#but i get what you're saying anon and honestly

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

Hello! Someone genuinely trying to understand and perhaps unlearn some reactionary tendencies. With the response to that anon about "not asking if you're a pro or anti", the response about "imagine if they put this much effort into protecting real kids" definitely got me thinking. So... Is an adult shipping children and finding that hot NEVER a red flag? Or is it case by case on seeing how that person handles the distinction between fiction and reality in other things? And bringing the issue of real kids into it, if a real kid who has been abused sees someone shipping kids and finds that a red flag in that person, that... No, no I juicy answered my own question on that one. Block them and cultivate your own experience.

hi there anon, and congrats on trying to unlearn some things! and great job catching yourself at the end there, that's exactly correct.

I will start by saying this right out of the gate: fundamentally, I do not really give a shit about what made up scenarios about fictional characters people are jorking it to in private. I am, first and foremost, interested in how they are interacting with actual, real people.

"but Makenzie are you saying people who look at sexually explicit images of real human kids should be allowed near children?" no I'm not. please note that I was specifically talking about people engaging with fictional characters who are, you know, not real and do not have feelings and therefore cannot actually be hurt, traumatized, abused, etc, in any way that actually matters. I want to be so clear about this: you can genuinely think whatever vile things you want about fictional characters. you can enjoy any problematic shit you want with little guys who don't actually exist.

like, here's an example I use a lot: I'm kind of a huge Batman fan. don't know if you could tell that or not, I'm pretty subtle about it. if you spend any time in the Batman mythos, you know that this is a story where you just kind of have to take for granted that our hero is a billionaire using his vast wealth to dispatch vigilante justice with military grade weaponry and a small army of child soldiers and cop friends to help him put people in prison. these are moral quandaries that are discussed and acknowledged within the story, but fundamentally the universe is always going to involve billionaire vigilantism and child soldiers and the so-called carceral justice system. that's just the price of admission if you're gonna read Batman.

and like. I spend a lot of time in that world. I love Batman, I love his child soldiers. he's my little blorbo or whatever. but like, at no point have I said "yeah, fuck it, preteens should be learning martial arts to fight domestic terrorists, actually. I think Elon Musk SHOULD be allowed to put on a fursuit and beat up criminals. cops need more funding." no amount of Batman comics can make me believe or act on any of those things because, you know, I'm a person with a brain and I know the difference between "thing that makes a good story" and "thing that should actually happen for real."

and the thing is that genuinely, honestly, if someone thought that it was a red flag that I like Batman, and that enjoying Batman comics was somehow a red flag indicating that I'm fine with violence being done against real, actual children? I would think that person was a nut, if I can be super real. like, I'm thinking about somebody trying to make the case that I shouldn't be allowed to hang out with my nephew because I enjoy the fictional character of Robin so clearly I'm going to kill my nephew's parents in front of him to try to get him into vigilante justice. or if someone attempted to bar me from teaching my 4th-6th grade sex ed classes on the grounds that I was obviously going to teach them to do karate to clowns instead of how their reproductive systems worked.

(although, lets be real, there are a lot of politicians who would MUCH rather let little kids cage fight each other than learn anything about safer sex.)

this doesn't just apply to morally bad things, either, btw. I also read a lot of romance novels, especially hetero romances. and the thing is, not one of those books has made me want to fall in love with a ruggedly handsome but condescending straight man. hell, none of them have made me want to fall in love with anybody, period. that's not really something I'm interested in for myself, it's just a fun and frequently funny dynamic to explore. I'm hardly the first queer person to point out that the allegations that queer media "turns kids gay/trans" is obviously bullshit since the vertible mountain of cishet media evidently failed to turn any of us straight/cis, you know?

my point being: no, I genuinely don't think it's often, if ever, reasonable to judge someone's actual, real life morals by how they interact with fiction.

I'm going to say something so vulnerable right now, because we're in a safe space here: since you asked me this very reasonable question, you evidently value my judgment and perspective at least a little bit. and I once read and thoroughly enjoyed a fic in which Dr. Horrible, from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, gets fucked by a sapient evil horse. and I don't think that makes me a morally reprehensible person, or a person who advocates for real human beings having real sex with real horses. I think it just makes me kind of a weirdo with a bullshit tolerance.

if you want to hear a MUCH more thorough take on this, complete with addressing the issue of shipping fictional children, I cannot recommend Princess Weekes' video essay enough:

[gilverrwrites]

Have we discussed Roman’s separated wife hooking up with Bruce Wayne? You and Bruce have always been cordial, so when Roman doxxes you, Bruce lets you stay at the Manor and cry on his shoulder until the wine bottle is empty. He’s so nice and his hand is so warm on your cheek and oh Lord, it’s bigger than your face and you can’t remember the last time you felt safe while a man was touching you. You try to make a move, but Bruce knows he’s overindulged you (partially to get info about Roman but he’ll feel guilty about it later), so he stops you…but promises he’ll be more than ready and willing when you’re in your right mind and decide you still want this. You wait anxiously the entirety of the next day, until Bruce shows up at your door in the sluttiest t-shirt and sweatpants you’ve ever seen, his ginormous hand finding its place on your face again while the other one is slipping under the hem of your shirt.

Slutty top? You've hit a nerve anon, cause now all I'm thinking about is Brucie in a slutty little crop top, like sir put that washboard away before I bite it! Honestly, feral for anyone of any shape and size in a crop top, just show me your belly, please. Yeah, that would work on me.

But to answer your question, no we have not discussed this but we certainly can!!!!

Like, I can say earnestly, when he invited you to stay with him, sleeping with you did not cross his mind; he was purely thinking about;

Helping you get out of a bad situation

Good for the Brucie Wayne image (so long as the press don't get wind of it until you've found somewhere permanent to move too)

(as mentioned) Chance to get info on Black Mask

But the moment you flash that perfectly poised smile, even though you’re clearly on the brink of tears, he's thinking ‘Uh oh. I'm in trouble.’

