#but that is a conversation that requires too much nuance for a post about a cw show

[annarubys]

it’s so crazy to me that people are excited about carlos and i don’t mean this in a derogatory way at all because i wish that could be me. but from the moment i read bisexual latino stoner i have been doing the math and it’s just. i don’t like the way it adds up! and i’m not saying it’s a bad thing for people to be excited about the representation or to be optimistic about it but a lot of the posts about him have been focused on the bisexual part. obviously we’re in a very queer space and it’s natural to be excited about an aspect of your identity being reflected on tv, but i would encourage people to be intersectional with the way they approach their interpretation of his character! obviously latinos can be bi but please consider how the way the show writes his relationships might play into stereotypes and be critical of that as you watch. a lot of the stereotypes that would be biphobic depending on how they’re written (ie him being promiscuous) would also be racist when applied to him because of the latin lover trope. of course, the writers might avoid that and bring some nuance to him, but i personally cannot be optimistic about him being written well when the latino representation on the original show was 1) that one leviathan guy 2) casa erotica and 3) the porn star dean slept with who was played by a white blonde woman. uncritically saying you trust jackles in this regard is laughable when you consider that he recently directed an episode of walker. and while i think all of us love a lot of robbie’s episodes, it’s disingenuous to say he’s going to fix everything wrong with the show when he played into its racism plenty himself (unless when you say he’s going to “fix” things you mean everything but the racism). anyway, just a reminder since the prequel is airing in a few days! and a huge thank you to people who have already been talking about this <33

[juniperhillpatient]

I have talked about this a lot before but it’s on my mind & also it’s something that really should be discussed more in Buffy fandom -

People are constantly talking about how Spike defies all the rules Buffy was taught about demons & vampires & rightfully so. A vampire falling in love with a slayer & fighting for his soul for her is such a romantic notion & I do love it but the nuance of Spike’s arc is even more interesting than that! He does love Buffy but not only that he befriends the Scoobies too. He brings flowers for Joyce after she dies. He helps prove that Tara is not a demon when her family tries to gaslight her & isolate her. He becomes a pseudo big brother to Dawn.

And yet none of that is even what I’m here to talk about! Spike IS a hero & he does have a long spanning redemption arc before the soul (& we’re NOT here to talk about Seeing Red right now, as usual that topic is too expansive & requires its own post) that should be acknowledged & his character is rightfully praised but he is NOT the only exception to vampires having nuance & it drives me crazy that we act like he is. The Judge isn’t just talking to Spike when he says this:

“You TWO.” He’s talking about Drusilla too! He says that they share affection & jealousy. That Angelus in his total sociopathic lack of human emotion is the odd one here.

Then you have things like this -

Conversations with Dead People has Buffy sharing a very long & deep conversation with an old acquaintance turned vampire. And it’s far from the only example in universe of a vampire retaining some sense of camaraderie with people from their life!

That’s right this entire rant has been a lead up to talk about my best girly Harmony Kendall. You’ve fallen for my ruse if you’ve read this far muahaha! Admittedly Harmony’s strongest moments are mostly unfortunately on Angel but even in season four of Buffy when she dates Spike she is clearly intended at times to be sympathetic. Season 4 is also interesting because we see a lot interactions between various gangs of vampires like Harmony’s so-called minions & even Sundays gang where they’re very much evil but also sharing in living (existing?) space & acting like bickering roommates or siblings. Like creatures with bonds & personalities & intricacies.

The point I’m trying to make is that the show never truly wants to grapple with the existence of Spike in all his nuance but it’s also not just about him! In general there is so much to grapple with in the idea that vampires can change & be redeemed & I’m not saying I’m anti scary evil vampires I’m just saying the universe gave us these hints of nuance & then the characters never grappled with it & that’s lame. For Buffy killing things that have a shot at redemption however small would be a major emotional blow if she ever addressed it! Especially in her season 5 “am I just a killer 🥺” arc. Let’s deal with the implications!

Let’s deal with Xander’s trauma about killing Jessie & just how much it would/should hurt for him to see Spike increasingly choose good & work with the Scoobies. I would LOVE to know Xander’s reaction to Harmony’s arc on Angel or Cordelia befriending her & letting her go ina world where the writing acknowledges that he drove a stake through his best friends heart!

It’s just that the writers accidentally complicated their own lore & then totally refused to ever let their characters address what the cracks in the stories they tell themselves mean. Giles says that a vampire is no longer the person but instead the thing that killed them. What’s scarier: the idea that your loved one was killed & something wears their face like a mask OR much more insane (to me) the idea that your loved one came back very wrong but it’s still them? Your brother eats people now but he still remembers how you like your eggs & can quote every episode of the cartoon you watched as kids. Your mom murdered that woman from the PTA who always talked too much in cold blood but she still remembers the recipe for your favorite pancakes. The show wanted scary vampires but it got so caught up in never addressing the infinitely more complex & scarier vampires it accidentally created & sticking to the more simplistic initial idea that it did both the characters & lore very dirty. And I’ll never shut up about it!!!

[fairuzfan]

I don’t ask this expecting you have THE answer or that there is one, but I follow a non Palestinian white man on insta (in addition to many Palestinian folks in diaspora and in Palestine) who mostly shares things from Palestinian ppl/sources.

He has several times criticized / shared criticism of charity dinners, music festivals etc raising funds for Gaza with the perspective of, it’s not appropriate to have a dance party or dinner while people are undergoing genocide, but also that in this moment, art isn’t resistance because there needs to be physical resistance, blockades of weapons, etc.

I’ve seen this echoed from some others especially critiquing white folks trying to claim “joy is resistance” right now, which makes sense to me, but i also wonder if it’s reductive to say art or music is not resistance because I feel like it can have a lot of power especially alongside social movements… was wondering if you had thoughts on this or perhaps knew where I could look to learn more.

Please ignore if this is too much, and thank you

I think things like writing and illustration and music feeds into the spirit of revolution and is necessary in that way. You have to energize the masses somehow, and to ensure that your message spreads as far as possible. A good way is to make art, or to sing a song, or write a story.

That's why Wisam Rafeedi wrote his book and different resistance factions make posters and videos — to spread their ideas and garner support among the masses.

It's not as important as putting yourself in immediate physical danger to incapacitate the colonial entity — but I think for Palestinians and other colonized peoples, they do need to make art to really process their thoughts. Of course there's a difference when a Palestinian in Palestine, a Palestinian in the diaspora, a nonPalestinian ally of color, and a NonPalestinian white ally do this. I won't deny that there's a nuance when it comes to this.

But writers who write about Palestinian Liberation historically have been assassinated because of how they participate in liberation actions and also spread ideas of liberation themselves. I don't know which white guy you're talking about but I feel like this is mostly a conversation that should be led by Palestinians if we're talking about Palestine because they understand the nuance of saying statements like "the only resistance is physical." I understand what he's saying to an extent but that does erase a lot of Palestinian resistance the past few decades by making sweeping statements like "art is not resistance" and kind of simplifies the issue at hand.

Charity dinners and galas and that stuff... I don't know what I think about them, I think that people are going to do it either way so my opinion doesn't really matter. Hey, if you're going to raise thousands of dollars for Palestine, I'm not going to stop you at all. I personally think you should try to avoid posting pictures and stuff like that from the gala itself if you're going to host one just out of courtesy.

I guess overall what I'm trying to say, art resistance becomes physical a lot of the time. I think its really reductive to say "art isn't resistance" and also personally insulting considering I have family members and friends who were journalists, creative writers, and artists and killed/targeted for their work.

Here's this article by Fargo Tbahkhi about the role of writing during a genocide that might be a good read. They also mention how Israeli propaganda (calling Palestinians "human animals"/"Amalek" as an example) is specifically a use of culture and writing to energize people to commit genocide. An especially poignant part that I completely agree with, and am trying to get at:

Palestine requires that we abandon this catharsis. Nobody should get out of our work feeling purged, clean. Nobody should live happily during the war. Our readers can feel that way when liberation is the precondition for our work, and not the dream. When it is the place we stand, and not the place we shake ourselves towards. In this way, what the long middle of revolution requires, what Palestine requires, is an approach to writing whose primary purpose is to gather others up with us, to generate within them an energy which their bodies cannot translate into anything but revolutionary movement. This is what Boal modeled for us in his theatrical experiments, which were dedicated to empowering audiences to act, to participate in a creative struggle to envision and embody alternatives. For Boal, theater was not revolution, but it was a rehearsal for the revolution, meant to gather communities together in that rehearsal. Creative work readies us for material work, by offering a space to try out strategies, think through contradictions, remind us of our own agency.  

[creatingblackcharacters]

This might seem like a weird thing to get hung up on, but in reference to your post about Wyll's hairstyling, someone made the comment that they imagined Mizora used magic to braid his hair as part of their pact. You replied that this was a racist idea and offered to explain why, but they never commented back. If you're still willing to discuss it, I actually would like the explanation. I'm not disagreeing that it's racist, I just think I'm missing some of the nuances/reasoning.

