#being a weird black girl is such a specific experience

[rottenlittlefink]

… “damned if I do, damned if I don’t” it’s such a freeing realization, zomfg /gen /pos

[the-daily-dreamer]

So a lot of people have talked about the weird sexual punishment and embarrassment utilized against team green and I wanted to weigh in because I think it’s the perfect example of the hypocrisy of this show’s messaging.

Because on the surface, HOTD takes a very sex positive stance. They champion Rhaenyra for being very open with her sexuality and for being sexually liberated in a very conservative society. They act as if she is an impressive beacon of feminism for this. And that would be great…if it weren’t for the fact that this sex positive outlook lives and dies with Rhaenyra’s and team black’s sexual experiences only.

Outside of Rhaenyra’s perspective, sex scenes are often degrading, predatory, abusive, and meant to embarrass the character to others in universe and/or the audience.

Criston is seen saying no and trying to leave when being coerced into sex with Rhaenyra which she promptly ignores by kissing him and blocking the door. Then that sex he consistently has with Rhaenyra is used as a joke for how pathetic he is for not accepting her offer to be nothing more than a personal “whore”. And his consensual sex with Alicent is seen as hypocrisy but also interrupted by Helaena after blood and cheese so that he can be blamed for this atrocity because of his “immorality”.

Aemond is seen cuddling in the lap like a young child of the woman who raped him when he was young, then being served milk, and then walking out of the brothel naked. With the whole scene being painted uncomfortable and rather degenerate.

Aegon has a scene of him being a rapist to ensure he is known as a bad and evil man. And then he has a scene where he explicitly states how his genitalia have been damaged. As if his disability from his attack is embarrassing and disgusting.

Larys one of the few disabled characters in the show, has a fetish that surrounds his disability that he uses to degrade Alicent. Thereby making him seem disgusting and pathetic.

And of course. Alicent. Her first sexual encounter we see her have is her looking dead inside while being raped by her pedophilic husband, a scene that seems to have the connotation of deserved assault because “she asked for this” by “seducing” Viserys. She is fetishized for information and thus makes her seem degraded and gross. Her sex with Criston is interrupted by Helaena after blood and cheese so that she, too, is blamed for the atrocity of the murder of her grandchild because she was “immoral” for…having consensual sex with someone after her rapist husband finally dies.

Every scene that any team green character experiences is painted in a way that portrays them as disgusting, perverted, and immoral; or is painted in a way that is meant to humiliate these characters to others in and out of universe.

How is this sexually positive? How is this an appropriate way to portray your “villains”, by painting them negatively and embarrassing them through their sexual encounters?

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The worst part is that they’ve used these sexually degrading scenes specifically to “humble” a rape victim and child bride. Humbling her because they believe that she is power hungry and desperate for the throne and so she uses and betrays Viserys and Rhaenyra. And aside from that being a major mischaracterization (Alicent didn’t want the throne as a teenage girl forced to marry the king, and she doesn’t betray Viserys and Rhaenyra out of personal ambition but protection for her family), you know who that description fits? DAEMON TARGARYEN.

Daemon wanted the throne more than anything. Groomed his teenage niece to have a chance to marry her to get closer to the title of king. Betrayed, humiliated, and hurt his brother and niece wife to make himself a better candidate as heir. Choked his niece wife when she didn’t listen to him. And consistently asserted himself as king, a position to be viewed as higher than his wife the queen.

And similar to Alicent, he was “humbled” this season. But how was he humbled? By having private visions that are unknown to (almost) everyone. And these visions are mostly just him being shown the people he hurt in the process of seeking his power. Except for the one with his mother, which is sexually inclined, but not presented in the same depraved and humiliating way that the scenes with Alicent or any of team green are.

-

This whole show just has such a gross way of depicting the people they see as villains. And it shows how hypocritical their messaging is. HOTD is not a feminist, sex positive show. It’s far too obsessed with sexual violence and humiliation against people they dislike to be one. This show believes that sexual positivity and liberty is good. But only for those who deserve it. That it’s not a right but rather a privilege. And anyone they deem as immoral, evil, bad, or “unfeminist” doesn’t deserve it. They deserve to be ridiculed, humiliated, and humbled by their failures as people. And I can’t stand it.

This show isn’t sex positive and feminist. It’s Rhaenyra positive. That’s it.

[snekdood]

Its wild to me that theres probably people out there that think im someone who needs to be educated on misogyny n shit bc of whatever my ex says, as if "snake" the character wasnt intentionally a joke character- like mj picks on him ALL THE TIME for his dumb misogynistic beliefs n shit, and its literally always fucking been that way, lol

[doberbutts]

I can't understand the idea that someone outside of an oppressed group cannot be victims of violence towards that oppressed group. That anon you deleted, the one who got mad and went "so cis people can experience transphobia!?!" Have you not read the news lately? What? What is happening to Imane Khalif right now? When you are past some arbitrary "acceptable range" of looks, behavior, etc., you become a target. As a cis woman who grew up in a conservative area, having "boyish interests" was enough for me to be subject to slurs and abuse. And it stuck around past that, because I have a small chest and broad shoulders, a long face. Whatever. Systems of oppression effect everyone under them because they all rely on "passing". You are required to reach a bar and to look and perform in certain ways and that bar is ever changing.

Well, that's why when someone was in my replies being upset that I asked how Khelif could be considered TME when transmisogyny was actively happening to her, one of the things I responded to said person was:

I don't understand how discussion the widespread effect of a systemic form of oppression and how it affects other things or is used as a weapon in other things, at all damages or erases the conversation that said systemic form of oppression is a problem. If anything, it's spreading further awareness.

I understand if the concern is that not enough people are caring about the trans women to whom transmisogyny happens on a regular basis, and are instead only ever caring about non trans fems and their relationship with being on the receiving end of transmisogyny. That is a problem, and it's one that does need to be talked about more often.

However I don't think any other form of oppression is specifically locked to only the people who identify as that oppressed demographic. Men experience misogyny. White people experience racism. Abled people experience ableism. "You throw like a girl" "you're not my daughter if you marry that black man" "what are you, deaf?" these are all things that are experienced by the "wrong" demographic, because in truth? The demographic doesn't matter.

These are systems we're talking about- the system of misogyny is what leads boys who fail to be masculine enough to be compared to girls as a way to state they are inferior, because the point is that with the system of misogyny, girls are inherently inferior to boys. Therefore, calling a boy a girl is calling him weaker, lesser, and not good enough.

The system of racism is what leads white parents to disown their children if their children date outside of their race. The point is that under the system of racism, interracial dating is seen as an aberration, and these racist parents then reject their own children for daring to love someone who is not white.

The system of ableism is what leads people to make comparisons to disability when bringing up someone's shortcomings. Disabled people are largely seen as failures in abled society, so by pointing to disability whenever faced with what is perceived as inadequacy, the system of ableism operates to continue to associate being disabled with worthlessness, and being abled with having worth.

Hell, it was not that long ago that "gay" and "retarded" were used as synonyms for "bad" and "stupid". Some people still use these words that way. It was a fucking Rick and Morty joke a few years ago, this isn't ancient history.

