#Bottom To Top Fallacy

[wickedzeevyln]

✮ The Armchair Sage ✮

Beyond himself, he cannot see, nor perceive, nor comprehend, everything is merely a product of his assumptions. Take my advice, he pleads, like taking some advice from a someone struggling managing his budget, but has the audacity to tell financial advisors how to balance the books. but has the nerve to lecture people about how they should go about things. couldn’t practice what he…

[frangipani-wanderlust]

Sombody's a coward! XD

[stripedstarsblueflags]

Sam Collins Defending Backmarkers (Specifically Logan Sargeant)

@quigzahhutt

Bahrain Pre-Season Testing TUESDAY Session ONE, timestamp 2:47:00 (give or take) on F1TV; context, talking about teammate comparisons in Sauber

“…I think this is one of the big fallacies of formula one, that it’s easier to come as a rookie in the back– I don’t think it’s necessarily true.

When you look at the rookie performances of, say, Oscar Piastri compared to Lando Norris– Piastri is generally behind Norris, in fact pretty comfortably, in the qualifying head-to-head as an example in the last couple of years. But because the McLarens are at the front, if Norris is on Pole, Piastri can be third. If Norris is fifth, Piastri can be seventh. And occasionally, Oscar’s outqualifying Lando as well– but you know you’re always in the top ten. You’re always making it to Q3. It seems great…

…whereas if you’re in a slow car, you could just be plopped at the bottom of the field. Like Logan Sargeant, who could be a few tenths behind Alex Albon, and rather than being fifth and eighth he’s just constantly last and constantly right at the back. It was a little bit like Zhou had last year– well, he wasn’t a rookie, but– the comparisons just get brutal when the car’s not good.

Because you are the slowest driver in the field. And if the Sauber car’s not good and Bortoletto’s consistently a little bit behind Hulkenberg, then he will become the sort of tailender of the field… which is not a nice place to be. More notable there than if you’re somewhere just being in the midfield– just being a couple of tenths away and still able to scrabble for points….”

–Sam Collins

[sgiandubh]

Sordid

Sordid means plagiarizing other blogs' rhetoric, introducing coffee and ibuprofen and God-knows-what, in order to keep your older, parochial audience hooked.

Sordid means spending an entire night frantically scouring other blogs, from across the entire dash, for things to take onboard and pathetically twist to fit your idiotic agenda. Because I am still on my mandatory end of posting leave, I could witness it in real time. The number of sock accounts created by the person, in order to do so, is clinical.

Just an example: I was expecting the Rolodex metaphor to pop in that long post. I was not disappointed. She took it onboard.

Sordid means playing with dimwits' minds and introduce logical fallacies such as: "I did not say I had evidence, I said I KNEW". Anything but owning one's shit and simply saying "I was wrong". Being wrong happens to everyone.

Sordid means twisting your underwear in order to demonstrate things like being a sugar baby is not being a prostitute, but simply having 'arrangements with certain wealthy men she knows and that's how she travels the world'. I howled. This is rock-bottom pathetic and she knows better than any dictionary...

....or than one of the top 5 Spanish dailies (a very serious one), for that matter:

[Source: https://english.elpais.com/society/2022-10-17/sugar-dating-the-romanticized-face-of-prostitution.html]

I know many things about human trafficking. There is nothing la-di-da about it, there is nothing glamorous about it. That gay BFF? Either her pimp or the pimp's vigilante. Nothing more, but nothing less. That woman is a legit, unapologetic hooker.

FYI, not having intercourse with the sugar daddy, but accepting money for companionship, can and is still construed by many as prostitution. The only concrete difference is a legal loophole benefitting sugar dating:

[Source: https://boldlatina.com/not-sugar-coating-the-truth-on-sugar-dating-escorting-and-prostitution/]

It is 'light prostitution'. Nothing less:

[Source: https://www.hopeforthefuture.at/en/sugar-dating-a-modern-form-of-prostitution/]

Sordid means finding excuses for the inexcusable. Of course he called JJ - they have a consistently documented collaboration history.

In the process, the *Ur Troll's laborious and verbose demonstration managed to throw everybody under the bus. C, who was compared with her in the guise of an excuse. S, who emerges as an idiot. And the woman herself.

Finally, sordid means calling out shippers, the usual suspects, who consistently rebuked your bullshit for 10 years, now. This is conveniently absurd.

[dykekarkat]

i loveeeeee reading academic writing. my favorite thing ever when i read an article and it helps me articulate something i've been feeling but didn't have the words for. (yes i am about to make this about aftg. unsurprisingly) specific thoughts under the cut bcus i dont wanna get jumped for talking about jean and andrew's trauma

Anyway i'm halfway through Gayle Rubin's "Thinking Sex" and the fallacy of the misplaced scale is so helpful for understanding why the treatment of andrew and jean's trauma can be so uncomfortable for me. the basic idea is that the fallacy relates to the assumption that "sexual sin" is especially more heinous than other "sinful acts" which give sex acts an excess of significance in society / our own thoughts etc. Rubin is focusing heavily on the hierarchy of sexual acts here (w/ heterosexual monogamous sex during marriage at the top and commercial, queer, "deviant" sexual acts at the bottom) but i think you can also apply this to the tendency to rank trauma and abuse in a hierarchy as well, with sexual trauma / abuse / crimes at the top for Most Serious Offenses (to be clear. i am not arguing they shouldn't be taken seriously. i am just making some obeservations). The way andrew and jean's trauma is elevated and taken more seriously by the fandom because it's sexual in nature, the tendency to disregard other types of trauma because it doesn't include a sexual aspect (looking at kevin in the nest here), even the way it's fairly popular to write neil getting sa'ed when he's in the nest to make the trauma he accumulated there more "serious" comes back to this idea. it's just something i've been thinking about a lot so glad to finally have the words for it now.

