#stop being ableist pieces of trash

[freckledsweetpea]

the way that people genuinely believe type 2 diabetes is a fat person disease is just...so fucking ignorant. it's extremely hereditary. I know 4 people with type 2 diabetes or who are pre-diabetic. All of them thin or extremely average weights with very small amounts of body fat that come with aging. All of them have siblings or parents who also have/had it. Of course healthy diet and exercise will be a huge help in keeping it at bay, BUT BEING FAT DOES NOT CAUSE DIABETES TO MANIFEST BECAUSE YOU ARE FAT. IT IS IN YOUR GENETICS.

[alexiaugustin]

season two of shadow and bone should have shown absolutely every last fucking person that this show is a soulless piece of trash adaptation that doesn’t understand nor gives two fucks about the source material they're allegedly trying to adapt and that the people behind this show were all lying to your faces when they apologized for the things that upset people for 24 hours before season one streamed two years ago, because after all this show still erases the trauma of a woman’s sexual abuse story and they are still sexualizing bisexual people and they are still fucking everything about these characters and their dynamics up.

season one should have upset most people enough to stop stanning this show but during the last two years we have learned that there’s A Lot that the tv industry can do that people won’t care about. an ableist, colorist and fatphobic and age inaccurate casting that hurts people by taking their representation away is something people won’t care about. complex characters being reduced to an inch of what they actually are like so they and their relationship can neatly fit into archetypes, tropes and ao3 tags is something people won’t care about. showrunners getting exposed for having their white stunt doubles do brownface is something people won’t care about. a show having a dumb script that makes everyone on the show look like a fucking loser is something people won’t care about.

and now season two is out and they did everything they already did in season one wrong but it’s somehow still so much worse. after watching season one i felt like the deeply offensive and wrong things about this show were still explainable, season two actually has me at loss for words because of how bad it is. because of how there’s not a single thing they did right about the soc books; not the characters, not their relationships, not their storyline, nor the world they live in. i could give a few examples like the fact that kaz told inej that feeling as if she’s not really free from the menagerie where she was sex trafficked as a child "isn’t her fight anymore, it’s his“ just because pekka rollins owns her now. or the fact that wylan and jesper met via a one night stand and were fucking by episode four even tho they don’t even kiss before the end of ck. or that they turned pekka rollins into a super villain who wants to kill kaz even though the whole point of his role in the books is that he has no idea why kaz has it out for him and he doesn’t care abt these teenagers.

i could explain all these and so many more examples in depth, and still it wouldn’t be enough to capture the the true scope of how bad and truly horrible this show is. and yet. and yet when i log into tumblr dot com or twitter dot com i see gifsets of this show, of the relationships they don’t understand, of the characters they butchered and i'm seeing people rooting for another season of this nonsense. at this point this show feels like a social experiment that’s trying to see how far people will go to defend a deeply offensive and atrociously bad piece of media. and during the last 48 hours i've come to realize that some of y'all will never be able to be pushed too far. some of y’all had their brains rotted away a long time ago when tiktok and ao3 made you believe that media is nothing more than the consumption of aesthetics, tropes and archetypes and that it’s a good thing if these are responsible for the death of art. if you claim to love the book and the show at the same time you are lying to yourself because that is simply impossible. you have, in short, truly lost the fucking plot.

[writtenonreceipts]

Prompt The Things We Cannot Say: Rhys' Mom Discovering How Rhys' Dad Mistreated Feyre🥺🥺

This was really interesting to write. I hope I remained consistent to the characterization I already presented of Benham for this fic.  I…I have found that in writing him (in this fic and in others that I include him in) he can be very compelling and I want to keep the same tones of canon present for his character, but at the same time, I do believe there is more to him than we know.  So…yeah. This was interesting…

the things we cannot say masterlist

Warnings: Benham is still a piece of trash despite my above words. Potential ableist comments/negative commentary on disabilities.

~1k words

The Words of Others

“Benham Avitas.”

The man in question froze.  Not in fear or terror, rather in confusion.  Because that voice was his wife’s voice and his wife had long done away with visiting him in the office.  So that begged the question: was he hallucinating?  

Benham looked up to find that he, unfortunately, was not hallucinating.  His wife was indeed standing in the doorway of his office scowling at him with such ferocity that Benham for the first time in a long time felt unsettled.

“Alanna,” he said evenly.

She entered the office, clicking the door shut behind her.  

The spacious room seemed to collapse around her as she moved closer.  Arms crossed across her chest; Alanna regarded him.  His wife had a way about her that demanded attention.  She was a strong woman who would not back down from a fight.  It was one of the things that he’d first noticed about her all those years ago.

Now, all that energy she possessed was focused on him.

He knew what she was upset about.  It wasn’t hard to guess considering that she’d been spending more and more time with Rhysand as of late.  It was only a matter of time before she’d learned about the discussion, he and Rhys had about his dating habits.

And then Benham and Alanna had always had some innate ability to understand one another.  For the span of their near thirty-six year marriage they’d always known what the other was thinking, how the other would react.  

It didn’t help him now, however.

“Alanna,” he said again when she remained silent.

She held up a hand as she came to a stop just before his desk.  Her long, dark hair hung over one shoulder with a slight curl to it, a beaded wrap kept it tied in a tail.  The style emphasized the angles of her face and left her stark eyes on display.  His wife was always striking, even when angry, and right now she was livid.

“Rhysand told me about his new girlfriend,” Alanna said.  It wasn’t often that his wife let her emotions go unchecked and Benham had learned to navigate the waters when it happened, but this was different.

“Dear, now isn’t—” he began.

Alanna cut him off. “It is the time, Benham.  You…you talked to our son and the woman he is seeing the way you did.  You treated her like she was anything less than a real human being?  Benham.”

His wife was a passionate person.  Strong willed and unbreakable.  Given the life she’d come from and the dreams she aspired to own--it was what made her who she was.

“Alanna,” he said, “do you realize what people will say when they hear about this?  Our son, my son, with someone who can’t even—”

“You basically disowned him!” Alanna cut him off again.  Something she’d never done in the course of their marriage and it indeed was a very strange phenomenon.  His wife.  His soft spoken, genteel wife, was ready to murder him. “Why should he care what you or anyone else thinks?  You haven’t cared about him until he made a way for himself.  Without you.”

Benham rose to his feet, unable to remain sitting any longer.  To have his wife speak to him like this—well he didn’t like it.  He didn’t like for anyone to use this tone of voice with him.  He was the one in control.  He was the one to maintain order.

“Alanna,” he said, his voice taking on a warning tone.  “Watch how you speak to me.”

She glared at him and he could see the color rising in her cheeks. “No.  I won’t.”

