#can't really even be sure WHAT the primary goal was

[genderkoolaid]

I feel like very few pro-trans people are talking about how the current moral panic about teens transitioning is explicitly centred on transmasc teens.

I’ve seen a lot of TERFs very explicitly cite the reason that they got involved in anti-trans campaigning was because more “girls” started transitioning in the 2010s (when before it had been more “boys.”) The initial survey on “Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria” by Lisa Littman surveyed parents of teens over 80% of whom were “female sex at birth.” The Cass Report is explicitly about “the reasons for the increase in referrals [to the NHS for youth transition] and why this increase has disproportionately been seen in birth registered females presenting in adolescence.” Probably the single most popular anti-trans book about youth transition is Abigail Shrier’s Irreversible Damage, which is about transmasc teens.

Not to say that transfem teens aren’t targeted, especially when it comes to sports & bathroom bans, and being painted as predators from a very young age — although there’s definitely also been a lot of hysteria about transmasc teens “seducing” other teens into transitioning, as well as being aggressive, and it’s not like transmasc teens don’t also get beat up in bathrooms.

But just! I don’t see most pro-trans people acknowledging that this whole anti-trans-teen movement was fuelled in a huge way by transandrophobia (or whatever you want to call it), and that one of its primary goals is stopping transmascs from having any agency over our own bodies. At its core, it’s about transmascs not being properly submissive baby-makers who are attractive to straight men and the property of their parents.

It’s not just about transphobia, it’s about transandrophobia specifically and the fact that people can’t even name that makes me doubt what I’ve seen with my own eyes.

(Follow up to my last ask about the trans teen moral panic) I don't think it would bother me so much except that I've so often seen people try to silence transmasc voices on this topic, or say that transmascs are just collateral damage, as if we're not one of the primary reasons it exists and one of its primary targets. I feel like "nothing about us without us" should apply here, you know?

All of this, absolutely.

I've seen people claim that actually, ROGD and its associated panic attacks are actually secretly about transfems at their core, because transfems are the (only) one's blamed for young girls transitioning! Which is fucking wild!!! Like not only is it not true (parents tend to blame social media, specifically transmasc creators who talk about transitioning) but like why do you have this impulse where even things that are blatantly targeting transmascs can't actually be about transmascs. Why are we always the insignificant side characters in our own experiences.

This is how erasure functions: if you can't deny that anti-transmasc violence is happening, deny that its happening to transmascs. Obscure the victims and how the violence is motivated by their transmasculinity.

& then there's also the way that people act like infantilizing misogyny is 1) the only thing any transmasc ever experiences 2) is Oppression Lite and is more annoying than anything. Like sure let's just forget all of feminism and the well documented ways in which being infantilized kills and ruins lives. Because when it's a transmasc it doesn't really count.

Ik somewhere out there there's a video of ContraPoints where she actually corrects another person on their erasure of radfem anti-transmasc rhetoric. Let's see more of that please.

[centrally-unplanned]

Anyway I wanted to write something a little more serious about the politics of the day - a trend many noticed in the 2024 election, and its aftermath, is all of these notable non-politicians jumping onto the Trump ship. You have certainly noticed the big ones doing it, the Musk-types. What I have also seen is the middle-road types - the podcasts slotting the admin into their current healthcare fad, the policy bloggers being like "Dear Trump, this is how to truly reform the government - my pet idea" and offering support. A sort of opportunistic bandwagoning. This does happen every election to some extent, but it is notable that it happened way, way less when Biden was elected.

Some view this through the lens of fear, of Trump's open willingness to tax or prosecute those who don't bend the knee. That is part of it, for sure. But the other part is that Trump doesn't really believe in all that much - and that is actually a pretty big asset in politics. If you are a "Progress Studies" blogger or a union rep or a tech CEO, does Trump disagree with any of your key issues? He might not! You can just "convince" him, that is actually on the table, and he might take up your cause. And the Republican Party - not always, absolutely not always, but sometimes - will be browbeaten into going along with his whims even if they contradict their previous ideology. If you are ambitious and play your cards right, the structure of the Trump admin can very much reward people along the lines of these pet issues.

This is something the Democratic party could not do. All policy from the Biden admin came from a decade+ process of being discussed within the party. There were absolutely, 100%, "factions" jockeying for influence, but it was insiders, pre-established orgs along known lines, who were doing that jockeying. Is there any big policy that the Biden admin pursued that truly surprised you? That you were like, "woah, where the fuck did Biden get this idea from?" Not really, right? Because the admin was in so many ways an extension of the party.

Now this can be a real strength when your political parties are strong. When the locus of politics is within parties, then naturally they should be informing directions, and your goal as an admin is to court them. But that is pretty much the opposite of the current US political landscape - political parties have never been weaker. Voters hate political insiders, primaries are completely open and people who openly oppose the party sometimes sweep them, voters don't get their political opinion or w/e from politicians or party orgs. Parties are downstream of where more and more political influence comes from (though ofc they are by no means powerless, this is all trendlines). If you are one of these political outsider types, the Joe Rogans or Progress Studies bloggers or crypto coalitions or whatever, the Democratic party is just not going to work with you? You will be "heard", but if you want influence you gotta put your decade+ into the party first.

But Trump? You just gotta show up and kiss the ring. For talented people, this is actually a much better deal. It probably won't work, but the odds are still better than the alternative. And the biggest looming wrinkle is that this strategy is being hamstrung by Trump being a total idiot and backstabbing asshole - imagine how effective these strategies would be if someone competent was doing it. His left-field ideas are not only "annexing Greenland", but also doing it in the most hamfisted way imaginable. The core idea here isn't that crazy btw! Greenland is pushing for greater independence from Denmark, but gets a ton of subsidies so is loath to lose them if they go solo. You can see how an intelligent operator charting some soft power politics here could maybe make something happen, but Trump is a fucking nob and can't do that. So he is often a bad vessel for your niche ideas. But at least he shows up to the game!

People sometimes really want politics to be ideological. They want a coherent political party with a unitary philosophy to implement a cohesive agenda. I get this appeal, but this just isn't how US politics, or democratic politics more widely, works. It is an endless process of factional recruitment for one-off reforms, and otherwise managerial policy (in)competence. Ideology is not elected, a "mandate" does not run for office. Some individual people win and then they invent a mandate afterwards. Democracy does not reveal consensus, it manufactures it. And the US is moving more towards that direction, not less.

My fear is Democrats, in "widening the tent", will focus too much on that internal party process, on trying to make the Democratic Party "coherently" something that is more appealing to the median voter. Valuable work, to be sure, but the other side is you need to make it more appealing to people of influence or talent. As others have commented, it is kind of baffling how the Biden administration committed itself to a policy of green electrification and banning foreign car imports, and somehow made an enemy of America's biggest domestic green electric car manufacturer. You need to be, on the margins, less committed to any specific ideology at all, and instead open to actually winning support from diverse factions. Otherwise the other side will always be more appealing to anyone not of your ideology, because they kind of don't care about ideology. The Dems are already the "bigger tent" party, this should be their wheelhouse. They just need to update their tactics for the modern era.

[whetstonefires]

See I don't necessarily disagree with what seems to be the primary reading that Yue Qingyuan's shifu fucked him over, caring nothing for his needs or preferences and only for whether he was useful. That makes sense, it ties into plenty of the generational and societal themes of the story. It fits.

But iirc we don't actually get enough information to know that's what happened.

And the thing is it would be so in-character and also thematically appropriate if Yue Qingyuan absolutely did not explain his goals or why he was working so hard, because it was private and shameful and he didn't expect any sympathy, and there was a high risk of losing everything if he blabbed.

And also if he engaged with the existing ruleset with which he was presented, i.e. 'can't go off on your own on personal business until you've mastered your sword,' in the most negative and controlling manner possible, as absolute commandments.

He's a different kind of guy but he comes from the same background as Shen Jiu! It fucked him up also!

He is very very very not a guy who trusts the system to make allowances for him--even once he has all the power he 'does what he wants' and 'makes selfish choices' as a conscious transgression; not something he has a right to do, just something he can get away with so he's gonna. (And ofc he spends almost all the latitude he grants himself on sqq.)

And even less is he a guy who opens up easily.

He isn't too proud to ask for help or pity, so much as he just doesn't expect to get any.

So in this interpretation, he understood that rule as a non-negotiable barrier in his path, the target to overcome, and focused all his considerable will and talent on overcoming it through the sphere of action he felt he had control over.

And fucked himself up bad.

Whereupon his teacher, possessing absolutely no context for this dumb shit their star pupil pulled, did the only thing they thought might work to save his life, paying in the process no attention to the raving of someone deep in a psychotic break.

Like, I feel like there should have been a better, kinder medical option, but I don't know for sure that there was, so I can't say with certainty this was the kind of cruelty that derives from not caring enough.

And it really would be kind of elegant and so typical of Yue Qingyuan's fundamental tragedy if the real mistake was 'not confiding in anybody' the whole time.

And he was just so deeply sunk into the understanding that explaining and asking were useless that, even looking back, it never really occurred to him that maybe his mistake wasn't 'fucking it up when trying too hard to solve everything on his own' but 'assuming there was no help to be had, and that he had to do it all on his own.'

