#how anyone can deny this is a genocide is beyond me

[news4dzhozhar]

[gunbun]

this post is about the cultural concerns regarding ffxiv: dawntrail

Hi doods. Activism has brushed up against fandom YET AGAIN but this time it punches me straight in the heritage and this time I wanna talk about it.

I'm a non-status Qalipu Mik'maq, for the record. An Indigenous American, if thou wilt.

I discuss some pretty heavy shit below the cut. I pray it persists across all devices. Please advise if you want me to tag this as something, or block the tags I have used. I do not need anyone to spread this on my behalf, I do not need anyone's defense. I just have some thoughts and I want to think them.

So it's been less than 24 hours since Dawntrail was announced and we got the Keynote.

We're going to Fantasy The Americas! Before Industrialization!

Many people went "oh hell yeah, that's Brazil, this is gonna be great! We don't usually see this!"

On Twitter especially, many MORE people lost their goddamn minds, citing CBU3's prior wobbles with depicting foreign/indigenous persons.

And of course, the White Community Leaders are out in force performing pre-emptive outrage or even asking people to quit FFXIV in light of this announcement.

I'm here to ask folks not to do that.

What follows is my tweet-thread about it.

"It is perfectly okay to be waiting and seeing how Tural is going to be portrayed in Dawntrail. It's okay to have a concern.

It is NOT okay to come out preemptively swinging and performing outrage.

Because blood quanta are their own touchy subject I usually don't bring this up, but I am the class of indigenous person what represents "what's left".

And I fucking tell you now I don't need the opinions of Concerned White People.

I do not need Concerned White People telling me what colonialism is.

I do not need Concerned White People telling me to be mad.

I do need Concerned White People to realise that the above two actions are microaggressive as fuuuuck.

"but Jai, aren't you White?"

colonialism and genocide comes in many forms. this includes forcing indigenous persons to assimilate or be killed.

also stuff like reinforcing the idea that being indigenous is shameful so that when their descendants find out, they deny it."

Thus ended my tweet thread. There's one more tweet linking to qalipu.ca.

So I want to write more about this on Tumblr.

I really want to make sure that folks take a hard look at what they're concerned about and why.

Like… a lot of White Concern about the use of indigenous motifs in Dawntrail is itself a brand of anti-indigenous racism.

Thinking that the MSQ is going to automatically be about the Scions starting a colonialism in Tural? That's a pretty gross thing to say in the same breath y'all complain about Always Fantasy Europe.

Calling "cultural appropriation" when everyday items are displayed and depicted in the manner in which they were/are used (gulal, curry)? Way to exoticise foreign and indigenous cultures by thinking that everything they make, wear, use, or eat is something of Deep Cultural Significance that Cannot Ever Be Shared With Outsiders. Saris and salwar kameez are just as culturally significant as skirts and slacks. Moccasins are just shoes.

And moreover, getting preemptively Concerned when thus far THERE IS LITERALLY NO NEED TO BE CONCERNED is actually kind of beyond the pale. I haven't seen many indigenous folks and/or folks from South America being anything but pleased that this time The Americas gets a cool pastiche like Europe, Asia, and India have gotten in the past. There's an undercurrent of "oh no, I hope it's not bad stereotypes" which is ABSOLUTELY OKAY. Reblog and retweet what THOSE people are saying. Do not add commentary.

Preemptively saying "you're worried" about your South American/Indigenous friends with zero indication that they're bothered? Come the actual fuck on. We are not a monolithic group that you can "be concerned" for to get a pat on the back later as a Good Person. Do not Perform the I'm A Good Person And The Worst Thing You Could Do is CALL Me A Racist dance.

Don't "get ahead of the discourse". Not every conversation needs your fucking input. Shut your mouth.

What is and isn't an Offensive Portrayal of Indigenous Americans is a lot more nuanced than most people who like to perform outrage make it out to be.

We can and will speak up for ourselves. Share our words and our concerns if you must. Do not go and distill our words and turn us into the monolith you hide behind to perpetuate white saviourism and neocolonialism.

We aren't a monolith of poor uneducated people who don't understand what the europeans did that need to be uwu protected.

[fuckyeah-bears]

to the person sending me hateful anon messages, reporting me, and trying to remove the posts i've reblogged that palestinian people themselves are sharing because they want the world to see the despicable cruelties israel is doing to them,

i pity you for your misguided rage. i am not the problem in this situation. i am not responsible for israel committing genocide. if you are upset by these images and the things being done, i implore you to take action against israel. i implore you to take action against your government and demand that they pressure israel in any and every means necessary to stop committing this violence. i implore you to boycott products and companies that are funding and supporting israel's genocide and colonialist settler economy. i implore you to direct your anger and hatred at the people and governments actually responsible for the beyond upsetting content you are seeing.

i do not deny this is disgusting upsetting content. and i am so sorry that it is triggering emotions and memories and pain for you. i genuinely genuinely am. but you need to understand that shouting at me and other people sharing this content specifically to raise awareness for the crimes israel (and almost every single western government and media channel) is, as we speak, actively trying to downplay, sanitize, erase, misrepresent, and deny, is so misguided and counterproductive.

i in no way speak for the people of palestine, but from the countless videos and messages i have seen and heard from them, many have given up on the world actually doing anything to stop the horrors being done to them. they have given up hoping for a world that has never cared about them or their suffering, that has completely and utterly abandoned them, to suddenly change and force israel to stop. i have heard and seen so many people in gaza say that they want their suffering and lives to be remembered and seen. they want it to be recorded so we can bear witness to what is being done to them. so maybe one day the world will remember that they were human beings who were brutalized and massacred by an uncaring cruel regime and abandoned by an uncaring cruel world.

obviously this is not the stance of all palestinians, nor all people of gaza, but i am sharing the videos and content they themselves are recording and sharing in the hopes it can do something to help, however small, if only by bearing witness to their pain and suffering and making sure they are not dying alone without anyone in the outside world grieving for them. i am hoping it can motivate people to action.

i also want you to know that i take absolutely zero pleasure in this. i find this content utterly horrific and beyond disturbing. it sickens me and i want nothing more than for this violence to stop. but i can't look away. because looking away and pretending it's not happening, or sanitizing just how disgustingly cruel and inhumane the israeli government is would be despicable cowardice and yet another betrayal to the people of palestine.

i also want to emphasize to everyone that sharing videos and photos and posts on social media is by no means anywhere near enough. it is something, absolutely, but you need to do more. we all need to do more. if you profess to care at all about palestinian people and their suffering, you need to do everything in your power to help.

so here's what you, as people who care about palestinians can do:

unless directly asked not to by the people of gaza, keep sharing their videos, photos, posts, and stories.

talk to the people around you, especially the ones who are either not following what's going on or have been brainwashed by the biased pro-israel propaganda.

write to your government leaders and elected officials and anyone else who holds a position of power. email them and call them and tell them to take action. tell them to demand a ceasefire. tell them to condemn israel. tell them to stop funding israel. keep calling them again and again.

publicly call out and shame your elected/government leaders for their hypocrisy and bias

write op-eds or blog posts or newspaper articles for any media outlet explaining what's going on and telling people to take action

counter and speak out against toxic pro-israeli narratives that dehumanize palestinians

attend protests and rallies in support of palestine near you

attend protests and rallies trying to shut down weapons manufacturers that are making the weapons that are being sent to israel (i will share more information on this in another post)

follow palestinian accounts on social media and accounts that are reporting on the truth (i will make a separate post with a list of accounts people can follow)

write to your institutions like universities, colleges, etc. and demand they release statements in support of palestine

donate to reputable relief orgs (i will make a separate post with more info later)

read up on the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement and loudly boycott companies that support or fund israel. tell other people to boycott those same companies. boycott all israeli companies and products.

educate yourself and others around you on the history of palestine and the israeli occupation and oppression

do not be silent!

if anyone has more things people can do to help, please please add to this list.

so once again, feeling angry is a good thing. if you are not spitting furious and utterly sickened and disgusted by what israel is doing to palestine and her people and the fact that so many of our countries and leaders and media outlets are actively supporting israel's despicable war crimes, then you are not fully human. you should be angry. you should be furious. you should be sickened. but please turn that rage and fury and grief and disgust into something productive that has a chance of helping end this violence and suffering. turn your rage and fury and grief and disgust to the people and institutions responsible for this, not the people trying to stand by the people of palestine and do everything they can to stop this horrific genocide.

