#people really need to stop making assumptions about people's morals based on the fiction they consume

[fairypoet73]

I get the whole "no kinkshaming" thing since it's Kinktober, but like, aren't you giving a pass to MAPs and Rapists by saying that?

Valid question, valid concern, so let me clarify. The important thing to remember is that I also said that I do not condone these actions irl. In fiction you can do anything you want and nobody gets hurt, that's fine, because again, nobody gets hurt. The second you take that out of fiction though is where we have our problem.

If you want to prey on actual real life children or watch actual child pornography, you don't have an age kink, you're a pedophile. If you want to actually rape someone, you don't have a non-con kink, you're a rapist. If you wanna fuck a vaporeon, that means you have a kink. If you try to fuck your actual real life dog that makes you a zoophile.

So I'll say it again, JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE WANTS TO DO SOMETHING IN A FICTIONAL SETTING, DOESN'T MEAN THEY WANT TO DO IT IRL. In fact, every person I know who has a thing for sexy Pokemon is disgusted at the idea of having sex with an animal irl. Most people are able to discern reality from fiction and understand that what you do in fiction has no weight in the real world.

On top of that, it's been proven time and time again that fiction about certain things can actually help reduce a person's willingness to do that thing irl. Here's an example I learned in high school (or maybe middle school). In ancient Athens, they held public plays every once in a while, specifically tragedies that were filled with lots and LOTS of murder. They did this because they believed that it would help work as a way to help the populous vent their violent thoughts and desires, or provide some catharsis to someone having those thoughts, and it actually worked. The rates of violent crimes dropped significantly after the public showings of these tragedies.

Last big point is that the majority of kinks come from trauma. Lots of people with non-con kinks were victims of non-consensual sexual activities. Lots of people with incest kinks have really abusive families. Lots of people with age kinks were sexually abused as children. Using fiction to explore these kinks can, and often is, very therapeutic. I can speak from experience on that myself, though I would prefer to refrain from talking about many of my kinks and trauma publicly, so please do not ask.

The whole idea that if you consume certain types of fiction they will infect your brain and turn you into a monster is a very conservative puritan idea that Christians have harshly forced into the mainstream. While there are some examples of fiction doing that, there are just as many examples proving the opposite. Both can be true, just because they contradict doesn't mean they both can't be true. It's an issue with nuance, like pretty much every other issue in the world, that we should try to judge on a case-by-case basis. Not everyone who reads a Sherlock Holmes book is a murderer. Not everyone who reads WWII historical fiction novels is a Nazi. Those two things are obvious. So why do we have this double standard when it comes to adult fiction?

I give no passes to MAPs and Rapists, because they don't deserve a pass. I simply want to curate a safe space where people can feel like they can experiment with certain aspects of their sexuality without hurting anyone else that they may not be able to in most other spaces.

[booklovertwilight]

Venting anon

I’m not sending this because you think he has a PD, I’m sending this because i want to explain why he does not and is still a terrible person nevertheless

…ok, actually, I wrote it like a month ago right after intense arguing with a person who was adamant on him being a psychopath using this arguments (like “he killed people”) and I wanted a confirmation from some popular account that this arguments are bad. It was kinda cringe, now that i look at it

Thanks for writing back and explaining, and thanks for being more coherent this time. Part of why I replied the way I did the first time around was because I barely understood what you were trying to say. Here, then, is my genuine opinion on this subject.

Not everyone who kills people has a personality disorder. And, much more critically, the overwhelming majority of people with personality disorders are not murderers. From a purely statistical standpoint: P(A|B) ≠ P(B|A).

There is an argument to be made that Light has a PD -- though NPD makes more sense to me than ASPD, if that was what was meant by 'psychopath'. But the argument for that has nothing to do with what he's done: rather, it includes things like him having a really fragile ego (see: "you think I'm evil? I am justice! I protect the innocent and those who fear evil! I am the one who will become the god of a new world that everyone desires!" said in response to, literally, one single word of criticism), a sense of grandiosity and self-importance (expressed as a de-facto assumption that his own morality is the only one that matters), an extremely surface-level understanding of what 'normal' teenagers act like, and the way he so clearly bases his entire sense of self-worth on the praise he gets for his school grades.

Whether or not you believe the statement "Light is a terrible person" is a separate query, which is a lot more subjective, and has more to do with your morality than his actions. A pure utilitarian would see the (IRL unrealistic, but canon) outcome of his actions (that is, reducing crime and stopping wars), run some numbers, and call him a good person. Many other people would look at the sheer body-count and call him irredeemably evil; still others would say the same thing due to his motivations. I'm not endorsing any of these arguments, btw, I'm just saying they exist.

"Light Yagami is a psychopath (=has a PD) because he kills people" is indeed a bad argument in many ways, but to be honest, the biggest flaw I see with it is actually the way it stigmatizes people with PDs. Cluster B patients have more than enough stigma to deal with from all the people armchair-diagnosing their abusers with narcissistic PD or their overly-attached ex-girlfirends with borderline PD. They don't need people armchair-diagnosing their fandom's resident murderer with antisocial PD.

Ultimately, however much we as fans care about him, Light Yagami is a fictional character. His crimes are likewise fictional. But people with cluster B disorders are real. And every time somebody armchair-diagnoses a villainous character with a commonly-demonized mental illness, I (with my special interest in psychology) die a little inside.

[orchidrabbit]

i dont know how to say this in any other way, but i really fucking hate fandom

and i mean the blanket idea of "fandom" as group participatory act(s) surrounding a piece of media, person/artist/musician, or anything that can garner a following. any fandom. i hate them all, even the ones for the pieces of media that i like. those ones fucking suck too, maybe most of all because i have to be inundated with the bullshit that always follow fandom but especially about the things that i like.

my main beef is that there is always an assumed baseline in fandom spaces, like the one i ran into a lot was if you like bbc sherlock, you must ship johnlock. if you don't youre a fucking weirdo and didnt "understand the media" but thats just a large one, every person participating in the fandom has their own set of baseline assumptions that they expect everyone to follow when in their space. so then people get into arguments over what is that baseline because theres insult over someone assuming how someone else felt about or saw something. this is made even more evident when theres things about speculation and theorycrafting.

the problem is, all of this stuff is opinion based and because its largely fiction that fandoms are based around, its all highly objective too and there are no hard rules on any of it. in fact, people act like there are a set of mandated rules about what you do, say, and be in a fandom space even if theres fucking none because we're all just a bunch of decentralized weirdos that like the same things.

which brings me to my next point about how liking the same things doesnt mean youre friends. its really nice to find people that share interests that you can discuss stuff with and share your love of the common interest but a large swath of people you oft interact with on the internet arent your friends, but people act with both playful (and often unreadable) antagonism that you do with a close friend when thats highly uncalled for. i really dont like playful ribbing anyway and it feels worse when it comes from someone i dont know.

and then theres the moralizing over things within the fiction, or the dreaded "is this thing problematic?" discussion that circles every few years and people dont want to accept that the answer for every piece of media ever created is "YES" and then fail to be mature enough about it to discuss whether those problematic elements are affecting real harm because the other dreaded discussion of "does fiction affect reality" the answer is always "FUCKING OF COURSE" but no one wants to accept that either because of the aforementioned moralizing over every damn thing contained by the media.

stop being catholic for two seconds and see yourself as an single autonomous person and so long as what you enjoy and how you interact with people in shared spaces is making an effort to not cause harm (and understand that even with our best efforts, you will always be capable of doing harm unintentionally or not, regardless of mental health, disability, etc) you are fine and dont need to subject yourself to large masses of toxic people in order to get your daily dose of your favorite ship's fan art. recognize that all of them are also autonomous people and not a hivemind of "fandom" and likely whatever beefs are circulating they dont account for the nuance that came with being a fucking individual person.

whew.

sorry if this is nonsensical or too stream of consciousness, this isnt about anything in particular i am just almost 30 and seeing the same things happen over and over in fandoms new and old is grating on me and reminds me how ive never meshed with "fandom" spaces and only found true enjoyment by having my small group of friends and sharing stuff between us privately, not on a social media scale. i think a lot of us could do better with doing more of that.

[takaraphoenix]

I came across a post that, paraphrased, went roughly "Every time you see someone speak up against censorship, it turns out to be about incest or something problematic".

And. Yes, that's kind of the point, because nobody is trying to censor the 100% wholesome, morally upstanding vanilla ships?? That's not where the conversation about censorship starts, and for a reason?

The way the point just COMPLETELY goes over these people's heads.

Censorship starts out with the "problematic" content. That's how they get their foot in the door with EXACTLY these people like that OP. Show them that no, no, we are just concerned, just want to take out this Clearly Morally Wrong stuff. That's fine, right?

No. Even if you yourself find the content horrible and would never want to touch it, it has a right to EXIST because the moment you open the door to censorship, you lose control of what gets censored and why.

And the really pathetic part about this is that most antis operate from a place of utter hypocracy, to begin with.

In every single fandom I've been in where there were antis, judging and harassing others for the "problematic" content they consumed, the antis themselves were hiding behind ships just as bad, if not WORSE.

It doesn't even take much efford to list things about antis' supposedly morally superior ships that makes them problematic. Heck. Most ships have something about them that constitutes unhealthy or toxic if it were a real relationship. Throw a ship at me, I'll tell you why it's problematic.

But these people's false assumption is that their personal interpretation of morals is the one that will be applied in this purge and only the content they dislike would then be censored while the thing they love would NEVER fall victim to censorship, so a bit of censorship would be fine, to clean up fandom.

That's not how it's going to be. Your own problematic fave gets censored too, because no blind eye and bending over backward to explain why this particular thing is somehow ~different~, despite being the exact same.

And once we're through with the biggest offenders? The search for problematic content will be widened, more things will be targeted and deemed problematic, based on a definition of the term even they may no longer agree on - but it's too late, because the door's wide open now.

It's less about protecting one specific fetish to get your rocks off to, it's about acknowledging that these are the conversation starters used to convince others to open the door and let censorship in and we need to stop it before it gets in, even if that means defending other people's right to create fictional things that we, personally and individually, may dislike or even find disgusting.

Because once you start limiting something like art, free speech and fiction in general, how those lines will be drawn becomes blurry and that power WILL be abused by the wrong people.

