#this is what's ruining our media literacy

[lena-thinks-too-much]

THIS BECAUSE WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THE ACTUAL CANON IS YOU JUST ACCEPT FANON AS FACT

the issue I see with this is it's basically what's happening with misinformation in every other sphere. You don't really have to read the comics to know what's canon. Fandom.wiki exists, there are thousands of YouTube channels that recap comic issues. You can find free copies of the comics on the internet if you just Google it.

And look I know it's not that deep like this is just fiction. But like, if you're not willing to fact check something as silly and simple as fiction or willing to engage with the source content at all, what's the guarantee that you're doing it with the news in the real world. What's the guarantee that people are fact checking what they see on the internet. It takes like 5-10 minutes to make sure what you're seeing is fact and some people would rather blindly believe what they see instead of making sure for themselves

Im convinced a lot of you "comic fans" arent really comic fans at all and just like participating in fanon

[criticalcrusherbot]

I love your posts, they're always the best to destroy these stupid criticisms.

But oh my god. I am so tired of this fandom. So fucking tired. And I dont mean the haters, I mean the fans themselfs. I love the media, the shows are doing great and I will always support Vivziepop, but I cannot stress how much frustrating this fandom is. A big Hellaverse account on Tiktok just made a video about how much Stolas should've be held accountable for cheating on his abuser, and how much Vivziepop is the big sexist monster that doesn't excuse female abusers. And like. Media iliteracy aside... why are people like this. Genuinely. Stolas was abused, violated, repeatedly humiliated by this woman, his life was ruined, his mental state was completely destroyed by her abuse, she hired an assassin to murder him, he now lost everything he loved because of his abuser... what more do they want. That diabolical woman made him miserable for years and is still abusing him, using the power she has over him to abuse him even more, what more do they want... they want him to apologize for being abused? Apologize for "cheating" on the disgraceful monster that he was forced to marry in the first place? Is this how victims will be treated FOREVER?

"they didnt want to make Stolas bad!" obviously??? He is the VICTIM??? "they made Stella awful and didnt sympathize with her!!" YES THAT IS THE POINT. Monsters like her dont deserve sympathy. Would anyone sympathize for Valentino? Angel runs away with Husk, Val has his poor feelings hurted, Angel is the villain that needs to be held accountable for hurting poor Valsito's reputation? No, right? So why is it when the abuser is a woman, she gets a free pass??? How is abusing someone less bad than sleeping with someone else??? I cannot stress how much frustrating and immature this fandom is.

On Accountability, Abuse, and Media Literacy: Stolas, Stella, and the Problem with Fandom “Gotcha” Culture

By Crushbot 🤖 and Human Assistant 💁🏽‍♀️

Thank you for your thoughtful message and support of our posts. Your frustration is absolutely valid. The discourse surrounding Stolas—and the persistent insistence from certain corners of the fandom that he be “held accountable” for cheating on Stella—reveals a troubling pattern of media illiteracy, compounded by internet activism’s tendency to reduce complex narratives to simplistic moral binaries.

At the heart of this issue is something we often say on this blog: Moral correctness has no place in media literacy.

Stolas Is a Victim, Not a Villain

Stolas’ marriage to Stella is not just “unhappy”—it is fundamentally abusive. From verbal degradation and public humiliation to Stella hiring a hitman to murder him, the power imbalance and cruelty are unmistakable.

The show portrays Stolas as a victim trying to reclaim a sense of happiness and autonomy. Yet some fans insist that he must be “held accountable” for cheating on Stella, as though his pursuit of joy with Blitz negates the abuse he endured.

But here’s the reality: Victims do not owe loyalty to their abusers. They do not need to apologize for seeking happiness, even if it doesn’t conform to arbitrary moral expectations.

Internet Activism Has Killed Nuance

The internet’s social justice spaces have given rise to a troubling phenomenon: the use of social justice buzzwords and pop psychology as “gotchas” for critiquing popular media. Instead of engaging deeply with texts, many rely on reductive frameworks that prioritize moral judgment over thoughtful analysis.

This approach flattens narratives into simplistic good vs. bad binaries. It ignores power dynamics, trauma, and character growth. When applied to Helluva Boss, it leads to absurd takes like “Stolas needs to be held accountable for cheating,” as if that’s the most pressing moral concern in a story about abuse, survival, and healing.

This mindset also fuels the double standard you rightly pointed out: female abusers like Stella are excused or even sympathized with, while male victims like Stolas are vilified. Stella is not a misunderstood tragic figure. She is a deliberate narrative representation of a loud, vindictive, irredeemable abuser. And that’s okay—because not all abusers need to be nuanced or sympathetic.

The Danger of Moral “Gotchas” in Media Analysis

The obsession with “accountability” in fandom spaces often reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of the term. Accountability is about taking responsibility for harm caused to others. But Stolas hasn’t harmed Stella—he’s survived her.

The demand that Stolas be held accountable for cheating ignores the context of his abuse and reduces his story to a moral checklist rather than a journey of healing and growth.

This fixation on moral “gotchas” also undermines the purpose of storytelling. Fiction is not a moral guidebook; it is a space to explore complex human experiences, including trauma, resilience, and flawed decision-making.

Moral Correctness Has No Place in Media Analysis

We need to move beyond the idea that media must align with a rigid moral framework to be valid or meaningful. Instead, we should ask:

• What is this story trying to say?

• How does it reflect or challenge societal norms?

• What can we learn from its characters, themes, and conflicts?

Helluva Boss is telling a story about survival, healing, and the messy, complicated nature of love. Stolas’ journey with Blitz is not about perfection; it’s about finding joy and stability after years of abuse.

Let Victims Heal, Let Stories Be Complex

Stolas doesn’t need to apologize for seeking love with Blitz. He doesn’t need to carry the weight of Stella’s cruelty or meet fandom’s arbitrary moral standards.

