#demonising

[truebluewhocanoe]

I'm sorry but "world that is defined by a wish and must be mentally maintained at all times, leading to a culture of severe repercussions for experiencing doubt or curiosity, because thought crimes literally tear away the veil" (and its a metaphor for authoritarianism) is a fucking genius scifi concept and I wish (heh) we could've focused on that more. Like you could tell me there's a really good SCP entry with exactly that premise and I would believe you and ask for the number

[lazylittledragon]

mombin pt 9!! it's been too long i'm sorry

(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)

[when-they-meow]

i could cough and a transmisogynist would be like "that makes me uncomfortable. did you see her coughing? it was a very masculine cough. trans women are always making me feel unsafe in queer spaces like this." and at the exact same time some rando would go "can you cough in my mouth next mommy"

[vesemirs]

vernon roche is so crazy to me cause like. he’s a patriot. he doesn’t seem to care about a single temerian civilian. he hates the scoia’tael. he detests bigots. he has a character-defining aversion to being called a whoreson yet uses the insult more than any other. he’s constantly verbally sexist and is the only special forces commander to employ a woman, let alone as his second. he hates the nobility yet is foltest’s most loyal man. he supposedly fucked his informant but it’s never confirmed. he says he trusts no one and continually risks his life for acquaintances. he’s generally pretty ambivalent about rape yet he killed a king for, among other things, sexually assaulting his subordinate. he softens his voice while speaking to children. he once (?) accidentally keelhauled a man to death

[14dayswithyou]

Ren owes me 19 dollars 🤔🤔

So, is there a possibility that Taylor may have npd (narcissistic personality disorder) and/or psychopathy (the second won't be surprising, since I'm more interested in the first one, but it's also curious)? Like in coop with his bloodcurdling yandere nature it would sound even more terrifying, but it explains some things for me (or maybe I'm wrong, idk)

Fell free not to answer on this, as usual!, even for me this sounds too spoilerish... but I can't help but be curious😭

⌞♥⌝ I don't really like to give my characters any disorders I personally don't have, as I never want to misrepresent them, spread (harmful) misinformation, or perpetuate any negative stereotypes.

For example: Elanor has ADHD, Ren has dyslexia, Moth has SAD (generalised Social Anxiety Disorder), And Kiara has OPCD (Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder). I'm not very vocal about it because I want my characters to just... exist without having to link every little thing to their disorders. I merely want people who can relate to look at my characters and go, "Yeah... No wonder I kin you 🫵" lmao /silly

In Taylor's case, he's supposed to come across as an incredibly fucked up individual in a completely fictional sense, so I wouldn't want to demonise or bastardise a disorder — nor use it as a scapegoat for his actions and poor decisions. At the end of the day, Taylor truly is just a sleazy, no-morals kind of guy who just wants his wife to prioritise him and only him.

...Sound familiar?? >:)

[jacarandaaaas]

It actually needs to be studied how the encanto fandom took one tiny verse from a song and misconstrued pepas entire character. Where did this narrative that she’s bitter and mean even come from??? how did y’all manage to successfully convince people that was true!? people think pepa is SO hung up about thr wedding but mirabel literally asked her a question??? was she meant to just say nothing????? god forbid a woman wants to tell a fun story😭 these lyrics aren’t even mean either it’s literally just what happened “it was my wedding day we were getting ready and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky” “Bruno walks in with a mischievous grin” “Bruno said it looked like rain” “in doing so he floods my brain” where is the “mean” in this? where is the bitter?? mind you this is the one and ONLY time she brings up the wedding and it’s because mirabel wanted to know. like even if pepa was bitter she has every right to be! you would think growing up with a sister who you KNOW has weather depending on her mood and the anxiety that comes with it, would be enough of a reason to not make a bad taste joke! It was her WEDDING DAY!!!

Any other instance I see people stating pepa was “mean” is literally just she looked at mirabel funny. Im sorry if you had your seat taken at the table you would look at her funny too! it’s a look that lasts less than 3 seconds and mirabel is not bothered at all in fact she looks guilty! People say oh but the proposal but the woman was panicking! she got told like everyone else this was all happening because of mirabel! Pepa is passionate she can be sassy and she’s fiercely loving but she is not a mean bitter person and never was!!

[loserrofthecentury]

A thing that I noticed from “anthy isn’t a victim” people is that 8/10 they never talk or blame Utena for anything at all. To the point where they’ll bring up the scene where Anthy’s like “you’ll never be my prince because you’re a girl” and they’ll go ‘see, Anthy stabbed Utena so that means she’s bad!’ Despite Utena having more power than Anthy and treating her more terribly for like. Half of the show.