So let's not give them that power.

[greenteaandtattoos]

I think it’s time we stop talking about RWBYtubers

At this point, it’s bringing more toxicity into the fandom than the so-called “toxic” RWBYtubers are. 

I don’t agree with a lot of Judgmental Critter’s opinions and criticisms, I feel that they are too negative for my particular tastes. 

Calxiyn has done some things I don’t agree with, including her response to rosegarden shippers getting excited when the V9 teaser dropped at RTX.

But what is being said to and about them is disgusting and often out of context, complete lies, or said in bad faith in an attempt to cause mass hatred in their direction. 

The opinions and actions that I don’t agree with don’t automatically mean that they are horrible people. And the assumption that they are just because you disagree on something is pretty fucking toxic.

We need to stop taking every negative post about them at face-value, especially from people who might find enjoyment in deliberately causing discourse. 

If you see something that suggests that they did something you morally cannot agree with, or that they said something you find a genuine problem with, then it’s my suggestion that you go directly to the source and find out for yourself if what you saw was true or not.

Calxiyn’s twitter is here: https://twitter.com/Calxiyn

Judgmental Critter’s twitter is here: https://twitter.com/JudgmentalThe

If you see something you don’t like, then don’t just post about it without getting the full story. Go to them, ask for clarification. I am almost certain you will get a reply in the comments. 

You cannot rely on second-hand information from Tumblr accounts that often enjoy sewing the seeds of discourse by using the so-called toxicity from RWBYtubers as their cover and excuse to be toxic themselves. 

Judgemental Critter may be more harsh with their opinions, but the defend their fellow RWBYtubers, and do not let people bash on other people with baseless and often inaccurate opinions. 

Calxiyn might associate with people you don’t agree with (VexedViewer, Judgmental Critter, twiins iink) because you personally have a problem with how they act, but they are rather fair with their criticisms and how they interact with people. 

GO TO THEM. ASK THEM QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE THEM. IF YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT SOMETHING THEY DID, ASK SOMEONE WHO KNOWS THEM, OR BETTER YET, ASK THEM DIRECTLY!

I am guilty of this, I will admit. But I’ve talked to them, and while I don’t agree with some of the things they do, they’re really, truly not as bad as some people will make them out to be. 

And if you do all this, and still find a problem with them, BLOCK THEM. UNSUBSCRIBE FROM THEM. MUTE THEM. DON’T WATCH THEIR VIDEOS.

They don’t deserve to be lied about and slandered when they can’t defend themselves because others don’t like them and decide to use their dislike to cause more discourse. 

Just recently, Raijin Rising released a video commenting on the topic of toxicity in the fandom, and without even giving him a chance, people were ready to categorize him as a “hater”. What you didn’t know was that he was fair, he did not separate the fandom into positive toxicity and toxic haters, he addressed the fandom toxicity as a whole. 

That’s what the bloody word “fandom” means. It encompasses the people who watch the same show. 

But people have been so immersed in the “you vs us” mentality that they cannot imagine that a person who does not agree with them can still be a decent human being. 

You can’t judge someone based on their opinions on a fictional show. Do you know it’s called when you do? 

Toxic positivity.

In the end, we are contributing to the toxicity of the fandom just as much as they are, and if we want that to stop, we have to first learn to stop and think for ourselves. Don’t just take what someone says at face-value, certainly not a stranger on the internet. 

GO TO THEM SOURCE AND SEE FOR YOURSELF. 

And a PSA:

The tumblr blog known as CanonSeeker cannot be trusted as a source for reliable information. They have often lied and taken things out of context in order to sew chaos and get people to stop following certain individuals. 

Just last night, they went into Calxiyn’s Discord server, pretending to be someone else, in order to justify their actions and turn people against Judgmental Critter. 

In all honesty, there is honestly no reason to get into a feud with these RWBYtubers, not Calxiyn, not Judgmental Critter, because if you just asked them for clarification or blocked them if you really didn’t like what they said, we wouldn’t have this problem. 

What’s been going on is toxic, and I’m tired of it. 

The necessity to ask for clarification and proof applies to everyone, including me. If you want proof of any of this, please come to me, Calxiyn, Judgmental Critter. There are screenshots and text messages that can be shown.

If you would like more people to corroborate, there are many individuals in Calxiyn’s Discord Server who can do so, and you will also be able to talk to her yourself and get the proof that way. 

Her Discord is here: https://discord.gg/2s5xjdqvH6

Think critically, people, and think for yourselves.

[evilkitten3]

i will say that i find it annoying how quick mcu fans are to blame fury about every little thing. like i've seen people object to nat's "eighty people in two days" comment by saying that fury was responsible for most of them (which he was, but quite frankly a government agency that exists to protect earth from extraterrestrial threats should be willing to accept members dying to keep a hostile alien from escaping with the most powerful object earth has literally ever seen, so i actually have no problem with that decision of his - everyone in that base was shown to be highly trained and aware that death was a likely outcome– note that loki knifing several people in the throat did not cause anyone to turn and run. they're secret agent soldiers, this is their job)

BUT nat pinning that on loki isn't fury's fault. we have no reason to think he told her anything but what actually happened, as nat is as much of a professional as any of the soldiers in that base were. i don't know if that was intentional manipulation on nat's part (again, i have no problem with that– twisting the truth to motivate people to fight back against the alien whose stated intention is world domination is fine by me), or if she just made an assumption and fury didn't care enough to correct her (in which case the blame would be somewhat on him but frankly getting into semantics when you need to be focused on the actual alien threat is kinda pointless), or if nat just has a mindset of root cause->fault (which would've been interesting but g-d forbid we focus on nat's personality instead of her ass), but it's still not fury's fault that she said that

fury was one of the best characters in the first avengers movie (which wasn't like cinematic brilliance or anything but you know what it was a fun movie and i enjoyed it cringe isn't real in this instance), and people are way too willing to ignore the surprising amount of depth that movie gave him in favor of "government man bad" (which. ok yes i agree with that in principle irl but tony stark is a billionaire and thor tried to invade a sovereign nation like a year ago; you gotta make allowances for fiction or else they're all horrible)

the council fired two missiles at new york. everyone remembers tony yeeting the second into space, but i think people forget that fury took down the first one (somehow without killing the pilot):

to be clear, the world council are basically his bosses. they ordered him to nuke the city and he refused. they went and did it anyway. hill warned fury and he managed to stop the first missile himself and was also the one who alerted tony to the second.

just..... credit where credit is due, yeah? fury's not a cardboard cutout of a character, he's probably the mcu's first real attempt at a protagonist character entirely in the morally gray zone whose decisions and actions as a character are both shown in a way that also the audience to understand where he's coming from while also giving them the space to say whether they think he was right or not.

the whole "using the tesseract to make weapons" thing makes sense. he has a good reason for it too– even ignoring what we learned in captain marvel, the events of the first thor movie made it clear that aliens were out there and could fuck shit up, something agents of s.h.i.e.l.d. then established he'd known even before that. and he's right– earth really, really, really isn't prepared to defend itself against what's out there.

also, kudos to that scene in particular for doing a pretty good job of giving characters reactions that made sense for those characters (usually this is something that shouldn't need brownie points, but it's whedon, so not basing the whole thing on snark that could come from anyone is a step up). steve is against making weapons with the tesseract bc that's what hydra did (and while he has every right to feel that way and be angry about fury not mentioning that, i feel like it needs to be said that there's a noticeable difference between "i'm making this to take over the world" and "i'm making this so we don't get murdered by fucking aliens"), tony is against it bc he has weapon-making trauma, bruce is against it bc he doesn't trust the government (nor should he), thor is against it bc he thinks humans are meddling with what they shouldn't (which. sure but that's sorta our thing. we're the "hey what's that let's meddle with it" species), clint isn't there, and nat doesn't give two shits.

anyway this is a whole lotta nothing but i love nick fury and he deserves better than being written as a cardboard cut-out convenient antagonist in fanfiction (especially if the author goes out of their way to have coulson and hill be good guys trapped under fury's tyrannical thumb. real subtle, y'all.)

[queerfables]

The problem with treating everyone who ships something you find troubling as an abuser just waiting to happen (and often not just an abuser but specifically a pedophile) is that we apply different social rules to abusers. It goes like this: If a ship or trope is just something you personally dislike, then it's your responsibility to avoid it. But if it's causing harm, then it's wrong, and you can demand people stop engaging with it. If the people who engage with it anyway are abusive, then it's okay to compel them to stop engaging with it using whatever means necessary - most commonly the threat of ostracism, verbal abuse, and emotional manipulation. But these strategies aren't really about protecting people from harm, they're about controlling and punishing people who engage with fandom the wrong way. Fans are punished if they refuse to ostracise transgressors, too. These fans are categorised as abuse enablers and subject to the same treatment. Questioning the status quo is risky, because you might be accused of having a hidden agenda that supports abuse.

Within this culture, the highest priority becomes keeping out a specific kind of predator, ie the kind that's easily identified because they create or consume the wrong sort of fictional content. Keeping the wrong people out is placed above everything else. It's more important than identifying abusers who don't fit this particular profile, and it's more important than protecting people who are not abusive. It's more important than treating other people well and being treated well yourself, because the premise that underpins this culture is that the system only hurts people who deserve it. It's difficult to admit you feel harmed or controlled by this culture, because doing so is tantamount to admitting you're a bad person who deserves to be harmed. I don't think our communities should make us feel that way.

I don't have an easy solution to these problems, but I think the first step is making it possible to talk about them. Or perhaps we need to start more basic: it needs to be possible to think about them. Because currently, thinking about these things is dangerous. What does it say about us if we reach an unacceptable conclusion? It's safer to just trust what we're being told is and isn't ok, and any further thoughts we might have start from that assumption. If we want to build safe communities, though, we need to create a culture where we're encouraged to evaluate complicated moral issues ourselves, and ask questions, and think them through even if the conclusions we reach are messy and uncomfortable and incomplete. We need to be able to trust our own judgement, without fearing consequences or feeling like our sense of ourselves as a good person will be destroyed if our judgement conflicts with somebody else's. I think a culture that encourages those things is going to be healthier than one that doesn't. And I think that we should re-evaluate the system we use to keep abusers out of fandom spaces, because the current one is based more on ideology than actual impact, and it's enforced so aggressively and so broadly that it's damaging our communities.

