#and it didn't get nearly as much backlash

[mokeonn]

Hey quick question, why the fuck was everyone angry at sword and shield for being ugly, rushed pokemon games but was pretty much completely fine with Scarlett and Violet being worse?

[snifferish]

Never in my life did I think that re-tweeting resources for SA, and supporting victims would be considered problematic or performative.

I should not have to bare this, but I'm going to tell just one of my stories, because I need you to understand where I'm coming from. TW // Sexual Harassment

--

When I was 15, I had my wisdom teeth removed. I wanted to avoid using the pain medication they prescribed. I struggle a lot with sensory issues, medications and substances made it worse.

However, my surgery was for impacted teeth, and only two days in one of my stitches fell out. I was in so much pain, and couldn't eat solids w/ out pain for up to three weeks.

So, a week into my recovery, one of my friends invites me to their house. They were having our friend group over, it was just a little bonfire get together kinda thing. I took my pain meds a few hours prior, and only half a dose, but I was out of it to some degree, and somehow still in pain.

I was sitting on a lawn chair outside, when one of my close friends came over and asked to sit on my lap. Honestly, I said yes at first, because this was my childhood friend, someone I trusted, and I thought our relationship was incredibly platonic. Then he started to shift/grind about in my lap, and I started to feel things of theirs I did not want to. They made a noise that deeply unsettled me, and I told him to get off, they didn't. It was only when I told them that he accidently triggered the emergency call shortcut on my phone (it was in the pocket of the lawn chair, yes they were moving that much and I was moving trying to push him off) that he finally got up.

I was bewildered, and a bit confused, and also embarrassed that my phone nearly called 911. I claimed I wasn't feeling well, and went home early.

That was the first time someone touched me in a remotely sexual way, but I didn't dare to label it until I talked to my therapist. It made me dwell on a lot of experiences with this person as well. How obsessed they were with being taller than me, how often they'd grab me and force me to see if they were stronger than me. At the time, I was in a friend group of predominately non-men, and they were all friends with this person.

However, when I told them about this, when I expressed the discomfort it brought me. I was brushed off. "He's just like that!" oh "He probably didn't mean it" etc.

I didn't feel comfortable in the same room as this person. My friends would continue to invite them to hang outs. One of my other friends told everyone about what happened without my permission. I started having breakdowns in my classes with him. I had panic attacks all the time. I felt as if I had to continue this façade of being nice to him, or else I would lose my friends of years and years.

I was happy when covid started, because for the first time I had breathing room, but by then so much of my trust was dismantled.

Due to my friends association with this person, and the fact that not being their friend excluded me. I eventually got over it, and told myself I'd grown past it.

Three months ago, this same person admitted to me they hold extreme grudges against me, that they projected their "mommy issues" on to me, and quite literally said the words, "Yeah yeah, you're a woman who's outspoken and challenged me and that bothers me yeah yeah." in regards to that. They said it with sarcasm, like it was something they knew, and their mother was reminding them for the 12th time.

--

I bring this all up, not to make you feel guilty, but to discuss the harm of not supporting victims, not listening to them. It puts them in a position of isolation, and in a position to potentially be hurt again.

So yeah, I'm gonna be a little upset when people say I'm being "performative" about supporting victims of sexual harassment and SA. I'm not doing this because it benefits me, in fact it's caused a lot of backlash, horrible dms, and very triggering memories.

I'm doing it because I was once not heard, and i've sat with Caiti behind the scenes for months watching her lose passion for something she loved (content creation).

I didn't do this because I'm secretly sniveling behind the scenes tapping my fingers praying on peoples downfall. I'm not a Disney villain dude lmfao.

Honestly, this narrative that is being pushed, that people are doing it "because it benefits them" is quite ironic, considering most of the people talked about within the last 72 hours were under Wilbur's weird ass apology doing just that.

I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it. I hate how people are okay with this narrative, the misogynist undertones of it. I've seen people admit that they didn't like me or my friends the entire time, while simultaneously "calling us out" about this, so I ask you,

Are you calling us? Because it benefits your motives? Your feelings?

[idkwhatimdoinghere1655]

Rumours - Lando Norris

<word count - 7287> |part 1 - Nerd|

"Hey, I managed to get your wood pieces cut up yesterday. Don't worry, I did them the right size this time," Lando told you, sitting down opposite you at your table in the library. The two of you had been meeting quite often, now exchanging your ends of the deal you had made due to your maths test results. 

"Thank you. Don't forget that you still have to sand them and glue them, yeah?" you double checked, knowing that he had remembered but would pretend to forget to do it. Lando had been trying to wriggle out of his half of the deal, but you weren't letting him. 

"Yes ma'am," he said with feigned formality, saluting you. "And I want my maths done. We hand it in today, yes?" he asked, also knowing that you had already done it. Lando had seen you doing it the other day, and had to keep his friends from seeing him smile at you. 

He knew they'd make fun of him for being your friend, so he often found himself sneaking off to come and see you in the library. It wasn't that he was ashamed of being your friend, he just didn't want to face the backlash from his friends. 

Plus, he hadn't forgotten the hurt written all over your face when Max had made those comments about you nearly a week prior now, and he couldn't let you go through that again. He didn't know why, he had harboured a soft spot for you. 

Maybe it was because you weren't outwardly trying to flirt with him, maybe it was because you treated him normally, maybe it was because he liked you more than he liked everyone else. He found your sassiness endearing, and a welcome surprise. 

"Of course, but you're still going to learn how to solve quadratics at some point, you know that, right?" you told him, pushing the papers that were his homework over the desk and towards him. You had gotten pretty much perfect at plagiarising his handwriting so the teacher wouldn't be able to tell it was actually you doing the work. 

You and Lando had agreed that you were allowed to get a few of the harder questions wrong, just so it didn't seem like he had become a random genius overnight. He didn't want an expectation to be put on him once he actually had to do his own homework again, so he was fine with you messing up sometimes. 

"You'll teach me, I know you will," he smirked, and he was completely right. You would teach him, just like you had been pretty much all of his other subjects. You helped him with everything at this point, and he was more than grateful - even if he would never tell you that. 

The friendship that the two of you had formed was quick, to say the least. This time a week ago, you would have avoided Lando Norris at all times. He was cocky, arrogant and a downright dick. But now? He was lovely. 

Those short, daily meetings to check in on the progress that you were making on your ends of the deal were some of your favourite parts of the day - and they were his too. It was nice for both of you to just let loose and have a little giggle, even if you were meant to be being silent in the library. 

Neither of you really knew how you had become friends, you just sort of... had. After you had opened your results together, it was just how you were. It wasn't some slow and steady thing, it was more like an instant connection, and immediate understanding of each other. 

"You're right, I will. I need you to be better than Max," you said, still not liking Lando's best friend after the far from tasteful comments he had made about you. Lando had said that Max had apologised to him for it, but he had never directly apologised to you. 

Lando completely understood the resentment. If anything, he encouraged it. He hadn't helped, he knew that, but at least he had apologised. He tried to get Max to say sorry to you, but he had always refused. "I will be. How that idiot is in top set is beyond me," he quietly chuckled so that the librarian wouldn't tell you to be quiet. 

"You and me both," you agreed, just looking at him. He had always been handsome, even when you thought he was a massive dick. But now? He was even more handsome. That happened a lot of the time, really. 

If someone has a good personality, their looks are suddenly elevated by the tenfold. If they're a complete and utter arsewipe? Then they could be the most dashing guy in the world yet they'll look average at best. 

Now, looking at Lando, you thought he was gorgeous. If only you knew how he saw you. He had never really paid you much notice, not until now. Not until you had been stuck on the bus together. You were pretty at a glance, but the more he looked at you, the more he truly believed you were the prettiest girl in school.

Anyway, now wasn't the time for admiring each other's good looks. The pair of you had maths next period, and you didn't want to be seen together again. Lando was pretty sure that no comments would be made if you walked in at the same time, but he understood why you didn't want to run the risk again.

He'd go and find Max to walk with him, and you'd get to maths first like you always did. Bidding Lando farewell, you took yourself through the corridors of your school and down to the maths row. All of the classrooms were identical, save from a few student-made posters messily blue-tacked onto the walls.

Your teacher smiled as you walked in, not surprised to see you in early in the slightest. Eventually, everyone filtered in, Lando sending you a small smile as he walked behind Max to their seats on the back row. 

All of you had your books out and were ready to start, but your teacher didn't make any headway on actually starting the lesson. "OK everybody, before we begin today, I do have a few changes to the seating plan," she said, earning a chorus of groans from the class. 

You weren't so bothered, though. Anyone would've been better than sitting between the wall and one of Lando's dumb friends. Well, maybe anyone apart from Max, but you didn't think your teacher would do that to you. 

"We'll start with Max, can you swap with Lilly on the front row, please?" she asked as Max huffed, clearly not impressed with being put on the front row. Lando also wasn't overly enamoured at the swap, since he certainly didn't want to sit with Lilly. 

She had always flirted with him, and he didn't need even more of it for 5 hours a week. But, he was thankfully put out of his misery. "And since you have been absolutely smashing your work as of recent, Lando, you can come and sit next to Y/N. I think she could be a good influence on you," she said, and you had to stop a big, goofy smile from spreading across your face. 

Lando had been doing well since you had been doing most of his work, but you didn't even care. You were just grateful that you'd get to spend more time with him. Max watched with a disgustingly mischievous smirk on his face. "Miss, are you sure that's a good idea? You remember what happened last ti-" he started, and your teacher's face instantly turned thunderous. 

But, before she could get so much as a word in, Lando pipped her to the post. "Max, drop it." he sternly said, sending daggers at his friend as the class let out a series of 'ooos' and 'get told, Max!'. 

Lando paid no mind to them, since he had seen the way your face had dropped as soon as Max had opened his mouth, and he hated the way his friend made you feel. "Max go and stand outside," your teacher instructed, and Max stood with a sigh and took himself out of the classroom.

She read out a few more seat changes, then put the starter activities up on the whiteboard. They were just some simple equations, so you got them rattled out and finished within a minute. Your teacher walked outside, obviously to talk to Max and probably give him a detention.  

"Hey, you OK?" Lando whispered, still scribbling down his working out for some of the sums. Honestly, you were just grateful that Lando had stood up for you and stopped Max from saying something more than hurtful about you.

"Yeah, thanks for that," you nodded, flashing him a small smile. Lando was going to protest and ask again, but he didn't want to push you. If you said you were fine, he'd believe you. "Plus the three, not minus," you prompted, pointing at the line of working out on his page. 

