#WoC = Word of Canon

[latias-eevee-hatori]

OTL

When you make up an abbreviated AO3 fic tag but forget what it means.

...

[burst-of-iridescent]

i've written before about how fire lady katara isn't an inherently disempowering or racist trope, as have many others, but lately i've been thinking about how arguments against fire lady katara often tend to utilise a surface-level interpretation of colonial trauma.

[edit: this post will use the term "colonial trauma" because those who argue against fire lady katara usually use the same wording or are referring to that concept. but it's important to note that according to show canon, the fire nation did not colonize the southern water tribe and zuko and katara did not have a colonizer/colonized relationship.]

antis who present this argument usually posit that marrying zuko would be a form of re-traumatization for katara, while marrying aang would "protect" her. katara is supposedly more shielded from confronting the impact of colonization in the southern water tribe or on air temple island than she would be with zuko in the fire nation, which contextualizes colonial trauma purely through the lens of physical interaction with the colonial power (ie. living in the fire nation or looking after the people of the fire nation). whether intended or not, this argument inadvertently limits colonial trauma to the geographical boundaries of the colonizing country and implies that it can be reduced or averted solely by minimizing contact with said country.

even leaving aside that we have seen katara in the fire nation (and enjoying herself there), the implication here is that active engagement with a colonial power as a member of colonized peoples is an inherent form of re-traumatization... which i take issue with for multiple reasons.

firstly, katara lives in a world that has been permanently shaped and changed by imperialism, and that's going to affect her no matter where she goes. sequestering herself in the south pole her whole life and never seeing a glimpse of fire nation red again won't allow katara to escape the legacy of colonization or the trauma it has caused her, because its influence is rooted in everything from her family to her tribe to her own bending. believe me, i understand the appeal of a world where women of colour can avoid reckoning with the impact of colonization by simply never setting foot in the colonizing country again, and why people might be uncomfortable with zutara individually as a result - but i can't accept it as a valid argument against the ship, because that's just not how colonial trauma works.

secondly, the idea that this "protects" katara reeks of paternalism because katara is not a character who chooses her path simply based on how safe or comfortable it is. if that was the case, she would never have left the southern water tribe at all! she could've remained there her whole life and likely been safe, since the fire nation had no real interest in the south pole any longer. katara is fundamentally defined by how relentlessly revolutionary she is - over and over, she chooses to do what is right, what is hard, what is unexpected, even at cost to herself. she challenges injustice and discrimination and bigotry; she fights for the downtrodden and speaks for those who can't speak for themselves; she will never ever turn her back on the people who need her. does that truly sound like someone who needs to be hid away and protected from her own supposed re-traumatization?

thirdly - and i fully accept that there are those who might disagree with this - katara actively choosing to engage with her colonial trauma can be empowering just as it can be traumatizing. don't get me wrong: as a woc and a minority in my own country, i understand how tiring it is to do this. i understand the exhaustion of confronting what was done to you and your people, of facing down bigotry over and over. i understand the desire to run away from it all, and why it can be wish fulfilment for others to let katara do so. i really, really do.

but there is also wish fulfilment in letting katara fight, as a brown girl with power and resources that few brown girls in the real world hold. there is a power fantasy in seeing katara head into the belly of the beast and emerging triumphant. there is empowerment to be found in seeing katara struggle with racism and ignorance and mindless hate to enact change - and succeed. i love reading and writing about katara unpacking her trauma regarding the fire nation, about growing to love the place she once hated, about reconciling both her homes and healing from the wounds of her childhood.

and ultimately, i think that's what katara would want for herself. after throwing herself head first into the fight against the fire nation, after facing down her greatest trauma instead of letting it consume her, after helping and protecting the people of the fire nation, after refusing to let the fire nation take anything else from her - i firmly believe that the last thing katara would do is allow herself to be ruled by the fire nation instead of being the one ruling it.

personally, i find that a more hopeful and victorious narrative than one where she remains safe and sheltered away from the fire nation, but forever haunted and dictated by her trauma. would that be realistic? perhaps. but the entire point of foiling katara with characters like jet and hama is to show that she's not doomed to be mired in the pain of her past. that where their stories could only end in tragedy, hers can - and does - end in hope for something better, as she always believed it could.

[sapphicscholar]

CW discussion of racism, kink, transphobia, and sexual violence in fan works

Look, I wish this wasn’t something I had to say in 2024 in a space (fandom) that touts itself as queer and feminist and progressive but:

1) Kink is not a cover for forsaking sexual ethics. Just because a character is into something doesn’t mean that consent falls away as a concern or that their desires and pleasures outweigh their partner(s)’ needs and wants. Fic can be a space to explore desires that you’ve never actually lived—yes!—but that means it’s also a space for listening and learning from those who may chime in to say “this kind of behavior isn’t okay.” It’s okay not to know in advance, but redress needs to involve proper tagging and/or changing tracks with the way you write these kinds of dynamics

2) If you show a character saying “no,” “stop,” and “I don’t want this” on the page, particularly without any discussions (shown or implied) beforehand that would turn this sexual encounter into a carefully negotiated sexual scene with its own safe words or escape plan, the sex that follows is not consensual. That is rape. Even if you believe your characters love and desire each other, one person’s willfully ignoring another’s demand that they stop is rape. Full stop. And choosing to passive aggressively respond to a comment requesting proper tagging by noting that the chapter contains “very trace elements of dub-con” is actually far more disconcerting and harmful than not tagging it at all. I am decidedly not saying these works can’t exist, but proper tagging and acknowledgment of what is on the page (even when it’s your OTP) is necessary.

