#and yes that does even include cartoons! but only CERTAIN cartoons

[irregularbillcipher]

i think it's really funny when people are like "i can't take this show seriously i think it's so funny that this show has a fandom. it's like if people started shipping simpsons characters or wrote video essays about bart" or otherwise use the simpsons as an example of a show that Obviously People Don't Take Seriously. like what are you talking about. go on nohomers for three seconds to realize how insane people are about the simpsons

[baxterstockmanisthecenterfold]

Thoughts on the Baxter being black or white discourse?

Funny you send this ask anon because I won't lie to you I was LITERALLY Planning on making this post on my own one day when I got the time to. But uhhhh looks like you just sped up that process so let's just get down to it then.

First starting with a history lesson. All starting and going way back to 1984 when Baxter was born. (Well. In our world at least. Cus in actual comic continuity he was born in 1948.)

After the first issue of TMNT was a success, Kevin Eastman & Peter Laird of course got to work making another comic so it can be an official series. And when you have a new hero or heroes, you gotta have more villains for them to fight. And that second big baddie happened to be Baxter.

We can see here in this image above us that during his designing phase, Baxter funny enough had 2 different designs. One white design & one Black one. Showing us that it actually would have been an either or decision with how he would have ended up as. But of course, the 2 men obviously settled on the black one

And for a good couple of years that's just how it always was. At least until the 87 cartoon came out & we were re-introduced to Baxter looking noticeably different..

Baxter in his first outside comic book appearance had been one of the first of many POC characters to have been whitewashed (those unaware, whitewashing is when a character of a certain ethnicity/race is portrayed or designed as a Caucasian). And the reason for this massive change is STILL, to this day is a bit of a mystery. Like you & many suspected, why not go up to Kevin & Peter themselves & ask them why this happened? Or if they even had a role in it? From every source I could find & the only answer I really got was that Kevin & Peter had no idea why they changed him either! BUT they actually didn't really mind or care because if we go back to Baxter's concept art, he was ALMOST Going to be white anyway so if anything the show just made their "what if" choice a reality. At the end of the day, they didn't really care & I don't blame them since Baxter's race wasn't really a key part of his character. But I'll get to that in a minute.

Another consistent answer or rumor I hear about this change is because the showrunners didn't want the risk of being labeled as "racist". Because Baxter's role in the first cartoon was simply a "Weak subservient henchman who constantly refers to his boss as "Master" ".

*winces teeth* yeaaaaa I can kinda see what they mean by that looking bad..

But hang on now, then what about Bebop?

Before his mutation, he was noticeably black & he was turned into a pig that's ordered around & takes tons of verbal & physical abuse from his master and even called him that once yet nobody's batted an eye about that??? (Plus said Master is Asian Soo)

Well my personal best guess on why Bebop is overlooked could be for the following reasons:

He's a mutant. Yes he started off as a human being. But for the rest of the entire series aside from 2 instances to my knowledge, he's a mutant warthog. And not exactly a brown one either.. So for people starting off watching TMNT, they probably have no idea he was human or even black for that matter.

Some people don't even know he's black! Again. I imagine most people's first introduction to him was from a random episode & they never saw what he looked like as a human. And it's not like his voice actor was convincing of being otherwise either. Barry Gordon is obviously not African-American nor did he sound like one like most modern non black voice actors. In fact Bebop's voice is far from it. As a black person who has grown up in multiple areas of NY. Including the bad parts where thugs like Bebop reside. I can say. I have never once met or even heard another black person talk or sound the way he does.

Oddly enough, Bebop has actually been whitewashed himself two times. In the Archie comics & even in one of his first action figures to which again I personally chalk this up to people just not knowing he was black

3. And finally last. Rocksteady. Bebop is just tweedleDee of TweedleDumb. Rocksteady is his just as stupid best friend & are rarely to almost never seen separated from each other. So he's given the same treatment as Bebop & written just as much the same. You can't really tell the difference between the two. Or I can't really since I don't know or care much about their 80s counterparts. They're pretty much the same character. Henchman/Comic relief goons not really meant to be taken or thought of that seriously. And it's because of these reasons why I think Bebop is pardoned from receiving racial backlash. He's just a funny mutant goon & like Baxter, being black's not really a big key part of his character. Which again. I'll get to.