[schrijverr]

The Media in a Quirk Society

An essay or more a thought piece about how the media adapted to the appearance of quirk. How genres changed and how the media influences and is influenced by society.

On AO3.

Ships: none

Warnings: none

~~~~~~~~~~~

Something that makes me so very curious is how media must have developed in the BNHA universe after the appearance of quirks.

We hear almost nothing of media other than the news within the universe itself. For now it escapes me if All Might Cartoons are actually mentioned in the show or something of fanfiction. But another fanfic phenomena are pre-quirk movies, aka movies of our time.

The latter is a thing we must agree on, since there was a time before there were quirks wherein movies were made. This also implies that the pre-quirk superhero genre has existed (think MCU or DC)

I want to examine how that must have changed with the appearance of quirks based of what we’ve seen in the show.

When we see the beginnings of a quirk society, we meet AFO, who rises in the chaos and especially the scene where he takes and gives a quirk stand out the most. Quirks weren’t excepted yet, especially visible quirks, while at the same time a quirk means power. We also know the hero profession rises here, because it was too much for just law enforcement.

So we have these components, which all make for really great stories… in hindsight.

After the fact there must have been many stories about a lone police officer, becoming a hero as he saw the force around him crumble. Or a weak person, suddenly developing a powerful quirk that helps them get out of an impossible situation. Or maybe even about someone who feels they are deformed and shunned from society by their quirk and how they overcome it.

But at the moment it was happening there was still a lot of resentment about quirks and people who had them.

When quirks first entered the stage, people who had them plunged the world into chaos or had to hide like the man who goes to AFO to get his quirk removed.

I can imagine that if movie productions could continue in those turbulent times they would focus on the normal guy, still fighting against a suddenly super-powered villain or a quirkist (as I shall refer to it) take on a person who gets a quirk and turns evil.

Or they might even ignore the whole quirk situation in general with a new genre that can be boiled down to ‘No Quirks – AU’ wherein the movie is based in pre-quirk times. This genre would have a lot of nostalgia at first, probably, trying to call upon how simple life was when villains weren’t terrorizing the streets and heroes were just a funny thing of TV.

Maybe it will develop later.

Maybe it will become how difficult it must have been back then with no simple quirk solutions to problems. It might even turn into a genre about invention, mostly, with a fascination in the public of how things that run on quirk-solutions now, could have been solved by a quirkless scientist in the before times.

But back to the developing genre that is set the BNHA real world. Wherein quirkless people might have gotten a center stage in the early years, before quirks became so entrenched in society that quirkism developed against what used to be a majority.

I can picture a young Midoriya watching old movies wherein the quirkless protagonist was the hero against the evil quirks, telling himself that one day that could be him.

However, with the rise of heroes the media attention probably shifted.

The manga/anime describes it as ‘ordinary civilians with their own Quirks decided to take matters into their own hands to bring order to society, and thus the first "Heroes" appeared.’ as it says on the fandom wikia.

This shifts the narrative of quirkless hero against the chaos of quirks, to brave citizen stands up using the power they’ve been granted. Maybe they gave it religious undertones or maybe it was the story of taking the moral high ground and doing what was right for your country and neighbors.

In those early days you probably have more stories reflective of the pre-quirk fictional heroes, wherein the main character has to hide that they’re out there every night breaking the law to bring order.

It can be that at this time the narrative that the police is just the ‘villain taxi service’ starts to originate among bitter storytellers, who have seen the police fail where heroes did not. Though this would be more older filmmakers after this era is over, who start this. When heroes have become accepted, but they still remember how bad the police reacted before.

But on the topic of heroes becoming accepted, that must have been a civil right movement, a right that had to be debated with villains reflecting how bad an idea public quirk use could be.

You can see in the ‘Liberation War Arc’ how something like that could have played out and how it makes for interesting media entertainment as it is a story arc in our world, meant to amuse. Mixed with the fact that the first heroes created order in the chaos, there must be a ton of movies following activists or a hero not only having to fight the villains, but also the system.

And then over time heroes morphed into what they are now.

Hero became a profession and quirks the norm. After a while, just focusing on quirks got less interesting and using quirks as just a backdrop became more interesting.

Sure, you still had the hero genre and with actual figureheads these can range from documentaries to inspired by real life movies or just fictive fights with characters that are obviously based off a real hero or just the real hero. Especially when heroes became depended on their popularity, there must have been plenty that signed an acting contract in the hopes of getting their name and image out there.

With Midoriya’s comment about Todoroki having the backstory of a protagonist, it is clear that the hero genre is far from forgotten.

However, the “normal” genres also developed with society and with quirks becoming normal and no one truly aching for the before times, they must be set in the BNHA world we know.

The tropes we know (and maybe love) will get a new twist to fit this society or maybe disappear completely. New stereotypes and assumptions based off quirks appear, even quirkism might become prevalent in media, teaching kids that those without quirks are freaks or weak and weird.

In my mind I picture a movie trailergoing “She has a water quirk, he has a fire quirk. Will they fall in love despite their different personalities?!?” or “When his family is murdered, he must track down the killer with only the quirk as clue. Will he find out what happened on that faithful day or will the path this sends him on be the last of him???”

The horror genre will also be transformed with the fear of people misusing their quirk being a big thing in society.

As for fantasy, this genre will change with super-powered people being the norm, you can have to get more creative to make it truly fantastical. World building, visually, will be more important to distinguish it from our world, creatures too since there are literally people with bird heads, for example, walking around.

Not to mention the potential of quirks being hereditary that can be used in dramas where the partner has cheated or as plot point as grant reveal of a main character being related to one of the antagonists or even in gang movies as them training together to use their quirks and them all being the same. That would make for a cool visual tbh.

Disaster movies also will be different than they are now. With protagonist who can have quirks that work against them in their situation or if it’s a more hopeful movie how they work together, piling together their quirks and other skills to survive.

And the crime genre will be so intrinsically tied to hero society and with the police being seen as kinda useless, it will be so different than how we know it now. Did crime become part of the hero genre? Is this a piece of cop propaganda left wherein the police tries to save their reputation? I don’t know, but I wanna think about it.

It’s just interesting to me how in a world where the super is normal, media has adapted and this has been keeping my mind busy over the past few weeks.

The transformation in society of quirks as something dangerous that needs to be stopped, to a few brave people standing up for what’s right to finally the commercialization of heroes so that they can keep doing their job.

You see these changes, that’s unavoidable.

Media is such a powerful tool and it’s hardly referenced within the source material (which I understand because there are already so many movingparts), but with the fall of hero society it is interesting how all that propaganda for heroes might disappear back to when quirks first appeared and how the cycle may start again.

~~

A/N:

There are probably so many genres and other stuff thatI haven’t considered, so tell me your thoughts about the media in BNHA!

((also I didn’t want to dive in how racism, homophobia, ableism will develop with quirks and notions people will have about them. It is important to think about, but I do not think that I am the right person to talk about it. If anyone does, tag me or comment the link, because I will 100% read it))

[ryuichirou]

I saw one very stupid post on my dash about how snk is OBVIOUSLY nazi propaganda and trying to convert all of us into imperialists and white supremacists. tbh it’s not the first time I’ve seen that kind of stuff and probably won't be the last, but for some reason this time it gave me a lot of anxiety (I got wordy, I'mma need to send another ask, sorry)

(part 2) It's been more than half and hour and I still feel this awful sensation in my chest. It's just overall pretty fucked how to have something you hold dear being misinterpreted in the worst way possible, and I was just wondering what are your thoughts on this situation or how you deal with people claiming all sorts of awful shit.

(part 3) I imagine that as an artist some people probably direct their issues with snk towards you, 'cause I don't even post that much fanart and I've gotten anons "trying to educate me" on why this series is so wrong, after posting drawings. Of course, you don't have to reply, maybe the topic makes you anxious too and I don't want to bother you, so sorry for the depressing topic (｡•́︿•̀｡)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Tiiish, I want to hug you, I’m really sorry that this happened to you. I hope you’re feeling a little bit better now.

Like we already mentioned a while ago, when we were talking about that darn article, after we read through it and did a little fact checking (and I mean it when I say a little, because there weren’t many facts to check), we stopped caring about it. It’s not research at all, just a manipulatively written speculation on Yam’s motives and worldview, but sadly, people easily believe these accusations because they hate SnK and want to find a valid reason to hate it and shit on its fanbase. Because “I hate it because it’s nazi propaganda” sounds much cooler than “I hate it because it’s popular”, doesn’t it?

It’s easier to ignore the article itself though, and it’s much harder not to think about tumblr posts or those Twitter threads that get very popular (although there are a lot of bots on twitter, trust me…), and it’s especially difficult to ignore it when it’s specifically directed at you. But the only thing that these people deserve is a good ol’ block and (if they’re getting too offensive and abusive) a report for harassment. The thing is, their opinion doesn’t matter: it won’t change SnK’s story, it won’t affect its success and popularity, it doesn’t affect anything other than our mood (temporarily lol). Because they aren’t critics who actually give a flying fuck about the subject matter, they’re just random assholes with a hateboner for SnK, who sit in their echochamber and discuss the same shit over and over again. And if they’re “fans” of the SnK, it’s just them “consuming it critically” 🙄 such a convenient phrase and so easy to abuse.

If we think about these accusations again… they’re so damn nonsensical, it’s almost amazing. I’m not going to reread it or to make a proper counterpoint article out of this ask, so this is just based on how we remember these accusations.

Like, what part of SnK approves and pushes the idea of imperialism in any way? When the entire idea of the story is that war is bad? When people like Onyankopon, whose homeland was invaded by Marley, exist? And it’s never portrayed as a good thing? Having only one country dominating the world’s situation is literally the main reason why everyone’s suffering??

