#can't overstate how important this is

[sunshine-and-raincloud]

i'm used to being disappointed with what canon material does to gay ships. we usually just have to settle for what little we can get arcane creators really just said "the gays deserve everything" and they fucking delivered

[5ummit]

I feel sick. Tumblr has basically been my whole world for the last 14 or so years, more than a third of my life. It feels like a beloved friend has just been diagnosed with a terminal illness. I don't know how long they have left but I now have to live with the knowledge that the end is near. That some day, possibly soon, I will have to live in a world without them. That I will probably have to watch them slowly wither away until they're a husk of their former self (which has already been happening though I've tried to turn a blind eye) and I'm not sure if that's better or worse than pulling the plug because at least I'll have a little more time with them.

I know there have been "tumblr is dead" scares in the past but this one is not like those. This one is not a joke. It's real (unless a miracle occurs and we suddenly gets a massive amount of funding from some generous benefactor). Tumblr has been rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic for years now but we've finally hit the iceberg.

My only hope is, now that we know the end is no longer theoretical, the tumblr community will rally around and put real funding into an alternative like pillowfort or cohost. Now more than ever we need to create a true crowdsourced archive of our own for fandom so that this can't keep happening.

I'll make backup accounts on other sites, but in case you were wondering, I'm not planning on going anywhere just yet. I'm going down with this ship. It's been an honor and a privilege. 🫡

[neonphoenix]

PSA to Indiana people:

Primary elections are this Tuesday!

As I'm sure you're aware, the presidential ballot doesn't matter much, but the governor will be elected based on whoever wins the Republican primary this week.

Here's a quick summary of the Republican ballot:

Mike Braun is leading the current polls - the same senator who wants to outlaw interracial marriage.

Suzanne Crouch, the current lieutenant governor, follows next. She regrets Holcomb's covid-19 response (mandating masks) and wants to abolish state income taxes. This means that the state will be relying on property and sales tax to pay for everything.

Brad Chambers, candidate number three, wants cops, more cops, and more cops. He also wants to increase Holocaust education in schools! Hooray! Though this is mainly in response to the campus protests occurring across the state. (He really, really likes Whitten [the president of IU who decided to bring police onto campus in Bloomington] and fully supports and endorses her)

Eric Doden is running a standard Republican issue stance, pro-gun, pro-life, anti-trans, etc.

Curtis Hill, a former general attorney, had his law license suspended a few years ago shortly after facing allegations of sexual misconduct.

Jamie Reitenour is a stay at home, Christian, Conservative mother.

The last three candidates mostly exist to split the vote to ensure Braun can win - last I saw, he was polling at 44%, meaning only about a third of the state actually wants him in office, but because there is no real alternate candidate, he is likely to be elected.

You can find more information about all of these candidates on their websites and Ballotpedia.

I'd encourage everyone who can to vote Republican in the primary, and to pick either Crouch or Chambers if you don't want to see Braun as governor.

[vinkumakkara]

Minimaul apparently nuked the srmods forums, no doubt because of Flippy's video. i'm fucking speechless oh my god

[unionizedwizard]

DAAAAAAAAAALLAAAAAAAAS, TON UNIVEEEEERS IMPITOYAAAAAAABLEEEEEEEEEE

[claudiajcregg]

For the Fanfic asks - for the askers:

4. The best ship you've written for: CJ/Danny of course, it goes without saying! The banter, the love, the sparkles between them! 💜 I also love the way you wrote Abbey/Jed in your holiday exchange fic 😊 7. What made me the most emotional after reading: Every moment led me to this place is a gorgeous, gorgeous fic! And you wrote it as a response to my prompt! 🥰🥰 I just love the intimacy, the happy domesticity of this fic, and I melted while I was reading it for the first time. It's relaxed and peaceful and honestly, I have to agree with Danny, what else could anyone ask for?

