#because we got piss on the poor reading comprehension here

[longing-for-rain]

Hey everyone!

I’m here to invade your favorite ship’s tag to let you know I’m a multishipper! This means that I passively and uncritically enjoy everything that crosses my screen, so I’m better than all of you with your silly little tastes and preferences.

Now, your ship isn’t my favorite, but I can *wrinkles nose* sometimes tolerate it even though I like other ships a lot better. But I am here, in your ship’s tag, to scold you for not liking other ships. Disliking something and *gasp* talking about it on your own blog makes you a bad person! Unlike me, who likes everything, because I’m too spineless to form solid opinions of my own.

I know you’re going to get mad at me for posting this in your ship’s tag, but that’s just proof that you’re a toxic fan. You should be just like me. I’m a multishipper and I’m such a nice person, because I’m respectful of fictional characters (not real people though, they don’t matter).

(By the way I’m better than you. I’m a multishipper)

Now I’m just going to go ahead and tag every ship I can think of, so that as many people as possible can be exposed to my enlightened perspective that they definitely wanted to see. Only multishippers will understand. We’re the purest of all fans and better than you. But because I told you that I’m a nice and respectful person, that means that I am so arguing with me is basically bullying. Here, have a condescending smiley face as a token of my self righteous attitude :)

[anamericangirl]

How would you respond to a claim that "a woman is someone who can menstruate and get pregnant" is defining womanhood by the ability to bear children.

Like in here:

https://www.tumblr.com/bi-and-a-witch/738929410912223232/yall-are-really-defining-womanhood-by-our-ability

I got stumped earlier with this statement, sorry if I come across as hostile, I' just stumped on hwo to answer this..

You're not coming across as hostile at all. People thinking that person is actually "defining womanhood" as having a period and getting pregnant is just an example of tumblr's "piss on the poor" reading comprehension.

Those are two things that are unique to being a woman and women can do those things because they have female biology that goes all the way down to their bones. This manifests in physical differences that we can observe between men and women. Like the ability to get pregnant and have a period. Those are things only women can do because that's how our bodies are built and it's something men cannot do and never will be able to do and if they were really actually women then they would have bodies with those capacities built into them.

We're not women because we can get pregnant and menstruate. We can get pregnant and menstruate because we're women.

Men aren't men because they can't get pregnant or menstruate. They can't get pregnant or menstruate because they are men.

[kyluxtrashpit]

Hiya! I hope you're doing well. I made the Hottest Star Wars Man Poll, so when your posts about it were brought to my attention, I felt I should probably reach out.

The polls are just for fun. I make them with no agenda, and I run them with no agenda. I've received messages talking about bots before, but I never wanted to get into the weeds about it.

However, as the discussion about bots is bigger than I realized, I guess now is as good a time as any to speak about it:

My opinion is that the spikes in Hux votes are a mere side-effect of the poll being passed around the internet and bringing in new voters in droves. As your Anon mentioned, @tomatette's edits might's also pulled in waves of people who voted for Hux out of fidelity to her.

I'm fine with the campaigning. As long as the vote is ultimately achieved by a human clicking on the vote themselves, it's alright by me. Hell, I always reblog 'propaganda' I particularly like, and I even requested some Anakin propaganda when he was in his elimination round. It's all fun and games to me.

However.

If anyone is using bots, I'm asking nicely for them to please stop. I'm going to pull the 'I'm not mad, I'm disappointed' card on anyone botting. The polls are all strictly unserious things, so I hope that nobody is taking them too seriously.

Hi there! Sorry the nonsense has reached you, honestly lmao. I just wanted to make a post cause I was upset about the possibility (and, as I've said, I don't have rock solid proof, just suspicions based on observations by myself and others, so like. If people don't agree with me, that's fine, it's all good - I just wanted to speak out in case it was happening like, as a kyluxer, I don't want people to think that if someone is botting, that's something we as a fandom are chill with). I honestly didn't expect it to get quite this much attention either but here we are. I also want to make it clear to both you and my followers that I don't put any blame of anything on you - you're just making fun polls and that's it, you're not responsible for what people do or what drama may arise

I do agree it's possible someone just got a bunch of people to vote within a small window of time, like anything is possible, always is. I just feel like some of the increases I saw, observations from others, and things I've heard are enough to warrant suspicion. If people do or do not agree that there's a reason to think it happened, that's their choice and I'm not going to insist that my word is law and they have to believe me. I don't have receipts, I was just expressing myself and I do appreciate amicable discussion even if my mind has not been changed as of yet

But yeah I agree, propaganda and making funny edits and posts - that's not at all what I was referring to in terms of 'cheating', but somewhere it seems that got mentioned in the discussion? (3 separate people have brought this up to me lmao, like thinking I'm accusing them but I am NOT and no one better be out there accusing them either without actual evidence beyond 'oh you posted about it' cause that's a shitty thing to do) and I also want to make it clear I am not against propaganda fun. That's all just part of it. If people are mad about that, that's their problem and they should use blacklist more liberally. And if people are saying I'm saying that, then those people are either lying or are at 'how dare you say we should piss on the poor' levels of reading comprehension lmao

But yeah, I'll post this publicly, but let me know if you want it taken down and I'll delete it - I appreciate you reaching out and I'm sorry you had to deal with this, that was definitely not my intent when I made the post. I just wanted the botting, if it is indeed happening (and if it's not, all the better, I am just not yet convinced it didn't happen), to stop

And lastly, because of some of the DMs I've received: if you, the person reading this (not you the asker), are sending hate or harassment to people based on my post, FUCKING STOP IT RIGHT THE FUCK NOW, you're no better than the bad actors I was initially referring to

[bonesandthebees]

I see everyone is pissing on the poor again. But seriously, phone calls are the worst. I had to get info from a certain group of people, and I sent an email. Got redirected twice, had to sent at least 2 reminders to ask people if they could please look at my email I need this for a paper. And then finally got the bare minimum of an answer about a month after my first email. A phone call could have made this a lot faster because they just send you from one person to the next and are forced to deal with it RIGHT NOW. Which feels so invasive.

I hate making phone calls. I hate getting them. Or worse, having to wait for someone you know is going to call. It gives me social anxiety x10. The only person I ever call is my best friend, but then we spend hours on the video call and I don’t have to worry about social etiquette. I can just run around, get something to eat, interrupt her to show off my cats, I’ve straight up done my dishes and made dinner on a call once. But calling someone you don’t know? Absolute hell. I’m not calling for my dentist. I can make online appointments for my doctor. Why is it so efficient?! It’s so unfair!

-🌲

literally I'm just sitting here like wow people really think I'm pissing on the poor huh (pls tumblr userbase learn reading comprehension)

YEAH THAT'S THE THING no one checks their email!! literally just today I had to make a call because someone didn't respond to an email I sent nearly a week ago and I really needed a quick response on it and the call was so easy and just arghhh pls

god I hate having to wait for someone to call me if it's like an appointment or something. like actually I'd much rather make the call myself then. I'm just sitting waiting like a trembling chihuahua

calls with friends are peak though I love those

[trainsinanime]

I've said it diplomatically twice now, but I think I need to be absolutely clear here:

Stop making stupid posts that make me want to defend Tumblr's Core Product Strategy!

I don't want to defend that document! I am worried about large parts of it! But so much of the replies are just so badly informed, badly argued that it makes me embarrassed. Here's some recent examples of fallacies that make me want to tear my hair out:

This poll proves that users like the way things are now! Ah yes, a Tumblr poll, the most unbiased of sources, of course. With 136k replies! That's definitely meaningful on a website with several hundred million monthly active users, right? [The sources I've found differ wildly] Self-selection bias? Never heard of it.

I definitely know how Tumblr's algorithm works and it's physically impossible for an algorithm to help small creators! Come on, guys. If you're concerned about an algorithm only boosting established creators, yes, so am I. But if you're saying "that's certain", Tumblr will just say "well ours won't" and ignore it.

