#she doesn't mean to be this kinda condescending sorry

[luckyarchivist]

Touchstarved Voice HCs

Ais - He smokes so I have to give him smoker's rasp b/c it's one of like two things that's sexy about smoking. He doesn't speak loudly —honestly he slurs words and mumble-speaks and cuts off words quite often — but his voice carries surprisingly well. Stays mostly in one pitch. Deeper, more resonant voice with a warm timbre: he talks and it feels like a cozy day in your brain.

Vere - I like to call his voice "mommy voice, for men". Honestly, rather than me explaining it, just listen to Doppio Dropscythe read his lines. The drawl of it and the semi-melodic intonation is everything I'd imagined for Vere!

Mhin - Most clear thing about their voice in my head is this underlying hiss to all of their words, like they're always whispering, even when their volume is normal. It leads to a raspy quality that's different from Ais's rumble. I think they probably have a higher-pitched tone of voice than any of the other LIs, but not by too much.

Leander - Announcer-y quality: you could pick his voice out of a crowd, easy. Plays with his speech: lots of variation in tone, speed, pitch and so on. Some (American) people have made him British, which I could never put onto a man I love (/j, I'm so sorry, British people) but I do think he has some qualities of the stereotypical posh British accent — mainly, the enunciation of every word. He doesn't cut corners when speaking, though not to the point of sounding unnatural.

Kuras - definitely the hardest of the main five for me to hear. I think he has a pretty deep voice, with a soothing cadence to his speech. Like Leander, his words are all enunciated and easy to understand. However, he's kinda the opposite of Ais — the demon says mean things with a warm tone of voice, and the angel says nice things with a cold, even tone. If you manage to surprise him, though, or perhaps get closer to him, you could trip up his normally smooth speaking and make him sound more "human".

BONUS: Of course, these two don't have any lines yet, but just based on looks...

Sen: Personally don't think her voice is super deep, but it is throaty, like she's speaking from the back of her mouth. I think she probably pauses a lot when she talks. IDK why, but she has the energy of someone who takes a while to get through a sentence, so she'd rather just show you without having to tell you.

Elyon: If anyone would have a British accent it would be this guy. He speaks with mostly a teasing-slash-condescending tone of voice, but whether it's intentionally or unintentionally is anyone's guess. I don't think Elyon's voice is as deep as Ais's or Kuras's, but it could still be considered conventionally sexy.

[meepmorp1232]

Hello! Lesbian Mileven fan here! I totally see your point about how important representation would be in such a mainstream show. Personally, I am kicking my feet in excitement about the Robin and Vickie storyline this season. If Byler is done right, I would have peace with it, but I need them to do it in a way that would still be respectful to El as a character. I think that very suddenly ending the Mileven storyline would make very little sense at this point after four seasons of buildup. I also think that having the traumatized girl who has been through extreme abuse and isolation find out that the person who loves her most has been lying to her and doesn't actually love her would feel extremely twisted to watch. She has been made to feel unlovable and monstrous her whole life and having Mike not love her anymore would just feel cruel. I would much rather have Will learn to love and value himself and accept that Mike only loves him as a friend and be able to move on and find happiness with someone else. But that is just my opinion and as a gay person I really understand why you want them to be canon! Anyway I'm done just my two cents

hi anon! i can't wait for rovickie either! personally, i think byler has been built up since s1 and mileven has been kinda fading. as for respecting el's character, i don't think throwing her into a relationship (and implying that she needs a man) is the way to do it. i'm interested in seeing how the mileven breakup will happen while still respecting el's and mike's characters. i think el knows that mike doesn't love her and made her peace with it around nina. also, i don't think mike knew he didn't love her when he 1st kissed her and it just went downhill from there. i don't think el ever really loved him romantically. i made a little analysis about that if you want. as for will, i think he would accept himself eventually without dating mike, but he should have a love interest. he's the only one in the show (that i know of) that has said that he's not gonna fall in love, so he needs to be wrong. narratively, he's the only one that really needs a love interest

i'm always interested in seeing queer milevens opinions on mileven and byler (as long as they're respectful) since you'd think most queer people would somewhat get/identify with byler, so ty! i guess i'll never fully get byler either since i'm not gay/bi/allo-but-not-straight, but as an aroace that relates to mike, i really want to see mileven break up (sorry)

also, ty for being nice and respecting my opinion. if you were reading my "milkvans scrolling byler tag" post, you're the 2nd ask about it. sorry if i came off as mean or condescending in that post, i didn't mean to (also i like how you wrote your ask bc i can never tell the tone of asks, but this one doesn't seem mean at all). sorry for the long answer!

[before-it-felt-like-a-sin]

could you write for lottie x reader where they're playing a game like monopoly or uno and it's getting really heated, so lottie kisses reader to distract them and secretly steals money/hides one of her cards and reader catches her?

Word Games

Plot: Lottie hated losing, and you chose the one game she couldn't win.

Warnings: Lottie being a dirty cheater at scrabble. (Anon I know you wanted Monopoly or Uno but I thought scrabble would be fun), pretending that scrabble doesn't only let players have 7 letters at a time.

Notes: a bit shorter than usual so bear that in mind <3

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

"Lottie, you can't play 'byd' and say it means 'bid'. That's not how Scrabble works. You know that." You looked at the Scrabble board where little put down her so-called 'word'.

"That isn't fair. You literally played the word 'exclusionary' last turn. I'll never beat you. You're not even giving me the chance to." She pouted at you, her brown eyes wide. It almost made you let her play her 'word'.

Almost.

"That sounds like a you issue, babe. Simply get better. I don't make you bend the rules when we play your games."

"My games don't require this much brainpower."

"I'm sorry, since when does Monopoly not require tons of strategy? Or when you make me play chess? You're just mad because you suck at word games." You smirked at her.

She just glared back at you and tried to come up with a real word to play. She ended up with the word 'bed'.

"So you're telling me that you forgot 'bed' was a word? Wow Lot, you're kinda falling apart over there."

"Oh shut up, y/n. Y's have more points," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Mm. Keep telling yourself that, honey." While you were talking, you came up with your next word. You'd chosen 'stranger'.

As you put down your letters, Lottie groaned. You just grinned up at her.

"Sorry Lots. I know how much it sucks to be a loser."

"Y/n, I swear to God. Please. What the Hell."

"Awww, is Lottie sad because she sucks at Scrabble? Do you want a kiss to make it better?" You taunted.

"Yeah, I do." With that, she leaned across the table, and met your lips with hers. You were like that for a few seconds when you heard rustling.