"Shit, course. Thank you," he softly chuckled, changing the numbers on the paper. He was slightly annoyed at himself for making such a dumb error, but he was glad that you were there to correct him. He found himself completely agreeing with your teacher: you really were a good influence on him. 

You made him want to work harder, you made that competitive fire burn brighter within him. You had pushed him to get an A the first time, and after that, he had wanted more and more because the pay off of hard work was so refreshing to feel. He was used to average grades at best, but now the disappointment was something that didn't sit right with him. 

Your teacher walked back in shortly after, with Max in tow. He packed his stuff up and hurriedly made his way back out of the classroom, undoubtedly to detention. The rest of the lesson went by without a hitch, and it was nice to be pretty much forced to sit with Lando. 

You'd spend time with him either way, of course, but it was nice for the two of you to get a couple of extra hours a week that you wouldn't have to spend being quiet as mice in the library. The bell rang, signalling the end of the day as you all flooded out of the doors and out of the front gates.

You were waiting at the bus stop for your bus, and you saw Lando and his friends waiting too. You couldn't make out the words you were saying over the slight gusts of wind and the music in your ears, but you could hear witterings of your name. 

"I stuck up for her because Max was being a knob, she didn't do anything," you heard Lando protest, his voice slightly raised. He sounded... angry? You looked out of the corner of your eye to see some of them prodding at him, stupid grins plastered on their faces. 

They were clearly teasing him, and it was pretty obvious that Max had told them how Lando had stuck up for you during maths. In some ways, you felt bad. The only reason he had said anything was because he knew how upset you were the first time around, and he felt so guilty that he had let it slide. 

"She's over there, go ask her out," another one one jibed, pushing him in your direction. Lando's face looked dejected, since he knew that it wasn't easy to get his friends to shut up. They'd keep going until he said something that they wanted to hear. 

"I'm not asking her out, OK?" he sighed, just as the bus rolled up to the stop. 

Just like everyday, your bus driver had the same, dead inside expression on his face and he clearly wanted to be anywhere but driving that goddamn bus. He didn't even bother looking at your pass as you took yourself back to your seat in the corner. 

It was one of the unspoken rules of the bus: everyone had their seats, you never moved, never differed from the norm. The older you were, the further back you sat. The year 7s had to sit at the front, and they'd be met with yells and arguments from everyone else if they didn't.

Lando's friends scrambled to the other seats on the back row, leaving the one next to you free. It was obvious that it was on purpose, so he kept his mouth shut as he sat next to you. It wasn't that he was sitting next to you, no. That was never the problem.

The problem was that he was really worried that they would start to pick on you now that they had it in their heads that he liked you. Well, he did like you, as more than a friend. That much was clear to him right now. But he didn't want you to face the brunt of his friends teasing because he did in fact like you. 

It was just a stupid little crush, that was it. Nothing serious. Nothing serious at all. Did his heart flutter whenever you smiled at him? Yes. Did he feel volts of electricity when your hands accidentally brushed together? Yes. Was his day instantly made better when he talked to you? Yes.

But it was nothing serious. 

He just laughed along mindlessly to his friend's jokes, not really paying attention. Eventually, the bus trundled to a halt so that you could get off. Shuffling past Lando, you walked as quickly as you could so that his friends hopefully wouldn't notice.

"Hey Lando, this is your stop, right?" Max piped up, pointing at you getting off the bus. "Not going to see if she's better than last time? I'm sure she's had some practice."

Lando refused to stay anything, his face like stone as he let you peacefully get off the bus. "Was she seriously that bad that you really don't want more?" another one of his friends added. 

"I knew you guys were dicks but you're really taking the piss," he mumbled, suddenly getting out of his seat and swiftly striding down the aisle of the bus. "Stop, please," he said to the bus driver, who pulled over as Lando hopped off the bus and ran down the pavement to where you were. 

"Hey, sorry. I couldn't deal with them being complete twats," he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets and standing beside you on the pavement. For some reason, he couldn't meet your eyes, his fixed on the floor beneath his feet.

"I get it, don't worry," you agreed, not really sure what to do. Inviting him back to your house was completely off the table, but you didn't just want to walk away and leave him there by himself. "Is your mum coming to get you or...?"

"Yeah, I'll send her a text," he nodded, pulling his phone out of his blazer pocket. He shot a quick text to his mum, and she responded within a few seconds, saying that she was setting off as soon as she could.

Lando noticed that you made no move to leave and go home, instead you stayed by his side. You both stayed silent, unsure of what to say. It hadn't been this awkward between you since the bus ride the week before, and even that felt more comfortable than this did. 

"Just... do me a favour and ignore what they're saying, yeah? It's just them trying to be funny, don't pay any mind to it," Lando said, hoping that you weren't bothered by what his friends were saying. The last thing he wanted was for you to be upset by what they were saying, since he valued your feelings a lot more than he thought he ought to. 

He also highly valued your opinion of him more then he deemed necessary. He didn't want you thinking ill of him, or of his choice in friends. He didn't want you thinking that he was like them, or that he would say things like that. He didn't want you thinking that he didn't care.

Because he did. More than he'd ever care to admit. 

"Yeah, sure," you nodded, not fully convinced. Any time you'd ever been seen with Lando in school by other people that weren't the library lot, you were chastised for it. Yes, it had only been twice, but that was enough to convince you that being around Lando inherently meant that you were going to be hassled. 

Of course, you didn't want it to be like that. Life would be so much easier if you were allowed to just be his friend, and nothing else. You'd help him with maths and whatever other subjects he needed, you could sit together in class without having the mick taken out of you, and you could just enjoy his company. 

Lando could tell that you weren't swayed by his words, and he didn't blame you. His friends would likely make comments for the remainder of the year, and he'd just have to take it in his stride. 

Soon enough, Lando's mum pulled up at the bus stop, getting out of the car to come and greet you. "Y/N, it's lovely to see you again," she beamed, and the smile on her face was enough to quell the worries and slight annoyance that you felt at that moment. 

"Likewise," you nodded, spotting the same scarf around her neck that she let you borrow when the picked you up the week prior. 

"How has your day been, sweetheart?" she asked, even though her motherly instincts could instantly tell that something was wrong. She had also clocked how Lando would barely make eye contact with her or you, and he was fidgeting with his fingers. 

"Good, yeah. Lando now sits with me in maths, so that's... fun." you trailed off, looking for the right word to describe it. Lando sitting with you wasn't the problem, it was the consequences of it. 

"Then I'm sure you can keep helping him out with getting those A's," she smiled. "Now Lando and I have to dash, dinner is nearly ready." 

"Sure, it was nice to see you again. Lando, I'll see you tomorrow," you mustered up one last small smile, before turning and starting the short walk off to your house. Lando clambered into the car next to his mum as she began the drive home. 

"What happened, Lando?" she asked her son, not having the patience to wait any longer to find out what was bothering the both of you. He stayed silent, just staring at the road ahead as she glanced at him. 

He knew her silence meant she was waiting for an answer, and he also knew that lying to her would get him absolutely nowhere. "Just my friends being di- they're being idiots." he corrected himself, his mum chuckling at the slip up. 

"What have they done? Did they say something about Y/N again?" she pushed, waiting for Lando to cave and tell her everything. It never took her long for him to crack and pour out his soul to her, but it would take a bit of prompting. 

"It's just because I've been moved to sit next to her in maths, and after last week they all think I have a crush on her and stuff," he mumbled. And there were those pesky motherly instincts again. 

"So you don't have a crush on her?"

"That's not the point," he rushed, wanting to brush over the tricky topic of his feelings for you as quickly as he could. "The point is is that the comments they make are too far and it upsets her. She says it doesn't but I know it does," he sighed, his mum giving him some more silence to continue if he wanted to.

"I try to get them to stop but they just keep going and it's getting on my nerves." he complained, slumping back against the passenger seat of the car. 

"You've got to try and ignore them, Lando. I know it's not easy when they're being nasty, but it's the best you can do. If you're not affected by it, then they might stop and then it'll be better for both you and her." she said, fully knowing it was easier said than done. 

Lando was strong, she recognised that, but he was already getting worn down by the teasing from his friends. "Yeah, sure," he reluctantly agreed, trying to take his mind off of the whole situation. 

He contemplated texting you to see if you were alright, but that was when he realised he didn't have your actual phone number. He had your Instagram and Snapchat, but not your number. He felt like he was supposed to have it, but he never really thought to ask you.

Maybe he would tomorrow, if he saw you again. He had to tell you about his plans for your DT project anyway, and he had some science stuff that he needed help with as well. 

The next morning, Lando was on the bus as it rolled past your stop. You weren't stood there with your headphones in, shivering because of the biting cold like you usually were. The bus driver didn't even think twice as to why you weren't there, but Lando did.

Thankfully, his friends didn't notice your absence, or how bothered he was by it. He hoped you'd be in school, since he didn't want to go through maths without you. Also, he was wanting to come to the library. It was part of his routine now, and he didn't want to break it. 

He didn't see you in first or second period, but he didn't have any classes with you until later. Going to the library at break, he didn't find you in your corner table, and he really was thinking that you weren't in school today. 

Meanwhile, however, Lando was completely oblivious to the rumours that were spreading about the two of you. The more tame ones were that you both had crushes on each other, and the much worse ones made your skin crawl. 

It was basically all just what Max had said to you last week, complete with the high-pitched, borderline pornographic moans. But it wasn't just him saying it. It was nearly everyone you walked past from your year, all because of how popular Lando was and how notable you weren't in the social hierarchy. 

It was driving you crazy, comment after comment from people who you had never even spoken too. Constant taunts of his name, over and over and over. You tried to hide in all the places you thought possible: the toilets, spare classrooms, corners that no one was usually in. 

Yet you couldn't escape the seemingly unavoidable torment, all because your bus broke down a week ago. You couldn't tell whether you were upset or pissed off, the emotions all swirling together in a maelstrom in your mind. 

You knew Lando would have gone to the library to look for you, but you didn't want to risk even being near him. It was at the point where you were even dreading maths, your favourite hour of the day, just because you'd have to sit with Lando.

The whole experience was so jarring, since one minute you were happily able to mind your own business, but now? You were the center of attention for all the wrong reasons. 

Finally, it was lunch, and you swiftly strode past the canteen where everyone was eating lunch. They'd all be occupied for a short while, so you'd finally be able to find some solace. You also had some of Lando's maths homework to do, even if that was one of the last things you wanted to be doing right now.