The only explanation I can think of is the way that Wyll's relationship with Mizora is treated, both in and out of game, just makes the joke really not funny. I hate that Mizora is treated as a quirky, love-to-loathe-her side villain when she's essentially Wyll's abuser. She should be treated with the same gravitas that the writers treat Astarion's relationship to Cazador, or Karlach's relationship to Zariel. Then you've got the fans, who can write loads of rants and analysis of Mystra "grooming" Gale on what I would consider very little basis (adults can have teachers too), but stay pretty mum about Mizora, who started manipulating Wyll when he was 17, isolated him from any support systems he might have had, and literally tortures him with the torments of Hell for disobeying her. I forget which conversation it is, but Wyll even describes her visits to him after he completes a task for her as her "saying all the right words" and "touching him in just the right ways."

Maybe I just haven't seen people talking about it because I'm not looking in the right places, I tend to keep most fandoms at arm's length so I'm not swallowed whole by their nonsense. I'm sorry if this turned into an extra long vent message, but I hope it shows I care about Wyll as a character and the work you're doing in general to improve the portrayal of black characters in fiction and fandom.

I mean, you pretty much said it all. I mentioned in my hair lessons that hair is very important to Black people, and that it's also a matter of consent. You wouldn't want just anybody touching your body, and that includes your hair, yes? So it would be incredibly violating for some white person that is essentially your abuser touching your hair, your body, something that is important to you! How can there be real consent if someone OWNS you? Hair is something that requires trust and intimacy. Especially with the idea that a white person would know better how to do your Black hair?! No thanks.

It's also something that ties into my most recent lesson with stereotypes, plus issues with how men are perceived with abusers. The idea that a boy should be "grateful" that a woman is attracted to/attached to them, even when it's inappropriate. For me, what I see when I see Mizora is a white coded woman allowed to mistreat a young Black boy into his adulthood, and treated as though he brought it on himself, as if he deserves to be mistreated by someone who took advantage of him. I see that people won't take that violation seriously, bc no one cares about the dignity of Black bodies nor do we offer them grace under fire.

Whereas if this were a young white girl, and an older Black coded male demon had done these things to her, all hell would break loose. Fans would immediately understand that that sort of relationship is not appropriate and we should not just assume that "oh well it's just sexy".

I mentioned in the last lesson that this sort of "attraction" has gotten Black boys and men killed at the whims of white women. It's not "funny" to me to think that some white coded woman is allowed to treat Wyll that way and everyone is just... Cool with it. I'd be very nervous to ask your opinions on real Black people.

It's honestly why I felt uncomfortable getting interested in the fandom to begin with, in addition to everything else involved with Wyll and his VA Theo. BG3 doesn't seem like a welcoming place fr, and I too have to keep fandom at an arms length for racism reasons, but as I've done with fandom before this: that's my chance to maybe create something that's missing. 👍🏾

[omamorens]

Do you have any HCs with Ivy and Ink Blade?

OH BOY IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONE. ivy is a very interesting character to me (fhjy spoilers: and im glad she survived). tho people might not really like her that much, i think shes neat and could have a lot of nuances if her character could be explored enough

ivy (pre and post shatter-star) is a regina george mean girl but with pop-punk rock aesthetics.

she’s a girls girl and much like her canon, she loves fashion.

loves fashion in a sense that she loves it for Herself and not because she wants to impress anyone.

she does not give a shit about what anyone thinks of her actually, and that generally comes off as “mean”.

ivy only sees her attitude as a filter for those too weak to be acquainted with her.

though she has a hard exterior, she does have a soft spot for those who could actually stick by her.

riding off on that “loves fashion” part, i think ivy is particularly good at finding good deals and the best bargains. she doesn’t go for the most expensive stuff because that’s just wasteful.

she’s the type of friend you want to go to the flea market with because this girl drives a hard bargain.

riding off of that, ivy always takes oisin out to shop because there’s not a lot of dragonborn-proof clothes for him so when they do find stuff, its too expensive to be worth it unless ivy is the one bargaining for him.

oisin is always grateful of her for it.

in her shatter-star state, ivy’s “mean” attitude got nastier and more cruel

ivy has a hard time asking for forgiveness (oisin will tell you that she almost never says the word “i’m sorry” genuinely), but she does it in her own way.

sometimes when she passes by mazey in the halls, ivy genuinely compliments the bard on her badidas.

“nice shoes. they’re the 90’ exclusive line, right? those were the best quality shoes they released. such a shame their next series went downhill from there.”

mazey, apprehensive of ivy at first but open to having this conversation with her, “no, yeah, you’re absolutely right. these are the only pairs i can both dance and fight in. its been a year but theyre still going strong.”

and the girls continue talking about finding the best deals and the most practical clothing they could have as adventurers. fabian is not very happy about this.

mazey of course is not required to forgive ivy for things she said and done, and ivy is not at all actively seeking for verbal forgiveness anyway

but they can be courteous to each other and bond over similar interests

lucy, being a frost genasi, absolutely knows how to knit. she knits her own clothes sometimes because not much clothing items in stores have her size.

when ivy found out about this during freshman year, ivy asked lucy to teach her and they absolutely bonded over knitting.

at some point both the girls have knitted some stuff for all the members of their party.

everyone still keeps their knitted gifts, even if they’re frayed or have grown too small for them to use.

surely i will have more to write on her character but for now these are what i have on the top of my head. ivy embra they dont get you like i do (ivy hcs with inkblade i will continue in another post because this one got too long)

[sandsorghum]

pondering all the potential, wonderful challenges of writing Higuruma in a relationship, because there's so much nuance with each possibility of what one imagines his past experience (or lack thereof) to be.

First and foremost I headcannon Higuruma as someone who hasn't had a lot of time and space to invest in Love, not properly - or not on a level that rivals his passion for the Law, or his ideals of improving the world.

And there's a lot of ways to go about presenting that; I think he could have had any number of situationships or romances but not a serious relationship, a full commitment that he hasn't been willing to let fizzle out at the mercy of hectic arraignment schedules, sparks barely kept guttering with office trysts and motel rendezvous.

I like toying with the idea of a Higuruma who approaches sex as a (biological) hassle on some level, but also isn't that cerebral about it; he can be a beast when he wants to be <3

I could characterise Higuruma as someone who's had a lot of (sexual) encounters, but finds actual intimacy unfamiliar territory. Someone for whom it's simple enough to find a person to sleep with, but might be slightly flummoxed that person is still by his side, tolerating his snoring six months or a year later. maybe he'd even be downright befuddled at how it could get to a couple of years of mornings of sprawled limbs and entwined legs and offensively chilly soles despite the cuddles and blanket forts. (Lemme have my soft spot!)

Although speaking of cold feet, I don't think Hiromi really gets any - even if he were to find himself head over heels someday. Similar to how swiftly he adapted to the realities of jujutsu, I think there's something unshakeable about his emotional interiority, however new and overwhelming these intense feelings get. Though it'd be very fun to write a smitten Higuruma (I think he could be so unabashed and shameless about his desires, especially post "went off the rails in my 30s" Hiromi who's decided he's pretty done with decorum and excessive regard for others' opinions - tldr this is a man who will convince you to let him eat you out on a balcony if the whim catches him, and if your whines reach the neighbours' ears? Whatever he's just gonna quote Paragraph iiv Subsection C of the tenants' agreement at them. Maybe he'd even mock their polite sensibilities and taunt them by printing out a template complaint letter to the landlord for their convenience, knowing they'd be too embarrassed to actually bring it up.

"Mr Takeda, this thinness of the walls that you speak of, must be as imaginary as my patience.")

Higuruma isn't one to deny or bullshit himself about what he wants, whether that's a more just world or a woman he's certain is his equal, perfect partner. He has such astute assessments of the world, and how to shape it, he doesn't see why applying that same effort and logic wouldn't guarantee him similar results in a relationship.

That's one of the most attractive (and annoying) qualities to me in writing him, he's didactic and dynamic and direct, so to come up with scenarios that challenge those traits, or where those traits might be a hindrance or have unintended outcomes in communication objectives, requires a lot of writing layered conversations.

With Nanami, it's easy to misinterpret the unsaid - with Higuruma it's vice versa. He could be both so verbose and incisive, getting to the rational conclusion before you do, or before the emotional reality sets in perhaps. (I also think there is quite limited space in his world view for emotional realities taking precedence over objective facts.Growth for him in a relationship, with a partner for whom such things matter more at least, would be to accommodate this alternative view.)

I might also enjoy expanding the psychology of Higuruma's darker streaks; Obsession as the flip side to Devotion. One has to be a little "crazy" to be a criminal attorney in Japan, to go against the odds of 99%. His is a conviction that warps worlds, bends it to his will with eloquence and insight. He could flay someone apart and wrap the shreds of their self around his finger...(yall lucky im too lazy/busy rn to properly give a YandereHiromi a run)

On the opposite end, I haven't contended completely with what vulnerability looks like for Hiromi -- that'd depend a lot on how closely the canon influences the setting of one's story, or the points where it'd depart. How drastically different might Pre and post Culling Games Hiromi be?

