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theladysherlock · 2 months ago

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I can't speak to all of it but I CAN speak on how they might approach Holly, because she's my favorite and I want her done right.

Before I go into what I think they could do, we gotta go over the deviations they're going to make.

1. She can't show up when Lucy is visiting her family. Show!Lucy is a runaway, she's not going to willingly go back for a quick visit. Book!Lucy went to see her biological family and then returned to her Real Family at 35 Portland Row and found another girl in her place (using HER favorite dishware and eating HER favorite treats), which is why that hurt so much. We won't have that theme here.

2. The cleaning thing. Show!35 Portland Row is in good condition, and as you pointed out, George cleans when he's stressed. The house is fine. There needs to be something else.

3. The internalized misogyny (hopefully). We've seen Show!Lucy's relationship with Norrie, we know she is capable of being friends with other girls. She's also more cordial to Kat. Book!Lucy didn't have any other female friends that we got to see.

So if we're going to add her in, there are a few things that need to stay the same to keep the general tone.

1. Holly's arrival has to upset Lucy. While I would like to say it makes Lucy feel like she's been replaced, I don't know that we can do that in the current Show climate. However! We could still have Lucy leave to visit Norrie in the hospital. While she's still a bit raw after seeing her best friend in such a state (maybe she was hoping if Norrie recovered she could join Lucy at Lockwood & Co.), she arrives to find that the boys have hired a DIFFERENT girl who is so different from Norrie that it upsets Lucy in a way that is hard for her to articulate.

2. Holly has to fill a logistical niche in the company. Part of why she annoys Lucy so much is that she's not a field worker, so she has to remain someone who doesn't go out on cases.

With all that in mind, here are my suggestions for how they could include Holly in theoretical future seasons:

Option One: DEPRAC Requirement

Show!Barnes is much more invested in keeping these kids alive than Book!Barnes was, at least as far as we saw from Lucy's POV. It's not unreasonable that Barnes could request an audit on their files or something. Maybe before they fail the inspection, Lockwood hires Holly as a temp to whip things into shape and Lucy is annoyed at "Just a Temp" poking into all her stuff. Maybe after they fail the inspection, Barnes insists they hire someone and recommends Holly (he would also be keeping track of her team and would know she needs some way to get back on her feet after her whole team died), and Lucy is CERTAIN that she's a DEPRAC spy reporting back to Barnes. Then, when the boys seem to like her and aren't suspicious the way she is, we can still get that moment where she feels like they're shutting her out.

Option Two: PR Person

Maybe Lockwood has gone and run his mouth on television one too many times, or maybe he's promised things they simply can't deliver on. Maybe he's getting them dangerously close to getting in trouble with DEPRAC again and he admits that maybe he doesn't need to be the face as much and they can have someone else there. They hire Holly to do a very similar job in the books: answering calls, keeping track of cases, basically she is the first person that people see when they walk into 35 Portland Row. However, and this is the part that rubs Lucy the wrong way, Holly is ALSO the press correspondent, and is frequently on television taking credit for jobs she wasn't even there for. Lucy would expect Lockwood to take her side in this, since he hates not being in the spotlight, but when he admits freely that Holly's doing a good job and she's an important part of the team it just pisses her off more.

And, as a final note, I would really want them to keep the fact that Holly's whole team died just like Lucy's. The show didn't include that tidbit with Flo, and I think the characterization suffers for it. The three girls are more alike than they are different and it highlights how terrible this world is for them. And I want Show!Lucy to lash out and say that Holly's a coward for not being able to go back into the field. It's cruel and unfair and it's not as though Show!Lucy hasn't lashed out at people before (but in my opinion she hasn't done it nearly enough!!! Let her be mean!!!)

there's one major thing that's been nagging on me about l&co adaptation ever since my first watch: if we were to get season 2, how would they set up the conflict of THB?

i can get behind some of reinterpretation of characters and their mannerisms, character traits (i.e. Lockwood dressing less formal and not being a know-it-all, Lucy being less hateful towards George, seeing Kipps as he's actively losing his talent, George Karim being iranian and being very close to his culture in a form of cuisine), some are good, as a fan of books i'd be eager to get to know these characters along side their book counterparts.

but alas, i can't see these characters as the same characters in both medias because too much of their characterisation was changed, and it's really hard to blame on pacing or the lack of screen time. it's the writing. some changes going as far as making me question, what were they supposed to do with this groundwork in the second season.

how would runners set up a conflict of L&Co overworking themselves after gaining fame over solving the bone glass case and accepting all calls they were getting, if show!Lockwood out right says in episode 4 that he's not interested in boring cases? not only does it get rid off of a major characterisation of Lockwood as someone who's, yes, in it for fame, but most importantly he became an agent to "avenge" his family. avenge isn't even the right word, i think. he doesn't want others to be fallen victims to a visitor, doesn't want to see other people lose their loved ones, lose their family to ghosts. not only does it make show!Lockwood rather vain and only fame driven, instead of someone dealing with deep personal trauma, but also loses one of the key points of Holly's introduction to the team. (i also love the reading of LW naming his agency Lockwood&Co as something less selfish and more about him paying a tribute to his family, that without them and visitors taking them away from him, he wouldn't start his agency and wouldn't be able to help other people.)

speaking of Holly's introduction, what exactly would have been her role at the start in the show? L&Co don't seem overworked from the 4 cases they had (2 related to TSS out of 4 in the book, Wimbledon gallows + Bickerstaff's, not counting Wilberforce's ghost and a bunch of not mentioned in dialogue cases i. e. Mrs Barrett's tomb). that already solves the problem of trio not having free time to do chores around the house. but say show says "and now they're overworked" instead of showing, sure, but it doesn't get rid of George's stress cleaning habit.

Holly was introduced as a help, as a support to the way L&Co was already running and over the books she became more than just an assistant but a beloved part of the team. without proper reasoning as to why Lockwood & Co had to get an assistant, Holly's introduction could be messy and unprompted, something like checking a box in the list of what has to happen instead of making it story driven. something like what happened to skull's character.

and a final thing that im iffy about is the ending of the first season. somehow show rushed through and speedran Lockwood's suicidal arc as well as managed to call it out by the end of show's TWS storyline, where books didn't show any progress even by the end of TEG.

but im saying call it out, not resolve. i'd actually appreciate it if show made an effort of showing that such tendencies and lack of self-preservation aren't just resolved in a second, someone saying "stop being suicidal" doesn't magically fix everything. and yet, show still speedran things, especially given that events of the show happen in only 10 days instead of a year, and Lockwood's already made very aware of his reckless behaviour aka throwing himself in danger for people, and, what's even more questionable, for people he barely knows. which, again, contradicts his character and the way he navigates trauma.

these character and plot deviations and inconsistencies may not seem critical at first, but they might build over the course of the series and lead to a complete shift in overall narrative and spirit of L&Co as a story. which i wouldn't want to see as a fan.

to put it simply, i can see why fans want for show to be picked up for a second season, but i can't see how writers could make it coherent because they wrote themselves into a corner.

#long post #beloved ghost nerds #phew that was a lot of yapping #I just. I love Holly Munro a lot

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necromancy-enthusiast · 4 years ago

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Something I've noticed with the Zelda series is that for almost every major Nintendo home console, two big Zeldas get released. The first one is subject to very little debate and becomes one of the 'flagship' games of the series. It sets the precedent. It's 'one of the good ones', 'what all Zeldas that come after it should aspire to be'. This includes Zelda 1, A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess, and Breath of the Wild.

Then the second one comes out a few years later. A lot of people hate on it *basically* for daring to deviate from the first one and trying to do something new. Like, you know, any decent video game series should aim for as it progresses so it doesn't stagnate? These games certainly have their fans, but they're labelled as 'divisive', 'a flawed experiment', or 'weird and niche' at best, and 'one of the bad ones' at worst. This group includes Zelda 2, Link's Awakening, Majora's Mask, and Skyward Sword.

Wind Waker is a bit of an outlier because it was the only mainline single player Zelda developed specifically for the gamecube. It's often either overlooked or treated as inferior largely for being different, so I'll put it in with the latter group. (The four swords games and triforce heroes are kinda hard to classify for various reasons but they've always felt more like spinoffs to me, and they're multiplayer whereas most Zeldas are single player, so I think I'll put them with the general spin-off group like Hyrule Warriors, Link's Crossbow Training, and Cadence of Hyrule. We don't talk about the cd-i Zeldas on this blog.)

This all happens nearly like clockwork (haha, get it, the clock tower from Majora's Ma-), and frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if it happened with Breath of the Wild 2, especially since it's gotten so much hype and so much tension is being built by the long silence from Nintendo about its development. Nintendo certainly isn't setting it up to fail, but I'm afraid it'll fall prey to that pre-established pattern.

Botw is now 'a flagship title', one of 'the good ones', 'what every Zelda that comes after it should aspire to be', and botw2 is going to be held up against it, probably even after it gets a more official title and even if it gets released on a later console. Just like Zelda 2, Link's Awakening, Majora's Mask, Skyward Sword, and to a different extent, Wind Waker are. And a lot of Zelda fans (the obnoxious gamer bros, mostly) only *really* like change when it's relatively predictable and comes at a slow, fixed rate. If you veer too far off course too quickly, your game is now 'one of the divisive ones', meanwhile the earlier game for the same home console gets to be judged more on its own merit because it was the standard setter.

