#former gatekeeping asshole

[weerd1]

It’s Been a Long Road: Two decades after “Star Trek: Enterprise” I still have Faith of the Heart.

After the click, there are 2300 words of me doing a deep dive on my love for "Star Trek: Enterprise." You have been warned.

When I was in elementary school, I was a year younger than my peers. My mom had decided I didn’t need to go to Kindergarten as I was already reading ahead of my level, so she insisted I be placed at age 5 directly into 1st Grade. In ways she was right; I completed the reading and phonics program in my little Arizona school for the entire first grade before Christmas. To this day though, I am clumsy with scissors, paste, and all the “kindergarten skills” and I spent the rest of my school career smaller, weaker, and less coordinated than everyone in my class. 

This probably all worked out in the end; sure, I couldn’t play sports, but to avoid bullies and getting picked on, I got funny, and that’s worked out pretty well for me. But in those days when I would play a sport such as baseball, the opposing team would step a little closer, the coaches would advise me to take the walk; I was not as good as my peers, so allowances were made for my performance.

That is exactly how I looked at “Star Trek: Enterprise” for years. It was only four seasons, while its powerhouse predecessors all had seven. It wasn’t set in a utopian far future, but rather not too far from now meaning more modern and vernacular language. The science seemed a little spurious, with writers seeming to think the term “Rigel” was just some made-up word from older Trek series rather than older Trek series using actual star names for locations. The knowledge of Trek seemed a little lacking as well, with the first episode citing “Klingon Warbirds” and basing the hero ship on a design introduced in a then recent movie…that was set 200 years later. 

I watched though, as we were coming off of there being CONSTANT Trek on television for the previous 15 years, and this was what we had.

I groused then, a lot. The lack of continuity, the trivia gaffes, the over-sexualization of women characters (ok, that WAS more than a bit overdone, and I still grouse that point).

The theme song. Oh my lord, the theme song.

But eventually, this show won me over, almost in spite of itself. Then there was a major shift in tone for the third season, and it got to be pretty solid, and the FOURTH season was…STAR TREK! Like its predecessors, the show had taken some time to find its footing (c’mon, admit how uneven the first couple of seasons of TNG were), but had pulled itself together, and the show’s future looked bright in 2005!

And then there was a truly terrible last episode and ENT was cancelled and gone. 

Twenty years later, here I am, and though the absence of new Trek only lasted about four years—until JJ Abrams 2009 movie—I felt that absence keenly then. I am glad to report there has been Trek I really enjoy since then…and some marginal entries, but that’s not new either honestly. But with all this new material, I still find myself going back to revisit Archer and his crew. I’ve rewatched maybe two TNG episodes in the last 15 years. Maybe two or three Voyager episodes. But TOS, DS9, and ENT I hit regularly. Why does ENT keep forcing itself to the front of my Trek consciousness?

From the beginning, ENT suffered from some external pressures that weren’t helpful to its development. There was a tension between doing more of the same, successful formula Trek had been delivering since “Encounter at Farpoint” (the TNG pilot episode from 1987) and doing something experimental and new. Viewer fatigue was setting in a bit, but fans were vociferous in what THEY thought Trek meant. Anything that strayed too far would take a beating on the internet message boards. 

DS9 had just finished off their wartime storyline, and though there were adamant Niners, it was only just beginning to truly find its audience with the advent of home video allowing one to actually watch the whole thing. Meanwhile, the less arc-oriented VOY had added the character Seven. There had been a ratings increase, which the producers took to mean any new show needed an attractive woman in a catsuit. Remember also, we were in the midst of the Star Wars Prequel trilogy, so going BACK to a time when the story could be a little looser was floating in the zeitgeist. 

But it was also 2001, and though the visual continuity of the then modern Treks had maintained a history inclusive and accepting of TOS, putting a starship on screen that would look like a century’s LESS development than Matt Jefferies’ design from the mid-1960s was going to be problematic. 

I don’t know this is true, but I also suspect that since the previous shows had a British man, a Black man, and a Woman as captains, someone in Production wanted to make sure there was a white, American man back in the center seat. Maybe I’m wrong, but that’s my gut.

So all of this goes into the show, and honestly it kicks off as a bit of a hot mess. So much seems to be playing it safe. Some fairly cliched storylines that occasionally try something a little new. A few things it does try new are not quite there: That aforementioned over-sexualization of the women in the crew*. Cringy comments about relations with aliens. Archer watching water polo.

There are a lot of forgettable episodes, contradictions. And yet, I kept watching. Yeah, I was on message boards complaining about the tech looking too advanced. I’d gripe about how un-Vulcan the Vulcans seemed. I’d gripe about every violation of what I accepted as canon, that was often really just things the fandom had settled on in the 70s and had no basis on the show. And I was just a complete tool online when the first cloaking device showed up. 

And the theme song, oh my lord, the theme song.

But I kept watching. And before I knew it, I started to appreciate something about this show. I had to make a choice between griping that this modern show that I was actually enjoying didn’t adhere to a single line of dialog written (then) 40 years before for a show that wasn’t expected to last a year. I, a staunch Trek gatekeeper, was having an awakening about continuity and canon, and I had to figure out why. Finally it hit me. 

These characters, these performers, they were more than they should be. These characters were making me love them, even when the stories were mediocre or cliche or counter to what I believed was canon. 

Take Jonathan Archer, played with almost megaton-levels of earnestness by Scott Bakula. Archer’s earnest, do-gooder nature is so extreme…you know how a show like “Family Guy,” does a joke, and it’s ok, and then it keeps going way too long, and you get sick of it. And then it keeps going still, and somehow, this only kinda-funny joke goes so long or so far that it actually manages to somehow loop back around to being not just funny, but hilarious. That’s Archer’s earnestness, his naiveté.  His “oh gosh” nature is interesting and fun compared to Kirk’s bravado. Then, after he oh goshes his way into losing ANOTHER fight, he’s simply grating. THEN you start to think he’s just devastatingly boring. But if you keep watching, then it comes around to this unironic serving of safe-guy that doesn’t blink in how GOLLY he is as a hero and you smile when he all but winks at the camera. And then, in later seasons when he’s faced with some pretty devastating moral dilemmas, you FEEL it!

T’Pol, played by Jolene Blalock: she’s so attractive it almost hurts to look at her, but you realize soon after that while she somehow seems to keep ending up getting rubbed down in decon Jolene is BRINGING the performance. That her delivery, her tone; the micro-expressions which betray her stoic facade for the Vulcan emotions at a full boil underneath…you buy it. You realize her performance is wonderful, and she’s one of the best Vulcans in the entire franchise.

