#the level of hate and misunderstanding in the fandom though has me thinking if I should take a hiatus from FFXIV

[picaroroboto]

Dawntrail, more than any other expac I think, requires a bit of "buy-in": You don't nessacerily have to love Wuk Lamat if she's not your cup of tea, she is a fairly simple character after all, but if you can't accept that Dawntrail is her story and at least pretend to like and be invested in her, you probably aren't going to get anything out of Dawntrail. Similarly, if you don't accept the implied character development of the "canon WoL" choosing to seek adventure for it's own sake after Endwalker, you won't be able to enjoy the fun adventure story elements DT is banking on if you're still tied down by baggage from EW.

I think that's a large part of the reason DT seems to have drawn out a disproportionate amount of haters, because if you're in stubborn opposition to these changes from the start you're going to get even more salty as you go along and be completely unable to enjoy DT for what it is.

[userautumn]

For what it's worth (and it's not me being delusional) - I think there's a chance that Bobby in fact isn't dead, though he will be retiring and perhaps only come back to the show here and there. The cast's weak, coordinated reactions to the death (Ryan literally just posted a "funny" tribute picture to Bobby) when you know they would be providing far deeper messages to their mentor, just shows this isn't being taken seriously imo. I think Bobby is likely gone as a main but not dead.

Right. So.

I'm going to try to pick my words carefully here, because we all cope and grieve in different ways, but if Bobby isn't dead (and I truly believe he is), I am desperate for you to understand how much worse that is.

Listen to me.

If Bobby isn't dead, that means:

Tim is doing the press circuit

Peter gave a farewell statement and goodbye to the 118/Angela,

The cast posted tributes (whether you believe they're heartfelt or not)

all with the intention of screwing with the fans minds. Please hear me when I say:

That is not okay.

That is not normal.

That is not "clever," that is not "4D chess," that is not smart, or genius, or "a non-traditional approach."

That is, genuinely and without hyperbole, sadistic and malicious behavior on the parts of everyone involved.

What disturbs me even more, (and this is not at you directly, though it involves you) is the fact that Bobby not being dead is framed as a good thing by fandom. It's not. People are hurt. People are grieving. We feel this devastating loss deeply, and though this show, like every other show in the world, is a creative and escapist outlet, it's also not created in a vacuum. Which means that to suffer this loss on top of the greater tragedy happening in the world - both political and personal - means that this death, this grief has real-world implications. People die on TV; that's what people do and major character deaths do not have to be bad things. But as a showrunner, it is your inherent responsibility to treat these deaths with tact and care.

So to put people through that unnecessarily or to fabricate this grief for what I could only assume would be his own pleasure since Tim has stated on multiple occasions that he does what he pleases when he pleases would be so unspeakably vicious and evil. I need you to understand that.

I know many of you don't get it when I say I hate Tim Minear, and that's fine. We're all operating from different levels of engagement and understanding. But I need you to stop and consider this without the lens of fandom goggles.

As much as I am hurting right now (and believe me, I am hurting), I would rather Bobby's death be sincere than a fake-out because that would mean that every single person involved in the making of this show is complicit in a deep and unprecedented psychological manipulation that is, at its core, despicably evil. I don't want to believe that this show we have given our joy, our trust, and our hearts to for several years is created by people who view us, their viewers as fans, as little more than playthings. I don't want to believe that. But I will if the evidence points to that (and, right now, on Tim's part especially, even without the fake-out, the evidence is pointing to that).

As for the cast's coordinated tributes, it is common for casts to post farewells after the episode's East Coast premiere, so calling their posting coordinated seems baseless. As for those reactions being "weak," there could be several reasons for that. But when you cater to a fandom that is, in large part, dedicated to picking your words apart for clues, you often sacrifice intimacy in the interest of clarity. When your words are succinct and clear, it is impossible to misconstrue or misunderstand their intention. Do I believe we would have gotten longer, more heartfelt posts three years ago? Yes. But we have what we have and, what you interpreted as a weak response, I just interpreted as the cast saying their goodbyes in a clear manner.

We'll see what happens but know that if this proves to be fake, we as a fandom (all sides of the fandom) really need to reckon with who is running this show and how much power over us we want to continue to give him. Because this would not be okay on SO many levels.

[artfulacrostic]

OKAY so having reached the end of the redoubtable pali avramapul in concert w/the return of fitzroy angursell + of course the hands of the emperor, the question that i'm stuck on is: does kip know????

SPOILERS CLEARLY INCOMING FOR ALL THREE OF THESE BOOKS. just fyi.

it seems evident from his pov in hands of the emperor that he at least subconsciously knows or suspects something, but also consciously appears to be ignorant. (also please take all of my theorizing w a grain of salt bc i literally blew through these first three books in like five days.) the dream that he recounts to uhhhh. how are we referring to the emperor in fandom. tor?? his radiancy???? that kind of sucks bc he hates that method of address but calling him fitzroy in his capacity as the emperor feels kind of insane (how dare you, victoria goddard, make me feel insane about that when the separation between the parts of himself is such a big theme. i should feel normal about calling him his name. fuck it.) the dream kip recounts to fitzroy just before he leaves on his quest is clearly like. something. there's something happening there w the connection to "domina black" and the blond man. also, kip clearly knows that fitzroy angursell has some kind of importance to the man he knows as the emperor, re: the scene where they have that discussion about if fitzroy angursell should be freed and kip says he should be freed and the moment is just insanely charged. also, in the dream kip knows fitzroy's name and calls it, but when he wakes he can't remember (to what appears to be fitzroy's chagrin). and so maybe on some level kip kind of knows something, whether the something is that artorin damara actually literally is fitzroy angursell or not. so in hands of the emperor (which you'd think would give the clearest answer, being from kip's pov) the answer is like...maybe??

but in the return of fitzroy angursell, fitzroy doesn't really give much of anything about if he thinks kip knows. i mean, he's bringing kip up in his inner monologue every two pages but like, he isn't saying oh yeah kip probably knows who i actually am. he's saying like, ah yes, kip my viceroy who is doing such a good job always. have i mentioned how every helpful project was all kip's idea?? and that's basically it.

and THEN, in the redoubtable pali avramapul, pali is like. this motherfucker knows. he KNOWS. the scenes pali and kip (and fitzroy) share are SO INSANELY DIFFERENT from each perspective that it's driving me fucking crazy, absolutely ass over tea kettle bonkers. pali is like, this bitch clearly knows who i am, he clearly knows who fitzroy is, and he is keeping him LOCKED UP and is 100% the MAIN PROBLEM HERE, and i am going to fucking MURDER HIS ASS. THE MOMENT I GET THE CHANCE.

and kip is like oh wow this woman who my lord loves...:(...i guess i get it though, she seems like, insanely amazing. i would do anything to get tor out of here so that he can be a person and be happy, and she would clearly make him happy, so i am going to specifically cross every boundary imaginable in order to be helpful to the both of them. we are having a productive conversation!!!

and you go back to pali and shes like: IM SWEARING VENGEANCE. IM PRETENDING TO BE NICE BUT IM SWEARING VENGEANCE AND IM GONNA COME BACK AND KIDNAP FITZROY AND KILL THIS SLIMY SON OF A BITCH. (bro i love her sm lmao.)

but i feel like her misunderstanding is clearly borne out of the way that even she can see that kip clearly cares for the person underneath the emperor persona, and so she assumes that he must know him as fitzroy, in order to care that much. but kip, whether he really knows subconsciously or not, just cares. he just cares so much. either way he would care. and pali is so angry at everything that both she and fitzroy have lost (and dealing w huge amounts of internalized guilt) that she is assigning blame to the first person that is readily available to be the scapegoat, even though she should know (as the scholarly expert on the reign of artorin damara) that kip literally has nothing to with stealing fitzroy away in the first place and locking him into his bonds as emperor. at most, he's culpable of standing by for a long time without attempting to help, but the amount of time he spent with fitzroy is the only reason he was able to reach past the boundaries of station imposed on the emperor and start the process that will lead to fitzroy finally being free. so he's technically guilty of not moving faster, but i feel like that was a specific part of the process that could not have happened naturally faster...idk.