Maybe botw2 will break the curse, and if it does then I hope it's because fans are more receptive to change then it being extremely similar to botw and thus a safe bet. I'm not gonna hold my breath though (haha, get it, Breath of the Wi-)

And lol who cares about the Zeldas developed for handheld consoles, amirite or amirite? It's not like they consistently bring something new and interesting to the table and tend to get unfairly overlooked regardless of how fun and innovative they may be. Like remember how Spirit Tracks lets you actually play as Zelda (albeit as a ghost inhabiting a suit of armor) and she spends the whole quest working with Link actively instead of from the shadows or in some other vague, mostly off-screen way? Yeahhh well too bad, because it's not only handheld, but is in the toon Link vein, so it's barely brought up.

And Wind Waker is a home console game, but it gave more depth to Ganondorf than any other entry I've played. Not *a lot*, but enough to make you maybe sympathize for him a bit and wonder what else he has going on. It could easily be a starting point for Ganondorf being so much more than just the big bad that gets reincarnated every now and then because uh... He's eeeevil and power hungry. Buuuut it's also a toon Link game that went in a lot of new directions, so again, you don't hear about it a ton.

Anyway, I've played most of the Zeldas both mainline and spin-off (from the Zelda wiki about the series that lists all the games, I count 17 I've played, most to completion) and I've enjoyed all but 3 of them; Four Swords, Phantom Hourglass, and Breath of the Wild (blasphemy, I know). But even those 3 I certainly didn't hate, I just didn't like them. Zelda is one of the most consistently qualitative video game series there are, and yet so many Hardcore Gamer Bros frequently treat a notable number of Zelda titles like garbage, and they're the loudest subset of the Zelda fandom, so a lot of people treat their opinion as fandom consensus or common sentiment.

Tl;dr I'm being salty about Zelda again.

#oracle of ages for the gameboy color is my favorite zelda because I'm One of Those People

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shrinkthisviolet · 4 years ago

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Author Interview Tag!

Tagged by @maipreciation, thanks for thinking of me! This looks really fun :D

(Note: I’m keeping this as a running list, so if you’re ever wondering what fics im working on/brainstorming, make sure to check here! Last update was on 12/12/2020)

Name: Lavi! As of 12/5, I’m no longer going by my real name (see this post)

Fandoms: so many 😂 check my bio, I think I have them all listed. I’ve posted fic for Hamilton and ATLA, and then there was a huge Inktober compilation I posted last year with a whole host of fandoms. Currently, my major fandom is ATLA, and probably Kipo as I’m starting to move through S1

Where you post: I have an AO3 (lavi0123)! I used to have an FFN and a Wattpad, but I don’t use either of those anymore :/ tbh, I’m embarrassed of anything I still have up there 😂

Most popular one-shot: Most definitely we’ll give the world to you (and you’ll blow us all away), one of my contributions to Maiko Week! I’m not surprised it’s an ATLA fic, but I find it interesting that a fic with Izumi in it blew up so quickly. But hey, if y’all want more Izumi content, you won’t be disappointed 😉

Most popular multi-chapter fic: ...I’m really embarrassed to say because I don’t think I’ll ever finish it...but En Hamilton Heights is the only multichap fic I’ve published so it’s gotta be that one 😂 hopefully soon I’ll have another fic to add to that, since I’m working on one (sorry EHH fans but it’s been too long and tbh I don’t remember where I was going with it :/ I’m thinking I might orphan it)

Favorite story you’ve written so far: you think this world is a dream come true (but you’re wrong) for sure! It’s super niche but it’s something I wrote out of love for a movie I discovered this Halloween and absolutely love. Though all you’ve got to do is want something (and then let yourself have it) is a close second. Basically, anything I write that sounds absolutely bonkers as a concept is one that I love 😂 (and it’s no coincidence that both fics are Mai-centric! I love all my Mai-centric fics nearly equally)

Fic you were nervous to post: Is there an “all of the above” option? 😂 I’m always nervous to post. But in particular, I was nervous for if you ran away (come back home), because it was Mai-centric and longer than any one-shot I’d written thus far, and also you think this world is a dream come true (but you’re wrong), because it’s Mai-centric and a Coraline AU, which makes it BONKERS as an idea

Why was I nervous to post Mai-centric fics, you ask? Two reasons: 1) Mai is very different from who I am as a person (I vibe a lot more with Aang and Ty Lee, sometimes Katara and Sokka), so I didn’t want to upset the Mai stans by writing her incorrectly. 2) Mai is generally not well-liked in the fandom at large, so I especially didn’t want to attract antis who would accuse me of writing Mai as too emotional and loving (which is why I tried to justify that in my tags). Luckily, my comments have all been lovely, and I’m far less afraid to post fics about her now that I’ve written three fics with her as the focus! And the shoutout from @nonbinary-crafter-aang praising my portrayal of her?? I was touched 🥺 still am

How you choose your titles: Song lyrics or movie/book lines that speak to me, occasionally a pun. Remember that post I rb’d about how authors title their works? My tags pretty much say it all 😂

Do you outline: Ehh...define outlining 😂 for my one-shots, nope. But for my upcoming multichap works (see below) and Nanowrimo work (original fiction, so I won’t talk about it on here, but send an ask if you’re curious), YES ABSOLUTELY!

For my Nanowrimo work and one of my upcoming AUs (a Soulmate AU), the worldbuilding is so complex that it’s an absolute necessity. For the other upcoming AU (a time travel AU), there are just too many things that need to happen at certain times so as not to interfere with canon events, and things I want to change from canon and things I want to keep...I think you get the idea 😂

Complete: Basically my entire maiko halloweek series! Check it out if you want some fics about the most underrated canon ATLA couple :)

In-progress: ...En Hamilton Heights again...but not for long, sadly. Still trying to decide between a quick conclusion and just flat-out orphaning it. Still haven’t made up my mind, but either way, it won’t be what I originally planned, unfortunately.

I’m also counting my ATLA Soulmate AU on the basis of forever in my mind (only you), which has the worldbuilding and fits into the AU without much problem (the AU is going to be a series of one-shots, not a multichap fic, because there won’t be enough deviations from canon imo to justify multiple chapters. And one-shots are just less pressure for me 😂)

[EDIT 12/12/2020: added another fic because I’m an idiot and forgot about this too 🤦‍♀️😂 it’s a year-old idea that I started writing but I’m picking it back up thanks to the Heist banter in MatPat’s St Jude stream!]

-A fic series combining Escape the Night and Who Killed Markiplier (Heist and Date are part of it too, but only tangentially at the moment. Depends on how involved I want DA Y/N to be). Tentatively titled A Heavy Cost, and definitely won’t happen in any of Mark’s projects, but in a way that’s actually for the best 😂 the canonicity for me stops at ETN S3 (with some S4), then it’s canon divergence

Coming soon/not yet started: OOOH YESSS HERE WE GO

Okay okay sooo we’ve got two main things:

–An ATLA Soulmate AU, featuring platonic and romantic soulmates! I know I called it in-progress, and I stand by that even though I haven’t actually set up the series on AO3 yet, but this AU is about to be SO MUCH MORE than just a few Maiko moments. Because...drum roll...it’s gonna be entirely Aang-centric (with maybe one or two exceptions)! Like Mai, Aang is a character that doesn’t get as many -centric fics as he should (and being an Aang stan also isn’t unanimous for some reason??), so I’m gonna fix that. Plus I want to dive further into his mind, and I think I’m more equipped to do that than I was with Mai, since Aang and I are very similar in attitude.

–Bumizumi time travel AU, which can be read as platonic until the last couple chapters (it’ll be multichap) but definitely has a romantic agenda throughout. So just. Be warned if you don’t ship them. It’s gonna be chock full of comedy and antics! Also A LOT of platonic affection between Izumi and teen Zuko (and just between Izumi, Bumi, and the Gaang in general), because platonic affection is underrated and also I can :D I’m also probably gonna make fun of how some elements of affection have become solely romantic territory, because...um, no, hugging and holding hands and cuddling can be done between friends, thanks! (Maybe it’s the ace in me talking. But regardless)

There are also vague concepts I’m spitballing, like:

-Zukaang telepathy AU (Platonic Zukaang, the only romance I’ll ever write in ATLA is for the canon ships, prompted by a dream because apparently ATLA lives in my head rent-free forever now 😂)

-Evil Zuko AU (Azula doesn’t exist, mostly prompted after watching Aang make fun of Zhao and realizing that if Zuko had been in any position of power during the War...the Gaang would have stood no chance at all)

-Bumizumi Arranged Marriage AU (Bumi and Izumi both think the other is hotheaded/reckless (Izumi @ Bumi) or uptight (Bumi @ Izumi). So Kataang and Maiko (along with Sukka, Ty Lee, and Toph because...duh) set them up in an arranged marriage, with the presented reasoning being that they already know each other’s families, it’ll be a great symbol of unity, and this way Izumi doesn’t have to worry about suitors. They both agree to it (it’s arranged, not forced), and over time, they warm up to each other...and maybe even...fall in love?? Prompted because we need more arranged marriage fics! On that note, I’m gonna plug shadows and steel by @dearestpartnerofgreatness because arranged marriage needs more rep and this fic does it and with Maiko to boot!)