Lando was sat with his friends while you walked past, all of them looking and pointing. It was at this point where he started to realise what was going on, and he was catching wind of all the rumours that were being spread about the two of you. 

Guilt sat heavy in the pit of his stomach, the feeling of complete helplessness weighing him down. He gave it a few minutes before saying he was going to the toilet, and none of his friends actually caught on to what he was doing. 

He walked towards the bathrooms, before ducking out of sight and darting up the stairs to the library. There weren't many people in there as his eyes scanned the surroundings. There were the usual people that occupied the room, and you - sitting in the corner, furiously scribbling away at that familiar, crumpled sheet of his maths homework.

For a moment, he just stood there and watched you. You kept crossing things out and punching numbers aggressively into your calculator. This was a far cry from your calm disposition, and it worried him. You had obviously heard the comments, and he knew that people would be saying things to you directly. 

He walked over, pulling out the chair in front of you and sitting down. You eyes flicked up, before focusing back down on the pages on the table. "Go away, Lando," you whispered, the sharp tone of your voice catching him off guard.

He didn't have chance to respond before you chimed in again. "I don't want to be seen with you, so please leave me alone."

Now that hurt. 

You didn't want to be seen with him. This would upset anyone, so he wasn't surprised that you weren't happy about it, but completely ceasing all contact and interaction with him was painful for him. He didn't want to be isolated from you all because the kids in your year were bored and had nothing better to do other than spread lies. 

"No one will come in here, it doesn't matter," he replied, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table. You still had your eyes focused on his homework, your pencil still moving over the paper. 

"And if they do, they'll just say even more shit and I don't want it," you rushed, a single tear falling onto the page and staining it. You wiped them away, trying to stop more from falling from your eyes. 

Lando's heart did nothing short of break as he sat there, feeling completely powerless. He didn't know how to comfort you in this situation, he didn't know how to help, how to make it better. He hated that he was the root cause of all your upset.

"They won't, I'll make sure they won't," he rambled, needing you to believe him. You both knew it was a lie, and he'd never be able to stop the constant teasing for you. He wished he could, but that was simply all it was. A wish.

"Please just leave me alone." you whispered, thrusting the crumpled, tear-stained sheet of maths homework towards him. "And don't worry about my DT stuff, I'll do it myself." you mumbled as Lando just sat there for bit. 

You didn't look at him, just down at the wood of the table. He didn't know what to say, how to get you to believe him. With a resigned sigh, he pushed back from the table, picking up his homework. He folded it and tucked it into his blazer pocket, stepping away from you.

"I still want to be your friend, despite what they're all saying. And I hope I can be," he told you, before walking away and out of the library. He had never felt so unsettled after a conversation ever, and now he felt so down and dejected. 

Mindlessly making his way back to his friends in the canteen, all that he could hear were your words echoing in his head. Sitting back at the table, his friends' attention all turned to him. "That took you awhile." 

"You and Y/N go for a quickie?" someone else laughed, all of his friends bursting out in fits of laughter. Lando just sat there, face like thunder. God, he was getting pissed off. You were upset, his friends were being horrendous, and he had had enough. 

"Will you lot just fucking shut up? Your jokes are tasteless and downright childish. It's not funny, I don't feel like laughing and neither does Y/N, so just drop it and find something else to obsess over." he snapped, and they all just looked at him. 

For a short moment, he thought they were just going to bite their tongues and sit there. Maybe, the normally cool, calm and collected Lando losing his cool was just what they needed to mature for a moment and reflect on how other people felt, not just what seemed humourous at the time. 

But, reality was far crueler than that. "God is she really that bad? Why do you keep going back if you keep getting disappointed?" That was his final straw. 

"Fuck all of you, honestly," he spat, slinging his bag over his shoulder and walking off. It would only be a few minutes before the bell went anyway, so Lando took himself off to maths. As he arrived at the room, he found that the door was locked. 

Peering through the window, he saw you, sat there in your seat with a few tears trickling down your cheeks. Your teacher knelt down in front of you, balancing by holding onto the desk. Her face had sympathy written all over it, and it was clear that you were talking about what was happening. 

You kept wiping the tears away, but more stubbornly made their way out of your eyes. He felt like the convalescence was eating him alive from the inside and out. He wished he could take it away, make everything in your life as perfect as it should have been, but he couldn't.

Lando couldn't take watching you any longer, so he lifted his hand and wrapped his fist against the wood of the door. Your teacher stood and let him in, before pulling him over to the side. You still wouldn't look at him. "I know we've just moved you, but would it be alright if I moved you back onto the back row?" she asked.

He said nothing, just nodding and begrudgingly going to sit in his new seat. You didn't even want to sit with him. Lando pulled his phone out of his pocket, not caring if your teacher got mad. She noticed, but didn't say anything. "Lando phone away when people start coming in, please."

He put it away as soon as he asked his mum if she could pick him up, since he didn't feel like getting the bus. She responded with a swift 'yes', and he put his phone away as instructed. 

The end of the day couldn't come quick enough as maths droned on and he was finally able to escape. As he walked past the bus stop, he noticed that you weren't there. He figured you had done the same thing as him: asking one of your parents to pick you up to avoid the treacherous bus journey.

Wordlessly, Lando climbed into his mum's car as she looked at her son's face. For the first time ever, she couldn't tell how he was feeling. His face was completely blank, practically unemotional. She had never been this worried about Lando. 

"Sweetheart, what-" she started, before noticing the tears brimming up in his eyes. She would have pulled over, but she didn't want anyone from school seeing. "Darling what's wrong?" she asked, still reluctantly driving. 

"They just... they just won't stop." he said, his voice cracking with the words. "I just want them to leave me alone, leave her alone. She doesn't even want to be my friend anymore, I had to get moved away from her in maths, and it's just all shit," he rambled, a few tears rolling down his reddened cheeks.

"Oh, Lando..." she softly said, her heart breaking at the sight of his tears. He was never one to cry, or get overly emotional about stuff. He was a typical teenage boy in many aspects, and his emotions were no exception. He liked to keep things to himself, only letting is feelings show when they were hitting him in overwhelming bouts.

"Does she think you're saying things about her?" she asked, not wanting to upset him even more. 

"No, I don't think so. She just said she doesn't want to be seen near me when I went to go see her in the library like I normally do, and she was crying before maths to our teacher." he explained, and she was at a complete loss on what to do. "The stuff they say to her is just... God it's awful..." he mumbled, wiping away his tears. 

"Sweetheart I know this is probably the last thing you want to hear right now, but is that Y/N walking home?" she asked, and the question caught him off guard. Funnily enough, he looked out the window to see you trudging home. 

You had your hands stuffed in your pockets with your headphones plugged in your ears, your breath appearing like mist in front of you. That was when it dawned on him that your parents hadn't come to pick you up, you had taken it upon yourself to make the nearly hour long walk home in the freezing winter temperatures. 

"Yeah. Yeah it is," he confirmed, suddenly conflicted. His mum would obviously want to give you a ride, and he did too. He didn't want you walking home in the biting cold, but he also didn't think he could take seeing you upset, or you seeing him upset. 

But his heart won out. "Can we take her home, please?" he quietly asked, and his mum nodded, pulling over onto the pavement so that she could get out to talk to you. Lando got out to hop in the back, wanting to give you the front seat with his mum. 

"Y/N? Sweetheart? Do you need a ride?" she asked, approaching you as you pulled your headphones out of your ears. She could see the redness around your eyes, undoubtedly from crying.

"No, no. But thank you," you weakly smiled, the pained expression on your face making it impossible for her to just let you go.

"Lando told me about what's been happening. I understand why you don't want to be near him right now, but there's no one around, I will get you home and warm as quickly as possible." she reassured, hell bent on not leaving until she had you in the car. 

"OK," you agreed, walking to the car and getting in the front seat. Lando had already cranked up the heating and put the heated seats on for you, the leather warming underneath you. You knew he was on the backseat, but you refused to acknowledge him. 

Deep down, you knew you were being unnecessarily harsh towards Lando. He hadn't done anything wrong, and he had tried to be there for you in the best way he knew possible. Thankfully, he knew you weren't pushing him away because of him directly, it was because of what being around him brought you. 

He was sure that you still liked him, and he didn't take this personally. Yet it didn't stop him longing for you to be his friend again, to banter and joke with you and to just spend time with you like he used to. 

From his bag, he pulled out that same navy sweater and handed it to you, and you accepted it with a small smile in the rear view mirror. Your fingertips brushed against his as your fists closed around the fabric, the cold of your hands stinging his skin. 

You shrugged your coat off of your shoulders, pulling the jumper over your head. It was still too big on you, the sleeves stopping up to your knuckles. If you were standing, it would hand down to the tops of your thighs.

The drive to your house was silent, the only sound being the heating flowing through the vents as well as the occasional ticks of the indicators. After a short while of driving, you pulled up outside of your house.

Lando waited in the car as his mum escorted you to the door, a warm expression on her face. "Come here," she quietly said, opening her arms out to you. Without a second thought, you let herself fall into her embrace, softly shaking with silent sobs. 

"I know it's hard darling, I know it is," she whispered to you, one hand reaching up to stroke your hair. "It'll get better, I promise." she tried to reassure. 

For Lando, it was one of the worst scenes he had to bear witness to. He had seen you crying more than he had seen you smile as of recent, and it was killing him inside. He wanted to get out of the car and hug you as well, but he didn't want to run the risk of upsetting you even more.

Once you were settled in the house, his mum finished the drive home and let him have some piece. In his room, he sat at his desk, just mindlessly staring into space. You were all he could think about, and he couldn't shake you off. 

The sight of your tear-stained face was clouding his mind like an early-morning fog that he couldn't blow away. His eyes fell upon your pieces of wood for your DT project on his desk, as well as the maths homework he wouldn't be able to give you to finish. 

At this point, the deal didn't matter. Sure, you still had 3 weeks of homework of his to do, and he still had to do your workshop stuff for another week, but that was the least of his concerns. But he still wanted to do it for you. 

Lando had skipped dinner, not feeling hungry enough to go downstairs to eat. He also didn't feel like being held to people's questions and talks about what everyone had been up to in the day. He just needed some time alone. 

Just before he was going to take himself to an early bed, there was a knock at his bedroom door. "Yeah?" he called out, the door opening to reveal his mum.

"How are you doing?" she asked, entering and coming to sit next to him on the edge of his bed. 

