#well i dont state anything outright but things are implied here.

[spiderton]

dark heroes are sort of their own case. maybe. becaude like

ALL of them have two eyes all except for covet hiss (who technically has like.. three. does she even see thru the snakeyes on her mask)

ragewolf naughtyfins and ravenous make less sense when they have like ONE (1) eye and yet have masks here with only two of them and those big eyes of theirs isnt gonna make them see anything. its more excusable though because like, masks probably fused with their bodies somehow and they cant just change class like hero can

[double-features]

BREAKFAST CLUB - PETER MAXIMOFF x READER

≽^• ˕ • ྀི≼ ------ peter maximoff x gn!reader

SUMMARY : reader is considered a bit of a basket case amongst her classmates, an enigma to most. during detention one day, the annoying kleptomaniac decides to bother reader! the two totally dont hit it off at first, but eventually learn to appreciate one another <3

WARNINGS : implied abuse ( never outright stated or described, not even really implied too heavily really ) , nothing else really!!

GENRE : fluff !

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Maryland, circa 1972. I had no reason to be in detention.

I just felt like it. Didn't want to go home, I supposed. As much as I disliked the idea of having to stay at school off the clock, the thought of going home was wayyy.. wayyy worse.

I wasn't popular in my year. People saw me as a bit of an outsider. Just some weird kid, a basket case to most around me. There was so much more to me than that stereotypical "oh they're so weird, they belong in an asylum" crap everyone spread around about me. But, I enjoyed the serenity of being alone.

Especially being a mutant.

I didn't have a mutation that altered my appearance, luckily enough, I was blessed with something not noticeable to the naked eye. Thermokinesis with a not so fun blend of pyromancy. Well, at least that's what I dubbed it. Fire, basically. I can heat myself up and create fires. Wooo!! Fun!! I'm basically just a walking campfire.

And my mutanthood is exactly why I hate people.

Well, that sounded misanthropic. I don't hate people, I'd just much rather be alone and unbothered. I'm already picked on enough being a quiet kid without the whole mutation thing, So, I decided I was just going to keep it a secret and keep on living the lonely life.

Anyways, back to the whole detention thing.

I sat in the back of the library, with my head plopped down on the desk. Honk mimimimi. I wasn't actually asleep, but I was pretending to be so the others wouldn't bother me. The 'others' being one other singular kid. I had him in a couple of my classes, always seemed like he was up to one thing or another. Had quite the reputation as a thief, always having run-ins with the police and shit..

Peter Maximoff, I believe his name was.

Wonder why he is in here now. Well, whatever it was, I didn't necessarily care enough to interrogate him on it. It's not like he was bothering m-

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.."

My peace was broken by a rapid tapping on my shoulder and the same word repeated over and over again. I didn't know he was behind me, last I saw, he was sitting at a desk while drumming his fingers against the table. I didn't hear footsteps or anything, a faint breeze hit my skin and boom. He was suddenly behind me, annoying as can be.

I squeaked out a noise and raised my head, in my peripheral I could see the boy swaying on his heels. He retracted his hands once he met my faux look of tiredness. "Hi y/n."

"Hello?" I treaded carefully, the two of us had never spoken a single day in our lives. Lazily propping my chin on my hand, I blinked up at Peter, who seemed restless. But then again, he always seemed restless. The reason? I never truly knew.

Without missing a beat, he hit me with the obvious question. "Why're you here?" The same question I am always asked whenever I popped up for detention. No matter who it was, it was always the same. Honestly, I had no reason to be here.

"Why're you here?" I retorted, unamused. I tried to make it clear that I didn't want to be bothered, that I just wanted to be alone, but I don't think poor ol' Maximoff caught onto that.

"Ah, well, pshh.. Y'know.. caught skipping class."

"You can get detention for that?"

Dot dot dot. He just stared at me as if I said the most stupid thing known to mankind. It wasn't even that dumb of a question! I didn't know that skipping was punishable by detention. I uncomfortably shifted in my seat when he didn't give me a proper response.

Until I heard his laughter. It made me flinch, just as I was about to put my head back down. "Well, duh, I'm in detention now for it, aren't I?"

In a flash, he sat down beside me. Now, I'm not exaggerating when I say he was perched in the chair in the span of a single millisecond. Holy crap. Before I could squish my face back against the table, Peter had left me in a state of shock, confusion.. security? He was just like me. Oh my god! He was like me!

"What?" His laughter died down once he caught my not so subtle staring.

"You aren't scared to.. y'know, show your curse?" I furrowed my eyebrows and took a minute to just think about it. Jesus, he probably thought I was judging him by the way I was glaring. Never did I ever think that I would meet someone like me. Especially not at someplace like a detention I don't technically need to be at.

"Curse? It's not a curse. Love my powers, dude!"

I chuckled nervously. I didn't want to make him think I was judging him, if only he knew that I was just like him. "You're not scared to like.. show it off though?"

"Nothing anyone would believe if you tried telling them.." He gave me a smug look while he raked a hand through his silver hair. Something I have always considered to be quite the fashion choice, but now that I knew he was a mutant, I was starting to question if it was dyed or if it was just a part of his.. well, mutation.

"You're a mutant." I bluntly commented on the obvious.

"No I'm not." He spoke quickly, just like how me moved quickly. Seriously, I was not getting over this anytime soon.

"Yeah you are."

"Nuh uh."

"Yuh huh!"

Peter chortled at my persistence, even in his stubborn denial of his true self, he kept the same shit eating grin plastered on his pretty face. I raised a dubious eyebrow towards him and he just responded with an innocent shrug.

"So what did you want anyways?" I spoke up after a bit of silence, since it was getting unbearable. I felt more comfortable around him knowing that he was a mutant like me, but that didn't mean I necessarily wanted to chat with him or hang out with him. "We're not even supposed to be talking."

"Nobody's around!! Hey, don't burst a blood vessel worrying about getting caught talking. I'll take the blame if anything happens." He dismissively waved his hand and swiftly sat up, and in that short period of time, he somehow acquired a decent sized pile of papers. "You're good at math, aren't you?"

"Not really?" I blankly stared down at what I assumed to be a bunch of math homework. Probably all missing. How the hell wasn't this boy failing?! He probably approached me because we're in the same math class.

Yeah, that made perfect sense.

"Shiiiiit!" he snapped and threw the papers behind us, and I just watched as they fluttered slowly down onto the dirty, carpeted floor of the library. "Well, nevermind then."

"Did you really only approach me to help you with homework?" I snickered.

"I mean.. we're in the same math class, and you just radiate nerd. Saw you in here, I was like, 'woah, it's that one rad girl in my math class.', then I was like 'it's that one rad girl in my math class!!!', you should feel honored that I picked you to be my tutor."

"Interesting story. I feel so special." I sarcastically snorted in an attempt to keep a straight face. It was hard to keep track of what he was saying, but he had a way of putting things into ways that, even when he is speaking fast, you can understand.

In response to my sarcasm, he gave a smug expression. "You should feel special. Anyways, even if you do suck at math, I just wanted to talk. You're a total enigma."

Silence.

I didn't really have too much to say to that. An enigma, huh? Peter truly thought I was such a mystery that he decided to intrude on my alone time in an unneeded detention. I perked an eyebrow at his persistence to hold a conversation with me, of all people.

"Why?" He suddenly asked. The question threw me for a loop, what was that even supposed to mean? Why what?

"Huh?"

"Why are you so aloof all the time? Everyone thinks you're a total nut job."

I could tell he didn't mean any harm by his words, so I didn't take them to heart. Instead, I rolled my eyes and shot back without even thinking. "It's not like your reputation is any better than mine, klepto. You know people think you're annoying, right? You.. are aware of that?"

Maybe I could have been a smidge bit nicer to him. That realization kicked in once he didn't respond to my snarkiness. Until..

"Do you think that?" Peter spoke in a voice barely above a whisper, as if unsure of what he was asking.

Do I tell him the truth or tell him a little white lie? I didn't want to hurt him any more than I may have already, but then again, we weren't friends, and I knew lying to make him feel better probably wasn't the way to go about this. Yet I still went with the latter. "Not at all. I know how it feels to be an outsider."

"I like to think I'm pretty cool. I never intend to annoy people."

Part of me felt a pang of sympathy for the silver haired ball of energy that picked me as his next buddy. He didn't want to annoy people. Peter seriously wasn't much different from me, we were both weird mutants just trying to live our lives in a widely disapproving world.

Unsure of how to express my true thoughts on Peter's 'always annoying people' dilemma, I give a very, very heartfelt response. "I.. Sorry..?"

Catch my sarcasm? Well, I immediately felt guilty afterwards, I wish I could have said more to cheer him up. Not that he needed it. It just seemed like he needed a friend at that moment.

"Why?"

"I'm a wallflower. I know how it feels to be seen as weird. Maybe not annoying, but I can sympathize with you, from mutant weirdo to anoth-"

Before I could realize my mistake and finish, I was cut off by a now starry eyed Maximoff in my face. He seemed excited, and I didn't realize why until he spoke up, "Duuude! No way!! You're a mutant?!"

I paused. Well, the secret was out now! I did a pretty damn good job hiding it from a majority of the school population, yet it slipped out whilst talking to the infamous twinkie thief. Guess he was just that easy to talk to, even if I hated to admit it.

"Well.. Uh.. Yeah?"

"I could literally kiss you right now, why didn't you tell me before?! I thought I was like, the only mutant at this stupid school!" My face heated up drastically, from what? I don't know. It might have been his opening sentence, or it could have been the energy he had, or maybe the acceptance that I didn't feel as if I deserved.

"In my defense, we aren't friends.." I mumbled, nervously fiddling and shrugging.

"Well.. Can we be? Be friends?"

After hearing his question, I perked up a curious eyebrow and a chuckle escaped from the back of my throat. A completely unintentional smile tugged at my lips. Why was I actually starting to enjoy his company? I was supposed to hate everyone and everything..

But him? I didn't hate him anymore. He was starting to grow on me.

"That actually sounds really nice.."

With a fist pumped in the air, he was in the seat next to me in a matter of seconds, a goofy lopsided grin on his face. "..Sooo.. Wanna maybe.. like.. pshh.. y'know? Hangout after this?"

Shooting another gentle grin in his direction, I roll my eyes and snicker. "Fuck it. I'd like tha-"

"Awesome!"

He took that as my confirmation that he was allowed to talk my ear off for the rest of the detention we served together. Funny. Who knew an in school suspension could lead to a blossoming friendship between two nearly total opposites?

Not that I was complaining.

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≽^• ˕ • ྀི≼ ------ reblogs & likes are always appreciated, keeps me motivated to continue creating :)

A/N : mighr make a part two?? mayhaps??

[likeadog]

the barbie movie like. ok so [spoilers and long paragraphs under the cut]

yeah it was really basic ideologically it didnt cover all the various intersections and theories of feminism but i think when people saw conservatives flipping their shit people expected it to be like, a manifesto. its a film, and more importantly, it's the Barbie Movie. i think expecting a gender and womens studies class from it would be silly, and while i get why people are disappointed in how much sympathy it lends to the men in the movie, i dont think like, once again, that was ever something to not expect?

furthermore on that point i think showing misogyny from a place of defining the self around a sense of loneliness by men isn't...far off. theres never an excuse for misogyny but thats rhetoric that radicalizes a lot of incels and shit i would rather that than they treat it like some mysterious miasma.

also, i think, once again while it was pretty basic in the ideas it presented... how often is it show that explicitly in broad-audience film? like stated directly to the audience in that manner? theres no flirting with the feminist theory in the movie; it says it outright, which is something a lot of films shy away from out of fear of alienating men once it becomes too "girl power"-y. im not usually for the use of a lot of buzzwords in film and discussion of issues but these buzzwords are never said with cheapness or to obfuscate. it could be heavyhanded at times, but that heavyhandedness wasnt ever really obnoxious? it walked the line of "haha silly" but still took its point seriously enough that you could appreciate the use of that heavyhandedness for comedic effect without being mocked

i also think the fact they just like "solve" the patriarchy in the barbie world isnt meant to imply that you can just fix the real world with a woman president or by being aware of misogyny. in fact a lot of the movie is dedicated to showing how the barbie world and real world are different. the conclusion of the movie is that barbie wants to become human, even though the human world is messy and unsolved and nothing like she assumed it was. she believed barbie had solved misogyny forever, which is a direct jab at the idea that any "one thing" or "girl power" movement can just suddenly whisk away the very power structures that created that sort of oppression.

its very much coming from a cis/heterosexual/white basis. they flirt with further intersection but dont commit, which im really not a fan of. my friends after the film were like "it was more homoerotic than i expected haha" and...yeah, it was, but it didnt do anything to address gayness or what that means in such a heavily gendered heterosexual society. you could read that subtext through allen and his thing.... but allen is a joke. his story is never resolved. hes one of the guys but he isnt, hes one of the girls but he isnt, he benefits not at all from "kendom" but conversely is not oppressed the way the barbies are and vice versa. he's just allen, and the only allen there is. when sasha and her mom want to go back to help barbie, the fact he just goes "God im never getting out of here" and thats just like, left was kinda. well. it was something for sure.

still. i know i just wrote like 200 words on the ideology of this movie but first and foremost its a pg13 comedy meant to be shown to broad audiences in theaters for money. its meant to be an enjoyable watch, and it is! its a gorgeous film, its funny, the songs are fine, and the way it makes its side comments arent distracting nor meanspirited. it knows when to take itself seriously, and i like that. i was actually expecting it to be a general audiences like, kids movie i was so fucking surprised when barbie said penis.

i also think saying the line at the end about the gynecologist is like "saying you need a vagina to be a real woman" is disingenuous honestly. one its meant to be a bit of a shock quip to get a giggle but two i think a lot of people who need gynecological care (which can include trans women) are afraid when it comes to that first visit and finally sitting down and talking about those areas because of the shame and lack of proper education. maybe its bc i grew up mormon but i dont think its meant to imply thats what MADE barbie a real woman or that its fundamental to being one.

once again it definitely isnt a perfect movie. i think the way the ken and barbie talk happened at the end was still a bit coddly and the scope of the ideology underneath the movie was, once again, still very much centered in white cishetero society and thought with only passing mentions of intersectionality that felt both shallow and (especially with the gayness and racial dynamics) occasionally like it was being turned into a joke

still all in all it was a pretty good movie. weird barbie #1. allen get behind me i will protect u

[philipszelda]

OK I'M HAVING TO RETYPE THIS BUT AUUGH

Ok. so i guess my main issue is, even IF the sheikah did something wrong (keep in mind I'm currently talking about canon depictions in this reblog) and even IF the gerudo did something wrong, is the fact that only they get punished for it some way.

