#like im convinced it has to be racism or something because ???????????????????????

[bedforddanes75]

if i see one more person say shit like "i cant believe people listen to rap when this exists" then play the cranberries i am genuinely going to Die

[22degreehalo]

tumblr/reddit posts that are like ‘UNBELIEVABLE that we have to put into words here EXTREMELY BASIC CONCEPTS that literally anyone who is not CHRONICALLY ONLINE knows from birth!!!!!!!!!!!’ and then proceed to describe the most universal prejudices and cognitive biases known to mankind

[feukt-42]

Elden ring + Shadow of the Erdtree lore thoughts

Alright, so, first off, obviously, spoilers ahead.

I've been thoroughly enjoying and getting my ass kicked by SotE and what ive seen of the lore so i wanted to ramble about it.

I specifically wanted to talk about how Elden Ring explores power and godhood.

In the base game, godhood isnt seen as inherently bad. Marika's golden order is fucked up six ways to sunday, but the blame mainly rests on Marika's shoulders it seems. She's a genocidal homewrecking war-mongerer who threw two of her children in the sewers bc of racism, she's not a good god, but it doesnt portray the problem as her being a god, just her being a mess. The game provides several "solutions" to unfuck everything :

Ranni's ending has you completely throw the system in the trash. She says, fuck it, godhood's the problem, im out of here. She is kinda right, but the lands remain fractured and the power vacuum left behind is going to be immense. We're on the right track but could be better.

The frenzied flame ending is just pure concentrated nihilism so i think we can move past it for this one.

The bunch of other endings are fairly similar : you beat Marika/Radagon's ass and you impose yourself as Elden Lord to keep her in check and fix the issues you see as most important. This doesnt fix anything long-term, the god in power is still the exact same fucking mess but with a chaperone now i guess.

None of these endings are very satisfying, they all leave you with a sense of "it could be worse i guess" (except the frenzied flame one but you get the point). This is where Miquella comes in :

Everything we hear about Miquella sounds great. He's kind, compassionate, against racism, doesnt like violence, etc etc. Cherry on top, he's even one of the characters with a direct shot at godhood, brilliant ! Why cant we just put him in charge, he'll do much better than the absolute wreck we have right now.

And thats where the base game leaves us, Marika is a fucked up mess of a person, and the obvious solution is to put the much better Miquella in her place.

Shadow of the erdtree, on the other hands, aims to set the record straight. The problem wasnt just Marika, the problem is inherent to godhood in and of itself.

In SotE, we see the land of shadow, the realm where Marika came from and ascended to godhood, and the realm where Miquella intends to do the same. And the more we hear about who Marika was before in snippets of lore, and the more we watch Miquella tread the road to godhood, we realise something :

There is no such thing as a good god

It doesnt matter how kind and compassionate you were, what your morals were, who you loved, who you loathed, none of it matters because you cannot grasp the power to become a god without sacrificing who you were before.

In the dlc we see Miquella shed more and more of himself, his flesh, his arms, his eye, his heart, his doubts, his fears and even his love. Miquella has shorn so much of who he was that he formed an entire new person (St Trina) from it. Some of him remains, he still wishes for a kinder world, but he cant sacrifice anymore of himself for it. Now he has to start sacrificing others.

Miquella was always blessed with the ability to charm others, and he sees it as the least painful path to make others do as he wishes. And so he charms his sister, he charms Mohg, he charms Radahn, his followers, Leda, Moore, Thiollier, Freyja, the hornsent, Ansbach, and everyone he can convince to give themselves up for his dream of a kinder world, regardless of the pain they might cause or feel by being enthralled by him.

And oh boy do they feel pain. Mohg is used and discarded like a ragdoll, and his followers and dynasty slowly crumble to nothing as the last pureblood knight watches helplessly, himself entranced by the one responsible after he failed to kill him. Radahn's soul is shoved in a corpse so that he can play consort to a god that is his antithesis, depriving him of his glory and honour as lord of the battlefield. Malenia is left alone to rot after Miquella has no use or help for her, and she endlessly waits for her brother to return. Every one of Miquella's followers has to grapple with those feelings of betrayal, manipulation, and lost memories returning all at once. It is by no means painless.

And so we end up with a god that is not much better than Marika was. On his path to godhood, Miquella has caused as much pain to those along the way as his mother once did, in this very same land that still feels the scars of Marika's ascension.

The only way to gain power is to take it from everyone else, and that cannot be achieved without pain.

[blackpilljesus]

I've not dated or had close relations with moids in years. I've been on the path to spending the rest of my days as a single childfree woman & committing to it as an osawoman. During this time here's what I've learnt, shorter version here:

This lifestyle is a privilege - being able to exist without having to directly depend on a moid romantically/sexually is a luxury. Know the privilege you have and how you can take full advantage of it and keep yourself set. We arent living this way solely bc we're smarter, we were just momentarily luckier. Most women are a political/natural disaster away from losing everything. Bear this in mind; along the way think of "what if" to best start preparing yourself.

Dont bother justifying your ways to people - Most wont and dont want to get it. Save your breath. By getting into back and forth arguments over not marrying moids & not having children you are digging a deeper hole for yourself by giving them more fodder to counter. They wont change their minds. End the conversation short & move on.

You cant save everybody - Ditch the saviour complex. We all get dealt bad hands in life; some worse than others. Other peoples lives arent your responsibility, there's only so much you can do because you've got your own issues too. Besides some are too far gone, you'll only end up drowning or being burned trying to save others especially if they dont want saving.

Recruitment is a waste of time - I often see extensive discourse around this topic w/ some women trying so hard to recruit others into this lifestyle or being separatists, wgtow, etc. All this does is waste time that can be spent on building instead. If some women dont get it oh well it's not the end of the world (although every woman does get it, they're just doing what they can t survive) it doesn't matter long term TO YOU because if you're serious you dont need other womens understanding/stamp of approval to build a network/resources for women; you can get started without them; heck some may join once they see the value like how so many women broke up with their partners after watching the barbie movie. Some women are more focused on recruitment than living the single childfree life they claim to be about and it consumes them - dont let recruitment consume you. Besides other women willingly engaging with moids buys you some time; those who know - know.