but yeah anyway i'm not convinced in the way pali is that kip KNOWS KNOWS, but i feel like maybe somewhere deep down...he kind of knows?? i'm SO interested to start at the feet of the sun, where i feel like prooooobably fitzroy will end up revealing his chosen name and full background to everyone at the palace (meaning our crew of kip, conju, omo, rhodin, etc). i want this reveal so bad it HURTSSSSS. but i felt like i had to get down some of my thoughts before i start bc im feeling crazy about this. but to be fair im feeling crazy about these books in general! so fare thee well, i am diving back in, and do not yet know when i may surface :)

[hollowed-theory-hall]

I'm a millennial in my late 20s. Been a HP fan since the early 2000s. For someone who grew up in an unhealthy, volatile household, I've always deeply resonated with Harry. Till this date, no other characters brought me comfort nearly as much as he did. Never understood back then why he got so much hate. Well I'm happy now that the Tumblr community has become far more positive about him, but I was disheartened to find out the hate for him have not ceased on other platforms. What I hate the most is when people claim him as an 'average wizard' or 'not as great as his parents'. Bless this boy, we read the books from his POV and I think people often overlook that his narrative is very modest, not boastful at all, ofc he downplays how talented he really is. But whenever we see another character speak of him for example McGonagall or Neville or even Hermione, it's nothing but praise. Do you think if the books were written from different POVs, the hatred and misconceptions about Harry would've been far less ? Coz we all know he is anything but average.

Also, the relief I felt when I came across your blog. Keep up the good work dear, make people love this boy as much as I do ♡

Hello 👋

First of all, thank you so much!! 💕

I do plan to keep writing about our boy Harry because I love him so much. Personally I love Harry's narration, I don't think he's given enough credit for how witty the inside of his head can be at times and how much his experience makes the books what they are and that I wouldn't chose another narrator, but I digress.

Second, for your question, yeah, I think if we saw Harry from a different pov the fandom's opinion on him would be quite different (though, I still think there would be disagreement, since I do see hate for Hermione and misunderstanding of McGonagall's character. Like, I haven't seen an HP character that doesn't have some level of discourse or disagreement about them. It's just how things are).

I have already written here how I think other characters see Harry as more confident and competent than he sees himself. Though, the degree and how positively they see him would greatly depend on who's pov we're in. I actually think if Harry wasn't the pov he would've been even more mischaracterised. I mean, he'd be written as cold as arrogant (as that's how he appears to many people in the books) by the fandom. He'd probably get written as not as good of a person as he actually is. But, he'd probably appear as just a bit unhinged and pretty competent (like he actually is).

But, all of this really depends on who the pov character is. How Ron & Hermione see Harry is different from how Draco sees Harry, or even Snape or Dumbledore. Like, most characters see him as a very different person so it'll really depend.

I will say I agree with you that I see less outright hate for Harry these days (on tumblr, at least), though I still see him mischaracterised and simplified often.

[hintons]

send me a fandom/ship/character ask!

Fandom - The Outsiders 1, 8, 19 Ship - DalPony 6, ,7, 14 Character - Dallas Winston 7, 8, 19

...the moment in the story that I started shipping my OTP from this world.

i hadn't thought of dalpony at all at first because i was a johnnypony person as a kid. when i more or less had dried up that well on ff.net i started reading for other ships and i came across hrelics98's fic about them and i got hooked instantly. i suddenly just got it and then i started rereading canon and just flourished from there.

8. …a quote from it that means a lot to me.

“ I could picture hundreds and hundreds of boys living on the wrong sides of cities, boys with black eyes who jumped at their own shadows. Hundreds of boys who maybe watched sunsets and looked at stars and ached for something better. I could see boys going down under street lights because they were mean and tough and hated the world, and it was too late to tell them that there was still good in it, and they wouldn’t believe you if you did. It was too vast a problem to be just a personal thing. There should be some help, someone should tell them before it was too late. Someone should tell their side of the story, and maybe people would understand then and wouldn’t be so quick to judge a boy by the amount of hair oil he wore. It was important to me.

quote of all fucking time!!!!

19. …one behind-the-scenes trivia fact I've learned somewhere and my thoughts on it.

i am brimming with trivia. probably one of my favorite pieces of trivia ever is that ralph macchio was so frustrated during parts of the shooting because c. thomas howell and matt dillon were much closer in age and they kept goofing off together.

6. …what kind of AU fics I'm obsessed with reading about them (or would be if I could find one).

ALL OF THEM. though i would love some more darker aus out there and maybe some more fics dealing with them as adults or playing with canon and rearranging it. i also would looooveeee more fics where ponyboy and dallas are closer sooner or fics where it really delves into them going to jay mountain alone.

7. …the scene that I like to point to as proof that they're perfect for each other.

oh you mean my ship manifesto?! probably the scenes i think of the most are the theater scene where cherry tries to dunk on dallas and ponyboy rebuffs her immediately; ponyboy getting dallas' jacket and ponyboy trying to study him to see why cherry could love dallas; pretty much the entire rumble scene where they're talking and fighting at the same time. chefs kiss.

14.…which tropes I think describe them the best.

friends to lovers, undying loyalty, tsundere (ponyboy is kind like this lmfao), sugar and ice (dallas can be mean but ponyboy is a soft spot for him in a way that he's not viewing ponyboy as someone not on the level like i think he does with johnny tbh), probably a lot of misunderstanding tropes before they really get each other (or pony to understand how much dallas cares about him)

7. …the scene that I think adds depth to their character or the relationship this character has with someone.

there's a reason dalpony people go insane over the jacket exchange. i think it really shows that despite his words, dallas' actions towards pony are really affectionate, sincere, and he cares about ponyboy. i also think that whenever dallas is rough with ponyboy, it's an indication he sees him like everyone else vs having to wear kiddie gloves. i think dallas respects ponyboy way, way more than he respects almost anyone else in the gang because even though ponyboy is younger than him, he doesn't act like he's a baby and doesn't treat ponyboy like he doesn't know what he's doing.

8. …a headcanon I have about this character.

let me not unload my whole backstory but probably the one most decoupled from general backstory is that dallas can't stand sugar. he doesn't like the taste and he gets ill whenever he has sugar. it just does not agree with him at all.

19. …a song that describes how I feel about this character.

the last of the real ones by fall out boy!

[carpedzem]

hi

under the cut i want to talk a little bit, maybe overshare as well. ill try to keep it short (rereading nat here. i didnt). its a sad post, might make some of you angry but not for the reasons you think

i was staying away on purpose, but a few people asked about me so i wanted to let you know that hey, im lurking, im waiting to see what happens. maybe some things will change in the future but im putting it out here so its all in one place

i think i want to start with saying thank you again for sticking around, supporting my art and my thoughts and having discussions with me. i really opened up about myself and what I created here. im very anxious person and it influences my life on every level, so being heard, seeing people laughing at my jokes, loving my art has been so so important to me

about the situation, the gogcident if you will, i logged out as soon as i saw things going down and been getting updates though different source. and while situation is still on going and i dont know where it will go, as how it ends, theres two or three things im firm on that will always be true for me:

i really hate how believe all victims turns into believe everyone who speaks first, no matter what they say, no matter context, no matter proof. the first statement made in this case was untrue in a lot of important details and while i dont think caitis feeling are wrong or invalid i think her first statement made this situation into something it isnt. i think every victim should be heard but attacking everyone who was accused right away is not a solution