And come to think of it, Isayama is one of the few manga artists to kind of sort of openly critique Japan: he literally drew Kiyomi losing her cool and drooling while thinking about all the profit and wealth she would get from the deal with Paradis. Why do people never talk about that? What is it, if not a critique of greedy and two-faced nature of people from Azumabito clan, who are heavily implied to represent Japan? I don’t read a lot of manga in general, but do you know how many mangakas I’ve seen who directly talked shit about Japan while being Japanese? Two. Excluding Isayama.

Isayama is clearly invested in the Western culture and he understands the World’s History. He understands that political relationships are complex and that there are no “bad” or “good” countries. I don’t want to make assumptions about how much perspective of the world’s relationships the average person from Japan has, but I still feel like Yams has a pretty good understanding of it. He did his research for the subject matter, and while it’s obviously not perfect, it’s clearly there.

These people also claim that SnK is anti-Korean and anti-Semitic, but if Hetalia had taught me anything, it is that if the story has or used to have any anti-Korean undertones, the Korean readers wouldn’t want to have anything to do with it. They would be the first people to ditch the manga, they would be the first people to critique SnK, and rightfully so. They burnt Uniqlo clothes, their overall domestic policy is pretty anti-Japanese, so there’re literally zero reasons for them not to destroy SnK if they see it as anti-Korean. But the size of the Korean SnK fandom suggests otherwise, doesn’t it.

And the “big noses = Jewish caricature” argument, seriously? How anti-Semitic can you get? Who the fuck looks at people and goes “oh, those have big noses, bet they’re caricature of Jews”?? Sorry I’m getting heated lol The argument about “Asian artists portray Westerners with prominent noses because that’s what we look like to them” has been done a lot of times, I’m not going to go over than again.

And god forbid Isayama to use Germany and Europe to draw a story where his characters are (approximately) Germans and Europeans! Let’s go fetch our pitchforks to punish Isayama for using their aesthetic to make his story look more believable and authentic, right? “Oh, those areas where they hold Eldians resemble places from real life”, like no shit???? Ofc they would??? That’s what references for making the story more grounded are used for??? If I were to write a story about a fictional place based on a real one that I don’t live in, I’d use some visual references to help me to make it more believable??? Why do I even need to explain that?

In my previous post I talked about the armbands and ghetto and stuff, but I’ll reiterate: even if there are thematic similarities, it doesn’t mean that the story mirrors our history. And it doesn’t mean that there is an analogy, since Eldian’s situation is quiiiite different than what Jewish people had to go through. It’s just thematic similarities. And it still doesn’t plant any specific idea in the reader’s head, other than “having people shoved into ghettos with 0 civil rights is a horrible thing”, and I can’t comprehend what’s anti-Semitic or imperialistic about it. Also I’m sorry, but nazis are not the only people who genocided a bunch of people, breaking news. Nor did they invent armbands. Same goes for Japan in WWII.

And now for my favourite argument: Erwin is nazi because his name is Erwin and he was born on the same day than some nazi guy died… I won’t even talk about why this idea is hilariously stupid, I just want to appreciate the level of nitpicking that’s going on here.

So… yeah. People who have nothing else to do but to complain about the show they hate don’t matter. And people who consider themselves a part of the SnK fandom and still say this bs (yep, there are people who do that) are huge hypocrites. The heck are they doing in this fandom then?? Of course, any story is up to interpretation, but this is so backwards?

Sorry for rambling so much… anyways. We’re happy enough not to encounter any hate related to this topic, but we think it’s because we ship Ereri and people already hate us for that, so the majority of shit we get is related to that, I guess we’re a lost cause for them. We’ll see if anything happens after this post though.

But once again, I’m very sorry that you had to go through this. Please remember that this isn’t personal at all, and people who harass strangers on the internet just want to flex their high moral ground while acting like complete assholes. You don’t have to explain anything to them, you don’t have to talk to them, you don’t have to listen to them or give them any attention. I hope you’ll never stumble upon anything like this; but if you ever do, please block them, don’t even bother reading their attempts at “educate” you. Isn’t worth it.

Please have a good day, Tish. And everyone who’s reading this reply.

[fytheuntamed]

I used to see WWX as sunshine incarnated and how it hurt me when I realized that it's mostly just fake and he's really not. I thought he was such a genuine person and when I realized that he hides so much of himself that he's not very genuine at all my heart broke a little and I needed to share my feelings. I still love him though, but it was a huge shock to me that everything I initially fell in love with was actually wrong. I hope this little ramble wasn't a bother.

Hello, anon! First off, you’re not bothering me at all; even if I can’t reply to all of them, I read and appreciate every ask I get. I’m sorry to hear you’re feeling a bit disillusioned with WWX; I know some would say he’s just a fictional character, but I think all of us here can attest to the power fictional characters have in impacting the lives of real people. Your ask made me think a lot about who WWX is, so I hope you don’t mind me sharing my own thoughts on the matter! Just a few disclaimers before I get into it: all analysis is based off of drama!WWX, as that is the adaption I know best, so keep this in mind as you read because I know his characterization varies a bit from adaption to adaption. WWX also happens to be my favorite character from the show, so this could will get long :’) I’m also going to continue on with the assumption that you’ve seen the show in its entirety!

I think one of the most important things to understand about people, fictional or real, is that we, like ogres, have layers. This is just what happens when you exist in a world where different settings with different people bring out different sides of us as dictated by societal norms. Does this make someone fake? I would say no, mainly because I think there’s a difference between acting “fake” and being fake. Anytime I speak on the phone with a stranger I automatically assume my “telephone voice,” which sounds quite different from my talking-with-friends-and-family-voice. I don’t leave such phone calls thinking to myself, “wow, I’m such a fake,” because I know that when speaking with strangers, being more polite than I would be around close friends and family is respectful. I think what it comes down to for me is, regardless of how I am presenting myself, am I staying true to my beliefs and values? This is why I think WWX is in fact very genuine, and I would also argue that it is his genuine nature (once revealed) that attracts LWJ to WWX.

Returning to the idea of people having layers, we must recognize that people are not static; we are constantly reacting to our settings and thus our moods fluctuate accordingly. WWX is sunshine incarnate, but he is also someone who has suffered a great deal over the course of his life. To expect him to smile no matter what is a cruel burden to impose on him, and I believe it is a burden he feels in canon. Because both Jiang Fengmian and Madam Yu impress upon WWX that he must keep Jiang Yanli and Jiang Cheng safe, that they are the priority, WWX feels compelled to smile and put on a strong facade so that he doesn’t crumble and fall apart, thus “failing” his adoptive parents and siblings. So while these smiles may simply be masks to hide his pain, thus not “real” smiles, they do not make WWX himself fake, but rather (imo) reinforce his genuine nature because his motives are genuine, even if his smiles may not always be.

There are also times when he smiles and acts extremely cocky in front of others, only for this facade to immediately fall away the moment he is alone/out of the public eye. One of my favorite examples of this is in episode 26 when he questions Jin Zixun about the whereabouts of Wen Ning. The entire time he is there, he exudes a cocky disregard for formality and the established hierarchy, even going so far as to say, “If I, Wei Wuxian, want to kill someone, who can stop me? Who would dare to stop me?!” Once he has the information he needs and turns to leave, however, we immediately see the cockiness fall from his face to be replaced by one of...remorse? I’ll let you guys decide for yourselves.

[gif credit]

I think it is worth noting that his facade fades once he looks at LWJ, because LWJ is one of the few people at this point in time who WWX respects, and whose opinion of WWX still holds value to WWX. And so again we see that WWX’s outward behavior does not seem to align with his inner feelings. Look at the situation that WWX is in, though. He is just one man, albeit a powerful one, going against the biggest, most powerful clans. If he shows an ounce of weakness, they’ll eat him alive. And so in order to stay true to his beliefs, WWX puts on a show. In episode 25 we also see WWX put on a show of shooting many arrows simultaneously while blindfolded. @cal3ris made an excellent post on here stating that WWX was not just doing this to show off, but that he was ensuring the temporary safety of the Wen prisoners by pulling off such a feat so as to ensure no other cultivator would attempt the challenge after him. In situations such as this one, it works in WWX’s favor that the vast majority of the cultivation world believes him to be nothing but a showoff with a big mouth. And of course, there is a part of WWX that does enjoy being in the spotlight! Especially if someone he wants to impress is watching~

At the beginning of the Gusu days flashback (ep 3), we see WWX before everything goes to hell. He’s constantly smiling, goofing around, and is a genuine gremlin of a lad. This is real! He’s a teenager in the flush of his youth, he’s with his beloved siblings, he’s smart and talented, the list goes on and on. For people who don’t know WWX, he comes off as a shallow person with no real depth who thinks of nothing but goofing around all day. For those who know WWX intimately, like Jiang Yanli and Jiang Cheng (though he’s less vocal about it), they know this is not the case. The point is, WWX doesn’t care what people think about him. He doesn’t care because he knows who he is and what he stands for. This is a huge part of who WWX is as a person: “I don’t care if they slander me, as long as I have a clear conscience.” It is also one of the defining things that connect Wangxian to one another, which brings me to the point of LWJ being someone whom WWX hates to deceive, because he greatly values LWJ’s good opinion of him. We see how much it pains WWX to put distance between himself and LWJ, but we also see that WWX is willing to do so if he believes it is for the best. In episode 20, after being reunited with Jiang Cheng and LWJ, we see WWX purposefully push LWJ away with cold precision. Once more he plays his role with practiced ease, but we see his mask fall as he watches LWJ walk away.

WWX goes from this:

[gif credit]

to this as soon as LWJ isn’t looking at him:

[gif credit]

Having just returned from the Burial Mounds, WWX is very unstable, both physically and mentally. For the past months that he’s spent in the Burial Mounds, survival has been his priority. We see this instability and the signs of PTSD manifest quite a bit throughout the Sunshot episodes. In episode 20 Jiang Cheng hugs WWX, who honestly seems at a loss as to how to respond. In episode 20 we see LWJ step towards WWX, who immediately steps back. We also see WWX shrink away from Nie Huaisang’s touch. This is incredibly telling because WWX is someone who likes physical touch and proximity. He’s constantly putting his arms around Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang and constantly puts himself in LWJ’s personal space (much to LWJ’s initial chagrin). I believe WWX’s behavior post Burial Mounds comes from a desire to protect himself from those around him as well as those around him from himself. [apt gifset here] Nothing about this WWX is fake to me. He is acting differently here because he is different. Trauma does not define a person, but it does change a person. Post Burial Mounds WWX is a different person, but he has not lost what makes him him, which is his strong commitment to his beliefs and morals. For WWX during this time, I don’t believe he has the emotional strength to relive his trauma to those closest to him, so he settles for brushing them off with excuses and yes, fake smiles. This also ties into WWX’s habit of internalizing his own struggles so as not to burden those around him. Hopefully at this point a clear pattern has revealed itself: no matter how WWX presents himself on the outside, he never compromises his beliefs.

