#this isnt an anti woke post

[andrew-solace]

Not sorry for starting discourse on main but some of you woke folks / leftists aren't even woke or leftist at all

[winterdusktales]

iKON FREEDOM

i never doubted their hate for yg. i know my man junhoe holds a very deep grudge I KNOW IT. my only concern was if he was stupid enough to still stay in a company he hates just to be in the group cuz some members were showing obvious signs of wanting to renew. TURNS OUT THEY ARENT NOT #THAT STUPID!

they all left and are continuing as a group and even considering starting their own agency. this is literally the best choice they could come up w as a group. THEY HAVE FUNCTIONING BRAINS U GUYS. THE ANTI YG MEMBERS WERE LOUDER!!

but i get a feeling they'll prioritize their solo activities so LETSGAUR JUNSOLO LETSGAUR ACTOR KOO JUNHOE LETSGAUR POET KOO LETSGAUR IT BOY JUNHOE LETSGAUUUUUR!!!!!

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for telling someone not to write a certain fanfiction?

I saw the recent fanfiction post someone else made, and I read the comments and it made me wonder if I was the asshole in something I did.

I (28) noticed a mutual on here (25) post a fanfiction. To preface: we used to be in one Fandom together, and while our interests have taken different paths we still followed each other, and now we are both fans of a different Fandom together. We do not typically talk anymore.

I noted they posted a fanfiction of a character aged up and it was smut. I didnt read it because I am smart enough to not read shit if i don't like it. Here is the key point however: the actress who plays the character is not 18. The character is not 18. The actress herself has requested that people do not write smut for her or her character, as she is underage and it makes her uncomfortable as people are envisioning her as it is live action, they don't just see a character.

I was unsure if the mutual knew this. I sent her a link to the actress' request and said, " Don't know if you've seen this. You shouldn't write smut for that character anymore now that you know". That was it, end of message. I went to sleep and woke up with a ton of messages. I got called an anti because its just fiction, an asshole because it isnt wrong as the character was above 18, homophobic because they are both the same gender (I am pansexual and felt that was a strawman). I blocked them because they kept sending me messages and cursing at me. I have heard that they have posted about the situation but they "won't name names" even though there was enough information for our mutual to send me a screenshot asking if it was about me. I did not respond to that message. I never made a public post (well I guess until this question).

AITA for telling this person they shouldn't write these types of fics?

What are these acronyms?

[je5hko]

MICHAEL DE SANTA HEADCANONS‼️‼️

hcs because he’s a baby girl and i love him very much

TW: angst, suicide

He absolutely loves showering and skin/hair care, this dude is fucking obsessed with it.

As i said in my other post, he CANNOT STAND the fur from animals. I believe he has an allergy, so whenever he’s around Chop, he yells at Franklin to go home with him, while sneezing very fucking loud in the middle of sentence.

He’s in denial of being depressed, even though he’s diagnosed. Also, he will not be taking any sorts of meds. Pain killers, anti-depressants, antibiotics. He hates them.

He had lots of suicide attempts while being drunk, he won’t admit it though. And most of the time he won’t even remember if he had any attempt, one time he just woke up with a gun on his lap and a broken whiskey glass.

Amanda knows that Michael had those “attempts”, and that he has suicidal tendencies. But she doesn’t do anything about it, she thinks he’s doing this to piss her off. (She pushes sway the thought that he might khs someday)

Absolutely adores physical touch from his loved ones. He might seem like he doesn’t like it at first, but inside he melts under a warm touch. Hes a pookie isnt he?

He misses being Michael Townley, he absolutely hates the way he is now. He feels old, miserable and lonely. Even though he has some “friends” he can hang out with, he never seems fully understood by them. Sure he can talk to them about his problems, but he needs them to understand what he’s feeling, give him comfort. Michael Townley didnt feel sad because of his appearance and living situation, sure there was up and downs but he rarely regretted things. He misses being him.

Loves chocolate. Will eat anything that is covered in it. Starting with bananas and strawberries, ending with a fucking tomato.

He also tried to talk to amanda about his suicidal thoughts, that he might be not good enough and he understands her why shes cheating on him. It turned into an argument about their marriage, and that it would be better if they’d have a divorce since he’s not able to treat her right. After that they slept in a separate rooms, and not talked to each other for days.

THATS ALL FOR NOW!!! I LOVE YALL

[lonniemachin]

actually crying at chuck dixon posting an obviously edited panel about jon and dick being bisexual to peddle “anti-woke” CG bullshit about “isnt it awful that we have to question whether this is real or not though?” — SPREADING homophobic outrage nonsense ON PURPOSE — and tom taylor is going “hey man this isnt real :( theyre trying to make homophobes mad with it (chuck dixon is mad because he is a homophobe). love you btw”

[jorisjurgen]

World of Twelve dashboard simulator

🎆 halfalight follow

I think if I get knocked out while solo'ing dungeons oen more time local eniripsas will just euthanise me 😭 iop save me

🫂 shards-of-glass-in-the-bar follow

we all have that homie who's not gonna make it.