i do believe that everyone who was accused of anything has every right to defend themselves. the way its constantly taken away from dteam is not lost on me and its insane and upsetting

you can be traumatized by the events that werent in its core meant to be traumatizing. sometimes people act shitty and leave scars on you and sometimes you can do the same to other people

edited note bc i want this to be here as well: guilty until proven innocent is a crazy mindset and i cannot imagine situation that i would allow it. some idiots dont even realise how dangerous rhetoric that is. including accusers not being obligated to provide any proof of their claims

twt is the worst thing to deal with any discourse, misunderstanding or any delicate situation. i think no ones there cares for any victims period. i wish that place the worst

okay so what now. i havent decided yet. georges and dreams moves so far confirmed for me that no matter what happened it wasnt with malicious intentions. ill wait to see how this plays out and then ill decide about my next steps. one think i did for sure is i uninstalled twt from my phone (and that already bit my ass the moment dream started his space…) that part of fandom, both people who like (liked?) and hate dream is so damn self-destructive, toxic, manipulative and performative it wasnt worth it anymore. for here, i dont know yet. i dont hate dteam, i think this is very unfortunate and sad and complicated situation that left people very deeply hurt. and i wish it wasnt this way and im pretty sure dteam also wish that. but they cant change it and i cant change it even more

now this is something i dont really know how to tell you but let me try. i never mentioned this bc when i had those realizations, it was too late, everyone moved on and i felt stupid for dwelling on this. i feel stupid now, typing this. the thing is, drituation left me quite traumatized. fucking pathetic, i know. the sudden explosion of fandom left me really badly hurt. i lost a lot of people i genuinely believed to be friends with, and i miss them dearly. i felt, fuck it, still feel deeply betrayed by some of them. i dont want people guess who is who thats not the point, those people moved on long time ago. but that hurt has been really difficult to deal with, especially since realistically i know its quite stupid. crying over some people who were following me back for a few months? but i tried to let myself heal and grow love for this community again and i thought we will be okay. drituation felt like the end of the world but we got through it and I thought we are smarter. and well. im not trying to blame anyone or even a whole community, idk maybe i want to blame the universe for putting me here or society for working this way i dont know. but im hurting and i need to find a better way to deal with things going the wrong way. and it deeply upsets me but im afraid that i have to learn how to love you all less. and i honestly dont know yet what that means, how moving forward will look like. i dont have to make this decision now so i let myself stay away from social media for a while still and then go with presented situation the best i can. i dont try to make anyone responsible for my wellbeing i want to make this clear. im just trying to share my feelings and give you context for whatever happen in the nearest future. no matter what i need more healthy relationship not even with ccs but with community itself (and if you see me rebloging hazbin hotel fanarts. spare me...)

in this place i do want to state that no matter what i dont think dteam are bad people. im not closing myself at possibility of participating in the fandom, probably less though things i mentioned earlier. but if any of those things make you uncomfortable in any way, feel free to unfollow/softblock

im leaving my askbox open if anyone has anything to say, add, or idk, scream at me. not sure if i answer any tho. also if i delete this post in the next 10 minutes out of embarrassment then well, haha

on the final note i want once again thank you all for supporting me when i needed help for my cat. you all did something amazing, something i will never forget and i wish to hug everyone of you in person. thank you

see you around. one day. maybe tomorrow maybe in 10 days. idk

and if you are moving on in different direction, if we ever meet again, dont be a stranger

[not-goldy]

Thank you for your answer, I get it on some level. I’ve listened to their music for a while now but am new to this whole shipping thing, and it’s a wild ride for sure. Out of interest, which songs do people think are about JM? Apart from their actual song Friends? Why does part of me think that if this is the case maybe Tae needs new inspiration for his work or something. Someone of his own to love. He didn’t write he album though did he? It’s a crazy world out there I guess I didn’t release that a member would fuel the shipping wars, so wow if he does that.

It depends on how delusional one is. Could be a few or all of them if you're deranged 🤷🏾

I like to think of myself as moderately delusional so I stick to the basics.

You can check out his song about writing a letter to the moon which was inspired by a time he was alone in the park with Jimin late into the night

From 4'Oclock.

Other than the setting and moon references, he actually ever did write a letter to Jimin which he cried while reading it to him. He poured out his heart in that letter. Here, read it and cry

And theres one song he complained he wrote with the intention of singing it withJimin but a producer thought putting Jimin on it would be gay due to the lyrics.

Don't want to talk about the others cos it may sound controversial but do have a listen for yourself. And be mindful of the Jimin "symbolisms" or at least I like to call them that.

Whenever he talks about the moon in his songs we make the connection to Jimin- its obvious now due to JMs moon tattoos but there was a time people thought that was reaching.

The moonchild is Jimin. And it's not far fetched cos V is the same person who shared fan art of Jimin with the moon tats that he's currently spotting and all. Meaning he understands the connection between JM and the moon.

This has nothing to do with his songs but he used to complain a lot about a certain member gatekeeping Jimin to himself and not allowing him and Jimin to hang out. So for me when this theme recurrs in his music I feel he's alluding to Jimin cos why not dudes a menace🤣

Let's give Tae some credit. Don't blindly buy into the hateful rhetorics people spew about him.

He exposed the company for dragging their feet before allowing JM to debut. Exposed them for their homophobia towards Jimin. If anyone moves funny with Jimin trust him to expose them one way or the other. I'll actually bet my life on this.

Perhaps you should look into their friendship. V can be chaotic but he's loved Jimin so hard too and when he says he loves Jimin the most I don't think he's lying .

Jimin has a special place in his heart. Perhaps because he says Jimin was the one who showed up and out for him when his granny passed. I think he's going to be eternally grateful to JM for that.

Don't hate on Tae or Judge him based on his quirks. He's not one to fake his feelings so sometimes when he's annoyed with Jimin you can pick up on that energy. It doesn't mean he's evil. He just have bad days too.

Unfortunately the Fandom isn't as forgiving and would tear him apart for the least funny feelings towards Jimin.

They are friends.they are allowed to fight and make up. We shouldn't hold that over their heads when they "fight" argue or have a misunderstanding. Leave them room and space within their friendship to be ghetto with eachother. What matters is the bond they share the growth they experience as friends and how pure they try to be with eachother.

They are a work in progress

[emerald-truth]

The rest of what I wanted to say about The Lady of the Lake is how much Freya's curse seemed like an HIV/AIDS metaphor to me. I've held off talking about it because I don't have an especially deep analysis and I assumed it was a common interpretation, but I haven't seen much discussion about it. Maybe it's something the fandom has already discussed long ago. But I'm still going to give my thoughts, which turned out to be more extensive than I expected once I started writing them down.

Of course we've all heard the magic as metaphor for being gay idea, so I'm going to be looking at it in that framework since obviously AIDS was a huge issue for gay people and is still associated with them. I think the idea that Freya's curse is a metaphor for AIDS works perfectly with the way she's portrayed as like Merlin because she's part of the magical community as a druid but different because her curse makes her dangerous. Merlin faces persecution should anyone discover his secret, but the level of fear and hate people have for Freya because of her curse is even deeper.

Even her own community has shunned her out of fear that her curse might harm them and left her to likely die on her own and she has gone along with this somewhat voluntarily because she shares that fear, just as many people with AIDS became more isolated in certain ways, sometimes voluntarily, from the gay community out of mutual fear and misunderstanding of the disease. Although most people with AIDS wouldn't have been forced to leave town in the way Freya was, I think Freya's circumstances are a great depiction of the tragedy of disease (or a curse) coming between group solidarity in a practical way even when the love for the affected person is still there in an emotional way.

