#no silly all people are equal we see no race

[nthflower]

Sometimes I remember sense8 made a white police main character and have him help a black kid who was shot and his partner (who was racially ambitious) were against it. And then he brought kid to hospital and a black nurse said she can't help him in a rude way because idk kid was injured in gang fight and she doesn't care. And white police somehow helped kid to take help and then kid helped him to do police shit against some black group.

Then white trans girl got insulted by a terf who is also black. And her girlfriend who is also black was nothing but her extremely supportive girlfriend no other personality.

Or characters having some shared visions and see some slurs again their own community written on the wall and police characters slur was pig. And German one was nazi. While gay one was faggot and Kenyan one was n-word.

Or one Indian main character having her main storyline her being in love with German guy instead of her fiancé and it was also very tasteless to me.

Or Korean one is good at martial arts and her brother and father is evil and stole her carrier and brother made her go to jail and it's so misogynistic there in Korea.

Like American characters get very detailed and many faced storylines while poc ones get the most basic Stories based on stereotypes and 2d written side characters. .

Anyways and then I became angry out of no reason. It can be such a good show except it wasn't. It was weirdly full of copaganda and racism. And like I see no race style writing.

And then it weirdly became fantasy racism story like X-Men.

[oopsiedaisydeer]

your butt is the bomb

fluff, awkwardness, friends to lovers?, light flirting, unintentional flirting, banter, miscommunication, teasing, mild sexual innuendo, lighthearted, platonic? feelings, silly

word count - 1.2k

You’re mid-sentence when it happens.

“I just don’t think the moon landing was real,” Chris says, stretching his legs out on the couch in his room. “Like, yeah, sure, space exists or whatever, but you expect me to believe they had the technology to land on the moon in the sixties? People barely had color TV.”

You roll your eyes. “You wouldn’t believe in the moon landing.”

He gasps, clutching his chest. “Are you saying you do?”

“I’m saying I’m an innocent until proven guilty kind of girl.”

Chris shakes his head like he’s disappointed in you. “This is ridiculous.”

And then, just as you’re about to throw another sarcastic comment his way, your phone lights up. Noticing its low battery, you roll onto your side on Chris’ bed, plugging it in. Unbeknownst to you, your oversized shirt rides up, exposing your sleep shorts. Chris doesn’t mean for it to happen, but his gaze flickers and then his brow furrows, his head tilting just slightly.

As you turn back around to face him, Chris can’t help but blurt it out.

He clears his throat. “You have a cute butt, you know. Very round, nice, compact-”

You freeze mid-laugh, blinking at him. “Chris, what the actual-” You can’t even finish the sentence. Did he seriously just say that?

The room falls silent. You blink at him, utterly stunned, while he stares back at you like you’re the one who just said something weird. It takes approximately three full seconds for his own words to catch up to him, and when they do, his face shifts into something between mild horror and begrudging realization.

“Oh. Oh, wait-” He holds up a hand. “That sounded kinda-”

“Insane? Wildly inappropriate? Like something I should slap you for?”

Chris huffs, crossing his arms. “It was a compliment!”

“It was about my butt!”

“Yeah, but in, like, a normal way-”

"There is no normal way to say that, Christopher."

Chris huffs, crossing his arms, but his mind is already racing. It was just a compliment, right? He tries to push the weird feeling out of his chest, but it’s there, like something’s stirring under the surface. It was a compliment.

He clears his throat anxiously. “It was a compliment!” he repeats, trying to sound convincing, but the way her eyes narrow at him makes him second-guess himself. Maybe that wasn’t the best way to phrase it… You’re so smooth, Chris. Real smooth.

“Right.”

 “Whatever, man. I was just making an observation. Like, just, you know, being honest.”

“You sound like Jake Peralta right now.”

“What? No, I don’t.”

“You literally just recreated a classic Peraltiago moment. ‘Your butt is da bomb. There will be no survivors,’ Christopher.”

“Okay, first of all, that’s a compliment. Second of all, your butt is da bomb- wait, no, that sounded worse.”

You sigh dramatically, before an idea comes to you. “First of all, compact? As a compliment? What does that even mean?” you ask, gesturing wildly. “Second of all, if we’re making observations, let’s talk about your butt. Very, uh… symmetrical. Good proportions.”

Chris chokes on air, his Pepsi not even having reached his lips. “What- wait, seriously? Are we doing this?”

“Yeah, I mean, if we’re handing out compliments, it’s only fair” you say, teasing, but also grimacing.

His ears go pink, his voice a little less certain now. “That’s- not the same thing.”

“Oh? So now you see the issue?”

Chris groans, dragging a hand down his face. “I hate you.”

You shake your head, grabbing your water bottle and twisting it in your hands. The moment lingers, Chris still sulking over your lack of appreciation for his totally normal and platonic compliment.

And then, as if to pivot into something equally bizarre, you mumble, “When I couldn’t sleep as a kid, I used to try balancing my water bottle on my forehead.”

Chris lifts his head slightly. “What? Actually?”

“Yeah, like, I’d just be lying in bed, eyes wide open, and I’d think: What if I could balance my water bottle on my forehead for a full minute? Just... to see if I could.”

He stares at you like you’ve just confessed a strange, deeply important secret. “And?”

“I could do it. Didn’t help me sleep though.”

Silence. Then Chris sits up, slow, thoughtful as if he’s considering your childish admission seriously. “You think you could still do it?”

You narrow your eyes, leaning forward just a little. “Are you… challenging me?”

“No, I just don’t think you can do it.” He smiles at her, his tone doubting but playful.

The water bottle is in your hands before he even finishes speaking. You lie down completely, looking up at the ceiling, and carefully place the bottle on the center of your forehead. Chris watches, elbow on the armrest, chin resting against his palm, looking equal parts skeptical and intrigued.

For a few glorious seconds, you think you might actually pull it off. But then Chris stands up and flops on the bed next to you.

“Hey-”

The bottle wobbles once, twice, and then tumbles off your face, and you catch it with your hand. Chris bursts out laughing, practically folding over, and you groan in annoyance. You throw the bottle at him, the movement dramatic, not even trying to aim. It bounces off his shoulder and hits the floor with a soft thud.

“Okay, rude,” he wheezes, still grinning. “Not my fault you have terrible focus.”

You scowl, but you’re smiling too. “Not my fault you say weird things about my butt.”

Chris opens his mouth like he’s going to argue, then stops. Shuts it. Tilts his head.

And then, for the first time since this conversation started, his brain finally catches up.

“Wait. Hold on.” A little crinkle appears above his nose, like a thought is just starting to bloom. He stares at you for a beat longer, eyes flicking back and forth as if he’s sorting through his words. “Did that… what I said before… sound like flirting?”

You blink. “Chris”, you warn.

“No, but, hold on.” He suddenly looks very, very deep in thought. “Because I was just saying it, like, observationally, but now I’m thinking about it, and…”

Your heart skips a beat at the way his voice falters, and you find yourself wondering if you’re just imagining it. Was he really…? You shake your head. No, this is just Chris being Chris, right? You tell yourself, brushing it off.

“Chris, oh my God.” You throw your head back with a groan, smacking his arm before standing up and walking toward his bathroom.

He calls after you, still stuck in the rabbit hole of his own making. “But wait! If I was flirting… hypothetically… would it have worked? Like, actually?”

He says the last part slower, like he’s genuinely trying to piece it all together, his gaze fixed on you.

You call back out to him. “You’re never getting an answer to that!”

Chris stares at the ceiling, groaning internally. He can’t decide if it was the best thing ever or the worst mistake he’d made all week.

They were friends, he reminds himself. But it was just a half-assed attempt to comfort himself as he waited for you to come back.

thank u rose for the dividers!! @bernardsbendystraws

a/n: this is me coming out as a silly girl. let me know if u enjoy!

taglist: @blushsturns @sturnslutz @snoopychris @sturnshood @sturns-mermaid @chrissweetheart @cowboylikenat @recordeeznuts @camzeecorner comment if u would like to be tagged in my main (non-au) works!!

[archiverot]

I always think it's weird when people argue that Elias is likely sexist/racist/classist/etc. because he grew up the 1800s. (I mostly see people argue that he's sexist, but it's the general idea that he hasn't updated his prejudices or beliefs since the 19th century).

On a basic level... there's no evidence in the podcast for it, obviously. Elias treats everyone pretty equally (and terribly), there's a pretty good diversity of staff in the institute as a whole. He's adapted perfectly well to modern life, there's no reason to believe that's the one thing he'd be hung up on.

He hired Gertrude in the 60s—obviously not a good thing for her, but clearly he believed that a woman was just as capable of the extremely important role of Archivist and stopping the rituals—something he still believed to be a genuine, existential threat at the time.

Racism we don't see any evidence of, classism—he doesn't pay his staff well (based on what Mary Keay says: "even back then the Institute didn’t pay their researchers well") but this isn't really indicative of classism on a personal level? He pays his staff badly because it benefits him to, not because he thinks they're inherently lesser than him or because that's what they "deserve".

Also, Elias is a body hopper and nearly omniscient. He's seen generations go by, lived as multiple people, looked into countless people's minds. Has this made him more empathetic? No, obviously not, but whether or not he's bothered by inequality is a different argument than whether or not he believes women (or any other group) are inherently lesser than him.

So the argument that "Elias is sexist/racist because he grew up in the 19th century and just never moved on from that" is just... silly to me. You could argue that he's willing to exploit inequality for his own gain (again, paying his staff badly), but again, that's a different argument.

I also just don't think it fits with Elias's character. He didn't seek his role in the apocalypse because he thinks it's his "rightful place" or even that he deserves it more than anyone else. His reasoning was extremely simple—"for immortality and power". To place himself "beyond pain and death and fear".