Like. What if this really could all have been avoided if he'd just trusted and communicated with the adult in charge of him? But of course, of course his history of trauma (neglect, child abuse, exploitation, being the One Responsible for the younger kids whom he could not keep safe) meant he was absolutely not going to do that.

It was basically impossible. For the person he was, the person the world had made of him. And that's always been the core tragedy the whole novel circles back upon.

People can only ever be themselves, and so very often the elements of self that let them survive until now are that which dooms them, that means they need someone else to intervene if they're ever going to be saved. Because your personal doom is always the thing from which you can't save yourself.

[gammaraydeath]

not to pit two bad bitches against each other but i've been replaying halo and thinking about how the human (so to speak) side of war is portrayed. in halo 2, you get to run around new mombasa for a bit, a major metropolitan city, but it's essentially a ghost town. i personally don't look around and think of the lives lived and lost. i'm more concerned with not catching a particle beam between the eyes. EDITING TO ADD because i forgot about halo 3 i'm so sorry dear. but it's sort of the same thing as halo 2 isn't it? there's a potential flood outbreak on earth, half of the continent of africa is glassed to contain it, and that's just like... sort of it. we don't even see it happen, we just know it does via conversation between rtas and hood. it's a footnote in the story that is really more about chief and cortana's relationship

while the atmosphere in odst is absolutely wonderful, i feel it sort of suffers from the same thing. the optional audio logs that let you listen to sadie's story do help though. reach did the best job out of the bungie titles. you evacuate civilians from reach and watch shuttle transports get shot down. you watch new alexandria get glassed to shit. but while saving reach is the primary goal of noble squad (and later, when they realize they can't, making sure cortana gets off of reach safely), it still doesn't quite hit the same way the intro of mass effect 3 does

the reapers hit hard and fast and with nearly no warning. although the loss of life you personally witness is comparable to reach (shuttles getting shot down), you get to interact more with civilians and soldiers alike throughout the game. OF COURSE - this is because it's an action RPG. halo is decidedly not that. it's a conceit of the genre. there is more room in the narrative for mass effect to explore this side of the story. but still; you make the decision to tell civilians and children to stay safe or join the cause. and if you ask them to fight, you are asking them to die. what other choice is there? it's death today and hopefully others will live tomorrow, or certain death for everybody, period. you need to stall the reapers long enough to build the crucible, push back against them to buy yourself more time. and the only way to do that is throw numbers at them. people. it's a horrible decision to have to make. you find data pads from people's daily lives scattered around, you receive emails from people begging you to save their loved ones, you overhear conversations between people who had witnessed absolute hell

there's a lot of things i love about both games but man. that aspect of mass effect 3 always gives me something to chew on. the despair of it all and the stubborn hope in the face of it.

[pixelnrd]

this isn’t a hate ask at all i just wanted to know why in such a long challenge with almost endless sims didn’t you ever consider doing a trans heir with all the recent updates ea added and entering more modern generations. of course it’s your own sims and you can do whatever you want with them, but since you touched other sensitive topics i just wanted your thoughts on this!! sending much love. ❤️

Hi anon. Even though your request is very polite, I can't help but feel like you are disappointed in me and feel that I have failed in being fully inclusive and representative, otherwise you wouldn't've sent this to me anonymously.

Firstly, I want to address the fact that Thelma, from the 1920s, was a non-binary character, and many readers see them as having a trans identity. I explored Thelma as a non-binary character because the desire to create their character as such came to me at the time.

I think perhaps you are disappoined that I have not had an overtly trans characer in the Langston Legacy. I haven't done this for many reasons, which I'm happy to be open about below:

Following the exploration of a persons trans identity formation and transition is not a story that I am interested in telling. I have said it before and I'll say it again - I do not feel well equipped to tell this story with the right nuance and sensitivity it requires; I do not have any lived experience to draw on to tell this story, nor do I have anyone whom I can ask. I do not want to open myself up to critique for getting it wrong, nor do I want to offend anyone. The weight of these pressures mean that I don't have any desire or motivation to create a character whose purpose is to experience gender dysphoria and transition.

The way I have developed characters through history in this Legacy has been to feed into stereotypes of each particular decade. This has been my primary focus for character development, and arguably that is characterisation at a superficial level. Focussing time and energy of character development on one characters transition journey does not fit in with this balance that I am trying to strike in this Legacy. That is not to say that there were not trans people throughout history. There were and I am very aware of this. But exploring a trans character did not come to me as a natural fit in the other stories and themes I was exploring in each decade of this challenge.

I don't believe that this medium (a Decades Challenge) is the right forum or medium for me to tell this kind of story. That's not to say the sims isn't a forum for exploring these stories, and I am sure there are heaps of great sims stories out there that do. But my story is not one of them. I can't please everyone all the time, and I can't canvass everything in this Legacy.

There are so many types of identities and cultures I have not touched with this Legacy. I just can't achieve that. You could just as easily tell me I have not done adequate representation because I have not had any Muslim sims when EA has added headcoverings to the game. I can't fit everything in. It's also not my goal to fit everything in.

Finally I'll finish with this - I haven't finished this Legacy yet. There is stuff to come. So I would really appreciate if everyone holds their horses before summarising and telling me what I missed out on including.

[unknown7s]

I dunno, just my general thoughts on Arcane fandom discourse these days:

Ok, I know that the majority turned to love demonising Silco so unilaterally nowadays (whether it's twitter/tiktoc/reddit..) even though the showrunners themselves have stated that there is no set villain. While this is sad to watch how media illiteracy has gone wild, it's actually frustrating AND fearful because I get the strong feeling of how the dominant mass media really is effective in pushing non-first-world-western-white agendas to the margins and silencing minority voices.

Let me be clear before someone say "but fiction and real world problem/history are different" - YES I FUCKIN KNOW, thank you very much. Surely I can clarify the distinction between them. However, what I'm saying is that it is also true that fiction has a profound impact on the way viewers perceive reality.

I come from a background where my country is built upon a history of people who fought by any means necessary to overthrow imperialist oppressors in 20C (and they were not just "freedom fighters" but all kinds of ideologists from right-wing nationalists to left-wing marxists all together fighting for one goal) to gain independent nation. There were reasons why people had to fight without regard to morality or a particular ideology during that time in order to overthrow the whole system. And in reality, these methods cannot be morally flawless or without side effects - just like how Shimmer is the perfect metaphorical symbol of that in Arcane and thus the episode title is "The Base Violence Necessary for Change". Moreover, in reality the ppl/country that colonised us still defines those who fought for the independent nation as terrorists or criminals to convince that they are the so-called "wrongdoers" (which is not so ironic is it? if you think about how Piltover-side "champions" react to them and what their primary goal is in S2 trailers).

Coming from this part of the historical view, I can't help but understand and support Silco's agenda and sympathise of what his mind had gone through. Not just him but Sevika and Jinx as well (which is why it's a hoot to see some of their fans HATE Silco and I'm like 'jeez do these people even know what the mental/political heritage is? Those characters are built upon his legacy, and the showrunners & writers clearly know what they are doing'). Well, more precisely, because I come from a non-anglowhite world where we had gone through these complex history of independence movement and developmental dictatorship issue, it feels clearer to me where the showrunners - especially Alex Yee since he wrote almost every dialogue of Silco - got their ideas from which part of history & politics and what perspective they are trying to convey through these characters who believe in "the nation of Zaun".

So whenever I see how Arcane fandom discourses are so violent in hating so-called "villains", I really cannot fathom how much they are based on the inadvertently-western-central-imperialistic-and-capitalistic perspective... but then again, this is just some marginalised viewer's thought right? lol

[gumjester]

whether or not i would fight the following eah students

im drunk and found this in my notes from 2021. 😭 I NO LONGER STAND BY SOME OF THESE OPINIONS. but most i do. a semantic sequel to this post

Raven Queen: no. hasn't she already been through enough? also i'd definitely lose

Apple White: yes. god yes. it would be so funny

Briar Beauty: maybe while drunk, but something tells me it would be a very bad idea

Ashlynn Ella: no. god, how depressing would that be? though maybe she'd have a chance if she went at me with a stiletto

Hunter Huntsman: yes, because it would be funny to see how he would try to avoid killing me instantly

Cedar Wood: no. what's the point? it's like trying to kick the shit out of a really polite coffee table

Cerise Hood: MAYBE IF I WAS FEELING REALLY MEAN. it would be funny in a similar manner to hunter, but with the added tension of me constantly going for the hood. i know ur shit cerise. don't play w me

Blondie Lockes: i consider fighting blondie lockes one of my primary life goals. i will curbstomp that bitch in the middle of her own livestream

Sparrow Hood: 100%, mostly for public spectacle. idk if i would win but I'm sure we'd have a wonderful time. unless he has his guitar on him because he would defo play dirty and just start swinging it like a mace

Duchess Swan: no thank you. ballerinas are strong and duchess stores anger like nutrition for the winter. she would break my neck

Darling Charming: i don't think so. depending where she is on public knowledge of her secret she'd either purposefully lose or just wipe the floor with me. awkward all round

Dexter Charming: maybe, because i think if he gave it a proper go he'd win and i feel like that would be good for his self esteem

Daring Charming: yes, because i know i'd win if i straight away went for his face. bust his lip open. it would humble him

