#the standard for how to Not Be Racist was different then tho

[peridot-tears]

Jacob's reaction to Evie asking Queen Victoria to Maybe Not Be a Colonizer makes me think that he's one of those guys who was very whatever about Britain's Role as a Colonizer but eventually started coming around a little bit as he got older and closer to Jayadeep, his sister married into an Indian family, and he went to India itself. But he still didn't form strong enough opinions about it for Lydia Frye to shiv Winston Churchill on the spot for being The Colonizer.

[sunset-bobby]

and if i say the same people who hate tommy and call him a racist misogynist are the same people who still love ryan guzman then what?

and u know what something had to have happened behind closed doors for the rest of the cast to no longer hate him so i’m gonna take their word for it cause i trust that something actually changed

the same logic could can be applied to this bc you know who wouldn’t still be in contact, or going for drinks with, or idk smiling with a racist misogynist?? Hen and Chim so clearly something had to happen off screen for tommy them to have ben friendly enough to through him a going away celebration and go out for drinks

u wanna know the difference tho? one of them isn’t a real person so you would think it would be more believable that the character had real character growth but what do i know

clearly the situations are not the same but i feel like there’s a hypocrisy there especially with ppl like hating Lou in addition to the character and im like the double standards are crazy

tommy is a character that has had development and i don’t think he is racist or misogynistic at heart instead was a product of his environment

my qualifications to say this: i am a victim of racism and misogyny (im black and a woman ✊🏽)

edit: i have no bad blood with ryan guzman it’s clear that he has grown enough as a person that the people around him are still there so who am i to judge…this is mainly about the character of Tommy and how ppl seem to not believe he’s changed despite basic evidence

[coldresolve]

tbh i didnt mean “not wanting to be criticized” i meant “not wanting to search up things and dive into stuff”. Rolling your head on the keyboard and relaxing while creating something is not the same by any means. I was also thinking more of visual art when i wrote that, since “art” is usually used in that sense these days. I do write and i do “research” (not like actual research articles tho) but i couldnt care less about political or any “other” interpretations. I know ur on the mindset of “all art is political” but nah. I just like creating. I dont even ever look ar politics. No news, no social media, nothing, i dont care, i dont interact, i dont listen. Not something that i care about. And im not the only one. And thats also fine. Art and creativity and the act of creation means different things to different people and noone can make a blanket statement with saying “its always political” or “it always has a »deeper« meaning”.

I also dont think “no deeper meaning” means its “shallow” or “lacks depth” (eventho this sounds contradictory), it just means that what might mean something to the artist, doesn’t necessarily mean anything for others and interpretating it in all kinds of ways is the viewers own opinions (also fine, but my point stays that it wasnt “meant” to be interpreted in any way other than how the artist meant it). Like idk how to explain this but just because you (or anyone) thinks about art in such a “deep” and “layered” way its not always like that. Not by far.

Woodworking is art. Pottery is art. Even architecture is art. All those art forms usually dont have any “statement”, or if they do, its not as common. Its relaxing and soothing to just… create. And im not saying “oh just start woodworking without any research”, that would most likely be a safety hazard. What im saying is not knowing about all these political bulshits and not CARING about them either doesnt make the art less valid?

I used these examples because writing and drawing is usually more “political” for a lot of people (including you I know) but for many people its just the same as a piece of pottery or wood statue they work on to relieve stress. And the way you talk about art/writing makes it seem like those people are “less than”. Because they dont do research, because they dont use themes or whatever all those things. No, you dont have to do all those if you just wanna create. Its gatekeepy af.

And tbf at least they are creating it themselves, even if it doesnt fit your standards. At least they arent using some ai. In these times we need to encourage people to create more than ever instead of gatekeeping art and writing and talking down to people who arent as sophisticated as you are.

Because your writing and art is insane but man that shits stressfull. I just want to relax and turn my brain off and create some art to soothe my nerves… not all this political implications lol

My opinion and i know you disagree but anyways. You said you like “criticism” so thougth i would share my thougths too.

hope you dont mind if i break it up by point. below the cut cause youve said a lot and i say a lot, ayy

you wanna have mindless fun and dont care if it comes at the cost of spreading harmful misinfo, bigotry or stereotypes, i got it. i read you loud and clear. im also criticizing you for it, which according to this, you shouldn't have a problem with

so when you said in the last ask that you don't care about 'pushing bad stereotypes', you meant visually...? are you drawing racist charicatures or sth lmao

you're right, i do think all art is political, but politics isnt just men in suits arguing about taxes yknow. a political ideology is a prescriptive worldview, that's it. broadly speaking, it's about how you see the relationship between the past/present/future, resources and power, who has them and who don't, and does that align with our ethics, etc. why things are the way they are and how they ought (/not) to be. how you see the world, other people and yourself necessarily shows up in self-expression, that is what self-expression is. it's inherent to art, and you can't get away from this by simply going 'not true' - what you're telling me here is just that you've decided you personally don't care. which is your right i suppose

just like i have a right to be able to think of this 'heres all the ways i'm extremely apolitical' section as you just declaring a privelege. lots of people - especially this site's userbase - don't get the luxury of being able to look away, because their existence itself is highly politisized. either you pay attention or they start sending you and your friends to camps, babey. deciding to be apolitical is a Very political act

you're not sticking fully to topic here. i never talked about depth, i talked about engaging with art uncritically, which are two different things. i do hold the former as an opinion but this is already long, send a different ask if you want me to get into it lol its mostly just me being a judgy bitch abt popular culture

to the relevant stuff, im just gonna reiterate that the themes you put in your work exist whether you want them to or not. death of the author, that whole thing. if you portray poverty in a way that suggests poor people are just being lazy, or that black people are violent, or that gay people are predatory, if you essentialize these traits in any given work, that is the statement that depiction makes, regardless of whether the artist actually believes it's true or not. that's just how biases work in fiction. it's not gonna stop existing because you stop paying attention to it.