-Zukaang as Brothers AU (I saw a fic about this, but it wasn’t complete. If it’s not done by the time I get to this concept, I’m gonna write it, because just...imagine the possibilities! Zuko and Aang are already basically brothers in canon anyway, this is just making them brothers in blood as well as in their hearts. This is especially vague because I have no concept of how this is gonna work 🤷‍♀️ I’ll get to it eventually)

(Can you tell I’m obsessed with Zuko and Aang’s friendship? Because I am!)

[EDIT 11/25/2020: I’m adding two more because I forgot these have been swirling around in my head too 😂]

-A fix-it fic based on May You Always Be Satisfied, a backstory fic for Who Killed Markiplier by @blackaquokat! I recently reread it and remembered that I was gonna write a fix-it for that fic. Not because the fic sucks, it’s actually amazing! I’m just a sucker for the main (requited unrequited) pairing, and there’s at least five ways to make that pairing canon and avoid the mess of Who Killed Markiplier. And THEY ALL DESERVE TO BE HAPPY OKAY

-A Finnrey fix-it for the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy (this one is especially vague, and I probably won’t write it since a bunch of these already exist, but it’s fun to think about. Maybe if I ever run out of WIPs 🤷‍♀️)

Upcoming story that you’re most excited to write: I’m equally excited for the Soulmate AU and the Bumizumi Time Travel AU! I’m also excited for my Nanowrimo work to be finished, but that’s more so in-progress than upcoming

Tagging:

@nonbinary-crafter-aang @dearestpartnerofgreatness @ohsalamanders @blackaquokat (no pressure ofc, only if you want to! But please tag me if you do, I’d love to see it!)

#avatar the last airbender #atla #hamilton #maipreciation #thank you for the tag!#this was really fun :)#writing tag game #fanfic tag game #atla tag game #who killed markiplier #wkm #escape the night #etn

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scheelelillies · 7 years ago

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@bnha-mirrors Zine Preview: IzuOcha Angst Illustrated by @rolierose, edited by Ryxmas, written as a companion to @minaaashido’s work!

Summary: A hero’s smile is worth a thousand more from fans and friends alike; but the price of those thousands is wrapped in guarded secrets, ebbing away at their own. Even beneath the canopy of sakuras in which all the world is right, it’s not easy to forget the sounds of their failures coming from the hollow metal artifact in the loneliness of the night:

Click, click, click.

First 1,000 Words:

“What are you, a shell-less snail?!”

Brushing off the illogical inflammatory taunt, Deku pursued his target around a sharp corner into a park. For a band of mish-mashed thieves, they were surprisingly efficient at using their quirks in tandem: one hardening, one water-creation, one with voice-projection, and a fourth with an intriguing place-swapping ability.

A snappy craaack! confirmed his suspicions as the loud bearded man was suddenly a boisterous lizard with hardened scales.

“You ain’t gonna catch me, hero!”

He really wanted to study that place-swapping quirk later.

“Maybe you should consider a career change if you don’t want chased!” Deku shouted, cracking his knuckles. Good, the park was mostly empty: maybe he could end the chase here. But he noticed as he turned yet another corner that he had lost immediate line-of-sight. Where—?

Ochako’s voice hollered through his headset. “[Behind!]”

“What—?” Deku jolted back, spinning with wide arms as someone tried to spring onto him from a tree.

THWWWWAAACK! His elbow caught the lizard villain’s face with his armored elbow with far more force than Deku meant to.

Oops.

“Got him!” He chuckled nervously as he caught the semi-conscious man before he fell entirely, offering a quick apology as he removed the stolen wares away from the lizard’s reach. “Sorry about the face.”

“It’s just like you to apologize to a criminal.” Ochako ran towards him, tugging along her own floating, obscenity-yelling prisoner.

“Did we catch all four?”

“Shouto’s got the other two back at the entrance.” She fumbled with her headset, repeating herself to confirm their success with their office. “Iida, could you send the police? We’ve got them locked down.”

“[Will do! Good work, team!]”

“Why didn’t Iida join the chase? This is his niche.” Deku whined, but he knew the answer: it was Tenya’s turn to sit tight at their firm and act as commander. He didn’t mind the running in of itself: it was refreshing compared to his regular calls of “please break open X, Y, and Z”.

His report to the quick-to-arrive officers went well, though one frowned while scribbling notes.

“Didn’t that hurt?”

Deku blinked. “I’m sorry?”

The officer poked Deku’s arm with the butt of a pen. “You punched the apprehended suspect with your elbow. Doesn’t your quirk work better with your fists?”

“Ah! Umm … I guess it hurts a little?” He supposed, grabbing at his elbow as he bowed forward in embarrassment. “I did it without properly processing the situation, but I’m fine—really.”

It took half a minute for the officer’s suspicions to be filed somewhere under ‘that’s a Pro-Hero for you, I guess’. The officer gave a sigh and a shrug. “Thank you for your services today, Deku!”

Deku, freed from his obligations, impatiently paced himself down the brick-patterned walkway, waving to Ochako when he caught her watching. She strained to return the gesture. Shouto too, as he was caught up in the arduous task of defrosting the other perpetrators for apprehension. Deku didn’t mind the waiting; he used this moment to observe the park they ended the chase in.

The impassioned scent of burgeoning love in a gratuitous season for sakuras wafted into their lungs with every breath. Thick, wiry umber branches lacking the limitations of individuality twisted together into an unrefined canopy, curtained with bounteous pink blossoms tinted with pearly sun-kissed creams and under-bellied lavenders, perforated only slightly by the cerulean sky above: this beauteous spring, under an otherworldly awning befitting of only the utmost of renewed beginnings, shaped the backdrop for the cameras of approaching reporters.

Though breathtaking, his attention never fully strayed from his companions. He wouldn’t have the chance to talk once the reporters snaked in. So, the moment the police led the last two offenders off-site, Deku clapped a hand on Shouto’s shoulder, the inner fanboy freely leaking out.

“Shouto! It’s been a while!” Deku exclaimed in delight. “I don’t get to see you that often anymore, what with your office all the way in the third district!”

The stoic friend bowed his head so the media couldn’t notice his slight of smile. “Then we should chase cross-town criminals more often.”

Deku’s passionate babble persisted as they tried to catch up on all they had missed since—the Ugware incident last month! Had it been that long? Forty-two days, eighteen hours, and twenty-seven minutes since he last spoke to Shouto.

Far too long.

Ochako walked over to join their conversation moments before the reporters wheedled their way up front. She no longer sported the skin-tight suit of her early debut years; though freeing, it did little to protect her from falls during quirk releases, and did even less when she got injured. She retained the pink-on-black space theme, but much like Thirteen (one of her heroic inspirations), she steered towards reinforced padding.

Shouto, clad in a new wine-red ensemble as a step towards unspoken reparations, addressed the reporters’ inquiries with a soft monologue. He had mellowed outside of high school, though he continued to err on the socialize-as-needed basis.

Between them stood Deku: a little taller, a little wider, and a slightly bit harrier. Compared to the heroes flanking his sides, he was hardly indistinguishable from his debut: a black-bands-on-green pattern, a metallic visor, armored black boots and white gloves, and a red belt with various first-aid pouches—all indicative of an ingrained reluctance to deviate from his origin. Other heroes changed with the seasons of their careers, but he endured as a formidable evergreen among deciduous peers. An exemplary malachite icon armored from change, exceptionally conspicuous in a realm brimming with blossoms.

Deku, ever the sore thumb, cast the most notable smile of them all. His right arm twitched incrementally with an audible click, click, click.

The erratic motion caught Ochako’s eye. A fleeting moment of buckshot dread faltered her earnest grin, only brief enough to escape outside attention. She side-stepped closer to Deku’s right, raising her hand to grab at his own to obscure it from immediate sight.

This is going to be a kick-ass zine, seriously. Go look at the previews. Pre-Orders open April 28th!

#bnha zine #izuocha #midoriya izuku #uraraka ochako #fanfiction

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cosmicsnowcryptid · 7 years ago

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The Egos in Markiplier TV, and Why We Should Be Worried: A Theory

Obligatory disclaimer: This is a long ride, so buckle up and keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times.

Mark was very clear that the egos who were invited to the meeting in Markiplier TV were chosen for a reason. Some of the choices seem a little... odd, though, don’t they? Wilford and Dark make sense, but Ed Edgar? Silver Shep? If you recall, Mark couldn’t even remember who Bim Trimmer was, and asked fans in a live stream if they could remember what video he was in. So it’s clearly not about fan favorites, nor is it about Mark’s favorites. It must, therefore, be about the talents and abilities of the characters, and not the characters themselves.

They each serve a very specific purpose for either Dark or Wilford.

