#you can’t spell fandom without racism

[bitchypuppystarlight]

Has Madeleine Mantock not acted since she left Charmed? What the hell did you assholes do to her????

[wellofdean]

Such a good article:

When I work with younger writers, I am frequently amazed by how quickly peer feedback sessions turn into a process of identifying which characters did or said insensitive things. Sometimes the writers rush to defend the character, but often they apologize shamefacedly for their own blind spot, and the discussion swerves into how to fix the morals of the piece. The suggestion that the values of a character can be neither the values of the writer, nor the entire point of the piece, seems more and more surprising — and apt to trigger discomfort. While I typically share the progressive political views of my students, I’m troubled by their concern for righteousness over complexity. They do not want to be seen representing any values they do not personally hold. The result is that, in a moment in which our world has never felt so fast-changing and bewildering, our stories are getting simpler, less nuanced and less able to engage with the realities through which we’re living.

Good stories give us moral clarity by allowing us to process complexity, not by spelling it out, and reading this really interesting article, I can't help thinking of the contrast between the operatic and somehow brain-melting nature of the romance in Supernatural, which was always clear and present, even if it was complicated, subterranean and interdicted, vs the simple, unimpeachable simplicity of something like 9-1-1, which ok, it's clear, uncomplicated queer representation and that is nice! Yes! Sure. Ok. But for me? It cannot hold a candle to the 12 years of highly charged yearning that took place on a show that some members of the fandom still decry as homophobic and accuse of queerbaiting its audience on a regular basis.

For the record, I think it did neither! It told a complex, queer story that required its audience to think, feel and empathize with its characters. It involved me in ways that something like 9-1-1 simply does not, because it ASKED something of me as a viewer.

I'd say the same of about the deep seam of misogyny that runs through Supernatural, and the way the show went from replicating it, sometimes unconsciously, to consciously depicting it as something killing that separates our beloved characters from every softer, consoling feeling, and every authentic desire they have. Is that really 'misogyny', or is it a story that has some legitmate real estate in something that is good for a world without gender hierarchy? Again, it asks me to process it and decide.

Even with the charge of racism, which is, I would say, the most legitimate criticism of Supernatural, the way race was treated carelessly and sometimes in very predictably ugly ways on Supernatural prompts us all to reflect on it -- to call it out and see how unacceptable it is. Is art that shows us our own faces in the mirror bad art, or is it useful to us? There is a difference between moral clarity and moral simplicity.

Supernatural is a genuinely interesting cultural artifact in this regard -- it grew up with us into our present, and it's still going someplace. I think it does teach us moral lessons, particularly in the way it centres non-compliance with hegemony and authentic love of all kinds as the strongest force in its world. But those are not simple things.

Anyway. Just a thought.

[xadoheandterra]

Series: Semblance Title: Patriciate Fandom: Jak and Daxter Chapters: I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X | XI | XII | XIII | XIV | XV | XVI Characters: Jak, Daxter, Samos, Keira, Kid!Jak, Ashelin, Torn, Tess Tags: Worldbuilding, Accidentally King of Haven!Jak, hurt/comfort, things go wrong, things get better, things get worse again, slow build, slow burn, slow to update, cross posted, fantasy racism, canon divergence, been meaning to share this here Summary: “It’s yours,” Jak said softly. “Keep it…remember where you come from. At least one of us should remember….”

If Jak knew the consequences of that one, selfish choice…well, he’d probably have made the same decision either way.

Samos, the mysterious firecracker, and Keira. Choices, or the lackthereof.

Samos frowned. A week of no word from the boy, and then quite suddenly Jak set the secretary upon him. Green eco, his channeling abilities, and health packs? What in the world had the boys gotten themselves into now? Tiredly, and completely frustrated, Samos clacked into Jak’s rooms without so much as a by-your-leave. In one hand he had the standard medical kit; on a floating discus suspended with an A-Grav unit were a few packs of green eco Jak ordered. Samos couldn’t understand what the boy did this time, but he whatever it was he knew he’d be cleaning up after Jak for some time. Such was the way of the world.

“What do you have to say for yourself?” Samos demanded, barely one foot into the door. “You disappear for precursors know, and pop back up only when you’re in need of healing? You have responsibilities, Jak! You can’t go and wonder off all willy-nilly!”

Jak looked up from where he’d been bent over, focused on a small child who sat on the edge of the couch in the sitting room. For one moment Samos found himself treated to an arched eyebrow, some form of silent communication that had Daxter staring at Jak in awe, and then he watched Jak’s ears slump back the way they did when chastised. Samos harrumphed to himself and peered at the boy on the couch.

“And who is this?” Samos demanded. He set his bag down near the armrest and peered at the child. To himself he tsked, noted the broken wrist and possible sprained or dislocated shoulder with distaste. If things weren��t bad enough the child smelled horrendous and looked like he hadn’t even washed. “Some sort of stray? Honestly, Jak, you can’t bring just anyone in here! There are protocols, and your safety to think about. Where even are the boy’s parents?”

Jak sighed, a near silent sound, and Samos frowned at him harder. Daxter and Jak shared a glance, a few silent words that had Samos ready to berate the boys further with a grumble of, “Use your words, I know you can!” but then Jak looked at the boy critically before Samos could say anything and turned back to the sage with a sigh.

“I don’t know,” Jak said. “No. I don’t really care. Probably dead.”

“And just where did you find him?” Samos demanded. He carefully pried open one of the crates of eco.

“The Industrial District.”

Samos paused, looked at Jak, then harrumphed again. “Honestly what were you doing there?”

“Retrieving Vin for Zoe,” Jak said shortly again. Samos paused, a thoughtful frown crossed his face, and then he nodded. He knew what Vin meant to Jak—the few times they actually got to talk—and Jak speaking still felt a bit like a novelty, although Samos always knew the boy could use his words and he didn’t understand just why he never chose to before—Jak often would speak of Vin and how Vin reminded him of the old Blue Sage.

“I see,” Samos grumbled. “Well? Are you going to help me or not?” When Jak stared at him blankly he huffed and motioned toward the green eco. “Channeling boy! Come now, there’s not a moment to waste!”

Samos didn’t miss the way Jak eyes the eco warily, he didn’t miss the slight tensing of Jak’s shoulders, and his eyes narrowed in thought. Perhaps his time in Haven spelled worse things than Samos expected. He hadn’t missed the way Jak trembled channeling red eco back in the council chambers—and now to eye something as simple as green with wariness, well, Samos wondered how much practice the young prodigy even had as of late.

“Well?” Samos demanded, Jak sighed, and dipped one hand into the pool of liquid green.

Samos turned his attention straight onto the boy and missed the way Daxter quickly scrambled up Jak’s shoulder. The ottsel curled his tail around Jak’s neck and his fingers into the braids of Jak’s hair. Small claws dug into Jak’s scalp as Jak focused on channeling the eco from a liquid state into pure energy. He could feel it burn within his veins something unholy that always brought to mind the times when he and Daxter would go clean out the dark eco flowers with green eco—purifying the land for new, lively and untainted growth. Jak’s hand shook as he held it out over Samos’, who focused the energy Jak output into healing the hurts of the child in front of him. Only Daxter really noted how the sweat built up on Jak’s brow, but more because the child stared as Samos channeled in awe, and Samos focused entirely on the child.

It took almost thirty minutes of concentrated effort, and three full packs of eco—liquid eco existed in a more potent state, but when channeled the way Jak was it burned away far more quickly than anything vaporous would. It didn’t help that Jak constantly fought with the eco through his system while also channeling it in the first place. Finally, though, Samos finished and Jak pulled away. For a moment he swayed on his feet, and then got his bearing back just in time for Samos to turn around.

“Well I better hope that wasn’t all you had to say,” Samos said sharply. “Five days and no one has seen hide nor hair of you, Jak!”

“Dax,” Jak said softly, “can you take him downstairs to Lyra please?”

Daxter nodded, a quick, “Sure thing buddy!” and then gripped the boy and tugged him along. Jak all but collapsed back down into the couch and breathed out heavily.

“Well?” Samos demanded. He noted the exhaustion. “Don’t tell me you’re tired out from that bit of work!” He watched Jak bite back a retort, sigh, and then shook his head.

“I’m fine,” Jak said, but Samos could read the lie easily enough. He could read any lie Jak told him, and a part of him always felt disappointed when the teenager lied. He frowned, but before he could bring attention to it—and berate Jak for lying again—Jak continued tiredly. “I’ve called an emergency meeting of the sage lines.”

Samos blinked, then leaned heavily on his cane. “So you have been paying attention then. It’s about time.” He eyed Jak, worked around what he wanted to say carefully. “What brought this on?”

Jak glanced up at him. “Over half the city is still in ruins, Samos.”

“Preposterous!”

Jark raised his eyebrows. “I was just there and Ashelin confirmed it.” Well that Samos couldn’t find an answer for, so he said nothing instead. “The meeting will be in three hours. Can you let Zoe know, and work with her to gather everybody?”

“I suppose,” Samos said cautiously. “What do you plan for this meeting?”

“To get this city back to the way it should be,” Jak said shortly.

“Torn should also be present, since he’ll have the best information in regards to the Krimson Guard and the Underground’s forces,” Samos mused. He often relegated most things to Torn after he recruited the boy. “Very well.” Samos turned and hobbled toward the door, paused, and then added softly, “I am proud of you, Jak. You’re coming into your own well.”

He missed Jak’s look of shock.

 She sat across from Sig and laughed at the story the older man casually regaled her with. His tales of the wasteland, surviving, and some of his escapades with metal heads were a refreshing point of interest. Most of anything she’d known had been here in Haven—and nothing as silly as an accidental run-in with a metal head while relieving oneself. Plenty of Sig’s stories were easily nighttime entertainment for patrons at the Naughty Ottsel, but for the moment she had him all to herself.

“Well, firecracker, what about you?” Sig questioned lightly as he knocked back some of the alcoholic beverage that Tess provided him. “What’d you do for fun?”

‘Firecracker’ rolled her glass of water between her hands as she hummed in thought. “Zoomers, mostly. I worked as a mechanic in the Stadium for a good while before I joined up with the Underground.” Her lips curled in a sort-of pleased manner. “The work was fun enough, even if I didn’t enjoy the people whose zoomers I worked on.”

“Just a mechanic or far more technically minded?” Sig cocked his head slightly.

“Oh I can work on just about anything,” Firecracker assured him. “Give me some tools and a machine and I’ll get her purring in no time. If it’s got a processor for eco all the better.” Sig’s brows shot up at that. “Yeah, I know, seems more like something you’d see from someone else.” She shot Sig a mischievous grin. “What can I say? I’ve always been pretty good with eco-related systems.”

“Who do you think taught me how to build a morph gun?” Tess hollered over with a wide grin and Sig burst out with a belly laugh in response.

“Speed or power?” Sig asked. He leaned in to hear her answer.

“Neither,” she answered. “Give it a punch, sure, but it’s more the impact response than anything else. Make it explode with the largest blast radius for maximum destruction? Raise the accuracy rate so that you waste as little ammo as needed? Best results you can find anywhere. Most of the specialty ammo and scopes Tess uses I actually made in house.”

Sig whistled appreciatively, eye wide in surprise.

“Mind if I contract you sometime?” he asked, curious.

“Sure,” Firecracker shrugged. “Not much else to do, really.” She shot Sig a grin, followed by a wink, and watched amused as the older man looked utterly bewildered by the flirtatious action. Calmly she took a sip of her drink, and almost spit it out when her communicator started shrieking with a horrible rendition of a popular song. She glared at it, silently cursed Daxter—he changed the ring tone again and Tess’ laughing over there meant she helped him—and quickly picked up.

“Commander,” Firecracker barely refrained from a salute. Sig twisted, curious, and she waved him off. Without an apology she got to her feet and headed toward the back of the bar.

“Alyín,” Torn’s voice came over with a sigh of relief. “I need you to get to the Palace promptly.”

“Sir?”

“Just…do it. Preferably before Aksoy get’s here.” Alyín frowned, especially at how exhausted Torn sounded. His voice rasped a bit more than normal and, concerned, she shared a glance with Tess.

