#i'm sorry i'm joking i'm such an shit-stirrer

[dukeofankh]

If your vision for the deradicalization of right-wing men begins and ends with "other men telling them that that's gross and to stop it" then I'm sorry, you do not understand how masculinity works.

"Men who hold patriarchal status" and "men who are feminists" are two groups who overlap less than you want them to. I'm sorry. That's not solely because men are so happy with patriarchal status that they don't want to risk it by policing misogyny/queerphobia/racism, It's because being misogynistic, queerphobic, and racist, end expressing other forms of toxic masculinity(and often abusively so) are part of how people establish and maintain patriarchal status. The men who have the ability to stop this via nothing but peer pressure are the very people who are doing it. That's by design. And engaging in feminist intervention is, in and of itself, usually the abrupt end of that status and its associated power to persuade misogynistic men.

Like, I have worked in blue collar jobs as a notably queer person. It was pretty much a constant deluge of verbal abuse. In my experience, most blue collar work environments are exploitative, abusive, and bigoted, and very gleefully so. On the occasions I have spoken up about someone saying something that was super fucking out of line (asking me which of the girls walking by was hottest. We were installing a portable classroom at a middle school), believe it or not, they completely failed to be shamed! Because nobody else on the crew gave a fuck. *I* was the weird one. They ghosted me. A full blown company ghosted me. I suddenly didn't have a job anymore because they just straightforwardly stopped telling me where the next job site was.

Like, this doesn't mean that it's your job to do it, but this vision you have of these big groups of men where everyone is on the fence and there is precisely one shit stirrer who can be shut down by a brave feminist man who can single handedly set the example for all these other guys...you are high. You are describing an "everybody clapped" level absurd scenario. Most of these truly virulent misogynistic guys either have zero friends, because, you know, our society is atomized to fuck, or they are in a group where the feminist guy is actually the weirdo who can be shut down and ostracized much, much easier than the misogynists, because there is no such thing as a man misogynists respect who stands up for women.

You might be saying "well, we're talking about longstanding personal relationships, actually. Like, they need to have to want to spend time with you and then, as a side effect, you can mind control them out of being a threat to us."

Problem with that being:

1: Many feminist men also have no friends, see the atomized society above.

2: Feminist men already stopped hanging out with men who make rape jokes because why the fuck would we want to spend time with them.

3: That isn't just because we respect women so hard. We are in many cases talking about men who are also deeply queerphobic, heirarchical, violent and abusive to other men. What initially drew me to feminism and women was a lack of heirarchical squabbling and constant bullying, and the ability to be openly queer. A lot of men who came to feminism did so because they knew that the patriarchy was not a place they would find success or acceptance. These are not the men who are gonna be able to change right wing minds.

4. Men do not view themselves as a monolith. There is no universal brotherhood of men. The actual meaning of the term "Fragile masculinity" is that men are constantly expected to prove that they are deserving of the status of being a member of their own gender. There are large swathes of men--including most of the men who you'd look to as examples of good, feminist men who you want to undertake this project--who are considered failed men, sissies, f****ts, soyboys, ect. They are. Not. Going. To. Convince. These. Men. Of. Jack. Shit. Much less successfully *shame* them. Jesus.

I know all of this sucks. I know it would be cool to be able to just point at a group and have them be responsible for the work. But nah. It's gonna have to be a societal project, one that will probably outlast all of us. Sorry. The thing you want these men to do is, absolutely, the morally correct thing to do. But presuming that it would be effective is, and once again I am so sorry about this, just ignorance of how these social groups function.

[ghouljams]

Ghoul, i has quastion... in cowboy verse, pertaining to our lovely knuckleheads Soap and Moon. Has there ever been a time, pre-relationship/pre-"sexy times" where Moon was still pretending she Wasn't Interested™️ and maybe a girl from town is like "I'm gonna make that man mine, you don't mind right? After all, you keep turning him down." Would Moon be like "what do i care, do what you want" <- playing unaffected but spoiler alert: is actually Affected™️ or would she try to shut that shit down immediately. Like "...I heard he's actually shit in bed. I'm talking two to three pumps and he's done." <- entering jealous shit stirrer mode in an attempt to ward other people away from her man 😆😆😆

It's entirely his own fault for being a terrible flirt. You know that. Just like you know that the burn of jealousy which slips its way into your bloodstream alongside your liquor shouldn't be bubbling the way it is. Soap isn't yours. He's not even close to yours. It doesn't concern you whether he flirts with some girl at the bar or if he keeps his head down.

Actually this is good. He's diverting his attention away from you. Finally.

You're home free. Happy, actually. Happy to watch him make a fool of himself leaning against the bar and chatting up a girl in a short skirt. Sure she flips her hair and tips her head to show off her neck, resting her hand on his bicep, but that doesn't mean Soap is making any headway. He's pretty not charming.

God and she's laughing at his stupid jokes.

Not that you even care.

He doesn't have to talk to you, you'll see him at the Halloween party later. You didn't want him talking to you. He'll probably corner you later and yap your ear off with all his flirting. Dick.

You don't even need to be here, you just stopped by to drop off a load of moonshine for the holiday crowd. So what is he doing here? Did the Prices kick him out to decorate or is he really just this desperate to get his dick wet that he'll hit on anything in cat ears and a mini-skirt.

He smiles at the girl and excuses himself to the bathroom. You take the opportunity to slide behind the bar in front of her. She gives you a look when you lean over. She smells good. City slicker good. It hadn't escaped your notice the way she'd been reaching for Soap's hat. He's such a whore you're surprised he didn't let her take it.

"Just wanted to give you a heads up," You tell her, "but he gave two of my friends the clap, so you might wanna use this." You slide a condom across the bar for her, and watch the mixture of disgust and confusion cross her face.

"Which one is that?" She asks. God you love city girls. Goose would have a field day with this one.

"The bad one." You remind her. She nods, and slips the condom off the bar into her bag.

You make sure to catch Soap's eye when you turn to leave. You hope he washed his hands. You take your cash from the owner and make sure the door doesn't hit you on the way out.

