#ie any fandom mentioned on this blog plus some others

[drawfulneutral]

in case y’all didn’t notice, i’m taking a break from the colour palette challenge during inktober, but feel free to send in requests now and i’ll complete them later :)

[misszura]

Where, besides Tumblr, can people find you doing fannish things? (Obviously only mention sites and usernames you actually want to be found at. Don’t expose your secret identities on my account.)

What other names have you gone by on these platforms, including Tumblr, if any?

When did you join the IT fandom? And what got you into fandom, to begin with?

What are your favorite ships, or characters, if any, and why? What do they mean to you?

In what ways do you participate in fandom? (ex. Posting memes, reblogging/commenting on content, writing fanfic, making fanart, creating fanmixes, etc.)

Do you have any in-fandom inspirations? Other members of the community that drive you? (And if you have the time/energy, in what ways do they inspire you?)

Name and link some of your favorite works, please!

Do you have any works of your own that you feel particularly proud of, or wish more people would’ve consumed? Please provide links if possible.

Have you ever participated in a fannish event (ie. IT Week, a fic Big Bang) or applied to be a part of a fanzine? If so, which ones, and can you please link them?

Without any form of bashing or lashing out, what is something you feel this fandom is missing?

(lmao sorry I accidentally unfollowed trying to get to the ask button)

OMG, it's 2am here, and I just received this notification, so instead of watching the celling, trying to find sleep, I'll answer your questions !

(I love asking ! Thank you so much ! )

Others social medias that's it ? I have plenty of them. You can find me on twitter (@ CrazyZura) but it's mostly in french (speaking English in front of a buch of french people is hard y'know ?) I have Instagram, but it's not really interesting (except if watching me make paper boats and leave them at my university is interesting) I think it's resophinement (I'll check before posting) I also have wattpad, but as before it's in french (feel free to have a look on my unfinished works (no It there)) still CrazyZura, but I have a second account where I project to post the fanfiction I'm currently writing ! (I'm almost done ! ) Oh and I have a tik tok account ! I draw a lot, and there is some IT content there certainly CrazyZura (as @ but I think my username us wawawa, because I used to cosplay a gebderbend Wario) (don't ask he is underrated XD)

I never changed my username on those platforms, because I'm kinda a newbe on Internet, i mean, I'm here from 2015 for most of them, before I was on... YouTube i think, and Facebook. I used to have a blog, and my username was something like sosodu44 (my name + from my department) (and I'm on Tumblr for 2/3 months, I still don't know how it works)

(please tell me i understood well the question, sorry if not, I still learning foreign languages)

I'm also a newbe on the IT fandom since I watched them (2017 and 2019 version) during the lockdown, and the 1990 miniseries not long after. I'm still looking for the book, but I can't find any book shop open (and I won't buy it with Amazon.) You laugh at me if I say that I saw those movies while watching the whole Finn Wolfhard filmography ? Because it's thanks to that I'm in the fandom

My favourite characters are Stan, Richie and Patrick, and my favourite ships are probably Stozier (don't hit me please) patrick X Richie, henpat and obviously Reddie (I mean, I think everyone in the fandom like Reddie, right ?) Why ? I kin (it's the term ? Let's say it's the term) Richie and Stan (more Richie, he is my Confort character ) and Patrick, because I have a thing with unsaine bad Guys, my family always make jokes about it. (I can't help, plus the fact that he is pictured by Owen teague improve my love for him) (funfact : patrick is my Confort drawing, when I don't know what draw, it end up by Patrick) (sometimes Vic comes, because i like his character a lot too)

I love this question, because it makes me feel like I'm really a part of something even if I don't do a lot. As said before I draw Patrick a lot, not only, I draw it characters a lot (I need to find where I put my last Bill drawing ) I also have a fanfiction, but I won't post it until it's finished, because I fear to not end it, and I don't want the pressure of people asking "when is the next chapter" (if people ask that) and I'm kinda anxious that if I start post it before I finish it, I'll never finish it... (But soon ! Like before July if I work hard !). And obviously I reblog memes, I share fanarts, cosplays, tik tok, videos, and fanfiction.

Ok so this is the "sophie is going to simp over everyone" time ! Fanfictions writers who inspires me are @ fuji09 (I didn't notify them on purpose, I have to stop bothering them) they're fanfictions are really cool, and there for every tastes, I wish I could have a writing skill as good as them. There is also my friend shayla_mitchel (on Wattpad) she writes a lot about Patrick and she Helps me a lot with my work (plus she is the one who correct the English version, since my translations aren't always the best) (by that I mean : it's sometimes, when the moon is in good therms with Neptune, good enough) (in my language it's fun. I swear) there are those Cosplayers on tik tok, mostly fezilius and Synthestron, moonshine4snails, tarondactyl and aphelion (they're cosplaying with their friends, if you have time watch they're works, even if they don't do only It contents, they're really good Cosplayers that I love) (i just noticed I've mentioned only male/nb Cosplayers, so I add cospla.natro (on Instagram and tik tok) and Ligeia.cosplay (on Instagram and tik tok too) and there is also the reddie videos of kmcarras (on Instagram)

I still don't know how to put links in her (I'll try to figure out while answering) the leach series of Fuji09 (mentioned above) on AO3. A fic called When you say my name by YoungDumbandFullofHeadcanons on AO3 (really a jewelry, but a lot of tw, mostly of transphobia, be careful and take care) and a hard one called "a lot of marshmallow" by MeganRosenberg on AO3 (apparently) kinda hard because it's a violent one. There was others like Above and bellows (I think) i can't find it back to mention, I think the author deleted it.

I'm really proud of the fonction I'm currently writing, even if it's a fiction with an OC and I'm a little ashamed of that(because people judge that a lot). (As said before not posted yet) and my tik toks about Richie and patrick (the two last I've posted.

It's now 3am, and I haven't finished, my phone Will probably get out of power before the end XD (like this I'll see if Tumblr have some automatics saves)

I wish I would, but no... One day, may be if the occasion comes to me :)

I don't really know, I wish we had more content (in french for exemple ! ) But I think the fandom is kinda cool (when we forget all the ship wars and all dramas like this)

I hope I've answered well enough, I'll probably regret doing this that late tomorrow, because I probably forget a lot of things (did i mentioned that i made some It incorrects ? I don't think so) keep asking me things I'm totally open for this (idk if annon are on)

On this, I wish you a good night, or day, or whenever you are and I'm going to keep watching my celling !

Good night 🍈🍈🍈

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Do you think we’ll ever get a S5?

Hi Nonny!

So, I’ve gotten this question asked in a variety of ways but generally boil down to this exact question, so I’m going to tackle this one first, and answer any others in regards to the actors separately because they’re a whole other can of worms.

I have answered variations of this question in the past, so you can read these if you want, but today’s answer is my most recent opinion:

Do I think there’s Going to be an S5?

Will There be a Season 5? 

Is there Ever Going to be an S5? 

Is it True S5 will Happen (Plus some Mofftiss Shitposting)? 

Will There Be S5 and Will Johnlock Happen? 

What Do You Think it’s Gonna Be About? 

Do You Think it’s On Hiatus Right Now? 

What Do I Think is Going On in S4 and Will There Be An S5

Will Johnlock Ever Become Canon?

Will they ever make a new season?

So you can check those out after reading this post.

In the spirit of my blog, I have two answers for you, and the “honest” answer is the one you won’t like.

That said, do you want my honest opinion or my tinhat opinion?

Tinhat opinion: Yes, because the story is incomplete; too many plot holes and S4′s sloppiness and complete 180 from the original plot is so bizarre (([THIS POST TOO])). Too many fucked up things that make me WANT to believe that it’s clever trick and all will be explained when S5 is finally done. There’s evidence that it was commissioned before S4, but I’ve had this theory very well debunked for me on this post here, and my opinions have changed a lot since that post.

Which segues into this: note I say “want to believe” up above there, though. Important wording here, because I feel like my faith in Mofftiss has essentially disappeared because of S4, since I really do enjoy theorizing and speculating and the evidence was RIGHT THERE. But what changed my mind was mainly the reactions and body language of the actors and my annoyance at the arrogance of Mofftiss acting like S4 was brilliant when no one else agrees with them.

