#is it so hard to say 'no matter how wrong someone is'?

[uncle-fruity]

Also, like... I get that there is a lot of anxiety about being seen as morally good & fighting for everyone at every turn, but! Crucially, the people who try to guilt trip you or judge you off your Tumblr presence don't fucking know you. They don't know what you do off Tumblr. They may not know any other social media that you DO use for your politics and heavy posting. And, tbh, at a certain level of offline activism & direct action, it is actively dangerous for you to be posting about what you do online, so a perceived lack of interest or dedication online does not necessarily translate to the efforts you put in to causes you care about.

Fact of the matter is, YOU are the only one who knows what you get up to. If it's not as much as you think you should be doing, that's for you to assess and change. If you feel like you're doing enough, or if you feel like taking on more responsibility in activism would overwhelm you or burn you out, that's okay! You know your limits better than anyone else. You get to set your priorities. And if you really want to help with social justice causes, you HAVE to take care of yourself. Anger, fear, and guilt are not sustainable motivations to drive a movement. You NEED places to relax and have fun and not think about how bleak things can get. You NEED to have places to retreat, enjoy yourself, and remind yourself that it's all worth fighting for.

I know this, because I'm in my 30s now. When I was in my early 20s, I was friends with a lot of folks who went hard during the Ferguson protests, and while many of them are still active in their activism, almost none of them are operating on the same level as they used to. All of them are burnt out & depressed. I spend a lot of my energy urging them to take care of their most basic needs. We also have a problem with a lot of older activists being too broken & traumatized to continue organizing. And part of the problem is people within the movement encouraging people to push past their limits until they have nothing left to give. Or just having no support systems in place to help people recover while actively judging people who need them & can't continue without them.

And, like, it's hard, because it's easy to start feeling like no one cares about the stuff you care about when you're out there trying to make change -- especially true if all your activism is online posting & raising awareness. It can feel like you're talking to a void or a brick wall. The idea that you are so stressed & strung out & never let yourself take a break from the harsh reality of the world while there are people who have the audacity to make time to enjoy their lives and put their efforts into other activities that aren't directly related to The Cause -- well, that's why a lot of people resort to guilt trips. I know I did, too, when I was younger and freshly angry. And I know that those guilt trips did nothing to convince anyone of anything. In fact, it was the constant guilt trips that made me retreat from those online groups. Where they might have had any and all skills I could offer, they instead made me feel like shit for doing what I could handle at the time. And even though I knew guilt tripping was a major manipulation & abuse tactic, I still resorted to it and, in doing so, I felt wrong. Like I betrayed some of my core values by trying to make people feel so bad that they would suddenly realize that they should be ashamed & join the movement headfirst. It just... doesn't work that way. A guilt trip will turn people off. If you want people to join a movement or be more active in a movement they are already part of, it is so much better to encourage them to come with you to organized events or give them something tangible to do that they can actually accomplish. And if you're just talking about posting online, well... that is not the most important thing to focus on, and is a really bad measure to judge someone's morality.

All that to say, a guilt trip is usually a manifestation of the desperation folks are feeling. It's not right to guilt trip folks, and if you're at that point that you feel like that's the only thing that will get people to change and care, then I'm sorry to say you are probably on the verge of your own burnout and you need to take a break. Please don't let people make you feel bad for not being angry or on your activism shit 24/7. And don't judge yourself harshly when you need to have boundaries online. The best tactic will always be community building and working with people & their various skills on their level. Compassion and encouragement go so much farther than guilt.

No matter what a post on tumblr tries to tell you, your moral and ethical stances will never be determined by what you reblog and what you scroll past. Don’t let manipulation tactics force you into doing anything you don’t want to do.

[warrioreowynofrohan]

I have been seeing this quote all over my feed in the past weeks, for good reason.

“Always after a defeat and a respite, the Shadow takes another shape and grows again.”

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.

“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

It’s important to me, it’s something I need to hold on to, and yet to me there are also ways it feels different from the current situation. Frodo and the Shire are in terrible danger, and something terribly hard is being asked of him; but the Shire is no danger to anyone else.

What we’re in feels more like late-stage Númenor to me: seeing your society twisted and corrupted to the destruction of people both outside it and within it. Bearing responsibility for what it does with minimal ability to change it. Knowing that many people around you either support it or don’t care much.