Lizzie Hearts: no ma'am. maybe i'd fare better in hand to hand combat but i can't imagine she'd keep any less than four knives on her person and lizzie is not the type to hold back. im heading straight to hospital

Kitty Cheshire: no. it would be humiliating. i can't see how i'd even get a hit in

Maddie Hatter: absolutely not. i have no qualms with her whatsoever, also she'd definitely kill me by accident

Alistair Wonderland: sure, why not. i want to see what all that time in apocalyptic wonderland has taught him, and whether it cancels out his status as a fucking nerd

Bunny Blanc: no, because i don't want to go to jail for homicide. she is a 5 foot nothing rabbit who can barely stand up by herself. she'd die if i poked her with a toothpick

Chase Redford: NO. if he didn't want to fight he'd just silently let me hit him for like an hour, and if he was About It then he'd instantly fucking annihilate me. just leave the boy alone

Courtly Jester: I KNOW I'D LOSE BUT IT'S THE PRINCIPLE OF THE THING. I HAVE TO FIGHT HER. i might even have a chance if she wasn't allowed to pirate any dark magic

Humphrey Dumpty: i feel cruel for even thinking about this. he's a skinny gamer with a physical predisposition for getting hit. it would be like shooting fish in the most depressing barrel

Hopper Croakington II: NO. HE IS MY FUCKING BOY AND I'LL PROTECT HIM WITH EVERYTHING I HAVE. also i could just flirt and then stamp on the frog

Faybelle Thorn: yeah sure. this may sound egotistical but i'm pretty sure i could win if magic wasn't involved

Crystal Winter: yes. the bitch would trip over her own shoelaces and knock herself out

[another-whump-sideblog]

Fixing Tracy -- Priorities

TWs in the tags

Masterlist

Tracy drifts in and out of sleep. Every time she wakes up, Molly is still reading aloud, making it easy to fall back to sleep without having another crisis. 

Eventually, Tracy wakes up fully, unable to sleep any longer. She stares at the ceiling and continues listening to Molly read.

"Oh, you're awake! How are you feeling?"

Tracy sighs. "Tired, but not enough to fall back asleep, apparently."

"Do you want a bath?"

Tracy looks over to Molly and narrows her eyes. "Why do you ask?"

"Baths are nice when you're sick! I could get a bath bomb, it could be really relaxing."

"I'm not sick."

"Well, baths are still nice."

"Is this like with the soup, when you wanted to handfeed me? Do you want to bathe me?"

"...it could be nice. But no, I know you aren't comfortable with that. I could run a bath for you, though! Set out some snacks, light some candles, put some towels in the drier so they're nice and warm when you're done…"

"No. Y'know, there are ways to bathe and handfeed people who want that. Weren't you a nurse once? Why'd you quit?"

Molly frowns. "There were… some legal issues." 

A harsh chuckle falls from Tracy's lips. "Of course! Of course you can't even treat people who want to be taken care of by you well. I'm sure the only reason you haven't been arrested is because you're rich, too."

"Mm… anyway. I was thinking ramen for dinner, what do you think?"

"...That's fine."

"Perfect! Since you're done with sleeping for now, I'll put on a movie for you while I make us some ramen. How does that sound?"

"...I'd rather play a video game than watch a movie."

Molly grins. “I’m so glad you feel comfortable expressing what you want! What do you want to play?”

“I can set it up myself, you’ve shown me how.”

“…Right. I’ll start on dinner, then. Come and get me if you need anything at all.” Molly hesitates, but ultimately leaves to go to the kitchen.

It’s nice that Molly didn’t push about setting something up for Tracy. She could’ve, and Tracy probably would’ve given in, but she let Tracy have that bit of independence.

Of course, the whole problem is that Molly is in a position to let or not let Tracy do anything, so it’s not that nice. Still, Tracy appreciates it. Maybe Molly’s also sick of having the same argument over and over.

Tracy slowly gets up out of bed and stretches before heading into the main room. She picks a video game at random and puts it on, then wraps herself in a blanket on the couch and begins playing. It’s a very narrative focused game, and she’s quickly drawn in. Alicia will understand. Alicia will— Tracy wipes her eyes. Just focus on the game.

Molly checks on her frequently while in the process of making dinner, likely bored waiting for the water to boil. Before Tracy knows it, Molly is setting bowls of ramen on the table and telling Tracy to pause the game when she gets to a good spot.

"I also made some tea! It's supposed to be good for when you're… not feeling great."

"...thanks." Tracy takes a seat and starts eating her ramen.

After eating in comfortable silence for a bit, Molly clears her throat. “Tracy… it seems to me like for the large majority of your life, your primary goal has been to ensure the health and happiness of Alicia, and everything you do is aimed towards furthering that goal. Would you agree with that?”

"What brought that up?"

"I've been thinking about it for a while. Now seems as good a time as any to talk about it. You don't have to if you don't want to, though!"

Does Tracy do everything for Alicia? Well, Tracy protects herself too, it’s not just about Alicia. She breathes, doesn’t she? That’s not for Alicia’s benefit. Everything isn’t aimed towards that goal, just most things.

…No. She breathes for Alicia, doesn’t she? Because she can’t ensure Alicia’s health and happiness if she’s dead. It really is everything, isn’t it? Without that goal… without that reason for living… 

“Yeah, I agree with that.”

Molly nods. "What do you think it would be like, if your priority was your own health and happiness?”

Tracy sips on her tea and wrinkles her nose. "This is gross."

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it, but… I think it would be helpful to think about. I'll go get some honey, we'll see if it can make your tea less gross."

Despite not wanting to do anything Molly says to do, Tracy does think about it. Would she… even want to leave here at all, if Alicia wasn't a factor?

No, she’d want to leave. She’d still want freedom. But… it would be a harder choice, and she would be content with waiting for an opportunity to escape rather than constantly planning escapes. If her priority was her own health and happiness… She could be happy here. She would never want to be here, but she wouldn’t be crying every time she got a free moment to think.

It doesn’t matter, though. The only people who really prioritize themselves are awful, selfish people, and Tracy doesn’t want to be like that.

But… she is incapable of doing the things she needs to do for the sake of Alicia’s health and happiness. She can’t hurt Molly, she can’t trick Molly, she can’t do anything.

Molly comes back with a bottle of honey and sets it on the table. “There! You can try it with your tea if you wan— oh, I was only gone for like ten seconds! What’s wrong?”

Tracy must’ve cried more since being kidnapped than she had her entire life up to that point. It doesn’t make any sense, why do tears fall so easily now when before it was easy not to cry? It must be something about the drugs Molly is using on her.

Molly tentatively reaches out towards Tracy’s face, and, when Tracy doesn’t protest, wipes some tears away with her thumb. “I know it’s hard, dear. But it will get better. No matter what’s wrong, it will get better.”

Tracy fights the urge to lean into Molly’s touch and eats more of her ramen. 

“It’ll get better. Once you’ve accepted that this is out of your control and started to prioritize your own health and happiness, it’ll be so much easier. This is the hardest part, and I promise it won’t last forever.”

Tracy doesn’t know which possibility is scarier: Molly being wrong and Tracy being miserable forever, or Molly being right.

Tag list: @whumpyourdamnpears @watermelons-dont-grow-on-trees @iamheretohurt

[lgcminnie]

*whisper* jyp .... we're back!

hi everyone <3

i'm going to (safely) assume that twitter's fuckass algorithm made sure that this would mostly be a surprise unless i told you directly and tbh i only told 2 people KAJHDSKJHSAD

[ about ] * [ bio ] * [ timeline ]

anyways my name is ani. the last time i was in lgc was a good...two years ago? two and a half? with baby haeun. well!!!! this is minnie!! a girl with different ambitions than most (i think) so hopefully this adventure would be unique! let me break down some things about minnie / drop some thread or plot ideas. if you wanna get to planning something else, follow me on twitter @ / aniofrp !

goes by minnie or minyoung interchangeably

she's incredibly confident. unwavering confidence that even the scariest of legacy trainers can't break

hope you guys can help my dream of her being lgc's gretchen weiners a reality! tell her all your secrets <3 they're safe in her bobble head

her goal 100% is to be the face of the group. visual is nice, but the real money is if you're the face of a big group

dancing was a talent she didn't uncover until after she started training. in her previous company she thought she was decent at it but she's truly flourished under legacy

that being said she does not list herself amongst the strongest of dancers amongst the legacy trainees. she's delusional to an extent apparently

her primary skill is her vocals - she wouldn't mind being lead (or main) vocalist but would be fine as long as legacy doesn't suddenly tell her to start rapping

she's not sure what direction she wants to go entertainment industry-wise, but she's currently playing around with the idea of mcing!

she's an excellent cook. if she didn't find her love of performing she probably could have went on to become a well-known chef

she often cooks for friends in lieu of presents

in regards to her family, everyone would know about her siblings and dad. she just doesn't bring up her mother

might be a little more on the naive side romantically due to her lack of experience (someone break her heart!)

very into pokemon. like she is a walking pokedex

IDEAS!

things labeled "thread" is a one-off thread. "plots" are situations with potential for multiple threads/interactions!

