#and the hippo follows

[acearohippo]

What do you mean by Shen Jiu being female-coded? /genq

Hello! To preface, in a lot of fandom spheres calling any cis gendered character "[gender]-coded" tends to be negative, usually to highlight poor writing or usage of harmful stereotypes, i.e., male-coded women being arrogant and demeaning to other women or female-coded men being sensitive and the butt of jokes among other men. However, there are instances where it is done and, rather than promote negative gender stereotypes it rather... Emphasises a masculine and feminine natures that resonate with people.

I am not always good with words, but there is [gender]-coded that is basically thinly veiled sexism and there is [gender]-coded that is simply nature. Think along the terms of pre Christian colonialism, where many cultures and religions have masculine energy and feminine energy defined outside of biological gender.

I see SJ as female coded because of how the fandom reacts/reacted to him. We don't got a lot of info on him, canon wise, at least not without heavy (and unreliable) bias. But there is a stark difference to how fandom treats him compared to the other men in the story.

And I don't mean in the sense of "he deserved what he got/he deserved so much better" discourse that surrounds him, but how fandom understands him.

Depending on where you fall, the degree of SJ's childhood trauma could range from demeaning slavery with a historically usual amount of abuse and demands to underage sexual abuse and torture. Regardless, the common thread is that men have control over his autonomy. Men (and nobility) dictate what he does, how he dresses, what he will receive, and how others percieve him. This is something SJ does not escape, even when he becomes a Peak Lord, although the degree has lessened by this time. He fails not just because of his actions, but due to the words and judgement of people who only see him on surface level and, thus, scrutinise his every action as "evidence" to their preconceived judgement.

And boy does fandom run with this!

And it makes sense because, a huge portion of danmei demographics are women... Women who understand all too well the dangers a negative statement can have on their livlihood.

This is why Shen Jiu is female coded, to me. Qui Jianluo, Wu Yanzi, Yue Qingyuan, Luo Binghe, even Shen Yuan, etc etc all, in some way, have taken his autonomy. QJL and WYZ did it with their abuse and power over him, YQY did it by undermining him and placating him (while allowing the bad rumours and his bad behaviours to persist), LBH through his revenge (literally crippled him), Shen Yuan quite literally takes over his body and has no regard for its treatment for most of the story.

In fandom, I think its telling that Qi Qingqi, Mu Qingfan, and Liu Qingge also feature as a prominent antaongist that contribute to Shen Jiu's abysmal reputation. Unfortunately, the three kinds of people women should feel protected by and safe with- other women, doctors, and those who uphold justice- are some of the main contributors to the problems they face. They aren't taken seriously, they're ostracised or put down, they're ignored or labeled as over emotional.

Its also telling that, for most fanfics/discussions/art/etc where Shen Jiu is "redeemed" or given a second chance, the main reason why he suceeds is because others listen to him. They let him have a voice and respect it. He is able to advocate for himself and not be torn down or turned away. And if he is, usually there's a man that stands by his side and acts as the "ally" or "bridge" that gets people taking him seriously.

Or, him being attached to a well-respected man is enough for people to change their opinions. Fandom can't help but reflect real life in their works.

So, with all that being said... I understand that there's going to be people who think this is a "bad take" because I rely so heavily on how the fandom portrays Shen Jiu, and that's fine. There will always be Bible-thumpers in every piece of media we consume, and they're here for good reason. But I consume stories for the feelings they evoke and the influence they have on others. People make connections, that's just what we do, and this is the connection I made.

[hippolotamus]

Baby, we're go-go-go-go-go-gods Yeah, we're go-go-go-go-go-gods I'm on my knees, pray for glory Anyone read this underdog story? I can't lose myself again Help me raise this heart Heart, unbreakable

[fahbev]

Unstoppable Force meets Immovable Object

(That title kinda sucks and is subject to change) If you saw my last post, you can skip ahead. It’ll be pretty obvious where the new stuff starts.

If you aren’t familiar with the “humans are space orcs” genre, I highly recommend searching up #humans are space orcs. I wanted to focus on the implications of being a “space orc”, and the kind of complex it would give someone long term. I also wanted to explore how it would affect different characters differently; so here I present two case studies;

A hippo and a moose walk into a bar. Metaphorically.