Tumblr is totally easy to use, staff just refuses to explain it properly or do the very easy things required to fix what is broken. Don't be silly. Tumblr is full of weird cruft. Every day you see people who don't know the difference between sending an ask, submitting a post or sending a direct message. We got both reblogs and replies, and both suck for longer multi-party discussions. Tumblr still asks you for a post type despite that not being necessary anymore. And then there are all the ways in which people use tags, and expect others to use tags. Tumblr takes some getting used to, we just don't see it because we've all gotten used to it. And don't give me any "just add a tutorial" shit. Design is how it works. Websites shouldn't need tutorials, and users won't read tutorials, and won't remember tutorials once they reach a point where they need them.

I must once again stress that Tumblr asserts that there are a large number of people on this site who aren't having a good time because they can't find interesting blogs to follow and nobody is finding the stuff that they post. That's a statement that you have to deal with in your response. Going, "my Tumblr poll, held among people who use Tumblr a lot and are happy here, proves that everybody likes Tumblr as it is" is not a valid response. It's just silly. The "pissing on the poor" reading comprehension thing is supposed to be an insult, not a goal to strive towards.

Read the posts by staff again until you understand what they're actually saying (they even clarified that the chronological timeline will remain, by the way). And once you've done that, get mad at them because they're saying, "we want to be more annoying for users who aren't logged in". That's one of the parts that I'm the most annoyed about.

[archivalofsins]

People have been curious why Kazui is going guilty, but like...

Kazui's break or make it moment is the release day of Amane's video. If people really want to make a case for him or work towards a specific verdict, they should do that leading up to Amane's premiere. There's a lot of fans in the West who only watch the video day one and only vote for that one day. This is why after the premiere he was innocent but now he's guilty. Because the people who view him as innocent aren't ones who consistently vote or keep up with Milgram.

So, chances are those people will come back around for Amane's premiere or start voting again once it's brought to their attention that Kazui is sitting at guilty and close to staying it. Even bringing it up in the comments of Cat would be helpful for those not really involved in the fandom proper to get updated on the current situation.

Because even if those sorts of individuals aren't active in the online fandom they may look in the comments of the video to get a grasp on common theories. So, they're more likely to see it and feel a certain way through youtube than any other social media platform. Possibly even be inspired to vote daily off of that too.

However, as it stands no campaign that's centered around or based solely on tumblr, is going to sway his verdict much. Especially since a lot of popular milgram artists are pushing for him being guilty on other platforms. For reasons that well some have seen brought to tumblr as well. When you have mainstay artists in the fandom reminding their thousands of followers to vote this man guilty daily, this is just what happens.

At this point, Kazui's case is a real pr nightmare. Because no matter how many people bring up the issues with voting him guilty here, it's not going to change much. Because we all know the issues that can arise from a guilty verdict in this case already it's individuals on other platforms that don't or are blatantly ignoring the problems this could cause for fun who are pushing for this verdict. So, doing anything here is just preaching to the choir.

If last trial Mikoto's verdict was milgram fans going against tikto* Kazui's case is a real tumblr vs Twitter scenario. I know tumblr is supposed to be the reading comprehension is piss poor website, but at least we got enough characters to make a point. Twitter users can't even form a fully fleshed out thought without making a Google doc, slide, or PowerPoint. Anyone really think they're working off anything outside of thirst and kneejerk reactions- they're probably mad because they realized Kazui won't fuck them.

From what I've actively seen they're swearing up and down through all their nsfw fan art of male milgram characters that this has nothing to do with him possibly being gay they just think lying is bad also think about his wife's feelings. No one can reason with this sort of logic best to ignore them and let their choice speak for itself. Because I, myself, am super down with seeing this sort of stuff blow up in other's faces.

However, if anyone is really trying to get this man to innocent again and doesn't want to wade through that cesspit, then Amane's trial is a better opportunity to make that case.

[fictionkinfessions]

I'm only putting this here because I have nowhere else to go with it and I need to get it out somewhere. (gets a lil violent at the end there, sorry lol) I'm not going to look for you, I have no hope of you showing up, I'm not gonna include any information for you to find me (or for the people I know to recognize as me), and you couldnt pay me to admit it out loud even if it might be obvious, but I miss you so fucking much. I dont even know that you'd be out there somewhere with how small the fandom is and us being minor characters and all (and all the us specific fans suck SO much ass. piss on the poor reading comprehension honestly) but I. really hope you are. the worlds always been cruel and cold and full of pain, and we've never been any different, but. fuck at least when you were living with me, doing all that with me I was happy. we never talked about what was between us but I was still happy. I mean I'm still kind of happy, and I've got people I like and like me back, but. you just left a hole in my life I dont know how to fill or patch up or ignore. I dont know what to do with this kind of pain. I dont need any of it back, not that we had much but the uh. "annual event" in the first place, I just miss you and I miss you being there. maybe at the least you'd appreciate the pain in tribute to you. I'd let you have as much blood as you wanted, draw it out as long as you want, bury the knife and twist. I'd enjoy it too, as long as you were there. if you ever do come back I'd do my best taking my time carving into you too, see how much I could make it hurt, how much I could make the scars stick. until then I'll just salt my wounds and think of you, I guess

📦

[artistbloomyk]

I think a lot of the issue is that "problematic" has become such a bloated term that it doesn't really have a solid meaning anymore (at least in online spheres, it truly does need to be put on a high shelf). Instead, I think we need to separate "problematic" into two circles: "taboo" and "mishandled". This is still probably oversimplifying things, but the reading comprehension on this site pisses on the poor, so we'll start here.

"Taboo" would be any story that deals with difficult subject matter or stuff that's not seen as okay to talk about in public. It's not indicative of how well a story actually deals with this subject matter, but the warning tags are there. As such, a lot of people who don't engage with "taboo" stories just see the surface-level warning labels and say, "That's Problematic! Whoever willingly engages with this is a Bad Person." Meanwhile, the people who do take the time to engage with these stories, whether they like them or not, are in a position to actually discuss where the story succeeds or fails, and can create a full opinion of the work that doesn't fall under the binary of "problematic" or "not problematic".

"Mishandled" probably isn't a good word for the other category, because it automatically implies that the storyteller is the one doing the mishandling, but the mishandling can extend to the interpreter, too. This one is much less cut and dry than "taboo", and can range from objective to subjective.

For "mishandling" on the part of the storyteller, we can look at the ending of Supernatural. Fans had plenty of individual issues with the ending (Cas never got a real resolution, Dean died in a stupid way, Sam got married to Blurry Wife just to have a kid named Dean), but the core of why they found the ending "problematic" is because the writers took the core themes and relationships present throughout the series and amounted it to nothing. The issue was not "Cas went to Super Hell for being gay, that's Problematic!" The issue was "This story has built up the importance of free will and breaking free of any preordained fate, only for fate to win. Sam and Dean got the exact same endings they could have gotten in season 1, and there was no hope of either of them having anything better."

For "mishandling" on the part of the fans, we can look at Steven Universe, where a subset of fans decided that the show was "problematic" because Steven did not kill White Diamond. This is insane because 1) a core theme of the show is that EVERYONE is capable of change, not matter how unlikely it seems, and 2) the target audience of the show was children! The writers aren't going to make a show that says "Here's a story about a boy going on wacky adventures in which he helps various people forgive themselves and others, and builds meaningful relationships with them. Now he's going to brutally murder the Big Bad!"

There are "taboo" stories that poorly portray the heavy subject matter they're dealing with and cause harm; there are also "taboo" stories that have changed lives because of the meaningful way they talk about things that most people shy away from. There are "mishandled" stories that fumble their non-taboo subject matter so badly that it's as bad as "mishandled" taboo; there are also "mishandled" stories in which some of the audience wildly misinterprets what the storyteller was conveying, or projects their own limited views onto it.

No story is universally perfect. What matters is that we take the time to think critically and try to find value in them before branding them as "Problematic" or "Pure."

i recommend being a fan of 1 problematic piece of media at least once in your life

[atrustfulplace]

stop calling 911 queerbait because it's not pandering to your fetish ship as though there aren't ACTUAL queer characters who've been there since day one. like we know y'all don't give a fuck about the Black lesbians to the point of erasing their existence until they make useful tokens for your homophobic attacks on actual queers but God, don't y'all get tired of being trash? tis the season to make a new years resolution to grow tf up and speak to an actual queer person at some point. go watch another mediocre teen drama and leave grown queers in peace

extremely funny to receive my first anon hate over fucking 911.

