#put your problematic fave in the tags

[moonlarked]

I love problematic faves. like fuck yeah be your messed up self

[hotvintagepoll]

Trying to get more into old movies because of this blog (I only know about half of these people and feel like a poser) do you have good recommendations on where to start or is it just a situation where you watch stuff and find what you like as you go?

you are not a poser <3 i myself am just here for the hotties.

here is my quick and dirty list of fun films to start with if you're new to old movies. and of course if you like one of these, do try to find more stuff as you go! there's no bad way to try out old movies.

(this list is not official and is SUPER quick. i'm tagging for content warnings where I can, but if I forgot something let me know.)

"I want to watch something SILLY!"

The Court Jester (Danny Kaye, Angela Lansbury, Glynis Johns, Basil Rathbone)—everyone in this movie is hot. everyone is in fancy medieval dress, which makes them hotter. everyone here is very silly. You can stream this on Hoopla, last time i checked, so you might be able to stream it through your library!

Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang (Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries, Gert Frobe)—some people hate this movie and to them I say What Is Wrong With You. dick van dyke is a hot absent minded inventor who lives in a windmill with his two adorable children, his gorgeous sheepdog, and a grandfather who is categorically useless. it feels like the two films mary poppins (1964) and willy wonka (1971) had a baby and that baby was born on roller skates singing an old broadway showtune. this one has been showing up in some odd places lately—I think you can catch it on Tubi or Hoopla? It's definitely around.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Jane Powell, Julie Newmar, Howard Keel, Russ Tamblyn)—my problematic fave. everytime i watch this i change my mind whether it's a sexist pile of garbage or a feminist paean, and fellas, today we're on the feminist paean bandwagon!! jane powell's millie is truly the star of the movie, she is the hero she drives the plot the narrative is on her side, and besides all that there are seven very hot men dancing next to her and six beautiful ladies making me bisexual. (on Tubi last I checked.)

The Duke Is Tops (Lena Horne, Laurence Criner)—I get a huge kick out of watching Laurence Criner and Ralph Cooper swindle everybody while also trying to put on a show; there's just something silly and sincere here, plus you get a ~musical extravaganza~ at the end when all is right as rain again. Free on YouTube I think?

"I want to watch something DRAMATIC that may make me FEEL SOMETHING."

Witness for the Prosecution (Marlene Dietrich, Tyrone Power, Elsa Lanchester)—I love a campy twisty turny mystery, don't you? :) I'm not going to talk about this one much because it's better to go in blind, but if you like Agatha Christie stories you'll probably like this.

To Be Or Not To Be (Carole Lombard, Jack Benny)—always relevant, always makes me laugh, also makes me cry. this takes place in poland during wwii so big tw for nazi imagery and mentions. (don't worry. this movie fucking hates nazis.)

Seven Samurai (Toshiro Mifune)—this one is Great Cinema™™™™™™™™™™™ for a goddamned reason

"I want to watch some stuff with the scrungles in it!"

Mr. Washington Goes to Town (Mantan Moreland)—I've been checking out more of Mantan Moreland's stuff because every time I see him in something I think he's delightful, and I really enjoyed this silly-spooky comedy. Does this story have a brain cell? No. Are the special effects and goofy slapstick fun? Yes. This is a fun example of an all-Black cast in a film that was made for Black audiences, and is a striking counterpoint to the stereotypical representation Black actors were given in white-targeted films, showing the enormous amount of talent and artistry the racist studios missed out on by excluding these actors. This is not A Great Film™ but it's still A Fun Time,™ with a goofy Laurel and Hardy type vibe. (It's free on Youtube.)

The Red Shoes (Robert Helpmann, Leonide Massine, Marius Goring)—hey kid, you wanna watch something fucked up? This movie is so fucked up. It's about ballet, it's about art, it's about technicolor, it's about dance and toxic relationships and making theatre and nightmares and ambition and death. A lot of these recs tend on the silly side (because I tend on the silly side) but this one is actually Serious Film and will definitely help you chat up Martin Scorsese should you ever meet him. Big content warning if you can't handle dark themes right now—this movie's pretty dark, not in the gore way but in the Haunting Creepy Image way. (it's also free on Tubi and Kanopy most of the time.)

The Invisible Man (Claude Rains)—my favorite of the vintage horror flicks and a great introduction to Most Dunked On Hot Vintage Man of All Time, Claude Rains. (it helps that you barely ever see him!) Very very silly but the special effects are just plain fun. (I think this is on Internet Archive in full?)

"Can I just get more hot people please?"

Flower Drum Song (James Shigeta, Nancy Kwan, Miyoshi Umeki, Jack Soo)—there are so many unbelievably hot people in this movie which is somehow very good (thanks to its cast) and also incredibly, horrifically bad (thanks to its white team of writers, directors, and producers). on the one hand, it's a mostly Asian cast in a big budget, beautifully designed MGM style musical! there's dream sequences, lots of fun dancing, crooning Rogers & Hammerstein cabaret moments, and just charm galore. it is also freighted with so. many orientalist assumptions and stereotypes, absolutely ridiculous shit that the writers ABSOLUTELY should have known better about in the 60s and nonetheless carried into this. this is a hard one to recommend because I loved this cast, and I loved seeing them in a context beyond the usual stereotypical bit parts so many of them frequently were limited to—yet the movie itself perpetuates so many stereotypes on its own it can be a hard one to watch, and I totally understand if it does not work for most people. tl;dr watch for Shigeta, Kwan, Umeki, and the others, but content warnings galore for one (really bad) case of yellowface casting, orientalist tropes, extremely stereotypical character types, etc. (On Tubi/Kanopy last I checked.)

