#how the fuck are you uplifting women if you don’t even see them as real people

[fridayiminlovemp3]

i hate tiktok girl’s girl feminism so much like some women are cunts and i don’t like them!! and i honestly think it would be belittling to both of us if 1) i denied myself the right to hate them for being annoying and 2) i denied them the right to be obnoxious and bitchy.

[icyg4l]

Pick-A-Girl Group: What Purpose Do the Women In Your Life Serve?

Continuing on with my Women’s History Month series, I am going to do a reading on how the women in your life feel about you and the effect of these feelings. I am going to be using the True Heart Tarot Deck and the Archetype Oracle Deck. These readings are supposed to uplift, relate to and inspire women so I hope they serve their purpose. I Without further ado, please pick your pile. 🫶

***Disclaimer: Regardless of your gender identity, the women that are in your life deserve to be celebrated as long as they have pure intentions. Much love. 🩷

Left-to-Right (1-4):

Pile One: If you resonate with the image of FLO, then you deserve the whole fucking world. Pile One, the women in your life absolutely adore you. You probably resonate with the song’s theme: recognizing beauty in yourself when everyone is against you, specifically as a black woman. You have come such a long way. The women that are currently in your life have seen you make mistakes and allowed you to do so. They recognize your evolution. A lot of you have a best friend who you’ve been friends with for a long time and she is so proud of you. She is proud of the person that you have become. This pile has some cheerleaders around them. I feel like the women in your life are meant to take inspiration from what you are going through right now. I think that you may be going through your redemption arc.You’re forgiving yourself for a lot of things that you’ve done in the past. The women in your life see that and are following suit. After all, living life does mean not being a robot. These women who are around you are all ears, very receptive to what it is that you are doing with your life. You’re like their Oprah, lol. If you have a story to tell, share it with her. She may need to hear it. I channeled the show: Beyond Scared Straight; specifically the parts where the prisoners talk to the kids about their life stories and the reasoning for why they should not end up in jail. I feel like you could be someone’s mentor, whether they’re younger or the same age as you, perhaps even older. You are someone’s Reesa Teesa too, lol. I get the feeling that you need to be talking about yourself, Pile One. There is an audience full of women who are willing to hear you out and listen. When I pulled from the oracle deck, I got the following cards: 

God: Benevolence and compassion. Recognizing the eternal force within yourself and others/Despotism and cruelty. Using power to control people 

Mother: Nurturance, patience, unconditional love. Joy in giving birth to life/Smothering or abandoning children. Instilling guilt in children for becoming independent.

Poet: Expresses soul insights in symbolic language/Turns a lyric gift to negative or destructive effect. 

Cards Used: 2 of Swords, 4 of Discs, 9 of Cups, Prince of Wands (RX), King of Discs, Four of Cups, Temperance.

Pile Two: If you resonate with the photo of Destiny’s Child, you got some ride or dies around you for real. I think that you’ve been through hell and back with the women in your life and they do not play about you. I think the women in your life want you to know that you are so worth it. I’m not going to lie Pile Two, it sounds like you’re in a toxic love situation and your girls want you out of it. Your friends, cousin or little sister could have told you that you need to exit stage left multiple times. They absolutely believe you deserve better. Hypothetically speaking, If y’all fell out today and an emergency happened tomorrow, they would be on the way to the hospital. I feel like family is so important to you. They feel like you’ve forgot about them but I don’t think that you have. Circumstances make it difficult for you all to see eye-to-eye. The women in your life want you to know that you are not alone. They will forever be there for you no matter what, even if you have lost your damn mind. These challenging times will make the bond between you and these women stronger. When I pulled from the oracle deck, I got the following cards: 

Artist: Expressing a dimension of life that is beyond the five senses. Inspiring others to see life symbolically / Using talent as an excuse to mistreat others. Posing as the Starving Artist to elicit pity.

God:  Benevolence and compassion. Recognizing the eternal force within yourself and others / Despotism and cruelty. Using power to control people 

Goddess: The feminine expressed through wisdom. Nature, life force, and sensuality / Exploitation of the female nature and form 

Cards Used: Ace of Discs, 9 of Swords, Princess of Cups (RX), Prince of Discs, The Hierophant, Princess of Discs, 4 of Cups (RX), The Devil (RX), 10 of Cups.

Pile Three: If you resonate with the photo of TWICE, you got the grandmother spirit around you. Did you grow up in the church? Or at least with a god-fearing grandmother? I feel like the women in your life hate to see you unhappy and this is what you’re feeling right now. I think that you may be uninspired/unfulfilled with what life is giving you right now. It’s not an uncommon feeling. But smiling can make all the difference. The women in your life want to see you smile, make you smile and laugh. They want to be there for you like how your grandmother was. No one will ever replace Granny but her presence is always there. You may be questioning God/your higher powers because of something that deeply affected you. But the women around you want you to not feel ashamed or want you to feel like they are judging you. They have been in the same predicament. They only want to see you get better. They hate to see you like this. It may be hard to do this but look at the glass half full, rather than half empty. They want you to get back to yourself, the version of you that isn’t defeated. When I pulled from the oracle deck, I got the following cards: 

Child: Nature: Friendships with animals. Communication with nature spirits / Tendency to abuse animals, people and the environment. 

Destroyer: Releasing what is potentially destructive. Preparing for new life / Intoxication with destructive power. Destroying others’ dreams or potential.

Child: Magical: Seeing the potential for sacred beauty in all things. The belief that everything is possible / Pessimism, depression and disbelief in miracles. Believing that energy and action are not required for growth.

Cards Used: The Devil, Princess of Cups, The Star, Judgment, The Moon, Temperance, Seven of Swords.

Pile Four: And lastly, if you resonated with the photo of the Spice Girls, you seem very sensual. Are you a SWer? Do you attend pole dancing classes for fun? Do you know someone who does either of these things? I feel like the women in your life appreciate how physical you are. You’re probably an artist and you're sensitive about your shit too. The women in your life feel as though you have a lot of talents. You’re very multifaceted and they love to brag about it, especially the older women. You could been the cousin who had to show off the latest dance move. So as a result, you became the leader of the pack. You can be naturally nurturing but it can drain you. The women around you feel like you need to put up some boundaries so that you can still worry about you. They respect your quality of being a giver, but do you even respect yours-[GUNSHOT]. There is a woman that you are close to that admires a quality that you hate. She compliments it any chance she can get because she wants to uplift you. I feel like people always try to touch you, whether it’s your hair, your arms, or even your butt. The women around you could immediately shut it down or call them out or defend it. They want to protect your innocence. Even though you are grown, you have that ingenue within you. They know how you can get (especially while under the influence) so they refuse to let you get that way. When I pulled from my oracle deck, I got the following cards: 

Servant: Delight in serving others with a free and loving heart / Using the lack of money as an excuse not to move forward with life 

Bully: Highlights your tendency to intimidate others. Helps you confront the inner fears that bully you / Conceals deep fears behind verbal or physical abuse.

Hedonist: Inspires creative energy to embrace the good things in life. Celebrates the beauty in yourself / Pursues pleasure to the detriment of health. Indulges at the expense of others.

Cards Used: The Star, The Lovers, Judgment, The Emperor, 7 of Cups, 10 of Swords, Ace of Cups, The Moon, 8 of Cups (RX).

[doberbutts]

genuine question coming from a place of good faith: is it wrong of me to be scared for transmascs right now? the harassment of transfems by both radfems and now even tumblr staff is fucking horrendous, but im terrified that due to so much recent discourse, people are going to blame transmascs for it and hate us even more than they already do.

i genuinely do care about transfems and it’s utterly ghoulish what’s going on right now, and it needs to stop, but I can’t help but get this awful sinking feeling over how it could affect transmascs by proxy — but I’m not sure if that’s wrong of me? is it wrong to worry about, should I be focusing entirely on transfems right now? is it transmisogynistic of me to be concerned about both of these things instead of just the one? I don’t know if what I’m feeling is wrong and it’s stressing me out so badly :(

I don't think it's ever wrong to be concerned about multiple real problems at once.

