#i like these because i feel like they're a fair representation of the show's tone

[sacchiri]

Blu-ray box set for OVA 1~5 and 6~10 illustrated by Kouta Hirano.

[heromaker-if]

do you have any other ifs that we can read whilst we wait😭😭🫶🫶

Hi anon! Thanks for the ask and your patience! 🥰

I do have some other IFs that I worked on in the past but I don't recommend playing them (I was still learning how to write at that time, so they aren't great). But if you want some IF reccs, I can recommend some IFs I've read recently.

(Sorry for the tags friends, and for the rants!)

(Released) My all time favourite is The Fernweh Saga by @lacunafiction - it's just genuinely so good and it always gives me the vibes of one of those shows you watch after dinner, that becomes part of your routine and you want to see desperately what happens after, and the characters become part of your memories, almost like people. It's just UGH such a good IF. If you like nostalgic hometown horrors, this IF is for you.

(Released) Very close favourite is Blood Moon by @barbwritesstuff - WEREWOLVES GUYS!! I've replayed this game so many times. It's one of those games that after you finish, no matter how long of a break you take from it, you always return to it. I love the "found family" of this game, even though it's not really found, it's just... family. I miss them! The romance in this story is also written so beautifully.

(Released) Another fav is The Golden Rose by @anathemafiction - it was one of my favs while it was still in WIP and after it's released I took so long to play it cause I never wanted to finish it. Like, I grew so attached to its story that I didn't want to let it go. 😭 Very well written characters and the descriptions of things, places, feelings, expressions, mannerisms, is so endearing and eye-catching, never a second where I skipped a line, I was CAUGHT. If you like a story with ominous beginnings, middles and ends, this is for you, not to mention the whole religion themes that are so interesting to dive into.

(Released) I miss this one so much but The Soul Stone War by @intimidatingpuffinstudios - there's two books out for this one already and each one is better than the previous. It's fantasy and about powers and there's a dragon lady that you can romance, and the POLY IN THIS IS BEAUTIFUL! Very soulmate-y romance and just generally captivating storytelling.

(Released) Nothing will ever hit the same as The Passenger by @the-passenger-if - there's just something so familiar, so memorable about this story. I don't think in my next lifetime I will ever forget it. It's about an eldritch horror battling with humanity and it's raw primal role as a monster. It feels short but only because you're so into it that time passes you by, but the tone and the flow of this story is very well done (as well as the characters! 🥰).

(WIP) I feel like everyone and their mothers know about Infamous by @infamous-if - but I'm going to talk about it anyways. It's a BAND IF, yes, music, yes, adrenaline, fame, and all the bad decisions that come with it. It's only one chapter out right now, but it's very worth it. I guarantee you the brainrot you will get from this game is going to consume your life.

(WIP) A somewhat popular one as well is Body Count by @bodycountgame - I haven't seen a game do the whole modern reality TV show with a tinge of horrifying brutal horror as well as Nell has, and even though it's still in its early stages, it's very well done and interesting. Lots of ROs to choose from, and genuinely funny humour to laugh about in between the crying sessions of a favourite character dying.

(WIP) Haven't heard that many people talking about this one to be fair but Chop Shop by @losergames - Also a very early stages game, but it's very adrenaline inducing and has so much potential that has me shaking in my seat. I'm already half in love with the cast and I can't wait to go need for speed and play a super chaotic individual.

Also any game by @hpowellsmith, they're amazing at creating consistent well written stories that have such great characters and even better representation. They do it so well, and I've been a fan of them for years now, definitely one of my role models!

I'm sure there are many more IFs out there that you NEED to play/read, but my mind is blank right now, and these are the only ones I could think of. I also don't have as much time to get into an IF, but I'm getting there (thinking of getting into Shepherds of Haven - which you should!)

[mdhwrites]

Have you watch infinity train?

I have not unfortunately. Admittedly, I'd like to just take this moment as a chance to talk about marketing fandoms do for their show for those outside of it. Mostly that it's bad (and I'd be denying if I didn't struggle with it myself).

See, despite how big Infinity Train was for many, to the point where it got revived by a seperate network, literally all I know about it is:

It got cancelled and then brought back by a different network.

It is really angsty.

Someone dies.

And...

Nope, that's literally it. How good are the characters? Not that either. Jokes indicative of the tone of the piece or the common reason to enjoy it? No idea. The literal premise of the show? NOT AT ALL.

Now to be fair, it's not a fandom's job to do anything like that but it gets weirder with how many times I'll see people screaming about Netflix having cancelled a show. Do I hear about the plotlines they wished they'd gotten to see? Do I hear about them reminiscing about favorite moments? You already know the answer but do I hear about the uniqueness of the premise?

Well weirdly enough actually, kind of for that last one because it's ALL I hear actually. What do I know about Warrior Nun? That it was gay. Anything else about the premise? NOPE! Even with The Owl House, the framing often is about angst and it's representation, even back between S1 and 2 when the shortening was first announced. People would mention good characters and an interesting world but not WHY these characters were good. WHY the world was interesting. WHY these basic narrative elements would appeal to others.

Which to me is weird because fandoms don't have to be beholden to as strict spoiler rules as an author trying to sell you on his series where he shouldn't give spoilers. Even then, I at least still include the description for the book during my main pitches. Crises Girlfriend's blog, pinned as the first one you'll see on my blog, starts with its cover, then its description and then with me branching out to be about the unique element of it being a personal book about depression, trauma, etc. written by someone who has been in therapy for YEARS. That's because that odd, thematic twist should be the LAST thing you use to pitch someone on something after they're worried about it being generic.

Like when Undertale was getting big, do you know how I heard people pitch it despite wanting zero spoilers given? Well, nowadays I feel like the gameplay gimmick of being able to be a pacifist would be given first. At the time though, it was "It is one of the most charming games I've ever played but I recommend you go in as blind as possible." That is an EXCITING pitch. It tells me a core element of appeal to the story that is indeed indicative of the whole while also letting me know the person enjoyed it so much that to tell me ANYTHING more would potentially weaken some of the surprises.

To bring up a situation where a fandom has been talking about the unique thematics of a piece versus others in its genre and that working though: The new Scott Pilgrim series. I still have gone unspoiled on it but I know one thing: It's not an adaptation of the movie and it's not an adaptation of the comic. It is a new beast but it stands just as tall as the other two. That is a HELL of a pitch if you know anything about Scott Pilgrim and the fandom is partially signaling to others, like me, that there are surprises to be had with this adaptation still, something many worried about. As a pitch outside the fandom, it works less well admittedly but adaptations are wonky like that.