He considers it a logical decision plenty of people would make. his goal is complete superiority and power, but not because he thinks he's uniquely deserving of it. Just that he's managed to win out.

I believe there are far more people in this world that would take that bargain than you would ever guess. And I have beaten all of them.

In the same vein, he doesn't see Jon as particularly special, either:

It does tickle me, that in this world of would-be occult dynasties and ageless monsters, the Chosen One is simply that – someone I chose. It’s not in your blood, or your soul, or your destiny. It’s just in your own, rotten luck.

That bolded bit is key, imo. I think that's how he sees the world, generally. He's the king of the apocalypse simply because he beat everyone else and was the first to do it, not because of his inherent superiority or destiny. Jon is the chosen one because Elias chose him, not because it's in his "blood or soul".

So, the idea that he would believe anyone else is fundamentally lesser than him based on sex/race/etc.—the circumstances of their birth—doesn't make sense to me. Especially if the argument begins and ends with "he's old".

[abnomi]

EVERY REASON (that i can think of) AS TO WHY TURBO/KING CANDY IS NEURODIVERGENT 💥💥

i would like to make a disclaimer first and foremost about the obvious, being that Turbo/King Candy is heavily implied to have narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) and antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). Very often, characters with these disorders are portrayed as villains, and Turbo is no exception to this. There's nothing wrong with antagonistic characters having said disorders, per se, but when the only representation available for people with these conditions are found in characters you're not supposed to root for, it can be really disheartening. i won't be erasing these parts of him because i feel it would be in poor taste to gloss over those core elements of who he is, but plz keep in mind that having any kind of personality disorder doesn't make anyone inherently evil!!!🌞 your ACTIONS make you, not your brain

Also if anyone has any suggestions or other ideas for his neurodiversity, i would love to hear them! please do share!! I LOVE PSYCHOANALYZING CHARACTERS AND HEARING OTHER PEOPLE PSYCHOANALYZE THEM !!!! YAY🎉 if u agree or disagree with any of my points I'd love to discuss them further :-]

without further ado... click read more to find out…😈 be ready for a lot of reaches

💥 ADHD 💥

STIMMING

Turbo's constantly moving around in some way; he's a very expressive character! even as King Candy, he can't seem to conceal his frequent giggling. it's a big habit of his; he seems to do it involuntarily to regulate himself, including when he's nervous or uncomfortable.

he seems to display other repetitive behaviors as well, like doing his iconic thumbs-up pose, sticking out his tongue, or hopping around gleefully. he is but a jovial court jester..

i personally like to think that his phrases, "Turbo-tastic!" and "Have some candy!" are vocal stims of his, although i equally really love the interpretation that these (and the aforementioned stims) are tics :-]

another headcanon; i think it would make a lot of sense for him to have an oral fixation of some sort (ignoring the whole sigmund freud part of the term ermm...); just lots of biting, chewing, needing to have something in his mouth. It would align with the whole idea that he smokes, too

HYPERACTIVITY

we can clearly see throughout the film that Turbo has a lot of energy, made abundantly clear by his mannerisms and general behavior. he's constantly moving, using exaggerated expressions and gestures to communicate + express himself. He's one of the most animated and bouncy characters in the movie, next to Vanellope! it's silly how a character not very grounded in reality is such a threat, but i suppose that's what makes him so threatening in the first place...

another factor in this is how he is very adrenaline-seeking, craving activities that give him a rush (sugar rush...😂😂). more on that in a bit!!

HYPERFIXATION

Turbo's fixation with winning is all-consuming for him; it's an obsession. he doesn't appear to care about much else, if anything besides it. this could be interpreted as a hyperfixation for him (or special interest if ur all about that autism lifestyle), as it overtakes all of his focus and impedes every process of his mind.

it's clear that racing is much more than a passion for him, and while that fact is due to how he was programmed, it's a major character trait of his regardless that could be correlated to neurodivergence.

HYPERFOCUS

There seems to be a big theme of "all or nothing" when it comes to Turbo. he will either be fully dedicated to something or brush it aside without a second thought. it can't be denied that he fully wraps himself up in what he wants, whether it's a conflict he can't let go of or a new pursuit he's hungrily chasing after. 

ultimately, his dedication varies depending on if it is relevant to him and his interests or not, but this aspect of him still shares patterns with neurodivergent thought processes.

INSTANT GRATIFICATION

Seeing as he has a tendency to cheat in his use of code to spawn in whatever his heart desires, it can be assumed that this could do with Turbo wanting instant gratification to fill that bitter, empty void inside of him. while this could simply be brushed aside as greed and his belief that he is obligated to have access to whatever he wants, this trait is consistent with his generally dopamine-seeking behavior and wanting to be instantly rewarded by his actions. His obsession with needing to feel good directly relates to his need for another buzz, constantly after the next rush. (a sugar rush if you will☺☺☺)

ADRENALINE-SEEKING

Closely related to the previous speculation, Turbo always seems to be chasing his next high. he loves the thrill of action and being surrounded by crowds of people below him. it's why his big thing is racing! people cheer him on, he can do whatever he wants, he can go really fast and look cool..

it's possible that a big aspect of why he does this is to distract himself from any kind of pain, because pain = vulnerability. bro does NOT know how to independently cope with his own problems.. HE MAD AS HELLLLL!!! 😂😂

STRUGGLE WITH SELF CARE

(i know this is reaching but bear with me... 🐻) going off of his appearance and tendency to make poor decisions, it can be gathered that this man lacks skill in the self care department. his yellowing teeth and sunken eyes not only serve to complement his design, but also give way to the idea that he neglects himself in favor for whatever weird scheme he's up to.

of course, Turbo does prioritize himself above everyone else, but he doesn't strike me as the type to care much about how others think he smells. him being a bother to anyone isn't a concern of his. he cares about whatever gets him the most praise and attention from as many people as possible, which is winning and racing. Who cares about how clean he is when he's up on a podium holding a shiny, golden trophy, anyway?

It's likely that he had to step his game up when he went under disguise as king candy, which is why he looks well-groomed in comparison to his more corpse-like appearance. Ugly hoe. it can also be assumed that he's had more time to focus on himself because everyone loves him without question... Well, except for Vanellope, but who cares about her, right?

also, i know he makes a condescending comment to Ralph about how bad his breath smells, but it's made abundantly clear that Turbo is a massive hypocrite. his comment doesn't erase the possibility that he has suffered from such "halitosis" as well.

💥 ANXIETY 💥

GENERAL ANXIOUS BEHAVIOR

i know, i know, this could technically be chalked up to be "Turbo is nervously giggling and shit because he's scared of getting caught," but guys. g

even in the flashback scene, we can see how easily stressed he can become in an alarmingly short period of time. he is extremely insecure, therefore i am led to believe he is not only emotionally dysregulated, but also by extension, anxiety ridden.

yes, this is purely speculative, but who's to say that he wasn't like this before? being high-strung and intense are significant facets of his personality consistently portrayed throughout the film. as long as he is getting exactly what he wants, he is happy; the moment he loses even a blip of control, however, he immediately grows extremely tense.

if Turbo wasn't anxious about his disguise as King Candy before, he was anxious about how much attention he was receiving on a given day. if not that, then he'd be anxious over how he presents himself. He hates how he can't control how other people perceive him, which is why he is constantly trying to act like he's better than he is.

its why he justifies his behavior to himself, proudly making others refer to him as the "rightful ruler" of sugar rush and relishing in the attention of his countless underlings. Any secure and stable person would NOT ACT LIKE THIS!!!!😭😭😭

FIGHT OR FLIGHT

As we can see a handful of times on screen, Turbo's instinct to protect himself is very easily activated.

 his fear manifests in anger and aggression. we can see at multiple points how easy it is to upset him or fluster him; his anger is one side of the same coin, the opposite end being his fear and paranoia.

Going off of this point, have you noticed that Turbo is either satisfied or furious without much of an in-between? how the second something isn't under his manipulation, he lashes out and fights back? I'm led to believe that this is how he responds to fear (AAUAAYAUUUUGGHHH 🐡🐡🐡🐡🐡🐡🐡). This guy is so against the idea of being vulnerable, that even when afraid, he will utilize violence to regain his dominance over the situation at hand.

CONTROL + PARANOIA

Turbo's always trying to writhe or fight his way out of uncomfortable situations, unable to exist outside of his comfort zone for seconds at a time.

his defensive, paranoid, and controlling behavior are all reflections of how deeply insecure this man is. He feels such an intense need for everything to go exactly how he expects it to go that the moment he senses any kind of threat, he instantly jumps to defend himself and what he feels that he has "earned," regardless of whether there truly is a threat or not.

this could potentially be a coping mechanism for his anxiety and sense of stability; can't forget to mention how territorial he is!! he jumps to conclusions about what others' intentions are before they even get a chance to reply, as seen with his first encounter with Ralph in the movie. 

the racer is so internally discombobulated that he seeks any sense of stability on his environment, including on those around him. his sense of self is so warped that he copes with constant distraction; being under the spotlight, being actively racing, having to be showered with attention, having others make him feel good because he doesn't know how to do it for himself. he needs to feel like everything is under control, lest everything falls apart.

"...if there's ONE thing I can't abide, it's ANYTHING out of order!"

💥 NPD 💥

INFLATED SENSE OF SELF IMPORTANCE

Turbo's most in-your-face trait above all else. It's made more than crystal clear in every scene he's in that his arrogance is a determining factor in how he interacts with others. This is exactly what drives him to desperately crave admiration, to chase after others he's envious of because he thinks he is obligated to take what they have.

he seems to genuinely think he is entitled to get whatever he wants, just because he is inherently "special" or "better" than everyone else. Why else would he have made himself a king, a step above princess?