Charade (Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, James Coburn)—this movie feels like a Hitchcock movie except I had a ton of fun watching it, which I can't always say for a Hitch film. (I told you my taste was bad.) This one is free on YouTube and thank god because Audrey wears a lot of Givenchy, Cary Grant wears spectacles and keeps almost dying, it's very exciting and thrilling and funny and sexy. I don't think there are any content warnings but it's been a minute since I watched it. (I should go watch it right now.)

The Big Sleep (Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall)—they're so hot askjdljhjghladkghjksahkhgslkahgshskjhgsalhgsahgjh. i like this one a lot :)

[this is NOT A FULL LIST of all the hot vintage movies to start with but it might give you some starting places! i banged this out as quick as I could at 2 am, so apologies that it's sloppy and not perfect.]

[inthetags]

Put in the tags YOUR problematic (*fictional*) fave.

[sanaserena]

I just had a thought, after seeing a meme. Now I wonder.... which would you most willingly suffer through? xD

After writing up the poll, I mayyyyy have a choice, even if it's not my overall favourite character. So, who is yours? Feel free to interpret as you like 😉

(And yes, you can probably see a theme on my tumblr on which characters I tend to use... 😅😅)

Post-poll: The results omg. Okay, I did kind of anticipate it. Since I had similar thoughts, but it's nice to see every other character get some love despite their "characteristics" xD

Here are my thoughts when I asked myself the same (in the undercut):

Doffy: Sorry, you might be my favourite villain but there's such a thing as personal space and no, that bit of personal space does not have your name on it!

Aokiji: You are one of my absolute faves, but I hate the cold. So I'll have to pass thanks! (I only realised after posting the poll that I was just thinking vaguely that it was 5°C but it could be interpreted as 5°F. But the poll is so limited in character spaces that I left out the C/F and left it for interpretation. Both are cold anyway xD)

Rosi: You are my second option, if I can bear to have my things broken that is. Maybe if I puppy proof everything, it might be okay, get super protective bubble wrap on my laptop and delicate things, it'll be fine!

Kid: As a fave, you're great, but I need sleep, and you also don't take no for an answer. So, no thanks. I mean if you took yes as an answer, sure, maybe, but no means no!

Ace: You're my all time fave, but even my tolerance for heat has its limits. I don't think we can afford all the icebags and you might break the cooling.

Killer: He would be my first pick, because he literally has the least problematic traits. Though, if he only cooks spaghetti and as someone who doesn't like wasting food, I might have a problem with a full spaghetti diet. BUT this is tolerable, I'll just put him on heavy exercise regime or something, so he eats as much as he cooks. Then I can cook what I like. *Looks at helmet* Fine, don't show, keep your face to yourself.

Drake: I would be fine with his pets. I like lizards and tortoises. But snakes? No thanks. And the space bit... I do like my personal space... don't care if his side is stacked to the ceiling though.

Well that was fun, thanks for the votes xD the reblog tags were hilarious to read.

[uhhlifeig]

ABOUT ME!

Hey, y'all! I'm Emi, my pronouns are she/they, and I'm bi. This is a safe space for everyone!!

I am in the Marauders, PJO, HP, RWRB, and HOO fandoms (former DSMP fan, would always love to discuss).

My fave musicians rn are Måneskin, Derivakat, and Conan Gray.

Fave painting is Gathering Storm bc not only does it have LORE, it's also just really pretty.

I AM A MINOR. DO NOT SEND WEIRD MESSAGES. ALSO, PLEASE DON'T SPAM MY INBOX WITH DONATION REQUESTS.

Sirius and Regulus and Remus kinnie!

I play the piano and paint, and I write things sometimes.

MY PROMPTS LIST: HERE

MY AO3: SeaingStars (well, well, well. what do we have here? a shameless self advertisement.)

Go ahead! Take a read!

^Writer Evan is stalked by murderer Barty. Chase ensues.

^Slytherin Sirius and Gryffindor Remus have an illicit relationship. Sirius's parents find out, and stuff hits the fan.

^(ON AN INDEFINITE HIATUS, JULES IS GOING THROUGH SOMETHING RN) A longfic Jules and I are working on! updates every other Saturday. Gryffindor Regulus, no Peter exclusion, may actually increase update times bc I think it's too slow.

^A Ravenrock (Peter x Benjy) rivals to lovers fic, no Voldemort and also background Jily.

I'm looking for more beta readers! DM me if you want to apply.

Normal DNI, but I'll reiterate it. DNI if you're a homophobe, transphobe, TERF, against furries/therians, racist, sexist, support pedophilia/zoophilia, if you try to force your religion onto others, if you support Israel, if you're a JKR apologist, and if you support problematic people.

Feel free to send me requests/prompts to put on my list. I promise everything will be worked on, just slowly.

And don't expect me to reply immediately! As stated above, I am a minor, meaning I have to go to school. Please be patient!

MY TAGS:

#emi writes sometimes - my writing tag, mostly for microfics

#emi reblogs stuff - my reblogs, conversationally and otherwise

#emi yaps - my original posts that aren't stories/asks

#emi answers! - me responding to asks

#hi finn - say hi to finn, hes a lil guy

#hey mars - ITS MARS MY WIFEY /p

#sup estelle - FOLLOW THEM. NOW. DO IT.

FAVE MOOTS:

@moutainrusing!! they were my first moot, and we chit-chat a lot!

