#my character is legitimately abusive to his partners and when i read about that out of context i feel bad

[terrorbirb]

Baldurs Gate Posting

The only downside right now is when people write posts and discourse about what is healthy for the companions and what hurts them it actually makes me feel bad for my actions. Like talking about how different choices feed into characters biases and how you can influence them so they arent hurting other people does make me feel bad for me enabling them.

I think it's that the posts are pointing out things that effect people really negatively in real life so I read them and go "oh :( I dont want those things to happen", so that interrupts my desire to do murder, manipulation, and abuse.

[rallamajoop]

On Mia Winters, misogyny, and abuse

As should be pretty obvious by now, I love Mia Winters. I honestly think she’s one of the most compelling characters in this whole damn franchise.

But let me make clear: you don’t have to love her. Mia’s canonically done a lot of shady shit in her time, and her relationship with Ethan has real problems. There are perfectly viable interpretations where the only thing really holding it together is his own denial. Only I never seem to get to read any of those takes, because the most common characterisations Mia gets in fic are an irredeemable monster, or a cardboard cutout who exists only to be written out as quickly as possible. And to write Mia out to that degree doesn’t just do her character a disservice, it does Ethan a disservice, and a big one.

The amount of Mia-bashing I see out there in this fandom turns my stomach. It’s not just the slash fans who’d rather ship Ethan with another dude. I have seen Mia loudly bashed in tags on het or gen fic in which she does not even appear. I have seen male fans reviewing these games on youtube who treat her the exact same way. But it’s never more frustrating than when that hate comes from the same fans who’ll turn around and talk about characters like Chris or even Lady Dimitrescu (she who canonically abuses her and murders her servants, and, y’know, eats people without a shred of remorse) like they’re perfectly forgivable and have done no real wrong. And don’t get me wrong: I love Lady D, but I love her because she’s magnificently evil. Mia? Mia’s a whole lot more complicated.

But to really explain why this hate makes me so uncomfortable, I’m going to have to start with the start of Resident Evil 7, and Mia’s very first scenes in this whole franchise.

Let me quickly summarise the opening of that game. A man whose wife disappeared without explanation suddenly gets a message about her whereabouts. He travels to an isolated location, breaks in, and finds her. She denies ever sending him that message, and seems incredibly distressed that he’s there at all. They fight. It ends with him sinking an axe into her neck and shooting her several times with a handgun. But see, he didn’t do anything wrong! It was all self-defence! She started it! She was acting crazy!

If you didn’t spot it, the whole opening of RE7 reads uncomfortably like a story about a woman escaping an abusive relationship, then being tracked down and murdered by her ex.

Obviously, I am not here to tell you Ethan’s abusive. He’s not, we’ve got no reason to imagine he is. He was legitimately acting in self-defence.

But the fact the first thing Ethan has to do in this game is find the balls to kill his own wife ‒ that a whole new era of Resi games has opened with a sequence so easily read as a sympathetic justification for how a man might perfectly innocently track down his missing spouse and "have" to kill her – that made those opening minutes into by far the most uncomfortable part of this whole franchise for me. Shit like this really happens. I mean it, I will track down the fucking statistics on women who are murdered after trying to leave an abusive partner if I have to.

What happens to ‘Mia’ in the opening to RE8 isn’t much better: it's as textbook a fridging as any I’ve ever seen. Yes, it’s a fridging that gets retconned away later when she turns up alive, but the fact that’s even possible speaks to just how awful and confusing her death is. The game opens with Mia’s violent murder at the hands of this series’ longest running ‘hero’, and the event is framed entirely in terms of how awful it is for her husband. That's as frigid as a fridging gets.

The eventual reveal that the real Mia was just trapped alone in a cell being experimented on by a madwoman for god knows how long doesn’t actually make it better. The horror Mia goes through in both these games is a footnote, barely explored.

I bring these events up not to condemn the RE franchise, not to say that including these sequences was unconscionable, or that violence against women can never be shown in a horror title. A quick glance at my tumblr should demonstrate how much I adore these games. Tropes like fridging become problems only because they’re so ubiquitous they can come to define almost the only roles women get to play, not because any individual example is necessarily grounds for outrage. If anything, there’s just as much to analyse in all the hate thrown at characters like Ethan Winters (or his predecessor, Jonathan Harker) as a archtypical examples of sexism against men – backlash against the very idea of a male character in the disempowered role of horror victim, usually reserved for women.

But with this context in mind, my god is it uncomfortable to see people talk about Mia as irredeemable monster who deserves to suffer more. People who will valorise the likes of Chris Redfield, who didn’t even bother to stop to tell Ethan that’s not Mia, yet talk about Mia like being shot to death in her own living room was only what she deserved. That is just a whole load of yikes.

And given that both games open with Mia being violently killed by a male protagonist (twice in RE7, with the player in control), it sure is convenient how so many people have managed to ‘find’ the evidence that proves she’s the real villain. You don’t have to think too hard about Chris Redfield as a violent maniac or Ethan Winters being forced to kill his own wife if it’s okay to inflict violence on this woman. “Yes, but she shouldn’t have done [X]…” or even “But what if she’s the real abuser” is a narrative that gets thrown at real women in abusive relationships all the time – especially when the man is a friend of whoever’s casting judgement, or even a celebrity. Real world examples of this shit in the wild run the gamut from wild fan-takes on The Shining ‘proving’ that actually the abused wife was the ‘real’ abuser all along, right up to the ongoing hate campaign against Amber Heard. People don’t want to have to think badly of someone they admire, and will take any excuse to shift the blame. The stakes are infinitely lower when we’re talking about fictional characters, but the same pattern plays out.

And look, I do get it. It’s easy to go into these games and come out with a negative opinion of Mia. She’s the one who lures you into danger in RE7, acts all innocent, and then comes at Ethan with a chainsaw – and when you finally find out her big secret at the end, it turns out she was working for the people who created Eveline from the start! You’re really not given a lot of reasons to invest in Ethan and Mia’s relationship before she’s suddenly coming at him with a knife, and the fact she never does get to come clean to him in canon leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

It’s really easy to go into RE8, note all the glaring signs that Ethan’s relationship with Mia isn’t healthy, and draw your own conclusions about a woman we don’t hardly even see again for most of the runtime of the game. Half this goddamn fandom still seems to think Heisenberg is actually a lycan, ffs – most of what people think they know about Mia is more meme than fact, and the rest is pretty surface level. Basic media literacy is not exactly high out there in the tumblrweeds (let alone the rest of the internet).

But as for the idea that Mia’s responsible for all the horrors Ethan went through, people seem to forget that Mia herself went through so much worse. Ethan spent a day in the Bakers’ property, and a day in the village. Mia spent years trapped in the Bakers’ property, and days at least imprisoned in Miranda’s lab, knowing exactly how much danger her family were in, helpless to save them. She’s no innocent herself, but ye gods has she already suffered for her crimes.

So with all that out of the way, well, what’s the actual ‘evidence’ that Mia herself was abusive? No-one's coming into this one without some bias, but let’s at least give it a fair shake.

Right upfront, I want to recognise that in both fiction and reality, women can be abusers, and men can be victims. Abuse in heterosexual relationships is far more likely to occur with the man as the abuser, but the reverse does happen, and the fact culture at large can be so eager to cast the woman as the villain doesn’t make it any easier for the real male victims of abuse to get recognition and help. Society as a whole is still just really shitty about enabling or excusing real abuse.

But the idea that Mia was abusive has very little to back it up. Whatever you make of “her” interactions with Ethan at the start of the game, the fact remains: that’s not Mia, and the fact she’s acting so strangely is meant to be our clue that something much bigger than a little marital strife is going on here. Knowing all this doesn’t really make the scene where she’s violently executed less disturbing, but you can’t miss the hints we don’t yet know the full story.

So the question becomes, is there any evidence that the real Mia was abusive? I’ve dug into this one a bit before in my post about trying to figure out the timeline of exactly when Mia was replaced, but there are no definitive answers as to how long Miranda's been living in their house. To summarise a long post (and a surprisingly lively timeline of events from the days before the game begins): the most likely intent seems to be that Miranda’s been posing as Mia for less than a week, though a lot of the vibes of the scene give me the impression it’s been several weeks at least. Ultimately, that’s going to come down to your own interpretation.

The Mia mentioned in Ethan’s diary who blew up at him at the hospital could be the real Mia, but more likely isn’t: you can’t really use her to argue anything definitive, one way or another. The Mia from the flashback where Ethan gets the call from Rose’s doctor is the real Mia, but if you think getting upset when your husband brushes off your obvious distress over your daughter’s health makes you abusive, then nothing I say here is going to convince you otherwise.

The only ‘real’ evidence that Mia might be a problem is one line you might hear from Ethan while taking Rose to bed, and it is admittedly a red flag: your mother’s scary when she’s angry.

And to anyone whose whole hatred of Mia has been built backwards from this one line – especially anyone who’s grown up in a dysfunctional household themselves – hell, I get it. It is one really yikes thing for Ethan to say about his wife.

But in Mia’s defence, I can only point out that, well, yes, canonically, she is scary when she’s angry.

Oh, did I say angry? I meant fucking possessed.

And if Ethan’s bringing up the spectre of that time, even subconsciously, maybe that should be an even bigger clue that the Mia in this house right now isn’t Mia.

But what really shows this line for what it is is that we’ve seen the real Mia angry. We’ve seen her cold fury at Eveline, daring to go right back to asking ‘can we be a family now?’ within hours forcing Mia to assault her own husband with a chainsaw. We’ve seen her frustration at Ethan’s own denial, and we’ve seen her stalk out of the room when he blows off an important conversation for a call from work. We’ve seen her advance on Chris after he shut her down, demanding, Where is my husband? Where is my daughter?!

We have never seen her angry without real justification. Her anger is neither violent nor disproportionate. It’s consistently purposeful, focused, and contained. There is nothing scary about the real Mia’s anger, unless you’re threatened by the very idea she might have something valid to be angry about.

There is evidence of tension in the Winters’ marriage from before Miranda’s arrival, but it takes a very different form – most evident in the flashback scene where Ethan receives the call from Rose’s doctor. Far from Miranda’s brusque, dismissive copy of her, the real Mia is anxious and depressed, scared of what Rose’s results might reveal. Here, Ethan’s the one brushing her concerns aside (“We talked about this […] Rose is fine!”) He recognises there seems to be something Mia’s not telling him, says they should talk about it, but then immediately brushes the conversation off when he gets a call from work, while Mia storms out of the room.

You can certainly read Mia as a hypocrite here, getting angry at Ethan for not knowing things she’s deliberately kept from him. But it’s Ethan who decides a call from work is more important than a conversation with his wife – someone who is obviously distressed, canonically still on a regime of drugs after the traumatic events of RE7, very likely suffering PTSD along with Ethan, and maybe even some form of postpartum depression. We don’t know anything about Ethan’s work, so there’s no point in speculating about how much he ‘needs’ to take that call. Mia’s no clear villain here – quite the opposite.

Personally, I tend towards taking this scene as evidence that Mia has tried to talk to Ethan about what really happened to him, but hasn’t managed to get him to face the truth. For all that Ethan supposedly wants to talk about the past, it’s a defining plot point that he’s badly in denial himself.

Or they could both be at some fault here: Ethan unwilling to face the truth, while Mia is reluctant to force him to face something she knows will hurt him and bring him distress. Even when Mia says outright that she ‘tried to keep this a secret, but…’ to Chris at the end of the game, the implication is as much that she’s tried to keep it a secret from people like Chris, who might decide Ethan is dangerous. She’s lied to protect him before, and if she’s still lying to him about her past with the Connections, then the fact that knowing the truth will hurt Ethan is obviously among her reasons. Protecting Ethan has always been among Mia’s top priorities ‒ even at her own expense.