He never thought much of you while you were with Roman, if maybe a little bit sorry for you. The extent of your relationship was occasional networking with Bruce at events, and Batman peeking through your windows at night to check on you when Roman was at his worst or imprisoned.

It helps that he thought you were pretty.

But now, as he's getting to know you on a personal level, seeing that you're stronger than he'd thought, and smarter. You're letting down walls and actually relaxing, and in his domain at that! It stirs something within him.

And for you, like Roman and Bruce are the same age, from similar backgrounds, similar personas for the public (charming and rich) but it's crazy to see how different they really are.

When you talk, Bruce isn't just waiting for his turn to speak, he listens.

There's no coercion when you set a boundary, he just respects it. Which funnily enough makes you more willing to share. He's just so easy to trust.

When you ask about interesting pieces around his house, he doesn't brag about where it's from and what it costs. Instead, he tells you stories about his parents or his kids interacting with it.

He's funny, and respectful, not at all what you'd expected.

And did you mention handsome? Oh, he's very handsome. That dark hair and those blue eyes. The chiselled jaw and the dimples and he smells good too, you find that out after you bury your nose into his chest while he's carrying you to bed that first night. You're tipsy, and his house is a maze, he's just trying to help and not at all showing off his strength.

The same way he's just dressed so casually the following day when he comes to find you, this is what he always lounges around. He's totally not subtly flexing his glamour muscles as you open the door.

Now, Roman is by no means bad in bed. He's just, shall we say, selfish? He has a set way in life and sex that he expects you to live up to.

Bruce though? He's a giver. He can take, when appropriate, but right now, he knows what you need.

You need those big hands on your waist as he chases you into the bed with his mouth. You need them soothing your tired body, massaging all the stress out of your aching body. You need his thumb to rub circles into your inner thighs while he kisses, and sucks, and laps at your hot, wet sex. You need his long hard fingers pumping into that sweet little hole, again and again until you cum all over them.

And that is just the start.

But you know one other really important thing you need? Some goddamn aftercare.

He knows it straight away, shouldn’t have been surprised. But when your body immediately falls limp after he rolls off of you, when you look at him confused as he asks if you need anything he knows your life has been lacking kindness for so long that you barely even recognise when it's extended to you.

He's not good at the emotional stuff, at comforting words but he reasons that you probably don't need to hear it right now. Don't need to be reminded of your mistakes, of your past.

Instead, he pulls you into him, wrapping his warmth around you like a giant weighted blanket. Holding you until you accept his affection and melt into his arms.

Meanwhile, the False Facers can't breach Bruces security, can't get a good look into the Manor. Which means they don't know what you're doing there. But they know you're there, and that means Roman knows you're there.

And Romans not stupid, you sneaky, no good, selfish whore.

He gave you everything, and this is how you repay him? You nasty little bitch. And with Bruce Wayne of all people?

Don't get comfy, because the moment you step outside those gates, the second you let your walls down, he's going to rock your shit. You're going to pay for all the crap you've put him through, tenfold.

Taglist: @wandalfnation

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Now, with the 'Nightmare before Christmas' event fast approaching, how does it feel to know that there's a high chance of your old Oc coming to life? What was his name again? Ah yes, Jinx Skelton I think. Old follower here 👋

Even though I have to be honest I doubt we'll get any new characters this Halloween. I mean wouldn't it be strange for them to release new characters every Halloween? First it was Rollo then Fellow and now again? I doubt it honestly. Besides the thought of seeing a bishounen Jack Skeleton scares me. I love seeing new characters but at times point I'd rather have more information about the mysterious 4-year students.

[Referencing this post!]

THE WAY I FELT LIKE I GOT SHOT BY SEBEK'S UM WHEN I READ MY OLD OC'S NAME 🤡 A ZILLION WATTS OF LIGHTNING ARE COURSING THROUGH MY VEINS... . ..... .... ......... . .. . ........ . . . .... .. . . .

I think I first came up with Jinx like 4 years ago??? And the last time I drew him was like... 2 years ago?? BUT WOW, IT'S BEEN SO LONG SINCE I'VE THOUGHT ABOUT MY FAVORITE SPOOKY CHILD 😭 I'm so flattered that you remembered him, Anon!! (For those of you without any context, here's a fan art of him as well as my own design!)

adhbadoyqerqwvypnad I'm excited to see what TWST's interpretation of Jack Skellington might be! (I'm sure Yana and team's design would blow mine out of the water, lol) If they end up introducing a twisted!Oogie though, I might just bring Jinx back just to interact with him 👀

I'm not sure if I'm following what you're saying about the possibility of new characters though...? We may have had only Rollo and Fellow so far, but it seems to me that TWST has found a winning formula and an excuse to pump out a new limited SSR card every Halloween meaning more money for them. I don't get why they would backtrack now and do a whole event themed around a Disney property but NOT introduce a new character they can make bank on come next year. The first two Halloween events weren't themed, so it makes sense that no new character was introduced. Because this upcoming one is so blatantly going to be Nightmare Before Christmas-themed, I think it's all but guaranteed that we'll see a new face. adugkvqwodivqdi I JUST WONDER... WILL THE THIRST FOR THE NEW CHARACTER EXCEED THE THIRST OF FELLOWIVES??? Especially considering that the regular Jack Skellington is already a Tumblr sexyman????? Only time will tell...

I understand the anticipation for fourth year student lore, but I don't know that a Halloween event of all things would be good timing to make them relevant? So far, we only know that they temporarily return to campus for cultural fairs, in which NRC demonstrates the fruits of its labor to the general public. The fourth years would probably be better reserved for another kind of event or even later in the main story.

[nyzfiles]

Hey! I just found your blog and have read the works you’ve put out so far(they’re really good!). Could I please request a fic with IVE’s Yujin?

