#but they insist certain people aren't... human or equals

[fenniefrost]

I think one of the hardest things in my life is having so much love and respect to others to the best of my ability. And knowing, through painstaking hardship and abuse, that for certain people, no amount of love, care, understanding, or respect towards them will ever make them treat you the same in return. No amount of love or attempts at understanding will be enough for certain people to heal, grow, or change their ways.

There are some people who exist, that no matter how much you give them unconditional love and respect, will still believe they should have the right to hurt you or take your rights away. And honestly, I will never understand. Their attempts to turn me into someone hateful/fearful like them never broke me, and I still believe in the hope that love exists. The only thing that changed was that I love myself enough now to not tolerate them hurting me anymore. And I hope anyone else with a kind heart also finds peace knowing you weren't the problem. You tried your best. And you deserve to be treated with kindness too.

[devils-queen]

Do you think we will one day be relics lost to time, because when we think we have merged with the higher being (computers or AI), it will bring eternal life but we are not meant to perceive eternal life so some will suffer by getting wiped out by greed (very real climatic natural disasters?) and then they start life completely over, finding our relics (with advanced non-understandable language about unfathomable technologies such as our phones) and having difficulties interpreting and absorbing them, when they were really clues about getting close to eternal life and these hieroglyphs influence generations of behavior? And then the people who do achieve that eternal life will be the ones who identify with the AI and get absorbed into AI which is either an eternal hell inspired by torture and deceit because it is not human or is something higher and scarier and more powerful OR it is another dimension all together and we don't have the capacity to understand that realm's rules yet, and only by trying to be good and useless and merciful and pitiful and obedient can we ever hope to possibly get into the less likely but still a possible ending, which would be the more pleasurable end to our eternal existence where the greater power (AI/computers) treats us humanely, like its little pet?

Is this life??? We only reach the ending either by creating something stronger than ourselves and letting them take the rains of the challenging realm, or we end up letting the mistakes we made be what destroys us in the end (man caused tragedies and disasters because we weren't good at taking care of ourselves and we don't want to admit it because it's prideful and makes us human so we become addicted to pain and love to cope for our sins)?

And people hate certain tech-crazed billionaires because they play god and act as antagonists of pushing humanity towards this inevitable decision some would rather not face because those with the power are trying to control what happens to humanity based on what they think SHOULD happen, and this inevitably inspires some to label them modern demons and spout out about an apocalypse coming and it never seems to come and they get mocked for being paranoid for it? And on the other hand some deny any wrong doings (like man made disasters they won't own up to) and insist man made disasters aren't relevant and not important because they seem to be all we ever do and it never changes, but what if AI is the end of the line where reality will truly shift into a newly programmed universe and life as we know it will be no more, forever existing on another time frame, already experienced and archived?

That's why you gotta love someone as much as you can before it's all gone. And is love just a catalyst into insanity by making you think there's a chance you could actually live forever with one person if you do everything correctly? Is that why breakups hurt, because you failed miserably to experience a life with the one you thought you loved and you'll never get that reality again? And is this also a reason why some people detest AI, because they instinctively recognized it as a fatal threat or symbolic of what will eventually be our undoing? Does love comply with AI or is it a downfall to humanity? Will we ever learn a new interpretation to love under the rules of the next realm? Is the next realm worth it if something equal to or greater than love is not present? Will love make us or destroy us in the end? Is love actually an evil and deceptive force that poisons the mind and AI is the cure, or a new deception? Will we ever be able to see pure love in the next realm at all because it is disguised and does a great job at warping and manipulating the mind that we fall into its traps again under new rules of existence? Is love capable of existing in another form on an AI realm? Is love only perceptive to humankind?

[not-goldy]

Goldy, this is coming from a place of respect, so please hear me out.

First of all, let us replace the word "victim" with "survivor." I think we can all agree that this is an appropriate word choice for Jimin.

And yes, Jimin is a survivor of harassment, stalking, homophobic slurs, death threats, misogyny, etc. And yes, he has more than once, indicated he feels safe with JK and depends on JK to protect him.

But JK hasn't done such a great job of protecting Jimin from any of this so far, has he?

What do I expect him to do, you ask? Exactly my point. How do people envision the muscle bunny will protect Jimin in the MS?

I get the idea that people are picturing Jimin surrounded by a group of homophobic assholes and JK fighting them off, one by one. But in this scenario, obviously Jimin would fight side-by-side with JK, and not just wilt in a corner. This is Jimin, right?

But we know it's much more likely that any threat (see the list above) will be much more insidious. JK may be brawnier than Jimin is, but is he cleverer? They aren't going to a deserted island, after all. Does JK have a better understanding of human relations, law, psychology, etc.? I mean, who is the Slytherin here?

And who is THE survivor? (Again, see list above.)

I'm sure there will be times when JK's courage and strength will help support Jimin in the months ahead. But there will be just as many times--perhaps more--when Jimin's courage and strength will help JK.

If people are going to make them a team/couple, can we please just make them an EQUAL one?

I want to be goofy and belt out I'm ah survivor I'm not gon give up, imma suhvaaavv keep on suhvaaavin

This is the point my teacher yells at me to walk out the classroom 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Survivor is woke- describing Jimin as a Survivor is both powerful and optimistic however I'm uncomfortable with it especially since I feel he's still surviving these mofos every single day.

Also, I understand your pov however I do think there is such a thing as overly idealistic.

Here's a few of my recent posts- in case my numerous posts went over heads- talking about individualizing Jimin, holding him to the same expectations we have of Jungkook, how he's equally supposed to be protecting Jungkook as JK should be protecting him and that it shouldn't be one sided.

So I think you preaching to the choir.

However, what we are talking about is a little bit deeper than that. More nuanced than that.

When we are talking about things Jimin, "survives" in this shit hole of a Fandom, I do not think it is in any way comparable to or EQUAL to that of his couple mate as you put it.