Culpability without power.

I’m not in the US – I’m next to it, and our next election is very likely to bring in someone aligned with Trump – but this isn’t just about the US. Austria and Hungary are already far-right. France is on the edge. Russia and China are their own versions of the same thing: authoritarian, nationalist, expansionist, and targeting ethnic minorities.

This is on both sides of the Atlantic now. This isn’t WWII. No one is coming to save us. All of us are going to need to fight this in our own ways. I hope that I’m wrong, that maybe it won’t be as bad as I fear, but I can’t count on that.

I saw a post saying “don’t doomscroll”. It’s right. Don’t exhaust yourself doing things that won’t help. Take a breath. Pet your cat. Do something that comforts you.

And then, organize. Because as bad as 2016 was, I don’t think this is 2016. There’s no waiting this one out. There’s no “in four years”. It ends when we all say it does, and only then.

It doesn’t matter how powerless we feel. It doesn’t matter how futile anything seems. We have to all do what we can. We have to work together. We have to protect and aid the people who will be targeted, in whatever ways we can, and that means organization and networks and knowing each of us is not alone.

Grant us wisdom, grant us courage.

For the facing of these days.

For the facing of these days.

[olderthannetfic]

My least favorite flavor of "proship" brainrot: you can't be into something being taboo or wrong or bad. The characters must never think about how this is wrong or bad or forbidden, they can't angst about being attracted to their dad or someone one fifth their age, or else you're an anti. You're sex-negative. You're ashamed of yourself. You're not kink-positive. It's okay to like incest or shota whatever but you're not supposed to like the characters acknowledging this is a big deal or being guilt-ridden or giving into sexy, sexy temptation after trying to resist. They gotta get in, fuck and get out, no angst. Otherwise there's something wrong with you.

I went to Catholic school. I am always going to love "I know this is wrong but no matter how hard I try I keep having these thoughts!" That shit gets me off. It doesn't mean I'm a repressed Puritan. I own four dildos and three anal plugs, I have a dedicated spare hard drive full of porn, and my children were not immaculately conceived.

What you like in fiction doesn't reflect who you are IRL. I'm tired of having to explain it.

(To the "no true Christian proshipper would ever sin so grievously say a mean thing" crowd: I see you, I understand you, try not to cry too hard in the comments.)

--

[ateremteshezterkell]

Where is the line?

How does this even happen? A man convicted of 34 felonies—a man directly involved in the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol —somehow gets not only to run for president again but to win. How does he come back, claiming the right to lead the very democracy he undermined? How does a nation so proud of its justice system, of its ideals of law and order, look the other way? Where is the line? What does it say about a system, about a nation, that turns a blind eye to his crimes? How can a country built on principles of freedom ignore that threat? At what point does a democracy stop being one?

And what about the women who dared to speak up? At least 26 women came forward to accuse him of sexual assaul. These women—brave and vulnerable—bared their stories, hoping their voices would be enough to hold him accountable. They risked their own peace, safety, and mental health, believing in the justice system, believing in truth. And yet, as he claims his office, what does it tell them? That no matter how many speak up, power and influence will drown them out? We are told again and again that an accusation can “ruin a man’s life.” But how ruined can his life be if he’s now the president once again? How hollow do those words sound to women who dared to stand up? What message does this send to women? That no matter how brave they are, their voices don’t matter? That their pain is somehow always less important than the power a man holds? How can anyone tell women to have faith in justice when justice looks away so easily, so willingly?

Then there’s the assault on women’s rights themselves. Look at what’s happened with Roe v. Wade, the protection of bodily autonomy stripped away, leaving millions of women with no say over their own bodies. This new government, with its conservative grip on the judiciary, is likely to tighten that hold, chipping away at autonomy and bodily freedom until little remains. People scoff at comparisons to The Handmaid’s Tale, but isn’t this a page straight from it? How does a woman find safety, find equality, when those who govern see her rights as disposable? And with the Supreme Court potentially packed with MAGA for decades to come, where is the hope for progress? What kind of future does that create for a generation of women? What does it say about freedom when one group’s autonomy is treated like an afterthought?

