#and then present this to poc and say 'do you feel represented? are you happy?'

[darkesttiimelines]

this whole percy jackson reboot thing really grinds my gears because i remember the backlash jkr got over hermione being cast as black in the plays- when her physical description in the books could easily suggest that she was black.

annabeth, on the other hand, has been described as blonde. so. many. times. it is a significant component of her personality (not being taken seriously due to the blonde stereotype) but then here comes spineless riordan, defending annabeth being cast as black. (and being celebrated for it.)

[theic-manic]

Landing page: Welcome traveller!

I would like to acknowledge the Gadigal of the Eora Nation, the traditional custodians of this land and pay my respects to the Elders past, present and emerging. I acknowledge that Aboriginal sovereignty has not been ceded.

Hello!

What I am about:

I am a mid-30s pagan (chaos witch & devotional polytheist) and tarot reader of over two-decades and late diagnosed multiply-Neurodivergent located in Australia.

Taught how to use Ouija when I was 4 years old.

I am of European, Jewish and UK descent, so I try to hold space for PoC folk as best as possible, while doing my best to avoid cultural appropriation.

I generally don't discuss my disabilities unless relevant (e.g. ND friendly practices).

I am happy to assist others with queries however there are some housekeeping rules that I will add below.

While I am also Nonbinary with They/Them pronouns, how others choose to perceive me is none of my concern.

Federal Australian Public Servant since 2013 and Union Representative since 2015, I am blessed enough to be able to offer my daily grind as devotional acts.

Previously a Norse Pagan/Heathen until Hermes & Apollo had me relocate to a Greek neighbourhood (it's a thing)

Norse Gods I was previously devoted to: Loki, Freyja & Njord

Norse Gods I previously worshipped: Odin, Tyr & anyone else wanting to pop in & say hello.

Greek Gods that I am currently a Devotee of: Apollo, Ares and Hermes

Greek Gods I casually Worship: Zeus, my other soul parent deities (linked post on this concept below), Aphrodite, Melinoe and any deity who decides to pop in.

I do casually engage in Demonolatry & other Occult studies.

I have briefly worked with the Kemetic Gods and still respect them.

I have performed "baneful" magick and am absolutely not hesitant to lay down a bloodline curse when pushed however Shadow Work and healing are the better paths to heightened spiritual growth & abilities.

What I am not about:

I avoid closed cultural practices unless otherwise guided by a member of that culture, preferably one of their elders.

I am however human so if I accidentally engage in a close practice, please tell me.

I generally avoid ancestral worship or ancestral magick since many of my ancestors were on the problematic side of most historical conflicts.

I am too tired for bickering & pettiness, if you see something you dislike or disagree with then keep scrolling. I will not respond to hate-asks.

DNI the usual: terfs, racists etc. it's not that hard to simply not be a piece of shit.

DNI Minors who call yourselves Devotees outside of established religious communities (some cultures do allow children to be devotees under strict spiritual guidance & care, if this is you then please specify this)

I do not feel comfortable engaging with minors who commit themselves to a deep and personal relationship with deities as this requires consent to an unwritten contract (in many practices) and as such if you're not old enough to consent to a legal contract without adult guidance then you're not old enough to consent to being a devotee.

I do encourage you to become worshippers however to build a strong foundation with your chosen deities.

Tags to search on my blog:

#Deity Communication

#Devotional Polytheism

#Low effort practices

#Low Cost witchcraft

#Neurodivergent pagan

#Spooky God Squad

#ADHDeity

⚠️ Minors ( (< 18 y.o.): go to your settings and filter the NSFW tag, thanks.

Asks/queries housekeeping:

Please specify whether you are a reconstructionist pagan or neopagan, noting that I am Neopagan of over 2 decades and as such, I am best equipped to assist the latter.

Please specify whether you are a Worshipper or Devotee or just wanting to start the process of worshipping a deity.

I love assisting my fellow pagans however the expectation is that you know how to use the search bar in your search engine and social apps of choice so unless your query specifically requests details on certain things I am running under the assumption that you know the difference between worshipper & devotee, the basics of the deities you are seeking guidance with etc.

Please state whether or not you are a minor so that I can ensure that my advice is age appropriate, I would hate to have a "Minors DNI" when I would prefer to help guide you on your journey since when I was a teenager I had to rely on magazines and books alone.

Some posts of mine you may find useful

How do I pray?

AI usage and spirituality

Deity & Devotee consent

Hellenic offerings

Soul Parent Deities & how to calculate them via Numerology

Deity identification tarot mega post

Part 1 of Spooky God Squad

Trickster Deity discernment

[shimmrgloom]

Okay! So this has been bothering me. Let’s break down what each song in Harbin Hotel is about and see if we can’t look at it from a big picture.

Happy Day in Hell— Charlie sings her ‘I want song’ and establishes her motivation and outlook as well as what hell is like.

Hell is Forever— Charlie pitches the Hotel to Adam, fails, and kick starts the main conflict. Adam has moved up the next extermination.

It Starts With Sorry— Charlie sings to Pentious about redemption, reinforcing the theme of the show and setting him up for a payoff later.

Stayed Gone— Vox and Alistor establish their rivalry.

Respectless— Velvette accuses Carmilla of being weak. Establishes tension between those in power and those on the come up.

Whatever It Takes— Vaggie and Carmilla sing about their dedication to their loved ones. Sets up the idea that demons can care about each other.

Poison— Angeldust sings about his addiction and abuse at the hands of Valentino. It’s heartbreaking. Also establishes the kinds of things that hold sinners back from redemption (self worth/delusion)

Loser Baby— Husk commiserates with Angel about their shared suffering and appeals to Angel to be more honest about the reality of his situation. Ships set sail.

Hell’s Greatest Dad— Alistor and Lucifer fight over who should be Charlie’s dad. It’s hilarious. Mizzie crashes the song as a bit of a meta joke.

More Than Anything— Lucifer and Charlie reconcile and sing a heartbreaking duet. If you didn’t feel something you’re dead inside.

Welcome to Heaven— Saint Peter welcomes Charlie and Vaggie to heaven. Where everyone is hot. Vital to understanding heaven but maybe a bit indulgent.

You Didn’t Know— the turning point of the show. Charlie presents her case to heaven and is interrogated by Adam and Lute. She manages to win over Emily and they stand in solidarity against heaven’s hypocrisy as represented by Sera. Charlie fails to stop the next Extermination.

Out For Love— Carmilla teaches Vaggie how to fight for love and beat angels. It’s rad. Picks up themes established by ‘whatever it takes.’

Ready for This— Charlie convinces the cannibals to help them fight the angels and accepts her role as leader of Hell. It’s very Les Mis.

More Than Anything (reprise)— Charlie and Vaggie sing about their gay love for each other and then kiss. It’s great.

Finale— Charlie memorializes Pentious and reflects on her failures and triumphs. It’s a big ensemble song but is mostly Lucifer and Charlie’s song with a little cut out for Alistor/Vox to tease coming S2 conflicts.

So? What can we learn about the structure of the show? Charlie is clearly the main character. She has almost double the singing parts of anyone else in the show. The next most important characters are Adam (our villain and stand in for the Patriarchy) and then Vaggie and Carmilla. Vox and Alistair are there to set up seeds for season 2 and Angel gets exactly one episode (two songs) to take the spotlight for a bottle episode.

I don’t see how you could say this show ISN’T female led. Even the male characters (with the exception of Angel and Husk) ALL are there to support Charlie. Lucifer is there to support her. Alistor is there to help her grow. Pentious is there to show that her plan can work. The only exception is Carmilla who is there to support Vaggie.

Criticize it for its relationship to people of color (all the bad guys are white! Yay? Sera may be a POC but boy it’s hard to tell). Criticize it for maybe not giving its characters room to breathe (it’s an 8 episode ensemble show, not a lot of room). Criticize it for its dated ‘edgy humor.’