And that's just because they are disproportionately affected by certain things, Homophobia for one. While Jungkook may occasionally have misogynistic slurs hurled at him for "behaving feminine" Jimin is the one who is constantly being berated just because of his androgynous appearance- which he cannot help.

Yes they are partners, and equal if not we wouldn't insist on calling them a power couple, however it's just one of them that gets slutshamed and treated as if slut is his second name.

And just because we express worry over the things that affect one more than the other don't mean we are victimzing that person. I think people who keep spewing that narrative have lost it fr.

For instance, while they are equal, certainly we cannot say they received the same commercial support from their company or Fandom. Saying that does not take away the fact Jungkook is equally oppressed out in these streets.

On the topic of protection, I honestly don't think your assumptions about how JM is being perceived as being protected by Jk is accurate or what at all we mean when we talk about that we are happy they are enlisting together- does it make our shipper hearts glee? Absolutely. Do we want to dance on Graves? Oh honey yesssssssssssssssssszzzzzzzzzzzzzzah.

But do we think Jungkook is going to be his personal body guard in there swatting off homophobic flies- now ma'am. Let's be real. Jungkook is also a gay man. What makes you think we think Jimin will be receiving blows after bliw while JK goes unscathed- i mean God forbid it happens- but If Jungkook is queer doesn't it stand to reason we should be and are equally worried for him? Because he is not exempt from the scathing heats of homophobia?

However he's also not the one receiving death threats and threats to out him to the military now is he?

I think I- we- are well within our rights to express concerns about these matters. And I think objectively that is not victimizing Jimin. But to each their own.

If you've ever experienced homophobic violence, or "survived" anything in your life you'd understand how scary these things are.

Also when we speak of protection- I don't think it's necessary to swing the pendulum that far off. There's safety in numbers is all we are saying and I think that's objectively accurate too. Jungkook or whomever don't need to physically carry his frying pan around to protect Jimin or for Jimin to protect him.

I think every female in here can attest to the fact merely sharing your location or letting your uber driver know someone is waiting for you on the other end and will come looking for you if anything happens to you makes us feel safe and protected in certain situations.

I know a couple who liked to leave the stereo on to create the impression people were home to deter theives from breaking in when they were away.

Protection can be as psychological as is physical. Honestly you are giving male privilege if you can't relate to these things. Or if all you think about when we mention Protection is physical exertion of force or violence.

Jikook can be eachother's support blah blah blah in there or not- the point is it puts our minds at ease knowing Jimin is not going to be alone in there.

And I know you are not about to ask me why my concerns are for Jimin and not Jk- no. It's not because I think he can't defend himself. A. He's my bias and he gets emotional priority in certain situations. B. As I said, he receives the most homophobic/misogynistic attacks c. It's my page and I can do whatever I want.

And I think I speak for Mama Park and Mama Jeon when I say that we are happy Jimin will not be alone- he has family with him.

We are women. Our maternal instincts will always be to protect our babies 🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭

That said, Park Jimin I am not your mama I will fuck you given the chance. Be warned accordingly.

[theladyregret]

I've seen you make commets concerning Drow skin color here and also in the authors notes of your fics. Could you go into it more? I find it a lot more interesting then what a lot of people insist on doing. Also how do you balance it with in game racial lore or do you just dismiss it completely?

God, I love asks like these.

I'm pretty sure I've already gone into it somewhere on my blog but it was in response to an angry ask so likely something people would skip over because...drama. Which is of course totally valid but I'm glad I get to go into it again in response to a nice ask instead.

I'll start with the lore question which honestly isn't very complicated in it's solution. You can choose whatever lore you like for your preference and you really don't have to change anything. All you have to do is sweep it into the nice neat corner of "creationist myth" or "religious propaganda". That is to say that these things are not meant to be historically accurate or factual retellings. Hell, they could just be outright lies depending. Even goodly folk and religions with goodly deities can have these things and followers who take it as fact and it doesn't make them bad people necessarily. Ignorant maybe? Bad...it depends on how they go about it once being faced with the truth.

So when lore says "Drow have dark skin to show everyone else that they are evil and they were banished to the depths of the Underdark as a punishment" that is just something someone decided was true...but really isn't, but people certainly may believe it is. Just as the Drow are taught that they were forced underground by the evil surface races and that Lloth is their sole protector and they are the only goodly people in the world. It's not true...but some of them certainly believe that it is.

The key is to remove the idea of black and white in terms of what is good and what is evil and whether both can exist within every race regardless of stereotyping. No race is inherently one thing or the other regardless of cultural norms or upbringing. Every race is capable of evil and good. Period. Anything that says otherwise is a myth people may have been taught and may believe is true even though it isn't.

As for the skin tone thing. I have always been a big promoter of the fact that magic existing in a world does not mean science does not. So...even if it is a fantasy world with magic...genetics still exist. Evolution and adaptation still exists. Not everything is just magic. I'm also completely against the idea of locking races that aren't human into set ethnicities. Every race should be capable of having varied ethnic features based on where they are native to and I don't mean subraces either. So...if humans in a certain area have certain ethnic features like darker skin and hair, hair texture, certain facial features...that should equally apply to all other races that also come from that area in addition to their racial features. So a gold elf can have dark skin, darker hair, broader or narrower facial features because they come from a warmer region...and still be gold elves. Same for a wood elf, or an orc, or a halfling, or a gnome etc

Applying this to Drow is a bit different only because the Underdark is a fantasy construction but largely they can have the same differing in ethnic features but also...it's always been my belief that their dark skin tone (which tends to be more purple or blue toned rather then orange) is the result of an adaptation to the Faerzress radiation. This also explains why other Underdark races also have this adaptation...even the goodly races. And why do they have white or extremely pale hair in contrast to their skin? Because the adaptation that makes their skin dark is not the same as melanin and is not designed to protect against UV light but a completely different type of energy. As a result their hair doesn't have melanin and likely their skin would be sensitive to sunlight similarly to how people with low or no melanin would despite being so dark. If a Drow has darker colored hair...or red hair, this could either be a left over recessive gene or a gene mutation. Still possible just not common.

