#fiction used to discuss difficult topics

[halfelven]

saw someone argue that writing about child abuse was wrong and anyone who did or even read about it ‘secretly liked it’ because why else would they think about it that much? and then go on to say you can’t argue that the book is fiction because ‘child abuse is real’ and… like in that case almost nothing would be fiction. theft exists so reading robin hood is a crime* etc.

a fictional story is ‘real’ because the topics are real. i would love to bring that up in one of my classes ngl. what at that point would define fictionality?

this post brought to you by Insomnia

*not that i think theft is necessarily wrong but that’s not the point of this post

[vanessagillings]

I’m posting the ever-so-rare photo of myself alongside one of my characters based on my childhood because today is World Autism Acceptance Day, and I wanted to show my little corner of the internet who this particular autistic person is:  

I was officially diagnosed in February, at age 38 (I’m now 39). A lot of people thought I couldn’t be autistic.  Some people who know me in real life still don’t.  And until around 10 years ago, I didn’t think I could be either, because I was nothing like the stereotype media portrays. I was told that autistics lacked empathy (untrue), and never played make-believe (also often untrue) and only enjoyed STEM.  I was — and am — an empathetic artist -- and make believe?  I can spend days sketching finely bedecked bears brewing tea or carefully choosing the right words to weave tapestries of fiction — though perhaps my hyper focus was a bit of a red flag.  Even so, how could autism describe me?  I was a good student.  I got straight A's. I didn’t act out in class.  I can make eye contact…if I must.  And lots of girls hate having their hair brushed with an unholy passion, right?  Clearly I swim in sarcasm like a fish, so autism couldn't be why I was so anxious all the time, could it?

If someone had told me when I was younger what autism ACTUALLY is — instead of the nonsense I’d seen on screens — I would have seen myself in it.  I didn’t hear that autistics have sensory issues until I was in my mid-twenties, which is when I first began to really research autism symptoms, and I had almost all of them:  sensitivity to light, smells, fabrics, temperatures, textures, and certain touches, all of which make me feel anxious, I fidget (stim), I never know what the hell to do with my hands or where to look, I talk too little or too much, I have special interests, I have entire animated movies memorized shot-by-shot and can remember the first time and place I saw every movie I've ever seen but I often forget what I'm trying to say mid-sentence, I echo movies and tv shows (my husband and I have a whole repertoire of shared echolalias, making up about 20% of our conversations), I was in speech therapy as a kid, I have issues with dysnomia and verbal fluency, I toe-walk, I can't multitask to save my life, I like things just-so, I’m deeply introverted but not shy, I need to recover from all social interaction — even social interaction I enjoy — and I find stupid, every day things like grocery shopping, driving and making appointments overwhelming and intensely stressful, sometimes to the point where I struggle to speak.  It turns out, I am definitely autistic. My results weren't borderline. Not even close. And while these aren’t all of my challenges, and not everyone with these symptoms is autistic, it’s definitely something to look into if you present with all of these things at once. 

So why did it take me so long to get diagnosed? The same bias that exists in media threads through the medical community as well, and because I'm a woman who can discuss the weather while smiling on cue, few people thought I was worth looking into. Even after I was fairly certain I was autistic, receiving an official diagnosis in the US is unnecessarily difficult and expensive, and in my case, completely uncovered by my insurance.  It cost me over $4000, and I could only afford it because my husband makes more money than I do as a freelance illustrator — a job I fell into largely because it didn’t require in-person work; like many autists, I have been chronically underemployed and underpaid, in part due to physical illness in my twenties, which is a topic for another day.  But it shouldn’t be like this.  It shouldn’t be so hard for adults to receive diagnoses and it shouldn’t be so hard for people to see themselves in this condition to begin with due to misinformation and stereotypes. Like many issues in America, these barriers are even higher for marginalized groups with multiple intersectionalities. 

It’s commonly said that if you’ve met one autistic person, you’ve met one autistic person.  This is why it’s called a spectrum, not because there’s a linear progression of severity (someone who appears to have low support needs like myself might need more than it seems, and vice versa), but because every autistic person has their own strengths and weaknesses, challenges and experiences, opinions and needs.  No two people on the spectrum present in the same way.  And that’s a good thing!  No way of being autistic is inherently any better than any other, and even if someone on the spectrum struggles with things I don’t — or can do things I can’t — doesn’t make them more or less deserving of respect and human dignity.

But speaking solely for myself, the more I learn about autism, the happier I am to be autistic.  I struggle to find words and exert fine motor control, but my deep passion and fixation has made me good at art and storytelling anyway.  I find more joy watching dogs and studying leaf shapes on my walks than most people do in an entire day.  More often than not, the barriers I’ve faced weren’t due to my autism directly, but due to society being overly rigid about what it considers a valid way of existing.  My hope in writing this today is that maybe one person will realize that autism isn’t what they thought — and that being different is not the same as being less than. My hope with my fiction is to give autistic children mirrors with which to see themselves, and everyone else windows through which to see us as we actually are.

If you’re interested in learning more about autism or think you might be autistic, too, I recommend the Autism Self Advocacy Network  autisticadvocacy.org and the following books:

What I Mean When I Say I’m Autistic by Annie Kotowicz

We're Not Broken by Eric Garcia

Knowing Why edited by Elizabeth Bartmess

Unmasking Autism by Devon Price, PhD

Loud Hands edited by Julia Bascom

Neurotribes by Steve Silberman

(trigger warning: the last two contain quite a lot of upsetting material involving institutionalized child abuse, but I think it’s important for people to know how often autistic children were — and are — abused simply for being neurodivergent).

Thanks for reading 💛

[theglassesgirl]

The Ithaca Saga: What IS a Monster, how it’s presented, and when fictional S.A is integral to the plot.

So -

This was originally a response to @ / anniflamma which you can still find on my page unedited. But with the new discourse surrounding the suitors, I figured I could retool it as a standalone essay to express a topic I’ve been trying to pin down for a while now; What exactly does the mean when they call a character a monster? What do they do, do the reasons matter, and how does the subject of rape affect how the fandom consider some monsters more unforgivable than others? When IS rape in fiction “necessary” and why such questions defeat the purpose of exploratory creative works.

In this post we will discuss all the major antagonists of the Epic Musical, Penelope’s agency, the label of Monster and the types of moralizing one might do when faced with uncomfortable subjects in fiction and how to prevent these feelings from blinding is about what a story is trying to say.

For those who read my original response; there’s new content to read here and posts that will be referred to, if you’d like to give it another gander!

Thank you,

Let’s begin;

I think making the threat of rape explicit was very much needed, actually.

It’s come to my attention that there are people here and on tiktok who are so uncomfortable with the subject matter in this CENTURIES old tale that they’re both refusing to accept that it plays an important part in the original poem and musical, AND are bizarrely insisting that Jorge should have magically done away with it to make more palatable.

This is beyond juvenile - it’s a clear sign of media illiteracy.

What, if I may ask, do you think it means when you say that the suitors are going to force Penelope to choose one of them to marry.

You may respond that they want to take over Ithaca. That they want to be king. But take a moment to consider what forcing a woman to marry one of them will entail. I wonder if you think that one can divorce the idea of sexual violence in this plot.

It would be…unfathomably difficult to do so. Because you CANT. There is an implicit threat of Penelope’s will breaking and having to have unwilling and reluctant sex with any one of them in the event she just gave up and picked one.

This isn’t a storyline that depicts Penelope of being willing to marry any of the suitors. She is WAITING for her husband’s return. Even if he doesn’t, she doesn’t WANT to marry someone else. Her consent is being violated by the very merit of them being in her palace, eating her food, and threatening her son.

They’re doing ALL OF THIS in order to bend her will in the HOPES of raping her as a bonus to becoming king of Ithaca.

My contention is the use of “unnecessary” when it comes to this trope in media - though themes of rape can be uncomfortable, to call them unnecessary HAVE to meet certain criteria. Which this specific instance doesn’t.

By observing various responses, it’s clear that the threat of rape went completely over many’s head in this instance of the story. So I very must appreciate Jorge making it SO clear that it’s upsetting.

This part of the odyssey, and the musical, is very much about Penelope suffering under the threat of assault for YEARS. In the same way Odysseus was (a thing I touched upon in my calypso essay, in terms of his ambiguous situation in the musical) - it’s a parallel that works as both Antinous and Calypso were introduced (regardless on your personal interpretation of what Calypso did or did not do, but that’s neither here nor there).

It has taken an emotional and psychological toll of either spouse. And the kicker is that neither of them are freed of this situation on their own - they are both rescued by outside forces. Athena/Hermes helps free Odysseus; Athena/Odysseus will help free Penelope.

The looming threat of rape is SO necessary that it helps the catharsis factor we feel toward PENELOPE’s story - it’s nothing to do w Odysseus who by now is a force of nature as big as Poseidon, his actions happen TO her, and it’s up to her to decide (per “would you love me” ) what she feels about that. She can very well reject him! She’s suffered under male violence for YEARS. Odysseus’s violence and those of the suitors toward her are basis enough for the comparison.

Do all men, including her husband, become violent? Does she want to put up with that? We know from her song snippets that she is NOT a woman that simply succumbs to the Rape Rescue trope as suggested by ignorant consumers of media - and I call it ignorance and consumerism because there’s a clear lack of engaging with the material in an intuitive way. It’s just blind consumption - as if one bites into a burger and find a pickle, which you personally don’t like, and having it removed - you can’t treat ART that way .

Penelope is a very intuitive and emotionally intelligent queen. Stop infantilizing her. Her own husband suggests that like the suitors, his actions make him just as bad as they are and presents his hope as being understanding if she rejects him on those grounds. But those ARENT her grounds. She has full autonomy and can make a distinction FOR HERSELF whether she considers her husband equal to the monsters who have harmed her.

So let’s talk about the “Monster” label as it is presented on the entire musical.

Some have erroneously suggested that Odysseus has been given an out to commit cruel and ruthless deeds with out “good justification” - he does it for his family,, after all!

Which is a misunderstanding of everything every antagonist of each saga has done.

Let’s start with the Troy Saga: Odysseus has killed a BABY. He made the choice to put his family over this child. Everything he has done and lost would be for literally NOTHING if he hadn’t, as even if he had killed the suitors and regained everything - the GODS themselves would make sure that child would come to an aged Odysseus and slaughter him, Penelope, Telemachus and his entire kingdom when he came of age.

Odysseus STARTS as a monster. We have been rooting for the man who laid Troy and its children asunder. As such, the label of a monster is NOT so much a morally subjective label - it simply a thing that IS. Or rather. It is what ALL the antagonists ARE, but it’s hardly a condemnation of any of them.

(Peep that one of the first lines Ody says refers back to in the Vengeance Saga is what he did to Troy - he STILL views his actions over there as unforgivable, so not even HE will ever see himself otherwise, the problem was that he felt so guilty over it that he became a detriment (a different kind of monster) to his friends and family when they were all guilty of the same thing and trying to get home.)

ALL of the antagonists have a “good reason” to kill ALL the soldiers (who again, have looted and slaughtered the Trojans) Odysseus and his close friends included. Whether your AGREE is almost irrelevant…because the story itself proposes that it’s irrelevant.

The next saga introduces the cyclops: his motivation is primarily that his FRIENDS the sheep have been slaughtered. You can argue in the scope of things, you can’t empathize with this but it’s his good reason. He’s the son of a god, and these sheep are all he has. His friends, who matter to him as much as Polites does to Ody, are being taken and slain, he is being drugged, attacked and maimed. VERY much was Ody goes through in the final saga. And even so.

The Cyclops is antagonistic to the party, he’s a monster who feels justified killing to avenge his killed sheep. A monster is a thing he IS.

As Poseidon’s son, he asks his father to kill the 600 men who have ransacked his home and beat on him. He doesn’t view his father as being wrong for this. In the same ways Ody and Telemachus don’t waste any time addressing the slain suitors later on. Poseidon is a monster of a god - it’s just a thing he is. Not even being stabbed 100 times is enough to repay the harm he’s done - to most everyone, not just Ody, but we are not asked to quantify that. Just live with it.