And then there’s the colossal denial of climate change. This man, who calls climate change a “hoax,” who refuses to believe in science while the world watches hurricanes grow stronger, wildfires rage hotter, and coastlines disappear. How can a leader turn his back on such a crisis? And how can voters in states already devastated by floods, wildfires, droughts still support him? How does that make sense? Are they so determined to pretend these disasters don’t exist, so eager to ignore reality? What happens when there’s no coastline left, when hurricanes devour towns whole, when the air is thick with smoke and the waters too high to contain? It feels like watching a nightmare unfold, knowing people have chosen it willingly, knowing they are burying their heads in the sand. But when that sand is swept away by rising oceans, what will be left?

And yet, people wonder how certain dictators rose to power in the past. They look back, horrified, asking how it happened, how no one stopped him, how the warning signs went ignored. But is the world not seeing the same thing now? Every sign, every pattern is there, and still, people turn away, hoping someone else will step in, that it will all work out on its own. But if no one intervenes, if the world stands by hoping for the best, where does this end?

One day, people will look back on this moment, asking how it was allowed to happen, how the world stood still and watched. And then, will they see it all with the same horror, asking why no one stopped it before it went too far?

I only hope I’m wrong. I never thought I’d have to hope this hard to be so very, very wrong.

[abyssal-author-and-artist]

My blog is generally pretty lighthearted and I stick to reblogging art and fic and fun stuff, but you know what. I feel like I need to say this.

I am a trans teen in the US. I'm seventeen, so too young to have voted. I'm terrified for my life right now. I usually post about college but I'm actually concurrently enrolled in high school still and the kid who sits behind me in first period government is a massive Trump fanboy. I'm going to have to go to high school Monday and talk about the election. I'm going to have to hear my deadname called and hear people in my super conservative high school talk about how happy they are Trump won. Everything is terrifying. I walk outside of my house and I'm scared I'll be shot. Several months ago I promised that I'd kill myself if that bastard won.

He did and I'm still here.

I'm not thriving. I'm not living my best life. I'm barely living. But I'm surviving. I'm coping. I'm trying my goddamned best. It's hard. I want so bad to just go and take as much medication as I can and slit my wrist for good measure and pass away in my sleep. But I'm still here. And I will be here.

I am in so much pain. But I'm living on spite and determination and everything I can scrape together. I know I need support and those around me need support. So consider this a support masterpost.

Support:

First thing you should see if you're a trans person in the US.

Here's a link to the Trevor Project and here's a link to their suicide hotline page. They've already saved my life once before. Please note - they recommend calling if you need immediate support. Donate if you can, please.

This post is both a suicide hotline masterlist and a post mentioning how something feels deeply wrong here with this election.

On the topic of something being wrong, sign this petition. I'm only seventeen but I did this and it might not feel like much but if we couldn't shoot that bastard (I am not pro-gun but I am when it comes to him) then we'll do the next best thing. Here's the link to the petition itself. Make sure to check the post every once in a while - the original petition got taken down and this is important.

I follow a lot of gimmick blogs, so I got to see this post encouraging us to be loud. Because we should be. Because if we die they've won and my mom didn't smoke weed on the steps of the state capital of Colorado to legalize it just so her son could roll over and die.

Here is the Tumblr Hot Beverage Masterpost, as I've taken to calling it. My personal favorites are the London Fog in the replies, earl grey with milk, honey, and vanilla (in the tags), and some additions from me are hot chocolate with peppermint melted into it, earl grey with lavender, caramel apple tea, and really anything else you can think of. Trust me. This post works better than you think.

Read this post if you haven't seen it already. It's half poem, half Tumblr being Tumblr, all wonderful to read.

Things I just like to see:

PM Seymour and Bettina Levy both have shown their support for everyone struggling right now. It might not be much, but I still really appreciate it and seeing support can really help.

The cat with the kind and reassuring face. No other context.

Four panel comic of hope. Because you're more than enough.

Can't find the post where I found this but this is a link to a virtual toy where you can make your own galaxy.

Please. Eat something. Drink a hot beverage. Draw, write, read, knit, sew, sculpt, bake, do something that helps. Reach out to friends, even if they're online friends. Talk to someone you trust. Make vent art. Write vent fics. It doesn't matter what you do as long as it helps.

Do not roll over and die. Live. Live on spite. Live on determination. Live on shitposts and live on heartfelt stories like this one. If you have anything to add to this post please do. Add more resources. Add more love to this post. I know I'm just a guy on the internet saying shit, but I still care about everyone who sees this post.