The only other real hints we get about Mia’s inner life come from the glimpses of her we get in Donna’s domain. But I’m hesitant to read too much into these, given how unclear it is how much is just a manifestation of Ethan’s own anxieties. If anything, the ‘Mia’ in these scenes almost seems to have some far worse secret than simply having not told Ethan something he really ought to have put together on his own, and I’d kind of love to see that explored too – at least as long as that goes somewhere more interesting than round umpteen of ‘and that’s why Mia sucks’.

But my point here isn’t that you have to read any of these scenes the same way I do. I do think it’s important to recognise that nothing written for a game like RE is truly character-driven; scenes exist to serve the plot far more than to reflect consistent character motivations or hold up to fridge logic (which, let’s face it, is the real reason for most of Chris’ horrific behaviour in this game, let alone anyone else’s). The result is rarely super consistent, and leaves ample space for multiple interpretations of anyone’s motivations. Regardless, the idea there’s any hard evidence that Ethan and Mia’s relationship is dysfunctional, or that whatever’s wrong is Mia’s fault alone, is going to be incredibly hard to justify.

Any assertion that Ethan and Mia are somehow on the verge of divorce also needs to be weighed against the masses of evidence of how much they love each other – the number of times Mia has said she loves Ethan, up to and including (yes, I’m bringing this up again) how ready she is to die for him in RE7. Her speech to Chris at the end of RE8 states explicitly that being together with Ethan and Rose is the only thing that matters to her. “Mia, I’m sorry, I love you,” are some of the last words Ethan ever speaks – and I can’t help but read into how the moment he finally pushes Rose into Chris’ arms so they can get away with him weighing them down is right after he learns that Mia is alive, and thus implicitly that Rose won’t be alone if Ethan doesn’t make it. And good god does that scene break my heart every time.

It’s worth recognising that the fact Ethan and Mia love each other doesn’t inherently mean their relationship is healthy, or that you have to love them together as much as I do. Like I said up top, you don’t have to like Mia, and you don’t have to justify not liking her if you don’t. I would genuinely like to see fics where Mia and Ethan’s supposedly-necessary break up feels in character. Where Ethan loves her but just can’t deal with the resentment and the fallout over all the lies she told him, where he's been clinging to his 'happy ending' with Mia after surviving the Bakers so hard he can't face the fact things just aren't working, or where he’s having to face that their relationship only ever really worked because she was away so much. It will break my heart, but fiction is allowed to do that.

But god, it would be nice if people could just take the bashing below an eleven around this place. The number of times I’ve had to sigh and back-button out of reading something, because yet another author has decided to project their own hatred for Mia onto the husband who’s still reeling from watching her being violently murdered in front of him… it gets fucking old, y’know?

I would really like to think that in the year of our lord 2024, fandom would be a bit past this thing where they bash the canonical female love interest in the name of shipping the hero with another dude. People will bend over backwards to try and cast Heisenberg and Chris as guys who really care about consent and worry about Ethan getting hurt, because heaven forbid anyone be caught shipping something slightly problematic. And yet misogyny still somehow gets a pass.

You do not have to love Mia. You don’t even have to like her. But ye gods, the hate she gets is baseless and absurd.

Hasn't this poor woman suffered enough?

(And on that note, I promise I am finally done soapboxing in defence of Mia Winters, thank you for bearing with me for this long.)

[sparkytheandroid]

ABOUT NEW 50% OFF CONTENT

Hey sorry to get your attention like that, kind of a scummy move but bare with me a few moments. I’m the other person who made 50% Off, Sparky the Android, I also voiced Haru and Rin and some other small things. People usually just call me PJ now cause I don’t really make content anymore. Speaking of content Alex, Octopimp, decided he was going to make some new 50% Off content this past week and I would just like to explain some things as to why this is a real legitimate slap in the face to me personally. I want to stress that I was not sexually abused, physically abused, or in any major danger in my long creative partnership with Alex, he was just a scumbag who acted like an asshole and treated me really poorly over the course of the show forcing me to eventually quit. I was willing to just walk away from this stuff. Close the door, yknow? Get some closure but Alex seems intent on opening it by posting new 50% off content without talking to me about it first in any capacity. I have not spoken to Alex in several years but I was and always have been an equal creative factor in 50% Off, so him releasing new content without me feels especially insulting.   Alex came to me ten years ago asking if I would be interested in making an abridged series at the time because I had a background writing comedy and went to school for film. This was under the pretense of an equal partnership. We’re both funny, I’m a good writer and a decent voice actor, Alex is a decent writer and a good voice actor. He bought me my first voice acting microphone and we set to work developing the show with me refining a lot of our ideas into actual scripts to read from. As the series progressed I started taking on the larger writing work and Alex the larger editing work. Episodes went from 4 minute goofs (the original concept) to more longform almost 20 minute episodes at a time where characters had their own throughlines and stories progressing. It was a large task for the two of us, especially the difficulty of editing for Alex specifically. I don’t want any of this to seem like I did all the work, or that I never fought with or insulted Alex because that’s far from my point. Both of us were supposed to be partners but Alex consistently treated the show as SOLELY his in increasing amounts. I had to ask him to stop saying things like “I sign your paychecks.” or to stop insulting me in videos when he would add in insults against me without talking to me about it first. I can take an insult! I wrote some content insults about Alex too! But I was always up front and he would slip his insults in, or little jokes that were not in my scripts, without ever talking to me about them I would see them in the video premiers. He consistently minimized my involvement, I had to argue with him to get my name on the end slate, I wrote the theme rap, I wrote 90% of the material, I wrote our dumb tshirt commercials, the show is unequivocally so much of MY VOICE and I was begging to get a little more limelight or recognition. Alex took guest appearances at cons without talking to me. We did a panel at anime expo where HE was the guest and when I asked him about a badge to get into the con he informed me that he was giving the other pass to his girlfriend at the time. And while he did end up purchasing me a new badge to try and make good, just the act of not thinking that that badge should have been mine was so insulting. When we went to funimation he consistently bore it down on me that i was LUCKY that he flew me out so we could go to Funimation even though he would not be going in the first place without my scripts and voice. He made content without talking to me. He kept me at arms length in an arrangement that was supposed to be equal and I never spoke about it publicly because even a small amount of internet fame warped my little idiot brain and I wanted to keep being famous and cool on the internet. 

I never saw our official earnings numbers or even had access to the channel and took it on blind faith that I was being fair. When I quit the show because it was seriously becoming a real detriment to my mental health I walked away from any earnings the show would make after. 

It sucked. It sucked because I wanted to make more of the show. I wanted to finish season one. I promised people I would. It sucked because for some of it I was having fun! I was going to voice actor parties and people were paying attention to me. Selfishly I thought I could right the ship and turn it into a real career but I know that was never really an option. And it sucked because Alex and I WERE friends. I did some of my best material with him. Times hanging out with him where he was a genuine person were great. And I tried so many things! I realized arguing with him wasn't working so I figured it must be my fault. I tried being more supportive of him, supporting his streams, cheering him on at game tournaments, etc. But he just kept using me and the people around him to further his career. I just couldn’t take it anymore and I took the only ownership I really could and I walked away. The show stopped and, I’m sorry to the people who loved it, I think it should have stayed stopped. Nagisa is a fuckin racist caricature, one I actively contributed too regardless of the actions I took to make Nagisa smarter, more artistic, less of a one note joke about drugs and crime. Hell his final speech about how he felt about fetishizing MLM content at the time was feelings I WAS HAVING as a person coming to real terms with their queer identity. Alex is not a queer person! I am! I gave that speech to Alex to perform. I gave him MY VOICE. But it's still a racist caricature rooted in the past that is my fault for perpetuating.  

And again I’m not an angel. I argued with Alex a lot and said a lot of mean things to his face. Some stuff I regret because I’ve spent the time after the show specifically not shoving myself down another pipeline of making online content. The attention makes me stupid and I act like a jerk! I made mistakes while doing 50% Off and I’m sure I’ve hurt people too. I’m sorry to anyone who crossed my path when I was hopped up on stupid internet fame. You met one of the worst versions of me and it was my own doing. I’m sorry to Alex even for some of the stuff I said. But Alex leveraged his position of power over me as an excuse to treat me like shit. I’m in a good place in my life and I just wanted to shut the door on all this but Alex is intent on opening it after all these years and STILL minimizing my contributions. Saying things like “I just don't have the time/resources to make full episodes anymore.” He can’t make full episodes anymore because he would have to replace my voice in them but more than that replace my entire writing style. I was willing to let him upload a short like w/e its 2023 like whatever right? Tell your joke dude I don’t care. Then he posted another acting like he was going to do even more new 50% Off stuff and a close friend spoke with him saying it wasn't a good idea and he agreed. Then he posted them on youtube! And is saying stuff like this to people in the comments.

Like implying that the only reason he can't continue to produce 50% Off in full is because he doesn’t have the energy or schedule. He can’t continue because it would be continuing without me and I know deep down he KNOWS he shouldn’t. I don’t want any fucking clout or want you to watch any of my content because I don’t MAKE any. I wasn't sexually assaulted or physically abused. Alex was just a huge dick to me and a lot of my friends and we all just let it slide for all of our own personal reasons. Hell I was content just walking away the way I did, making the split seem amicable so there wasn’t a bunch of drama, letting the show stay up, and still field questions for people curious about it. I took my gdrive with every script i ever wrote for the show and just closed the door. I’m just tired after all these years of this guy actively ignoring my involvement in the show that is partially responsible for his internet fame. Tired of him pulling this bullshit “uwu i would love to make more but i just can't!” attitude to lie about why he can't actually make more. Tired of him opening that fucking door. 

A few years ago Alex got in contact with me through a friend with an apology. At the time he sent it many streamers were facing backlash for how they treated people in the past, ones closer to Alex, so this seemed suspiciously timed. The apology I got sounded like every other apology Alex had given me over the years. A lot of avoiding his own culpability in his actions. I told him that if we were to resume being friends it would take a lot. I think anyone who makes the effort deserves the chance to be redeemed, but I had absolutely zero trust in him and thought it was unlikely that he really wanted to make an effort to be a real friend to me. After that we resumed not speaking and when people asked me about him I still tried to make our split seem at least somewhat amicable and I try to generally avoid projects he is involved in. 

Imagine my surprise when he walked out on that Jerma stream. 

I want to thank everybody who watched 50% Off honestly and truly. I think some of it still shines as some of my best work. I got to do a lot of cool things like have my voice in a real anime, and I met tons of people who cared about me and my role in the show specifically. Those people were like life preservers while I felt like I was sinking in Alex’s shadow. It’s undeniably cool to have people respond to your work so well and I know I wouldn't have seen that happen without Alex’s skills as an entertainer and producer. Alex has hurt me personally as a friend, as a business partner, and has hurt several of my other friends in various ways with his behavior. The way I felt on 50% Off became truly harmful to my mental state. I struggle personally with imposter syndrome and RSD and at the time of making the show I had gone through very little therapy to help me develop healthy coping mechanisms for those things. It was just like pouring gasoline into a fire. And I really wanted to put it all behind me for the sake of my own mental health and life because all things considered I’m happy where I am now. I’ve worked really hard on myself personally and have been so lucky to have emotionally intelligent friends help me and give me so many chances I should not have deserved. I’m fortunate to be able to support myself and my cat, and I get to make personal art I love without having to push myself into the internet game because if I’m being honest I had a bad addiction to social media. I apologize I don’t have a nice resolution for you, I’m not asking you to stop watching 50% Off, or watch anything I make, or hell even stop watching Alex’s personal content. I just felt like I had this intense pit in my stomach seeing him parade around in the other half of our two person horse costume and insist he’s wearing the whole thing. Yknow? After all these years I just wanted to say SOMETHING about the way I was really treated so I could finally get some closure for myself. Thank you for your time and again to all the people who DID support the show thank you sincerely. 