[hcgossips]

HE WAS SOLD OUT! His looks remind me of the Joker's face: Terrifying! There's no doubt! I am right about a few things, whether you like it or not!

He signed a deal thinking it would be one more normal PR stunt. But, somebody was smarter and took advantage of the plot to discredit and humiliate him by promoting a sl*t. It seems he was actually deceived and trapped, but is ashamed to let people know.

I don't really know what the real thing is between these two, but one thing I'm sure: Someone wanted to give him a lesson, to bend and break him down, like trying to scrub what they see as his arrogance, on his face. This is clear on his expressions.

This woman really didn't bring anything new, except for trying to show a ring. She continues looking at the camera from bottom to top, while lowering her head as an animal ready to attack, and shaking her shoulders as if offering herself. No one will take her seriously, but as a tramp.

No way he would get involved with the type and less, announce it to the world, for this woman is obviously a disaster. Lame, tacky, with no elegance, not a bit of class, a redneck and promiscuous, she would never be more than an out-of-sight (unknown) night stand. But, daddy had the money, she had a dream and there was a famous escort on sale who was easy to deceive.

I can't see a single person believing this woman could be his girlfriend/wife nor that she could make it in Hollywood, for she doesn't have what it takes. So, the closer solution to try to fulfill her dream was to please her by buying her a famous muppet-escort to take her to red carpets.

That's her free pass to Hollywood. She has no chance to be more than the girlfriend/wife, but that's OK with her, as long as she shows somewhere to appear, and her name is on tabloids linked to his.

The initial intention of who planned this? Try to sell her as a VP or executive producer in the Industry, for maybe, the contract was of a partnership expecting that this fake VP or exec. producer would support and promote him as a producer (don't ask me why they thought she would help), but it was impossible. Because of the woman's rep and slutty image, no one believed that fallacy nor took her seriously.

The other option was to sell her as his girlfriend/wife. But this is a deal for life. And, he was not only trapped, but screwed as a man and even as a professional for eternity. Now, we know how he arranges big roles: He sells himself in exchange. Where is the so called dignity he talks about?

And, based on this settlement, it's clear there was never an intention from him to get seriously involved with a woman. Otherwise, he wouldn't commit to that circus. So, up to now, my guess is he's gay.

This PR was an accurate dart on his vanity and dignity. It destroys the dignified-man image and the man's credibility he took years trying to sell, because this PR goes against everything he sold us up to now. It is clearly (and intentionally) an attempt to destroy the persona he took years creating with the intention to hide the real Henry Cavill someone wanted to expose and humiliate.

At this last event, IT IS CLEAR, ON HIS FACE, he's not happy in love and in life and it's clear how he's upset and obligated to be staging this plot. His expressions show he knows the reactions he will have from this and how this will affect his "dignity".

Now, more than ever, I believe he's NOT the straight gent bachelor he tried to sell. Maybe, there's more about this guy that could make his fans very disappointed, something he's trying to hide. Using the words of Corey, unfortunately, he refuses to expose himself to "the light of day", preferring the dark side of the Force.

Looking at him, you can clearly see he will need surgical procedures soon, for his eyelids have fallen completely, probably for many crying nights regretting, for being forced to do something against his nature. He looks as if being pushed to a situation he wasn't expecting, didn't want and that destroys him from the inside out.

But, why is he being forced? What is it so horrible that we can't know and that has been used so this circus goes on?

[leporellian]

thinking about mudclaw again as he lives forever in my heart. i think so many people are wrong about him. him and onestar are in reality two sides of the same paranoid coin and both of their actions are explained most by fear than anything else, which makes sense bc windclan was (still is?) the lowest-ranking of all the clans and constantly shit on in different ways by the other three especially in the tpb era. but of course instead of realizing that there's a sense of constant sunk cost fallacy and NEEDING to get to the top. tallstar is clearly mudclaw's father figure (at least like . the way i interpret things. what with shrewclaw's death and their interactions esp in winds of change) and mudclaw to some extent idolizes tallstar because he equates him- and leadership, and power, and etc- with the idea of windclan and the very ideal of their clan society. he certainly sees tallstar as fallible and doesn't agree with his decisions (and later becomes like almost annoyingly aware of tallstar's mortality) but i think it's in an 'only i can say that about him' way.

so of course when tallstar changes his mind and demotes mudclaw at the last possible second before mudclaw achieves (what is in his mind as) The One Path To True Success mudclaw feels a visceral sense of betrayal, not only because that was his father figure but also because it kind of flies in the face of everything mudclaw had led to believe was Worthwhile- all of it meant nothing, as does much of the system of the clans themselves do. but instead of willing to consider that (even if his subconscious sees it like A Little) mudclaw spirals into justification until he's ultimately turning on everything he once held dear to justify this One Perfect Concept in his mind of How Things Ideally Should Go. and then his own gods turn on him to kill him! as he dies in the same pointless battles that killed both his father and grandmother! fucking insane!

and the REAL tragedy is that even IF mudclaw became leader he'd fall apart into a paranoid wreck, just as much if not more than onestar did, because ultimately he and onestar have the same rampant paranoia and fear of reliance that dooms both of them. for all intents and purposes until near the end onestar wasn't too bad of a leader by clan standards; windclan certainly became much more self-sufficient and hardy under his leadership (thunderclan be damned lmfao) and for having been elected amidst civil war there wasn't That Much dissent going on besides like crowfeather or whoever thinking onestar was being a jackass. mudclaw not only should have never been deputy, there's no universe where he could've achieved his own definitions of success ad prosperity because he was born not only in a clan that will never fully escape its position as the bottom of the pecking order but in the shadow of a leader who possessed traits that mudclaw could never have and who didn't even want the same vision of windclan mudclaw did.

