#the disabled are not yours to infantilize when you love them and demonize when you hate them

[c1trvswurld]

Hey yall, those swap aus where jimmy is the one who gets disabled ans treated as if its a punishment he deserves is not the serve yall think it is, thanks!

[tombfreak]

ASPD and being a "bad person"

the backhanded support for aspd

There's a very backhanded type of support for people with ASPD. In attempts to get moral highground and fight against the demonization/stigmatization of the disorder, it's almost entirely watered down to "Oh you just lack empathy and have mean thoughts :)". It's entirely infantilized to the point where people who actually exhibit their real symptoms are just "bad people", or "using their disorder as an excuse for their bad behaviour" because "that's not what ASPD is actually like!!"

Moralizing disorders does nothing but cause harm to people suffering from mental health issues. You cannot cherry pick which presentations of ASPD are deemed acceptable when the whole disorder revolves around being and doing socially unacceptable things.

"It's ok if you lack empathy!" Is the only support I really see for ASPD, which is true, but only if we don't have empathy in ways that they think is acceptable.

I don't have empathy for people of colour, or people with disabilities, or trans folk. My empathy can't just turn on for people who I know deserve it. I can't relate to their struggles, I can't feel for them, I can't even really care. And lacking the empathy required for me to feel these things towards others is exactly what causes me issues in my life. It's socially unacceptable. It's dysfunctionally anti-social.

But thats very much the tip of the iceberg. Lacking empathy isn't even in the DSM-5 criteria for ASPD, and a lot of people with ASPD do experience empathy in their own way.

There's also the issue of "it's ok to be angry, it's ok to have mean thoughts, as long as you don't act on them" or "it's ok to not care, as long as you pretend you do" or "it's ok if you lack empathy as long as you're compassionate"

The issue is that people with ASPD are only supported and accepted if they're in a place where they can conform to prosocial behaviour, which is incredibly difficult to do and does require a degree of recovery. And not a lot of people are willing, or able to, get to that point in recovery.

If you say you support people with mental health issues, then you need to accept the part that actively causes problems as well, even if it makes you uncomfortable. You can't just love the "antisocial personality" and hate the "disorder".

People with ASPD will act in ways that makes them a morally "bad person". That's the entire premise of the disorder. If you water it down to the point where the person suffering has to be good and follow your social standards, then that's not an anti-social disorder anymore.

And I know it's hard to stomach people with ASPD sometimes, especially if they're not in recovery at all. We can be mean, insensitive, aggressive, insulting, morally skewed, or just a complete asshole in general. We can say unacceptable things, we can do wrong, and we're prone to it. You don't have to like someone to support them.

Supporting someone with mental health issues doesn't mean you have to like what they do, or who they are, or be friends with them. You're allowed to remove someone from your life if they're causing issues in yours. Supporting someone with mental health issues means you are able to leave them alone, and not go out of your way to shame them for things currently out of their control.

Yes, recovery is very important, but trust me as a recovering addict and someone with ASPD, you cannot force someone to be better. All they need is to know that they have room to breathe and grow. Support is giving people the space to do that. Backhanded 'support' is saying that you'll let them have that space but only if they currently fit in to your personal standards.

[aimlesswalker]

I just want to be some guy

As a trans man, I don’t really feel like I belong anywhere in the lgbt+ community because I’ll never be attractive to anyone (which is why I ID as queer but even then I feel outcast) and it…. it really hurts sometimes. I’m simultaneously too masculine and not masculine enough.

in the men who are attracted to men spaces, most people when they see me think I’m a twink because of being short/small and/or for being trans/nonbinary. They think I’m hairless, feminine, boyish, submissive, etc. I’m…. at this point in my life I am really really not. Testosterone has made me male and everything that entails. I’ve gained (healthy! good for me!) weight and my stomach sticks out, I’m covered in body hair, I am partway to balding. All the things that are conventionally unattractive about men. All the things that are demonized in trans men. I’m too masculine to fit their idea of a nonbinary person. But masculine in “the wrong way”. I have to either be muscular/fit or small and hairless to be wanted here. I don’t even count as a bear, you’d probably just call my shape a “dad bod”. This isn’t just some vague feeling I get in these spaces- people have legit said to me “oh I love twinks” or ��oh I love femboys” and I have to awkwardly explain that no I’m not one actually. I’m not what they want me to be. And I’m really tired of people placing that expectation on me- that I’m a slender hairless twink who is submissive and likes bottoming. Just because I’m small and/or trans. so gross. 

and then in the women who are attracted to men spaces well… they’d never look twice at me. I’m short and not at all muscular/toned/fit. Again, I have gained weight, am hairy, and halfway to bald. Bedsides not being conventionally attractive- they usually want a man who can “provide”. I am disabled and can’t work. I can’t drive. I can’t give them flowers or pick them up for a date. I can’t be any of the things they’re looking for in a partner. Being disabled makes me seen as “less than”. Being dependent on other people is a trait that is endlessly mocked in men. I’m not masculine enough. 

so where the fuck does that leave me? I’m not even going to talk about how being aromantic in queer spaces alienates me further. I love testosterone, I love what it’s done for me and how I feel healthier on it. But like. fuck. I don’t feel like I’m ever going to be attractive to anyone. I never get to feel pretty or handsome. I never get to feel happy about my appearance anymore and that makes me so sad. I used to derive so much joy from picking out outfits and accessorizing and applying glittery make up. I’m too sick to leave the house ever so I don’t do those things anymore, besides the fact that I *can’t* present feminine anymore without risking my safety. People would assume I’m a trans woman and act accordingly because they see a man attempting to be feminine. I am fully man and fully nonbinary, but I never get to exist as both at the same time. I can’t be feminine without people invalidating/forgetting my manhood. I can’t be masculine without people invalidating/forgetting my nonbinary-ness. I’m too masculine for nonbinary spaces and too nonbinary for masculine spaces. I just…….. I get incredibly sad about this.

And people generally don’t care??? the sentiment seems to be that trans men who are masculine, who pass, who are stealth, etc don’t belong in the lgbt+ community, shouldn’t be in lgbt+ or queer spaces. They’re not wanted there because of being masculine. These spaces are only for “non-men”. But the second you talk about your struggles as a trans man as a reason for why you should be included, you get pegged as an owo twink femboy to most people. It’s always one or the other (demonized or infantilized) and I’m really fucking sick of it. It hurts. I just want to be some guy.

[daistea]

(I'm still on the chair on your lawn or whatever. But I have a beer now and maybe a cigarette (I don't smoke, though)).