Well...I think Post-CG Hiromi would have quite a lot of remorse over the innocents he killed, that's probably something he'd have to work through with his love. There'd be bouts of doubt as to whether he deserves something so good, lapses of cynicism like what led to that initial meltdown. I'm considering in particular how he couldn't bear to be around Yuji after their fight, that opening seam of self-loathing could lead to some interesting character developments.

All of this would be compounded by how he doesn't have the best track record in getting people to stay, or not caring enough to persuade them to until real Love came along and smacked him upside both hemispheres of that gorgeous brain. As someone who doesn't extensively experience (progressively) stronger emotions, he would need some time to sort through all that. I wouldn't say he lacks that capacity, but he'd be adjusting to a realm of depths he had never figured he was capable of.

Hiromi's had a lifelong career convincing others and convinced of man's (necessarily sufferable) shortcomings - getting him to have different expectations, or even to ask what he expects of this discovery of love, could be difficult and foreign. Fortunately it's well documented that those aren't daunting factors for Hiromi, there's a version of him so determined to not screw up what he has because he has no clue how he got so lucky. Imagine that tenacious dedication he's applied to his ideals being poured into his love, he'd be one of the most loyal partners ever. And it's not zeal, it's not fanaticism, nor tempestuous passion (though there's definitely a variant of that you could write him with); A serious relationship with Hiromi has a foundation in crystal clear-eyed love, based on both the sensibility of compatibility but also the mysticism of chemistry.

He knows he's clever, has an infinite handkerchief of wry witticisms in his pockets but what Hiromi doesn't understand is how he makes you laugh so brightly, so easily at the remarks and observations he doesn't intend as jokes or barbs. He doesn't know either how the knowing smirk between the two of you slipped into something far more innocuous, him simply smiling at your upturned face, in a lull in the middle of a conversation. And you always know the right thing to say, but your silence is just as comforting.

It's both getting his sense of humour, and empathising with his frustrations. It's both innate, and it's effort - just like his intellect, or his skill with sorcery, the connection comes naturally but so what, he's still had to commit to fighting for everything he wants to accomplish and achieve. He puts in the work despite the sheer genius or talent. So similarly in a relationship, Hiromi isn't going to rest on his laurels or merely rely on what he feels. He won't take your affection (or attraction!) towards him for granted, likewise he'll constantly try to earn and keep your trust, and probably expects a similar commitment from his partner to talk through tension or hash any arguments out. (Stonewalling wouldn't work on him, it only guarantees further frustration and distance.)

That of course is an idealised, almost fully realised version of Hiromi.

I'd also like to write stuff where I examine what his flaws or oversights in a relationship would be in, I suspect they'd stem from a rigidity of certain perspectives - in the same vein of how there's usually some duality or double-edge sword aspect to our base qualities, or most inviolable ideals. (For example how does Hiromi temper justice with mercy, can he afford himself that kindness?)

It's so easy to love Hiromi, like it is with Nanami, for his beliefs. But being a good person isn't the same as being a good partner. Those with strong principles have an obstinacy about their ethics that can translate to their diagnosis of what the source of conflict and "solutions" are in relationships. And attempting to conceive a cogent argument against an attorney? His lover's got their labour cut out!

I'm addicted to analyzing these complexities of Higuruma's character, to cross-examining how his traits and tendencies would work or work against him in a relationship. How he would bring his passion, his processing, his oscillations between optimism and realism into Love. I really want to do justice (hah) to him, and it's such a struggle parsing all these things sometimes I just wanna give up and write "stress-relief" one night stand filth for him ):

[the odds im working on something like that alr is 101%]

god i've spent too many hours just thinking about this man! there's just so much to unpack with him and yknow he's also packin'

[sageistri]

The amount of hate Jimin gets is so strange because it's so unfounded on anything substantial. He's hardly been in any controversy, he doesn't have any scandals - dating or otherwise, he's quite talented (kpop stans can't mind trick me into believing he's not, I've followed hundreds of performers - he's fvcking talented), his music always hits, he's always the kindest to the other members, he's really good looking (unfortunately people do target less handsome performers that don't fit their idiotic standards exhibit a namjoon) and doesn't even seem to have required plastic surgery (something kpop fans seem to hate for some reason which is ironic), he regularly donates to charity and I genuinely cant recall him being problematic. Truly bizarre

I get it and I agree but I've always had a somewhat different opinion on this topic of Jimin receiving hate.

The thing is that while I do think the analysis have all been spot on and I've also posted my own opinions about it that a lot of pjms agreed with. The whole "he can't be ignored. Love him or hate you always have to talk about him" post I made during my sagemariner era that is now deleted along with the account.

But at the same time I've also said and still believe that we try too hard to analyze the hate he gets, we dissect it too much and In the process have made it part of his image.

Yes kpop stans especially male gg stans see Jimin a certain way and their contempt for him stems from misogyny and internalized homophobia or just outright homophobia in the case of straight kpop stans blah blah blah. But at the same time if we come out of our Jimin bubble, you'll realize that kpop stans are just assholes to idols in general. Yes this is a nuanced conversation but generally it literally isn't more than kpop stans hating on idols they don't Stan. Go in the space of other idols and you'll also see them making posts reporting anti tweets just like pjms do.

This isn't exclusive to Jimin, and honestly it's more or less a BTS thing and I hate that we try to make it the former just because we'd rather wallow in self pity on his behalf.

Just like with BTS and most kpop artist, most of these people secretly Stan Jimin or listen to his music as we've seen a thousand times. Kpop stans just love being edgy on Twitter, most times it has nothing to do with Jimin personally and it's also because of the fact that he's the first person they think of when they think of BTS.

Also these drags have been going around on Twitter for so long that most people just parrot them in the heat of the moment regardless of the truth. Even bp as generally liked as they are more than BTS in the kpop community still get hit tweets and tiktoks dragging them.

Like I said multiple times before, I wish pjms would clap back and move on instead of always having to discuss the "why" of it Everytime. You don't know how many times I've seen the stans of other idols talk about the hate their faves receive from kpop stans when I've never seen the idol get hated on, but I just think just because I didn't see it doesn't mean it never happened.

Make a general post asking kpop stans to name idols who get the most hate and everyone's going to name their faves and with proof too.

Kpop stans will never openly praise an idol they don't like, doesn't matter if they do think he's talented. They might token Stan taekook for various reasons but you'll also never see them praise them for their talent and will also claim they're less talented than their ult idols.

They just praise those they Stan and bash those they don't Stan, that's it. They don't care about how good or talented idols are.

[damianbugs]

i know you love the dynamics between bruce and his kids as they are, but alot of it is also due to iffy writing lmao.

in your IDEAL scenario, what would bruce parenting look like? would he still be as abusive as he is in canon? CAN he even change?

the short answer to "can bruce change?" is... no 😭 but let me try and explain!

its not because of who bruce is as a character or batman as a hero, but because it is basically impossible for a popular character like him to have any consistent writing. we've seen it before where he's a great father and mentor for a few issues, and then less than six months later he does something horrific and takes ten steps back in that regard.

it's why this conversation (to me) is a very complicated one, because i can't for sure say who bruce is as a person without taking into consideration the literal decades of almost hundreds of different writers, runs and universes. of course, he has made some terrible and very harmful decisions, but again, so much context is required to truly comprehend those situations. that doesn't remove the fact that he has hurt his children, both accidentally and purposefully.

do i think bruce is a bad dad in canon? no. do i think he is a good dad? also no. depending on where in time you're reading him, who's writing him etc — he acts like completely different people. my head spins trying to come up with a simple answer to this otherwise simple question.

a good example i think is the current zdarsky batman run. arguably some of the best bruce wayne as a father introspection we've had in a LONG TIME, the story doing well to remove the 'child soldiers' narrative that frank miller infamously popularised to main continuity despite it not being from the canon timeline. but who's to say this sort of perspective will last before being completely disregarded by the next writer?

it's no secret i pick and choose what i (personally) view as canon, my own personal bias against Certain writers making me ignore their writing entirely, but i am also not ignorant to the fact that bruce can and desperately NEEDS to improve as a parent.

sorry for rambling but back to your original question about what my ideal parent bruce would like and to that it's two very simple words; honest and communicative.

that's really all he needs to do. almost all his shitty decisions can be linked back to him lying or purposely evading the truth and just refusing to communicate to his children, which in turn makes them not want to communicate with him. this then leads to much larger problems and much more devastating outcomes.

bruce needs to realise that his children don't owe him anything more than the very little he's given them emotionally. this whole "soldier-team" mentality that he adopts when he's batman filters into his dynamics with them as family and as bruce wayne, and that is why he keeps hurting them and not taking responsibility for it.

they should not be vigilantes before they are his children. but to do that, writers also need to make the distinction that batman is also bruce wayne, but that is an entirely different conversation.

again, current batman writing (mark waid batman vs robin, zdarsky batman, ram v detective comics, tom taylor batman etc) seems very promising in giving bruce a chance to be a better father, so we can only hope it continues this way. maybe, we'll even get bruce actually holding himself accountable one day.

i try not to discuss this topic too much because in my experience it's far too nuanced to explain in short text posts on the internet but i hope this answered your questions <3

[oneshortdamnfuse]

You know, what's wild is that I'm not the same anti-Billy person you referred to in my first response, but it's very telling that your response to a black woman telling you she was made to feel unsafe in a space that she occupied with you is to get upset and self righteous.