so like ! damn all that was for nothing ! and he was killed to make a fuck ass BRIDGE! And hes trapped inside a horribly written wildly christian children's book series FOREVER!!!!!! Insane!!!! Insane!!!! I am going to think about this freak forever!!!! in short

[pynkhues]

To be entirely fair (and I write this with the utmost respect to you, you are not one of the people who do this) there are some fans of Bottom!Lestat, Femme!Lestat, and Mother!Lestat who seem to be just as gender essentialist and homophobic as some (as you said, not all) of the Bottom!Louis, Femme!Louis, and Mother!Louis fans they despise. Some of them have preferences that are set in ‘straight’ relationship templates, but they want Lestat to be the feminine person and Louis to be the masculine person, and their upset is not with gender essentialism or homophobia but that some people in fandom favour the opposite dynamic. Some fans who see Lestat naturally as a Femme and reject Louis as a Femme do so because they think the image of a feminine or Femme Louis is revolting, and that has everything to do with Lestat’s whiteness and Louis’s Blackness.

Many Femme!Louis fans are as passionate and perhaps acerbic and defensive as they are because this fandom has been no more kind to them than it has been Femme!Lestat fans: Predominantly Black Femme!Louis writers were put on a list to shame and mock them in 2023. A Femme!Louis writer was harassed to such extent by some fans for the decisions he made in his fic that he stopped writing for Loustat and turned against the fandom. Black Femme!Louis fans have been called white men’s whores, race fetishists and porn addicts. I appreciate that many Femme!Lestat and Bottom!Lestat fans have been harassed, shamed and mocked as well and I am sorry for it. It’s quite horrible. And I do not want to make excuses for their behaviour, but I saw that some of the fanfic writers who have been hostile to you for your masculinity meta were some of the same fanfic writers who had been called race fetishists, white men worshippers and harassed for writing Femme!Louis. Hurt people hurt people, and all that.

I’d say the harassment evidences how much transphobia there is in fandom, as even nominally queer communities are rife with gender essentialism, homophobia and reflexive disgust of non-conforming queer bodies and that is true regardless of if Louis or Lestat is the subject. With Louis, one must consider the role anti-Blackness plays as well.

This is where your other anon may have touched on a fallacy and where they may need to unpack some of their own presuppositions: topping is not the only way one can care for one’s sexual partner, and bottoming is not the only way one can be desired. A top can be feminine and a bottom can be masculine, or neither can be feminine or masculine, or both. In essence, it does not matter how IwtV stages Loustat’s sex scenes because they will be loving, tender and passionate with one another no matter what. It speaks volumes that they’ve had several love scenes in which who topped and who bottomed was debatable, but the love and passion between them was unmistakeable.

(x)

I appreciate the respect, anon, as well as the context, and yeah, of course, there are people on both sides engaged in the same rhetoric. I understand that, just as I understand that there is an undercurrent of (and often overt) anti-Blackness in this fandom which denies Louis any trait that isn't stereotypically masculine, and contributes to the racism in this fandom more broadly. That's important to acknowledge and it's important to tackle, of course it is, and I hope I do my own part in the ways that I can on here.

And look, I'm open about the fact that I don't really engage in the broader discourse within this fandom, so I don't think I can comment on meta or the many and varied things that are happening on other blogs or social media threads, but one of the areas I do engage pretty broadly is in fanworks, and I don't know. I absolutely hear what you're saying, but when I'm scrolling through ao3, it's pretty clear that the dominant preference and understanding of these characters is not the version of Louis and Lestat you're arguing is as endemic as the one the previous anon was talking about.

Again, I can appreicate that it exists though, and that things happened before I joined the fandom that have influenced the ecosystem, and I'd never deny the experiences of people who went through that, but in saying that, I hope you wouldn't deny mine either.

Because it's terrible that that happened to the writer(s) / clique you know I'm talking about, but they weren't hostile to me, anon, they doxxed me. Look, I don't want to play the victim, I'm conscious of the race politics in all of this, just as I'm conscious of how I want to engage in fandom, and a lot of this I didn't post at the time, because I didn't think it served anyone or anything, but I was sent my full name, my brother's name and birthday, information about my estranged father's workplace, my sister's name and information and, as many people know at this point because I did post about it, a threat to send her and my 7 and 8 year old nephews smut that I had written for consenting adults, in between getting people sending anons on the regular calling me a racist bitch. I had to talk to my family, I had to tell my workplace what was happening, because that felt like the logical next step in the harrassment, I had to talk to a lawyer, the latter two of which was pretty humiliating, but hey, at least now, legally, in Australia, it's considered assault (and I hope the person who threatened my nephews lives every day with the fact that a part of them was willing to at least threaten child sexual assault if not commit it for the sake of a personal opinion).

I appreciate you citing someone who quit the fandom on the other side of it, but honestly, right then, in the thick of it? I was going to too. Would you feel it gave more weight to my harassment if I left the fandom or stopped posting fic? And would it mean more or less if I too lashed out at those I know were behind it?

Because here's the thing - I rebuke your idea that hurt people hurt people, anon. It's fun in fiction, but it's a cop out in reality. It has never and would never cross my mind to treat people the way that they treated me. Them doxxing me doesn't make me feel empowered to dox others who disagree with me. In fact, I feel even more disgusted by it having been a victim of it myself. I hope that's a testament to my character, because I do actually think how you choose to behave after being harrassed is a testament to yours, and if you decide it gives you a free pass to be cruel to others for the simple act of disagreeing with you - - God. I don't even know what we're doing here at all.