So when I'm told that I don't experience a system of oppression based solely on my labeled demographic and not on my actual lived experience, my immediate first thought is "that's not how systems of oppression work, literally everyone experiences these things in different ways, because that's what is meant when we call something systemic, it means the entire fucking system is built around this as a crux of logic"

Which is very weird to me then when someone tells me that by saying Khelif is/was experiencing transmisogyny, I'm erasing trans women. How? I genuinely don't understand how that's possible when I'm saying that the explicit hatred and fear of the trans woman boogeyman is what led us here in the first place. I am saying "this comes directly from people pushing transmisogynistic rulings for years and was always going to be the end result when they finally excluded all the actual trans women". I'm saying "it was bad logic when applied to trans women and it's bad logic even now, being applied to a [self-identified] perisex cisgender 'biological' woman and we should have put our foot down about it years ago when trans women and intersex women were actually competing".

Transmisogyny is a system of oppression. The system is functioning normally even when it fires at targets it's "not supposed to". That's what happens under systemic oppression. That's a feature, not a bug.

[creatingblackcharacters]

Hey, I know this isn't really what this blog is for, and if you would prefer to not answer this or just point me in the direction of an answer somewhere else, that's alright

My teacher has been really weird about the Africa-set writings in our differing perspectives unit. She has been, among other things, replacing words that she thinks we wouldn't know with more "familiar" ones. e.g.: mango to candies, head wrap to bandana.

As if a bunch of people old enough to be working for our drivers licenses can't conceive of other countries being the littlest bit different. 🙄 (why you would call it 'differing perspectives' if you whitewash the perspectives)

But anyways, it's been kind of awkwardly pointed out by one of my Black classmates, but she's just brushed it off. I am planning to talk to her since I am assuming she would at least listen to a stereotypically "smarty" white girl, but am really unsure how to go about it

Oh that's racist racist lol. Who doesn't know what a damn mango is. Candies. Christ. And head wraps aren't just bandanas! They're not the same!!! I could puke rn.

The thing that might really make it land is speaking up in the middle of class. The next time she changes something and you know that's not right, raise your hand and say something like:

"I'd like to learn what [thing] is actually called. I want to be more informed about [topic] as it is, so if I ever meet someone from [specific location] with this experience, we could talk and I don't want to unintentionally insult anybody. That's supposed to be the importance of learning experiences different from ours, right?"

If nothing else, it does do two things: It would allow you to stand in solidarity with your Black classmate who just had to experience racism from an authority figure, and it would put her on the spot now that two people have noted her racism out loud. Because unfortunately yeah, it probably will be taken more seriously coming from you.

(if you can sneak record it in class, I would do that too)

After that, if nothing changes, you could say what you just said to me to a Black teacher or club advisor (preferably the Black Student Club if you have one; I'm assuming you're in high school, I appreciate your solidarity) and express that concern to them. Drop that recording.

This is a class about differing perspectives, and the whole idea is to learn about those differing perspectives. For all the time she's taking to "make it more comfortable" (i.e., white), she could use that time more proactively to educate y'all on what you might not know (you know... Her JOB). Someone ought to know this. Tbh, this sounds like this is normal behavior for her.

Hope this helps 🙏🏾

[bones4thecats]

What If They Had A Family? - Hazbin Hotel (PT.1)

Type of Writing: Random Idea Name: What If They Had A Family? (PT.1) Characters: Sir Pentious and Zestial (+ Valentino and Vox LINK) Idea-Giver: Random Thoughts

A/N: The reader in this piece is specifically referred to as female since they were written to have given birth to children. But, the pronouns will still be gender-neutral since I write in that format easier. By the way, this has gone through so much editing it's insane, so I hope you guys enjoy it!

⚠️ Trigger Warnings: Minor Swearing and Death ⚠️ Spoilers for: S1 ⚠️

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Snake-Demon! Reader ; Black Mamba Snake

🐍 Sir Pentious and you met when you were children back in the 1800s

🐍 You were one of the children to a higher-ranked family in your hometown, while Pentious was under your family's thumb, much to your annoyance

🐍 He and you bonded over your love for mechanisms, especially those that have caused harm. For some weird reason, you guys would just pull a worm out of the ground and use it for an experiment, it was right there! Why not?

🐍 Due to your closeness, you and the former human had gotten married and begun to start your family quite early on in life, maybe around your early 20s of so

🐍 As you both aged, so did your children, though they sadly passed away earlier in life due to catching a then-dangerous illness, scarlet fever

🐍 Pentious had involved himself to much into his inventions afterwards that when you both had died, your envy of people's happy lives and his sins for his inventions ended up banishing you both to hell

🐍 You guys had made your way through a lot, and when he came home elated with the news that Vox had recruited him to spy on the Hotel and detect any kind of information from Alastor, you had started to get a hint angry. Why was he believing the words of a master manipulator? Who knows...

🐍 When he was found out, you were so close to going to V-Tower and ripping that moth-dick-sucking bastard a new ass

🐍 But, your husband had held you back and had asked you what you thought about redemption, you know, getting to join Heaven and maybe see your long-lost children once again

🐍 Jumping at the idea, your tiny hat on your head's eye had sparkles as Pentious' had tiny hearts as you hugged him and gave him love-filled words

🐍 It took a lot of work on your behalf, due to being a fairly aggressive person, but, when your husband had gunned it for his ship, you went right after him and hugged him tightly as he mumbled the final word you thought you'd ever hear of his; Fire.

🐍 As you awoke in a brighter land, you had looked around and noticed your husband, grabbing his hand you allowed your smoother-feeling fangs to be revealed as two angels stared in shock and glee

🐍 Wait- angels?!

" You must be redeemed souls! This is so cool! I'm Emily, one of the Seraphs of Heaven, it's so nice to meet you guys! " " Uhm- it's nice to meet you as well, my dear. I'm Y/N and this is my husband Sir Pentious. "

🐍 While Emily had taken you and Pentious away from Sera to give her some space to think, she smiled at you and you sighed when you heard the echo of a young girl's voice, your daughter's voice come out

" Y/N? Someone seems to be calling for you. "

🐍 Hearing a deflating noise and sniff coming from your dearest, you looked at him and saw he was crying as he held onto a small being, a young girl with his matching color scheme but a physical form that matched you

🐍 It was your daughter... your oldest one

" Mom/Papa! You're both here! (M/N) and (F/N) and gonna be so happy when they see you guys! Come on! "

🐍 Tears pricked your eyes as her cute slit pupils looked into your with the same sparkles as she held when she passed away so many years ago

🐍 At that moment, you fell to your knees and pulled your husband with you, hugging your daughter and him tightly as Emily squealed internally at the cute scene

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Insect-Demon! Reader ; Firefly / Lightning Bug

🕷️ Due to being from multiple dozens of years before really anyone left alive in Hell, you and Zestial had a very special bond from life; marriage

🕷️ You and him had a fairly well-received settlement when alive, and that had carried on into death

🕷️ But, there was one thing that you hadn't really thought about for a while; your children, two boys and two girls

🕷️ After you had died, all four of your children had survived until their old ages, and when they finally fell into the same plot hole that you and their father had, you graciously accepted them into your family's now shared domain in this retched land

🕷️ Your husband, Zestial, was an overlord while you had the same amount of power and just never really saw fit to use it, after all, you didn't have much to care for other than your family's safety

🕷️ Zestial could take the reins here

🕷️ One night, he had come home carrying something inside of his flesh-jacket, making you cock an eyebrow as your wings slightly shook, allowing a dimly-lit green light to emerge from your midsection and tiny 'tail'

" Mine own loveth, what doth thee has't inside of thy doublet? " " I shalt showeth thee. But, thee might not but gage to not obtaineth thy ang'r and showeth t to me. " " I crosseth mine own heart and desire to kicketh the bucket again, and I'll sticketh a partisan through mine own chest. "

🕷️ Opening the flesh-covering a small rodent-demon, specifically a chinchilla, had come outside, their large and silver-coated ears sticking to their head in slight fear at the sight of a large insect-demon such as yourself

🕷️ The antenna on your head slightly raised as you stared down at the appearing hell-born, how in the name of Satan did a child manage to get here?

