#clearly the most unproblematic faves of all

[thevalleyisjolly]

I have zero involvement or investment in whatever hell the pirate fandom’s been apparently raising, but all I’ll say is that clearly the best pirates are the Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything.

[tagedeszorns]

Okay, is Twitter/Reddit leaking that hard?

What is happening here on Tumblr of lately? Why do people suddenly feel the need, to go to art-posts and comment/reblog with clearly negative and derogative stuff about the pictured character(s)?

Do you think that's how you get the artist to draw your faves instead of theirs? Well, bad news - this is how you get the artist to stop posting their art alltogether!

If I want to discuss my problematic faves (and I don't think I have even one unproblematic one, to be honest. Not even the Salamanders!) I'm making a post for that. Or many posts. Because I like to discuss my horrible gremlins. Because I know they are the absolutely worst guys (affectionate). I have read everything there is about them (even the most obscure shit retconned long ago) and I'm ready to fight on a proper discussion-post.

But if I post fun, lighthearted art of them ... I don't know how this could lead to the conclusion I want to get told how hard they suck and how to best kill them!

I'm used to this from Twitter and I'm not surprised if it happens there. It's even a game I'm playing with myself: "How long until the first 'But he stabbed Argel Tal and I can never forgive him for that!'-comment after I posted art of Erebus? Ten minutes? Two hours?" (it's ten minutes, mostly). Or "How many 'He sucks and can't fight'-whines after I post Lucius?" (a lot. It's a lot) It's just Twitter. Twitter is the Mos Eisley of Social Media. I'm posting there because I'm a whore for likes, that's all.

But - et tu, Tumble?

[aquaaquila]

Let me join thus conversation:

The solid burn was regarding the "and you won't last a day here" that was the burn, not the home invasion.

And while Poppy's action was extreme, arguably Branch just had it coming. For years he was pretty much shitting on every troll celebration, even the small and unproblematic ones out of his sheer paranoia while also actively rejecting any attempts at trolls, in particularly Poppy, reaching out to him.

Of course the trolls lacked maturity to properly understand Branch's pain I can give it that, but Branch literally did not need to be asshole to them. Trauma is not an excuse to be a dick. Like, Snack Pack was rather tired of his BS and the only one who was actually an asshole was Creek. And like, didn't Branch himself broke into someone's house to wreck stuff inside and disrespect the ones living there in his paranoia? And how were the trolls even supposed to understand his concerns if he refused to ellaborate? Branch for them had no explanation so they didn't have other option than to think he's a drama queen.

And supposedly in spite of Branch being "right", he still didn't care himself enough to actually help out the other trolls. Like I can understand his cynism regarding saving the snacklack, but my dude was willing to live in solitude for 11 years not caring if people from his village would be safe. Heck, he wouldn't join them if they all moved and didn't care if they got eaten. That's a bit liw, sure the trolls wronged him but it doesn't mean he should be indifferent and numb to their suffering. I doubt anyone in snackpack (outside of Creek) would be ok or indifferent with Branch getting hurt in any way in spite of lack of friendship between them.

Poppy ultimately raiding his home had 2 objectives in mind: find temporary shelter for her people and convince Branch to help her as Poppy knew she couldn't do this on her own even if she was willing to try. It's not really villanous if my dude refused to be decent in favor of being butthurt. Branch maybe the most scared but he was the most competent in dealing with them. She also didn't use her power as a royalty to make all of this happen. Poppy could've been a normal troll and still bring everyone over simply because she's liked as a person, not as a princess. And cool he worked years for all his stuff in the bunker, but it still was just junk and Branch can have more than just that, something that shall nlt lose value the moment it stops being useful.

And now onto ukulele scene: Poppy is clearly struggling here, like the girl was stressed (and can you blame her after what she went through?) hence she had hard time sleeping. And her singing wasn't as loud as her party and ukulele was more to spite Branch who's also being a bitch here. Both Branch and Poppy can be jerks. And ironically the ukulele seemed to tame the wildlife around them which I would say made them a lot safer if all foresy creatures joined to harmonise in Poppy's song, big and small, and one wouldn't want to mess with such vibe.

And Poppy herself showed how resilient trolls can be when put in dangerous situations, and the lack of common sense comes from them living safely in the village while preserving happiness to an extreme degree.

And such petition won't work with Branch being fan fave and JT being influential to the movie. And Poppy was way more important in first 2 movies than Branch.

And maybe uf Creek was actually sorry for going through with Chef's plan, maybe he wouldn't die. Is Creek sorry for what he did? Even if he had no choice, ANYONE would feel like shit after committing something so heinous (he still wrote a death sentence to EVERYONE in his village), but did Creek feel bad? Agency will cime from that.

Cool idea about Poppy's mom, but I'd think she wouldn't be as broken as Poppy KNOWS family is complicated. Having a bad mom is not world-shattering anymore.

Okay, this has honestly been in the back of my mind for years now, but I feel like I must ask. Did anyone else feel an immense feeling of anger/discomfort when Poppy brought the entire village into Branch's bunker? Because I did. When I first saw it, I felt uncomfortable. And to this day, I get the ick thinking about it. Like, I get why she did it, and I understand that it was the safest thing to do for the village, but like... I can't explain just how upsetting it was to me. Branch is a better person than I am, because if it were me, just... no. And she didn't even ask properly! And then had the audacity to say it was a solid burn returned like??? No? No it wasn't? That was a home invasion, not a snipe back at him, what? In what world is his comment on her life skills even remotely on the same level as her just letting the ENTIRE VILLAGE in his house? And they weren't even good houseguests either! They IMMEDIATELY started messing with his stuff, like, have these trolls never heard of proper guest etiquette? Look, I love Poppy, but she can seriously get on my nerves a lot. Especially since the movies made it so that in the end, she doesn't really learn much because her screw ups have a way of completely disappearing with little to no consequences.

To add to this, anyone else feel like when rewatching the first Trolls movie, that Branch was in the right, and that he was done so dirty by so many? Like, the ukulele scene. As a kid, I did think Branch was being rude, but now? Those 2 were literally out in the woods, with who knows what out there. Poppy literally got her friends kidnapped by a BERGEN literally the DAY BEFORE, and she's going back to singing loudly? Like, Poppy, babe, are you TRYING to die? Her whole song just shows how much plot armor Poppy has because, seriously? Not to mention, trolls are tiny, so her singing could genuinely put a target on them. I feel like the only reason Branch didn't up and say this is because it probably should be common knowledge, but apparently, pop trolls don't really have much common sense. I really wish they had Branch explain it though, because as a kid, I thought him to be a killjoy and unnecessarily bossy. But now? Yeah, I can see why singing in the forest when you're tiny might not be the best idea. Makes me wonder just how the pop trolls survived all this time?

I love Poppy, I really do. She's fun, nice, and is a complex protagonist (who is awesome and not a Mary Sue, though the same can't be said for TBGO/Trollstopia Poppy) whose character development is very visible. However, the writers really focus more on Branch's character development than hers and focus more on finding new ways to traumatize him than finding ways to make Poppy more mature, and that's what really bugs me about Poppy's character.

I really wanna start a petition for DreamWorks to lay off Branch for once and give Poppy more attention. I'm not asking to all out traumatize her (though the idea of DreamWorks giving her the Branch Treatment is funny in the mean way) but it would be nice if they gave her another journey where she has to learn and grow, and for there to be consequences that aren't easily waved away by a song and dance. TWT did a decent job at it (it could have been better, but it was a start), and I really need DreamWorks to do something like that (but better, obviously) again.

That being said, I do like how they handled Broppy. They went from rival/strangers to friends to lovers. It didn't happen instantly, and the progression of the relationship didn't feel rushed or forced. They both have an equal standing in the relationship and are supportive of each other. It's cute, and I'm glad DreamWorks at least got that right.

This should have probably been separate asks, but oh well. YOLO or whatever. I just really wanna know your thoughts.

I'm mostly of the same mind it angers me but I get why she did it I feel at the very least she should have told everyone to behave themselves and not act like they were teenagers throwing a house party while their parents were away for the night.

some people have said that maybe she did in on purpose to pressure Branch into going with her but I prefer to think that wasn't the case because in my opinion that would be straight up villainous.

a Royal abusing their power to put pressure on a civilian to Risk their life to rescue a group of your friends who are in danger due to your incompetent leadership.

not to mention a civilian who she knows is more terrified of the Bergens than anyone else in the village.

yeah that would make her an out and out villain imo so I prefer to think that wasn't her intention.

