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that-ari-blogger · 4 months ago

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Ascension (Whatever It Takes)

Let’s talk about active and reactive characters, and what that tells us about a given story.

Whatever It Takes sets up Vaggie and Carmilla as… foils? Parallels? Opposites? The series is open ended in this field, it gives us archetypes, and invites us to draw our own conclusions.

As such, these two are protectors, but the way they go about it is both similar and wildly different. It’s complicated.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD (Hazbin Hotel, Castaway)

The difference between an active and a reactive character is in the name. An active character takes actions and pushes the plot forward to further their own goals, while a reactive character responds to others and acts in accordance with that.

For example, Zestial is a fundamentally reactive character. He responds to the floor shifting underneath him in the previous song with damage control.

He watched the person who is ostensibly closest to him get undermined, so he tries to pick her up. In that way, he’s a pretty decent friend. He offers aid when she’s feeling low, and whatever he gets out of it, the man’s primary goal here is to help.

“What weighs on your soul, old friend? I explore you to share the load.”

At this point, I feel the need to explain my bias towards this character. Zestial is one of my favourite individuals presented in Hazbin Hotel, and it’s not because he’s benevolent, or powerful, or composed. It’s not because of his design, or his writing. It’s because I am weak, and his voice is smoother than the ocean at night. I don’t have to explain myself further.

Zestial is also reacting to the power dynamic being presented by the Vees. They didn’t do any damage, but Velvette felt comfortable making threats, and was utterly unintimidated by Carmilla, so Zestial feels like he needs to start moving his pieces to counteract that.

“If it was thou who slew the angel, why not let your fear be known?”

Essentially, Zestial needs to get himself and his friend back on top, and back to being untouchable. He wants to go back to not having to act at all.

But a side note here, notice how the rhyming scheme in this section is slanted, that’s because rhyming wasn’t always a thing in English poetry. It was ported over from other languages as previous poetry conventions were focused on the musicality and other elements of the words.

It doesn’t map out exactly, rhyming grew to popularity during the medieval times, and judging by Zestial’s dialect, that’s where I’d put him historically. But it does convey a sense of age to his words that adds gravitas to what he is saying.

When Carmilla starts singing, the music itself backs off to a quet guitar. She’s being vulnerable, rather than all powerful, and that contrasts with Zestial to exacerbate their differences. Zestial’s oomph makes Carmilla seem smaller, and Carmilla’s pensiveness amplifies Zestial in return.

As an example of an active character, Charlie and Velvette are fundamentally active characters whose actions make up the majority of the plot. Charlie pursues her dream, makes bargains, offers forgiveness, and Velvette… well she has one song, but Carmilla and Zestial’s actions are in direct response to that song’s ambition.

However, here’s the kicker. In my opinion, there is no such thing as active and passive characters. It’s a gradient.

The classification exists for a reason, it helps audiences understand, but in practice, nobody exists only on one side of the equation. Being reactive is a biproduct of existing in relation to other stuff. Chuck Noland, from Castaway, despite being the only character on screen for most of the movie, reacts to his environment and to his situation like a human being. Even if a character chooses to ignore their surroundings, that’s still a reaction to something. The decision to do nothing is still a decision

On the other end of the spectrum, all characters are active, because otherwise they aren’t characters. Being active is simply the practice of doing things. In the first Ranger’s Apprentice book, Baron Arald and Sir Rodney are generally pretty reactive characters, but their choice to challenge the Kalkara is an active decision.

In that sense, Zestial is a character who leans towards reactivity, but is still motivated to take action when threatened.

For the sake of visualisation. I have a graph.

We can start by putting Zestial and Charlie on opposite ends and filling in from there. I would say Husk is pretty reactive as a character, usually acting in response to Angel or Alastor, while Velvette is active in terms of antagonism, but she reacts to the death of the angel. Vox responds to Alastor by taking action, Adam responds to the death of the angel with violence, etc. Eventually, our graph looks a bit like this:

Now, you may notice that there is a gap in the middle. Despite all appearances, I am analysing Whatever it Takes, so guess which two characters go there.

This was actually a pretty difficult choice, and it comes down to my grievances with this episode, and my critique of the show as a whole.

I laid this out in more detail in the previous post but suffice to say that Hazbin Hotel is too short, and that hinders episode three because the series doesn’t have enough time to capitalize on anything that is set up here.

Carmilla suffers enormously because of this, because the dynamic with Vaggie doesn’t go anywhere (other than Out For Love, but we will get there when we get there), and she doesn’t have much screen time beyond this, so we don’t really know where she sits on the scale.

The song that I have been dancing around sets up a place in the centre of the graph and makes them parallels because they fit in the same slot here, but then Carmilla isn’t in the rest of the series much, so she ends up falling further towards the reactive end of the scale.

The reactiveness itself isn't what I have an issue with, its the inconsistency.

Once again, I blame this on management not understanding their own product, but it’s important to understand how that has affected the end result.

So, the key metaphor established in this song is that of the keeper and armour. The protector and the guardian, and that is what sets up their place on the scale.

Armour isn’t a character, and even in terms of what it does, it’s not a particularly proactive item. You can’t hit someone with a helmet unless you really want to, and even then, it's going to be less effective than most of your other options. But what armour does do, is get in the way.

Armour interposes itself between you and danger, sacrificing its own wellbeing for yours. It’s a guardian, a protector.

Vaggie is positioning herself as a someone who will do whatever it takes to save those she cares about. She is the knight who will stand in the darkness and ward it off to protect the light. She is not a disgrace. She is vengeance. She is the night. She is... Batman!

I’m humanising an inanimate object here, because Vaggie is doing the complete opposite. For Vaggie, love is putting her partner above herself, to the point of self-sacrifice. It means that she is willing to let go of her will to live to get in the way of any danger coming towards Charlie. She is dehumanising herself and saying that her desires are forfeit for Charlie’s dream.

“I’ll be your armour, Do whatever it takes, I’ll make the mistakes I’ll spend my life being your partner”.

Now, Charlie has done absolutely nothing to persuade Vaggie of this. She has been supportive, if a little headstrong. Vaggie has reacted to Charlie putting herself in danger and decided that was how she was needed.

There is one scene that I’ve seen pointed to as Charlie re-enforcing Vaggie’s attempt at self-sacrifice, that being the training scene. But that’s just asking for help, that’s not manipulation, that’s shared responsibilities on a task. That’s teamwork.

Yes, Charlie is oblivious to this side of Vaggie’s motivation, but that’s because Vaggie hasn’t told her about it. Vaggie vents on an abandoned boat, alone, singing to herself. Charlie doesn't know that because Vaggie is convinced that if she is vulnerable, she won't be useful.

So, if it isn’t Charlie who told Vaggie that her individuality is worth sacrificing, I wonder who did. Maybe a military leader of some kind who values subservience above all else. Maybe someone who surrounds themselves with masks so that they don’t have to realise that people are individuals. I wonder who that points to.

Carmilla, meanwhile, positions herself as a keeper of secrets, a profession and a type of action she can take. She sets herself up as responding to news and stamping it out, taking action to hide things.

“I always thought that I would keep blood off my face, But when that thing attacked, I had to act To cross that line and keep them safe.”

I want to restate that Carmilla is a hypocrite. She makes weapons and is convinced that her wealth will protect her from the consequences. Or rather, she was a hypocrite.

It took an angel rocking up out of the blue and nearly killing one of Carmilla’s children to jumpstart her character development. Just like Zestial, she was bulletproof, except that she had people she cared about.

The angel made Carmilla think. Her wealth didn’t protect her, the weapons did nothing to stop the assailant, and the violent response to a violent problem only brought about more issues. There might be a war on the horizon within hell, and both sides will have weaponry given to them by Carmilla. If the war starts, both she and her daughter will be killed, and it doesn't matter which side by, they will die at the hands of weapons she made.

As a response, Carmilla takes action, trying to recover her safety by keeping the secret of her vulnerability. She’s still not a good character, but she’s had her security compromised, and that’s a start.

Which brings me to the parallel between Carmilla and Vaggie, and I think that it is limited, but important to note. Both are protector characters; both respond to danger and take action. But that serves to show their differences even more. Vaggie is self-sacrificial and openly vulnerable so that her ward doesn’t have to be, and Carmilla is closed off and defensive all the time.

This is reflected in their music. One of my favourite parts of Hazbin Hotel is the fact that whenever they sing duets or even chorus pieces, its never everyone singing the same set of notes in their own register. In this case Vaggie’s music is more floaty, and according to Musescore, in a different key to Carmilla, who is dynamic, but grounded.

Zestial's design strength comes back here. He has too many eyes and a mouth that's a weird shape. What expression is this? What emotion? Is he confused? Disappointed? What's going on? Having a manipulator character have a mask is good, but making their entire face an unreadable blank slate is even better.

But the difference is also conveyed by their actions. Carmilla is static while she explains herself to Zestial. She is focused on the people she is protecting and the person whom asking for help from.

Vaggie’s section doesn’t really show Charlie at all, except through the geography. Vaggie is constantly climbing when she sings, constantly rising, as if her love lifts her and brings her up from rock bottom. Even though she’s not dancing, the choreography is telling a story.

When the camera shows her face, she is always looking upwards. Charlie has given her hope.

Final Thoughts

Episode three’s problems aren’t its own fault. The episode is setting up elements that never arrived, and that causes it to feel bloated.

I actually like this song, although for a while I couldn’t articulate why. I like to listen to it, but as far as analysis went, I was at a loss. This post has taken me the longest that any has in a while. But I ended up with something, so I’m happy.

But, from the series’ weakest episode, to its strongest. Next week we start episode four, talking about Poison, and… oh boy that one’s going to be a lot.

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#rants #literary analysis #literature analysis #what's so special about...?#character analysis #hazbin #hazbin vaggie #hazbin vagatha #hasbin carmila #hazbin hotel vaggie #hazbin hotel vagatha #hazbin hotel carmilla #hazbin hotel #meta #analysis #meta analysis

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hpowellsmith · 1 year ago

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You recently wrote about narrative parts that are "too important to be optional". What kinds are these? Are they like the finale of Noblesse Oblige, where the event must be interacted with but can be cancelled? Or do they have canonical resolutions/roles, where they will have a role that is the same in every possible path?

Obviously if this is actually a linear work and it is too important to be optional for you as the author rather than the reader you should ignore this ask.

It's not actually either of those! It's a section of a chapter (for Honor Bound). This example may be a bit obtuse as I don't want to give too much away, but it would be the equivalent of something like:

- there are a few different ways in which you can choose to spend your day

-one is going horseback riding, one is going to church, and one is going shopping

-all three are characterful and move some plots along in various ways, and can have different resolutions

-But in the shopping scene, there's a dispute between two craftspeople about the correct way to carve the town sign for a festival. This sign happens to be an important piece of setting/worldbuilding information that relates to a bunch of characters' attitudes, and will be followed up on in more depth later on

-I realised I needed to move the "sign" scene from being branched-off to being something that everyone can interact with in some way, so that players will always have the context of what's going on with it when the follow-up happens. But within that scene there will be different ways of relating to the craft of signs, artistic approaches, and the outcome of what carving goes on the sign

It can be a bit annoying when I realise things need to be moved from branched to core paths because it's something else to think about for the shape and pacing of the chapter!

When designing my CoG games I am really cautious about "canon" outcomes of something a PC has done; there are always core events but it's important to me that a PC can interact with and affect those events in varied ways, including in ways that might be unexpected later. There are plenty of other ways of doing it but with CoGs I prefer to be very careful not to overuse situations where a PC doesn't have a choice about how something plays out, so that it's extra emotionally powerful if it does happen.

I hope that makes sense!

#asks #interactive fiction

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tarobytez · 3 years ago

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disability in the Six Of Crows Duology; an analysis of Kaz Brekker, Wylan Van Eck, and the fandom’s treatment of them.

****Note: I originally wrote this for a tiktok series, which im still going to do, but i wanted to post here as well bc tumblr is major contributor to what im going to talk about

CW: ableism, filicide, abuse

In the Six of Crows duology, Leigh Bardugo delicately subverts and melds harmful disability tropes into her narrative, unpacking them in a way that I, as a disabled person, found immensely refreshing and…. just brilliant.

But what did you all do with that? Well, you fucked it up. Instead of critically looking at the characters, y’all just chose to be ableist.

For the next few videos paragraphs im going to unpack disability theory (largely the stuff surrounding media, for obvious reasons) and how it relates to Six Of Crows and the characterization of Kaz Brekker and Wylan Van Eck, then how, despite their brilliant writing, y’all completely overlooked the actual text and continuously revert them to ableist cariactures.

Disclaimer: 1. Shocker - i am disabled. I have also extensively researched disability theory and am very active in the disabled community. Basically, I know my shit. 2. im going to be mad in these videos this analysis. Because the way y’all have been acting has been going on for a long ass time and im fuckin sick of it. I don’t give a shit about non-disabled feelings, die mad

Firstly, I’m going to discuss Kaz, his play on the stereotypical “mean cripple” trope and how Bardugo subverts it, his cane, and disabled rage. Then, I am going to discuss Wylan, the “inspiration porn” stereotype, caregivers / parents, and the social model of disability. Finally, I will then explain the problems in the fandom from my perspective as a disabled person, largely when it comes to wylan, bc yall cant leave that boy tf alone.

Kaz Brekker

Think of a character who uses a cane (obviously not Kaz). Now, are they evil, dubiously moral, or just an asshole in general? Because nearly example I can think of is: whether it be Lots’O from Toy Story, Lucius Malfoy, or even Scrooge and Mr.Gold from Once Upon A Time all have canes (the last two even having their canes appear less and less as they become better people)

The mean/evil cripple trope is far more common than you would think. Villains with different bodies are confined to the role of “evil”. To quote TV Tropes, who I think did a brilliant job on explaining it “The first is rooted in eugenics-based ideas linking disability or other physical deformities with a "natural" predisposition towards madness, criminality, vice, etc. The Rule of Symbolism is often at work here, since a "crippled" body can be used to represent a "crippled" soul — and indeed, a disabled villain is usually put in contrast to a morally upright and physically "perfect" hero. Whether consciously on the part of the writer or not, this can reinforce cultural ideas of disability making a person inherently inferior or negative, much in the same way the Sissy Villain or Depraved Homosexual trope associate sexual and gender nonconformity with evil. ”

Our introduction to Kaz affirms this notion of him being bad or morally bankrupt, with “Kaz Brekker didn’t need a reason”, etc. This mythologized version of himself, the “bastard of the barrel” actively fed into this misconception. But, as we the audience are privy to his inner thoughts, know that he is just a teenager like every other Crow. He is complex, his disability isn’t this tragic backstory, he just fell off a roof. It’s not his main motivation, nor does he curse revenge for making him a cripple - it is just another part of who he is.

His cane (though the shows version fills me with rage but-) is an extension of Kaz - he fights with it, but it has a purpose. Another common thing in media is for canes to be simply accessories, but while Kaz’ cane is fashionable, it has purpose.

The quote “There was no part of him that was not broken, that had not healed wrong and there was no part of him that was not stronger for having been broken.” is so fucking powerful. Kaz does not want nor need a cure - its said in Crooked Kingdom that his leg could most likely be healed, but he chooses not to. Abled-bodied people tend to dismiss this thought as Kaz being stubborn but it shows a reality of acceptance of his disability that is just, so refreshing.

In chapter 22 of SOC, we see disabled rage done right - when he is called a cripple by the Fjerdan inmate, Kaz is pissed - the important detail being that he is pissed at the Fjerdan, at society for ableism, not blaming it on being disabled or wishing he could be normal. He takes action, dislocating the asshole’s shoulder and proving to him, and to a lesser extent, himself, that he is just as capable as anyone else, not in spite of, but because he is disabled. And that is the point of Kaz, harking back to the line that “there was no part of him that was not stronger for having been broken”.

I cried on numerous occasions while reading the SOC duology, but the parts I highlighted in this section especially so. I, as many other disabled people do, have had a long and tumultuous relationship with our disability/es, and for many still struggle. But Kaz Brekker gave me an empowered disabled character who accepts themselves, and that means the world to me.

Keeping that in mind, I hope you can understand why it hurts so much to disabled people when you either erase Kaz’s disability (whether through cosplay or fanfiction), or portray him as a “broken boy uwu”, especially implying that he would want a cure. That flies in the face of canon and is inherently fucking ableist. (if u think im mad wait until the next section)

Next, we have Wylan.

Oh fucking boy.

I love Wylan so fucking much, and y’all just do not seem to understand his character? Like at all? Since this is disability-centric, I’m not going to discuss how the intersection of his queerness also contributes to these issues, but trust me when I say it’s a contributing factor to what i'm going to say.

Wylan, motherfucking Van Eck. If you ableist pricks don’t take ur fucking hands off him right now im going to fight you. I see Wylan as a subversion another, and in my opinion more insidious stereotype pf disabled people - inspiration porn.

Cara Liebowitz in a 2015 article on the blog The Body Is Not An Apology explains in greater detail how inspiration porn is impactful in real life, but media is a major contributing factor to this reality. The technical definition is “the portrayal of people with disabilities as inspirational solely or in part on the basis of their disability” - but that does not cover it fully.

Inspiration porn does lasting damage on the disabled community as it implies that disability is a negative that you need to “overcome” or “triumph” instead of something one can feel proud of. It exploits disabled people for the development of non-disabled people, and in media often the white male protagonist. Framing disability as inherently negative perpetuates ideals of eugenics and cures - see Autism $peaks’ “I Am Autism” ad. Inspiration porn is also incredibly patronizing as it implies that we cannot take care of ourselves, or do things like non-disabled people do. Because i stg some of you tend to think that we just sit around all day wishing we weren’t disabled.

Another important theory ideal that is necessary when thinking about Wylan is the experience of feeling like a burden simply for needing help or accommodations. This is especially true when it comes to familial relationships, and internalized ableism.

The rhetoric that Wylan’s father drilled into his head, that he is “defective”, “a mistake”, and “needs to be corrected”, that he (Jan) was “cursed with a moron for a child” is a long held belief that disabled people hear relentlessly. And while many see Van Eck’s attempted murder of Wylan as “preposturous” and overall something that you would never think happens today - filicide (a parent murdering their child) is more common than you would like to believe. Without even mentioning the countless and often unreported deaths of disabled people due to lack of / insufficient / neglectful medical care, in a study on children who died from the result of household abuse, 40 of 42 of them (95%) were diagnosed with disabilities. Van Eck is not some caricature of ableist ideals - he is a real reflection on how many people and family members view disability.

Circling back to how Wylan unpacks the inspiration porn trope - he is 3 dimensional, he is not only used to develop the other characters, he is just *chefs kiss* Leigh, imo, put so much love and care into the creation of Wylan and his story and character growth that is representative of a larger feeling in the disabled community.

That being said, what you non-disabled motherfuckers have done to him.

The “haha Wylan can’t read” jokes aren’t and were not funny. Y’all literally boiled down everything Wylan is to him being dyslexic. And it’s like,,,, the only thing you can say about him. You ignore every other part of him other than his disability, and then mock him for it. There’s so much you can say about Wylan - simping for Jesper, being band kid and playing the fuckin flute, literally anything else. But no, you just chose to mock his disability, excellent fucking job!