Connor Trinneer as the character I recently described as “Florida Man in Space,” Trip Tucker. He’s a walking cliche, his accent making “warp-field plasma conduits” sound like something you’d serve up with sweet tea and grits. He’s got Himbo energy that rivals the output of his anti-matter reactor, and still it works. His “I don’t really know much about anything, but I’m willing to learn…oh God I’m pregnant” (actual episode) speaks so beautifully to humans DISCOVERING things for the first time, screwing it up, but learning from their mistakes and going back for more! 

I could easily go on about Travis Mayweather, the kid who grew up in space and is both completely knowledgeable and blissfully ignorant of anything that goes on out there. Malcolm Reed, the British tactical officer who if his upper lip was any stiffer, he could use it as a weapon. Hoshi Sato who starts out completely out of her depth, and ends up loving it all. Dr. Phlox, your over-friendly, polyamorous uncle who brandishes optimism like a flame thrower and plays with eels. 

They are all just…TOO. Too this, too that, and in doing so, somehow all circle back to being absolutely perfect. Because as flawed as ENT is in its storytelling at times, and how mired it is in attitudes before #metoo, the IDEA of the show is a great one: How does humanity get from the mess we are now to the icons of TOS or TNG? Enterprise shows us it wasn’t a switch, but a road.  A long road, getting from there to here.

Yes, even the damn theme song, hokey and way too on the nose is EXACTLY RIGHT for what this show means.  

Somewhere along the line, we all knew we had to move in a little closer when ENT comes up to bat, but we all started wishing, hoping, that maybe it would get a home run.

And sometimes, just sometimes, these characters that are great in spite of themselves, and this design, that’s too good for what it should be**, and this show that’s just not on the level of its predecessors does exactly that and knocks one into the stands. Suddenly it’s season four, and Enterprise manages to sum up the humanity Star Trek has been serving up since 1966 better than any show before or since:

Vulcan Ambassador Soval: We don't know what to do about Humans. Of all the species we've made contact with, yours is the only one we can't define. You have the arrogance of Andorians, the stubborn pride of Tellarites. One moment, you're as driven by your emotions as Klingons, and the next, you confound us by suddenly embracing logic.

Admiral Maxwell Forrest: I'm sure those qualities are found in every species.

Vulcan Ambassador Soval: Not in such confusing abundance.

We’re not perfect, we’re not utopian, but we are AMAZING when we give ourselves the chance, and for me, Enterprise takes that idea and runs with it. It often swings and misses, but when it connects, we can smile and clap and let it take its run around the bases, because it makes us feel good. And if it weren’t for Enterprise teaching me how these lessons, these characters are more important that visual continuity or strict adherence to arcane canon, I wouldn’t have accepted the Kelvin timeline. The DISCO Klingons. The Strange New Worlds uniforms, sets, and character interpretations. Because as much as I love what Star Trek means, all of that deeper meaning is nothing if it isn’t entertaining. And Enterprise taught me how important that was. 

I could go on about how much better the show got when Berman and Braga took a back seat to Manny Coto, though there are certainly strong arguments that he got a little too fan-servicey. But in the end, the point is CBS took over and closed down Enterprise just as it found its footing. I hope the wave of nostalgia we’re seeing applied (perhaps TOO applied in shows like “Picard”) to modern Trek means we get more than a passing Lower Decks reference to the show. And if not, well, I’ve got my copies, and my fan fic, and my Tumblr memes. 

Most importantly though, I’ve got (I’ve got, I’ve got) Faith of the Heart.

*I will give the show credit at least that it was pretty willing to flaunt shirtless men as well, and biceps-a-plenty. 

**In regard to things looking more advanced, I will give credit to Brannon Braga for dropping a hint in an interview at the end of season 1 that the Enterprise-E coming back in “First Contact” had subtly altered the timeline, making things a little more advanced. Fans—and I regret to include myself—railed against that online, and it wasn’t really mentioned again. Recently, Strange New Worlds has revisited and canonized the idea that the timeline, even though it is the Prime timeline, DOES go through shifts and changes due to temporal incursions, evidenced wonderfully in the episode “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” when a Romulan time traveler admits to altering time so the rise of Khan happens not at the 1992 date that Spock gave us in the original series “Space Seed” to now to him still being a child 30 years later. It’s in-story shorthand for the fact that when a show goes for six decades some continuity has to change and THAT IS OK. I wasn’t ready to accept it then, but am glad it’s now part of Trek. 

[prommytheus]

this is a real conversation i had with my former best friend in 7th grade

sometimes something is a basic creative concept but it was also a basic creative concept in an infamous piece of media and now nobody can use it without getting hit with “youre just copying [insert piece of media known for its absurd and hellish fandom]”

[roodles03]

Unrecognized Talnet

For years, Willow struggled with her self-worth and self-esteem. Trapped in a track she hated, she was frowned upon her peers and teachers everyday. Her former best friend now bullied her every single day. She went a few years without anyone, before finally meeting Gus. The first person who didn't determine her value as a witch by her magical power. The teacher shamed and humiliated her everyday, and despite trying her hardest for years, she never got better. She kept failing.

Meanwhile, she had a natural talent for plants, but had to keep her talent and love for it a secret, as her dads had placed her in the abomination track. Forced to keep struggling when she could be succeeding, she doesn't want to disappoint one of the only people on her life who encourage her to suceed and that she can actually do this.

...yeah I just wanted to draw Willow by herself for once. But I always think about how miserable her life was after Amity's betrayal and wasting away in abominations. I fucking hate when people say that Willow going througb a little bullying isn't trauma and she shouldn't be upset because others had it worse. Fuck off with that shit. First off, dont compare people's trauma. That is gatekeeping and makes you look like an asshole. Second, having your only friend betray you, going on to bully you, on top of having no friends and everyone in your class hating you, takes a SEREVE mental toll on a child. (I would know.) Willow was alone for years until she met Gus, and thank Titan she met Luz, or else her true talent would've never been recognized. I appreciate Willow as a character representing such a realistic interpretation of what years of bullying does to a child. It's not pretty. This shit fucks you up for life.

[anendoandfriendo]

So, we have a LOT of gripes with this post but more just want to address then individually without giving the OP any harassment so:

These first and second paragraphs is fine honestly, we won't tell people how they should feel about their own experiences.

The problem starts at the next part where OP starts trying to tell people how they should feel about their own brain.

