#sorry for dragging the discourse down to my own level

[teh-nos]

the safeword is 'magna carta'

(that's latin for "wow this is a long list of things i am not allowed to do anymore")

[simnostalgia]

The Pedophile Hunts in Progressive Spaces Were an Alt-Right Operation to Cause a Rift in Our Communities.

So, I need to talk about something for a minute that has been REALLY bothering me even though the drama about it is pretty much over. I'm stirring it back up because it's not sitting right on my soul. I know I'm gonna get flack for this but I don't care.

A few weeks ago someone started referring to an MTS user as a pedophile because he posted a picture of a teen sim in their underwear. However, the problem was that it was pretty much immediately a reason that he was targeted for a harassment campaign against him.

Which, no, we're not going to ruin a man's life over this. If you think I'm a bad person for that- the unfollow button is above. Block me. We Are Not Friends. Goodbye.

This isn't even about The Sims community, or at least not just about it. You've been tricked. I'm sorry but you have. This is obviously bigger than this ONE small drama but it's obvious that this is being used as a manipulation tactic on a macro level to create distrust and a way to break down people easily. And it's specifically henious since it's targeting queer people with propaganda which has historically been used to demonize them.

This sudden fear of pedophiles was a targeted effort by the far right to sow discord in the queer community and I can prove it.

Firstly, 4chan and other online arenas have been doing missions like this for YEARS. Some are successful and others aren't. They were responsible for the discourse surrounding whether or not being "bisexual" made you transphobic.

Second and MOST importantly, I NEED you to know about the alt-right group curiously named Gays Against Groomers. This group was created to undermine the queer community. They've regularly supported anti-lgbt bills and targeted schools. This group is a psyop.

The MO of these sorts of movements has ALWAYS been packaging harmful content in a way which would resonate with queer social media spheres to get them to claim it as their own and the propagate it. This is a MARKETING company. This was a MARKETING STRATEGY.

When you repeat a lot of these things, using the specific verbiage that you do, you're following the plans of people like Jamee Michell.

They specifically targeted areas that had large groups of young impressionable queer people who wouldn't already be familiar with the tactic of equating gays with pedophiles so that they would create a sort of panopticon. This is what has caused this "obsession with pedophiles" this was not an accident.

Hyper-vigilance of groomers, a hatred of pedophiles, was the place to start and then creating a ever-changing definition of what a 'groomer' was is just a long play to make things like 'being a drag queen' a stand in for pedophilia.

For people around you, in your fandom communities who are 'progressive' but seem overly obsessed with grooming. Fandom spaces are often targeted as they're overwhelmingly queer. We know for a fact that the proship debate came specifically from this sort of messaging.

Keep an eye on them. They might not be who you think they are. And if you're mad at me for saying this?

I'm sorry but I'm not afraid to align myself with some potentially terrible people to protect queer people from being falsely accused.

[ceasarslegion]

Ive made my stance on oppenheimer discourse very clear but one detail of it that really bothers me is the "movies about sad white men are always bad" attitude, and i didnt really know why until i was able to sit down and parse it out.

Here's the thing. I have a film degree, I've spent more time in movie theaters than I have sleeping and I've easily seen more films and shows than all of my peers combined. Which isn't a flex btw, I'm a little hermit who prefers the warm embrace of a cinema seat to human connection and is the most annoying mfer imaginable during family movie night; don't be like me.

But I know hollywood, I know cinema history, and I know the legitimate frustration this attitude comes from. Hollywood doesn't like to take risks, they have to historically be dragged kicking and screaming into any territory that isn't a guaranteed profit, which usually means that we get periods of stagnation where every film is the same goddamn formula over and over again until audiences get sick of it and stop buying tickets en masse. Hollywood also tends to reflect the dominant culture and the sociopolitical issues of the time, but not SOOO much that you'd rock the boat. As an exec, you wanna hit that sweet spot where audiences relate to your films without them being so blatant that they'd cause them to question things that weren't acceptable to question. Noir was a picture-perfect example of that.

And in the modern day, that DOES tend to translate into the weird genre of Sad White Man Who Regrets Killing Foreigners movies. Like American Sniper. But I've seen American Sniper, so I can speak on how lowkey disturbing I found it, and the history it's based in and the goals it had as an art piece were to make you sympathize with a system of corruption. And here's my unpopular opinion: if done RIGHT, those films still have a place within the cinematic sphere of influence, like if you made a film exploring the psyche and experiences of what leads a man to willingly participate in a system like that, but that's not really what it was.

Now let's move onto Oppenheimer and other films like it. I don't think these films are at ALL equivalent to films like American Sniper, even if they follow a sad white man who regrets killing foreigners. You are looking at the bare bones surface level of it and assuming its contents both real world and dramatized and judging it based on that instead of the, well, actual film.

One of the biggest differences here is that Oppenheimer WAS an important historical figure just, objectively. Even removing all western racial influence from the equation, you can not look me in the eyes and tell me that the man who invented the atomic bomb in the middle of the largest world war of modern history was not an important historical figure. If you try to make THAT argument just based on the sad white man-ness of him, I'm sorry but your point is already moot, because it's not based in historical fact anymore but your own personal subjective feelings. He IS an important historical figure, he's not soldier number 648 in the middle of a massive battlefield who followed other peoples orders.

And also to be completely honest, you are a huge fucking liar if you try to claim that people like Dr. Oppenheimer are not interesting. Flawed people who make flawed decisions with complicated variables are what make for good fiction, so when one exists in the historical record, of course they are going to interest people. They are going to be studied and interviewed if they're still alive and have their entire lives and every word they said picked apart and analyzed because they are interesting. You are straight up lying if you try to act like these people arent interesting enough on their own to have media made about them, regardless of what identity they had that fits into the opposing side of the 21st centure culture wars. This attitude reminds me a lot of the people who claim that the only reason anybody could find true crime interesting is because they MUST want to fuck jeffrey dahmer or whatever. The argument just doesnt hold up because all it takes is one person going "thats not what i find interesting about them" to collapse that entire absolutist argument.

So yes, hollywood absolutely has a racism and war glorification issue. But I take issue when these accusations are just made blindly against any historical dramatization based on nothing but the poster. If you're going to talk about hollywoods sad white men issue, at least make sure the films youre citing actually fit that bill AND that you actually understand whats WRONG with those sad white men movies, because its not just the presence of a sad white male protagonist, its a conglomerate of various sociopolitical issues that must be present within those characters and what they represent.

[maxdibert]

Now women can't love themselves a bit TOO MUCH and be a tad more vicious with their words without being dragged down to the level of men?

You try to sound clever, but you fuck up by criticizing what you are.

Modern feminism, once again, churning out moronic terms and rules about how women should or shouldn't act.

Can't I be a bit insufferable and just be myself? Please don't make me laugh.

The concepts you’re trying (and failing) to criticise have been central to feminist theory since the late 1970s. I can drop some bibliography your way if you’d like, although judging by the nonsense you’re spewing, it’s painfully obvious you haven’t read a single page on the subject. That’s your real issue here. It’s not feminism, or women with confidence, or “modern discourse”, it’s your massive inferiority complex.

You’re not here to have a debate. You’re here to throw anonymous tantrums because you hate yourself and it infuriates you to see women who don’t.

You call yourself smart, yet you regurgitate the exact same talking points I’ve heard a thousand times from men who listen to Red Pill podcasts and cry about feminism destroying society. Do you even realise how embarrassingly unoriginal you sound? The issues you think are “new” or “woke” were discussed, deconstructed, and written about in academic feminist circles before you were even born. You’re just late to a party you don’t understand.

And let’s be honest: your real problem isn’t me. It’s not my looks. It’s not my words. It’s the fact that I have the kind of self-esteem you’ve never known. And instead of working on your own, you’d rather try to tear mine down. Sorry babe, but your internalised misogyny isn’t my burden to carry.

You think I’ll break if you say I’m not “the prettiest girl in the world”? Please. I don’t care if someone’s prettier than me, I love beauty in all its forms, and I don’t need to be the centre of the universe to feel good about myself. That’s not confidence. That’s called being an adult. Something you clearly haven’t mastered.

So maybe next time, instead of wasting energy stalking and obsessing over me, try working on the parts of yourself you keep projecting onto everyone else. And while you’re at it, stop trying to pit women against each other with dusty, patriarchal tactics from 1954. It’s tired. It’s transparent. And frankly, it makes you look pitiful.

[aemiron-main]

you. yes you. unless you read this and go “oh yeah em definitely doesnt mean me” in which case hello james and bre and stav and any other beloveds who touch grass on the regular but i did not list you by name because i do not want to drag you into my shitposting hell (james bre and stav are already at fatal levels of em shitposting exposure so sorry guys) 👋. anyway you. yes you. Go touch grass. Log off (affectionate but also maybe derogatory, depends on whether you get off on me hating you or not, whatever floats ur boat)

And you might be thinking “oh but em you are a Hypocrite here you are posting online telling people to long off?? 🤨🤨🤨😔” to which i say yes and i have undergone surgery to permanently fuse the neurons in my brain to the byler tag, so i actually can’t log off!! Check your ableism please.

So this is actually a grim and gory plea for you guys to log off because my neurons simply cannot handle the number of dramatic, self-victimizing posts and as someone who also hypocritically takes his analysis very seriously, i think sometimes you guys take things Too Seriously.

However do not mistake this for a spineless “please stop fighting 🥺🥺🥺” post because to be clear i am not a middle school aged girl and you are not my alpha wolfpack jock boyfriend with anger issues who i act like im taming a wild horse in a lifetime movie when i try and get to calm down and tell you to “dont fight, jason, just look at me, focus on me, it’s not worth it 🥺🥺” and instead take this as a grim warning from a guy who is having a silly little blast making silly little posts about the discourse but who also has his neurons linked directly to the internet so he feels the full force of every single post and cannot escape and who does not want you to face the same fate simply because i want to be the special boy who is inextricably and horrifyingly linked to the web. This plea to log off is not for your own good but rather for the good of my superiority complex and need to feel unique hope that helps. 🙏

and just remember to drink water and eat food and take breaks 🥺🙏💗😽🌈💦💦💦 or don’t! if you don’t eat or drink then that means youll die and i’ll soon have more bodies for my Corpse Army so actually NO eating NO drinking and that is an ORDER!!!!

[shotorozu]

after quarreling

character(s) : shinsou hitoshi, bakugou katsuki, todoroki shouto

legend : [Y/N = your name] they/them pronouns, quirk not specific

headcanon type : mild angst to fluff

note(s) : i had this idea in my head for the longest time omg, probably since november— but i’m glad i finally got to write this out. in this post, i don’t really go into too many details with what your fight was about, and i deal on how they try to make up with you and stuff.

»»————-　♡　————-««

shinsou hitoshi

you guys never really fight, since both of you aren’t petty to drag out a topic to a point there’s some serious discourse

pretty calm throughout the entire thing. no one yells in this argument, more of sarcastic remarks

not the type to immediately want to solve the conflict, because he might make matters worse if he added insult onto the injury

but he won’t tolerate it if you purposely stop hanging out in the places you usually go to because of him (if that makes sense)

like,, lets say he’s already in the hero course, and his room is literally infront of yours. he wouldn’t like it if you waited until noon to leave your room because of him

hitoshi really doesn’t want to make you uncomfortable, even if you guys are feuding

but lets say he’s sorry, or he fucked up in some way— like he wasn’t taking care of himself, or he said something out of hand (which is quite rare)

again, he’ll leave you be for now— but once he’s alone in his room, he’ll start thinking a lot

like “are they going to break up with me? did i hurt their feelings to the point they’re miserable? are they afraid of me?” stuff like that.

it’s really sad seeing him like that

but even so, he’ll still treat you the same. he’ll buy your favorite snack/drink, and hitoshi will ask your friends to give it to them, but they have to promise that they won’t tell you who it’s from

he’ll conveniently place anything you’ll need on your desk like “oh.. where did this hair tie come from? i needed one.”

then, he’ll look at you when he feels your eyes on him— and theres this silent agreement between the both of you; that you don’t want to be like this anymore

he’ll be really happy to have you in his arms once again.

bakugou katsuki

fights happen but not like to the point you guys are at each other’s throats 24/7 or to the point it’s getting toxic

if you think bakugou will admit he’s wrong in a fight with you, then you are wrong

his pettiness will reach the highest of levels, and his endearing ‘insults’ jabbed towards you will be filled with venom, with wrongful intent

there are times he’ll come to apologize to you, but that’s when he knows he really fucked up, like for example.. he accidentally attacked you during an exercise by accident

then, he’ll definitely apologize to that

but him ‘fessing up his mistakes first is once in a blue moon, and definitely when pigs start flying. it’s harsh, and while you’re used to it— it doesn’t mean it hurts any less

it’s mixed. lots of yelling involved, which isn’t the real issue here— you’re used to bakugou being loud, but he will get louder during those squabbles.

or he will become silent. like really quiet, to the point it looks like his mom is scolding him.