EXCESSIVE NEED FOR ADMIRATION

Turbo's self worth is COMPLETELY dependent on the opinions of children and teenagers. I think i don't need to say any more than that, but i will. (Evil).

As cartoonishly massive as his ego is, i think that it's fair to assume that Turbo has a very unstable sense of self, distorting his perception of his own worth down with it. his near-constant flaunting and need to be the best is a dead giveaway to his deeply-ridden self-doubt. The foundation of his stability is built around how "good" he is (at racing and winning), how powerful he is, whether or not he is being prioritized above everyone else, whether or not he is the absolute best, etc. etc.

The racer outright manipulates others to shower him with admiration and undeserved appreciation. He is incapable of forming a true sense of internal value, instead heavily and codependently relying on others to form it for him. if he isn't the best, he may as well just be nothing.

INTENSE JEALOUSY

He reacts so severely to what he perceives as others taking away what is rightfully his that it only goes to solidify my previous points even further. the second someone else is getting more attention than him, Turbo will bend over backwards to rip back the praise he believes he so rightly deserves.

being extremely competitive, he will one-up against anyone he thinks of as a threat, dedicating himself to taking them down to the best of his ability, and making sure they STAY down to top it all off.

INABILITY TO HANDLE CRITICISM

if we really dissect the entire one-off joke with Turbo insisting that his stolen pink castle is actually "salmon," along with all of his other domineering behaviors, we can garner that he is very persistent in how he wants others to view him. i wholeheartedly believe that this would translate into him not only being defensive over his supposed "ownership" of Sugar Rush, but also over himself and his own insecurities.

He needs to feel good about himself or else he will die and quite literally try to kill everyone.

LACK OF EMPATHY

He appears to have a fondness for making jokes in very poor taste. Turbo has a big sense of humor, but it's always at the expense of others. Be it a pun about a "fungeon," or jumping to protect himself with a joke about "hitting a guy with glasses," he has a tendency to take serious situations very lightly. It's not that he's unaware of the weight of it; he simply doesn't take it Seriously.

its admittedly impressive how he was able to feign empathy so well for Ralph; it goes to show how he is very capable of understanding that what he's doing is wrong, but ultimately does nothing to change his behavior because it doesn't impact him personally. 

i would like to honor this part of him, because even in the possible alternate path of a redemption arc, his struggle with empathy can be explored in a variety of interesting ways :-] he can understand complicated emotions and situations on an analytical level, but he doesn't feel for them unless it has to do with him specifically. (this obviously doesn't make him inherently evil, his ACTIONS make him evil)

💥 ASPD 💥

LACK OF REMORSE/GUILT

One of Turbo's core characteristics is just how far he is willing to go for his own self-interest with lack of regard for how it impacts everyone else. he has absolutely no concern for how anyone else feels besides himself, willing to go so far as to attempt to mutilate a 9-year-old to achieve his petty goals.

Turbo is shameless when it comes to how he goes about getting his way. While I'd like to believe he isn't fully incapable of feeling regret, he doesn't showcase feeling it in the movie itself. The most regret he'll feel is when he slips up and exposes himself. anything else is the fault of everyone else; he is untouchable in his eyes.

DECEITFUL TENDENCIES + LYING

Where do i even start with this one.

well, first of all, let's acknowledge the... erm, horse? in the room? 🐎😅(Please someone help me there is a horse in my room help helphel) being that Turbo went under disguise as King Candy for at least a decade. Even before this, there's a good chance that he's already had plenty of experience with lies and manipulation. i'd be willing to bet on this!!

one of his specialties is being proficient in manipulation, be it the code of games or the minds of people. theyre basically the same thing to him, anyway... I'm sure you all know the scene where he uses 16 manipulation tactics against Ralph and wins. this was Obviously not the first time he'd done this.

REPETITION OF HARMFUL BEHAVIORS

Time and time again, Turbo can't seem to help himself when it comes to poor decision-making. he never internalizes that his bad choices aren't JUST bad for others, but also for himself, continuing to escalate further and further into very dangerous behaviors until he literally dies.

Here's a list of bad decisions he has made! (at least, that we know of)

Pinning himself above his peers

Harassment + stalking

Carelessly charging through GCS with his car, endangering countless civilians

Attempting to take over a game that isn't his x2

Vehicular manslaughter

Implied mass murder + attempted murder, attempted mutilation

Mass endangerment

Breaking and entering, theft, usurpation, plagiarism

and more!!!!!!!

AND HE LEARNS FROM ABSOLUTELY NONE OF THIS!!! with some of the items listed here, he's attempted to do multiple times! Absolute buffoon.

RECKLESS DISREGARD FOR SAFETY OF SELF AND OTHERS

Considering how he was willing to charge into a game that wasn't his own with the awareness that it could permanently kill him, going as far as to recklessly crash into another car (albeit it's possible this was unintentional), it's easy to gather that he doesn't seem to consider anyone's safety at all in the spur of the moment.

IMPULSITIVITY

his impulsivity and disregard for safety both go hand-in-hand. When it gets to a certain point, Turbo's emotions will boil over and blow up in a cold rage, thus causing him to spiral and act on impulse, becoming a detrimental force to himself as well as everyone around him.

What's interesting is how much restraint he is capable of; he typically is very strategic in how he orchestrates his plans! but once he reaches his breaking point, he snaps and leaves all of his hard work behind in favor of something that calls for his immediate attention.

💥 ETC. 💥

extra tidbits i didnt have enough energy to fully delve into :-]

BPD

Fear of abandonment

Blurry sense of identity

Feelings of emptiness

Self destructive tendencies

Emotional instability

Explosive anger

ODD (oppositional defiant disorder)

He seems so infatuated with his own autonomy that he gets to the point of being resistant and defiant

Resisting against the rules of the world that he directly caused as a result of his own actions, being that one shouldn't "go Turbo."

Enjoys upsetting/getting a rise out of others. this is more speculative as i am going off of the assumption that he thinks pissing people off is funny, based on his other behavioral patterns. (cruel sense of humor, wanting to feel above others via control & manipulation, enjoyment of inflicting pain onto others)

Forcefully defends himself and refuses any kind of criticism

Lashes out when he feels slighted

Excessive persistence despite all odds, whether it's beneficial to him or not

ok bye!! thank you if you managed to read this far ^^ peace and love take care of yourself! all in all turbo is so neurodivergent ok please Okay <3 get this thing his meds

[toomanybrainrots]

I really liked your fic with Jessica rabbit reader and swerve can you do something like that but with whirl?

I’m glad you like that one! I hope that doing this with Whirl is easier cause he’s equally as goofy and silly but also very unhinged.

Whirl with a Cybertronian S/O with the dynamic of Jessica and Roger Rabbit

Whirl eternally smitten with you

Any chance he gets, he will gush over you and/or praise you, he sometimes does it on purpose to be annoying and fuck with people

Honestly, he’s both in disbelief and pride at how he pulled someone as fucking beautiful and amazing as you as his conjunx but he is not complaining one bit

He is an unhinged bot and he will do anything for a little smooch from you

Sometimes you have to be his self control before he does something too stupid

Whenever he does get a smooch however, he always melts and gets all giddy

He’s so smug about it too

You find it adorable at how terribly he flirts and his terrible pick up lines

“Quick, we have to save my conjunx!” You said. Whirl had gotten kidnapped by some alien race because - primus knows why - he had angered them.

“What do you even see in him?” Rodimus asked, sounding genuinely curious. Whirl was a…unique individual, an individual no one would even imagine getting a conjunx like you.

“He makes me laugh”

Whenever Whirl gets drunk at Swerve’s, he sometimes mistakes you for someone else when you drag him to your shared quarters

You appreciate his loyalty, and love him…even if he doesn’t realize you were his conjunx.

[antifainternational]

I notice with some of the messaging and words spoken on clothing and youtube videos. this might be a silly or even dumb question. but is ANTIFA an anti-white group? is it in the racial fuck white people as a group of people sense or is there another meaning to it? cause I've been really interested in this group but ill immediately backtrack if I find out that instead of promoting equality as we should. we simply promote hate, but to our oppressors instead. whether they are or aren't a fascist.

Buckle up, Anon, we’re about to take you for a wild ride! So wild (and because of Tumblr word limits) we have to respond in two parts: PART ONE First off, what are white people or whiteness? Well, it’s a category of humans, classified into a race, as other humans are classified into other races. But how are people classified into which race? That’s something we covered in this comic, but essentially the colour of your skin (but without clearly defining how “dark” you have to be to be black or how “white” you have to be to be white) or maybe your eye colour (but not always) or maybe hair colour (nope, unless you think the races are “blonde, redhead, and other”) or OK how about hair curliness (what’s the curly cut-off for each “race?”) determines your race. OK that’s messy & unworkable, so how about whatever race your parents were = what you are (but then how do we know what race your parents were? And what if they were both from different races?). OK, no, it’s really very simple: white people’s ancestors come from Europe; Black people’s ancestors come from Africa; and Asian people’s ancestors come from Asia, so ancestry determines your race (but since anthropologists have determined that all humans originated in Africa, are we all Black? If not, how do we decide what generation of ancestors “counts” and what generation doesn’t? What about Russia – a country that’s half in Europe and half in Asia?).  Maybe genetics can tell us who is what race? No, sorry, there are literally no genetic markers for race. There is not a single gene held exclusively by members of one racial category. The truth about race is that race is a social construct – an idea that caught on, like there being seven days in a week. Just like the days of the week, it’s not objectively real or tangible and it only works when we all agree that it works, what the categories are, and what the boundaries of each category are. Race is real only in the same way as “Wednesday” is real. The trouble is, we’ve never agreed on what the categories of race are or what the boundaries of each race are. The definitions change with time and geography. That’s why Jewish people are sometimes white and sometimes their own race. That’s why the Irish and Italians were only considered white some time in the last century. That’s why many people in Japan see themselves as a separate race, distinct from other people in Asia. That’s why some people now consider Muslims to be a different race. Race isn’t something you are; it’s something done to you, when society puts you in a racial category and treats you accordingly. Let’s be clear here: we’re not saying that people don’t start to look different as you traverse the world. There is clearly enormous variation among human populations. But those differences have no clear demarcations and trying to lump all of humanity into a handful of clumsy, disputed “races” is untenable. This is why anthropologists have unanimously turned their back on the concept of race, rightfully describing it as a “folk taxonomy” that is not related in any way to science. (in part Two we'll look at the history of racism and, finally actually answer Anon's question!)

