#for holding her accountable for her actions

[ramshacklefey]

Wait hang on this actually got me thinking about the stuff that leads up to Waternoose (ohhhh shit I just got his name wow) being held accountable:

Mike and Sully realize that the narrative of human children being dangerous is false.

They act against social and legal standards to protect Boo.

They discover that Randall is acting to exploit children in the interests of the company.

They try to inform Waternoose of Randall's actions and discover that he is complicit in them, claiming that he is doing it to protect society from the disaster of having insufficient resources.

They decide to act against Waternoose, the interests of the company, and possibly the interests of their society as a whole, because all of those things are dependent on causing harm to and exploitation of another group.

The government agency responsible for protecting Monster society from the perceived "danger" of human children acts to reveal Waternoose's corruption and hold him accountable, again in spite of the fact that this will destroy the company and cost Monster society their main source of energy.

Mike and Sulley realize that there is an alternative form of energy available that is better than Scream and doesn't require exploiting others.

THE KEY ELEMENT HERE IS THE HEAD OF THE CDA ACTING AGAINST WATERNOOSE.

Roz could have turned a blind eye to Waternoose because his plan would benefit their society in the short term. She had the power to do that. But she chose her duty to protect society from corruption and greed over everything else.

That's what allowed Mike and Sulley to use their new knowledge to improve their society's well-being and prevent the harm being done by the collection of Scream.

Without Roz, Waternoose would have gotten rid of Sulley and Mike, preventing them from realizing that there was an alternate source of energy available. The Scream Extractor was already a solution to the problem, and it's one that fit in with the social belief that children are dangerous!

So, what's the takeaway here?

It's that social/political changes will only come about if:

Ordinary citizens have the knowledge needed to find new ways of doing things;

Those citizens are willing to act against social norms and powerful people to protect others. (And potentially to act on their discoveries. Mike and Sulley had all the pieces they needed to discover the power of laughter before Waternoose was gone. In the story, it didn't come to this, but we can imagine a scenario where they tried to set up a new business in competition to Waternoose.); AND

Those with the power to regulate and hold accountable people like Waternoose actually do so.

When it comes to many current problems in our society, we already have the first two things in place. Our Waternooses are actively working to prevent Number 3 from being a thing. They're to get rid of Number 1 by destroying education systems. They're trying to get rid of Number 2 by convincing people that they're invincible and necessary to the functioning of our society. That there's no hope for change and that trying to change will hurt everyone.

If we want to change things, we have to stop them from doing that. And we can. We have the means to work from the bottom up, to educate and encourage others, and to start forcing that change.

And damn if a kids' movie from 2001 didn't manage to say all that. (I give the corporates who funded the movie no credit for agreeing or supporting that message, but the writers and animators who managed to get the movie past them.)

[quitealotofsodapop]

Wait, hold on. Let's look at the rest of the people Wukong spent lots of time with.

Azure: A celestial rebel who wouldn't have made nearly as much progress without Wukong, should have been executed, was instead imprisoned, and was eventually the one to kill the jade emperor.

I don't know much about Peng and Yellow Tusk but they follow a similar pattern.

DBK should have been hunted for being a powerful demon king, probably should have been killed or at least imprisoned for courting Iron Fan, should have also happened when Iron Fan left heaven for him.

Red Son and the samadhi fire.

Mei should have also been killed by that fire, but her survival is more MK interference.

Speaking of the fire, Ao lei. You can not tell me that was always meant to happen.

I'm sure that if you look into it there are changes for Nehza, Erlang, and even the rest of the pilgrims. Hey, look at MK! It's possible that what allowed MK to change his destiny wasn't just his chaos power, but also Wukongs helping him.

Prev.

Wukong's defining feature in the lives of others is how he helps them break the mold and reach far beyond what they could accomplish.

For better or for worse...

Although his direct actions prevented Macaque's untimely death, it also was the spark that led to all-out rebellion against Heaven.

His actions and voice breaking through the rigidity of Eastern Heaven's rule allowed divine animals like Azure, Yellow Tusk, and Peng to find the courage to speak out against the elitist Taoist gods. But this also caused a War on Heaven that led to so many deaths, imprisonments, and broken friendships.

Red Son should have by all accounts died as an infant when the True Fire chose to rage within his tiny body. But the intervention from the Pilgrims, Nezha, his parents, and Wukong prevented this.

According to the Draft Copy; Nezha should have died that night to his little cousin's fire, but Wukong's mistake allowed him to endure a smaller blast. But this same change in fate sealed Ao Lie's when his body became a new vessel...

And ty for pointing out MK! Lets just say he's not called "Harbinger of Chaos" for nothing!

Chaos isn't inherently negative. After all, who doesn't like a pleasant surprise?

[m00nl1ghts1vt]

Sweetheart reader 😍 I need to know more about her!

Thank you for the ask!! These give me so much motivation to write 🥹🫶🏻

♡‧₊˚ A few facts about Sweetheart 🌸

♡ Her favorite color is pink.