9. A fic I'm excited for you posting: Campaign bars! Campaign bars! I know I told you this before lol but I have to say it again, I love the concept so much and I can't wait to read this fic, whenever you finish it and decide to post it. 💜

12. A fic of yours that I've re-read: I must have read telling myself, one day I'll forget about it three or four times since you posted it, that's how much I like it. I'm a sucker for the first 'Bartlet for America' campaign fics and it's great, absolutely awesome! I love CJ's thought process, I love the little details suggesting just how small the initial thing is and how nobody really expects it's going to last for a long time. The borrowed chair, the makeshift office... And of course, there's the main theme: CJ who doesn't want to admit that she has a crush on the cute guy with a Pulitzer! 🥰🥰🥰🥰 💜💜💜💜💜💜

[From fanfic asks for the askers]

Friend 😭😭😭😭💜💜💜💜 (really typed your name and had to delete that just in case, lmao) Thank you so much! I'm overwhelmed by all of your kind words here, and how detailed you were. You are the sweetest and most wonderful friend.

Love Jed and Abbey. Truly don't write them enough, but writing those bits for the exchange fic was truly lots of fun! (The other pairing is alright, I guess? 😜 )

Your prompt was so awesome! Truly so much fun. I took it last and had that idea immediately (it started as more of a 'what if…' crazy idea that I couldn't get rid of), which is the mark of a great, great prompt. Love that it connected with you and made you feel emotional! 🥹🥹🥹 It was meant to be chill and quiet… Perhaps because my brain was anything but when I wrote it. (Or now, lol. But early/mid-February was truly something else. What a year.)

Really do think you're hyping Campaign bars way too much. I haven't touched it in forever! It wasn't that interesting or compelling, and I now fear it might disappoint you! It was fun to write, though. It ended up being neglected by the muse, though I'd love to go back to it someday soon! (I fear the pregnancy AU will keep being the priority for the time being.)

Your comment on the crush story was one of the sweetest, kindest things I've ever received. It got to me. That you've read it so many times in the last couple of days is just !!!!, because I've also re-read your comment many times since. Thank you! 🥺😭😭 I had a lot of fun writing it, and I'm glad some of that comes through. 💜💜💜💜 Here's a thing you will find amusing – I almost discarded this idea because it was originally a bit too close to one of the chapters in Campaign Bars. Not anymore, but a detail or two do carry over 😉

[drowkarios]

the misinformation culture on this site is wild and no better than anywhere else on internet, there's no superiority to be had over facebookers or tiktokers or whatever. it's the exact same. people will eagerly spread 'news' in the form of a provocative twitter screencap from a rando anime icon account with claims that a 25 second google search would disprove or provide crucial nuance or context to. and the post will have 350k notes and be reblogged and boosted uncritically by multiple people you respect and previously had assumed would know better lmao

[nartml]

I'm stressing about the US elections. And I'm not even there.

I cannot possibly overstate the importance of voting for Kamala Harris. If you guys fumble this, it's over.

And it will have catastrophic consequences for all of us.

I can't believe this is even a fucking debate.

Why on fuck's green earth are there people discouraging others from voting Kamala? I'm actually laughing in despair.

Are we really going to discuss Kamala's faults when your only other option is motherfucking goddamn Donald Trump?

What do you not understand about how racist, sexist, homophobic, narcissistic, disgusting that convicted felon is?

Do you want him anywhere near office?

No?

Then shut the fuck up.

Edit: Coming back a few days later, I feel it's important to clarify that discussing Kamala's faults, contrary to how I came off in the above post, is okay.

I honestly didn't realize how much I made it seem as if saying anything remotely critical of her is some kind of crime.

What I actually take issue with is the people who criticize her while coming from a "don't vote for her" perspective.

She is not beyond criticism.

But if Trump makes it then both the people who live in the US and the people who are fighting for their lives in Palestine will all be a trillion times worse off.

Not to mention any possible ripple effects his potential election will have to the rest of us.

Also, a friendly reminder that "I'm not voting" is an incredibly privileged take.

[fataldrum]

Dorian Gray is queer art, period.

Apparently Netflix has decided to make an adaption of The Picture of Dorian Gray with Dorian and Basil as siblings. Unless they're planning to go the gothic horror incest route, they've completely missed the point of the relationship between these characters.