Again though: It is admittedly not a fandom's job to market a product BUT if you want to get people into the thing you like, trying to give them a main thrust pitch isn't a terrible idea. Like for Amphibia I'd probably say something like "If you like Edgar Wright's shotgun approach to jokes where you're at least smirking like once every two minutes tops, BOY do I have a show for you!" or "If you want one of the most charming, compelling and genuinely sweet families in media I've seen, who still feel like a family, the main characters of Amphibia will give you diabetes."

Hell, The Owl House even shows this difference as people nowadays mostly scream about the gay elements but do you know what first put it on my radar? "This show has the best animation on television. Period. With a charming cast to make sure it isn't being wasted." And yeah, in S1 both of these elements are true and my own pitch back then would have been "If you want a beautifully animated cartoon with fun but shockingly deep characters, TOH is a great adventure show for you." I wouldn't pitch them on Lumity despite that being what got me into the fandom because they are not the core appeal of the show. The core appeal is that you had these really charming characters who could show some real complexity to themselves while also still being fun and enjoyable.

So yeah, I haven't watched Infinity Train but besides its revival, no one has ever given me a reason to.

======+++++======

I somehow forgot to mention my all time example of this btw: I was turned away from Gravity Falls almost until its ENDING because literally all the fandom talked about was its mystery, which they portrayed as easter eggs above anything else, while I was still wondering what the show was about or if they even liked the characters because neither were EVER brought up.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[izzysbeans]

Yeah, I was writing at the end of the workday and misspoke, saying, "can't be." I meant "usually isn't" because that IS what was said in the episode. And you know, I would like to have had more Tommy time to understand his character. Why would he want to protect himself so much that he would deny himself a good relationship? I don't think they should have had Buck jump to "Let's move in together." It would have been less jarring if he said, "Let's go on vacation together," you know? I still don't understand why we're supposed to believe they've been dating for six months. We were given crumbs, and Tim insisted it was "new" and "they're figuring each other out." How do we go from that to a six-month anniversary gift that Tommy bought? But I'm still upset at the fourth episode this season when they crammed a storyline for Henren that could have been at least a half-season into 42 minutes and had them smiling at Gerrard. This is why I don't trust the writers to handle the bisexual Buck storyline with care and nuance. Instead, they'll likely make it a morality message like they did with Amir last season and those teenage girls in episode five. There was no need for that; it was wholly disconnected from reality, yet it was trying to be a statement of reality when there was no reason for it to be. And honestly, how many times do I have to watch the bisexual character be the moral compass like, "it's okay that they're bisexual because, at the end of the day, they're a good person with good intentions." It's just so weird to hinge their bisexuality on their morality because they actually have nothing to do with each other, and it's incredibly tone-deaf. Stop weaving those two things together. Maybe I'm wrong, and they won't do the arc a disservice with the writing, but I'm not holding my breath anymore. I already did that with Buck and Tommy. And I didn't breathe until episode five this season, and look at how that turned out.

i hear you and you're valid. i personally think that Buck and Tommy were exactly how they were supposed to be in terms of screen time and how the relationship was portrayed. the show made their relationship be in a specific way for a reason and i think we will see more things reiterating this idea going forward and by the end of this arc their relationship would make more sense. but this is just my opinion on it. i can understand you feeling like the show hasn't handled certain storylines in the way they should have, i personally like to just go with the flow and not really build up any expectations, even when i think i might guess where they're headed with a story. obviously that doesn't mean you shouldn't criticize the show in fact it's good to have civil and respectful discussions and exchanging opinions about it. i definitely agree with what you said about morality, i guess we will see where it goes but to be fair, this show is a drama and for that reason alone every character is bound to be a little messy, doesn't mean they can't do justice to the representation they show, but it does mean we might get some crazy/messy/not very believable moments in there, tho anyone who's been watching the show knows that very well by now.

thank you again for coming to my asks with your opinions, I'm always happy to have meaningful and civil discussions like these

[rudolphsboyfriend]

Ok I can't be the only one who's completely over those "aesthetic" posts on tumblr like come on now. I don't just mean they're overdone, i mean I'm annoyed everytime i see them on my dash. Every single "aesthetic" is so frkn Programmed and Performative.

Almost all of it is just Conventionally good looking (ie. Thin and Fair) people in (exclusively 'Western') clothes that, if other body types etc wore them, would be considered at best, bland everyday clothing, and at worst, unfashionable unflattering and ugly.

And I'm BORED of it all. I see another skinny white person in a sweater, shirt and trousers or a loose tee and jeans lauded as the epitome of Aesthetic and it just grates on me. The problem here isn't the "simple" outfits btw incase u didn't get it already. Those are outfits that i like wearing and that i think look good.

We all know the importance of representation in popular media but what about in "Aesthetic" circles? In all this time i have not seen ONE person that looks like me in these posts. It's all so perfectly put together none of it seems Real. It honestly feels Soulless. Dead on the inside, a false veneer.

I don't mean that things have to have some deep inner meaning to be beautiful, and I'm not even saying that Aesthetics are Bad. I Love the dramatic architecture, neutral toned clothing and pursuit of learning in the academia aesthetics. I rlly appreciate the love of nature and the carefree feeling that's central to cottagecore. I think the fashion and emotion and energy expressed in Grunge or Punk is beautiful and raw. Just to name a few. But what I'm seeing instead of this is a very narrow slice of reality being served to us as Beauty.

And that's the exact opposite of what aesthetics stands for. It's about finding beauty in the mundane, small things that we face in our own everyday lives. Finding beauty and joy for ourselves, because it makes us happy, not to live upto some standard or to let everyone know just how Pretty our lives are. Its about taking our individual, diverse experiences and saying that Yeah, life's not perfect but each of us has something beautiful, something that brings us simple pleasure, and sometimes that's enough. And if we choose to share it online, it's about showing others something that made us happy, that made our day a little brighter, and i hope it'll make yours a little brighter too. And until the online attitude towards aesthetics shifts towards this, i will continue to rage everytime i see performative, empty, perfect aesthetics on my dash.

[shiroganeryo]

D.Gray-Man Tag 2!

I got tagged by my friend Violet (@14thexorcist) again to hop into the part two of this little game she made, and there are few things I love more than babbling about DGM, so let’s go!

The rules are to tag 4 people but, since I'm late to do this, I won't tag anyone this time. However, if you see it and want to do it, feel tagged by me! Here's the blank post.