Free Palestine 🇵🇸

[olderthannetfic]

https://www.tumblr.com/olderthannetfic/733646414551400449/httpswwwtumblrcomolderthannetfic733409473777?source=share

i'm not prev anon but to me fandom bystander shit is just like.... as you said, don't egg on harassment campaigns, and i would also say, maybe just decide certain shit is beyond the pale and more important than fandom stuff. like, i'm tired of people making excuses for how sarah z falsely accused someone of being a terf (a thing that does nothing but hurt trans women by making terf accusations less credible) and encouraged her followers to harass her, and then played innocent "i didn't outright say to doxx her i didn't do the doxxing!" when she got doxxed, over the fact that that person made a post about how to frame progressive U.S. political goals in a way that will get more moderates on your side (without actually changing those political goals) and sarah z, a canadian with no stake in the game, decided that was "cringe." and every time you point this out, you will get so many defenders rushing in to tell you about how but her videos are good!!! i mean, they're not that good, and there are other people on youtube who are not harassers who make equally good or better ones on the same topics, but also, maybe some things should be more important to you than videos summarizing years-old fandom drama? what room do you have to laugh and cringe about the TJLC people if you're going to support someone who does the same thing?

or likewise, this isn't about fandom so much but i really wish more people on tumblr would decide that tankies who cheered on the russian invasion of ukraine or who deny genocides like the holodomor, a weirdly large group on this website, are people they should at least unfollow if not block no matter what else they offer. there's a popular blog here, heritageposts, that just reposts old "classic" tumblr posts with the "date of origin" (something that can usually be seen on the post itself) that also uses their massive number of followers to post pro-north-korean propaganda and pro-stalin stuff denying his atrocities, and people are just like, whatever, the heritage posts - posts that person didn't even make, but is reposting from others - are funny. like, really? you're just going to put up with them basically being a genocide denier because they reblog funny posts? when there are a million other blogs on here that do the same thing that aren't tankies?

like i think the idea is just like: have some standards, and don't support terrible people because of some other relatively small thing they do (that plenty of other people do). and that there's a difference between this and the idea that you should write anyone off over the most minor transgression. these are big things, and the "positives" are relatively small. doxxing people and genocide denial should be dealbreakers for you.

--

And on a lighter note, I do wish that people would have the balls to go on publicly interacting with ostracism targets. Yes, it paints a target on your own back. No, it does not invite the same level of drama as directly going after the people posting spurious callouts.

[delta-chan]

Map Six Thoughts 2: Electric Boogaloo: Return of the Map

As it turns out, I have more scattered thoughts to air out--this time regarding some reactions to this map, because oh man. What I'm seeing is kind of amazing! Spoilers, of course...

As I've said before, I love Living Memory's gimmick.

Going from place to place, shutting off the terminals and letting the projections of the long dead go to rest--symbolic of actually letting go in the same context. Yet another lesson on the ephemerality of life, and how you must cherish the things you have now before they're gone--and they will be gone. Good stuff!

In any case--I've seen some fascinating things unfold: bargaining and denial.

People are clinging to Living Memory beyond acknowledging they can "go back to it" with new game+, coming up with reasons how and why Living Memory could "return to normal" without doing so in the course of the story going forward.

"The problem of using up energy could be solved with dynamis instead of aether!" "I think that we should restore it so Alexandrians could live there!" "We need to help!" "It might be like the Empty!" "We committed genocide to save ourselves, we're no better than ascians, we have to make it right!"

"TAKE ME BACK TO THE GOLDEN CITY"

I find this fascinating--in missing the point, these desires prove the point in an interesting sort of irony. In lieu of letting go, they react with desperation like someone about to lose someone or something, right down to things that would be impossible within the lore of the game. The lesson is driven home all the same, but the takeaway is different--and it's likely that some don't even notice.

It doesn't even matter that the existence of Living Memory is such an immense aether sink that it's destroyed worlds--there has to be some sort of way to start it up again without hurting anyone though this is very much untrue. Living Memory is like Midgar--it dips into the lifestream for energy, and once that energy is used up it is no longer available. This is why Alexandria moves--its existence, when tied to Living Memory, is completely unsustainable. The text says as much. If it requires that much energy to exist as a gold-hued paradise, it's all but impossible to keep active without destroying whatever space it's inhabiting.

As for why it should be brought back:

"We need to bring the people back because what we did was wrong" To what end? What would this accomplish? What would their quality of life be? Because for one Endless to stop existing, the entire terminal needs to be shut down.

"We need to keep it as a record of Alexandria's history" From what we saw in the Alexandria of Sphene's memories Living Memory is not Alexandria. It is has a small, idealized version of Alexandria within it--like a theme park. It is the only place within it that has any "historical" significance.

"People could live there"

Live where?

Using NG+ I turned back the clock, and the thing is--Living Memory is just that. A memory projected onto blocks of electrope.

There's nothing there.

There's legit nothing there.

The doors and windows we see in Living Memory are only there for the dead, like the food. They can go in and out of these "buildings" and see what they have to because they're data. Like sims, they can disappear into a "rabbit hole" and while for the living they entered what's essentially the shell of a building they actually went inside. Living Memory is useless to the living outside of being harvested for the electrope within.

Not a single "building" within Living Memory is an actual building.

So why would it be brought back...? It's nothing but a memory that's actively destructive to hang onto and those that are stored within its terminals are practically doomed to be there for eternity. It's not for them, it can't be for them, and it certainly isn't for the Alexandrians.

It's for you.

And no matter how much you deny it, the past is past and outside of hopping backwards with NG+ for some quick shots it is never coming back. If it did, it would not only defeat the purpose of the map but undermine a large part of the conflict of the second half of the story.

Wanting it to return is like clinging to a gravestone hoping it'll bring the dead back to life.

[brick-van-dyke]

Also, okay. This is going to be a bit, or VERY, controversial right now and maybe it's a bit much to think about in light of the dread many are feeling...

And yet, there's so much power in understanding how to become fearless in the face of persecution. It's something we're all capable of, but something we don't realise when we're isolated (and I don't simply mean socially, but in terms of having a solid community that will literally and physically protect you).

So, here's a story for all of you of how I became unafraid and how, I hope, you may find a way to break through this dread like I did.

Look. As a transgender person in the middle of transition, who saw the Florida genocide, and yes they were laws constituting a genocide in he eyes of international law towards transgender people in that state and that led to immense violence towards us, all while Biden was in? I... personally just began to feel numb towards every politician or anyone else anymore because they all very evidently wanted/ want us dead. Maybe this comes from a place of ignorance as an Australian queer who doesn't fully comprehend the nuances of state powers versus the president's ability to prevent genocides within their own country, or who has seen the worsening of how we're treated both here and in the US by those who pretend to be our allies only to turn around and support bills aimed at eradicating us. Yet, regardless, I just can't move past this block where I just no longer can only fear Trump, because Biden already made me fear him and every single other politician because we have been dying this whole fucking time over and over and over while people forgot our names the minute they stopped trending. I became so tired by the mass persecution trans people have been facing for so long that I couldn't only feel dread for Trump, because I continued beyond him and people forgot that we were dying before him. I'm numb and only have the desire to rebel against the whole damn system. It's only pushed me further and further into realising I want to eradicate any ability for any people like this to be able to enforce these laws and do nothing in he face of the violence we face every single day. And, more than anything right now, I just cannot fathom how it is possible to see all those years upon years of bigotry, both before and after Trump, and see democrats as allies. All the while they are not only physically endorsing Trump's policies in the context of law, but have had the audacity to claim they don't do so and believe the opposite on camera. It infuriates me and I think it's important to recognise the exhaustion of trans people amidst all of this while we think about the genuine threat of Trump, yet forget the horrors of every other politician who will still enforce Trump's policies while denying they do.