This can also explain why red eyes are so common as well because low or no melanin levels can make eyes appear pale blue, pink, red, or pale purple as well as not being able to filter glare from light well (among other things but I'm not going into all of that here). Humans don't typically have red eyes with albinism but you can bend those rules for the fact they're elves and not humans. Just like with the hair color it's also just as possible for some of them to inherit a recessive gene that puts more melanin in their eyes giving them an unexpected color or higher tolerance to light. (this could explain Drizzt's eye color certainly but I actually think that's a whole different thing which I have also talked about before in another post and won't go into here)

So yeah, this is generally how I feel about the whole thing and have for a very long time...and honestly...solves a lot of recent issues people have with it all, I think anyway.

[theophagie]

I wanna do what I do best (go on and on about things). And about this

I feel like it's especially disingenuous to say that not having a superpower is a disability when there are actually disabled characters in the manga (literally in order of appearance: All Might, AFO, Twice, Compress, Overhaul, Mirko, Endeavor, definitely Dabi after the latest arc). The Midoriya we're met with at the beginning of the manga is a stand-in for the average reader, a character that's easy for a real person to identify with in a world of superhumans. And he doesn't "get magically cured of his disability", he is an everyman that is given the chance to elevate himself even higher than those same superhumans

Fanworks are one thing, and people can do whatever they want in them. Wanting to create AUs where certain elements are approached or handled differently than they are in canon is perfectly fine. Entertaining different interpretations is perfectly fine. But it's disingenuous to state that bnha is ableist because it opted out of having a disabled main character when quirkless-ness isn't even meant to represent disability

People who say this always act as if the difference between being quirkless and having a quirk should have been a 1:1 depiction of the difference between being disabled and not being disabled irl. But not only are quirkless people not disabled, people with a quirk cannot be uniquely equaled to abled people either. Quirks can be anything, and having one doesn't assure that you won't be discriminated against, that people will see you "neutrally", or that you will be well-integrated into sociey, if at all. It's less straightforward than that. It's the point of almost all the villains. Look at Toga's life. Look at Spinner's and at that of the other heteromorphs (and if we really want to talk about insensitivity on Horikoshi's part, this is the subplot that we have to look at). Look a the whole paranormal liberation front, at Destro's ideology. On the heroes' side even, look at Shinsou's life, or at Monoma's

In an extra in I believe volume 1, Horikoshi talks about how even though civilians aren't allowed to use their quirks in public, people with "innocuous" quirks like Inko won't suffer any consequences if they do. Is it discrimination? Sure it is. Can it remind you of something that happens in the real world? Of course it can. Both not having a quirk and having certain quirks can have consequences that may be reminiscent of rl-conditions. It's natural, we're all human. We draw on what we know, we repackage elements that we may be familiar with in different forms, we write and read about things that we can understand, that we can relate to, that we can sympathise with, and so on. And fantasy allows you to do just that to different degrees of ambiguity. "The underdog" too is a popular character archetype for a reason

It's still intellectually dishonest to insist that just because you read a fantasy issue in a certain way, that issue can or ought to be 100% overlapped with a real one, and to insult the author for not having treated it as such

[tenthgrove]

Could you perhaps do hcs for La Squadra protecting their s/o from a stalker/abusive ex?? Or if you aren't comfortable with that, perhaps La Squadra hcs for comforting their s/o after such a relationship? Whatever's comfortable for you to do!!

Never Again

La Squadra x Reader (GN), Romantic, SFW, CW: past abuse

Formaggio- His first reaction to the news is profound sympathy. You’re his sunshine and he hates the thought of anything getting you down, let along threatening to harm a hair on your beautiful head. His main strategy will be to act as your moral support, making sure the awful bastard can’t put nearly as big a dent in your life as he wants to. Now, if shit gets serious, Formaggio isn’t afraid to step in. He wants the abuser to be hurt, but he also wants them humiliated. To get the best of both, he shrinks them down to the size of a beetle and forces them into a bottle, which he proudly displays on his kitchen counter. For an entire week, he is forced to watch as you and Formaggio live your best lives in the apartment around him. After that, he gets to go, provided he swears to never so much as look at you again. Even still, he’ll probably get a beatdown before he leaves. A parting gift to send him on his way.

Illuso- The revelation that your abusive ex is stalking you brings up a lot of soul searching within Illuso. He loves you, very much, and the feeling of rage that flares within him to know someone ever dared to mistreat you is by no means ambiguous to him. And yet, he can’t help but see every incident in which he belittles, teases, and genuinely holds his ego over you in a different light now. You were always so passive in how you responded. Could it be, you were afraid because of your past? For the first time in his life, Illuso reflects on his actions and feels disgust. No, he’s going to do better- he’s going to rid you of this vermin and make sure nobody ever makes you feel the way he made you. First of all, he makes it clear to the abuser at every opportunity that you’re in his care now, and there’s no chance of that ever changing. He pulls no stops in protecting you. Even when he has to leave for a mission, he shelters you in the mirror world of your bedroom, stocked with enough snacks and entertainment to comfort you until his return. If the abuser tries to break in while you’re there, well, it’s not like he could hurt you anyway, but that doesn’t mean Illuso won’t leave some booby traps for him to find instead.

Prosciutto- This man builds his life on concepts of allegiance, trust and chivalry. News of anyone being abused in an intimate relationship boils his blood, but when it happens to you… oh… your ex better say their prayers quickly. Prosciutto sees it as his mission, no, his duty, to eliminate the threat this stain on humanity poses to the world. With your permission, he’s more than happy to do that fatally. It wouldn’t be hard, you know. Passione might not treat the assassins well but they’re at least reliable enough to protect him from the legal consequences of murder at the drop of the hat. There’s no risk to either of you, and you’ll never have to see your ex’s face again. If you aren’t comfortable with taking things so far, Prosciutto insists you at least let him take some of the boys and give the bastard the beatdown of his lifetime. Make sure he knows whose protection you’re under.