Anyway.

I agree though that there is a lot of transphobia in the fandom and TERF rhetoric across the board, but I actually think you and the last anon are in agreement about the fact that equalising things like top = dominant = masculine is inherently false. It was, at least in my reading, their main point and their criticism of the broader fandom that that is the way people handle it, and that that's inherently a fallacy, as you said. But yeah, agreed too that who's doing what to who doesn't actually matter, and that their love and passion for one another is what does.

[justidiothings]

“traditional values” and conservative ideologies are intertwined with systemic misogyny. 

Traditional values are often framed as ideals of family, gender roles, and social order. People who advocate for these values emphasize women’s roles as the homemaker, mothers, and supportive wives. But here’s the truth: these so-called “values” are rooted in patriarchy, and they exist to keep women in their place. It’s an illusion of value—a trap that keeps women believing they are something they’re not.

conservative women are fine with being "property" because they assume they’re valuable property. They’ve been taught that fulfilling traditional roles gives them worth, that by being the perfect wife or mother, they somehow rise above the rest (I’ve seen many examples of this) But in reality, they fail to see the bigger picture—no matter how "traditional" they are, they are still property in a system that devalues women as a whole. A misogynistic man sees all women as below him. It doesn’t matter how obedient, “traditional,” or pure a woman is. To him, she is still less than. Still not enough. Still something to be controlled, used, and disposed of when it suits him.

Women think they’ve found safety and respect within these roles, but it’s all conditional. It’s a “value” that disappears the second they step out of line or no longer fit the mold. 

the whole idea that women gain worth through their roles as wives and mothers is a fallacy that keeps them tethered to a system of control, without them even realizing it.

"Traditional" = Subordinate

The reason this is inherently misogynistic is simple: these “traditional” roles are built on a hierarchy. Men are at the top, and women are expected to stay at the bottom. The "complementary" roles that conservative ideologies push aren’t about equality—they’re about reinforcing the idea that men lead and women follow. Men are providers, protectors, and decision-makers. Women are nurturers, caretakers, and supporters. This system might seem perfect to some, but when you break it down, it’s nothing more than a way to keep women from ever having true power.

A conservative woman might feel praised for her commitment to these roles, but that praise is just a mask. Her worth is only measured by how well she serves her husband, her children, or her family—and once she’s no longer in service, her value is gone. We’ve seen many examples of this either in real life or the internet, a man may admire her for being the perfect homemaker, but the second she wants something outside of that—whether it’s a career, autonomy, or independence—she is seen as a threat. The system doesn’t change because the roles don't allow it.

The Safety Myth: Protection That Isn’t Really Protection.

Conservative men tend to promise women safety, Women are told that if they embrace these roles, they’ll be protected, from what? But the reality is, this protection is a lie. The truth is, these roles offer safety only within the confines of strict gender expectations. Women are protected only as long as they fit the mold—play their part and never stray from it, and even then some women aren’t protected if they play that role, (what does women need protection from? other men? ) This isn’t protection. It’s control. It’s the safety of submission, and it comes at the cost of your own identity and freedom.

it doesn’t matter how much a woman conforms to the "ideal" that society sets for her—she is still seen as inferior. She is still less than. Her value is still attached to her relationship to a man, her ability to bear children, or her usefulness in the home.

This is the part conservative women fail to see: they aren’t exempt from the patriarchal systems that oppress women—they are merely playing into them. The idea that conservative women are somehow more valued by men than other women is just another lie told to keep them complicit in a system that seeks to control their every move. 

a woman’s worth is not based on how much she serves her husband, or how well she fills the traditional role; it’s inherent in who she is as an individual, regardless of her marital status, career choice, or motherhood. But that’s a message patriarchy doesn’t want women to hear.

True empowerment for women comes from the freedom to live outside of the narrow boxes that society forces women into, and from recognizing that no matter what role a woman plays, she deserves to be valued for who she is—not just what she does for others. 

How can we begin to break the myths around 'traditional values' and help women see the systems of control at play?

This post is centered around my other post where I mentioned “conservative women are fine with being property because they assume they're valuable property and they fail to realize that a misogynistic man views all women as not valuable, it doesn’t matter how trad and conservative the woman is. they’ll still below and worthless in their eyes”

[danpuff-ao3]

Snarry AUctober fest is an annual fest exploring Snarry in various AU settings, and is an often fun and thoughtful exploration of my beloved OTP in various scenarios and settings. The fest always provides so many good reads, but to start you off, here are my top 5 for the 2021 fest!

An Evening Adrift

by allhaz_red. Rated: E. Words: 4,966. Canon divergence. Dirty talk. Bottom Snape.

Severus and Harry keep themselves occupied during a lull in the War.

The Way This Ends

by avioleta. Rated: E. Words: 25,837. Wartime. First time. Canon divergence.

A short time after killing Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape decides he is tired of fighting this war alone. He requests a meeting with Harry Potter, gives him a phial of memories, and tells him he wants to help with the task Dumbledore left behind. Together, they form an alliance. Original Prompt #57: Harry meets Snape every month to exchange war intel. it's always short notice, and nearly always in a grimy hotel, Muggle pub, or crowded bar.

Sunk Cost Fallacy

by Coconutice22 (@coconutice22). Rated: E. Words: 45,658. Coffee Shop AU. Mystery.

Life after the war is all the sweeter for a decent cup of tea made by Severus’s favourite green-eyed barista.  A Snarry Coffee Shop AU.

Gold Like Ichor, Gold Like Magic

by DandelionConstellation. Rated: E. Chapters: 11/11. Words: 26,521. Romance. Angst. Slow burn.