This is where my honest opinion comes in, and this is me speaking without bias and with a heavy heart, and are MY OPINIONS, so you can take it or leave it, I don’t care. I’m not here to deflate anyone’s balloons, but Occam’s razor and all.

Honest opinion: No, at least not in the next couple years. Mofftiss kind of disregarded a large chunk of the fandom and got too cocky (Mofftiss: TFP is the best episode of the series! // Also Mofftiss: Yeah, but we’re not going to pitch it for an Emmy nomination) (Mofftiss: we can make anything and everyone will love it! // General Audience Critics: You THOUGHT so, what is this?) and the general disinterest of all the actors surrounding S5 is very telling to me (see the Buzzfeed “Ben With Puppies” interview, this interview with Martin Freeman, and this recounting of Setlock S4). Occasionally it’s brought up with Martin or Ben and they basically say “we’re on a pause”. I think Martin definitely felt really shafted the last season in favour for his ex (who is a whole other barrel of monkeys I have a lot of opinions on), with what they did to John’s character, and I don’t think he has any interest in continuing on any time soon. And Ben’s Buzzfeed “Interview with Puppies” is super telling to me, honestly (timestamp 1:34 if you want to see the part about ‘Sherlock’) – he was NOT “tee hee, I’m being sneaky” (sorry, I HONESTLY don’t know how people are seeing that response as such…), he was “ah, nope, not touching that one because what I wanted to happen and was told would happen isn’t anymore and we’ve been essentially silenced to talk about it.”

Plus Mofftiss seem convinced that this new Dracula project is their next big thing and even they seem to have lost interest in Sherlock all because they didn’t get the praise for S4 that they’ve gotten in the past. I’ve also read a long while ago that Ben is busy with his production company and Marvel for the foreseeable future AND Mofftiss have ANOTHER project after Dracula, and it’s not Sherlock (unconfirmed on this second point, it was just a mention on someone’s blog and I can’t find any articles on the other project they’re doing after Dracula).

And since I mentioned it: No, I don’t think Dracula is a “secret Sherlock thing” or “will have clues to Sherlock in it”. Yes, of course it’s going to have Sherlock Easter eggs in it – almost every showrunner has Easter eggs to their or their actors’ previous works in literally everything – but those E-Eggs will have NOTHING to do with the narrative or future of Sherlock. So, at the very least because I’m worried about everyone’s mental health, it’s already looking like Dracula’s going to be another queerbaiting mess, so please totally enjoy the show if you want, but don’t look too much into it or any E-eggs that the show has. It’s not a secret Sherlock project.

And let’s not forget the general disdain Mofftiss seems to have for their fanbase, essentially selling out because who cares about making sense, all because we criticized S4 because it didn’t make sense and called them out for their queerbaiting without an explanation of S4 [THIS ARTICLE TOO], especially after… Gatiss I think… admitted to using homoerotic subtext in the series to draw in viewership.

Even if they were doing this all to pull the ACD thing on us (essentially kill off Sherlock in a literal sense), it’s a shit way they’re going about it. To me, it feels like S4 was “revenge” for the fandom figuring out their plot before they got a chance to reveal it, because they were annoyed we figured out TAB. That, and I think certain… people… manipulated their way into having input into what they wanted and usurped Ben and Martin out of either spite or a need to be relevant. *shrugs*. But this is getting too biased, so I’ll leave it there for now.

I have mixed feelings about S4, S5, and what I want. I’ve various theories in my ‘s5 and beyond’ and ‘s4 and beyond’ tags if you’re interested in further rabbit-holing. 

Listen I GET wanting to hold onto hope. Hell, I still do. But sometimes we all need to step back and look at the facts from an unbiased point of view, off of the Tumblr-sphere. I’m still a fan, as we all are, and being a fan means that you also are allowed to question things that make no sense. I really wish people would stop gatekeeping just because we all have different opinions. It’s okay to love something but know that there’s SO many problems with it (ie. Disney).

I say let it rest, and leave the fix-its to the fandom. I’m going to watch it if it ever happens, and of course I’ll start speculating again, but right now, I don’t think is the time for S5 because Mofftiss clearly have their interests elsewhere, but keep dangling the promise of more Sherlock to stay relevant.

So, TL;DR: I think if we get S5, it will be a long time from now, and I fear it will follow the plot of S4, because, like Disney with FinnPoe, Mofftiss are coming off as  “passive progressive” cowards (I saw that term in a YouTube review of TRoS, and I thought it was perfect to describe them: We’ll put social issues and gays in our shows, but can’t make the leads gay for each other).

[battlestar-royco]

updated faq

Round 2! I tried to shorten the answers so as not to be repetitive, and I also added new FAQs for your convenience. My past self who wrote my first FAQ annoys me, and this one is more thorough anyway, so here you go. I still can’t believe you all actually interact with me enough that I have to make one of these.

Questions up here, answers under the cut.

anti sjm basics

1. why are you an anti?

2. why are you specifically anti SJM?

3. do you like anything about SJM’s books?

4. terminology and practices

5. why do you hold SJM to a higher standard than other authors?/why do you focus on criticizing this one woman more harshly than you do men?

6. did you see what xyz stan did?

7. are you an anti for non-SJM stuff?

best of (in my humble opinion)

diversity and sensitivity

8. I have a question about writing and/or how to portray xyz identity...

9. can you please tag...?

10. is it okay if I like [x author]/[y series] even if I know they’re problematic?

11. what are your suggestions for aspiring authors who want to write diversely?

personal

12. is it okay if I message you?

13. why don’t you post about books/shows/movies you actually like?

14. favorites?

15. book suggestions?

16. are you a writer/what are you writing/do you plan on publishing?

17. is it okay if I follow you on other social media?

18. fandom research

19. when did you start your blog?

20. how did you decide your url?

anti SJM basics

1. why are you an anti?

I love thinking critically about the media I consume. Though I wouldn’t say I’m particularly “anti” any text or author, some people classify any criticism as “anti.” To respect people in the main tags, I post in anti tags so they don’t have to see critical posts. Otherwise, I love talking about positive, neutral, and negative aspects of books.

2. why are you specifically anti SJM?

The Anti SJM Manifesto

What made you turn into an anti? x x

Rowan/Rowaelin: x x x

The fandom: x x x x x x

3. do you like anything about SJM’s books?

Yes. I like a lot of SJM’s ideas, but I don’t like how they’re executed at all. I highly enjoyed TAB, TOG-HOF, and the witch storyline of QOS. My favorite TOG characters are Manon, Chaol, Nehemia, and Sorscha. Honorable mention for Lysandra, Kaltain, and Asterin. My favorite ACOTAR characters are Nesta, Lucien, and Tarquin. Additional links: x x x x

If you want my positive thoughts on certain SJM characters, look up: “anti sjm: [character name]” and you’ll find them.

4. terminology and practices:

Anti SJM Glossary. Seeing as many of us have had bad experiences with stans and in one case, authors, we censor names so our posts stay in our own tags.

What is soap dick? From August 2018 x x.

Manongate? when KOA came out, Charlie Bowater’s promotional art (x) depicted Manon as Asian. Here’s more on why that’s a problematic and lazy decision on SJM and Bloomsbury’s part: x x.

5. why do you hold SJM to a higher standard than other authors?/why do you focus on criticizing this one woman more harshly than you do men?

SJM alone out of all the biggest YA authors has yet to make craft improvements or display a social awareness similar to what I’ve seen from her colleagues. I give all authors an equal chance, but SJM’s writing and behavior has significantly decreased in quality compared to other fantasy authors despite her books being lauded as complex and feminist works. However, I’m not perfect, so do feel welcome to send me an ask if you think I’m being unfair.

The anti SJM community is focused on women because we all mainly read women. Critiquing women doesn’t mean we are unaware, dismissive of, or silent about the issues in men’s work. The “anti” movements for the likes of GRRM do exist, but under a different name than “anti”–there are thousands of critical meta blogs, book/TV critics and reviewers, Youtubers, etc out there who discuss his flaws in depth. I also have lengthy anti GRRM, anti GOT, and anti ASOIAF tags. Finally, I personally find critiquing and discussing women’s work a lot more interesting, productive, and empowering than doing the same for men, especially because my blog’s focus is on the YA author/transformative fan community at large.