Y'know, it's kinda weird because this is maybe the most I've felt connected to a character, so when I see these wrong-bad takes on him, it's oddly like... This doesn't upset me. Yet, anyway. Like. I guess eventually one could? (I take a drag of the cigarette and cough terribly. I drink the beer and make it worse, momentarily, and then continue like nothing happened). There could always just be a shitty take that's like, "Man, what the fuck". But it's just mostly felt like, "Yeah, they don't know him like I do." It's weird how secure the source material makes me feel about it all, too. It treats him with such respect and clearly sees him as key to it despite the way his own feelings can be portrayed. It's just like. Yeah. Infantilization. It happens. Sometimes people call him dumb and I don't feel the love in it. And it's like, well, that's miserable, but it's very obvious when the interpretation is wrong. This isn't a person who really knows anything about the character in terms of his condition or anything. It's just got me raising my eyebrows and looking at them strangely. Feels oddly secure. Always feels secure when I like some guy, but sometimes the takes on other characters bother me because I feel like "This is coming from inside the house". I just don't feel that, here. Like. Ah, whatever, you like him. But? Does He Know? You know. (I laugh a little and lean back in my plastic lawn chair. It looks perhaps like it might fall over). Like this is strange. This is weird. I don't feel like they know. There are people who call him a dying dog. They've said he's prettier before the demon, anyway. And that's just tasteless stuff. This can't be coming from someone who actually likes the guy, right? (I sit upright again and cross my legs.) It's. Weird. Like, this is self-shipping, I guess? That I'm doing over here. Maybe I feel more open about it. His attitude canonically helps me. Feels... Secure. It's comforting by nature of being very similar. Where usually things that would annoy me just... exist. Though it is astounding when someone calls him ugly. But I see them and it's just. Easy to realize. Like, God. You don't know anything, do you? (I lean forward to put the beer on the ground and sigh, resting my elbow on my knees, my chin on my palm, seeming far off). It doesn't seem like people get it, not outside of these little insular corners. I don't really know why it doesn't bother me as much. It doesn't feel like they care. It doesn't feel like it matters. Oddly enough. I can't really figure it out.

God. (I pick up my drink and shake my head, righting myself to take a sip). I don't know. I had. Honestly, kind of a horrible day yesterday. Sometimes, it's hard not to care. And to feel secure. But here, it's like...? I don't know. I know my thoughts. I know how I feel. I know why I like him. I know what I want. And the character of Mithrun makes things just feel inherently clearer. Simpler, for me. Because of autism and ADHD and disability. They don't know what it's like, I think. And it ends up being okay if people don't know. But I don't even register it. Don't really respect it. And there are several people who do know. So does it matter if a few more are wrong?

I don't know, I guess. I don't really even feel like a whole person right now. I kind of got burnt out and I thought it'd go away if I slept. And I was so exhausted, anyway. But it just. Ugh. (I kick out my leg, aggressively fidgeting, and the flimsy chair falls. I use it as an excuse to stare up at the sky). Rough.

Of course, this is all somewhat relevant to me. My day. You know, someone called him cruel for how he treated Thistle, the way he talked to him, what he said, and I couldn't even see it until I re-read. I like to think I'm realistic, but? That registered to me as him trying to help. And I still see it. Maybe he was trying to hurt, too. Maybe he's all tied up not knowing what he wants. Feelings he can't quite feel. But I see the scrambling and the struggling. Self-sabotage. It's like. You can't help yourself. It's the art exhibition of the robot in a glass box, always cleaning and always bleeding. Like sometimes you're a knife but sometimes you're the open wound. I'm. I feel like. Sometimes I can't help myself. No matter how hard I try. I see that there. And I see the trying, the need for control, the wanting. Always because you want to. Gotta be that way. Sometimes it feels like I understand too much because of my life...

Love the guy. But it can hurt to look at him.

how long have you been on my lawn? It’s hot outside. Do you want to come inside the house?

Anyway

Yeah

I agree with everything so this gets a big Yeah

I get annoyed at the fandom because I’m a dick, but I also understand that that’s the nature of fandom. In the end I just block and mute very freely ⛓️‍💥

I hope you’re doing better today, I’m always here if you need to talk 💕

[celestial-vapidity]

'your beauty never ever scared me' tidbits (part 1/???)

Hey y'all! I was going to write more for this AU, but AO3 is apparently down rn?? So here are just some thoughts and stuff about this series instead. (There are some NSFW bits, just so y'all know).

As previously stated, Alcina is trans femme in this series. However, she's at a point in her transition where dysphoria isn't really a thing she experiences anymore?? Like, we all been knew she's confident to the point of arrogance, and even if somebody were to openly misgender her (which would probably get them killed lbr) she would be more faintly annoyed/coldly amused than anything. She would probably still retaliate ofc, that's just who she is (and she has an image to maintain).

Like I said before, Reader is AFAB but gender-neutral. So it's up to you if they're a cis woman, trans man, or AFAB enby. However, in the case of the latter two, Alcina would NOT take Reader being misgendered lying down, and would probably react much more harshly toward whoever was doing it, unless Reader was to intervene.

Also, in this series, she secretly had some difficulty learning to sign at first. Like, she has huge hands. But once she saw how happy Reader was that she was learning, she immediately doubled down, to the point where she became fluent surprisingly quickly.

Reader's cane was actually a joint effort between Donna and Karl. Donna supplied the wood from her garden, while Karl put it together and made the claw-rose charm. Alcina didn't mind asking Donna for help, but she really had to swallow her pride to ask Karl.

Alcina is actually kind of nervous about accidentally infantilizing Reader, due to their disabilities. She's good about not doing it, but that doesn't stop her from secretly being anxious that she'll slip up one day and offend them.

Reader is actually Alcina's first serious love. Like, she has had crushes and loved people non-romantically before, but this is her first time really being IN love. It takes her a bit to realize that that's what she's feeling though (and she internally panics a bit when she does), since she's never really been close to anyone outside of Miranda and the other Lords before. She's determined to do it right, though.

When she was a human, Alcina had a bad relationship with her family. They were not accepting of her transition and were the type to demonize her for being attracted to women, but still wouldn't want her to be into men either bc she's AMAB.

She eventually gets to a point where she becomes pretty domestic with Reader, something they are all too happy about.

Alcina also really wants to have kids with Reader at some point, she thinks that they would be an amazing parent. Eventually, they do have Bela, Cassandra, and Daniela.

As for Miranda and the other Lords, they're all less evil (as mentioned previously). Miranda for instance is still trying to bring Eva back, but is not doing so by trying to kidnap other people's children this time.

Miranda and the Lords all genuinely care about and love each other as family in this series. Even if some would prefer not to admit it (Alcina and Karl). They all kind of found each other when they didn't have anyone else, so it's very much a found family type situation.

In the beginning of their relationship, Alcina had a hard time being convinced that Reader wasn't afraid of her. However, for Reader, it was something close to love at first sight.

NSFW: As an unexpected result of her Cadou, Alcina now has ruts and a knot (like in an omegaverse setting). She can and does enjoy sex outside of her ruts, but when she is in one, she's nearly insatiable. She gives great aftercare though!

NSFW: Has a lot of kinks, but would never pressure Reader with them. of course. However, if Reader shows interest in them, then that's another story entirely.

NSFW: These kinks include (but are not limited to): BDSM, mommy kink, breeding/pregnancy, blood (obvi), marking, pet play, cockwarming, wife kink (idk what else to call it but she loves when Reader calls her their wife, it really turns her on).

[crow-caller]

I posted 634 times in 2022

107 posts created (17%)

527 posts reblogged (83%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@les8ean

@gullbones

@lokebrenna

@spearxwind

@crow-caller

I tagged 255 of my posts in 2022

#sometimes theres asks - 24 posts

#book review - 14 posts

#books - 14 posts

#art appreciation tag - 14 posts

#pokemon - 12 posts

#review - 11 posts

#yewchube - 9 posts

#lightlark - 9 posts

#taskmaster - 7 posts

#mortal engines - 7 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#i will finally buy from your store one of these days. okay i did years ago when you had a print of good angel charas.... but god so nice. so

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Me: I should read something good and refreshing

Me: (opens That One YA Dystopia About Human Pets)

See the full post

105 notes - Posted September 30, 2022

#4

That One YA Dystopia Trilogy about Human Pets: Perfected

I read an entire book trilogy at once for this review, and it’s 2014 to 2018’s Perfected by Kate Jarvik Birch, a mainstream published series about humans being kept as pets.

Aw jeez.