" Zestial, wherefore is th're a bawbling issue standing in front of me? Prithee bid me thee didst not abuduct that gent... " " Oh marry nay. I wast just taking a stroll aft'r the latest ov'rl'rd meeting and hadst cometh across the young thing standing th're while mumbling in our tongue. I couldn't just leaveth that gent th're, yond'd beest far to malapert. "

🕷️ Smiling at your husband and kneeling down to look the child in their large black eyes, you then asked him the question that would make your family even larger than it was before;

" Wouldst thee liketh to stayeth with us, young sir? "

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Link to Valentino and Vox Post:

What Are They Like As Parents? - Hazbin Hotel

[leikeliscomet]

“But We Love Martha Jones!” - The Doctor Who Fandom’s Selective Memory of Racism

Be aware that this article contains explicit examples of anti-black racism and misogynoir.

Chapter 2 - Utopia-ish

The constant nitpicking of Martha Jones for reasons white female companions could get away with was blatant anti-black racism. Let’s get that bit clear first and foremost. As a Black person in fandom, watching Black characters get torn apart while never being given the grace of their non-Black castmates is an experience that’s too common. Microaggressions are more subtle so the easiest way to shut down any mentions of racism is to accuse Black fans of making things up or telling us “Well it’s not like REAL racism”. Luckily Doctor Who Tumblr birthed the Martha Jones affirmative action and Aunt Jemima “memes” so I can cross both covert and overt racism off the list. As mentioned in extensive detail in the previous chapter, plus the various Martha Jones articles written before me, the treatment Martha experienced was racist. I don’t care if you personally didn’t like her. I don’t care that you missed Rose. I don’t care that Ten is your smol bean. Martha’s treatment was racist. Freema Agyeman’s treatment was racist. It might not have been everyone. It might not have been you personally. But it was there. The fandom can never be a safe space for POC, specifically Black people if this elephant in the room can’t be addressed over a decade after it arrived.

On paper, you’d assume Martha’s rep was good because “at least she wasn’t a Black stereotype”. Some fans praised her for having a present father, not speaking MLE and not being from the ends. This goes into respectability politics but the fandom’s weirdness about Black Brits and class is not the point of this article. The point is the revisionist history of how Martha was really treated and to do that it helps to know what Black tropes are. The Mammy trope is a Black woman whose main purpose is to serve her white counterparts and during slavery, she mainly cared for the slave owners' children. She is usually fat, dark skin and asexual, not as a representation of those things but as a statement of how if she isn’t used for sexual exploitation like the Jezebel (the promiscuous, reckless, sexualised Black woman), she has no sexual value at all. Her value is serving the needs of others only. Martha doesn’t fit this trope in theory but in practice, she fulfils the sub-categories of this trope both in show and fandom: the disposable Black (girl)friend trope. She is used as Ten’s emotional punching bag before he’s ready for Donna and then Rose again. She had to endure edgy moody S3 Ten so no one else had to. She’s the excuse people use to deflect any critical analysis of how race was handled in RTD1. She’s the fandom’s excuse to deflect from their own racial biases. Racism? No way! Everybody loves Martha Jones! What do you mean?

Some parts of the fandom have tried to mend things by suggesting Martha be paired with other doctors or romantically shipping her with other characters a bit better than Mickey Smith. But does this hold up? As much as I’m a big fan NineMartha as a concept and as someone who honestly saw one-off characters like Riley Vashtee from 42 or Tallulah from Daleks in Manhattan having way more romantic chemistry with Martha than Mickey ever did, simply re-shipping Martha isn’t enough. Doctor Who’s racism isn't exclusive to one doctor, one series or one era and new Martha pairings suggest the issue was “right person, wrong doctor” instead of what the issue actually was: racism. Moffat and Chibnall’s eras weren’t full of golden Black representation either so I doubt the Martha issue would’ve magically disappeared under those two. From Nine’s hostility to Mickey, to Twelve’s hostility to Danny Pink to Thirteen handing a South Asian Spymaster to the Nazis and Eleven only travelling with POC in comics most fans haven’t heard of and being besties with Churchill, simply putting Martha with another Doctor isn’t the serve fans think it is. Even RoseMartha seems like putting a bandaid on a bullet hole. If it's not enough for Martha to be compared to Rose, put down in favour of Rose, told she isn’t Rose and told she's worse than Rose in fandom and in show over and over and over, she has to be shipped with Rose too. Martha’s a great character… as long as you can tie her to Rose… again. Even in my own article I have to talk about Rose because Rose is centred in what was supposed to be Martha’s story. A doctor-to-be Black girl from London with a hectic family meets a Time Lord and gets abducted by space rhino police at work in one day. Her main conflict isn’t balancing work and time traveller life, or fighting to get her family back together, or seeing what’s out there in the universe - it's that she isn’t “Rose” enough. The Mammy and her sons’ main thing in common is simple; how well they serve and centre the white characters. In attempts to mend Martha’s treatment she is still only valued in relation to white characters. She should’ve been with Eleven because he would’ve fucked a Black woman. Or maybe Dilfy Twelve. Or a sapphic romance with another female companion who she saw twice or doesn’t actually know. Or maybe Ten in an alternate universe where he supports #nubianqueens. None of this is done to explore sexuality or romance with Black women and is definitely not to centre Black lesbianism and bisexuality. It’s Mammy with a dash of Jezebel. It's adding romantic and sexual value on top of physical and emotional value like a crappy meal deal.

I’m tired of Black women being treated as extensions of white women both in media and in real life. I’m tired of our value being determined by how well we serve white people emotionally, physically, platonically and sexually. And I'm even more tired of white feminism especially in this fandom. It would be so easy to label this article as anti-Rose, anti-Ten or anti-Tenrose to invalidate my whole racial analysis because it's the easy way out. I’ll admit I like both characters individually but not the ship but this isn’t something I decided on since birth - it's my conclusion as a Black fan in a predominantly white fandom, watching a predominantly white show, watching the first companion of my race be told she isn’t good enough compared to the white characters, and that the hatred of her is justified for the greater good of its popular white ship. Black fans can never have this conversation without being told we’re “pitting women against each other” and that Martha and Rose hugged once in S4 so everything's hunky dory. Martha’s happy that Ten found Rose again so what’s the problem? It sends a clear message that Black women’s pain will never matter a much as white women’s feelings. “Rose is amazing! Martha’s amazing! Stop pitting women against women!” but who was pit against who in the first place? These faux girl power posts fail to acknowledge the overlap of race and gender which separates the treatment of Black and white women. It fails to acknowledge Martha’s hate was rooted in anti-black racism. It fails to acknowledge the anti-Rose pushback was in response to how the show and fandom convinced us Rose was the untouchable bar this Black woman failed to meet. It fails to acknowledge Freema Agyeman the actress was targeted not just her character. It fails because the female empowerment rhetoric that leaves the Black ones at the bottom of the pile only “empowers” women of a certain demographic.