[backdated thread - roommate ] your muse was trying to scrounge up dinner. they're not the best cook but they make due. minyoung recently moved in and is finally settled in to save your muse from ruining dinner

[ plot ] minyoung definitely missed out on the finer things in life. your muse took it upon themself to teach minyoung everything she missed out on!

[ plot ] your muse struck a nerve, mentioning minyoung's mother. now your muse is digging deeper, unable to stop themself from trying to find out more

[ plot ] minyoung has a tendency to talk about minhee like her daughter. now your muse is under the impression that she's a single mom

[ plot ] minyoung's family would have to get really bad copies of movies to entertain themselves when they couldn't afford cable. your muse is the source of minyoung's newfound love of cinema - and her introduction to the world of streaming

i would love to plot more either in ims or on twitter!!

[teatime-tangents-and-toys]

Tips for making good doll/toy photos with minimal budget- A huge post

When I started my outside blog Teatime Tangents and Toys (dot blogspot dot com), I was kind of just there as a reviewer, but I have always been a creative deeply invested in visual media so the eventual demand came to make pretty photos of my dolls and other toy subjects, for to explore their aesthetics and stories and give my blog some attractive pictures to highlight posts with and make you wanna read 'em. It's become the primary focus of my blog passion now, with photo ideas being a huge driver toward what I want to discuss. As such, I've spent a lot of time developing my skill in photographing and designing images of dolls from a home setup without a spacious studio or the budget or talent for stop-motion quality sets. I thought I'd discuss what I've gotten from this experience. My body-model custom Maudie (say hi on her post; she's kind of a staple) will demonstrate for a few photos.

All of this and most of my blog (save for edited digital compositions) is done on my Samsung phone camera. I do not have Photoshop. I'm not covering digital art stuff I've done in this post, but the program that's carried me this far, even when I really ought to have been doing things another more sensible way, is the free software Inkscape.

Level 1: Basic presentation; no staging.

If you purely want to show off a subject as a standalone piece to say it's cool and you like it, then it's entirely about focus and lighting. You want your subject to be legible and represent a true-to-life appearance so your audience sees what you see.

This is not your goal if you want to show off your subject.

This photo is taken in low light with deliberately low focus. If I tried to post this on Instagram saying "look at my doll she's so cute", she'd absolutely flop and would not do numbers. (Then again, I feel like I've been more widely validated on Tumblr in a week than I have on Insta in three years. My thanks to the lovely gremlins here.)

You can get surprisingly far with the phone camera even in suboptimal shooting conditions, however. Say a criminal was sitting by the lamp's light switch and was gonna throw me out the window if I didn't shoot with this exact setup...I could still get a better picture by making sure the focus was right and then tweaking the color temperature and brightness in the photo editor.

Still not perfect, of course. I could have tried even more for focus, and you can still tell this is a low-light photo.

Don't listen to the impulse to just use the flash for everything. That is Satan whispering in your ear.

Yes, it's bright and clear, but there's something uncanny, just a little, in my eye. The super stark shadow thrown behind Maudie makes the lighting feel as artificial as it is, and the flash doesn't actually brighten the scenery that much. Flash should be used for effect, not for neutral presentation.

Generally, the frustrating truth is that natural daylight really is ideal illumination for photography, but you can't tell it to stay around or reschedule it, so you have to be mindful of the seasons and light timing of your area, as well as extenuating weather that messes it up. Getting a good neutral full-room light should be sufficient for cases where natural daylight isn't available.

I get by with this artificial room-light setup pretty often, and it can be edited fairly well to match daytime photos if I want.

Sometimes I forget to turn off the warm bedside lamp, though, which subtly and disagreeably messes with the shadows and tint a bit.

My desk is neutral enough to serve as a non-distracting background. If you're on the next level of neutral display, you may have a sheet of paper unrolled from wall to floor to serve as a featureless white backdrop to put your subject on, which can be shot and boosted to make for a white void of isolation, but I don't have that right now and I'm okay without it.

Level 2: Pretty portraits

If you don't want to stage a scene but want a good picture, there are two big things to bring in--lighting design and backgrounds.

The very simplest background for a portrait, for me, is just black. While pure white is common in basic presentation, black is a dramatic, appealing option for a more artsy picture, and comes in handy if you work with spooky subjects like I do.

If you want an easy black background, what you're gonna want to do is buy a black craft board or deconstruct a cardboard box or something and paint it--just any reasonably rigid panel you can easily pick up and put down and lean against anything without it crumpling or slumping to the floor. If you paint your board, it does not have to be the blackest black, and go ahead and flip Anish Kapoor off, because you can easily darken the shadows and black out the backdrop in post with your phone editor. (The blacker the backdrop with the base shot, though, the less the rest of the image will be boosted in contrast when editing it darker. If the background isn't dark enough, you'll be boosting the shadows and contrast of the whole picture and changing the image significantly by the time the backdrop is a black void in the phone editor.) You can also color over spots with black digitally to tidy up the effect.

I also sometimes use a black velvet costume cape as the backdrop, but it attracts fur in my cat household like crazy and the logistics of hanging it are often obstructive and frustrating.

Here, however, I exploited the fur attraction by using pieces pilled on the cape to create the bubbles of this "underwater" shot as an in-camera effect!

Black cloth is easier to lay under the standing subject's feet than to hang vertically behind them, but this is useful to let the whole figure be photographed against black--otherwise, the surface they're standing on may not be part of the void. Two black boards at a right angle, a board behind and a cloth below, or a board behind and an already-black surface below can create a full black void background. If your subject has a lot of black coloring and you don't want their silhouette to be too absorbed into the background, you can light them just a little bit to catch the edges of their hair and clothes or sculpt or whatnot and make them more separate from the black void behind them.

If you want to have the subject as just a head on black background, most dolls are small enough to fit into a black sock that can cover their body and isolate their head, which will black out into pure shadow along with the background in post. Otherwise, wrapping with other black fabric is an option.

And I can't say enough for colored/patterned fabrics and printed craft papers to make a portrait more lively.

Every month, I'm liable to get another batch of printed paper sheets that suddenly are relevant to one of my subjects, though many return in circulation as useful designs. The really big sheets of printed/patterned paper, or matte-texture wrapping papers, are also treasures for staging larger pictures with. Most wrapping papers are glossed, which can be tricky to photograph.

Draped fabric and visible folds can be your background if that's your desired effect.

Next is lighting. I use small light sources (a mini desk lamp, a color-changing remote-control night light, a headlamp with multiple brightnesses and a red setting, and a blacklight flashlight) to affect the coloring and light angle of a photo. This can make pictures look lush, dramatic, warm, cold, sinister, or eerie depending on your coloring and how you light something.

Color can also be drawn out of regular light sources by using a colored sheet as a filter over the bulb. If I want two colored lights interplaying, I use the nightlight on one color and can add in the desk lamp with construction paper over the LED for another color.

The best way to color a light source would be colored cellophane sheets that wouldn't dim the light, so I'll need to look into that.

Black-and-white photography is sexy as hell when you've done something cool with your lighting, so always test a black-and-white edit or shoot of a setup if you've done lighting stuff!

As a human, your available hands should be limited to two maximum, so wrangling your lights can be difficult alongside your camera. Having lights rigged on poseable arms or stands or a tripod for your camera can help make sure everything is working as you want. I'm still working on that.

You can also use candles for lighting, though they typically don't illuminate as starkly or dramatically as you might hope, and they have an obvious fire risk. Still, in some circumstances, even paired with colored light...

(The cauldron is the candle).

Blacklight is always fun when you have a subject that pops under it, but the phone camera hates it and good damn luck making your pictures look like what you're actually seeing. If you find success, though, it's great.

The last thing is phone filters. Download the free ones available to create a palette you can scroll through in the edit. Any picture could perhaps be transformed and elevated by a specific filter effect.

Level 3--Scene Staging

So you want to show an actual scene with story or sense of place. Well, this can be done! My first tip is generally to favor indoor environments to set photo concepts in, just because those are easier to stage, outdoors has a lot of scenery that obviously belies the scale of the toy, and you might unjustly look like a creep carrying your dolls around and taking photos where people can see you. I also like working with the indoors because you can exploit a living space to create your "set" and reduce your work. Look for details and textures in the building you live in, and architectural features that could be reinterpreted for doll-scale scenery. For example, this bathroom set for Sadie to summon Bloody Mary in consisted of furniture crafted myself and poster-board walls, but the floor is the actual floor of my bathroom.

If you have room corners in your house you can use for room corners in tiny scale, use them.

Walls can be changed with printed paper temporarily hung up for photos' sake, or else you can make foam-board walls to set the parameters of your photoshoot room and paint or paper them how you like. Remember, you're only shooting for the camera frame. It doesn't have to be real. This was my horror barbershop setup on the inside, with a red windmill blade outside the window.

And this was the outside of the cardboard wall.

Only one blade of the mill was made, and the window was frosted cling wrap with stretched yarn forming the panes.

Furniture can be sourced through dollhouse avenues. Most fashion dolls and Living Dead Dolls fall in the 1/6 scale, and big doll brands typically have bespoke furniture you can source for very easy set dressing matched to them. Small dolls are typically 1/12 scale, and some dolls are irregular scales and hard to set for. Use these two common scales as search terms when looking for options if you've gotten something that seems compatible. There are other established dollhouse scales which are smaller. These scales have range and the proportions and style of the doll can affect how some furniture works. LDD and Monster High are very different shapes and MH furniture doesn't easily cross over to LDD.

