount of controversy around a game people download to have fun and enjoy, all of it is pretty much ruined for me at the moment. I'm fed up with this—Again, I'm not sure whose fault it was, but they seriously need to be CAREFUL.

I also don't believe that Niosi should have gotten the role of Moze (HSR), but at the same time, who the hell decided it was a good idea to get/give him the role? As I live under a rock, I didn't know who Niosi was. At the time of Moze's drip-marketing, I really thought it'd be cool—for the first time in a while, I actually felt excited for a character rather than the plot of a game. After hearing all this, and taking time thinking about it, I really just don't want to touch HSR content anymore at the moment. It's annoying, because HSR has really good content—it has the potential to be great.

I seriously just can't wrap my head around who hired this guy. I'm not going into Puatu specifically because I don't know much about what he wrote, and (again) I don't like getting into drama. My apologies on that part, but honestly? I'm just done.

Alright, Second off: Natlan Characters—Skin.

I'm pretty sure most people are aware of THIS controversy, but to simplify: Natlan Characters are too pale and it's inaccurate.

Geographically, it makes no sense. They're in warmer temperatures, they should be more tanned. On top of that, their skin tone DOES NOT MATCH their cultures, or where they're taken inspiration from. Hoyoverse are being boycotted (from what I heard) for whitewashing and neglecting to represent the people of said-cultures/said-traditions.

My Personal Thoughts?

COME ON, HOYOVERSE. Do better! It was one thing to drop Natlan Teasers about the characters, but seriously? Please, try a little harder! Genshin Impact has GOOD POTENTIAL—EVERYONE SEES THAT! But you can't make them tanned? Why?

This was the first thing that has been bugging me BEFORE the entire Moze EN VA bullcrap. Come on, Hoyoverse, do better. You are losing respect out here. I am so disappointed, and even that is an understatement! You are losing your respect and recognition as a worthy company brand! What is going on in their building???? Hello???

Someone better fix this skin tone problem soon. I am so fed up with this. As much as I love the characters they just drip-marketed, it's also quite unfair: Take Liyue, for example. Their culture and their people are represented accurately, as far as anime can go.

Natlan? Yikes, suddenly they aren't able to create that same amount of accuracy potential. Why though? What's stopping them? Why are they not doing what is ethically right?

Everyone's waiting for a proper answer, myself included.

Alright, With that all being said—the final Part: What's Happening to the Ghost Rebel's Blog?

Well, for starters: I need a break. I am not only disappointed, but mentally drained. I am so done with all of this, and I need an utter breather. I usually go on Tumblr to cool down or read some nice, wholesome writing posts I find on some fandoms I like. Now, however, I am in dire need of staying away from Tumblr.

I'll be on a little bit of hiatus from writing so much—but not for now, as I currently have an event going on.

However: I am no longer taking any HSR and/or Genshin requests until these issues are either resolved or fixed. That is my stance, and I hope you can respect it.

Yes, this will mean my blog will decrease in activity. However, I am still open to Genshin/HSR discussions—so long as they are not about drama/controversy. I think I'm drained from all of this.

To everyone who read to the very end of this post: Thank you for reading to the end, and I apologize if you were also trying to avoid witnessing these kinds of controversies. However, some things can't be overlooked.

Hope y'all are doing safe/good. Have a good day/night.