-

"Ugh," Soap sighs, "Tha's mah wife-" He shakes his head, "Ah gotta go, sorry dove."

"You're married?" The cat asks, "And you have the clap?"

Soap stares at her for what feels like years, but by the slow blink of her false lashes is probably only a few seconds.

"Sure."

Your truck is half a mile away when he gets out of the bar.

[alitgblog]

volume ix thoughts wooooo we're out of casa

first off, return of a legend: the beach hut

i was fully expecting the compatibility test to be more like the season 1 compatibility test with the zodiacs because that's fun but i guess that's less of a pot stirrer than a fun game to have. though the narrator poking fun at it i guess is making fun of the fandom for thinking it was gonna be horoscopes 🤣

so very obvious ass test though especially with the two answers only about the two guys you're pursuing, which I think is a missed opportunity to throw more lore about the guys in there. or at least make it not as obvious? really goes to show how surface level the characters are compared to, say, the Mr. and Mrs. Challenge towards the end of S2

I'm going for Jin and Max rn so I thought it was funny their personalities were boiled down to "funny" vs "extroverted" and my MC had to pick between the two as if they were mutually exclusive

anyway just nearly got Jin lmao

I'd like them to stop with the Claudia/Theo storyline because it feels like they've already decided they're done with each other and are ready to move on? However, Claudia being compatible with Theo on paper but like not really feeling it is an interesting idea. Like she feels she's got no other option to stay safe except for him and they like each other enough. Meanwhile Bea's settling for Liam because he's shown any interest in her at all. (Let them date each other if MC can't! They deserve better!!)

also I know that I joked about Theo being just some mildly attractive white guy to fawn over and settle for but the way that Claudia is just settling for him? actually upsetting like I'm so sorry, Theo 😟 I didn't mean it I thought he was fine after the first dates 😖

Hari mention! I was pretty sure the game forgot about him lmao

anyway the compatibility thing still doesn't make the most sense because like,,, why did all the guys get the Villa girls and none of the casa girls? I just think we should stir up some shit. I know it's annoying but it is the perfect opportunity to try to make Emel angry at Oakley again by saying he's most compatible with some casa girl. And she can show growth by not getting upset this time.

idk why but Kyle's poem to Emel is giving wannabe rap crew vibes (i.e. I'm missing S1 I'll take what I can get). Also, Claudia said he's giving game player vibes?? I'm actually so upset with how the LI's are all interchangeable because simply this cannot be the same Kyle y'all are fawning over (it's not 😭)

I'm kind of curious what it's like replaying on a straight route bc personally my heart hurts every time they show Claudia's little sad face but like I have to talk to Max it just makes more sense because MC can't couple with Claudia in stick or twist

Close your eyes and pick at random is actually hilarious as an option for stick or twist and I almost did it

i've already said my piece about Sienna, I love her design. I will admit though, her open mouth smile is a little stilted but people get botox so... not out of the ordinary lol. The bigger problem is how her hand on her hip is a little fucked up (color in between the lines, fusebox!)

as someone not on a Theo route, I really don't understand why he's sticking with Claudia unless he's got some personal turmoil he's working through and trying to actually reform his player ways. And I wish MC could talk to him as a friend and we'd see that. like in the way S2, you get to know Rocco's insecurity about never finishing university and Gary's anxiety even if you aren't on their routes

Anyway I'm still upset at the forcing MC to couple because she's single thing. They could've still had her coupled with Jin (or even with Hari it would work) and then she can either walk in single or with a casa boy. And then she's the main character: just say that the single islanders don't get dumped post casa (like it's SUPPOSED to be) because in that situation, she's the only one! Or if you need the numbers to be right, literally Emel is right there. She can come back to Oakley later if anything

still not the best stick or twist could've gone in terms of drama (or maybe that's just bc I've been looking at spoilers), but compared to S5-6, not too bad (I assume also s7 but tbh I did stop right at stick or twist for that season)

So fyi when I played Casa, I had my MC go for Shawn most of it, and then last minute switched to Max because I remembered she's a musician and I thought that would be cute. That being said, I wish it was like in the too hot to handle game where you unlock certain dialogue if you happen to have something in common with a character. Because why is Max explaining music stuff to my musician MC?

is Hari not an LI? Because they made him seem like one and then just all of a sudden we're not talking about him, it's only about Jin and Casa Boy. And I'm fine with not all the boys being LIs, but it is odd the way he's just shoved to the side in the story

Okay so I'm writing this as I'm playing and it seems like maybe he is. They just forget to mention him most of the time.

Hari and Hazel are a hot couple though. like I don't love Hari's design but like if he was drawn better?? I see it.

the swimming game is a fun idea but imagining everyone splashing around to get to MC is so funny. like I can hear it in my head and it's not the best game, but for the fictional game in the app it's fine.

although why tf is Theo suddenly interested in MC? I haven't been romancing him at all but for the chat at the pool I couldn't decide between any of the characters I'm actually kind of interested in so I had MC go talk to Theo and then he was also flirting? then the pool game he also thinks MC has the best chat?? sir I barely know you

omg not emel deflecting the drama to Claudia (and it's about her hookup with MC???) oof this is the drama I crave I think we're gonna need a movie night soon

so not too bad yet I just hope these storylines can come through!!

[fanarchoslashivist]

I know you dropped it but I love 'Compost' its my favorite fic of yours and also i really like 'A Royal Pain In The Ass' and 'Calefaction" the way you write Jack is so unique and fun he's such a little shit stirrer hes like a prank youtuber and it is so obvious why so many people would find him annoying and hate him. I always had a problem with how the fandom worshiped his little boohoo I'm so lonely because people don't like when I'm a fucked up little shit to them. Typical lonely white boy who acts out to get attention and then cries when nobody likes him after he literally ruined their shit.