Where her and reader have been dating for a while now but lately reader has been rejecting Yujins advances whenever she tried initiating sex with her which, of course, Yujin respected. But, when she was on social media and saw the comments under your posts she realized why. (Which was because of the hate you were receiving about your body). When Yujin found out she decided to gently bring it up with you which resulted in you breaking down. Alright, to get to the point Yujin shows how in love with your body and how perfect she thinks it is by making love to you and kissing every inch of your skin(especially your stomach). Thank you!(sorry, I couldn’t think of how to make my explanation shorter)

a/n : hi anon! thank you so much for the request, i love this idea and body worshipping is top tier!

warnings - smut (minors and men dni!) sorta angst?

tags - soft dom!yujin x sub!fem reader, reader is very insecure, body worshipping, nipple stimulation, cunnilingus (reader receiving), fingering, yujin is just VERY in love with reader !!

word count - 1.3k

you and yujin have been dating for close to 8 months now. she's been the most attentive, loyal, and affectionate girlfriend you could ask for. in the beginning of your guys' relationship you had an amazing sex life, yujin is very much a giver and you get to benefit from that.

recently, you've been starting to reject her advances whenever she tries to be intimate with you and it's left her confused and quite honestly a bit hurt. of course she would never pressure you into anything but she can't help but wonder what's changed.

about two days ago she was scrolling through her instagram when she came across your most recent post and hearted it. out of curiosity she went to the comments and was heartbroken by what she saw. a bunch of people who claimed to be her fans were body-shaming you and leaving horrible comments.

she closed the app, deciding she would bring it up with you once she figured out how to do it gently. it all made sense now why you had stopped wanting to be intimate with her, she never imagined people would be making you feel so horrible about yourself.

now, she watches you sitting on the other end of the couch, a sad expression on your face as you scroll through your phone. "is everything alright?" she asks, concern evident in her voice. you just nod, giving her a small smile before looking back down at your phone. she sighs, placing her hand on your leg and caressing it gently. "baby...what's going on? things haven't been normal for months." she says, worry plaguing her mind.

you look back up at her, tears stinging your eyes as your lip quivers. "i've just been feeling really down about myself..." you whimper, your voice breaking as you try to confide in your girlfriend. she looks at you with sympathy, pulling you into her arms as you break down and start crying.

she kisses the top of your head, whispering softly to you as she strokes your hair. "baby, those people don't mean anything to us. i love you, and i love your body. you're so beautiful." she reassures you, tilting your chin up to place a soft kiss on your lips. "promise me you'll block anybody who makes you feel like this." she whispers against your hair, still holding you close.

you nod, starting to relax in her arms as your tears stop. "this is why you haven't wanted to have sex with me, isn't it?" she sighs softly, looking down at you. you nod, feeling a little embarrassed as you admit it to her. "i didn't want you to have to look at me and realize that all these people are right." you sniffle, wiping away the rest of your tears.

she shakes her head, cupping your face in her hands and kissing you again. "they're not right. you are beautiful, hot, sexy, stunning, and everything else in between. i am lucky to have you." she confesses, trying to show you how serious she is. you nod slowly, wrapping your arms around her. "let me show you how beautiful i think you are..." she mutters, hands cupping your ass as you sit in her lap.

you look up at her apprehensively, chewing on your lip before nodding your head. "okay..." you agree, giving yourself to her. she smiles, threading her fingers through your hair before kissing you slowly. she picks you up, hands gripping your thighs as she carries you into your guys' shared bedroom without breaking the kiss.

she gently lays you against the bed, hovering over you as her lips trail down your neck. "i can't believe how beautiful you are. how did i get so lucky?" she mumbles against your skin, hands moving to the hem of your shirt and pulling it over your head. you blush, arms going to cover your stomach before she stops you. "don't. i want to see every inch of you tonight." she says, moving your hands and kissing the palms on each of them.

you watch as she undoes the clasp on your bra, throwing it on the floor beside the bed. she cups your tits, flicking her tongue over your hard nipple. you gasp softly, playing with her hair as she sucks, licks, and bites your nipples, switching between them. your moans spur her on and she kisses down to your stomach, her lips lingering there.

her mouth kisses every inch of your stomach, dampness pooling in your panties. "so fucking stunning." she whispers, gripping your waist as she kisses above the waistline of your panties. your eyes sting with tears as she worships your stomach, kissing every stretch mark and praising you.

she slowly peels your panties off, groaning softly when she sees your cunt glistening. "so pretty and wet for me." she smiles, fingers teasing your folds. you whine, your cunt clenching as her finger disregards the spot you need her the most. "please..." you mutter, heart pounding as you watch her. she leans in, placing your legs on her shoulders before running her tongue through your folds. you let out a long moan, hand tangling in her hair as she flicks her tongue over your sensitive clit.

she hums against you, the taste of you making her own arousal grow. she grips your thighs tighter, sucking on your clit and swirling her tongue around it. you throw your head back in pleasure, toes curling as your arousal leaks out of you. "feels so good..." you whimper, grinding your cunt against her tongue. she chuckles softly, slowly easing her tongue inside of your tight cunt.

you gasp, stomach tightening as she curls her tongue inside of you. your nails are practically digging into her scalp as she tongue fucks you and rubs her nose against your clit. the knot in your stomach gets tighter and you cry out her name as your thighs squeeze her head and your cum coats her tongue.

she swallows every last drop, pulling back and licking her lips as she looks at you. "tastes so sweet." she smiles, kissing her way up to your body until she reaches your lips. you laugh tiredly, wrapping your arms around her to bring her closer to you. "you're so pretty." she sighs happily, two fingers slowly rubbing your clit. you blush, bucking your hips slightly as she takes them and parts your folds.

she gently pushes her fingers inside you, making you moan and grip her biceps. her thumb rubs your clit while her fingers fuck you, her mouth leaving dark purple hickeys along your collarbone. "y...yujin..." you gasp, breath hitching as she curls her fingers against your g-spot. she smirks against the spot on your neck she was sucking on, thumb pressing harder against your clit.

you start to ride her fingers, eagerly chasing your second orgasm of the night while she leaves love bites all over your neck, collarbone, and tits. your nails dig into her biceps as she pumps her fingers deeper and moves her thumb faster, making your eyes roll back. the familiar feeling of your stomach tightening washes over you and your legs shake as your orgasm washes over you.

she slowly fucks you through your high, slipping her fingers out and licking them clean. she lays down on the bed beside you, pulling you into her arms as she kisses you sweetly. "i love you so much, you know that?" she smiles, forehead resting against yours. you nod, snuggling yourself closer to her. "i love you too." you mutter, letting her hold you as you drift off to sleep.

