#just another rant

[savethelastdan]

As a wlw, I really don't vibe with the "girl is actively bullying and harassing another girl" = "mean lesbian" interpretation that seems to be so prevalent in certain media circles.

Especially when the mean girl is actively more privileged in some way vs. the girl she's bullying is an outsider in the community (the school, small town, workplace, whatever).

It just seems like the sapphic version of "he only bullies you because he likes you!!" shit that normalizes abuse/harassment/disrespectful behavior within heterosexual relationships.

Why do we have to romanticize cruelty? Why do we have to sexualize harassment? When did we recast bullying as "acting out due to misplaced attraction", instead of "someone wielding an unbalanced power and control dynamic"?

And maybe it isn't that deep and people just find any and everything hot. But maybe it's not a good idea to tell people that when they have these incredibly toxic and dysfunctional relationships with their peers that it's all just a normal part of the queer experience?

It also just seems like such a disservice to wlw to cast us as our own bullies when so often it is cishet men and women that mistreat us.

[jason-lancaster12]

[acefaun]

First of all, look at this:

Tell me she’s not the cutest thing to walk this Earth?

And then tell me why humans are such asshats and I might have to sell/rehome her???

I waited months to get her, drove three hours to pick her up, only had her for a little over a week. Like, yes, I have mad anxiety and horrible panic attacks that hit me at least once a week and her puppy antics don’t help me in this state, but do they want me to be even more sad because I had to sell the small best friend I attached myself to?!

Tell me you wouldn’t get attached to a little furball like her if you spent at least 20 hours a day with her for a whole week? Feed her? Walk her? Play with her? Cuddle her? Sit her on my lap while I draw?

Not to mention I told everyone under the sun about my new forever buddy. Am I suddenly supposed to just go “whoops, not anymore”?? I would never be able to face another dog again for the rest of my life if I had to get rid of her. I’d never be able to watch funny animal videos because that’s something we like to do together!

Like, yes I had to strip my whole bed because a little furball decided my blanket was a peepad, and now I’m cold and can’t sleep and and panic attack is setting in, but I don’t want to sell my dog or give her away. She’s a puppy. She’ll grow out of it in a few months.

I mean, heck, the past week has been almost nothing but Gemini on my tumblr. 😭 HOW WILL I FACE DUI IF I HAVE TO SELL OUR FLUFFY CHILD?!?! I’ll have to go into hiding. I’ll become a hermit on the outskirts of some forest. I’ll start a garden and learn to make hunting weapons. I’ll never be able to show my face for wronging our child. 💀

I don't have a blanket to burrito myself into anymore SO IM GOING WHINE INTO MY ME-SIZED BEAR UNTIL THE BAD NEWS GOES AWAY! 😩 Wake me up when it's over. 😣

[shesjustanothergeek]

Just a mini rant:

Personally, I think it's selfish for authors to refuse to update unless more people read something. Like, you're leaving out the people who read your story so that you can feel better about yourself? Who cares if a lot of hits/notes/votes happen or not as long as the few enjoy it? Stories shouldn't be put out for the sole reason of getting followers or views. I mean, it is nice to get some and feel appreciated for your time and effort. Don't get me wrong. But I believe it should be something for people to get lost in. To forget the reality of life for a little bit and enjoy the world of your creation.

Sorry. I know this isn't happy fun time like I normally am and a lot of people won't agree with me. I just needed to get that out.

[greenaswildfire]

"it’s become a part of our culture to constantly complain about everything even though half of us don’t have the credentials to do so (...)"

Why would the said half of the fandom care about credentials if the ones who do have the credentials are as average as us, and think they're making nothing less than gold? Oh well, let me present you the concept of "fool's gold" :)

What these people above refuse to comprehend is that complaints are a necessary evil. Average joes do not know about how the audience managed to save Sonic's movie for example. When people complain, they're not lashing at the crew or whoever is a mere piece in this huge puzzle that is a show. Everybody with a single braincell knows this.

What fandom complains about is simply to keep the internal coherence, don't tell me you've never needed to write a letter to University an essay, or in some countries even a motivation letter for a job. Don't tell me you've never needed to write something and was forced to keep the internal coherence of the said document. Or are you telling me that you let chatgpt do the job for you, and that's why you have no idea of what is like to write anything yourself while obeying the norms of elaboration of documents/texts? lmao

Scriptwriting is the same thing. It doesn't matter if you think is irrelevant, because yes, it is relevant, crucial even. It's the spine of every TV show or book, stop suggesting that people are attacking the workers when they're complaining about the script, because they're not, they're def not. Not when the writers are the showrunners.