The air of the office shifted and Benham felt more anger rise within him.  It wasn’t often he and Alanna disagreed.  Well, they disagreed but ultimately, he made the decision.  He was the patriarch of the family and what he said was always the final word.

Indeed, Rhysand had seen success with his business venture.  A nightclub.  Despite how well the club had done, Benham still believed his son had to be out of his mind to turn to such an investment.  Why a nightclub that would still barely break even when Benham had set up a perfectly successful job for him?  Everything had been lined up for the Avitas family to have everything at their fingertips.  But Rhysand and subsequently the other boys had turned their noses.

It had been humiliating.

Rhysand was selfish and never thought about anything other than his own wants and whimsies.  It had been one rebellion after another in raising that boy.  And then Alanna insisted on bringing Cassian and Azriel into the mix the last few years of their high school educations.  It had only made things worse.

In the end, Benham had had enough.  He’d bailed the boys out of jail, found them sneaking out of the house, and then Rhysand denied everything that had been built up for him.

Alanna had never agreed with the hard hand Benham used.  Oh, he’d never struck his son or daughter, violence towards ones family was rather tasteless.  He’d never seen the value or need in it anyways.  For all the chaos Rhysand had caused as a boy, it had only taken a word or a shipment off to some sports camp and the boy would come back for the better.  He let Alanna to raise Thea to her own desires, only needing to step in when Thea tried to withdraw from her honor classes or end her math and science club enrollments.

“You just let me have my son back,” Alanna said, pulling Benham from his thoughts. “I don’t want to lose him again.”

“That girl—”

“That girl means something to him.” It was the second time Alanna had cut him off that night.  This was not a trend he appreciated. “That woman makes him happy.  Isn’t that all that matters? Why don’t you want that for him?”

“He has made it clear what he wants,” Benham said. “And it most certainly isn’t this family.”

Alanna cast him a long, tired look.  And for the first time he could see the lines of her face, the exhaustion and the pain and the sorrow.

“Are you sure about that?” she asked.  Without waiting for an answer Alanna retreated back out of his office.  She paused before opening the door. “I think you need to consider if your family is most important to you, Benham.  I think it’s best if you stay in the apartment you rent in the city tonight and not come home.”

With that, she finally left.

It took quite a while for Benham to calm down after that.  For one, Alanna had spoken to him so forcefully and so assertive.  For another, she knew about the secondary apartment.

Benham didn’t leave his office for the rest of the night.

…

I probably won’t revisit Benhams POV again for this fic.  I doubt I’ll do Alanna’s either, despite my love of her.  A partial resolution for this little plot line may come eventually.  I have an idea for it, but it’ll end up being a full-length chapter (I already know it’ll be 3-4k words and not drabble size).  And me being me and a problem child when it comes to consistent updates…I have no specific time line when that’ll be.

tags:

@aelinchocolatelover  // @sexy-dumpster-fire // @bamchickawowow // @ireallyshouldsleeprn // @courtofjurdan // @sassys-world // @sleeping-and-books // @superspiritfestival // @chieflemming // @julemmaes // @lysandra-ghost-leopard // @firestarsandseneschals // @emikadreams // @rapunzel1523 // @booksofthemoon // @highladysith // @fangirlprincess09 // @rowaelinismyotp // @vanzetanze // @cassianscool // @stardelia // @my-fan-side // @sjmships // @tillyrubes10 // @rhysandswhore  //  @story-scribbler  // @post-it-notes33 // @live-the-fangirl-life // @strangevil321 // @pastasiren // @lemonade-coolattas @foreverfallingforthestars // @feysand-loml // @realbookloverproblems // @ghostlyrose2 // @swankii-art-teacher // @foughtconquered // @bri-loves-sunflowers // @captain-swan-is-endgame  // @mystic-bibliophile // @cretaceous-therapod // @thenightgodess-feyrearcheron //  @thisloveseternal // @gracie-rosee // @magnifique1807 // @liars-lmao // @goddess-aelin // @thegloweringcastle // @tangledinsparkles // @the-lonelybarricade // @millsarcherfeykat // @sideralwriting // @nerdperson524 // @the-fae-are-taking-over // @sushisempai // @jenibearx3 //  @the-introverted-bibliophile //  @starfall-spirit //

[galaxy-quartz-stars]

CW: ableist, bullying, False information, ABA.

Eileen lamb aka @/theautismcafe Is a mother with two children with Neurodiversity disabilities and she is well known as she works for Autism $peaks And when it comes to her free speech and her saying that we are bad guys, She is also pulling the Victim card on us because we are the ones that are treating her like trash but guess what she is the one that is putting the blame on herself because she doesn’t want to listen to us she cares about Her precious fans and tells them That she’s being bullied,

If you don’t know why here is two images of her crying about autistic people Harassing her and another one that she said that she’s “autistic” but she’s being called an ableist woman when she said that she’s “autistic” Which she using autism as excuse to being a ableist person In fact it could be many ways that people would use Autism as an excuse like using it as a crime, using it as a way to hurt and abused people for sexual abuse Or to manipulate people etc. in fact their are just too many bad people that use Victim blame to Cover their tracks, But many people Are going to the comment section and be like why are you saying that in fact Eileen is not a ableist person in fact she listens to everyone and she is a good mom Well yeah like I see this one right there that she said that otherwise that she would listens to us,

But what bothers me the most is that she wants to compare ABA to life skills, helping parents, and to have a better life for their Autistic children, It’s like everything that Non-disabled people want is trying to convince them that ABA is not abuse like you can’t change the history and Research you know it was made by a homophobic man Who he wanted people with sexuality and gender to be straight and Cis that is Called “gay conversion therapy” And it’s the same thing to ABA knows as “applied behavior analysis” for autism, But yet again this is like a slap in the face when she said stuff like “I disagree in fact ABA is not abuse like come on stop being a Bunch of Snowflake”

And another thing is that when she said that AAC is helpful but in reality she doesn’t like AAC So the company Autism $peaks wants to pass a bill for schools To not allow access for Nonverbal autistic kids for the use of AAC Or other helpful and Good alternatives, In fact This posted had been one year later and she came up with the use of pulling up Another victim blaming And another destructive lies of trying to cover their tracks but with this time By blaming a another Autistic advocates by the name of @notanautismmom

In fact this poor young woman has been Fighting for the right simply because she’s telling the truth of Autism $peaks trying to take away AAC for Nonverbal autistic kids and she has been facing in harassment by Eileen lamb,

