#this post is just a stream of consciousness rambling about how i find the idol industry interesting and odd

[majimassqueaktoy]

Honestly the funniest thing about Haruka's idol story line in y5 (and dont any of you come at me with the You're Lessening Mirei's Evil Heinous Actions shit, I know she was the antagonist, blah blah) is the fact that as far as traineeships go Haruka's.... wasn't all that unusual- Living on your own away from your parents? Par the course. Having older figures be unduly harsh about your talent/looks? Also par the course. Insane schedules? Creepy fans? Yep. In fact Haruka is older than a lot of people are when they start traineeships nowadays... Like that aspect of the game could have been played up for even more dramatic value than it was.

[angelicwolf98]

Dark Anticipations

A/N: This is my first time posting fanfic on here so please go easy on me. I wrote this almost two years ago, so, for now, it's unedited. My writing has greatly improved since then, so I want to see what people think of the story and see if it’s worth rewriting or not.

Pairings: platonic!Mark x OC, platonic!Jack x OC

Warnings: mild violence

Pain.

That’s the first thing my brain is able to register as I slowly regain consciousness. A dull, throbbing pain that reverberates throughout my skull.

What happened? Where am I?

Then I hear the voices. Fear grips my heart at the realization that I’m not alone. Continuing to feign sleep, I do my best to listen in on the conversation, hoping it could shed some light on what the heck’s going on.

There are two voices, both male. One voice has a deep baritone, while the other is more high pitched with an accent that I can’t quite place. These voices sound so familiar, yet I can’t put my finger on where I’ve heard them before.

“How long do you think she’ll be asleep?” the accented voice asks.

“I don’t know,” the deep voice responds. “From what I can tell, she took a pretty hard hit to the head, so she may be out a while.”

“I just don’t understand why they brought her here. I mean, what do they want with a freaking kid?”

The deep voice sighed, “Your guess is as good as mine.”

A sudden wave of intense pain shoots through my head, causing me to involuntarily groan.

“I think she’s waking up,” the accent says.

“Hey, are you okay?”

A large hand is placed on my arm, startling me. I quickly sit up and crawl backward as fast as I can until a wall prevents me from moving any further.

“Whoah, hey! Easy, easy. It’s all right, we’re not gonna hurt you,” the deep voice says.

Taking a few deep breaths to calm my pounding heart, I finally focus on these two strangers. The minute I look up at them, my jaw drops. I now realize why their voices had sounded so familiar; it’s because I know exactly who these guys are. I mean, how could I not! I watch their Youtube videos every single day!

I glanced at the man to my left. He had dark brown hair that was flipped to the side, facial hair that was more stubble than anything else, and bright brown eyes that were filled with concern. He had tan skin, and his facial features suggested that he was probably part Asian. He was pretty built, but his muscles seemed relaxed, and his hands were slightly raised in a non-threatening way.

Focusing on the other man, I can tell that he’s slightly built too, even though he’s much skinnier than his friend. His dark brown hair is similar to the other guy’s, except it’s more spiked at the top. This man’s facial hair is more grown out, but not to the extent of being called an actual beard. He has pale, white skin, and cerulean blue eyes that are also filled with concern.

“Are you okay, lass?” the pale guy asks in his accent.

Lass…

His accent…

It’s Irish…

I mentally slap myself for not recognizing this sooner. Still gaping at these two men, I struggle to find my voice.

“Y-you’re, you’re Markiplier…” I stutter towards the Asian. “And you’re… Jacksepticeye…” I look at the Irish man in awe. Their concern soon turns into surprise.

“So… you do know who we are?” Jack asks. I can only nod. Of course, I know who they are! They’re two of the biggest names on Youtube! Well, on the gaming side of Youtube, anyway.

As the shock of seeing my two idols finally wore off, my mind was immediately bombarded with a million questions. What are they doing here? What am I doing here? Where exactly is “here”?

I glance around to find that we’re in some kind of filthy, dank holding cell. The only piece of furniture is an equally filthy single mattress that lays at my feet. I’m guessing that’s where I’d been laying only a few minutes before. I see a rusted bed frame in the far corner, which is probably where the mattress came from. Seeing just how aged and fragile the metal looked, I can understand why they would choose to lay on the floor instead of the bed.