I’ve never done a full trilogy at once, but after Lightlark I wanted to do something properly exciting. Slash disturbing. This will be roughly the same format I always do- full synopsis with discussion, and broader analysis. (And yes! This trilogy, which unilaterally earns 0 stars, is better than Lightlark!)

Read On WordPress here! Or the video is below which is the same!

148 notes - Posted October 18, 2022

#3

people love to infantilize asexual people like im not out here serving cunt 24/7 you just aren’t allowed to touch it

291 notes - Posted June 12, 2022

#2

I write silly books about angels and demons and love as the world ends around you (and how maybe it can still be okay in the end anyways)

A naive angel befriends a bullied demon and that forbidden friendship kick-starts the apocalypse. About identity and love and what it's like to be a cosmic being not meant to have free will.

A huge swath of LGBT characters and stuff too, especially in the realm of questioning and experimenting. No real romance, just friendship, and ace/aro/queer stuff.

If you don't know, it's about impossible for indie authors to spread the word about their work. I'm a very ill and disabled person unable to work, so every reblog and especially review matters so much.

I offer free copies for anyone who wants one. Ideally you'd review, but I just want people to be able to read them.

Gum eboook

Amaz print

Goodreads

336 notes - Posted September 11, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Tiktok sensation LightLark is the final boss of bad fantasy YA— a failure built on aesthetic boards and tropes, unable to pretend it has a heart

Tiktok sensation LightLark is the final boss of bad fantasy YA— a failure built on aesthetic boards and tropes, unable to pretend it has a heart

View On WordPress (Includes audio version)

A full summary with spoilers, analysis, quotes- and so much more on the subject of a book you should never read. This is a long piece. Like ‘Youtube Video Essay’ long.

Lightlark is joyless, a husk beyond parody, a checklist of every Island of Blood and Bone and Glass and Hearts that has come out in the last five years, built and sold on tropes and aesthetic boards. This is a book written by an author who is not a writer. It would fit in on the dregs of an amateur writing site with eerie perfection.

But Lightlark is more than that. You see, Lightlark is… a TikTok book.

EDIT:

See the full post

10,013 notes - Posted September 16, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[nekropsii]

Yo fellow mituna enjoyer. I have a question. Sometimes i struggle with the fact that I love mituna (comfort character in fact) but he is also kinda... ya know. Not really used and written with the best intentions by hussie. Even the way people who portray him very well in regards to his disability often seems to be very different than how he is in the very very short time he shows up in the story. Wanna ask, what are your thoughts on that? (Ps I am bad at words so sorry if I wrote this badly)

You didn’t write this badly! You were very clear, and I appreciate/am amused by the fact that I seem to be regarded as some kind of authority on the matter, lol. Local Mituna Scholar.

My personal thoughts are that people need to remember that he’s brain damaged, that brain damage is a mental disability, and that’s a real thing that real people can be in real life. Which means…

It’s researchable!

While Mituna wasn’t written with the nicest intentions in the world, it does seem like Hussie actually did at least a little bit of their homework. If anyone wants to do proper research for Mituna writing, study Frontal Lobe Damage. It’s the absolute closest one can get to Mituna’s actual canonical disability- and despite it all, it hits the mark pretty clearly. If I may speculate, I’m pretty sure this is exactly what Hussie was going for.

When I say people need to remember that he’s brain damaged, I mean they need to remember he isn’t “a child trapped in an adult’s body,” nor is he “an asshole because he knows he can get away with it,” nor is he stupid, oblivious, or- and this one is extra baffling- innocent. He is brain damaged. These personality traits people tend to infantilize, demonize, and/or dehumanize are the results of brain damage. They don’t exist in a vacuum.

When I say people need to remember that brain damage is a mental disability, I mean that they need to realize that whether they want to write it, think about it, portray it, or not- he’s going to struggle. He will struggle with things that abled people do not often struggle with. Because he is disabled. And that’s what disability means. I see people act like making Mituna/disabled characters in general struggle with certain things is ableist, and just… Man, what? Like, I’m hearing disabled in real life. Would it be ableist of me to portray a character who is also hard of hearing… Struggle with… Hearing sounds? Fucking mental.

Also! Making a disabled character struggle isn’t… Immediately an angst trope. That’s just, like, real life. That’s how disabled people work. It doesn’t have to be a federal issue unless you make it one. In fact, I feel like writing casual accommodation to needs is one of the best ways to portray closeness between two characters. When helping, no matter how small, becomes wordless instinct… That’s the good stuff.

Sometimes it comes in the form of carrying first aid specific to that person around. Sometimes it’s keeping a stim toy on you at all times in case they get fidgety. Sometimes it’s noise-cancelling headphones. Sometimes it’s seeing your bestie struggle to button up their shirt/jacket because of their motor skills, and wordlessly intervening and doing it for them. It can be anything! Very situational, very personal, absolutely a good way to show a close bond.

[nightcoremoon]

it's evident people haven't watched enough kids media to adequately understand just what constitutes a kids show as opposed to a show that kids can watch and be entertained by

when I was a kid I watched king of the hill and blues clues (among other things). king of the hill is NOT a kids show by any stretch of the imagination; it is an adult animation, replete with fairly heavy subject matter, sexual themes, political humor, cultural references that kids won't understand, discussion of religion in the modern day, depression and suicidal thoughts, adultery, puberty and sexual awakenings, body image, propane, propane accessories, and ultimately above all else what it means to be family. and blues clues is a show about a man who plays with a shovel & pail, talks to his condiments and mailbox, and sometimes he teleports into the felt dimension, all while playing Sherlock Holmes hercule poirot with his dog, and teaching kids how to count and draw and recognize colors and learn their ABCs. do you see the fucking difference? no? then I'll make it more clear.

dora the explorer & go diego go, mickey mouse clubhouse, handy manny, octonauts, bob the builder, super why, wild kratts, zoboomafoo, jojo's circus, wow wow wubbzy, stanley, doc mcstuffins, max & ruby, wonder pets, bubble guppies, ni hao khai lan, backyardigans, little einsteins, caillou (ugh) and p*w p*trol (double ugh), these are all undeniably kids shows. their audience is children (and the occasional adult by age with severe intellectual disabilities) and maybe the parents whose brains are too fried to care what's on the tv. these shows main purpose is to educate while entertaining on subjects one would encounter in preschool and kindergarten. counting 1-10, ABCs, basic color, basic language, basic intrapersonal skills, basic emotional literacy, problem solving, using your imagination, what sounds do animals make, breaking the fourth wall to ask the audience to answer what's 2+2 or tell them a lesson they learned today like I LEARNED TO NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER or some simple message like that. it's always light, there's no edgelord grimdark "what if they were dead the whole time" bullshit. it's just good clean simple wholesome [except for paw patrol] programs for kids to be distracted for a little bit of time, while also letting them walk away having said they learned something. at least half of the time dedicated to every single one of these shows is devoted to the same shit over and over again. I'm the map I'm the map I'm the map I'm the map I'm the map I'm the map WE FUCKING GET IT YOURE THE MAP! backpack backpack I'm the backpack loaded up with things and knickknacks too, anything that you might need I've got inside for you. we did it we did it we did it HOORAY! come on vamanos everybody let's go, come on let's get to it, I know that we can do it,

WHERE ARE WE GOING

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

THESE SONGS ARE BURNED INTO MY BRAIN AND THEYLL BE STUCK IN MY HEAD UNTIL I DIE

say click take a pic, the hot dog dance, CAN HE FIX IT???, pizza! spaghetti!, THE DOC IS IN AND SHELL FIX YOU UP, max & ruby ruby & max max & ruby ruby & max MAX & RUBY RUBY & MAX MAX & RUBY RUBY & MAX, wonder pets wonder pets we're on our way to help the friend and save the day, we're not too big and we're not too tough but when we work together we've got the right stuff, goooOOO WONDER PETS YAAAAY~, yoooour backyard friends the backyardigans (weve got the whole wide world in our yard to explore, thATS WHY EVERY DAY WEEEEERE BACK FOR MOOOORE), were going on a trip in our little rocket ship SOARING THROOOOOUGH THE SKY!!! little einsteins!