🎆 halfalight follow

You run an anti-recovery alcoholism blog tho ???

🫂 shards-of-glass-in-the-bar follow

way to be classphobic dipshit.

🐙 podapoda-2-3 follow

Idk i feel like posting about losing your home bc of it isn't very successful and happy pandawa of you.

🤹 mysteryrystery follow

Anyone in this thread smoke hemp

(1,275 notes)

🌌 somethingquietplace

Like a sworn knight, I serve you. You are my beating heart, my lifeline. Neither Bonta nor Astrub would be home, if you were not by my side...

Yet, why do my hands yearn for freedom, the way a butcher yearns for a wild animal?

🌛 quartziwindy follow

Are you ok op.

🕸️ osamodas-loves-spiders follow

isnt op that one guy with 50 side blogs who got accused of being a part of the bontarian royalty and classfaking being an ecaflip.

🌌 somethingquietplace

Do you swear on your heart that you can truly believe a person with a life and a career would post on this site.

#Mind your buisiness. #not osu

(12,643 notes)

🥧 amakna-news-official follow

does anyone know if the demigod goultard is still out there marrying people//...

i n;;eed h;im.

🍄 124-lancer-lancer follow

When you die and go to externam not even being hosed down will help clean your soul. You will not reincarnate for 999 years.

🆎 alphabetcounter follow

e: 13; n: 11; o: 11; l: 7; a: 6; r: 6; i: 5; t: 5; u: 4; d: 4; 9: 3; h: 3; y: 4; s: 3; w: 4; g: 2; c: 2; x: 1; m: 1; v: 1; b: 1; p: 1; f: 1

(489 notes)

🌌 somethingquietplace

Went on a fishing trip with my family.

Here are some photos I took there, including photos of the snappers the three of us caught. Sufokia is beautiful this time of the year.

　　　　　　　　Keep reading

🌌 somethingquietplace

I'll delete this reblog a bit later for organization purposes, but I wanted to take this moment to thank you all for your comments.

Also, I did not know that there was a fishing community here, for all the decades I spent on this site. The more you know.

#It's nice to get back in the groove of things... #Such a hectic year. #I just need some peace and quiet. #And maybe then I'll feel better. #Though sometimes I do ask why I keep doing this. Just everything in general. #...A hot chocolate will fix me right up though. Always does. #Delete later

(201 notes)

�� noobdefencesquad follow

I know most ppl are like..,, 100% over talking about that one fuckin xelor that reversed time for like 20 minutes. like yeah hes evil but he saved my whole life. i spilled coffee on my passport and then WHOOM time reversed and shit. and i woke up 20 minutes earlier, threw up, and decided not to go anywhere near my documents with liquids ever again.

can i get a wahoo for grandpa genocide. like he really fucked up but he did do a solid one to at least me. i just feel like enough years had passed for me to speak my truth

🌒 ten-o-cock-and-a-half follow

It's not a laughing matter, people died. And it was a yet another case of media representing xelors as crazy and evil.

Try to put yourself in the mindset of the victims.

🔰 noobdefencesquad follow

im a xelor too and i think this is fucking hilarious soo yeah.

try reincarnating into a different class in next life! hope this helps.

🌛 quartziwindy follow

I agree with the second rb, but is nobody going to mention their url??

(1,274 notes)

👾 pixiiiii-piratika follow

I know we all have our role models for adventurers we'd like to marry or become or steal the gender of or whatever, but idk it haunts me that some of them may be on this site. Imagine someone like master Eva reading what ppl had written about her or her husband. scary.

🎁 doggrillsougi follow

I hope ush galash can feel when i post about sending him psionic shadow assassins. i hope he fucking feels pain. Every single time.

🎶 foggy-has-no-spoons follow

what did a random bontarian noble do to you. also isn't he dead.

🎁 doggrillsougi follow

OK SO. this made me realize that most people genuinely don't know about the murder dungeon allegations.

To summ it up, he lured in people to rob his house, put them in The Murder Dungeon (actually a tower, but... rule of funny. it sounds funnier that way), and Bontarian government did NOTHING about for years, and even placed a statue in his honor despite that.

wo2ww.bontanews.bn/articles/ush-galesh-allegations-of....

Now, this might sound like a conspiracy theory, but most of us in the demigod drama community know that Ecaflip demigods just... fake their deaths a lot. So there's a very big chance he's still out there. He's fucking out there.

And I want him to know, that I am sending psionic brain warriors to him. And to the king too.

THE ONLY reason this turned into a thing everyone knows is due to an anonymous leaker from within the palace. I fucking hate this kingdom.