Next up on “ableds stfu” - infantilization! y’all are so fucking condescending to Wylan, and treat him like a fucking toddler. And while partly it is due to his sexuality i think a larger portion is him being disabled. Its in the same vein of people who think that Wylan and Jesper are romantically one sided, and that Jesper only kind of liked Wylan, despite the canon evidence of him loving Wylan just as much. You all view him as a “smol bean”, who needs protecting, and care, when Wylan is the opposite of that. He is a fucking demolitions expert who suggested waking up sleeping men to kill them - what about that says “uwu”. You are treating Wylan as a burden to Jesper and the other Crows when he is an immensely valuable, fully autonomous disabled person - you all just view him as damaged.

And before I get a comment saying that “uhhh Wylan isn’t real why do you care” while Wylan may not be real, how you all view him and treat him has real fucking impacts and informs how you treat people like me. If someone called me an “uwu baby boy” they’d get a fist square in the fucking jaw. Fiction informs how we perceive the world and y’all are making it super fucking clear how you see disabled people.

Finally, I wanted to talk about how the social model of disability is portrayed through Wylan. For those who are unaware, the social model of disability contrasts the medical model, that views the disability itself as the problem, that needs to be cured, whereas the social model essentially boils down to creating an accommodating society, where disability acceptance and pride is the goal. And we see this with Wylan - he is able to manage his father’s estate, with Jesper’s assistance to help him read documents. And this is not out of pity or charity, but an act of love. It is not portrayed as this almighty act for Jesper to play saviour, just a given, which is incredibly important to show, especially for someone who has been abused by family for his disability like Wylan, that he is accepted.

Yet, I still see people hold up Jesper on a pedestal for “putting up with” Wylan, as if loving a disabled person deserves a fucking pat on the back. It’s genuinely exhausting trying to engage with a work I love so much with a fandom that thinks so little of me and my community. It fucking shows.

Overall, Leigh Bardugo as a disabled person wrote two incredibly meticulous and empowered disabled characters, and due to either lack of reading comprehension, ableism, or a quirky mix of both, the fandom has ignored canon and the experiences of disabled people for…. shits and giggles i guess. And yes, there are issues with the Grishaverse and disability representation - while I haven’t finished them yet so I do not have an opinion on it, people have been discussing issues in the KOS duology with ableist ideals. This mini series was no way indicative of the entire disabled experience, nor does it represent my entire view on the representation as a whole. These things need to be met critically in our community, and talked about with disabled voices at the forefront. For example, the limited perspective we get of Wylan and Kaz being both white men, does not account for a large portion of the disabled community and the intersection of multiple identities.

All-in-all, Critique media, but do not forget to also critique fandom spaces. Alternatively, just shut the fuck up :)

happy fucking disability pride month, ig

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fangirlinglikeabus · 3 years ago

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there are lots of female characters from 19th century literature that i love, don’t get me wrong, but i really feel like helen graham is something special even among such a great diversity of characters. and i think part of that is because of the way tenant portrays her work. bear with me while i work through my thoughts on this.

so one of the things i think anne bronte is concerned with in this novel is gender essentialism - by which i mean, obviously there’s all of huntingdon & co’s views of masculinity that involve drinking and abusing women, huntingdon refusing to ‘take care of myself like a woman’, and such, because for them to be a man is to act in this certain abusive and licentious way; on the flipside, and specifically what i’m concerned with here, we have things like, for example, gilbert saying ‘you ladies must always have the last word’ when he gets into the debate with helen about education - he’s not engaging with her actual argument here, possibly because he feels she’s been running verbal rings around him, so instead he lumps her in with a belittling stereotype that erases her as a specific person. as is the case with a lot of things in tenant, a more insidious form of this erasure of Helen The Individual with opinions and feelings of her own into the generic and stereotyped A Woman crops up in the diary section. i’m thinking specifically of this hargrave quote: ‘if you are a woman, i can make you so [i.e. happy, in a relationship with him] - and i will do it in spite of yourself’. and then, when she rejects him, ‘you are only half a woman’. and then, eventually, ‘i will be your consoler and defender! and if your conscience upbraid you for it, say i overcame you, and you could not choose but yield!’ like, there’s a clear throughline here to rape, right? if she’s a woman, which she evidently is, obviously she secretly wants him and therefore he’s justified in pushing further and further, to the point where if he literally assaults her that’s only a way of getting around her professed conscience. it’s not really assault. he can ignore her repeatedly expressed disgust over and over again - helen the individual might not want him, but A Woman, Any Woman, does.

that’s a long lead-up to say that i love that she fights hargrave off with a palette-knife. because that is something that’s specific and personal to helen - it’s one of her artist’s tools, significant both because art is a tool of self-expression (even when she’s painting purely commercially, she’s concerned her style might be recognised, it’s not just generic art if that even exists) and because for a woman to work in oils rather than watercolours would’ve been unusual for the time. so in both these ways she’s pushing against the generic, stereotyped woman that hargrave wants to force on her, the kind of woman who would never be self-sufficient enough to flee without a lover. related to this is a great line she has where she writes ‘i must labour hard to improve my talent and to produce something worthwhile as a specimen of my power’; i also think it’s important here to point out her determination to know when she arrives at wildfell hall that ‘i am paying my way honestly, and that what little i possess is all my own’, huntingdon’s earlier destruction of her art materials (which he’s legally entitled to do, as her husband and therefore the owner of all of it), and his later proclamation that he’ll give her an allowance to live separately from him if she returns arthur. because ultimately, yes, her art is her power, and she’s assured enough that she recognises it as such. it’s what allows her to remove herself, no matter how precariously, from the patriarchal marriage system that has bound her before; she doesn’t need huntingdon’s allowance, she doesn’t need to accept a separation on his terms, she certainly won’t accept a legal system which says he owns all she possesses (since husband and wife are one under the law), because she has the capacity to be self-sufficient - and thus to keep her son, rejecting huntingdon’s claim as the father who should be raising the boy to be exactly like him. her status as a skilled working artist is what gives her an autonomous existence outside of a law that would erase her individuality.

#idk like there's obviously a lot of nuance to questions of labour but i *love* the way it gives helen strength.#she works. she expects to continue working and to earn money from it and that enables her to escape abuse.#laura talks books #the tenant of wildfell hall #anne bronte #bronte blogging #analysis #rape mention #long post

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love-n-pirates · 4 years ago

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The Harm of Accusing DNF of Queerbaiting + Ignoring The Issue

I like to keep the stuff on this blog lighthearted and jokey and I like to just reblog art but I did wanna make another post about the kaceytron issue but specifically the accusations of queerbaiting. This is gonna be a long post so sorry about that but this stream made me really mad and I’ve put a lot of time into gathering my thoughts and reviewing the VOD again to ensure my citations and interpretations are accurate.

TW for mentions of homophobia and ableism and please remember no matter how mad this might make you as well. Don’t send any hate. Best thing to do is unfollow, block and move on, she’s already had enough of a stage to perform on.

I’ve sectioned the post into summary and thoughts with pictures in case you only want to briefly look but I tried to be cohesive enough without going on too long so hopefully you’ll give the whole thing a read. Particularly a part I wrote at the end about her using Dream as a scapegoat (titled such) I just think it’s important to keep in mind. I watched this shit a second time so you don’t have to! It wrecked my head but I’m unhappy with how they spoke about queerbaiting, which is a serious issue in media, and wanted to talk openly about it here.

At first I did feel bad for her and thought that some of it was blown out of proportion, things that she could learn and grow from but ultimately she showed no remorse and after how she handled speaking with Dream and the immature nature of the whole ordeal I can’t feel entirely awful for her anymore.

This is the tweet that started it all. Kacey is in a very similar circle to Dream and George so it makes sense that Dream stans would find it. Ignoring the sort of humour behind the fact that so many assumed it was about them, it is a shitty tweet and seems kind of irrelevant. Ironically enough, she was getting called out moments later as stans brought up prior racist, ableist and homophobic issues with Kacey. Cancelled for a little more than breathing it seems.

One thing I wish had been asked from the get go was “Who is this tweet supposed to be about?” Kacey said it wasn’t even about them and that people were assuming incorrectly. She could’ve saved herself from the wrath of all the mc stans that came her way if she just said who it was really about. But she didn’t, which indicates to me that it definitely was about them. Not a great statement to make as a cishet woman, unprompted, especially when your influence often intertwines with theirs and when you share mutuals.

I did speak about queerbaiting before in reference to George just a couple posts down but it's blown up massively recently and I wanted to get detailed in a more general sense while using this event as a sort of case study.

For clarification I am a queer woman so I've had my fair run ins with queerbaity content etc. This is gonna be a detailed rundown of what was said with my own thoughts on it and some time stamps are included if you feel the need to see for yourself.

TL;DR

Dream and George are not the malicious straight boys they’re being made out to be. Saying they’re Queerbaiting is a disregard for their own emotional autonomy and they have been open with the fact they do not date nor do they use it for views. This argument is being used to shift focus from the important conversation which is Kaceytron’s use of slurs and arose from a stream that was made about Dream and forced him to be involved. She’s doing it for attention and should be ignored.

WHAT IS QUEERBAITING?

First of all, queer baiting is defined as "a marketing technique for fiction and entertainment in which creators hint at, but then do not actually depict, same-sex romance or other LGBTQ representation."

Technically twitch streams do fall under entertainment although I would argue that there is a certain nuance to this. We know that streamers often put on a certain persona when streaming (Tommy and Quackity are very loud in their own streams because that's their brand, then on their alts they are very laidback) but I would say that Dream and George are two streamers that are often just themselves while streaming. Particularly when they are together, it makes sense that a stream has a change in vibe when the cc is talking with a friend rather than focusing on talking to chat. Since these two usually only stream when they're with friends, we tend to see a more authentic side. We very much feel that they are real people showing their casual side. Their streams do not feel performative, this is part of their appeal.

Don’t forget that Kacey, a cishet woman, puts her streams under the LGBTQIA+ tag on Twitch. A tag only usually used if the streamer is LGBT.

SUMMARY OF EVENTS IN THE STREAM

Now, the stream. During the stream Kacey had her sister and two friends(both gay men, important for a later point) to back her up. Dream joined at about 3hr and 55 mins and already there was a distinct power imbalance in Kacey’s favour within the call. They titled it a debate yet it felt more like relentless high school bullying. They spoke for about an hour and the entire time, Kacey’s chat was spamming for her to ask about queerbaiting. Finally, one of her friends, Shaun, brought it up at about the 4hr and 43min mark.

Now, the reason I have a few issues with this is that it seems to me that he doesn’t really know what he’s talking about. You can see on his stream(in the background of Kacey’s) at one point that he has a massive text post from tumblr up that is accusing Dream of queerbaiting, saying that he gets to benefit from maintaining a queer audience but without the issues that come with being a gay man as he prefers to keep it ambiguous. That text post is super problematic, a creator is not there for your wish fulfillment or to be your idol. Also, there is a lot of assumption coming with saying he isn’t ostracized just because he doesn’t label himself. Instantly it’s clear that this post is the basis for the accusations that Shaun is making. I’m using accusation lightly here because over all I think the Shaun guy was very civil, (at least to Dream’s face) but the rest of the group were quite on the attack, particularly Kacey’s sister, Holly. (I’ll come back to her)

Shaun says that he feels that Dream and George, possibly unintentionally, are guilty of queerbaiting. Dream handled it well and said he would like to open that dialogue and asked Shaun to expand on what he means by queerbaiting and if he has any specific events that would be prevalent. Shaun says he has examples that he can pull up, which he never does, and continues to be very vague and general about it in saying that there’s been a “culture” going on for years that he’s noticed.

At this point, the other guy (I didn’t catch his name, sorry) jumps in and says there's a “clear flirtiness in attitude and undertones” which Dream agrees to. He points out that this is how he interacts with most friends, male and female, on the Dream SMP. He also points out that he acts like that with his friends both on and off camera and it’s not like he’s only approaching gay men and flirting with them. It’s clear that this line of joking is a constant in his friendships, where comfortable, and is never malicious. He even asks what their thoughts would be if he only did it with gay men and how that would differ, they don’t answer this question and the conversation moves on.

At the 4hr 46min mark is where Holly jumps in and tells of VERY personal experiences from Shaun’s past of him being tormented by straight guys in school, being called slurs and jokingly flirted with. She even tells a story about how a homophobe hit him with their car. This was very uncomfortable as it was not her experience to share and Shaun was IN THE CALL. She said that Dream’s flirtations with George could be a trigger to people like Shaun because of that experience. This shows again a lack of awareness for other people, she’s using Shaun's personal story for her own gain and not even letting him be the voice that tells it. This sat poorly with me as Kacey was already being accused of speaking over LGBT voices rather than lifting them up with her, then her sister goes and does it live. Maybe Shaun was ok with this, maybe not, it just didn’t sit well with me. At 5hr and 05mins, after Dream is gone, they mention this again and Shaun asks them to point out when he said he was triggered after he talked about his experience. He was clearly uncomfortable with the use of the word and it seems to have been put in his mouth.

Shaun then says that he doesn’t like it because here are Dream and George exhibiting behaviours that some people are often scared to do because of homophobic violence. To me, this was probably one of the only valid sort of feelings against it (Shame he wasn’t let speak more). I understand why someone might look at it that way, but at the same time there is a clear difference between messing with your friends and real life romantic flirtation. In my own personal life I know that I’ve been afraid of any sort of pda with a partner but when it comes to my own joke flirting with friends, I’m never afraid to do it. This can differ from person to person and maybe is very different for gay men but this is my own gay experience as someone who understands that fear. I think that the line is fairly clear between the real and the jokes and I honestly have no doubt that Dream and George have probably had people throw homophobic language their way but it may not have had to same effect as they don’t present themselves as homosexual.

Worth noting that during this exchange Dream does say in passing he’s straight but it’s said in a hypothetical sort of way which leaves it unclear and he’s stated before that he doesn’t like labels and he wants to keep it ambiguous so it would be more respectful to continue thinking of him as such. Ambiguous is the way he chooses to present his sexuality and this should be accepted by everyone instead of making assumptions that he is straight. He was under pressure from four other adults to explain himself and handle accusations, anyone would say they were straight if they were being pushed like that and felt it wasn’t a safe environment. Which it definitely wasn’t and I advise that anyone who does want to watch back the VOD to turn off chat because they’re extremely toxic.

Holly proceeds to say that this makes gay people the butt of the joke, Dream says that he sees it more as the flirting with his friends as the joke, again, I’d agree with him. Depends on your humour I suppose, but arguably, anyone who watches Kacey interact on egirl rejects and stuff like that will see she often makes flirty jokes with Minx and other female friends, for some reason this isn’t seen as queerbaiting, but it’s unfortunately not brought up. I can understand why, Dream wasn’t trying to make any accusations in return, he was legitimately trying to have an earnest conversation which quickly went sour.

Holly goes on to explain how Shaun feels, by speaking over Shaun, and asks Dream what he thinks about that. Dream agrees that Shaun’s feelings are valid and says “That’s why I started this off by saying ‘lets talk about this’“. Holly gets extremely patronizing and asks if he understands it now that it’s been explained.

Dream is still very patient with them and agrees that he’s said things and learnt from mistakes and criticism that he’s received. He speaks honestly about his original cancelling and how he handled it poorly but learnt from that and has grown to be more careful and thoughtful with the things he says.

I have a real issue with this again because words are continuously put in his mouth. He’s asked several times throughout the whole call to denounce things, from people hating on Kacey to actual MASS SHOOTERS. He’s barely given space to defend himself and is ignored when he tries to say that he can’t control his fans. They just ask him time and time again to denounce multiple things.

The only time where Dream seems actually riled up by anything they say is when Holly, at the 4hr 11min mark, mentions the hashtag “Shooters4Dream” trending and says its Dream stans promoting gun violence (which was just a handful of idiots being insensitive under the tag). Dream responds to this with his classic “Oh come on” but before he can say anything else, Kacey does talk over him and says that the tag was mostly people denouncing it and tries to change the subject, but Dream brings it back and says that the tag was stupid and wrong. Holly and Kacey talk about how people were making jokes about it and Holly asks “Is it funny to you? Because your community think it is.” She’s playing such an abrasive blame game with him and he talks about how he spoke against it on twitter, they discount him, and Holly can be seen laughing at him. When Dream tries to explain the issue properly and Kacey just says, “Lets skip this, let's move on.” Dream points out that it is bad that the tag was trending, but he didn’t want to speak about it too much otherwise it would become a bigger thing. Ultimately, he doesn’t control his fans and the meaning of the tag was misconstrued massively. A matter of poor use of language and appalling timing.

Love or Host

Love or Host is brought up a few times as an example of him flirting with George which I found interesting as he’s only been in one episode (George’s) and he was talking mostly to the girls on the show to figure out who is good for George, as that was his role. During this there was joking about how he should come before the girl and even female guests joined this line of joking. This is all part of the show and most played along with the bit, it’s not an uncommon bit for guests on the show to do. Not just Dream and George, but other guests in their respective episodes.

I also find the mentioning of Love or Host interesting purely because, if anything, it’s the exact type of content that Kacey should hate, right? False relationships being formed? It’s not like there’s only straight people on the show as well, there’s been gay and bi love or hosts so queerbaiting, under the parameters which Kaceytron has set, is on the table. I’ve yet to see a real romantic relationship come out of an episode of LoH. This is a show purely for content and Kacey knows this, she’s appeared on multiple shows and even won Sapnap’s episode. She knows their date wasn’t real. Her sister says that many women are afraid to be on LoH because of hate they receive in the aftermath of the show and she claims it’s running its course because of this. I’d have to disagree with this (it’s a super successful show cmon) and, though a lot of people do get hate on the show, I think it’s often outweighed by the benefits they get from that type of exposure which is why people like Kacey continue to appear on multiple episodes.

What I found most interesting was what she said about her appearance on George’s episode. Mostly jokes were made about this costume:

admittedly, it was kind of funny albeit rather creepy. However, if Kacey felt so strongly about Queerbaiting, why would she dress like that. Why wasn’t she a passionate advocate then? Where’d the sudden fire come from? I think we all know the answers to these questions.

In response to people bringing up how she pandered by using this costume, making her a hypocrite, she said that in dressing like that she knew she was appealing to children. Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t know many kids that want to sit through a four hour long dating show filled with adults they don’t know and stuff they don’t understand. I don’t think the Austin Show’s demographic contains an awful lot of kids, no matter who the guest on the show is. Also, the point of the show is not to appeal to the audience per se, but to the person whose episode it is. It felt like a weak excuse and another chance to try take a dig at mc stans for being younger and trying to brand them as immature.

INITIAL AFTER THOUGHTS

As I said before, creators do not owe you anything, especially not a window into their personal lives. We’re lucky that Dream shares so much and is a very open person, you don’t need to pry any more than that. When you get upset about him queerbaiting you, what you say to me is that you don’t see him as a person. It’s a level of objectification that leaves me feeling uneasy, if you feel robbed of something because of this then you need to set your priorities straight.

As Dream said in the stream, he hasn’t misled anyone. He has specified that him and George are not dating nor do they plan to (I included a SS at the end of this as well where he states this again). If he were queerbaiting then he would title his videos as though George was his boyfriend, he doesn’t do this. He makes it clear that they are friends, their chemistry is never used as a marketing device or as the main attraction of a video.