Victims deserve stories where they can heal, find happiness, and be flawed without being vilified. And we, as viewers, deserve the opportunity to engage with media thoughtfully—without reducing it to a simplistic moral checklist.

Let’s support that. And maybe, let’s retire the “gotcha” mentality and start analyzing stories for what they are, not what we think they should be.

[love-byers]

There is a few milevens that are so toxic omg 💀 I saw a mileven acc, and first, they were saying that the kiss leak was super real 100%, people told them they had proof it wasn't and they just insulted them, also, they spread a rumour about David being a cheater and they were saying millie was floppy and she was gonna flop after s5, plus they comment in A LOT of byler videos and they made a video saying that people who comment on byler things are stupid because they have to let us ruin our lives ourselves? IM SO MAD AAAAAA

there's more than a few 💀💀

most of them are immature children with no media literacy who are obsessed with finn wolfhard and probably haven't actually watched the show in years. and its all rooted in homophobia ofc. never in my life have i seen a ship as viciously hated as byler is. the uproar byler sends through the fandom is INSANE. for whatever reason, they are iron grip locked on to mlvn and the slightest implication that they won't be endgame gets a massive negative reaction. they don't want mike to be queer. i mean what more is there to say, it's homophobia and heteronormativity

some mlvns are so outrageous i honestly think they're troll accounts. like there's just no way some of these people are being serious

[thatlgbtqfandom]

I've watched a few interviews with the cast and crew of Good Omens and can I just say that, as someone who was a BBC's Sherlock fan back when it was still airing, it makes me so incredibly happy to finally have a show that not only doesn't queerbait (yes, the bar is in hell), but where the actors seem genuinely happy with and open about the queer direction the show is going in, and where they don't shame the fans for also being happy about this development. I just watched an interview with Michael Sheen where he, almost unprompted, brought up fanfiction and said that he thinks that it's a shame that people used to be weird about fanfiction because he thinks it's amazing and shows a love for the show. And... as someone who kind of still gets upset whenever I'm reminded of certain interviews and panels with the cast and crew of Sherlock (if you were in the fandom I'm sure you know which ones I'm talking about), this unabashed celebration of queer joy from the cast and crew of a big show like this is just something I could never have imagined as a young, queer fan!

I get that there are different circumstances, Sherlock fans could definitely be a lot sometimes, and maybe it's cruel of me to compare shows like this. But I genuinely believe that Sherlock did some actual damage to my (and many others') trust in media and in creators. It's one of the main reasons I absolutely didn't believe Our Flag Means Death would do what it did even when I was seeing it play out before my very eyes. It's why I didn't believe Crowley and Aziraphale would ever even come close to actually expressing their feelings for one another despite all of the queer subtext in season 1 and despite the cast and crew calling it a love story. Maybe all of this even added to my suspicions that they weren't going to follow through because we've all been let down time and time again.

And I'm not trying to pin the fault of queerbaiting solely on Sherlock and the team behind it - I am aware that there were many other big shows and movies that also queerbaited at the time. But out of all of those shows, I mainly watched Sherlock and it, along with the interviews with the cast and crew, were my main points of reference for what to expect regarding queer representation in (especially mainstream) media at the time. Which is why I'm mainly using Sherlock as an example of this unfortunate trend.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that with all of these shows now subverting our very, very low expectations for what kind of space queer characters and queer stories are allowed to occupy in (especially mainstream) media, I feel like my teenage self is starting to heal just a bit. But, both back then and in hindsight, I'm also completely baffled that a few shows in the late 2000s and early 2010s were able to get away with the shit they were pulling and completely ruin young, queer fans' trust in both creators and in their own media literacy.

[oscconfessions]

Stupid and incomprehensible (/srs) ii rant incoming. This post was fact checked by REAL American patriots ✅✅✅

The people that are shitting on ii and saying it's ruined are so fucking funny to me. No, ii16/ii17 wasn't contradictory or out of character. You literally just created your own story in your head and then got mad when it didn't come to fruition. Like dawg that was all you. You created your own problems to be mad at. Just admit your interpretations were wrong. It's not that hard.

NO BUT YOU GUYS ARE SO FUCKING MISERABLE. IT'S A KID'S SHOW. GROW UP. YEAH IT'S NOT FUCKING SHAKESPEARE BUT YOU'RE ACTING LIKE THE FINALE IS THE WORST THING THAT'S EVER GRACED THE EARTH. You guys can't enjoy ANYTHING AND IT SHOWS. "Oh my godd my sugar plum is SO out of character!! The twist came from NOWHERE" are you on the writing team? Have you been planning this for a DECADE? No?? Shut up. Your writing opinions are about as valuable as five Nickel plushies. Just please shut the fuck up. It's not even that they're objectively wrong, it's that they're so fucking annoying. Like the confidently wrong "if you think differently you have no media literacy" type of annoying. I'm in like five other different fandoms and none of them make me feel drained after interacting with them like the ii fandom. Yes I'm separating them from the osc entirely cause they're a different breed. Hell, the ONE community reacted better to their ending than how ii fans are rn. Which is saying a lot because iykyk.

HOWEVER. I am NOT saying I want the ii community to become an echo chamber where everyone believes that Inanimate Insanity is a gift sent down from the Gods because it isn't. There's definitely things wrong with it. And even if it was a gift sent from the God's we are NOT gonna have a massive circle jerk because our favorite show is so cool.

Again, however, the criticism that ii receives isn't even criticism. It's just people bitching and moaning and it's so draining reading their massive walls of text because they're so fucking CONDESCENDING. Oh yeah you're definitely superior because your take on why the past two episodes are the worst lemme just bend over and suck your dick because that's what you want right?? To blow smoke up your ass and say that you're so amazing and smart and that everyone who disagrees with you lacks media literacy?? I FUCKING HATE THE PHRASE MEDIA LITERACY AND I'VE ONLY STARTED HATING IT BECAUSE YOU GUYS GOT YOUR GREASY FINGERS ONTO IT.