3) While reiterating that I am not opposed to the existence of works that don’t mesh with my personal politics or sexual interests, I want fans to sit with the question of why it is almost always women of color (and often woc who are conventionally feminine in canon) who are made in fic to occupy particularly violent and misogynistic butch/masc identities, transmasculinity, and/or gender fuck/play and who are written as enacting forms of sexual violence or other forms of harm on their white cis femme partners. Ask yourself why these characters are so often cast in these roles even when they are so far from anything like it in canon. (And tbc these are critical self reflections that should include but also extend well beyond baseline facts like the fact that trans and gender nonconforming people, esp trans and gnc folks of color, are far more likely to be the victims than the perpetrators of intimate partner violence.)

A wide variety of stories can and should exist in and outside of fan spaces. I’m not saying they shouldn’t! But nothing exists outside of its social contexts, and failing to be attentive to these larger questions is actively harmful to so many people for whom spaces of imaginative creativity should be a liberating and welcoming venue.

[marauderstars]

Ways J.K Rowling did poc dirty in canon:

Making the last name of one of her most powerful black characters “Shacklebolt” - a crude af reference to slavery and just in very poor taste.

Naming her only east Asian character “Cho Chang” - a Korean surname as a first name for a Chinese character - proving she did no research whatsoever into Chinese naming traditions.

Cho’s characterization also leans in to the trope of tragic Asian female characters being defined by their romantic connections to white men, as in “Miss Saigon” or “A Quiet American.” Cho’s storyline centers on her romantic involvement with Cedric, Harry and Roger Davies. She gets no meaningful arc of her own.

The sidekick-ification of Lee Jordan.

Michael Corner being referred to as “the dark one” which is bad enough, and then him being whitewashed in the films.

Pansy Parkinson’s comment about Angelina Johnson’s braided hair looking like “worms” goes completely unpunished. Rowling treats this as standard bullying instead of a racially-charged comment. Rowling clearly didn’t understand the serious implications of this comment and its rooting in deeply-ingrained discrimination against black hairstyles, or she would have written a similar reaction to this as she did to that of Hermione being called a “Mudblood.”

House Elves as a metaphor for slaves is highly problematic because they are depicted as “liking” their enslavement and being complicit in it, much like the black slaves in “Gone With The Wind.” Despite Dobby being a beloved character, he is also seen as an anomaly for desiring freedom, and many other House Elves are depicted as grotesque, fawning, ridiculous or sinister. Pretty garbage metaphor for black slaves.

In Goblet of Fire Rowling describes a group of “African” wizards wearing “long white robes” and “roasting what looked like a rabbit on a bright purple fire.” This is just… *sigh* The way this is worded is very clearly just token exoticism and includes no genuine detail about their clothing, cultural food or nationality. It’s just “wow those zany rabbit-eating Africans and their purple fire.” Once again black characters are being used as examples of otherness rather than shown as human beings.

Rowling has openly admitted that she created a detailed backstory for Dean Thomas, one of the series’ few black characters, but did not include it in the books and included the backstory of Neville Longbottom, a white character, instead.

Approving the casting of a white actress in the role of Lavender Brown in the films, a character the majority of readers assumed was black.

The portrayal of Blaise Zabini’s “famously beautiful” black mother who was known for offing her husbands and taking their money. Like. Come on. Tbh she sounds like a queen but violent woc gold digger is still a shit trope.

Just the entire treatment of the Patil twins at the Yule Ball, the way Harry and Ron treated them and Rowling’s garbage attempt at describing their traditional clothing.

Padma Patil’s portrayal in Cursed Child as the stereotypical controlling Indian wife. The idea of ending up with her instead of Hermione being positioned as some kind of horrible alternate reality for Ron had very xenophobic undertones, and while Hermione is portrayed as black in the play, I don’t believe that Rowling originally intended her to be a black character nor that casting directors deliberately set out to cast a black actress as Hermione in Cursed Child initially.

[theweeklydiscourse]

White feminism is when white women use it a) to divide POC communities, b) to exclude WOC, or c) performatively. It's not meant to be a tool used to shut down a ship you don't like. Kataang shippers are actually losing their minds.

Tbh, I'd say they're a lot closer to white feminism. They're the definition of performative activists. They're fine with Bryke stripping away Katara's agency as long as she's Aang's perfect girlfriend. But anyone who wants better for her is wrong and a bigot? Oh, and don't forget Zuko's apparently a colonizer so forget all his character development he's the devil as soon as he's shipped with Katara. Nevermind the fact that the people saying this ship him with Sokka.