�� theflowerofsadida follow

The city of good, btw

yet another reason i am a proud brakmarian despite not liking djaul LOL

🐙 podapoda-2-3 follow

WHAT????? HE HAD A WHAT ..

👾 pixiiiii-piratika follow

oh god what happened to my post.

🌛 quartziwindy follow

there are like, theories on who leaked it btw, considering a bunch of diplomats had access to the documents. Though I won't point any fingers towards anyone in the palace in particular. 👀

if it would keep him doing this, I could kiss that guy who did this, on the lips, I would. or like, give him a pizzlarva.

fr fr.

🌌 somethingquietplace

It's every Bontarian's civil duty to try and make the city a little bit better. I think these motivations are both unneeded and unwanted.

Though the pizzlarva bit is funny.

👾 pixiiiii-piratika follow

arent you that one guy with whos been here for like 20 years and got accused of being a part of the bontarian royalty and classfaking being an ecaflip.

did you do this tumblr user somethingquietplace. did you.

🌌 somethingquietplace

I'm running a combination OSU, photography, and fishing blog where I post poorly written poetry at 4AM.

Please stop with the "you're never beating the allegations" jokes.

#not osu

(85,024 notes)

[mx-paint]

It also. Says something. That the person that this is aimed at. Is friends with Mr "I want to prove feminism is a lie by quoting women that didn't like feminism because they didn't want to work/believed women had set duties from birth".

Never get tired of blocking fascists but claiming that trans genocide is good because it stops gay genocide isn't the serve you think it is

[ghostys-originals]

RKZ Fandom Boundaries/ Consent

Ive seen some creators make these boundary lists as of late and although I’ve accepted that I cannot control what a fandom does, I believe its at least important to vocalize my boundaries so there is no confusion in the future.

This is mainly about Roadkillerz, but can be extended to apply to whatever else I make in the future!

[CW: Brief mentions of nsfw topics, p*dophillia, and other problematic subjects common in fandom, will also briefly mention hate speech]

1. Fan Merch/art/fic/etc

- Although I would prefer if you financially supported me first, I do not mind the creating and selling of fan merch such as art prints, stickers, etc!

- With that said, I will discuss what I am personally comfortable with seeing depicted:

1a. Hate Speech

- I do not encourage the promotion of hate speech such as lgbtq+ phobia, racism, sexism, anti semitism, etc using my work/characters as the face for that. Not only does it directly go against my own values, but for RKZ specifically, goes against the intended themes of the series (nazi “punks” are posers)

- On the topic of politics, I dont mind the promotion of, love speech? I guess? I dont know how the groups affected would feel about fandomifying important issues, but if you want to use RKZ characters for political stances that dont fall under hate speech go for it. Pro-lgbtq fan works for example is fair game.

1b. NSFW

- To be super blunt: I do not mind NSFW content as a concept, majority of my characters are of age (18+) unless stated otherwise.

- I, however, will expect some very basic criteria:

One, I do not feel comfortable with ships between family members, adult/children, etc. I dont want to encourage ship discourse since anything can be considered abusive, but as long as its NEITHER of those two things I do not care.

Two, Please be a responsible ADULT (no minors are permitted to publicly post nsfw content of my work) and keep any nsfw art/fanfiction out of the main tags. I understand minors will still seek out content not meant for them, but there are also people (not just minors either) who want to be able to scroll through a tag without seeing something they dont want to. Sex is about consent, and if your work doesnt include at LEAST a warning of some kind that aint good.

Overall just have some common sense, and if you do see people doing these things please dont debate them- just block and move on. I hate it too but getting into flamewars isnt productive and you’ll just be angry and you’ll never change their minds. Bonus thing: love yourself, care for yourself

Ok I think thats the most i’ll put for that? Now for things unrelated to content

2. Staff interactions

2a. I am alright with having a casual back and forth with fans, however I highly discourage developing parasocial relationships. If you wish to be my friend, you HAVE to treat me like a person. I do not respond well to idol-worship or lovebombing. I’ve had many bad experiences with people being super weird with that. I am not saying this to be rude, but I can and will block you if you make me feel uncomfortable, spam my DMs, or do anything else that I believe oversteps my comfort. I prefer to not befriend fans anyway since that promotes power dynamics, plus the before mentioned idol-worship which just makes me feel inhuman, so do not get your hopes up

EDIT: ALSO THIS SHOULD GO WITHOUT SAYING, But do not attempt to block evade/cyberstalk either. It WILL not end well for you. (if you want to know what counts as cyberstalking, it should be at the point where you dedicate your life to finding out literally everything about a person- casually checking my socials is fine as long as it doesnt absorb your life)

Cyberstalking and block evading are a clear rejection of established boundaries and if you participate in that, then you are just scum. Theres no woke twist you can put on it to justify it. Its wrong no matter how you feel about somebody.