The harassment Martha experienced was swept under the rug of “stan wars” but it was so much deeper than that. I’m not saying Martha stans are angels but there was no “Great Stan War” because the sides were never even. At the end of the day no amount of “Martha’s better than Rose” tweets will ever compare to the fact that Martha hate was rooted in misogynoir. Rose was and still is considered the greatest companion of nuwho, whilst Martha is constantly erased and undervalued. Rose’s video views and hashtags have always been bigger than Martha’s. Amy and Clara came after Martha but still surpassed her in popularity and got plenty of fan edits of “The Girl Who Waited” and “The Impossible Girl” whilst Martha was conveniently skipped in the companion lineup. The fandom’s bias still shines clearly in favour of Rose over Martha. Rose’s jealousy towards other women is justifiable and just the ups and downs of a 19-year-old whilst Martha’s is entitled bitterness. Rose’s flaws are compelling character moments and depth, Martha’s are “holding her back from being a good companion”. Hell, even Donna calling out Ten’s BS was entertaining accountability whilst Martha was just the angry Black woman. Fans will weaponise Rose’s working-class roots to imply a pro-Martha bias, failing to acknowledge the working-class to poor background of the average Black Brit, the anti-blackness middle-class Black people are not spared from, the many working-class Black characters of the show like Mickey, Bill, Rigsy and Ryan or how most fans don’t consider Martha middle class because she doesn’t fit the white British cultural stereotypes. You can't be the most loved and hated at the same time. The hard truth is Billie Piper wasn’t racially abused by Martha stans but Freema was absolutely racially abused by Rose’s and the effects of this are still around. Go into Martha Jones tags today and you’ll see snarky posts of how Ten could never love another companion like Rose. Even when Freema bravely shared her experiences of literal racism, fans were quick to yell “But I wanted Ten and Rose though” as a justification for years of misogynoir. Again, we need to address the elephant in the room instead of covering our eyes and ears to act like it’s not there. A Black character and actress was collateral damage in order for a popular white ship to rise and whilst I’m not an anti, I as a Black Doctor Who fan, I’ll never be a supporter. At the end of the day, only one of these actresses is still carrying the burden of misogynoir over 10 years since RTD1 ended. A lonely walk across the Earth yet again.

<- Chapter 1 Chapter 3 ->

[lowkeyrobin]

MORGAN DAVIES ; behind the scenes

summary ; childhood friends to lovers with actor pookies 🤞

warnings ; language

disclaimers ; idk specifically how the others act irl because I obviously don't know them personally, be aware that they might be a little out of character ; Conan Gray references, reader is described to have positive sensory experiences with hair and scratchy/fuzzy textures cause why not

requested by ; @callsignwidow

word count ; 1.2k

masterlist

"Hey Morg!" You smile, seeing your long-time friend leave the set, walking towards you. "How's it going?" You ask, handing him a bag of takeout food you'd just picked up for him.

He accepts it graciously with a smile. He's dressed in a blue sweatshirt and black pants, a few droplets of fake blood splattered across his blonde hair. "Thank you! And good, you wanna come up?" He asks, pointing back at the apartment complex where the movie was being shot in.

You nod with a shrug, "Yeah, let's go enter the demon possessed apartment complex"

He pats your shoulder, pulling you inside to hide away from the scorching New Zealand heat. You walk up the multiple flights of stairs, reaching the filming floor. You're happily greeted by Gabrielle and Nell, the two having been eating lunch in the hallway. Alyssa and Lily were finishing up a scene inside, prompting you to take a seat with them and Morgan.

He opens the bag and shares the chips and gauc with the girls, and opens up the styrofoam box to reveal his quesadillas.

"Those are the greasiest quessadillas I've ever seen" Gabrielle chuckles, watching Morgan use one of the shitty napkins in the bag to dab away some of the grease.

"It's Taco Bell, of course it's greasy!" He exclaims, taking a bite of the cheesey tortilla. "Right, Y/n?"

You quickly nod, rushing to his defense.

"What point are you trying to prove?"

"I dunno"

⛓𓌹*♰*𓌺⛓𓌹*♰*𓌺⛓𓌹*♰*𓌺⛓𓌹*♰*𓌺⛓𓌹*♰*𓌺⛓𓌹*♰*𓌺⛓

"You showed up just to ruin shit for me! I tried leaving all of you in the past for a reason! I wish you'd just stay in my memories, go away!" You shout, "There's no reason to think we could ever exist again. Get over it!"

Tears run down your cheeks and neck, dark, artificial circles under your eyes. Tear stains cover the outer corners of your eyes. Your hands were balled into fists, fingers clenched so tightly that your knuckles were turning white.

"Cut!"

You exhale, shaking hands with your costar as you step off the set. Your familiar blonde friend rushes to your side to hug you, cheering on your performance.

"That was crazy! You're so like, it's surreal when you act like that, really." A smile painting his face, arms slung around your shoulders.

The shorter, faded sides of his mullet scratch your jaw a bit, a weird comfort you found in his hugs. His hugs were always so warm and welcoming, so scratchy and fuzzy, like that childhood nostalgia of TV static. He didn't mind your hands getting lost in his hair, he knew the sensory was a positive stimulation for you, something that grounded you.

"That was so good! Holy fuck!" He smiles, patting you on the back as you fully exit your character's state of mind and thoughts, and separate theirs from yours. "That's impressive, really. You on-command cry so well!" He chuckles, patting your cheeks a few times to show you some physical love.

"Thank you, thank you" You lightly smile, accidently looking down at his lips a little too long before looking back up at his eyes.

The directors, producers, and cameramen all had their backs facing you, giving some sense of privacy as you two talk. You'd finally finished the day around nine, your tiredness apparent to Morgan. You stand far off to the side, out of everyone's way.

"C'mon, I'll take you home" He offers, leading you outside as you nod.

You'd walked here. You wanted to go home with him and just jump in your bed and sleep. You'd been up since nearly four this morning to finish up the final scenes of this movie you were working on. Finally, though, it was over.

⛓𓌹*♰*𓌺⛓𓌹*♰*𓌺⛓𓌹*♰*𓌺⛓𓌹*♰*𓌺⛓𓌹*♰*𓌺⛓𓌹*♰*𓌺⛓

On the car ride home, which was luckily within two hours of the final set you were on for the passion project movie you were starring in, it was relatively quiet. You couldn't sleep in the car, you rest your head against the seatbelt, and stare out the window, watching all the trees and lamp posts on the side of the highway pass by.