Most activism is a waste of time. Things only change when it benefits those in power but they will never relinquish their power entirely. It's great to put knowledge out there for others to learn but getting into discourse having to justify yourself & being swallowed by your activism will do more harm than good. Most activism is a stepping stone at most for the next chapter of your life. Learn to game the system instead of changing the system.

Focus on yourself. Everything as we know it is rooted in the system that has been perfected over the millenias. The problems of misogyny, racism, ableism, etc have existed before we were born and will exist after we die (part of why im not birthing into this mess). Trying to change it is a losing battle. This doesnt mean dont advocate or care about anything but look out for yourself first & be comfortable learning to existing between the cracks. It'll be quite the exercise tho as we've been socialised to prioritise others.

This is not a lifestyle one simply chooses it's something that chooses you. This isn't for everyone, those who know; know. If you require a lot of convincing or handholding then it isn't for you.

It gets lonely. Not because of not having a moidfriend; even when partnered with them many women still feel lonely. It's because most women are moid centric / obsessed and would want to be partnered with an xy someday or already are. Very few women truly commit to or understand this lifestyle irl tbh. Even my moots who are separatists or just single & childfree are halfway across the world. However that said, many women in the community can also be toxic; holding each other to high standards and there being constant bickering. You can befriend moid partnered women but be careful with them. We're surrounded by the system, existing out of core elements of it will come with a degree of isolation but on the bright side there's also peace if it all goes well.

Less is more. The less you say to others the less ammunition they have to hit you with. Bragging about this lifestyle to our predators will only make things harder because they've already got a huge upperhand. Too many of us moving in one go will bring unprecedented waves we're not ready to deal with. See 2, 3, and 4.

Ignorance is not bliss. Completely cutting off from xys including knowledge of their evil will make you unprepared should a threat strike. Not understanding moids nature is how some women think things are as easy as getting up and walking away without considering security & other factors then get suprised when moids strike. I'm not saying drown in true crime & xy evil but dont stray too far you lose touch of reality. Side note this is why women are gaslit about moids nature so that they dont have the chance to effectively prepare. Stay informed. I constantly learn from the women around me. Pay attention to xy motives & tactics. The power they hold, possible moves they may play etc. You wont be able to know/guess everything but stay in the loop nonetheless.

You will make mistakes be prepared to learn

It gets easier to control your attraction to moids overtime (if you're osa) as your focus is elsewhere as you realise there is a more fulfilling world out there beyond marriage & kids. Also life is just so much better. I know most women want the fairytale prince charming or an angel nigel but it's just not happening. Especially in a world like this. The freedom to be able to exist as a person & not a slave/punching bag for a rape ape is BLISS. You get so comfortable with it you wont wanna be with moids anyway especially when you see what other women go through. (Side note this is why women are pushed to being with moids as early as possible so this level of enlightenment is never reached & instead all women know + become accustomed to is suffering at the hands of moids).

As time passes and you mature into this lifestyle you can tell who's new and who's got skin in the game. I wont elaborate here as it'll digress and this note is long as is but those who know; know.

There's so much work to be done it'll last a lifetime. This lifestyle ain't easy. It strays from the norm so the typical guardrails that come with traditional options are out of the picture. The good news is that you can spend time crafting your own blueprint to follow or share with others who are willing. There's such little in terms of infrastructure & resources for single childfree women and yeah xys will likely try to destroy these things but at the same time if it can be done go for it and bear xy threat in mind we gotta start somewhere.

A purpose/guide is important. It's something that's going to guide your life through the ups and downs because it wont be a smooth ride but it'll be something that can make you in situations that break you. This isn't a "fuck you" to moids directly, it's about ourselves. Seeing this lifestyle as some type of "gotcha" against moids will only make things harder and lowkey misses the point of decentering them. I have my reasons for never getting married or having children that are solid (if you need inspiration checkout r/breakingmom on reddit). True comes from seeing something as bigger than yourself; find a purpose in this line of life to keep you going.

Invest in yourself. Personally, financially, etc. Pretty obvious but especially now that you're going to be more alone you need to be able to count on yourself more. With enough investment it can help other women too.

Invest in female network. No gyn is an island. Even though I'm not much of a social person the friends I have make my life better; they've been supportive but also honest. Also support female centric spaces online & offline; they're all that we have lest we be banished to the silo prison of the "nuclear family" or exploitative misogynistic communities.

Get comfortable disassociating/cutting people off. If you want to survive some things/people will simply just have to go.

You arent owed anything from other women, but you dont owe them anything either. The operating word here is owed, I aint saying women shouldn't help each other - I'm saying dont feel entitled. The feminist "girls support girls" schtick is bullshit. We're in a cold world full of ruthless oppression where everyone is just trying to survive however they can; in many cases it helps women survive when they turn on other women instead of on moids. Solidarity works because those who have solidarity politically speaking are people with power, it works in their interest to stand & work together as to keep + maintain their privileges in society so there wont be much female solidarity as in many cases it's not worth it to women long run. It aint right but that's how they perceive it so watch your back.

Everything is political. Always remember this. Many (privileged) people try to downplay politics & its effect but it runs our world which is why they want you blind to it. Pay attention.

There's merit to being around like-minded women even if it's just online. Like I said before it gets lonely. Very few women are willing to face & accept the truth about maIes. Being around like-minded women can be depressing sometimes as they drop blackpills bitter than you can initially handle but at least you dont feel so isolated/crazy.

[possessesnightshift]

i'm not an eloquent political speech person so im just gonna be direct about this

americans, please please fucking register to vote and vote for joe biden in november

and before you jump to whatever policy thing or weakness of his to counter this plea, just stop. it doesn't actually matter. trump is worse. trump is fucking so much worse

our job from here on out is not only to hold our noses and vote for biden, but also to convince all of our friends family and whoever else to also vote for him in spite of all of his flaws. yes all of them

we need to make the fucking argument that trump is so dangerous, the country would be better off with a drooling old genocide lover whose mental faculties are drying up faster than the sahara desert. we need biden voters to be keenly aware of his shortcomings and refuse to back down. there's no use in pretending biden is still sharp as ever or has this mass grassroots support (he does not). he sucks. he is probably the worst democratic candidate in the party's history.

don't care. trump is worse. he needs to be stopped from taking power by any means necessary. he needs to be STOPPED.