♡ She grew up in a well-structured household, both mom and dad were very active in her life which is one of reason why she has such a hard time holding Chris accountable for his actions, she wants her son to have that perfect picture growing up.

♡ She cries over sad tiktok’s at-least once a day. She always blames it on pregnancy hormones, but she knows damn well she was doing this long before she found out she was expecting.

♡ She's very loved in all aspects. Her social life has always been very active. She's a sweetheart so, people gravitate towards her kind soul. Her pregnancy made her realize who her true friends are since she had to keep things on the more private side.

♡ Sweetheart always wanted a baby girl. She already had a named picked out if she was having a daughter, even purchased a few pink onesies before her gender reveal. Now that she has to pick out baby boy names, she's struggling. (as am I so pls send some recommendations)

♡ She's still coming to terms with Chris cheating on her because she knows deep down it was more than 'just a conversation'

Babydaddy!Chris Masterlist

Masterlist

[isekyaaa]

I'm not the well versed with irl romance, but in so many romance manga/manhwa, there's a focus on a male lead that is extremely protective, vengeful for the mc, possessive, etc. He'll fight battles for her, support her, torture people that hurt her, etc. While I do not mind reading such male leads, I can't help but wonder if that's what those authors and fans want in someone. Someone that'll protect, support, and save them. You can also see it in the fics people write on this website. Like is that what romance is supposed to be?

For me, the thought of anyone being protective over me to the point of fighting my battles, standing up to people that hurt me, etc is disgusting. Like applying such a man to real life would disgust me so much. I was always taught to solve problems on my own. It's both my responsibility and my right. I do not want nor need people's protection. I do not want nor need people making my life easier for me. I appreciate support, but any more than that and I'd get so offended if anyone treated me in that way. It'd be the equivalent of saying that I am not adequate nor equipped enough to handle my problems. It's insulting.

But is that the kind of partner the people that write and read these stories want? Are they just reading it for fun and I do or do they deep down desire to be treated like this?

[sileisce]

as a villain lover i know the pain of that lol

crowfeather's trial is a favorite book of mine but only for crow's story. it does seriously butcher breezepelts arc because while he was abused it doesn't excuse his own actions and the harm he himself caused. i was excited for breezepelt villain/possible redemption arc but then crowfeather's trial came out and just ignores the setup. as much as i enjoyed the book it was a let down with that.

and yes, the misogyny in the books are sadly a reflection of the writers themselves, even with the recent addition of frecklewish being sent to the dark forest. if anyone it should have been oakstar, he is the main reason the kits die, he sent them out in a storm. yet he is rewarded with still being around both his sons while the woman is punished for being hurt and watching maple leave. a true fitting punishment would have been oakstar being separated from his kits like mapleshade was. the fact frecklewish got a whole article making things up while oakstar gets off easy is so foul.

even with breezepelt, the coddling is seen as a negative thing and not a mother trying to make up for an absent father and wanting her only surviving kit to be loved. all she wanted was a family and she ended up stuck with someone with the emotional maturity of a brick wall. i don't want to get too deep but even how nightcloud is portrayed it has reflections on people telling mothers to teach their sons not to abuse. instead of holding the men accountable for their own actions or fathers to also have a part in teaching their sons.

personally i hate when apple(or any riverclan cat) is portrayed as skinny if they're not described as such. as canon riverclan cats are naturally thicker and fat. im pretty sure he's implied to be just as big if not bigger than maple.

and yes, i don't blame you for assuming and it made me realize how i was coming across. i appreciate that there was no malice. i have a friend that had people say things to him like 'abuse victims shouldn't have opinions on bramble and squirrels relationship'. (and he likes brambleclaw just acknowledges his abuse) so while not personally experiencing it i know some of the crazy stuff people say. the abuse apologia and misogyny is so heavy in fandom and sometimes i forget that many people that share their opinions on a male character's potential complexity are coming from that angle and not 'its fun to think of it like this'.

anyway if people are allowed to make excuses for bramblestar and fucking appledusk, I should also get to say that nightcloud did nothing wrong

[peculiar--princess]

Haven’t been living recovery focused/doing the right thing lately n I feel uncomfortable & a bit sad

[constantvariations]

Same train of thought is why in the fuck does Blake start out deradicalized?

The White Fang had been committing at minimum targeted property damage, grand larceny, and assassinations since Blake was twelve. Being radicalized at that young an age, she wouldn't just be lost in the sauce, Blake would be mixing kool-aid in Jonestown!

Something pretty major must have happened in order for her beliefs - which at this point would be intrinsically tied to her identity - to be shaken badly enough that she'd eventually leave the only family she'd known for the last five years. And even after leaving, there's still the unlearning of those beliefs and all the missteps that accompany that journey

Yet she gets introduced as being uncomfortable with the direction of things as if they haven't been going on for half a decade, as if she's not on what seems like a routine mission, as if there's not a damn good reason they're doing the things they're doing

ShawLuna kinda wrote Blake like she was born yesterday and is just now learning what sin is rather than a young woman having a moral crisis

[sparklyfaerie]

Great characters don't have to be good people. How many people love a good villain? Or a morally grey anti-hero? People love dynamic, interesting characters. That doesn't mean we ignore or condone their acts of evil; it just means that they're entertaining to watch.