"Lottie, are you taking different letters from the bag? Are you that desperate?" You gave her a slightly condescending look.

"What. I don't know what you're talking about. I would never."

"Lottie." You raised your eyebrow at her.

"Fine. Yes. Okay. Maybe I was. It's not my fault that you're unnaturally good at this game." She pouted again.

"That doesn't mean you have to cheat!"

She was still staring at you with those gigantic puppy eyes. Unable to resist this tome, you scooted next to her and rested your head in her lap. She brought her head down to yours and gave you another soft kiss on the lips.

"We don't have to play any more if you don't want."

"Oh, and just let you win by default? No thanks," she said, smiling down at you. "I might lose, but I'm going to lose with dignity."

"Whatever you say, Lottie. Just no more cheating," you responded, getting up from her lap.

"No promises."

[mrstsung]

I love how in one vid people say mk11 shang tsungs dialogue is kinda flirty. And im like only if you see it that way. -_-

Because to me the only flirty pre battle dialogue that i noticed was with skarlet. Maybe sindel. Jacquis was pointing out how rare female characters show up in the game despite being staples. And it's kinda crap we only get a few from earthrealm.

Sonyas was just a stupid nod nostalgia bait for the 95 movie which is grossly (Emphasis on GROSS) misinterpreted. As he only said that crap to get her to fight him so he can take her soul. There's no actual feelings let alone anything remotely of interest other than a means to and end. And anyone with HALF A BRAIN can see that.

What could come off as flirting is just shangs natural charisma and charm. But it's just a means to an end. Honestly irl guys who are like that,if they honestly like like you,from my personal experience. Tend to be dorks in love. They stumble,cringefail (i mean this lovingly ok?),kinda shyish ,and are more subtle. Like shang i hc is bold but he's not stupid. He cautious in love. So his ACTUAL flirting would be the same. Reserved,cautious,courtly and gentleman like. But CONTEXT SENSITIVE PEOPLE! if this is mortal kombat,and it's a tournament,and people are dying. More likely that man isn't here for a date. He's here to hunt. For souls. Your on the menu. DUH!

Again im not saying there aren't exceptions. (Reader is the exception. I dont make the rules! Im non share but like hell im gonna have him be done dirty and wrongfuly characterized canon and fanon alike in a love situation. Because we haven't seen that in canon and honestly i feel its due to racism but that's just me. But yeah sorry not sorry my sorcerer hubby in love isn't some horndog with no sense or a callous evil man. He treats his honey right! Bute me nrs and bite me misinterpreting fans. )

I feel for the most part the signs that shang likes likes you,is into you,is interested in a romantic sense is so subtle and based on context and environment. That it's a blink and you miss it. But here's MY PERSONAL OPINIONS ON HOW MY HUBBY ACTUALLY FLIRTS!:

He makes a B line out of everyone else,even his enemies. To talk to you. All of raidens warriors are chopped liver compared to you my dear.

He dresses up a certain way. He always dresses good,and smells good. But he smells a certain way,and is dressed up a certain way. That you take notice. It seems to be catered to your taste a bit. How does he know?....well....thats a secret. (Surprise he read your soul or just read you. He people watches for sport so he doesn't necessarily need soul magic for that hun)

His conversations with you are extra polite but not in a condescending way. His manners are top notch. He's a gentleman. He means what he says,and says what he means. But unless you catch on this one is tricky. Only people like raiden would know him for sure if he's for real in that. (And if he is,which he would be,raidens poggers shocked bout it. not in a bad way but in a "holy shit he's in love?! Bout fucking time!")

He starts to trust you. And how do you know he trusts you? Well he puts you through little "tests" to see if you're worth his time. They are simple. Tests of loyalty,interest,etc. But nothing to invasive,nothing to grand. He doesn't wanna scare you off. One big test is helping putting on his armor/clothes and or helping with his hair. Anything in close proximity to this man done in a respectful manner. Helping him bathe or something like that,is also a way.

When he flirts he's like gomez. But he has a certain shang tsung(tm) way of expressing himself. But he'd only flirt with you if he WASN'T in a tournament or fighting. Down time is another story,but come on y'all. Shang tsung wouldn't send his goons after someone he's ACTUALLY interested in. So that boat scene in the 95 movie? Yeah bullshit,he was only getting a soul and a means to an end. Because he knew this made sonya uncomfortable and when she is,shes violent,and he knew that's a way to get her to attack and entice raidens warriors to attack him. Plus in the 90s they made every villain sleazy. Ugh it's worse when its poc/moc ugh. But ya know. Anyways. Yeah he's not stupid,he knows what he's doing. If he actually was interested he wouldn't be sending sub n scorp. He wouldn't be fighting YOU. He doesn't want to fight you he wants to disarm you. He wouldn't poke n prode to piss you off if he's actually in love or interested romantically. Not on purpose at least.

Lavish gifts. Both anonymous and upfront. Expect to get those. Gift giving is a surefire way to know. But not just tye act. No it's the type of items,it's the way the items are arranged,it's the quality. Like it's subtle differences between that tell you if shang is using flattery to a means or actually flirting.

If all else fails. Shang tsung is not afraid to be straight up forward and say. "I like you my dear. I've taken interest in you. Would you like to join me for dinner?" Like damn man. Shang tsung i just feel is that kinda guy that if GENUINE flirting doesn't work. He'll straight up ask you out or tell you how he feels. Because he's not the one to play around in love and with feelings towards his lover. Im sorry,not sorry. My mans got integrity.

Im not saying he doesn't play mind games,as he would at least in the beginning of his courting you(im saphosexual and very much into an intellectual person and conversations so im in trouble with him. Lol) . But it's very specific,context sensitive like i said. That you actually have to use your deduction skills. Plus if all else fails. Just asks him and it's dealers/writers choice. At that point you're at the mercy of plot. So i wouldn't have a problem with that. But if you're gonna play lovers games honey,ACTUALLY PLAY THEM! dont half ass that shit to me. Full ass all of it! Give me romance,give me actually a chase. Bruh wtaf. it's SHANG MOTHERFUCKIN TSUNG!

But yeah most of this pre battle dialogue intros for shang being so called "flirty" wasn't really flirting. More so backsass or sarcasm if anything. So yeah.

Like i have more but i think that gives y'all a good idea.

Look again im a non sharer but god forbid i will tolerate people getting my dude wrong and misinterpreting his tone and context of dialogue.

Like he hates raidens warriors. All of them. As defult. So....im just sayin y'all.

Anyways. Shang tsung,he deserves better. On god.