"I'm... fine," he lied, not wanting to delve into the complexity of his feelings. He didn't want to have to voice his deeper rooted mindset on you. He couldn't tell if he was upset that now you'd never consider being anything more than his friend, or if he was more saddened by the fact that you didn't even want to be his friend anymore. 

He had been grappling with his feelings for the past couple of days, shocked at how quickly they had settled into his mind. Lando had never developed such a strong admiration for anyone in his entire life - even if every crush he had ever had was based off of purely superficial factors. 

But you weren't like that. Yes, he thought you were one of the prettiest girls he had ever laid his eyes upon, but it wasn't the driving motive for his feelings. He liked your personality, your humour, how goddamn smart you were. 

Seeing you thrive in the environment you worked best in was so fulfilling to him, and it was one of the many reasons he held you so dear to him. Yet he didn't know what to do about his feelings. He didn't want to ruin your friendship by telling you, but he didn't want to miss the opportunity to have something real with you. 

You were special to him, oh so special. He liked the idea of you as his girlfriend. Walking you to class, studying together, getting to sit together whenever you wanted and the comments wouldn't get to you because you'd be his. Maybe you'd even be able to sneak in a few kisses when no one was looking. 

Despite being the most sought-after boy in highschool, and the closest thing to an american 'jock' that a british secondary school had to offer, he still hadn't really delved into anything relationship-wise. No kisses for the sake of it, nothing. Hell, even Max had kissed a girl at a party once, but Lando never had.

"I'm really proud of you, you know," she said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and tugging him closer to her. "You did the right thing today, even if it wasn't the most pleasant option for you," she continued. 

"I know you want her to be your friend again, but you've just got to give her time. People will forget about it and move onto someone else soon enough, but you've just got to wait it out and be there for her when she wants you, which she will. You're both very overwhelmed and neither of you know what to do, but it'll all work out." she reassured, kissing him on top of his curly locks.

"It doesn't bother me what they say to me, it's the fact that she's so upset by it... that's what makes it worse," he quietly admitted, leaning into his mum's comforting embrace. They sat there for a while, just hugging. 

"You need to get some sleep, sweetheart. You've just got tomorrow then all weekend, yeah? We can do whatever you want, with whoever." she told him, wanting to make his weekend as good as possible. 

"I've got homework to do," he sighed, thinking over all the assignments that he wouldn't be able to have your help with. Glancing back over at the desk, he saw the remnants of your DT project sitting there, his mind now set on doing this for you. 

"You can do it on Sunday," she told him, trying to sway him into just having fun for a day. She wanted to cheer her son up after the shitty few days that he had gone through, and he deserved a bit of respite. 

"But I want to finish off Y/N's project... I promised..." he whispered, the words tugging at his mum's heart strings. She had never seen her son so attached to someone, so desperate to please them and make them happy. 

She was proud of him, proud of the man he was becoming. It was obvious how much he cared for you, and she really hoped that you'd allow him back in again, than you'd allow him to be your friend and maybe more again. 

"How about you ask dad to help you with it on Sunday? Make it really special?" she suggested, and she noticed the slight light sparking in his eyes at the idea. 

"Yeah, I think I'll do that," he nodded, already running through the different possibilities of what he could do on your project to make it best in the class. He may have been struggling, but it wasn't going to stop him from trying to make you happy.

No matter what anyone said, how they made him feel, how they forced you to push him away, he'd always try for you. You made him a better version of himself, a version that worked hard and cared about more than just getting through school and being cool while doing it. 

You made him care about his grades, how he spoke to people, his actions. You made him better. You made him want to be better. For you. All of it was for you. 

A/N - I know, I've not posted anything in a week, I am sorry. I have been working on this one all week, and I have started the next part for y'all. Something about writing highschool Lando just hits different. It would be the same if I did Charles, Carlos, Max etc, but they would be in a british highschool because that's what I know best. Anyways, have a wonderful day/night, love y'all! 💖🤓

tag list: @anvi-sarai @robotchickenmerp @cheriladycl01

|masterlist|

[rainbowsky]

Sorry I've taken so long to address this, I've had a very busy day and didn't have time to finish this post (which I started yesterday).

I'm talking, of course, about the incredibly controversial situation surrounding DD right now. I've gotten some messages about it so I figured I'd give my thoughts in a bigger post so that I don't have to keep repeating myself.

(CW: racism, spoilers FPU)

I know that by now most people are aware of the situation, but I'm going to start from square one for those who are just catching up on the topic.

There is a scene in Formed Police Unit where Chinese UN peacekeeping troops need to rescue a group of citizens who are surrounded by terrorists. In order to accomplish this they disguise themselves as people from the community. This being Africa, the troops were disguised using blackface.

Yes, I am saying that DD and his castmates appear in the film in blackface.

I am not going to post a picture of that here. It's just something I can't post on my blog. I understand that many of you will want to see for yourself so I'll link a clip of the scene, which was posted on Weibo. Please be aware before clicking - this is full-on blackface. Always take care of yourselves, and if you think it might be upsetting to you don't click. You don't need to see it to be a 'good fan'.

Background

For those who may not know, this movie was filmed years ago, in 2021. During those years I have seen many anti attacks against DD, claiming that he is racist and has worn blackface. Here's the photo that was circulating back then.

At the time I thought the makeup that he was wearing was likely anti-reflective black paint or camouflage paint such as is used by snipers (which he played in the film). I assumed that he was wearing his own hoodie over part of a military costume, because he was wearing a cammo shirt and what might have been combat trousers.

I was certainly not expecting full-on blackface from this movie.

There's no getting around it - this is extremely difficult to look at.

Blackface is widely viewed as offensive and racist. It shouldn't be hard to understand why. Putting on another person's ethnicity like a costume is deeply insensitive, particularly when you consider that BIPOC (black, indigenous, and other people of color) are so frequently targeted, exploited and marginalized. For those in positions of privilege and power to put on the appearance of the people who they oppress and exploit... it's just shocking and awful.

Blackface is most frequently talked about in an American context, but it's actually a problem globally - including in China. More on all that here.

The film

I have not actually seen the film, so I don't know much about the context beyond what is being discussed in the fandom. As I said earlier, in the film a group of UN police officers need to infiltrate an area in the community, and they take on disguises in order to do so.

In promotional media this film is being presented as based on true stories from real missions*. It seems the situation in question really happened on a Chinese peacekeeping mission, and the UN troops disguised themselves as black citizens in order to infiltrate and extract the endangered captives.

*I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt on this because it doesn't change how I feel it should have been handled.

This is important context that is being conveniently left out of much of the backlash about this situation. People are outright claiming that DD plays a black person in the movie - that he wore blackface to perform a role that a black actor could have played. This simply isn't true, and people making these claims are antis and liars. There's simply no excuse for not knowing the full context.

Having said that, I don't really think it matters how it ended up in the film. I do not think there is such a thing as a palatable or appropriate use of blackface. In this day and age it is nearly universally understood to be racist, and it's extremely controversial.

I can understand if they were trying to be accurate to the mission that they were portraying, but surely there are other ways they could have accomplished this scene (perhaps with the clothing but not the blackface). 'Historical accuracy' isn't as important as cultural sensitivity, not by any stretch of the imagination. In the interest of respecting audiences they could have adapted the scene to make the use of blackface unnecessary.

I really see no excuse for anything like this in 2024.

Audience reactions

Chinese sensibilities around these topics are very different from what we are used to in the West.

According to fan repos audiences initially didn't recognize any of the actors, and once it became apparent that they were in disguise, laughter erupted around the room. In fact, most fans are laughing a lot at the photos and video even on social media (although some Chinese netizens have been upset by it and have voiced complaints to various stakeholders).

It is also being widely discussed on Chinese social media as an exciting scene of heroism in the film.

I feel the need to point out that the laughter and mockery is a huge part of the harm, here. As if it's not bad enough that these actors are performing in blackface and presenting a perversion of black ethnicity, it also becomes an opportunity for audiences to mock and disrespect black people. It's become an opportunity for social media to be filled with racist jokes and mockery.

Roadshow statements

There have been some clips circulating of PR and roadshow moments with black cast members and some black audience members who have spoken up in support of the film and to thank the cast and crew for telling the story. Here's one example.

International fans have been dismissing those statements as ignorant or coerced, which I think is offensive and deeply fucked up. There's no planet on which I'm going to - with a totally straight face - say that a black person's response to the movie is not legitimate just because it doesn't comport with my own view.

This is a complex issue and there are inevitably going to be a lot of different perspectives. I hope people won't exacerbate the problem by supplanting black voices on this issue with their own, no matter what's being said. If there's any manipulation going on, let's assume it was in their choosing supportive black figures to speak for the film rather than claim that the black spokespeople are insincere.

China has a lot of issues with racism, there's no doubt about it. It's a huge part of why so many people try to whiten their skin, or why they mock each other when their skin gets tanned/darker. There is a lot of sinister, fucked up stuff going on in China around race - both in the country and in their dealings with other countries.

But we can't claim to speak for black people in China, particularly when they are speaking for themselves! I would hope this is extremely obvious!

Where's DD in all this?

It's understandable that bystanders will react to what they're seeing and might immediately deem it unacceptable - and DD along with it. Their reactions are valid, but as fans I hope that we can look at him with a bit more empathy. I hope that we can take a moment to try to see things from his perspective.

DD has been interested in and an avid fan of black culture since he was a small child. We've all seen how much he immerses himself in hip hop, street dance and the accompanying music and fashion. And yes, he's been accused of cultural appropriation in the past for wearing locs and durags.

However, I think fans need a bit of perspective here to get a sense of where DD might be coming from. Here's a guy who loves black culture, who has close friends who are black, who regularly works with black artists and who supports black artists, in a culture where racism against black people is prevalent and often extreme.

I think DD would probably be amazed to hear the accusations of racism against him. He likely has very few people in his orbit who are anywhere near as supportive of or as closely connected to black people as he is. He likely stands out in his circle as being particularly into black culture and connected with black artists, and probably regularly faces ignorant questions or digs from people around him about his close association with black artists and culture.

Not just because of racism alone, but also due to the racist parallels the government tends to draw between black culture, street dance, hip hop, etc. and criminality/moral degradation*. It's likely that ignorant people in his orbit have expressed concern or wariness toward him because of these associations.

*That is, until breakdancing became an Olympic sport, then they were suddenly onboard with some of it.

