#WHAT KIND OF HYPOCRITE STANCE IS THAT

[saviourkingslut]

the netherlands withheld its vote in the un general assembly on jordan's resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire. bc it didn't guarantee israel's right to defend itself. 45 votes withheld, 120 for, 14 against. our shit government will stand by and let israel slaughter palestinians for an indefinite amount of time and commit genocide while hiding behind the excuse that it's doing all it can to provide humanitarian aid. please please please, if you're in the netherlands, if you can make it, come to the hague tomorrow and join the protest at 14:00.

[cozycreaturescorner]

.

[mx-paint]

Idk man maybe if you're only defense as to why something isn't racist is "some people that aren't part of the minority group that it's being racist towards are racist towards me so it means it's okay" maybe. you aren't the correct person to answer the question that is being asked

[shhhhhiminsidesaitamascloset]

just because it sounds ridiculous to you doesnt make it less valid or less true.

we all go through life living different lives and experiences and having beliefs and values that dont align with other people.

it doesnt make it more or less valid especially when you have a good heart. & a kind and understanding soul.

[louisoffline]

FINALLY FINISHED THE REF SHEET PLUS OTHER DRAWINGS YAAYYY okay so i had the ref sheet done basically two days ago BUT i wanted to draw some more because my ref sheets look so......just stand there kinda scary so MORE ART !!! also skip if you are seeing this when i say our mcs twin bro......we are so mind connected with the skeleton sweaters my lord when i logged on and saw that both step 2 designs had them..........my goodness..i think we might just be the same person....

I want to try and flesh out relationships and dynamics more i think thats something i kind of struggle with with ocs so..that is what the rest of this post will be backstory, character traits, etc etc if you chose to read i will love you forever

Step 1: Gosh...I love making characters really reeaaallllyyy awkward and that's exactly what Lenae is. Her awkwardness is really just stemming from anxiety or nervousness. Qiu and her's dynamic is so sweet to me I love characters being to nervous to say things and then another saysit for them omg im weak yeah thats so them. Lenae and Tam on the other hand....it's not like Lenae doesn't liker her she knows she means well and is extremely sweet but Lenae just can't understand why she is so loud and energetic all the time, she finds it hard to keep up. She IS the sweetest kid you would ever come across though, she will do anything to see you smile. Her earmuffs are a constant, everyone else may think it's just a comfort thing but it is in fact a noise thing we just don't know that yet guys(undiagnosed autism is craayyy)

Step 2: Still being that same shy, sweet kid while looking emo AND TRANSGENDER?? not for the weak. Still shy and reserved maybe even more so but no one really expects anything else. I think meek is a very good descriptor, they get freaked so so easily like has never had a peaceful day in their life. However, Halloween IS their favorite time of the year, it's an aesthetics thing i guess. If you pass by Lenae in the halls you would probably think that they were on their last few threads of patience by the sour look on their face but no, they could be having the best day of their life with that face on. They found it tiring to keep that placid smile on their face all the time when it wasn't always real. In this stage Lenae has definitely started expierimenting with different art mediums like dabbling in painting, poetry, music, you name it. Qiu and Lenae are still the bestest friends ever(bestest crushes ever???) and it's actually kind of nice to have someone by your side who knows what you're going through with your gender identity struggle and everything. Lenae for sure feels bad for how they treated Tam just because they thought she was a little much, I mean it was kind of hypocritical, so they've been trying to make it up to her by being kind of everyly nice?? oh boy oh boy

Step 3: I really don't know a lot of what I could write for step 3 since like nothing of it is out in the actual game SO were just gonna go like personality kind of wise y'know? I think they've definitely mellowed out AT LEAST A LITTLE...like omg guys they can sometimes order for themselves at restaurants!! They're very opinionated and has a strong stance on what they believe but like not in a mean way they just don't understand why others would think differently. Building on their creative abilities, they probably have plans to go to a college for art or fashion. Or maybe they'll start their own business who knows! It's okay to not have everything planned out anymore, some spontaneity is welcome in their life. Now that they've finally been able to be more open, mainly around friends, they'll say something a little too...unsettling or freaky??? to be normal, it's a little weird to get used to oopsies

AND THATS ALL if you read all of this i appreciate you becasue this has been drafted up on my computer screen for multiple days I just did not know what to say siigghhh yeah i love this kid and I hope you guys do too teehee

[blindmagdalena]

I feel like I'm the only one who didn't like the milk scene and it made me extremely uncomfortable but like not becaues of it being lactation :( I feel like I have no one to talk to about it because eveyrone else really liked it and it makes me feel guilty because every time I try to in spaces people act like they're not allowed to nejoy anything and that I'm ruining their fun :/

hi sweetheart! you're definitely not the only one who didn't like it, but i know what it's like to feel like you have the minority opinion in a fandom. it's rough! and it's isolating. i've gotten several asks like this (both enthusiastic and negative) so i'm just going to use this opportunity to make my stance on the scene known.

i did enjoy the milk scene. i'm also someone who writes a canon rapist frequently committing acts of dub/noncon. i can see where people are seeing a boundary being overstepped, and even though i personally didn't read it that way, i'm not gonna argue with people who did.

that said, say i did view it that way... i think it would be kind of hypocritical of me to hold that specific act against her, especially given the context of the situation.

Homelander and Firecracker are both predators. they're also both traumatized to varying degrees. they're both very much not good people, and that's kind of the whole point. damaged people DON'T make good choices! they engage in dysfunctional relationships. they do bad shit.

i'm personally very interested in the fact that the scene took a distinctly nonsexual turn, and i'm curious how that will play out in their dynamic. Homelander is using (and abusing!) Firecracker just as much as she might be using him. he was stalking towards her with every intention of killing her before she hosed him! regardless of Homelander's past (of which Firecracker is wildly unaware), the power imbalance between them is immense.

let's not forget that Homelander uses and abuses... everyone. routinely. overstepping boundaries is kind of a defining aspect of his personality, and something most of us swoon over.

that said, you're still not wrong for being uncomfortable. lots of fans of Homelander—regardless of the nature of the source material—are wanting to see him engaged in a healthy and consensual relationship, and it's natural that those folks were let down when the scene didn't play out as they hoped it might.

at the end of the day this show is about hurt people hurting people, and what those relationships end up looking like. it's okay to be uncomfortable with elements of that.