“I know you probably have a lot of questions,” Mark speaks up, “and I promise we’ll answer as much as we can. Is it all right if we sit with you?” He asks this hesitantly, and I can tell he’s trying his best to show he means me no harm. I hesitantly nod, and they both sit on either side of me.

I don’t know how long we sat there talking, but what I do know is that as time passed, I began to feel more comfortable around them, more…safe. I told them that my name was Hailey Peters and I had just turned fifteen only two weeks prior. I explained that all I could remember was that I went for a walk after being cooped up inside all day due to a heavy snow closing school. I slipped on some ice, hit my head, and before everything went dark, I had seen two pairs of glowing eyes looking down at me.

Mark and Jack tensed as I said that. I looked up at them, seeing the distress in their eyes.

“You know who brought us here, don’t you?”

Mark sighed, “You wouldn’t believe us.”

“Try me.”

“You know our evil alter egos, that the fans made up and we brought them to life in our videos?” Mark asked.

I nodded. I knew all about Jack’s and Mark’s demonic alter egos, or better known as Antisepticeye and Darkiplier.

“Well, somehow, they’re real…and they’re the ones who took us…” Jack continued.

I let this new information sink in. Dark and Anti are real… and they kidnapped us… no. No no no no no. Heck no!

I stood up and faced the two Youtubers.

“Look, I may be one of those fangirls that squeals every time Dark or Anti makes an appearance in your videos, but I know fact from fiction!” I started rambling, “I mean, what is this, a fanfic! There’s no way Darkiplier and Antisepticeye are real!”

“Oh, but my dear, we are very real.”

I froze as a deep, demonic voice spoke behind me. Mark and Jack jumped up quickly, their eyes wide with fear as they stared at the figure behind me. I slowly turned around and came face to face with not one, but two demonic beings. The very beings that I didn't believe existed until now… Darkiplier and Antisepticeye.

They looked completely identical to Mark and Jack, but at the same time, were completely different. Dark was clad in his usual attire of a white dress shirt and grey suit, which matched his deathly grey skin. Anti wore black torn jeans and a black t-shirt that was stained with the blood that dripped from the slit in his throat. His pasty, white skin had a greenish hue to it, while Dark was surrounded by a blue and red aura of light.

I gasped in fear and began to back away from the demons before I felt a firm hand grip my shoulder and pull me backward. The next thing I know, Mark was standing in front of me, shielding me from Dark’s piercing red eyes. Jack moved forward a bit, trying to keep his counterpart’s malicious green eyes on him instead of me.

I was silently grateful for them attempting to keep me out of harm’s way, even though we had just met. Because I knew very well what these alter egos were capable of, and the fact that they were alive terrified me.

“Ḑ̣̔̄ò̘̐ͅ ̫͚̀̕y̖̭͆͗ỏ̠̣́û̘̞́ ̣̙̂̆b̛̫̱̆ė̢͍̈́l̳̰͂͠ì̝͖̾e̪̲͂̓v̜̲́̓e̱͚͂͒ ̟̥̀͛w̬͖͒̈́ĕ̼͙͋'̞̼̈́́r̬̻̒̔e̝̱͊͠ ͖͓̇͝ŕ̯͆͜e͚͓̅͊a͕̘͌̈́l̩̙̎͝ ̨̗̍͐n̛͔̩̆o̩̙̾̽ẉ̬̂͐,͍̈́̉ͅ ̫̳̇̊H̥̤̄͘a̩͇͛̚i̳̘̊̊l̫̜̅͝e͈͚͆̈́ý̢̗͐?” Anti asked with a psychotic smile.

My heart skipped a beat at the fact he knew my name. Jack placed his hands on my shoulders as Mark kept his stance between me and the demons, both men's eyes never leaving the glares of their egos.

“What do you want, Dark?” Mark finally asked.

Dark smirked, “I thought it would be obvious. We’re here for the girl.”

My body shook with fear, and I felt Jack’s grip tighten on my shoulders.

“Over our dead bodies,” Jack growled.

The demons chuckled. “W̲̑e͊ͅ'̱͑l̼̽l̝̕ ͓̐g̈́͜l̮̉a͎̿d̙̔l͙͝y̰͠ ̫͛t͚̋a̠͋k͙̎ẽ̱ ̖̈́ṷ͛p̲̊ ̪̎ṭ̀h͇̑ḛ̀ ̡͆o̖͗f̠͒f̛̹e̮̕r̂͜…”

“Once our plan is complete.”