Many pointed out the hypocrisy of Kacey’s claims. Some pointing to her own channel where she has a playlist of 16 videos titled “gay videos”

These are just a few of the videos. Within one of these videos, titled “The F Word”, she complains about reclamation of slurs and repeatedly says the r slur. She shows no remorse for saying slurs and this is part of why it’s difficult to forgive her.

I don’t even know what to say about this video. This is extremely offensive, even if the people involved agreed to it, it doesn’t mean it's not offensive to other gay people. This clip features her sister and Shaun, who were on the call, kissing while clearly intoxicated. The narrative that gay people can be ”turned straight” is extremely harmful and is an unfortunate reality that many LGBT people are forced through. In the call with Dream, they mention how maybe some gay people are fine with Dream and George’s flirting but people like Shaun weren’t and so they should be more respectful. When it comes to a video, like the one I’ve shown above, you’d think they would follow the same thought process. This is far more offensive and harmful to the LGBT community than any harmless flirting between friends. The hypocrisy is blatant.

Sometimes streamers are tricked into saying slurs by donos etc. but instead of saying sorry I didn’t mean it and here’s what happened, Kacey tends to jump on the defensive. Dream said to her around when he first joined the call that he understood how difficult her position was because when he was first cancelled he felt like it was very unfair. He told her that even if you don’t think you’re wrong you can’t control how other people feel and you have to acknowledge that. He did mention how he handled his cancelling badly (something he still gets shit for today despite the fact he learnt from his mistakes) and that instead of getting upset about it now, he knows you should just take accountability and move on. Kacey doesn’t register this and goes on about how terrible it is for her.

MISOGYNY AND AGE DEMOGRAPHIC

Part of me wonders if the reason she continues to fight with mc stans is because she knows she can just call them stupid kids and call it a day. This is interesting to me as I think I’ve seen more 15-24 year olds in this group rather than young children. Maybe this is just the content I’m looking through but I actually think that her demographic is more similar to Dream’s than she thinks. It’s just easier to write them off as snot-nosed minecraft playing children. This is a theme she sticks with as she makes half-assed jokes about bedtimes and parents etc. etc. It’s boring.

Also, despite the accusations at Dream, calling him a misogynist, it actually was both Kacey and Holly who came in with the sexist narrative as they go on about how his fans are just teenage white girls. This is a clear double standard as they are trying to use both age and gender to discount the validity of their feelings.

For someone who says she doesn’t care, it sure is interesting that she’s tweeted constantly about it and streamed for hours at a time. The stream with Dream was seven hours long. She blames the fact that she accidently read a slur out on stream on her lack of sleep. As a creator, you should know your limits and when you are and aren’t emotionally ready to be on camera. Kacey clearly does not know her limits and it effects her greatly. On the first watch I skipped forward in the VOD to the six hour mark and found she was still chatting shit about Dream with her sister while playing Roblox.

Ironic that she goes on about stupid minecraft kids while being a 30 y/o woman playing Roblox. Nothing wrong with playing stuff at whatever age but not when you’re ragging on kids for the same thing.

USING THE GAY NARRATIVE

I finally wanted to come back to the use of her two gay friends in the so called “debate”. At 6hr and 08mins she reads out a message in either chat or from twitter.

“Listen up here cishet woman, you are cishet, shut your mouth and do not talk about queerbaiting ever again, ok?”

I don’t think people should bother going to her chat to say this stuff because it only fans the flames and will not change her mind but it’s what she said after that left me thinking that she knew exactly what she was doing when she included two gay men in the narrative on her side. She says

“That’s why there were two gay people on the show who talked about queerbaiting and how it’s offensive to them. Are they trying to speak over gay voices? Like, who are they playing?”

I find it difficult to consider this a valid point as they quite literally spoke over said gay people themselves and as I mentioned, it was pressure from Shaun’s chat that made him bring it up when it was clear he wasn’t educated on the specifics of who he was speaking with. It all felt very false and like a set up to try catch Dream out. They were essentially there for the clout they get for being plants for Kacey as long as they go along with the narrative she was pushing. They seemed dispassionate about the topic and were more interested in drama. It makes them unconvincing debators.

KACEY’S CHAT AND ABLEISM

I could barely look at the chat the whole time because they were very toxic and some even used slurs in there. Kacey claims to have created a safe space for people, particularly LGBTQ people, yet from what I saw, it was only really a safe space for bigotry and toxicity. These are just some screenshots that I took during the call.

Blatant ableism in the first one, maybe they didn’t know about his ADHD, but this was one of many and even Kacey and her sister made fun of it when he was out of the call.

Gaslighting is a serious accusation. The definition is this: “Gaslighting is a form of psychological abuse where a person or group makes someone question their sanity, perception of reality, or memories. People experiencing gaslighting often feel confused, anxious, and unable to trust themselves.”

This does not apply to Kacey; she is not questioning her sanity or being confused. She’s outright denying things. There is no gaslighting going on here, yet the chat was FILLED with it. Bitches will learn a new word like gaslighting and queerbaiting and really use it for everything oof.

Not once did he invalidate the fact that there is misogyny in the community and if anything he has expressly supported female creators very vocally and without being asked to. Writing off anything he says just because he’s a white man is not even an argument; he accepts the privilege he has and has never claimed that others don’t experience issues because of these things. This is not a misogynistic attack, this is a grown woman being asked to own up and apologize for her mistakes.

Chat continued to be extremely toxic towards Dream and even people in game with Kacey made multiple jokes about him. Here’s an example of just one.

It says ”What I wear omw to dream’s court hearing.”

They say a lot of horrible things about him and Holly even makes implications of him being inappropriate with fans which is an extremely serious thing to say and is based in NO truth.

SHIFTING FOCUS

Right before Dream left, they reiterated that they didn’t think he was a bad person because of his “queerbaiting”. This was something repeated many times throughout the talk. The implications of this language use is that Dream should be the one apologizing and that Kacey and her friends somehow were the ones with the power to forgive him. Overall, it was misguided and gross. He shouldn’t have had to be defending himself from four people at once all by himself, especially when the conversation was not supposed to be about him. And to clarify, he did not make it about himself, he started by talking about Kacey and how he had been trying to dm her about her cancelling. It was them that turned it on him to flip it in their favour.

There was an insistence that they were the victims, direct quote from Kacey at 5hr 55min and 40sec Kacey says “I am a victim, I am literally a victim of cancel culture.”

Yes, I think the doxxing is too far and constant hate doesn’t do much but Kacey needs to acknowledge that her words hurt a lot of people and she needs to own up to that.

Even after Dream left, they continued to chat shit about him, with Shaun even saying at about the 5hr 16min mark that he thought Dream had “perfectly scripted” his responses in a way that meant he wouldn’t have to denounce his fans. Of course he won’t talk crap on his fans when they’re the reason he is famous and he knows it’s a minority that ruins it for everyone else, he’s said he doesn’t like people who spread hate calling themselves his stans. The idea that Dream could have prepared a response to the questions and accusations thrown at him from a cast of half high and fully ignorant strangers who are all almost 10 years older than him is ridiculous. He was clearly out of his comfort zone and was a complete curveball for him. This leads me on to the main reason I think Dream was dragged into this.

SCAPEGOAT

If we’re being real, this is a clear attempt to change the subject away from Kacey. Dream is someone who people come for often, whether it’s accusations of cheating or scripting or bringing up past mistakes which he has apologized for and showed that he has grown from. He even said to Kacey that he does get death threats and he’s been doxxed before. He constantly gets in trouble because of the more radical “stans” who are a problem starting minority for the rest. Dream separates himself from those people as best as he can, but he knows himself that he can’t escape that brush he’s been tarred with. Kacey also knows this.

By bringing Dream into the narrative, she’s successfully shifted the focus of the conversation in a way that favours her. That stream conversation should’ve been about Kacey and the things that she has said, instead it was a grilling session from four strangers for Dream. Now people are very focused on that aspect of the whole thing (myself included ofc but this post is specifically about qbaiting accusations so) rather than the important part which is holding her accountable for her use of slurs.

It’s not her first attempt at this as she made a twitter post about how she was no.1 trending despite a mass shooting taking place. Of course this is terrible that that would be higher up but it was an obvious blame passing as this reply points out.

She knows what she’s doing and has shown no sign of stopping. It’s best that she’s not given any more attention now but just try not to watch anymore content with her in it. As I said before, don’t bother with any hate, just block and move on. For a creator complaining about all the “kids” coming for her, she doesn’t act all that much older despite being fully grown at 30 years of age.

CONCLUSION

At 6hr 42min 30sec Kacey mentions that she is number 2 on trending to which her friend replies “Good job Kacey”, she laughs. It’s clear that she does this for attention, her friends are there for clout and they are all irrelevant clowns looking to get a career boost out of creators more successful than them. They don’t stop to consider others’ feelings or empathize towards anyone. Kacey will say herself that she got her start from baiting on 4chan, this is her brand. It’s just unfortunate that she seems to think that she’s doing something just when, in actuality, she is causing a lot of damage to the LGBT community and invalidating many people with her unapologetic use of ableist and racist slurs. Her friends congratulate her because it's obvious it’s the attention she wants, this is why she streams for so long and tweets so much. She hit a far higher viewership on this stream than she normally would. I’m sure this sort of hatred does affect her negatively, whether she notices or not, I hope she gets the help she needs to become a less selfish person and to become more productive with her time.

Remember again to not send hate, just block and move on. I also recommend that you don’t watch this stream but if you are going to then watch a reupload on YT so she doesn’t get money out of it.

I was very uncomfortable after watching the stream, especially with all the false allyship with the LGBT community. People like Kacey act like this to get views whenever they’re losing their following. Just don’t fall for any bait and petty jibes that they throw this way. Don’t let any anger get the better of you and just lets move past it as it can’t be healthy for people like Dream to have to see this on his TL as well, which he will if we keep interacting. Though I do think that for now, it’s pretty much over.

For all the talk of how hateful this community is, I couldn’t disagree more. I’ve found most people very pleasant and the CCs themselves very accepting of all types of people. I’ll leave off with these tweets Dream made at the end of last year. Stay safe folks, be positive and kind to each other! Much love <3

#dreamwastaken #kaceytron #georgenotfound

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mittensmorgul · 3 years ago

Note

Can’t everyone use tumblr how they want?

YES!

This site is exactly what people make of it for themselves. That was the exact point of that post. The fact that people reacted negatively to it at all proves my point. Seriously.

I have a number of other anons that are clearly from people who don't actually follow me, and are only here in a reactionary fashion having seen it on someone else's reblog, or else heard about it in passing and decided the best reaction to an ultimately harmless and rather bumbling post was to take personal offense and bring anonymous hate to a stranger on the internet. (and at least one not-anonymous "go kill yourself" type comment on the post itself)

THAT was the point of making that post.

For people who might be new to this fandom or new to tumblr in general (or even for people who have been here for years), your experience here is exactly what you make of it. I haven't seen that sort of vitriolic kneejerk reaction to anything I've written or posted in years. That post touched nerves. So it was a bit of an experiment, and I'm sorry to everyone who experienced any of that negativity second-hand. NOBODY should be made to feel like shit when engaging with something that is supposed to be fun. But I've learned over the years that that's exactly what some people consider fun.

There are new people to this fandom since the absolute free for all of the weeks after November 5th. We all reveled in those weeks before the show collapsed in on itself two weeks later. It was like 15 years worth of Hiatus Blogging followed by... well... some of the worst genuine hurt and disillusionment I've ever experienced or witnessed inflicted on a fandom by a piece of media.

There have to be at least a few people who floated into this fandom during that emotional roller coaster who want to make sense of it all, who were at least curious enough about how a show could've brought the characters to that emotional moment in 15.18 before effectively ignoring it all and burning the entire 15 year narrative to nothing just two episodes later.

Some folks stuck around to dig through the ashes of fandom in search of carrion, and that's fine. Some have zero desire to ever engage with the show or the fandom beyond mocking it for ever having existed at all, and that is also fine! But some folks? They might be wondering why anyone ever saw anything in this narrative to begin with, and they might be interested in knowing that there is this vast collection of information available to them (funny that none of my self-righteous anons even mentioned those, outside of one pointing out that my phrasing introducing that section of links was easily interpreted as condescending... which... yeah... again that was the point, and no I will not edit that language. none of us are free from sin).

Tumblr hasn't "changed." It was always this way. This site is not a monolith. Fandom is not a monolith. Even smaller groups within fandom aren't monoliths. Things that are considered "tumblr standard etiquette" do not exist across this entire website. And even within the supernatural fandom, and even within the tumblr-destiel-portion of the fandom there aren't "rules" dictating how you interact with anyone. Well, the one specific rule we should all be able to agree on is that you don't bring hate to real actual human beings, and yet...

There has ALWAYS been the option to engage with fandom here on whatever level an individual chooses. And that hasn't really changed since the finale aired. Anyone who thinks that Tumblr or the fandom has "evolved" or "changed" has likely just fallen in with a different fandom bubble then they'd existed within before. None of the bubbles have actually popped or disappeared. But which one you experience is entirely your own choice. You curate your experience here.

That was the point, illustrated by the vast array of comments I actually got on that post, structured with a little bit of everything including "tumblr mom from 2014." Everything pisses some people off, you know? Even the perception that some stranger on the internet might dare to lay down an arbitrary "rule" that zero people actually have to follow. See what I mean?

Because if any of the people who kneejerked at it actually followed me, or knew me at all, they wouldn't have kneejerked. They would've seen the point.

So your experience is what you make of it here. There are resources for people actually interested in engaging with the narrative or the fandom or the history of it. People mock "tumblr moms" or "fandom moms" all the time, but there wouldn't ~be~ a fandom without the people who actually build those resources. I.e. adults with the time, money, and personal investment in actually sustaining the fandom, instead of running around with torches trying to burn it down at every new whiff of perceived ~drama~ to latch on to.

For example, all of the scripts we've been acquiring and sharing with the entire fandom free of charge. I know that the fandom bubbles who seize on those scripts like hungry vultures to cough back up out of context "gotcha" posts postulating whatever theory of the differences between script and screen will dredge up the most drama or outrage in their fandom bubble... they haven't even considered how those scripts were acquired and made available to them. To them, they are "leaks." They are gifts that fell out of the sky and landed in their laps. There isn't even the barest curiosity about their origins or relevance beyond whatever social nourishment they derive by making up stuff and spouting it out with unearned authority. It's sad. But if that's how they enjoy the fandom, it's nice to remind them that none of the fandom they cannibalize would exist without the rest of us, too.

Yes, even the people you disagree with. Even the people who ship the things you find disgusting or repulsive. Even people who have an entirely different experience to your own. Even the people who are only here for those gotcha posts.

Fandom is not by nature a nihilistic shitshow, or no fandom would survive the amount of drama the 1% try to bring to it. Here have a fanlore article about this phenomenon. Right now, in Supernatural fandom, it feels like more than 1%, but I promise it really is only 1%. They're just really loud. There's actually other avenues to participatory fandom available to anyone who chooses to find them. Parts of this vast fandom that aren't focused on that 1% of reactionary leg-chewing at every turn. None of them are (as the linked article confirms) truly 100% free of unnecessary drama or bad behavior (including ME, I mean I MADE THAT POST!), but on tumblr you can curate your own experience. Fandom actually can be fun without burning down the thing you claim to be a fan of, or attacking other real human people for having the audacity to exist on the internet in a way you might believe is out of touch or pathetic. Seriously, nobody deserves to experience that from anyone over a fucking television show. Like seriously, take a step back and examine your life and your choices at that point.

Tumblr was exactly the same as a fandom community when I joined as it is now. Throughout my entire time here, I've curated my own personal experience to exactly what I derive the most personal satisfaction from. During that time I have had numerous friends and mutuals lament that their personal experience had become so toxic, but they were afraid to trim those blogs from their dash for fear of having no content left to engage with at all. For years there have been follow lists and blog recs and people desperate to find a more "peaceful and fun" fandom experience. People grow exhausted and embittered when their entire experience of fandom is an emotionally draining drama train. It's like pandemic doom scrolling, but for the thing that should be a respite from that sort of mindset, something that's supposed to be entertainment. The show did enough to us all, we don't have to turn around and re-inflict it on each other day in and day out on tumblr dot com.

So if even one person saw my post and thought well shit maybe I actually want to engage with a wider swath of fandom and see what's there, after seven months of post-finale drama, this whole other region of fandom is still here, still being the curators of the archives, the creators of stories and art and meta and gifs and videos and actually caring about it all that will keep this fandom going long after the current round of exhausting drama inevitably plays itself out.

The amount of in-group language in the negative replies I got was unsurprising. It's like folks are living in an alternate universe that doesn't mesh at all with what I experience on this exact same hellsite. Almost like we exist in entirely different bubbles of fandom, with entirely different purposes for existing at all. Everyone on this hellsite gets to pick which bubble (or bubbles) to take up residence in. Some people simply forget that their personal bubble isn't the universal defining experience of this site. Unfortunately, I doubt my little disruption to their bubbles will actually make any of them see that, but you anon... I think you did.

You are highly encouraged to engage with fandom EXACTLY THE WAY YOU CHOOSE. You have the ultimate power in controlling your entire experience here. Tumblr and Supernatural Fandom on tumblr is not Just One Thing that everyone who wants to participate in must conform to one specific code of ethics or behavior to be part of. And that NOBODY has the right to tell anyone else they're doing it wrong (including ME! I am 100% including myself in this!).

It's not MY job to dictate how anyone else experiences this fandom, as much as it was not the job of the people who reblogged my post (which I did not personally shove into their eyeballs with a demand for compliance... how did any of those people even *find* my post?) solely to tell me how *I* need to change how I experience the fandom, you see? Don'tcha love hypocrisy!

But the point was made for those who care, and a lot of people got to update their block lists (I still don't block anyone, as I said I curated my fandom space here and generally don't follow folks that don't personally make me happy and enrich my life by engaging with their content. However other people choose to engage with *my* content (any of it, going back nearly 50k posts over the last decade) is their business entirely. Sometimes I just feel the need to draw out people who are all too eager to expose their own whole asses in public. Mission accomplished.

#fandom problems #and again i'm sorry that anyone i know was exposed to ugliness because of this #but everyone i know also knows that i'm probably the least easily upset person in this corner of the fandom #if even one person achieved a modicum of self-awareness that their experience is not universal #that there IS no universal experience even #then i guess the point was made

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jyndor · 4 years ago

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(Imperialism etc anon) Ok I get where you're coming from! Thank you for being understanding. While Zutara is obviously not inherently racist or anything there are zutara interpretations that *are* racist (example: fire lady katara which I can get into) and it does need to be acknowledged that Zuko's status as fire nation royalty does create a power imbalance between him and Katara. Now, this is a conversation that has a lot of nuance to it but it seems like the people harassing you are (1/2)

(2/2) just repeating some genuine critique they saw without understanding what it means just to say that they're right, harassing people in the process. I did not have that context when sending that first ask and I apologize, since anons harassing you and others are clearly doing it out of bad faith. I just didn't like the leveraging of concepts that really matter in real life (colonialism, etc), ykwim? But I get what you were trying to do.

hey anon I’m finally getting to you after 84 years XD

so first off, I want to be careful about how I approach this because I understand that as a white person (even if my ancestors experienced imperialism) in the US I absolutely benefit from imperialism and don’t want to like, idk, whitesplain XD so if anyone gets annoyed with any way I say anything, just lmk and I’ll rework it. and I also do understand that these are real world issues that are far more consequential than messaging in media (although I do think it’s very important that we challenge messages in media because of media’s influence on our thinking and politics).

but before I talk about zuko and his relationship to fire nation imperialism, and then later fire lady katara and why it isn’t INHERENTLY racist but definitely can be, I want to talk about the atla fandom and how we got here. like, why I assume that most anons who come at zutara shippers are asshats acting in bad faith. if you already know fandom history, skip this section.