I don't feel its so bad it needs to be changed in the story overall but I would have liked it had Branch actually called her out on it.

basically just have him angrily point out to her after she acts like it wasn't a big deal because it was just a bunch of old Junk. that it wasn't just a place to him it was his home and that wasn't just a load of old Junk it was stuff he worked hard for years to make and it made him feel safer it was the only place he actually felt safe and like he could relax.

maybe prompting Poppy to actually give a more genuine apology as before she just thought of his home as him being over the top for the sake of it.

since she and the village just viewed him as a Drama queen and she didn't really realise his fears were actually so genuine that the Bunker actually mattered to him that deeply.

part of me thinks the intent by the writers was for her consequences in the first film to be being betrayed by Creek who she cared about but yeah that whole thing could have been handled better.

her and her dads leadership put him in danger and he literally said what he had to say in order to avoid being eaten alive he didn't really have any agency in the betrayal.

so Poppy's somber pleas for him to not go through with it kinda make me mad tbh like this whole situation is your fault yet my guy Creek is expected to die because of it.

so your incompetent dad can live? yeah no.

also if you made that Petition for Branch I'd totally sign it 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

and I agree Poppy deserves some more focus and development tho a touch of angst for her I think could maybe be a good thing in making her character stronger.

like I've said before maybe having Peppy die in a future film and her at first trying to ignore her grief by focusing on her queen duties and slapping on her usual smile worrying both Branch and Viva.

or having her mother turn up in the future like some fans have suggested only for her to be a selfish villain who couldn't care less about Poppy and Viva.

and this is the proper shock to Poppy's "" family is always great "" mentality as even with Bro zone they worked things out in the end making her think no family could be entirely broken.

but her mother literally doesn't give a shit if her children live or die and she maybe abandoned them both when Poppy was a baby.

drawing a little contrast with Branch only for the mother to have zero remorse since she didn't want children and maybe she was only with Peppy for status as royalty.

and Bro zone could be shown as being more remorseful over the past even a while after the events of TBT which contrasts with Poppy's mom kinda nicely.

anyway I'm getting off topic a bit lol but yeah I agree Poppy needs more focus and Branch's needs to be picked on less by the writers.

but I feel a touch of angst directed Poppy's way could give her some good development and make her a stronger character overall.

edit. also as someone who doesn't like Hugs Poppy's smug stunt with the Hug time Bracelets does make me a little mad like tell the Trolls to Respect people's Boundaries Girl.

[mahixa]

The amount of hate Lando gets is a unbelievable. From people clowning what happened to the poor boy on Sunday to just making fun of his personal life and talking about getting genital tattoo of his name 😶 Why does he get so much negative attention in your opinion? Maybe cuz he’s so popular?

It's hard for me to exactly explain their behaviour because my brain has just never worked like theirs - I have never done something like that, like sending someone hate or making fun of someone online. I just don't waste my time like that. I cannot LITERALLY comprehend how a person can just wake up, HATE on someone, eat something, HATE on someone, and then go to sleep. How empty and borning and toxic their pathetic life has to be, honestly?

If you don't like something, stop talking about it. Giving your attention only makes you care about them, right, so why would you care about something you don't like? Jesus.

The not-so-funny-tattoo-on-a-dick joke comes from a white 50 years old man, who thinks he can say whatever he wants. Well. I think this concept sounds familiar to all of us.

The Sunday situation with Lando being robbed and people saying he shouldn't be "upset" about his watch being stolen is something that shows folks clearly don't understand that rich people are still people. They still can experience trauma. Remember what happened to Kim K in Paris? Yeah. Why was she so "upset"? She has so much money she shouldn't be, right? Ah, give me a break...

People making fun of celebrities' personal life is unfortunately nothing new but I just can't wrap my head around it. It had happened before Lando, it is happening to Lando, it will happen after Lando. And it sucks.

I think Lando can be a very honest person and this is what people don't often like. They prefer the "forever so happy joyful 24/7 people pleaser" type of folks. The so-called "unproblematic faves". And honestly have you ever met a living human being? Everyone, including me, you, and them, everyone has made a mistake in their life. At least once. But the difference between us and them (famous people) is that we make our mistakes far away from the public eye.

We are being stupid in private.

They don't have the luxury.

They cannot allow themselves to make mistakes, the cameras all around them. And this is a huge burden to live with, especially when you are 19, 20 or 21. People in that age are still growing, still learning, still progressing. And some people, especially on twitter, love to blow things out of proportion and create drama. Lando has done a huge job working on himself and he's becoming a very reasonable guy. And most importantly - he's here to drive a car. He's not your politican, he's not your brother, your husband, your child. He has zero influence on your life. So if you don't like him, leave him be and drink some melissa.

[jayflrt]

small rant sorry

i honestly will never understand why some engenes don’t like to accept that their faves are problematic. literally almost every idol is and has done something problematic, and most fans accept that and call them out but with some engenes it seems like theyre stuck in this perfect fantasy where enha are the most unproblematic group and they refuse to believe they can do anything wrong and try everything to defend, even if it means dragging sunoo or weaponising racism and CA. i just hope that enha starts taking this stuff seriously and issues an apology bc i’m worried for sunoo :/ no teen should have to hear those words every few weeks, especially from the ones he’s supposed to consider his best friends

not all engenes tho, i’ve seen some that do take this seriously but it seems this pattern of them those other engenes defending them w their lives will never stop (same happened with the hs and jake situation)

oh yeah 100% agree 😭 people need to accept that the k-industry in general is pretty toxic and that extends to most groups and idols whether we like it or not. and those engenes need to realize that they’re doing harm than good when they’re defending enha with their dying breath when they’re clearly in the wrong like 💀 it’s okay to admit idols can be making mistakes and hold them accountable 😭😭 this image they project on them only pushes them higher on a pedestal to be like ,, impossibly perfect

part of it is also rooted in the fact that some people just seriously lack empathy 😭 they cannot put themselves in the shoes of another person who is affected by fatphobic comments, so they just write it off as an issue that isn’t worth paying attention to ://

but yes i have seen some engenes actually be very mature about this whole issue !! there’s just bad apples out there that are louder than the rest, but i was listening to this one space and it was very satisfying how they shut one of the ppl down for saying enha doesn’t owe us an apology LOL

[girl4music]

BUFFY REWATCH - S06E05 - Life Serial

*Open on the hallways of UC Sunnydale. Various students walking around*

BUFFY (Voice over): “This is gonna be great.

*Cut to Buffy and Willow entering a classroom*

I thought it might be a little weird being back, I mean, it is weird, but like a good kind of weird.”

*Instead of desks the classroom has long tables set up in a rectangle. They walk around the perimeter to find empty seats*

WILLOW: “There's the teacher, Mike.

*Shot of the teacher dressed casually, writing on the blackboard the words "Social Construction of..."*

You'll like Mike.”

*Sits*

BUFFY: “You call your teacher Mike? Boy, school sure has changed since my day.”

*Sits*

*Mike turns from the blackboard. The final word he wrote was "reality”*

MIKE: “Social Construction of Reality. Who can tell me what that is?

*Many students raise their hands including Willow*

Rachel?”

RACHEL: “A concept involving a couple of opposing theories, one stressing the externality and independence of social reality from individuals.”

*Buffy looks confused*

MIKE: “And the flip side?

*Many hands raised*

Steve?”

STEVE: “That each individual participates fully in the construction of his or her own life.”

MIKE: “Good, and who can expand on that?

*Hands*

Chuck?”

CHUCK: “Well, those on the latter side of the theoretical divide stress...”

BUFFY:

*Leans toward Willow and whispers*

“Will, I'm not following this too well.”

WILLOW: “Oh. The trick is to get in the rhythm, kinda go with the flow.”

*Raises her hand*

BUFFY: “Flow-going would be a lot easier if your classmates weren't such big brains.”

WILLOW:

*Hand still raised*

“Buffy, that's ridiculous! They are no smarter than you or me.”

MIKE (Voice over): “Willow?”

WILLOW:

*Lowers hand, speaks to Mike*

“Because social phenomena don't have unproblematic objective existences. They have to be interpreted and given meanings by those who encounter them.”

*Buffy stares at Willow*

MIKE (Voice over): “Nicely put. So, Ruby, does that mean there are countless realities?”

WILLOW:

*Notices Buffy's look*

“What?

*Cut to Buffy and Willow walking through the hallways*

You're not dumb. Just rusty.”

BUFFY: “Maybe I should ease back in with some non-taxing classes, like, introduction to pies, or maybe advanced walking.”

*Tara hurries up to join them*

TARA: “Hey! How'd it go?”

WILLOW: “She did fine! Sociology, not a big fave.”

TARA: “She didn't like Mike?”

BUFFY: “No, look, it's fine. I just need to spend a little more time re-acclimating. You know, to get back into the swing of things.”

First of all, can I just say that I would have loved to be apart of this college lecture. Social Construction of Reality is one of my favourite concepts to talk about. Especially because I firmly believe reality is constructed by the mind and, as Willow said, must be interpreted by sociality to be given any kind of objective existence otherwise it is meaningless and purposeless. It can’t be said to be “real” without it. Although some could argue that it still isn’t with it.

One of the biggest differences between Buffy and Willow is the level of cerebral capacity both possess. Willow - being the most academically intelligent and successful of the Scooby Gang sans Giles, clearly possesses an advanced level of cerebral capacity, whereas Buffy - having to sacrifice a lot of her public education for reasons stated earlier in the episode - possesses… I would say, an intermediate level of cerebral capacity. I don’t think she’s dumb by any means but the show writers do like to paint the character as that sometimes. I agree with Willow in this scene. She is rusty and just needs to oil the pipes. Besides, Buffy possesses a level of self-awareness that Willow does not have which makes her more intuitively intelligent than Willow is. As ‘The Slayer’, Buffy’s instincts kick in when her conscious mind is idle. Any fighter’s instincts would. But especially a fighter destined to fight the good fight. Something Willow has never really understood about being ‘The Slayer’ although she does desire the same level of power and strength as Buffy has as ‘The Slayer’.

I think it’s interesting how it always seems to be Willow that has to remind Buffy that she isn’t stupid. When she was tutoring her in ‘Becoming (Part I), she explains that it’s a lack of focus which is what prevents Buffy from academic achievement. There’s just too much on her mind and going on in her life to focus on such mundane things as public education. There always is because she’s constantly juggling between being a mortal woman and being a Slayer and she never quite finds the balance. Certainly less so in Season 6 when she’s just been brought back to life and has to essentially restart all over again. So it can be forgiven that she’s not very mentally with it.