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Also we just REALLY need to get this out of the way woth no other comments —

"We don't label [implied word is diagnose] personality types"

LMAO try saying that to uhhhh — *checks notes* — people with PERSONALITY DISORDERS.

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People who generally live life functionally but who every now and then are reminded that they’re disabled and need help in very specific situations. Like somebody who doesn’t struggle much socially and who doesn’t need supports at school or work but who sometimes doesn’t have as much energy for doing the dishes because they’re exhausted from living as an autistic person in an allistic world.

Did you know that therapists require a diagnosis to see literally anyone, ever? At least in the United States?

By your logic the neurotypical idea that "nobody is normal" actually exists. Why is someone who goes to a therapist and is forced to get like, let's just say a depression diagnosis for the ease of thos conversation. Why are they allowed to get that diagnosis, do the therapy, then consider themselves completely neurotypical but an autistic person isn't allowed to do that?

Please make that make sense.

And if you didn't realize everyone who's ever gone to a therapist loses their neurotypical card and is lying to you (using YOUR OWN LOGIC these people would be lying/faking neurotypicality) then don't worry about that! We didn't know that either until this year.

Anyways, that leaves us two options: either everyone is disabled or these people are allowed to choose their neurotypes in spite of the system labeling them otherwise. We sincerely hope why you realize the former is more shitty and we do not have to explain to you even bodily autonomy you don't like is still an inalienable right.

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So if you’re like me, please don’t speak over higher support needs people. Recognise that, if you can generally live independently, you are lower support needs than a LOT of others.

Is this about the assholes who went "waaah!! Don't call yourselves nonverbal!!! You share the same brainbody!!!" yes and as a plural system, we are still DIFFERENT PEOPLE. SOME OF US ARE NONVERBAL AND CANNOT SPEAK WHEN FRONTING WITHOUT ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE FROM ANOTHER HEADMATE. SOME OF US HAVE TO BODY DOIBLE EACH OTHER JUST TO GET THE DISHES DONE YOU DESCRIBED IN THIS POST.

YES WE DO STILL HOLD A JOB TAKIMG PHONE CALLS. BECAUSE THE VARIETY OF AUTISTICS IN OUR HEAD MAKES. IT. SO. WE. ARE. COLLECTIVELY. NON-DISORDERED.

We may be endogenic, but we would still not, in any way, survive the world as a singlet. We are low support needs on a fucking technicality because they confirmed us as an autistic person when the brainody was two!!!

Just because you do not benefit from a purely social model of disability doesn't mean there are autistics who straight up wouldn't have issues anymore if people just..accepted them and society in general was less shitty.

The ONLY!! WAY!!! We have seen this kind of statement be used is to gatekeep people like us who try to describe their experiences of plurmisia and its intersectionality with ableism.

We are a non-disordered autistic collectively with specific members in our system who ARE in fact disordered autistics. The only reason we don't have people who describe themselves as neurotypicals in this system is very specifically because they do indeed feel a change in them when they arrive here.

Yes! We are a lot lower in support needs! To the point we do not consider ourselves such! Because of our multiplicity. Not because our autism "isn't that bad" or anything like that.

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TLDR:

Stop fucking telling people how to feel about their own experiences.

If youre trying to gatekeep what we think you are trying ro gatekeep, you're an asshole and need to stop. Maybe we are just lucky, who knows, but we have NEVER seen this kind of sentiment occur in a way that does not have an undercurrent of plurmisia and/or other ableism.

You can in fact be a nondisordered diagnosed person. It happens all of the time, otherwise therapists as an institution couldn't exist lmao.

Additionally, as far as we are concerned, there are, in fact, situations you can be simultaneously non-disordered and disordered.

How about you follow the advice you said to everyone else, and not tell no-support and low-support autistics how to feel about their experiences? You're a fucking hypocrite OP!

Someone or somesys with more experience analyzing this kind of thing from a mad pride lens and/or a bodily autonomy lens is absolutely free to add onto this but we're just. Tired. And also kinda we have to be at work in likeeee 10 to 20 minutes.

[altschmerzes]

oh i'm FASCINATED to hear what your thoughts on lost are so far

FAIR WARNING this is probably not going to be very nice to the show so if you're a big lost enjoyer and don't wanna see that this would be the time to keep scrolling. sorry for the delay also. guy who has been typing his thoughts and then getting distracted on a loop for several days.

basically: i don't know why, but i have been deeply compelled to watch the show lost recently. like, i genuinely don't have an explanation. i know i'd seen like, half of season one about a million years ago and have no memory of any of it so this is functionally my first go through it.

in short: i think it has its strengths and its weaknesses. to me, more weaknesses than strengths. i know opinion degraded as time went on but even just where i am now, i do not know why this thing has the like 'one of the best shows of all time' reputation that it has. i really, truly don't. like, it's fine, sometimes it's even good, but like. why do people talk about this like it is the pinnacle of television. it is however like, almost hypnotically watchable, and i keep going through like, handfuls of episodes at once.

more under the cut.

in long: so i'm on the early early episodes of season 2 and i already know that most of this show is mystery boxes inside mystery boxes half of which never really have a payoff that's satisfying and so i'm pre-emptively frustrated by that. it's like.... i would love to be excited by the mysteries that come up, but instead of getting to excitedly wonder 'oh wow i wonder what the explanation for that will be!' i'm instead sitting here thinking 'gee i hope that's one of the ones we get an answer to.' it's not a great feeling, and mostly i'm like. man why do they keep giving jj abrams creative authority over things. he's a good director, why do they keep ruining that by letting him WRITE too.

also there is so much weird racism and misogyny in here lmao. gd.

anyways. moving on to specifics.

i will confess i am a sucker for disaster survival scenarios. it's half the appeal of any apocalyptic thing to me, and this delivers. i'm enjoying the mystery boxes when i can put aside the fact that i might not get to see inside them at all, depending. i think the flashbacks are well structured and sprinkled in with effective timing and degrees of revealed information. i think one of my fave parts is how much of like... the Weird Shit in the flashbacks is just. not clear about whether or not it's related to the island? were the numbers hurley used to win the lottery actually cursed? does disaster and death follow walt around or is his former stepdad just an asshole and it's all a coincidence? what was up with the fucking psychic claire talked to? etc. that's one of the ones where i'd be fully comfortable with that question never being answered. it's satisfying as hell just to wonder.