I have stayed pretty quiet on this situation, mostly just adding stuff to my queue if I agree with it but not weighing in personally. Mainly the reason is that I genuinely don't know anything about the trans woman in question who all of this fuss is for. But, I have seen other trans blogs get nuked for seemingly flimsy reasons, and I have seen self-professed terfs and radfems crowing victory with the latest victims of their mass-reporting.

And I think this is a bit of a PR nightmare, but I also think this site does have a serious harassment problem the staff does not take nearly seriously enough while it also seems to punish in equal amounts blogs that get harassed AND blogs that were literally just minding their own business, with really the main similarities being that they are blogs owned by people belonging to seriously marginalized and at-risk demographics talking about controversial topics like racism and LGBT politics.

It is really quite frustrating that there are now accusations that trans mascs talking about their own oppression are behind this, when not only is there no proof behind the claim but also even without a lot of direct knowledge I am seeing a certain demographic cheering that their mass reports worked and I gotta say, that demographic largely isn't trans mascs.

I also think there is a lot of hypocrisy floating around, because some of these blogs I'm seeing mad about this latest streak of bans are also people who themselves have advocated for harassing others and mass-reporting others who simply fail the vibe check while just existing as themselves, off this website. And while those users don't have the power of the literal CEO, they're failing to see how they've contributed to the problem of this website's user culture of "send the most vile thing you can think of en mass until they break and leave and good riddance".

I say this as someone who also has been harassed by a band of people wanting to chase me off of this website. It is why I don't interact much with dogblr anymore. I have had several people who joined in that dog pile later approach me and apologize, but the damage is still done and I am not interested in engaging with a "community" so willing to tear someone apart on flimsy accusations that weren't even true. I almost killed myself that night, I had a mental break and turned off my blog completely for several days just to make it stop, and returned to see people similarly crowing with delight that they'd successfully run me off. It's happened to me, and the perpetrators were almost entirely white cisgender women, and I have been very reliably told by multiple other people that both my blackness and my transgender status were significant motivators in their poor behavior.

This also happening in the wake of yet another transgender teen killed by their peers has left me simply mentally and physically exhausted. I began involving myself more in the transgender community on here because I wanted this to stop. I wanted to help uplift my siblings and get them out of the pit before the whole thing caved in. It's feeling very hopeless right now for trans kids around the world and in the mean time it's also apparently my fault a trans woman I don't even know got banned I guess..

In any case. Hold your head up. We'll get through this, somehow. We always have. We always will.

[theboost]

Can’t bring myself to watch the finale of due south, so for the two people who are interested, here are my thoughts from when I was watching through

Due South insanity moment where vecchio gives a long speech to his sister in which he tells her to stay away from fraser because she’ll only get hurt and guys like fraser won’t even notice and then she responds by telling him that he’s afraid to dream. How am I supposed to take this

Obsessed with Fraser having a sleepover with his childhood hockey bestie. I think they should practice kissing with each other. I’m such a gay fraser truther I’m sorry but id take him and random hockey guy over him and Victoria

I think paul gross just has a resting smirk which is something you don’t see too often but it’s really making this funeral scene unintentionally humorous. Buddy you couldn’t muster a frown. I hate you Paul Gross, you live action Disney prince. That is a term that gets thrown around a lot but it’s true for him

100 percent still a gay fraser truther. Why are they having romantical ten- SORRY LIEUTENANT THATCHER JUST HIT HIM WITH A DAMN BITCH YOU LIVE LIKE THIS- romantical tension between fraser and thatcher. I don’t like it. She’s so mean to him all the time. He needs to get with a real man like Ray. I don’t really think you can put a guy like fraser in a relationship with his superior officer the chain of command would fuck him up. But they just keep mashing them together like Barbie dolls. I don’t get it. Also I kind of don’t like Francesca I’m sorry women…

“Ray, get in the closet” “Benny, get out of the closet” real dialogue. I don’t even need to make the joke. “I was in the closet with detective vecchio” I could end it all

Are we really doing another season finale where they’re getting framed by someone who one of them put in prison who recently go out and now seeks revenge. I guess if it ain’t broke. Okay so it’s not a season finale arc but still. It’s weird that it happened twice

CAN WE STOP PUTTING POOR GAY BOY FRASER - henceforth referred to as gayser when he is into situations wherein I want to emphasize his homosexuality - IN FORCED STRAIGHT SITUATIONS LIKE I KNOW THAT HE DOESNT WANT TO PLAY DOMESTICITY WITH FRANNIE. And she really needs to get with a woman

Girl a clip show for the season 2 finale? Come now. Also this is why starsky and hutch will always be a show made to hatecrime the watcher while due south uplifts you, because starsky and hutch did the amnesia plot line but hutch faked it. Because he’s insane.

“Alone we’re incomplete” truly insane thing to say about your best friend. Season 2 has really solidified by theory that ray is an out gay man to himself and no one else and he performs heterosexuality as a cover and gayser is just really truly deeply closeted because there were no gay people in a 100 kilometer radius growing up in the yukon. Also “benny, I could kiss you” “I thought we were just friends, ray” “we are” hello??? Hello???

Okay what the hell is going on with Ray K. You weren’t lying. 2 episodes in and he’s asking if Fraser thinks he’s attractive.

“All women are our sisters” I LOVE YOU FRASER. FEMINIST LEGEND.

I still gayser truth of course but as far as love interests go I don’t mind this bounty hunter milf

I don’t love that ghost dad was made a main character I liked him more when he would randomly pop up and I think they use him too much but I do love his little office set. And I do love that ghost dad is a character that exists

I don’t really care for the fact that one of kowalski’s defining traits is his love of police brutality. Come on due south. You used to understand that police violence is bad

I’ll be honest this is one of the first American based shows I’ve seen that promotes the idea of Canadian exceptionalism. And like it wasn’t initially like this as, see my last point, due South used to know and show that both the Chicago police and the mounties were corrupt, with Fraser being the worlds most special guy, but later seasons are like “all Mounties are inherently virtuous supermen”

Detective Huey and Fraser narrative foils in that both of them lost their first gay partner and then proceeded to get even gayer with their second partner. I do love Huey. And Dewey’s strange ways bewitch me I think he should hook up with turnbull

Women love to ask Fraser if they can trust him and then kiss him. Non_threatening_boys.jpg

Whenever Scott Bakula sings on quantum leap I cheer and clap like a seal and whenever paul gross sings I shriek and cover my eyes and say kill yourself

Every subplot to Mountie Sings the Blues makes me so happy I love huey and deweys stupid ass country song and I actually think Francesca/Turnbull is cute I’ve actually been hoping they would do it

I’m so sad due south got canceled right after the Fraser sister reveal I want so many more episodes with them hanging out

One thing about Fraser is that his love interest will be a brunette woman. Frannie, Victoria, Thatcher, milf bounty hunter and- sorry I looked up the poker episode to remember if the poker chick was brunette and sure enough

[bilboyagathechickenfootedhobbit]

I suppose that if I’m going to continue interacting with fellow feminists on this site, I ought to make a post detailing my beliefs since so many seem so utterly determined to misinterpret or just plain make things up based on practically zero information.

Or I could just say fuck it and log off and just continue my real world feminism.

I had really been hoping for connection and conversation and open discussions. Instead all I see are women being shouted down by other women for having different lived experiences or making different lifestyle choices.

Women are not a monolith. Feminists are not a monolith. Even amongst my closest feminist friends, we disagree on many things, but we continue to uplift and support one another because we recognize that womanhood contains multitudes and that our goal as feminists is the liberation of ALL of us, regardless of personal individual opinions.