I'm a Spike fan and a Xander hater, myself, but I don't ignore Spike's badness or Xander's goodness. It just so happens that where I fall on my opinion of the characters depends largely on their narrative treatment, rather than their actions.

Xander has a habit of talking down to and slut shaming a lot of the female characters in the show. Buffy in particular. He weaponises his jealousy in the early seasons. He's a bad boyfriend to both of his girlfriends (puts down Cordelia consistently and cheats on her, which he is never shown to have any remorse for, and constantly talks down to Anya), and is weirdly obsessed with Buffy's sex life.

He lies to Buffy about important things (remembering the SA attempt when he was possessed, Willow trying to curse Angel again, told Buffy that 'no one said anything [to him]' about Buffy and Riley's relationship imploding when Riley had actually come to Xander with concerns that Buffy didn't love him beforehand) and is never held accountable for it.

He gets away with bespelling the whole town when he tried to use magic to get back at Cordelia when she spurned him. That it was unintentional that it affected all the women in town is irrelevant; he still attempted to take Cordelia's free will away in order to humiliate her, which is kinda evil of him, ngl. Yeah the way she treated him kinda sucked at that point, but a) the narrative treats it as such, and b) he was just as bad if not worse.

But like, he bespelled the women of the town into throwing themselves at him and at the end Buffy thanks him for not taking advantage of her??? Nuh-uh, sorry, you don't get a thank you for being a decent human being after already doing something so incredibly fucked up.

What really, really gets me in season 5 though is that he scolds Buffy for letting Riley go, even though the man just cheated on her (and in a way that was really dangerous, he could have gotten turned) and attempted to gaslight her into thinking it was her fault, and then proceeded to give her an ultimatum that she had to fix the relationship or he was gone. Buffy initially saw through his BS, but Xander was the one who convinced her that Riley was in the right??? And then lied to her that no one told him anything about the relationship not going well??? To make her feel stupid or like a bad partner or something??? Riley was the only one of Buffy's love interests that Xander approved of, and that was only because he was the epitome of Xander's masculine ideal and he could project onto him.

(Actually no one but Buffy even attempted to hold Riley accountable for any of his BS in season 5 but that's a whole other rant.)

There's more reasons I hate Xander, but they're mostly in season 6, and I won't be That Guy™ and spoil it. The point is, the narrative never, ever holds Xander accountable for any of these things. He's always framed as being in the right, or if not, then the incident is just ignored entirely. He's even occasionally rewarded for his bad behaviour, like when Cordelia publicly took him back after the aforementioned bespelling of the entire town.

He never grows in any significant way. He's still essentially the same person in season 1 as in season 7. And I hate that.

Spike on the other hand goes through a ton of changes and very rarely gets away with anything bad. I want to say 'never', but I'm not 100% confident about that and may be misremembering. Point is, given how hard it is to remember if he does get away with anything, that says something about his narrative treatment. Hell, he's punished simply for being non-human by a literal torture device inserted into his brain.

He's a problematic character, to be sure. He does a lot of fucked up and morally questionable things; no one is denying that. The stalking is... yeesh. Crush is just an entire cringefest. The bot is gross. To say nothing of the 120ish years of mass murder behind him. But he's punished for all of these things. He was wrong and the narrative treats him as such, and this will continue as the show goes on. Again, I'm not going to spoil, but Spike does some really fucked up things and his character really goes through a lot punishment and changes as a result in the later seasons.

The reasons people love him are many and varied. He's a little pathetic. He's a romantic (even if it's a twisted, fucked up kind). He has sensuality and sex appeal. He's funny. He's a great character to watch because he's so different from the main cast that it's always interesting to see what he'll do.

That's all I can really say about him without talking about seasons 6 and 7. Of course, you may despise him, and that's your prerogative. There are a lot of people who hate Spike for completely valid reasons. But no one can claim that he's boring or doesn't grow and change.

ok I’m only on season 5 but can someone explain to me how Xander is the universally hated one for, from what I can tell, some bad choices and worse jokes, while Spike, the fandom’s babygirl and beloved heartthrob, literally stalks Buffy, holds her captive, and then commissions a robot version of her when it’s made clear he’ll never have her. like someone please explain it because the math is not mathing.

[randomnameless]

Do you think Edelgard perceives herself as a victim? I’ve been thinking and I can’t decide myself, on one hand she clearly hates the idea of people being victims or helpless, and constantly reframes the victims of the war as “necessary sacrifices” instead of, y’know, tragic causalities of a war she started. She plays up her sad backstory to try to get Byleth to join with her in WC, but then she does all these things to concentrate as much power as possible on herself. On the other (other) hand, she pushes the culpability of the war on everyone except herself, and has trouble taking accountability. She’s obsessed with controlling everything but she doesn’t want to be blamed for the problems she’s created. What do you think?