“I’m on my way, sir,” Alyín agreed. She mouthed, “Should I force him?” to Tess, concerned.

“If he isn’t when you get there,” Tess mouthed back and Alyín nodded. She completely missed Torn’s response, and the subsequent hang up, but she did catch her communicator going off again. Alyín glanced at it, confused, and then paled. She gave Tess a wane smile, ducked into the back, and sucked in a sharp breath.

Quickly the Alyín picked it up again and softly she spoke. “Shadow….”

“Alyín, child, I need you to get Keira from the Stadium,” Samos’ voice came through urgent, and Alyín’s concern grew. First Torn sounded worn out, and now the Shadow too? She wondered just what happened that she missed.

“Sir?”

“A meeting’s been called; all sage lines must be present,” Samos said urgently. “Pick up Keira and make your way here immediately. I’m afraid the time for hiding is done, child.”

Alyín breathed out heavily and closed her eyes. “It’s not like there’s anyone to really hide from, is there?” she asked bitterly.

“I know this might not be your choice…” Samos started, but Alyín interrupted him.

“No. Hiding wasn’t my choice,” she said shortly. “This…this might not also be my choice, but it’s what I want.” She sucked in a breath. “I’ll go and get Keira sir and be there shortly. Is there anything else?”

For a moment Samos didn’t say anything, and then softly he said, “No, my dear. Just hurry. There is much to discuss.” Promptly the communicator cut out. Alyín took a moment longer before she ducked out of the back room, and something must’ve shown on her face because Tess instantly reached out and grasped her arm.

“Are you okay?” the young blond asked.

Alyín looked at her, and then thought of everything that no longer would hold her back, and smirked. “Oh, I will be.” She patted Tess’ hand. “I will be, Tess.”

For a moment Tess stared, and then slowly a smile crossed her face and she nodded. Alyín walked out of the Naughty Ottsel with a wave goodbye to Sig. She hooked her leg around her zoomer parked just outside, and then kipped off. First to pick up Keira, then to attend the meeting. She only hoped Jak and Daxter wouldn’t judge her too harshly.

Alyín wondered if they already knew anyhow. She wondered how they couldn’t know, and then decided that wondering would do her no good.

 “You must be dressed your best, Keira,” Samos urged. “I know you would rather work on your zoomers, and precursors know I’d be happy to let you…”

“Daddy,” Keira sighed exasperatedly as she stared up at the undercarriage of the zoomer. “Didn’t we have this talk already?”

“This is mandatory, Keira! Get washed up and dressed. I’m sending someone over to pick you up,” Samos sounded tired, more tired than Keira could remember him sounding. Even the mess with the Acheron’s he’d always been a lively old man, but now…she didn’t say a word as Samos hung up. Instead she stared at the undercarriage. For a moment she thought of getting out from underneath the zoomer, getting dressed, taking a shower—for a moment she toyed with the idea of going along with what Samos told her to.

Keira entertained the thought of dressing up, of seeing Jak and maybe of impressing him. Despite the changes Keira still found Jak to be attractive—and okay maybe, somewhere, she could see the old Jak in the new Jak, too. They never really got to advance their relationship if it could even be called that before Haven, perhaps now that everything was over they could?

Except. Except. Keira remembered Erol’s words—remembered the look in his eyes, how worried he’d been—remembered what Jak said about Erol, remembered how Jak looked himself and—she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. No. Things were too different, too strange now—too separated. Perhaps even broken between them.

In the end, despite that Samos sent a call to Keira and all but ordered the young girl to prepare for a meeting at the palace, Keira remained in her work clothes busy underneath the fried zoomer. She told her father more than once after all about her desire to remain removed from the political insanity that seemed to permeate Haven. Samos had plenty of years left before he’d be required to give up his position, which meant plenty of years for Keira to continue her ambitions into the racing scene of Haven and potentially beyond. Besides, her capabilities were better spent fixing zoomers and creating new ways for the zoomer—or anything really—to run efficiently, faster, better in general than to suffer through the political quagmire that Samos wanted her in.

In part Keira’s ambitions were selfish, she knew. She’d spent almost all of her time advancing racing zoomers, building her business and time in the garage with wasted efforts to get home only for home to be here all along. She’d spent years believing people to have either abandoned her, or for those trusted to turn out completely different. About the only thing Keira felt she could trust now were the bits and pieces in her garage—the gentle thrum of an engine and the cadence of the racing track.

In the end that was it—Kiera chose racing. Keira chose to work in the garage. Keira didn’t choose Haven, or politics, and she’d be damned if she got caught up in Haven and Haven’s politics.

A small, traitorous part of herself reminded her that Jak never chose any of this either—being a prince, being King—and with a grunt Keira tightened down the bolt in the undercarriage with her lips pressed together. With another grunt, and a sharp tug that went nowhere, Keira let out a sigh of relief. She withdrew the wrench, and slipped out from under the zoomer. Tiredly she settled the wrench onto her workbench and wiped her hands down on a towel.

“About damn time you got out from under there.”

Keira’s head jerked up. She blinked in surprise, and a smile crossed over her face. “Aly!” In less than a second Keira dashed over to the older, taller girl and gripped in a tight hug. “I haven’t seen you since the class three races!”

Alyín returned the hug half-heartedly and smiled self-depreciatingly as she tugged on the edge of Keira’s goggles. “Yeah, sorry. Got caught up in some stuff.” It took only a second for Kiera to note the KG gear adopted by the Underground with faint surprise. It took a second, but her face began to twist and she felt a bit justified for how she pulled away from Alyín.

“Did daddy send you?” Keira asked.

“Keira…” Alyín sighed. “I’m not here just because of the Shadow.”

“So he did.” Keira’s tone turned flat. She took a step back, betrayed. “I don’t see you for months and you show up at the behest of my dad.”

“Engine girl,” Alyín started. She tried to put into words all the reasons she had to come—the Shadow, the meeting, and all of the things beyond that. The things she’d put off until now, the things she brushed aside after the class three races—but Keira gave her this side-glance of a look and Alyín found herself unable to say any of it.

The younger girl wouldn’t listen if she did, anyway.

Instead Alyín sighed, ran here hand through her hair and closed her eyes. Instead she took a second to phrase what needed to be said—not what needed to be said between them but what needed to be said for situation at hand.

“Do you know what an emergency call like this means?” Alyín asked eventually, and she knew full well the answer to her question. Tiredly she watched Keira came to a stop at her calmly spoken question. Both girls knew that Keira looked up to Alyín, took her words more often than not to heart—and Alyín always, always since they were first introduced all those years ago, looked after her. “It means we are required to attend. To not attend is to bring shame to your House, and to be tantamount to declaring yourself homeless.”

“So?” Keira snorted. “The garage is all I need.”

Alyín scrubbed her hand over her face and exhaustedly unhooked the KG mask from around her mouth. “What about the Shadow? There are no more direct descendants of the green sage, and he’s shown no signs to continue it.”

“I’m adopted,” Keira waved a hand negligently, stepped around Alyín, and began to clean up her workspace. It didn’t really need organizing—she knew where everything belonged anyway—but she wanted to appear busy. She didn’t want to think about where Alyín meant to take the conversation—she didn’t want to think about the source of her adoption, of Samos, of the sage lines and of what they meant here.

“Adopted? Probably, but unrelated to the green sage? Doubtful,” Alyín snorted disdainfully, and without even a moments real pause continued her train of thought unhindered. “Why do you think Erol was as interested in you as he was?”

What. Keira stiffened and stood stock still. “What do you mean?” she whispered. How could Erol know? She didn’t ask, but it sat between them anyway. How could Erol know about daddy? About me? About everything? When she met the older man he’d been completely unaware of who she was, hadn’t he?

Keira knew people didn’t take in strangers out of the good of their hearts. She wasn’t naïve exactly, she knew how the world worked. She’d witnessed it first hand before Haven, and again and again and again within the city walls. While Erol’s strange moment of kindness—how he’d helped her, gathered her up, introduced her to Alyín and gotten her this place here in the garage—strangers didn’t do that. Certainly she found it odd, certainly she knew somewhere that perhaps Erol held some sort of agenda, but she’d pushed it away and pushed it down.

After Jak, after Erol, after everything she thought maybe it’d been because Erol had some inkling of her connection to Jak—even if he didn’t know Jak at the time. Or maybe he was suspicious of how good she was at messing with tech considering how they even met. Keira never once thought it might’ve been because of Samos, of the sage lines—or something she didn’t even know about at the time.

Alyín groaned. “Mar I put my mouth in it, sorry,” she muttered out of frustration. “Look, Keira, we can talk about what a dick Erol was after the meeting. It’s important.”

Keira shook. “Aly…what do you mean?” She felt like her blood was on fire. She hadn’t heard the name Erol spoken to her in such a way since Jak last brought him up in the garage—and now for Alyín to come in and bandy his name about—to use him as an explanation and then not explain? Keira gripped her wrench tightly. “Tell me.” Tell me what you know. Tell me the truth. You always told me the truth before.

Alyín licked her lips. “Please, let it go?” she asked, almost pleadingly. Keira could mentally see the look to her eyes, a sort of wild thing. She’d seen that same look in Erol’s eyes before, it wasn’t all that hard to imagine them on Alyín, not with how she sounded. “I swear I’ll explain later.”

Keira hesitated; a part of her said to let it go. Alyín would explain, she knew it. The rest of her Keira found didn’t care. She whirled around.

“Explain now!” Keira yelled. “All I get is later and later and later! All I get is being brushed off—Jak spends time in prison and he comes back changed, plus he’s apparently some sort of prince. Erol tells me one thing and then he goes does something completely different, as if I don’t notice it! Haven’s supposed to be some strange place—it couldn’t be home because home was always better than this—but it really is home and suddenly I can never leave?! I’m suddenly some sort of heiress to a family name and a legacy I never even knew of?! No one is telling me anything, Aly!”

“It’s because you never ask!” Alyín snapped back.

“I asked all the time!” Keira responded.

“Then it’s none of your business!” Alyín shot back.

“Except it’s about me or the people close to me Aly!” Kiera clenched her fists. “I’m eighteen! I don’t need protecting anymore!”

Alyín paced, eyes a veritable storm that practically glowed as she shifted—prowled—around the garage. The more she moved, the sharper her movements got. The more she talked, the more explosive her words became. “You think this is about protecting you? About keeping you in the dark? For fucks sake Keira grow up. You are right. You’re eighteen! It’s been four years and you certainly aren’t a little kid anymore!”

Alyín grabbed hold of her hair and twisted. Her eyes practically began to glow like molten gold. “I came here to explain things to you, to talk to you, to see you and not because the Shadow asked me to! I care about you, Keira, I care about your future and your choices. I want you to have a say in things, I want you to understand things. For Mar’s fucking sake though sometimes things aren’t our choice!”

Keira remained silently as Alyín moved.

“Do you think I want to go to this meeting either? You think I want to go up to Jak and say hey, I’m the younger sister to the asshole who stuck you full of dark eco? And who knows what else he probably did too?!”

Keira gripped her wrench tight and clenched her teeth at the comment that Erol had anything to do with what happened to Jak—at the reminder that the man she thought was sweet, wasn’t.

“I have one brother known for committing suicide because he didn’t win a damn race,” Alyín snarled. “Another dead because he just so happened to join up with the Krimson Guard at the complete wrong time and refused a posting with family. A cousin who honestly doesn’t give a crap about anything and would rather fuck people over for shits and giggles.”

“And I’m here wondering why the people I trusted have turned into monsters behind my back, and why I’m still stuck in a cesspit of technology and death when all I want is to go back home to where things were simpler!” Keira yelled back.

“We don’t get what we want, Keira!” Alyín screamed, and they both stared at each other panting and furious. Alyín took several deep breaths and said softer, “We don’t get what we want. I know this. Samos knows this. Daxter knows this. Jak knows this.”

Keira looked away. She knew this, too. Alyín sighed.

“I can’t make you go,” she said, turned, and headed toward the door. “Just know that if you don’t come with me, you are making your father—adopted or not—look bad in front of the rest of the sage lines, and Keira? They’re not as understanding as me.”