Seven years after Harry James Potter was left unceremoniously on the doorstep to Number Four, Privet Drive, Vernon Dursley was offered a promotion and the whole family had to move to Cokeworth, England. While Dudley is off terrorizing the local children, Harry spends his days in the school library and finds a fast friend in Ms. Eileen Prince.  From Cokeworth to Hogwarts and back again, this is a story about the friendship, the magic, and the love that can be found in the unlikeliest of places, if only one bothers to look.

Facility Management

by PinaNaponi. Rated: M. Words: 10,394. Muggle AU. CEO Severus. Office Setting. Accidental voyeurism. Secret relationship. Humor.

Argus had seen a great many things in his thirty years at A.D. Consulting. But never the CEO kissing someone on the rooftop.

[chaos-bear]

As he quietly followed in his godson’s footsteps down a series of what appeared to be servant’s corridors, Sirius felt a rush of wild, giddy energy. It was almost like being back at Hogwarts and following James into some ill-advised scheme.

Then, Harry paused before a door and turned to look at Sirius for a long moment, suddenly solemn, before he pushed it open and stepped into the immense space beyond. 

Any similarities to Hogwarts or his father fled at the overwhelming sight of the golden dome soaring high overhead. Sirius followed Harry further into the hushed space as he led the way through circular rows of pews that could hold hundreds of people. The scent of incense and layers of old magic tickled Sirius’ nose, and underneath it all sat something that sent his hackles rising: blood.

Harry’s blood.

As they approached the center dais, Sirius’ eye traced along the structural ribs that arched to the top of the dome, where a glittering glass oculus let in a golden shaft of late afternoon sunlight.

Harry stepped up into the light beaming down upon the raised platform, and then, in a moment that would be forever engraved into Sirius’ memory, he paused and looked back.

For all his trauma, skepticism and jaded exterior, at his heart Sirius wanted a cause so badly he was afraid to even admit it to himself. His entire life, he’d wanted to believe in something, in someone. As a child, he’d accepted his family’s passion for pureblood sanctity; then, when that proved to be a fallacy, he’d cleaved to James and his beliefs. James’ death and the Order’s casual abandonment had left him with nothing at all except a desire to protect the one thing left—Harry.

And so here, in this pivotal moment as Harry looked down at him— bathed in a glowing, golden light so bright that everything else was just pure darkness around him, his emerald eyes gleaming with sly camaraderie and tentative hope— Sirius could feel something deep within him settle into place. A solidity, a foundation, a commitment that he’d been missing ever since he’d crumpled to the bottom of those cottage steps and cradled his best friend’s cold face in his hands.

“Are you coming?” Harry asked, holding out one small hand toward Sirius.

Sirius smiled, a wave of love, relief, and a protectiveness so strong he could feel it in his teeth washing through him as he took Harry’s hand in his own.

“Yes,” he replied, “I’m right here.”

__________________

One of my favourite moments to write in Saint Harry recently.

SAINT HARRY A Harry/Voldemort Cult AU Co-authored by @alenablack Updates every Wednesday Read it here.

[fishandships]

First world problems but from a steerage-class citizen: doll customs edition

as my fellow brokies will know, the sunk cost fallacy is tough to navigate on a shoestring budget. i'm feeling it hard rn because i finally saved up enough money for all the pieces needed for a very expensive custom project: OB11 dolls of my IDV faves plus Rosario....but when i set about assembling them, i ran into a huge problem.

my huge mistake here is that i had commissioned custom OB11 heads from an etsy seller who i will not name because i'm not here to shame them, i'm here to lament my situation. the listing refers to the items as OB11 heads, and in the readmore goes say they are compatible with OB11 bodies and that the item is clay, which i misunderstood to mean the hair is clay. this is not the case. the entire head is air-dry clay, which means, to my utter horror, none of the heads are compatible with standard OB11 bodies. they don't have any kind of mechanism to lock the heads on as an OB11 head should, just unmeasured holes jammed into the bottom with a pencil (you can see the pencil point mark, although i can't get a good photograph).

i messaged the seller about this, and they recommended i basically glue the heads on. now, OB11 bodies run around $20-$30 USD, plus shipping, and i'm not keen on ruining one permanently. so i tested it sans-glue on the Luca i had ordered back when i actually liked him. since i dislike him now, i wasnt worried about accidentally damaging him.

it looks. SO BAD. this is the best i can do without enlarging the hole in the clay (i would need a knife for this and i'm hesitant to alter them). even with clothes, you can see the neck is way too long, and the head is disproportionate to the body.

worse still, the Rosario i commissioned looks incredibly disappointing. the seller had sent me a preview after i paid and before it shipped, but said it was not possible to alter it further. the face is. passable, i suppose, but the hair is just a fucking mess, especially in the back.

this did lowkey send me into a crisis of like. is my art that bad, that their design is so incomprehensible? they have a very common Victorian-era haircut that's gone a little too long between trims. i don't understand how it turned out like this.

the other three look. ok.

they definitely look like they were made with a lot more care and attention to detail than Rosario, but lacking consistency and idk what's up with the weird speckle-y paint job on Luchino. they're also very fragile since they are air dry clay (some bits have fallen off just sitting motionless on my shelf) and frankly......i can do better and i wish i hadn't wasted my money. because now i have to sink even more into this project that took 2 years to fund to get proper OB11 heads and make them myself.

i had originally left a 5-star review based on photos alone, as the commission took longer to complete than the limit for reviews allowed me to wait and i wanted to support a small business, but i deeply regret doing so. they're just not useable. and now i'm stuck with these little heads that i don't have the heart to throw away but i don't know what to do with otherwise. i'm crushed. this on top of just an awful Murphy's Law day.

like i said, sunk-cost fallacy is a bitch.