But to say it doesn’t do its female characters justice? What show are you watching? Love to go into Charlie’s arc (which is honestly really solid) but this is too long lol

[jeniferprince]

hello hi yes as a lesbian on the ace spectrum I LOVE ur art sm!!! makes me feel all happy inside. I especially like ur art of wlw of color, since LBBTQ+ POC are often not represented as much as they should be. I think another anon said this but I can't wait until I'm in college and can buy a bunch of ur prints :DD

hey love! that's so nice of you to say, I'm so glad to know you like what I've been doing! that really motivates me. <3 and yes, POC should be more present in all media, I'm glad you like the pieces in which I draw them 🥺 thanks for supporting my work, that means sooo much! <3

[sanicsmut]

NON BINARY GAY FLAG

I know what you're going to say

"yeah I think we already have that one"

but we don't have

non binary gay as in "since I'm non-binary, all my attractions are gay"

SO LET ME PRESENT TO YOU, CREATED BY ME

THE ROSE FLAG

I got inspired by the xenogender flag, so the colors are basically colors that we see in roses (+ the white also representing non-binarity, the yellow tones masculinity and the red ones feminity and love)

I also made two variations with a free-of-use symbol I found on interet

No need to credit me, just spread it and use it, thanks <3 not the most useful flag but as a non-binary, I wanted something to represent the way I feel my attraction

It's inclusive of every gender identity, YES also xenogenders, YES also POC and any that should be included

like, just use it if you feel like it fits No need to credit me, just spread it and use it, thanks <3

EDIT : Since I got harassed for this : YES this includes bi people, because some bi people call themselves gay, I just thought it was obvious, and no that doesn't mean bi people have to call themselves gay or that i think bi enbies are gay, it's up to you, if you want to call yourself gay go ahead, if you want to keep calling yourself bisexual, then good for you, it's equally fine, as long as you're happy with the label(s) you use its right

this flag under this is the first one I tried to do tho, and people seem to like it so I guess its an alternative if you don't like the rose theme

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

Is their a twilight wiki based off the books only? Their so much misinformation on the main twilight wikia site. It’s all mix up with the movies and books. I just want to see it separated each other. Books info only.

Pfft, I feel like @therealvinelle and I have corrupted you, anon.

Alas, no, and to be honest I wouldn't expect one.

Remember that wikis are written by people. More to the point, they're written by fans and generally strive to be not only an accurate representation of the media but a reflection of fandom.

Go to Harry Potter's wiki and they pull in information from Pottermore and articles generally follow either what JKR intended or fandom trends (i.e. Dumbledore is a great man). This is the point, in a way, as beyond just the canon material wikis are a great way to see what fandom itself thinks about certain characters/events. You don't want a heretic like me writing your wiki because then everyone comes in with completely bonkers ideas of what's going on in the story.

So why do I bring this up for Twilight?

Twilight the fandom has generally not only accepted the movies but vastly prefers them. Many of the fans have only seen the movies, never read the books. The movies give us far more palatable versions of characters, Esme from the films is a very charming woman and the mother we'd all love to have, Alice is the cute cosmo girlfriend we'd love to have design our weddings, Edward... is toned down a lot, as is Bella for that matter, the Cullens really do seem like one big happy family for the most part, and Jacob while still getting some of his greatest hits is missing some of his truly awful moments.

The movies give nicer heroes that, for the most part, people want to like. The movies are also--better about dealing with the issue of race. I don't say great because they're still awful, they kept the imprinting, the Quileute still draw the shortest straw and for the most part turned into unnecessary side characters who don't seem to know why they're in the movie either, the actors playing the Quileute were not all Native American, Jasper still gets to be a confederate for... reasons (god knows why they didn't cut that/alter his backstory even slightly), and while Laurent is now black he also gets about one line then is murdered by shirtless teenagers. So, we have minimal progress in that there are POC characters. But it's more than the books gave us.

Now, do the villains stop making any damn sense? Yes. But most people don't care about that (look at MCU, it's an entire franchise that doesn't give a flying fuck about presenting a logical let alone in any way interesting villain, and it is flooded with cash). Am I weird for preferring the more--bizarre renditions of the characters who are a walking dumpster fire? Oh yes.

My point being, while I hate the movies, and will rant about it whenever asked (or sometimes when not asked at all), most of fandom prefers them and I don't fault them for it. If it's what makes people happy then bless them.

And generally wiki writers write in such a way as to represent the fandom. They'll usually have read the books but you're talking about people who consider the films equally if not more canon. They probably remember the movies better than they do the books.

So they'll tell you that yes, Edward and Bella fall in love, Alice and Bella are best friends, etc. They're not going to give you things that most of fandom would contest: nor should they, because they are wikis and that's not their job.

That's for heretics like me to shout from the rooftops and get people very angry about.

... And that was a very long rant you didn't ask for.

Basically, my advice is that you'll have to reread the books yourself. Wikis are best for fact checking and in that authors usually do a decent job of saying "this only occurred in the movie" or "this was only in the book" or "this came from the guide". If you want a clear cut distinction of the two then it's best to just go to the books.

[iamnotawomanimagod]

Hollywood is not a show about recreating history. It’s a show about rewriting history. 

It’s a show about telling the stories that were there all along, and about what it might have looked and felt like if people had been successful.

Those untold stories, and their “what could have beens.” The hushed-up diversity of identities in the history of American media, which is an absolute reality, not just present-day wishful thinking retroactively inserted for woke points.

People like us - queer people, people of color, and those few true allies who see us as the complex and emotional human beings that we are - have always existed, and will always exist. 

Our histories are painful. They’re filled with slow, difficult progress, with violence and cruelty and endless obstacles.

But what if it hadn’t been that way? 

What if we’d been able to overcome so many of those obstacles during the Golden Era of Hollywood? 

Golly gee, isn’t that a dream? 

That’s the story Ryan Murphy wanted to tell, and he does so brilliantly.

Are the characters accurate representations of who those people were in history? No. Much like with most of Ryan Murphy’s work, Hollywood is a fictionalized version of reality, a hyper-vibrant and clever and smooth representation of real events. It’s far from the first time he’s taken liberties with “the truth” - anyone who’s seen his American Crime Story series or even certain fictionalized representations of real people in American Horror Story will already be familiar with the way he inserts real-life figures in order to root his fantastical stories in reality. It’s a hallmark of his work (and part of why I personally am drawn to so many of his stories, but I digress.)

Unlike many of Murphy’s past works, however, Hollywood is far from the bleak, dark tale one might expect it to be. It’s one of the most inspiring and emotionally fulfilling pieces of media I’ve seen in a long, long time.

This is not a story about the dark, depressing, real history of the slow march towards diverse representation in media. Rather, it’s a wish-fulfillment style fantasy that asks the question - 

What if - instead of being beaten down, of being pushed over the edge, of having to suffer in silence - what if those who were most oppressed and least represented in media at this time (and to this day) had risen up? Had been able to become the stars they should have been all along? What if they’d known recognition, representation, and accolades way back at the dawn of the Golden Era of Hollywood?

And it asks this question to make us know how it would feel. Not to show us what would’ve happened, and how it would’ve changed the world. We already know that. No, this story exists purely to give us that incredible warmth and pride that fills you from your toes to your scalp when you see people like you succeed, and it lets us glimpse, for a moment, how it would feel if that had happened when it was already long overdue, 70 years ago.

As it turns out, it feels fucking incredible. And it hurts so goddamn much that it isn’t real.

Many viewers have commented about crying throughout the final episode, so I was bracing myself for some horrific and tragic twist - but it never came. You can trust the title of the final episode - “A Hollywood Ending” - to deliver exactly that.

What makes it special and important and unique is who that happy ending is for.

Black men, black women, Asian women, gay men, and the elderly. Every dream they could ever want - success, love, acceptance, bravery, joy - all of it was delivered to them, without caveat within the story. It isn’t too late for anyone. Nobody is ever brutally punished for being true and honest about themselves. The show ends in a black-and-white shot and the words “The Beginning.”

Within the story, it’s perfect. It’s Hollywood. A happy ending.

But it’s still a Ryan Murphy story. The setting is intentional, because the late 1940s were such a pivotal time for American media and for American culture. The heartbreak, the real-world caveat, comes when you wake up from “Dreamland,” and remember reality.

I had to pause and cry for a good five minutes when Hattie McDaniel says to Camille: “They let me in the room this time.” As far as I know, that never happened for her. 

Or when Anna May Wong got her Oscar. That didn’t happen for her.

Or when Roy and Archie walked the red carpet hand-in-hand, an interracial gay couple in 1947. Obviously, that never happened for anyone.

But god, do you know how good it felt to imagine? To see it? To dream?

And not only did we get to see those huge, satisfying moments - we got to see an in-world context of how it might’ve affected people alive back then. A poor immigrant Chinese family; a solitary black gay writer; a black family, particularly a little black girl - we get to watch them all explode with joy and happy tears and acceptance as they’re seen, for the first time, by America at large.

That didn’t happen in 1947. It has barely even happened now.

That’s why Hollywood is intentionally “unrealistic,” why it rewrites history. Why the opening credits sequence shows all of this downtrodden people working together to lift each other up the Hollywood sign, to catch each other when they slip, to watch each other when they take the leap - and to enjoy the gorgeous, golden glow of the city together when they reach the top.

It’s about community, bravery, and fighting the good fight. And it’s about winning.

This is the first piece of escapist media I’ve seen in a long time, and it is a tenderly written love letter to queer, elderly, and poc creatives.

That’s worth a million times more than so-called realism ever will be.