I'm not saying that he doesn't have a lot of learning to do (and if this situation becomes what I think it might become, he'll have a big opportunity to do so), I'm just saying that his ignorance isn't mean-spirited. He's coming at this from a totally different angle than any of us are, and he is immersed in a totally different cultural perspective than our own. In his world, his interest likely makes him a bit of an anomaly.

So those painting him as a horrible racist... it's just not how I see it.

The element of choice

I've heard many people say that DD 'didn't have any choice' about this role, that turning it down would not have been an option or that he would be under some kind of threat if he didn't take this role. I don't agree with that characterization of things. I don't think it's quite as 'gun to the head' as a lot of fans paint it.

I think it's more likely that he simply didn't realize that the role would involve blackface when he accepted it, or that he thought that blackface in this context - to infiltrate a terrorist cell and save civilians - would be fine. We don't need to depict China as forcibly compelling actors to take unwanted roles if we want to make sense of this. There are simpler, more logical explanations.

DD wouldn't have been the one deciding how to depict the scene - he didn't have that power in 2021 - but I also doubt he would have had a major problem with it given everything we know.

We must overcome our Western tendency to see things only from our own perspective. This has a totally different cultural context in China, and the voices we listen to about it should not be issuing exclusively from white faces that are not at ground zero of this situation.

Final thoughts

This film has had me worried from day one. I think most people have been expecting it to be full of offensive portrayals and propagandistic fuckery. There are so many ways in which a Chinese film about the UN is potentially a sticky, tricky mess. This blackface thing is likely just one problem on a towering pile of problems.

However, I'm not going to sugarcoat this - this has the potential to be a real shitshow for DD, and I am concerned. Especially if this film gets an international release.

We need to brace ourselves, because I don't think this is going to just disappear. DD has endorsements with international brands, and this could definitely cause backlash for those brands unless the issue is addressed and the scenes removed. There's no planet on which brands like Chanel and Lacoste can afford to have one of their spokespeople plastered everywhere in blackface.

If this film gets an international release and those scenes are left intact, it's possible he will lose some brands.

Let's hope it doesn't come to that, but let's face it - things like this have consequences, and that's why it's so important for producers and artists to be sensitive about what they're portraying.

While I think there's some endorsement risk here for DD, and the potential loss of some international fans, I want to be clear about one thing: I don't think this will threaten his career overall. In China this just isn't an issue in the way it is internationally.

I do hope the film team addresses this issue in some way, ideally by removing the scenes. They just finished doing a massive edit to remove ZZH from the film, surely they can handle something like this. But let's not hold our breath...

Everyone has the right to make up their minds about DD. As I've often said, being a turtle isn't for the faint of heart. That's not just because turtles are frequent targets for bullies, or because we have to constantly live with uncertainty and doubt.

Being an international turtle also isn't for the faint of heart because there are a lot of cultural and political minefields to navigate, and many ideological differences to adapt to. There's a huge learning curve and a lot of unknowns, and turtles who want to survive have to make peace with the fact that we and the boys are from different worlds in many ways. We may never know where they really stand on issues that are important to us.

However, in this case I feel confident that I know where DD's heart is on this issue. He simply doesn't hold hatred, disrespect or disdain for black people. Quite the contrary.

I think we'd all just feel a lot better if he had a good grasp on how to be a better ally.

And while we're waiting for that, I think we should put our money where our mouths are and learn more about these issues ourselves, both in China and locally at home. We want DD to be a better person; let's be better people too.

Edit: more on this here.

[germiyahu]

That "racism of low expectations" point can be applied to more than Westerners patting their little Jihad Meow Meows on the head by the way. I think it also applies to American Jews, usually assimilated, acting like Israel is this Entity and not a country made up of mostly Middle Eastern Jews, people. When they do acknowledge that Israelis are people who aren't just acting in the interests of an all powerful governmental animus, they act like all Israelis are bloodthirsty frat bro soldiers wreaking havoc in Gaza because they think it's fun.

Because what is this? This tweet was in response to the chaotic backlash against Jonathan Glazer, who espoused a nearly identical sentiment. That sentiment being: Israel is using our Jewishness for some nefarious political purpose. It's not fair! We didn't sign off on GENOCIDE! How dare they use us to do this!

Israeli Jews are seen too unenlightened, too religious, too much of an embarrassment, to much of Diaspora Jewry. And yet at the same time their Jewishness is not even considered to be part of the political calculus of Israel at all? These not in my name types truly think Israel is a shadowy cabal of like 20 old white men (ironic) getting off on destroying lives and using as shields these poor innocent Americans and Brits, famously two peoples who've never twisted or corrupted the legacy of the Holocaust before.

They obviously have very hurt feelings that Israeli Jews dare to be Jews, to invoke their own Jewishness, Jewish values, to justify military action. They're not even really doing that? They want the hostages back. That is the primary concern if you poll Israeli citizens right now. And that's been the case pretty much every day since the pogrom. That's it. That's why they're saying Never Again. If that offends you as a Jewish person really let that steep. Really sit with your emotional reaction to Jews having a trauma reaction to traumatizing events and relating other events of Jewish trauma throughout history to that event. Ask yourself if it's appropriate to insinuate that they're using their Jewishness, sorry just YOUR Jewishness apparently, to make you look bad?

Israeli politicians have invoked the Holocaust outright, as a comparison. Because clearly the country whose "white" population is mostly made up of the descendants of Holocaust refugees has no business doing that? That's an affront to your name and your values?Again, why do you think everything is about you? Why do you think everything Israel does is even in your name in the first place? Is it American Brainrot Disease again?

You think Israeli Jews are so incapable of rationality and of yearning for social justice (they just want their family members back) that you erase them from the conversation. Israeli leftists are not real and are not working with Palestinians as we speak, and certainly aren't advocating for a ceasefire more successfully than anyone on this continent! Israeli politicians who speak to their constituents and use the shared cultural language of being Jews are trying to brainwash and influence Americans, because they have no constituents. Israel is just a bunch of racist politicians and a mercenary army that's trained to kill children specifically.

Like this is getting so annoying. It's clear they wish they could just excommunicate all Israelis, because they're Bad Jews. They want to take away their Jewish card, because that's not what Real Judaism stands for! And then they get offended when non secular Jews around the world dare question their Jewish identities in response to this behavior. Which I'm not condoning for the record, but how about you practice what you preach for once?

[dazed-and-confused23]

For Better or for Worse

It's come to my attention that there aren't nearly enough people giving our boy Charon love. So here is my submission.

Summary: After a close call with Talon Company, you and Charon patch each other up back in Megaton. Charon comes to terms with his feeling for you and does something about it.

Warnings: none? Kissing and Charon being a sweetheart.

Masterlist

"I told you to let me take point," Charon grumbled. He sat beside you, a scowl on his ghoulish face as he wound stained bandages around your shoulder. His mistress had run into trouble, not thirty minutes into their outing today, and had to turn right back around to run back to Megaton like a dog with its tail between its legs. He'd just spent the better part of an hour digging lead out of you.

Your lips screw up in a pout, "Why? So you could have been shot instead?"

Charon gives you a deadpan look, his milky blue eyes annoyed, "Yes."

"No!" You hiss right back and glare at the Ghoul, "Just cause you're supposed to protect me, doesn't mean you need to take a bullet for me, Charon."

He ignores you in favor of focusing on tucking the end of the bandage in and then sits back. The two of you have been together going on three years now, and Charon still couldn't wrap his head around how kind you were to him, how much you cared for him. He would turn the world upside down for you if you gave the order.

But you never ordered him. You told him that you refused to own a slave, but you would like a friend. And while the contract you held made things difficult, you always tried your best to do right by Charon.

"I don't like seeing you get hurt," Charon admits after a moment and looks at you out of the corner of his eye. He isn't well versed in feelings and emotions, had always preferred to shove those down until he was numb, but he wanted to try. For you.

"You're important to me, more than just an employer. More than a friend."

Charon didn't know, or maybe he didn't remember what love felt like, but he thinks what he feels for you might be it. You worry and infuriate him at every turn, but seeing that mega watt grin when you find a preserved magazine in some ruins made it all worth it. His heart would pick up speed whenever you hung off his arm, cheeks feeling hot when you pressed yourself against his side.

"It's not right, and it's inappropriate of me, but I love you, _."

Charon doesn't know what he's expecting, backlash, or disgust, most likely, but not for you to throw yourself at him, headless of your injury. He catches you easily, dull blue eyes going wide when you wrap your arms around his neck and hold him tightly. He clutches your waist, unsure what to do.

"I've loved you for a long time, Charon. I was just too scared to say anything," you admit, and your words are like basking in the sweet glow of radiation. He pulls you away, needing to see your face, but you're just smiling, eyes full of elation and adoration for the ghoul.

Charon licks his lips, "Can I kiss you?"

"Please."

The feel of your smooth lips against his ruined one could put him in the grave. The sweet exchange is everything and more than what Charon imagined it to be, and you aren't shy in showing him exactly the way you like it. When you pull away to smile down at him, his only regret is not telling you sooner.

[cain-speaks]

LMK Season 5 Animation Analysis

basically just me rambling about how i feel about the animation. i'm not going to talk about plot but i tagged spoilers just in case :3

First, to put it bluntly:

No, I do not like the look of season 5. The movement of the characters is regularly stiff and slow, the character proportions are odd, lines are oddly angled instead of smooth (like the monkey tails), you can tell they're still adjusting to how LMK does character lighting, and it's not as flashy and fun in my opinion. I think some of the sound design was a little weird this season, too (in EP3, Wukong busting a giant hole in the wall makes like no noise? Just seems weird to me). The space cracks are oddly... solid, if that makes sense? In season 4 they appeared much more delicate, while in this season they're, in a way, heavy? Also, this is certainly a personal irk, but the blended style for the tears? Not a fan. I could be misremembering, but Flying Bark made them crisp.

Having said that, it's not nearly as bad as I (and others, I imagine) thought it would have looked, judging from the trailer. Part of this is probably because they reused a lot of animation from previous seasons; which, by the way, isn't bad, it saves time and I'm sure it's a lifesaver while they're learning. It's just... obvious. Very obvious, especially because you can tell they did it more this season than Flying Bark did.

I've watched some clips from Carmen Sandiego because I think it's one of Wild Brain's most recent shows, and I think you can see the similarities. I didn't watch a lot, but it seems to me that characters are less expressive with their body language and more stagnant. They also don't seem to be super facially expressive to me, but like I said, I didn't watch a lot. Now, Carmen is a beautifully animated show! But it's different. And different's not bad, it's just... hard. Unsatisfying and disappointing, currently. Flying Bark's style, in my opinion, had the characters constantly moving. Whether it was a tail twitching, a position shift, a little expression in the background, they were moving. And they moved fluently and quickly. It really made the characters feel alive. I THINK it's also a different between puppet animation and frame-by-frame animation but don't quote me on that.