[howlingday]

Yeah this is as close as it gets to a new character for RWBY Fate because when it comes to Watts.. I made a lot of changes.. so. Here's the bastard.

Arthur John Watts

Age: 49 → 51

Sex: male

Aura color: N/A

Semblance: N/A

Weapon: necessary discrepancy and Wattson (Watson is a double barreled 20 round revolver that is loaded with homing bullets as well as having a secondary fire that releases a bullet of condensed gravity dust, causing the victim to be ripped apart by the force. Necessary discrepancy is a khatar laced with lightning dust, one stab even if non lethal always deals a shock to the victims nervous system)

Description: Watts was one of the men who fought alongside ironwood along with Robyn, James and Penny's father Pietro during the atlas civil war, he was the one who upgraded Dorothy from a simple pistol to the gun it is now. He is also the secondary creator of project Pandora.. until he was excommunicated from atlas after his creations became too violent, especially considering he planned on making modifications to project Pandora to make it more… “efficient” and after a search again watts, he was kicked out of Atlas, leaving bad blood between him, James, Pietro, and Robyn to an extent. After that Watts became a vagabond and along with his condescending manipulative and arrogant attitude, he found it hard to find a new home.. until he came across the queen of Grimm. She wasn't some wild beast, she was a woman, a woman too tired of existence and only wanting to die. So Watts came up with an idea: he'd promise his aid in “helping destroy Remnant” while secretly developing countermeasures against the queen. He has no intent on dying but his fate is sealed for when the queen sees through his deceit, he shall be nothing but chow for the hound.

"Here's the bastard" I wish my parents introduced me as such.

"The name's not slick. It's Watts. DR. ARTHUR JOHN FUCKING WATTS!" (Sorry. Had to get that Futurama reference out of me.)

Ooh~! How very Watsonian~! And by that, I mean "like Dr. Watson from Sherlock Holmes", not "from the perspective of the fictional character".

Eh... I dunno. I kinda like his original character better. Him starting off working with Ironwood and Pietro works out great, but him being forced out just seems so... mundane. At least compared to his canon background of faking his death to escape so he could work for someone who does appreciate his genius. I'm kind of imagining that interaction between Bruce Wayne and Lex Luthor in Superman: The Animated series, wherein Lex wants to outfit the joint project droids with guns, receiving much backlash from Bruce; Watts keeps wanting to improve his machines to the point of endangering civilians, ala making machines of war in a time of peace.

Also, him working against Salem also feels very... Well, I don't think it's a good fit. Watts is an arrogant sonuvabitch, that's for sure, but I don't think him playing "secret good guy" really fits him.

I dunno, this one doesn't vibe with me as much as the others. I can see it working, but I don't see it working as well as canon.

[de4dlyniightshade]

I stumbled upon your blog because of those JJ-Reid posts, and lol, finally, someone said it. I don't know where you stand on this, but I genuinely don't understand people who hype JJ and Derek's relationship with Spencer. I might be wrong, but both of them are the worst to him, in my opinion. Sure, they have their 'good' moments, but the amount of condescending and demeaning commentary they give to Reid is crazy. And no, Spencer isn't my favorite character, but even then, what JJ and Morgan did to Reid always made me uncomfortable. I think the only two who really care and listen to Reid are Blake and Emily. In my personal opinion, Reid x Emily relationship (platonic OFC) is really underrated.

worst to spencer goes jj first ofc and then derek idc.

the thing with the nightmares, telling gideon and forcing him to talk about it just rubbed me the wrong way. i can't remember exactly but there's another point where derek gets really personal about something and is such a dick to spencer for no reason.

i haven't finished the show yet(i got to s11 and then restarted it with my meemaw:3)so idk if penelope ends up being mean to spencer but so far her and emily are the only ones who take accountability for how they treat others, they don't just use their emotions as a fallback for being a bad friend like everyone else, emily was genuinely sorry for not being able to tell spencer and genuinely had a sit down talk with him about it and penelope saved his life, did one thing she never wanted to do, killed a man for him because he's her friend and she loves him.

completely agree that the best friendship in cm is emily and spencer all the fucking way. the way she was desperately looking for him in that one episode with the church cult UGH and the hug? that. ladies and gentleman. is how you love a man. she loves him. jj does not. she loves the idea of him. a real gentleman who can treat a woman right, but oh how dare he come with baggage.

i love blake and spencer's relationship too, the way he kinda immediately attaches himself too her bcs of her motherly nature is really sweet and i like that it's unspoken that he sees her as a motherly figure and she sees him as a sort of son.

hotch i can forgive for being a little mean to spencer because he was never too mean and he never claimed to love him or be his best friend or brother or any of that, although hotch does love him he doesn't broadcast it for brownie point like the others and the times he was mean he was really stressed and took it out on more than just spencer, unlike the others who pick the pushover who won't yap back and bitch at him when they're mad.

don't even get me started on elle. they were endgame.

[new-tella-us]

Lil Fun Fact about me

I was obsessed with this game at about 14 years old. (I know. Too young. I didn't read the age warning) And while I went through the hyperfixation that would define my current re-hyperfixation, here's how lil babu me felt about each character.

James- Neutral. Idk 14 year old me didn't get it. I was not that girl. I thought he was a little boring. Uh, that opinion changed. Of all the boys, I currently think he's the hottest honestly. Also for some reason, I thought James was 26 instead of 23. So that not only inspire him being 26 when I aged up a few character (Mika included) but also when I went back into the game and thought he was 26 trying to get with an 18 year old, I was giving him (and Michaela) some MAJOR side eye. Then the wiki educated me.

Erik- I kinda disliked him. I thought his flirty personality was annoying and I didn't like that he just kissed Mika out of no where. (still don't honestly) I think I lowkey agreed with Oribel. To 14 year old me, the man was icky. Also again, I thought he was 25 so I was like "Eeeeeeewwwwwww". Again, the wiki made me realize that he was 22. Nowadays, while he's not my favorite, I find his flirting funny and think the voice actor did an amazing job. I also understand his arc and that made him a much better character in my eyes.

Sam- Fucking HATED this man. Loathed even. I thought he was rude, mean and all around I hated the tsundere trope. An opinion I had (and still have to a less passion degree) is that you shouldn't have to earn basic treatment. No one's baseline treatment of you should be rude and condescending. And that's true.... in real life. I'm far more chill about Sam simply because I give him more leeway based on the world he lives in. Would I like a real life Sam? No. Can I now appreciate his arc within the confines of a video game? Yes.