Bunny definitely should have popped Jack in the mouth during their first encounter I swear it would have fixed so many bad takes about their post Easter confrontation. Jack is such a smart mouthed mean spirited little shit and I love him but oh my god oh my god I KNOW he has other spirits who will jump him because he fucked up playing around with something and then didn't apologize or acted like it wasn't that big of a deal. Jack had zero problems throwing out punch after punch shit talking everything the Guardians do but Bunny pushes exactly one button that we as the audience have context for and suddenly Bunny is the bad guy and Jack is the sad lonely child. They BOTH were being shitty, Jack literally has history of destroying the thing keeping Bunny ALIVE like oh so sorry he got his white boy feelings hurt. Jack killed a kid's goldfish and caused mass car accidents in the first twenty minutes of this film, he's the class clown at the frat party who thinks its funny to steal your phone and dangle it over the side of the pool to watch you get upset and try to take it from him then laugh when you fall in the pool as he dodges.

its just a joke, lighten up," he says until you call him an asshole college dropout who is intentionally crashing parties to make everybody's life hell because he's terrified of being rejected so he gives everybody an excuse to hate him first.

Then he's sad and hurt and you're mean for handing him back his entire personality on a platter.

The important takeaway from that scene is that Bunny and the other Guardians are supposed to help people in this situation, but Bunny is supposed to be the person who recognizes that Jack is in need of help. Bunny is playing the stern "you are here because of the consequences of your actions," role to a young adult who has not had proper guidance through his teen years. Jack's entire problem is that he learns about the world through trial and error, but faces no lasting consequences, he is literally dismissed. This is very white boy problem child of him, getting into trouble with little consequence because white kids are usually swept aside instead of severely punished like kids of color are, they are told 'oh he just needs care and guidance' while also giving him no care and guidance. literally how the fandom treats him actually, "Jack is just lashing out because he wants to be seen and people are mean for getting mad at him instead of helping" then call every guy who tries to be funny to get their attention in real life a fuck boy. Rise of the Guardians is best read as a trouble making twenty-something kid being forced into community service and finally meeting adults who actively work with troubled kids.

I think Jack is a great representation for young adults aging out of a system that failed them, his mixture of longing and disdain for everything the Guardians do is a perfect reflection of how everything we do to help protect and provide for kids as a community can fall short, but they are still necessary, and always at threat from groups that think the best way to straighten out a kid is breaking them. Think of all the people who are so upset at the idea of replacing detention with actual support projects, and all the comments from people who insist the best way to punish the kids is to hurt them in some way, hit them, force them to do grueling exercises, deprive them of their dignity. Think of every person around you who looks at a crying child in public and say "MY child knows better than to act like THAT" and the implication behind it.

Jack views the things the Guardians do as vain little pet projects that they use to bribe kids in exchange for their belief, the same way a child who doesn't receive care can view it as bribes for good behavior instead of rewards. The Guardians are, quite literally stated in the movie, a replacement for the way previous generations raised kids through punishment. Pitch is the Boogeyman, the manifestation of how parents used fear to control kids and get them to do as they are told. "if you don't listen to me the boogeyman will GET you."

This is replaced by a system of rewards, "Go to sleep on time or you'll miss the Sandman and wont have good dreams." "If you don't be good Santa won't bring you presents, only nice kids get rewarded." "Sit still and behave through Easter service and you'll get to go to the Easter egg hunt." "Losing a tooth isn't a scary thing, its something to look forward to, you get money from the Tooth Fairy."

But when you don't have that, when you don't have rewards to look forward to or the rewards are used to control you instead of as a gift you earned, you can build resentment. Especially if, like Jack, you are a child in need who slipped through the cracks of a system built to help you.

Jack seeks the Man in the Moon's help, he insists that MiM put him there, and we as the audience believe him even though nowhere in the film does anything back this up, in fact we are shown that MiM is easily ignored when he attempts to contact people, if Sandy had not noticed him and gotten everyone's attention. Jack also insults what the Guardians do, with each Guardian having a special scene with him where they showcase and explain the individual importance of their duties and how much effort goes into it. He learns he was wrong as he interacts with them, and he learns that he ALSO has use of their gifts. It was all "cooped up in some hideout finding new ways to bribe kids" until it was HIS memories being protected.

The Guardians had an important lesson to learn, its a very easy lesson for viewers because its in half the family films you watch. Parents need to spend time with their kids! Its not enough to focus on what you can give them, yes work is hard and you are doing so much to make sure they are provided for and you are tired and need time for yourself to rest when you are done, but you also need to connect with and actually talk to your kids. You can't just be the person that gives them things, you need to be THERE for them.

But Jack has an important lesson to, and you are right to see him as immature and uncaring for the harm he does, he needs to understand his actions have consequences. Its all well and good for him to show up and make a mess of things and fly off when nobody cares if he comes or goes, blow a kid's homework out the window, freeze their goldfish, cause car accidents by sending kids sledding into the street. He lives up to every trickster story I know, and how he's dealt with also follows that line. Tricksters show up and play games with you, and you are often the one suffering from those games, except when you convince the trickster to play by YOUR rules.

The Guardians follow this when they convince Jack to help collect teeth, Jack wants his memories and they can help with that (how the fandom thinks that's blackmail is beyond me, how exactly is he getting those back without them? 'If we work together as a team we can do this' is pretty basic problem solving skills to teach kids. You help me I help you isn't manipulative unless they specifically have the teeth and are keeping it from him to force him to help them.) Challenging a trickster to a game is the go to method to surviving a trickster encounter, in a trickster story there is always a lesson to be learned, its meant to set an example and someone is going to bear that weight. If you don't want to be the example you need to make sure its the Trickster. You need to play by the rules of a trickster story while also convincing the trickster to make mistakes that will lead him to face consequences.

Pitch does this beautifully, I fucking LOVE how Jack's encounter with Pitch is beat by beat how you deal with a trickster. He even lures Jack away like a trickster would, very "Coyote promising to help you home if you follow his voice but gets you lost all night" Jack is off balance and without control the entire time, he fell for the trickster's promise. Its a GREAT confrontation for a Trickster character who plays pranks and creates problems for others that those people are left to deal with even though they are not at fault. Do you think the child who lost all their homework didn't have to either go running for it or restart from scratch, or have to show up without their work the next day at school? Do you think anybody cared that it wasn't their fault? "Don't leave the window open" is the lesson and getting a bad grade is their consequence. I would LOVE to see the Burgess Facebook Rants and Raves page after Jamie's little sled ride. "Whose child is this in the street?! Someone needs to call CPS."