Some furniture can easily be crafted or faked at home by assembling parts together. Tables are really simple so long as you have a reasonably sturdy panel and something to stand it on. Oven-bake clay slabs and wooden dowel legs also work well for tables. At my jankiest, I even put a ribbon spool on some Tinker Toys and glued some fabric to shape on top of it for a circular table I needed! With any set dressing, the more details you can include, the better the image will scan. Think about what's around you in real environments and use fabrics and doll accessories and whatever human-scale objects you can repurpose and reframe to make a scene more elaborate and believable. In the bathroom photo above, I used doll accessory pieces to show bathroom amenities selling the location better. In the barbershop, I used a Create-a-Monster doll as a macabre coat rack, included a door to the shop, and a sink and a broken mirror. The living room before that was dressed with multiple dollhouse pieces. Arrange and add and test photos and compositions to see what looks best.

If you do shoot outside, look for walls and natural features that are good for staging a setting with. It's harder to create outdoor "sets", but you can find small scenes in nature and buildings, and with creativity, you can do great things. If you have the opportunity to go "on location" during travel, embrace it!

You can also fully cheat the scenery and put your toy in front of a photo on a screen, but the size of the screen vastly limits the proportions of doll to background.

(If I could go to space just to photograph a Martian troll doll, there really wouldn't be any stopping me.)

I'm not the person to give technical advice on composition and framing (how to arrange the subject in the frame of the camera and make the tableau work inside the rectangle). Do look up the rule of thirds for basic official guidance, but I've really kind of eyeballed things myself this whole time based on instinctual "that looks good" or "that's not right".

Level 4: Insanity

Don't have an underwater? Make an underwater out of a tub in your basement, tie that doll sucker down with fishing line, and use colored dye powder to cloud the tank and hide the edges!

Make a whole tea table setting for your dolls! Five unique times!

Wait for snow and stage an icy pond by digging a hole and covering it with glass!

Build your dolls snowmen!

Edit your dolls into scenery digitally!

Paint whole fanart pieces and use them as physical props in your photoshoot!

Reflect your ghost characters off glass and stage the reflection in the scene (Pepper's Ghost effect; look it up!)

Turn your photos into dollhouse props and then turn the dollhouse into photo scenery!

Sculpt props themed on a character and photograph just those rather than the toy they're crafted for!

Remove vampires from reflections!

Write in-universe fictional documents staged as photographic visual recreations, like old newspapers!

(These are all things I've done, have published or will publish, and have run out of space to show in this post--it's there on Teatime Tangents and Toys. Good lord.)

Side discipline: Toy posing

This could come in at any level I've discussed, but some toys are easier to display than others. Fashion dolls are top-heavy and skinny-legged (and could have wobbly knees like poor Maudie), making it difficult to stand them unassisted, and staging could require some clever props to lean them on or some reworking so they'll be stable enough to shoot with. Some dolls stand easily but pose less and require their own workarounds to display well. Watch out for hair; it is so easy to miss some distracting stray strands in photos until after you've packed up the shoot, and scrutinize all of your shots to make sure there aren't unwanted elements spoiling the take before it's too late. Take multiple shots with minor variations if you're unsure about some setups just so you have options you can sift through in the edit, or even easy ways to test filters and experiment with extra pictures.

Conclusion

You don't need much budget to create prettier photos that still don't reward you much on Insta honestly get people on Tumblr feral-shrieking their excitement (thank you sincerely to everyone who has so far; it is the most enriching thing.) If you know how to light and focus and jazz up a space a little, you'll go a long way. Then again, developing skill will draw you into the photos becoming a genuine budget-ensnaring creative pursuit roping you into projects you never dreamed of--BUT you will be making great things from them!

[quitealotofsodapop]

Ok but Wukong claims MK as Yubei's honorary/sworn older brother. Macaque who was in the room suddenly feels a cold swear as he Realized Wukong Sees MK As His Kid. His Clcub, who Macaque had chased fown and hunted like an animal in an effort to keep LBD's attention off of Wukong himself.

Macaque has that revelation loooong before Yuebei is born.

You see...

When Macaque was still processing that Wukong (his former mate) had been pregnant with the Egg for many many years - he had a brief brain-fart during "Shadow Play" and at during his panic he asks;

Macaque: "Is it my kid!? Wait..." *glares at MK really hard* "Are you my kid???" MK: "Wut." Macaque: "No, no, wait, thats dumb, it's the same baby now as back then. Sorry bud, but I am totally freaking out right now." MK: "Because you spent the last couple hundred years being a deadbeat dad?" Macaque, grabs MK by the shoulders: "YES!!"

The rest of the MKrew escape the Shadow Lantern simply because Mac was panicking so hard he dropped it. Even being super mad at him, they stay until he stops hyperventillating. In Mac's defense, he's not sure how long normal Stone Monkey pregnancies should be.

Even once the realisation kicks in that the "Egg" is a Stone Egg formed from Wukong being encased in the mountain without resources - Macaque has a second "crap Im dad" realisation when he realises that him abandoning/cutting-off Wukong back then is what triggered the process. He still wants to take responsibility for the Egg as it's indirect creator.

And ofc during S3, Macaque notices how protective/paternal Wukong is with MK and starts to realise;

MK might not be Macaque's kid, but Wukong certainly considers MK to be *his* kid.

Macaque has tricked, fought, and psychologically tormented said kid in his goal to either hurt Wukong or extract information.

Macaque is now being forced to capture said kid and/or Wukong for LBD less he suffers a fate worse than death. And while Macaque would hate to do either, he can't stand the thought of handing Wukong over. So MK is his primary target throughout S3, even if Mac tries his best to "soften the blow" if it were when he tries capturing him.

MK is super excited to meet the Egg when it's finally born, and is acting in a manner typical of an older monkey cub wanting to care for their younger sibling. It's too fricking cute and-

Well crap, now Mac doesn't want to turn the kid over. Mostly cus doing so will def hurt Wukong and make his King somehow hate Mac even more than he does now.

Maybe if they do get the Samadhi Fire, him and Wukong might- Macaque, begings violently batting away his talkative shadow clones: "NOPE! Get the heck out of here with that!! I'm just getting the Fire to be free of LBD's influence!"

And once Yuebei is finally born...

Wukong, talking to the baby: "Bao bei [treasure], this is your big brother, MK. Well, honorary big brother, but you get what I mean." MK, holding Yuebei: *is so happy he can't form words + is happy-crying* Macaque: *trying his best not to ask MK "hey, wanna be our son?", cus Mk has his adoptive dads + Mac thinks the kid hates him anyway* "Hah. Crybaby." MK, still crying: "Shut up. You cried when you saw her for the first time." Macaque, trying his best not happy-cry again: "She looks like me! Of course I'd cry - such a curse to place upon a innocent soul!" Wukong: *sighs fondly at the back-and-forth*

Mac's gut reaction is to insult others/himself when he feels emotionally vulnerable, and MK knows how to flip it around.

It very much becomes a "Dad treating his eldest son vs younger daughter" situation, especially if Bai He is thrown into the mix. Mac will 100% spoil his little princesses, but MK...

MK can handle it. He's Wukong's heir. He's ok with Mac only really being soft on him when no one else is around. Secretly Mac's kinda jealous of the dad-attention Pigsy, Wukong, and even Tang get from the kidm even though in his heart he knows it's unlikely MK will ever see Mac as a father figure.

[hannahmanderr]

Some thoughts about s6 after watching 1.5 episodes:

Adrien's hair got done dirty. It really did.

Alya Césaire is still my favorite character hands down

Can't decide if I love the new animation or hate it

Reasons why I love the new animation: the lighting and the colors look fabulous, at least 60 percent of the new character designs slap, just has a bit more of a refined feel to it overall

Reasons why I hate the new animation: good lord do the character's faces give me uncanny valley when they talk (I can't put my finger on it exactly, but it's like their mouths move too slowly/not enough, combined with the fact that their upper faces are absolutely stagnant), a lot of it is very fast to watch (especially the theme song), the character designs that don't slap fail hard (see Adrien's hair, Kim's twinkification, etc)

Why do the rest of the heroes have adult level powers now? I thought it was only going to be LB and CN, but Carapace definitely used Shell-ter at least twice back-to-back. Honestly not sure how I feel about that

I still hate Lila, in general but even more so as the new main antagonist. I didn't understand where her sudden ruthlessness and calculation came towards the end of s5, everything about her in the London special just felt forced, and now I'm supposed to accept that she's this genius-level, untouchable villain? When she essentially lucked her way into conning people before? She never has been a well-written villain, and now it's like they're overcompensating for that and swinging too far the other way, and now she's still a poorly-written villain. Idk, maybe I'm making too many judgments without seeing what else is in store, but they really need to give me a believable reason why she suddenly cares about getting LB's and CN's Miraculous and why she's suddenly behaving so out of character.