Circe has killed NUMEROUS men over the years. HER “good reason” is that something bad happened to her nymphs when she let a stranger in her islands. She doesn’t even promise that she WONT kill in the future - her song ends w the suggestion that the world may continue to need her to puppeteer! Because she does not exist to be “redeemed” - she is somewhat more reasonable and capable of empathy than even the likes Athena, who being a greater and more powerful god, does not have the one on one affection to her follows as Circe does. She’s a monster! It’s a label, a thing she IS.

So here we begin to ask; is it LOVE that gives people the capacity to do monstrous things? Because the cyclops loved his sheep friends, Poseidon loves his son, Circe loves her nymphs.

And by now you’re saying now wait a minute didn’t the Underworld Saga go over this? Why yes it did! And Odysseus decides to “become the monster” - he already IS one by the standards of the cyclops, Poseidon, Troy - they all see him as a monstrous being. But he accepts that, after being one in Troy, he held back and ruined the lives of his men, making him a monster to THEM. His “good reason” for being so!

He attempts very hard to be the General he was in Troy and prioritize them going home, sparing no sympathy towards his enemies - but in the Thunder Saga we see the gods further push him to be completely self-serving like they are. The sun gods cows are harmed, he sends Zeus in relation - his “good reason” being his friend were personally harmed.

Odysseus’s “good reason” is ultimately decided to be the same good reason he had to slaughter the Trojans - to get back home to his wife and son.

Like with the Cyclops sheep, Circe’s nymphs, The Sun gods cows, and Poseidons son, WE are shocked and made to feel some type of way about Odyseuss’s reasoning. Surely HIS personal suffering shouldn’t cost the lives of “innocent” men…but it does! It surely does.

He is a monster. It’s just a thing he IS.

Now, Odysseus spends the next seven years under the thumb of ANOTHER monster. And through calypso own reasoning, despite her tragic backstory, her “good reason” she IS a monster. She’s incapable of understanding why she wasn’t reciprocated. Incapable of empathizing with a human because as a god who has spent eternity alone, it stands to reason she, like all the other monsters mentioned before, prioritizes HER personal suffering over everyone else’s. In some versions she either kills herself or does spend the rest of eternity alone. She’s a monster. This is a thing she IS.

Now what the HELL does all this have to do with the suitors?

Odysseus started the musical a MONSTER. He’s worn different hats, but it is what he IS. It’s a label, not a moral critique.

ALL of the antagonists of every saga have a “good reason” NONE of them are ruthless for ruthlessness sake! It’s immaterial whether you agree with them or not, but to understand them for what they are.

Odysseus is the antagonist of the ithica saga, md while the suitors are the antagonist to him and his family, we see their fate form THEIR POV

The suitors could not have been depicted as “rude youthful men” like Telemachus. That Odysseus killing them should be shocking - a frightening condemnation of everything he’s done and became. But I ask once again - in what world are the suitors not implicitly set up as monsters?

Because again. They aren’t being rude for rudeness’s sake! They aren’t JUST eating Penelope’s food and sleeping in HER house. Them threatening Telemachus, as you propose, isn’t “enough” of a reason because they didn’t wake up one day beefing w this boy. Everything they do is for the express purpose of sexual violence towards the Queen of Ithaca, who upon assaulting, will make it so any one of them will be King.

You can’t separate the one from the other. You get a nonsense scenario. The whole REASON they’re there in the first place.

Even if you create a fanfic where 108 men wake up one day and raid the palace to slaughter the royal family with no intent of sexually assaulting either (because remember Telemachus is also the subject of Hold Em Down) and then fight amongst themselves to be the next king, but then isn’t that STILL a “good reason” for Odysseus to slaughter them?

Now I hear what you may be asking: but if all the monsters of the sagas, Odysseus included, have a “good reason” even though we might not agree with it, what kind of monsters does that make the suitors? Surely and clearly THEY aren’t doing what they’re doing for noble reasons.

I consider them akin to the 600 men who died under their captains command.

Because, as stated before. Odysseus views his actions in a Troy as his start of monstrosity. He did all that to finish the war and do back home. He ruined the lives of all Trojans.

So did his soldiers.

The only moment in time (even in the deleted songs) that the bulk of them repent about the war is in terms that it left them without food.

But glasses! They were just following orders!

Which is what one of the suitors suggest in song 38. Their serpents head is dead, THEY were just going with Antinous’ flow, they are innocent.

Like the 600 soldiers, the 108 suitors sacked a home that wasn’t theirs and harmed a wife and child - does them being the queen and prince pale in comparison to the hundreds of wives and children slain in Troy? Homer is a genius to ask us to see these parallels for what it is.

The suitors ARE monsters. That is simply what all 108 of them are. In the context of the story itself, their intent is to break Penelope’s will, commit martial rape, and become king of Ithaca. They aren’t there for kicks, they aren’t ignorant boys, they’re socially accepted adults abusing the hospitality rule with an express purpose.

So a GROUP of monsters are slaughtered by ANOTHER monster, and though in this instance we can argue it’s morally justifiable, it doesn’t take away from Odysseus’s fear of being rejected by his family. He has ruined the lives of the Trojans, his men, AND multiple gods! To get to this point. He IS a monster. And the story asks US, through Penelope, if he is still worth loving.

Seeing Penelope as merely his reward is so backwards and bizarre. It’s very clear that bad faith interpretations of her are based on objectifying her erroneously, when the narrative presents her as a fully developed character.

In the story both in the poem and the musical that the suitors ARE NOT her guests. She is being sequestered against her will.

In what world could the suitors be “just” murderers and not….very clearly rapists? It’s BUILT into their motivation. You would have to change the very FOUNDATION of the Ithaca plot line and Penelope herself??? To say nothing of Telemachus’s role!

What’s the proposal here? That Penelope invited these suitors? That’s she’s actively looking for a replacement husband? Okay, again, that changes literally SO MUCH of the story, but wouldn’t that put Telemachus in a position where he too has to change? Does he resent his mother for doing this? Is he helping his dad out of spite or because he wants him back? How are we meant to view Penelope in this radically new and hip Epic the Musical? Is she savvy and in her right to choose a new boo? Okay…okay, so then….you want Odysseus to be the only one unchanged and go axe crazy because….hes jealous? He kills these upstanding men….curtain call. That’s all folks!

Absurdity at its finest. You throw Penelope’s agency out the window. Her weaving and unweaving her loom is meaningless or simply doesn’t happen. Or maybe it’s that she wakes up one day and goes hey yknow what I WILL consider marrying one of these guys with no sense of dread and fear. Oh wait Oddy has killed then all! Never mind me feeling unsafe a week ago, he’s done a Bad.

Crazy.

It’s just…not going to end up making Penelope look like a well written female character if Jorge has done what you wanted! THAT would make her a mindless prop. You seem to think she is one, and that’s not the case. Historically, in fact!

She is a whole person in the poem and musical whether you understand it or not. You would have to argue so thoroughly why she sucks and let me assure you - there are entire DISSERTATIONs on why you’d be incorrect.

So, no.

No, you CANT take away the rape in Penelope’s storyline. It matters ALOT. It’s the ROOT of the matter! Could old school vegetales make something up that’s more to your sensibilities? Maybe at its peak but god, I couldn’t possibly come up with a draft that could reflect that. I won’t even try.

The rape aspect of the Ithica Saga isn’t unnecessary - it’s INTEGRAL to the plot. It can make you uncomfortable, but it’s BUILT into the royal family’s suffering whether it’s explicit or not! And it SHOULD be explicit! Because you seem to think because it usually isn’t, that the rape aspect isn’t there!

I cannot imagine coming to this kind of conclusion.

They are not random men going on a siege of the palace one day - you cannot “sanitize” the SUITORS because by the very merit of them calling each other THE SUITORS there is an implicit threat of sexual violence. Because Penelope doesn’t WANT suitors. She rejects them. They’re already violating her consent.

How the FUCK to do you censor the rape when it’s in every action they take? And I know what you’re saying: but didn’t Jorge censor the rape aspect that both Circe and Calypso commit towards him?

Further reading: suggests that ALLUDING to it is not the same as censoring, that it still FITS the PURPOSE of these characters in regards to Odysseus’s suffering under them. That after ambiguity, it is NECESSARY to make the rape aspect CLEAR in order to create both catharsis and MEANING at the end of the narrative. The THEME is still respected and present, it is not REMOVED. Please consider reading the linked follow up that answers this question.

In short.

It’s truly a matter of using one’s goddamn head when it comes to view fictional depictions of rape as “necessary” - because though some depictions can be presented BADLY, to suggest they should not EXISTS lends itself to rape culture. It silences the voices of victims. Its representation denied. Don’t talk about it, don’t even suggest it, because rape is bad.

It’s an action that happens to people. It’s a crime in civilized society. It’s a physical and psychological trauma that has always been. It happens daily, in fact. Though epic the musical is a source of entertainment for you, it doesnt exist solely for that purpose.

When Homer included it within his original oral story, he did so as a storyteller trying to get his audience to philosophize, not simply have fun.

I think we’ve come to some abysmal conclusion that men can’t write about these topics when we have historical evidence of at least one man knowing what the hell he’s talking about. And Jorge has done a phenomenal job even when he hadn’t depicted blatantly.

If you’re uncomfortable to the point of not wanting to see it at all, that is entirely on you, art and creative works allow us to explore these topics safely. Whether it’s from the POV of the assailant or one of the victims commenting on it, fiction is one of the only places we can talk about it and learn about ourselves in a way it doesn’t harm real people.

I don’t even want to BEGIN discussing all the losers who are still harassing Antinous fans or people who genuinely enjoy his song despite/BECAUSE of the subject matter. Its purpose in the story matters more than you policing how it’s presented and how it’s consumed. No amount of people enjoying themselves will take away the foundational POINT of the character and song. It’s perfect the way it is.

Like with the chaos that calypso discourse wrought, you cannot control how people treat a NOT REAL CHARACTER or the songs they sing - if it bothers you that one type of fictional villian is treated one way or another, it is on you to find likeminded people instead of going into others faces and pretending to be a self-righteous prick. You can throw whatever buzzwords you want, the CONTEXT these characters live in has nothing to do with how others want to play with them. If you don’t understand the difference between the two instances, fandom is certainly not for you and will not be changed to suit your sensibilities.

To end this post, I want to thank those who further asked me questions and bounced ideas off with me, and wow, what a phenomenal ending to a grandiose musical. I hope I can see it live, animated, streamed, developed into a game etc whatever form it takes now that the concept albums are published

Thank you all for engaging w my work💖

[council-of-beetroot]

As we see an increase in antisemitism I have reflected on my experiences how many years ago being the token Jew in my eighth grade English class and I have found some aspects about it which lead me to believe are the parts that Holocaust Education in the U.S. goes wrong

Being taught in English Classes

Often such as in my state, the Holocaust is taught as part of English curriculum. English teachers aren't history teachers and they may be lacking in the skills or knowledge required to teach in the necessary depth to discuss the Holocaust.

My mother used to teach English but she had a history degree as well. She would lecture in class about everything leading up to and during WWII. I remember reading handouts she had in her classroom while I was waiting after school about the history of antisemitism. I didn't have any of this in my English class unit, because to put it simply most English teachers aren't my mother who also has the prior knowledge of how to teach history.

Additionally, as it is part of English, there is often more focus on Holocaust literature rather than the topic itself

This is where I think it gets extremely flawed if a person's primary knowledge of a historical period is Anne Frank or the incredibly inaccurate boy in the striped pajamas. A single account or work of complete fiction shouldn't be your main lens to view any topic whether it's the Holocaust, Slavery, Civil Rights movement etc.

You're in short blurring fact and fiction when discussing these things in the context of literature.

Sense of Finality

I feel like in my classes at least there was this idea that was kind of implied that hatred of Jews began and ended with Hitler and the Holocaust. I think this leads to misconceptions about antisemitism.

I feel this is a problem as I remember mistakenly getting that takeaway in school regarding civil rights in America. It was taught that Slavery was a problem, emancipation proclamation, MLK said I have a dream, and the civil rights act was passed and bam no inequality or racism. Later on, I fortunately learned this was flawed for many reasons. But not everyone does.

Not teaching about how the Holocaust happened

If you aren't given the knowledge of how centuries of hatred lead up to the Holocaust, I feel the main takeaway becomes that it was almost a random occurrence.