Dark flicked his hand, sending Mark and Jack flying across the cell. They slammed against the wall, Jack slid to the ground while Mark crashed into the old bed frame, causing it to completely fall apart. Before I could even react, Dark and Anti grabbed my arms and dragged me away. I kicked and screamed, fighting with all my might, but it was no use. I was powerless against these two demons.

“Hailey!!”

I heard my name echo through the hallway as Mark and Jack threw themselves at the cell bars, all the while yelling threats and curses at the demons. Dark and Anti took no acknowledgment of it as the dragged me into a room and tied me to a chair. By this point, I was crying, my anxiety spiking to new heights.

“What do you want with me?!”

Anti chuckled maliciously, “Y͋͜ó̭u͕̔ ̢̈s̢͂ȇ̲e̬̾,̠͝ ̭̽ḱ̪ĩ̢t̫͊t̮̓e͍͗n̦̐,” I cringed at that nickname, “ĕ͉v̘́e̱̓n̰͠ ̣̅t͔͆h͓͂o̭̚u̝͆g̤͠h̛͕ ͈́ẅ́ͅe̠͂ ̥̌a̬̋r̨̅e̠̋ ̥̀o̤̾ư̫r̨̂ ̻̂o̺͐w̼͝n̡͊ ̺̉ḇ̈́e̥͝ǐ̠ñ͓ǵ͜ŝ͕,o͆ͅů̗ṟ̆ ̼̈́ẽ̢s̺̓s̡̚e̩̽n͇̋c̤̈́e̝̾ ̣͐ị̌s͚̃ ̙͑ŝ̟t̯̾ȋ͖l̐ͅl̰̎ ̮̄c̞̈́o͓̔ṇ̽n̦̅e̦͂ç͝t͉̃e̺̎ḍ̓ ͂ͅt̠̽o͌ͅ ͉̉t̠̾h̖͊o̯͆ş̐e̛ͅ ̧̓m͕̋o̤͛r̞̄o̭͆ṅ̢s̝͗.W͐ͅh͚̉ḯ̗c̼͂h̻̀ ̲̕m̹͒e͙͛a̺͑ň͕s̟̓ ̦͐ị̚f̥͗ ̜̆t͖̓h̭͑e̠͌y̼͝ ̻̍d̼͒ì̻ẹ̉…”

“…we die.” Dark continued. “While we can hurt them all we want, we can’t kill them without killing ourselves. So to free us of this, we need the blood of our makers, and the essence of an untainted soul.” Dark smirked at the as my mind struggled to wrap around this information. They needed my soul… They were going to take my soul…

“Ẇ͙e͑͜'̺͗v̜͐ë͓́ ̧͝n͎̑e̖͊v̝̏e̜̚ȓ͚ ͕͝s̲͠e̜̾ẻ̱ṅ̞ ͍͝s͓̅ō̼m̱̈́ė̝ō̜ṇ́e̪̾ ̦͋s̪̚o̪̓ ͖͐p̡̈́u̖̅r̯͝e͔̾,” Anti said as he scraped his fingernails across the blade of a very large knife. Dark slowly walked behind me as Anti continued to speak, “I̲͌t͎̑ ̜͘w͙̚ȃͅs̱̎ ̣̇a̺̎l̼̒l̦͝ ̐ͅs̨̑o̼̒ ̬̈p̲̈́e͕̍r͕͌f̣̄e̼̋č͚t̳̍,̬͂ ͚̋u̦̓ś̢ ̫͒f̺͐i̧̓n͚͋d̮͘i͕̎ñ͍g̬̽ ̰͠t͖̚h̡̍ḛ̆ ̳́v͍̎é̥r͍̾y̘͝ ͙̃t̯̆h̫͝ĭ̞n̡̕g̜̐ ̦͐w͙͐e̼͘ ͓͐ṉ̉ě̳e̝̓d̟͐e̝̔ď̥ ͎̊m͔̂o̫͝s̡̏ẗ̺́.”