depending on the severity of the fight, he’ll either make up with you on the spot— or he’ll leave, just so he doesn’t end up accidentally setting off his quirk.

moving onto examples. let’s say for instance, he accidentally said something harsh. like.. you’re distracting him from important things

and i’d be swinging at him if he told me that, but you’re really offended and hurt. but you don’t want to make matters worse— so you leave.

and he’ll assume you’ll just come back to him, acting like nothing has happened, but you don’t soo..

he starts thinking, and that’s when he knows he fucked up. he can’t just act like that for the rest of his life, he can’t be the best version of himself if he doesn’t make a resolve.

sorry won’t immediately fly out of his mouth, it’s quite hard for him to say it himself— so he’ll start doing things better

he’ll make something when it’s breakfast/lunch/dinner, and he’ll ‘make too much’ food. but he’ll leave it in the fridge for you to eat

glares at anyone that pokes fun at you too much, but it’s from afar. you guys are still fighting but that doesn’t mean he won’t be protective of you

then finally, when you’re alone— he’ll look at you, practically pulling you towards him, and also so you guys can talk things out

he’ll totally act like nothing bad happened, even though it was so tense hours ago. but he’ll be clinging to your side for the rest of the day.

todoroki shouto

again, similar to shinsou— you guys never fight. he’s clueless for sure sometimes, but you’re rational enough to clear it up before it gets bad.

but there will be a couple of hard patches, just like any other relationship.

he doesn’t really know what he did wrong at some points, and even if you point it out to him— he’ll still stand by his point

and he has no filter sometimes so sorry, he won’t be afraid to be brutally honest. but don’t get me wrong, he doesn’t do it on purpose. he’s just not conscious about it

but honesty IS honesty

shouto usually freezes up whenever terrible fights happens, because of his childhood (which is an explanation in itself) and because of that, he will avoid the conflict as much as he can

he’ll brush the situation off, and he won’t speak on it, completely ignoring it to the best of his abilities. he’ll also be really down— he’ll get really quiet. literally no one wants to mess with him

with the help of the dekusquad, he’ll realize that he can’t stay like this way forever. and he has to face his mistakes eventually.

from the getgo, shouto is that person that’ll give you space after a fight, and he wouldn’t pester you about making up with him. he’ll give you time

the first thing shouto does is showing that he’s sorry through his actions.

he’ll definitely ask midoriya to ask about you to your friends— because your friends will only talk to midoriya lol and

similar to hitoshi, and also very subtly he’ll put the things you need right infront of you “oh. i needed a pen! good thing this one works.”

during the winter, he’ll grab your jacket and heat it up like normal. then during the summer, he’ll fill your water bottle with cool water.

shouto will send you looks during this entire ordeal, checking to see if you’re ready to talk.

and you honestly can’t stay mad at him, because man literally looks like a kicked puppy. someone save him

he’s not stubborn like bakugou, so he’ll admit he’s wrong after realizing it himself— and he’s not shy on apologizing either

after you guys make up with each other, shouto will literally hug you close to him— completely forgetting about everything even if it’s just for a moment

he’s just really happy that he didn’t lose you.

»»————-　♡　————-««

likes and reblogs are appreciated, thanks for reading!

i do not own bnha/mha and it’s characters. boku no hero academia/my hero academia belongs to horikoshi kohei. i only own the writing, and i do not profit off of my hobby

do not plagiarize, reupload, translate, or use my work for audio readings without my permission :))

[one-boring-person]

Requested by: @phantomshadow13

Someplace.

John Rambo (First Blood) x reader

Warnings: anxiety, mention of death

Masterlist

My leg jitters slightly as I watch John interact with the woman at the washing line, my lip between my teeth again as I bite more and more marks into the chapped skin. A dull ache has spread through my body from the long walk, but I've managed to keep it at bay and ignore it, having gotten used to doing this years ago, when it was more than necessary to do so. Despite this, I find myself hoping that our journey is finally at an end, and that we'll have found John's old comrade here, and that he'll let us stay with him, until we figure something better out. Looking at the way the conversation is going, however, I'm not too confident in this.

Quietly, I follow the discourse with my eyes, glancing around every now and then, distrusting of my surroundings, even though I have no reason to be, trying to ignore the gentle tremor that's started to set into my hands. A metallic taste lingers on my tongue from my near-constant lip chewing, a little dried blood encrusting some of the worst areas, but it's not noticeable, at least not to a stranger. John, of course, has noticed, and asked about it, too. I'd made up some excuse, but I know he sees right through it, like he does with all falsities. 

Across from me, I catch sight of John's shoulders slumping, his lean form losing some of the energy he had before we got to the tiny village. Swallowing, I know instinctively that something is wrong, my leg jittering  much more noticeably as I shift where I stand, watching as he comes over. The dark-haired man briefly makes eye contact with me, before he jerks his head, gesturing for me to follow, leading me away from the settlement. His expression is solemn, lidded eyes bright with a new sadness that wasn't there before. 

Worried, I follow after him, staying silent as I hurry to keep up with his faster stride until we've reached the road again, leaving the picturesque village behind. Immediately, John starts off in the direction we were previously going, feet dragging a little as he goes, hands shoved in his pockets again.

"John?" I call out to him, my voice shaky, "John? What happened? Where's Delmar?"

John glances at me, noticing my uneasy state as he always does, his eyes softening a little at this.

"Delmar's gone." Is all he says, waiting for me to fall into step beside him.

I frown a little, tilting my head as I try to ignore the small jump in my pulse.

"Gone? Gone where? When will he be back?" I query, pushing my own hands into my pockets to conceal the tremor from my observant companion.

A flash of a wry smile goes across his face, some unknown thing briefly amusing him before he replies.

"He ain't coming back. He's dead." The veteran murmurs to me, knowing I'll hear his slightly slurred speech and be able to understand him perfectly.

I'm left speechless, my head struggling to grasp at something to say, unable to understand. 

"D-dead? How?" I can't help the stammer in my voice, very much aware of the tension flooding my body, further accentuating the tremor in both my leg and hands.

"Cancer, apparently." John informs me, looking down at his boots as he continues on along the path.

"Cancer…" I mumble to myself, stopping momentarily as I feel a cold sweat break out across my forehead, a sense of hopelessness flooding me now. What are we supposed to do? There's nowhere we can go, nowhere we can stay. Neither of us have that much money, and we have barely any food on our person at this moment.

Already, I can feel my breathing picking up, the air coming out in short, sharp bursts, my pulse thumping heavily now as I try to keep it all at bay, failing in this as I feel the tremor get worse. Unable to focus, I don't quite hear John calling out to me, my eyes fixed on the road ahead, unseeing as I stand there, shaking like a leaf in the wind. Vaguely, I notice him come over to me, the lean man carrying an expression of worry and concern, his head tilted to get a proper look at me.

"(Y/n)?" His voice breaks through the haze in my head, somewhat pulling me out of the state of panic I'm in, jerking me from the fog in my head.

I don't respond, my muscles continuing to tremble as I fight to control myself, each breath harsh and nearly painful as it rushes into my lungs, the sweat now coating the back of my neck. Tense, I stand, almost rigid apart from the shaking, where I am, staring blindly at a point on the horizon.

"(Y/n), look at me." John tries again, dropping his stuff as he reaches out to me, not quite touching, his dark eyes fixed on me.

Somehow, his rough voice manages to somewhat snap me out of my trance, my eyes flicking up to meet his, swiftly dropping to the floor again. Seeing this, John places his hand on my arm, glad to see I don't flinch away from him anymore, like I had the first time this happened, the muscular man dipping his head down a little to reach my level. Unable to avoid him, I make eye contact again, easily losing myself in those near-black depths, finding safety there.

"Look, (Y/n), I'm here. You're ok, we're gonna be ok. Nothing bad is gonna happen to you, or us. We'll be totally fine." He murmurs to me, his tone soft as he gently pulls me to the side of the road, his other hand coming up to rest on my other arm, his thumbs rubbing gentle circles into my tense muscles.

I don't say anything, my breathing still ragged as I stare at him, reassurance from his touch seeping into me.

"Come on, (Y/n), breathe for me." John softly orders me, "In and out, nice and slow. Take your time, stay focused on my voice. In...and out. Good."

Breathing in time with his words, I start to regulate my exhalations better, tension starting to lessen slightly, the tremor sulking a little as I feel myself fall into a better pattern.

"There, you're doing great. Keep going, in and out…" He keeps this up, encouraging me until my breathing is back to normal, meaning I'm able to speak.

"Th-thanks." I stutter, embarrassed at myself, still trying to calm my racing mind, pushing back the plaguing thoughts from before.

"Anytime." He gives me one of his rarer, gentle smiles, the crooked expression sending butterflies through me, as it always has.

"I- I'm sorry, I shouldn't...that was stupid…" I try to apologise, groping for words again, only for him to cut me off.

"Don't apologise, (Y/n). It isn't your fault." He assures me, tilting his head momentarily, noting the tension still lingering in my body, "C'mere."

My eyes widen as he pulls me into him, wrapping his arms around me to crush me into his chest, his hands splayed on my body. Instinctively, I reciprocate it, a feeling of warmth flowing through me as he rubs my back, his face burying into my hair as he tightens his grip, trying to get me to relax into him. Knowing this is rare, I allow myself to melt into his embrace, relishing in the comforting scent that surrounds me: sweat, fresh air and crushed evergreen needles from the trees we passed a couple of hours ago. Pressing my face into his chest, I sigh, the last of the tension dissipating along with the tremor, his soothing movements drawing out any painful knots. His dark hair brushes against my face as he holds me closer, making sure I'm totally relaxed before he pulls back a little, keeping one arm around my waist as he lifts one to my face.

With a slight frown, John lightly draws his thumb across my lip, pulling it away to inspect. A thin layer of blood coats the pad of the sight, my lip stinging now to let me know I bit it much harder than I thought I had. He doesn't say anything, only making eye contact with me again as he leans in, pressing a gentle kiss to my forehead. Heat rises along my skin where his lips touch me, my eyes briefly closing as he lingers there, clearly as unwilling to let go as I am.

The sound of a honking truck snaps us apart, the taller man pushing me behind him out of instinct, ready for action. He soon relaxes as he remembers there is no danger letting go of me as we watch the large vehicle roar past, the driver shouting something at us as he goes. Frowning, I swallow and glance back at John, wishing we hadn't been interrupted.

"Where do we go now?" I ask quietly, stepping up beside him as he picks up his stuff again.

John looks back at me, starting to walk off in the right direction with me following on.

"Someplace." He replies, smiling at me again as I fall into step beside him.

After a moment, his hand slips into mine and his fingers loop through mine, squeezing me gently as we walk. Reassured by his touch, I manage to keep my slight anxiety at bay, knowing we'll be fine as long as we're together.

[sleepycatspirit]

I’ve never seen Twitter this bad holy shit. Karl fans are getting death threats, Ice Poseidon is trying to claim Karl “dragged him through the mud”, Dream had a pastebin about education which is a subtle move in support of Karl, the commentary community is supporting Ice Poseidon and blaming Dream stans (of course).

Karl supported a racist streamer, spammed emottes that he had no intention of being anti-Semitic but came off as such, and collabed with problematic creators (Pokimane had addressed and apologized about the n word so many times and I believe they worked it out with the transphobia in the discord and the Poki apologized for that as well but don’t quote me on that, I’m not touching Lil Nas bc he’s history goes back). He obviously has grown and feels guilty about it. He didn’t kill Christ and everyone is treating him like he did. He did hurt minorities and he’s held himself accountable for it but Twitter is just being so toxic on both sides.

I wonder how many of these people aggressively attacking his fans also supported people like James Charles, Brendon Urie, Shawn Dawson, Jeffere Star, David Dobrik, and a slew of others? I know it’s because of Karl’s platform that it’s risen to this level but this situation is a bit different compared to a cc saying a slur 5-years back.

I’m not going to baby him but I am worried about him. I can’t imagine the amount of death threats and hate he’s getting, especially from people who were just waiting to take him down.

Sorry for ranting in anon but this situation is so frustrating as someone who is POC. I feel like I can’t even say my own opinion or give my view respectfully without getting death threats or hate.

don’t feel scared about giving your opinion!!! speak your truth!! you, especially as a poc, should give your opinion on this situation. I mean come on, we are quit literally taking about racism and problematic situations. don’t listen to anyone who tries to send you hate for an opinion that doesn’t hurt anyone 

to put my little opinion about the lil nas thing, that shit about him is hidden well, plus he’s a LARGE celebrity who manyyyy people like. I don’t blame Karl for taking the opportunity to be able to play mc with him. Karl doesn’t need to apologize for the actions of someone else (FYI I’m not excusing lil nas and his actions, dude fucked up big time IMO)

and yep, both side on twitter are being extremely toxic. the commentary community shouldn’t be dragging Dreams name into this discourse anyway 🙄 but they are certainly using this situation as an excuse to say actually offensive things. and the other side who’s unwilling to hear how people change (and sending death threats to Karl and others...)