The human Sofia sits at the bar. The seats within six feet of her are all empty. She guzzles her fifth citrus drink - apparently most species are affected by it similarly to alcohol, and some weaker species would be dead by the fifth drink. Sofia remains unaffected. She could drink 30 and be unaffected. All her drinks combined are about half as potent as an orange slice. It doesn’t even taste good. She slams her empty goblet on the table, all for show. The conversations nearby hush even further, and the fearful whispers start up again. Good. She should be feared.

The door opens. In comes a gust of wind, and a hulking figure. No one in the bar is talking now.

Sofia slowly turns to face the door. She sizes up the newcomer. They’re big, not twice Sofia’s height, but a few feet shy. Not that it matters, when she’s wrestled creatures the size of bears before. The armor plating though, it sported a recognizable pattern. The forelimbs too, that were an odd combination of insectoid legs and tentacles, were a dead giveaway. This was a rragletatch. One of the most feared species in the multiverse, from one of the deadliest worlds known to the galactic community. They’re as rare as humans too. She smirks. Finally, a worthy opponent.

Some chatter starts up again as the rragletatch begins to walk up to the bar, pretending to ignore Sofia. It was still eerily quite, considering this was a bar, and people were drunk. A few gasps and screams echo when Sofia abruptly stands up, knocking over her stool. Her smirk widens into a grin. She stalks confidently up to the rragletatch stranger, and stands close enough that they can’t ignore her. Several people began filing out of the building, while others chose to stay. “So.” The alien greets her.

“You’re one of those infamous rragletatchen I hear of, no? The ones who are supposedly suuuuper scary?”

“Yes, I am rragletatchen. You’re human, right?”

“Damn right.”

“well then.”

A long pause. Practically the whole bar was listening in anticipation.

“Fight me.” Sofia’s expression didn’t waver. On Earth, she never could have looked so intimidating while staring so far up at someone.

“No.” what? “Oh? You scared? I thought you were supposed to be tough or something.” The stranger didn’t look scared, but they must be. Why else would they not want to fight?

“I’m not scared.”

“Then square up bitch. See who’s stronger. Finally put it to the test.”

“No.”

The whispers now were not of fear, but of confusion.

“I will not engage in needless violence,” the rragletatch continued, “contrary to the stereotype of my kind, I will not harm others if at all avoidable. Attack me if you will, I refuse to fight you.” The rragletatch stood still in a wide, but open stance, as if preparing to be hit. Sofia felt a flash of guilt. Something about attacking an opponent who refused to fight back felt wrong.

“You don’t want to see? Find out who the real champion is?” Sofia pushed aside her feelings and stared up. Unafraid, taunting as ever.

“No. My parents, grand parents and great grandparents before me have embraced a sacred philosophy of pacifism. It saddens me that my kind is known only for cuttthroat violence, only because of our home and biology. I refuse to hurt you. Do you truly wish to hurt me?”

Sofia was a bit shocked to say the least. When she realized her jaw was open and her head cocked, she quickly schooled her expression. That question though... she thought she did. But usually she just liked to brawl. Scare people. Assert dominance. When faced with an unwilling opponent who would not be scared of her... she realized she did not wish to cause harm. She never liked hurting people, that was never the fun of it.

“No.” Sofia sighed. She slouched from her offensive stance and backed over to her seat. “Come, sit with me.” It was phrased like a command, but really it was an offer. Everyone knew Sofia would have a hard time forcing this stranger to do anything. The rragletatch followed reluctantly. Sofia picked up her stool and plopped herself haphazardly on it. The stranger sat more eloquently on one of the many seats next to her.

“I’m Sofia.”

“Yal-sre.”

People moved their seats even farther from the Death-Worlders, or as some call them, orcs. Suddenly, Yal-sre relaxed their whole body.

“Wow.” Yal-sre almost whispered

“What?” Yal-sre made a sound that, in aliens with exoskeletons, tended to equate to a soft laugh.

“To be completely honest, I thought you were going to kill me.”

Sofia barked a laugh.

“hey! I’ve never met a human before! I didn’t want to judge based on reputation due to my own, but you came on pretty aggressively!”

“Yeah, I’m the apex predator ‘round these parts, and I plan to keep it that way. Still though, I ain’t gonna fight you if you don’t wanna.”

“That’s a relief.”

Neither knew what to say next, and suddenly the nearby silence was so loud. Fortunately, a few conversations began to pick back up now that they were talking peacefully.