characters! the extent to which i do not give a single fuck about jack, kate, and sawyer is amazing. like. they're all so resoundingly uninteresting to me. i actively think everyone here would be better off if sawyer was dead, because even for me (noted asshole with a heart of gold enjoyer, I KNOW, I KNOW) he is A Bit Fucking Much. if he does not ease up soon it's gonna be Bad. i mean it's already bad but. lmao. his best moments so far were telling jack about what jack's dad said to him in the bar and saving michael after the raft is destroyed. kate is just... everything about her is so overwrought and i'm just bored and a little embarrassed every time we have something focusing on her. i do like that she's abjectly doing shady shit sometimes, they should lean into that more. gaslight gatekeep girlboss etc. jack is so nothing it's amazing. he is baymax to me. he is not even baymax, baymax had more of a personality. why is he the protagonist of this show, he is such a generic white dude audience insert character.

i really love sun, hurley, charlie, claire, michael, walt, and - when he is not YELLING AT HIS WIFE - jin is okay too. i also really enjoy sayid and i have to say that like. i think they have massively fucked it up with his writing in several points, it's like. stereotypical and almost comically racist at times but i also have to like... idk, i do have a significant degree of legitimate respect for the swing they took with him in the first place, to be honest. it's like. idk. this was a show that aired in 2004, written and filmed before that, and i know his character made a lot of people Big Fucking Mad to have in a show about a plane crash as an unambiguously sympathetic and positively depicted character, missteps in his writing and all. it doesn't excuse the mistakes made with him obviously but the context in which he was written makes me like. idk. appreciate the fact that he exists, and kinda tip my hat to like. you guys Tried saying something here. i gotta respect that.

jin and michael's odd-couple friendship is extremely charming to me. hurley is the sweetie of all time and i really love how he just... is willing to interact with people on a straightforward level no matter who they are or what's going on? locke cracks me the fuck up. like all his magic healing disability and general premonition shit aside, it's extremely funny to me to watch grandpa survivalist finally get to LARP his dreams of being a hardcore jungle man. he is fucking insane gd blass.

i will say um. the less said about shannon and boone the better. eugh. literally why would you do that. like... it throws me so much every time someone finds out about That Whole Mess and literally does not react at all. before somebody screams and whines and cries about how IT'S FINE TO EXPLORE TABOO SUBJECTS IN FICTION STOP BEING A PURITAN YOURE BEING A FAN COP WAAAAAAA i'm not saying you can never write this sort of thing just like. literally why is the entire narrative framing of it a tragic starcrossed lover thing. why is nobody reacting like this is as nasty and weird as it is. lmao.

anyways.

here's some clips from my watching it, mostly based in how fucking funny i think jack's whole Situation is.

[lokiinmediasideblog]

1 + 12 :D

The Loki fandom has more schisms than the Catholic church at this point. So I'll give multiple answers for the main schisms (pre-Loki series and including it).

character everyone gets wrong. If it's pre-Loki series and such, I think it's both Thor and Loki. And there's many variations of it. I think any characterization that flattens one into just good and the other as bad misunderstands these morally gray characters. With Loki, he's portrayed as a waifish and bookish boring character that can't fight/kill/or lie which takes the fun out of it and makes him seem rather pathetic and not!Loki complimented with either a sunshine himbo savior Thor or brutish evil Thor. With Thor, he's the precious sunshine cinnamon-roll with a purity of heart contending with Christ with either the waifish Loki, comedically murderously evil Loki, or just plain cruel Loki which makes Thor seem dumb and ridiculously gullible. The former is more popular in Tumblr in general, but casuals interpret it as the latter usually. And the comics pre-reincarnation have a lot of the plain cruel Loki with ridiculously gullible and Gary-Stu-ish Thor.

If we're including the Loki series, I'd say Mobius. I can't recognize him in most fanfics (and as such I don't read much Lokius) because most refuse to engage with the darker cannon aspects of his characterization and try to turn Lokius into Ineffable Husbands 2.0 which have nothing in common apart from some superficial level of edgy gothy man + white-haired desk job dude. This guy had access to every instance of Loki's life. Isn't that creepy? And he's responsible for the capture and pruning of many variants. There should be more fic where he's conflicted about his actions. Granted, I have a fanfic where he's terrible (dark!Mobius) and I specify it on the tags. I think the only time it's not annoying to mischaracterize characters is if the author is aware and warns of it in the tags because they're in a kick.

2. the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them. I don't like telling people to like characters. I'll defend them if they get things wrong about them, but it just feels guilt-trippy to me. I know I get annoyed when people get guilt trippy for not caring about the W3 or Sif as much as I care for Loki (who has way more screentime and lines). Pre-Loki series, I think I like Heimdall more than the average Loki fan. I like that he also commits treason against Odin, not just Loki. I think the implications of the All-Sight make him interesting, though he doesn't have that much screentime. I like to portray him as conflicted over his responsibilities, and if I need some Gatekeeper to be an asshole to Loki, I make one up that preceded Heimdall and is responsible for Loki's overall dislike of Gatekeepers and why he learned to hide from the All-sight.

I understand why it happens because seeing everything is rather invasive and we live in a society with increased surveillance every fucking year. But I wish to avoid the "Black character is racist to fantasy race" trope. You can justify Loki learning to hide without pulling that trope, you know? Make up a gatekeeper before Heimdall (I'm not convinced he knew Loki was Jotun and that'd mean he was hired after Loki was adopted). You can make a story. I have plenty of HCs about Loki's distrust of Gatekeepers and that Heimdall was hired after a Noodle incident involving Loki that caused the previous Gatekeeper to quit. It's more interesting than just pure fantasy racism from the start.

If we're including the Loki series:

The character I think was unfairly hated was Sylvie. I say this for the level of vitriol the poor actress received. It's fine not to like Sylvie, but a lot of those posts claiming SdM and Sylvie are single-handedly responsile for "bad rep" when SdM has no influence on the script and it's a DISNEY show (notorious for executive meddling) is unfair and pointing fingers at the wrong direction. FOR THE MCU DISNEY+ SERIES THEY DIDN'T EVEN HAVE SHOWRUNNERS! THIS IS A VERY BAD PRACTICE AND INDICATIVE THEY'RE JUST CHURNING SHIT OUT!

I'm also of the opinion that the comics have more harmful tropes than the show's "self-cest" (specifically talking about Loki stealing Sif's body and Amora and Lorelei's noncon powers M.O.) but I often see the same people praising one and not the other because they think the comic book designs are more stylish. If the shoe doesn't fit, I'm not talking about you. BTW. Just some people I've seen.