Karl obviously has the support of his friends. Dream may have said that pastbin wasn’t about anything but we all know the Karl situation was what inspired him to say it. (also what Dream said did get me thinking a lot more, i hope it changed people’s opinion)

there is a difference between having an actual rasict past and having moments of ignorance.

Having on the extreme side of the argument need to shut up and go outside and actually talk to some real people

[lostcauses-noregrets]

why do i feel like the aot fandom as a whole is becoming more and more toxic 🥺 i hate seeing this once peaceful place be filled with hate and shipwars and just pointless discourse...like i feel very protective of this fandom in a way bc i’ve been here for like 7 years and though there’s been ups and downs everything’s still been pretty chill and stuff but this last year has just made it very tough to be around here. idk if it’s cuz of covid or s4 or the manga ending but like why is this happening?

also that troll really made me just...sad. cuz i’ve never seen that shit here and idk what kind of brainrot is affecting ppl nowadays but i’m just so tired of this. can’t people just behave? like WHAT is wrong with you?

Sorry you’ve been having such a tough time with fandom recently Anon.  To be honest, it you’ve managed to avoid drama, hate and shipwars for the last seven years you’ve done really well.  In my experience there’s always been a low level of toxic wank in the SnK ship fandoms, which flares up from time to time.   The Serum Bowl was a case in point.  That was definitely one of my worst fandom experiences to date.  The recent troll was more of a minor annoyance than anything else.  Trolls like that come around periodically, they’re not the first I’ve seen, and regrettably they probably won’t be the last.  They’re very unoriginal and easy to block and ignore.  They’re welcome to scream as much as they want on their own blog.  That's their business, not mine.  They’re not going to spoil my enjoyment of my fandom.

I’m not really surprised that passions are running high right now, given that the series has come to an end and a lot of fans are having to come to terms with the fact that actually their ship didn’t become canon.  I’m not sure when shipping became a competitive blood sport but it’s more than a little tiring.  I thought the whole point of fandom was that you could ship whoever the hell you want, regardless of canon.  I can absolutely understand fans hyper-focusing on every little interaction between their favoured pairing, that’s cool, but trying to disprove the ships that are canon seems like a pointless exercise to me.  If you don’t like the canon ships, that’s fine, just ignore them and do your own thing.  Arguing with other shippers is a futile exercise.

I don’t think there’s any doubt that social media in general and fandom in particular has become a lot more toxic in recent years, and there’s been reams and reams written about the myriad causes of this.  I particularly liked this recent thread on @olderthannetfic that discusses changes to fandom dynamics and demographics. 

There’s no doubt that antis have been responsible for a huge surge in harassment. Although I haven’t seen too much of their bullshit here in my little Eruri corner of tumblr, I’ve been utterly appalled by their behaviour on twitter, where popular artists have been targeted, doxed, and outed in ways that have had a very real impact on their physical safety and mental health.  I’ve lost count of the number of antis I’ve reported on twitter for targeted harassment and the worst thing is that most of them are kids.  Purity culture has a hell of a lot to answer for.

It’s very easy to get dragged down by the toxicity of fandom, but there’s a lot you can do to control what you see, who you interact with, and who interacts with you.  I know you didn’t ask for my advice, but my approach to curating my own fandom experience is:

Mute and block without hesitation.  I have all kinds of tags muted, not because they’re offensive, but just because I have no interest in seeing them on my dash.  And don’t be afraid to block any blogs that post content or opinions that you don’t want to see.

Don’t go into the tags if you know you’re going to see content that annoys or upsets you.

Don’t get dragged into ship wars, no matter how tempting it is prove that your ship is right and the other ship is wrong.

The best course of action with Anon hate is to ignore it.  The kind of people that send anon hate just want attention; don’t gave them that satisfaction.  If you feel you do have to respond, ridicule is your best weapon.

If you see targeted harassment or behaviour that could potentially cause harm to real living breathing people, report it immediately.  Most platforms have channels for reporting targeted harassment.  Twitter responds fairly quickly to reports, tumblr…not so much.

Lock your own accounts down if necessary.  Turn off asks, and if possible limit your followers to people you know and trust.

And most importantly, try not to let the haters spoil your enjoyment of something you love.

[nightswithkookmin]

You need to back up your ON break up theory with more than just fake subs and vague statements about 'claiming behavior'.

During the period you allege they were broken up, Jimin pulled Jungkook in a hug on run behind, Jungkook called Jimin sexy at a press conference, Jimin and jungkook did that whole 'how does it feel to be in the same unit'/'time to change' flirty thing, Jimin grabbed Jungkook by the lapels... and more. Begging pardon but if they were grieving the loss of their romantic relationship while trying to be professional colleagues and pals.... isnt that sort of insensitive? Like I know you admitting you might have read it wrong and have changed your view in light of new footage might be a blow to your ego, but I don't think you are thinking rationally when you insist on this break up theory. It's sad because I found so much meaning and connection in some of the stuff you have written, particularly pertaining to internalized homophobia, racism, mysogynoir and bts changing over time to become more enlightened, but your devotion to this ONE theory, and defensiveness whenever it is (rightly imo) challenged makes me wary of your theories in general, which might be extremely unfair to you, as a thinker. Your log is really funny and great in a lot of ways so i cant really quit you.

Ahhhh it's been a while I got one of these...

Hello, how you doing! Lol. Silver is that you?

Chilee, it's the name calling for me.

Ego, irrational, charlatan, Tuktukker- I'm desensitized to such ad hominems at this point. You don't throw words like these around and expect me to sit at the table and talk. Imma yeet myself out real fast. Lol.

There's just something different, wholesome almost, about this post though. Sounds constructive I think. Or maybe it's because I just woke. Chilee. Lol.

It doesn't feel at all like you are attacking me. It's strange...

You're gaslighting though but it's fine. I've built a resistance to that from years and years of dealing with my abductors or family. Potato potahto.

I often put my sanity before other's insanity which is why I don't indulge posts such as these and I'm not sorry about that. I mean is this an Ask or Submission? I don't- what am I supposed to say? What is the call to action?

Sigh.

If I come across as defensive sometimes, 10 out of 10, it's probably because the person on the other end is being offensive. Straight up. Cause and effect, the science don't lie.

You don't expect me to not defend when I'm being attacked. That's just tacky.

I don't think there's anything wrong with challenging views and notions because at the very least, that's about the exchange of ideas and I welcome it.

I set the limits at the racial slurs, the mocking tones, the emotionally charged rants meant to disparage me and my entire ancestry rather than argue a point, the interference with my personal life and business all because I hold a different view on a topic, the doxing, gaslighting, the bad mouthing, spreading lies about me, turning my friends against me, stripping away my rights and copyrights, harassing people who enjoy my work among- other things.

I usually exercise my right to self preservation in these instances- imma block, delete, ignore, forward or clap back. Word. Lol.

I'm sorry, but if you have to attack the individuality of a person to argue your point, you've lost the argument and you never had one to begin with.

Take for instance, the bit you wrote about me taking a blow to 'my ego' - do you see the problem with that?

What has holding a view different from yours on a particular subject got to do with the ego?

Do you mean to say the only way I can hold an opinion different from yours on a matter is if I were hubristic?

Are you projecting? What's happening? Lol

And if I call you out for this, I'm defensive? Way to add gaslighting to your bigotry and intolerance of opinions that don't align with yours. No offense.

I give myself permission to hold unpopular views. I give myself permission to think differently from others. I give myself permission to see what I see and believe what I believe and form an opinion on what I see and believe divorced from others' views and based on my own understanding of the workings of this world or in this case Jikook.

No amount of name calling will change this fact. We see things from different perspectives after all.

You need to back your ON break up theory with more than just fake subs and vague claims about claiming behavior.

Lol. Fake subs? You mean the Hajima bit from the On comeback special I put in my video? Interesting.

I think I see what you mean about my break up theory and I agree to some extent. Like, come up here with charts and paragraphs and excel spreadsheets on why I think Jikook were broken up?

I would be happy to do that kind of analysis.

I think the problem for me here is, I feel tasked to convince rather than to share my opinion on the matter or even expand on my theories for discourse sakes and that makes me really uncomfortable.

Not to psychoanalyze you, but I feel when you ask this of me you are not just asking me to divulge my thoughts on a topic but to disabuse you of your own biases surrounding the topic.

I don't think this is about my opinion at all. I think it's about your own beliefs about Jikook. And there's nothing wrong with that. If you believe in something you need to stand for it. Just don't mind if others do same and don't call them names for doing so. Because if you do mind, then that's bigotry.

The fact is my opinion contradicts your beliefs about Jikook and you either want to punish me for it hence the slurs, are in denial, or you want to believe my point of view- can't really tell.

I think there is a limit in general to how far I can prove Jikook in anyway and that has nothing to do with lack of evidence, my ego or my rationality. And yes, I often shroud my beliefs in vague expressions because I don't want to set myself up or open myself up to legal suits. I can only prove Jikook to a point and nothing beyond my belief. Beyond that, I would be skating on thin ice and making bighit a tad richer.

During the period you allege they were broken up, Jimin pulled JK in a hug, grabbed Jungkook by his lapel, JK called Jimin sexy, they did the flirty challenge...

So if I understand you correctly, all these is what makes Jikook a couple to you and indicate they are dating?

Alright then.

Hobi calls Jimin sexy all the time. BTS calls eachother sexy all the time. I don't think that's a sign they are in a polyamory.

Jungkook plays with his hyungs' dick and ass and talks about falling for them most times. I don't think that makes him gay or in a relationship with any of them.

Lemme just cut to the chase. I've reached my photo limits. I have said a countless times now, that I don't view skinship and all these interactions you've pointed out as indication two people are dating- especially not two Koreans working within the homoerotically charged space of Kpop.

And I have given out a few of the metrics I use in considering whether any ship in BTS is real over the course of my blogs- intimacy, exclusive behaviors such as and not limited to claiming eachother and exercising certain rights and authorities over eachother and against the group, stress trails as a result of keeping their relationship a secret, the microaggressions, breaching the fourth wall and others.

I think what this comes down to is differences in perspectives on a fundamental level. Not egos.

I don't see the things you see as the signs Jikook are real and dating, as signs Jikook are real and dating. If I did, I would be seeing every ship in BTS as real but I don't.

And you consider the metrics I use in ascertaining Jikook as vague something something. I think we are at an impasse.

But explain the bit about 'insensitive' to me please. I would love to engage in that discourse. Why would it be insensitive for two exes to act cordially with eachother within a workplace in the aftermath of a breakup?

Then the bit about grieving...

So grieving is one of your metrics for accessing whether or not two people are broken up?

That's interesting. I mean I don't disagree but I also don't think Jikook are gonna come to work with oversized pajamas, dark shades, boxes of tissues and a blanket slung over their shoulders because of a broken heart... it's 2020 not Manila. They've grown, are learning and getting better at dealing with their emotions on camera because, as Suga pointed out, they are aware the least bit of tension translates to the screens.

I mean Jimin said it himself in his 2020 interview, he's learned to react less intensely to certain things. And sometimes, he tries to downplay certain things. He tries to perform Jikook when Jikook are not in a great place. It's only in recent times, On era, where JK has opted out and not gone along with it.

I think he does that and uses their shared 'Jikook agenda' and performances of Jikook as a means to fix things or break the ice between them at least.

But clearly Jk wasn't having it that day as he kept putting up boundaries with Jimin throughout that Run episode- unless of course you are disputing this as well on the grounds Jimin dragged his ass into a hug. Chilee.

I think most people wouldn't have felt there was something off with Jikook in that On period at all had it not been for Run 116. It's similar to how, had it not been for Jimin's birthday saga, the Esquire shoot behind scenes and Grammy reaction video, no one would have felt there was something going on between Jikook in the October timeline.

I think we would have seen and felt the less interactions and professionalism between them in the aftermath of it but for the most parts, moments like the couch scene in the Grammy reaction video wouldn't have made sense to any of us especially as we had just witnessed JK in the ON:E concert rushing to comfort and console JM when he was tearing up at the end of the concert.

At least when he pushed JM into a ditch somewhere in the dark in Soop we know he had been drinking and they were playing competitive sports. Even with that he still showed some concern when Jimin fell and injured himself afterwards.

I think we would all be wondering if Jikook were fanservice at that point, a fanservice relationship where JK only consoled Jimin when he cried infront of thousands of people at concerts and nibbled his ear while he was at it.

And I think we would be on opposite sides of the argument: me, arguing Jikook were experiencing a hiccup in their relationship and you, rationalizing that moment with anything from 'JK don't have to be at JM's beck and call' 'he is an introvert who is shy to show affections publicly' to even something about the weather.

But I would have looked at this moment from the October pop up video behind scenes and assumed JK was mad at Jimin for something JM had done and had done something in retaliation and was now feeling sorry he did.

And I would have based it off of this moment, or a countless similar ones from around On era or the previous eras where JK had done this exact same thing- frozen in place and staring at Jimin in the middle of a shoot or interview after sliding his hands down Tae's chest, clung on to the others unnecessarily to get a reaction out of JM.