It's not that she's malicious or intends to hurt people though, it's an external corrupting event which makes her kill people, even those she cares about, in a way that's beyond her control, just as people with HIV don't intend to or control the harm they may do to others. Of course there are methods especially today to control the spread of HIV, but if Freya's curse is more of a metaphor for how people saw HIV/AIDS at the beginning of the epidemic it fits better as people weren't sure how it was spread or often whether they had it or not until they had given it to others. Freya's curse, like HIV, is also something that happened to her unlike Merlin's magic, or being gay, which he was born with.

Freya was cursed after being assaulted by a man, perhaps sexually. If this metaphor was intentional I don't think this part is as well done because most people get HIV from consensual sex and this plays into the fear of sexually violent gay men spreading HIV/AIDS to innocent women and children. That Freya doesn't actually use any magic herself in the episode goes along with this. Reading it like this does kind of go against the message of the show that despite being illegal magic/homosexuality/other minority identities are not actually evil but the show contradicts itself about this all the time so . . .

Moving on. Freya actually puts Merlin himself in possibly the highest risk by letting him visit her repeatedly at night without telling him the nature of her curse. However, I don't blame her for this and nor does the episode want us to because this is the one time she's felt loved since being forced to leave her home. Especially because Merlin and Freya have a romantic relationship, this parallels the way people with HIV, especially before much research had been done and medications were widely publicly available, were made to feel as if they could not be intimate with anyone without putting them in danger, and that no one would reciprocate if they knew their status. This is why Merlin's love means so much to Freya and why she lingers despite the danger to him, but also why she must leave him eventually.

This isn't as clear as some of the other parallels, but the fact that Freya's curse has no known cure in a society were magic is outlawed can be compared to how research and public health work on HIV/AIDS was so limited because of the anti-gay government. Because magic is illegal and Freya is a druid, she can't go to people outside her community for help with her curse. She can't for example ask someone like Gaius, a well known and well equipped physician in the government's employ, to help her find a cure. If Merlin were to help her he would have to do it secretly. The druids may be able to help, but because of their legal persecution they likely don't have the tools or information they might otherwise have access to. If magic were legal, Freya would have many more sources to go to for help curing or suppressing her curse, in the same way the AIDS crisis would have been much less deadly if government assistance had not been hindered by homophobia.

Watching the episode with this interpretation just made Freya's death all the sadder for me. The experience of many people whose lovers had AIDS especially before treatment was available was watching them slowly die and not being able to do anything or talk to anyone outside their community about it which Merlin experiences at the end of the episode. However, this makes it even more powerful that Freya found someone else from her community who loved and protected her before her inevitable death and was willing to risk everything for her despite her untouchable status.

If you read this far I hope you enjoyed my analysis and that it's not all just things that have been said before. This seemed like the most obvious way to interpret the episode to me, but maybe, for someone who didn't experience it, I just think about the AIDS crisis more than most people. Of course, there are many interesting interpretations of any one story but thinking about it this way definitely made me appreciate and think about the episode in a deeper way.

[cuddlefishextrodinaire]

so i see a lot of stuff, hating on both hinata and sakura (the pink haired girl who's super strong is sakura, i think, and hinata is the one who can see really far and do chakra points and all that, i think). now don't misunderstand, i don't really make a habit of watching naruto, just some stuff here and there, plus some memes, but i still see a lot of people hating them, and i'm confused why.

the argument i see most often, for anti-sakura, is at one point, she says that she's finally caught up to naruto and sasuke, her really powerful companions. everyone is laughing and screaming about how "she's not that powerful! oh, she's awful! she just wants sasuke's attention! what a b****!"

and honestly, that's so stupid.

but i'll get to that later.

now onto hinata.

the main reason that i've seen a lot of people hate on hinata is she apparently gave up on being a shinobi, and became a housewife. "what a wimp! she's so weak! completely worthless!" and i have some thoughts about that.

so let me explain my thoughts on both.

why it's so stupid to hate sakura (for those reasons, at least) is because she might not have "caught up" to natuto and sasuke in sheer mountain-destroying, continetnt-crushing power, but she's very, VERY powerful. you know how tsuandai fought orocimaru (with jirraya, i think)? well, sakura was taught by tsunadai, and she said that sakura became more powerful than her. and i've jeard somewhere that sakura brought someone back from the dead, though that remains unsubstantiated. . .but think about it. if sakura is more powerful than tsunadai. . .hot damn, guys, that's lowkey impressive.

now, onto my reason why she IS actually as powerful as naruto and sasuke. before you all rage quit, i need to explain my thinking.

sakura is her own person. she has her own life, and, most importantly, her own powers. so yeah, she can't destroy mountains (some would argue that she COULD, but that's for later), but she can heal people like nobody's business, and shatter jaws like no one else. she can both kill and heal.

i remember kakashi, at one point, mentioning how sakura was actually her own vital part of team seven, and he has a point, that you all forget. sakura is crucial, because she can do stuff NO ONE else can. so, yeah, she can't take on the three tails and come out on top, but she can sure as hell stop you from dying, but she could just as easily kill you, too.

another thing to remember is that she's a close range (most of the time) so yeah, he attacks won't be as asethetically impressive, but they're still effective.

this is not an agrument of how sakura might be ADEQUATE, or similiar to the level of Naruto and sasuke. Thsi is an argument that says that theure powers are different, theyre talents and skills varried. it's difficult to compare the three, but sakura sure as hell is powerful, and can do stuff that naruto, sasuke, kakashi, jirraya-they can't do any of that.

now, on to hinata.

it seems most people hate her because she "she gave up." now i havent' seen that part, so i'm on shaky ground, but i'll trust the fandom, and make my thoughts.

i don't think giving up is bad.

if it's not for you, and if it hurts you and makes you unhappy. . .like, there's no shame in letting go, and moving onto something else. like, how are you all missing this?

from what i can see, hinata only tried being a shinoni, becaiuse of her father, and her cousin, and she wanted to be important, but she also wanted naruto to notice her.

i get her point, but those are some crappy motives, for staying motivated. most of those are peer pressure, which is hard and sustain, being under, and wanting to impress someone. thos are hard things to do, and she found out that it just wasn't for her. she still got the attention, and she also was able to shrug off the peer pressure of her father and cousin (nejji) and did something that made her happy. she led a happy life.

why the hell are you all so mad?

sakura tried, and you all hate her.

hinata gave up and you all hate her.

what do you want?

i think most of the anti sakura and hinata arguments break down into hatred of various characteristics in their characters. their voice, clothing, speech patter-something else, aside from their life choices.

i'm not pointing fingers, but i am saying that your arguments, the way they are, are invalid.

get some new ones.

now, sakura, she is not my favorite, nor is hinata. that spot is reserved for kakashi. but i understand their choices, and their power. they are useful people, and they serve a purpose.

i don't like naruto because he's loud and annoying. i don't like saskue because he's a dramatic goth baby who's voice is annoying. i don't like sakura because she is a little odd, i think, but she is kinda funny. i don't like tsunadai, because there's not a lot to like.

if there's something about the character you don't like, just say it.

don't, however, say things that aren't true.

anyway, that's my conclusion.

let me know if i got anything wrong!

[blog-of-hubris]

I really liked your analysis on sakurajima I thought it was really good I just wanted to ask you something these are some criticisms I’ve heard on the arc and I would like to know what you make of them these ones are a little different though

What do you make of these objections

Hello Joker, thanks for asking me a question. I usually hate commenting on negative feedback that I disagree with or better yet lack the ability to understand. However, I will give you a thorough answer for your time.

There are a few points I disagree with. I will say, I think OP has a skewed perspective on what Maki represents, and this opinion seems to be lost in the route of Maki being Toji's second coming. I think a common mistake with the fandom right now is seeing the connection to Maki and Toji to be focused on their similarities when really it is their differences (i'll mention this more later).