I swear to god I've been forced to watch so much children's television in my life it's no wonder there's no room left for serotonin executive function or the ability to speak to morons

point is I know my way around kids shows. my sisters were born in 98, 02, 05, 06, 10, and 18, I think, I don't even know because they're all a blur, I'm literally closer in age to my parents than to my youngest sibling, I never stopped being exposed to kids shows. I know what is and is not a kids show.

adventure time? not a kids show even though kids watch it. it's a "for everyone" show. it's got a target audience of 100% of the planet. steven universe? not a kids show even though kids watch it. miraculous ladybug? not a kids show even though kids watch it. scooby doo? not a kids show even though kids watch it. I'm not discussing the history of adult acceptance of animation, adult animation, or anime, so don't ask. dexter's laboratory. the grim adventures of billy & mandy. codename kids next door. teen titans. fairly oddparents. kim possible. invader zim. AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER. totally spies. courage the cowardly dog. the proud family. SPONGEBOB F*ING SQUAREPANTS. powerpuff girls. foster's home for imaginary friends. oh yeah you know what's coming next. my little goddamn pony friendship is mother fucking magic is not. a. kids. show. even though kids can watch it. it is a cartoon. it is an everyone show. that's why it's disingenuous and fucking stupid to decry any fan over the age of 7 as a pedophile and a weirdo creep; it participates in the infantilization of femininity. why is it ok for 20somethings to keep watching aang and squidward and finn & jake and zim and "return the slab" and everyone's totally fine wth that but when it's twilight sparkle suddenly everyone's like whoa you're a huge fucking loser for watching this girly wussy baby show for girly wussy babies. oh some bronies are sex crazed perverts? I'm sorry have you seen just how much porn there is for spongebob? oh some bronies are cringe? I'm sorry have you met half the steven universe fandom? oh some bronies are fascist rick sanchez kinnies with fedoras and katanas? BREAKING BAD FANS, HELLO!?!?!?

this is such a stupid tiring boring argument. maybe magic talking horses being friends and turning their friendship into magic rainbow nuclear fucking arms and blasting the evil out of a demon and turning her into the coolest fucking half-unicorn biker lesbian in the world is something that brings me, and adult, pure wholesome joy, in between bojack horseman and dark souls and breaking bad and deftones and fallout new vegas and jojo and cannibal corpse and other bleak depressing edgy shit that also brings me comfort. and MAYBE me at 16 starting to watch MLP:FIM becoming finally comfortable with the outward public expression of "traditionally feminine" interests is the main reason why I realized I was a girl when I did, and MAYBE I just like how pretty the colorful ponies look, AND MAYBE I KIN WITH ONE OR TWO OR EIGHT CHARACTERS, WHAT OF IT?

AND MAYBE ITS LITERALLY THE BEST LONG RUNNING FANTASY TV SERIES ON THE MARKET RIGHT NOW* SINCE GAME OF THRONES FUCKING SUCKS

but whatever, kids watch it sometimes so it's illegal for anyone who's not a kid to enjoy it, but only if it's something girly because liking girly things is bad because girliness is inherently bad, and the only things that are good have predominantly male casts*. right? right??? wrong, fucker. g4mlp has so much more in common with adventure time & atla than with blues clues or dora the fucking explora...r.

but keep in mind I'm saying this while hugging a blues clues plushie my grandma gave me for valentine's day because it reminds her of when I was a baby because I may not watch blues clues but it still means a lot to me for nostalgia and is 50% of the reason why I love ray charles. kids media isn't necessarily bad. I still do enjoy watching it with my little sisters. all this is is me being anal about categorization because I'm autistic and I LIVE for categorizing everything.

*besides atla obviously

[pastamic]

So I’ve seen quite a few posts complaining about the way Entrapta was treated by the Princesses, particularly with a lot of vitriol towards Mermista. I know a lot of us who are neurodivergent are really excited about Entrapta as a character because she’s autistic coded and a lot of us can really relate to her. I think a lot of us are also, and rightfully so, very defensive of the way these types of characters are treated because they get treated honestly so badly by show creators and other characters in their series more often than not, and that’s totally reasonable. If you’re uncomfortable with the way she was treated in regards to what I’m about to talk about I’m in no way saying you can’t still be uncomfortable about this because this is just my opinion and the way I saw it as one touch-averse ND person. To preface this I have not received an autism diagnoses, but I have an ADHD diagnoses and have started to suspect that I might be autistic as well (though it’s hard to tell with the overlapping symptoms.) My fiance is autistic and also has ADHD and has agreed with me on several of these points. 

SO 

[id: Screenshot of Mermista pulling Entrapta’s hair while they approach Horde Prime’s spire in season 5. Caption reads “I’m sorry I’m bad at listening!” end id]

This scene, which a lot of people had an issue with. I had an issue with it at first too bc like pulling peoples hair is generally like not okay! Though the situation was very stressful and dire and Mermista was under a lot of stress. I think this episode was actually particularly important because it showed Entrapta’s issues with feelings and people (like not realizing they were all upset with her) and the stress and residual resentment from fighting on opposite sides and the issues that the other princesses had with understanding Entrapta with a resolution that got talked through. Something that in my personal experience is really important for everyone, but especially ND people and people with mental illnesses. Miscommunications and misunderstandings happen and they all talked it through and I thought it was very sweet. 

But, the hair pulling (and the weird leash thing that Perfuma made with vines but that’s a whole post on it’s own and I’m not gonna get into it) 

Now like I said I thought it was kinda shitty at first, but thanks to quarantine and depression I’ve re-watched spop probably fifteen times now and I’ve noticed a bit of a pattern. 

Most of us have already noticed that Entrapta uses her hair as hands for stuff 

[id: Screenshot of Entrapta leaning over in Hordak’s lab and shaping one of her pigtails into a hand. Caption reads “Failure is a vital part of scientific endeavor.” end id]

Like literal hands

[id: Screenshot of Entrapta standing in Darla’s doorway holding her tools with her hair and making a suggestive face. end id] 

It’s her superpower, and while the other princesses do use their powers as a bit of an extension of themselves, for Entrapta her hair is straight up another body part/limb for her. Tbh if I had hair like that I would use it for literally everything and never touch shit with my hands. 

I think I’ve seen people point this out to an extent before but I noticed that Entrapta never really reaches out to touch anybody with her actual hands with the exception of Hordak.

[id: Screenshot of Entrapta smiling  in the Fright Zone squishing Catra’s cheeks with her hair. Caption reads “Hi, Catra. I saved your life. You’re welcome.” end id]

When she convinces Hordak to send Catra to the Crimson Waste instead of to Beast Island she like grabs her cheeks with her hair, and again in season 5 she pats Catra on the head when she tells her she forgives her. 