About Leigh Bardugo: x x x x x x x

About GRRM (and GOT): x x x x x x x

About Tolkien: I've only read The Hobbit and a third of Fellowship of the Ring, and I’ve only watched FotR, so I don’t say much about him at all.

6. did you see what xyz stan did?

Probably not, especially if what they did was off Tumblr. I don’t look at stan accounts unless someone informs me that my posts or I have come up in conversation on their blog. Any specific stan urls in asks will be redacted both for their privacy and my own well-being. Stans have doxxed, harassed, and discriminated against antis, including myself, so I’d rather save us all the trouble.

7. are you an anti for non-SJM stuff?

I most often talk about SJM’s books, but I’ve also been very critical of GOT/ASOIAF. Following GRRM, several other YA authors have appeared in positive, neutral, and critical lights. On the more critical side we have Cassandra Clare and JK Rowling, and a very little bit about Victoria Aveyard, John Green, Maggie Stiefvater, Stephenie Meyer, and Veronica Roth. Otherwise, I’ve talked about Susan Dennard, Rick Riordan, Leigh Bardugo, and Marie Rutkoski. Check out my YA critical tag for more. I’m also down to discuss franchises like Star Wars, Fantastic Beasts, MCU, etc, as well as TV shows. Basically anything big in genre fiction media, there’s a good chance I’ve read/watched it and I have opinions!

best of

anti SJM

Are the Illyrians MOC?

Moral Ambiguity Series

Anti Nessian

Lucien or Rhysand?

Chaol or Rowan?

misc.

why are period dramas like... that

White Feminism

a beginner’s guide to fandom racism

diversity and sensitivity

8. I have a question about writing and/or how to portray xyz identity...

First and foremost, check my “writing advice” and “writing advice: poc” tags to see if the question has already been answered.

I am black cis girl with a dual degree in women’s/gender studies and creative writing. I will best be able to answer questions regarding black characters, women, racial oppression and identity as a whole, and most questions about queer characters. There’s a chance I can provide a basic answer to questions about demographics outside of these, but I’ll most likely advise you to ask another blogger or seek out sensitivity readers.

9. can you please tag...?

Yes. Just send an ask and I’ll tag anything. I’ve turned off all Tumblr notifications for this account so I probably won’t see tag requests in comments unless you comment within a day or so of the post.

10. is it okay if I like [x author]/[y series] even if I know they’re problematic?

Absolutely. I’m not the liking-things police and I can’t control whether you like something or not. There’s no such thing as an unproblematic author or unproblematic series, so you just have to like what you like at your own discretion and with a critical eye. As long as you’re aware of the issues and not denying or ignoring them, maybe even seeking out other people whose opinions add to the conversation, you’re good. It’s exhausting to be 100% critical but harmful to be 100% uncritical, so you have to seek out critics you like and figure out how to maintain a dialogue with the text and/or the author. The balance is different for everyone but once you find it, it gets easier to keep up!

11. what are your suggestions for aspiring authors who want to write diversely?

Concepts to be aware of and tropes to avoid: male gaze, the Bechdel test, the Mako Mori test, the sexy lamp test, fridging, Orientalism, xenoface (called “the Gamora Phenomenon” on my blog), black best friend, Spicy Latina, Dragon Lady, bury your gays, disability narratives, queerbaiting.

What not to do when creating a culture.

My advice about writing POC.

Check out these blogs if you like: x x x.

Follow as diversely as possible. Follow multiple blogs, especially writing- or fandom-themed blogs, run by POC (especially women and LGBTQ+), bloggers from religiously marginalized groups, bloggers with disabilities, older bloggers, younger bloggers, international bloggers, plus size bloggers, etc. Everyone has different perspectives and opinions, so it’s best to read from multiple sources.

Magnify marginalized voices in conversations about diversity, and LISTEN to what they are telling you.

Read diversely! Read genre fiction written by marginalized people. Maybe even read some gender, queer, race, or disability theory if you like. I’m personally a fan of Audre Lorde, Anne McClintock, and Sara Ahmed, but I like a lot more.

Seek out multiple sensitivity readers for the specific identity you are trying to represent (ie if you are trying to write a Muslim woman, ask a Muslim woman to sensitivity read for you. Experiences are not interchangeable so don’t treat them as such).

Don’t let the research stop here. This is just the beginning. There are plenty of awesome and accessible resources out there if you want to know more. I started learning about this stuff on sites like Tumblr, Goodreads, and Youtube. The Goodreads review sections, especially for YA books, are so entertaining and full of commentators coming at texts with feminist, queer, and POC lenses if you look in the right spots. There are also podcasts and Youtube videos about feminism, history of queerbaiting, and such. Happy reading/listening/writing!

personal

12. is it okay if I message you?

If we’ve been mutuals and/or we’ve interacted for a while (at least a few weeks or so), absolutely. When it comes to questions about writing or diversity advice in WIPs, I prefer asks (off or on anon is fine; if you’d like to be off anon but answered privately, you can indicate that in the ask). That way, other people with similar questions can join the discussion and I’m less likely to repeat myself. That said, I’m not opposed to messages; I just get shy around people I don’t know :). Regardless of ask or message, please try to ask the full question as clearly as possible so I can answer it to my best ability. Generally, you can expect an answer to your message or ask within a few days to a week of sending.

If you’re looking for a fight and/or if you start using condescending, rude, or discriminatory language, you will be ignored.

13. why don’t you post about books/shows/movies you actually like?

I do! :)

14. favorites?

books: Harry Potter; The Hunger Games; Six of Crows; Percy Jackson; The Winner’s Trilogy; Angelfall; The Secret History; Othello; Jane Eyre; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe/The Magician’s Nephew; A Storm of Swords.

movies: Alien, Blade Runner 2049, Harry Potter, Wonder Woman, Black Panther, Annihilation, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Terminator 2, The Breakfast Club, The Lion King, Moonlight dir. Barry Jenkins, Sleeping Beauty, Mulan, Tangled.

tv series: Sense8, Battlestar Galactica (2004-2008), Black Mirror, The X Files, The 100, Westworld (season 1 only), Watchmen, Homeland (seasons 1-4 only), Orphan Black, Breaking Bad, The Office, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, New Girl, Fleabag.

15. book suggestions?

Book recs!

Maxine, did you read/watch...?

16. are you a writer/what are you writing/do you plan on publishing?

I hope to publish, yes! I write mostly YA fantasy, but I also love sci fi, crime drama, and certain elements of horror so I have works in or influenced by all of those genres. I want to get my foot in the YA fantasy door first and foremost :). Check out “polysorscha writes things” if you want to know more specifics.

17. is it okay if I follow you on other social media?

As of now I keep my blog disconnected from my personal life, so I don’t share my other socials but feel free to follow me over on my main blog @ripley-stark if you like! It’s just pretty gifs and photos of my favorite movies and shows, social justice, meta reblogs here and there, and rambling in the tags. Don’t feel like you have to follow if you don’t want to; I say a lot more on here.

That being said, I have given my Goodreads to a handful of people who ask, so if you want to track what I’m reading, private message me and I’ll send you the link. In the case that I share the link with you, please respect my privacy and do not repost or share the link anywhere else unless you see me share it on my blog publicly.

18. fandom research:

In March to May 2019, I conducted a survey on my blog in an attempt to gather information about fandom through a social justice–specifically, intersectional feminist–lens. Here are the results and my analysis of the survey x. The purpose for this data collection was to write my final undergraduate research paper in one of my two majors, women’s and gender studies (the other is creative writing!), which focused on diversity and inclusion in genre fiction media and fandom. The final paper is about 11k words. I haven’t publicly published it, but message me if you’re interested in reading it! I also plan on doing more similar surveys to gather information about what audiences want to see in future media, so if anyone is interested, please send messages, asks, comments etc about what YOU want to see and/or ideas about how we can spread the info to creators. This is much bigger than just me and I can’t do it without your help. I love hearing from diverse voices and amplifying them as much as I can. Everyone’s perspective is meaningful!