Utena actively participates in the prince/princess system and constantly enforced what SHE thought was good for Anthy. Utena tells Anthy to her face that she could always tell her anything but when she sees Anthy being raped, Utena tells her she could never forgive her because she’s “betrayed” her. Utena literally admits to Anthy that she used her as a damsel in distress and says “I’m sorry for trying to be a prince” at the end of series. Utena didn’t even get into the duels for Anthy, she did it for wakaba despite seeing Anthy getting slapped in the face by saionji, and didn’t even want Anthy. And when she did keep her she literally told her again that she only kept her because of chuchu.

But because she’s the naive good heroic main character,she’s not as evil as that witch anthy i guess.

[scruncheduppaper]

drew this bc because i hate sitting thru chapel

[being-of-rain]

In Classic Who and Dr Who EU fandom I regularly see the take 'The Doctor is a bad person' or 'The Doctor is not a good person' declared like obvious fact, so this might be a hot take in my circles, but I can't really wrap my head around that view of the character.

I get that the take comes about as a reaction to some parts of the franchise and fandom (especially some parts of New Who) hero-worshipping the character as a pillar or morality and ignoring a lot of flaws, but 'they're not a good person' feels like it's swinging just as far out-of-character in the opposite direction. It feels very much like a recreation of absolute morality, where you're either perfect or evil, no in-between.

My view of the character lines up pretty well with the show's take during the Capaldi era, which is that they're just Some Guy who Tries Their Best. In my mind they're a complex character who isn't perfect, who does some narratively-interesting shady stuff sometimes, and who has spent the better half of a few thousand years trying to help people and save lives because they think its the right thing to do. Feels very weird to sum that up as 'definitely not a good person.'

(note that personally I like the characterisation of the Doctor as 'not a good person' before they meet Ian and Barbara, who beat some ethics into him, but this post is about people's take on the Doctor of the show/as a whole)

[vodkaxlace]

people who see cute coquette / nymphette posts and say that the women are romanticising pedophilia are so annoying

[how-many-random-fandoms]

There’s so little content appreciating Scott that I want to make some, but I also know I won’t finish it because I haven’t written a full chapter of a fic in over a year. Anyone have any recommendations for good fics from Scott’s POV/ about Scott? I need more to read.

[thoughtformchoreographer]

how bad do eridans flashbacks/panic attacks get? does anyone help him with those?

[It was all a bad dream.]

[No, no one helps him.]

[And they will continue to ignore him until ignorance is no longer convenient.]

[...A dead salamander washed up on the shore yesterday. Didn't you hear? Everyone is talking about it.]

[hexcodewisteria]

LN 4 and beyond spoilers

I meant to look up Shisui's name choice here for a while and it's actually really interesting! Tamamo (玉藻) is seaweed, though i couldn't really find much on it's usage other than it being called a poetical term but it also refers to the mythical kitsune fox spirit Tamamo-no-Mae (玉藻前), who was said to corrupt and kill the rulers of those eras. In mythology, she's linked to the consort Daji, a concubine of the last king of the Shang Dynasty in China, whose rule ended in rebellion and then seemingly bounced around countries for a bit before ending up in Japan and gaining the name of Tamamo-no-Mae, an exceptionally beautiful and knowledgeable woman, where she caused the illness of Emperor Toba as his consort, and in general caused chaos which continued even after her death. The fox spirit is said be fond of human depravity and greed (eg, torture and orgies (something linked to Shenmei)).

It's a really fascinating thing to link back to Shisui in particular, who did her level best to avoid that fate— she did everything to not incite war and took steps to make sure Li wouldn't fall, due to Shi clan rebellion and forewarn them about the insect plagues and eventually managed to escape with her life and live freely. She is actively disgusted by Shenmei's actions and runs counter to her for literally her entire life. I think it rather suits how she's villainized in universe after LN 4— Maomao notes that stories keep spreading about Consort Loulan, the greatest villainess of their age who'd be spoken of for generations to come. I wonder if in the modern era of the Kusuriya Universe, Loulan would be one of the consorts said to be possessed by the fox spirit in stories.

In general though, I think it's an interesting choice because Shisui wins against Shenmei and her decision to take on the villain mantle is her own and something that is heavily demonized in the in universe stories post LN4, just like she thought it would be. And I think its important that the meaning chosen is seaweed, and not related to a mythical figure. Of course, it could just be that Tamamo-no-Mae as a figure does not exist in the Kusuriya-verse but considering Romeo and Juliet does, I think we could feasibly say that the myths that exist in our world could also exist in Kusuriya no Hitorigoto. Any other word choice could be used if it was just supposed to refer to seaweed— the vendor even mentions its a fancy word for seaweed in their world, implying there are other, more contemporary and casually used terms for seaweed and its even clear that this is Shisui at this point, so it's not about signalling to who the girl is. But it was tamamo that was invoked, so I think it's fair to relate it to Tamamo-no-Mae too.