“What’s your planet like?” Sofia asked.

“My planet, Challrk, is beautiful. It has vast plains of purple vshink, glowing with bioluminescent insects. Sure, they bite. Sure, I’ve been stung, bitten, chased and harassed by many a critter, but Challrk is a truly incredible place. It has high mountains that stretch beyond the atmosphere, and colors some planets can’t imagine. Our sky is orange and pink, if you can believe that. What’s Earth like?”

“Earth. It’s a rough and tumble place, you can’t survive there without being Hardy. I’ve been chased by swarms of wasps and stung repeatedly more than once. I stepped on a bee and couldn’t walk properly for days. I’ve been stung by jellyfish, and went back into the bay knowing they were there with no protection. Unafraid. Earth is rough, our fauna is often hostile and transmits thousands of deadly ailments, much of our flora is poison. Our weather conditions alone could wipe out an entire species instantly. Earth is extreme.”

“i’m sure that’s true, but that’s what you’ve been told. By people who have never been there. People who are scared because they couldn’t survive there. But what is it actually like? What do you remember?”

“I- I remember the heavy storms. I remember punching a goose and having to go to the hospital. I remember- I remember the blue skies. Fluffy white clouds, flocks of songbirds. I remember walking barefoot because I loved the green grass under my feet, not because I was trying to face danger. I remember a loving family, playing with friends. Warmth and love. I remember going in the bay because I loved the feeling of swimming and playing in the water, not because I wanted to be tougher than the jellyfish. Earth is- Earth is a BEAUTIFUL place and it makes me ANGRY” Sofia slammed both her fists on the table, “that all it’s known for is being dangerous.” A few satisfying screams and gasps rang off in response. Sofia looked over at Yal-sre. When they didn’t say anything, “I can’t read your face or body language. Can you give me a description?” This was actually a normal question to ask, in places where species were mixed.

“Uh, understanding, I’ve been there. Pleased that we’re getting somewhere. Uhhhhh, still kinda scared of you though. Sorry,” Yal-sre answered. Sofia gaped for a second, before she gave another rough laugh, knowing she probably sounded unhinged to the alien. “Ah!” Yal-sre yelped, “What- what are yours?” Sofia laughed harder. “laugher can mean many things, in most cases it means ‘amused’. Right now, I am laughing at you, meaning I’m being rude because I find your fear amusing. If there was any non-human who wouldn’t be scared of me, I thought it would be the damn rragletatch. You guys are supposed to be tough shit, but you’re pathetic.”

Yal-sre paused. “Well, yeah. Some of us are tougher than others.”

“Hm, yeah I guess it’s kinda the same with humans. That makes sense. Obviously if you put a fearless human who’s tougher shit than most together with the most timid rragletatch, of course you’d be scared.”

“I’m not the most timid! I’m normal! I’ll bet most humans would be scared of me too, after hearing how “dangerous” we are for so long.”

“Maybe. Humans are tough, but I’ll admit they’re not all like me.” Yal-sre did an odd motion with their... shoulder?

“Translation? I don’t speak shoulder,” Sofia attempted to mimic the motion.

“Understanding, but now amused. Anyway, does it bother you?”

“Does what?” “The fact that everyone is afraid of you? ... even me?”

“I like being feared.”

“Do you?” Sofia took a long sip of her drink - which probably made it look like she was drowning her sorrows - to avoid answering the question. When she was done, she placed the goblet face down on the bar to signal to the bartender that she was ready for a refill. The metal was dented... she had put it down too forcefully.

“Oops.” Though it had been an accident, her voice held no remorse.

NEW STUFF STARTS HERE!

“And yes. I do like being feared.”

“If you say so. I can’t speak to human psychology. Say, did you drink that entire thing?”

“Yup. I had four others too.” “Really? You don’t seem drunk at all.”

“It’s just citrus. Doesn’t affect me. Back home we give much more concentrated juice to our young children, it tastes way better too.”

“Oh, I get it. On Challrk we give concentrated fentanyl to our kids.” Sofia gave Yal-sre a look, even knowing it might not translate across body languages. Yal-sre seemed to get it though; “Yeah, yeah, I know. But it doesn’t affect us! It’s the same as your citrus drinks, fentanyl occurs naturally in the blood of prey animals, and their blood is very nutritious and tasty to young rragletatchen.”