I never once said I didn't care about him as a survivor because at the end of the day it isn't just about Billy; it's about the fact you, a real life human person who's actions will affect others, are okay with excusing racism because your golden boy is racist but also a survivor.

God, I'm so sorry I tried to come in here civilly because you are far too old to need anti-racism explained to you with a held hand.

You wrote an entire novel about someone who isn't me and still came out the racist for it! I hope you're able to grow, and if not, I hope you're fine knowing that there are black people will never feel safe around you.

If you’re not the person I referred to in the post, then I never talked to you about this - which is what you claim I did. I have a right to be upset by people accusing me of something I never said or did. I don’t even know if you are who you claim to be because people have repeatedly used underhanded methods to attack anyone who talks about this fictional character with any kind of nuance. I refuse to take responsibility for something you can’t address with me directly with explicit evidence stating that I think racism is excusable.

You are an anonymous person making accusations against me that aren’t grounded in reality. I never made an excuse for racism or racist behavior. If you can pinpoint where I did, then we could have a conversation about this. You didn’t. I don’t need you to hold my hand and to explain to me why I should hate a character that you hate, and I shouldn’t have to hold your hand to explain to you again that caring about a fictional character with experience similar to mine doesn’t require excusing their behavior.

There are plenty of black fans in the Stranger Things fandom who have talked about this character with a fair amount of nuance, and I trust and value their opinion much more than yours, but you probably won’t listen to them either. If I make you feel unsafe, then perhaps stop messaging me with vague accusations and emotionally manipulative language especially waiting weeks in between messages to harass me over something we are never going to agree on.

[miss-oranje-disco-dancer]

discourse

tw: mention of abuse, drugs/alcohol

this post is for people who are acting in good faith when they are protesting dark content. I want to provide some more context about media analysis. I say this all with love <3

i'll give my side note for the people who are just posting "blah blah blah if you write this you suck" for the sake of attention: you could get attention if you actually wrote something or created art, but you have chosen to take the most pathetic and childish route to getting notes. instead, you choose to be annoying

*i did reblog nexy's post about this (i also have a post from a while ago) and these encapsulate most of my feelings on the topic but i wanted to add a few more thoughts

I believe nexy mentioned this in her post and I may have in my old one, but I'm going to restate/add on. Oftentimes, dark content is explicitly stated as including dark topics (and this would be inferred by the average reader). However, there is a lot of fiction that exists (not just fanfiction) that normalizes more innocuous things - for example, sex under the influence of drugs or alcohol.* this is not to say that having one drink automatically renders you unable to consent for the night but i think some people brush off having sex that you barely remember because you were very drunk at the time.

I'm not going to make the argument that we should get rid of those fics either. If you're like me, and you want to prevent abuse and shed light on lesser known forms of abuse, then what we need to do is have an actual conversation which exists on a larger scale - as a society, we don't educate about abuse enough, and oftentimes (intentionally or not) we excuse it.

(I'm not going to get into my personal life too much, but I did not know when I was younger that I could not consent when I was under the influence and I used substances to "help me be less nervous" during sex. I would really like more education on consent and abuse in real life, not in fiction.)

It is not up to (and should not be up to) fanfiction writers to educate you on what is and is not a problematic relationship, etc. We are creating media for the sake of our entertainment and yours. There should be more educational material about abuse and other related topics, and I don't have the resources personally or knowledge (from an academic perspective, for lack of a better term) where I feel like i could responsibly create educational resources but I'd be interested in helping if anyone is doing that.

Tangential point here: I think media analysis is really fun (also important). People who want to ban fanfiction are not looking to analyze media. We could go into a philosophical discussion about the application of morality to media, but that's also not what you're looking to do (also I didn't take that many philosophy classes in college so i'm not prepared for that conversation). I would love to discuss fanfiction (and other media), though, that people would be open to nuanced analysis of media. For example, I've talked about this briefly (I think on here, but definitely privately), but I'll mention it here, I think analyzing copaganda in general is a very neat (and important) thing to do, and I like to look at the different narratives formed around leon - the good rookie cop vs the corrupt cop. I'm not going to give my analysis here because no offense, but I don't think that the intended audience for this post is ready to have a conversation that requires nuanced analysis.

[dynmghts]

ok and because i didn't want my other post getting TOO long... let's also talk about bakugou katsuki's undying devotion to midoriya izuku.

to do so requires understanding how their bond plays out in canon. and, understandably, that shit is complicated. but i'll do my best to simplify it so i can actually expand on the part that i do want to talk about, because he's literally insane with how deep his devotion runs?????

like okay, we all know the main gist of their beginnings: katsuki and izuku were friends. katsuki fell off a log, izuku went to help, and that intimidated katsuki so much that he pushed him away and did everything he could to violently cut him off. we also know that katsuki was extremely antagonistic towards izuku, and though that tapered off a fraction after the sludge villain incident, it wasn't (at least partially) resolved until deku vs. kacchan part 2, at ground beta.

this is also where things kind of get muddy for most people; that transitionary period from their previous enemy dynamic to a more assured rivalry. which i understand as well! it's a bit of a jump, and can be very hard to define the nuances in the way they speak to each other after that fight.

i think the most important takeaways are this: izuku is a lot more open to addressing katsuki, and katsuki can have a one-on-one conversation with him without it getting destructive. furthering on from that, katsuki is willing to participate in discussions about one for all and the subsequent powers that emerge past the base quirk, and it's evident that he spends a considerable amount of time training with izuku outside of class hours. izuku reads as someone still trying to adjust to this new side of kacchan, but he's also a lot more bold about the way he speaks to him - like true rivals.

and yes, katsuki still gets a bit mean-spirited with izuku, but izuku most certainly learns not to take any offence to it. (see: the way they bounce off each other in joint training, their dynamic in endeavor agency.)

so cam, you might ask, when did katsuki make such a 180?

and my answer is: it was never a 180.

his devotion began the moment he fought midoriya izuku in ground beta. as soon as izuku clarified the things katsuki spent YEARS clinging onto, as soon as katsuki had the boy pinned down with a win despite it being all might's quirk... there was a part of him that knew, i think. that this was going to change who he was to izuku forever.

in the manga, we get much clearer signals that katsuki's becoming more devoted to being by izuku's side, even before the first real showing of it in ch285. they left this little bit of foreshadowing out in the anime, but after katsuki saves jirou...

"this is the first time we've seen him put it all on the line for someone else."

this was back in ch208, before they even went to work studies. the characters themselves don't know this of course, this foreshadowing is strictly for the viewers, but you know which character is the most likely to know he would put everything on the line for midoriya izuku?

bakugou katsuki himself.

then skip forward almost 80 chapters, and katsuki literally risks his life to protect izuku's. skip forward a little more, and he's marching through the hospital with the risk of reopening wounds, just to find izuku and make sure he wasn't going to die.

again, and he's one of the few rallying the class into chasing izuku - the one who puts his foot down TO A PRO HERO, stating that he knows izuku better than anyone else. he joined the search with a still-wounded shoulder and helped the efforts to catch him. and when they did, he finally stepped forward and wore his heart on his sleeve: he apologised to the kid he bullied for ten years, in the rain that he hates, in front of the entire class who didn't know the extent of it.

then he's the one who swears off the name "deku" unless it's strictly for hero work, where it's his hero name, and that's how he wants it to be. he's the one that trains with izuku day in and day out leading up to that final battle against shigaraki. he's the one stationed with izuku to fight on the floating ua, with a team of heroes in the top ten and the big three of their school.

he knew his existence was the death warrant from shigafo, because he's the closest person to midoriya izuku, and he decided that if he had to die, he had to make sure they would win - he went to his death with the hope that his final attack would give izuku an edge when he got back. edgeshot on the summary of vol37 said that the person katsuki was waiting for, deku, would come, and that was why he had to bring him back to life.

and then what happens the MOMENT katsuki comes back? he goes to the edge of ua and spots izuku. rushes to his side. lets himself be directed to where he has to be, to ease the burden, to save their mentor and idol and the symbol of peace before beating the symbol of terror. and even after getting a brief respite, the moment he had to be there for izuku, he was - he had no portal to get him all the way back to where he was located. he TOOK HIMSELF THERE.

finally, in that aftermath, he went to izuku's room and heard he was quirkless again and his entire fucking world shattered.

because if all of the above doesn't speak the volumes of devotion bakugou katsuki has for midoriya izuku, he is so, so dedicated to that boy that... well;

"i guess i thought... we'd be competing... and i'd be on your heels... for the rest... of our... lives..."

it doesn't matter how you want to perceive his and izuku's bond. in the end, i don't really think it matters how the manga decides to end either. everything i've said is canon - or, at least, as close to canon as i can interpret it.

their lives are so innately intertwined now that it's so, so hard to separate them. katsuki's devotion to izuku runs so deep that he has endured pain, endured things he hates, endured death and resurrection and permanent consequences for the actions he's taken, and yet... he would do it all again for him.

and if that strikes fear into your muse, it honestly, probably should.