Back to Baxter. Whether it was because of avoiding backlash, or because they wanted to give his mirage concept art a chance, or they just wanted to cash in on Back to the Future.

Baxter Stockman was now a white man & that was just the way it was for a VERY VERY long time.

In fact, I came across at least 5 80s & 90s kids that GENUINELY Thought Baxter was ALWAYS a white guy. The damage had already been done that severely until 2001 teased what would eventually be the 2003 series & Baxter had at long last returned to his true African-American roots.

And it's been the go-to norm ever since (with a few occasional slip ups)

But it's because of these slip ups that a little bit of controversy started regarding Baxter's race. Especially with the possibility of turning him white again in a random adaptation. Most people prefer it while others are strongly against it especially on account of the fact that TMNT completely lacks black characters to which, they are not wrong about. At all!

Aside from Baxter & Bebop. The only black characters in TMNT we had for the longest was Angel & Xever (He's Afro-Brazillian before you idiots come at me) & it's opened up a pretty collar tugging realization the only black characters in TMNT all seem to be bad guys. It's honestly no wonder why people want to make more original ones like Sunita from Rise & make April Black like said Rise & Mutant Mayhem. April herself actually falling into this similar category as Baxter because she's actually had a bounce back & forth from being black & white in the mirage comics. (But I am not going to get into that because that whole thing is honestly ITS OWN Very confusing can of worms that literally anybody else can cover if they want to)

From what I've seen & gathered, Baxter remaining black is a big deal for most people because it branches out the black diversity in the TMNT mythos & it's just a core part of his character. Which I'm finally going to get to.

The thing is... It's really not.

Yes Baxter Stockman is an African-American man. But. That's not ALL he is. He's a super genius, he's intimidating, he's only looking out for himself, he doesn't care how much stronger or powerful you may be than him, he'll find a way to take you out or use you for his own benefits. Any piece of technology in his hands equals horrible news! He's your textbook definition of an evil genius! He just HAPPENS to be black! It doesn't matter what color he is, Baxter Stockman will always be Baxter Stockman. I feel like he would have been the same character regardless if Kevin & Peter DID go with his white design way back in 1984! Realistically, what difference would it have made?

In every single adaptation that Baxter's appeared in, in every single story focused on him, where he himself is the main character: His race has never ONCE been brought up.

Not a SINGLE TIME has him being a black man affected his life, development or any other aspect of his livelihood. Of all 20 interactions that Baxter has appeared in. Not ONCE. did he ever bring up being black. Nor did somebody else bring up that he's black. Not a single time, has that ever been a focus or key part of his story. For the same reason why any other characters like him or not like him haven't. The same reason why Dr. Robotnik/Eggman being white isn't brought up or focused on, or why Medic (TF2) being German isn't focused on, or even Willem Viceroy iii (Randy Cunningham) being a black scientist himself isn't even touched on! Their races aren't their characters, it just happens to be a fact about them! And the same should go for Baxter! Especially when you take in & remember the fact that he was almost never gonna be black in the first place.

Now I'm not saying that you shouldn't care about him being black or white, or that him being black shouldn't matter to you. I know from experience that we see ourselves in some fictional characters, good guy or bad guy. Especially if they share the same skin color as you. I probably wouldn't have latched onto Baxter like I did if it wasn't for him reminding me of my then afro wearing, nerdy 12 year old self at the time, but I know he's more than just his race & that's what I do want the fans to see when it comes to talking about him.

Now because I know I'll get this question either later on or in the comments of this post I will answer it beforehand.

Do I like Baxter better as a black person or a white person?