And unless it’s just the way Sarah Michelle Gellar plays the character, I don’t really think “dumb” is a very accurate adjective to describe Buffy Summers. There is too much worldliness to her portrayal of the character. People might think differently as they have seen other portrayals of her. But I genuinely think the painting of her as “the dumb one” doesn’t work at all. Although I do admit, for all the ways Willow feels inferior to Buffy, I do like that there’s one environment where she doesn’t feel out of place compared to her.

Much like Xander in Season 4, Buffy is fully feeling the isolating anxiety that everyone else is far ahead of her and is moving passed her at a pace too blurry to see and therefore keep up with. A very clever visual for that we see a little later on when walking with Tara and she keeps missing what she’s saying and doing. The fabric of reality literally passes before her eyes. It’s one of the coolest sequences in the show and I do think it’s a real shame that they didn’t do anything with the theme of “time-travel” any further than this.

[mc-critical]

hey, it's been a while, hope you're doing fine!

your unproblematic faves in mc/mc:k and why?

mine from mc would be mihrunissa (she's the queen of s4, and also my 2nd favourite character from the franchise overall), cihangir (the king of s4), mehmet ( a non-existent character imo, was loving to everyone from what i could tell & was pretty so why not), nergissah (ik she didn't have much of a character but she was extremely loving, even towards mihrunissa who wasn't her biological mother, adored her relationship with mahi and she was the only family mahi had left after musti, nissa & mehmet died apart from fidan & yusuf), atmaca, yavuz, taslicali (musti's loyal friends; and i adored taslicali w/ mihrimah, the only guy i shipped her with tbh), and i guess that's it, i may be missing someone considering there were several characters.

from mc:k it would be geverhan (the queen of s2, i love her so much and she's my second most favourite character from the franchise overall, such a kind & sensitive soul, she truly deserved a better ending, i just wanted to see her happy), zulfiqar (one of the most loyal people in the entire franchise, deserved a better ending, dying in the place he spent his blood, sweat & tears was definitely a tragic death but also ties into his character, had a sweet relationship w/ humasah who also deserved a better ending), mustafa (my boy! he's just so adorable in the series, the baby & the adult, the joke he played on halime had me in tears, davut's reaction to him sending the table for a walk; i'm sorry but he was the mvp of s1 and deserved so much better than mu/rat killing him ((fuck mu/rat)) but i guess it's kinda cool that he got to sail a ship before dying considering he always loved ships? idk but he's just fantastic and such a cutie + the english subtitles w him were hilarious), and i guess that's it, most characters were kinda problematic in the series, even humasah who i adored but i definitely don't appreciate for trying to put iskender on the throne which would cause the death of kosem & her children. i would've added ibrahim, who i think is such a cutie and i don't understand any hate towards him; i understand the things he did in s2 ending were problematic but he was just having a severe mental breakdown and what he needed was therapy, not that turhande dethroning him. honestly, fuck mu/rat & turhande.

(also mustafa from mc though i don't think he would be considered unproblematic? )

sorry for the rant lol just, unproblematic faves are so good to talk about because you aren't conflicted with them like you are with characters such as hurrem, mahidevran, nurbanu, kosem, nigar, selim, bayezid, etc.

i hope you're having a great day!

Hey, I'm happy to see you back! 😻

We share a lot of unproblematic faves! I love almost everyone you mentioned!

In MC I love Mihrunnisa, because, as you said she's an absolute queen and the best match for Mustafa for me. She suits his level of maturity and they had a very deep, pure, truly genuine bond you didn't see with anyone else from his women. What's most unique about her character is that they didn't put any opposition around her, her story wasn't overshadowed by a love triangle and that helped the relationship between her and Mustafa shine all the more and we saw her have more agency as a character. Cihangir is such a cinnamon roll and cutie pie and yet he's so smart and perceptive of his surroundings. Neither his love for Mustafa, nor his deformity define him and I love what they did with him in the span of a little more than a half-season. Taşlicali, Atmaca and Yavuz are the best trio ever and I loved watching them in action. How loyal they were to Musti and how they wanted to protect him. 😍😍 I loved Taşlicali's moments with Mihrimah and Mahidevran as well as Mustafa, I loved how Atmaca put Rüstem in his place (we stan!) and Yavuz was so cool and they killed him too soon. We should've seen more of Nergisşah, tbh, but her relationship with Mahi is everything and like all of Mahidevran's relationships with the people she loves, she brought the best in her. And she also seemed like a loving and caring human being to everyone else she interacted with, too, she's just... lovely. Screw SS for marrying her off like that, this piece of trash should be killed with fire.

I would also add Helena to my list of unproblematic favourites, because, writing-wise, she's one of the better handlings of a tomboyish girl in the franchise, a mash-up of both Armin's plot and Aybige's character done much better. Yes, just like all the girls with tomboyish personalities (Aybige, Diana etc.), that trait of theirs was either diminished or gone, but with Helena the blow wasn't as hard as with the rest and you could definetly say that this is more a side of hers allowed to show from her completely new environment and is probably the one most restrained by it. The girl clearly deserved better than what they put her through and I loved how much she cherished her own freedom, rights and family. Her relationship with Rita was great, too.

I really want to say and Mustafa and Gülfem, as well, to be honest, because while they're flawed and far from perfect, they're overally consistently positive characters in the eyes of the narrative and their questionable actions aren't as drastic for me to put them in the "problematic" category.  I mean, compared to everyone else.... Okay, they still technically don't count, but I love both of them too much to refrain from mentioning them at least hehe 😅 Gülfem should've gotten much much more in the way of storylines of her own, but the moments where she shone really scream potential. She's such a loyal, patient and understanding person and her strenght to listen to other people's sorrows, be considerate of them and seemingly being able to forgive people because from whom she suffered (Mahidevran apparently) or made the people she loved suffer in a way and involving her in this, too (Hürrem), is extraordinary for me. And she tried to kill SS, about time someone did it, I stan, she left the show like a queen! And my adoration of Mustafa is pretty much endless, so I won't delve too deep into it. His relationship with his mother, his resilience, his intuition, his still firm hand contrasted to his loyalty to his father that crushed him, but I can't help but respect... yup.

For MCK I have the exact same favourites, as well, only I would add Meleksima, because she was pretty harmless, deserved better and loved Osman and their kids. Gevherhan is my favourite dynastic sultana in the whole franchise (followed by Hatice) and I love her selflessness and humanity. She subverted all the sultana tropes, basically, I don't recall a scene where she was ever elitist to someone below her, she didn't intrigue or scheme and she didn't have an agenda of her own. Her suicide was her breaking the ties she had with her environment and her deciding to finally be the selfish person for once, to do what she wanted, to decide her own destiny. Deserved to be happy with Silahtar more than anything else ever. Zulfikar was so understanding and noble, I'm surprised that the palace didn't devour him, his death was so heartwrenching. Mustafa is a precious bean that also got sucked by his own environment and by the horrible Fatih law and game of survival, his psyche was soo destroyed you can't help but feel sorry for him, at the very least. The same goes with Ibrahim who is also a product of his own environment and even the conflicts of his brothers, I get why he would turn his back on everything and everyone and fixate on the only thing that could bring him a bit of peace and escapism - his harem. He and Mustafa were put in roles they had no capacity to play anymore and I'm sobbing. And yes, Ibo didn't deserve to be so screwed over by Turhande, screw her and Murat. (and also Atike, what she did with her sister because of her selfish, unrequited love and she was told about it by Sil himself! was disgusting, interesting character, but so were Murat and SS and even Turhan in her thematic utility.)

[spiritscraft]

Hey so I reading your post about Doreen V and you mentioned that she was a queer ally and feminist and I was wondering where you found info on this? Since a biography about her I read a few years ago mentioned that she had a complex history with joining far-right racist hate groups. Which seems like a conflicting choice for a feminist and queer ally to make. It's hard to imagine that someone who believed is racialism and engaged in neo-nazi groups would support queer individuals.

When she left the far right group she wrote a letter that stated clearly why she was letting her membership lapse mentioning her belief feminism and gay rights. There is a good wikipedia article that summarizes it if you read the whole thing that may refresh your memory of her biography. Her biographer Heselton suggests she may have been continuing her espinioage during her membership in these groups and so does Ronald Hutton. They knew her better than we do, but I also believe her writings speak for themselves. The nationalist movements of this time period are very challenging as some were members to promote what they believed were the indigenous rights of native peoples. For example, Doreen firmly believed Wicca/Witchcraft was an indigenous religion of native British people. That is highly debateable obviously. The IRA is another such nationalist movement that pagans were involved in trying to preserve native Gaelic culture and so on and some were pro-nazi others were not. Certainly its red flag. Some historians compare these groups to the Green Party for wanting to preserve the environment and cultural ways of life. However there was certainly a white supremacist element and whether Doreen was performing espinioge on connections to Nazism or not, I suppose can only be circumstantialy supported by everything else she wrote and did and what people who knew her say. However, all these neopagan revival folks were racist at least casually and problematic to a high degree. She is not an unproblematic fave. Cultural appropropration is rampant and most of these people were pretty priveleged. It's up to each person, do they need unreasonable doubt that she was a nazi or unreasonable doubt that she wasn't, is she guilty by association? In a trial, I think there is enough evidence in her favor. It's up to you.

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

Fandom ask for Timeless?

Sure thing! (I’ll most likely be factoring in the continuation.) 

Favorite character - Flynn. I know, it’s the popular choice. But what can I say? This is the character that made me love this show. Up until The Watergate Tape, I was enjoying it...but then we got to his monologue recounting the death of his family, and I was completely hooked. He is so complex, so interesting, and such a snarky boi. I just love him so much. 