Keira stood in her garage for a long moment. She stared at nothing, thought of nothing. She just stood there—her mind raced through scenarios, memories, instances of moments in time. Keira grit her teeth and grimaced; her eyes stung and she raised one hand the scrub at them, infuriated with herself. She took another long minute before she sucked in her breath and raced out the door.

“Alyín!”

Alyín paused on her zoomer, the engine thrummed beneath her barely warm. She glanced over at Keira who paused, gaze focused on the ground.

“You’re right,” she mumbled. “I’m sorry.”

Alyín sighed and looked away. “I’m…sorry, too.” Unspoken went all of the things Alyín was sorry for. The things that neither of them could control, the things that they could control but didn’t. Alyín leaving, of never telling Keira what she knew—of keeping silent, of lying by omission, of looking the other way. Neither of them spoke or looked at the other for a long moment, and then Alyín gestured to the bike with a sigh and a side-glance. “Get on.”

Kiera climbed behind her and wrapped her hands around the older girl’s waist. Alyín kicked the zoomer into gear and pulled out from the Stadium. She flicked her finger’s over the controls as she moved the vehicle into the open space to switch hover zones.

Keira buried her face into Alyín’s back, and Alyín almost didn’t hear her speak over the hum of the engine.

“Did he really just help me because I looked like I was related to the green sage?”

Alyín paused, then snorted.

“No one knows what went on in his mind,” she said bitterly. “Not even me.”

“And you?”

Alyín blinked. “And me what?”

“Help me because I looked like I was related to the green sage,” Keira practically mumbled. Alyín looked down at the hands around her waist, sighed, and then switched hover zones.

“Stop being ridiculous, engine girl,” Alyín uttered. Keira tightened her grip. “I helped you because you had talent, you had guts.” Alyín calmly squeezed Keira’s hand, and shifted the accelerator. “Now let’s get going. We don’t want to keep his ridiculousness waiting, do we?”

Keira giggled, squeezed tighter, and Alyín shot them off in the direction of the palace.

​

[piraytoro]

Okay so I haven’t talked outside of like tags and stuff about racism in the MCR fandom bc it’s honestly draining and sometimes triggering for me but I did want to talk about like. A trend I’ve been seeing in the way people talk about Ray. And this isn’t a callout for any specific people, I honestly don’t remember where a lot of these examples even came from, they’re just things that kind of stuck with me bc they made me uncomfortable.

Anyway, there’s been kind of a trend with people calling Ray dumb? Whether it’s for the crypto thing or for his poetry or his lyrics, I’ve just seen it happening a lot, even within circles of people who love Ray Toro! And I get that calling fictional characters dumb without meaning it is just a part of fandom culture, but this is a real person and honestly it feels like sometimes people kind of do mean it. Generally making fun of his spelling and writing rubs me the wrong way because there is a definite disparity in literacy support and education between Latine people—ESPECIALLY those who are (probably) neurodivergent—and white people in this country that has nothing to do with intelligence and ability, it has to do with racism.

And like. We all know Ray has suffered from self esteem issues in the past. He bluntly stated he didn’t like how he looked, has said he didn’t think he had a good voice, and he demurs whenever Gerard says he’s the best guitarist ever. But he is so wrong on all counts! And he’s super intelligent and widely knowledgeable about a ton of things! If anything, the only issue with his lyrics is that he’s trying too hard bc HE DOESNT THINK HE’S GOOD AT WRITING. Like We Save is literally amazing lyrically, he’s contributed lyrically to a ton of MCR songs, most notably Early Sunsets, and people are saying things like “oh he can’t write” as if that mentality isn’t literally the issue in the first place. It’s a common problem with people who aren’t confident in their writing abilities to try too hard to Sound Poetic, but poetry/lyricism is so much about creating a feeling and an experience that trying too hard doesn’t translate well. When he goes for very direct and specific visuals/sensory experiences, his lyrics are actually really good.

And the thing is that the people who are saying these things just aren’t thinking about the implications because they don’t have to. Because most people just aren’t fully, viscerally aware of how insidious these prejudices are. But when you say that Ray is “the only true himbo in the band bc he’s kind of dumb” or whatever, just remember that what you’re implying by that is “out of these four guys, the only dumb one is the only one who’s not white.”

[alligatorjesie]

Aww shit. I’m sorry this took so long to reply to, I live my life outside fucking tumblr and this was all I was able to type out in between water and snack breaks from fucking @makemebehavelikeananimal ‘s mother.

It’s rich being told by a chucklefuck who can’t seem to shit out two sentences without a spelling or grammatical error that I’m not using the English language correctly. Are you a fucking grammar police? Are you going to shoot me because I told you fanfiction isn’t fucking new, that police kill people, and you’re a fucking moron? 

How ironic.

Meow I do admit what I type out is filled to the brim with expletives and a few run-ons but I think I’m getting my point across. I do understand when you have shit for brains and the attention span as long lived as a snowflakes drifting into the fucking hell shit nuggets like you all must crawl out of it’s tricky for you to do something as simple as fucking read, so let’s hold hands and take a walk through what I typed out just for you since you seem like you need the fucking  help.

 As you can see at this point of the conversation I’m talking about the entirely un-unique ideal of people taking things that were already known media having fans write fiction about it.

There’s a fucking word for that.

It’s called ‘Fanfiction’

And it’s been around since at least the 14th century. It’s not fucking new.

Now this point here I’m very clearly speaking to the point of ‘If you don’t like the thing it’s as simple as not interacting with it.’

Anti logic fucking baffles me. Why the fuck are you spending time on shit you don’t like? If you don’t enjoy, say, the new Game of Thrones series, then don’t interact with it. 

It‘s just that fucking simple.

I know I sure as flying fuck don’t after that absofuckinglutly disgusting pile of wet dog shit series finally.

Now having said that, lemme show you something:

This is my tumblr. As you can tell even though I have a strong opinion about GOT, I don’t post mindlessly hateful shit about it like it’s a fucking keystone personality trait in the Game of Thrones tag of all fucking places. I’ve never fucking posted in it once in fact, well I have now bit it’s more to make a point. 

Because I’m not a needlessly hateful fucking cunt.

I’m just a regular justified cunt. Because I’ve been in two fandoms now that have been consistently shit on by everyone around them for my entire lifespan. If we’re not dealing with actual nazis

In the Star Wars fandom to the point it’s a fucking trope

AND in the Furry Fandom.

And even though every single person I know in both of these fandoms is shouting at the top of their lungs for everyone to, you know, just stop and listen to the fact there are

Real

And actual racists

in these fandoms

and we’re dealing with actual attempts on our lives from these shit stains

the overall news media seems quite content to just sorta laugh like it’s fun.

It’s not fucking fun.

I don't fucking like you but I like you fucking less now that I see you dramatically flinging yourself over a fainting couch screaming about your incorrectly perceived racism and uhh transphobia? IDK were the fuck you’re even pulling that shit from but that’s an ass chewing for another time, because I mentioned that cops kill people and that you’re so fucking stupid you don’t understand that fanfiction has been a thing since humans could fucking write and just mind ya own fuckin’ business when I was actually awaken that faithful day in December back in 2014 while attending that very con at about 1 in the morning by hotel alarms and banging on our door that shit was going down right the fuck now and we need to GTFO. 

Only to learn the sick fuck set the bombs off in the stairwells, the only way to get out of the hotel because the elevators were disabled. So there was lots of people just sorta trapped.

Not the ones who did try to use the stairwell in all the confusion by the way,

those ones breathed in chlorine which isn’t fucking healthy surprise surprise.

Because we were just told to leave the hotel. No one said a fucking thing about the chlorine bomb set off in the fucking stairwells.

19 living breathing humans got sick from that attack. 

Many are still dealing with real life long term effects of what happened to them psychologically.

Some of them are dealing with real life long term effects of what happened to them Physically. Not to mention that this shit happened in the middle of December in Chicago. Everyone was evacuated outside, you know the ones who could actually get outside.

 At 1 in the morning. 

And told they couldn’t go back inside for many hours.

You know, just standing outside in their pajamas in the freezing Chicago winter. Only to be laughed at the next morning by almost every other fucking news channel out there.

You know, at the con that was chlorine bombed by a hateful fuck. 

Someone kinda like you.

I have literally been closer to death in that instance and every single fucking day just by living were I do and being in the fandoms I’m in. My heart doesn't exactly fucking bleed for you because you got upsetty that cops in a country you don’t even fucking live in kill a lot of people and that statement is fucking triggering to you.

I don’t give a fucking shit.

Be fucking mad about it, but don’t be mad at Me about it. I’m not a fucking cop. I’m not even a racist POS like you want me to be. I’m just a furry and a reylo who wants you to leave the fucking reylo tag if you’re gonna be a prick about it.

We were chlorine bombed at a furry con because people like you hate people like me.

You know what’s triggering to me? 

Assholes in my fandom spaces.

I fucking tired of assholes.

I’m fucking tired of anti shit stains who think it’s alright to hate the shit I love and think they can just openly mock fandom they don’t like to the point people in it have killed themselves from y’all’s harassment.

I’m going to happily spend every moment I’m alive telling you fucking pricks you’re not fucking welcome and to fuck off. And if I have to write a fucking mini novel to do it I fucking will.

I’m excited to watch that high horse you’re sitting on buck you off.

So the next thing I talk about here is how Tumblr’s ‘based on your likes’ algorithm works against you because you’re so fucking stupid you can’t figure out why reylo shit keeps showing up on your fucking feed. This one is actually pretty straight forward, but I’ll explain it simpler just for you:

Don’t want fandom shit you don’t like showing up on your dashboard?

Don’t interact with the fandom.

It’s just that fucking easy.

I don’t like the Naruto fandom and I don’t want to see the content show up on my dash. It’s just as easy for me to fucking avoid it.

Now this next part! My favorite part!

The part were I watched a whole person take their head and ram it so thoroughly up their own anus they’ve created a singularity that is now wildly spinning out of control, sucking every fuckwad who thinks it’s alright to send ‘kill yourself’ anons to fucking anyone at fucking all in close proximity right into it. So lemme ask what part here you read that implied I was sending you a death threat? Was it this part?

Naw probably not. I don’t see anywhere I typed something like ‘I hope’ or ‘I wish’ In fact I believe the wording is ‘You Could’

The line ’You could die tomorrow’ isn’t a fucking death threat you daffy fuck. ‘Could’ is an implication that life is fucking fleeting and it can all get taken away tofuckingmorrow. Learn to fucking read for fuck’s sake how do you even use this site? You COULD walk out your door and get plastered by a drunk driver. You COULD sit down to enjoy a nice dinner and choke to death. You COULD walk down the street and find a black bear riding a unicycle handing out candy. But probably not. 

None of these are fucking death threats. It’s not my fucking fault you can’t read one single sentence and fucking understand it, that shit don’t make me a racist that makes you a fucking moron.

‘Could’ isn’t a fucking wish or desire. ‘Could’ is a fucking probability.

 I don’t want anyone to be shot by a cop. Like I don’t want anyone to be chlorine bombed at their own con.

But my talking about either of these things dose not fucking automatically imply I wish them on people, how the ever loving fuck does your warped fucking mind work? 

Do you fly off the handle like this every time someone plays ‘What if’ with you?

Do you throw yourself in to a diaper shitting baby tantrum every time someone tells you something you don’t wanna hear? Is this your fucking life? 

How fucking tiring living with you must be.

Life isn’t a fucking guarantee. That shit can get taken away from you any fucking second, not by my fucking hands that for fucking sure. I just want you to fuck off out of a fandom tag you’re being a useless fucking prick in. I don’t want to fucking see you ever again.

But since you wanna make a big fucking deal about police brutality, let’s check something out here real quick @makemebehavelikeananimal

Oh, so you’re in the UK?

Well I’m glad reading literacy is just as fucking bad there as it is in America. Maybe the reason all these fanfictions getting turned into movies is so frightful to you is because you can’t fucking read and just assumed the movies have to be read too? Because you understand that’s not how that fucking works right?

Hey, lets check something out here:

Oh my sweet mother of fucking Christ sailing across the fucking Nile. You’re making 10 shades of shit out of someone pointing out one of the over 1,000 deaths by cops in the US alone in 2021 and turning that shit into some kinda race dig when YOU live in a country that saw 3 fucking deaths by cops in that same year?