After being resurrected in Mo Xuanyu’s body, we see a WWX who is far more reminiscent of the carefree teenager back in Gusu. We see WWX slowly heal from the traumas of his past life and we see him begin to smile again, not because he needs to, but because he can’t help it. We might be tempted to look at this WWX and think, “ah, this is the real him,” but I think this does a disservice to the complexity of his character. The point is, it’s all WWX. The pranks, the smiles that crinkle the corners of his eyes, the creativity, the cockiness, the way his laughter bursts out of his body at times and at other times comes out like a sigh or an afterthought, the way he looks out for the juniors, and both his quiet and loud rage are all what makes him who he is. Certain aspects may be muted at times, but that’s to be expected. WWX is by no means perfect, but I would say he is painfully genuine. Just think, would LWJ feel so strongly about him if he weren’t?

As I feared, this got way too long and I probably rambled and repeated myself and got off track, but it’s fine…..

[akari-hope]

not to burst anyone’s bubble but you ARE racist if you continue to support shera because white saviorism and a piss-poor colonialism metaphor are literally baked into and inextricable from the narrative. adora is the poster child for a white savior and she’s even born of colonizers. That isn’t mentioning the white-washing and Glimmer’s skin turning YELLOW on Dril. you people use your autism as an excuse & will do anything to ignore racism if it comes from your faves. It’s literally so gross.

2/2 And if you’re a poc fan of it you absolutely DO have internalized racism you need to unpack. I don’t give a shit if my wording makes ppl with ocd uncomfortable, because that gets used as a flimsy excuse, too. It’s the truth. Y’all have to stop hiding behind your neurodivergencies and mental illnesses, because they don’t matter when you’re willfully ignoring or outright excusing blatant racism. Continuing to support spop means you’re racist, end of. I’m really not trying to be mean, but damn.

i agree with the points you're making. these are all parts of the racism present in the series. along with mara's whitewashing, and several other elements. you're correct. these are all problems. whether they're meant to be malignant or not is up for interpretation, but their existence is certainly not.

however, once again, everyone is going to have a different comfort level. and not throwing away the show does not make them racist by default. just as it does not make them transphobic, ableist, etc. this is coming from someone who has decreasing love for the series, closer to indifference than anything else at this point, so please note i'm not saying this to defend myself. this is just something i believe - my answer remains the same for harry potter, twilight, steven universe, whatever. enjoying a fictional work on its own is not a moral statement, regardless of the content of that fictional work (if it were then horror as a genre could not exist).

do i personally approve of every element in all of the works i listed? absolutely the fuck not. hp is full of racist, homophobic, transphobic, antisemitic bullshit. twilight is racist in more ways than i can count and justifies grooming. steven universe, while i have less knowledge of it, is not without its problems as well, many similar to she-ra's if the discourse i've encountered around it is to be believed. but i do not think that enjoyment of these works means someone inherently supports or excuses any of these things.

someone can engage critically with problematic media while still enjoying it, and that does not make them a bad person. if they are acknowledging the problems, seriously taking them into account in their interpretation and judgment of a work, and not just wiping them away, they are not inherently immoral and bad people for liking a work with any number of racist elements. (please note i am NOT speaking of those who willfully ignore or excuse. that is a problem and something they need to address. however i do not find them to be the majority of people i speak to.)

i'm going to be honest, we could do this song and dance with any piece of media. we can look for problematic elements all we want. and we would find them in anything. and you're allowed to. rip things to shreds if you want, kick them to the curb, hate them all you want. but ultimately you cannot dictate how others engage with fiction, and you will drive yourself crazy trying to. i really recommend just not engaging with the media or communities around it if it's so upsetting to you. i did the same largely, so it's very possible. saves me a lot of strife.

side note, i do not know why this is directed toward me. i do not use my autism as an excuse for anything to my knowledge, but you're free to correct me if i'm off base. if this is directed at an anon, don't send it to me bc i do not speak for my anons.

also, while i respect the attempt to backtrack, this all does come across as rude considering you're directing it at someone who really doesn't even support the series anymore. i'm giving the benefit of the doubt that you did not know this and are tired/upset, which i understand and do not blame you in the slightest for. but please do not make assumptions like this about me in the future. it is rude regardless of intention.

tldr: you make solid points, but people are also allowed to make their own decisions regarding how they engage with fiction. all that being said, i hope you have a nice evening anon (or whatever time of day it is for you)

[ts-unsolved]

Final Wrap-up for Chapter One

((since chapter one will be coming to a close shortly and there is still an assortment of questions left over, here is a masterpost of responses to queries that couldn’t be addressed during the story! 

[reminder: the ask box will be left open, however the characters are not available. please keep in mind that non-plot related questions will not be answered by the characters after this post.]

Anonymous said: ((Just wanted to tell you your drawings are so pretty and I love ur blog. That is all I have no braincells to ask questions))

Anonymous said: OKAY MOD I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW I LOVE THIS AU SO MUCH AND ITS SO COOL AND GOOD AND YOUR ART IS TOO!! sorry for caps I’m just excited

Thank you! Sorry I didn’t always get around to answering asks like this, but for every one that was sent in, I appreciated it with all my heart. You guys are angels 💖

Anonymous said: What is one haunted location you guys would really like to visit someday?

Poveglia is definitely the highest on the list for the notoriety alone, although they would likely never get the permission to go (the history in general is almost excessively horrible and tragic, so nothing good would come out of doing an episode there. Maybe it’d be good as a final-chapter type location? 🤔).

@anxious-fander-bean​ said: Hey Logan, have you ever tried swing dancing? It's really fun and good excersize! There's also a lot of bouncing and upbeat music, so Patton might enjoy it as well! ((I'm doing it. I need the qpp boys to be happy and have fun, bc they deserve it.))

(LOGAN: I’ll...consider it.)

You did it, you got them to go on some good ol’ platonic dates! B)

Anonymous said: I feel bad that I don't have any deep question or something along those lines, but what's your favorite thing to bake, Pat? - 💐

That’s alright! Questions don’t have to be deep to be fun/interesting. 

(PATTON: Cupcakes! You can make so many different flavors, and there are tons of fun ways to decorate them!)

@why-should-i-tell-youu2 said: Why cant anyone else see the seal?

You need to have The Sight to be able to see demon sigils. Patton has this ability naturally, and Dee has it because Elliott taught it to him. Otherwise, Virgil and Roman would be the closest in terms of gaining this ability, but a scared/skeptical part of them is holding them back. 

Anonymous said: My good dorks, is there a way to, I don’t know, get a better/more effective charm for your office? One that costs more than $10? -🍁

Anonymous said: Hey, Logan, potential naturalistic explanation for ya: depending on what the charm was made of, shifts in ambient room temperature could have caused minuscule expansions and contractions in the material that would eventually crack the charm. Do I believe my own explanation? Absolutely not. Am I grasping at straws for a non-supernatural explanation? Absolutely. And ambient room temperature doesn’t even begin to explain the red symbol around the charm

(LOGAN: Our budgeting is already a mess as it is, the last thing we need is to waste more funds on decorations. And that theory seems much more reasonable than the contrary explanation.)

Anonymous said: Is the demon that Pavreen summoned the same demon that possessed Elliott?

Anonymous said: Welp Virge SUMMONED A DEMON- (Why do I have a feeling Remy was the demon that possessed Elliot-)

Nope, they’re all different demons! The demon that Parveen summoned is notoriously difficult to contact, so a bunch of teenagers wouldn’t have been able to do it. Likewise for Remy; you can only summon him once you have his True Name, and he’s already destroyed most references to that (sorry Patton).

Anonymous said: omg omg omg what part of mythology is remy part of???

He’s not from any particular mythology, but he is partly based off of Alps from German folklore and the general mythology around sleep paralysis!

Anonymous said: Can Patton see supernatural beings like ghosts and demons and stuff? I just think it would be interesting if his scars make him able to see them :3c

Anonymous said: If both Dee and Patton can see the sigil, and Dee can see ghosts, does that mean Pat can see ghosts too? With the whole red glowing thing (forgot what its called) it seems to be connected.

Yes he can see ghosts/demons, and you’re right that the scars (or rather the deal with the demon which gave him his powers and scars) are what lead to him being able to do it. The red is just a general indicator of something supernatural/not of our Realm.

Anonymous said: Wait so if Patton and his family all have that mark could that mean Patton is not completely human 👀 -🌈

I supposed you could say that Patton’s not entirely human because he’s a witch who was born without a soul, but he’d find that pretty offensive tbh.

Anonymous said: Are Elliott and Patton maybe related, even distantly? Also, roman needs to suck it up and have Feelings for the Snake Man

There’s no relation between Elliott and Patton. Elliott is the child of a seer and a psychic, Patton is the son of witches. They’re similar, but different. (Also you’re assuming that Roman hasn’t liked the Snake Man since high school, but considered him off-limits because he’s his brother’s best friend).

Anonymous said: Does Patton know that Dee can see spirits and does Dee know that Patton is protecting them all?

Anonymous said: Dee, pat, do you know that each other can see the sigil? 

Anonymous said: is ... is patton a witch and dee a dee-mon and that's why they don't like each other.....?

Anonymous said: Pat what do you think about making deals with demons?

They’re both aware of each other’s secrets! Technically they’re both doing their best to protect everyone, but that doesn’t mean they agree with each other’s methods or bond over the shared responsibility. 

Patton is indeed a witch, and Dee is a regular human who happened to summon a demon one time. Patton thinks Dee is the occult equivalent of a satanist, which he disagrees with because dark magic is unnatural/dangerous in his eyes (making deals with demons only leads to trouble!), and would prefer Dee not endanger his friends. Dee doesn’t like Patton because of his perceived moral superiority, and finds the way he can be so secretive and two-faced creepy 

Regardless, they’re both sitting in glass houses and have more in common than they think.