Many learn the Holocaust is bad without learning the signs of thinking that can lead neighbors to kill neighbors.

So many people don't have the basic facts such as Hitler being elected rather than assuming power.

I think when you learn of an atrocity of such scale without learning the human beliefs that brought about it, you have learned nothing.

I had a girl in my college uni class who was shocked when I said that antisemitism didn't begin and end with Hitler. I can see where she would get this idea if I at ten figured that racism ended with MLK.

Using Simulation

Slavery and the Holocaust should probably not be taught using roleplay. It usually goes poorly and you can find dozens of examples of how this goes wrong.

Sanitizing History

Exactly what it sounds like. But it's a major problem in general with history education in the US. I think we downplay westward expansion, and slavery in the us. When we downplay those it's easy to see how some begin to downplay the Holocaust.

We had a kid faint on the trip to the Holocaust memorial at some of the images. I think it was because they were inadequately prepared to see the horrors in image, my teacher didn't show any pictures in class.

Final notes

I don't blame teachers. Teacher's jobs fucking suck from what I've seen and many don't have the skills or resources or experience. I guess for now I think it's good to recognize those holes in our education and fill them ourselves through self education and life long learning

With the current political atmosphere of education of the unpleasant or difficult to discuss parts of history, i can only see things getting worse if we don't change anything. But like I said in the absence of a solid education which discusses these topics, it's important to educate ourselves and confront our lack of knowledge.

[bethanythebogwitch]

Wet Beast Wednesday: cookie cutter shark

There are some words that just shouldn't go together, like "edible radium", "reasonable conspiracy theorist", and "sandpaper underwear". Well here's a new one for you: "parasitic shark". The only problem is, that one is real. Yeah, this is one of those animals that's so bizarre it would be mocked as too silly if a fiction writer came up with it. Welcome back to Wet Beast Wednesday, where we discuss the cookie cutter shark.

(Image: a cookie cutter shark said on a patch of fabric. It is a small, brown shark with a darker collar region. Its fins are small and the head is blunt. It is widest around the middle. A pencil has been placed next to it for scale. End ID)

There are two known species of cookie cuter shark: Isistius brasiliensis and Isistius plutodus. The latter, common name: largetooth cookie cutter shark, is much rarer and less well known than the former, which will be the main topic of this post. The cookie cutter shark is a very small shark, measuring between 42 and 56 cm (16-22 in) in length as adults. They have multiple adaptations that set them apart from other sharks, even other members of the dogfish order. Their bodies are described as cigar-shaped, which is why another common name is cigar shark. The head is short and rounded and the mouth is large, with prominent teeth and large lips. The upper teeth are small and narrow while the lower teeth are larger and form a saw-like edge. Unlike other sharks, they do not replace one tooth at a time, but instead lose and replace the entire front lower row at once.

(Image: a closeup of the head of a preserved shark. The lips have been pulled back to expose the mouth showing the large, saw-like lower teeth and much smaller upper teeth. End ID).

Cookie cutters are among the few sharks that are strongly bioluminescent. Their underbellies and a collar around the neck area have luminescent cells called photophores. The cells on the belly mimic light from above, making it difficult for predators below to distinguish the shark from the surface of the ocean. The cells on the neck are believed to be used for attracting prey by mimicking a small fish. Cookie cutter sharks have large livers with a high oil content that helps them maintain buoyancy. While most fins are small (or in the case of the anal fin, missing), the tail fin is large and suited for sudden bursts of speed. Longtooth cookie cuter sharks are larger, with longer bottom teeth and smaller fins.

(Image: photos of the underside of a cookie cutter shark showing the bioluminescent photophores, which make the belly look blue. End ID)

The common name of the cookie cutter shark comes from its unique feeding mechanism. The sharks are deep-sea ambush predators that use their natural buoyancy to remain motionless in the water column while using their bioluminescence to attract prey. When prey approaches, the shark will dart forward and attach to the larger animal. Using its lips to form a seal, the shark can generate suction to make it very hard to remove. It then uses the upper teeth as an anchor to help the larger bottom teeth pierce the skin. Then , the shark spins around (the thrashing of its prey may help) to cut out a roughly circular plug of skin and muscle. The circular holes left behind are reminiscent of bits of cookie dough cut out by a cookie cutter, hence the name. The sharks will also eat small fish and squid whole and are known to scavenge carrion. They will sometimes school, possibly to help attract prey while discouraging predators. Just about any medium to large animal in the shark's territory is a possible target. Scars from cookie cutter shark feeding have been found on cetaceans (whales and dolphins), pinnipeds (seals and sea lions), other sharks, rays, and bony fish. Because the sharks feed off of other animals without killing them, they are considered parasites. Specifically, they are facultative ectoparasites, meaning they attach to the outside of their hosts and are not fully dependent on parasitism to survive.

(Image: a swordfish with multiple fresh bites from cookie cutter sharks. The bites look like pink pits dug into the swordfish's side. End ID)

Cookie cutter sharks are found worldwide in the mesopelagic zone (roughly 200 - 3000 ft deep), though they have been known to move to shallower water. They are found worldwide and seem to prefer the open ocean. Most sightings are around islands, but its not clear if they do congregate around islands or this is a case of sampling bias. Because of their remote habitats, little is known about their behavior in the wild. Likewise, we don't know much about their reproductive behavior, though like other dogfish, they are viviparous. The embryos are raised in two uteruses and there can be up to 12 of them. They likely have a very long gestation period.

(Image: a slender cookie cutter shark seen from the side)

Cookie cutter sharks are classified as least concern by the IUCN. There is no fishery for them and they are only caught as bycatch. People have been able to see the scars left by the sharks on their prey for a very long time and there were several hypotheses for what was leaving the scars, including lampreys and bacteria. In 1971, scientist Everett Jones was the one who discovered that the cigar sharks (as they were then known) were responsible. The name cookie cutter shark became popular after that. Human interaction with the sharks are rare, but multiple attacks have been recorded, most of them on swimmers trying to cross the channels in Hawai'i. There have also been reports of shipwrecked sailors being attacked and bodies have been recovered with signs of cookie cutter shark scavenging. Generally though, the sharks are not considered dangerous to humans due to their remote, deep-sea habitat. Back in the 1970s, US Navy submarines kept finding circular holes in the neoprene coating of their sonar domes, which let components leak out and impaired the subs' navigation abilities. Putting fiberglass over the domes solved the problem, but it wasn't realized until much later that the damage was caused by cookie cutter sharks mistaking the subs for prey and not an unknown weapon. This wasn't even the only time this happened. In the 1980s, it happened again with the robber coating for some electric equipment. If only we could all setback militaries as easily as this little shark.

(Image: a circular scar left on someone's calf by a cookie cutter shark bite. End ID)

[cheeseanonioncrisps]

Something I never hear anyone talk about in the 'why are Young Adults (late teens to early 30s) reading so much Young Adult (teens) fiction These Days' discussion is how surprisingly difficult it can be to transition from kids books to adult fiction.

And I don't mean in terms of content. Forget themes, characters, plots, etc. I'm talking pure practicality.

As a kid, most of the books you read are calibrated to you exactly. Your local library likely has a 'children's' section, and that section is likely split into smaller sub-sections based on age group. 0-5, 5-8, 8-12, teen. A lot of your interests and experiences are pretty easy to guess at based on average developmental stages (eg. most 16-18 year olds will relate to Coming Of Age stories), so it's probably pretty easy for you to walk into a bookshop or library and find a book aimed at you specifically.

But get to 18 (or younger) and start straying into the 'adult' section, and suddenly nothing is calibrated anymore. When people complain that all 'grownup fiction' is about white middle class heterosexual couples going through angsty divorces in their mid-forties, this is what they're complaining about. They can't find books they can personally relate to, or that are about topics that they are interested in.

And yeah, sure, books shouldn't have to be relatable to be good or enjoyable. But there's also nothing wrong with wanting to read a book about young people, when you're young. Or queer people, if you're queer. Or people from your particular culture, religion, or ethnicity.

Even if we ignore the relatability aspect entirely, there's also nothing wrong with wanting to read a fantasy book that isn't just 'Tolkien but drearier' or a sci-fi that wasn't written by some guy in the 1960s who thought that women were just another kind of alien.

The problem is, fundamentally, that finding the books you like amid the haystack is a skill that most people are not being taught.

As a result, when they get past YA and try using the old tricks of just picking up whatever is on the bestseller list at the moment, or whatever their local library is currently touting as their 'book of the week', they frequently end up with something that isn't suited to their tastes.

And maybe they love it and it opens up a whole new genre that they'd never considered, but more often they hate it but feel obliged to slog through because this is a 'grownup book' and they have decided they want to be a 'grownup reader'.

A few times being burned like this, and they come to the conclusion that all adult fiction is boring, and that the people who read it are all either mature geniuses of the type they could only hope to be, or slogging through like they were and only pretending to like it.

Thus they run back to the familiarity of YA—which is fine, to be clear, there's nothing actually wrong with reading YA as an adult— but there's every chance that somewhere on the bookshelves is a potential favourite author of theirs that they will now never know because they were never taught how to find them.

[ivorsblocksleeve]

the mcsm fandom fuckin sucks dude

As a long time member of the furry, danganronpa, and BNHA fandom im not the type of person who likes to generalize entire fandoms based off of experiences i hear about or have with other people in said fandoms. but the MCSM fandom is such a filthy stain on the internet and so many people in the community have gotten WAY out of hand. the constant racism and whitewashing of characters. people publicly talking about NSFW topics in numerous discord servers that have children in them, sometimes with people under 13 years old. the ridiculous amount of drama surrounding character headcanons among other things. its RIDICULOUS

im a black guy. i can care less about the "issue of blackwashing", it does not exist and never has existed. i care a LOT about the whitewashing in this community. there are multiple jesse skins for a reason, to represent a ton of different peoples races! red suspenders jesse is literally WHITE! if you want to draw white jesse draw HIM! why are people whitewashing the other jesse skins? why are people whitewashing characters like radar, stella, olivia, etc?? MCSM as a game has blessed its community with a wide range of characters of different ethnicities and races (even if not directly stated) and none of them are stereotyped, theyre all incredibly well written and have great characterizations but unappreciative morons are choosing to whitewash the shit out of them :/. the characters are so easy to colorpick. theyre minecraft characters. literally pixels. coloring people of different skin colors is NOT a difficult thing. have some common sense and use references properly.

im an adult who likes adult things. as an adult i understand boundaries and that talking to minors about sexual headcanons is NOT a good thing! woah! some of you dont understand how important it is to tag certain shit on different sites correctly or how to keep conversations about NSFW topics away from people who are WAY younger than you. vague jokes are one thing but time after time ive either heard or seen myself that grown ass people are describing explicitly sexual things with minors. gross much???? and PUBLICLY of all things. its one thing to have your own friend group or whatever, its fine to discuss things in private so long as its with someone in your fucking age range but JESUS CHRIST! MCSM discord servers have become BREEDING GROUNDS for these kinds of adult NSFW discussions with minors and it only creates a domino effect where they too start sharing that in OTHER MCSM servers with OTHER minors. ITS GROSS!!

(whole paragraph above also applies to headcanons and aus that are also potentially triggering. jesus christ some things should just be kept in private convos on the internet)

and my god the DRAMA over characters its insane. its completely fine to dislike certain headcanons and to have certain opinions on them. you can publicly voice your opinions in a RESPECTFUL manner. it really is not hard.?? at all. there are a ton of headcanons i hate personally, i rant about them in private and if i ever feel like voicing about them in public ill say it in a respectful manner. if someone dislikes a headcanon you like it is not a personal attack on your entire being. relax dude. i will always agree with the statement that fiction affects reality but my god they are just FICTIONAL CHARACTERS that you do not know personally and you do NOT need to go on a rampage and witch-hunt people because people say things like "i think xyz character has a different body type!" or "i think xyz character is a certain sexuality!". this especially applies to age headcanons. ages are NOT CANON, sure there are characters that appear to be older than others but ages are always up for speculation. not everyone is going to agree with your "minor coded" headcanons, dont attack and throw proshipper/pedo accusations on people who dont? id go into the infantilization of the characters who get this kinda treatment but different problem different day. point is, headcanons are headcanons and sending swarms of people after people who disagree with them is DUMB and STUPID and NOT NICE! stop doing that

in general this fandom harbors horrible mindsets and even more horrible people who i will not name and frankly its getting very frustrating seeing how the people in this fandom treat each other. have some respect for others and also yourselves. fix up your behaviors, dont make your bad attitudes everyones problem, and spend some time off the internet. have a good day yall

[writingwithcolor]

Running Commentary: What is “ok to do” in Mixed-Culture Supernatural Fiction?