What in the Kentucky Fried Fuck.

I have been to a furry con that was Chlorine bombed and live in a country that has had over one fucking thousand police killings in 2021 alone and I’m less of a fucking brainless preachy twat about death than you. I literally have higher odds of dying by cop and I make less a fucking stink about this shit when someone brings it up. I want people to bring this shit up. This shit is fucking appalling, like your reading comprehension.

I’m not fucking sure how you hear someone mention police brutality and the ever fucking fleeting fragility of life and automatically go ‘well they must be being racist at me’ like I ain’t the one actually living this horseshit every fucking day. What kind of special moron are you? You’re going to be spending more time being dead than you ever will alive. You’re just going to have to come to fucking terms with that goddamn shit however someone as fucking stupid as you can, but boy fuckin’ howdy I ain’t gonna sit here and let some ignorant fuck like you tell me I’m racist for simply bringing up death.

Death is a part of life. We all gonna die one fuckin’ day ya dumb slut.

You’re not immune, I’m not immune, your dear sweet mother whom I have been fucking with a healthy vigor every single waking moment since I met you isn’t immune.

I don’t fucking have to wish death on people. Death is just standing aside waiting for one of us to twist an ankle while walking down the non-fucking-exsistant sidewalks we have here in the US because some dicks for brains decided back in the 40s/50s that everyone should have cars and fuck pedestrians which will cause us to inevitably get stuck by a car traveling over 60 miles per hour next to us. Death is just waiting for you to stand too close unmasked to someone with Covid. Death is just vibrating with excitement as some stupid pricks light another gender reveal explosive in a field that hasn't seen rain in 4 months.

I don’t wish death on people. I make a point of that. I’ve been being told to go fuck off and die because I draw furries since I was a child. I know what it’s like to be told to go die. It’s not fucking fun.

I don’t send death threats on this shit stain site, not when I have useless fucking bell ends like ya’ll sending them to me all the time. We’re past the count of 18 by the way, 4 of them have been from your crew. Congratulations, your online friends are just as fucking trash humans as you are. I’ll be honest with you, I want you to live a long miserable life. I want you to survive until you’re a practically immobile shriveled festering lump of bitter old fuck that is just as dead on the inside as your cold fucking heart. I want you to die at an impossibly long age an old bitter cunt surrounded by people you hate and who hate you in kind since you’ve made every personal slight into issues that don’t even fucking involve you because that’s all your myopic world view can work with. I hope one day very far from now you die a very old lonely miserable person because you’re a fucking cunt who never made a single ounce of meaningful human contact in all your long lived years since you’re such a cantankerous stupid fuck who’s physically and emotionally repulsed any person that might have loved and cared for you in your last long moments. Fuck you OP. I don’t give a shit that your a POC. I care that you’re a fucking tasteless cunt spewing needlessly mean shit in a tag you don’t fucking like.

Now dick off.

[garfieldsladybird]

blog boundaries.

what I do with this blog is basically anything! I write when i write. I usually make commentaries; which contains me talking about a show, I would have a tag for the show too. the thing is with commentaries is I don’t necessarily explain the scene, I just write my thoughts about it, and I might put the episode of the show too. other than that I just talk to myself here and I try my best to keep up with friends.

🧸 this blog is a safe space for all my birds 🪺 i dont have an age setting, so all are welcome!! requests for blurbs are currently open, i’ll try my best with them. dms and asks are always open to talk!

Basic rules:

A) don’t sexualize me.

B) don’t be fucking rude. (the meme way but i mean it)

C) i’m a stoner, not a doctor. ask questions if you want!

D) i’m an idiot when high & spelling does not exist here bc of so. also i use a lot of cuss words.

I don't support racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, ableism, ageism, pro-lifers, r.pist supporters, abuse, etc of anything going with violence.

the 1st link is me stating what i support with the roe vs wade, i am pro-choice.

As for people: I do not support jkr, t*m f*lt*n, h*rry st*l*s, A*dr*w T*te, and elvis presley.

part 2 on H.S. — if you can’t open the Twitter link, heres this.

the last link is a YouTube vid that explains why he’s a disgusting human being.

that link on h.s name is a twitter link and a note to h.s stans; I don’t care if you follow, I may or may not follow. if your whole entire blog is about him then I won’t but if you don’t make a big deal out of him then sure. idc if you write about him either, I just won’t read it, and/or if you do like him, I won’t care. just please don’t try to make me a stan of him, i dont like him, he has great music yes but I do not support him.

I am a minor, 16 years old. if that makes you uncomfortable don’t follow, and please do not interact with me sexually. Because i am a minor, if you have a problem with minors discussing, reading and/or writing about nsfw topics; Don’t follow and do not bring hate to my blog and/or the writers that i follow.

if you would like to express your feelings and hatred go do it to someone who gives a fuck cuz it ain’t here. ╭∩╮(ಠ_ಠ)╭∩╮

i do not give permission for any of my work to be published anywhere without my consent and i only post here, so if you see my work somewhere else please inform me and report them.

like i said im ok with 18 and older ppl on my blog.

i'm fine with anyone that is 18 and older interacting with my blog/fics, nsfw & sfw, whatever you want to read but as long as you don't sexualize me.

i follow some 18 and older ppl that dont have an age restriction and im mutuals with some so im okay with 18 and older ppl following. BUT same going with my 18 and older mutuals, please do not sexualize me.

also dni if you are an 18 or 16 plus acc. ಠ_ಠ you should be following your own rules. (not if your moots)

another thing, i am a stoner. please understand that i am not a doctor but any question that is about weed, i always do research about it before putting it all together and posting it.

bc of that just know that there will be discussions about marijuana/cannabis/pot/weed whatever you wanna call it, and i also post my 4:20 timestamp sometimes daily. I also make fic’s about smoking, most of mine will be about weed. 

you can always ask me questions about weed, I do not mind at all, I quite like it when I get asked bc then I have to learn about it too :) and i wont judge you if you don’t know what something is, you don’t have to smoke to be cool like im not even cool man. — the high algorithm. (<- questions of weed)

requests; if you do want to request something please make sure to look to see if is stated that my requests are open on my pinned post and if you’re still confused you can always ask me on anon (or not) before sending and please look at my guidelines and also fandoms + characters.

asks; my ask button is always open for everyone. you can always talk to me. just dont give me hate, it’s rude and tiring. but yes my ask button is there if you want to talk or ask questions about me :)) or request!! anon is on too; be nice :)

messaging; my dms/messages are open too. you can always talk to me. if you want to talk about anything, message me!  advice, questions, just to talk/chat, help, or if you want to move from the ask button to messages, just message me! i dont mind, and also if it’s just something that needs to be spoken between you and me, just go ahead and message me.

now a note with that: if we’re not close and it’s not important, I would like to get to know you more before messaging so go with the ask button but if you’re uncomfortable with talking on there, we can go with messaging, and also if we’re not moots, don’t message. but if you really just wanna talk to someone, that’s a stranger, please know I will not judge and I’m always here for you, so do message me if you want to.

nicknames; you can call me garfield, ladybird, lady, lad, bird, birdy, garfy, and bug. if there’s a nickname that you would like to give me but you think it might make me uncomfortable just ask me but also those cuties nicknames (pet names) like bae, babe, girly, darling, lovely/love, Im okay with it! anything is fine. just call me yours ;)

my nicknames for you; im not really good with nicknames, I always call people & respond with bro, dude, man. i sometimes say darling, love, lovely. if I ever make you uncomfortable by calling you dude or bro, love or any other nickname please tell me.

dont trauma dump in the asks please.

&& don't ask to be mutuals.

— I think it’s unfair. and i most likely will just follow you if you reblog my fic’s a bunch ;) and if you also send a bunch of asks in then I most likely will follow and if you have a cool blog too. (you all do) <33

thank you very much.

BE A GOOD PERSON, BE KIND, AND GO TO THERAPY.

if needed. its most likely need if your here. 😀

© garfieldsladybird 2022.

[aethersea]

you know what, I never do these things, but actually I’ve decided I would like to get to know people better! I would like to partake of the mortifying ordeal! I would like to talk about myself for a bit!

ok for the next...let’s say five days I will answer any of these things that people tag me in, or any random personal questions you plop in my ask box. I don’t have an ask meme on hand but just....pick one you’ve seen recently, or make up questions of your own, and I’ll answer. (the answer might be ‘nope that’s private’ but I will answer.) (@ the anon who asked for book recs - I see you, I’ve been thinking of books all day, I’m going to give you SUCH a long answer, I hope you don’t regret your choices bc it WILL be full of gushing)

alright, let’s go!

🌻 Tag 9 people you want to get to know better

Tagged by @booksandchainmail​

Last Song: I’m currently listening to “Falcon in the Dive” from the Scarlet Pimpernel musical on loop. I watched one or two Scarlet Pimpernel movies when I was just barely too young to fully get what was going on, and the story’s held an odd but deep-seated place in my heart ever since. A few years ago I found out there’s a musical and most of the songs are pretty stellar (go listen to “Madame Guillotine” if you like big ensemble broadway numbers, it’s a banger, the bit where he cries out for God has been running through my mind on and off for a few days now haha not like that’s topical or anything), so every once in a while I spend a few days listening to them a lot.

Sometime last year I read the actual book, and got super into the whole concept of the Scarlet Pimpernel for a while. I plotted out Pimpernel aus for several fandoms, I read the entire wikipedia article, and I went looking for bootlegs of the musical. I didn’t find one, but I did find a full radioplay-style recording of the script, complete with full musical numbers, and listened to it like a podcast.

Reader, I was so disappointed. The play adds some scenes, bc a lot of the dramatic tension of the novel comes from internal conflict and that doesn’t stage super well, and the very first scene of this play – a play written in the NINETIES – features our dashing hero rescuing some aristocrats from a French prison, and then saying to the person in the next cell, who begs for rescue but is not an aristocrat, “We have enough of your kind in England.”

Enough! of your KIND! What in the merry frickety HECK my dudes!! The book has some rather unfortunate™ takes but it is from 1905, it’s regrettable but sadly to be expected. This play is from 1997. It has NO excuse. This scene wasn’t even in the book! What! the heck!

I was so disheartened that I lost my excitement for the play, and a couple songs later I stopped listening. It occurred to me just a few days ago that you could actually stage that ironically, with the person in the cell giving the audience a “can you believe this” look, and then the rest of the play could feature assorted non-aristocratic ensemble members constantly looking at the audience like they’re on The Office. And hey, maybe that’s what they did, or something similar – maybe that was never meant to be taken as a cleanly heroic stance, and the play deals with it in a complex way. It’s possible. I wouldn’t know. Kinda doubt it though, based on song lyrics.

Favorite Color: red, probably

Last Movie: I watched that new lesbian christmas movie with my family for christmas, the one with kirsten stewart and the guy from schitt’s creek. it’s very sweet and good and kinda sad, and I really enjoyed it. it also incidentally has the best gay best friend trope in probably anything ever, bc it’s not a trope (I didn’t realize until several hours after watching that it technically fits), it’s just a guy who is the protagonist’s best friend, and they’re just all gay, and then when he Gives Relationship Advice as a gay best friend always does, it’s advice about how to deal with your partner’s hangups around coming out.

actually every part of the gay best friend trope becomes better when they’re just best friends who are both gay. the big dramatic gestures (in this case, driving some ungodly distance in the snow on no notice) go from “haha how kooky” to “queer man will do anything he needs to to rescue his queer friend from an isolating & potentially triggering situation”. the relationship advice isn’t “honey you deserve some self-respect, treat yourself”, it’s a deeply sincere reminder of the vulnerability that is shared across almost everyone’s queer experience, and look I could ramble about this for a long time before reaching a coherent point but I’m INTO IT, okay? I’m into it.