Meanwhile Hyruleans are still to this day only ever described as being god's chosen people, people also literally descending FROM gods.

The sheikah have been implied (well sometimes outright stated? iirc) to have done awful things FOR the kingdom of hyrule! DIRECTLY serving them! they are literally described as their servants. Why is it never come into question that the crown had the sheikah doing crazy torture of their enemies on their behalf? And skip to botw they come up with insane technological advancements (that HELPED the kingdom of hyrule win this big war) and suddenly after its all a "threat" to hyrule kingdom so they have to BURY it all and are forbidden to keep making any of it? TF? (and yes i get that in retrospect the tech did end up being used to attack the kingdom thousands of years later but like. how were they to know. you really have to respect the yiga for rebelling here cause that is just fucked)

anyway dont get me started on the gerudo and how they cant even breathe without being depicted as pure evil and enemies to the "good" people of Hyrule.

like even the Gerudo that are portrayed as good have to do so in a way that still shows their people as a whole as being backward savages. its like they have to constantly apologize for having the audacity to be born the same race as ganondorf. (Nabooru being somehow the ONLY Gerudo who opposed his actions for example. The gerudo being entirely absent in twilight princess to me implies they were exiled after ganondorf being sealed as another example. likeeee why do they all have to answer for anything bad hes done.)

WAIT like. another thing!! like i dunno. there's the level of bias in my au cauuuse ok theres the sheikah and gerudo (and another kingdom i have yet to show. i dont really want to until i have something more substantial. so for now theyll stay secret) and its liiike. ok if i have zelda abolish hyrule kingdom in my au... well why would only they have to? what about the gerudo? the sheikah clan? they especially showed some level of unfair control due to the fact that yiga even exist. (which honestly i havent even thought of in my au but i probably should put them in) and yes i know botw/totk portrays yiga as the bad guys but i think theres some nuance there

[pwurrz]

have a good nap! ok i wanna preface by saying a lot of what i "defend" kizami with is both either projection, speculation or both. COPA is kinda a mess and likes being vague and occasionally shitty and ablest and whatnot. mmy defense is that kizami's writing is both misunderstood and just... plain ablest. also none of this is because we have a kizami in our system he is a cool and chill dude whos been here sense forever, however he left front like 2 months ago. this is gonna be written without talking ab system stuff and with a collective "i".

I want to start early canonically in his life. He does not have a good relationship with his parents and siblings which is just said outright to be a delusion that he is always being lied to, and when they say they care about him, that he thinks theyre lying to get him vulnerable. However, I want to go farther as to say he may be somewhat rational in this sentiment. In book of shadows, the flashback he has to his siblings has them lash out both emotionally and physically at him for harming animals. This is left unaddressed. As someone who struggles with thoughts to hurt animals and paranoia I kinda felt for him, with a lot of pent up fear, its easy (especially at a young age) to change fear into anger. he felt trapped and probably projected that fear into outward aggression. he also was left in the shadow of his siblings, struggling with getting attention, and when he did it was either because he acted out or what he assumed was lies, he would have grown up in a household where he learned social behavior was synonymous with aggression. he was also taught that violence is the answer when someone does something that upsets him.

moving foreword to his implied early school life, i want to say i dont think he was telling the truth when he said kensuke was never his friend. i want to say that so soon after discussing his fears others arent honest with him about caring at all, and his paranoia connected to relationships because i think that statement is clearly connected. ill get onto that later. Its mentioned he was violent towards students and staff, as well as more open about his tendencies to hurt animals. However, for some reason even direct talks about this doesnt harm his relationship with kensuke. the continue being friends even as kizami makes questionable decisions that lead his parents to somewhat fear interacting with him at all.

so this becomes interesting, because while the wiki states he did this as a manipulative front on purpose, i dont remember where anything EVER said that was true, but kizami seems to have mellowed out by highschool. when asked about him, kensuke speaks fondly of him, and apparently he isnt the subject of gossip, and nobody really has anything bad to say about him, even though he assaulted a kid in elementary with school supplies. he seems to have become of grounded and centered, which once again, yeah i felt that it was the same way for me in school. after facing fear on that level for so long, you just develop this "i dont care anymore. i cant care anymore." heavyheartedness where things dont really scare you anymore. thats just what paranoid disorders do. speaking of his mental health, kizami says in a self monologue he has never had empathy. while im sure this is just an ablest thing they wrote in to make him scarier considering hes supposed to be a "sociopath" as someone with ASPD... i took that personally. having a paranoid disorder as a child is very traumatizing, adding that with the re-enforcement of his fears, its plausible to say yuuya is antisocial, at least from my standpoint of an antisocial person.

early on in their exploration of heavenly host, yuuya is the rock of the group. he is rational, calm in the face of panic and danger, and doesnt even bend as low as to get in petty fights, even when threatened by kai. However ,its safe to say he isnt *enjoying* any of this, and is just not portraying panic like anyone else. He plays the part of the listener and doesnt talk a lot, hes probably somewhat shut down and tired from the shock of the situation. This is where the bad decisions start.

Yuuya kicks ryosuke down the stairs in a last ditch attempt to get ohkawa to stop mindlessly panicking and prove hes dead. this is just outright said, and is canonically the others misunderstanding him. he makes a bad decision under pressure, and in return, gets a punishment that doesnt make sense to him. this is where i bring in the idea that yuuya falls victim to the curse of the school, rather than having done all the murdered consciously, and that he has been effected more and more the longer he had been staying so far. while this is brought up in ohkawa's death, where he says he isnt even yuuya anymore, i offer this extra evidence.

yuuya genuinely enjoys working with kids.

he states he wished he had been an older brother, that if he had a younger sibling he would make a point to do a better job than his older siblings did. he wants someone to protect and watch over, which is why i think undoubtedly, the factions of the possessed kizami are entirely not his own, rather twisted, perhaps even opposite actions of his beliefs. he makes an effort to hurt yuka, which is entirely against his own personal moral code. he says kensuke was never his friend. hes loud, and makes a show of himself. he makes an effort to kill anyone who crosses paths with him. (except morishige, i guess. but thats a whole can of worms. im trying to stay centered on his own school) even though from what we have seen from a highschool kizami, he seems withdrawn, quiet, mindful of other's injuries and generally more afraid of what others think of him than anything else.

i dont want to go on for too long, but i want to say something even though it sounds gross to me. i hate to sound like those stupid school councilors i hated so much, but yuuya is genuinely relatable and i think he could have had it a bit better if he had some kind of hobby to put his energy into. instead of anyone giving him time, and teaching him how to use his emotions in a way that didnt hurt others, they literally struck him, and removed him from their life as much as they could. when hurting people for attention stopped working, he became lost. leading up to the even i would say, he probably felt tense, and considering kensuke is popular in highschool, probably was worried he was losing his only friend. and i dont know how to paint that kind of worry from a pro-social standpoint, because im not one, but he probably felt angry others were spending more time with him, seeing kensuke as "HIS" friend. its not healthy, but im not saying yuuya was. i dont think he had a good mindset, or was healthy with his interactions ,what few genuine ones we see, but i do argue that theyre not entirely his fault. his parents found it easier to ignore him, his siblings resorted to hostility, when he tries to help he is faced with fear and hatred. it would be stupid to say in that moment he wasnt also panicked, he just wasnt showing it in a way other people would recognize. i think thats why its important kensuke wasnt in that scene- he probably would have recognized kizami wasnt right.

🤷‍���️ idk. TLDR: yuuya is a psycho and a sociopath? well so i am so i took that personally. he's clearly struggling with conduct issues, neglect and paranoia canonically but nobody ever wants to discuss that. his actions are fucked but theyre probably not even entirely his. evidence points to him just being almost fully under the effects of the darkening and hes actually just some radiohead hashtag creepy hastag weirdo loner who like. fuck, idk, hotboxes deer hunting blinds. he isnt excused by his trauma and poorly written, ablest stereotype mental illness, but it does offer some explanation. also it makes me valid but only me valid for defending him everyone else who likes yuuya needs to like. call a hotline because they are usually "attracted" to him killing people and like. uhm girl...... what.

sorry if this is impossible to read i didnt o back and check it because i dont care about anything in da world

yeah. yeah no this isn’t impossible to read it’s just a lot so i need to process it but yeah. he’s clearly written to be someone with aspd but the writing is so.. ableist it doesn’t do him any justice.

like i kind of understand his siblings point of view, lashing out emotionally when they find out that he’s hurt animals. like i’m so sensitive to animal injury and death, especially caused by humans. but kizami was a child. a young child. it was clear that he needed help, not to be shamed and yelled at.

and yeah. it’s clear that he loves kids and wants his own younger sibling to treat better than his older siblings treat him. but the copa writers.. ugh they so obviously have a little sister fetish. like that’s all yuka exists for. she has no character other than having the hots for her oni-chan. and acting like she’s 5. and.. the other thing 🤢 so of course they can’t be normal about kizami wanting a little sibling so they project all their creepiness into him.

[paulkleefishmagic]

i dont think it is necessarily the thing that we should stress to non-Christians nor stress in our theology that Jesus died for you specifically. I would even go so far as to say that idea can create toxic mindsets and, when taken to its logical extreme, creates an awful church environment.

what i mean by this is that Christ died for everyone. not just you. Christ died for the sins of the world, for everyone - that includes the guy who cut you off in traffic, the coworker you don't like, the guy who stole your wallet, a murderer... every single person on earth has been saved through Christ's sacrifice on the cross. That includes you, yes, but I would argue it is more important to note that He died for everyone else as well.

it is easy once you operate under a personal savior mindset to neglect your neighbor and hate your enemy. if Christ died for you, if Christ died only for the elect, etc, it is incredibly easy to neglect your fellow man. your gay niece isn't "of God," we should shun him. the sex workers downtown are harlots and need not our help. homeless people will just spend your money on booze. you get the idea, right? it's never outright stated, more directly implied - they aren't saved like i am. they haven't found Christ, so they do not deserve my time nor kindness.

i may be biased here as a Quaker, but i think the more powerful theology is to remember that Christ died for every man and God handcrafted every single person you come across. That of God is in every person, no matter how you may feel about them or their job or their habits or political leanings or anything else at all. Next time someone cuts you off in traffic or arrives at your work 5 minutes before closing or seriously harms you, try to remind yourself that Christ died for them as well.

[archer3-13]

Fire Emblem Heroes Book III,Initial Trailer First Impression: Spooky Scary Skeletons are 4 edgy 8 me

the long and short of it is that im pensively optimistic about what’s in store, especially from a story angle, but that theme song can go suck a donkey’s tit.

anyways, book III and it seems were gonna be doing the tango with spooky scary Victorian skeleton warriors and a scary lady with a big ass scythe. Fuck Yeah!

so ignoring the theme song since it’s just... fuckin awful or at the very least unfitting, lets get into this by first talking about

THE TRAILER

So I gotta admit, i enjoyed this one a lot more then book II right off the bat.

opening on some flowers, we immediately know that shits gonna get fucked but my story telling instincts are telling me that this might possibly, probably, definitely, be a metaphor for this characters happy childhood in her kingdom when it was not fucked however

shit got fucked, unsurprisingly. instead of the villain looming ominously overhead like fucking doctor claw or no-heart however, we get a shot of our new hero twirling into the villains strangely comforting embrace by accident which does get me curios since it might imply, heaven forefend, that she willingly sold out her kingdom or home or whatever to the devil here and now has to fight to get it back and correct her own mistake in some sort of possible and interesting character arc here? just my take on it anyways.

moving on, we get these idiots in the woods as the fuglyness of them gives me whiplash from the actually pretty rad looking duo earlier. I kid but seriously if lokis a 0-2, alfonse a 3-5, then the hero and villain of book 3 are at an 8-10 each. my point being, there is quite the contrast in my opinion. anyways, alfonse is looking sad lost and afraid and loki’s pouting since she probably gonna be barely relevant yet fucking intrusive again.

also sharenas there in a similar state to her brother.

also veronicas just kind of there, and im getting a bit worried since we just got lokis douche smirk a few seconds ago and veronica just seems to kinda be there again.

the promotional shot, so shits about to get real again!

we get a nice shot of these two new lovely faces, doing the naruto run for a bit when the leading runner decides to pull out his fancy sword with an intense close up, definitely indicating that hes probably gonna be a blood knight of some sort. anyways he and alfonse begin to fight with blood knight pushing alfonse back and red energizer lady decides to fight

alfonse as well. man it is not alfonses day here is it? anyways, psychidelic drugs kickin at this point and the floor dissapears under alfonse as he starts to sink into sticky black goo well reaching out to sharena as-

oh?

oh! well, sharenas dead now and alfonse just can’t take the death of such a... memorable sister... and so he crys well the black goo decides to try and eat him if hes not gonna sink himself. this transitions us nicely to

our new hero looking into her dagger to see sad alfonse, and then she begins crying on a battlefield of weapons, with the heroes trios main weapons clearly in the fucking foreground implying they all died horrible deaths. quick, happy flashbacks to imply she, or you, or someone is thinking of all the good times!

there we go.

i did not kill her it’s not true, it’s bullshit, i did noooot

oh hi mark

we get this nice panning shot of a battlefield littered with weapons, implying corpses, as the hero and villain of book III stare each other down with the villain being a smug fuckin asshole and the hero clearly ready to cut a skeleton bitch.

our hero does a slight turn of the knife, and looks determinedly ahead as the trailer cuts out.

so, aside from the theme song being kinda out of place in my opinion (like, i guess it works for being unsettling but it really does feel like some marketing exec being 8 edgy 16 me cause he thought the kiddies would like it) i rather enjoyed the trailer. it set up a lot more and teases a lot more interesting story elements and ideas then book II did, its grim oppressive atmosphere is nicely out of place in comparison to feh’s other stories, it’s just better shot and paced as a trailer, and the characters look like they have an interesting history going on. speaking of looks...