2b. With that said, please do not harass anybody involved with the production of Roadkillerz/Other works including VAs, friends, friend of friends, etc. Please remember that they are humans too and have the right to privacy and healthy relations like anybody else.

2c. Fetish mining/sharing nsfw content/etc: Even though I said I dont mind NSFW content, I still do not consent to receiving sexual messages from strangers that includes but are not limited to sexting/flirting, sending nsfw art/fics, irl photos in a sexual manner, requesting I draw fetish material like Sam wearing a straight jacket (TRUE STORY, BY THE WAY.), etc.

If i think of anything else I’ll add to this but for now I believe this should be enough.

[leikeliscomet]

The dozens of users telling me "you misunderstood you misunderstood you misunderstood" bringing up white woman fragility, right wing echo chambers and rich white people antics telling me I "missed the point" like i haven't been dealing with ALL this shit my whole life is wild. There are *loads* of positive responses to Dot and Bubble, including from other Black fans. But my thread for some reason was enough for half of dwtwt to lose it. Its not enough for RTD to get groundbreaking credit I "have" to pat him on the back too. That's not happening I fear.

*Every single time* I do any type of racial analysis or crit of the RTD era it's a mess. Every time. If I wrote a 20 part thread saying Dot and Bubble was amazinggg *none* of this would be happening. But I didn't. I had the audacity to critique a white writer's rep of racism. You'd rather believe I'm a Black white supremacist or fake woke white person thats actively misconstruing his work for... some reason... then that maybe.. just maybe RTD isn't the expert on writing about Black experiences and he can be critiqued.

And that's scary. Real scary.

I don't like Fifteen's begging bc it hits close to home. There's been too many times where I've been in his position (not literally crying & screaming). Appealing to Lindy after Lindy in lots of lil ways gets so exhausting. It takes a *massive* toll on you. Avoiding MLE so I'm "talking properly", upset/angry but I'm hiding it so I'm not "aggressive" or "mean", right winger said something racist but I'm going "they didn't mean it they just need educating"

Know what I gained? Nothing. For every Lindy that cares 3 more keep going.

Instead of chasing after the boat I could've been where I was actually wanted. *Even in this discourse* the fact that if I wasn't "so articulate & well spoken" u lot would've continued to ignore Black critics & kept anti Black views towards us. That doesn't feel like a win. Even then a lot of people's main takeaway was "white people aren't allowed to like Dot and Bubble" "white people can't write Black people ever" & writing defensive posts justifying liking it when that's NOT what i said.

But that's what the fandom hears no matter how I write. The juice isnt worth the squeeze.

(Reposting from twitter)

My POV as a Black fan that thinks Dot and Bubble's racism commentary is trash

Rewatched Dot and Bubble and I'm gonna break down from my POV as a Black fan why this episode didn't work for me & why it's an awful racism commentary. Long arse post incoming:

The whole "You should've noticed the cast was all white except for fifteen ha your bias is showing" doesn't work for a show that's been predominantly white for 60+ years. D&B casting has been the default for most of the show so its not abnormal enough to be a racial litmus test. An example is the Matt Smith era The only reoccurring character of colour in s5 (2+ appearances) is Liz 10. Artie n Angie in s7. 0 in s6. RTD's own era isn't fully safe either. For many eps Martha or Mickey are the *only* Black characters. Most POC are side characters or extras.

White fans should be aware of the predominantly white casting of the show but this late in the game feels cheap. Most of the show has gone through 100% white episodes including fan faves and it was never an issue back then bc it was beneficial. This is so hollow. Representing racists as cartoon caricatures SEVERLY underestimates the danger of white supremacy irl. White supremacy is system designed and constructed and rebranded over centuries. It is not accidental. People aren't racist bc they don't know they're racist because they *do* They know the system that oppresses POC, Black people especially, benefits them socially and financially and that is why they participate. Its not stupidity it's intention. That should've been the Finetime core not Lindy goofing around bc the arrows are gone or some shit.

Human Nature showed us racist young people that exercised this power bc they knew this. They may be children but they are still dangerous bc of their views. Martha knew this. The silly tech obsessed gen z angle erases this danger and that of actual gen z white supremacy

Instead of the camp goofy tone we could've gotten a serious focused episode. The slugs and millenial/gen z social media silly distracts from what could've been the main theme of colonisation instead of saving it for 10 mins of exposition at the end & scattering microaggressions. Saving Fifteen's racism scene for a goofy episode was a horrid idea. Spending 30 mins on representing racism as silliness then giving a dramatic dangerous score is the definition of tonal whiplash. Representing his oppressor as a blonde bimbo again does not take this seriously. Fifteen went to 1960s BRITAIN & got through it unscathed. Finetime is a fictional futuristic land but the racism of 1960s Britain was real. If anytime was right it could've been Devil's Chord. Distancing yourself from a panto villain is easy but addressing your history is hard.