⭐ What’s your favorite manga page/panel? That's quite the hard pick, every chapter and arc have something of amazing and remarkable in them. There are many moments I love hence many favorites on this matter, but thinking of what moves my heart, I can easily pick two pages without having to think twice.

From The 225th Night: Visiting A.W. - CALL 2.

This moment made me very happy; it was the first time we saw Allen smiling in a long while. I personally love the interaction he has with Johnny in this; it's full of warmth and relief. Seeing Johnny hug him so fondly like this as he smiles makes me smile. The visuals are beautiful as well, as expected from Hoshino-sensei's artwork.

From The 230th Night: Saying Goodbye to A.W: Torchlight and Tearstains

I love everything about this page and its middle panel. The parallel between current Allen and dog Allen is perfectly set as a mirror image; the two of them are looking at each other, and both their right hand and paw are on top of the grave. In my opinion, this is where Hoshino's genius shows. She's great at giving us meaningful representations with simplicity and subtlety.

⭐ What’s your favorite chapter? I can remember at least one thing I love in every chapter, so let's narrow down the options! Currently, my favorite one is The 226th Night: Searching for A.W. - Live Man + Dead Man. Being honest, I love the whole A.W arc. We get a lot of insight on Allen and witness his growth (emotionally); I also love the part Johnny, Kanda and Link are playing in here. We also get hints towards the truth about Nea.

But this chapter in specific has some of my favorite lines as soon as it starts. Quoting the official english translation: "I can return from that beautiful place, so like heaven... taking the only path there is.

The voice that calls me... It connects me to this world. It is a bond... and a summons.

That... is 'Home'!"

We begin with such a strong and meaningful message and metaphor about the bonds that keep us around, that tie us to the ones we love. The message is clear and powerful, it literally gives me chills. And then, the next thing we see is Allen realizing he's back from Nea's conscience's world and showing, for a second, his ultimate relief in being back. This moment is so rewarding to me, and extremely important to his development. We all love Allen for how human he is, and seeing how afraid he was, it becomes ten times more rewarding. His weaknesses make him palpable and strongly moves our heart; we take in the moment as if it happened to us, as if we were back to a loved one's arms after being lost and alone for so long ourselves. I also love Tiedoll's participation in this chapter! The scene on which the Maker of Eden forms the wagon underneath Allen and Johnny is amazingly drawn!

⭐ Do you have a favorite volume? Without a doubt, it's Volume 3. The Rewinding City arc is still one of my favorites, it hadn't been mentioned yet only because it can't compete with the feelings and plot lore overload we get from the latest chapters hahah. But this arc was the first that made me feel that tingly, warm feeling in my heart. I loved Miranda on the spot and I could see myself on her. It made me so happy to see her finally getting her "thanks", the realization of that moment sank in as hard for me as it did for her. So this spot goes on to the volume that introduced Miranda and her arc!

⭐ Do you like Mana or Nea more? That's hard to answer, as I'm rather lukewarm about both. I'd say I like Nea more because what we see from him is what he has always been; while Mana, on the other hand, has many facets.

We have Mana from when he was younger, Mana from when he was travelling with Allen, and the current Mana that is the Millennium Earl. I do love the Mana Allen met, that I can say for sure! But I'm still waiting to see how he was when younger, if he was any different or not, to decide how I feel about him "as a whole".

So, for the time being, I'm picking Nea. He is fun to see going about, I gotta be honest; it would be nice if he didn't need Allen to be erased to do so, though.

⭐ What’s one thing that you like and dislike about Hallow? If I can be so bold, I'll start saying that what I dislike the most about Hallow is how much slander it gets from the fandom LOL

By all means I understand it delivered a subpar quality, but I don't think it's as terrible as everyone makes it seem. The OG 2006 anime also had a lot of flaws, ranging from adaptation issues (the novels, Lenalee existing in random places, Cross being uncharacterized, Allen being dumbed up for appeal) to small animation choices that were a little poor.

I also agree that Hallow's pacing was rushed, however, it's still not fair comparing both adaptations when one of them had 103 episodes and the other had only 13. It's alright to appreciate both, acknowledge the hard work put into them and I wish people realized that more often.

With that out of the way, I'd say that's basically what I dislike about it. I do have criticism on the animation and things like this, but none of that made me enjoy Hallow less; the things it proposed to cover, like the Artificial Exorcists arc and the Seed of Destruction arc were amazingly done in my opinion. Even if the animation got a little wack in several moments. I do agree it's sad that we didn't get a Zombie arc adaptation, but starting on that note would be... weird, to say the less. So while I regret it, I understand the decision.

Now on to what I like the most about it: I'd say it's the new color palette. Some people say it's too bright, and I totally get it, as I can't bear too much brightness myself! But the new colors are more appealing to me, and as much as I love the OG 2006 anime, at times I thought the colors were too dark/blurry, it was a little hard to see.

Still on that note, I love how Allen is looking in Hallow. Crown Clown now has a glowing effect to it, and it looks awesome in dark scenes! I also love how they didn't make Allen's hair extremely white, but a more natural tone. His white eyelashes are also really pretty.

⭐ What’s your favorite piece of DGM merch? These keychains!

Just look at how cute they are! There are many pieces of merch I like, especially if we take into account the art books, but the bocchi-kun keychains make me want to get them all!

⭐ Follow up question: what’s a piece of merch that you wish existed? I'd love it if we had figures of most of the characters. We got figures for Hallow and they're awesome, but I'd love a figure of Miranda, for example. There was no Lenalee figure as well, and even if I didn't get one of her for myself, I bet it would look awesome!

As always, this got super long, but if you read until here, I wish you have an awesome day! Thank you for reading on ��

[cassieschaosdimension]

I'm going to post this on tumblr instead of wattpad cause I'm like that, but this will be a collection of fanfic one shots from Draco's perspective giving him a redemption arc cause he deserves! Please let me know if you do want more after this.

The Train:

Eleven year old Draco Malfoy was standing on Platform Nine and Three Quarters hoping for a glimpse at the boy who lived. He like everyone else in the Wizarding world had grown up hearing his name. The story was one of legend and he wondered if Harry remembered it all. He was interrupted in his thoughts by two rambunctious red headed boys who brushed past him laughing loudly. He heard his father give a sniff of disapproval.

He pitied the boys even though he knee nothing about them. His father, Lucius Malfoy, was notorious for making sure none of his enemies were around to stop him. Draco had always wondered about the company his parents kept much perfering to stay in his room whilst they had any  visitors at all.