[savethevamps]

Top Tanin: The Imperfect Victim

Disclaimer : Please leave your Top hate away from this post. I have no problem having a discussion about Top, but if you’re just going to blatantly hate & make comments that have absolutely nothing to do with this topic, keep it to yourself.

Now before we get into the topic at hand, I would like to give everyone the definition of The Ideal Victim Fallacy aka The Perfect Victim Theory, which is: a damaging belief about how a victim should look and behave in order to be deemed a credible source.

Some of you may be wondering, “what exactly does this have to do with that cheater Top?”, and I’m here to explain how it has everything to do with him. Top is a prime example of how the perfect victim does not exist, and how damaging the very notion of a “perfect victim” is. Top Tanin has been SA on multiple occasions, and it has mostly been glossed over by viewers simply because he is not the ideal victim. Now, I won’t sit here & say that no one has pointed this out, but I will say that I haven’t seen this be discussed as deeply as I think it should so here I go.

1. First, let’s talk personality. “The Perfect Victim” is always thought of as someone who is meek, innocent, and kind; someone who would never engage in anything illicit.

When we’re introduced to Top, we’re immediately told how we should feel about him. We’re supposed to think that Top is an asshole, a player, arrogant, and rude. We can go back and forth about what is true and what’s not, but the main point is this; we have our set up of this guy now, and we know how we’re told to feel about him personality wise.

2. Secondly, physical traits. The “Ideal Victim” is usually someone smaller in stature, weak, and by all accounts defenseless.

Top is a relatively tall man who exercises, and from what we can tell, a man who isn’t afraid to throw a punch when provoked. So now we have our physical attributes.

3. Thirdly, SA is usually depicted as only happening to the “receiver” or the person who is usually penetrated during sex.

From what we see of Top, he’s portrayed as being a well, Top. The story is also in the realm of boys love, a genre in which if SA is going to happen, it will always happen to the bottom.

Now, we have all these points down and they all add up to this; Top is the exact opposite of a “Perfect Victim”. From his personality down to the position he takes during sex. Hopefully everyone has followed along with me, and we can all come to the same conclusion that he is not an “Ideal Victim”, and we can discuss the scenes in which he is SA.

The first assault occurs in episode two. Top goes to shower off and Boston strips naked to join him in the shower. Top is of course caught off guard by this, and asks what Boston is doing, to which Boston replies by saying he, “wants it again”. He then proceeds to push Top into the shower. They talk back and forth, Boston starts kissing his neck and body, then Mew comes in. A lot of people see this scene and immediately say, “oh Top should have pushed him off, or “He clearly didn’t care or he would’ve said no.” It’s worth noting that Top freezes up once Boston starts touching him suggestively, and to the second point; Top has said no, we find this out in the very first episode. Having sex once isn’t blanket permission, especially when the person expresses they do not wish to have it happen again.

The second, technically third, time he is assaulted, happens in episode four. Top is once again cornered by Boston, and getting groped while he constantly tells Boston “no” and “stop”. Boston doesn’t listen, so Top pushes him away. Now this is a scene where I see people agree that it’s SA, which is good, however it gives ammo to the people who believe the first incident was not assault. They say, “well if he can push him off here, why couldn’t he before” or “he spoke up fast here, but he barely said anything before.” The simple answer is, in my opinion, the fact that Top is now feeling ashamed and guilty about what occurred the night before. He’s no longer just thinking about himself, he is now also thinking about Mew and how he can’t “allow” (notice the quotations) Boston to keep touching him.(It’s worth noting that Top does have a brief moment where he freezes, just like in the first scene.)

In conclusion, I’m pretty sure Top does not see himself as a victim of SA due to the theory I’ve explained above, and I can tell that most people do not view him as a victim either. All I wanted to say in this post is how as a viewer, it’s our job to be able to see this for what it is. Top is a victim of SA, he is a victim of this “Ideal/Perfect Victim” myth, and I would like it if people would start viewing these scenes as such, and not just ammo for you to use when saying how “bad” you think Top is.

[moodooivy]

Ranking Sanscest ships

To celebrate the fact that it's almost Valentine's Day I have decided I wanted to rank all Sanscest ships (I won't be including ships like Erosion x Ceno, Paperjam x Fresh, Fallacy x Encre, Mad Sci ships, Passive ships, Shattered ships, Empireverse ships, etc. I'll also leave out genderbends because then there would be way too much). I'll try not to be bias and just put every Swap Sans ship at the top, but if I like it and think it's good, it's going near the top... Or well. Bottom... Keep in mind this is all my opinion, which is constantly changing. This might not be in the best order but I tried. Also, when I say bad I just mean I dislike it. I don't think any ship is necessarily "bad". All ships are good... Except for the first five. I do think they're pretty bad... Anyway! (Ok not anyway. Real quick I jut wanna warn you that I dislike a lot of popular ships. Please don't yell at me if your favorite is near the top. Or at least not at the bottom)

111: And the worst ship in my opinion is.......; Dussic/Classic x Dust! Dussic is just bad. Very bad. It's boring, it's weird, it doesn't make sense, it's gross, and that's all I'mma say. I wont give an explanation to every ship but if I have something to say I'll say it.

110: Classic x Nightmare Lazymare is bad. You're going to see a lot of Classic ships, Dream ships, and Ink ships near the bottom. This ship definitely stems from Classic harems. Aka the worst part of this fandom (To me. Ship whatever you want. Just keep all your harems away from me unless it's a Blue harem or Fluttershy harem. We'll talk with a Dust harem).

109: Classic x Horror

108: Classic x Error Ah yes. Lazyglitch. Error in love with the original anomaly. The most generic cookie cutter Sans out there. He's a real catch. I mean I guess it would make sense Error wouldn't want to destroy his AU since it's the original but. Still.