If you haven't read the book, Basil is a painter who becomes infatuated with a beautiful young man, pouring his feelings into a painting. Dorian becomes jealous of the painting's beauty, realizing that he will never be as young and unspoiled as the version of himself on the canvas. He finds himself wishing that the painting could age instead of him. His wish is granted, allowing him to stay young and beautiful until the end, with his moral and spiritual decline reflected only in the painting.

I cannot overstate how queer this book is. Dorian is so beautiful that their first meeting inspires a wave of existential terror in Basil. Dorian changes Basil's entire understanding of art and beauty. This book is so queer it was used as evidence at Wilde's sodomy trial.

The existence of the portrait itself is tantamount to a confession of queer desire. Basil tells his friend, Lord Henry, that he can't exhibit the painting because "I have put too much of myself into it.”

Lord Henry (who will later lead Dorian into a life of vice) laughs, but Basil explains:

“[E]very portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter. [...] It is not he who is revealed by the painter; it is rather the painter who, on the coloured canvas, reveals himself. The reason I will not exhibit this picture is that I am afraid that I have shown in it the secret of my own soul.”

This is how he describes meeting Dorian:

When our eyes met, I felt that I was growing pale. A curious sensation of terror came over me. I knew that I had come face to face with some one whose mere personality was so fascinating that, if I allowed it to do so, it would absorb my whole nature, my whole soul, my very art itself. [...] I have always been my own master; had at least always been so, till I met Dorian Gray. Then—but I don’t know how to explain it to you. Something seemed to tell me that I was on the verge of a terrible crisis in my life. I had a strange feeling that fate had in store for me exquisite joys and exquisite sorrows. I grew afraid and turned to quit the room. It was not conscience that made me do so: it was a sort of cowardice. I take no credit to myself for trying to escape.”

Notice that turn of phrase--it was not conscience but cowardice that made him attempt to flee. Why would conscience factor into his decision? Because he felt shame at his reaction to Dorian's perfect, beautiful face.

Lord Henry is shocked to discover Basil cares for something besides his art.

“He is all my art to me now,” said the painter gravely. “I sometimes think, Harry, that there are only two eras of any importance in the world’s history. The first is the appearance of a new medium for art, and the second is the appearance of a new personality for art also. What the invention of oil-painting was to the Venetians, the face of Antinous was to late Greek sculpture, and the face of Dorian Gray will some day be to me.

Basil goes on to confess, "I see everything in him. He is never more present in my work than when no image of him is there."

Lord Henry still doesn't understand why there is too much of Basil in the painting, so Basil explains:

“Because, without intending it, I have put into it some expression of all this curious artistic idolatry, of which, of course, I have never cared to speak to him. He knows nothing about it. He shall never know anything about it. But the world might guess it, and I will not bare my soul to their shallow prying eyes. My heart shall never be put under their microscope. There is too much of myself in the thing, Harry—too much of myself!”

Lord Henry asks how Dorian feels about Basil, and his response is absolutely tragic.

The painter considered for a few moments. “He likes me,” he answered after a pause; “I know he likes me. Of course I flatter him dreadfully. I find a strange pleasure in saying things to him that I know I shall be sorry for having said. As a rule, he is charming to me, and we sit in the studio and talk of a thousand things. Now and then, however, he is horribly thoughtless, and seems to take a real delight in giving me pain. Then I feel, Harry, that I have given away my whole soul to some one who treats it as if it were a flower to put in his coat, a bit of decoration to charm his vanity, an ornament for a summer’s day.”

Any adaptation that ignores the way Dorian's existence and beauty utterly destroyed Basil is doomed to be shallow and insipid. This is not just a book about a magic painting. It's a monument to queer longing.

[abitcaughtinthemiddle]

The Hypocrisy of Vex'ahlia

Before you all come for me, I am a Vex stan and I will defend her until I die - she is my favorite Critical Role character and I'm so glad we're getting a deeper dive into her psyche.

The complexities of her character cannot be overstated. She has a lot going on under the surface, and the breadcrumbs of her deep-seated insecurities have been there the whole time.

I'm really excited we get to explore those in season 3 through her relationship with Percy, in a way different than what we've seen in the actual play streams. I want to commend the writers for being able to convey so much in so little time.