THE LOOK

cause i was not expecting to be digging the look as much as I do. well the fiber glass looking stuff, that i feel was intended to be spoopy etheral light, on the villians looks a bit cheap and silly and hides the skeleton bones a bit much requiring a second closer viewing to catch that they are spoopy skeletons, the overall look im really liking. 

the sword general especially has a get up that reminds me of a reanimated suit of armour and if they had leaned into that by giving him a helmet i think it would have been even better, but for what it is he looks pretty good and threatening. the other major complaint i have aside from them not leaning into him being a reanimated suit of armour by giving him a helmet is that his face looks to much like alfonse’s which annoys me. mind you, it could be leading into some sort of plot twist later on so if it is, all i can say is i hope it’s a good one.

the lady general looks the weakest of the three in terms of visual design, but thats not as bad as it could be since she still looks a hell of a lot better then anything book II produced. still, the red stuff hiding her skeleton bits looks the most like plexi glass. Although thats about the only thing i outright dislike on her, aside from not leaning into spoopy skeleton territory more, it really does hold her design back in my opinion. i mean, fucks sake make it look more like ethereal light, add some armour here and there if need be, and boom it would be another winner of a design.

hel here, the big bad, has no such problems however. I love every bit of this lady, and i dont even care that if the glowy bits of her were actual skin she would have a design that’d comfortably fit in with kill la kill. she’s a lady villain, which isnt a requirement but something im damn well happy with especially if she ends up being well written, and she has many things i love in villains and characters in general. grim reaper theme, Victorian goth aesthetic, a black, white, and purple colour scheme, tattered flowing cloths, long wavy hair, a threatening appearance and most importantly shes a spooky scarcy skeleton. a purple spooky, scary, skeleton. I will cherish you forever, and i am crossing my fingers and praying to you that your well written and entertaining. plz be good, plz be good, plz be good...

oh right, and the mandatory good guy/gal of the book. well that bit sounds dismissive, i honestly gotta say that im digging her a lot as well. shes not a spooky scary skeleton sadly, but the victorian gothic elements of her design work really well, and shes nicely distinct from the heroes trio this time unlike fjorm who was basically sharena 2.0. im gonna hope shes well written as well, so that i can seriously grow attached to the new hero this time cause from her design alone.

so yeah, looks wise im digging this a lot more and though the artist for this is clearly Yusuke Kozaki, an artist ive vocally disliked in relation to fire emblem for a while now, i feel ike his style works to much better effect here with the ridiculous bdsm Victorian gothic style and the darker colours.

GAMEPLAY STUFF

nothing particularly interesting to note, mythic heroes definitely sounds like a dumb cash grab and i dont feel the aether arena quite has the pull in terms of gameplay to justify hinging a new summoning type gimmick on.

on a much more important note though...

beast units, huzzah!!  and tibarn and nailiah seem to be some of the first ones up which is even better! not sure what the gameplay video is implying on how their gonna play though, since it seems a bit gimmicky and raises the question of how that gimmick might effect manateke units, but they are here so thats cool. bird pirate king is ready to roll!!!

OVERALL

all in all, from the look and what the trailer hints at alone, i am optimistic, but the caution comes with what sounds like very lukewarm gameplay deals which might not keep people hooked for very long. idk, im looking foreward to it but im not gonna be heartbroken if its third verse same as the first.

[homestuckexamination]

The End of Homestuck: Rapture

Alright then, as I’ve mentioned, I wanted to debate a few points I’ve heard about the Ending, consider it a sort of bonus celebrating over 2000 Posts and 1000 Followers!

But before I say anything, let me preface this by saying: This is not trying to make you like the Ending, rather it’s trying to make you realize why you dislike the Ending. There’s very valid criticisms to the Ending and the Story as a whole and you can just dislike the direction it took- But what I want is debunk a few things the Fandom seems to have really clung to that I think are extremely hollow and just, outright false at times.

So let’s begin, shall we?

The Retcon created a Timeline where everyone’s struggles had been solved, and the characters in it were vastly different from how they used to be.

This one is sincerely one of my biggest Pet Peeves, and I’ve talked about it partially before. A general consensus is that the Retconned Timeline solved every single key problem the Characters on the Meteor had, destroyed Character Development shown for those Characters, and thus, created versions of themselves that were vastly different. Vriska planted herself as a Miracle Solved and everyone lived Happily Ever After.

Except this really is not the case, at all. Vriska’s presence was ultimately extremely useful to disable Jade without killing her. For everyone else, no problems are fixed, and the conception that they do is, I feel, a heavy misunderstanding of what the characters actually struggle with. Let’s go one by one.

Rose and Alcoholism

This is a major one because we see Vriska literally smack a glass right off of Rose’s hand and slam it. Many people don’t even know why Vriska would do something like that, but they just straight up assume this deterred Rose from getting drunk, and instantly fixed every problem she ever had. This is an awful misreading of where Rose’s true problems lie.

“ROSE: And it was all mixed up with feelings of conflict and remorse over my mother.

ROSE: I sort of ran with it too? ROSE: The habit, I mean. For a while at least. ROSE: I was still distraught about losing her. And wanted to understand her. ROSE: To connect with her, in some way. And I guess that was the only idea I had.“

“ROSE: This almost makes it official. ROSE: I have no comprehensible path. There's nothing to overcome, no lesson to learn, no cathartic light at the end of this preposterous tunnel. ROSE: Not for me, at least! ROSE: I seriously have the DUMBEST arc anyone could conceivably imagine.“

“ROSE: I think my quest was fundamentally bound to the nature of this land, which was customized to the profile, needs, and potential for growth of a thirteen year-old girl. ROSE: But I'm not that person anymore. ROSE: What if I ROSE: What if I just ROSE: Didn't bother doing it? ROSE: Like, ever? ROSE: Would anyone notice my dereliction? ROSE: Would the powers that be strike me down where I loaf? ROSE: What if I just said fuck it?“

“DAVE: she sees this quest all neatly laid out for her wrapped in a bow DAVE: fuck it even looks like its made for little kids with like pink turtles and rainbows and shit DAVE: like here you go princess its babys first quest DAVE: almost like it was designed to piss her off DAVE: sburb says here, self improvement delineated and made comprehensible enjoy your cookie cutter odyssey DAVE: so because shes rose she goes no fuck my quest DAVE: literally starts wrecking shit DAVE: and maybe that itself was always her quest“

Rose’s problems aren’t with Alcoholism. They’re with her regret over her Mother, what she has Done up until this point, and her Purpose to the overall story she finds herself in. Alcohol is a way for her to ‘connect’ with her deceased mother, to prepare herself to meet Roxy, and at the same time, to take a weight off her shoulders, to not have to Think about what she’s supposed to do. She’s stressed, anxious and has severe doubts about her Self. Vriska just wanted a functional Seer for the Upcoming Battle, but this underlying unease that’s what drove her to Alcoholism in the first place is not gone.

Terezi and Gamzee

Post-Retcon, Terezi never gets together with Gamzee. Vriska keeps her in check as her Moirail, Gamzee is tied up and suppressed, she never falls for his abuse, nor does she unblind herself. However if you think this solves Terezi’s problems in the slightest I don’t know what to tell you, really.

“GC: 1 DON'T KNOW WH4T 1S WRONG W1TH M3 GC: TH4T 1 C4N'T JUST S4Y STUFF L1K3 TH4T, D1R3CTLY TO P3OPL3 GC: TH3Y C3RT41NLY DON'T 4PP34R TO H4V3 TH4T PROBL3M

GC: 1 W4S JUST P1SS3D 4BOUT YOUR 4TT1TUD3 OF C3RT41NTY GC: 4ND 4NGRY 4T MYS3LF FOR NOT H4V1NG 1T GC: 1 TH1NK 1T'S SOM3TH1NG 1 N33D3D 1N MY L1F3 GC: 3V3N 1F 1T C4M3 FROM SOM3ON3 3LS3

GC: 1 N3V3R F3LT WHOL3 GC: 1 ST1LL DON'T GC: 4ND YOU M4D3 1T SO 1 D1DN'T H4V3 TO F4C3 TH4T F33L1NG GC: FOR 4 WH1L3 4T L34ST GC: 4ND NOW TH4T 1 TH1NK 1 KNOW TH1S 4BOUT MYS3LF GC: 1 TH1NK 1 G3T 1T GC: TH3 F33L1NG W1LL PROB4BLY N3V3R GO 4W4Y GC: ONLY COV3R3D UP 4T MOST, M4YB3 GC: W3 COULD W1N TH1S F1GHT GC: CR34T3 4NOTH3R UN1V3RS3 GC: SUCC33D 1N 3V3RY W4Y POSS1BL3 GC: 4ND 1'LL ST1LL F33L 1NCOMPL3T3“

“TEREZI: OH PL34S3 TEREZI: WH4T COULD YOU POSS1BLY N33D M3 FOR?

TEREZI: 1 DONT TH1NK 1 W1LL B3 V3RY US3FUL

TEREZI: 1 DONT H4V3 MUCH TO OFF3R 3V3N ON MY B3ST D4Y”

Just like Rose’s issues, Terezi’s run deeper than just her getting together with Gamzee and ‘fixing’ her blindness. It’s a deep insecurity about herself, which exists there both Pre and Post Retcon, and being with Vriska is but a Temporary Fix. She needs to experience what Game Over Terezi did in order to even bring herself to join the final fight, and even after that, she still goes to track after Vriska, after everything is done.

Karkat, Relationships, Leadership.

So, Dave and Karkat get together in the Post Retcon Timeline, so there’s no Relationship Drama with Terezi, and Vriska takes over the Meteor’s leadership, leaving Karkat to chill. This seems uncharacteristic of him, even, except that, of course, he doesn’t just give up to his role as a Leader.

“KARKAT: WOW! HAHA, HA, HAHAHAHA! ME LEADER?? TOO FUNNY! KARKAT: I AM ENTIRELY AND SINGULARLY BAFFLED THAT IT COULD STILL EVEN *OCCUR* TO ANYONE TO ENTERTAIN THE NOTION THAT I MIGHT STILL BE PLAYING *ANY* ROLE EVEN WITHIN SNIFFING ORBIT OF A LEADERSHIP POSITION OF THIS RIDICULOUS PARTY. KARKAT: WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME I DID *ANYTHING* OF A LEADER-LIKE NATURE, WITHOUT BEING TRUMPED BY VRISKA'S MACHIAVELLIAN LIMELIGHT GLUTTONY? KARKAT: OR FOR THAT MATTER, WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME THERE WAS ACTUALLY ANYTHING LEADERY *TO* DO, THAT DIDN'T INVOLVE SNUGGLING UP ON THE COUCH TO WATCH "GOOD LUCK CHUCK" FOR THE FIVE HUNDREDTH TIME?! KARKAT: I HAVE SERIOUSLY JUST BEEN ASSUMING HER COMPLETE TAKEOVER OF ALL LEADERSHIP DUTIES WAS SOME FAIT ACCOMPLI SHIT FOR THREE SOLID YEARS, AND HAVE SINCE BEEN ENJOYING THE PEACE AND QUIET OF ZERO RESPONSIBILITIES, WHICH IS WHY QUITE FRANKLY, I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO KEEP MY BLOOD PRESSURE DOWN, AND NOW RESEMBLE THE LIVING EMBODIMENT OF PEACE AND FUCKING TRANQUILITY WHICH PRESENTLY BASKS BEFORE YOU IN A STATE OF FROTHING, EUPHORIA-HOBBLED TURDVANA!!!!!!!!“

He’s extremely obviously bitter about being left out of the loop, and hurt about not being the Leader anymore. He jumps at the opportunity to go beat Lord English up without a second thought, and leads the initial charge, which doesn’t end exactly well for him. Echidna does, however, imply that Karkat will have an important part in actually leading the new Troll Civilization. Karkat is not the best leader when it comes to a War-like battle scenario- But if his conversation with Terezi after finding her Unblinded is anything to go by, he’s a great Emotional Leader. Even Pre-Retcon where all the Problems Happened and there was Terezi Drama, he provided support to her and got along with Dave, even if it took a little while. Being cast from his position as a Leader Frustrates him heavily, and digs deeper into the Doubt he displayed after he started having the realization that the Cancer was his fault. He’s frustrated, more impulsive than before, and even though he has Dave to back him up, it’s still tough.