Dear readers: 

Today we are trying something new. To give you some insight into our process in the Japanese moderator section, we are presenting our response in the form of running commentary to show you how we dissect and answer long asks. We hope this makes clear what points are useful and not useful when sending us a query. As always, this is for learning purposes, not callouts. Be prepared: this is a long one. 

To summarize: the asker is looking to create a comic drawn in Japanese manga style, and has provided a long summary of the story and worldbuilding which involves a mix of “reimagined” Japanese yokai mythos and cultural symbols from many other sources. They have questions with respect to cultural appropriation, coding etiquette, and “what is and isn’t ok.” 

Opening Comments

I know a common advice when it comes to the thing I am about to ask is to talk to people involved in __, but I struggle with opening up to strangers for reasons I'm uncomfortable explaining. 

Marika (M): This is already a red flag. If you want to engage with another culture without talking to people from that culture, then research is going to be very challenging. You won’t have members of that culture to guide you towards sources and perspectives they feel most accurately represents public opinion. If I were in your shoes, I might start with tackling my discomfort when engaging with other people, if only to improve my work. If you aren’t ready to engage with a culture and its people directly, then I think you should wait until you are. 

I should note, reaching out to the Japanese mod team at WWC does count as engagement, but WWC should not and cannot be the only point of contact because there is no single, legitimate cultural perspective. 

Rina (R): Also, you don’t need to “open up” to strangers or talk to them in person to get perspectives. Asking specific research questions anonymously to a forum or on social media requires very little vulnerability. You managed to do it here on WWC. So give it a try! 

Anyway, my question basically amounts to the what is and isn't ok [sic] in terms of depicting fantasy creatures and concepts outside of their respective culture.

R: So, the reason why we turn away rubber stamp questions by that ask “is XYZ okay?” is because “okay” & “not okay” 1) is vague and 2) creates a dichotomy where there isn’t one. 

When we say something is “not okay,” do we mean:

It’s offensive to the general majority of XYZ group? 

It’s contentious among people who ID in the group? 

It has a potential to be interpreted in a certain negative way, but may not be a red flag to everyone?

Insetad try asking:

What are the reasons this subject is offensive? 

What makes cultural appropriation bad? 

When might it be “okay” to intentionally discuss a difficult or controversial topic?

What is your reason for including something that may be interpreted as offensive and can it be sufficiently justified? 

What stereotypes or tropes might it be consistently identified as or associated with, and why? 

When might it be justified to bring up these tropes?

With That In Mind...

Let’s get into the rest of the ask below. 

…a story I've been working on in recent times is largely inspired off the Japanese yokai, and the setting is basically Earth in the far future, as far as when the next supercontinent may form. These yokai, although portrayed differently here, do retain their main characteristics [...] Included in this world are two goddesses of my own creation, primarily representing the sun and the moon. [...] There will be thirteen nations, named and based after the Chinese Zodiac, and the life force found in the living things in this world, called qi, comes in two forms that are always opposing each other but can never fully overpower the other, this being based off yin and yang. They're even directly named this; yin qi and yang qi.

M: This reads more like using Japanese and Chinese culture for the “aesthetics”, not the cultures themselves, which I personally feel falls under cultural appropriation. From a world-building/ coding standpoint, the actual use of concepts is workable, and, dare I say, typical, given how Chinese cosmology influences Japanese culture. However, naming a concept “yin qi” or “yang qi” is the equivalent of naming something “- charge” or “+ charge”, respectively. That you don’t seem aware of this tells me you are pretty early in your research phase. In that vein, we’ve covered translating terms and names from foreign languages in fantasy before. See the following article linked here for our recommendation against using RL terms outright but instead encouraging people to create their own conlangs. 

R: Worldbuilding-wise, I think you would have to figure out the chicken-or-egg of the zodiac nations. Did the nations come first, and the zodiac later as an origin folk story (which you would have to rewrite to serve the nation-building narrative)? Did the zodiac come first, and the nations named (most likely re-named) by a political entity? What is the justification? Otherwise, again, it’s a shoehorning of aesthetics. 

There is also a third, lesser known god based off of fox spirits and trickery and I imagined he's the patron deity of a family that honors and worships him, but his influence on them has transformed them into Kitsune-tsuki, which I depict as fox-like anthros. 

M: Not related to this ask directly, but I have jokingly ranted about how often non-Japanese people prefer using imagery related to kitsune-tsuki in Japanese coded world-building (link). This makes me feel the same level of petty irritation. See my troll answer below for a similar experience.

R: Same. It’s boring tbh. 

M: Troll Answer: I get that kitsune-tsuki are very sexy furries, but Japanese folklore has other sexy furries too! These underrepresented demographics also deserve recognition and appreciation!!

The plot of the story is this; modernization has left the goddesses neglected of their worship and forgotten, something that is necessary in this world to stop them from fighting each other. The Moon Goddess awakens first, punishing the humans by unleashing the yokai. Then the Sun Goddess wakes up to fight in humanity's defense…

M: This could feel rather like Shinto-like coding (Ex. the myth of Amaterasu and the Cave, or Tsukuyomi slaying Ukemochi), but something about this scenario feels a bit too binary in terms of themes of good v. evil, light v. dark to be Shinto. The plot also feels more Gaelic/ Nordic in influence for me as a person raised in a Japanese Buddhist and Hindu household. I imagine this dissonance could have been fixed with better guided research. 

…but their fighting has caused a perma-eclipse and this world is in danger of ending. The yokai have run rampant; some are loyal to the Moon Goddess, and some aren't, and it lies to the main characters to bring balance back to Midgard. Yeah... the name of this future Earth is Midgard. I debate changing it since it and some other things I will mention sorta feel out of place.

R: Marika, looks like you were right on the Gaelic/Nordic influence /j 

Also, worldbuilding question: if the Earth is in the far geologic future, how long has it been since modernization (19th-20th century)? Centuries? Millennia? How long has this fighting gone on for? What triggered the perma-eclipse, and why now? Why is this time depth necessary? 

One of the main characters in question is a humanoid woman with wolf features named Ling, and she is a descendant of the dynasty that had first ruled the one of the nations, particularly the one based off the dragon zodiac. She accidentally summons the other main character to this world as she's praying at a shrine, a humanoid with dragon features--I call them drakon--named Angelynn.

[on the names of characters] is it appropriating by not having the world entirely based on [Chinese, Japanese, and Indian] influence? it's a little weird to me how worldwide the creatures are referred to as yokai, implying a strong Japanese influence not unlike how it is today with Western culture being so dominant, yet there are still names like Keith and Kiara.

M: I will give you credit for recognizing you have unconsciously veered towards white-washing/ race-bending: either presenting European cultural influences (drakons, Angelynn, Keith, Kiara, Midgard) as default or utilizing general E. Asian cultural influences and aesthetics for a Western-style story (Ling, qi, Chinese zodiac, yokai). I agree with you that this creates a sense of cultural dissonance. At this point, I’d say you have a clear choice: write a Western-style high fantasy using a background with which you have more familiarity, or get some better guidance on research with East Asian cultures so you can code the story more effectively. 

The focus of this story is centered around meeting all these yokai and showing that there's more nuance to them than Ling believes, all while saving the world. But I worry if I'm appropriating these concepts and creatures by 1, drawing from more than one culture--I initially imagined that there would be a mix of Chinese, Japanese and Indian influence because according to a website I am getting the info on yokai from, the yokai in question already draw inspiration from or have been based on something in Chinese mythology or Hinduism [...]

R: Sure, some yokai have Chinese or Hindu parallels as that tends to happen with folk tales. But not all–some are unique to Japan, and some are more modern. Sometimes it’s very political–some people consider the Ainu Korpokkur as being a “Yokai of Japan” despite it belonging to the indigenous culture. It’s up to you to research, untangle, and understand these influences. 

The fact that you bring up that the Asian continent has seen a lot of cultural exchange is not a sufficient reason to randomly combine influences for the sake of visual appeal or “coolness.” That is appropriation. These influences must be understood in their historical context so that you know how/why certain things combined or morphed into another, and what makes sense to combine/morph. 

M: This also indicates that the character views the yokai as evil/inherently bad, which I would argue is not a typical stance for much Japanese folklore. Again, this shows a deficit in research. 

2, reimagining these yokai in a new context even though I have done the research on them, because one thing I kept seeing in regards to cultural appropriation is that it's bad to do that […]

R: Refer above to my note on “okay” and “not okay.” The thing with folklore and fairy tales is that every–and I mean every–folk tale is reinterpreted with every new iteration of it. Reimagining in a new context is what people do every time they pass on a story or tell a story with the same plot or characters. Do not think of folklore as an “original” that is altered and rebooted, but rather a living document that gets added to. Reimagining is not the inherent issue. HOW you reimagine something matters. 

So I suppose my question is...if someone were to do research upon the creature they want to use, given they are allowed to use it, and gained an understanding of what the creature or concept stood for, are they allowed to pick it apart and reimagine it? Alternatively, is it ok if it's explicitly pointed out that it is derivative of the original?

It has actually become my biggest fear that I may have internalized something that could both continue to do harm long after the fact and attract the wrong people to me work. I don't wanna let people down!

M: As Rina has noted several times, I think the problem is in trying to ID a set of specific variables and circumstances that make a thing “okay” or “not okay.” I want to recommend that you read my joking response about writing in secret rooms while wearing a disguise (Linked here). Who can you hurt if no one knows what you are doing? There’s a difference between creating for oneself and creating to share. 

You have internalized a message incorrectly, but not the one you cite. The goal of many recommendations against cultural appropriation is to avoid causing direct harm to people who have seen their cultures demeaned, discredited and devalued, especially in shared spaces. Assessing cultural engagement, whether we are talking about appropriation, appreciation or exchange is not a measure of personal virtue or a collection of commandment style do’s and don’t’s. Rather, I believe engaging with other cultures is the state of mind of acknowledging that when using these cultures’ in one’s own work, there is value in consulting members of that culture and giving credit where credit is due. This will be challenging if you are only comfortable engaging with all of these cultures in a distanced, minimal capacity. 

FWIW, I’ve written stories that probably will offend people from other cultures and backgrounds, but I don’t show them off. I don’t think writing these makes me a bad person, but I also don’t see the need to give unnecessary offense, so those stories are just for me, to be written and read in my own secret room. However, I’m not ashamed of having written them, and I’m also comfortable to “let people down” provided that my own shared work reflects my personal principles of what I consider to be sufficient research and engagement with other cultures,  As a creator, my work wouldn’t be mine if I didn’t first please myself. I think the trick to the creator role is deciding what to keep private, what to share and what constitutes sufficient engagement. 

P.S. 

We’ve referenced the need for research multiple times in this ask, and in some of the other asks that have gone up this week, so we thought this would be a good place to plug a beginner’s guide to academic research created by the mod team.. Look for it soon under WWC’s pinned posts!

[herstoryheaven]

Descendants James Hook x Reader: Once a Princess, Now a Queen

Request: Hi, huge fan of this book and erm can you one about Reader / us being pranked by him and the VKs, causing us to become the queen of Hearts and being mean and stuff, but we meet when we're older?

Reader: Female

Word count: 4674

Average reading time: 17 min

Category: Hurt/Comfort

Warnings: This story contains themes of bullying, emotional distress, and implied violence. If you are sensitive to these topics, please read with care.

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Disclaimer: All events portrayed in my stories are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events is purely coincidental. Any actions or behaviours portrayed by the characters may differ from reality and cannot be connected to any actual person. This work is purely fictional and intended for entertainment purposes only.

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Walking the hallways of Merlin Academy was Y/n Heart, the Princess of Hearts. Her presence in the academy was like a ray of sunshine piercing through a stormy sky. She was the embodiment of grace and kindness, her heart as pure as the white and pink gowns she often wore. Y/n's smile was a beacon of hope, and her gentle nature made her a beloved figure even among those who were destined to become the villains of tomorrow.