1) i do get your vibes i (a lesbian (also an adult)) get pissed when people call 911 queerbait.

2) i know the reading comprehension on this cite is piss poor but i never thought it would happen to me. i said “911 AND shows that queer bait” not “911 AND OTHER shows that queer bait”

3) this post isn’t even about a ship, its about a specific character. like i fear you didn’t read the entire post, perhaps if you had you would have seen that in the tags i talk about making a future post specifically about the misogyny problem the fandom and eddie fans in particular often have

like i get where your coming from, straight girls who fetishize gay men but think lesbians are disgusting has been by far the most damaging homophobia i have faced. i also am hyper aware of how fandom centers men and is often directly or indirectly hateful/dismissive of women in media as well as the sapphics who call out this behavior. but i think you were a little to quick to jump to conclusions here.

anyway have a great day, can’t believe i got anon hate over a like 20 note post.

[mar0la]

they look down on the poor on here?? damn. i havent been on in a while

FUNNIEST ask I ever got in my life serious or not

for real tho anon in case you truly need to know: the "piss on the poor" thing a quickish phrase to refer to the poor reading comprehension skills often observed here on Tumblr.com because once someone posted that the reading comprehension here is "piss poor" and someone else comented "how dare you say we piss on the poor" and so it has become what it is and that is what I meant

[j-exclamationmark-l]

Monday, my partner and I were going to meet at our home station. We were actually on the phone with one another when he suddenly said, "sorry, cops are trying to talk to me right now," and hung up.

I arrived just as he was telling the cops, "Look, they're here, you can ask them."

The cops demanded my ID. I handed it over. They checked it against the train pass my partner was using, which was actually mine. I explained my partner couldn't find his train pass the previous day so I let him borrow it. The police chewed me out for a bit because apparently you can't do that, but they let us go.

My partner told me that when they stopped him, they asked for his ID. He went to pull it out of his wallet when they just fully took his whole wallet to search it, that's when they found my train pass.

I was pretty upset. Stopping him was racist. He also felt like if I didn't arrive right then, they might have taken him to the station. I did some research when we got home, apparently they don't even need to give you one phone call or anything, so I would have had no idea where he was and would not have been able to explain that I willingly let him borrow my train pass.

I went on Reddit to ask if it was okay to say no when the police ask you to hand something over. I mean, I would have fully thought before we were fine and not doing anything bad at all, the "you can't let someone borrow your card" thing really took me by surprise. What if we do something else innocuous one day and are stopped again? Like the other day my partner was carrying my violin for me, was that illegal too? A while back, my partner forgot his entire wallet in my backpack, what if I was searched then? I wanted to know if it was okay to say no when asked to hand a bag or wallet over.

Most of the Reddit comments were explaining why you can't carry someone else's train pass and links to websites backing up their statements. This is not what I was asking for. I already found out it was bad, I didn't need further proof. I also wasn't trying to argue whether it was okay or not. I know already. In the police's eyes, it's bad. You don't need to keep repeating what they told me.

The second most common comment was personal stories about others being stopped by the police. Kind of interesting to hear, but again, not what I was looking for.

The third most common type of comment was "I'M nOt HiDiNg AnYtHiNg sO i'M nOt AfRaiD tO lEt tHe PoLiCe ChECk MYYY bAg." To everyone who commented that, I would like to say: Piss off. No one asked you. I didn't think we had anything to hide, either. If it was me, I would have complied as well, and I probably also would have gotten in trouble for carrying my partner's wallet or something. I'm asking if it's okay to say no.

Piss poor reading comprehension is not limited to Tumblr.

[rosethourn]

Let's try using reading comprehension skills over "gotcha" tactics, ok? And then maybe you'll see why what you said is a blatant misinterpretation of what I said. I know it might be tough, but being a part of the "how dare you say we piss on the poor" population of this website isn't a cute look. You got this!

Anyways! For the rest of y'all! I know people are scared, and when we're scared we want simple, swift solutions. But we have to be vigilant not to fall back on reactionary thinking. The 4B movement reduces the idea of the patriarchy to men vs women, and not a systemic issue that anyone can uphold and fall victim to, regardless of gender. And because of that, they have very strict rules on What Is A Woman and What Is Not. News flash, it's the same transphobia and TERF rhetoric we've been fighting so hard in the states.

There can't be a trans-inclusive version of this movement because to do so, you need hard lines on who's a man and who's a woman. If we're excluding men, that means trans men will either get gendered correctly and marked as the enemy, be misgendered in order to be included, or the language shifts to people with uterus' versus people with penises, which is just extra steps to disguising transphobia/bioessentialism/transmedicalism. And trans women will continue not to be taken seriously and labeled as a threat despite how vulnerable that group already is. There is no safety here. (Note: Going forward I'll be using "men" and "women" moreso in the context the people in the 4B movement do, but again, this goes beyond sex/gender)

You also have to think about what happens next. The, "Then What?". What changes will it bring, how will it end the patriarchy? So you're not interacting with men anymore - To what end? This is a huge problem with certain activist movements, especially in the US, and especially with white people. You have to think it through. What happens to society if you exclude 50% of a population, indiscriminately, over something they have no control over? Probably not good! No not probably, definitely not good! That sounds like the nightmare y'all are trying to avoid! But as an individual, it's easy for these people to say, "too bad! They deserve to suffer!" But that is not a community mindset. Like it or not, we share a planet with men! And if you actually are trying to break free of the punitive system of justice, if you actually want to work towards restorative justice and leave behind the Incarceration State of Mind, then you need to take a step out of your individual point of view and do what's best for the community as a whole. Look out for one another, support the women in your community for sure, that's great! Call out people, yes I said people not just men, for upholding patriotic standards. And this goes for other men too! If you have a shitty misogynist guy friend, they're gonna listen to you before they listen to a woman say the same thing. Sucks to hear, but it's unrealistic to think change is gonna happen overnight, and it definitely isn't gonna happen if he already doesn't respect the people yelling at him about how he's wrong. He has to know he's wrong first. It also means calling out your friends who are dating/married to Republicans/misogynists/racists/homo/transphobs. There's nuance to everything obviously and there's no one right answer on how to approach this, but let your friends know it's fucked up to be with someone who doesn't respect their human rights. Help them out if it's an abusive situation, but if they're just giving them a pass, let them know that shit's disgusting, call them out on hypocrisy, make them actually consider what it means to be with someone like that. Keep each other accountable. It's not your job to fix every fuck ass dude who comes along TO AN EXTENT. And maybe on a personal level, it's not something you're good at/have the capacity for. And that's ok, but as a whole, we can't just give up on men and let them fend for themselves, because someone will find them and radicalize them against women further. That's what's already happening, we can't afford to make it worse!

And I know more blogs like the one above are gonna hit me with different strawmen arguments or take what I say out of context or just completely misrepresent what I've said, so I'll say this. There's nothing wrong with being choosy about who you date/sleep with/marry/have kids with. Be choosy about who you're friends with! In most cases I think it's best to be. But if you think you're gonna avoid toxic relationships, abuse, misogyny, etc by changing your only metric to Women™️, you're gonna fail. Personal choice is one thing, activism is another.

Sorry if this is rambling, but I'm scared, I'm depressed, and I'm pissed off. It hurts to see people I know care about queer people and community building forget the dog whistles and fall into cultish radical groups. Cults and other radical groups wait for a victimized population to be vulnerable and swoop in with a solution dressed up with all the right words to make it seem like it's a good thing for you when it just isn't. Stay safe, stay smart, stay alert. Not all that glitters is gold yada yada yada 🫰🏻

and American women i am being SO serious when i say we need to learn from our South Korean sisters and follow their steps with the 4B movement. the house of representatives, the senate, the supreme court, and the president are ALL red now. if american men want to control our bodies and choices so much then let’s give them HELL!

read about the 4B movement:

[shijiujun]

on the danmei twitter fight

okay guys i didn’t wanna say anything about this and yes it’s that hot danmei twitter translations saga thing that’s going on, because honestly i feel like there’s nothing much to say but when i see dumb posts on tumblr taking about that, by people who present a misleading hot take and their friends or moots run off with it without even knowing what exactly is going on - it really pisses me off.

and also if you shit talk translators for not continuing their translations or locking their translations whatever - the door is that way on your right and left, but anyway here’s a rundown on what happened because i am seeing people make comments without two brain cells put together, without the slightest bit of consideration for the people who bring them translations

here’s my hot take and thesis: if you enjoy english translations made by fan translators, you don’t, in any way, no matter happens, shit talk fan translators. fan translators do this for free, and whatever their intentions are, whether genuine sharing or like some of you like to say, for clout, if you consume, and you enjoy these translations, i’m sorry, you’re not uninvolved, and you don’t get to sit on a high horse and say translators should or shouldn’t do something. you should just keep quiet, honestly, because someone else is doing you a favour, a favour that you are enjoying and taking. that’s what respect is.

i’m presenting both sides or i guess three sides of the story as objectively as i can, altho my support is still for fan translators who were just minding their own business before this blew up.