[doubleslashkarma]

Having thoughts about princezam (who's surpised)

When he says "nobody understands PrinceZam" he really fuckin means it bc it feels like every day someone's trying to poke holes in his stance and dangle some kind of moral superiority over his head because they think he's a pacifist for moral reasons. Zam is a pacifist not because he thinks killing people on the kill people server is wrong. He's made that very fucking clear.

He's a pacifist for convenience, almost. He doesn't have a problem with the cycle of violence, he just doesn't want to be a part of it. And there is a little bit of moral ground there in that he believes he's protecting the server by not falling into the s5 tendencies again but even then it's not about killing as a concept.

And I think zam might be forgetting that too?? It seems like the more he argues and the more ppl like ash and wemmbu try and prove him as some kind of hypocrite his stance shifts slightly and idk if that's just development of ideas or if he's getting so caught up in the details he's forgetting what it was all originally for. Which does feel like a very zam thing to do but idk I just go here

[sokkastyles]

(a.p.p.) in re: this post

i'm a lurker in the fandom and i guess i missed out on this bit of drama; it's actually driving me insane that i can't figure out who and what specifically this is about on my own. you don't have to, but if you want to, i'd love to hear the entire pot of tea on this 👀

Okay, I've been trying to stay out of it because I don't want to point fingers, that user and I are both on a mutual block, I do not want to interact with her, and I believe she feels the same. Also, she is the victim in the most recent round of Katara Adultificationgate: Electric Boogaloo, although she's also a hypocrite who attracts drama because she keeps trying to make herself seem morally correct.

The long and short of it is that this user was, a couple years ago, trying to police zutara shippers in her own community for writing darkfic. They aligned with other users who were going on a witch hunt with the stance that it's okay to write darkfic as long as you're doing it "in the right way." With the exception that of course the way they write it is the right way. Because of course they alone are the only one capable of understanding all of the nuance involved in writing about heavy topics.

Now, this person is being attacked for writing darkfic, and is again trying to defend themselves by saying that they're writing about their own trauma, or condemning the violence portrayed.

But what's funny about the current wank is that the content of her fic is like, nearly identical to one that was being targeted in the wank two years ago. It was a fic about Katara being assaulted by men of the NWT. Which, as far as I can tell, is also what the current fic at the center of this is about as well. Only the user who wrote it has been defending it because it's meant to be an expression of her own trauma, or because the themes are about healing and condemning the act itself. Which is all well and good, but the problem is when you get into the issue of trying to police who can write about sexual violence, and in what way, and that is exactly what she was doing before. And that's also at the heart of why she's getting hate now. Every attempt to justify herself just gives more fuel to people who think you need to justify yourself for engaging in fandom a certain way.

And the thing is that KA shippers making the accusations will not see a difference, no matter how hard you try to insist that you're writing about dark topics in the "right" way. Neither they nor her have a right to decide who can write about dark topics and in what way. You can't engage in a good faith argument about how to be sensitive when shipping zutara with someone who thinks shipping it, period, is an irredeemable sin.

I know another component to this is that people are accusing her of racism because the fic involved Katara being assaulted by members of her own/sister tribe, or the idea of her being saved by Zuko. And the thing I will say about that is that while it is valid to express discomfort with those kinds of works or to speak against those particular tropes, it is NOT valid to attack someone over it or say they can't write that kind of fanfiction, or judge their intentions. I'm not going to speak about how indigenous people should feel about such content, but I am going to say that no one, regardless of their identity, has the authority to speak for an entire group of people.

I do understand the issue with the portrayal of violence within the indigenous community by someone who is not indigenous, and I understand the issue with depicting her being saved by someone outside that community. However, these arguments are being misused, because the people doing the arguing hate zutara in any form. If they really cared about the savior trope, they might examine how it is present in canon, with light-skinned Aang being the one to "save" Katara from languishing in the SWT so that she can learn waterbending. Especially considering how her homeland is depicted as backwards and Katara needing to escape it, something EIP parodies but which is still present itself in the narrative. One of the most recent posts made also screenshotted an old interaction where an indigenous fan accused a zutara shipper of "wanting Zuko to get on his wild side with Katara" on a post that said nothing that could possibly be interpreted that way. The post was about Zuko having Hakoda as an in law. The person who made the accusation made it because they hate zutara, not because the zutara shipper was actually being racist. And, I mean, if an indigenous person is caused so much pain by the very existence of a ship, the proper thing to do is not seek out content for that ship that is going to trigger you. Personal discomfort, even due to experiencing racism, does not mean you speak for an entire community. Especially one as wide and varied as "indigenous people," which describes a huge number of ethnic and cultural groups, not a monolith of people who all singularly feel the same about a cartoon ship from 2005.

If you asked an indigenous person not embroiled in fandom nonsense how they felt about these issues, I guarantee you they would not care about the ship war. Some might even be offended at the idea that Katara is even supposed to represent them, considering that her character is a mishmash of cultures and played by a white actress and talks like a white kid from California.

Which all boils down to the same thing. The only thing you can say is "this makes me personally uncomfortable." And the solution, although people may not want to hear it, is to not engage with that content. Nothing else. This was true back then, and it's still true now. And it's true for both sides.