In fact I am sick and tired of her bullcrap just because that she’s being called out and saying that she is upset by autistic people but she being an ableist woman she is not a good person whatsoever and people should not be defending Eileen lamb at all like in fact why can’t people just listen to us why can’t people just let us be who we want to be instead of treating us like We’re burdens This is why that she is just making excuses for us excuses and for all that she works for autism $peaks just proves how ableist she is, Also I don’t care if Eileen lamb is autistic In fact autistic or not she needs to not pull the victim Card Nor treat us like garbage it is not right it is disrespectful and she knows that what she’s doing is wrong and that including her working for Autism $peaks and for her Disgusting behavior In fact as an autistic person like myself you know I don’t support hate groups like this I support love and Accept I support the parents of autistic children who Actually love them for no matter what, No one deserves to be punished no one deserves to be treated like we’re Puzzle pieces or burdens, no one deserves to be treated like we are disease, we deserve to be treated like We’re human Like we are welcome to this world in fact we deserve better #Nothingwithuswithoutus

[russilton]

I actually remember thinking that Max may be regretting having forever ruined his relationship with Lewis when I watched them in the cooldown room after the Hungarian GP - I don't know if you remember, but Max was glancing at Lewis, looking for his reactions and laughing awkwardly when they showed his spin, then was also very quick to try and laugh with Lewis when he asked about Ferrari's tire fuck up... and that whole energy was just weird and unexpected and very awkward.

The thing is that Lewis used to respect Max, they used to be civil and relatively friendly with each other, but now Lewis won't even say Max's name if he doesn't have to and sometimes it just looks like that bothers Max, not because he wants to get under Lewis's skin, but because he isn't respected by Lewis Hamilton anymore, who, as Max knows, will always be the name in their sport. I think that's also something that Max hates, next to knowing that he's never been able to beat Lewis fairly (and knowing that the world knows as well, which is why he's so allergic to objective journalism).

I mean, if he does regret Lewis’ distain for him… good? He’s a racist, facist supporting, ableist, disloyal, dangerous driving piece of trash?

Max is a person who has thrown away good graces at every turn, of other drivers and of the public. If Lewis used to respect him, it’s because Lewis is a decent human being. Max can’t even manage to be professional with his own teammate, or do something as small as say “hey, maybe stop booing that guy”

I take issue somewhat with the tone of this ask because it feels like it almost wants me to feel bad for Max and I just… don’t. If he does regret it he made his bed and he can lay in it. But I don’t think he does. I think he’s just that much of an ass, that he thinks he can tantrum his way to respect. If it all bothers Max, good. That’s the punishment for being a dick

[ludwigoat909]

That reblog about gender neutral restrooms really got me thinking about disabled toilets since these are generally always neutral, so I looked up something and ended up on an AITA about a woman with tourettes who goes to the disabled bathroom because she kept on receiving microagressions over her tics only to get outed by a woman who decided to target her over it and force her to give proof of her diagnosis and persecuted her everytime she had a tic. Putting apart the fact that the woman who outed her was an ableist piece of shit, this post really proves me something: it's not just that we need gender neutral toilets, it's that public bathrooms shouldn't be public. Ever. Now of course I don't mean to say this as if we should stop having bathrooms outside our homes. Obviously we need these. However the way public restrooms are made just completely goes against the concept of restrooms. There's no fucking reason you should piss take a crap in a tiny cabinet with an open gap between it and the ceiling for people to smell it and then later on having to exit and wash your hands next to a bunch of strangers you happen to share one thing in common with all of them inside a studio sized room. Terfs will argue that these spaces exist so we can prevent man to sexually harass woman, but these literally also happen amongst woman as well. You can't argue you want a safe space for woman to take their shit without being sexually harassed in a cramped place with a bunch of other people go to with the bare minimum privacy you get being a 24inch square room to unzip themselves and do their private business. If we want restrooms to be practical, we need to replace some with some that are just like disabled ones: individual, fully closed rooms with a toilet, a trash can and a sink.

[hillbillyoracle]

In your ‘stop telling people to get a therapist’ post, you mention how “Current research is beginning to show that it (CBT) actually makes symptoms worse in people who’ve repeatedly experienced trauma and isn’t terribly effective in cases of personality disorders.” Do you happen to have any recommendations for more information on this?

I ask as a person who is unable to do CBT because I don’t experience a constant running inner monologue (I can’t internally perceive my thoughts unless I’m extremely stressed out) and I’m casually interested in learning more about that research mentioned. You of course don’t have to answer, I just thought to ask.

So originally I started this response with a really long winded way of saying the research I've seen in supporting CBT for trauma and personality disorders is pretty trash especially with regard to patient selection and long term follow up but given review editors bias toward publishing "this works" articles over "this needs more research" articles, it makes finding the information critiquing CBT harder for me as someone without credentials to search at an academic institution (it's not as likely to be in their free previews). I saw this research when I was still connected to a university but now I can't access it since I'm no longer working for one.

If I get access again, I'll try to come back with more but this is all just to say I'm sorry these aren't the quality that I generally like to give. The following articles (and book) touch on the same ideas without the numbers.

Work I've personally interacted with:

Here's a paper discussing how CBT is getting less effective over time and some theories as to why.

If you don't want to slog through that here's a summary from the Guardian.

"The Body Keeps the Score" by Bessel van der Kolk - summarizes both case studies and clinical studies he conducted, largely with military veterans, that pointed to cognitive treatment alone being insufficient at best and sometimes harmful. He doesn't go so far as to suggest CBT is ineffective but advocates for it not being the only course of treatment.

Here's one persons account of why CBT was not effective for them on the basis that their behaviors weren't considered problematic.

This article touches on the fact that even for situations it's considered well suited to CBT is only effective a little over half of the time and how touting it as THE modality hurts people who rely on medication or alternative treatments to function.

This therapist talks about CBT alone isn't trauma informed because of it's focus on the present.

One person's account of how CBT failed her but psychodynamic therapy (a modality that isn't really in vogue at the moment) really helped her.

Modalities that don't require an inner monologue to check out:

polyvagal therapy

somatic experiencing

transference focused psychotherapy

dialectical behavioral therapy (CBT adjacent, but less inner monologue and more skills focused)

scheme therapy (tougher to do without a monologue but possible to use through observing the body and behaviors)

Hope this helps or is at least interesting. I'm very frustrated I can't dig up the really awesome piece I read a while back from someone critiquing CBT as almost innately ableist because of it's moral language around whether a patient complies with a therapists recommendation (without regard to the appropriateness of the therapists recommendation). If I find it again I'll link it, because it's one of my favorite critiques of it to date.