“And now, we can finally be free.” Dark was now standing behind me. He gripped my hair painfully tight and yanked my head back, exposing my neck. Anti walked towards me, an insane glint in his green eyes as he raised the blade. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I squeezed my eyes shut, knowing that there was no escape. Just as I felt the cool metal touch my delicate skin, a loud bang filled the room.

“W̧̊h̗̿à̤t͖̄ ̧̎t̮̄h͍̎e̝̒—”

I opened my eyes just in time to see Jack smack Anti across the face with a metal pipe. He fell to the ground.

“How did you—” Before Dark could finish, Mark tackled him to the ground and stabbed him in the chest with a knife he had grabbed off the wall. Mark began untying my hands from behind me while Jack worked at the ropes around my feet.

“How’d you get out?” I asked as the astonishment wore off.

“Took a screw from the bed frame. Picked the lock,” Jack huffed breathlessly.

Suddenly, I saw movement behind him. Just as I yelled in warning, Anti lunged at Jack and pinned him to the ground. Jack used all his strength to hold Anti’s arm back, which still held the knife. Mark freed my hands and rushed to help his friend as I finished untying my feet. Once I was finally free, I looked up to see Anti lying on the ground with his very own knife protruding from his chest. Before I could say anything, Mark grabbed my hand and we all bolted out the door, ran through the maze of hallways, and finally found the exit. But we didn't stop there.

Once we were outside, we continued to run, trying to put as much distance between them and us. We kept running until we couldn't run anymore. By the time we stopped, the building we had escaped was miles away. All three of us collapsed as we caught our breath. It was only now that I realized we’re in the middle of a forest.

“Hailey, are you okay?” Jack asked breathlessly. I looked at him with tired eyes.

“I-I don’t know…” I then told the boys everything that had occurred while we were separated. When they heard about the demons’ plan, their faces fell in defeat. I knew what they were thinking. As long as Dark’s essence is attached to Mark’s, and Anti’s to Jack’s, then they weren’t really dead. They’d be back, and probably very ticked off.

Mark hoisted himself up. “Come on, we should keep moving. Who knows how long we have before…” He trailed off, but Jack and I both knew what he meant. We were all thinking it. We may have escaped, and we may be safe. But the question was, for how long?

[shinwhoohoo]

(1) (long ask, bear w me, sorry!) i had a dream shinwoo argued with jinyoung for taking up too much screentime in the a lie mv and that's why jy left :( I woke up convinced they ended on bad terms. i really hope they're all still bros.

(2) re: ‘traitor’ discourse, i was glad that anon put it into words. i guess my subconscious too 'blames’ jy (baro less so, despite him being the one who is apparently more eager to move on. bc my gut said he checked out (of the whole idol thing) long before they split. so him leaving, dropping his stage name feels like a logical conclusion, good for him tbh). while jy used to insist b1a4 were forever and jinx schminx etc (as recently as their anni?), but is now happy to be doing his own thing?(3) i immediately hate myself for saying that bc i really do love him and think link8 is adorable and trying very hard where wm failed. i know bayoung left wm, not b1a4, and they might not be pandering and we will actually get ot5 somewhere down the line. or j ground producing for ot3 (wow). I also never wanted/ expected 'b1a4 forever’ if that was not what they wanted.(4) i also realised, writing this, they likely each had their own different reasons for leaving (baro’s change in career goals vs jy’s issues with wm’s management): so i can’t blame one more than the other for not wanting to stick around. sorry for the rambling ask (more venting/ stream of consciousness than question lol, but i would appreciate your thoughts)

No need to apologize! If there’s anyone who understands ranting most, it’s probably me 😆 Plus, it’s always nice to hear other’s thoughts. I’ll try my best to succinctly go through all of your points you made here by paragraph:

I wonder what all their relationships are right now too. Probably is safe to say there is a ‘divide’ of some sorts between A3 and Bayoung, though it’s also likely safe to say this divide isn’t necessarily equal between all the members; i.e., CNU being the more introspective and sensitive person he is, probably feels more of a wall between Bayoung then say, Sandeul. Gongchan is probably somewhere in the middle, albeit closer to CNU’s feelings. The fact we’ve heard next to nothing from him isn’t particularly reassuring, either. Whether they all feel like ‘bros’ still or not, I guess remains to be seen. But I’m still partial to thinking that their bond is too deep for it to be cut off, and I believe in due time they all will be close (enough) again. Interesting dream though! Yeah, Jinyoung def got the spotlight in that MV 😅

