#but the things it does that are annoying

[abigailnussbaum]

Some Grumbling Re: My Adventures With Superman S2

There's more items in this list, but I think you can probably sum up my frustrations with this season when you observe that its best episode so far has been the one that Clark wasn't even in. There's a version of this show where, per the title, Clark/Superman is a secondary character and the actual heroes are Lois and Jimmy. But that's not what MAWS has ever tried to be. Clark has always been a main character, and yet he's also the character that the show seems to have the most trouble using well.

"Krypton was an expansionist empire and its remnants are targeting Earth and expecting Clark to act as their conquering vanguard" is not a terrible idea, but it's not the Superman story. It's the Invincible story, and Invincible is probably doing it better because it's not tied to a PG-13 rating, is able to go a bit deeper into what imperialism actually means and looks like, and doesn't have MAWS's bizarre tonal whiplash between scenes of genocide, quirky workplace shenanigans, and new adult romance.

This is something I've observed in a lot of recent Superman stories, but there's a tendency to respond to the problem of "how do you write a story about a character who is omnipotent" by making Superman a lot less powerful. By which I mean physically - notice how often Clark gets smacked around on this show, even by creatures or machines that Superman should be able to easily swat aside; or how rarely he's able to control a confrontation in a way that prevents it from turning into a city-destroying brawl - but also mentally. This is a Superman who is seemingly always on the back foot, reacting to everything from supervillains from outer space, to government agencies who are (not unreasonably) suspicious of his motivations, to most eligible bachelor competitions. And, to be fair, that's a lot more justifiable in a show where Clark is 22 and has only been doing the hero thing for a few months than in something like Superman & Lois, where he was forty and had been Superman for decades. But watching MAWS, I never get a sense that Clark is thinking about these issues and trying to develop as a superhero. There's no indication, for example, that he is trying to come up with strategies to manage government and public mistrust, or testing his powers to see how he can use them safely without constantly being a nuclear weapon at a knife fight. Instead, he's forever flustered and reactive, and I'm past the point of finding this cute or charming. I would like a hero who actually behaves like a hero, or who is at least trying to get to that place.

(On that note, holy crap did I want Clark to read Sam Lane the riot act. Among the things I am past finding cute or charming is men being all "I'mma get a shotgun" in response to their daughters having a boyfriend. Sam being a deadbeat dad who abandoned Lois years ago makes that attitude even less tolerable. That Clark put up with his delusional posturing and self-aggrandizing protectiveness crosses the line from young and insecure and goes all the way to doormat, which is not something I enjoy in a main character even when they're not Superman.)

I am not OK with Kara being a multiple genocidaire, however unwittingly and unwillingly. Again, it feels like a reflection of this show's tonal inconsistency, and the age group it's aiming at, that it expects me not to think too hard about the fact that this character whom it is setting up as a quirky fish out of water and Jimmy's potential love interest has slaughtered billions of people, and that we will probably be expected to handwave that at the end of the season. Call me a stick in the mud, but I'm just not there for it.

[inkskinned]

what is with men being mad any time a woman raises her voice where did that even come from. someone posted a video of a small electrical explosion, and the top comment was of course the woman screams. the second comment is women try not to scream challenge, level impossible. i had to go back and watch the video again. there is, somewhat fainty, a little gasp emitted off-camera, more of a yelp than a scream. it is mostly lost in the crack of the explosion. afterwards, you hear her voice, shaken, say, are you okay?

i am helping one of my friends train her voice pitch lower, because she wants to be taken seriously at work. she and i do each other's nails and talk about gender roles; and how - due to our appearance - neither of us have ever been able to be "hysterical" in public. we both appear young and sweet and feminine. she is cisgender, and cannot use her natural voice in her profession because people keep saying she appears to be "vapid". we both try to figure out if our purposeful voice lowering is technically sexist. is it promoting something when you are a victim to it?

a storm almost sends a pole through a car window. in the dashcam, you can hear the woman passenger say her partner's name twice, crying out in alarm. she sounds terrified. in the comments, she is lambasted for her lack of calm. how is that even fucking helping?

in high school, i taught myself to have a lower voice. i had been recorded when i was genuinely (and righteously) upset; and i hated how my voice sounded on the phone speakers when it was played back. i was defending my mom, and my voice cracked with emotion. it meant i was no longer winning the argument: i was just shrieking about it.

girls meet each other after a long summer and let out a little joyful scream. this usually stops around 12-14, because people will not tolerate this display of affection (as it has the effect of being passingly annoying). something about the fact that little girls can't ever even be annoying. we are trained to examine each part of our lives (even joy) for anything that could make us upsetting and disgusting. they act like teenage girls are breaking into houses and shrieking you awake at 3 in the morning. speaking as a public school educator: trust me, it's not that bad, you can just roll your eyes and move on. it does not compare to the ways boys end up being annoying: slurs in graffiti, purposefully mocking your body, following you after you said no. you know, just boy things.

there's another video of a man who is not allowed to yell in the house, so he snaps his fingers when he's excited about soccer. the comments are full of angry men, talking about how their brother is unfairly caged. let him express himself and this is terrible to do to someone. eventually the couple has to address it in a second video: they are married with a newborn baby. he was trying not to wake the infant up. there is no comment on the fact women are not allowed to yell indoors. or the fact that it could have been really alarming or triggering for his wife. sometimes i wonder if straight men even like women, if they even enjoy being in relationships with them.

for the longest time, i hated roller coasters because it always felt inappropriate and uncomfortable for me to scream. one of my friends called me on it, said it was unusual i'm so unwilling. i had to go to my therapist about it. i don't like to scream because i was not raised in a safe situation, and raising my voice would have brought unsafe attention towards me. even when i am supposed to scream, it feels shameful, guilty. i was not treated kindly, so i lack a basic form of self-protection. this is not a natural response. it is not good that in a situation of high adrenaline - i shut up about it.