"Draco darling," that was his mother. He sauntered over to where she was and listened to what she had to say. "Draco remember no matter what happens at school your father and I love you very much. We will write you as soon as we get home and eagerly await your owl. Chin up, back straight. Malfoys and Blacks do not slouch."

Nodding his head Draco says "Yes mother. I love both of you too. And I can't wait to see the castle with the lake and my classes. Mom, do you think people will like me? What if I can't make any friends? I don't want to hang out with Blaise or Crabbe and Goyle or Pansy. They're mean and stuck up to people."

"Just be yourself darling and remember what I told you. Go see your father." Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy, formerly known as Black, was a thin woman who demanded respect when she walked into a room. No one ever knew what she was thinking, but one thing they knew was she loved her family dearly. She would do anything to keep her son safe and away from harm.

Draco walks over to his father. "Draco, while you're at Hogwarts please try to remember we are not like the others. We are of noble blood and we must be treated as such. Do not let others get you down. You are a Malfoy and the name of Malfoy has demanded respect for centuries. Do not mess it up. Have fun at Hogwarts, but do not forget what I have told you. Get on the train."

Mr. Lucius Malfoy did not have the best childhood and when Narcissa became pregnant he vowed to protect his son from harm. He did this by only letting him intermingle with those of his own kind. Pureblood was what Draco was so pureblood it was. He made sure his son had a normal childhood. Well as normal as he would let him.

After hugging and kissing his mother and shaking hands with his father Draco runs excitedly onto the train waiting to see if he could make any friends before he even got to Hogwarts. After looking into one compartment on the train he shies always from that one. It had really tall, really loud people in it! He didn't want that at all.

Another compartment had only girls. His only experience with girls his own age had been Pansy and he wasn't eager to find out if all girls were like her. She was enough to deal with. He wanted a group of guy friends. Crabbe and Goyle did what he said because his father was the boss of their fathers. They weren't his friends. They had to do whatever he said and he didn't like it. He wanted to have stimulating conversations like he had with his mother over tea.

Whenever Pansy and her parents came over she was so mean to the poor house elves Draco always went and apologized for her behavior. The house elves were sad to see him go off to school, but they were excited too.

Draco was not excited to leave his only friends behind. His parents had always taught him to look down on the house elves, but he was nice to them in secret. He didn't feel nice knowing he had to be mean to people. Elves were just like witches and wizards only different and way way shorter.

"Excuse me. Coming through. Lee has a trantula for us to look at. Budge along." It was the two rambunctious red headed boys who had brushed him going onto the platform. When they got to where Draco was their patient look turned sour.

The one on the right looked at the one on the left and said "Pardon me your Highness. Will you let us pass to get to our compartment?" Draco didn't like the tone he used. He wasn't doing anything wrong. The train hadn't even started to move yet!

"Oh yeah," Draco pressed himself up against the wall to let the two pass. He didn't like these two and hoped he wouldn't have to interact with them in class. They looked older though like they were definitely not first years. In fact all of these people looked a lot older than he was.

Draco was starting to get scared and started to stumble along the long, velvet carpeted, hallway separating the compartments from the platform.

With each peek into a compartment, he was getting worried. He had yet to see any people who looked like first years. At one compartment he saw Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy and immediately lurched past with his head down.

Shaken up at seeing them he stepped into a random compartment and was relieved to see a round faced brown haired boy with a toad sitting next to him. This boy looked like a first year like him.

"May I sit down?" Draco asked politely.

The boy looked to Draco and jumped in surprise. "Yes, yes you can. My name is Neville Longbottom and this is Trevor." He gestured to the tod sitting next to him. "Sit down and close the compartment please, Trevor might escape like he's tried four times already."

Grinning at the warm greeting, Draco complied. He stuck out his hand and said, "I'm Draco Malfoy. It's really nice to meet you Neville! I hope we can be friends!"

At the name Malfoy, Neville shot up in his seat in alarm. "M-mal-malfoy?! As in the Death Eaters?!" He started to fidget and panic.

Draco looked at the poor boy in utter confusion. "Former Death Eaters. Are you okay Neville?"

Eyes wide in fright Neville grabs Trevor and huddles at the furthest edge of the compartment. Away from Draco as if he had a disease. Draco wanted to cry. Here was a first year boy who looked terrified of him because of his name. He didn't understand why Neville was so scared. His parents weren't Death Eaters anymore and they only did it because He - Who - Must - Be - Named made them! All he wanted was a real friend!

Draco on the verge of tears turns to go. As soon as he opens the door he's met with a mane of brown, frizzy, bushy hair. He falls backwards in shock and hears a whimper from Neville.

"Hello. Everywhere else is full. They're about to depart so would you mind letting me into the compartment they would be wonderful." The bushy haired girl says with authority. "I would like to be seated when the lurch is felt. Excuse me."

She pushes past him and Draco stands up and when he's turned around the scene he looks at is chaotic.

Neville stands up to leap after Trevor, who with the door open, makes his way hopping faster than Draco expected towards freedom.

All else forgotten Neville screams "Grab him!" The bushy haired girl lunges for the toad and misses. Now it's Draco's turn to redeem himself in Neville's eyes. He too lunges for the toad and manages to grasp his left hind leg before he falls flat on his face his grip loosening on the toad who hope away unaware of the chaos he is about the cause.

Neville's face is distraught. "My great uncle Algie gave me Trevor when I got accepted into Hogwarts. See they didn't expect me to get in. I didn't show any signs until I got pushed off the Blackwell Pier. They expected me to drown, but I didn't!"

Draco and the girl exchange concerned glances. Draco knows that any Wizarding family will have almost all of their family members accepted unless they're a Squib and he's sure his family tree doesn't have any Squibs.

"So you're a pureblood?" Draco says cautiously accidentally falling into the girl who just sat down as the train gives a lurch just as the girl said.

The girl huffs and moves to give Draco room to sit and he smiles gratefully at her. He's never seen her before and she seems to give off the same air he does and he wonders if she's a pureblood from another country. As she speaks again he realizes they sound the same.

"Oh purebloods! I've read about them. They're the silly witches and wizards who think that half-bloods and Muggleborns are scum. I find that absolutely atrocious as I am a Muggleborn myself," the girl turns to Draco. "My guess is you're a pureblood?"

When he nods she starts to lecture him. "You all should be ashamed of yourselves! I read that if you guys didn't marry outside of your circle you would have died out! The mindset is completely rubbish and shouldn't even be put into practice. And at a school no less!"