Kataang was made by white straight men for white straight men. Pretending otherwise is inaccurate

Very true wisened anon. They’re fine with Katara being diminished and relegated to a passive role and they will aggressively defend their stance on the basis that Katara “chose” that path. To them, criticizing the writing decisions that led to such an outcome is akin to misogyny because critics are supposedly “not respecting her choices” and denigrating her feminine qualities. Doesn’t that just say it all? The jokes are writing themselves.

These people couldn’t care less about intersectionality, I’m not fully convinced they understand the meaning of that word either. Their biggest tell is their selective attention to subjects like racism and colonialism, never wanting to have a genuine conversation about the colonial elements/implications of the actual show and opting to only speak of it in conversations about non-canon and fanmade content. This is particularly apparent when you compare the flack Zutara gets for being a “colonizer romance” while no one breathes a WORD when it comes to Zukka.

On your last point, the fact that Katara was written and created by white men is something that every fan should be reminded of. The writers are not the paragons of progressiveness that many fans believe them to be, they had blind spots and biases that become quite apparent when you take a good hard look at the text. Kataang shippers especially want to believe that the writers were infallible and woke so they can continue to entertain their fantasy that their ship is totally wholesome and perfectly constructed.

[fandomshatewomen]

different anon but the she deserves better thing is a very often used “”””reason”””” to excuse not liking a ship that involves a bw usually goes hand in hand with “shes strong and independent” and a lot of times also comes with the lesbian hc you mentioned

mod laina here I believe you're here because of this ask

so the whole "she deserves better" is definitely a thing to keep women away from their canon male love interests. but I think what mod ali was specifically talking about is that the man in the canon ship was being called an abuser to keep from shipping him with a nonwhite woman.

which brings me to another example that I'm sure most people will remember

So in the force awakens Rey literally tells Finn to stop grabbing her hand (can't find the gif rn) and LOTS of nonblack fans turned Finn into this abusive character that was inserting himself into rey's life.

So this might not count as a "canon" m/f ship because of course the majority of the fans (cough*nonblack fans*cough) shipped and eventually got Reylo. But I use this gif above because Finn was actually being set up as a classic romantic interest in Rey.

Within the Rey fandom also we see the lesbian headcanon where lots of people wanted Rey to be sapphic but literally had no one to ship her with besides Rose (who she doesn't even meet until a deleted scene in tros) and yes I remember this well.

And as some of you might remember lots of people piled on the hate for John Boyega for shipping FinnRey.

So tldr: the whole "he's abusive" fannish accusation is mostly used when its an interracial m/f ship.

mod laina

[marionettedupaincheng]

given benedict and sophie’s social standings in society, would it be problematic if sophie was played was played by a woc?

i don’t rlly care who plays sophie in general (it’s bridgerton lol) but ive seen a lot of discourse about how it may seem like a white saviour complex storyline.

but also canonically in bridgerton, racism doesn’t exist really so idk.

if this is badly worded (using wrong terminology) or ignorant, please let me know. I’ll delete it.

[that-left-turn]

Shipping is fun and it gets the fandom involved but when the fandom tries to force others to think their way or fights with the studios or the actors that’s the real cringefest. Us carylers need to stop creating friction and enemies by being negative with others who don’t agree with what we see. Or use slightly racist rhetoric which I take offense too as my adopted son and daughter are Vietnamese. No one thought my wife and I were a romantic fit but we were until we weren’t so no one had to see it or agree but us. that’s what my last anon ask was about. we make ourselves look stupid when we pick apart stuff like the big 3 thing. That’s meaningless bs that makes us look bitter and crazy and like canon is all that matter when we all know we may not ever get canon anyway. I’m an old x files shipper who knows how ridiculously fun but bad this can get especially if we let the bitter people who fight about everything that doesn’t match their vision for our ship make everyone hate us We can’t have nice things if we make everyone hate us including the actors and studios

I'm not the best person to speak on fandom politics because I don't really participate. (I post fic very occasionally and I have this blog.) It feels like a waste of time I don’t have—I’d rather be writing said fic than argue with strangers about something as subjective as what TV characters to like. I have posted about racism before and my short-version take on bigotry is: it's not okay, regardless of who happens to share their casual -isms with the crowd.

I have a huge issue with the recent interviews Norman did in Japan. It's problematic to say that, because “we” (what ‘we’ is that, Norman?) wanted to write a ‘real’ French show, the WOC showrunner got fired in favor of a white American man. I’m confused: what uniquely qualifies Zabel over Kang? 👀

In one of the after-episode snippets, Clémence said the show has “all the French cliches.” (I wish I could post a link, but I don't have time to search. If someone knows where to find it online, please let me know?) S1 has all the American jingoistic tropes and the French characters act culturally American. With streaming services offering a variety of European TV shows, anyone can do a comparison to see if DD feels more French/European (like Norman claims) or like prettied-up American network TV.

I'm aware of the “big 3” debacle and disliked the incendiary nature of Valhalla’s post. I also disliked that some fans went out of their way to replace Michonne because of course there can only be one girl who's important 🙄 There appears to be a lot of internalized misogyny in the fandom. Both women are vital to the franchise, and Gabriel's character development was amazing and brilliantly acted too, so why doesn't he make the big three? Rankings are useless because they're arbitrary and encourage division between fans. A fractured audience is not a good thing.