Second favorite character - Gotta love Rufus. I could easily go with Jessica, because I love her arc in Season 3. I could also go with Emma, because she’s evil in a wonderful way. But Rufus is just...such a swell guy. He’s such a sweetie. The time team literally broke all the rules just to get him back. That’s how you know this brilliant cinnamon roll is worth it.

Least favorite character - Nicholas. Dear god, he was so pointless. Especially looking back on how much they built him up at the beginning of Season 2. He was supposedly the new head of Rittenhouse, but all he did was sit around and make vague commentary that he clearly thought was intimidating. Somewhere between his demanding deviled eggs and marveling at his new phone I just yelled at my screen, “You are so boring! Do something evil!” 

The character I’m most like - I’d again have to give this one to Rufus, with all due modesty. I’m a dork. I’m not nearly as smart as he is, but I get tongue-tied around other dorks when they’re pretty, and I’m super loyal to my friends. 

Favorite pairing - Is it cheap to go with Rufus and Jiya? They’re the unproblematic faves and I love them. I just really dig it when a relationship is portrayed for multiple seasons with healthy problems and no petty drama like love triangles. *Side eyes Season 2.* It’s part of why I love Chandler and Monica. 

Least favorite pairing - Lucy and Wyatt. I completely understand shipping them and I have no desire to offend anyone, but this ship always felt forced to me. It felt like they fell for each other because the show wanted them too. I preferred them being best friends - we don’t get nearly enough representation of male/female friendships in media, and when we do, there’s always some “reason” why they aren’t a couple. That isn’t necessary. 

Favorite moment - A couple different ones come to mind. The entire sequence with Lucy protecting John Rittenhouse from Flynn, and then that moment at the end of the season, “Flynn? I’m not here to fight. I want to help you.” As almost a spiritual successor to that moment. The other moment that occurs to me comes at the end of Season 3. “Rittenhouse made me a killer.” To avoid spoilers for anyone who hasn’t read the continuation, that’s all that I’ll say. But if you know, you know. 

Rating out of 10 - Solid 8/10. I love it so much, but it's not perfect. Season 2 especially 😂

[invisible-mirror]

You know what? I’m going to talk about this, because it’s Tumblr, and where can I fangirl about obscure literary characters no one else cares about if not Tumblr? Y’all are gonna think I’m an absolute weirdo but that’s OK, my friends already know I’m a weirdo.

Here’s the thing: I’ve discovered a website with English translations of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

(It’s here and it’s glorious: dssenglishbible.com and yes it’s run by a random amateur, but the bit I’m about to tell you I cross-referenced with the Septuagint so I know it’s right.)

So this site highlights the differences between the text of each scroll and its counterpart in (an English translation of) the Masoretic Hebrew text, which forms the basis for most English versions of the Old Testament. Most of the differences are insignificant, but there are some chunks here and there where you get whole sentences added or taken away.

For example, the traditional version of 1 Samuel 14:24 reads as follows:

The men of Israel were distressed that day; for Saul had adjured the people, saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food until it is evening, and I am avenged of my enemies.” So none of the people tasted food.

The DSS version (and as I later confirmed, the Septuagint) of that same verse reads:

But Saul committed a great sin of ignorance that day; for Saul had adjured the people, saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food until it is evening, and I am avenged of my enemies...

And because I’m a weirdo, this makes me SUPER HAPPY, no seriously, you don’t understand how happy this makes me. Because this verse (in all manuscripts) is followed by a dumpster fire fiasco in which Saul’s eldest son Jonathan, precious unproblematic cinnamon roll fave don’t @ me, goes and Tastes Food omg, but it’s totally not his fault because early that morning he’d gotten bored and snuck out of camp to go wreck the nearest enemy outpost, as you do. So he’s off killing Philistines and misses the Morning Announcements, then when he gets back nobody thinks to fill him in on the whole not-eating thing. So later that day he happens upon a honeycomb in the woods (because this is 1000 BCE and honeybees are not yet endangered) and starts chowing down on the honey before anyone around him can say “Oh snap, you really should not be putting that in your mouth.”

(Side note: This is Reason #2 why I love Jonathan. I empathize deeply with anyone who demonstrates that level of enthusiasm for sugar.)

But listen: He almost gets away with it. Only a couple people saw him and they ain’t talkin’, because Jonathan is awesome and a cinnamon roll and everyone loves him. So there’s no reason Saul should ever find out, except for how Almighty God, the God of Israel, Lord of Hosts and King of Kings and all that jazz, freaking TATTLES ON HIM. I’M SERIOUS. Freaking snitches on him to Saul. Saul is off performing divination using Urim and Thummim – and when I say “Urim and Thummim,” think “Magic 8-Ball with a direct line to God” and you’ll have an adequate approximation – Saul is using divination to ask the Lord yes-or-no questions, and the answers all start coming back as REPLY HAZY, ASK AGAIN LATER. So Saul asks the Lord, are you giving me the silent treatment because you’re pissed about something? YES. Well shoot, okay, clearly somebody screwed up... give me a “yes” if it’s someone in my family and “no” if it’s one of the common soldiers. YES. He freaking TWENTY-QUESTIONS his way to the revelation that Jonathan Screwed Up and now Saul is oath-bound to execute him.

(Spoiler alert: He does not execute Jonathan. Mainly because a bunch of army officers make veiled threats to the tune of “you want him, you’ll have to go through ALL OF US.” Which is how we know objectively that Jonathan is awesome and everyone loves him.)

(Also protip: This is why, if you must swear on YHWH’s name that you will execute somebody, you find out who that somebody is BEFOREHAND.)

But it always bothered me, how the traditional text kiiiiind of hinted that God might want Jonathan dead. There are two possible readings: Either Saul is the idiot who swore an oath on God’s name and then failed to keep it, or Jonathan committed a capital offense and the fact that it was a stupid rule he didn’t know about is judged irrelevant. In support of the first reading, Saul does a number of idiotic things and pisses off God on something like a weekly basis; in support of the latter, this is YHWH we’re talking about, and we all know how he gets when people eat things they’re not supposed to. So I had Concerns about the moral of this story.

Which is why I’m inordinately pleased to find a half-sentence that dumps the blame squarely on Saul’s shoulders. This is officially about the oath, not the eating. God didn’t really want Jonathan dead; he was using him to call Saul’s bluff and he totally intended the thinly-veiled-mutiny-threat thing to happen. (As opposed to, say, Saul going against God’s will by listening to the mob, or some other interpretation.)

God is just, Jonathan retains unproblematic fave status, bada-bing bada-boom. Thank you Dead Sea Scrolls.

[lunaathorne]

Out of curiosity can I ask WHY some sectors of Bollywood tumblr don’t like Katrina Kaif? She seems cool so I’m just wondering

This needs to be answered in some detail and I shall do so. You’ve woken the dragon.

I’m assuming you are new to Bollywood; in which case: here’s the rundown- Katrina Kaif is an Indo-British actress, one of Bollywood’s most easily recognisable faces, highest paid actresses and one with a higher success ratio than many contemporaries. She is hailed as one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful Bollywood actress of the still active crop.Why do people hate her? To answer that, I’ll divide the people who are against Katrina into some broad categories:

1. “She is beautiful but that’s it”

There are many who feel Katrina represents the Eurocentric standards of beauty with her fair complexion and British accent (I quote from one of her own films “Silky hair, milky skin- she’s like a walking-talking vanilla ice cream”). In most of her films, it is her aesthetic than her acting abilities that is celebrated because- there can be no other way to put this- she is absolutely, ridiculously beautiful. Fitoor, where Katrina played Estella Havisham was like a two hour photoshoot of Kat, a sort of tribute to her beauty where the cameraman seemed to be enamored by her (reportedly, although it is a rumour, Rekha, the original choice for Miss Havisham, walked out because she felt Katrina was looking too beautiful, overshadowing her…..sounds ridiculous but the fact that such a rumour should spread shows the public image of Katrina’s presentation in films, as the art rather than the artist). Shobaa De called her “as beautiful as an English rose…and just as dull”.

Why is this bothering? Well, there are thousands of amazing, dark skinned aspiring Indian actresses who are still shamed for their complexion and denied major movie roles. Where Katrina is held as the ideal of beauty, people like Radhika Apte and Huma Qureshi are treated looks-wise with some disdain.  It’s an Ashara Dayne- Elia Martell case.What is ironical is that in no way is this Katrina’s fault. What people twist into her flaw is really a revelation of our sick mentality where till this day we worship peachy complexions and turn our noses down on anything less than porcelain-pale. Also, pretty much all our so-called “desi” stars have endorsed fairness creams, often through advertisements that target dark people as pitiful creatures. So, as Abhay Deol rightly called them out, it’s not the biracial Katrina herself per se, but the societal standards that have brought about this sad state of affairs.

2. “She piggybanks on others”

Ah, a classic. Since her debutante days, Katrina did largely minor roles in male-dominated films (mostly Salman or Akshay) the mindset is that she has attained her success because of them. To an extent I agree that Salman did serve as her godfather for her earlier career but??? to reduce her to Salman’s charity project is unfair, unjust and demeaning. And Katrina cannot win, no matter what she does. She was great in Namastey London? Well, she was just playing herself. (How criminal that an Indo-Brit should play an Indo-Brit. Tsk. The times.) She was great in New York? Well, Kabir Khan is her sugar daddy, we been knew. She was great in Raajneeti/ZNMD? But it was a multi-starrer! Tiger Zinda Hai? Ah, she finally scored a hit with a meaty role but….it was SALMAN BHAI who helped her! 