[some-pers0n]

I might be poking at a bear here but I kinda really dislike the "all or nothing" attitude the WoF fandom has. This character is evil the worst piece of garbage imaginable or is secretly a great character and you're just a fool for thinking otherwise. It's ridiculous at times

Like I recall the stuff with Secretkeeper a while back. Now, call me crazy, but I don't think she's some horrifically abusive and neglectful parent. She did the best that she could. Was it great? No, but she was trying to keep her daughter safe in a hostile world that she was terrified would reject or, worse, hunt her. Her leaving Moon alone for days was bad, yes, but she wanted to keep Moon free from the horrors of the volcano. She loved Moon and clearly took care of her a lot. You can't just look at a character and paint them as being a "horrible abusive POS" for something that, let's be real here, is much more forgivable and understandable than anything Coral, Scarlet, Diamond, Cobra, Jerboa, or Kestrel did

[statementlou]

https://www.tumblr.com/louisupdates/754934426217152513/goodbye-faith-in-the-future-world-tour-272024?source=share

did he or did he not lose fans then?

I will answer this because this anon actually brings a concrete question to the table rather than just "hurhur but you're a larrie??" (tell me you can't actually refute any of our points…). Anyway this post shows the decrease in Louis instagram followers between the screenshots taken directly after the release of Faith in the Future in Nov '22, when he changed his bio to promote that album and the tour tickets, and now, when he changed it again to mention the current release. But I'm putting that response under a cut because I'm tired of the actual POINT of all this nonsense getting lost in a sea of made up things people insist are important:

There is no rational argument you can make to say that Louis has less fans now than he did 2, 4, or 6 years ago. You don't need a spreadsheet of details you need to USE YOUR EYES! He has gone from filling theaters to filling arenas and stadiums. His second album made a higher chart position than his first album. His festival has doubled in size EVERY year of its existence. And for that matter: his insta post engagement numbers remain about the same (despite the fact that older posts should have way MORE likes due to having been there longer, even aside from follower counts.) SO WHO FUCKING CARES ABOUT HIS INSTA FOLLOWER NUMBER???? Serious question: what does the word "fans" mean if these things aren't what matters? ALL of this quibbling about what he should do to make things better and people can't even see that THINGS AREN'T BAD.

Anyway to address the specific question- (con't......)

NO- HE DID NOT LOSE FANS. HE LOST SOME INSTA FOLLOWERS. THESE ARE NOT THE SAME THING. As I said above, literally what does it mean to lose fans if that number change coincides with him having higher sales, more audience members, and higher engagement than ever before? Whatever he lost ISN'T FANS. I wouldn't be surprised if a significant factor was something like a bot purge, but also yes: I'm sure a lot of casuals followed him around the time of his big album release and later unfollowed him. That's extremely normal because that's how casual engagement works, and why the definition of fan really matters. Louis and his team understand this and have referenced it repeatedly, talking about how lucky he is to have *us* specifically, to have the kind of dedicated fanbase he has, to have the KIND of fans he does who will allow him to do what HE wants. @dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram named the issue of depth vs breadth with regard to fans a long time ago, and pointed out why having DEPTH is so much more important. It's like this- artists who are on top 40 radio have more numbers on things like insta follows, and for a time on sales and tickets. But those aren't FANS- they're people with a casual interest. And as soon as that person isn't being forced in their ears 10x a day, those people lose interest and stop supporting them, stop buying stuff and unfollow, and those artists end up doing the 'opener on the jingle ball' circuit rather than their own tours. One Direction as a whole, and Louis maybe most of all or near to at this point, have something MUCH MORE VALUABLE than that- DEPTH FANS. Louis has fans who will support him even if he takes years to release music, or stops parading around with a pretend girlfriend to stay in the headlines at least once a month, or completely changes his image and genre, and that is UNHEARD OF. It's ASTONISHING and worth SO MUCH MORE. And they get that! THAT is why he always bragging about us, why industry people he works with are always so agog about us, why he will do anything for US- not for randos. He is also growing his breadth- and it's OBVIOUSLY WORKING whatever his follower counts are, but that is always going to be secondary to doing things for THE FANDOM because that is his sustainable business model. That is what keeps him onstage and reaching number one. And not coincidentally, the things they do are also working to grow that- much more valuable- commodity. So the fact that that's exactly what these chuckleheads complain about- that he does things that are just fandom facing or serving rather than everything being aimed at recruiting casual fans- does nothing but betray how completely they, unlike Louis and his team, misunderstand the actual drivers of his (actual, existing, happening) success. Luckily for Louis, he and his team rely on their own data harvesting (they do a LOT of it) and growth metrics (they're off the charts) rather than the smug assumptions of random (mostly quite new to this) fans and the few bitter people leading the complaining about everything Louis does.

[yuichiroswife]

{ Just got back into the swing of writing again on another blog only to find out my grandma is in the hospital for heart issues. First it was my grandpa and now it's my grandma. I'm honestly starting to believe that things really can just keep getting worse instead of better cause nothing ever seems to get better over here. }

[theloveinc]

let add on to ur post that denki loves his dog sm that even if a rlly pretty girl were to call his dog ugly or say anything mean or negative he’d straight up walk away and ignore her bc no matter how pretty someone is you’re not allowed to degrade his dog.