funny you should mention woodworking - hi, im a cabinetmaker and i love talking about my craft. cool facts: scandinavian woodworking tends to use sustainable/local wood, minimalistic and semi-rustic designs with a focus on elegance and simplicity, and mostly uses natural finishes. american wwoodworking is a bit flamboyant and grand, frequently uses exotic woods for details, bulkier designs, with a focus on sturdiness and practicalty, and mostly uses glossy/shiny finishes. japanese woodworking is all about precision, subtlety and a world-famous tradition of the craft spanning back millenia, using wood from species that allow for chisel work with a precision that's down to the width of a human hair, occasionally stained with some nice colors (asia generally loves wood stain). ikea's woodworking uses cheap materials and cost-effective factory production, focuses on the mass marketability of their furniture, and has a legal team to deal with worker's rights abuses and forced labor cases. if you can read nothing about priorities and worldview into any of this, i don't know what to tell you. alas its true. your chair is indeed political

this doesn't mean you can't also use any chair to simply sit down in. these two aren't mutually exclusive.

pottery is the same. architecture is the same. in fact, tell any former soviet country that there's no politics in architecture lol they'll look at you weird

never said your art isn't valid or whatever, idek what that means in this context. i just said i can still criticize your racist charicatures regardless of how much mindless fun you had making them lol

(in case its not obvious i dont think youre making racist charicatures or all that shit, im going to the extremes to illustrate a point ykwim. im guessing you'd be fine with me critizising racism in fiction - in fact i don't actually believe you'd disagree with any of the things i've said if i'd framed it in terms of racism, or at least i hope not lol i dont know how far your take goes. im challenging a double standard ig)

"because they don't use themes" mhm, youre one of the ppl who dont know what a theme is, which ig is pretty valuable for context. art necessitates making decisions about what you portray and how you portray it. those decisions say something about your thought process, which your audience is able to draw conclusions about, or at least interpret from. art is a form of communication. if you create art, you are communicating. it means something. there is a message, usually more than one. that's what themes are. can be as benign as "damn hangovers kinda suck" or some grand statement about the nature of being human, doesn't matter. both of those things are themes

i don't think any person is "less than", i'm criticizing people's approach to art. person =/= person's approach to art. remember in my original post when i said that criticism is not the same as personal attacks? or cultural elitism?

im not particularly sophisticated, i just like abstraction cause im mentally ill lmfao. and i do want to encourage people to make art. i just also hate consumerist brainrot, so

its not that i cant relate to wanting to turn your brain off sometimes and just watch some sloppy horror movie or whatever, i do that too. but i also recognize that said sloppy horror movie can be criticized in seventy thousand different ways, and at least being aware of that instead of mindlessly consuming probably leads to a more wholistic appreciation of the art you create and engage with.

this is sliding into opinion territory like the sidenote in my last answer, so beware, but. if 'mindless fun' is the only way you engage with art, you're missing out, i'm sorry, Facts*. you're treating art like content to be consumed to distract you from the real world, not as something thats supposed to inspire or motivate or make you think about/understand things. it's reductive of what art has the potential to do, the ways it can help you grow. it takes effort to change your approach and i get that, but it gets easier once you've done it enough, and it is very worthwhile imo. just sayin'. im genuinely being an optimist about art here

*= opinion lol. but its a strong opinion which is basically the same as a fact**

**= irony

anyway i genuinely enjoy having these sorts of conversations just for the record. am able to disagree with someone without assuming they're a bad person or whatever. i understand if youre not interested in talking continuing but youve been fairly respectful or whatever so thats nice, love and peace✌️

[mariailoveyou-guerin]

Not them making me defend elosie twin whom I don’t remember unless he’s shown all bc he was the first one to actually kic*k El off her high privileged rich yt girl bra*t🐎 ! she needed it that kinda person talking her down from her high horse and bursting her tiny bubble he was good for her but thankfully Penelope the only good thing she did as LW was save that man from the Eloise Bridgerton nightmares his a88 better thank her by giving her free paper printing he dodged the biggest bullet of his life when Pen saved him from elosie crap!

I don’t even ship (because Calym and Claudia look identical like if saw them before this show I would’ve assumed that was her twin brother) but y’all are so fcvking funny bc polins were so against 🪴 daddy Debling bc pen didn’t have feelings for him fine ok all of sudden they want that for Eloise even tho she has weird feelings for her twin ! you guys really do pick and choose what to hate like not just polin but this fandom

same goes for how people ship el with her twin whom she refused to kiss still ship it but always use Colin not kissing Marina bc hes gentleman as way to hate on M I wonder what the difference between these two ships are is that marina is pretty black girl and y’all racist bingo! This fandom fakeness and it’s hypocrisy double standard when in the end it all comes down to racism is so funny to me and other times I don’t find the actor attractive so I’m gonna hate 😂 his character and make stuff up bc why they calling the worst man for calling out elosie on her bullsh*t but literally stan and like Anthony and Benedict the biggest sexist misogynist to walk that ton or like book Phillip who’s a whole rapist!

