#in all fairness i'm sure some people feel the same about me and my problematic shipping tendencies

[thesmokinpossum]

When I think I found a new cool new account focusing on the Godfather but it turns out that they hate Kay

[twstcallouts]

Look I’m french. When I was a kid my school made me read Greek mythology books with graphic rape and incest galore and I turned out fine ?? It’s fake, no one is being harmed and if people can simp for fictional murderers they can as well do so for weird sex kink (expecially since anime boys don’t look like children at all, you could tell me they are actually 30 and I’ll believe it easily). Also if you’re in a fandom built around a work made by someone whose into problematic stuff I feel it’s very hypocritical to criticize those people.

Finally I think callouts post are always evil, probably because I hang out with enough queer people who go false accusations of serious crimes because of petty shit and were harassed into nervous breakdowns and depression 🤷‍♂️

degenerate, filthy and disgusting used in the context you do is always a giant red flag btw

(Also my cat is the cutest ever and I will gladly die for her)

Look, my main take away from this is that you think everyone has the same experiences as you and that you feel everyone should cater to your thoughts and feelings. I'm not here to do that, not to you or anyone. Plain and simple.

I want you to THINK about this. Don't skim it, don't read it and think immediately of what to say back, just take your time to digest this.

Do the creators you follow and defend TRULY care about whether you defend them or not? Are they sending you out to fight for them? What do you GAIN, from defending them? Does the content you consume help you in becoming the best version you can be, or does it provide you with a fraction of a moments' satisfaction? Do you surround yourself with people that care about your actual happiness and uplift you when you need it, but give you advice and sometimes even call YOU out on behavior that is harmful to you or others? The call may be coming from inside the house.

My call outs don't discriminate, they target anyone who fits into the criteria.

"Also if you’re in a fandom built around a work made by someone whose into problematic stuff I feel it’s very hypocritical to criticize those people."

I'll be frank with you, since you blog says 21+. Do you know the innermost thoughts and feelings of Yana Toboso? Are you sure she doesn't include some content because a higher up told her to, or because some people are willing to pay more for said content? I don't know the answers to these questions, and I sincerely do not care to know. You may not know the meaning of hypocrisy. Google defines it as :"the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform; pretense". My behavior is not hypocritical, since I don't cheer on Toboso's past actions, or even present ones. I play Twisted Wonderland because it's cute and entertaining, not because I want to make "ships" or "headcanons" on characters. Whatever the reason people play for, is not my business, only when they cross a line is when I get involved.

You keep making assumptions about me, and I don't think it is fair. I don't make any about you, I only go by what you tell me. Please try to do the same. Thank you.

[gorogues]

it-is-i-zim replied to your ask post: This is just my opinion but Ostrander's revamp of him was the worst thing thing to happen to him character wise. Fans of Boomerang are sometimes straight up harassed for what Ostrander did to his character. Like on one hand, one of the reasons why he was on the suicide squad for so long and we see him AT ALL is because of Ostrander but I'm sick of being called racist because of how my guy was written by Ostrander.

it-is-i-zim replied to your ask post: Identity Crisis was bad for Digger still though. It also made me kinda dislike Tim Drake fans but I also get that for ages their only exposure to Boomer was that comic. And the Knight Terrors: Robin comic bringing that comic back into the established canon did no favors either seeing that it was through the eyes of someone who wasn’t even there. An artistic choice for sure, but it’s also made Tim Drake fans feral about how AWFUL Digger is.

Unfortunately this is more of a fan problem than a writing one. I definitely sympathize with people who love pre-Crisis Digger but hate his post-Crisis self, because modern Digger can be a lot. But people being jerks to other fans because of it is 100% a problem with fandom, and it's got to stop. There's nothing wrong with liking problematic characters as long as you're honest about their flaws, because they aren't real people and they haven't actually hurt anyone real…and just because you like them doesn't mean you approve of everything they do.

It's also fine for people to dislike a character or avoid other fans if they make you uncomfortable for any reason, but it shouldn't get to the point of mistreating a real person over fictional stories and liking/disliking fictional things.

(To make things extremely personal for a moment, it took me over 25 years to figure out why I gravitate to unpopular villains: it was only once I understood that I was the family scapegoat that I realized I like unpopular villains because I'd been considered one/treated like one my entire life. People can have their reasons for liking villains and problematic characters that have nothing to do with the shittiest thing(s) the character(s) have done.)

it-is-i-zim replied to your ask post: And with Owen, arguably his worst characterization was in that one Supergirl comic where he tried to get with a 15 year old Supergirl while being established as an adult man and was like, “I’m not a creep” but then on the same page also called her “jailbait” which uh… Gross. I must say I’m not fond of him because of that and therefore didn’t mind the kinda bad revamp back in Suicide Squad (2016) #47

The question was "the most common way they're written badly", and while that was weird and creepy, it was thankfully just a brief anomaly in the Supergirl book (that's why his strange Rebirth revamp didn't get my pick; it was just one story). I found Owen's intelligence and skill level varied wildly throughout his appearances, and sometimes he was competent and sometimes he was a clueless dumbass. He seemed reasonably smart in his debut story, so IMO him being an idiot was the primary example of being written badly.

it-is-i-zim replied to your ask post: Sorry that my thoughts are kinda all over the place on the Captain Boomerangs.

That's completely okay, it's why we're all here! :)

parkakingrolo replied to your ask post: I'm gonna go a little against the grain on Lisa, and say some of her other characterizations I'm not too fond of are when she's now the moral compass, and I agree The Rogues should have a stronger one, but forcing it on Lisa feels awkward. Don't get me started on when she hinted at feelings for Barry too. Maybe it's just two extremes and they struggle for a healthy middle.

Yeah, that's fair. That one's a problem too, though the one I mentioned bothers me more so I guess that's why I went with it. Truthfully I think both versions are manifestations of sexist beliefs about women, one benevolent ("women are morally better than men") and one misogynist ("women are crazy bitches, especially ex-girlfriends" -- and on that note, I really hate what was done to Magenta by Waid and Johns. She should have been included on the previous list).

It would be good if DC strove for some middle ground between the two, because Lisa should be flawed but not constantly jonesing to slash people's faces.

[welcome-to-oslov]

Can't help but ask: your thoughts on the hot assassin?

My thoughts: I think it's extremely tragic & sad situation for everyone involved. The "assassin", who's created a terrible future for himself & who I think clearly developed some sort of mental health issue that made it possible for him to do this (and I'm still not convinced there isn't an accomplice, maybe someone online or irl who egged him into this while his mental health was deteriorating during the months he disappeared from friends & family); obviously for the young kids & elderly mother of the guy who died; and for the millions of people suffering & dying from health issues made worse by barriers to care that could help them. Just like I don't understand how someone can literally kill another person for real, I also can't understand how someone shows up to work everyday to do tasks that make life harder for people who need help.

And of course, as our country somehow spirals into bizarro version of Oslov Unraveled, couldn't help but think of paralels! Lol sob

Just like this scenario, do you think that Tilrey's good-lookingness was part of what made it possible for his culture to ultimately accept him being a rebel disruptor? I mean, I guess obviously his looks are part of what made it possible for him to be the "key to Oslov": even after his kettleboy days were long gine, it's what entangled all the powerful people in continued relationships with him that gave him access & ability, made them indulge him hanging around as an almost-Upstart, overlook the ways he wasn't truly conforming to Drudge submission that they may not have in someone they didn't like looking at or liked projecting what kind of guy they wanted him to be onto him.