[plumrabbit]

DA Fandom and moving forward - Calling In vs. Calling Out

Hi everyone,

As a PoC member of the DA fandom, I felt I have been quiet for long enough on the issues that have been presented recently. I am not here to argue against or on behalf of any individual or group, I am only here to present some information that I hope will be helpful moving forward. This is a long post, but it’s my hope that if you read it and want to help contribute to making this place better for everyone, then you will be willing to try to put what is said here into practice.

Since I am a relatively small blog, I wanted to start with a little personal introduction that will segue into the topic at hand. My name is Liz (you can call me Jade too, that’s part of my middle name), and I am a mixed race, “ambiguously brown”, aspec person from Canada. I grew up around mostly other immigrant families, attended predominantly non-white schools that were run by mostly white admins, and completed my degrees at a very white university in a field that does not have much racial diversity. I have experienced racism first-hand many times including, but not limited to, name-calling/slurs, fetishization/exotification, being followed by staff, people second-guessing my name, jokes about hurting/killing people of my race, etc. as well as witnessing racism directed at my friends and peers. I know exactly what it’s like to be exhausted and feel unsafe or othered.  There is, however, one thing I need to point out about the multitude of instances of racism I’ve experienced - most of them were caused by ignorance, and not malice. Yes there are absolute assholes out there, but personally I can count those people I’ve encountered on one hand (I am not speaking for everyone, though). The vast majority of racism, bigotry and general harmful acts come from a place of ignorance, particularly on left-leaning tumblr (to clarify, this discussion is centered around well-meaning people and not the actual lost causes). When I say ignorance, I don’t mean a lack of education or intelligence, I mean not being able to see or understand an issue from another person’s perspective. It’s not quite the same as empathy either (where empathy means you are able to feel another person’s emotions), but fighting ignorance does require empathy. It also requires knowledge on the context of the specific situation, and that I believe is the crux of the problem.  I think the main reason why this is issue is particularly prevalent in the DA fandom is a result of the too-close-to-reality-to-ignore inspirations that have been confirmed by the devs. Yes, it’s fiction, but there are also a lot of people that see themselves (mis)represented in the themes and characters. And what one person sees as disrespectful, another person may not see at all. This can come full circle, too, for example: one person sees themselves and their trauma represented in a character, another person sees their race misrepresented in the same character. Person 1 uses the character as a comfort character or coping strategy. Person 2 thinks using that character in certain situations is disrespectful. Neither one sees the other’s perspective.  This is where intersectionality starts to come into play, and requires empathy and effort to address the intentions and emotions of the other person. Perhaps person 1 is LGBTQ+ and has been traumatized by being as such, and uses Dorian as a character to explore their trauma. Perhaps person 2 is Brown, and racism towards their people is their trigger, and thinks person 1 did not do Brown representation justice in their creative works.  Looking at this more specifically, person 1 may have put Dorian in sexual situations. Person 2 feels that the way it was conveyed was fetishist or exotified. Person 2 doesn’t know person 1′s intentions. Person 1 is not aware of certain descriptions that are racist (e.g. using food to describe a PoC’s skin tone). Perhaps person 1 was self-inserting and wanted to feel desirable on their own terms, but this gave person 2 that squick factor.  Now person 2 wants to address this issue, and I think this is where a call-in (not a call-out) would be appropriate. Here is a good infographic that compares the two: 

(Original source)

Note that there is quite a large difference in the language used. Going back to the above example, person 2 could privately message person 1 asking them why they chose to represent Dorian the way they did, with specific examples, and using call-in language (and I’m going to get back to this in a minute). 

The point of this post and infographic isn’t meant to tell marginalized groups how they should be bringing up issues (though it is a good guide if you are concerned about being polite, particularly to a first time offender), it’s intended to demonstrate to people unintentionally participating in harmful behaviour what a call-out vs. call-in looks like. For PoC and other marginalized groups, yes it does take emotional labour to use call-in language and to try to understand someone that wounded you (here is a good read that incorporates the concept of emotional labour for call-ins, and discusses asking yourself if you are ready to do so). For the people who have unintentionally hurt a marginalized individual or group, please understand that someone calling you in is not an attack, it’s a chance to explain why you expressed something the way you did. 

That being said, we may have reached another hurdle. What if you call someone in, and the person called in does not want to discuss the fact that they were inserting their personal trauma? I think this is where things start to get a bit messy, but I am of the opinion that if you’ve unintentionally triggered someone else’s trauma through ignorance present in your work, you owe it to them to at the very least mention that you were inserting your trauma, without having to bring up specifics (anyone is allowed to set boundaries). From there, the discussion can be hopefully be opened up to learning from each other, and reaching a consensus. Sometimes that consensus requires the creator to edit or remove their work. As an addendum, if you are a creator that unintentionally hurt someone with your work that didn’t have an ulterior personal motivation, it’s your responsibility to understand why what you did was wrong, apologize, remove the work and do better next time. I know some people cherish their OCs, but you are allowed to change your perspective and make adjustments to your character without erasing them entirely. Now we’ve reached another potential obstacle - what if an offender doesn’t respond to your call-in? First of all, ask yourself, did you actually call them in, or did you attack them? Here is a good opinion piece from a Black professor on this matter. I’d like to clarify that I am not trying to tone police, I am speaking as someone that used to go ham on ignorant people on Facebook and Reddit, and has since changed their tactics and has even gotten through to Trump supporters (some of this stems from my spiritual growth as well, but that is not the point here).  There is another issue to address here now as well - what if you have tried, repeatedly, to call someone in and they just don’t change their behaviour? Alright, then it’s probably time to call them out. But again, ask yourself, did you truly try to get through to them? If so, well, at the end of the day, some people are, unfortunately, lost causes. In summary, a call-in is meant to come from a place of wanting to help someone who has seemingly gone astray, because you are worried about their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours towards a marginalized group. You know that if they made a mistake it isn’t them, isn’t their heart, and you want them to be able to understand why what they did hurt others, and give them the chance to correct themselves. It comes from a place of love and acceptance, because you don’t want your friends to harbour negative beliefs.  Finally, I want to give a real example of this in action. My cousin is a photographic artist, and was recently called in to discuss the nature of one of her pieces. Her subjects are usually people, and they come from a wide variety of backgrounds. To help support BLM (she does a lot of work to help fight racism in general), she auctioned off one of her pieces. The subject of the piece happened to be a Black woman. She was called in by Black members of her art community to discuss how people bidding on an art piece that featured a person from a marginalized group perpetuated the ogling and monetization of Black people. She gave a response that acknowledged that her piece did perpetuate this issue, because she wanted to raise awareness of this historical harm, and recognized that her intention was ignorant of this perspective. The Black community also acknowledged that the piece itself was not harmful in any way, only that the surrounding issue that they were painfully aware of needed to be brought to light. The auction went ahead, and the piece sold for ~$1000, all of which was donated to BLM.  I think as a fandom we should be cognizant of when a work itself is harmful, or when the intention is harmful. Sometimes they overlap, sometimes they don’t. Both are talking points, and we should not be afraid to discuss them, but this requires respect from all parties. We also do need to be able to recognize what is strictly fiction, versus what has real-world impacts. My askbox is always open and my DMs are open to mutuals if you would like anything clarified or expanded upon. Or, if you’d just like to discuss a topic, vent, or have any questions about my own beliefs, you are welcome to reach out. I am happy to discuss anything, as long as there is mutual respect. 

[mega-ringsandthings-world]

Maybe I missed this...but is there a reason you dislike Peeta so much, and Everlark? I'm am in no way attacking or anything I am genuinely curious. I've always loved Peeta, and his relationship with Katniss (hardcore Everlark shipper, self admittedly) as well as loving Gale and his part in the story. As a fellow fan of Gale, I kinda what to understand what you don't like about Peeta?

It's not so much that I dislike Peeta, as I dislike what he's made to represent and the way he's idolized within thg fandom. As a poc, I find some aspects of his presentation within the fandom and books...to be not good, especially at the ending of the trilogy where he (a white boy) is shown to represent peace, stability and life, (and so saying that Katniss could only find peace with him) while a brown boy (Gale) is shown to represent death, anger and war. His relationship with Katniss irks me, because it was formed under a great deal of coercion, admittedly, most of that is from the Capitol, but Peeta plays a hand in it too, as well as treating Katniss rather badly when her feelings are not shown to be genuine at first. Also, what I mentioned above, her being only able to find happiness or peace through him, because she "needs" him to do so. Which reads as a white savior trope to me. Then there is the fandom, who loves to play up the romance between Peeta and Katniss, to the point where the fandom is completely saturated in it. People can ship what they want! I am the last person that would tell them to stop, but hyping the romance is something that thg books made a point to speak against.