[id: Screenshot of Entrapta and Hordak in Hordak’s lab. Entrapta is using her hair to hold out Hordak’s arms in a T-pose. Caption reads “And you’re really way too obsessed with this whole failure thing.” end id] 

And when she’s talking about Hordak’s disability and brainstorming about his suit. I actually chose both of the above screenshots because I thought at first that she only used her hair in place of her hands because her hands always had her tablet in them but both of her hands are free in these scenes, though one could argue that she needs to use her hair to reach Hordak’s hands, she could lift herself up with her hair if she really wanted to reach out with her hands. 

Actually there’s a point in Season 3, episode 4 where she straight up just scratches her hair with the Shera sword so I’m not even sure she has feeling in her hair??? 

[id: Screenshot of Entrapta in Hordak’s lab scratching her head with the Shera sword. Caption reads “I’m not sure if we just need the sword or if we need She-Ra, too.” end id] 

She’s scratching her head with a big fuck off sword so I think that we can infer two things from that: that she can’t really feel much through her hair, and that her hair is like durable as fuck. Considering she lifts herself up by her hair a ton I’d imagine it’s not attached to her scalp in quite the same sensitive way that like non-magic hair would be. 

So I think it makes sense, and might be a respect of her boundaries, to reach for her hair over her hand if they need to keep her from going somewhere. You could argue that grabbing someone in general is a disrespect of boundaries, and in a lot of cases it can be, but in the case of a battle or dangerous mission grabbing someone isn’t really out of the ordinary. We see it with the Best Friends Squad a lot, but also with Scorpia and like literally everyone she’s around. 

When Hordak saves Entrapta from the portal exploding we do see him grab her by the hand, but it’s continuously established that Entrapta exhibits way more intimacy with him than with pretty much anyone else. She allows touch from others and doesn’t seem bothered by it, but Hordak is the person she most consistently reaches out to in regards to touch. 

[id: Screenshot of Bow kissing Entrapta’s pigtail like it’s her hand. end id] 

When Bow first officially meets Entrapta he kisses her pigtail like it’s her hand, which by the way is just super adorable I love fanboy Bow, but it’s not just Bow. Catra and Scorpia also mainly interact with Entrapta through her hair.

Whenever someone needs to interact with Entrapta in a tactile way, it’s pretty much always through her hair. When Entrapta needs to interact with others in a tactile way, it’s pretty much always through her hair. Entrapta’s hair is like another set (sets?? She can split her hair up a lot) of hands. So I don’t think it’s as rough of a treatment as people are making it out to be. It’s not like pulling a non-magic person’s hair. Entrapta’s hair is magic and she uses it in place of her hands near constantly. It’s not like pulling someone else’s hair because Entrapta’s hair is her power, it’s an extension of herself in a way that other’s hair is not. 

It’s okay to feel uncomfortable with Mermista (or others) pulling Entrapta’s hair if that makes you uncomfortable, especially if you’re neurodivergent as many of us have experiences of people completely disregarding our bodily autonomy and infantilizing us in a way that’s frustrating and harmful, but (and I’m not gonna name names bc this isn’t meant to be a discourse post and I’ve seen it a lot) demonizing Mermista for pulling her hair in a high stress situation when she’s struggling with leadership already and Entrapta is seemingly ignoring her orders to do whatever for the sake of science. Though we find out that’s not the case, Mermista doesn’t know that at first and was intending to keep Entrapta from putting herself or the rest of the team in danger which is a foundation of leadership responsibility. 

Should she have tried to be more understanding of Entrapta and actually try to communicate frankly that she was mad instead of assuming that Entrapta would realize it on her own? Absolutely, especially as a leader. But she’s new to leadership and that’s like half of what that episode was about, and people make mistakes, especially with communication. That’s something that I think spop as a show handles really well. People make mistakes, people do things they regret, and people struggle with things like communicating and boundaries even when they have the best of intentions. What matters is that it’s talked out, apologized for, resolved, etc. I’m ND myself, and I’m friends with a lot of neurodivergent people and miscommunications happen A LOT even with like the base knowledge that we need to speak bluntly, clearly, and honestly in order to be understood. Sometimes even when you’re blunt and honest and open things still get miscommunicated. I definitely think the princesses infantilize Entrapta far too much, but I don’t think the hair pulling is as much of an issue as I’ve seen people make it out to be and I definitely don’t think Mermista is some Vile Bitch (tm) for doing what she did. 

(Also I took all these screenshots myself please appreciate that I spent like two hours combing through spop episodes to find them djsfjklds) 

[moontheoretist]

The show currently on had a bunch of stuffed shirts sitting at a round table. ["...my esteemed colleague, Professor Newell, gives too much credence to the ex-Avengers' education. I simply don't believe they all read and fully comprehended the document they were rejecting. Steve Rogers had a high school diploma and one year of art college."] Steve curled his lip. ["That doesn't mean he's illiterate," Newell, a brown-haired man with glasses, said. The other man, his tight coils of hair salt and pepper gray, raised an eyebrow. "As a lawyer, I'd be the first to say legal documents are needlessly complex, but no lay person can just sit down and read a 1000-page legal agreement and absorb the intricacies with nothing more than a high school education from the 1940s. Not without help." Newell ceded the point with a nod. "And Wanda Maximoff is a street orphan and doesn't even have that. Ditto Clint Barton, who grew up in a traveling circus. The Ant Man has an engineering degree, which makes me think he would have ample education to comprehend the Accords, but he had little time to do it in—only the flight to Germany, and investigators say he was likely shrunk and in Clint Barton's pocket, as there's no evidence of him on the passenger list, but he suddenly appeared at the Leipzig/Halle airport. It's questionable he bothered to shrink the Accords with him or bring the necessary resources to decipher all the legalese."] Scott got up and left the room. Wanda curled up and hugged her knees to her chest. Steve remembered the hasty conversation he'd had with Scott before the battle. Scott had no idea about the Accords back then. He thought they were there to fight over killer assassins. Steve rubbed his forehead. ["That leaves only Sergeant Sam Wilson, a man well-educated by the armed forces. I wondered what made him reject a document that his own government and one hundred and sixteen other countries supported, and then I read up on Lieutenant General Ross' record. Any man who has served in the military and heard of Ross' abuse of his own forces and how he used his own daughter as bait in pursuit of The Hulk would have zero respect for the retired general and Secretary of State. Ross was spearheading the US support of the Accords. Whether or not this influenced Sergeant Wilson's decision to reject them, I cannot say."] "This is bullshit," Clint said, obviously fuming. "I didn't need some stupid diploma to tell me the Accords are a shitty idea." ["You haven't said anything about the Black Widow," the moderator said, shifting his papers around on the big desk. "Ms. Romanov is an interesting case. Raised and educated by the top-secret Soviet training program called the Red Room, the Black Widow supported the Accords at first. She appeared to recognize their necessity, but then during the fight at the airport seemed to run into an issue of allegiance in fighting her friends. Understandable, I think. It's why the Avengers should never have been sent to contain the renegades. But who else could battle that sort of might? "In any event, it appears to be no coincidence that the Avengers who sided with the Accords all have master's degrees or higher." "Or much higher," the mediator said, abandoning neutrality. "Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes as a master's in engineering as well as officer's training, Stark has multiple doctorates, and the Vision is said to have access to the sum of all human knowledge. The King of Wakanda obviously has the finest political education as a leader of his nation, and I understand he is also an engineer." "Nothing is known about the Spider-Man," Newell said. "No, that's true. He'll have to remain an enigma." "But it's your contention that education had something to do with renegades choosing not to support the Accords," the mediator said. "I think it's obvious."] *** ["Hello, all. Thank you for time. "As Mr. Sjöberg mentioned, I recently came into some information regarding The Winter Soldier that I felt was of international importance, especially since he had the protection of some very powerful people. The ICC is just the place to turn when the State is unable or unwilling to carry out an investigation and prosecute the perpetrators."] Steve drew in a shocked breath. ["I found this information at a Hydra bunker in Siberia, where Rogers, Barnes and I had an altercation about whether suppressing this information was cool or not." Stark gave an acid grin. "In the course of this disagreement, Rogers disabled my suit and left me in the Hydra bunker to freeze, unable to radio a rescue team."] Sam sank his head into his hands with a curse. ["However, Rogers' 'leave our teammates behind' policy turned out to be useful, because while searching for a way to communicate with my rescue team, I discovered a trove of records spanning back decades on the Hydra supersoldier program. I looked through all of it, hoping to save it and get retrieved before Hydra returned. "What I discovered was more than enough: movies, photos, and detailed plans to assassinate political heads of state, industrial leaders, diplomats, prominent artists, radical leaders and activists, all of whom were murdered by The Winter Soldier. Included in these documents were the names of the ones who ordered the kills, the criminals behind the deeds. For the last three weeks, with the assistance of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, that's what we've been up to—rounding up the bad guys with a vengeance." The murmurs grew into a roar of approval. "Most of the Hydra operatives still living have been arrested for their complicity in murdering countless important figures who stood against Hydra's core principles of racism and fascism. Despite the unnecessary delay introduced by Rogers, who could have put us onto Barnes and thus the location of the bunker that much sooner, the loved ones and family members of the deceased will at long last know, and hopefully find peace in knowing, just what happened to their loved ones, and why."] Tony's voice trembled on the last part, and Steve felt a pit growing in his stomach that he couldn't shake off. ["My only regret is whom I have to thank for this. The man behind the Vienna bombing was the one who revealed the truth to me by showing me the video of my parents being murdered by The Winter Soldier. The man who told me the truth is a criminal. But then, the man who kept the truth from us all is a criminal as well. "Thank you all for listening. There will be no questions."] *** Tony lifted his hand and smacked away the letter he was writing as Rhodey walked in. "Sour patch! Look at you. How're the legs feeling?" "Better now that I tweaked the timing on the left one. Feels more natural now. But, Tony..." "Awesome. You should totally patent that port thing. That was really good work." Tony pulled up the schematics of Rhodey's braces to take a look at the timing adjustment port Rhodey had added. "I don't have time for—that's not why I came in here, Tones. Vision got a call—" "Time, shmime. I'll have Friday draft up the diagrams and application for you." "It would be my pleasure, Colonel Rhodes." "Yes, fine. Thanks, Fri. Tones, listen. Something's happened with the renegades." Tony stopped fiddling and gave Rhodey his full attention. "Tell me." "It's weird as hell." Rhodey dropped onto a lab stool and rolled over to join him. "Wanda contacted Vision to tell him she delivered Rogers to the US Embassy in Nairobi. I checked, and sure enough, according to embassy officials, she made him walk in like a zombie, then directed him to 'Wait here until Tony Stark comes to arrest you.'"