[lorillee]

naruto character social media headcanons:

naruto: sakura made him a personal instagram account 3 years ago and he legitimately has opened it exactly twice (both times because sakura was asking him to pull something up). its just really not for him. honestly though that being said i feel like you could get him to be a vine creator you KNOWWWW he's abusing his shadow clone ability for this

sasuke: lets be so honest hes not touching any of that with a 50 foot pole, ever. NEXT!

sakura: definitely has a personal instagram, could also see her having a fitness instagram as well. given shes also canonically a fujoshi lets be so honest she has an ao3 and probably a fandom twitter account for liking/rting fanart as well

sai: also does not get the appeal at first. i think sakura made a valiant attempt to convince him to make an instagram account for his art but this does not pan out. it is only when ino shows him twitter's incredible versatility for haters that he understands what the hype is all about.

yamato: my immediate instinct would be to say no probably not HOWEVER i think it would be really funny if he was incredibly active on r/architecture and literally nothing else

kakashi: for the most part a hard no. however i do believe he is casually active on an incredibly obscure forum for the icha icha series. at some point naruto or sakura accidentally see that he has it pulled up on his phone and spend a solid like week hunting down his account and reading through and making fun of all of his posts. he does not know this happened

guy: honestly i think he has a facebook account that is exclusively used to find and post boomer style workout memes and positivity posts. he sends an egregious amount of the aforementioned workout memes to kakashi and lee (enthusiasm of the receivers is about what you can probably expect)

neji: decidedly proclaims social media to be a cesspool and a waste of time, does not partake. he does, however, have a meticulously upkept letterboxd account with extensive and incredibly thorough reviews of everything he's ever watched. (i believe weekly team guy movie nights can be very frustrating for him personally because neji as a person prefers films that are very introspective/character driven/abstract but the rest of his teammates more than anything are interested in watching a bunch of guys beat the living snot out of each other)

tenten: she's got an instagram where she posts short clips of training using her vast arsenal of weapons - lee and neji are frequent guest appearances as sparring partners. i also could see her having a tumblr or some sort of blog to geek out over the latest thing she's picked up

lee: i think he has facebook and instagram but purely to very enthusiastically comment on guy and tenten's posts. otherwise its really not his thing

ino: YOU KNOWWWWWWWWW SHES GOT IT ALL. tiktok instagram twitter triple threat she's definitely an influencer she's big in the makeup scene but also has huge kpop side accounts. shes definitely always getting into drama but always comes out on top in the end - a bit of a controversial figure but overall has a frankly militant fanbase. always up to date on the latest idol drama and you KNOW she'll be posting about it. also has a defunct tumblr account that which was definitely an obscenely popular aesthetics blog back in the site's heyday, but in modern times has since moved her collage boards to pinterest

choji: you know this i know this we all know this HES A FOOD BLOGGER!!!!!!!! in this world blogspot is still alive and well and hes making a killing on there. i think he would also have a tiktok account though for short review videos usually featuring his friends where they go to taste test new restaurants/dishes. i think he also has a personal instagram account just for posting friend photos and whatnot

shikamaru: very casual reddit scroller, when hes bored he'll trawl through a few political subreddits and perhaps r/shogi. never posts and has accounts on basically nothing.

hinata: type of person to HAAAAATE online drama so bad it makes her sick with stress just thinking about it. if she uses social media at all i think she has a diligently kept aesthetic tumblr blog where she posts photos and doesnt interact with anybody ever

hidan: active 4chan user.

jiraiya: its like if you took a facebook-exclusive boomer and dropped him into twitter without warning. his account was supposed to exclusively be his platform for his writing but he gave up that pretense a long time ago and now its basically just whatever he wants to put on there. we all already know what this looks like

orochimaru: saw suigetsu scrolling on twitter once and got an extensive rundown on how it works and the kind of people that frequent it. finds it fascinating in the way that one might study bacteria in a petri dish cultivated in toxic sludge, but thats about the extent of it. boruto-era however he is an active nextdoor and facebook user and exclusively posts wine mom memes

tsunade: has an official account as the hokage but its entirely run by shizune. honestly i dont think she would find much interest or enjoyment in anything social media has to offer her

suigetsu: you already know hes posting bad tiktok thirst traps. theyre really terrible . absolutely lives for kicking up drama in people's comment sections and runs an incredibly popular twitter ragebait account with more passion than hes put into anything else in his life ever

[dross-the-fish]

Someone recommended Lore Olympus to me. I’ve only heard about it from 2 sources, them and you. They gave the positive. I’d like to hear the negative. What’s your beef with it?

It's a long list, I have a lot of beef.

A friend recommended it to me and I gave some of it a read. I was put off by the art style, particularly since the protagonist is supposedly plus sized but aside from being curvy with big tits in some panels I would never have guessed this was meant to be anything other than a conventionally attractive character.

I really don't like the depiction of Persephone, she comes off as being creepily young and naive and the narrative tries to play that up like it's charming. The vibe I get off of her is "sexy baby who needs a father figure to guide and protect her" until she randomly has to do something badass and then she gets all red-eyed and starts kicking ass and it feels like it comes totally out of left field.

Her relationship with Hades is so incredibly tedious, they have zero chemistry and he's so much older than her and more obviously experienced with everything that it's legitimately exhausting to imagine myself in his shoes being a grown man with a full time career teaching some barely out of high-school kid how navigate the world, giving her a job at my corporation, and essentially have her be dependent on me while I'm struggling with my own toxic failing relationship. What is the appeal of Persephone as a love interest here? That she's nice? That's really all there is to her for the most part, that she's "nice" and "cute" which isn't really enough to make someone attractive as a potential partner.

I can understand maybe wanting to help some kid get on her feet after spending her life in a Mormon cult but nothing about that kid would ever read as "Wife material" at least not to me or any other adult over 25.

The dynamic between Hades and Persephone is just weird. She's an incredibly sheltered 19 year old who's never had ANY life experience or social interaction outside of a small circle approved by her mother and he's ancient but physically equivalent to being in his 40's and a ceo or something who's already in a relationship with a female character who was clearly written just to make Persephone look better by comparison.

While we're on it let's talk about Hade's first partner. An unlikable piece of crap named Minthe who has some clear mental traumas and insecurities that the plot never handles because asking the writer to to give these characters depth or dimension is like asking a chimp to write a symphony and that just ain't happening. Yeah, Minthe who is a nymph and part of the lower class, also employed by Hades and completely financially dependent on him. She is abusive and manipulative and any time we might feel like we can sympathize with her because Hades is practically cheating on her the writers make sure to make her do something that depicts her as being as unlikable as possible. Can't have Persephone willingly be a homewrecker or competitive that might make her INTERESTING! We can't have her be interesting! It makes her less "Cute" and "wuvable" *barf*

There's also a couple of instances of SA and they aren't handled well at all. It's mostly played for drama and only comes up if we need the characters to be sad.

Then there's the art

oh boy the art....

Look I know my own art is pretty rough and not the most consistent but LO is just too much for me.

Sometimes Persephone's face is drawn in a way that makes her look almost like a little girl and she's frequently in skimpy clothing or in suggestive poses, even when nothing in the story calls for that. If you're going to make her look provocative maybe don't make her face so punchable and insipid looking.

You can write this off as my personal bias. I loathe characters who are designed to look as "uwu baby" as possible. Unless it's specifically for a joke or something...

This is a bit of a nit pick but I have no idea how tall she or Hades are supposed to be.

In this panel She can barely see over the counter here for some reason and she's frequently drawn as being roughly around elbow height with him,

Just to illustrate how ridiculous of a height difference that is for two adults to have that's close to the height disparity between Edward Hyde and Adam Frankenstein. Unless Hades is between 7-8 feet tall there is no reason to draw your 19 year old character that much shorter than him.

Idk I didn't read all of it so I don't know if it gets better or if the characters improve but I found it to be a shallow experience that clearly I'm not the target audience for. Check it out and see what you think for yourself but there's my beef with it.

[mermaidsirennikita]

What did you mean by twilight being “era specific” in your tags on the reblog about upcoming reboots?

I think that when Twilight came out, the book especially (which built a ground fanbase for the movie to launch from) there was less pseudointellectual web analysis, PLUS there was less care for the genuine problems with the series. In some ways, Twilight Discourse helped propel some early era "THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!" puritanical bullshit.

things people weren't clocking super heavily when Twilight came out that I think are legitimate issues:

--Stephenie Meyer is a devout Mormon, and as such her politics seep into the books; the conservativism surrounding sex despite the inherent titillation of "when will they fucking fuck"; the anti-choice messaging; the racism, which lemme tell you, has some Very Specific Implications when it comes from a Mormon author. (Now I.... clocked her as soon as I saw the name "Stephenie", and had it confirmed as soon as I read she was named that for her dad, for reasons I won't get into. But a lot of people didn't.)

--Going back to the racism... It's real bad, and the movies made it worse by casting a white guy the most important indigenous role. Everyone else was played by Native actors. Not Jacob Black, the third most crucial character in the entire series. The fact that they baldly got away with that in 2008? Says a lot. Like, they weren't even trying to pass him off, they just went "well, he can tan". In fact, I think Taylor Lautner SAID he'd work up a tan for the second movie. I mean, he was already pretty tan, the just sprayed him down further. Problem solved, right?

--Nessie is dumb as hell in general, but it's also like... so anti-choice. Like. Bella is literally dying lmao. But not only is it presented as Right and Understandable that she'd want to die to birth this demonic child--the crucial thing about this is that EDWARD, MY MAN, is presented as the bad guy for really, really wanting her to abort. He is being completely logical and a loving partner here. He rightly points out that they have no fucking idea what this kid is, and also, most importantly, he loves Bella and puts her first and wants her to LIVE. Can I just say--unintentionally, the romantic hero everyone was losing their shit over in 2005-2012? Being super about his wife having a life-saving abortion? Kind of iconic. Edward is a pro-choice ally, lmao. (He even tells Jacob like "FINE WHATEVER IF SHE WANTS A BABY THAT BAD YOU CAN FUCK HER IDGAF" in what is. Objectively. A hilarious scene. I've seen Edward antis try to paint this as like, him trying to control her bodily autonomy--dude, Edward could have physically forced Bella to get an abortion. He does not, he simply wants this woman to LIVE.)

But then, as soon as the demon baby is born, he's all in love with her because he realizes she was a Soul Baby this entire time. Lol. No. In a post-Dobbs world, I don't know how you do this, and I think that if you have to entirely redo a crucial part of the series, why. bother. making it.

Never mind Jacob falling in love with a baby.

There are other problems, obviously, but you also have the SAVE THE GIRLS FROM THEIR HORNY DESIRES crowd, who thinks the entire series should be thrown in the trash because Edward is a) abusive because he doesn't want Bella to go be a frosty delight and die or b) abusive because he does want Bella to be a frosty delight and die c) abusive because he doesn't put out (a truly wild take lmao, he's sexually manipulating belly by dangling his cherry in front of her, and she somehow has zero alternatives, certainly not the other guy vying for her hand) d) abusive because he like, tries to buy her a new car and give her nice things...? e) abusive because he doesn't love the idea of his girlfriend hanging out with another guy who tries to kiss her and shit f) abusive because he DOES want her to hang out with that guy and wants her t have werepuppies to distract from the loss of their demon babies.