Matthew- I'm pretty sure he was my favorite character. Loved his fun loving attitude and carefree persona. Plus Simon Tabby. We love Simon Tabby, We stan Simon Tabby. Though I will say, his worst ending in game two gave me nightmares. My opinion of him hasn't really changed much. Still love the guy but he has been dethroned by someone else.

Damien- My second favorite character at 14! I'll be honest, it was mainly because he suffered. Don't get me wrong, 14 year old me liked his sweetness but without his tragic backstory, I would have probably found him boring like James. Uh again clearly that's changed. His backstory still hits hard but I can better appreciate just how tooth rottingly sweet he is. Plus I just like soft boys and that sadistic side doesn't hurt. He has absolutely become my fav! (Sorry Matthew, you're still my second fav)

Diana- I didn't see her run or really care about her romance with Saero. I knew she had a run but never cared to see it. So I was just more confused with her massive 180 in personality from Otome to Demon War. I did think she was hot though. Nowadays, my inner bisexual makes me rabid for this girl. The only reason she doesn't appear on my timeline much is because I know there is an entire book about her that I am currently unable to get and I don't want to rewrite something I don't understand. That feels disrespectful.

[chobani-flip]

the disconnect between the storytelling of the show and of the fandom

lately, I've been thinking about storytelling and storytellers in the context of 911.

like, there's two sides to this storytelling business, right?

there's the small group writers and showcreators who have an idea for the characters and plots and have to come up with a way to share those ideas within the constraints of a network television series

and then there's us, a massive international community with a wide-range of life experiences, who watch their show and then go on to tell our own story about it.

and i wonder if we're always watching the story they're telling.

im not even necessarily talking about the buddie goggles right now.

what got me thinking about this was ana flores.

and the one scene the fandom likes to pretend sealed her fate (when in actuality, let's be quite candid, it was the fact that she was a beautiful woman who dared to date eddie instead of allowing him to remain a viable option for canonical/fanonical offscreen cannoodling with buck)

"there's a lot to be said for getting back on the horse, but there's also some value in learning that you don't like horses." eddie: "i'm sorry?" "sometimes, our limitations tell us when to stop. but sometimes, they can show us where to look next." (romantic, feelingsy song starts playing) "today, he falls off the skateboard. but tomorrow, he writes the great american novel."

see, the problem here is that this is CLEARLY meant to be viewed as wise and deep advice. as a moment of connection between ana and eddie... the way the scene is cut, the music that plays in the background, the intense eye-contact between the two characters, the way eddie reacts to her words... we're meant to enjoy the simmering tension and potential between them...

but... it's not great and deep advice, not really. it's been pointed out that it comes off as ableist. and ana is supposed to be a teacher at this excellent inclusive institution; she is meant to have experience with children of different abilities feeling frustrated and wanting to do the same things other children are doing... someone on here pointed out that if they were the teacher, they would seek to understand what need christopher was trying to fullfil by getting on the skateboard and help him achieve it by other means

but what ana comes up with is this awkward horse metaphor that doesn't really make sense for the situation, and a condescending: "awwww, well, im sure he's the next hemingway"

BUT SEE, THAT'S NOT THE STORY THE SHOW IS TELLING US. the show is ostensibly framing this scene as romantic and great and deep. and that is NOT ana's fault. the character of ana didn't travel to our reality, didn't block the scene, didn't cut it and add the soundtrack. that's on the showcreators.

but somehow, it's really difficult for us to see it that way when it comes to ana.

in a way that it's not when it comes to Hen, poor little Mara and the Doberman.

because we know Hen and Karen, and we like them.

so we awkwardly shuffle around, side-eyeing each other, quietly nudging each other and going: "bit of a fail that, huh? kinda a weird thing to do on the part of the show, huh? comparing a little Black girl to a dog...why did they do that???"

or there was an excellent post floating around about whether Buck and Eddie realize they can say no to sex, that their consent matters.

"what if i come home and she wants to haaaaaave..." "well, you'll get through it somehow," says buck with an amused grin on his face.

see, the problem isn't necessarily whether the characters know that their consent matters, but whether the showcreators do. because this is clearly meant to be viewed as a joke.

eddie is a macho guy, who tends to keep his cool in difficult situations, so it's funny when you see him freaking out over the fact that his girlfriend wants to have sex with him and he doesn't want to have sex with her because her former chosen-profession taps into his well of Messy Catholic Feelings.

isn't it? isn't that just fucking hilarious?

and the answer to that is: no. it's not funny to any part of the audience who's ever felt pressured (by a partner, by society, by their own expectations) to want or to have sex.

but does the show realize that?

i'm sorry but i don't think so. this is the show that framed dr.wells sexually assaulting buck during a therapy session as a joke to casually bring up and needle him over later, that felt the need to reassure us that chimney and maddie can and do have wild, passionate monkey sex (you remember, albert teasing chim, then the hotel with the revolving room, etc), that had karen ask hen what the point of a relationship was if the couple weren't having sex...

now, i genuinely don't think the showcreators mean to be hurtful, or harmful. i don't think they realise how all these things come off. because they're a fairly small group of people from Los Angeles, North America, and are working within the constraints of a network television show

(and the point of the Eddie and Buck scene was Buck coming out to Eddie, so maybe they felt Buck saying: "you know, you can tell her you don't want to have sex, right? that's allowed." would fraction the focus of it? idk)

but what happens is that there's this disconnect between the story they're telling us and the story we continue to tell among ourselves.

when it comes to the characters we like, we tend to ignore the unpleasant meanings and messages in relation to the character, or we retcon it in fanfic, or we Fix-it with some heart-to-hearts and apologies.

(for example, i haven't seen many fics that show athena being a Cop as not-a-great-thing. but are we really ok with her saying "i wasn't on their side, but i understood their side." when her son expresses some reasonable dissatisfaction with her reaction to a cop pointing a gun at him and michael? or are we just ignoring it because we love angela bassett?)

when it comes to characters we are predisposed to dislike, this disconnect makes us dislike them even more. which leads to the writing of bashing fics, and in some cases harassing the performers online jfc do not do that people that's never ok

(of course, some characters are hated justifiedly imao, like the buckley parents and chimney's father...)

maybe this is the frustration that makes for such a prolific and active fandom?