And to be completely & Brutally honest with all of you: . . . I genuinely don't mind either or. 🤷🏿‍♀️

I honest to God. Don't mind what Baxter looks like. I WILL admit, I do heavily prefer he be black. But if he happens to be white, then I don't mind it tbh. To me. When it comes to an adaptation of Baxter Stockman. The only thing that really matters to me is how he's written. As long as he's written well I don't mind or care at all what color he is. But again. I would prefer him black, still either or is fine by me.

What about you guys tho? I'm genuinely curious/interested about how YOU 🫵🏿 prefer he look like? Do you guys like him better being black? Or white? Can be any reason why. Could be cus you relate more, or you grew up with him being that way. Just as long as it's a reason. Be fun to discuss 🤗

[gryficowa]

Leftists have been trumpeting the return of fascism for years, but people ignored it and called it "What you can have in your own opinion" or told us that we are the problem

It started with trans people, and all the way to entire LGBT+ groups, feminists also got hit and there was no reaction because "They could have stayed quiet and not done it" (When they were on strike)

In addition, using September 11 as an excuse to harass people of Arab origin all over the world (although they live in my country and it's more white people who do shit here), dehumanized people, but it's the Arabs' fault that one crazy person flew a plane into two towers , True?

Fascism was reborn at the beginning of this century, but with Trump and Rowling it became more and more visible, but people thought it was nothing bad

2020 was also the point where fascism became acceptable (In my country, there was a campaign against LGBT+ people and women on strike after the ban on abortion on a damaged fetus, and then the dehumanization of people at the border who were deceived by Lukashenko, but as you said, it was was, then they called you under the propaganda of Lukashenko or Putin, yes, being a good person means being a traitor, I'd rather be a traitor than their "Hero")

It's no better abroad either, tik tok has become the only place, which has caused a lot of damage, including the resurgence of pro-ana, the destruction of the postivi body and the acceptance of autism

In 2024, many people's eyes have been opened, when anti-genocide strikes are attacked and people fighting for a free Palestine are called anti-Semites (Even if they are Jews), unfortunately, as before, people woke up to the genocide and the awareness that it is taking place, the holocaust was not stopped either and people were terrified only when it all came to light, now we can try to stop it, but there might not have been a genocide if we had reacted earlier when Israel used segregation to separate them from the Israelis

I'm born in 01, i.e. a zoomer, I used the Internet only for flash games, although I preferred DVD games (I watched as many cartoons from CDs, I watched them on TV when they were on, but that didn't mean I liked them as much as the DVD ones)

I watched Mini Mini while others were watching CN, hence I was considered immature by people in my class (10-14 years old)

It is possible that it was cartoons that helped me develop empathy (I have ASD, and it is a myth that autism does not have empathy), although I was never able to show it, and being a scapegoat did not help me much

I encountered LGBT+ at the age of 13, but thanks to the propaganda from religion classes you can guess what my approach was (Howrse, forum, censoring the word "Gay" as if it was a curse, WTF)

I don't remember when I realized that I was an aroace, because I was always an aroace, but I didn't know, for me the word "Love" didn't mean what cis hetero people consider love, for me it meant relationships where someone is close to you (Family, your pet, friendship etc…)

The first glimpses that something was wrong, I saw a certain Polish YouTuber explaining his transphobia (This was the moment when young and stupid me got a warning light, because if knowing being trans was an option for me, it doesn't change the fact that there was something wrong here yes, cognitive dissonance from cartoons I watched as a kid about that the most important thing is to be yourself and accept yourself, that others should also accept you, and then you come across this, even if you don't understand, you know that this creator's thinking is bad)

I became more interested in politics in 2020, when President Andrzej Duda (Rapper of the Year) said "LGBT+ is not people, it's an ideology", then I already knew that I was LGBT+ (I didn't use "Aroace" then, but "Asexual" and "Aromatic" )

Then I realized how many bad people there are and how they hate someone for their very existence. I can't blame myself for not being interested in politics before, because I was a child (Although pedophiles will probably say that "You weren't a child, you were a teenager", shut up!)