1. atla and the fandom has always been kind of shitty and racist

so IDK if everyone is familiar with the history of the ship war in atla fandom, but it’s regarded as one of the nastiest ship wars in fandom history which I agree lol. atla’s creators were some of the first to interact with the fandom the way they did - back then it wasn’t all that common for creators to get into twitter feuds with fans and boundaries were respected more than they are now imo. but for better or worse, and it is a mixed bag, bryke interacted with fandom a lot. certainly at cons but also on social media.

but honestly things really got extra mean in fan spaces when bryke made a “joke” atla season 4 slideshow out of fan art (some of which was really sexual in nature and totally inappropriate) that mocked fans’ creations, but especially zutara fanart and zutara itself. it was pretty tasteless especially considering how most zutara fans were teen girls, and featured some art of sokka saying that if you think zuko and katara would be good together, you’re doomed to have failed relationships. that’s where the whole “dark and mysterious” bs came from, which does describe some zutara fic but not even most of it lol. I actually do respect bryke a lot despite my criticism of them, but I don’t think I’ll ever get over that shit. like even if you hate zutara, even if it’s a joke, we were kids. and they were adults, and the whole thing was nasty.

however, the ship war was chaotic and messy, but it does feel worse now. maybe it’s because back then the fandom was MOSTLY teens and kids, and I don’t think that’s true now. we were all trying to prove our ship was best with like, content from the show and theories and all that, and now it’s like... whose ship is ~problematic lol it’s a show by white us americans appropriating from various cultures impacted negatively by us/british imperialism that they then profited off of, of course it’s racist. that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t talk about that, and in fact many poc have been saying this shit for years - that atla is racist and colorist at many times (guru pathik anyone?) and no one really listened.

if fans are complaining only about zutara, then I’m automatically writing them off as being insincere or ignorant. and since most of these people are anonymous, I have no idea if they are having substantive discourse about colorism in avatar or cultural appropriation (even if it is mostly appreciative). if you are on anon, I have no context about what you actually think except for what you give me. and that definitely is how I view anons in general but especially within the atla fandom because for all 13-ish years I’ve been in it, it’s been messy. that’s why zutara fans have isolated ourselves from the rest of fandom, because the rest of fandom has been really nasty to us. like did we give back some nastiness? absolutely.

but I would hazard a guess that most anti-zutara shippers don’t know about the conversations we have had in this community to make it safer for people of color, conversations that centered poc and woc especially. hey, that’s okay - not to compare zutara to r*ylo because eurgh but like, idk what discourse the r*ylos have about their community. no idea, I don’t go looking for it. and I don’t go to the tags and harass r*ylos - even though they harass the fuck out of everyone else.

2. so zuko and his privilege

undoubtedly zuko as fire lord is in a fairly privileged position LMFAO. but during the show zuko is very clearly exiled - he holds very little political power in the fire nation EXCEPT for during the first season when he is in command of a ship that ozai gave him on a punishment quest lol like yeah he does terrible things and he of all people would not excuse his actions even if he was a traumatized kid, that’s the point of his arc - that he got some exposure to the rest of the world and worked to be better. and the only reason he was exiled at all was because he cares about people - he didn’t question fire nation supremacy at 13, but he sure did question the morality of his people being lead to slaughter.

but after zuko and iroh defect from the fire nation and stop hunting aang, he has next to no power, in any kind of way. like the guy is a political refugee. and yes, he goes back to the fire nation for like five minutes before realizing that he hates everything about fire nation hegemony and that he wants to end his father’s reign of terror, like that isn’t exactly someone who is going to be well esteemed by the powerful elites when he returns and takes the throne.

and I disregard the comics because they suck lol but zuko does have power as the fire lord, but he limits his power. like compared to ozai, phoenix asshole? azula? for the rest of the world, zuko is kind of an ideal leader for a former colonizing/imperialistic nation to have - someone who worked to end that tyranny, who is anti-imperialist, who believes in justice and equality, who wants to make things right for the peoples who his family oppressed.

I do think it is important to talk about power dynamics and imbalances in relationships - for instance, one could argue that mai is at a significant disadvantage in her relationship with zuko. sure she is from a powerful family but not as powerful as zuko’s. sokka? hah forget it. he’s just as disadvantaged as katara is politically speaking. toph? well, she’s definitely not as powerful politically as zuko - her family tried to silence her for years because of her disability. and oh, she’s disabled so it might be ableist for zuko to strike up a relationship with her when they’re both adults. forgetting of course that toph and sokka and katara and suki and mai are not going to be shy about their wants and needs, that these relationships are not likely to be coercive by nature of the show they’re in and the characters they involve. this is not bill clinton with monica creepiness. like, you’d have to write the relationship that way.

the only person who arguably has more political power than zuko is aang. I guess zuko can’t ever be in a relationship with anyone other than aang. and zuko’s family massacred aang’s people so I guess we can’t ship zukaang. now I know you’re not saying that, context matters. power dynamics are important. but you can’t take away the agency of characters - katara, who is essentially a princess, has agency and can choose who she wants to be with. strictly speaking, aang is more powerful than anyone in terms of political power - he’s the avatar - and of course the dynamic is different by nature of aang not being from a line of oppressors, but there still is a power imbalance in their relationship. and I don’t know how many k/ataang shippers have discourse~ on that. not that I really feel like they NEED to, um idk what they talk about lol I’m not in those circles.

3. fire lady katara is in the eye of the beholder

so fire lady katara is not inherently bad or racist, it’s essentially like saying michelle obama shouldn’t have been first lady of the us (now I get that like the obamas being in power didn’t mean black people are not marginalized lol). you can have conversations about whether or not individual versions of fire lady katara are fucked up, and I’m superrrr open to that because I’ve seen it be kinda shitty before. i’m just gonna leave this link to @shewhotellsstories and her post on this.

but often times katara as fire lady is very dominant in global/fire nation/water tribe politics, she’s a game changer ambassador (that is probably the most popular headcanon I see), she holds on to her culture (and many fans have designed her being in her wt colors, zuko is respectful af to her, she and zuko spend extended periods in the swt, etc. like... it just depends on the way it’s written.

also leaving this response by @avatarnerdkiller to the idea of katara being a prize figurehead.

anyway, thanks for your patience anon and I am curious to see if you see this or even feel like responding after all this time XD

#atla #petty fandom drama #zutara fandom #zutara #fire lady katara #discourse sigh #racism #fandom racism #asks #anonymous

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ryuspike · 6 years ago

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Thoughts on She-ra

Just finished watching She-ra and the Princesses of Power today. My overall feelings are positive. I might consider doing a full blown review one day, but I have too much on my plate to do that. So a list of pros, cons, and thoughts will have to do. A clarification does need to be made before I write down the list:

I am pro-lgbt and believe in equality between men and women of all races. That said, I will have opinions that may challenge your viewpoints and that is okay. Great even. Having different opinions does not make anybody enemies. It is the refusal that there are opinions besides your own that animosity is born. Now, onto the list.

Pro

The main cast of characters are likable and each have their character arcs (will get into those later). Design-wise, their outfits look great and I can imagine plenty of great cosplay to come from it.

Writing is not perfect, but is not awful overall. There are no giant gaps of logic that make you go, “That doesn’t make sense.”

Main heroine, Adora, is a great character as she displays both weakness and strength that make sense of her character. There is still plenty to learn about her past as future seasons will likely dive into.

Bow is just a great support male lead. He is written to be somebody who is in touch of his emotional side, and also show competency when the need rises.

Glimmer was somebody I thought I would find annoying because she was sort of a brat. As the show went on, she slowly became one of my favorites as she eventually learns to be more mature.

The villains are great. Not only are they as evil as I would hope the villains should be, but they also have a lot of depth to them. Shadow Weaver is a great antagonist as she demonstrates an emotional obsession that is both dangerous to the heroes and the Horde. Hordak is also really great despite his lack of screen time. But the best villain has to be...

Catra. Catra is the best character hands down. She goes through a character arc that absolutely steals the show for me. Her design is great, her personality is perfect, and her relationship with Adora is filled with so much nuisance and depth that short summery isn’t enough to describe it. If there is one character to love, it has to be Catra.

Con

The animation, I feel, could use with some improving, Certain action scenes have less impact to them as several characters and objects don’t have as fluid a flow to them as they are meant to. I suspect budget or time restraints to be the cause of this, and any improvement will have to wait until the second season.

While the main characters are written well, the side characters (the princesses for example) are mostly bland or one note. They aren’t bad, but they mostly depend on personality quirks rather than something more complicated. Entrapta and Scorpia started off seemingly to follow this path, but later episodes actually gave them more depth. The Dragon Prince also suffered from having too many quirky characters being quirky during serious scenes. The balance of levity is hard to master as most creators try to please a large range of viewers without alienating any of them. Success is mixed, but later seasons always help that balance.

Glimmer’s mother, Queen Angella, is not a bad character, but she falls into an archetype that is sadly very predictable. The overprotective mother that wants to keep her daughter out of danger. While I sympathized with her more than Glimmer at first, her shtick kinda got old as she acted more motherly than queenly. Makes me glad that she and Glimmer upgraded their relationship as I hope a season 2 will allow her to “spread her wings” as far as characterization goes.

Princess Frosta’s eleventh hour moment felt... unearned. I feel like there should have been a scene of her talking with somebody that convinces her to aid the heroes and rejoin the alliance. Last time we saw her, she was telling off Adora for being a rude guest and cementing her neutrality within the war. After all that, why does she join them? It is a plot hole that needs to be addressed.

This is something I imagine would tick off some people as it is about the canon lesbian couple, Netossa and Spinnerella. Not because they are a same-sex couple. No, that is great. What isn’t great is that they are given the worst screen time out of all the princesses. They don’t even get any lines or characterization other than “And then there is those two.” until the final episode of the season with powers that would have great to have around during the Best Friend Squad’s previous adventures. Even their relationship wasn’t made clear until their proper introduction. I think they might’ve been mentioned during the Prom episode, but by that point, they were mostly forgotten already. Season 2 will need to do better to include them more often so it doesn’t feel like they are just background characters.

Related Thoughts

It is a pain but it would be ignorant to not point out the controversy that bloated to the point where it’ll make an inflation fetishist blush. So, yes, most of the female characters in this cartoon are super flat. For the many teen characters, this isn’t a big deal, but it becomes odd when all the adult women are depicted in the same way. Especially the motherly Queen Angella who people would expect to have breasts after childbirth and rearing. The fact that everybody is flat is not a problem for me. If it was, this would be in the Con section. No, the reason I am even mentioning this potential ball of toxic drama is because there are a few female characters in the show that do have breasts and they are not depicted in a sexual light. If the fear of sexualization was behind the decision to make every female character flat, then why are these characters exempt from the rule? Was it something that was looked over during character modelling process, or is it something that the show runners intentionally done? That is something to think about if you are trying to form an argument for either side.

There are people that feel like breasts are a sexual taboo and that giving breasts to girls under the age of 18 is an act of sexualizing minors. Others say that the removal of breasts is a form of body shaming towards those who were naturally endowed. Everybody has their reasons and chooses a side. Both seeking to set up a victim they swear to protect, but is more like an excuse to get their teeth and nails soaked in blood. It is just sad to think that it should happen over a cartoon that is suppose to introduce a younger generation to a show that my generation loved.

There were a lot of references towards She-ra’s connection to He-man in this show. It is actually an overarching plot point really. Eternia and Grayskull are name dropped, and I am getting a good feeling that the “First Ones” are them. Now what this could mean about this show’s version of He-man and the Masters of the Universe is hard to tell. They could have Eternia be from a different dimension or from another planet. Maybe Eternia is destroyed by this point? It is all a mystery. All I can imagine is that Adora’s family (Prince Adam and his parents) will become important within season 2 or 3. The circumstances behind why Shadow Weaver is so obsessed with keeping Adora so close to her should also be revealed then as well.

There is a Kowl plushie and it is pretty cute. They should introduce Kowl next season and make him as cute and lovable as 2011 Thundercats’ Snarf. Even that new Thundercats reboot, which people hate with a burning passion, based their Snarf off that one. Cute sells. It sells more than sex. This is the absolute truth.

Phew! This was more than I intended but I feel like I got my points across. Despite those cons you see, I feel like Netflix’s She-ra did a good job for its first season. As somebody not blinded by hate or rainbow-tinted lens, I feel like this is good enough to introduce my niece to. I can only hope that Catra will be her favorite. It will fill me with pride if she can recognize who the best character is.

#she-ra #shera #netflix #dreamworks #spoilers #adora #bow #catra #glimmer #shadow weaver #hordak #catra is bestra #bow is best boy

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lookslikechill · 6 years ago

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WIP Song Summary Game

Tagged by: @requiemesque and @katerinarevel (thank you so much, I love writeblr tag games that incorporate music!!)

Rules: what are three (3) songs that really embody your wip? how do they relate to it?

3 songs that embody Daydream Walking below the cutoff! Warning, I got super rambly, especially for the first song.

Tagging: I’m not sure who hasn’t already done this, soo if you wanna do it, just say I tagged you!!

**Even BIGGER Warning!!!! I dug much deeper into the many many heavy/hard to stomach themes that are very much present in/going to be present in this work! For the first song I mostly just talk about masculinity, but for the second two content warnings for: abuse, murder, death, drug abuse/addiction, mentions of cocaine and alcohol, mentions of accidental overdose and vehicular deaths, police neglect/incompetency, mentions of weapons (guns, knives, etc.), and one single rape mention.**

Man to Man by Dorian Electra

So you want to play rough in the parking lot See you acting tough, but I know you're not We can take it outside, scuff up in the streetlights I just really wanna fight with you

Man to man, hand to hand One on one, friend to friend Are you man enough to soften up? Are you tough enough to open up? Man to man You gotta let me in

This song perfectly represents the elements of masculinity vs. toxic masculinity, and internalized homophobia in DW.

Admittedly, when I first started writing Daydream Walking, I felt rather guilty for a period of time about how male-centric it is, with three main men and a whole lot of male side characters. However, I realized there’s no reason for me to feel bad about it. It’s there for a reason. I’m a man, a trans man, and I often recognize and am bothered by the presence of toxic masculinity around me, the way a rigid standard of masculinity hurts both men and women. And I certainly hope to address it in DW.

Clay is what would be considered effeminate today, he certainly comes off as gay. In the futureverse of Astervale 4146, he does not stand out, it is okay for him to express himself the way he does- dramatic and charismatic, grinning and talking, dancing and joking. When he’s plunged into the past, into the grim reality of 1947 Port Cassandra, California, he sticks out like a sore thumb, even when disguised and toned down.

Alistair actively conforms to the standards of masculinity of his time, both because that was what he was taught to do and also out of a sense of paranoia, a fear of what will happen if he’s caught, a fear of being viewed as weak, as less than a man. Though some of this protects him, it also leads to his mental health issues(PTSD) being unresolved, which harms him. His stoic refusal to share his feelings and express emotion also harms his relationships, and though he may not recognize it, is part of what leads to his wife wanting to divorce him in the first place. Not only is he different when he returns, supposedly alive and well, from war, but he won’t say a word about it to her.

Despite how progressive the future may initially seem, harmful ideals about men and women and their roles still exist, especially among Astervale’s rich and powerful, and this has an impact on Quince; on his belief in himself, his willingness to look more closely at his own situation, to speak out, to say no. It certainly doesn’t help that it’s the men in Felicity’s life that Quince is most often coming in contact with, whose opinions of him he knows. The existence of Quince and Felicity’s relationship in this wip, this novel-beast of mine, is partially to prove a point, to bring the issue of abuse against men, but especially at the hands of women, to the forefront of the mind. I can’t believe how many men I’ve spoken to who believe they can’t be abused- if a women tries to rape him, he’ll just hit here, right? Because all men are inherently stronger than women, right? Because any man would be willing to, and capable of, physically fighting off an attacker, right? It just comes with so many more harmful ideas, I simply cannot unpack them all right here.

In short- Men should be allowed to express, or not express, masculinity in many different ways, as long as they are healthy and do not harm women or other men. Men should also be allowed to express emotions, and not only that, be but taught how to express them and deal with them in a way that doesn’t harm others. This is definitely a broad theme in DW.

Freaks by The Hawk in Paris

We have a flair for the shade and the inbetween We like to run with the wolves from the darker scene When we turn the safety off, the shots are automatic All our friends tell their friends we're so dramatic

We'll have you wrapped around our trigger finger Queen bee yellow, you're the skin for our stinger We'll make you swoon, make it hurt just a little We're the boys and the girls and the freaks in the middle

We know the halls you walk are unforgiving It's not the kind of place to find your place among the living We have a plan, we've got the means for your liberation You'll only have to blur the lines on a few occasions

This song hits the themes of corruption and manipulation right on the head. I also just love the sound of it- shady and smooth, lyrics flowin’. In both the future and the past in Daydream Walking, there is corruption.

In the past, it is more deeply rooted, at least in Port Cassandra. The Captain is listless, dispassionate, and careless, past his prime and clinging to glory days gone by. He largely ignores problems growing right underneath his nose. Half the police forces is using, and addicted to, cocaine, as well as drinking heavily. There are many more ways in which the police force in Port Cassandra is SUPER flawed, from each individual officer/detective to their aged/out of date vehicles, but it all tracks back up to the man in charge. Not only does he not take care of brewing issues, he actively makes choices that get in the way of the productivity of the force.

In the future, well, I choose not to reveal how corruption has a role there, quite yet. >:3c

As far as manipulation goes, Quince is most certainly being manipulated/gaslit by Felicity, and manipulation also plays into corruption in Astervale’s government.

To end this section, the lyrics “the boys, and the girls, and the freaks in the middle” are fitting because of the many different characters appearing in DW, including quite a few nonbinary characters! (Note: Not that I think of nonbinary OR trans people as freaks, just seems to reflect some general societal outlook, especially historically unfortunately hhhhh)

Florida Kilos by Lana Del Rey

We could get high in Miami, ooh-ooh Dance the night away People never die in Miami, ooh-ooh That's what they all say (You believe me, don't you baby?)

Come on down to Florida, I got somethin' for ya We could see the kilos or the Keys, baby, oh, ya Guns in the summertime, chic-a-Cherry Cola lime

And this one nails the drugs. Port Cassandra is up to its nose in cocaine, and not only it is inside the police, but many of them are also heavy drinkers. The majority of people also smoke. Quince is an alcoholic self-medicating subconsciously to deal with the abuse he’s been experiencing at the hands of his wife, and Clay is temporarily out of commission when he comes into contact with a new street drug. Themes of addiction, recovery, and, yes, accidental death all show up in this thing.