Would I have been right? It really doesn't matter to me as long as it makes sense to me. I ship Jikook in a way that makes sense to me. Jikook are gay, in a gay relationship with each other and are human like anyone of us- that makes sense to me. Whether I am right or wrong.... who cares and why does it matter?

Personally, I think the only person grieving in that period was JK not JM and I don't think he grieved for long before he switched off his humanity and went stone cold tit for tat terminator on JM and BTS's ass. Lol. He had JM looking all kinds of subdued in that era. Lmho.

People grieve in various ways. In my opinion. For Jimin, I feel he puts on a strong facade most times when he has to film during such times and lately I feel he masks his emotions with anger.

Jk masks his pain with anger too sometimes but I feel in recent times, he is leaning more towards indifference. I think he tries not to be as affected by certain things as compared to the early half of 2020...

But I understand what you mean when you talk about grieve. I think for me rather than look for physical evidence of grief like a sad face, a tear drop dripping down a face, I love for vulnerability in them.

JK's is easy to tell because he tends to open himself up to others such as Tae or Jin or Hobi- and I don't mean like his interactions with them. I mean he leans on them for moral or emotional support.

In the Holiday remix video where he was hiding behind Jin, I felt he was feeling very vulnerable and exposed after that intense moment with Jimin.

It's what he does when he is feeling vulnerable. He turns to others especially Jimin and if Jimin is the cause of his vulnerability he turns away from him like he did within On era or even in Run 116.

When he is in a good place with Jimin, often he is closed off to the others. Jimin does the opposite. He shuts himself up entirely from the group. I don't think he likes to go through his pain by himself.

I've always found that bit fascinating about them. Jk opens himself to people when he is at his lowest while JM closes himself off when he is at his worst.

It played out in their rainy day fight as well. In JK's vulnerability, that's when he let Jimin in, lowering his walls while JM on the other hand closed himself off to him.

Can you give me more than they were together in that period because they played with eachother's lapels?

You don't think I'm thinking rationally when I insist on my theory? Uhmmm... okay? What is rational in this case?

Listen, I recieve a lot of hate for my 'irrational thoughts and opinions' out in these streets. I've lost potentially great friendship on this platform because of it. As I type this, there is someone in someone else's DMs persuading them not to read and engage with my posts because I'm extremely evil I think Jikook break up from time to time in their relationship.

If I genuinely believed in the slightest least or had the least doubt that Jikook were together in that period I would change my mind on the topic- damn my pride and ego. It simply isn't worth the hustle.

If it helps your sanity, please stop reading my blogs. My blogs are not for everyone. It makes some people happy, it makes some people mad and some people experience both.

My gratification is in sharing my thoughts and chronicling Jikook's journey for my own appeasement and support of Jikook. I owe it to them as a believer and a supporter to humanize them as much as possible.

I do not seek to convert others, change minds, or convince anyone of my opinions or to disabuse anyone of theirs.

Let's just agree to disagree on the matter please. Or if you can drop the ad hominems, I would be more than happy to go back and forth with you on this very topic. It's actually shaping out to be one of my favorite Jikook eras. I love me some terminator JK. Lol.

Signed,

GOLDY

[miggydiaz]

For the salty ask 1, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 14, 16, 20, 22, 23 and 26 for cobra kai pretty please

My answers are so long, so I am putting this under the cut @wonderwolfballoon! Also I just noticed your Daniel icon I SWEAR I’M NOT DRAGGING HIM TO BE MEAN!!!

1. What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?* My biggest IDGI ships for CK are probably Elimetri or Kiaz. I’m not here to yuck other people’s yums or anything, but I do think there is something to the idea that Migueli isn’t popular because it’s a ship predicated on mutual respect for one another. Kiaz has the obvious enemies to lovers vibe and I just generally don’t sail those ships. Elimetri has... its problems, IMO, most especially around the idea that Demetri has to like... save Hawk from himself? Idk. I just like romances that I feel are based on love and mutual respect and not ...tropes.

 I am also not a Lawrusso shipper although I have a lot of those on my dash and you all are great! Again, not yucking yums! Daniel just makes me want to head butt him too much to pair him romantically with anyone 😂 I don’t even want his wife with him. He needs to self reflect~ 

4. Do you have a NoTP in your fandom? Are they a popular OTP?* 

I once saw someone ship Amanda and Anoush and I noped out of that so fucking fast I almost tripped over myself. I’m not sure if they’re popular. I just think some people feel the need to get Amanda out of the way to sail their ship and stuck her with Anoush which... no. Just no. Let Amanda be a messy single queen with a martini hobby, thanks! 

5. Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?* 

Not in CK. I’m lucky because I pretty much stick to my little Migueli bubble and I’m okay with that? Lmao lord knows the Squad on my dash is all about the DISCOURSE™️ so idk if I just don’t feel the need to get sucked into the wider ship wars because we have good healthy debates, but so far, so good. 

6. Has fandom ever made you enjoy a pairing you previously hated?* 

I never hated it... I just didn’t have many feelings on shipping with this show in general at first. Then I was in the CK tag one day and I saw Migueli fan art. Then I discovered @afurioushawk‘s falconry series and it was all over for me after that! So fandom DID make me love a ship, just not one I hated.

9. Most disliked character(s)? Why? Oh boy. How much time do you have? In some instances, it’s a good thing season 3 happened because otherwise, this would be a multi-page essay on the problems with race and class privilege as it pertains to Sam LaRusso and just some... generally not nice comments about Demetri that I’m conflicted about because I’m not sure if the writers are intentionally trying to write him a specific way and it’s just not translating to me or what. But season 3 revamped both of their images with me a lot. I’m way more flexible in terms of Demetri, but lmao I was the number one Sam LaRusso hater for a minute there (or maybe number 2, I can think of at least 1 other person who was in that boat with me back in like... August/September, but I won’t call them out because I don’t want them to get hate...) However, I have grown a bit in my opinions of Sam, and even though I still think she’s responsible  for a lot of shit she NEVER gets held accountable for, I also think that’s a reflection of the adults around her too, and this includes my otherwise unproblematic queen, Amanda.

But honestly, my most hated character (other than the obvious villain that is Kreese) is Daniel. No matter how handsome Ralph Macchio looks in cable-knits, because Daniel has always been a sanctimonious, shit starting drama king and I say that about KK Daniel too. I’m not saying Daniel was the ~true villain~ or anything, or that Johnny was innocent -- I can only drink so much Red and Yellow Kool-Aid -- but Daniel’s always been annoying to me as a protagonist, and turning him into a smarmy wealthy car salesman who is also a class traitor did not do him any favors in my book. I will say, I also like Daniel more in season 3 than I have in previous season, but since he is the adult, I will be mad at him longer than I will be at the kids, ya feel?

10. Most disliked arc? Why?

 Johnny’s entire season 3 storyline. The sheer level of REGRESSION at every turn drives me bonkers. It’s like watching him go through all of the stumbling blocks of season 1 all over again, but without the “he’s learning! He’s going to make mistakes!” free pass that I was willing to give him the first time around. He regularly jeopardizes Miguel’s recovery and it’s played for laughs. He fucks up on every level with Robby. He spends most of his time running away when things get hard or too real. He drops the ball completely with Hawk, and like, not to put too fine a point on it, but a lot of Hawk’s issues are because Johnny put Hawk on this ‘flip the script and be a badass’ path and then offered him no guidance for how to walk that path and instead left him in the hands of Kreese. And then he has the nerve to go to Hawk and basically be like “I made you what you are!” lmao yeah Johnny, you sure did, that’s why he’s breaking peoples arms, hoss. And then all of the nonsense with Ali and Carmen, like... if you were planning on teasing KK fans with Ali and him getting back together, why write her as married in the first place? Why even tease the idea of Carmen and Johnny until after you were sure what you were going to do with Ali as a character? Instead, they do what they did in season 3 and it makes him look like a colossal jerk. So yeah. Literally every choice they made with Johnny this season, I hated.

14. Unpopular opinion about your fandom? People who hate Tory are not valid, sorry not sorry.

16. If you could change anything in the show, what would you change? I would have kept Miguel entirely out of Tory and Sam’s beef. Or at least not directly inserted him into it like he was with the kiss. I know the writers thought it was necessary to push Tory to the point of inciting a fight at school, but I am just so exhausted over girls being unable to fight about anything but boys. Also I would bring Aisha back.

20. What is the purest ship in the fandom? 

I am probably biased, but I still maintain it’s Migueli. Look, Miguel stood up to Kyler for Eli and Demetri both. Hawk joined CK because he saw what it could do for some skinny nerd who was getting his ass kicked. And he took to CK, really took to it! Even flourished before he started getting mixed messages. And he and Miguel were pretty much inseparable after that. They coordinated their wardrobes ffs. Hawk dubbed him El Serpiente and no one else calls him that — it’s Hawk’s nickname for him. Miguel confides in Hawk only secondary to Johnny, who is like a father to him. The entire Coyote Creek exchange shows they can fight and disagree but... well, to use the cliche, they don’t go to bed angry, you know? They’re square the very next day. Hawk is the first person at Miguel’s side when he gets kicked over the balcony and the LOOK he gives the second floor where Robby is? That boy is out for blood immediately to avenge Miguel. So much of his s3 behavior is fueled by that need for vengeance because MD is wholly responsible for what happened to Miguel. And Miguel is so confused and betrayed by Hawk’s shift in behavior, and yet still holds out hope that Hawk will see through Kreese’s BS and come with him to The Dojo I Refuse to Name. And when Hawk does make that deflection finally, he shows up at MD with Miguel. There’s so much more that I know I’m missing but whether someone ships them or not, that is a tried and true love and respect for one another, a willingness to fight for and defend one another that you don’t often see in TV friendships... or even in most tv relationships. And I just think that’s the best ❤️

22. Popular character you hate?

 Daniel, hands down. I mean... I don’t even necessarily hate Daniel, you know? I just think it’s really, pardon the pun, rich that a guy of immense wealth and privilege can’t get a therapist or turn to his far too patient wife for help with his existential crisis over his high school bully opening up a karate dojo to make some money and help a kid who is getting the crap kicked out of him. I get that Daniel’s narrative is necessary for the rivalry, but it does nothing to make him sympathetic as a character.

23. Unpopular character you love?

 Tory, definitely! Everyone hates her and then there’s me and the Squad over here banging away on our Coors Banquet cans yelling TORY RIGHTS! Seriously she catches so much flack for a teenage girl who is... the sole income provider for her family? At 17? While caring for a sick mom and a little brother? And fending off a creepy landlord? Tory has it so rough and then she meets a cool girl at her dojo who asks her to hang out at some fancy ass country club which is probably the nicest place Tory has ever been in, and then she gets talked down to and accused of being a thief and has another girl lay hands on her, only to find out that same girl is her new boyfriend’s ex and... ugh. I HATE that Tory gets shit all over when Tory and Sam wouldn’t even have beef if Sam had apologized to Tory as she SHOULD have. Tory isn’t innocent, but damn, I’d be pressed too.

 My other unpopular character I love? Nathaniel. Seriously that kid is THE best. He’s a literal child but is out there like I WILL FUCK YOU UP, even though he’s MD. Honestly, his Cobra Kai energy is so ferocious I won’t be surprised if he moves back to CK eventually. Anyway, I love him.


26. Most shippable character?

 Miguel, hands down. It’s because he’s so affable and sweet overall. And because his hair is so fluffy and pettable that no one can resist touching it. I like to imagine that one day he and Hawk are talking about their hair and Hawk makes a joke about how Miguel’s mane is getting so long that it’s going to be bigger than his own, and then he reaches out to ruffle it and internally has a bisexual meltdown because oh no IT’S SO SOFT AND NICE. But uh... anyway, yes. Definitely Miguel.

[bao3bei4]

i have basically covered the material in this post several times on my twitter. but this is, in my opinion, the only s*xy t*mes with w*ngxian take you need. 

(cw transphobia, transphobic slurs, antiblack racism, mentions of csa and bestiality in fiction)

edit 6/10/21: hi! i’m realizing people are still reading this! this was written in response to aja romano’s vox article on the fic that was published in late february of this year. i had been frustrated with how their article seemed to miss the point in many ways, because they never talked about the substance of the fic. which, i mean, fair. i wouldn’t want to read a 1million word fic either.

but i already had, so i thought i’d write about some things that i believed needed to be part of the conversation. namely, that its author wasn’t a harmless troll, but a person i genuinely disliked who i believed should be deplatformed.

i think virtual1979 is a bad person. 

i think a lot of people mainly know about sexy times the phenomenon more than they do sexy times the fic itself. i have the dubious honor of being one of the few people who has actually read large portions of the million word fic, and that’s why i wanted to write this meanspirited hit piece. 

the fic is down right now and the author’s notes and comments have both been deleted, which is why i cannot provide screenshots. however, these are all quotes i have saved from when the fic was online, and i’m happy to talk with anyone if you feel any of these quotes are mischaracterizations of the fic. 

i also want to be clear this is not a “callout post” and i’m not trying to “cancel” them or whatever. i am just explaining why i don’t like them, why i don’t feel bad they’re being harassed, and why i do not find them sympathetic at all, and perhaps why you should also adopt these stances. 

let’s start with transphobia. 

sexy times with wangxian is transphobic. this much is apparent from the tags. virtual1979 tagged the following: F*tanari, d*ckgirl, Sh*male. they use this language in the chapters that include a character with both a vagina and a penis. 

they refer to this character (wei wuxian) with the pronouns “he-she.” the following excerpt is a fair representation of how this wei wuxian is referred to in the chapters where wei wuxian has a vagina and a penis. 