The blonde, driving, let you connect your phone to the radio to play music. You'd been playing some calmer music, considering you were tired and weren't in for anything upbeat.

Morgan knew the location of your home like the back of his hand, like you were his second home, because you were. Being so close for so long created a weird string between you two, something so lovely and fuzzy inside the both of you.

You drink the bottled love water out of the cupholder in the center console, which he'd brought just for you. Even though it was still cold from being in the fridge, it bubbled a warmth inside your stomach. A warmth that reminded you of the person sitting next to you. The person who gave you unconditional love and support through everything.

You end up falling asleep halfway through the drive, which he notices quickly. As you arrived at your destination, however, he had to make a decision. Either wake you up, or ruffle through your belongings, get your house keys, and carry you inside as carefully as possible.

Of course, he picked the latter.

Luckily enough, the interior lights turning on as he parked the car didn't awake you, clearly fallen into a deep slumber. He opens the door to your residence, then carries your backpack of belongings inside, then finally, you. He carefully lays you on your bed, then covers you with a light blanket that sat at the foot of your mattress.

He runs a hand through his hair before you stir, catching him off gaurd. He fills with worry and guilt, not having wanted to wake you up at all.

"Thanks, Morg" You mumble, hiding your eyes in your arm, shielding yourself from the light pouring in from the hallway and the lamp nearby. "You can spend the night if you wanna"

"Okay" He nods, "I'll be out on the couch if you need me" He turns around, walking towards your door before you stop him.

"No, like-" You speak, rubbing your eyes a bit before he quickly turns off the lamp for you. "-You can lay in here. You don't have to sleep on the couch. We've been friends for like, ever, it's fine"

"That's the problem" He mumbles

"Huh?" You hum, squinting your eyes as they adjust to the lighting, looking up at him.

He lightly sighs, "I don't wanna be just friends. Okay? And that's awful of me to say, considering you probably won't remember this because you're exhausted and we've been only friends for so long. Anyways, I'm... I'm gonna go sleep on the couch, if you need anything"

"Morgan-"

"What?"

"Come lay down, you dork"

"What?"

You roll your eyes and flop back down onto your pillow. "Get your ass to sleep next to me before I knock you out myself"

"Loud and clear," He replies, quickly scurrying to your side after turning the hallway light off. He toes his shoes off at the end of the bed and climbs into it with you, keeping distance. "So about..."

"Yeah, yeah. Goodnight, love" You reply, pulling the covers over your shoulders.

Astonished, only a singular select word is able to leave his lips.

"Goodnight"

[cyandreamzaceattorney]

✦ AA girls getting boba tea ✦

A few days ago I felt like drawing Ema, Kay, Maya and Franziska hanging out and drinking boba tea, cuz I really like the idea of these four having a friendship group :-D however, I unfortunately couldn't fit all four characters in so I (mostly) cut Franziska from the pic. Sorry Fran fans! I do love her but, I wanted to draw the other three girls a bit more (cuz that's just the mood I was in) and didn't want to stray away from this specific concept as I felt really inspired to draw them walking while chatting with boba tea.

Overall I do like how this picture came out, even if I definitely rushed it a bit (I think this was mostly because I got hyped over getting time to draw again, cuz I've been busy on and off). Unfortunately I lost my favourite brush liner before doing lineart on this and halfway threw my other liner magically dried up! So that was frustrating but, I worked around it and want to regain confidence in using fine liners so kind of a useful problem lol. I also decided to change up how I draw Kay in my art style a little and I think I like it :3 And, really like the outfits I gave the girls. Even if they are simple. They're also summer outfits because Australia is once again breaking the record for hottest summer (and it's still technically spring (⁠´⁠-⁠﹏⁠-⁠`⁠；⁠)). Fun fact, Ema is wearing a striped shirt as a reference to the stripe motifs in her aai design!

Now time for boba tea hc's cuz why not XD. Maya has a Taro milk tea with the regular black pearls, because it's purple and in my mind Taro and chocolate being her favourite flavours just makes sense. Kay has a iced tea with lychee jelly (mainly cuz I didn't feel like colouring the jelly but I see Kay liking lychee), idk what flavour her tea is, but it's probably a fruit flavour cuz in my experience ice teas are often fruit flavours. I also have the random hc that whenever Kay gets boba around Miles she gets a weird combo (e.g. chocolate milk tea with green apple pearls) just to see his upset reaction lol.

Ema and Franziska also have boba, you just can see it cuz Ema has them in a shopping bag which Kay is in front of. As for flavours, Ema's is definitely chocolate milk tea cuz her snacks in the English version of the games seem to be similar to tee vee snacks (idk if tee vee snacks are a thing in us, if they aren't they are small long cookies cotted in chocolate, kinda like pocky but much shorter, but thicker and fully coated) though I can also see her getting brown sugar with black pearls. Franziska I could see getting something like the regular tea flavour (which is called "Thai tea" or "original flavour" depending on the boba shop I go to) with no pearls or jelly because in my mind she doesn't like them :P, in general I don't think she'd like a lot of sweet flavours but that's because I hc her as not liking sweet food for no logical reason, my brain has simply decided this ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

Hope you all enjoy this drawing and my super austic ramble about what boba tea I think these fictional characters drink XD

Next traditional drawing will be in a new sketcbook as I'm almost finished this one (and the last pages won't be as fanart so I won't post them here). I'm shocked cuz I haven't finished a sketchbook in less than a year for several years now! But this makes sense because I drew a lot this year for several reasons :-P

[theaestheticmerchant]

i think i've figured it out. the actual reason whedon's avengers writing, especially with the hulk and black widow, felt so weird and out of place. maybe this has been said or meta'd before but it's literally just because he was still writing them like they were buffy and angel characters, just with a new paint job and new faces, the entire time.

especially with bruce and natasha. and i mean, it worked when it was his gothic horror ocs, but less so when it's established marvel characters — but replace bruce/the hulk with angel, especially season 3-era angel after he comes back from acathla's realm and he's basically a feral beast who's scared of everything but also scares everybody too because of what he's done for a good few episodes, and natasha with buffy, especially any era buffy where she's more likely to suffer from some great and terrible burden (like, hm, i don't know, thinking she's a monster because she can't have kids due to military genetic experiments?) and spend her time monologuing her great shakespearean tragedy. the whole beauty and the beast-style "girl calms down giant monster who's scared and traumatized even though she is too" dynamic suddenly seems a lot more logical when you think of it that way and see them in that light, even if it doesn't make any more sense for bruce and natasha specifically here.

the tropes fit perfectly when you just switch out the marvel aesthetic for a buffyverse one. and of course, it works in the buffyverse because he can do whatever he wants with his ocs, but it felt so weird in marvel because he wasn't writing a marvel story. he was still writing shakespearean gothic young adult tragedy, but it had real superheroes in it this time instead of vampires and monster hunters.

even the villain makes more sense. take loki out and slot him in as, instead, a buffyverse big bad, especially a vampiric one. instead of his staff, it's a magical artifact, and instead of being from the nine realms, he's from a demon dimension — the chitauri portal at the end being a means to open a rip to a hell-world and let demons and the apocalypse through, like what acathla would've done, like what the judge tried to do, or the end of angel as a whole.

it's literally just one giant buffyverse episode he wrote using marvel characters while he was still in buffyverse mode. even the "mewling quim" line makes more sense — 100% that's something a big bad in his original verse would say while being weird and intimidating and scary and so of course it feels off and not quite right as a marvel story because it literally never was an actual marvel story in the first place

[intersexcat-tboy]

Call me Whiskers or whatever idrc. This blog focuses on raising awareness, sharing personal experiences, and connecting with others in the intersex and ATM theory community. I love doing in depth research onto topics, esp writing intersex educational essays. I tend to be very verbose as I'm hyperlexic but I'm also dyslexic and dyscalculic so it's a struggle.