If you want to know what indigenous authors have to say about the issue of representation, though, Sherman Alexie, Leslie Marmon Silko, and Gerald Vizenor have all been heavily criticized both within their indigenous communities and without, for their portrayal of violence, both against native people and native on native violence. For every person who says that intercommunity violence is "bad representation," there is also the opposite issue of the denial and victim blaming that also happens within these communities. In particular, Alexie has been accused both by people within and outside the community of writing a white savior narrative, when he was writing about his own experience, and the story is much more nuanced than that. (And yes, I'm aware of the allegations against Alexie, but that doesn't discount what he's had to say about his own experience, both in the ways he's spoken up about being tokenized by whites and the ways he was criticized for being "bad rep" within his own community).

And it's telling that some of the things I am seeing antis say now about the current fic is identical to what "well meaning" individuals said about the fic that was targeted years ago. And during that time, the author did not even speak up about why they wrote the fic. And I'm gonna say something else people might not like: they shouldn't have to.

Nobody has to justify why they wrote fanfiction or divulge information about their trauma, identity, or history, and the people demanding that are ALWAYS going to find a reason for why it's wrong for you to do what you are doing.

I'm seeing people say things like "but why did she have to write about Katara?"

Because fuck you, that's why.

This is the exact same argument leveled against porny fic. Whether your fic is meant to have a deeper moral point or not, the argument is the same. And you don't owe anyone an explanation.

But antis and radfems don't like that argument because they can't weaponize it.

[olderthannetfic]

I know with social media the way it is, and how horrible the us political climate is, that this sort of response to Audrey as an OTW candidate was probably just a ticking time bomb. But damn, I went to her actual Twitter, and honestly? She seems like one of those old-style, fiscal conservative Republicans who may want to change things from within the party, however unlikely that may be. She literally pointed out how small govt means less govt messing with our rights, and how the current Republican national party is hypocritical about that.

So many of her typical tweetings (?) are pretty socially progressive. If she's in deep south Missouri, it may be that she had to run Republican for any chance of changing things for the better in her local area.

I do not support Republicans as a whole. I think they ARE dragging the country to a horrific, fundamentalist grave. But she is an individual, and from what I can tell, supportive of lgbtq rights and freedom of speech on the internet. I likely would not have voted for her anyway, but nothing she has done or said so far has earned her the hate and vitriol she has received over such a short period.

Tiffany was ALSO not a CCP spy working for the Chinese govt. She was literally not even in confirmed to BE in China for fucks sake. Chinese people have been leaving the country in droves! Was she a good fit for the board? Hell no! But she wasn't voted in, was she?

I'm just so exhausted of people assuming the absolute worst and going on a hate campaign based off their own misinformed assumptions. This is not helping anyone see the "left" or "proshippers" or whatever our "side" is, as reasonable, helpful people.

I'm exhausted of defending people whose positions I don't even agree with, because the people I do "agree" with are acting so abhorrently.

What are your thoughts on this?

--

Yeah, that's my read on her in the context of local US politics. Running as an independent and then a Republican where she is is typical of people with her type of platform. It doesn't make her Fundie Satan.

Like Tiffany, there are plenty of different reasons not to vote for her, so we don't need to worry so much about the minutia of her political stances. Only if she were a great candidate but with a couple of red flags would we need to dig into this.

Like I said last year, working for OTW means having people assume the worst constantly and come for you with pitchforks. There are reasons it's not attractive above and beyond internal mismanagement. It's hard to get enough people to run for Board to even have a contested election. We usually do these days, but in the past, we often didn't. It was just people taking turns to jump on the grenade.

This kind of response to someone agreeing to the worst job in OTW just reaffirms that it's not worth it and discourages future candidates.

I think everyone should chillax and vote in somebody else.

ETA: and while this has been sitting in the queue, it has become a moot point anyway.

[confessyourship]

asking this here bc like, it seems like the best place to get a good concensus (from the proship side) that I could find:

i see a dni, and like it has 'antis dni'-- yeah fine whatever

however then immediately they also have, paraphrased:

'fictionkin and self-shippers don't interact because I don't want to interact with people who don't know reality from fiction'

and... am I wrong for finding this, among other things:

actually really abelist? even more confusing bc the blog was for disability advocacy but ig expressing your mental illness in that specific way is Wrong?

are you seriously gonna go into some fourteen year old's self insert fic and declare that they're a menace to society because they clearly can't tell 'fiction from reality'? apparently anyone who imagines themselves in their fave story can't tell fiction from reality? should we start to worry about every show with audience participation? and if they're excluded why is romance suddenly the deciding factor that apparently makes you completely unable to tell reality from fiction?

hypocritical for a proshipper to have that stance?? like do whatever you want.... but god forbid you identity strongly with a fictional character/ think you were one in a past life/ think you are one (something also strongly associated with other mental illnesses, btw-- and even if it's not then like... most people who kin aren't.... bad?), or even dare ship yourself with another character. THAT'S crossing a line to this person who, imo, on some level thinks people who ship themselves with their favorite blorbo must be completely deranged and can't tell what reality is

like I can kind of get the connection-- some antis can't tell fiction from reality, but... again, it just seems completely hypocritical to me to advocate for 'freedom of fiction' but have that strange of a line in the sand.

is this normal in proshipping circles? like in particular are any of ya'll this hostile to fictionkin people? like freedom of whatever ships you want until someone's too weird about something?

(also I swear to god I'm not trolling this was just the only blog I could find that I could really tell this to because 'self shippers can't tell fiction from reality' has been on my mind all week)

🩷

[rinthelonely]

Twilight struggled against the strong grip on his wrist, but the hold didn't loosen at all. He watched as the free hand reached for a dagger. "Let's see who you really are, Hero of Twilight."

The intensity behind the red eyes shook Twilight to his very soul. Unlike the first time, he could tell that there was no intention to kill. If the shadow wanted him dead it would have done so minutes ago.

He felt sharp pain on his index finger. The shadow's gaze moved to his finger to watch the blood flow. Then a wide grin was on its face. Out of foolish curiosity, Twilight moved his eyes to see what got the shadow so pleased.