(ref post here!) YES!! and i'm just imagining his face going from kinda silly and cheery to dead serious as he stares down even the cutest girl. He's honestly kinda surprised when you approach and DON'T say anything offensive right off the bat, because he's gotten kinda used to the weird comments about his pup, which is literally the opposite of what he thought would happen initially, bc he thinks his dog is cute even with the weirdness of it.

It's funny because even like, six months, a year into your relationship he sometimes gets tense when you LOVINGLY tease the dog and call them ugly (it took three months before denki even let you joke about that).... and you have to remind him, like... you love the dog just as much as him!!!!!!!

he's such a down bad pet owner lmaoooo

[kakusu-shipping]

I have no idea how it would feel to be in a real-life relationship. I never got the chance. Real people aren’t attracted to me. 😢

Not to be mean to you anon but why is it every time recently I reblog a post that's like 'Reblog and put in the comments' I get an anon ask telling ME their response.

Why not send this to the OP? Why not just reblog it like the post asks? Why self deprecate in my ask box? What do you hope to gain out of this interaction? What do you want me to say? How does one respond to such a comment?

Consider these questions next time you go to answer a post I didn't make in my ask box, please.

[bunnihearted]

i just find it kinda interesting how i get plenty of mean anons when i simply vent abt being in love w someone who's w someone else???? i've never gotten as many weird condescending and mean asks as i have venting abt this situation..... like honestly that is kinda fkn weird 💀 esp since it's one of the most normal things in life and like idk i just think it's weird that ppl see me sad abt having love for someone that cant go anywhere more and ppl are like "omfg i cant take this i have to be cruel to this stranger i dont even know just bc they're sad abt being unhappily in love". like fr wtf is wrong w some ppl... how is this anyone's business... 💀

[castielsprostate]

I'm nosy af. I want to see Misha's bank statements and tax returns. I genuinely wonder (like, all the time) what decent rich people (not asshole rich people.. i know what they spend their money on) actually spend their money on. I've never had money. I spend everything i get on food and rent. I go into debt buying shampoo and deodorant. my laptop is 12 years old (and i had to get a loan to buy that and pay it off over five years.) My phone is newer (2016) but was a secondhand gift. I don't own a car. I don't have any pets. I've never in my life been on vacation. I have no insurance, I'll never be able to afford a house and I will almost certainly die tens of thousands of dollars in debt. (I looked into funeral expenses recently and thought FUCK i can't even afford to die!) I wonder what it feels like to.. not live like this? Misha was poor as a kid. I wonder if you get used to wealth if you've been dirt poor? Like i wonder if Dolly Parton is used to being rich now, decades after growing up in a shack with no electricity or running water. I can't even imagine ever getting used to not worrying about having enough food. If I was ever that rich (don't have to worry about food or rent money) I think i'd feel like the wealthiest person in the world. I legit can't even imagine it though. It would take me 20 years to earn $250,000, but Misha can do it in a weekend. Crazy world. (This is not a criticism of him. I love him. I bet he spends a lot of that money doing good things. I'd love to see his receipts, tho.)

oh anon i feel you!!!!! i grew up with literally eating 50p macaroni every day for WEEKS. in the winter we didn't have connected heating because we just couldn't pay for it so we had a diesel generator (this was in 2006). it got better, we got heating (sort of lmao) and we could afford wayyy more when my mum got a job. the little bits of money i got, i never got used to it, it always felt like this is the last im getting i need to save this and not spend that but it didn't go away but the feeling stayed. the feeling of "you're gonna lose this next month" doesn't go away. and we're talking an amount of 1k a month here lmao sjsjsjs i could NEVER imagine having to not worry about rent or food or getting clothes i need or new shampoo. right now i'm worrying about the 15€ i need for some things i genuinely need, but literally dont have the money for. the world would seem so much brighter if I wouldn't even have to look at my bank account and just put the card down yknow?

i dont think anyone that grew up poor, even misha or dolly tbh, every get used to having money :/ and as you said, he makes that in a weekend now (though he also donates a lot of money and uses it for good, a lot is going into investments, his kids' funds etc) but i still think he has that underlying worry gnawing at him that this is it and he's gonna have to do xyz and sell yzx and take up zyx job. it's a never ending pool of anxiety and stress that never ebs and it probably hits him right before going to bed

but then again, i'm just tumblr user castielsprostate what do i know

[justatalkingface]

Hey 👋 I've seen your page and you're really indepth and accurate about bnha, really great analysis. Can I ask you where you think bnha is going as a series? Or like, what messages are trying to be pushed and if they're right or not? Because where we are now it's really hard to tell.

The heroes haven't really learned much about how things got this way, and even when they're told how the villains got where they are, the heroes (and the hero kids) don't really commit to (even attempt to) changing anything to make sure things don't wind up right back where the story is now.

Speaking specifically on the mutant plot you wrote that great critique on, shouji's answer of basically 'shine so bright it makes the racists feel bad' did not seem like a good sign for the future. can I ask how you feel about that part too?

An ask! My first ask! I didn't think I'd ever get an ask, actually. And! And it's a juicy one! Plenty to dig my teeth into here....

Where it's going is simple, yet complicated in a weird way. Where we are, now, Hori has finally decided on a direction and seems firmly attached to it, after zig zagging in messages and themes throughout the entire storyline, so in that sense, the end goal is clear. The problem is he took so long to make up his mind on what even wants that he left himself a giant pile of plot threads to deal with, and I am not only positive he can't resolve them all well, I'm not even sure he can even end them all, they're all so many and all over the place, and so much of it is deeper and complex that the story they're actually in.