We know Dark and Will are the leaders here. Look at this exchange between @markiplier and @fear-is-nameless:

Dark and Wilford are equally matched in both power and stature, but they share one common goal: control. This is what the meeting was all about in the first place. Dark says as much when addressing the problems with Will’s idea: the fundamental issue is, “how is this supposed to help us take back control?” and then, later, he says, “I think you’re missing the point of this endeavor.” These phrases indicate that the entire purpose of the meeting was to discuss the issue of control. This leads back into the original question: what was the purpose of the other egos being there, then? Why were they invited? The answer is actually quite simple:

Dark and Wilford have different ideas of what “taking back control” really means, and they each brought the most powerful associates they have to help them in regards to their own interpretations.

Take a look at the table.

The seating arrangement here is no accident. In fact, the order is very specific: For both Dark and Will, their literal “right hand man” is the most important to them, followed by the one on the left. The second person on their right-hand side is more of an outside consultant, one that could potentially see the more niche problems that could arise in their plan.

Dark wants control of the audience, and the way to accomplish this is through the channel. Wilford wants control of the channel, and the way to accomplish this is through the audience.

This is why they chose vastly different types of people to bring with them.

Dark wants to be adored. He wants to have millions under his thumb, hanging on his every word, helpless to his influence. The channel, for him, is a means to an end. It’s just a way to get to us. The egos he brings with him are there because, collectively, he can use their skills to aid him in controlling us.

Dark’s resources focus on knowledge.

With The Host on his right and Google on his left, Dark has the ability to know the past, present, and future. This is crucial for him, as the way he gains control is by social and emotional manipulation. He already knows how to get into our heads, but recruiting these two brings him to the next level. With Google, he can learn any information he may need, and with the Host, he can know what the reaction will be when he uses that information. (This is based on the fact that the Host can narrate events faster than they happen, but does not seem to have any control over them, meaning he must simply be predicting them.)

His outside consultant is the doctor. He is not “on Dark’s side” and has no strong loyalty to one over the other, which is why he has no problem expressing his approval of Markiplier TV (nor did he have a problem with participating, as it seems he enjoyed making his little dramatic segment.). He’s there, rather, to give input on his specialty, which is the medical field. Mark has confirmed that Dark isn’t really part of our reality, but he bleeds into it, as is the case with Wilford. Now, Will has a fundamental misunderstanding of how much a person can take. He regularly kills others, but we’ve seen him express confusion and regret over this. When talking to Ethan, he explains that he was stabbing someone, and “I was laughing, and he was laughing, and then he just died.” He also mentions in the “Bubbles” segment that he is haunted by those he killed, and he’s starting to realize that “maybe it wasn’t a misunderstanding” where he was trying to “tickle them with a knife”. He clearly doesn’t have a good grasp on the effects of his actions or why they’re bad. We have every reason to believe that Dark is also unsure of the way that he physically effects others- the difference is that he is aware of his lack of knowledge, which is why the doctor is a valuable presence for him. The doctor, who has both experience with regular people and the egos, can help him toe the line between manipulation and psychological torture, keeping him from pushing his audience too far and achieving the opposite of the desired outcome.

Wilford really, really does not care much about the people. To him, they are the means to an end- the end being control of the channel. Wilford wants to have creative freedom and liberty. To him, the reason his endeavors keep going wrong is because other people are limiting him. We saw his frustration with his crew years ago, during his interview with Phone Guy, and it was evident again during Markiplier TV, when he argues with Kathryn and has his program interrupted by a “technical difficulties” screen. The way he sees it, these people are trying to stifle his creativity. His new tactic is to pander to the audience until he’s famous enough that he gets to call the shots. He sees no reason why this wouldn’t work- no one tries to tell George Lucas he’s wrong anymore, do they? People love him, so he gets to do what he wants. In Will’s eyes, that’s all it takes.

Wilford’s resources focus on entertainment.

His associates may not have powers as strong as Dark’s, but they know how to have a stage presence. Or, at least, Will thinks so. With Bim, he has an ally who knows how to handle non-fiction situations, like game shows (which, as we saw, he really, really needs help with.) Shep, on the other hand, can help him with a more fantastical genre.

His outside consultant is Ed Edgar. While Will doesn’t fully understand what he’s doing wrong, he has to admit that he isn’t as great at winning over people as Dark is. Will’s foolproof thought is this: Trying to make people like him is hard. He’s basically trying to sell himself and his personality to these people. Well, who better to help him with that than someone who actually sells people for a living? Bingo! The choices he makes here really demonstrate how out of touch with reality he is. Well, how out of touch with our reality he is, I should say.

Will’s lack of insight on the situation is made abundantly clear when we find out that he promised television spots to the people he brought with him, and didn’t deliver. This is why even those he brought are upset with his idea. The only one who seems receptive is Dr. Iplier, and only because he’s in it. Will alienates him rather quickly, however, by stealing his catchphrase. It’s safe to say that Dark, the Host, and Google were unaware of exactly what Will’s plan was, since Dark can barely control his rage, and Google mentions that he feels like they deviated from their primary objective. (Notice he says “our” primary objective and not “his”. He’s referring to the collective and not his own.)

This explains why these specific egos were chosen to attend, and why they had such strong reactions. It explains why they sat where they did and what their motivations were. And yes, that’s all well and good, but why does any of this matter?

Well, think about this for a moment: Dark’s methods are more subtle. Just like his choices in allies, his methods are more well thought out, less impulsive, more tightly controlled. Since Will wants the channel, of course he’d shine a spotlight on himself- but Dark wants the people, and to do that, he needs to stick to the shadows. As he learned when he tried to take over Mark’s date in February, it doesn’t work to simply present yourself in full. No, to win their hearts, you have to capture their minds. You have to pique their curiosity, get them interested in the mystery, toy with them. They start to hang on your every word simply to find out if it’s really you. Tell them just enough to draw them in, and keep them oblivious enough that they stay there.

Give them a reason to believe you’re coming back. Give them a reason to believe you’re still there. Give them a reason to wonder if you ever truly left.

We don’t get to see the ending of the meeting. We don’t know what happened after the camera shut off. What we do know is this: there are two heads of the table. One of them just presented their idea.

What about the other?

What was Dark’s plan?

Did it get better reception? Good enough to be put into motion?

And if so,

is it working?

#@ Mark please hire me to write your lore I could make such good stuff #Markiplier #Markiplier egos #Darkiplier #dsgtracktag #Wilford Warfstache #The Host #Googleplier #Headcanon #theory #Bim Trimmer #The Red Man #Youtube #TheOwlAndHerRambles #I have already forgotten all my tags #It got late really fast and I am sleepy and on Nyquil #It is quite possible that this isn't as awesome as I thought it was #Do I put theories in my writing tag too?#Maybe I shouldn't be writing theories if I can't remember how I write theories #But for real @ Mark I could babble so long we could make a backstory the size of the Star Wars Extended Universe #Which I have heard is very large #It... that was supposed to be a good thing #I'm trying to say that there is a lot of room for cool stuff to happen here #And I believe in your ability to make cool stuff #But I also believe in my ability to read too far into your cool stuff and write way too much about it

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elizabethleslie7654 · 6 years ago

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The Death of Principled Conservatism

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In 2016, Donald Trump was running just as much against the Republican Party as he was Hillary Clinton. Throughout the electoral cycle, Trump’s most vocal opposition continually came from his own party, with the Republican Party establishment proving to be one of his biggest obstacles to winning the presidency

In a 2017 tweet, Michael Tracey aptly wrote:

“For all the (fair) complaints about the various unseemly ideological elements which have glommed onto Trump, the most powerful and destructive one has always been the standard-fare GOP. . . In an alternate universe where a more politically-astute Trump didn’t outsource his legislative agenda to the congressional GOP, he might be ‘chiding’ ambivalent conservative senators today to back his promised infrastructure bill. Instead, he brought on establishment chieftains like Priebus and through him deferred almost entirely to Ryan/McConnell in terms of agenda-setting.”

There is a clear-cut schism between the party establishment and the grassroots base. Even the voters recognize this — a 2017 Rasmussen Reports poll indicates that 43% of voters believe the Republican Party is a bigger roadblock for Trump than the Democrats. The poll also found that while 33% of Republican voters felt more aligned with Trump, only 12% felt more aligned to congressional Republicans.

Principled Conservatism

Dogmatic fiscal conservatism first came to prominence during the Reagan presidency. Later, these policies were adopted by some moderate Democrats during the centrist Clinton presidency. Upon the collapse of the Soviet Union, neoliberalism eventually became the mainstream foundation of both parties. Characteristic of fiscal conservatism are supply-side economics tax cuts for the wealthy, free trade deals, economic deregulation, and faith in markets as exemplified by privatization of government services.

The shortcomings of neoliberalism have been ignored, with the burden falling upon the poor, especially poor Whites. The Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street movements were the first major outcries against this status quo, but the movements did not fully come to fruition until the rise of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders respectively. One movement decries government as too corrupt, while the other decries corporations as too corrupt, but perhaps they are both correct—neoliberalism has led to the intertwining of business and government, each working for the other with the single goal of economic growth, no matter who gets left behind.

While the fiscal conservatism of mainstream Republicans has been consistently rejected by voters on the national level, Trump’s protectionist message is far more popular with voters. In order to maintain relevance and continue winning elections, Republicans must explore different avenues. Trump offered them an alternative.