Into the Weeds by truet

This is literally the best Team Iron Man fic I read till now, and it includes all the things I missed from the other ones: acknowledgment of Rhodey’s smarts, acknowledgment of the education Rogues had, acknowledgment that Wanda may actually get angry at Steve when she learns what he did and what it means to her, acknowledgment that Hydra agents who ordered the murders should be arrested, acknowledgment of Tony relying on other people to actually accomplish or polish the things he engages with (JCCT, braces).

The only thing it doesn’t have is acknowledgment that Shuri doesn’t need BARF to help Barnes, but it’s only because the fact that the story never reaches that point, but damn, so many Team Iron Man fics mistreats other charas and I know it is not malicious, that it is because the authors love Tony and want him to fix the issues himself, but Tony isn’t omnipotent god of science and I would like people to get that Shuri is as mart as he is and can definitely handle helping Barnes and making his arm without Tony’s help, as much as Rhodey can fix his braces and doesn’t need Tony to constantly do it for him, because he has proper education to handle that, and also he is the user, so he knows best what is wrong and what is right and what works.

I also tend to like the stories which don’t demonize Wanda more than the ones which do, because I think she was radicalized, but not evil and those stories, where she is an evil Hydra agent or actually went mad long ago and nobody noticed, as much as interesting and enjoyable don’t really get what it means to be radicalized and then trying to de-radicalize and also heavily fall into the trap of demonizing a woman in the same way misogynist media creators usually do and the only thing I can blame is the fact that we all are raised in the society which hates women and even if we don’t actively believe in it some of it stays with us, in our subconscious and affects what we write and how. Everybody is capable of evil as long as they believe something very much and Wanda is more prone to that due to her background. Not to mention that those stories also usually infantilize her and I like to see her actually being treated like an adult she always was, who understands the consequences of Steve’s action for her and who would do something, albeit something stupid mind you, to mitigate her case, because she is an adult, and she like any other adult person would want to help her case somehow.

Oh, and author also knows how the whole “who arrests who” system works, so their stories actually show that nobody in the MCU creator board of creators, including the Russos, does a goddamn research about Europe. Most people don’t have this knowledge, so movies don’t seem off to them, but to people who do have this knowledge movies are weird and illogical.

[kingthekj]

Not to be this person but the way y'all give for white people in media and white people in real life more nuance than you will ever give a black or brown counterpart is Despicable. Full stop. Downright. A white character can do the most despicable shit and be nice to a cat or child or and y'all will treat him more respect than you will ever do a black/brown good character.

Or if there is a character of color that is young and makes a mistake most of y'all will subconsciously age them up and hold them more responsible than you do for a white grown ass man or the younger white counterparts. It's actually quite exhausting and tiring to constantly defend characters that look like you and that you relate to when they constantly get demonized or infantilized or sexualized and fetishized.

The way most of y'all will walk over a poc main character in favor of the white ones or God forbid there's a poc love interest they will be forgotten or demonized. Literally the only time I've seen people give Nuance to a character of color is because it's a media where there is only or mostly characters of color. I find it really telling when I go into a tag that has a character of color in it and it is either shipping post or them being lumped into a general fandom post or just racist shit.

But I think the one thing that gets me actually tilted is the fact that fandom and fictional spaces are supposed to be ways that people can escape from The Real World. But that's not true. Only certain people can escape from the world into fandom spaces because racism, sexism, transphobia, homophobia, and every other -ism bias is saturating and poisoning those spaces for people who aren't white or straight or cisgender or disabled either by the world in itself or by the stereotypes perpetrated by other people.

And sure if you really like your fandom and you cater to a space to it you could probably forget about how big is it people are in fictional spaces. Maybe if you block a million tags and block a thousand users you could potentially Escape into fandom. And I know a lot of privileged people get restless and squirmy When you mention that there is bigotry in their favorite thing so they decide that you're either not a fan or you're just a troll or- whatever it is they say to dismiss your point without thinking critically over thing that they consumed regularly.

[silencecunt]

Kankri is not a good person, nor is he a bad person. In my view, he is a wildly misunderstood character--both by the people who love him and the people who hate him. Both sides like to take only parts of his character and ignore the others that don't align with their perception of him. There is no harm in that, per say, but it does an incredible disservice to him as a character.

The Alpha trolls are, generally speaking, two-dimensional. They are caricatures of certain online groups meant to satirize those aforementioned groups. In Kankri's case, it's the SJWs of tumblr. At the time of Kankri's conception, social justice on tumblr was notorious for being outrageously PC and, hypocritically, malicious. People were threatened and "cancelled" over the stupidest of things. Naturally, this trend still exists and has spread from tumblr; however, it is not to the degree that it once was as those SJWs have now matured and created a healthier space (for the most part).