Anonymous said: Patton Should Hug Dee *

Maybe. But he won’t. 8′D

Anonymous said: Since Dee has been able to see ghosts for a long time, was he an open believer in ghosts before Elliot died? Since it was mentioned that the reason he lies about his belief is because he knows that they're dangerous, he wouldn't have had a reason to hide it in the past. And if he did are any of the others aware of the belief change? Well, besides Remus. I'm guessing that one is pretty obvious.

He may have been more involved as a believer in the past, though that doesn’t mean he was ever super open about it. He was aware of how it would look like to outsiders (being genuinely skeptical at one point himself), so he wasn’t going to paint a target on his back by talking about ghosts and demons and things most people can’t see.

Of course, that didn’t stop people from stereotyping and making those sorts of assumptions about their friend group anyway, but no one besides them really knew about their secret-- not even Virgil.

Anonymous asked: What would happen if one time, the gang ended up getting something supernatural on camera?

The result of that would depend on the being. Ghosts can kinda appear on camera, although it’s very rare for them to appear as a full bodied apparition, which is why they usually only manifest in spirit orbs or light/shadows. Poltergeists are better since they’re able to interact with objects, but likewise since they can’t manifest into a physical form they can easily be brushed off. Demons and other miscellaneous creatures will straight up not appear if captured directly on film; you’ll simply get video glitches and distortions.  

So essentially, they may technically have found something already, but capturing evidence that’s also compelling is a lot more difficult than you’d think. I imagine there’s a good chance that anything legitimate wouldn’t get taken too seriously because of how easy it is to fake evidence nowadays.

Anonymous said: Okay so a little bit of a rant but not really ig but imagine the ladylike and unsolved crossover for this AU like I can see it as like Thomas' friends dressing up Roman and Dee in style and seeing a blushing mess and maybe flirting going on because of how good the clothing complements each other but this is kinda a weak idea lol

It’s not a weak idea at it, it’s really cute! (though I may just have a soft spot for the Ladylike cast and crossovers). 

The only thing to note is that I’ve chosen not to include Thomas’ friends in this AU because I personally weird about writing fiction about real people? (I was on the fence about including character!Thomas for a while too, tbh). So, apologies to anyone who’s sent similar asks or wanted to see any of Thomas’ friends; they wont be around!

Anonymous said: Did Dee and Remus ever have that talk Dee said he would try to have a while back????

They might have gotten the opportunity to chat back when Remus came back to help shoot the Room 1046 video. It wouldn’t have been a complete reconciliation by any means (dealing with years of baggage in one sitting is Hard), but now Remus is aware that Dee is open to discuss things again at some point in the future, so progress!

Anonymous said: wait wHAT?! When did he (Emile Picani) die?? Give us the deets oh wise one

Anonymous said: emile is... dead? what happened?

I see y’all, but unfortunately you’re not getting any answers from me just yet! You’ll have to wait until the next chapter~.

Anonymous said: Shit is about to go down and I am worried about the next ghost "adventure"

:) Don’t Worry About It.))

[bluekaddis]

You almost mentioned Cullen as the best written character, but tbh he is written quite bad, his abuse and hate is never confronted in Inquisition and he is made victim by narrative, while he was the very problem why Chantry sucks. Even his fans admit that. He is mostly liked because of romance.

Ugh.

I was waiting for that moment when admitting I like Cullen’s character and story arc will bite me in the ass.

TL; DR (for those who don’t want to get through my long rant) 

Let everyone enjoy any characters/romances/game choices they want. I have my reasons for having Cullen as a fav DA character and liking his story arc and I don’t think there are more problems with writing of his character than the majority of other companions in DA games. 

Full answer below

First of all – I don’t want to argue that everyone should like or dislike the same elements of fiction as I do – it would be stupid. We all have different tastes, like different character archetypes and have varying opinions on what makes a good story. I’m trying to keep my blog character positive and unless someone asks me directly to share my opinion on a certain character or plot element I prefer keeping my critique to myself. I also don’t feel entitled to confront fans who, in their own posts, state they find Cullen boring, unredeemable or overrated, even if I personally disagree with all these statements. 

If your ask, anon, stated the words “i think” or “in my opinion” I wouldn’t probably bother with such a lengthy answer, HOWEVER, you write your personal opinion like it was an objective statement, like you were in position to tell me how I should view the certain character. What did you expect, that I would suddenly realize “oh crap, NOW I see that a character and plot I had liked for my 200 hours of gameplay is actually bad, I was just too stupid to notice it!”.

Haha, no.

So, let’s go through your comment.

“tbh he is written quite bad”

In. Your. Opinion. There are people who don’t like Cullen’s character development. Some like the general idea but would make some changes if they could. Others (like me) don’t have problem with his story arc and just like to add some headcanons to fill the gaps.

It is understandable that when years pass between games, fans have time to develop their opinions and wishes of what they’d like to see. And because none of them actually writes the story it is very easy to feel disappointed and say “well, I would do it better (= my way)”. But the truth is - your way is not necessary a better way. It may be the case that “your version” would be even more hated by the fandom. Some opinions are just more popular than others and therefore may seem like they are objective but it’s an illusion. A well designed pool, with large sample size and good statistics may be objective. Opinions, on the other hand, are like farts – you always think yours are less stinky than the others’ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

But I digress.

Yes, I think Cullen is a well written character and yes, I like his story arc. Cullen’s redemption works for me because I see it not as much about atonement for his actions as for his lack of action.

Let me explain.

Anti-Cullen fans tend to assume that he personally did a lot of atrocities, but when you look not at fandom assumptions but at his actual actions we see in games or WoT, you can see that he caused most evil by not doing shit.

He should have protected the mages.

He didn’t.

He should have questioned Meredith’s actions.

He didn’t.

He should have noticed she’s going mad.

He didn’t .

He should have stopped her before she evoked the Rite.

He didn’t.

He was very passive and basically let either Meredith or Hawke make all the choices for him. If he let Meredith decide – people died. If he listened to Hawke (based on player’s choices) he voted for whatever Hawke had proposed.

Why was he behaving like that? Probably because he had lost faith in his own judgment so he put all the responsibility on authority figures (Templar Order and Chantry teachings). Cullen’s core motivation throughout all games was to protect people and it never changes. What changes is his belief of what methods are moral or necessary to achieve that goal and whether he, as an individual, should be in a position to decide it.

In Inquisition Cullen does the opposite. He is a workaholic. He makes his own decisions (leaves Kirkwall, stops taking lyrium) and takes full responsibility for them. He doesn’t follow his leader blindly but openly states his own opinions and advice (whether they are correct or wrong is another topic). He gets really furious when someone in position of power lie to or sacrifice people under their command (like in case of Samson or Rainier). Finally, he dedicates his life, health, skills, basically everything, for a cause - to stop the war that can be blamed mostly on his former organisation, without complaint or asking for forgiveness.

And I love that aspect of his character.

In Inquisition Cullen is still a work in progress. He tries his best but his templar past comes back sometimes - and it’s good. If he was completely free of his biases, it would be damn unnatural. 

I would never say that Cullen is a flawless ray of sunshine. He can be stubborn, biased, narrow-minded, hypocritical, bitter, aggressive and vengeful. But guess what – so can all the other characters. That’s why they are interesting.

“his abuse and hate is never confronted in Inquisition”

It is, at least for the standards of this particular game. DA:I doesn’t have full developed friendship-rivalry mechanics like DA:2 and you can’t even get approval points from advisors. The Inquisitor basically has far less options to condemn the Inner Circle’s actions or change their worldviews than Hawke (you don’t really argue with Dorian about slavery or with Iron Bull about Saarebas or Reeducators either).

But even if the Inquisitor has limited dialogue options to confront Cullen’s actions directly, Cullen himself brings the topic to the player. Cullen’s dialogue and actions in DA:I show that

he is ashamed of the person he became after Uldred’s uprising    

he knows he needs to atone for his actions and he wants to work for it

but doesn’t really believe he can fully atone for what he did

supports the reform of the Chantry, Templar Order and Circles rather than agreeing to their traditional methods

That man already hates himself, give him some rest.

And if you still think he needs an extra punishment for his crimes - Cullen is actually one of only 3 companions/advisors in DA:I whose life you can literally ruin through your choices (the other two being Blackwall and Iron Bull). If your Inky thinks that Cullen’s actions are unredeemable and he deserves nothing better than to forever be chained to the templar life he has chosen as a kid - they can order him to take lyrium again. For me it’s a heartless and morally wrong choice, but anyone can play their game however they want.

„he is made victim by narrative”

Ok, that part really bothers me. Are you saying that it is a bad thing that a narrative treats a person who has been physically, mentally and sexually abused for weeks as a victim of that abuse? Or encourages empathy towards a character fed drugs, manipulation and propaganda? Acknowledging Cullen’s PTSD doesn’t automatically result in ignoring or diminishing traumas and abuse that happened to Anders, Carl or any other character. Empathy doesn’t have to be reserved to people you personally agree with, just saying.

„he was the very problem why Chantry sucks.”

I’d say he was an example showing why Chantry sucks. A symptome, not a cause. Chantry benefits only high ranking members of that intitution + some nobles and rich dudes. Mages are abused and denied most of the rights because of the Chantry. Templars are drugged and brainwashed because of the Chantry. Common folk can’t freely benefit from things like healing magic because of the Chantry. Non-humans are treated like heretics and barbarians - because of the Chantry. The Chantry, as we see at the beginning of DA:I is a corrupt, powerful institution that has forsaken almost all ideals it had been built upon and desperately needs a reform. Everyone can see that. I have NEVER met any fan who said „yeah, Circles, Templar Order, the Chantry – they were perfectly alright, no need to change lol”. Same goes to characters labelled by fandom as pro-Chantry (like Cassandra, Cullen or Vivienne). They all see that major changes must be done, they just believe the reformation is better than abolition.

„Even his fans admit that.”

Some, yes. Others don’t have a problem with his arc. Personally I don’t think there are many Cullen fans that would agree with every single point you made.

„He is mostly liked because of romance.”

Um, no. The reason why the game developers even bothered with making Cullen a romance option in DA:I is that he was already quite liked and popular among fans, despite being just a secondary character. I’d agree that the romance plot made Cullen even more popular, especially among players who didn’t play previous games, but it is wrong to assume that the only reason people enjoy his character is because he’s a pretty boy. I played the games in order and Cullen was one of my fav characters in DA2 - I just like paragon anti-villains with redemption potential. Fight me. 