I just can't be scared of Trump alone and hold any hope in other politicians anymore because my greatest fear of "seeing yet another genocide of queer people" was realised over and over after 2020 Biden was in and I now have to acknowledge that, no, democrats are very okay with not intervening in or preventing a genocide against people like me, if not even actively agreeing with it while crying crocodile ears, saying they care so much and morn is while they vote against us in the senate and in state elections. Within that realisation, there was this dread; the understanding that it actually will be the same result for us in the end no matter what a politician says because they'll endorse the other side behind the scenes and that is scary. I spent a long time from 2020 onwards being afraid because the policies Trump introduced in 2016 were not fixed, because I kept seeing that apathy from the democrats as worse and worse policies continued to be implemented even though Trump as supposed to be fine; because I felt nothing changed when Biden was in at all. And this was all even before Florida, though that was the final nail in the coffin where I completely realised how much democrats will actively support our demise and then swear up and down they Won't do that while actively doing that in pratice.

And, now, seeing the imperialist genocide in Palestine and Palestinians internationally having this same dread as me of realising they, too, are the price democrats are willing to pay while dealing on the same stage of people like Trump... Yeah, that shit hurts. But you know what else I learnt in that? The people who suffer the same prosecution from the nation(s) that oppress you will have your back; that community can be something that destroys fascism. Our shared existence has power, one I didn't have in 2016, 2020 or 2023 when people like me dying in the news was just, y'know, the news again and everyone would forget the names of the trans women lynched. Because I know how little trans people mattered to those in power when I was alone, but when I found other people willing to create that change with us? To fight alongside us and protect us? It changed things. I stopped feeling afraid.

I began to speak with indigenous rights advocates in Australia and the US, an I realised I was not alone in feeling like every single politician would sign our death warrant for the right price. I found a community that, irrespective of who was in and what happened in policy, would always protest and, if need be, physically protect me from those policies being enacted. I realised I wasn't alone.

The start may begin with a dress so deep that you feel all motivation to live leave you. But when you realise how many are willing to battle, tooth, nail, pepper spray and all to defend you and keep you safe? When you form those communities where you know you will be protected and you meet people you would rather die than not protect? When you see people from every walk of life fight against the same thing for the sake of all of us? You learn confidence in that and you find the dread ceases. In its place, you feel a warm, burning hope that won't leave until you and this like and unlike yourself are free from all persecution.

[thiagitobits]

really sickening that every single country, organization and person stated that this is a terrible idea and israel decided to go for it anyway. how anyone can deny this is a genocide after today is beyond me.

[dearweirdme]

https://www.tumblr.com/dearweirdme/744124244267532289/httpswwwtumblrcomdearweirdme7439638002697011

anon is not keeping themselves updated. there’s a reason things have picked up momentum, that’s how pressure works. fans are louder because they are fed up with not being heard despite months of trying. hybe released a statement basically saying that’s his personal view that has nothing to do with company and THAT is what caused a spike in fandom response. there is also an zionist settler on one of hobi’s tracks, THAT also caused a wave of anger.

that man is credited in a lot of hybe’s albums, including most of bts’ solo works too so there’s no “jk’s album should’ve required more action” about it. he’s everywhere.

the problem with this attitude is you don’t actually view zionism for what it is. the representative of hybe is using his massive platform to target an ethnic group who are part of our fandom. he is daily spreading vile propaganda that puts their lives at risk. he is for their ethnic cleansing. he is denying the genocide against them. zionism is n@zism. why would anyone respond passively to this?

Hi anon!

If the man is making his personal views public Hybe is being a bit hypocritical by saying it’s none of their business. They sure don’t want their artists to speak about their personal opinions on important stuff, so maybe also apply that to the people you work with.

The world is a mess right now. From several corners we see a lot of disturbing situations. People are really scared. I can taste it every day while having conversations. And everyone responds differently when they’re scared. The basic ways people act are to fight (protest, scream, boycott), to flee (search for things to distract them) or to freeze (don’t let the outside in). It’s not necessary a reaction we can choose. So while some might fight, others might want to but just feel themselves incapable or to anxious to do so. Someone who does not engage much with this topic might just be in over their heads with anxiety.

And ofcourse there’s always those who just actually don’t care.. which is beyond me really.. but not every human being cares about stuff that doesn’t take place in their own backyard.

[porcelaintoybox23]

This response has little to do with op, I just think this thread is stupid and insidious. So, I'll be addressing the points and how he's either ignorant or purposely missing the issues. This response isn't advocating for people not to vote. It is saying that this reasoning is not only ineffective but callous.

Debate doesn't change people's mind, in my view. People will support the person making the arguments they already favor. I'm tossing my hat in because I can't tolerate what seems to be deceit. I'm not debating with anyone, if you respond so be it. If you insult me, congratulations on nothing.

Okay, half assed statement out the way. Let's be serious.

An open letter to the op of the tweets: No one thinks Biden is the ruler of Israel. Strawmanning is a horrible way to start any attempt at convincing people of your view and sets the tone for the rest of this thread. This entire first section is irrelevant.

The second and third can be answered together and with no citations: If that is the case, we can still stop sending money and weapons to Israel. There is no reason for the US to be aiding Israel in its affairs beyond a long history of propagating zionism. How is saying Israel will continue destroying Palestine an argument in favor of sending them weapons? We do not need to contribute.

Any point I make/made besides this is pointless to me overall because this is the line: We are supplying israel with weapons. Any "aid" or pathetic attempts at a "humanitarian" pause is irrelevant. Continuing to stab someone when you provide them medical care doesn't negate the repeated offense. Biden's "public" or private support is meaningless without action. Anyone can pay lip service.

Fuck Patrick. Truly, fuck him to the deepest pits of hell. "actually" genocide. We are not splitting hairs on genocide. Biden is actively helping Israel perpetuate a genocide right now. He is literally saying the 99% vs 100% hitler thing. Israel is already attacking the West Bank and neighboring countries. These things are happening under Biden NOW.

7th picture/tweet Deeply fuck you. To claim people are apathetic to the suffering of millions of people because they can't tolerate evil being done. It is because I am not apathetic that I am livid. Apathy would be advocating for a system currently doing the evil you supposedly fear from Trump. Apathy is aiming this statement at Palestinians in diaspora as if they are not watching their families be killed. Fuck you.

cont: are there people who think Biden can single-handedly end this? Sure. There are people who think Israel isn't committing genocide. Anything is possible. Biden is helping and that he doesn't have to do. He seems really torn up about it all, that's why he's calling protestors violent and antisemitic. /s

If you actually care about Palestinians you would be doing everything you can in the interim between now and the election to get Biden to stop. Someone spoke about how anti biden people have no concrete actions. Currently things like uncommitted voting in the primaries and the college protests are being used to show Biden and the Dems that we are pissed. We are trying to impress upon them the fact that they are alienating their base. I won't sit here and act like I have a community plan of action. I live in a deep red state with maga/qanon reps.