I had Twitter for a year because they blocked it, classic for "Inciting suicide" (But pedophiles and fascists can go unpunished, Twitter standards, they complain that Elon Musk destroyed it, no, he didn't destroy it, he was always fucked up)

I feel like I've grown up too quickly, and I've come so far in my development that it turned out that many people I trusted turned out to be bad, well, maybe loneliness isn't so bad, I have a cat, a dog and my own third party liability insurance, maybe not people (Or real ones…), but it's better than fake friendships, right?

2020 was a turning point for everything, entering politics and discovering how many people were actually mocking you and weren't your friends (Wasted years, even when they started a separate group to mock me and made a remake of my photo from 2013, where they stuck my face into a drawing of a penis… And yet I forgave them + I blamed it on myself, that I reacted badly to everything, when they pointed it out to me, that I was "exaggerating", I left groups, they added me again and so on endlessly)

It doesn't make it easier that in high school I had a toxic support teacher who controlled and criticized me (and laughed at me) at every step, and called my "meltdowns" aggressive and turned them into a note for the diary

So I've been in toxic relationships in real life and online, and this realization is killing me...

But coming back, we had the return of fascism and now people were hit with the realization that "Not an opinion" is "Fascism", the question is how long this approach will last and everything will not return to the status quo

[darekasama]

Writeblr Interview Tag

Thank you for the tag, @sableglass!

Short stories, novels, or poems?

To read, all of the above. To write, I’m very good with journal articles and short stories but if left unchecked some of them might turn into giant novels.

What genre do you prefer reading?

Fantasy, romance, adventure, but really anything that brings me into a world different from ours. Also I have a weakness for dragons and animals in general, so anything that tangentially involves them is on my radar.

Are you a planner or a “write as I go” kind of person?

I am trying really hard to be a planner! My first big story project crashed because I tried to write as I go, resulting in a mess of scenes with the same ideas in five different pages at the same time (including the backside of hundreds of drawings) and too many re-starts to count. Lots of re-writing that didn’t fix the core issues, and ultimately more material added to the chaos. It did not work out.

My current WIP, Project TL, is going at a slower pace, but this time I made sure to organise everything from the start so it’s actually pretty neat and I have no trouble navigating my files or editing!

What music do you listen to while writing?

Sometimes it’s a song, sometimes just music, sometimes ambient sounds. Genre doesn’t matter either, as long as it is appropriate to the scene. In general terms, if the song/music reminds me of good memories, then it is on my list.

For a while I listened to BTS, then to a piano cover of Heaven Official’s Blessing, then to the  lo-fi hip-hop radio. It really, really varies.

Favorite books/movies?

I love all of Licia Troisi’s books, but especially the Chronicles of the Emerged World trilogy. I grew up with her books!

As for movies I think the LOTR movies could be my favourite.

Any current WIPs?

One! In short, Project TL is about dudes, drama and dinosaurs.

What happens if the mentor isn’t there to guide the young noble boy? Very avoidable teenage adventures of course! From getting his nose into the local drama to exploring dangerous forests, all while trying to find some great treasure to bring home. Also, a possible romance with his roommate (who can shapeshift into a dinosaur for reasons you’ll have to read later to know)...

If someone were to make a cartoon out of you what would your standard outfit be?

^ Something of the sort, I suppose. My wardrobe is very basic.

Create a character description of yourself: 

I'm shy! My drawings are all you'll get :P

Do you like incorporating actual people you know into your writing?

Not really. Some aspects of people yes, but the people themselves are a big no-no. I prefer detaching the real person from the behaviour of a fictional character. I don’t even like to use names of people I know in stories.

Are you kill happy with your characters?

Sometimes I put them in very dangerous situations, but I actually prefer when they get out of them. Killing my darlings feels very bad. I want them to live happily, or to at least get a happy ending. They do deserve it.

Coffee or Tea while writing?

In the winter, tea! This year I found a very nice tea shop and got many different flavours to try. Some were a hit and some less so, but I'm pretty excited to start drinking again hot stuff once summer is over!