Dave. Just. Dave.

Honestly, there’s not much of a difference between Game Over and Post Retcon Dave, is there? He’s dating Karkat, sure, but there’s not much else. If anything, the major difference comes later on, with the Dogfight vs the Jackfight. We learn from his talk with Dirk about his hatred for Bro, his dislike for fighting, the sound of metal, the sight of blood. His hatred of Heroism because of him, and it ties well to him not wanting to use his Time Powers or Fight Jade- Training him to become stronger, Grimbark Jade basically wanted to do the same to him as Bro had been doing since he was born. But he does grab his weapon- When he knows he can bring Jade back, if he just snatches her away from the Dogs. This leads to his Death. On the other hand, though, when he fights the Jacks, he has managed to actually have a Heart-to-Heart with Dirk, and vent about everything that’s been tormenting him. This fight, too, ends with him breaking the Unbreakable Katana and Decapitating Dirk, before warping him away from the fight so he could be put back together by Jane afterwards. There’s a Catharsis for Dave, but as he tells Dirk, it’ll probably just keep building back up for a few years before needing a feels jam again. He got enough of a resolution, but his problems weren’t gone, and even if they were gone, they’re not gone by the nature of the Retcon, rather, by the nature of Meeting Dirk, which he was actively prevented from doing so in the Game Over Timeline. This is a development we also see on-screen, so there can’t be much of a complaint about it, right?

Kanaya

Without Rose Drunk and with Gamzee restrained, Kanaya’s focus post-Retcon returns to the Matriorb and rebuilding Troll Civilization. This is a tricky one, because you could say that Vriska did help Kanaya with this, and it is true that, by proxy, Kanaya didn’t have to do as much in the Meteor. But, these aren’t her Problems, rather they are things she helped with, and furthermore the presence of Vriska in general poses a problem for Kanaya. Still bitter about her old Red Crush on her, and with her being Meddlesome and butting in on her and Rose, she expresses explicit distaste when talking to her. Vriska is just up in everyone’s business and being a nuisance more than she’s an actual help. As for the Matriorb, well, with the issues leading up to Game Over they didn’t even have the possibility to focus on Troll Repopulation, so it’s a thing that’s brought up exclusively in the Post-Retcon Timeline. This is solved effortlessly, which actually brings new thoughts and issues to the table!

“KANAYA: So Instead Of All That KANAYA: Its Just KANAYA: Handed To Me KANAYA: Like A Nice Present ROXY: yes KANAYA: I Dont Know What To Say KANAYA: This Changes So Much KANAYA: About Everything I Thought I Had To Do”

Kanaya suddenly isn’t as sure about fighting, with the responsibility she suddenly has- Yet Roxy encourages her to go take down Condy. This is paralleled by Davepeta telling Jade to just do what she wants to do! But more on this later. 

Vriska vs (Vriska)

The hottest topic of the Retcon. Vriska’s Character Development is absolutely ruined by her being brought back, and you know what? I do agree with this! But that’s the thing though- I think this is good? Like. A lot of people complain about Vriska coming back and fixing everyone’s problems and being glorified, but as I’ve just displayed up above, Vriska is anything but Glorified. She’s forced everyone to do what she wants without actually solving any problem, she’s pushy, she’s cocky, and then we have a literal confrontation between her and (Vriska)...

“VRISKA: 8e quiet. I'm talking. VRISKA: Look at you. VRISKA: Just looooooook at you. VRISKA: How completely pathetic. (VRISKA): What? (VRISKA): What's your pro8lem?! VRISKA: My pro8lem is you make me fucking sick. “

“(VRISKA): I'm not a loser though! (VRISKA): I LIKE who I've 8ecome. (VRISKA): I actually feel happy and good a8out my life for the first time in... may8e forever?? (VRISKA): Like, ACTUALLY good a8out my life in a way that feels real, instead of forced. Don't you realize that's what it was like for us? VRISKA: You don't have a life! VRISKA: You're DEAD, remem8er?”

The Vriska vs (Vriska) interaction is one of my favorite parts of the entire Webcomic, because we have the Cocky Vriska that never actually developed positively, facing the Vriska that actually did have personal growth. Furthermore, neither the Plan to fight in the Session goes as she planned, nor does she gather the Army, or even lead it for most of the part, and ultimately her contribution to the Final Fight is to literally open the Juju Chest. She Steals the Spotlight, and the only ones to actually glorify this are the people in the Fandom. Everyone else within the story actually suffers more than they are actively helped by Vriska’s Actions, and that is what makes me absolutely love her leading towards the Ending. She’s the Savior Figure that comes back from the Dead to fix everything stereotype, except she actually barely fixes anything, and is an actively toxic force for most of the characters. Meanwhile (Vriska), after Aranea leaves them, actually does introspection about what she’d been doing and positively changes, culminating with a reunion with GO! Terezi. That is the culmination of Vriska’s Character Arc, Terezi Remem8er, and Vriska going for Lord English is ultimately detrimental for her Character. You can dislike that Vriska’s character ended up like that, but that’s the thing, saying that’s a bad part of the story is subjective, because it’s the obvious intention of the story to display this duality between Vriska and (Vriska)!

Not only that, but all I’ve said about these characters, about Pre vs Post Retcon, is entirely taken from canon statements by the Characters, straight up saying their problems in one way or another, and by the way their actions shape the stories. Both Pre and Post Scratch display the effects of the Characters’ deeper issues in different situations, how they cope with them and how they work towards solving them. You know why they all seem to fix their issues more Post-Retcon than Pre-Retcon? Because they don’t Die. It’s not that they’re even that differently developed, they simply get further. Rose was already talking to Kanaya about her issues before Game Over, Terezi was working towards fixing things and ultimately led to John’s Retcon Quest, they had different issues, stemming from the same main struggles, and that did not change at all.

I’d like to close this section with a quote by Hussie on Character Writing.

“I think writing in voice is pretty simple. It's mostly about consistency. Choosing a set of parameters and committing to them absolutely. [...] The advantage in being so obstinate with the profile you choose is then any deviation you make will be very noticeable. This is to your advantage, if you can control these deviations with purpose and precision."

And honestly? Dave still feels like Dave. Rose still feels like Rose. Terezi still feels like Terezi. The deviation from their core character is minor, and these deviations are, in turn, explored and talked about with their interactions, putting some context to what they’re doing and what they’re striving for. Honestly, I feel a lot of the issues with Game Over and the Post-Retcon Timeline come from the fact they were the... Post-Gigapause Updates, and a lot of people just forgot a lot of stuff. But let’s move on, this first section has gone on for WAY TOO LONG.

Act 7 wasn’t a satisfying conclusion to the story. Plot Threads and Character Arcs were dropped entirely, and everything was left incredibly ambiguous.

Let’s start this by pointing something out: Act 7 wasn’t actually the End of Homestuck. One of the reasons Act 7 might feel bad is the fact that a lot of things aren’t solved. And that’s alright, because Act 7 isn’t the Ending of the Characters’ Stories, nor is it the end of everything that happens. Act 7 is the culmination of Calliope’s purpose, the Finale brought to Lord English’ Alpha Timeline, and the Ending of the SBURB Session the Kids have played. Hell- The Credits, without even going to the Post-Canon Snapchat Updates, shows us that there’s still obviously more going on. Terezi is still looking for Vriska, Aradia, Sollux and Davepeta are missing too, John is depressed because he has nothing to do, Caliborn is being an asshole through Snapchat occasionally. 

The thing is that a lot of Plot Threads weren’t actually solved in Act 7, rather they were solved before Act 7, sometimes even extremely unceremoniously, like with Caliborn’s Masterpiece. And most important events in Homestuck? We’ve actually seen how they begin, and how they end. There’s ambiguity in the way you go from point A to point B, as well as some Timeline Weirdness with some things, again, like Caliborn’s Masterpiece.

Additionally, a few things about the Final Battle, the fate of Vriska and Lord English and Paradox Space, have been left ambiguous, and this is not unintentional. You may dislike ambiguous endings, and that’s honestly, perfectly okay? The ambiguity, or the ‘anticlimax’, you can dislike it, but the spite held against the Ending is, mostly, subjective tastes?

This however, doesn’t even touch one of the most important things about the Ending, and that is, that we don’t have the Epilogue yet. We’ve been left with nearly the whole picture, nearly the whole Puzzle of Homestuck, laid out before our eyes, and there are still some pieces missing that could come from the Epilogue! But even without it, I do believe we have enough pieces to put most of the picture together, enough that the rest of holes becomes sort of, obvious, or easy to interpret in different ways? The Epilogue could offer closure to the things we don’t know about, but what I’ve seen around, mostly, is that instead of trying to give closure to these open questions about the story, people have rather resorted to getting angry at the whole of the comic! This is, really, the aggravating attitude that’s made me make this post in the first place trying to debunk some of the more popular Ending Criticism. If you have any specific ‘We don’t know how this happened!’ question, feel free to send me an Ask and we can talk about it! In fact, let me answer to one of those Asks right now.

“What happened to LE?” Unless the Epilogue does pull a switcheroo, the Ending obviously assumes he has been defeated. The symbolism of the Treasure taking the shape of a Cueball and LE’s eyes becoming 8-Balls, with the Breach as the ‘Pocket’ certainly implies he’s been cast into the Black Hole, but there could’ve been more of a fight! Does the Treasure open to free the Souls of the Kids? Does it just Attack Him? That is something that’s left up to the imagination at the very least until the Epilogue happens, and instead we’re left with the image of the Kids Happy on Earth-C- It doesn’t quite matter how he’s defeated, because we know that he has been defeated, and the Kids are living happily post-ending. This could change in the Epilogue, yes, but if it does change, then we’ll have more of the story to go, which will mean that wasn’t the True Ending to begin with, yet still leaving us with the tools to build an actual Happy True Ending. That is the beauty of ambiguity in a story when you DO have the pieces to build what happens until the story continues post-canon!

“Does caliborn still turn into LE?” He needs to do so to become Lord English, however the Masterpiece also implies the possibility of our Caliborn and the Caliborn that becomes Lord English being two different Caliborns. This is, again, left ambiguous in the same way LE’s defeat is. We do know he HAS to become LE, and we also KNOW how he becomes LE. But then the seed of doubt is planted- Is it the same Caliborn? And that is how speculation, talk and theories about the Ending spark, still giving a satisfying conclusion because we know it has to happen somehow, but leaving us to ponder about the specifics, without holding back on important pieces of information that we NEED to know.

“Where’s Vriska?” That’s what Terezi is trying to find, and it’ll likely be one of the main points of the Epilogue. The fact she’s still looking for her however, implies that she’s been missing for over three years. She has accomplished what she went out to do, defeat Lord English. Now the question is, will she come back and redeem herself? Or did she fall with Lord English into the Breach, as a Karmic Retribution of all the bad things she has done? Does she deserve the same Fate as the Villain? Or is there still hope for her? For a character as controversial as Vriska, I honestly love that her fate has been left ambiguous so far.

As for Gamzee, I mean he’s extremely devout to LE and he’s fated to become part of him, granting him a Plot Shield. We do know why he’s so hard to kill, and we also know exactly in what way he ends up becoming part of LE. There’s some weird things left Ambiguous, like his Ghosts, but even that it’s speculation that doesn’t necessarily influence the Ending Result.

As I mentioned above? We have most of the Puzzle Pieces, and the ones we don’t have are intentionally left out for us to fill the hole with our own headcanons and theories. I can’t think of any important thing we don’t see the origin or result of, leaving just certain bits in between to the speculation.

But some of the Characters had their Arcs Dropped, didn’t have their problems solved, or were shafted entirely by the story.

Here we start to get into more messy territory with the Criticism Endings, because rather than misunderstanding, a lot of these are opinions! For example, I do agree I would’ve loved seeing some more Jane towards the ending. However I really don’t think anyone was ‘shafted’ by the story. In fact, I’ve heard people mention how Davepetasprite and Jasprosesprite were, somehow, attempts at reducing the amount of characters towards the ending, and like...

What? So you’re saying reducing the amount of characters towards the ending is accomplished... By making new Characters that present us with really interesting nuances and takes on the world of Homestuck? Are you sure about that? Hell, if Hussie really wanted to reduce the amount of characters, he would’ve killed off every Sprite Pre-Retcon, and not brought Rose back from where Roxy buried her. Were Davepeta and Jasprose afterthoughts that weren’t planned? Purrhaps. But they add onto the story, they are not an attempt to reduce anything. That being said, a lot of people that say this also call the Ending ‘rushed’, somehow. Listen buddy, you can’t simply. Rush something like the Ending of Homestuck. It took way too much time to make for it to not be completely premeditated.

A lot of characters, too, have more Depth to their Arcs than people give Hussie credit for, and while they do suffer or while they don’t interact with someone else as much as other people may, that doesn’t mean they are shafted by the story.