@marsmarauders - GAY PANIC (platonic guys, im still single 🙃) and also BESTIE BOO

@mezsygfs - we're married. (they play sirius, i play remus. and also they played regulus in one of the rps i play james in lol WERE DESTINED TO BE TOGETHER)

@yourlocalbadgerscales - slay. same person, different font lol

@discoveredreality - literally awesome

@finntheworm81 - this is finn. go say hi to him. (hes my platonic husband)

@sxmnc - we talk about hot italians lmao

@estellethewriter - estelle!!!!! literally regulus and also GO SAY HI TO THEM. FOLLOW HER. THIS IS A THREAT

@smuttylyra - awesome. bestie. great and also slightly unhinged.

@allonsy-moony - i literally love you sm /p YOURE AWESOME AND GREAT AND HAVE I MENTIONED AWESOME (a fellow wo/men kisser)

@a-t1r3d-b1s3xual - bestie boo!!! you're so slay pookie <333 and IVE LEARNED TO DRAW FIGURES IM SO CLOSE TO DRAWING PEOPLE I PROMISE (also a fellow wo/men kisser)

tell me if you want to be added to this list!

SIDEBLOGS:

@not-a-fork - my James Potter RP acc! contact @.corey-writes-stuff to join

@siriusly-attractive - my Sirius Black RP acc! contact me to join

@not-pineconed - my Thalia Grace RP acc! contact @.permetutotheworld to join

@moony-days - my Remus Lupin RP acc (i'm collecting them all, just like pokemon)! contact @.boundbymoonlight to join

@astronomic-nerd - my Regulus Black RP acc! it's a band AU with prongsfoot, jegulus, and moonwater (poly, no incest). contact @.ieatglowsticks to join

@my-father-owns-a-farm - my Mary MacDonald RP acc! contact @aesthetic-writer18 to join

@marls-boro - my Marlene McKinnon RP acc! contact @.julia-lokidottier to join

@bambiwantstobemefr - my second James Potter RP acc! contact @.anything-for-my-moony-1971 to join

@thestarryhunter - my Orion Black RP acc! (its the generation before the marauders era) contact @.cheekyboybeth to join

@depressed-poets-unite - my second Regulus Black RP acc! temporarily inactive, but i'd love to join another rp!

@forever-sirius - my second Sirius Black RP acc! dm/send a non-anon ask to @.cissa-n0ble-blck to join

[ungodly-amounts-of-godly-trauma]

does the fandom constantly claim your fave is "just misunderstood and need of protection? has it turned your blorbo into just a silly soft boy? are you tired of everyone forgetting they're actually very capable?

well, look no further. welcome to the war of the woobified, where characters reclaim their status as a badass

or whatever. anyways

welcome to the show! i'm your host, mod jelly, previously pollrunner of ungodly-amounts-of-godly-trauma. let me know if i should change the url i don't mind

rules:

gonna be loose with the definition of woobified here. it's up to you but you do have to justify it. if you don't tell me why or how theyve been woobified i'm probably not gonna put them in unless i need to fill up space

submit as many characters as you want. probably will not do a prelims unless necessary

uhh no problematic media or whatever

okay thats probably it ?? have fun be nice :)

characters can be submitted through asks, submissions, google form, or even uquiz

tagged some of my favorite poll blogs under the cut for exposure :)

@badass-queer-couples-battle @battle-couple-battle @victimsofyaoipoll @mommy-daddy-issues-poll @morally-grey-girlbosses @underrated-adversaries @generic-anime-boy-bracket @crossover-enemies-competition @autistic-anime-girls-bracket

also. @shejustcalledmeafish as per your request

[fahbev]

Hi! Saw you jumped on the tim hate train, welcome to the club! Aplarently you're Damian fan, which is good bc hes also one of the characters who's hit by tim's..woobification? Victimization(???) while simultaneously being the bestest, most competent batfam member. You Damian fans honestly have my respect for the pure amount of shit Damian gets because of tim.

hi lmao. Thanks xD. I usually try to keep all my negativity off of the internet, but last night I was going the anti Tim drake tag bc my frustration was flaring up. At first i was collecting posts by liking them instead of rb, then I was replying, and then at some point... “Fuck it. I want this on my blog.”

(This is gonna be a ramble btw, I don’t care abt making a good post rn.)

I used to be fine with Tim! I think the whole thing was a lot less prominent in the dpxdc fandom bc DANNY was the fan favorite/community elected woobie, but then I kinda moved out and... well. It still took awhile for this issue to seep in bc those Tim fans (you know the ones) are certainly a minority, but I just don’t think you can be a Damian fan for longer than a few months without getting frustrated.

Nowadays I refuse to read anything tagged with any variation of “Tim Drake angst” that features the batfam. Timkon fics are usually just fine though.

Actually— recently? Shit’s been bothering me so bad that I don’t wanna risk reading fics that have Tim in the first relationship tag at all. He’s gotta at most be in the second one. Ship fics are again an exception, but I don’t tend to seek out ship fics much anyway.

But, like I said, I usually keep it to myself. Every time i catch myself venting in the tags I either screenshot the tags and delete, or I delete and retype them. I put them into a private notes document. I also journal in there a lot instead of posting it.

That document is pretty long.

I do wanna say that there’s nothing wrong with what tim fans are doing. It is fun to woobify your fave. It’s fun to prop them up and tear others down and make everything about your blorbo and it is harmless. I do it too (usually in my daydreams). It’s a fantasy, and that’s what fanfiction is for. People who act like it’s “problematic” are wrong. That doesn’t mean it’s not annoying. Because it is. It’s annoying as all fuck.