This is the reason you're confused, by the way; all the themes, back stories and plot threads that Hori has just... decided to not use, are still there, he just left them hanging. Like Corrupt Heroes, when all the heroes we see are good, Endeavour, the lone asshole, is now defacto redeemed, and even the originally somewhat dubious Mt Lady, who was money obsessed, is fully on the straight and narrow. Everyone talks about 'corrupt heroes' (and acts like Stain has actual depth when what we have is flat out a two dimensional character) throughout the story but we never see them, because Hori realized he didn't actually want to get into how dark that would be. It's why Hawk was killed and replaced by New Hawks, and Deku (like my earlier post, I'm going to be putting a firm line between 'Izuku', and 'Deku', where Deku is a hollowed out version of Izuku, with all his defining traits scraped away to make room for power and The Plot, and Izuku is an actual human being with depth that we haven't seen a long time now) doesn't even blink at Lady Nagant's entire everything, before he revealed she was Good The Whole Time as he defeated her: because Hori abruptly changed directions and all the story build up before that point was suddenly retconned into nonexistence.

The direction Hori seems to have chosen, barring a last second 180, is what I call a 'True Shonen'; that is to say, he has committed fully to the themes of Friendship and Being A Good Person overcoming all obstacles, no matter how ludicrous the odds against it. The ending, then, will be Deku, maybe with some help, killing AFO and Saving The Day, and then Everything Is Better, probably with a timeskip to years later to show how much better everything has become. Now, in theory, that's not a bad thing. In practice, MHA is one of the most theoretically political shonen mangas I've ever seen, and until recently Hori has been trying to thread the line between a normal shonen plotline and the deep ideas and concepts he's introduced, and done that terribly, so there's a lot things that are going to happen that are going to be... awkward, to say the least.

In a True Shonen, for example, the Hero always wins. Not only that, when they reach the full potential of their powers at endgames like this? They get everything they want. Every goal is achieved, with only one or two token sacrifices, and some victories being symbolic or incomplete, and at worst the cost is just themselves. One of the places we're going to run into problems, though, is that Deku has committed to saving Shigaraki. And that is going to happen, Shigaraki will be saved, one way or another.

The problem is Shigaraki himself. Shigaraki was, at the point right before AFO stepped in to conveniently make him helpless and ripe for Deku to vibe on saving, utterly insane in a way I don't know the technical words to describe, but his goal is easy to name: omnicide.

Shigaraki was a fucked up man child that had never had a life, and didn't know how to be a person, until he went through the trials his mentor arranged for him to grow. When he finished and, for lack of a better word self actualized, he gained a goal that was all his for the first time.

That goal was to kill every living creature on the planet, destroy everything on the planet, until there was nothing left. Shigaraki's ideal endgame is a barren world of dust and ash, save for maybe five cities where Japan used to be that his friends live in. These cities have all their stuff, cute prey for Toga to hunt, and possibly some slaves to do things for them (though we're ignoring how that'd destroy all ability to make things like they'd want on a reasonable level, like clothes and food, but whatever), and that's about the only feature left on this bleak, empty world of grey.

Shigaraki has killed, at least, hundreds of people, and is at least indirectly involved in the deaths of thousands more. He has no idea how to live anything near to a normal life. Every one of his skills revolve around killing, or video games.

That is what Deku wants to save, because in the set up we're in, Shigaraki isn't the enemy anymore. He's the rival character, and he just happens to be possessed by the actual big bad. Picture Naruto trying to save Sasuke, if Sasuke was fully possessed by Orochimaru; that's the kind of energy that's happening here. Except, you know, it isn't. They're foils in many ways, but the set up for this kind of situation has never been a thing. That's where the 'kid' in Shigaraki came from, to explain this and skip over years of connections and build up that are sorely lacking to explain why Deku would want to save him.

Not even mentioning what the 'saving' would look like: maybe Shigaraki will go Darth Vader on AFO and mutual kill him, redeeming himself in the process. Maybe Deku will, and I'm not screwing with you, pull the fucking kid out of him, and that kid will just be innocent of Shigaraki's sins. Maybe it'll be like the last chapter of Naruto, where infamous traitor Orochimaru, famed for his human experimentation on orphans, and the ex-leader and founder of a hostile military state, is somehow in charge of the orphanage, and in the same way Shigaraki will just be magically reintegrated back into society somehow. Who knows?

This? This is just one problem with the end we're going towards, and there's plenty more beyond that. Dabi, for example, needs to be saved as well, to resolve Shoto's Endeavor's character arc. He can't just die, he can't just be locked in jail forever, he needs to come to some sort of peace with his family; the story will not end any other way. In it's own way, though, this is almost worse than the Kidaraki thing, since while Shigaraki was basiclly thrown into villainy, without any context on how not to do that, Dabi went willingly to his damnation, but it doesn't matter because it will happen.

So yeah, where we're going is easy. The ride there, though? Woo boy, that's going to be fun.

On the origins of villains and the complete refusal to deal with their causes? Yeah, that's another one of those big threads left to hang: MHA is a theoretically 'real' world, just with super powers in it, and that means it's complicated, and there's politics, and things don't work out for everyone. All of that? Yeah, that's a bunch of stuff Hori just... started ignoring a while ago, and at this point, i would bet actual money he never will really focus on again. Oh, Deku might make some lip service to it at a climatic moment with Shigaraki, and there's probably going to be a time skip with the problems 'solved' (and yet there'll be villains for new/old heroes to face dramatically anyways), but that's it. To realistically deal with the causes of villainy would require a lot of work on things like poverty, mental health, racism in general, and the insane amount of bystander syndrome in the setting, all of which are never happening beyond a surface level take.

Although, now that I mentioned it... man, Hori seems to hate civilians, doesn't he? I'm not really going anywhere with this, I just wanted to talk about that briefly, but the general public is always wrong in MHA, aren't they? Or, really just about anyone who isn't a hero or a villain is both useless and stupid. He uses 'the civilians' exclusively as props to push his message, usually by a hero explaining why what they're saying is dumb and bad, or as scapegoats to try and push the blame on, and it's just kinda weird isn't it?