19. when did you start your blog?

No earlier than the end of April or beginning of May 2018.

20. how did you decide your url?

I wish the Celaena/Dorian/Chaol love triangle resolved in a polyamorous relationship, and that Nehemia and Sorscha were thriving. Seeing as I am black, Sorscha is one of two characters in T0G who represents me. Thus, polyamorous + Sorscha. :)

[scripttorture]

How much do you know about torture apologia at a government level? Like people who are actually paid to torture terrorist? I feel like that is a government-approved thing unless I’m mistaken. How can they not see they’re getting no information or just plain wrong information? And these ‘professionals’ are hiding their mental health problems? Or is the FBI torturing terrorists for information not as real as we are lead to believe? I’ve got a story idea about a victim mistakenly accused.

Thisis a pretty broad question. And it also sounds like it’s trying tostart a debate over getting writing advice. I’m going to give itthe benefit of the doubt and take it at face value as a writingquestion.

Ithink the short answer is essentially: read Rejali. He covers this inconsiderable depth, it’s the last third of his book. I’ll do mybest to summarise his points but I can’t produce 300+ pages ofevidence plus sources on a blog like this.

O’Maraalso talks about it a fair bit and Cobain’s entire book is aboutthe links between torture and the British government. Granted Cobaindoesn’t know a thing about torture but the pattern of legalwrangling and political apathy he records is incredibly valuable.

Thereare a couple of points I think are important going forward.

Thefirst is that although information is often the justification givenfor torture it’s rarely the point.

Somethingcan be justified, ignored or tolerated in someparts of a government and stringently punished in other areas.

Inlarge enough organisations leaders can be genuinely unaware what somemembers are doing.

Sogiven those points let’s start with the second question becauseit’s easiest.

Inmodern democracies people are notpaid to torture. That is not their official role. They are hired asguards, soldiers, teachers, care takers, nurses, doctors, police anda handful of other professions.

Thatis they are being paid for.And it’s not what they’re doing.

Whetherwhat they’re actually doing (torture) is condoned by anyone furtherup the chain of command then their immediate superiors is reallydependant on the circumstances. And very difficult to prove.

Governmentapproval of torture in modern states rarelylooks like top officials saying ‘We torture people!’

Here’sthe kind of phrasing it looks like instead:

‘These particular set of abuses are not torture because-’

‘This isn’t really painful’

False equivalence such as ‘Well I diet voluntarily so starving someone can’t be harmful’

Outright denial ‘Our troops could never do that!’

Ouright denial Part 2 ‘Well no one told us that was happening!’

Shifting the blame ‘Those people are lying to get into the country/get money/get attention etc-’

Shifting the blame Part 2 ‘Those people deserve it because they’re mentally ill/an ethnic minority/poor/violent/look like trouble etc-’

‘Obviously we don’t torture people but we should because it would work!’

‘We need strong measures in these desperate times!’

The sort of political/cultural outlook that links efficiency to ‘toughness’ and sees kindness and compromise as weak

Tortureapologia on the government level thrives on plausible deniability andredefining terms until they’re unrecognisable.

Forthe purposes of your story I think you’d probably be better offstepping back from the FBI.

WhatI mean by that is- if you’ve been looking for sources specificto the FBI that’s why you’re so confused. Those sources arepoorly collated, poorly studied and (personal opinion) deliberatelyconfusing.

Awellstudiedwell recorded example of torture as unofficial-government-policywould be the Franco-Algerian war. And this is alsobeset by confusion because a lotof the sources from the French side were written by torturers tojustify their actions after the event.

Onceagain I’d recommend reading Rejali and for greater context on whathe says Alleg’s TheQuestionand Fanon’s appendices to TheWretched of the Earth.

Yestorture continues because of governmental positions. But that doesn’tnecessarily mean outright orders to torture.

Itcan mean a lack of political will to eradicate torture, ie no one islooking for it. It can mean officials being aware of torture andchoosing to ignore it.

Myimpression is that apathyrather than malice at the top levels is the key. In the worst cases,yes there was outright malice from some individuals within a largergovernment. But it’s the apathy of the majority that allowed forabuse.

Governmentapproval doesn’tlook like a high level official ordering troops to torture.

Itlooks like the state Governor seeing that most of the police in theirstate probably use torture and sitting down to do this calculation:‘Am I more electable next year if I try to tackle this or if Iignore it?’

Italso looks like a Commissioner seeing that a person arrested for anemotive crime like terrorism has been complaining of ill-treatmentand doing this calculation: ‘Do I look better in the public eye ifI seem like I’m standing up for a person from a hated minority whois accused of doing something awful?’

WhatI’m driving at here is that- the reality is a lot more nebulousthen what you seem to be thinking of. Tacit acceptance, differentpriorities, cowardice- are all much more likely then the kind ofscenario where the elites explicitly order abuse.

Ithink I should move on to the third question which is just as tricky,before I get bogged down in labouring the point.

Howdo organisations not realise the information they get from torture iswrong?

Theshort answer is that by using torture they destroy the systems thatallow them to double check information. Because they can’t doublecheck anything they don’t realise that they’re working withincorrect information.

Iwilltell you how that happens but let’s have an analogy first to giveyou an idea of how skewed this makes the base information.

Imagineyou’re looking for information on the internet about something youhaven’t seen but you can’t use wikipedia, any popular searchengines or any official sites. You are going entirelyby searching tumblr. And you can only access the first piece ofinformation that comes up with any tag you search.

Picka popular fandom and imagine the kind of screwed up view you’d getof a character if you tried to find information about them like this.I am picturing the Flash fandom and Captain Cold and imagining justhow easy it would be to walk away with the impression that thecharacter was a main character not a bit part.

Nowlet me show you how including torture in an investigation is theequivalent of blocking yourself from everything but a hellsite with abroken search algorithm.

Sothe first thing to appreciate is that torture breakstrustwith the public. If torture is common place then no matter how‘secret’ an organisation tries to keep it the groups who areeffected find out.

Wenotice when people around us go missing. We pay attention when thereare stories of people ‘like us’ being hurt.

Andwe lose trust in authority. We stop reporting crimes. We stopvolunteering information.

Whichcuts an organisation off from the mainsource of accurate information they can get: voluntary reporting bymembers of the public.

Wedon’t report strange things our family or friends have done if wethink it might get them tortured. We don’t mention that we saw atall ginger man leave a back pack on that street near where the bombwent off.

Frompersonal experience- sometimes you stop reporting things even whenyou’re completely outside the context that taught you organisationscan’t be trusted. I’ve been assaulted in the UK and genuinely didnot consider calling the police. Because I learnt young that policeexist to ‘make people disappear’ and the habit is hard to break.

Thesecond point is that torture produces a lotof lies and human beings generally are terrible at telling whensomeone is lying.

Sotorturers don’t have access to the biggest source of accurateinformation but they dohear a lot of lies.

Thethird point is that when torture becomes part of an organisation thenpeople spend lesstimeconducting genuine investigations and fact checking.

Torturerstend to be pretty arrogant and they usually report looking down onpeople in their organisation who don’ttorture. Basically they seeing doing the hard work of a genuineinvestigation as boring and beneath them.

Thisworks togetherwith the first two factors to make it almost impossible to fact checkthings.

Imaginea group of 50 people tasked with investigating a particular incident.Five of them are torturers, so they’re not actually investigatinganything. This takes our number down to 45.

Thenwe remember that the torturers are generating information, even ifit’s false. Which the other members are investigating.

Let’sgo with low estimates. Let’s suggest each torturer has one victim aday (this is unlikely, real numbers are probably much higher) and outof those they get an average of two ‘possible leads’ each day(this would vary a lot, some victims would say nothing, some mightthrow out as many as twenty names in a day). Let’s also pretendthat a potential lead can be investigated by one person (this isinaccurate, I’d generally expect at least 2-3 people for each new‘lead’.).

We’vejust got rid of ten more people on the first day.