[inchidentally]

okay this is fucking weird and... fully factually wrong asfgasjlfgal

I'm obv removing the source and blog name etc so pls do not go try to find who it is and I dnw to be a part of any in-fighting etc

but also I rarely see anti shit since I'm fine w ppl being competitive over drivers and teams since ~sports~ and I stick to my dash so it's wild to me when someone puts it where they know I'll see it and I realize how insane the hate can get like it's fully leaving reality and creating a new one lahfljsafhafhl and ofc I love making a good stupid parasocial essay

also if someone else is actually interested in learning more about Oscar other than the caricature villain the anti tags have cultivated about him/seeing info from a balanced Lando and Oscar fan then why not

I know I’m a rare fully equal Lando and Oscar enjoyer till I d!e and I don’t mind hateuration when it’s not super serious and it’s part of sport culture etc etc. I follow blogs for half the grid and my dash is fully civil war every race weekend. it doesn’t bother me! even when ppl go super biased and delu like this bc of their hatred I don't mind either if it's just done in a non-deep way or if it's done where I don't have to see it. and I would NEVER rb someone's own post and get shitty with them in the tags.

so it’s not that someone has chosen to hate a driver that’s an issue it’s when someone takes it way too far and too personal and wrong - but even then I wouldn’t take notice if it weren’t yknow left for me to see on my own post.

- basic simple legacy tumblr rule: do NOT directly rb someone else’s content with anti additions on the post or in tags. make your own post so they don’t have to see it and do NOT tag it in ways that would show up for fans of that person or thing. if you wouldn't want to have to see that shit on your own posts then don't do it to someone else ok. esp since you'll probably spread it to even more anti people who will just add more onto it.

- to think Oscar of all people is laughing AT Lando cruelly and meanly is... insane. objectively insane. for one thing their relationship has grown naturally and without the veneer of PR bromance so we actually did see back when Lando wasn’t sure about Oscar and was more reserved with him, so he will NOT hide if he’s ever unhappy with him. in fact Lando can't hide his feelings on his face pretty much ever, but esp when he's upset or angry. in 2021 we got a full on-camera media pen moment where Lando looked daggers at Carlosof all people and stalked away from him. obv everything between them after this was immediately fine the next day but it's a perfect example of Lando not hiding his displeasure or annoyance even with his closest friends on the grid! and with Daniel, Lando rly did mean it when he said Daniel's win overshadowed his podium and despite being very good friends from the very starts - but they very much had tensions when they were teammates alongside being extremely good friends and having so many laughs at the same time. and ofc Max is practically family to Lando and they've said they spend the most downtime together out of their other grid friends and P sees Lando as an uncle, yet once again if Lando's not happy with him then it shows! so no, he’s not going to hide his feelings if he’s mad or upset ahsvshdbjd he certainly won't be belly laughing and pink and staring at Oscar happily if he's in fact hurt and upset by him ??? in fact I can’t actually imagine a Lando who’s capable of hiding his feelings that well bc the poor guy often wishes he could !!

- LANDO BEING SILLY ABOUT HIS NON ACADEMIC BRAIN HAS BEEN GOING ON AS A BIT STARTED BY HIM SINCE FOREVER. like I'm sorry but if you're blogging at all about Lando did you miss every single stream where his closest friends laugh and joke with him about his spelling or not knowing certain facts. I can’t grasp knowing who Lando Norris is and thinking he doesn’t fully embrace and laugh about this like it’s probably top 3 thing in funny Lando moments compilations on social media ??? in this exact clip I screenshotted from Lando makes MULTIPLE jokes about not going to school while cackling and says "see I wouldn't ask me that" when Oscar checks with him that the Pacific is indeed bigger than the Atlantic LIKE I'm so confused at anyone seeing that as Oscar being evil and mean and callous ??????

- actually Oscar is one of the ONLY people who doesn’t always and immediately laugh AT Lando for his academic blocks AND as in this very video he gives Lando full opportunity to try AND “why not explain instead of laughing!” oh yea because he frequently does ??? there’s literally a whole Thing between them that even normal fans have picked up on where Lando’s brain struggles and Oscar has learned to gently help ! he spells words for him, provides race locations, stands off to the side unseen and helps !! again. utterly insane to think Oscar of all ppl as being “superior” and mean when he’s one of the few people who doesn’t just openly laugh every time Lando gets something wrong and notices when Lando is actually insecure and helps him out !! EVERYONE ELSE just laughs at Lando including his closest friends but ironically it’s Oscar who pauses, studies Lando’s reaction and sometimes chooses to not laugh and help him out !! Oscar watching and learning Lando literally over the years - even before knowing him personally - is a whole thing!

- considering Lando’s biggest personal cause is mental health and anti bullying, people like this need to drop the whole “Piastri is evil because he doesn’t express emotions the correct way” therefore he “likes being superior” ???and “Piastri is an evil manipulator because he’s racing Lando and wants to win just like Lando says about his teammates” totally ignoring the fact that the Carlos and Daniel bromances had the benefit of not having a competitive car AND with Carlos there was a huuuuge difference in ability and speed that Lando actually said would make him depressed because he wanted to “beat him for once” (that’s why he said he wanted Carlos there for his win, because he “wanted to look down on him”) oops turns out Lando’s competitive too and he’s not evil! Oscar is very obviously loved and Lando clearly likes him and ironically the fact that they hangs out outside of work but choose not to post photos or video and only mention it means that they want to keep their time together private, which is sweet and not “fake” as ppl randomly decide to call it. the fact that they chose not to do a bromance and hate doing PR work is actually sweet as well bc Lando’s said sometimes he likes doing that kind of work but sometimes he also likes to be quiet and not looked at. it's also very worth knowing that Lando specifically said Oscar is the complete opposite to Daniel (but that they're both lovely guys and he likes them both) but that he sees Oscar as being very similar to himself. so it kind of pulls the rug out from thinking Oscar is cold, evil, etc etc etc because he isn't gregarious or doesn't express himself the way everyone's come to expect from other drivers.

- and everyone REALLY needs to go away w interpreting someone self-admittedly low energy/quiet/private and who has literally said he dislikes that people think he’s cold and calculating and who even recently said to look at his onboards and that he expresses his excitement plenty just not through words AND his longtime gf and all four women in his family adore him AND Abbi Pulling said he seems “too nice to be a racing driver” AND he inspires the same long term loyalty Lando does in people INCLUDING LANDO'S BEST FRIEND. Max literally stands up for Oscar against fans and says his relationship with him is great and was literally there for both Oscar's birthdays the past two years and tweeting at him, eating his cake aslfgsaljfgsa. so just because Oscar isn’t great at PR like so many drivers doesn’t mean he’s evil and cruel or cold. Lando often admits he’s frequently not great at PR and lands himself in hot water sjsvshdbdj

- Oscar’s had to “overcome fewer obstacles” ????? than Lando ???? listen I fully am so here for Lando’s insane work ethic so this is in no way trying to reverse the insult onto him bc I will never do the whole putting these guys against each other. it’s to educate that: Oscar literally couldn’t afford to get beyond F2 which is why Mark Webber stepped in to get him sponsorships. and in order for Oscar to progress in karting at all he had to leave his family behind in Australia and live in the UK. he’s far from working class ofc but despite winning feeder series each year he would’ve had to stop before F1 purely down to money if it weren’t for Mark. whereas Lando’s dad is an actual billionaire. and again FULL kudos to Lando bc he specifically said he didn’t want to rely on his dad's money to buy a seat and he didn’t!! but he’s said himself he’s been extremely lucky that his dad could devote himself completely to Lando’s career and that they’ve never wanted for money at all. AND THE REASON OSCAR FINISHED SCHOOL WAS BC HE NEEDED A BACKUP CAREER. he's never actually said he himself is particularly brainy just that he didn’t know if he could afford to progress so engineering would keep him in the sport. so there's not only no comparing the two of them, it's also hysterical to say Oscar had more opportunities than Lando like Lando would literally laugh at that

like I’m sorry this comes off as intense it’s mostly me just ????? bc these tags are the direct OPPOSITE of reality where Oscar was a very huge fan of Lando’s for years before being his teammate, he then closely watched and learned Lando when they became teammates and he’s now such a trusted and kind friend (yes, ppl are weird enough that we've had to point out it's official lsfgajlfgla) that Lando literally looks over at Oscar for help when his brain is struggling !! like this is not a fandom interpretation or anything it physically actually happens and random F1 fans even notice and comment on it !!

anyway it’s fine to be a hater and it's expected in sports spaced etc but do not do it under someone else’s content or where non hater fans can see ok ???

