#critical thinking means being able to separate your morals from fiction

[reineyday]

this is kind of a long, long, loooooong wandering rant lol soz. i promise it's not mean, it's mostly just critical thinking brain vomit/actual essay and the fatigue that comes from being a billy fan, bc like, no. not end of story. yes, his abuse doesnt justify his violent actions and racism, but his being racist doesnt make his other layers less valid or worth exploring--and it's not a moral failure to like billy anyways.

maybe this will just be a tangential reply bc op's post mostly just proves he's racist and then pronounces him "not a good guy", and their post is just generally saying "hey billy has layers but remember that he's racist," which is a good reminder. but, though this probably wasnt on purpose, the post kind of ends with a subtle implication that his being racist and not a good guy means there's something to watch out for in his character, and it is therefore morally questionable if not downright unethical to like him, and that implication would be wrong.

most of what im about to talk about is the same thing op is saying but from the pro-billy side of the fence, and like the previous reblog, but more explicitly and with more favour to billy, im also re-affirming that you can acknowledge he's terrible/has done bad things and still like him. besides, they didnt write him to be an outright villain, as much as they might insist it now. like op said, he's not a good guy--but he's not all bad either. (the ST fandom should look more into the concept of anti-heroes.)

i do appreciate your good faith take on billy, even if you landed on not liking him. nowadays i land on just the writing in general being bad, bc not only did they handle billy's racism badly but throughout the show, racism in general has just kind of been indicated and implied before eventually being completely looked over/ignored and lucas doesnt deserve that. honestly the way they had jason pull a gun on lucas and erica tackled to the ground in the latest season was horrifying, and it didnt get addressed at all.

they also, however, handle the fact that billy was abused badly.

abuse is never cut and dry. they wanted billy to be the human villain, and he antagonizes and torments our main characters, but they also give us an explanation for why he might be that way, and then they give him a completely sympathetic role in s3. he was controlled against his will, had no power, got possessed; we find out he's been abused by his father since he was a child, left in an abusive household by his father... eventually he breaks the possession to save el's life. we see him completely break down in the sauna. he dies apologizing to max.

does this "redeem" him? narratively the pieces are there (as in, usually, dying for the main character is a redemption trope), but it doesnt address where his faults were (being aggressive, tormenting max, his racist actions toward lucas, beating up steve) and we dont see him doing any work to rectify all that, so he doesnt feel redeemed.

but they dont really explore his background enough for viewers to really feel bad for him, unless theyre viewers that relate to his upbringing personally. they just give us these two pieces: 1) billy is an asshole, and 2) his home life sucks, and then we as viewers are just supposed to do something more with that. the show doesnt actually land anywhere regarding his abuse and his assholery, we just see that it happens, and then we see him get overpowered and controlled by an interdimensional monster, instead of just by his father. and then he dies saving el's life. it doesnt say anything about his character arc and nothing billy does as himself, good or bad, actually gets addressed.

the thing is, they put him into a villain role, made him sympathetic, and then everyone started treating his character like you can only view him in black and white when they didnt even write him that way. dacre approached billy with his own personal experience and knowledge that people arent bad for no reason, and it shows. caleb says billy's actions were racially motivated and it sure seems that way, and that's valid too bc if someone seems to target you specifically then you defend yourself. both of these things can be true.

in fandom spaces it always seems like defending billy automatically conflates you with being racist, but if you say "billy was racist and violent so he's a bad person" then it feels like you're just coldly ignoring the fact that he is a newly graduated teenager that still lives with his abuser. but you can have them both. they are not mutually exclusive! and it doesnt make you a bad person, or racist, to understand this and sympathize with billy anyways.

you say "we HAVE to think critically about the characters we like" and yes, yes i have. he isnt a good guy. his abuse doesnt excuse his bigotry and violence. it doesnt change the fact that he has been abused and there will be viewers who see themselves in him, who remember being like him--or mb they just like him without any personal relatable reasons at all. yet they get harrassed online for liking him just because of the other shit he's done.

im not excusing him by saying that. im just liking him anyways, and it doesnt make me a bad person--the way so many antis seem to believe--because at the end of the day, billy is a fictional character. he's not some racist guy i know that harrasses middle schoolers, he's a character that i like in a show, for one reason or another, and i have examined his character motivations back to front (which shouldnt have to be mandatory for a piece of media that serves as escapism btw) and decided i like digging into who he is.

as much as yall wanna believe it, he isnt a flat, racist villain. thinking critically about him means having to acknowledge all the stuff that makes him a more dimensional character.

okay, now im gonna digress a little more.

if we're talking about critical thinking, im also gonna point out that a kid that grows up under the fist of a bigoted man is going to turn out bigoted too, unless he has other major influences in his life (which billy doesnt). again, he still lives with his abuser. you think he's had any space at all to learn differently? you think he was safe at home if he was seen associating with people his dad deemed the "wrong" sort? this is why that passage from runaway max includes billy, but in em dashes. she says, "and billy, i guess", because billy has inherited those views. max attaches him to this passage as an afterthought, she says "i guess", bc she recognizes, living in that household with them, that it's in his best interest, and safety, to have those kinds of opinions. does he really believe them though, or is it just part of the persona he takes up to feel in control, to have power, to feel safer? is there even a difference anymore? that's up to you as a viewer, as a fic-writer, to dig into that (if youd like to).

also: i personally have made racist assumptions all by myself just bc of the society that surrounds me, the lack of representation on my screens, the views my parents had that they got from their parents that they never realized were a little bigoted. i inherited that all by accident, but i was in a safe space and in a culture that encouraged education and acceptance, so i know better now. imagine having a different opinion from your father and getting beaten up for it. of course he's bigoted, but does he know better not to be? does he get a good opportunity not to be, a safe place to explore different opinions from his dad, even though he has no other important adult figures in his life? (i dont count susan bc she married neil. sure max has differing opinions, but clearly susan doesnt care enough to not marry neil, and she stands by while billy gets pushed around, so any opinions she might have wouldnt influence billy.)

this is actually the reason i disagree that 17-18 is old enough to recognize how not to perpetuate abuse. it's hard to learn something if you have no good examples in front of you and no place to practice, and it's definitely the same with abuse. even worse because he still lives with neil, so it's still happening. it doesnt seem like billy's had any good opportunities to practice being kinder, and any opportunity he had with max was squandered the second she started being a method of control for billy. to neil, max is a tool to get billy in line, a way to ensure he's being respectful and responsible. it's fucked up, but why would you try to reach out to someone who has so much power over you, even if she doesnt realize it? why would he believe he'd be anything other than abandoned by her, or that she wouldnt use her power over him with neil to manipulate him, with the parents he has? 17-18 is young and so very malleable, in a way you cant comprehend until you're in your later twenties, and your shoulders will not loosen up enough to learn something different until you get away from your abuser, even if you do have outside support.

also i think the people who argue that billy could have reached out to max and forge a relationship the same way jonathan has will misunderstands the difference between growing up with a kid sibling, under at least one parent who treats you kindly and probably encourages your relationship, versus having a kid sibling forced upon you, in a household (neil) that already hates you, and then seeing that sibling be used as the stick in your already shitty relationship with your father. jonathan and will are built-in brothers, already and automatically united (with joyce) under lonnie's harsh treatment; billy was stuck, alone, under a father that forced him to "man up", and then introduced a little sister into their dynamic and used her to leash his freedom. the solidarity culture within their houses is wildly different, so it's absolutely not the same. also, after suffering at his father's hand, i dont think billy would want to earnestly reach out without wondering/fearing if it would make him look like less of a man for doing it.

but anyways, sure, you can argue that he honestly just is racist, no ands, ifs or buts. except that's just one take, and you cant actually prove that he's maliciously and consistently bigoted, that it's what he would be inclined to believe and act on away from his father, based off one instance of a racially charged assault & comments. 100p not okay, but with his upbringing, id say there's more leeway than you think (leeway in the degree to which billy would be inclined to change/whether or not he's genuinely bigoted; obviously there shouldnt be any leeway in holding him accountable for his actions). id even argue, with the way he stepped in front of el and apologized to max, that there's something there that would lead him to be a better person, if given the safe space and education to explore that.

you're allowed to view him as a racist character, to see his violence and stop at that. god, in real life, you should--safety first, protect yourself. but since he's fictional, you dont need to, and im just real tired of people acting like billy stans are bad people or that theyre "excusing" racism by liking him.

and may i point out that that screenshot of caleb has him saying "his character billy is amazing, but billy isnt really a great guy." everyone points to caleb saying "billy's racist" as some sort of be-all end-all argument for how this confirms billy's racism and therefore you're bad for liking him, but even caleb has said billy's character is a good one (amazing, even). as in, he's interesting narratively. he has things to dig into. billy may be racist--at the very best, he's done and said racist things--but he's not a racist caricature and that makes a difference.

lastly, just to continue on with the other stuff caleb said in that screenshot: maybe jason himself wasnt racist (tho i feel like it's totally possible for him to be one of those racists that are accepting of poc but only if they're "the good kind" ie. middle-class or higher, plays team sports, doesnt play satanic games like dnd... 🤷🏻‍♀️ we dont see him w enough other people to really know imo), but it doesnt change the fact that we as viewers were pulled out of a supernatural conflict to see a black kid facing down a gun, which is a very real conflict. this is something ive seen, multiple times, in the news. this is what i meant by the writing being bad. caleb's right, people havent acknowledged the racism in s1, and the writers made billy sympathetic in s3 without addressing the way he treated lucas in s2, and now in s4, we see him at the end of a gun. no one talks about this! the show doesnt do anything about it! racism isnt a proper conflict in the show, but they keep trying to hint at it anyways and as a result, it doesnt land anywhere productive.

they do that with billy's abuse too: we see the pieces of billy getting abused by his father, but then in s4, max just says "he couldnt do it without you so he left hawkins." no acknowledgement that his dad was shitty (and actually a pretty big implication that she truly didnt see and/or understand the depth and length of control neil had over billy). max gets tormented by billy and then she threatens him back with the nail bat after sedating him, like that isnt contributing to the power dynamics in their household. yes, billy tormented her, but her retaliation means she's now become someone else that's used violence to control billy--it was a valid reaction to the way she and her friends have been treated, but that doesnt take away from the fact that she's been (perhaps unknowingly) a part of the hargrove cycle of abuse as a victim, and now she's fought back and gained some power. that would have changed things between billy and max, but we dont see the result, aside from the way max seems to approach billy with a lighter heart in s3 and is genuinely concerned about him at the sauna and when he dies.

not to mention lucas opening up about patrick's domestic abuse and max sitting by totally silently even though she's lived with neil and billy (which could be another implication she was underinformed/left out of the loop in the overarching power dynamics of her household), or the way chrissy's implied to have an emotionally manipulative mother and they just kill her off without exploring that further. the writers are just bad at writing it, but fans of billy are the ones getting flack for liking him because his fans choose to focus on and explore other aspects of his character instead of letting his racism make him a flat villain.

you say "billy is racist, end of story" but no, it isnt. that's like saying "steve is homophobic" based on that one time he called jonathan a queer derogatorily, and then overlooking his four seasons of character growth and his best friendship with robin. yeah, it was written badly, but billy saved el's life, he's tried to protect his mother from neil's abuse in his past, and he has reasons for being the way he is. antis are valid for just seeing the racism and moving on, but his fans are also completely valid for liking him, for whatever reason, and it's short-sighted and narrow-minded to assume that they havent thought critically about his character and just decided to like him anyways. furthermore, your fictional preferences shouldnt have to reflect your personal real-life morals anyways, bc otherwise we should all be really worried about the amount of people who love serial killing characters.

anyways, this wasnt the initial point of op's post but it always feels like it boils down to this when it comes to billy discourse so im just gonna say it: i dont like billy because he's racist, and it doesnt make me racist to like him. i like him because he's an interesting character with a lot of different story beats to explore. yeah, that includes his racism, mostly because i like reading about him learning not to be. it's also important to remember that while racist actions are reprehensible, unfortunately they dont always come from malicious racists (micro-aggressions, anyone? subconscious racial bias? yeah). bc of billy's abuse, i feel like an argument can be made that he can fall into that category (see: this entire post lmao).

anyways, sorry for going off. i hope this doesnt come off rude bc i wasnt trying to be, and if you feel insulted then im sorry bc im writing this as a genuine response, as rambling as it is. i really do appreciate your good faith take and im glad you landed where you landed. you dont need to like him. but at the end of the day, "proving" his racism doesnt take away from the fact that he's been abused. theyre connected issues. from that passage in runaway max, it's apparently clearer in the book than in the show. like i said, caleb's right in saying billy was racist toward him, but dacre's right too in approaching billy from the angle that bad people arent bad for no reason, and i applaud him for trying to show us with billy that cycles of abuse are messy, that victims of abuse can abuse other people and it will never be clear-cut because they are still victims themselves.

yes, you cant ignore that billy's actions toward lucas are racist and that he's abusive toward max, but you also cant ignore that even as he torments others, he is still a victim. both these things are true. that's not excusing anything, that's just seeing the bigger picture. that's thinking critically. after understanding this, you can individually decide how that lands for you. (for me and other billy fans, we land on empathy toward billy; for antis they land on empathy toward lucas and max, but we're both right yall.) billy's racism doesnt make his character any less dimensional or interesting--it only gives fic writers more meat to work with when they make him scream and cry about how difficult it is to make things square with his sister and her friends (and steve).

to be clear: im not saying he wasnt racist in the way he treated lucas, bc he was. im saying that i think there's a good chance he would want to be better and to rectify his actions, if he had a support system and safety, because he might not actually want to be racist--he just might think that he, and everyone else under neil's roof, has to be. or, given some distance, he might be able to realize how like neil he's become and want to separate himself from that. we'll never know bc he died, but the possibilities are there bc of the sympathetic aspects of his character that we see in canon, and that's enough for me to want to explore that further, alongside how he treated lucas. im not excusing that racism or ignoring it, im just looking at his other layers and including his racism as part of the whole package. that's how you treat him dimensionally.

you dont have to make that argument though. it is very easy to just see his racist actions, call him racist, and move on--and you would be right to do so as well. it's just that i like reading about him finding support, understanding his wrongs, and then apologizing to lucas and making good with max (and steve lol). billy is a character that isnt kind, but there's enough evidence in canon to say that this might be because he's never seen any kindness in his life from people he can trust; so what if i like to read about him getting some kindness for once? furthermore, we've seen him try to protect someone as a child, and he died protecting someone else; is it truly so farfetched that he wouldnt want to be better, if given a proper chance?

I’m going to give you my very best attempt at a nuanced take of Billy Hargrove because I have seen a lot of posts recently and I think it’s important to talk about. TL/DR at the end

I’ll agree with the pro Billy blogs on this—the Billy and Karen thing was gross. That was uncomfortable, and you know a lot of people that are cool with it would react very differently if Billy was a teenage girl and Karen was an older man

I also think the attempt at a redemption arc was bullshit—and I think it could have been done better. The whole marauder thing where a character sacrifices themselves in a split second decision isn’t redemption. It’s a cop out choice to make you feel sympathy for characters that are frankly pretty shitty. However, had Billy put in the work and effort to treat Max, Lucas, and everyone else with even a modicum more kindness, I do think he could have been a more likable character.