Lessons require consequences, and Trickster lessons are often mean spirited and outside of your control. "I did everything right" you say even as the story highlights all the ways you misstep.

Jack isn't the one who ruined Easter, but he IS the one who chased after a voice in the dark when he knew there were people relying on him. It falls in line with the "go straight home after school," lessons in a lot of kids stories. The child wanders off and gets to see a lot of things, maybe gets lost, maybe gets in trouble, and when he gets home he finds out that he missed out on something really good or everyone is mad at him because he wasn't there to help with what they were doing.

The Hey Arnold cartoon had an episode in which the kids ditch school and spend the whole day hiding that they ditched so they don't get to enjoy any of the fun activities they had planned, only to get to school after they give up and realize it was a Field Day and they missed out on all the fun activities the school had set up for the kids. Its a classic consequence for a kids story, and a good one for Jack who has shown that he both WANTS so badly to be accepted by others and has spent several scenes making mean sarcastic remarks about their work. "Its no hard boiled egg, but kids LIKE what I do." "I'm not climbing into some rickety old sleigh" Jack is SUCH an "I know I can't have it so I'm going to mock it to show I don't even want it," kind of person and as someone raising kids every time the Guardians give him that LOOK when they show off and he's wowed by them is so real.

Jack, after realizing that he let himself be distracted by an immediate want over the expectations of the people waiting for him, he does what he always does when he makes a mess and flies away. The Trickster at the end of a story. The question is who are the ones learning a lesson? Is it the Guardians, who put their trust in a trickster and he didn't show, or Jack who got what he wanted at the expense of everyone else?

And that's why Jack choosing to go back, choosing to face his consequences and return to clean up the mess, is so important for his character and his story.

He was, again, the child that slipped through the cracks of the system set up to protect him, and now he has a chance to work for that system, he disparages it, how could he not? It failed him! There is no question the system failed him. But are the people working in that system bad? Is it better to abandon kids with no support system at all? and can you trust the people who claim THEY know how to raise kids right, that kids should be taught to fear what will happen to them if they step out of line. The Guardians are all focusing on one thing, all their energy on one thing to help, each Guardian identified a need and they put their efforts into providing that one thing for the kids, millions of kids, and if everyone just put effort into one thing then we would have a million needs being taken care of, instead of setting up one single thing that does everything.

Pitch was able to attack that by taking them out bit by bit, but the whole system didn't fail, because each Guardian has one thing that they do. Our support systems are always under attack, we need to constantly justify something as small as a free meal program, people want Children to go hungry in school, and the schools are not above withholding the very right to eat as punishment. Children are at risk of losing their most essential human rights on a daily basis, and the people doing the work to just ensure they can Eat are being criticized that they are not also fixing every other problem in the world, and therefor they must not be of any use and we should listen to the people who want to hurt kids to fix the problem, because children who are not afraid of punishment are undisciplined and will just going to run wild. Please ignore all the evidence that punishment as a form of discipline creates more problems than it solves. Anything that is not punishment is obviously not actually discipline and the only real consequence a child understands is one enforced by fear and pain.

Also important to note that Pitch was no match for them, at his strongest it literally only required the Guardians to have a small portion of their power back (Easter is still ruined and Tooth has not been able to collect for 2 days) for them to take him down, because he was only able to avoid their attacks and strike from a distance. Even at the Tooth Palace as soon as they charged him directly he ran, and you get the sense from his urgency that he CAN'T fight them head on. This is how child abuse survives, abusers CAN'T defend themselves, they can only hide and try to talk their way into convincing those around them that what they are doing isn't actually that wrong because the system is also flawed. How can anyone criticize how THEY raise their kids when the people raising kids the supposed "right" way are also failing?

Jack is an outsider because he fell through the cracks and is lashing out at a world that doesn't acknowledge that it failed him, but Pitch is lashing out at a world that isn't letting him hurt people without consequence. And I could go on and on about how Pitch is a great metaphor for generational trauma and wanting to raise kids who wont be killed the way his family was killed even though how he raised his daughter with kindness and courage before the attack is literally what saved her life because she snuck out of the house to play on her boat in the middle of the night. Her disobedience as a child and lack of fear of getting into trouble with her parents literally saved her life. Imagine sneaking out of the house to steal your parents car in the middle of the night and not being afraid they would beat your ass to oblivion and it being framed as the thing that saved you. Also always thinking about how Pitch doesn't want a child that's already evil but instead wants a child that is seen as good and pure and he wants to corrupt that child to be like him because he sees himself as a good and pure person who is corrupted and the fact that every person he attempts to turn into his fearling prince or princess always turns away from him or proves to be beyond corruption only shows that he too could have avoided his own fall and it drives him further into insanity because he can never NOT be in the right because then he would have to face the galactic scale genocide he committed. I love Pitch so much he is so so so close to being redeemed at every turn but he actively chooses to continue to insist that raising children in fear is the only way to protect them and I just get so many emotions about that as someone from two cultures that faced genocide. The people in the fandom insisting that fear IS what keeps kids alive are not going to break the cycle of abuse i am so sorry.

The thing that really always draws me into the Guardians of Childhood universe is that every character has so many flaws and is capable of so much cruelty but actively chooses to be kind, and Pitch is shown time and time again to be capable of kindness but actively chooses cruelty. I love writing characters who hurt people, who think its fun or right to hurt people, and have to face the consequences of hurting people. I love knowing that humans are able to fix their mistakes and learn to have compassion, even if it does not come naturally to them. I love that North was a bandit who was lured by MiM with the promise of a town filled with riches he could pilfer and actively choosing to fight to save the kids. I love that Tooth was literally hunted like an animal by the adults but still snuck into villages to trade gifts with the other children.