In our universe's case, obviously everyone would be losing interest atp if he weren't so damn cute. But I think that is more an indictment of what a DEARTH we have of reasonably baseline attractive guys in our country (even among celebs!) 😂😩😭 One comes along with a cute smile, in shape, and dresses nicely and we lose our collective minds lmao

I did have this exact thought! 😅 I follow a lot of romance writers who were claiming to be inspired by him. I haven’t been following it closely, but I kinda guessed the hot assassin would turn out to have mental health problems and/or problematic beliefs. It’s so dangerous to make anyone into your hero, especially a murderer (!). But at the same time, I’m terrified of the US healthcare system, especially after the ACA subsidies go away, because they make life possible for me right now. It’s messed up and scary. I hate that policies that demonstrably kill people have become normalized and are even seen by some as virtuous because capitalism. I feel all that rage too, and the desire for a Robin Hood figure to stand up and fight.

I really do think attractive people have a lot of pull in society, and a social movement has way more power once you put a face on it. Sure, it’s partly because of social media, but cults of personality existed during the French Revolution too. Marie Antoinette was incredibly memeable by both sides, whether it was the revolutionaries painting her as “Let them eat cake” or the royalists making her a martyr, and it was more about her image than her actual character.

Oslov barely even has traditional media—you have Upstarts passing those photos of Tilrey around, and you have Stefan playing a hot victim of social injustice in a stream, and that’s kinda it. But Stefan fired up the masses because he was hot and sad and unjustly accused, and Tilrey was in a position to use that power partly because he was hot and had access to the highest levels of government. I mean, he had to be smart too, but being hot was a key piece.

If the Unabomber had been hot, would there be a cult around him? I read his manifesto for research, and he was smart and made some fair points about the drawbacks of modern society if you disregard the terrible conclusions he drew from them.

Anyway, I do think that beauty sways people whether they want to believe it does or not. A beautiful bully is still just a bully, so looks aren’t enough on their own if you hate everything the person stands for. But a beautiful underdog or rebel is a powerful meme in the making. One of the things I like about The Hunger Games is that Suzanne Collins shows how much image-making goes into being a successful rebel in an image-driven society.

[leothil]

Hi anons, I've been considering how to answer you both, because there's a lot of frustration going around and people seem to be trying to police how others interact with anyone they deem "problematic." So it does feel a bit like walking through a minefield at times.

So first, about extending an arc vs expanding a role - well, people can believe whatever they want, when it comes down to it, since we haven't gotten clear confirmation in any direction from the production. And we've very clearly seen how differently people choose to interpret the show depending on what they want to see. So to me that's a shrug and "what are you gonna do" situation.

Now for the complacency - yeah, it is frustrating. A lot. Because so much comes off as people in one camp wanting to paint the other as Bad People Who Do Bad Things all while steadfastly ignoring whatever is going on in their own camp. And I want to be fair to people, because this is a big fandom and it's impossible for anyone to see everything that's going on. But this insistence I see from - and yeah here it comes - mostly bucktommy fans that they're just vibing in their lane while the evil buddie shippers are making life horrible for everyone - well, that's simply not true and is at best a very narrow view.

Sure, people see mostly what's happening on their own dash. That's what it's for. But this insistence that it's only one side being Bad and Mean is so tiring. I see constant posts rebutting other posts about Tommy being mean to Buck and abusing him (I've never seen those original posts, because I curate my dash), but what about the posts about Eddie abusing and taking advantage of Buck (that I've also only seen because people have sent me links)? Where's the rebuttal of those? When some buddie shippers were harassing Lou on twitter they got called out for it several times (in posts where people, once again, talked about buddie shippers as a monolith), but for some reason I've seen zero posts about the bucktommy shippers that wrote nasty things to Ryan (among other things, saying he should "try again" after he admitted to trying to take his life in an interview). And I want to reiterate that I'm aware it's impossible for any one person to know and see everything that's going on in the fandom, but when it's the same people who allegedly ship both bucktommy and buddie but are constantly focusing only on the sins of the buddie shippers it does start to feel a bit... purposeful. And that is frustrating. There are weirdos all over the spectrum, and trying to act like "one side" is free of sin is laughable at best. And if you're willing to paint everyone on "that side" with a broad brush, well, then you should do the same for "this side" as well.

While I'm on the topic, I sincerely wish people would stop trying to moralize everything. Some people disliked the daddy kink joke, that doesn't mean everyone is a prude who faints at the mention of an active sex life. Some people dislike Tommy as a character, that doesn't automatically mean they're homophobes. Some people currently prefer to consume content about bucktommy rather than buddie, that doesn't mean they're bad people. And someone isn't a terf just because you don't like how they express themself in their posts about a character you like, and that's a frankly dangerous leap to make.

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for helping my ex wife's daughter mercilessly strike down all who dare oppose her?

Hello there, peasan- er... denizens of "Reddit." I hate to have to come here in the name of argumentation, but it's unfortunately become a necessity.

For some context, I (permanently 20s F) am deceased. I have been deceased for a long time. It is actually the aforementioned daughter (8F), a spirit medium, typing this post. Everyone say hi to her and/or shower her with compliments before I strike you down too.

To explain the context behind me and my ex-wife's (30s, GNC F) relationship: we were childhood best friends. Inseparable, really. I'd kill for him and he would have done the same for me. We had feelings for each other, but unfortunately because of my position in society we were unable to pursue them and pined from a distance. Regardless, however, we were close.

That is... at least until things went wrong. You see, in what was an attempt at a sweet gesture, really, he bestowed me an (unbeknownst to him) cursed artifact. Aforementioned cursed artifact slowly fried my brain over time and I begun to be warped into someone unrecognizable. At first, it wasn't all bad— for one I stopped caring about my "position in society" and pursued him (This is where the WIFE part of "ex-wife" comes in), but on the other hand I began indiscriminately murdering anyone who opposed me, stealing some... er, things that weren't mine (Don't worry about it. Irrelevant to this scenario, really), and eventually tried to kill him too.

Because of this, I was put down. And... fair! For a while I had tumultuous feelings about this; but once more, this isn't about that, and with the introduction of his daughter, who I'll call P, things are much less despondent than they used to be, even existing as a wraith.

P was grown by S (30s F), my wife's current wife, in a test tube following some sort of lapse in judgment and severe mental health episode… but it was a happy accident, really. Despite the interesting circumstances of her birth, P is beloved by everyone around her, most of all her family.

A little over half a year ago, P was in a terrible accident. She only survived because I (And some other ghost hardly worth mentioning) intervened and helped retether her to her body. Now, thankfully, she's healed more or less completely, but the incident overloaded her with a certain type of magic, awakening latent powers, and she began to form a connection with the realm of the dead.

That's how I met her. She began seeing me (And that other ghost still not worth mentioning) and trying to interact with us. Initially, I had no real interest in pursuing a friendship with her— she reopened old wounds and reminded me of the life I'd never get to have with my ex-wife. But eventually, slowly but surely, she won me over with her wit, kindness and charm. She's a wonderful girl.