We are introduced to Vex as a sexy, confident woman who uses her looks and charisma to her advantage. She takes charge most of the time, being the unofficial "leader" of Vox Machina. She presents herself as someone who doesn't really need anyone else and does not care about anyone outside of her brother. Keyleth even comments on this in the first episode, "Vex and Vax only care about themselves".

This, of course, is a complete fabrication, a mask she wears to hide her insecurities. A mask, she wants no one to see through. The irony here is that she can so easily see behind Percy's mask - "Darling, take off the mask". It takes one to know one, after all.

She so badly wants to get underneath Percy's mask, for him to show himself to her fully. There's something inside of her that sees the guilt and shame inside of him and that resonates with her belief that she is deeply broken. Vex truly believes that something must truly be wrong with her. And why wouldn't she? Saundor, who said he knew everything about her, saw this, too, after all.

Saundor says plainly, "you will never be enough."

So it must be true, right?

Why wouldn't something be so wrong with her? It would make sense. Her father carries no love for her, her mother died, and Vax had to sacrifice his life for hers. She knows Vax loves her, and she believes he is the only one who does. Even Kamaljiori, an ancient and all-knowing Sphinx, fed into this during their test when Vax fell: "you have no family left who cares for you".

Her hypocrisy lies in the facade she built as a woman who does not need anyone or anything. She presents herself as someone who does not need the love of others, when in reality, she desperately wants to be loved.

Saundor saw this as well.

Vex longs to love and be loved. And yet, she cannot allow herself to give up her facade and let Percy love her and admit her love for him.

The last person to see through her walls was Saundor, and we know how that went.

What he said really cut her deep, as we see after the Kevdak fight when she brushes off Pike's inquiries about her experience in the fey realm.

As we see her relationship with Percy move from harmless flirting to physical intimacy at the beginning of season 3, we see her embrace the physical closeness to Percy but starts to block him out the moment he wants to cement their relationship. But she can't let herself tell him how she feels because that would mean admitting her heart is his - and that would be doomed to end in tragedy, as Vex admits later in the cave.

Putting up this emotional wall between her and Percy will not give Vex what she wants: love.

Love is that emotional intimacy. Vex loves to point out the importance of love between other people- in season 2, pushing Keyleth to tell Vax how she feels ("it always matters"), assuring Allura that Kima's love for her will help her endure after Vorugal's attack, and putting faith in the rest of Vox Machina.

Vex understands what makes love so special, and how important truth and intimacy are to real, lasting love.

And while she comforts others and pushes them to be vulnerable and embrace love, her own fears prevent her from fully doing the same. It's ironic and sad, how one of the only people who can see through her mask is the one she's pushing away.

Trauma makes hypocrites of us all.

Image credits @blorbologist @aq2003

[lostinthewoodsomewhere]

You know, I think one of the problems some people have with understanding Jesse as a character, is that their caught up on the idea of her being the trope of a normal person, an outsider, confronted with a whole new world that she should constantly be confused and shocked about, when that's just not the case.

She's actually a very weird person who has finally found a place and group of people who match her freak, and it's such an important distinction that some people seem to overlook!!!

(It also can't be overstated just how much she trusts Polaris, but that's a whole other post...)

[maximumqueer]

You ever just think about Luffy awakening his devil fruit? Because I do.

Just. The fact that it couldn't be awakened by an individuals belief in freedom for themselves. If that was the case Luffy would have awakened the fruit a long time ago. He even says in Udon Prison - with shackles around his wrists - that he has always been free. Instead what it takes is death. But not just death, death in the name of freedom. Of Liberation. For Luffy to awaken his fruit he had to be willing to give up his freedom for the sake of others in the most permanent way. And it is through that death that the final piece clicks into place, and the devil fruit revives him in the image of a god.

And the absolute triumph of that, not just for Luffy, but for the world. Because gear 5 is more than just the fun and wacky powers that came with it. It's about what it represents and what it can inspire in others. It is about the untethered spread of freedom. The joy and laughter it brings, to the point where the people who hear the drumbeat of Luffy's heart can't help but dance.

This is why the World Government didn't want the fruit to be awakened. Not for the reality warping powers, but for the spirit of freedom it ignites in the people around it, and how it can bring together to oppressed and downtrodden. Unite them in one cause to end the rule the elite few have on the world. And I cannot overstate how important of a theme and a message that is. That through community we will be free.