107: Cross x Dream Cream. One of, if not THE most popular ship in the family. Also one of the worst. Why? Because it's generic and bland. People try too hard to make it look cute. It looks cute but it really isn't.

106: Classic x Ink

105: Dream x Dust Drust is boring. I don't like it when people ship Dream with the Bad Sanses if you couldn't tell. I know a lot of people who do this with him, I'm not gonna name names, I don't want to shame anyone because they can do what they want, but it's still annoying.

104: Fell x Ink

103: Dream x Horror

102: Fresh x Nightmare

101: Fresh x Dream Dreamfresh. I dunno. Maybe Dream can make Fresh feel something?

100: Dream x Fell

99: Alter x Gans

98: Black x Blue

97: Blue x Razz

96: Fell x Razz

95: Dream x Nightmare People often forget that Dream and corrupted Nightmare are not related. This isn't incest. That being said this still isn't good.

94: Dust x Reaper

93: Error x Reaper

92: Error x Outer

91: Error x Horror This ship is absolutely adorable. I see Horror as being the only Bad Sans (Besides maybe Nightmare) Error will stand and allow to touch him because he likes to cuddle with the big ol' teddy bear mass that is Horror. It's only so low because it's not that good.

90: Hate x Nightmare

89: Cross x Epic

88: Color x Delta

87: Blue x Delta

86: Bill x Blue

85: 404 x Bill

84: Alter x Blue

83: Color x Killer

82: Killer x Outer

81: Outer x Science

80: Lust x Nightmare

79: Fell x Science

78: Fresh x Horror

77: Error x Lust

76: Blue x Hate

75: Melon x Sugar

74: Fell x Fresh

73: Nightmare x Reaper

72: Cross x Ink

71: Dream x Ink I really don't ship Dream with anyone. I just can't see him falling in love with anyone. But if he were to love anyone I think it would be Ink because they're both kinda guardians (But then he'd loose interest when he finds out Ink's intent). I list more Dream ships below but they're only there because I like them more.

70: Dream x Geno I ship the CQ bros with the Stars.

69: Ink x Reaper Well well well...

68: Geno x Ink

67: Geno x Nightmare

66: Fresh x Science

65: Dream x Error

64: Dream x Killer ZeFanatic. I blame you for why I like this and think it's kinda hot.

63: Killer x Nightmare This ship is so annoying... But there's so much hilarious potential! Squee! It's kinda good! (I'm honestly hooked on the idea of a fem Killer singing Poisonous Love from Rio 2)

62: Dream x Outer

61: Fell x Nightmare

60: Classic x Lust

59: Fresh x Lust I once saw this adorable comic of these two and ever since I did I fell in love with this ship.

58: Horror x Lust Horrorlust is too overrated for me to enjoy it. I also just don't think it's that good.

57: Cross x Error They would fight over literally. Everything.

56: Ccino x Dream

55: Dance x Lust They'll probably dance together. I think this is the best ship with Lust because Dance is a realistic and healthy partner for him in my opinion.

54: Classic x Fell

53: Geno x Reaper Before anyone threatens my family for putting Afterdeath so low in this ranking, I just don't like the tsundere dynamic. When it comes to tsunderes there is a very fine line before it's clear said tsundere is not a tsundere and is just not into the other person. There is only one ship in my opinion that nails the "Tsundere x Flirt" dynamic.

52: Ccino x Hate

51: Cross x Killer Just like Afterdeath, too many tsundere stuff. But at least it's not all just 'Tsundere. Thas it.'.

50: Ink x Lust

49: Farm x Horror Same situation as Horrorlust.

48: Epic x Fresh

47: Fatal x Lavender

46: Ink x Killer Killer simps for Nightmare. Ink simps for Dream. You get it~

45: Error x Fresh I used to hate this ship. But I've decided to open my mind and have decided it's not that bad actually.

44: Squid x Octopus- I mean Ink x Nightmare

43: Nightmare x Science Bookworms lol.

42: Blue x Science

41: Error x Ink I keep going back and forth on whether I think this ship is good or not. I think "hey it's kinda cute", but than I look at an Errink pic and want to throw up. I have finally decided on my opinion. It's good. As long as people don't take it seriously. It's not 'good good' so don't try to make it dramatic but it's cute so make some silly art. Even better if it's a poly with Fresh or Blue.

40: Blue x Melon

39: Blue x Classic

38: Blue x Outer

37: Blue x Gans

36: Blue x Farm

35: Blue x Lavender

34: Dust x Lust

33: Cross x Dust

32: Blue x Fresh

31: 404 x Blue

30: Dust x Razz

29: Horror x Nightmare They so silly and cute.

28: Blue x Geno

27: Lust x Science This ships makes me think of Rarijack but if it was actually good.

26: Error x Fell

25: Dust x Fell

24: Horror x Killer They'd get into so much shenanigans. I like to imagine Horror would want to eat Killer becaus he's small but not too small.

23: Error x Nightmare

22: Ccino x Nightmare

21: Dust x Horror

20: Dust x Nightmare

19: Fell x Lust

18: Ccino x Killer Cat lovers. Lol.

17: Blue x Ink As long as you don't make Ink shorter this is adorable.

16: Asylum x Blue

15: Blue x Fell

14: Cross x Nightmare Better than Cream. So much drama potential.

13: Blue x Dream

12: Blue x Reaper

11: Blue x Lust Lust would give Blue so many cute nicknames. He would be so sweet to his baby Blue.

10: Blue x Ccino This is definitely the most wholesome ship of all time.

9: Blue x Dust Probably the most popular ship that I enjoy. So many '"I Can make him better""I can make him worse"' vibes. Also I just ship Blue with the Bad Sanses so hard.