Neville and Draco look at her shocked. For such a tiny girl she can inflict fear into anyone with that tone. "I'm Hermione Granger. And what House do you hope to be in? Personally I want to end up in Ravenclaw or Gryffindor as Slytherin seems filled with selfish and mean people and Hufflepuff seems filled with pushovers." (please don't hate me I adore the Houses remember she is basing them off of what she read in Hogwarts: A History it was really hard to insult my own House HUFFLEPUFF for life 💛💙💚♥️ fair House representation)

At this Draco swells. "Excuse me! My whole family has been in Slytherin for centuries and I can tell you we are not selfish and mean people! We care for the greater good!" (Just so you know I do not condone this type of thinking. This is just so wrong on so many levels this is just how he was raised remember that)

Neville seems to shrink into his corner again at the last three words and Draco instantly regrets. He wants Neville as a friend and now maybe he won't want to be his friend!

Hermione turns towards him so fast her hair slaps him in the face. "You sound like Grindelwald! He sounded like you! Are you a supporter of He Who Must be Named?! They were both awful men! How can you sit there saying that when they did such horrible things!"

Fear starts to creep into his eyes. These two do not like him. He is only repeating what he's heard his parents say! Should he say that? The words pop out before he can stop them. "My parents taught me that and I'm sorry if that was wrong all I want are real friends for once! Please give me a chance!"

Hermione looks at Neville and walks over to him. They converse in hushed voices. Draco's heart begins to sink. Will they give him a chance to be their friend?! All he wants is a real friend he count on! He doesn't think he wants to be a Malfoy if this what the name gives him.

The waiting is agonizing. It seems like forever when they suddenly turn to him and Neville says, "How do we know you're not lying? Your mom's sister made my parents insane! I had to be raised by my grandma! I love her, but I miss my parents!"

Hermione rubs his back and looks at Draco. "Okay, we don't trust you, but we are willing to give you a chance. Now, please help us find Trevor. He's special to Neville and he doesn't want to start Hogwarts without him. Please help us look for him."

Draco sensing a wonderful opportunity stands eagerly and nods. "Where do you want to start? Should we split up or stay together? Personally I think we should stay together because all of those people out there are scary."

The two stare at him in shock. They were not expecting him to jump up so suddenly and agree wholeheartedly.

Hermione says split up and Neville agrees, but then Draco pointed out no one would tell him anything since almost everyone knew who he was anyway. Finally it was agreed Neville would go on his own and Draco and Hermione would ask together.

Neville heads off to the left towards the front of the train because that's where he thinks Trevor would have gone. Hermione and Draco head towards the back of the train.

The first few compartments they encounter will only tell Hermione if they saw Trevor or not and ignored Draco completely. He wants to cry. Is the Malfoy name really making people not like him?! But they don't even know him! How are they supposed to know they don't like him if they don't know him?!

The last compartment holds two boys: one very red headed and one with round glasses and black hair. Draco had learned to hang back while Hermione does the asking. When she asks, they say no. The red headed boy pulls out a wand and Draco inches closer to see a real spell done. His mother made him promise not to use his wand until his first class because he could hurt people and he agreed.

The red haired boy says something about rats, daisies and yellow. As expected the rest does not turn yellow. Hermione scoffs and then fixes the black haired boy's glasses.

When the red haired boy introduces himself as Ron Weasley, Draco wrinkles his nose. He can't help it. His father says the Weasleys are blood traitors and Mugglelovers. He was always taught they were bad, but now he's not so sure.

Then when the black haired boy says his name is Harry Potter, Draco surges forward. As he comes into view Ron turns away in disgust and he deflates a little bit. He's going to have to be careful in how he says things. "Hello! My name is Draco Malfoy and I'm also looking for Neville's toad. I'm assuming since this is the last compartment he's not here. Hermione, I'm going to head back to the compartment to see if Neville found him."

With a smile and wave goodbye he leaves the three of them stunned into silence. The smile falls off his face as he trudges with a heavy heart towards the compartment to put his robes on. He realizes he should only stick to the people he has already met and he vows to steer clear of Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy for as long as he can and since they'll be in Slytherin like him it'll be hard. He'll manage.

He puts his robes in in the empty compartment and waits for Neville and Hermione to come back. Hopefully they will since their trucks are here. Smiling to himself at the he stares out the window already imaging what fun things he can do with his new friends!

Thank you for reading it! I hope you enjoyed it!

[motherhenna]

I was that anon from before, I didn't mean that all your art is the same, I meant with your style the noses especially look white and I've only seen slight differences when drawing characters of color, whitewashing is not just making the skin a lighter tone. It's good that you're learning but as I was saying before people are telling your to change what you think of eyes w poc and you said "maybe I'll change it in the next one" and that honestly just shows me that you do not care what I or anyone else has to say. Also I didn't hint that you were white, I stated that bc whenever ppl don't have their race in their bio they are white (bc it's "assumed" that they're white bc of how white is the majority) and that's an issue bc you were not listening to someone calling you out for racism. Idk I know you're not gonna listen to me but hope you learn from this or something at least

I mean...I guess all I can say to this is fair enough? I don’t agree with your interpretation of my words/actions at all, but you’re entitled to your opinions. I think it’s BS that you’ve just...decided I don’t care, based on me saying “I’ll think about the implications of eye color and approach it differently in the future”?? Like...if you’ve bothered reading any of my responses to recent asks, you can see that I’m taking their pointers into account without being rude. 

Again: I and a number of my other followers think they look Asian enough, and you and a number of others don’t--neither opinion is invalidated by the other. As an artist with a more stylized approach, I definitely have certain features that I tend to draw more often: defined cheekbones, thicker eye brows, and deep-set eyes. And I probably gravitate towards some “white-coded” features (many of which, like sharp nose bridges, I didn’t even know were coded like this) because hey, I’m white, and we tend to draw what we know without realizing it.

 I never said anywhere that the way I draw Asian characters is beyond reproach, and I think it’s pretty clear to most people that I’m absolutely willing to listen. I truly do care about POC representation in art, and anyone who’s followed me for any length of time can probably ascertain this from the content I reblog. But I don’t feel obligated to roll over and accept a critical ask that’s delivered in a rude tone without pointing out what feels inaccurate, excessive, or untrue to me. I think we should just leave it at that, anon: I can tell you’re passionate about this subject, and that’s admirable, but I’m not your enemy. I’m really not. I think we’d probably agree on more things than we disagree, which is why I really don’t want to be rude. All I can say is that you probably need to work on being at least a little more civil and get out of the “I know you’re not going to listen to me” and “I know you’re not going to change” mindset, because that way of approaching well-meaning people probably isn’t going to work out for the better in the long haul. 