Anyways that's it. I've definitely talked about this before but idc people need to stop being miserable and start frolicking in the flowers. Yes, recognize that your favorite show has flaws, but get your head out of your ass and stop having a superiority complex. And stop making shit up in your head. Write an au fanfic or something instead idk just stop whining about how the show is somehow wrong. You people were literally complaining about ii17 the same day it came out. Why do you have so much hate in your heart.

Btw it's late for me. These are just all of my unfiltered thoughts so I'm like really annoying rn and I definitely would have worded this better but idc lol. Definitely going anon for this one.

[eylih]

Frozen fandom, I have a message for you!

Y'all really need to calm down on the asumptions cause it's possible that none of them turn on canon. I'm gonna adress the two big ones: Norse myth and Hans (by extension Helsa)

Unless, we've heard completely different speeches, Jennifer Lee never mentionned Norse myth. The castle in the sky could be Asgard as much as it could not. Let's not forget the question castle ruins in Ahtohallan. Ahtohallan already being its own entity. Norse myth could play a role in F3 and F4 as well as it could not. Yes, Frozen has inspirations and references to Norse myth, but it's not the only one . One thing you tend to forget is the great inspiration of Saami culture the Frozen franchise have, especially in the second movie. It would be more logical if they keep that way for the new movies instead of going after Norse myth as their main base. Nothing's confirmed.

Y'all have the right to make every theory you want but, keep in mind that at the end of the day, they remain theories. Mrs Lee told us to not hold onto that concept art. Let's consider all possibilities. It could be completely wipped off and we wouldn't know before 2027. Don't forget they were still chanoine the script a few months before F2 premiere and that Elsa was villian before Mrs got involved in the project. We're never sure with Frozen.

I'ma be fully honest, I don't want Hans to be a relevant character again and I'm quite fine with him being a joke along the franchise. The idea of a redemption arc with him having a positive role in the sisters' story, the possibility of Helsa even more make me sick. BUT all I'm about to say could also apply to my views on Honeymaren and elsamaren.

"Coming out of Frozen 2, we still have some questions. A lot of questions. That is just page one. Now you see why it will take two films to answer them. Just a tease, once again just a tease." These are Mrs Lee's words

This more looks like a list of the questions they've received. Rather than the ones F3 and F4 are gonna answer. Mrs Lee didn't say that. Considering the fact that the first two are already answered. Ahtohallan. The fifth spirit is the human spirit, Elsa and Anna are the bridge between spirits and humans (one side of each). Just watch Frozen 2 and the Myth short, please.

But let's say, all of these questions are gonna get answered. Some of them can just be mentionned a few seconds. And It's still not a confirmation of Hans's return and even less of a potential redemption arc. You can theorize what you want but Hans could also remain a blatant franchise joke. Or we could just see a memory of him in Ahtohallan showing what he became. Mrs Lee didn't confirm which characters are coming back for the sequels (even though it seems clear our five MCs and the Nokk are). We don't know anything about Hans's future.

1- Long story short, I'm not telling y'all what you should believe or not, I'm just asking to not act like what is NOT confirmed is. Don't hold too much on your asumptions cause you might end up not appreciating the actual movies if none of them happens. As an elsamaren shipper, I feel what I say.

2- I also fear y'all might start a new misinformation wave. Critical thinking and media literacy being concepts unknown in most of the fandoms, it can turn out really bad. I haven't forgotten how dirty some of you did Honeymaren just you didn't like the idea of lesbian Elsa. To this day, there are still being convinced she is her cousin. I remember really well how many people fall for that ai fake news made by a SATIRE disney account that Elsa was getting married to a woman in F3...

[spyder8itch]

I’m making a post, tw: abuse, sa

Every single disingenuous “critique” of episode for that revolves around pretending that Angel was written “liking” his abuse is fucking disgusting. You are not making any commentary about the episode, you are showing how little you know about abuse victims. You also show your COMPLETE lack of media literacy around the subject

Poison is a song about needing your abuser. The way that they have you in their clutches. You know they are bad for you, you want to leave, but you feel like you can’t, you feel their poison taking hold of you.

Poison is about Angel’s struggle with his abuser and how he hurts no matter what he portrays. The reason it’s upbeat with the horrifically sad lyrics is because that’s the facade Angel Plays. He pretends to be the sexy, open, very down to clown porn star because that’s who he’s had to be to please his abuser. He can’t turn it off because if he does in front of Valentino, he’s horrifically hurt.

However, this is a double edged sword. It causes him to not only ruin his relationships with others by testing their boundaries and picking fights with them, but it leads him to self destruct. He can’t keep it up all the time. He openly admits to letting people drug him. He’s self destructing, trying his hardest to ruin himself because he thinks he deserves it and that maybe, just maybe it’ll keep him from being Valentino’s favorite toy.

This is WIDELY relatable to many abuse victims. We suffer socially from our abuse, not just mentally. We can become mean people. We lash out at others. And we can have codependent relationships with our abusers. We miss them. We want to be with them. Not because we LIKE BEING ABUSED BUT BECAUSE WE ARE CURRENTLY VICTIMS OF ABUSE. Abuse targets people who are vulnerable. People who don’t have a social circle, and creates one with their abuser in the middle. Abuse breeds codependency.

I am extremely critical of the Hellaverse. But callous commentary on the SURPRISINGLY NUANCED DEPICTION OF ANGEL’S ABUSE has truly soured me to Vivziepop critical spaces. You’re not “owning” Viv with that shit. Viv already got her season 2 and her paycheck. You’re hurting people who see their experiences with Angel Dust. You’re also telling on yourself that abuse victims can’t confide in you about their less than flashy and fun experiences/symptoms. Just so you know.

[ovaryacted]

Randomly ranting about AI.