[rivetgoth]

Intracommunity bitching alert but omg I kinda hate the type of goth that makes being a chaste gloomy introvert their whole personality while being super judgmental and pretentious to goths they perceive as like shallow or vapid or even whores/sluts for being into the side of the community that more emphasizes clubbing and kink and stuff. I don’t have any issue with the actual type of people who prefer the former and just want to stay in and read gothic lit and listen to post punk and reblog Morticia Addams gifs like at ALL I think they are doing an invaluable service to the wider goth community by existing and keeping a specific archetype of goth weirdo (affectionate) alive but I’m specifically speaking to the judgmental pretention some of them exude. The sort of “oh I’m a REAL goth because I miserably listen to Joy Division in the rain not one of those trashy sluts that just does drugs and has sex” it’s soooo annoying. Like I’ve literally seen these types get weird and judgy over people using EMOJIS lol it’s soooo goofy. And they’re usually the first to get big into goth gatekeeping discourse and yet they get so weird and nasty to people who are enjoying the same damn music and supporting the same damn artists as them but doing so kinda differently… Like is it a music based subculture or not lmao. Newsflash asshole I go to the club with my nipples out AND miserably listen to Joy Division in the rain. Mind your business.

[olderthannetfic]

My experience with the tucute/trusum wars was mostly doing damage control and gently reassuring little boys that they weren't woman-hating monsters just because going through AFAB puberty was horrifying to them, and that it's ok to cut their hair and change their name and wish they could talk their parents into letting them go on T.

All while my inbox got filled full of little brats calling me every name under the sun because I dared to present as traditionally masciline.

It's true that the a lot of the transmedicalists were gatekeeping assholes, but "I have dysphoria" and "I hate you for not having enough dysphoria" are acutally different statements and harassing the former because the latter are dicks didn't help anyone.

--

Puberty is fucking horrifying at the best of times. Going through the wrong one must be hell.

[unhingedkinfessions]

i like it when people are unapologetically open about them kinning in general but sometimes there's gotta be a point where they're too open about it. and not in a "they're so cringe and proud about their kins lets laugh at them for that!!" way but in a "i don't think being kin forces you to be a weirdo/asshole to people online and offline" way btw

i have seen quite a lot of people who have assumed i meant the former and some have gone to lengths to justify them being openly a shitty person because they kin shitty people?? i know you were That Bad back then but. life's not the same anymore and we all need to move on from being a piece of crap. and also i don't think being conscious about what counts as oversharing about your kins or something like that makes you a gatekeeping freak.

(sorry if i didn't word this right i was just tired of seeing this happen in kin spaces and people justifying it without realizing how absurd it really is)

nah i get what you mean. to be cringe is to be free and all but its ok and healthy to have an iota of respect

[star-shard]

Elvis Movie Breakdown

in my current opinion, to each their own!

Great stuff (crowd pleasers): Love Me Tender (#1 LMT fan here, even if it wasn't Elvis's favorite movie to work on, its my fav to watch, its one of the few movies he's openly emotional in and fuck it, I think he's a good actor in this, eat my shorts) King Creole (Casablanca director. Melodramatic sometimes but the soundtrack slaps like all fuck and Elvis is charming as Danny, good shit, watch it) Flaming Star (Nuanced 'for it's time', good Elvis performance, SPOILER on secondary watches I stop at the point in which Pacer is radicalized in which I can imagine everything went great after that) It Happened at the World's Fair (Adorable movie alert, Elvis's character is an asshole around romantic prospects but good with kids, so close to real life. Cool as shit shots of the irl World's Fair at the time) Viva Las Vegas (I shan't stand for Viva slander, I ship the fuck out of Ann Margret and Elvis I don't give a fuck if Bye Bye Birdie was shit, just skip the last ten minutes of this flick) Change of Habit (Pretty nuanced, Elvis is a hot doctor. There's a 1969 understanding of what Autism is, keep that in mind if you want to watch)

Fan Favorites! (for the girlies): Loving You (The original music movie biopic, the fight scene in the restaurant slaps cunt severely) Jailhouse Rock (Loving You but what if the protagonist was a lovable asshole, title song dance sequence goes off) G.I. Blues (Adorable as fuck, the definition of fluff, get ready to be seduced by a puppet show) Wild in the Country (It feels like a play. You know? That vibe? Elvis is good in it) Follow That Dream (HIMBO ALERT, not bad, mildly libertarian?) Kissin' Cousins (Ok ok, listen, I know, the title, it's a lot, look Elvis plays two characters and one wears a blond wig wait where are you going wait don't call the police WAIT) Girl Happy (Cute as fuck comedy, actually made me lol, Elvis wears a dress for one scene blink and you'll miss it) Tickle Me (Cute as fuck comedy, haunted house climax) Live a Little, Love a Little (gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss. Two maniacs fall in love)

Drunk Watch (is it good? No, is it entertaining? Maybe): Blue Hawaii (Elvis spanking a suicidal teenager is the highlight of the movie, if u don't like ballads i got bad news for you) Kid Galahad (something something inn keeper type dude has debts zzzzz, fuck me Elvis is wearing a wife beater) Girls! Girls! Girls! (Man loves boat, boat is love, boat is life) Harum Scarum (Racist, offensive, intoxication is a must) Frankie and Johnny (CAMP, pure camp, Elvis gets shot and it's fabulous) Paradise, Hawaiian Style (Love hexagon, he flies a helicopter with a bunch of dogs, gets stranded on an island? It's better than Blue Hawaii, fight me) Double Trouble (A murder plot in an Elvis movie?? Three bumbling detectives take up a majority of the third act, is it funny? No.) Clambake (Elvis wears a suit that looks like a baseball. Races a boat. I forgot about this movie yet it will always haunt me) The Trouble with Girls (So close to being a good-ish. I can't remember the plot. VINCENT PRICE makes a cameo)

See it once for the sake of the marathon (Struggle to keep yourself awake during these beauties): Fun in Acapulco (The child actor made me black out. Elvis is a former circus performer or something) Roustabout (He's hot in a leather jacket, thats about it) Spinout (I always confuse this for Speedway) Easy Come, Easy Go (The worst one. It's not offensive, it's not shocking. It's three episodes of a TV show from the 60s that no one watched) Stay Away, Joe (Imo, just as offensive than Harum Scarum, surreal comedy, funny? No.) Speedway (I always confuse this for Spinout) Charro! (A good movie, compelling, and boring as fuck, Elvis is hot)

[rebornnebulasystem]

Hello Tumblr, I’m Rev from the Reborn Nebula System, and here are our most frequent fronters, starting with me

Rev (🪦)

- He/They/It prns, System Host and former Persecutor, I front the most and do our day to day things.