But let’s do this one at a time. Let’s begin with Dead Characters, and just let me say that, straight up, having everyone survive at the end wouldn’t have been as satisfying as you may think. Could Equius have learned to stand up for himself? Could Feferi have done more? Yeah, sure. Could the Dancestors have been more developed? That’s also true! But Death and Conflict happen in Homestuck, and you cannot give every character an equal amount of attention. Furthermore, expecting every character to develop positively is also unrealistic and, honestly, bad? The Trickster Arc is a parody of this, in fact, an accomplishment of the innermost desire of have your problems go away, share everything you want to share and just do everything you want! That problem-less happiness for everyone feels forced and uncanny, having everyone come back happily and develop positively would be worse than having some of them die off. The Dancestors, too, are precisely the way they are as examples of stagnant Character Development. Even Aranea and Meenah, which are the most developed of the Dancestors, follow this same tend. Meenah mentions how Aranea acting the way she did is not unlike the stuff she always did, and Meenah struggles with the fact that she cannot change the way she is, and follows after Vriska and not (Vriska) because it’s in her nature to Do Shit. It’s fun to write about further development and AUs! But in the canonical story of the magnitude and with the themes Homestuck touches, you simply can’t develop them all equally and positively. And while they could’ve been given more screen time, also, well. With so many characters it becomes hard to balance time and interactions.

Jade is another character that many feel was shafted by the story, but honestly this is not true? She suffered the 3 Years on the Prospit Ship and Struggled with her nature as a Space Player and what she was supposed to do- Just like most characters struggled with something. And in the end? Against what she thought Paradox Space had stored for her? She woke up happily to a letter by Dave about missing her. She tried to pacify her dogs and played with them the way she wanted rather than being put to sleep or fighting them. She did what she wanted to do, not what she thought she was ‘supposed’ to be doing.

Jake is also a very complex character towards the ending. His insecurities are pushed on him over and over until he nearly gives up his friends- Note, this is the boy that died to protect Jane without a second thought in the Game Over Timeline. Vriska pushes his insecurities and Tavros really doesn’t quite help at all. And in the End? He manages to prove himself to not be a useless fuck-up by defeating the most amount of villains in the Final Battle, rising victorious on top of a pile of defeated, Time-Warping, Meddlesome Felt Members. The task Vriska had given to him as she thought was the least important, and that happened to be one of the most difficult battles without a single doubt. Here, I would’ve personally liked to see more dialog about Jake finding out more self worth? But the sweet reunion with everyone else and with Dirk leading to Act 7, and the return of his Adventurer Persona by the Credits still expose development.

Jane is also mentioned to have been shafted at times. I would’ve loved to see her hug Dad when they reunited, but I’d say we got even more with her clinging to him in Earth-C during Act 7. Other than that, though? One of the things Jane has suffered for the most in the comic is being repressed and controlled. Condy, Jake shoving her in a more than desirable situation for her... However, her meeting with Jade and Callie bring some excitement and fun after being Mind-Controlled for a long time, and her encounter with Nannasprite reinvigorates her with confidence about being a Heroine herself, leading to the final Battle where she proves to be both a powerful healer and aggressor! And by the end, not only is she finally able to do what she wants, she takes over Crockercorp to make it her company as she wanted, and ends up with two lovely Girlfriends.

Indeed, there could be more to them, there could be more dialog, more is better after all! But I don’t think their Arcs are cut short, nor that they’re shafted by the story. Rather they showcase different struggles with reality and with themselves, that they  need to overcome? And as Dave told us, Humans don’t have Character Arcs. They build up confidence towards the Final Battle to finish everything, to win the game together, and then they reunite one last time before passing into the New World. And here they will still have problems, for sure. But at the very least, the Game is finished, and they can leave behind a very unpleasant stage in their lives. Jade was Isolated, Jane was Corrupted, Jake was shamed, but in the end they reunited again, made amends where they needed to, and continue their lives with their unique sets of nuances and problems. John and Terezi, which are given some of the most development, are the two that end the most unhappy, in fact, with John having no purpose anymore and falling to depression, and Terezi obsessively chasing after Vriska still, but this doesn’t mean John’s character was ‘shafted’. His friends still encourage him, Jade still wants to visit him for his Birthday, everyone misses Terezi, they have each other and they all love each other, but internal struggles continue. As the Trickster Arc taught us, it’s something to work on, progressively, not suddenly have it all be fixed, and going through a bit of suffering to reach a happy end doesn’t mean being shafted, either. 

The story conveys what it wants to convey with the characters. Whether you agree with what they convey, or if you’d want there to be more about them, now that’s an entirely different can of worms, and that’s why Fanfiction exists and why you’re not only allowed, but encouraged to give your take on the characters and the story!

The problem with the Ending is that it tried something the Story wasn’t. The ‘Meta’ elements, the ‘Symbolism’, it’s cool, but ultimately feels tacked on/Wasn’t conveyed properly through the story, and as such, made the ending feel bad.

This is honestly one of the criticisms I dislike the most about Homestuck when people talk about the Ending, when people say that Hussie didn’t convey his intent, and trying to make the Ending more Meta is detrimental to the Story as a whole and what ‘got the fans there in the first place’, or the thought that somehow more Meta elements and actual Storytelling can’t coexist.

You can definitely not enjoy thinking deeper about a story! If you just want to check out something different and not dig deeper into the content, that’s absolutely okay! However, I’m sorry, but that is not the kind of story Homestuck is. This is a story that’s been acclaimed by the Fandom for its complexity and its weirdness, and now you’re telling me that the thing you dislike about the ending is that it’s weird and makes you think about the story? That’s paradoxical on its own. But let’s leave that behind. Whether you enjoy the more Meta aspect of stories or if you prefer a story one way or another, it’s all subjective. Let’s go to the main point here.

Hussie. Didn’t convey the kind of story it was? And it’s a disservice to the Fandom to have the Ending be something you have to dig in deeper to understand? Honestly, I don’t even know what to say about this, because this is not even like subjective opinion or disliking the ending, this is a complete misreading of the Canon, of the way the story Explicitly tells us how things work. You can interpret a lot of things in Homestuck in different ways- But you cannot say that there’s nothing to interpret and the Ending is bad because it pretends there is.

This is the story that the Author himself has called both a Creation Myth- Explicitly telling us the point of the story is a tale about Reality and living in this Reality, with explicit in-comic talk about the place people have in a Universe with Predetermination, Existential Struggles of just about everyone. This is the story the Author called “A story that is also a Puzzle”- Inviting us to read through the story while providing some deeper bits of lore we could piece together to get a wider image of what truly is behind Homestuck. This is a story where the Author himself is a Character- Miss me with the ‘not Meta’ stuff, Hussie is a character, explicitly, in-comic, that affects the story extremely directly. Jade escapes literally through the Fourth Wall. Caliborn takes over the literal narrative of the setting. Homestuck acknowledges itself as a story multiple times.

You can dislike this. You can absolutely dislike this, it’s a preference, but call it what it is, you just not enjoying this kind of story, or not enjoying the direction the narrative took in general compared to your expectations. The intent and symbolism of the comic is exposed, canonically, pretty blatantly, and even more blatantly by word-of-god with Hussie’s old Formspring and Tumblr answers, and I bet it will be even more blatant as the new Books with Commentary come out.

By blaming Hussie and the Comic on your general interest in the deeper themes of the narrative, you’re outright misinterpreting Authorial Intent in order to make you feel better about not understanding a story, and at the same time, refusing to even give it a second thought! You’ve reached the Ending, so I’m assuming this a story you enjoyed. If you enjoy it, do you really want to just walk bitterly away without giving it a chance?

That’s yet ANOTHER thing I don’t quite understand about this kind of criticism, and it is... Okay, you get to the Ending, and are disappointed that a lot of stuff you wanted to see happen didn’t happen, but- And this is not as true anymore, but back during the Act 7 Days, there was militant dislike about the Ending to the point of saying it ruined the rest of the story? It honestly feels extremely childish that an Open End to a story as complex as Homestuck could make you hate the entire story instead of wanting to know more about it, to see if you missed something else!

I sincerely do believe that a lot of people just dragged themselves through the Ending because it was an old Fandom they were in and they wanted to see how it ended, but just weren’t invested in the story anymore at that point, so they went in remembering and taking the shallow details, leaving the depth behind, and then were disappointed when their own lack of interest sabotaged their view of the comic.

Homestuck is dense, it is a Story with a ton of Symbolism and a lot of weird themes, but it’s also incredibly charming with its narrative and its characters. And for that, I am not saying that ‘You SHOULD enjoy the Ending, god dammit!’. I’m not saying that at all. As I’ve said multiple times, you can dislike Symbology in Stories, you can dislike the directions the Story took, you can dislike anything about the comic itself!

But do understand, when you give criticism of the Ending, try not to tangle actual criticism about the Story or the Narrative with Subjective Opinions. You can say you dislike how dark Blade Runner is, but you can’t say Blade Runner is a bad movie because it’s dark.

So if you don’t like Act 7, more power to you. But if you prefer to have something you apparently enjoy enough to have gone through it to the ending, ruined by your headcanons, and leave you bitter instead of seeing if there’s something more to the story or if there was something you missed, well. I feel that’s a little bit silly?

But whether you enjoy the Ending and want to dig deeper into the story and what actually happens in Homestuck, or you think I’m just a dumb fangirl reading too much into a dumb Webcomic and would like to tell me, feel free to send me an ask! I sincerely do enjoy debating about the Comic and what happens in it as long as it’s done in a civilized manner.

Thanks for Playing.

[irlcringekin]

Callout post: @toroidion @fckhand @mashcores @googledocz @1cm3 @tcnno @tarnmas @p976 @p15s @harmacysts tons of other urls-- SEXUALLY HARASSES AND ASSAULTS OTHER MINORS!!!

I apologize so much for posting this into fandom tags but he’s a Transformers fandom blogger and everyone needs to watch out. First off,

Here’s a list of shit this callout post covers:

him literally SEXUALLY ASSAULTING and SEXUALLY HARASSING MINORS.

him forcing nsfw/kink onto both MINORS and adults.

him being very emotionally manipulative (guilt tripping, threatening suicide to force people to be friends with him, etc.)

SO TW FOR ALL OF THAT.

Here are his blogs:

@38 (current url!!!)

@fckhand  (he goes back to this url a lot)

@googledocz  (past url)

@8752  (previous url)

@1cm3

@tcnno (a previous url)

@tarnmas (a previous url)

@roughbf (some sort of active sideblog)

@ctdc (an old tfkin group chat he had -- this is where he’s proved to harass people the most!!)

@pcrv (old URL - still online) 

@p15s (old URL - still online)

@skrnr (old blog - recently taken by the Woody Collectives)

@breakpng-remade (an old blog when he used to ID as Breakdown)

@harmkin (an old blog he used to stalk people on to send them n.s.f.w)

Past URLs:

toroidion

incelreaper

magistream

oddcorn

harmacysts

harmacysts-remade

ctnet

cybertronnet

breakdovvn

breakpng

skrnr

soliqsnake

paralons

Names he goes by to watch out for:

Pharma

Para / Paralon

Docs

Griev

Grim

Ten

Break(down)

He’s a minor himself but that does NOT excuse him from literally sexually assaulting other minors and putting them in danger within multiple group chats.

Please PLEASE PLEASE REBLOG IF YOU CAN!

Note: some people in this post are kin with certain characters. If someone is using a character name, it’s because of that. Don’t attack them about this.

Note: those whose names/urls/etc. are not censored gave FULL PERMISSION to be included and not censored in this post.

Note: again, this person is indeed a minor too (which doesn’t excuse him at all) but please do not harass him. Block him and spread the word to protect other minors!

He sexually assaults other minors:

It’s been my personal experience of being with him in group chats that many times he has just been asked to stop talking nsfw/kink because he’s a minor or it just made people/other minors uncomfortable. However, most of the time, he either refused or said he’d stop... only to continue. That’s all I’ve experienced. This obviously isn’t enough to warrant a callout post, however...

HE HAS RECENTLY WENT SO FAR AS TO MASTURBATE WHILE ON CALL WITH A MINOR (15) WHO WAS TOO FUCKING SCARED TO TELL HIM TO STOP.

I’ve been given permission by the person he assaulted to say who they are: it was @t4ilgate he assaulted.

It started off with someone messaging me about it:

Note that @/harmacysts aka @fckhand (now @toroidion) fakes being a system in order to get out of most of the shit he starts. Ie. “oh my other alter did that, not me, so I can’t take responsibility for my actions!”

I later got proof of his sexual assault and harassment on a tumblr user by the URL of @t4ilgate (again, permission was given to make their url public):

JUST BECAUSE THIS PERSON DIDNT SAY NO AND FELT PRESSURED INTO IT, DOESNT MEAN ITS OK. THIS WAS FORCED UPON THEM. THEY LITERALLY SAY THAT THEY DIDNT SAY NO BECAUSE THEY WERE TOO FUCKING SCARED TO SPEAK UP.

He later tried to defend them not speaking up as them “giving consent”:

“They should not have given me the slightest consent if they didn’t want it” SILENCE AND FEAR IS NOT CONSENT.

“i gave them the option to say no multiple times” THEY WERE TOO SCARED OF YOU TO SAY NO. ALSO ACCORDING TO THEM,

YOU DIDNT AT ALL.

“I’m genuinely trying to get better” YOU WOULDNT FORCE NSFW/KINKS AND YOURSELF ONTO OTHER MINORS IF YOU ACTUALLY WERE.