[Lan Zhan] would never be turned on by a female, and he would actually be turned off by a drag queen - but this… this Wei Ying, it’s Wei Ying, and he-she looks [...]

i know these words are common in porn categories, but they are also slurs. virtual1979 also uses hermaphrodite to refer to this set of anatomy, which is not strictly a slur, but definitely a stigmatizing choice of language. 

they have repeatedly made clear they are not open to criticism. they have also since removed the comment section. making an intersex character for the express purpose of using transmisogynistic language towards them in your million word porn fic isn’t annoying the way their tags are, it’s actively fucked up. 

fanfiction has a transphobia problem, and if we’re talking about sexy times with wangxian in any capacity, we must be clear: sexy times with wangxian is part of that problem too. 

secondly, virtual1979 is also complicit in ao3’s racism problem.

i think the way they write about chinese characters and settings is annoying and racist, but they are a malaysian chinese person, so i do have some sympathy for them. i am committed to having some patience for people who are annoying if they themselves are working through the prejudice they have faced. 

they’ve commented as much: 

Not gonna lie, this fic has been a steep learning curve for me despite my roots being Chinese as well, but I have absolutely zero knowledge in some of these aspects!

and i’m happy on some level they can get in touch with their roots. who among us has not been cringe and diaspora. any criticisms i have of their portrayal of chinese people will stay private and be made to other people of color.

i’m going to be clear here i don’t think the actual comment they made makes them super evil or anything. but this essay IS clearly in response to That Article, which did mention racism in fandom. so.

i think we have all seen the infamous karen comment they made, in which they compared people who criticized their tagging with “Karens,” equating antiblack state violence to... mean comments on ao3? and “SJWs,” which, eye roll. no ageism but you’re 41 why the hell are you complaining about sjws

anyway. i am deeply frustrated by the co-option of the word karen. a stand-in for a particular type of racist violence white women specifically can and do inflict has become fused with that reddit-type mommy issue “can i speak to the manager” internecine white resentment. 

so their trivialization of antiblack racism is another reason i don’t like them. again i KNOW it’s petty to point this out here, but this to me shows that virtual is afflicted with the same kind of fandom brainrot that aja is, where everything comes back to that same sort of self-centered bullshit. 

sorry for that jab. julian told me that aja thought that cql was about callout culture and all i could think was “wow! just like virtual thinking that--” because i also have spent too much time on twitter this week. 

this is just like. part of this ongoing pattern i’ve noticed with virtual, where they’re aware enough of real problems to acknowledge they exist (police violence, accessibility issues caused by their tagging) but are determined to double down on their minor relative persecution as king, shittily drawing parallels between like... real problems and fandom problems. equating the two or allowing the second to take priority over the former is like... par for the course for this type of person! 

third, this is just another clarification on more parallels between ao3 discourse and sexy times that went completely unremarked on by That Article. 

i would rather DIE than get into discourse. but why did they write this sentence: 

Lan Zhan’s rational mind finally broke with a tsunami of pedophilic lusts [...]

by the way that is the start of a 430 word sentence. and yes this fic does contain hundreds of thousands of words of aged down wei wuxian. make of that what you will. 

also why would you make wei wuxian teach baby chickens how to sexually pleasure him. do you hate these characters. what’s going on. i think mxtx should be able to sue virtual for that one. 

there’s a very obvious connection between mainstream ao3 discourse and sexy times that went completely unremarked on in That Article. sexy times contains multitudes and some of those multitudes are bestiality and explicit childfucking. 

this is not unrelated to fannish culture, they are not unfamiliar with fannish norms, blah blah blah. this is just normal fandom. they’re not subverting shit, they’re just a normal fan who unlike 99% of fanfiction writers on twitter, spends more time writing than posting. this has taken their fannish tendencies to cartoonish heights. 

finally, they don’t care about mdzs or wangxian. they’re literally just horny and spiteful that’s it. this isn’t a question of like... “ohh they were a good faith participant in fandom until they went joker mode” and the REAL villain is society/ao3. like no they wanted to write shitty porn, and when they found out they were annoying people, they decided to double down because they could be the main character of the mdzs ao3 tag every time they found a spare hour to write. 

here are some select receipts on that topic:

they do not care about canon: 

MDZS has quite a complicated and expansive plot and history, and enough content that one can choose to tune out certain parts and still get to the end of the story in one piece. Also, because of its source, some fans may not fully realize the nuances, cultural aspects (ooh, cultural appropriation is another triggering topic) or the full breadth and depth of the source material, such as a person like me, who is half-baked in terms of knowing what the canon universe is all about. So I end up playing with characters and settings technically borrowed from the story, and make them do things that would otherwise run counter to the original source material - and that draws quite some flak from those opinionated people I mentioned just now. It's part of what makes the fandom toxic. It's like they're the self-appointed guardians of the source material and they act like they own the rights to question such questionble fanworks, and dare I say, try to take down those that cross certain lines too.

they are just horny: 

After that giddines of extra drunken Lan Wang Ji scenes at the beginning, I'm blessed with Lan Wang Ji (Wang Yibo's, actually) fuzzy nips! Bless Bless Bless, and Amen! muahs the nips on the screen

anyway they did get nuked over wishing covid on people. 

so yeah. i want to be really clear. this is my thesis: i do not feel bad for them. you should not either. i do not like them. you should not either. that’s ALL!!!! 

[aion-rsa]

How Ted Lasso Sneakily Crafted its Empire Strikes Back Season

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This article contains Ted Lasso spoilers through season 2 episode 8.

Perhaps you’ve heard, but Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso was the subject of some dreaded Discourse recently. 

Since the Internet is infinite and we privileged few in the media have nothing but time, a handful of features came out weeks ago essentially questioning what Ted Lasso season 2 was even all about. Many of these features were well-written, well-argued, and fair, but when filtered through Twitter’s anti-nuance machine (i.e. Twitter itself), every feature boiled down to the same reductive take: Ted Lasso season 2 doesn’t have a conflict. 

In some respects, this take was the inevitable reaction to the metanarrative surrounding Ted Lasso in the first place. Despite drawing its inspiration from a series of somewhat cynical NBC Sports Premier League commercials, the first season of Ted Lasso was all about the transformative power of kindness. 

Or at least that’s what we critics declared it to be. And I don’t blame us. Awash in a flood of screeners about antiheroes, dystopias, and the end of the world, the simple kindness of Ted Lasso seemed revolutionary. They made a TV show about a guy who is…nice? They can do that? But the inherent goodness of its lead character was always Ted Lasso’s elevator pitch, not its thesis. 

There’s been a darkness at the center of Ted Lasso since its very first moment, when an American man got on a flight to London in a doomed attempt to save his marriage. And, as season 2’s brilliant eighth episode rolls around, it’s become clear that that darkness is what the show has really been “about” this whole time. 

Season 2 episode 8 “Man City” (the title is referring to AFC Richmond’s FA Cup match against opponent Manchester City but also stealthily reveals that this installment will be all about men and their respective traumas) is quite simply the best episode of Ted Lasso yet. It also might be the best episode of television this year. Near the episode’s end, right before AFC Richmond plays a crucial FA Cup match against the mighty Manchester City, coach Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) finally comes clean with his coaching staff. He’s been suffering from panic attacks of late. His assistant coaches hear him, accept him, and then head off to the pitch where Man City absolutely obliterates their team.

Man City destroys AFC Richmond. They annihilate them. Embarrass them. Stuff them into a locker and steal their lunch money. The final score is 4-0 but it might as well be 400-0. The coaching staff is rattled but the players are hit even harder. Richmond’s star striker and former Man City player Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster) is forced to endure watching his scumbag father cheer for his hometown team from the Wembley Stadium stands at the expense of his son. 

After the game, Jamie’s father, James (Kieran O’Brien), enters the locker room where he drunkenly accosts him for being a loser and demands that Jamie grant access to the Wembley Stadium pitch for him and his scumbag friends to run around on. When Jamie refuses, his father pushes him, so Jamie reflexively punches him right in the face. James is dragged out of the locker room by Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt), leading a stunned and traumatized Jamie Tartt standing in the middle of the room, as if in a spotlight of pure pain, surrounded by teammates too afraid to even approach him. And then something amazing happens…

Here’s the dirty secret about television: there’s a lot of it. Due to the sheer number of TV shows released each year, even the best of them are destined to become little more than memories long-term. Sometimes all you can ask from multiple episodes and seasons of television is to provide you with one moment, one line, or one warm feeling to carry with you into the future. I don’t know how much I’ll remember from Ted Lasso 30-40 years from now when I’m immobile and reclined in my floating entertainment unit, Wall-E style. But I know I’ll at least remember the moment that Roy hugs Jamie.

The great Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) – a character so disconnected from his own emotions that some fans are convinced he’s CGI – embraces the one person in the world he is least likely to embrace. As Roy and Jamie wordlessly hug, it’s hard to tell which man is more shocked by the moment. Ultimately, however, it might be Ted Lasso himself who is hit hardest. Shortly after seeing Roy play father to the younger Jamie, Ted quickly exits the locker room and calls sports psychologist Dr. Sharon Fieldstone (Sarah Niles) on his Apple TV+-apporved iPhone. 

“My father killed himself when I was 16. That happened. To me and to my mom,” Ted says, weeping. 

And that, my friends, is what Ted Lasso is all about. Pain. And dads. But mostly pain. 

None of us can say that Ted Lasso didn’t warn us it was coming. To go back to the discourse of it all real quick – I don’t blame anyone for not picking up on the direction that this show was so clearly heading in. Ted Lasso is, first and foremost, a sitcom. The beauty of sitcoms is that you welcome them into your home to watch at your own pace and your own terms. If having Ted Lasso on in the background so you can occasionally see the handsome mustache man who smiles while you fold your laundry is the way you’ve chosen to engage with the show, then great! Just know that season 2 has been operating on a deeper level this whole time as well.

Let’s take things all the way back to the beginning – back to before season 2 even began. You’ve likely heard the old philosophical thought experiment “if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” Well Jason Sudeikis’s interviews leading up the season 2 premiere beg an equally as interesting hypothetical “how many times can one man mention The Empire Strikes Back before someone notices??”

Sudeikis referred to Ted Lasso season 2 as the show’s “Empire Strikes Back” multiple times before the premiere including in his local Kansas City Star and his technically local USA Today. The show even explicitly mentions the second Star Wars film in this season’s first episode when Richmond general manager Higgins (Jeremy Swyft) tells Ted that his kids are watching the trilogy for the first time. Sudeikis (who co-created and produces the show) and showrunner Bill Lawrence clearly want us to take the idea that Ted Lasso season 2 is The Empire Strikes Back seriously. And why would that be? 

Think of how ESB differs from its two Star Wars siblings in the original trilogy. This is the story that features arguably the series most iconic moment when Luke Skywalker discovers his dad is a dick on a literal universal level. It also has the only unambiguously downer ending of any original trilogy Star Wars film. Luke is thoroughly defeated in this installment. Having one’s hand chopped off by their father and barely escaping with their life is definitely the Star Wars version of a 4-0 defeat. 

The Empire Strikes Back can safely be boiled down into two concepts: 

Dads are complicated.

Everything sucks.

When viewed through those two conceptual prisms, so much of Ted Lasso season 2 begins to make more sense.

Episode 1 opens with the death of a dog and then leads into a classic Ted Lasso speech that could serve as this season’s mission statemetn. After recounting the story of how he cared for his sick neighbor’s dog, Ted concludes with: “It’s funny to think about the things in your life that can make you cry knowing that they existed then become the same thing that can make you cry knowing that they’re now gone. Those things come into our lives to help us get from one place to a better one.”

Things like…a father who you didn’t have nearly enough time with? Following episode 1 (and following just about every episode this season), Bill Lawrence took to Twitter to assuage viewers’ fears about a lack of central conflict this season. He had this to say about Ted’s big speech.

Look, Merrill. It was thought out, but the speech he gives after (Written by Jason himself – I loved it) is the core of the season, but we knew some people might bum out.

— Bill Lawrence (@VDOOZER) July 27, 2021

Sorry, truly. Ted’s speech after (which I love, but am obviously biased) is a big part of the season. But it sounds like you had a crappy thing happen recently.