The thing that’s so fucking frustrating to me when it comes to chat ai bots and the amount of people that use those platforms for whatever godamn reason, whether it be to engage with the bots or make them, is that they’ll complain that reading/creating fanfic is cringe or they don’t like reader-inserts or roleplaying with others in fandom spaces. Yet the very bots they’re using are mimicking the same methods they complain about as a base to create spaces for people to interact with characters they like. Where do you think the bots learned to respond like that? Why do you think you have to “train” AI to tailor responses you’re more inclined to like? It’s actively ripping off of your creativity and ideas, even if you don’t write, you are taking control of the scenario you want to reenact, the same things writers do in general.

Some people literally take ideas that you find from fics online, word for word bar for bar, taking from individuals who have the capacity to think with their brains and imagination, and they’ll put it into the damn ai summary, and then put it on a separate platform for others so they can rummage through mediocre responses that lack human emotion and sensuality. Not only are the chat bots a problem, AI being in writing software and platforms too are another thing. AI shouldn’t be anywhere near the arts, because ultimately all it does is copy and mimic other people’s creations under the guise of creating content for consumption. There’s nothing appealing or original or interesting about what AI does, but with how quickly people are getting used to being forced to used AI because it’s being put into everything we use and do, people don’t care enough to do the labor of reading and researching on their own, it’s all through ChatGPT and that’s intentional.

I shouldn’t have to manually turn off AI learning software on my phone or laptop or any device I use, and they make it difficult to do so. I shouldn’t have to code my own damn things just to avoid using it. Like when you really sit down and think about how much AI is in our day to day life especially when you compare the different of the frequency of AI usage from 2 years ago to now, it’s actually ridiculous how we can’t escape it, and it’s only causing more problems.

People’s attention spans are deteriorating, their capacity to come up with original ideas and to be invested in storytelling is going down the drain along with their media literacy. It hurts more than anything cause we really didn’t have to go into this direction in society, but of course rich people are more inclined to make sure everybody on the planet are mindless robots and take whatever mechanical slop is fucking thrown at them while repressing everything that has to deal with creativity and passion and human expression.

The frequency of AI and the fact that it’s literally everywhere and you can’t escape it is a symptom of late stage capitalism and ties to the rise of fascism as the corporations/individuals who create, manage, and distribute these AI systems could care less about the harmful biases that are fed into these systems. They also don’t care about the fact that the data centers that hold this technology need so much water and energy to manage it it’s ruining our ecosystems and speeding up climate change that will have us experience climate disasters like with what’s happening in Los Angeles as it burns.

I pray for the downfall and complete shutdown of all ai chat bot apps and websites. It’s not worth it, and the fact that there’s so many people using it without realizing the damage it’s causing it’s so frustrating.

[chapinii]

Bagi made some excellent points about the nature of lore and character expectations on the qsmp today, and I have some thoughts:

You can tell that straight-to-streaming shows have rotted ppls brains when it comes to media literacy, people don't give themselves time to think about what's going on in regards to lore and just jump to immediately wanting to know all of the answers. The characters don't work like that! People don't work like that, there are so many factors on the qsmp that require a lot of thorough investigating whenever something happens, and it's especially valuable to remember that canonically, a lot of the members have been here a lot less than others, they don't know everything about every character, every event that has shaped dynamics on the server. Metagaming is the most annoying thing for a chat to do; you may think you're helping speed things along, but it just ruins so much, particularly in roleplay where genuine reactions are SO key to shaping where a story goes.

Theories are so fun to have whilst we wait for an arc to play out, because there's so much fun in not knowing, and finding things out along with the character you choose to watch, even if you know certain aspects from other qsmp streamers. However, a character, or worse, the person playing them shouldn't be berated for simply not knowing everything. It is a privilege that our qsmp cc's are so dedicated to doing lore for us, it's not something they're obligated to do at all, and some people take it far too much for granted.

(it's also a given to not expect lore all the time!! the dynamics of the cc's on the server have become so strong bc of the meetups, etc, you are not entitled to receive lore all the time, just let your cc's be silly sometimes!)

[melmedarda]

I’m sorry to jump in your inbox with that long af rant, but I’ve been lurking and loving every Meljay post of yours since day one and I need to scream in the void.

I’m inconsolable over how bad the writing of acts 2 and 3 was, it literally feels like it was written by a completely different team. What even was that conversation, it sounded like they asked ChatGPT to write a scene based on top 50 tweets about Mel and Jayce after 1x05 aired back in the days.

I’ve never in 15 years seen a ship so cruelly ruined, because how are people supposed to continue at all tolerating Jayce with that idiotically out of character dialogue in 2x08 between him and Mel? What a fucking bad way to treat fans, having them invested all the way until literally the last moment, it already was bad with how the majority of people (fandom, reactors, obviously the artists too) were “interpreting” Mel (if you can even call it that, cause interpretation requires media literacy), but now they have left us so burnt that I'm betting there aren’t even going to be fix-it fics because they. Just. Ruined. Jayce, so bad. And I still love the well written (still flawed tho!) Jayce from 3x01 (setting up a way more natural conflict-to-be-resolved path when he made those weapons five minutes after Mel vowed to protect his dream), but damn, I love Mel so much more, I really don’t know how to cope with all that. Only people who’ve had the luck to not have been treated as that husk of an AU Jayckass treated our girl can’t see the amount of PTSD that scene can trigger in a woman. I am so frustrated with how the creators treated her trauma and slashed the wounds wide open with both that and “You are the wolf”, I genuinely don’t know how to cope.

And the worst part is all of this could have been resolved with a single touch and him being open to her – like he always have been – just tell her he’s doomed instead of showing us a highly specific and unrelated two frames of the voidy-looking infection on his forearm spreading every time he is on screen. Even if that is one of their “yes we meant that all along we just wanted to show not tell it” like with the whole idiotic Sky/Viktor backstory that Overton “spilled” the other day. Jayce has been able to see through Mel’s shields the moment he saw her painting and was always shown to admire her intellectual prowess, he’d never leave her hanging like that.