They mention the Zenin Massacre as a moment of tragedy and loss for Maki and that's only in the aspect of losing Mai. Killing the clan was her beloved sister's final request. Also, Maki is much more separated from everyone else since this happened. She is extremely straightforward (even more than she was before) which I see as an aspect of her experience killing the clan. I think OP is underestimating how much weight came off Maki's shoulder with the clan gone. Also, the weapon that she has is a memento to Mai and connected directly to her soul. I don't think Maki feels like Mai is entirely gone due to having the blade, and also her moment in the culling game was a reflection of that. I think a major focus of her moment was to show that she was still holding onto what happened psychologically.

Maki was the character that hide the aspect of wanting to change the Zenin Clan for Mai's sake, so it surprises me that OP is expecting some super heartbroken traits to be shown by Maki. She's like Toji in the way that she is a brute and would want to handle things physically than psychologically. The big difference with Maki is that she had Mai and only Mai. She felt the need to change the clan for Mai’s sake, while Toji saw escaping the clan and renouncing their existence was the best way to disconnect from them. Losing Megumi's mom sent him down on a spiral, but like I said before — the big thing about Maki and Toji's character is their differences. Yes, maki is the second coming of Toji with the physicality but remember she had a whole twin who held back her potential. She had the support of Gojo to fall back on, and her personality is kind-hearted at its core. I just dislike the idea that Maki's character revolves around Toji so much, it just isn't the case to me. Nobody said she was the return of the Sorcerer Killer, people in the fandom just assumed that.

I just thing this OP has a fundamental misunderstanding of Maki's role in the story. I think they also misunderstand the level of depth behind Mai giving up her life for Maki to achieve the passion she always had. Mai made the conscious decision to give up her life to create the ultimate weapon she could for her sister, ultimately giving her the perfect tool to seek the revenge they both wanted. Yes, the situation is a tragedy, but this is a world of cursed energy. Mai's "Curse" unto Maki was to kill the clan and then find happiness in life thereafter. At the end of the day, Mai the type of passion and drive that Maki had, she did not want to deal with curses or be a sorcerer. She was fine being a servant/stereotypical woman for the clan, but that wasn't what Maki wanted. Yes, Maki may now (more likely than not) see her past selfishness as a mistake, but this adheres to the same theme that has been a core value for JJK since Vol 0: “Love is a Curse”; while also representing Sukuna's perspective on weakness showing through love as well. Maki now is not tied down to Mai, and Mai is not tied down to the confines of the Jujutsu world.

At the end of the day, what both of the twins wanted was to be together forever, but their approach did not align. With Mai's soul being in the blade, it gives her a sense of peace while also being by Maki's side. The moment between the sisters was a moment for Maki to truly recognize the sword as Mai's soul and not just a tool she left with her. I struggle to understand how this isn't seen as a moment of light in the darkness that has followed. Maki has something that literally connects her to her sister's soul, and due to them being twins, who knows how deeply the connection with the soul splitting sword can be for Maki.

I also think that OP confuses Noritoshi Kamo's “screen time for distress” with us just getting more insight on who he is as a character. We see Kamo think about his circumstances and reflect on his life through flashbacks. This isn't Gege taking away from Maki's character but showing us that Kamo is a character of introspection. We knew that from Goodwill arc, but in CG we just get a deeper vision to understand his motives + see how he processes his existence as a person. We have gotten all of this from Maki through Perfect Preparation. Maki isn't a thinker, she moves through action. That's why her over thinking against Noaya was a hindrance to her, and she needed the sumo spars to get her mind back on track. In perfect preparation, we get Maki's past via other people bringing it up because Maki just pushes forward, and only through others does her past come to light. This has been happening since we got introduced to Maki in 0, and in the main series we get a glimpse of Maki's past through Mai's eyes only. We only get a glimpse of Maki's POV of the past, but it was a quick flash of her thinking about Mai right before the massacre starts. This is because she isn't one to look back but to look forward and Gege has stayed consistent to that.

My last point will be that I abhor the idea that a character has to display some overexaggerated or dramatic traits to show they have experienced trauma. I find people who have this view point to ignore the fact that trauma is displayed very differently with each person, and common symptoms are not the end all be all. There are many people who get through trauma by moving forward and letting time be what helps heal as they process what they have been through. For JJK specifically, it is said constantly that being a jujutsu sorcerer is hell. I think Gege has stayed so consistent to this, to the point audience members get confused when the cast members actually understand this, lol. The cast members aren't unaffected by loss, they process it differently. Not everyone needs to have a mental breakdown like Geto.. And even for Geto his situation was a collision of circumstances leading up to a change in his thought process. Even then, Geto's choices were to change the fact that sorcerers were so used to loss. He wanted to end that cycle because he felt he was strong enough to. He felt it was his role in life to pursue this in order to be happy, while Maki's “happiness” lied in destroying what stripped her of her truest form of happiness.

Sorry for the long response, if you have any more questions about what I said please feel free to ask!

[rahabs]

Honestly curious - why is it specifically weird to you that white people are getting Astarion's scars tattooed?

Honestly, it's because i) I've only seen white people getting them, which is the main reason I specified white people; ii) it reminds me a little of the "white girls getting dreamcatcher tattoos" trend. I'm not saying I'm right in that comparison, but for whatever reason that's what it reminds me of.

The best I can explain it is that... white people getting dreamcatcher tattoos often do not know what dreamcatchers actually mean, or what they do, or the stories behind them. Instead, they do it because it's Current Aesthetic (TM) and they think it looks neat and it looks pretty and maybe there's a shallow surface-level reasoning beyond that, sometimes they'll say they're "honouring native culture" (even though many native cultures do not have dreamcatchers), but by getting the tattoo itself they demonstrate a fundamental misunderstanding or fundamental ignorance on what a dreamcatcher actually mean and what it's designed to do in its cultural context.

It's sort of like that for the Astarion tattoos. I don't really understand why anyone would want to get that tattoo knowing what it is in the game, what it does, the story behind it, etc. Some people say it makes them feel empowered and I'm not going to say it shouldn't, just that I do not understand at all. And so far, of the... 50-some plus pictures I've seen posted of people getting this tattoo, it's only been white people. Hence why I specifically said white people. Of course, there could be non-white people getting it, I just haven't seen it (and considering how fine-line the tattoo needs to be, it makes sense that people with darker skin might not want to try it).

Again, not saying I'm right to make this comparison, it's just what it reminds me of instinctively. It could be irrational of me, but knowing what the contract represents in the game, knowing how much Astarion hates it in-game and what it represents within the context of said game, it's odd to me that so many white people (and again, I say white people because so far, of all the photos I've seen--and I have seen many--it has only been white people getting them) get it while trying to justify it by saying they're "honouring" the character. It just seems like the Current Trendy Thing, ignoring the context of the game, the way white people getting dreamcatcher tattoos ignore the context of what a dreamcatcher is and does. It's a shallow comparison, perhaps, but that is what it reminds me of.

And yes, of course, people can get tattoos because they look cool, but I just don't know why you'd want that permanently tattooed on your body knowing what it means. On a jacket, sure, but then again I've never been obsessed enough with fictional media fandom to get something from it tattooed permanently on my body, despite my many tattoos.

As with anything, though, it's their body and they're free to tattoo whatever the hell they want on it, same as I tattoo whatever I want on mine.

[voxofthevoid]

Some of my responses to the replies got too long to fit as a single reply, so I'm putting them all under a cut here:

@zyukan

That was a trip, won't lie. And not the fun kind. It's not just the sentiment, which was noble if rather ridiculous given the context. It was also the tone, which was full-on lecture mode combined with some lip service to empathy. I know that type of person, and I have no issue with them applying their principles to their own actions, but holy shit, leave me alone. Am glad that the posts continue to amuse you though! Not even kidding when I say that's the only good thing to come out of such comments.