— Bill Lawrence (@VDOOZER) July 28, 2021

It’s not. But Ted’s speech has big relevance. Stick around!

— Bill Lawrence (@VDOOZER) July 26, 2021

He also had this to say about dads.

Effin Dads, man. Love mine so, but he’s struggling a bit.

— Bill Lawrence (@VDOOZER) July 27, 2021

“Effin dads” and our complicated relationships with them are all over Ted Lasso season 2. In the very next episode, Sam Obisanya (Toheeb Jimoh) tells Ted “You know, my father says that every time you’re on TV, he’s very happy that I’m here. That I’m in safe hands with you.”

Ted smiles at this bit of info but not as warmly as you might expect. Because to Ted, a dad isn’t a reassuring presence but rather someone you love who will just leave when you need him the most. That’s why he’s been trying to be the perfect father figure this whole time. That’s why he did something as extreme as leaving his family behind in Kansas while he heads off to London. If giving his wife space was the only way to preserve the family and remain a good dad, then he was going to give her a whole ocean of space.

Moreover, Ted hasn’t just been trying to serve as a father figure to his son this whole time but to everyone else as well. Sam’s comment to Ted reminds him that not everyone has a good dad, which encourages him to bring Jamie into the fold in the first place.

As time goes on, however, the stress of being the consummate father to everyone in his orbit begins to wear on Ted. Throughout the entirety of this season, Ted Lasso appears to be trying to be Ted Lasso just a bit too hard. His energy levels are too high. His jokes go on too long. The same life lessons that worked last year aren’t working this year. AFC Richmond opens with an embarrassing streak of draws before Jamie’s immense talents set things straight.

It all culminates in this season’s sixth episode when Ted has his second panic attack in as many years. This time it’s in public during an important game. The experience sends Ted running through the concourse of the stadium until he somehow ends up in the dark on Dr. Fieldstone’s couch, instinctively, like a wounded animal. 

It’s certainly no coincidence that this panic attack occurs on the same day that Ted received a call from his son’s school asking him to pick him up, not realizing that he’s an ocean away. In that moment, Ted can’t help but remember what it’s like to be left behind by his own father and subconsciously wonder if he’s doing the same. 

Though the shallow waters of Ted Lasso season 2 may have appeared consequence free for half its run, beneath the surface was a tidal wave of conflict. Just because the conflict wasn’t taking place between a happy-go-lucky football coach and a villainous owner doesn’t mean it wasn’t there.

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Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin is terrible at meeting deadlines but great at writing. According to him (and William Faulkner, from whom he borrows the quote), the only conflict worth writing about is that of the human heart with itself. That’s something that The Empire Strikes Back understood. And it’s something that Ted Lasso season 2 does as well.

The post How Ted Lasso Sneakily Crafted its Empire Strikes Back Season appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3E4eqHF

[littlemisssquiggles]

...So about the ORNJ_JNPR T-shirt thing...

daggerpawstudios asked

“Okay I am the only confused by all the hate that Oscar is getting right now because they dropped some new merch at the RT Store. I am not sure if you heard that Team JNPR got called Team ORNJ on the new shirt. I feel like this is kind of a mistake on the marketing team's part and not really CRWBY. But now a lot of people are attacking RG shippers and Oscar fans and I don't really understand because it seems more like fragile egos”

Squiggles Answers:

@daggerpawstudios​

Hey there Dagger. Well to be honest with you fam, this squiggle meister has sort of been out of the RWBY loop for the past few months. Got a work project so I haven’t been as active as I normally would be in my squiggle shire here on Tumblr.

Nevertheless, I did sort of know about the shirt thing. I first heard the news from a tweet from RWBY Youtuber Calxiyn it over on Twitter. I then saw RWBY Youtuber ThatKaitoDan mention Oscar replacing Jaune as leader of Team JNPR in his own tweet post as well but I didn’t know the full context of what he meant by that until you brought this to my attention.

I didn’t know that RT had actually listed the shirt as Team ORNJ which in their case is…well…a big OOF on their part. Personally, I don’t think this is something that folks in the FNDM should be making a big hullabaloo about. I think it’s an obvious PR mistake on the marketing department who run the RT store releases since no offense to RT and whoever is in charge of promotion on their online store but…their record of “getting things right” their store especially with the FNDM hasn’t exactly been squeaky clean in the past.

Besides, another obvious giveaway to me as to why I think it’s more likely to be a minor error is the very fact that Jaune’s silhouette is still first in line.

Think about it. If Oscar had really usurped Jaune as leader of the team then why isn’t his silhouette first in the line up? 

Isn’t it not a golden rule of thumb that the leaders of each huntsmen team always appear first in the team line-up whenever they do the silhouette thing as we’ve seen previously with teams like RWBY and even the Ace Ops? 

Anyone with decent vision can clearly see that that’s Jaune’s silhouette at the front of the line. Not Oscar. If Oscar was truly the new leader of the team then why is he the third silhouette? 

If thing had really turned ORNJ, then the order should be Oscar, Ren, Nora and finally Jaune. But as you can clearly see, the order is Jaune, Ren, Oscar and Nora.----THE SAME ORDER THAT WAS FEATURED IN THE VOLUME 7 OPENING! Or did folks…y’know…forget that? 

I know V7 ended earlier in the year but have folks forgotten the season already with its opening sequence? After Team RWBY, we got the JNPR 2.0 gang and the order in which JNR and Oscar appear matches the T-shirt with Jaune being first, then Ren, then Oscar and finally Nora. So there you go. 

So I wouldn't worry too much about that Dagger. I agree with you in thinking that it was a simple error made by the RT store. However, that being said, the other part about people stirring discourse over this and worst yet attacking the Pinehead and Rosegarden community over this…do I even need to say how silly that sounds.

Much like with the ridiculous discourse that arose after the small Rosegarden moment in V7CH9, this is yet another classic example of certain-certain folks literally scraping the bottom of the barrel and using any excuse they could find to harp on something they don't like while unfairly accosting the people who do.

I feel really bad for my fellow Pineheads, Rosegardeners and Rosegardening Pineheads who were victims of this time of foolishness. Because that's what this all sounds like to my ears. Foolish fools acting foolish yet again.

Seriously, what does Oscar as a character or even Rosegarden as a ship have to do with something that was posted by the RT store and is clearly an error made by the people who run it?

Are certain-certain folks truly that desperate to stir up drama and conflict that they would honestly seep so low as to use a T-shirt design as fuel for an easy argument?

The Pinehead, Rosegarden and Rosegardening Pinehead communities get enough flak as it is but this is just...beyond silly!

I'm not implying that the hate brigade should train their anger on RT but how silly can you be to take something as a T-shirt design to that level of seriousness? Especially when the design more or less outs its own error. Am I missing something here? Is there another unknown part to this where the CRWBY Writers came out and confirmed that this is legit? Because otherwise, this is just…so…LIKE SERIOUSLY DUDE?!

I like RWBY a lot and in spite of my own personal gripes and nit-picks with the direction of the show at times in terms of its writing and treatment of the characters and their respective relationships and arcs---in spite of all that, I still actively enjoy the show and I’m still invested in seeing where the CRWBY Writers take it to the very end. However I’d be lying if all the constant discourse from the more “toxic” side of FNDM isn’t slowly starting to chip away at my excitement for the series. I can live with RWBY having flaws but what I don’t need are folks constantly going out of their way to use any excuse they could to express their own personal gripes with show; going as far as to abuse others in the process. That kind of stuff isn’t cool and it’s not good to witness through the eyes of someone who wants to enjoy the show or is at least trying to...y’know what I mean?

When I first heard the news of the JNPR shirts, I was excited. Not only is this the first merch we’ve gotten of JNPR in some time but it’s also the second merch to feature Oscar.

In case folks don’t realize, Oscar doesn’t have a lot of his own merchandise sold by RT which sucks for us Pineheads.

At least the OG JNPR/JNR have a couple of merchandise (albeit not as popular or abundant as Team RWBY’s but still there). 

But Oscar…not so much and the same can be said for Ozpin too.  It took RT six whole seasons to release ONE T-SHIRT DESIGN with Oscar and Oz on the front and even that was sort of short-lived since I don’t see that shirt advertising in the store anymore. It’s always the same ole Team RWBY stuff.

So with that in mind, this shirt was a first and a given. It’s so great to see Oscar together with JNR on a shirt because in a way, it makes it more official that he is a member of their group especially for those of us who were rooting for this to happen since V5.

I still don’t think it means that he is the leader because as I’ll say again, look at the order on the shirt design. Oscar is third. Right where Pyrhha used to be. How can he be leader and be third in the line-up? Oscar is meant to replace Pyrhha, not Jaune. 

In the case of this whole ORNJ JNPR T-shirt scandal, I don’t understand how on Earth a clear marketing typo could reach as far as to spark discourse for a fictional character of a series, his fans and the fans of one of his ships? AGAIN!

What does Team JNPR (or whatever they will be called) being miswritten as Team ORNJ has to do with us Pineheads, Rosegardeners and Rosegardening Pineheads? How are we as a fan community responsible for an error made by RT?

Even if there are Pineheads who think this should be official--NOT speaking for myself here but I have seen other Pineheads express their desire to see Oscar lead JNPR for their own reasons---still, this is no excuse to harp on someone for liking it just because you don’t.

You’re right Dagger; this doesn’t make sense to me either.

All I can say is that it is what is it. Another example of certain-certain folks using any excuse to harp on something they don’t like while trying to drag others down with them and/or ruin their good vibes. 

Seriously these types of folks are honestly scraping at the bottom of the barrel. I’m surprised they’re still able to see after sinking so low with their foolishness. If that sounds a bit too harsh then sorry; not sorry. 

Ever since the whole discourse over the minor Rosegarden moment for V7CH9, I have lost all patience with these types of fans. I honestly find them to be as dumb as their behaviour and it exhausts me just hearing about them and their nonsense. 

Losing their marbles and attacking my people over a bloody T-shirt error that ain’t got nothing to do with us.

SO...DAMN...SILLY!

I hope RT clears this up at some point. And even if they don’t, I really don’t see why people should believe this means anything. I certainly don’t.

Not like I want that to happen either. In my opinion, I was never in favour of ORNJ---at least, not right now when Oscar is still a teenager growing into his duties and responsibilities as a huntsman. To me, I only like the idea of Team ORNJ from the perspective of Jaune retiring/stepping down from his role as leader of a huntsman team; instead choosing to pass the torch onto Oscar after the former farm boy had matured into a fine huntsman under his team’s guidance and after proving himself in the eyes of his teammates, especially Jaune. 

Y’know that kind of idea. 

This is why I always referred to JNR and Oscar as JNPR 2.0. I want JNR to become Oscar’s team and surrogate brothers and sister in arms. I want Oscar and Jaune to have a close big brother-little brother type of dynamic where Oscar admires Jaune’s strength and leadership and looks up to him alot as both a close confidant (much like Ruby) and teammate while Jaune himself admires Oscar’s tenacity after everything he’s been through while making it his role to look out for him along with Nora and Ren.  

This doesn’t mean I want Oscar to replace Jaune as team leader nor do I think he should.

I’ve heard some folks rationalize that Oscar should lead JNR since he is Ozpin’s successor. Nothing against the folks who like this concept but if I were to add my $2.50 to this, I don’t think Oscar being Oz’s successor should automatically qualify him to take over JNR; y’know what I mean?

Jaune earned his place as leader of JNPR after proving his talent for leadership back in V1. 

The only time that Jaune took a step back was when Ruby led the group as RNJR between V4 and V5 since at the time, the trio were aiding Ruby with her objective to get to Mistral, as Ren said. But even then, Jaune was still a leader and  backed up Ruby’s calls with his own strategies. 

Not to mention that folks seem to be forgetting that Ozpin was the one who chose Jaune to lead JNPR.

Though we never got a scene of Jaune confronting Oz on his decision to make him team leader like we did with Ruby Rose in “The Badge and the Burden” episode (I think that was the title. Correct me if I’m wrong), much like Ruby, Oz picked Jaune and was of sound mind when he did. Oz picked Jaune to lead since despite his past hiccups and shortcomings, he saw that Jaune also had the makings of a great leader as shown during JNPR’s first fight against the Deathstalker.

So the whole notion of Oscar getting to be leader of JNR  JUST BECAUSE he’s Oz’s successor EVEN THOUGH it was Oz’s decision to choose Jaune to be leader of JNPR in the first place---yeah that doesn’t sit right with me. 

Jaune is meant to be a leader and JNPR is his team to lead; even with Oscar joining it. Sorry ORNJ-fans. But that’s where I stand on that. 

Anyways, that’s all I have to say on this subject. I hope I answered you Dagger.

~LittleMissSquiggles (2020)

[casmoments]

Commander

Imagine jokingly calling Castiel ‘commander’ which turns him on so much that he takes you immediately in one of the interrogation rooms

Reader Gender: female Word Count: 3420 Warnings:  dom!cas, fleeting but semi-public display, swearing in narration. 