[transmorolians]

Hal: Hohohoho! From now on, I shall be assimilated with Edo! I, with almost no trouble at all, will halt the reboot program! Hal: Now, I shall leave everything that remains up to you. My precious daughter. These pieces of trash you see in front of you, dispose of them without delay. Geluve: Yes, father. I shall start, by disposing of this trash. Megido: Wh… at…? Geluve: Fufu, understand that entering my Edo is a mistake. And it seems the leader of the Silhouettes was not a significant matter, either. Shyna: The leader of the Silhouettes—! Hey, you! What do you mean by “my Edo”? Who the heck are you? Geluve: …A failure who couldn’t grow to become what you are. I was created to fill the role of Messiah, but was not completed as expected and forgotten, living without so much as a reason, mission, nor a purpose. Geluve: Remember Dynamis? Galgalim? How about Sera? Everyone owes their lives to Father Hal. Geluve: Born out of a perverted desire, only to look at the lambs of the past. That is being a Guardian Angel. Us. Hal: Wh… At what point did you start believing such a mistaken thought? I trust you from the bottom of my heart. That is why I told you everything about Edo! Geluve: At least, that’s what it seems. Because of your assistance, I may become free from Edo as well as my father. Hal: !? Y-you… would never! Geluve: The C-Ranks are prepared. Even if I am powerless, I may still fight with this. We failures thank you for the chance to kill the one born as Messiah.* Geluve: Farewell, father(.)*

*this last sentence can also be translated as, "Thank you for the chance to kill the Messiah born from our sacrifice," which is way more in-line with the localisation.

*in the original japanese, this dialogue is entirely in katakana, aligned in the middle of the box, and without punctuation. “サヨナラ　オトウサマ” or, romanised, “Ｓａｙｏｎａｒａ　ｏｔｏｕｓａｍａ”. like. oh my fucking gosh. it gave me chills when i first read it. meanwhile, the localised dialogue is. completely normal in formatting.

Geluve: Why? Why can’t I win against you!? Could it be, this is the limit of my power? No way… Shyna: Hey! Let’s stop! Nothing is left, and everyone has passed on. Why are we still fighting despite that? Geluve: Because I was given the worst fate. And, to protect my pride as a Guardian Angel, I will kill you, you fucking bastard.* Geluve: For this, a sacrifice to some extent is… Geluve: ……Sa…cri…fice? …There’s no other way but to make somewhat of a sacrifice…? ……In order for us to at all… Geluve: …It seems, in the end, I’ve grown to become as much of a Guardian Angel as possible, huh? Geluve: That’s the reason I can’t win against you……

*geluve refers to shyna with "kisama" which is pretty much equivalent to "you fucking bastard", especially in this context where it seems geluve wants to kill shyna so badly, not even as a "it must be done" thing, but purely out of rage. geluves hates shyna so badly. in the localisation, geluve doesn't call shyna a "fucking bastard" though, because age ratings---but the dialogue does begin with "i hate you", which gets it across good enough.

the differences in this dialogue versus the localisation is interesting; there are many, both big and small.

"who the fuck are you" -> "what the fuck"

less casual use of ableist language

geluve names different guardian angels! in both versions geluve names dynamis and sera, but in the localisation she names prinsdams instead of galgalim/gargantuan

in the japanese version, hal seems more confused by geluve's betrayal, and in the localisation, he seems more pissed.

in the japanese version, it seems geluve seems to be acting more out of a desire for only personal revenge against shyna. her mentions of the other guardian angels are way less, but she may still be acting out of a desire for revenge against shyna on their behalves as well...

...however, in the localisation, geluve seems to be acting more out of a desire for revenge for not just herself, but the other guardian angels and messiah prototypes, against those who created the guardian angels and messiah prototypes (which includes hal), and then shyna, and only is trying to kill shyna because shyna can restore edo and allegedly doomed geluve to an "aimless existence of suffering".

in the original japanese, it seems geluve tries to sacrifice herself to beat shyna. (notably, it doens't work.) geluve also references the deaths of the other guardian angels; except for malak, who just straight-up left after being beat by shyna, and zohar, who was deleted by hal, all of the other guardian angels exploded and died after being beaten by shyna, and the fact that hal "sacrificed" the guardian angels for the sake of preventing edo from rebooting. geluve "grows to become as much of a guardian angel as possible" by exploding, an action which---after exploding her father who was already in the computer---makes edo impossible to repair, and thus, reboot...

...and in the localisation, geluve is like, super sad and self-depreciating. in her own words: "as part of the problem, i deserve only deletion."

in conclusion: ??????

geluve: i hate you so much you doomed to me to fate worse than hell *explodes and dies*

shyna: hey gehena what the fuck was that

gehena: bulletin status: informative. that will be you if you don't message some justice

shyna, dripping with sarcasm: gee thanks

[crossdressingdeath]

I think my first establishment (which took place either after or during my first read)of MDZS antagonists/villains was pretty accurate: 1) The trashes (JGS, WCH, JZXun); 2) The annoying b*tch (YZY); 3) The useless, annoying grape (JC); 4) The power hungry tyrant (WRH); 5) The crazy psycho (XY); 6) The manipulative rat (JGY)

Hey uh can we. not. call XY a "crazy psycho". It's just a little bit ableist.

Anyway, I think the antagonists in MDZS can be split into two groups: people who hurt others to achieve a goal, and people who hurt others just because they can. In the first group there's JGY and arguably WRH, and the second group is, uh... everyone else. I'd argue that despite being the main villain JGY actually has the most sympathetic motives, just because... well, he has a motive beyond a desire to hurt people! His desires are largely selfish, being mostly him wanting more power for himself, but like... he does the terrible things he does for a specific reason and in the name of a specific goal. Except JGS's death, which was pure revenge and good on him for that, although the fact that he then killed everyone he dragged into it does ruin it a bit. Also one thing I find fascinating is how despite kicking off the events of the plot WRH... really isn't an active part of the narrative. I don't think WWX ever even sees him. While he is a powerful cultivator he's not really a threat to Our Heroes on an individual level.

And I actually think JC and XY fill the same position in the story: self-centred murderer who thinks they should have the right to do anything they want. And I think part of the reason it's set up that way is to showcase just how big a difference status makes. I mean... let's be real, here, JC has done more terrible things than XY does. And he does them openly. Everyone knows JC is a serial killer who tortures people to death, and from the way people talk about it I suspect his death count is higher than XY's even before we take into account the Wen remnants, who the sects as a whole don't know are innocent during the time XY's active, especially given that XY was arrested before his time in Yi City where he just started murdering people largely indiscriminately and tricking XXC into doing the same. XY is arrested and marked for execution, and is only spared because JGS thinks he's useful with other sects continuing to call for his head after that point to the point where JGS had to have NMJ assassinated to shut him up; JC faces zero consequences beyond people just not liking him very much. I don't doubt for a second that the fact that XY's a street kid delinquent and JC's a sect leader is a deciding factor in that little discrepancy. XY, and JGY as well actually, do things that any of the other sect leaders would have gotten away with; they're punished because they don't have the right pedigree, not because the sects have suddenly realized that Murder Is Bad.