ANYWAY all of that is to say that yes, there are visible differences and they're upsetting. I hold LMK very near and dear to my heart as I'm sure many of us do, so as thrilled as I am to have season 5, it does hurt a bit.

HOWEVER.

Wild Brain isn't responsible for that. Flying Bark had a learning curve just in season 1 vs season 2. We have to give the new studio TIME to grow and adapt to the style. It's really unfortunate because now we have what feels like a very crudely animated season that I just know would have been better with the style we all know and love, but hopefully there will be more seasons, they'll get better, and we'll realize that this is just a blip in our hopefully long lives.

And to the neurodivergents: you are valid, we are valid. God knows I loathe change. I was really hoping the studio change was just a misunderstanding, but unfortunately it's not. LMK's visual aspect is important. If you decide to leave the show behind, that's okay! If you don't, welcome to the ship I'm trying to keep afloat!

Back to everybody now. Your decision is yours; don't let others make you feel bad about leaving or sticking with the show and most DEFINITELY do not lash out at the studio, because istg if the show gets cancelled from backlash I'll jump off a bridge (/dramatic).

Anyway idk if this is really an analysis. But it's something! Less than 4 days for the english dub, whoop whoop!

[donkeys-waffles]

My head cannons about All for Inko

I always hear how AFO has Inko in a gilded cage, how he's possessive and controlling and how horrified Inko would be at the revelation. And I always liked the idea that those feelings are mutual between them. Maybe not the possessiveness, but the fear of abandonment, especially if the Inko Shimura theory is true.

Imagine Inko living her entire life in the system, not really knowing the love of her parents or even the love of regular adults. What if she never got adopted, taking into consideration the fact that the society we're given in MHA is one driven by quirks, the stronger the quirk the more desirable/respected the individual (looking at Bakugou getting away with verbal and physical abuse for nearly a decade without any backlash.) It's possible she wasn't adopted as a result of her weak quirk factor (you can kinda think of it as a measure of success, as utterly messed up as it sounds, it's possible that people wanted the kids with the strongest quirks first because of their potential for making billions as a hero later in life. Again, super messed up, but a thought coming from what we've seen throughout the manga.) A result of prejudice that ended with Inko never really feeling paternal love, or a consistent source of it.

What if AFO didn't fall in love with Inko just because she was kind, gentle, and loving. What if she was not only a supply of what he yearned for but also a mirror, someone he could actually relate to. Someone who had to look out for themselves their whole lives.

And if so, how would that potentially alter her perception of her own life. What if she knows she's in a gilded cage but him being her first real source of love (no matter how ugly or twisted,) keeps her there.

What if all I said about her backstory is true, it's not just AFO using her as his source of the unconditional love he never received, but it's completely mutual.

Now, I get it, he's a horrible husband, he's never depicted actually being there for either of them aside from a monetary provider. But this is the best part. She loves him, many people can't forget their first love and many others consistently make excuses for the actions or inaction of those they love. It's something you need to remember, you can throw a stranger behind bars, but it becomes incredibly complicated when that person matters to you.

He provides money, maybe the odd gift or letter, hell maybe even a phone call, and she tricks herself into believing he's still there.

She knows she's in a gilded cage, and logically she knows her husband is terrible, but leaving him or confronting the issue entirely would shine a light on her greatest fear, being abandoned again. Tricking herself into thinking that he's just busy and that's why he didn't even send a text when their son was in TWO WARS THAT RECIEVED GLOBAL ATTENTION.

AFO is afraid of being abandoned which would lead me to believe he isolated her on purpose, putting her into this gilded cage so she'd forever be taken care of by him and adored from a safe distance (kinda like Yoichi,) and she stays, tricking herself into believing that she isn't practically a single mother, out of fear of recognizing her own abandonment by the hands of a loved one.

Now what if she knew of his criminal history? It's easy to believe that she'd try to leave. And that's plausible. But I find it much more interesting it she didn't, for the first reason, he's the first man to show her kindness.

He's her husband, who probably bought her gifts, was a big quirk nerd who reads comics, was good with children, charming, handsome, and definitely the type to be kind (even though it's all so he can manipulate you later of course.) And that's not something I think she would find easy to forget. She would 100% set boundaries with him regarding Izuku and their life together. But I just find it interesting is all. Their love would be incredibly toxic and codependent and definitely obsessive.

And I would be lying if I said I didn't eat that crap up. :)

[susandsnell]

I LOVE YOUR POINTS ON THE EVER AFTER POST. YES YES YES.

Thank you so much friend! I am alas a person who forever has a lot of Fairy Tale And Folklore Thoughts™️ equally coupled with my feminist lens, and I find a lot of analysis tends to go into the black and white instead of accepting stories as reflections of cultural worldviews within the time/place from which they originate, for better and for worse, and that value can be gleaned as well as criticism can be made. Anyone who follows me knows I have a bee in my bonnet about the Let Women [in period pieces] Be Unapologetically Feminine brigade and their angry insistence that any feminist lens or challenging of the social mores of a period piece, classic, or otherwise historical work is anachronistic, and Actually We Loved Being Oppressed And Didn't Know To Complain And Nonconforming People Were Freaks and I do feel this way in my approach to fairy tales as well.

If you don't mind me getting a bit controversial, this is why the liberal feminist side of the backlash to Rachel Zegler's Snow White comments about her being afforded more agency and interiority than a film written nearly 100 years ago by white American men adapting a centuries-old fairy tale (the racist chuds were to be expected) was so disingenuous and disheartening. "why isn't it Empowering if a female character is kind and sweet and feminine despite her suffering and Lets Herself Be Rescued" do you hear yourself!!! that's what patriarchy still expects/demands of us!! While generic Girlbossing of fairy tales is annoying (and can have the subtext of victim blaming of the "why didn't you fight back" variety), it's not much better to be Ashamed Women Are So Simple and Actually The Men Were Right To Tell Us What To Do.

Perreault's (and to a lesser extent, Grimm's) Cinderella has a psychologically realistic response to abuse that a real person should never be shamed for, but likewise, she is a fictional figure meant to instruct (in the former case) upper class young ladies in pre-Revolutionary France that passivity is the peak of femininity, and it will be rewarded handsomely with a reprieve from mistreatment, as You Have Succeeded At Your Gender Role.

This isn't to say there isn't value in validating that Cinderella's response, but ideally there is just as much a place for Danielle punching her wicked stepsister in the face and pulling a sword on a libertine nobleman, as much space for Vasilisa the Beautiful to consort with Baba Yaga and (knowingly or unknowingly, it's unclear) burn her wicked stepfamily alive with witchfire and win her place in court through her talent at weaving, as there is for Branagh's Cinderella to, with quiet dignity, use forgiveness as a means to release the hold her abusers have on her to move forward to the happy life she's always deserved. Because even in the latter case, again a continuation of Perreault and Disney, the focus isn't on Cinderella's Moral Womanly Correctness, but on what's good for her, what helps Ella heal, and what a happily ever after looks like for Ella.

And that's the important thing - not whether or not Cinderella waves a sword or bows her head, but that the focus is on her interiority and agency, and not assigning a higher moral value to her response to abuse as The Correct Response, whatever such a response may be.

[things-arent-what-they-seem66]

Okay, so this is something I started and I'm not sure I'll ever finish it. It's basically like a Snow White au.

Just thought I should share it here.

Sera sat at her desk in her office alone, the lights turned out. She didn't want anyone to see what she was holding in case they just happened to stumble inside. Especially Emily, sweet girl as she was, she didn't understand how to take risks for a nessacary good.

She knew that she should put it away, no one else knew where the halo was. Lute had brought it to her nearly a year ago to the day. The news of Adams death was surprsing, but not unwelcoming. He was getting to be too much to handle.

Sera figured with him out of the way, there was no one left that knew about her devine plans of getting rid of every sinner and hellborn in that unholy pit in the ground.

Instead of exterminators going toe to toe with demons, they would use long distance weapons to shoot them with holy light, making them disintegrate. No more angels would die at the hands of hell spawn and heaven could be rid of most of Hell for good. Adam had been one of the few behind her plan supporting it. Others who knew, and didn't want to be apart of it were delt with promptly.

Sera stood up and went over to her bookshelf and pulled on the only red book there. The case moved to reveal a hidden room. She walked inside, door closing behind her. With each step, a light came on show casing the items on the wall.

Halos and wings of angels that either went against her or tried to rise to over throw her, name plates above the halos.

It was recently brought to her attention that Adam had respawned in Hell as a sinner. He was staying at Lucifers daughters hotel. Seras grip on the halo threatened to snap it in half. This could ruin everything, if Adam decided to give Lucifer a heads up on what she was planning to do, the backlash would be too grand. She reached the end of the very long room, the only thing on the wall in front of her were hooks and a name plate.

Adam, it read.

Sera hung up the halo under his name and looked the remaining empty hooks.

She needed to figure out a way to get rid of Adam once and for all. Not only to secure her plans, but to fill the space for where his wings will go.

Lucifer stood in a completely white room, Adam stood a couple feet away from him. He held no expression on his face. "Adam, what's going on?"

"Will you be able to wake me up?"

"Huh? What are you talking about, you are awake."

"Promise me, you'll wake me when the time comes Luci." Adam pleaded, this was too weird.

"Adam I don't understand."

"Don't let me go to sleep." Adam produced an apple, it was red but was dripping in golden liquid. Adam rasied it to his mouth.

"Adam wait-''

The sound of the apple crunch rang out, the golden liquid glistened from Adams lips as he chewed slowly. "Won't you wake me?" Adams eyes rolled in the back of his head, he fell to the ground. The apple slipped from his hand not that far away.

Lucifer couldn't move as he watched in horror, like some invisible force kept him away. "Adam!"

"You can't save him Lucifer." Came a womans voice.

Lucifer gasped as he was startled awake. Looking around he noticed he was in his room. A dream, it was only a dream. Or a nightmare.

He looked to the sound of soft snoring coming from beside him and sighed in relief. Adam was sleeping peacefully, face relaxed and hair mused from sleep.

What the fuck was up with that dream? This was the third time he had it come to him and he was just as confused now as he was the first time.