I don't know.

but I think it's something to keep in mind when watching the show. because that disconnect is always going to be there and I know that for my own personal mental health, it's easier and nicer to believe that a group of RL people might sometimes be just a bit ignorant at times and write in weird shit unintentionally, than that my favourite characters are massive assholes unpredictably and randomly

[asherlockstudy]

I had this in my draft but don't really post randl so I thought you'd get a kick out of it (sorry). Slight neg incoming

Honestly, Rhett and the crew mocking Link for a lot of his mannerisms that are also symptoms of adhd is very off-putting to watch. I usually have to stop watching an episode when it gets too much. I don't know or care if Link has adhd. That doesn't matter. It is still several common adhd struggles that they continuously make fun of.

I can mention some, like his inability to do two things at once, which rhett constantly brings up. Same with paying attention and focusing on the task or what is said. The way he talks, skipping words or repeating himself, same with reading, skipping and missing information. His clear struggle with impulse control, which yeah sometimes is dangerous but most times harmless and a non-issue, something to work on in private. And the whole episode-intervention for Link to stop interrupting others - again, something to work on, but not for everyone of your friends to bully you for and make into entertainment.

And all of this he gets hounded on all the time. And as someone who does struggle with these things, hearing people ridicule someone for it makes me kinda embarrassed and hurt. Yeah, these things are issues to work on or adapt to, but it's kinda dickish to make mocking-comedy of it for millions to see. Quite ableist if you ask me.

Two thoughts I can add to this. When it comes to Rhett in specific, I noticed how he did with his wife too, when he joked that he made a leaflet of sorts to guide her about their date, because he felt she needed it. The more comfortable he gets with a person, Rhett tends to become condescending, either as a form of teasing or to stroke his own ego. The problem is that Link is so used to taking this that people who are around them a lot (i.e the crew) have jumped on the bandwagon. This is human nature, I don't know why, trying to find the target in the room that can take your asshole side *smh* (Of course this applies only when the camera is on, as I suspect Link is the "bad cop" boss when the camera is off. This could maybe mean that the crew also lets out their frustrations during the show because that's the only opportunity they have to do this.)

Anyway, it could be also ableist to some degree but certainly none of them thinks they are guilty of ableism. I will say, part of what annoys me is that 90% of the time they even make a huge deal of something Link says or does. Link may have ADHD (we can't know for sure as long as he isn't officially diagnosed) but whether he has it or not, he does nothing to the degree Rhett and the crew claim. Rhett goes on and on about how Link can't drive and talk, yet he does this easily in many Car Biscuits. Then Link will say a fully logical thing and Stevie will go like "WHAAAAT" and everyone will look at him as if he's an alien. Also, again I am not saying he does not have ADHD but his tendency to skip stuff at times seems to be at least partly due to being super bored of what they have to do. Like, he doesn't care to keep track of guidelines / information in the context of those ever repeating games because he's fed up with this content and doesn't truly want to hide it. He wants out. He is in this perpetual reckless abandon (whereas we have been informed he hasn't always been like that), because he doesn't care but also because he has figured out that his absent-mindedness and the inevitable mistakes will lead to some comedic moment. To me it seems like he has given up and decided to let people feed on it, which is ultimately what makes the potential ADHD or other neurodivergent indications seem more intense than they would be otherwise.

In short, regardless if any of this is true, which is fine either way, I feel he gets disproportionately criticized and mocked for whatever it is he does / says*.

*The times he's rude are an exception he deserves to be told off for. They are an exception because for the reasons above I believe he understands it very well that he's being rude yet he does it all the same.

[zignifier]

y does it feel like ppl r nuanceposting abt the Gendered or Not of dude/bro etc right after i had just like articulated in my head that im fine using it w/ my guy friends that are Verifiably Not misogynists and Da Gorls but will rage if some random guy calls me that...

e.g. this one which this post is gonna primarily be in conversation w/ which i say coz i hate. vague discourse clearly inspired by a particular post that is not being named For Some Reasonnn. & not coz i think OP of that should have shit slung at her but like i disagree w/ some of her points but the way im gonna articulate it i think would kinda be disrespectful to Ask her to like. Engage Me coz there's gonna b a huge gap in effortposting here lol. like i don't wanna be shoving this in her notifs thru the tags even.

anyway i don't think it makes sense to say there's non-gendered usage of "dude" or "you guys" i think it makes more sense to say it's not unilaterally an act of gendering to the way those nouns standalone. like. me saying "duuude" to my cis sister is Completely And Utterly Different to saying it to some random woman Because of the gendered connotations even if im not asserting thru the saying that my sister Is A Man. i think arguing that me doing that is Not Gendered just doesn't make sense coz we r ultimately referencing a sort of camaraderie that is more culturally understood to be amongst, well, dudes. like there is no equivalent for women (maybe i elaborated more on that elsewhere)

and w/ "you guys" yea i think it's unfair when ppl like. get on tfems ass abt calling their friends that. like that is not not gendered, but it's just so...bad faith and like...that shit of how tmes can be all Genderfuck teehee but when tfems do anything outside of the strictest definitions of womanhood suddenly they're male-socialized and Don't Know What Oppression is & tmes gotta come in and tell 'em Ummm...Don't you know about "misgendering" ? And btw you're doing it to your friend rn... Massively condescending esp w/ dialect/idiolect considerations being different for cis women.

But i think certain people should just fully stop saying that shit and stop using the fact its embedded in the dialect as an excuse... I think like, teachers doctors etc people with power should not be saying it to their students etc. Like, if there's just so clearly that kinda power dynamic where someone being like Hey...that makes me uncomfortable is not Amongst Peers. then just avoid. that situation in the first place. coz anyway I've had bad experiences trying to tell teachers to be mindful of that shit and yknow it just put me on blast in front of my peers too & im not even transfeminine. & well idk if any transfems saw the way teachers reacted to me trying to navigate gendered hell and took the lesson to be even smaller abt it coz like tbh. as much as my teachers were openly hostile to me for being nonbinary i think the implicit ways they were transmisogynist tied into existing structures more to like. prevent tfems from like. even being in the discourse let alone Exist. idk if that makes sense.