[max1461]

thoughts on the relative utilities of a monolingual/multilingual society? intuitively i'm inclined to think societies should subtly nudge towards monolingualism because having to learn multiple languages seems like it'd be a big headache, like having to use multiple currencies or multiple directions on the road. "subtly nudge" because being too harsh about it would suck, but nudge nevertheless. the converse seems like shoveling work on ppl for personal taste. but I have a feeling you disagree?

I’m not a utilitarian. People should be allowed to do whatever with respect to what language(s) they speak, and we should make it easy for them to live pleasant lives while speaking whatever language(s) they want. Translation is pretty effective; whatever efficiency losses exist due to people speaking different languages are not worth worrying about.

I have made a post before, which I will try to dig up for you, on why moving towards global monolingualism would be bad. The same arguments apply on e.g. a national level (well, for sufficiently large nations, at least). The gist is as follows:

Because language changes constantly, a policy of monolingualism implies a policy of constant maintenance. That is to say, your policy options range from continuously punishing people in minor-to-middling ways for speaking wrong, for the rest of time (I believe this is the “slight nudge” to which you refer), to (on the more extreme end) massive restrictions on freedom of speech. Both of these are fundamentally authoritarian in nature and I am against them.

I am doubtful that “minor nudges” would even work—language changes very fast and very vociferously. That is, such a policy would be nothing but a continual drain on human wellbeing, leaving the only effective options major authoritarianism or major economic discrimination based on language. These have both been tried before, they both work, and they are both horrendous.

I am deeply committed to pluralism. The point is not to produce a utility maximizing society, the point is to tend to everyone’s needs sufficiently while allowing them to live the way they wish to live. State management of culture in the name of utility maximization is precisely antithetical to this and I am basically against it a priori.

As an addendum to point 3: remember, many people care about their language a lot. This is an important aspect of how many people wish to live. As such, you can’t support pluralism unless you support linguistic pluralism. I think the degree to which language matters to people would be obvious if you read, e.g., pretty much anything written by indigenous Americans (in the US, Canada, Latin America, whatever) on the long history of their cultural suppression. People want to speak the language they want to speak! And by god, in a just (a fortiori truly pluralist) society, they should be able to do so, without fearing social or economic repercussions! I think this would possibly become more obvious to you if English was dying, if you had nobody to speak it with, there was no English language art or literature being made, there was no place to obtain such art or literature outside of niche academic contexts, and indeed you were constantly worried about the stories and discourses you grew up with and which you treasured most being lost forever. If you know about the inherent difficulties of localization, you know that language death means story-death, experience-death, nuance-death, idea-death. Of course this happens naturally with time due to entropy, but we should not be helping it along!

From a more personal perspective, linguistics as a science becomes impossible if all the languages die. It’s not nearly as important a consideration as the whole “it would require massive authoritarianism” thing, but it does matter. We’d be throwing away the chance to understand something very fundamental about the human mind in exchange for minor efficiency gains. Bad, imo.

[steampunkforever]

I feel I've often been quoted as saying that propaganda films should at least be well done. Usually I level this at military propaganda or films directed by people who think they're Micheal Tomasky and Adam McKay's long lost child. Which is to say, people justifying the countless foreign and domestic human rights abuses of the GWOT and also Ivy Leaguers with heads too far up their own diplomas to understand how American social issues might cause people to (*scandalized gasp*) vote Republican.

Of course most of my critiques are aimed at bad political soapboxing and movies where cops/soldiers violate constitutional rights/commit war crimes. Simply put, there are more bad propaganda films than good ones. Preaching is best left in the pulpit, and is worst when shoehorned into the narrative rather than into the subtext. Because of this, we rarely see a well done propaganda film, but if we're looking for one, Steven Spielberg's 2005 film "Munich" is a pristine example.

Quick sidebar: Spielberg is Jewish, despite the viral post referencing his ownership of MLK's speeches calling him white, and his political leanings reflect Zionist attitudes. In the conversation of Jewish history within media and entertainment, the conclusions often go ugly places regarding who controls the establishment and pushes narratives. To that point, one should be careful when discussing media narratives about the Israel-Palestine conflict.

As far as those media narratives go, Munich is much more nuanced than I expected. This is a film about the aftermath of the 1972 Olympics, in which Palestinian terrorist group Black September massacred 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team and were subsequently hunted down and executed by secret Israeli hit squads for their participation in the massacre. No need to get too sympathetic for the guys who tossed grenades into helicopters full of handcuffed hostages.

For a film about murdering terrorists, Munich is surprisingly good at giving the other side a chance to state its motivations. I'm sure that if you're pro-Palestinian it's not a satisfying representation of the Palestinian viewpoint, but for outright propaganda I'd say this was still a pretty solid dialogue between ideologies. Paired with the narrative's acknowledgement that much of this Israeli savagery was neither morally correct nor wholly warranted, and I will say I was impressed with how subtly Spielberg managed what could have just been "the IDF does John Wayne's Green Beret."

Subtlety only goes so far in propaganda, I will admit. At the tail end of the film, we witness two key conversations that spell out the movie's final conclusion. The first, between the protagonist and his mother, concludes with the assertion that for Jews to find a place they can be safe, they must forcibly take and hold it. The second conversation, held between the protagonist and his Mossad handler in what is the final scene of the film, assures us that the violence was simply a nasty inevitability. This is the takeaway of the film: It's worth it, and they had it coming.

Maybe those specific guys did deserve it. I would also assassinate terrorists killing my countrymen, even if they really were "doing an anti-imperialism." Except propaganda requires context, and Munich entered production in the middle of the Second Intifada, the conflict that set conditions for the current Israeli apartheid state as we know it. This is the context Munich speaks to.

"It was worth it." "They deserved it." The final shot of the film, a pan up from the final conversation, pulls out wide and holds on a view of the World Trade Center's twin towers. The connections Spielberg makes here are clear. Either way you read it, it's an ugly piece of propaganda. It's also incredibly well done.

[zwoelffarben]

A question actually addressed to me (i think based on context: @iwillgotoheavenforyou correct me if I'm wrong), so I guess I now have to take the time to answer it because "It's the autism," is entirely too pithy an accurate response to be useful.

How do you know so much

The first caveat to say is that I don't actually know all that much: I'm fond of saying, "I pretend to know things," and that's not really true because I do know things, but I generally give off the vibe that I know more stuff to a more indepth mastery than I actually do. This is cause of three four things.

I'm a knowledge generalist: I don't know a lot about most subjects but I pick up a little bit about everything.

I'm autistic and for me that manifests in being very good at connecting dots to draw beautifyl patterns, even given a small number of data points.

I'm autistic and I'm very particular about how I phrase things, with nuance and depth, such to avoid being misunderstood.

I was taught how to do basic research, and I try to make a habit of doing it before speaking when unsure about something.

I typically only know enough about something to be dangerous; often I need to look things up to remember exact details but I also try to make a habit checking my position on the dunning-kruger graph before speaking by looking shit up: You will however semi-regularly find me called out for having misjudged where exactly on that curve I am enrealis; and one whoopsie-daisy of a conversation with some actual expert later I'll admit that to being wrong on the internet out-loud for the world to read. It's never a pleasant experience but I assure you, I'm always so very brave about it. That's how I maintain the illusion of knowing so much™.

Now as for how I actually go about knowing things, well the things I know a lot about were either special interests of mine or things I specifically learned about in school and college. I went to the liberal arts school ███████ where I learned a shit tonne of information and then my autistic brain started connecting dots and forming opinions about things I have no business having opinions about. I have never filed my taxes (on account of not making enough to be legally required to file taxes) and yet, I have opinions about W2 forms which I won't be sharing here because they're not relevant.

My actual areas of expertise are quite limited in scope to 400 creative writing, 250s math, (english) literature, 200s chemistry, biology, physics, psychology, economics, art theory, painting, computers and coding, 100s of many miscellanious disciplines, blorbo from shows, shows, minecraft, and my lived experiences as an left-handed autistic queer white dude whose shoelaces deep into tumblr. This is a normal amount of things to know stuff about.

I know just about as much as anyone else who is my age and has had my level of education, but my autism might make me marginally better at connecting threads across multiple disciplines to apply knowledges in synasthetic ways, but mostly I'm practiced in the art of appearing to know what I'm talking about (not because I want to seem smart but because as a baby autistic being labelled 'smart' made surviving K-12 easier for me.)

How do you have time to write in such details

I'm fortunate enough that my living situation is stable such that I don't need to hold down a job nor make a living and can spend most of my time shitposting, seriousposting, and playing minedcraft.

I do type faster than most people because I'm a left-handed person both because I type a lot and because I'm using a DAVORK-L instead of QWERTY. I actually can type fast enough to cause minor-major sprains in my right wrist. I don't tend to do that, but it's happened and will continue to happen in the future.

But mostly, I just start a post and type until it's finished. I enter a fugue state and exit it hours later +1 reblog. (This matches my general approach to creative pursuits like writing and painting.)

How do you remember all of this

Most of the time I don't. There are two relevant modes of memory (there are a bunch of others) recall and recognition: I'm good at exactly one of those things; and well, my brain is not a well-ordered library of facts that I can look things up in.