Through her, I was able to make amends with my ex-wife (I'm sane now, if you couldn't tell). We're on good terms now, and there are no hard feelings about the situation. He understands I wasn't in my right mind and that I'm deeply apologetic, and I understand that he never intended for things to turn out the way they did.

I'm even on good terms with his current wife, which is once something I never thought possible. We're all close, and all have P's best interests in mind.

...Which brings us to our current issue

P is not well-liked by her peers. She's seen as strange and offputting, and her heritage does not help her reputation. Her parents are both "problematic," having done some "flagrantly evil" things, and her father, especially, is disliked where she lives. Back in the day he and I "destroyed countless lives” or whatever, and people are STILL unfortunately holding that grudge, even taking it out on his child.

The other children, of course, weren't there for any of this. They weren't even born yet! But having heard tales from their parents, their resentment has been passed down, and because of this, unfortunately, P gets picked on.

They call her terrible things— "zombie girl," "half-monster, half-machine" (her mother is a cyborg. Once again irrelevant to this conversation). Sometimes they even insinuate the place they live would have been better off if she HAD died or try to start physical altercations.

It was during one of these incidents that she first summoned me as a semi-physical apparition. Terrified and desperate, her spirit synced with my own outraged spirit, and she was able to manifest me into the world for a brief period of time.

I, of course, cast chain lightning on her tormentors, and shouted that if they messed with her again I'd end their wretched lives.

Now, to be clear, I didn't actually harm the little brats. Just... singed them a little. Really, they should be grateful I wasn't more cutthroat. Back in MY day children would attempt to skewer each other in front of a live audience for political power. In comparison, this was nothing! Just a few nightmares, probably. No harm, no foul.

Ever since then, P has been indiscriminately summoning me every time someone messes with her, and every time it's the same. She summons me and I make a huge show of attacking them, scaring the wretches away.

It's fun, really. P loves it. She always laughs afterwards and we jeer about how fast they ran from the "terrifying evil queen."

But my ex-wife and S found out, and they've told me I might be going a little too far.

They agree that anyone messing with P is inexcusable, but feel like I’m probably just getting her into more trouble by garnering her a reputation for accosting people with “the horrifying specter of an evil tyrant.” Additionally, they worry I’m appealing to her hubris just a little too much and that I may be teaching her bad habits. Something-something "What if she attacks someone she really shouldn’t? We don't want her to think this is something she can do at the drop of a hat."

But I disagree! I think this is something she should be able to do whenever and however she wants. I was picked on as a child myself, you know. Slowly but surely it changed me from a bold, fearless person to someone terrified of criticism. I see a lot of my younger self in P, and I don't want the same thing to happen to her. I want her to know that anyone who messes with her is utterly worthless, and that it's well within her right to destroy them. She could kill someone, frankly, and I'd still be cheering her on.

AITA? Please debate whether or not I'm damaging her future prospects or, in contrast, giving the little angel the tools she needs to get by. Thanks in advance for your common sense and support.

[alarrytale]

Can we talk about tzp? I’m glad to have found your blog since you seem to have the same opinions as I do about this situation (as opposed to the Twitter fans who want to force people not to talk about it lol).

I have to say, I absolutely LOVE that he is gay and married for a very long time. I’m so happy for him. His hubby seems like a cool dude too. They are CUTE! That being said, selfishly I wish he’d be more open about it. It bothers me that there’s this elephant in the room now and it’s not being spoken about as if it’s a bad thing! The fans are the worst! A fan met tzp yesterday in London. This fan said he was walking alone with his friend (lol…obv his husband). In the comments someone said “oh how cool! Glad you met him! Was the friend his husband?” And within hours the whole post was deleted. Last weekend he went to Joey Kings wedding with Garrett and a friend of joeys posted a Polaroid of them. Someone reposted it but so many people were commenting “delete this!!” I don’t understand why these fans are intent on keeping this info buried. Instead of just saying “wow that’s great congrats!” and moving on they just want it ignored.

I’m not really sure what my point is with all of this, it just kind of bothers me. Sure he’s entitled to privacy and I imagine he wants to protect his hubby since he’s not a public figure. I respect that. But trying to come off as straight feels a bit problematic. And fans saying he’s been outed is just ridiculous. Apparently he was very out before kissing booth and at that point deleted things and took his ring off. Which makes me sooo sad. But he did post his man several times since then. Just not a whole lot like before. I noticed he hasn’t posted him at all since the movie came out and he’s blown up. It’ll be interesting to see what he does now. He hasn’t deleted him off his ig so that’s good. They did, however, delete the video that people dug up of tay using the husband’s last name. Not sure what to make of that. Anyway I don’t think he needs to do anything or announce anything. But I wish he would post him more!

By the way it seems literally everyone in his professional life knows. First of all G went to London and hung out with T, Nick and some other cast (there was a picture), the director and a couple of the actors follow G, all the the photogs, fashion people who work with tay follow G, etc. So he’s clearly very out. Just not to fans. But I’m not understanding why I guess…

Would love your thoughts on it!

Hi, anon!

Of course we can talk everything tzp! He looked absolutely gorgeous last night! It's not fair, it looks so effortless! Styled by harry lambert too. He's killing it, both him and nick are. I'm so happy for them!

I'm sort of on the fence here. One one hand (what i'd like to believe) is that they're going for a glass closet. It's the perfect example of what a glass closet would look like. He hasn't really commented on his sexuality, but he's not afraid to be himself (manners and all) and have his husband tag along to events and posting him on ig. He just let things be without denying or confirming a thing.

On the other hand, it seems like they are trying (at least some effort) to make him seem straight (or not married to a man at least), deleting the taylor gerson video, taking off his wedding ring and not coming clean after being out for years before. I don't think this will work very well and for long. Fans and the queer community knows. The evidence is there and easy to find. Deleting things off the internet once people know is impossible.

The fans are guarding his closet for him (as we've also seen fans do for h and l - it's annoying as fuck...). It leads to fan policing, lying and the elephant in the room is growing. If his husband comes with him to events and are seen with him by fans, they're clearly not that set on hiding it. If they're pictured publically together fans and uas should be able to share it. Take cues from them, if they wanted to hide they would.

So since i'm not totally sure what they're going for here (closeting or glass closet) and i'm not clear on tzp's ambition, it's hard to have an opinion on why they are doing what they're doing. Other than the obvious reasons celebs are closeted in Hollywood.

[yumesei]

hi there! you seem lovely, but the particular wording of one of your boundaries is hard for me to understand. I agree completely that harassment over internet things is wrong, but I'm not sure if you're pro or antiship? I don't consider myself under either label, but I don't condone specifically the romanticization of such dark topics. (depiction is fine of course but i just think we should all be mindful of others' motivations for writing such things)

apologies if this is a confusing ask, but I wanted to know if you agreed since I'd love to be moots with you! either way have a lovely evening/etc

Hiii! :D

(disclaimer : Im legit so bad at organizing my thoughts n English isn't my first language so ask away if you want any clarification)

I don't use the pro or anti label because I find this discourse really stupid. My stance is simply : I don't care what people do, because even if it makes me unconfortable it's not like It will stop them (put another way, I just uses the block button like it's my best friend)

I guess my stance do fall under the OG proship definition aka "don't like, don't read" and "block, and move one". But as I said before, having a label for not being a bully is just stupid to me and I also don't want to be associated with the fake meaning of proship coined by antis. Because "proship" that was supposed to be a moral stance has somehow now gotten tied up with com/darkshipping and loving every dark things that exist.