Then there is the part where some fans will attack Gale (and Katniss) in favor of Peeta, which again...it not a good thing. I've gotten some really nasty anons and death threats for saying critical things about Peeta, which doesn't help his cause, lmao. Overall, I don't hate Peeta, his character is an important one and his relationship with Katniss is meaningful, but I have different opinions on how he should have been handled and how his relationship with Katniss and the way he affected her should have been resolved.

[aggressive-positivity-network]

A lot of people are wondering why the Q-Force is such an insulting piece of media, along with any other movie, show, or book whose main selling point is how “inclusive” they are as compared to “normal” media.

It’s a lot more complicated than you think, and there’s a reason why we feel instinctively put off by such media. Why there’s such a visceral reaction of disgust.

Number one, companies usually misunderstand what having pride in your identity means. I’m not saying that there aren’t people who will shout it from the rooftops and will where colorful, gaudy, or different clothes to express their identity and sexuality. Honestly, power to them. But that’s not the only way to express pride, and one person may have several. Most pieces of media don’t give LGBTQA+ people that benefit. They are painfully different, either as a model minority or a comic relief. In a way, it’s giving some straight, cis people the comfort of knowing that you can always tell by certain behaviors or wardrobe that a person is queer, and that they will never be surprised. Being LGBTQA+ must be one of the first piece of information they need to learn, or they get “blindsided” or you’re “ruining the character.”

Number two, usually when a character is queer, there is room for little else. This trait is seen as exotic and exciting enough to make an entire character out of. There are a few characters that I admire for using the stereotype to their advantage and managing to flesh out a character around the generalizations, like Matthew from Big Mouth. However, most companies just want to get the additional LGBTQA+ audience, so they just throw a tweed sweater, fishnet stockings, and some bullshit coming out story against the wall to see what they get. And you can tell. Take a queer character from any piece of media and count how many of the obstacles they face being solely about their identity, or how many ways they can hint at being gay. And while real people have obstacles and jokes about their sexuality/identity, it’s usually less obvious, and changes based on the present company. Sometimes it doesn’t effect someone’s life at all unless it’s mentioned or in a romantic/sexual setting. And, if it does effect a person, it unfortunately may not be for the better. Hollywood has a habit of giving issues happy endings so that people who don’t experience it are convinced they don’t need to intervene.

And, finally, when most characters are a horrible representation of the LGBTQA+ community, it can put queer people in a position where they either have to make their own headcanons about other characters, or having to make do with what they’ve been given. This is especially harmful for younger queer people, because they’re shown the same images and messages about how they should be rather than what they can be. They might not think they are part of the community because they don’t want to dye their hair or dress in drag. Either that, or they think they have to constantly flaunt their sexuality/identity in order to be valid, which may not be safe in their environment. There are so few characters that are proudly LGBTQA+ without being just headcanoned or “revealed” to be queer by the creators years after the show ends. We should not be foaming at the mouth every time a character is confirmed to be bisexual or trans or asexual - we shouldn’t have to beg for representation. We should be able to have plenty of choices in media and plenty of good, solid representation. Of course you should be excited because a character represents you…but it shouldn’t just be the act of creators throwing a starving community a bone for variety points.

These points also apply to other minorities, like my neurodivergent peeps, POC, and women in fiction. But those each require their own points, if you would like to add them.

[julieandthefandoms]

Representation in Media and How It Can Be Harmful (Basically Why It’s Important to Acknowledge the Faults in Media, Specifically When Dealing With Minority Groups)

Note: The following essay is not meant to harm anyone, and if it does, please inform me, so I can edit it immediately. I only want to inform you why people are pointing out these issues in representation, and help you understand why. If you still don’t understand after reading this, feel free to message me, I’ll be happy to help.

I’ve seen a bunch posts criticizing posts pointing out flaws in the representation of POC in TSC and YA in general, and I know none of you probably care about my opinion, but I just want to ask you to be mindful. I’m not going to argue for or against this topic, if you want to know my opinion on the matter, feel free to look under the ‘ash ranting time’ tag. What I am going to do, is address those who are ignoring or refusing to understand where these posters are coming from.

To be clear here, I am not against Cassie Clare as a writer, and love her books as much as the rest of you, but it’s extremely disheartening to see people bash or counteract someone’s claim that her writing has flaws as well. By someone, it usually tends to be a POC, so please keep that in mind for the remaining of this essay. What these posters are generally pointing out are flaws and stereotypes in characters of color, flaws and stereotypes that are extremely harmful, toward the culture the character represents.

Now you might be wondering at this point, how is this representation harmful? First I’d like to preface this by saying use of stereotypes in representation cannot be completely avoided. There will always be stereotypes that are accidental, and those are not the ones I’m speaking of. Flawed and well rounded characters always have the potential to fall into some stereotypes, and that is okay, but there is a moment in writing where the sheer amount of stereotypes on a POC gets difficult to ignore, a point where it cannot be ignored any longer without harming the community as a whole. And how is this harmful? By using many stereotypes in writing, specifically in minority groups, you can unintentionally strengthen prejudices and judgements against and towards entire cultures, all because of a phenomenon called the Availability Heuristic.

Per the American Psychology Association, the definition of the availability heuristic is, “a common strategy for making judgments about likelihood of occurrence in which the individual bases such judgments on the salience of the information held in his or her memory about the particular type of event: The more available and relevant information there is, the more likely the event is judged to be.” In laymen’s terms, this roughly translated to your brain using the information most available to them to make quick judgments, or swapping out the best solution for one that is the most available.

Why is this important for POC rep? By constantly using the same stereotypes to represent a specific group of people, thereby making it more available, authors are further reinforcing that a certain minority is a specific way, leading to strengthening prejudices against them. It is a very dangerous phenomenon and has the possibility to be extremely harmful for the group in question.

(The following scenario is extremely generalized.) Let’s take this scenario into mind. Say there’s an Asian main in a novel and they’re constantly depicted as shy and intelligent. Except let’s make it worse by saying almost all of the Asian representation in media is of shy and intelligent people. Because a ‘shy and intelligent’ Asian is the only representation you get of them, you will, unfortunately, begin to think Asians can only be shy and intelligent, and that there’s no in between. While that may seem extreme, it has already happened before. Think about what you thought when you heard Asian. I bet most of you though of East Asians because that tends to be what is represented when most people say Asia. Now think about how large Asia actually is, and how, by jumping to the nearest stereotype, you immediately excluded the entirety of South Asia, South East Asia, and many many more countries all because of the stereotypes presented in media, essentially alienating entire groups from their continent.

Now that you understand how harmful stereotypes and repeated use of it can be, let’s move on to a separate topic. Admitting someone did something wrong, whether it be in writing a minority or anything else, does not harm anyone in any way. Just because something is problematic does not mean that you can’t still enjoy its content. You can still enjoy the books and understand that some parts are harmful, it doesn’t lessen your joy of the book, only makes them more aware and knowledgeable.

All these people ask is for you to understand that there are issues within your favorite novels, and to accept that. Remember, these can be some of their favorite books too, and they don’t intend to hate on it, only to help spread awareness so it doesn’t happen again. History has the potential of being a viscous cycle if no one learns from the mistakes of themselves and others. So, I only ask you to please keep yourself educated, and listen to when someone tells you something is harmful, especially when that person belongs to that minority group. Thank you for listening.

[skamofcolor]

What do you think of SKAM España S4 so far?

Let me start by saying that this is not attacking fans, especially Muslim fans and/or fans of color, who are genuinely enjoying this season. I’m actually really glad that if folks are relating to what’s happening or feel seen by it. No group is a monolith, after all, and I think it’s great if people are really feeling it. That means that, regardless of what opposing opinions might be, that the team has landed on something that has touched some folks positively. That’s always a good thing.

With that being said - personally I’m not really feeling positively about the season overall. I thought it started out pretty strongly but along the way has already reached the same issues that past Sana seasons have had: the season doesn’t really feel like it’s about Amira, but about using her as a lens to focus on the plots of side characters. In episodes 1 & 2, the focus felt split even between Amira and Norandro, which I found frustrating. Especially because, contextually, Eskam is usally better at linking side characters’ arcs to the main plotline. Here, I just don’t think it was explicitly connected enough and I felt many clips should’ve been Extra Content and not in Amira’s POV. 

I have a feeling this ask is specifically about the Kasim storyline as well, so I’ll be brief and just say I actively hate the direction they went with it, and I think presenting his story as they have was unoriginal, cheap, and used for shock value. But it’s more than that. I find myself similarly frustrated that this sideplot is actually not super related to Amira or her story at all. As episode 3 is winding down and we’re going into episode 4, I think it’s safe to presume that a lot of the clips were just about Kasim’s story (and, since he’s getting the extra content clips, Lucas). I find myself feeling resigned that the same things will happen in episodes 5 & 6 and 7 & 8, where I presume primary focus will be on Cris and Joana, Viri and Hugo, and/or Eva and Jorge. 