[maymaylyn]

Eye's never lie.

Gabriel T Rorke x female! Reader

Thomas Merrick x Reader (one sided)

This is nsfw btw and hella naughty but I’m really proud of it! Please enjoy!(>w<) a HUDE thank you to my Appalachia biter for not only helping with the idea but supporting me though it. @gunnrblze @howtotwirlaknife22 @milkteaarttime

——————

Thomas Merrick revealed in the fact that he was good at what he did. However, he wasn't the best. His Captain was an everyday reminder of that. No matter how hard he trained, he could never put the bastard in his place. No, Rorke always bested him; faster, bigger, stronger. It made the young Sergeant furious when Rorke took all of his hard work and destroyed it.

One minute and seven seconds. That was the longest sparing session they ever had. And even if Elias was impressed at how long he lasted against the older man, rorke would laugh at him. Mocking everything he did wrong and pushing his temper to the brink. The bell of the training center door opened, turning both their heads. Or so Merrick thought.

His Captain's wife had come in and cast sunshine into the storm in his brain. It wasn't the first time this happened, and he was filled with the warmth you directed towards your husband. He never understood it; why someone like you would be with such an asshole. Politely smiling at merrick while making your way over to your husband. Setting your happiness on the man he couldn't help but hate was hard to watch. Forcefully removing his eyes from your plump curves, Merrick mistakenly locked eyes with his Captain again. Fuck.

Gabriel had still been eyeing his Sergeant down with borderline sadistic pleasure while he tucked you into his sweaty side. Only looking away when you jabbed at your husband, letting out a whine from feeling the sweat on his skin. The smirk on Gabriel's face when they had locked eyes made Merrick's heart drop to his ass. Forgetting himself, he let his eyes roam across your body in front of your husband. His Captain.

A rookie mistake if you'd ask Rorke. Something to add to the list of things Rorke had against him: getting caught checking out your C.O.'s woman, nice one, Thomas. Merrick held back the urge to say 'fuck it' and just leave. But he didn't want to get in more trouble than he was already undoubtedly in. The heat pouring out of Merricks body made it impossible to stay still. Shifting his weight from one side to the other only did so much when he was angrily shaking, watching Rorke lean down and whisper something in your ear. Merrick knew the small smile you unconditionally had was because Rorke's breath ticked your ear, not because of what he was saying. There was confusion in your eyes when you glanced at Merrick and then returned to your husband.

You gave Rorke a nod, and there was a slight question to it, but Rorke gave no answer. Rorkes sharp gaze targeted his Sargents once more, not looking away from his prey like a predator watching his dinner. Rorke barked out to Lieutenant Walker that he was dismissed. Waiting for the lecture to start, Merrick tried swallowing the lump in his throat, but it was like trying to gulp down a rock. Holding his breath was easier. At least he had trained for that.

"Congratulations, you've just earned another lesson, Sergeant!"

His Captain's words held a sinister intent laced to them. This couldn't be good. Rorkes 'lessons' never were. Following his Captain in the direction that his wife ran off sealed Merrick's fate.

-----------

Torture would be the perfect word to describe it. Rorke led Merrick back to his office. Not even bothering to hide the devilish smirk plastered on his face, Rorke opened the door for his Sergeant and gave him a firm order.

"Sit in the chair and don't move."

As his Captain's words were law, Merrick followed them without wasting a second. Only to stop like a deer in headlights when turning into the office, he saw skin. A lot of skin. What the-?

"Is there a problem, Sergeant?"

Shutting the door behind them, Rorke came behind the wide-eyed younger man, looking over his shoulder with inches to spare. Flushed and covered in goosebumps, Merrick's wide eyes reflected in yours. He would notice that he was staring only if he could focus on those pretty eyes. Rorke went around Merrick, knocking his shoulder against the young man's, jolting him out of his little trance. Heavy steps took Gabriel towards the very... naked woman. Taking your attention off the man with his jaw on the floor, you looked up with big eyes at the larger man. He let his rough hands delicate, making their way up your shins to the back of your knee, yanking you forward with a gasp. Hands immediately went to Rorke's shoulders for stability, gripping with embarrassment that showed itself on your cheeks.