[literaphobe]

hi michelle! so want to start saying that i identify as bi and honestly, I would LOVE it if jake was bi. I think it'd be great. But i'm also okay if he's not, bc how cool is it that they're allowing a man to break down traditional gender norms/roles! i think one of the greatest parts of loving a show like b99 is that it lets us escape the 'real world' for twenty minutes every week. and that means something different for every person watching the show. 1

SO while i believe you are entitled to your own opinions, and you can share them on your blog bc it's yours, i don't think its fair to invite people to share their opinions but shut down anyone who feels differently than you. for example, you said to someone who said they didn't care if jake was bi that you hope they 'get well soon'. also, you posted saying that if bi people didnt want jake to be bi then they're wrong. im sorry but thats really hurtful. you dont get to decide how people think 2

just bc someone feels differently than you doesnt make their feelings less valid, ESPECIALLY someone who identifies as lgbt+. you run a popular blog and it makes me sad to think people might feel their opinions are less valid or wrong bc they see it here. again, im not saying you cant have opinions or post them. but maybe just think about how your words can affect others. also saying this off anon bc i respect you and am open to having a conversation. Thanks for reading, hope u have a good day

hi. thank you for ur mannerly tone and for having the courage to go off-anon.

mlm/bi representation will always be more important than ‘straight man comfortable with his sexuality’. while i am not saying that straight men in media shouldn’t be portrayed as comfortable in their sexualities, the stance that it’s okay to take away representation from people in the lgbt community as long as we have Good Hets is harmful, and it gives people in the tv/movie industries a cop out. they don’t have to give us more lgbt characters! straight characters who Know What’s Up are good enough to make them seem woke and avoid criticism! and whether you’re comfortable with this happening as an lgbt has nothing to do with it. we have to hold the media accountable, we can’t just settle for less. whether you want to watch b99 uncritically or not is entirely up to you. i get that it’s exhausting to analyze the media content you consume! i more than understand just wanting to escape and not ask for more! it’s tiring! it’s draining! it’s disappointing, it hurts so much and it gets so so lonely. but we can’t just let the world stagnate. progress needs to be made constantly, and shows can’t be made to feel like they can just do one or two good things and not be expected to do anything else! i’m not asking you to fight for this, i just want the acknowledgement that this is the right thing to do

i didn’t exactly... invite anyone to say anything. i truly am just sending my thoughts out into the void. and yes, i am aware that my words reach a wider audience because i have a larger than average follower count. of course i know my words can affect others. that’s what i’m trying to do. aside from getting thoughts out my brain, i want to promote a less passive line of thinking. i want lgbt folk to want better for themselves. unfortunately, because words and actions have responses, people will climb into my inbox and start conversations that i inevitably have to take part in (sometimes i don’t though. it really depends on where my head’s at that day. having to discuss this repeatedly is draining). most of the time, i’m just making a statement

i don’t particularly enjoy “shutting down people who feel differently from me”. usually, if i’ve done that, i really am tired because i’ve likely discussed and explained numerous times whatever it is the person who got shut down said to me. i might also come off as mean-spirited or perhaps aggressive if i know some anon is just trying to pick a fight/spew hate at me. if you don’t understand where i’m coming from/don’t believe why having an opposing stance is harmful (this might vary depending on the issue), i am (given i have energy that day) more than willing to elaborate on whatever it is i say here. if i say stuff like ‘get well soon!’ it is a tired response to something i have already covered in depth and i am making some semblance of a joke to deflect/put a lid on the stuff i really want to say (likely because i have already said it) 

i never said that bi people who didn’t want jake to be bi were wrong. i was trying to get them to think deeper and explore why they don’t want that. being lgbt sometimes means that we allow and normalize a lot of unfair treatment. we think that we have it good enough so we decide not to ask for more, to settle. and i will never blame any lgbt for falling victim to this line of thought. we were brought up to think this way, we were conditioned to think this way. acceptance does not equal inclusion, and sadly many of us are so grateful for the acceptance that we do not bother to even think about having inclusion. or, better inclusion, for that matter. of course, it is definitely not up to me to decide how anyone thinks. i’m just trying to convince you! very desperately. but if you don’t agree no matter what i say then what can i do? it’s your life. it doesn’t affect me much in the grand scheme of things. i’m not going to hate you for disagreeing. i’m not going to sic the dogs on you. am i going to be kind of annoyed if someone walks into my inbox, turns on anon, and hurls insults at me? yes, that’s hurtful, and it’s kind of funny sometimes depending on how dumb you sound, but it’s mostly tiring and a lot of pain. so like... read, if u don’t like it, move on, if your well-being is drastically affected from reading the things i say, i’ll tag it so you can blacklist 

the sad thing is, being a member of the lgbt community doesn’t automatically make your opinions on lgbt issues valid/unproblematic. internalized homophobia exists. things i described in the point above can lead to this. just because a bi person says ‘im bi! and i don’t care/don’t think bi jake is important!’ doesn’t mean that suddenly, there is no need for him to be canonically bi, that we aren’t being queerbaited/pandered to by the show. do i think that the show is intentionally/heinously queerbaiting us? not exactly. but lack of awareness and lacking understanding on why bi-coding jake w no intention to make it canon is just as harmful bc it produces the same result (in jake’s case)

once again, i don’t intend for people to feel “less valid/wrong” when they read what i have to say on this blog. self-reflection is important. sometimes, people have opinions that are wrong! including myself! which is why more often than not i think deeply into the things people say to me here and consider whether my opinion holds up. you don’t have to feel bad for being wrong. we are all constantly wrong on stuff. everyone, at some point, has had a bad take/the wrong take on something. if you hold yourself up to this standard that you must always be right or you are suddenly a horrible person/must feel bad and demoralized, i suggest that you change your approach to issues such as this. i hate to say this but it is not my job to make sure everyone is 100% cool and chill about everything i do and say here. some things need to be said. some things need to be acknowledged. i’m sorry if any of you have been hurt/upset by anything i’ve ever posted but after a certain point... that is your issue and not mine 

[fly-pow-bye]

Powerpuff Girls 2016 - “Musclecup”

Written by: Haley Mancini

Written & Storyboarded by: Kyle Neswald, Benjamin P. Carow

Directed by: Nick Jennings, Bob Boyle

Buttercup used BULK UP! It wasn't very effective...

The episode starts with a superhero flexing his butt cheeks. Let that set the tone for the rest of the episode.