Now, like I said in my intro, I do enjoy things with darker themes, I even write them. My tumblr account is mostly about my selfship that would be considered "problematic" and or disgusting by the people falling under the anti umbrella, which is why I mostly interact with proshippers.

My selfship has an extreme age gap (1000+ - 20), power imbalance, mutual obsession, consensual violence....

Does I find my selfship hot? Yes.

Will it cause me to seek it out irl ? No, I am in the sweetest relationship with a guy my age for 2 years.

Selfshipping that is a coping mechanism against trauma and harm reduction (bc seeking that type of relationship irl would obviously be bad). And because I know that for me those darker themes are not some fantaisies I wanna play out irl, I do not judge others dark fictions even if I don't like it (I myself dislike a lot of dark themes). Because their reason for doing it might be anything yknow, and imagining something in your head isn't the same as wanting it to happen irl.

I understand wanting to be wary of people's motivations, it's fair, but being suspicious of everyone just isn't for me (also if truly immoral peoples indulges in their fantaisies through in fiction, wouldn't it be considered harm reduction too? Genuinely asking). I also feel like it's a slippery slope to thinking that reading about bad things will make you wanna commit them (the whole "video games makes people violent" once again).

Like, I feel like "romanticization" truly is about the person watching it. Personally, I watch slashers movies because I find the killers hot, I romanticize them. I have a friend writing dark romance because she likes the horror/psychological aspect of it.

At the end of the day man, my whole stance is : People do their things and I do my own as long as it doesn't hurt anyone irl.

Good evening/morning to you too!! Even though I feel was I said might not be what u wanted to hear a shame cuz you seemed sweet T-T

[pancakejikook]

This isn’t an ask. I just wanted to say thank you to you for letting others like myself express our disappointment for the upcoming Jeju Are You Sure? episodes. I have been reading a few other blogs and yours seems to be pretty much one of the very few that is willing to let others voice their disappointment and anger.

I am not a huge fan of Tae’s. He has disappointed me so many times with his indifference towards Jimin and his constant need to use Jungkook’s name to what I consider as him feeding his trolls and trying to stay relevant. Just my opinion. Nobody has to agree with me.

I am upset (was angry) for two reasons about these next few episodes 1) because I feel like I was duped. This was presented as a Jikook Show (all 8 episodes) with just Jimin and Jungkook being together to show us more of their relationship, whether we believe it is just platonic or romantic. BUT instead, BH’s marketing staff had to go and decide to make a “guest” appear after what seems like his insistence to be there. They hid this fact and just dropped it on all of us that were turning in to watch a show that only consist of Jimin and Jungkook. 2) I find Tae to be self absorbed most of the time. He had two of his own shows and no one from BTS was a guest in these shows. It seems that he can’t let others have something for themselves. It feels like he must always insert himself into something that doesn’t involve him.

I get it that I am probably going to receive some hate for what I said, but I can’t help the way I feel. And honestly, I don’t care.

Sorry for the length of this. Again, I appreciate you and thank you.

You're very welcome. I think people have the right to feel whatever they feel. The way the company went about this show was definitely sketchy so it's fair that some people would feel deceived. I'm trying to stay positive because in the end the show is still "mostly" only jikook (5 episodes out of 8) and it will still give us lots of endearing moments and further insight into their relationship/dynamics. But at the same time... yeah, it is not as it was advertised.

Personally I don't dislike Tae. I'm aware that some of his behaviors could be seen as problematic, so I get it. But at the same time I have a hard time believing he's being malicious on purpose. My theory is that he simply feels excluded. Vminkook have a compex relationship that has gone through a lot of changes and ups and downs and it's obvious that jikook's evolving relationship (whether it is a romantic relationship or a friendship that got progressively closer) destabilized it. We've seen both vmin and tk go through some rough patches and become "distant" while jikook kept getting closer and closer and that's not a coincidence. I mean if you believe jikook is "real" and you put yourself in Tae's shoes, it must have sucked pretty bad lol. And it probably still does, especially considering jm is his best friend. Yeah I know, some people will think this is not a justification for certain behaviors of his (encouraging tkkers and name dropping jk while embellishing the stories of their encounters) and that's fair. But I also think that if he were really being malicious then jikook wouldn't still be friends with him, you know what I mean?

Of course you don't have to agree but I'm offering my perspective.

[jayflrt]

Ok I’m going on anon because I’m pretty supportive on SMAU posts and I have been reading awhile. The author of that post talks about specifically Asian women, however in my time reading fic across multiple kpop and pop culture fandoms,I have seen white, black, latinx, desi, east/west asian face claims (yay diversity I guess?) though specifically east asian women are used as face claims more in kpop fics (not always though, I have seen the whole spectrum). I think you’re right that using someone’s face is a little touchy. And yes. For kids—minors in general—that’s a full on no. You can post a pic of baby shoes or something. There are plenty of free/no copyright/fair use photos online of like a smaller kid hand holding and bigger hand or something like that where it’s an image intended for use in multiple ways and no one’s identity is compromised.

I know a lot of kpop fics and other genres use either female kpop idols or actresses as their face claim as well. I kinda feel like that’s maybe less problematic? (Especially since we are already using the male kpop idols as face claims and name claims for what are technically our OCs) Those are public figures and their images are publicly shared to promote content and content creation. I guess I’m saying an author could always use like one of the NewJeans girls as a face claim. I mean if I was writing a SMAU about Karina then maybe I would use Sunghoon or Hee as a face claim (no idol shipping for me—strictly face claim). So I guess I’m saying if an author is wanting to use a face then…maybe just use another idol? Or an actress? Though some people make the same argument about influencers. That they can use their images because they are also posted online for a large audience? I personally don’t know where the line is (except with kid’s faces—that’s a clear no) and since I don’t write SMAU… But if I did… I would probably use a kpop idol or an actress as my face claim—IF I even chose to have one. (I know some people get really touchy about face claims in general though because…I mean no matter who your face claim is—even if it’s a pic of YOU the author—putting a specific face and a body to yn is less ‘reader insert’ for some readers. I mean it has never bothered me one bit, even in writing if there are distinctive features described—to me it’s just a story—but some people do get truly upset.)

i'm the author of that post just to clarify!! i just screenshot that from my twitter, but that's very true there's definitely more diversity in the face claims people use out there, i just think east asian face claims are more widely used in kpop and anime spaces maybe 🤧 diversity rep is great i just wish we could move towards more faceless ones?? idk just publicly posting people's faces in certain contexts just feels a little like an invasion of privacy but i'm sure people feel different ways toward that

and i agree in the context of smaus i think it makes more sense to use an idol/celebrity as a face claim !! i sort of see face claims as like casting someone in a role, so it makes more sense to use actors/idols who are already in the spotlight and have their pictures spread on the internet because their career depends on exposure and publicity (unless of course said actor/idol has stated that they don't want their face being used for such things). i was referring to a different sort of fic actually (not smaus) but yeah smaus could be a gray area too and i feel like the same rules should apply. i've read plenty of twitter social media aus where no selfies/pictures are used at all even from the idol and they've been some the best smaus i've read

children/babies are a hard no for me :( there's just so many ways to go about it without inserting a child's face,, so i rlly don't get it !! oh yes i've never exactly cared about how a reader insert looks because i always just imagine a character anyways but the privacy issue of whoever's the face claim is my main concern with it 🧎‍♀️

[1d1195]

With all the recent Lizzo news; I’ve been thinking about Harry and how he is friends with a lot of problematic people. I do think our friends are a reflection of who we are, and I’m not saying he has to answer for his friends but I’m worried that he isn’t as good a person as he presents himself to be. As a member of a marginalized group, I’m like always waiting for the other show to drop of him saying a racist thing. Idk I’m rambling. It’s stupid.