Oh!

(sorry for replying one literal month later lol)

I find Supreme Leader hard to write because of this, but in a way, I believe that yes, she does.

However, for all the flak Faerghus gets for "ToXiC mAsCuLiNiTy" and "Chivalry BaD", there's something very toxic with the way some Adrestian victims (often women... blame the writers I guess?) deal with their abuse.

I'm not going to spend a lot of time on Doro because I already typed a lot about her, but while she still sees herself as a victim from what she endured and suffered in her childhood, she adopted the toxic mindset of "this suffering is a thing of the past and I grew from that/beyond that to become the person I am now" - which we can also see in Manu who suffered from, roughly, the same traumas.

Petra also follows this pattern, being a hostage and treated like shit, but she grow "beyond" her status of a victim to become the strong person she projects and believes she is - it's only out of House that she realises more accutely her status within the Empire, the reality of her situation and, in Houses, refuses vassalage to Adrestia to make her country independent without having to "ask the Emperor".

It's the same pattern : "I was a victim" but "I became strong" so "I am not a victim anymore, this is something of the past".

Applied to Supreme Leader...

Well, trying to ignore the Agarthans and her dad's own infuence on her character (which is kind of hard, since the games try their hardest to make Agarthans responsible for everything BaD and we're not clear on how much they had an influence on her), I think Supreme Leader believes she was a "victim" of abuse.

But - through further abuse and surviving said abuse - she became strong* enough to "not be a victim anymore".

Which is why her line of "if the weak remain weak it's their fault" feels like it echoes part of her mindset : she was a victim but became strong enough, maybe by hardening her own feelings to become "strong", so she is not the same helpless "victim" she once was.

If she managed to do that, then everyone can do the same.

As for the "necessary sacrifices", since early 2019 someone theorised that "the people" she pretends the fight for as seen as some general "concept", much like the "greater good". So if some people are sacrificed, it's for her ideals - the goal and aim of her newfound strength - , and it piles on her drive, she must realise them otherwise those people would have died (and she would have suffered) for nothing.

However, despite acknowledging her past self as a victim, and because she's now "strong", she's not above using her past trauma (but actually, still present! Remember the rat scene?) to reach her goals, because, at her core, Supreme Leader is soemone who is very determined. Maybe it's her only drive to grow beyond the trauma, or her own illusions, or a mix of everything, but AM made it clear, Supreme Leader is not above, well, using herself if it means seeing her goals come to fruition : unlike Lobotogard from AG, AM!Supreme Leader willingly transforms in Hegemongard.

This is the cost she's willing to pay, so while the memes about Lord Farqaad were on spot, I still think that Supreme Leader is ultimately willing to sacrifice** herself for her goal (but only when there's no other way to ensure her future will come to fruition, and in a way, I guess she thought she would survive the Hegemon transformation, jury's out on what she meant to do in AM's finale, but imo, she still tried, even beaten and battered as she was, to claim Dimi's head).

Ultimately I think everything's a bit muddled by the fact that, as @fantasyinvader pointed out, Supreme Leader is a liar and knows the importance of maintening good PR.

She lies and manipulates the truth to reach her goals (which again, is a red flag when CF claims to want to restore the "distorted history" of Fodlan!) and for all the flak I give them, the devs managed to scrap enough material to give us a peek in Adrestia's mindset (or at least its top nobles), they're not people who self reflect, they are salty because they aren't ruling the world anymore, and they feel like they are better than the rest of Fodlan.

Put everything in the mixer, and you indeed have Supreme Leader (but also her court, especially Ferdie in SB who dares to say, as he is invading and trouncing people who don't really like and accept the idea of being invaded, that the fear those people feel are only in their mind, or something like that? Like, dude, you're rolling over their people and country, of course they'll fear and hate you!) giving her weird rhetoric lines (why are people opposing me if they are going to die?), victim blaming (something Treehouse swallowed like honey, if their lolcalisation is anything to go by, remember, it's Rhea's fault for not offering her head on a platter that is the reason why the War continues in CF!) and so on.

IDK if the devs wanted to bank that much on the Dany parallel with her "if I look back i am lost", but again, I don't know if her drive to make a "better Fodlan" is motivated by her trauma, Adrestian revanchism, Ionius telling her dumb things or Agarthans agarthaning, but her goal and vision are everything to Supreme Leader.

So she will do anythign to see them realised, even if it means sacrificing her people, starting a war, tweaking "the truth" or using her own trauma to motivate and recruit powerful people who might assist her with her goals.

To reply to your question, IMO she sees herself as someone who had once been a victim, but won't let that stop her from reaching her goals, even if it means creating thousands of "hers" in the process, because, in her mind, reaching her goal is more important than anything else.