Don’t even get me started on big af half now that’s starting to grow more and more liking Cressida and wanting her to end up with elosie, Cressida who’s bullied pen for years and was/is the vile human yet they want her back marrying a Bridgerton but Marina was the devil for wanting what’s best for her kids and then everyday they get giddy at the idea she might d word and end her life interesting indeed! Hope they all lose and get nothing at all because they don’t deserve shit

[soullessjack]

will probably delete later bc this website’s post-point aim is so low it pisses on the poor and im fucking tired But as someone with a special interest in media literacy/media tropes/propaganda (conjoined interests if you will) it is very odd and strange that so many ppl are still arguing that fiction is entirely separate from reality as if they’re two different dimensions or something. And what’s even stranger is that so many also believe that representation is important in media even tho .. representation is like the biggest example of fiction affecting and being important to reality—next to propaganda, of course, which also runs with representation as a form of intentional misrepresentation with intents to target someone. the thing is. And a LOT of y’all are not going to like this. but fiction does inherently have bearing on reality, because it is a reflection of reality created by real people. fiction cannot exist without reality as a baseline. We use fiction to represent ourselves, our world, and we use it to explore all aspects of possibilities of what we could be, what we can’t be, what we shouldn’t be, etc. we explore our own extinction, our greed, our impact on the world, by telling stories. Every culture on the planet has stories that shape it, that become mythologies and theologies and religions and traditions. Are those suddenly not important just because they’re fiction?

What about propaganda? Propaganda itself is also a form of fiction. Propaganda posters depicting racial caricatures and animalized “enemies” are just paintings, just drawings with just-words on canvases and paper. Stereotypes of Black ‘thugs’ and greedy Jews in books are “just words,” but they’re not. The Red Scare was always depicted as a faceless anonymous enemy, an iceberg on our ship, a red shadow, a buzzard eating bones, and yet it had half of the states convinced that someone they knew was secretly a commie with the same intense paranoia as if they had leprosy. Are we supposed to shrug off the still-prevalent effects they had on the world just because they’re fictional? Just pretend that stereotypes or racist beliefs or commie paranoia don’t exist anymore, since they were perpetuated with fictionalizations?

Fiction doesn’t just affect reality, either. It reflects reality. It shapes reality, and that in itself continues to shape more and more fiction, which then shapes reality over and over again. Books like 1984 and TKAM stand as examples of the past, of where our reality once stood, of what we used to value and believe and what used to be trendy and fashionable and desirable. Even books that are pure fantasy have undeniable elements of reality in them, either by way of the author’s bias or as a commentary (WHICH IS YET ANOTHER FUCKING EXAMPLE. IF FICTION DIDN’T AFFECT REALITY THERE WOULD BE NO SUCH THING AS SOCIAL COMMENTARY IN MEDIA). Fantasy Racism is fictional, but it’s still racism, and it still reflects one of the most horrific ongoing aspects of our reality. What we create is undeniably a reflection of ourselves and what we value, what we’re afraid of, what we see in our world and lives, what we want out of life but can’t get.

No, writing about dark topics doesn’t mean you’re a bad person or inherently an advocate for them. George Orwell wrote the poster child for a fascist dystopian society and he was a fucking socialist and it was a fucking warning of what we could become. “Fiction doesn’t affect reality,” and yet it’s been used for centuries to deconstruct real world ideologies and values and standards. It’s how we understand the world. The Greek and Egyptian Gods existed to help us understand the weather. Zeus is lightning, thunderstorms were his incurred wrath. Apollo is the sun and his daily task of bringing light to the world on his chariot is the sun rising and setting. If fiction didn’t affect reality, then the Sesame Street writers wouldn’t have been concerned about the potential message Mr. Snuffleupagus would send to kids and kids cartoons wouldn’t be utilized to introduce children to heavier topics or help kids feel represented and just kids media in general stands as an example of fiction again affecting and being important to reality because it quite literally shapes children’s perception of reality as they are developing and

it’s 6am im fucking tired im over caffeinated my ribs have been fuckjng sore all day goodnight you get the idea . Or I fucking hope you do. Because Every day I open this app and see the stupidest shit ever and I am fucking tired of it

[snonkerdoodlefizzy221b]

im 4 some reason only sat w/ boys 💀. itz suppos to be a punishment since their hormones aren't fully going woof woof, but not in my case, its just oo punishment 4 you!! oh you fln, sit ober there with no. 1 trouble maker and terf homophobe racist.

also said terf might be into me, i might be looking too deep into it but our hands keep on accidently brushing against each other. he calls me bro tho??? i have to call him homie, to pretend to not be disgusted by him. oh, said troublemaking asshat was pretending to eat pussy and cockadoodledo with hand gestures in the strictest teacher's class, licking noises eihdkshdiaoao that too. and moaning. so much moaning. anyways, uhm, how is college i think for you?

im so sorry you're sat next to a bunch of wusses and very sorry that that was your experience in class.