You gave Gabriel your devoted attention, ignoring Thomas's prying gaze for now. Your husband liked his office cold, but the embarrassment struck you, and having more than one pair of eyes on you made your skin burn. One of Gabriel's hands handled your jaw with authority. His eyes give you a silent command to behave or else.

Out of the corner of your vision, you see the young Sergeant shaking in his boots, clenching his fists for dear life as Gabriel guides your mouth to his, claiming it with his own. All thoughts left the young man's mind as he couldn't take his eyes away from the flushed flesh of another's woman. Breathing was uneven and heavy between the pair in front of him, a sharp contrast of his own that he was spending far too much time trying to make even and deep in his lungs to help calm his racing heart. It was a challenging task to focus on the way your skin bounced and pulled with his Captain's hands running all over you, squeezing and tweaking your perky nipples. Causing the woman to bend into the man towering over her, moaning into his mouth without care of the audience.

"I gave you an order, Merrick."

Rorke said, pulling back, not taking his eyes away from you, wanting to see the desperation of you chasing after him. A haze had come over you, and the cold air of the office now made you sweat. Anger suddenly was at the forefront of Merricks mind, once again Rorke was pushing him. But he held it together, and thankfully, without tripping, he made his way to the chair. It was a lot closer to the desk than he had considered all those times when he dropped off reports or got lectured by the old man. Careful to not spread his legs so far, he didn’t want to hit the soft flesh that anchored itself around Rorke's waist but just far enough to make room for the heat growing in his pants.

Rorke took an easy swing at your ass. The loud smack made Merrick jump in his seat, his hands gripping the rough fabric, trying to focus on anything else. Picking you up quickly, barely flexing the bicep that previously had Merrick in a chokehold pinned to the ground in training. He brought you over to the side of the wooden desk, setting you on your feet. Your husband turned you by your hips, pulling you back with a hand on your neck, bringing a gasp out of you. Your chest was pushed out from the angle you were contorted in, pushing a gasp from your lungs. Seeing you on display made Merrick's mind go haywire. Wanting to respect you but this was also confirming the fantasies that toyed with him on lonely nights. You were gorgeous. He thought it was cruel of your husband to make you do this, but the way you were letting Rorke do it as he pleased with you told him exactly what you wanted.

Rorke took his sharp teeth to your neck, biting and sucking delicate skin roughly. He took his hand that gripped your hips and fumbled with his belt buckle. The extra strap of his gun holster was pushed down so that there was enough room for him to slip out of his tactical pants. Usually, Rorke is one to take his time with you, but it was a little out of the ordinary for him to be so impatient. Merrick didn't blame his Captain, though, thinking back to when he had first stepped foot in the room. How long had you been waiting in anticipation? Did you know Rorke was going to bring him with him? How long had you been wet just thinking about the two men coming in? Did your pussy get wetter when you saw Merrick coming in with him?

The thought brought a rush of blood to his dick. It made it so painful trying not to move. Not wanting to give Rorke the satisfaction of watching him squirm. A high-pitched moan that came from you cut through Merricks thoughts and brought him out of his head. Rorke's hips made sharp movements up, pulling back as far as he could without pulling out of your wet pussy. With every thrust, a squelch mixed in with the moaning coming from you. Deep groaning from his Captain that had his face buried in your neck from how tight you were around him.

A few quick movements and Rorke had pushed you onto the desk. Raking his hand through your hair, he kept a grip, angling you to be face-to-face with his younger Sergeant. Merrick let out a shallow breath, unable to escape the intensity of your eyes as they rolled back. Thrusting hard making a loud slapping sound off his his against the fat of your ass. Your husband might have been the one fucking you, but your eyes were begging Merrick to go harder. 

The fast pace fucking and the intensity of the situation you were placed in made your pussy tighten, sucking Gabriel in greedily.

“Fuck sweetheart- you’re dripping on the floor! Ya, like his eyes on you- giving you attention? What do ya say? Should he clean it up? Lick your sweet honey off the floor?! Ha! I think so.”

Your voice got louder in Merricks's face, unable to focus on anything; you yelled out a ‘yessss!’ in response to your husband's quick speech. Hearing you yell out for him made Merrick finally buck his hips up cumming with you. Spilling himself in his pants, he rolls his eyes back. He couldn’t stop; the more he cums, the wet sticky friction gave his sensitive skin a delicious burn.