Now onto narratives of abuse

I’ve seen arguments that Billy and Jonathan differ because Billy had no support system—but I think it’s not quite that black and white. Consider for a moment that yes, Jonathan has a support system, but it is weaker than y’all like to admit. It’s clear Joyce will do anything for her kids—however, the Byers family is poor, and Joyce is obviously working a lot, in at least the first three seasons. The fact that Joyce isn’t around is half the reason Will goes missing in the first place. A semi “absent” (for lack of a better word) mother is not much of a support system. Neither is an eleven year old child. Billy does lack for a support system, but that is not entirely from outside forces. Billy could have made the decision to be kind to Max, who is old enough to understand abuse and be somewhat supportive, and the two could have been a support system for each other. Billy also could have attempted to make friends, and in turn, create a support system for himself. In fact, in the show, Billy is shown being semi-friendly to the basketball team and at the party. It’s unclear whether he made any actual friends, but he had the ability to do so

That said, it’s understandable why Billy was angry, when he had little support and was being abused

HOWEVER, Billy being a victim of abuse does not justify the way he turns his anger on others. Saying that he’s just angry and aggressive because of his abuse, and that people “just don’t like it when abuse victims adopt unhealthy coping mechanisms” is just not correct. Sometimes victims adopt unhealthy mechanisms, that’s true—BUT that in no way excuses turning anger and violence onto other people. It’s an argument that to me is very reminiscent of “well I have a bad past and so I’m mean and I don’t have to change.” (For lack of better wording.) It does not matter how bad your past is, you don’t get to use that as justification for your own violence against others. And Billy is violent to others. The way he grabs Max’s wrist, the way he constantly talks down to her and tries to control her, these are abusive. Even clearer is when he almost hits Max’s friends with his car. The ONLY reason he did not was because Max turned the wheel at the last moment. Consider also the way he tried to harm Lucas—which is something else entirely

I’ve also seen arguments that Billy is, in essence, a child. I would argue that he is not. Yes, he’s 17-18 in the show, but that is an age at which he is old enough to be intelligent about his behavior and to learn coping mechanisms that would not harm Max and perpetuate the cycle of abuse. He is old enough to react maturely—and not hitting or verbally abusing his little sister isn’t even a choice I think we should have to call mature in the first place.

In regards to Lucas, I have seen very few Billy blogs acknowledge Billy’s racism. Those that do tend to cite Dacre Montgomery himself, in this interview

But again, HOWEVER, Dacre is one actor. Actors’ takes on their characters are important, yes, but one man’s argument does not outweigh several other people, including the Duffer Brothers themselves and Caleb McLaughlin. In the very same interview, Dacre admits that the script originally contained a slur, and was removed because he would not say it. That is Dacre—not Billy

The Stranger Things fandom at large has beef with the Duffers—this much is true. We like to pick and choose aspects of what they say. However, they are still the creators of the show, and with contextual evidence AND their word, it’s hard to argue against Billy’s racism. From an interview with The Vulture

I will also add a side note about Runaway Max. While not 100% canon, the book is official and does take context from the show itself. This is a weaker piece of evidence, but it adds up. In particular, I think it’s important to acknowledge the “people like that” line, given how Billy responds to Lucas in the show

The most important opinion of all, however, is that of Caleb McLaughlin. In matters of racism, the opinions and voices that matter most are those of actual POC. Caleb himself calls Billy’s behavior racially motivated

If you really “read between the lines” in the show, the evidence is there too. Lucas is not the only one of the boys that hangs out with Max. Billy does see Max’s other friends. The only boy he has a problem with is Lucas—and the one defining trait that Billy would notice is Lucas’s skin color. See also the fight at the Byers house. The very first person Billy even thinks to target is again Lucas Sinclair

Billy is also canonically misogynist. Calling women cows is not indicative of a leftist feminist icon. He is shown to have an attitude that women are inferior. There’s more to say on this, but this has gotten quite long already, and I think I’ve made my point

TL/DR: Billy is justified in his anger, and his quote “redemption” could have been done better. Yes, the Karen and Billy thing was gross. HOWEVER, contextual evidence and interviews with the Duffers and Caleb prove that Billy is racist. Analysis of the show proves his abusive behavior and misogyny. No character is a monolith, and characters have layers—but we HAVE to think critically about the characters we like. You can’t just erase cornerstone aspects of characters like Billy. He isn’t a good guy. His abuse doesn’t excuse his bigotry and violence. End of story.

[theyanderespecialist]

Base Yandere Kyojuro Rengoku Headcanons: Obsession In Flames (Demon Slayer)

[Hello, My Sexy Muffins! I am excited to do this one, it was a YouTube request, but I did it on a few other places as well! So I hope that you all enjoy this chapter here!] 

(Disclaimer: The Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku is not Yandere in canon, but he is 20 years old in canon. This is just for fun and not to be taken seriously at all! Simping for fictional characters and yanderes is fine, just do not be illegal or gross about it! Yanderes are not ideal partners to have in real life. Also, remember to separate fiction from reality and headcanon from canon! Thank You!) 

-Base Yandere Headcanons With Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku From Demon Slayer- 

.Kyojuro takes an enthusastic approach to his posisition as a Hashira. 

.He comes off very cheerfull and eccentric. 

.He is a very go lucky man and look on the bright side of things. 

.He had a love for you, and is always in the best mood when he is near you. 

.He loves you so much and from the nature instilled in him by his mother, he believed that he had to protect you, as he is strog and that means he has to protect the weak. 

.Even if you are strong he has a strong urge to protect you and keep you safe at all costs. 

.So he is a protective yandere to his core. 

.He would also be a knight in shining armor type of yandere. 

.Being the one to come to your rescue you and save you from harm if there is harm. 

.He is not the typical yandere because he is pure of heart. 

.So he would not be the typical blood thirsty or muderous yandere. 

.He does become jealous a frustrated when there are other rivals trying to steal you from him. 

.He will make sure that he gets stronger and stronger, so that he is always the best choice for you have, and he can always keep you safe and sound from other his rivals. 

.He is a honorable yandere, with strict moral. 

.As long as he is the best choice for you and you want him he will never let you go. 

.But if you want someone else and that someone else is worthy he would step to the side, and let them be with you. 

.But if they cross the line and this other person harm you, cheats on you, or does anything like that he will put them in their place and teach them a lesson for hurting and or breaking your heart. 

.He believes in hard work and training for a good work ethic and values in whatever you do. 

.And he would support you in almost anything you do, as long as you give it your all and live your lige honestly. 

.He would be a very supportive yandere in which he supports you in almost anything and almost everything. 

.He will do what he can to support you as well. 

.Though beneath his carefree and cheerful self he is a man who can be very tatical and serious. 

.This is something that actually helps his yandere side, he might be an honorbale yandere but he is also very much thinking 10 steps ahead at all times. 

.He knows how to win you over and he knows how to get rivals to give up and leave you alone without hurting you. 

.He is very confident in how he can win you over and make you you his. 

.He is also very confident that he knows what is best for you. 

.The Yandere side and his Serious taticaul nature would make the perfect storm to do whatever it takes to keep you safe, even kidnapping you. 

.In his dellusional yandere mind he is keeping you safe and sound and knows that one day you will be able to forgive him. 

.You just need the time to see what he is doing.... ALL That he is doing has always been for you! 

.Ultimetaly he would deal with rivals by first testing if they are worthy and if they have earned your heart. 

.If they had he will stand by and let your love blossom, but the moment they step out of line he will strike.

.He will also be critical of every move they make and he will even be hopping that they step out of line! 

.When they do step out of line, he makes sure they regret it, and it justifies that he can keep you safe and sound and that he is the only one worthy of you. 

.Side note he is a family man and would want a family with you, if AFAB he would want to have one with you as the birth giver and if a afab he can easily adopted a child with you and keep you and them safe. 

.But if you really did not want kids of your owns he would be the type to get a bunch of furbabies. 

.Full on Dead Ass Stare and confidently saying. "THESE ARE OUR BABIES NOW!!" Holding a baby animal ready to raise it with you.

.He also is a very, VERY Forward yandere. When he finally decides to confess to you, which can either be a long game, or almost right away saying. you and him were meant to be and that he is will be the one to love you forever and ever. 

.Whenever it is that he tells you how he feelings he will go a few ways. 

.You say yes he is going to kiss you with so much passion to win you over. 

.if you turn him down he will react two ways. 

.If he is chill about it he would respect you and watch over you, while still trying to earn your love. 

.If he is at the point he has had enough with his yandere side he knew that he will knock you out, asking for your forgiveness and that he is just doing what he thinks best for you. 

.After this he will endure every bit of fight you have against him, working his way to win you over and he knows one day it will all be worth it and you will love him just as much as he loves you in return. 

.In the end He is a VERY Passionate Yandere that will earn your love one way or another. 

.His obsessive love is like a flame, it burns bright and shines through the roughest of nights. 

[YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS Another chapter is done! I hope you all enjoyed this, I really got into it! Stay Sexy, all of my sexy mufffins!]

[pebblysand]

Hello Pebbly,

Firstly I wanted to say sorry for the the hate you’ve been receiving lately. I just don’t understand why people would go out of their way to send death threats because they have a different opinion. It would be a different story if they weren’t allowed the option to be anonymous.

Secondly I wanted to ask a question about the new chapter of Castles. It was said Ginny only started her nightmares after Amycus died. Why do you think that is?

Lastly I’d like to say I adore your writing. Fan fiction or not, you truly have a gift and I’m so honoured that I get to read your beautiful stories

aw thank you anon, you're very sweet ❤️. although to be honest, i do think the issue goes beyond having different opinions, here. because the strangest thing is: i agree with these people 🤣. i fundamentally do also believe that trans rights are human rights. but i don't think that a) sending hate to people on the internet who do disagree with that affirmation is the solution to bigotry, and b) completely disengaging from fandom because of JKR's opinions is the way forward.

firstly, i agree. the fact that these people go on anon is evidence itself of the fact that they know what they're doing is idiotic. i understand being angry (i'm a gryffindor and an enneagram type 8, trust me, i really do), but obviously, all this does is relieve these people's urges for violent speech. it doesn't actually help any of the issues. and, that's fine, i guess if they feel better after dropping me these anons, then i'm happy for them. but, i doubt they do. i think a big part of being a gryffindor is learning where to take your outrage, and how to use it in ways that can make the world a better place. or else, the frustration just ends up eating you from the inside. this is not it.

additionally, as @copper-dust pointed out, fanfiction (and fandom in general) is one of the main ways to get the representation of marginalised groups that may be lacking in the source material. telling people to disengage is nonsensical. and, on a personal level, i must admit i don't relate at all with this trend we're seeing online of disengaging with any form of media (be it tv, books, etc.) that we, as a society, deem "problematic." if i had to cut out everyone i disagree with from my entertainment regimen, there wouldn't be much left. i mean... wait until these people find out like eminem, 🤣. it's hard to do more controversial than that.

personally, i think life is much more interesting when you engage with media critically and are able to use your brain to question the things you might see or read. i love eminem when he talks about fame and his daughter. i hate him when he talks about kim. there's a duality there that i find essential to my experience as a human on this planet. it's about understanding people are complicated and mostly exist on a spectrum. to tell you the truth, i don't necessarily believe in the idea of separating the art from the artist, but i do believe in engaging with art while remaining aware of who the artist is. reading things in a more educated and nuanced way.

i also must admit that i find this way of telling people: 'you mustn't read/watch/etc. [x] because the author is problematic' bizarrely moralising, and it gives me the ick. i grew up catholic and i find this attitude of 'i'm better than everyone else because i don't engage with problematic content' strangely reminiscent of saints and sinners. like: i claim the moral high ground. i am the saint. you are the sinner. and, well, good for you, i guess. i find sinning more interesting. i don't strive to be a role model, and i don't strive to live a perfect life. i'm not really keen on curating my experience of the world to the point that i end up living in a sterile echo chamber. that wouldn't be very interesting to write about and also, if we acknowledge the best in people, we must also acknowledge the worst - or else the good loses its gravitas.

by that same token, this also ultimately makes me "kid of fine" with the fact that these anons exist, in a strange way. they're not nice to get, of course, but i suppose they're allowed to disagree with me. i wish they wouldn't send me death threats about it, and it does make me angry that, doing this, they ultimately harm the people they claim to defend, but it is what it is. i don't think it's for me, as a non-elected individual representing no one but myself, to tell people what they should or should not think, and do or should not do. i do believe in the right of governments, through elected democracies, to regulate speech as a collective (the way certain countries have made racist speech or holocaust denial illegal), but i guess that's a different matter altogether. i wish people would get fined for expressing racist, transphobic, homophobic, murderous, hateful, etc. "opinions," but that is sadly not for me to decide.

.

anyway, apologies for this digression, now onto your question.

It was said Ginny only started her nightmares after Amycus died. Why do you think that is?

i recently re-read this letter from robert and michelle king, the showrunners of the good wife (do not click this link under any circumstance if you have not watched TGW and intend to watch it someday, major spoilers in that letter) where they said:

'We’ve always taken as a guiding principle of this show that drama isn’t in the event; it’s in the aftermath of the event.'

i find this quote incredibly interesting, and it really resonates with me. i suppose as someone who basically 'grew up' (as a writer) on the good wife, it's probably a vision of drama and creative endeavours that has influenced me more than i had realised. after all, i am currently writing about the aftermath of a dramatic event (the war), and to be, that's where the fascinating material is.

i think there's a lot of that in the way ginny's trauma manifests in castles. a reference i also always think of (for castles as a whole, not for this specifically) is series four of peaky blinders where tommy goes on this shootout situation with the italians, manages to come out of it alive and arthur joke-warns him about the fact that he'll get the shakes later, when the adrenaline comes down. i'm interested in that: what it feels like when the shakes come and the adrenaline comes down.

i think for ginny, there's a lot of that: during the war, when she was being assaulted, she was in survival mode. keep your head down, try to survive, do what you have to do, worry about it later. then, she comes out of it and it's like: all that stuff that she's trying to ignore is coming back to haunt her. i actually headcanon that with the chaos of the aftermath of the battle, the press, the way the weasleys were sort of ushered out of hogwarts, having to bury fred, etc. it took her maybe a couple weeks to find out for sure that amycus was dead. i can sort of picture her trying to ask around (people in the order, the DA, etc.) without raising any suspicions and not being able to get a definite answer until the list was confirmed in the press. i think that's when she realises it really is over, you know?

first of all, she realises he is dead, that he won't talk, and that no one will ever find out. she's very worried about her parents, about hurting them, about how other people might see her, about harry - so that's a big relief. and, secondly, she realises that she is free. that he won't come back. and, i think, that is of course a huge weight lifted off her shoulders, but paradoxically it also allows her to let her guard down a little (let the adrenaline come down), and that's when the nightmares come crashing. i think she only get them then because it's the end of war-mode and the start of healing-mode.

.

anyway anon, thanks again for your kind words, i'm so glad you enjoy my writing, and my apologies for taking advantage of your message to rant about Stuff. i hope you have a wonderful day ❤️

[byers7wheeler]

Firstly I really, truly need you to understand you’re not a bad person for still enjoying the show and I am so sorry you’ve been made to feel that way.

I’m going to try and lay things out in a way that’s easy to understand:

Boycott - It can’t be boycott. ST is already getting made. Everyone is already getting paid. Nothing is stopping season 5’s release. People are being dramatic as hell and all you really can do to assist is cancel your Netflix subscription and not interact with posts on official pages (but absolutely post clips or screenshots etc same as usual for your own pages and enjoy them that way! For official accs it’s interaction levels people want to target)

You can also not buy merch, however if you receive merch as gifts from those who know that you like ST you are not a bad person for loving and keeping them!!! It’s not your money! I have to say that because I have seen others believe that, which is ridiculous. No logic to that.

“But then again there’s a literal genocide going on.” - Darling, it’s okay! It’s great that you show so much empathy, but there’s really only so much you can do. This specific situation is so dire, even things like donations as one normally would do to help have been discouraged because it’s not making it to the actual people! There’s a reason we sometimes feel helpless about it okay? You spread awareness when you feel you can, you go to protests if safe in your city, you write to any officials in your govt if safe to, you avoid giving to any brands you’re financially able to not support, and that’s kind of all right now. Recognizing your privilege in being able to step away when it feels mentally heavy is good too, but you’re still allowed to take a breather for a few days if needed. Nothing, absolutely nothing to do with your favorite show and your enjoyment of it.

The main thing:

A fandom is merely an extension of its source material, that is all fic writers, fan artists, video editors etc are doing. It is all fictional and removed from the streaming service. Nobody here is a marketing team - we all have SO much smaller influence than people think; we are not influencers, we are not promoters or journalists or review critics. Posting to your fandom feed does nothing. Posting to your personal Insta story about a new trailer? yeah that’s more promoting than sharing hype in a fandom space is.