from a non-republican pov, democrats constantly leaning on the "but the other guy is worse" argument is frustrating as all hell. i certainly hate it myself. but what gets lost in the conversation is that the republicans are essentially so beholden to this principle nobody even notices.

i know plenty of small town midwestern republicans who were embarrassed to admit they voted for trump. they voted for him in spite of his nastiness and blatant buffoonery (not in spite of his racism bc they're likely ok with that) because he was on the republican ticket, and to them any republican is better than a woke liberal who wants to take away our gas stoves and force drag queens to read us stories at bedtime

so yeah i kinda don't fucking care at this point

biden is a laughably bad candidate for the election of 2024. any other time he could've run (including 2020) is completely different than now, when he's just too fucking old. so should we just roll over and let him lose? just for trump to finish his term, be biden's current age, and either run for a third term or just stay in power bc the supreme court is on his side and they've been preparing for this for decades? fuck that

actually i think a rotting, pulpy corpse would make a fine president compared to dumbass donald "reality gameshow host" trump. literally if biden dies the day of the election he's still got my vote because it is not for him

the left has to learn to have the tenacity that republicans have. we emulate the right in the worst fucking ways (e.g. closing the southern border for no reason) but we never emulate their pettiness. we never say 'i hate the republicans so much i will willingly vote for someone i kinda hate to spite their smug asses'

remember when trump used to be a joke? remember when he was a giant embarrassment? remember the memes about his illiteracy and his lack of awareness? (see 'covfefe' for more info) trump may have the means to become a brutal dictator, but he relies on people smarter than he is to pull it off

if trump continues to hype up his project 2025 and his fascist ambitions with the swagger and confidence of fdr running against herbert hoover, what does it signal to the rest of the world for that man to LOSE to a corpse with the stamina of a wet flounder? it could stop the fascist momentum in its tracks by associating it with weakness and incompetence (you talk up all this hype and you lose to THAT man?? i guess you must be full of shit huh)

these are fraught times. there's no way to get out of this without letting go of our ideals of a perfect candidate who responds to the political desires of the people. that candidate does not exist and never will

right now we have not just an opportunity to preserve our rotting democracy for a little longer, but something much more special. we can fucking put an end to the trump experiment once and for all. we can make trump wannabes like ron desantis scramble to dissociate their image from the toxicity of the trump administration. we can turn him back into a joke.

at this point im screaming into the wind. no person who isn't already voting for biden is gonna read this far. but i want these words to be here anyway because i think they have value. 2024, 2028, and 2032 are all going to be pivotal election years. we can't wait around. we have to act NOW.

vote rotting fish 2024. i will plug your nose with a clothes pin if you refuse to do so yourself...

[biggayarsonsbiggaytumble]

listen im absolutely positive that there are antisemites in the antizionism movement (because its likely that antisemites can be in literally ANY large and diverse group of people) BUT i seriously do not believe its the epidemic that a worrying amount of jumblr wants you to believe. in fact, zionists (not jews, but zionists who happen to be jews) have a way worse problem with anti-palestinian racism and islamophobia.

seriously, i hear all the time that anti-jewish rhetoric is everywhere but scrolling through the latest in the antisemitism tag is literally just zionist calling people antisemites for even daring to bring up the destruction and death that the settler colony of israel has caused.

criticizing and condemning israel is not antisemitism. we are not criticizing jewish people. the colonizers HAPPEN to be jewish but they are not evil because they're jewish, its because they are murdering people and destroying an entire culture of people who have lived there long before israeli settlers came. they haven't made any headway in "defeating Hamas" like they said they're doing and look at all of the destruction. look at the advertisements they are already releasing for houses built on top of the rubble of people's homes. people who are either dead or using a ripped up tent that isn't even safe from the bombs. meanwhile every Israeli ive seen "so affected" by this is sitting in nice air conditioned buildings and having get togethers with family and food.

i would ask my fellow jews who are not convinced by me to imagine if this was happening to us, but it already is! there are so many jewish Palestinians being forced from their homes to make way for settlers that do not have roots in that land. the idf is also killing so many jewish people, those who disagree and those who just happen to be in the indiscriminate crossfire.

zionism is not good for jewish people. zionism is fundamentally an answer to the Jewish Question. they do not want us to reside in their communities. they dont want to think of the jews and our safety and instead are more content to kill two birds with one stone: put all the Jews in a place where we dont have to worry about them or have to accommodate or accept them AND get rid of all those brown people we hate so much. hey, and if we help them with the ethnostate, we can abuse them politically to get what we want as well!

im antizionist because i am against being used by those who don't have my best interest in mind. im antizionist because ive been to the settler colony of israel and the anti-palestinian racism and islamophobia was suffocating and disturbing. im antizionist because im also native american and this is a story ive heard so many times before, this story is in my blood and in my skin and i know how it ends. i don't want it to end that way.

please have some empathy and open your eyes. see what is happening to your fellow human beings (something that has happened to us as a people that still wounds us to this day) and stop using your identity as a weapon against others when its unjust. i know its hard to criticize Israel because its such an ingrained part of our identity as jews. i used to be a zionist because i truly believed that was my land. but it isnt. it never will be. it belongs to Palestine.

[judesbelligoal]

Toni kroos has been a piece of shit for while people just haven't noticed or ignored it because they love him. He is been liking Zionist and pro- Israel posts for months on Instagram and when he was in Saudi with his team all the players were wearing shirts with Arabic saying "champions" except him. Also when özil said he dealt with racism in Germany kroos said that there no such thing and pretty much denied it as if his white ass knows racism better. Like you can't convince me that this man isn't a racist islamophobe, this is why ain't sad to see him gone from football and why I was rooting for Spain to beat Germany.

Hes been liking zionist posts? Well its officially over. He’s a real Madrid legend but now mine. And I vaguely remember that özil quote? He said something like “if we win im german and if we lose im an immigrant”. I didn’t know kroos responded to that💔 this is so upsetting

[growling]

Not even at the Top Three reasons I've mainly left the wc fandom and instead just do my own thing on my own tag, but incredibly frustrating nonetheless. How wc tumblr just treats people making their own fix-it aus for fun.