Rorke pulled out of you, letting the puddle underneath his wife get slightly more prominent. Smirking at that and pulling your cheeks apart to watch your juices fall from you, he gave a hard smack to your ass. Earning him another loud moan for you. Pulling you up and taking him in your arms, holding you up, and keeping you close to him. He steps back slightly, leaning against the wall behind him, letting you catch your breath, lightly moaning into his with every movement. Merrick audibly gulped as he watched Rorke take you in his arms, gently rubbing your hips, trying to soothe the ache.

“We’re not done here, Sergeant. On your knees, you were given an order. I suggest you follow it.”

Merrick was shaking in his seat when Rorkes locked onto him with venom in his eyes. He kept eye contact while he sank off the chair and onto his knees. Only looked away when his hands touched the ground to lean down. He almost felt nauseous with the sick power his Captain held over him. Gasping out when he felt a heavy boot on the back of his neck pushing him down. Stopping right before his nose hit the floor. The force alone would have broken it.

“You don’t have all day, Merrick.”

Rorke could feel the Sergeant's heart pounding through his boot as he watched him lick the wood flooring clean. The smell alone made him was making him hard and aching again, but the taste… it was bringing him closer to heaven than he had ever got before. A heavy feeling of pride and possession weighed on Rorke, making his boot heavier. That satisfaction of training his Sergeant into an obedient mutt was enough to leave a sinister feeling in his gut…

“I knew you could follow orders without lip.”

The deep laughter that followed Rorke's words made Merricks's heart drop. Once again, it was Rorke putting him in his place. Again, Rorke bent down only slightly, grabbing ahold of Merricks' collar and dragging him up to his feet. Being face-to-face with Gabriel Rorke was always intimidating. He was a powerful force that could break the strongest of men.

“If I ever catch you looking at what’s mine again, I will gut you. Is that understood, Sergeant?”

“…yes sir…”

.

.

.

[jupiter--dream]

(cw vent, sorry it's just been A Couple Of Days)

Not really having many irl friends comes at the price of feeling so terribly lonely, I feel like I have no one to talk to because I'm not close to enough people, or maybe I am and I just haven't talked to them in a while and I don't want this to be our first conversation qwq

I'm honestly just. Tired, tbh qwq

[kikizoshi]

Not to mention the whole Puppet heavily psychologically abusing TEAPS!Sun thing. Because she thought she was right. In her mind, Sun needed to get over his agoraphobia and fear of Moon, so forcing him out of the Daycare by triggering his cleaning issues, then having absolutely no empathy as he's cowering from shadows and crying/screaming on the floor because he's so scared... is just fine, to her. Yes, Sun wasn't being fair, but showing no empathy whatsoever? And then forcing the issue when she just learned from her mistake that she admitted to with TSAMS!Sun, trying to force him to choose.

AND THE "YOU'RE GONNA DIE IF YOU DON'T CHOOSE TO SHARE" THING OH MY GOD. That whole interaction was so, so hard to watch. Literally psychological torture at that point, on an animatronic who might as well have been a child. I'd say it's like she learned nothing from TSAMS!Sun's situation, except that she openly acknowledged and took responsibility for handling that situation poorly and pushing Sun too far, which just shows me that somehow she can perceive her failures but not learn from them. 'Cause the dilemma she insisted on with EAPS!Sun & Moon was so much worse. (I still wish she and Eclipse had experienced real, lasting repercussions for that.)

And seeing Eclipse there, acting in the same way because of course he is, traumatising and brute-forcing people into submission has literally always been him M.O., but he just started learning better habits with Earth, and so to set the tone for the next chapter in his life with the person who wants to help him get better egging him on to horrifically abuse Sun? It was just a stomach-drop moment of, oh, nothing's really changed, has it? Eclipse still doesn't have the opportunity of good role models. He still doesn't have anyone showing him a healthy way to act.

It really feels like Puppet gets into this pattern where she decides that someone needs to change, how they need to change, what they need to do to change... and then gets upset at them when they don't comply and it doesn't work perfectly immediately. And she doesn't learn that people don't work that way, no matter how many times it blows up in her face (which isn't a complaint with the writers, I'm just upset at the character).

There's just... a fundamental disconnect with Puppet. There always has been. She tries, but I think maybe she doesn't fully know how to empathise with people. Something doesn't compute. Which sucks, 'cause then how do you help someone like Eclipse, who struggles with empathy, when you yourself don't know much about it? (Though, I'd say Eclipse struggles more with expressing/acknowledging empathy than feeling it, whereas Puppet seems the opposite.)