And here it is CONFIRMED that they were pressured and scared/forced into this shit:

[ @/t4ilgate: i really tried to hint at trying to make things slow down when he started getting too sexual with me. he just kept asking and asking me until i just felt really pressured to just agree. he really took advantage of me, especially since i had something really similar like this happen before, i was distressed abt upsetting him. he kept asking me over and over how i was feeling, and asking me if i knew what he was feeling and doing. he kept insisting that i should be blunt whenever he did.

(name redacted): god - im so sorry you had to go through that ]

Again allow me to emphasize:

“he just kept asking and asking me until i just felt really pressured to just agree. he really took advantage of me, especially since i had something really similar like this happen before, i was distressed abt upsetting him.”

And in response to his “public apology”:

[ @/t4ilgate: HAHAHAHA W O W OK THEN - 'consent' oh, you mean, constantly badgering me until my 'i dont know, im not sure' turns into '....ok' - 70% of the call was spent doing sexual activities he spent so long trying to convince me to do. - get fucked. ]

HE DID THIS WITHOUT CONSENT AND EXCUSED EVERYTHING WITH “but... [after i intensely pressured and forced them into it] they barely said ok so it’s consensual!”

BADGERING SOMEONE UNTIL THEY GIVE IN IS NOT CONSENT. YOU ARE A FUCKING SEXUAL ASSAULTER AND YOU’VE POTENTIALLY TRAUMATIZED A MINOR FOR YOUR OWN SEXUAL GRATIFICATION.

I hope you have fun living with this knowledge for the rest of your life.

--

And here’s him being asked to leave, saying he’s “so sorry” for sexually assaulting someone, (note: the person telling him to leave says that he’s done this to MULTIPLE PEOPLE SO HE IS A REPEATED OFFENDER AND DANGER):

As you can see, him asking “are you sure you want me to leave [after sexually assaulting a member of your chat]” outright shows that he’s not even considerate of how others feel LET ALONE THE PERSON HE ASSAULTED. He asks after sexually assaulting someone if they really want him to leave. Which, no shit asshole who WOULDNT want you to leave.

As a trauma survivor myself, this utterly disgusts me that this person @/harmacysts aka @fckhand (now @38) who is also the owner of @/ctnet would go so far as to WILLINGLY TRAUMATIZE ANOTHER MINOR FOR SEXUAL GRATIFICATION.

That’s cocsa even if it’s not physical or in-person, it’s still a form of sexual assault and harassment and I feel so fucking bad for the person (people?) he’s sexually harassed.

It gets worse!!!!

HE ALSO MADE A BLOG ABOUT THIS POOR MINOR AND HIS SEXUAL FANTASIES ABOUT THEM AND HARASSED THEM ON THERE TOO

Apparently this has happened BEFORE with other people as well many times:

[@/t4ilgate: -and really sexually affectionate, but i never knew he’d do that w/out asking me first - YEAH - like he even made a nsfw vent blog to talk about him lusting over me and just feels so bad and wrong i hate it i hate it

(name redacted): he did that to us too

@/t4ilgate: the url used to be harmkin - seriously???

(name redacted): he used to have a blog called fakegimmick and he’d vague about wanting to fuck us (all 17+ year olds) all the time

@/t4ilgate: that’s so fucking sick holy shit i never knew

(name redacted): and he’d even send us the links to the shit he’d vague - it was so fucking uncomfortable - he even made fun of sex-repulsion]

Him making nsfw blogs to literally stalk and harass other minors sexually and to talk about them sexually is fucking creepy. He was asked to stop multiple times but DID NOT EVER STOP. This is harassment, this is cocsa, and this is disgusting.

If that wasn’t enough, then here’s more of what he’s done:

UPDATE!! -- his new url has changed to @38 !

@tcnno used to be a previous url (proof):

[ like… i know ive been denying everything this whole time but… the person that was called out is in our system. im a newer host. i tried to get away from the whole thing because im a coward but that’s irrelevant. the point is that im letting go of my role as host and Pharma is taking that. if anyone is uncomfortable just leave the server its all fine. i doubt im going dormant but we’ll see. im really sorry i have to do this everything is too much for me to handle right now.

if anyone wants anything cleared out just ask. pharma is here with me so he can ask questions as well.

by the way feel free to screenshot that because im not hiding anymore.

oh and if you dont know whats going on just… ((link to the callout against him)) yeah. he doesnt do that kind of shit anymore and is getting better but still if anyone is uncomfortable, feel free to cut contact ] --- source (tcnno)

please note that he has excused his manipulative and abusive behavior and even the fact that he has sexually harassed a minor with his “system” and “headmates” before!!!!!

He has said MANY TIMES that he has “changed”!!

this is normal manipulative behavior for him. please do not fall for it! he is STILL VERY MUCH A DANGER!!

and he’s since then moved to @1cm3 as stated on his blog:

and from this blog you can find a url trail from 1cm3 to @incelreaper and then back to the old @fckhand and over to @arknights  and over to @mashcores and then to @googledocz where he deleted most of his content and then to 8752 where he seems to go back to the url @fckhand a lot where he admitted he was googledocz. he is now @38

UPDATE: HE JOKES ABOUT SEXUALLY HARASSING PEOPLE AND ADMITS HE DOESNT FEEL BAD ABOUT WHAT HE DID!

I guess he saw the callout post and all he did was make jokes about it and thus him sexually harassing people:

and then even say he “feels bad but also not”:

He forces nsfw/kink onto both other minors and adults:

Many people have come to me telling me that in all of the group chats he runs and/or is in, he has tried to force nsfw/kink shit onto minors MANY TIMES.

The below pictures in this next part include him going so far as to force nsfw/kink onto his old ex datemate. He’s went so far as to completely ignore their boundaries and they make commentary here and there about how scared they were (tw for vaguely nsfw implied text - but nothing outright nsfw):

[ @/harmacysts: we still have that thing you suggested - we should do that eventually.

--- A note from his ex who we’ll call “Tracer”: I didn’t suggest it. ]

===

[ @/harmacysts: well i just remembered a thing from our past and im-

“Tracer”: ???????

Harmacysts: try to guess

---  A note from his ex: here im playing along bc im too scared to do anything else ]

===

and here is where his ex datemate tried to LEAVE THE SITUATION but he kept forcing it further:

Nothing is outwardly nsfw but his ex is clearly very VERY uncomfortable and tries to literally escape the situations he puts them in MULTIPLE TIMES to the point where they feel SCARED of him.

There were also a few other instances of him forcing nsfw/kink onto people:

He has posted pictures of himself wearing a collar in a group chat he used to be in. This made a lot of people very uncomfortable as he’s a minor so they had to delete the pic he sent. During the time he was wearing it/sent the pic, he kept talking about how “age regressed” he was and then later on called his age regression “pet regression” (possible fetishization of age regression and trauma?)

After being called out about it, instead of apologizing and trying to make things better, he deleted most of the shit he sent and ran from the situation and left the group chat, unable to take people telling him to stop posting nsfw things.

Most of it was deleted including the picture he posted, but here is where he sent it:

note: NO ONE told him to send it and NO ONE told him that it was ok to. Here’s proof that they did not encourage him AT ALL and even told him to NOT post it:

and here’s the aftermath of it where, when being talked to about it and asked to stop in a calm manner, he immediately guilt trips the person telling him to stop:

[caption:

(Name redacted): I apologize but you didn’t have to leave. All I was asking was for you to not post such things into a chat with adults and - Yeah a few people have also mentioned that it made them incredibly uncomfortable as well as adults. I also don’t understnad the issue with me asking you to not post such things, and for adults to be informed of you being a minor.

Harmacysts: no its just best im not there at all]

However, after that, he once again began to force collars and kink shit onto people DESPITE BEING TOLD TO STOP MULTIPLE TIMES:

Here’s where people tell him to stop:

Note, these are taken from multiple group chats,

[ (name redacted): you NEED TO STOP POSTING THIS SHIT its making so many people uncomfortable and youre a MINOR. this isnt an nsfw chat. this is a sfw chat. and even if we did allow nsfw, YOURE A MINOR YOU NEED TO FUCKING STOP OR ELSE WE’RE GOING TO BOOT YOU FOR GOOD, OK? ]

[ (name redacted): pleasee stop this is really uncomfortable im a minor and i dont wanna see this stuff.... please??? idc if youre a minor too i want you to stop!! ]

He’s made EVERYONE both minors and adults uncomfortable. He forces nsfw/kink shit onto minors. He forces it onto adults too. No matter how much people ask him to stop, he doesn’t.

He’s caused multiple minors harm and has even triggered quite a few of them into panic attacks with his blatant sexual harassment.

I can’t stress it enough that even though he’s a minor himself, THIS IS NOT OK --- LET ALONE THE FACT THAT HE SEXUALLY ASSAULTED ANOTHER MINOR!!

He’s very emotionally manipulative:

Here are some accounts of him emotionally manipulating, guilt tripping, threatening suicide, and even trying to break relationships up out of jealousy.

This will be a mixture of people’s encounters with him and screenshots of what he’s said/done.

[ (name redacted): one of the only things that made me stay and wait for him to get better was the fact he used to guilt trip me with "i think i would have kms if i hadn't ever met you" which made me feel important but burdened WITH A FUCKING HUMAN LIFE ]

=====

[ (Name redacted #1): all he said when i once commented about the age difference between his first two relationships i knew of was "i can see why it's not everyone's thing" like................. hey

(Name redacted #2): oh my god

(Name redacted #3): so he perpetuates gross age gaps - also he’s still shoving his nsfw kink talk into minor’s faces - he’s doing it in other group chats

(Name redacted #4): UGh ]

so he advocates and even perpetuates for adult/minor and age-gap relationships.

=====

a few emotionally manipulative and guilt-trippy things he’s said but nothing too serious to warrant a callout post by itself, but it’s still something to include to show his general behavior:

(he apparently used to go by this name and icon in a different chat)

EDIT as of 21/01/2018: since then, he has been changing to numerous URLs, FULLY PRETENDING TO BE OTHER PEOPLE, and trying to drag new people into his shit. He’s hurt even more people according to a few sources and STILL tries to excuse his actions with weak apologies and saying that he “has changed and improved”:

[[ Pharmy boy (aka harmacysts/fckhand -- now @toroidion): yeah ik its really bad but if you need an apology/explanation or something i can provide one? just first off its been 5 months since everything Happened. ive improved a lot since then and i dont condone those types of things at all. it was very stupid of me and i take all the responsibility for it. i mightve been 14 at the time but that doesnt take away how bad it is.  ((continued))--

I am trying my best. So first off yeah I did do sexual things on call with another person when i hadnt been given a proper answer, and i did pressure them into it. I admit that. I didnt mean to hurt them, I genuinely thought it was ok, but now i know better. i do feel very guilty for what i did. ill be more careful in the future and am sure to not repeat the same thing ever again.

then theres me talking about nsfw when people were telling me to stop. obviously thats not a right thing to do either, as everyone was clearly uncomfortable with it. i wont repeat that either, and will look after it myself.

theres also me blaming things on alters, and not taking responsibility for what they mightve done. i dont remember exactly what happened but from now on im sure to take note of what they do and apologize for them.  ((note: he is NOT an actual system, does not have DID, and only started to claim to be one after he got friends who also claimed to be systems))

ive also bee manipulative in the past, and ive taken note of it. i used to guilt trip people and say shit like “no one loves me and youre lying” etc etc but i promise i will not do that again.

the only time i ever did stuff like that was the ones mentioned, i havent done the same before, and neither will i do it again.  ((false: he has done many more things that weren’t documented due to him deleting messages after he was told off or called out))

sorry thats a bit sloppy.

but like. i promise ive improved, and i still am. ill continue to improve from now on as well, you can give me a chance to prove that if you so desire.

bottomtron: sorry but, literally, i cant. my abuser of 3 years that ruined my life was like this and i even physically lived with him. im sure youll get better in time but 5 months isnt long and my gut tells me to just do what i feel is right. so i hope you have a good run in life and you do get better. ]]

however, despite harmacysts/fckhand’s claims, he actually HAS NOT changed and continues to sexually harass and perhaps even groom other minors:

plus it should be quite obvious that 5 months is barely enough time, especially since there has been little difference in his behaviour.

Small edit as of 2018/07/30 --- fckhand (now @38) proves that he STILL has not changed and does not care about nor respect any of his friends’ decisions to leave him after they find out what he has done.

He has no changed, will not change, and refuses to respect peoples’ decisions even after claiming for ages now that he does. He is lying.

TLDR --- this person @fckhand (now @38) literally sexually harassed another minor under the guise that their silence and fear was consent. He pressured them into it and harmed them. He’s extremely manipulative and toxic and is KNOWN to force nsfw/kink onto other minors. since then, he has been lying and trying to worm his way back into fandoms and people’s lives.

again do not harass him but by all means please reblog this post, block him, and tell others!