===

🔺 what happened:

so it started because one of the bigger translators in the fandom did this poll - i’m not blaming her at all, i doubt she had any intentions of shaming anyone or causing any controversy and was plain curious, but her poll asked english speaking danmei twitter how many people buy the digital, print copies of the danmei they read, and who did not. 

in my honest opinion, it’s not strange at all for her to have created that poll, considering just how much work she’s put into making sure things are accessible for the eng-speaking danmei fandom. i mean i’d be curious too, to know out of my thousands of readers, what the reading and buying behaviour is like. do yourself a favour and don’t read too much into it.

obviously in an era where a lot of people do consume content for free whether the underlying content is profit-making (like anime, donghua, manhua, manga etc.) or not (fanfiction etc.), it was unsurprising to see that the last option - the ones who consume danmei without paying a single cent, came out as the majority. i don’t think this is a surprising result at all, for all sorts of reasons that i will not get into now.

anyway, this is obviously kind of a sore point in the fandom especially for translators who want a wider audience to support their fave author’s works - i won’t get into that for now, but the issue began because other translators or fans started to criticize the majority of people who don’t pay for objectively rather affordable danmei and just consume things for free. 

and yes, i don’t deny that the argument on both sides got really heated and emotionally charged with both sides calling each other names which i believe is uncalled for, but it totally derailed the crux of the issue, which basically is that the majority of english-speaking danmei fandom - consumes danmei for free.

anyway this whole thing escalated and fan translators were brought into this for no fucking reason at all except that the people who didn’t want, or were unable to pay for the danmei they usually consume, made what i call a LOGICAL FALLACY in argument by going to the extremes, i will explain why later.

the end result is that fan translators were brought into this (most of them, the bigger ones i know at least) without even participating in the direct crossfire. and obviously, you can see why they’re hurt and decided to lock their translations. let me explain why

===

🔺 kind of like four camps:

(1) translators and fans who criticized those who consume danmei liberally but do not pay for them in any way - no merch, no digital copies, no physical copies, no audio dramas whatever

*** their arguments:

danmei is so cheap right, that technically people should be able to pay for it in one way or another, even if not all

danmei and its authors are, at the end of the day, out here to earn a living, and the industry, like any money-making industry, is a for-profit enterprise - and unlike public goods, if you cannot afford danmei, then there is no obligation for others to make it free for you (fan translators or otherwise, it wasn’t super clearly stated while this shitshow happened) when it is inherently a for-profit industry

yes, i don’t deny that some of them did call the peeps who don’t pay at all, “leeches” and other sort of names. personally, i wouldn’t go that far or even like venture there to be honest because in general, if it’s something that i’ll get punched in the face for if i called someone that in real life i tend not to do it, but i’ll leave my opinions, whatever they’re worth, for later

(2) the readers and fans of danmei who do not pay in any sort of way for them

*** their arguments:

some of them really cannot afford, even the dollar or more, to spend on danmei for several reasons: upbringing, culture, money-spending mindsets, real poverty, struggling to make ends meet etc. - some definitely more valid than others (and when i say not valid, it’s because SOME, a minority or like those few stragglers, say they cannot afford and then you see them like idk, throwing $50 on other merch on kpop and stuff - i’m just bringing up ONE example. not shaming anyone for spending more money on one aspect rather than the other, but yeah you can see why some of them, when making this same argument, are a little invalid, that’s just a small number of them tho)

if translators are blaming them for consuming free of charge, then the fault lies, at its foundation, fan translators who translate illegally, which i mean, in that definition, all of them including me 

did i mention that we were called illegal translators like you know in response to being called leeches? anyway-

(3) others translators who literally were just minding their own fucking business before some smart alec dragged them into it

i don’t think most of us had an argument. we were just quietly munching on popcorn and staying out of it and yeah, can you imagine, we provide a service, however illegal it is, for free on our own time, we don’t even check whether people support legally or not, we just... provide, and pray that those who are able to, at least support in some small way or another do so, on their own time. i mean i don’t check, most of us don’t, not the bouncers at your local club before COVID happened do, and then suddenly, to be used to derail an argument, we were called illegal translators. and that we should stop translating, and that it is our fault that there are free riders in the fandom

(4) people who offered to provide JJWXC credits to those who said they couldn’t afford it etc.

honestly i think they were just trying to help - no different than a gofundme. there’s no shame in taking a free thing that people already weren’t intending to pay for. it’s there, just take it!

===

🔺 the shitshow that led to fan translators locking their stuff up:

i would provide some actual examples in the form of screenshots but i’ve blocked most of them, and i don’t want to direct any sort of traffic to them so i guess you’ll have to take my word on it or go search on twitter yourself but-

(1) the affordability issue: i can understand the frustration at being called leeches, and some if not a majority of people, do have valid reasons for not being able to afford something or anything and end up pirating content they enjoy. hey, i am not about to crucify anyone for pirating at some point in their lives. we all have done it at some point, or for example hate disney+ and that $30 they were trying to rip off us for a subpar Mulan live action. i don’t have anything to say about that. inherently, is it wrong and illegal? yeah sure of course it is. do we call people leeches? i wouldn’t go that far.

if anyone cannot afford, cannot access for whatever reason, fine, i’m not gonna go check if jjwxc truly is banned in your country, or is your postal service so terrible that you definitely won’t be able to receive a hard copy of the book you like at affordable rates.

and if you have to pirate? go ahead. i mean it’s always been a rampant thing. the only thing fan translators and fans can do is encourage, motivate and incentivise as much as possible to get people to support legally. they can only put up REALLY COMPREHENSIVE guides as to how to access jjwxc or taobao or whatever. 

and if you still cannot afford it and pirate, honestly no one cares about the story behind it. you owe no one justification, just as how no other person is obligated to take it into consideration or understand you or empathize with you. i don’t say this in a malicious way - i do think that in general, you just do you. 

(2) the poor people don’t deserve nice things argument: honestly, this was not the point of this entire debacle, altho yes, people were rude to those who could not afford to support legally. but this is not the point of this whole thing.

main point - there are free riders who can support but choose not to because they choose to just consume it for free and if you are able to you should support

everyone going off on a tangent - you guys hate poor people / you guys are leeches

well guess what, no one wins in this argument. 

there were a lot of people saying “reading danmei is our only source of happiness, are you saying poor people who can’t access legally don’t deserve to read danmei” (this is just one example i’ve seen, there are other variations), and it wasn’t put across perhaps in the right way, but the other camp of people were saying “you’re not entitled to it for free if you cannot afford it”, which raised a lot of hackles and anti-poor yellings 

altho i do not deny that there are those who mean it maliciously, i think what everyone is trying to say is - the danmei industry, like any other profit-making industry, is looking to make profits. the people working in the industry, the authors even, are looking at numbers - traffic to jjwxc or other legal platforms, how much revenue they’re making from their live actions etc., comments, rankings, etc. i think @/hunxi-after-hours made a really succinct post on this aspect which yall should read.

it’s the same as - if you wanted to purchase a standee which costs $20 USD, but you cannot afford it = you don’t get it. there’s no way you can get this standee unless some gifts it to you for free. what the camp trying to ask people to support legally is saying, is that danmei is NOT A PUBLIC GOOD. it is a private, for-profit product. it might be intangible, but it is a PRODUCT that has a price that needs to be paid.