The only thing that Lucifer could think of was maybe it was left over guilt from Eden. For having Adam bite the apple and get punished for it.

You'd think after ten thousand years it would stop bothering him.

Groaning, he flopped back in the bed and watched the sinner beside him sleep. He didn't think he'd ever date anyone again after Lilith left, especially Adam. After he respawned as a sinner in Hell they struck a deal for Adam to have his protection.

That had been nearly a year ago and some how they ended up in a relationship that started out are stress relief to one with more feelings.

Lucifer knew how he was feeling about Adam, he loved him. He hasn't told him that yet, not wanting to scare the guy off in case it was too much. Adam was very emotionally constipated and it had taken a lot to get anything out of him.

Lucifer sighed, he reached out a tucked a stray strand of hair behind the sinners ear. Maybe some day soon he could tell him, but how soon was too soon?

Adam sat as he watched Lucifer create a new duck, no detail spared. He'd find it endearing if he wasn't so fucking board.

He let his mind wander, starring at nothing in particular. Adam thought about heaven, his old home and life. For the most part, he wasn't really missing the pearly gates much these days. He no longer had to listen to Sera and her bullshit at every meeting.

His last meeting her came to mind and he could barely remember what it was she said she was going to do. Something about a weapon, maybe? Adam couldn't fucking recall. It was over a year ago he didn't give a shit.

What he did remember was that it spelled big trouble for Hell if she ever got that thing up and running. Adam knew he should probably tell Lucifer about it, but in the beginning he didn't care.

Now though, too much time has passed and nothing has happened that Adam didn't think it was worth bringing up.

[runabout-river]

Gege's Explanation:

In this chapter, Gege addresses several common theories among readers, particularly those on TikTok, regarding easier ways to defeat Sukuna. He dismisses these points clearly, offering explanations for why these strategies wouldn't work:

1. Maki Switching with Yuta (Boogie Woogie): Many believed Maki could have switched with Yuta using Boogie Woogie, but Gege explains that this wouldn't be effective. Maki couldn’t stop Sukuna’s rampage, and the plan would fall apart quickly.

2. Cursed Speech and Higuruma’s Sword: The idea of using Cursed Speech or Higuruma’s sword to weaken Sukuna is debunked, as the backlash from using such techniques would be too much, likely leading to Cursed Speech users dying from overuse or collapse.

3. Foreigners Joining: Some fans speculated that foreign sorcerers would arrive to assist in defeating Sukuna. However, Gege points out that even though these foreigners initially refused to get involved, they eventually changed their minds and joined later, but they were not enough to tip the balance.

4. Todo Unable to Save Yuji and Choso: Fans hoped Todo could step in to save Yuji and Choso. However, Gege explains that Sukuna’s cursed energy was far too strong, and with both Yuji and Choso caught in the middle of the battle, Todo couldn't intervene in time.

---

The Clan War:

The three great houses—Zenin, Kamo, and Gojo—have been locked in a stalemate for quite some time. While some believe this power imbalance hints at a sequel, I disagree for several reasons:

1. Zenin Clan: With Megumi and Maki now representing the Zenin clan, their power is significantly reduced compared to their peak.

2. Gojo Clan: The Gojo clan has lost its strongest member, Satoru Gojo, leaving them weakened and without a clear leader.

3. Kamo Clan: Kenjaku, the former head of the Kamo clan, is dead, leaving the Kamo clan with no strong leadership as well.

If anything, the future will likely see the students (the next generation) joining the Shin Kage—a group that could rise to take over Jujutsu society. These young sorcerers are strong enough to wipe out anyone standing in their way, signaling a fresh start for the world of Jujutsu sorcery.

(I got several asks last night, mostly on anon. I like getting asks and if you want to stay on anon that's good but also if you want to you can add a personal emoji to your asks. To distinguish yourself and so on 🙂)

Most of what Gege wrote in the war review part of last chapter I had already mentioned during my reviews of the Shinjuku fight in the last year. For me nothing of what was said was new or mindbreaking information. Especially the Toge part 😄 I've said it mostly for Nobara but its the same for both: if they attacked Sukuna too early they would explode 😂

About the clans:

I have to disagree on the Zenin. Like I said in my review, they lost nearly all of their fighters, however they didn't lose their power. Maki is the one who killed them and is therefore stronger than them, a special grade in all but name. Megumi has been said two chapters ago that he would be a special grade as well. With only those two the Zenin obviously don't have their direct political power anymore but they're still powerful.

The Gojo was already about to be ousted if it hadn't been for Satoru's birth. Now though, Yuta can take over the clan as he's a distant and extremely strong relative of them. Of course, they wouldn't be as strong as with Gojo Satoru.

Yes, on the Kamo. Their usurper of a leader is gone now and their previous heir left as well (the thing is, Kenjaku would've had to leave the Kamo the moment Gojo came back so what did they do in the one month timeskip?) Noritoshi could come back though, this time together with his mother. The Kamo would've lost their political power though I guess.

So the funny thing here is, including Kusakabe being the head of the NSS school, that all the old powers are more or less concentrated in the hands of our guys. This does not preclude heavy conflict however.

Last chapter reintroduced heavy power play machinations into the JJ society. And that from a non-clan entity. In Hidden Inventory, a non-clan sorcerer group and even a non-sorcerer group made power plays inside JJS. With the extremely changed landscape of the world right now, such power plays are likely to happen again.

As in, the lower clans like the Inumaki could want to fill the power vacuum the big clans left behind. The Japanese government might make moves. The invading armies might make alliances.

I see the extremely detailed NSS parts of last chapter, including several panels of Mei Mei killing the old NSS head, not as a last note on the big clans but as an expansion of the power dynamics that are constantly at play in the background of JJK.

And those could indeed fill the background story parts of a potential JJK Part 2.

[graveltrapping]

Female Max Verstappen/Daniel Ricciardo | Reintroductions

People had told Daniel a lot of things about Max before they reintroduced them after her sudden move up to the Senior Team.

They told him that she was young.

They told him she was a good driver.

They told him her dad liked to hang around a lot. (He was apparently nastier than she was)

Mostly, they told Daniel that Max was a little funny looking and a little mean. Angry and aggressive, thoughtless energy and pent up frustration directed at people who so much as looked at her wrong or said something she didn't like, lots of bark with a nasty bite.

He kind of gets what they're saying when they're finally face to face.

She's sitting in a chair in the back of the room, heels resting on the edge of the seat so her knees are pressed to her chest, arms wrapped around her calves. Her hands, big with long and slim fingers, dig into her own forearms that are covered by an oversized Red Bull hoody to keep her legs in place so she can balance her chin on her knees. Her chin is spotty, pink fleshy bumps rising over her jaw with a couple angry red ones dotted along her temples and forehead that the shaggy blonde hair sticking out from under her cap can't hide.

Her nose is hawkish, a rigid straight line compared to the roundness of her cheek, still full of baby fat she can't seem to shake. Her eyes are squinted despite being shaded by the flat brim of her cap, and sit a little far apart but Daniel can't help but find it strangely charming. Makes her look slightly like a cat. A little odd looking, not fully grown into herself yet, body still a little out of proportion, she looks like the teenager she is.

None of that nastiness people whispered about.

If anything she looked relaxed.

Melting into herself as she basked in the sun that came through the freshly polished window, blue eyes fluttering closed. Daniel cant help but smile when her cheek squished up as she rested it against her own bicep, eyes going crinkly.

He had seen Max around before. A scowl had seemed to have been carved into her face the moment she stepped into the paddock, brows pulled together tightly with her lips nearly curling into a snarl. Shoulders hunched, back rigid, face cold and blank.

She looked softer now.

Daniel wondered if her meanness would melt away in the sun as well, if she would smile a him the way she did when they first officially met at a karting event all those years ago. She had been smaller then, barely reaching his shoulder, where now she was a couple centimetres taller with a broadness to her shoulders that was intimidating.

"You ready to say hi?" Christian hummed as he stepped up to Daniels side.

Christian had always liked Max, lobbied for her again and again and again despite the backlash of wanting to put an 'angry little girl' in a car with enough horse power to tear up tarmac and shred metal. He had followed her through the feeder series, steadfast in the decision of her skipping F2, and watched her closely through every race in the Toro Rosso.

Danile grinned "Hell yeah"

At the sound of their footsteps, Max's eyes flicker open and squint cutely against the light. They widen when she sees them coming closer, feet dropping down clumsily to the floor as so fast her sneakers squeaking against the linoleum, while her hands rub across her denim clad thigh nervously. He can see a mottled blush being to rise over her pimpled cheeks. Agin, bathed in the sun and drowning in a hoody a few sizes too big, she looked as sweet as sugar. She shifted nervously. Weight swaying from one foot to the other, blue eyes shimmering with something like excitement. The corners of her mouth began to twitch upwards.

Instead it purses and draws tighter when her dad suddenly steps up beside her. A hand, big and branding, lands on her shoulder.

Daniel says hi to her, grinning and laying the compliment on thick, sweet like sunshine and as soft as butter. He amps up his charm to 100 and lets Christian do all the 'political' schmoozing, boasting about her accomplishment as if she wasn't the one the lived them while bragging about the team she was moving up too and how everyone was so excited to have her around. The whizkid, the rookie, the golden girl.

Max doesn't so much as smile.

The hand on her shoulder looks heavy.

[qqueenofhades]

as a woc (who is south asian, so i share that with harris), it's deeply upsetting to me that......nothing she could do would be right. i see people wondering why she isn't doing more, but then she does something, and then those same people pick that thing apart and tear her to pieces and it really does go to show that nothing we ever do will be "right".

i have yet to see criticism of her specifically that doesn't boil down to racism or misogyny (or a combination of both), and it's frustrating, especially in leftist spaces, because i do want to think critically and have conversations about what she's doing right and what she (and the administration as a whole) could improve upon, but i feel like i can't start or participate in those conversations without dealing with that same racism + misogyny. and this isn't even getting into the gop, this is about people who call themselves progressive/leftist/whatever. so much effort goes into maintaining the idea that they're better than the right, but i don't see nearly as much effort put into.....being better tbh

Unfortunately, among all their other problems, Online Leftists are a) often just as likely to be racist and misogynist as the GOP, and b) to strenuously deny that they are, weaponize that language in bad faith against people or candidates they dislike, and otherwise parrot abstract "social justice" talking points and Progressive Jargon while being absolutely noxious to the real, actual people that are involved. They do, as you say, assume they are Morally Righteous, and then don't actually interrogate that or question it in any way. So.... yeah. Yeah, pretty much. As I've said before and will say again, they are an absolute failure as any kind of practical or effective opposing force to right-wing fascism, and often inadvertently or even deliberately enable it in deeply disappointing ways.