Also wanna mention that I once read a damian fic that like... started off with some delicious whump, but then it turned into a whole Damian pity party and it guilt tripped all his friends and family. Damian IS my blorbo and I couldn’t read that. I didn’t even know who Maps was at the time but it seemed so bizarre to throw her under the bus. Anyway I feel like that’s what a quite large portion of Tim fic is like except a bit less extreme.

I used to tell myself that “ohhh it’s just a rivalry. I’m sure Tim fans get the same shit in reverse all the time” but I literally NEVER see it in the other direction and spend the most of my time in Damian circles. The only time I see tim hate from damian fans is frustration at those particular fans in response to it or in response to favoritism of authors.

I mean i saw a good chunk of it last night, but what else can I expect from the anti tim drake tag?

It’s actually funny how most of the stuff in anti tags is polarized hate shitting on the character with a lot of bad takes, but in tims anti tag it was almost exclusively frustration from Damian and Jason fans, and usually pretty mild takes. Also people calling Tim boring.

Ngl, Idk much about Jason. I’m familiar with his fanon, but the only comic i’ve read that featured him in a major way was Gotham War. I don’t know him well, and I don’t have too much interest in him. However, I hate “Jason falls over in guilt and kisses Tim’s fingers begging for forgiveness” type posts in solidarity. It’s yucky.

Anyway, I didn’t even mean to get on this anti tim train you speak of, It just sorta leaked out of my vent doc. Don’t expect me to keep posting about it.

but also... don’t not expect it. It might happen.

Even so, my dms are absolutely open for Timothy Drake related frustration! I’m pretty tired of being nice to him.

[bunnyprismatic]

I'm pretty sure I'm the anon you mentioned. If you still like this guy after he encouraged whirl to self harm, that says a lot about you

I still like Rung, and I will vehemently state he's a terrible psychiatrist, and did fucked up things before and during the Lost Light quest. He's a messed up old man robot, I have never denied that. It's perfectly fine if you don't like Rung, hate him even, that doesn't bother me, Anon. It's absurd to go into a fandom and think everyone is going to like my fave blorbo equally. I hold similar strong dislikes to some fandom faves, a few my close friends adore. Either they're just not compelling to me as characters, or, I find their actions and behaviours in the comics to be too egregious to look past. The way that they act, what they have done, or how they treat others is upsetting to me personally, and I just can't look past it.

However...

I understand the feelings I have about these characters are a me thing. Whether their actions are something too close to abuse from my past, or a personality trait that just rubs me wrong, my dislike is personal. I also know that most people who like problematic characters don't agree with their problematic traits. They know their faults, they know they're not good, but are able to separate fiction from reality. A person who likes a problematic character usually isn't agreeing, condoning, or have committed the same crimes that character has. When a modicum of media literacy is applied to MTMTE then I can understand how people find characters like these appealing. Because the thing is Anon, yes, Rung is a fucked up old robot, but so is everyone else on that ship, and that's what makes MTMTE and LL really good. While I like a well written Good Guys Good and Bad Guys Bad story, sometimes ya crave a little nuance, ya know? A pinch of the grey morality makes for a tasty comic. Not a single robot on that ship is good, and if we were to give human laws and sensibilities to every one of the main cast, well that's going to be a problem, isn't it? Not only for the actions of their past, but also how they behave during the quest. They're all fucking assholes to some degree :"D I would never forgive a real, human, psychiatrist, who has been trusted with someone's vulnerable state if they did the things Rung did. But when it's a several-million years old, amnesiac elder god, giant, transforming robot from the planet Cybertron, well it makes them a little more interesting. All in all anon, if you find morally ambiguous, selfish, mean, spiteful, harmful characters are upsetting to you, then perhaps MTMTE and Lost Light isn't the right fit. That's okay though, as there's plenty of other pieces of TF media more aligned to the Good Guys Good, Bad Guys Bad narrative. You're welcome to hate Rung, and dislike me, you're free to block me, put Rung in the filters (I make sure to tag my reblogs and posts with #Rung for people who don't want to see him), whatever it is you need to do to protect your peace and curate your dash, go for it. And if you think me liking a problematic character, despite me acknowledging he is a terrible, woeful, psychiatrist by human standards, makes me a terrible, evil person who allows or is complicit in vile things like this. Especially without actually knowing me or my story, well that says a lot about you.

[discworldbooksbracket]

Time to settle this once and for all:

Which is the best Discworld novel?

We all have our opinions. We all know in our hearts which one is REALLY the best. Well now it's time to find out who among us is right, and who among us is right but with the numbers to back us up.

But! Since this is a poll with a very limited number of possible entrants, we're going to get a little bit creative with how we pare down the list from 41 to 32:

Tell me which Discworld you DON'T want to make it into the bracket.

Submission form is below. Please use it to tell me which Discworld is your LEAST favorite. The nine books with the most submissions will be removed from the bracket, and the remaining 32 will be used for the actual tournament.

Submissions will close Thursday, May 25, and the bracket will be announced some time following.

Rules:

You can submit your pick for ANY REASON. Do you think it should be Color of Magic because it doesn't fit into the spirit of Discworld as it became? Do you think it should be one (or even all) of the Tiffany Aching books because you just can't stand that kid? Do you think it should be Soul Music because you never really cared for it much and don't really like Susan, but everyone likes it and her and that kind of annoys you? Are you making your pick based on problematic elements, like a white savior or And Then The Racism Was Solved And Everyone Clapped (Interesting Times, Snuff)? Are you submitting one of the later books because you feel like the quality dropped? Are you submitting your choice because you just didn't enjoy that one that much? Are you making your choice based on what you think everyone else likes, in the hopes to potentially get it disqualified so your fave doesn't have to compete against it? Whatever your reasons, though at least try to lie convincingly about the last one, too many open sabotage submissions and I may start throwing them out.