if you cannot afford it, you either don’t get access entirely (i’m saying this objectively and honestly from an economic standpoint). if someone gifts that standee to you for free, count yourself lucky - if someone makes a danmei accessible to you for free, COUNT YOURSELF LUCKY. you don’t have to be grateful and treat them as gods or like obey their every word, but it’s not rocket science. someone did you a favour that you accepted and consumed, show some respect. 

if you cannot afford to buy the standee - you do not go on twitter demanding that someone ensures that you have access to the standee for free. do you see how ridiculous this sounds once it’s a tangible product? and danmei novels ARE PRODUCTS. they are not FREE CONTENT. if someone cannot afford the standee, this is the equivalent of people going “we didn’t get the standee for free because poor people don’t deserve nice things”

totally missing the point. i don’t even know how it got to this. once again, i do admit that some users were unnecessarily mean, but going to the extreme of this is ridiculous. in argumentative essay writing we call this a logical fallacy:

e.g. “if you cannot pay for merchandise or danmei, it is a fact that you might not have access to it” morphing into “if we cannot pay for food, does this mean we cannot have access to it?!” - this is a slippery slope, and factors are not equivalent!!!! do they not teach people anything in school

don’t confuse fanfiction with danmei - danmei novels ARE PAID PRODUCTS unless for free chapters, just because it’s released online doesn’t mean it’s free public property, and also selected novels (did you guys know the WHOLE of SCI novel is free? about 500 chapters sorry, random, just a tidbit)

there are of course nuances right, like if anyone told me they were pirating disney+ content i’d be like yeah hey get one over those bloodsuckers, they take enough of our money and produce shit content anyway. the difference is that danmei authors, and the danmei industry itself can still be considered a nascent and not-yet matured industry, with a majority of authors if not all, depending on monetary flow, likes, comments, virality on the sites their content is hosted on, for a living, unlike hugeass MNCs trying to squeeze us dry for content that isn’t even interesting.

danmei is priced rather reasonably - and this brings me to another argument that was made, that the value of money is not the same for everyone. i don’t want to make comments on this because yes this is correct to a large extent. a $6 book might be cheap to most of us, but might be expensive to someone else. i’m not gonna comment on how cheap or whatever it is, if you gotta use your money for other things, definitely! i still maintain however, that a novel less than a dollar should be affordable to most people, a majority of people. and i definitely side eye some users who obviously have money but are just creating noise because they wanna continue free-riding

(4) the “they’re losing out on their international audience” argument: honestly, i feel like english-speaking danmei fandom gives themselves a bit too much credit. danmei has long thrived in china in its domestic market - sure the international audience is a plus to have and i’m sure the authors are grateful and flattered that people who don’t understand chinese love their content and love it a lot, but do they and their companies care about fans who basically don’t bring in money? i’m not sure (okay i’ll get to the fan translators doing illegal shit later okay i got it don’t be impatient)

and international fans are great, i don’t deny that - but when i see arguments like “oh but it’s their loss if they don’t cater or deny access to us, they get more popularity and sharing overseas”, i honestly think they don’t care as much as you think. once again, hunxi made a really good argument regarding non-sinophone audiences, but it really irks me, because this is the same as:

an instagram influencer saying they’ll give a restaurant exposure for free to their followers, if they get a free meal

it’s par for par - danmei authors wants earnings, popularity, tangible results that show that they are succeeding. this is life. if i put something out there for sale, i better be getting returns, simple economic logic. they probably don’t care that a non-paying reader is bringing them greater ‘exposure’ - once again, i mean this objectively. 

and yes if they’re thriving without the international market then why should it matter that people are pirating right? which brings me to the next point~

(5) it’s fan translators faults for so many people pirating, and fan translators are the ones doing the “illegal” work: this one is like... wow where do i unpack this and how-

firstly, we are talking about assholes who can pay but decide to free ride and not pay for danmei, and we assume that if you really cannot afford and have to pirate, no one’s saying anything as long as you don’t go around spreading how to pirate, how the hell did it get to fan translators from “you guys are anti-poor” and whatever

yes, fan translations are indeed illegal, i don’t deny that, and i also don’t deny that there are translators who translate for clout and popularity but putting these aside - here’s what i have seen from people who ran their mouths and made this argument

“if you guys care about us pirating the book so much than fan translators shouldn’t have translated in the first place” and “if you wanna come after us for reading illegally, then fan translators, you guys should go get the copyright for the book and then translate it cuz what you guys are doing is also illegal”

hooooo i’m telling ya, i am all for translators locking up their translations at this point. see how fucking hurtful that is? you eat from my hand and then now you biting at the hand that fed you the gays in love?

honestly if you’ve made this argument or supported this, you can basically go to hell. yes this is personal because what, you think fan translators don’t take out their personal time and effort and hard work to make translations accessible to you? if you’re ever consumed and read translations, don’t be a hypocrite and make this argument. you benefitted from it, now you wanna say it’s their fault? 

most translators want to share and spread the love they have for a novel right, want to show you how wonderful all these authors are, how much enjoyment u get from reading these wonderfully thought out stories of gays in love. yes we all know we are illegally translating, which is why on top of sharing we first, purchase the novels legally ourselves first, and then we try to encourage people to buy etc. and actually put their money to use. it doesn’t make it any less illegal, but we are bridging the gap between danmei and basically the english-speaking fandom, albeit illegally

we aren’t that self-important to ask for gratefulness but some respect would be nice. like i said, you read it, you consumed it, you enjoyed it, you can only access it because of illegal translators - a bit counter-intuitive to yell at these translators, who are simply telling you, if you can, please support. and none of us went “if you cannot afford, begone!”

===

🔺 some people tried to help by offering jjwxc credits so people who cannot afford as they say, can get legal access: honestly, just take it right, guess what some of these users did in response

they said the people giving away credits are trying to redeem themselves for their comments by giving away free stuff

they also said that we are trying to shame the people who cannot afford it with this handout to them, to show that they are the bigger person - the fact that they think this is a handout to them is TELLING. the people offering this is giving their money not to these readers, but to the authors! that’s the point of this exercise!!!

one of them even said “instead of trying to do these giveaways, here, there are greater world problems out there, donate instead to these causes” - love the initiative, but how did we get from being able to afford danmei and entertainment content to saving the world? i just- i cannot

===

🔺 so why i get why fan translators are locking up their translations, because wow, so hurtful:

you have no idea how many fucking assholes went “sure, lock up your translations, deal with the consequences” - ermmmm firstly, thanks for making a threat. like who the fuck do you think you are?

the consequences is... the authors still don’t get the money these free riders weren’t going to give them anyway, so no loss, and they weren’t reading on jjwxc anyway so you know, the authors don’t lose or gain any readership numbers or traffic they didn’t already have. instead, it WILL push and force people to pay for the PRODUCT. once again, it’s a product.

this works, and i’d say Word of Honor’s payment model worked marvellously for Youku, because they fucking forced everyone to pay to access content. ALL OF THEM. sure ok some people still pirated it, but how many MORE people paid on Youku, on Youku Youtube, watched on Viki etc. than if they didn’t? even english-speaking fandom were wracking their brains trying to purchase a Youku pass even if there were no subs initially - and other examples that lovely hunxi brought up in her amazing piece

and for translators?! honestly me for one, i’m glad i don’t feel pressured anymore to churn out a chapter every week since we get called names etc. most of us are glad to have a break to be honest. we’ve lost all motivation to translate because it’s a free service, at the very least we don’t expect like hate, or rudeass fuckers. for those who are doing a proof of purchase thing - go for it honestly! 

hopefully it’ll minimize the free rider problem - some people for whatever reasons really cannot buy or support legally, that’s totally cool and they don’t have to justify it, i get that. but for others making the same argument but obviously are just unwilling to pay because they can’t read chinese, think it’s too troublesome when there are guides and translators provide it for free anyway so what’s the point - we all make concessions and make decisions to grab what we like (not talking about the ppl who have their various troubles and difficulties!)