The murder and death. We start off dipping our toes into the waters of the investigation into the murder of the Morgans in Astervale, and many follow after that. In Port Cassandra, many murders and “accidental deaths”(read: cocaine overdoses/drug associated car crashes) crop up, keeping the small police department stretched thin.

And the presence of weapons, including guns, wands(which are treated as weapons/only issued to certain Government officials, mostly Enforcers(wizard cops)), knives, and even, cars. Clay’s means of travel into the past is an enchanted knife that cuts through the fabrics of time. Alistair is almost constantly armed, or has a weapon nearby. Clay, Daphne, and the rest of the Enforcers all possess wands, which allow them to do things with magic that cannot be done without a wand (for example: bodily manipulate somebody without their permission).

Additionally, the dreamy, slow sound of it feels really fitting, especially to the portion of the novel-beast set in Port Cassandra.

(End note: Quince DOES get a happy ending, goddamnit!! I feel like that is very important.)

If anybody has any further questions, please please please send them in!! I would love to answer them, and thinking about these things helps motivate me and figure out the rest of the story and what I should do next!

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solitaire-dreams · 6 years ago

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Rise to the Sun, and Fall into the Waves: BNHA Arc Thoughts

Hey, so this post is probably going to be even less organized than most of my others; but when I get an idea I have to write it down or else it will explode out of me and dissipate into nothing.

This idea surrounds the present Villain Arc of Boku no Hero Academia, and how my mind can't seem to stop coming to the conclusion that Hawks will finally get accepted into the League by the end of it—even if only tentatively—and that this will inevitably bring Hawks into checkmate. Ending with his loss, and one of Shigaraki's final wins before society starts to crumble.

This thesis has many components that convince me of this, and I'm not quite sure which point to start off with. So, if you're willing to dive into the tangled hellscape of my mind; feel free to read.

1. Parallels...There's always parallels

I am certainly not the first person to point out the parallels rampant in this arc between Deku and Shigaraki; amplifying their roles as foils.

There are too many posts to link, but they point out topics such as:

-Shigaraki's hair growing longer to resemble the younger brother of All for One, and Deku's hairs spikes looking a bit too similar to All for One's for comfort.

-Spinner's narration pointing out that Shigaraki both looks like a child chasing his dreams and is constantly smiling; two distinguishable aspects of Deku's character (also a reference to Nana who seemed to start the whole idea of “a hero must smile).

-Both characters seem to have impossible goals, but the convictions to turn it into reality.

-And even in the previous arc, Bakugo points out the similarities between One for All and All for One.

-Plus, that even ignores the already present parallels of red shoes, successors, a hand reaching out...

However, these parallels are only general and I wondered if there was any specific parallels to any other arcs to predict just what kind of win the League of Villains will get.

Cause we know that the League will come out on top. This is an arc where the central focus is the League, and the overall arc of the story arcs is called “Rise of the Villains Saga”.

There are some notable parallels to the Overhaul arc with Shigaraki's being manipulated relating to Eri's manipulation by Chisaki; the protagonists aiming to rescue a person being tortured by the Villain group, and the last Villain vs Villain exchange was in the Overhaul arc.

However, the situation the League, and thus Shigaraki is in would not line up with Deku's place because the League already had roles in this arc.

So the parallels would likely come from an arc without much Villain interference or none at all.

And would you have it? The most recent arc had no villains in it whatsoever. Also, there was the slightest possible hint that Deku might get a bit more power with a recent development.

That being the promise of SEVEN FREAKING QUIRKS.

With a major jump in potential for Deku, to keep the footing evenly balanced, Shigaraki needs more power he can tap into. Something that is severely lacking at the beginning of the arc with 6 broke twenty-somethings struggling to survive.

Though, power has already been promised to Shigaraki through Gigantomachia and high-end Noumus. As long as he proves his worth, he could end this arc with an overpowered pile of quirks, just like Deku.

And that's not the sole parallel with the Joint Training Arc.

After all, which arc has the protagonist of said arc pulled into conflict through forces beyond their control against an opposing group lead by an eccentric guy desiring to bring down the protagonists in front of watching eyes to prove their own worth and devalue the—admittedly—overrated public perspective of the protagonists?

Is it

a) Class 1-A

b) The League of Villains

c) Both

d) Get to the point already and never use this style in posts ever again.

If you said c), that's right. And if you said d) just comment and this will never rear its head again.

Regardless, the Liberation Army has notable parallels with Class 1-B that form similar circumstances for the protagonists of each arc to overcome. I mean, even the battlefields are both urban or industrial environments—though that may be a stretch.

Yet, that leaves one major element of the Joint Training Arc unrepresented. That being Shinsou. One of Deku's other big wins from this arc besides the promise of more quirk arsenal and physically winning his battle was becoming on better terms with Shinsou and his acceptance into the hero course in the recent future.

So, who would represent Shinsou. Gigantomachia is a character primed to join the League before the end of the arc, and he has been previous introduced in the story before this arc like Shinsou. However, Shinsou actually interacted with Class 1-A before the arc, while the League only met Gigantomachia a few chapters ago. Bringing him over to their side wouldn't hold the same emotional impact as Shinsou.

But, you know who would? Hawks.

Hawks like Shinsou has already been set up in prior arcs to join both the League of Villains and the hero course respectively. They both also held a detached stance to the groups they would join, and they are commonly associated by others with the other side of hero vs villain conflict that they would join.

In simpler words, while Shinsou has been labelled to have a villainous quirk and is joining the hero course; Hawks is well-known as a talented hero—even back in his youth—but needs to join the League.

2. The Story Must Go On

Hawks had been revealed to be trying to join the League over 30 chapters ago with no updates on how well he is infiltrating the League.

With double-agent missions, time is always of the essence; especially considering the high-end Noumus and Gigantomachia that will be given as a power-up after the League's coming victory.

Plus, if any major developments need to happen to the League, now is the time. Since the story is diving so much into the Villains, we probably won't get a good look at their progress until a couple arcs later; which could easily take a half-year or later if no updates are given.

Furthermore, Dabi has finally been reconnected with the League in the latest chapter (ch 224), and considering the recruitment of Hawks was orchestrated solely by him; that is the best channel we have to receive new information on that front.

Essentially it boils down to Chekhov's gun.

The Law of Chekhov's Gun—dramatic principle that states that every element in a story must be necessary, and irrelevant elements should be removed; elements should not appear to make "false promises" by never coming into play (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chekhov's_gun).

If the double-agent plot with Hawks doesn't go anywhere, it would be seen as irrelevant and should have never appeared in the first place.

Additionally, Hawks being brought into the League would be a double-edged sword that both adds to the wins of Shigaraki, while keeping a looming threat of betrayal that the heroes could exploit for an opening.

3. The Puppet Now Pulls the Strings

Shigaraki has proved in his most recent appearances that he knows how to take the motivations and actions of others, and manipulate it to result in him reaping the most rewards.

Before All for One's incarceration (the USJ arc, the Hero Killer arc, and the Bakugo Rescue arc) Shigaraki does not demonstrate this ability to consider anybody else's opinions or desires other than his master's; doing whatever the hell he wants instead because he doesn't need to manipulate situations. All for One already does it to give Shigaraki room to grow.

The USJ arc had Shigaraki releasing the Noumus just to kill All Might for no other apparent reason than: “I want to kill All Might.”

The Hero Killer arc presented a prime opportunity for Shigaraki to manipulate the situation. Releasing the Noumus would end the career of Stain and taking credit for his influence would attract new members in droves. Yet, the minute new recruits walked in the doors praising Stain's ideals, Shigaraki got pissed that Stain was getting all the attention and nearly turned away Toga and Dabi.

Then, the Forest Invasion/Bakugo Rescue arc do not demonstrate any evidence of Shigaraki bending the situation to the highest potential. But, once his master is locked in prison, things change.

The Overhaul arc provides an excellent example of how Shigaraki played everyone so he could gain all the rewards from the match. When the Eight Precepts of Death come up to him, asking to borrow Twice and Toga, he agrees—coaxing both of them into it buy promising revenge for the death of Big Sis Mag. By the end of the arc, Shigaraki is riding high; with his opponents brought down by both the League and heroes—reducing his workload—and sending a message that you don't try to screw over the League, got revenge for the death of a member, gained the power of quirk-erasing bullets, and strengthened the dedication of Toga and Twice since they acted out of their own desires that happened to bring more benefits for Shigaraki.

Now, the current villain arc is shaping up to re-demonstrate this new skill learned for All for One. Shigaraki is taking advantage of the desires of Twice to rescue Giran, and the Liberation Army wanting to destroy the League to cement their own power to defeat his opponents with Gigantomachia, rescue their broker, defeat Gigantomachia to bring him over to the side of the League—dragging the research of the Doctor along, will likely grow the reputation of the League, and reaffirm his skills and conviction to the doubting members. All of this while applying others agendas to fit in his.

Why does this matter?

Well, a lot of this section relies on the theory that Dabi is a Todoroki. But then again, it's basically canon already.

Cause a big question is why did Dabi choose Hawks to recruit to the League? He had many other options he could have picked, and even burned what could have been possible recruits to death without a second thought. So, why take the risk of the No 2. Pro Hero.

Well, when we talk about characters having their own agenda, Dabi is an example that would appear in the dictionary. Countless of times, he exhibited that he doesn't give a sh*t about League activities; disappearing for months at a time and launching the attack on Endeavour without any known authorization from Shigaraki.

Whether or not you consider the Dabi is a Todoroki theory canon or you want to wait for official confirmation, you have to admit that Dabi has a grudge against Endeavour, and what appears to be pro heroes in general. If he really wanted to give a middle finger to Endeavour and hero society as a whole; using the No 2. hero allied with villains to bring down the No 1. hero would cause chaos and hurt the others even more than if he cremated Endeavour himself.

Convincing Hawks to become a villain himself would be the best case scenario for Dabi since it would hit Endeavour the most, corrupting Hawks' public image would still work well to enact his petty vengeance.

And if this were to occur, Shigaraki could capitalize by drawing in Hawks with their similar origins. Both being raised with a goal in mind from a young age, swept up into something they don't even know is right because they don't know anything else; with the League offering freedom from the cage of hero society.

His intuitive nature, strong quirk, and connections to the heroes while it lasts would also be great assets.

But most of all, once Dabi enacts his revenge through Hawks betrayal, Shigaraki can sit back in his lair, remove Father from his face, and give a genuine smile to himself. Because his goals of exposing the fragility of hero society and destroying everything have just had the first domino pushed by someone else; and all he has to do is sit back and watch it burn.

Maybe this make sense, maybe it does not. Will I regret this later? Yes, yes I will.

Yet, I point anyways with the promise of new theories in the upcoming days.

#dabi is a todoroki #yes it is mentioned #it should always be mentioned #boku no hero academia #bnha #my hero academia #mha #original #tomura shigaraki #bnha hawks #theory #more a prediction #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers

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livingcorner · 3 years ago

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How I Turned a Grass Lawn Into a Garden Plot

Chris Telden is an avid gardener of edibles. A former city dweller, she’s always learning of ways to reconnect with the earth.

I used manual tools like this loop weeder to remove the grassy sod and create a nice garden plot for vegetables.

You're reading: How I Turned a Grass Lawn Into a Garden Plot

Turning a Grass Lawn Into a Garden by Hand (No Power Tools!)

I converted a large area of my lawn into a nice, usable garden space. It was very satisfying, but it also makes me want to rant just a bit.

Can someone please tell me why people ever thought lawns were a good idea? To me, lawns are a waste of good gardening space. They’re labor-intensive, yet they reap little reward. Turning a field of green carpeting into a productive vegetable and herb garden has to be one of the noblest tasks humankind can do.

At least, that’s what I told myself as I set out to turn our grassy lawn into a vegetable and fruit garden. After all, everyone in our household has to pull their own weight—shouldn’t the lawn have to do the same?

Hard Work With Hand Tools

So that’s what I did. With my own hands (yes, me, a born Chicagoan), I turned sections of our lawn into a garden plot. I did it the (modest cough) hard way—with hoes, scythes, and hand tools. I turned both previously untilled lawn and soil that had been tilled the previous year but now was overgrown with grass and weeds into soil that we could grow things in. May I just say—yay!

Manual tools I used to turn lawn into garden.

A lasagna garden in progress

Why I Didn’t Use Other Methods, Like Power Tools or Lasagna Gardening

Because I am not inspired by using gas or electric powered equipment, I did not use a rototiller, string trimmer, or anything else that could run off madly on its own if I lost control of it. Because I am impatient, I did not use the pleasurably lazy “lasagna gardening” technique in which you lay down straw or black plastic mulch over cut foliage and then let it all stew for six months to a year.

Although I like lasagna gardening in other areas, I was in a hurry to clear up space on the lawn to plant, so I didn’t want to wait. My goal was to get the grass out of the way, make the soil nice enough not to strangle the roots of the plants I wanted to grow, and plant ’em. Maybe I’d even mulch with bark or coco coir or black plastic to tell those weeds they weren’t comin’ back, no way.

Garden hand tools I used, including Red Pig tools, a Japanese ika hoe (second to left), a mighty Wilcox All-Pro camping trowel (upper right), and a Hoedag (left)

My Experience as an Amateur Gone Ambitious

So that’s what I did. I did it not knowing a thing about garden tools, weeding, digging, or—let’s face it—gardening. I was fortunate that my sister-in-law spearheaded the project in terms of figuring out the plans for the garden and providing the types of soil amendments needed. She bought most everything, except the tools I ended up using the most.

And somehow or other, it got done. It’s maybe not the most aesthetically pleasing garden ever, but still, food we can eat! Grown right here! On formerly-useless lawn! What could be better?

Sharing My Technique to Spare You the Trial and Error!

It occurred to me that other people might want to know how I got rid of the layer of grass—not because I did anything particularly amazing. I mean, it’s just gardening, and I can’t exactly take credit for reinventing it—but because it was, well, hard, you know?

I would have loved it if someone could have just told me right at the beginning what I would need to have and do. Then I wouldn’t have had to research and try all different sorts of tools before I found the right ones. I wouldn’t have had to learn ALL the important techniques through the trial-and-error method.

Rogue 80S Scuffle Hoe – A triangle hoe sharpened on all 3 sides, canted at an angle to use as a push-pull weeder. It took me several tries to learn to use it effectively.

I Needed Old-Fashioned, Durable Tools, Not Sissy Walmart Tools

As an example of my trials and errors: When I started this project, I’d hardly ever used a hoe, and then only a lame, bone-jarring one. I decided early on to get a quality Rogue hoe. Rogue is an inexpensive American brand, and they make STRONG hoes. They also have a wide assortment to choose from.

My Five Rogue-Brand Garden Hoes

I ended up getting several—about five (yes, I took this seriously!). I ended up using primarily four in the garden-to-be and ignoring the last. Plus, I learned from experience that two (the 40X and 55A) were essentially interchangeable. I sure wish I’d known that when I ordered them. Below, I describe the tricks and techniques I discovered for using all the equipment that I had no clue how to use when I started.

70F Field Hoe by Rogue Prohoe moves our water-logged clay soil like nobody’s business, and isn’t fazed by the occasional rock.

My Challenges: Why Digging the Garden Was So Hard

I found my biggest challenge was finding tools that could handle the work. The next biggest was staying uninjured—which largely came down to the tools, as well.

We are in the Pacific Northwest, with damp, muddy, dense clay. This means I needed strong hoes and digging implements that wouldn’t break when used to pry up the dirt, like the cheap chain-hardware-store strawberry hoe I broke trying to dig out lawn.

We have a thick, fibrous layer of thistles, Himalayan blackberries, weeds, and tall grass (we’re talking eight feet tall in places) taking over our lawn. Our sod is mighty sod. I needed tools that were sharp and fast for getting out both thick, deeply-rooted weeds and long, tortuous roots.

Our lawn has rocks, from pebble-sized to brick-sized, buried in it. So the blades of the tools I used had to not be wimpy, but able to withstand the occasional impact against a rock.

I have overcome chronic back, knee, and foot pain in the past, so I needed the physical work to be ergonomic enough NOT to set things off again. I was careful to keep my posture healthy and use tools that I could handle with ease and that were the right size for me (I’m petite). I did manage to hurt my knee at one point due to wearing my otherwise beloved Muck boots instead of my favorite moccasins on a rainy day. (Tell you more about that another time.) But it just confirmed my overwhelming experience that to prevent injury, the right tools were absolutely essential.

How Tough Is Your Garden Lawn?

Tools I Used to Transform the Lawn Into Garden Soil

I used these tools to remove the thick layer of grassy lawn and replace it with nice dirt for planting a garden.

Tool Name Use Comments

Rogue Hoe – 55A and 40X

For powerful digging/turning of sod

Though slightly different shapes and weights, these turned out to be functionally very similar. You don’t need both.

Rogue Scuffle Hoe – 80S

For push-pull weeding and loosening dirt

You kind of slice this thing through the soil in any direction you want. It’s super sharp and does what I imagine a Japanese sickle weeder can do if you tilt it at an angle.

Rogue Hoe 70F, Field Hoe

For moving dirt fast

This long-handled tool has a long reach and a big face that allows me to carve and shave clay dirt almost effortlessly into fluffy dirt, then pull it along. It also cuts well and has a hefty weight to it.

Japanese Kusakichi brand Ika (Squid) Hoe

For removing stubborn grassy clumps, sifting weeds, and breaking up chunks of dirt

Very heavyweight for its size.

Hoedag

For cultivating dirt (especially breaking up clumps of sod), targeting young/new weeds during planting and generally taking around with you

This is a convenient, lightweight hoe I found easy to lug around and use often.

Wilcox All-Pro trowels

For digging out rocks, slicing deep roots, and sifting through dirt

I didn’t use these a lot, but occasionally they were “just the tool.”

Rock Rake – brand unknown

For raking weeds and dirt

I used a sturdy rock rake mostly for smoothing dirt in the last stages of preparing the soil.

Glaser Stirrup Hoe

For weeding and sifting weeds

Read more: How to Grow Watermelon: 5 Tips For Planting & Harvesting

Because I was weeding a wide swathe, I used the largest one with the 7″ head. I probably should have gotten the slightly smaller one to use for weeding in narrow areas once things were planted.

European Scythe

For cutting down high grass, thistles, and blackberries

Honing stone and peening anvil highly advised!

Pitchfork

For moving large clumps of weeds

Particularly helpful if you have a lot of high grass when you start.

Landscape Anchor Pins (Ground Staples)

These nifty mega-staples hold black plastic down for composting or mulch

Black Plastic Mulch

For lasagna gardening/composting large or small plots

This is so not green, but so convenient…what can I say?

Garden Gloves

For protecting the hands from thistles, thorns, poison plants, blisters, and yucky things.

I highly recommend your keeping at least 2 replacement pairs if your soil gets muddy. That way you’ll always have a pair available when the gloves get too muddy and water-logged to use.

Coco Coir, Planting Soil, Fertilizer, and other soil enhancers

For making the soil airy, light, fluffy, rich, and water-retaining without being water-logged

What you use as a soil amendment depends on your particular soil conditions.

Steps I Took to Turn Our Lawn Into a Garden

To turn our lawn quickly into a garden plot, I did the following. (This is the short version.)

I scythed the grass and weeds to a manageable height.