Studios don't hate anyone. It’s a business and the programming execs spend zero seconds pondering what fans say. That's a different department, but I’m not sure AMC employs qualified marketing strategists. The official SM accounts look like they’re run by interns with “on the job” training. Part of the (legacy) issue is that under a previous showrunner for the flagship show, this dog-eats-dog behavior was encouraged simply because it mirrored the bleak setting of TWD. It's not an ethical approach, nor is it a good ROI to scare away the people who’d pay for merchandise and provide good word-of-mouth for the show(s).

The DD EPs want to make a show they think looks cool/epic—it's all about the visual esthetic and some of them are so burnt out they don't even care about the plot at all. A fanfic author writes to please themselves, but a screenwriter has to please their audience. The viewership are paying customers, so they have the right to an opinion on what they're willing to buy. I'm deeply uncomfortable with the idea that women should be quiet and behave like good little girls, so the men in charge might reward us with “nice things.” I’ve seen that show before and there’s no treat awaiting the docile at the end.

Based on the latest slew of interviews, the buzzword du jour seems to have moved on from ‘cool’ and ‘epic’ (probably because they gained ridicule instead of traction) to ‘romantic.’ It's a hard sales pitch to the very audience Norman normally complains about. The ‘crazy and bitter’ women of the fandom are the proverbial hand that feeds him and he needs their approval, not the other way around.

I'm aware, though, that some fandom behavior has spiraled into a never-ending ship war. That's the environment AMC/TWDU has created by not encouraging an atmosphere where they lift up all their characters and by not writing female friendships into the show. Everyone's worst side is on display and nobody “wins.”

[kajaono]

Why are you so obsessed with making Sophie trans or Benedict bi? And please do not say representation as your reason. The show already has Brimsley (much beloved) and Granville.

It is clear within their world that you could be put to death for it. That’s why Granville had to hide his sexual identity while being in a lavender marriage or Brimsley and Reynolds kept it behind close doors in the palace. Benedict is the kind of person who will shout his love so loud for the people in the back to hear. He won’t be able to do that without facing some sort of legal consequences.

It is more than likely Sophie is a WOC than making him bi. And if that’s the decision the show creators are going with, you should at least respect that instead of calling everyone who disagrees with you as bigots and homophobes.

Hey nonny,

Thank you for this really interesting ask. I try to answer it step by step.

First at all, it was the Bridgerton marketing team who put the idea of bi Benedict in my head in the first place. Remember the very first trailer, that framed it in a way that Benedict has sex with a dude? I saw that and said: „wow, amazing! A show set in regency times with poc and queer main hero’s?! I HAVE to watch that!“ and then it was a side character and not Benedict. Then all my hopes were on season 2, but this time: nothing! Not even queer side characters.

I was so disappointed. Because this idea of bi Benedict already lived - at this point - rent free in my head.

My first idea: gender swap Sophie. I still love the idea but as a next step I started wondering how they can make Benedict and Sophie fall in love without gender swap Sophie, but still give it a queer sub-tone. My idea: trans Sophie.

I love the idea because Benedict falling in love with a servant/bastard is… yes nice. This would also mean his social death back then btw. Giving this a modern twist… Using the opportunity to discuss modern problems… hello, that’s so awesome!

Further: Brimsleys story was awesome but I am tierd of sad historical gay love stories. I want gay love stories with a Happy End. Featured in a major Netflix show, aimed at straight people! you know how awesome that be? Yes, I will use the forbidden word: „representation“.

Also it is fiction: the explanation why Benedict was able to marry Sophie eventually (in the book) was bad, come on. The whole book was a disaster and I love Benedict!

It is fiction. They have a black queen, and a black Duke, which was possible because „love fixed it all“. If they can find an in universe explanation why all skin colors are represented without discrimination I am sure they can find an explanation why queer love can have a Happy End as well.

Also why does it has to be addressed that Sophie is trans? Just let her be played by a trans actress, a trans actress in a cis role? We love that!

You probably don’t know but the second thing I am petitioning for is making Sophie Asian (because I am not dumb. I know how highly unlikely it is that we will get trans Sophie) but the thought of a blond, white, cis Sophie… yawn! How boring! Aschenputtel 2.0.

If they decide to make Sophie a WOC I will absolutely respect that! And I really think it is not unlikely, because season 3 has an all white main cast. But so far no decision has been made, no Sophie is casted (as far as we know), Benedict is straight… and as long Sophie isn’t casted I can have every head canon I want to.

I don’t Call everyone a homophobe who is against bi Benedict or trans Sophie… just those people who have no further arguments against it then: „Ewwwwwww! Gay people! Disgusting!“

Give me a valid argument and I am all ears.

Thanks for the attention, I hope I answered it.