He... was bleeding black blood?

"Well, would you look at that." Twilight wasn’t sure what to make of the shadow's tone. It sounded sinister, plotting, but there was an odd edge fondness.

"W-what did you do to me?" The red eyes moved to stare at his eyes. For a while, there was just heavy silence. Even the night life didn't dare break it in the shadow's presence. The only witness to this sight was the full moon in the sky.

"I didn't do anything, little darkling." A hand made vague motions in the air as the shadow seemed to contemplate what to say next. "I just... lessened your connection with the goddesses a little."

Twilight stared at the shadow with skeptical eyes. He doubted that it was able to do that so it had to be a lie. A lie which encouraged to know the truth.

"What do you know?" Twilight foolishly walked into the obvious trap, and he saw the pleased smile on the shadow's face. "I know who you really descend from."

He felt the shock freeze his body. Before he could even open his mouth, the shadow was talking again: "I know what you're going to say. And I can tell you that the Hero of Time was never your ancestor. Have you seen him bleed black blood? No, you haven't. Have you seen him keeping a closer eye on you after your group's first encounter with me? Maybe you have, but do you know the reason? No, you don't."

Twilight managed to get his hand free from the painful grip, finally. He drew his sword and pointed it at the shadow. "Why should I believe your words? I know who I am and you can't change my thoughts on my true heritage!" Although, he had to admit that there was a small seed of doubt in his heart.

The shadow started to laugh maniacally.

"Goodness, he manipulated really well if you truly believe that that hypocrite is your ancestor!" It kept on laughing and made a motion of wiping away a fake tear. "I should tell you that he is the reason why the goddesses got their hands on you is because of the Hero of Time killing your real ancestor."

Twilight's stance faltered slightly. He was certain that the shadow was saying lies, and he hated that it actually managed to get under his skin. He was a Hero of Courage, he shouldn't listen to the lies of a shadow being.

"Be honest, little darkling, you have always felt more at home in the shadows than in the light, haven't you?" That... Twilight couldn't deny that. The shadows offered comfort when he needed to unwind or just wanted to be alone.

The shadow closed its eyes. And it seemed to mumble some kind of prayer.

"What are you doing?" Twilight has never cursed his curiosity more than tonight. The only reason why he was in this situation was because of his cursed curiosity.

"Giving a vow to your ancestor." There was an odd tone in the answer that said 'shouldn't it be obvious what I'm doing'.

Twilight knew that he should have used this moment to either attack or get backup. But he was just standing there like an idiot waiting for something to happen.

And something did eventually happen.

Everything seemed to happen simultaneously. There was an open portal, there was a strong grip on his arm and there was struggling.

"There is no need to fight, little darkling, I will teach you everything you need to know, I'll tell you about your heritage. And I promised to take good care of you." There was a glint of insanity in the shadow's eyes, and at that moment Twilight wondered when was the last time he felt such primal fear.

And that was how Twilight's night ended. Scared and forced through a portal, leaving no evidence of their encounter.

------------------------------------------

Need context? Look at the post before this one. Need more specific context? Look at the comments. Will I continue this? Find out next summer.

Honestly, I don't know yet if I'm gonna continue or if I'm going to leave this as a funny little one shot.

I really wanted to punch Dink in the face towards the end, he's such an asshole.

[leahnardo-da-veggie]

A Tale of Love, Death and Maggots, part 19-G

Parts 1-15, 16-G, 17-G, 18-G

The monster hissed, rearing back as though she'd struck it. “And you, little coward? Would you truly wish to suffer for all eternity in the name of an ungrateful whelp, a naive fool and a lying, thieving witch? Would you make that sacrifice? Would you, truly?”

There was an edge to her voice now, as though she were afraid. As though we had wounded her somehow. I stepped forward, ready to back Mrin up, ready to fight for what I believed. I took a deep breath. By some trick of the weather or the presence of the woman I loved by my side, I found the strength to do something, for once. 

“Begone, foul beast. You're not welcome here. Athena might be an ingrate, but goodness knows I've been one too. Brett's naive, sure, but look who's standing here trying to save two dead people? And yes, Mrin lied, but we've all done that. Any sin they've committed I've done tenfold. Any flaw they hold in their hearts, I hold in mine too. Any thing I would condemn them for would make me a hypocrite.”

“Nonsense, child. You had a reason to do what you did. You're different from them. See, boy?” Her voice was wheedling, weaker and weaker. We were… winning, somehow.

“And? So what? They had their reasons too. And even if they didn't, would it truly change anything? They're family. That word doesn't mean anything to you, does it? I love them. I love them all enough to plunge myself through hell and back again. I love them enough to face the greatest of monsters for them. I love them, and that love is damn well greater than anything you could possibly summon!”

“So give us back our kids, damn you, and crawl back to whatever dimension you came from. Go away and hope you never come across love again, because it can and will burn you to ash.”

Not-Athena laughed, a vicious, deep-bellied noise, and I felt my hope wither. What did we think we were doing? She wasn't hurt at all. We couldn't make rot bleed, the same way you couldn't kill death. And now we were going to pay for our hubris.

“Mortals, mortals, mortals. Always so confident in love. I am the One That Lurks Beneath Rotting Flesh, and nothing so pathetic as true love can stop me. I know what love is. I've felt in my bones. When I gulped down my worshippers, their love filled my stomach and made me warm. What makes you think yours could be any different?”

I spat at the ground before her. The gesture reminded me of Athena. It reminded me of her ferocity, her defiance, that sheer doggedness that would shift mountains. I needed some of that right there and then. “First off, I don't love you. If you gulped me down, I'd burn your innards all the way and give each and every one of your disgusting little maggots a stomach ache.”