I love Katherine's little temper tantrums throughout the books and how often she falls to despair over her worries only to pick herself up again. She is such a little girl, I love her so much. I love when she blew out the magic candle North lit for her because she was mad at him, I love how Pitch broke her compass and she didn't have any immediate confirmation her friends were going to rescue her and she just felt so completely and utterly alone even though they literally just had to be chased out of her room by Nightlight because they kept checking up on her two whole scenes ago. Girl it has been like a day and you have been kidnapped before, they are going to come for you, you are so middle school melodramatic it is painful sometimes.

This is so long and ridiculous I'm sorry for rambling. Anyway if you come off anon and pm me I'll give you my email and send you the next few chapters I've written. I'm currently not posting anything for the fandom because of some people bothering me, I haven't gone so far to take down my fics yet but I do have plans to delete my ao3 eventually and go full private if things get worse.

[puckthisshift]

20 and 34 for the Mattdrai ask game please💙

Favorite Matthew moment of all time? Favorite Leon moment of all time? Favorite Mattdrai moment of all time?

So these turned into more media moment, though I have favorite on-ice moments too but we'd be here forever if I included those too.

Fave Matthew moment: "I respect Gio, he's a Norris trophy winner" or "I hate Tampa more now". That boy loves him some drama, and he has a great flair for the dramatic. He's a shit-stirrer and I fucking love that. Huge soft spot for "Happy Holly-days". Iconic. Truly.

Fave Leon moment: it might have to be either the "pissy" press conference where he's had it and is no longer entertaining any bullshit, or the "fucking phenomenal" moment where he's clearly not all that sorry for cursing. I like him sarcastic and laughing too hard at his own joke. That shows in the "probably get off the ice" moment too. Like, he thinks he's so fucking funny.

Fave MattDrai moment: the goal. It just has to be the goal. You just get the feeling that for all the media stuff, they're playing up this rivalry narrative so hard and having fun with it. It makes me so interested in knowing how they'd be on the ice together in a real game situation, how they'd bicker and make each other better.

What are popular Mattdrai fic tropes that you love?

Fucking their way into feelings is a big favorite. Or stuff where they're actually enemies/rivals and have to work to get their shit together. I'm always a big fan of something magical being involved.

[bakatenshii]

Katsuki x Annie HCs

For @rat-suki , my goth mummy who’s not having the best few days recently. 

Idk what this is okay, you asked for it, and I provided. This is full-on braindead clown-foolery at it’s finest, sry to all the impending braincells lost. 

Have yall met Annie? First of all:

this bitch is ready to fight on sight. You walk into her because you weren’t looking? Your left nut’s gone, bye-bye!

Enter Katsuki. Have you seen this man without a wrinkle in his brow? A frown on his face?

So bomb boy’s just walking around town right, it’s 8:15pm and we know that’s dangerously close to his curfew. Annie’s out tryna quench her late-night boba craving, and by the miracle of plot fate, they end up on the same road.

Katsuki’s speedwalking to get home to make his primary school curfew. Annie’s glued to her phone, too busy trying to fend off suitors wooing Leese.

Of course they crash into each other! Did you expect them to not? That’d be against every God of clichés.

Annie’s glaring at him, thinking he’s giving her the stink-eye after he’s just crashed into her. She doesn’t know that’s just what his face looks like. Like, permanently.

Pan to a shot of the relatively quiet street, unsuspecting bystanders enjoying a relaxing evening out, until— is that a gang war? a kidnapping?

Nah, just Annie and Katsuki screaming at each other with an onslaw of words that have to be censored for my very PG blog.

“You knocked my boba over!”

“Well why weren’t you looking, dumbass!”

Anyways, an endless assault of curses that’ll put Urban Dictionary to shame later, Katsuki realizes he’s now only got 10 minutes before his stupid fucking curfew, and just tells her to meet him there tomorrow so he can make up for it.

(Because he’s actually a big softie, and he did feel bad for having spilt her drink everywhere. Until she started yelling at him. It was full too, that asshole.)

(He also never met someone who could out-scream him, RIP their vocal chords.) 

Lo and behold, their second meeting goes about as well as their first, except with maybe less aggression. (It’s because he’s her type, and Annie’s a dumbass.)

Fuck slow burn, fill in the blanks yourselves, but yall know the drill. They fall in love. 

Well, not exactly. 

More like a friendly rivalry that they’re both infatuated with.

One of those, friends: why do you care so much? If they’re so annoying, just ignore them. them: I CAN’T— I’LL BEAT THEM JUST WATCH ME. situations. We’re all annoyed, here.

Did I mention Annie’s a dumbass? 

Annie’s a chaotic, clumsy, booboo the fool ass clown. One that Katsuki can’t help but find fucking endearing ‘entertaining’.

He swears.

It’s just funny watching her make a fool out of herself— honestly, that’s all.

But have you ever witnessed two tsunderes at work? It’s like the two last brain cells trying to figure out how to send the right brain signals to your body, but then whacking yourself in the face by accident.

That’s what Katsuki and Annie are like; two oblivious idiots obsessed with each other who won’t admit it, not even when he’s balls deep in her puss— oops can’t say that on my PG blog!

They were having a screaming match, and Jirou complained that her eardrums are about to burst if they continue, so Denki and Kiri manhandles them into a room and lock them in. They’re screaming something like, ‘if you guys fuck maybe it’ll get all the pent up tension out.’

Katsuki’s thick as a brick, monkey brain only understanding competition, so he’s taking it as, ‘oh yeah? let’s see who can fuck better then’

Annie is the shocked Baku meme.

But they do it anyways, Seven Minutes style. (except with more pov action)

The squad pretends they don’t hear all the obnoxious moaning and grunting inside, because honestly, if this is what it’ll take for them to stfu, they’ll take it.

Katsuki comes out smug, thinks he’s won this shit, until Annie shows up that night with the strap. 

Who’s the bitch now?

On the real note, we know Katsuki’s a cocky brat, but who’s brave enough to call him out on his mistakes?

Annie, local Bad Bitch TM, that’s who. And that’s probably why he trusts her so much, not that he’d admit it.

He’s never had someone in his life who’s there and ready to tell him off when he’s wrong, someone who respects him enough to want what’s best for him.