I've been thinking about this too. My bf likes to bring it up as well (mostly out of his far-fetched jealousy for Harry, lol, but anyway). I do want to preface that I am never one to hide a message sent to me (unless specifically requested) but this one does make me very nervous to answer publicly. I hope you see it quickly because honestly, I don't promise it will remain on my blog forever if it goes downhill

I don't want to make excuses for Harry, because I agree with ALL of what you're saying. Especially where our friends are a reflection of who we are and that he doesn't necessarily have to answer for his friends actions and words. Maybe not in Lizzo's case, but I like to believe sometimes this idea goes the other way too--that maybe, for example, the people he surrounds himself with aren't all bad like the media makes them out to be?

To be totally honest with you I don't follow very many celebrities--mainly Harry and the rest of 1D. And I def don't follow closely, so I really don't know a lot of the nitty gritty stuff that Harry (or any celebrity, really) gets up to. I know the very surface level things about this whole Lizzo thing. Maybe that makes me inept but I find it extremely difficult to be worried all the time about my favorite celebrities. Back in my 1D days I was constantly distraught. I would yell at my family whenever they had an interview. I know I'm obsessed with them still in some capacity, but it was obvious that it was too much for my mental health back then. It's the same reason I don't watch the news anymore (I could go on an on about the news so I'll stop this part of my rant here.)

I'm not making excuses, I promise--even though I'm sure it sounds like I am. I don't know. I think it's the empathizer in me. But I look at celebrities and (and please don't think I'm a terrible person) I know that a many of them aren't known to be all good or known in the greatest light. But I also believe they have lives and they have bad days just like me and I'm sure I don't look great in every light every moment of the day. I know many of them are looked at as role models and yes, they should use their fame for good, etc. but does that mean they have to be perfect? I don't think that is necessarily fair. I'm not condoning their offenses, it's why I stopped following so much of Hollywood.

And you know, sure, maybe I might be making excuses for Harry because he's one of the last celebrities I've got on a pedestal and I think I would be so crushed if the other shoe drops I'm not sure I'd ever recover. But, we can see all the good he has done for so many. All the people and organizations he supports. Maybe it's enough to balance out his less than great friendships, maybe it's not, I don't know. I'm not the one to judge that kind of thing. Maybe Harry is actually an introvert and his celebrity friends have nothing to do with who he really he is. Maybe it's all some long publicity thing that we'll never know about. I don't know if anyone can say, but I know I certainly can't.

I feel like I sound like an idiot but I want to assure you of one thing I AM absolutely, positively sure about: You are not stupid. I think as a fellow Harry-lover, this is a valid concern and I hope I haven't made you think I'm a terrible person in this nonsensical explanation of mine.

I truly hope I didn't offend you with my own thoughts (and ramblings too :) but alas) that is the very last thing I'd ever want to do because it honestly means a lot to me you felt comfortable to share this message with me. You are wonderful.

xoxo

[dragonrider9905]

Back atcha for the violence game! How about… 22 and 25?

Ahahahhahahha such great asks my friend!!!!! Hahahahha so, you reaaaaalllly chose violence XD I hope you know what you're askin for! I might get hated for this but here we go!!!! FULL HONESTLY!!!!! XD ;D I guess I went to bed and chose violence and you were like, nah, I woke up and chose violence, here you go! I love you for that!!!!

22. Your favorite part of canon everyone else ignores

Hmmmmm I really like this one. I gotta think XD I know there are things but once I'm put on the spot I'm like "I have no thoughts at all whatsoever for anything".

Hmmmmm

Ok, I got it.

So the Batch is a special forces group......it is sometimes funny but honestly, more often than not now, it makes me a little annoyed and rolling of eyes when I see so many fics, posts etc knocking them like "oh, how on earth did they ever accomplish anything without Echo, Omega etc" "Crosshair was their entire team, they can't do anything without him." "Oh, Cross and Hunter act like children and fight each other and parent Echo has to break them up"

They're completely missing the point.

Watching the Batch at their debut? They were flawless. They fought better than a well oiled machine together. The point of all their mess ups was they were USED to working as a TEAM. An integral member of the Batch left and trying to compensate for a lost limb? There's going to be problems. We're seen the problematic side but didn't get too much insight to how they were before, but the tell us they were legendary. We have to infere that this isn't normal for them to botch things up badly. Also, they pull off things no one else has, so that isn't botching anything. Cid even calls them her best people. And she don't compliment so that meant she meant it. As far as Echo being the only responsible one, again, they have a system for what works for their personalities. Hunter and Crosshair fight it out because that's how they handle it, then they're good. Before this, you have to infer, nothing like this ever came between them like this. They would never have acted like this before, and Echo wasn't an original Batcher so his wounds wouldn't be the same as someone who's grown up with each other.

Canon Batch with Hunter as the leader, Crosshair the obviously favorite youngest, Tech the nerd who has feelings but lots of thoughts, and Wrecker with intensive knowledge but a lovely childlike heart. Then Echo, who is a leader but respects his sergeant's command but challenges him like a brother.

25. Common fandom complaint you're sick of hearing

Ok, *takes a deep deep inhale* Are you sure you want this? Are you sure you're ready for this? Ok. SO.

I am SO sick and freakn tired of all the Hunter vs. Crosshair drama. Oh. My. Goodness. For one, they are trying to make up themselves so I think we as the fans can try to get along now? For goodness sakes? I'm so tired of seeing Crosshair fans and Hunter fans at each other's throats. I'm a Hunter girlie, no doubt about it, but that doesn't mean I can't be objective and know Hunter has some things he needs to sort through. And Crosshair does indeed have problems. That being said....I'm tired of hearing people say Hunter should have done more, that he doesn't care, that he has no character development and that Omega is his entire personality. I'm tired of hearing about everything he's done to fail everybody and how everyone else in the Batch is better than he is. He's always getting compared to in the worst ways possible and some of them aren't even fair or even canon compliant to his personality. I even saw one person say he had no problem leaving anyone behind and he didn't care about it.

Honestly, I do want some more from him as well to see how he's grown but being the leader, he's stuck! I'm a middle child, true, but I'm the oldest girl. Being the oldest girl is kinda like being the oldest in a way. When you're the one who's responsible for everyone, it hits a lot harder when things happen. When you get to make decisions just to make decisions it is TOTALLY different than when YOU HAVE to make decisions for your family. I want him to be decisive, and I want them to show him be a little more proactive but I know that'll come with the story. Of course he's going to be cautious of Crosshair because he was hurt. Hurts that run that deep are hard to heal! Plus he's now looking out for and defending Crosshair......oh, it's not enough for some people. Well, guess what, Hunter is standing up for his brother but has enough respect for him and trust him to handle his own situations too. He respected Crosshair to handle certain situations in a way he'd be comfortable doing it.