If others can’t separate characters from actors, or are still at an immature stage where seeing someone’s face is enough to ruin their whole day and feel the need to change a character’s appearance because of it, or are unable to regulate themselves and step away and come back after cooling down instead of saying a million unnecessary things in the heat of the moment - that’s not my problem. It’s not your problem. They will try and make you think it’s your problem, what they’re saying and doing is truly morally correct (can’t be, they lack nuance in everything), that because they’re right you have to do exactly what they do - but you don’t. You can’t shut down a fandom and you shouldn’t. They can go away if they can’t separate things (and thankfully most are going away 🙏).

Nobody is pathetic or an asshole for still enjoying the show and everyone should keep an eye on the types of people who say things like that to guilt you (usually a fellow minor, mean spirited and often gets in random fights anyway, stans celebrities and isn’t used to a fandom where it’s understood fictional characters are not real people.).

Another big thing - it’s understandable to want opinions or talk things out with others, but I so discourage listening to anyone who tries to help but does so in a mean way (your gut will tell you). I say this because I saw you say the pressure of others is getting to you. Again I’m sorry, because that pressure is affecting so many people and it’s so good you broke free from that and asked instead of following blindly. So many of those people especially on tiktok will be minors and while they may know information, they don’t have a lot of experience and context to put it into and it’s all very surface level and performative. Not all of them, but definitely the one’s going for people’s throats. You’re 21 - find better sources and don’t listen to them. Step away from tiktok for a bit if you have to.

You’re not a shitty person. You’re not a shitty person. I hope you keep enjoying the show and when a wave of hate comes once filming starts or trailers drop I hope you stay strong! Try and find some people (preferably other mature adults) on tumblr or something to lean on! All love to you.

Omg anon you’re actually so fucking nice and sweet, I won’t even respond to all this I’ll respond more to your second one

[flowleased]

What makes a good Dark Romance Book?

Is there a good dark romance book or there's no good dark romance book? If you're just scrolling down and you somehow saw this post because we have the same tags, then please have the time to read my thoughts.(please keep in mind on what I ask) this started when I was craving to read a dark romance book, I wanted to have a big bad villain or main love interest to fall in love with FMC. So I decided to go search it with my trusty app "TikTok", there were so many book recommendations for dark romance themes but the one that was mostly recommended was "Haunting Adeline" by H.D Carlton. I was interested with the short summary and I was ready to read it, but when I was minding my business I saw this one post who was talking about what dark romance was supposed to be, talking about how they were supposed to be a morally grey mmc or a vampire mmc. And when I check the comment section a lot of people hated Haunting Adeline. I was really conflicted on what I was doing and reading since I was diagnosed with depression last year(my mom says whatever your reading it can affect your thoughts and mood) and I was doing better and happier and I didn't want to waste those efforts just to go back being a pit of messy sadness and anger. So what I did like any sane person do was to avoid reading it, I still have it just not read it. I was really conflicted on what was going through me and I should start avoid reading dark romances, however there was that ever longing of having a dark villainous love interest fall for the Female lead and see her as their love of their life and their vulnerability. So I started asking google if there was any good dark romance books and I received nothing, i mean sure it'll show dark romance books but not GOOD dark romance books. If you're confused on what I mean here's my category:

Good Dark Romance:

Good dark romance books are where the main love interest is mysterious, have gone through a very traumatic past and morally grey philosophy. They're like an anomaly you want to discover and hold it onto your own hands; here are my top picks that I think are good dark romance books. Trilogy of "Blood of my Monster" by Rina Kent and "Sweet Temptation" by Cora Reilly

Dark Romance:

From what I understand from dark romance enthusiast, they're are willing to kill, destroy, blackmail and etc. just to get the girl.(for those who read Haunting Adeline please tell me if I'm mistaken but did the main love interest rape someone or rape the female lead? Cause that has me spiralling my Insanity.)

Thoughts:

What I want to read for a dark romance story is like "Crossed" by Emily Mcintire the never ever after series. I want a man who's willing to kill and sacrifice for the girl, bend and break himself to shreds until he gets his happily ever after. I just want to read a dark romance book in a people's standards, cause I felt that in order to live the fullest of your life is to be part of the society. You have to be where people feel comfortable and satisfied, cause if you don't you're just someone who's called crazy. I know how to separate myself with fiction and reality and sometimes my depression gets me because of the story but I'm able to bounce back and realize these are just works of fiction(and I knew what I was getting myself into). And I've always wanted to feel be part of the world or a community who feel the same I feel and not criticize unless correct me if I'm wronged. A lot of people say it's not a good excuse to use "Oh it's a dark romance book" and it's not right for young teenagers or adults reading this, and I agree but didn't the author wright tags or warn readers how it's for mature audiences before reading? Isn't a person fault for reading it regardless of the warnings? If a person wants to read a dark romance book and read through the trigger warnings but enjoyed the book shouldn't the person just relax and love the book? It doesn't mean they support the mmc doings or romanticize it but rather they just love the idea of it. It's also the person fault if they read the book regardless of the warnings and started hating the book. It's not the book fault but the person themselves, the author realize how gory and mature for this to be published in public and wrote down trigger warnings how it's only for mature audiences ONLY. And Im just scared that people are just going to hate this post on what I made when all I wanted was to hear a person thoughts on what they deem is a good dark romance story for them.

[aureutr]

I'm not going to bother posting in the tag because the people who need to hear it either already have me blocked or aren't willing to listen. People don't like introspection and considering that they might be mistaken. I'm taking a Tumblr break after this, though I doubt I'll get a response that isn't moving goalposts or more of the same arguments verbatim.

Here we go.

"Dark" Dinluke tropes aren't inherently racist and a lot of the nonsense that's being posted is performative allyship at best and blatant bullying at worst. Or both.

Like, I get it to a degree. The world sucks right now and so many of us feel powerless. As though nothing we can do matters. So it's tempting to go after a target you can actually reach. Like fanfic authors. This is not new or unique to Dinluke. This happens constantly in fandom. Hell, ask the Reylos.

Someone will make a bunch of posts about something they don't like. Except it's not enough to dislike it, they have to have Morally Pure reasons why it's Bad and Evil. It's racist or it's abusive or whatever else.

In Dinluke's case what I can tell is it boils down to A) Pedro Pascal is a POC and B) noncon and general dark fics are always making the POC the bad guy.

Pedro is a white Latino. I've spoken to a few Latine/Latinx people about this because when the first accusations came down my reaction was "oh no, am I unknowingly promoting something racist?" because that's what you should do when confronted with something new. Dig into it and ask people who are actually affected by the issue, if they are willing to lend their time to help you grow.

The overwhelming answer was "What? No. What are they talking about?" While a handful of people cannot speak for an entire demographic, I think they speak louder than the "allies" going on about "racist" tropes.

Plus it's pretty gross to twist someone's actual racial and ethnic identity for your own ends.

As for the second point...the "aggressor" in dark content is.......typically the fandom designated top.

That's it. It happens over and over across dozens of fandoms. You don't have to enjoy any of that content (which is actually tagged really well because the authors want their audience to be able to find it) but it doesn't mean there's some racist conspiracy behind it.

For me, personally, I like BDSM. And in fiction, it can be fascinating or freeing to push past boundaries that are critically important in real life.

Because it's not real. It's fictional. I understand that people who don't share my interests are not always willing or capable of separating the concept of real world rape from fictional noncon, but it sure is tiring to see all the time.

I also love Star Wars, not just Dinluke. And alternate character interpretations. There's so much room to go "ok let's assume X, then what happens??" That's what I love about fanfiction. Hell, my Dinluke week fic is a further exploration on "if Din was Force sensitive when Death Watch saved him and Maul 'adopted' him, then what?"

I love the "then what?" and am not interested in being stuffed into a box because people can't handle the idea of things outside their comfort zone existing. There is no grand conspiracy to trick you into reading stuff.

You're allowed to dislike something. You don't have to make up reasons why it's racist. You aren't solving a real problem. You're just bullying real, breathing people.

I am so disappointed in the number of people I had respect for who only needed the smallest excuse and an "acceptable target" to turn nasty.

Anyway, I'm sure this will be read with reasonable minds and definitely not picked apart looking for a tiny phrase that can be twisted into more bullying.

[alwida10]

Hi. I'm not sure what's going on right now, I just saw you had a mean anon lately and it seems you're going through hard times.

I will admit I've definitively made some assumptions about you and not always been the nicest when discussing some posts of yours with friends. But just because I found some things you said offensive doesn't mean I think you are a bad person. Words we say often take a life of their own in other poeple's head. Also anger and hurt makes us all agressive and without a filter. On both sides.

There is a lot of gossip in the Loki fandom, but behind the vitriol, some poeple care about you and are genuinely worried when things seem hard. Whether it's about you or other "antis" recieving hate anons (sadly the whole point of anons is that we'll never know for sure who sent them). We're also not stupid, a lot of poeple who are angry have been through hell in their life and healing will always be far more important than fandom wank.

I just wanted to say you deserve to feel safe and to have a space where you can express yourself, even if it won't make everyone happy. Poeple are free to block you, or ignore your posts if they end up in their recommended section. Nothing has ever been achieve with hate and petty games.

Sending you my best wishes.

A cowardly anon ^^

Thank you! This message made me cry, in a good way. 💚 thank you for your kindness!

And yes, you are right in many ways. We never know who the anons are, and I admit that in my mind I tend to conflate them, assuming most are from one single person, who just never knows when to stop.

When I first came to tumblr, I found the anon-function weird. I thought “we are on the internet. We are already anonymous!”, but I guess that’s not entirely true. While this sphere is (more or less) separated from our offline life, nobody is free from expectations of their mutuals, followers, and even critics. And since we all get trained to act according to the expectations people have, some things would never get said without the anon function. But being anonymous brings forth how we really are in that moment. And hurt, stress or rage has made me say bad things in the past, too. That said, at most times I DO mourn the split in the fandom, and I am aware that echo chambers make opinions grow more extreme. So, should you come across something I have written which is offensive, please let me know, so I can check if I’m a victim of my own rage once more, worded things badly, or applied faulty reasoning. You can always point me this post if you fear a harsh answer, so I will remember I, too, was gifted with kindness.

I am sure we all just wished the fandom wasn’t so torn apart and everyone could thrive in the community. I admit, the only other fandom I participated in was supernatural, so my expertise isn’t the best, but I would bet any day that the Loki fandom is full of people who take strength from his story for their own healing and growth. So, in a way it’s even more heartbreaking that there is so much fighting about him. Because interpretations of his motives and morality are never just that. They can always be perceived as an invalidation of another person’s suffering or healing or hopes. And while you might be able to cope with an attack of an fictional story, an attack of one’s trauma or hope is much more personal.

So, yeah. It’s always better to take a step back, remember this isn’t about oneself alone, and that beyond the screen other people are humans, too, and deserve the benefit of a doubt. 💚

Also, i kinda think it’s a shame there is so little communication between the “two sides”. The last debate opened a new perspective for me, and helped me to put some things back into context. Sometimes I wish for a friend on “the other side” to discuss things in a appreciative way, where no one tries to convince the other or feels the need to defend their view. Just a comparison of perspectives, to open up new points nobody considered yet. There could be a lot of cool meta buried there. But alas, I guess the topic is too close to the heart for most of us, and I don’t exclude myself there.

[ouyangzizhensdad]

I like MDZS but I hate being kidnapped for your own good as a romantic trope and also think it was one of MXTX's clumsier moments with respect to LWJ's arc. It does its job as a source of conflict and comedy, but I don't think adult LWJ responding to being frightened he won't be able to convince WWX to let him protect him with kidnapping works as a follow up to first life LWJ's journey re: I want to take him back/he may not be willing. Unconscious WWX is thus a big improvement for me.

Hi anon, 

If the situation makes you uncomfortable, that’s fine. We all have different comfort levels with different aspects of fiction, and we might be less receptive to explorations of certain sources of conflict. It doesn’t inherently mean that what is being depicted is terrible, but just that it hits the wrong buttons for us. If I were editing the novel (or perhaps I should say the translation), I probably would change a few things and suggest different wordings in places.

I disagree however that it is played as a romantic trope in MDZS. The point of the kidnapped-for-your-own-good as a romantic trope is generally to prove the strength of the ~feelings and ~passion and ~protectiveness of the love interest. At this point of the narrative, LWJ taking WWX to the CR only makes the reader wary of LWJ’s intentions and plans, and also serves as a means to learn more about WWX as a character (especially his ‘creative’ resourcefulness). We get other moments in the narrative that show us the length of LWJ’s devotion and protectiveness, and which are supposed to be romantic, but him taking WWX back to the CR as ‘his responsibility’ to ensure he would not end up being hunted by JC or by other cultivators who hate modao users, is not one of them?

Lan Sizhui tried to reason with him. “Mo-gongzi, it was for your sake that Hanguang-jun brought you here. If you do not follow us, Jiang-zongzhu will not be willing to let the matter go. During these years, there were countless people whom he caught and took back to Lotus Pier, and none of those people were ever let out.”

WWX being taken back (for one night) to the CR is, mostly, a plot device that allows WWX to be brought back where the arm is and begins the plot arc around solving this mystery while at the same time putting WWX in the place where he can think about his first meeting with LWJ and the fraught beginning of their acquaintance. LWJ making sure WWX doesn’t run into the night at the point where their relationship is still in limbo due to misunderstanding also allows for them to continue interacting until many of these misunderstandings are resolved and WWX no longer mistrusts LWJ’s intentions--which, hey, I supposed can be criticised as a device for certain, but to me operates differently. 

Whether an arc feels coherent and successful can be a subjective thing. Personally, I do think there is a certain coherence in LWJ’s actions. In his first life, when WWX refused his help and protection (while not being in the right state to make such a decision, anyway), he accepts the situation while knowing that this means WWX will die sooner than later. And he died. I think it makes sense that, with WWX being brought to life and with LWJ having had more time to think about what happened, he pehraps decided that while he would not, you know, be his father and confine WWX to live the rest of his days in a hut separated from the ones he loved, he might also be more proactive in his efforts to protect WWX from the rest of the cultivation world--that he’d find another way that is neither of these options. I’m not saying that’s "moral” or “good” (I’m sort of not interested in these types of questions), but to me it can feel like a logical and emotional evolution: he knows what it feels like to lose him, and also he has a chance to do more this time, and perhaps he feels like the answer is no longer to respect someone’s wishes 100%at all times if it means that’ll get him killed. 

The point with bringing up the “consent” thing in CQL and how it relates to critcisms of MDZS by CQL fans was more to highlight the certain level of hypocrisy to these criticisms: CQL is not a perfect work where consent is respected at all times either, because most works of fiction would probably not pass that test anyway. So saying this situation is not 100% consensual thereby story bad is not going to leave a lot of stories to engage with. Honestly though most talks about consent in this fandom are just exhausting. JC didn’t consent to have WWX’s golden core. Wen Ning didn’t consent to be brought back to life. What’s next? MianMian didn’t consent to being saved by WWX? The juniors didn’t consent to eating spicy food? Lan Qiren didn’t consent to the marriage before it took place?

[twentiethcenturymoviesandtv]

Star Trek: The Characters

Storytelling, especially where it regards movies and television, is always evolving.  

Whether it’s in deeper themes, better effects, different genres, or evolving archetypes, there is always something that is changing, except, perhaps, where the importance of characters are concerned.

Characters are an integral part of storytelling, particularly where it concerns television.  When it comes to television, the setup is everything, and the characters are part of that setup, that ‘home base’ that the audience returns to at the start of every episode.  The characters are the people that the audience gets to know, who star in each adventure.  Characters are what holds the audience’s investment, the reason fanbases tolerate bad episodes and praise good ones.  In the end, the main characters keep an audience’s attention, making each episode, even the bad ones, enjoyable.

In short, characters can make or break a television show.  It is vital that they be likable, or at the very least, interesting, lest the audience utter those eight deadly words:

I Don’t Care What Happens To These People.  

Once those words are uttered, it doesn’t matter how gripping your narratives are.  The viewers will start to leave.

See, while a film can get away with some lesser characters by distracting with an interesting concept, set-piece or a fast-paced story, television can’t.  Thanks to a smaller runtime and a smaller budget, television, by necessity, tends to be character based.  As a result, the main cast of a television show has to be able to work in multiple stories of different kinds.

This means that writing for characters on television can be pretty difficult.

The best television characters tend to merge two ideas together: That of relatability and entertainment value.  