*I know, she refutes Dimitri's claim that she is "strong" or laughs at it, but imo, it was more in the sense of "I was weak and became strong" so everyone can "become" strong.

**I don't think she wanted to throw away her life, but more something in the lines of "putting my life on the line" or sacrificing her precious (and to see how precious it is, just play CF lol) humanity.

[homoo-wan-kenobi]

this scene hurt my feelings. and it is terrible that one of the first things portia said was "what have you done?" cause I know she can see that penelope is upset. she's very clouded at times and I hope that we get to see her think before she speaks more even if it takes her a moment (kind of like she did in penelope's room in episode 2).

however, I think if prudence hadn't popped up after pen called her out on it, she would've inquired about how she was and what happened in full. but we all know, prudence is so used to having her mother's attention and penelope isn't.

I love lady featherington down so I hope the second half of the season rings true to polly saying that she [portia] apologises to penelope.

[fleshmetal]

just watched the borderlands movie and the only good part was that krieg’s little harness thingo lowkey looked like a very skimpy little bra thing sometimes

he needs some back support with those jugs ofc

[boundless11]

@justhereforthecupcakes so frustrating and honestly ridiculous that people try to equate Tory’s actions with Sam’s, as if they’re on the same level. What’s going on here? It feels like some fans just excuse everything Tory does because they find her ‘hot’ or because she has a tough home life, as if that justifies everything. But no, let’s not forget what she’s done. She literally started a school fight and when Sam got the upper hand, instead of backing down, she came at her with a spiked bracelet. That fight ended with Miguel in the hospital, almost paralysed, Robby running away and getting arrested and all this chaos. And yet, Tory got away with it because Sam didn’t press charges—probably because she was scared of what Tory might do if she did.

And let’s not ignore how manipulative Tory is. She manipulated Miguel from the start. She told him to start dating other girls just to make Sam jealous and then went out of her way to kiss him in front of Sam at the roller rink just to spite her. Not to mention the snide comments—like when Sam was literally just trying to order food, and Tory hit her with something like we can’t all use daddy’s credit card. And when she saw Sam talking to Miguel, her first reaction was jealousy, so she tripped her. Then she had the audacity to smirk when Sam and Robby got kicked out: Sam absolutely had every right to defend herself.

Tory’s actions are so hard to justify. She has all these personal issues, but instead of dealing with them or focusing on her family—like taking care of her mother and brother—she chooses to throw herself into these petty rivalries. She can’t even hold down a job because of her temper. And don’t even get me started on her confrontation with Amanda—acting like a spoiled brat instead of taking accountability.

Even with Robby in Season 4, when they broke into the LaRusso house, Robbie rightly asked her what she thought was going to happen, but Tory turned it back around to Sam again. She constantly avoids responsibility for her actions. And let’s not forget, even after Sam beat her fair and square, Tory still couldn’t let it go. She manipulated Robby, claiming ‘girls like Sam always get what they want.’ What exactly has Sam gotten? She hasn’t had it easy either. It’s just exhausting how people overlook Tory’s behaviour and always paint her as a victim.

Common sense viewers would know that it's Tory’s own fault she got accused of stealing.

Common sense isn’t common whenever Tory is involved. She’s often seen as this “hot, untouchable” character who can do no wrong in the eyes of fans and others who think she’s so cool and badass- she isn’t. She has done significant harm. She’s hurt people and in some cases, she’s come dangerously close to causing real, lasting damage—or worse. Yet, the narrative often avoids holding her accountable. For example, when she seriously injured Sam with the spiked bracelet during their fight, that was a major act of aggression, not justifiable in any way. But instead of addressing the gravity of Tory’s actions, the show often shifts the blame or minimizes her role in these situations.

Take the apology scene in part one , for instance—it was atrocious. It painted her as the victim while framing Sam as the instigator. How is that fair? Sam was hurt, physically and emotionally, yet she’s made to feel guilty for confronting Tory . Even when Tori was blatantly antagonistic, like at the country club during their first encounter, she made a snap judgment about Sam, calling her “the Sam.” She’d already decided to dislike her. Then at the skating rink she made jabs accusing Sam of being a spoiled rich kid because she said something like not all of us can spend or use daddy‘s credit card. Sam didn’t say anything to her except sorry I didn’t know you worked here and then she said we just want to eat or we just want some food.

when Sam realised that Tory was part of Cobra Kai she only responded with “It figures” That reaction wasn’t unwarranted—it came from her own experiences with the group. Yet the show repeatedly makes it seem like Sam is overreacting or antagonising when, in reality, Tory’s insecurity and jealousy are the root causes of their conflicts.

Johnny’s attitude toward the Sam-Tory rivalry only makes things worse. During the slumber party episode At times, it seems like he’s enjoying the tension, as if it’s all just entertainment. But what Tory did to Sam—cutting her with a spiked bracelet, starting fights out of jealousy—are serious issues, not something to brush aside for the sake of drama. The writing needs to acknowledge the harm Tory has caused rather than painting her as misunderstood or victimised, especially when Sam has consistently been on the receiving end of her aggression.