I will say that the new akumatization-connection-communication-thingy (whatever you call it when the holder communicates with the akumatized victim) goes so hard and it works. I love it so much more than the telepathic video call with Gabe

Marinette. Good lord, Marinette. I could write a whole separate post about her and how she's been done so dirty. I thought that we'd see some character development for her from the writers, especially now that her context has changed so drastically. She's met one of her primary goals, she's defeated the original villain she was chosen to fight but with the price of a terrible secret, and now she's got a new dynamic with Paris, what with a new villain on the loose and all the holders hanging on to their Miraculouses. Like any good writer would realize that you can't take the s1 version of your protagonist and plop them into a brand new context and expect it to work, but that's exactly what they've done with Marinette. I can expand on this later bc I really don't want a big long block of text here, but it's frankly insulting to both Marinette as a character and us as the audience that the writers think this can fly. Can Marinette be anxious about hers and Adrien's relationship? Absolutely! But you can't keep writing her acting like we saw in s1 when she's been through so much and her context has fundamentally changed.

I legitimately thought that Sublime was Zoe at first. Oops (I love both of them so much)

I like the rule with the superhero team that if it's an everyday kind of emergency, the kind you'd just happen upon, then you can transform and help out, but if it's an akumatized villain, you need to wait for LB and CN to call on you. That's a really smart way for LB to make sure she and CN aren't spread too thin handling the everyday stuff, but that you don't have 15+ heroes showing up for every single akumatization and getting in the way

Verdict: honestly so far it just feels like more of the same to me, which is really disappointing. This is supposed to be the beginning of a brand new arc, but the tone and antics are the exact same as the past five seasons. I'm holding out a slim, unrealistic hope that maybe it's just premiere syndrome, but frankly I would expect your new arc to start off stronger. I'll keep watching for Adrienette and for Alya and Marinette's friendship, but I'm not sold on much else at the moment.

[rainbowsky]

hi, new turtle here and kind of clueless about a lot of things especially how to support GG and DD if we're from intl fandom. that is, I know DD has a lightstick, I know GG has other things..? (which are those?) my point is, how do we as intl fans support them? for Thai actors I know that we can donate money for advertisements and whatnot, but idk what to do for GG and DD. do you have any ideas? thank you and sorry if this message isn't very clear, my English is bad today >_<"

Hi new turtle! 💛🐢💛 Your English is just fine. ☺️

Sorry for the delay in replying to this, I've had very little time lately for Tumblr and I'm hopelessly behind on asks!

I know I've talked about this a bit in the past but finding older posts on Tumblr can be insanely difficult, so I'll go over some of my thoughts on this again.

Standard disclaimer: This is my personal opinion, not a list of demands or directives. Everyone gets to decide how they want to engage in fandom. There is absolutely no obligation to do any of these things, and doing these things does not make you a better fan than anyone else. Nor is anyone who is unable to do these things a lesser fan. The primary goal of fandom is to enjoy yourself (without harming others). I encourage each of you to find your own path and hold your head high, and never let anyone dictate your fandom experience or bully you for your choices.

I'm going to focus on things anyone can do without spending a lot of money or investing a huge amount of time. Alongside that I'll give some advice for those who want to take things further, and warn of some things we might want to avoid.

1 ] Be the best people we can be

The number one thing we can do is live our best lives, be the best people we can be, and help make the world a better place.

From a fandom perspective, we should all be striving to represent GG and DD in the best possible light by being a positive example of fandom at its best. Be kind, be compassionate, be open-minded. Don't bully others, don't engage in fan wars, don't trash other artists or fans. Respect other fans, artists and fandoms.

It's also important to think of how best to respect and protect them, and ensure we aren't painting them in a bad light.

Consider all the ways GG and DD inspire us to make the world a better place, and be the kind of person that reflects their goodness. Behave in ways that would make GG and DD proud, and that show turtles to be a positive force in the world.

Spend time with family, work toward our own goals and dreams. Don't over-invest ourselves in being their fan. This is something GG especially has urged fans to do for years and years.

Taking it to the next level

Lead by example and share that message/approach with others (in a kind, non-judgmental way). Do charitable works in their name (even if it's just in your own local area). Support causes that they would appreciate.

Some causes GG and DD have supported in the past: disaster relief, animal welfare, youth organizations that support disadvantaged kids, autism orgs. Consider orgs that help get kids involved in sports and in the arts. Theater and performance orgs as well. Given the nature of this fandom, you might also want to consider supporting queer orgs (there is a list of queer refugee orgs in this post).

I honestly believe that more than any other thing we could do to support them, this would BY FAR make GG and DD the happiest - just knowing that their fans are inspired to do kind things for others. They would be happier knowing our money is helping those in need, rather than being wasted on things we don't really need in some misguided desire to 'support them'.

Stay away from

Never behave cruelly or in a warlike manner toward other fans, artists or fandoms - especially not 'in GGDD's name'. I can't count how many times I've seen hateful people sporting GG or DD-related usernames and avatars invading other people's fandom spaces to attack them.

Don't support the stalker economy, and make sure the material we connect with them is not harmful. More on that here.

Avoid being taken advantage of. Always do your due diligence before giving money to any cause or organization to ensure they are legitimate and reputable.

2 ] Enjoy and promote their works

Another extremely important thing we can do is enjoy their work and show our support with reviews, ratings, and word-of-mouth recommendations. After all, this is the core of what their careers are about, and it's what they put so much hard work into and make so many big sacrifices for.

A list of key projects and how to view can be found here.

Taking it to the next level

Buy subscriptions on platforms where their work is being shown, buy tickets for their films, etc.

If the films are showing in a region you can't travel to, you can still buy tickets for turtles who can't afford to go. Consider organizing group viewings of their work, or helping to spread the word about their projects in other ways.

More suggestions in this post.

Stay away from

Never engage in false reviews, vote manipulation or manipulating view counts. Such behaviors can harm GG and DD and make them look bad.

3 ] Support their brand endorsements

The best way for any fan to do this is to support their brand endorsements on social media with likes, reblogs and gracious, rational, polite comments.

Always be respectful, calm, polite and professional when interacting with brands. Remember that these are professional partners of GG and DD and we should try to show GG and DD in a good light. Our behavior reflects on them.

Taking it to the next level

If it is within our means, we can buy their brand endorsements, but I urge fans to use good judgment and caution when doing so. I have a more detailed post about supporting their brand endorsements here. Bottom line: don't get caught up in spending all your money on things you can't afford or wouldn't have otherwise bought, just because GG and DD are representatives.

If you do decide to explore supporting their endorsements I recommend reading that post because it might give you food for thought, and help you decide where to invest.

Stay away from

Purchase only what you need and will use or gift to others. Never buy anything just to boost numbers. That type of consumer behavior is wasteful and reflects very poorly on GG and DD and can actually backlash harshly against them.

Never engage in sales manipulation behaviors, such as purchasing items to boost sales and then returning them later for a refund. Brands aren’t stupid. They will notice this type of thing and it will factor into how they evaluate GG and DD’s brand performance.

Understand that brands are very skilled at tracking where sales come from, where brand buzz is coming from, etc. It’s not strictly necessary to make any special fanfare about your purchases, and if fan behavior becomes disruptive it can become a negative rather than positive reflection on GGDD.

Never get involved in disruptive fan behavior, regardless of how hard other fans try to instigate you or induce you to do so.

Never spend more than you can afford. GG and DD are both mega-rich, and so are these brands. Have a sense of perspective and self-preservation and realize GG and DD wouldn’t want you to over-extend yourself on their behalf. Brand purchases aren’t even a core aspect of what’s important to their careers, so your impact would be marginal/practically nonexistent anyway.

If you really want a brand to know you support them because of GG or DD, let them know via social media or by contacting them directly. Send them a nice note, mention them in a tweet showing your purchases, or simply thank them for choosing GG or DD - no purchase necessary.

It’s OK to say you are a turtle, just don’t mention CP topics when interacting with brands, and don’t mention GG or DD in interactions with each other’s brands or bring each other’s solo colors into your messages, especially not on Twitter. That will only stir fan wars and cause disruption that the brands will inevitably witness. It’s not a good look.

Related posts

GG and DD’s projects

BXG, Fan Service and Supporting GGDD

Fandom Survival Guide

BXG Fandom Etiquette

Toxic fans and staying in your own lane

Why fan wars/arguing online is such a bad idea

Why it’s so important for our fandom to behave well online

Protecting GGDD

Again, this is all based on my own opinions and perspectives. It's up to every fan to form their own values and take their own path.

I hope this gives you some ideas, Anon! ☺️

[scoobydoodean]

question for you, if you're interested: with all the usual caveats that we can never truly know authorial intent, do you think 04x21 was intended to inspire sympathy for sam? dean? both? neither? i've been wrestling with it but i'm conflicted. would love to hear any thoughts you have :)

Oooh interesting question!

The TL;DR would be that I think it's supposed to help us understand both Sam and Dean's perspective, and absolutely—Sera Gamble wants us to feel sympathy for Sam. However, I also don't think the implication is intended to be that Sam is actually doing something he should be doing or that Dean is mean and unfair. It's just supposed to help us make sense of where Sam's head is, because he's been lying to everyone (including himself) all season.