[neyafromfrance95]

we can't overstate finrod's importance in trop!galadriel's story. he is the one who shaped her wisdom and lightness, his loss has left a gaping hole in her heart. avenging *him* is her driving force. everyone goes "what about celeborn?" but the "third" *individual* between sauron and galadriel will always be finrod.

it is *very* interesting that it seems halbrand filled the hole left by finrod's absence in galadriel as he was both the first person who validated her and who calmed her down after finrod.

and sauron used that in a very weird way when he created an illusion of finrod for her. so desperate to have her affection that he was ready to literally replace finrod for her, lol.

finrod's presence in galadriel's story is echoed throughout s2 as well. in the beginning, we see galadriel visit his memorial and she is interrupted by a vision of sauron, him obsessively calling her. then in the end, it's finrod's "sometimes to find the light we must first touch the darkness" recited to her by sauron again.

and it's notable how gil-galad says galadriel's "soul is being pulled under by the shadow realm". a very similar wording to finrod's "ship being pulled under by the darkness".

finrod warned galadriel about the darkness trying to *master* the ship. it would make sense for galadriel to struggle with the darkness trying to master her (sauron's influence, remember him telling her about *mastering* one's opponent) while trying to keep her gaze fixed upon the light as finrod taught her. constantly being tempted by the darkness yet choosing good every time is what is going to make her the lady of the light.

notice how during their fights, finrod's dagger is always either brought up (the fireplace scene) or between the two (the finale raft scene).

and nenya was made from finrod's dagger and by sauron's design. symbolically, it's as if finrod and sauron's battle continues within galadriel.

[akajustmerry]

why are you equating movies that have to do with israel with movies that are about holocaust? i don’t know how the brutalist or a real pain suits what you are trying to say

okay so I really recommend you look into reading the works of people like Norman Finkelstein, Edward Said, Giora Goodman, and Isabella Hammad - all of whom have written extensively about cinema and storytelling in the US mainstream and how it is incentivised to vilify Arabs and justify the US's allyship with Israel. Here's a video essay about it too, if that's more your speed:

As with all forms of communication analysis, it's important to not just think about what's happening but WHEN it's happening. All the films mentioned are about the holocaust or Israel in some way. Zionists have repeatedly weaponised the Holocaust and the genocide of Jewish people in WW2 to justify the colonisation of Palestine and the genocide of Palestinians. Another thing, any film made in the US that has anything to do with the US military, even historically, must be approved by the US military. And another thing, Hollywood has always produced propaganda. Always. That's not to say everything is propaganda but anything could be propaganda and when you understand the influence the military has on funding in Hollywood, it can't be overstated how much insensitive there is for films to align with military policy.

What the movies like Lee, The Brutalist, and A Real Pain have in common is how they centre the Holocaust in one way or another. By virtue, you see these movies and you're reminded very pointedly of how horrible the Holocaust was. What movies like Emilia Perez and September 5 have in common is that they position Israel as an unlikely heroic underdog.

With that in mind, Why do you think these movies came out now and are being spoken about at this time specifically? Do you think it's an accident that these movies all came out and are being acclaimed in Hollywood almost 18 months into a US backed genocide in Palestine perpetrated by a state who's justification for its existence is the Holocaust?

Again, I'm not saying these stories aren't important or valid. But think about the timing of these stories and how they might be weaponised as soft propaganda for justifying Israel's existence, which is by extent, justifying the genocide of Palestinians.