Kankri is a representation of the worst parts of those people--he is overly concerned with saying the "right" thing at all times, ignoring that words don't matter if your actions don't reflect them. Quite literally, Kankri is all talk. He lectures anyone he can about their "triggering" behavior while turning around and engaging in that same behavior when it suits him.

Therein lies the Mituna problem. Kankri is overly considerate of Latula's lack of sense of smell, Cronus's humankin, Horuss's belief he is two-spirit, etc. even when those (such as the case with Latula) don't actually care all that much. He does this because it's what he cares about and that's all that matters to him. But he doesn't care about Mituna. My interpretation is because he is jealous of him. Kankri is flushed for Latula, who is Mituna's matesprite, but Kankri doesn't think Mituna deserves to be in a relationship with Latula likely due to his cerebral trauma. A trauma he acquired after destroying himself in an ultimately futile attempt to save his friends, which is another reason Kankri is jealous of him. Much like Karkat, Kankri served as the leader of the group. Despite this, he was unable to rally the troops together due to his more passive approach in juxtaposition to Karkat's abrasive leadership style and general nature. Seeing Mituna act so boldly, doing something Kankri was unable to, was a hit to his ego. Already people don't like him and here Mituna was, making him look like even more of a useless asshole.

So, Kankri resents him. He doesn't want to care about Mituna, so he doesn't. Anger, bitterness, jealousy, whatever the case may be, he does not respect Mituna. Regardless, Kankri is Kankri. The way he speaks to him, insulting him and his entire existence, is phrased in such a manner that pins Mituna's disability as a flaw that he needs to work on. So much so, Mituna is obligated to apologize. Now, Mituna is not an innocent infantile thing that does nothing wrong and isn't a jackass himself because all trolls are jackasses. He is crude and can be inconsiderate of others. Regardless, Kankri does not approach the matter in a constructive way, seemingly almost glossing over those fair criticisms in favor of low blows.

This is something that is fundamental to Kankri's character. There are plenty of things he is right about, however he handles it in such a way that it only comes across as pretentious swill that no one wants to listen to. Alternatively, he overlooks those valid points to unjustly attack another's character. But, that doesn't mean he is always wrong.

Kankri, at his core, cares deeply and passionately. Whether or not you agree with what he concerns himself with doesn't matter because he will continue to feel the way he does with everything he has. His passion is palpable. The most notorious of which is the Beforian hemospectrum.

Under pre-scratch Feferi, culling doesn't mean killing. Rather, lowbloods are seen as incapable of taking care of themselves, so highbloods are responsible for them. Kind of like a pet. While not being killed is nice, being treated as a second--maybe even third-class citizen is still oppression. Kankri sees this and resents how their society functions. He doesn't want to be coddled and treated like he is inept because he isn't. Subscribing to how society wants him to behave would be a fate worse than death. If he cannot be independent and think for himself, doing what he thinks is best without the concern of others looming over him at every step he takes, he would rather die. These are the beliefs he held even as the Signless, although with different context. Thus, his motivation for his personal boundaries. When Porrim tells him he has grubsauce on his face and tries to clean it himself, he flips out. Porrim is high enough on the spectrum to be considered able to take care of him, and Kankri does not want any part of it. The mere thought is mortifying to him. Being touched is something that is (actually) triggering to him. He doesn't want pity, he wants respect. Even if his friends hate him and think he's annoying, at least he's being himself.

When Porrim wishes to discuss issues regarding women, Kankri doesnt want to hear it. Here is where many call him misogynistic, but I implore you to consider not applying human society onto the trolls because it doesn't make sense. Trolls are a matriarchal society, what with the empress being in total control. And, so far as we know, it has always been an empress. We don't know just how much gender affects things considering the hemospectrum plays such a large role in how everyone falls in society. My interpretation is that gender is nowhere near as big of a deal as it is with humans. Even if it were, between fusciabloods being primarily female and rulers, and jadebloods also primarily female and nurturing the Mothergrub (aka how all trolls are born), I don't feel it's too far a stretch to say that the women of trollian society are not oppressed. I don't believe the men are oppressed either because I feel that gender isn't much of a consideration for trolls, but that is just my interpretation.

That being said, Porrim expresses her concern that their matriarchal society was a false one operating under Lord English, ergo making it patriarchal in nature. Kankri does not share that view, feeling that it's a non-starter. In his view, Lord English's actions truly had no effect in that regard. Why would a time traveling demon set on destroying everything worry about frivolous details such as ensuring women are beaten down? In Kankri's eyes, it's stupid to assume he would even bother.

Regarding Kankri's celibacy, it's another example of Kankri merely trying to keep his chin high in the air and feel as if he is better than everyone else. His intellect is too high to concern himself with the oppressive nature the quadrants come with. It seems too much like another means to be controlled. However, his commitment to it is...questionable. Porrim and him are essentially moirails in everything but the name due to Kankri's pride. Not to mention, his flushcrush on Latula. If he were truly committed to his Vow, he would not pursue this crush as much as he does. All Latula has to do is say the word and Kankri would drop his celibacy like a hot potato. Again, another example of how he is willing to say the "right" things, but his actions do not reflect that. This hypocrisy is one of Kankri's defining traits. He simply cannot put his money where his mouth is despite the mountain of effort he puts into convincing everyone how serious he is.

As someone who admires social justice, he doesn't care for the Signless. His official reasoning is in regards to a difference in approach. While the Signless's rebellion reflects the violent society of Alternia, Kankri expresses how he feels a more peaceful method would have been better, a reflection of the peaceful society he was raised in. He feels that words hold more power than violence, something those baser than him resort to.

Perhaps this is due to the tenderness I hold for him, but I think the reasoning runs deeper than that. All of his friends liked hearing about the Signless, Aranea in particular. So much so that she wears his symbol around her neck. This is something that clearly bothers Kankri, but is it really just over a difference in opinions? At the end of the day, the Signless is Kankri. My theory is because everyone likes his post-scratch self better than they like him. The people who he considers his friends, who he trusts to return when they leave mid-sermon, who he tried to lead and protect can't stand him, referring to him as the Insufferable. Wouldn't that hurt you, too? He knows he's long-winded, he knows he preachy, he knows people find him irritating, he knows. Naturally, Kankri doesn't let it show, but he wants his friends to like him. The only person who (kind of) listens to him and actually treats him with respect is the crowned worst character of homestuck, Cronus. It affects him to hear how much others admire the deeds of someone who is him when, in truth, he is not really that person.

Many of the core traits in Karkat exist in Kankri. They are both drawn to leadership, drawn to helping their friends, short-tempered, and emotional. Kankri says a multitude of harsh things, things that are much crueler than the what Karkat says, and it's important to acknowledge Kankri's cruelty. That doesn't detract from the fact that Kankri does care for others, even if his feelings towards them are less than pleasant, because that's who the Vantases are. They are deeply flawed and oftentimes foul-mouthed people, and yet, at the end of the day, they still care fiercely. Kankri is not some disinterested, detached critic. He is just as much a part of the group as the others and he wants what is best for them. If he didn't care, he wouldn't bother lecturing. No matter how annoying and egocentric you are, no one likes to waste their time.