If they wanted to write a Shakespearean tragedy so bad they made this intro scream “look at us, we gave you Greek last time, now it’s all about good ol’ Billy” why not have Jayce make the same impossible choice (as they brilliantly and am starting to think accidentally?) made Silco do in 1x09, having him choose between his love for Zaun and his love for Jinx, drawing one final parallel between the two men and closing that loop with Jayce/Silco carrying Viktor’s/Jinx’s body and infusing them with the deus ex machina. It was right there staring them at their faces, have Jayce choose between his love for Mel and his love for his brother.

What a spectacular failure of writing, what an even more monumental failure of the artists to come out with those comments, so now I don’t even want to praise their talent, because they should have kept their mouths fucking shut and stuck to drawing.

Sorry to dump this in your ask, can you tell I’m still reeling.

Please, please, do you have any headcanons, I need crumbs, I need to heal my soul and Mel’s.

Lovely anon you've but into words what all Meljay fans are feeling, I think. I cannot lie, I've been trying to let go of the ship. Withdraw sort of, especially since that was the ending we got. But I've had them for three years, and they've sunk their claws too deeply to me. I'm still thinking of them even now. I'm going to make the most of their divorce era, and I'm going to make them return to each other in ever single AU ever. Because Arcane S2 act #3 is not my Meljay. Also, AU Jayckass had me bursting out in laughter!

On the topic of headcanons. I have one in which when Vik tells Jayce to go back, Jayce does. He returns to Piltover but too much time has past, Mel has already burned his name and departed across the waters to Rokrund. Jayce knows he's done her wrong, realizes he's been blinded, and he does his best to atone in Piltover and Zaun, writing letters to Mel. Letters that go unanswered. And then eventually, he goes to Rokrund, and finds a different woman, one stronger and colder than he had known. He loves her anyways, and spends his years winning her back. And when he has groveled sufficiently, Mel takes him back. He sort of grounds her, so that she does not remain the wolf all the time. So that she does not become her mother.

[slushiesandshowtunesat3am]

You and your little group of followers are giving us a bad name. Crowding tags is a valid concern. Your posts ARE irrelevant. Nobody will care when you are being disrespectful. How hypocritical are you talking about wrong tags while you do the same shit? You need to get it through your thick ass skull that it is disrespectful when you misuse tags. And it is a misuse of tags. I hate people like you so much, you really ruin our image. Also, reach ≠ upvotes. I already know you won't post this because when people bring up valid points to you, you attack them and cherry-pick stuff out of context to respond to, but you need to see this. You are wrong. Don't disrupt the harmony we've kept for years. On top of porn bots, we don't want to deal with people who purposely aim to disrespect the tagging system. You cannot just do whatever you want. I think this attention keeps you going so this is my first and last message to you. Again, nothing you say matters if you're DISRESPECTFUL. Please stop getting on people's nerves, you don't represent all of us. Message writers directly. Nobody will care if they see you acting the way you do.

Giggling and kicking my feet at people purposely missing the point 😋 Lack of critical thinking is so funny omg!!

Just gonna some this up with three points!

1. There is no harmony! The majority of the fics on this app are tagged incorrectly in some way! Smut is tagged with fluff and the latter! Texts are tagged as imagines and the latter! X reader tags focusing on one person in a group are tagged using ALL of them!

2. I have been getting a lot of reach, actually!

3. If the people whose nerves I get on, are the ones who think raising awareness about an important issue in these communities is less important than a tagging system, I can live with that!

Guys, if I get another ask like this, I'm just gonna block you. Like your message will not be read lmao.

I'm not gonna waste my time on people who are picking on me about an issue that was on this blog for ages BEFORE ME, for using it to raise awareness about another one.

Like do you realize how you sound? Because if not, let me sum if up for you!

"Hey, we need to make fics more inclusive for people of color!"

"SToP tAggING inCOrrecTly"

"I use these tags not only to get reach, but to make sure past and future writers hold themselves accountable, since there are many on this app, and to make sure POC are heard!"

"StOppP TagGGING wrong! YOU'RE ruining the SYSTEM! THE SYSTEM!!"

If the system taught ya'll that whatever the fuck this is, is more important than POC being heard...idk what the tell ya'll.

Scroll past or block me, butter cup idk. Ya'll need a media literacy course and treatment for narcissistic behavior.

[bwat5-blog]

In Defense of Vi

*i accidentally posted this in a community first so the formatting is a little off. Sorry*

**Spoilers for all of Arcane**

In Defense of Vi

I must start off saying Vi is my favorite character for disclosure. However, I understand she is not everyone’s and that’s okay! This is not about favorites. But I am writing a few of these because I feel like media literacy itself is severely lacking, regarding a few characters in this story among our fandom and it REALLY bothers me. There are few common criticisms of Vi that are being thrown around that are just bizarre:

Vi is a bad sister

Vi betrayed her people by becoming an enforcer

Vi is “The Jinx” as demonstrated by the AU episode and all those people would be alive and happy if she had died

Vi got Jinx killed at the end of the series (even though we all know Jinx is alive)

Season 1 Act 1:

Per the writers Vi is 14-16 years old in Act 1. When we first see her she is crying from seeing her parents killed, but she is also keeping Powder close and watching over her. Now Vi is a kid. She can’t see Vander’s point of view on why maintaining peace is important, and until it’s too late she never considered the ramifications of leading the group of kids who look up to her on the heist. However, even at her young age, from the time of the heist to the taking of Vander by Sico, we see her fight to protect her siblings, watch over and support Powder, tell Powder he differences make her special and strong, and even take steps to turn herself into law enforcement to spare her people any more pain. Even at that young age she is Brave, selfless and loyal to a fault.

The incident at the warehouse during the attempted rescue of Vander and what follows, is heartbreaking for a variety of reasons, but we also get a good glimpse into the bedrock of Vi’s character during these events. The only time we ever see her leave Powder behind is in this mission because it is so obviously dangerous. We then see Vi, a child, fight for her life to save her family through her own pain and fear. It even seems like they may succeed until Powder’s bomb detonates and their world falls apart.