You see, television, like all stories, tells stories of exaggerated versions of reality, especially in the cases of science-fiction adventure shows like Star Trek.  The only way to make an audience buy an unbelievable world is to create believable characters to place in that world, that relatability in the stories and characters.  When we see McCoy’s frustration, or Kirk’s boldness, or Spock’s reservedness, we see elements of ourselves, our own personalities and lives.  It is vital to make characters seem real, if not realistic.

The question is, does Star Trek manage to do that?

That’s the question we’re going to be answering today.  Let’s take a look, starting with the Captain of the Enterprise Crew: James Tiberius Kirk.

Kirk truly was The Captain in every sense of the word.  A Reasonable Authority Figure who did far more adventuring than realistic counterparts would have, Kirk was an Action Man, level-headed, dutiful, and always loyal to his ship and his crew.  A Bold Explorer (it’s in the job description), Kirk, while not fearless per say, took the Chains of Commanding quite seriously, and would often face down hugely powerful beings, power-mad computers, or other forces beyond him in order to save his crew.  A Determinator to the last, known for his interesting ways to think outside the box and refusal to accept a ‘no win scenario’, he is the unquestionable Hero of the show, the Leader, who often throws the rules aside to do what he feels is right, in a constant battle To Be Lawful or Good.  He was a Charmer, an expert fast-talker, and very smart.  In later installations of the franchise, Kirk would become a Living Legend, much as he became in our own pop culture.

All that being said, the common cultural image of Captain Kirk isn’t quite right.  Allow me to adjust it, as best I can.

More than any other character in Star Trek, or perhaps the history of television in general, Captain Kirk is possibly the most misrepresented character of all time.  Since the ‘60s, Kirk has evolved into an icon of heroism, machismo, and brash boldness, with even the recent Star Trek reboot depicting, not Kirk, but rather, the distorted, separate idea of Kirk in the modern light.

This idea, quite frankly, is just not right.  While Kirk did have his share of romances, he was no womanizer, often entering into dubiously consented-to relationships reluctantly, in order to save the ship.  The relationships he did actively pursue, he threw himself into wholeheartedly, and he was just as crushed as the other party every time they fell apart (for proof, watch City on the Edge of Forever or The Paradise Syndrome).  Kirk was no player.  As a matter of fact, he was a deeply compassionate man who respected the women in his life as much as he respected Spock and McCoy.  It just so happened that the women in his life tended to not stick around, unlike his one true love: The Enterprise.

Even his reputation of the ‘Cowboy Captain’ isn’t accurate.  As I mentioned before, Kirk was defined by compassion.  His moments of ‘rule-breaking’ wasn’t to impose ‘the way he thinks things should be’, it’s because Kirk cannot bear to watch helpless people in trouble.  The few times where he does break the famous ‘Prime Directive’ (To not interfere with less developed races) is to help.  Kirk was a deeply moral character, determined to not stand by while people were taken advantage of.  He wasn’t rash, either.  While it may be accurate to say that the ship’s doctor, Leonard McCoy, was a bit on the hot-headed side, it is entirely inaccurate to accuse Kirk of the same.  Kirk was an extremely smart man, a level-headed captain who was an expert at thinking fast.  He trusted his instincts, but he trusted his advisors too, often finding a balance between McCoy’s impulsiveness and Spock’s cold rationality.  Kirk’s intelligence and competence is often lost, overshadowed by his more extreme companions, and some audiences have forgotten the truth of Kirk’s character: a cunning problem-solver capable of saving the day under enormous pressure, whose decisions are far from based in irrationality.  He is a romantic, duty-bound to protect his ship and crew, greatly exaggerated and mis-characterized in the years following his captaincy.

As such, Kirk was a well-rounded, balanced character, far more three-dimensional than the modern idea of him tends to give him credit for.

That’s all well and good, sure, but how does he fit as a main character in a television show?

As a matter of fact, absolutely incredibly.

Kirk serves as a wonderfully effective lead, compelling, entertaining, and interesting.  Infinitely more developed than most leads of his time, and even more modern examples, Kirk was a game-changer, a revolutionary kind of protagonist who just worked.  The perfect balance of the main trio of the series, Kirk is the perfect face for Roddenberry’s ideals: a hopeful pragmatist, an idealist who proves the best of humanity: compassion mixed with intelligence, boldness combined with understanding.  A man of action surrounded by True Companions, Kirk was an extremely gripping protagonist who felt intensely, a perfect person for the audience to connect to and be invested in.  He drove the stories, opposed the villains, and always saved the crew, as a hero should, but it’s important to note that Kirk was hugely human, possessing many of our greatest attributes, but some of our failings as well.  He wasn’t perfect.  Sometimes he made the wrong choice.  In the end, though, he was us, or us as we should strive to be: always learning and helping, and always reaching for the stars.

But of course, Kirk wasn’t alone in his position as the ‘lead’ of the show.  It’s doubtful the show would have survived in the popular culture as well as it did if it weren’t for his support team, his True Companions: Dr. Leonard McCoy, and, more famously: Mr. Spock.

If Kirk represented the best of humanity, Spock represented the critique of it.  In a previous article, I pointed out that Spock exists as a very unique character: a half alien, half human crewmember who, while equally valuable to the script and the characters as Kirk was, served a different purpose: to point out and explore humanity from the outside.

Like I’ve mentioned before, Spock is a different sort of character than Kirk is.  Where Kirk is a demonstration of the best of humanity as we see it, Spock is a demonstration of humanity as someone else might.  He served as a criticism of the human condition, a character at war with himself and his heritage, split between the emotional humans, and the rational Vulcans.  Spock is the Number One, almost Comically Serious as he eschews his more illogical half and chooses to embrace the stoicism of the Vulcan people.  A Gentleman and a Scholar, Spock has Hidden Depths, a heart of gold and deep emotions that he usually succeeds in hiding.

Most of the time.  More on that in a minute.

Spock’s role in the show was The Smart Guy, the Stoic who had all the answers, all the statistics.  He was the champion of impartial logic, of cold rationality.  His job was to give Kirk the hard answers, to bring to him the facts and give him their options, especially the unforgiving ones.  He is the cold to McCoy’s hot, a stern-faced, cold-blooded computer.

Or is he?

Much like Kirk, there is a lot more to Spock than meets the eye.  While the cultural perception of Spock has often mutated into a parody of itself, much as it has done to Kirk’s reputation, Spock remains a much deeper character than he, or a brief skim of the series, lets on.  As I said earlier, Spock is at war with himself, uncomfortable in his own skin.  He insults humans for their humanity, but has strong, deep friendships with them.  He is not above expressing frustration and their emotional natures when pushed (usually by other forces that knock his guard down), but isn’t frustration a human emotion?

Spock is a bag of contradictions, a supposedly emotionless master of sarcasm, a man without feeling who invites his close friends (emotional humans) to a private Vulcan ceremony, a cold-blooded creature with undying loyalty who occasionally makes ‘illogical’ decisions that would make Kirk proud.  A lover of music and a sympathizer to space hippies (Not one of Star Trek’s better episodes, admittedly), Spock was an outsider who fit neither fully as a Vulcan or Human, a person who was struggling to find his place in the universe.

At first, this seems incongruous with the ice-cold exterior he projects, however, rather than being an example of inconsistent writing, it’s a shining example of development and nuance.

You see, Spock never gives up his following of logic.  He just begins to approach it differently.

Spock’s style changes slightly as Star Trek progresses (most notably in the films, released ten years after the show’s final season), from cold, ‘computer’ logic to something else: human logic.

One thing of especial note in the original Star Trek show is that you could see characters visibly affecting one another.  Kirk, Spock and McCoy all influenced each other in the ways they thought, reacted, and planned, and worked best as a unit.  In this, the humanity of the main cast affected Spock in his slow, reluctant appreciation of human merits.  In time, Spock began to make one or two decisions based on human logic, intelligence and emotion.  In episodes like The Menagerie or The Galileo Seven, Spock makes decisions that seem out-of-character for him, based in emotion.

Spock is, in many ways, Star Trek’s best known and favorite character.  The most visibly recognizable, as well as the most distinct, Spock is given more episodes exploring him than any other character, with installments like Amok Time and Journey to Babel, (the latter of which we explore his parents, and discover why it is that Spock has such a hard time with his human half) helping to examine Spock as a character.

The end result was a beloved science fiction icon, Kirk’s right hand man, an analytical, fascinating character as well-crafted and loved as Kirk himself.

Spock and Kirk are often remembered fondly, and are typically considered the most memorable and iconic characters of the franchise, but they don’t work alone.  Their dynamic is as effective as it is because of balance.  Spock is one extreme, and Kirk is the middle, but it’s no good without the other extreme: Dr. Leonard Horatio “Bones” McCoy.

McCoy is all hot-blooded human, the third of the main Power Trio.  An old-fashioned competent doctor who wasn’t entirely thrilled with deep space, McCoy is a deeply emotional character, duty-bound to follow his morals.  He clashed with Spock regularly, routinely criticizing him for his perceived lack of emotion.  Despite the fighting, McCoy respected Spock greatly, counting him as a close friend, despite their arguments and different perspectives.  A cantankerous pacifist (though not above getting into the action when needed), McCoy is a Super Doc and a Sarcastic Devotee, a Grumpy Old Man who serves as the Heart to Spock’s Brain (hah!), a man who values Honor Before Reason who values the Good Old Ways.  He’s a Determined Doctor who does everything he can for his patients, and a Deadpan Snarker to the point where he can match Spock in verbal sparring.

Bones represents the unpolished rawness of humanity, getting carried away with his emotions sometimes, but always with the best intentions.  Another Jerk with a Heart of Gold, McCoy’s gruff nature accompanied a deeply moral man, very concerned with human empathy and doing the right thing.  No philosophical discussion was complete without McCoy’s two cents, telling Kirk what he thought the right thing to do was.  He was the quintessential Knight in Sour Armor, who would follow Kirk to the ends of the earth, complaining the entire way.

Despite the fact that he’s not as well-known as the other two members of the Power Trio, Bones was a vital component to the True Companions dynamic.  His Vitriolic Best Buds relationship with Spock made up one of the most interesting and compelling dynamics on the show, serving as perfect counterbalances to one another.  However, although his most famous role in the show was arguing with Spock (and delivering phrases such as ‘He’s Dead, Jim’), there is another, equally important position that he held in the trio.

McCoy served as a foil to Kirk, as well as one to Spock, a confidante, a close friend, providing perspective.  While Spock was focused on the logic, Kirk on the best thing for the mission, McCoy’s focus was purely on the ‘patients’, the people, the right thing to do.  No matter the situation, McCoy was the closest to empathy with the people involved, and provided the audience with another surrogate, saying the things that the viewers are thinking.

While not being a terribly big fan of space (and liking transporters even less), Bones was the epitome of the Frontier Doctor to the stars, taking care of every patient, even if they weren’t humanoid (Devil in the Dark) or a heavily pregnant woman who refuses to listen (Friday’s Child).  McCoy was painfully human, reminding us of our most problematic traits while also holding onto that wild, fiery compassion that made him so incredibly humane, relatable, and understandable, making him just as vital to the Enterprise and her crew as Kirk or Spock.

The trio worked best together, providing a perfect main cast for an audience to follow.  The formula was an interesting one, allowing the audience to hear separate viewpoints and ideas, listen in to the philosophical banter, and truly feel the strong friendship holding the leads together.  The dynamic between them was powerful, an extremely vibrant bond that connected all three very different characters.

The result?  Extremely dynamic characters that remain iconic and memorable even to this day.

But the cast didn’t stop there.

The other characters of Star Trek, while not quite possessing the pop-culture iconography of the main trio, still hold their own rather impressive cultural footprint.

None more so than the chief engineer, Montgomery Scott.

Scotty’s job was to be a miracle worker, solving impossible problems in impossibly small amounts of time.  Whether it was the transporters, the phaser banks, the shields, or the engines, Scotty was the man for the job.  Nobody had a better understanding, or love for the Enterprise than Scotty (except maybe Kirk).  He was the king of outside-the-box solutions, and had the Enterprise jury-rigged to push her past her limits more times than can be easily counted.  As the name implies, he was also Scottish, and extremely stereotypically so.  Kilt, whiskey, haggis and all, Scotty was extremely proud of his heritage (though not quite as much as Chekov).  Fitting the traditional stereotypes, Scotty had a fiery temper, with a Berserk Button triggered by any insult to the Enterprise.  A Gadgeteer Genius (and the inventor of Scotty Time) as well as a Genius Bruiser, Scotty was both the brains and brawn, more than capable of holding his own in a fight, or thinking of a new, creative way to push the Enterprise past her capacity.

Scotty also held the distinction of being third in command, routinely taking the Captain’s chair when both Kirk and Spock were in the landing party.  He was also the focus of a few episodes, making him a rare character with a Day in the Limelight, with episodes such as Wolf in the Fold, The Lights of Zetar, By Any Other Name, and The Trouble with Tribbles giving him a little more screen time and story than is typical.  Scotty was an indispensable member of the crew, a life-saver on more than one occasion, and another of the legendary, iconic characters of the original Star Trek.

But it didn’t stop there.

Lieutenant Nyota Uhura was another prominent character.  As the ship’s communications officer, she codified the term ‘Bridge Bunny’, although she proved herself far more useful than she’s typically thought of.  Whenever given the chance, Uhura is a capable Action Girl, intelligent, witty, and good at her job, being extremely fluent in multiple languages.  She too got her days in the limelight, with episodes such as Mirror Mirror, The Gamesters of Triskelion, and The Trouble with Tribbles giving her more to do than just sit at her station and say ‘hailing frequencies open’.  Uhura was Silk Hiding Steel, not typically in the heat of the battle, but tough as nails when she had to be.  (I’ve talked about Uhura’s extensive influence on the real world in the Legacy article, but even that doesn’t scratch the surface of what Uhura’s impact has been.)

There were others on the bridge crew of equal importance, including the ship’s helmsman, Hikaru Sulu.

Sulu was a level-headed officer, amiable and cultured, with an extensive knowledge of botany, fencing, and antiques.  Yet another Deadpan Snarker (it must run in the cast), Sulu is another Genius Bruiser, as skilled in fighting as he is in his piloting, with a great sense of humor.  He is given special attention in episodes like Mirror Mirror and The Naked Time (Albeit as evil, and Brainwashed and Crazy), but often got great character moments in multiple episodes (especially Shore Leave).  A reliable officer and loyal to the core, he made an interesting character by himself, although he did end up forming a fun ‘Those Two Guys’ dynamic with the youngest of the cast, Pavel Chekov.

Chekov was introduced in season 2 as the navigator of the Enterprise.  A bright young man with a fierce, passionate loyalty to Mother Russia (which evidently invented every good thing known to man), Chekov tended to be at the receiving end of a lot of the embarrassing agony in the series (mostly because Walter Koenig had a great scream).  Also serving as a relief science officer, Chekov was plenty smart, if a bit of a Cloudcuckoolander, and the king of Cultural Posturing.  Reckless and impulsive to balance Sulu’s calm good humor, Chekov’s temper tended to get the better of him.  Like the others, he’s given a bit more screen time in episodes such as Mirror Mirror, The Trouble with Tribbles, The Way to Eden, The Deadly Years and Spectre of the Gun, but got to shine in plenty of other episodes, demonstrating his capabilities (despite being ‘The Intern’ and the Plucky Comic Relief) as a competent officer.  Unsurprisingly, he was yet another Deadpan Snarker, lending his style of jokes well to bounce off of Sulu’s drier humor.

But there was more to the crew than the bridge.

Another crew member of note was Christine Chapel, one of the nurses who operated in the sickbay.  Chapel was notable for having an attraction to Spock, as well as being another in the long line of Enterprise Deadpan Snarkers.  One of the most caring of the Enterprise’s crew, Chapel was given larger roles in episodes like The Naked Time, What Are Little Girls Made Of?, Amok Time, and Plato’s Stepchildren.

Arguably though, one of the most important characters in all of Star Trek was the Companion Cube: the Enterprise herself.