She helped wherever she could, tutoring students struggling with difficult spells, mending friendships torn apart by petty rivalries, and even offering a kind word or gesture to those who had wronged her. It was said that the Princess of Hearts never held a grudge, no matter what happened. This made her stand out, especially to one particular student: James Hook.

James, with his cocky grin and a twinkle of mischief in his eyes, was a force to be reckoned with. He is clever, cunning, and always at the center of attention, James had a way of making everyone notice him, whether through charm or a well-placed scheme.

But Y/n was different. She wasn’t drawn to him because of his reputation or his undeniable good looks. She was drawn to the person she believed he could be, the person she saw glimpses of when he wasn’t wearing his egoscentric mask. And as much as James tried to hide it, he was drawn to her too. Her kindness was a puzzle he couldn’t quite figure out. Why would someone so good, so pure, even glance his way? It intrigued him, fascinated him, and before he knew it, he found himself wanting her attention more than anything.

One afternoon, as the sun cast golden light across the academy grounds, James found himself sitting with his usual group of close friends, Uliana, Morgie, Maleficent, and Hades. They were an unstoppable group, feared by most and respected by the rest.

They were deep in discussion, plotting their next grand scheme, when James’s gaze drifted to Y/n, who was laughing softly as she helped a younger student with their spellcasting. Her laughter was like a melody, and it made something in James’s chest tighten.

“Hook, are you even listening?” Maleficent’s sharp voice cut through his thoughts.

James blinked, refocusing on his friends. “What?”

Hades smirked, his blue eyes gleaming with amusement. “We were talking about pranks, but it seems like your mind is elsewhere, mate. Don’t tell me you’re still thinking about the princess.”

Uliana rolled her eyes. “Of course, he is. He’s been drooling over her for months. It’s pathetic.”

James got annoyed at her comment, but he knew better than to argue with Uliana. Instead, he leaned back, a cocky grin spreading across his face. “I’m not drooling over anyone. I’m just…curious. She’s not like the rest of us... or them.”

“She’s a goody two-shoes.” Morgie scoffed. “Too good for her own good, if you ask me.”

Maleficent’s eyes gleamed with wicked delight. “Maybe it’s time she learned what it’s like to be on the other side of the story. She’s always helping everyone else, let’s see how she handles a little chaos.”

James’s interest piqued at her suggestion. “What do you have in mind?”

Maleficent leaned in, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “We make her think she’s ruined a spell. Something big, something that will make everyone blame her. She’s so fragile, so delicate, it’ll throw her off balance. She’ll be so flustered, she won’t know what to do.”

Uliana grinned, feeling satisfied at the idea. “Perfect. And when she’s vulnerable, that’s when you swoop in, James. Play the hero, comfort her, and she’ll be yours.”

James hesitated, a small voice in the back of his mind telling him this was a horrible idea. But the desire to see Y/n flustered, to see her notice him in a way she never had before, was too strong. He wanted to break through that perfect exterior, to see the real girl beneath it. And maybe, just maybe, she’d see the real James Hook in the process.

“All right,” he agreed, his voice firm. “Let’s do it.”

-----

The plan was set in motion the very next day. They waited until Y/n was in the library, her favorite place to study and help others. It was a quiet afternoon, with only a few students milling about.

James and his group hid behind a row of shelves, watching as Y/n worked on her own studies, her face a picture of concentration. Maleficent whispered the spell under her breath, casting an illusion over Y/n’s book. To her, it would appear as though she had just activated a spell that wasn’t supposed to be there, one that would have far reaching consequences.

James watched as Y/n’s eyes widened in horror. The book in front of her began to glow brightly, the pages turning black as smoke began to rise from it. She gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as she frantically tried to undo whatever she thought she had done.

“No, no, no…” she whispered, her voice trembling with fear. “What have I done?”

The smoke began to fill the library, causing students to panic and flee. In the chaos, Y/n stood frozen, her eyes wide with terror. She tried to close the book, but it wouldn’t budge. Tears welled up in her eyes as she realized that she was the cause of this disaster.

James felt a pang of guilt as he watched her. This wasn’t supposed to be this intense. She looked genuinely terrified, and for a moment, he considered calling the whole thing off. But then Uliana nudged him, reminding him of the plan, and he steeled himself.

“Go on, Hook.” she whispered. “Time to be the hero.”

James stepped out from behind the shelves, putting on his most concerned expression. “Y/n! What happened?” he called out, rushing over to her.

Y/n looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears. “I-I don’t know.” she stammered, her voice breaking. “I was just reading, and then…this happened. I don’t know what to do, James. I think I’ve ruined everything.”

James’s heart twisted at the sight of her so distraught. This was supposed to be fun, just a harmless prank. But seeing her like this, so broken, made him realize that they had gone too far.

“Hey, it’s okay.” he said softly, placing a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll figure it out. You didn’t mean to do it, right?”

Y/n shook her head, tears spilling down her cheeks. “Of course not! I would never…I just wanted to help.”

James’s mind was conflicted. He opened his mouth to confess, to tell her that it was all a joke, but before he could, Maleficent and the others stepped forward, their faces twisted in mock outrage.

“What did you do, Y/n?” Maleficent demanded, her voice cold and accusing. “Do you realize what you’ve done? You could've hurted everyone here!”

Y/n whinced as if struck, her face paling. “I-I didn’t mean to…” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Uliana joined in, her tone harsh. “You’ve really messed up this time, princess. Everyone’s going to blame you for this. How could you be so careless?”

Y/n looked around, panic setting in as other students began to gather, their whispers growing louder. The room seemed to close in on her, and the weight of their accusations pressed down on her shoulders. Her breathing became rapid, her chest tightening with the overwhelming pressure of it all.

James could see the devastation in her eyes, and it cut him to the core. This was all wrong. He had wanted her attention, but not like this. Not at the cost of her kindness, her joy. But it was too late. The damage was done, and there was no taking it back now.

Finally, the librarian, sensing the commotion, rushed over and quickly dispelled the illusion with a flick of her hand. The smoke vanished, and the book returned to its normal state, as if nothing had ever happened. But the tension in the room remained, and the looks of disappointment and suspicion from the other students lingered in the air.

Y/n stared at the book, her hands trembling. “It was… it wasn’t real?” she whispered, her voice thick with confusion and betrayal.

James took a step forward, his heart in his throat. “Y/n, I—”

But she didn’t wait to hear his explanation. With a choked sob, she turned and fled from the library, leaving James standing there with the bitter taste of regret on his tongue.

The other students slowly began to take their leave, casting wary glances at James and the other VKs as they did. The prank had not gone as planned, at least not for him. He could still hear Y/n’s sobs echo.

-----

Y/n ran through the hallways, her thoughts a whirlwind of confusion, pain, and betrayal. She could barely breathe, her mind racing with questions that had no answers. Why would they do this? How could they think this was funny? Her heart ached, but beneath that pain, something darker began to stir. Something that had been tucked far away within her until now.

She fled to her dorm, slamming the door behind her, the sound echoing through the empty halls. The room was dark, only a few candles flickering to life as she entered. She collapsed onto her bed, her sobs muffled by the pillows. But as the tears subsided, a cold clarity took their place.

They had done this to her. They had humiliated her, turned her kindness into a weapon against her. And why? For what? A laugh? A fleeting moment of power?

Slowly, Y/n sat up, wiping the tears from her eyes. As she looked into the mirror across the room, she barely recognized the girl staring back at her. There was no more kindness in those eyes, no more warmth. Only cold, hard determination.

She stood, crossing the room with newfound purpose. Her reflection shifted as she approached the mirror, the girl she once was fading away to reveal something new. Something stronger.

“Love ain't it.” she whispered to herself, her voice steady and devoid of the fear that had gripped her earlier, “I’ll show them what real power is.”

Y/n opened a drawer in her vanity, pulling out a deck of cards that had been passed down through her family for generations. The cards were old, their edges worn, but they held a power that had been waiting to be awakened. She shuffled them expertly, feeling the magic pulsing through them, ready to be unleashed.

She drew the Queen of Hearts, holding the card up to the light. The queen on the card stared back at her, regal and commanding, her eyes burning with a ruthless fire. Y/n smiled, a smile that held no warmth, only the promise of revenge.

“They will learn.” she murmured, tracing the edge of the card with her finger. “They will all learn what it means to cross me.”

The next morning, Y/n walked into the school with her head held high. The whispers started as soon as she entered, but she didn’t flinch. She didn’t falter. Instead, she welcomed them, her heart hardened by the betrayal she had suffered.

James and the others watched her approach, unease settling in their stomachs. There was something different about her, something that made even the boldest of them hesitate.

“Y/n,” James began, stepping forward, his voice laced with guilt and hesitation, “about yesterday—”

“Save it.” Y/n interrupted, her voice cold and sharp. She looked at him, her gaze piercing through him as if she could see into the very depths of his soul. “I know what you did, James. All of you.”

James opened his mouth to protest, but the words died in his throat when he saw the look in her eyes. This wasn’t the Y/n he had known. This was someone else entirely, someone he had helped create.

“You wanted to see me break?” she continued, her tone dripping with disdain. “Well, congratulations. But I won’t be broken again. You’ll wish you had never laid eyes on me, Hook.”

With that, she turned on her heel and walked away, leaving James and the others standing there, stunned and speechless. They had set out to play a cruel game, but they had awakened something far more dangerous than they could have ever anticipated.

As Y/n walked away, the students parted for her, their eyes wide with a mix of fear and awe. The Queen of Hearts was born that day, not from blood, but from betrayal, and she would not stop until she had claimed her throne.

-----

During the following days, Y/n’s transformation into the ruthless Queen of Hearts became evident to everyone around her. The once gentle, compassionate girl who had been the heart of the school was gone, replaced by a figure of authority and fear. She moved with purpose, her every action calculated, her words sharp and decisive. She was no longer the one seeking approval or friendship. Now she commanded respect and loyalty, or else.

The first to feel the sting of her new persona was Maleficent. She had enjoyed manipulating others, reveling in the chaos she created. But now, Y/n had taken control, and she didn’t tolerate any challenges to her newfound authority.

It began with small things. A snide remark from Maleficent was met with a cold glare from Y/n, and suddenly, Maleficent found herself unable to speak, her voice trapped by a spell Y/n had cast with just a flick of her fingers. The rest of the group watched in shock as Y/n simply turned her back on Maleficent, leaving her to struggle in silence until she finally managed to break the spell hours later. By then, the message was clear: Y/n was in charge now.

Next, she turned her attention to Uliana, the leader, who had been so eager to see her fall. Y/n began to dismantle Uliana’s influence within the school, spreading rumors that twisted and distorted the truth, just as they had done to her. It didn’t take long for people to distance themselves from Uliana, fearful of being caught in Y/n’s crossfire. Uliana, once the most feared villain in school, found herself increasingly isolated and powerless.

Even James, who she used to have a secret crush on, was not spared from Y/n’s wrath. She knew how to play with his emotions, manipulating him with a cruel precision that left him torn between guilt and his old feelings for her. She dangled forgiveness in front of him like a treasure, only to snatch it away when he reached for it. It wasn’t long before he was a shell of the confident boy he had once been, reduced to a nervous wreck who jumped at his own shadow.

But Y/n’s power extended beyond just her former tormentors. She began to influence the entire school, her reputation growing with each calculated move she made. Those who had once looked down on her now feared her, and those who had been her friends found themselves questioning whether they even knew her anymore. She was no longer just another student, she was a force to be reckoned with.

One afternoon, as she walked through the halls, she overheard a group of students whispering about her. Their words, filled with fear and awe, brought a small smile to her lips. But when she caught sight of a younger student, a girl who had always looked up to her, she paused.

The girl stared at her with wide, frightened eyes, clutching her books tightly to her chest. Y/n felt a pang of something deep within her, regret perhaps? Or was it just a reminder of the person she used to be? The girl’s gaze was filled with admiration and fear, as if she couldn’t decide whether Y/n was a hero or a villain.

“Y/n?” the girl asked hesitantly, her voice trembling. “Is it true? Are you really the Queen of Hearts now?”