And oh, the mutant plot. Oh, that response. Anon, you may not know this, but I loathe every part of that, and I would love to tell you why.

Let me sum up briefly his argument and explain why each part is wrong:

We start off with 'Don't be upset and act out about the discrimination you face, or your children will be next.' Like, I'm paraphrasing here, obviously, and equally obviously I'm slanting it negatively. Still, though the way I put it makes it sound like a threat, and maybe in some undertones it is, honestly the main reason this is shit is the fact that they're here means their children are being discriminated against, already. They aren't going to be in a giant mob following a villain, who is famously part of an organization that has destroyed several cities and killed who the fuck knows how many people, against law enforcement and the super law enforcement, unless they really, really think that this is their only way out. That, in the entire setting, with normal police, and the hero system that is loudly broadcasting that they will save you, the only person who is on their side, the only person who can possibly make change happen for them, is Spinner. These are people so trapped and cornered that they're trying to chew their metaphorical arms off to escape, and Shoji is saying there will be an 'escalation' of their situation that has to be a fact of life for them already.

This, somehow, along with city mutants (who according to their own words just a chapter or two ago are de facto living a different life than them and don't understand what it's like to be a country mutant) joining hands with normal humans, is enough to stop them, because.... they get to watch the people they know have it better than them demonstrate their lack of trauma?

Seriously, let me stop here a second. Let's ignore, for a minute, the sheer layers of stupid here, and take this as written: These people are desperate, and feel so abandoned by society that the only person they think is on their side is a villain. They follow him in siege on a hospital against a backdrop of heroes and police. Let's further pretend that this was, some the fuck how, a good argument. Would that even stop them? They're stuck now; they've come this far, in a something far beyond a riot, lead by a defacto enemy of the State. Just stopping it like this and leaving isn't going to make things go back to normal, it's not going to make them better, it's going to screw them over. The second they did this they were committed, because shonen logic aside, do you think law enforcement is going to forget this? Forgive this? Unless AFO wins, they haven't put their cause back by three years, they've fucked up by decades; every mutant is going to be viewed as a villain just hiding how sinister they are. The very act of doing this is tying them, ride or die, with AFO and the League, and burned the bridges behind them. They can't go back now.

Moving on, Shoji then says that, 'the reason you all gathered here, in a small army, isn't wrong, and the fact that you were able to operate beyond the level of a thoughtless animal and stop when I told you too makes it seem to me you were all shining like the fucking Luminescent Baby'. I shit you not, he compliments them on the fact they 'kept thinking'. I don't care what translation ends up official, I can't see any way anything that vein isn't insulting bullshit with the subtext of, 'The fact that you listened to me is why I think you kept thinking, and if you ignored me, you wouldn't be thinking'. Quite a fucking high horse you're on there, Shoji. Oh, and a token black hero then apologizes for being ignorant to their plight, which is just a special touch on top of everything else.

And now for the good part: "Let's use the fact that you're all Luminescent Babies to change the people hurting us! They'll look in awe of how you glow and be so embarrassed that they'll become better people out of shame!"

I'm going to dial back the snark here because this is the meat of the argument, along with the actual question asked to me (lol), and I want to seriously address how bad this is. What this argument is saying, basiclly, is to be perfect, take the high road, and you'll shame your abusers into no longer abusing you, into no longer being racist. In general, this kind of thing, a disadvantaged minority having to be better than their peers for approval, isn't new; this is old as fuck. What this does, all this does, is allow the person in question to keep their job against all the people who hate them and want them to stop getting above themselves. That doesn't solve anything, that is a step: the true change that they're talking about is long, and hard, and complicated. In fact, I can say in total confidence that historically, it is proven that doing this has not, in fact, magically stopped racism or sexism from being things that exist.

Seriously, Hori, what the fuck.

So, yeah, this is pure shit, basiclly. If this was actually how the world proceeded, off this logic, nothing would get better, but again, that logic isn't going to matter with how the story is going; things will be 'better' regardless of what the heroes actually do or don't do to fix the problem.

And... I think that's everything you asked, Anon. Thanks for the ask!

[thelittlemermage]

ok ok so I know this doesn’t matter to u and u might even already know but I desperately need you to know that the Day after you posted that thing about ppl getting upset about selfcest, a new adventure time episode dropped where a main character told two separate sets of alternate universe versions of people that the alt versions of each other should kiss. She Encouraged Selfcest. and the fandom is going nuts trying to figure out why she would do that. like man. what.

ok I know u don’t care but I had to tell you cuz it was literally the next day and I can’t stop thinking about it

I DID SEE THAT. I've somehow managed to never watch Adventure Time so I'm personally so far removed from this but I saw people going on about that on Twitter and I was dying kjskllkklsf. What is it about this that makes people lose their minds. Seriously. You can't fuck your clone/alternate version of yourself in reality? ? How is this a moral issue for anyone to the extent that you'd get like...actually upset over it. It's hard to believe just a few years ago the biggest thing on tumblr was Onecest. It's like we jumped into a different reality at some point.

I do care :p If only because I've had to deal with it unexpectedly (at least to me because I'm still in Timeline A idk about the rest of the ya'll) and I was actually surprised people were upset by it. So I'm curious what makes people act that way. I think it's no big deal to feel uncomfortable for whatever reason, but I don't get the part where it makes you go out and attack people in ways that are so dramatic and often gross.