“yeah, that makes enough sense.” Sofia drummed her fingers on the table, “Isn’t it weird? All aliens have biology differences, nothing seems crazy anymore because everyone is so crazy to each other. But when it’s us, suddenly it’s just more proof of how hardened and tough we are. Being immune to citrus or fentanyl doesn’t make us any scarier. Not really.”

“It’s because our planets are no-fly zones. And- I guess there’s a bunch of reasons. Just because we can be dangerous doesn’t mean we’re aggressive though.”

“Speak for yourself.”

“Okay- actually, in a minute I will, but first- I can tell that you want to seem tough. I’m sure you’re plenty tough to back it up, but I just want to assure you that you don’t have to pretend. People will think you’re tough and scary no matter what you do. For better or worse.”  “Body language: unimpressed.”

“Okay I’ll- I’ll stop now. ‘Speak for myself’, as you said.”

“You’d better.”

A small, shy noise from behind the counter. Both “space orcs” turned to look. The bartender’s ears were flattened.

“Excuse me, Mx. is that another refill?” The bartender cautiously reached out to flip Sofia’s goblet back over.

 “... get me a kids’ drink this time, surprise me. This shit tastes like garbage anyway.”

The bartender looked surprised. Sophia was surprised herself, that she was able to read them.

“Right away Mx. And for you... oh- I-” the bartender took two steps back upon recognizing Yal-sre.  “Right, I forgot why I was here. It definitely wasn’t for a drink.” Yal-sre stood up, seeming much more intimidating than when Sophia had approached them.

“Oh.” The bartender backed away farther, making themself smaller as well, “Is there anything else I can get you?”

“Actually, Aolli, I think there is. If you come with me out back, there are some answers I’d like to order.”

The bartender - scratch that - Aolli gulped, and dipped their head. Sophia was again impressed by the very Earthly body language. “Coming right up, Sir.”

Pt 2: https://www.tumblr.com/bahfev/715216491195269120/unstoppable-force-meets-immovable-object-pt2?source=share

[thievinghippo]

So thinking back to that progression DA video and I wonder:

how many people are gonna want to fuck the caretaker?

[everythingundertheskycomics]

Bonds.

Criminal Engagement

1/2

Their conflict was compounded by the leader/follower power dynamic in the series.

But now that Raph is no longer team leader, he has a chance to recover the past closeness he and Mikey had shared.

I think he deserves to.

[dragon-hoard]

is moo deng being abused? no

but the way she is being handled is inappropriate and especially should not be posted for clout for the public or even have free contact in front of the public. if they need to handle her for medical reasons or training reasons it should be done in a private area

remember chris pratt thinking he was the bee whisperer because he watched a keeper on tiktok free handle smoked bees without a suit and then got stung to shit? the general public is stupid with regards to animals

the keeper/staff can take cute pictures of her without needing to incite a reaction or showing direct contact

[narcpocalypse]

Guys I'm finding out if I have cancer this Friday can everyone reblog with pics of Moo Deng and artists can u reblog with art of Moo Deng that's all I ask for thank u hearts 4 u

[stick-by-me]

Looking good!

New follower sticker for: @dyke-uncle!

[gunpowder-gemini]

Sooooo the Sly Cooper hyperfixation manifested into self indulgent comics featuring my OC Clementine lmao. Also cannot BELIEVE this is the first time I’ve drawn the gang like??? Been in love with these games for 20 years how have I never drawn them??

Anyways, here’s to letting myself do more self-indulgent stuff in 2023.

[ozarlu-seda]

Been mulling over this line from the Matthew Stover book for a while: "I think," Obi-Wan said carefully, "that abstractions like peace don't mean much to him. He's loyal to people, not to principles. And he expects loyalty in return.

I think it's a little bit more complicated than that. Like, even with Sidious he had to slowly be walked into accepting his arguments, that everything Sidious did was in justifications for the greater good. Like, sure, the entire time he could be walking around with alarm bells in his head at the stuff he's doing, but ultimately he needs a cover to believe what he's doing is right. He's not the type of person who can gleefully enact evil for its own sake.

The entire time we see him as Darth Vader, we never really see him truly happy. Maybe he has brief moments of respite or triumph, but ultimately he's miserable, he's not thriving off of the evil he does, but rather sees it as a chore to ensure the proliferation of his ideals.