Most everything goes onto queue, tho sometimes some things skip the wait.

I use hy/hym, e/ey, kit/fae and oneself pronouns

Schrodigender's catboy. Call me a catboy or don't call me a boy at all. [PT: Call me a catboy or don't call me a boy at all]. I use it as an omninoun (link). I may occasionally use masc language for myself but I do not actually identify with manhood. I'm not a man or a woman. Prefer not to be gendered or sexed by others at all. Neutroix tfemneumasc. Hard femme.

DNI/beware of dog:

Basic DNI of any type of bigoted -phobe or -ist (racist, ableist, homophobe, transphobes [inclu exclus/transmeds and transmisogynists], inter+exorsexist (inclu transX/transID ["transitioning to intersex/black/harmful/etc"] etc), if you use "misandrodorks" / "theyfab", or otherwise DON'T believe there's any type of oppression specifically faced by (or disproportionately affects) transmascs, or if you are a self ID'd baeddel, radfem, febfem, rad/LSD/basedqueer. As well as if you follow/reblog heavily from Plaidos (a known transphobe) or strawberry-crocodile (transphobic intersexist strawman factory). Furthermore, do not interact if you a supporter the Israel government and their actions or believe rape jokes are funny

Well what about [XYZ]?

Individuals with BIID where their dysphoria is centered around the physical body rather than "not being disabled" are perfectly fine and welcomed here. I do not mind those with alters who understand that their body does not hold the responsibilities of enduring oppressions their marginalized alter would face, and thus will not be fully capable of understanding oppression regarding that minority, who do not describe their discomfort as being "transrace", and uplift voices of the minorities rather than speaking over ("I have a black/transmasc alter so I get to decide what's bigoted" 👎)

More about me:

I am not sure if I have been subjected to the violence of IGM, but I was mistransitioned via hormones, and have physical trauma from the application and assault. I am now re-entransitioning. I grew up as a trans girl and now I'm undoing some of it. I'm definitely not TME, but don't consider myself TMA as binaries (especially ones based on birth assignment "privilege") do not reflect my intersex experience, nor is bigotry based solely on internal identity, but rather influenced by how you are perceived.

I'm really weird abt compliments and tend to get overwhelmed. If it's describing me 👎 Beautiful, gorgeous, pretty, stunning. It's not a compliment to me. If it's describing my things (writing, outfit) then it's fine ig but pretty thin ice. 👍 Dashing, handsome, striking are preferred if you feel so inclined.

I'm autistic, part of a small system, and am disabled with EDS. I use mobility aids daily and struggle to get anywhere without them. Cripplepunk and radinclu

Some posts:

Examining Sax's .018% claim (link)

Tags I'll use often:

#purrspectives for posts I've written or heavily added to. May occasionally contain others posts if I completely agree w them and have no better way to convey

#actually intersex / #actually autistic

#intersex issues / #transmasc issues / #trans issues

#intercommunity discourse / #trans discourse

#trans infighting / #queer infighting

#queer solidarity / #trans solidarity

#intersex history / #transmasc history / #trans history / #queer history

#ableism / #exorsexism / #intersexism / #trans intersexism for posts regarding intersexism from perisex trans people

#intersex theory / #trans theory

#intersex erasure / #transmasc erasure

#antitransmasculinity / #anti transmasculinity / #transandrophobia / #transandromisia

#disability justice

#trans intersex / #transintersex

#system stuff

#trans tag / #trans / #trans positivity

#autistic tag

[esther-dot]

Hi! I hope you're having a great day!

I have seen so many posts of who Jon will end up with and it's so funny that Sansa is always not on the list. Arya, Val, and Dany are all top picks! Like Arya! Imagine thinking Jon would marry Arya but not considering Sansa because she is not his "type". It's not even about the incest of it all the hypocrites! She's out of the race because of that goddmann willowy creature line. Jon Targaryen would marry anyone else except Sansa Stark, his eldest living female cousin just because she's not supposedly his type.

Imagine hating Sansa so much you do my boy dirty like that and ignore things like this:

in order to argue he doesn’t like people who need a defender. He acted to save the direwolf pups too so you might even say this is an essential character trait we’ve seen in him since the beginning.

Jon is a guy who instinctively protects the vulnerable. He isn’t repulsed by it. He’s playing the knight to Sam above, but the same attitude comes up when interacting with women where you get the sense, Jon is a chivalrous guy who takes action to protect and help those who need it.

Furthermore, if you read his interactions with Alys and that convo with Ygritte about her potentially being abused by a man, that tells us, this isn’t a guy who is insensible to the power dynamics (physical or legal) that specifically victimize women, so it’s wild to me the fandom keeps trotting that line out like we didn’t read everything else about Jon that disproves their hope that Jon is a sexist ass.

And if we’re talking about “type” (which that line isn’t about in the first place!), Jon wasn’t attracted to Ygritte’s violence. Actually, that disturbed him. No, he was attracted to Ygritte’s smile and her singing. He admired Val’s stoicism. That, not a woman killing a man, but her strength of character, is what made him say, women are the strong ones:

Oh look, saving a baby, there goes Jon hating losers that need saving again! I think the reasonable conclusion to make is that he will have compassion and respect for Sansa withstanding everything she’s had to live through since leaving Winterfell. I understand that everyone says he likes warrior women, but the things we’re told attract him, aren’t that. What we do know is that he wanted Winterfell, a lady wife, kids, and wants to give said lady wife flowers. Hold on a sec, hold on, singing, flowers, wanting to live in Winterfell and have children like the siblings he lost, that reminds me of someone…

Also, I made a post about the fandom’s weird use of that line years ago:

(link)

Even if Jon was having a moment of disliking a certain type of girl (which he wasn’t), all you have to do is think of Lyanna in her bed of blood screaming for her brother to come to the conclusion that the author doesn’t want you to mock or despise someone in need of rescuing. And if you read a few Jon chapters, we can also come to the conclusion, Jon doesn’t shrink from playing the hero. It’s a tendency with him. One might even imagine when face to face with a “princess” in need of one, who had a romanticized view of the black knights of the wall, it will be particularly fulfilling experience.