Y/n looked down at her, her expression unreadable. For a moment, the cold mask she had worn so well faltered. She saw a glimpse of her former self in the girl, a reminder of the kindness she had once believed in. But that kindness had been shattered, replaced by something darker and far more powerful.

“Yes.” Y/n finally replied, her voice steady and unwavering. “I am the Queen of Hearts. And fear is more important if I'm gonna rule for centuries.”

The girl nodded quickly, backing away before turning and fleeing down the hall. Y/n watched her go, the smile slipping from her face as she turned and continued on her way. The title of Queen of Hearts suited her, but it came with a price, one she was willing to pay, even if it meant losing the last bit of who she used to be.

That night, Y/n returned to her dorm, the weight of her decisions pressing down on her. She stood before the mirror, staring at the reflection that no longer felt like her own. The Queen of Hearts stared back at her, powerful and determent, but there was a hollowness in her eyes that she couldn’t ignore.

Was this what she truly wanted? Was this the path she was destined to walk? The power she had gained was intoxicating, but it came at the cost of everything she had once held dear. She had become the very thing she had feared most, a ruler of hearts, but with none left to rule her own.

As she turned away from the mirror, Y/n knew there was no going back. She had chosen this path, and now she would walk it to the end, wherever it might lead. The Queen of Hearts had been born, and she would reign with an iron fist, even if it meant ruling over an kingdom that feared her name.

-----

Years had passed, and the memory of that fateful day at Merlin Academy continued to haunt James like a shadow he could never escape. No matter how many treasures he plundered or victories he claimed, the regret was weighing him down, a constant reminder of the cruel prank that had shattered the heart of the one person he’d ever truly cared about.

Y/n Heart, the girl with a heart so pure that it radiated warmth, kindness, and hope, had been transformed into the ruthless Queen of Hearts. The vibrant pinks and whites that once symbolized her gentle spirit had darkened into the harsh reds and blacks of her unforgiving new persona. She had become a ruler feared by all, a queen with a heart as cold as ice. And James knew it was all his fault.

But in the years that followed, James had changed too. He had grown into the most incredible pirate, a captain known for his sword skills across the seas. Yet, all the power and fame in the world couldn’t fill the void that Y/n had left behind. He had tried to move on, but the regret always lingered, a wound that refused to heal. He had never found the courage to apologize, fearing that it was too late, that she was lost to him forever.

Until now.

A grand event was being held at Merlin Academy, a reunion of sorts, bringing together old students and friends. James knew she would be there. It was the perfect opportunity to finally face her, to tell her the truth, and to beg for her forgiveness if need be. He couldn’t run from his past any longer.

The day of the event, the academy was alive with music and laughter, old memories resurfacing as former students greeted one another with smiles and stories. But James’s heart was heavy with the weight of what he needed to do.

When he saw her standing across the grand hall, she was more beautiful than he remembered, though she wore her icy demeanor like armor. The red and black dress she worn only accentuated the coldness in her eyes, but James could still see the girl he once knew underneath it all.

Summoning every ounce of courage he had, James approached her, each step echoing with the past he wished he could forget. He could feel the eyes of others on him, whispers of surprise and curiosity following in his wake, but he ignored them. His focus was entirely on her.

“Princess.” he greeted softly, using the name he had called her so many times before, hoping it might stir some of the old feelings between them.

Y/n’s eyes narrowed at the sound of his voice, her expression hardening. “I’m no longer a princess, James.” she replied, her voice as cold as winter. “That girl died a long time ago.”

James swallowed hard, the guilt tightening in his chest. “Lass… Y/n, please, hear me out.”

She tilted her head slightly, a dark smile curving her lips. “You have a lot of nerve, Hook, approaching me after all this time. What could you possibly have to say that would interest me?”

James felt the sting of her words, but he wasn’t disheartend. He had come too far to back down now. “I know.” he admitted, his voice trembling slightly. “I know I don’t deserve it, but please, just listen. I was a fool, Y/n. I did something cruel because I didn’t know how to tell you how I felt. I never wanted to hurt you, I never wanted things to go as far as they did. I just… I just wanted you to notice me.”

Her eyes, colder than ever, locked onto his with a mixture of bitterness and sadness. “You did more than make me notice, James. You made sure I would never forget.”

James felt a pang in his chest, the weight of his actions pressing down on him. “I’m sorry. Truly, I am. I’ve spent years regretting what I did, wishing I could take it back. I never wanted you to become someone else because of me.”

Y/n’s gaze intensified, the memories of that day rushing back with a force she couldn’t ignore. Her hand moved almost instinctively to the hilt of the jeweled dagger at her side. The room seemed to grow colder as she stepped closer to him, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “And what makes you think I won’t cut off your head right now? Just like the many others who have dared to wrong me.”

James flinched at the venom in her words, his heart racing. He knew she wasn’t bluffing, she had the power and the will to carry out that threat. But he also knew that beneath the anger and the pain, there was still a part of her that remembered who she used to be.

“Because.” he said softly, his eyes never leaving hers, “I know that the girl I fell in love with is still in there, somewhere. And I’m not afraid to face her wrath if it means I can earn her forgiveness.”

Her grip on the dagger tightened, and for a terrifying moment, James thought she might actually go through with it. But then something flickered in her eyes, a hesitation, a doubt. He could feel the tension between them, thick as the silence that followed, but he didn’t move. He wouldn’t run. Not this time.

Y/n’s breath caught in her throat as she stared at him. His words had struck a chord, one she had buried deep beneath layers of ice. The part of her that had once loved him. The part that still, despite everything, longed for him, was fighting to break free.

“James.” she whispered, her voice trembling with the weight of her conflicting emotions. “You don’t know what I’ve become. I’m not the girl you knew. I’m not the girl you might have loved.”

James dared to step closer, his hand reaching up to gently touch her cheek. “Then let me love the woman you’ve become.” he whispered, his voice filled with a tenderness that caught her off guard.

His touch was warm, a stark contrast to the cold fury she had surrounded herself with for so long. Y/n felt herself trembling, her resolve cracking under the weight of his gentle caress. She wanted to pull away, to push him out of her life forever, but she couldn’t. The warmth of his hand on her cheek, the sincerity in his eyes, the soft, pleading tone in his voice, it was all too much.

“I’ve missed you.” he murmured, his lips brushing against her ear, sending a shiver down her spine. “I’ve missed the way you laugh, the way you light up a room, the way you made me feel like I could be better. I’ve missed you, Y/n. Please, let me in. Let me try to fix what I broke.”

The ice around her heart was strong, but it wasn’t unbreakable. Slowly, her grip on the dagger loosened, and she let it fall to the floor with a soft clatter. She closed her eyes, leaning into his touch, letting the warmth of his hand chase away the cold that had settled in her soul for so many years.

“James.” she whispered again, her voice barely audible, “I’ve wanted to hate you for so long. I’ve tried, but… I can’t. I don’t want to.”

“You don’t have to.” he whispered back, his lips brushing against her forehead. “You don’t have to be the Queen of Hearts anymore.”

Y/n opened her eyes, looking up at him with tears that she had refused to shed for years. “But I don’t know how to be anything else.”

“You don’t have to do it alone.” James said softly, his thumb gently wiping away a tear as it slipped down her cheek. “We can figure it out together. You and me, just like it was supposed to be.”

For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Y/n allowed herself to hope. She allowed herself to believe that maybe, just maybe, there was a way out of the darkness she had surrounded herself with. And in that moment, as James wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his embrace, she let herself believe that love, real true love, might just be enough to melt the ice around her heart.

As they stood there, wrapped in each other’s arms, the harsh reds and blacks of her dress began to soften, the colors shifting ever so slightly. It was a small change, barely noticeable, but it was enough. It was a start.

“James.” she whispered, her voice trembling with the weight of her emotions. “I don’t want to be the Queen of Hearts anymore.”

“You don’t have to be.” he murmured, his voice thick with emotion. “Be the queen of my heart instead.”

Y/n looked into his eyes, searching for any trace of deceit, but all she found was the boy she had once loved, now a man willing to make amends. Slowly, she nodded, allowing herself to trust him one last time.

And as James leaned in to kiss her, capturing her lips with his own, Y/n felt the last remnants of the ice around her heart begin to melt away. The softened red and black now fully dissapearing into pink and white. The kiss was long overdue, filled with years of regret, longing, and hope. A kiss that spoke of second chances and the possibility of a future where they could both be happy.

When they finally pulled apart, Y/n looked at him, her eyes now filled with warmth and the glimmer of hope. “I’ve missed you.” she admitted softly.

“And I’ve missed you, love.” James replied, his smile full of genuine affection and relief.

As they stood there, wrapped in each other’s arms, they knew that the past was behind them. They had both changed, both grown, but the love they once shared was still there, stronger than ever. Together, they walked away from the pain of the past.

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Copyright: All stories contained herein are the intellectual property of the author. Unauthorized copying, reproduction, or distribution of these stories, in whole or in part, without explicit written permission from the author, is strictly prohibited and may result in legal action. Respect the creator's rights and creativity. For permissions or inquiries, please contact: herstoryheaven@gmail.com.

Request Guidelines: When submitting a request, please ensure that your request does not contain any explicit sexual content or graphic depictions, and avoid any form of extreme violence or graphic descriptions of violent acts. I appreciate your understanding and cooperation in maintaining a respectful and inclusive environment for all readers. If you're unsure about your request or want to request about someone I haven't written about yet, feel free to ask me anytime.

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Requested by: @GlitchyDaRat

[cripplecharacters]

is it ok to have two main characters who share a disability but one views it with internalized ableism while the other doesn't? im writing two characters w chronic fatigue (one is a protagonist and the other is a villain) and wanted to have a little back and forth between them but i didnt know if itd be insensitive to have the villain view his cfs as a negative thing while the protagonist accepts it as something part of themself i do not have cfs myself

Hello!

In general, it's perfectly fine to have two (Or more!) characters with differing views on a shared disability. In fact, I think it's better than fine!

There's a very wide range of experiences and perspectives in the disabled community, which is something that I rarely see portrayed in fiction. Though, admittedly, I rarely see media with multiple disabled characters, let alone multiple characters with the same (Or even similar) disability.

That being said... there is something that makes me pause with this concept.

Why is the villain the one that thinks of his disability in a negative way? Why is the hero the one that "accepts it as something part of themself"?

Furthermore, what do you mean when you say that? You can accept something about yourself without viewing it as something necessarily positive. Likewise, you can view something positively while still not accepting it.

There's a sort of attitude that's commonly directed towards physically disabled people with the expectation that we need to be "positive" about our disabilities and "not let it stop us/hold us back/etc." A lot of people have good intentions but there's a few problems with this sentiment. Namely, it dismisses the complicated experiences and feelings that a lot of us have around our disabilities.

Although there are some differences between this concept and the "disabled villain" tropes, it still comes back to the main problem of it. In this case, it's less about equating disability with villainy and more about the attitude towards disability. Is it a bad thing to feel negatively about your disability?

Of course, this isn't to say that this is what is happening with your situation. It's just something to be aware of.

If you want to keep the current arrangement where the villain thinks of his disability more negatively and the protagonist is more accepting of it, there are a few things that should be considered.

Why is it the villain that thinks of it negatively?

Does the villain's way of seeing his disability have any impact on why he became a villain?

Why is the protagonist more accepting of their disability?

What will their 'back and forth' look like? What purpose is it serving in the overall story? Does it affect the characters or change the way they see their disabilities in any way?

I do think that this could be a very interesting concept to play around with, especially when it comes to looking at the factors that can make somebody into a villain and how those same factors can also affect how somebody sees themself and their disability.

Is the protagonist more accepting of their disability because they had the support and acceptance growing up that the villain didn't? Does the villain feel more negatively about their disability for the same reason that they became a villain in the first place?

This concept really has the potential to discuss some difficult topics and portray them in a really interesting way but you do need to be careful with this.

Make sure that you aren't equating your villain's view of their disability with their morality and it would be good to show that these things aren't black and white. Show the protagonist having days where they do feel negatively about their disability, focus more on the factors that have influenced each character's views rather than the views themselves, don't show the protagonist as being morally above the villain because of how they view their disability.