The Enterprise was one of the most powerful ships in Starfleet, a character in her own right.  The epitome of the Cool Starship, the Enterprise was well known for Explosive Overclocking, and always coming through in the end (with a little help from Scotty).  A Lightning Bruiser of a ship, the Enterprise became as legendary as her captain and crew, as beloved as the characters themselves to the point where one of NASA’s shuttles was named after her.

The characters of Star Trek are legends, both in and out of universe, and they are for a reason.  No member of the crew is useless.  Everyone has a purpose and a job to do, and each was distinct and unique.  No two characters were the same, and each brought their own special personality and abilities to each episode they appeared in.

And that’s what made the drama of the show work so well.

Each character felt real, memorable and genuine.  We as an audience worry for them with each danger, and cheer with each victory.  We liked these people.  We cared about what happened to them.

And they worked.

In each scenario and situation, the characters found new and interesting ways to deal with the circumstances, while never losing the core elements of their personalities.  That’s important, hugely so.  These characters were loved, and still are, for a reason.  They work very well as characters, both in main and supporting roles, providing entertaining and compelling figures for the audience to invest in.  The balance between relatability and entertainment was hit perfectly for every single character, allowing everyone to shine in their own ways in each episode.  They felt real, and in the end, that’s the point of a character.

After all, one doesn’t get to be some of the most iconic television characters of all time by being boring.

Thank you guys so much for reading!  Join us next time as we discuss Star Trek’s place in the times and the culture.  If you have anything you’d like to say, don’t forget to leave an ask!  I hope to see you all in the next article.

[theyanderespecialist]

Base Yandere Kyojuro Rengoku Headcanons: Obsession In Flames (Demon Slayer)

[Hello, My Sexy Muffins! I am excited to do this one, it was a YouTube request, but I did it on a few other places as well! So I hope that you all enjoy this chapter here!] 

(Disclaimer: The Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku is not Yandere in canon, but he is 20 years old in canon. This is just for fun and not to be taken seriously at all! Simping for fictional characters and yanderes is fine, just do not be illegal or gross about it! Yanderes are not ideal partners to have in real life. Also, remember to separate fiction from reality and headcanon from canon! Thank You!) 

-Base Yandere Headcanons With Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku From Demon Slayer- 

.Kyojuro takes an enthusastic approach to his posisition as a Hashira. 

.He comes off very cheerfull and eccentric. 

.He is a very go lucky man and look on the bright side of things. 

.He had a love for you, and is always in the best mood when he is near you. 

.He loves you so much and from the nature instilled in him by his mother, he believed that he had to protect you, as he is strog and that means he has to protect the weak. 

.Even if you are strong he has a strong urge to protect you and keep you safe at all costs. 

.So he is a protective yandere to his core. 

.He would also be a knight in shining armor type of yandere. 

.Being the one to come to your rescue you and save you from harm if there is harm. 

.He is not the typical yandere because he is pure of heart. 

.So he would not be the typical blood thirsty or muderous yandere. 

.He does become jealous a frustrated when there are other rivals trying to steal you from him. 

.He will make sure that he gets stronger and stronger, so that he is always the best choice for you have, and he can always keep you safe and sound from other his rivals. 

.He is a honorable yandere, with strict moral. 

.As long as he is the best choice for you and you want him he will never let you go. 

.But if you want someone else and that someone else is worthy he would step to the side, and let them be with you. 

.But if they cross the line and this other person harm you, cheats on you, or does anything like that he will put them in their place and teach them a lesson for hurting and or breaking your heart. 

.He believes in hard work and training for a good work ethic and values in whatever you do. 

.And he would support you in almost anything you do, as long as you give it your all and live your lige honestly. 

.He would be a very supportive yandere in which he supports you in almost anything and almost everything. 

.He will do what he can to support you as well. 

.Though beneath his carefree and cheerful self he is a man who can be very tatical and serious. 

.This is something that actually helps his yandere side, he might be an honorbale yandere but he is also very much thinking 10 steps ahead at all times. 

.He knows how to win you over and he knows how to get rivals to give up and leave you alone without hurting you. 

.He is very confident in how he can win you over and make you you his. 

.He is also very confident that he knows what is best for you. 

.The Yandere side and his Serious taticaul nature would make the perfect storm to do whatever it takes to keep you safe, even kidnapping you. 

.In his dellusional yandere mind he is keeping you safe and sound and knows that one day you will be able to forgive him. 

.You just need the time to see what he is doing.... ALL That he is doing has always been for you! 

.Ultimetaly he would deal with rivals by first testing if they are worthy and if they have earned your heart. 

.If they had he will stand by and let your love blossom, but the moment they step out of line he will strike.

.He will also be critical of every move they make and he will even be hopping that they step out of line! 

.When they do step out of line, he makes sure they regret it, and it justifies that he can keep you safe and sound and that he is the only one worthy of you. 

.Side note he is a family man and would want a family with you, if AFAB he would want to have one with you as the birth giver and if a afab he can easily adopted a child with you and keep you and them safe. 

.But if you really did not want kids of your owns he would be the type to get a bunch of furbabies. 

.He also is a very, VERY Forward yandere. When he finally decides to confess to you, which can either be a long game, or almost right away saying. you and him were meant to be and that he is will be the one to love you forever and ever. 

.Whenever it is that he tells you how he feelings he will go a few ways. 

.You say yes he is going to kiss you with so much passion to win you over. 

.if you turn him down he will react two ways. 

.If he is chill about it he would respect you and watch over you, while still trying to earn your love. 

.If he is at the point he has had enough with his yandere side he knew that he will knock you out, asking for your forgiveness and that he is just doing what he thinks best for you. 

.After this he will endure every bit of fight you have against him, working his way to win you over and he knows one day it will all be worth it and you will love him just as much as he loves you in return. 

.In the end He is a VERY Passionate Yandere that will earn your love one way or another. 

.His obsessive love is like a flame, it burns bright and shines through the roughest of nights. 

[YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS Another chapter is done! I hope you all enjoyed this, I really got into it! Stay Sexy, all of my sexy mufffins!]

[Hello, My Sexy Muffins! I am excited to do this one, it was a YouTube request, but I did it on a few other places as well! So I hope that you all enjoy this chapter here!] 

(Disclaimer: The Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku is not Yandere in canon, but he is 20 years old in canon. This is just for fun and not to be taken seriously at all! Simping for fictional characters and yanderes is fine, just do not be illegal or gross about it! Yanderes are not ideal partners to have in real life. Also, remember to separate fiction from reality and headcanon from canon! Thank You!) 

-Base Yandere Headcanons With Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku From Demon Slayer- 

.Kyojuro takes an enthusastic approach to his posisition as a Hashira. 

.He comes off very cheerfull and eccentric. 

.He is a very go lucky man and look on the bright side of things. 

.He had a love for you, and is always in the best mood when he is near you. 

.He loves you so much and from the nature instilled in him by his mother, he believed that he had to protect you, as he is strog and that means he has to protect the weak. 

.Even if you are strong he has a strong urge to protect you and keep you safe at all costs. 

.So he is a protective yandere to his core. 

.He would also be a knight in shining armor type of yandere. 

.Being the one to come to your rescue you and save you from harm if there is harm. 

.He is not the typical yandere because he is pure of heart. 

.So he would not be the typical blood thirsty or muderous yandere. 

.He does become jealous a frustrated when there are other rivals trying to steal you from him. 

.He will make sure that he gets stronger and stronger, so that he is always the best choice for you have, and he can always keep you safe and sound from other his rivals. 

.He is a honorable yandere, with strict moral. 

.As long as he is the best choice for you and you want him he will never let you go. 

.But if you want someone else and that someone else is worthy he would step to the side, and let them be with you. 

.But if they cross the line and this other person harm you, cheats on you, or does anything like that he will put them in their place and teach them a lesson for hurting and or breaking your heart. 

.He believes in hard work and training for a good work ethic and values in whatever you do. 

.And he would support you in almost anything you do, as long as you give it your all and live your lige honestly. 

.He would be a very supportive yandere in which he supports you in almost anything and almost everything. 

.He will do what he can to support you as well. 

.Though beneath his carefree and cheerful self he is a man who can be very tatical and serious. 

.This is something that actually helps his yandere side, he might be an honorbale yandere but he is also very much thinking 10 steps ahead at all times. 

.He knows how to win you over and he knows how to get rivals to give up and leave you alone without hurting you. 

.He is very confident in how he can win you over and make you you his. 

.He is also very confident that he knows what is best for you. 

.The Yandere side and his Serious taticaul nature would make the perfect storm to do whatever it takes to keep you safe, even kidnapping you. 

.In his dellusional yandere mind he is keeping you safe and sound and knows that one day you will be able to forgive him. 

.You just need the time to see what he is doing.... ALL That he is doing has always been for you! 

.Ultimetaly he would deal with rivals by first testing if they are worthy and if they have earned your heart. 

.If they had he will stand by and let your love blossom, but the moment they step out of line he will strike.

.He will also be critical of every move they make and he will even be hopping that they step out of line! 

.When they do step out of line, he makes sure they regret it, and it justifies that he can keep you safe and sound and that he is the only one worthy of you. 

.Side note he is a family man and would want a family with you, if AFAB he would want to have one with you as the birth giver and if a afab he can easily adopted a child with you and keep you and them safe. 

.But if you really did not want kids of your owns he would be the type to get a bunch of furbabies. 

.Full on Dead Ass Stare and confidently saying. "THESE ARE OUR BABIES NOW!!" Holding a baby animal ready to raise it with you. 

.He also is a very, VERY Forward yandere. When he finally decides to confess to you, which can either be a long game, or almost right away saying. you and him were meant to be and that he is will be the one to love you forever and ever. 

.Whenever it is that he tells you how he feelings he will go a few ways. 

.You say yes he is going to kiss you with so much passion to win you over. 

.if you turn him down he will react two ways. 

.If he is chill about it he would respect you and watch over you, while still trying to earn your love. 

.If he is at the point he has had enough with his yandere side he knew that he will knock you out, asking for your forgiveness and that he is just doing what he thinks best for you. 

.After this he will endure every bit of fight you have against him, working his way to win you over and he knows one day it will all be worth it and you will love him just as much as he loves you in return. 

.In the end He is a VERY Passionate Yandere that will earn your love one way or another. 

.His obsessive love is like a flame, it burns bright and shines through the roughest of nights. 

[YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS Another chapter is done! I hope you all enjoyed this, I really got into it! Stay Sexy, all of my sexy mufffins!]

Yandere Flame Hashira🔥Kyojuro Rengoku X Gender Neutral Listener (Demon Slayer) 

[experiment-000]

zuko-is-straight has some pretty good zukka critisism/anti zukka stuff on her blog!

Thanks for the suggestion but I don't really want zukka hate or even criticism. I don't hate zukka as a ship it's just not my cup of tea. I'm just annoyed at how anti zutara the zukka side of the fandom seems to be. And frankly even if I did hate zukka as a ship I know it wouldn't be productive to seek out zukka hate because that would just validate my hatred and likely lead to me resenting people just for shipping it.

We need to be able to separate our feelings about ships from our feelings about the shipper. I know it's difficult there are certain ships that if someone says they ship it I immediately recoil, and even though I think it's because I really dislike the ship, I know in reality it's because of how much fans of that ship have hated on fans of my ship, and therefore how much anti their ship stuff I've seen. Arguments for why that ship is a terrible ship and why my ship us so much better.

But the thing is this is shipping fictional characters. It doesn't really matter which ship has more chemistry or which ship makes more canon sense or which ship is the least problematic because they're not real. People in one fandom likely have so many things in common because they're all in that fandom, yet we divide ourselves by shipping different things. I see so many posts saying don't interact if you ship this, this, this or this. Yet these blogs don't just post ship stuff. Shipping doesn't have to have anything to do with it. Heck I was told not to interact with a blog because I'm neutral to some ships. And this blog didn't even post shipping content generally. And yes these ships are arguably "problematic". And as a result I'm not a big fan of them. However, they're some of the most popular ships in the fandom, so much of the fanfiction features those ships. So if I see a fanfic that happens to have that ship in, but also has a very appealing plot to me, then I'll read it.

To bring it back round to zukka. Yeah I've read some zukka fanfic. If I see cute zukka art I'll like it. Same with kataang or maiko or any other atla ship. And yes I would avoid any incest or large age gaps or pedophilia or abusive relationships, and I'm still conflicted on whether or not people should be condemned for shipping these things. It's not hurting anyone because it's all fictional. But pedophilia especially is very wrong. But I do think we need to think about its definition. Pedophilia is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. "Prepubescent" being a key word.

Shipping a 16 year old and an 18 year old is something I find perfectly ok. They likely have similar levels of maturity, both having reached puberty most likely, and it's perfectly legal in the country I live, where the age of consent is 16. However if someone was shipping a 16 year old with a 40 year old I would avoid it like the plagye because of the power difference, even though it's perfectly legal where I'm from.

So what about shipping those who are underage? This is where we talk about avatar and its ships. Personally I don't have any issues with shipping teenagers. They're growing up, date in real life, and are often portrayed as having romantic relationships in canon. However, I do think we should keep it sfw as a general rule. But guess what, a lot of people in fandom are teenagers. We can say under 18s don't interact with smut or nsfw content but it won't stop them. Certainly didn't stop me. Growing up I wanted smut of these teenage ships because I was their age. Should we really deny teenage shippers the chance to learn about their sexuality through nsfw fandom?

But then what about adults in these fandoms? I'm 18. I'm still learning how to be an adult in fandom. I grew up shipping these teenage ships and yeah reading smut about them. I was their age was that really so wrong? I don't have the answers to this question. Right now I'm still of an age where I feel I'm allowed to find Zuko attractive. But I won't be in a few years, and I don't feel allowed to find the younger characters attractive anymore, even though I did when I was their age. And frankly I'm starting to find them less attractive anyway probably because I'm now considering them young.

But what about shipping? I'm not gonna stop shipping zutara because it's such a nostalgic ship for me. Shipping a 14 year old and a 16 year old I see no moral issues with that according to the law of my country, as even though a 14 year old is below the age of consent, it's generally considered anyone age 13-15 may be in a sexual relationship with someone within two years age of them (but over 13) and the elder will face no legal retribution as long as it's consensual. And of course teenagers often date chastely anyway.

I have no issues with continuing to ship zutara, the question is should I be allowed to consume nsfw zutara content set when they're the canon ages. And I think the answer to that for me is I'm no longer interested in it. I find them too young and in canon they had too much other stuff to think about to be thinking about sex. Would I read aged up zutara smut? Sure why not? Would I read a fic with fade to black sex at the canon ages? Sure I guess as it'd likely have a larger plot of the smut was fade to black. If I encountered a fic that I wanted to read that had some smut scenes at canon ages I would likely skim or skip over it now. And I think that's the answer. Most adults wouldn't want to read smut about teenagers. Smut about teenagers exists for teenagers. Don't condemn them for it.

I don't ship zukka cos I just prefer their dynamic as friends and never really saw the chemistry. That doesn't make me homophobic. I ship zutara because it's what I started shipping when I first watched avatar when I was 13. I think they have a lot of chemistry and are great foils to each other and have similar levels of maturity. Momtara and dadko but as in they're the mom friend and the dad friend is one of my favourite things because he actually helps around camp and frankly parents the younger members of the group just like katara has from the start. That's why I don't ship kataang too. I think aang is too young to be shipped really. Especially not with Katara who mothers him and is much more emotionally mature than him. That doesn't mean I hate aang as a character - I don't. These are just my personal opinions on ships, and they're no more valid than anyone else's.

The fact that I don't ship these ships doesn't mean I hate them. And definitely doesn't mean I hate their shippers. I wish we could all just be friends. We all love avatar yet we've been divided by the fictional relationships. That's why I don't want to see hate for any ship on my blog. Even criticism leads to hatred. I don't think there's anything wrong with hating a ship. The issue lies in letting your hate for a ship become hate for the shippers. That's why I try not to post any hate for ships - it perpetuates an environment of hate.

So thank you for the blog suggestion, but it's just not what I look for in fandom anymore.

[citrineghost]

Adult Spaces VS Minor Spaces

It’s that time of week again where I write a post 5k words long to explain a concept that could probably be said in ten words.