I shifted my stance, lowering my centre of gravity the way Brett did. I could use some of his bravery then, some of the faith he held in his heart, that unshakable kindness that should have protected us all. “Second of all, Love doesn't destroy. It creates. It protects. It nurtures. It is the antithesis of love. What you felt was mere worship.”

I grabbed Mrin's hand and clenched it. Oh, how I prayed her wisdome and insight would strike home one last time. Oh, how I prayed whatever black magic she had dabbled in would ring true. Oh, how I prayed our love would be enough. “Thirdly, by the power invested in us, the strength of love, faith and hope, we bind you away, One That Lurks Beneath Rotting Flesh! Begone!”

Taglist: @coffeeangelinabox, @dorky-pals, @calliecwrites, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @shukei-jiwa

@thewingedbaron, @pluppsauthor, @cowboybrunch, @wylloblr, @possiblyeldritch

@tragedycoded, @finickyfelix, @urnumber1star, @ratedn, @ramwritblr

@vampirelover890, @possiblylisle, @illarian-rambling, @the-ellia-west, @differentnighttale

@evilgabe29, @glitched-dawn, @rivenantiqnerd, @dragonhoardesfandoms, @xenascribbles

@drchenquill, @everythingismadeofchaos, @dimitrakies, @beloveddawn-blog

@riveriafalll, @the-golden-comet, @rascaronii, @trippingpossum, @real-fragments

@unrepentantcheeseaddict, @the-inkwell-variable, @paeliae-occasionally, @an-indecisive-nerd, @thecomfywriter

@seastarblue, @wyked-ao3

(Anyone else who wants to get added can tell me in the comments, pm me, or send me an ask about it!)

[rx-aysgl]

On Kyle's Side: My Personal Take on Cartman And Kyle's Dynamic From Kyle's Point Of View

This is a four part essay in which i explore Cartman and Kyle's relationship, focusing primarily on Kyle's perspective. As said, i have broken it down into four different parts titled:

Sense of Identity

Martyr Complex and Competitiveness

Cartman

Their Relationship

There will be an extra chapter where i will make some additional commentary.

Hope you guys enjoy.

1. Sense of Identity and Selfishness

In the show Kyle is always concerned about “doing the right thing”, at least that's what he likes to tell himself. Though in reality, he is extremely selfish when push comes to shove and the reason for that stems from his constant questioning of his own identity and his stance in things. This makes him come off as rather inconsistent in a lot of ways. As a result, Kyle feels very lost. So what does he do? He decides to base his opinions and feelings and thoughts off of his environment because his own existance overwhelms him so much (eg. the "Tooth Fairy Tats 2000" episode). This puts him into this vicious cycle where he keeps getting lost even more due to not being able to pinpoint his own frame of thought and latching onto the external world that consists of many different people who have found their own way in life who also keep changing constantly and thus leaving all kinds of contradicting impressions on him. Throughout the series we see him try to change his apparence, religion, even his personality for the sake of fitting in (this also correlates to his martyr complex which i will get to). He creates this moral code for himself that he conditions himself to stick to in order to find his own identity and feel a sense of belonging but the sheer inconsistency of said moral code causes him to come off as indecisive, sometimes as a people pleaser and sometimes a hypocrite.

His defiance of a stable frame of mind pushes him to act on instinct and his momentary emotions while his refusal of self-acceptance causes him to distance his true self from others he considers close to him (Stan), hence the selfishness. It makes sense because how could someone get close to another when he can't even make peace with his own identity?

The reason i am mentioning this is to point out that since Cartman is so extreme in his beliefs and deliberately commits so many evil and selfish deeds, Kyle is obsessively drawn to him because it is so easy to call out and oppose him. Their polarity makes Kyle feel a sense of self he doesnt allow himself to truly make peace with and sugarcoat how fucked up he can be just like all the people in South Park that have wronged him but not enough to channel these feelings into. Cartman keeps Kyle grounded. Just like basically every other kid in the show, Kyle has done terrible things but he is so concerned about being right that he has to have Cartman by his side to make him escape from his own inner conflicts by reflecting it directly onto Cartman, the one person he is actually much more similar to more than he likes to think but he can only subconsciously acknowledge it.

2. Martyr Complex and Competitiveness

Another very essential aspect we need to pay attention to is Kyle's martyr complex. Kyle feels the need to not only to do the right thing but also to “sacrifice himself” for it. He is so self righteous to the point that not only does he not acknowledge his own flaws he also thinks he has to be and is some kind of heroic figure to others (eg. "Ginger Cow"), though this is more subtle compared to the other aspects of his personality.

The martyr complex causes Cartman to be seen as an even easier target than he already is and Cartman is more than willing to exploit Kyle for it hence feeding his very own complexes. They mutually feed off of each other to the point they are obsessed with each other and need each other. I would also like to point out that Kyle often shares some of his most vulnerable moments when Cartman is by his side in a suprising way (eg. choosing to stay by Cartman's side in the "You're Getting Old" and "Ass Burgers" episodes as an escape from Stan's depression at the time, crying with Cartman in "Kenny Dies" etc.) and vice versa. Though this is hard to notice on Cartman's side because Kyle conveys his vulnerability via confusion, sadness and desparation whereas Cartman does so via anger, jealousy and revenge.

3. Cartman

Cartman chastising Kyle like this most likely stems from how he believes Kyle was the catalyst to how fucked up he turned out to be due to his constant agression and bullying towards him in the earlier seasons, where he was mostly just a spoiled brat and nowhere near as bad as he is now. His pent up fury leads Cartman to also feel an extreme amount of envy towards Kyle with the reason of Cartman being a little more capable than Kyle at recognizing how him and Kyle share many similarities (being very emotionally driven, selfishness, neuroticism, stubbornnes, a habit of denying their own mistakes) who is in full denial of it on a conscious level. Cartman does try to get closer to Kyle and also the rest of his friends and seek their validation in the earlier seasons but as time goes by he realizes more and more that Kyle does not get the same treatment as him regardless.