===

🔺 and those who are saying why is it the ‘rest of us suffer’ from locked translations just because of a few bad apples:

IT ISN’T ABOUT YOU. where the hell were all of ya when we were getting called illegal huh? it’s about us fan translators getting shot at for no reason, and then people still demanding things for free. i don’t see any of the people i’ve seen on tumblr complain about fan translators stopping or locking translations defend any of us in any way. instead, you’re complaining.

it is the translator’s prerogative to start, stop and end translations, unless of course the original author starts to sue i suppose. i see people on tumblr going like if they were gonna do this, they shouldn’t have started in the first place etc. - i don’t what world you live in, but when i do something for free, then get called names and am attacked or get dictated on how i should do something that’s already like free, i tend to be less generous.

i’m sorry, do us illegal and free translators owe ANY OF YOU? i wasn’t aware any of us were being paid for this hobby. readers, especially those who CAN and just refuse to support, don’t get to say SHIT. translators deal with so much shit and so many entitled readers, i say they get to lock whatever they want as long as they aren’t profiting off of this monetarily.

let me give you an example - nan chan, which is translated by lian yin, completed translations by the way for all chapters. it is all free for viewing, and she only locked up one extra and asked for proof of payment. some dumbfuck quotes that locked up extra chapter tweet and said “honestly, this turned me off reading this novel because they restricted access”.

the. fucking. entitlement. the whole of nan chan is free, that’s like what more than 80 chapters. she locked up the EXTRA and the money goes to the author, she doesn’t earn anything. AND HERE THAT BIJ is (yes, i’m going to call them names because you know, fucking asshole who didn’t bother to check) going “yeah i didn’t wanna read because 1/80+ chapters were locked”. 

AN EXTRA. LITERALLY AN EXTRA!!!!!!

at the end of the day, translators are not like DYING to translate, not like some of you are DYING to read the translations. once again, this isn’t a “BE GRATEFUL” message, it’s a please be respectful to the people who put in time and hard work for free and share the goodness ya know? what’s the use of yelling at fan translators as if we owe you anything?

================

🔴🔴🔴 TOO LONG DIDN’T READ 🔴🔴🔴

some people may need really need to pirate - and no one needs to justify why they cannot afford to purchase etc. pirating happens all the time, translators only hope that when you can, and in whatever way you can, to support legally - in general we don’t ask and we get it! we’re just annoyed that some people think that it SHOULD BE FREE, when it is a paid product, especially for those who CAN afford it

readers are not entitled to shit on translators for what they do with their translations - once again, you’re not OBLIGATED to have it. so what if i start and stop? i’m the one doing the work, i get the only say. don’t be a hypocrite and shit on translators, whose works you’ve read - it’s no loss for translators, we read and enjoy danmei just fine

yes, fan translations are illegal, but you can’t read and enjoy them like some of you have, and then turn around and point the finger at translators - a lot of us are happy to stop translating - this isn’t a threat, but at the end of the day, shitting on translators simply decreases access, and sure, some people can indeed live with you know, MTL or shitty translations from people who’ve learnt chinese for only six months or whatever, but you’re gonna be reading an entirely different book tbh

the people saying illegal translators are at fault - funnily enough, most of them consume the translations, so what the fuck? i mean we know it’s illegal, we’re trying to share the love and trying to minimize the illegalities of it by redirecting people to hopefully support legally. it’s still illegal yes, but i think it’s hypocritical for people who have read translations, stab translators in the back. and now that translators are indeed ‘restricting’ and ‘removing’ their ‘illegal translations’, yall yelling again? and threatening?

fan translators aren’t “elitist” or “classist” - just looking for some respect in a community which seems to have taken them for granted, and also looking for support for their fave authors - and honestly a lot of us were caught in the crossfires truly, don’t be an asshole and demand things from fan translators - who are you talking about? do you know why they decided to lock? do you know know what their locking system is like and what for? 

it’s not EASY to lock the translations up - it’s more admin work, it’s putting together a whitelist of people, if given the choice i’m sure translators would prefer to share everything. but not when there are assholes who have a comment on how they should translate etc. and yeah!!! calling us illegal!! i mean we are but still!!

the last straw was seeing that post on tumblr and people in the comments going like fan translators shouldn’t or should do something, without getting the whole picture, without even considering how hard it is for fan translators being caught in this situation. 

whoever puts in the work gets to decide, and everyone else should leave them alone. 

be nice to the people who really cannot afford as they say so (or just don’t think about it), be nice to the translators feeding you content, and the people who free ride and shit on translators - honestly, i’d say ready the pitchforks.

edit: i forgot to mention this is my hot take and i’ve tried to like present all the arguments i’ve seen so far. i’m definitely not doing all of it justice and i don’t claim to speak on behalf of any of them except maybe one or two- and i’ve definitely left out stuff, but anyway, lmao we’re just tiny people doing what we love. i wish we could solve you know inequality or poverty or hunger or other pressing concerns. if i was that great i wouldn’t be stuck on tumblr or twitter or have to make posts like these like a loser.

thanks for coming to my ted talk.

[hmspogue]

Outer Banks season 2 Official Trailer shot-by-shot rundown

A comprehensive post where I scream about analyze the entire trailer frame by frame for clues, theories, and plot. Just my own opinions and general tin foil-hatting

These are screenshots from Netflix’s trailer for Outer Banks season 2. I do not claim or own any of these.

note: this post is tagged as a long post if you wish to avoid having to scroll until your thumbs break.

“My old man used to tell me, ‘it’s best to never say you’ve hit rock bottom’.”

(Putting all of these shots together since they’re scenes we already know but-) Holy shit, okay let’s just....start off like this I guess, damn.

“'Trust me’, he said...”

Kiara looking back and forth between the boys like this really just feeds the headcanon I have that her form of grief this season is going to be her trying to hold it together for their sakes (and eventually just snapping).

JJ just looks fucking furious someone give these kids a hug? I already know this scene is going to ruin me.

“You can always go...”

JJ back working at the hotel. He looks literally so angry again in this scene I could see him self destructing at work and losing his job? (Please do not be isolating yourself you beautiful son of a bitch even though I know you’re going to).

Pope in the Twinkie (costuming wise they all are in warmer looking clothes for some of the shots, so just confirming it’s a little bit into the school year when this all takes place).

“Lower”

Big John was real big into pep talks, I see. (seriously can you imagine Big John having this conversation with like 8 year old John B after he fucking dropped his ice cream cone or some shit I shouldn’t be laughing).

I’m just-

These poor kids, I wanna know how the police all the way down in the Bahama’s knew about them?

Their calves....

“RUN!”

Are going to be so fucking jacked by the end of this season I stg.

Fuck you.

“The gold from the Royal Merchant....it’s here.”

For a while, I had thought that maybe they didn’t even make it to the Bahama’s at the front of the season and ended there (because everyone had been filming in there). But I guess they’re going to be making two trips.

If I were a bird from this POV I’d shit right on that house no questions asked.

oooooh ho hokay. Just so we’re clear. Ward Cameron not only get away with murder and about two dozen other felonies, but-

“Half a billion.”

HE STILL FINDS THE GOLD IN THE CRAIN HOUSE AND GETS TO KEEP IT?

Not the polo with the snap back, I just know this man has a playlist called Sad Boi Hours that is just Juice WRLD’s top 5 songs on Spotify and he tells his friends they wouldn’t know the underground artists he listens to.

Sh, you have lost screaming privileges. Go inside and take a nap maybe.

“John B, we are fugitives in a foreign country.”

So, previously, I was talking about how I was confused how they would still be trying to find him is everyone thought he was dead, but here the wanted poster clearly says “presumed lost at sea”. I think that will be interesting to see how the Pogues all interpret that. 

Especially because they already had a memorial for John B and everything, I wonder if there will be any part of the Pogues holding out hope that they both could still be out there OUCH.

I’m going to circle back to this, but it looks like John B and Sarah are going to get separated for a little while in this man hunt, I could see my idiot himbo son trying to sacrifice himself so Sarah can get away but in reality just....stranding her.

“Promise me you won’t do anything stupid?”

Oh, sweetie....

“Well, Sarah Cameron, I do stupid things all the time without realizing it.”

The volume of his self awareness is astronomical. sir, that is your whole character summed up in your own words.