There is a lot of discourse around Bella, Edward, and Jacob that I find very stupid. I cannot imagine it's going to be any better in a post-Twitter post-X world.

I also think that, frankly? The youth want different things. If they want vampires, they want the Gothic melodrama (and more racially conscious updates) of a show like Interview with the Vampire. If they want teen content, they want teen content that incorporates people who aren't universally cishet and white (Quileutes aside, and as we have discussed... bad).

UNFORTUNATELY, the teens are also less horny, apparently, than they were when I was a teen. Which I think is the result of puritanical stuff/the conservative appropriation and perversion of theoretically solid progressive concepts.... among other things... and we need to make it so that teens feel comfortable with exploring things in an emotionally and physically healthy way. BUT. That's going to take time, and I don't think that the thing that really helped Twilight surmount the discourse, which is that--we Twihards were largely very horny about it--is going to work right now.

Also; if you are not a puriteen, I don't really think Twilight's particular brand of "oh my god, he might just touch my lips while I wear my khaki skirt" horniness is going to work for you, either. Like I said, it was a specific time. The kids who were really anti-sex were less the liberals who are worried about fictional characters' consent being violated when we watched movies... It was Silver Ring Thing kids, who lemme tell you, as someone who did not partake but knew several... Those kids.... wanted to throw down. Really bad.

And so Twilight appealed to that mindset that was like, pervasive in 2008--you don't abstain because you don't or shouldn't want it, you abstain because it's this thing that you will be able to have as soon as it is Right to have it. Like the Jonas Brothers! They did that, right? They really committed to the purity rings, riiiiiiiiiight?

The knowledge that you're waiting for this thing that you have a semi-specific timestamp on (your wedding night) and it's going to be sooo worth the wait (it will not, at least not for a while lol) was this deeply titillating thing for much of the target audience, because that's what Twilight was almost literally evoking. Edward wouldn't have sex with Bella until their wedding night, but he TEASED her. The entire series was arguably abut this leadup to the sex. And boy, was it disappointing! But until it happened, I think the series really captured that breathless anticipation. And I just don't think people are currently very interested in that.

They might as well have been soaking

Also. Bella's dad is a cop.

[starsarefire824]

Hey!!!

I absolutely love your fics(the ones I’ve read) and I binge read the one with Troy, Will and Mike last night. I’m IN AWE of the complexity of each relationship as well as the interactions between the characters. The emotions feel so raw and deep. I have noticed though, that Will doesn’t open up to Mike as much as Mike opens up to him. Like, Will listens and he’s understanding and he helps but I hope he’s not internalizing anything every time Mike talks about his history with Troy. I think it’s very mature of him to understand that it’s not about him but having someone tell you they have to move on from their ex because it’s killing them(very understandable) instead of responding with any words of confession toward you can mess with your head. What I mean to say is, I hope Will doesn’t get his heart broken in the process of helping Mike process his trauma because I low key still believe that they shouldn’t be in a relationship when the wounds of Mike’s past are so fresh. I don’t want Mike to lash out on Will and push him away, especially because Will just takes all the abuse and hurtful words and doesn’t say anything in his defense. Helping someone through something doesn’t mean you have to get hurt in the process.

And, I hope Will can find it in himself to open up to Mike about his own abuse and about the UD as well, because he deserves to be validated and heard and understood as well. Listened to, if nothing else.

Anyway, I’m just really in the feels right now and the book is amazing. I’m definitely sticking around for more.<3

Hi dear Nonnie! 🖤

First of all, I am just really in *my* feels that you’ve binged and liked the story so far! This one has become near and dear to my heart so to hear other people enjoy it makes me super excited.

I was really interested in putting these characters in this sort of extreme au and kind of see how I could keep their personalities true to form as best I could while also watch them respond to the situations they’re in. And hopefully peel it back layer by layer to reveal something that might change the reader’s mind on the situation/characters that felt legitimate and not like a trick. So it has been an exercise in trying something new for me!

It’s so funny you’ve mentioned this because it has been on my mind as well….it was intentional on my part in writing Will not quite opening up completely with Mike. Number one, it felt like a very canon Will thing to do. He is secretive and downplays his trauma I think, or at least, doesn’t really share his feelings all the time. He internalizes a lot. But the next chapter I am currently working on is actually going to be the start of where Will finally feels comfortable enough or brave enough to start to let Mike in in that way.

And you’re right, I think he has been a little wrapped up in what has been going on with Mike because that was revealed so slowly to him and in pieces. He hasn’t really been in the full know until they were in NYC. So yeah it’s definitely been a slow process, but I do think that in real life sometimes it’s like that. And sometimes your partner/love interests issues might at times be more urgent or dire in the moment. And so I agree with you, Will is being very mature here, and his patience is very admirable…but in Will fashion, he, I think, is also using this distraction of Mike’s current pain as a distraction/excuse to not be as open with Mike as he probably should have been trying to do a while back.

And because Mike is basically having an identity crisis now that he and Troy have had themselves quite forcefully severed from each other, he isn’t maybe ready to be the one to ask Will straight out, even though I do think that Mike knows Will hasn’t told him everything and maybe right now he thinks he’s respecting boundaries. I think Mike wants Will to open up to him w/o it being like prying a clam open.

But that’s kind of what this NYC trip is about right? For the first time, They’re somewhere new together, somewhere quite anonymous, somewhere with people that are similar to them, and it’s a safe space for Will because his brother is there w/o the pressure of catering to his mother’s feelings.

So I do foresee some Will opening up in the near future.

It may or may not be helped along with some feely good drugs and a bit of dancing. 😉

*Read Demons of Change HERE.

[smytherines]

Ugh I shouldn't say it but: the headcanon that Owen treated Curt like shit before the fall. That he was constantly demeaning Curt, that he was jealous and possessive, that he took joy in Curt suffering or feeling inadequate. I know it's a headcanon probably most of the fandom has adopted, but it just doesn't seem to be supported by A1P1 at all, and it bums me out.

I'm sorry, I know people don't like it, but Owen is not the one established to be jealous in A1P1- Curt is. Like, to the extent that TCB literally wrote a line pointing out that Curt is jealous. When Cynthia tries to recruit Owen (even though he immediately shuts her down) Curt gets irritated, Owen notices and says "What are you, jealous? You know I'd never work for the Americans."

Owen isn't established as berating or ignoring his partner in A1P1- Curt is. After Owen points out that he would never work for the Americans, Curt says "Oh I do know that you couldn't handle it." When Owen tells him he shouldn't drink until they're out of the building, Curt makes fun of his concern and his accent. When Owen points out the banana peel, Curt says something like "this whole place is about to be garbage anyways, who gives a shit?"

At no point in A1P1 does Owen insult Curt. Hell, while he's still in disguise he's literally praising Curt, with lines like "You're even stronger than your reputation suggests, Mr. Mega," and "how can you stay so cool and collected when you are staring death right in the face?" My honest opinion is that Owen thinks its hot that his boyfriend is a lil human tank that can somehow deflect torture despite being in actual chains (breaking Oleg's fingers, the pipe thing)

The closest Owen comes to insulting Curt in all of A1P1 is when he says "figured it might be good to knock you around a bit, good for old ego. Plus I figured his [Oleg's] day was about to get a whole lot worse" And Curt responds "good point" and smiles at him. Owen talked his way past 20 Russian security officers to get to Curt, and the worst thing that we actually see happen to him in that chair is one punch that Curt shrugs off immediately. To me, Owen does not read at all like he wants Curt to be hurt in that scenario, it very much feels like a flirtation (especially if you believe Curt when he says he knew it was Owen all along). The worst thing Owen does to Curt is tickle him with a big fluffy feather.

To me, that part of A1P1 reads as a direct contrast to Torture Tango. So when they are still together, before the fall, Owen does about the softest thing possible to Curt- he tickles him. And then after the fall he literally tortures him. If Owen enjoyed seeing Curt suffer before the fall, it would've been very easy for Owen to legitimately hurt Curt while he was chained to a chair. To really degrade and abuse and humiliate him. But he doesn't do that.

If Owen were really this horrible abusive controlling toxic boyfriend, I find it very difficult to believe he would allow Curt to do the kind of reckless things Curt does in A1P1. If he took pleasure in seeing Curt struggle he could've just hung back and watched as Curt's boss humiliates him. But he doesn't do that, he immediately stops what he's doing and comes back as soon as he hears that Cynthia is yelling at Curt. He intervenes to get Cynthia off Curt's back, despite having nothing to gain personally in that scenario except helping Curt.

Curt insults him and blows him off, and Owen doesn't even respond to it. He just shrugs it off. The only time Owen even tries to stand up to Curt is when Curt stops him from relocking the safety barricades and Owen says "No, Curt, trust me, you're going to want to do this."

It kinda feels like people just want to toxic yaoi dynamic, but there's no place post-fall for that version of their relationship to exist, so they just project Owen and Curt's post-fall characteristics backwards, which, to me pretty significantly undercuts how traumatic that event is for both characters. How much it changes them individually. It flattens them out into boring archetypes instead of well written characters with complex motivations.

[thetrashywritingwitch]

Before you follow:

Please read through this list before you consider following me:

Please don't feel bad about not following if you're uncomfortable following an adult. I'm 30

Although I am a SFW blog and don't answer NSFW asks or post anything explicit, some of my writing might contain adult content. They are linked out to a03, quotev, etc. and aren't posted here because I know a lot of minors follow me

I'm uncomfortable with self-proclaimed "dark content" blogs following me. It's not something I like and I'm generally critical of that type of content. I can't keep people from following, but know that I do sometimes check who follows me and block them. It's my blog and I can curate it however I see fit

I do not approve of writing any explicit content of the kids AT ALL in any context unless they are significantly and obviously aged up, and even then the "dark content" criticism still applies. Under no circumstances do I agree with shipping a student and canon adult character in any AU or context, ever

I might post character or plot meta or analysis that is outwardly critical of the Hero system and its parallels with modern day cops. I'm anti-cop, anti-capitalism and anti-imperialism. It is possible and expected to enjoy content with a critical eye, and even though I might criticize or break apart many issues with Horikoshi's writing, characterization, or plot points, I still enjoy the series as a whole (even if I may lament its lost potential)

Fiction is in fact tied in and impossible to separate from reality and what we read and the media we consume affects us in one way or another. Know that I don't agree with the "it's just fiction" or "fiction isn't reality" rhetoric that is often used to defend the above-mentioned "dark content". If you disagree with me, you might not have a good time here on my blog

Racist/Homophobic/Transphobic/Islamophobic/Ableist/Trans-exclusionary/Sex-work-exclusionary/Anti-Rroma. If you're fine with oppressing any of the above groups, kindly fuck off. No, people cannot be oppressed for being white

Please know that sometimes people come to me for advice or ask for help in my ask box. Even though I don't mind helping folks, I'm not a therapist or trained professional and sending me heavy or traumatic content without my consent can give me extreme anxiety. I do not feel comfortable participating in "drama" or getting involved in something that isn't my business. However, if I come across something that I think is important for people to know (such as a predator being outed in the fandom or serious harm is being done to irl people), then I may post about it

Even though I'm not a villain stan blog, I do think that the LoV are correct in a lot of their points and their ideas behind breaking down the Hero system which leaves behind the most vulnerable people is something I generally agree with

I strongly dislike Mitsuki (Bakugou's mother) and consider her verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive and manipulative. I'm not a fan of her or her parenting and you won't find me talking positively about her. I am also openly antagonistic towards Endeavor and legitimize the abuse he inflicted upon his entire family for many years. I don't think he deserves any kind of redemption arc. If you're an Endeavor stan or think we should give him a chance, know you won't like it on my blog

There are many popular writers and artists I've blocked over the years for producing content I don't like or think is healthy/I agree with. Again, it's my right and my blog to curate it however I see fit and judge who I want interacting with my posts

My writing schedule is sporadic at the moment and when I update chapters is up to my discretion and free time. I'm an adult with a job, friends, and a partner, so I write when I can but please don't berate me about updating my fics, when I'll write X, etc. I'll get to it when I get to it

[mostly-mundane-atla]

Got it. What about Inuit, Yup’ik and Inupiaq stereotypes? Are there a lot of harmful ones to avoid? I do know you shouldn’t make eating meat their entire personality, but what else?