In short, can't we pleeeeeaaaasssseeeee move past "well, Hunter's a failure" "well, Crosshair is horrible!" Hunter said it himself, all they can try to do is be better.

Trust me, I kept this short. I could go on for a while about this topic. I know I could get murdered for saying some of this buuuuuuut there it is XD and not as well put as I was thinking :D Oh well, my vomited thoughts on the topic XD

Thanks for the ask and for actually taking the time to read the ramblings.

Choose Violence Ask Game

[pyroselkie]

Ok I feel like this is gonna be like super problematic or something but I feel like I should just get it out. I welcome comments, discussion, reblogs, and tags.

I find it really hard to talk about my own culture, because white (as in American/Canadian/British/Australian/etc) people talking about their culture has become such a taboo. And understandably so, to be fair, because due to colonization, there are a lot of cultural things that are no longer specific, and are now global in several other cultures that wouldn't otherwise have them.

I often see people in fandom from so many different countries and cultures take characters and put them in their culture: wearing certain clothes, eating certain food, doing certain activities, and so on, and I LOVE it. I love people exploring their love for their own culture and their love for their blorbo(s) at the same time. There's so much joy in it.

There's been several times where I wanted to join in, but felt like I couldn't because I "don't have a culture", as a white British person. But that's just completely untrue? I DO have a culture. It's not one that most people seem to care about, but I do. Sunday dinners, chip shops, pantomimes. Despite growing up in England, my dad is Scottish and I visited his side of the family up in Aberdeen on a regular basis, so kilts (they were worn by most if not all of the men at the first two weddings I remember attending) and bagpipes (I LOVE the sound, they're beautiful when played well) are also on there for me. My accent is a part of my culture too, and I genuinely love my accent (my strange little combination of RP and East Midlands that has people asking me if I'm Canadian...). Don't even get me started on the food (yes it's pretty bland and looks very boring but done right it's tasty and it's filling, yes i think it's stupid as hell that the british empire colonised a bunch of places in order to get spices and now a lot of white people in the UK don't even USE most of those spices)

With a little more thinking, I could probably list a lot more, but I feel like I can't so much as mention it off-handedly without someone showing up out of the woodwork to make fun of lower-class British accents (like when people say "bri'ish" (although I enjoy it when it's used in a neutral and fun way) or when people just completely fuck up and bastardise whichever already-discriminated-against English accent they're making fun of this time - honestly I think RP could stand to be made fun of a bit a lot more), or to make fun of the spices issue (like I said before YES it's stupid, do you think I colonised those countries myself????) and make horrid over-the-top gagging noises whenever "UK" and "food" are so much as mentioned in the same sentence.

I mean look at this. I just wanted to talk about my culture and how it affects me and I feel like I have to have such a huge lead-up and THEN I still feel the need to explain that the british empire sucked and that a lot of our food is quite bland etc etc etc.

With other (non-English speaking/non-white) cultures, people can just mention things and dress their favourite characters in traditional clothes and it's lovely and celebrated. Please keep doing this. Please put your favourite characters in your culture, there is NOTHING more joyful in fandom spaces than spreading your love of your own culture through characters that you also love.

I'd like to join in, is all. I'm not asking for the red carpet to be rolled out for me, I just feel like someone's gonna attack me if I mention my faves enjoying my favourite British food.

But even asking this feels like I'm being White(tm) and throwing a tantrum and whining "WHAT ABOUT MEEE?!?!?!?!" - this is NOT what I'm trying to do here. I don't need attention for it. Honestly the less attention I get the better, it feels like. I've seen some british hate on here that is genuinely horrible and disturbing. And sure, it's deserved for all of the colonisation and the many attrocities, but I didn't choose to be born here????? YES it's terrible but I'm tired of being the punching bag of everything that my country (countries?) have ever done wrong.

Is this entitled of me? It doesn't feel like it, but reading through this post, it kinda looks like it. Am I just insane and paranoid? Maybe. I don't know.

[danikatze]

Shipper Tag Game

Tagged by @tj-dragonblade! I'm not sure if (m)any of these answers will be interesting at all, because apparently I have a bad memory for ships apart from the ones I made fanart of myself, and I haven't read a lot of fanfic for a long long time.. But I've attempted answering these questions anyway!

What ship were you completely obsessed with as a teenager, but now you don’t care about anymore?

I didn't ship much as a teen. I liked the Marauders gang from HP a lot as a kid, tho, likely even in a shippy way. Obviously HP has left a really bad taste my mouth.

Which ship would you consider your first one?

It was probably a HP one, I was properly obsessed with Sirius, James and Remus for a long time, but like I said, I have a hard time telling when I started consciously shipping characters.

Your first fanfic was about which couple?

Hinata and Naruto and it was baaad. I guess it was maaaybe kind of cute, but it was not good.

Do you remember the first couple you saw fan art of?

Not at all. The most likely options are anyone from HP, Death Note, or InuYasha, but it hasn't stuck with me.

Have you ever gotten into ship discourse?

Nah, the closest I've gotten was the time I got put on a blacklist (or two?) for a shipping Yamato and Sai. I didn't care and so didn't address it, until someone sent me a (kind) message about it. I then explained my feelings about the problematic aspect and the (few) responses I got were 100% positive.

Did you used to have a NOTP or have one currently?

There are plenty of ships I don't particularly like, but I wouldn't call them NOTP's. Except maybe the very very popular ones. I only take real issue with ships that become canon, like a fair few Naruto pairs..

Who were the last couple in the last fanfic you read?

Reading has been hard the last couple of years, so I haven't done much of it.. But it has to have been a Dreamling fic - I'm so excited you've been writing again, TJ 💖

Currently, do you have any OTPs?

MatsuMasa, although they're not my otp in the literal sense. I like them both with Yaichi, and Matsu (non-romantically) with Ume - and the fun thing is that it works all at the same time 😎

Is there any couple that, to this day, you are extremely mad about not getting into?

Hmm well I'm kinda mad at not being as into Dreamling as you are, TJ. I like Sandman and Dreamling! Very much looking forward to the second season and I enjoy the things you blog about, but it's never been more than a general appreciation. And that's fine, ofc, but it's always been such a joy to be excited by the same things as you haha

Is there any ship you used to dislike but now you think they’re kind of interesting?

Maybe KakaGai? Only I didn't dislike it, just didn't consider it. And I don't think it's kind of interesting, I deeply love it.

Do you have any ship that, in the past, would have been considered normal but now you would be cancelled over?

I already mentioned YamaSai, but there's also ShisuItachi. Some people say that the latter is incest. It's been too long and I don't remember their specific relationship, but afaik they're not (direct) family, just from the same clan. Can't get too bothered about family trees in fiction.

Kikyo and Kagome from InuYasha is by some considered gross as well, comparable to incest, because Kagome is Kikyo's reincarnation?