8: Blue x Killer Lol Killer such a flirt and would tease Blue so much.

7: Blue x Horror Horrorberry is very cute. Blue would make Horror so many tacos.

6: Fresh x Ink Paperfresh this, Errink that. When are people gon wake up and realize the truly perfect artsy couple. They so silly! It's kind of like Horrorkiller where I can imagine them getting into different high jinks. I especially love the idea of them bothering Error together. Ink gets scary dog privilege because Fresh lol.

5: Blue x Fatal Fatalberry is very good. Enough said.

4: Dust x Killer I LOVE KILLERDUST SO DAMN MUCH SQUEEEE!!! Dust is such a tsundere and Kills is such a flirt. I know I criticized other ships for this dynamic but... Hush. This is the only one that makes it really work. There's so much potential for this pair. This is the highest non Swap pair lol.

3: Blue x Cross Crossberry will always be the cutest ship ever. Cuter than the below pairs even. I love their dynamic so much. Blue would so fangirl over Cross's hotness constantly. He such a bottom lol.

2: Blue x Nightmare Nightberry. I. Love. This. SHIP!!! SO MUCH!!! It's so cuuute! And kinda hot honestly-

1: And the best ship in my opinion is...; Blue x Error Errorberry is and will always be my favorite ship. They are beauty and the beast, opposites attract, they were made for each other. I love this ship (Except when people make Error shorter than Blue. Don't like that. Bleh. Blue must be the shortest).

Feel free to disagree with me and tell me your opinions. I'd be very interested to hear what you guys think. There's way too many ships for me to tag so I won't even bother.

[rockitmans]

fic writer 20 questions - ask game

I was tagged by @bitbybitwrites, @special-bc-ur-part-of-it and @shame-is-a-wasted-emotion . Thank you my darlings 💖

tagging... probably a bunch of people that have already answered. @cerriddwenluna @heartsmadeofbooks @kurtsascot @backslashdelta

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

8

2. whats your ao3 word count?

134,215

3. what fandoms do you write for?

Only Glee/Klaine at the moment but I teeter enternally on the edge of writing for Red, White and Royal Blue

4. top 5 fics by kudos

Spinning Out (306) Blaine Anderson vs. Valentine's Day (221) Smart With Math, Stupid With Love (215) No Take Backs (166) Witch Wanted (161)

5. do you respond to comments? why or why not?

Yes, although if I get distracted for even a second it will inevitably not happen. If things are out of sight they are out of mind 😅

I do like to reply because comments absolutely make my day so I wanna acknowledge that. Even if I'm just like "fanks 🤓", inside I'm screaming.

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Witch Wanted has an ambiguous ending which can be read as angsty depending on how the reader interprets it. Personally I take the happy ending but either way the purpose of it is more about choosing to love each other through any challenge, however it ends up.

7. whats the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

All the rest haha. I think Blaine Anderson vs Valentine's Day is the most straightforwardly light hearted fic. Smart With Math has the best progression. And No Take Backs is the most cathartic and hopeful.

8. do you get hate on fics?

No. I've had people disagree with some stuff like writing Kurt Hummel as a Slut in Spinning Out (he deserved a slut phase ok). Personally I always think the point of fiction is exploring other avenues for the characters but I don't mind if people disagree with that.

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

Yes and as to what kind... The kind where sex happens?? Not sure haha. I guess I tend to write bottom Blaine with slightly subby undertones but y'know I've also written possessive top!Blaine and wall sex and soft sex with a lot of ~feelings~ so I'll try anything really as long as it doesn't squick me.

I also tend towards writing sex in a way that I think fits the fanfic mold rather than how I feel it strictly exists in reality. I don't think there's anything wrong with that though. The mold is good.

10. do you write crossovers? whats the craziest one youve ever written?

Nah. I'm writing a Red, White, Royal Blue AU currently but it's not a crossover in the sense that characters from the book will appear. I don't currently have any plans to write one but maybe.

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

Don't think so

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope

13. have you ever cowritten a fic before?

No. I'm open to it but terrible at writing to a schedule so it would have to be a patient soul to put up with me. I've written to prompts and for art though which is a different kind of collaboration that I really enjoy.

14. fave all time ship?

Klaine but I had a pretty hefty Merthur era in my youth and they still have a special place in my heart.

15. wip you want to finish but doubt you will?

I kind of intend to finish all of them even if that's entirely unrealistic. Nothing is formally abandoned that I've written more than a few thousand words for because... sunk cost fallacy.

It's possible the fic I was writing for Back to School may fall by the way side. It was competing choir directors with a lot of dumb rivalry and banter which I do really enjoy but I'm struggling to structure the story.

16. what are your writing strengths?

Dialogue, humour and smut. At least comfort in writing those things - it's hard to judge the quality of your own work objectively.

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

Exposition, capturing any emotion other than pure stupidity, and getting the guy from one place to another.

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic?

Wouldn't do it personally, I would probably indicate a character was speaking another language within the prose rather than writing it out. But to be fair the only other language I speak is BSL which does not translate well to text 😝

I don't mind reading it as long as there's translation somewhere because your boy is lazy and doesn't wanna look stuff up

19. first fandom you wrote for?

If we're talking unpublished, it was a Jack/Ianto Torchwood fic. I think Jack was the first canonical queer man I encountered in media but I could be forgetting someone.

20. fave fic youve written?

Spinning Out is my baby and I the urge to write a sequel grows daily. I love the boys' dynamic in that fic.

But from a pure reread perspective it's probably Blaine Anderson Vs Valentine's Day. It's just light hearted silly fun and still makes me smile.

[roleplayhonestybox]

reject the top/bottom fallacy. write a switch today!

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