I don't know how it is for other fandoms, but the amount of people making their own rewrites of the wc series is.... massive. Basically every single guy in here if free to have a go at it if they want, and nobody cares, it's basically everybody here that makes up their own version of canon because the actual books are widely agreed upon to, well... *gestures at the misogyny, ableism, racism ex. the tribe, casual fatphobia, iffy at best portrayal of abuse, terrible and lazy writing in general* kinda suck.

it is kinda considered Normal in here, since it's so common, and as result, people just got... Really entitled? dare i say downright unhinged about other people's silly AUs?

One aspect that I feel is the most prevalent in this, that literally nobody talks about because of course, is the absolute condemn of anything realistic or "uncool". I remember there was that one post floating around a few months (years?) back, that basically said "[quoting. im lazy] I think the main problem with warriors rewrites is they get so bogged down in ‘trying to make sense’ or ‘make them act like actual cats’ is they forget to make things COOL AS SHIT. Like yes your bloodclan has 200 pages of foreshadowing but is it still COOL AS SHIT? (...) If your warrior cats rewrite wouldn’t result in 200 scourge animations of him being cool as shit if it was the canon material you have failed." and just for clarification I do not have anything against the person that posted it, I do not think they were being intentionally rude in any way. But. Both before it there was a problem, and after it got passed around enough I think people got the Wrong Idea. Or maybe the Right One idk man, and just found a way to describe how they felt about some of the rewrite projects going on.

The fandom is largely ranging from dismissing to outright hostile towards people making aus/rewrites/other fics where the Clans are more realistic or have more rigid naming rules, for example, ones where the cats act more like cats, many events don't really get to happen or are changed due to just not working in a more realistic universe, traditional and similiar naming systems, accurate genetics, so on so on. And I do admit there was once a problem where those people who prefer more realistic styles, especially the traditional namers, were pushing it onto others and acting really mean towards people just looking to have fun and not really pay attention to any naming rules; however, it was a long time ago, and has mostly died down. Nowadays, all the trad namers I know of are actually pretty chill, and there's very few of them. (Like, we are dying over there lmao the numbers are going down every year)

However, the fandom just, really has not moved on from those times (and I'm asking, was that really that prevalent back then? or are these people just exaggerating as always?) and continues to be just.... really bitter of tradnamers. Constantly convinced that they are "ruining their fun" just by having their own spaces somewhere. One blog of the more traditional kind that I followed got sent an ask somewhere along the lines of "oh yeah sure your fanfic is 'realistic', but would it have people make sick amvs about it in the 2010s???" and I just. Knew where they got the idea. Not even exclusive to just in traditional system, but people tend to get very weird towards people that choose to change up parts of cats' names they don't like or find unsuited for their au? for example, changing Longtail's name to Lizardtail because it's odd for a queen to just name their son longkit, or Runningwind to something different all together because they find the prefix "Running-" really silly to name a baby or because the suffix "-wind" is already the name of another Clan in canon, or changing the names of some other cats just because they don't suit them or the circumstances behind them are iffy to them. (I personally find it pretty fun, and has renamed a considerable deal of cats in my own: ex. Jayfeather -> Jaywing, Longtail -> Lizardtail, Loudbelly -> Minkbelly, Clawface -> Clawedface, Hollyleaf -> Hollythorn)

Apparently, it's "boring", or ruining other people's fun somehow despite them not needing to read them? Lyrical namers (opposite of traditional, if anybody needs an explanation: tradnaming assigns hard defined rules to the names that clan cats can have, while lyrnaming does not have any rules and is about just naming them whatever you like if you think it is cool or sounds pretty) act like they're constantly being persecuted en masse by the Mean Traditionalists that brutally force them to conform, while.... the lyrnamers are actually the overall majority, while tradnamers are now pretty uncommon and usually literally just mind their own business. It's "let people have fun" but only for the things that you personally find fun, don't even dare to like to have rules or any of these things, it's not like any people in particular actually find creating their own suffix meaning systems personally fun or anything, they just want to name the cats ugly/boring shit because they're killjoys. Yeagh

Same with people changing cats' designs to be more realistic simply because they prefer it that way, who then get vagueposted about and called "uncreative". A very small percent of artists actually know real life cat genetics, and none of them, at this current time (people were very different say, like, 10+ years ago in the fandom. things tend to change) i have ever heard of apparently forcing anybody upon these things.

Not every silly warrior cats au of some random 16 year old with like 12 followers needs to be Cool to your near impossible standards. "Let people have fun" means also letting people have fun that you personally don't understand or don't find fun personally. I get so anxious whenever I force myself to word anything and then end up forgetting half of it in the middle of it so if I didn't include something or if a sentence looks weird then that may be why. But basically, what I'm saying is: can't we just hold paws and sing masterpiece theatre iii by marianas trench for fucks sakeee can we calm the fuck down

[soullessjack]

will probably delete later bc this website’s post-point aim is so low it pisses on the poor and im fucking tired But as someone with a special interest in media literacy/media tropes/propaganda (conjoined interests if you will) it is very odd and strange that so many ppl are still arguing that fiction is entirely separate from reality as if they’re two different dimensions or something. And what’s even stranger is that so many also believe that representation is important in media even tho .. representation is like the biggest example of fiction affecting and being important to reality—next to propaganda, of course, which also runs with representation as a form of intentional misrepresentation with intents to target someone. the thing is. And a LOT of y’all are not going to like this. but fiction does inherently have bearing on reality, because it is a reflection of reality created by real people. fiction cannot exist without reality as a baseline. We use fiction to represent ourselves, our world, and we use it to explore all aspects of possibilities of what we could be, what we can’t be, what we shouldn’t be, etc. we explore our own extinction, our greed, our impact on the world, by telling stories. Every culture on the planet has stories that shape it, that become mythologies and theologies and religions and traditions. Are those suddenly not important just because they’re fiction?

What about propaganda? Propaganda itself is also a form of fiction. Propaganda posters depicting racial caricatures and animalized “enemies” are just paintings, just drawings with just-words on canvases and paper. Stereotypes of Black ‘thugs’ and greedy Jews in books are “just words,” but they’re not. The Red Scare was always depicted as a faceless anonymous enemy, an iceberg on our ship, a red shadow, a buzzard eating bones, and yet it had half of the states convinced that someone they knew was secretly a commie with the same intense paranoia as if they had leprosy. Are we supposed to shrug off the still-prevalent effects they had on the world just because they’re fictional? Just pretend that stereotypes or racist beliefs or commie paranoia don’t exist anymore, since they were perpetuated with fictionalizations?