I will vote Biden in the election. I can tell you that if this was happening in Nigeria, where my family lives and people were denying it, I wouldn't vote for him. It is a basic empathetic exercise. I will not guilt or harass people into voting for a man killing their people. I can acknowledge that the distance I have enables me to hold my nose and bear it.

The only way things get better is if you try to fix it. Civil Rights required fighting against an entrenched system. Societal change has never come about by bearing with evil. When has that ever fucking worked? We won't all burn. Those that will probably be fine are making tweets like this. W.E. Du bois vs Booker T Washington.

Trump won't destroy the world or at least not alone. We aren't the only people that exist. The oppressor will never hand you the tools to free yourself. They must be seized.

Off thread, just responding to other arguments: The best time and opportunity that we have to push Biden is now. If Biden wins, we have no leverage. There is no election to hold over a second term president. There is no incentive for Biden to listen to our demands when his position is secure. If he's ignoring us now, what about then? What world does anyone seriously think he'll be impeached by the democrats also licking Israel's boot?

Here's my damn soapbox. Stop trying to guilt people. You aren't doing it to be selfless. It is entirely selfish. You fear, understandably, for your own discomfort and safety. Do not present this as some virtuous stance.

I fukken hate political soapboxing on main, but I've been seeing some shit in my sphere that warrants nipping in the bud. Since he already put it very well, I'll just let Patrick Tomlinson say it for me:

[evo-lutio]

Change of personality

When it comes to some phenomena that go beyond the "norm", the basic idea becomes: "destructive behavior is a property of a pathological personality". This idea that destructive pathology arises in a personality under the influence of genetic features or childhood traumas is, in my opinion, a harmful generalization that prevents us from seeing the problem. Every time (starting from the 19th century especially, before that they believed in the influence of demons), when some destructive phenomenon is analyzed, it is suggested to look for the reasons for it not in the dynamics of the phenomenon, but in the "bad inclinations" of a person (victim or perpetrator), which arose either under the influence of "bad heredity" or under the influence of bad upbringing and "childhood traumas". Without belittling the work of geneticists and psychotherapists, I want to draw attention to the main cause of destructive behavior - the dynamic change of personality in a destructive situation.

I'll clarify what I'm talking about with an example of a couple of posts from my frendlent. One post was about how during the war most soldiers could not fight effectively because "biologically a human being is not capable of killing another human being" except for special psychopaths, no more than 2% of the total number, who were the valiant heroes of the war. The pacifist message of the post is very sympathetic, war is indeed a psychopathic phenomenon, but the "2% concept" doesn't hold up. In his book The Lucifer Effect, Philip Zimbardo, scientist and author of the Stanford Experiment, provides documented descriptions of how one African tribe wiped out another on orders from the authorities. Before the order, the Hutu and Tutsi tribes lived peacefully, there were no conflicts between them, they considered themselves relatives, were the closest neighbors, drank together, grazed cows together, there were no recorded contradictions and conflicts. After the order, three quarters of the Tutsi population was slaughtered in a few months with hoes and clubs by Hutu hands. The Hutus could not explain to the researchers why they did this. They were told that the Tutsis were a threat to them and ordered to kill, so they started killing. The first killings were not easy, but then they got easier and easier.

Anyone interested in this topic can refer to Zimbardo's book. It is important for me to clarify only one thing. People who took part in mass terror and genocides were not 2% of the group, but almost 100%. They were not psychopaths from childhood, they were not "inherently pathological" personalities, they became so under the influence of a pathological situation, as norms shifted and their personalities lost their former reference points. Only knowledge of the plasticity of the human personality and its profound changes under the influence of the situation can help people protect their personality from destructive influences. Unfortunately, so far this knowledge remains at the level of abstraction and even at this level is denied by many. It is scary to recognize one's own variability, despite the fact that variability and instability have a positive aspect: rapid development of all possibilities and abilities. But when faced with the choice of inertia or anxiety, most people choose inertia.

Another post is about the problem of anorexia. Although the problem of anorexia can be considered a mass rather than an isolated one, many commenters insist that anorexia affects mentally ill people. That is, people see anorexia not as the cause of the disorder, but as a consequence of a pre-existing illness, along the lines of "a mentally healthy person wouldn't do such a thing." Compare with "a self-respecting woman will not tolerate violence", "sick masochists hang themselves by the skin on a hook", "those who want to escape from reality because of neurosis get drunk" and so on. It is a proven fact that a woman, having existed in a situation of violence for a long time, ceases to respect herself, but it is violence that causes the loss of self-respect, not the other way around. The pleasure of self-injury arises in the process of practicing it and develops like any addiction. Among alcoholics there are many who started taking alcohol "just for fun", not seeking to escape from reality, but the desire to escape arose in the process of the disease.

Treating dysfunctional people as "inherently depraved" (by nature or bad upbringing) and therefore dysfunctional is contrary to the facts about the nature of addictions. All addictions begin gradually and in the beginning the desired effect is not particularly deviant from normal tastes. Anorexia in most people begins with a normal desire to lose weight, the ideal of healthy thinness shifting towards extreme bonyness gradually. The threshold of acceptable becomes higher, especially under the influence of "like-minded women", at the same time changes in brain chemistry, disorders develop, and against the background of acute nutrient deficiency it happens quickly. Looking for reasons why a girl started starving is about as "important" as looking for reasons why a heavy addict once took a drug for the first time. It could have happened for any reason, even just boredom. Most anorexics readily accept the idea that their parents are to blame, just as an alcoholic always readily blames his wife, but it is not necessarily the case that the families of anorexic teens are worse than the families of others. A dysfunctional family environment makes antisocial hobbies more likely, but no one decides to destroy themselves initially, most want to "try a little bit". People do not plunge into antisocial behavior immediately, but walk for a while over the precipice, confident that nothing bad will happen to them. As long as people maintain the arrogant belief that they can interact with any situation and easily remain "themselves," they are vulnerable.

For the sake of an optimistic ending, I will give an example from the book "The Enlightened Heart", which demonstrates that the plasticity of personality works not only for the destruction of personality, but also for its restoration (under sufficient circumstances). The author, a former concentration camp inmate, relates that one day, out of a submissive line of prisoners who were ready to accept death like everyone else without objection, a Gestapo man summoned a woman who had once been a famous dancer and ordered her to dance. The woman, who by then was a lifeless shadow, obediently obeyed. As she danced, however, she began to change, regained her posture and energy, regained her spirit, and then approached the Gestapo man, snatched his weapon and killed him. This case once again proves that personality can be both destroyed and restored if a person returns to "self," that is, to the psychic situation in which he or she had life resources. The dance helped the woman to quickly realize and remember her sense of dignity as it had been before, so she chose to die not as an obedient slave but as a brave heroine.