At the end of the day, Kankri is not a perfect person. Far from it. But he's endearing and he's relatable and he's flawed. None of the trolls are good people. They are all assholes who say fucked up things. They use the r-slur, they make fun of Tavros for his wheelchair, Meenah is elated that her post-scratch self commits genocide on the regular, Vriska. Just Vriska. A lot of the hate I see regarding Kankri reduces him to a soulless monster who's only goal is to insult and talk down to everyone in his way. A lot of the admiration I see boils him down to an uwu sweet innocent blushy baby when that is the furthest thing from the truth. He's a snarky bastard who gives a fuck about his friends, even if they spit in his face because he spits right back. Please respect his depth, even if you interpret things differently from how I did. He is not as flat as many make him out to be. No one in homestuck is.

[mosaic-lights]

Unpopular opinion

But guys can benefit front the same empowerment and encouragement as girls can.

Let me explain.

Everyone on this website will say toxic masculinity or mention it or some shit. But no one ever really unpacks it other than just saying ‘the patriarchy’, ‘ men don’t deal with emotions’ or some shit like that.

But a big part of sexism is making men and women feel inherently different with different needs, roles, wants, abilities etc. in the one usually identified as the patriarchy men are unfeeling, physically fit, stone blocks, possessive, in-charge and dominant.

Feminism functions on the ideals that men, women and every gender under the sun( regardless of legal recognition or labels cause god knows the world is insane right now).

Why am I bitching and moaning then? Well it’s because I’ve been on a long, twisting and arduous journey on dealing with body image issues, self-Love and lack of if, depression and all of that shit. And one of the reasons it’s been so damn difficult is because of lack of resources.

There’s not really self love resources for guys because we’re not supposed to have these issues. There’s no body image resources for guys, there’s little to no resources for mental illness, eating disorders, sexual issues, relationship help.

Think about it, when was the last time you saw a post on here that was kind towards guys? Men of color, queer men, trans men, disabled men, any man.

And this is because that these areas, as well as online spheres like tumblr, are very female centric. And things here are very extreme, a societal reaction towards what’s considered wrong, think like the Bolshevik portion of the Russian revolution being such an extreme and visceral reaction to imperial Russia.

This is also evident in the treatment of masculinely styled or presenting women, I.e. butch lesbians, who will get targeted, even by other queer women, for ‘masculine privilege’. Which I’m sorry but unless your cisgender, masculine privilege doesn’t *really* apply.

The only way that communities like Tumblr accept any form of masculinity is by belittling, infantilizing or twisting it. All the posts for trans men are primarily geared towards ‘soft boys’ and most people act like trans men are desexualized, un-masculine beings of cute fluffy sweaters, flower-crowns and shimmery rainbow contour.( I’ll try to avoid getting into the various issues of how irl groups and online groups treat/view trans guys because that’s a separate rant for another day). If a guy doesn’t fit those criteria he’s demonized into a misogynistic rapist. There was a post I saw recently where some people were joking that a thread about what men wanted sexually would be rapey and the worst of humanity when in actuality the guys wanted things like sexual encouragement, being submissive/feeling safe as the little spoon and wanting to please their partner. But tumblr, and many irl liberal places, will treat men the same way the patriarchy treats them. Like they’re unfeeling, unbothered, sexually predatory, dominant things.

And I’m not saying all resources need to be geared towards men. I fully understand that women also deal with body image and self love issues.

But I think in the aspects of sexual positivity, body image help, self love, mental illness and just good helpful shit like that, there needs to be more variety in the gender. And presentation of those things. Having them for men and masculine presenting or androgynous people.

And to anyone who wants to bitch at me about this I’ll just point you to the various statements and studies on how suicide( and obviously the associated issues and causes with it) is one of the leading causes is men’s deaths. Because honestly lives could genuinely be saved by extending the same loving empowerment that you preach

Thanks for listening to my long rant

[sweetandsavageautistic]

So I had a thought

We get labelled as autistic, which we are. But then we’re told we’re not normal, that we’re other, that we need medication to focus. But if you let me write what I want, I will write what I want. If you put me in an acting class, I will act. If you put me into an algebra class and expect me to do so many problems that have no bearing or influence on what I want to be in life, I will be restless. 

That’s gotten me thinking; what if it’s not us that’s other? It’s just the world refusing to work with us?

Identifying something as autistic is seen as a bad thing in society, even within us. I know some of us still have that internal stigma that something or someone being autistic is a bad thing. But why? Because they’re different? Because you don’t like how they act? 

Evanna Lynch, in a talk with the Hist, explained that, and I’m probably paraphrasing, when we see something different we think “you’re different, so you must be inferior.” (Granted it was a talk about veganism, but the point can translate through various situations.)

People are scared of things that are different and that’s why we’ve had slavery and segregation. We advocate for diversity and yet we crush things and people who we don’t like simply because they are not what society considers to be normal.

I may be preaching to the choir now, but I think it’s necessary. Autistics and other disabled people are still discriminated against. If I get a job and reveal that I’m autistic, I risk getting taken advantage of. I risk a lack of respect in the workplace. I risk being infantilized and demonized by my coworkers, all under the basis that I do not fit society’s so-called standard of being normal.

We are all placed into these social skills classes because we are seen as needing to be fixed. Social skills are more often for the comfort of the neurotypical and not exactly for the accommodation of autistics. However, there are some things that are mostly set, like being kind to others. But that’s a basic fact. That you should be kind to others. And yet, this is something a few NTs don’t seem to follow, and yet we autistics are considered “malfunctioning” or “broken.”

Coming back to the idea of calling things autistic, I’ve seen people try to argue against the idea that characters could be autistic. But why? We’re not trying to take it from you and everyone projects themselves onto characters. If it’s revealed that said character is autistic, would you still love them? 

We use differences as insults, such as autistic, crazy, etc,. because we see them as broken or inferior. The question remains; where do we draw the line at differences that don’t hurt anyone and differences that hurt the person that’s directly affected by them? For instance, someone who has panic attacks due to anxiety, that’s something people usually want to alleviate because panic attacks are not fun, especially for the person that experiences them. Someone with epilepsy can have seizures when they get too excited, which can be very dangerous, which is why it’s helpful that there’s seizure medication.

But Autism, Down Syndrome, blindness, deafness, being in a wheelchair, just to name a few. They don’t usually hurt the people that experience them. They can be inconvenient at times, but they’re not always dangerous or deadly. The problem is the stigma and society’s refusal to give reasonable accommodations. 

We are put through therapies to fit in and be less of an inconvenience to NTs. Rarely are we taught coping skills. I remember watching Big Bang Theory in high school social skills classes and Sheldon was often used as an example. He was shown to be an asshole sometimes, I can only remember one time we saw him really doing something right. 

It is saying that “you are different. you do not communicate the same way, so you must not be able to communicate at all. you do not act the same way, so you must be an asshole.”

I know not all NTs and allistics are like this. I have many allistic friends who see me as an equal, but I’ve run into people who treat me as different. I remember I got bullied in 4th grade and once when I tried to defend myself, because this girl was kicking my heel, I kicked her back twice. Then we all got sent to the behavioral room and her side of the story made me sound like I was the one who did most of the kicking. 

Just a few days ago, I learned from my sister that apparently this girl was trying to make friends with me. I call bullshit on this. Someone who wants to be friends with someone doesn’t make them constantly wash the table at lunch when they know they’re not comfortable with it, kicks their heels, and blocks the way to the locker. I was always taught that if someone is nice to you, they want to be your friend.  

This shows a problem with some NT/allistic people and social skills classes. Social skills classes don’t evolve. They constantly teach us the basics year after year after year. Some NTs/allistics assume that social mishaps are our fault because we’re “socially deficient.” So that even if we’re hurt, it’s our fault.

So what if it’s simply that we’re fine as we are? 

-Insightful Luna