To conclude this overly long rant - I’m generally under impression that some DA fans tend to point certain aspects of Cullen’s character and story as “stupid excuses made by Bioware and fans to redeem a son of the bitch” and then use almost exactly the same arguments to defend their own favs. It’s the topic for maybe another discussion, but I think it’s a good thing to confront your own biases sometimes.

P.S. I also recommend watching this video about writing redemption arcs. Just for fun.

I rest my case. 

(thanks, Ania, for the high quality picture to sum up my feelings)

[aqua-eros]

iKON astro notes: Kim Hanbin ✒️

Bonjour! and welcome to a new series of astro notes, this time covering the members of iKON. As always, all assumptions are based on their personal placements and personalities without knowing exact birth times. First, let's take a look at B.I, the leader, rapper and composer of the group🎼

Sun in Libra

Unless you are unfamiliar with iKON and/or B.I, you could definitely point out that, one way or another, Hanbin is very likeable and charming. Any type of person can and probably will naturally and unintentionally fall for him, even if they just met. Such is the Libra gift, brought to them by Venus itself. Venus brings irresistible charm and beauty to to the signs it rules (Taurus and Libra), therefore anyone can find themselves trapped in the moment as the magic of Libra takes their breath away, especially considering the fact that this is an air sign. Air is known for being alluring in a breezy and light-hearted sense, making it's way into your life through the help of intellect. The addition of Venus to Hanbin's air is an even bigger magnet that pulls people in without them even realizing it.

The element of air gives a wide understanding of the world, concepts and ideas, since the mind is the most active and receptive part. Air natives are creative and highly adaptable, because just like air, they can mold themselves into any shape or form, they change in order to fit in or, on the contrary, stand out. In addition, being so observant of the world and people around them, Libra natives are exceptionally good at putting up a facade, acting and playing make-believe in order to get what they truly desire. As you can see, such techniques can be used with various intentions, both good and bad, but ultimately, the goal is to bring harmony and peace to the environment a Libra is in. And if harmony means being right and having the upper hand, well, a Libra will not hesitate to take action to suit themselves. After all, we're talking about a cardinal sign and as much as Libra is known for it's indecisiveness, they know what they truly want.

The Libra energy within Hanbin (his sun and mercury) contributes to his remarkable leadership skills, for as much as he is demanding, detailed and strict, he is also diplomatic, communicative, responsible and a fighter for justice.

take a look at any episode of their survival shows "win: who is next" or "mix & match" to truly understand what I mean. Hanbin always strives for perfection and ultimate dedication from his team, to use their abilities to the max and develop them with every practice session. he accepted no slacking and because he strived for a stunning visual experience of their performances, he put immense effort into leading his team to the top (along with writing/composing their tracks). of course, that required him to play good cop/bad cop and push the members (and himself) to their limits. cardinal energy at it's peak

Libra being a social and partnership-oriented sign, it takes action through relationships and interaction with others, which also explains the heavy influence he had on his team

as much as Libras may be airheads, they are very clever. they constantly analyse and evaluate their relationships and environment, wishing to improve themselves and their surroundings for others

imbalance and unfairness is a no-no⚡

Moon in Pisces

Ah, the soul of a true poet, the spirit of an artist, such is the essence of Hanbin's inner self and it is obviously reflected in his field of work.

Hanbin's quiet, shy and somewhat awkward side is granted by his moon. It may be quite challenging for him to speak about his actual emotions and whatever ups and downs he is experiencing, since it's difficult to understand them all in the first place.

While he is very much concerned about others' emotional well-being and is trying his best to help, reassure and console those who are in need of it, when it comes to his own feelings... It can get really complicated and foggy.

The notable Neptunian influence is bound to hide and confuse whatever it touches and in Hanbin's case, his moon gets overshadowed and is left unable to fully reveal itself. He most likely goes through periods of self-reflection (his Libra energy craving that as well), isolating himself for even just a little bit in order to clear his mind, to detect the roots of his problems and, hopefully, find a solution or at least some inner peace. Whatever it is, understanding himself definitely does not come easy. It's a whole journey that takes him to pretty deep and unclear waters, as Pisces is notoriously complex and multi-facetted. Hanbin's feelings are not just this or that, they are everything at once and go through pretty intense changes on a daily, which is a lot to process. Thus, self-expression in a more emotional sense is not his forte. Yet, that explains why writing down what he feels (music) can be an easier way of opening up to the world.

Accepting failure is most certainly harder for him, since Pisces is a very sensitive sign. In his position, it is important to find the strength to move on, which he does, yet emotional pressure hits him hard and disappointing others is his worst nightmare. In a sense, it can make him feel fragile and helpless, push him into a dark place where he swims for some time, almost drowning, almost surrendering. Melancholy is close to Pisces, as well as getting lost in their own heads, endlessly dreaming, wishing and thinking.

Hanbin has mentioned that he's not especially experienced in the field of love. yet, he has written many songs specifically associated with that. obviously, he draws inspiration from fiction and certain life situations, yet I cannot skip on his imagination. pisces are famous for having visions that are beyond vivid. their minds are full of wonder and distant worlds🌠and romance is a constantly present theme inside those worlds

in other words, the need for love is really prominent. it is a yearning

intuition is strong with this placement

despite being an avid thinker, a pisces moon often acts based on emotion and the heart's desire, rather than logic

sentimental and soft, though he may try to hide it

did someone order pink glasses?🌸💕

Libra Mercury

lovely tone of voice, pleasant manners, charming way of approaching people✨

not a fan of conflicts, he either avoids them or, if the need arises, finds strength to resolve it in the most peaceful way possible

a good example of his mercury in action is "iKON TV" (ep. 7, part 4) where he felt uncomfortable confronting the rude/provocative behavior of a man and wanted to end things on mutual understanding and good terms

afraid of harming people with his words

naturally polite to everyone, wants people to like him

open-minded about new ideas and loves hearing what other people have to say

beauty finds it's way into B.I's speech. again, this serves him well during writing and sometimes public speaking

fairness is a big theme here as well, won't tolerate unjust or foul words towards anyone

his mind is very much set towards the good things and traits in people or the world. it's a rather idealistic perspective, but Libras seek peace and equality within their lives. imbalance or lack of harmony throws them from the right path and that may lead to unwanted moodswings, unusual behavior or an overall negative response from the Libra native🎭

needs a lot of time to make decisions and process things (and especially what side he's on)

Venus in Virgo

highly detail-oriented, especially when it comes to other people

hardly ever satisfied, perfection is everything to him. this goes for himself and others as well

while dealing with a Virgo placement, notice how good they are at helping you improve and develop yourself and your work ethics. they are great at helping people, yet they might not be too good on themselves and their standarts. considering that Virgo is in Hanbin's venus, his standarts in relationships of any kind can be high. he's a selective kind💎 that can be both useful and too much to handle

Virgos show love through service, mostly when in comes to something practical

although this is an earth sign, it is ruled by mercury, which makes B.I not only down-to-earth, hard-working and determined, but also craving communication, variety and fun

enjoys people with a broad mind and diverse personality, someone who never stops learning🚀

considering that venus is in fall in the sign of Virgo, the planet doesn't sit well here. it feels like there's no air for venus to breathe in when trapped in the analytical mind of Virgo, where much emphasis is put on the smaller things and not the bigger picture

tbh writing, information and organizing is basically a turn on

needs loads of time for himself, to organize his throughts, progress, values and work. alone time is a must

highly intellectual. knowledge is power

shy. especially when he likes someone

cares a lot about anything and everything. oftentimes that leads to worry and anxiety, but in severe levels

spends money wisely, is very careful about it. never impulsive spending, thinks it through a lot

responsible

Mars in Leo

oohh, here we go🔥

a very obvious indication of natural leadership skills

mars feels comfortable here, in the fire-y sign of Leo, therefore brings loads of confidence to the table

cocky boi, lets be real

noticeable presence, strong ethics, fixed morals, big desires

takes much pride in his achievements/success and the leo withing him likes to show it off to the world, wear his power like a lion's mane 🦁

winning in life is what he lives for

the stage truly belongs to him, it feels right to be there and shine like a thousand stars, to be loved by many and to, most importantly, spread that love even more like a Leo is prone to do

receives attention quite easily, even if he's not asking for it

since adoration is enjoyable, especially for Leo placements, it is likely he may go out of his way to feel it, to experience the admiration from others. after all, he's a born performer and has all of the creativity to get what he wants🎬

as you can imagine, for a placement like this, losing is not an option. but when that happens, when things don't go well or they unwillingly put shame on their name, it's a big stab in the ego. Leos are never in a good place when they fail, therefore they do anything they can to always end up victorious. otherwise, they won't even compete

embarrassment and humiliation is a big NO

can be quite the drama queen when all worked up about an issue, definitely the type to demonstrate what they're feeling

Hanbin is a frequent gym visitor, which is really good for his Leo mars. that way he can manage his emotions better and calm down his high levels of energy

say hello to !passion!, she loves to be here and boost Hanbin with even more drive for conquering not only his goals, but also his love interests

ultimate hunter award? yeah, you got it

he truly loves to love, spread love, show love, be loved, make love, everything!❤️

big-hearted and very generous, he would share the world with you if he could, or better yet, give it to you🌌

That's it for this goofball🌈 Thank you for reading! I'm really excited to start this series once again (previously done with Monsta X) but now with iKON. Only 6 more members to go!

Hope you're having a lovely day, wherever you are🎈

[0poole]

LGBTQABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

 Gee, I hate being the first one to say this, but it’s Pride month. Wow. How could no one be talking about this? Crazy.

Okay but like, it’s impossible to avoid this stuff, and it probably won’t stop till the end of next month, so might as well dish out some thoughts on everything here. Just thoughts, with no agenda behind them. Gotta make that clear because people tend to go ham with stuff otherwise.