[iapislazuli]

how aquamarines and lapis lazulis might be related: a theory

so, if youve been following me for a while, you probably know that lapis lazuli is my favorite steven universe character (heck, considering my url, im guessing even people who DONT know me can figure that out) 

being someone who cares WAY too much about lapis, i couldn’t help but notice that yeah, alright, there are a LOT of similarities between her and aquamarine. and these similarities seem to go deeper than appearance, too! so im thinking theres no way these two gem types ARENT related. since (as im writing this) its 5:30 AM and i have nothing better to do, lets talk about some THEORIES, under a cut of course. 

at first, lapis lazulis similarities to aquamarine confused me. there is no reason for these two gems to be so similar. why? because in steven universe, they take their gem facts VERY seriously. gem characters who are this similar in appearance (I.E. jasper and amethyst), in addition to having some related in-universe role, usually also have some correlation in real-life, such as jaspers and amethysts both being quartzes IRL and both being super-soldiers in the show.

lapis lazuli is a semiprecious metamorphic rock, composed mostly of lazurite, lazulite, pyrite, and calcite. aquamarine is a blue variation of beryl, with a composition mostly of beryllium aluminum cyclosilicate. so in other words, not at ALL like lapis lazuli. so it makes no sense, right? aside from color, these two stones are nothing alike, so their counterpart gem characters shouldn’t be so similar.

BUT THEN, i realized something. and this is where we get into the theories.

PART 1: Aquamarine is an Era 2 Gem

you might remember in “Too Short To Ride”, we learned that peridot is an era 2 gem, meaning she is newer than the crystal gems. going off of what is stated in other episodes, its safe to assume that era 2 started sometime after the crystal gem rebellion. 

pearl knows about topazes and aquamarines, which means they have been around since era 1, but i think the two we know (and love?) are era 2 variants of them. 

era 2 gems don’t care about the rebellion, the crystal gems, or anything related to that. this is likely due to the fact that none of them were present for it, so it lacks personal value to them. you can tell this by comparing jasper’s reaction to seeing stevens shield (which very clearly has rose’s symbol on it) to aquamarine’s reaction: 

jasper, a known era 1 gem and participant in the war, is shocked, immediately recognizing the symbol for whose it is and what it stands for. aquamarine doesn’t mention the shield at all, merely acting annoyed that steven is trying to interfere with her mission (*cough* a lot like some OTHER era 2 gem we know). lack of reaction from topaz (who for sure saw the shield multiple times) can lead us to assume she is era 2 as well.

seems to be that era 2 gems are small. okay, topaz is pretty big, but shes a fusion AND (probably) a soldier, so she gets exempt from this rule due to having probable cause for being big. there is a reason for this, leading to the next part.

PART 2: Homeworld is Running Out of Resources

this one is more (as peridot would say) objective fact than theory, since its outright stated, but bear with me here. homeworld is running out of resources to make gems. which means it makes sense that era 2 gems, on average, are smaller than era 1 gems. additionally, it also gives reasoning for any gem who doesn’t have reason to be big (such as soldiers or bodyguards, like topaz) to be made small, to save those precious resources.

peridot, who is an era 2 gem, is hilariously short (the same size as a “defective” era 1 gem, amethyst), but has technological enhancements to make her appear to be average gem height, as well as help her perform her role of technician. this furthers the idea that aquamarine is an era 2 gem: man she is absolutely TINY. and you wanna know what ELSE she has?

BOOM. tractor beam wand. tiny size and a technological enhancement to help her perform her role, she seems for sure to be a product of era 2′s lack of resources. speaking of which, what IS her role? we know she is a high-ranking gem (her attitude, outfit, and seemingly personal connection with the diamonds certainly gives her this impression), but what on earth is she meant to do? a look at lapis lazulis might help answer this question... 

Part 3: Lapis Lazulis are Probably Really Wasteful to Resources

as mentioned before, the stone lapis lazuli itself has a hopelessly complex composition: it takes FOUR different minerals (each of which could probably be considered their own gem) just to make this dang thing. 

Peridot’s monologue in “Too Short To Ride” implies that gems with powers are taxing on resources to make. this would explain why era 1 gems seem to have a whole pantheon of superpowers, while era 2 gems get just one or two if they’re lucky. so, what we’re getting from this is stronger / more powers = takes a lot of resources to make. 

lapis lazulis, as stated in the diamonds’ song in “That Will Be All” are terraformers. this means, a single lapis lazuli has enough hydrokinetic power to reshape entire worlds, because that’s their role in gem society. lapis’ debut in mirror/ocean gem sure seems to support this, she forms the entire ocean into a space elevator, with a cracked gem. if we go based on the more powers = more expensive idea, then lapis lazulis would for sure cost more than a pretty penny’s worth of resources to make for this reason alone (not even factoring other lapis abilities, like the memories and the water wings).

judging that in “The Answer”, we see what appears to be our very own lapis in Blue Diamond’s court, possibly with other lapises, we can figure that lapis lazulis’ tremendous powers rank them pretty high in the homeworld hierarchy. maybe to keep them complacent, so they wont use their terraforming power against the diamonds? who knows.... 

Part 4: Okay, but what does all this mean?

so, to recap: we know that both aquamarine and lapis lazuli are high ranking blue gems with water wings, close connections to the diamonds, and a deceivingly innocent or dainty appearance. one gem type has only thus far shown era 1 variants, and is decidedly wasteful to resources that started to run out in era 2. the other gem type, or at least the era 2 variation of them we are familiar with, is more economic to produce, and has a technological enhancement that allows them to easily lift and move large objects.

lift and move extremely large objects, you say? like, objects up to the size of a five-gem fusion? you know, like, a task you would probably need to carry out while reshaping a planet to fit the will of the diamonds? but this power isnt built in to your being, so it could easily be revoked in the case of disobedience? all wrapped up in a tiny, resource-efficient package? 

oh yeah, thats what i mean by all this: there are no era 2 lapis lazulis, they got axed from the kindergartens at the end of era 1 for being wasteful and their role is instead filled by the repurposed era 2 aquamarines. 

there are still probably a good handful of lapises and era 1 aquamarines around, of course, and the similarities between these two, if any, are yet to be seen. i might be totally wrong about this since aquamarine is such a new character (and lapis is still pretty mysterious despite being one of the first introduced gems), but whatever the case may be, im excited to hopefully learn more about gems and homeworld in the upcoming Wanted event! 

[clarencenicholsonata]

The Art of Writing Subject Lines (With 13 Free Templates)

Writing and sending bulk emails - whether sales emails or newsletters - to your B2B subscribers can be an exercise fraught with frustration if you're not getting the open and conversion rates to make it all worthwhile.

Before you give up or scrap your approach, look at your subject lines. Really examine them.

Your subject lines are often the first impression your subscribers have of you, and the first thing they'll see in their inboxes. Therefore, you should be crafting your subjects with expert precision. After all, subject lines written well convey value, while subjects that fall flat communicate to your audience that your emails are nothing but wasted time.

Plus, 33% of subscribers open emails based on the subject line alone. In fact, get good at subject lines and your subscribers may click on your emails without even looking at the "From" column at all. That's how powerful subject lines can be. Use the following tips and you'll soon be writing subject lines that truly convert.

1. Don't Try to Sell

Many people read their emails first thing in the morning, coffee in hand. The last thing they want is to be sold to with a bold-faced pitch before they've finished their first cup. MailChimp put it best: "When it comes to email marketing, the best subject lines tell what's inside, and the worst subject lines sell what's inside."

Do's and Dont's

Don''t: Buy the ebook Precision Marketing today for only $23!

Do: The ebook Precision Marketing is finally here. Excerpt inside!

2. No Spam

Spam emails are are unwanted emails that outright sell or mislead, much to the frustration of your email recipients. If you send unsolicited sales pitches with enough frequency, your subscribers may mark your emails as spam, which hurts your reputation and limits your exposure.

Do's and Dont's

Don't: EARN $5K ON YOUR NEXT DEAL!!!!

Do: Use this little-known tactic to enhance your next deal

3. Don't recycle

If you find a subject line that works really well, don't think you can use it over and again to the same effect. Treat subject lines like coffee filters. They do the job once, but rarely do you want to use them twice.

What you can do is standardize your subject lines so that your content looks familiar.

For example:

[Copywriting Tip#5]: Infusing Headlines with Emotion

[Copywriting Tip#6]: Introductory Paragraph Hooks

4. KISS

Keep your subjects short and sweet, with ten words being the maximum.

Do's and Dont's

Don't: We asked our audience which email template they liked best and this is what they said.

Do: 94% of marketers love this email template.

5. Use Action Verbs

Click, Follow, Visit, Build, Grow, Find, Receive, Start, and Download are all action verbs that can get your recipients to act just by mentioning them.

Do's and Dont's

Don't: Email Template Inside

Do: Download our new email template!

6. Leave a Shocking Statistic

People love facts, and the more you can back up your information with hard statistics, the better. By putting a crazy stat right in the headline, you can pique your recipient's interest enough to inspire a click, open, and read.

Do's and Dont's

Don't: Successful Marketers have read this book.

Do: 87% of successful marketers have read this book.

7. Write Clearly

Write like a human being and stay away from confusing language. Also, proofread your subject lines so there are no errors. Your recipients should be able to decipher your subject line at a single glance.

Do's and Dont's

Don't: Follow Up - Data Appending

Do: Follow Up About Appending Your Data

8. Personalize

To improve conversions, email subject lines should always be tailored to the recipient so that it looks like an exclusive message. Personalizing your emails using details like the recipient's name and job title can entice them to sit up and really pay attention.

Do's and Dont's

Don't: Marketer, here is the information you requested.

Do: Mike, you requested information and we've delivered.

Be Straightforward

If you can't think of anything clever or inspiring to say, just state what's in the email. Sometimes, shooting straight from the hip works best.

Do's and Dont's

Don't: We need your help (please read)

Do: Yes, this is a crowdfunding effort.

9. Go for Emotional Impact

Just like headlines, subject lines should be infused with emotion. That doesn't necessarily mean that your subjects should make your subscribers sad. Quite the opposite. Your subscribers want to know that the content in your emails will improve their lives or otherwise make their situations easier. And if you can give them a little fun and excitement, they'll love you even more.

While it's not easy to create emotion with mere language, emotion is key if you want a boost in opens and conversions.

Your subjects don't have to be profound or inspiring, but you should go for a variety of emotions, such as...

10. Emotional Impact: A Sense of Urgency

You can get your email recipients to act quickly if you convey the message that time is limited. Some tactics that work well are providing a deadline (Hurry, before time runs out!) or tapping into the fear of loss (Get your free seat before times runs out). You can also force your recipient's hand by implying that a negative result will occur if your email is not read and followed (Don't let non-paying clients kill your business!).

Examples of Urgent Subject Lines:

The eBook excerpt disappears this Thursday!

Tonight only: [Video] How to put your marketing on autopilot

The chance to read Mark Cuban's interview ends at MIDNIGHT!

11. Emotional Impact: Curiosity

A little mystery works well in getting recipients to act. You can try the cliffhanger approach, where you don't give everything away (We increased sales ten-fold in three months by using'), or you can start with the end result, leaving readers to want to read the beginning of the story (How did we sell out of our inventory in three months?). Or, you can ask an open-ended question, and one that can only be answered by reading your email content (You asked for it and our new product is finally here).

Examples of Curiosity-Inducing Subject Lines:

This investment tip yielded an unexpected windfall! A must-have!

Ten bizarre tactics that attract better leads

Your sales force may be committing this GRAVE mistake

The overlooked social media strategy I almost missed

12. Emotional Impact: Excitement

You can get your recipients pumped-up as they read their emails by using super-charged subject lines, such as those that use strong action verbs...

Example: "Acquire better leads with advice from a marketing expert".

You can also give your reader a sense that your content is exclusive and made for their eyes only...

Example: "News coming soon! don't tell anyone!"

And, of course, you can make your recipients an offer they can't refuse.

Example: "84% of businesses see improvement with this website tweak"

More Subject Line Examples that Inspire Excitement:

This one word boosted our conversions by 357%!

Be the first to get our new product!

You just won a ticket to our next conference!

13. Emotional Impact: Joy

If you can make your recipients feel joy, they'll definitely remember you. You can inspire joy by using humor (I just threw my laptop out the window in frustration), or by giving your recipients an opportunity to do the right thing (Give back by mentoring up and coming marketers).

Examples of Subject Lines that Make People Feel Joy:

Want to make $10K/month? This template is life changing.

These marketing mistakes will leave you in stitches!

Thank you for your support!

Conclusion

Using these tactics, you can increase your open rates and conversions, but don't stop there. Test your subject lines over time to really nail the types that resonate most with your audience. That's how power email marketers operate, and with subject lines like the ones above, you'll be power emailing in no time.

About the Author:

Ryan Gould is the Vice President of Strategy and Marketing Services at Elevation Marketing, a B2B marketing agency. Ryan helps medium and large brands improve sales and market share by developing integrated marketing experiences distinguished by research, storytelling, engagement and conversion.

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[notwhereiwas]

Why Women Marched Against Trump

 Backstory:

I had spent a bit too much time on social media following the mudslide that is the new Trump administration and a peculiar situation unfurled. A male friend of mine posted a photo meant to critique the Women’s March by using photos of assumed Muslim women being stoned, wearing Hijab’s and being abused in various other manners. The intention of the post (supposedly originally written by a woman) was to discredit the march, with the implication that they had no idea why women marched because American women, come on, we have it so great and we should just be thankful we don’t have the life of a Middle Eastern Woman. 

I decided to reply that I found it interesting that suddenly he had actual feelings for the things the women pictured dealt with, when prior to the march, not a word was said. Then, a friend of my friend then engaged in a conversation with me online. He questioned the things I mentioned, and questioned why I never did anything about the previous assaults, sexual harassment and various other illegal activities that applied to me for the simple fact that I was a woman. 

The following is a transcript of some of the conversation, if you’re so inclined:

Me: I absolutely adore how many posts I'm seeing about males bringing up how women from other countries are suffering...when they gave zero shits about those same oppressed women when zero American women were marching.