You had seen the look at the most inopportune time.   You weren’t alone; a handful of insurgents loitered in the doorway while Castiel rifled through items at his desk.   You leant against a filing cabinet and idly bit a nail.   Your gaze shifted between him and the soldiers, your musings circling his new role and its implications.   It was a terrible time for Castiel to throw you a heated glance, eyes dark in a way that surprised you considering the submissive nature of your boyfriend.   But at your teasing remark, his gaze slowly lifted.

“Do you need help, commander?”

It was meant in jest.   While you knew Castiel’s position was serious it hardly alleviated the hilarity of angels flocking and chirping, “commander, commander,” every time he strolled past.   You gave mention to this amusement before but you hadn’t actually applied the title in conversation—not until now.   He lifted his head slowly, turned to look at you over his shoulder.   For a moment you thought you had angered him.   But you knew his expressions well by now and that stare weighed in heavy, hot provocation.   His soldiers evidently assumed he was irritated.  Considering how many thorough fucks were required to update Castiel on sexual flirtations, it was no surprise they regarded the superficiality of the glance.   As such, you were ushered out of the room before you could find out exactly what commander thought when he looked at you with such wanting eyes.

You didn’t forget.  You wondered if he did.  When you met later that evening he was eager to separate you from your clothes but, for the most part, things progressed as they always had.  

Prior to Castiel, you weren’t exactly in the habit of leading sex.   It was a natural development, though, given you had more experience.   You were quite happy to direct his ministrations, encourage his actions and experiments, and you would never say anything to make him question himself.  One remark to Castiel could spur months of deliberation and self-reflection.  You didn’t want to end contact so you kept quiet on the one complaint seeded deep in your soul.   You enjoyed sex with Castiel, the vigilant lovemaking, but you couldn’t help the restless fantasies of him putting that angelic strength to good use and just seizing you, confident, dominant, throwing you down with bruising hands and sharp teeth, with dark eyes and hot skin, marking your flesh and taking you with a desperate passion.   But Castiel, with every sweet caress, hardly seemed the type.

Commander Castiel, on the other hand…

You had seen the look.  It was there when you found yourself alone, hand slipping below the waistband of your panties to sate the wave of lust.   You were afforded no opportunity to visit him for several days, resulting in sexual frustration of an almost dizzying calibre, but you promised yourself it would only make the final exchange that much sweeter.   You finally found the time and reason to visit the rebel headquarters, your heartbeat quick, your steps even more so.  

“Y/N is here,” an angel introduced you, holding open the door to Castiel’s office.   Castiel was alone, praise be whoever, and you watched the intruding angel leave, retreat to some distant corner.   You stepped further into the room, door falling closed behind you.

“Hello, Y/N,” Castiel said.  Preoccupied as ever, he had not so much as lifted his head, eyes focussed rather intently on his papers.  

“Hello, commander,” you replied, revelling in the tension which wrought his shoulders.   You could see the exact moment his eyes froze in reading.   You stepped closer to the desk, clutching your documents tight in your hands.  “I have some news regarding other forces,” you said.  It wasn’t a lie; that was your primary reason for visiting.  At least, it was your professional reason for visiting.  Your primary goal spoke for itself.    “I thought you might want them.”   You placed the documents on his desk and then waited, hands folded, back straight.    Castiel looked at the documents first, a blank stare set upon them before he looked up at you.   A tense moment passed between you, the anticipation of something in the air.   You levelled your most seductive gaze and spoke again.   “Is my work sufficient, commander?”

He inclined his head, stared at you with that fervent want from days ago, the sort of hunger which allowed for no distractions.

“Come here,” he said, voice scraping and low, stern.  Your heart skipped a beat at the intonation.   Obeying the small command, you slowly circled his desk to meet where he sat.   He kept his eyes locked on you as you moved.   When you reached him, he pushed his chair back from the desk, gestured to his knee for you to sit.   You did so, swallowing hard, your cheeks probably flushed.   You couldn’t be more obvious about your thoughts—and where they had been for days—if you tried.  

He apparently agreed.

“You think very loudly,” he said, groping your hip when you settled in his lap.  He pulled you against him, your back towards him, prompting you to turn your head to look at him.

“Do I?” you asked, wetting your lips.   His eyes dropped to the motion, his adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed.   He met your gaze again.

“Yes,” he said, voice low and deliberate again.  He moved his hand across your lap, gathered the material of your skirt in hand.  You had worn the ensemble quite intentionally, encouraged by the image of Castiel bending you over his desk, flipping up your skirt, and urgently taking you from behind.   His current actions were slower than your fantasies but no less tantalizing, the soft fabric drawn up your thighs and bunching at your hips.   He stroked his fingers along your inner thigh, back and forth for a teasing moment.   Your blood flowed hotly every which way, the untouched space between your legs long since anticipating him.  You watched, a bit frustrated, as his free hand reached out to gather more papers.   He laid them across his desk, a place you felt was rightfully yours, and he unfairly administered his attention there.

But when you tried to reach your hand between your legs—you figured you could up an advantage as usual—the hand once sliding documents seized yours with incredible speed.   You turned your head as he did, your faces barely apart.   He squeezed your hand in his.

“Don’t,” he said.  It was almost embarrassing how hot it made you.   He released your hand, allowed you to return it to your bare thigh where it sat, anxious.   Your other arm was limp at your side, his fingers still drawing teasing lines up your inner thigh.   You shifted in his lap, eager for something more.   He looked back to his papers but finally dragged his hand higher, tracing the outline of your underwear before sliding his fingers beneath the sheer material.  You had considered not wearing any at all but you were sort of hoping for teeth tearing at fabric.   Fantasies were subsided by the reality of his calloused fingers dipping inside of you.   You hummed, a guttural sound, his forefinger pressing further into you and crooking upwards.

“I do have work to do,” he said, so matter-of-factly like he wasn’t wiggling a second finger inside of you.  “You shouldn’t be distracting me.”

“I’m sorry, commander,” you rasped, your hand leaving your thigh to grasp his.  He thrust his fingers upwards, making you yelp.  His free hand removed your grip then seized your thigh, spreading your legs further.   He forced a knee between them, leaving you mostly straddling one thigh as he worked his fingers inside you.   He drew his hand back slightly, returned it to the outside of the underwear before deliberately pressing it forward, rubbing the soft material against your clit.  You whimpered, rested your head back in the crook of his shoulder.   “Please, Castiel,” you murmured, feeling the familiar warmth build below.   He immediately removed his hand, dragged it down your thigh, pinching the outside flesh.   You tried to clamp your thighs shut, desperate to put pressure between them, but he held them apart.   “Commander,” you amended, wriggling against him.  “Commander, please.”

He did not answer the ache between your legs.  He dropped his mouth to your neck instead, kisses long and slow while his fingernails dug into the soft skin of your thighs.

And then suddenly his head lifted, his hands drawing your skirt to cover you again.  You almost cried out at the abrupt finish, your cunt positively aching for his touch and attention.

“Someone’s coming,” he said.  You hardly cared if it wasn’t you.  

Sure enough, one of the other angels appeared at the door, stepping inside at Castiel’s confirmation.   They discussed something; you weren’t paying much mind.  Despite having ended your little game, you still sat in his lap and Castiel still held your legs apart, hidden from your intruder thanks to the desk.   You fought to remain stoic, staring at the new angel and trying to temper your body.   Castiel did a much better job.  No one would ever guess his hands were skimming up your thighs—and no one did guess.  The angel prattled on like nothing was amiss even if he did initially throw you an odd glance for sitting on Castiel’s lap.   He was wrapped in discourse now, Castiel appearing so even as his hands went under your skirt.  He hooked his thumbs around your panties, one on either hip, and then snapped outwards, tearing the material.  You tried not to groan.  

“How should I inform the others…” the angel kept speaking, his voice fading in and out.   Castiel returned his hand to your aching wetness, grunted at the feel of you before resuming slow circles on your clit.  You folded your hands on the desk, squeezed your own knuckles so tight they whitened.  

“Is she all right?” the angel suddenly asked.  You were clearly not as subtle as you would have liked.

“She’s fine,” Castiel answered for you, brushing the topic aside.   His fingers worked faster as he returned to his previous conversation, taking his time to give orders.   He brought you to the edge of orgasm more than once, slowing his actions every time he realized how close you were.  It was agonizing.

After what felt like an eternity the angel finally left.  An indecent cry your left once you and Castiel were alone, built up from the entire exchange.   Still unsatisfied, you moaned in discontent as Castiel stopped touching you again.   He grabbed your hips instead and forced you to stand, him following behind you.   Your now useless panties dropped to the floor, forgotten as he tightly grabbed your arm and started to drag you around the desk.

“What—” you started, confused as he led you to the door.  “What are you—?”   Surely he wasn’t going to throw you out in this condition.   Games were fun but you were going to rip him apart if he thought—

“Stop talking,” he demanded.   You obeyed, realizing it wasn’t over after all.  He dragged you past several confused angels and you wondered how much they could sense about you.  You were a bit beyond caring, delirious with want.

Castiel took you to one of the interrogation rooms.  He unlocked it and pulled open the heavy door, all but tossing you inside.   He stepped in after you, the door slamming closed.   He grabbed you by the shoulders and directed you to a chair, one of two things in the room.   The other thing was a table, empty of all items.   He plopped you down into the chair, a contraption built to hold prisoners.   He clapped your wrists in the cuffs on the chair, then looked you in the eye, gaze a bit softer.

“Is that all right?” he asked.  You nodded vehemently.

“Yeah,” you said.  “Yeah, it’s good.”

“Good.”  Then he turned and made for the door.  Your jaw almost hit the floor.

“Where are you going?”  you demanded.

“I have work to finish,” he said, cheeky expression settled on you before he walked right out the door, locking it behind himself.  

He didn’t leave you for long.  It was probably only twenty minutes but it felt like hours, you rubbing your thighs together and slouching as much as you could in the seat, groaning to yourself.   Castiel was better at this than you anticipated.

When he did return, he had discarded his trenchcoat and suit jacket.   He was adjusting the cuffs of the white shirt, not even looking at you as he entered the room.   His stupid tie was on backwards again.  You stomped your feet against the floor, glaring at him even as your heart raced.   He ignored you, turned and locked the door behind himself.    When he did finally turn to you, his hands were loosening his tie, unknotting it and pulling it free.   He tossed it onto the table then went to you, palms falling to your knees and pushing upwards, gathering your skirt at your waist.  

“Tell me if I do something wrong,” he said, looking at you only briefly before his gaze lowered to your dripping cunt.   You nodded, breath catching as he reached down and pressed one finger inside of you.  You moaned embarrassingly loud for the simplicity of the action.   He retracted his hand, sucked the finger into his mouth before turning away.

“Ca—” you began, then thought better.  “Commander.   Please.”

He turned to face you, stared down at you with that perfectly stoic regard as he untucked his shirt and began to unbutton it.  Your gaze lowered blatantly to the bulge in his pants, your tongue running across your bottom lip before you bat your eyelashes and looked at him.   His shirt fell open, his hands reaching for his belt.   He opened it and then nodded to you.

“Come here,” he said.  With a blink, the cuffs once restraining you opened.   You rose onto wobbly legs, approached where he stood.  “Kneel,” he said, gaze pointed.   You did as he said, grabbed the material at his waist and pulled it down.   His cock was already hard, hot, leaking with precum.  You licked a few long, wet lines up your palm before drawing your hand across his length.   You looked up, watched his eyelids flutter and cheeks flush.   You looked back down, slowly brought your mouth to his head, lapping up the precum before wrapping your lips around him.   He groaned, hand settling on your head, fingers lacing in your hair.   You took him a bit further, worked your tongue and hand simultaneously.   He was clearly fighting the urge to thrust into your mouth, his thighs tense, his grip hard.   You took him a bit deeper then pulled back, licked the underside of the shaft, reached your hand back to squeeze his balls and watch another moan rip past his lips.

He grabbed you then, yanking you to your feet while his hands grappled at your waist.   You found the collar of his shirt, held the material while you placed wet kisses on the middle of his chest.   He tugged at your shirt, ripping it at the neck so he could pull it down.  Your bra clasped at the front and he immediately undid it, palming at your breasts, running his thumb across a nipple until it stood hard beneath his skin.   Combined with the sensations still thrumming below, you practically purred as you pressed yourself against him, his hard length brushing your thigh.  He whirled you before you had finished, your skirt gathered at your waist and your once-fantasy slowly brought to life.  He draped you over the table, used a knee to nudge your legs apart before running his hands down the back of your thighs.   You wiggled your hips, more than a bit needy.

“You should know better than to interrupt my work,” he said, his cock nudging at your entrance.   You groaned, pressing your fists into the hard tabletop.  

“I know,” you gasped.  “I’m sorry, commander.”

“Will you do so again?”

You couldn’t help your small smirk, turned your face to the table.