The scene itself is incredibly performed so I'll give Ncuti his flowers but what he used this skill for could've been so much more. Having his FIRST SCENE begging to save a racist is disgusting. It isn't Black people's responsibility to show compassion to people that want us dead. Yes the Doctor helps the baddies bc they care. But they're aren't ignorant to prejudice. The liberal anti racism of who is so jarring and why I still think Thin Ice is performative. When white people are angry at injustice it's radical. When it's Black people we're aggressive.

Respectability politics is a tool of white supremacy. That if one pleads and is nice enough they can earn liberation. What would white fans think of Fifteen if he DIDN'T beg Lindy? If your allyship with Black people depends on showing kindness to racists you are NOT an ally.

Next up is Ricky. It was established ALL Finetime citizens have white supremacist views yet Ricky September stans refuse to see him in any negative light. Just like Joan Redfern white dw fans refuse to see racism if a character is likeable. If nice guy Ricky's a racist, then anyone no matter the niceness can be racist too and that's a pill white fans aren't ready to swallow. If racism is systemic and not about individual character, then what's keeping them safe? What happens when YOU are under the microscope.

THIS is why we NEED Black writers in Doctor Who. The nuances, depth and complexity of the Black experience can only be told at it's best by Black creatives and not guessed, assumed or spoken over by white fans and white writers. It's okay to put ego aside and say you don't get it.

"Im white but I loved the Doctor's reaction" "I'm white and i thought the racism commentary was great" "I'm white but i-" Yet again, we have to sit through another round of white and non Black fans of colour dictating Black representation for us. I'm so fucking tired man. AGAIN IM YELLING FROM MY HILLTOP TO WATCH SHOWS BY BLACK WRITERS. Almost EVERY single theme in Dot and Bubble and frankly most of the show has been done WAY better in other media. RTD is not the authority on Black stories. We are. Always have been and always will.

Tl;dr Dot and Bubble is an unserious and tacky racism commentary. It's core message is drowned by more RTD Who camp. Don't tell me this episode was good at representating my own experience. It wasn't. S15 having Black writers isn't a need it's a must. Goodbye.

[sarcasticlancer]

I genuinely don't understand why she thought it was a good idea to take a sacred being found in many indigenous cultures and slap it into her poorly formed world only to express that they were essentially hunted to extinction. Like not only is it disrespectful but it just shows how little she as an author cares about nuance and the meaning or history behind things. She really just goes 'that looks cool' and shoves it into her work without another thought huh.

[anotherpapercut]

as someone who eats meat and dairy not because I have to but because I want to, it is genuinely funny to me how people on here are always like "fuck corporations they're evil and they're ruining the planet" but when it comes to the meat and dairy industries and their numerous problems everyones ready to accept the boot on a silver platter if it means owning vegans akdhjssbks

[unluckyxse7en]

I'm so tired of being critical about what I consume. And by that really what I mean is I'm tired of waiting to be shamed for any given thing when like. There's always Something to find fault in for any given piece of media.

And maybe that's a sign I just really know how to gravitate to the wrong stuff? But there's always a reason, from even a single 'off color' joke that encourages some form of bigotry to the creator being horrible, to the company that produces any tv form of it being even worse.

And people are choosing to show their activism by shaming people via inbox or in replies. On Tumblr. The world's most listened to and popular site, especially known for raising awareness on shitty things in media or the world at large.

Oh wait.

Point being... I don't think people should drop their activism entirely. But seeing a one off fandom post and just Knowing someone (or someones plural) had to remind everyone there how shitty x or y is in that franchise is just. Exhausting. Tumblr is meant as a site for sharing memes and writing goofy posts, and some people need that. Some people need good silly things to feel like the rest is worth fighting for.

Like... The world is shitty and we already have posts dedicated to reminding us of that and how to be mindful of that. Let us have goofy posts too, if they're not doing any harm.

[transrightsjimin]

yes the bts water bottle merch is real fucking stupid but can we please stop sharing posts from kpop bloggers who are bts antis and keep claiming bangtan are capitalists and commercialized their own mental illness??? they just hate bts and make nonsensical posts abt it in which they involve their politics as excuse. like im sorry but please be critical before u share smth from ppl like @1eos, @privatestages, @bitchvirgo !! these r the kind of ppl who r obsessed w keeping up w horrible rumours abt bts from similar shady accounts

[reineyday]

hey! i think perhaps u should consider that billy fans arent relating to his racism, they are relating to his abusive past, and if you're willing to villify real people for relating to billy's abuse bc they themselves are abuse victims, you need to examine your own actions.

furthermore, while you are correct in saying a bad past doesnt excuse someone's present actions, this is a work of fiction where different fans are able to relate to different parts of different characters' stories. while it's perfectly valid for one person to look at billy and see his racist actions and hate him for it, it is also equally and perfectly valid for another person to see his abusive past and understand where he is coming from and want to defend him. i find that the problem lies with people who think it's okay to attack others for having a different interpretation on a work of fiction.