I’m a fictive of Revivebur from the Dream SMP, and I do still somewhat relate to source, but it’s very barely

Mike (🧨)

- He/Him prns, Protector and Information Manager, he mostly fronts whenever, and just loves to update things, especially our Simply Plural, it only looks that good thanks to him.

He is a fictive of Vilbur from the Dream SMP, and like most of us, is also not very connected to source

Voided (🌌)

- They/Them prns, Persecutor and self proclaimed Professional Asshole, they front just to be a playful prick, but sometimes to try protecting us, emphasis on TRY.

They are the most disconnected from their source, being another Revivebur fictive, and they absolutely hate source, so dont mention anything about it

R (👓)

- He/Him prns, Host and former Gatekeeper, a chill (pun intended) fella who has a deep passion for sleeping and stealing cheese, all hail the rat king/ij

He is sourced from the Editor Wilbur ARG as an introject of R. Fakier, but is very disconnected from source

Nyx/Toms (🦝)

- He/It/Feral prns, Minor host, he doesnt really front much, and he’s fairly new so you cant blame it

Ferals a fuzztive of Tommy from the Dream SMP, specifically depictions of him as a racoon

And finally, Silas (🏢)

- He/They prns, Internal Protector and Admin, He does what needs sorting in headspace, or things that Mike cant handle in the real world

He is a fictive of Siren from Tommyinnits Clinic for Supervillains

Those are just the most frequent fronters, ask us who we should introduce next

[fantasyinvader]

Last night I read Batman White Knight. It’s reminding me of how I walked out of The Last Jedi liking it because of the strength of the ending, but as I turned it over in my head the more problems I had with the story.

The basics is this: Joker becomes sane after being force-fed some pills designed by the OG Harley Quinn, who videos Batman doing the feeding and posts it online. People begin turning against Batman, who is in a bad place due to Alfred being sick and dying, which Jack (formerly the Joker) uses to his advantage. He wants to clean Gotham up as it’s White Knight, which includes going after the police and Batman.

It’s an interesting idea on paper, but I feel that the title of White Knight comes across as more of a reference towards certain individuals on the internet.

Take the Joker for instance. The early chapters try to make him out to be actually not a big threat. He just tried to rob a bank dressed as a clown, which had the police and media label him a super criminal. He claims he was fed drugs which turned him into the Joker. Hell, the book treats it as him becoming sane, it’s comes across as the Joker was a split personality and Harley’s medicine allows Jack to regain control. It wants to paint the Joker as his more harmless Silver Age self. No evidence of him being involved in major crimes, no killing Jason Todd (torturing him, yes, but no kill), no crippling Batgirl.

But then Harley is called out by her replacement, Marian Drews, for falling in love with a SERIAL KILLER. So we’re left with “Joker did nothing too bad” followed up by him having murdered at least 3 people within a period greater than a month.

Speaking of Harley, this book operates on the logic that there were two Harley Quinns. The OG Harley who sides with Jack, and the one dressed like she is in the first Suicide Squad movie. The former is meant to represent everything good about Harley, like her intelligence while the latter is everything bad about what Harley has become. There’s even a comment from the former about how the latters outfit sets feminism back… but that ignores that the Jester outfit is meant to represent Harley Quinn being Joker’s battered girlfriend and the more sexualized looks, after Arkham Asylum, represents her dumping the Joker and her having more autonomy with her body. New Harley breaks up with the asshole and sometimes even acts as a hero, but this is supposed to be the Harley that we’re not meant to root for. The one that becomes Neo-Joker when she takes over Jack’s plot.

Which is a doozy. Jack has Clayface mind-controlled by Mad Hatter’s stuff, and then invites all of Gotham’s villains to drink with him. He slips pieces of Two-Face into the drinks, allowing him to control all of Gotham’s supervillains at once. He uses this as an army to cause a distraction while he goes through Gotham’s paperwork to discover that there’s a fund set up (to the tune of 3 Billion dollars) yearly to cover damages occurred in the midst of Batman’s crime fighting. Oh, and he engineers it so Batman destroys a library he was building in Backwater to make him look bad.

Joker uses the Batman Devastation Fund to get elected, and his solution to the supercriminals (who he’s controlling until Neo-Joker hijacks his plan) is to get elected into city council and… use the money, money that was meant to repair Gotham, to fund a new branch of police. Vigilantes with badges, body-cams and more advanced tech. He’s somehow allowed to defund the BDF to create a more powerful police force to arrest Batman. And people are cheering him on because “he’s a victim,” and “he’s going after the 1% and Gotham’s gatekeepers.” It even plays his mental illness as a Jekyll and Hyde thing, split personality complete with his body physically changing between the two forms with Jack unaware of everything Joker’s done.

It would make more sense if the meds actually caused him to develop a split personality, with OG Harley molding him into the man she wanted.

Meanwhile, people who keep reminding us that this is the Joker we’re talking about are presented in a bad light. Batman’s deteriorating due to the stress of Alfred’s illness and death. Guy on TV describes them as SJWs. But in end, Batman is willing to hand over military grade tech to the police and unmasks himself to Gordon. So what is the final message here, with all our concerns about police brutality? Give the police more funding but also more accountability? Never mind Jack’s new cops end up turning Gotham into a police state in the later sequels, or how even Harley talks about how Jack didn’t play by the rules and how messed up what he did was. And the story ends with the meds no longer working and Joker taking over for good.

People say that this was a deconstruction of Batman before the final chapters made it a reconstruction. To me, it feels more like the editors told the writers to change things during publication. It doesn’t feel like it has the knowledge about the source material to make it work (hence Jason Todd being the first Robin because the writer couldn’t be asked to look it up) and they wanted to do this big statement against Batman only for them to screw things up resulting in an ending to try and fix things.

But it felt like it was just white knighting Joker and Harley until the end, when it's revealed Gotham needs Bats and the BDF was paid entirely by him. Kinda reminds me of the time my sister asked what their deal was, because she saw people on facebook acting like they had a great relationship. I explained their history and she couldn’t believe people thought they were something to aspire to.