[dhr-ao3]

Bruised Alchemy (fuel to the fire)

Bruised Alchemy (fuel to the fire) https://ift.tt/sHIyzUV by Out_Of_Custody Draco Malfoy is just one more headache, isn’t he? Always there, at the edge of her vision, keeping his head down between shoulders that shouldn’t be that broad, keeping his mouth shut even when others throw hexes at him, and avoiding all and any contact. He grates on her, this contradiction. Because she both wants and doesn’t want him at Hogwarts. Merlin, she wants to forgive him—hasn’t he done what he could? Failed to identify Harry when they’d been right under his nose? Left open the doors to their mansion’s dungeon when the time had come? But then, of course, he’d also taken his mother and his father and run from the last confrontation like a coward. He’d also been the one who’d insulted her for the last seven years. She wants to forgive him—give him another chance to do better—but he’s had so many more chances than she’s had, and she’s tired of giving them to him. Words: 4766, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence Categories: F/M, Gen Characters: Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, Cormac McLaggen Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger & Draco Malfoy Additional Tags: Hogwarts Eighth Year, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Swearing, Post-War, All is not well, Hermione Granger-centric, Duelling, Room of Requirement (Harry Potter), enemies to maybe friends, Tension, Albinism, WOC Hermione Granger via AO3 works tagged 'Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy' https://ift.tt/Cn48rJZ September 01, 2024 at 08:31PM

[bohemian-nights]

For the life of me I can’t understand how people think it’s acceptable for House of the Dragon a show that is pushing for more diversity (making the Velaryon’s Black and Mysaria Asian) to race bend the only canonical black character. If they wanted to race bend any of the characters they could’ve made Alys Rivers Indian. They could make Sara Snow Mexican and so on. It’s just so frustrating to see this happen time and time again in media when it comes to the portrayal of WOC in general but especially black women.

Like I don't care if people ship Daemyra you know? If shipping those two makes them happy go for it. My only thing is I just want them to stop with the racist shit they say about all the WOC in Daemon's life. From his lovers (cause they've said some racist shit about Mysaria too) to his wife and to even his daughters. At this point I'm convinced half of them don't even like Daemon because if they did they wouldn't stay shitting on the women who at one point or another were/are important to him.

Idk 🤷🏽‍♀️ it's just very strange to me.

The discourse surrounding Nettles is absolutely crazy and you can tell it’s being fueled by anti-black weirdos who are mainly Dumbnyra stans(lol Team Green have their issues too, but they aren’t the ones who are advocating to race bend Nettles 🙃)

Honestly, I did not have a problem with Dumbnyra(and yes I’m going to call it that) at the beginning of the show. I was indifferent to it. However, that quickly changed when most of the fans started to show themselves to be the racist psychopaths that they are. Down to them literally calling Laena the n-word and celebrating her death🙃:

You might say it’s just a couple of the more “extreme” fans that feel that way, but literally go on their blogs, Twitter accounts, etc., and 90% are arguing some bs.

If it’s not bashing Laena(yes they are still doing this even though she’s dead and according to them Rhaenyra was the love of Daemon’s life so it really doesn’t make sense to do all of this for a dead woman who paled in comparison to the “love of his life”🙃) it’s bashing Nettles.

Boy, do they hate Nettles. I'm posting her picture cause this is the face of their nightmares🤣

If it’s not saying Daemon never loved her and she was just this “giant misunderstanding” between himself and the “love of his life” despite him literally going against his wife and queen’s orders to save her, it’s saying how she’s Daemon’s daughter or Daemon saw her like a daughter.

Their relationship was 100% paternal or mentee/ mentor. Stop mentioning the bath’s which were father-daughter bonding time or the fact that they might’ve slept in the same bed which was just done to comfort a frightened child. Daemon would never get with someone so black I mean so foul-mouthed in canon. She’s just his child😅

Why do you want a bada** with a middle-aged white man? You’re the one with the problem, not me even though I’m trying to infantilize a young black woman and pidgin hole her into the “strong independent black woman” trope while supporting a white woman getting with her uncle cause I can relate to her. I refuse to read the books(or parts of the books) because every time I do I want to ripe out my hair when Daemon and Nettles' relationship is mentioned 🙃

Anyway, if it’s not saying she’s going to be cut and replaced with Rhaena(cause then they know that the relationship would actually be non-romantic☺️), it’s saying and actively hoping she’ll be race bent because they can’t stand the thought of Daemon being with a black woman💁🏽‍♀️:

All minorities are the same don’t cha know 😀and we have too many black people on this show. What we have Corlys, his sons, Rhaena, and Baela. Yes, Rhaena and Baela are mixed, but they count as representation cause their skin isn’t white and I can’t relate because of that. Why add the only in-canon black person when we have a whopping 5 whole black people in a sea of whites 🙃

Also, we don’t know what race Nettles is even though we have pictures of her in the lore and in the books as well as descriptions of her appearance that show that she is black, but again every time Nettles is mentioned I get triggered so I skip over her parts😀

Moving on. If it’s not bashing Nettles they are blatantly ignoring that Rhaena and Baela are Daemon’s daughters and his only daughters. They’ll literally draw a million and one pictures of lizard baby (that’s what I’m calling it, cause again, these people don’t deserve respect) and pretend like it ever drew breath and that it is his only daughter🙃 Or my personal favorite which is essentially Daemon is a good father because he didn’t abandon them on the side of the road (where they belong).