 Friend: i am a firm believer in understanding the truth. and the truth is.. that women in america have it great! men in america have it great! black people in america have it great. same with all other races and genders. america is great. and to be blessed with this american life, is ignored and forgotten by many. especially those protesting for the wrong reasons. for example.. the article above shows how american women have it great in america. i volunteered in our military for the sole purpose to serve protect and defend those given rights. so those who protest need to not act like they dont exist because they do in fact exist and are very much real

 Me:Would you kindly tell that to the average 3 women A DAY murdered by their partners in the U.S.? I love that you think we have it great, and by God as my witness we certainly do in so many regards that I'm thankful for, but until you've had a penis inside your vagina against your will, until you are denied told you can't have your tubes tied because "your future husband might want kids", until you walk down the street and are propositioned for blow jobs on a college campus, until you are asked in a job interview if you plan in having children, until you have had a fellow service member comment on your ass while you're trying to qualify (for my nonmilitary people this means shooting guns on a range), until you're asked how you got your promotion besides being on your knees, kindly refrain from trying to explain to me why I shouldn't have the right to protest and tell me how I should do it, not a single arrest was made during the women's march ( not the case on actual inauguration day - as that day WAS NOT a sanctioned " Women's March")..you know very well I love this country as I've dedicated 3 tours to the cause.

 Random Guy: ..until you are denied (and) told you can't have your tubes tied because "your future husband might want kids"....PLEASE cite research into your claims above. The rest of your ramblings are ridiculous as well...but specifically explain yourself about this. As far as no (per your research?) arrests during the March on Saturday, there are thousands that SHOULD have been cited for LITTERING. Also, Madonna should have been locked up immediately.One more thing...if everything you claimed were actually epidemic in our society of today, why is this so? Obama was the President over the past 8 years. Where was he during the above atrocities against women? I'll await your response there.

 Me: Umm those were first hand references...soooo.

 Random Guy: You posted it....soooo....defend your comments.

 Me: I'm confused what I need to defend...please explain it to me

 Random Guy: I can specifically cite laws and regulations against everything you said. Sooo....unless you plan to defend your assertions, you're just a blowhard with a hard-on against men.

 Me: Weird how people don't always follow the law...I happen to love most men but thanks for caring

 Random Guy: Once again, "...until you are denied (and) told you can't have your tubes tied because "your future husband might want kids"....PLEASE cite research into your claims that females can't have their tubes tied because your future husband might want kids.

 Me: Like, you want a blow by blow or should I say thrust by thrust account of my rape?

 Me: It's what my doctor told me, until I found a new one

 Random Guy: I'm sorry for any injustice you've experienced in your lifetime but you don't speak for all women. Your ramblings are indicative of a victim mentality. It's also ILLEGAL for an employer to ask, in an interview, whether the applicant plans to have kids in the future.Any rational and sane person would KNOW that ANY female can get a tubal ligation at any time without anyone denying them.

 Me: I'm not saying every woman feels this way.

 Random Guy: If your Doctor actually told you something like that, why didn't you report him or her? If someone said "nice ass" or otherwise sexually harassed you, why didn't you report him or her? If an employer asked you whether you plan to have kids in the future, why didn't you report them?

 Me: Hmm let's talk about that, during a court marshall I actually did, thanks though

 Random Guy: If this is just the "(Insert my name here,) Victim" story, why not write a book instead of attacking people because of your unfortunate past?

I then replied I had written a book, where he proceeded to tell me he hopes I have a good editor because what I was saying was very unprofessional and inflammatory. I also asked my friend if he felt attacked, but got not response, he was silent thereafter. Rando (as I’ll now refer to random guy of which I won’t release his name) then wished me well and stated he hoped to see me on CNN one day.

The thing is, the conversation and what felt like a personal attack floored me. I had so much to say in reply but it just wouldn’t come out. The blatant denial of facts and cultural context obliterated any sense I had in trying to verbalize any rebuttal. 

I thought about the conversation for days. Was I wrong, was I a thankless ingrate feminazi, brimming with privilege I didn’t even know I had? Was the epidemic of the maltreatment of women in our country skewed by my own experience?

I reached out. I asked women in my own social media circle to share their stories with me. I asked them, if they had ever experienced abuse, why didn’t they “Deal with it,” as suggested by the gentleman I spoke to. Here is one single response I received out of many, some details have been changed for autonomy:

Anyway....if by "dealing with it" at the time it occurs people mean stop it, walk out on it, or something like that, all I can say from my own experience is:  abuse doesn't start with the physical. What my partner did was to undermine me - my intelligence, my abilities to "make it" without him,  and later, my abilities to care for my son. By that time, my self-esteem was completely gone and the physical abuse followed. I knew it was wrong, but I (inexplicably) was convinced by then that I really WAS as stupid and incompetent as he thought I was. He also told me that if I ever left him, he would take our son and I would never see him again. The abuser causes you to question everything: it's gaslighting at its most effective. "He didn't really mean to hit me, did he? It was a mistake. It won't happen again. Besides, he loves me!" And I'll be honest...I was lucky. I had a supportive family who loved me and my child. And yet it happened to me. 

For privacy reasons, I am choosing not to mention the other responses I received. They included rape and molestation but also a resounding tone of shame and guilt from the women who shared. This isn’t anything new, we all know why women don’t speak out, we know the impact of such things, why they don’t “Deal with it,” when it happens. I feel like those who make statements such as they should have been stronger, done something about it, they should just be followed up with, “just being pussies,” because that is the feeling I had from Rando, who, come on, literally called me a Victim, when I was simply stating facts. This guy knew nothing about me, the fact that I did leave, that I did fight, that I did climb out of the burn pits, on a few occasions. This man was ordering me to defend my actions in a cloud of disbelief. He didn’t give credit to those fucking warriors, men and women, who eventually said, “Enough is enough.” 

It boils down to this concept that some people refuse to admit exists. VICTIM BLAMING, when you lead a conversation with the victim about assault with the words, “Why didn’t you...” Sorry not sorry, fuck you and fuck that uncircumcised beast you rode in on. When this phrase is said, it’s implying that outright, it was my/our responsibility to prevent whatever happened to me/us from happening, as opposed to um...people not raping/assaulting/abusing/harassing other people, point blank. I did what I could when I could to alleviate the things that happened, but why should that sole responsibility ride on my shoulders. 

I once posted a comment on Facebook that I regret to this day. I said, something along the lines of, “Well, I don’t go walking down a dark alley waving around a wad of cash, expecting not to get robbed.” This logic is flawed in that yes, people will hurt you...BUT THAT DOESN’T MAKE IT OK, AND THOSE PEOPLE SHOULD BE HELD RESPONSIBLE in such a way as to fear the four horseman if they do decide to sexually assault an unconscious female behind a dumpster. Something tells me Brock Turner serving only a three month jail sentence after committing such an act, will not make people fear their transgressions. Therefore, there’s no reason for the majority of sex offenders to NOT offend, the payoff is worth more than their punishment, if they get one at all. 

Let me be clear here, Rando did state he believed women had every right to protest. His and my friend’s point to me was, women have it great in America and we should be grateful for it. I got it, I won’t argue with that, I grovel to my God every day for the things given to me...to a point. We undeniably have it pretty good, but let me ask, what the actual fuck is wrong with wanting better?

 Rando also told me that instead of marching, the women should have volunteered at shelters or something....For how long Rando, how long should they have volunteered, until the violence miraculously stopped? You’re telling me eventually, if we just keep giving 5 hours a week to a shelter, the abused would stop coming in? Giving aid to victims is most definitely a duty, one that I’ve taken on in the past, but let me be clear, it is a bandaid. Every day more women and children come into the shelters and transitional housing, at least when there’s room. It’s the same with homelessness. Providing shelter and care is a step, but it is not the cure. Cultural change is, and guess what causes cultural change? I’m not going to explain it to you Rando, just maybe, I don’t know, go study the Civil Rights leaders and see how Andrew Goodman, Elizabeth Freeman, Lucy Stone, W.E.B. Du Bois, Harry Hay did it (I’ve got my own reading list on hand now). 

I acknowledge that just protesting doesn’t work for social change (which is what we’re agreeing is needed here right), it takes more than that, legislation, policy change, invention, actual culture change, and surprise, tension and conflict (which come on, the marches obviously did that so don’t tell me they should have done something else)  I also know that planting my ass at a check-in desk at a women’s shelter is not part of the advancement bargain, it is a maintainer and I’m sorry that’s all you want, the maintenance of your own life’s standards. 

 Just because women elsewhere survive far greater things than some of us here, I refuse to sit down, shut up, and ignore that the American Dream isn’t a whisper of a lie. If I were to accept my wonderful fate of living in this nation, no questions asked, no protesting had, I think I might have to ignore some striking statistics.

Fun facts: 

From 2002 to 2012, the number of women killed by intimate partners was 15,462, according to data from James A. Fox, a Northeastern University criminology professor who adjusted federal data for unsolved homicide cases believed to be linked to intimate partners. 

The total deaths from Sept. 11 and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is a maximum of 9,838 (As of 2013, 147 women were killed since 2001) . It’s lower when we exclude non-American victims on Sept. 11. Weeeird, so you’re telling me more women were killed in America than in those Muslim countries we’re banning because they’re such a threat to domestic security. You’re telling me, as a woman, I’m safer going to war than dating someone? Gotcha’. 

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence has found that, on average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. During one year, this equates to more than 10 million women and men. 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have been victims of [some form of] physical violence by an intimate partner within their lifetime. So, Rando, American men could stand to do better as well. 

On a typical day, there are more than 20,000 phone calls placed to domestic violence hotlines nationwide. 

The cost of intimate partner violence exceeds $8.3 billion per year. Rando, THAT’S why I don’t care that protestors didn’t get cited for littering, it wouldn’t have come close to making a dent in that debt. 

Women are more likely to suffer domestic violence than they are cancer, which the rate of cancer for women is considered an epidemic. So yes, Rando, it is an epidemic...as to why women are marching now about it, there is this thing called Take Back the Night, which is an international event and non-profit organization with the mission of ending sexual, relationship, and domestic violence in all forms. Hundreds of events are held in over 30 countries annually. Events often include marches, rallies and vigils intended as a protest and direct action against rape and other forms of sexual, relationship, and domestic violence. In 2001, a group of women who had participated in the earliest Take Back the Night marches, came together to form the Take Back the Night Foundation in support of the events throughout the United States and the world. These events existed during the Obama administration and beyond which, let’s get into that, why weren’t we crying about it when Obama was President. I’m just going to pop in this little link to take care of some of that: https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2014/08/26/fact-sheet-obama-administration-record-women-and-girls

So, it appears the Obama administration took strides in addressing the issue plaguing our nation, though I will not pretend it was enough. So why march now in the millions simply because we now have a President that supposed manhaters can’t stand? Oh I don’t know, it might be because our current President (he who must not be named) has said the following statements about women:

Said that Fox News’ Megyn Kelly had “blood coming out of her wherever“ after she moderated a GOP debate and questioned Trump for having previously labeled women “fat pigs” and “dogs.” (He also retweeted a comment calling Kelly a “bimbo.”)

In reference to Fiorina, Trump took aim at her looks in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine. “Look at that face!” he said. “Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?!” Trump then attempted to backpedal, saying he was talking about her persona, not her physical appearance. Now, I’m not sure here, but I don’t believe he mentioned the appearance of any male running mates, I could be wrong here but double check and let me know if I’m wrong.

Trump told USA Today columnist that if his daughter were ever to be sexually harassed at work, he hopes she’d just move on. “I would like to think she would find another career or find another company if that was the case,” he said. As opposed to, oh I don’t know, “I would hope if she felt she needed help in standing up, she would come to me, or other trusted allies to get the piece of shit harassing her kicked out on his/her ass where they belong...you know, change the fucking culture, or if she didn’t want to prosecute, feel safe in knowing I’d support her regardless.” Because again, I couldn’t ask him to demand she “do something about it,” because that is not anyone’s decision but hers.

He tweeted that military sexual assault should basically be expected, what with men and women serving in the military together. This fall, Matt Lauer gave Trump an opportunity to amend his comments in a forum hosted by NBC, but Trump did not. “Well, it is a correct tweet,” he said. Basically, again he chalked it up to the fact that men just can’t help themselves, as opposed to saying something along the lines of...”We have to do better.” 

And my favorite:

I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldn't get there, and she was married. Then all of a sudden I see her, she's now got the big phony tits and everything. I'm automatically attracted to beautiful [women]—I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait. And when you're a star they let you do it. You can do anything ... Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything. In this case he could have said...no, nothing else he could have said, he should have just shut the fuck up unless it was to compliment/analyze literally anything other than the physical appearance of a woman.

I’m not even going to get into the rumors of rape charges and pedophilia against the man, because...according to the nation, all those women were “obviously lying,” and I can’t dispute that nonsense, I don’t have the strength.

So, Rando, that might be why women specifically marched a day after this upstanding American Citizen was inaugurated. It’s because, after this man was elected to the most respected position in our nation, I believe it created a foreboding disastrous future for women and even men. When the recording of the pussy statement came out, everyone shrugged their shoulder and said it was lockerroom banter, thereby signaling to American men and everyone else, that this was acceptable language towards our nation’s daughters, mothers, sisters...American Women. Guess what, it’s not. 

So, I guess my last comment to you Rando and everyone else saying that the women didn’t march for them because they were doing just peachy is, you’re lucky.