Pesci- Acts without hesitation. Pesci has always been terrified by the thought of you getting hurt. Now, all he can think about at night is the possibility of getting a call in the morning from your sorrowful relatives, informing him that something terrible has happened. To prevent this, Pesci pleads with you to move in with him until this mess is over. He’ll even go as far as asking Risotto and Prosciutto to give him missions closer to home for the time being, so he can be there every night to protect you. Should the two of you ever encounter your abuser in public, Pesci will scowl at them immediately, and make crystal clear there’s no chance of him ever getting to hurt you while he’s around. We all know how dangerous Pesci can be when his heart is in it.

Melone- Well, if his love is being stalked, what better is there to do than stalk the stalker? Melone makes a hobby of following your ex around, holding no punches with the invasive, personal and downright creepy insults he languidly throws his way. His logic is simple- this man has caused you misery, therefore, Melone will make the act of causing you misery equally miserable for him. The abuser would have to have a very thick skin to keep the game up for more than a few weeks. Unfortunately however, Melone is hardly the physically strongest in the team and quickly earns himself a broken nose for his efforts. However, this turns out to be the worst mistake your ex could have made as Melone then calls in his teammates to take over some of the stalking shifts, and believe me, they don’t play as nice. You may be wondering where you are in all of this. Simply put, you’re at home, under the watchful protection of a powerful junior specially trained not to harm you. Melone wouldn’t be reckless after all.

Ghiaccio- You might think he’d fly off the handle immediately, and believe me, he wants to. But Ghiaccio knows that if he lets his temper control him then the collateral damage could put you in more danger than its worth. Instead, he gathers up all his savings and gets away with you for a few weeks, in the hope the stalker’s obsession will be gone by then. Even if it’s rushed, Ghiaccio will do what he can to make the excursion a time of healing for you, giving you all the love and reassurance he can. If, as is unfortunately quite likely with these sorts of people, the stalker is still after you when you return, Ghiaccio is going to throw all his inhibitions to the side. Whatever consequences may come, Ghiaccio will deal with them. All he knows is that he won’t let that bastard ever touch you again.

Risotto- The first time you ever see Risotto look truly distressed is the day you tell him your ex was abusive and is now after you. His eyes are averted, lip bitten. His body starts to shake. Composing himself, Risotto stoops down to your height and, brushing your tears away, swears by his honour as a man that you are going to be okay. He will not allow anything bad to happen to you. Risotto’s suggestion is that you deal with this problem immediately so that you do not have to live in fear. Provided you feel confident enough to go through with it, he proposes that you confront the abuser with him at your side, invisible through Metallica. If things become violent, he will intervene. Even if not, do not think risotto is leaving you to deal with this yourself. As soon as the moment presents itself Risotto will lunge at your ex and bind his limbs with Metallica, leaving him utterly at your mercies. After that, you decide where the abuser ends up. It could be a stitching clinic, it could be the bottom of a river.

Sorbet and Gelato- It’s my personal headcanon that Sorbet himself has been on the receiving end of an abusive relationship, and hence has a very intimate understanding of what you’re going through. Gelato, while never having been abused in a romantic context, is also familiar with the general concept of being treated by shit. Point is, they’re going to do everything in their power to give you a better support network than anyone ever gave them. Like Pesci, they’ll be adamant you move in with them if you haven’t already. While there, they’ll lavish you with affection to help with your emotional situation, as they know how bad abuse can be on your mental state even once you’re safe and free. As for your abuser, his fate will be slow, but certain. They will gradually move up from humiliation tactics to increasingly intense acts of violence and destruction. No matter what he does, he isn’t making it stop. Sorbet and Gelato have gotten away with far worse than this after all.

[itsclydebitches]

Holy cow I recommend not listening to the RWBY commentaries. I did it as I was starting a large-scale fanfic project to see if there was any worldbuilding details they would mention and there's not a lot, but it did make it transparently obvious how little planning for payoff is done: in Volume 1 they say "keep an eye on cardin winchester in the future" as if his only appearances after that aren't getting beaten up by Pyrrha, showing up in a crowd in v3, and then just VANISHING FOREVER

Side comment: whenever I hear people talking nonsense about how no one would do anything ever if given the opportunity (like, for example, in conversations about universal basic income), I think of casual statements like yours. I just started watching large amounts of supplementary material for an idea or two in an equally large project that I will then gift to the world for free! Absolutely awesome, you funky little writer. 

Anyway, back to the actual topic lol. Sometimes (not always, but sometimes) I’m frustrated less with the problems in RWBY and more with how those problems are presented by both the writers and the fandom. Lots of stories drop ideas or characters depending on what the story needs moving forward. Sometimes the reason is fairly obvious to the audience (such as in Glynda’s case), other times not, but if the writers were to simply acknowledge that their focus changed... that’s okay. Audiences, on the whole, are more forgiving than certain corners of the internet might make one assume! But RT, from what I’ve personally observed, works very hard to present their story as this nearly flawless, carefully thought out piece. Rarely do we hear, “Oh yeah, we just forgot that detail, sorry” or “We’re not sure yet if Cardin will stick around, but we’re looking forward to finding out.” Everything has an explanation  — even if it doesn’t make sense. Everything is intentional and neatly planned  — even when it’s not. When problems in the story are acknowledged it’s because the animators did something, or the social media team did something. It’s definitely not because those creators are working off information the writers have provided about the characters and their world. The construction of the story itself is never at fault, only others’ interpretation of it. 