Last Show: you want me to remember what show I last finished???? impossible, cannot be done, it was a long time ago and the adhd has eaten everything that happened before last week. here, instead I’ll tell you about another movie I watched, late at night with my mom in cozy companionship just a couple days ago. it’s called Quigley Down Under and it’s about a cowboy who goes to Australia and kills a bunch of racists, 10/10 would watch again. it’s from 1990 but it feels much older, with the music choices and the cinematography of a 70s Western. the cowboy is great, honorable and fearless and kind, but the breakaway star of this movie for me is the woman who attaches herself to his side and refuses to leave. her name is Cora, and she’s crazy, in the sense that she’s not altogether tethered to reality, but this never for a second diminishes her agency. she’s fierce and clever and compassionate, and she basically never does anything she doesn’t want to in the whole movie. her arc is about overcoming trauma by taking charge of her own fear and facing it head-on, she is never belittled or dismissed by the narrative or the protagonist, and look she’s just so cool. I love her. she’s so vibrantly alive. her story could probably have been handled with a bit more nuance, but honestly for the 90s it’s pretty great. I’m no expert, but I found nothing objectionable in it, just a bit of heavy-handedness.

anyway the theme of the movie is that racism is evil and racists deserve to be shot, and this too could have been handled better (not a single aboriginal character speaks a single line of english in this movie), but it follows through on that message in every way, while still being a fun kinda campy cowboy movie. overall a very good time.

Currently Watching: started showing my sister Hilda the other day, and she’s liking it! I love that show, it’s so incredibly cute. can’t wait to see season 2

Currently Reading: lmao I wish. lately the brain has firmly rejected all attempts to read anything of any length. currently pending, bc I was halfway through them when my brain stalled out, are tano’s fic What Does Kill You Can Make You Stronger, Too, a Toby Daye book - I think it was The Brightest Fell, I got like half a chapter in and haven’t picked it up in over a month, the Locked Tomb series, and probably a few other things too. ooh! also a book called Making Sex by thomas laqueur, which is my fancy academic reading that I’ve been doing in short bursts for the past year or two when I feel fancy and academic. it’s about the development of the concept of biological sex and of gender in Western society, and it’s fascinating. has among other things introduced me to the idea that until quite recently, fathers were a matter of faith. the mother? yeah, you can watch the baby pop out, we all know who the mother is. but the father? how can you know? how can you really know? we have paternity tests these days, but for all of human history up until now, we've just had to take fatherhood on faith. (not to mention we didn’t even know what fathers were contributing to the production of a fetus. clearly it was something, since you can’t get pregnant without a penis getting involved, but we have literally not known what until the past few decades. and that is wild. it has colored ALL of human history, all of our conceptions of society and family and kinship and gender, all of it, and it hadn’t even occurred to me until it was spelled out for me in this book, and it’s just......wow.

Salty, sweet or savory: for christmas my sister and I made seven different types of cookie, most of them involving chocolate somehow.

Craving: no bc I ate so many cookies. unless sleep counts. or maybe pringles, it’s been many moons since last I had a potato chip and I miss them.

Coffee or Tea: no thank you

Tagging: @coloursisee, @krchy-tuna, @sam-j-squirrel, @xzienne, @mirandatam, @viciousmaukeries, @sepulchritude, @elidyce, and @navigatorsnorth bc it’s been a while since we’ve talked, and I’m super hyped that you’re married now. v happy for you!

[the-writing-mobster]

So, you said that “You’re What I Want” will be following the political conflicts between Monsters and Humans (which I cannot WAIT to see), but I was wondering how you would show this? Of course, racism (speciesism???) is a heavy topic to cover, especially in writing, and is shown in different ways. Expecting that the humans won’t take the freedom of monsters so lightly, what type of Monster racism can the readers expect to see in YWIW?

(Also, love your writing and characters! Can’t wait to see more of your beautiful content!💖)

Thank you for the ask! And great question!

⟨⟨I want to make it clear that if this is the only interaction someone has with topics such as; Racism, Anti-Blackness, Xenophobia and anti-Semitism then I would encourage them to get more involved.

I'm happy to offer some form of insight, but I would also urge and encourage one to watch media made for and by POC and not just starting and stopping at fanfiction. I'll leave some good recs in the tags⟩⟩

When it comes to the monsters, the heaviest amount of discrimination they would face would be on the basis they are considered "demons." Their biggest prosecutors would be Evangelical Christian Fundamentalists. (Lol who ISN'T victimized by evangelicals?)

I pull a lot of inspiration off of right wing conspiracy theories about The New World Order and how Christian evangelicals would react specifically to "Demons" (not good)

Here's an example of the type of discrimination monsters would face;

Fetishization (shit like "I heard monsters have "ruts"/Big dicks/are really rough in bed/freaky/I want to fuck a monster girl..." shit like that. They would be treated like a Sexuality and not, ya know, sentient beings capable of thought and feeling... It would be awful 😥)

A LOT of "The end times are here" and "this is the democratic baby eater pedophile elites last step in their plan for world domination! Letting hell loose on us! Just lettin Satan walk amongst us, brothur!"

Literal dehumanization for not being... Humans... There would be a lot of legal problems trying to get paperwork done. Legitimizing monster identities, their money, integration.

Interspecies/racial relationships would be demonized (no pun intended) and fetishized.

NIMBYism

White Flight 2: Electric Boogaloo

Think Alex Jones and Marjorie Taylor Greene.... Yeah. YEAH, now you know what I'm talking about.

Keep in mind, New World Order conspiracy theories are inherently anti-Semitic and I'm not about to erase that. In fact, knowing the behavior of right wing political pundits, they would undoubtedly rope in other minorities such as Jewish people as a way to blame them for the demons on the surface.

Also, hmmm, do any of these sound familiar? If so, it's because White Supremacists have the same fears and reactions to everything.

⟨⟨Again, I want to reiterate that these kinds of discrimination already happen irl to MULTIPLE GROUPS but esp Black Americans and I would hope that a fanfiction isn't the thing opening peoples' eyes to this; but if that's the way some people learn, then I'd want to do it as well as possible, and I'll do my best to provide resources as well. This is not a light topic to be used for entertainment value, ya know?⟩⟩

Who would be the first to accept them in a real world situation?

The queer community would def be one of the first to accept them ESP the Black Queer Community, simply because it was that community [black queer individuals] which opened the doors for pretty much all civil rights PERIOD.

Don't get me wrong, there would be some backlash from human marginalized communities, as a way to distance themselves, but ultimately, the reintroduction of magic into society could be used as a great tool to protect vulnerable people and the communities would learn to hopefully accept, empathize and fight with the demons. It's the true anarchists understanding that MY LIBERATION is dependant on YOUR LIBERATION, and is the drive to work together.

This fic would explore magical solutions that are based in real world solutions (as in, all the solutions are stuff we, humans could do in real life, it's just being portrayed in a magical way with mythical creatures) For example, mutual aid, building community, housing the homeless, and so much more.

There is an emphasis on Intersectionality. After all, you can't spell community without unity.

That being said, that won't really be tackled until the second part, as the first part is dealing with Crime Syndicates.

These are all extremely heavy topics to tackle, but I do want to explore the real world consequences of the world Toby Fox created and in my humble opinion, left unfinished.

If I have any Black, Jewish, Latin and/or Asian American readers, I would love for you to reach out through PM and possibly beta for this fic, because when handling these topics it is imperative to have sensitivity readers.

ALSO if you're a POC content creator, feel free to hop on and promote your own fanfics, art and writing, I'd be more than happy to give you all a space and promote your art. As far as I'm concerned, this blog is safe space for this fandom.

[universallywriting]

Your meta about steven universe and gender is first off just perfect. I love su and I can't believe it took me until you spelling it out directly to notice the gendered lens of the show. I also think a lot of people miss that su, like every other show, cannot be a perfect metaphor for everything. Like you pointed out, the gender theme is executed perfectly. However, because the show chose to prioritize that theme over other themes (colonization, racism, homophobia/sexuality, etc) (1/2)

I think accepting criticism of something you love is one of the hardest things to do, and when I think of what makes the SU fandom so well-known as being toxic is that, for a very long time, the biggest people in the fandom refused to accept any criticism of the show.

I remember seeing, and still see, so many people furious that critics pointed out that the Diamonds’ colonialist (and occasionally bordering on fascist) actions were swept under the rug. But, like... you have to accept that it’s a true part of the show. An empire is “redeemed” and there is no retribution, no reparations. The show isn’t about colonialism, but you cannot deny the things that are in the text.

But every text contains problems within it. We live in a flawed world, and we’re flawed people. Nothing will ever be perfect. However, it’s also totally unfair to ignore the good things about a text to focus on those imperfections. How could Steven Universe possibly tackle colonization and racism perfectly when we can’t even agree as a society as to what those things are, or how to eliminate them, or how to repair the damage these things do? How could SU do that and tell a story that deals with gender and identity at the same time?

It can’t. But it can tell one banger of a story that helps a lot of people figure out who they are, especially with regards to their gender. It can help take steps forward in representing a lot of issues, even if it doesn’t perfectly, and pave the way for even better rep in the future.

I love SU for what it does well, and I greatly dislike (but still acknowledge) the things it does poorly. There’s even parts that I hate! I just think it’s so important to properly talk about our media without immediately falling to absolutes, because we can’t get better if we don’t acknowledge the good and the bad of each piece.

[three--rings]

hello, i wanted to get your opinion about the racism and writing thing. i saw your post and i was v v piqued. so what happens is that i constantly see a lot of typos in mdzs fics, esp in names, like the characters themselves are typed wrongly, or like people don't grasp the concept of courtesy/birth names and titles and use it whimsically. so i notice these quite a bit and i usually screenshot them for my friend and over time they've really piled up. just recently, i commented on a fic about

naming and got a reply along the lines of "you didn't leave a kudos, i'm not going to take your suggestion." but tbh as a native speaker the naming is really jarring. anyway, i digress about the kudos and having fun when contributing free work, but my friend thinks that it's racist of authors to be so disrespectful, in general, esp wrt names. and honestly, i came from the hp fandom and honestly you don't really get authors spelling McGonagall wrongly on high frequency. what do you think about

this? idk if it's the lack of betas/fandom maturity, or is this actually a form of microagression, where you're in a fandom and you like the tropes and everything but you just can't remember the names?

Yeah I think this is a really common complaint in the fandom.  Personally I think the reason for it is multi-fold.  I tend to blame (perhaps occasionally unfairly) a lot of it on people who are fans of CQL who haven’t really engaged with the source text.  I have to assume that’s where things like only using given names in fic (which drives me right up the wall) comes from.  Occasionally I run across someone talking about “Yuan” or something and my soul momentarily leaves my body because WHO?   This is undoubtedly because the Netflix subtitles do this, only using given courtesy names almost all of the time, instead of the correct names and titles. 

So people who only have exposure to that version of canon make that mistake.  The problem is that not only do we have the problem of a fandom with a source story that has been retold in several different mediums, we have several different translations into English OF each version.  So EN fandom is perhaps justifiably confused. 

Of course, I think that when trying to find the correct version, you should look at the source, which is the novel.  And the main EN translation thereof, where place names are translated in a certain way, is a fairly good standard.  Before CQL the fandom didn’t have these issues because everyone had read the novel and were on the same page. 

So some of it is innocent ignorance, IMO, from people who watched the drama on Netflix and are just copying what they saw.  There’s really no way someone could watch that version and get an idea of how the names in the universe actually work.  Not with the subtitles as is and not without doing some internet research.

It seems only natural, to me, if you love a series enough to be in the fandom, you would want to read the book that it was based on.  But unfortunately, there’s a segment of EN fandom that is quite vocally ANTI the source text.  For reasons that are, IMO, dumb.  And pretty racist and misogynistic as well.  So there are a good number of people out there engaging with the fandom without, well, ENGAGING with the source. 

And here is where we get into the question of colonialism and orientalism and such, IMO, because not putting in the effort and the time into getting cultural details right while gleefully taking the parts of a work that you like, IS in fact, pretty damn disrespectful.  And yes, some people of Chinese descent have said that these feel like microaggressions.  Is it racist?  I mean, if it’s consistent enough within a writer’s work that they can’t be bothered to check their spellings or whatever, then maybe?  But I really think disrespectful is a better way to phrase it, because it gets to the heart of the reason it’s a problem. 