This argument is the same that was used by GOT cast when they tried to deflect fans's backlash in S8, they're perfectly capable of understanding we weren't refering to the cast or workers, they all knew who we were talking about, but as usual, cast was used as meatshield for showrunners and ofc, they blamed us, cast would never "bite the hand that fed them".

And as long as there are people who pretend that the emperor isn't naked, that's the kind of thing we'll get.

[emmeriex]

girls when they remember that sally named percy after the only greek hero with a happy ending and beryl named jason after a hero who died alone and unhappy to appease a wrathful goddess.

[impiusangelus]

Why the hell did people decide that it’s cool to have cute and innocent covers on books that have a sizable amount of smut in them?? People’s first impression of any piece of media is its cover/thumbnail/poster!!! Bring back shitty photoshopped abs that immediately tell you it’s smut!!! Bring back corny ass titles like “boytoy sexy man boss of passion” or whatever!!! Does “Icebreaker” sound like smut to you??? Don’t bamboozle people into thinking it’s a cute love story until they buy it and realize midway through that it’s most definitely not what they thought it was!!!

“Oh but these covers are good because other people won’t know what you’re reading when in public”

WHY ARE YOU READING PORNOGRAPHY IN PUBLIC? HOW IS THIS APPROPRIATE TO YOU?

I’m tired omfg I wish booktok never happened. It’s all porn addicts at this point. Ffs and I thought I would go back to being a bookworm after years of barely reading. Guess not.

[bamsara]

I think that one thing people fail to understand is that unsolicited literary criticism coming from an online stranger who is reading with no knowledge of what the authors intended goal is, is not going to be received the same as say: the authors beta reader or friends who know what the authors intended goal and has the sufficient knowledge and input to help the author reach that desired outcome.

"But I'm only trying to be helpful" How do I know you have the knowledge and literary skill for you to be able to actaully do that when we don't know each other and you are essentially a stranger to me? Are you applying this criticism based out of personal biased experience and desire to see the story or characterization be driven in another direction or tweaked, or do you know the author's intentions for the character? If the story is incomplete, are you basing your criticism of a character on the incomplete narration with only partial information available of them or are you building up a report until the story's completion? Did the author provide you with the information needed to make a fully informed criticism?

Have you discussed with the author what their plans are or are you assuming them based off the narration, especially if the narration is proven or implied to be unreliable or missing key points of the plot? Are you unbiased enough to help them reach their desired outcome for the characters and story regardless of your personal feelings towards the characters/antagonists and setting? Can you handle being told your specific input isn't wanted because you're a reader and/or have no written anything relating to their genre or topic? Do you understand and respect that the author's personal experiences might influence their writing and make it different than how you would have done it personally? Do you understand if an author only wants input from a specific demographic relating to their story?

If it's for fanfiction or other hobby media, are you holding a free hobby to a professional standard? Are you trying to give criticism because you feel like the author has produced 'subpar job performance' of their fic? Are you viewing their work as a personal intimate outlet or something that must conform with mass media? Are you applying rules and guidelines when the fic is shared for simple sharing sake? Is your criticism worded appropriately and focused on the parts where the author has requested input on rather than a general dismissal and or disapproval?

Have you put yourself in a place where you assumed you have the input needed for the story to evolve better, or have you asked what the author needs and what they're having trouble with? Can you handle having your criticism rejected if the author decides their story doesn't need the change and not take it as a personal offense against your character? Are you crossing that boundary because you think you are doing the author a favor? Are you trying to be helpful, or do you just want to be?

I think sometimes when people hear authors go 'please don't give me unsolicited writing advice or criticism' they automatically chalk it up to 'this author doesn't want ANY constructive feedback on their stuff at all' and not "i already have trusted individuals who will help me with my writing goals and- hey i don't know you like that, please stop acting so overly familiar with me'

[mako-tachi]

I'm never dating again FUCK like what the FUCK am I doing wrong.

[super-sleepy-sloth]

tw: brief mentions of abuse. mental illness. rant about the state of the US and just trying to survive.

i’m really tired of my existence being up for debate. all i’m trying to do is live my life. why does it matter that i’m attracted to women? it’s not bothering anyone. me and my wife don’t bother anyone. we stay at home and keep to ourselves. i was abused as a child, i struggle with mental illness, i’m struggling with all the adult things due to the economy, and now i’m dealing with people telling me i shouldn’t be alive because i’m attracted to the same sex?? like i am a whole ass adult and people are bothered cause i’m just living my life not hurting anyone not bothering anyone?? all i wanted was to get better. i wanted to process my trauma and try to do better with my mental health but now it feels like i can’t. the sad thing is is that i would leave the US. me and my wife both want to leave but we can’t afford to do so. so what do these people want from me?? cause i can tell you right now if they gave me enough money to get my wife and i’s passports and to leave this country i would. how am i supposed to keep going in this situation?? how am i supposed to be able to get myself out of bed in the morning and not be afraid to go out in public??