Let’spretend that it takes three days to investigate a lead. This is alsoa very low estimate, properly following up a lead can take weeks.

Withour low-estimate fictional organisation we’ve reduced the amount ofpeople doing useful work to 15 in the first three days.

Fifteenpeople trying to do the work of 50, while the torturers keepgenerating lies that are wasting the time of everyone else.

Thiscripples the organisation’s ability to work as all the time andenergy is going into investigating lies.

Andwhilethis is going on the torturers are still torturing. And they’reassumingthat their information is correct.

Sothey’re generating morelies that supportthe previous lies.

Letme give an example of what I mean.

Saya torturer takes in a random person. This first victim knows nothingabout the terrorist group but if they don’t give a name thenthey’re going to keep being tortured.

Sothey tell the torturer Wednesday Adams is definitely the leader ofthe terrorists in this area.

Nowa genuine investigator is wasting time looking for Wednesday Adams.May be they come back in a week and say that no such person exists.

Bythat point the torturer has been asking a lot of people aboutWednesday Adams. And some of them will have sworn they saw WednesdayAdams, that Wednesday Adams was behind that attack and that she haslinks to this other organisation and also that thing I saw on thenews once and- So on.

Itspirals.

Maybe it gets to the point where the torturer finally accepts there’sno ‘Wednesday Adams’ on the census. But by that point they’vestacked a lot of their personal reputation on the existence of thisshadowy leader.

Sorather than admit they’re just wrong, they assume ‘WednesdayAdams’ is a pseudonym and now they’re asking everyone what herreal name is. Now they have six different possible ‘realidentities’ for Wednesday Adams.

Andthis is how organisations can fail to notice that torture doesn’twork.

Becausethe scale of misinformation is just so huge. Because the amount oftime it takes to provethe information is wrong gives the torturers more time to embellishthe lie.

Becausesuperiors who are genuinely unaware torture is going on in theirorganisations might well look at this torturer, who keeps coming upwith new information, and these ten genuine investigators who comeback with nothing but dead ends, and decide that the tortureris the only one ‘getting things done’.

Itdoesn’t matter that they’re wrong. Because it takes months,years, to prove that they areand everyone in these organisations is under huge pressure to haveanswers now.

OKlet’s move on to question four; mental health problems intorturers.

Firstoff, I have yet to meet a mentally ill person who hasn’ttried to hide their mental health problems at some point. The worldis not very accepting of mental health problems whatever the context.The pressure to hide them is immense. In some places people are atreal risk of violence and abuse if their mental health problems arenoticed as mental health problems.

Inthat context- it isn’t surprising that torturers do try to hidetheir symptoms.

Thetoxic sub-culture torturers tend to produce is- It’s incrediblymacho. It tends to rely on ideas about how the torturers are ‘toughand strong’. It equates violence and lack of mercy with strength.

Itviews mental illness as weak.

Andbecause the people within these groups are violent, because they havea tendency to turn on each other, there’s a huge pressure to hidemental health problems. That’s way before you bring the widerorganisation into the picture.

Manyof the organisations torturers are typically part of actively try toscreen out mentally ill people. Being obviously mentally ill can meanlosing the job.

SoI don’tthink it’s particularly unusual that torturers try to hide mentalhealth problems.

Howsuccessfulthey are at hiding them is a different question and it’s difficultto answer.

Becausea lot of people are moved or dismissed on mental health grounds andthis does notmean they were involved in anything abusive.

Tortureis difficult to prove. Most torturers are not charged. Their crimesare not recorded as part of their record. They are not hired astorturers.

Accordingto the WHO around 10% of the global population has a mental health problem.

Howdo you tell the difference between the people who are just mentallyill, the people who developed mental illnesses because of ‘ordinary’job stress and the people who developed mental illnesses because theyabused others?

Withoutaccurate, fair recording of torture accusations itis impossible to tell.

Personally?I think it’s highly likely that a lot of torturers can’t hidetheir mental health problems well. That they reach a point and have abreakdown on the job. Then they lose their job.

Butall of that can happen with no record of abuse.

Weneed more research on torturers. Desperately.

Andanswering these questions about the circumstances around how peoplestop is incredibly important. It can help us spot them, it can helpus spot people who might be targeted for recruitment by torturers. Itcan help us stop torture.

Andright now there are frustratingly few answers.

Whichleaves the final question- Are the FBI torturers?

Honestly-I have no idea. I am not particularly interested in America orAmerican history. I am not American. I do not go out of my way toread things about the FBI and could tell you very little about whatthey do.

WhatI can tell you is that organisations likethe FBI have usually tortured at some point in their history. Thatglobally the United States has developed a reputation for doublestandards.

ButI can not make a definitive statement on a group I know next tonothing about.

Inorganisations likethe FBI iftorture is going on it’s often not in the entire organisation. Itis often particular branches, particular units, particular areasrather than the whole country-wide organisation.

It’seasy to make broad statements like ‘the Chicago police torturedpeople in 70s’. And that’s not untrue.

Butif we’re being specificit would be more accurate to say ‘there was a cell of torturersoperating within the Chicago police force in the 70s and the widergroup failed to stop them.’

Wasthe entire Chicago police force responsible for the abuses? I wouldsay yesbecause it was literally their job to stop these abuses and they didnot. However they were notall torturers. They were not all actively engaged in torture and Ithink it’s extremely likely that many people at the time simplydidn’t realise what was going on.

Incompetence,not necessarily active abuse.

I’vewritten an awful lot. It should be a start at answering some of yourquestions. But all of these questions are complex and difficult.

Idon’t think, in this case, you can take my answer as a substitutefor wider reading.

Onceagain, Rejali.O’Maraas well.

Allegfor the survivor’s perspective on what both describe.

Cobain,to be taken with a pinch of salt and read afterRejali because Cobain is not a scientist and falls for apologia quitea lot.

You’vechosen to tackle a story that’s going to be a lot of work. Try notto be discouraged by that.

Theseare important stories. And they deserve to be told properly.

Ihope that helps. :)

Edited for typos

Edit 2: @dude1818 That is really not funny and I don’t appreciate you trying to turn discussion of a serious crime into a joke. 

I’m aware of the formatting problem and I’ve been trying to fix it for some time. I’m going to try another fix this week but I can’t actually test whether any of my attempts work because I don’t have a mobile phone. 

Availableon Wordpress.

Disclaimer

[homosociallyyours]

I was tagged by @marsdaydream​ who is so wonderful :) thank you, pal!! I love these, both doing then and reading them

Rules: answer 30 questions and tag 20 blogs you would like to know better

nicknames: Beene, Bean, Milton, Dottie, a bunch more variatios of beene (er, ie, etc), Meggles

gender: queer and genderqueer femme dyke  (she/they pronouns please)

star sign: Taurus sun and moon, Gemini rising

height: 5′5″ or so

time: 8:40pm

birthday: May 13, 1980

favourite bands: (in no particular order of course) Indigo Girls (i have loved them since I was 14), Team Dresch, Bikini Kill, Le Tigre, The Butchies, Sweet Honey in the Rock, One Direction apparently, Two Nice Girls, Ben Folds Five, Queen...there are probably a lot more but I’m blanking. (Please note my gay ass roots with all those queer lady bands)

favourite solo artists: Amy Ray, Kaia Wilson, Sia, Sarah Dougher, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Jens Leckman, Joan Armatrading, Dolly Parton, Maren Morris, Dar Williams, Kate Bush...probably a lot more than that. I do enjoy a solo artist.

song stuck in my head: Currently a rotation of 1D songs (18, Happily, If I Could Fly, No Control) and Niall Horan’s “Too Much to Ask”--I think it’s my fave off his album, or at least has my fave lyric “watch the sun coming up, don’t it feel fucked up we’re not in love?”

last movie I watched: Last night I watched “But I’m a Cheerleader” and my last in theater movie was the Jumanji reboot

when did I create my blog: June 2012--this was Mars’ answer and it’s mine too! I like that!