buckle up, this ended up being a LONG response. 😅 but it's genuine in spirit! i really am just trying to answer your post earnestly, since you invited replies.

this is a work of fiction. in my every day life, as a poc, if someone was racist to me then that would be the end of my interaction with them bc i need to protect myself first. i wouldnt be interested in forgiving them or hearing them out unless i see that theyre being honest about their mistake and working to be better (and that's a personal choice on my part; other poc might choose to drop them altogether and that's valid too.)

with billy, however, again: this is a work of fiction. im not just judging him based on a single interaction, i get to see as much of his story that the show gives us, and with billy, the duffers gave us a lot. they showed us that he's been abused since he was a child, that his mother left him alone with his abusive father. the duffers showed us that as a kid, he wanted to protect his mother--that he was a "good guy"--and then he got abandoned by her. they showed us that he would stand up against a monster that's been mind-controlling him--a gigantic monster that came out of literally nowhere for him, bc he knew nothing about the upside down--to save a girl who showed him the barest hint of compassion. the duffers literally showed us that billy was a protector in the past and that his last choice in life was to protect someone else (and apologize to his step-sister to boot).

i also know that racism is something that's learned. his father's been abusing him since he was a kid, and we even see billy get called homophobic slurs by his father. it's not a far leap to assume that his father is also racist, and that billy's own racism stems from survival--that disagreeing with his father about anything, including race, might get him beat up at home.

sure, in every day life, id stay far the fuck away from billy and any person even remotely like him--not just cuz of the racism, but his whole aggressive attitude puts me off by a mile and i wouldnt feel safe around him. max didnt. lucas didnt. that's all valid. but bc this is a work of fiction, i can also see that billy struggled a lot, i can understand that child abuse changes you on a fundamental level, i can see that he's been a protector in the past and is capable of choosing to do so again with some compassion, and i can think, "hey, i like the idea of that guy learning to be a better person, because i think he's capable of doing it and i like it when people do the work and unlearn the shitty things they had to think and do to survive."

god knows everyone who was a child in the early 2000s (in north america, at least) had to unlearn some homophobia. i myself had to be taught that using "gay" as an insult was bad, and i was mostly just a normal kid. (actually, i was a repressed queer kid l o l.) i wasnt calling people "gay" as an insult to be physically safe at home, i was just doing it to fit in. the second i understood it was bad, i trained myself out of it. i was in an environment that actively encouraged doing so, but it still took a little work to catch myself and remind myself that it's not bad to be gay, so it's not even insulting to use "gay" 'cuz it's just a descriptor. i actually had to do this with using "girl" as an insult too: it's not bad to be like a girl 'cuz girls aren't lesser, so why should it be an insult? and these are just very light examples of what i absorbed via osmosis from the media around me at the time. imagine being a child growing up with someone who physically harmed you every time you spoke up against homophobia and racism (and we do see billy getting a lot of sexist and homophobic shit from his dad, both in billy's memories and that one abuse scene). maybe if billy had some support, encouragement and actual physical safety himself, he'd be able to do it too.

we already established that billy likely learned his racism as a method of survival living with neil, and his anger is likely a coping mechanism to deal with his abusive home situation. these things led to his transgressions against lucas, max, and steve. this isnt me excusing him for those transgressions, but we as viewers are able to understand where it's coming from and why it might have happened. the thing is though: people can learn to be better. people can grow up to understand how their transgressions hurt other people, and work to be a better person. hell, look at steve harrington: remember when he called nancy a whore in season 1 and then called jonathan queer in a derogatory manner right after? but now he's a fan-favourite and robin's best friend. robin, who is a queer woman. steve was redeemed. why not billy?

attacking the people who relate to billy because they are or have been abuse survivors that coped using anger by calling them racist showcases a lack of empathy and critical thinking, in my opinion. hate billy all you want, but dont attack his fans bc you could be actively hurting some real people. im sure there are fans out there who like him because they too were once angry abuse survivors, and they might have hurt people in their own lives, made their own transgressions, have their own regrets--all in reaction to or consequences of the abuse they were suffering. telling those people that billy is irredeemable for his transgressions implies that those fans are irredeemable for their own past transgressions as well, that they cant grow and learn to be better, and they should feel guilty for liking billy because they see themselves in him. dont do that to people. dont cut off a source of hope and comfort for them, for the sake of your moral high ground. just let people like the fictional characters they like.

btw, to be crystal clear about this: billy's actions were not okay. lucas and max and steve and anyone else billy may have hurt are not obligated to forgive billy in any way, shape or form. but as an abuse survivor, i think billy himself should have been given more of a chance to grow as a person, with or without the absolution from his victims. he deserved to get love and support and to become better just for himself, and i believe this bc thats what i would want for anyone i love that's in a bad way at home. it's what i wanted for myself as a kid, when my mom would lecture me over and over about what "respect and responsibility" means to her. (and hey look, there's the reason i relate to billy hargrove!)