@nyaightlight

The double standards are killing me, honestly. I see it around a lot in general fandom spaces, but it's my first time having someone try to impose it on me. I was civil in response to the comment itself, but I think I've snapped a few extra tethers afterward 😂

And thank you; I really do appreciate that ❤️

@foxnfenix

Spite pals🤝

I started doing it in a "if you want attention so bad, I'll give it to you" way, and the bullshit has only escalated since. My sentiment remains the same. If they regret it, that's on them. And thank you ❤️

@some-blue-jack

Y'know, the another fandom part is so relatable. I was a significantly worse writer in Hannibal—my first proper fandom venture—at both the technical and the story-crafting level, but I can only recall one instance of someone being rude, and that was a case of them misunderstanding what CNTW means. Not saying quality has any relation to the frequency of hate comments (nor should it, this is a passion hobby), but if people wanted to attack my confidence, they had better targets then. Maybe that was just pure luck, but all I can think is that it didn't use to be this bad even a decade ago. It's not like it's just me either; I see how other authors are treated too, both in JJK and other fandoms, from people selling bound fanfic without the author's consent to making Tiktok videos mocking specific stories. Fandom as a whole feels a lot more hostile.

Re limiting comments to registered users, I don't do it for two reasons: (a) it'd limit engagement and (b) it'd only be partially effective. Since I'm a darkfic writer dabbling in taboo ship dynamics, a good chunk of my engagement is anonymous, including some regulars. Ironically, the commenter mentioned in this post was themselves a semi-regular guest commenter on my Bleach fics—same distinct guest name. I recently helped one of my regular guests get an account due to the ao3-wide guest commenting ban that was there for a couple of days. On top of that, while most shitty comments are from guests, others aren't; from what I've seen, most self-aware assholes opt for anonymity, but the ignorantly entitled ones put their whole name on it. And I get both, so I'd essentially be cutting down engagement without eliminating the fuckery—which I don't think is worth the tradeoff. At the end of the day, I post not just to share but also to see other people's reactions to it. The stories are already entirely written; I've gotten them out of my system, and they're there for my reading pleasure on the hard drive. The act of posting is for others, but it's also not selfless. I tend to switch between extremes in that sense: either it's posted without any restrictions or I don't post at all.

I appreciate the hugs 🥺

@eusuntgratie

Thank you, honey 😭

@naeldeus

Honestly, if that's what it takes, I'm game 🤣😬. I was never a saint, but what goodwill I did have has been exhausted.

Do people not understand that the shit writers/artists get in fandoms is cumulative?

Not that it's a fandom-specific issue, but that's the context I'm currently concerned with.

This has been on my mind for the last few weeks, thanks to some discussions I've seen on Reddit and a recent slew of negative experiences I've had myself, but the kicker was a comment I got yesterday that boiled down to how it's "irresponsible" of me to publicly put entitled commenters/bookmarkers on blast because others might see it fit to go harass them. A fair enough point, albeit one I have no sympathy for. It certainly doesn't help that the comment itself was holier-than-thou bullshit that started with how the commenter "empathized" with my frustration.

I crossed frustration months ago; I'm at nuclear fucking fury.

I have been writing for JJK since November 2022. I have been warding off entitlement and actual harassment since December 2022, which was when I started posting, and the frequency and variety of this garbage have notably increased since January of this year. It's been one and a half years of shit after shit after shit in this fandom alone.

Do you think this doesn't add up? Do you think my tolerance is infinite?

The vast majority of my readers are kind, warm, lovely, and supportive. I have a solid network of friends, within and outside fandom, who can talk me down from the worst of it. On top of this, I'm a spiteful dick whose reaction to negativity, whether weaponized or ignorant, is to write more of whatever pissed those whiny fuckers off. This is why I haven't packed up my toys and gone home.

And the spite and love are both still going strong, but there's also 18 months of steadily growing anger. The stuff I share on Tumblr is only the most egregious of the lot; you have no idea how much bullshit I silently delete or address quietly and civilly. Guest users, registered users, anon asks, direct messages—I have received some manner of shit from every one of these avenues on Ao3 and Tumblr.

I handle most of it quietly. Like hell am I willing to be told I should shut up and eat the rest of it too. Whether that's irresponsible or outright hostile, I do not care. Actions have consequences, online or offline.

I do not owe pity or grace to people who'd try to tear me down. I will not be taking the high road.

And if that stance is unpalatable to any of you, the block button is free.

[utilitycaster]

I feel like most of the people who highly criticise tlovm should present a plan on how they would adapt it better. especially with vex's story, i don't understand why people seem to imply cr somehow suddenly became misogynistic and that they're "rewriting her story for the sake of vax's". it's so easy to be a hater and do bad faith readings but honestly if there ever was an adaptation where you can safely assume the original authors are satisfied, it is tlovm just based on the degree of their involvement alone. and supposedly who is to blame for that? is everyone against Laura? did Laura supposedly misunderstand her own character's story?

Hey anon!

So like...I feel you, but, to be fair, I stand by people's right to dislike a story without knowing how to fix it! I like to try and piece together how I'd do it differently because that's fun for me but it's always completely valid to say "I don't vibe"; it's just that it is worth exploring why you don't vibe. Sometimes it's not anything deep and revealing about you, but sometimes it is, and you'll never know which it is unless you take a look. I also, as always, will defend 1. being a hater and 2. saying "I recognize the cast is having fun and likes it but I'm not a fan." Those are extremely valid feelings to have!

With that said, you are correct that there is this weird attitude that tends specifically towards Laura that I and many others have commented on, where they seem to think she has absolutely no say in anything and they need to protect her, but it's transparently a cover to hide that they hate 99% of her choices. Genuinely, I need everyone in the fandom to look in the mirror, and say "Laura Bailey has been a willing participant in every canon relationship her characters have been in, and indeed, typically, an equal or greater instigator thereof, and I don't need to like those choices, but I do need to acknowledge she made them." (While they're at it, they can shut the fuck up about the chibi pin hair being pink, like, let's talk about how Laura is in charge of merch and probably approved it personally, whereas some uh. other Imogen depiction choices, shall we say have been conspicuously absent from anything Laura may have had any say in; I think it's fair to assume she is fine.)

On top of that, I'm also openly someone who's like...I like Vax well enough, but he's not in the top half of VM characters for me. I also find the "TWINNIES" people who are obsessed with their earlier codependent behavior and continue to overlay it on the actors constantly as if they personally knew Laura and Liam, years after VM aired, to be rather insufferable. At the same time, though, Vax and Vex are indelible and central parts of each other's stories. Vex's story is about her, and Vax is a huge part of her, and it's stupid to pretend otherwise. Vex's story is also very much about how some part of her still wishes her father loved and respected her, and it's extremely about being able to love Percy, someone with their own struggles with darkness, and being able to ask him for help. Her story is very much her own, but her relationships with these three male characters are central to it, and you cannot excise them from the narrative to fulfill some elementary-school level surface-level idea of what Women In Fiction should look like. It's valid to want a story that is about a woman whose primary relationships, romantic or otherwise, are with other women. But Vex is not, canonically, that woman; you are making up an OC and giving them her face if you say she is.

(What I actually need is for everyone to watch the scene in which Scanlan leaves, actually; if you can watch that and internalize it, you will get Vex's character arc because she flat-out says it to Scanlan - and if you skip it bc you cry too much or whatever, you will not.)

[theophagie-remade]

(Warning: this is going to be a long long post)

[To make my life easier, I'm going to use "fanbase" to mean fans as a collective, and "fandom" to indicate those who are involved in shipping. Yes, I know that shipping isn't the only thing that makes up a fandom, but I need a quick way to differentiate between the two things, hence that "to make my life easier". Love and peace]

I've been spending a little more time on twitter these days just to witness the state of bnha discourse there (am I using it though? Ah! You'll never have me, hellsite [derogatory]), and man. It's genuinely... puzzling? Somewhat impressive, in a bad way? That such big portion of the fanbase appears to be completely unwilling to engage with anything that isn't surface level conflict, and completely disregards thematic elements, parallelisms, patterns...