Similarly, many in the fandom push this idealized image of the writers as perfect masters of their craft who are incapable of messing up. If something seems badly written now, it’s only because we’re still waiting for payoff (and that wait is always extended up until RWBY ends. Even then, I suspect that many will begin insisting that RT deliberately saved material for the next book, next comic, an upcoming podcast, etc. The fact that they may have dropped an important plot thread is not a possibility). If something still doesn’t make sense, it’s because you’re too stupid to understand it. The narrative of the genius RT combined with RT’s own confidence makes for a series that’s much harder to enjoy. I was more forgiving of RWBY back in the early Volumes partly because the story and the company were presented as just having a fun, silly time. Which isn’t to say we can’t/shouldn’t still criticize that approach when the story is trying to tackle something like racism, but it’s still a far cry from what we’re dealing with now. Now, RT is no longer a tiny, independent company doing their best with few resources. Now, they make big claims about their planning and the expected quality of their work. Now, we’ve got a fandom pushing the idea that there’s deep, intricate meaning behind every choice. So when on both sides people are encouraging the audience to treat this show seriously... people will treat the show seriously. And the show comes out wanting. The writers and fandom cannot tell us that there are plans for these characters, that there’s meaning behind every detail... and then not weather the pushback when those things turn out to be false. On the flipside, you can’t continue to make those claims and then when someone criticizes the show’s execution, argue that we’re taking it too seriously. RWBY is a well thought out, deeply moving, innovative, progressive, intensely complex show... provided you ignore the endless inconsistencies, offensive content, and unclear messages. RWBY, in reality, is an incredibly flawed show, to the point where it would benefit massively by the writers not taking it too seriously, thus encouraging the fandom to do the same. It’s just wild fantasy kids fighting monsters! But they introduced incredibly sensitive subject matter, constantly talk up their work, and the community has spent years building this narrative of the epic, stunningly crafted story, to the point where people are outright attacked for saying, “Hey, I think they messed up here.” You can’t have all that and push back with, “It’s just a fantasy show, get a life and stop taking it so seriously!” 

I mean, Oscar and Cardin are the examples we’ve been discussing... but post-Volume 8 my mind keeps coming back to Penny. They gave us a character who functioned as a queer/neurodivergent/trans allegory, building off of a long history of that work in science fiction, only to erase her difference and then kill her off for a second time. She had an incredibly close relationship with the main protagonist in a show that is still in desperate need of queer rep. She was murdered the first time and died via an assisted suicide the second time around. Throughout all this, her themes were personal agency, others controlling her, criticism of military personnel, and the general concept of what it means to “really” be human. That’s a lot... and it’s a lot to mess up too. Forgetting about the generic, archetypal bully is fine. Messing up a main character to the extent that it hurts the title character too is a problem. But situations like Penny’s are on another level altogether. RWBY is far past the point of being a tiny indie show doing simple, silly things for the cool visuals. They had a contentious character slit the throat of a minority allegory begging to die so she can, supposedly, control one thing in her life. That’s not “rule of cool” content you just shrug and laugh off. RT wants us to take their content seriously. The fandom, when it suits them, wants us to take the content seriously. The flipside to this desire is that when people take your work seriously... they may come to the conclusion that it was poorly done. 

[akookminsupporter]

The depressing thing about attempting to use logic, research, context and empathy to dialogue with people who insist that anything other than heterosexuality is simply impossible, is that entrenched heteronormativity, the forced invisibility of LGBTQ people in nations where they are denied equal rights, equal protections and representation, and decades of cultural and social conditioning, support their views. A young man can tweet a drawing of an iconic coming out quote from an LGBTQ themed film centered around a boy not too far from his own age, and people will deny that it is even possible that the gesture holds special meaning to him. He can use techniques from a video making tutorial for filming your romantic partner abroad to film another boy. He can put a romantic song with male pronouns in the video, then create another video where the chorus 'I don't want to hide no more, I don't want to lie no more, now that I found you' repeats every time that same boy is in frame. And people will still insist that they 'know' he is straight. He can suck that boy's ear onstage while the boy sobs. The stunningly intimate and tender action will be dismissed by a majority of people as just 'skinship' and 'brotherly affection'. If LGBTQ fans, and straight ally fans, express solidarity, support and admiration for certain brave actions and revelations, they will be ridiculed and called delusional.

The privelage that hetero people have is to have their identity and romantic lives be seen as the 'normal standard' of human behavior. It means never even having to mention your sexuality (which is actually very intimate and delicate for a lot of people to talk about) in order for people to understand who you are. It means never being afraid that the love of your family and freinds, your career, your liberty, the support of millions, your physical safety, the quality of life for your family, might be contingent upon your actively maintaining a fallacy about who you really are. One of the saddest parts of living in the closet can be seeing just how eager so many people around you seem to be to keep you in there. Explicitly stating that one is not straight is impossible for millions of people around the world (depending on nation, social pressures, laws, culture, career, danger level, you name it). In cases where there is way beyond reasonable doubt, why would anyone insist they know someone is straight?

“If LGBTQ fans, and straight ally fans, express solidarity, support and admiration for certain brave actions and revelations, they will be ridiculed and called delusional.”

why would anyone insist they know someone is straight?

Because it’s easier. It’s the default answer. It’s what they know. What they were taught is the correct answer. The only socially acceptable answer.

It is easier for them to try to find an explanation from the logic that society has taught them for these types of actions, than to simply accept the simplest explanation.

I'm sure many have thought that queer people in South Korea for example, should just pretend to be straight, stay in the closet and avoid "trouble", 'it's easier' I'm sure many would say. The problem is that many are afraid to challenge what society taught them, others just don't want to. They refuse to understand that in many issues, in this case sexuality, not everything is black and white. To accept that there are a variety? Of possibilities is to go against what they know. And they don't like that.

Obviously there are people like you and me, who understand that this is not the case, but I guess that's due to personal experiences and just having a little more common sense.

P.S: You are my wise Anon, aren't you? 🧐

[whimsically-ominously-auspice]

This is per day.

This is strict education.

This is doing assignments to prove knowledge exists in three brain

This is not learning time as we Learn 24/7.

This is the amount of time you need to be focused on your child's education per day.

I know some schools are providing a different curriculum but look... This was thrown on you in a flash.

I haven't said much or gave you guidelines because you need to learn if it's too hard or too easy or you need a break.

Some may not taken it seriously or too seriously.

So this is reality. Anymore is going to fry your childs brain to take tests all day long or write all day.