Therefore, Cartman blames Kyle for his suffering and takes it all out on him in various disgusting ways because he thinks that Kyle deserves all the terrbile things happening to him.

It is very important to take into consideration how abhorrent Cartman's upbringing was and how influential it is to the way he feels towards Kyle. All of his childhood; he was raised with all kinds of abuse, neglect, extensive bullying and was depraved of almost all positive emotions. The result of this is Cartman ending up percieving positive emotions in a very traumatized, distorted and disturbing way. With this gradual build-up and "Scott Tennorman Must Die" being his breaking point by spreading fear to all of South Park and feeling an overwhelming amout of attention on him that he craved so much, Cartman ultimately comes to the conclusion that he can only and only validate himself by inflicting negativity on others. Independent from being conventionally "positive" or "negative" emotions, post-Scott Tennorman Cartman correlates all of his emotions to seeking attention and asserting himself as much as he can in means of a defense mechanism and in means of validating his own existance. His real feelings are filtered through a broken perspective, of which are conveyed intensely to the people he feels strongly about like Kyle or Liane.

How this all comes back to Kyle lies in the fact that Cartman also "benefits" from the way Kyle caters to his own problems via their seemingly very polarized relationship, not only does Cartman keep Kyle grounded as mentioned but Kyle does keep Cartman grounded as well.

At this point, their individual vicious cycles have become one, a constant play of cat and mouse; with both of them unable to differentiate which one is which, ever chasing.

4. Their Relationship

Describing their feelings towards each other as solely hate wouldn’t do justice to the times they tried so hard to keep the other in their lives (eg. the "Smug Alert" and "Skank Hunt" episodes) not only for the sake of just existing in each others lives or keeping in touch etc. but also to keep each other in their individual loops they are in, of which they cannot maintain with anyone else.

As a consequence Kyle and Cartman’s mutual obsession with each other leads them to go such lengths as saving each other multiple times. However, since there is a perpetual competitiveness between them due to Cartman's evny towards Kyle and Kyle's insatiable need to prove himself to be better than Cartman, they simply cannot stand each other’s happiness, especially if it involves someone really close to them, like a partner. Cartman ruining Kyle's potential romantic relationship with Nicole in "Cartman Finds Love" and Kyle trying to ruin Cartman's relationship with Heidi in "Doubling Down" and Kyle being unable to appreciate Cartman finally changing his ways for good and having a loving relationship and family in the Post Covid specials are all examples of both of them selfishly trying to involve the other in their own issues they should be able to deal with on their own, only have they not been such self absorbed people.

Their rivalry brings out the best and the worst in each other and they both know deep down that they are just like each other and they both hate it and feel an odd sense of comfort in it. That is exactly the reason why they simply cannot stand when the one of them goes on to have a happier life than the other. Not only do they feel as if they have lost some kind of battle but they also feel abandoned when it happens.

Extra Thoughts:

I find their relationship to be extremely complex and honest to god it has my multi media overthinker ass climbing up the walls and shitting furnitures. They are my favorite characters in the show and analyzing both of them was such treat to me. Due to some things i have mentioned in this essay especially on the last chapter, you can interpret some of them in the same vein as some kind of shipping subtext, even though this essay is essentially written in means of sheerly exploring this dynamic as it is. I honestly like keeping things really ambigious without necessarily categorizing relationships as romantic or platonic but if written properly i can enjoy both renditions of this relationship.

In order to clarify some things, i can enjoy romantic kyman ONLY AND ONLY in the condition of Cartman bettering himself over the years. I know it would be really difficult and may seem impossible to most of you but i find it an interesting and challenging story to think about and create content for. I believe that Eric is forever gonna stay as an asshole and i do not expect him to become an angel in the future. However I also think of him to be a really traumatized 8 year old, who is a really fucked up product of his really fucked up environment, a child who is smart enough to learn to be a better person, especially to those he values as his friends if given the proper opportunity. I do not think that their relationship will ever be a conventionally and classically an ideal one, especially from an outsider's perspective but Kyle and Cartman (and the entirety of South Park's cast) are both very far from being ideal human beings in the first place. At the end of the day, relationships can be very complex and unhealthy in real life, they always come in different colors and shapes. It is okay to explore a relationship in fiction without thinking it is the ideal relationship or the relationship you want to have in your own lives. It is okay to explore a relationship because it is interesting and well-written. This is what media literacy is all about.

As a disclaimer before some dumbass ship discourse happens, there are ofc some lines not to cross like the romanticization of inc*st, p*dophilia, r*pe and things like ww2 aus and shit btw. That being said, if you cannot separate fiction and reality to the extent i talked about in the previous chapter, this is your stupidity. Stop making it everybody's fucking problem.

anyways im gonna be extra deadass rn if someone gave me a 100k word long collage au that is written properly i would eat that shit up like theres no tomorrow. it doesnt even have to be romantic i just want more of them they are so interesting 😭😭😭 they also funny as fuck so the 2012 yaoi becomes even funnier. what a great dynamic godzamn 😭😭😭😭

Thanks for reading!!!

[madame-fear]

Okay, so. Yesterday I received a rather extent anon message blaming me for, apparently, “not being neutral in the drama” because I’m mutuals with someone that had little involvement in the situation I think, and as I found out today, my mutual already clarified things and apologised.

I left my answer to the ask in the drafts, but today I opted to ignore the message and remove the drafted answer. I did this not only because I wanted to drop things already and not stir up any more shit, but also because I have a condition where I constantly tremble, and any extreme emotion — whether it’s good or bad — makes my shaking worsen to the point I can barely function even for basic things and I feel sick in the stomach.

It wasn’t worth going through that. I thought it would be better to answer ask messages of people ranting, or asking things about it that were within the reach of my knowledge.