I dug out the sod.

I put the weeds and grass where they could compost.

I added soil enhancements.

I shaped the dirt into raised, sloped beds (about 10″ high)

I planted and mulched.

One Section of the New Garden, formerly lawn, now ready for planting in raised beds.

How to Turn a Lawn Into a Garden Plot: The Long Version

So all of that sounds really easy, summarized in six short steps. Not gonna lie to you here, it’s not. If you don’t like to sweat and work for hours on end, you probably want to go rent a rototiller and skip to step 4. It’ll still be hard work, just not to quite such an, um, spiritual level.

Step 1: Taming the Tall Weeds

If your lawn is neat and well-managed, you’ve already got a head start – just mow your lawn in preparation for Step 2, digging.

However, if your grass is wildly overgrown or the weeds are more than a foot tall, you probably want to do something about that before you start breaking into the sod. Sod, by the way, means the top layer of lawn dirt – the part with all the grass, weeds, and roots tangled up in a big thicket.

Scything Isn’t Just for the Grim Reaper Anymore

If you have a lawn that gets out of control, or you hate using lawn mowers, consider the old-fashioned scythe. You can scythe in the rain, you can scythe for just 5 minutes, there’s no big equipment to operate or store, and, well…it’s therapeutic, a gentle workout, and fun!

Scything isn’t mandatory, even if your grass is out of control. I mean, if you like to use (or aren’t intimidated by) a string trimmer – also called a “weed wacker” or “weed eater”—to handle that level of roughage, then go ahead and use that. The idea is simply to get the grass and weeds down to less than a foot, and ideally just a few inches high.

Because I am intimidated by power tools, I opted instead to use a scythe to mow my lawn to a reasonable level. I’d started scything our field last year. The grass had grown out of control and was taking over the property, along with some Himalayan blackberries, thistles, and other aggressive intruders. I found scything to be incredibly efficient, cost-effective, and convenient.

So when I went to tackle the neglected lawn area to turn it into a garden, the scythe was my first tool for taming the highest weeds and grasses.

What Is a Scythe?

A scythe is a long crescent-shaped blade attached to a long handle called a snath that you swing along the ground from side to side to cut grass and weeds. It’s not the same as a sickle, which is typically short-handled and wielded anywhere you put it. You need to keep the scythe well-sharpened, which means peening (hammering out the edge of the blade) periodically and honing with a whetstone every ten minutes or so. It’s not as intimidating as it sounds, honestly!

One advantage of using a scythe is that you end up with the grass cuttings that you can use for compost. In my case, some of the cut grass went into little compost piles, and the rest went toward my own version of lasagna gardening in another area of our property, which is another kind of composting.

Which Type?

You have two choices if you’re going to use a scythe: American style with the grass blade or European style. The European scythe is lighter. We have both. I use the stronger, heavier American scythe where there are a lot of thick blackberries and coarse weeds to cut. I use the finer, more easily honed, but needing more frequent honing, European scythe to cut regular grass and light weeds like wild peas, thistles, and SMALL blackberry vines.

How to Use a Scythe

Scything is kind of an art, and I highly recommend this site by a long-time scything family for learning how it’s done.

Raking and Piling All The Weeds

After you cut the grass, you need to do something with it. Raking is almost an afterthought. You forget you’re going to need to do it, but after scything or hacking down an abundance of weeds, you’re left with a huge, messy pile of foliage, and you realize it’s in your way.

You can discard the foliage for composting, or use it on your own compost pile. I raked much of it onto other sections of field, covered it with black plastic sheeting, pinned the mulch to the ground, punctured holes in the mulch with my pitchfork to let in moisture and air, and that area is destined to be a lasagna garden.

As to style of rake, I used a rock rake/bow rake. DO NOT USE A LEAF RAKE. the kind with long metal tines that flex. For this job, such a rake is a wimpy, difficult, and ineffective tool. Use instead one of those long, wide rakes with short, rigid, widely spaced tines.

A pitchfork is useful, but not necessary, for heaving the mass of grass onto the compost heap. It all depends on your volume.

Here’s the picture again, larger this time, of an area that has been prepared with black plastic sheeting.

Step 2: Digging Out the Sod

This is the step you’ve probably been dreading: removing the actual grassy layer.

This is where things get hard. Literally. Dry soil can be tough to break up. If your soil gets very hard when it’s dry, then try to choose a digging day after a light to medium rain. Water-logged soil after a hard rain, too, can be a pain to dig and turn. Sometimes, though, you just want to work with whatever you’ve got, because you’re in the mood to dig. That’s a good reason to have durable tools. It’s on days where the digging conditions aren’t optimal that it’s easiest to break flimsy tools.

Here is a video of me using the Prohoe Rogue hoe 55A to turn the turf over.

Note: Sorry for the awful quality of the video. I took it with a 15-year-old digital camera, and to compound the matter, I took it by swinging this hugely heavy hoe in one hand and holding the camera in the other. The first attempt had me knocking the handle against my shin. This version is professional cinematography by comparison.

Me Swinging My Firefighter’s Hoe: With One Hand! (Don’t Try This at Home)

How to Dig With a Firefighter’s Hoe

Why did I use a Rogue firefighter’s hoe? (55A) It was very similar to the trenching hoe (40X). Both of these are heavyweight and have blades on both ends. Both have a handle the right length for swinging. The 55A I liked slightly better, because the big adze end is wider and sharpened on three sides. But really, both worked equally well. Just for kicks, I’ve included some photos so you can compare them.

Two Rogue Hoes for Turning Sod – 55A and 40X. Either one would do. You don’t need both.

The two Rogue hoes, compared in another view.

And yet another view…

Here is a comparison of their thickness.

Sod-Digging Technique

To dig out the sod, this was my technique:

Holding the handle at a comfortable place, raise the hoe high overhead, but not so far back that it upsets your balance.

Swing the hoe to the ground. This movement is a combination of at first letting the hoe fall and then adding to the building momentum at the end with a surge of power. So by the time the blade hits the lawn grass, it sinks in deeply below root level.

With the blade sunk into the dirt, pry the grassy chunk of dirt out by pressing/pushing on the handle. Flip over the dirt, using the blade as necessary to chop any remaining strands of grass.

You now should have dirt exposed in one small area with a clump of upside-down grassy sod. It has begun!

There are a few things you can do at this point. You can dig a long trench down the length of the lawn using this kind of stroke, then follow your cleared trench at an angle with this hoe, flipping over more sod kind of like peeling a carpet of turf. Or, you can rinse and repeat, taking the tool madly to the lawn and making it look like moles have had their annual party there. I, an undisciplined sort, did the latter.

Bending Woes and What to Do About Them

I don’t know about you, but I have chronic back troubles. To be specific, I have spondylolytic spondylolisthesis and neural foraminal stenosis. It was critical for me to keep good bending posture the entire time I was doing this, or my back would go “out.” Now, I learned last year that the supposed “correct” way to bend – at the knees – wasn’t actually good for me at all. So I learned the truly ergonomic way to bend at the hips (not the knees and not the waist) and that’s made all the difference. If you want me to describe how I do it, just ask in the comments.

Loosen the Dirt From the Grassy Clumps

Once your lawn is filled with these intimidating but satisfying clumps of upside-down grassy sod, then you must do some bending. I used a heavyweight trowel (the Wilcox All-Pro 14″), the Hoedag, and the Japanese Ika Hoe to loosen the clods and break the dirt apart. (You may need to wait a day or so for the clumps to dry out if they are very damp.) I used a chopping motion to break off big clumps, then picked up the main clump, gave it a shake, spat out the dirt that came into my mouth, and threw the grass and root part that was left onto a pile to compost later. Rinse and repeat.

If bending isn’t so friendly, you could use the long-handled 80S scuffle hoe, or better yet, a heavier hoe like the one that stayed in my garage, to break up and loosen the clods. That was a smaller Rogue 70G garden hoe by Prohoe. I’ve used it for that purpose before, but when I was doing the yard I was too lazy to make the trip to get it out of the garage! How you use it is you both chop with the broad end, then turn the hoe so the sharpened flat end is on the clump and chop with that, too. Because it has a long handle, you can stand up straight while you work.

Note the Red Pig Tools hoe on the left, next to the red-handled Wilcox All-Pro Digging Trowel, and the forked Japanese squid hoe and hoedag in the background. Any of these would work well.

Composting the Weeds

I won’t say a lot about composting here, mostly because I do not know a lot. I do know, though, that what I did was fairly easy to do, and cheap. It hasn’t had a chance to fully compost yet, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t. I basically stuffed a huge black plastic contractor’s bag full of the dirt & weed clumps, then turned it over so the open face was on the ground. Pierce a few holes in the top to let in water and air, and then…voila, instant composting bin.

Using the Rogue Triangle Scuffle Hoe

The scuffle hoe is a push-pull weeding hoe. That means you don’t so much chop with it as pull it toward you and push it away from you. I used the Rogue 80S, one of the bigger scuffle hoes, and got fairly proficient at using it after about an hour. The main thing to know is it’s actually harder to use when you keep it level and exactly horizontal. At that angle, you have to press down to make it effective. However, if you tilt it at an angle, then push and pull, it slices under the plants at the roots with its sharp blade edges and points. It’s very satisfying. Not what I’d call effortless, but not too hard, either.

Rogue Scuffle Hoe

Step 3. Prepare the Beds

With the hardest part over, what you do at this stage depends on your soil, the size of your garden, and what kind of garden plot you want. What I did was this:

There were still a lot of weeds in the now-bare-faced yard. I weeded these stragglers mostly using the Rogue 80S scuffle hoe (it’s shaped like a triangle) and the hula hoe – actually called a stirrup hoe or loop hoe – by Glaser. I also chopped at them with the Hoedag and ika hoe. Then I rather laboriously raked the weeds into the compost pile.

Note that while I tried to get out all of the roots, many small bits and pieces of weed and grass remained. This was as good as it was going to get, though, as I didn’t see myself sifting the soil pint by pint.

Then, when the dirt was mostly dirt at last, I took the 70F Rogue field hoe and the rock rake and moved dirt around. Most of the dirt I was dealing with had been soil enhanced the previous year, so I was mixing that with the natural clay ground. If your soil needs enhancement, this is the time to add it.

The 70F cut and moved dirt like a dream. I took a short video and have included it here, but I don’t think it adds much because the quality of the video camera and my filmmaking was lacking. Note, though, that this huge hoe was cutting dirt even though I was only wielding it one-handed (using the other hand to hold the camera).

Me Using the 70F Field Hoe By Rogue

Using the Stirrup Hoe

Unlike the Rogue 80S, the Glaser stirrup hoe – and I presume any hula-hoe style tool – takes just a few minutes to figure out how to use. You lay the sharpened blade end of the head (the bottom part) on the ground and begin sliding the hoe toward you and away. The hoe is ratcheted in such a way that it rocks back and forth on the handle – that’s how it works, slicing patiently at dirt and plants. Although it’s easier when you start on a patch of dirt, you can actually get to work on top of short foliage, and if you do it long enough, you’ll eventually scrape away the weeds and hit dirt.

Sometimes the hoe will catch on a root or stem; when this happens, don’t try to force it. Just keep sliding back and forth, and if that doesn’t work after a few tries, get a different tool, like the Wilcox All-Pro trowel, the 55A Rogue garden hoe, the Red Pig Tools hand hoe or dandelion weeder, or anything that chops or pries and is convenient.

Note that this push-pull weeder, and the Rogue 80S, both are for removing weed tops and only roots that are just under the soil, not deep.

Long-handled stirrup hoe

Rogue Scuffle Hoe 80S 8″ x 5″ x 5″

Rogue 80S again

Dirt-moving Field Hoe 70F by Prohoe (Rogue line)

At this point, I piled dirt a couple of feet high into long hills about 2-3 feet apart. Then I walked along each hill with my rock rake and spread out the dirt, pulling it toward me (easier) and occasionally pushing it away (harder). The goal was to create beds 3-4 feet wide, with a foot-wide path between them.

As I smoothed out the raised beds, I removed additional weeds as they came up. I mostly left the grass blades and leaves, and focused on those ominous white, slim root strands that are so tenacious with grass.

Cutting or Prying Out Surprise Roots

Underneath the surface, lawns are messy, busy things, with lots of meandering, active root systems that will surprise you. Occasionally, I’d see some thick roots sticking out of the ground. I’m not sure if these were grass roots (we have every inhospitable kind of grass there is in our yard, I suspect), or other weeds’ roots. Whatever they were, I disposed of them by wielding the heavy ika hand hoe, the Red Pig hoe (that thing is MIGHTY) or, when the big guns were needed (usually, when the roots went deep into the clay soil), the Rogue 55A or 40X again, as described above – raise tool overhead, control the fall-swing, pry out of ground.

My four workhorse hoes. The fifth one I’d bought (a general garden hoe) remained in the garage for this project.

Read more: 6 Ways to Keep Rabbits Out of Your Garden

Amazon Carries Some of The Tools I Used

This article is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge. Content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional advice in business, financial, legal, or technical matters.

Comments? Questions? Want to Share How YOU Turned Lawn Into Garden?

Carnette Eigsti on May 02, 2020:

Thank you for this article!! I started my front yard gardening yesterday. Wish I had seen this before I started.

Jill Townley from Portland, OR on April 11, 2020:

It really is best to dig out the sod. I tried to kill sod with cardboard once and it didn’t work well. I love Red Pig Tools! I bought their scuffle hoe for weeding similar to your Rogue one.

jeannie on March 25, 2018:

Seriously great job! I found no errors! lol I used to do all of my gardens by hand (with the same tools – old school, they last forever!), then I got old…now I am looking for one of those hated, environmental footprint machines ’cause I miss my fresh herbs and my flowers so much. Oh, to have teenage grandchildren:)

Chris Telden (author) from Pacific Northwest, U.S.A. on June 13, 2014:

Hi Rozalyn,

Gardening does a number on us, doesn’t it? When my physical therapist asked if I get exercise, I mentioned that I gardened. She scoffed, “That doesn’t count.” When I mentioned the same thing to my cardiologist, he wrote on my report that I got regular exercise. I think I can safely guess my PT wasn’t a gardener, but my cardio was or at least knew someone who was….!

Rozalyn Winters on June 13, 2014:

Great article! This is what I spent my day doing yesterday. I hate clay. Thankfully, it had rained the entire day before I started, which helped a little. But today I hurt all over–especially my hands, from all the digging.

JR Krishna from India on July 25, 2013:

Congratulations on hub of the day.

I loved reading your hub, pictures and videos.

rose-the planner from Toronto, Ontario-Canada on July 25, 2013:

Congratulations on HOTD, well deserved. Wow……………….this was definitely an insightful tutorial on turning a grassy area into a usable garden. The scything video was amazing but swinging that tool around looked a little scary, lol. My father and mother had the same feelings as you towards grass. Growing up we had a relatively large property and my parents, being avid gardeners, removed all the grass from the backyard and converted it into a thriving, unbelievably incredible vegetable garden. They even had a huge Pergola with grapes growing on it. They also had fruit trees and huge pots of colourful flowers. It was really something spectacular to see. This was wonderful! Thanks for sharing. (Voted Up) -Rose

Author Victoria Sheffield from Georgia on July 25, 2013:

How long did it take you to put together this hub? Great work!

Melissa Flagg COA OSC from Rural Central Florida on July 25, 2013:

I’ve been wanting to do this to my backyard for quite awhile now, but I just wasn’t sure how to go about doing it. This is a fantastic hub, and quite worthy of HOTD. I’ve bookmarked it so that I can come back to it when I start my garden!! Voted up and shared!

Liz Elias from Oakley, CA on July 25, 2013:

Congrats on HOTD! Well done!

We have a lawn in front–I like it. It is a cooling patch of green on hot summer days, and makes an excellent “platform” for our holiday display. We get hot summers, and chilly winters (but no snow). We don’t live in a bad area, but we are on a path kids use to and from a nearby school, and kids being kids, we’ve already suffered some mischief–I don’t think a veggie garden would survive well in front.

In back, we have a very large lot, but at our age (senior citizens; husband on disability and me recovering from knee replacement), it’s already too much to manage, and I have to have my grandson come to mow the green weeds…it’s not true lawn–very weedy, but at least it’s green.

Our main problem in both these areas is ROBO-GOPHERS! Nothing we plant is safe! We don’t have the money for materials to create raised beds, so, we use a very small side yard to grow a very few vegetables, but this year, we just didn’t have the energy or ability. **sigh** and this is the ONLY area (knock wood) that the (shh…gophers)..don’t seem to have discovered…

I admire your gumption, and I wish you bumper crops!

Liz Rayen from California on July 25, 2013:

I love gardening and love any information about gardening! This is a well designed hub with so much information. I am one who is truly grateful for you sharing this hub! Voted up and across and shared!

—-Lisa

Chace from Charlotte, NC on July 25, 2013:

How cool! I wish I had such a big yard. I’ve just started gardening and I’m in love with the idea of going out to pick some food I grew with my own hands and eating it!

Voted up and AWESOME. Congratulations on HotD!!

Chris Telden (author) from Pacific Northwest, U.S.A. on July 25, 2013:

Thank you so much, everyone. I’m so happy about my first Hub of the Day! The garden has been so much fun this year. I did receive my broadfork – a great, big, strong, hulking one by Meadow Creatures – and it’s helped make the work of breaking brand new ground so much easier, without killing my back or knees (yet). It hasn’t broken even though I’ve used it in dry, tough clay and rocks. What I’ve been doing is first using the broadfork to loosen the soil. THEN using a hoe to turn and break up the clumps, then the rake, etc.

Good luck to those of you intending to convert your lawns…it’s truly worth it. Things have obviously changed so much regarding our food supply, but you never know what might happen.

I was just reading a book about food in the middle ages in England. Back then, most home garden plots were a quarter acre in size, and a plot 100 square feet by 100 square feet was considered tiny. Wow, has that perspective changed…

RTalloni on July 25, 2013:

Congrats on your Hub of the Day award and for successfully turning your lawn into a garden plot. You’ve shared loads of detail here to help/encourage anyone interested in developing their own garden plot. Thanks for info and your experience with the tools.

Patricia Scott from North Central Florida on July 25, 2013:

Great instructions. There are so many possibilities when we have large yards. I hope to begin turning sections of my yard into homes for food. The soil is excellent here.

Thanks for sharing. Congrats on HOTD ps Pinned Angels are on the way to you today

Marsha Musselman from Michigan, USA on July 25, 2013:

Voted up and funny although it’s also informative and interesting. Also pinning.

I have hopes of turning a portion of my front yard into a flower garden although I will probably use a rototiller for most of the work, or hire that part out. By the time I will have the resources to get this done I will be close to retirement age, and I’m sure I won’t have the energy to work at it as you have.

I think you cold put some of your Amazon ads near the areas where you discuss their implementation.

Thelma Alberts from Germany on July 25, 2013:

Congrats on the HOTD! Great hub! A very well deserved, too. I agree with you that having a grass lawn is just a waste of space. It´s good if you turned it into a very productive garden. Thanks for sharing this very useful hub. Have a great day!