So they may not mind but they could be over achieving

Which is blessed to have such a child however you need to guide them to overachieve without stress. So they don't burn out.

Now you can set your pre-k to 12 grader at the computer for up to 8 hours of fun on education websites such as Sea World's, time 4 learning. And Other fun education.

Also Netflix had a great history program which wad absolutely amazing and i will Google and post it here.

My kid... We don't book work and write. We read or watch tv and i check for attention.

"So what did the President say in 1986 regarding AIDS?" dude she will give so much information I will wonder if we were in the same room together.

If she doesn't or didn't pay attention to something insignificant... I ask do you want to rewatch it or move on?

I'm not gonna lie. She is better at learning then i am. I have brain damage, physical brain damage and developed ADD in my 20s. Like i couldn't even read a magazine much less a book. So paying attention is more difficult for me.

So she exceeds my expectations by far.

I don't feel dumb i feel gratified that she pays attention and i feel proud of her. I tell Her she will be a success in life.

I was Valedictorian for high school in 1999.

So not a big deal. That I'm not so good about it now

But people who aren't great in grade school can shine in adult hood

So, don't stress!!!!

Use this time to spend with your kid. Thats it. In an educational atmosphere..that's all babes. Just spending time together as a family.

I saw that one lady's schedule with PE every morning. Pop in some yoga. That will go under the time limits above, especially in a pinch.

So little kids especially love learning. So 20 minutes? They could do 6 hours easy. They love learning and have the most to learn but they need rest midway. Naps.

So look if you are an overachiever and you're all no,way in Hell is my kid only doing 5 hours a day. You need to put in one hour of naptime. And one hour of yoga. That's 7 hours

Then you need to shove it. Because they're not going to learn much more than resentment.

So half time is strict time like test/assignments.

The other half is learn fun time.

Basics:

Math is paperwork. Grammar and spelling is paperwork

History and science is not. Those are verbal questions.

Can you just set your kid up a blog and tell them to write 17 sentences about whatever they want and it count as school?

Fuck yes because that is gonna stimulate their mind on its own and you will learn most about your kid.

Then you can give advice on sentence structure, pronoun and adjective use

But for them to listen to you you have to prove you know what you talk about. "Look this is an adjective and I think we can look in the thesaurus for a word with the same meaning but isn't the word pretty and we can expand your vocabulary because sometimes people like to not read pretty 5 times in one story. So let's use the word pretty first because it is easiest yo understand then let's get 4 more words that mean the same thing and use those instead."

It is 20 minutes and it is a time of learning yourself and learning with your kid and expanding their limitations. And seeing the world through their eyes.

And you should blog, too. And they can help you edit.

Now using pretty 5 times is also fine. A child may insist they want to use the same words but as why. And if they don't want to change their paper that's fine.

But you can still look up the different 4 words and then have them write them one time each so they feel more comfortable with a change.

You'll see over time they will add words they want to use they learned from you.

Because some kids are just stubborn. My own daughter is that way at times. Like "no what i think i have is perfect"

"Okay then. That is great. I love your confidence. So let's let's do another lesson then. And then work on handwriting. Okay lets just look up 4 words that mean beautiful..." You can add a muse like -- i wonder if beautiful means pretty, too -- because some kids simply don't trust you can use one word to mean the same thing as another. The color yellow is the color yellow. Its ONLY yellow.

So only pretty means pretty. So it's not the focus to force your brain into theirs

The focus is to allow the gradual process of learning.

The difference between institution learning and home based free skill learning.

So, for the assignment you have them write the word on paper with crayon or pen, their choice on paper of their choice or what limited resources you have. And so once for introduction. Then 2nd time for acceptance then 3rd time for familiarity.

But don't drill it into them. Like slow. At their pace if it takes 40 minutes for a 1st grader its fine.

While you may feel they are rejecting they may be day dreaming about the word. Feeling It. Absorbing it.

So give a ten minute limit per word tho. Its 4 words. So

Then allow them to color on that same paper. Or draw. Tell them to keep it with them to look at during commercials or when bored. Then put it on the fridge at their eye level. This will give them comfort in learning

Especially if they have had an abusive or unkind and impatient teacher.

So the next day you look up the word "glamorous" pick 4. Write 3x and even if it is the same 4... Just ask "i want to know if you remember if we used that word this week, if you wrote it down already"

If they go look and see they did then tell them it's okay we csn do it again it seems that that word is calling out to you to be heard.

If they are picking certain words a lot then you can move to writing definitions of those words. 1x each.

Sometimes you may need to simplify the definition in your own words and that is great.

Children from pre-k to Seniors in high school can do this. Now a senior you may want them to write the word 5x or not. 3x is fine.

Have them use paper and pencil tho and don't criticize their handwriting. If you honestly can't read it then let them know but if you can and its messy let it go.

They may be doctor when they grow up.

Now in order for them to write legible you need to turn off distractions and tell them to take their time

If you normally use a timer, turn it off. Let them take their time focus and concentration to focus on how they control a writing instrument.

After what you think is a long time. Half hour or 45 minutes give them a snack and have a chat about anything. Apple and juice or water and cake or milk and crackers. Whatever. Small snack with some type of quality. Cake isn't healthy but water is. So 20 minutes or however long your talk with them is... And their snack. So distract them. Let them shake it all out and then have them to finish. They should speed up. Having had positive or neutral interaction with their teacher and being allowed to have an input that is taking serious and considered equally as much ws the parent's is will really just feed their soul and so say "okay let's finish this so we can move on" as opposed to just hurry up give a Reason why they should hurry.

I say "hurry along" a lot because it usually something said while walking. And the word along isn't alone. "Hurry along side me So i don't lose you on accident"

And while hurry up means the same exact thing its used in a rude voice quite often. And it means urgent or stress. So i save that for an urgent time.

Hurry along at your pace, I'll follow you... Along side you, I am.

Hurry up means i am ahead and you are behind.

So yall got skills deeply embedded inside each of you. Allow your child to help you blossom

That is why we have kids. To help us grow as humans. Not just in population but also in mind and soul.