& related im reminded of a time a black coworker said to me like "Girl, yadda yadda" and i was like. Don't call me girl. and she was like OKAAAY 🙄and i was like internally. damn lol i didn't think she'd be transphobic that was weird like is saying "girl" that important to her geez. and then later she was like OMG. I'M SORRY. When you said earlier that thing about "girl"... I mean you use he/him pronouns* right? (something like that she asked sorta rhetorically I don't super remember) and i was like oh lmao she thought i meant I'm not YOUR girl like. like im being racist and unfamiliar w/ her. Damn.

but it's weird coz like. i wasn't opposed to the familiarity expressed in her saying that but i Was...in a sense being unfamiliar because my discomfort arose from the possibility she was trying to box me into being a cis woman. and if that possibility was absolutely out of my mind i would've been ok w/ it as a like. oh she says that to everyone & well also i am gay. yknow. The Girls And The Gays But Sometimes You Just Say Girls We Have Fun Here. ig tho probably she realized that was the case and thus the apology coz similar shit happens across racialized lines too.

but yeah anyway that too and going back to the teacher thing tho...idk the extent that Well just avoid it. dictum can even apply in the case of like. e.g. a gay teacher like...in order to articulate one's gender u kinda have to make statements abt other ppl's genders and how ur relating to them. so like thru this demand of the teacher not gendering students like...are we arriving at a conclusion of teachers being forced to exist as...not meaningful gendered subjects which is ofc in the real world gonna mean they're Basically Cishet Assimilated? are we sharpening our pitchforks coz da flamboyant teacher said "hey girlies" and letting more Degendering shit slide coz it's less outside the bounds of what we already think is acceptable or Appears to be Non-confrontational? like. "hey girlies" is i think a challenge. coz it signals a dif gendered ingroup (which isn't necessarily literally comprised of Woman-Identified People) than the Norm. & to completely preclude that, what effects would that have on the need for camaraderie and seeing self thru other for marginalized students that their white cishet etc peers have much more access to by default?

ig tho forms of address are not the only way this occurs so idk how much it matters but i don't have an answer to this broadly anyway lawl food for thought tho.

[taegularities]

rid, my lovie !! my sweets !!

🚨 : ( rant incoming )

some of these recent asks have been making me want to start throwing gang signs or sum 💀 i know there are always gonna be some of these asks given the vast audience you have, and that they are just drowning in anticipation.

however, the undertone? 😭 do these people realize that you are a prolific writer, churning out quality contents faster than locusts can reproduce and infest? 🤨 RELATIVELY SPOKEN !!

good contents take time to plan, produce and publish !!

REMEMBER THE TRIPLE P. for an author who doesn't even ask you to pay, and responds with kindness only.

so, let's learn and practice more kindness and respectfulness here. thank you. ( sorry, if i sound like a teacher's pet, but rid is just too good to us )

anyway, we are nonetheless excited for your next releases, and 'entertainer' even after all this time.

( rant end )

꒰ ❛ ❜ personal lil message ꒱ ‎

rid, am so sorry for not getting back to your last 'ruined' response. i thought you hadn't answered it yet !! and are you kidding me? a!oc is my babiest baby !! of course, i adore her a lot. i remember somebody saying she is like a 'sunny weekend after a wet weather' or something, but bit more condescending— made me wanna throw some gang signs again, tafaq 😫 had to overcompensate with my repeated 'ruin you' asks, but i promise i equally read and enjoy your other stories. even sent asks about them before ( just not in my 🎀🖇🩵 style, haha ) and i'm thankful for each of the sweet responses from you : every. single. time!!

oh, by the way, i came across this pin today : https://pin.it/2rY2xnZtj

kinda ruined!tae on wedding night coded? 'i missed this' x 'it's only been two days' x 'and? i miss you all the damn time' ❤️‍🔥 can i please just ask what's the duo's moodboard like? ik they are a v monetesque, pastoral, serene and the whole artists garden at giverny + the water lily pond + beach at saint adresse!based couple.

but if possible i still wanna see them more from your artistic mind, my love. thank you. xo.

last but not least, must i mention how proud i am of you bc of the whole gaza take and activism on this platform? 🍉 it might be a bare minimum for a reality so cruel, but it matters. thank you for using your resources, and for saying how you listen to certain artists less bc of their lack of voice on this issue. every act matters. let's stay strong and

—take care. 🎀🖇🩵

gang signs omg lol 😭 honestly, i'm so thankful for the audience and the excitement everybody brings! the tone was a little off, but as i said, i'm pretty sure they didn't mean it that way, so i'm like, not mad or anything hehe. i hope they enjoyed entertainer!! it's true, though, that i've been a bit slow this year, but we try our best in this corner of our world. but thank you so much for saying that 😭 i'm flattered you appreciate my existence here and are so kind <3

it's okay, love, no reason to apologise. a!oc was everyone's baby, like she's still one of my favourite ocs i've written!! it's beyond crazy that people still remember her and this story overall. lmao yeah someone said she feels like a wet weekend after a sunny vacation or something idk it was way out of line, but what can we do.. i laughed 🤣 THANK YOUUUU for dropping by, whether with your signed asks or in any other way ily ily!!!

plsss on their wedding night?

more like always 😂 but so true. their mood boarddd hmmm, wait i'll go and make one rq brb *5 minutes later* i'd say that's them 🥺 def some monet, rain and autumn vibes

and ofc!! i think i could do even more and share even more. every thought counts. i can't even remember saying i listen to artists less, but it's 100% true, and i also try to avoid big chains such as starbucks, which i think we all should. take care as well, love 🤍

[italianpawg]

do you actually like ur husband & if u don’t can u not leave him ??

hey sorry i didn't get to this yet i was making dinner when u sent it last night and i dont get much time to myself.

so like. im not sure what depth of honesty you're expecting so i dont know how to answer this actually. its complicated, on both accounts.

i was a completely different person when i decided to move here 3 years ago. i was seeking adventure and boy did i get it! but my frontal lobe was underdeveloped, i was desperate to be loved, had nothing to lose, and of course i was in love with him. i still am, somehow.

i think it's moreso that he literally wants nothing to do with me. he is not attracted to me. he puts a pillow between us at night. i genuinely think he doesn't like me or love me. he likes having me around to make his life more comfortable - feeding him, doing household chores, listening to his rants. aside from paying our rent he doesn't help me with anything and he's not interested in me as a person. there's zero affection, he refuses to do things with me or really do anything outside of his strict personal routine (99% sure he has undiagnosed autism but he refuses to accept this) and yeah if anyone was curious he does hit me sometimes im not joking about that. that's life!!

i should stop myself ahead of this tangent bc i could go on. he has his share of flaws and annoying habits but i'm not certainly perfect either. i just wish he was nicer to the woman he claims to love.

in regards to taking action to dissolve this (dumping his sorry ass) i'm not dissing your level of maturity here when i say im guessing you've never been married. 'leaving' is reeeally not that simple, logistically or emotionally. it'd be way easier if we were just dating but marriage is a binding legal contract. again i dont mean to sound condescending it's just more complicated than many would assume.