It is a mireous bayou that swallows knowledge to rest beneath its murky waters; and if I'm looking for a specific factoid I need to navigate through the generally unmarked trees until I find a vaguely familar spot or happen upon the information randomly.

The thing you don't see is all the memory aids I have when posting about topics I'm less sure about. I have a folder on my computer called knowledge I put inforgraphics in. I have a folder in my browser book marks (sorely in need of organization) called use where I keep my citable links to stuff. When I need to know a specific fact and I can't find it in the bayou of my mind, I open 2-6 tabs on wikipedia to search for it, some of which I link in the post, and some of which I don't because I'm lazy or I actually did.

I don't remember all of it all of the time: I've recently started systematizing the tools and strategies I developed over the years to help me find my way back to specific information so that theyr better at helping me navigate the murky waters of my mindswamp, but most of the time anything I techincally know is completely forgotten about until it's needed again and dredged from the muck.

[always-andromeda]

I posted 2,422 times in 2022

That's 2,421 more posts than 2021!

1,070 posts created (44%)

1,352 posts reblogged (56%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@riddlersbimbo

@lost-in-sokovia

@trelaney

@sweetums0kitty

@quietsounds

I tagged 1,514 of my posts in 2022

Only 37% of my posts had no tags

#askmeda✨ - 476 posts

#medarants✨ - 282 posts

#anon ask✨ - 280 posts

#danonation - 150 posts

#paul dano - 144 posts

#danocel - 118 posts

#strange trails milestone✨ - 111 posts

#soph 🧸 - 111 posts

#bowie 💕 - 96 posts

#meda’s fic recs✨ - 81 posts

Longest Tag: 134 characters

#the second we throw out nuance in favor of simplifying everything to the lowest common denominator we lose the chance at actual growth

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

i. Maneater

Eddie Munson x Henderson Sister!reader

Word Count | 2,020

Summary | You have a bit of a reputation for...getting around. But you pretend to be a sweetheart oh so well. Luckily, Eddie "The Freak" Munson knows how to see right through the rumors.

Author's Note | just a casual little three parter! also, I apologize in advance if this one is a little out of character for him. I kind of struggled to get his vibe accurate. also omg I'm in love with the cover. this picture of him has me frothing at the mouth just a tad. his gaze is so soft. and. his arms. I am in love again. I most likely will make a sequel for this little trilogy because I have IDEAS.

Warnings | mentions of promiscuity, mentions of drug usage, nothing else I can think of!

Parts |

Maneater

i. | ii. | iii.

Head Over Heels

i. | ii. | iii.

Your brother was a fanatic at this point. He talked about Dungeons and Dragons almost all the time. In the car on the drive to school, during school, at the dinner table, and any other conversation he could slip the game into. You wouldn’t be surprised if his dreams were filled with it either. Neither you or your mom really bought into the conspiracy that it was indoctrinating kids into a satanic cult, but you both agreed that the obsession Dustin had slowly been cultivating throughout his childhood was reaching a fever pitch, especially when he joined the high school's D & D club.

There was one other thing that Dustin talked about a lot too, and that was the Hellfire Club’s Dungeon Master, Eddie Munson. Being a teenage boy with no father figure in his life, Dustin latched on to almost any older male in his life. And he got protective of them very quickly.

For example, when Steve came around, Dustin made you swear up and down that you weren’t going to fall madly in love with him. That had been an easy promise to make. Steve Harrington wasn’t exactly your type. Yeah, he was cute and had been a basketball player, but he lacked the grit that you really looked for in guys. Besides, you hadn’t forgotten how he’d bullied a bunch of your friends during sophomore year. Steve was too conventional, you decided. Too much like the kind of guy your mother would adore if you took him home.

And as much as you loved your mother, you did enough with your life to make her proud. So what if you went to the occasional party on the weekend? So what if you snuck a few guys into your room? As long as you made it home before your 11 pm curfew and kept your grades high, you were just fine. Your mother didn’t have to know about any of your exploits outside of school.

Except Dustin knew. A little. He couldn’t be stopped from pushing his nose into your affairs on a good day but when he walked into your bedroom as Connor Fielding was putting his shirt back on after a particularly eventful night, Dustin swore he’d keep his mouth shut about all of it if you did one thing. That one thing was driving him to every place his social life required him to be at. Thus began your thankless career as Dustin’s chauffeur.

Though you’d driven Dustin to D & D meets about a dozen times before and went to the same high school as him, you’d never met this Eddie Munson. All of your classes were in advanced placement so you’d certainly never been in a classroom with him. You hadn’t even had a chance encounter during his infamous rants in the cafeteria where he teased the jocks and cheerleaders. The way your classmates talked about him with such disdain combined with Dustin’s idolatry of him fueled this legendary status. The man might as well be a god, as far as Dustin had convinced you.

So when you saw the leather and denim clad, curly haired, dark eyed guy with chains and jewelry dripping from almost every part of his look, you didn’t think twice. In fact, you wouldn’t have thought about him again if he hadn’t spotted you in your car and sauntered over as Dustin ran to get into the backseat. And nothing, absolutely nothing, could’ve prepared you for seeing him up close.

“Well, hello there.” He purred with a lazy smirk. He had a bit of a six o' clock shadow forming along his jaw, telling you that he couldn't possibly be a high school student. Yet, he wore the same baseball style tee that members of the Hellfire Club wore. Whoever this guy was, you didn't care exactly.

“Hi,” you muttered, returning a tight lipped smile. You were just waiting for Dustin to buckle his seatbelt when the guy brought his fists up to rest under his cheeks, elbows planted firmly on your door.

“Uh…do I know you?” Your brow quirked up at him.

“I was wondering the same thing.” His eyes went wild, his expression almost theatrical in nature.

“I’m Dustin’s older sister.” You shook your head slowly, hoping the interaction would soon be over. Through your rear view mirror you could just start to see Dustin’s face contort into a horrified frown.

The guy gave Dustin a brief but knowing look before replying, “Ah, makes sense. I’m-”

“Eddie Munson! He’s Eddie Munson, the Dungeon Master, and he’s totally off limits!” Your brother screeched from the backseat.

“What’s that all about?” Eddie chuckled awkwardly.

You lowered your voice, scrunching your nose, “Nothing, he just gets fussy when he hasn’t had a snack in a couple of hours.” The little comment earned a snort from Eddie and he dipped his head, covering his face with his hair, so Dustin wouldn’t see him laugh

His gaze peeked out from behind his dark locks, “So what’s a girl like you doing toting her brother around all day?”

You sighed, already exasperated at his antics. Based on the stories, you’d expected Eddie Munson would be…well…a freak. But at that moment he looked just like any other guy trying to philander his way into your life.

“Well, I’m afraid that’s none of your business.” You said sweetly.

See the full post

537 notes - Posted June 5, 2022

#4

@ all the children on tiktok that were saying “they won’t kill eddie!!! they just introduced him!!!”

(don’t worry I was in denial too)

552 notes - Posted July 3, 2022

#3

iii. Maneater

Eddie Munson x Henderson Sister!reader

Word Count | 4,111

Summary | You have a bit of a reputation for...getting around. But you pretend to be a sweetheart oh so well. Luckily, Eddie "The Freak" Munson knows how to see right through the rumors.

Author's Note | this one...has me feeling some kind of way. I wasn't planning to include smut in this one but like...once I got going I could not stop my disgusting little hands from typing these words.

Warnings | smut, thigh riding, mentions of masturbation, mentions of drugs, bits of fluff, nothing else I can think of!

Parts |

Maneater

i. | ii. | iii.

Head Over Heels

i. | ii. | iii.

“You better not be taking me out here so you can murder me.” You shot Eddie a suspicious look as he parked in front of the lake. He scoffed, taking his keys out of the ignition and twirling the key ring around his index finger before giving you that maddening look you were quickly becoming acquainted with.

“I’m taking you out here because it’s romantic.” The corner of his lips curled up into a little smirk.

“Mmm, very believable.” You opened the passenger side door, shoes landing firmly on the damp grass. You didn't like being out this late. Especially out in the middle of nowhere. As boring as Hawkins was, the darkness of the forest brought a kind of eeriness that left you on edge. You clung to the fondness your brother had for Eddie as proof that you could trust him too.

Eddie shut his door, resting his arms on the window opening like he had done on your car only days before. Even with his face obstructed by the night and his hair sweeping down his forehead, you could see the light in his eyes from where you stood on the other side of the van. How they were filled with a flicker.

Eddie was already over the moon that you’d gone with him. He half expected you to bail out on him. He kept checking his wristwatch every few minutes, preparing to drive himself back to the trailer park and tucking in to smoke some of his good stuff. But when you rounded the corner, he had to try hard to contain the joy he felt.

He shook his head, “It’s true. I can have my moments. Besides, you're gonna try and tell me that you haven't been out here once?"

You turned, back against the side of the van, looking up at the stars. You didn't want him to see the flush on your face when you answered, "I haven't, actually." It was a little embarrassing that the first proper date you were going on was with Eddie. You’d come to terms with how attractive he was but he wasn’t right for you. Just like Steve wasn’t enough, Eddie was too much. He was proving it with his incessant wisecracking and sharp tongue.