...Actually, another good way to split up the antagonists (with the exception of XY, who's kind of just off doing his own thing, and YZY, who's just an abusive piece of shit and not really involved in the larger political events on account of being dead for most of them) is instigator and mob. The instigators are WRH, JGS, JGY, JC, the people who start violence and whip other people into a frenzy against their target, while WC, WZL, JZXun, SS are more just parts of the mob participating in the violence without causing it; they might be enjoying it, but odds are they wouldn't have started anything on their own. I mean, a major part of this novel is how horrific things can get once people get whipped up into a mob and stop thinking for themselves; it makes sense that the antagonists fall on both sides of that line.

[niallloverontheloose]

“Heroic Leadership”

https://princeescaluswords.tumblr.com/post/645459285376139265/what-do-you-think-are-scotts-most-heroic-moments#notes

@princeescaluswords:

This is the one that’s going to get me into trouble. Again, this is a moment where there’s no clear villain to defeat. This is about the lines that Scott and the people who follow him can’t cross.

Scott: Stiles, we can’t kill the people that we are trying to save!

The chimeras are victims of the Doctors, even ones that aren’t nice, like Donovan Donati. They need someone to speak up for them. Scott has to do this. He has to draw a line, even for his best friend. I may hate this scene, and I do, but it’s still an absolute moment of heroic leadership. If you believe is something, in the principle that victims of the powerful must be protected, you can’t give yourself exceptions to make your life easier.

//

I can’t believe that Scott Stans are still trying to sell Scott’s self righteous hypocrisy as “heroic leadership” despite canon contradicting their bs each and every single time…

If Scott McCall is so virtuous and truly believes that victims of the powerful must be protected without exceptions, then WHY Scott made an exception for Deucalion (who killed Boyd and Erica for power), for Theo (who murdered Josh and Tracy for power) just it benefitted him and made his life easier?

The Scott McCall Delusional Squad bunch claim that “Scott has to draw a line” and punish Stiles for daring to neutralize a threat and for defending himself and his father without Scott’s permission, because “these are the lines that Scott and the people who follow him can’t cross”; and yet we saw Scott cross these lines countless times in canon. And Scott ‘My Ends Justify My Means’ McCall NEVER held himself accountable for it.

So much heroic leadership indeed /sarcasm

Also:

“Season 3A: The Overlooked (3x10)

They’re trapped in a hospital between a Darach who might be the only person who can save Cora and the Sheriff. Scott has stopped Derek from attacking Jennifer, stopped Stiles from going off the deep end, and he’s stopped Peter from trying to convince them to torture her, all his mother has been captured and threatened by Deucalion and the Alpha Pack”

@princeescaluswords does really love employing ableist tropes, language and stereotypes to bash Stiles and prop Scott up, doesn’t he? “Going off the deep end” is such a nice way to dehumanize, denigrate, and vilify a canonical neurodivergent hero whose only crime was being a badass and eclipsing Scott’s whiny ass from day one without even trying. Then again: Escalus is the very same piece of trash who claims pointing out that Scott is canonically obsessed with Allison – to the point that Scott’s biggest fear is Allison having sex with his rival (Jackson) and that he abused Isaac just because he interacted with her – is “racist” ……..

[thehollowprince]

i knew you’re a racist piece of trash after you got exposed by the shadowhunters fandom, and now you turns out you are an ableist piece of trash too. i’d suggest you to get therapy and stop being such a vile, tixic excise of a person, but we all know you’ll never do that. you have already proved it plenty of times before in other fandoms as well

Honey, I'm... I'm not a part of the Shadowhunters fandom. I was never really part of the Shadowhunters fandom. Are you sure you're harassing the right account?

[compassionatereminders]

But still... Everyone around me is like "we are trying to help you but you're not listening! You have no reason to be sad/tired! You're not trying! We have it just as hard as you because everyone has to be worried 24/7 because of you!"... I don't really have many reasons to stay alive. I just wanted to stop feeling hurt and stop feeling tired and I want to stop being a burden to others. I used to be a great student, a gifted child, and now I'm an useless piece of trash. I don't matter.

I'm sorry so many people in your life are acting like that according your mental health problems, but it's not true. What they are saying is not fair and it's not true. You're not a useless piece of trash just because you're mentally ill and struggling to cope - and everyone who treats you like you are is both ableist and toxic. You matter and you're good enough as you are, even if you struggle to cope - and I hope you stay safe even though you're feeling this way right now!

[bisexualmindcabin]

A Small Guide to Reducing Your Footprint While Broke

Most efforts to reducing our waste and being more green are usually not that affordable. While they mostly will save you money in the long run, they are expensive items to first buy, and when you’re struggling to make rent you don’t feel like going for the most expensive item - no matter if it’ll end up saving you 20 dollars by next year. 

So here are a compilation of things that are cheap or free that will help the enviroment and your wallet! 

Web Stuff:

- Put Ecosia as your default search engine on your laptop, phone or tablet (and grab your friend’s phones when they aren’t looking and put it there too). They are a Chromium based search engine that plants trees with the revenue from your searches! They plant a tree after roughly 46 searches, all their energy comes from solar panels, and also they don’t sell your data to third parties.

- Go into GreaterGood.com and into their Click to Give campaings! It’s free to you, and you can click once a day. Just don’t give to their Autism Campaing - they’re sponsored by Autism Speaks, an ableist organization that wants to “cure” autism. 

- Not a green tip, but a money saving one: if you shop online, join Honey, its a crome extension that finds you coupons on every purchase you do. Then maybe you can, y’know, plant a tree with the money you saved or something.

- Follow @brokestminimalist on here, they are better at adulting than me, and they have some very good posts on how to save money and time in usually very green ways.

Out and About Stuff:

- You must’ve read this one before, but refuse panphlets and freebies. And also bags, straws, lids, and basically anything you don’t need, or anything you are able to go without and would end up throwing away rapidly. These things add up.

- Shop locally and in small businesses whenever possible It activates local economy and reduces de chances that your food had to travel long spaces or was sprayed with toxic chemicals that affect the earth around it. 

- Always carry around your own bags. You don’t need a fancy bag, just use our backpack, or an old bag from a gift you recieved, or some of the plastic bags from that one bag of bags you got under your sink. (And if you ever forget, save those new bags to reuse later at least).

- Try, to the best of your abilities, to use public transit, walk, or cycle the most you can. Also try to look up which of the public transit options you have (if you have more than one) is the greener one. And for the love of god, unless you have a good reason, don’t take a bus for just 6 blocks.