plus, as you may or may not know, i immigrated from the US to australia to be with him. might sound unwise but at first it wasn't, i saved up plenty of money to fund my move and establish myself here, i did everything the right way, and i'm still waiting on immigration to process my visa after nearly 3 years. that's not really something you can just hit undo on. it's not like i just moved across town into his place, i moved across the literal planet.

financially i have nothing to my name and he doesn't have much more. the economy is really bad here. i did get a job but i havent started getting paid yet, even when i do it's only one shift a week. he, in combination with mental illness, has isolated me from having a support system. i have no friends, no confidence, no safe haven. my family can’t help. (1. they dont have much themselves 2. they’ve done enough already 3. my mom is my closest family member and she thinks he’s an angel so that’s not happening.)

money (or lack thereof) is definitely a factor but even if i had it i can't just up and break my lease on our apartment. we also have a cat who is like our child and i really do not want to leave her. cats do indeed have feelings and form close bonds with their people and i couldn't break her little heart like that.

plus australia’s divorce laws are utter bullshit!!! you have to be officially separated and living separately for a whole year in order to file for divorce. not to mention well he’s basically threatened to either end himself or live out the rest of his life wallowing in misery if i ever leave him. i can’t have that on my back. i’m fucked. basically i’m fucked!!!

ultimately it is what it is. i just wish he would like beat the shit out of me once and for all so that i had undeniable physical evidence. i mean, he does that, but not in a way that anyone would notice. even if he did... i don't leave the house enough to anyone to notice/care.

i've kinda given up on having a fulfilling relationship or expecting better from him. instead i'm trying to seek happiness through self initiated means. hobbies and stuff. self-improvement.

the hardest part is knowing that i want a family - most who do start by my age - but he would make a terrible father, and the longer i wait, the less time i have to find anyone else who would be a decent parent. torturous position to be in. but i got myself here didn't i.

[rifari2037]

The Southern Raiders had Aang unintentionally come across as morally condescending to Katara, painting the air nomads as more holy than what they most likely are, thus Katara rejects what Aang believes. But what if there was an episode where the opposite happens, where she attempts to get Aang to not believe in forgiveness as much as he does?

Hypothetical scenario, Azula is captured by Ozaatu (Ozai + Vaatu), and Aang and Zuko decide to go rescue her. Katara doesn't entertain the idea and subtly tries to convince them that they should just leave her to die, basically. The reason for that is that she finds her even more contemptible than Yon Rha which is fairly justified.

Her zapping Aang likely gave her a traumatic flashback of the time she witnessed her mother die (which could be why she instantly teared up mid-zap) She was the one who sentenced the earth kingdom to the same fate as the air nomads, tried to zap her mid-agni kai to spite Zuko, is a good enough of a liar to fool even Toph, and kidnapped children in an attempt to gaslight Zuko. She wouldn't fathom the thought of anyone forgiving or trusting someone like her, let alone save her from certain peril.

Aang reminds Katara that it's because he and Aang have a spiritual connection/link/bond that existed right after truly opening all chakras, this bond allows Aang and Azula to understand each other and one will know when the other is lying even better than Toph. This bond is the key to them thinking of each other more romantically.

Zuko explains that it's more than because Azula's family, he kinda owes her. She's the one who told Ursa the hit on Zuko, giving Ursa the means to save his life, she overturned Zuko's banishment, allowed him back home, and advised Zuko to be more careful with his secret meetings with Iroh. He won't let her make more mistakes that'll harm him or his allies but he won't turn his back on her either.

Katara's also worried that this might be another one of Ozaatu's traps, but Aang said that he'll take his chances. They all go and they successfully save Azula.

This mission caused a slightly bigger strain between Aang and Katara but they both realize that no one can force one's own beliefs down on others. The next episode after that comes with Azula opening and mastering her chakras and that's when she decides to join Aang and the Team.

This make any sense?

Wow, I never thought that far, but that's a really interesting fanfiction, and make sense if you ask me. I wonder what happens next after they save Azula since she's one of my favourite antagonists.

By the way, you might be disappointed with me for answering your ask so late. I'm so sorry! 😭😭

[leffee]

I've been thinking about those deadly sins poll you did awhile back and I decided to put my two cents into who I would say is each sin

Pride - Russell - my interpretation of him is that while he is very prideful in his organization skills, he does tend to be a know-it-all and even flat out condescending, which annoys the others to no end. He also likes being the "leader" of the group and being the one everyone turns to, if someone is shown to be more organized/smarter than Russell he would definitely feel threatened. But he's not just prideful of what he does, he's also very proud of his friends and tends to brag about them in conversations sometimes "Yeah, my friend is a model AND singer. Why do you ask?" "Oh, you're the parent of that one kid with the magician at his birthday party? Yeah, that's my friend. Pretty impressive stuff, huh?"

Greed - Minka - I mean... yeah. Have you seen how she is with shiny stuff? I kind of have nothing to add here tbh :/

Lust - Zoe - I think some people missed the assignment of that poll. Guys, she gets heart eyes at some unfortunate guy that crossed paths with her and now she declares that they're soul mates, she is literally MADE for lust :(

Gluttony - Penny - ehhhhhh I really didn't want to put Penny for gluttony but I kinda had no choice. Gluttony doesn't really fit her, but it doesn't really fit any of the other pets either. It just feels... fatphobic to place the chubby one as gluttony. I'm sorry girl 😔

Envy - Pepper - >:) hehehehe. Pepper just screams envy to me. And she has been canonically jealous in the show. It's something, okay??? And I headcanon that she has a MAJOR problem with comparing herself to others. Why can't she be as smart as Russell, as attractive as Sunil and Zoe, as kind as Vinnie and Penny, or as creative as Minka. She'd be lucky if Mitzi and Clement even look her in the eye, they could turn around and date any of her friends, and she wouldn't even even blame them. Every person she comes across, she always finds some way to compare herself to them. Why wouldn't she? Literally every single person in the goddam universe is better than her in some way while Pepper is a selfish asshole that no one wants to look at for more than two seconds

Wrath - Vinnie - Anger issues for the king. I think that during one of his outbursts, he ended up accidentally hurting one of his friends. And he has never forgiven himself, no matter how many times his friends assure him it's fine and nothing a little rest can't fix. And Vinnie brings the person he hurt all kinds of gifts, their favorite things, favorite food, etc. It legitimately scares Vinnie because his outbursts are uncontrollable, and he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he hurt someone again, or worse

Sloth - Sunil - sorry bestie this is all I had left, although it kinda fits since he was in a very sleepy mood when his best friend was missing :/

Oh yaaay, thanks :D.