[acid-ixx]

mild spoilers for chapter six for my series again &. again, but i really feel the need to ramble about this, and i'd love to hear anybody's opinion on this hehe.

as i write outline chapter six (and write for chapter five), i'd like to say i couldn't wait to write the reader's face reveal in bruce's perspective. and it's not just angst, for me, this plays a very pivotal turn for the series— because bruce will spiral to insanity.

to never once see a single portrait of your second youngest child, whose presence has long been erased from the manor, not a single image, nor trace of you is sickening to the heart, even if he scours through the internet day and night for a single memoir of you, nothing— but to find your portrait in alfred's living quarters and seeing you for the first time in forever? graduating a milestone no less?

god, he's in for a ride just analyzing every aspect of your physical appearance.

the color of your eyes, the shape of your nose, the quip of your mouth, the fat in your cheeks; even the length of your lashes! god, does he brand it into the deepest parts of his mind to never forget you anymore. his pearl, his treasure.

the longer he stares, the more he notices and gazes even more, obsessive as he stands lonesome in the room with every bone in his body locking up, his eyes unable to look away from the portrait that showcases his baby child.

and there, there it is that he concludes a detail so small it's unrecognizable for someone who's seen it for his entire life; yet it's all the same triggered deranged emotions deep within him.

— you don't just share him and your mother's traits, no, your smile is also reminiscent of his mother's.

martha wayne, who'd died in his arms, laying in a pool of her blood with a bullet grazed deep inside her body. his loving mother, who caressed his face whenever he'd cry from his nightmares, who'd shown him motherly love that until now he still craves.

she died with her pearl necklace that once decorated her porcelain neck spilling to the ground and stained with crimson.

you wore pearl earrings on your graduation.

the thought alone is enough for him to just snap.

this? this is the child that he's been neglecting far too long? who shares the same, loving expression of his mother's? his child? not even a single memory could be conjured with you but fantasies now do. if your happiest moments were within the picture frame that he holds with shivering fingers at present; could your smile be any wider if you'd be with him?

how come he never once noticed? why is bruce always destined to fail left and right? why, just why is he brimming with jealousy for all the people who must've seen your smile before him, and contempt for himself that he was never there to pick you up from the police station beforehand?

bruce isn't a heckler for favoritism, but a darker part of him is motivated to take you away from wherever you are, and to never let anybody else witness his beautiful, little treasure.

he's gotham's knight, first and foremost. but he's a father, too, with goals to protect his children just like a father should.

and the things he'd do for you, his child, now? anything.

if it means he has to see that smile, then he'll turn the world upside-down.

he has to protect your smile.

[batsyheere]

Phantom doesn't trust the Justice League as far as he could throw them- which was a weird statement to make considering, so he might as well say he did not trust them.

First there had been the attempt to exorcise him. That had been done with some very obviously coerced members of Dark, who had eventually been stopped by a panicked Constantine who Phantom now had weekly tea with. (Because Danny needed more ways to defend himself outside of his ghostly abilities, and especially with the attention of the JL now focused on him. Constantine had not put up much of a fight, especially after that incident.)

Following that had been the JL's attempt at peacemaking and finally handling the Anti-Ecto Acts- which had simply sped up the work that Team Phantom had been working on since the majority of their group hit 17 and the threats were more human than ghost. Taking credit for the years of activism and appeal Team Phantom had already made efforts in had soured whatever they wished to gain.

Offering him a place within the teams of Young Justice or the Titans had been another layer of insult when they tried to pressure him into some sort of mentorship- Phantom very much was insulted by the implications that he needed any such help after the years of being left to fend for himself. And the implications that they thought they could control and observe him now.

The final straw was their invitation to join the Justice League itself.

"I don't know about you," Phantom drawls, tone almost apathetic as his head leans against his fist. He was hovering in the air, sat back in a pose his little sister often called his "I'm dealing with idiots and politics" posture. "But if I've repeatedly rejected and ignored an individual who asked for help, then ignored their requests to leave them be... well, I wouldn't assume they would wish to join your club and be pleased by it."

"King Phantom," Wonder Woman begins, one of the few who actually had any sense. She looks exhausted.

Another member, one of the Green Lanterns whose names Danny couldn't be bothered with after some rather volatile debates with the dead of Oa, cuts her off.

"Look, kid, you're being offered something most other heroes only dream of being offered-"

"Most other people have to be recommended or apply to join the League, or otherwise be ignored and left to handle situations such as a chunk of the Midwest sinking into the Infinite Realms through the directions of a tyrannical conqueror seeking to gain access to the mortal world."