A lot of us do feel negatively about our disabilities and there's nothing wrong with that. It doesn't make us evil or bad or pessimistic -- it just makes us human.

In summary, just be careful with the implications that you've giving here and think about how your disabled audience might feel about this portrayal.

Cheers,

~ Mod Icarus

[tavyliasin]

Villain-Fucker Angst Hours

Good timezone, darlings~ Are you ready to get all up in your feelings? No? Me neither, loves, but here we are regardless so the words are going to flow as they usually do... This is focused on Raphael from Baldur's Gate 3 and his fandom, but the latter section can easily apply to any villain fandom.

Self-Analysis of Devil-Fuckery, Or Why Do I Adore Raphael When He Is Very Obviously Evil: A Short Essay by TavyliaSin (Who Still Cannot Name Anything With Less Than A Full Paragraph) ((NSFW)) (((Game Spoilers)))

The following may discuss heavier topics, but without specifics, so whilst it should be safe for most to read without triggering any difficult memories please be aware of Raphael's entire vibes, the content and context of his story, and I'd also like to mention that this isn't a "woe be us for we are terrible people" piece, it's actually more about:

"There is an inherent kindness and warmth to much of the Raphael fandom, and I think there could be some common threads behind that, pulling us all in closer in a comforting blanket that we wrap around each other to keep out the cold of the world."

So, what in the nine hells am I on about? Well. Raphael-fandom is a wild and wonderful place to be. The rest is in sections, so feel free to skip through to what you feel is relevant to your interests. I am so prone to waffle I should open a restaurant~

Who Are Fans Of Raphael? What Do They Want?

We are feral, unhinged, all sheets to the wind "I want that devil man, carnally, and there is no force in all the planes that could stop me". There's the vanilla to the extreme and every level in between, tops, bottoms, versatiles, Doms, subs, and switches - there are a whole lot of people who would love to get their hands on either (or both) of Raphael's forms, for a simple smooch or something far more spicy~ [edited in] To add on to this, not all of us even desire him in a sexual way, for many it is romantic, soft, or even just the rather pleasant thought of spending an evening with drinks by the hellfire because he would be fascinating company. Aces, Aros, and AroAces may all find themselves well within the devilish corners of fandom too~ which is a whole other essay~ [end edit] So, I see you. I'm one of you. Extremely loud and utterly hingeless in my fan appreciation for Raphael. He's one of my favourites to write about, I seek art of him, and the same goes for his mirrored other half, Haarlep, who I arguably love more despite there being far less content of them in the game.

And the Fandom? The Vibe?

From my experience in the Raphael Fandom areas, we have a very deep and abiding understanding of consent, respect, and treating each other with an absolute and uncompromising kindness. We've had talks about keeping each other safe in fandom, exchanged details of people we have encountered who need to be avoided, even shared details between moderators of different fandom servers to pre-ban people proven to be creeps and/or art thieves. We've also discussed consent, including the issues with it in the game, and how areas of the story can only really be considered dubious at best and could easily be triggering for people. And these discussions have been open, honest, fair, and with the acknowledgement that most of us love these scenes anyway. So there's a sense of care that runs through everything, behind the horny-posting and fan content, behind the endless thirsting after our favourite fictional characters. We have a depth of kindness that warms my sinners soul every time I see it.

What Does This Have To Do With Self-Reflection, Raphael, or Villainy In General?

Well let's look at Raphael. He's a villain, obviously. He's manipulative, devious, and inherently evil by his very nature. He keeps Hope chained in his basement, constantly subjected to endless torture. There's also mention of how Gortash was sold into his service at a young age, clearly not an enjoyable experience given the other details and how things turn out (particularly as Raphael would need Gortash's own plans to fail entirely in order for him to succeed in his own and get that crown). And as fans, we accept that. We don't sit making excuses, or trying to say "well actually Gortash is a little shit and Hope probably deserve it", and we don't shy away from or conveniently ignore those darker sides of him with malicious intent to enable more evil to flourish. What I noticed, when I allowed the thoughts to continue, is that there is a theme here.

If Evil Can Be Loved Then So Can I

That's the core. Of course, darlings, I am not claiming to be a heinous monster. I certainly do not have a laundry list of crimes that would make the devil himself say "Uh, that's a bit much." But I sure as fuck treat myself like I do sometimes. You see, I think a lot of us have that tendency, to judge ourselves far more harshly than anyone else. Our patience, understanding, and forgiveness for others runs deeper than the Mariana Trench, but when it comes to our own flaws? One minor mistake and we think ourselves to be the worst beings ever to disgrace the earth. Thus, the villainy we see reflects how we are treating ourselves. So by loving and accepting all of those things that should be terrible, hated, we are actually learning that no matter how poorly we think of ourselves that we can be worthy of that same love and acceptance. We are extending the affection we are unable to show ourselves to someone we see the worst parts of ourselves amplified within. And that's why villains attract the people with the most kindness. The most forgiveness. Because it takes someone with a truly huge amount of empathy to find love for the embodiment of evil.

Or, IDK, maybe villains are just hot and we're too far down to care.

But wait, before you go!

THERE'S SOMETHING WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT.

All of this is about FICTION. We should never be accepting of the kinds of evil we see in the game irl. We do not owe anyone kindness if they do not show it to us.

What is hot in fiction is not always OK IRL.

Look after yourselves out there, remember that consent is key in all things, and please do try to learn to love yourselves, darlings, you are worthy of it and you should judge yourself by the same standard you judge others. If you are in doubt, if you are worried, if you feel afraid - reach out, talk to someone. There are many who will listen.

Treat yourself as you would treat a friend. You deserve that much.

Oh, and all Raphael fans who understand kindness are welcome around me, any hour of the day, I adore our little fandom circles and would gladly collect all of us together. I'm following a lot of you as soon as I find you, like hunting shiny pokemon~

See you in Avernus, my darling Little Mice, may we all find joy in the Cambion's Embrace~

[genderkoolaid]

As a survivor I gotta say I kinda hate the idea of replacing fiction with actual accounts. That's super personal shit and there shouldn't be any pressure to share it, especially with a bunch of strangers. And if the only discussions of abuse are from survivors sharing our stories then that could make some people feel obligated to share things that they aren't comfortable with. Sharing that kind of information can also open someone up to harassment and victim blaming. If I see someone talk about how a victim in a fictional story was "asking for it" or "deserved it" then it's upsetting, but if I saw someone talking about an actual victim like that it would be 10000000% worse. Fictional gives a bit of distance, which can make it easier to actually discuss such difficult and upsetting topics.

Also, the way survivors talk about our experience are also going to be affected by our own biases and stuff. Listen to survivors ofc, but also keep in mind that survivors are still people. We're not perfect just because we're survivors. There are survivors who are racist, homophobic, etc. and will use the identity of their abuser as evidence to support their bigotry. It feels really dehumanizing to act like all survivors are perfect victims who can do no wrong and have no biases.

^^^

[mediamatinees]

"American Fiction" Makes the Perfect Argument For Why Drake Is "Not Like Us"

Who know one day I'd be using my English degree to one day formally discuss rap beef? Dreams do come true. Check out my essay on "American Fiction" and "Not Like Us"!

“No, you not a colleague,  You a f****** colonizer”  Kendrick Lamar, “Not Like Us” (2024)  Content Warning: American Fiction touches on difficult topics, including racism and cultural appropriation, false identities, as well as Blackness as a monolith. Additionally, I won’t be discussing the pedophilia allegations in this post (that would be an entire post all on its own). This conversation is…

[jacks-manidiary]

Тематику перекладу термінології та створення otherkin спільноти українською я& вже підіймав у теґах піл іншим схожим постом про таку ж саму проблему іспанською. Коротко кажучи, я& боюся розповсюдження ідеї, що існують українці які не є людьми. Легко казати що ти звір а не людина, коли твою націю не винищюють. Але незважаючи на це, я& вважаю важливим хоча б мати термінологію, щоб це було легше обговорювати. Тому ось моя спроба локалізації деяких розповсюджених термінів українською.

Отже поперше, "otherkin". Вікіпедія на мій& подив вже має досить добре написану статтю про "азеркінів", але я& не задоволений простою транслітерацію з англійської. У той же самій статті термін також переклали як "іншорідні", і мені& подобається ідея перекладати суфікс "-kin" як "-рідний", але саме по собі слово "іншорідний" вже існує поза рамками специфічної термінології, і може спричинити недорозуміння.

В принципі це невелика проблема, і я& б не проти просто використовувати що вже існує, але англійською цей термін також функціонує як назва усієї загальної спільноти, і для знайдення інших (хех) як і ти. Історично ця "іншість" виникла від потреби розрізняти між ельфами та не-ельфами, яле тут ми по суті починаємо без будь якої історії, з іншим контекстом. Складно придумати краще слово, що включає у себе як вигаданих так і реальних істот, але пропоную "сутньорідний" - від слова "сутність".

Отже, otherkin - іншорідний, чи сутньорідний. Kintype - рід.

У собі це слово вже включає в собі все теж саме, що і "alterhuman", але на всяк випадок ми можемо перекласти це як інаколюдина. Щось інакше, окрім людини, чи людина яка інака.

"Shifting" пішло від "shapeshifting", мінливість, і я& не бачу причини міняти (хех 2) цей переклад. Приклад: Ментально, астрально чи фантомно міняюсь на свій рід. Десять тисяч різних видів мінливості перекладати не буду, бо не бачу потреби.

"Therianthropy" вже перекладають як теріантропію. Оскільки обидва корені слова походять з грецької мови, вважаю що це також змінювати не обов'язково, але як альтернативу все одно пропоную звірорідність. Чи звіролюдина або просто звір/тварина замість теріана.

Зобов'язаний хоча б заради самого себе також перекласти "fictionkin". Особисто мені подобається вигадкорідний.

Якщо в когось є інша думка щодо цих перекладів, щиро запрошую залишити відповідь. Хейт, звісно ж, іде в бан, але запрошую на дискусію будь кого, навіть якщо не сутньорідний.

English translation below cut for the curious

The topic of translating terminology and creating an otherkin community in Ukrainian was already raised in my& tags under a similar post about the same problem in Spanish. Long story short, I& fear the spread of the idea, that there exist Ukrainians that aren't humans. It's easy to say that you're an animal and not a human when your nation isn't being exterminated. But despite that, I& find it important to at least have the terminology to discuss this easier. So here's my& attempt at localizing some widespread terminology in Ukrainian.

First of all, "otherkin". Wikipedia, to my& surprise, already has a pretty well written article about "азеркін", but I& am not satisfied with a simple English transliteration. In the very same article the term was also translated as "іншорідні", and I& like the idea of translating the suffix "-kin" as "-рідний", but on its own the word "іншорідний" already exists outside of the framework of specific terminology, and can cause misunderstanding.

In theory this is not a big problem, and I&'m not against using what already exists, but in English this term also functions as the name for the entire community, and for finding others (heh) like you. Historically this "otherness" appeared out of the need to distinguish between elves and non-elves, but here we're basically starting with no history, with a different context. It's difficult to come up with a better word that includes both fictional and real creatures, but I& propose "сутньорідний" - from the word "сутність".

So, otherkin - іншорідний, or сутньорідний. Kintype - рід.

In itself this word already includes all the same that alterhuman does, but just in case we can translate this as "інаколюдина". Something other than a human, or a human that is other.

Shifting came from shapeshifting, "мінливість", and I& see no reason to shift around (heh 2) this translation. Example: "Ментально, астрально чи фантомно міняюсь на свій рід". I& will not be translating the ten thousand different kinds of shifting, as I& see no need.

Therianthropy is already translated as "теріантропія". Since both root words come from the greek language, I& think this is also not necessary to change, but as an alternative I& propose "звірорідність" anyway. Or "звіролюдина" or simply beast/animal instead of "теріан".

I& am obligated at least for my& own sake to also translate fictionkin. Personally I& like "вигадкорідний".

If anyone has any other opinion about these translations, you're gladly welcome to leave a reply. Hate, obviously, will get blocked, but everyone is invited to the discussion, even if not otherkin.

[cherries-in-wine]

My thoughts on Colleen Hoover:

okay hear me out: colleen hoover is for the people who skipped their fan fiction phase.