The submissions are limited to the 41 books in the main Discworld series. Any submission for a book outside of that list will be automatically thrown out.

You can submit as many times as you like, but only submit one book per submission and one submission per book.

For the love of any god you choose, when you submit submit in PROPER TITLE FORMAT. Spell everything the way it's spelled on the cover and put the capital letters in. This will help the form keep things consistent enough to organize them for me later, which will make it a lot easier on me in counting.

Submission form:

Obligatory tagging a bunch of other polls below the cut:

@orangecharactersmackdown @orange-magicalgirl-showdown @blue-character-brawl @yellowcharactershowdown @crossovershipstournament @they-are-so-gender @ultimate-poll-tournament @bugcrimesbracket

[murderer-tournament]

War Criminal Tournament

We all have a beloved blorbo who has committed atrocities, right? Want the chance to prove that yours is the best?

Yeah, I thought so. Welcome to the war criminal bracket.

Submit your war criminal through THIS FORM HERE

Here are some ground rules:

- I really shouldn’t have to say this, but real people are not allowed. Fictional characters only.

- The intention of this poll is not to condone or condemn the morality of these crimes, but to debate the compelling qualities of their vibes. I don’t want to hear anything about a character being problematic (yeah, we know. that’s the point).

- Propaganda for your fave is welcome, send me an ask or tag me so I can reblog it. Don’t put other meowmeows down to lift yours up.

- Regular acts of barbarity are all well and good but we’re specifically looking for those who have done gruesome acts of malfeasance in their capacity as a member of a military during armed conflict. There is a difference between a war crime and a regular every day crime, you feel me? You don’t need to cite me the specific clause in the geneva or hague conventions that they violated but there has to be a war for them to be a war criminal, capisce?

That’s about it. I have no idea how many entries I’m going to get so I make no promises as to how many entries I will accept or when I’ll post the brackets, but I will send out a notice when entries are about to close.

[ladyluscinia]

Ok one last dip into "the Izcourse" before I take my own advice and pivot to rewatching S1 in prep and posting about what I love!

We get a lot of trolls, and harassers, and staunch antis looking to pick a fight with the "bad fans" who either drop bait or jump on people's posts to be annoying. That's the flame war part of all this mess. But we also get a fair number of posts from "neutral" people that I want to gripe about for a moment because at least the antis are misrepresenting "what Izzy fans believe / discuss" because they are actively against my take on the show for whatever reason. But it's more annoying to me personally when it's just... a lack of effort.

(And I've mentioned this before)

Like... a "neutral" observer weighing in on "The Izcourse" is a member of the general fandom who doesn't care enough about Izzy to really be an anti. Their perspective on the matter is coming from directly or indirectly following people in the antis' main meta circle. We know this, because just about every neutral person who was not from this background got classified as an Izzy apologist / problematic Edward thoughtcrimer and they are counted as in "the Canyon" now. We watched it happen a lot over the past year and a half. So the observer is not neutral, not really, but they probably aren't heavily blocking / blocked if they don't care and don't talk about Izzy.

Which makes it so frustrating when they feel the need to bring up "concerning" trends among Izzy fans and their interpretations and then they don't know what those interpretations are.

Like - in the most patient tone I can possibly manage - scrolling a bit of the Izzy Hands tag and taking fans squeeing about their blorbo as evidence there is no nuance in meta and too much babygirlifying here is dumb as fuck. Hell, even isolating a recent meta post and going "well I don't agree with this because XYZ" is still very much a "so what?" situation because that one person is not representing all Izzy fans? And also you still have a huge blind spot.

Because meta is - at its core - a collaborative structure.

You can't experience a particular branch of meta primarily through people vaguing or screenshotting and dunking on whatever looks the worst, then skim a little bit of a tag and be able to confidently call out what the "problematic trends" are. You can't even understand where the random meta you singled out is coming from, because you don't know which posts they've been looking at for over a year. And this is all really highlighted by the fact when you go to dissect that post you disagree with, you'll do it by just saying things that you understand to be established, well-defended facts from your own circle of meta and not back them up at all. Because in your mind you don't need to! And yet the post you're disagreeing with won't make sense because they are just assuming things and talking about this fanon version of Izzy you don't recognize. 🤷‍♀️

(This is why my typical meta post is linking to three separate discussions, lol. I'm building off of things said before like basically every meta writer, but I want those things referenced.)

If you aren't going to actually put in the effort to identify which blogs are the "major players" and then go back through tags or their popular posts or whatever to get an actual idea of what the meta structure Izzy Canyon has spent over a year discussing contains, then at least don't disparagingly comment on those people and discussions while lumping them into one "problematic" hive mind??? You don't know what you're talking about because you didn't care, and that's whatever. Just please stop confidently conflating random blog #7's generally happy post about how "i can't wait for my fave little guy to have friends 💕" with a concerning lack of discussions on Izzy's relationship with the crew.

My "#ofmd meta" tag - among others - is full of almost exclusively Izzy Canyon blogs writing complex posts about all sorts of things from romcom genre conventions to POC fans' takes on Edward's cptsd, and it's beyond annoying to see them repeatedly insinuated to have the depth of a puddle because the antis prefer to pile on a headcanon about Izzy reading and turn it into an insult to Edward's intelligence, and all the "neutral" blogs take it as gospel.