[actias-android]

Re: the heartedness vs kin discussion... what if species euphoria is pretty much the entire thing though? I did enter the community identifying as dragonkin but I felt a bit odd about it, because I love being referred to as a dragon and I would seek extensive body modification if it were viable (particularly for the former), but I have no kin memories and have never really had that intrinsic, instinctual "I'm looking at a picture of my species" feeling while looking at dragon depictions. By and

(cont'd) large I really can't relate to most dragonkin because of that. The euphoria factor is why I would personally call what I've been calling a hearttype as of yet stronger than my polymorph status, which is largely a neutral fact of life. I don't want to be dismissed as wishkin by the alterhuman community in general

That does make some sense, though I'd also say that you don't need memories, because it's entirely possible to have not been that thing before now; I don't have past life memories of being fae because I'm fae in this lifetime, not some other time. I think the overreliance on memories is actually harmful to the discovery processes of people who just don't have them. They're simply another tool in the decision-making box, that's all. I do have some kind of memories for my fictotype but I've held my identity as fae for damn near almost a decade now without a single one that I didn't make in this life.

Also, anyone who looks at an earnestly-held identity and calls it wishful thinking or calls you wishkin for having that identity is an asshole that you don't need to listen to. Seriously, fuck that entire attitude and anyone who holds it.

I don't really relate to faekin in any real way myself. A lot of their experiences are ethereal and shiny and mystical and courtly, and I'm like, a fuzzy, short, extremely earth-aligned solitary thing. I don't see the first hint of myself in, say, the sidhe or Tuatha Dé Danann. I'm not even entirely sure we're related except in the 'fae is a ridiculously broad category' way.

Obviously I'm a different person and I'm going to weight my experiences and such a little differently, but the thing you're describing is very, very close to my not-a-hearttype identities. The self-recognition is really the only difference, but the thing I probably need to make clear about what I mean when I say "look at a picture and recognize myself" is that I'm an artist. The pictures I most recognize myself in are generally drawn by me, for me. I can and have sat there and tweaked drawings of myself until they fit very closely, but a lot of them started from being not really quite there.

If hearttype is the right label for you, then hey, that's the right label for you, and that's cool. I can vibe with getting body mods on the basis of a hearttype because I've done that too. On the whole though I think for a lot of people they just aren't all that intense. I can't speak for everyone and I'm not saying they can't be, but the average experience seems to be on the lower end of the intensity scale.

And I think it's doing hearttypes and kintypes both a disservice to say, "okay, well, it's not a Real Kintype, so it shouldn't be taking up space in kin discussions," when the distinction is already so murky to begin with and there's more to be gained from comparing and contrasting than there is shunting people out on the basis of...whatever the basis is, I'm not even sure. It happens less than it used to but there have definitely been times I've gotten the distinct impression that 'heartedness has been used as a throwaway category to gatekeep people out for being Not Kin Enough, and that's just bullshit (and also I will adopt all those folks into the General Vague Nonhuman Community and we can compare notes and not give a single shit what anyone else says).

[sugar-petals]

Can you tell us how to please a soft sub and hard sub? Like what could a guy enjoy?

it’s 95% individual, i’d ask + negotiate before ideas for play. i can suggest scenes but still, it might not be his limits. to remember is what differenciates the two: hard subs enjoy pain + power, soft subs don’t.

you can likely please the latter if you’re a gentle femdom aficionado. still depends on what kind of GFD you like, but you can grow into the role you agree on, shift. it’s a bit easier: fewer prerequisites. ofc there’s etiquette + talent, but you can please by tuning into the role pretty well. 

the former: not as flexible. there are set qualities. understand this as a ‘needed with good reason’ profile rather than gatekeeping. sadism is the requirement. no 50-50 zone, you feeling that you are a natural is key. your sub won’t be happy if you merely try it. it’s usually clear to a domme anyways, you either lick your fingers for s/m or not.

↳ as for specific kinks. what i can give you is a list of things to AVOID for each.💡it’s a roundabout way to see what he prefers and each sub’s a different case but it’s a compass.

✏︎ soft subs — don’ts

hair-pulling -> choose fondles and pats instead wherever he likes it the most.

name-calling -> praise is usually preferred

yelling -> whispering/soft-spoken, this is an asmr zone ☁️

hard spanking -> lighter squeezes

no squishy props -> use pillows, blankets, plushies if he wants. but, in any case, you’ll need pillows. can’t have enough of those.

tears -> only as a spontaneous release [during aftercare], most soft subs aren’t into dacryphilia

chaos -> soft subs love consistency. 

too much genitalia focus -> don’t forget the smooches and forehead kisses, and massages possibly. if he likes that, tend to seemingly neglegible body parts even, like ears and toes. boop the nose.

toy overwhelm -> back to basics, never forget he loves your hands. idea: choose pastels for color if you do get toys. dramatic black/red/metal is for the hardcore femdom department and suits the mood better. you likely have that preference already if you strictly soft dom.

breath play -> stick to neck kisses. mouth gags, same thing, he probably isn’t comfortable with it.

leaving marks -> 50-50, again, ask what kind you can and cannot leave. if he likes it, do 20% marks, 80% affection.

pragmatic, planned aftercare -> make it extensive + adapt easily. seems counterintuitive since hard subs take a lot more, but let me tell you soft subs think aftercare is literal catnip. if you’re a big brain domme, you transfer some aftercare favorites to the main act. also, about pragmatism: unlike with hard subs (see list below: #21), come up with a more fine-tuned safeword/limit system. these are play scenes where you can go into many different directions so that’s why. 

straightforward -> it’s no problem if you’re the indirect or shy type as a domme, it’s about careful questions toward him here. many soft subs approach their dommes well with wishes. ironically, hard subs are the other way around, they might anticipate more unless they’re very extroverted. the biggest hard subs were the quiet kiddos at school 😉 soft subs can be bubbly and reveal their demands rather easily.

deprioritize your orgasm -> make him tend to you in a lazy, slow demeanour. spoil each other.

all over the place -> stick to bedroom bed, bathtub and couch unless otherwise requested. the point is to have a safe and comfortable spot.

breaking him -> never push, always guide. again, consistency, no highs and lows.

suppressing critique -> he wants to know where to improve, show him exactly how to do things the right way and work with mistakes. not humiliating, more like teaching. 

dungeon -> keep it above ground. 

hands-on ownership -> show him he belongs to you in other ways. spoil him, that’s the best way.

high heels -> too impractical for 80% of GFD activities. fetish gear generally doesn’t work here. just mentioning, it’s probably already clear to everyone. and, purely soft dommes don’t gravitate towards dominatrix fashion in the first place.

passive -> unlike with hard subs, you likely do a lot of the work. soft dommes are busier than people expect.

atmosphere? -> switch on the fairy lights, candles, make it dim. make it as romantic as possible.

power imbalance -> air to breathe for any hard sub, but soft subs prefer flatter hierarchies. mind you, your position is still one of guidance. 