Hi just a warning this contains spoilers for colleen hoover books and English isn't my first language so I apologise for any mistakes. These are just me sharing my thoughts feel free to disagree just please don't be mean about it.

So I read a few of her books because I love torturing myself and just wanted to feel something (also my cousin was obsessed with her) and honestly I don't regret it because now I have valid reason shit on it. 

Just fyi I'm a teenage girl in high school so I'm definitely in her target audience, and here's what I've gathered:

None of her main characters really have a personality. they feel more like shells that the reader can self insert themselves into. The books aren't really about two people getting to know each other and falling in love it feels more as a bunch of tropes and generic scenarios thrown together. I think this is one of the reason booktok girlies act with Colleen Hoover the way I did when I found out fanfics exists. 

It also just reads like fanfiction? like because there's not much to dwell on and they're so easy to digest you can finish them in just a few hours. plus the main characters just feels like y/n: a shell to self insert yourself into, dead/abusive father, just normal girl who finds herself in these situations etc.

Here's the thing about fan fiction though: the reason why it's so fun to read is because you already know the people/characters in it so you can get right into the scenarios and imagines because they don't really need any background or development. 

But the difference is when you write these books you have to develop these characters and introduce them to the readers otherwise I'm just like "I don't even know these people so why the fuck would I care?"

Comparing her to fanfic is honestly an insult to fanfic writers because at least they have the decency to tag their posts properly (calling the abuse, abuse dark themes, dark themes etc) plus they're just so much better.

Colleen Hoover fans will say that she brings up difficult topics in her books in order to defend her but here's the thing: writing about difficult topics doesn't exactly exempt you from criticism + she doesn't even write about them?? they just feel like lazy add ons to spice up the story and add some drama. if you're gonna write about difficult topics you need to discuss and write them properly not just use them to further the plot.

I don't like any of the love interests either. 99% of them are just abusive, piece of shit bland boiled chicken ass people with the unsexiest names I've ever heard of.

Also a lot of these have very much women hating women undertones? I feel like it's the author's misogyny being reflected in her books (extra heart breaking coming from a woman herself). It's very much "you're not like the other girls you're different" kinda themes.

I thought maybe people just enjoyed it because of the smut but the smut is SO BAD oh my god I wanted to kms.

My thoughts are a little all over the place right now (they always are) but maybe i'll update if I remember any more points

thank you so much for reading mwah <33

[bluecloudious]

This is a essay/character analysis of Pyramid Head and I would like to preface it with four disclaimers:

First, as I will use every valid piece of knowledge that's available of Pyramid Head, I will spoil all of Silent Hill 2, even the Director's Cut of it. It's inevitable, considering how important he is in the game, so be warned beforehand. Play Silent Hill 2 if you haven't, or watch someone else play it. (just keep in mind there are multiple endings.)

Second, I will only use Silent Hill 2 and the tweets of Pyramid Head's creator, Masahiro Ito, as evidence. He knew exactly what the character was supposed to be and Silent Hill 2 is the only appearance of Pyramid Head that he worked on. Thus, it doesn't get more accurate than that to me.

Third, I am not claiming this is gospel. This is mainly a character study done for fun to show off how canon Pyramid Head may act when portrayed in fanfiction or other fan content. It's researched and gathered information that may be used to learn more about the character as well, yes, but I am not claiming this to be the end-all-be-all of his personality. He is a fictional character, and a grown man/creature at that. There's nothing wrong with depicting him however anyone pleases. I personally do not enjoy the r*pey depictions of him, but he's a fictional monster, it's an inevitable take.

And, fourth, expect discussion of topics found in Silent Hill 2. Mentions of death, abuse and r*pe, but I won't be dwelling on any given topic in detail.

So, with all of that in mind…

What was that Red Pyramid Thing? An essay/character study of the manifestation of James' guilt

Red Pyramid Thing, more commonly known as Pyramid Head, is somewhat of the main antagonist in Silent Hill 2, though I use the term loosely (he certainly does antagonize James). He was made specifically because the game needed a chaser to fulfil a specific role in the story, and he was designed by Masahiro Ito.

He only appears six times total throughout the game, for around ten minutes all together. Regardless of the brevity of his sightings, he certainly makes a strong impression, if how popular he has become since then is any indication of course. Every single instance of Pyramid Head's appearance in-game has him pushing James forward towards recognizing the error of his ways and remembering what he did in the first place. Mostly emotionally, but he does physically push him once in order to make progress too. The only exception is perhaps his first appearance, where he simply stands there behind a set of bars and stares at James, simply an omen of things to come. Rather nice of him to give a warning, as vague as simply standing there menacingly can be. Other than that, PH is doing his job very actively and without pulling any punches. Only what is needed of him, up until James learns his lesson.

But, what is Pyramid Head and why does he exist? Put short, PH is a manifestation of James Sunderland's guilt and his need to be punished after what he did.

Regardless of what James says throughout most of the duration in-game, his wife Mary did not die three years ago. That's when she got sick, and she's basically been dead to him ever since. She had to be sent to the hospital and throughout the duration of it all, she somewhat made James' life far more difficult, from his own point of view at least. While her wife was fighting the illness, James was fighting his inner lust. Since he couldn't be with his wife that way anymore, and due to her behavior shift during her illness, lashing out at him, James found himself lusting for other women around him. He never acted upon it, but every vaguely attractive woman that caught his sights, whether nurse or patient, was sooner or later a part of his fantasies. And it all became too much for him.

It culminated in James no longer wanting Mary to be in his way, so he wouldn't have to worry about her anymore in every sense of the word. Thus, in an act of desperation, he suffocates her with a pillow. In order to hide the body, he brings her to his car, his mind immediately locking the memory away of what he just did in order to try and continue his life. He then heads directly to Silent Hill, as he finds it calling for him.

And Pyramid Head is there, ready to remind James of all of it and to make sure he isn't able to forget and move on.

As stated prior, everything that Pyramid Head does after his first appearance is actively to fulfil his role, to punish James Sunderland for his sins. PH doesn't hang out nor do whatever he wants, he's actively terrorizing James every time he appears, even when it seems he might not know James is even there. He knows, and he's acting accordingly. He kills Maria at least twice and chases James around in order to establish that he should be taken seriously. From what I established earlier, this is both a direct display and punishment for exactly what James did. Yet, he shows off that he's actively helping too, since he's actively trying to remove and destroy those lust-based creatures when we see him first doing anything. James just hides from the fact that he ever had those ideas in the first place.

And, after all of this is done, Pyramid Head offs himself. His job is done, there's nothing else left for him to do, it's completed its purpose. PH is directly tied to James, his existence directly revolves around him and he works diligently to show off as much as well. That's all he was created for and all he ever acted accordingly to.

So… Why is that not how he's depicted anymore? Why is he now a general judge and punisher? When did Valtiel become an important to him? Why is he depicted so lustfully?

Well, the truth is, that's really not the same Pyramid Head anymore.

Konami couldn't let PH go, mainly due to how iconic his appearance is. If you told someone with little to no artistic skill to draw Pyramid Head, chances are that you'll still be able to flawlessly tell who they drew. A stick figure with a triangle instead of a head and a big sword/knife by his side. Undoubtedly still the same iconic character. And the game, Silent Hill 2, is regarded as one of the best horror games ever by a lot of people. It's hard to not find an avid horror video game fan who hasn't at the very least heard about it; about its atmosphere, how well it depicts what it tackles and how many layers of symbolism there is to pick apart.

So, it's been somewhat inevitable that Pyramid Head became as prevalent in media as he did. If Konami sees dollar signs in their future, they're not ignoring the prediction. They just had to include the Executioner in more media in order to ensure he isn't forgotten and that he'd remain iconic. And that's how he's become what he is now. A deliverer of punishment, working for powers beyond comprehension. Whether it's Valtiel (the subject of worship for the cult in Silent Hill) or the Entity (Dead By Daylight's main antagonist), he's just been delegated to be a brutish goon more than anything.

That's what's happening to PH in real life, but how would he canonically react to this? How would he, as a character, react to being brought back to life and used as a lackey more or less, punishing whoever is deemed worthy of it? Would he even care?

Well, I have reason to believe that he'd be frustrated. Disappointed and miserable even. And that belief stems partly from Ito's tweets, but mostly from the being most like Pyramid Head of all that James meets during the nightmare he lived through in Silent Hill. Maria.

Maria is the idealized representation of James' wife, Mary. She looks far more outgoing and appealing compared to Mary, flirts with him, works at a strip club and, though she is also briefly shown to be ill, she can just take a few pills and she's fine again. Yet, she's shown to be more than this. She gets upset when James glosses over how she "almost" died, she cares about what happens to Laura and, well, she is still ill. Yes, it's true that this is simply her being a representation of Mary, as those are all traits they'd share.

But there's even more. There's Born From a Wish, a side story in the Director's Cut of Silent Hill 2, where you play as Maria. In it, we see what she did before she met James face to face for the first time. She wants to live, she's scared of the monsters and she wants to be her own person. She doesn't want to believe in fate, especially that it's tied to James, a man she's never met, yet she can just vaguely recall him. She even makes a choice whether to be in control of her fate or not, ultimately deciding to submit.

While Maria is a direct reflection of Mary, just somewhat more idolized, Pyramid Head is more of a reflection in spirit of James.

While it's correct that PH shows off what James did, it was directly to display how awful that behavior was, knowing that James is right there to bear witness. He was directly playing a part, acting even. Even his outfit reflected his part in a way that James would recognize; that of an executioner. Back in the day, Silent Hill was full of them (due to the cult dedicated to making sacrifices to Valtiel), everyone knew an executioner or was directly related to one. Thus, they were depicted in the Silent Hill Historical Society, a place that James and Mary visited. James knows that the thing freaking him out and threatening his life is an executioner, a punisher. Eventually, he realizes it's his punisher.

But then why did I bring up Maria?

Pyramid Head isn't like all the other monsters. While he causes the radio to act out, he acts far more intelligently and well-thought-out. As I emphasized before, he only appears for around ten minutes in-game. Thus, he is extremely proficient and active at his purpose. None of the other monsters that James faces behave this way; hunting him all the way through Silent Hill, only showing up when the timing is perfect. Pyramid Head knows exactly what he's doing, thus it's not too outlandish to assume that he's sapient (and also insanely dedicated to his job). Thus, him being capable of emotions may not be as far-fetched as first assumed.

Now, with all of that in mind, imagine you're Pyramid Head; created for the one purpose, insanely dedicated to it and with no reason to exist outside of it. And then… You're brought back and are being told to punish some random people that you know nothing about. All that planning and effort that was put into punishing James, that sheer artisan level of skill shown off… Replaced by mere lowly grunt work.

All that have employed Pyramid Head since he got done with James, all of them have misunderstood his point. He isn't merely a punisher and a judge, he's an actor and a skilled planner, his role was all that he ever needed or possibly even wanted to be. He lived and died for it.

And now, he's back. And he isn't allowed to be that skilled professional actor anymore, to show off his full potential. He finished acting school and now, after performing the role of his dreams, he's a clown at birthday parties.

It's rather understandable why I assume he might be frustrated now, isn't it? It's strange to think that even a powerful and assumedly somewhat intelligent being like the Entity or even a godlike being such as Valtiel wouldn't know how to properly utilize him. He gets the job done, sure, but surely there are creatures far more up for the task of endlessly hunting people in someone else's name, right?

The main way I can reason, in-universe, why either would choose him is because they find him neat. The Entity has a clear affinity for well-known slashers and monsters, and PH is definitely iconic. Valtiel however saw what a good job Pyramid Head did and decided "you know what, I'm not done with you yet, you stay". Shallow reasons sure, but still better than the Doylist one.

So, Pyramid Head has gone from the tormentor to the tormented, assuming such from the evidence I have at least. Though there's still a possibility that I overestimated or even jumped the gun on the idea that the Red Pyramid Thing knows or even cares that it's being puppeted, I think it's still a fascinating possibility. Big brutish man that's actually intelligent, but who gets misinterpreted by everyone, to the point that it's landed him a job he never wanted.

Perhaps it's why the bottom of his helm has been covered by flesh over time; so many people disregarded the head that now he's given into the pyramid. That he'll never be regarded as anything other than a mindless monster.