In any season other that winter, water and fruit juice. This girl does not have what it takes to drink sparkly water.

Slow or fast writer?

Slooooooow! I like to edit a lot. Althought English is not my first language, I feel like I got the grasp on ho to make a sentence flow well.

Where/who/what do you draw inspiration from?

A lot comes from knowledge I acquired over the course of my life. Often I ask myself how a situation could go differently, or why things have to be a certain way. Then boom, a story is born. Most of them last a short few minutes while others make it to the end of the day. Only a handful stay with me for a lifetime, and those I hold very dearly.

If you were in a fantasy world, what would you be?

Let me be a cat! They have the perfect life literally in any world. Eat fancy (or not), lounge in the sun for hours, strut around the town, climb high places and even get loved for just meowing. I wish my life was like that.

Most fav book cliche:

Saving the damsell in distress. Does not have to be literal, but I love it when someone in trouble gets a helping hand!

Least favorite cliche:

Miscommunication. Please just talk to each other!!!!

Favorite scene to write?

Quiet moments together. Comfortable in each other’s presence, maybe joking a little, maybe opening up about what they really think… So many possibilities in a simple stress-free interaction.

Also cuddles and physical closeness in general.

Reason for writing?

I must release my visions into this world.

Tag list (because I think you are all cool people):

@mr-orion @glitched-dawn @silentstaresfanficandfanart @theverumproject @uraniumwriting @princefluph @xenascribbles @wordsandwordsbyme @shenaniganssketched @creative-author @thedeerwight

[hellcheer-heaven]

Hellcheer List: How caretaker Eddie helps Chrissy.

Thank you to @bluebunnymoose for helping me with this.

So I know that I’ve mentioned a previous headcanon where Chrissy and Eddie would have their “kid day” together. I do love the idea of the two of them engaging in that, but I really like the idea of Eddie being a gentle and loving caregiver to Chrissy.

Let's say she's having a rough week and she's just exhausted and overstimulated.

When Eddie can sense and see that she’s distressed, he goes right into caregiver mode.

One of the first things he does is hug her and offer her a stuffed animal.

She holds the toy and lets herself cry in his arms, tightly shutting her eyes as he rocks her gently.

“It’s okay Chrissy, just let it out sweet girl. You’re safe here.”

Sometimes when there’s too much going on, she may speak very softly, say a small selection of words, or nothing at all.

If she doesn’t talk, Eddie will ask her a simple yes/no question: “Are you tired? Do you want something to eat?”

He also gently encourages her to point to what she needs as well.

He's considerate and patient, letting her know that she can communicate her needs when she’s ready.

She’ll quietly ask for a bubble bath and when he asks her if she would like her bath toys, she looks up with a little smile and nods.

While he washes her hair and scrubs her skin, Chrissy will blow the bubbly foam and watch it float, reaching out to catch it before it hits the water.

Eddie smiles knowing that she’s feeling a little better, he’s even happier knowing that they will have the weekend to themselves to continue this for as long as she wants.

This means no errands, chores, and other adult responsibilities, just taking care of his one and only.

In their own small house, Eddie has already supplied the pantry with snacks and comfort food (bear shaped graham crackers, pop tarts, mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, etc.) that she was never allowed to eat in her childhood.

Eddie will help make their bed and decorate it with her stuffed animals.

He’ll rent a collection of cartoons and animated movies on vhs for them to watch.

He brings out a huge container of arts and crafts and coloring books to play with.

There’s a large soft blanket spread out with even more of her stuffed animals in the living room.

There’s a book shelf filled with her favorite stories from her childhood.

These include fairytales with happy endings, Alice in Wonderland, Winnie the Pooh, Dr. Seuss, Goodnight Moon, Charlotte’s Web, Peter Rabbit, Madeline, etc.

If she wants to color in a coloring book, Chrissy will lay down on the blanket, open up her big box of crayons, and have her back rubbed while she colors a picture of Minnie Mouse petting Figaro.

Before he heads to the kitchen, he gives her two choices for lunch: Grilled cheese sandwiches or pizza rolls.