It's funny that in all my posts/answers on the topic, I stated multiple times that if people could provide me an actual reason that made empirical sense as to why they didn't like Kamala, I was happy to have that discussion. Instead I got a lot of weird angry asks from people clearly still trying to justify their Hillary Clinton Derangement Syndrome (I only answered one of them because I have better things to do with my life), accusing me of being "emotional," "angry," "trauma-dumping" and God knows what else. And like. I'm sorry that pointing out a clearly verifiable fact (misogyny is what doomed HRC, anti-Obama backlash/racism was what enabled Trump) triggered y'all to that degree, but I think that fact is pretty illuminating on its own. And no, actually, I don't have to "get over" HRC's loss or "just accept" that people had "reasons" (conveniently never articulated, but they were real! They totally weren't misogyny! PEOPLE HAD REAL REASONS FOR NOT LIKING HER WHY WON'T YOU BELIEVE ME AND ACCEPT THAT!!!) for disliking her and/or not voting for her when her opponent was Donald F'n Trump. Like, I know they live in the magical realm of the Permanently Online where the real world suffers no consequences from their bullshit and the argument about why 2016 was not their fault changes daily, but that's not the case with us here on Earth. And yeah, we're pretty mad.

Kamala has, in my view, been doing a perfectly fine job as the vice president. She has been able to give a few powerful and relevant speeches about race relations, gun violence, abortion, and other topics. I occasionally see news articles from "anonymous sources" who "don't like her" or want to cause trouble for whatever reason, which I treat with the usual degree of skepticism that I employ when reading anything the mainstream media writes about Democrats (which is then repurposed and reused in the Online Leftists' "Democrats Terrible!" screeds in equally bad faith). Yet again, I repeat my offer for anyone who wants to complain about her for an actual and clearly articulated reason to explain what that reason is and why it's not a double standard, why it's not attributable to racism and misogyny (even and especially the unacknowledged sort), what they expect she should be doing differently, and why this is any kind of big deal for the actual mainstream electorate. But judging from previous experience, this will just trigger another round of anonymous WE HAVE GOOD REASONS FOR NOT LIKING HER!!! whines with cheese, and to that I say, yeah, don't even waste your time.

[beevean]

Honestly what annoys me more about the fandom's reaction to Chaomix is that the main talking points haven't changed. Only the context around them did. It's still "2010 sonic bad" and "sega bad" except now it comes with an addendum of "they bad because they tried to appeal to those reviewers and journos". Which sucks because it would be a legit point on it's own but it's being used as a smokescreen for some to still hate on the games while presenting it like they are defending them.

I will bet everything I have that in a decade the "Meta Era" will gain new appreciation exactly the same way as the "Dark Age".

The Dark Age used to be despised for multiple reasons. It had some objectively flawed games back to back, for sure, but part of the backlash was also due to the Classic fans being the majority of the fandom, being very unhappy with the direction of the franchise. A lot of nowadays beloved Sonic games used to be laughingstocks.

Sonic Heroes? A janky repetitive mess that did not follow up to the masterpiece that was SA2 because it was too kiddy, and we're so tired of Sonic's Shitty Friends.

Shadow the Hedgehog? Not only it was OW THE EDGE, but it was legitimately seen as an affront to everything Sonic stood for, shilling a creator's pet that had long overstayed its welcome.

Sonic '06? One of the worst games of all time. Nearly killed the franchise, and maybe it should have. Buggy and rushed in a way that was unacceptable for an anniversary game and the next gen game. A shitty ass story full of holes with damsels in distress that make out with animal corpses.

Sonic Unleashed? The Werehog was fucking stupid and once again spitting on everything Sonic stood for, and we're so tired of cinematic stories! (yes the complaint that the intro was too long was a real complaint)

Sonic and the Black Knight? Sonic with a sword was fucking stupid. No one cared about the story.

The beginning of the Meta Era was exactly what fans wanted back then. Colors was seen as Sonic's comeback for things like not having an intro cutscene, having a "saturday morning cartoon" story with only Sonic and Tails and none of the Shitty Friends, having Eggman as the final boss instead of yet another monster, and sticking only with the "good" parts of Unleashed. Read its Funny page on TvTropes, and you'll find many of the jokes that nowadays are used as proof that Pontaff were hacks and Flynn was so real for making fun of them both in IDW and in Frontiers. It was seen as Sonic's glorious return because finally, at long last, Sonic was going back to his Classic roots.

But now? Now those same Classic fans grew older and even more disillusioned with the franchise, so they left, and they were replaced by the Adventure fans, now old enough to be heard. Now Heroes is a cute game, with much better level design than shitty games like Forces. ShTH is secretly deeper than people gave it credit for, and Shadow is cool again, and at least characters do stuff, unlike in Forces. Sonic '06 was full of ambition, unlike Forces where they didn't even try. Sonic Unleashed can pretty much compete with SA2 as a masterpiece. SatBK has a wonderful story that truly gets Sonic, unlike Forces where everyone is stupid and lame.

See a pattern?

Hell, even things like Eggman as a final boss is getting backlash now. I've seen people praising Frontiers' The End because of this. Eggman as the final villain got stale again. These are the Adventure fans who grew up with Eggman getting swatted away or teaming up with Sonic, and liking it.

(I'm an Adventure fan too, but funnily enough, Colors was the first game where I ever liked Eggman precisely for keeping him as the main threat lol)

It's a cycle. The 2010s were the era of "the 2000s sucked, we want to go back to the '90s when Sonic used to be good". The 2020s will be, and already are, the era of "the 2010s sucked, we want to go back to the 2000s when Sonic used to be good". I am eagerly waiting for the videos named "Sonic Forces was not that bad, you guys were just mean". It will come. Just like '06 used to be reviled and mocked to death and now it has gained respect, the same will happen to Forces. Just like Forces is now seen as "unserious" and apologetic, the same will happen with Frontiers and its "I'm sorry we sucked, we'll do better next time" tone. Just like Pontaff were seen as a breath of fresh air and now they are seen as the people who ruined Sonic, the same will happen to Flynn. You'll see.

[dairy-farmer]

This is a fantastic fanfic about what if Damien had killed Tim when he cut his line. It's so good and angsty, and it's pretty short, so I recommend spending 5 minutes to read this.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/38021065

!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the fall out!!! damian facing fierce rejection from his actions, a backlash he hadn't expected because he'd misread the situation!!!! that fic was soo good!!! damian was lucky tim reacted quick enough- like tim has nearly been offed more times by comrades and allies than any rogue. damian, jason, stephanie (by proxy of hiring people to apparently "make tim better" sure you can try and blame bruce bc he told her to do it but she could've said no and not hired genuine murderers)- all of them genuinely nearly killed him. they've gotten closer to it then tim's actual enemies which really makes you think about how...accepted they'd be if they had succeeded like damian did in the fic.

they would immediately lose the possibility of ever having the trust of any cape. none to have their back or vouch for them. damian because of his age has only the slightest chance of coming out of it because the argument would be waged that because of how he was raised he can't completely be to blame but the blame would still be pretty heavy. with jason there would be an argument for his mindset but without any proof that his mind was altered i don't think dick or anyone would be willing to accept it as an excuse. and stephanie saying 'it got out of hand i didn't mean to get him killed' or whatever excuse she had would definitely not cut it. by far tim was the only one who was vouching for her to an extent and her being responsible for his death would not grant her much leniency with other capes.

an ally of tim killing and being responsible for his death would have such severe and immediate consequences for them they might never be capable of coming back from it. capes definitely wouldn't take kindly to it. they already have to watch their back and having one of their own be responsible for a death of one of them? it would be just a very unnerving situation for everyone all around.

[writingmyheartoutforyou]

There are a lot of things wrong with the idea of dropping Biden and replacing him with someone else.

1.) The General Election is less than 4 months away. The funds raised by Biden's campaign ($200 million at the least) can not be transferred to any other campaign according to law. Meaning any potential replacement would be starting at 0 and be at a insane disadvantage.

2.) 14.5 million people voted for Biden during the Primaries this year. He won with 87% of the vote. You would need a candidate who can win over ALL those voters, plus undecided voters.

(Side note: that task would be monumental given that a good amount of the people who voted in the primaries are going to be pissed if their votes are tossed out. Doubly so if they don't get a say in the replacement.)

Point being, any potential replacement would be fighting an uphill battle at a steep incline. Potential voters would see them as essentially backstabbers who don't care about them as constituents. So they'd be wasting time trying to get those votes BACK instead of campaigning against Trump.

It's also just a terrible look for the Democratic Party, who claim to be fighting FOR democracy, to then toss out all those votes because they didn't like the outcome. It would weaken the standing of the party to a sizable portion of the base.

3.) I've already seen people on Twitter say that this debacle is making them reconsider donating to Democrats in the future. I don't blame them. Why donate to people who want to disenfranchise you? So if any part of this moves forward, Democrats down ticket will face backlash. Almost certainly losing both the House and Senate.

4.) It's just a terrible idea to oust the incumbent. Democrats have done this before (LBJ and Carter come to mind). Those elections ended with Nixon and Reagan in office, and we're still feeling the effects of THOSE presedencies. Dropping Biden would guarantee a Trump presidency.

Incumbents have a natural advantage in elections. They can point to the things they've done and what they plan to do. Name recognition helps, too. It's easier to sell the average person someone who's already doing the job than it is to sell a potential unknown. People know Joe Biden. They don't know Newsom or Whitmer nearly as well (if at all).

(Back in 2020, a big concern was that Trump would be re-elected simply because he was the incumbent. I think he might have won if his response to COVID-19 hadn't been so terrible.)

5.) This is just my personal opinion, but the focus on Biden's age and stutter has been shameful. We knew he was old back in 2020, so bringing it up now is pointless. Also, as someone with a stutter, the way people are trying to tie cognitive ability to his lifelong speech impediment is just offensive. People with stutters are not stupid or have dementia. They have a stutter. The focus on it is just pure ablisim.

(It would be funny to me if all the talk about Biden's age actually shifted the 60+ vote to him. I can't imagine that group enjoys being talked to like they're walking corpses.)

There's too much at stake here. So I'll end on this: if Biden wins, we will have an election in 2028. If Trump wins, we probably won't. So unless you want that, vote.