[ani-shachaf]

I'm just gonna write a vent post of miscellaneous shit I can't say on my main blog without losing all my friends

anyone else annoyed at those posts going around where goyim are like "omg 30,000 people killed..............how can I go on with my life while this is happening....................." when like. there's so many other hugely tragic things going on in the world. why has this conflict in particular set off an existential crisis, hm? the vast majority of y'all don't have any stakes in this, you're just gonna forget about it like you did with Ukraine. stop with the groveling and the Holocaust inversion

look. people in the Israeli government have said truly horrible shit. but if you're gonna accuse Israel of genocide because of what they say, then why the hell isn't that standard being held to Hamas??????

one thing that's really telling to me is people only now being like "oh no, Israel treated the Holocaust survivors who fled there horribly! they're so evil" if you Actually gave a shit about Jews y'all'd've been talking about that ages ago, held huge events to raise money to help, any number of things! but you don't care. you just want to find any excuse to call for Israel's destruction.

and let's be clear - almost everything I've seen has been calling for a 1 Palestinian state solution. but there's never any discussion of how that actually plays out or what to do about "the Jewish question" beyond "oh y'all're all rich whities, go back to Europe"

are these European countries gonna kick out the people living in the houses that Jewish families fled from and give them back to their descendants? do you think Jews want to go back to towns that collaborated with the Nazis?

not to mention there's hundreds of thousands of Jews who left MENA countries. you think countries with at most 100 Jews currently living there would welcome the huge number of descendants that would pour in? you think they'd even be allowed to return?

and where exactly does that leave the Jews who have always been in the Levant? are you really naive enough to think that after nearly 80 years of fighting, the remaining Jews wouldn't actually be genocided??? (for the record, I don't think a one-state solution where Israel absorbed Gaza and the West Bank would work either; plenty of settlers have proven they can't live peacefully with Palestinians, and I don't think anyone wants to see that happen on a larger scale.)

don't talk to me about ~decolonization~ until Jews have full control over our holy sites. Obviously there's no way the compound would be taken down and a third Temple constructed; Arab countries scream bloody murder when Jews so much as pray there. (are they worried we're gonna do the same fucking thing they did??? lmao) but can we at least get the right to do that? that really shouldn't be restricted to one group.

the fact that people deny that Jews are indigenous to the Levant is fucking absurd. Jews have maintained their connection to their homeland for thousands of years. the fucking Dalai Lama asked Jews for advice on how to maintain Tibetan culture while in exile.

it's also like. I see people be like "you Jews don't own Israel just because your sky daddy said so in some old book, it even says you aren't from here because you had to conquer the land!" and ok sure. I personally as a convert with no known Jewish ancestry don't feel like I have more of a right to live in Eretz Yisrael than non-Jews who've lived there for hundreds to thousands of years. do you care about the historical and archaeological evidence that says Jews were Canaanites who eventually split off though or......? also these same people will be like "oh you should respect indigenous people and their religion; their oral tradition preserves facts about their past" while again, dismissing Jewish texts wholesale

I've seen tons of people calling out the soldiers that posted a video of them sniffing panties, and they should! it's deplorable and disgusting behavior! the sexual violence committed on 10/7? either "deserved," denied, or complete silence. it's fucking terrifying that people will justify that kind of thing in the name of decolonization.

I know nobody talks about antisemitism besides Jews, but it really is depressing to see absolutely Nobody talking about the horrific rise in antisemitic violence. It's all "uwu I'm anti-zionist, not antisemitic! it's actually very easy to criticize Israel without being antisemitic!" *does fuck-all to actually help Jewish people*

no one talks about the other countries involved either except to cheer on the Houthis for like a week before I saw maybe 1 (one) post about them being slavers and everybody shut up. didn't even bother reblogging that info to spread awareness or making a post like "whoopsie I didn't take 5 seconds to look up what this group is!"

and I stg if I have to see someone post that Israel sterilized Ethiopian Jews one more time I'm gonna lose it. there was miscommunication about temporary birth control. that shouldn't have happened! but it's a far cry from actually permanently sterilizing thousands of people.

I saw another post by a convert a while back saying something along the lines of "I'm anti-Zionist bc I think Judaism doesn't need a homeland anymore" and firstly like. Judaism is all about Eretz Yisrael; even if you don't like the modern country you can't really separate Judaism from the land it originated from. secondly unless OP was zera Yisrael, I don't really think it's our place as converts to decide whether Jews as a whole don't need a homeland like. yikes 😬

[steveandbucky]

TW GENOCIDE

look i know it looks like we're exaggerating. this isn't like 1915 where they took our weapons and rounded up our men and carried out mass executions, wiping entire villages. this isn't like they gathered all the women and children and elderly and forced them to march through the desert until they started dropping dead, one by one. this isn't like jailing or killing every armenian author, activist, ruler, politician, or anyone with any power or influence, in order to leave the people without any leaders.

but anyone who has studied WWII nazi propaganda, and read about how it all led up to the Holocaust, can see clear as day what azerbaijan and turkey are doing is following in hitlers steps.

both erdogan and aliyev have been in power for 13 years. the countries do not have democracy, plain and simple. journalists are often arrested for speaking out against the state. these are things you can google, im not gonna provide a link for everything i say. there's no freedom of speech or freedom of press, you either shut up and bear it, or you get jailed. and that is, if you're not completely brainwashed by the state.

turkey has spent 105 years denying the armenian genocide. and it is a well documented fact that it happened, and they wiped out 1.5 millions (estimated). people fled and found refuge throughout europe, america, russia, everywhere around the world really. we had foreign journalists who saw what happened and reported it. there's photos of the atrocities. you ever see a pyramid of human skulls of dead armenians? i did. we all did, and most of us were school aged children when we saw the photos and yeah, it was fucking scarring. what im saying is we have concrete evidence of every horrible act carried out by ottoman soldiers. yet they have denied that it ever happened, and what they teach their kids is that armenians were the ones who killed the turks. how we could ever do that when we had no weapons is beyond me.

and yet, you see shit like this

https://twitter.com/zulumgazana/status/1314409400036028417?s=09

so which is it? are you going to continue the armenian genocide, or did the armenian genocide never happen?

azeri govt have lied about attacks on their cities by the armenian army, and we have proved that they were lying. they have banned all social media except for twitter in azerbaijan, and someone posted a screenshot of the top 10 apps in azerbaijan (compared to armenia)

they have banned foreign journalists except for turkish from entering the country and those who do are heavily monitored. they have lied about armenians targeting the journalists (and again, we have proved they were lying). azeris are targeting celebrities who speak out against azerbaijan/turkey and/or show support for armenia, harassing them into rescinding their support. this girl translated their comments and posted a video describing their tactics.

another thing that comes to mind is that they placed their military base in ganja, from which they were firing and shelling stepanakert, and after we attacked the base to neutralise the threat, they came out and said "armenia is targeting civilian population" BUT WHO PUT THEIR BASE AMONGST THE CIVILIANS IN THE FIRST PLACE?

this is all evidence of anti armenian propaganda. they are spreading lies, they have tons of bots on twitter, they're huge in numbers and they are harassing us online for trying to raise awareness.

meanwhile, mainstream media:

this bothsideism narrative mainstream media is trying to push is fucking despicable. what the fuck do you mean "accuses" like it's *possible* that someone else did it, and we're just pushing the blame onto azerbaijan.

more examples

i know the BBC is majorly flawed and favours the right wing (and this has been proved) but fucking hell, at least try to be subtle about it.

this is why it's important for us to keep fighting against the misinformation and keep informing people and keep pressuring foreign governments to sanction turkey and azerbaijan. i know ive been talking about it online nonstop for a week now but i feel like it's the least i can do.

please consider reblogging this.

#believearmenia

[butwhatifidothis]

But...Byleth wasn't unemotive because they were a mercenary, they were unemotive because of the fact Sothis hadn't woken up. Like I said, you're injecting a negative viewpoint where there isn't any.

As much as people would LIKE for it to be Crimson Flower is NOT a villain route, as villain routes usually have you as the bad guy. The villainous actions are addressed. Instead you're potrayed about as much (if slightly less with the whole conquest thing) of a hero as the other routes, complete with the Black Eagles becoming the underdog and being short on troops, and Edelgard fighting directly on the frontlines. Sure we can call it the villain route since Edelgards the villain in all the other routes, but it isn't played as if it were one. There's no "Look at the horrible thing you've done!" or "Edelgard's empire crumbled and she was killed in a coup after TWSITD were defeated". or even a "Edelgard's lies get exposed' moment. She's just potrayed as the hero the entire time.