They eat in front of the tv and laugh together as they watch cartoons and movies.

She’ll happily sing along and dance to the songs, and ask Eddie to join in, something he gladly loves to partake in.

During a sad scene, Eddie gently holds Chrissy as she squeezes her plush toy and presses it tightly to her face.

He rubs her tears away and pecks her forehead, sweetly reminding her that it’s okay to cry and feel sad for a character.

Even if it’s a movie that they’ve seen many times, certain parts never fail to make her tear up, “Seeing Dumbo cry is sad to watch, isn’t it Chrissy?”

“Everyone is so mean to him, he wants his mama Eddie. Dumbo loves his mama and she misses him.”

When Chrissy wants to make a pillow fort, they take off the couch cushions, rearrange some furniture, cover it with a blanket and crawl inside.

When she wants to play with her dolls, Chrissy decides how the story goes.

She’ll let Eddie know which dolls he gets to play with, what kind of voice to use, and what will happen next.

He loves to watch and listen to her create all sorts of tales and describe the adventures and hardships the characters go through.

After dinner time, she begs him to stay up just a little longer, but he softly reminds her that it’s time to get ready for bed.

He offers to pick her up and take her upstairs for her evening bath.

When she’s done brushing her teeth, he dresses her in cozy pajamas and lets her pick two books to read aloud.

During story time, she asks for him to read the book in different voices for each of the characters.

Then he turns off the lights and turns on the nightlight, singing or humming a few comfort songs to her as he tucks her in and boops her nose to make her giggle.

Chrissy will give him the puppy dog pout and tell him, “I’m not tired Eddie.”

Eddie can’t resist those pleading eyes and lays down beside her, brushing his fingers from the top of her forehead to the end of her nose.

She’ll try to keep herself awake, her eyelids feeling heavy as the gentle hum of his voice eases her into a peaceful slumber.

“I’m… not tired. Not… sleepy. Eddie…”

He stays at her side until she’s fast asleep, carefully getting out of bed, and tiptoeing away.

Eddie looks at Chrissy one more time, smiling at the sight of her so calm and serene, “Sweet dreams princess.”

The next morning after breakfast, they would go for a walk in the park and Chrissy would stop to look at the playground.

She wants to go, but she doesn’t tell him and she’s afraid of being judged by others, so instead she watches from afar.

Later on in the late afternoon/early evening, Eddie says that he has a surprise for her

After dressing her up warmly and telling her to bring one stuffed animal, he takes her over to the park.

All of the families have left and the two of them have the entire playground to themselves.

He would push her on the swing, race her down the slide, spin on the merry go round, climb the jungle gym, and play on the see saw.

After she’s tuckered out, Eddie takes her home and then it’s time to get ready for bed.

After a quick clean up and a shower, he joins her as well.

He lays down beside her and kisses her lips, affectionately whispering, “I love you Chrissy.”

[patdroid]

Regressor! 철춘희 Lore

🐵 Chul Choon-Hee’s age range of regression is usually 2-5, but has the rare occasion of going up to 6. (It’s rare because 6 years old is when the trauma started for Chul)

🐵When she’s regressed, she only speaks Korean, meaning that unless someone can translate what she’s saying by voice or figure out what she wants by her movements…you’re only going to get “bad English” from translation sites and so many failed attempts at what she wants.

🐵Ryeley’s usually the main caregiver when Chul’s regressed, but if she can’t do it, or she needs extra help, Ryeley resorts to getting the rest of the hotel involved. (And if it’s happening when the hotel can’t help Ryeley…she brings Chul over to Vox and Velvette or Rosie. Valentino isn’t allowed near her…and neither is Susan)

Ryeley, holding an age regressed Chul: Keep her away from Susan?

Rosie, looking a bit irritated: Keep her away from Susan.