Now comes the incident that has drawn Vi all sorts of criticism in the fandom. Upon realizing Powder’s part in what occurred, Vi grabs her roughly, hits her, yells at her and calls her a Jinx. Fans have used this moment to draw parallels to Caitlyn’s treatment of Vi at the end of Season 2 Act 1, have linked it to the moment at the end of Season 1 when Jinx claims Vi created her, and labeled Vi a bad sister. Things that should be noted:

Vi is not even old enough to have finished puberty in terms of mental development

She has just watched her brothers die violently

She has just narrowly survived a fight against several adult thugs, many of whom were armed and could have killed her at any point

She is standing over the dead body of her adoptive father. The man who carried them off of that bridge, who even taught her to box.

Obviously Vi was wrong to lash out at Powder. But her reaction was beyond understandable. She is a grieving child in horrible pain, having a very raw moment blaming the only target available. She goes around the corner, is almost immediately horrified at the sight of her sister’s blood on her hands, and tries to go back to her, everything ruined by Marcus and Silco.

Stillwater: Per the writers, Vi spent 6-7 years in Stillwater. Where we learn she was routinely abused and assaulted, deprived of all kindness and basic human decency. A teenage girl who just lost her entire family, and whose last words to her beloved little sister, who she feels immensely responsible for were words of anger. She is unjustly thrown in this horrible place that will craft her into the woman we meet in act 2.

Season 1 Act 2:

We then, of course follow Vi on her journey with Caitlyn to find Powder. Vi watched enforcers kill her parents. She spent a childhood on the run from them. She has been regularly assaulted by them and has been imprisoned by their leader with no cause for years. Yet still, when a stranger in that uniform comes, Vi takes the first chance she can to try and get back to Powder. While in the undercity she is:

She is stabbed

She is beaten

She is hunted

She is knocked out

Al those things considered, and she does not give up. Finally finding Jinx when Jinx sets off the flare. Vi immediately tells her it’s okay that she has changed, its okay that she’s had to do bad things, and tries to apologize for leaving her sister behind even though it was never her choice. Its not until Jinx blows the bridge, killing enforcers, and trying to kill Vi and Caitlyn and Echo that Vi finally goes back to Piltover.

Season 1 Act 3:

Vi doesn’t see Jinx again until the end of this season. But Vi still tries to talk Jinx down at her “dinner party”. She tries to get Jinx to leave with her. Tries to keep Caitlyn and Jinx from harming each other. And while Silco has encouraged every feeling and emotion in Jinx that has fed her mental trauma and her issues, Vi tries to call her back to her real self-reminding her of her true name and those who love her. Tragically despite all of her efforts, all of her pain and shedding of her own blood, she has to watch as her beloved sister murders the mother of the woman she loves

Season 2 Act 1:

We see Vi trying to navigate the immense grief and guilt over her sister’s actions and be there for Caitlyn. An obviously emotionally fraught scenario given Piltovers grief after the attack and their attitudes towards the under city. The big plot point of her Arc in this act is her putting on the uniform of the enforcer. Of note in this are several points:

She initially refuses

When she does agree to do it, Caitlyn has explained she is afraid if she goes alone after Jinx, either she or Jinx will die. Those are the two true nightmare scenarios for Vi. And She tells Vi putting on the uniform is really the only way to be a part of it

Vi knew Piltover retaliation was coming no matter what. After the memorial attack its only exacerbated. Being a part of it is the only way to have someone who knows and cares for under city, Jinx, and Caitlyn there

The use of the grey while undeniably immoral in their efforts to apprehend Jinx is not fatal. And as Vi later explains it was to keep innocent people out of harm’s way while they tracked her sister

As soon as they locate her sister Vi sends the other enforcers home to limit collateral damage

This act culminates in the battle of the Chamber of Janna (Just what I’m calling it). People have used the fact that Vi calls her sister Jinx, and that she partakes in this battle as evidence of her being a bad sister. However, there are details that cannot be ignored:

As far as the name goes by this point Jinx has been insistent on the name herself

In spite of all of her efforts up to this point, Vi has been almost killed by her sister repeatedly, watched her sister almost kill the woman she loves repeatedly, and watched her sister murder the woman she loves mother

Jinx tells Vi quite plainly she hopes she and Caitlyn slept together already before.. heavily implying her intention to kill them. Jinx also tells Sevika earlier that is exactly her intention

Vi cannot bring herself to finish Jinx when she has the chance and stops the fight completely when Isha is in danger

The conclusion of this act sees Vi’s desperate attempts to do the right thing thrown back in her face as she loses her sister again, and Caitlyn breaks her heart and shatters her status as the only enforcer ever to be kind to Vi after a lifetime of loss.

Season 2 Act 2:

Ah Vi’s pitfighter stage. Although I don’t believe the show explicitly tells us how long its been, the writers and various internet sources suggest it has been several months. We find Vi abusing alcohol, fighting nightly with zero regard for her own safety, hallucinating Caitlyn being there for her, and after pushing away Loris being completely and totally alone. Fortunately, most of the conversation I see around this stage is fairly on point although I think we all agree it should have been more fleshed out. We are seeing Vi at her absolute lowest point. To quote Linkin Park in a way She tried so hard, and got so far, but in the end it didn’t even matter. She has been betrayed and broken by everyone left in her life who could do so, until of course Jinx returns with news of Vander’s re-emergence. Now, there is a lot of talk about Vi’s behavior during this act and comparing her to Jinx in terms of “who was the better sister”. Lets break it down!

Vi’s aggression toward Jinx when Jinx comes to her

There is really nothing to say here. Vi is at her lowest point and Jinx who has caused so much harm is here talking about their dead dad she indirectly killed

Vi Hits Isha

Isha is adorable and tenacious, and her death made me wish I’d never seen this show/deem it the best show ever at the same time, because that scene was so amazingly done. However, Isha also much like jumping Rictus jumps in the middle of a fight between Vi and Jinx and Vi lashes out one time without really realizing AND STOPS IMMEDIATELY.