what do I post: Queer shit, Sherlock, 1D, Martin Freeman thirst, witchy shit, TMI personal shit, multi-fandom squee, femslash, and my own brand of underappreciated yet insightful texts posts (ha)

last thing I googled: umm probably a 1D thing honestly. I’m not gonna look because it will certainly embarrass me.

do I have other blogs: I used to co-run a benedict cumberbatch meme blog, darlingdomesticbatch. It’s still there but it’s basically a hole of sadness and I don’t look at it any more. I made a couple of random side blogs here--heycheeselady, sassymartinfreeman, but I really don’t post to them. I DO have a dreamwidth which is basically the new version of my old livejournal and an old diaryland diary that I post emotional prose poetry to like an emo teenager. I have had it since my early 20s and will never willingly give it up (and only rarely share it)

do I get asks?: Rarely, though I do have a couple of folks who will send me meme asks or prompts if I ask for them.

why did I choose my URL: umm it was tough. I wanted something that was overtly queer and I think my first choice of homosocial or homosocialist was taken. For some reason that morphed into homosocially yours, like signing off a letter. The subtitle is “I am a homosocialsexual, which is really the heart of it.

following blogs: 638. I am sure a lot are inactive at this point, because it doesn’t *feel* like that many.

followers: 781, right now. I don’t pay attention to the number so much as the interactions I have, which are great. I am lucky to have amazing mutuals <3

favourite colours: Pink and green

average hours of sleep: 5-12. IDK with this weird fatigue plus insomnia. Sometimes I can’t force myself to fall asleep and sometimes it’s all I can do.

lucky numbers: 5, 13, yes it’s my birthday numbers but I still think they’re lucky.

what am i wearing: blue lularoe carly dress (like a soft and pretty pajama dress) and blue buffalo check pajama pants.

how many blankets do i sleep with: softest blanket + sheets when it’s not too cold or too hot. On colder nights I add a down comforter.

dream job: The job I have, when I am able to work it. I’m currently on medical leave, figuring out wtf is wrong with me. But when I do get to work I’m a cheesemonger at a cooperatively owned grocery store that’s non-hierarchically structured. It’s like owning my own cheese counter with 10 other people. I love it.

dream trip: Toss up between a visit to all the 50 states, stopping for several days at national parks and to visit friends, a 3 week Hawaii extravaganza, and a cheese-focused tour of Europe.

favourite food: Cheese. Obviously. :)

nationality: I’m from the southern US (Georgia/Tennessee). Not the best place to be from for a lot of reasons, but I do appreciate that I can’t hide from my whiteness being from there.

favourite song right now: Ohh man. That Niall song I mentioned above, or pretty much anything off his album. “Seeing Blind” is another fave. “Ever Since New York” or “From the Dining Table” from Harry Styles’ album, though again the whole thing is killer. And “No Control” maybe from 1D? I am seriously in such a 1D tornado at the moment that I love everything <3

tagging: anyone who sees this and WANTS to do it (please @ me if you do!) and umm specific ppl: 

@aprillikesthings @lesbianchrispine @irrelevantbl0g @billiethepoet @tiltedsyllogism @deaflock @samwellwinchesterthebrave @porcupine-girl @mxaether @bandersnatchmycummerbund @goldenheartedrose @beaubete

[team-crtq]

Volume 5 Episode 1 Review

Helllllo, RWBY Fandom! I’m Mod Quartz of the CRTQ Blog! The blog dedicated to actually critiquing RWBY!

For Volume 5 we’ll be reviewing each episode. And no, I won’t be the only one reviewing. My fellow Mods Cobalt, Regalia and Tangerine will also be reviewing alongside me. We each take an episode from the first twelve episodes and divide them between us! As for thirteen and fourteen: Well, Good ol’ Quartz managed to snatch them up so you’ll be getting a special helping of mineral this year!

But enough chit-chat: Let’s go!

First up we have the introduction to the Volume 5 which also serves as the establishing shot of Mistral. The build up with the ominous underground hallway was rather good, the detail on the bricks was pretty good, the lighting has improved immensely since before and considering all the crap that people have gone through with Volume 4: the light hearted banter before we see Mistral was relaxing. However, I do think that Ruby should have been called out for almost dying since she almost got caught by Tyrian and Jaune of all people shouldn’t be joking about death. 

Then was have the heroes (and Jaune. No offense to Jauen fans, I just love making jokes about him.) actually seeing Mistral for the first time. The actual shot we get at first really captures a look of “ancient but noble Eastern city” with the beautiful but worn building sprouting out of gorgeous mountains with winding path ways and even more mountains in the background. However, I do have a small issue with the waterfall in this shot because, judging by how the water is flowing and falling, it can look like it is falling onto the walkway below and even so, I must criticize that said water would be splashing in the faces of people walking down it I know this seems nitpicky but tiny details like that can throw people off (plus I can’t spend this whole review praising RT.)

Next is the views of the city through 2-D shots. I’m pretty neutral on the whole 2-D aspect as while it’s jarring what with the establishing shot of Menagrie was in 3-D: We seem to be having longer episodes as well as two extra so this is certainly not jarring enough that I would demand resources to be moved. As for the shots themselves: They are well made still shots with plenty of detail and stuff going in the background to entrance the audience and make Mistral feel alive. I am getting a distinct The Last Airbender vibe from these shots which I must commend RT for being able to at least be reminiscent of such a beautiful show without insulting it. The character designs all follow RWBY’s rule of at least trying to make people seem distinct and unique, with hairstyles or facial features only being repeated a handful of times (one time I believe to denote familial ties) and for 53 people: that’s pretty good. 

(PS: Huh. Two guys with one holding bamboo heart. ... Neat. They look nice enough together that I’ll ignore the cartoonishness of the bamboo heart.)

The dialogue in this scene mostly consists of Team RNJR making comments about Mistral while Qrow pulls a WOR and describes Mistral to them. Considering the fact that I love WOR, this works very well for me and I think Qrow did a good job of giving an overview of Mistral’s culture and functions. Of course, this isn’t enough for Mistral as a whole so I do hope we get more.

The next scene is introduced with a rather nice transition by Nora. Not too much to say about this one due to the fact that it takes place mostly inside a single room inside of a ship. It’s nice to see Weiss again and in a nice contrast to her Volume 1 self, she tries to apologize in case she’s been trouble to the pilot which is a great show of humility on her part. To also show off her development from being the selfish brat she was: Weiss hears a distress signal and asks to help them. This would normally be the part where the pilot heroically goes off to help Weiss save these people in some awesome action scene but I have to commend RWBY for doing the opposite and having him try to avoid the ship in order to just get home. I know this seems cowardly to us but that’s actually how a normal person would react to deadly monsters nearby, showcasing the difference in mindset between a Huntsman and a normal person.

The next scene focuses on introducing Lionheart. First we had a bit of build up with an empty looking Haven as the heroes relaxing as they finally make it to their destination. However, Qrow does point out latter that there is a disturbing lack of students and teachers which causes everyone to go on edge. So everyone rushes to the Headmaster’s room, with all of them preparing for battle in a pretty cool sequence of everyone drawing their weapons. Then Qrow kicks down the door and reveals...Leonard Lionheart, startled as hell. The reactions from RNJR were honestly pretty funny due to the unison scream but Qrow’s reaction was...too Looney Tunes for me. I dunno, probably just me.

Anyway, Qrow and Lionheart recover and banter a bit and afterward Team RNJR introduces themselves and I gotta say, RWBY has done a great job at body language. Lionheart gives an air of constant fear in his body language due to him being tense all the time and his actions constantly tells me “I’m afraid!” which suits his design as the cowardly lion. Meanwhile, Qrow gives off an air of easily created anger with his slouching back, fisted hands and slight leaning. And with RNJR you could get their base personalities just from hwo they move when introduced: Ruby being happy but slightly professional showing her idealistic view on being a Huntress, Jaune not moving much showing his status as the normal guy, Nora being very cheery showing her to be the energetic one and Ren putting his arms behind his back and bowing his head showing him to be the calm, collected one. Very rare you get that level of communication in simple actions.