Lana Adler from California on July 25, 2013:

I’m totally for turning the lawn into something useful like a vegetable garden. People are so precious about their lawns, watering them, trimming them and putting up the “no poop zone” signs. What for? What’s so great about your sprayed or artificial grass no one can walk on? Now I’m ranting

It seems like it took a lot of effort on your part to turn your lawn into a garden. Great job! Thanks for the useful hub.

Chris Telden (author) from Pacific Northwest, U.S.A. on July 03, 2013:

Jean: Yes, it does seem like community gardens have gained a lot of momentum in the last 10 years or so…it’s exciting to see people taking their food intake into their own hands, so to speak. Regarding my bum knee…the problem isn’t so much kneeling, because, well, I don’t kneel anymore…too risky. It’s twisting the leg while bearing weight. I don’t THINK a broadfork should exacerbate it, but I haven’t tried one yet. Does anyone know…?

Chris Telden (author) from Pacific Northwest, U.S.A. on July 03, 2013:

Lesliebyars: Thank you so much! I really went all out trying to dig up all the stuff that I’d have liked to see before I started this project (pun intended). I just wish my video quality were better. Must do something about that!

lesliebyars on July 02, 2013:

Nice hub and the layout was perfect. Love the videos, pictures and the poll.

Jean Bakula from New Jersey on July 02, 2013:

A lot of towns are beginning community gardens in my area, in N.J. It’s fun and provides fresh veggies, and just looks good too. Then many realized food banks would really like to add some fresh foods to what is usually canned goods given to food pantries for people who need help paying for food. One near me let gardeners just put little flags on areas of what they grew that they were willing to give away, so the gardener doesn’t even have to be there. Just a thought. I never found a good way to not wreck the knees either. You could kneel on a mat of some type, but then you have to keep moving it.

Chris Telden (author) from Pacific Northwest, U.S.A. on July 02, 2013:

Thanks, Jean. I’m amazed at how many stories like yours I’ve been reading – of people turning soil that’s hard and difficult to work, for whatever reason, into productive soil. I think in these tough financial times, people are looking at their own labor differently and thinking, “You know, people way-back-when might have had the right idea, doing things by hand!”

We do live on quite a sizable area, at least, small for a farm, but large for a city girl! It’s not ours, but I’m free to garden it as I want. I’ve been thinking about other areas of the property that don’t have any soil amendments. I’ll probably need to go a bit deeper into the dirt and do more work and will need something to aerate the deep, compact soil – so I’m getting a broadfork to try. Here’s hoping it doesn’t wreck my knees!

Jean Bakula from New Jersey on July 01, 2013:

Wow, very impressive! I live on a wooded lane with terrible soil, and fight with it every year. I think those perfect, green, rug like lawns were the 1950s ideal, until people got wise to how bad all the chemicals they were using for that perfect lawn was destroying the environment. My soil (if it can be called that) is mostly clay and rock too. I have so much shade all I can really do are some herbs and flowers, but it does give me a lot of satisfaction. My fave tool is my Father’s old rock hammer, but my area of work is not as large as what it looks like you tackled in your excellent pictures. You should be proud, you did something useful, by growing food, and something better for the Earth, by getting rid of the lawn. There was a lawn here when my husband and I bought the house, but on further inspection, the seller just put down those strips of green sod, and there wasn’t enough light to support them for long. Mulch is great for unsightly areas where you really can’t do anything, and I also use planter pots to add a little color or something else to look at. Great job!

Source: https://livingcorner.com.au Category: Garden

source https://livingcorner.com.au/how-i-turned-a-grass-lawn-into-a-garden-plot/

#livingcornernews

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athousandroadstonowhere · 4 years ago

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2020: A Delightful Sh*t Show!

The annual review. The coming of a new year is a good time to look back on everything that happened in the previous year, evaluate what was learned, what was lost, what was gained, and what, if anything, needs to change moving into the next. Here we go.

The year began hopeful. Ignorance is bliss as they always say, and being the person that I am who refuses to actually watch any news and literally learns everything that is happening in the world from the internet and my social circles, I only had an inkling that anything like what was going to happen in this year could happen. The novel Coronavirus doing damage in China seemed a distant threat, and nothing that would actually impact my life. Boy was I wrong.

I was in the process of getting fed up with another management job, and trying to focus on how to find some stability in my schedule so I could spend more time with my then boyfriend and his daughter. Little did I know that we would soon have a TON of time to spend together.

I had just begun the journey really of waking up from the traumatic fog of the loss of my husband just a couple of years before that. I went back to work for IHOP at the end of February on the condition that I would still be able to take the family vacation that we had had planned for a year. There was talk about how Covid might effect our business, but I was hell bound and determined to go on that trip and take Jade to see the Grand Canyon.

Australia had burned, Kobe had died, and it already seemed like all the really bad shit had been bad enough and things just couldn’t get worse.

Then we had to cut the trip short and head back to Memphis because the world was shutting down. Having been on vacation while everyone else was panic buying toilet paper (I will never understand that phenomenon), when we made it home to an overwhelmingly wiped out Sam’s Club, as I got laid off on my way to the check out, I broke down crying in the middle of Sam’s Club. I was scared for my family. I was scared for my career. And I was scared generally of what the world had to offer.

Thus began Quarantine and Paranoia. We all stayed home. Some lessons were learned in that relationship that would ultimately kill it, and though financially we were able to remain secure thanks to the additional unemployment, it is my belief that that time together on lock down ultimately showed me the areas of incompatibility that would lead to me deciding that I needed to live life on life’s terms independently. I also learned in Quarantine that even with the world locked down, I couldn’t sit still for extended periods of time. I started a small baking business that brought in some decent money, but that didn’t fully replace my income from pre-Covid times. So as the world began opening back up, I got a job serving. The funny thing about that for me is that it was really just looping back to what the original plan was when I was moving back to TN. And y’all, the money was GOOD this summer. People tired of being pent up for months were willing to come out and wait an hour and half for a table in dining rooms limited to 50%. The work was harder than it had been in previous years, and more stressful (you never knew which unmasked diner might be the one give you the Rona on top of the already annoying stress of handling a full section and a party of 15 all at the same time), but it paid well.

Finally feeling financially secure enough to take care of myself without government dependence, and having done a lot of work on my credit score over the previous year, I applied for an apartment and got it! Though the ending of that relationship was sad, I was very proud of Luis and I for recognizing and learning that love is not enough to keep a relationship healthy, and that the best example we could set for his daughter was to end it on good terms and continue to help each other through that transition. He and I were better as friends. And I will always be grateful for the time we shared.

The journey of living alone has been interesting. Anyone who has ever been a server knows that the income can be incredibly inconsistent. As a result of that reality, I picked up extra gigs here and there eventually extra whole ass jobs. The most recent addition I’m thinking is going to be long term. I was willing to show up when an opportunity was presented, and ran with it. So far it’s going really well.

So we get to the lessons learned or reaffirmed in 2020.

This year I lost some friends. Not through death, but through me realizing that I cannot be the only person in any relationship investing more time and effort than the other party. I will probably always work at least 50 hours a week, if for no other reason than that’s what I tend to do. With the limited hours left over in a week for time for family, friends, and hobbies, I have become very careful about how I allot those leftover hours. If someone isn’t investing their time or attention with me, I’m not going to be the one reaching out all of the time anymore.

It is both ok to ask for help when I need it, and to dig my heels in and do the work myself when I know I am capable.

I literally can learn to do just about anything. It may take some time, it may take stretching the bounds of my understanding and accepting help from people much younger yet more experienced in some things than I am, but it is possible.

Time alone is sacred. Though I have spent much time lamenting going to parties, and hanging out with friends, and seeing family all together in one big group, I have learned how to keep myself busy all alone with me and my dog and cat. And there are more times than not that I’d rather just be alone.

Willingness is the key to success in every endeavor.

Science can be just as beautiful a spiritual path as any other.

Faith is a constant journey only made stronger through experience and being wiling review previous events.

Love is powerful yet not always practical.

Oxytocin is a helluva naturally occurring drug.

And when all else fails, just keep going.

As I enter a new year with so many things lined up to make it wonderful, I choose to look forward with hope. Though I doubt our government will ever get its shit together, (the failure of the two party system hasn’t been a new lesson for me, but I feel like a lot of y’all are finally starting to see it, that’s a long conversation for another day), we are at least collectively more aware of the ways in which it is fucked up. Though two weeks to slow the spread has turned into the longest, weirdest year ever, I have learned who is capable of basic human courtesy, and who is willing to throw caution and good sense to the wind.

Basically 2020 taught me more about the importance of evaluating who I allow into my circle, and why they should or shouldn’t be there. I have learned that being of service isn’t always a direct action, but sometimes can be ultimate inaction. Life is only full of bullshit if I allow it to be so.

We’ll see what fresh hell 2021 has to offer. And hopefully, the lessons learned in the previous year have placed me in a position to use my time more wisely, to be able to love more authentically, and to take care of myself in healthy ways that allow me to experience peaceful time without chaos with ease.

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uclexhibitionproject2016 · 4 years ago

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Divine Seafood Xu Zhe Hardcore Dialogue: How come hedging an important skill for miners?

2020 may be the most particular 12 months for Bitcoin in the past eleven years. A lot of mining machines are facing various dangers and life and death assessments. Supply chain delays have avoided large-scale brand-new mining machines from showing up, and mining has a "zero-sum video game" In today's state, there are increasingly more abilities that miners have to master. On May 26, Shang Silin, co-founder of Mars Fund and Us president of Mars Cloud Mine, had a hard-core dialogue with Cobo & Yuchi co-founder Shenyu and well-known trader Mr. Xu Zhe, focusing on hedging-a must-have for miners in 2020 Skills to talk about and discuss, the following may be the dialogue textual content collation.

The guests' main point of view is that mining is a zero-sum game, and the excess returns are attained when other miners fall. Hedging is a device to resist violent marketplace fluctuations and dark swans. When the 312 crash, the number of mining machines was even more than halved. Every miner should consider his own danger exposure and do not ignore it since it will be complicated or not intuitively suitable. Hedging can be life-saving in acute cases. It is a important means to determine whether miners can obtain excess returns using their opportunities, or if they can recover their costs. Selling part at the proper price may be a risk-averse strategy commonly used by miners, nevertheless, you may possibly not be lucky enough to understand the chance, so our strategy would be to consider reducing chance exposure before making a decision, and at least section of it Set out the electricity bill. Mining is a stock game market. The low the price of the currency, the greater bitcoins can be mined by a one mining machine. Consequently, many friends who have not done hedging may find the fact that marginal cost and the marginal revenue are inconsistent, and open the opportunity to reduce electricity. Shut down. Xu Zhe miners must very first ensure that they are able to survive and do not escape, otherwise, the blockchain trend has nothing in connection with you. You don't have to think about whether the black swan should come. The dark swan will definitely come. It really is nothing more than when also to what extent. This can't be prevented. Regardless of the higher or low insight cost, you need to have this sort of thinking. It isn't that hedging is highly recommended when investing a large amount of capital. They have nothing in connection with additional money and less overall. You'll want a risk handle thinking to survive. To do hedging, you need to choose to use futures or choices to lock in the value from the currency at a time when mining is profitable. I purchased a batch of mining machines myself, and then short the futures, combined with some option combinations, to create a relatively stable asset value, which can continue steadily to generate cashflow. Most miners have faith in Bitcoin and will not short all their result, as long as they short the electricity bill. Then use futures to short 60% of the future bitcoins produced by the mining machine. In this way, your electricity bill must be guaranteed every month before day you pay out the electricity bill, you'll be able to continue to dig. Don't speculate. Anyone who has a little speculative mindset will be trained by the market. Don't confront the father of the market. It is possible to hedge as much as you need. Interview textual content finishing Shang Silin (host): Nowadays we share the theme of uncovering the secret of hedging. Today's miners have more choices than in the early years, but what I see now is whether it's depositing coins to earn attention, mortgage financing (staking BTC to obtain USDT), whether it's paying electric bills or in the supplementary market Operation, they are to help everyone keep Bitcoin and keep the position in hand. I personally understand that hedging isn't the same as the above two, and it is not entirely a currency standard. Because Bitcoin will be highly volatile, additionally it is important whether your currency can be anchored in the value of fiat currency. However, after encountering 312, and current marketplace fluctuations, miners will encounter a reduction in halving earnings, an increase in doubt, and better volatility. It is estimated that many people have a training in blood and tears, therefore now we are talking about hedging. This topic comes at the proper time. Let me give you a brief introduction to today's two guests. Shenyu is a big miner that has experienced several halvings. He is furthermore the co-founder of Cobo and the co-founder of Yuchi, the world's largest Bitcoin mining pool. Xu Zhe is a well-known financial head on Zhihu, and the author of "Zero Pie inside the Sky". He's got written many content articles about Bitcoin. It is estimated that many people beyond your circle understand that Bitcoin will be through Xu Da's post. He is furthermore a front-line hedge The chief strategist from the fund. We myself (Shang Silin) ??worked in the media for more than ten years and venture capital for 3 years, and now I am the co-founder of Mars Finance and the president of Mars Cloud Mine. We usually talk about how to do hedging and how to avoid the risks from the supplementary market. It just happened that today, because the spokesperson of a new miner, I furthermore talked about hedging with two experts. When did Shenyu start hedging? Shang Silin: When do Shenyu start hedging? That which was the opportunity? Like a senior miner, what do you consider is the utilization rate of hedging in the currency group? Shenyu ??: I didn't have this awareness at the beginning. After stepping around the pit, I noticed that we have to use this solution to hedge dangers. In 2013, we made silverfish mining machines. In those days, our mining machine strategy was not the same as that of present mining machine producers. After we finished the potato chips, we focused on mining by ourselves. In those days, the break-even stage of mining Litecoin was calculated to be around 30 yuan, and close friends from traditional financing around me personally suggested that we carry out hedging. But initial, because the price of Litecoin has been still relatively higher in those days, more than 100 yuan, with several times the net profit, everyone believed it had been OK; second, lack of professional financial knowledge, therefore no hedging. With the gradual bulk production of the device, the price of the currency fell all the way after 380, and fell to the cheapest of 5 yuan in 2015. The cover up cannot cover the expense of electrical power and can no longer continue to dig. We elect to shut down throughout the day, because electrical power is very costly in the commercial park throughout the day, and during the night may be the valley, therefore we utilize the electrical power at night. Later on, I found the fact that electrical power at night could not be supported, therefore i had to turn off. Later on, when resuming the market, we will recall that if we create an integral part of the position at the proper currency price, for instance, if we set out the electrical power bill for a period, it would not be turn off later; in addition, compared to additional mining machines, we It could dig for longer, therefore with regards to currency standard and legal currency standard, it could get more benefits. This matter touched us a whole lot. Since then, when making investment decisions in the mining sector, we will initial be sure to reserve a period of electric bills and reserve a degree of cash. Derivatives weren't so developed in those days. We all sold the spot straight. For example, if we purchased 1,000 mining machines, we could mine 1,000 bitcoins in two years, and the electrical power bill accounted for 30-40%. After that we are in a far more appropriate one. First sell 400 bitcoins at the price and keep the electrical power bill. In this way, whether or not the price of the currency goes up or falls, you will see no closures; compared with other competitors on the market, we can dig more bitcoins during the life cycle from the mining machine.

Image resource: Weibo @?BTCer Shang Silin: Selling a part in an appropriate price may be a risk aversion technique commonly adopted by miners. Shenyu ??: Indeed, but you may possibly not be lucky enough to grasp the chance, so our technique would be to consider reducing risk exposure before making a decision, and at least cover part of the electricity bill. Shang Silin: A pal said at the moment that hedging is now a tool commonly used by miners, best? I think it isn't. Shenyu ??: As far as I know, some huge miners who have stepped around the pit are aware of hedging and could begin to use strange ways to try to build hedging positions. A lot of small and moderate miners haven't any such consciousness. They think it doesn't matter, they are all in directly, the amount of assets is also small, and they gambled, but this mentality isn't so healthy in the currency circle. A lot of miners mentioned that hedging is very simple, just short in the futures marketplace. But as the futures marketplace has a lot of inconsistencies with the market, as well as vicious events such as for example needle insertion and door painting, if you don't have professional financial knowledge, you'll transfer your danger contact with the futures marketplace. So how exactly does Xu Zhe formulate a hedging technique? Xu Zhe: If a miner sells coins as soon as he digs a coin every day, his typical selling price may be the typical price of coins sold every day during the mining period. If the average price is lower than the shutdown electrical power price, the mining will eventually lose more money. There is no way to avoid the risk of falling currency prices, because I don't know when the currency price will fall or just how long it will fall. Consequently, for hedging, you need to choose to use futures or choices to lock the value from the currency at a time when mining will be profitable. For example, the electricity bill from the mining machine now accounts for about 60%. That is to say, if you can mine one bitcoin a month and you have to use 0.6 bitcoin to cover the electricity bill, nowadays there are two choices: One would be to short all of the power bills within the next a year, 12⊙0.6=7.2, short 7.2 bitcoins initial; mine 12 coins per year and remove 7.2 coins to cover the electricity bill, in order that even though the bitcoin drops to 3,000, If it can't hurt you, it means you don't need to turn off if you're around 3,000, but other people have to turn off. If another person shuts down, the difficulty of computing strength will be adjusted, and you can get more bitcoins. Furthermore, after covering 60% from the electricity bill, there is still cashflow still left, and some liquid assets are still left for yourself. When the currency price does not rise, the difficulty of computing strength increases, and the monthly output from the currency decreases again. Regarding a degree of liquidity, life can be rescued. In addition to shorting electric bills, there is another substitute for short all output. That is to treat it as a real asset. Or assume that certain bitcoin is created every month, and first short the output within the next a year (12 bitcoins), after that what you get is the motivated future dollar cashflow, after which use this future motivated dollar cashflow as cashflow The discount algorithm is calculated so far. Review it with the price of the mining machine to find out if it's cost-effective along with a good purchase. If it's, you'll be able to do this. However, most miners have faith in Bitcoin and will not short almost all their output, as long as they short the electrical power bill. Then use futures to short 60% of the future bitcoins produced by the mining machine. In this way, your electricity bill must be guaranteed every month before day you pay out the electricity bill, you'll be able to continue to dig. You must first ensure that you can survive and do not escape, otherwise, the blockchain revolution has nothing in connection with you.