As for your experience pointing out mistakes.  Yeah, first of all, wow, that author sounds...interesting.  There is and has been a culture for a long time in fanfiction that DISCOURAGES negative feedback in comments.  The reason is because if comment sections become places where people criticize and pick apart a work’s flaws, they can quickly devolve into flame wars and grudges and people picking sides and this has ALL happened in fandom in the past. 

Which is why I have such a dilemma on this issue.  Because in general, I really feel like leaving critical feedback, even with the best intentions, often only leads to badness.  It hurts feelings and discourages authors who may be young and inexperienced and sensitive.  And it just creates toxic environments of cruelty, dissuading people from venturing into the comments at all.

I struggle with this, too.  I’ve recently read fics in this fandom with mistakes and things that...I really want to correct and every time I’ve just managed to hold back from pointing them out.  Because yes, as a whole, fic authors are NOT OPEN to criticism.  Including myself! 

But I do feel your issue is real and important.  I just don’t know the answer.  If it were me, and I, say, encountered a fic with consistent naming problems, like misusing courtesy/birth names, I might leave a comment in the form of a question.  First of all, leaving positive feedback on what I like in the fic (because if there’s nothing you liked, then why would you even be reading it) and then asking “I’m wondering why you decided to use the names in this form instead of...etc”  Which may serve as a hint to someone who is truly clueless that they have erred, but without being too accusatory.  Or maybe they do have some kind of justification for it.  In which case, well you can’t account for taste. 

People tend not to react well to statements like “you should do _____.”  Especially artists.  We’re stubborn and defensive about our work.   And things like “I find _____ racist and offensive” are even more likely to bring out Big Defensive Embarrassing White Person Dance.   (Which only ever makes things worse, omg.)

As for occasional misspellings, well we’re all human.  I know for a while I was mistyping Lan Wangji as Lan Wanji  and at one point Lhan Zhan. Those were both early in my MDZS writing career, before my hands got muscle memory for the names.  And since my spellchecker just finds them all mistakes I didn’t always catch it. (Pro tip writers, add everyone’s names to your spell check dictionary and it’ll catch when you slip!) It’s easier for someone to make that kind of mistake when typing names/words that aren’t familiar to them.  (Though my constantly mispelled words are all English.  Including the damn word misspelled.  Double letters can go die.)

[singofsolace]

Ik there’s a code of silence about saying anything negative about any wlw ship in this fandom or u get attacked but I don’t rly get Zarie. just not on a basic level like wanting the same things in life n having the same sense of humour. But also it doesn’t seem ‘brilliant’ that as u said, M is v presumptive & ignores/assumes Z’s boundaries. shippers either ignore that she treats her that way or say Z’s boundaries r the problem & should change rather than M’s lack of respect. Z deserves better :(

First, I hope you understand that this is exactly the kind of anonymous message I was hoping to avoid by giving such a thorough and balanced review of the Zarie relationship. If you had come to me with your name attached to your words, we could have a civil conversation about this, but I’m not feeling very civil this morning, and you’re hiding behind a little gray box. 

Let’s break this message down, shall we? This is going to be long, so it’s going under the cut.

1) “I don’t rly get Zarie. Just not on a basic level like wanting the same things in life n having the same sense of humor.”

at what point does Mambo Marie express that she doesn’t want the same things in life as Zelda? At what point is it made clear in canon that they don’t have the same sense of humor? On this specific argument, you’re pulling things out of thin air. Zelda wants her coven to be safe in Part Three. She wants to defeat the Pagans because they are a threat to her people. Marie wants that exact same thing. Where are you getting off that they somehow aren’t compatible based on a conversation they never had about “wanting the same things in life?” Where do you get off saying they don’t have the same sense of humor, when there was hardly opportunity for joke-making when a near apocalypse was upon them? Zelda has a dirty sense of humor, and from what we saw, Marie loves to use innuendo. I’d say there’s evidence that they do have the same sense of humor, but hey, I think you’re just pulling at straws to make me angry, and don’t actually have any evidence that they don’t laugh about the same things.

2)  “ But also it doesn’t seem ‘brilliant’ that as u said, M is v presumptive & ignores/assumes Z’s boundaries.”

Since you clearly did read my previous post already, you know that I’ve addressed this point thoroughly. Yes, Marie is presumptuous but so is Zelda. Y’all, did we even watch the same show if you don’t think Zelda crosses boundaries, too, sometimes? Zelda obsesses over her niece losing her virginity at Lupercalia, despite knowing it’s making her uncomfortable to talk about it. And, if you’re coming for me because you prefer Lilith, SHE IS NO BETTER ON THIS COUNT. 

Lilith fucking murdered a woman and then continued to wear her face even after she brought her back to life. Lilith seduced multiple teenage boys in order to sacrifice them. Lilith entered the Spellman’s dreams without their consent, and stole things from their home with nefarious intent. Lilith fucking lied to Zelda from day one, and tried to get her niece killed multiple times. If you’re being deliberately obtuse about the fact that Lilith is no better when it comes to boundaries, and still ship Madam Spellman while hating Zarie, I would have to ask you why you feel the need to come into my inbox to shit on a ship I like when I’ve already addressed the points you’re making.

Bottom line on this one: is it right for anyone to assume another person’s boundaries? No. But literally every other fucking character on the show doesn’t understand this concept, so why should you single out Mambo Marie for this behavior when Faustus literally put Zelda under a mind control spell, Mary Wardwell fucking SHOT Zelda in cold blood, and Lilith has been crossing boundaries since the beginning in order to get Sabrina where she needs to go? Unless you’re asking for a new love interest to be introduced, or no love interest at all (which, I’d be a fan of the “no love interest at all” because Zelda is traumatized) you can’t in good conscience argue that any other age-appropriate character on the show is right for Zelda if this is your deal breaker.

People aren’t perfect. Zelda certainly isn’t. So why should Marie be? Might it be racism, perhaps?

3) “ shippers either ignore that she treats her that way or say Z’s boundaries r the problem & should change rather than M’s lack of respect. Z deserves better :(”

This one is where you went from a discussion to an accusation, and this is why I’m all fired up. I have never, not once, heard it said that Zelda’s boundaries should change. But, while we’re on this subject, which boundaries are you talking about? The fact that Marie performed a dance of protection without Zelda’s permission? The fact that she turned a handshake into a “reading”? It’s unclear what specific instance you’re talking about, and this is important, because Zelda doesn't have a spotless past when it comes to boundaries. She has put a woman under a mind control spell, and you don’t see anyone crying Justice for Shirley Jackson when it comes to “boundaries” being crossed. We have to acknowledge that morality is subjective in CAOS. Morality in the Church of Night isn’t the same as morality in Christian-based codes of law.

There’s also a cultural element you’re ignoring, here, if you’re talking about how tactile Mambo Marie is compared to Zelda. You might see Zelda’s cultural boundaries as the default, but just because we’re still clinging to Puritanical culture in New England, doesn’t mean other cultures are wrong for being more tactile. We’re touch-starved in the Northeast, because we still hold onto these age-old traditions of touching = sex = the devil.

Have you ever seen Reaching for the Moon? Miranda Otto talks a lot about how she felt very “white” in Brazil, because the people there were so warm and loving and would just take you in their arms and hug you. She does a brilliant job in this interview discussing why it was so difficult for Bishop to trust that warmth and give/receive it herself. Bishop’s boundaries were constantly being crossed and challenged in a culture that doesn’t value introversion/aloofness as much as New England does.

This isn’t me saying Zelda should loosen up; that is absolutely not what I’m arguing here. I’m arguing that Mambo Marie is a bit like Lota, who is warm and tactile and will kiss you on both cheeks even if she’s never met you before, because that’s how it’s done. This isn’t an intentional breaking of a boundary; this is evidence that Marie and Lota come from backgrounds where it is much more accepted to embrace the people you just met, to touch them, to hold them close.

Is Marie still crossing a boundary? Yes. But to ignore that there is a cultural difference between them is to white-wash the encounter. My goal is not to say Marie is justified, or that Zelda just needs to accept Marie’s presumptuousness because she comes from a different culture, but rather that this needs to be a discussion between them. Zelda could’ve said, “We don’t turn a handshake into a psychic reading in my culture. Please don’t do it again,” but she doesn’t set that boundary. She allows the reading to happen, and doesn’t address that it wasn’t something she wanted. 

Can we also note that throughout this whole discussion, we’re assuming Zelda’s boundaries, because never once does Zelda actually state that Marie is crossing them, except when she performs the dance of protection? Besides that spell, Zelda never once verbally expresses that Marie is crossing a line with her. 

I’m so tired. We don’t have to ship the same thing, but I would never send anonymous messages to someone just because we don’t have the same ship. As I’ve addressed, half of your message was just repeating the points I made but twisting them to mean we therefore aren’t allowed to ship Zarie, and that Zelda deserves better. 

Zelda deserves better than these fucking fandom wars. If you don’t ship Zarie, that’s ok, but don’t come for us just because we’re excited that there’s a canon interracial sapphic ship on CAOS.

[bobasheebaby]

Fandom Etiquette

Fandoms grow and often it’s confusing to know what is and isn’t okay within the fandom, so I thought I’d put a little list together for newbies. This is no way means I’m perfect just bored while quarantined.

Reblog, not repost. Do not copy and paste and steal stories. If you love something GREAT, just don’t steal it that means reposting on this or any other platform and claiming credit or cherry-picking pieces to copy, just a hard no. You want to share your love hit reblog, like, add a comment, or send an ask.

Anon is not for hate. We all learn when we were young (or we did when I was a kid) ‘can’t say anything nice don’t say anything at all’ this also applies to fandom. You do not have to agree with everyone in the fandom but sending hate, death threats, racist messages, etc is not appropriate. You don’t have to like the characters we like, but going into someone’s ask box and saying something like ‘eww how can you like X’ isn’t nice or appreciated. Speak up when you see racism, hate, etc but please don’t become a bully.

Tag your triggers and put the warnings before the fic. Triggers are real and blacklisting triggering tags is our way of creating a protective bubble for ourselves within the fandom. Please label your warnings before the fic, and make sure to tag your warnings. And yes NSFW (smut) is also something people try to avoid. Tag ‘ns*w’, ‘lemon’, or ‘smut’ or all three.

Use a read more or at the very least tag it ‘long post’. It’s another way to keep triggers from being seen. Read more doesn’t always work on mobile so please tag it ‘long post’.

Don’t tag every character in the series if they aren’t present in the post. Many of us follow our favorite tags and Tumblr will recommend posts that have the tag. If you tag a character who wasn’t in the fic, picture, or screenshot people are going to get annoyed because you are making it harder for them to search the tags they love.

Only tag readers interested in your stories. If someone opts off your list take them off. I get it we want to be seen and it can suck to have someone request to be removed from your list but you need to respect their request.

Borrowing characters (OC’s and MC’s) is okay but please speak to the original writer and make sure you have the character right. If they ask you to stop, stop. Again this is about respect. No one wants their character used without permission or portrayed OOC (out of character).

Writers, spell check is your friend. I sometimes misspell and even google docs makes mistakes but Grammarly and apps like it can help.

Writers double-check your grammar. We all make mistakes or miss some things but I see some that just scream out at me all the time.

Does it flow, does it make sense? You don’t want your reader to be confused and have zero idea what’s happening. Make sure you have a clear idea that flows. If it’s a series and it’s been awhile or you aren’t sure exactly what’s happened reread your story. I do it all the time. There will be times that I will be speaking to a friend and saying I can’t do something with a character because of something that already happened and when I read it it turns out the only place that bit of info existed was my brain.

Betas, pre-readers, friends that you can talk things out with or brainstorm with are great but if you are ignoring their advice it does nothing. I love my group of friends who I can ask to pre-read, send snips to, or tell a new idea but I listen to them. Many of my friends have helped me with grammar issues or fixing an issue I was having with my plot. If you have a group to ask and they say something doesn’t work read it over again, chances are they are right.