So it's important to me that the term the author chooses is seaweed instead of any of the mythological connotations because at the end of the day, Shisui is just. a normal, bug loving girl who should have been free to study them to her hearts content. She's made into this mythical figure, and her impact on the story is just as huge, but what she is, at her core, who Maomao remembers her as, is a simple girl who smiled and joked around with her friends and who loved bugs. In this way, choosing seaweed over myths, is basically a small reflection of Shisui continuously choosing those she loved and her values over her nobility, choosing to embrace a free life over a royal one. Leaving her mother and the Shi Clan behind and finally being able to live as a person— not her mother's doll.

[corvidaes-crow]

Deruth Henituse bashing ahead, you have been warned.

I finally figured out why I hate Deruth Henituse. The novel, through Kim Roksu, barely lingers on his failings as a parent. Which, fair enough, I understand from a characterisation perspective why that wouldn't be a main focus. It just means I linger on that in canon's place. Why is Deruth satisfied with giving his child some exorbitant allowance? Why doesn't he ask at any point what it was used for, even when he thinks their relationship has improved? Why can he be a good person to everyone except OG!Cale? What is stopping him except his own cowardice and guilt?

There is not a single thing in LCF that redeems him as a father. We see how Ron grows to care for (KRS!)Cale, as well as Eruhaben and Fredo in their own pseudo-fatherly ways. We see how Deruth has not changed since 'Cale Henituse' improved. If he had been more grief-stricken finding out about Cale on-screen, maybe that would have redeemed him a bit in my eyes, but alas.

I need a scene where Deruth wakes up in the middle of the night heaving, tears streaming down his face when he realises that his son does not exist in their universe any more. When he realises his son has disappeared from their timeline, and likely did so believing everyone would prefer it that way. When he realises that belief is not exactly wrong, because everyone does prefer it this way.

That last realisation, he struggles with, because bad parents will never understand what they did wrong without significant internal struggle and a self-driven desire to understand. I need someone (Eruhaben, Ron, or even Violan) to notice his internal conflict and sit him down and ask him, straightforward and simple, "Which one do you prefer?" And they won't let him tell them his answer, that's not for them to know. But Deruth finds himself repeating the question over and over, which do I prefer?

It starts with 'neither, obviously, how could I pick a favourite?' but the guilt gnaws at him; his reflexive answer is not what his son, his sons, deserve. So he disassembles it all from there. What would he feel if they swapped back? What would he do then? Shower Cale with love, of course - but would he? Or would he find himself taking a step back, guilty and avoidant as always when it comes to his son?

And then, why would Deruth feel guilty? Because he hungers after a son who he can interact with without fearing Cale's hatred or resentment. He knows and fears his own inadequacy to heal their relationship. And the new soul doesn't mind it. The new soul, Cale, holds no expectations for him. No resentment. He doesn't know how to reconcile, but is there any need to if Cale is no longer the son he wronged?

So the answer to such a cruel question, which do you prefer, is... this one. The new one. The Cale that Deruth can be a proud father of, that he can hold his head high when talking about and fret over when he coughs blood or faints or leaves for another dangerous mission. The Cale that he knows exactly how to make happy. It's not hard, either, just food, rest and gold.

Deruth will never know how he could have made the original Cale happy. There is too much strife between them for Deruth to dare try to unravel it all, so he'll settle for wishing him all the best in future endeavours. This is penance enough, the guilt he will carry forever for not noticing sooner the loss of his firstborn son.

[jayktoralldaylong]

"MelJayVik can't work because both Jayce and Viktor are too possessive to share."

And it just might be the stupidest argument I've ever heard to be honest.

But I think what pisses me off the most is that I only see this argument being used for MelJayVik, and that is so interesting considering I adore a lot of Poly ships and I have never seen such an argument before.

Interesting isn't it.

So what's the problem? Is it because Mel is a woman? (I doubt it. Alucard X Trevor X Sypha is a popular ship).

So it's because she's black isn't it? 🙂

"That's not true. We love our Queen Mel."

Ah but you've all unanimously decided that she's not Queen enough to work in even a platonic relationship with Jayce and Viktor. 😌 Don't give me that queen shit until you treat her like the queen she actually is.

I swear y'all jump through hoops to keep them apart. If it isn't pushing the agenda that Mel and Viktor hate each other (which they don't. Having a disagreement does not mean loathing. What's wrong with you? 💀 You guys did the same thing with Jayce and the bridge scene after season one), then it's pushing the agenda that Viktor and Jayce don't share.

MIND YOU, while they are both OBSESSED with each other, Jayce kept trying to pull Viktor into the world of popularity and fame. He wanted Viktor to expand and have fun. And the second Viktor realised he was being too clingy his first instinct is always to pull away and push Jayce towards others. Don't give me shit about them not sharing. Their problem isn't that they want to own each other, it's that they think the other wants nothing to do with them. Stop pushing your fantasies on Jayce and Viktor. It annoys me.

[six-pint-hrt-fund]

oh obsessively-reread steam reviews we’re really in it now

also