Not that it's inherently wrong to be more interested in the fights, to want more action-based scenes or anything like that, and obviously it's not like bnha is the damned Divine Comedy, but the thing is, these are people who actively antagonize anyone who does talk about the [previously mentioned things] that it does have, and who do so in a scornful manner? What. Hello. I mean, shounen fans in general don't have the best reputation within manga/anime communities as it is, but to think that it has gotten this bad in there...

From my understanding things have turned especially sour in the past few months, but I do know that it has always been a thing. It was an eternity ago, but just to say one I still remember how a lot of people were genuinely convinced that Bakugou would indeed join the villains back when he had been kidnapped because... he has a bad attitude and is aggressive... When during the exam with Midoriya and All Might not long before that the audience was explicitly told what his objectives were, why he acted the way that he did, etc. Again, the problem isn't strictly that these people misunderstand things, but that they act like they know better and are so smart when canon (and theories by fandom swamp dwellers, but I'll get to this later*) has contradicted them again and again.

I'm going to half-recycle another post I made real quick. I know that to an external person it may look like I'm making up a Guy Type so that I can be mad at him, but well. It is a fact that the portion of the fanbase that I'm referring to is largely made up of young, straight men who invalidate the opinions of anyone who isn't like them, and that these guys are also very quick to turn to all sorts of bigotry whenever they have the chance, which... isn't a new thing obviously, but the thing with these guys is that oftentimes they're youtubers with a following, which can result in very nasty things. And after having had the displeasure of reading certain things, I do wonder why these men are even reading bnha anymore, what they're expecting out of it. It was obviously never going to be the dark manga that they wanted it to become. Midoriya was never going to be an ambiguous, emotionally distant protagonist. Bakugou was never going to remain a big, bad bully.

Recycling another post of mine again, but 💀 it literally is like this. Sorry for the bad screenshot but I don't want to worsen the length of this post too much lol

And speaking of Bakugou, something that at first really threw me off when I first exposed myself to this side of the fanbase (to the Dudebros™) is how vehemently they hate him. It's funny, because on paper he is most things that they've always wanted Midoriya to be. He's sure of himself, stronger than most since the beginning, has drive, is cool, isn't wHiNy. And then I began reading things like "all the teen girls and women in their 20s in this community care about is their stupid anime boy and their baseless gay ship" and I was like "Ah. It's one of those cases". And I don't like playing armchair psychologist, but from the way they're obsessed with bringing up his past bullying, and from how they talk about him in general, I do also think that they project hard onto Midoriya, whom they perceive as "the victim", "the underdog", hence why they wish he hated Bakugou, why they play down how important they are for each other, maybe why they refuse to accept the emotional weight of certain scenes and narrative choices.

And to tie back into *what I said earlier, this attitude that they have towards Bakugou, the way they act like he isn't a pivotal character (he's the damn co-star on set ffs), how they constantly and purposefully misunderstand him has had very funny outcomes, in which: they say A; the fandom (among which are the aforementioned brainless girls and women) says B; in the time that it takes for a chapter to come out, the dudebros revel in their perceived superiority; Horikoshi ends up delivering B, or as close to B as it could have been; ✨️the dudebros have a meltdown✨️, mayhaps they even have the bright idea of sending some death threats to Horikoshi himself here and there; repeat. And obviously the fandom has its own unlikely theories too, but in the case of these guys we're talking consistent levels of flopping, of completely misreading the manga and the characters. But no, it's the teen girls and the women who are stupid and ruin the fanbase with their disgusting gay🤢🤮 shipping (and any queer fan too, obviously 🙄, do any of you not know that shounen manga is supposed to be for us manly straight men who like pussy and want to see blood and guts 🙄) (why are you even still reading bnha if you're looking for that???)

The unfortunate coincidence that has made all of this worse was that, just as most people in the fandom like Bakugou and most dudebros dislike him, most dudebros like Uraraka and most people in the fandom... dislike her? Nope, not even that! (Un)surprisingly, there aren't many people around who express negative things about Uraraka herself. What I did read? Criticism (very understandable criticism, criticism that I fully agree with) of Horikoshi's writing, wishes that she had been given more agency, that she had been treated like the prominent supporting character that she is in a dignified way and not just as the mc's token future wife... Mhhh. Funny that. Funny also that most of this criticism indeed comes from women, who in turn are told that they should just shut up and stop complaining. :)

And wouldn't it be even funnier if the two characters that the fanbase is split over were both shipped with the mc, creating an even more polarised environment. :). And it's frustrating that it all circles back to that, izuocha isn't fandom-popular because people generally bring up its one-sidedness and the fact that Uraraka's feelings for Midoriya did have a negative impact on her growth, bakudeku isn't dudebro-popular because, and I'm listing things that I have literally read: it's gay and Midoriya and Bakugou aren't gay (a classic, an evergreen. Fresh); Bakugou abused Midoriya; Midoriya and Bakugou think of each other like brothers (note the paradox here); it's "sexualising children" (but shipping izuocha isn't?).

So Fun. Not one thing to not love in here 👍

Going back to Bakugou a second, but at this point it isn't even funny to read certain comments anymore for just how stupid they are. Bakugou dudebros pov encouraging him to win, keeping his secrets, wanting him to look at me, helping him train, constantly worrying for him, saving his life by risking mine, knowing him better than anyone else, apologising to him, being the closest person to him, acting like and thinking about him before possibly dying because I hate him 💢😠👊

And I mean, like I said lots of guys say things like these because 1) of projection and refusal to move on from the bully version of him from the earliest part of the story; 2) he's largely liked by female fans and Women Bad; 3) it's an extension of the bakudeku/izuocha ship war (🙄), but this pettiness and desire to be contrary for no good reason at all do leave me ??? Like, just how incapable of reading are you willing to make yourself look just because of how immature you are (if you are indeed faking it instead of the worse scenario, which is you not even misreading things on purpose but being that bad at it...)

[transienturl]

cause, it's like, 1) look. we're talking about a group of people who are deeply, systematically oppressed. it's perfectly reasonable for them not to be civil about that fact, to be angry. if people blame them for that they're wrong. if anyone punishes them for that they're wrong. anyone who expects complete civility from a marginalized group isn't empathizing at all with that group. they obviously haven't been informed. this is a kind of -phobia that doesn't feel like "hate" to the one who's being -phobic, and that is a meaningful distinction of feeling. but there's a deep misunderstanding there about how impossible it is to be civil about injustice when so much of the world actually is out to get you, when you can't be sure when you're going to run into that fact.

yes, matt, this is referring to you. what it sounds to me like you’re not understanding is:

> A number of people are trying to brand me as transphobic, so I thought I would list out a number of my personal beliefs so folks coming across this in the future can judge for themselves.

your personal beliefs re: “being trans isn’t inherently bad” are fine and I believe you on that. your personal understanding of what it’s like, what it means, is not coming across, however. your understanding that, because of what the world has done to them, the bar of treating trans people with respect and humanity (on both a person and site policy level) is a significant distance above not being disgusted by them is not coming across. there is enough hurt here that it is not the most constructive path or the most fair path to expect or to make everyone be civil. people haven't been civil to them and it's not their job to absorb an infinite amount of that and respond only with grace. that's your job too. learn that.

and concurrently, 2) that doesn't make it constructive for the marginalized to assert that, factually, a specific person or group of people in a relative position of power actually is out to get you just because they didn't manage to solve things completely. you can shout for improvement, shout for change, shout against the unfairness of it all, without crossing a factual line into asserting that you know who your enemies are, like it’s ever that simple. I get that when you live in a world where almost every barrel has a not-insignificant number of bad apples you despair when one is shown to be spoiled, that you want to retreat from it to the few places you think might be free from it all.

but it doesn’t help to make up enemies. not when some of the enemies you’re making up are friends, and when the vast majority of the enemies you’re making up aren’t exactly either but are just well-intentioned poorly-educated people living in a world where the injustice is systemic. it doesn’t help. it’s really hurtful to the cause, actually. try to post at least the second wording of your anger instead of your first, is my advice, though I’m no expert; it’s just what helps me write things I look back on as more helpful and that I’m more proud of. I don’t blame people for these responses. I get it. but I also think we should choose other wordings to amplify. 