But here? On this hellsite? Unless you *PRECISELY* agree with someone’s every last single detailed belief, down to which way to hang the toilet paper roll, your opinion is worthless and you have no brain because you DARE to formulate an opinion that does not match my own!!!

Feminists hating on mothers, feminists hating on bisexuals, feminists hating on straight women, feminists hating on feminists.

I ask you, where is that supposed to get us? What is that supposed to achieve?

I have stood shoulder to shoulder with women with whom I share literally NOTHING in common aside from being a woman, and I have shouted for our rights and liberation right alongside them. Why is this so hard to understand?

Diversity is valuable. Talking to people with opinions that differ from yours helps you challenge your beliefs and grow more strong in your ability to defend your stance. Only surrounding yourself with sycophants and yes-women makes you weak. If everyone around you agrees wholeheartedly with you, no question, then you get blindsided by someone simply being like “Nope. I don’t agree with that.”

Anyway.

Challenge yourself. Talk to women who you wouldn’t normally. Talk to women with different lived experiences. Talk to women making lifestyle choices for themselves that you would never make in a million years. TALK TO WOMEN. Grow your mind, expand the boundaries of your way of thinking, challenge yourself, get outside your comfort zone and echo chamber. Real growth and progress doesn’t occur in places of comfort; challenging and pushing yourself to understand, that’s where growth happens.

Take this old ladies advice or don’t. Keep infighting until you tear the entire movement apart from the inside, I’m sure the men appreciate y’all doing their work for them. I’m tired. I’m fine with disagreeing with someone but my god, I’m TIRED of the vitriol that some women seem to feel is necessary when they don’t agree with someone. Fuck. Just say you don’t agree and explain yourself and open up a dialogue. But for the love of feminism, stop calling each other brain dead or brain rotted simply because another woman dared make a choice you don’t like.

I have enjoyed my interactions with several of you, and most of you are just wonderful. But the angry vocal minority is just too much. It’s poison. And I’m too old and too experienced to sit here in a pool of poison and allow my love for feminism and women and my dream of their complete liberation to be slowly ripped to shreds by women who don’t know how to treat other women.

With love and kindness, I cannot with this shit anymore.

💚🤍💜

[batmanlovesnirvana]

“Colonized people recognize themself with Palestine. Colonizers recognize themselves with Israel.”

@latent-thoughts I wonder if your perspective has changed after seven months of relentless suffering, including genocide, ethnic cleansing, and massacres.

Over 45,000 people have died, the majority of them women and children. Among them, 14,800 children, not to mention those still trapped under rubble.

We have witnessed unspeakable horrors—decapitated children, some without limbs or organs.

Millions of people have been displaced in Rafah.

Starvation.

This situation demands reflection and compassion.

I am not asking you to support Hamas, but to reconsider labeling them as terrorists. They are a resistance group.

If you still view Hamas as the sole terrorists here, I find it hard to understand your stance. It’s akin to labeling Algerian resistance groups in the 1950s, who fought for liberation from French imperialism, as terrorists. The same applies to the Vietnamese resistance, which employed similar tactics, and the French resistance against the Nazis. History is replete with such examples.

Hamas is exercising their right to self-defense against a colonial power.

You talk about hamas like it's some invasive occupying regime or some inexplicable evil terrorising palestine or even a religious hate group which is both racist and completely inane.

Whatever your opinion on hamas, i urge you to actually consider the position of palestinians on the ground--if everyone you loved was killed by an airstrike while the world cheered on, who the fuck wouldn't join an organisation promising revenge and action ??? When the alternative is looking down at the barrel if vanishingly short life expectancy amid more airstrikes in an open air prison with a 47% unemployment rate.

You might not think that hamas is good or right or correct, but you have to understand it as a response to the situation it exists in or you'll just end up uncritically accepting the islamophobic propaganda lines being used to fuel a genocide

Have you ever wondered why only Western countries classify Hamas as a terrorist organization? These are the same countries that do not even recognize Palestine. The same countries that send weapons to Israel and are complicit in the genocide.

You all love Marvel, Harry Potter, Hunger Games, or whatever, and you praise the resistance groups in those movies—until it happens in real life. Until real people have had enough of their oppression and oppressors and decide to take matters into their own hands.

Do you really think the Palestinians haven’t tried anything? Protests? Negotiations? These people have suffered for 75 years. Hamas didn’t exist until the 1980s; they are a result of oppression. Most members of Hamas are orphaned children who have witnessed the devastation caused by Israel to their families, their country, and neighboring countries.

You kill their families, r@pe their women and children, steal their lands, and systematically bomb their houses and cities for 75 years. And then you wonder why they exist? Why they revolt? Why they want revenge? Why they've had enough? Why they resort to violence?

The audacity you have is outstanding.

I also live in a country where terrorism exists, but I also know what it's like to be colonized, oppressed, and unable to express my feelings or grief. To be deprived of my rights.

"Hamas leaders are billionaires but they don’t uplift Palestinians"? As if Israel weren’t controlling what goes in and out of Gaza—money, food, medication, everything—for decades. You talk like those Zionists on Instagram, claiming that if Israel completely controlled Gaza, they would turn it into Singapore or Dubai.

You talk about r@pe when we don't even know if those same allegations are true, because most have been proven false time and time again, without any proof whatsoever and simply just feed racist stereotypes against Arab men.

Meanwhile I don’t see you talking about how IDF soldiers r@ped Palestinians women and children. Just the other day, they r@ped a pregnant women while forcing her husband and family to watch at gunpoint. How in the West Bank, IDF sexual assaults is a common thing against Palestinian women because they know that those women won't talk about it, because of the threats and shame they receive and feel. Israelis spies used to take pictures of Palestinian women naked to bribe their husbands with it. Don’t even let me start with the sexual assaults that Palestinian prisoners (which some of whom are children) receive everyday.

“Freedom struggle shouldn’t include brutality” then you don’t know ANYTHING about freedom struggle. Go open a history book and find me a country that has been able to win their independence and human rights without using violence. I’ll be waiting.

It’s funny to see you criticize Hamas but not the IDF. Really. But also extremely infuriating.

Take a look at that :

And for the last time I’m not asking you to support them, just like I haven’t said if I support or not, but for god sake STOP CALLING THOSE PEOPLE TERRORISTS. The only real terrorists here are Benjamin Nethanyahu from Poland & the state of Philadelphia and of course, his fascist government as well as the IDF.

Being on Tumblr is super depressive these days.

My favourite character got twisted and destroyed by new canon, and many of my fandom mutuals celebrated it. It just feels weird, because I'm in mourning (even though I do reject that canon and am trying to keep him alive in my world), but they're not. I don't know how to interact with them anymore. So I've stopped.

Meanwhile mutuals who agreed with me on many things are suddenly spewing antisemitic rhetoric or reblogging posts praising terrorists like Hamas and bin Laden. It's giving me such a whiplash that I'm unable to process it still.

I want to close my eyes and ignore all of this, but I can't. I unfollow and block, but the sense of shock and betrayal remains...

[masterthespianduchovny]

Tbh, nothing is wrong with two leads of a show or core characters getting together. Quite frankly, I’d argue that it works better from a writer and audience stance than it does to introduce a new character/love interest.

Imho, the issue isn’t that it’s done, it’s how it’s done.

Some shows can be incredibly lazy and obvious about their intent, which is what ruins that build up. Characters are immediately attracted to each other just because (and I mean in a way that is clearly contrived and doesn’t make sense to the narrative), and then all this work is done to either separate them or keep them separated.

Either the actors have no real chemistry or have chemistry, but the material is severely lacking.

Sometimes it’s just two good looking people.

And some tragic cases, it’s no chemistry, good looking, and subpar material.

Or they’re getting together because they’re leads. No narrative purpose, just “lead.”

When you watch poorly constructed romances; yeah, of course you’re tired and burned out.