Don’t be a jerk. This shouldn’t have to said, but apparently, it does ... again. Creators whether they be writers, editors, or do art digital or otherwise don’t owe you anything. Creators create mostly for themselves, when I get an idea it usually won’t leave me alone until I get it out and I can feel a little batty until I listen to the idea and get it on ‘paper’. What this means is we the creator had an idea and CHOSE to share it with you, don’t be demanding. I can understand loving a story so much that you can’t wait for the next part but don’t be demanding. I have said things like ‘I can’t wait for the part’, ‘(im)patiently waiting for the next part’, ‘will be sitting with my popcorn waiting for more’, or ‘omg this was so good I need more’ in a reblog comment but most of the people I say this to I know, they know me, they know I will wait however long until their muse and life are on the same page and they can write so they can update. The problem is I keep seeing demanding asks. I understand wanting to check-in if you haven’t seen the writer in a while and really are curious if you will be getting a new chapter soon but BE POLITE ABOUT IT! Don’t say ‘when are you gonna update X’ or anything that makes you sound like you’re an ungrateful brat, instead, check-in, ask them how they are, make sure they and their family is doing well and then mention that you miss them and whatever story you desperately want to see updated and follow up with letting them know you can and will wait. I have sent asks like ‘hey haven’t seen you in a while hope all is well! I really miss X series and hope you update soon! I will be waiting for you and X return, stay safe!’ That comes off a lot better than a demand, that writer feels loved and respected and is more likely to try to find the time to work on what you are asking about than if you demanded an update. Be kind and remember that behind every edit, drawing or fic you love there is a real person with a life that may get in the way of their creative time. [added 6/8/20]

[angels-heap]

Ugh ao3 simps are all the same, making excuses for racists. Normal people know racism when they see it and we call that sh!t out

Thank you for this excellent opportunity to make a point I left out of my other post about AO3 and racism for the sake of brevity! A few hours ago, I didn’t think it was necessary to delve into specific examples to illustrate why racism isn’t always (heh) black and white, but since some of y’all can’t read, I guess...

Let’s do a little thought exercise. (Below the cut.)

Here’s a short list of character interactions and dynamics I’ve recently encountered or heard about in fics, some of which pinged my “yikes” radar, or might have if I hadn’t known the author. Go ahead, read through this list without any context:

A character experiences a racial microaggression that is canon-typical and not relevant to the overall plot of the (very long) fic

Same as above, but the fic is not tagged/cw’d for racism

Character A gives (non-white) Character B a nickname related to a cultural food that is adjacent to Character B’s heritage; this is clearly intended to be affectionate and non-derogatory on Character A’s part

Character B in that same story applies that nickname to themself in an internal monologue

A black character who is typically woobified in fanon is depicted as more aggressive than the rest of the ensemble cast for a change

A white character asks a non-white character some well-meaning but slightly tone deaf questions about their racial background for the sake of worldbuilding

A prominent and generally beloved non-white side character is completely excluded from a longfic without explanation

Several non-white immigrant characters speak in broken English; the author emphasizes this and spells out some of their mispronunciations phonetically

A biracial main character’s role is minimized compared to canon and they are depicted in a one-dimensional, vaguely negatively stereotypical way

A racial minority character experiences a series of microaggressions (and a couple macroaggressions), is comforted by a white character, and they become friends as a result of that interaction

So, tell me... which of these things would you consider racist? What course of action would you recommend that AO3 take to address the examples that strike you as problematic? Would your opinion on whether or not these things are racist change if you knew the author held the same racial/ethnic minority identities as the minority characters they depicted (which was, in fact, the case for several of these examples)?

Maybe they’re all racist. Maybe none of them are. Maybe you want to ask more questions about the authors, the fandoms, the characters, etc. before you make up your mind. All of those interpretations are fair and valid... but they’re also very, very different.

And that’s where the grand dream of perfect content moderation dies.

I hope we can all agree that authors (especially marginalized authors) shouldn’t have to publicly list all their identities and share their traumas to be allowed to write from their own experience, nor should folks be limited to writing about characters whose experiences are similar to their own. Also, if fandom or canon context makes a difference as to whether or not the aforementioned plot elements are problematic, then how can we expect a team of moderators (who can’t possibly know every fandom) to make the right judgment calls?

Racism in fandom and on AO3 is just as real and pervasive as it is in wider society, and it needs to be addressed, but aggressive moderation is not the answer. Not only is it logistically impossible in terms of the funding and volunteer capacity required, but when it comes to racism (and micro/macroaggressions against other marginalized identities), context is everything. Here’s hoping the blocking and muting features roll out soon.

[roleplay-salt]

About; Rules; FAQ

Welcome to Roleplay Salt! This is a blog for roleplayers to vent & rant anonymously about the things that peeve or hurt them in the roleplaying community.

GENERAL

Your submission will always be posted anonymously; no exceptions. (This includes positivity submissions & shoutouts.)

Your submission’s text will be placed in a graphic and then copied as plain text as its caption for accessibility purposes.

Topics must be roleplay-related. (This can, of course, include experiences with partners doing things that may be unrelated to roleplay, but would still be considered relevant if it impacts your roleplaying experience with that particular partner.)

Anyone following our blog will be allowed to leave replies on submissions, whether in agreement or disagreement, and everyone is allowed (even encouraged) to reblog submissions, with or without their own commentary. However, we will delete any spamming comments, including ones that are or are similar to “Why don’t you come off anon and say that?” Such comments provide nothing to the discussion. In fact, they usually shut down discussion and it completely disregards the entire point of this blog’s existence. No one has to “come off anon” nor are they “cowards” for seeking safety behind anonymity. Your aggressiveness with that sentiment only reinforces the reason why they want to be anonymous in the first place. ADDENDUM: We will delete salt replies that involve simply telling others to, essentially, “shut up and move on already” and “stop sending salt replies in about this”. You’re more than allowed to say this things in the comments, but we will no longer be making them a part of any future debates.

We actively edit and restructure the wording of submissions. We read every single one of your submissions and we care about consistency and readability. We will correct any spelling errors, grammar errors, and odd sentencing structure, and we will often lengthen abbreviations and slang, and we will fill out any curse words or sensitive terms that were originally 'censored' in the submissions. Do not take it personally! Again, we aim for consistency. We will never just copy/paste your submission and then post it. That's terrible.  

T Y P E S    O F    S A L T

Vents & Rants

Complaints

Negative Confessions

Callouts

T Y P E S    O F    S U G A R

Advice & Suggestions

Critique

Positive Confessions

Shoutouts

T Y P E S    O F    F L O U R

The “Flour” category is reserved for any submissions that do not appropriately fit under “Salt” or “Sugar”, often involving personal confessions and storytelling.

C A L L O U T S    &    S H O U T O U T S

A callout submission is specifically speaking nastily and meanly about someone else, regardless if it’s the truth or not.  All URLs & names in a callout submission will be marked out to preserve the other party’s anonymity as well.  We are a safe place for you to release your anger, frustration and hurt, even if it’s towards someone and not something. But we cannot and will not participate in the true nature of a callout. That will need to be something that you do for yourself if you believe that it’s important for you, your friends and your fandom community.

A shoutout submission is specifically speaking kindly and positively about someone else.

All URLs & names in a shoutout submission will remain visible, and the person will be tagged & mentioned on the post so as to better the odds of them seeing it.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

“Who are the moderators?”

Currently, there is only one operating the blog: Moderator Bull.

“Am I allowed to know your roleplay/personal blogs?”

Unfortunately, no. To preserve our own anonymity (for many of the same reasons as the submitters), we have agreed on the terms to never give out our URLs if requested. If we are interested in your blog, then we will follow you at our own discretion!

“Will you remove a submission for me?”

That depends on the type of submission, what it is about, and what your reasoning for wanting it removed is. The whole point of anonymity is that nothing gets tied back to you. The only cases where we will greatly consider removing a submission is if it’s involving a shoutout about you and you don’t want to be affiliated with us. 

“Will you remove my comments on a submission?”

Of course! However, we will not remove any corresponding responses to you (except in instances where, if yours is removed, the next comment is made to look like it’s being directed to the person prior to your comment. We don’t want to cause unnecessary conflict.) We will also not be relied upon to keep deleting comments you regret leaving behind. If you’re wanting to leave a public response on submissions, then you must be prepared to have others possibly publicly disagree with you.

“Can I ask you for roleplay advice?”

Go right ahead! But we can’t promise the best or most insightful of answers, or that we’ll get to them relatively soon! Chances are, we will post your questions anonymously so that others in the community can help.

“Why did you follow my blog?”

To make our existence known to you and, if you like us, hoping that you will send in a submission of your own or tell your roleplay partners about us!

“How did you find my blog?”

Most likely through the Recommended sidebar feature, a mutual, or just the good ol’ search function.  

“Could you unfollow me?”

If you don’t want to be associated with us, then we recommend blocking the blog so that we don’t unintentionally follow you again!

“Hey, could you do something about the people leaving rude, mean responses on the submissions?”

Unless they are throwing bigoted slurs, threats, or suicide-baiting remarks at the anonymous submitter, they are not doing anything wrong. They have just as much right to disagree with your submission as you had when you sent it to us. We are, first and foremost, a place to vent frustrations or hurts behind the safety of anonymity, and we are also a free-speech blog. We are of the belief that discussions, no matter how heated, is healthy and brings the community together as a whole. Just as your submission may provide someone else with the awareness that they are not alone in similar frustrations, someone disagreeing with your submission may provide a new perspective to you and others that had not been considered before.

“How does name-calling and swearing and being mean add to a discussion? You and your blog are what are wrong with the roleplaying community!”

Just because someone isn’t being nice to you as they give their side of the argument, doesn’t mean that it cancels out their actual argument. You’re choosing to be offended and distracted by how abrasive they are, and that’s no one’s problem to deal with but your own. You have the ability to block anyone so that you no longer have to see their comments on future submissions. Why would we police what people say, the endgame of which would be to ban them from ever reblogging or commenting on submissions again if they don’t listen to us, if you’re not even willing to try solving the problem first by just blocking them? Wanting to have the last word or being upset that your submission didn’t receive the feedback you wanted is not a reason for us to step in and step on someone else’s right to speak, rudely or otherwise. If you’re not going to block them, then why should we?

“Could you not post submissions on sensitive topics like noncon, incest, and pedophilia?”

We have started tagging posts that we believe might be sensitive and controversial in nature with the tag “#twcontroversy”. We recommend blacklisting this tag. If that is still not enough, then we recommend unfollowing/blocking us. These are topics just as relevant in the roleplaying community as anything else.

“Could you promote me?”

Certainly! But only if you are another community-involved blog (a blog that provides a ‘service’ to the community, such as advice, roleplay help, a place for confessions, etc.), and it must be relevant to the roleplaying community to some degree! If you want to promote a roleplay blog, then we suggest sending in a shoutout submission!

“I sent a confession in weeks ago. Where is it? How long will it take for it to get posted?”

It’s either sitting in the queue or sitting in our drafts, waiting to be queued. We have 1,200+ followers so far, and on average we’re sent 15+ submissions a night. We only post between 5 to 8 submissions at night. Your submission is on a wait list. That’s all we can tell you.

“Why don’t you just close your submission box until all the current confessions are posted?”

Because we’re a vent blog first and foremost. If we close our ask/submission boxes, then we’re no longer an option for people who might desperately need to vent or talk about something that could have happened to them that day but have no other options. We want to be a healthy alternative to just bottling it up or possibly lashing out at the wrong people.

“I don’t believe you! I think you deleted my submission because one of you didn’t like it! You’re not unbiased at all!”

We’ve posted submissions about highly controversial roleplay topics like noncon, racism, transphobia, and pedophilia. We reassure you that your salt submission about OCs, theme trends, blog selectivity, etc. is not on that same level, least of all to the point that one of us would delete it. The only submissions that we have deleted, so far, are the ones that have included racial and homophobic slurs.

“[insert OP/commenter] is obviously a rapist/pedophilie!”

If we find that you have accused someone of being a rapist, pedophile, or apologist of either because of their defensive views on noncon/pedophilic ships or roleplay, your comment will be removed and you will be blocked. These are serious accusations that you shouldn’t be throwing at people over fictional content and we refuse to to let you use this blog as a platform to spew such slanderous accusations.