[grapecaseschoices]

i usually don't send asks and i would send this off anon, but im scared of getting hate on this, since ive seen quite a lot of discriminatory behaviour in if fandom spaces when it comes to poc opinions so imma just stay anonymous if that's ok with u.

i came across a post you posted a while ago regarding the if ROs and the lack of diverse characters when it comes to darker skin characters and i just wanted to say thank u for making that post. i hope it gives writers and the fandom some food for thought. ive been noticing ever since i got into the if community that black/ros of black descent tend to almost always be the less popular ros and as a mixed black person myself it's really sad to see. you also mentioned the lack of darker skinned east Asians/south East Asians if i recall correctly (if not please feel free to correct me) and I honestly couldn't agree not. ive noticed in some ifs that the characters of color that are the most popular tend to be those of east Asian descent with paler skin or poc ROs who's ethnicity is left ambigious by the author and whilst I'm really happy that there's been more progress made in terms of diversity, i would love to see more black characters who aren't sidelined to the best friend stereotype and more poc characters who's ethnicity is made clearer.

some south east Asian friends of mine who are of Hmong-Thai and Agta-Filipino descent have also mentioned they would would love to see more South East Asian ROs as well as East Asian ROs who are darker skinned, because the majority of the rep that there seems to be for Asian characters are those with paler skin. its a similar feeling for Latinx ROs, i almost always see lighter skinned Latinx ROs being represented in the majority with a lack of darker skinned Latinx ros. I'm not forcing anyone to add diversity to their game ofc, but the ratio of poc ROs to white ros on some games have made me kind of sad to see, specially when there's like 4 or 5 white ros and then 2 ros of colors who seem like they were just kind of tacked on for representation points, but their backgrounds are left ambigious and no Nationality or ethnicity is ever mentioned by the author which kind of leaves me scratching my head ngl. there's also a prominent lack of SEA and SA rep in terms of ROs, so I'm always happy when I see one! I would also love to see more biracial characters who aren't half white, since we aren't all a monolith.

regarding black ros. in my time in the community whilst ive seen an increase in the amount of black ROs, seeing them always be the least popular in polls still makes me quite sad. i hope that fandom can become more open minded and give more black ROs a chance. on the other hand I've seen a lot of greatly written black ROs in comparison to back in the day, and I'm glad people are incorporating more ROs based on their culture which is great!

sorry about this essay, but i hope it doesn't come across as rude or offensive, it's just something that has been on my mind ever since ive seen your post regarding the lack of representation in if. English isn't my first language so I hope I expressed myself alright.

negl, when i the way you started and then the length of this post, i foreal thought it was gonna be a fight. so, it was a relief that isnt the case. i honestly don't think there's anything for me to add, because you said my feelings and all i could do is nod along as i read this.

though, i'm glad that my post struck a chord for you. (is that the thing to say?? i'm not even sure. i guess my purpose for that post was pointing out the ignored part and bringing on encouragement as well. so, while i'm glad it encouraged you to share your opinion and made you feel less alone in feeling uncomfortable with what you were seeing -- it sucks that things haven't changed to a point where you can feel comfortable saying your thoughts off anon without being harassed. like yikes [not at you, but at fandom]. roflmao. like this is 2023. we really STILL at a point where we're going to make people feel bad about having a GENERAL issue with the racism and colorism that if writers & the if fandom continue to show? rather than … idk continue to DO something about it.)

i would love to see more black characters who aren't sidelined to the best friend stereotype and more poc characters who's ethnicity is made clearer.

i have actually seen some improvement, too. either from the fandom directly zeroing in and supporting black characters (i know the polls can seem disheartening - and i had a feeling that's what drew you to my inbox - but there HAVE been moments where the black character would be the most favored ro -- buuuuuut .... sadly, it is still so rare that i continue to be surprised when it occurs) or in the if writers boosting black characters because they have an awareness regarding fandom's bias. i definitely do think we need more of the latter, tho.

i still think there is a very long way to go. extremely. like i think in general, despite the imporvements we have both observed, a lot of the newer games i've seen ratio is still low like you said. it's a mix instead of being - at least from my observation - as consistently majorly white like it used to be. now i'd say the ratio is aybe 3 (white characters) to 2 (characters of color, of different races) ... as opposed to 3:1. Whoo. BUT i've seen what you mentioned too, still -- too many games are still so white. And if they're not, they're more often than not theyll be light skinned East Asian or black (or mixed... with white). Or an ambigous Latino that I can't tell if they're a white Latine or meant to be a character of color. So, yeah ... i don't know what it is. a fear of writing characters of color, not finding characters of color romanceable, or just a lack of awareness.

Like I guess I agree with you (lmao), I don't want to "pressure" people to have diversity either --- mostly because the people who get hurt in cases like that are minorities reading the story. My desire, I suppose, is a want to understand. I know a lot of IF writers have the idea that 'my story is for me', and in a sense, I agree -- I think we shouldn't expect writers to bend every bit of story to the fans (not even an interactive story). I've seen the mess that can create. However, if you wanted it to be JUST your story, you would've left it in your journal. You want engagement and participation -- you want to share, and I believe most stories should be shared. So, why as an artis wouldn't you want to make a story where .... I don't know. I'm tired. I've kind of gotten to a point where I'm just like whatever. I'm disappointed in myself for expecting better from IF writers and the IF fandom.

BUT I am glad that you and your friends are not only discussing but EXPECTING better, because you deserve it. Because your friends deserve to see and engage with characters who are SEA (of all shades, but especially of darker skinned). You deserve to see mixed raced characters who aren't half white (or light skinned), because as stated yall arent a monolith -- that isn't all there is in the world. (And it's WEIRD to me, like WHY do we AUTOMATICALLY assume mixed/biracial = partially white? I mean I KNOW why but COME ON! lol.)

*sighs*

i WILL say though, again, it's not all bleak: and i have seen variation of the TYPE of characters of color -- like it isn't always the cold e. asian or the black emotional pack mule best friend. so that's good. and i hope that continues.

and you're fine, dove. i actually appreciate your ask because like i said i was feeling kinda ho-hum about things but this sorta sparked a fire in me, roflmao. you expresse yourself just fine, and honestly despite the essay i wrote back i really didnt have anything worth adding.

[autumnrory]

every once in a while i rmr when i posted about not having dated and some anon was like “are you fat? that must be why” and they kept coming back when i tried to tell them why that was an insane thing to say for so many reasons

[medicinemane]

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