The “America First” Doctrine

Trump breathed new life into the GOP with his “America First” doctrine. This message of economic protectionism is one that resonates with voters beyond the traditional Republican voter base. Republicans have a vital opportunity to expand their electoral coalition and maintain governing power. Winning working-class voters—especially White working-class voters—is crucial to maintaining a majority coalition over the Democrat’s “coalition of the ascendant,” and Trump’s “America First” message is a surefire strategy to secure this voting bloc.

In his inauguration speech, Trump stated, “From this moment on, it’s going to be America first. Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs, will be made to benefit American workers and American families,” a line that resounded with voters. According to Morning Consult, 65% of voters supported that message, including 64% of independents and nearly half of Democrats. Additionally, “About 6 in 10 voters, including 48 percent of Democrats, also said the federal government should be required to follow Trump’s mantra: Buy American and hire American.” Pollsters also found that “Roughly three-fourths (74 percent) of voters with blue-collar jobs had a positive reaction to the ‘America first’ argument, and 87 percent said they thought the federal government should conduct business with those rules.” Furthermore, the poll revealed that during this speech, Trump’s approval rating hit an all-time high of 49%.

Trump’s “America First” slogan is significant because it set him apart from the bland Republicans he ran against. The slogan is also a useful tool because it acts as an ideological lens through which all policies can be scrutinized. For instance, in his Inauguration speech Trump stated that “…a nation exists to serve its citizens”. Later in the speech, Trump said: “Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs, will be made to benefit American workers and American families.”

The Post-Reagan Era

This “America First” view on the role of government deviates from conventional conservatism, which holds the limited government and free market dogma above all else, even when it could cause legislative gridlock or lose elections. Exemplary of this self-defeating mindset are the previous budgetary priorities of Republicans. In past budget plans, Paul Ryan has made the privatization of Social Security a primary objective. Despite his fixation on this goal, Social Security is favored by 85% of Americans according to a 2013 poll conducted by the National Association of Social Insurance.

A new attitude is developing among the collective American ethos. The previous national character, which took hold during the Reagan era, was that of standard conservatism: government gets in the way of solving problems. In recent years, this attitude has seen a sharp decline, as more people begin to believe that maybe the free market isn’t as reliable for solving problems as was previously thought.

The two most significant events contributing to this new attitude among the electorate are the terrorist attacks on 9/11 and the financial crisis a decade later. With both of these events, we saw the public overwhelmingly favor government action to solve the problems, in the form of increased surveillance and financial regulations, respectively. People now believe that government is, in fact, necessary for national security and economic regulation.

Trump embodies this change in attitude by offering an alternative to the same old stale policies proposals voters have heard for decades. Fellow Republican primary candidates who ran on hardline laissez-faire economics just did not receive the degree of popularity as Donald Trump and his populist message. Looking at 2012, when Reaganism culminated into a free market Republican presidential ticket personified by Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, voters on a national level soundly rejected the option. The truth is that public opinion has shifted so far from the attitude of Reaganism that a free market conservative may never be able to win the presidency again.

Rather than opposing bigger government, voters simply want a government that works for them, instead of for a few at the top. More evidence of this fact is revealed in a 2016 FiveThirtyEight/Survey Monkey poll, which found that “more Republicans than Democrats, the survey found, were against free trade, with 47 percent of GOP voters saying it was a bad thing for the economy compared with 28 percent of Democrats who felt the same way.”

Some of the Republicans in Washington opposing Trump seem all too ready to sacrifice their constituents at the altar of unfettered capitalism. The Republican Party needs to make choices: police the world or rebuild at home? The free market or the voters? Israel first or America first?

Conclusion

Donald Trump may be the first non-conservative candidate elected in the modern Republican Party, which is why it is no surprise he also set the record for most Republican primary votes in history. Under President Reagan, the GOP became a definitively conservative party, home to business-minded fiscal conservatives and libertarians. But Reagan is dead. In the post-Reagan era, voters no longer place the same trust in the free market. Reagan once said, “Government is the problem,” and Trump responded, “America First.”

Donald Trump won the presidency precisely because he was not a conservative, and none of the principled conservative candidates running against him would have stood a chance against Hillary Clinton. Fiscal conservatism is a niche ideology; mostly wealthy voters identify as very conservative and fiscal conservatism is difficult to market, especially when trying to expand a party coalition. A principled conservative has not — and will not — win a national election because these neoliberal policies do not have a path to victory in a national election. If American voters had wanted a fiscally conservative president, they would have elected Romney in 2012, or picked Rubio in 2016. But they did not; instead they voted for the billionaire populist and great White savior, Donald J. Trump.

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nicemango-feed · 8 years ago

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Not Oppressed Enough : Being the Wrong kind of Ex-Muslim

For those asking over the past few days, wtf happened to start these mob attacks on me: Well...I'm not entirely sure, because they sort of came out of the blue. There's a general rift in left-leaning atheists and right-leaning atheists. And 'right-leaning' is seen as some sort of slur, when it's just an observation based on the politics coming from some of these types. If you're anti-left on everything, and rarely ever anti-right...it says something. Especially today. This split continues to become more pronounced in these times of the rise of the far right. While lefties are looking to focus some of their criticism there, others are trying to resist and silence that criticism.

Basically a few days ago, some dude I had never heard of, called @FuriousFossa was upset that I tweeted about not knowing what Taqiya was till I got on twitter. Despite growing up in Saudi. Because this didn't confirm his previously held beliefs, what good are ex-muslims if they can't confirm your bullshit views?! Then, someone upset him further by saying that people using that term while criticizing Islam are usually bigots. OMFG the B word!! We have to be extra PC with that word, so as not to upset the delicate sensibilities of the anti-PC, anti-sjw crowd, why can't everyone know that!!

And I'd agree, people insisting on using that word are usually pretty loony...(as was proven in this case). I've got news, Muslims can lie without any special religious permission. Just like any other theist. This isn't a widespread muslim conspiracy to deceive people. It's a niche concept that most aren't even aware of. And I mean, there's just so much actual terrible stuff that is commonly practiced in Islam (polygyny for one) to criticize anyway, there's little reason to cling defensively to obscure things like Taqiya. Here's another ex-muslim perspective on this:

Fossa was also upset I wrote something (to someone else, not him) about how pointing to ISIS is a great whataboutery tactic for apologists of the western right. Just point to ISIS, it'll always be worse, and you're off the hook.

That's it two strikes for me, and he decided he wanted to disprove my entire background and lived experience. This way, you know, once I was totally discredited...at least he'd know I was wrong about the concept of Taqiya, and he was right! Trying to prove me dishonest, after being upset I didn't confirm his views on a dishonesty concept in Islam....almost like...trying to prove me a taqiya-er. How taqiya-esque.

It got me accusations of deflecting away from the obvious point that ISIS is worse (which i'm sure I've said myself roughly about 9465 times. I just don't feel the need to utter it every time... with literally any other criticism of anything other than Islam.

It also got me accusations of trying to deflect from criticism of Islam. Lol.

Yeah. I'm sure it does take a little more than a bio, maybe like years and years of work of criticizing Islam, that are useless now apparently because I also criticize the Western right. These criticisms can't get any less intelligent, honestly.

*** Then...of course, Lalo - always on the lookout for jumping on any criticism of me, Joined in and helped to float the conspiracy theories to a larger audience (who knows why - I've barely interacted with the guy in ages...he's still always infuriated with me). And then Yasmine, who, it seems, had it out for me since we had a private falling out during Gad's last unhinged meltdown at me.

#TheTriggering of @gadsaad http://pic.twitter.com/F2ifbm3UcB

— Armchair Critic (@JoelRDodd) December 2, 2016

Because she, as my friend, publicly tweeted how those attacking me, and me were equally 'embarrassing' or something. I tried to privately discuss it with her, she deleted her tweet I believe, but it was clear she wasn't too sympathetic to the attacks on me because, she tweeted I was equally at fault..and because I criticized Gad/Rubin's far-right associations in the first place. People she clearly considered allies. I was pretty disappointed and put off, but my reaction was not to go out and slander her. I just silently disengaged and went about doing my own thing, which still included criticizing Gad and Rubin's shady associations. Of course, silly me. I didn't learn or keep my mouth shut after the last round of baseless attacks. Lalo even tried circulating the 'she's not a real ex-muslim' thing that time, but I think it got lost in Gad's endless stream of hate.

Then months later, this happened. This time Lalo got more traction. *** The Nitty Gritty Gather round peeps, I’m gonna share a really absurd tale about supposed ex-muslim allies, supposed critics of sjw style 'oppression olympics' and sjw ideological purity tests…but who are now furious because an ex-muslim they disagree with ideologically/politically in their minds was not oppressed ENOUGH.

A fellow ex-muslim, that I have personally promoted, jumped in happily to weigh-in on the drama and attempt to negate my lived experience by claiming I just *dabbled in oppression*, haven’t truly experienced it or anything… My life was like a 5 star resort apparently...and everyone else seems to be a good judge on what kind of life I had in sharia-land.