While almost every actress or actor has had a godfather of some sort, Katrina faces the brunt of it because she has scored so many hits, nay, blockbusters.  Instead of appreciating how she holds her own beside them, everything she does is a direct result of their godly manna. Her success is parried down to the Khans, long after she has become her own woman. Cruelly, when she does embark on brave projects with strong roles, the audience roll their eyes and ignore it- refer to when I went to watch Phantom (counter-terrorism drama, one of Kat’s best) at the theatre and one guy, I swear, remarked “it’d be more fun if she took off her clothes”. Also refer to Fitoor where one person, who was clearly unaware of either Great Expectations or the character of Estella, said that Katrina is acting stone-cold towards the hero cause she can’t act at all.

This, coupled with the Barbie doll image, has led to Katrina being projected as a sweet but altogether passive person. She doesn’t do “fiery roles” of empowering acts. She serves Sansa instead of Daenerys. And we all know how that goes. Fun fact: Katrina now is nothing less than the Diana Prince of Bollywood, an action queen through and through and her recent project TZH had her snatch wigs, purses and weaves away from Salman Bhai’s altar. BBC London mentioned her to be the best part of the film, as did most critics. Her role in MBKD had been cited  as one of the most interesting female  roles of 2011. Meanwhile Bollywood Tumblr “sHe cAN onLY dANCe”. 

3.“she is a diva with attitude”

Apparently people have had some bad experiences with Kat who is known to be very private and guarded. Recently a woman in Vancouver insulted her and told her to improve her attitude. There are also several anonymous users on Quora who posted that she is rude at the airport. I have not personally met her but I was lucky enough to interact with some fans who did and they all assured me she was graceful and kind. I do not know if she is rude at airports or in the gym or whatnot; what I do know is that almost all her co-stars said that she is a sheer delight to work with. What I do know is that she provided food and water to paps who were waiting outside her house in the hot sun. What I do know is that I visited a publishing house because I was lucky enough to win some merch signed by her and one of the journalists there, a friend of mine, said that Katrina is one of the most polite stars she’d ever met, dignified, cheerful, guarded yet friendly. In an industry where female stars are thrown into a veritable fighting pit since their debut, she is close to almost all the leading actresses and has an excellent rapport with them. She gets along famously well with every co-star, not easy when you have worked with such a wide variety of them. Just see her Instagram, it’s mostly Kat hyping everybody else.

4. “RANPIKA BROKE UP CAUSE OF HER!” “SALMAN BHAI, LITERAL HUMAN ANGEL WAS DEVASTATED BECAUSE SHE DIDN’T STAY WITH HIM!” “SHE DOESN’T DESERVE SALMAN!” “SHE DOESN’T DESERVE ANYBODY!”

Scum of the Earth. Please do ignore if the anti arguments fall along this line. They are usually the type of stans who lick the star’s shoes clean with their own drooble if needed, act as if they have been privy witness to every detail of their fave’s life, do not understand toxic relationships, calling them ‘cute bantering’, and like to slut shame women for a pastime, while ignoring abusers and criminals at the same time.

5. “She’s undeserving of the success she enjoys, cause she is a pathetic actress”

A very interesting segment of antis had risen during the time Katrina won the prestigious Smita Patil award for her contribution to cinema. Their self-righteous claim was that there were a thousand other deserving actresses who should have won. They fail to see that Katrina’s hard work and investment has paid off, and thus they reduce her to her male colleagues, her beauty, her sex appeal. These antis are of the overall same degree and type as those who still believe Kristen Stewart is a bad actress. Y'know, the ones who sigh in faux-piety and go “he/she’s cancelled” about 50 times a day. These are the ones without perspective, who do not see the point of growth and influence. By that logic, anybody with diligence who lacks a natural-born ability should be a useless liability in society. They should be undeserving appendages, rather than people who deserve credit for their efforts. I quote from one of my Twitter posts I made a while back:

“Katrina didn’t get daunted by obstacles.This babe dared to step into an industry speaking a completely foreign tongue, as Chinese would be to us, & made it on her own. She accepted the challenge & owned it. ….(She) has worked her skin off to achieve the superstardom she enjoys today. The results are that she was the only female star to be mentioned in the National Award winning film Filmistaan, and she enjoys monumental popularity among the younger demographic.“ 

There is a reason Marilyn Monroe, Suchitra Sen are remembered despite them not being the best ability wise. A star is not just born out of talent. A star is also born out of the ability to captivate the minds of the audience, by charm, by persona or elsewise. This is no small feat but  Kat can do that. I do not mean to compare her to  these iconic women, but am making  an analogy. She has screen presence. She is a star. Like it or not, she shines very, very bright. Is it her fault that she is successful? Beautiful? Hardworking? That directors come to her with scripts? What is she supposed to do, reject them? Well boohoo, I have news for you.

Besides, and this is what is most hilarious, Katrina is actually one of the most unproblematic stars of Bollywood, especially amusing when you look at the sheer number of the haters. She went to this talk show and there was this bitchy Never-Have-I-Ever segment of strip and tell where you’d have to roast your colleagues and Katrina chose to start taking off accessories and shoes instead of dragging her co-stars! Problematic! Toxic! Awful!

”……A very important thing that most overlook is that Katrina has on notable occasions spoken up for body positivity & freedom of identity. Her role in Bombay Talkies had her encourage a gender fluid person to accept himself & speak up on transsexuality…..(she ) has always remained supportive of her female colleagues, promoting their films on her own social media, praising them at every opportunity. Feminism. Done right.“

In summary, if you’re looking to criticise, you’ll find flaws in everybody, each and every Bollywood star. Mostly Katrina Kaif but also many others. She has her haters, they are vicious. But, on a better note, it doesn’t affect her. I raise you this superior bit of tea I found from this one cinephile’s Twitter thread:

I may have gotten too passionate and written too much. Forgive me. But also, you have my answer.

[monsterrates]

I love you and I am here you everything this blog is about. so extremely good, all good content. can I submit for you rating, a throwback character? Goliath from the Gargoyles cartoon. Or like, really any of the gargoyle characters, I love them all and they were a big part of my youth.

GOLIATH (Gargoyles)

Oh boy, I know people have Strong Opinions on this show, but I am just slightly too young to have watched it as a child. I know people like This Guy in particular, and a brief skim of the wiki reveals he was the only hot one and the human lady got with him so I Understand now.

INTRODUCTION: This monster is the leader of the newly founded Manhattan Gargoyle clan. I’m not sure what it is they do on the show, but since it was the 90s I can only assume the answer is “fight crime and/or evil gargoyles.”

PROS:♥ FINALLY an EXCELLENT pair of digitigrade legs. These legs are definitely my favorite part of this design, because they ALSO have some lovely clawed toes. The back claw on the heel? Excellent very good.♥ SPEAKING OF CLAWS, we’ve got some finger claws here too. They’re pretty basic, but they’re there, and I recognize them. I just feel like they could be bigger, because look at his FEET. The head horns are pretty subtle too, but I don’t hate that. if they were much bigger, they’d probably just look silly. But a third pair would have been nice. On the other hand, those elbow spikes are an excellent addition.♥ Now THESE are some good demon-style wings. Sharp angles and BIG size. I always respect a pair of ginormous wings, partly because it makes their flight close to being scientifically viable, but mostly because it’s more dramatic.♥ This is.... the perfect amount of beef. It’s hard to fully appreciate because the cowards over at Disney refused to give him distinct pectoral muscles and covered his abs with that horrible belted loincloth, but I know.... they’re there. The name Goliath is well deserved.♥ I definitely approve of the idea that he’s the BIGGEST STRONGEST TOUGHEST GARGOYLE but also apparently likes to read fine literature. Again, I see why Goliath was such a hot secret crush. Everyone likes a man who has brains AND brawn.

CONS:♥ If you’re going to put a tail that tiny on a man this big, don’t even BOTHER, Disney. Now, you could argue that a big meaty tail wouldn’t be very aerodynamic. Well, then but some fucking fins on it or SOMETHING, this is just sad.♥ This fool.... his fashion is very bad. From the aformentioned belted loincloth, to whatever the hell that hair is doing.... Long hair can be very good on a man, but the 90s in particular can’t be trusted to use it responsibly, and I don’t understand what it’s doing with that sharp angle. I’m almost ready to let him get away with the fashion purely for the sheer ingenuity of how he uses his wings as a cool batman cloak, but that hair.... it’s even more inexplicable in his human form.

♥ ”MY HAIR GIVE ME SUPER STRENGTH” -Goliath, probably? Anyway, I’m really not sure how to feel about human Goliath, something about it is off, but I can’t pinpoint why. MORE IMPORTANTLY.♥ I JUST NOTICED HE HAS CLEARLY DEFINED PECS HERE. DOES THIS MEAN MALE GARGOYLES ONLY HAVE ONE SINGULAR TIT? I SAW THE LADY GARGOYLES, THEY HAVE BOOBS. DISNEY, EXPLAIN. EXPLAIN GOLIATH’S MONOTIT.

RATINGS:MONSTRUOUSNESS: 7/10Though I do think it would be even better removed from the Disney artstyle, this is an excellent, handsome monster man. Perhaps almost too handsome for this particular metric. He’s still pretty manlike, despite being purple.

FUCKABILITY: 9.5/10Not only supremely fuckable aesthetically, but also seems like he would take care of you? Literally the only reason I can’t give him a 10/10 is because I’ve only given that to Cu Alter who, as my personal favorite, has to remain the uncontested most fuckable on this blog.

PERSONAL RATING: 7.5/10A good choice for an unproblematic 90s fave. As an impartial outside observer, I give Goliath two thumbs up.