Fiction doesn’t just affect reality, either. It reflects reality. It shapes reality, and that in itself continues to shape more and more fiction, which then shapes reality over and over again. Books like 1984 and TKAM stand as examples of the past, of where our reality once stood, of what we used to value and believe and what used to be trendy and fashionable and desirable. Even books that are pure fantasy have undeniable elements of reality in them, either by way of the author’s bias or as a commentary (WHICH IS YET ANOTHER FUCKING EXAMPLE. IF FICTION DIDN’T AFFECT REALITY THERE WOULD BE NO SUCH THING AS SOCIAL COMMENTARY IN MEDIA). Fantasy Racism is fictional, but it’s still racism, and it still reflects one of the most horrific ongoing aspects of our reality. What we create is undeniably a reflection of ourselves and what we value, what we’re afraid of, what we see in our world and lives, what we want out of life but can’t get.

No, writing about dark topics doesn’t mean you’re a bad person or inherently an advocate for them. George Orwell wrote the poster child for a fascist dystopian society and he was a fucking socialist and it was a fucking warning of what we could become. “Fiction doesn’t affect reality,” and yet it’s been used for centuries to deconstruct real world ideologies and values and standards. It’s how we understand the world. The Greek and Egyptian Gods existed to help us understand the weather. Zeus is lightning, thunderstorms were his incurred wrath. Apollo is the sun and his daily task of bringing light to the world on his chariot is the sun rising and setting. If fiction didn’t affect reality, then the Sesame Street writers wouldn’t have been concerned about the potential message Mr. Snuffleupagus would send to kids and kids cartoons wouldn’t be utilized to introduce children to heavier topics or help kids feel represented and just kids media in general stands as an example of fiction again affecting and being important to reality because it quite literally shapes children’s perception of reality as they are developing and

it’s 6am im fucking tired im over caffeinated my ribs have been fuckjng sore all day goodnight you get the idea . Or I fucking hope you do. Because Every day I open this app and see the stupidest shit ever and I am fucking tired of it

[mr-ribbit]

I mean, I blocked her after learning about how awful she was from numerous posts with evidence. So, I'm good there. I didn't bring up her racism to "shame you". You wanted to know who the bigots were that I mentioned so I gave a specific answer and a lil info in case just a name wasn't good enough. When I said I don't care that she's trans I meant, I'm not about to overlook her shit behavior just because she's trans like others do. I obviously mentioned her being trans because that's all she, you, and the rest talk about whenever she's being called out or criticized for something. You guys make it impossible to not mention it.

I only bothered to leave a message in the first place because of the bullying happening from this side. [Not specifically you!]. That person never did what they were accused of, even apologized for the misunderstanding, and txttle & co. still went out of their way to spread the post that had been deleted and act like that op never censored her name in an attempt to avoid any drama in the first place. I don't care for popular people weaponizing their fans like that. But whatever. I'm not trying to convince you to hate her. I'm moving on. I did read the rest of your post and see some of the points you're getting at. And I do apologize for initially telling you to fuck off.

i see, you're right that that was less of a non sequitur than I initially read it as, but I still think its not really relevant to the broader discussion here. bringing up every single past grievance a specific blogger has done (even if you're just bringing it up in your mind) when we're talking about the specific problem of csa being wielded too quickly against people is an example of what I would call uncharitable and unfair.

i won't speak for others, but the reason I brought up transness in this conversation, and think it's relevant to others like it, is because the initial posts that started this particular debate are partially about being trans. when someone says "im trans and i feel that my sexuality is frequently conflated with abuse", and the response is a complete stranger calling that person an abuser, you can see how I might want to explain the effects of transmisogyny while exploring the issue. it's not the only thing I brought up - in fact my post was largely about how even if you do not think you're acting transphobic, that doesn't make it ok to be mean to people anyway. but when you get upset that it was brought into the discussion, and claim it's being used as a "shield" or for "special treatment", you are conflating the concept of speaking up about transmisogyny with lying. this, understandably, will make people want to defend the concept of transmisogyny to you, even if they do not think you specifically care about that part.

i don't really think anyone should be bullied or harassed in general, even if they do something that makes me upset. however, i do think there is a bit of a simplification happening here. i don't believe txttletale or any specific blogger that I've seen speaking on these issues has done anything in this situation besides respond to accusations, and those responses are obviously going to be defending themselves. they may also be angry or upset in nature, since being accused of something awful you didn't do by people you don't know is upsetting to experience.

since making the original post, that person may have apologized but he's also made several posts continuing to make the same accusations again and again, and continuing to say that just because he isn't trying to be transphobic that it's okay. it's not okay. it's also not okay to see other people come to defense of someone and assume that they are only doing it because of some kind of blind trans loyalty, rather than the fact that they're sincerely upset about something that affects their lives too. a lot of people have made posts explaining this extremely earnestly and extremely patiently, and they are almost always taken in bad faith or ignored. the same people have made posts about how nobody listens to them on these issues, and those posts are also used to start drama.

i also sincerely do not believe that txttletale has used her follower count to send haters at this person. she was being talked about by someone to a group of people who all knew who she was and was making fun of her in the notes. she talked about the problem on her blog, because she did not agree with what was being said about her and wanted to correct it. whether or not the original post was deleted, you guys don't get to just decide when it's time for someone to shut up about being called a pedophile in public. if she's still getting hate too, why does the other guy get to keep talking about it but she isn't?

im glad you're letting go, I think it's probably for the best. you say you have her blocked, but youve spent a lot of time talking to me, someone you have repeatedly pointed out might not be sending the hate or might not be the problem, about her. that's an example of what I've been calling an overreaction disproportionate to the problem. you don't like her, so block her and people that talk about her. or blacklist the name. spending time in someone else's inbox, or putting up censored screenshots about a person you hate isn't a good way to deal with that feeling. it's harassment. even if you're not sending it to her, sending it to me where she can obviously see it or posting screenshots of her posts with mean accusations on them is still hurtful and mean and unnecessary for you to do with your time.

thanks for the apology, I understand things get heated but I hope you understand sometimes that means people will respond in a heated manner in return. i appreciate that you were willing to talk to me a little more maturely about this, but I still think you should consider how quickly you jump to conclusions about other people you know. or don't, but idk, don't spend so much energy on hate.