I wasn’t oppressed enough in Saudi fucking Arabia…This is a *real* objection raised by some, including a fellow ex-Muslim.

Let that sink in.

It's not even by people I actively debate or disagree with…but people I have little to no interaction with. They don’t understand the first thing about life in Saudi, none of them have lived there.. but are telling others far and wide what my life experience was like. They are giddy from having ‘exposed’ me, caught me out in some lie about the duality of life in Saudi Arabia as an expat. They've been working hard for this one.

Oh my.

Whatever will I do now. They’re on to me.

Not like I’ve podcasted about the duality of life in Saudi here, here, here, or here….and not like i’ve specifically addressed this strange juxtaposition in articles myself or anything. I have never claimed to be the most oppressed person in Saudi Arabia, quite the opposite in fact. I have always talked about being lucky to have the kind of life I did there. But, despite that...my life certainly wasn't free from the application of Sharia law, from standard Islamic theocracy regulations, that were just absorbed into my life as 'normal' because I knew little else.

Yet - They have clipped some audio, from *my own show*…that I do *publicly*…to demonstrate how ‘dishonest’ and contradictory i’ve been.

Great question indeed. Maybe try checking out the work of the person you're accusing, your question might be addressed in the very episode you're clipping.

(let me come out and say now that I’ve lived in both Saudi and Pakistan, lest they do some other genius clip about my ‘contradictions’ ..sometimes you will hear me talking about going to school in Saudi, sometimes you will hear me talking about going to school in Pakistan. It’s because both are true… not because I’m a secret spy or Taqiyya-er who can’t keep her lies straight)

This is almost too easy to mock and ridicule, I feel embarrassed for them, I do, and I’d normally just ignore insignificant people.. but they keep going on and on. They keep being told how wrong they are at each turn too. Brutal. But they’ve backed themselves into a corner now… the only thing they can do is double down and lash out at me…Not admit they made a mistake or something, and were wrong to accuse me based on zero evidence. That would be the decent thing to do.

A lovely summary from the detached-from-reality point of view, calling me an insult to women and ex-muslims suffering under sharia, this was posted on lalo's public thread.

I imagine this will only get crazier as their rage grows…because they cannot discredit me based on things I’ve been entirely honest about. Since I'm the wrong kind of ex-muslim, I do not get the charitableness anonymous ex-muslim accounts they don’t have issues with get.

Mostly, people on both ends have an issue with me because I refuse to pick a team. I think criticizing both Islamic far right and western far right is important. And I think in Trumpian times, Its vital to focus *some* of my critique on the western right and its apologists. When that toxic stuff overlaps with criticism of Islam, it does nothing but muddy the waters, and hold back valid criticisms from resonating with the mainstream. ***

Know this:

I do not exist to confirm any narratives.

I occasionally deviate from my appointed role as provider of anti-Islam masturbatory material.

I exist simultaneously as an ex-muslim woman who grew up under Shariah (that’s right I said it again), who will harshly criticize Islam when relevant, as an expat from Saudi who will tell you that in some bubbles life in Saudi was pretty secular at times, and as a *Western* liberal feminist. So I will have critiques of western sexism and misogyny too. And I will speak up against anyone pitting different aspects of my identity against one another. Do not use sharia to silence western feminists, and do not use western perspectives to silence women who speak up about hijab, etc. This is whataboutery. Women everywhere should want to better their situation. We are far from perfect equality even in the west.

I am happy to criticize feminism when it goes off the rails, but I do not buy into the “feminists are the real sexists” bullshit, or the western feminists should stfu because they aren’t getting stoned to death.

Anyway, I will have happy memories of my childhood in a secular compound in saudi…I will have tales of women bathing topless at my compound pool…and I will also have tales of being forced into a black bag against my will because of the ‘Muttawas' or morality police as we called them. I will have tales of having a great secular education, and I will have tales of horror where I, only a child, saw my mom’s ankles hit by a muttawa’s cane because her headscarf slipped in the market. I will have tales of being shepherded quite literally with sticks by morality police in Mecca who herd the women hastily into a segregated prayer area for women. I will have tales of being pushed to the ground and almost trampled because of the morality police forcefully segregating us in Mecca. I will have a story or two about running…being chased by muttawas as they yell behind me for my headscarf slipping…of narrowly making it into a car that was driven for me (because I did not have the right to drive)…and of the muttawas catching up, and grabbing on in vain to a little bit of black fabric as our car sped off and it slipped through their hands. I will have such stories of escaping the morality police in the street.. and of feeling fear, and… of feeling comfort ...that for some hours I had a compound to go home to…and to shed the black cloaks that I wasn’t given a choice on. A reverse amish compound as I’ve literally referred to it before.

I encompass all those identities and I’ve repeatedly, honestly explored them with my audience…I’ve pointed to the absurd duality. Yet the savage internet mobs who hate me (which only used to consist of islamists at one point..but now they are fewer than the rabid western right wing apologists) have portrayed this as some great shady conspiracy. Some incredible contradictory set of stories that simply cannot be consolidated.

It must be that I’m lying about one or the other.

“Either you grew up on a compound, or either you grew up in sharia - which is it” — heaven forbid they put some thought into it and realize, well… oh…it can actually be both! Imagine that.

Cue fellow ex Muslim, previous guest of my show Yasmine to jump in and cast further doubt. She posts an ad for the most extravagant compound in the entire country, and projects that onto my experience. My compound was nothing like Aramco, it was incredibly small and modest in comparison, but thats irrelevant, even if it were Aramco I'd have to experience Sharia every time I left. My life was not better than the life of most Canadians because I was still forced into a black bag against my will, pretty much every day. Morality police and their canes were a regular sight, I had few rights as a woman. But sure, please go out of your way to discredit my lived experience. Why they did this appalling thing, and insisted on it even after being told how it could be both...is beyond me.

Real classy.

Lol, cuz growing up in Saudi in a compound is TOTALLY like vacationing in the nicest hotel in Havana for a few months.

Cue random person who just isn't satisfied:

Not good enough apparently.

Still not good enough.

"I don't like what Ali had to say so I'm going to fill in my own details despite never having lived in Saudi or knowing anything about life there." "Eiynah barely left the compound, went to school on the compound" Umm, No. Actually I left the compound every day, to go *to* school. I just love that details about my life are authoritatively being discussed, without any actual knowledge, ffs. Yes I barely ever had a real conversation with a Saudi, I've talked about this several times. It doesn't mean I didn't speak to Saudis on a daily basis in the markets, and shops, etc. It just means I never actually had the chance to know a Saudi national closely and have a proper conversation with them because we were kept segregated. Something I have discussed repeatedly.

Not even multiple corroborations of this reality are convincing enough. No no, everyone who says this is lying, but these random internet people who know nothing about life in Saudi, are here to 'non-Saudi-splain' to me that my experience is inauthentic, that I’m an embarrassment to women who *really* live under sharia. I'm just an imposter, who lived under sharia but also had access to a community pool. So you know, discrediting my story is fair game. I also had air-conditioning. The luxuries I’ve been hiding from you all.

This is the same group of people mind you, that get upset when people try to discredit Ayaan Hirsi Ali's lived experience of being a victim of FGM. But because I don't fit the mould they'd like me to, and also will criticize people within the islam-critical scene. You can make comics to mock and laugh at my life experience.

Minus the *face* covering, both those pictures were my reality actually.

No amount of refutations of the lies put out there about me are enough. Surely anyone with a shred of principle would object to random false accusations being used to smear someone. I mean these ‘principled' types are out in droves when someone slightly misrepresents Richard Spencer the nazi or Milo. “I don’t agree with their ideas but” just doesn’t extend over to ‘the wrong kind of ex muslim’ I guess.

----Worse still…Yasmine, once a friend…someone who’s had a terrible experience under Islam no doubt.. I would never discredit her experience despite her vicious attacks on me, She’s someone I empathized with, with all my heart.. But somehow she has it out for me because I’m, you know, a shit disturber who derails from *only* criticism of islam, by having a problem with fellow atheists when they promote rape apologists or… white genociders… why can’t i just keep my head down and perform the role that is laid out for me as an ex muslim? Criticize islam, thats it. ----

This is especially funny because the example of loony he uses is someone normalized, legitimized and promoted by..none other than the person he's defending. Also what is up with the weird mentions of "loyalty", like if you've disagreed with me on Rubin, no need to be "loyal", just be honest. I won't respect that view, but it's better than dishonesty.

Yeah its totally mental and a delusion of grandeur to expect someone like Rubin who claims they are liberal to not promote rape apologists, like they've done nothing wrong...or white genociders. This is a convenient strawman of my position on Rubin, used repeatedly. I don't care if he aligns with me on every single thing, I enjoy some of Sam Harris' work, I don't agree with him on everything (as you might have noticed on my episode with him). I enjoy some of Maajid Nawaz's work...I don't agree with him on a lot, since he is an adherent of religion and I'm not. Heck, I don't think I agree with anyone on everything. But I do expect people to at least not look the other way on *rape* apologetics, White Genocide, Islamism...important values like that matter to me. they aren't some tiny, nitpicky details. For some people , I guess opposing *only* Islamism is important. (Oh, and not like I'm currently being targeted for a difference of opinion). Ah, the lack of self-awareness.

pic: via @vinikako

@NiceMangos @AkiMuthali It struck me as I was writing it that the people who've been going after you lately seem to want to establish an orthodoxy for ex muslims.