What I'm trying to say is, Anakin is not merely loyal to people in disregard to ideals. He's loyal to people above ideals, sure, but his loyalty to a person is also contingent on them acting in accordance with shared ideals (loyalty and integrity in the case of Obi-wan and Padme, or adherence to the jedi code and fundamental principles of justice as with Mace) or at least being able to justify their deviation from it as with Palpatine. When a person deviates from those ideals without what he considers sufficient justification (like Obi-wan's refusal to let him help his mother), that's when he turns face.

I think a person's integrity is particularly important to Anakin. He lives in fear and uncertainty, so the thing most important him about a person is that he needs to know what they are about, through and through. When he gets put into a position where people say one thing but do another, like Mace with the Jedi code but being ok with executing Palpatine on the spot or the Jedi helping the Hutts, that's when he gets conflicted and doubtful. And that's partly been Palpatine's strategy in pulling him away from Obi-wan and Padme, by artificially breaking their appearance of integrity to him. I think that's partly why Luke's strategy was particularly effective with him. Cause Luke was consistent to the point of death in his messaging, it gave Anakin the basis to trust Luke's claims beyond even what's been hammered into his head for the last two decades. Palpatine's an outlier in this of course, but Palpatine's so good with his messaging and manipulation, that ultimately, Vader can't get ahold of the logical footing needed to conclusively call out his bullshit.

So ultimately, I guess what I'm saying is that it's not so much that Anakin doesn’t care about ideals, it's that his understanding of them is so surface level that he ultimately needs them to be rooted in a person to help him navigate the nuances of following them. Thus, he's beholden to people more than ideals because ideals are not tangible and accessible to him without the filter of a person. In turn, he then requires the people who filter these ideas for him to be unwaveringly consistent, or at least able to appear so in a way that does not trip up all his worst anxieties about abandonnent, loss, and indeed, being coerced (the important thing about this last point is that he's needs to not feel coerced because he doesn’t have language and training to spot actual coercion).

I'm not wholly satisfied with this explanation and think there's more to pick at here that I will need to come back to, but yeah. This is my take on his apparent flip flopping of ideology. I think, in his head, ultimately he's not. It's just that what those things mean to him and how they translate to real life is heavily dependent on who he's using as a filter. At the heart of it, I think he just doesn’t have enough faith in his own interpretations on his ideals to not be easily swayed by the next most convincing argument. Grooming will do that to you, I guess.

[acearohippo]

I got alerted by Dislyte to see a new version of Li Ling

But Dislyte... Where tf are my man's arms.

They delimbed him???

Why.

[hippolotamus]

10 TV Shows

Game: Add 10 gifs from your favorite shows and tag 10 people.

thanks for the tags @kitteneddiediaz @dangerpronebuddie 💖

1. Schitt’s Creek

2. 9-1-1

3. A League of Their Own (rip my beloved)

4. Fellow Travelers

5. Heartstopper

6. Bridgerton

7. Bones

8. How I Met Your Mother (minus that terrible excuse of a final season)

9. Normal People

10. Gilmore Girls

np tagging @stereopticons @bidisasterevankinard @diazsdimples @daffi-990 @tizniz @slightlyobsessedwitheverything @wikiangela @saybiwithme @jesuisici33 @lemonzestywrites and open tag to anyone else who wants to 😘

[mymitochondriaforpresident]

moomins on my dash 😍

[nayialovecat]

Give Narinder a high-four, Lamb. :)

Hey, Nari, wanna high four? Come on! It's very funny!

Uh, what? No! I don't wanna be touched by anyone, especially not by you! By the way, these whole "fours" look ridiculous.

Okay. I respect your opinion and your personal space. But if you change your mind, let me know. It's really funny and nice thing.

Hey, Nari! Wanna high four? I've seen others do it, it looks funny.

Uh, Popo? Okay, all right, why not. (Hope you washed your hands before.)

. . . . . . . . . . . . High Four!

Wrath the Lamb will be pure WRATH in three… two… one…

[archive-lion-guard]

The Lion Guard | Follow That Hippo! | S1 EP9

[can-you-see-auras]

Oh yeah I drove to Colorado to see Hippo Campus headline at red rocks for the first time. It was a 17 hour drive and so worth it to stay there for a week and see the Rockies for the first time (my lovely Appalachian mountains of my home still hold my heart though <3)