- If you have no choice but to use a car, then carpool, and make sure your car is as efficient as possible: remove extra weight where possible, make sure your tires are properly inflated and have the right air pressure, and slow down your travel speed by 10 km/h (6mph). All of this will both make you have a smaller enviromental impact and also save you gas money and maintenence costs.

- Carry your own water bottle and snacks/lunch to avoid buying things out of hunger while outside.

Food stuff:

- Honestly, go dumpster diving near closing times. It’s less gross than you think, will save you money, and will save perfectly good food from being sent to landfill and creating methane gas.

- Make your own apple cider vinegar out of apple scraps, like cores and skins. it’s as simple and putting the scraps on a jar, filling the jar with water and one or two tsp of sugar, covering the jar with some cloth and leaving the jar in a dark, warm place, stirring once or twice a day.

- Grow your own herbs and medicinal plants. Grow stuff like aloe in a pot (wich you can grow from a piece of a leaf), green onions, celery and leek (you can grow them in a windowsill by simply putting the ends on water!), and really anything else that you can grow easily that you use frecuently. Look at what your needs are, what you buy the most, and try to grow something that satisfies THAT.

- Make your own veggie stock with your scraps. Use skins, ends and leaves from carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, pumpkins, celery, zuchinnis, tomatoes, and really any vegetable you use that has a soup named after it (I wouldn’t put lettuce there, for example). I have also started to put the water that comes on canned veggies, after all its just salt and veggie juice, which is all this stock is gonna be about. Set your chickpea water apart, tho. It’s called aquafaba and its an excellent egg replacement.

- Go vegan, if you can. It’s the most impactful individual action you can have for the enviroment, and it can be made unexpesively (its just easier or harder to do depending on where you live). If you can’t, then try to reduce your meat, eggs and dairy consumption. Remember you don’t have to do it perfectly to make a difference.

- Cook more at home. You know this one. Also, turn off your heating for 20 minutes before and just warm your house with the excess heat from cooking. If you did something in a pot with water, allow the water to cool before throwing it fro that sweet sweet heat.

Trash and Treasure:

- Look up your local recycling plant, and see what you can recycle on the curbside and what you can’t, and also what days are reserved por picking up recycling. Make sure the things you put there are clean and dry. (yep, you gotta wash your trash if you wanna recycle it). There’s even a chance you can make a profit off of recyclables, but if you figure out how to let me know.

- Compost at home. It’s fairly simple, and it can be done in apartments too. Research your different choices and how to properly take care of it for cheap, flea-less, rat-less, and odor-less compost.

- Im not gonna tell you to buy second hand clothes, because you probably already do, but buy second hand everything. You can get furniture, home appliances and cookware secondhand. Look around for garage sales and pawn shops.

- Mend the things you already own. Learn embroidery and some basic sewing skills for your clothes. Glue the sole of your shoes together when they start to fall apart. Teach yourself how to fix your things, youtube is right there.

- Use your public library! For gods sake! Many tumblr posts have tackled this issue better than I ever could. Use your public library. They might even have some tools or cookware you can borrow just like books instead of having to buy them yourself.

- Bulk shop. It can really be cheaper than buying in package, and you can just avoid that plastic and also avoid buying more than you need.

But the most important thing you can do is protest. None of these things, as good as they are, are enough to stop climate change. We need systematic change, and it has to come from our goverments. So donate, join activism groups, or protest.

[samsbookblog]

Review: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (as read by Thandie Newton)

Of course my first book review on this, my book blog, has been inspired by righteous fury, rather than the great delight I’ve received from other books I’ve read so far this year.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (as read by Thandie Newton)

⭐️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️

I want to preface this entire rant by saying that Thandie Newton’s performance was spectacular. She humanized the characters, provided depth to the dialogue and interest to the sometimes cumbersome and tedious descriptions. The reason I finished this book so quickly was because I didn’t want to stop listening to Thandie, and I’m positive I would have given up if I were reading it on my own. Five stars to Thandie, please do more audiobooks!!!!

I understand this book was not written for 2019, but I am baffled that for 182 years, it has been lauded as a great work of feminist literature. It is a racist, classist, ableist, and yes, I’ll say it, sexist piece of trash that I hated beyond all expectation.

At first I loved it. The writing was beautiful, and lush, and descriptive. I was taken in by the complicated sentence structure and delicate prose, I adored how quintessentially gothic the book felt. The misery heaped upon young Jane was so perfect for this genre, which I generally enjoy greatly, I was almost giddy with it. It’s very enthralling and engrossing and I was absolutely in love. Rochester was a tortured, dichotomous douchebag, which i knew going in, and he and Jane had great chemistry.

Honestly I was digging it up until the blackface scene. The one where Rochester dresses up as an old “gypsy” woman, meaning he darkens his face to the point of being gruesome and horrifying, and forces an uneducated accent to harass all the women at his party, and specifically Jane, with “predictions”. There’s a lot of grossness to unpack in this scene (the weird and all-too-familiar pitting of the heroine against her female peers because the only way to be a strong woman is to show how inferior other women are, the super creepy connotations of Rochester conning his way into privacy of various young women, the extreme emotional manipulation of Jane which is unfortunately a recurring theme that I’ll get into later) but the overt racism is what really gave me pause.

Little did I know that scene was just the seedling of racism to come, and would bloom into a terrible, revolting bouquet of gross gross gross illusions to madness as equating to blackness, descriptions of Bertha Mason as grotesque and savage, many comparisons between this human woman and wild animals. The entire novel paints a correlation between darkness and sin, which I guess is a common enough motif in literature but when the central conflict of a novel comes in the form of a mixed-race woman of Creole decent who is described as having “pigmy intellect”, in my eyes that takes it to a different level. Especially considering the emphasis of Jane’s virtue being her primary strength, it’s a very telling choice to make the symbolic depiction of evil be in the form of a woman of color.

(Please read this article which was written by a black woman, because it’s all well and good as a white person to say this thing is racist, the idea of a little black girl feeling ashamed for her race because of this book should make us all furious and want to do better.)

Additionally, I feel that the character of Jane is boring and puritanical and too perfect. She was portrayed as plain and small to show how pious and good she was, but her childlike stature was also shown to be an object of desire for Rochester, which is a just another plop of gross on the seven-layer dip of grossness that is this book.