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

s5: glimmer's weakness is her self-doubt mixed with overwhelming hubris.

s5: oh, and catra's weakness is water. other than that, she's perfect.

[yellowloid]

Do we know Miles's or any of the AM members' opinions on the genocide in Gaza? Like I love them to death, but the lack of response has reaaally been bothering me. Not to mention the amount of privilege in not carrying about politics *looking at you, Alex*. I've seen Louise being pro-Israel.

OHHHHH anon i've been WAITING to talk about this. thank you for the question.

the answer is no we don't. to my knowledge, none of the members have openly talked about it. there has been no story on their official instagram, nor has matt (the only one with a public profile) posted anything about it on his account. not only that, but i did some research and apparently that benefit concert that him, tyler parkford and josh homme took part in also hosted people like jesse hughes and sarah silverman who are more or less openly pro-israel. which doesn't mean *matt* is, it just means he's not careful who he's associating himself and his image with.

the others have stayed silent. and miles, too - who's so active on social media - has never even reposted anything about it. not a word.

about the girlfriends, louise (and amanda) have spoken about "wanting peace" and louise especially has reposted some stupid ass posts a few months ago basically saying it's not "childish" to just wish peace for everyone - proving that she literally knows nothing about what has been happening for DECADES. both her and amanda have repeatedly proven they're centrists, which is just so. yikes.

the only one among all of them who has openly and almost immediately asked for a ceasefire is katie.

i've seen some people argue that the royal albert hall proceeds have gone to the war child association, but honestly - that's not enough. that was before, and even though knowing that is better than nothing, something they did in the past doesn't justify their lack of a statement on the genocide in the present. the fact that they're not even active on social media - just because they're too lazy to get someone to properly manage their account - isn't an excuse for staying silent.

whether they like it or not, they're celebrities. they have a platform they could use and they repeatedly choose not to use it. i love them but for the past few months i've been beyond disappointed in them.

[wonder-worker]

"The feast of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist being appointed as the day upon which the coronation of the king [Edward V] would take place without fail, all both hoped for and expected a season of prosperity for the kingdom."

— Excerpt from the Croyland Continuator / David Horspool, Richard III: A Ruler and Reputation

Even though Edward IV’s death was unexpected, after twelve years of peace there need not have been too much of a sense of foreboding about the succession. The great dynastic wound from which the Wars of the Roses had grown had not so much been healed as cauterized by the extinction of the House of Lancaster. There was no rush for London, as had happened in earlier, disputed successions. The royal party didn’t set out from Ludlow for ten days after hearing the news of Edward IV’s death, while Richard took his time, too. And the new king had [his mother the dowager queen and] two uncles to support him: his mother’s brother, the sophisticated, cultured, highly experienced Earl Rivers; and his father’s, the loyal and reliable Duke of Gloucester, to whom Edward IV had entrusted unprecedented power and vital military command.

... [Richard of Gloucester] had achieved his goal by a mixture of luck and ruthlessness, and if he made it appear, or even believed himself, that destiny played a part, this only made him a man in step with his times. Modern historians have no time for destiny, but sometimes the more ‘structuralist’ interpretations of the events surrounding the usurpation can come close to it. When we read that ‘the chances of preserving an unchallenged succession were . . . weakened by the estrangement of many of the rank-and-file nobility from . . . high politics, which was partly a consequence of the Wars of the Roses and partly of Edward IV’s own policies’, it is hard not to conclude that an unforeseeable turn of events is being recast as a predictable one. But without one overriding factor – the actions of Richard, Duke of Gloucester after he took the decision to make himself King Richard III – none of this could have happened. That is, when the same author concedes ‘Nor can we discount Richard’s own forceful character’, he is pitching it rather low*.

Edward IV had not left behind a factional fault line waiting to be shaken apart. Richard of Gloucester’s decision to usurp was a political earthquake that could not have been forecast on 9 April, when Edward died. After all, Simon Stallworth did not even anticipate it on 21 June, the day before Richard went public. We should be wary of allowing hindsight to give us more clairvoyance than the well-informed contemporary who had no idea ‘what schall happyne’. This is not to argue that Richard’s will alone allowed him to take the Crown. Clearly, the circumstances of a minority, the existence of powerful magnates with access to private forces, and the reasonably recent examples of resorts to violence and deposition of kings, made Richard’s path a more conceivable one. But Richard’s own tactics, his arrest of Rivers, Vaughan and Grey, the rounding up of Hastings and the bishops, relied on surprise. If men as close as these to the workings of high politics at a delicate juncture had no inkling of what might happen, the least historians can do is to reflect that uncertainty [...].

(*The author who Horspool is referencing and disagreeing with is Charles Ross)

[wordswithkittywitch]

A little bit more information for people whose interest is piqued but aren't sure they want to talk to a stranger online about beta reading a novel based on a list.