— Lefty Conspirator (@NoKnownFuture) March 31, 2017

Whatever mine and Yasmine's differences on Rubin were...was no reason to jump on the Lalo bandwagon to openly try to discredit my entire existence with no evidence. To post tasteless memes about me trying on some oppression, just dabbling in it for fun.

A) "Dabbling in oppression." What kind of person do you have to be to say that sort of thing- and without any intimate knowledge of the person who's life you're talking about. B) It's not all about passports, but yes to a great degree, people in Saudi are valued more in the workplace depending on their passport - another thing I've talked about on my podcast. However, when living in Saudi I had a total, bottom-rung, treated like garbage Pakistani passport, not a Canadian one. Wrong again on all counts. C) I hope you don't ever criticize concepts of white privilege or PoC being romanticized, because that doesn't come close to this level of "oppression olympics". It's just so so callous, can't wrap my head around this.

I’m at a loss for words, honestly. I wouldn't have expected stooping to this level. Though, things got a bit weird with her after Trump won, she was overly defensive about criticism of Trump voters. Since then, I’ve seen her compare DNC/Keith Ellison situation to Nazi Germany… in this TRUMP ERA

… I’ve seen her rejoice at the GOP winning….

I'm sorry but "I'm so glad GOP won" isn't a liberal sentiment, even if in response to Linda Sarsour, who's basically the flip-side of the problem to Rubin. Another sanitizer, downplayer, legitmizer of another far-right. But somehow calling out this version of far-right apologist is ok!

… I’ve seen her downplay the inhumane 'Muslim ban' that separated families. That could have potentially prevented people like her, from escaping the ME when they needed to. The idea that people around the world could be upset at the principle, despite a lack of their personal involvement... why is that so hard to grasp?

I'm happy to call out Linda Sarsour for this. But this is the same issue I take with Dave Rubin, he is masquerading as a liberal or at least pushing / doing apologetics for right wing conservativism, imo - And some people obviously prefer if you call out only *one* side of this. But sadly not only do they prefer it, they go after you in mobs, and try to discredit your entire being for speaking up on both.

My concerns of the easy slide to the right are pretty self evident. This is something ex-muslims are particularly vulnerable to, I myself have been courted by the right. But actively resisting it in the face of rising popularity isn’t something everyone can do. It's why I'm not too bothered about popularity. I'll happily take being less popular and more consistent.

Anyhow, she’s used this whole dumping on me process to tag Rubin in a tweet…and whaddaya know… get a spot on the Rubin Report, as I had predicted! Prove me right, that’ll show me!

***

I guess it means that there’s not many of my views that they can effectively argue against if my critics have to resort to weird conspiracy bullshit about me not really being who I say I am.

Imagine how stupid and risky it would be to make claims about being an ex-muslim from Saudi growing up under sharia and then to do a podcast series talking with people who lived there for real (unlike me)… about the details of life there. Why would I put myself in that situation? And if I wanted to make up my story, why not make up full oppression to the worst degree. Why this better compound life?

@NiceMangos @AkiMuthali @SurlyCripple @StrictlySid unless you've lived under locally-sourced artisanal sharia, I don't want to hear from you

— Martin Mannion (@NataliasDad) March 30, 2017

Lalo know’s that I’ve seen my mother hit by morality police, he knows these experiences but still wants to question and delegitimize. These are the same people so disgusted (rightfully so) when Greenwald misrepresents Sam Harris. How are these guys any better I ask? If we cannot have standards simply because someone is Islam-critical, then we are no better than the Greenwald's we so love to criticize.

#NotShariahEnough

Lets remember what’s really important here though... I am not oppressed enough. I am just pretending to be because it’s hip.

Thanks Yasmine!

So being forced to wear a hijab can be oppressive even in Canada (I agree). But being forced to do so by the state in Saudi is just 'dabbling in oppression'...like life in a 5 star resort!

It's baffling, it is.

But the only ongoing beef this crew has with me is over a difference of opinion on someone like Rubin or Douglas murray. Inevitably, if you probe their criticisms of me they end up around the fact that I don’t like Douglas Murray, that I had the audacity to have Sam on my show and do something other than talk about what we already agree on (yes, Islam sucks), that I had the audacity to ask Sam his views on or make him aware of what other prominent atheists are doing, that I shouldn’t criticize Rubin (no matter how much evidence I have) - It’s petty to go after bad actors on this side apparently. But its incredibly noble to go after Werleman, or Reza Aslan or Linda Sarsour or Glenn Greenwald.

Opposing bad ideas& apologists for people with bad ideas consistently is ‘tribal’ & ‘petty’. Picking a side and avoiding self-criticism is truly rational. Heck if I thought that way, I’d never have left Islam. (But have I really? how will we ever know?)

Yup, its the left that can’t tolerate dissenting views. Meanwhile Lalo blocked me long ago for having a conversation on MY podcast, with someone entirely unrelated.. whom he claimed to not even know… sure never mind it was known anti-muslim conspiracist who thinks Maajid Nawaz behaves like an Islamist. And Obama may have been a secret muslim. My questioning Robert Spencer so deeply offended Lalo, the champion of tolerance and rationality…

lol.

And remember, I'm the one supposedly with 'mental' 'delusions of grandeur' about people having to align 100% to my views for me to like them.

Now we’re at a point where the desperation to discredit me for wrongthink is so evident… my criticism of Rubin, Gad and co is based only on what they actually say or do, observable facts, I am happy to provide proof for any allegations of them promoting far-righters or even to talk to them, but none of these Classical Liberals wish to engage with the actual criticism, and none of them want to talk to me.… So - in retaliation for my evidence based criticism I get smears based on nothing…and some onlookers think this is a tit for tat. It’s being framed absurdly, as an equivalence. Which I will object to every time.

Lol, I'm the monster for objecting to what Rubin does. Not Rubin, for promoting rape apologists.

And, this is the passionate defense Rubin gets..that doesn't even engage with the criticism of him. It's not who he has on, but how he talks to them.

Yes, my cunt-like overreaction after days of being dragged through the mud, consisted of me simply saying its 'bullshit' to equate me with the people smearing me. And not to tag me in such tweets again.

Imagine if someone you considered a friend and ally suddenly interjected themselves into a public smear campaign about you, simply to put out a false equivalence to tens of thousands of followers.And basically say, 'its not my problem'...so they're all cool. Well, I guess it'll be #NotYourBeef next time someone is slandering Ayaan, as well. I mean of course, if someone finds themselves caught in an awkward position, theres the option of just steering clear and not involving yourself. Which I'd totally respect. But if you're going to publicly say they're A-Ok after what they did to me, then I will always object. #WhatACunt, couldn't even graciously accept a respectful equation between people lying about me, and me.

I'll say this again, I’m criticizing someone who is promoting far-righters in an environment ripe with hate crimes (very much the flip of what Linda Sarsour does with Sharia/Saudi Arabia, etc.)…There’s a legitimate reason to do this… this is not about hating someone personally. It's as necessary imo, as this very group of people think their criticisms of Cenk, Reza, Linda, CJ Werleman are.

The attacks on me are however are just pure hate…disagree with my actual views any time. I'd welcome honest disagreement, but don’t lie about me ffs. As Lalo says:

The Irony.

If I respond and defend myself against such baseless accusations I’m accused of being the petty one who just won’t shut up and let people spread lies about me. Ugh Eiynah….why so petty? Why can’t you just let people say hateful ridiculous stuff about you? The other 'petty fight' she's referring to below, is the previous Gad meltdown. Which consisted of days of him bashing me as an 'anonymous troll', 'Queen of anti-semites', 'plumpy pineapples'...because Jerry Coyne posted a pretty mild (evidence-based) comment of mine about Gad and Rubin promoting far right people like Tommy Robinson, PJW of Infowars. His meltdown is documented in this thread.

Anyhoo, I wanted to make note of this instance for just how crazy hypocritical it has been. Who knows where we’ll go from here…this is the ‘community' that supposedly values evidence but has few issues with the guy who legitimizes Infowars while crying that mainstream media are fake. This is the community that is constantly, (rightfully) upset at Ayaan being silenced for her harshly critical views on Islam, but won't really care if some from within are trying to silence ex-muslim views on the internal problem of legitimizing western far-righters. If you care about ex-muslims and muslim women's rights so much...you should technically care if the people potentially mistreating them are muslims or western far righters.

On paper many will have the correct answer to opposing the right wing hijack of criticism of Islam, but putting that into practice, gets met with resistance and character assassinations as you can see.

They call themselves ex-muslim allies. Nope… just when ex-muslims stick to criticism of Islam, and serve a purpose…

They are bothered by my anonymity now.. but had no issues with it for years when I mostly just criticized Islam. (They have no issues with more agreeable ex muslim accounts either). Now, I'm this 'divisive' person who won’t stfu about the Western right, when hitler salutes are in existence again. Let's stick to the important facts though, it's the left that's always at fault. Misrepresenting even people like Richard Spencer. He's not a white supremacist, silly lefties, he's a white nationalist.