[topazadine]

Favorite Character Poll

Thank you for the tag, @drchenquill! I, of course, voted for Daisy on your poll. She just sounds so sweet, I want to wrap her up in a blanket.

Rules: list all your main ocs and give brief descriptions of them. then, create a poll with their names and allow your followers to vote on who their favourite character is.

I'll do the three MCs from 9 Years Yearning and see what comes up.

Uileac Korviridi

As a cavalryman of the Bremish Army, Uileac is good at two things: shooting people and riding horses. He is also good at embarrassing himself, particularly when it comes to love. Slim and slender, he resents his small stature, especially because it means that his sister Cerie, who is four years younger than him, is nearly his same height. Damn those male Korviridi genes!

Uileac is known for being even-tempered, competitive, sarcastic, and protective. He is loyal to the point that sometimes it clouds his judgment and gets him into trouble, but it's counterbalanced by his kindness toward those he loves most.

Fun fact: Uileac can swim, but he doesn't like to because his hair gets all gross and problematic. He'd rather sit on the shore and throw dry reeds at Orrinir. Once, he even made a flimsy little bow out of a bendy twig and a piece of twine so he could launch the reeds better.

Orrinir Relickim

Orrinir Relickim was a Future Boy: his parents gave him up to the War Academy when he was only six years old, where he worked as a domestic servant until he was old enough to join classes. As such, he has grown up his entire life around warfare and has the emotional wounds to match. He joined Infantry thanks to his excellent swordsmanship and his willingness to get up close and personal with the enemy, even if it means putting himself in danger.

A large, muscular man, Orrinir is earnest and affectionate, though he can bluster with the best of them. He often uses his loud, brash nature to hide the fact that he is a deeply emotional person whose feelings are easily hurt. A history of abandonment makes him cling to those he loves and follow them without question.

Fun fact: Once, Uileac told Orrinir that his father used to make peppermint cookies for their horses when he was a child. Orrinir scoured every recipe book he could find, then surprised Uileac with cookies for his horse, Erix, during Feast of the Horse.

Cerie Korviridi

Cerie is quite young during 9 Years Yearning, so we don't get to see a lot of her, but she grows exponentially during the rest of the series. Though she is quite timid due to trauma in the first book, her true personality - that of a sharp-tongued, stubborn, but loyal and determined woman - starts to shine through near the end.

Just as reserved and pragmatic as her older brother Uileac, Cerie makes up for her small form with a sharp personality. She is intensely devoted to the things she cares about - her High Poetry, family, and country - and will destroy anything she needs to in order to keep those things safe. Cerie may not be outwardly emotional most of the time, but her expressive poetry gives away all those feelings she can't bear to show.

Fun fact: Cerie has always wanted her own horse, but Uileac is very adamant that she can only have one when she's shown herself to be a very, very good equestrian. But he's also selfish AF with letting her ride Erix ... a true catch-22 ....

Tag list (omg look I made one!!) (ask to be added or removed if you would like)

Tumblr tag list: @kuebiko-writing @ryns-ramblings @cain-e-brookman @halfbit @macabremoons @theverumproject @mysticstarlightduck @aquadestinyswriting @urlocalwitch555 @sarahswriting @davycoquette @aalinaaaaaa @theaistired @glasshouses-and-stones @somethingclevermahogony @the-golden-comet @wyked-ao3 @avaseofpeonies @finickyfelix @gioiaalbanoart

[lord-squiggletits]

Actually one of my favorite instances of "people being dicks about IDW Optimus on posts about IDW/Optimus/MegOP" was when I saw a commentator claim with their whole ass "Megatron deserves better than Optimus" like.

Bestie.

Megatron killed billions of people.

He himself would deny the notion that he "deserves" anything bc he's incredibly depressed about wasting his life on atrocities and, by the end of the series, thinks wholeheartedly that submitting to a trial to give the galaxy its justice is more important to him than living a carefree life.

And even if you don't ship MegOP, Megatron speaks positively of Optimus multiple times and is happy, or at least more animated, whenever he speaks to OP.

It's just so funny to talk about "deserving a better lover" in reference to a blood stained imperialist who himself would admit to his own villainy and doesn't see himself as superior to anyone just because he was right once upon a time. Like bestie your own blorbo would not agree with your take that Optimus is just The Worst and completely unrespectable. So funny.

Actually wait no. My FAVORITE (and imagine I say "favorite" with intense scorn and disgust) instance of someone being a dick about IDW OP in a space about IDW OP, was someone commenting on an IDW MegOP multichapter fic-- clearly something the author must love and put a lot of effort in to write like 300,000 words about them-- to go "WHINE WHINE WHY ARE YOU WRITING IDW OPTIMUS HE SUCKS, MOAN MOAN NOBODY WRITES ABOUT IDW MEGOP BC IT'S BORING AND MEGATRON DESERVES BETTER, BITCH BITCH WHINE YOU SHOULD WRITE MEGAROD OR MEGSMAGS INSTEAD"

The sheer fucking entitlement of coming onto someone's IDW Megop fic to insult the character and ship they're writing about, then demand they write about YOUR favorite ship bc you think their ship is stupid and boring. Ough it was literally the worst thing I'd ever seen short of actively harassing and trying to get someone to quit writing (those instances weren't IDW OP related, just trolls being assholes).