[p-and-p-admin]

Interview given to The Severus Snape and Hermione Granger Shipping Fan Group.  (sharing here Admin approved)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/199718373383293/

Hello Emma Ficready and welcome to Behind the Quill, it’s wonderful to finally have the chance to chat with you.

Many readers will know you already from works like “Chimaera” and “Sins of the father” for those that don’t,  a Trigger Warning from Emma that  their works contain graphic violence and abuse and may cause distress to some readers. 

Okay, let’s jump right in. What's the story behind your pen name? It's actually my previous name! Although very apt for a fiction writer. Though it's pronounced more like Thick - Reedy, I use it over my new name because my partner does not know I'm a fiction writer, and I  don't think they'd react well if they found out, it's something they'd struggle with. I'm a long term partial carer for them and they have some mental health issues, so I try to avoid any situations that could be a potential trigger. Plus I like having something all to myself. Which Harry Potter character do you identify with the most? I think I would say I probably relate to Severus Snape the most. I can relate to how 'damaged' he is, and how much the bullying he endured as a child, affected the adult he became. Do you have a favourite genre to read? (not in fic, just in general) I think I like to read angst the most, as to me that's more real, I don't generally read stories that are entirely fluffy all the way through. I love a happy ending, but  I can't cope with total fluff because I find it unrelatable, life isn't sunshine and daisies all the time. Do you have a favourite "classic" novel? I don't know if it's old enough to be classed as a classic, but I'd have to say 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee. At what age did you start writing? Very young. I had my first poem published by aged 10. How did you get into writing fanfiction? After being heartbroken at the end of Harry Potter series , I just wanted more and I had been reading fanfiction stories for years. I was constantly looking for stories, I'd get this thought in my head and it was like 'I wonder if I can find a story about this' and when I couldn't I just thought... well why don't I write it? I also find the writing very cathartic. What's the best theme you've ever come across in a fic? Is it a theme represented in your own works? I love hurt / comfort fics. I'm a sucker for it. It is something that I represent quite a lot in my fictions, because I can see both Hermione and Severus in that role in their own individual way. Hermione who is constantly a champion and a voice for others, and Severus who is there quietly and thanklessly fighting for others the entire time, I can see both of them naturally falling into those roles of 'saving' someone , without it being out of character. What fandoms are you involved in other than Harry Potter? I'm not particularly active in any other fandoms, I have always been a Buffy Fan and I love the Inheritance cycle books by Christopher Paolini , though short of reading other fanfictions I am not active in the community like I am with Harry Potter. If you could make one change to canon, what would it be? The epilogue, probably the  most common answer you get  and I know everyone is going to expect me to say because she never should've married Ron, but I can see her marrying him and subsequently divorcing him as being true to Character but I'd change the epilogue because I don't think Hermione would or should ever have settled for being a ministry worker, she deserved so much more. Do you have a favourite piece of fanon? I don't know if this counts but... Severus's Patronus changing after he survives the war. I see the doe as symbolic to the debt he felt he owed her, and I like the thought of the visual change of patronus, representing the emotional change he goes through in accepting the past and moving on now he feels that he's fulfilled his promises. Do you listen to music when you write or do you prefer quiet? Quiet! I love music, the heavier the better actually, but I have to be in the right frame of mind for it. Otherwise I can sometimes get sensory overload. I hate white noise and things like asmr, I often wear hats or headbands, or have my hood up to block out some noise. What are your favourite fanfictions of all time? How long have you got? Honestly that's not an easy question to answer, and it doesn't have one answer. But I could say that some of the stories I find myself reading over and over again are 'Sin & Vice' , 'Another Dream' and 'Lay me low'. There's no way I could write all my favourites down here, but they're the ones I re-read most often. My favourite WIP is probably ' Inkstains' Are you a plotter or a pantser? 90% Panster. I will literally have one small idea, it could  be one small interaction, one conversation or one event that pops into my head and I will end up writing a story around that one small thing. My story signs entirely stemmed from the one interaction of Severus handing Hermione the note. I knew I wanted that, and then it was by the pants from then on How does that affect your writing process? It means that I do update my stories in a regular order, so no one story is left too long without an update. I literally sit down, crack my knuckles and go 'right, I'm writing the next chapter of this story now. I write it and post it as soon as it's finished. I write from my phone too, so I apologise for any grammatical or spelling errors, auto-correct is the bane of my life at times What is your writing genre of choice? Have you read my fictions!? Interviewer: Well yeah, but I’m asking because you’ll be new to at least  some of the audience. (chuckles) Ha. Sorry. Angst, all the way. I write angst and hurt/comfort, very dark stories as I pull a lot of my ideas from the real life experiences of myself and friends I met in therapy. Writing about trauma is very cathartic for me and helps me process my own feelings about my own history. Which of your stories are you most proud of? Why? Did it unfold as you imagined it or did you find the unexpected cropped up as you wrote? What did you learn from writing it? How personal is the story to you, and do you think that made it harder or easier to write? That's a tough one, as there are elements to all of them that are important to me. None of the stories I write quite unfold like I imagined they would, they just sort of take off and I'm along for the ride. I'd be remiss not to talk about Not the Same girl at this point, as that story has probably had the biggest impact for me, the responses it's had and the people reaching out to me, both positively and negatively. I've had some outright hate over that fic, and abusive messages to the point that I almost gave in altogether and I think because of that people will expect me to say Not the Same girl is the fiction I relate to most, and while I do draw a lot from personal experience it's actually Father Mine as that resonates with me on a more personal level, that and an as yet unpublished WIP I have in the works, I think the huge dichotomy of feedback I've had for stories like Not the Same girl though, have both given me a thicker skin to the hate and encouraged me through the sheer overwhelming amount of people who’ve reached out, that find the stories cathartic in dealing with their own trauma, which is gratifying as an author to do that for people, when I myself am looking for that same release in writing it. It's great to have this mutual satisfaction and it's really rewarding. What books or authors have influenced you? How do you think that shows in your writing? I think probably going to refer back to Harper Lee and to kill a mockingbird. The whole premise of telling a story that no one wants to hear or acknowledge, the things that are widely known but rarely spoken about. In “To kill a mockingbird” it's sexism, racism and prejudice against others based on their mental health or intelligence but we still see this so much in daily life, about how much hate and horror and suffering is seen in day to day life, the trauma that so many people have suffered is widely known but swept under the rug because it's easier. No. Hell No. Fuck that. Hiding doesn't change any of it, it may be under the rug but it's still there. People rape other people, people hurt other people, people discriminate based on gender, sexual preferences, skin colour, occupation, people have suffered in life and are damaged by it. Acknowledge it. Don't  brush it under the rug, don't ignore it because it's more comfortable for most people, shine the light on it and say. "This is real. This happens. We need to acknowledge it and we need to do something about it"  And I think that's shown in my writing , I don't glorify  anything, I'm not writing snuff but I don't hide anything either. I make people see this is something that I won't gloss over. Does it make you uncomfortable? Good , it should. If people are uncomfortable , at least they are acknowledging the realness of that situation and not ignoring it. Do people in your everyday life know you write fanfiction? How true for you is the notion of "writing for yourself"? Nobody knows I write fanfiction,  I use a previous name and I very much write for my own cathartic relief. I chose not to share that I write fiction because I'm a carer for my partner, I don't know how they'd react, it could honestly go either way where they'd be absolutely fine or it would trigger them and I'd have to stop, that's the reason I keep it to myself, I'd hate to do something that would mean I'd have to stop writing, not when so many people are so emotionally invested in the stories that I write. How important is it for you to interact with your audience? How do you engage with them? Just at the point of publishing? Through social media? Reviews man. Reviews are the nectar of life, I read every single one and though I don't have time  to reply to most, trust me when I say that I treasure each one and appreciate them immensely. I have my social media which I find the easiest way to speak to people , I have my own Page on Facebook and I'm on a number of SS/HG groups. It's hugely important to me to speak to my audience and I really encourage them to get in touch with me, I'm always happy to talk about my work and people have been in touch just to talk about their feelings or emotions that have been triggered by my work and I welcome it all.  I mean, I've got people translating my stories them into French, into Russian...it's crazy, I never expected it to be so popular and I am always happy to hear from people. Though I apologise if I don't respond straight away,  I have to write on the sly and sometimes real life takes over, so I can't log in for a week or more at a time.   What is the best advice you've received about writing? First and Foremost, write for yourself. The rest is just gravy. What do you do when you hit writer's block? I move on to another story. I always have more than one WIP at any one time, If I can't find inspiration for one, I'll update another, or start a jumble of notes for others. There's always something that needs to be written down, even if it wasn't what I had planned on. Has anything in real life trickled down into your writing? Very much so. Almost all the trauma and hurt and situations that appear in my stories are either translated from my own experiences or those of people I know. Do you have any stories in the works? Can you give us a teaser? I had a number of stories in the works! When A Cure For Magic is completed, I will most likely post the next one up. I can't give too much away , but the next story is called "Catching Fire" and will be an incredibly dark story, with a lot of morally grey characters. Any words of encouragement to other writers? Just do it.  If you want to write it,. write it. First and foremost write for yourself. Don't listen to anyone who's negative ,or unsupportive. I get so many people message me saying things like 'I want to be a writer', but don't know where to start' and to which my answer is you already are a writer. Writing is 99% mental, you have the words, they're there in your head, you just haven't put them down yet. Thanks so much for giving us your time.   Any time , it's been great and I'm happy to answer questions any time , thank you for inviting me.

[seddm]

About your response to other Anon's comment about the Magic Spells yes, now that you mention it they were tied to the Butterfly dynasty, the show never implied it was created by anyone else from other dimensions like the MHC, and the Spells in the wand, apparently some thought it implied to the magic in the other multiverses = "Star intentionally created Mass Genocide just to be with Boyfriend and cleaved Earth and Mewni together" it was just thinking too deeply and miscommunication, imo. (1/2)

Yes, the writing could have been more clear when writing the finale, i’m certain it was not their intention nor to expect some backlash that it was accused to imply mass genocide, but… yeah there were sacrifices to some of the characters made, and you can’t satisfy everybody all the time, but it would be lying the series finale far from terrible, as some may think. (2/2)

The disappearance of magic itself, as sad as it was - it’s never easy to see a show end with the death of one of the core mechanics that characterized its world, wasn’t an issue for me, per se. In universe it’s consistent with the progression of social change on Mewni, and the necessity of a complete revolution in the way power itself worked. But throughout the series too many things depicted as inherently good were connected to magic, first and foremost dimensional travelling (which was consistent with the themes of “cultures meeting” that permeated the second half of the show), but also the sentient spells in the dubiously canon “inside the wand” episodes. And that’s what left most people confused and angry. It’s like they had a good ending point in mind for the series since the beginning, something that, while bittersweet, fit well with the natural progression of the main setting and the idea that you can never fix EVERY problem, but didn’t really paid too much attention to all the implications it would have brought while writing the rest of the series. A pity, really. 

This being said, the idea of Star causing a multiverse wide genocide is absolutely nonsensical, since the only beings made from magic were “domestic” to Mewni and directly connected to the use and abuse of the wand over centuries; and the idea that she did it to be with Marco is plain wrong, that’s exactly the opposite of what she feared would have happened. Like, there are some things the show could have explained or portrayed better, and in those cases I can understand why some fans might have gotten the wrong impression or opinions, but this is not one of those. Both The Tavern at the End of the Multiverse and Cleaved literally had whole sequences dedicated to Star coming to terms with the idea that the only way she had to save all the monsters on Mewni from an impending, magic & metal filled death, and to prevent similar tragedies to happen again in the future, was to destroy the only thing that allowed her and Marco to be together. 

Hot take time: while the show could have obviously done a better job at conveying and portraying its final events, a disconcertingly large part of the fandom never really cared for the monsters / racism / equal rights part of the story, and thus entirely forgets the whole “Mina’s army, counting hundreds of almost unstoppable metal monsters, kept most of the monsters on Mewni as hostages and would have killed them at the first sign of retaliation on the Queens’ side” deal. In their minds Star is a bratty annoying bitch who destroyed magic because she was throwing a temper tantrum without thinking of the consequences. 

Yep, didn’t consider them at all. You’re such an inconsiderate cornhole, Star.