That aforementioned butt belongs to Totally Not Terry Crews from the old Old Spice commercials, or Abs Man for short, a superhero that loves to advertise his Muscle Maxifier. He's opening up the Briepot Depot, a cheese store, and cuts the "now opening" ribbon with his abdominals. That cheese store ends up being a running gag that doesn't really go anywhere.

Buttercup makes it quite clear that she is a super fan of this character of the week. No real reason in particular, though it's implied that she loves those muscles as she slowly flies across them in an exaggerated pan. She tries to introduce herself in a way that makes her look like a dork.

They introduce themselves as The Powerpuff Girls, Townsville's superheroes. Hey look, they found a use for the hearts after getting rid of the Narrator! Bubbles adds that they are not to be confused with Townsville's Super Gyros. We get an advertisement for those gyros, because we needed a scene where Blossom "noms" a gyro in an off-model way. Much more needed than actual superheroic acts.

Abs Man isn’t swayed by this, and starts to mock them for being so tiny. I will say this is not going to be a total ripoff of Members Only. One will wish this was ripping off Members Only.

Abs Man: (practically bullying these poor little girls) Who are your villains, hmmm? Insects?

It's a good thing Buttercup initially likes this guy; the last time someone Buttercup never met did something similar, Buttercup destroyed an entire Renaissance Fair over it. Buttercup instead politely tries to correct him by saying they have real villains to fight. Before she can talk about that silly monkey with the silly hat, the pink fuzzball that actually cameos in this episode, and that shadow guy that whines about his toys, we get a gnat riding on a giant hairspray can.

Specifically, the Gnat, who proclaims himself to be the Powerpuff Girls’ most notorious arch-nemesis. He even gives a flashback on his last encounter, where he was just a tiny gnat getting sprayed by the Professor. I may have problems with this episode, but this gnat isn't one of them. Sure, he seems to be only here to prove Abs Man correct, but they sure make him ham it up.

Another part of the reason is that Buttercup just swats him away into a airplane that happened to be flying by. After all the Monster Punch, Girls Down scenes, it’s so refreshing to see a Girl Punch, Monster Down instead. Despite her easy victory, Buttercup realizes that Abs Man was right: she is puny. Blossom tries to reassure her and offers her some of that soft cheese, but Buttercup made up her mind. She's going to a gym to become a beefcake, in her own words. And not just any gym...

...JayDeep's Gym Jam! It's very fitting for something that could turn Buttercup into a monstrosity to have the name of one of the people behind that Buttercup muppet shot from the last episode. Don't think this name on the sign is just an one-off case of writer vanity, either.

It’s also the name of this character of the week! The writers sure like to write in their co-workers, and I feel I should just stop there because it's not that bad here and the original did it too. JayDeep asks Buttercup why she wants to be welcomed to the Gym Jam, and Buttercup practically blurts out one of the lessons of this episode.

Buttercup: Don't say peer pressure, don't say peer pressure...PEER PRESSURE! I mean...fitness! Totally fitness.

A week passes by, as told by a title card that says "one week l8r". Is txt talk even relevant in the age of phones with touchscreens? One would think they would know this when they gave the Powerpuff Girls smartphones. Blossom and Bubbles, chalk this up as another episode where two Reboot Puffs are playing the same role, open the refrigerator to find nothing but Muscle Maximizer.

I knew from this scene that I was going to see something horrific. Maybe it won't be that bad?

No, that's not my rating for this episode, that was a representation of my face. Because somebody really wanted it, we get an overly buff and swole Powerpuff Girl, complete with stubby "hands" that make her look like an overly muscled chicken. We even get gratuitous use of photos to show off these muscles, which I won't screenshot because I don't hate you that much. I guess it's supposed to be disgusting, but intentional disgust is still disgust.

Blossom tells her she's taking this too far, but Buttercup assures her that this is what she is now. Blossom tells Buttercup that she doesn't have to look like a superhero to be one, a general lesson the Powerpuff Girls prove by existing, at least in the original. Buttercup just walks away, busting through the door as if the Powerpuff Girls busting through walls wasn't a normal aspect. I guess it isn't in this reboot.

Also not a normal aspect of this reboot, Blossom gets a call from the Mayor, telling her that the Gnat is doing the same evil deed downtown. Bubbles asks if they should get Buttercup, but as the strong independent superheroines that they are, Blossom decides they don't need Buttercup. Well, except for those last six times the most boyish one had to save the two girly ones. I counted.

The Gnat is back, and he's doing the same plan he was trying to do earlier. Of course, he was thwarted by a single Powerpuff Girl, and now there's two of them to take him on. Unfortunately, by the time they get there, Townsville is covered with clouds of hairspray. You would think something would come of this, like a funny hairstyle joke, but it doesn't. It does lead to Blossom and Bubbles getting lost in it, making them targets for the Gnat's other plan.

With his sinister knowledge on where to get giant terrariums and how to lift and drop them, The Gnat drops a giant terrarium on Blossom and Bubbles. As revenge for humans feeding gnats to their pets, he intends to feed the Powerpuff Girls to a pet of his very own: a giant horned frog. Blossom and Bubbles narrowly avoid his tongue and charge towards it to "make this frog croak", but, guess what?

Frog inflate, girls down. Womp, womp. Buttercup easily dispatches monsters, while Blossom and Bubbles are victims. Okay, even in the original, they had trouble with a giant fish balloon monster. Granted, that fish balloon was about 10 times bigger.

I would also ask how these girls can smash through walls, but not through this glass. There's no mention that this is a special superhero-proof terrarium. Maybe they’re afraid of smashing through the glass because they could get stabbed by giant glass shards! Huh, if only there was a way for them to make some sort of giant protective barrier around them. An aura, if you will.

The overly-muscled Buttercup shows up to save those poor little girly ones with her strong muscles, which the Gnat is completely disgusted by. Another reason to like this guy! Buttercup treats this as him being jealous, and tries to fly towards him for another beatdown. Unfortunately, Buttercup falls into a problem. Literally, she falls because can't fly with her overly-large muscles. I shouldn't get into the science of little girls flying, because there isn't one, but I feel like they're just trying to find excuses to make those muscles not work.

Rolling her overly "swole" body, apparently heavier than buildings full of people, to the gym, and she cries out to her idol of the week. The short answer, he doesn't help at all. The long answer is actually pretty clever. Her idol betraying her, she finally realizes she's just not built to be a muscle-woman, but she was good the way she was.

JayDeep, infuriated that Buttercup used his building for selfish purposes but easily forgiving her, offers a new "fitness" plan with his brother Sundeep. He represents the "Jam" portion of the Gym Jam, and they meant the preserves. Not the ''Come on and slam! And welcome to the jam!'' kind.