In terms of Sam's season 4 motivations, 4.21 is a firehose. It fleshes out a huge tangled web of motivations Sam has for his actions, some of which are much more sympathetic than others. In that sense, I would say Gamble's primary goal in 4.21 is to make us understand and feel sympathy for Sam. We also get some of Dean's perspective (especially during his conversation with Cas and Bobby), but I think the primary focus is Sam, and that's timely, because the episodes leading up to this one show a lot of Sam's arrogance. We're repeatedly reminded from 4.14 to 4.20 that Sam absolutely thinks Dean is weak because of Hell (despite claiming "it was just the siren talking"), that Sam is a liar (and isn't even good at it), that Sam has an inflated (and growing) ego, and that Sam is self-deceived about his intentions (Pam and Chuck both point to it). We also see him scathingly compared to John in 4.19 (and while the episode gives us insights into some of Sam's driving motivations as well, it ultimately paints him in a fairly unsympathetic light imo). 4.21 formally lays out a variety of Sam's motivations that were touched on during the season, through his hallucinations in the panic room. Many of them involve a warped perception of events:

Sam can't fight destiny. Sam was never going to be normal. There was never any point in fighting. This is his destiny (4.04, 4.08, 4.19).

Sam is a monster. Monstrosity is inescapable and innate to Sam's nature, and the only way to fix his self-image is to prove that that monstrosity (represented by demon blood) doesn't make him evil and can be used for good (i.e., stopping the apocalypse). (4.04, 4.05).

Sam is just doing what needs to be done. His actions are ruthless, but he's the only one who can save the world. He needs to do this even if it kills him (4.14, 4.16, 4.18)

Dean can't do what needs to be done. Dean is weak (4.14, 4.16, 4.18).

Dean needs Sam to save him (4.18).

Sam wants revenge on Lilith (4.09, 4.18).

Sam wants justice against Lilith (4.21 only).

Mary and Jess's deaths are Sam's fault (1.05, 1.21), and he has to make their deaths mean something by using the demon blood (to which their deaths are connected) to do something good and make their deaths "worth it" (4.04).

The demon blood makes him feel better for being different. It makes him feel stronger and better than everybody else. A part of him likes it. Sam feels intense shame about this and it's the number one thing he hasn't been able to confront (4.15, 4.18).

More generally, the hallucinations show that Sam's motivations are incredibly varied, and that Sam fights within himself about whether the things he thinks about himself and everyone else are really true. The internal battle also indicates Sam's incredible uncertainty despite his bravado from 4.12 to 4.20. Deep down, Sam is not actually sure he's doing the right thing. He also questions whether he's actually strong enough to stop the apocalypse and whether Dean might be right that the demon blood is making him weak.

All of these bits of context feature oodles of self-deceit, and some of the motivations he denies, because he's talking to people he's hallucinating, but they are all ultimately Sam's thoughts. The motivation that gets called out as deceitful the most directly is when Sam hallucinates Dean telling him he's already a monster and always has been one, that Dean pretends to love him like a brother, but that they aren't even the same species. This is both a reflection of Sam's feelings about himself and Sam's beliefs about Dean's feelings, and while it's all being said, Dean is upstairs contradicting the conversation Sam is having in his head.

Dean is upstairs telling Bobby he'd die for Sam, and he's willing to become the shady-AF angels apocalypse-stopping bitch boy if it'll keep Sam from having to turn himself into a monster to achieve the same goal. Dean actually asks Cas if Sam could stop the apocalypse with his demon blood powers in this episode as well, proving it's something he was actually willing to consider, contrary to the dogmatic lens some fans view him through on the issue. Cas tells Dean that it's possible Sam could stop the apocalypse, but that Sam would have to consume so much blood he'd never be able to come back from it. This is what pushes Dean to commit to serving the angels. This is a decision Dean makes even though he explicitly does not want to. He doesn't trust the angels (4.02, 4.07, 4.09, 4.10, 4.15, 4.16, 4.17, 4.20), and previous episodes highlight Dean's growing discomfort with their sense of entitlement to him (4.15, 4.16, 4.17). He agrees to give himself over to them anyway.

Sam's repeated acts of deceit (and the outright cruelty of his views in 4.14 that he reiterates to Dean at the end of 4.21) reinforce Dean's belief that the demon blood is turning Sam into something he isn't. I'm also sure Sam getting slammed into walls by the force of his own powers in this episode did not exactly assuage Dean's concerns. Neither did him going into withdrawal and growing so desperate for a hit (during Ruby's 100% intentional absence) that he completely ruined an entire season of secrecy about consuming demon blood to drink the blood of a demon right in front of Dean and Cas in 4.20, blood all over his mouth and everything. He totally lost control.

Basically, I think we're supposed to see two different perspectives, and feel sympathy for Sam, while also understanding that Sam is deceived about what he's doing and his own identity. He hallucinates his own mother telling him he's evil and that he should die to make her death mean something ffs—it isn't that what Sam feels is the truth—it's that he believes it is.

Unfortunately, Dean reinforces one of Sam's broken beliefs at the end of the episode by saying that if Sam doesn't realize what he's doing is wrong and stop, it means not his actions, but his inner nature might actually be the problem. However, this line isn't supposed to uniquely demonize Dean. It comes right after Sam reiterates his statements about Dean's trauma making him weak, and acting entitled to trust after over a season of secrets and lies. What's so fascinating and tragic, is that both Sam and Dean, on the apocalypse issue, are at some level placing a hope for redemption in being the one to end the apocalypse. Dean hopes that stopping the apocalypse will make up for what he did in Hell (4.05, 4.15). Sam hopes that stopping the apocalypse will prove he isn't a monster. Each of them is also contending with their brother's image of them not being what they want it to be. At the end of 4.21, Dean knows that Sam truly believes Dean is weak for being traumatized by decades of torture, and Sam knows that Dean thinks he might be a monster beyond saving. The end of 4.21 is them each digging into the other's most terrible wounds. While I think there's a tendency for some fans to focus in on what Dean says to Sam (partly because of the incredibly emotional reaction it produces from Sam, and then later Bobby), I think the mutual harm here is plain (and we know from my multiple bitchy posts today and yesterday that Sam entirely loses my sympathy in the last few scenes of the episode ofc). But I do think that final fight is supposed to feel balanced as it separates the brothers through mutual harm.

That's the main response, but if you're interested... a word on Sera Gamble as a writer and some of the larger themes in play here:

4.21 is a Sera Gamble episode, and Gamble likes both of the brothers a lot I think. She wrote "Houses of the Holy", and "Nightmare" which are heavily focused on Sam's fears about his monstrous destiny. However, her first episode was "Dead In The Water". She wrote "Faith", "Salvation", "Heart", "Dream A Little Dream Of Me", "Jus In Bello", "Time Is On My Side", etc.

If I had to form the episodes she'd written into a sort of Gamble thesis on the brothers up to 4.21, I'd have to say she definitely sees Dean as the heart of the family and the moral center.

She writes Sam disinterested in helping someone in the absence of leads on their father (1.03). She writes "Faith" where Dean feels horrible about someone dying in his place and Sam quickly lets it go, just happy to have his brother alive. She writes "Bloodlust" where at the end of the episode, Dean reflects back on all of their past actions with monsters and how John raised them and wonders if they killed monsters that didn't deserve it, while Sam has no such qualms and lends sympathy for their father's emotional state instead. She writes Sam wanting to turn himself and Dean into immortals (3.15), and considering human sacrifice in "Jus In Bello". She writes Sam insisting on entering Dean's dreams in "Dream A Little Dream Of Me" despite Dean's protests about his privacy. She writes him instantly leaping to toss aside Dean's dying wishes so he can get revenge against Lilith in Dean's name (4.09).

All of this suggests a Sam who is desperate to keep his family alive (with a side of John's "losing sight of the actual family in the face of revenge for the family"). She writes a Sam who will jump to extremely morally dubious plays to keep Dean alive or save him and won't feel bad about it. Season 3 features a lot of Dean trying to be the person who curbs those impulses, and Sam (usually) ultimately conceding. I think there is an element of this dynamic in 4.21 when she writes Sam to say, "You [Dean] take the wheel. You call the shots". I think Gamble's really talking about Sam letting go of some of his most morally dubious plans to save Dean because of Dean insisting on it—within her own episodes (3.12, 3.15) and others (ex: 3.16).

I've written about how one of Sam's motivations in season 4 is that from his perspective, Dean's relatively more inflexible morals got Dean killed, and Dean getting killed then sent Sam into a suicidally depressed tailspin. Dean would rather die in 3.16 than sacrifice his moral principles, and Sam would rather have sacrificed both of their moral principles than see Dean die. This fundamental difference between the brothers runs through their entire season 4 conflict, from Sam calling Dean weak for being traumatized by Hell, to Sam lying to Dean all season, to Dean risking Sam's death to detox him from demon blood in 4.21, to Sam conflating a moral clash with loyalty and trust.

[fwckriley]

QUICK CHAT ABOUT COD CHARACTERS AND THEIR MBTI TYPES PT 1.

Hi!!! So, I was just scrolling through Tumblr late at night and I saw some headcanons, where the creator mentioned Ghost's MBTI. It reminded me that I had a word file saved, discussing about the characters and their MBTI. But, I haven't finished it, so I'll just ramble some of my thoughts here instead.

I want to begin with Ghost. Seriously, I genuinely want to understand why people type him as an INTJ, the guy is not a Ni dom at all. And also, let’s just exclude here any chance of him being an INTP. But, I do see Ti and Ni in his functions. In my opinion, he is an ISTP 5w6. For those unfamiliar, ISTPs have Ti (dominant), Se (auxiliary), Ni (tertiary), and Fe (inferior) in their functions.