[kenobei]

so, i know you’ve probably seen too many losers’ club + social media headcanons, BUT what if each loser had one (1) site they’re most active on. hear me out:

BEN HANSCOM. you know for sure his book loving ass actually uses that book nerd site, goodreads. ben has a popular blog for book reviews, and he also blogs about architecture. but he’s a lot on goodreads, he’s that positive beam of light on your timeline, gushing about release dates and liking everyone’s statuses. his tbr has 2000+ books. he has the full amount of friends you can have on goodreads, and he’s a top reviewer. people really like his reviews because they’re well thought of, and even though he finds some books problematic or doesn’t like them, he’ll never completely bash them. ben also has a bookstagram, but he always forgets to update it so he’ll post a picture of his bookshelf like once a month.

BEVERLY MARSH. now my girl beverly. she’s on twitter pretty much 24/7. she posts a lot of rants, is involved in a lot of dumb drama but she’s never on the dumb side. she follows everyone back, but is quick to unfollow is some fuckery happens. because a lot of stuff happens to her, she’ll post a lot of little storytimes, always beginning with “you’ll never guess what happened to me…” bev is also that person who gets retweeted by celebrities, and they’ll reply to her too, and she really doesn’t know what draws them to her, she’s even followed by some. bev also changes her icon a lot, they vary from flawless selfies to crappy memes. she also changes her handle, it’s either her name, a variation of her name (e.g. meme, festive) or just something vague for the #aesthetic. beverly has a tumblr, but she doesn’t like it there and she’s online like once a year.

BILL DENBROUGH. what does our dear writer boy use? well, tumblr of course. bill won’t touch wattpad even if he’d receive 1k. he’s in too many fandoms to count and his fics are flawless, one of them has a cult. bill claims to be busy but he still manages to write a drabble a day. he’s inbox is full of prompts, and he plans to fill them all, simultaneously working on novel length multichapter wips. people leave kudos to him on ao3 even before reading the fic. he replies to every comment, and is open to ideas and always credits people. every fandom is dying to have him in a group chat, but sadly he hasn’t have time to be that active in any of them. bill tumblr is basically only his writing, but he also reblog other people’s fics and he loves moodboards, no matter how shitty. he’ll die if you make a moodboard for his fic. and whenever bill posts original writing, everyone is shook.

MIKE HANLON. mike is actually the most internet famous of the losers. he’s a youtuber, he began when was 12 and gained followers pretty quickly. he used to post acoustic covers of his favorite songs but nowadays he mainly just documents his life. he’s the nicest guy ever! truly an unproblematic fave! he does daily vlogs on his side channel, but he’s pretty active on his main as well, posting every thursday and Sunday. he’s always on schedule. he replies to his followers often with the nicest things, and his reactions to hate comments are g  o l d e n, they’re those things that people screenshot and get to trend on tumblr and twitter and instagram. one of them even becomes a meme (richie’s fault). mike’s not one for youtube trends, he never wants to write a book or go on tour, but he fully supports those youtubers who do. mike just wants to do what he loves. his channel is super funny, but there are discussions of serious topics like racism.

EDDIE KASPBRARK. eddie is the friendly neighborhood instagram addict. well, he’s not on instragram that much, but he has a large following that he gained almost accidentally. he posts a lot of pretty selfies, he’s the king of taking selfies actually. he has no bad angles. he doesn’t even need filters. he leaves everyone shook. the instagram is 90% of his selfies, actually, and his captions are always long and he’s ranting about this and that. he speaks a lot about gay rights, of course. beverly’s always commenting, adding her insightful thoughts, and she and eddie have full on conversations in the comment section. richie leaves a caps lock comment on every post. eddie blocks him three times a month. stan leaves a purple heart on every post, and eddie replies with a pink one.

RICHIE TOZIER. imagine a world where vine didn’t die because our richie tozier is a viner. his vines are quite absurd. no one really understands his humor, and when they do, they recognize the jokes are quite crappy. but richie has influential friends, like mike hanlon. richie actually has a youtube channel as well, but he mostly just vines since he’s so bad at editing. he appears on mike’s videos a lot, and people are either exhilarated or annoyed. they can’t fathom the fact that richie is friends with so many popular people. they catch on with his friendship with bev when richie takes over bev’s twitter. bev punishes him by posting a lot of unflattering pictures of him, but richie doesn’t mind. he’s also friends with that book nerd kid, ben???? richie starts to make vines where he walks up to ben and asks what’s he reading, and ben will answer something like “fifty shades of grey, but with chickens” even though he’s clearly holding the great gatsby. richie also makes cringy musical.lys. we don’t speak of those.

STANLEY URIS. stan is so lowkey on social media. he has tumblr for the sole reason of reblogging each and every one of bill’s fics, and it’s a joke among bill’s readers. like people will post “managed to reblog bill’s latest drabble before birdboystan!!!!”. stan has a private instagram and he has posted four (4) pictures: a blurry artistic selfie, a photo of a bird’s nest, an inspirational quote and an thing richie tagged him in. he gets follower requests every day, because he’s that guy eddie kaspbrak always replies to. stan never accepts any. he’s only let eddie, and for some reason richie, follow him. but you what is stan’s main place? pinterest. don’t tell me this boy doesn’t have the neatest and most aesthetically pleasing pinterest boards.

[occupyvenus]

On why Dany should be an antagonist ( ≠ villainy villain )

Season 7 is right around the corner and I have some thoughts, opinions, speculations and theories I have to get off my chest. I will try to keep any book-specific analysis out of this discussion. This is (as much as possible) show only.

Something that always struck me as odd was the existing controversy sorrounding Daenerys’s character in the fandom. With all other characters, the audience can generally agree on where they fall on the “morality-spectrum”, so to say. Jon Snow is an unproblematic fave, if there ever was one, Joffrey and Ramsay are among the most evil characters to ever grace our TV screens, the Hound made a text-book antagonist-to-protagonist transformation (even receiving in-show absolution via Arya taking him of her kill-list) and show!Stannis - before the daughter-burning incident - was clearly planted in the middle. People liked him and even rooted for him, but no one’s arguing that he was involved in some very dubious, evil, amoral shit. Show!Cersei was ripped of most of her book-counterparts cruelty, but the fandom generally agrees that she is one of the clear antagonists / villains of the series. 

The point is that the audience - minus some radical stans or antis - can generelly agree on where characters are on the good-evil, protagonist-anatgonist chart at any specific time of the story or during a particular arc. If not on the exact point, at least on the general vicinity. 

But Daenerys? Her placement jumps all over from divine saviour to unreedimingly mad queen depending on who you ask, unlike any other character on the show. 

In the end what’s really important isn’t to wether a character’s behaviour is 100%, 75% or 50% evil/good but wether we - the audience - root for them (protagonist), root against them (antagonist) or aren’t really sure about it.  

If there are any clear protagonists, or hereos if you will, in GOT and ASOIAF it is the Starks. There is nothing they could do that would actually turn the audience against them. I know I promised to keep any book stuff out of this, but there is a reason A Promise of Spring’s original title was A Time for Wolves. The Starks are the heart of the story.

A little sidenote on starkbowl and Sansa becoming an antagonist (which I really can’t see happening): Sansa turning into a villain also comes at the cost of her being a Stark, just like Tyrion tuning into a good guy severed him from the Lannisters. When talking about “the Lannisters” you mean Cersei, Jaime and Tywin. Tyrion and his family have become two separate entities in the collective mind of the fans and show watchers. If Sansa really were to team up with Littlefinger and turn into an antagonist/villain she wouldn’t be ‘a Stark’ anymore. Even now, with her clearly being a protagonist of the series, anti’s will always fall back on the ‘she isn’t a real stark anyway’ rethoric. A Stark simply cannot be evil. (grr martin and D&D might let me fall straight on my face with this prediction, but I’d say that its veeerrrrryyyyy unlikely.)

But Daenerys? There is no other character in GoT who’s ultimate and inherent good-ness or evil-ness is so bitterly fought about. While misogyny definitley plays into it, I think it would be false to see it as the sole or main source or reason. Her character is set up to be ambigious. I disagree with those who accuse her of being a ruthless tyrannt, willing to do anything to achieve her goals and those who see her as a benevolent messiah who can’t do anything wrong. She is - at the same time - both of those things and neither. 

To the general audience she is very much set up as a protagonist. It’s easy to root for her when she overcomes her abusive brother, fights for agency in a partriarchal world, destroys slavery or is on a subjectively honourable quest to restore her families legacy and reclaim her home.   

But what happens when her goals and desires clash with those of our other protagonists? If the Starks are our heroes and her enemies/rivals, what does that make Dany to us, the audience? 

But why can’t she just team up with the Starks and be a good guy ???

Two reasons: Drama and avoiding a clear good vs evil dichotomy.  Going into season 7, our main-ish characters are set up as follows: 

The Protagonists / Camp “Good Guys” Team Stark (Jon, Sansa, Arya, Bran, et al), Team Targaryen (Dany, Tyrion, Theon et al) 

The Antagonists / Camp “Bad Guys” The White Walkers, Team Lannister (Cersei, Jaime et al) & Euron, Littlefinger

Has Game of Thrones really introduced us to some of the most sympathatic villains, problematic heroes and placed almost every character somewhere in-between only to have it end with various constellations of Camp “Good Guys” batteling differing fractions of Camp “Bad Guys”? No, I don’t think so. (Unless D&D stray faaaaar from grr martins original plans and intentions, which could happen, sure....) In order to prevent merely explicit good vs evil fights one or more characters/parties have to move towards the opposing camp. In my opinion, the most likely candidates for that are The White Walkers turning more good-ish -or less less bad-ish, if you prefer - and/or Dany expiriencing a similar shift in the opposite direction. 