Also, Edelgard doesn't think Byleth is completely without emotion, she thinks byleth is DETATCHED. As in, not showing emotion often. She also agreess if Byleth says that Edelgard is also detached. That entire part of the conversation is brought on because Byleth says they are jealous. The entire thing of "Edelgard thinks Byleth has no emotions" is from a conversation in which Edelgard is GLAD that Byleth os showing emotion.

"I'll admit, I think of you as rather detached, so to hear that you have emotions such as jealousy is... something of a relief."

Also I forgot to ask...where is it STATED or SAID that Byleth WANTS to be a guiding hand for Fodlann? Like I'm not sure where that came from since it's not as if Byleth actively pursues a position of power, it's usually something they just sort of get given at the end of the other routes since Rhea either gives them said position, or is dead and Byleth ends up filling that role

Imma ask this: if being a mercenary was completely fine, if that had absolutely no negative impact whatsoever on Byleth... why didn't Sothis wake up earlier? Why did she only do so right before the lords - who give Byleth the chance to grow - meet with them? If they don't want to be a guiding hand in Fodlan, why don't they reject the leadership position given to them - especially on AM, when Rhea and/or Seteth could take over as archbishop?

It's because being a regular mercenary isn't good for them. It's because there's a consistent theme with Byleth that leadership as well as the Church are good things for their character, as well as for Fodlan - it's in the routes the Church is standing and Byleth earns a leadership position that Fodlan is at its most peaceful in the endings. It's not me being negative when it's this consistent within the game itself that being a leader and having a purpose beyond being a sword hand is what is best for Byleth.

To give the short answer to the "CF isn't a villain route" idea, here's this post I made detailing many of the ways CF is by far the most morally bankrupt route of the four of them, regardless of surface level framing. CF isn't a villain route in that "oh ho look at you, being evil!" It's the villain route because you are actively helping the villain get what she wants. You are the reason Fodlan falls into tyranny. It's your fault, as the player, that Fodlan is engulfed in war again when that isn't necessary in the other routes (where TWS are just taken care of with no need for a "long, arduous, bloody war"). It's because of you that the people of Fodlan must live under Edelgard's cruel leadership, being spied on by the secret police and having any rebellion they try to muster be put down in secret by Edelgard's evil butler.

You say CF isn't the villain route because Edelgard's villainous actions aren't addressed, but I'm sorry, I have to disagree with you with what qualifies as a villain route. You help plunge the continent into war by backing an imperialistic warmonger. You help spread outright lies about the Church. You keep up these lies even to your friends and let them believe the Church just nuked Arianrhod, without ever setting it straight with them. You work with a murder cult hellbent on killing as many people as they can. You comply with someone who is keeping an independent country (Brigid) under her thumb by keeping Petra as a hostage, which she herself refers to herself as on CF. You use Demonic Beasts as "war assets." You invade a neutral nation that's kept out of the war entirely. You help try to finish a genocide against the Nabateans - or, at best, work with someone who wants to finish it. You are the villain.

CF has you as the underdog despite it always being the one with the advantage in the beginning of the war phase because it is deliberately breaking from the worldbuilding of 3H, as said by the developers. Byleth is supposed to stand against Edelgard, not walk with her, hence the warping of the story when they do. It doesn't have to directly, explicitly say it's the villain route for it to be clear that you are not the good guy here.

Like, "you're portrayed about as much (if slightly less with the whole conquest thing) as much as a hero as the other routes-" no! Not slightly less! That is in large part what makes it villainous! You aren't fighting to defend yourself and to take down the one who plunged Fodlan into war - you are the conqueror! You are the one doing the plunging! For completely selfish gains, at that! There's no explicit "wow bitch you fucked up here" because the sign of you fucking up is the state your actions leave Fodlan in. It's Byleth losing the Crest Stone and going back to the beginning of their character arc. Edelgard, the villain, won - she got to have her happy ending on the graves of countless innocents lives she deemed less worthy than her ambitions, and it's all because of you. Edelgard getting exposed and her empire crumbling down is a good thing, which CF is not. You don't get to have Edelgard face the consequences of her actions like you do on the other routes where she dies, because she won. The bad guy won. You helped the bad guy win, so no, you aren't going to get the satisfaction of watching Edelgard fall - you play the other non-villain routes for that to happen. Why should there be? This is what you as the player wanted! You chose to side with Edelgard, even after being shown her involvement with nearly every bad thing that happens in WC, because you wanted her to win! You’ve reapt what you’ve sown!

And imma just ask... why is Edelgard relieved to hear Byleth has emotions such as jealousy? And why does she insist that Byleth is detached if you try to deny it? Why does Byleth have to directly tell Edelgard about them feeling emotions for her to know it - why doesn't she just know already? You never hear this sort of doubt come from Seteth, Claude, or Dimitri on SS, VW, and AM - hell, Claude will even outright say that Byleth has gotten far more expressive lately during tea time conversation! Why is Byleth detached in CF - why aren't they closer to the lord? Why is the lord doubting the connection between Byleth and others in their A support? Why is it only on CF that Byleth is ever called detached during post ts? Why is Byleth not showing emotion often? Enough to make Edelgard question whether they have emotions? 

It’s because Byleth is regressing on the progress they’ve made in being able to emote - they act in ways that are similar to how they act in the beginning of the game because CF is a negative influence on their character. Edelgard calling herself detached like Byleth is not a good thing - Edelgard’s detachment from other people is what lets her sacrifice innocent civilians for her goals. It’s what let’s her believe that her imperialistic dreams are worth the bloody path needed to make them come true. She is not connected to those around her, hence her being able to justify killing anyone to get what she wants, up to and including her Black Eagle classmates (Bernadetta on Gronder). Byleth being compared to someone like that is far from a positive thing, especially when all other routes have them have that connection with others and all other routes having a more positive, peaceful ending for Fodlan than CF. 

I will say though, it seems as though Byleth never seems to explicitly say that they want to be a guiding hand - that's a fuck up on my end and I apologize for that! But it's almost undeniable that that is the intended good path for them, versus CF where they don't have that happen. In the ending cutscenes of AM, SS, and VW, Byleth and the lord of that route (+ Rhea for SS) are bathed in the light (with Rhea being able to live on SS if she is close enough with Byleth), and Edelgard dies in the light. In CF, Byleth and the lord of the route are shrouded in darkness, with only the flames of destruction lighting them, and it's this setting that Rhea dies in. Edelgard can't survive in the light, and Rhea can't survive in the dark - and then the endings that correspond with these two scenarios match as well. The endings where Edelgard dies in the light and Byleth rises to become a guiding hand for Fodlan are the ones where peace is achieved, and the one where Rhea dies in the darkness (the one time Rhea always dies, unlike SS) is the one where Fodlan is fucked.

[val-aquenta]

1,4, and 22 for the salty asks?

Hoo boy, this is just enabling me to rant lmao. But thank you so much for the ask. <333

1. What OTP's in your fandom(s) do you just not get?

Gotta say Obitine. Uhh... I didn't get it when I first watched the cartoon, and I hated the implication that they gave Obi-Wan a romance to make Obi-Wan more 'human' (something I've heard other people push on the narrative.) I do like that it kind of showed the choice between being a Jedi and being in a commited relationship, but beyond that nothing. I also don't really like how most of Satine's whole story is determined by her romance to Obi-Wan. She's killed because of their relationship, most of the arcs with her surround the 'are they still in love and going to get with each other' narrative, and frankly it bores me. I am personally not into shipping in general, and I prefer more platonic and familial relationships like the Jedi-Clone and inter-Jedi relationships, so ships are kind of meh in general to me. I also didn't even see the appeal of their 'romance' tbh. They just seemed to argue a lot, and their confessions kind of came out of nowhere to me. If they did love each other, it really must have been a long time ago. I don't see it working?