On today’s episode of Ghost Talks Too Much, we’re going to learn about the difference between adult spaces and minor spaces, because this is a topic I’ve been seeing talked about from both sides but haven’t seen anyone actually combine yet.

On one side of the coin, we have people saying,

“If you’re an adult, it is your responsibility to make sure any location minors can gain access to is squeaky clean of adult content or you’re a problematic creep.”

On the other side of the coin we have people saying,

“If you don’t want to see adult content, you have to do all of the work to curate your internet experience or you aren’t old enough to be here.”

Actually you’re both about 50% wrong.

There’s actually a difference between adult spaces and minor spaces and each area has its own guidelines for appropriate behavior.

What’s the Difference?

The first thing is looking at the environment. First, there are the simple examples:

Is it at a school? It should be minor friendly

Is it in an outdoor, public space (like a park or a sidewalk)? It should be minor friendly

Is it at a private place where children live (and are present)? It should be minor friendly

Is it a private place that primarily caters to children (like a toy store)? It should be minor friendly

Then, there are some more complicated examples. These are places that are generally divided or segregated by age:

A private place that is open to the public (like a clothing store)

An indoor, public space (like a library or a post office)

The internet

These last examples are typically divided into separate spaces for adults and for minors. For example, clothing stores will have clothing sections for kids, libraries will have a kids’ area and an adult fiction area, and the internet is comprised of different websites with different target demographics.

The short explanation is, any area that is child-targeted, neutral ground, or includes a child-targeted area with no separation between it and the adult area should be minor friendly. But, there’s more to it than that.

How are we supposed to keep these areas separate and ensure there are adequate restrictions put in place?

Parenting Responsibilities

The first line of defense for a child or minor’s intake of content is their parents. Obviously not every parent or set of parents does this. And, some do it too much. That is the parents’ personal failure. Parental failure to protect their children from damaging content is not a responsibility that should fall to the shoulders of everyone else in the world. Otherwise, we would all be forced to constantly take inattentive parents’ jobs onto our own shoulders. In a perfect world, no minor would be harmed by their parents’ shitty parenting, but we just do not have enough people who are willing or able to completely alleviate that.

Obviously, there is a kind of middle ground here. Certain places have ID requirements, like sex shops and bars. Certain adult-targeted shops without legal restrictions have watchful employees who will tell young kids that they shouldn’t be there and need to leave. But, innocuous places like libraries or clothing stores are not black and white enough to make moral judgement an employee’s responsibility.

Because of this, minors going into places that they most certainly don’t belong is, first and foremost, the parents’ responsibility. If your teenager is looking at hardcore porn online, it is your job to take responsibility for that.

It’s not that minors don’t have autonomy over their own choices - especially teenagers - but they cannot be entirely responsible for curating their online consumption. Their impulse control is not fully developed and they can end up looking at things they don’t necessarily want to be looking at, simply because there was nothing to stop them. Trust me, I’ve been there.

This is what parental controls are for. There is, of course, a line that a parent shouldn’t cross. I’m not condoning taking away privacy, using spy software to see what your kid is doing, or reading their private messages. That’s abusive as hell. However, there is something to be said for blocking porn websites, being open with your kids and teens about what you expect of them, warning them about the way certain content can be bad for their mental health, fostering open dialogue so that they can come to you if they have questions, and making sure that they aren’t just wandering around aimlessly and picking up whatever is put in front of them.

Creator, and Owner, and Website Responsibility

The next line of defense is being clear about the target demographic you are aiming your product, website, or media toward. If a parent isn’t going to make their own executive decision about whether their child should be exposed to certain content, the minor should be able to see for themselves if it is something they think is safe or comfortable to look at or explore.

Movies and TV shows have ratings that indicate this fairly well

Websites for kids are generally clearly marked as being for kids. That, or the design gives it away

Adult only websites will usually be marked or have some kind of entry warning

Neutral websites like news sites are a grey area that is up to the individual parent or minor to determine safety for

Mixed-age media sites like Ao3 have warning features as well as an elaborate tagging system

Shops will put up signs on the walls indicating where children’s, teens’, and adults’ sections are

Bookstores and libraries have children’s, teens’, and adults’ sections clearly marked

By posting demographics in/on signs, titles, subtitles, account creation pages that restrict sign-up, age warnings, warnings for graphic content, and so on, website creators, media creators, shop owners, and managers of public buildings are doing their part to make it clear who should and shouldn’t be there. This is the most we should be asking them to do short of parenting other people’s children.

Community Responsibility

After that, we have community responsibility. This is where people get things messed up. There is so much discourse on who is responsible for doing what, and it’s primarily rooted in extremism, even if people don’t intend to be extremist. There is the idea that one group shouldn’t have any responsibility or that one group should have full responsibility. Neither of these is healthy for anyone involved. You have to find the middle ground where everyone is doing their part and not taking on the responsibility of others. 

As a member of a community, whether that’s the internet community or the public one, it is your job to use the two higher tiers of restriction as intended. That goes for both adults and for minors.

As an Adult

You should be keeping adult content off of any platform that is targeted primarily toward minors. It doesn’t matter if the platform grows a large adult userbase - it is made for minors and they should be safe from adult content there.

This goes for:

Kids’ education or game websites

Games that are targeted toward kids (such as Among Us)

Stores that are targeted toward kids (such as toy stores, kids’ clothing stores, etc.)

Places that are mixed-age and that don’t have built-in tagging or warning features take some critical thinking. 

Are you on a news website, planning to comment something with a traumatic or inappropriate story involved? Ask yourself if it’s necessary. Is the article you read something that’s already child inappropriate? It’s probably fine then. Is the article something innocuous that a minor is likely to click on, believing it’s safe? Don’t post unsafe content.

Are you on a public sharing site like Imgur where images and text are displayed based on popularity or recent posting rather than on who’s following who or on tags? Do not post traumatic content that minors should not be reading.

In places that are mixed-age and that do have built-in tagging or warning features, you should be taking full advantage of those tagging or warning features. Those features are what separates the adult and minor-safe areas of the website. 

If you’re posting explicit work on deviantART, that’s fine. They have specifically implemented a warning system for explicit content so that you have to be logged in on an account with your age indicated as an adult if you want to gain access to that content. Check the box that turns on that warning when you’re uploading something.

If you’re posting explicit work on Ao3, that’s fine. They have implemented an elaborate tagging and warning system to keep users safe, including the ability to put warnings on for dubcon/noncon, major character death, and so on. Learn how to use the tagging system (I have reblogged posts explaining how to do so under the tag ao3 if you want to find the guide on my blog) and then use it effectively. This doesn’t mean tagging every form and misspelled variation of each warning tag, but it does mean using archive warnings if necessary and tagging obvious triggers as they’re added to the work. (If you don’t look at the guide (though I HIGHLY recommend it), please note that Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings and No Archive Warnings Apply are exactly the opposite of each other.)

If you’re on Facebook, where you’re friends with 10 teenage cousins, 15 minor siblings of friends, and your nephew, don’t fucking post for all to see about how you got laid last night or pierced your nipples. They do not need to see that. If you want to share something like that, you need to click the share settings on the posting box and restrict it so that certain friends are excluded from seeing it or only certain friends are able to see it. Use the tools given to you and don’t post content thoughtlessly.

In places that are targeted toward adult-only demographics, it is not your responsibility to make your engagement minor-friendly. 

Of course, I can’t neglect to mention, if you’re on/in any space that should be adult-only and you see a minor interacting there, you should do two things:

Report them for breaking the site rules. They might make a new account, but they also might decide to follow the rules on the new one to avoid getting reported again

Interact with them in a minor-friendly way. Minors going into adult spaces may not be following the rules, but it doesn’t give you a free pass to be a jackass, a creep, or harm them in any way

As a Minor

You are responsible for curating your experience within adult and mixed-age spaces. While spaces targeted toward primarily minors should be safe for you, when you enter a mixed-age or adult only space, it is up to you to follow the guidelines that keep you from seeing adult content.

You should be staying out of adult-only spaces (especially anything interpersonal like a Discord server) or refraining from interacting within those spaces. When you go into adult only spaces that involve consuming content, and don’t interact, no one but you really knows you’re there. However, when you begin interacting with people within those spaces, you are actually endangering them. 

Adults might seem like some vague and distant concept to you, but adults have feelings and lives too. Or, you might feel like you and adults are no different. But, under the law, if something goes wrong while you’re in an adult-only space, the adults are the ones who become legally responsible, not you. 

This brings us to:

Let’s talk about lying about your age.

Lying about your age can be convenient for getting into spaces you’re not meant to be. For some places, doing so will only affect you in the long run. If you want to watch porn and the website says you must be over 18 to enter and you click the button saying you’re over 18, no one is going to know except you. However, when you begin commenting under porn videos, it opens the door to adults interacting with someone who they assume is also an adult. If someone says something sexual to you, it could potentially lead to them having a record as a child predator for the rest of their lives, even if they were never intending to interact with a minor in that way.

This isn’t as much of an issue on porn websites, since people don’t often comment there anyway. This does however, become a HUGE issue on mixed-age sites and discussion platforms, like forums and Discord servers.

Discord servers are amazing things. They open the door to so much fun and social connection. However, there are a lot of servers that are 18+. For teens especially, it’s easy to think, “Well, I’m almost an adult anyway. They won’t care if I’m here, as long as I act mature.”

That is not the case.

We do care. Sure, having a conversation about video games is harmless, but when it comes to talking about our personal lives or sexual content, it is incredibly creepy for a minor to be hiding within the server under the guise of being an adult. As a teenager, I had a hard time wrapping my mind around the idea that a teenager could hurt, harm, or be predatory toward an adult. I saw adults as invulnerable and I said things that I regret now because I didn’t realize they were harmful. Please learn from me now: Teenagers can be predatory toward adults. 

I am not saying that teens have some kind of power dynamic over adults. I’m aware that adults have the upperhand in most situations. However, when you lie about your age and pretend to be an adult in an adult space like Discord, you are being predatory. This doesn’t have to mean you even mean harm to anyone. The fact is, you are being deceptive in order to access content and interactions that you would otherwise be denied and that would otherwise make people incredible uncomfortable. That, by definition, is predatory. 

While it is certainly not the same caliber, due to the inherent power imbalance, imagine a 24 year old pretending to be 17 to hang out in a minor-only Discord server, even if their intent is only to talk about SFW topics. If the hair on the back of your neck just stood up, you can now understand how the 24-year-olds in an adult-only server would feel about a 17-year-old lying to enter their spaces.

Pointing Fingers

Last, but not least, we have to address the pointing fingers issue - AKA, the responsibility policing issue.

If you are acting appropriately within a space, there is no reason you should feel responsible for someone else misusing that space. 

If you are misusing a space, there is no reason you should blame someone who is using it correctly for the misfortune that befell you while you were misusing that space.

If you are a minor and you go on Ao3 and click past the dubcon/noncon warning only to get traumatized from a rape fic, that is not the fault of the person who posted it. That is your responsibility for ignoring the boundary between a minor space and an adult space. It is unfortunate that you had a bad experience but, even if it has lasting consequences, it is not the fault of the person who was following the rules.

If you are an adult and you got berated by someone or your content removed because you failed to follow tagging or warning guidelines, it is not the fault of the person berating you or reporting you. It is the consequence of ignoring the rules and putting minors at risk of seeing something inappropriate.

Adults should not be expected to censor themselves in adult spaces. When we support censorship of content - even content that we find morally abhorrent - when it is tagged and warned for appropriately in order to allow people the chance to turn away from it, we are supporting the same philosophy that led to book-burning. 

Book burning and the destruction of research and information due to a large group finding it morally reprehensible has, historically, knocked us back decades in scientific study, contributed to the marginalization of POC, queers, and the neurodivergent, and has been used as a tool of oppression.

We cannot let ourselves fall into the trap of believing that our own beliefs and morals should dictate the freedom of others, or we end up just like those who have hurt us.

I could go on about people using certain unfortunate topics as a means to recover from and understand their own trauma, but it really doesn’t matter, does it? It doesn’t matter why someone is writing something you dislike. Words of fiction rarely ever lead to action. If they did, we would be seeing a large percentage of the population becoming murderers. After all, we read books and watch movies with murder in them all the damn time.

So, the moral of the story is, we all have a part to play in keeping minor and adult spaces separated, and it’s not fair nor helpful to anyone for one group to shirk off responsibility onto the other.

[microsuedemouse]

hhhhhhhhhhhhhwoof I hate fandom/ship drama

anyway I’ve been thinking about how. there is nothing, inherently wrong,, with being interested in exploring ships (or even non-romantic/non-sexual character dynamics!) that are unhealthy in-universe.

here’s something: there is value in recognising that a ship is unhealthy or toxic or abusive or whichever other descriptor you feel fits best. (I am going to be using ‘unhealthy’ as my umbrella word in this post; obviously it’s an understatement to call an abusive relationship ‘unhealthy’ but it’s still accurate and it encompasses the variety of things I’m talking about.) there is value in taking that as fact and acknowledging such in whatever exploratory work you may choose to create or engage in.

I wanna take a second here to clarify part of what I mean: it is not inherently wrong to enjoy an unhealthy ship, and you are not required to defend a ship as healthy/‘not abusive’ in order to justify your interest in it. this is a very weird result, imo, of purity culture and virtue signalling. when you have a healthy understanding of the difference between fiction and reality, and a recognition of what’s acceptable in reality and what’s compelling in fiction, it’s actually very worth exploring what interests and engages you about Fictional Bad Things.

you know that phenomenon where people love villains? a lot of discourse around purity culture naturally leads to the conclusion: “it is wrong to like villains.” most of us are capable of recognising that this... doesn’t make sense. because obviously, we aren’t - or at least, the great majority of us aren’t - claiming that we would like and support this person in reality, or that we would be entirely comfortable with the deeds they commit if those deeds took place in reality. we’re saying that the character appeals to and compels us for some reason, within fiction. that’s a different thing - and it’s usually a sign of good writing! it’s very worth exploring that experience: what about this villain makes you like them so much? what about them makes them relatable to you, or sympathetic to you, or perhaps even cathartic to you? these kinds of questions can offer both entertainment value and, possibly, some new insights into yourself as a person. those insights might turn out to be interesting and meaningless, or they might provide you with new ways to express yourself, or they might even offer you a new avenue for growth.

(moral purity often also extends to the conclusion ‘you shouldn’t enjoy stories in which the main character suffers, because it’s wrong to enjoy someone’s pain.’ we all know this makes no sense, because that includes most stories. a major reason human beings tell stories is to share in the emotional journey of a protagonist ultimately overcoming great obstacles. but anyway, this is a whole other issue, really.)

what I’m getting at is - the same can apply to ships. there are a few approaches to unhealthy ships, and I wouldn’t go so far as to say they stand on equal moral ground, but there are a variety of ways you might be able to explore them without it making you an inherently evil person, or whatever. it’s also worth noting that while, obviously, I’m expressing here what aligns with my moral position and encouraging you to think similarly - but, I also encourage you to think critically about your own moral positions. decide what is comfortable for you, and what feels right to engage with. it’s fine and it’s normal to draw your own lines in the sand and say, this is where the range of acceptable ends for me. I won’t support or engage with what’s on the other side.

to give a quick overview of some approaches I’m not as comfortable with: sometimes you’ll find a writer/artist/other fan who likes to depict a ship as totally healthy in a way that can only be described as out-of-character. sometimes this seems to be a denial of the actuality of the ship; I don’t like that so much because it’s often a refusal to acknowledge that their canonical behaviour/dynamic is bad. other times this is depicted as a sort of AU; this doesn’t bother me quite as much personally (often depending on what the writer’s overall attitudes seem to be) but it’s also often less interesting to me. in my experience, this is usually very self-indulgent work and has a lot more to do with the writer’s own experiences than with canon itself. which is fair, honestly. sometimes that’s cathartic for the writer and that’s enough - I don’t have to be into it personally to respect it.

another thing that crops up that’s kind of worrisome, imo, is when a writer/artist/etc. depicts the ship as in-character but denies that it’s unhealthy. now, in fairness, if you’re simply reading a fic or looking at a piece of fanart or something, you cannot always tell exactly how the creator thinks the ship actually operates. not everyone is always going to include a disclaimer that says ‘hey I don’t think this is actually Good.’ so try not to immediately ascribe intent to the writer/etc. unless you’ve seen them state outright somewhere: this isn’t abuse, it’s just cute! (or whatever it is they’re seeing.) at that point it is worth being concerned about what this person thinks constitutes a healthy relationship, and if you don’t feel good about supporting their work that’s entirely fair.