"But you're the...what word did you use again?"

You didn't want to say it again, lingering at the edge of the van, the mushy ground beneath you suddenly becoming very interesting. "Maneater?" You cringed.

Eddie popped around your side of the van, making you jump slightly. "The Maneater! I thought some sap had to have brought you here sometime."

"I don't really go on dates exactly." Shaking your head and scrunching your nose at the idea, Eddie had to admit he was a little confused. He'd yet to piece you together. In his head, most of the preps were the same. When he heard people gossip about what drunken thing you'd done at a party, he concluded that you were just another boring suburban girl trying to distract yourself through little acts of degeneracy and voyeurism. That must have meant you were going on dates every weekend, right? But the way Dustin and his friends talked about you...their tales were so far removed from the rumors. And you were acting almost timid about the whole thing.

"You can't expect me to believe that."

You became indignant, “Listen, I can count on one hand how many guys I’ve actually taken home.”

“And how many have you kissed?” Eddie bit down on the cold metal ring wrapped around his index finger as if he had any actual shame asking you the question. Truthfully, he was dying to know where the real you began.

The indifferent front cracked when you let out an audacious smirk of your own. “I’d need a lot more hands for that one.”

He brushed the statement off. In the hours between asking you out and now, he had cleaned up the back of his van like never before. Hell, he drug out his Uncle’s old Hoover so he could attempt to vacuum the back. Old beer cans and pizza boxes were discarded as he made room to lay down some old fleece blankets that he and his uncle kept stashed for winters. In the same closet they were kept in, he found an old string of Christmas lights from a season that had long since passed. They were old but battery operated, thank god. He wanted the mood of the night to be perfect. 

When he flung open the vans back doors, he quickly flicked the switch on the battery pack, the lights were weak and flickered every few seconds. They shed the whole backseat in a delicate yellow light. Eddie had obviously sprayed some sort of flowery scent. But underneath it…yeah…that was weed. He’d even thrown some lumpy pillows in for good measure. The patterned tapestries he’d pinned up along the sides reminded you of when you'd make blanket forts when you were little. The sight left you somewhat speechless.

"Oh my god..." You breathed. Eddie sat on the edge of the van, patting the spot next to him, urging you could join him. Quickly, you followed his direction, shifting until your thigh was just barely touching his. This close proximity became all too real when he bumped your shoulder with his own.

“So, would I be part of your…collection now?” The wash of sadness that passed over his face made your blood run cold. 

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656 notes - Posted June 5, 2022

#2

I'm Not Looking at Your Junk | Timothy Klitz x fem!Reader

Timothy Klitz x fem!Reader

Word Count | 6,206

Summary | Despite being an infamous prude, Timothy Klitz wasn't expecting it when you said you hadn't watched the sex ed tape he and his friends made during senior year. Little does he know, however, college has given you a chance to become a bit more experienced.

Author's Note | The way I love and hate this so much is ridiculous. I had to get this idea out of my head because it was just clawing at the inside of my skull!! Also, I called him Tim the entire time because I definitely would've been hella uncomfy in high school calling him Klitz all the time if this was an irl man??? I hope I did my man Klitzy justice because I love him so much. I am so nervous about posting this but fuck it!!!

Warnings | smut, (protected!) sex, loss of virginity, fingering, mentions of masturbation, mdni, please let me know if I need to add anything else!

You sighed as you flopped down on Timothy Klitz's couch. The cushions had flattened so much that you were only raised inches from the ground. Even though he was going to Yale, Tim and his two other roommates were set on spending the least amount of money possible to furnish the place. So when one of the guys found the couch free for the taking on the side of the road, of course he picked it up and had it hauled up the apartment stairs.

Tim didn't even know the guys that well. They were nice enough but obviously weren't his type of people. He was sure they'd drop out before the end of the year. But the two brothers were holding their own. Sent there with daddy's money, they'd refused to stay in the dorms where the campus security could bust them for underage drinking and the litany of drugs they were using. When Tim had found out that there weren't any dorm spaces left, he outsourced. The brothers wanted a third person to get in on the rent so they could spend more on supplies for their weekly parties. And with the meager pay Tim was making at his internship, their range met his budget.

On the bright side, their absences made it possible for you to visit more often.

You had your own dorm room but both of your roommates had boyfriends. Most nights you were stuck in your room listening to the sounds of intense lovemaking on the other side of one or two of your walls. That being said, Tim's sparsely decorated apartment with cracks in the drywall was clearly the better option to hang out in.

Tim wasn't complaining about it either. He'd known you since freshman year of high school and considered you one of his closest friends. Having Eli and Matt at his side made it a bit difficult to spend alone time with you. Any time Tim would tell Eli that he had to get off the phone because you were on your way over to his house, Eli would be wailing at the other end: Klitz, you better bang her. Or else I really might kill myself this time. In Eli's eyes, Tim was wasting a situation that was just dripping with erotic potential. She adores you, man. You could slap her ass in the middle of class and she'd thank you! Eli was so sure of himself.

Tim would never do that though. Sure, he liked you, but he couldn't imagine you seeing him in any similar way. You weren’t really the type to just hook up with some guy like it was nothing, especially if some guy was your nerd of a best friend. So just like every other weekend before, he shoved the video tape into the VCR and settled on the uncomfortable couch alongside you.

He'd found some horror flick at Blockbuster a few days before that he thought you’d get a kick out of. As terrible as the effects were in movies like this, the sight of even fake blood freaked him out. You made enough jokes to compensate for the moments where he got too queasy, but this one might be the death of him.

The dramatic title card flew towards the screen: Return of the Bloody Boogeyman!

Your face lit up at the text, already excited for what the night would bring. "You gonna tap out on me for this one?" you spoke teasingly.

He shook his head, brown hair flipping with the action, "You know, I am insulted you'd think I'm that much of a chicken." You laughed with a nefarious anticipation. You couldn't wait for when he would break and start gagging at the low budget visuals.

Of course it started with a completely clothed sex scene. Two teenagers packed into the back of a Cadillac convertible, gasping and moaning exaggeratedly. The black and white filter made it difficult to scrutinize what was going on in the darkly lit scene but the point was made very clear.

"God, it must have sucked having sex back then." you mused.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, it's not like people were casually hooking up all the time. You had to wait until you were married to some guy and even then, they'd probably be super disappointing in bed. But by the time you figured that out, you're locked in." You were talking with your hands now.

Tim wasn’t really used to talking about the topic of sex with you. He wasn’t quite sure how to respond. "Yeah, that probably sucked." Agreeing would probably be his best bet, he decided.

"Now, we have whole instruction manuals to show us the way." You poked at his side. You occasionally teased him about the sex ed tape he and his friends had made on prom night. Though you'd been there that night, watching doors with Tim while Eli and his actors were filming, you had tried not to get too involved with the actual crew. The whole prospect was way too awkward.

It's kind of weird, isn't it? You had said to Tim as you two stood outside a classroom door, guarding it. Your voice was hushed with a tinge of anxiety behind it.

What's weird?  He said vaguely. 

I dunno, it's weird that right behind us are two pornstars just...hanging out in our English class... Tim had let out a stifled snicker. You all would've done anything to help Matt and Danielle out. But that didn't mean it wasn't super uncomfortable.

"Oh yeah, like that taught you some actual techniques." Everyone knew how reserved you'd been in high school. No matter how informative the video was, you were set on being as prudish as possible. 

"That tape didn't teach me jack shit." You spat.

Tim scrunched up his face and shrugged his shoulders, "I didn't think it was that bad. It wouldn't be selling so well if it was complete nonsense, right?"

"I wouldn't know how much of it is or isn't nonsense." You mumbled, finally having gotten to the end of your teasing. And Tim now got what you were hinting at.

He scoffed and looked at you with a cheeky grin, “You haven’t watched the video?”

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662 notes - Posted June 8, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Eating Out | Eddie Munson x fem!Reader

Eddie Munson x fem!Reader

Word Count | 3,422

Summary | Eddie can't afford to take you out to dinner. Naturally, he decides to treat you to an enlightening night at Chez Eddie.

Author’s Note | remember that time I said I'd write a thing where Eddie rails you after making you dinner??? so yeah, about that, I slightly adjusted the idea to make a pun with the title...if y'all want a sequel, I am very up for it (I'm begging, please someone give me an excuse to write a sequel because if y'all want it I will do it, I know we're gonna need some fun content after the new episodes come out tomorrow lol)

Warnings | smut (MDNI), oral (male receiving), mentions of drugs, nothing else I can think of!!

Eddie Munson hates spending money on dates. He's not a cheapskate. It's just that he can't exactly spend money he doesn't have. Sure, he does odd jobs around the trailer park to make some cash on the side and gets paid in singles to play at that hole in the wall bar in Hawkins. But it's nowhere near the kind of money that would allow him to take you somewhere like Enzo's. Enzo's wouldn't be his speed anyways. If he walked into a joint like that, they'd tell him to march right back out of there after their eyeballs were done popping out of their sockets.