Okay, this is going to get dark, so if you need to blacklist any content warnings (mine are tagged as "[insert content here] mention", do that before reading and if you need me to tag anything specific, please tell me and avoid this post until I get to it.

And again: Disclaimer that simply having an eskimo coded character fall into these stereotypes is not inherently racist or wrong. Keep this in mind as writers of color, and thereby Native writers, often get a lot of shit for writing our experiences as we feel them. Not to mention, yelling at someone trying to do justice to a dark topic, even if they don't succeed, is a shitty thing to do. Some of these have subtextual backing in canon. Remember that although we are looked down on for crimes, wrongs, or unpleasantness we're assumed to have commited, it's the members of our community who suffer most for it. There is value in understanding the pain that comes from the community that's supposed to protect you, and I don't believe the writers of the series had any malicious intentions toward us for writing characters that fall into any of these stereotypes. Recognize the nuance or get off my blog and find someone else to back up your discourse.

I'm going to use the term Native in this context. Natives come from many different cultures and cannot be assumed to be the same, but many of these stereotypes are used against more than just Inuit, Inupiat, and Yup'ik peoples. This is why I find it to be the most appropriate term in this context. I will add my understanding of where these stereotypes came from and why they're harmful, but I am only one person and a full understanding of the topic requires more than one point of view.

"Natives are drunks." The United States used alcohol on Natives the same way Britain used opium on China. They introduced it to us and blamed addiction on our own "weakness of character." This assumption of alcoholism carries with it assumptions of untrustworthiness. For a real life example: I was on a grand jury (a jury that decides whether a case is worth taking to court) years ago and one case was an older Native man accusing his brother of physically assaulting him. For some reason, a nearly all-white jury was deemed to be a jury of this man's peers, and two or three white men violently insisted that it shouldn't be brought to court because it happened at a party and therefore it was just some alcoholics from the village wasting a judge's time. Eventually, after some discussion about how no alcohol was mentioned, it was decided the case should be presented to a judge. I would also like to point out that the Native man in question was entirely sober, well put-together, spoke more cohesively than other cases that day, and had a bad limp.

"Natives are child abusers/molesters." This one actually links to the first stereotype mentioned, and a lot of what I've said on this blog about how abuse perpetuates. There was a lot of physical, mental, and, yes, sexual abuse in the US run schools, especially the Christian ones and boarding schools. (I've heard people mentioning that the priests would more often target the boys because they couldn't get pregnant.) When one gets regularly exposed to this sort of thing, they come to accept it as normal. This normalizing of abuse is bad enough for the one person, but it also affects the way they interact with others when put in similar situations as the abuser. They're hurt and traumatized and weren't effectively told that it was wrong and they shouldn't have been put through that, so they perpetuate it on people as vulnerable as they were when it happened. Movements have started in hopes of bringing awareness and getting help for these people before they can carry out the cycle further. Abuse between adults is also a tricky issue because the ways people are taught to give or not give consent are counterintuitive to cultural norms around verbal and nonverbal communication. See: the "they didn't say no" argument.

"The Stoic Native." There are a number of reasons one culture might emote less than another, especially around people they don't know. This doesn't mean that we don't feel or are too strong or brave to feel. Our emotions are our business and we don't owe anyone an explanation.

"Natives are part of the land." For some reason, a lot of non-Natives have trouble grasping that Indigenous Peoples are human beings in our own right. A lot of media portrays us not as people in the same sense that the outsiders are, but as extensions of the land or the spirits of the land. It's true that generations upon generations of living somewhere means the land will change to reflect the people, but that is due to the influence of people living there and how their culture says to interact with it. This trope reduces us to symbols of "a simpler time" or just as often white people's ideas of nature conservation. It's dehumanizing and infantalizing, ignoring our cultures and civilizations, treating us as either innocent martyrs for someone else's cause, or pests that are done away with once the land is developed.

"The Native Princess." Sometimes the only way non-Natives can see us as people is by pushing cultural norms and forms of government they're more familiar with onto us. Naturally, this means assuming that our civilizations were as successful as they were because they were like the non-Native author's. This is especially gratuitous in the case of Inuit, Inupiat, and Yup'ik peoples because we don't have anything resembling a monarchy. Yeah, this one is explicitly in the text so I can't expect much to be done with it

"Native women are always available to men." I don't know what it is about cultures that consider themselves more "advanced" seeing ones they consider "primative" where women have more autonomy in the relationships they have with men and fewer restritions on their bodies. I don't know how they misinterpret "she can do that here" as "she's there for the taking" but it's so gross and I would like it to stop. Sexuality being more open and not inherently sinful doesn't mean the women don't have standards or won't turn anyone down.

"Natives are broke and/or homeless." This is just the typical racism mixing with classism to make something even uglier situatation. The result is a lot of treatment you see non-Native POC get, such as being followed at the store because they expect you to steal something.

There are more, I'm sure, but these are the ones I get the most. Note that again, it's not inherently bad to write a Native or Native-coded character who drinks or has a lot of partners or is particularly connected to their homeland or poor, but take care to handle it with some sensitivity. Understand that there are implications to these things and real harm can be done by legitimizing racist stereotypes.

[annabellenaughtyprincessrose]

My Brothers, The Lovers ❤ (Repost: Classic fanfic)

My Brothers, The Lovers *Revised version*

By Annabelle Naughty Princess Rose

Summary:I wouldn't trade my Brothers for anything in the world. SAM/DEAN/OFC. Wincest!

Rated: MA (18+)

Author notes: Hey guys! Well, I have  another classic fic of mine to share. This was a little idea I had while I wrote this story, an OFC sister of Sam and Dean Winchester, and thier growing forbidden bond. So, this is a Wincest story.

This story was recently published on my Fanfiction.net, as well as on live journal, Wattpad, and WordPress page. There may be some little changes I made because the story had bad typos. (Don't judge me.)

Please note: That this story contains Wincest. If you are uncomfortable with this nature, please DO NOT read!

Lastly, I don't own any characters. The story plot was my idea. ;)

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

(Reader's POV:)

I love my brothers. They are caring. They are protective. When you're feeling down, they turn your frown upside down. If it was over a guy, they would stop at nothing to nail his ass to a wall. Any person, whether boy or girl is lucky to have them.

I wouldn't trade my brothers for anything in the world. They are a godsend. Sam and Dean: my knights in shinning amour.

We been through a lot together. Since our father died, it has been hell on earth...literally!

But no matter, we had stuck it through till the end and now we could live our lives...

A lot has happened since we saved the world from certain doom. We had one hard challenge: to learn how to live normal lives. I mean, I know it sounds stupid to do one simple thing, but come on, In our eyes, we are hunters. We were born as hunters. I don't think the three of us couldn't shake the fact that life was over. It was the only thing we knew.

But still, we somehow mange to cope with it. We settled in Kansas with the help of our father's will. We brought a house pretty much like the one you see on those commercials with the white picket fence.

It was close to the University Sam was planning to attend to resume his studies as a attorney and close to Lisa, Dean's one last stand and his possible legitimate lovechild Ben. I, myself was planning to go to a local Community College. At first, I didn't really wanted to go to school, but Sam insisted that it was serve me well later in life.

Yeah, life was perfect... at least for the half of that year. The urge of the life of freedom were still brewing inside us. We miss the life with no worries, of bills, school, kids...

So we sold the house hop into the impala and left.

About three months after, I noticed that our bond was changing. I noticed Dean would at times, would make quick glances out from the corner of my eye. I really didn't pay to much attention to it at first because I thought it was something that brothers normally do.

But now I found at night when I take turns laying next to him or Sam, at times I could have swore I felt his eyes staring down at me while I sleep.

Sam on the other hand had a very different approach. There would be times whenever me and him are alone, he wouldn't normally act like your typical big brother. He would act as though like a boyfriend. When me and him are alone, He would be a lot closer than usual. At times when I'm in the shower, I could have swore that I heard him breathing on the other side of the curtain not to mention to very tall figure I see just standing mere inches.

I guess I'm just imagination things. That's it's all in my head. Or maybe, I have a bad case of thinking dirty. Can I help it? I am not going to lie. My brothers are absolutely drop-dead gorgeous! They could get the princess of Cambridge a heat attack! I found that comment to be quite interesting! I begin to think the times when the three of us would be out, like geoceries shopping, bars,at the park. I have women rolling their eyes, whispering words about me, thinking that I was a whore for my brothers...

Nothing could prepare me for what happened two weeks later...

I remember that day as if it was yesterday. I was sitting on the sidewalk in front of a sleazy hotel. I was writing in my journal at the same time sneaking glances at Dean as he was wiping down the impala. The way he smiles as he glazes down at his baby makes me happy but a tad jealous...but he assure me that I was his main baby.

I could hear the faint sound of water coming from the bathroom. Sam,was inside, washing his god build form in the shower.

Turning my head, I couldn't help but grin as I saw a narrow view of his ass. Even after all these years, Sam still had a nasty habit about leaving the shower curtain open.

"Hey," Dean replies getting my attention. I turn my head towards him trying to look innocent."What are you smirking at?" He asks.

At his question, I raised my eyebrows giving him a side smile.

"Nothing. just a thought I was thinking." I looked up at him and I could tell he wasn't buying it. That's the thing I love about Dean, he has the sense to know whether something was troubling me or Sam...and he would stop at nothing to find out.

"About? I curious," He replies in a singing tone making me laugh.

"It's personal. My thoughts only," I winked. Finally he give up the debate and returns to his duty wiping down his impala.

Later that night, we decided to pay a visit at local bar. That day was the worst night of my life.

To be from what seemed, the only sibling with two very handsome attractive brothers was a bitch!

From the second we walk in, there were woman, whether their were in a relationship,married, or even betrayal their same-sex partner, had cornered us.

One was a blonde, who I can tell had the personality of stupid trying to seduce Dean with her luscious but totally fake breasts. While a brunette who was staring Sam down and was the bartender of the bar didn't give a damn if she had other people waiting to be served. It disgust me how women could be so depraved for a man.

I wanted to get out of there. The room felt as through it was trying to suffocate me. It hurt my heart to see I was the only one left out. To keep myself from bursting into tears, I did just that but my attempt to leave was cut short by a hand on by wrists.

Turning my head, I came face to face to a man who was pure hillbilly. He had messy hair,oily jumper and I remember that when I was at the bar, I would turn my head and he would smile at me.

"Where do you think you're going, darling?" The man asked. I can tell that he was drunk and had the slightest clue as what he was doing.

"Going home," I replied. "And I appreciated if you remove your hand from my wrist." I tried to Jerk him away but it was a useless attempt.

"I don't think so darling, You're looking very pretty there's no need for an angel face like you to scurry away..."He tried to pull me along, but I stood my ground. Then he does the unthinkable, He roughly pulls me against him loosing his balance completely falling on one of the now broken tables.