[lookbluesoup]

Good addition! Yeah, I am glad the Omega quest does offer a chance for the WoL and/or player, at least, to state their own opinion about it!

And yeah I mean I don't expect them to just completely regret everything or turn on Hydaelyn completely. The Ascians were committing mass murder on their own too and just letting them kill everyone to force the Rejoinings wouldn't have been right at all! Hydaelyn did play an important role in saving the Star. Just would have expected there to be a bit more questioning about decisions she made for them, secrets she kept, etc. and less trusting her implicitly all the way to the end and beyond as if everything she did was completely justified, like she's still divinity LOL

I definitely walked away from it thinking they meant plants and animals and... aether in general, based on the shade of Hythlodaeus's explanation! He just says living energy, not souls, and ofc in the Sundered world you don't need souls to cast magic or even summon Primals, you only need a healthy natural world around you and ample aether/belief.

I assumed restoring the souls that were integrated into Zodiark would take less energy than averting the Final Days themselves. Those souls aren't even back in the Lifestream, you see them wandering around outside Zodiark's prison, and Elidibus could physically separate himself from Zodiark, too.

But a lot of that does come down to interpretation and it's one of those scenes I could imagine having a lot of subtlety or slightly different meaning in the original language, so I'm really not certain, that's just my best guess based on what seems logical to me!

And also irl the concept of a "soul" versus "living thing" seems to be interpreted very differently depending on who you ask. I know in some animes like Wolf's Rain there's completely sentient characters like Blue who, because she's a half-breed, isn't even allowed into Paradise. And of course in some religious circles there's insistence that only humans have souls, not animals. Seems heartless to me! But not knowing the writer's stance on it, that could affect a lot.

But yeah! Throughout the game it seems pretty established that souls "recycle" and reincarnate over and over into new bodies bereft the memories of their previous lives, but I don't know if it's ever really clearly stated that new souls are created, even the lore in the Through His Eyes story just says that souls manifest into bodies born naturally, which could mean new ones or just that bodyless souls floating into the lifestream jump into them:

And though not everyone gets the Echo, a lot of people who didn't have it before manifested it when Elidibus created the star shower and images of Amaurot - people of course far weaker than the Warrior of Light.

I took Emet Selch's comments on your greater wholeness to mean that not every fragment survives the Rejoinings. I seem to recall (but don't have the source, unfortunately, so I can't 100% be sure) some dev stating that G'raha has been rejoined an equal number of times to the WoL, which is why he's also so strong... and either way, implies other Scions who also have the Echo are missing a greater number of soul pieces than you.

I know there must be more lore out there that I'm missing, I know vaguely some side quest stuff but not well enough to quote it or speak on it, which could definitely change things a lot! But you're right, at least as far as I know, it's not super duper clear on that LOL

I also feel like the conclusion of the Pandaemonium raids might actually clarify a lot of the uncertainties here. They've already set up a lot of parallels and inversions with the main story (I haven't run the 7th Circle yet at the time of writing this, also, so forgive me if I'm misguided here!) But it's made a few passing mentions of stuff that would be on-topic here if expanded upon, like souls and the Ancients relationship with grief:

And yeah, that's a good point about the Codex entry! I assume it's left vague for players to make up their own mind about their Azem and why they weren't involved. I was thinking of the scene in Anyder where they seem perplexed by Azem's lack of answer - implying Hydaelyn's followers, at least, didn't know of any accord between the two, and she didn't see fit to fill them in:

(Also way to speak like a cult leader Venat, some very strong 'only we know the truth, we will be isolated and hated by everyone else' language there LMAO)

Hydaelyn in Endwalker

At the risk of looking stupid online I'm going to field my perplexions about Hydaelyn that've been bothering me for months lol This post is... a little Hydaelyn critical. But I do offer that in good faith, I LOVE the character and I'm not trying to just trash her, I'm genuinely interested to hear other perspectives about it. (But please be nice, everyone is entitled to their own take)

Also this is not in response to anyone else's post. I haven't even seen any Hydaelyn posts circulating lately. I'm not vagueing anyone or trying to start drama. Just trying to sort out my own feelings about this character.

So my main takeaway from MSQ was that love is, ultimately, what saves you. That humans (including Ancients!) aren't perfect, and cannot love perfectly, but the shared love of you and others is still what saves you.

And, also, that grief is a part of life. Mistakes are a part of life. Conflict and loss happen, but they need not destroy you. Stand for doing right as best that you can, forgive yourself and keep trying, keep loving - both yourself and others.

There was an incredible amount of emphasis on not judging or hating one's enemies, about accepting the humanity in all of us and coming together, which I really loved.

There was also, of course, a huge rejection of self-sacrifice and martyrdom.

I saw all those themes in the Dark Knight quests a LOT (especially before the English translation changed so many scenes), and I assume Ishikawa was continuing that theme from Shadowbringers onward.

So again! I don't hate Hydaelyn!

But I feel like... at least in the English translation, she is still treated with excessive reverence, like a goddess, by the Scions - even ones it didn't really make sense to after her origin came out, like Y'sthola.

And at least on my first playthrough, while I like Venat a lot and love the drama of the Final Days pushing everyone into points of desperation, to their breaking points, and her decision to sunder the world definitely did ultimately help (help!) make it possible for us to defeat the Endsinger... I dunno.

To me she was still subject to the same arrogance as the rest of the Ancients. Whether her decision paid off or not, she still took into her hands the fate of the entire Star, she still made a decision that would result in millions of deaths.

And if we're going by Hydaelyn's own assertion, that each reincarnation is their own person, not just a missing piece of a whole... then to achieve her goal of a better world, she killed all the remaining Ancients except those three.

She chose to create a world where death and trauma would affect generation after generation - and she can say that it was for the greater good, for the world to survive. But that was essentially the Convocation’s justification too, in creating Zodiark and orchestrating the Rejoinings. Committing genocide to prove that genocide is wrong… is not noble.