[skulls-soul]

Are there any fanfics in were Bowser signs a peace treaty because he wanted to date Luigi…

Like imagine Bowser is trying to get Mario’s blessing to date his brother because Kamek told him to (do it right this time you’re impatientNess)

Mario, of course says “ over my dead-a body. Will I allow-a you to date my brother”

It was only once he was talking to peach (he took Luigi and himself to the castle for Luigi’s protection that, and he was worried that the princess was gonna get kidnapped again) when she gave him the idea to give him trials and so throughout the entire afternoon Luigi just sat there, watching Mario and peach and daisy who they called up specifically for this conversation on what kind of things Bowser can do to prove himself

Although, at some point, Daisy mentioned about when exactly did Bowser get feelings for luigi, which intern cause everyone to turn to Luigi to see if he had any answers 

Luigi begrudgingly admitted that him and Bowser  would strike up in conversation during sporting events, party games and racing competitions, growing into being a bit of a “situation ship” ( say thanks to @silly-inky for the “Situationship” they mentioned it in a post of theirs, and I loved it too much, that I couldn’t not implicate it into something of mine)

Anyways flabbergasted, they started questioning Luigi on why he would strike up a conversation with the king Koopa. only for luigi to respond with “ you want me to ignore the koopa King or something? I don’t have a Deathwish!”

 They were shocked to hear that Bowser of all people would start up a conversation with one of the Mario brothers, although, in hindsight, it is just as equally as impossible for Luigi to start a conversation, if not more. Not letting the conversation go they poke around for more information

Luigi, without getting too into detail, tells them that it started off with a simple question. Bowser had asked him what he was doing in the sidelines instead of with the others in which Luigi responded with how he wasn’t as popular as the others, and would only be in the way

Mario and princesses didn’t appreciate this “fact” and was quick to tell him

Peach: you could never be in the way!

Mario: you have fans!

Daisy: yeah, me!

Luigi simply just shook his head in which the others were ready to tell him off once more if it wasn’t for the fact that Luigi spoke, saying how Bowser said something similar

Luigi: “ he said how he couldn’t believe someone who fought him was anything but popular”

 once again, the other three humans are caught off guard by Luigi’s words, or more specifically this time by Bowser’s. each of them having the same thought about how oddly kind that was of him

Luigi decides to forego mentioning about how his face immediately went hot with flustered embarrassment at Bowser’s words and instead mentioned that he intern, asked Bowser why he wasn’t with a Koopalings. After all his mama raised him right, if someone strikes up (somewhat) polite conversation with you then you should recuperate if possible

 Mario nods in response to that, the Brother ‘s were nice to the fault for a reason although it seems Luigis kindness surpasses Mario’s by a hair

Luigi: “ so after that, we just kind of started talking more and more sense we seemed to be on the sideline together a lot”

Luigi refuses to give more details, they don’t need to know about the copious amounts of time that the reptilian caused him to blush

Or about all of the flirty comments and what if scenarios that would slip into their conversation

Anyways, (I got a bit side tract sorry) by the end of the conversation that Bowser should sign a peace treaty with a Mushroom, Kingdom and Sahara desert that would lead Bowser in to doing charity work

Princess, peach and daisy were hoping for a an alliance(tho hopes were low) while Mario was hoping for Bowser to stick with his pride for once, since the Koopa king would never!!! Do charity work

 luigi on the other hand was sweating profusely as he hoped that Bowser would pass this trial that will allow them to be happy and open together 

Soon they will see who gets there wishes

[silliam-billiam]

For a while I’ve been trying to articulate why XWP means so much to me, and I think I’ve figured it out. It seems to come from a bizzaro world where everything is just. Equal. It feels like a real feminist show because the women are so respected.

I realized this when watching episode 6 (or seven maybe?) there was a scene where Xena was imprisoned, feet chained to the floor and hands to the ceiling. A group of men came in with the express purpose to harm, and in a moment of clarity I realized that I didn’t fear for Xena in the way I did for every other female in fantasy. Fantasy (as a male dominated genre) is full of sexual violence towards women, often used as story beats or just shock. It permeates women’s real lives and bleeds into what they read for escapist fantasy. For a long time I’ve felt as if nowhere is truly safe, because most fantasy media eventually has a scene or two where a woman is violated, or a costume that’s glorified lingerie, and I have to remind myself that this genre was never made with women in mind. But that scene ended with Xena beating the shit out of them, because they tried to beat her. Not assault or grab, just punches and kicks, like men would fight in fantasy. And she fucking won because she’s Xena and she’s awesome.

Again, in many episodes men want her. But they’re never violent towards her. In the show she is treated like a man would be treated in any fantasy setting. With respect. That’s true escapism for me, some world where that kind of violence either doesn’t exist or isnt prevalent. A world so easy to make, and yet so often thrown aside because of “historical accuracy”. In fiction. The specifically not historically accurate genre where you can pull anything out of your ass and people just kinda have to vibe with that.

I’ve also mentioned this before, but it’s so rare in fantasy for women to be…carefree I guess? Most of them are jaded from past violence, or future survivors, or meek healers, or old wise women. None of which are very allowed to be silly like their male counterparts. They’re always serious, always the voice of reason. Always so reigned in from what male characters are allowed to be. Xena has a dark past, but she’s still kind. The story is still light. Women are allowed to be happy without being victimized.

XWP is fantasy first and foremost, and it works wonders. There are POC everywhere, and nobody calls attention to it because, well, that’s just how it is in Xena-land. There’s no sexual violence toward any strong women, because, well, that’s just how it is in Xena-land. People fight on bamboo poles and race chariots in rivers and the steaks only go up to “Ooooo she has to marry the big bad” which never goes anywhere because we all know Xena is gonna stop them.

Xena Warrior Princess is always gonna be my favorite fantasy show, because it’s fantasy that’s finally geared towards women. A fantasy where women are safe, are capable, are treated in the same regard as men with no quippy girl-power one-liners because nobody needs to quip about the status quo. In a genre where women are so often demeaned and violated for minor story beats or shock value, seeing a work that actually feeds into a more female fantasy is what I’m obsessed with. It’s wonderful to see a magical world where women don’t have to live in fear. Or they do, like because cyclops’s n shit but everybody else does that too.

PS: this mostly applies to modern fantasy. Tolkien and Lewis were two authors I grew up on who I largely blame for my fantasy obsession today.

[dailydemonspotlight]

Culebre - Day 147

Race: Snake Arcana: Strength Alignment: Neutral December 17th, 2024 Special thanks to @kiyyunkaiwan for the idea!

Ah, dragons. The most inexplicably popular folkloric convention. Dragons can be found everywhere, from the biggest centers of the population to the most obscure corners of the globe, and it might be due to just how widespread and generic the term really is- any kind of huge serpent can be a dragon as long as you skew it enough, hence why there are so many fictional subspecies of these critters. However, ultimately, Dragons can be sorted by the age-old adage of 'You know it when you see it,' and today's Demon of the Day is no exception. Hailing all the way from Northern Spain, we're gonna be talking about the Culebre, the winged serpent from ancient Asturian civilization.

The Culebre is a great serpent portrayed in some ancient Iberian artwork, as well as being the source of some names of caves and their ilk throughout some of Spain. Unfortunately, I can't find many written accounts of the dragon, and a lot of articles about it don't actually cite their sources, frustratingly enough. (Please cite your sources, no offense, it just helps everyone! Not even the Wikipedia article has any sources cited!) Even still, we can get a pretty good profile going based on these scant stories alone. According to what I can glean, the Culebre is much like many other mythological dragons in what it does and what it represents, being a representation of greed.

The Culebre are immortal serpentine creatures that take all that they can get, but they have a specific and particular interest in Anjanas, small mythical beings much like our fairies who would get kidnapped by a Culebre and held captive for... whatever reason. As time goes on, their scales grow tougher and they begin to sprout particularly batlike wings, though these wings they rarely actually use outside of hunting, to which they tend to hunt cattle and people in equal measure.

Interestingly, they actually grow weaker on Saint John’s Day, being June 24th, coinciding with Midsummer. On this day, their magical abilities are hampered and they grow far, far weaker. As they represent greed, Culebre's are impulsive hoarders much like many other dragons, and, when they get old enough, they tend to move to the bottom of the ocean or somewhere else like that for a nice cozy retirement, surrounded on all sides by countless gleaming treasures. And, well, that's all we really have on them. This is partly due to the fact I can't actually read Spanish, but it is a shame that I can't find any major sources for these giant snakes.

In SMT, they're presented pretty well- the batlike wings and snake scales definitely are dragon-adjacent, and I love the silly face they make. On top of that, I like the detail of them having giant bat ears as well, but... well, there's not much else to say. Much like their mythology, they've got a deceptively simple design. I will say, though, I like to picture them hissing like cats whenever you get near.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Helen Pluckrose

Published: Mar 31, 2025

For many years now, liberal critics of “wokeness,” have been desperately trying to get people to see that the Critical Social Justice movement is harmful to the preservation of a liberal society that cares about what is true. We have argued that “wokeness” is a problem in itself because it is based on a deeply theoretical worldview that bears very little correspondence with reality and imposes itself on people in almost every area of their lives, dictating what they must pretend to believe and how they must speak. Since 2020, I have supported over 2000 individuals under threat of disciplinary action because they helauttafdsafdd beliefs like “Not all white people are racist” or ““Woman” is a biological sex category” or organisations in peril of spontaneously combusting because activists seeking to punish people for holding those views had gained dominance within it.