Until today, that a burner account named @/quillantrophy (which, they accidentally exposed their real account @/wewereforever in one of their screenshots and now they both deactivated), thought they could do a “call out” post... Posting my answers to anon asks & basically treating me as a hypocrite over nothing?

And they said I should explain things because since I wasn’t commenting on anything they said on the post, I was “adding fuel to the fire” (that exact quote). I didn’t have time to explain things at the moment, but I do now and I will answer bit by bit. I will do this just to avoid possible misunderstandings.

I want to clarify that I don’t feel comfortable getting involved in things that I’ve never been involved in— and if I receive more messages about the drama itself, those messages will be deleted. I feel kind of bad about this since people have only been coming to my ask box asking thing about it confuses, or seeking comfort from the moment, but like we’ve been saying, it’s better to drop things already, and focus on the good things inside the fandom.

The answer to the post is below the cut. It’s going to be long, sorry, but I prefer to clear any misunderstandings. And I will highlight something extremely important down below, besides apologising deeply for any misunderstanding. And this is the last time I will be talking about it

“there’s no issue with this, but she claims to be neutral and is currently explaining/advocating on the situation whilst adopting this stance.” I am neutral on the situation. I will eternally remain neutral because as we’ve seen, neither side is good.

As I’ve said before, Cal had little to do with all of this huge mess. From what I learned today, she already clarified and apologised about the situation. Cal was dragged through the mud by both of the groups out of nowhere, and she also fell for their shit so she was fooled by them just like lots of other people— she told me herself.

“This is bullshit, there’s no transparency” huh? what does that even mean,, I just… Literally don’t have any involvement at all? What can I say or do about it? Both groups of people were already on my blocklist since last year lmao.

“She has connection to the drama purely through this even as she apparently didn’t participate — allegedly.” I’m sorry but the allegedly part is killing me too. I wasn’t even on their Discord groups, nor talked to any of the people involved, explain why the word ‘allegedly’ was even added?

also, how the hell am I supposed to be connected to the drama if, as you said, I didn’t even participate in it, only because I’m mutuals with someone who was named in it? What kind of sense does that make?

As I stated above, I am, and always have been a neutral onlooker about the situation, who explained the situation to the confused people, even posting the links with the full info and proof to not spread incorrect information accidentally.

“Does @bucknastysbabe even know or care you’re slamming her on main and then love bombing her the next?” Cal knows about all your post, and all my answers to each ask regarding the situation.

She knows I hadn’t seen her apology/clarifying video until today. She even cheered me up when I had an anxiety attack after this person made this post, only to then delete it and deactivate the account. So, yes, she knows pretty much everything and she knows it was a mere mistake of mine.

Then, the person posted this. I will show the screenshots of what they said, and what answered ask they were referring to using their own SS.

(sorry if the screenshot pics are switched of their right places) I had no idea that was a direct quote from Cal’s apology video, because I OBVIOUSLY HADN’T SEEN IT. I don’t know how else to stress this, but I’m not chronically online, and neither I see everything my mutuals post.

Either way, I literally re-read my own response to check what I had answered, and this was terribly misunderstood. The only response I had about Cal’s statement was “why am I not surprised?”, and in the rest of my response, I tried to be as neutral as possible— in the rest of my response, I was referring to the general situation of the drama, and in fact I was mostly referring to the things Bel, Fae, Em and Ange said + did.

But nothing else, thats it, because I wanted to speak about the situation in general and I was referring to the group of people— I didn’t name names and neither I referenced Cal’s statement any further. I deeply apologise for the misunderstanding, but sometimes I explain myself awfully mostly because English isn’t my native language.

if this was considered with any possible ill intention at all, I offer once again my most sincere apologies. I never had any bad intention, and the only thing I’ve been doing was answer the asks of the people who came to my ask box inquiring about what had happened, try to offer comfort to those who felt disappointed and heartbroken, and in general just try to provide as much positivity as I could amidst the terrible situation.

Some believe I was trying to gain attention from the situation, and that I was stroking the flames of the drama. I at no cost even thought of ‘getting attention’ from it, or that I was actually getting attention, I simply answered the messages I was receiving to interact with my own followers— I mean, it didn’t feel good to leave them hanging.

I do have to take responsibility that perhaps my actions continued to keep the drama up, but again, I never had this intention, and I’m terribly sorry if that’s what my answers and interactions caused.

Please I do hope you guys understand my point of view, and that I never intended for any of this to be understood in the wrong manner. I have to admit that despite all the lovely people and fun moments I had/have in the fandom, it’s also responsible for worsening my condition the 90% of the times due to the unnecessary drama, and this situation today made me feel extremely bad physically as it automatically involved me in a situation I didn’t want to be involved in, nor have anything to do with it.

And that’s why, from now on, I won’t be answering any message related to the drama anymore to not keep mentioning the things that happened. As I said all the way above, we should currently be focusing only on the good, positive things of the fandom— and hopefully, we will all learn to not be rude or gossip about other people over mere fandoms, or fanfanfiction.

Then again, thank you for reading and understanding. If I expressed myself wrongly anywhere in here, please feel free to ask me about it and I will glady re-explain it. I hope this can clear everything, and please, I don’t want to be involved any further in anything.

[herdsworldbuilding]

So despite my own personal statements regarding my dislike for complex, multiverse like narratives. I am infact like most people, a hypocrite.

So let me talk about my multiverse narrative.

This is a project I started sometime in high school, and it keeps changing every year that I work on it. I think it may be the project where I have done the most overhauls on.

There is no garentee I will not overhaul it entirely again in the future. But that will be then, this is now.

So even though it is a constantly changing project, I will share the oldest remaining a (and most consistent part of this project) Witches.

Witches are rare, shapeshifting beings. Able to transform into many things. Though they all have a unique familiar.

This familiar is what they are named for… ie the wolf witch, the chameleon witch or the cat witch, gryphon witch So on and so forth.

Witches for this setting are not born they are made. Quite purposely mind you. As it would be difficult if not impossible to make a witch without all parties consenting to it.