Idk, is FjorClay problematic, because Caduceus is canonically aroace? I feel like it's not a super popular ship anyways, but I still like them a lot. In a queer platonic way.

What is your favourite crack ship?

I don't think I have one. Although I wonder if JonGerry from the Magnus Archives could be considered crack ship? They aren't from different fandoms, but they only met once after Gerry had already died. And then at Gerry's request, Jon sort of killed him again. It doesn't really count as a crack ship, but this is my answer anyway

What is the couple you read the most fanfics about?

Hm, I don't know! The last time I really obsessively read them was in my Naruto era.. So who knows - KakaGai is a very plausible answer.

What do most of your ships have in common?

I guess I most commonly like pairings with a Gentle Giant™ (preferably kind of dumb) and someone grumpy and/or cynical and smart and/or skilful. MatsuMasa, BeauYasha and ShikaChou come to mind.

What do you absolutely hate in a ship?

Hard to explain. Wrong vibes lol. Look I can appreciate love-hate or even hate-hate relationships as much as the next shipper, but there needs to be at least some level of respect/consent/two-way-street? I still dislike SasuSaku, because they very much have none of that from what I remember. They've always been close to a NOTP and then they became canon so..

[archivalofsins]

This is just a note before the Mikoto thing. Though it's been something eating at me for a while since everything happened and I just feel like I need to say it here before doing anything else.

At the end of the day I’m just a person with my own experiences and beliefs. All of which create the lens I view the world through. The point of theorizing to me isn't to be completely right but to engage with a media one enjoys in a new and innovative way. I am not trying to be a prophet and if I turned out to be that would be boring.

If anyone believes that anything I state within my theories is wrong that’s all well and good. In fact, I encourage people to form their own opinions. Especially if those people are willing to remain open-minded and interrogate the factors within their lives that would lead them to have those beliefs/form those opinions. Though that's not mandatory, just what I would find to be the most favorable outcome. Because I enjoy people getting to know themselves better more than anything.

This may be a surprise to some people but even I don't think I'm completely right. Even, I’ve gone well, maybe it’s not that deep. Even bigger shocker half of the conclusions I come to within my theories I came to while writing out my theories over the course of looking over the information further. People’s opinions change and develop over time and as new information presents itself. It’s up to each person to decide whether that change will be for the better or worse. I don’t think remaining closed-minded and stuck in one's ways is a good thing. However, I know it can be a comfortable thing. So, I can personally understand why some people would not like the conclusions I’ve drawn throughout most of my theories.

However, this is a labor of love. I’m rather sure people would have some misgivings around messaging a Milgram fan artist about not liking how they draw or leaving a long-winded review on a fanfic just to go to great lengths to explain why you disliked it. I’m not claiming that people don’t do these things just that the people who do are viewed as rude individuals and it is usually considered more appropriate to just leave well enough alone unless someone is doing something incredibly problematic that has resulted in real people being victimized in some way. At which point it is great to warn others about the individual and what they do if it can actively cause harm.

However, most fan works don’t actively cause harm to anyone and theories about fictional works are on the bottom of the list of things that can cause real world harm. I’m a proud believer in an eye for an eye and admittedly restraining myself to the extent that I have for such a long period of time is a testament to my own character but not necessarily a good one.

Even though I suspect I could very well do the same thing to someone else at any time. Knowing for certain that even if I couldn't do that I could at least test if this happened the way I believe it happened I still haven’t done anything. I literally have suspicions about who did it and even I’m like nah that’s going too far nobody deserves this. They especially don’t deserve it over just enjoying something in the different way than I do. Their enjoyment isn’t hurting me even though I’ve been hurt do the right thing let it go because the price of knowing is higher than the price of doing nothing.

Would you really want someone to have to go through this. No, yay I passed the good person test. But also, fuck being a good person. Being a good person in this regard isn’t fair to me. It doesn’t make the situation resolve itself faster. Hell, it doesn’t even make feel better. It’s just constantly sitting here like I know exactly how to get revenge but apparently, I’m just too much of a coward to even do that.

Like I personally don’t view that as an honorable thing to do. Just suffer in silence fuck that. I’m the first person to go hey take everybody down with you man ya’ll all here we can go into the ground together. Then I think man how sad would that be, how insecure would I have to be with myself and my own opinions to get that heated over someone’s personal view of a fictional work.

How unhappy of a person would I have to be to see someone enjoying themselves and go no you stop that when minding my business was right there? I think harassing someone for how they enjoy something, especially in the fandom built around fictional murderers is kind of something no one here should have the audacity to do. Just to then go defend fictional murderers sometimes on the basis that they’re hot alone.

Like I’ve said it before, and I will keep saying “People who dig through garbage shouldn’t complain about the smell.” If anyone here is under the delusion that they are better than anyone else or enjoying Milgram the right way here’s a reality check, YOU ARE IN THE FICTIONAL MURDERER FANDOM. As much as I love Milgram which is a lot people have gotta admit there’s a reason others stay away from it or find the concept too dark even by normal anime standards.

People within this fandom and any fandom are lucky enough to find other people who enjoy the same thing they do. Others that are just as passionate about it as them. Even luckier to have good fan artists, fic writers, theorists, people who translate the minigrams and voice dramas. Many people who put their passion and love for the series on full display for some to still go hey, hey no not like that though.

Even doing the same with the creators of the thing going on about how they translated their own songs incorrectly. The fanbase instead of building upon what was given sometimes actively works to tear down what's there. Which is all fine and dandy if that's what's enjoyable to some.

Yet sometimes it seems like some of the people here will never be satisfied at anyone’s hard work even the fucking people who created the thing. Right now, Milgram is on the precipice of going the way of so many other media because of its fanbase. Being hated and disliked solely because, “Man, I wanna like it but the fandom is just so toxic you know and I-I just can’t look past that I don’t want to get  involved in that sort of thing. Like it feels like the only way I could enjoy it is by myself, so I’ll just wait until it’s over. I’ll come back when it’s over.”

Which would be fine with any other fandom, but Milgram expressly wants audience involvement and I think it’s a terrible thing that the very thing they wanted is going to be its downfall in a way. It's like if the Unus Anus fandom was like no you can't watch it you don't get it but in that case you literally can't just come back when it's over. Because that was the purpose of it creating something that ends and disappears and uploading the videos after that would be a direct contradiction of the project!

Like I get it we don’t all have to get along or be chummy but actively harassing others over how they enjoy something… Look, I’ve waited for someone to explain to me how it’s okay for someone to get my main blog sent to the shadow realm basically, all over theories. How it’s alright for people to lament about some folks in the fandom not deserving to be able to vote.

Again, something that the series encourages and actively wants people to do. So, this is directly against the core premise of the series. Like, if I just bothered Milgram fan artists whose art I personally didn’t enjoy or messaged fic writer’s about certain character depictions of theirs I didn’t like explaining in length why I did not like them and how they should write it instead that would be rightfully viewed as harassment.

However, when it comes to theorists it seems as though anything goes in this fandom no holds barred. So, instead of feeling the need to send me an ask going oh ho, ho but see if you play MeMe at 10:06 pm the time that aligns with Mikoto’s date of birth on a Monday the day of the week Mikoto was born you'll see a completely different scene after the credits of the video that blows his case wide open.