On a non-Eclipse note though too, I felt all the way back in the Monty and Puppet Podcast episodes how unempathetic she could be. Like, she's marginally better than Monty (though the bar is in Tartarus there) in that she actually somewhat cares whether the guests have read and agreed to the consent form. But that doesn't stop her from putting up the episodes, and as much as she apologises after the fact, she never starts holding Monty accountable to actually make them read it (I'm aware this is a bit, but that doesn't change the literal interpretation of her actions). Also, I know it's a bit, I get that, but playing Lunar's own death for him, repeatedly, after he asked her to stop, repeatedly, is such a callously cruel thing to do. And she plays it for a bit, like it wasn't one of the most traumatic things to happen to Lunar. And she laughed. Because it's funny to her. That always rubbed me the wrong way; her entire demeanour in the podcast episodes does, really.

OKAY SO IM NOT THE ONLY PUPPET HATER?? THANK THE GODSSS ITS SO RARE TO FIND REASONABLE HATE ON PUPPET

I NEED THAT WOMAN DIVORCED!!!!!!

ALL LOVE / NO HATE

Actor of puppet, you’re wonderful. Love you, love your acting, love your lore, BUT I NEED PUPPET OUT OF ECLIPSE’S LIFE BEFORE HIM OR I CRASH OUT. /SILLY /NSRS

Look…it’s expected for me to hate on everyone because…sigh…I’m an eclipse kinnie…I gotta hate everyone…it’s…it’s my…my OBLIGATION, if you will…

no, I have genuine reasons and actual arguments for every character I love, and every character I hate. I think that Puppet is just very emotionally close minded like 80% of the characters despite trying to be sympathetic to Eclipse. She’s trying, she is, but like…girl please…this ain’t how you do it…

I also genuinely haven’t looked at her previous lore or anything, so I can’t say I’m 🤓☝️ “super educated” or anything as I am with Eclipse. However, based off all that I’ve seen in TEAPS, I simply have not been given a reason to like her for any reason. Sure, she’s /trying/ to help Eclipse which is MORE than ANYONE ELSE IS DOING, but at the same time she’s being slightly harmful to him.

WHICH, YEAH, IT’S FUCKING /ROUGH/ TO DEAL WITH THAT MAN

But the way she problem solves and tries to help is just generally problematic and headache inducing. Like…

puppet…if…you’re trying to get someone to participate in games…DON’T. INVITE. THE PEOPLE. THAT HE HARMED, OR GOT HARMED BY.

I FEEEEEL LIKE THAT’S COMMON SENSE.

IS THAT…NOT…COMMON SENSE????

Of course, out of character, looking at the writers and VA’s, they could’ve just really wanted them to play games together. Fair. Reasonable. But I’m looking at them IN CHARACTER. And in character…Puppet kinda sucks.

Bwomp! :(

[chewwytwee]

people conflate being nice with not being critical. Being nice to people doesnt mean never presenting them with any kind of negative information or feedback it means don't be a prick while doing it

[1stdonuts]

ive already made plans to dye my hair orange so its too late now but the idea was to dye my hair the same colour as the representative ribbon for brain cancer and for some reason i thought it was orange? its actually grey

[daz4i]

how and why is there discourse about whether or not certain queer identities exist/if people should be allowed(???) to use them. why is "people know their own identity better than you ever could, and they're the only one who get a say on what they are" such a tough concept to grasp

i think if you find yourself offended by the label someone uses (especially if they're a stranger) or think it invalidates your own, it's a good idea to look inside yourself and question why that may be. more often than not, it's a result of insecurity or uncertainty of your own identity (or many other things, but i won't make a whole list here). whatever reason it is, until you resolve it, you shouldn't take it out on people for having an identity you don't understand

many have said it before but it's worth saying over and over. infighting only helps our oppressors. conservatives don't care if you're a cis gay or a xenogender aegosexual aplatonic lesbian, they hate all of us either way. trying to fit in by going for people who are easier targets for them isn't gonna help you, it'll just alienate you from your own community, and you're never gonna please them. the momentary rush you get from hearing you're not like "one of /those/ gay people" is not worth it and is gonna do more harm in the long run, i assure you