The final part of this scene consists of Lionherat trying to shoo Qrow and RNR away by informing them that his staff is gone, Qrow getting up in his face while we have another example of good body language (IE the sudden widening of eyes the instant Qrow yells) and Qrow revealing that he filled RNJR in on the relics and maidens, which seems to disturb Lionheart. A nice little exchange to show the dubiousness of Lionheart.

The next scene is introduced with a few shots of the outside of the Belladonna household which...confuse me. they don’t really do much for the scene and the build up they offer is minimal at best. They should have cut the shots and saved the time and money.

Anyway: the true scene begins with Ghira and Sun bursting into the house yelling about how despicable and deplorable someone is. Kali makes a small comment about how they are finally agreeing on something, which causes Sun to get embarrassed and Ghira to, I’m assuming, snapping Sun in two to avoid the embarrassment when Blake comes in and tells them that everything will be alright. Between her soft but firm force, the dramatic lighting and her confident and assured stance it does give off a feeling that Blake would be a good leader so if this is build up for her taking control of the White Fang-Kudos.

Then we have Blake walking onto a balcony and dismissing a guard from her duty. ... Why we didn’t see any guards before is beyond me: this is just a mistake from the CRWBY. Then we have Illa appearing and attempting to talk with Blake. We get a bit of exposition as to what had happened before hand as Balke and her family went to try and arrest the twins from EPisode 5 but they managed to pin everything onto Illa and escape scott-free Interesting to note that Illa turns her head away when Blake mentions her taking the fall, as if she was ashamed for it. Then Illa tells Blake that she doesn’t have anyway of proving anything was true and Blake retorts by planning on showing the information to the fanaus of Menagrie to sway them against the White fang.

What comes next is a very moving scene where Illa removes her mask as she warns Blake that her plan will fail and then begging her to leave before it’s too late. This works on three levels: the first one being the most basic, the eye to eye contact in order to convey the message she is trying to get across not just to Blake but to the audience as well. It helps her face express even more than before and it touches people more easily. The second is symbolic: The White Fang were the masks because they are acting like the Grimm as they commit crimes in order to force equality. With Illa removing the mask but not tossing it away as she pleads with Blake, it enforces that behind her actions and behind her allegiance: there is a person who truly wants to help Blake while also showing her loyalty still to the White Fang. And third: it’s easy for people like us to hate the White Fang because most of them don’t really have faces. Just as we feel no empathy for the Grimm because of their disconnect from humanity, we feel less inclined to side with the White fang because without a face, we see them similar to the Grimm. By removing her mask, Illa and the writers force us to acknowledge that she is a person, just like we are ad her reasoning behind her actions is just as complex as ours are.

Sadly, Blake refusing by stating that illa will have to make her, which causes a great amount of sadness in Illa as she says “I know” before leaving: Again, enforcing she is a person. Then we end with a shot of Blake looking angry before her expression breaks and she just looks worn, showing that she can’t stay mad at Illa.

The upcoming scene is an exposition based scene with Lionheart and Qrow tading information. Usually I don’t like exposition scenes because it’s mainly just two characters talking plainly to each other (Hence why I enjoy the history lesson style of WOR) but there is enough personality in this scene to keep me interested. Lionheart goes on about the troubles that Mistral ahd to face due to the Fall Of Beacon (with a nod to Penny in there), the people they’ve lost and the difficulties they are facing now with the Grimm and the Kingdom of Atlas due to Ironwood’s actions from before and finally the issue with the Spring Maiden. Qrow retaliates and probably tried starting a fight but then Ruby comes in and shuts them down before they can fight and reassures them. Again, showing that she is deserving of the title of leader.

We then get something that many people were hoping for: An explanation on the connection to the Maidens and Relics. Apparently the relics are sealed away onside certain chambers and only a specific Seaosnal Madien can unlock it and get the relics. Now I might have been upset about such a blatant grap to connect the two but A.) This is the norm for gods, they pull this shit all the time and B.) This explains why the Maidens are so important, why Ozpin and Co. needed to protect them, why Salem is so focused on them and why Cinder is needed. SO yeah, I understand. 

We also get some info on the Spring Maiden: Apparently she ran off ten years ago due to the stress of her powers and the weight they carry and seeing as she is a living key for a godly power: Yeah, that’d happen. Lionheart claims that he doesn’t even know where she is and Qrow reveals that he knows. And the news isn’t good: She’s with Raven.

(PS: Okay, what is with high tech wooden desk? there was no foreshadowing for that and Qrow just flings his scroll onto the desk as if the desk knows what is going on. Seriously man, cut out the Belladonna house shots and have Qrow type some stuff into the desk.)

Also, apparently RNJR knows who Raven exactly is as Yang’s mom. I’m guessing Ruby told them but how did Ruby know? Did Taiyang tell her when he told Yang? Did Qrow blurt it out while drunk? Did Raven try kidnapping yang when she was a child and Ruby saw it? I really hope this gets answered.

Anyway, Qrow tries to convince Lionheart to go get the Maiden from Raven but eh refuses on two fronts. One is that the Council of Mistral won’t devote resources to fighting bandits (and the whole Maiden-Relic business is very hush hush) and considering the strength of Raven and the Spring Maiden alone: Qrow can’t just rush in by himself and RNJR. He emphasizes the importance that they wait for the right time. He and Qrow trade a few verbal blows before the subject changes to that of info about Cinder and her little group which Lionheart tells that they can’t find anything valuable, just fakes and forgeries. The group of five leaves and Dr.Watts informs Lionheart that he needs to work on lying. That brings everything the Headmaster said into question as he could be a liar and trying to stall for time but due to Lionheart’s resigned expression, I also question if he’s on either side really. All in all: This keeps the audience on it’s toes.

The scene shifts to a remake of the final scene from Volume 4 so I’ll just skip that. All I have to say is; Oscar looks better this time around.

The next scene takes place somewhere else in Mistral where yang is getting a glass of water and taking a break before continuing her journey. While this happens, some really skeezy looking guy starts hitting on her, apparently missing the definition of “personal space”, “tact” and “no.” We get a nice little Goldilocks reference before he tries touching her hair and he promptly gets smack out the rest stop. The act of Yang smacking a gross perv out was damn awesome but the guy pinballing around was just terrible. It could have just been the guy landing right outside and it would have worked so much better. The owner thanks her and hands her a drink. Yang reaches out and her hand, the one that punched the guy, starts shaking and freezing up so she has to stop it. While I think this is a hint that her PTSD isn’t away yet: I can’t say for certain. But I am thankful if it is a hint that she’ll be dealing with it.

So we get a little talk from the owner about how far out from the Kingdom they are and how the only person he really sees is Yang’s mom, to which Yang replies that she knows. The owner warns her that bandits are dangerous, Yang brushes him and prepares to leave when the guy from before stops her and talks about how he heard she was looking for someone. How the guy heard her is a little dubious considering eh only just then recovered but I’m more concerned with the implication that Yang is looking for Raven than Ruby, which is what we’ve been lead to think. Yes, RT could have been misleading people but it just kind of invalidates her build up. However it can be forgiven if this road yields results.

The final scene shows us with Ren, Nora and Jaune all looking exhausted as someone knocks on the door. The three person team exchanges looks before Jaune walks up to the door and slowly turns the knob to open, building up the tension due to the rising foreboding music and the slow movement, to reveal the newest member of the cast Oscar standing there, looking rather nervous. He asks for Ruby, which makes Ren and Nora suspicious as Nora asks him why he wants to see her. Oscar stays silent for a bit until Drunkle Qrow, blitzed harder than Poland in 1939, stumbles in, mumbling about how “he found him” until he slips onto the couch while Oscar tells them that he might need some help.

Ruby storms out, apparently reading comics as she sees her uncle drunker than the country of Ireland as she facepalms and asks if he got drunk again, showing us that this is apparently a common occurrence. Oscar jumps in and seems surprised as he says that she has silver eyes, a call back to what Ozpin said when they met face to face. Ruby asks who he is and Oscar nervously explains who he is but who they probably know him as while Qrow makes drunk commentary in the background. The episode ends with Qrow triumphantly yelling “I did it!” before passing out on the floor while Nora winces. Honestly, the only way this could have gone better is if things cut to Patch with Taiyang saying “Qrow just passed out again, didn’t he?”