✏︎ hard subs — don’ts

tender voice > grit and growl in their ear aye

questions > proportion-wise, give more commands instead.

no tools -> introduce some devices according to your couple taste.

lenience -> tame that provocateur 😄 you define where his place is. show him, physically. under your foot, kneeling, bowing? find that perfect position for the two of you. 

only caressing > choke and slap him, but ask/announce right beforehand.

unbridled aggression -> misguided way of dominance unless it’s primal play. i know it’s more negatively connotated but deliberate brutality is the word, you exact it while keeping rather cool. unless... he fancies you as the angry mistress, or passionate, punishing. but then again, no aggression. just brutality. the difference is huge. the more sadistic the play, the more contained your action. not all understated, just very directed and according to how you spoke about it, and according to the feedback in front of you. you get perfect awareness, not dizzy tunnel vision and fluctuating feelings. i say brutality because it indicates a person knows what they’re doing. aggression and anger means you bottle your judgement. the brain switches off there, it gets too erratic. also, aggression is less severe and a means to an end while brutality is for its own sake and goes heavy which is what hard subs enjoy: since they’re masochists. aggressive and violent dommes are just assholes, brutal hard dommes... are good dommes. 😛

free reign clothes -> tell him what type of outfit makes him domme candy. experiment plenty. don’t worry, most hard subs enjoy being told what to wear. and even if they don’t, suggesting it won’t piss them off. also, you can get strict and exacting as fuck with this. hard subs want your possessiveness in creative ways.

plain undressed -> chances are CFNM could be a hot idea sometimes, or fetish wear which is often appreciated in all things hardcore. then again, dressing up is no must, but definitely try all-black outfits, suits etc, whatever makes you radiate authority and the upper hand. remember, hierarchy. your superiority is what he enjoys during sex, he actually gets confused if you don’t show it in your particular way. if it’s not clothes, it’s the voice, anyway. the voice lives in his head rent free.

no control -> full body attention, grope him the way he likes. also, the nape of his neck is where your hand belongs. guiding his head is just...mmh ❤️

monotony -> hard subs like a rollercoaster. roleplay = perfect opportunity.

static plans -> important: hard subs learn fast. since pain-pleasure is involved their sensations are more intense so feedback is usually unequivocal. mind you, soft subs can sort their preferences well but for them it takes exposure to variety.

what’s a nipple? -> pinching and more is most likely welcome. ask and test.

spoiling -> spoiling no. rewards, yes. he works for it. what does he work towards? pleasing you completely. in your body and commands.

shy domme -> when it comes down to it, you need to be resolute and eloquent. if you struggle with it, e.g. start with being stoic. pick your favorite pokerface and have a signature smirk lmao! and definitely do in-depth talks. yes, about his desires. unlike soft subs, some guys take more time to open up here. 

dry -> lube. keep it wet, especially his tear ducts anyway. 

unsure experiments/not knowing the outcome -> seriously tackle and prepare skills. yes, whip your pillow first. you can ‘try’ things with soft subs, but you ‘do’ things with hard subs. why? less room for errors. you please him by being precise. don’t let it intimidate you, simply take it as a responsibility he respects you greatly for.

heels -> hard subs might like that. plus, you’ll often simply stand. he does lots of the work. hard dommes can be more laid-back than you’d expect. remember, you kick his ass and give orders. he’s a pretty active party. exception: he’s tied up.

hesitation -> hard dommes have to be quick. especially since we edge a lot. also, never hesitate to praise.

forgetting skin -> stimulate large areas as much as you can.

unarmed -> chances are he likes knife play, ask about it.

too much caution and pampering -> an insult to his esteem. i’m not kidding. he feels in his element when you don’t hold back anxiously. trust his strength 😊 it’s a perk of femdom in the first place, you may be working on more muscles and often more space on the body, most maledoms don’t have that luxury. the same goes for safewording, keep it simple and applicable for the heat/reflex of the moment. it’s counterproductive to be overcautious since it makes it too complex.

the usual spot -> if he’s down: play everywhere, consider every room together. a cold and hard surface does something for a hard sub. as does rug burn if he likes that. make him do all kinds of things 100% naked on a carpet while you watch, it’s so humiliating. i did it, the result was my sub discovering even higher levels of sluttiness. 

suppression -> ask him to let it out vocally when he’s shy or not experienced. you’ll both love what follows. most hard subs are screamers. i hope you don’t have neighbors.

soft illumination -> use artificial light. not just to make your patient - doctor roleplay perfect, but because a hard domme needs to see what she’s doing for safety reasons already. use your (soy wax!) candles to ruin his back instead.

serious -> hardcore femdom is at its best when it’s peppered with little giggles. bring a feather just in case.

PS: these can even apply if they enjoy doing both, you have to match your tone according to the mood and plan then.

[crusherthedoctor]

What are your current thoughts on SSMB?

Same as they've always been. It's a shadow of its former self, and its former self was already far from flattering to begin with, especially in hindsight. I'm grateful for making some of my closest friends on there, but that's about it, and they jumped ship alongside me anyway. Tumblr has its issues, but at least the Sonic community here doesn't try to make me feel like shit for being a Sonic fan. It's also not quite as full of opinion gatekeeping as SSMB.

Random side note: SSMB has ruined the phrase “tells it like it is” for me, since when I used to be on there, that form of praise was often used for members who just so happened to be antagonistic assholes. So whenever someone is described as “telling it like it is”, I assume it's just a polite way of saying “I know this person is a cunt, but it's okay because their opinions are the same as mine”.

[actualaster]

im sure a lot are absolutely playing the "pedo" card to discredit people but like... a lot say it because after predators and radfems tell them that "bad fiction and whatever radfems hate" is why they are hurt, they're gonna believe it. and then they'll either snap out of it from the cognitive dissonance, or they'll just decide to play along and hurt more people, for whatever reason. - former anti, current pro shipper tl;dr: as a traumatized person, we're really susceptible to brainwashing.

That’s also very, very true.  And not something to be overlooked.

I wonder if it’s a cycle with predatory assholes (such as abusers and radfems and various exclusionistic gatekeepers and such) starting out using such accusations and manipulating the emotional results and then that method being learned by current antis?

(I wanna say, though, that I’m very proud of you and glad for you, anon, that you were able to get out of the anti mindset.  I’ve seen so many stories of people who fell in because they’d been hurt, or they just didn’t know better, and how hard many found it to leave and I’m really glad you’ve managed to get out of there.  That takes courage and I really hope you’re in a better place as well, in regards to your trauma.)