[sofipitch]

Im really sad that besides the lack of implicit romance. The 1994 version got a lot of loustat and the family dynamic better. Like Lestat still tripping all over his family issues, but I see him trying with Claudia and Louis. And I can imagine, despite Pitt’s lackluster performance (that did sell at least Louis’s depression and detachment) that maybe with reflection there was once something softer there. I don’t know how the show could recover from this. The grey power and morality is so thrown

So I think you meant "explicit" and not "implicit"? That through me for a loop because I was like "you want to go back to queerbait...?"

No but I agree, the IDEAL IWTV in my head is Jacob Anderson as Louis and Tom Cruise as Lestat. TC's Lestat seems genuinely more nuanced in his cruelty and genuinely loves his family BOTH Louis and Claudia.

Brad Pitt as Louis fails not only because he gave like absolutely nothing in most scenes but bc a lot of the complexity surrounding Louis is taken away. Paul's death is more interesting than a rando dead wife and child. BP is a slave owner but that is just like never addressed as "hey this guy is not a good person". JA's Louis running the brothel you see more of that, not only in the confession scene but the fact that POST confession scene that guy keeps running his brothel despite KNOWING that it is wrong. Also in ep 3 when he is facing racist laws preventing his business, there is the idea that he could shut down the Azalea and make some other business. He even says he owns grocery stores and such. Yes it would be loss but maybe he could build a bar, a music club, or even a theater and potentially still employ all the same women. He has a chance to rebrand, yet he digs his heels in, on one hand because of the racism behind what is stopping him, but also the money, based on their convo when Louis makes the "colored only" sign. That is a good an complicated Louis, I can chew on the complexity of that guy for hours. And to me is more accurate to book Louis's grey morality by having him acknowledge his business yet coming up with false ways it's "not that bad" like how in the book Louis is very hands off with his plantation, so he doesn't treat his slaves poorly himself BUT these are ppl potentially being treated badly by the foreman.

JA's Louis also has more signs that is desire to "not kill humans" is false, it takes him years to come to this point and in ep 6 when Lestat asks him to Louis acquieses. In the book it's more complicated, he thinks he is doing it out of morality but modern interviewee Louis admits its simply because Louis wanted to savor working his way up the scala natura of blood. BP's Louis gives 0 reason for his reluctance OR his change from not drinking human blood to doing so. The only scene in the movie where BP's Louis is interesting in this regard is the prostitute scene, where it would have been kinder to kill her quickly than drag it out like Lestat was doing. But why he changed after making Claudia is unclear. In the book it at least gives the explanation that the night with the prostitue's death and Claudia convinced Louis to give up. But in the movie Louis just seems boring due to his pigeonholing of "the moral one" compared to Lestat. JA's Louis is clearly more complex than just "sympathetic good guy" (talking about eps 1-4 I think the mistake of eps 5-6 in regards to Louis is that by making him the victim he is now once again more 2D and anything "bad" he does later can still be scene as a result of his abuse) and there is of course how JA can actually act in comparison to BP. Brad Pitt sure is coasting on that white mediocrity when you compare him to Jacob Anderson.

So yeah best version: 1994 movie family dynamics, explicit queerness,Tom Cruise Lestat, Jacob Anderson Louis. I can't put Kirsten and Bailey (two bad bitches) against each other tho that's unfair

[expfcultragreen]

Anyone want to play good skin/bad skin with me?

Yeah i didnt think so, that game fucking sucks and i was over this whole scene of making you figure it out yourself years ago, like from the jump. Im usually very supportive of doing research but all im going to find out about these guys is a) theyre nazis or b) they adopt the posture of nazis for reasons that are only relevant within the hardcore scene, with a total sense of callousness or adversariality regarding everyone who despises the aestheticization of fascist reactionaryism in and of itself. Like, the hautiness of it, if theyre pulling option b. The self-absorbed, myopically racist and phobic hautiness of it.

I have spent nearly 10 years carefully studying my plausibly crypto hardcoreboy friend, who i met because he lived in a vegan feminist house (mostly terfs it turned out, tho) i went to a party at

And its inconclusive what the fuck he meant in his 20s by all the casual racism and the swastika on his album cover, because that stuff actually all had plausible denials loaded--ALL of it, almost suspiciously so like its a game called youre just paranoid--and because he is fanatically liberal in his personal life (altho of course, he hates the liberal party and neoliberalism in general...which tells me he's either fash or hardleft, its a horseshoe thing with hating justin trudeau and the global capitalism agenda),,,, as far as he will share with me privately or the internet publicly. Ive been to a number of parties where he invited virtually all the guests and he conspicuously tried for diveristy, although his inner circle was all lame white people. (So is mine at the moment but thats because im too ashamed of my psychosis to have kept in touch with any of my other friends; its just really hard for people being around a white person who wont shut up about nazis when thats all you hear from everyone who wont hang out with white people, it gets awkward because you cant really say much because it could be a trap like theyre an undercover cop or something.) Sometimes his grapevine delivers him a highkey crypto conspiracy theory and then he wants to get takes on it because it "somehow" seems implausible or dubiously verified. When his neighbors annoy him he plays his tyler the creator vinyl real loud. He bought tickets for pet shop boys and new order when they played toronto. I am constantly scanning every interaction for tells, to this day; its like the green flag/red flag bateman meme but the tabulations are reversed.

I only have room in my life for ONE hardcore bro puzzlebox, sorry to all the oi bands and skinheads bobbling around like jackasses but i will never see you live and you will never get my money

Just one, sure, but how'd you pick?