GOD, IT’S ME AGAIN. PLEASE LET THEM LEAN INTO COMPLETE HIMBO JOHN B THIS SEASON I’LL DO ANYTHING-

nyyooooOOOOOOOOOOOOM-

“Hold on!”

The complete abject terror I would feel having John Booker Routledge driving get-away and then saying the words “Hold on” while reaching fro the gear shift? The english language fails me. 

Sarah, bestie, I’m so sorry.

I just wanna know-

what the plan or objective was in this situation. What was the reason for being this dramatic.

Rest in piss, bozo <3

“Ward’s still out there...”

Okay, same conversation they were having as before. I wonder what makes them decide they need to get back to the OBX for this tho.

“I can clear my name. This can all be over in one shot.”

It looks like Topper watching this but way more concerningly, correct me if I’m wrong but this 100% looks like....John B gets caught. And the DEATH PENALTY?! He did have a mug shot for the fliers in s1 and the one above but he was never brought in? Plus he just looks super dirty and dishevled in this one so I-

Jail break anyone?

I also still want to know if they’re going to go with a Topper redemption arc this season. like, does he know more than he should just from being around Rafe and his big fat mouth? Is he going to help out the Pogues even if it’s just for Sarah?

This shot just suddenly made me really sad. The thought of this all started because Big John left one last thing for his son to find, his literal life’s work. And when it all started, it was just a fun adventure John B and his best friends were going on together and having fun with. Then it all got dragged to absolute shit and turned into what it did, including the remaining 3 Pogues thinking that this treasure hunt took their two best friends away from them. And it’s nothing like Big John intended it to be.

Why my eyes wet?

Now we’re edging into what I was talking about earlier with John B and Sarah getting separated.

“If you think there is anything I wouldn’t do...”

Once again, John B is no where to be found. Also, just in case y’all didn’t already know or forgot Ward is an actual psychopath.

I believe this one of the new character, played by Jontavious Johnson (Stubbs). Based on the voice over it lowkey sounds like they’re implying Ward maybe hired Stubbs and Cleo to find and bring Sarah back. My theory would be I bet they do go to retrieve her, but she somehow convinces them that it would be more beneficial for them in the end to be on the Pogue’s side instead.

Miss Girl you gotta be keeping your head on a SWIVEL. Especially when you’re a FUGITIVE of the LAW-

“...you haven’t been paying attention.”

My guy, who are you clarifying this for?

It’s what you deserve for monologuing.

in all seriousness, the idea of them coming to face to face with Ward in Nassau after thinking they finally escaped him is genuinely terrifying.

“SARAH!”

It kind of looks like they’re either hiding their faces or covering their noses? I don’t know maybe it was from some tactic to get away from Ward.

What did I literally jsut say about yelling privileges, you unhinged mother fucker?

“I’m calling the shots now. I’m driving.”

The following progression of scenes made me actually snort-

“I can’t drive stick.”

PLEASE THE FINGER GUNS LAUNCHED ME INTO ORBIT I LOVE THEM, YOUR HONOR.

Alright, so now it looks like we’re in Charleston. This is the same scene with Heyward’s truck that got leaked from BTS (read: JJ and Kie shoulder touch).

One of the main things that stuck out to me in the following scenes which, you will see, is it lowkey looks like Pope is kind of heading up this part of the operation, or even going in alone? The following clips are just very Pope focused. 

I don’t know what it means, it’s just an observation.

“John B was not the only one that Ward double-crossed.”

LIMBRY-

Bro, we have been hearing about this woman for literal months and I just have....so many questions? 

Who the hell is she? How is she connected to Ward? Why is she in South Carolina instead of the OBX? How do the Pogues even learn about her and how to track her down? How is she meant to “help” them? GAH I JUST WANNA KNOOOW. I already know I don’t trust her though and no I will not be offering up supporting evidence.

Sir, that is my son please unhand him.

“I think you know what I want.”

.......no? But feel....free to explain yourself?

The print on the paper is the same one that’s on the ceiling tiles in the following scene. Obviously, with a key on it that most likely goes to the place a few shots from now.

Hell yeah, son, let’s get SLEUTHING.

“The treasure belongs to the Pogues.”

DAMN STRAIGHT.

Bestie’s I’m not going to lie, I stared at this frame for a solid 10 minuets and I have no idea what it says on there I’m sorry. Someone in the comments is welcome to enlighten us.

“We gotta find it first.”

I can’t tell if that’s just dirt or if he hurt his head? But he look GOOD right now for one thing. For another, same outfit as the one in the Twinkie from the beginning of the trailer.

Look at her. LooK AT HER! LOOK! AT! HER! I MISSED HER SO MUCH even in that damn smiley face top that continues to haunt my waking hours she is in it so much and it stresses me out for literally no good reason I’m sorry-

I could literally cry right now and I think that speaks volumes to how little we actually see him genuinely happy. Have I mentioned how much I love that red hat?

Also, probably not that important, but this is not from the same scene as the shots of Pope and Kiara were. This is from the next one-

“Woogity-woogity?”

“Give me some woogity, baby!”

Yeah, this pushed me over the fucking edge, the way that they’re actually happy and laughing? The fact that they kept woogity-woogity and made it A Thing? Yes.

I am, however, going to be intentionally ignoring what appears to be the very intentional stagingof having such an obvious space between where Kiara and Pope are sitting adn where JJ sits, even including the level they’re sitting on because I don’t have the emotional capacity to face those implications right now. Thank you for your time.

Yes yeeeeEEEEEESSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!

GIVE ME ALL OF THE SCENES OF THEM ACTUALLY GETTING TO BE TEENAGERS AND JUST BREATHE AND LAUGH AND HAVE A GOOD TIME AND NOT BE RUNNING FOR THEIR FUCKING LIVES!!!!!!!!!!!

before Rafe comes in and literally starts shooting because they can’t breathe for more than 7 seconds but we’ll....get to that.

They refer to Sarah as a Pogue this season or I burn Netflix to the ground. Your move, Jonas.

50 bucks says John B is driving the Twinkie again for the first time since being back.

I deadass think the Pogues JUST got Sarah and John B back and they’re just having the time of their life. Kie was in her smiley face outfit when Pope was in this one a few clips ago, and I still hold to the belief that that one still they released of JJ and Kie hopping over a fence is the Pogue reunion so-

Ward? I have no idea what he’s looking at behind the wall paper and I’ll be so honest I don’t care my eyes are only seeing Pogue content right now.

“This is a map of the whole island.”

This fit, when will John B learn how to operate buttons, stay tuned for season 5. Also my previous theory of this being their reunion outfits and stuff because Pope is in the back in the same jacket as before.

The plot thickens and so has JJ’s hair, Rudy drop the shampoo brand.

Please, dear God, tell me they’re back in the sex church. For @jiaaraa sake.

Kiara, your Madison is showing.

Okay, I really did try but all I can make out is Something to the tomb begin something something.

You’re welcome.

I am no expert but I do not believe boats operate on land.

John B looks like he is in the same outfit here that is in his mug shot we saw on the TV screen so I have a sneaking suspicion this is where he gets caught. 

“John B is back-”

Once again with the damn sexual tension that’s always between Barry and Rafe in every scene they do are we about to kiss right now?

“-it’s him or me.”

First of all, no.

Second of all, I’m just....so very confused about this time line this season. It kind of looks like Ward and Rafe follow and find Sarah and John B in Nassau (unless those scenes by the truck were actually back in the OBX). So did they....go to Nassau, then just come right back when they did? I’m just confused.

Put that thing back where it came from or so help me.

Literally when will you stop at this point I am begging you. 

This looks like the same scene the Pogues were, ya know, literally just having a good time at so fuck me, I guess.

Yeah, no, it’s going to be a no from me, I’m just going to pretend like I’m not seeing this and moving on.

I have simply no idea what is going on here or who that is on the bike but maybe JJ? Maybe Luke even? I think that’s JJ’s bike. 

The sewer scene. The SEWER SCENE-

For months sicne that tiktok leaked this damn scene has been genuinely all I could think about. So (obviously) it seems like they’re sending Kie down into the sewer to go do seomthing and things go horribly, horribly wrong. 