Everyone turned their heads Including Sam and Dean who immediately lest from their social gathering to my aid.

"Hey Asshole!"Dean replies as he and Sam walked over to the scene. "What are you doing with my sister?!" He began to throw insults at the poor man, while ignoring Sam's attempt to help me up, I stood up on my feet.

"I'm fine," I replied. "The fat ass broke my fall."

"Fat ass?" The man shouted. "Who are you calling a fat ass you bitch!"

"Hey!" Dean shouted. reaching down to jerk the man up by his collar. "Don't fucking talk to my sister like that!"

"What happened?" Sam asked, taking my hand and I jerked it away.

"Oh! Like you care! he was trying to rape me!" I shouted. "Forget it! I'm getting the fuck out of here!" The last thing I remember was Dean calling that fat bastard "a Son of a Bitch" before throwing punches and Sam trying to calm him down.

At the Hotel, I stood fully nude in the shoulder letting the warm water abuse my body. I was just so relieved that I got out of there.

So what I acted like a ass. So what if I act like a jealous girlfriend. I'm not going to be held responsive. I could hear the door to the hotel room opening following the distant voices between the two.

Dean was shouted some sentence that were inseparable and Sam was speaking in a mild tone. I covered my ears, to try to block out the conversation, along with the pounding of the door, but it a useless. Finally, I finished my shower, wrapped myself in a towel, and took a deep breath. I made my way out of the bathroom with my head down before glazing at the faces of my older brothers.

Sam, who now has a sad look on his face. His green eyes sparking with concern. Whilst Dean has a pissed off expression, trying his best to remain calm. There were no words that were unable to fall out of mouth. I just walked passed them and climb into to very large king side bed we shared with saying a unexpectedly surprising, I suddenly began to cry my ear out.

Almost immediately, Sam and Dean's expressions changed. If they were confused, I could say the same thing. The reason why I was crying, I couldn't understand. I was always the second tough one when it comes from intense situations, I guess with everything that we had been through together finally had took a toll on me. I see with my watery eyes Sam turned towards Dean and he nodded his head. without hesitation, they began to walk towards me.

Dean lay on my left, Sam lay on my right. They huddled up against me trying to console me. Sam was wiping away from my tears, while Dean began to rub small circles down my back.

This warm fuzzy feeling began to grow inside me. I gaze into Sam's eyes and I can see the easiness and calm in his face. Then I did the unthinkable. I reached my hand and caress his cheek and I leaned in a kiss him passionately on the lips.

There was no feeling I can't describe other than, I felt as through I explode into a million pieces. What was more shocking is that Sam didn't pull away. He gave in and began to response with my advances. Dean was anxious to show his passion. I could feel his lips on my neck, his hands trailed down to my breast giving them a firm squeeze.

I moaned in response breaking my lips with Sam replacing them with his. I tried to show my love for the both of them. Wanting to give them all of me...

Everything happen in a flash. the removing of clothes. The hot soft lips on my heated skin. The feeling of being completely filled. Like flipping a page in a book. Like riding the biggest wave and suddenly ,you're caught in the tide.I felt so much pleasure.

It felt like Heaven. It was heaven...

That was last night...

And here we are...

Today is a new day. I stare at the ceiling with a smile on my face as I felt warm naked bodies sleeping silently against me...

Nude Dean on my left...

Nude Sam on my right.

Right now, I can't say that God is pleased. Not with the events that had happened. Now, When I said I love my brothers...I love them more than just a sibling nature. I love them, I'm madly in love with them! When I think of their eyes and their smiling faces, it makes my body want to explode in fireworks.I don't care what people would say. I don't care if our father would turn over in his grave, I feel like I'm the luckiest girl in the world! it always will be the three of us forever...

Sam and Dean,

My brothers, the lovers.

The End.

[kdramafeminist]

Performative Badassery & Women in Kdramas

When I said I wrote an essay, I meant essay. This is a long one! Grab a snack and venture below the read more. I’ll see you at the end!

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You know the feeling. The drama begins. Our female main lead walks onto screen. She’s a successful businesswoman, a hotshot detective, clever lawyer, smartass retail worker, etc, etc. She stares down a random man to prove she’s the powerful one here. Or kicks some ass. Or rattles off a bunch of demands to her workers. Or talks fast to show off her intelligence.

Then she meets the male lead. There’re fireworks. Slowly we find our female lead has a softer side. Good to know. 3-dimensional and complex characters are important. It’s nice to see women on-screen who are both capable and emotional. Kick ass and feminine. 

But slowly... something starts to go wrong. She seems to be crying more than showing literally any other kind of emotion. And is it just me or is she getting saved and manhandled and flustered quite a lot for a woman who we were told was so well put together? Sure, the circumstances are extreme. But they’re extreme for the male lead too and he seems to be managing just fine for some reason. Also, if both of them are ordinary people with no on-screen fighting experience, how come he’s so great at throwing fists out of nowhere and she’s busy keeping hidden or needing rescuing? Exactly how many times can one person just faint like that without anyone checking to see if she has a medical condition?

By the drama’s end our lead has gone through trials and tribulations. She’s fallen in love too, I’m happy for her. But... now that the story’s ending and she’s getting in one last chance to show us she’s a “badass”, why am I left feeling hollow? She’s showing us how tough she is but... we ALL spent this whole drama watching her have absolutely no agency or such a little amount that she might as well have been trying to put out a fire with a water-pistol. It’s almost like her previous badassery (in whatever form it may have been - I don’t mean badass only in terms of being able to throw a good punch) was just a façade. A way to hook in female viewers like me who want to see something more than a wilting wallflower or one-trick Cinderella. But the tiniest knock and the cardboard house collapses.

And no matter how many times we get throwaway lines about her being “the smartest/toughest/scariest/most capable one here” it doesn’t ring true compared to the actual character we’re watching.

Rom-coms, melos and sagueks especially (but many more genres besides), have a real problem when it comes to performative badassery in their female characters. The writers give us a female lead they claim is hyper competent, but the reality is totally different. Any plot that features romance, almost always features this. Honestly the way the start of the relationship in dramas actively MURDERS the female character’s agency could be its own essay so I won’t go deep, just know the two are 100% linked.

The “Faux Action Girl” Problem 

A Faux Action Girl happens when a writer wants the popularity that comes with having a cool action girl character, or they want the praise that comes with writing a lead that breaks gender norms, or they want to be lauded for writing a FL whose more capable & progressive than the female kdrama lead we’d imagine, but they don’t end up actually giving us her. Instead we get the fake or faux version. The reasons are usually a combination of:

Relying on outdated tropes. Wrist grabs, damsels in distress, a girl fainting so she misses some vital plot related moment to increase runtime etc...

Sexist worldviews. As a by-product of being Korean which is still a heavily sexist country because of the holdover of Confucianism mixed in with the Christianity westerners brought over that leads many writers to (often without even realising) inserting moments that inadvertently reduce their female leads because they think that’s what correct or natural for the female character based on their opinion of women in general. Even if it doesn’t actually fit the type of character they’ve set out to create.

Executive meddling. Producers who think their demographic wouldn’t be able to handle a real badass but also know their female viewers want more complexity and agency in their FLs these days and so give us the paper-version instead of the 3D model.

This character’s more “badass” traits are nearly always just an Informed Ability (the writers tell us via other characters what she can do but never actually show us on-screen these same things) or we only ever see her utilise them once/twice at the beginning and maybe if we’re lucky once at the end, but never again. 

It really hurts.

The “Badass Decay/Chickification” Problem

Sometimes she really is a legitimate action girl though. She’ll be a cop whose good at her job or an ordinary citizen whose well-versed in taekwondo. She has actual moments on-screen to prove herself. 

Well. She has moments in episodes 1 and 2. Then she almost always goes through Badass Decay/Chickification. Which means that writers (& producers) believe that if we don’t see her having a softer side, she’ll become unrealistic or unlikeable. 

They fix her. So she becomes more vulnerable. As the only girl on the team (usually), she becomes the one who ends up injured more often or needs rescuing most. Her life begins to revolve entirely around her romance and nothing else. (Meanwhile the male leads gets to have the romance and keep his side-quest - have you noticed that? If the FL is really lucky she gets to keep one side-quest too, maybe a dream job or solving some family mystery. Never more though.. only men get to be complicated here). Once she was competent... now it feels like she legitimately had a personality transplant. 

Is this even the same person we began with?

The “Worf Effect” Problem 

Worf Effect is when the danger/power level of a villain is shown to the audience by making him successfully attack/hurt/ruin the plans of someone that the audience knows is skilled. This isn’t a bad thing alone and writers use it all the time. We need to acknowledge the villain as a proper threat and this is a useful way to do it!

But in kdramas it’s something used almost always against the lead female character. The one we’ve seen is intelligent, or strong-willed or quick-witted. 

And because it’s always her, this character begins to look weak. If this writing trope is abused, her reputation as the "biggest, toughest" etc. begins to look like it never existed and we’re back to her having an informed ability. 

That this is something that happens to the female characters not only more often but almost exclusively is a sign of sexism. Plain and simple.

Competent, Real Badass Female Characters Aren’t Scary

 If you’re going to sell me a capable woman, give me her. 

Not someone who has one very unique, specialised skill but otherwise can do nothing else except for that one time when her one skill is useful. 

Or has built up her own empire, implying a certain level of smarts, business ability or networking skills, but then once she’s removed from it she becomes so utterly useless it begs the question how she built that empire in the first place. 

Or has a rep as the detective whose taken down the toughest guys off-screen, but whatever skills she used to do that seem to disappear the moment anything really challenging happens on-screen. 

I’m not saying she needs to win all the time. Of course she doesn’t, how boring is that? All I’m asking is that when she loses, it’s in keeping with the character I’m supposedly watching. A woman that can kick ass can still be outwitted. A clever woman can be physically beaten. A street-smart girl can be foiled by rules and regulations. A leader-type can be beat by someone whose more unconventional.

It’s not difficult to write someone like this. I know the writers can do it because every male lead is written this way. I’ve never once, whilst watching a badass male lead lose, get beaten and cry, thought “oh no, his badassery was fake all along!”

Because when he loses it makes sense. It’s in character. There’s a solid plot reason behind why it happens.

Meanwhile my ladies who are meant to be able to kick ass and take names somehow just got kidnapped out of nowhere?

Make it make sense!

Consistent Characterisation is Good Writing

I get wanting moments where one is injured and the other fusses over them. I love those moments! All I ask is more imagination taken to get us to that point. Make it in-character. If my taekwondo black belt is kidnapped, I want to see her really fight. I want the kidnapping to be shown as genuinely tough on the people trying to nab her. Imagine how much more satisfying it would be to see her fight off all these bad guys, yet still end up losing? How much more heart-breaking?

We’d be so much more invested in the mind games or politics the villain is playing if the female lead we’ve been told is good at that stuff is playing the game just as hard. When she loses it’ll hurt more.

Writers need to stop being afraid that her remaining capable in some way diminishes the masculinity, attractiveness, prowess or “hero” status of the male lead. Trust me. It doesn’t. Ever. 

It’s not a case of either/or. We don’t think less of the male lead because his partner is as capable as him in whatever way that may be. Instead, we think more of them both. Once a romance begins, the heightened worry both characters have for each other should only make both of them stronger in whatever area they’re skill lies in. Not just make the man a sudden defence wall and the woman a worrying mess. 

I’m sure everyone who reads this can immediately think of at least one drama with a FL who is a Performative Badass. I know I had about ten in mind as I wrote this. 

There are exceptions. Cases where the badass gets to stay a badass. Usually these cases happen in genres without romance because like I said above, those problems are linked. But I can think of a few romcoms/sageuks/melos where it happens too. 