Fluke. I didnt know who he was until after i had already asked him out (we got along at the party we met at so i asked him out, i never met someone else who knew that kinks song waterloo sunset, before), and then i had a stake in figuring out how much of a nazi he was because he knew i was nonbinary/queer and hooked up with me anyway instead of trying to kill me or debate me. Then after i was like "yknow what fuck it, i hate this game, youre a nazi" he flew across canada several times to check on me because he could tell i was going off the rails and isolating myself from people. He is the ONLY friend i have left who showed concern, most of them just got mad and stopped talking to me when i psychotically accused them of being abusers. My ex gf checked on me a lot during those years but she's not really my friend anymore (cant stand me now, too mundane)

I refuse to tell him my current address because i dont want him to know where i live because i am still paranoid that he has proud boy friends in bc who he can just call up and convince to burn my house down etc if i become too much of a liability or like if he finally does too many drugs and snaps and decides im causing progressivism as a whole by myself using magic

And the hardcore bros KNOW this is what people who truly hate nazis go through with them, and they dont give a fuck because they think theyre on a higher plane of enlightenment by virtue of a hyperfixation on a niche subculture's 40 year history of repeated infiltrations by nazis

[semi-imaginary-place]

started playing the triangle strategy demo. politics right from the start, excellent. and of course there's royal half siblings am i going to need to draw a family tree? i should probably draw a family tree. let me look this up. why is aesfrost a grand duchy? its a kingdom it has a family line of rulers. being a duchy ruled by a duke means your under someone else but the aesfrosts are ruling independently. wait if both frederica and her siblings were headed to glenbrooke why didnt they go together. yeah they're here for alliance peacetalks, pretty sure frederica's marriage is a part of those dealings. ok im confused. theres 2 international meeting with the nations top delegates. one in that side scene and one in the main story. this is all for the same event right? part tournament part festival part business meeting for mining. but wait no the tournament is in the capital and the mining meeting is in wolffort castle. or maybe they need to meet the king first and then to wolffort? yeah yeah i think thats it

i wonder how old the characters are? im assumming roland, serenoa, and frederica are in the same age group. serenoa comes off as young adult maybe 20? i dont think he's older than 25 or younger than 16. but if erika is younger than frederica and already an international delegate ... wait different mothers so who knows what the age difference is.

i feel kinda bad looting people's houses like here's the lord of the realm taking your pocket change. maybe if i do nother playthrough i'll leave it alone but for now i want to see if i pick up anything interesting.

things worked out for fredrica huh left a place that didnt want her and entered a place that doesnt scorn her for her heritage.

why was the feast held in wolffort? dragan and.... the other one didnt have house wolffort specific business did they? or is the mining operation headed on the glenbrooke side by wolffort? i missing some simple link. why hold a feast for the joint mining venture when most of the players are in the capital. oh lyla and symon are friends that explains it

hmm i had assumed roland and serenoa were old friends given they are part of the two most important families in the kingdom but if serenoa doesnt know hugette, either she is new, serenoa didnt come to the capital much or his friendship with roland is a more recent thing but no even then as the heir to wolffort he should be familiar with the kingsguard.

uhhhhhh my one weakness.... remembering names... who are all you people? this is why i'd be a terrible politician irl.

i learned why aesfrost is a duchy.

where does the river go? these 3 nations are land locked but a river that big probably runs out to sea and that would solve the salt monopoly. or are they really like dead center of eurasia.

roland's my favorite character so far. the only orher character ith significant screentime is frederica and im neutral ln her. serenoa seems ok.

i like this voting system. ah yes the racist theocracy and the other dictatorship that hates us. i chose the unlocked option every time. im unsure if the unlocked one is always the right answer or if it just presents another option but i convinced everyone i tried. and because i wanted more dialogue i convinced people both ways for funsies so minus frendrica and .... the wolffort arms master guy... e-ed something who were like talking to a wall i switched everyone else. you want to go to hyzante? no you dont. you want to go to aesfrost? what you actually want is hyzante. its fun.

i do like how racism against the roselle is portrayed so far. its based on a superficial (racialized) characterisic. "everyone is equal in hyzante except for the roselle" yeh that tracks. good worldbuiling in the sense that theres not a good nation with pure and good traditions and an evil nation with twisted barbaric traditions.

in general i've liked how the choices have been done so far often times im like mmmmm all 3. ive been choosing so far based on a mix of personal opinions and what is most diplomatic for the specific person im talking to sooo what ever i feel is best as nebulous as that is. for example with the hierofant about the mining venture i think its a stopgap measure but i do hope it works and can help build fair and peaceful relations. i chose the fair profit option tho because we are in hyzante which prides itself on its measures to increase equality.

is frederica having second thoughts about coming? shes the one that wanted to come most strongly and not only that both her and greeta's arguments were "do it for ferderica". if she did this much to go she should have prepared herself.

ooooh i want the full game now. i wonder how i can get i on sale... eh gamestop has 5$ off wonder if black friday would get me a better deal

[faeflowerz]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAKO-KUN 🐙🐙🐙

Er...Happy Birthday Azul. You know...he wasn’t the first guy I picked when i started. I first picked Sebek. Im sure my life would be phenonally better if Sebek was my oshi. I wouldn't have to deal with a chronic manipulator and cold blooded capitalist. This is a LONG ONE because he is my Oshi. Expect Deuce to have a long one too.

Ive had enough of this guy...

Fuck him. His stupid undercut...his luscious lips...his beauty mark...his voice...his crazy laugh...

Let's get this over with.

So! Now that we've been tolerating him for about a year now, what have we learned?

Azul's got a way of talking that is really offensive. He isn't rude and he's very polite, but that's the problem. He will talk to you until you miss his intentions. That union interview was rough to sit through mainly because he was avoiding his point. He wants a brother who can be a reliable business partner. He picked Scarabia because he's interested in the goods from the Scalding Sands.

Scarabia would be a good fit for him based on how quick and clever he is, and it’s why he’s drawn to Jamil. Jamil is the other side of his coin. A clever, underhanded dude who knows how to manipulate people. Problem is that Jamil is too real for Azul. (More on this later)

I think Ignihyde is also a good candidate for him. None of the mer kids talk about technology that much or how it operates under da sea. I’m curious about that and how Azul will handle an environment like that. Then again...he might become a crypto bro and that scares me. 

Everything is a transaction for him. Azul is a linear thinker who calculates each move he makes. Any deviation will frustrate him and he will find a way to make it work. He doesn't like random chances and is superstitious because as long as everything goes right, nothing can go wrong. He had a mental breakdown thanks to a pair of dice, and spent the week working on his technique. He took the fun out of Life.

He's only interested in people who can be useful. Its one thing to have acts of service be your love language. It’s another to assume that everyone in your life has to service you. Azul is phony like that. His reasoning for Ortho as his little brother is mostly based on what he can do and very little on how Ortho and Idia interacts. Yes, he likes how cute they are together, but Ortho is built to be a brocon and is not unruly like the other freshmen.