Plus, if she goes too far and his poor ego’s wounded, he can just pound her into the bed as payback. It’s a win-win, really.

[not-another-robin]

Miscellaneous Alfred Pennyworth headcanons because he is immortal and you can't tell me otherwise

Alfred HATES musicals. Hates them. Especially Broadway, do not get him started on Andrew Lloyd Webber. He has a vendetta against the man not only because he thinks mega musicals are cheap schlock, but also for RUINING his son for a good 4 months after Phantom of the Opera came out. That shit was Bruce's MCR. he's skulking through the manner in a blanket cape with dark eyeliner playing the title song at deafening volume. Harvey enables him for months just to get on Alfred's nerves. Besides that, the batfam insists he doesn't like musicals as a genre because he can't sing. They are correct.

In my heart of hearts, Alfred was the OG 'finders keepers applies to wayward children'. When Bruce started working with other heros Alfred started checking in on them regularly, especially the ones who were far from home or lost their families. It's not uncommon to see Hawkgirl or Diana or J'onn at the manor when they're feeling homesick.

If a league member has at least one parent that's able to be contacted, said parent is invited to monthly get togethers with the rest of the league parents. They have a little club to talk about their kids. Okay it's more of a support group

If someone needs to be looked after due to sickness or injury and the league can't spare a team mate to do it, they're brought to the manor. Its no secret that most hope for this outcome.

It's a running joke that everyone, everyone gives Alfred a gift on fathers day.

One such Father's day the teen titans made "if lost return to Alfred Pennyworth" shirts for every batfriend (somewhere around 20+ people when alls said and done). They have a big group photo with them all, Alfred in the middle with a shirt that says "keep them".

Alfred watches soap operas regularly, and has seen every episode of Dynasty to date. Where he finds the time nobody knows, but he is knowledgeable on all the TV drama within the shows and behind the scenes. He has pretty ecclectic taste too, given he speaks a couple languages.

One time, while deliriously sick, Jason found him watching The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. All of the batkids insist this was some fever induced hallucination. They are wrong.

Alfred is a world class pot stirrer. There is so little of substance at the myriad of galas he has to attend that he makes his own fun, sue him. It's a leftover pass time from Martha's days - people were objectively cruel to her and gossipped at her expense often, so she returned it in kind. She was truly a legend in this regard and Alfred was her right hand man. They were experts at sewing seeds of doubt with a single comment ("Oh I'm so sorry sir, I assumed the woman over there was your wife") and watch the world burn, wine in hand. He missed having a partner in crime in that regard - eventually, Jason and Steph fill that role.

Bruce and Alfred have been locked in a decades long battle for Bruce's posture. He will go into shrimp position if given any opening and Alfred is determined to not let that happen. Idk if anyone else's parents did this, but Alfred is absolutely the type of parent to poke/push the small of your back until you sit up straight. He also does this for every batkid, even unofficial ones. Tragically it is too late for Tim.

Both Alfred and Bruce are fond of pen pals, though Alfred kept his up for much longer. He writes letters to his few friends back in England, to the Kents, various heros, he even manages to get mail to Themyscira.

To anyone under the age of fifty (excluding Bruce, maybe) his natural handwriting is completely illegible. Peak old person cursive, it is supernatural how his friends manage to read it. He writes very neat and very small, with very little space in between the lines. Its nightmarish. He does know how to write legibly for the sake of the kids, but his personal notes are practically in code.

Okay this one's a little out there - Alfred's posh accent isn't his natural one. It's natural now, since he's been using it so long, but growing up him and his family spoke in a more country/cockney accent - except for his mom, who had the more posh recieved pronunciation one. I've rewritten Alfred's entire backstory so bear with me She was the head housekeeper for a wealthy family, and she came from a more 'refined' area, so she carried herself with the more stereotypical fancy British manners. Alfred loved his mom, looked up to her more than anything in the world, so he adopted her mannerisms (and accent) whenever he could. He was teased mercilessly for it as a kid, so he stopped, but once he left home to join the military he fully adopted the persona to distance himself from his father and brother. The only time the original accent would slip through was when he was really, blindingly angry or upset, and only Bruce and Dick have ever heard it.

He has a flat within the manor, like a little apartment for his own space. It's initially sparsely decorated, but over the years it accumulates a borderline absurd amount of photos. Some of them are of him, mostly military friends, him with Martha and Thomas, or souvenirs from his theater days. The vast majority are his kids though. Pictures of Bruce from every stage of his life of course (the kids have a field day when they find them) and a smattering of pictures Bruce has drawn for him over the years, from crayon scribbles to charcoal portraits. The halls are lined with photos of the grandbats, many big milestones but also personal ones caught on candid camera: the first time Damian smiled while being hugged, Cassandra and Bruce playing bridge, Dick and Jason asleep after their first mission. On the wall at the end of the hallway hangs the old family portrait - Martha, Thomas, 6 year old Bruce, and him. Though he's not particularly spiritual, it's placement makes him feel like Martha and Thomas can see how their family has grown.

[salemsimss]

Beginning | Previous | Next

Transcript under the cut

Johnny: Fuck this!

Shi: Woah, woah, woah!

Casper: Johnny, wait-

Shi: Where the fuck do you think you're going?!

Johnny: Get off of me!

Casper: We haven't said goodbye, yet!

Johnny: Say it now!

Casper: Johnny-

Johnny: You're both fucking with me! Goodbye.

Johnny: Is this some kind of sick joke to you?!

Shi: What the fuck are you talking about?

Casper: Johnny, we didn't know-

Johnny: That my best friend died by suicide? Because I definitely told you, Casper. The night you crash landed on Earth, remember?

Casper: Wait- That's not what I meant!

Johnny: Then what did you mean?! I fucking poured my heart out to you that night and Shi just happens to find a Ouija Board where we communicate with the dead! And somehow, just somehow of all dead people we could have "communicated with", it ends up fucking being Scott. I'm not buying it.

Shi: How the fuck were we supposed to know that Scott was planning on talking to us- more specifically, to you?

Johnny: You have that ability that allows you to worm your way into people's head and fuck with them, right? For all we know, maybe you did exactly that and decided it would be funny to use his death against me.