First of all, I’m bi, and basically on the edge of being trans as well. Basically, here’s where I am on that spectrum:

I want to become a girl for fetish purposes. Maybe not entirely that, but it’s close enough to say it. Or, you know, maybe just wanting to get fucked by a dude in a different hole is just what every male-to-female transsexual wants? Apart from that, the only thing stopping me from going through with that is the technology. Basically, what they’ll be doing is giving me a vagina, and that’s pretty much it, unless I want to slap some plastic on my face. It’s not satisfying enough, and considering I’m totally okay with being male, It’s extremely not worth it for me. But, if I woke up one day and by chance I had magically turned into a girl overnight, then I am IN THE MONEY. Sounds dope. Why fondle other peoples’ tits when I can fondle my own?

As for bisexual-ism, I’d have to go far as to say that I’m not just ignoring the concept of pansexuality in lieu of something more familiar (even though that’s kinda-sorta also the reason but not really). I’m actually just not attracted to trans people for some reason. I’m obviously okay with it on a moral standpoint, but like... I just don’t feel it. Maybe it’s just something deep in the back of my mind going like “ehhhh.... something ain’t right here.” What’s weird is that I would DIE for futa girls. Maybe I just like dick and also every womanly part. Who knows.

And, if you’re asking yourself, “why’s this guy bringing up his porn tastes all of a sudden?” then literally WHAT DO YOU THINK SEXUALITY IS? Also thank you kind strawman, for letting me tie this into my main point of how I hope all sexuality will eventually become as pointless and irrelevant to a person’s being as their hair color.

Seriously, sexuality is a sex thing. And as far as I understand it, romantic interest is a different field from sexuality? That’s fair. Some people just want to fuck, others don’t want to fuck. Makes sense, but it kind of ties into one thing I hate about this whole movement: everything’s gotta be a title. Every slight iteration from another thing has it’s own entire label to it. How do you expect people to care about your movement if they have to learn a whole new language to understand what’s going on? It’s kinda the same thing with politics. Instead of saying I’m a “democrat” or whatever, all I want to do is tell you what I believe and go from there, no preconceived notions about things other people with the same title did or said or whatever. Instead of being a “aromantic pansexual,” you could just say “Everyone’s on the table, but I’m not much into dating and all that” and suddenly you as a being become a lot more tangible to other people. Obviously there are worse things people are doing for the cause, but even I’m getting annoyed at some of these extremely specific titles people are using. (I was about to type “demisexual” into that stereotypical example, but I looked it up, and it turns out it’s more on the romantic side of things, I guess? Look it up, it’s literally a “””sexuality””” that applies to most of the population, and yet it needs a label too)

And if you want to make things super specific, you know, to clarify that you’re into literally EVERYONE and not just “”everyone,”” then just realize it doesn’t actually matter to anyone who you’re not considering as a significant other. Like I said, sexuality is a sex thing. You wouldn’t want someone going around saying “Man, I really wish someone would tie me to a table and fuck me with a giant horsecock dildo right about now!” because that’s sex stuff, and we keep that on the DL, as the kids say. Although, I’d have to imagine that people bring it up out of the political-ness of it all, since that’s just how things are nowadays. 

And obviously you got the people who make their sexuality a major part of their person. Everyone knows they suck at this point, no need to beat a dead horse.

Here’s another thing I hate: People who make assumptions on a fictional characters sexuality/gender based on their personality. Like, “Oh, she’s a tomboy? Must be a lesbian.” sort of thing. Believe me, I’m a-go on lesbo porn 100%, but actually seriously assuming a character is gay or something just because of their personality? Isn’t that one of the things we’re trying to avoid? Stereotyping? No? Maybe? It’s even worse when people get angry about other people saying they’re something else, but that ties into my next thing:

When someone sees one person saying/doing something stupid on the internet, and assuming that a tangible amount of people actually do stuff like that. There’s probably a term for it. Like, if you see someone on r/Tumblrinaction or whatever going “It’s okay to rape boys but not girls.” a good number of people would instantly assume even a vaguely noticeable number of people believe that, just because they saw a meme of it online. Then, you get an actually tangible number of people getting angry about the original thing, even though, proportionally speaking, so many more people are angry about it then there are people actually saying/doing the thing. 

Where does it apply here? Well, last I checked there’s like 90K tweets about a so-called “Straight Pride Parade” going on somewhere on planet Earth. Checked the tab, everyone’s exclusively complaining about the concept. No actual news, only people reacting to other people reacting to other people reacting, etc. No, actually, guess what, here’s the news, from good ol’ Twitter Moments themselves: “THREE men in Boston...” THREE. It’s literally a tiny friend group of mindless white guys going “Hey, we should have a pride parade too!” and suddenly the entire internet folds upon them. And now, guess what? Now all the worse straight guys know about it, and feel vindicated to advocate for it, so guess what? You played yoselves.

But, there’s the tie-in to the next thought: What about these “Straight Pride,” “It’s okay to be White,” “It’s okay to be Male” types? You know, people at the top of the charts trying to start the same movements as the people below them. To be honest, I really don’t think these people are worth getting so goddamn uppity about. I mean, assholes aren’t worth getting uppity about in any case, but specifically in this case. The thing about those ideas is that they’re “”””””literally””””””” true and fair, but the thing is that that’s not the issue here. Yes, it’s okay to be white, straight, and male, but like... That’s not the discussion. The whole point of what’s going on is people trying to rise up in the rankings. Some idiots on the internet may want to put the top people below them, but as mentioned 2 ideas ago, that’s not the majority. Reasonable people would only want to put the straight, white, male people below them if they, specifically, individually, are being an asshole about everything. Then, that’s about you as a person, not what you are. 

Back to the Straight Pride Parade specifically, aren’t these “pride parades” supposed to exist to make you feel better about your body and whatnot? If some jackasses feel better about themselves, and do so in a fashion that isn’t harmful to other people, then who cares? I’m assuming it’s not in the spirit of things to go to a normal pride parade and be like “FUCK STRAIGHT PEOPLE” so as long as the straight people don’t do the opposite either, who cares? It’s a net increase of happiness in the world. Sure, they haven’t gone through as many hardships throughout history, but should you really need to go through hardship to get together with other people to feel better about themselves? I hope the answer is no. You know, just because the idea I mentioned 3 ideas ago is bullshit doesn’t mean it doesn’t actually affect people.

Frankly, why can’t we just have a Sexuality Pride Parade, where literally everyone, no matter what, can join in? If unity’s the goal, why not actually be all-inclusive? I mean, like I said, I want to live my life around the idea that sexuality/gender matters as much to any random person as their hair color, but until that becomes the norm at least try and make it fit for everyone to join in. You can’t exactly fix anything if you just keep it all to the people who’d support you anyway because they’re in the same boat. 

Oh and expect me to gush about Pokemon tomorrow, because I most certainly will.

[lucky13-452]

The Girl of Fire and Thorns meets The Queen of the Tearling in this thrilling fantasy standalone about one girl’s unexpected rise to power. Freya was never meant be queen. Twenty third in line to the throne, she never dreamed of a life in the palace, and would much rather research in her laboratory than participate in the intrigues of court. However, when an extravagant banquet turns deadly and the king and those closest to him are poisoned, Freya suddenly finds herself on the throne. Freya may have escaped the massacre, but she is far from safe. The nobles don’t respect her, her councillors want to control her, and with the mystery of who killed the king still unsolved, Freya knows that a single mistake could cost her the kingdom – and her life. Freya is determined to survive, and that means uncovering the murderers herself. Until then, she can’t trust anyone. Not her advisors. Not the king’s dashing and enigmatic illegitimate son. Not even her own father, who always wanted the best for her, but also wanted more power for himself. As Freya’s enemies close in and her loyalties are tested, she must decide if she is ready to rule and, if so, how far she is willing to go to keep the crown.

I think I first heard about Long May She Reign on epic reads and then Hailey in Bookland (YouTube) had just finished this book and said it was good. I was going on a road trip to Boston and what better thing than to have an audiobook, however things didn't go as plan and I had only listen to the audio partial. Since then I have manage to finish the book and I really enjoyed it.

Long May She Reign is a historical fantasy that is a standalone, there are no supernatural creatures and there is no magic. I really didn't think historical fiction was my type of thing then the Winner's trilogy happened and I decided to give it more historical fiction a try and I am glad I did.

There is a massacre and almost everyone at court is killed and now Freya who was twenty-third in line is now queen. It's up to her to protect her people, find the killer, suss out her enemies, gain the trust of the people and become the queen everyone needs her to be.

Freya is a delight and so different from normal characters in historical fantasies. She is a scientist and science was hardly study in this world so that makes her wildly unique alone but then there are other qualities. Freya is smart, babbles and has anxiety which makes her not feel comfortable at court even though she is a noble. She isn't as wasteful as the other people at court she doesn't believe in the extravagant of it all. Freya is kind, awkward, smart and determined. Freya does things her own way, uses her brain and follows her own moral code.

Among other that escaped the killings is William Fitzroy the kings illegitimate son, Naomi Freya's best friend and Madeleine who was beloved in the old court. I loved these characters so much and there parts were so unexpected. Fitzroy character turned out to be a total suprised, you would think because of who he was and the fact that he was a court his personality would be totally different and I did find him and Freya adorable.

Naomi is the best friend but because of circumstances she really wasn't shown to much in this world because Freya had to deal with problems on a whole new level and Naomi had to work through her own stuff. However I still love the fact that she wasn't the loud friend or the friend who didn't know anything and asked a lot of questions, no Naomi's character was actually very supportive and help Freya with dealing with things such as her anxiety and helps her work through problems.

Madeleine was there to help show that assumptions can be wrong. Not everyone in court is wasteful or mean or rude, she shows a different side. Madeleine is an artist and see things differently, she treats Freya kindly and believes that she can be queen.

Long May She Reign had the feeling of a whodunit to me, I was constantly trying to figure out who was the murder and I love that I was putting together the pieces of the story right along with Freya. This is a character based book and the characters were written very well, all complex and well rounded. Long May She Reign kept my interest with it's drama and mystery. Will Freya stop her enemies, are the Forgotten really behind her and who is the murderer. You will have to read it to find out.

Overall 4 stars