HOWEVER. there are also other approaches. two in particular stand out to me that I think are worth discussing. one is simply exploring the possibilities of an unhealthy relationship, with total acknowledgement of its flaws. one unhealthy dynamic that I admittedly find really engaging a lot of the time? ‘these two characters are Very obsessed with each other, and it sure ain’t healthy psychologically, but it’s definitely mutual.’ I love that shit. gimme a couple of unhinged, incredibly codependent pieces of shit, and you have my full attention. particularly if they’re on equal footing - if they’re damaging one another, it’s reciprocal, or at very least they’re both getting exactly what they want out of the relationship. obviously this would not be a dynamic I could support in real life! that’s terrible and I don’t want anyone to go through it! but in fictional characters it can be fascinating to explore. and if the content is going to upset or trigger certain fans: that’s why we use tags and warnings. AO3, where many of us go for a huge amount of our fan content, literally has a whole system in place for precisely this purpose: so we can let each other know what’s inside, and make informed choices about what we want to consume.

the other common approach is the redemption arc. it’s always gonna be up to you which characters you consider redeemable and which ones you don’t - that’s okay. again, it’s your choice what content to engage and what to pass over. but as people we’re traditionally very fond of the redemption arc story, and as fans we love to create the redemption arcs our favourite characters don’t get to live out in canon. because we love something about the character and want to explore them further. like I said earlier, that in itself is worth giving some thought to. sometimes we’ll even end up writing partial redemptions: this character goes from totally reprehensible to kind of appealingly awful. the ship goes from abusive to a much more regular level of fucked up. that can definitely be an interesting story in itself, and it’s okay if you want to explore it.

the main thing is that you always exercise your ability to think critically about what you’re consuming and why you like it - which, honestly, you should be trying to do all of the time, anyway. be clear about what you do and don’t endorse, about what your actual values are, about where you draw the line. (as both an example and a disclaimer, since I know I still have followers from A Certain Fandom where this cropped up a lot before I mostly dipped: one line that I personally draw, and always will, is at ships involving an adult and a literal child. I am not comfortable with exploring this even in the hypothetical space of fan content. it is too objectionable to be compelling.)

go forth. explore your unhealthy ships and shitty favourite characters. experiment and learn why they compel you. write properly-labelled fanfic about them hurting each other and loving it. just remember that everyone has different boundaries, and that fiction and reality are very separate spaces. acknowledge that what you’re enjoying is not inherently right or acceptable in real life just because you enjoy it in a story, and it doesn’t have to be. if you’re a content creator, consider portraying these things in such a way that your audience is well aware of your position on the matter, in order to help them also understand what is and isn’t healthy. be a ruthless writer and a kind person, and you’ll do just fine.

[tessatechaitea]

Cerebus #18 (1980)

This is the kind of cover that probably kept me thinking this book was too adult for me and that I should just stick to Groo and Elfquest.

In Dave's Swords of Cerebus essay, he explains how he didn't know what the fuck he was doing when he was writing this story and I'll tell you a secret: it fucking shows. He explains how he wrote one idea but realized that idea wasn't going to work and then wrote some other ideas but they weren't going anywhere and then he went back to the first idea and wrote a small novella which still wasn't going to work so then he tried some other idea but couldn't really get anywhere and pretty soon his week that he plans for writing was over and he just had to start drawing one of the scenes. So he picked one and strung it out and then he needed a new scene and took the Lord Julius epilogue and stick that on page 5 and 6. By that time, he sort of had a new idea with the help of his brother-in-law and even though that new idea was pretty lame, what more could he do?! He doesn't admit that his new story is lame; I think he thinks he really pulled one out at the last minute. But it's really kind of lame. I get it though! He's written seventeen previous stories (plus some Cerebus stories that appeared in other magazines) and they were all pretty good and working toward building a portrait of Estarcion and Cerebus and some kind of weird aardvark mystery. He was due to slip up some time! I'm just glad he was honest about how the writing part when all wrong and since he couldn't fall behind on the art, he had to just kind of start drawing and hope for the best. I suppose in that regard, the comic wasn't so bad. It told a coherent story that moves Cerebus' plans for the invasion of Palnu ahead and Dave even gets some funny jokes in. But as far as the extended story goes, not much happens? Cerebus and the T'gitans took over Fluroc by murdering everybody in it and then needed more money for troops and they got more money for troops by conning a merchant that came to town. That's it! That's the whole story! Did we need this story? Probably not! But did we really need any Cerebus story so far? Almost certainly not (with the exception of all the stories that showcased new characters!). But what I really liked about this comic book was the Aardvark Comments section! Things are really getting good finally! It's not just a few nerdy nerds nerding it up for Dave Sim.

I mean, it is some nerdy nerds nerding it up nerdily!

The first letter is what I'm assuming was the introductory or cover letter from Marvel's Jim Shooter when he sent out contracts to prospective employees.

Is this the worst thing Jim Shooter ever wrote? Sadly, it is not.

If you're one of those people who like to describe 95% of everything as "cringe," you'll love Dave Sim's response:

Remember, this was 1980 and "written blackface as hyperbolic response" was probably just something taught in creative writing classes.

Casually whistling past the terrible method of his response the way you simply steer the conversation away from racist tirades every time your grandfather speaks up at Thanksgiving dinner, this feels like the first time Sim really calls out the two big publishers and how they conduct business. It'll become a hallmark of Dave Sim in his crusade for independent publishers. And this sarcastic and also racist response (I can only whistle nonchalantly for so long!) isn't his only response in this Aardvark Comments. But as his first response, I'll assume it's the most closest to how he truly feels about Marvel and DC. In 1980, he's already calling them out on their practice of stealing their employees' intellectual properties. Okay, "stealing." The contract is to make the "stealing" legal so they don't wind up in constant lawsuits and can continue to offer the artists whose creations make them scads of money little to no future compensation on their efforts. Dave Sim could think of no other attack on Marvel than to pretend he's a caricature of a slave. I'm not in disagreement with Dave here and, believe me, in 1980, I almost certainly wouldn't have thought the mintrelesque response was anything but a clever way of making his point. Although I was also 9 in 1980 so I probably would have had to ask an adult why the fuck Dave was writing like that. But as I said, there's more! The next letter is a bit of a response to Dave's crusade against the Big Two Corporations. And from his peers!

I guessed I missed the comments in Issue #15. I'd better go back and see what the Pinis were talking about.

Here's what Dave said in Issue #15's "Aardvark Comment": "Maybe Marvel can turn its corporate back on you. As they never grow tired of explaining, fan sales make up a very small fraction of their profits. They don't think much of your taste in comics, artists, writers or anything else." It's a little hard to parse this comment being that I don't know what was happening in comic books in 1980 concerning the fans and Marvel but doesn't this sound a lot like the Comicsgate argument of today? That Marvel doesn't give a shit about what its "real fans" want? Anyway, back to the Pini's letter. The Pinis' letter reads like Elfquest trying to talk Cerebus out of gutting a merchant. I suppose when you point out that artists and writers working for Marvel and DC are idiots for not publishing their work as an independent, I can see how they might get upset with you. I'm sure Richard and Wendy had a number of discussions with Marv Wolfman where Marv would say things like "I'm not dumb! You're dumb!" or "I'm not a piece of property! You are!" or "I'll show you who's a slave to the man! I'll kill Cyborg!" After that, the Pinis were probably all, "You know what? Criticizing work-for-hire in the comic book arts just isn't worth all these Marv Wolfman tantrums. Let's just bite our tongues." After a couple of letters from some nerd groupies in which Dave laments the target audience of comic books, he responds more in length to the . . . well, wait. Let's first look at his response about his core audience!

I'm offended! I always fix it immediately when a headlight goes out.

I mean, after seventeen issues, "Aardvark Comment" is finally getting interesting! Okay, so now to Sim's actual response to Wendy and Richard Pini.

Dave Sim being serious. Probably.

I'd like to point out the end of this letter in which Dave states fairly plainly the main theme of criticism behind Eee! Tess Ate Chai Tea for nearly a decade: "I just don't happen to think that the system in operation now is the best thing for this medium and that it is not the most conducive way to get the best from the creative talents that exist. Quite the opposite, it seems to encourage half-assed efforts in order to guarantee that you are not surrendering your rights to something of value. And how many of us, Steve Gerber included, could know in advance that our ducks were of any value?" This was as true in 1980 as it is now. It's just that in 1980, it was much harder and a lot more work to retain the rights to your creations through self-publishing. So most comic book writers and artists were doing their best work at DC and Marvel. What other reasonable choice was there? Dave and Deni have discussed multiple times across the last dozen and a half issues how hard self-publishing has been for them. Now imagine a company like Image exists or a place like Kickstarter. Creators now know to save their best ideas for places that will give them full control and full potential earnings on their creations. DC and Marvel can't help but be full of writers doing half-assed jobs with their half-assed ideas and saving their truly monumental and mind-blowing work for Image or another, now more easily accessible independent publishing venture. This was in 1980 and Dave Sim was seeing creators screwed out of future royalties on ideas that wound up making fortunes for the parent companies. Some people accept this as business as usual and would be able to garner no sympathy for a creator stiffed out of royalties. But those people are unimaginative, pitiable, and sad. Something being legal has never in the history of everything been a convincing argument that that something is ethical, moral, or just fucking compassionate. Hopefully this "Aardvark Comment" begins to stir some serious discussion with Cerebus readers because I'm eager to read a lot more of Dave's thoughts about comic book publishing and fandom. Eventually there won't be a whole lot of separation between the comic book and the letters page. I mean, when the author inserts himself into the story as both some sort of omniscient being and also another fictionalized author, it gets hard to separate what you believe from the ideas expressed within the story. Cerebus #18 Rating: B-. That rating was for the lackluster story! The "Aardvark Comment" page gets an A! Oh, and I forgot to mention "The Single Page!" Imagine my surprise when I turned the page and saw this:

Tim Kreider in 1989! (Remember, this is from the 1989 Bi-weekly reprints of the 1980 Cerebus #18.)

You can just see Tim's eventual style in these early characters. The main male character is basically a baby-faced version and immature style of his eventual renditions of himself.

This is from Tim Kreider's book of essays and cartoons, We Learn Nothing.

I can't recommend Tim Kreider's essays and cartoons highly enough. Read his books, We Learn Nothing and I Wrote This Book Because I Love You and maybe search the Internet for a cache of his old cartooning website. You probably won't be disappointed. I say probably because I've learned that a lot of people on the Internet aren't exactly like me like I expect you all to be. Idiots.

[sloumate]

Hello my friends! Here I am, once again, with a recap of the fics that warmed my heart during 2018. It was a bit of a weird year for me, not gonna lie, the first half was very good (I graduated from uni, so there was that, yay), but the second half was a bit meh :\ i lost myself in the absolute uncertainty of the future and anxiety has been eating away at my soul. Both the fandom and fics have always been a safe place for me, but towards the end of the year i started feeling slightly detached from everything so it was a bit of a slow one, even fic-wise.

Angst aside, good fics have always been and still are the best way to lure me right back in, and for that, I have to thank all the authors mentioned under the cut: you’re all legends and I genuinely hope you feel as loved as you made us feel with your words.

A big thank you also goes to a group of people that kept me updated on all fronts, shared with me some of these gems and definitely made my year much brighter: @imlt-archive​, @pinklucozade​ (who also made the banner above, so thank you very much bee ♥), @moonloueh​, @louistomlinsonsz​, @mattbelloumy​ & @nouies​ ✨

But let’s get to business: here are my favorite fics of the year. They’re listed in chronological order and the ones that are marked with a ♡ hold an extra special place in my heart. Hope you’ve read most of these during the year, but if you haven’t, well, here’s a treat for 2019:

{ 2016 / 2017 / more fics here }

As We Were, As We Are by jaerie / @jaerie / 51k / ♡

Alex is a British soldier who has been injured in battle, Louis is a RAF pilot with amnesia. Somehow they put each other back together even if they get separated along the way.

Now In A Minute by thealmightyavocado / @avocadolouie​ / 150k

13 feels like yesterday for many people, but for Louis it actually was. / Or the 13 going on 30 au that should have been done years ago.

Try to not remember (rather than forget) by hereforlou / @hereforlou / 59k

Harry hadn’t left, not really. He had been right there the entire time. And that’s what had made it worse, knowing that his body was within touching distance but his mind, everything that made Harry Harry, was lost somewhere Louis wasn’t able to reach. He hadn’t left, but that’s what it had felt like most of the time. Just as if one day Harry had up and left him. / Or, the one where Harry wakes up.

A Study in Love by Rearviewdreamer / @all-these-larrythings​ / 24k / ♡

Louis knows everything about everyone which has put him at a great and weird advantage over nearly all of them since the very beginning. He can solve any puzzle before most people know where to begin. He is rarely perplexed, mistaken, or wrong, and obviously, Louis is never ever surprised. And yet, his new flatmate after a very long string of failed ones has Louis questioning how he ever did any of it without him. [part 2 / part 3]

Chased the High by crimsontheory / @ireallysawanangel / 12k

Working as a fireman is a tough job. Being in love with your best friend and fellow fireman is also a tough job. / Or the one where Louis and Harry are both fireman and Louis doesn't know how much longer he can go on harboring his feelings for Harry.

When We Find Love by angelichl / @angelichl /38k

The famous/not-famous AU in which Louis lives in a house by the lake and doesn't know Harry is famous.

Take my hand and make the stars collide by tolvsmol / @rosesau​ / 15k / ♡

It all started with a few too many shots and ended with Louis drunkenly betting Harry to marry him – apparently “You won’t” is enough incentive for both of them, because now they’re at a rundown motel with a 24 hour chapel, and they’re giggling and kissing in the pews as they wait their turn. Except Louis sort of lost his buzz an hour or so ago, but he’s too afraid to say anything. Where does ‘marrying your best friend under false pretenses’ fall in terms of moral ambiguity? (Louis almost calls it off right then and there, until Harry admits he’s also dead sober, but… why not go home with one hell of a story anyway?) / or the one where what happens in vegas doesn't always stay in vegas.

Make Your Words A Weapon by HelloAmHere / @helloamhere​ / 36k / ♡

Louis is a music critic, Harry is a rockstar, soulmates are destiny but no one ever said destiny was easy, music is everything.

Simply Irresistible by Rearviewdreamer / @all-these-larrythings / 12k

Louis only comes to town to start up a successful restaurant, but finds he can't quite leave once the job is done. Though, that might have more to do with him falling for his quirky neighbor than anything else.

Smoke & Mirrors by sincewewereeighteen / 59k

"What are we drinking then?” He asks Harry, claiming his place sitting on the stool by his side. “Tequila.” Harry replies. “Is this a good idea?” “Neither is sleeping with you, probably, but I’m going to do it anyways, so…” He hands Louis a glass. “Bottoms up!” / Or: the one in which Harry hates Louis, but doesn't know him. And then... He does.

Gonna dream of how you (tasted) by hereforlou / @hereforlou / 21k

The one where Harry needs a handyman and it turns out they have a bit of a history.

Loving You, It's Explosive by missyoubabycakes / 12k

Harry is obsessed with organization and Louis makes way too many jokes. Somehow, they're made for each other. / or Louis can't properly work because he's so in love and Harry just wants him to admit that.

Don't Let the Tide Come and Take Me by kiwikero / @icanhazzalou / 28k

The aquarium in the lobby has been there as long as Louis can remember, and so has the merman inside. That is, until the day Louis loses his job and decides to set the creature free. They set off on a road trip to the sea, learning to communicate more and more each day. Their destination is LA, but the closer they get and the more Louis gets to know the merman, the more he dreads having to say goodbye. / Or, the one where Louis decides to set a merman free and ends up finding his own freedom along the way.