I hated the way Jane spoke of poverty, and European ���urchins” and the uneducated, while still claiming to be a poor, unconnected orphan. I hated that none of Brocklehurst’s, Jane’s, nor StJohn’s religion seemed to have much correlation to actual morality, but was still portrayed as superior to Rochester’s relative agnosticism. I hated that StJohn’s treatment of Jane is not shown to be morally wrong and that he receives no narrative justice for manipulating her constantly, gaslighting her, and emotionally abusing her. I hated that the narrative justice for Rochester is in the form of two disabilities that should not be tokenized and trivialized, and also that his repentance allows him to be partially forgiven and absolved of these punishments. I hated that Jane spent the entire book being harassed, abused, railroaded, and manipulated first by nearly every man in her life, and that nearly all of them receive redemption, if their actions are even considered to be wrong. I hated that Jane’s happy ending is getting to spend her days in domestic and emotional servitude to Rochester, who arguably treats her the best of any of the men, but whose biggest transgressions against her are not given the attention I feel they deserve. Also, he’s a terrible racist monster who keeps his mentally ill wife chained like an animal in an attic and we as the reader are supposed to feel pity for him.

It is beautifully written and beautifully performed (Thandie saved my sanity during this book and I will love her forever. Please narrate more books!!!) but I hated the vast majority of this book. It is irredeemably racist, even for the time period, and far too frustrating besides. Not a feminist work, not worth reading, not deserving of any of the hype.

[pbscore]

I know it’s probably too early in the day to complain but I feel like I’ve been seein’ too much of this lately and it’s annoyin’ me. I understand full well why people get frustrated and sassy about certain social issues. As an Afro Latino queer trans person, TRUST ME, I get it.

But this new ‘trend’ of being a condescending, almost bordering on ableist, piece of ‘woke’ trash needs to stop. And I’m not talking about just being a smartass to someone who was trying to be a smartass towards you. I’m talkin about the ‘woke’ people who think it’s totally ok to insult their own people’s cognitive or physical disabilities when they’re called out on their condescending behavior.

Like, for example, if you’re tryna get people to understand your point of view on going vegan or being more environmentally friendly, there’s NO REASON for y’all to act all uppity about it when explainin your case. I don’t care about what other people’s reactions to you have been (negative or not), cuz it’s MY first time seeing YOUR take on it. Meaning, that if it’s my first time really trying to get integrated into the movement, and all I’m met with is snarky middle-class (sometimes, white) condescension that borderlines on ableist language and tendencies that don’t consider mental and physical barriers that make it HARDER for certain people to upkeep with these issues, then why would I even want to get involved in those movements?

Yeah, I can do it on my own without much interaction with those kind of people, but the reality is that it’s much harder to make a movement happen when, y’know? YOU DON’T HAVE A COMMUNITY A.K.A. PEOPLE TO MAKE THE MOVEMENT MOVE FORWARD, WHICH IS THE WHOLE POINT.

Look, all I’m sayin’ is try not to ostracize people too much from social issues and movements that literally NEED the power of the PEOPLE. If y’all can’t or don’t know how to work with the public or anyone who isn’t like you or your close friends, then you shouldn’t be the one to cast judgement and put yourself on a high horse just cuz people didn’t see your one rant online that you made regarding an important issue.

To me, it’s clear that a lot of y’all don’t know and/or don’t care about how y’all treat the general public but you stay ready to crucify anyone who’s just maybe getting into leftist circles and insulting their intelligence based on super classist and ableist notions. A lot of y’all immediately cast off anyone who asks too many questions or who criticize the way you talk to/treat people and it really shows how rough some y’all’s social skills are.

I may not be the brightest tool in the shed sometimes, but that doesn’t mean I can’t learn how to do better and set a good example for others through compassion and understanding.

[aegor-bamfsteel]

Yo man, I hear that the Blackfyres and their supporters were Conservative, sexist, brutish usurpers who couldn't stand to see a feminist king on the throne but here you are, an honest to God bra burning, women's lit thumping feminist unironically supporting the Black Dragon. In this entire fandom you're the only person I've found openly supporting them. If you don't mind me asking, why do you like them so much?

Hey dude, you’re asking me to talk about sexism, fandom hypocrisy, and my Blackfyre love in an inflammatory way that could result in getting me in trouble with the fandom? I probably shouldn’t be answering this, but ok. This has been sitting in my inbox for a week, and let no one say that I leave any ask unanswered. Wankery found under the cut:

Eyy dude, what if I told you that the perception of Blackfyres as sexist, brutish usurpers in fandom is largely due to some prominent people’s intellectual elitism and projection of neoliberal political views? Aspects of GRRM’s writing like the unreliable narrator, villains-are-heroes-from-another-side, and history is written by the “victors” are given no credibility in favor of condemning the Blackfyre supporters as racist, sexist, and ableist (?) in fandom. I’m extremely annoyed that no one seems to be asking the sort of questions or making the sort of connections that I have due to this blanket ban on Blackfyre sympathy. I’ve answered your broader question on why I supported the Blackfyres in an earlier ask (they were more honorable, less absolutist and cruel than the Targaryens, even demonstrated some meritocracy, and most died horrifically) so I will try to answer based on the sexism angle: How come I like the Blackfyres so much and support woman’s liberation at the same time?

First of all, you come into my askbox and tell me that Daeron II was a feminist king? Nah bro. A real male feminist ally in a position of power would’ve passed laws to ensure his father’s predatory behavior would be banned. He would’ve been trying to apologize for the way he and his father treated the Bracken sisters and actively sought to make amends instead of making the situation worse. He could’ve given widows a pension or granted certain protections to mothers with illegitimate children. He could’ve opened up exit shelters for prostituted women wanting to learn a trade, as Empress Theodora did back in sixth century AD Byzantium. Why does fandom think he is so Feminist™ when he did so little for women? Are they referring to him having Princess Elaena as an unofficial advisor while her husband Ronnel Penrose was Master of Coin, a man who could barely string two numbers together? (Which really undermines the claim that Daeron was a reformer who chose wise men as councilors, since he selected an incompetent based on his own family status) Might I remind everyone that Daeron arranged Elaena’s second marriage in the first place, a woman 3 years his elder who had been locked in prison for 11 years by her brother, bore illegitimate twins by her cousin, forced to wed an old man by her uncle/Aegon, and may have been forced into sleeping with the horrific Aegon IV? You’d think after enduring so much at the hands of her male relatives, the Kind™ Daeron would’ve backed off, but she has to pay for his son Aerys’ failed marriage by sacrificing her hard-won independence. How feminist. But I guess it’s OK, because after Ronnel died Daeron generously gave his blessing when she wed someone she truly loved! I can’t imagine she felt much affection for this entitled shit. But maybe the Great Fandom Minds™ are referring to how Daeron treated his wife Myriah, who is a blank slate in terms of personality and political actions? I can’t even think of any other names of women Daeron might’ve canonically “empowered”, so how exactly is he a feminist? And why does thinking he was a self-serving politician who treated all of his family members except his sons like expendable trash make me sexist? Do tell, Fandom Minds who know so much more than I.