yes, i'm rather afraid that people like this terf you describe do exist. i think you're about in middle school by us standards (grade 6, right? just beginning, then.) and from my experience middle school boys are the absolute worst. (my experience is with younger gen z's, and i can only assume that younger gen alphas are worse).

the boys at my old school were the absolute fucking worst. they would imply strongly that they believe the most homophobic shit ever in the world and then literally grope each other's asses. it was fucking weird. there was this super annoying dude who im going to call ootie cootie--this particular specimen was annoying as all fuck, had no filter, didn't know when to shut the fuck up, and was of Indian descent. ootie cootie, like all the other boys, loved groping other boys' asses/thighs. a few months later when we all branched off to different schools, my friend texted him and found out that he was homophobic. today we asked him how he could be homophobic and gay at the same time. so that's how my day went.

[randombrainworm]

Mina and Lucy strike again! It’s so funny to hear this 19 years old child talk about being a “sober, old married woman” soon… My child, you barely know the world! You’re living in a romance novel, more than half of it written by your presumptions and youthful confidence in being able to decipher the contents of other people’s hearts!

Okay, seriously tho, this was so far my least favourite entry, mainly because it shows how poorly some lines have aged; the entire affair about most women being not fair enough, or how women are essentially trying to use marriage like a shield against some of the life’s difficulties, not to mention the racist comment… They leave a bitter taste in the reader's mind. And while I have studied history for long enough to develop an understanding on differences based on the period the story takes place in, to not measure every bit of information by the prism of XXI century’s standards, it doesn’t mean I don’t get to wrinkle my nose at them.

(We contain multitudes, I can appreciate the more technical side of an interesting entry and how it fits a certain genre while murmuring “I don’t like it” under my breath.)

Not so long ago, we’ve met three “roommates” of Dracula, now we have Lucy considering (although briefly and making it an obvious pipe dream) marrying three men. An interesting choice given how her story will progress (no spoilers on this blog though!). It’s interesting to see our three gentlemen through the eyes of a young girl and to be able to form opinions by seeing their actions instead of hearing their internal monologue. This also grants them a veil of mystery (for now) and (in the long run) helps us remember that our narrators are unreliable.

But let’s not forget the most important thing! Good to know that Bram Stoker already knew about the rule that every story needs to have exactly one Texan in it, without much explanation as to where the hell did he come from! (This is a reference for my fellow His dark Materials’ enjoyers.)

[scotianostra]

On August 25th 1776 David Hume, the Scottish philosopher, historian, economist and author, died.

As a writer Hume’s style was praised in his lifetime and has often been praised since. It exemplifies the classical standards of his day. It lacks individuality and colour, for he was always proudly on guard against his emotions. The touch is light, except on slight subjects, where it is rather heavy.

As a historian between his death and 1894, there were at least 50 editions of his History; and an abridgment, The Student’s Hume (1859; often reprinted), remained in common use for 50 years. Although now outdated, Hume’s History must be regarded as an event of cultural importance. In its own day, moreover, it was an innovation, soaring high above its very few predecessors. It was fuller and set a higher standard of impartiality.

As an Economist in his book the Political Discourses, which were incorporated in Essays and Treatises as Part II of Essays, Moral and Political. How far he influenced Adam Smith remains uncertain: they had broadly similar principles, and both had the excellent habit of illustrating and supporting these from history. He did not formulate a complete system of economic theory, as did Smith in his Wealth of Nations, the two were friends and must have talked at length about the subject, so although not really known as an economist you have to wonder how much Smith was influenced in there talks.

It wasn’t until the years after his death that Hume was seen as a philosopher he conceived of philosophy as the inductive science of human nature, and he concluded that humans are creatures more of sensitive and practical sentiment than of reason. Based on his understanding of the mind as “filling in the gaps” in our perceptions in order to make sense of our experiences, Hume explains that the mind itself is a concept rather than a necessarily existing substance. He writes, “What we call a mind, is nothing but a heap or collection of different perceptions, united together by certain relations, and suppos’d, tho’ falsely, to be endow’d with a perfect simplicity and identity.”

Whatever field he was involved in he excelled and is widely regarded as the most important philosopher ever to write in English. I might not understand all his philosophizing, I do however admire that a Scot has influenced some of what are perceived as the most brilliant minds on the subject to follow him.

Also I would much rather give his toe a a rub rather than the statue of a certain dog, Hume wouldn’t have liked this as he seen superstition as a way that led to belief in religion, he was a bit of an atheist oor David.

As with many from past generations Hume has been scrutinised over the last few years due to his disgusting racist views. The University of Edinburgh removed the name of David Hume from one of its campus buildings, citing concerns that the 18th century philosopher’s views on race cause “distress” to modern day students. However, the move has been criticised by several academics, including some employed by the university. They pointed out that Hume’s wider writings offered profound insights into human nature and served as a source of inspiration to generations of thinkers.

The University of Edinburgh premises at 40 George Square, which was opeened in 1963, was once called the David Hume Tower, In September 2020, in response to the Black Lives Matter movement, the university announced that they would be renaming the tower to 40 George Square. The university stated that Hume's "comments on matters of race, though not uncommon at the time, rightly cause distress today. A lot of people still refer to itinit former name, in fact just recently someone commented on my photot of Edinburgh taken from Craigmillar Castle, which showed the tower promenintly in front of the castle, as DHT, which it was often referred to as.