Shi: You can't be fucking serious right now.

Casper: If he used his ability on you, you would have known long before he picked up that board.

Johnny: Yeah, right. You're only saying that to defend your "boyfriend". [Scoffs] You're probably both plotting something else for all I know. You're perfect for each other!

Shi: Do you really think I'd waste my energy on a sad little human being like you?

Johnny: Hmm, y'never know, I heard you're quite unpredictable. Who knows what your next move is going to be.

Shi: Take a guess.

Casper: Shi. Please don't...

Johnny: What's he going to do, Cas? Get into my head and fry my brain?

Shi: [Hums] That's a bit predictable, don't you think? Besides, doing that thats up a lot of my energy, and like I said earlier, you're not exactly someone worth wasting my energy on.

Casper: Shi...

Johnny: Okay, so fuck off and go be a shit-stirrer elsewhere, then.

Casper: He's not a shit-stirrer.

Johnny: How is he not? This was all his idea, and you encouraged him!

Johnny: I was at one of my lowest fucking points in my life that night, Casper. You have literally seen me at my worst, and you were there for me. You quickly became someone I could rely on and trust, and you were one of the best things to happen to me in a really long time. So for you to turn around and do this to me after everything we have been through is just fucking evil, and I genuinely didn't see this coming. Especially from you.

Shi: I think you're overreacting a little- look. All I wanted to do was have little bit of fun with the board. I didn't think something would actually happen. Casper had nothing to do with this.

Johnny: I take it your definition of having fun involves hurting other people, right? What about you, Casper?

Casper: No...

Shi: Leave her alone.

Casper: I'm sorry. I didn't mean to.

Johnny: You didn't mean to use Scott's death against me? It's a bit too late for that now. You're a really shit friend, Casper, and a really shit person, too.

Casper: Stop it!

Shi: Watch your mouth.

Johnny: Everything was starting to go well again, but now you've ruined it, so thanks for that!

Shi: Johnny...

Johnny: Who would have known that someone like you would fuck up my life so much, huh?

Shi: I'd walk away right now if I were you.

Casper: Shi, please don't hurt him!

Johnny: Don't worry about me, Casper. The conversation's over. Stay the fuck away from me. [Mutters] I need space...

Casper: [Crying]

[bleuskais]

How do you feel about Shigure's love for Akito? Since you seem to like the character so much.

This feels like a loaded question so I took some time to think on it...

I feel... indifferent about their love (tbh I feel indifferent about onscreen romance in general and I have many things I don’t like about the romance in this series particularly but I’m not going to go into it here coz EVERY faction of the fruits basket fandom will come at me and I don’t want that)

I think they could genuinely love each other and do shitty things to each other. Many people do it all the time in real life.

[spoilers ahead]

~

IIRC, Shigure’s love for Akito grew from zodiac animal curse <3 god to brotherly love to actual love love when they were growing up and was treating Akito increasingly nice and gentle in that way (can’t remember if that was around the time Akito’s father died but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

Akito slept with Kureno to keep him with her because she didn’t want to break up the band so to speak.

Shigure then slept with Ren to spite Akito.

So he probably thinks, if Akito stops being god, she will not feel the need to keep everyone with her (in shitty traumatizing ways) and they can finally just have a normal relationship without that bond/obligation so they’ll know that their love is real and not just a byproduct of whatever twisted cosmic joke is being played on their lives.

I appreciate his hustle coz ultimate he’s the only older member of the zodiac curse to actively do something about breaking the curse but some of the ways he went about doing it is very shitty and shady because that’s the only way he knew how and within his limited mortal/physical capacity and that’s why I keep saying i love one (1) shit stirrer.

There could’ve been other (less shitty) ways to break the curse maybe but it might not have worked and the plotline will definitely be different from the one what we got. And that’s what fanfic is for.

Akito for her side probably feels betrayed coz here she was, an older guy who is showing interest in her like that even though she was raised as a male heir and then suddenly he turns around and sleeps with her mother whom she hates. Prideful Akito is probably feeling so stupid for believing Shigure has real intentions towards her and doubles down on making sure everyone else loves her/don't leave her. She's used to getting her way anyway so she don't see anything wrong with it.

~

Edit: I'm taking their love for each other based on canon/on face value and going about this write up with the thinking that it is genuine btw (in case it wasn't clear).

It's easy to see why they did what they did but that doesn't make it less shitty.

Sorry if this isn't actually answering your question, anon.

[the-empress-of-snark]

First, I would like to publicly make an apology to JD, the mod from Tomione Finds who initially reached out to me. I was already a bit agitated, and ended up misreading what she was trying to say to me and reacting impulsively instead of processing tthings calmly. 

It was genuinely not my intention for her to be hurt in this situation, but she was and for that I am very sorry. 

So, my initial reaction to kyoki's post was not to bother dignifying such obvious hyperbole with a response. 

Like, seriously, painting me as Fandom Satan so you can pin your flounce from fandom on me is just so wildly attention seeking it borders on the absurd. 

Your post was deliberately inflammatory, completely fabricated and designed solely to smear me, and your criticism that I've never provided evidence was  inaccurate as well as ironic, given that you...don't. 

That shit is exactly the kind of behavior I've been talking about. 

I then realized that staying silent isn't the answer. 

There are folks who might also be experiencing bullying in our fandom community, but feel uncertain if it qualifies as such or is more a personal conflict. Or maybe they're scared to speak up or come forward out of fear of retaliation - such as being smeared as toxic or untruthful like I was.  

Here's the thing. Your feelings are all valid. 

You know what you're experiencing, I know what I've experienced, and no amount of shouting down and being called a liar will ever change that. 

I'm also just going to point out that while my old blog was active, I talked about my experiences with bullying extensively, on more than one occasion. 

If I was going to be called out as a liar and a shit stirrer, that was literally a golden opportunity to do so. But the reason why that didn't happen at the time - a culture of silence that reinforces unequal power dynamics - is part of what I've been talking about. 