But those are the minority.

Women in kdramas. Give them agency. Make their characterisation genuine, not just a bit-part for the sake of a cool trailer. Not just one moment someone can edit into a “badass multifemale” video edit - only for us to watch the drama from the clip and discover we’ve been sold a lie. 

How satisfied would we be?

Writers! Give us a story we enjoyed because of the excellent characterisation. A new female character we can add to our lists of faves. Women who proved themselves as consistently badass as their first scenes claimed. Women in kdramas who, no matter what problem they faced, don’t become echoes or paper-thin versions of who we were promised.

Actual, complex, layered, enjoyable, KICK-ASS AND BADASS female leads.

Wouldn’t that be a miracle.

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PS. This is an open notice that it’s OKAY to reblog with added commentary/thoughts/rambles of your own. I would *love* to see it if you have anything to add.

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(Disclaimer: This essay was written with a specific female character type in mind. I am not saying every FL needs to be a badass or hyper competent. Soft, shy, physically weak female characters exist and can be just as realistic and complex. There’s a few I can think of who I adore. Instead my essay is very specifically about characters who are *meant* to be badass from the start but then... don’t end up being. So, yeah, before anyone claims I’m some angry feminist who needs every FL to be some tough martial artist or something. Absolutely not! Diversity is amazing and interesting. All I ask is that when I am told I’ll be getting a badass in a drama I get her. Not have my heart broken by the fake wilting flower I find in her place. Ok. End disclaimer. ^^)

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Also I’m tagging a bunch of you because you reblogged my post saying you wanted this so here! TY for making it to the end ^^

@kdramaxoxo​ @islandsofchaos @storytellergirl @vernalagnia-blog @lostindramas @salaamdreamer​ @planb-is-in-effect​ 

[hellmry]

What do you think of this whole "ppl shipping SessRin are basically supporting paedophilia” on tumblr? I've seen lots of japapense fans on twitter and they're all basically happy for the huge possibility of having Rin as Sesshomaru's wife and the mother of Towa and Setsuna, and then I go to tumblr and see all these SessRin bashing, saying that their bond should have kept platonic, the "real" sesshomaru will not behave romantically with Rin, etc. Idk what to think? :/ What are your thoughts?

oh goody, this is going to be a long one.

it’s so ridiculous 🙄 I’ve seen this “paedophilia” argument so many times and it’s triggering how they misuse this term so much. Especially as a law student (pet peeve: people misusing technical terms and making very serious (false) accusations).

Paedophilia tends to be the umbrella term for everything with a big age gap or when one party of the couple knew the other party as a child, which shows how uneducated they are with their try hard activism. Paedophilia is a psychiatric disorder, when an adult is primary or exclusively sexually attracted to prepubescent children.

No one in their right mind ships Sesshomaru with Rin while she was still a kid, I’ve yet to see someone who actively ships them in a romantic setting with her still being a kid. All the shippers I’ve come across and fanworks made, are her being a young adult or adult.

The other term they’re throwing around is “grooming”, while thinking it means he groomed her into his wife, which is also false and a misuse of the term. Grooming happens, when an adult is befriending and establishing an emotional connection with a child in order to lower the child’s inhibitions with the object of sexual abuse. Sessh didn’t approach her with any sexual intentions in mind, he tolerated her following him out of pity, which turned into being her protector after a while. As I see it, Jaken was more of a father figure for her than Sessh was. He ignored her most of the times, just watching over her and made sure she was safe (i mean, like a dog...a guard dog). And he certainly didn’t “groom” her into being his wife, that dude did not show any signs of romantic interest while she was a child. Heck, he was pretty stoic most of the times.

The fact, that people who saw Sessh as a father figure for Rin exist, is actually our strongest argument against their paedophilia accusation. They wouldn’t have been able to perceive their relationship as such in the first place, if there were ANY romantic advances or signs while she was a child. Wanna see and read about a real pedophile story/relationship? Go read Lolita by Vladimir Nobakov, it’s disturbing.

Another form of grooming happens, when someone is manipulated until they’re isolated, dependent and more vulnerable to exploitation (can also happen with adults). Though it was only a filler episode, in episode 162 (Forever with Lord Sesshomaru), Sessh even gave her the free choice to either stay with humans or follow him (with his trademark line “do as you please”). In the Manga she was staying with Kaede in the end. And she was friends with Kohaku. She mostly fended for herself (with Jaken), foraging for food in the wild or secretly on farms. Rin was certainly not isolated or dependent. I’m not even digging into the exploitation point, because there is nothing to say.

I admit, they way SessRin developed is not completely unproblematic and the biggest factor is, that he met her while she was still a child. I can agree with that, but most SessRin shippers do not ship them because he knew her as a child, but because she was the first one who he cared for. If you break it down, it’s pretty much the cold-emotionless-bad boy-falls-for-a-girl-after-being-shown-kindness-for-the-first-time trope. SessRin shippers would’ve also shipped them if Rin was the same age as Kagome the first time they’ve met. Rin being a child when they met is not the base of this ship, it’s their relationship and how she broke through Sessh’s walls and that she was the first (human) being he ever cared for. She was also the reason Sessh slowly began to accept Tenseiga as his sword.

People who are saying Sessh went out of character and should’ve stayed on platonic terms with Rin, clearly have no idea about storytelling and character development. Sessh is a dog demon. Inuyasha is a dog demon. Inu no Taisho was a dog demon. Rin is a human, Kikyo was a human, Kagome is a human, Izayoi was a human. Basically, dogs love humans and create very strong bonds with them. Even staying loyal when their owner mistreats or abuses them. The whole series builds up on this dog-human dynamic. Basically every romantic interest involving a dog demon ended up being a dog-human pair. What’s not clicking?

I also find it quite funny, how some of those people can also ship Kagome and Inuyasha while preaching their (false) paedophilia speech in the same sentence. Kagome was 15 when she met 200 year old Inuyasha. 15. That’s a teenager. I’m 26 and when I see 15 year olds, they look like toddlers to me. I don’t see anyone advocating for Kagome’s minor rights. The whole world flipped when Drake was dating a 18 year old but the fandom is still pretty silent about the fact, that Kagome was also 18 when she was married to 203 y/o Inuyasha in the epilogue. InuKag and SessKag shippers don’t get the same criticism as SessRin shippers, even though Kagome is also still a minor and that’s where you see the hypocrisy.

They can ship her because her design looks older and it’s easier to forget that she’s 15/18. Usagi from Sailor Moon was 14 when she met and began a romantic relationship with Mamoru, who was 17. Even though both are considered minors, 14 is a lot different than 17 but nobody bat an eye for that either. Probably it’s because Usagi doesn’t look like a 14 year old. Kagome doesn’t look like a 15 year old. But Rin looks her age, she looks like an 8 year old when they first met, evoking a different perception in people of being a minor, the age gap and her vulnerability. That’s the only reason I can think of, why people are fine with InuKag, SessKag, KogaKag and whatever, even though it’s essentially almost the same setting as with SessRin. Rin is a minor, Kagome is a minor, they both are protected by their stronger and much older demon travel partners. And its hypocritical to try and argue a difference because grooming and abuse of an 8 year old is such as horrific as of an 15 year old. If one of them is a victim, then both are.

I’m not trying to shit on InuKag or other Kagome ships btw., I love Kagome and InuKag, I’m just trying to show the hypocrisy in their fake activism, because it’s not based on facts and information but rather on subjective feelings and perception. It’s fine and legitimate to not like SessRin because of said reasons, but it is wrong to judge others for shipping it and accuse them of supporting paedophilia. People who are triggered by SessRin, should stay away from it but leave those alone, who enjoy it.

Oh and before someone runs their mouth at me and use personal history as an argument, I’ve been a victim of paedophilia and grooming myself. I was touched and molested by my private tutor for years between 5th and 7th grade. But I’ve overcome my trauma, educated myself and I’m able to tell fiction from reality. Nobody watches Inuyasha for relationship and dating advice. Misusing terms is actually harming the ones involved and projecting one own’s traumas and struggles onto others, by shaming them for shipping something is not helping anyone and doesn’t make a difference at all.

Lastly, no SessRin shipper is condoning real life child/adult relationships. We are able to ship them because fictional stories are less dimensional than real life situations are. Fictional relationships have less nuances, cherry picked dynamics and moments that make us perceive them in a specific way. It is man made. What seems romantic in a fictional story (even between two adults) may be littered with red flags or less exciting and boring in a real life setting. People consume fiction mainly for entertainment, not for real life and dating advice.

Remember, this is just a fictional story, just chill the f out.

[takaraphoenix]

Buffy Season 10: Review

Not gonna lie, I am entirely biased here. As a Spuffy shipper, this season was basically... everything I could dream of and then some more. And that’s just the ship-stuff. The story itself? The development of the overarching plot? I’m just so in love with season 10, it ain’t even funny anymore.

But let’s do this chronologically.

Bringing back Anya as a ghost... hurt. A lot. And, okay, I’ll say her ending was not great. Really tired of women dying, especially women dying for Xander. Starting to think there might be an actual curse involved here. I wish she could have gotten to live and could have gotten her chance to make her own life.

XANDER. Okay. I can’t put into words how much I loved that. Last season, I got increasingly more uncomfortable with Xander’s writing because it was really just two steps away from making him an abusive partner. That he actually went to therapy and is actively working on his issues. The improvement. The growth. Love to see it.

Dracula was decidedly less offensive this season. That was... minorly improved.

Andrew attemting to resurrect Tara put genuine tears in my eyes though. That hurt. And it also... it made sense? He’s been so desperately trying to redeem himself. Still, this one was a gut-punch. Which is a compliment to the writing, it was a well-delivered gut-punch.

Surprising to literally no one, I am absolutely living for the Love Dares You plotline. Buffy taking a mind-journey into Spike’s inner thoughts? Seeing the bad, but also the good? And even as the demon was trying to control him, she managedd to bring him back. Damn. That. That’s the kind of thing I’d go seek out in fanfiction, but legitimately never expected to encounter in canon.

I’m not entirely sure how I feel about Andrew’s coming out. I mean, on the one hand, yes we all knew he was gay, the show’s not been super subtle about that. On the other hand, as a gay person, I am very much not a fan of straight people going “I knew all along” and the amount of characters who did this with Andrew, to his face, was starting to get frustrating.

The... rift between Willow and Buffy felt very much “I told you so”, I mean... Buffy was right. In the end, she turned out to be right. And that was obvious from the get-go. I’m glad that they didn’t have a bigger blow-out about this, because that would have been frustrating with just how painfully obviously Buffy was right. The military is not your friend. A lesson they both should have learned many years ago, so it baffles me that Willow so blindly leaned into it. Yes, admittedly, the resources were useful and Willow did a lot of good with them, but she was relying a little too heavily on support from them, as could be seen by the way things came apart.

The thing with D’Hoffryn and how it played out was also... very much projected from the get go. And again, Buffy was right. She was the most vocal about not giving the council the powers and while much of what she said to her friends in the blow-out was low and unfair, I do think she had a point in that Giles and Willow, who advocated for giving the council the powers, ought to have read the freaking fine print in the council’s contracts. Still, not a fan of how much steam Buffy blew off by blaming others and putting all blame away from herself.

Dawn actually being... majorly useful is... new. Interesting. The fact that her being the key actually came into play? Damn. And her being a goddess in another dimension? I surprisingly really enjoyed her little side-quest. Her and Xander bringing buildings, plumbing, theater and therapy to the demon-dimenson was hilarious. And that, in the very end, Dawn got to keep her powers, even in our dimension? Very nice touch. I dig it.