By contrast, how does liking Daemon Blackfyre and thinking he’d be a better king than Daeron make one sexist? Eustace Osgrey said that he hung out with warriors rather than septons and women, but GRRM himself said that Daemon did have female followers (some we know even participated in the Second Blackfyre Rebellion, like Ladies Vyrwell and Smallwood. Not to mention the cause owes its continued strength after Redgrass to Queen Rohanne) who were “drawn to him.” There’s the rumors that Daemon thought that he could marry Princess Daenerys and Rohanne of Tyrosh, but even the biased Maester Yandel said that claim only developed long after the wedding from a few Blackfyre supporters, which is a few steps removed from the original source. I believe that version of the story was an attempt by the Westerosi Blackfyre supporters to acknowledge Rohanne of Tyrosh’s invaluable contributions to the cause of the exiles while still maintaining the romanticism of a Daemon/Daenerys forbidden romance. It absolutely blows my mind that Daemon gets more flak for what he might have said at fourteen than Daeron does for helping a teenaged girl and her two-week-old son get banished for something her father said. Because Daeron is called “the Good” and thus incapable of doing wrong, obviously.

But outrageously, the fandom has to headcanon abusive behavior on Daemon to make him look like a villain. Seriously, I’ve heard people claim he was an abusive father to Daemon II, cheated on or never loved Rohanne, would have killed his nephews, and tried to rape Princess Daenerys based on no canonical evidence (in fact, the evidence goes against the honorable father of at least nine presented in canon). Even a Daemon-hater like Yandel had to concede that Daemon’s love was for the mother of his children to whom he was married for 12 years. Daemon died protecting his son Aegon from the Raven’s Teeth arrows; he’d never hurt his children. As for the children of others, his faction during the First Blackfyre did not kill children (in fact, Quentyn Ball spared Lady Penrose’s youngest son, some say on Daemon’s orders), especially not those too young to fight. The fandom’s portrayal of Daemon as a vicious monster really serves to emphasize how little evidence they have that Daeron II was a truly good person; the man with grudges against two of his father’s underaged rape victims isn’t a hero, so they have to make his rival an even bigger villain despite it being complete nonsense in canon? Can I have at least a balanced depiction of a Daemon who loved his wife and kids, even if they do think he was an ambitious reactionary?

An especially infuriating piece of fandom hypocrisy is that to make Daemon sexist, they have to demonize or erase all of the female influence in his life. Example one is that for his first 12 years, he was raised as the son of Daena the Defiant, who GRRM said in an SSM raised him alone in the Red Keep. Some people in fandom claim she was an ambitious woman who wanted a son so she could be Aegon’s Queen over Naerys, which is a claim so insulting in its wrongness (Daena could’ve been Queen in her own right, having an illegitimate son actually hurt her chances of queenship and a stable future, she referred to Daemon as hers alone so she never wanted to acknowledge his father, she never agreed to wed a man after Baelor, etc) I’m shocked the people who make it can call themselves feminists with a straight face. Others are kinder toward the Daena-Daemon relationship, saying that Daena must’ve died before Daemon was four so she couldn’t pass on her ideals of honor and self-sacrifice for one’s children; this completely ignores what GRRM said about Daena “raising” Daemon alone, meaning he knew her well enough to remember her. Both these ideas about Daena either demonize one of the most beautiful mother-son pairs in Targaryen history (she loved that kid so much she put him ahead of her own reputation and chance at being Queen. I cry.) or they take away her influence in order to claim that Daemon had no female role models growing up. A mother like Daena, strong-willed, independent, a sportswoman, would’ve doubtless have shaped Daemon’s opinions on women, and especially on mothers of bastards. He may have grown up knowing a woman didn’t necessarily need a husband to be happy, that she could shoot and ride as well as a man, and that a princess could with smallfolk and minor nobles on her own. She was far away from a submissive woman and was Daemon’s sole parent until he was 12, and you mean to tell me her son was a raging misogynist? Nope, I don’t buy it.

Fandom also erases Daemon’s other important female figure: Rohanne of Tyrosh. Elite Tyroshi women are most similar to elite Dornishwomen out of all the ladies of Westeros; I say this because the Archon’s daughter was to serve as a cupbearer for Prince Doran without having been betrothed to Quentyn, indicating that they are valued as political actors for their families outside of marriage alliances. Tyrosh is a mercantile society where the elites don’t like to fight, which traditionally equalizes roles between the sexes. Rohanne was the reason the Blackfyre cause survived for so long; she didn’t need help from Bittersteel escaping to her own fucking country, rather the landless Blackfyre supporters needed her protection after they lost everything at Redgrass. Without her giving them a stable base of operations (and certainly using her dowry to pay for their accommodations), they wouldn’t have been cohesive enough for Aegor to create the Golden Company. I realize that Rohanne has very little canonical characterization, but neither do Princess Daenerys and Myriah Martell, and that doesn’t stop Fandom from writing fanfics and meta on these two while ignoring Rohanne. On a similar note, prominent meta writers claim that the Blackfyre cause is obviously based on the Jacobites (no, Daemon Blackfyre was based in part on James Scott the Duke of Monmouth, who was staunchly anti-Jacobite. Just because these writers don’t know about British history in depth doesn’t mean that they can make spurious claims), and use this comparison to make headcanons for how the Blackfyre court in exile operated. For some Unfathomable reason, these headcanons never include the invaluable contributions that the female Stuarts made to the cause; Queen Mary and Princess Louisa were much more popular than the charmless James II and the drunken womanizer Charles III, having great relations with the French court and funding the education of the daughters of Jacobite exiles (it was said that even Queen Anne wept when Princess Louisa died, for she had hoped to wed her son to him). For a fandom who loves to make headcanons about minor female asoiaf characters, and loves to show off its (rather one-dimensional) knowledge of history, I see no such fics and metas for the female Blackfyres. I guess Feminism™ can’t be wasted on the wives and daughters of “traitors.” Just ask Sansa Stark.

To conclude, Daeron II was not a feminist king who raised the status of women in Westeros; in fact, he used his power as prince and king to banish Barba Bracken and wed Princess Elaena off to an ally. Daemon Blackfyre was raised by a strong single mother and was successfully married to an older foreign woman, and enjoyed female support for his cause, so calling him a misogynist seems like a leap to me. I’d make the argument that it’s Fandom with the misogyny problem, as they ignore the suffering, contributions, and characterization of female characters they don’t like in order to prop up a “sexism” narrative that contradicts canon. Just because other people bleat about how sexist, racist, and ableist Blackfyre supporters like me are, it doesn’t mean it’s true.