Or the various times scrolling the Megop tag going "oh wow cool fanart :) " and then the tags are "this isn't IDW OP btw because he SUCKS ASS and I hate him." Or going "oh wow this artist makes a lot of megop let me check their blog" and seeing a seemingly innocuous post of them talking about G1 Megop, then out of nowhere they go "btw fuck IDW OP". Or just going on someone's blog bc they make cool content in general and seeing them go "IDW Megatron is so cool! [Sentences about why they enjoy him.] Also I think IDW OP should die in a ditch."

I kinda assumed that MegOP spaces would be safe, since y'know if they ship MegOP it makes sense that they like both characters? Plus, Megatron is sooo hated and there's so much discourse around him, but that means that Megatron fans probably guard their own spaces against hate and know what it's like to have their faves shit on constantly with tons of petty drama? NOPE literally met multiple IDW Megatron stans who would get so mad about people calling their fave problematic, then would turn around and go "lmao who would like IDW Optimus, no one likes him, I ship Megatron with dockworker or archivist OP because they're so much better than him. IDW OP is a fucking asshole I hate him." Like MMMMMMMM I kinda thought that in a space dedicated to liking Optimus/Megatron/Optimus and Megatron kissing each other, there wouldn't be people randomly shitting on the characters, but oh well. Just leave those spaces.

Well not to worry, I can always go to AO3 and look at fic, that's an archive site and not social media, and all I need to do is filter the tags to IDW Megop and I'll have everything I need!

>Fic 1: Tagged IDW MegOP, author says it's continuity soup with archivist Orion

>Fic 2: Tagged IDW MegOP. Archivist Orion.

>Fic 3: Tagged IDW MegOP. Dockworker Orion. The author thoughtfully includes a tag/author's note solely dedicated to talking about how IDW OP fucking sucks so they replaced him with a Better Optimus

>Fic infinity: Tagged IDW MegOP. Continuity soup with archivist Orion again.

>Fic infinity+1: Tagged IDW MegOP. Actually is about IDW Megatron and IDW Optimus. Posted in 2014. Has not been updated since 2018.

>Fic infinity+n: Tagged IDW MegOP. Actually IDW MegOP. I have already read them. Every single one. They were posted years ago. They were last updated years ago. The authors have long since gone to other fandoms, never to return and finish their fics.

>I give up and decide the only IDW MegOP fic I'll ever get will be my own.

So many times. <:) And that kids is why I don't talk to anyone else in the fandom unless they're mutuals or a friend of a friend. The fandom is small when you can't go looking for new, cool people any more bc seemingly all of them will randomly pop off about how much they hate your blorbo with no provocation at all.

[inthetags]

reblog and put in the tags a problematic fave of yours whose actions you don't condone whatsoever but you find them very entertaining/interesting otherwise.

[orionsangel86]

About the twinklify the twink? That's why I don't go full Dreamling. I have nothing against it, but they way they get twisted 90% of the times is just "uhh that not my Dream" for me. And same with all the Dark Morpheus x f/m reader. "That's not my Morpheus" and it's ok, because a) fanfiction keeps the media alive until the next piece we can get and b) fanfiction keeps people alive too, no matter what they picture. So, it's ok to feel like this, I guess.

I think that's the main takeaway from this. YKINMK after all. I'm a firm believer of "do what you want always" though of course, that doesn't mean you should be free from criticism, it just means maybe don't take criticism to heart ya know? This doesn't mean people should go onto others posts and fanfics and complain! God no! But people should be allowed to complain in their own posts - so long as anything particularly harsh isn't put in the main tags or is tagged accordingly. Like of course people aren't always gonna love everything you do, and sometimes when certain headcanons and ideas get bastardised by fanon echo chambers they become so far removed from canon that you are basically writing an OC with your fave characters face, but that's okay if it brings you joy. Just don't expect everyone to love and adore it ya know?

The problem I have with the extra twinkification of characters in ship dynamics is that I have a problem with m/m ships being twisted so far away from their canon counterparts that one party becomes obviously "feminine" and the other obviously "masculine". By which I mean one character is made extra skinny frail and delicate, submissive, virginal, pure, and always ALWAYS the bottom. The other character becomes huge and muscular and hairy and masculine, and take the role of protector and dominating and experienced and is ALWAYS the top.

Do you see what I mean? This has been prevailent in fandom culture since day 1 of course, and its a huge pet peeve of mine. I do view it as somewhat problematic because it feels like trying to fit a mlm ship into a heternormative box. Its a layered mess of misogyny and homophobia wrapped up in a fandom bow. It was worse years ago, during the SuperWhoLock days, and I will forever be grateful to Misha Collins for beefing up so much he enabled Cas to beat the effeminate twink allegations (knowing Mollins he probably came across a particularly bad fanfic or fanart and then spent several hours staring at himself in a mirror before throwing himself into an intensive gym routine).

I don't think its too prevailent in Dreamling fics, though I guess when you have a whole episode devoted to showing how Dream is pale, thin, beautiful, ethereal, completely hairless, and trapped, its easy to see why fandoms minds went to "twink" and then to "we need to find him a saviour". But I do wish the power dynamic would be a bit more balanced. Dream is no wilting flower. He is all pure lean muscle. He is no frail delicate thing. He has the body of a long distance marathon runner. He is power and self righteousness and fury and control. Yeah, he may be submissive with his lovers, but he's hardly inexperienced.

Hob is also in no way a macho man. He's hairy sure, but that's basically it. He actually isn't all that more muscular than Dream, he's only slightly broader, and he's not taller - I think they are the same height? Again, to stress, people can do what they want always. But please do take time to branch outside of the fandom echo chambers and refamiliarise yourself with canon once in a while. Especially when those echo chambers are leaning towards problematic dynamics like those mentioned above.