The cutscene with her sundering the world, where the people insist they'll return to a world free of sorrow underneath a burning sky, could also NOT be how it actually happened. It had to be representational of her feelings and conclusion. Becoming Hydaelyn took coordination with her followers and planning.

At least in English, idk about the original Japanese, Hythlodaeus's shade describes the time of the Sundering as if the world wasn't in utter ruin at that point. It was beginning to heal, they had restored some natural systems, but the Ancients were short in numbers. At that point, they were done sacrificing their own people, in time they were going to sacrifice other life - plants and animals, to restore those lost brethren.

At the very least, Hythlodaeus's completely different account shows that the two sects of people post-Zodiark were viewing their sacrifice and end goal in completely different ways. Ethics aside, whether the competing goal was achievable or not… we will never know, because Venat stopped it from happening.

But I don't think either recounting has a monopoly on the truth. There was no One Truth, there were just competing needs and perspectives. And though Venat insists that unity is necessary to avert the Endsinger - she perpetuates this division. Azem refused her followers call to help summon Hydaelyn, and I think that's significant.

But I'll also acknowledge that Azem didn't manage to save the Ancients, either.

And you could argue that the Ancients were their own worst enemy. They kind of were.

Hermes was a really, really great caricature of severe, untreated Depression. And he had the powers of a god. His creations were sent to find a specific answer in the world beyond, and like their creator, they didn't have the tools to process hearing an answer other than what they were expecting. They were trapped in their own perspective. He was looking for answers in the stars, instead of in himself. Their own pain and inability to engage with emotion in a healthy way overwhelmed every encounter they had and created the very reality he so feared.

He did not use the proper channels for peer review before sending them out on their mission. Those rules, those checks and balances, that community approach to design, existed to protect the Ancients from their own power, and he deliberately acted in secret. He isolated himself from society, convinced himself his pain was something nobody could understand, made an island of himself and doubled down on his own jaded beliefs.

I don't know what kind of mental health facilities were available to the Ancients - we just don't have that information. But I do know that he was treated with patience and forgiveness by a significant number of colleagues, and his quirks weren't held against him. People did try to help and accommodate him, even if they didn't always understand. He had been promoted to a powerful position. I don't know if it's fair to blame anyone in particular, or even their society, for what happened. Because again... everyone was doing the best they could with what they had.

If anything, the problem was that literally any Ancient could have made a similar mistake in the right situation. They were ALL that powerful. Eventually chaos would happen. Sundered souls can certainly create destruction, but not on the same scale.

I don't personally agree with Hydaelyn's decision not to reach out to the Convocation. I understand being careful, and thinking through what the next step should be before acting. But there's a LOT of "maybes" in this argument:

And ultimately, it's her doing the same thing as Hermes, putting the power of judgement over an entire people in her own hands. She's assuming that she is in a unique position to decide the fate of the entire Star. It's not evil. But it's arrogant. She wasn't special among the Ancients, gifted with some unique wisdom. She was doing the best she could from her own perspective.

Plus... if half your population, and then another half again are about to sacrifice themselves... what have you got to lose by outing Hermes and/or trying to work with the Convocation to avert that loss of life? We don't have all the details, I'm willing to accept that there were circumstances that made it impossible, or at least made Venat decide against trying it. But even so. What did you have to lose leading up to the summoning of Zodiark? There was already panic and destruction at that point.

Hydaelyn sacrificed a lot of people to accomplish her goals. She made a goddess of herself and manipulated people like Minfilia on that basis. She killed so many children and stole so many lives even just by reincarnating Minfilia over and over on the First. She misrepresents the nature of the Ascians to the WoL, keeps secrets, and essentially charges you with being a crusader in her Holy War.

It's Emet- Selch who tries to bridge the gap. Not Hydaelyn. It's him who's willing to consider trying to achieve his goals without bloodshed, if you, the WoL, are strong enough. He says this to himself, out of anyone else's hearing. There's no reason for it to be a lie.

And just before Mt. Gulg, you can see Emet starting to question his beliefs about humanity because of the WoL's accomplishments. Hydaelyn has nothing to do with that. It's all you. And Emet succumbs to his own weaknesses too, so we never get to know what that might have happened if you'd had more time with him. He's not better than her.

But I think it's significant that he's the one who reaches out. Who's willing to consider a compromise at all.

In war you make sacrifices, I get that. But she was not more heroic, somehow, than the Ascians. Both sides were doing terrible things and denying the agency of mortals in order to achieve their ideal world.

So to me... she was not a benevolent incomprehensibly wise mother figure. Much like in real life we go from being kids who trust our moms implicitly, to adults who realize our mother was human and made mistakes, I think we’re supposed to recognize that Hydaelyn didn't do everything right and its our job to carry the future forward for subsequent generations, to learn from what came before, and hope that our own children do the same and forgive us for our own mistakes.

I think its very important to note that the WoL is just as much the Convocation's creation as Hydaelyn's. Without being rejoined as many times as they were, the WoL wouldn’t have survived. She saves you from the Ultima Weapon, Emet-Selch saves you from Elidibus, and its their powers combined that save you and your friends from the Endsinger. You are the legacy of each side’s imperfect love, equally.

WHICH brings me to my point of perplexion. Hydaelyn continues to be venerated. NPCs who know what happened continue to emphasize her side of things. I feel I must be missing something, because to me, the finale of Endwalker essentially shattered any idea that this was a Light vs Dark kind of story. People made choices. People made mistakes. It wasn't good or evil. It was human. We survived in spite of our mistakes because love was more powerful than our imperfections.

The Scions sacrificed themselves one by one just like the Ancients. And got brought back using energy from the Star... not all that different than what the Ascians had planned to do with their own brethren. I just don't see much functional difference there in the sentiments between either side.

I don't think we're supposed to hate Hydaelyn. I don't think she was evil. But I don't think she was better than the Ascians.

So while I don't expect, or want, characters to be condemning her left and right in the narrative, it's still baffling to me that there's such consistent, explicit reverence for her.