There’s the argument that men and women can be friends, which I argue. However, I really don’t hear these same people loudly support and uplift the platonic m/f relationships in media. The only time they talk about men and women being friends is when they don’t want two people getting together opposed to chatting about the friendships they’ve enjoyed that was portrayed on tv.

The thing about shippers: we never shut the fuck up about our ship. Show could be off the air for 10 years and we’re still going hard. Where as the noromo crowd are quiet and only reacting to a ship opposed to supporting the platonic friendships they crave so much. Like why don’t I see viral posts about Ron and Leslie all that often? (If at all, tbh).) why don’t I see random tumblr posts about them or Twitter threads? Do y’all have to do that?

No.

However, some writers will go where they get the most support.

Tbh, I’d argue that many writers and show runners want to tell a love story. This example could age poorly, which is fine, but I think Ted x Rebecca from Ted Lasso was crafted with romance in mind. It’s quite weird to get upset at them not maintaining a friendship (if they get together) because “men and women can be friends without romance or sex” when the original plan (presumably) was for them to get together. In a sense, some are arguing that writers shouldn’t tell the story they want to tell because they like the first part of their relationship (friendship), but hate the other part (romance, despite it having not happened yet).

Imo, this series has clearly set up that this relationship is supposed to end in a romance, which if true, was always the plan. The writers have been upfront that everything in the show has been planned out before the show was even greenlit, which is why it’s ending after three seasons.

We know see this happening with The Bear. Some people are clamoring at the fact that Jeremy said Carmy’s not thinking about sex and sex is absent from the narrative. But the series is seemingly setting up something. And, if they are, that means that it’s always been the plan for Syd and Carmy to have romantic feelings. This show dropped all at once so it’s not like the fans pressured the show to do anything. And, yet, there are things in the narrative that hints at a foundation being laid for romance.

And this is primarily a prominent character syndrome. Whether or not they actually have a friendship, if someone even gets a sniff that they might end up together or they have shippers, it’s “why can’t men and women be just friends???” If the lead is shipped with someone else apart of the main/core cast, that’s fine.

I remember when many were afraid of Ted x Keeley being a thing, but instead they have a great friendship. Their friendship is hardly talked about, as in no one asking for it to be featured more and celebrating it. Instead, it’s “why do Ted and Rebecca have to end up (together” as these people pair Ted with his therapist ?literally because she did her job, I’m not joking) and are all in on Rebecca dating a player, despite her being the owner. They don’t even celebrate the Rebecca x Roy friendship that much or Rebecca x Leslie. Apparently, it doesn’t count because one of them are in relationships.

Even though Ted and Rebecca are close, I’m not sure if I’d define their closeness as a friendship. It’s very hard to define. Or, at least, I wouldn’t define them as besties like some people try to do. There’s a lot of weird elements that can’t be summed up to friendship that some are in denial about.

With The Bear, Sydney is only supposed to have a mentee/mentor relationship with Carmy, despite that not really being their relationship. Or a CDC/sous chef relationship, which again, that not really being their relationship although it’s their official label. The series sets up that they’re really partners before officially having Carmy ask Sydney to be his partner. They don’t have the dynamic people claim nor are they friends. Yet, the same people will ship Sydney with Marcus and Richie.

Disclaimer: I don’t have issues with other ships, however, there is a level of hypocrisy and willful ignorance behind many of these arguments. Like, someone may not see it for a ship, but when a series is clearly setting something up and the person is ignoring it, imo, they’re bad actors here.

The love interest who isn’t apart of the friend group or working closely with the lead shines in movies. It’s a tighter story with a tighter focus. The movies that do feature m/f friendships, again, tend to fall in the wayside of active support. Not money, but discussed platonic relationships.

Lastly, the most memorable and iconic couples are mostly either pairings from the core cast OR the couple was already established. In all honesty, this makes sense.

Romance or not, fans usually don’t take well to new characters popping up years later. You also have to integrate this person into the show without it feeling forced. We also want to be invested in this romance if that’s what’s being sold.

Not only does the writing have to be good and work on several levels, this person has to have chemistry with not just whoever they’re paired with, but the other characters as well depending on the show. The only show I know of off the top of my head able to do that was HIMYM. And it was considered a remarkable feat.

Where as building a romance with existing characters have fans more likely to invest, stick with, and root for the pairing. The romance is more likely to feel earned and natural to the narrative.

And I’m not saying there aren’t any love interest later on introduced who don’t work, I’m saying they don’t work as often as established characters.

[motherherbivore]

Hello I have no art to post rn but I do have some shit to say

I have a pretty one-sided relationship with the 2077 fandom these days but I do lurk and get bits and pieces of news. The current discourse as I understand it is a total no brainer—everyone just mind your own business and don’t look at shit you don’t like—but I’m more… adjectived about some of the names I’m seeing writing posts about how terrible it is that people would be so toxic and gatekeep-y in the fandom. I say adjectived because I have mixed feelings about it. It’s funny on some levels. It’s funny to see some of the people whose toxicity, gatekeeping, and cliqueishness destroyed a community and my mental health last year, now decrying toxicity, gatekeeping, and cliqueishness in the very same fandom. It’s absolutely hilarious that the person who edited my friends and I onto Arasaka agents being brutally killed by V and posted it over and over again in a Discord server, is saying not to harass and bully people. The funniest part is where they said it’s shallow to send your friends after someone you don’t like when they were sent after me and my friends by someone who didn’t like us. It’s really, really funny that these people took part in weeks of trolling, gaslighting, and witch hunting and now they’re being uplifted as voices of reason. It’s so funny because if it’s not I’ll have another breakdown!

Then it’s disheartening to see that people from one of the nicest 2077 communities I’ve ever been in supporting these people, even though I know they don’t know what happened. That’s why I do not participate in the community anymore, even though I miss it dearly--not because the nice people did anything bad, because they did not, but because I am not willing to allow even a possibility of being face to face with the people who DID hurt me, and I’m not willing to ask the good people to pick a side and cause even more strife. I haven’t spread the events of last summer because I didn’t want to divide communities, which is also very funny because that’s the exact opposite of what the other people wanted. It’s just upsetting to see them around, especially in this context. This is already long here’s a readmore

I mean, these are the same people who participated in “River is a domestic abuser and fucks his sister” rhetoric. Who gleefully swapped River with one of the Maelstrom guys during the Pick-up so they could watch his head get blown off and repeatedly posted the gif after being told to stop. Who supported one of the most attention-demanding, “my V is the correct V and what I say is canon,” egotistical women I’ve seen in this fandom.

Maybe those people have grown up. Maybe they regret what they did, or who they supported. Maybe if I unblocked some of them, they’d apologize. Maybe they’re saying all that while regretting what happened last summer. But I’m not going to give them that chance! They sure as hell didn’t give my friends that chance before labeling them doxxers, driving them to delete accounts, and harrassing their family members. 

Anyway, like I said, this isn’t really about the current discourse. I’m not saying they’re wrong in what they’re saying. I don’t even know exactly what’s happened (although it does sound like bullshit and people should stop bothering each other about their OCs). It’s just funny to me that they’ll get up in arms about bullying when they’re some of the worst bullies I’ve ever had the displeasure of knowing. Plus, part of me feels like I need to explain to the good people why I vanished without a word, and while this is a paltry explanation, it’s the best I can do at the moment.

I don’t expect any action from this post, nor do I really want any. I’m just talk talk talkin. I guess the TL;DR is that karma isn’t real and bad people still get to enjoy life, more often than the people they hurt, and most people are blissfully unaware

[neon-junkie]

Vanity is a Sin - Chpt.1

Summary: The last person you expected to fall for is that pretentious man, Javier Escuella, but maybe you're not so different from him after all?