as a last note, to return quickly to the racism: dont forget that racism is just as much an action as it is a way of thinking. you can do racist things even without considering yourself a racist, by accident or because you didnt realize it was racist--because you didnt know better. at the end of the day, billy's character only interacted with lucas a couple times. billy was a (surprisingly) dimensional character, and there was a lot more material to judge him for, aside from his racism. this is just my opinion, but based on the rest of what we saw about billy, i personally think he was the type of character who did things that were racist to survive (and for the sake of power dynamics). i dont think he was inherently racist; he didnt seem to actively hate and aggressively scorn poc, he probably just learned some bullshit abt places in society from neil that he heavily internalized and (sub)consciously acts on.

TL; DR - in real life, you can and should make a snap judgement on a racist transgression because sometimes that's all we'll ever see of a person and we need to protect ourselves first. in fiction, however, we are afforded the ability to get a larger scope on a character's story, so we shouldnt attack other people for coming away from that character's story with different interpretations than your own. if you dont like someone else's interpretation, dont call them out--just block them and move on.

the way some billy discourse surrounding his racism goes, yall make it sound like hating billy and attacking billy fans means that youre being the better person for refusing to "excuse" racism, but to me it sounds like you might be more likely to fall into the trap of believing you cant do anything racist bc you pride yourself on not being one, so just... be careful. think critically about your actions. think about the way you think about things. accept fault if a poc brings up something to you that made them uncomfortable. oppressed groups can and often do still internalize other bad shit toward different minority groups. poc can still do racist things to other poc. just remember that. if youre defending this issue so staunchly that youre going into other people's inboxes about it, just make sure youre genuinely listening to their replies (like im assuming op is doing! hooray) instead of simply attacking without intent to listen.

A character having an abusive past does not excuse their racism, subtle racism or not and if you're relating to a character being racist because they have had a bad past maybe you need to examine your own actions.

(from a white person so if any POC disagree please let me know if you feel up to it)

[acti-veg]

has the anti veganism on like only tumblr specifically and sites like it gotten worse? i feel like its gotten better in real life and on like reddit but on like twitter and tumblr and tiktok people keep resorting to the same cheap faux woke arguments of not everyone can go vegan, crop workers and pleather, and whatabouttheindigenous. like why is it in leftist spaces specifically that people die on the hill that "well veganism isnt perfect either, which makes it worse than being an omni,somehow"

This is an interesting question, on reflection I think it has actually stayed the same, it just looks worse on comparison as other platforms become less conservative about animal issues. Tumblr has stayed staunch in its opposition of animal rights, which only looks more bizarre the more other platforms and other communities shift away from that backwards mindset.

Honestly, I see non-vegans on other platforms ridiculing tumblr ‘leftists’ on this point, and with respect to their attitude towards boycott and actually making any consumer changes whatsoever in general. New tumblr users are wise to this as well, and find the anti-vegan crowd almost as disingenuous and cringey as we do.

That strike post that has been doing the rounds about not boycotting unless strikers tell you to and how that is actually unhelpful, with tens of thousands of reposts, really revealed how little people understand about the principle of boycott and collective action on this platform. It also shows how willing people here are to agree with and spread just about anything that allows them to feel progressive without actually making any changes in their own lives.

It’s like there is this whole group of people who get their views only from tumblr and don’t actually even look anywhere else, because if they did they’d see how outdated this anti-animal stance really is. As older users drop off and newer users come on I do think that attitude will shift over time though, which is good news for us and for animals.

[ichayalovesyou]

Please stop making up problems about fictional alien cultures ❤️ they arent humans, and bonding isnt marriage. Vulcans dont even have marriage so please stop judging it like that? They can also break the bond when they get older. They make arranged bondings because it is logical to make sure your child has a mate come pon farr. Seriously this stuff is just nonsense stop trying to earn woke points by over-examining a fictional, non-human culture. Its not arranged marriage. Its not child marriage. Its not marriage at all nor is it sexual. Stop clogging up the star trek tag trying to bitch about how you dont understand it. Problematic… theres no debate on Vulcan and Vulcans have never once complained about it in canon or otherwise because no one cares because it doesnt matter to them lol

In reference to this post.

I thought about deleting the post, because I will admit it is, very reactionary. I got a little more heated than I should have. I could’ve been a little more articulate. For that I apologize. But I haven’t changed my mind.

I really wasn’t gonna share this, anon. I disagree with you on a good chunk of what you’ve said, I still think it’s worth talking about. And I do think your anger with that particular post is justified.

I’m going to break down why I feel the way about Vulcan childhood bonding the way I do in a more responsible and coherent way, and explain why I disagree about why these topics shouldn’t be discussed.