also, it is important to me to say this, but having some less than nice kneejerk reaction caused by confusion about an identity you don't understand doesn't mean you're a bad person or anything. as long as you aren't mean to that person, and you take a second to think smth along the lines of "wait a minute, this isn't any of my business" after having said reaction, you're good 👍 a lot of reflexive reactions we have to things are ingrained into us simply by. well. living in a society 🤡 and you're not terrible for having those thoughts. it's your actions that matter, and your second thought (the "wait, why did i just think that?") is more defining of your actual character and morals than your reflex. i know that having thoughts like this, even tho they're unwanted, can very easily make one spiral, so it's important to me that whoever needs to hear this knows this doesn't make you a bad person 🙏 you're good, keep taking actions to be good, accept other people even if you don't understand them, and you're on the right track :)

[insectsuspect]

Tbh even tho I’m not rlly tcc this is how I feel. I think we try so hard to make everything black and white a dehumanize people bc it’s easier when it’s wrong. Ask most people and they’ll agree humans aren’t just black and white and can just be human purely evil, but then are in denial of that once it starts to mess with their heads. I’m wording it very well but it’s something I’ve been thinking about.

This isn’t rlly the same at all even, but I’ve been thinking abt it often after having a convo with my black history teacher (he became one because he wanted to find out more about his enslaved great grandmother) and he talked about how the issue we have in society is dehumanizing people. That’s what the white slaveowners did to black people. They acted as if black people were inherently stupid, evil, lesser, etc as an excuse to treat them less than human. We then all agreed everyone is human ofc. He then said that’s why you cannot dehumanize the white slave owners either. He said you need to call out what they did and the issues, but you can’t just wrap it up as “oh they’re just evil”.

Not only is that harmful to them but mainly it’s harmful to black people actually. Same with the holocaust. If we just say “oh that was really bad” and then leave it at that, never dive further into the reasonings and why’s and how’s, it’s going to happen again. It has happened again because we’re so in denial and trying to protect our own minds because writing it off is so much easier. It’s disgraceful to do that in such a serious long situation. It disrespects what happened to those people.

Back to what the professor was saying, basically there’s a fine line you can cross when you starts to go from saying the facts and holding someone accountable to dehumanizing them and then dumbing down a complex, serious situation and affecting the victims even more.

What we need to work on as a society is prevention. Most people agree with this again, but then in the case of people we just wanna claim as evil throw that out the window because it’s easier for ourselves. I don’t want to excuse anything done but I think Kip Kinkel is a good example of the harms of black and white thinking as well as how our focus should be prevention, not just ALLOWING it to happen. We allow it to happen causing unneeded and innocent deaths and then the preventable harm and punishment of a person, who we then just attack and dehumanize. If parents and politicians spent more time working on these issues and mental health and understanding we wouldn’t have this in the first place, instead politicians and people immediately going to dehumanizing and blasting them in the media and public to create a notion about them as pure evil.

Because it’s easier and takes the blame off them.

If we just dumb down cases like that and other horrible events we do more harm for everyone. If you care about victims and about humans taking the time to understand the situation is one of the best thing you can do and what you should do, not dehumanization.

Anyways I have a lot a lot of thoughts on this so I’m sorry for the ranting and rambles it was kinda all over the place. I didn’t delve super into the whole slave convo but if it matters to someone yes I am black and these are the opinions of two black people and is no one undermining slavery, if anything it’s the opposite. Also I just woke up and I’m too tired to like spell check this so my bad maybe I will later I can handle the typo embarrassment for now.

"Tcc is corny please take a shower" is somehow a clear example of an anti having less human understanding and empathy than a tccer and view themselves as too morally superior to view them as humans we all are

[tomkittycat]

i’m just a silly little guy, i can’t spend my whole life feeling guilty over everything

[reflectionsofgalaxies]

god, grief hits you at the weirdest fucking times

[girl-bateman]

Feeling a debilitating sense of dread and despair 🤨 Which probably means nothing😍👍

[carcarrot]

im just going to go off in the tags for my review but last nights concert was crazy, entertaining, and crazily entertaining. while they did not play the rhythm thief clearly my rhythm, if i ever had any, was stolen and ron and russell were easily able to see my lack of clapping and dancing skills. when will those 70+ year old men stop beating me at everything