Pairing: f!Reader x Javier Escuella

Word Count: 2709

Rating: SFW

Tags: Enemies to lovers, Slow burn, Arguments, Bickering, Denial of feelings, Reader has a lot of self-doubts.

Notes: I’ve wanted to write a Javier multi-chapter fic for aaaages, but wanted to do something different for it. So, enemies to lovers it is, my fave trope hehe, but we don’t see much of Javiers negative side, so let’s explore that :0

Next Chapter

It's another chilly day at Horseshoe Overlook. Despite your occasional shiver and constant goosebumps, you're thankful that you're still not stuck in Colter, but that still doesn't mean you can't wish to be somewhere warmer. It seems no matter how many layers you put on, you can't quite get warm, and you question how other gang members are walking around in their summer attire, especially Arthur.

You shiver again and accidentally manage to prick your finger with the needle you're using to sew somebody's patchy pants. "Fuck sake," you mutter under your breath, looking at your finger to inspect the damage. It's nothing, and you know it's nothing, but you're in a grumpy mood, so everything feels tenfold, especially the sting to your fingertip.

You sigh, looking up at the sky, questioning why whatever being that lives up there continues to rain on your parade. It's not just you that's in a bad mood, the whole camp seems off, but Dutch continues to attempt giving his many uplifting speeches whilst he poses in his tent with a cigar in hand, not lifting a finger to do even some basic camp chores.

He's doing the same now, and your eyes gaze over him as you stop staring at the sky. There he is, the man himself, the big boss, his voice cracking every so often; that always brings a smile to your face. Your eyes follow around the rest of the camp: Hosea is the only one stood listening to him. Molly's on the other side of her tent staring into her pocket mirror because for some reason, she no longer has to pull her weight. Bill is still asleep. Mary-Beth and Tilly are beside you, still sewing away. The O'Driscoll is still tied to the tree. Strauss is... doing whatever he does. And there's Javier, gussying himself up in Arthurs mirror, no surprise there.

You'll never understand how these boys get away with doing the bare minimum, whilst yourself and the other women are the only thing keeping this camp together. Everybody knows that if the women decided to up and leave in the night, the men would end up setting the camp on fire, probably attempting to cook their own dinner... no offence to Pearson. There's a fair few, such as Arthur and Hosea, who are able to survive on their own, but you've seen Arthur attempt to do tedious jobs before and just like you, he pricks his fingers every time he sews. At least Hosea has an excuse, being in his grey years, his bones not able to move as they used to, but he makes up for it in other ways.

But Javier? What does he do? Apart from prance around the camp in his designer crocodile boots, spending an hour shaving his moustache every morning... why does he even shave his moustache like that? You asked him once, and he replied "It rubs off from all the friction." Sure, Javier, because you're obviously a very wanted man.

Unfortunately, Mary-Beth and Tilly take quite a liking to him. They've confessed what you would view as sins before, saying they both have a soft spot for the man, to which you scoffed then laughed, and ended up choking from laughing too hard.

"Why are you laughing? I don't see why you two don't get along? He's real sweet and..." Mary-Beth had begun droning on, and you eventually interrupted her with a "Where do I start?"

Needless to say, neither of them agreed with any of your opinions of Javier, apart from him not pulling his weight as much as he makes out to. But oh, he plays guitar, so that means he doesn't have to do any chores because he blares out his music all hours of the night. You've told him to quit playing so you can sleep many times, seeing as your tent is right by the campfire, to which he always glares at you and plays louder. He once even had the audacity to wake Uncle up and begin shouting Ring-A-Dang-Do.

You took your revenge by waking up early and pouring water in his boots. He knew it was you the second he put them on, sighing and glaring at you, but not being confrontational for once. At least he started putting a curfew on his music after that.

You've been manifesting in your thoughts for a while now, not realizing your name is being called out. "Huh?" you almost yelp as somebody taps your shoulder.

"Are you alright?" Tilly asks. "You've been staring into the distance again, didn't even hear us callin' your name."

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking," you explain as you turn your attention to them.

"About what?" Mary-Beth questions.

"Nothing that's worth my time."

"Oh, boys?" Tilly questions, making all three of you laugh.

"Unfortunately."

"Well, Mary-Beth and I are all finished here. We're gonna make ourselves look decent and head into town, you coming?"

"Yeah. Let me finish up this, and I'll meet you by the wagon," you reply.

"Alright."

The pair excuse themselves, heading over to their tents to begin looking 'presentable', even though you would happily argue with them about that. They always look incredible, flawless yet effortless, whereas you constantly feel like a drowned rat...

You watch as they wander off, saying hello to Javier, who's still stood in front of Arthurs mirror. He's not even having a shave, he's just been stood there checking himself out for the last ten minutes, or however long it's been. Your brows furrow and you force yourself to tilt your head down, focusing on your final stretch of sewing, eventually finishing up, so you can put them back on the laundry pile and begin getting ready for your day out.

Going into town with your girl friends is always relaxing, something to get you out of camp, when you're not trailing in and out on your own accord. Yes, you know damn-well how to shoot a gun, along with all your other basic survival skills like hunting and fishing. Dutch was reluctant to take you on heists at first, calling you "another Karen, a woman who wants to get her hands dirty when she's needed here."

Dutch wasn't expecting you to put your money where your mouth is, trailing back into camp a few days later with more than enough cash to keep the camp happy. Only that was somewhat of a waste of time now you look back on it, your share being lost somewhere in Blackwater, along with the rest of the camps hard work and progress. Back to square one, yet again...

The sound of a thud startles you, looking over your shoulder to see that the final crate has been loaded into the wagon. The shop helper gives you a wave, and you beckon him over to tip him; he pours out his thanks before going back inside.

"Back to camp?" you question as you turn your focus to Mary-Beth and Tilly, who nod in agreement.

With a flick of the reigns, the three of you begin leaving Valentine, only popping into town to grab a few camp supplies and treats for yourselves. You've fancied a new outfit for a while, and you're excited to try it on later, maybe make yourself look nice so you can... sit by the campfire...

What else is there to enjoy in camp?

The path you're following leads you straight back to Horseshoe Overlook, and you warn the girls of the bump before crossing over the train tracks. A familiar figure can be seen in the distance, and as they approach, you realize it's Arthur on his new mount. He pulls up beside you as you stop the wagon, tipping his hat to the three of you.

"Where are you going?" you question.

"Just headin' into town. I didn't know you girls had just been there," Arthur explains.

"We only went to pick up supplies. What are you going for?" Tilly questions.

"Javier and Charles wanted to meet me at the Saloon, said I'd drop by this afternoon. They must already be there."

"You should get going then, you know what Javier is like," you complain, the words slipping from your mouth.

Arthur laughs at your statement. "You're right," he agrees. "But you two will learn to get along one day, you've gotta if you're gonna be in the same camp together."

"Arthur, there are plenty of camp members that don't get along. You and Micah, for instance?"

"...Yeah, you're right," Arthur hums in frustration. "Forget I said that then... Well, I best be going."

"See you later," the three of you reply.

Arthur gives another little nod and taps his spurs, heading into town, whilst you whip your reigns again and begin your return to camp. 

 By the time you arrive, it's almost sundown, and your evening is spent unloading the wagon and scoffing down your dinner. The night is free to do as you please, so just like you told yourself earlier, you get changed into your new clothes and make yourself look presentable, taking a seat at the campfire with the others and joining in on their story telling.

The evening is going well, relaxing and peaceful for once, even with Uncles banjo playing. All until the sound of heavy hooves come thudding back into camp; you turn to see a handful of the gang members returning from their night in town, only they don't seem too happy. They're huffing and grumbling, nursing what appear to be wounds, and it's easy to piece everything together and realize that they been in a bar fight.

A few of your fellow camp members get up from their seats at the campfire to go and check on them, and as much as you do care, you don't want to overcrowd them. You get up and make your way over to Pearson's wagon, picking out another bottle to drink. You're spoilt for choice, a nice selection of whiskeys and gins at your service, something different from cheap, warm beer.