This is by no means a dig at any individuals, at any creative works I have come across or anything else of the sort. I just sometimes find the fanon echo chambers and widely accepted headcanons a bit irritating, especially when they don't fit with canon. It's fine on a small scale. I am not the person who is gonna comment "he would not fucking say that" because its mean and those posts are mean. It's when the whole fandom seems to adopt certain ideas, and suddenly any deviation from those ideas seems wrong to fandom at large. It becomes difficult to counter those ideas without suddenly being labelled a hater. Look at all the ridiculous discourse in Good Omens fandom because of how deeply far removed from the original source material the fandom took the characters over the 4 year gap between seasons? They were literally going into Neil Gaimans inbox complaining when season 2 deviated from widely accepted fanon headcanons! To the point that Neil had to clarify that what they were complaining about was never canon to begin with!!

Anyway, this post is probably controversial enough without me prattling on any further. Let me stress one last time that you can do what you want always, and everyone should be able to play in the sandbox however they want - just please check yourselves and your prejudices and do consider if the tropes you are encouraging have any harmful implications before throwing yourself into them.

[inaconstantstateofchange]

Alrighty, your tags in the 'anti-blorbo friends' post intrigued me, so... hook line and sinker. Personally, I am kind of an 'anything goes' fan, I don't mind people disliking stuff about BG3 - or liking it a bit too much, either. I like all the companions, but I do see their flaws and critique can be fun. That's what a piece of media is for, no? For us to dissect and tear apart. So! Tear it freely, mate. Give me your Gale hot takes.

Excellent, all according to keikaku (translator's note: keikaku means plan). Sorry I love that joke.

Thank you so much for the ask! O(∩_∩)O

Okay, Gale hot takes, with the caveat that, in general, I just personally find his whole everything very off-putting, so I am very neutral-edging-to-negative toward him, but can still appreciate the complexity of his character in an objective sense.

This hot take/critique kind of overlaps with issues I have with a lot of the fandom interpretations of the characters: it feels like a lot of the fandom needs to woobify the characters and/or reduce them down to the most simplified version of themself to appreciate them.

Gale is a character who will approve of good actions in general terms, but the moment there is a chance to do something new, something heretofore untried, some advancement in knowledge or power, no matter what the terms of it, you have his attention. And that's really interesting! It's fucked up as all hell, but it's interesting. And this is something I see pushed under the rug and outright denied or left unexplored in most cases, because it requires confronting that all your faves are complex and "problematic", yes even that one.

This one is tangential to Gale, but also relates to the broader lore and world. I think there's a lot fucked up about Forgotten Realms lore (obviously), but it is also so vast and intricate and Larian put so much work in aligning with it as much as possible with the narrative of BG3, allowing you to extrapolate pretty consistently based on that. I've noticed a tendency by a lot of fans to engage with the world and its lore as though they've been isekai'd into it or something, not considering what would actually affect philosophy and perspective and "human" (as it were) experience in a world that worked like Faerûn does. For example, I recently saw someone arguing that the way Halsin handles Kagha after he is rescued is "unrealistic" and the player should be able to tell him that he needs to pick a stronger option. In my opinion this completely ignores the way that druids and druid groves function very differently from a lot of other communities in Faerûn. The majority of druids tend toward True Neutral in terms of alignment, live and let live unless nature is affected in some way. Halsin is honestly a bit of a rarity for verging so far toward Neutral Good. Additionally, because of their focus on nature and natural patterns, of course they would have different perspectives on punishment and rehabilitation.

Another way this presents itself very commonly is in how people conceptualize the system of gods/theology in Faerûn. Most people do not have any real experience conceptualizing a polytheistic worldview in practice, let alone one where the existence of those gods is an undeniable material fact, rather than a belief, and it shows. They hold the gods simultaneously to the standards of humans (which they are not), and the monotheistic conglomerate Christian God (which they are also not). Once again, the system of deity and interaction with it in FR lore is so fucked up, but for complex and interesting reasons I rarely see anyone exploring.

(The above is also the reason I think a lot of people underestimate the power of the archdevils and the Hells compared to the gods, but that is another discussion.)

This comes back to Gale in my hottest of hot takes: I really wish people would stop throwing around the "Gale was groomed, Mystra is a groomer" thing. I think it hyper-simplifies the actual tragedy of his story and the one Larian was trying to tell to an absurd degree, and I don't believe it even does any favors in terms of raising awareness of important issues. Based on FR lore and timeline, Mystra has only been back in existence as a goddess for at absolute maximum thirteen years prior to the start of BG3, and at minimum five, so unless you headcanon Gale to be 30 or younger (which seems decidedly unlikely based on everything else presented in the narrative), their time together was when he was an actual adult.

Am I saying there was no power dynamic problem there? No, ofc I am not. God/Human relationships are famously tragedies and cautionary tales. There is always an inherent disconnect between the two beings. You'll notice a trend, but yes, I do think that the most interestingly fucked up parts of that story are ignored in favor of the most basic and banal.

Mystra is a greater god, having dominion over magic as an entire concept. That means the scale of her power and existence are unfathomably vast, and so alien from human existence that to bridge it would be the work of thousands of lifetimes. At the same time, there are parts of her that used to be human, grafted onto her godhood. That's incredibly fucked up in such an eldritch way, you know?

Final hot take: Gale is a wizard's wizard™, a crime punishable by death. In this essay I will-