[ravenkinnie]

Unpopular opinion: Cassandra Cain's canonical origin and much of her early character development are so horrifyingly racist, even by the dubious standards of the Bat-books, as to make the bulk of her appearances unreadable, and I can't see any way to fix it without an extremely radical reboot that somehow manages to discard the awful Orientalist hokum without landing the character in Limbo due to intractable continuity errors. I know a lot of her white fans are primarily interested in Cass and Stephanie Brown kissing, but for once, the character's problems are much more severe and fundamental than her not being gay enough.

(I actually wouldn't mind Cassandra being Lady Shiva's daughter — TBH, horrendously toxic mother issues are a refreshing change of pace for Bat-adjacent comics! — if they would ALSO fix the awful Orientalist hokum surrounding Shiva, starting by giving her a real name conceived by someone who has encountered actual IRL Chinese people who are not characters in cheesy '70s martial arts movies.)

strongly agree | agree | neutral | disagree | strongly disagree

honestly I feel like that's something i might not have a complete opinion on as a white person dhdjjs I do think and have seen people say before that her origin does feel steeped in some racist tropes and I think honestly that's probably part of why she gained the ability to speak so early in her solo (how they handled that at times is a different conversation). I think because it's so ingrained in her character that changing it is basically changing her whole origin, the key thing is how her disability is written - which currently it's just not like cass is just a cardboard cutout without any distinguishing characteristics or any meat to her story. those tropes are just there without anything that would make her an actual person like other characters get to be which is pretty much what a lot of lady shiva writing is too so it really is so fitting that they would be related

I actually like cass being shivas daughter if only because the level of toxcity and violence and emotional abnormality in this relationship is off the charts and I need that energy for more mother daughter relationships. it has literally never been written well tho </3 the last time they did they literally had to switch shivas whole personality to make her more normal like no I wanted blood and guts too

honestly cass' solo and her entire writing is just a long string of opportunities to give face to these characters that were never taken, great seeds of ideas and bad lazy execution. first part of her solo is my favorite of this sort of storyline centered around guilt and/or suicidality because the resolution is so in character and so absolutely feral - that shiva kills her and that helps her reconcile with these feelings because she paid life for a life. what an insane way to go about it and how much more interesting than the cookie cutter bullshit little monologues these characters would have probably given each other in modern comics. it was such an opportunity to continue this story too because shiva both did that for her and taught her everything she knew after she lost her abilities but instead they just dropped her until the last part of the solo to force you to read the worst thing you've ever read

(also about stephcass, my unpopular opinion is that stephcass sucks and I hc cass as bi <3)

(what dc and fandom is doing to talia is a whole separate convo dhshsjjw it can't be written better like shiva or cass because they literally took a character and butchered it into its opposite but then damians whole backstory in a way relies on this massacre its so bad)

Send me unpopular opinions

[hyperdemona]

Lesbians don't have higher testosterone than straight women. And black women don't have higher testosterone than white women. But TRAs are extremely racist and lesbophobic and their bigotry is spread everywhere and deemed "politically correct"

hell world

Ye I've never thought lesbians had different hormones to straight women myself. I wasn't sure if sex hormone levels could vary between white/black/brown people tho, like how white people tend to have lactose intolerance while Indians are far less prone to having it, or how u have higher risk of certain eye conditions if u are African/Asian than if u were white etc. Although those things could also be a result of varying access to nutrition, living standards etc.

Everyone just assumes Caster is lesbian tho, despite being intersex and male? Intersex people's issues shouldn't be conflated with or overrepresented in women's issues like this, it will harm both groups. They need to be kept separate.

[pilotheather]

another insane depression kms spiral. to the low stakes live blog we must....

ep 5 - time heist

ok so picking up here again

i dontthinkt his is a fair assessment per se cuz i was really out of it when i left off and im never good at picking stuff back up but

again i loooveee the premise. i love the set-up. its SUPERRR GOOD. and i do love the characters and literally EVERYTHING here its just brooo.....

it needs more time. this should have been a two parter. way too rushed. i think these extras could have been rlly memorable if they had that time to develop. otherwise theyre just sorta standard aliens with A Trait. anyways

still fun. bit silly.

i feel weird cuz like i feel like a lot of these eps so far ive kinda not connected to them and im wondering if thats just cuz inever aaw thme live and on rewatches im always either out of it, or slightly burnt out by the time i get to them (i hate s7 it exhausts me)

ajnways end of ep again would have loved this. wish it was a 2 parter tho cuz it could have genuinely elevated itself to suchhhh highs

ep 6 - the caretaker

ok so this ep basic premise its obvs more abt the dannster & a general character piece.

but speaking of oh my god. can we get someone else in the writing room. maybe its intentional? i feel like it's... just weirder if it is. but the doctor repeatedly calling him that just always feels insanely fucking racist. help

its even worse than with mickey. sorry i did post that reddit post before right. dw just hates black men i think. its a bit mental.

anyway i like danny. i think im liking him more on the second rewatch. like ok he's a little bootboy. but i think i forgot a lot of his like Actual Personality cuz im not as well versed in this era. and can i say. hes actually a delight to me. hes lame as shit. i love it when a boyfriend is lame as shit. so good. but hes also kinda dope as fuck

like he did a flip. is no one talking about how he did a flip

anyway i like this ep its fun and ive always liked this direction with clara.