You pick up a bottle and begin reading the label, checking the alcohol percentage and debating how drunk you want to get tonight. You don't overhear the sound of footsteps approaching, your mind paying no attention to sounds like that as you hear them all the time, but the sound of somebody speaking directly behind you makes you jump.

"That for me?" they ask. You peer over your shoulder to see Javier standing there, his hand rubbing his chin where a bruise is beginning to form.

"Why would this be for you?" you scoff, turning your body to face him, the bottle in your hands.

"Your poor camp member has just been in a fight, yet you won't help nurse them?" Javier questions with a laugh.

"That's your own fault, plus I ain't your mother."

You begin to walk off, but the comment Javier makes forces you to stop in your tracks. "Mary-Beth and Tilly would."

"Go and ask them then," you roll your eyes, turning to face Javier again. Who does he think you are? He begins to softly laugh and the sound makes you gag, so artificial, just like the rest of him.

"But what if I want you to help me? Surely you don't dislike me that much."

"I do, so I'd suggest you ask them."

You try and walk away yet again, and Javier mutters something under his breath. "You'll learn to like me eventually." Another scoffing sound escapes your lips as you frown at him, leaning against Pearson's table and crossing your arms, your bottle in hand.

"You know, I've never seen you wear purple before. It suits you," you smirk.

"Oh, very funny," Javier says as he raises his eyebrows. He approaches you, his strides small and slow, stopping right before you. His hand moves away from his bruise, his skin turning a deeper purple as every second passes, but your eyes are drawn to his; They're dark and blown, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, staring into yours. He's too close for your liking, you can smell the tobacco in his system with every exhale, his breathing deep, still clearly worn out from the fight.

"What's your issue with me?" Javier asks. "I mean, I've never done anything to upset you, not that I know of, but you've always had something against me."

"I've told you before," you begin as you uncross your arms, placing your bottle down on the table and resting your hands on your hips. "You don't do shit around this camp. You'll drag a sloppy score in here and there, but your vanity distracts you from doing some proper work, chores and what-not."

"Vanity?" Javier repeats the word with a laugh. "There's no harm in looking good, at least you're putting some effort in tonight. Did you buy this today?" Javier asks as he goes to tough the fabric of your blouse, but you swat his hand away.

"You're as bad as Micah," you spit at him.

"Mhmm, we both know that's a lie. For starters, I do a lot more than him around here, and you know it-"

"Please, will the pair of you quit it already?" Dutch calls out as he approaches. He must have noticed the way you two were stood so close, squaring up to each other, both too egotistical to let the other talk them down.

Dutch puts his arm out between your bodies, lightly pushing both of you away, forcing you to take a few small steps back. "I've said before that you don't have to get along, but these pathetic arguments happen far too often. Either you both drop this, or I'll have to find a way to make you get along," Dutch threatens, and you know he'll stay true to his word.

You don't bother saying anything, glaring at Javier once more before turning heel and walking away. "You forgot your drink," Javier calls out to you.

"Seems I've lost my appetite," you call back, and you overhear Dutch sigh at your comment.

Part of you feels sick, and you're unsure if that's from the adrenaline pumping in your veins, or the nerves Javier has shaken into you. Why was he stood so close? Your noses were almost touching, and you wouldn't be surprised if he kissed you just to wind you up even more. You try to keep your mind clear as you enter your enclosed tent, taking off your makeup and getting ready for bed, but you can still feel Javier's hot breaths on your skin.

You debate having a towel bath, wanting to wipe away the sin of being so close to that irritating man, but you're already in bed with no motivation to move. As you roll over, the sound of his guitar grows outside, forcing you to place your head under the pillow in an attempt to drown the music out. He's a good musician, and you're happy to admit that, but why does everything about him have to be so... him?

The perfectly coordinated outfits, the way his steel toe boots are always shining, the effortless yet pristine ponytail he always wears, the confidence and vanity in everything he says. He's like one of those flawless characters you've found in awfully written books, no weaknesses or downfalls, no ugly days, everybody loves him, yet his artificialness makes you sick.

And he knows it makes you sick, and he loves to play on it. Tonight isn't the first time he's got up close and personal with you. You know he studies your every move, watching your body language, checking to see if blush grows on your cheeks, searching for your insecurities. The comment he made earlier is still on repeat in your mind... "at least you're putting some effort in tonight." What a smug bastard. He knows how low your self-esteem is, yet you weren't expecting him to pull a Micah and make a comment like that.

But this is what he wants. He wants it to settle in your brain, to weigh you down and make you feel even worse. You just have to not let that happen, but that's easier said than done...

[laniidae-passerine]

oh great they’re already here to tell me off for my mean and cruel post. let’s go in order shall we?

“I like the gay ship better because [of reasons] not because I’m a racist” - GREAT!!! literally great for you good for you fantastic for you. I’m not even arguing with you, like with one of the fandoms I tagged [dead boy detectives] I genuinely prefer the m/m ship. I would 100% prefer to see Edwin/Charles to go canon than continue with a Crystal/Charles plot line and indeed expect them to one day get together. But it’s also very notable that any Crystal/Charles is incredibly lacking and unpopular in this fandom, even though other non-canon ships are sailing just fine, and that Crystal is being shunted to the side. People are saying they wished she’d have died, that she’s mean, rude, aggressive, pointless. Content about her is lacking even though she’s in every episode and is a main character. It’s fucking weird. Also, if I say “some people do things because of racism” and you have to immediately jump in with “not me! I’m not racist!” then go away. great for you. the post wasn’t about you. why are you here except to signal about yourself?

“weird to say you ship them solely for this reason op! maybe that’s racist!” - two things. I am half brown. I will always go to bat for brown and black women because they are so regularly degraded and ignored in fandom spaces, whether they be characters or creators. so yeah, sometimes I do boost things or support things that I don’t really care about, for the sake of uplifting those people and making sure they have spaces to thrive. sue me about it. plus, I used the words “double down”. I already like these ships! I saw the chemistry and the tension and thought they were cute! look me in my eyes and tell me that TOS Spock and Uhura didn’t have some flirty moments. they totally did and I love them <3 I’m not just randomly doing shit, I’m showing my love for ships I already cared about because they’re constantly punched down on for the sake of existing

“it’s homophobia to punch down on m/m ships like this” - I’m allowed to say I don’t like a queer ship and have that not be a hatecrime. I don’t like a lot of things that happen to be gay. I also love a lot of things that do happen to be gay. I’m not beholden to like things for the sake of gay rights, not if I think they suck. which again, I like a lot of m/m ships in conjunction with f/m ships. I’m a woman of multitudes. also, it’s the big gay website which has a significant proportion of white queer users, not the real world. it’s actually the unpopular opinion to back interracial m/f ships on here, which leads me to

“straight ships literally never have to fight for representation only queer ships do!” - you are a moron! you are a joke! interracial relationships are consistently punched down on and supporters of them attacked and harassed on this website and many others. mocking, anon hate, racial abuse, death threats, rape threats, you name it, it’s been sent. and if you think I’m exaggerating, let’s list some. sleepy hollow. star trek. the witcher. criminal minds. teen wolf. the vampire diaries. bridgerton. and if we ever forget the big one, star wars. it extends out into real life. it has genuine effects on our representation, like shows getting cancelled or plot lines being rewritten to mangle chemistry. so I’m horribly sorry for being excited and supporting interracial ships when I can get them and going to bat for them, but you do not get to preach about how rude or strange or weird or apparently homophobic we are for caring when we’ve had to endure obscene amounts of racism to get to the point where you can put a black/brown person kissing a white person in a major show. and even then the actors get told to kill themselves about it.