Many critics of wokeness, however, particularly those of us on the left, also argued that wokeness was not only a problem on the grounds of the realities and freedom it was denying directly itself, but because it would trigger a massive anti-woke backlash on the right which was potentially even more dangerous. Much of my energy from 2015 to 2020 was spent urging others on the liberal left to help address this problem on the left and to see that it was a problem and not just a rather overzealous and silly, well-intentioned effort to advance social justice. I argued that to fail to address this problem on our side for fear of giving strength to the right was a mistake and that not being seen to acknowledge and address illiberalism on the left was far more likely to make people surge right, including the voters we needed to enact genuine liberal left-wing economic policies. This could embolden an illiberal right to gain cultural dominance and enact precisely the policies that impacted the rights of the most vulnerable people in society whose interests the left is primarily concerned with.

In 2018, we wrote,

It is generally a terrible idea to have different rules of behavior dependent on identity because it goes against the most common sense of fairness and reciprocity which seems to be pretty hardwired. It is also antithetical to universal liberalism and precisely the opposite of what civil rights movements fought to obtain. . . . If most people are now working on an understanding of fairness, equality, and reciprocity as individual, this mentality can be incomprehensible and alienating. It is in this way that identity politics is the most counterproductive and even dangerous. We humans are tribal and territorial creatures, and identity politics comes far more naturally to us than universality and individuality. Our history bears the evidence of humans unapologetically favoring their own tribe, own town, own religion, own nation, and own race over others and creating narratives after the impulse to attempt to justify doing it. The universal human rights and principles of not judging people by their race, gender, or sexuality—which have developed over the modern period and resulted in the civil rights movements, legal equality, and much social progress—are much more uncommon to us and must be consistently reinforced and maintained. If we allow identity politics in the form of [Critical] Social Justice to undermine this fragile and precarious detente, we could undo decades of social progress and provide a rationale for a resurgence of racism, sexism, and homophobia. Given the novelty of egalitarian society, it is not at all clear that women and racial and sexual minorities could easily win these losses back.

In my most recent book published in 2024, I detailed the ways this is now happening. (I also addressed it in this piece in 2023). Over the last six months, I have been mostly focused here on urging people not to see the illiberal right as a solution to the illiberal left, then to oppose the illiberal right without surging back to supporting the illiberal left. It took a great deal of time to convince the genuinely liberal (freedom-orientated) on the left to see the seriousness of the problem and the counteraction it was likely to trigger and oppose it, or, at least, stop endorsing it. Meanwhile, the illiberal factions on the left continued not to see it and to insist that the resurgence of racist, misogynistic and homophobic sentiment is evidence that they were right all along and should have tried harder to forcibly retrain workers’ unconscious minds and dismantle their whiteness, detoxify their masculinity and decolonise their thinking. The problem, it often seems, to them is less about the illiberal factions on the right, but the liberals on the left, like me, who stood in their way while they were doing this.

Frankly, it’s exhausting.

Today, I received a comment on my latest piece trying to get people to acknowledge the damage done by the ‘woke’ and also the illiberal nature of so many of the anti-woke that said,

It doesn’t matter. We have far bigger problems than the Woke Left now. Everyone who fought that crusade now gets to own the Trump administration. I hope but do not expect that someday the warriors against wokeness will apologize for what they helped bring about, but I do not get the impression that they have the foggiest idea what they have done. You and your former colleagues crafted the ideology that was seized upon by fascists who now “govern,” busily tearing up NATO, international trade, freedom of speech, the human rights of immigrants, democracy, and the rule of law. But at least we won’t have any more postmodernism at Columbia! Thanks!

This was particularly infuriating, because I had reason to the think the commenter must, at least, have known about what happened in 2017 when I contributed to a panel arguing that psychological sex differences exist. So angry were activists about this that we had to meet with the police about which threats of violence and death were credible, the university hosting us had to move us to a smaller room to ensure security meaning that many people who wanted to come could not do so, we had to arrange bodyguards, arrive very early and hide in a backroom and then we needed a police escort off the premises. At one point in the conversation, while a female biologist was saying that people seldom objected to the claim that men are, on average, taller than women, a tall trans woman announced an objection to this claim. Then three activists, including the trans woman, broke the sound equipment in order to try to prevent us from being heard by the people who had managed to fit into the space to hear us.

Were we really expected not to highlight this as a problem? A problem for freedom of speech and belief? A problem for academic freedom? A problem for anybody who cared about what is true? Would not pointing this out have helped to hold back the illiberal anti-woke backlash? If so, how?

I screencapped this comment and posted a note about it, saying,

As predicted. To many, the people who caused the illiberal, anti-woke backlash were not the woke, but the people pointing out the illiberalism of the woke. If we’d just kept our mouths shut, nobody would have noticed and everything would have been fine? (Of course, I did not create the ideology from which I criticise the illiberalism of the woke or anti-woke, flattering though that is. Liberalism predates me by centuries. Nor does it lead to fascism.)

Following this, the writer contacted me saying that he regretted the comment almost immediately and indicating that he himself is a liberal and does not necessarily believe me, personally, to be instrumental in empowering the illiberal anti-woke right. I removed the note because I have no wish to cause problems for anyone by drawing attention to a comment made in the heat of the moment and in error and then retracted. That is a very human failing, especially in times as volatile and frightening as we are in right now. All we can do about it is try not to make negative assumptions about others and honestly own and retract them if we do, which my correspondant did.

Nevertheless, I wanted to address the substance of his criticism and I do so with his blessing. I suspect he, and many others will continue to make it about critics of wokeness who are less demonstrably liberal and left-wing than me. Many of them will continue to make it of me too, despite this. I think this attitude presents a serious problem among liberals on the left that will prevent us from working together and also with liberals on the right to address our current problems of illiberalism on both the left and the right. It also, I would suggest, fundamentally misunderstands human psychology.

The temptation to ‘maintain solidarity’ against an opponent whom one perceive to be far more dangerous than the illiberal factions on one’s own side and thus condone or minimise the impact of the illiberalism coming from one’s own side is very natural. “Why do you punch left when right-wing populism is rising?” I have frequently been asked. Aside from the facts that I think it is important to apply principles consistently and that we have more chance of addressing illiberalism on our own side than on our opponents, I also think this attitude to be counterproductive to achieving goals.

Think about whichever illiberalism is of most concern to you right now. Is it wokeness? Far-right populism? Islamism? Now, imagine that ethical leftists, conservatives or Muslims wanted to convince you not to write off the whole of the left, right or adherents to Islam and backlash against them? What would best achieve that?

“Yes. We see the problem on the left and are on it. This identitarian authoritarianism is a betrayal of left-wing values and we will own it and push it out.” or “There’s no problem here and if you think there is, you’re probably racist. The right is the real problem.

What about:

“The rise of authoritarian populism on the right is a real problem and ethical conservatives are addressing it. This goes against the conservative philosophical tradition and we are responsible for bringing others on the right to see that.” or “The right are not the ones causing problems. We’re all about common sense and decency. If you can’t see that, you’re probably a woke communist.”

Perhaps:

“Yes. There is a serious problem with extremism, women’s rights, gay rights, antisemitism and freedom of belief and speech in the name of Islam. We liberal and reforming Muslims need to own that problem honestly and address it. or “What are you talking about? Islam is the religion of peace and the most feminist and inclusive thing ever. If you don’t accept that, you’re Islamophobic. That’s the real problem in society.

Repeat ad nauseam for every ideological tribe that exists.

Nearly everybody can see that the behaviour and attitude that would make them more sympathetic to tribes they are currently very wary of is one that is intellectually honest, accountable and proactive. Very many people fail to accept that being so themselves is what will make their own tribe more ethical and worthy of respect and persuade more people to regard it as such. There we tend to think that it is most important to hold the party line, assert that everything is just fine and impugn the motivations and characters of people who think otherwise. This is bizarre because it is not as though people whom we might have convinced to support our political party or activist party or religious group will stop noticing the problems with our group if we deny their existence. They’ll just take their analysis and criticisms from other groups who were never in favour of our views in the first place and are not inclined to address them accurately or charitably. This is how we lose people. That matters particularly when it comes to democracies and voting.

This is how the left lost people. I utterly reject the claim that it is left-wing, liberal critics of wokeness who care about what is true who do not have the foggiest idea what we have done. Instead, I think it is clear that if there had been more of us, we would have pushed back the left-wing, illiberal woke who care nothing for what is true when it arose. This would have prevented it from gaining institutional and cultural power in the first place and almost certainly prevented the surge to the right-wing, illiberal anti-woke who care nothing for what is true either.

Post-mortems like this are generally unhelpful. Those of us who are concerned about the rise of a deeply illiberal right, the actions of Donald Trump, and Elon Musk’s control over social media need to work together right now, rather than going back over what we should have done in the past and who is responsible for not having done it. We can, however, learn from mistakes. I would argue it to be a huge mistake to take the attitude my correspondant did and say that what the woke do now does not matter because we have bigger problems from the right. This is precisely when it matters most. We could use this time when the Trump administration is demonstrating its profound illiberalism and the threat it presents to international cooperation, individual liberty, human rights, minority groups, due process and democracy by both highlighting that and strengthening the ethical principles and material policies of the left by marginalising ‘woke,’ so that people want to vote for it again. Alternatively, we could point the finger solely at the illiberalism on the right while refraining from engaging in any critical self-reflection at all or taking responsibility for anything, accusing those on the left who criticise the woke of being terrible human beings and alienating or silencing them, and present the people whom we could have convinced with another choice between the “lesser of two evils” at the next ballot box.

I am not satisfied with trying to be the lesser of two evils by focusing all my attention on pointing out how evil the other side is. I want my political party to be a positive force for good in the world, and I think I have more power to influence it in that direction than I do the party I do not belong to. I know that ethical conservatives feel the same way, because many of you say so here, and I am encouraged to see pushback to the reality-denying, illiberal, identitarian right from liberal conservatives and traditional conservatives. This is the way.