Interesting how so many of you seem to share those same thoughts about Jinyoung and Baro (though it seems to different extents and towards either one or the other more)… idk, I still can’t quite get on that train. This isn’t to say that I agree with all of their choices, but I think because I just wasn’t surprised with them leaving (more so that I was surprised that the rest stayed with WM tbh) hearing that news didn’t cause such a sharp pain that is seeming to stick with the rest of you. Jinyoung to me was always the biggest go-getter of the group, so of course he’d jump at the opportunity to put his skills and talents to the test and create his own thing (company? studio? remains to be seen– hope we find out more soon). And Baro, like you said, definitely seemed over it. I wrote about it months ago at this point, of him being just done with idol life so again, him leaving was something that was super shocking. Also in the post I just linked, is where Jinyoung talks about them still having ‘lots to work on’ and yada yada about the 7 year jinx, and how it’s CNU who confesses he is worried about members leaving. Very interesting to look back on that now, from their DINGO drunk Rollin’ rendition, almost a year(!) ago. Idk if CNU was already getting hints of things shifting and changing, but he clearly felt it, whereas Jinyoung was hesitant to say anything but the normal, expected answer. I get it, it seems a bit shady tbh, to hear how Jinyoung was still spewing out ot5 forever answers and then is the one the winds up leaving, going on overdrive promoting, and even using B1A4′s tagline as his own (which obviously, I was a bit meh about that whole thing). But again, I think we really just need to give him a chance and hear him out. I really do hope that at his fanmeet, we will be given more answers from him.

Don’t feel to guilty about your feelings~! It’s understandable you are feeling this way. It’s important to try and stay realistically optimistic about it. Bayoung still consider themselves B1A4, and while we likely won’t get an ot5 soon, there are still plenty of other options that can happen down the line. I’m looking forward to it.

Agree with both of your thoughts of Baro vs Jinyoung leaving. Baro was likely wanting to just get out of the idol lifestyle, whereas Jinyoung still seems very much connected with the fans and the industry, instead just wanting his own creative freedoms. It isn’t something you can really blame them for one way or the other; at the end of the day, they’re both free to do as they please now that their contracts are up. My biggest question would be when did each come to this conclusion– for example, I feel that Baro has been pretty over it all for some time, and the last straw may have just been the rumors of his girlfriend and lovestagram & attitude controversies. Whereas with Jinyoung.. that’s an interesting case. I could see that being a much more recent development, which was why A3 seemed particularly shocked in their statements when the news initially broke out June 30th. I’d love to know– but we probably never will.

[wickymicky]

you know, i like that hayoung is good at everything besides talking, but i feel some compilation videos i’ve seen (and probably lots of fans too) sorta frame it in a way that seems pretty mean spirited, even if they intended to point it out as something cute and endearing. you know what i mean? like... she’s clearly not an idiot, and it’s not that she just sucks at talking or whatever... a number of the clips that i’ve seen several times are her stumbling over her words and then being like “hmm how should i phrase this..” like i think the issue is that she has a lot going on in her head and she struggles with putting her thoughts into words. her mind is probably moving too fast for that, lol. and like, that’s something i also experience, so when i watch hayoung i just really relate to everything she does. i’m not saying that im super smart or whatever, i just mean that i have a hard time trying to figure out how to express what im thinking sometimes, and i wind up just kinda stumbling and rambling and sometimes just listing relevant nouns and verbs and hoping the other person will sort of get what i’m trying to say and will put it together a little bit for me, lol. this is mostly something i do in person, but since i kinda just write whatever i want and post it on here, i do get pretty rambly on here too a lot of the time, as you can tell. 

anyway my point is that... like... see okay this is one of those things im talking about sdokcmsjdfk idk how to put into words what i mean... i feel like framing the way hayoung talks and the things she says as her just being a “malbabo” or “speech idiot/dummy” (idiot is a little too strong of a word i think lol) is sort of.... like.... whats the word.... missing the point? no not that.... uhhh... it’s like.... idk but it sometimes comes off a little bit insulting, you know? this is something the other members say to her a lot too, and i just hope they dont really think that about her :( i think that because they live together, they probably know that she’s just trying to sort her words together though. they probably understand. but i feel like it gives fans the okay to go ahead and talk that way about her sometimes too and i feel like theres a thin line there that people sometimes cross, between playfully joking about how silly this idol is, and being kinda ableist about someone who is just trying to express what theyre thinking. 