“I’m black/brown and I don’t like those ships” - fair enough. however I do, so we can be civil about it and respect each other’s spaces or perhaps even share in them (I’m an outright multi shipper I do what I want regardless of canon). we’re not a monolith and we don’t have to love the same stuff, but I hope you understand where I’m coming from and the importance of protecting these ships

also one day someone will read my tags christ alive

I’m one of those people who will double down on an m/f pairing when I realise that the female character is being ignored or degraded by the fandom because she’s ‘in the way’ for a gay ship involving a white boy (especially when she’s black or brown) and I think I’d just like that on the record

[silvermoon424]

Sorry you got TERFs on your back, they're such miserable people.

For real, every fucking TERF/radfem I've come across just seems like such a bitter and hateful shell of a person. Their "feminism" revolves more around hating men and excluding trans women than uplifting women. When MRAs whine about how feminism is just about hating on men, this is what they're talking about.

Like even the TERF blogs I blocked that were interacting with my posts were like 90% bitching about how evil men are (I did take a peek at some of their blogs to see if they were TERFs and yep, they were). I get it, we do still live in a patriarchy and a lot of men are dogshit but I still don't think it's right to generalize 50% of the population as inherent oppressors, nor do I think it's healthy to spend so much time bitching about how much you hate them. It's not healthy when incels do it to women and it's not healthy when radfems do it to men (although tbf I do have more sympathy for radfems because I think their complaints about oppression are more valid than incel complaints). But God forbid you don't immediately agree that all men are trash, otherwise you're a "bootlicker" and a "gender traitor." 🙄

That's not the feminism I want to be a part of, I want to be a feminist who accepts and includes everyone while still not tolerating bullshit.

[possibilistfanfiction]

srsly tho i am so impressed by especially crystal and cp who have been performing as well as ever while being surrounded by some gross fuckwads who don't seem to have any interest in understanding the world outside of their own experiences and reconsidering their shitty opinions. hope i don't have to see carl* ever again after these games are over

theyre fucking incredible. to be overlooked so unfairly for so long (cp in particular in my heart but IMPOSSIBLE to not see it for crystal as well, both such phenomenal players) & then receive literal death threats after peacefully protesting while carl* & other white teammates do nothing or make it worse …

on one hand, that’s just a compact example of how the uswnt has always been, & how ussf has always backed it up. (beyond that, a compact example of white feminism in general — focused on capital only w/ no class & race solidarity, & full literal & metaphysical allegiance to a settler colonial empire).

on the other hand, it’s 2021, & i think it’s becoming increasingly clear that it’s impossible to just function with that. i can’t imagine the deep trauma, even thru years of microaggressions (& like, let’s be real, probably some overt aggressions) that cp & crystal have faced. the resiliency & grace they have is mind blowing. even ussf having both of them be the ones to do a presser & address simone + mental health … the labor continues to be on Black women

i rly do stand by that some of the lack of cohesion has to come down to that, & rightfully so. i couldn’t be a functional teammate w carl* or many others, including staff as well. even if it’s an underlying feeling, there’s no real solidarity & no real safety. deshaun harrison writes a lot about how you can’t self-love or self-care your way out of ontological or systemic violence, & it rly is becoming impossible to ignore, even if it’s just the way the body reacts to things (& performs, in sport).

& i know it also might seem silly but i don’t doubt that some discussion may have been had, at least w some ppl, after the friendlies. tobin (himbo, doing her best i rly think so lol) did the anthem at that game but then didn’t at the olympics. she’s a good example of someone who seems to listen & learn, even when she might mess up sometimes. she’s grown a lot, & ofc it isn’t abt the white players at all but there is something to be said for someone who stands in real solidarity helping to shift that ontological & systemic violence (sometimes even physically, when u see white players actually literally not doing the anthem).

so yah i know that not many ppl will have this take or even rly be thinking abt it but to me the olympics have been a huge microcosm of anti-Blackness & especially misogynoir & transmisogynoir — & the way that that Does impact the mental health & holistic wellbeing of Black women athletes. i don’t know, obviously, the personal experiences or feelings of cp & crystal, & they seem to be so gracious always, but the actions white players, staff, & the federation have taken for the entirety of their careers have to have some weight, however that might manifest; in addition to this racist settler colonial empire they live in. cp isn’t like formally out but we also all know, so i’m sure there’s some compounded trauma of being Black & queer (however she specifically identifies u know). i just … truly can’t imagine. it doesn’t surprise me there’s not a lot of joy there.

big takeaway: protect, believe, uplift Black women, uswnt & so far beyond. & also let Black women respond to trauma — which sometimes means taking a break. resting. if cp retires to have a family, i’ll be so happy for her bc she’s going to be so happy & no longer in this obviously toxic environment. i love watching her play, i have loved watching her play for a decade, but there’s so much more to her life than sport. it’s clear she knows that & finds tremendous peace in that

[elftwink]

i have now seen the new cinderella movie twice and it’s so weird. first of all it’s probably because i’d only ever heard about the movie via tiktoks making fun of it and not seen any ads but i didn’t know it was a jukebox musical and it took me like three songs to figure it out but like... all the song choices are so bizarre? most of them just barely apply to the scene so it feels more like an interruption than a natural progression. it also feels like they made 0 attempt to match singers up to a style that they’re used to and sound good in which is partly i think why the vocals are getting torn apart so bad.

i mean like. okay sorry this is going to be very self important ex theatre kid of me to say but if you listen to camila cabello in million to one (a song they WROTE!! for this movie!!![i think]) it sounds like she’s trying to belt using her head voice and so it sounds so strained and not in like an ‘overpowering emotion’ strained but like she can literally barely get the notes out. and like hey. why did you make her sing that then. why is it so bad when you wrote it for a person who already has a successful career singing for a musical that isn’t even live like you can edit the audio and process it and do several takes if one doesn’t sound the best.

and the reprise is so bad because it has all the same problems but it’s in that part of the plot right after the stepmother ruins her dress and before the fairy godmother arrives and she’s like crying and it’s very sad and then the energy of the scene completely changes for her to do another uplifting verse of million to one and it’s like WHY ARE YOU MAKING HER SING THIS LIKE THAT. and the lyrics are adding NOTHING!!! to the story!! it’s just the chorus so it’s nothing new and it feels almost unrelated to ella’s emotional state. and bc of that the only thing you can focus on is the vocals!! and how they’re very clearly not her best work!!

it feels like this movie was written by someone who has seen a musical but not really understood it at all. the songs come in abruptly, and it’s very poorly communicated when characters can hear each other. while they generally fit the vibe of the scene that’s... all they do. like in a musical the lyrics of the song are dialogue. they’re part of the story; if you remove them you leave holes in the story because major plot beats should be happening there. in cinderella (2021), songs are just kind of about the scenes, if that. the plot sort of happens around them, to the point where it’s sometimes annoying when they start singing bc it’s a 3 minute pause on anything you actually wanna see. this is the musical people are talking about when they’re telling you why they hate musicals and don’t find them believable.

ONE good section song wise was seven nation army which is annoying bc it’s prefaced by whatta man which.... has just an awful instrumental arrangement like stop leaving these singers out to dry. but like anyway this happens when the prince first comes to the ball and the various women come to try out to be princess sing whatta man and then they transition into a rendition of seven nation army by the prince which... in this context works! it comes off as melodrama from the prince and offers a different interpretation of the song that i think is actually really funny. it has personality, it fits with the story, which makes it so weird that most of the other songs do not. like i could put together a better track list for this movie i think.

and that all sucks because in between the songs, the movie is actually like... pretty good. like not great; it’s very... direct with its #girlpower plotline in a sort of tell-not-show way, so some lines of dialogue feel like the writers thought you might be too stupid to pick up on the fact that ella wants independence and [financial] freedom but misogyny is a major barrier in her way even though that’s the whole point. BUT the plot itself is actually a kind of fun twist on cinderella, if not 100% untrodden ground. the characters all have motivations and goals that make sense. the stepsisters and stepmother are great; i think sometimes cinderella retellings make the stepfamily very cartoonish and flat, but i think they feel like real people (i mean, a little silly, but that’s in keeping with the tone of the movie; and it means the stepsisters make for decent comic relief without ruining the tension between ella and the stepmother). most of the jokes landed! if there were 0 songs this would be a fairly decent family movie with a kind of wildcard cast. but instead it’s This. wow.