The show already laid the groundwork for the first option by revealing that the White Walkers originally were first men, who were turned into ice monsters by the children of the forest. [ The Youtube-Channel “A Theory of Ice and Fire” has some really good videos on the Origin of the White Walkers and the True Colors of the Children of the Forest. I recommend everyone to watch them and his other videos. His analysis and theories are very insightful and definitly worth a watch.] But humanizing the White Walkers can only go so far. It will be really hard, if not impossible, to make us actually feel any kind of remorse over their demise. They are such big threat to all of humankind, that any moral ambiguity about destroying them is lost and any question wether our heroes should oppose them becomes obsolete. Comparisons that come to mind are eradicting a virus or putting down a rabid dog. The dog isn’t responsible for the state it is in, but ultimalty it is for the best.

I will go into Daenerys transformation from pro- to antagonist at the end of the post.  

To make for some interesting drama we also need tension and conflict between characters that are on the same side. Finding possible sources for this within Camp “Bad Guys” is pretty easy. Jaime is probably going to turn on his sister at some point and every alliance with Euron is going to be fragile at best and will turn into chaos for one or both parties at worst. 

What about Drama within Camp “Good Guys” and it’s individual fractions?

Jons parentage is going to cause some tension within Team Stark, yes, but I don’t see any of the remaining stark children ‘throwing him out Winterfell’ because of it. I don’t see Jon discarding his identitiy as a Stark neither, especially after Arya and Bran come back into the picture. His relationship with sansa is so controversial that I don’t want to touch on it, but he isn’t going to go full Targaryen with his little sister and brother around. Can we at least agree on that? They will insist that he still is one of them and so will he. (I stand by my opinion that R+L=J and more importantly Jons reaction to it will cause a rift between him and Dany, not him and the starks).

The Dothraki and their way-of-life are probably going to cause some conflict within Team Targaryen. Dany isn’t as ruthless as some parts of the fandom make her out to be and she will be conflicted about bringing so much destruction to “her lands and people”. She might try to silence her conscience, because the ends justify the means, but she and her allies will have to face some really difficult choices. Tyrion might feel just a bit bad about attacking his home as well. 

It’s as good as impossible to predict or speculate on Bran’s or Arya’s story line, since they are kept top-secret, but I don’t think they involve one of them turning bad.

Sure, Sansa and Littlefinger could team up and cause some drama in camp ‘Good Guys’, but they simply don’t have enough influence to put the stakes sufficiently high. Seriously, against a Jon&Dany tag-team, what could they - or anyone really - do to oppose them? What use is an antagonist if he doesn’t pose a vital threat to our protagonists?   

Daenerys turning into an antagonist ( ≠ ultimate evil villain) simply makes the most sense from a storytelling-perspective. Both to cause tension between our  protagonists, shake up Camp “Good Guys”, color our final conflicts in a nice shade of grey and lead us toward a bittersweet ending. Why is Dany the best character to “break bad”? She is the most powerful human character right now. (With the threat of the White Walkers looming over everything, any secondary antagonist/”villain” will have to bring a lot to the table to form a interesting, engaging plotline. I think it’s safe to say that Dany’s help against the army of the dead will be crucial. Keeping her allegiance unstable or it coming at a great cost would be substantial enough to stand on it’s own, while still being connected to the bigger arc surrounding it.)   She is allied with some shady characters (As stated above, the Dothraki aren’t going to magically turn into peaceful people. Bringing an army whose entire culture revolves around raiding and raping and pillaging could be seen as a questionable move. Also, I do not think that her alliance with the Greyjoys is a coincidence. Yes, we all need to put our differences aside to face the White Walkers, but the Iron Born have caused so much havoc in the north, so recently, that their presence NOT causing any issue for a Dany-North alliance is hard to imagine. Specifically putting established enemies of the North - including Theon with his very complicated relationship to House Stark - on Danys side has to have some significance. As for the rest: I honestly believe that Olenna is going to kick the bucket very soon, she’s only still around because she’s so good at sassing people. I refuse to waste any more thoughts than necessary on the Sandsnakes, but murdering your family in cold blood isn’t exactly nice? Tyrion might be the only person on Team Dragon that has any kind of positive connection to the Starks. show!Tyrion, at least, does have a rather agreeable relationship with both Jon and Sansa.) Her political goals stand in direct conflict with those of the Starks (The Seven Kingdoms vs Northern Independece - and yes northern independence is actually important to numerous characters on the show) Jon’s parentage will cause some tension between them (some people believe that she’ll see him as a potential rival to the Iron Throne. I disagree. I believe the reason for Dany ‘turning against’ Jon won’t be him being a Targaryen, but him not wanting to be one. I am pretty sure that Jon’s initial reaction to R+L=J will be to utterly reject his Targaryen heritage, to get through this majore identity crises. And Dany will, understandebly, feel utterly betrayed by that. She won’t see him as a threat, she will try to persuade him to become ‘the man he was always meant to be’, she will want him to be a Targaryen and she will want him by her side -wether in a romantic way or not- when she takes the Seven Kingdom. And this is something that Jon will not give her. He will choose to be a Stark and that will be a hard blow for Dany. Her beloved brothers, Rhaegars son calling the “usurpers dog” his father. I don’t know who much this will influence the overall plot but it will definitely strain the relationship between Jon and Dany.) The North, Vale and - presumably- Riverlands allience (Having the same regions rally behind Jon/House Stark “against” a Targaryen queen smells of Rebellion 2.0 ~with a twist~ this time opposing a conquerer, not the established ruler. I admit that this leaves out the Stormlands but with Gendry coming back, who knows? He has a friendly - possibly romantic, *wink* *wink* -relationship with Arya and if he’s put in any position to make such a decision he will ally with her side.) She has shown the compasity for cruelty & violence (You can argue wether or not her opponents had it coming - yes for Kraznys mo naklos , no for the randomly crucified & burned masters of meereen, mayybe for the khals; but the fact that she’s willing to use such questionable, violant measures while having giant fire-breathing dragond at her disposal opens her up for a very dark path. Someone with nothing but swords going a bit too far wouldn’t have the same consequences as the mother of dragons stepping over the line. Speaking of dragons) Her dragons are a ticking time bomb, she can’t properly control (At one hand they will play a crucial part in defeating the army of the dead, but on the other hand they are fucking dangerous and Danys ~varying~ inability to control them is a well established plot point. Reducing their final role to being magicals weapons bringing down the big evil would be so chliche and go against many of the problematic themes concerning them. Btw when has one person having so much power ever ended well?) There will be no Iron Throne or Targaryen Restoration (I don’t believe that ASOIAF or GOT is about Dany restoring the Seven Kingdoms to it’s “ideal” previous state of absolute Targaryen rule. Not only would this render Roberts Rebellion meaningless, it would portray it as a mere temporal disruption of the rightful order which is just... no. The rebellion was a justified uprising against a tyrannical king, it’s the event that started the story and it should still have significance at the end of it. Sorry, not sorry, but Dany isn’t simply going to press the ‘reset button’ on Westeros. The Iron Throne is doomed, so is House Targaryen and so is Daenerys - unless she peacefully settles down as Lady of Dragonstone, which is ... rather unlikely.) The controversy about her character is exactly what grr martin wants (This whole long-ass post started with the extraordinary discrepancy concerning Danys position on the evil-good spectrum. People can’t seem to be on the same page when it comes to her. And you know what? That’s the point. No ones objectively ��right’ or ‘wrong’. Characters are on opposing sides for their own reasons, not because they are inherently evil or good. Everyone can either agree or disagree with those reasons and form an opinion accordingly. Having the audience “choose sides” between two fractions we both rooted for when separeted, once their stories collide would be an appropriate ending for the story. 

I propose the theory that this contradiction (rooting for the Starks and Dany) and Danys role reversel when switching from her own separate to the shared storyline (from protagonist to antagonist) is already in full effect within the more obsessed part of the fandom (who loves to speculate and “think ahead”) and will hit the the casual viewer in season 7.  

Last, but not least having all of our protagonists team up after meeting for the first time and descending on the evil dudes with immense force just feels so ... boring, predictable,anticlimactic, lord-of-the-ring-sy? Everyone coming together and defeating the White Walkers after having some serious beef with each other (sometime mid to end seaon 8) would be way more dramatically satisfying. I think that Daenerys will take a clear antagonistic role against the starks until the very end when she comes around to save the day. 

Since I know someone is going to bring it up: I am not saying that any of this would be an impregnable obstacle for any romantic relationship with Jon. It would complicate things, yes, but also make them a lot more interesting. Neither am I saying that Dany will turn bat-shit crazy and burn down all of Westeros just because.

In the end, these are only my thoughts and opinions. Maybe I’m wrong about all this and the show will move into a completely different direction. We won’t truly know until the last episode, will we? 

Thanks for sticking with me until the end, you’re a champ, and tell me what you think. 

[putris-et-mulier]

so do you appporve the new arc of captain america, or you find it 'offensive"?

I agree with it, it makes perfect sense and I’m kind of disappointed in how so few people understand what they are trying to do

I’m not defending Marvel, I’m defending Nick Spencer. I believe wholeheartedly in his premise and I want him to get a chance to finish the story, whether he will do a good job or not remains to be seen.

It’s really convenient that everyone remembers when Captain America punched Nazis but not the multiple times he was a Nazi. Which even occurred when the creators were writing his book.