If we focus all our attention on trying to gain support for our own side by pointing out the irrational, illiberal lunatics on the other side and tacitly condoning or minimising our own, we will simply facilitate hostility and polarisation and entirely fail to hold our own group to account and self-correct. Both the left and the right will continue to be dominated by its narrow band of lunatics enabled by its much broader band of blinkered apologists. Well-intentioned, freedom-orientated people who care about about what is true and about the future of their country will forever be forced to make calculations based on which party is likely to damage it least.

If, instead, we criticise the failings of the other side with honesty, integrity and charity, while focusing the majority of our attention on self-correction and marginalising our own irrational, authoritarian loons, we could genuinely make both sides stronger and more ethically consistent. Then we have the best chance of producing parties that well-intentioned, freedom-orientated people who care about what is true and about the future of their country might actually want to vote for as a way of improving that.

I strongly recommend we do the latter.

==

More likely, "this isn't true leftism/conservatism/Islam."

[listening-to-thunder]

City Hunter 2024

Don't mind me I just watched a live action adaptation of the show I absolutely imprinted on as a little fan sprout in the late 80s/early 90s and I have feelings?! (Tl;dr - the adaptation is so faithful I am so happy.)

So yeah. I watched the (censored) French version of the City Hunter anime during summer vacations and then languished as Sweden did not have City Hunter (or anyone who had heard of City Hunter, other than my little brother). So I did stuff like...record it on VCR, pause the VCR, and trace character portraits off the prickly cathode-ray tube TV. (Screenshot technology has come a long way!)

Later on I read the entire un-censored manga (with the original names restored!) in French, and downloaded the Japanese songs from some pages I found on AltaVista (which took forever on modem), and brough the full set back in Japanese after I lived there for a while. And then I found out there is an official "megafan gets transmigrated into the story"-manga about City Hunter, and I read that, too.

Basically: I have had this story in my life forever, and watching the live action movie now gives me echoes of all those feelings I had as a lonely fannish kid. Which is a weird feeling, but not in a bad way, because the live action adaption (not the first, but the first Japanese one!) is...good? It's fun! And it's as faithful to the original story as it could possibly be while also being updated for the 21st century in the best ways?

Okay, I'm just gonna dive in!

I love how prominent Shinjuku is in the live action. It's gorgeously shot, and you can really feel a sense of place. The characters always talk about "this city", and Shinjuku is that city.

And right off the bat Suzuki Ryohei gets to shine in a fun, fast fight scene with a manga flair to it!

Everyone in Shinjuku knows Ryo-chan! And here's where I will admit to my own ignorance, because reading in translation at a young age I honestly don't know if the manga touched on how Shinjuku as a place where the queer community meets? But here the owner of the bar Ryo rushes through is a glorious okama!

Saeba Ryo and Makimura Hidekyuki and HI MY FEELS. (I will probably get back to how much I adore that Ryo is played by an actor who's hit 40 - but Andou Masanobu is nearly 50?! HOW.)

YES GOOD the iconic coat from the manga (that I like a lot more than the silly little anime jacket) running down the streets of Shinjuku as the equally iconic red car (an old Mini Cooper?) races past the neon lights.

Oh man I have cried about this scene so many times. And here I just love how they got the dramatic rain in, despite the circumstances and setting of Makimura's death being different. That's what a good adaptation does: keeps things recognizable to the existing fans, while transforming it to something new and exciting. (I almost didn't see it coming because I kept thinking "It's not raining"...!)

Not to be shallow or anything but...HOT DAMN. Suzuki Ryohei!!!!

This was so delightful! Everyone was having such fun with the Mokkori Dance, and I am thrilled that they found a way of showing this side of Saeba Ryo without making him a sex pest. The mood whiplash from drama to the most frivolous silliness is extremely City Hunter, and the movie wouldn't have felt right if they hadn't nailed this. (With Ryo nudity. I am. Not complaining at all.)

Kaori's stare. Ryo's confidence. Perfect. No notes.

And then we get some T&A... and it's QUEER AS FUCK?! Instead of a strip club, in 2024 the Shinjuku nightlife scene is beautiful people voguing with a fabulous drag queen MC!

Showing off Ryo's impossibly good aim by following the bullet through a crowded nightclub was fun but again: look at this Shinjuku!! It's queer and diverse and I love it.

I could not believe how Suzuki Ryohei somehow manages to move like a manga character? He is so fast and so believable as a supernaturally good shot! I also liked how Ryo hid his gun as soon as he'd fired it - the enemy had already spotted him, so it wasn't that he was afraid of giving himself away? But he doesn't want to have a gun out at a queer nightclub, where it could start a very understandable panic.

Again with the Shinjukuness of it all...! Ryo's car is parked outside the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (it was my favorite place to go hang out if I had time to kill in Shinjuku) - I think they're up in the observation deck, too?? The layers of nostalgia for me... it hits hard...

SPEAKING OF HITTING HARD I love that they gave Kaori her mallet!!! YES. (And they made up a cosplay event for it, where there was a tiny bit of T&A - but where the cosplayers themselves were making sure they looked as good as possible, showing off their assets!)

This is art to me.

Saeba Ryo. Stallion of Shinjuku. Blocking creepy otaku and audience alike from getting panty shots while not peeking under her skirt and also the horse head is his penis and...

This will take some processing. (While I giggle.)

THE most City Hunter shot of the entire movie. The crosshairs! Ryo shoving someone (Kaori) out of the way of a bullet! The bullet grazing his arm!! SHOOTING BACK AT THE SNIPER. Everything. Everything is perfect.

I am looking...respectfully...?

Their poses, the city... this whole scene felt like watching the manga come to life. Kaori needs a hug and Ryo hasn't gotten to the point where he can do "emotional support" in any other way than "revenge". Ahhhh the angst.

The movie's fights are so much fun to watch, because they have Ryo being a superhero with a gun (or: several guns), and then Kaori running around terrified but also so determined to actually fight. She shoves things on people! She hits that one guy with a pipe!! I love her so much.

IT'S THEM

FEELS ARE HAPPENING

(Ryo still doesn't do "hugging", but at least he's letting Kaori sob on him this time?)

Yes shooting a guy with an upside down revolver pointing behind you is exactly what I want from City Hunter, thank you! (Also the intensity Suzuki Ryohei brings out for Ryo's protective streak... It's so good...)

I just know that I am missing a ton of Easter eggs...! (I would be surprised if the framed drawing of a revolver isn't Hojo Tsukasa's art, though.)

And here we go! Now they're roommates! Kaori has her mallet! And her 80s manga outfit...! Aaah!!!!

Though they both wear shoes indoors which... I suppose even though they live there, the building isn't..."home"-coded? (I mean having that much real estate in the center of Shinjuku actually requires more suspension of disbelief than the gun magic...).

Anyway: it's THEM!

Sequel when? I really, really want one. They did such a fabulous job with this story, I want to see them do more!!

[skaruresonic]

What the fuck do neurotypicals smoke in order to reach the conclusions they reach? As an autistic person myself, even I know not everyone under the autistic spectrum is gonna enjoy Sonic. I've seen autistics like Pokémon, mainly for the cute monster designs, the number games with battling, and so on and so forth. And I've seen autistics like Pikmin for similar or different reasons.

When you meet an autistic person, you just met one autistic person. Autistics aren't a conglomerate of people, they're just average people who have a rough understanding of social cues.

tfw other video games don't exist

Honestly, Sonic is the outlier among my interests. The others are much darker by comparison, and despite their own occasional moments of silliness, don't share the same aesthetics or narrative tone at all.

Pyramid Head kart racing. PYRAMID HEAD KART RACING.

For some reason, outside of maybe Paper Mario, I find it difficult to get into similar colorful mascot games. Sonic fills that need for childish joy too well to permit anything else in, I guess, lol.

also, as I read that ask, I kept thinking "yeah, you probably don't mean the Deadly Gang brand of neurodivergence, we just get called stupid" lmao

Been seeing "Sonic appeals to neurodivergent people" takes float around recently - though it's not a new idea by any stretch of the imagination - and, well. I don't want to step on anyone's toes since I'm not autistic myself (as far as I know; strongly suspect ADD though), but isn't it equally reductive to say you must belong to a certain demographic in order to have good takes?

You don't need a PhD or a diagnosis to have accurate takes on the series. All you need is to have paid attention to the games. That is literally the only "barrier" to entry. The bar resides in hell, and yet folks continue to cha-cha slide right under it. Two hops this time.

Besides, they always mean a certain kind of palatable neurodivergence, not the kind of brain spiciness that causes you to "over"analyze the games and gets you branded an extreme game purist.

Because deep down, liking Sonic in the "wrong" way is still weird to these people. You can't be into Sonic NSFW, you're ~lewding minors~. You can't be so attached to the games that you prefer that other media follow suit, you need to make concessions. You need to espouse the "correct" opinions, and those opinions had better be transformative, lest you be considered a stick-in-the-mud who hates fun.

And it's really ironic too, because it's like well what did you expect, this is a Chili's and I'm still waiting for my shrimp tacos a place where people who like Sonic express that like. Do you also go to the aquarium and complain that there's too many fish?