(also it’s really unclear whether the problem is interpersonal misogyny or systemic misogyny, and the movie seems to purposefully conflate the two. the prince points out that women are not allowed to run businesses, and refers to purchasing ella’s dress as doing his part to correct a flawed system. women have a prescribed role in royal courts that would require ella to give up her work. the stepmother’s entire motivation behind trying to get the [step]daughters to marry rich is that women only have social mobility through marriage to men; men who control their lives and can on a whim destroy them. but then also you simply just have to believe in yourself and not let anybody tell you what to think about yourself and it will all work out! like hello?? what are the laws in this kingdom. maybe i’m too leftist for this movie. i don’t know what i expected from an amazon original.)

disclaimer i’m not a singer or a musical expert and i don’t know what i’m fucking talking about i have no qualifications i was a drama kid over 5 years ago and that’s all. i just love to be a bitch. xoxo

anyway. 4/10.

[doberbutts]

I’m struggling to put this into words so bear with me here but it’s also like.

It’s what I keep being really annoyed about.

“Men are assaulted because of the patriarchy, not because of women, therefore as a woman I don’t need to give a shit” doesn’t just imply that there’s no way a woman could be complicit or even actively furthering the patriarchy. It blames individual men for a society they did not build and that actively hurts them, while entirely removing blame from individual women who have learned how to bend this harmful society’s rules to benefit them.

It says “women suffer under the patriarchy and thus I am allowed to hate and hurt individual men because men are responsible for the patriarchy hurting me” while also saying “if a man is raped by a woman it is patriarchy’s fault and thus a result of the society men built and thus the individual woman who did this is blameless and the real perpetrator is other men therefore men are to blame for their own victimhood”. It’s victim blaming. It’s seeing a population, a sizable population, cry out in pain and beg for help and telling them “you did this to yourselves”.

Anyway I will repeat what I always repeat and it’s that for some reason we’ve swerved way way way away from the feminism I was taught which uplifted all genders and wasn’t just “man bad”, but boy do I feel like so many folks could use a fucking history lesson or maybe just a couple more braincells.

why on earth do you purposefully misrepresent rape and sexual assault statistics? yes obviously men being sexually abused should be taken seriously, but claiming that it happens at the same frequency that it happens to women at is completely false. this is true both in official crime statistics, and crime surveys.

Probably because new science is saying that's not true and it's estimated now to be roughly equal. I've given links on this before that you've clearly ignored.

This is a less than 1% variance.

AND it's a feminist take.

Why do you continue to ignore modern studies who are actively telling you that you're wrong and pointing out the flaws in the way these statisics and studies were collected and conducted? Is it because it's not useful to your narrative? Is it because if you admit that sexual violence is not solely conducted by men and that all people are endangered by it, then it's more difficult to argue that you're justified in hating and fearing half the population of this planet? Is it because you've gotten so used to thinking there's no way any man could ever share any experience with a woman that you've forgotten at the end of the day that the human experience is rich with common ground?

[transcephalopod]

yo you may not be one but you’re really no better than a terf. proudly making fun of queer ppl for existing and wanting to be open about their experiences is just. 🤔 huh. you using your trauma as a way to belittle others instead of uplift them is despicable in a way i can’t even express, and i hope someday you learn and grow to see that how you’ve been behaving is damn cruel.

did you really just say me calling people virgins online is just as bad as violent transmisogyny? I hope to god you never interact with any transfeminine people. you clearly just think terf is an internet buzzword and not a dangerous hate group that has led to real world harm for trans women. log the fuck off

also don't use the q slur uncensored around me, it's upsetting. everything about my blog makes it abundantly clear that I'm not comfortable with it. y'all will tag the word amoeba and gay couples kissing if it makes some turbovirgin inclus uncomfortable but you'll happily send uncensored violent slurs to lgbt people and that really shows where your priorities lie. whatever Wise Kind Kweer Elder vibes you were trying to give off are kind of ruined by your inability to go one goddamn ask without using slurs

you really thought you said something here but all you did was show your ass in the worst way possible. go sort out why you think internet discourse is comparable to transmisogyny and you can just brush aside and ignore inclus homophobia. I hope someday you learn and grow to see that how you've been behaving is damn cruel <3

[afriendlyblackhottie]

I don’t know about you but I really hate this “I’m not like the other girls” trope. I realize this when I was reading a story and it was from the man’s pov and in the story it was described how he hated girls who wore high heels and he was relieved how the girl he liked didn’t wear high heels and that bothered me sooo much because it was written by a woman. Obviously things like makeup and dresses and heels don’t define us as women at all but I will be the first to admit that those things are are a part of who I am. That’s why the word feminist has ‘feminine’ because it means that things like makeup and heels can’t stop us from being doctor’s or lawyers or astronauts that’s what women from generations before us have been fighting for and to see you girls now a days discarding their femininity like it’s trendy kinda hurts because they should be embracing those parts of themselves and it’s disgusting because it’s literally an insult to girls like me who actually like makeup and dresses and heels. I don’t know when this started but it needs to stop. Obviously this isn’t directed towards you and when I say woman should embrace their feminine side I don’t mean all women, I recognize that not everyone women is feminine and that some genuinely aren’t “girly” and some are in between and that’s completely fine, I really hope you understand what I’m trying to say because I don’t want my messages to come off the wrong way

Omg I definitely agree with you.

The way I see it, we can’t win. We wear high heels and dresses were just like “all the other girls ew” but if we don’t wear them we’re trying to “destroy femininity.” Then the way they treat our trans sisters as if we shouldn’t love and accept them with open arms because they only see women as “birthing units” only to turn around and be disgusted by teen and/or single moms at the same time.

That’s why I just choose not to give a fuck. I will uplift women and the choices/circumstances that have molded us into whatever we choose to define ourselves. I refuse to care about the opinions of the people that are going to hate us either way and only want us to go back to an IMAGINARY time when women didn’t work even though that time was only a possibility for upper middle class white women who are not my standard of femininity. (Not to say anything against stay at home moms because idk how they manage to do everything they do.)

The “not like the other girls” trope bothers me because it is solely from a perspective of being about the male gaze. That if you just do this or act “cool” you’ll get a “cool” boyfriend and everyone is going to fawn over you. Have you met one of these not like the other girls in real life? They’re fucking insufferable 🤷🏾‍♀️ i literally just had to cut one out of my life because I don’t want to spend my time hearing a grown woman talk about how she can’t make female friends because guys are just less drama like we’re teenagers when I have met so many amazing women who I have related to.

And I don’t think my entire life should be centered around if a man finds me cool or not. If a man does thats fine, but I’m not here for entertainment or to prove myself to them. Which is what she wanted me to do. She wanted me to shrink myself so I would be more “likable” which doesn’t work for me since I’ve never had to pretend to be anything I’m not to be liked.

Even though I wear leggings and tennis shoes most of the time because I’m lazy af and don’t go anywhere but the grocery store since this Popsicle started, that doesn’t mean I’d expect some grown man to come up to me and be like you’re not like the other girls because you’re not in heels 🤤 because if he did I hope he knows I will make fun of him until he cries.

Tl;dr:

Women are not here to prove themselves to anyone, but especially to people that would hate us no matter what we do. Be yourself. If that’s wearing heels and dresses do that. If you don’t do that that’s okay too. But do it because you want to. Not to appeal to men who can’t even clean their buttholes.

And fuck TERFS specifically. Just because.