Because of all this, I feel like Amira’s actual storyline is disjointed and borderline unclear, since so much focus is on everyone around her. Going in, I assumed the theme was really about her being “caught between two worlds.” This seemed to be really front and center in the first episode, which I really raved about on my Skam sideblog and thought was new and refreshing. I could see a lot of different plot threads unfolding and while being inextricable from the main theme. However, it seems like that’s... not actually what’s happening? Instead, the only running plot specifically for Amira seems to be her blossoming relationship with Dani and using her faith as the major “will they/won’t they?” block. In spite of the whitewashing, I did come into the season tentatively hopeful about what might happen and was a fanon Danmira fan (I talked about it on this blog too). However... as the season unfolds I’m not gripped by Danmira either as a ship or as the main plotline. I wish there was more depth to it, and I’m concerned that the show won’t have the time to really get into what it would mean for Amira to either accept and date Dani as he is or carry through with a revert storyline for Dani. I really wish there was more to Amira’s plot than the issue of her dating someone non-Muslim. I def see the value and importance of this storyline! And again, I’m glad for people that see that struggle from their lives and feel represented. But I just don’t see what else there is to the season and that’s disappointing to me. 

There are a lot of clips this season that I’m really enjoying, such as every Las Labass clip and all of the clips with Amira’s parents. I feel like these scenes have really been the heart of the season and would love to see there be more focus on them and the different potential plot points that can come from it. For example, we haven’t really gotten much more in terms of the Las Labass / Girl Squad integration debate. I thought that was a perfect clip to really point out Amira’s own uncomfortableness and the GS’s white fragility/privilege and how they more or less ignore Amira, but that hasn’t really come up yet anymore at all. And to me, it does feel like part of the reason it hasn’t been central now is because the story is taking on too much in terms of wrapping up (or starting) plotlines for the side characters. It feels like all of the strongest clips and the ones I personally am the most interested in ultimately have nothing to do with Amira’s life or how her story will continue to unfold. 

Despite how well (or not) they pulled them off, at least Sana, Imane, and Amira M. felt more full as mains because they had other things happening in their lives and (until the end episodes) the main focus was always on them. This season so far feels less like a Skam season and more of an ensemble cast. It’s disappointing because in past seasons - even in S3 where Viri was a second main character - the focus has solely been on the main. It’s really upsetting to me that Eskam has decided to spend so much time dedicated to everyone but Amira. It may be in her POV, but it really doesn’t feel like her season at all to me.

This is all a summary of my very personal opinion though. If folks want to tag us in their meta, I’d also be happy to reblog posts specifically by PoC and/or Muslim folks with the many, many different opinions people are having on this season. It’s been a polarizing season to say the least. 

- mod Jennifer 

[wannaknowyoubetternow]

Happy POC selfie night from a proud Pakistani Canadian Muslim! I would like to thank the creators of @swiftiesofcolor Danielle @ofrunningfoxes and Symona @toendsupwithyou for creating these nights. It helps make all the minorities feel loved and represented in the swiftie fandom. It’s also so important and so needed to combat all the hate that surprisingly is still present in this fandom. It’s also a bonus that Taylor gets to notice so many lovely swifties on here, which is also how I got my first like, so thank you guys for that 💖

Also with my post (if Taylor actually manages to see it), I wanted to add some things that I wish I had mentioned to Taylor at the secret session but forgot to.

Taylor, thank you so much for inviting me into your home and entrusting me to listen to your album early. It means a lot to me and the rest of the Muslim community that you thought to include muslims and especially hijabis to the secret sessions. It made us all feel welcomed and loved. We go through so many daily struggles of people not treating us equally and people thinking we are a threat when we are just trying to live our lives peacefully. Some people even tell us that we would never get a chance to meet you due to our religion and the way that we choose to dress. However, we know that that’s not true in the slightest, as you love all your fans equally, no matter their religion, race, gender or sexual orientation. It felt so nice to see someone I admired for so long treat me with kindness and respect. After I uploaded my picture with you, so many muslim swifties messaged me saying that they felt so happy to see someone like them get a chance to meet you and that they felt like it could happen to them too. So thank you so much! We all love you, we’re all so proud of everything that you do and will always support you and stay by your side 💗

Also on behalf of my fellow Pakistani swifties who all love you so very much, it would be awesome if you could visit Pakistan for the upcoming Lover tour 💕 @taylorswift

[writingforthethinkers]

Dust - Part 3

Marvel

Pairing: Peter Parker X Stark!Reader

Word Count: 3690 (Yeah, I know, sorry, but it wouldn’t have worked if I split it to more than one part)

Warning: grief, endgame spoilers, injuries, angst to the max

Summary: A continuation of my fanfic of Infinity War, set in the plot of Endgame.

A/N: Before I begin, I just wanted to let everyone know who is reading this that I wasn’t happy with Endgame. The treatment of female, LGBT and POC representation was appalling and in 2019 you would expect us to be a lot further along than we are now. The ending of Game of Thrones also had the same problems, showing just how poorly women, LGBT and POC are treated in media. I don’t really know how I would have changed Endgame here to better represent people without changing the whole movie, but I hope by having a female character - who by all means can be a person of colour or LGBT, I make sure to leave it as unspecific as possible so you can put yourself into (Y/N) - having a bit more agency and involvement in the plot will let you know that we do deserve representation, and it is not okay that we are not getting it. Also, Nat deserved better, so I’m giving her better. Hope you enjoy it. 

Dust, Part 2

I give no warning before hand when I arrive at the Avengers compound, sitting in the backseat of one of my dad’s old cars he wired to be able to drive itself. Pepper offered to drive me, but I wanted to come alone. This was something I wanted to keep my mom and Morgan far away from. I’d also managed to fill the car with holograms and projections of various ideas for a time machine. Jumping between them all, I pulled different aspects from each that I thought were most likely to work, trying to combine them into something that would give us the best possible chance to bring them all back.

My heart leaps in my chest. I try my best to disassociate what I’m planning and building from the implications of what it could mean. The thought of my dad and Peter gives me so much hope that I feel fear churning in my stomach, an emotion that throws me so much I can barely think straight. So, I refocus on the holograms.

“Miss Stark,” the robotic voice of the car pulls me from my thoughts, “we are here.”

Looking up towards the doors of the compound I see Nat and Steve already rushing out and making their way towards the car. With a deep intake of breathe that falls between a sigh and a shaky gasp, I close all the holograms and open the car door, stepping out.

They both look confused, but hopeful. Steve has a glint in his eyes that suggests he knows what I’m about to say while Nat’s lips are curved up ever so slightly, you would have to know her personally for a long time to be able to notice it. They don’t say anything, waiting for me to say why I’m on their doorstep. I sigh again, thinking about my dad and Peter, my mom and Morgan.

“I’m in.” 

Steve and Nat’s faces crack into smiles, and I cannot resist the urge to let my face do the same.

---

I’ll admit, I really was hoping I’d get through the whole time travel plan without having to feel much. I was hoping it would be all serious and down-to-business, like the good ‘ol days when I went on missions to an icy tundra to take down a baddie with my second family of superheroes and it would end with us all going home for takeout. This mission did not end up like that. I had agreed to join Steve to go back for the Tesseract, which meant going back to the attack on New York and Thor’s chaotic brother.

Seeing my dad again, years younger and still alive, I wanted nothing more than to just give up. Grab him and drag him back to the present with me. It wouldn’t take long to catch him up. Then I thought of Peter, his laugh echoing in my head and his smile painted like a mural in my mind. The other half of the population also rushed to the forefront of my mind, the smiling faces on missing person posters from when Thanos first snapped his fingers plastered in front of my eyes.

We’re the Avengers, there is no giving up. Quickly wiping my tears, we managed to get the tesseract without any hiccups.

But seeing my dad again wasn’t the end of the heartbreak. Returning to the present and watching Clint fall to his knees as he returned alone felt like my lungs were about to collapse in on themselves.

“There must be some way to bring her back.” I hear a voice reason, but they sound a million miles away as my hearing muffles and my vision blurs with tears. All I can think about is how I’ve lost someone else. Another part of my family gone.  

“It was her life as a trade for the soul stone.” Another voice says, sorrow matching how I feel. “It was the only way.”

Then my mind starts to whir as the cogs turn and I take in a deep breathe. Wiping my eyes, I manage to pull myself together enough to think straight.

“We can get her back,” I say, and all eyes turn to me. “In the same way we got the stones.”

Most of the people before me look confused, some go to object, but I cut them off.

“I know we have to return the stones to the exact spot we took them from. But couldn’t we do the same with Nat? We only have to make sure she returns to that point in time to sacrifice herself to get the soul stone. But who’s to say she can’t live her life before then?”

Faces of confusion change to understanding. Bruce almost looks like he is going to smile.