I'll be honest, this inferior Fe makes me doubt a bit because Ghost seems much more like a Fi user. However, considering that Fe is inferior and theoretically his weakest function, it makes sense. And, to me, what makes ISTP the most obvious choice is that this man really isn't a Ni dom or a Ne aux type. But like I said, I do see some Ni in him, but very weak, which excludes the possibility of him being a Ni dom, and adds the possibility of him being a Ti dom. But, he has zero Ne, so he can’t be an INTP. Just to clear things up, I don't think analysts can't be impulsive or that sensors are dumb, not at all. But they do have some tendencies, and you can see differences in how they deal/view the world.

So, let me give an example of a character who's an analyst: Laswell. She's the embodiment of an INTJ. Price and Ghost deviate so much from her. Both of them should have both Ni auxiliary and Ni dominant, respectively. The way both of them deals with Shepherd and Graves betrayal makes it very clear how they aren't intuitive types for me. They’re incapable of seeing the other side of the situation. And I know it might sound like a crappy argument, but speaking as a Ne aux, I always open myself to possibilities even if I DISAGREE, especially if I can benefit from it. You know who else does that? Laswell. A Ni dom. It's very clear her Ni/Te, and that's why compared to Ghost, I don't understand why people type him as an INTJ. Personally, I think Ti and Ni can be easily mistaken. And for me, Ghost's Ti is pretty obvious, the way he is practical, and how he analyzes things, and his Se aux helps him to be very aware of his surroundings (of course, there are more than that in Se aux). But to me? there's nothing more Ti/Se than that. I'll just drop here two brief descriptions of Ti/Ni dom that make me pretty sure Ghost isn’t a Ni dom.

"Introverted Intuition seeks underlying patterns that can predict how events will unfold in the long term. The primary goal is to understand cause and effect accurately, enabling confidence in problem-solving and avoiding causing issues. Individuals with this dominant function tend to be 'perceptive,' often capable of 'seeing through' situations by finding the 'real importance' or 'essence' or 'root' or 'meaning' of things and understanding the fundamental factors that will influence how situations unfold, connecting past, present, and future considerations in non-linear ways. They unconsciously seek vaguely familiar patterns of contextual variables and tend to gather multiple perspectives to synthesize and visualize 'the true truth' or a better version of life. In this way, they tend to be quite certain about how they want their lives to unfold, usually aspirational in pursuing meaningful goals with focus and determination as they seek to realize their personal potential."

"Introverted Thinking seeks to discover rules or direct formulas based on facts to guide thinking and behavior towards greater consistency and coherence. People with this dominant function tend to be highly analytical, preferring to adopt positions/judgments that are as free from biases or undue influences as possible. They often enjoy building skills and accumulating technical knowledge by systematically analyzing and deconstructing ideas/situations, preventing and solving problems, and manipulating systems to fix or enhance them. In this way, they can be dispassionate and self-sufficient in approaching situations with their refined knowledge, often admired for their calm and competent approach to solve problems. However, they may also become emotionally detached from situations due to the excision of the human perspective, incorrectly assuming it is irrelevant to their analyses. When people don't know how to use Ti properly, they tend to be overly reductionist, seeing only a simple cause for a complex situation and unable to recognize the gaps/flaws in their own reasoning process, especially when trying to understand issues in relationships and social contexts."

“The reason the two get confused so often is because, one: they are both introverted functions which makes them hard to see and distinguish, and two: they are both abstract. Ni collects and stores abstract information, while Ti makes abstract connections and conclusions.”

“Ni is a 'perceiving' funtion, which is different from Ti because it does not do the 'judging' which is Ti's role. Ni in simple words is seeing and thinking about things very deeply to find connections and therefore form certain hunches or predictions. Many Ni dominants may have a conclusion which they got to, but they don't know how to explain the way they got to it. Ni uses more subconscious thinking than Ti does. Ti on the other hand analyses even more than Ni does, and sorts certain ideas, sort of like Pros and Cons, it is usually what can be the deciding factor.”

*Quick reminder: Ghost never anticipated Graves' betrayal, and didn't give any reasons that he suspected of Graves before that. He seems unfazed when the betrayal occurs, but that's because it's not something new to him.

So, while I can argue that his lack of Fe may simply be because it is an inferior function, hence less dominant and developed function (though I think he showed a lot of Fe during the whole Mexico situation) it’s hard to argue his lack of Ni because it's a DOMINANT function. And when we talk about dominant function, when is undeveloped, it doesn't indicate a lack of, but rather an unhealthy mode of acting/thinking/coping.

So, about Price... I think he's an ESTP. Stereotypically, he's not the typical ESTP. Unlike Ghost, who has a weak/undeveloped inferior Fe, I think Price has his inferior Ni very well developed, and that's why I think the fact that he is an ESTP is not so noticeable. Just as I compared Ghost to a character who shared the same MBTI type that was attributed to him, I will now compare Price to Makarov. In my opinion, Makarov in this game is a good example of an ENTJ. If you compare the characters and the way they behave, you’ll see that Price has a liiittle more difficulty seeing beyond the obvious, and for me, if he had Ni aux as many point out, he would have anticipated many of Makarov's actions. And I go further, I also believe he would never have let Makarov live back in 2019, recognizing the threat that Makarov was, if he were and ENTJ. Because ENTJs tend to thinking ahead, if they have a problem they’ll think in a way to solve pragmatically, effectively and definitively for once and all. Also, Price is highly reluctant to work with Shepherd, showing a lack of Te/Ni, working with his enemies to achieve his goals is not his first thought (but it’s Laswell “first” thought, a Ni dom). It's not about trust, but personal/team/world gain. Again, he’s incapable of seeing the big picture. And, of course, he has a significant amount of Fe, the way he is a great leader, communicates effectively with people around him, and bond with his team proves that.

I think all the quotes I put up above really show how neither Price nor Ghost use Ni in their first two stacks. But both of them use Ti. There's this stereotype that sensors aren't that smart, so when you've got two characters who should be the best of the soldiers, really smart and skilled, people tend link them with the “best MBTI types” and type them as Ni users (completely bullshit, they just do this because they don’t know how functions work). And again, when you compared them with two Ni users (Laswell and Makarov) you can see how different they are.

I'm gonna do a part two and post it later because I wanna talk about Gaz and Soap too (and some other characters, but the two of them are my main goal now), but I think this one ended up slightly longer than I planned.

[calypsolemon]

not sure if you’ve answered on this in the past, but do you have any thoughts regarding steven’s future/development/what he does following him leaving at the end of steven universe future? i find your analysis posts about steven incredibly interesting. sorry if somebody’s asked you this question already!

It hasn't been asked before! A question of this nature is going to really involve less analysis and more just... speculation/ headcanon, but thats fine too! I'm down to indulge lol

I think the thing that would near for sure happen post-future at some point is Steven moving into his own house or apt. His road trip basically intends as much (he states the goal is to try to find a place to settle down), and furthermore I think a place of his own is something Steven needs even more than distance from his family/ gem stuff. The one thing Steven really lacked growing up was any sense of privacy, and a consistently safe home environment. It would do wonders for his mental health to have a home that he has complete control over, that is unlikely to be in any immediate danger of being wrecked.

After that is more nebulous, as throughout most of the series all of Steven's ambition hinged on gem stuff, and then once he started actually doing gem stuff, it took over his life. It's hard to say what actually interests him outside of that. Quite possibly, he doesn't even know. I can say with near certainty that I think he would avoid any career to do with music (he likes making it but I think it would be too close to his dad's rockstar lifestyle), and he would probably avoid stuff with plants too (both due to risk of bringing them to life, and because plant care was one of Rose's main hobbies). However he is a creative soul at his core, so he might end up pouring himself into other hobbies that eventually become careers. I can see him doing something like pottery or glassblowing, something that can't really be shortcut by his powers and requires a sort of controlled strength. I think it would be therapeutic to him. I can also see him doing a lot of volunteer work in his spare time; I don't think he'll ever fully rid himself of the desire to help people, but if he doesn't have to become personally involved in someone's mental health, it could be healthier output for that "need to be needed."

Despite separating himself from it for his own mental health, I'm pretty sure he would still intermittently get re-involved with little homeschool and gem politics and whatnot. I think after some time healing he would find that he missed aspects of it, and also there's likely the occasional thing that require "pink diamond's" attention no matter what (unfortunately). But thats why the physical separation is important. At the end of the day, he's not the one soley responsible for these things, and he isn't even the primary person responsible. He can just be the guy they call in once in a while. Which, I think over time, would also help assuage any potential guilt he would feel over "dropping responsibilities." He may have left, but he isn't running away from his problems like Rose. He's simply taking an equal and fair part of the work that must be done.

Also, I didn't know where to fit this, but I think the one thing Steven will never do in the future is have children. And not just because of the passing of the gem issue, but also because I think he would genuinely not feel right about doing so. He likes kids and probably ends up adoptive-uncle-ing a few kids in whatever neighborhood he lives in, but I dont think he would ever actually raise kids of his own. This is just pure headcanon tho lol.