A consensual deal with the devil per-say.

The reason for this is because of how magic naturally works.

There are three kinds of majics. Major majics, middle magics and minor magics.

Under normal circumstances stances major magics like the kind that witches perform are deadly to most beings so minor magics are instead used

See even with minor magic it is done by cooperating with several people at a time. Usually the safest minimum is three individuals. Two to cast one to keep watch. The safest large amount of individuals is somewhere around twelve as any more and it tends to be a too many cooks in the kitchen ordeal.

Magic can be performed alone, but it is difficult and likely to backfire. Especially with the more magic you are dealing with. Or in other words the closer to major majics one gets.

Crafting with magic is slightly less risky but not as potent when done alone, and there’s several ways to do this sort of crafting… but before I get off track.

Witches are the exception to casting magic on thier own, they can just throw it around whillynilly all they want. This is because of one simple fact:

A witch is never alone.

That is because witches make themselves. when they fuse their bodies and consciousness together with others. This horrific process results in a single individual and an offshoot (the familiar)

This individual, with multiple consciousness, two to cast one to watch. Can perform magic as they wish.

Witches like this draw magic from the worlds around them and from themselves, and that is where this whole multiverse thing comes in.

Magic is everywhere and in everything there is life.

And the majority of witches come from and live in the place where dead universes combined. To be melted together and reused until the end of magic. This place. The place where dreams are made and go to die. As it has always been, and never will be. Is connected to everything. The cosmic ocean if you will. The roots of the world tree. The brackish world. The home of the many gates.

So it’s from here that a witch can fulfill their greatest purpose.

See when a witch create themselves they also creat a magic system (middle majics). A way to easily harness that energy so normally inaccessible to most.

Normally a magic system will be used by the witch themselves.

For example the Chameleon Witch upholds a magic system that relies on color, change the color of a thing and change the way that thing fundamentally interacts with life.

The chameleon witch uses their system when they perform magic.

But others can also buy into a witche’s system. Usually the inhabitants of the brackish worlds may buy into a witches system in order to perform magic in an easier way.

But that’s the less interesting option.

The more interesting system occurs when a real world, floating out in the spiderwebs of the cosmos decided to try magic.

If there is enough magic around (at least a 1.7 on my scale) and individuals start to pull on magic. There is a high chance that instead of pulling on nothing they find a witch’s path that’s already been thread. As it is easier to walk the path already taken than bushwhack a new one.

Some systems are more popular to buy into than others. Like the dragon witches elemental system. Or the black witches deal making system.

A magic planet can buy into multiple systems at a time, usually having them fuse into something unique. But they can stay separate too or expand in ways unknown to the witch themselves until they learn of this new idea.

The old sort of magic the kind that sings universes into being, still exists and could in theory be used by anyone in a world with enough magic to notice the fabric of order and chaos that the witches use to create themselves. But why do that when your system lets you throw fire balls? Or even find the mysteries of the universe in the equally impressive minor magics? (I mean the name is deceptive, this magic can be used to revive the dead, grant wishes and control entire worlds of used in the right place by the right “people”, it’s the magic of gods and “soft magic systems”)

The thing about witches (and magic system as an extension) is that they are mortal. Majic is an immortal force of existence. To exist is to be just a bit of majic.

But witches are mortal and so they can die. And with them the system they upheld dies too. In some cases a similar system belonging to another witch may fill the void, but otherwise the system dies.

The likelihood of a witch dying is slim though. They are mortal, but they are also ageless, as by the rules of the chaos at the ends of existence. Where things like time and scale and gravity don’t behave as they should. From where you can watch the countless ends and existences die and begin again in universes uncountable. As gods and giants and cosmic dragons forge worlds and multiverses of their own volition. And elder things play games and battle over the scraps and threads of thier own universes that they wish to forge into new existences. Doing anything they can to prevent existences from falling into the place that witches live.

Speaking of dragons and elder things: witches follow dragons, because cosmic dragons are especially good at destruction and creation. (Chaos incarnate, along with their siblings who are Order incarnate) So if a witch wishes to place her magic system in a particular place she will give it to a dragon who will go to a world and from there spread life and magic that they carry to that world.

Elder things know, they tend to have lived through the birth and rebirth of several universes. So they are especially good at learning and unknowning. They are usually the ones responsible for changing the ways a system interacts with the world around it.

A Witches counterpart is a Muse, witches write the rules of magic, Muses write the paths of things.

[kob131]

Am I wrong for thinking Wendee Lee was in the right in regards to that Yourichi situation?

No. I don't necessarily agree with you but you're not wrong to think that.

From what I understand, the situation is that the original dub VA for Yoruichi from Bleach was replaced by a second VA, then the 1st complained to a bunch of VAs supporting the first and then the second got reinstated.

My problem is that I am seeing two conflicting and incompatible stances on VAs. The first that I've always seen is that VAs should be considered when the roles are recast and that it's generally kind of dickish to not contact them for their roles. The second which ordinarily makes the most sense to me is that the VAs don't own the right to voice the characters and the employers can do as they wish.

So I have no idea what the standard is to judge people by on this topic. And I don't have any experience with the ethics behind this situation so I don't know how to judge it.

From a quick glance, I can say-

A. Lee did a stupid thing by bitching at her colleges. They aren't even attacking her- just wishing the second VA well. Also she's a hypocrite, defending the recast back to her by claiming 'it happens all the time'.

B. The people calling the second VA a 'diversity hire' are REALLY not helping their side. There is no proof they were hired for their skin color unless you assume a non-white voice actor can only be hired for their skin color.

And C. The other side is NOT any better. They immediately began singing the mantra of 'Minority characters can only be voiced by minorities/minorities shoud be prioritized for voice acting minorities!' Which is immensely racist because a VOICE is not limited to your race you fucking racists.

Tl;Dr-