All in all, this was a very good beginning. There were a few missteps here and there but overall I think it was an amazing start to Volume 5!

Now I’ll see you all in Episode 5!

[robertsbarbie-archive]

okay i’m still mad so i’m gonna try and articulate it, and this includes every aspect of lover fest. from the very beginning no information has been given out ie cost, additional dates (which i actually understand but it stands nonetheless), content etc. and we got mad about that right? and nothing changed. if it wasn’t for TICKETMASTER (not taylors team) we wouldn’t have any info for price ranges and even then that wa s the day before. and international fans still have no clue about their price range because they usually get fucked over so the chances of them being the same are slim and that’s dumb!! also while on the topic of international fans for something that’s being lowkey advertised as international friendly.... there still aren’t that many dates/ locations whcih is very hmmmmm. so overall the information so far released has not been great and if everything’s an easter egg i guess we are all a bunch of five year old girls because that’s the last time i can remember depending on easter eggs to map out my finances. and then just everything that’s happening with ticket master sends me through the roof. first of all only available to the like 4 us dates and anyone who had it during rep, rip the new and international fans i guess. and like the classism of it all as if people have time and the money to wait around all day then make a snap decision effecting a couple months of their livelyhood or the things people had to buy during the rep era for this is just, like taylor, i’m sorry but that’s GROSS and yeah.

not to even mention the fact that this whole lover fest is making different people in the fandom feel like shit about not being able to go. some people really can’t afford to fly out and stay near a stadium for a concert where they know nothing about it, or he’ll even if they knew about it. and also coasts are fucking expensive so it’s all just very eeky. and i’m not policing anyone on spending money lord knows i know that that’s no ones business but a lot of the fans who can afford to go just sound very tone deaf about the whole thing. like right now with the verified fan.... not everyone has that... not everyone could afford to do that..... international fans don’t get that kind of presale.... and yeah it’s frustrating but be aware that being like “ugh i’m 4th in line :(((( i just wanna get my tickets and go” some won’t have that luxury and all the “hey don’t be sad” posts in the world aren’t gonna fix that. and also just everyone who is like “heck yes the best people are going to lover fest” makes me really sad. like you can be excited about your friends and everything because it’s your blog you do you but um, what about your “friends” that can’t go or what about the mentality that the fandom is cliquey and closed off?? you’re enforcing that as well as making people just feel even sadder they can’t afford it or they’re reminded yeah everyone who’s anyone is going but i’m not. it SUCKs and ye

oh shit i almost forgot the ableism of it all. think of all the stadiums taylor performed at during rep where she held a higher attendance than anyone else, even the football games which had twice as many seats cause taylor blocked off half for her stage. those are all gonna be available plus floor. the anxiety of it all. a nightmare. a literal nightmare. people with anxiety and panic attack disorders will probably be unable to attend. the crowdedness will make it hard for wheelchairs and others to maneuver and so on. a festival setting in general is already ableist as fuck but i truly don’t know how this is gonna go in regards to disabilities.

i’m sure i’ll see something else and get mad but lover fest is already a classist, ableist, dumb thing and it just makes me really sad.

i really wish i could accurately articulate how angry lover fest makes me

[alibcba-blog]

SHIPPING INFO     //   answer  the  following  for  your  muse(s)  so  people  know  how  shipping  works  on  your  blog.   REPOST.   don’t reblog.

1. WHAT’S  YOUR  OTP  FOR  YOUR  MUSE? :

Nooooooo how dare INARI EXPOSES ME!! May as well not be any secret but a second playthrough and even watching these dorks going at it, I just adore inari x futaba sooooo much, platonically or romantically. Yes it’s mentioned in my rules that I don’t do romance with Futaba but I will end up changing it for future reference. Basically I’ll be making an older!Futaba verse where I’ll explore the romance part of Yutaba. Course this is mostly the ship I have as an OTP for Futaba. Everyone else it’s purely friendships ( that includes Akira x Futaba ). But if there ever comes a time when I develop chemistry with Older!Futaba, I don’t mind crossovers, AUs, or OC shipping. Chemistry is essential!

2.   WHAT  ARE  YOU  WILLING  TO  RP  WHEN  IT  COMES  TO  SHIPPING? :

Anything except for forced shipping or one-night stands cuz I don’t even know why those exist??? Plus as long as my rp partner is alright with the shipping, let’s discuss it privately IM or discord and get the ball rolling!

3.   HOW  LARGE  DOES  THE  AGE  GAP  HAVE  TO  BE  TO  MAKE  IT  UNCOMFORTABLE? :

Uhm ... nothing with adults because she is 15 canonically and it’s pretty weird to see her with someone in their 20s or 30s. I say anywhere that’s like excessively large gap is when I get uncomfortable.

4.   ARE  YOU  SELECTIVE  WHEN  SHIPPING? :

Weeeeell I’m not ship-exclusive if that’s what you’re asking. But selective for me means that I prefer developing the ship rather than jumping straight into it. Like I love my YUTABA but I would never ever wanna make every Inari I meet to ship with me. That’s a big no-no and the same applies vice versa --- just cuz I ship Yutaba, it doesn’t mean I’m gonna spread my legs to every Inari rper I meet. Like I said, this is my ‘selective side’ ;; I really wanna develop the ship even if I’m okay with the ships and be on par with the Mun too. The Mun’s comfort zone is way more important to me.

5. HOW  FAR  DO  STEAMY  MOMENTS  HAVE  TO  GO  BEFORE  THEY’RE  CONSIDERED  NS.FW? :

Uhhhhm well in Futaba’s current verses, she does not do smut??? But I guess for older!verse, Futaba going far with stripping is what I consider nsfw. Kissing or making out isn’t something I see as nsfw. Actual sexual descriptions are me considering it nsfw ( ie. flesh revealing, body parts mentioned descriptively, audible sounds included ) 

6.   WHO  ARE  OTHER  MUSES  YOU  SHIP  YOUR  MUSE  WITH? :

Hmmm as far as the game, I don’t really see anyone else with Futaba romantically??? But I do ship Futaba with the Phantom Thieves in the most platonically way possible. I’m open for crossover, AU, OC options of course. Futaba’s not limited to just guys. She goes both ways btw

7.   DOES  ONE  HAVE  TO  ASK  TO  SHIP  WITH  YOU? :

I mean you can ask me if you want??? I just mostly want you to be comfortable. I’m fine as long as it isn’t anything where it’s someone in their 20s to be with Futaba or incest. No incest pls just ... NO. But I mostly say you can ask me as a way to confirm you are okay with making a shipping happen between our muses.

8.   HOW  OFTEN  DO  YOU  LIKE  TO  SHIP? :

I’m fine with shipping though I have yet to do it with Futaba. If you know me from my other blogs, yeeeah I’m cool with shipping. They add some interesting aspects to the characters but I’m not only about shipping.

9.   ARE  YOU  SHIP  OBSESSED  OR  SHIP  MORE - OR - LESS? :

Uhhhhh I’m ship neutral. Meaning I’m cool with it but it’s not my number one objective.

10.   ARE  YOU  MULTISHIP? :

Yeeeep I am multiship. Surprise surprise??? 

11.   WHAT  IS  ( ARE )  YOUR  FAVORITE  SHIP  (S)  IN  YOUR  CURRENT  FANDOM? :

Pls don’t hate me : ‘ ((( just Yusuke x Futaba, Ryuuji x Ann aaaaand ... Haru x MC. That’s it.

12.   FINALLY,  HOW  DOES  ONE  SHIP  WITH  YOU? :

Simple. Treat Futaba well, don’t yell at her, keep her mental disorders and phobia in mind ( poor girl has suffered so much ), don’t abuse her, talk about her interests, make her smile and feel right in the world, woo her with your obliviousness, pick her up and play airplane, and make her some sweet curry and she’ll be all over you. Whelp that’s one way to get her interested but all you gotta do is ask me and we’ll work something out. Of course it’s only if you want!!

tagged by: @artsgasm​ !!! tagging: whoever wants to do this ;;; go ahead and steal it!!