[titan-god-helios]

can we stop using euphemisms to describe fat bodies please. "cuddly body" just say fat. "chubby" just say fat. "teddy bear-like" just say fat. "heavy" just say fat. "big-boned" just say fat. "well-fed" just say fat. "large" just say fat. "shorter than their weight" just say fat. "they've got a bit of a belly" just say fat. "lean challenged" (yes this is a thing i have seen used) JUST SAY FAT.

the more we use euphemisms to describe fat people and fat bodies, the more taboo being fat becomes and the more stigmatised it becomes. the use of euphemisms and dancing around saying plainly and simply that i was (and still am) fat harmed my relationship to my body so much in the past. i started to see the descriptor 'fat' as a morally and generally bad thing to be, when it really is just a descriptor with no moral weight or inherent goodness/badness.

and adding on to that, fatphobia in general doesn't make sense to me. it's the same basic principle of all discrimination - ostracise someone for something they can't control. discrimination by extension ALSO just doesn't make sense to me. if i was to put it into the context of something everyone can see as normal regardless of race or heritage or orientation or weight or whatever, like for example having brown hair, it just sounds silly. imagine living in a world where people treated people with darker hair like they treat fat people.

"look at her hair! it's so dark, she's let herself go." "oh my goodness his hair's almost black - he'll die any time soon, surely." "ugh my hair looks too dark today, i wish i could make it lighter, its so disgusting like this." "wow! his hair's so dark, i bet you he's so sad and chronically online lmao." "their hair is so brown, i bet you they have the tiniest dick known to mankind." "you know, you can get that dark shade lighter in two months flat if you really try hard enough - it'll come right off!" "ewwwww that's disgusting - look how dark their hair is. that's so repulsive."

it sounds stupid, no ?? and thats not even touching on people who can't lose weight due to general body type or a medical problem or because it's a side effect of their important medicine or whatever it is. personally, i've been fat as a relatively young kid all the way till now, and that's WITH me doing a shit ton of sports as a kid and eating well too, as well as relatively regular exercise and still eating well now. i don't lose weight easily, and i'm tempted to say that i *can't* lose weight. and as long as i'm healthy, i don't actually care too much about that. because being fat is just a natural state of the self for me, and for many others. i don't need to "fix" it, because being fat does NOT indicate me or anyone else being unhealthy (unless its sudden and there have been 0 changes to your lifestyle recently, then of course go see a doctor about it but otherwise a person's weight is in no way an indicator of their actual health) and that's that.

anyway fat isnt a bad word destigmatise the word fat please weight does NOT equal to or indicate health in the slightest stop targeting fat men and calling them incels or chronically online or making small-dick jokes - it not only hurts the fat guys themselves but (fat) trans guys and intersex people too and stop being mean to fat people

[inchidentally]

(not gonna post the link you sent bc I don't wanna tread on other people's stuff since we're all out here in the tumblr wild to talk about these rich men and their problematic silly sport in any way we want to. I'll reply with my thoughts but remember that they're my own and I am NOT telling someone else how to feel)

okay so fully removing the ship lenses and assuming they're not wishing any hostility towards Oscar or any future teammate of Lando's at McLaren: holy SHIT no. fuckballs NOOOO.

ok from a purely practical/realism standpoint Carlos will not be taking any steps backward. based purely on Ferrari's overall performance and the fact that Charles is a damn good match as a teammate (hi Singapore) Carlos is exactly where he should be for WDC contention. McLaren are out there competing hard with them and with the Mercs but to see them outpacing those cars would be solely down to the youth and combined competitiveness of Lando and Oscar they've invested in - so still no dice for Carlos in the foreseeable. I'm not F1 smart enough to know how likely it would be that he'd go to RBR but even there I'm not sure how he and Max would work together again with Max's dominance and ummmm Carlos' least favorite thing being following team orders to concede to his teammate. followed by what would become Carlos' first least favorite thing which would be to drive Max's car since development only works one way at RBR. and that's all assuming that Lando stays with McLaren and that Oscar chooses to leave. the first being reasonably likely and the second is too soon to tell. then there's the fact that by that point Lando would not be considered McLaren youth anymore and they'd be highly unlikely to bring on someone even older to partner him. ((add to that the fact that Carlos will never be an Alonso and will definitely get married early in his thirties and move on to different types of racing or maybe even a different field in racing)) Lando will be a Lewis and stick with F1 competitively chasing wins and WDCs (especially if he can outlast Max's boredom threshold) and he won't be interested in nostalgia hires unless they can help him with that goal.

but moving on to the more parasocial fandom side of it…

honestly the biggest surprise to me is seeing people think that they were equals ??? during their season together?? Lando was a tiny baby who has talked about how being partnered with Carlos fed his anxieties and insecurities! he saw this seasoned driver learning the car faster than him, knowing the circuits better than him and speaking to the team with more confidence than him. lbr when his "trophy" was Carlos' champagne while Carlos celebrated his podium, Lando did NOT look completely happy being forced into that celebration (and I seem to recall later on him even ruefully saying "it wasn't my celebration but anyway"). Carlos literally saw Lando as a baby brother and treated him as such but he also had no clue what to do with Lando's darker moods besides try to cheer him up (and sometimes fail).

I am someone who likes to keep the streams of real life and rpf totally crystal clear and separate and I also like to keep the reality of who these drivers are free of anything I imagine about them for fantasy. when Carlos isn't winning or at least happy with his result, he isn't remotely a team player (and with a team like Ferrari it's hard to blame him sometimes lol). I guess for some people? it's easy to think that Carlos would become a totally different driver when on a team with Lando from ~the power of love~… but that would also have to hand-wave when he actually was Lando's teammate. (it would also hand-wave that Carlos and Charles are also good friends and much more flirty and lovey dovey but Carlos still fights against Charles like a beast when he's in the car)

this man is in it to win it. if you called him soft for a teammate or said that the foremost reason he gave Lando DRS in Singapore was for Lando's benefit he would laugh in your face. at no point in the incredibly stressful final laps was Carlos going "aw shucks I hope my lil buddy can be up there with me let me rig this to make it happen" bc by that point in a race they are thinking in nothing but driving binary and /how do I cement my win against all the bastards behind me/. Carlos does NOT revolve even a small part of his racing career around Lando or any other driver. he doesn't even regard much of his team's input (again, probably for the best with Ferrari). even when he gets direct help from Charles following Ferrari strategy (see Singapore) I still can't really recall that he was overly effusive in acknowledging that fact. he's modeled himself much more on the F1 generations of more like two generations back. and why shouldn't he? so I do not get how people can still think that drivers - especially Carlos' type - are remotely friendly with anyone when they're on the circuit. sure they might get even more pissed off at a driver they aren't keen on but literally /everyone/ is their enemy and their own result is their one goal. that's literally their job.

and as Lando says himself, no one in F1 including him wants to beat anyone more than their own teammate. again. how do people think that Lando would take this entire career he's worked so incredibly hard for and make it about a guy he golfs with (in groups, folks) and occasionally goes to dinner with (which he also does with Daniel) and talks to during the drivers parade (he also consistently seeks out Max, George and Yuki) but has a thriving professional and social life that has nothing to do with Carlos? yuk|erre, maxie| and ga|ex are out there doing far more shippy type things than car|ando all the damn time but when have they ever let that affect their desire to win or beat each other??

nothing about little unseasoned raw lamb cutlet Lando with hairy alpha Carlos at McLaren at all resembles what their dynamic would be as teammates. and the fact that Lando is really liking this new feeling of being the superior favored driver bodes horribly for how he'd react to Carlos swinging his huge sexy cojones back into McLaren expecting to be the number one again by age and experience. folks should enjoy getting to see them during the drivers parade and out golfing as non teammates bc the adorable content of 2019 would curdle into something grotesque if they now had to do goofy challenges while slowly learning to hate the sight of each other during briefings as they sought to supplant the other in the standings.

in no way on this or any other earthly planes can I be convinced that having them compete on the same team again would be anything other than a trainwreck and result in them not even speaking for the next 10-15 years.

[cepheusgalaxy]

Meet the wip: The War Of The Human Throne

[ID. Black and white image of a flag ripped to shreds amongst a battlefield. End ID.]

Sinopsis:

Three races have been at war with each other for centuries; each one fighting over nothing but the right to call themselves “the true humans”. There was, however, one small land where the war didn’t touch, the isle of Itarja.

When the isle is attacked, destroying the peaceful lives of the people there, a few dozens of habitants manage to flee, and, among the refugees, a boy sees firsthand the hellscape his world is at the moment, and decides to go on a journey to put an end to the war.

Extra info:

Tags: #twotht wip

Genre: Fantasy

Moodboard:

none yet TvT

About the setting: It’s mostly magicless, and as it is stated in the synopsis, there are three races (perhaps one day there were more) but I wanted to keep all of them pretty close to what we have as humans irl, with only a few silly changes like, “slightly stronger people” and “silver blood”. The point is that they are all equally “human” and whoever reads the story can’t use their irl knowledge to decide who would fit our definition for an actual human. Each of the races is spread around the world and the different countries are divided in what race the country is from. Basically all of the countries of the same race are allies, with a few exceptions here and there. The isle the protag is from managed to stay away from the war only by buying peace; they had an alliance with a powerful country and traded resources from their land with them in exchange for protection, and it had worked out pretty well before an enemy of their allies attacked them. After that, because of the treaty the isle had, their refugees were able to flee to there under some conditions. The worldbulding is pretty nice, because it’s one of my oldest stories that I have actually been working on consistently, but that’s basically it.

Notes section:

i really like this wip, and it started as something like “what if nobody knew the answer to the question of what makes us human and were all fighting about that” and i also want it to be a cautionary tale about dehumanization, sorta

this was also the main source for my whump daydreams back in the day. *sighs dreamily* guess i just like fucked up situations too

Previously used tags: #twotht

Cast: Zaire [protagonist], Miriam, Polaris [supporting characters], Aaliyah [minor antagonist]

Back to WIP Masterpost | OC Masterpost | Writing Masterlist | #twotht wip tag | Meet the ocs of this wip!