They were educated, clothed, and fed, children don’t need affection, stop complaining. The fandom loves Rhaena and Baela🙃. No one cares about poor Rhaenyra and her boys(who Daemon sees as his real children cause they share the same skin color🙃). That’s why I draw, write, and gif for these poor neglected souls and completely leave out the black ingrates, I mean Rhaena and Baela😅

Finally Mysaria. Oh, Mysaria, I’ve got my own problems with her, but yeah they do bash her by pinning all of Rhaenyra’s psycho deeds on her(so much for your girl being a queen who has "agency"🙃).

Like yeah, she’s not innocent, but she’s not the only one who isn’t innocent, and while I definitely don’t think Daemon was ever that in love with her given how quickly he was willing to call her a wh*re, it hasn’t escaped my notice that the only reason why she isn’t that much of a focus is because they do regulate her to just a wh*re 🙃

They hate Rhea too and try to make her into a groomer to justify Daemon murdering her, but we aren’t going to get into that because we are talking about how this fandom treats the non-white women of Daemon’s life.

Look, I could go on and on, but this ship literally attracts the most racist, white supremacist-leaning, self-hating fans(yes there are Black and other non-white fans who will literally throw their own under a bus for this ship🤦🏽‍♀️), and anti-Black fans by the boat load. And the thing is, they all hide behind “feminism” when called out for it🤣🤣🤣

Yeah, you can ship what you want, but it’s pretty obvious at this point it’s beyond shipping. If you are literally bashing every single woman and girl (especially the non-white women/girls) besides Rhaenyra in Daemon’s life then dude there is something wrong here.

They definitely aren’t Daemon fans(hell he probably has about as many actual fans as Nettles does🤦🏽‍♀️). They are Rhaenyra self-inserters who are pissed off that their ship is on borrowed time and “their man” is about to “leave” their self-insert in the dust for gasp 😱 a black woman so they are taking all the shots they can to feel better about this Titanic ship 🤷🏽‍♀️

[shrinkthisviolet]

☕️ ted lasso

There was a time when I unabashedly loved all parts of this show, rather than liking some parts and disliking others, and that was back in s1. I loved all the character arcs in that, and although shows are rarely perfect, I think s1 came pretty close.

S2 was…kind of a mixed bag, but tbh the only plotline I really hated was the S*mbecca bs. I know some people who ship it defend it (especially against Tedbecca shippers like me) with “Tedbecca is also a power dynamic relationship!” But…the power dynamic between the club owner and a player is different from that between the club owner and the coach. Not to mention, Rebecca and Sam have a not-insignificant age difference (and given that Sam is around my age, that added to me finding it gross). And that’s ALSO not to mention how the writers made that relationship all about Rebecca and her baggage. They treated Sam like such a stepping stone in Rebecca’s development, and that’s just icky to me. I also didn’t like the Sassy/Ted stuff, and I still don’t, but that’s personal preference (if they become canon, I might not like it, but I can live with it).

I also didn’t like Roy and Keeley’s love drama in s2, now that I think about it. Or throwing Jamie into the mix for no reason. But hey, I wrote a fic about it and made my peace with it, so…moving on.

s3 is really where things get…interesting. I’m holding off on judging it for now, because this show has a thing about building arcs and paying them off well in the finale (ex: the Nate arc throughout s2), but here’s a few things I will say (and…bear in mind, this is written at a point where Ted Lasso has only aired up to 3x7, so I’ll be happy to eat my words about any of this later): –Nate and Jade as a pairing is awful, and I’ve talked about that more here. I don’t think there’s anything more I can say about that, and I can only hope that Jade at least apologizes for treating Nate so terribly at first if they’re committing to this romance plotline. I also hope they actually develop that romance if they’re committing to it, because I’m not seeing any sparks.

–Jamie’s arc this season has been fantastic, no notes. I know a lot of people were upset that the Zava thing didn’t seem to go anywhere, but I think they paid that off well in 3x7 with him fixing the Total Football play and leading the team (but also, not dominating the play, but rather serving as a middleman). I also loved his dynamic with Roy this season!

–Roy and Keeley’s breakup…I’ll admit, I didn’t really like it, but it does seem like this season is building to their endgame, so I’ll let it slide.

–I’m still mad about what they did to Shandy. I wasn’t at first, I’ll admit, but the more I actually sat with it, the more I was upset that they introduced a WOC who was clever and innovative and then flanderized her so quickly and turned her into someone completely unrecognizable. And all just so Keeley could…realize she’s alone and fire her? For why? Why not come up with another reason for Shandy to leave? Something like wanting to stretch her wings somewhere else, and Keeley’s too good of a friend to stop her? It could’ve contributed to Keeley feeling like everyone’s moving on without her, and she’s feeling stuck!

–I’m not sure what to make of Jack just yet, so that’s one of the things I’m staying quiet on for now. Same for Barbara

–3x6 is my favorite episode, it felt really cozy and felt like filler without feeling unnecessary (Mando s3 could learn a thing or two from this, but I digress). Everyone developed in their own ways and got what they needed to out of that night, and I think it’s lovely!

–Sam’s plotline in 3x7 was handled abysmally. The ending with the team was sweet, but…given how racially charged the whole thing was, it felt ~too~ neat and tidy. The forgiveness message felt patronizing (especially since it was written by white people. Where’s the nuance? Where are the writers of color? This situation calls for both!). It seems like the writers in general have forgotten how to write Sam ever since the Dubai Air stuff tbh, which is a shame because I love him dearly. You deserve better writing, Sam.