something very bad is happening, i think. in between all the beauty standards and the stuff i've already discussed - this one feels new and cruel in a way i can't quite express. yes, it's scary and silencing. but there's something about how direct it is - that so many men agree with the sentiment that women should never yell, even in an emergency - it feels different.

is the word shriek gendered automatically? how about shrill or screech? in self defense class, one of the first things they tell you is to yell, as loud and as shrilly as you can. they say it will feel rude. most women will not do this. you need to practice overcoming the social pressure and just scream.

most women do not cry out, even when it's bad. we do not report it. we walk faster. we do not make a scene. what would be the point of doing anything else? no matter what we do, we don't get taken seriously. it is a joke to them. an instagram caption punchline. we have to present ourselves as silent, beautiful, captivating - "valuable."

a woman is outside watching her kids when someone throws a firecracker at them. she screams and runs towards her children. in the comments, grown men flock together in the thousands: god. women are so annoying.

[babykittenteach]

No Context Reasons You Should Watch Dead Boy Detectives

[eva-birdman-art]

I love John's capacity to just be annoying

[munamania]

[bacchuschucklefuck]

sometimes I think abt how the months coming up to and the prom night in freshman year must feel to class swap sklonda. your perfect kid who has literally never gotten a single reprimand for anything does what can only be described as a quad crit crime combo and becomes a nerd punisher by the end of the night

[onesidedradiostatic]

can we talk about how the weirdest part of staticmoth isn't even the fact that they're toxic to each other?

it's how they both react to each other's toxicity with nonchalance.

like. first, during val's tantrum, val throws a glass at vox, or well, in his vicinity.

then vox just... steps away like it's nobody's business, barely bothered by it.

and later, when it's vox's turn to be angry, he roughly pulls val down, shakes him, and shouts at his face.

then val just... shrugs it off.

usually when you think of a toxic relationship, you'd probably think of person A being toxic to person B then person B biting back just as toxic until it's a back and forth of toxicity, a full-blown fight.

but that. that's not staticmoth. staticmoth is fucking weird in that when one is acting toxic towards the other, the other acts nonchalant and doesn't retaliate. then they switch roles on who the toxic one is and who the nonchalant one is.

I am not at all denying the toxicity in their relationship, but they certainly are a really fucking weird brand of toxic that is just. so hard to describe.

[morganbritton132]

Every other month the hashtag #TimDrakeAsleep trends in Gotham and people just post pictures they’ve taken of Tim falling asleep in public. And it’s not a competition.

But if it was a competition, Bruce would win.

He thinks this when he uses the hashtag on a picture he snapped of Damian covering Tim up with a blanket when he fell asleep on the couch. He thinks it again when he posts a picture of Dick carrying Tim to his room and again when he snaps a pic of Steph, Cass, and Duke seeing how many paper cups they can stack on top of Tim before he wakes up (57).

He knows he’s won when he posts a video to his socials of him walking through the manor turning out lights in empty rooms, all while muttering, “Bruce, let’s watch a scary movie. Bruce, c’mon, it’s not that scary. Bruce, we live in Gotham. Nothing can scare us.”

The video ends with him walking into his bedroom where all of his children are asleep in his bed. He wedges himself into the edge of the mattress they left for him and turns out the light. In the darkness, you hear, “Bruce, wanna hear how I’d survive the movie?”

Then a deep sigh, followed by, “…Yeah, Tim. Let’s hear it.”

The video is captioned: Is #TimDrakeAsleep ? NO.

[redonionlover]

sunstone..? perhaps???

anon ur so real for this... they're my faves since i first played rw

havent drawn them in a loong time though so i doodled these real quick :^)

[itsnotacostume]

we as a fandom do not talk about this scene enough. what the fuck is this. why did he feel the need to install this? so he could stare at his boybestfriend all day without having to get up?

[turtleblogatlast]

Something I like about Leo is that he’s honestly really chill? It’s easy to remember the moments where he’s being obnoxious or excitable but I feel like most of the time he’s incredibly “go with the flow” and has an overall affable demeanor.

[la-muerta]

《又见红绸舞剑 to see the red silk sash sword-dance again 》

On the night of the mid-autumn festival, in the company of friends and fragrant wine, Li Lianhua drank to a state of blissful satisfaction. He pulled off a red sash that was at hand to tie it to his sword and began to dance with his sword while he drank. In his drunken stupor, Xiaobao declared that he had seen Chang'er. (A-Fei woke up the next day with a hangover and found that the belt from his red robe was missing.)

Artist: 呼葱觅蒜 on weibo; reposted with credit as requested.

[deoidesign]

Portrait of a vampire

Photo of a werewolf (who doesn't trust cameras)

As a treat I like to paint my characters realistically from time to time... so I can see them...

Webcomic

[allyriadayne]

Aegon II Targaryen, top 5 most pathetic moments. (Ranked by me in order of how close he is to crying, how much blood he has on him, how dirty and disheveled he looks, and how much he is NOT enjoying the situation at present)

[arachred]

keith who has spent years pining and being certain that his feelings are unrequited vs lance who is about to have the most earth-shattering, mind-bending moment of feelings realisation ever in history

[lonely-space-ace]

ok but imagine being Yaz and you fall in love with the Doctor but it doesn’t work out bc the Doctor cant stay anywhere for too long and also won’t talk about her feelings to save her life

and then the next regeneration of that person settles down to live with another family for years, in the same city as you, less than a day after you said goodbye forever

and then the NEXT regeneration after that talks about his feelings CONSTANTLY. Gives all the info on Gallifrey and their parents and the time lords and all of it DAY ONE.

I would go insane