“So, we go back and get Nat, bringing her to the present like we did the stones. She gets to keep living, and only has to return to that time before she dies,” Bruce reiterates, taking a moment to think it through “that could work.”

“It would be risky, and she would probably have to give up being an Avenger. But if any of us deserve to retire, it’s Nat. Especially after this.” I state.

“Then let’s go,” Clint says, already getting to his feet and moving to put his helmet on again.

“Wait,” I stop him, “we should wait until we’ve reversed everything. If something goes wrong and it puts her in danger – because we all know she would be there fighting alongside us – we could put the future in jeopardy.”

There is a round of nods and mumbles of agreement. A feeling of determination rises in the air.

“Then let’s reverse everything.”

---

Sometimes I hate being right all the time. Not bringing Nat back there and then was definitely the right choice, seeming as, as soon as Bruce snapped his fingers while wearing the gauntlet, supposedly bring back the other half of the universe, the compound promptly exploded. In all the confusion, I managed to make it up through the rubble and was met with the bane of my life. The looks on Steve and Thor’s faces as they joined me amongst the remains of the compound seemed justification that Thanos was also the bane of their lives.

Pushing the manic thought of how the other half of the universe was mostly likely alive again – dad, Peter, I turned my attention to the titan that wanted to take it all away from me. Again. Memories of a blade slicing through my dad’s stomach, of him and Peter turning to dust in my arms. Anger boiled in my blood.

I barely registered most of the fight. At one point I’m pretty sure Steve had Thor’s hammer, but I was so blind with anger and pain and loss and heartbreak that all I could focus on was blasting Thanos to high hell. The warning signs my suit flashed in my face as I took hit after hit, dealing him my fair share too, only proved to annoy me. Eventually, I took my helmet off. The frenzy had died down and I appeared to be the only one standing apart from Thanos. Pain crept through my body, but I ignored it. I felt Steve struggle to his feet next to me.

Thanos takes this time to monologue, and I watch as his army comes to join him. I don’t really know what is happening. I don’t know where the other half of the universe is, if Bruce’s use of the gauntlet even brought them back. I don’t know if mom and Morgan will be safe after this, I don’t know if I’ve ended what little happiness we had. I don’t know how this is going to end, or how I’m going to die.

But I do know I’m not going down without taking as many of Thanos’ army – if not the mad titan himself – down with me.

I glance at Steve. He doesn’t say anything, but his eyes seem to be projecting the same thing. He grips what is left of his shield and I clench my fists, feeling the energy charging through my suit.

A voice crackling through the intercoms in our ears makes us pause. At first, the words are impossible to make out, but soon we understand them.

“On your left.”

As if on que, the sound of a portal pulls our attention to behind us. I can already feel a grin clawing at my face when I realise the voice is Sam’s, but triumph courses through me when the portal opens enough for three figures to step through it. Okoye, T’Challa and Shuri. The latter decides now is the time for a wiggle of her eyebrows and confident wink. I actually laugh at the surreal cockiness of my friend.

My friend, I think. Living and breathing.

It doesn’t end there. The sound of other portals surrounds us, and I turn completely to watch, ignoring Thanos entirely. Some are massive, allowing whole armies to pass through them, while others are smaller with only a few figures emerging. One in particular catches my eyes. Doctor Strange comes through first, followed by the Guardians and then two more people.

I feel like my heart is going to explode. Peter swings through the portal, landing on a large slab of rock. My dad just walks out, his suit fully on but he quickly loses the helmet, looking directly at me.

‘I love you,’ he mouths, the words clear as day on his lips from the amount of times I’ve remembered him saying them to me.

All I can do is smile in disbelief, feeling tears cut their way through the dirt and dust on my face. Steve’s words stop me from running to them, reminding me of where we are.

“Avengers,” he shouts, making me tear my eyes from my dad and Peter and turn back to Thanos, putting the helmet of my suit back on. Steve finishes the phrase in a chilling whisper. “Assemble.”

And we attack. United, it is clear Thanos doesn’t stand a chance.

I attack with the same ruthlessness I did before the portals opened, but this time it is spurred not by the determination of a last stand, but the strength of winning a final battle. Unfortunately, my injuries from fighting Thanos one on one come back to haunt me, making my movements slower and I make more mistakes. I’m soon backed into a corner against the remains of a wall, surrounded by Thanos’ soldiers. My suit screams at me to get myself away, but I cannot escape, and for the first time since the battle began I feel a surge of panic.

Then the soldiers are attacked from two sides – one attacker closer than the other – and soon they are all gone. The helmet of my suit comes down again so I can breathe as I slump to the floor, deciding I deserve a few seconds of time out.

“(Y/N), are you alright?”

“Mom?” I look up to see Pepper, heading towards me, crouching down next to me and taking my face in her hands. Her eyes are filled with concern, but it is difficult to register as I try to figure out how she is here. “What are you doing here?”

“I told you I supported you, didn’t I? How was I supposed to do that from back home?” She tucks some of my hair behind my ear, her other hand still cupping my face.

“Who’s babysitting Morgan?”

“Who’s Morgan?”

Both mine and my mom’s eyes grow to the size of dinner plates at the voice. We scramble to our feet, but we are almost knocked to the ground again at the sight of my dad.

“Tony,” my mom whispers, before running to him. They meet in the tightest hug possible for two people wearing big metal suits, eyes already watering with tears. They’re both mumbling loving words to each other, and all I can do is stand there watching.

“You coming in for a hug too, kid?”

He doesn’t need to ask me again as I sprint towards them, letting them engulf me in a joint hug that I have waited so long for. I bury my face in my dad’s neck.

“I missed you,” I tell him, the taste of my own tears on my lips.

“I missed you too,” Tony replies, hand moving to the back of my head.

The three of us stay in that hug for longer than we should while in the midst of the biggest battle of the universe, but Thanos himself couldn’t have pried me from my parents’ arms then. It was my dad who eventually ended the hug. Pulling back, he looked between me and my mom.

“So, are you going to tell me who Morgan is? Is she the new dog or gerbil?”

My mom laughs, moving her hand up to my dad’s face.

“She’s your daughter.”

My dad’s face splits into a grin, and he looks to me for confirmation. I just nod, realising there is not a single difference between my dad’s grin and Morgan’s. I’m almost about to pull up a photo of her with my suit to show him when we’re interrupted.

“(Y/N)!” The sound of a person landing is heard from behind me, and my name on their lips is the greatest sound I’ve ever heard.

“Peter!” I shout, sprinting at him the same way I did to my dad seconds before, only this time I manage to take Peter to the ground with this hug. He pulls me close, arms tight around my body. He’s rambling in the same way he always used to, telling me about how he woke up and came through the portal.

I don’t really register his words, pulling back to look at his face, taking in every feature I’ve only been able to imagine for the past five years. I faintly make the connection that we’re in the same position we were when he died, but it doesn’t affect me as I cut him off with a kiss, pulling his face as close to mine as I can. Peter responds in kind, hands cupping my face as he relaxes into the kiss. We pull apart with slightly swollen lips and dopey grins.

“That was nice,” Peter sighs.

“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to do that,” I tell him, about to lean in for another.

“Would you mind waiting a little longer? It appears we’re still in the midst of a battle.” My dad interrupts us before we can kiss again, Peter’s cheeks becoming a strong pink as I feel heat rise to mine. We’re quick to get back to our feet, but still stay close.

“Right, yeah, it can wait,” I reply, getting myself ready to carry on fighting, “only been five years, but sure I can go a little longer. No biggie.”

We all just stand there smiling at each other for a moment before being rudely interrupted by some of Thanos’ soldiers and we’re back in the action again. Continuing to fight, I manage to stay close to all three of them to some extent, as we all make sure we have each other’s backs in some way. The fight continues for a little longer, until somehow it is me, my dad and a few other Avengers up against Thanos. Somehow the titan manages to overpower most of us, despite losing the gauntlet. I try to make my way towards it, but that only results in me being thrown far out of the way, slamming into a large chunk of rubble that manages to wind me despite the suit. However, it gives my dad a window to get close to the gauntlet.

I can only watch as he hovers over it, looking up at Strange who holds up one finger. It takes me a moment to work out what he means. One in fourteen million.

No.

Iron Man and Thanos both jump for the gauntlet. From where I am slumped, unable to move as my suit desperately tries to mend both itself and me, I don’t see who manages to get it. They fight, close combat, and I remember the last time that happened. I was in the exact same position; paralysed and unable to help. They eventually break apart, the gauntlet on Thanos’ hand. He looks triumphant, but I can see what he is missing.

“I am inevitable.” He snaps his fingers, expecting to win but receiving nothing.

I look at my dad, stumbling to his feet, the hand of his suit bejewelled with the infinity stones. He turns his hand, so they are in plain view of Thanos and utters one final famous phrase.