The thing about bullying is that it isn't necessarily someone walking up to you and punching you in the face. More frequently, it's subtle, low key, and perpetrated in a way that makes you doubt yourself. 

Here are a few examples of my experiences.

As if I have to state the obvious, reblogging someone's art with shitty tags in order to make fun of it is bullying. 

Also, I had never interacted with this person.  

Next, I only ever shared this privately with a couple people. It was nice of this person, who I'd been on friendly terms with, to let me know what they really thought of me and my writing. (Edit 7/21/21: I'm not gonna shield the identity of assholes any more)

That's some epic level passive aggressiveness right there.

And then just before I deleted,

There is a factual inaccuracy here. I did not ever regularly post in the tag, let alone posts regarding my experiences.

And then there is this:

This was created in June 2018 for members of the Tomione discord, but the history behind it goes back to January 2015. The term and its use was a significant part of my falling out with Nerys and Serpentinred, with the latter deeming it as a 'demeaning slur.' 

Which isn't...exactly what I said in our last email exchange. 

I worded this clumsily, I admit, but I was trying to describe how I felt - using I statements. I did not ever once use the term as a pejorative against her, and she's free to bring forth any evidence that I did. 

At that point though, it didn't matter, though I apologized to both of them in subsequent emails.  They were angry, and immediately severed any relationship I had with them, which was their right to do. 

So, a few years later, these same people suddenly appeared in the Discord using these Inner Circle icons, and offering them up for members of the chat to use. In a variety of colors. No one there had any idea that this was, in reality, a very pointed slight directed at me. 

There's really no way to explain this away as an innocent effort to make something fun for the chat, or as a joke, given the repeated assertion that the term was a slur. 

Somewhere along the line, their feelings toward the term must have changed, because both of them used the icon.

And no, there's been no "owning up" to this. Taking responsibility for your actions involves actually addressing shit with the person you harmed, and not minimizing the effect this had on me as “whining about a button”. 

I have now provided evidence to support my statements regarding my experiences with bullying in fandom. I did not at this time include less easily categorized vague posts made where I wasn't specifically named, but if I read it, it would be clear that I was the person being referred to. These were posts where I was accused of using slurs, or impersonating an artist in order to harass someone.

These posts are still damaging, though, in the sense that they're deliberate misrepresentations designed to create social/fandom harm to the people being talked about, and are examples of covert bullying/relational aggression. 

Which brings me to an observation I'd like to make regarding the angry, almost aggressive disparagement of myself and others speaking, even privately, about our experiences as 'spreading garbage behind our backs'. 

It's hypocritical. It's a double standard, given multiple posts that have been made about me, and honestly, it's concerning that someone could possibly expect to exert that much control over what people say about them, even privately. 

For example, if you and your friends want to chat about how much of an asshole you think I am, and how much you hate me, that's entirely your prerogative, and I have no control over that. You're perfectly free to express your opinion of me on your blog. The reverse holds true as well. Once you start making false accusations, though, it's a different story.

Lastly, I guess if there is anything I would like to see come from this, it would be for folks not to feel hesitant or uncomfortable about either speaking out about their own experiences, or openly being supportive of other people without fear of retaliation.  Because after the actual incidents, the sense of isolation was about the worst. 

Ultimately, this isn't about being liked or having conflicts due to differences in opinion. This is about actively engaging in behaviors, or encouraging others to engage in behaviors to purposefully cause harm. It's about isolating and marginalizing people you don't like and stripping them of support within the community. 

It's unacceptable. 

[janeo65]

Well EW you have now just a lost a friend. I refuse to go out for drinks with you now. If you, EW want to message him and get him 💚 to go out with you that's fine go ahead. I wont be around. I want nothing to do with her. I don't understand why he would want to anyway. Can't he see she's a trouble maker a shit stirrer? Waiting for the further problems she will now cause between me and him 💚 I even had to talk to the store manager today (only about EW inviting people for drinks and I wasn't supposed to say anything apparently, nothing else) because not only did she make me cry, several times, once at the freezer, but she also had to confront me again about it in the store where JS had to break us up out of an argument/fight. Where's the issue? I also find out that BJ knew about the planned drinks from him too💚 Both BJ and I thought it was common knowledge. I also dread seeing a certain someone now because I can guarantee she will fuck that up too for me. I worry where that leads us. It probably won't now because she has stirred up shit that wasn't warranted and I don't understand the problem 💚 Why is it OK for you EW to invite people but I can't even mention to 2 people? 2 people. I wasn't inviting them I just said what she was up to and then we all joked about all of us, just us, in the bakery of having a night out ourselves. Theyre the only people I told: JS and BJ that that's what you're up to. Then you make me out to be a Liar that that was never your intention. Your "apparent" intention was that you wanted to go out for drinks after oz Mex not a future date. I never invited anyone. I just said EW was thinking of organising another night to go out and have drinks and she's Recruiting people like me, CC and including him 💚 and I'm the one at fault? I wish people would wake up to her. I always knew she was a shit stirrer that's why I never wanted to say anything about NYE. Unfortunately from this episode both BH and D (what's his surname? Works mainly in produce) could see the drama unfold also from her antics and could see I was upset so they now know about NYE. The reason they know is I think this is the reason EW is causing problems. She found out I stayed out past 12am not after the 9.30 fireworks and wants to emulate it. Repeat the night. Get involved. FOMO? But why? Why does she want to do that? Is she jealous? Is she upset that I get to work in the bakery with him? Why does she want to interfere? That's the impression I get. She so badly wanted me to invite him. She so badly wanted him to be there that night at Oz Mex. Maybe there's another one with a crush. If he was ever interested, she'd sell the house, get the money she wants and break up with the boyfriend. So I'm sorry extra people know. It was never my intention but the way things got out of hand today, they way I ended up in tears over nothing I was upset and BH could see I was upset and DR (that's his surname) was witness to the first attack this morning. I just dont understand the issue of this going out and having drinks business, and she had a go at me over it TWICE, first thing at 6.30 and at around 12pm. She knew about NYE from him anyway 💚 once she gets hold of information she gossips. If I lose people from this 💚.... 😢😢💔😢💔😢😢