He loves you. God, he loves you immensely. But he'd rather pitch himself into the quarry than treat you to fine dining. That doesn’t matter anyways, he has a better idea in mind.

Eddie tells you to come to his trailer after school on Friday night. His uncle is working. You are already well acquainted with this routine. You come with minimal makeup (Eddie will end up making it run anyways) and a short skirt with panties he can easily pull aside. But when you’re knocking on the trailer door and he opens it, it’s not the Eddie you’re used to seeing. 

He’s wearing a white t-shirt that’s a little too small on him, as if it’s been a few years since he’d first gotten it. The most shocking part is the bowtie sitting right above his collarbone. It's not real, of course, but drawn on. You can see the marker streaks that reveal how he attempted to spruce up the ill-fitting garment. Your mouth hangs open at the fabric stretching across his chest, accentuating the full shape of his torso and exposing his midriff. Somehow, it’s more suggestive than if he didn't have a shirt on.

“Good evening, mademoiselle. Are you ready for an extravagant night at Chez Eddie?” He asks with a wink and a smile that shows he knows exactly what he's doing with the ensemble. His jeans hang dangerously low as he sways his hips ever so slightly. He knows exactly what’s running through your mind as you drink up his delectable figure. 

You cough and bring your gaze back to his eyes, “Excuse me?” You stare at him, brow raised. You’re used to his antics by now, but this was a new one.

Eddie rolls his eyes, “Just come inside, you dork.”

Then you’re wandering in the dim trailer where Eddie has set up a fold up table in the middle of the tiny living room. Two fold up chairs are pushed in on either side of the table.

Eddie leads you to the chair that faces away from the kitchen and pulls it out, saying, “Sit. Dinner will be out shortly.”

He disappears behind you. You hear him moving things around in the kitchen and it finally sets in what he’s trying to do. You smile and look down at your hands. There’s even a little candle on the table! Wait…that’s-- that’s a stick of butter that Eddie stuck a rolled up toilet paper wick in on a plate. You’re taken aback but still smitten at the effort.

A few seconds later, Eddie comes around with two bowls, setting one down in front of you and the other on his side of the table.

“From our esteemed Chef Campbell we have…chicken noodle soup.” You hold back a giggle when you see the familiar watery soup of your childhood, little pieces of chicken and vegetables floating along the surface. Eddie has lived in the trailer park with his uncle long enough that he knows how to get by when it comes to food. He has a taste for junk food, knows how to mix things together to make something that’s just edible enough. Your tastes must be a little more refined, he figures.

So he had pulled out some of the dried herbs and spices from the kitchen cabinet that never got used. Fuck, they’re so old that the expiration date has long since passed. Eddie just shrugged. That just means the flavor has faded a little, right? He’ll just have to use a little extra. 

Thyme? He’s got all the time in the world for it. Rosemary? Sounds nice. Oregano? Fuck yeah. Chef Campbell can make a mean soup, but Eddie is a wizard with seasonings.

When the spoon is in your mouth, you're hit with the flecks of flavor that don't quite make sense together. But Eddie looks at you with an anticipation that forces you to smile through the strange bite.

"It's good!" you chirp.

Eddie grins and holds his hands up, "What can I say? You've got a man who knows his way around a kitchen, princess."

No, I absolutely do not. 

But you laugh and take another spoonful of the soup. If this will make him happy, then you can suffer through the assault on your taste buds.

The next course is grilled cheese, though it's quite obvious that Eddie had burned the bread while cooking it. That's the one Eddie gets nervous about. With money being so tight, it had been a while since he or his uncle went grocery shopping. He only had so many pieces of bread left. He tried to keep an eye on them as they cooked. But it was just his luck that in the few minutes he took to rifle through the fridge, looking for a drink option, the kitchen became engulfed in the bitter charred stench. Hoping you would notice, he sprayed some artificial floral air freshener and scraped the burnt bits of bread off the side he'd overcooked.

You actually didn't mind the grilled cheese too much. Sure, it wasn't the prettiest sandwich to look at, but it tasted alright. The plastic cheese was overpowered by the toasted bread that tore at the roof of your mouth. Your throat overwhelmingly dry, you drank from the glass of liquid that Eddie poured out for you. Apple juice. Thank god. You could drink apple juice all day if it got the rancid aftertaste of the soup out of your mouth.

About an hour had passed since you'd first arrived. The butter candle had long since burned out, leaving you mostly in the dark. The sun was quickly disappearing from the view of the living room window and you wonder when the dinner will be over and the real fun part of the night will arrive. Being around Eddie was always fun. But nothing beats the feeling of his hands running over your thighs and up your shirt. And as the night gets later, you clench your thighs more and more, impatiently waiting for some sort of relief.

"Now, we have our dessert!" Eddie walks back into view. “This one is extra special.”

In both his hands is a plate. A sad, lumpy cake placed on top. You can tell that he must've ran into some sort of problem during the baking process.

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1,026 notes - Posted July 1, 2022

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News-grabbing personalities undermine the environmental movement

New Post has been published on https://sa7ab.info/2024/08/06/news-grabbing-personalities-undermine-the-environmental-movement/

News-grabbing personalities undermine the environmental movement

Politically, it feels like a good time to be British. Our election was civil and returned a moderate government. MPs from opposite sides of the campaign smiled and shook hands. Meanwhile, in the US, polarisation is rife. The never-ending presidential election has already featured an attempted assassination and continuous unpleasantness from all sides. Our European neighbours are not faring much better. France had a brush with a possible far-right government and the new Patriots for Europe group, featuring Viktor Orbán’s party, is now the third largest in the European Parliament. However, look a little deeper and there are tensions brewing in British politics, too. Healthy political debate is one thing, but rumbling beneath the surface is a movement which bears all the hallmarks of polarisation: radical environmental activism. We all want to save the planet, and there is a vibrant debate to be had about which policies will best achieve that. But recently, a toxicity has taken hold in parts of the climate debate which threatens to set constructive debate aside in favour of poisonous division. Environmental protester Roger Hallam has just begun serving a record five-year sentence in the clink for a hare-brained scheme to disrupt the M25 by dangling from a gantry. Hallam is the co-founder of Extinction Rebellion, Just Stop Oil, and Insulate Britain. He is the driving force behind eco-disruption in Britain and beyond in recent years. Less than a week after he was sentenced, a cabal of his Just Stop Oil colleagues were arrested for a similar plan to interrupt flights at Heathrow. Legally, Hallam’s lengthy sentence was on the harsh side and may well be reduced on appeal, but that’s beside the point. Hallam’s version of environmental protest conveniently results in his face appearing on the front pages.  Setting aside the direct harm his activities bring about – his M25 adventure caused over 50,000 hours’ worth of delays – this type of environmentalism distracts from real solutions like nuclear energy investment, promoting the activists ahead of the policy conversation. To truly understand the danger of environmentalism being co-opted by egotism, we must look beyond its radical fringes. Even in the mainstream of the climate movement, the desire for flashy headlines is obscuring genuinely helpful activism for sensible, planet-saving policies. Take, for example, Leonardo DiCaprio’s new animated film, Ozi: Voice of the Forest, which purports to be a heartwarming story about a young orangutan who falls victim to deforestation destroying her home. Who could object to that story being told? Unfortunately, the film foregoes the facts in favour of its pleasingly simplistic narrative. Ozi’s villain of choice is palm oil, which is routinely associated with deforestation. The film depicts a faceless palm oil company brutally exploiting rainforests for profit. In reality, palm oil is by far the most efficient crop in its category (oilseeds). Alternative oils – sunflower, rapeseed, soybean, olive, coconut, you name it – use more land and therefore require more, not less, deforestation. A nuanced point like that might disrupt the neat story of Ozi. Crucially, when it comes to sustainability, time does not stand still. In recent years, the palm oil industry, knowing the importance of sustainability to consumers, has taken it upon itself to revolutionise its practices to protect the natural world. In Malaysia, a top palm oil producer (which may be Ozi’s setting) primary forest loss has fallen by 70% since 2014, per Global Forest Watch, resulting in more than 90% of palm oil imported to Europe achieving certified sustainable status. On orangutans, Malaysia has implemented countless schemes including an 800,000-hectare ‘Totally Protected Area,’ a far cry from the glorified zoos depicted in Ozi. Ozi playing fast and loose with the truth is more than poetic licence. It is flipping the environmental reality about palm oil on its head in order to market a film. It is straightforward misinformation. That has consequences, as brands cater to anti-palm oil sentiment by launching ‘palm oil-free’ product ranges, and EU legislators crack down on palm oil imports, all of which make oil-based products like food and cosmetics more expensive and less sustainable. Ozi, like environmental protests, had the potential to be a positive step to raise awareness of key issues. Instead, it fell into the trap of promoting ego over policy, with Roger Hallam and Leonardo DiCaprio respectively reaping the benefits of their eco-themed personal PR campaigns at the expense of helpful green policy debate, while the rest of us are left to wonder where the constructive, forward-looking environmental movement we truly need is going to come from. Jason Reed is a policy analyst and commentator for a wide range of media outlets. He tweets @JasonReed624.   The post News-grabbing personalities undermine the environmental movement .