Captain America is not Jewish, he’s America. What he really represents is America as a nation and at his best has been used as a personification of America. He was punching Nazis before real American soldiers ever did and when we look back his creation, along with many others, encouraged Americans to actively take a place in World War II. He was a propaganda tool of social dissent. Sometimes the best way to tell his stories, to put them in perspective to its readers (which were not children, comic books are something everyone read regardless of age and gender and they were up until the Comics Code Authority) is to make him sympathize and work with Nazis. If your protagonist can’t understand something then neither will you and avoiding issues isn’t going to help anyone. If your protagonist doesn’t work things out to the core of the issue it’s a book in an ongoing series and I don’t want this world to get a sequel, I want to just wrap this one up with the best ending possible.

America just elected Trump as president. I could list a bunch of other things but that should sum everything up. In the last few years it’s become clear how infested our nation and government is with white supremacist eugenics and to all of us it seems like everyone who has any humanity left lost and a lot of us, a lot of marginalized groups, can see more clearly how close we are to becoming victims of World War III.

I get it, that’s why you don’t want Captain America to be a Nazi. He’s your unproblematic fave, if you ignore 90% of his cannon, and if he’s going to represent America then he damn sure represent what America was meant to be, what those white able-bodied racist social elites meant for it to be. 

I would be so disappointed if Marvel didn’t allow this pitch to go through. Captain America being a nice guy and punching out people you demonize is not going to teach you anything. And Americans have things to learn. As a nation we need to be taken to school.

It feels like everyone complaining about this has never read anything or has ever seen a movie or TV show or have any grasp on critical thinking… This is art. This is what art is meant to do. If art doesn’t make you mad or sad or furious it’s pointless and un-motivational, especially when it’s sociopolitical. If you aren’t mad enough about the way the world is enough to do something, you need something to put a fire under your ass. Nick Spencer might not be a good enough writer to take this on but we won’t know until he tries and people definitely need to tell this story in as many ways as possible.

Captain America is becoming a Nazi because America is a fascist country and the personification of American propaganda being a Nazi only makes sense. No one actually believes this is permanent, do they? Captain America is going to fix everything in the end and that’s the point. To show him not just grandstanding, as America is want to do, but to show Nazis as actual people with love and fears, they aren’t monsters.

It would be easier if they were monsters because we could eradicate them with no lingering guilt about mass murder. It would be easier if they were monsters because that would mean none of us can turn into one. That’s the lesson that needs to be learned.

Trump didn’t win the popular vote but he got a lot of votes and demonizing the people who voted for him isn’t going to solve anything. We are in this together, they are our neighbors and a part of our American family, even if we fucking hate them. Until everyone stops treating bigotry as a foreign object that can be taken on and off at will nothing is going to improve.

As a disabled person I’m relieved a story like this is being told and that they are pressing forward despite the backlash because a lot of the people complaining have time, but we don’t.

The Nazi party didn’t just spring out of nowhere with the power of political and social support to just get to work on concentration camps. It takes time.

Let’s ask the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum what the initial steps to the Holocaust were:

1. Nazi Germany sterilized 300,000 to 400,000 people under their Sterilization Law (1934) who targeted the “abnormal” (a.k.a., disabled people) as apposed to the “asocials” (non-aryan races) citizens2. The Marriage Law (1935) required all people to provide proof that they could not produce children with disabling heredity diseases3. 1939 Hitler made it legal to give disabled people “mercy deaths” by their physicians as the government saw fit4. Systematic killings of disabled people in government, church, and nursing homes were done under the secret operation called “Operation T4” in reference to Tiergartenstrasse 4.  Patients targeted were identified by a red cross on their papers (hilarious irony)5. In 1940 the preferred method of killing these patients became gas chambers. 70,273 victims were recorded between 1940 and 1941, 5,000 of these disabled people were also Jewish6. In 1941 Operation T-4 ended the killings went public with the slogan “useless eaters” to justify the murders7. It is estimated that between 200,000 and 250,000 people were murdered under Operation T-4

8. Many of the gas chambers used in the infamous Nazi camps were originally built for the T-4 victims and physicians trained through this operation went on to work at the camps and run the chambers.

These were social acceptable things that gained the Nazi party popularity and directly, and literally, created concentration camps. If you compare that time to what’s going on now it should be obvious why people like me have no patience for babying anyone.

Right now in North America more and more states/provinces are making assisted medical suicide legal and although it is still the disabled person’s choice whether or not to go through with it insurance companies are beginning to only cover the assisted suicide because it’s cheaper than covering all the costs it takes to be a disabled person. So disabled people are given the choice of slowly dying or just letting someone killed them now. To put it in perspective, it’s a very simple process that you do yourself at home by taking 9g of secobarbital or 10g of pentobarbital. Pentobarbital is disgusting so I doubt that will be the preferred poison but it would’ve been fun to be referred to as a P–10 patient, it’s more fun to say then S–9 patient.

So, given all that and the fact that there was a massive genocide of disabled people last year, a manifesto calling for our eradication and everything, in a first world country and no one talked about it, just like no one talked about any of these things, makes me pro Nazi Captain America. Fuck, it wasn’t even just a genocide, it was very efficiently done because of segregation, the names of the victims weren’t released because outing people as having disabled relatives, even freshly dead ones, would have been embarrassing to the families,  and tokens like flowers/candles/gifts from citizens weren’t allowed to even be put outside the facility on city property.

Give me Nazi Captain America.

I didn’t mention where the genocide happened or what it was named for a reason. If you guys reading this can  tell me off the top of your head at least what country it took place in I don’t give a shit what you think about Captain America being a Nazi. If America isn’t a place where people at least knew when one of our major allies had and honest to God genocide then that’s the Captain America they deserve.

If you’ve heard about Chechnya’s gay concentration camps but haven’t heard about this try thinking about why that is.

No one is learning from history so I hope to God at least a few people can learn through literature and art.

Boycott the company if you like, I’m actually glad people are because I believe boycotts are one of the most effective protests in a capitalist country so the more common the better, but don’t tell me Captain America isn’t a fucking Nazi.

[myownfrogblog]

All the Fire-Bellied Toads

FIRE-BELLIED TOADS! So incredible you’d be forgiven for thinking they were an invention of the fantasy genre, these boys really are something special!

Their fantastic moniker derived from the red or yellow patterns on their ventral regions as a warning to predators. These fellas engage in Unkenreflex when threatened (arching back, raising front and back legs to display coloration) and there are SEVEN species in total! Lets get started!

Bombina bombina (European fire-bellied toad)

Native, predictably, to mainland Europe, the European fire-bellied toad is the largest of the Bombina family at a length of 26-60mm. They have heart-shaped pupils (!) and produce a poison through their skin that protects from bacteria, fungi, and potential predators. They shed their skin by puffing up and coughing it off, and then eat it for the nutrition! Very resourceful.

Would say: this is a boy who likes his space, or he wouldn’t be producing poison through his skin. Although clearly a lover (the pupils!) not a big one for hugs and cuddles, but certainly would appreciate some words of affirmation! Not that he should need them, look at those beautiful spots!

Bombina lichuanensis (Lichuan bell toad)

Not a lot of info on these sweethearts. Found in Sichuan and Hubei in China, their natural habitats are temperate forests, swamps and freshwater marshes. Who doesn’t love a marsh?

These poor babies are threatened by habitat loss, and their conservation status is Vulnerable. You can just take a look at this young man’s face and see that he’s not happy about it, and you shouldn’t be either. A boy who is struggling against the man, but staying positive and collected, he keeps his head screwed on.

A later post will include links of where to donate if you’re interested in fighting against habitat loss for frogs, toads, and other precious creatures.

Bombina fortinuptialis (Large-spined bell toad or Guangxi firebelly toad)

Another Chinese native, this lad found in the Guangxi province, and sadly another fighter against habitat loss. This guy’s little face does it all for me. He knows how high the stakes are, and he’s staying brave even through the hardship. This little fellow really is making my heart melt.

Bombina maxima (Yunnan firebelly toad or large-webbed bell toad)

A physically distinctive baby indeed! Now considered a synonym of the Bombina microdeladigitora, the Yunnan firebelly toad is native to most provinces of Southern and Southwestern China, and northern Vietnam. The boys grow up to 49mm in length, the girls up to about 45mm. The lumps and bumps on this boy! He’ll stop traffic for sure. Its that hint of a smile that makes him really special.

Bombina orientalis (oriental fire-bellied toad)

Now THAT is what we call a bright colour! These absolute wild men, found in Korea, northeastern China and Russia, are commonly kept as pets and are sometimes known as “tuti toads”! It is the bumps on its back that mean its commonly referred to as a toad, where “frog” might be more correct, but look at this guy! Rejecting labels left right and centre.

Lads that do well in captivity given that they are properly looked after and having their needs considered, although they produce a milky toxin through the skin and therefore are not recommended to handle regularly.

Although toxic, these are some unproblematic faves!

Bombina pachypus (Appenine yellow-bellied toad)

Once thought to be a subspecies of the yellow-bellied toad, Bombina pachypus is a very, very special and unique boy. These fellows are endemic to Italy, and can be very sleepy, hibernating from November to April. 

Another “toxic” one, producing a toxin through the skin, these soulful little creatures are declining in numbers, and nobody really knows why. This small brave man is facing challenges we can barely comprehend, and his species is officially classed as Endangered.

Please send your love and good feeling to this special species. I think we can all learn a little from their stoicism, and hopefully there’ll be more success in the research into why their population is declining. Small toads - big hearts.

Bombina variegata (Yellow-bellied toad)

I wonder where he gets his name from! Our final fire-bellied toad, Bombina variegata ranges from 28-56mm, and raised warts and swirls on their backs. Swirls! Reliant on brooks, rivers, or now more commonly temporary water sources such as puddles, ditches and tractor trails, these boys prefer mountainous or hilly regions in central or southern Europe. No-one can say these guys don’t like a view!