If you haven’t seen the tiktok, essentially all it was was JJ and Pope screaming and trying to lift up the man hole cover while Kie is begging for them to hurry from inside. I’m cheating a little bit as this isn’t a shot from the trailer but this picture was posted and it’s from the same scene.

I’ll just....leave this here. Back to the trailer shots.

Nice. Also, same shirt as mugshot.

Hey, um, what? 

Kiara’s car, she’s driving, I can’t tell who’s in the back seat or the front.

Holy God what is going on and how can I as an audience member put a stop to it?

So, same scene as we will see and was in the teaser but, for some reason, they’re all jumping off of a giant ass boat into the little life raft where it looks like JJ gets hurt later but don’t you worry we’re getting to that.

JJ AND KIARA WITH THE POGUE HANDSHAKE JJ AND KIARA WITH THE POGUE HANDSHAKE THEY BOTH LOOK SO DAMN GOOD AND THEIR LITTLE SMILES SPARE ME-

Cleo 🥵

I’m so excited to see her arc and what it brings this season you guys have no idea.

Please for the love of God be about to get Ward Cameron’s ass like he deserves literally punt him into jail right from Tanny Hill.

Sarah at My Druther’s with what looks like a bloody bandage on her side? Same outfit she’s wearing when they’re running from the police on the beach and she has the bandage there too so. Interesting. 

Topper hugging who I’m pretty sure is Sarah, being a general douche because he’s clearly looking at John B like 😏 

Clips like these serve to remind me just how many of my worldly posessions I would gladly give up to be able to punch Topper Thorton in the throat one time. 

I think this is Cleo jumping off the boat with Pope after John B and Sarah. 

Absolutely busting a lung at Pope’s form in this one.

John B and Sarah waiting in the life raft, still Cleo and Pope coming after them. The obvious next question is where are JJ and Kiara. The scene I’m sure you all have been waiting for is coming up and clearly takes place in the life raft as well.

So, I really think JJ and Kie get left for last, something horrible happens as they’re trying to jump (my head instantly goes to JJ maybe like pushing Kie out of the way and getting hit on the head instead or even just some accident). 

And, oh my GOD a scene of him falling off the boat after it happens and Kiara diving in after him immediately, having to desperatly try to stop him from sinkingand get to the life raft holy shit-

Girl CATCH HIM?????

Because why wouldn’t this be Rafe’s fault. Part of me wonders if this isn’t related to JJ being hurt.

I am going to try and unpack this as calmly as possible because behind my computer screen I am vibrating at a frequency that could shatter glass but respectfully.

WHAT IN THE FUCK IS TIAUEWFHLAILA

Okay, so scene wise, JJ’s hit his head somehow (probably while he was jumping with Kiara) it looks like and now they’re back on the raft. 

In my opinion, this is either:

A) JJ is in really, really bad condition after getting hurt in the jump and they’re not sure he’s going to make it. So this is a “Please stay with me, stay awake, please don’t die” hug OR

B) They very narrowly just avoided a deadly situation (my first thought is JJ hits his head while jumping, passes out in the water, maybe almost drowns but Kie and the others get him onto the life raft in time) and this is more of a “Oh my God, you’re okay, you’re safe now, we’re okay” hug. 

I honestly lean more to the second one based on the little bit of Sarah’s face we saw in the background. To me, it almost looked like she was smiling thru tears, which, fits way more with the second option than the first. 

Anyways. Moving on before I burst a lung again.

(also, before anyone comes at me, no, I’m not happy JJ is hurt, obviously.  

(Once again, arrest outfits). You can still see the bandage but it looks like Sarah’s limping now too so...good Lord give the girl a break maybe?

Everything in this trailer just went to shit so fast I think I have whip lash, can we go back to the Pogues hanging out and being happy now pkease I liked those scenes.

“I get it. You guys are scared.”

“No.”

She’s cute but, uh, hello sewer scene outfits. Seems like them planning to do whatever the hell they were going to do in the sewers but the boys are starting to get cold feet as maybe they should but hind sight is 20/20 I suppose.

“It’s kind of cute.”

“I’m not scared.”

“You should’ve just led with that.”

I will never be able to express how much I adore Pogue banter and general dumbassery and I have a feeling this season will not be lacking in either department

I high key don’t think these two are actually going to be there for this scene to go down but I’ll let it slide this time because-

They do be kinda cute.

It both feels like I’ve been waiting for this damn show for 3 years and also like I just watched season 1 last month explain that to me. 

Either way holy shit. I missed this dumb show and these dumb kids so much it physcially hurts and WE GET THEM BACK IN T-MINUS 16 DAYS.

Also. Where The Hell Is Wheezie Cameron And When Will She Have The Rights She Deserves.

[temporary-dysphoria]

rambles going under the read more because the reading comprehension on this site is piss poor and I'm not here for an argument

foreward note for americans - I am aware that in america ACAB. I'm not american. I'm australian. and I'm small town australian. We have a different system, and a different culture to you. I'm not saying we don't have police officers that are bastards, we do, but it's different here okay. add to that, that I work in emergency services and that means I have a complicated relationship with law enforcement at the best of times.

anyway, we've got a live shooter situation (in the general area of say 600km radius cause I ain't doxxing myself) which is unusual itself because our gun culture is just not like that. I heard my ambulance colleagues get dispatched to police officer down and let me tell you. we're all small town ambos. we know our police officers by name. we work with them. we have dinner with them. we know their kids. my heart fucking breaks. i had to listen to my colleagues say they had an hour ETA to scene, and I can't even imagine what's going through their minds (I don't have to actually, I know. It's the same thing that goes through any rural paramedics head - an hour is too long.) and now we have two dead, one critically injured, three unaccounted for in a situation that's reading more and more like it was a set-up the more information they get. it's reading like these people planned to shoot the first responders. when you look at the location, this could be any small town out here. i am angry, and upset, and so, so, so heartbroken.

[phanagoria]

"albanians' hatred for balkan slavs is so bizarre" coming from the people who literally banned our schools, oppressed us (and still continue to do so), ethnic cleansed us and created slurs for us but yeah sure honey some 15 year old old albanian calling u colonizer online (which is not a thing in real life) oh poor you

I mean, thanks at least for acknowledging I'm Bulgarian. I want my country to be left out of whatever conflicts you have with Serbia, so don't lump us together. Idk how to explain to you or your compatriots from earlier that speaking similar languages doesn't make us literally the same people. Bulgarians by and large are perfectly indifferent towards you so I hope you manage to grasp that any animosity is not only misdirected but also one-sided.

Also... Your reading comprehension is "we piss on the poor" levels of bad. I never said ethnic hatred on its own is bizarre. It's actually really commonplace and pedestrian, most of the time I'm unfazed by it. The way Albanian e-nationalists frame it is what's weird and gross to me, what you're doing (whether it's a random 15yo or a celebrity like Dua Lipa) is co-opting the historic struggles of tiny stateless minorities thousands of km away who almost got wiped out by actual colonialism, and using that to distort the very different situation that exists in the Balkans, in the service of your irredentist desires for Greater Albania. That's it. Not to be rude, but last time I checked you have not one but two nation states where your people are the majority and call the shots for everyone else, and a third one where you're a recognized minority with political representation, you also have NATO and the entire West backing you. It's time to stop pretending you're some kind of perpetually victimised underdogs, it's not cute.

The previous people who got angry at me also misunderstood how ethnographic groups and conversion to Islam work among Balkan Slavs but that's neither here nor there.

Finally, while you have my sympathies regarding Albanians' treatment by the Yugoslav/Serbian state, you must not realize how ubiquitous to the region discrimination and ethnic cleansings really are, if you seriously think that's justification for hating whole groups of people (especially as broad as just ~Slavs~), as well as spewing verbal abuse and insane accusations at random strangers who've done nothing to you. It's just embarrassing. Ftr, I myself am a descendant of ethnic cleansing survivors. My people have experienced everything you listed and then some, by practically all of our neighbors; after 1878 and through the first half of the 20th century our country accepted over 300 000 Bulgarian refugees from the Macedonian region alone, and tons more from others. Can you rub your remaining braincells together and figure out how that happened? Do you see me passionately defending my right to hate Greeks, Serbs and Turks because of it? That totally wouldn't be psychotic, after all, their nationalism has been disastrous for us, hasn't it?