I will never, ever stop talking about fictional races and cultures and how they affect and reflect upon the real world. Vulcans, among many other alien cultures, are amalgamations and abstractions of our own cultures. The Na’vi from Avatar help us examine colonialism, the extra terrestrials from Arrival help us examine how we perceive time and language. Vulcans, when it comes to this topic, are an examination of traditions and how some do more harm than good (like the homophobia Amok Time is allegorical for). Fiction has to be analyzed, it’s meant to be examined, learning from what we read is an important literary (and life) skill.

Star Trek especially! It’s purpose is turning genuine philosophical questions into drama and discussion topics for everyday people. Morality plays in space, it’s why the cast is so diverse for the sixties, it’s why there are racism and Cold War allegories all throughout it’s the Original Series. One of the reasons I love Star Trek, and Vulcans, is because they are flawed and can be examined from many angles. I’m not angry to be “woke”, I’m angry for the reasons Amok Time is meant to make you angry.

You’re right, bonding isn’t marriage. It’s more intense than that. They are mentally bonded in ways humans cannot be, and they are arranged in such a way that they will be married, and Vulcans DO get married. Sarek and Amanda are married, Tuvok and T’Pel are married, both Sarek and Tuvok refer to their partners as their wives. The betrothal is not just for clout, they will eventually have sex, it’s a guaranteed Pon Farr security blanket. Yes they can break it when they get older technically, but the only known socially acceptable way to get out of it is death via Kalifee, one way or the other. The entire point of Amok Time, is that all of that tradition is incredibly cruel and wrong. It causes Spock to “kill” his best friend, and T’Pring to condemn a stranger to death.

Nevermind questions of consent when it comes to children and when Vulcans mature as my short opinion on that is pretty aggravatedly stated in that post. At the very least it’s unfair to Spock, who cannot physically/mentally mature as a Vulcan or a Human. So if T’Pring can fully consent to betrothal, it’s certainly up in the air whether Spock can.

One of the reasons I love Vulcans so much is despite their beautiful philosphy that I really believe more Humans should strive for. They are at the same time as they are serene and logical, they are rigid and extremist in their beliefs and traditions that they’re illogical as well. The only thing logical about Spock and T’Pring’s arrangement is the assumption that if he had Pon Farr, and no Vulcan would want him (because, hey, Vulcans are insanely xenophobic, illogically) at least he’d have T’Pring in that emergency, assuming she’d be willing to capitulate to that once she was an adult. Big surprise, she didn’t, because 24 years had passed and they were both completely different people by that time, and it almost killed James Kirk.

I want to clarify that I’m not attacking arranged marriages as a cultural practice in real life. I understand it can be an extremely important cultural cornerstone and there are many examples of happy couples in marriages arranged by their parents, I’m not knocking that. I’m criticizing the way Vulcans specifically practice arranged marriage. Both because of their philosophy, and that the only respectable way out being murder. Which I can’t condone under most circumstances anyway.

There is very little logic in betrothal, other than reputation, which is a huge deal to Vulcans even though they preach meritocracy. And the aforementioned failsafe for Pon Farr, but there are cases (like Starfleet officers) where that justification is shaky. Whether the betrothed old enough to understand and accept their responsibilities not withstanding. It assumes the children involved’s sexual/gender orientations and that they both have the self-awareness to know what that will be, and that the parents know and have accepted it as well. That they will be the same people/love each other (or at least be willing to have sex with each other, which is not a given) by the time Pon Farr rolls around in the coming decades and all subsequent cycles.

All of that would be easily fixed and rearranged and such provided that the parents are reasonable. If the parents are unreasonable the two could alienate themselves from their families by refusing to get married to each other. Except there’s one problem, in Vulcan culture, as far as we know, the only way to get out of an arranged marriage like Spock and T’Pring’s is Kalifee, which results in the death of at least one of the betrothed, or the death of champion the other has chosen. In Spock and T’Pring’s situation, T’Pring willingly condemned a stranger to death, and Spock murdered his best friend. There is no utilitarian purpose to a crime of passion, Vulcans, in this circumstance, forego the simple, bloodless option instead letting people kill each other in the dirt over sex at the simplest and love at the most optimistic. There is nothing logical about that.

The point of Amok Time, the betrothal, the Kalifee, all of it, is that it does actually hurt Vulcans to practice this tradition. That it is flawed, that it is restrictive, Spock is at his most heavily queer-coded in this episode, he is not in love with this woman, and he kills the man he loves most to escape. T’Pring has blood on her hands too, all so that she could be free to make her own choices because she did not want Spock, bodily or romantically, and she’s completely Vulcan. We’re supposed to object to those practices, the same way we now advocate for same sex marriage and the eradication of child brides. They’re very old practices, but they are hurtful. Humans have them, Vulcans have them. Humans object to that cruelty for moral and logical reasons, why shouldn’t Vulcans be able to as well?