Okay great you write an essay on that, you make a theory and leave me alone I've been through a lot at this point and I don't have the patience. Take everything I say with a grain of salt if you want to. Unless you're willing to put in the same amount of fucking time and effort I did- Which by the way if the people who do bother others like this were doing that bothering anyone wouldn't even need to be a part of that process at any point. Like my opinion and everyone else's is already here you can just take it and write your own counter theory completely debunking everything I said with our paths never needing to cross.

Bothering anyone isn't gonna prove your point because you haven't worked to make one you just dislike theirs. Which in and of itself is fair, but at what point did the person they disagree with knowing that become a priority?

I am not being nice about this anymore. This fandom has displayed an overbearing toxicity that is counterproductive to what Milgram as a project seeks to accomplish. Something that’s incredibly funny given most of the people here agreed that cyberbullying over a stolen hat design was unforgivable but harassing people over theories about stories totally okay.

Does it have to get to the point it did with Futa for people in this fandom to understand this sort of behavior isn't good. That creating this sort of intolerant fandom space is bad actually. Personally, I don’t need an inviting fandom space I’m an adult with multiple friends who I can discuss this with in real life for hours. However, there are a lot of people younger than me in this fanbase who deserve to have a good experience with it.

Budding new artists, fic writers, people who for all I know this fandom could be their first experience when it comes to being in fandom spaces. So, I’m pleading with the Milgram fandom to at least make a more inviting space for those people and for everyone to recognize whether your favorite Milgram character is voted Guilty shown to be horrid later down the line or the one you hate the most is voted Innocent does not matter more than the positive experiences you could create, can, and will have with people in this fandom.

People who you'll probably meet through this fandom. It doesn’t have to go the way of worse fandoms. There doesn’t need to be this hostility. This can be fun even when our opinions conflict or the verdict we personally want isn’t the one that wins. I’m not above displaying my own toxicity or putting my bias on full display every once and a while. So, I'm definitely not saying this from a place of superiority.

I’m sure there have been people whose feelings were genuinely hurt by some of my opinions or who just don’t like me. Yet, I’m not forcing anyone to see me or my posts. I’m just talking about what I enjoy and tagging it correctly to look back on later. Me discussing my interests in a way I find enjoyable shouldn’t have led to what it did and I’m dead serious about it not happening to anyone else. I care about Milgram as a series and want as many people to enjoy it as possible.

I feel like that won’t happen if the fandom stays so divided and reactionary. Though maybe it could just be the tumblr part of the fandom which is oddly surprising given what some here have said about twitter but I definitely haven’t had that issue there. So, this may be the rare case of a tumblr fandom being worse than twitter and I feel like that’s the biggest insult I can leave this off on so I’m gonna head out.

Mikoto murders breakdown coming Saturday and remember you always have the choice to be kind.

Honestly, can’t some people just let people go and live their life?

[thessalian]

Thess vs Backlogs and IT Issues

Well, if this is the setting for the next two weeks, I'm in deep shit.

Scruffman, our office manager, is on leave for the next two weeks. I had a feeling that things were going to get a little ... problematic. Goblin has a "when the cat's away, the mice will play" mentality and has a habit of chatting in her usual "I Hate Everything" way whenever she gets the change - read: "when Scruffman isn't at his desk". This monopolises the time and attention of everyone in the office, so less work gets done. That's not even counting the whole thing where Temp will dodge all the longer work - with Violet on long-term medical leave, that still leaves me to do the lion's share of it, because Milady tends to take over Scruffman's duties when she's away and so she's busier than usual for the next two weeks (when not sucked into Goblin's Grumble Vortex)

In addition to this, we had some changes to our transcription software recently and it has not been particularly well implemented. Having to tag our typing with our initials is bad enough, but the window on which we have to do so is slow to come up at the best of times, so that's a fair chunk of time wasted. Again, that's under the best of circumstances right now.

Logged in today and the queue was at 375 and climbing. We were backlogged as far back as Saturday (because of course the various doctors and techs are still coming in on the weekends), and all the ones left from Saturday were - you guessed it - the long and complicated bullshit that Temp doesn't want to touch. But yesterday's typing was effectively untouched when I logged in.

The queue when I logged out for the day was approaching 400. Barely anything got typed unless I typed it (except for seeing Milady take one fifteen minute long monstrosity, for which I am very grateful because I got something like three 10+ minute bits of dictation on top of the ones that don't take long to speak but do take long to type because of having to deal with the formatting - it's a thing). Most of the urgent cases got done - but not all; the longer ones of those were left behind as well when I logged out. I just hadn't noticed because I was busy with all the long dictation and the stuff from the more difficult doctors and techs. I barely saw anything taken out of the queue, and when I did, it was in bits and snatches of shorter pieces of work between the longer, complicated stuff. And like I said - not that much of that got done either.

Of course, some of this might have something to do with the transcription software, which was at its worst today. It crashed seven times, and hung for at least five minutes a dozen more times over the course of the day, at least for me. It's possible that people got slowed down because they were having the same problem, but I don't know because no one keeps me updated when Scruffman's not around. I'd bet good money that they didn't try to talk to IT about it and just used it as an excuse to relax and futz about all day, but at least it's sort of an excuse. Ish. Kind of. I mean, I was slowed up, but I wasn't slowed up that much...

If we're still in this mess when I log in tomorrow (and I honestly expect it to be much worse tomorrow), I may actually have to pull some overtime. I have spoken to Scruffman about doing so if it becomes necessary, because at least I don't have to commute, but I'm honestly not sure I have the spoons for that kind of thing. Thing is, we need to at least get partway caught up. This reflects badly on all of us, but the others don't seem to fucking care. Scruffman's away, so they can do what they want, apparently. And it's leaving us massively behind.

So tomorrow is going to be a day. If our transcription software is still a mess of hiccups and crashes, I'll be emailing IT and asking what the hell is going on. If the queue is still obscenely long (and I would wager, knowing the doctors' work patterns as I do, that it'll be approaching 500 cases when I log in, if my colleagues in the office keep on the way they're going), I'm going to have to log some overtime to at least get us so that we're only one day behind and not two. I'll obviously keep a record and email Scruffman about it, but I can't just let this stay like this. And I can't make Goblin and Temp get a fucking move on - hell, I couldn't do that even if I was in the office.

Fuck. Just ... fuck. Two whole weeks of this bullshit? Are you kidding me?!? Scruffman is obviously entitled to use his annual leave, but we're already massively understaffed because no one hired a replacement for Sunshine and Sid, so if Goblin and Temp refused to pull their respective fingers out, we're going to end up so deep in backlog that we'll end up with calls from clients asking what the fuck is going on. Most of this stuff is fairly urgent. It's histology. It's people being investigated for potential cancer in a lot of cases! I don't necessarily expect miracles, but I expect at least the kind of work ethic that doesn't involve turning the office into a chat-and-coffee corner the minute the managers' backs are turned. If I have to keep the whole place afloat for two weeks, I WANT A FUCKING RAISE. Or at the very least overtime pay.

Thankfully my own week's holiday comes pretty much as soon as Scruffman comes back from his fortnight. I'm going to need it. Especially if I have to pull overtime.

*flashes back to typing queue when I logged out before*

...When. Especially when I have to pull overtime. UGH.