Silence. There were a few winces, as well as a few heroes who were glancing nervously towards Superman who was frowning.

"Look, we've obviously made mistakes-" the man in blue begins. Phantom cuts him short as well.

"A mistake is dismissing a call about ghosts as a prank," he states. "A mistake is making assumptions based off the research of science and believing it to be true."

He sat up, crown flaring above his head with frost as the temperature in the room dropped.

"What you have done is blatantly allow a government to persecute and prepare acts of genocide, while ignoring the evidence and pleas of the people you swear to protect. You then proceed to ignore the word of those who have stood the line of defence and resolve the matter without any representation of the voices that fought long enough to be heard."

"What would you have us do."

It was Batman who spoke up. While not his favorite member of the League, Phantom could appreciate the fact that the man had been left out of most of the formal decision making on these matters- even Amity Park had heard of the strange mass outbreak of Arkham residents spilling into Gotham- something that had not happened in quite a while. It had kept Batman and his associate busy enough to keep away from League business, in an effort to keep the chaos contained to Gotham's borders.

But Batman had many issues and Phantom had very little care for them.

"At this time? Move on. The situation is handled, and those who have not screwed up diplomatic matters are informed and may keep contact. We want no further ties to the Justice League or it's members at this time."

[jason-lancaster12]

Its funny, even my reason to want to die feels inadequate.

[xxplastic-cubexx]

Marvel's Squirrel Girl: The Unbeatable Radio Show! | All of Erik Lehnsherr's Call-In's

Episodes featured: The Fate of My Universe The Sinister Six Are No More Who Would Win In A Fight? Unbeatable

Full Podcast Playlist (Spotify)

Credits below:

Written by: Ryan North

Directed by: Giovanna Sardelli

Voice Cast: Milana Vayntrub - Squirrel Girl/Doreen Green Crystal Lucas Perry - Nancy Whitehead Leo Sheng - Koi Boi/Ken Shiga Davied Morales - Chipmunk Hunk/Tomas Lara-Perez Erica Schroeder - Tippy T. Squirrel Rob Nagle - Erik Lehnsherr

Key Art: "Squirrel Girl Infinity Comic (2022)" by Derek Charm - Doreen, Nancy, Ken, Tomas, Tippy "Magneto (2023)" by Todd Nauck - Erik

[phantomoftheorpheum]

listen, I think audiobooks are great. I think they "count". I'm not bothered by people calling listening to audiobooks reading. however, I think a large part of the reason people are annoyed by this recently is that there are many, many people online saying, "I've read 300 books this year" and then posting a lot of stuff implying they are superior to (or like to read more than) people who haven't.

But then, all it takes is to scroll back on their profile a little ways to find out that they "read" 300 books because they listened to audiobooks on 3x speed while they were doing other things and flat out didn't listen or absorb any of it and couldn't tell you what 90% of those books were about even if their life depended on it. And THAT is not reading. If you're actually taking in the story, sure, then you've read the book. If you're speed running the process without paying attention, then no, that's not reading. I would say the exact same thing about skimming/flipping through the book.

[clearancecreedwatersurvival]

Is anyone gonna explain to people that ‘proship’ does not actually mean ‘problematic shipping’ or ‘problematic ship’ or are we just going to let this misinformation spread some more?

It means pro-shipping. The prefix pro, meaning ‘supporting.’ In favor of shipping.

It only became a defined position after anti-shippers who initially identified themselves as anti-a specific ship started harassing creators they didn’t like, doxxing them, and trying to get them fired from their irl jobs for shipping reasons around 2014-2016.

So people who had been in fandom for long enough to know where that kind of rhetoric leads (ffnet purges, LJ strikethru, as well as the direct harms caused by doxxing) observed this increasing trend of harassment and rallied to say ‘oh you lot are anti-shipping, as in opposed to certain ships? Well in that case, we are pro-shipping, because we follow the adage of ship and let ship.’

Before that point, it was just basic fandom etiquette to not bother people who ship stuff you don’t like, and to understand that if something squicks you out, it’s not the fault of the people who made it.

If someone says they are pro-ship, it means fuck all about what they actually enjoy in fiction.

It just means they’re opposed to harassing creators for making content that doesn’t cause tangible harm to real people. A better way to understand the ideological position is being anti-harassment and anti-censorship.

I have a lot of ships I find disgusting blacklisted so I don’t have to see them. But I am not interested in forcing people to comply with what I think is gross. That’s what it means.

Curate your online experience, and understand that your disgust response is not a defensible moral indicator or a justification to harass, deplatform, and dox fan writers.