Yes, I absolutely think some people missed the assignment on that pride poll but oh well. There's always the chance they didn't, I guess. Still, Zoe is absolutely the most obvious to me, lust all the way, cause come on. Everyone up to Penny I gave the same reasoning pretty much so yeah, I agree.

My other conclusion is that you and I just really like when characters are envious of other cause angst material so naturally we want to give it to our favourites xD. I'll be honest though, I don't know if Vinnie was envious once caononically, Pepper though was. Part of me thinks maybe they didn't give that to him cause "haha, stupid and has no emotional range" but I might be very much wrong. Still, I agree with wrath as well. The man is Satan himself. And no, I don't know Helluva Boss lore, I just know bible lore :].

And let me talk about the gluttony one, I mean, none of the sins really 100% match anyone cause you know, they're from children's show, it's not like they ever did anything that wrong really. Gluttony means overindulgence in food and drinks, as in you consume those when others need them more but you take it all for yourself. Penny never did that of course but like, they've never been in a situation like that. Still, she's the one whose thing is eating a lot, so she naturally fits the best even if she doesn't exactly fit on her own.

And another conclusion is that sloth is just assigned at random to whoever is left cause it just fits nobody lol which I agree with btw. Like, someone has to have it, but no one really fits. Some fit better, some fit worse, but no one really fits. And yeah, Sunil might have been sleepy when his literal besite went missing, but let's be honest, no one did much to find him :/ (still salty). Plus, I'm sure if you tried hard enough you could find at least one moment for each of them when they could be considered lazy cause that's just something all people or in this case pets do.

Next time we're voting who has the sluttiest waist btw.

[springcatalyst]

*FACE AGAINST THE GLASS OF YOUR SCREEN* Bound, break, hate, midnight for Julian?????????????? 👁👁💕💘💗💘💗Please💗💕💞💞💘💞💗💞

YESSSS THANK YOU BESTIE!! I HATE HIM (I LVOE HIM)

Bound: Has your OC ever been imprisoned or captured? What happened? How did they get out? Did the experience leave any scars?

Ok not conclusively... but maybe? The only reason anyone has to fuck with Julian is to get at Liliana, because sorry he's just not that important. You have to want something to capture someone, anything else and why not just beat him or kill him, ya feel? But I think it'd be fun for me personally.

Break: What would cause your OC to break down completely? What do they look like when that happens? Has anyone ever seen them at their lowest?

It would take something... something that he wouldn't expect to matter. Losing himself, or losing one of the few people he genuinely cares for, would destabilize an already unstable foundation. Real fear, too, gets at him. He's not afraid of pain and he's not afraid of death, which means he usually looks fearless or foolish or both, but it also means he doesn't really know what to do with genuine fear. He thinks he's invincible, thinks that he's mastered the art of remaining unaffected, but that's not even a LITTLE BIT true. Unfortunately for everyone around him, 'breaking down' now looks like getting really, really defensive. An already short fuse gets shorter and shorter the more unraveled and/or upset he becomes, which makes it impossible to deescalate. He lashes out at anyone in the vicinity, but if given the chance, he will retreat away, alone. Alone is his natural state, and the one he's most comfortable with, and it means unobserved, which is integral to the kind of breakdown he's privy to.

Arguably the only person that's ever seen him like this, though, is Diana, just because they grew up together. She was there before he was quite so defensive, before he protected his pride with his life. Still rare, though, because he always ran away.

Hate: What does your OC hate? Why? How do they act towards the object of their hatred?

God. He hates people that wound his pride, he hates people that condescend and patronize and it doesn't even have to be directed at him this time, he hates people who act like they follow different rules than everyone else which is HILARIOUS because HE does that!! He's such a fucking hypocrite and you know what? He also hates hypocrites. He hates cruelty without purpose which, also funny, because he is far from a nice person, but there's a certain line to cross. And depending on the severity of who he's dealing with, he ranges from a little harsher than usual to a straight up knife fight. There are many a man with whom he does not get along, but is in a situation where he can't just say fuck em and leave, so he's just really blunt and snippy and short when necessary interactions do happen. Like, you can tell he doesn't like you, but what are you gonna do about it? He's begging for them to start a fight.

Midnight: What keeps your OC up at night? Do they have nightmares? Fears? Anxieties? What do they do in the small hours of the morning when they should be sleeping?

Ah, well. He's kinda haunted but in a way that he doesn't even really know by what. It's more a feeling, he's not self-aware enough to connect the dots. He's restless, like there's something left incomplete. He constantly feels like he needs to get away from everything, it's part of the reason he never stays in one place, or even on one ship, for very long. Being around one group of people for too long feels like they're gonna start noticing things, patterns, pieces of something he'd rather stay secret. And then in those wanderings he finds himself amidst crews of people who are actually dangerous, actually cruel, and what was once just an itchy instability of character becomes caution and uncertainty and an odd sort of alienation. It reinforces the idea that he is safest when he is alone, and nighttime is a period where he is guaranteed that.

[niniane17]

Some further thoughts about Gaiman.

So, I've read a post stating that, unlike with Rowling, there were no signs with Gaiman. That is techincally true, if, by "signs" we mean "he shot down our ships on twitter", or "his works were dissed to hell and back ever since he published a Contested Sequel to a beloved franchise back in 2016", and "I don't find his antihero's backstory sufficiently tragic".

I don't want to defend Rowling, but it is undeniable that her fandom has had a huge bone to pick with her for a very long time, in some cases ever since the books were published for the first time. I was there, Dumbledore. I know all the complaints the fandom has had ever since 2003.*

Well. I guess I kinda know the answer now.

When shit hit the fan in 2020, a lot of people just jumped at the chance to vent all of their grieviances against her, admittedly flawed, fantasy series. It's not that I don't share some of these grieviances. In fact, I share many! But as I argued long ago, the quality of her books have nothing to do with whatever political choices she made later. What if, I asked, GRR Martin or Neil Gaiman revealed themselves to be transphobic all of a sudden?

I've seen people argue that it's not fair to rip Gaiman's works to shred just because he's despicable, that books aren't a secret puzzle that magically reveal bigotry to woke Englightned people and they are absolutely right. But it doesn't escape me that many of those people were, and still are, playing the same game with Rowling's earlier books.

Besides, and I'm sorry if I sound condescending, but I really need to say this: there WERE people who didn't like Gaiman and had a lot of criticism about his works even "back in the day". See this, for example.

*Come to think of it, I'd pin down the publication of Order of the Phoenix as the First Fight between Rowling and the Fandom, when she killed off fan favorite Sirius Black.