also yes i intentionally tried to leave this post as stream-of-consciousness as possible, as if i was saying it out loud more or less, to sorta prove a point. does it prove a point? maybe it doesnt lol, im not sure what point that would even prove... i wouldve edited out the part where i was trying to think of how to phrase the thing but i did not. anyway nobody’s reading this far in this post, right? i started out intending to make a post with an observation that people would find insightful and want to reblog, but i think i passed that point a while ago lmao, this is just gonna be one of those posts that’s just for me hahaha. why am i even posting this lol.. pretend i said something really insightful. maybe i’ll post it again more concisely once ive sorta figured out what i wanna say more. womp womp

[archivistsrock]

"...Bomer, who was decorative in the Magic Mike movies but dug deep as the closeted New York Times reporter in Ryan Murphy's The Normal Heart, gives a performance of real warmth and delicacy. Rather than play Freda as a force of nature or a collection of mannerisms — the typical default modes of actors playing trans women — Bomer renders her fully dimensional: an unpredictable tangle of impulses, by turns defensive and tender. Kylene Steele, a transgender woman, was personal consultant to Bomer.

[This ask is an excerpt from a THR review of Anything - read here]tl;dr – I’m glad this reviewer liked it; that’s still not the main problem; yes, of course I still think Matt is a GREAT human being even though I think that he made a mistake by accepting this role. 

[read more to…read more. Note that I’m a cis female. I always worry that I’m saying something “wrong” or speaking for/over trans people, etc. That’s not my intention at all, but people keep asking for my opinion, so here it is (like does my opinion even matter? Really? No.). Sigh. I’m super worried I’ll say something ignorant, and if I do, please correct me.Also note that I wrote this very stream-of-consciousness, so it might be a big ol’ mess. I didn’t address everything. I’m sure I ramble. Just try to bear with me (if you want).]