–I’m also not really sure what Ted’s plotline is driving towards…I think it’s “leave or don’t leave,” and tbh, either option could work for me if they write it well.

A lot of this really depends on the rest of the season, and especially the finale. I had my problems with s2, but only one major issue, and I liked the season overall. Hopefully with this season, it’ll be the same situation or better. I do still love this show, and I have faith in it because of what I’ve seen from it before…but I’m also hyperaware of the dreaded third-season curse (the Flash, Cobra Kai, Mandalorian, and other shows have fallen victim to it already), where the show just dips in quality and never recovers. I hope Ted Lasso proves me wrong and avoids that, but…it’s too early to say one way or the other.

After all, if you’d asked me about this show at this point in s2, I might’ve been much more unfavorable towards it. It all depends on how it’ll culminate, and this show is usually pretty good about that, so we'll see how it turns out.

send me a "☕️" and (optionally) a topic, and I'll talk about it!

[fandomshatewomen]

is there a word for this phenomenon? i'm in a fandom where the canon relationship is between a dark-skinned woc and a yt man, but the popular fanon ship is between that man and another yt guy. the fanon shippers are always portraying the canon relationship as abusive (it isn't in canon) and saying "she deserves better." i would be willing to believe this was genuine concern if they didn't forget the woc character existed most of the time and if they didn't stan the so-called abusive character and ship him with another guy. im used to certain types of ships being put down as abusive but usually the hated character is made to be the abuser, not the victim. is this what people are doing now that demonizing female characters is being criticized more?

So I'm not sure I've ever seen that? Not calling you a liar but I would appreciate knowing the fandom you're seeing this in so I could call this out directly.

I mean I've seen ALOT in fandom (including but not limited to: making the black female character a lesbian so she's not shipped with any man including canon love interests, making her asexual, accusing her of being an abuser, turning her into a mammy, making her the matchmaker etc) but this is certainly new.

I mean yeah that would be the natural conclusion (this man is trash she deserves better and then ignoring her in favor of white dudeslash ship in an effort to not seem misogynistic).

I don't think there's a word for this but I could be wrong lol.

mod ali

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

You know what's a Zutara argument that baffles me super hard?Saying it's less heteronormative than Kataang.Sure,Kataang has a few problems in it's writing but at least it has a strong friendship to build up their feelings and a lot of sweet moments that make you root for them and it has a brown skinned woc being adored and respected by her love interest who is a poc too!Meanwhile,Katara deadass hated Zuko except for like the last 3 episodes but the fandom just expects her to like him because he's a hot guy who's older than her.Plus if anything,the proper solution to the Kataang thing would be to ship Katara with her girl friends like Toph,not pair her up with the closest guy around

The whole discussion of "is this ship heteronormative" is pointless. People don't fall in love with someone because it would be "woke" to date them, and people shouldn't ship things just because it would be "woke."

Yes, Aang and Katara can related to each other's experience with grief and oppression, and that does have a big thematic importance in the show since "war is terrible" is the whole message, but they'd still be friends and fall in love without that.

Seriously, I really want to take away the word "heteronormative" from the internet. Just like "problematic", it had a meaning, and now it's pure bullshit.

I've seen people call gay couples heteronormative because one person is "feminine" and the other is "masculine", and they seriously think that shit is progressive instead just a new version of the old homophobic question of "Okay, but who is the man and who is the woman in the relationship?"

Aang is the protagonist, Katara is his best friend. Them getting together is just the writers following a popular trope, not a form of discrimination, and it's time Zutarians stop acting like "My fanon ship never became canon" is the same "I am being oppressed."

They ALWAYS pull that shit. "Oh, if you don't ship Zutara you hate women! This is the ship I first wrote fanfic about when I was a teenage girl, so that means it is the feminist ship and EVERY woman likes it! Not liking it also means you support abusive relationships! Nevermind that fiction is not the same as reality AND that Kataang and Maiko are not abusive! You're also racist because you don't want the interacial couple to get together! Please ignore that Kataang is also an interracial relationship!"

People can ship whatever they want, but they gotta stop pretending they're ending homophobia, sexism and god knows what else just because they don't like the main pairing for a show. Shipping is not activism.

[cherienymphe]

https://www.tumblr.com/cherienymphe/745329498981089280/i-feel-like-a-lot-of-people-will-say-that-kie-and

OP of the above comment here. Yeah I mean I myself am white so I will literally never know what it’s like to be a woc in a relationship with a white man. But I just have a sneaking suspicion that my theory is very true for a lot of ppl that don’t want them together…

And then there are the teenage girls that are just jealous 💀 like I have legit seen people say before that they don’t want their fictional crush to be with the canon pairing because they themselves want to be with them 🧍🏼‍♀️ and to that I say… well I actually say nothing because that takes the words right out of my mouth. Like you do realize that they aren’t… real, right? They- oh whatever

Those comments always kill me because yeah I wanna feel Rafe's dick up to my chest but I couldn't care less about him having a girlfriend in the show 😭

[jandjsalmon]

2023 FFRC - February ❤️

HELLO everyone! I hope you had a wonderful February! It was a short month so there were slightly fewer stories to read and there was this ghost show that came out (you might have seen it flood your dash) that needed to be binged over and over again so we get a season two - but I still found moments to curl up with some favourite fics and I hope you did too! I was pretty focused on crossing off fic challenge tasks so I felt less enjoyment in my reading as usual. I hope this next month will be better.