[leaves-fall-down]

Hate to say it but the overlap of "has a fanbase that heavily values their writing abilities" and "has a fanbase that deliberately detaches/miscontrues/borderline insults/fetishizes the singer's identity and inspiration from their artistry in an effort to pretend the music is closer to what the fans think they should be" venn diagram is not only just a straight up circle, but has taken over many of the same musicians and the fandoms overlap with each other to such an extreme extent that it sometimes becomes exhausting to consume any of their music as independent artists and then discuss them, let alone seeing how a lot of these artists have a "collective" fanbase that treats them all so bizzarely. Like do y'all not see the pattern with how you always feel some need to focus on certain "nicer" aspects of musicians' identities and entirely disregard others, or be all weird about it when you do acknowledge it? I'll provide examples, hopefully you'll see what I mean.

Tamino is an Egyptian and Lebanese man, at the same time he is Belgian, and that influences his art and it's so weird to just focus just on Persephone and his more "western" songs, or compare his nose to just a bunch of western white men. Hozier is Irish and inspired by Black American musicians who make political music and it's weird when you guys pretend he's just the fairy bog boy, which tbh you also likely wouldn't be saying if he was from Pennsylvania or Manchester or whatever, you're absolutely doing it with him because he is Irish, plenty of other artists write nature themes and don't get that weirdness put on them, you're doing it because he is Irish. Ethel Cain is a Southern American and writes from that very specific experience and has religious themes that influence her music and isn't just some "backwards" "hick" "redneck" (in a derogatory, insulting sense) girl that a lot of you clearly view "people like her" down south as. Måneskin has written in English since the beginning of their career, clearly takes inspiration from English and American musicians, and isn't entitled to write in Italian just because you think they should or because their native language ~fascinates~ you as an english speaker. Mitski often writes from a very VERY obvious perspective of being an Asian American woman and yet so many of you pretend that her songs about that experience are innately applicable to all of womanhood when they clearly aren't. They just aren't. They are about her experience as an ASIAN AMERICAN woman.

There are other artists y'all do this sort of shit to too (mainly Black ones!!) and it's absolutely annoying as shit to see that you can't just appreciate their identities for what they are and still need them to be closer in proximity to you and your identity or needs to "fulfill" something for you as an outsider, to the point of being delusional about the fact that this is all first and foremost their music and that it operates with their identities and they're all fantastic writers because on various levels they're being vulnerable about their identities and selves. That's not to say you can't pull your own meaning from the songs they write or whatever, but when discussing the artists themselves a lot of you are showing your asses with how you view "people like that" and how even though you're not being weird or bigoted in an obvious, deliberately mean sort of way, a lot of you still have shit to unpack and look at before you engage with them and their stuff. I mean Jesus christ even the most surface level understanding of erasure, fetishizing, and sterotypes can show what y'all are doing subconsciously, I'd hate to see how you talk about these people's identities when it's someone you don't see as both a product yet (parasocially) a friend, but is instead someone you hate.

[gabessquishytum]

So I think I will turn that 70s music AU into it's own thing, but never fear! I will not leave anyone Goth Dreamless.

So two ideas about Goth Dream. The first one is that he's the local weirdo dad to Orpheus, a bright and friendly student. He's always wearing black on black with nail polish and hair so weird it'd put Robert Smith to shame. But he's known for being one of the kinder, more caring parents. He hand makes special treats for Orpheus's youth league football team. He organizes expansive birthday parties for his son's whole class and don't even get started on their Halloween party. He has the biggest house on the block and turns it into a veritable Halloween amusement park with giant skeletons and an elaborate haunted house. Doesn't help that he has real taxidermied bats hanging from his ceiling. All in all, while he's weird, he's a good father.

Robyn goes to the same school on scholarship and Hob works multiple jobs to keep Robyn in this posh private school. Him and Orpheus became fast friends when Orpheus invited him over while they waited for Hob to get off his second job. Unfortunately they forgot to mention that to Robyn's dad. Which led to Hob frantically calling his son, then showing up to Dream's house furious that Robyn forgot to mention his little excursion to a stranger's house. Fortunately Dream, in his black silk pyjama pants and well-worn and holey Bauhaus shirt, sufficiently charmed Hob enough to invite the two over for dinner. Then when the boys tired themselves out running around the property and fell asleep in Orpheus's room, Hob got to tire himself out on Dream's prick.

The second idea I had when browsing some memes and saw a Goth Girl Simp starter pack which is totally Hob. Not that he simps over Goth guys and gals specifically, just that he has a crush.

Dream is everything he isn't. He's tall, thin, and so fair it's almost like he's a fairy. He's effortlessly cool and mysterious, never deigning to speak more than a few words with most people. He's a regular at Hob's pub but doesn't do more than drink merlot alone in a corner booth. Occasionally he brings a date, but he's seen those relationships come and go. The last girl, Thessaly, got so mad at his lack of attention that she splashed her drink in his face and stormed out. Hob comped her drinks and Dream left shortly after paying for his wine.

Joanna laughs at the whole situation. In her experience, lots of people want a goth partner, but the magic fades when they take off their make-up and walk around and their pillows are stained with black hair dye. Hob is not deterred! He wants that stranger carnally. But how is he going to relate to him? The hardest album he has in his whole flat is a copy of Diva classics covered by some punk band. He didn't spend much time with the punks or metalheads in school and couldn't tell a Christan Death song from Sisters of Mercy. Jo laughs at him the entire way through as she helps him spike his hair and paint his nails.

Then comes show time. Dream comes in every day around 7:30-8. He comes around dressed to the Gothic nines with two glasses of red wine. He had Jo put some Stone Roses on the jukebox. He casually sits in the booth and tells him drinks are free if he cares to give a little of his time. Dream bursts out laughing. That horrid, donkey bray of a laugh deflates Hob's ego terribly. He gets up to leave, but Dream grabs his hand. He's never had someone try so hard to cater to his fashion sense. It's not needed as Dream had a crush on Hob, and well, a full night full of fucking wine drinking wasn't on anyone's to do list before tonight, but Hob can't complain!

🎸

I dearly, dearly love the idea of Hob simping for goth Dream in literally any scenario. It just brings me so much joy. Like, the image of Hob laying on the bed watching as Dream goes through the process of making himself up: litres of white foundation, powder, yards of black eyeliner in complex patterns, shining black lipstick, dozens of items of carefully selected silver jewellery, half a can of hairspray. Hob is obsessed with the entire process. And of course Dream is a lucky bastard who doesn't need to dye his hair, but can you imagine the day he finds his first greys? He's locking himself in the bathroom patching up every single spot of hair that isn't absolutely pitch black. Hob diligently helps and doesn't even complain about the fact that they'll never get the stains off the sink. He assures Dream that no, he won't have to shave it all off like Andrew Eldritch. It's fine, no one will even see which bits are dyed.

And Hob is just as much as a simp on the days where Dream’s hair is sticking out at all angles completely unstyled, and he's still in his pyjamas at 2pm. Hob still takes his job as Goth Boyfriend Appreciator very seriously, thanks very much. Arguably Dream is at his MOST goth when he's wearing Hob’s tracksuit down to the local tesco and having a silent battle with someone's grandmother over the last Danish pastry.