“I am Iron Man.”

And he snaps.

The battle comes to a sudden end. We all watch as Thanos’ army turns to dust, the titan soon following them. My suit manages to stop screaming at me and I scramble out of it, leaving it beaten and broken behind as I stumble to where my dad lies. Everyone else isn’t far behind.

“Dad,” I cry out, already at his side. He doesn’t answer, just looks into my eyes. I hold his gaze, trying desperately to ignore his mutilated arm. I soon feel my mom and others join me. I can hear Peter breaking down, and the sorrow of everyone surrounds me. My dad is going to die right in front of me. Again.

My mom tries to hold me as she speaks to him, assuring him how everything is okay. I barely feel anything, leaning into her slightly as my eyes drift to his hand, the infinity stones still sitting in the burnt remains of his suit. One last stupid, reckless idea springs to my mind through all of the grief. I may not be allowed to live out my life with my dad, but Morgan deserves to know him. As Pepper leans in to kiss his cheek, I take my opportunity to pry one of the stones off Tony’s hand. The purple hue almost speaks to me, telling me what to do.

Admittedly, plunging it into my chest to wield as much of its power as I could was probably not the best idea, but I could already feel it tearing my hand apart so making it as much a part of myself as possible seemed the best option. I hear voices cry out my name, but I ignore them, pushing through the immense pain and focusing solely on my dad. I put every ounce of my being into reversing his pain, healing him.

I lose consciousness before I know if I was successful or not.

---

The beeping of a monitor in time with a heartbeat is the first thing I notice. It takes me a little while to work out it is my heartbeat. Slowly opening my eyes, I find I’m lying in my own bed. An IV drip is connected to my arm and my desk is littered with ‘get well soon’ cards and large bouquets of flowers.

What I don’t understand most about the situation is I feel completely fine. Sitting up, my condition doesn’t change, so I pull off everything attached to me and get up, making my way towards the door. I hear murmurs of voices that sound like they’re coming from downstairs. Slowly making my way out I walk towards the stairs, soon discovering that pretty much everyone I know is in my living room.

Morgan is the first to notice me as I’m halfway down the stairs. She gasps, making everyone look at her, before sprinting towards me. I catch her at the bottom of the stairs, picking her up and hugging her close to me. The last thing I remember is intense pain and the destruction of a battle, so it is a nice change to be suddenly back in my own home with my little sister.

And the world and his brother. I’m soon engulfed by people, asking me questions and saying my name, but most keep their distance. Except for my parents, who hover around me like I’ll break at any moment and Peter who is the only person to treat me normally, running to give me a hug just like Morgan.

“Hey, okay, listen. I’m fine! What’s going on?” I ask, and everyone quietens down. “What?”

“Look down.” My dad instructs as he nods at my chest. I’m overjoyed to seem him perfectly fine, and with a confused look I do as he says.

“Oh.” A purple light shines from underneath the fabric of my t-shirt. I pull the shirt down enough so I can see what it is, finding out it’s the infinity stone I pried from the others embedded in my skin. “What the…”

“You should be dead,” my dad states bluntly, earning him a nudge from my mom, “but I think the stone is keeping you alive.”

I begin to notice the tingling of power in my fingertips. Maybe it is giving me more than just a second chance to live. I don’t mention it to anyone.

“But if the stone is keeping me alive, how do we return it to where we took it from?”

“Looks like you’ll have to do the same as me.” Nat emerges from the group of people still surrounding me, and despite what she just said I run at her with a grin on my face and pull her into a tight hug.

“So be it,” I reply, “I’m alive. We all are.”

Looking around, I smile at the faces of everyone I know. The people we brought back, the people who survived. I look to my family, Pepper’s arm around Tony’s waist while Morgan sits grinning in her father’s arms. I look to Peter with his warm eyes and charming smile. I imagine kissing him again and again once everyone gets out of my house. The idea of living a normal life with everyone I love thrills me to the core.

“We won,” I state, relishing in the feeling.

[ipictureitsoftandiache]

honestly fuck all y’all nasty ass crackers for invalidating and minimizing the impact and importance of selfie night lmao i know critical thinking is hard and all but maybe you motherfuckers should actually analyze your place in the existing social hierarchy (like the rest of us have been forced to do our entire fucking lives)

it’s not about posting pictures of yourself for the sake of posting pictures of yourself ffs please read a book

selfie night means a lot of things to a lot of people and i would never claim to speak for everyone but here’s what i (a person who does not post on selfie night but does enjoys seeing pictures of people that aren’t name kailynne) love about selfie night

i feel less alone. do u know how shitty it feels to feel other? no i don’t give a shit about how u were bullied in sixth grade mckaeyleh lol u ever been told to go back to a country you’ve never fuckin seen? do u know how crushing it is to feel like you’re somehow less of ur identity bc u stan some white bitch from pennsylvania? like somehow stanning miss swift means u revoke ur rights to be ethnic or gay or disabled? do u know how much it sucks to have people erase very important parts of your personhood because “we’re all the same why do we need separate selfie nights?” do u know the nebulous ways our identities shape our lives? i am not totally and completely defined by being mixed race, or queer, or disabled — but fuck, those identities and how i navigate the world with them are intirinsically linked to who i am. and it’s comforting to know i’m not the only one. because god, it’s so lonely to look out at an endless sea of faces and see no one like you

it’s representation. on our terms. y’all love to tout of pictures of taylor with nonwhite fans whenever someone calls her a white supremacist (which is creepy btw and y’all are gross af) as if taylor’s black fans exist only to disprove accusations of racism. you use nonwhite fans as tokens (i literally cannot get over y’all taking poc’s pictures, which they share bc they’re so happy they got to meet their idol, and share them without their consent for others to deride) when it’s convenient. we don’t exist because we’re a fuckin tool! my mexican ass ain’t here to serve as proof that taylor isn’t a racist trump supporter! why is it that y’all are ok with trading us around like fuckin pokémon cards but the second we exercise agency and present ourselves the way WE want to it’s not ok? i know some of y’all can’t read anything but taylor’s album forewords but i beg u to pls read up on representation and how that does not mean what u think it means! representation doesn’t just mean acknowledgment that we exist in whatever way is most palatable for you. we refuse to live on breadcrumbs. representation means making people see and acknowledge us on our own terms. that’s why selfie night is important u numbnuts! selfies are literally about saying “here i am i think i look cute and *I* want to share this picture.” selfie nights are about saying “i’ve been told my whole life that i’m not meant for public consumption bc of my identity but i exist and here i am. i don’t exist for public consumption. i exist for me.” selfie nights are about saying “the world is built against people like me but my existence is in and of itself an act of resistance and i refuse to be ashamed of the things i’ve been shamed for my whole life.” honestly just the idea of selfie night.....how it literally symbolizes marginalized people taking control of how they are represented in this fan base.......the flavor........the minds of @ofrunningfoxes and @nliallofficial are truly unparalleled and y’all need to show some respect

there’s honestly no excuse for y’all to be so uneducated lmao take a break from reading taylor’s poetry to find clues about ts7 and head to the library (its free!) to read books to find clues about like.....life (if u can’t go to the library no worries! google is free! and y’all clearly have internet! i’d be happy to help u find resources if u ask!)

aight i’m done just know that if ur frothing at the mouth ready to type some snippy reply about how i’m just a dumb beaner or whatever please know a) i am more educated than you (this is not a fight u want lmao i literally study social theory) b) i am smarter than you c) i am sexier and more beautiful than you and d) i don’t care

[canardroublard]

TMFU, Gaby’s fashion, and some feminist film analysis

Back when I slapped together a reblog post about the men’s fashion in The Man From UNCLE in between physio appointments, which somehow got like way more notes than I ever really expected or even wanted, I didn’t address the fashion of the lead female character, Gaby. It was outside the scope of the OP, and I didn’t feel like I had anything new or interesting to say about Gaby’s fashion, or lack thereof.

(My beta says those earrings are the ugliest thing ever. I disagree. It’s a wonder we’re still friends)

Anyways, we see only one brief scene of Gaby in her own street clothes, and a slightly longer sequence of her in her work clothes. The rest of the film, she is wearing clothes chosen for her by Illya. Saying “we just don’t have enough info” is a perfectly reasonable approach to this. So this was the other reason I had no intention of making this post.

But then people started getting interested. Someone reblogged commenting about Gaby’s fashion, and I discovered that I have very strong opinions about something I’d previously claimed was unknowable, and it made me wonder what was going on in my brain.

Then I talked to some other TMFU friends who all seemed interested in what I assumed was common knowledge/nothing unique. So, they may have been feigning interest out of politeness, but it activated the art history side of my brain, and here we are now!