Sometimes mining will encounter some unexpected circumstances. Shenyu will need to have encountered more than I have experienced, such as unexpected network fluctuations or hardware failures. I originally said that I could mine one bitcoin in a month, but in the end it was only 0.95. One, 0.94, this is very possible. What if you shorted one bitcoin on futures and then mined 0.94 bitcoins? When the currency price continues to be rising now, after that futures will undoubtedly be vacant, isn't it a reduction? So you have to save some remaining cashflow to safeguard yourself. I have already practiced every one of the above strategies, and when We haven't practiced them, We dare not talk about them in vain. I purchased a batch of mining machines myself, and then short the futures, combined with some option combinations, to create a relatively stable asset value, which can continue steadily to generate cashflow. Shang Silin: Will the hedging percentage be adjusted according to the proportion of electricity costs. For example, the existing high proportion of electricity costs indicates the fact that currency price is usually relatively in a minimal period; the low proportion of electricity costs indicates the fact that currency price reaches a high level. Adjust the percentage of hedging? Xu Zhe: Zero, the proportion of electric bills has nothing in connection with whether the currency price is overestimated. The currency price can also rise once the proportion of electricity costs is low, and the currency price can fall when the proportion of electricity costs is high, that is different from the thought of ??traditional spot commodities. In the traditional bulk commodity market, for instance, oil has fallen below the mining cost of oil fields, and copper and iron are less than the mining cost of mines, so prices cannot fall. Because in the case of limited stocks by the traders that produce spot goods, if the mining manages to lose money, the supply will also decrease. For example, when crude essential oil fell to greater than a dozen US dollars some time ago, many essential oil fields stopped starting; before iron ore plummeted, mines stopped mining. Because the supply of commodities on the planet decreases, prices rise, so prices will never be less than mining production costs for quite a while, but Bitcoin is different. Bitcoin mining makes money again, or even loses money again, in addition, it raises by 50 bitcoins, 25 bitcoins, 12.5 bitcoins, and 6.25 bitcoins every 10 minutes. Even though the mining machine loses its cost, it shuts down and sells at a discount. Regarding the two times when scrap iron comes, it still items 6.25 bitcoins every 10 minutes. The supply rate is quite certain and will not change as the miners are losing money. Consequently, if Bitcoin mining electrical power costs are particularly high, you won't affect the supply, and it'll not change in any way, but only modification the difficulty of mining. Which means you can't say that electric bills be aware of a higher proportion of electric bills. Bitcoin gets the potential to rise in the foreseeable future. Can I reduce my hedge? Extremely hard. It isn't scientific to utilize the proportion of electric bills as a research indicator for future years of currency prices. Don't speculate, any speculative mindset will undoubtedly be taught by the market. Don't confront the market dad, simply hedge as much as you need. So how exactly does Shenyu formulate a hedging technique? Shang Silin: I'd like to inquire Shenyu, how do you determine the timing and percentage if you are creating a hedging technique? Shenyu??: There are several time nodes in the mining process. The very first time node would be to decide whether to purchase a mining machine. At the moment, we will create a design to calculate the payback period, how long it will be for the existing computing power, electrical power bill, etc., and then according to the trouble of the market and the predictable trouble Cycle, roughly estimate the return period and profitability, in the end, this can be a big investment. Before placing an order for any mining machine manufacturer, We already had an over-all psychological expectation. Understanding whether the mining machine will pay back again the cost in 120 days or 200 days, you'll be able to basically determine the composition from the electrical power bill-or before the cost is paid back. The amount of money flow of electric bills have to be prepared when online profit is attained. Usually if you are determined to get a mining machine, the price of the mining machine and the price of the coin are still fairly good; or the coin price is quite poor, and the mining machine is significantly undervalued, such as for example after a sharp drop. So at the moment, we elect to hedge part of the currency in line with the currency price. For example, if the currency price is higher, we may cover up the electrical power bill for the whole life cycle; if the currency price is low, at least 30 days to a quarter from the electrical power bill. In this way, it could be guaranteed that even though the market falls sharply in the foreseeable future, these mining machines can still be turned on. At the moment, Xu Da furthermore mentioned the fact that mining market is different from the traditional oil mining marketplace. Mining is a stock game market. When the currency price is lower, the greater bitcoins a one mining machine can dig, a lot of friends who have not done hedging may find the fact that marginal cost and the marginal revenue are inconsistent. Consequently, the electricity bill will be protected by means of hedging, so that the mining machine can still be mixed up in market once the currency price is lower, and can dig more bitcoins. At exactly the same time, because we are a currency-based investment, or you want to acquire more bitcoins, a number of the online revenue of mining machines are stored by means of coins. If there is a large-scale increase in the currency price, for instance Like the marketplace in 2017, you will see two parts of benefits: One part may be the coins dug out following removing the electricity bill, and the rest of the coins with this part can also be valued. Furthermore, the mining machine is a kind of hardware resource, and the price of the mining machine will react violently during the fast price increase. Because hardware developing is usually cycled, and price increases occur rapidly, the distinction between these two parts of earnings is already spectacular for miners. So we just need to hedge, make sure that we are still running the device in the worst case, and dig more bitcoins than our competition on the market, and we will win. Xu Zhe: Indeed, I agree. Live life, live to the day when there is a chance. There is an old saying in the industry-losses are dependant on yourself, and wealth depends upon the market. I don't know whether Bitcoin will rise to 14,000 or 18,000. Just how much it goes up and how much cash you make are dependant on the market. But you can decide how very much you hedge, whether you intend to cover half of it or the full set, or simply cover 1/10. It is possible to decide whether you can survive, and then the market determines how much you can get wealthy and what we can do Just make sure you can survive initial. So long as you reside long enough and do not choose the incorrect market, you will definitely have the ability to make money. If you cannot survive, no matter how good the market is, you can only break up your thigh. So my advice to many people are: whether you are doing contract trading or mining, everyone will need to have a bottom line, that is, to ensure that they endure. There is no higher principle than this. Shang Silin: Indeed, it is actually fighting contrary to the risk of Bitcoin volatility. What function can hedging play? Shang Silin: You two can talk about the specific function of hedging in the extreme marketplace of 312 and in working with the halving? Shenyu: Within the few days once the 312 plummeted, the currency price fluctuated between three and four thousands of. The S9s which were on the market had been all turn off, a lot more than the number of halved shut downs. There was a touch upon Weibo before that everyone laughed at Jiang Zhuoer for hedging more than 8,000, and the hedging was halfway in the mountain. However, after a sharp fall of 312, searching back at the hedging price, although the price may possibly not be high, it still made him perform less badly beneath the extreme market. Although the duration of 312 was not so long this time around, it rebounded rapidly, but under normal circumstances, the currency price will stay sideways at the bottom for a long period, so hedging can be guaranteed to be in a bottom variety. When many people are turn off, let's do it. The hedged mining machine can also be powered happily. Lots of people have lost their self-confidence in mining in the bottom interval. If indeed they do hedging, you will see a big floating profit at the moment. You can also stop an integral part of the listing and quickly discount it.

Image resource: Weibo @?BTCer

The other may be the halving. The halving provides about a substantial reduction in the earnings of miners. A lot of miners turn off in the early morning of the day from the halving, as the electrical power bill in those days (specifically the electrical power bill during the dried out season) could not cover the result in those days. If you do hedging at the proper time, even though the electrical power bill is fairly high, you can still continue mining. At the very least you should use exactly the same mining machine. If you open it for a period longer than additional miners, then your income margin will undoubtedly be produced. , The payback period becomes shorter. Therefore, hedging is a very good financial tool and methods to resist violent marketplace fluctuations and black swan events. I suggest that every miner carefully think about this danger exposure, not since it will be complicated or undesirable intuitively. Thing, simply ignore it. Hedging can be life-saving in acute cases. It is a important means to determine whether miners can obtain excess returns using their opportunities, or if they can recover their costs. How come hedging required? Xu Zhe: Although I haven't already been mining for a long period, I know from my communication with close friends of miners that it's not that mining must make money. In history, there were many incidents of miners getting out in large numbers. This fish employer must have experienced it. . You don't have to think about whether the dark swan should come. The dark swan will definitely come. It really is nothing more than when also to what extent. This can't be prevented. Regardless of the higher or low insight cost, you need to have such thinking. It isn't that hedging is highly recommended when investing a large amount of capital. They have nothing in connection with additional money and less overall. You'll want a danger control thinking to survive.

And the fact of living will actually bring you benefits. To become cruel, you might have additional benefits which are accomplished by those that do not have danger control escaping .. This market is quite cruel, and the target laws of the market are like this. Shenyu ??: Indeed, when carry out miners make the most money? After the crash, the surviving miners find out excess bitcoins, therefore each round from the crash will generate the rise of a new drive of miners. Some miners with eyesight and unique danger control features survive on the market. , Has accumulated resource advantages.

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jakekosty · 4 years ago

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Audience Studies Week #3

youtube

Starting off week 3’s blog I want to talk about how stars have quit social media because of the negativity that was being produced online by the audience. Social media can be a very hurtful and savage place for audience members to produce content. Lizzo was the example used to the highlight video. Lizzo decided to get off social media because of the trolling and negativity that was being directed at her. People on the internet tend to cyber bully famous people for their looks, past, profession, etc. The reason these people can be so mean is because they are sitting safely behind a digital device and could not care less if they broadcast an opinion or negative comment to the world. What audiences often do not understand while using social media is how hurtful their words can be to even people that are famous. A story of mine that relates to this is about one of my best friends. As Tik Tok got more popular he started creating content on the app. He ended up getting surprisingly Tik Tok famous and tens of thousands of people follow him. On his videos that he shares he gets many positive comments from people around the world, but he also gets a lot of negative comments. It is a good thing he is not a sensitive person, because going through the comment section could be extremely hurtful to some people. He for the most part just disregards the comments and ignores the haters. Tik Tok can show you analytics. It shows you exactly what the percentage of where your audience is located in the world, and roughly their age. This shows people what kind of audience they roughly have. Anybody that follows somebody on a social media app has the power to comment whatever they desire, positive or negative, and that is one of the biggest problems of social media and why stars choose to quit. Talking about our old brains, I found it remarkably interesting how when people looked at worldviews and psyches before cell phones, how different they saw things. People were more aware of all of their surroundings and not so focused on a device that influences their brains. Social media and technology are becoming the way the world works now, but it is not often talked about how bad these things are for humans. For me personally, I am guilty of being active on social media and my cell phone throughout the day. I often think about how different of a person I would be, and how different I would view the world if I did not have technology. Sometimes I even wish that I lived in a world without technology, just for the simplicity of things. From these weeks lesson, I found the mass media and two step flow part extremely interesting where the opinion leader and the people that were in contact with the opinion leader were talked about. I agree and believe in this theory, and I have seen it in my life before without even noticing. I have even been in the situation where I was in contact with an opinion leader and my opinion was swayed. Talking to someone in person about a topic that has more experience then anyone else can be quite influencing on your own opinion. You start looking at the topic differently, or overthinking certain concepts, or doubting your previous beliefs. I can admit I am a very susceptible person and am easily persuaded if not completely confident with a topic. I feel like this theory could also be connected with social media and online interaction instead of just in person interaction. If people look up to certain famous stars, or influential people in their lives, they can be easily persuaded by those certain people. For example, I look up Dave Portnoy, who is the founder of Barstool Sports. He is a very opinionated person, and he makes that clear over social media. On topics that I am not to familiar with, I will often agree with what he is saying based on the information and knowledge that he has on the situation. Even on topics where I am somewhat knowledgeable in, like football, if he has an opinion different to mine, I will often think about his opinion and how it could be more accurate. Another theory I found interesting from this week was what cultivation theory proposed about television. It said that when people watch a lot of television or are exposed to a lot of television stories our understanding of the real world becomes more like television’s understanding of the world. This theory is relevant to speak about now a day because in 2009-2010, a study was done that recorded that the American household watched 8 hours and 55 minutes of television per day. In the present day, even with all the new non-television things – social media, smart phones, YouTube, Netflix – Americans have only cut about an hour of television per day. After displaying all this information during the lesson, Professor Good then goes on to explain the questions about violence that people would be asked. It clearly shows in the answers to these questions how much television people watch. People have an altered opinion on violence because of watching television. They view the world as a much more violent and bad place then it really is. This theory makes total sense to me and it really shows how bad television is swaying our opinions on the real world. A personal experience I can explain with television and the real world is watching shows about police officers. In television, police officers are made out to be more violent then they are in real life. Television often just shows graphic gun scenes, police car chases, and action filled content in order to get the audiences attention. I notice in real life, this stuff still happens, but definitely not as much as it is shown on television. For children growing up now a day, I think this is bad for their knowledge. There are so many video games that kids play to also have a part in how they view the real world. These video games include games like Call of Duty, Battlefield, Grand Theft Auto, etc. Now putting these video games and television together, it must be a big misconception to the kids of what the real world is like. These kids are the audience, and because of television and video games, they are getting fed with false information and exaggerated thoughts.

#violence #kid #tv #no bueno

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kingjinxii · 7 years ago

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The Persona Waifu Rant

Since so many of you can’t seem to get it through your thick skulls...

ALL ROMANCES IN ANY GAME ARE NOT CANON

(This includes Yukari, Rise, Marie, Makoto, Ann, Futaba, Maki, and, unfortunately, Jun.)

Let’s look at the details.

What is canon?

Canon is defined by anything as is confirmed to happen in a fictional universe. (For example, it’s canon the the Persona 4 Protagonist goes to Inaba, it’s canon that the Persona 5 Protagonist’s codename is Joker, it’s canon that the Persona 3 Protagonist, at the end of the game...well...uh...you know.)

In the universe of Persona, the games are considered canon. Nothing outside of the games is considered canon, and even then, canon begins to blur.

To put it on a timeline:

Persona 1, obviously, happened first, followed by Persona 2: Innocent Sin. Due to the destruction of the world in P2:IS, a new world is created, the world of Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. That is followed by Persona 3: The Journey (aka the main campaign from Persona 3 FES), Persona 3: The Answer, Persona 4: Golden (with Persona Q in the middle), Persona 4 Arena, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, Persona 4 Dancing All Night, and finally, Persona 5.

Simplified:

P1 - P2:IS

[Timeline Recreated]

P2:EP - P3:J - P3:A - P4G (PQ) - P4U - P4AU - P5

What is NOT canon?

Here’s a short list of things that are DEFINITELY not canon.

Anime adaptions

Manga adaptions

Manga anthologies

Stage shows

Word Of God

Essentially any work that is not the games themselves

Why are these things not canon? To put it simply, it’s because they were written and usually directed by someone else, and as such, they are largely ignored by the canon of the games. Adaptions are just that: interpretations of a work, of the way things could have gone. Now, some things from adaptions may become canon in later works (such as the Persona 4 Protagonist being named “Yu Narukami” like in the anime in Arena), but for the most part, you can cross those off the list.

Some of you may be calling me mad for insisting that only the games are canon. And, in a sense, you are right. There can be multiple canons.

For example, in one, Naoto grows her hair really long and gains a new Persona. In another, adults lose their Personas at a certain age. And in yet another, a protagonist gets together with a love interest.

But those are all interpretations of the same source canon (the games).

Heck, even a person on staff claiming that one character is the canon relationship does not mean that it is. That is one person’s opinion, and unless canon reflects that, it will stay one person’s headcanon.

Think of the anime adaptions, manga adaptions , and manga anthologies as legal fanfiction. Just because it happens in one author’s interpretation, doesn’t mean it happens in another.

And, when we get into the context of the games, the line is still blurry. And that’s where the problem with “canon waifus” starts.

Social Links Aren’t Canon.

This is a very controversial statement, but I feel it needs to be said.

Why do I say this?

To put it in short, it’s because most of them are optional. If they’re optional, it means that they can be ignored, that you don’t have to pursue them. It’s all according to taste.

Of course there are ones that are canon: the ones driven by plot.

Plot-Driven Social Links By Game

[Note: P1 and P2 did not have social links.]

[Note 2: I am only including canonly completed Social Links. Social Links that are started by plot, but not finished by plot (or vice versa in the case of Tohru Adachi’s Social Link) are not included.]

[Note 3: The World/The Universe is not listed because they are not Social Links.]

Persona 3

S.E.E.S./Nyx Annihilation Team (The Fool and Judgement)

Pharos (Death)

Persona 4

The Investigation Team/The Seekers of Truth (The Fool and Judgement)

Teddie (The Star)

Persona 5 (A.K.A. Canon Confidants)

Igor (The Fool)

Morgana (The Magician)

Goro Akechi (Justice)

Sae Niijima (Judgement)

Now, there is evidence to suggest that the P3 and P4 Protagonists did complete other social links, as evidenced in The Answer and Arena but the difference is that none of the girls’ Social Links they were implied to have completed was acknowledged as romantic.

Rise still stays in the idol industry, Chie decides to become a police officer, Yukiko stays at the Inn, Marie finds out about her true self, but none of them are called Yu’s girlfriends.

Even in Eternal Punishment, while Tatsuya, the protagonist of Innocent Sin retains his memories, never reveals how he responded to Lisa’s feelings, whether it was to reciprocate, or turn her down in favor of someone else.

But let’s discuss one of the girls many people cite as the only “canon” romance...

The Answer and The Friendzone

Yukari Takeba is often cited as the only canon romance due to the existence and canonicity of Persona 3: The Answer.

For all of you who don’t know, The Answer was a short extension of Persona 3 in which you play as Aigis, who has inherited the power of the Wild Card from the protagonist after his death and must destroy a time loop trapping S.E.E.S. on March 31st.

This leads to them discovering the Abyss of Time and the only two exits.

One leads to the present.

The other leads to the past, before the protagonist sacrificed himself.

Only one can be opened.

Of course, the majority of S.E.E.S. agrees that the past should be left alone. Yukari, however, does not, for a single selfish reason.

She wants to see the protagonist again.

Many people cite this as being because she was dating the protagonist at the time of his death. But, I have watched the entirety of The Answer (as I have not played it myself) and I have found no mention of her and the protagonist ever dating.

Does she possibly have a crush on him? Absolutely. But crushes do not equal canon...

What qualifies as a canon relationship?

How many of you have played a Persona game, played through a girl’s social link while planning on dating another girl, only for, uh oh, her to confess to you.

Now, you have two options: reciprocate or don’t.

That option right there declares the romance non canon.

Let me explain my personal Two Points Of A Canon Relationship:

One character must be interested in the protagonist.

The protagonist must reciprocate without player prompting.

That means that there cannot be a choice in the matter. That character is who you must date. It’s quite a simple concept, yet every Persona love interest fails this test.

Now, many of you might point out that, in P3, you do not have a choice in dating a girl if you want to complete her Social Link.

For that answer, look back to my “Social Links Aren’t Canon” section. The player can simply choose not to enter their Social Link. There’s your choice.

Some of you might continue to insist that certain characters receive more attention than others in their games and may use that to argue their canonicity. But if it does not follow those two points, then it is not canon. A character could have the biggest crush on the protagonist, confess in every Rank Up event, and have twice as much screen time as everyone else, but if the protagonist doesn’t automatically say ‘yes’, then unfortunately, it’s not canon.

Persona 1 and Pandora

Let’s talk about a character like that: Maki Sonomura.

Here's a fun fact: Maki and the Persona 1 Protagonist do not necessarily end up together.

Now many of you may be shocked, and cite the cutscene at the end of Pandora’s battle, but there are a few things I want to point out.

The one confessing was Maki’s Shadow, not Maki herself

The protagonist himself did not respond to her kiss or her confession

Their friends did not once say anything about their relationship in the ending

Then some of you may point out that the epilogue stated that Maki was seen with a man who appeared to be her boyfriend...but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the protagonist is that said man.

In fact, I think his epilogue perfectly describes the point I am trying to make.

Why does this matter?

To put it bluntly, it doesn’t. I’m not saying you can’t ship any protagonist with anyone, I’m just saying that the wars over who is canon and who is not are utterly irrelevant. Not a single girl (or guy, in the case of Jun), is considered canon.

Of course, this does not mean you have to like all ships either, just respect that everyone has different tastes and leave it alone.

There are multiple canons.

There are people form all walks of life playing the game.

Everyone will have a favorite.

In other words, you can put down your pitchforks now.

Bonus: Resources for getting rid of your NOTP

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For Ao3:

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