Okay now that all of this is out of the way, let me talk about Spuffy.

I love them so much. I said I’d be biased here, okay? But... oof, this has been a ridiculously slow-burn. Comics came out in 2016, that makes it a fiteen years long slow-burn. Add five years because I only got around to reading them now.

They are so... soft. Just, them holding each other, leaning onto each other? Waking up with each other? But it’s not just all smooth. It’s awkward. They’re both afraid. They’re both flawed and have their own issues.

I can’t put into words how much I loved when Spike wanted to break up with Buffy. And she’s just like “no”. Puts a pin in it. Things hard about it. And actually uses her words. Admitting how hard this is, admitting her issues, even admitting that she’s relieved Spike is scared too because that makes two of them. And both of them being willing to work it out together. Fight for this relationship.

I also loved the return of Dylan, or rather the way she returned. When she first popped up at the bar, I thought this was going to be used for a misunderstanding and jealousy and such. Instead Spike’s being a total awkward bean who’s like “I have a girlfriend” right away? And Dylan invites him to the gallery opening. And Buffy teases him about having a friend. No jealousy. Heck, even Buffy pointing out that since they had gotten together, they have been working with three of her exes. No jealousy when she meets Dylan either. They even seemed to be getting along. I loved this. I love the idea of Spike just having friends.

I love the way Spike and Buffy’s relationship is developing. And - something I might love nearly as much as the Spuffy - they did my favorite angle fo the found family trope. The one where they all live together. Finally all the Scoobies share a house. Well, not all. Andrew’s still over in Oakland. But having Giles, Xander and Spike (in the same apartment. Amazing), Willow, Buffy and Dawn all live under the same roof makes me incredibly happy?

I’m just, overall, really loving season 10. The writing was amazing. There was so much happening - but not in a convoluted manner that makes it confusing or overwhelming, it was all woven in together so well. It just felt that I consumed three seasons, not just one.

I can’t wait to see what season 11 has in store.

[crossdressingdeath]

You know, as someone who is gay and has... more experience in abusive relationships than I ever wanted... hearing people talk about how unhealthy WangXian is upsetting. I know I can’t speak for everyone, but in my opinion WangXian is something more queer people need to see. And people calling it abusive when it isn’t is actually counterproductive when you think about it.

Like, I’ve had to play the guessing game of “Do my friends and family have a legit reason to be concerned, or are they secretly homophobic?”. Not a very fun game. You already have people online saying that gay relationships are sinful/toxic just by existing. Just seeing people misinterpret canonically gay couples as toxic/unhealthy just because the relationships isn’t perfect is going to make people not take actual claims on legitimate toxic/unhealthy fictional couples seriously.

I’ve seen so many people try to say that WangXian is either toxic or a stereotypical yaoi couple, and I just think “are we reading the same novel? what translation are you reading?”.

“Forced Gender Roles/Het Coding” – you mean how LWJ typically does more feminine chores, while WWX is more skilled/knowledgeable with traditionally masculine chore? Like in his dream, where LWJ is literally a housewife while his a busy husband?

“Stereotypical Seme/Uke dynamic” – not even mentioning the fact this isn’t yaoi (it’s danmei) and therefore, theydon’t really fit that genre, I really doubt it? Like, WWX is the one who decides nearly everything in the relationship. Regardless of what LWJ wants, he won’t push WWX into anything. In fact, WWX has to encourage LWJ to talk about what he wants/likes. Really, thinking about, WWX is kind of the one in charge.

LWJ might have WWX beat in terms of pure physical strength, but if you think LWJ could win in a fight without WWX letting him, then you clearly haven’t been paying attention. May I remind you, without golden core, WWX took on multiple armies? And the one that killed him only won because he let them. They technically didn’t even kill him! MXY’s body means WWX has a golden core now - he’s not as strong physically but he can work on that - he’s still stronger in every other aspect. It’s basically impossible for LWJ to overpower him.

“Rape/Noncon” - Where? There are two moments where LWJ crosses boundaries... but only one of those moments is an actual boundary crossed. Every other intimate moment that happens, LWJ makes certain that WWX is actually enjoying himself and consenting.

The infamous kiss. A lot of people misinterpret this as something the author threw in because it was “hot”. In actuality, this kiss is important for multiple reasons. While WWX isn’t upset by this kiss, LWJ clearly is. This moment is what causes LWJ to stop trying to force WWX to go back to CR with him – it’s this moment that makes him realize if he continues down this path, he will end up like his parents. This moment is the start of major character growth for LWJ, allowing him to become a better man, one that WWX can actually love wholeheartedly without any regrets. It’s this moment where he decides that he can’t just take little things from WWX anymore - he has to try a different approach to help him, and accept that WWX might never feel the same way (obviously he’s wrong). Like, the impact this has is huge, and it’s another reason why LWJ refuses to mention his feelings to WWX - he doesn’t want to force him ever again. So he won’t. Not even by having WWX agree to be with him out of graditude.

The other boundary crossed is when LWJ spanks WWX during sex. The narration makes it very clear at that moment that it’s not okay, that WWX is uncomfortable and doesn’t like it. And it stops, LWJ moves from it after some nudging from WWX. After the event, they have a serious talk where WWX makes it very clear that while he enjoys a lot of things, LWJ can’t do that ever again of he wants to continue being with WWX. LWJ could have argued, could have said that since they were under the influence of the incense burner, he shouldn’t be blamed for his actions. Instead, he swears never to do anything like that ever again.

This is so important! The message this sends is so important! This whole scene is saying that, no matter what kinks you might have or how kinky you are, your boundaries deserve to be respected. You don’t have to do something you’re uncomfortable with just because you’re kinky and your partner likes it. How can anyone read that and think it’s supporting rape?

Also... if I’m being honest... I actually thought CQL had a more stereotypical Seme/Uke dynamic than the novel. WWX is so much weaker and less observant/cunning... couple that with the fact the he’s not only not even a little guilty of his crimes but he’s actually made into a poor victim with lot of fainting into LWJ’s arms... yeah, he comes across much more like a uke than in the novel. LWJ is also so much more of a stereotypical overprotective seme too. Then there’s the whole thing lack of consent someone else mentioned, with how WWX forces LWJ to drink/how LWJ tricks WWX into marrying him (so he literally did the thing his father did that the fandom finds so unforgivable?). I like CQL, but a huge chunk of those fans are kind of obnoxious and toxic... and hypocritical I guess.

So, I just wanted to rant after seeing so many posts on this topic. I’m just really annoyed. I don’t even know if this makes any sense.

That is an excellent point re CQL. I’ve thought about how they weakened WWX and dumbed him down (presumably to make him more of a victim), but not how that affects his dynamic with LWJ. Also I do want to acknowledge that there is dubcon in the novel; the first time they have sex LWJ is drunk to start and we don’t know when exactly he sobered up. But like... that’s not exactly uncommon in romance novels. And the show has WWX forcing LWJ to get drunk against his will and LWJ marries WWX without his knowledge or consent, which... really isn’t better, especially as the novel does have discussion about how what they did was kind of a mess with consequences and them having to discuss it, which the show... doesn’t. In fact the novel takes consent as a far more important thing than the show does to the point of it being a central theme that the show lacks.

Yeah, I have to say that people insisting that Wangxian (specifically novel Wangxian) is super unhealthy feels like the double whammy of “Ewwwwww gay people who aren’t unrealistically perfect” and “Ewwwwwwwww a woman writing gay romance”. I mean, I seriously doubt that if one of them was a girl and/or the story was written by a dude and nothing else changed people would react anywhere near as vehemently towards it. Like... it seems interesting that the version people are insisting is healthier is the censored idol drama where they aren’t actually in a relationship and the people in charge mostly seem to be men, that’s all I’m saying.

[its-ashleyreads]

Finished: 25/05/2021

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

“In case you’ve forgotten, I tried to kill you.”

“And failed.”

“Here’s to second chances.”

Rating:  ★★★★☆

Summary:

After escaping the Fold, Alina and Mal find themselves in a strange land they’ve only ever heard stories about, but when the Darkling returns with more power than ever, they have nowhere to turn. Thus begins their journey across the True Sea, complete with pirates, sea monsters, and powerful enemies and allies. But as Alina hones her powers, the Darkling is given the time he needs to raise an army.

Review:

Ow. I am in pain. It might be too early for me to write this review, my wounds are too fresh, but I’m about to start Ruin and Rising and I don’t want to mix up details of the two. While Shadow and Bone was a bit middling for me, Siege and Storm, kept me on the edge of my seat. The action started at the very beginning, and even though they spent most of the book at the Little Palace preparing for war, I never felt like there was a dull moment. The introduction of new characters kept everything lively and interesting, and the reintroduction of characters from the previous book made them feel a bit more cohesive, like we didn’t learn all of those old characters names for nothing. But while Siege and Storm was exciting and tense, the main focus was about developing the characters for, I assume, book three. So much happened, to Mal and Alina particularly, in Shadow and Bone but they were always on the move, never able to process anything. In Siege and Storm, they were forced to confront the fact that while they were once one and the same, their paths may have been beginning to diverge and whether or not they could find the strength to fix their relationship or abandon it altogether.

I’ve been seeing a lot of people calling Mal abusive and other bullshit because he was “afraid of Alina’s power,” but I just don’t think that’s true. Because Mal only ever seems to be “afraid” of Alina’s power whenever she herself has lost control. On the ship, when testing out the power of the fetter, Alina lost complete control. She would have accidentally killed them all if Mal didn’t step in. Mal grounds her. As Alina became more and more angry and out of control, Mal was the only one who noticed and wouldn’t let her lie to him. He cares about her, not Sankta Alina or the Sun Summoner, or whatever the fuck else she’s called. And while he obviously has issues with communication and resentment toward her for just deciding that they’d both go to the Little Palace (she didn’t even pretend to ask for his input, smh), his feelings of being undervalued are completely valid. He gave up everything for her. He lost two of his closest friends, he deserted the army and was dishonorably discharged, he went to the Little Palace, which anyone could have seen he would have hated, just to be with her. Zoya kept throwing herself at him and he never even gave her a thought (until they broke up but that’s beside the point), even though Alina was spending an increasing amount of time with Nikoli and Mal knew she was keeping some sort of secret from him. I don’t blame Alina for the downfall of their relationship completely, but she did take him for granted. When he lost everything, she became the only thing he had left, and none of that other stuff was replaced with a sense of purpose. His literal job was just to follow her around, he had nothing of his own. And when you’re spending your days standing in your partners shadow there’s not a lot you can do, especially when whenever you consider leaving and she begs you to stay…

I know I sound like such a hardcore Malina shipper, and I do ship them, but it just bothers me how big of a fanbase Darklina has when he’s legitimately abusive. Like, is Mal and Alina’s relationship flawed? Of course! But is he an abusive partner? I really don’t think so. Alina has all the power in that relationship, he’s just trying to survive. I am excited to see where their relationship goes in Ruin and Rising though. I’m terrified that Mal is going to die. Please, don’t let him die Leigh Bardugo. I know this book was written years ago and the ending already exists, but I shall beg anyway. I’ve already had enough heartbreak after Fedyor, which I actually kind of love because if I had just read the books, I probably wouldn’t care, but because of the show and the actor’s personal Instagram account I grew to love him so much and cried when he died. I’m really hopping that they change that in the show.

I’m just gonna leave this Malina moment here...

“You want to wear the second amplifier. You have it. You want to go to Os Alta? Fine, we’ll go. You say we need the firebird. I’ll find a way to get it for you. But when all this is over, Alina, I wonder if you’ll still want me.”