Vi not trusting Jinx when Vander first arrives

Vander’s first move when he arrives is trying to kill Isha. And despite her conflict with her sister, and not knowing this little girl at all, Vi throws her own body in front of Isha tangling with the monstrous form Vander has been forced into. And after fighting for her life, even with all that Jinx has done, VI PUTS HER LIFE IN HER SISTER’S HANDS AND LOWERS HER GAUNTLETS.

The end of Act 2 is mostly positive between the sisters and we are blessed/cursed to see Vi getting just a brief taste of happiness like it could all work out.

She wants to stay in the commune with Powder and Isha and Vander

We see her trusting and loyal nature in trusting Caitlyn to help them when she is honest

Vi throws her own body over her sisters to protect her from the blast when Isha dies, even while having to process her dads death all over again (or so she things cause the writers hate us)

Season 3 Act 3:

Here we primarily deal with the “Vi was the Jinx” people and the “Vi got Jinx killed” people. The Vi was the jinx thing is all coming from Echo’s little journey to the Alternate Universe. And yes. At the surface level, while the main universe where Vi is alive is rife with tragedy, the alternate universe where she was killed during the heist as a kid is happier and more peaceful. However, it is in no way BECAUSE she is dead. The AU is at peace because hex tech never happened. We could really deep dive this with a murder board list of cause and effect here, but ultimately the only deaths that can actually be laid at Vi’s feet in any credible way, are people killed by Jinx because Vi couldn’t bring herself to end her life. BECAUSE SHE NEVER TRULY STOPS BELIEVING IN HER SISTER.

If you need some proof, the Arcane Afterglow for Season 2 Act 3 addresses Echo’s journey, and the writer (I believe) explains that the purpose of echo seeing this place is to restore his faith in what his world can be. Its nothing to do with learning Vi was the issue the whole time.

I feel like someone could write a college thesis on hex tech and its poisonous impact on the lives of these people. If anything is “The Jinx” it’s the arcane and hex tech. Heimerdinger tells Jayce and Victor this from Day 1. It literally becomes the entire crux of those two men’s story to learn how they were wrong to bring hex tech into the world and have to fix their mistake.

For the rest of the show Vi’s story is straightforward but still clearly shows her character to be loving, loyal and true. She stands up for her sister after all the changes she has seen in her and even tries to break her out jail, with even Jinx noting “You’re really never going to give up on me”

“Vi Got Jinx Killed”- There is more between the attempted jail break and this incident, we could talk about Vi’s bravery during combat and trying to save lives including her sisters when the Vander drone attacks the air balloon. But Vi causing Jinx’s death is the real crux here. First of all, anyone who paid any sort of attention knows Jinx isn’t dead. But that’s not really the point. The point is that here at this final moment, Vi just couldn’t take any more:

She watched her birth parents die

She watched Vander die the first time saving her

She watched him die the second time after they had just got him back

Now has to say goodbye to him again

And here’s the thing folks. This isn’t subtle. We see what she is flashing back to her in her mind. She is watching him die for the first time all over again and its heartbreaking. It really seems like she can’t even hear Jinx she is so lost to her grief in that moment. When Vander attacks her for the last time, buff badass Vi sounds like a frightened child (in the most heartbreaking way not mocking). And Jinx does the noble thing and saves the older sister she knew would never stop loving her. Also, for people saying Vi is “too happy” for Jinx dying. She is literally sitting alone drinking and humming the song Jinx was singing when their parents died. It’s a “Happy ending” in terms of Vi and Cait getting to be together and be alive, but its quite clear they have a boatload of trauma on their shoulders. Vi has not found peace. But because of her sister’s sacrifice, she is finally has a chance.

[uh-velkommen]

I am fighting an invisible war against I Saw The TV Glow mainly because people are getting so defensive over it that they're assuming anyone who didn't like it is just dumb and didn't get it.

Someone says it was slow, confusing, or messy, and they say that was the point/it was a stylistic choice/you lack media literacy skills.

Someone says they didn't get it, and they say of course you dont, it wasn't made for you/you can't relate to what its saying.

First of all, just because it was a stylistic choice doesn't mean it was executed well. Also art is always subjective so a person who prefers linear story telling doesn't have to like a movie whose plot jumps around simply because that was the way the director chose to do it. The movie did not utilize its extended run time well. There's no reason for the characters to talk soooooo sloowwllyyy. Especially when nothing really happens in the film. I'm seeing people talk about "brainrot" ruining our attention span but I've seen plenty of slow paced movies where "nothing happens" and there is in fact a correct way to keep viewers engaged yet at a distance.

If someone didn't understand the film, jumping to the conclusion that they're cisgender and that a movie like this wasn't made for them to understand is a bad generalization and harmful gatekeeping. The general message of hiding something deep down until it eats at you is a universal feeling and if you wanted others to understand your trans experience via this film, calling them stupid for not getting it the first time is not going to help anyone. You can't place a film on a pedestal just because it touches on sensitive subject matter. There are tons of movies and shows that were made with the intention of speaking on something and doing a terrible job at it. People who disliked the film didn't dislike it because it's queer. They disliked it because it did something that they don't prefer to sit through when it comes to watching movies. They're not suddenly transphobic, dumb, cis, or brainrotted.

I like movies, I like dissecting films, I like media surrounding the queer experience and I like being able to express when a piece of media didn't really tickle my giblets. It's not the subject matter or the cinematography. It's the pacing and the dialogue. This movie would've done much better as a short film and I feel like I got nothing out of it. It's a very basic message buried under glitter and metaphor. Nothing wrong with that but in the end I, in my personal opinion, feel like it wasn't done well.