And Anon, I’m assuming a few things here because you just cut and pasted part of a review with no commentary of your own. Are you just  seeing if I’ve read it? (I have, but thanks) Are you just happy that the first review we’ve seen is a good one? (I’m pleased, too) Or are you posting this to me as a defense regarding Matt accepting the role, bc you know I’m critical of his decision to play a trans woman? I’m going to  assume it’s option #3, bc tbh it just reads as passive aggressive to me. If I’m wrong and it’s one of the other options, I’m sorry for assuming incorrectly. But I know that there are Matt fans out there with the mentality of, “I hope the movie gets GREAT reviews so everyone who  criticized him will eat their words!” (etc.)I’m sorry, but people who think that just are NOT grasping the main problem people have with casting Matt (cis male) as a trans woman. The main argument wasn’t that Matt would do a shitty job acting because he’s a man. Or that he would be incapable of realistically playing a trans woman without reverting to stereotypes. The main issue is that yet again having a man portray a trans woman sends a message that trans women are really men. Or that they were men “before they became women.” In reality, they are women. They have always been women. They may have “looked like a man” or lived “as a man” for part of their life (because society ugh), but THEY WERE ALWAYS WOMEN. The trouble is that much of society doesn’t grasp or understand this. They still see trans women as men who “decided” to “become” women. This then leads to a lot of violence towards trans people, especially trans women. The stats showing the amount of violence against trans people is staggering. Same goes for trans suicides, including kids. It’s horrible.So I am happy that so far the movie is getting good reviews, including Matt’s performance. Since the movie IS made and IS out there, OF COURSE I’d want it to be good and respectful. I hope it DOES have a positive impact on people who view it. I hope it DOES help bring greater empathy and understanding towards trans people. That would be great. But these goals can still be accomplished if the trans woman character was actually played by a trans woman (or even a cis woman, but this also would have some criticism – albeit less, imo). Any publicity and press done for the film would show the character (Freda) as a WOMAN. More emphasis on the fact that trans women are WOMEN. When (if?) Matt does press for this role, people are going to see a MAN. So people may question, “Why did a man need  to play that role? Are trans women really men first? So are they ACTUALLY men?”Continuing to excuse problematic casting because the movie and portrayal is good is a definite hindrance to progress. “Yes, I can see how this is an issue BUT…” “I agree that trans people should be cast in more roles  BUT…” BUT BUT BUT. WAIT WAIT WAIT. “Trust us,” say the cis people of the world to trans people. “This isn’t a problem for you. This is actually helping! Things will get better! Just keep waiting!” Can’t you see how this would get tiring really fast for trans people? Especially when they view this as actually endangering trans people’s lives? Yes, I KNOW many of you think this is an unfair stretch, but some people TRULY believe this – knowing this, can you blame them for getting so upset? Really, truly, try to think about this from a trans person’s point of view. I know it’s easy to get defensive, and you still don’t have to agree, but can’t you at least see where they’re coming from? “Everyone should be able to play any role!” – Well okay, but in reality everyone ISN’T getting the same opportunity to play any role. (also, this argument is bullshit on other levels, but I’m not going to get more into that here)With regards to Matt getting more criticism than Jeffrey Tambor, Jared Leto, Eddie Redmayne, etc…Yes, he is (altho the other actors were also critized – this is NOT a completely new issue that only sprang up with Matt and Anything). But that’s how progress works. First no one sees something as an issue (it doesn’t mean it’s NOT an issue, it’s just that most people don’t acknowledge it as one). Then people start to speak up about the issue. Then (hopefully) steps of progress are made.First there are no movies representing trans people. Then there are movies representing trans people, but the roles are played by cis actors. This is progress! We’re bringing attention to trans lives! But then people think, hmm, shouldn’t we stop implying that trans women are really men? Or that trans men are really women? We need to cast trans women in trans women roles/trans men in trans men roles. PROGRESS! And then, hey! Trans women should be able to play cis women and cis women should be able to play trans women! (same with trans and cis men) Progress! (And no…I don’t think the next progressive leap goes back to letting cis men play trans women.)I think Matt is getting more criticism bc we’re entering/at the stage of progress where it’s just becoming more unacceptable for trans women to be portrayed by men. As time goes on, this will become more and more unacceptable (imo). Matt is the latest example, so he’s getting the most criticism. Because progess. In 10 years, maybe no one who claims to be even mildly socially progressive will find it acceptable for cis men to play trans women. If this movie came up 10 years from now, maybe Matt would NEVER accept (or even be offered) the role. As a Matt fan, it sucks to see him criticized. I get it. As someone who’s an advocate for social  progress, it’s nice to see this type of casting get so much criticism. It’s hard to take off your “Matt fan” hat, but sometimes it’s important to do so. We’re all learning; we’re all growing (I can hope). This includes me. This includes Matt. This should include everyone. THAT SAID: Even though I don’t think Matt should have accepted this role, I still think he is a stellar human being. I’m SURE he went into this project with the absolute best intentions. I’m sure he did his best to prepare for this role and to portray Freda with as much authenticity as possible. I’m sure he consulted with trans women in preparation for this role. As the review linked above states, one of the producers of the film is a trans woman and she served as his personal consultant throughout filming. So that’s all great, but it still doesn’t change the fact that he’s another cis male playing a trans woman. Matt has been a great advocate (imo) for the lgbtq community. I 100% don’t think that this decision alone should define him. But I still think it’s a mistake. YOU’RE CAPABLE OF LOVING AND ADMIRING SOMEONE EVEN IF YOU THINK THEY MADE A MISTAKE. No one is perfect, even your celeb idol. And someone making one bad decision doesn’t make them a 100% trash human being. [And OF COURSE I think people telling Matt that he should die, etc.  is TERRIBLE]. I should also say that there are trans people who DON’T have a problem with Matt playing a trans woman. I’m not saying there is an absolute right and wrong on this. I’m definitely not the ultimate moral authority. This is just my personal opinion, formed by listening to various arguments and perspectives. Currently, this is where I fall. This is how I feel about it. I’m open to hearing counter-arguments, especially when they actually try to counter the specific problems I mentioned above (but please try to be polite, I beg of you).  I look forward to hearing what Matt has to say (assuming he ever says  anything about it). My opinion can certainly continue to change and evolve.