Uhmmm off the top of my head are a few that I don't get, but I don't feel as strongly about. Qui-Gon x Shmi (never really understood why?), Rey x literally anyone lol (especially not our genocidal buddy kyle), Rose x Finn (not developed enough and then completely forgotten lmao, Ahsoka x Lux (ok this one is basically a notp tbh. Just... ew), and basically every Obi-Wan ship that I know (look he doesn't need fucing romance ok.) I didn't really want to go in depth with these because if we did heh yikes, we'd be here forever.

4. Do you have a NoTP in your fandom? Are they a popular OTP?

Hah. Anidala lol. From the top of my head, I think it's a very selfish relationship. I mean Anakin cares more about his feelings to Padmè than Padmè herself, and I feel like Padmè wants the clandestine romance vibes that come with being married to a person who is meant to be a neutral party. Especially during a war. Anakin's willingness to commit genocide for his 'love' for Padmè isn't a large sweeping romantic thing. The idea that he'd do anything for his love is pretty scary and I'm pretty sure Padmè, to some degree, knew of it. The fact that she continued to stay with him and live this double life means that she doesn't care about the consequences really. Idk I just feel like this relationship brings out the worst in both parties. The fact that Padmè is willing to deny that Anakin's fallen even when Obi-Wan comes to her door and tells her that Anakin killed Jedi could be that Padmè doesn't think Anakin capable of doing such a thing, but due to the fact that she was with him for the Tusken massacre and the whole Rush Clovis shit (and probably other tcw I don't remember) makes me think otherwise. Imo, I think that had the war ended and Palps been aprehended and everything gone well, their relationship would not have worked, because a large part of it was the fact that it was a secret thing, and that Anakin was not with Padmè that much. I don't see it working without outside factors imo, but whatever.

And, similar to many things, a lot of anidala fans are not willing to confront this truth that their relationship is built on lies and deceit and therefore will not continue to hold strong. So many of them ignore how Anakin broke his oaths as a Jedi to be impartial and place others over single people, and we all know that he did not do that when it came to Padmè. I know a lot of anidala fans aren't like this, and I'm not particularly vehement about this. This notp is more me not wanting to read anidala fics or see anidala art, and I've filtered it out. But yeah, some fan's vehemence that this was the one true thing and that if Anakin had been able to love openly (like he could... he just didn't have to be a Jedi to. Dang he really wants to eat his cak and have it too) and whatever he wouldn't have fallen just makes me... cringe a lot. Also I can't really separate what their relationship caused with the relationship itself.

22. Popular characters you hate?

Oh... uhh... this one makes me nervous ahhh. Well there are a few that I don't like as much as most people do and only a couple I hate hate. I really hate our lovely boy kyle. Uhh... mass murdering manipulator who tortures Rey and co, dude who stands by as entire planets are destroyed, and a genocidal maniac overall. I'm scared of some of his fans because yikes they're really fervent and trying to make kyle a morally grey character because of his 'redemption' during tros. Like... I don't care. You can say the same about Anakin/Vader tbh, but I think a lot of my hate for our buddy kyle comes from his fans and r*ylo stans who are very... intent on excusing Kyle's shitty actions. At least most Anakin/Vader fans know he's a shitty person and don't try and morally grey-ify him if you get what I'm saying.

Jango Fett too. I mean, I haven't read any of the books featuring him, but I'm gonna say it. Jango decided to enter that contract to create the army of clones. Essentially, he signed them up for the army in that contract with Dooku, so idc about your 'but he'd be such a good mand'alor and dad to the clones' bs, because he really wouldn't. He's incredibly selfish, and idk a lot of people seem to think he's the next best thing since sliced bread. I guess I should add Bo-Katan as well, because she's very hypocritical. the whole 'shouldn't you care about my sister' thing was not a good look because Bo-Katan, who helped bring the group of people there to destabalise her reign and kill her? Did you think deathwatch would just let her go freely? lmao with these two it's more I just don't like them that much. It's not like I hate them a whole bunch.

[plan-d-to-i]

tbh I don't even hate jc, I just don't care enough about him and I believe he fulfills his role in the story. Anyways, idk what's with Twitter and jc stans today but I saw this person calling wwx stans "genocide stans" which is gross af and you'll expect for this person to be like 14 but SHE'S 26.

And then she also made this cringey post saying Not gonna lie, I'd love it if we went from "JC loses his memory of WWX to find peace" and more "WWX realising he wants to reconcile and trying his best to make it happen, only for JC to turn around and say, completely serious, 'WWX, I don't give a shit anymore, leave me alone.'" and this is just beyond ???? As if it's not jc the one who's obsessed with wwx, not the other way around (and as if it's not wwx who actually realized he's better off without jc and living his best life with lwj, lol).

But, also, the thing that baffles me to no end is how much they hate wwx but they CRAVE for him to be all over and about jc. They need for wwx to validate jc sooo bad, it's pathetic and funny, lmao... It's also so obvious they just project onto jc. They act as if they have some 2D complex with him and he's their animu husbando but I can't help but feel they also project onto him and that's why they took wwx TOO PERSONAL and want for him to apologize (when he doesn't even have anything to apologize for, anyways) and to adore the shit out of jc... so that's why it feels to me like if their mediocre ass were jc and they see wwx as the cool dude they need to have at their feet imploring for their attention, you know? It's honestly unbelievable.

I mean you’ve basically said it perfectly.

Uh this has me 🙃: “this person calling wwx stans "genocide stans" ???? Did they mean to say jc stans are genocide stans? Since jc strategized & led the butchering of the war refugees in the burial mounds? I know for a while they tried to argue it was “family extermination”, even though that sentence had not been passed against the Wens, & defending it, as though killing the Wen remnants is framed as anything less than heinous in the novel itself. They weren’t even supposed to be in the labor death camps, where they were being tortured and killed HENCE the Jins doing it on the down low & vehemently denying the conditions?! Now my degree is in history. So I’m well aware people & different organizations are always debating/arguing about what ought to be defined as genocide. I’d argue there’s a difference between recognizing it from a human standpoint and needing it to legally stand up in an international court of law rife what are generally viewed as overly restrictive requirements, that have come under fire and demand for reform- especially as they currently exclude social & political groups. But if we were to force the concept in the mix in this case, it would apply to what was done to the innocent Wens post war. I mean mxtx is a modern woman and has no doubt had her world view shaped by 20th century history. The labor camp where the living conditions were such that they would ensure death in short order. The torture they endured there, used as human lures, & killed. Very importantly, the dehumanization : “Wen Dogs”. When WWX goes to save them & this happens:

“Wei WuXian, “Nobody would dare kill a single person? Is that true?”

The inspectors swore in unison, “Absolutely!”

“Not a single one!”

Wei WuXian smiled, “Oh. I understand.”

Immediately after, he continued calmly, “It’s because they’re Wen-dogs, and Wen-dogs aren’t people. So even if you killed them, it doesn’t count as having killed people. That’s what you mean, isn’t it?”

This was exactly what the lead inspector was thinking when he said it.”

And this ‘lovely’ short excerpt from jc! :

“Yes, they helped us before, but why in the world don’t you understand that right now any remnant of the Wen Sect is a target of criticism! No matter who they are, with a surname of Wen they have committed a most heinous crime!”

“If you can’t do it then move over—I’ll do it!”

So I think it would benefit jc stans to stay the away from this word since it will only make their toxic bae look infinitely worse.

Anyway moving on from this very loaded topic...