[monstermoviedean]

the rupture is both their faults, actually, and i'm going to yell about it now

here's the thing. the breakup scene in 15x03 once again starts on cas' terms, same as the argument in 15x02. dean has just gotten done wrapping up the ghost business by checking in with stevie, then he checks in with sam and tries to console him about losing rowena. then he goes to pour himself a drink, and that's when cas shows up and starts the conversation. i can't gauge his intention here, but his actions back dean into a corner. even if dean doesn't want to have this conversation for very good reasons, cas is going to make it happen.

consider that dean doesn't know what went down in the crypt. he has absolutely no clue what happened between cas and belphegor. cas has given him almost no detail about what happened. here's what dean knows at the start of this: cas killed belphegor, and the crook was destroyed. that's it. cas reveals during this conversation that it's because belphegor was lying, using them, and planning to suck up all the souls, which is why "the plan changed."

coupla things here. one. someone lying to dean, using him, and then sucking up a bunch of souls to get power and become a new god? yeah, dean has seen that before. that is beat-for-beat what cas did in season 6. i don't think that's lost on dean. i think he's remembering right then and there how he stuck up for cas then, how he refused to believe cas could have betrayed them when everyone else had given up on cas already. and how he was wrong. not to mention what followed.

that brings us to chuck. i cannot overstate the importance of the chuck reveal as context here. dean is questioning literally everything about his life. that includes cas. chuck pulling the strings could mean chuck is pulling cas' strings too. dean is wrong about this - he's being very paranoid and it's not good for him or anyone. but it also makes sense in context because the context is horror after horror after horror.

and that brings us to mary (and jack, and ketch, and rowena). are any of these deaths cas' fault? nope! but dean can trace all these deaths back to cas breaking the trust between them by not talking about his concerns about jack. dean feels that cas has broken the trust between them, and even though it's unfair to blame cas for this whole situation, it's perfectly fair for dean to feel betrayed on some level.

snapping at cas in the moment is not kind and not fair. under (relatively) normal circumstances, dean would quickly and sincerely apologize. but right now he's at his breaking point. and i can see why he's sick of extending trust and getting burned.

now cas' response. "you used to trust me, give me the benefit of the doubt." it's true! but cas isn't recognizing that his actions affect this trust. cas is not automatically entitled to dean's trust. trust is earned, and it needs to be reciprocal. cas also needs to trust dean, and dean is wondering if cas does trust him if he didn't trust him enough to tell him about jack. we know cas trusts dean, but dean doesn't necessarily know that, especially when his faith in everything is at an all-time low. but in spite of that, cas is placing the burden here on dean, blaming dean for not granting cas his trust and the benefit of the doubt. i don't think that's especially fair either.

then he brings up his powers failing - it's an odd segue because they haven't really talked about this. this has not been made clear to dean or to the audience. then it's about dean not talking to him. can this be chalked up to lingering resentments from season 14? maybe? because if cas is talking about trying to talk to dean over and over in season 15, we only have two examples. 15x01, dean asks if cas is okay and when cas answers, dean ends the conversation. dean starts this conversation so it's not a great example of cas "trying to talk about it." and then 15x02, where cas corners dean and starts talking - just like this conversation in 15x03.

i'm not saying that if someone talks to dean when he doesn't want to have a talk, that all bets are off and dean can do whatever he wants. nope, not at all. but it's been a pattern for the last few seasons at least that dean avoids a conversation he's not able to handle -> someone else decides they need to have the conversation -> they force dean into it -> dean either walks away, beginning this cycle over, or he expresses upset, which makes him look like the bad guy.

"you don't want to hear it" may be fair. but "you don't care" is absolutely not fair. the problem is that dean cares too much and it's choking him. he's lost almost everyone. he is not able to bear it. he's retreating because he can't bear it, and then cas is accusing him of not caring at all at the first sign of dean not bending over backwards to care for cas. (as stated above, he is actively caring for sam, and everyone else he usually would care for is dead. so this is about cas)

finally, cas leaves when dean doesn't immediately apologize and talk to him and say he trusts and believes in him. cas turns and walks away. he has every right to do that, but he is an independent person with autonomy and he is making this choice. dean contributed to cas making this choice, but he's not solely responsible for it.

let's say their relationship is a bridge over a chasm. this is not a case of dean burning the bridge, though you can read it that way if you want to believe dean is at fault for everything. this is dean and cas retreating to their own sides of the chasm rather than meeting on the bridge. dean is very often the one to walk out on that bridge. this is one of the only times he doesn't, and cas takes that as a personal betrayal. but cas isn't walking out onto the bridge either.

[movie-robotnik-positivity]

Hey, if you live in America please vote if you haven't already. And vote blue. I can't overstate how important that is today