Rubin and Lauren Southern talk about how Spencer isn't really a white supremacist and no one knows the arguments against white nationalism http://pic.twitter.com/h0y06Uur4T

— Tom Bloke (@21logician) March 2, 2017

***

There are many offshoots to this attack on me too… so many ppl with all this rage uniting against me … its really rather sweet that everyone came together like this to pile on total lies, false equivalences between me and my smearers.

Right, I'd LOVE to see evidence of this. I once long ago said that mocking muslims as dirty for eating with their hands, is not a legitimate criticism of Islam. This borders on some real weird bigoted territory. And this woman has obsessively stalked my twitter ever since, despite being blocked.

I'm sure she has no troubling views or anything.

Lol, in this instance its not her, but others are clearly using it to get her on yet another wonderful, totally liberal show with no history of far right support.

Staunch A (from above screenshot) has residual anger for me, because I wrote a blogpost calling out an anti-migrant publication she worked for. Run by the guy who tweets this stuff:

According to Yasmine I smear everyone, even though she participated in smearing and discrediting *me* completely uninstigated. To them smearing is simply when other people object to their lies. When people defend themselves... its an attack. Ok then.

This is truly some detached-from-reality, totally lacking self-awareness stuff. A) Smear someone, sling mud. B) Post tasteless memes negating their lived experience, because u don't like their views C) Accuse them of being intolerant of differing opinions D) Accuse them of smearing *everyone* & mud-slinging, when they defend themselves. E) Say you're the victim in all this. F) yes the only reason i'm speaking up about her now in the middle of a smear campaign is because she's more popular than me. That must be it.

***

If I emotionally distance myself from this cyber-flogging for my crime of blaspheming against Gad/Rubin/Murray its actually a fascinating case study of in-group out-group politics... and hardcore tribalism from people who are claiming to reject tribalism.

All they can do is think critically about pre-approved opponents Reza or CJ werleman, Cenk, Greenwald, Sarsour… if someone in their perceived in-group has the exact same tactics they’ll go out of their way to demonize anyone calling that out...

Charges against me

I said Yasmine was pandering to the Right and said she was an opportunist for using this specific instance to get airtime on Rubin. - provable through her own tweets, fb posts. Like seriously…she can go around discrediting my entire existence, post memes about me dabbling in oppression to be cool or something, and I can’t even in response point to actual behaviour I’ve observed, that might explain why out of the blue she chose to do this? As someone who promoted her, I think I can safely say she used me and my platform and publicly discarded me when she had no more use for me. I can’t even begin to fathom what kind of ex-muslim would say ‘she dabbled in oppression’ about another.

I criticize Rubin, Gad and Douglas Murray - only ever based on what they actually say/endorse..not on personal attacks. Though Dave and Gad have tried to retaliate via personal attacks. I welcome disagreement with my views, and have offered to speak to them many times. But they avoid engaging with my actual criticisms and avoid discussion.

I say Dave and Gad pander to the right - how is this even controversial? "Mr. Why I left the left, let me work with Dennis Prager on how shitty the left is", and "Mr. 'Trump has the superior position on Islam', and 'let me get Geert Wilders on my show to piss of Eiynah'"

I’m divisive - sure only as divisive as anyone pointing out Islamism is bad and apologists for it are bad.

I deflect from criticism of Islam - um.. nope? Have u seen my work? I just object to people using Islam to deflect from criticism of the western right.

I haven’t been oppressed enough. - Lol

I have not had as hard a life as people who didn’t live in a compound in Saudi - agreed. Never claimed that I did, in fact always have made this distinction, if u only took the time to look into my work, listen to my conversations with Saudi women.

My claim of growing up under sharia is untrue - Nope.

I once said to someone in a Tweet i’ve only personally *met* about 3 niqabis - so i must not know much about oppression/Sharia. Er, no. Having personally *met* and sat down with very few niqabis doesn’t mean i didn’t grow up around them, go on the bus with them every day, see them in the market all around me, see them in every waiting room, community gathering etc, etc. I personally don’t have such a religious family, and we don’t personally know such extreme religious people. I’ve met a handful, and its really uncomfortable talking to people in a black mask. I’ve lived around them my whole life though, and probably had many insignificant interactions with them. But no, I just don’t *know* many is all.

My ex muslim story is so dubious that even EXMNA had to reject me - Nope. Refuted. But not retracted, by Mr. Honesty himself.

It was mean of me not to graciously accept Michael Sherlock’s public false equivalence of people who smear me and me, right in the eye of that storm. I said that’s bullshit, so its understandable he jumped to “You are the monster u revile” “You are a crazy cernovich conspiracist about Rubin” (yeah ok if u think cernovich is crazy, then u should have no problem with the fact that i think Rubin normalizing cernovich’s craziness, is crazy) and then “cunt” x 2. - I’ll say it again…what an asshole thing to do to a friend…I have not known Michael to be like this, so I’m wondering if he was abducted by aliens or something ? Or if my criticism of Rubin had been building up as some sort of anger towards me? I don't know.

I’ve said before that in Saudi many of us weren’t aware of the extent of how barbaric some of the punishments were - like of course we heard about public beheadings and those rumours circulated, they weren’t publicly discussed or acknowledged in detail because…as any idiot would know, life in Saudi Arabia is a heavily censored in many ways. One of the most censored and silenced topics is the violation of human rights in Saudi. This doesn’t mean I have no experience living under sharia, it means this is one of the effects of living under sharia ffs. Information is kept from you in an Orwellian way. #NotShariaEnough indeed. Where else do you live under fear of morality police, think sneaking around with alcohol (moonshine) as a teenager could lead to death or deportation, where else are you forced into black bags without your consent? Where else do you live life as a woman knowing you are a second class citizen. That if you are potentially raped, there is no real recourse. Where else could you experience morality police canes?

I once said this to a guy in very frustrating conversation, where not even this was as bad as sjws to him.

which is presented by my critics as me saying all people who like or have been on Dave's show are fans of white supremacy and rape apologetics. Now if you actually read what I said, it says…”if you don’t have a problem with the promotion of those things” , clearly.. you’d be a Rubin fan… this is pretty self explanatory I think. But by now you’ve seen my critics aren’t very smart at all. Dave Rubin demonstrably promotes white genociders (a white supremacist conspiracy theory that builds fear about interracial 'breeding') and rape apologists unchallenged, laughed Mike Cernovich's rape apologetics off as 'Rattling Cages' ffs. This is one of the main criticisms against him. If thats fine with someone, or they are happy to look the other way because he serves some other agenda of crushing the evil SJWs who run the world…. then why would they NOT be a Dave Rubin fan? If you can overlook these things, yeah you'd be a Rubin fan. Im sure many people are Rubin fans just out of ignorance though, who aren't aware of the bigger picture or details of the kinds of people he's promoting, because he doesn't present these troubling guests accurately. In fact he presents them in the best light possible, as allies. But if you know, and don't find it to be a problem that's troubling.

I hate that Dave Rubin talks to controversial people - No. I’d be fine with his exact same guest list if he simply challenged these guests on some of their disturbing views, or if he at least made his audience aware of why these people are controversial in the first place. Instead it’s a nodfest. This is very harmful, especially in this political climate. And has visibly made the atheist scene toxic and overlap hugely with infowars /alt-lite/alt-right audiences. I actually really enjoyed David Pakman's interview with Richard Spencer. He did what Rubin pretends to.

I am somehow upset with Yasmine because she's more popular than me..haha. It certainly couldn't be that I decided I will no longer be silent about things I've observed about her, only *after* she contributed to negating my entire life story. Because those things might help to explain why she went after me like this. Also, last I checked I had quite a lot more followers, undoubtedly she'll get more if she goes the Rubin/Gad/Lalo route..but it hasn't happened just yet...so that too, is just false. I also said she was pandering to the soft right, not that she is right wing.

Ok but with Brilliant arguments like this, they definitely got me here:

Clearly this is a contest between Abu Bakr al Baghdadi and Dave Rubin. Because Jihadis will always be the worst, undoubtedly (and we come full circle from how this started with Fossa being angry 'I deflect from Islam')…I guess worrying about the rise of far right hate and extremism in the West where many of us critics of Islam live, is just silly and frivolous. Not like the US has stepped few decades back in the past months or anything. Nothing to see here. Promoting white genociders and anti-feminists should proceed as normal.

Sadly this is the state of self proclaimed liberal twitter atheists, they resort to fox news tactics. And I'm not supposed to notice there's a problem.

Why can’t I just pick a team and stfu with all this inconvenient in-group criticism. It’s tribal *not* to. Such a smeary cunt-monster cuck, Eiynah. And I bet you haven't learned your lesson yet, about staying silent on these things. I bet you think the resistance to this shows just how important this topic is to discuss. No ideas above scrutiny, freedom of speech, etc.

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How about now? Will you be quiet now? --- Nope. ----------------- Thanks to those who stuck by me during the smear campaign. Thanks to those who are real friends, and thanks to those who support my work. New Patrons and old. Much love to you all. If you'd like to support my work you can do so here

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