...

okay, so. admission, at this point in the post I was going to say, certain well-intentioned users this is about you, and (anonymously) quote a bunch of example tags and posts I’d read that were all, staff is inherently transphobic and you should believe they’re all trying to purge the site of the trans users who made it what it is until and unless they fix the fact that transphobes and terfs make new accounts when banned and keep sending hateful messages, and the fact that apple’s policies are a gatekeeper on the site and are hateful and draconian, and the fact that moderation at this scale requires hiring people who due to the systemic injustice we’re talking about run the spectrum of understanding to misinformed to hateful, and the fact that not everyone has the same opinion about how best to treat their fandom of works made by people who are later discovered to be bigots when the works are not inherently directly hateful (you all know what I’m referring to here)…

…but I went to the tags of the recent staff post (where I had seen five of those in a row and just fucking logged off earlier today), and now found pretty much everyone being just as respectful of the facts and lack thereof and also progress-praising and also healthily, correctly skeptical and questioning about details and policy promises and also still righteously, viciously angry and defiant as they should be being. which made me feel surprisingly hopeful about the userbase. so, actually, good job; please keep it up, everyone.

I must not tone police. Tone policing is the mind-killer. Tone policing is the little death that brings total obliteration.

[musical-chick-13]

6, 7, 8, 10, 13?

YES THANK YOU. BLESS YOU.

6. Which ship fans are the most annoying?

Oh, God. Um. Most of the popular ones, if I'm being honest. There are a bunch of different ways I could answer this, from "it's everywhere" to "people misunderstand this canon dynamic" to "people make disgusting bigoted comments toward another, '''in the way''' character" to "most destructively moralistic" so I'll talk about the fanbase that historically has encompassed all of these, which is. The J*hnlockers.

I don't think I can EVER explain how utterly unhinged (derogatory) this fandom was when the show was airing. People straight-up labeling their analyses as a "conspiracy," convincing others that there was a Super Secret Actual Finale Episode that would "fix" their ship not being canon. They paired the main villain up with a character who didn't even exist in canon because doing anything involving the women was, presumably, too much to ask. The absolutely horrendous things they would say about the female characters, ESPECIALLY to fans of them who were minding their own business. (Also, they called one of the gay co-creators "actually a straight man" for not canonizing this ship which is completely and utterly WILD to me.) Genuinely there was NO space more unsafe fandom-wise that I have EVER been in. I cosplayed Irene for a con one time and, though luckily nothing happened, I was AFRAID FOR MY LIFE THE WHOLE TIME. Like. The level of vitriol and misogyny and biphobia (I'm not even going to get into that one) was UNREAL. To the point where genuinely I hope we never get new content of any kind so I don't have to think about people who act like this ever again.

7. What character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?

...........at the risk of getting murdered. MCU Steve. He was just kind of. There. To me. I didn't particularly care about him because he read to me as "generic good guy" which isn't an archetype that particularly resonates with me, but...then the fandom just. My God. Saying that EVERYTHING he ever did was right, that NO ONE had any points when they questioned him, that he EPITOMIZED goodness in a way no other character did ever, that anyone who liked Tony (or anyone who was ever perceived as being in Steve's "way" about anything, don't get me started on how people treated Sharon) was A War Criminal Apologist Irl and was Singlehandedly Upholding Every Type of Oppression, like it was. SO annoying. I went from indifference to borderline-hatred out of spite.

8. Common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

GOT SEASON 8 WAS NOT THAT BAD, GOT SEASON 8 WAS NOT THAT BAD, GOT SEASON 8 WAS NOT THAT BAD, GOT SEASON 8 WAS NOT THAT BAD, GOT SEASON 8 WAS NOT THAT BAD, GOT SEASON 8---*I am forcibly removed from the building*

(On a more, uh...eloquent note, Lady Macbeth is not a badass gender-binary-shattering Girlboss™ femme fatale, she is a complete mess struggling with layers and layers of psychological issues that she does not let herself process, as well as a HELL of a lot of internalized misogyny. I love her, too, but this creation of her into some sort of suave or cool monarch lady genuinely baffles me. But then again, this play was my Capstone Research Project my final year of college and I wrote a 50-page paper on it, so maybe I'm a little too invested in how people present her, lmao.)

10. Worst part of fanon

Tbh, everyone who insists that two characters [usually (cis, white, abled) men] MUST be in romantic love because they care about each other. Like...don't get me wrong, I love looking at a LOT of non-canon pairings through a romantic lens because It's Neat™, but showing physical affection or willing to throw down/break the law for someone or calling them things like "admirable" or "amazing" are not? Inherently romantic?? Like by so many people's standards I'd be in romantic love with all my platonic friends, I guess, and that's very annoying. Romance isn't the only kind of love that exists!!! Nor is it the only important or significant one!!!

(On a more specific note, there's a fairly pervasive idea that Aki/Himeno is...a grooming relationship? When according to the established timeline and personal events that would. Literally be impossible. People take the "I'm not old enough to smoke" line that happens not long after they meet as some sort of confirmation that Aki was, like, fifteen or sixteen at the time? Or something? Instead of like. Nineteen. Dude has to have time in the three years he's known her to change significantly in appearance, become old enough to smoke (the legal age for that is 20 over there btw), and develop a substance dependence. And given the visual markers of Himeno's appearance when the two of them meet and how drastically her appearance changes in the intervening years, she can't be more than a couple of years older than him? People also take a comment that's meant to convey that he's been at his job three years longer than another character as saying that he's only three years older age-wise than said character. Which, again, given the timeline. Would be impossible. And also. There is an example of grooming in this story! It's really important to the plot actually! It's meant to be seen as horrifying! You would assume that the fact that this relationship is not presented in the same way means something! Don't get me wrong, Himeno's done her fair share of shitty things, but grooming her fight partner was not one of them. There are plenty of reasons this ship isn't for everyone, you don't have to make shit up, lmao.)

13. Worst blorbo-ification

Genuinely I cannot choose between these two, so we're gonna make this post even longer.

Why do people like K*lo R*n. I don't understand. He was given the barest hint of sort-of, hazy tragic "backstory" and people...very much disagreed with me when I said I didn't think that was enough from a narrative standpoint to actually mean anything. And that's not taking into account that this blorbo-ification happened before we even knew that. When all we knew was that he felt kind of lost sometimes and killed his dad while helping head up a fascist empire, people went wild, and not in a "I like villains" kind of way. In a "he's MEANT to be read as mentally ill" kind of way (my God, please stop saying this about every character who is mean and exhibits one emotion) and "his parents MUST have been abusive to him" kind of way. Neither of those things. Has any basis in canon. Just. Just admit you like a character who's not a good person. And that you like a ship that's a dark romance. You won't explode, I promise.

The other one is Light. People want him to be a tragic anti-hero SO bad, I am incredibly tired. He went from zero to beyond 100 in the space of a couple of in-story hours. He's not some misguided utopian visionary, he's a hypocrite with a god complex. I have met too many people like this irl to get behind any positive or sympathetic interpretation of this character. (And don't get me wrong. I think in order to most effectively present the Themes™ of the work as a whole, he had to be written like this. I don't begrudge the creator (in this instance, anyway), I begrudge the fanbase. There's actually a lot I could say about this piece of media and general reaction to it, but my God this is already long enough.)

I choose violence asks