Ace is a good brother for him because of how quickly he can call Azul out on his bullshit. Ace is a POS too, but he’s honest about it. It's there for you to accept or reject. With Azul, you'll find that Ace makes him palatable, and he can translate the jargon. He could also make Azul look good to Jamil of all people. Azul is still introverted for better or worse, and he has his clients come to him rather than going out and shilling his wares. 

Image matters to Azul. The fat little octo-baby that the tweels know is an image he wants to burn to ash. What's sad is that the racism and fatphobia he faced as a kid turned him into an asshole. He didn’t deserve to be mistreated like that. He didn’t deserve to be treated like a misfit. Whatever prejudice regular mermaids have against other merfolk is disturbing to say the least. I empathize with that. To see this boy count calories, convince people to pilfer from public spaces, and complain about how people perceive him is sad. I feel for him in this regard. He deserves to have fun.

But what is fun to Azul? Well, he does enjoy the games he plays. He likes to collect coins. He seems to be extremely proficient in math, especially the kind of math that is commonly used (money, taxes). But he doesn't ENJOY the fun he has. Azul has to justify his hobbies based on their value. It HAS to lead up to something else. It's an investment. He’s materialistic. As a result, the grind never stops. Ace says that the guy needs to rest well. He does. His schedule is self inflicted unlike Riddle who is a slave to it.

Azul is a deadly combination: Pisces and ENTJ. That means that we are made for each other. That means that he can use his empathetic emotional Pisces to run a tight ship like an ENTJ. 

The Pisces in him is insecure, kind, emotional, and even a reliable friend. The ENTJ in him is strong willed, inspiring and highly motivated as a leader. On the other hand, these traits can be hidden by his insecurity. 

So what can we do with his character? Well, we’ve seen him knocked off his pedestal, but I wanna see Azul’s materialism and seemingly superficial relationships put to the test. As I said before, he thinks of people as Useful To Him rather than someone he can bond with. Being soft can risk his reputation, but a lot of the boys at NRC are in desperate need of that softness. They need to be able to be themselves and be accepted flaws and all. From there, they can then reflect on their upbringing and how they want to carry themselves into adulthood.

As I finish this essay about my oshi, I really do enjoy his character. Azul is a sweet guy and he’s popular with the JPN fans just like the tweels. He would be a good family lawyer. He mentions that his stepdad is a really nice man and he looks up to him. That’s something you don’t hear about everyday. He’d be a good father as well thanks to his upbringing and his tenacity. 

Hes also too bougie for me, but thats neither here nor there.

Happy Birthday Azul Ashengrotto! 🐙🐙🐙🐙🐙🐙

[comradefleur]

when will i be free from racist white ppl writing atla fanfiction....

y'all watched the whole show but still r somehow convinced that the message to take home was that trauma reactions like fear and anger and being untrusting of ppl from the fire nation are all racism rather than literally just warranted responses of self preservation.

im so tired of you bitches.

somehow to y'all, the ppl that were walking around calling others peasants and burning down their homes are the actual victims of racism just because sometimes ppl r like "he's fire nation we can't trust him?" THAT'S racism to you? my black ass has to laugh.

it's time to start gatekeeping sokka, katara and jet from you fools. y'all need to understand that although zuko was also very much a victim of the fire nation as well, he also once fought for the same system that oppressed ppl from the water tribes and other nations. he's not exempt from being on the receiving end of skepticism just because he changed his mind eventually. don't y'all understand the whole reason for his redemption arc in the first place and why he wasn't instantly and easily forgiven? my god are y'all dense.

and you make fans of colour uncomfortable everytime you produce a body of work or say something that just plain exposes the fact that you missed the ENTIRE point.

[cryptideye]

i make jokes abt it but i dont actually care WHERE frecklewish is, shes not real and i can just draw her in starclan with that being just as canon as the website article, im just pissed that the current “team” just. very clearly does not give a shit about their own books. that article has the EXACT vibe of fans who will skim a wiki page and then get mad at you for stating something that canonically happens in the books, except to a MUCH larger scale since they actually. have power over what happens in them.

the article also clearly doesnt exist to give new insight into a character. it was made to say “shut up youre wrong and were right just accept it and stop disagreeing with us” which is. super insulting ! especially since nobody on the writing team actually wrote the books, and the SOLE AUTHOR agrees with the interpretation that frecklewish and all of mapleshades other victims deserve starclan

i cannot imagine how you could write that article while also having... read the books. this isnt even a “my interpretation is fact” thing like its CANON in the books that mapleshade is an unreliable narrator and this article is acting like mapleshade’s assumptions are factual, which is a take you could ONLY arrive to if you only skimmed her wiki page instead of reading the book, or if youre like 9 years old. not to be harsh but they blatantly LIED about the context behind the confrontation between mapleshade and frecklewish when frecklewish says she wishes mapleshade were dead instead of her kits, i absolutely do not trust that whoever wrote that section read the book in any depth. you cant convince me they did

like, if their reasoning was “freckle called the kits half clan creatures which would be traumatizing to them, and she never seems to think that this line of thinking is wrong” id get it ! because thats something that actually happens in canon! but it contradicts rainflower being in starclan despite her abuse of crookedkit, AND contradicts the fact that STARCLAN THEMSELVES sent the message about the kits not belonging, and since the writers REFUSE to admit any wrongdoing on starclans part they cant say that xenophobia is wrong

this is not the first time the writing team has ignored fan complaints, like with the abuse shown in spottedleaf’s heart and squirrelflight’s relationships apparently being “unintentional” (and therefore isnt important enough to be acknowleged or fixed) and the writers just never even ACKNOWLEGING warriors racism problem even when fans were OUTWARDLY complaining about that very recently

the most weve ever gotten from them is changing that disgusting line about briarlight being happier dead than alive (but they also reinforced their “disability as punishment” shit in the frecklewish article so clearly it didnt get through) and getting a TERF fired (though theres also no canonical lgbt rep in warriors besides two gay couples being confirmed outside of the books text)

i get why ppl are emailing them but like. they arent gonna do shit ! the backlash about that ableist line was way more than it was with frecklewish (as someone who was in the community during both of these “dramas”), but they still clearly havent taken it to heart. they arent gonna do anything! just draw frecklewish in starclan and pirate the books