Throughout February, I had a surprisingly large number of new followers (a substantial number of whom are not bots - shocking, right?!) and though I'm not sure how you all found me, I'm thrilled to have you here (and happy to see that you're real people and not bots).

As most of you know, I'm a regular participant (and low-key assistant) at the @fanfic-reading-challenge - additionally, for the last couple of years, I've been tracking all the fic I read and I've reported back here once a month with some stats and some recs, and a little bit of boring stuff about my life. (Or not boring - like traipsing after my daughter and her basketball team as they work their way to Provincials - their record is 22-4 so it's a possibility! Go Spartans!)

ANYWAY - I'm always looking for new fic recommendations, so if you have any stories you think I'll love, please drop me a line or send me a dm. Almost any pairing and any fandom. Shoot me a link!🖤

February 2023

As I said above, I've been plugging along on the @fanfic-reading-challenge. This month I've cracked 3million words and completed 143/309 tasks which means I've completed the "Regular" mode of the challenge. I'm working on the "Hard" mode so I need to do some searching for fics with minorities. Do you have favourite stories with minorities in them? Most of my fandoms appear to be a little lacking in that department - or at least I never think about it (like Inej is a woc - but I forgot about that until right this second). Anyway - I need to branch out - so any suggestions would be great!

As for my recs for you! Let's look at what I did read this month that you might enjoy. Try these:

--*--

Violent Delights by @ozmathegreatand (Wenvier - M 4/4)

Summary: Romeo and Juliet is far from her favorite Shakespeare play. (That honor goes to Titus Andronicus, of course.) But the crypt scene is achingly romantic, particularly the part where Juliet stabs herself. Few of the Bard’s heroines subject themselves to such violence in the name of passion. She wonders what practical effects the drama department has access to and imagines the torrent of blood she could rig.

Why you should read: Valentine's Day. Romeo and Juliet is being performed by the drama department and Romeo Xavier's costars keep meeting untimely ends. SUPER jealous (and hilarious) Wednesday. Mutual Pining. Shenanigans. This is Super Hilarious.

--*--

What Doesn't Kill Me Makes Me Want You More by sciencefantasy93 (Lucy/Lockwood - E 8/8)

Summary: It was all her fault. All her fault. He was losing his damn mind, and it was all because of her. One move, one second, one heartbeat, and his world crumbled apart like a warm cookie.

Or: Lockwood realizes he's attracted to Lucy, which sets in motion a chain reaction of events as he and Lucy try to take the next step without actually talking about their feelings.

Why you should read: The first steamy Locklyle fic that I've ever read and it did NOT disappoint. Very VERY in character - but also hot? Super good.

--*--

Chrissy and Eddie’s Infinite Mixtape by @little-scribblers-heart (Hellcheer - E 26/26)

Summary: Eddie was right when he told the Hellfire kids that there's no shame in running, which is why he takes a running leap to grab for the floating cheerleader in his living room.

OR: Chrissy lives and fixes what the Duffers broke.

Come for the canon-close Season 4 rewrite, stay for the explanatory chapter notes and the healing.

Why you should read: Epic in scale. Well researched and emotional without being sappy and trite. I should have known it would be amazing because it was a rec from my girl @feelavalanche - who has NEVER steered me wrong in over 10 years of fandom friendship. There is even a chapter named after David Bowie. See - you need to read this.

--*--

Hope is a Waking Dream by @writeradamanteve (Lucy/Lockwood - M 1/1)

Summary: Nightmares, dreams, it was all part of the agent package. Oh, and tea. Always tea.

Why you should read: FIRSTLY (and I shouldn't have to say this to long time followers) - It's adamanteve. You should read it because she wrote it - that should be good enough. Everything she writes is amazing. But then. SOFTNESS. The characterizations are THEM. Their mannerisms are real and their voices are beyond perfection. Comfort and lovely and wonderful. Read it!

ALSO - as I said last month, you should read and then subscribe to the_retro_witch's entire Sweet Nightmare series. It's a post-canon universe where after Crackstone's defeat, Wednesday and Xavier get together before they leave school and now it's grown into this amazing saga with mystery-solving soulmates and psychic and witchy amazingness. The other characters are developed and the plots are rich and fun. It updates pretty darn regularly and every word is a delight. Honestly. Read the series, you won't regret it. Let it be your first foray into Wenvier if you are on the fence. Don't be on the fence. Come ship with me! 🖤🖤

(lastly- I'm a little bit in love with this gif of Xavier waving - and I've been purposely flooding my dashboard with Percy for reasons - so the wave might become a theme for my year).

Anyway -👋🏼 Hiya -I'm happy you're here! I hope you have a wonderful March and I'll see you back here in a few weeks! Happy reading! 🖤