ep 7- kill the moon

ngl i laughed when i saw this coming up

i like the role courtney plays, but i dont like a lot of the execution. i think teens/kids are a really hard thing to have in tv/movies for a load of different reasons. and tbh here its not just the actresses fault - shes doing fine with the stuff given, really - but i feel like the dialogue can have a tendency to be um... lacking. and they end up being dumb as fuck but also sometimes a deus ex machina weirdo. its like just write a person bro.

also why i didnt like the kid in Boom! most recently. like can we get a few more quarters in her? she's gonna repeat the same sentiment again for us all. i can see the arguments for why she was like that- but whatever not for this post

anbyways

this fuckng episode man im laughing stupid as fucking shit concept help me and i love the stupid as shit concepts

UI FORGOT ABOUT THE TUMBLR THING

WHY WAS THERE A CANONICAL TUMBLRMENTION. WHAT YEAR WAS THIS SEASON AGAIN. WHAT ARE YOU FUCKING TALKING ABOUT. IDK. SHES REAL THOUGH.

the moons an egg. give your head a fucking wobble, christ alive. help me god. help me please. its so funny. its like it could wokrk. theres bits of this episode i like. i like the concept of getting the entirety of mankind to vote on their phones for moon abortion. sorry its funny. but the moons an egg. help me. its getting heavier. YOU LIAR.

the whole lights thing too. like would this not only work on that side of the world. who is turning on and off the lights in the cities. whos doing this. help me

its so funny cuz the end of this is also very good its like theres a core to this that i really do fucking love i love claras blow up here and the way this is like the crescendo to everything thats been building up but help me you could have just . spent 10 minutes making it make sense. LOVE AND LIGHT

ep 8 - mummy on the orient express

yesss i like this episdoe (he says barely remembering this episdoe)

danny is so real. its crazy to me people call him whiny. he is literally the most reasonable man in existence. hes chill as fuck all things considered.

again my point abt ppl saying him and mickey are the worst. was mickey initially a great boyfriend, nah, he sucked and it was a lame relationship between two struggling not even 20 somethings. sorry. then rose went missing for a year and he AS HE SAYS was like prime suspect #1 and saw some insane shit that rocked his gourd. he was a pretty reasonable guy for someone that got eaten by a rubbish bin is what im trying to say.

hell yeah. we have the expert on the scary mummy omens thank you for giving us the exposition dump on the mummy

perkins is so pookie bear

whatever the fuck is going on with 12 and clara is insanity. its pure insanity.

the scary mummy awakens

you are NOT a mystery shopper >:(

help me god he says. i have ptsd. and the mummy is coming for me.

this is completely aside. clara looks utterly delicious in her fucking outfit. i think im going to

i actually did forget the resolution to this episode and it hits just right i shant lie.

OKAY end of ep. i fucking loved the middle i remember i loved it but i think the set up was a little slow going. my kind of fucking vibe all over.

can we keep perkins

perkins pleaAAASEEEE PERKINSSS COME ON. PERKINS WE LIKE YOUUUUUUUU PERKINSSSSSSS

[coralsgrimes]

Sometimes when I’m bored, I like to explore the different tags in this glorious blog and that’s how I discovered that Benny and the Ho’s infamous summer pap walk happened August 16th, which is fast approaching. I wonder if we’ll get a repeat this year or if they’ll keep a low profile because of Benny’s upcoming gigs. One thing I did notice is that last year, no one knows what the Ho did for her bday. She was in nyc because she was doing her broadway shows and we know Benny the supportive puppy went to her final show in August, but maybe he was in nyc wayyyyy sooner than when he was spotted, the sneaky bitch. This year though, the Ho treated herself to a luxury vacation in Austria, frolicking in the mountains and scaring the poor sheep with her atrocious fashion choices, before spending some time in the French Riviera. Obvi, Benny was absent because he’s broke and he has new music coming out, but I noticed that he did pay hommage to his fairy by liking her « hbd to me! » posts, but only those posts!

Anyway, where was I going with this? Oh yeah, his bday! Do you think we’ll see something from both or either of our twin flames or will Benny’s empty coin purse land him at the house of pie with his 20yo pose? Can’t believe the Ho would subject herself to cheap pie and beers, but apparently she’s now chummy with his friends so who knows! 🥧🍻

He had something coming after last year's shenanigans too right? But yeeeeee I don't think it was as important as his 300 people capacity venue world tour through 3 cities :c

Like last year resulted in Benny Boy racist trending and unusual interest from outside the toxic barrel of his fangirlies and obvi russian birdbrain fangirls creating and spreading false stories cuz it's in their blood BUT THEY ONLY WANTED TO PROVE THAT YE CAN DO IT!!! so the pap pics were obvi fake too! The great imperial culture x.x

Anyways boy worked very hard to make it go away, meaning his usual - pretend it never happen, wait for the internet Benny baby boy protection squad to do the majority of the work, name drop Jessie and pose with a baby at a fan convention. Very effective and I mean like 90% effective cuz well he was forgiven!