Into The Midnight Sun by summerwine / @smrwine​ / 63k / ♡

It's 1983, Harry embarks on his first world tour and Louis is a budding actor in LA. Life spent apart isn't easily adjustable, but somehow they make it work.

Sun Means The Sky'll Be Blue by PearlyDewdrops / @curlsandlashes​ / 91k / ♡  

As the only singleton under thirty attending his cousin's five-day wedding, Harry is desperate to find a date, or at least a reason to get people's questions about his love life off his back. So when Louis, Harry's old uni roommate and fellow wedding attendee waltzes back into his life, Harry seizes the opportunity, pretending Louis is his ex-boyfriend and that it's a sore subject not to be mentioned. If it's a little bit closer to the truth than Harry would like, well, he's a master at living in denial. So cue a mess of trudged-up feelings, past misunderstandings, a rekindled summer romance and a whole lot of sexually-charged bickering.

Keep this love in a photograph by suspendrs / @suspendrs​ / 48k / ♡

“I could never forget a damn thing about you, Harry Styles, not even if I wanted to,” Louis says. His hair falls into his face when he glances over at Harry, the moonlight reflecting off of it and making it glow golden, like maybe Louis himself is the sun. Harry thinks of how dark and cold his life got once Louis went away, how Harry got a taste of the sweetest sunshine imaginable and then was plunged into the longest winter of his life. He feels like he’s been buried under mounds of snow for months, years, and he’s finally made it to spring, finally getting another taste of how wonderful life can be. / Or, it’s 1919, and Harry’s been falling in love with his best friend for his entire life.

Wild Love by purpledaisy / 130k / ♡

Two best friends try to date each other for forty days. It's supposed to be fun until emotions make it complicated.

Ain't That A Kick In The Head! by lesbianharrie, wreckingtomlinson / 22k

In which Harry’s a disaster gay who doesn’t know shit about soccer, Liam drinks too many blue raspberry Coolattas, Niall knows everyone, Zayn looks dead, and Louis is Not Happy about sharing his breakout moment with “Drunk Hawaiian Guy.”

A Taste of Desire by casuallyhl / 104k

A Victorian ABO where Harry is the owner of the most successful cotton mill in Manchester, and Louis is an opinionated social activist about to disrupt Harry’s world.

Tissue-thin lies by HelloAmHere / @helloamhere​ / 5k

Louis has a cold but he's FINE.

This Melody Was Meant For You by Rearviewdreamer / @all-these-larrythings​ / 32k

The Marie Henry Conservatory of Music has been around for ages, and not once has it ever admitted anybody besides the traditional, classical music student. Or at least they hadn’t until a few select outsiders are let in to mix things up and to give someone like Louis a chance.

Loyal Knight and True by rainbowninja167 / @rainbowninja​ / 51k / ♡

In contemporary Oxford, Harry Styles and Niall Horan run a magical bookshop, unbowed by an entire academic establishment that insists magic doesn't even exist. Sometimes, Harry finds, it's much easier to have faith in magic than in himself. Louis Tomlinson is a classically trained poet who needs something to believe in, and Liam Payne longs to be a part of something magical. But when the lines between reality and fiction - poetry and magic - start to blur, can they trust each other to keep track of what's true?

You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home by styleandsin / 43k / ♡

Louis needs a break from everything, from acting and the constant pressure of life in LA. He decides to move back home for a bit, some time with his family is exactly what can lift his spirits. What he doesn't expect is to fall in love. Both with the town he hated so much so that he couldn't wait to leave it years ago and with a curly haired florist that was the complete opposite of the guys he'd often meet in LA.

When the city shines (like the sun at night) by fondleeds / 37k / ♡

Love, Simon AU.

Oh, We're In Love, Aren't We? by Rearviewdreamer / @all-these-larrythings​ / 30k / ♡

After sixteen wonderful years of friendship, it's hard to imagine any grand (and usually dumb) plans they haven't had or some type of mischief they haven't gotten into together. But, when Harry suddenly finds himself without a fiance and Louis just wants to help him feel okay again, they realize falling in love is one thing they haven't done, and that's about to change.

You came into my life by disgruntledkittenface / @disgruntledkittenface​ / 57k

When the Queer Eye cast and crew sweep into Louis’ small town and fire station to make over his best friend and coworker Liam, Louis’ carefully constructed walls start to fall down and he has to face his fears – and the only guy he’s ever been able to see a future with.

The Second Hand Unwinds by FullOnLarrie / @fullonlarrie​ / 51k / ♡

Louis Tomlinson is one of the first members of NASA's top secret Chrono Exploration Program. When things go wrong and he's sent further back in time than planned, he has no other option than to show up on his ex-boyfriend's doorstep.

The Lonely Planet Guide to Second Chances by 1Diamondinthesun / 102k

When Harry and Louis broke up, the last thing on Harry's mind was the non-refundable surprise trip he had booked for them across Europe. Harry was supposed to be moving on, not sightseeing with his ex. In hindsight, touring the continent with Louis was probably a bad idea. So naturally, that's exactly what Harry did. / Or, the breakup travel fic featuring romantic sunsets, awkward bed sharing, and second chances against a backdrop of some of Europe's most iconic cities

Truth, justice, and the gay way by hattalove / @hattalove​ / 2k

Liam needs a costume. Louis needs a best best friend award, a holiday, and to get a grip. (Harry's just in the right place at the right time.)

I believe him when he tells of loving me by bitterlee / 28k / ♡

Louis doesn't remember Harry. Harry takes him home.

When the Sun Won't Let You Sleep by allwaswell16 / @allwaswell16​ / 30k

Four years ago, Louis Tomlinson left the UK to live on an Antarctic research station for reasons best left in the past. He’s carved out a life for himself on the ice and has dedicated himself to his research, his friends, and especially the Halley VI research station. He’s less than thrilled when he learns that Harry Styles, a glaciologist from another base who once broke his heart, will be coming to Halley, and he’s definitely unprepared for the upheaval Harry brings with him.

Take It To The Limit by taggiecb / 35k

Louis Tomlinson enjoys the simple life. He has his house, his family, and his friends all in the tiny town of Petty Harbour, Newfoundland. When he isn’t spending the winters plowing out the residents and keeping Liam and Niall company at Payne’s pub, he’s out on the open water doing the one thing that he loves the most, fishing. Harry Styles is a traveler. He lands in the tiny town to try to find himself. What he finds instead is a beautiful blue eyed man who seems to have everything figured out. But even a brick house can be damaged by a storm if it’s big enough. Can Louis’ perfect life and their relationship survive the tumult that’s coming?

What Our Souls Were Meant To Do by Rearviewdreamer / @all-these-larrythings​ / 34k / ♡

All Harry’s father wants is for his son to marry as soon as possible and give their family another heir. All Harry wants to do is fall in love.

Where your lips land by BriaMaria / 12k / ♡

A love story told through Louis' tattoos. / or the Tyler Knott Gregson-inspired AU where Louis is a poet who lives in Montana and Harry is a photographer passing through.

Just call me inspiration by hereforlou / @hereforlou​ / 51k

The truth is Louis knows he’s going to hell, if there is such a thing, but it isn’t because he writes erotic fiction for a living. If anything, it’s because his muse, the reason he’s inspired to write about people shagging in increasingly creative ways everyday, is the sweetest, loveliest, most genuine (and completely oblivious) future children-book illustrator in the world. / Or, the one where Louis is a writer, Harry is an art student, and they inspire each other in very different ways.

Love Me Please by angelichl / @angelichl​ / 23k / ♡

Louis hates Harry, which is fine because he would really rather prefer to avoid him at all costs. The only problem? They're soulmates.

O' Christmas Tree by Justalittlelouislove / @justalittlelouislove / 15k / ♡

Louis has a busy schedule to keep and a daughter to raise. He definitely isn't looking for a relationship. Enter Harry Styles, a local Christmas tree farmer that seems just a little too good to be true.

For As Long As I Can Remember (It's Been December) by green_feelings / 128k / ♡

After recovering from a severe accident that causes Harry to lose his memory of three years, he moves to London to start his life over as a star chef. Little does he know that when he falls in love with Louis at first sight, it’s not the first time they meet. Featuring an unintentional game of hot and cold, Harry chasing memories that won’t come back, Louis burying himself in work to try and forget what he can’t forget, Liam being torn between two of his best friends, Zayn as a moral compass and Niall saving the day with good music and brutal honesty.

[nightfayre]

hi im the anon ! i dont remember what i said >

and I’m alarmed by the fandom mentality. Maybe HT means good - but how would we know? we don’t have access to his thoughts - but we must judge his actions, and his actions are for the least very troubling. It’s always abt coercing Mo and not respecting his boundaries. I see the trope “when she says no, she means yes” here and once again, the fact the fandom swallows it uncritically (bc HT is a poor, hot tortured boy) is alarming. Forcing Mo to wear his gift stinks of “this is my possession, don’t mess wt him” 2/5

Maybe im pessimistic n its actually to protect him by distance, but once again he totally disregards Mo’s will. What if he doesnt want to be protected ? what if he doesnt want to be an object to be pass around between self-entitled psychos ? The first step to protect and help someone is by listening to them. I hope Mo will react strongly and will tell HT that by saying this, he’s no different from She Li. And i hope that would provoke HT to self-reflect a lot - smth he lacks tremendously. 3/5

That being said i love HT and tianshan! And what i love is how realistic and flawed they are. Theyre both hyper violent, distrustful, and severly lacking in communication skills. Im thrilled to see how theyre going to evolve -for the better or the worse, both is good for me. But i’m very disappointed by the fandom reaction like “ooh how cute hes possessive it means love!” or “actually its not bad doing HT doing that bc his intentions are good”. 4/5

And I will be vry, vry disappointed if OX decides to follow this trend and to not show how this kind of actions is detrimental to their reliationship and use the tired and dangerous trope of “being violent means that you care”. I trust them to be more nuanced than that bc until now they are great at drawing grey relationship. So yea i hope next chapter, tianshan plunges (before being better). Anw sry for the rant, and plz continue the good work !! 5/5

phew. there’s a lot to unpack here – but I agree wholeheartedly with you. since this post is already kinda long, I will put my answer/explanation under the cut!

the parts that I bolded in your asks are what I intend to focus on in this answer. strap in, because this is going to be a long one. 

before anything, let me put a disclaimer: I love He Tian. I love Guan Shan. I love Old Xian. I love tianshan, and I love where they are headed in the manhua. does that mean I also love where tianshan are right now? no, it doesn’t. and I’m here to explain why I look forward to their potential rather than their current relationship’s dynamics.  

one of the hardest parts about being in a fandom is being able to separate fiction, reality, and morality. this is especially hard when a fandom is as old and endearing as 19 Days, and when you fall in love with & are rooting for all the characters. furthermore, 19 Days is not a tragedy. of course, when Jian Yi disappears, it will be tragic. but otherwise the majority of the manhua is a comical, romantic slice-of-life plot. as such, it’s easier for what would usually be seen as blaring issues/problems in tragedies to be disregarded for comedy or, in some cases, romance in a comedic, romantic slice-of-life. 

this is exactly the case with tianshan. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: He Tian’s current relationship with Guan Shan is not healthy. he doesn’t listen to Guan Shan. he doesn’t respect his personal space. he doesn’t know where to draw the line. he doesn’t know how to properly communicate with him, and thus resorts to violence or threats. tianshan just have a problem with communication. and, sure, maybe it can be chalked up to the fact that they’re young and stressed and don’t know any better. but that excuse is almost as bad as the “boys will be boys” excuse, and that doesn’t make it any better nor does it justify their actions. 

He Tian’s idea of relationships is so twisted, and as I talked about in a previous answer, it can probably be stemmed back to his trauma with the puppy Cheng took away from him. I won’t get too deep into that since I explained it in detail in that answer, but keep this in mind nonetheless: He Tian grew up in a family of violence, distance, miscommunication, and lies. it’s all he’s ever known, and that’s what he’s applying to his relationship with Guan Shan. does that make it right? no, absolutely not. but he’s learning. 

when Guan Shan had a panic attack at the restaurant, He Tian learned that people aren’t robots/pawns to use at his disposal and rather have their own strong emotions/backgrounds that shape them. thus, he brought Guan Shan home without a word. when he had his night terror and woke up to Guan Shan holding his hands, He Tian realized that there are parts of Guan Shan he still doesn’t know and, potentially, an aspect of their relationship that they’ve only started to uncover. thus, he thanked him without preamble and with a bowed head. 

what I’m trying to say is that He Tian does have good intentions at times, but not always. he’s learning as he goes, because god knows he didn’t have a family to teach him how healthy relationships should be. there probably is a part of He Tian that only wants to protect Guan Shan against She Li, but he certainly doesn’t show it in the right way. he acts possessive because he knows that if he doesn’t, he’ll lose what he loves (*insert flashback to the puppy*). again, does that make it right? hell no. jealousy and possessiveness are not cute and are entirely unhealthy in a relationship. the fandom should view them as such, but should also keep an open mind when considering He Tian’s background. 

and honestly, the reason why I’m focusing so much on He Tian right now rather than Guan Shan is because if it were up to Guan Shan, he would’ve dropped He Tian within the first few days (maybe even hours) of meeting him. but because of He Tian’s persistence, Guan Shan has no choice but to be involved with him and retaliate when He Tian verbally/physically/emotionally attacks him. nonetheless, Guan Shan has tried to walk away from He Tian on multiple occasions when He Tian’s teasing became too much, and on those occasions, He Tian has given in. (ex. I can’t find the exact chapter, but there is a chapter in which Guan Shan refuses to use He Tian’s fork to eat He Tian’s leftovers, and he gets up and says, “I’m going home,” to which He Tian replies, “Fine, fine, I’ll buy you new food.”)

so yes – tianshan certainly have flaws. He Tian holds too much power, and Guan Shan can’t catch a break. the fandom romanticizes their interactions, but if you take a moment to think realistically and recognize that character flaws are essentially bad but also critical for character development, then there is an even balance in the readers’ relationship with the manhua. don’t support He Tian’s violent interactions with Guan Shan and claim “omg He Tian loves Guan Shan sooooo much when he forces Guan Shan to do XYZ,” but rather support the fact that he hasn’t physically manhandled/harmed Guan Shan in many chapters. support and celebrate He Tian’s development, not his flaws. 

and as for what you said about Guan Shan telling He Tian that he’s “no better than She Li”? while I don’t think He Tian is truly as bad as She Li, I actually think that would be a painful, great, and pivotal moment in their relationship. after all, the most consequential scene in tianshan’s relationship thus far has been the kiss. at that moment, Guan Shan had told He Tian outright that he disgusted him and to leave him alone. since then, I don’t think He Tian has ever looked so… taken aback. unsettled. 

and guess what? their relationship has only gotten better since then, and He Tian hasn’t touched him like that again. 

I don’t know, anon. it’s a tough call. I think tianshan have a lot more chapters ahead of them, and I don’t think Old Xian will allow them to end on bad terms. actually, I don’t think Old Xian will allow them to end on the terms that they’re on right now. they can only improve from here on out, but how Old Xian will go about showing that improvement is unknown to us. there are many paths this story can take, but rather than worrying about what might happen, let’s focus on the here and now. let’s focus on the problems at hand, and let’s focus on the development the characters are undergoing. 

don’t ignore the wrongness/cruelty of characters’ actions, but don’t romanticize them either. if you do, you’re only doing a disservice to the character’s personality, existence, and the author’s intentions.

(and as for this newest chapter specifically: I see why people can get excited about He Tian telling Guan Shan to wear the earrings. He Tian wants to verify to both himself and She Li that Guan Shan is with him now. that Guan Shan is no longer under She Li’s control. who doesn’t love a little verification of their OTP’s relationship, especially when it involves an enemy?

but at the same time, it’s unhealthy. Guan Shan doesn’t have a say. he’s being handed around like an object. I don’t think this is pessimistic thinking; I think it’s the truth that no one wants to acknowledge/hear. but I’m not saying that tianshan is wrong in this chapter; I’m saying that He Tian has good intentions, but he’s not showing them correctly. and there will be a chapter in which he does show them correctly, but we must travel this rocky road before we get to that point. patience is key, and I cannot wait until He Tian and Guan Shan reach that moment of clarity. you can’t have light without the dark.)