“Yes,” you replied, an incoherent exclamation breaking as he aligned himself and slid inside of you.  Your next sound was downright unholy but you supposed it appropriate.   He held your hips with a bruising strength, drew back his own before pitching forward.   You made a little noise at every thrust, your own wet juices running slick down your thigh.  You still desperately needed a hand to get off but your position didn’t afford much opportunity.   Not until he pulled out and flipped you around, laying you flat across the table and spreading your legs.  “Hmm, commander,” you droned, crying out in pleasure again as he thrust inside of you.  

The pair of you would have been a real sight, clothes hanging off every which way, panting and moaning in an interrogation room with a room full of rebel angels down the hall.   But you could care less for the big picture at that moment, your focus centred on the sex god you had unwittingly procured as a boyfriend.

He ran one hand up your side, the other squeezing the flesh of your inner thigh.  His eyes kept closing, face twisted in pleasure and concentration alike.   When he did finally look down at you, it was with complete and utter adoration.  It was almost enough to spur you on but in the end he gave you what you so desperately needed, his thumb pressing hard on your clit as he snapped his hips against yours a few more times.   You came completely undone, all but screaming his name as you threw your head back.   Your name soon sounded about the room as well, Castiel coming above you.

You weren’t quite sure of the exact moment it ended.  Your nerves were singing and your muscles throbbed and your chest heaved in deep pants.  Everything was a bit blurry around the edges, your only dizzying thought damn… I did a good thing picking an angel…picked good angel… damn…

Then you felt his hands, gentle and heedful, stroking up your sides and hooking under your arms.   He lifted you to sit upright and your vision cleared, your senses settling.   He pulled back from you, took a moment to fumble with your undone clothes even while his ensemble fell apart.   You just laughed, a bright feeling swelling in the middle of your chest, and you strung your arms around his shoulders and kissed him hard on the mouth.   His fumbling fingers relaxed as he returned the kiss, his lips shaping against yours with loving precision.   You dropped your hands to his waistband and helped him right his clothes.   Eased, he was able to close your bra and right your skirt.  

“I’m sorry about your clothing,” he said, running his hand over the ripped material.   “There was a time I could have fixed this easily.”

“It’s all right,” you said, managing to fold the fabric over your shoulder.   It would hold until you got back to his office.  You could steal his suit jacket and call it even.   “Everything’s perfect,” you said, smiling up at him.   He could not help but smile back, leaning in to kiss you again.

“This is good,” he said, as if he wasn’t sure despite what just transpired.  “This is what you enjoy.”

“I enjoy you,” you replied, fiddling with his collar.  “But yeah, this was good.”  You laughed a bit again.  “But if you like, I can be commander next time.   I bet it’s so stressful… being in charge of everyone all the time… it’s nice to take orders once in a while isn’t it…”

He stared at you for a few minutes, his thumb tracing circles against your knee.  A slow look crossed his face.  One you knew very well.   You smiled, bit your lower lip.

So maybe you didn’t leave the interrogation room right away.  And maybe by the time you did, you needed his entire trenchcoat and not just a suit jacket.   That was neither here nor there.  All you could do was bustle along and try not laugh when a subordinate rushed your boyfriend and in a breathless wonder asked, “commander, where were you?”

“I’ll leave you to it, commander,” you said, winking as you twirled from his office, wrapped up in his coat.   The look he tossed you was as amorous as it was smouldering.   You returned home, sated and happy and already excited to see him again.  

castiel x reader masterpost

[fursasaida]

this is totes random sorry pls feel free to ignore but is there a 'STATE' that's completely independent from like elected government, heads of state, partisan politics etc.. like what's this state that some ppl talk abt that doesn't include the elected president? e.g."korea and france have greater deference to state." is there polisci literature/concept on this? what is this STATE that doesn't include the president or CDC head nominated by said president? im sorry im just so ignorant of polisci

This is not at all an ignorant question! This is a huge issue people argue about--maybe less in poli sci than in other social sciences, because poli sci has gone so completely up its own quantitative ass that it has abandoned what should be its obvious theoretical domain and so other disciplines have kind of taken over this kind of question. There are full professors who cannot answer this question (I know because some of them are on my listservs).

So: what is the state. Seriously, really, there is no one widely accepted answer to this. So I’ll go through a few of them under the cut for you. This ended up being really long because it’s something I’ve been thinking about lately, so the simplest, shortest answer to your question is the first one.

1. Institutions

In this view, “the state” means the institutions and bureaucracy that stay on when political leadership changes. The political leadership is called either “the regime” when we want to imply it’s evil or “the administration” or “the government” when we don’t. (I think this terminology is silly and “the regime” should mean the whole arrangement plus some other things--as in a regime of power--without negative or positive implications, but I don’t make the rules.)

Obviously these two things are not firewalled apart. Elected officials can alter the state through policy and/or direct reforms (creating, merging, or eliminating existing state organizations), and the existing state can constrain what elected officials can do through anything from ethics laws to bureaucratic foot-dragging. (In the US context, when we talk about “political appointees,” we mean high-level officials in “the state” that get appointed by elected leaders, but they take over organizations generally staffed by people who have come up through the bureaucracy and are supposed to be “apolitical,” i.e. just there to do a technical/bureaucratic job. So that’s another way that the two blur.) A great example of this would be what happened with the US’s Syria policy under Trump. Trump (”the administration”) wanted to pull out of Syria. The Pentagon, The State Department, various diplomatic branches, etc. (”the state”) did not. The state succeeded in putting him off executing his desired policy for years, even though as the Commander In Chief Trump in theory had really extensive authority to do whatever he wanted. Eventually he exercised that authority and state officials found themselves scrambling madly to try and salvage something of their preferred policy, which is how the US military ended up with this ridiculous non-presence in NE Syria. Another example would be the attempt to take down the USPS.

That’s why partisan politics and elected leaders are excluded from “the state” in this view; “the state” forms the organizational containers that those movements and individuals fill, and the structures they seek to act on or act from. You can think of it like the ground they stand on. This doesn’t have to mean it is itself “apolitical,” since the terrain has implications for everyone standing on it, but it is the object or delivery channel of politics, not politics itself. (Again I don’t agree with this, but it’s what you’re seeing reflected in the discourse you’re talking about.)

When people go on about “the deep state” they’re espousing a conspiratorial version of this view, where they think the ~real behind-the-scenes power lies in these institutions and the long-term bureaucrats who (sometimes) staff and run them. Definitely some power does lie there, but the conspiracists overweigh this into an Elders of Zion type thing.

2. A sovereign entity.

This is more about distinguishing states from other kinds of political entities, and as a result it’s less concerned with fine distinctions about what is and isn’t “political.” The idea is that there are lots of political structures and systems in the world (anything from tribal law to international associations like NATO) but not all of them are states. States are distinguished from other things by virtue of sovereignty. The classic definition (from Max Weber) of sovereignty is “a monopoly on the legitimate use of violence within a clearly bounded territory.” In other words, a state’s police, military, national guard, security forces, etc. have a license to use violence within its borders that no one else has--anyone else engaging in violence is a criminal. It is these groups’ status as “agents of the state” that grants them this license. The bordered, yes/no territorial nature of this status--Turkish security forces have no mandate to act in Greece and vice versa--is also distinctive; fixed, defined, cartographic borders are not necessarily a given. In this view, all power and indeed all law is ultimately founded in violence (enforcement), so what matters is who/what can use force with impunity. (When the state’s monopoly on force is challenged in its territory--e.g., Hizballah making war on Israel without the Lebanese army, the original Zapatistas forming a breakaway region during the Mexican Civil War, or any occupation by a foreign force--then the state’s sovereignty is “weakened” or “under attack,” etc.)

Lots of people have criticized and elaborated on this definition. I don’t want to go on forever about all the critiques that exist, but basically in reality, sovereignty is not a yes/no binary where either you have it completely or you don’t have it at all. Things tend to be more mixed and blurry. It also has more dimensions: two important examples are 1) controlling and disposing of the territory itself (exploiting natural resources, moving people around, etc.), and 2) recognition. In many cases, the difference between a state and a non-state is whether other states recognize it as such, i.e. act like it is one. So for example, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus exercises sovereignty and has a state bureaucracy, elections, etc., but because it is not recognized by ~the international community~ it isn’t “a state.” (This isn’t just semantics; it may seem arbitrary when you just think about what goes on inside the TRNC, but when its citizens try to emigrate, for example, they encounter very specific, concrete problems on this basis--e.g., their passports will not be recognized as valid.)

I find this more useful personally, especially because it doesn’t assume a liberal democratic state--it can apply to a dictatorship or a monarchy or whatever you like. But in practice, i.e. how people use it, I still think this approach is frequently too worried about pinning down differences that aren’t always useful. On the one hand, I wrote my BA thesis about how Hamas and Hizballah aren’t states (it was common for a while to refer to them as “states within states”) while also not just being political parties, terrorist organizations, service providers, or any of the other things they get tagged with, precisely because of the way they relate to the Palestinian and Lebanese states. This is worth understanding because it helps explain their political projects and their successes. On the other hand, I don’t think it’s very helpful to go around arguing that, say, ISIS was a state (or state-like) and the Houthis are not because of some detail of how they think/thought about territory, or courts, or bureaucracy. Like what do you get out of making that distinction. If you want to argue that a tribal council somewhere is “the state” for its context I think that’s fine depending on what you’re trying to get at. It all depends on what kind of question you want to answer, and on what scale.

3. There’s no such thing.

This view recognizes that the state is a salad bowl full of different organizations, individuals, ideologies, etc. that do not actually all work in lockstep together or have the same goals. To talk about “the state” is to reinforce the fallacy of unified power and cooperation. Instead, we should recognize that actors within states have their own agendas, institutional cultures, power struggles, etc., and that whatever the state does is the outcome of 1) these internal dynamics, 2) the ability of different external actors (from citizens to foreign governments) to play on/appeal to/push back against different pieces of the state, and 3) the interactions of 1 and 2.

This to me is common sense. You just have to be careful not to take it too far. We can acknowledge that the state is internally differentiated/not any one single thing without going so far away from what most people understand about their worlds. There’s no point saying “there’s no such thing as a state” when people still have to pay taxes.

4. "The state effect,” or: there both is and is not any such thing

This idea, put forward by Tim Mitchell, is my favorite. It is also the subtlest, and a little tricky to explain, but I think it’s the most useful.

This view steps back and looks at all the endless, elaborate debates about every possible nicety of “stateness” and says: perhaps we are asking the wrong question here. Maybe it doesn’t matter what the state is. Maybe it matters what the state seems to be; how it seems to be that; and what “resources of power” are generated by these impressions.

This is the tricky explanation part, so bear with me for a few paragraphs.

Where exactly do we draw the line between “the state” and “civil society”? Are NGOs and nonprofits part of the state? What if they get government funding? Especially in a neoliberal context, when so much policymaking is done through contractors, consultants, tax breaks, etc., are these kinds of organizations not carrying out the state’s agenda, consciously or otherwise? Okay, that’s tough, let’s try something easier: individual people and families aren’t the state. But if a household depends on an income from state employment, does that not affect their politics and their actions in society? Is a person “part of the state” in one building and not in another? How do we account for the way off-duty cops behave, for example, then? You can do this same exercise for “the economy” or any of the other things that are supposedly separate things/domains that the state manages. How can, e.g., the American economy be separate from the state when the state prints and guarantees the currency, sets interest rates, enforces contracts, and generally sets the terms on which the economy can exist? (Going back to your original question, you could probably also do this same exercise re: political parties, or partisanship.)

The point here is not that absolutely everything is actually the state. The point is also not that there is no state. It’s that there are not firm lines. Amazon may be the state when it builds systems for the Pentagon even though it is also, clearly, a private company and not part of the state’s institutions or subject to the same kinds of political controls that state institutions are. Similarly, the state itself is not one smooth solid object (as in #3). But it seems obvious, common sense, that “the economy” is a thing, just as “public health” is a thing, etc., and both of these things are objects of state management/governance/power.

This makes it easy for political leadership to make claims on the basis of these other things as separate “objects.” I.e., “we need to take drastic action to save the economy.” So the impression of these divisions can be used to justify or legitimate state action. You can see this super clearly in the current coronavirus situation. How many times have we been told the US has to “reopen” for “the economy,” and how many times has it been pointed out that the government could just take its own economic measures to allow people to stay home--because “the economy” is not some separate object that works by itself. (I myself had to explain to a friend that the government couldn’t just switch the economy back on by “reopening.” I think we underestimate how powerful these conceptual divisions really are in people’s understanding of how the world works.)

So, therefore, “the state” is the effect of ideas and practices that make things that political leaders and institutions do seem like they form a freestanding, separate structure, a thing, that we call “the state.” It is the ensemble of all these pieces (as noted in #3), and said pieces often include things that are generally thought of as not the state; these lines between state/nonstate shift all the time. What matters is not where the line is at any given moment but what the particular configuration allows state power (including the consideration of force from #2 and the structural concerns from #1) to do.

The problem I have with this is that it doesn’t really account for state capacity very well, but that’s for another day because I haven’t figured it out via paper-writing yet.