So kinda smells like he ain't gonna dip the same river but he be proving me wrong like that in other instances sooo... I HOPE THERE WILL BE SHOES DROPPING HOT PIPPING TEA BEANS SPILLING cuz ye know it's getting boring even for his flour flavour standard :c

Do we think LA tho? Or she's back to NY pretending to be a reincarnation of Babe Paley? Maybe a lil early/late birthday trip to tswift concert since Benny loves her too?

Annnd me thinks that Ella or Elsa whatever is in her 30s not 20s??? If it's her ye meant there

And what ye mean boy is broke? He's a successful musician about to start touring babe tickets sold out he basically sleeps on monies now

[adamnablelittledevil]

I see him being sophisticated and manipulative, sort of putting a spell on them, enchanting them with his soft words, a lot of possessive little touches with hands on the shoulder, breaking the personal space, predatory body language etc. Not exactly charisma per se, but more of a subtle kind of manipulation and abuse instead of being all over your face, like screaming and physically attacking someone (even though Marius gets to that point multiple times).

Something kiiiiind of like Fred from The Handmaid's Tale, but not quite because the situation is different and June doesn't have any kind of Stockholm Syndrome with him, but something that isn't gruesome like Magnus, but still creepy as hell. And making Marius so far gone and messed-up that he doesn't even realize how grooming and predatory he really is.

The the only reason I believe Armand and Lestat see him as charismatic and miss all of the red flags is because they had terrible traumatic experiences, so when they see a mostly "gentle" abuser instead of someone only and always uses brutally, they fell for it. Not to mention they're way younger and naive, by both vampire and human standards (and both were turn really young). And Armand was still a human teenager when Marius bought him.

The only other thing I believe Marius should have is that sort of magician/alchemist/classical Vampire Dracula-like vibe, with the cape and everything. Kind of like Santiago during the play on 2x02. He should have sort of a magical and mysterious energy too, but even if he isn't as disgusting and aggressive as Magnus, he should still be evidently creepy in a quieter way.

And I really don't know who could pull that off. I hope it's an older actor that isn't blonde, with blue eyes and pale because I know the discourse will be terrible even if the show makes him irredeemable, I don't need it to on top of that be extremely racist too (it probably will tho). I could see Pedro Pascal giving that sort of mystery magician vibe, but as talented as he is and as much as I love him, I can't see him being as predatory as Marius should be. So, yeah, I have no idea.

Okay so, i don’t like marius, he’s a piece of shit and he’s also kind of boring. But i hope they cast the most charismatic, likable, beautiful actor to play him. Because that’s what everyone sees. Lestat is obsessed with him, armand is obsessed with him. The show hasn’t softened any of the terrible things he’s done but it’s not going to do the story any favours if they cast someone who is easy to hate.

Who are your marius fancasts?

[mariailoveyou-guerin]

I’m seeing people talking bad about carli who btw never did anything wrong to Mia but in fact did nothing gay was best for Mia but loving and wanting Mia with Alison who literally outed her on socials threw her that party she didnt want with people she didn’t know and Alison didn’t care because she really threw the party for herself in way to show off her being good hot gf or whatever but is the fandom seeing that nope because it wouldn’t be typical fandom if they didn’t hate on the bipoc character and condem them for doing the tiniest of mistakes but love and be so utterly understanding for the most basic yt girl/yt character really as long as they find them hot/pretty and definitely if they are wlw/sapphic or even mlm as long it’s just yt character really that’s very basic looking is least interesting character in the show has horrible personality and everything they love them as long as they find hot and if they are queer coded in any way and even if they aren’t queer coded or hot it’s just as long they are yt characters really because it’s always the same yt character good

they’ll be so understanding defend their every move excuses their every character flaw mistake and be the most compassionate forgiving empathetic people ever they can sympathize or just get full on aminisia about their many shitty nasty comments and behaviors but a bipoc oh yeah never them so they have to be held on different standard then yt characters and they’ll never understand forgive them or empathize or sympathize with them maybe bc they aren’t bipoc so they can’t connect or sympathize or understand people that don’t look like them but for whatever reasons it’s always the same in fandoms and I’m so sick and tired of it and y’all not about too ruin this amazing show bc y’all want the poor yt character to get everything again for the million time im film/tv poor my yt fav meow meow character who deserve better bla bla like she didn’t treat Mia like shit when she came back to school and literally outed her it’s exactly how they treated Eric for hurting their poor meow boy adam even tho adam had bullied Eric for 16 mf years it’s always the mf same they acted liked

Eric was the devil in disguise but Adam was the poor baby who got hurt by the evil cruel demon child and didn’t deserve that and deserved better plz I’m still sick to my stomach on how they villinazied vilified and said the most cruel ugliest nastiest a lot of it came down to racist sh*t about him remember how they were same old same old typical fandoms and how they treat bipoc characters and now they acting like cute Carli who they don’t care about murdered their grandma just because Mia wanted her from start not their yt fav character like please even the people who like cam aren’t mad about her doing that to cam but they think they have right to think about her like that or talk about her like that nope they don’t! And saying Alison deserves better then Mia while also wanting Mia with Ali (is ironic) bc their poor yt fav meow meow likes Mia and wants her! Mia never wanted Alison let’s start there and even Mia deserves better then Alison who uses her illness for insta likes!