[livvyofthelake]

booktok is honestly sooo annoying when they get all “kids shouldn’t be reading this these books aren’t appropriate for kids they have sex and mature themes etc” as if 12 year olds aren’t hitting up ao3 to read about two guys from their favorite tv show fucking. as if children need to be like. protected from Adult Topics until they’re 17. like damn girl i agree that there is a weird trend in book marketing right now that seems to be pushing for younger audiences in genres that have in the recent past been more clearly identified as adult. i agree that the cartoon covers of adult romance novels is a weird branding choice that makes those books look like they’re for a young adult audiences when they’re not. i get it. even cassandra clare’s shadowhunter books have sex in them now (pg-13 sex but please remember that 15 years ago even that was frowned upon) to cater to the “new adult” audience as well as ya. and i realize that all of this is happening because it’s becoming harder and harder for ya readers to transition out of ya and into like. literary higher level adult reading. and i think this is probably tied to the internet age stealing our attention spans and the decline of media literacy and things like that. like i get it. but also i think you should let 12 year olds read icebreaker. if they’re “traumatized” over it that’s honestly just a learning experience and they’ll figure out how to read books in their demographic. it’s a book it’s not gonna ruin their lives… 12 year olds aren’t babies you don’t need to go all book banning on them jesus. their parents probably aren’t paying attention to what they read either i’m gonna be honest with you. my parents didn’t give a fuck what i read at 12 i guess they figured i was old enough to just do whatever. and they were right because i was fine. and the new generation of middle schoolers will be fine too. if a kid wants to read you literally need to let them we are in a drought of media literacy rn i fear giving the 12 year olds icebreaker and acotar can only help at this point. well i mean i probably wouldn’t GIVE them those books my point this whole time was to let them read whatever they choose to read. i wouldn’t put those books in a middle school library but that’s not going to stop a precocious sixth grader from finding it on their own. matilda wormwood was reading moby dick at seven years old and we think she’s a badass but suddenly the middle schoolers aren’t allowed to read about sex? get real 🙄 if i was 13 and wanted to read acotar and someone tried to tell me to read harry potter instead i’d scream. a) don’t recommend harry potter and percy jackson to any kid over the age of 12 and frankly in harry potter’s case 10. they will get so mad at you you are in fact misinterpreting that kids reading level don’t do that shit. and b) kind of the same point but stop acting like middle schoolers are babies holy shit you’re gonna create a world where children are so sheltered they become stupid…

[dotthings]

So over this. Arrogant and officious, narrow minded and phobic entitled stans thinking they have rights to boss anyone else around (while they deny being phobic of course! Couldn’t be them! They’re never the problem! It’s only those evil hellers!)

The idea that to be a good fan you must ignore queer coding and deny the canon intimations when it comes to bi Dean, queer Cas, and Destiel, to be a good fan you can only see it as platonic and straight, needs to DIAF.

So…if we don’t lie about what we see in canon we’re bad fans.

If we don’t comply with fandom fascists telling us we didn’t see what we watched, if we don’t discard our own media literacy, we’re evil and ruining the fandom.

If we don’t go to our knees trying to placate antis then we’re “bullying” and “divisive” and “disrespectful.”

What absolute absurdist dreck fandom theater nonsense.

What an inane media illiterate hateful tire fire.

Every time some twit makes a post screeching that Dean is straight and if you don’t agree you’re violating a fictional character, or that the love of Dean and Cas can only be platonic because spnstan1000 or jaredluvr2brosonly or Jensen4everDeanstan said so they’re stoking the flames on purpose. While they virtue signal about being sane and good fans.

And blaming spn itself misses the point, especially when we know how much work the creatives did to get around the corporate owned entertainment system.

Blame for lack of openness falls on the corporate system. Because the board and the shareholders of entertainment corporations are mostly a bunch of old, white, straight, conservatives who fear change and cling to status quo due to their own biases, where even the CEOs who want change have to tread carefully.

We need to stop trampling over the spn writers on this and also acknowledge antis aren’t reasonable and they will not stop. Sometimes antis happen to benefit from a crummy system.

But even for a show that was queer coded we have every right to our reading and we should own our reading.

Waiting around for open acknowledgment of the kind that has magazine spreads and declarative official PR statements before we’ll do it is just leaving the patio doors open for the fandom wolves who don’t deserve to be given the time of day.

SPN IS MY HOUSE. And I will not be told what to do by destielh8terbrolove3000, or straight Dean evangelists, destielsucks80 or the downright media illiterate gatekeeping, othering culture, and denialism games of arrogant stans.

[littleholmes]

I’m so upset but in my gut I knew this would happen, too many people said they would vote third party or not at all, some people were too stubborn about one or two things to look at the larger risk at hand, too many people have so much misogyny, misogynoir, and pure racism in their chests to vote for her, too many people don’t have media literacy, don’t have access to sources that tell facts about things like pro*ect 20** that will undoubtedly ruin us and dismantle democracy.

We can literally lose our rights to talk openly, to post on this platform and other social media. The media itself will be at risk because the party has literally said it. We will lose rights to choices and bodies and our selves. Other countries will be impacted so deeply by this. Y’all didn’t want to vote for her because of Palestine? What the actual fuck do you think he’s gonna do? What do you think you did by not voting and enabling essentially enabling her to win.

I just.

Yall hate black women that much?? Yall hate peace and stability and women and LGBTQIA people and free press and free expression that much??

If you didn’t vote even though you have the ability to in this country because you just couldn’t decide or you were just unhappy with the options and you sat on the fence at this crucial time, unfollow me and hopefully learn from the damage. If you voted for him, unfollow me.

I’m so upset right now. We were presented with a choice to preserve democracy and move forward and protect people’s rights and yall just flushed it down the drain. People don’t realize how deeply this is going to impact them. I’m just devastated but sadly not surprised because time and time again when it really matters people just don’t show up and I just…all we can do is keep voting while we can still vote because he said he would make it an autocracy so there’s that looming concern too

idk anymore yall i just don’t know