He’s going to try to make Buttercup lose all of that muscle mass by making her lazy. We get a workout montage showing some sort of workout equipment, which immediately pans to Sundeep and the overgrown chicken sitting down and watching television. How does this new way of working out help out Buttercup? Well, I'm sure somebody was happy to see this.

Buttercup: Nooow I can saaaave my siiiisteeeeers! (slumps)

Overly large muscles, inflation, and now weight gain. I guess they realized this reboot wouldn’t be popular enough for that kind of “special interest” art, so they decided to do it themselves.

JayDeep, the character, not the storyboarder, is insulted by this conversion of muscle fat to regular fat, and forces Buttercup to do some cardio. Persumably, with no weight lifting. Meanwhile, how are Blossom and Bubbles doing?

Ah, yes, the classic "if only Buttercup can save us" scene! I would say they took the "Buttercup, she's the toughest fighter" line too seriously if they were still using that ending theme song. Maybe it's a good thing Bis has nothing to do with this. This reboot doesn't deserve them.

Buttercup shows up, all back to normal outside of a spray tan and some flabby arms. She is a superheroine, maybe her metabolism is super, too. Gnat gets punched into the aquarium’s walls, spurting out the closest thing to blood they ever shown outside of those unicorn hearts in The Last Donnycorn. Buttercup then lifts the terrarium to let her sisters out, and The Gnat gets eaten by his own frog in an ironic death. Why couldn't Blossom and Bubbles lift it from the inside? Pineapples.

The episode ends with Buttercup opening her mouth super wide and eating Blossom and Bubbles whole. With the way this episode went, would it even be surprising if that wasn't a total lie?

Does the title fit?

The title promised us Buttercup with muscles, and it gave us that.

How does it stack up?

It’s a bad idea done as well as they could. I said the same about Wrinklegruff Gals, but it's more true here. I certainly want to see more of The Gnat, and I can't exactly say they were not creative. The characters of the week aren't too horrible, either.

However, outside of the muscles, this is just another "Buttercup does something wrong, the other Powerpuff Girls get into trouble, and Buttercup has to learn the lesson to save them" episode. The reboot has done far better episodes with that concept, and they should have done something new instead. It's not the worst, but it's no Man Up 2.

Next week, it's a special Father's Day episode about the Professor. Hopefully it's more Fashion Forward and The Big Sleep than any of his other major appearances.

← The Tell-Tale Schedule-Bot ☆ Take Your Kids to Dooms Day →

[noona-la-la-la]

You're completely correct. Korean or any foreign beauty standards generally apply to that race or nationality. I think a lot of poc fans get really upset when they hear their fav say they like someone with fair skin but it generally refers to Korean girls. Eg. Rapmon says his ideal type is fair skin but he also loves Rihanna. She's not Korean so the standards don't apply to her if that makes sense. So foreign fans really shouldn't stress so much about ideal types because they're not for you

ALSO

Sometimes I get annoyed when i-fans get mad at idols for being colorist as if we dont do it in the west. Like if they make fun of their member for their dark skin or point it out they’re problematic and they need to apologise and they’re rude offensive people. And they get mad when companies whitewash photos. But Im constantly made fun of for my pale skin. People always point it out and tell me I need to tan and get darker and celebs always have their skin tanner in photos. Whats the difference?

I feel like answering these asks is a potential bomb because a lot of people have justifiably strong feelings about this subject.  But I guess I haven’t backed down from other controversial topics, so here we go…

I do think that a lot of i-fans forget that they are not part of the Korean culture and that they are reading their idols’ words through a translation, which usually means that a lot of the cultural context and subtlety is lost and/or misunderstood. Instead, fans will view things that are said and done through their own culturally influenced understanding of the world and through their own feelings on a subject without fully considering how the things that are said or done sound to a Korean person living in Korea and speaking the Korean language.   This is exacerbated when the topic is something that people feel passionately about or have strong opinions on how it has affected their personal life.  I think discussion regarding skin tone often falls into this category.

HOWEVER, I also think that calling someone ugly or criticizing their appearance or showing preference for someone based solely on their skin tone is an absolutely shitty thing to do, regardless of culture.  I can try to understand that Korea is pretty homogeneous and that they have clearly defined standards for beauty, that includes skin tone, and that a Korean person being raised in that environment will likely say they prefer pale skin without ever thinking of how that feels to someone with slightly darker skin and much less about what that would sound like to someone from African or Indian or Southeast Asian descent.  It doesn’t make it okay – but it doesn’t mean our first response should be to burn them at the stake either.

I don’t like the white washing of photos that Korean fans will do.  I also don’t like the darkening of photos that i-fans will do because it’s often not an accurate representation of the idol’s appearance either.  Overall, I wish everybody would put the photoshop away and just accept people’s looks for what they are – that includes professional photo shopping.  Leave the skin tone alone.  Also stop lengthening legs.  Or making people thinner.  All of it – I wish it would stop.  Unfortunately, I’m not Queen of the Universe and no one is going to stop because I said so, but I’ll keep up the mantra of body acceptance regardless.

To that last anon – I’m a white woman of the ultra-pale variety.  I have been criticized by my mother for being too pale, mocked by classmates, complete strangers of the street have made comments.  When I was younger, there was more than one occasion when total strangers have touched my legs to see whether or not that was my skin color or if I was wearing sheer white nylons or something.  I have argued with so many cosmetics sales people about foundation choices and have people look at me like I’m insane that I don’t want to buy a bronzer.  Honestly, when I go to a makeup counter or want a makeover – I usually ask for the darkest skinned black woman at the counter for assistance.  I’ve learned that people whose own coloring is at the farther end of the spectrum have a better understanding of what I’m looking for, even if their skin coloring is as far away from my coloring as is possible.  Things for people like us are getting a little better.  There are more celebrities that are super pale and way more makeup choices available so we don’t always look like we have that weird orange glow that happens when you wear a foundation that is too dark.

But I also know that while everything I just wrote about is very frustrating, I endure those frustrations in the context of still being part of the privileged race in my country.  I don’t have to deal with colorism AND full-on racism.  Also, I don’t live in a society that publicly and openly discriminates against me because of my skin tone.  Some individuals do or say hurtful or annoying things – but I don’t ever feel like I won’t be selected for a job or that people will avoid socializing with me because of my paleness – which is a real concern for some darker skinned people.  So I can understand why some i-fans respond so vehemently and react so quickly – even if I still think that we’d be better off stepping back and considering the context before responding to what an idol says.