[iteratedextras]

You might win more Internet arguments if you didn't speak for other people and tell them what they believe whenever the topic of white supremacy is brought up rather than genuinely attempting to engage with their theory. Like you see to have a real bee in your bonnet about it and appear wounded by the assertion that whiteness, i.e. prioritising and promoting white people and subtly dismissing and destroying non-white people culture, is an ideology that many (tho not all) white people subscribe to - rather than writing paragraphs, I'd ask you to reflect and consider: why is this? Why do I react in this way? Why does this upset me? After you've reflected, I would then consider engaging with some level of legitimacy and reading with empathy. Maybe you'll still be a defensive racist who strawmans arguments (sorry dude but this is exactly who you are), but part of me hopes the person reading this is capable of critical reflection.

Another genuine recommendation, since I see you've been debating about Ukraine too, I think Timothy Snyder's Ukraine lecture series is excellent, provides a very thorough historical background which helps contextualise the current war.

Attempting a bogus psychoanalysis on me is certainly an assertion of superiority on your part - but the exact same psychoanalysis can be applied to those who are emotionally wounded by white people "taking up space," to use their own lingo.

How can we resolve this stalemate?

It's fairly simple. (I'm going to bold some things because I know some Tumblr users have problems reading.)

If you want to convince me, you must approach me as a peer, and that means providing evidence that I can verify from the outside that your theories work.

I want you to step back and do some critical self-reflection.

Your whole psychoanalysis is based on the logic of "whiteness" theory, including the idea of "defensive racists," which is a motive that whiteness theorists believe is a "real" thing driving hostility to their practices.

I think there's a much better explanation.

It's actually quite normal to be offended over being materially harmed for no good reason. This is normal for people of any race.

The material result of the larger cluster that is "whiteness" theory, "white privilege" theory, and similar left-wing race-first approaches is attempting to deny people health treatment specifically and explicitly on the basis of their race, by grouping people into "whites" and "BIPOC" ('everyone else').

This does not even rise to the epistemic standards of conventional racists, who typically group people into at least five "races."

When you support these ideologies, you are demanding to do "race conscious" policy, and there is absolutely no reason that I shouldn't hold you to the strict epistemic standards used against biological race realists, because your potential failures could be just as bad as theirs, much as Communist death counts are not so different from Fascist death counts.

The reason people don't like you, and the reason I don't like you, is because...

You want to do open, explicit racial discrimination. (This is what "race conscious" policy means.)

...with no pre-agreed limit where you'll agree, "Okay, we tried, discriminating against you isn't working to improve things for underrepresented minorities. We'll stop discriminating against you now."

...without doing the hard work to show that this will actually close the race gaps, so that the "corrective" racial discrimination will end in the future.

That's why I don't like you. That's why other people don't like you.

When we criticize the lack of evidence to justify "corrective" racial discrimination by social race realists, it's criticized as "white" epistemics, which is of course, like the idea of "Jewish science," cult material.

That is of course, a very threatening stance to take, even if it isn't that deadly yet. Obviously if you see such an authoritarian ideology where it both 1) doesn't have any proof it can get results, and 2) doesn't have a means to give up if it doesn't get results, then the smart thing to do is to shut it down early.

[hematomes]

Send help I somehow ended up on Genshin tiktok and they're calling Paimon racist for "being mean" to Sumeru characters and having trouble with Aranara terminology.

She's obliviously rude to literally everyone and is portrayed to be a child, so she's gonna have issue with Aranara terminology (tbf it's hard to grip at first).

These ppl will reach for ANYTHING to scream racism jfc

oh no you're gonna hate me cries

i. don't think that paimon's racist ofc that's stupid the character in itself isn't racist at all. but it's not a secret that the company in itself is at least colorist (which makes "sense" in a disgusting way bc they aim for the beauty standard in china which is pale skin etc etc). and paimon would be an easy way to push their ideas bc she's comic relief and a child so no one rly questions what she says. but it's nothing concrete, as i said it could simply be comic relief (which doesn't make it better imo bc she still doubles down on micro-agressions)

anyway it kinda ticked me to see so many ppl talking abt it so i decided to research a bit and they're not exactly wrong on some parts. she refuses cultural food even tho girlie happily eats slimes, she made fun of the potion event girl's name (i won't mention the aranara bc it's a peculiar case & it's visibly meant to be "hard" bc that's how they communicate) and overall she's been kinda rude since 3.0. im not saying she wasn't initially, but she was.. less obvious and agressive? that's how i feel abt it anyway

then again the characters' attitude towards her is also very different from other nations. dehya, cyno and al-haitham keep telling her to shut up for some reason, so ig it kinda evens it out

ANYWAY MY POINT IS. paimon's rude and ignorant bc she's basically a kid, but it still feels like micro-agressions so i personally understand why they're pissed abt it. HOWEVER i still think calling her racist is weird and shows how a lot of loud genshin players are misguided and prefer hating on characters (or voice actors for some reason) than on the actual, real person's who created them that way.

then again im kinda biased bc my opinion on paimon is very inconsistent, i love her relationship with the traveler but otherwise she kinda irked me during the recent quests, precisely bc she's rly rude and also im still pissed abt her buying canned knowledge with my money even tho i refused ABDKAK

tldr; overall i agree with you abt how dramatic they're being but it's still a weird attitude imo, even for paimon, and i wouldn't put it past hyv to normalize micro-agressions as a form of comedy/comic relief