The boring stuff but please read this

I am not attempting to tell anyone how to interpret this film. I am not even trying to change people’s minds or persuade them to my thinking. All I am doing is sharing my thought process. I wasn’t even going to do this for Gaby until people asked. To this end, please don’t attempt to argue with me about this. I don’t want to argue. I won’t respond to it. If you disagree, then please, just move along.

And I’m going to remind people that I love TMFU. I love this movie so much it hurts. Why am I putting this reminder here? Because I am about to apply some critical analysis to it, and in places this will be cynical, and it will not always look kindly on the film. If you just want to exist in a happy “I love TMFU!” bubble and not hear anything less than 100% positive about the film (which is a totally valid choice, I don’t fault anyone for that), then don’t read. But don’t yell at me for being mean or criticizing the film, because I warned you.

Tldr; or, if I were still being graded for this stuff here’s my thesis statement

When analysing Gaby’s fashion, there exist considerations which don’t apply to the male characters. Namely, she is a woman and the male gaze is a thing. So I am very, very wary about taking at  face value any expressions of traditional femininity in the choices made  for her outfits, hair, makeup, etc. Therefore, when considering her character, I find it much more useful and informative to give more weight to the aspects of her appearance which do not connote traditional femininity, rather than those that do.

For readers who have studied enough  media analysis to follow my thought based on that alone, there’s the thesis statement, y’all can go home (or at least skip to the end where I come to a conclusion). If you’re lost, then read on.

(mobile readers, the cut here might not work, and if so I apologize for what is going to be a very long post. Tumblr’s “keep reading” functionality is inconsistent at best, but I tried)

Context is for kings essential for analysing media in a meaningful way

(Or, some brief background. Stick with me here, we’ll get to the good stuff soon)

So, art doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Attempting to analyze any artwork (in this case a film) while disregarding the culture it was created in and the intentions of the creator is...not going to get you very far. Asking “what is art” is a question that quite frankly exhausts me at this point (looking at you, Duchamp) but the closest I’ve ever come to an answer is that the only thing that separates art from everything else is intent. And intention only exists within cultural context. So yes, intent and context don’t just matter peripherally, they are one of the biggest considerations one needs to make when analyzing works of art. The creator in this case being Guy Ritchie et al, the culture being British/American Popular Cinema in The Year of Somebody’s Lord Two-Thousand-And-Fifteen. 

Everyone views and creates (if applicable) art through their own distorted, murky, imperfect lens of personal experience. And one of the most persistent Things in western art is that cishet men create art based on their experience of Being A Dude. This is crucial, because this lens of cishet male perspective literally underpins almost all of western culture including popular culture. And thanks to feminist film theorist Laura Mulvey, we have a name for this.

The male gaze and you

I’m going to quote Wikipedia here, because honestly this intro sentence sums things up rather neatly (with one exception which I will address momentarily).

In feminist theory, the male gaze is the act of depicting women and the world, in the visual arts and literature, from a masculine, heterosexual perspective that presents and represents women as sexual objects for the pleasure of the male viewer.

What does that all mean? That the Viewer and the Artist are both cishet men by default, and any women are Subjects of art. Women are viewed, never viewers. Men take action, women are subjected to actions. Furthermore, women are supposed to be pleasurable to view. By men. Since the Viewer is male by default.

But I would disagree that the pleasure is inherently based on women being sexual objects. That’s honestly a really damn limited read on the whole theory, and it’s one that Wikipedia itself contradicts later in the article. More broadly, cis men also derive other forms of pleasure from the presentation and viewing of female bodies, including aesthetic pleasure (the enjoyment of looking at beautiful things).

The theory of the male gaze is not without limits. As originally theorized, afaik it’s not particularly intersectional. It doesn’t really address queer perspectives or perspectives of POC. However, these issues are something I just can’t address here, unfortunately. And when looking at popular media, I still find the concept of the male gaze, imperfect as it may be, is a helpful means of analysis, so it’s worth having in your toolbox.

Circling back, the easiest way to sum up the male gaze, if you’re still not super clear on what it is, is with a demonstration.

Ever seen a shot like this in a movie?

And did you immediately roll your eyes? Feel gross? Congrats, you have just perceived and reacted to the male gaze.

Now we actually get back to TMFU

But the male gaze also shows up in many more subtle, insidious ways than fanservice-y boob shots. For this post, let’s focus on the following considerations, which might help everyone follow my thought process more clearly.

Gaby is a woman

She functions as the love interest of Illya in the script (I am not talking from a shipping perspective. What you ship does not matter for this discussion. I am talking about the narrative function of Gaby in the script as written. Put on your “cishet man” goggles for a moment)

Illya is a man who is attracted to women, specifically Gaby (again, I don’t care if your shipping conflicts with this. I am analyzing the film based on a literal reading of it as if I were a cishet man. Why? Because that’s who made the film. That’s who it’s “for”. I am all for queer readings of film--hell, I ship OT3, I myself have chosen a queer reading for how I interact with it, but I’m not critiquing people’s readings, I’m critiquing the film itself and to do that I have to critique its intentions and cultural context.)

Cishet men are traditionally only allowed to be attracted to women who are conventionally attractive. If they were to be attracted to anyone else it would destroy their fragile senses of self and their heads would explode or something. At least I assume that’s what must happen, based on how terrified they are of it.

Therefore, Gaby must be conventionally attractive, because it is literally required of her or otherwise the whole underpinning of western straight malehood crumbles and then where would we get such a pure, vast source of unadulterated toxic masculinity?

(Yes, this is a very cynical read on things. I’ve studied, like, three centuries worth of this bullshit. I’m tired. Let me be cynical.)

Or, to force myself to be less cynical, Gaby has to be pretty because...nope, this is still going to turn out just as cynical.

But what I will say in favour of this movie is that it gives Gaby and Victoria both a lot of agency and general awesomeness, which is quite unusual in this sort of big-budget action film, and it’s one of the big reasons I love it. I’m not saying that the entire film is sexist. On the contrary, there’s a ton of stuff to celebrate about how it portrays its female characters. But these aspects don’t change the cultural context, and we still have to consider the impacts of the male gaze.

Anyways, point being is that as filtered through the male gaze, Gaby is never given the option to, say, wear no makeup (or the appearance of such, as the guys are afforded, this being cinema where “no makeup” still means makeup) because that would look “ugly”.  Instead she needs to have a “baseline of pretty” which is way higher than reality because she is not a real human being with her own agency, she is a character created by a cis male writer/director team in a film directed by a cis man in a genre that caters to cishet men.

Gaby doesn’t exist in a vacuum. She exists battling centuries and centuries worth of sexist convention.

Now then, remembering all of that, let’s actually look at her. There are woefully few good pictures so I’m going to have to piece things together a little. Starting with the coveralls.

This is a great look, I love it. And I’m going to give Ritchie a lot of credit here because it would’ve been easy to go for a “Michelle Rodriguez in F&F sexy mechanic lady” look. In case I need to provide a visual:

(Repeat above gif about rolling my eyes)

Now, to be clear, I am not making any judgement about the way any real-life women dress. I’m sure there’s plenty of female mechanics who have their hair down and wear tank tops while working. That doesn’t bother me. I don’t care if real life mechanics choose to do their jobs in a string bikini. Or in cosplay of the bee from Bee Movie. I don’t care (and quite frankly it’s none of my business) because they are real people who can make their own decisions. But what I am talking about here is a fictional character who does not have her own agency. I am critiquing how male creators choose to dress their female characters.

So I personally choose to read much more into the unpretty  aspects of Gaby’s outfit, because these are not the “obvious” or “easy”   things. Obvious and easy are “of course she wears makeup” and “of course her hair looks good” and  “of course she doesn’t look like a swamp witch  who bathes in mud and spends her days cursing passing men”. Those things don’t challenge or disrupt the assumption that women must look attractive for male consumption.

Gaby’s introduction to us is with her in a pair of grease-stained, baggy coveralls, not wearing any obvious makeup (again, this is cinema, so she is wearing makeup. For cinema the goal posts around “wearing makeup” always need to be moved from where they’d be irl). There’s very little here that screams ‘pretty’. And that is fascinating to me.

I don’t know how deeply Ritchie thought this through when giving final approval to the costume, hair and makeup. But unpretty is not the default here. It’s a choice

And look at this. This is the stance and dress sense (and socks!) of a woman who does not give a damn about looking good for the male gaze, whether the in-movie gaze of Napoleon, or the implied gaze of the viewer and creator. It’s not ‘pretty’. And this is the only time in the film we see Gaby in her own everyday clothes, as she only escapes East Berlin with the literal clothes on her back.

So how do I think Gaby dresses? I think that for the most part she dresses....like this. Practical. Comfortable. With a few simple touches of things she likes/finds pretty, perhaps, but not with a specific interest in being pretty. She dresses for herself, not for others. And if that isn’t something to aspire to, I don’t know what is.