Here's the elevator pitch: In a bustling steampunk metropolis, a widow runs a boarding house for single, middle-class women who attempt to walk three steps without being accosted by adventurers, pirates, noblemen, or crazed inventors. It's a satirical melodrama examining the lives of the women who get tied to railroad tracks.

And a short (about three page) excerpt is under the cut:

Caroline looked around and tried to get her bearings. They seemed to be on the outskirts of the city, as the nearest building was a fair run away. It would have been much faster and more convenient to take the train into the city, considering that the pair of them were tied to the tracks.

"Railroad tracks!" Bittersweet exclaimed indignantly. "Who ties someone to railroad tracks in this day and age, I ask you!"

“I would think you’d be quite familiar with the practice.” Caroline commented crossly.

“Oh, I’m familiar with it.” he scoffed, “It’s gauche. No self-respecting villain has tied a young lady to railroad tracks in almost a decade.”

“I agree, it’s quite tasteless.” said Mr. Brandywine, “Which makes it the perfect death for you, Baron Ambrose Bittersweet.” He spoke the name with the cringing pity usually reserved for a thirteen year old boy who had just decided he would become a romantic poet. Mr. Bittersweet sucked his teeth furiously and scowled up at Brandywine.

“That’s all well and good for him, but what do I have to do with it?” asked Caroline.

“You?” he laughed, “That’s quite simple. I couldn’t simply tie a man to railroad tracks. That would be… weird! But a pair of young lovers, that’s another story completely.”

“You’ve quite failed to do that, then, as I am not this gentleman’s lover!”

“Oh, come Carrie, this is no time for girlish modesty.” said Mr. Bittersweet.

“And you can shut up, if you don’t have anything useful to say.” she snapped. “You’re… you’re a crime baron, aren’t you? Don’t you have some kind of protection?”

“I have the best kind of protection!” Bittersweet defended testily, “No criminal in all the city would dare move against me!”

“Then tell me, are we out of the city or is this man not a criminal?”

“Oh, I am a criminal, make no mistake about that, young lady.” said Mr. Brandywine. “I’ve simply taken umbrage with system this man is holding the city to.”

“A system you were perfectly happy with while your actions kept you in my good graces!” snapped Bittersweet.

“Why of course.” said Brandywine, sounding slightly nonplussed, “Why would I rebel against a system I was thriving in?”

“Because it’s wrong!” Caroline protested.

“Ah, perhaps it is, pretty thing, but its wrongness only puts polite young ladies out of sorts, and that is a group not famous for kicking up a fuss.” said Mr. Brandywine, “It’s perfectly alright for everyone who would have the power to do anything about it, or at least it was until a particular man lost a particular ship.”

“Is this about you losing the Outcast?” asked Mr. Bittersweet, “Because as much as I could gather without you making a proper report, that was your own fool fault. Only an incompetent would have his ship overpowered by women and children.”

“It wasn’t like that!”

“Well, then you should have made a report as to what it was like rather than disappearing off the map! We could be forced to reach any odd conclusion, even going so far as to believe the newspapers’ account of the attack!”

“I don’t have to make reports to you anymore, Mr. Bittersweet.” snapped Brandywine, “I don’t have to listen to anyone anymore, and certainly not a man who is about to be dead.”

“What kind of villain are you, sir?” demanded Mr. Bittersweet. “It is a well-known fact among our profession that dying men make the best confessionals.”

“Confessionals, yes, but not leaders.” argued Brandywine, “The best you can hope to be at this point is a martyr.”

“I’ll worry about becoming a martyr when I’m actually dead. For now, I only ask for a word in your ear.”

"What could you possibly have to say at this point, other than ‘please don’t kill me’?”

“Both of us know you’re not going to kill me, Mr. Brandywine. You wouldn’t know what to do with your life if I where not coordinating it. You think you hate this, but in reality, even that hate gives much needed structure to your life.”

“You—you greatly overestimate your importance, you pompous ass!” Brandywine snapped.

“I can see how it might appear that way to someone who’s plans for the future rarely extend as far as the next cutting remark you aim at someone you insist you’re going to kill without making the least effort to kill him.”

“You talk too much. Fear of death shows itself in the most curious ways.”

“I’m not afraid of death because I’m not going to die here. I am cross at the idea of it getting out that men in my Union were using such hackneyed plans as tying young ladies to railroad tracks. It rather shows a lack of imagination on their part, which reflects badly on me.”

“Well, if all goes well, the only thing you have to worry about reflecting on you is the underside of a speeding train.” Caroline snapped.

“Hush, Carrie, the men are talking.” Mr. Bittersweet scolded gently.

“And saying absolutely nothing!” she snapped. “I’m saying more than you’re worth, if only you’d listen.”

“If I were her, I wouldn’t be listening to you either, Mr. Brandywine. You spend too much time gloating because you think it makes you look intimidating. But if I don’t squirm, you watching me and waiting for me to do so becomes pointless.” said Mr. Bittersweet. He adjusted his position slightly so that his back was resting comfortably against Caroline’s.