I totally agree w your conclusion on the stans. It’s cringe af. Like you say you love jc why are you so obsessed w WWX taking him back? Move on! He did. They seem baffled by the idea that people won’t stay around to be treated like trash forever? People are within their rights to leave if your presence in their life is toxic and damaging. Become a better person and it won’t happen. I mean by the end of the novel even Jin ling is over jc. jc can only keep people around by guilting them or holding duty over their head. Why would anyone want that in their lives? jc stans are absurd. The ones who are projecting on jc bc they relate to him, can’t accept the way he’s perceived by others because they can’t bear to know they’re perceived similarly. That’s just how people perceive assholes ? No one owes you shit. People aren’t forced to dig past your toxic rage walls & take your abuse in the hope of a sweet gentle center that probably isn’t there anyway. Therapy &/or some self growth would be infinitely more useful that just trying to make toxic, abusive traits great again & victim blaming 🙄😗.

[filmmakerdreamst]

How Xena: Warrior Princess Allowed Me To Accept Myself

I was living in a city all alone and these two characters showed me that it was ok for two women to love each other.

In order to understand the following story, there’s something you need to know about me. I have always loved fiction. From the age of about 5 to 11, I loved books more than I loved people. I was a shy child who found it easier to emotionally engage with fictional worlds than the real one around me.

See, fictional worlds are created for your brain’s enjoyment. Their rules make sense. Events happen for a reason. The narrator tells you why characters behave the way they do, allowing you to empathize with them on a deep emotional level. Easy to understand, easy to identify with, easy to love.

But real people are complicated. The real world is complicated. And things are seldom laid out nicely in a coherent narrative format for you. Real things are much harder to love.

This emotional disengagement continued from the age of 11 onwards, although it was no longer as pronounced. My habit of retreating into fiction would fade during good times and come back in force during difficult or stressful periods. During the stressful periods of college, the rise of Netflix allowed me to become certifiably obsessed with my favorite TV shows. And naturally, I joined Tumblr in order to more easily fangirl with people who shared my interests.

Only for some peculiar reason that I didn’t care to examine, my interests were slowly gravitating towards girl-girl couples. Soon I was shipping, reblogging, and reading fanfiction almost exclusively about female couples. But I, who had always considered myself straight despite lacking interest in the boys around me, didn’t think this meant that I was gay. I probably just found female couples more emotionally satisfying. I was friends with mostly women, I was a woman myself, so it was natural that I just understood them better. Yeah, that was probably it.

Fast-forward to nine months ago. I was living in Boston and incredibly depressed about it. My job and my boss were making my life miserable and I had very few people to socialize with. I was making the rough transition from the constant socialization of college to the isolating pressure of a city where I had few connections. My days and nights were some of the loneliest I had ever experienced. I looked for something, anything, to lift the heart-crushing emotional silence.

My solution was the same one I always chose when I was dissatisfied with the real world; obsession with a new TV show. And thanks to my femslash-focused tumblr community, I knew just what my next feel-good show was going to be.

My tumblr friends had told me this: Xena: Warrior Princess is an action-fantasy show that enjoys a cult status, much like Buffy: The Vampire Slayer (which I watched and loved). The two shows were made in the same mid-to-late 90's era, with similar bad special effects and endearing campiness. But XWP is much… MUCH… more gay.

That was about all I knew about the show going in. And amazingly, that was all I needed to know to be excited about watching it. You’d think that fact would have told me something about myself, but no. The mental walls of denial were years in the building and needed more force than that to be shattered.

For anyone unfamiliar with the show’s premise, Xena: Warrior Princess is about the title character and her quest for redemption. You see, Xena did some bad things in her previous life on another show (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys). In her storied career as a warlord, she committed such petty crimes as genocide, the slaughter of innocents, that kind of thing. But now she has seen the light and wants to atone for her crimes. Except she can never undo the terrible things she did. All Xena can do now is help people on a day-to-day basis and hope that it’s enough for someone to show her mercy.

Which is already fantastic from a character standpoint. But there is a secret mirror to Xena’s journey that is not reflected in the show’s title, and that is Gabrielle and her character arc.

Oh! Gabrielle! When I met her in the very first episode, I loved her straightaway. She is a feisty, naive, talkative small-town girl who accompanies Xena on all her adventures. Her character quickly assumes paramount importance in the narrative. Gabrielle is Xena’s only friend. She comes to know her better than anyone else and love her for who she is, all the while believing Xena can reach redemption. Yet Gabrielle is not just a support system for Xena; she goes on her own heroic journey. The two character arcs intertwine and co-develop in a way I have never seen in any show before or since.

As each episode rolled by and their relationship grew in complexity, I found myself more and more engrossed. And I came to realize: this was something I wanted. The day I accepted my own desire was the day I accepted myself. What could be more strangling than denying the existence of your own feelings? Yet I had been doing this to myself for years — cutting off the possibility of being attracted to other women — without even realizing.

Before beginning the show, I thought the fandom had read in between the lines to construct a romantic relationship between the two characters, the same way as femslash shippers do in all other TV shows. Except not this time. This one is mind-blowingly different.

Not only does the narrative place utmost importance on the relationship between Xena and Gabrielle, but the actresses bring such multi-dimensional love to their parts. When I saw Lucy Lawless (Xena) and Renee O’Connor (Gabrielle) interact, I could so easily believe that these two women loved each other beyond friendship. Xena and Gabrielle display every kind of love you can think of. They protect and sacrifice for each other. They tease and flirt. They cuddle and console. They have inside jokes with each other. They dance sexily. They play pranks and drive each other crazy. They sweetly kiss. They come back from the dead together. They bathe together. They raise each other’s children. They meet in alternate timelines and fall in love all over again.

I could have left my mental walls of denial in place. I could have said to myself “oh yes, I want this. But with a guy.” But no. Lawless and O’Connor’s incredibly attractive faces and bodies broke down the door of my mental closet. Precisely because they were fictional, I felt safe to admit my attraction to them. One of the key mental blocks I had always had towards accepting any attraction towards other women was the thought that I was being creepy. That since they could not possibly feel the same way about me, it was wrong to feel the way I did. But in my mind, that barrier didn’t exist with fictional characters. They couldn’t feel anything for me. Therefore, it was fine to feel whatever I want about them.

The walls cracked. The water came rushing in. Oh my god. I am attracted to other women. Like, every day of my life. Those flickers in my stomach when I talk to an attractive female coworker suddenly make a whole lot of sense now. I now saw my historical awkwardness when talking to beautiful girls, which I always dismissed as “me being weird”, for what it was. All those short-term girl crushes on older girls throughout high school. How was I so sure they were platonic? That heart-aching infatuation I had with my best friend that lasted for years? Yeah, add that to the ‘definitely gay’ list.

Since then I’ve realized that my feelings are valid regardless of what others feel for me. Just because feelings are unrequited doesn’t mean they aren’t real. That’s what Xena and Gabrielle taught me. Their fictional example was the final blow to my rapidly-crumbling resistance to the idea of homosexuality.

In our culture today, so many forms of media reinforce heteronormativity. How many commercials have you seen that assume attraction between a man and a woman? How many billboards tell women that they need to look sexy for the men in their lives? How many times has a movie ended with the guy getting the girl? It’s the combined action of a thousand small rocks shifting to make a cultural avalanche. You can’t move against it. All you can do is stand still and try to maintain your footing against the current, to maintain your identity in the face of a world where you and people like you are often swept away by the mainstream.

Xena: Warrior Princess is one of those rare stories that dares to go against the grain. It celebrates a romantic relationship between two women as the most natural thing in the world. And in doing so, it provides a mirror for me and people like me to recognize themselves in. There we are. Look at us fly.

This story isn’t over yet. I still have a lot of work to do to accept myself, but thanks to Xena and Gabrielle I’ve taken one huge step towards living the open life I want to live. I moved on from that horrible job and lonely city, but in the end I’m grateful. Grateful that circumstances pushed me to the depths of loneliness necessary to bring down the prison I had built in my own mind.

- How Xena: Warrior Princess Allowed Me To Accept Myself by Lyra Hall