Also!! Goth dad Dream has captured my heart because!!!! Goth baby/child Orpheus!!!! In his little black outfits and spikey hair listening to Siouxsie and the banshees on Dream’s ancient ipod!!!! I am weak for it. And of course he's besties with Robyn, who has inherited his dad's love of Clannad and Fairport Convention. A match made in musical heaven, bless them <3

[personalfx81]

Fancasting the Giffen-DeMatteis-Maguire era Justice League International in the DCU

It's Bwa-ha-ha time. Basically every character who hasn't been cast yet (i.e. everyone except Guy Gardner and Booster Gold, who I've assumed is set to be played by Kumail Nanjiani).

Brandon Sklenar (1923, Midway, It Ends With Us) as Bruce Wayne/Batman

-Can Pull off "Certified Hunk" -Looks great in a suit -Isn't just "stern guy with deep voice" -Build is near-perfect. built & muscular, but not too wide. -Fairly reasonable age to be handling Damien & rest of Bat-Family.

Rob McElhenney(It's Always Sunny In Philladelphia, Mythic Quest) as Ted Kord/Blue Beetle II

-Can play dorky, fed up, and "IQ lowered when around a certain person" -Other than that, pretty big range, great with physical performance. -Similar age to Kumail Nanjiani, who I've accepted is playing Booster. -Can basically play any body type.

Daniel Radcliffe(Swiss Army Man, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story) as Scott Free/Mister Miracle

-Incredible range, could play any version of the character, Kirby, King, whatever -Leaning towards the King interpretation, can still look great disheveled. -Relatively short, would make whoever plays Barda look bigger by comparison.

Demi "Rhea Ripley" Bennet(WWE) as Barda Free/Big Barda OKAY HEAR ME OUT HEAR ME OUT -She can play big and intimidating. -Also shows decent amount of emotion in sparse moments during performances/in interviews. -Built perfectly, toned body, with broad shoulders. -Has potential to be next great wrestler-turned actress, in the vein of Dave Bautista and John Cena.

Warwick Davis(Return of the Jedi, Willow, Life's Too Short) as Oberon Kurtzberg

-Decent range, able to go toe to toe with Val Kilmer in Willow. -Able to be funnier than one might expect, see Life's Too Short. -Aside from the hair, he's the spitting image of Oberon as drawn by Kevin Maguire.

Camila Mendes(Riverdale, Do Revenge, Palm Springs) as Beatriz DaCosta/Fire.

-Shows great amount of potential as an actress -Can play the kind of endearing, charming, fun, and slightly airheaded personality that I want for fire very easily. -Is of Brazilian descent. -Has experience with goofy/comic book-y plots.

Ulrikke Falch(Skam/Shame) as Tora Olafsdotter/Ice

-Can nail the girl-next-door, yet also extremely sincere energy I would like Ice to have. -Is a Norwegian actress who can speak perfect english. -Is of similar age to my pick for Fire. -Is just an overall well-educated and smart person, in addition to being a fantastic performer.

Samara Weaving(Ready or Not, Scream VI, Bill and Ted Face The Music) as Dinah Drake Lance/Black Canary II -Can play just really done with everything, as in JLI -Spectacular at deadpan comedy. -Can kick serious ass -Has a killer scream

Anna Akana(Amphibia, Wrestling isn't Wrestling) as Kimiyo Hoshi/Doctor Light II -Her work on Matt Braly's Amphibia shows an impressive range, from dramatic to comedic, something she excels at. -Can play that kind of overly-driven, borderline arrogant personality seen in Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Viggo Mortensen(The Lord of the Rings, Eastern Promises, A History of Violence) as Kent Nelson/Doctor Fate I

-Has that kind of Gravitas/Prestige needed to bring Doctor Fate to life -Can play that kind of cold/borderline nihilistic vibe Kent had in Ram V's JLD run,

Jimmy Tatro(22 Jump Street, American Vandal, Theater Camp) as Captain Marvel/Shazam -Has the kind of Childlike Himbo sort of energy, as seen in 22 Jump Street & American Vandal, that works real well for Captain Marvel/Shazam. -Also shows decent amount of emotional range, not just comedic, in American Vandal

Leslie Odom, Jr.(Hamilton, Glass Onion, Murder on the Orient Express, One Night In Miami) as J'onn J'onzz/John Jones/Martian Manhunter. -Has the chops. Odom, Jr. is one of the most electric performers in recent memory. -Performance as Aaron Burr in Hamilton (specifically in "The Election of 1800) proves he can pull off the Cooke-esque "Corny as a comic book" performative nature of John Jones. -Could also nail that betrayed look that MM had in New Frontier after hearing about John Wilson's death. And that's it. Not totally confident with some of these choices, but if these performers become the lineup for the JLI, I think we'll get some great portrayals of these beloved characters. Let me know if you think I'm on to something or if I should just shut up already.

[cicadaknight]

okay i have more (critical) barbie thoughts under the cut.

i really did enjoy it overall. it was fun, cheeky, surreal. i loved the experience of watching it in an energetic theater. i even cried a couple times. but i’m baffled at how powerful it was for so many people when it fell so flat for me. honestly, maybe what i’m feeling is just because i’m trans and it didn’t resonate as strongly with my experience of womanhood or masculinity.

i keep coming across people using gloria’s monologue to dismiss criticism by saying “anyone saying barbie isn’t feminist enough are doing the exact thing gloria pointed out! women have to be perfect but it’s just never good enough!” Y’ALL. having issues with a high-budget, corporate funded movie that has the same milquetoast girl-power messaging you’d find in teen mags from the early 2000s… is not the same as oppressing women under patriarchy. you can critique media and still resonate with aspects of it. good grief.

another response i’ve seen to critiques (specifically of gloria’s monologue) is that the movie’s messages are meant for barbie herself! not for the audience! it had to be super tame and generic because otherwise barbie wouldn’t have understood! all those speeches and ideas are aimed solely at barbie who is learning about all of this for the first time! it’s not for you if you already get it! what?????? that’s not how media works and you know it.

also, the idea that it’s meant to be palatable for a “wider audience” so it couldn’t have included intersectionality without losing people. translation: “wider audience” means white suburbia? white men? cishet people? where the most “representation” they can tolerate is a 3 second clip of a voiceless barbie in a wheelchair dancing? or a black president barbie who mostly says one liners and disappears? a wider audience being the same audience every blockbuster is catered towards?

i’m just spit balling here, but i don’t think it would have been impossible to introduce some unironic nuances like:

america’s latinx character experiencing sexism differently from stereotypical barbie?

maybe not using mount rushmore repeatedly to symbolize who’s in power?

avoiding comparing bringing patriarchy to barbieland to indigenous genocide?

a harsher perspective on mattel’s role in all this? where the outcome isn’t just will farrell’s character griping that he doesn’t even want to be in charge, he just wants to be tickled? (wtf was that lmao)

making a more obvious statement that patriarchy isn’t just a symptom of men stumbling across power and relishing it but that it’s rooted in violent white supremacy and capitalism? i’m positive there’s a way to address that without going full blown academic feminist theory mode.

having the black, fat, and disabled characters speak more than 5 collective minutes? (but at least they had screentime at all, right? ✨representation✨)

explicitly queer characters instead of “weird barbie” and allan being coded as the outsiders to an otherwise regimented cishet universe?

but all those ideas are irrelevant, right? because the movie was just SOOO self aware and layered in irony and if i was smart enough and hadn’t missed the point, i’d know the writers were in on it all.