“The only real question is how much are you going to annoy me before you realize doing so was a profoundly stupid idea?” Mr. Bittersweet asked coolly. “There is only time waiting to elapse before I have you at my mercy, rather than the other way around, and unlike you, I won’t be keeping you there to gloat over the situation. You’re going into the Boiler Room, or you’re going to die. And if you want to pick which one sounds less odious to you, you’ll untie me now.”

“Sir, in case you forget, I have already overpowered you. You are helpless, even a plea for your own life would fall on deaf ears. I’m certainly not afraid of you!”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” said Mr. Bittersweet. “As it shows you to be even stupider than I took you to be.”

Mr. Brandywine fumed. This confrontation was not going at all how he pictured it.

“As amusing as this conversation is-“

“To whom?��� asked Caroline.

“I’m afraid I do have somewhere else to be.” said Mr. Brandywine. “The trouble with trains is they are so put out by having something blocking the track, even when they could easily just barrel over it. I have to make sure this coming train does not stop for anything.” He smiled broadly, doffed his hat, and bowed sarcastically at Mr. Bittersweet. “Goodbye, Mr. Bittersweet. Have a painful death.”

“Good afternoon, Mr. Brandywine. Report at the Repose at noon tomorrow for your punishment.” Mr. Bittersweet replied. Brandywine looked briefly down into Mr. Bittersweet’s smiling face before kicking a cloud of dust into it. With a swish of his coat, Mr. Brandywine strode purposefully down the railroad track and into the distance. The crime baron rolled his eyes.

“The man’s an idiot.” Mr. Bittersweet muttered. “If he had a single thought under that ridiculous bowler hat he would have stayed around to make sure the train actually hit us.” Caroline frowned heavily.

“That was a lot of bravado. I’m hoping there’s a plan to go along with it.” said Caroline.

“I have a half-dozen plans, the trouble is picking which one would be the most satisfying for Brandywine to never learn about.” Mr. Bittersweet grumbled, furiously trying to move his bound feet.

“How about the fastest one, in case it fails?” Caroline suggested. Mr. Bittersweet fidgeted in a manner most unlike himself. For a moment, Caroline wondered if he was trying to take advantage of their situation to grab at her, but even Mr. Bittersweet would not be so crass. He gave a soft crow of triumph and unbent one of his legs.

“That’s one foot free!” he announced, “Now if you can untie my hands…”

“I’ll untie your hands after I’ve untied my own feet.”

“Oh, but that’ll take ages…”

“You did it quickly enough.”

“Yes, but I’m…”

“Chattering at me when I’m trying to concentrate.” Caroline snapped. The two of them struggled with their bonds, both quite set against helping the other. Mr. Bittersweet knelt forward, trying to get his feet beneath him, while Caroline squealed in protest.

“Mr. Bittersweet! Give me a minute!”

“We don’t have a minute, we have to get off of this track!” With that, Mr. Bittersweet bent forward onto his knees, getting his feet beneath him. Caroline was pulled backwards by this action, and as Mr. Bittersweet drew to his feet she found that it was not possible to get her own feet beneath her, as when he leaned forward, she was lifted off the ground entirely.

“Ambrose!” she protested.

“Just a moment, love, I’ll get us out of this!” he announced, staggering forward a few steps before breaking into a slightly hunched run. Caroline screamed in protest, her feet flailing in the air.

“Where-? Where are you-?” she shrieked, trying to get her bearings. To her dismay, Mr. Bittersweet was not climbing off of the railroad track, but running down its length in the direction that Mr. Brandywine had disappeared in.

“Stop! Stop!” Caroline protested.

“When I get my hands on that odious little man, I swear-“ he growled, completely ignoring her.

“Bittersweet! Stop!” Caroline screamed, though she was become aware of the fact he wasn’t paying the least attention. So she attempted to become unignorable and slammed the heel of her boot hard against the inside of his knee. Mr. Bittersweet’s legs buckled in pain, lowering Caroline onto her feet. Caroline then leaned forward, got Mr. Bittersweet’s weight onto her back, and began to run in the opposite direction.

“You’re going the wrong way!” screamed Bittersweet.

“I’m trying to get off the tracks!” snapped Caroline, clambering with great difficulty over the railroad ties and off of the tracks. But no sooner had she gotten off of the tracks than Mr. Bittersweet kicked her legs out from under her and she found herself being borne on his back once again, running along the side of the tracks as fast as his long legs could carry them.

Hey! You down there! Do you like:

Steampunk?

Early cinema melodramas?

Deconstruction of tropes?

The Strong Female Character trope shamelessly blasted into oblivion by a variety of complex female characters?

Writing with clear influences from both Terry Pratchett and Lemony Snicket?

Absurdity with occasional splashes of social commentary?

Long books?

If you didn't answer a firm no to any of these questions, I have another question for you: Want to beta read a novel?