🐵If Valentino somehow comes near Chul, she instantly slaps him with her tail, as a way of defense. And even though she’s regressed, her powers are still very much active, meaning that when Valentino gets slapped, he’ll be asleep for quite some time afterwards. (If this happens during the time when Val and the other workers are…well, working, all of the workers are forced to get a mandatory break. And if Angel Dust is there when it happens, he thanks Chul for allowing a break to happen.)

🐵During one of the first few times that Chul regressed, she received a pair of gloves from Vox and Velvette that have special technology, making her feel like she didn’t lose any of her fingers. Now, if someone sees her regressed, they instantly go and get the gloves before Chul sees her hands.

🐵If one fails to get her gloves in time, she instantly cries. The reason why she does that is because her trauma seeps through her regressed mind if something reminds her of it. (That includes seeing her hands with a finger missing)

🐵Chul regresses whenever she gets bad nightmares about her life before becoming a sinner or if something triggers her to remember her past. This is especially true during certain days of the year, including the anniversary of the day when she first entered Hell. (Note: She considers her anniversary of appearing in Hell being September 25th, not the 24th. This is due to her time zone being ahead of my time zone. For her and a few other places, it was a Saturday, while for me and lots of others, it happened on a Friday.)

🐵Chul doesn’t like restricting clothes when regressed, so when it does happen, she actually wears an outfit similar to the one that gave her her Overlord name, but without footwear, it being in all green, her hair getting tied up like how Jasmine from the animated Aladdin movies and series had it done, and the gloves being a part of her look.

🐵She doesn’t use pacifiers when regressed…at least, in the normal way. The way she uses them is almost like they’re dolls... (That’s one way to use your imagination) …or bouncy balls. Whichever one comes to her mind at the moment.

🐵Chul’s really energetic, especially in regards to what her human life had, so playtime can turn into “Chase the Monkey Demon” time at a quick moment’s notice. This also causes Chul to quickly set up innocent pranks or to draw on the walls with markers and manage to not get caught. (Niffty personally wishes that those things don’t happen, but she can’t really control it)

🐵Tantrums and meltdowns aren’t common for Chul, but if one does happen, someone gently calms her down. (Usually Ryeley does it, but others also do it on occasion)

🐵And finally, if Chul is ever in the mindset to watch television, Vox always finds a way to come over (even if Alastor is around him) and watch cartoons with her via special tablets. (Yes, Vox is the TV Demon, but in my AU, he’s learning about newer technology, social media and streaming services from Velvette; sometimes using some of the stuff he has learned and using it in his programs) As for what Chul will watch when regressed, she usually goes for shows with a TV Y rating whenever possible, but can settle for certain TV Y7 shows if needed. Just…don’t play any cartoons from the country that she was in as a human. She’ll attack the tablet if that happens. (Vox learned that the hard way when Velvette forgot to clear the tablet off one time)

And about Chul’s look when regressed…I’m not joking. Here’s a picture for proof.

[nebulae-on-fire]

I am begging people to consider that the nature of media influences how they treat certain topics and this is not a bad thing

We're normally pretty good on this with cartoons - good kids' cartoons can depict very important, very heavy themes, like abuse, war, poverty, or even genocide, while making the content approachable to a very young audience. We wouldn't expect a cartoon to be graphic about death. We wouldn't expect a cartoon to really delve into the social systems behind generational poverty - we're okay with it introducing the problem and simplifying it.

But this doesn't only apply to She-Ra or ATLA or what have you! We understand that the main purpose of these series is to a) entertain and b) teach children about the world in an easy way - we should also apply the same reasoning to other media.

Yes, a lot of YA aims to have some social commentary - books like The Hunger Games are great about it - but it's also a genre aimed at teenagers. I've seen people criticize some YA books for not talking about the full implications of war (e.g. rape) - but that's not the aim of the genre at all. YA, in all its faults as a genre, is about teen protagonists who must find their individuality and often (although not always) use whatever power they have to fix the world for the better.

Yes, many romance books have the typical dark-handsome-rich-possessive male protagonist that in many cases (rightfully so) can be criticized as a positive depiction of abusive relationships. Don't get me wrong, it does literally nothing for me. But books like Twilight, or 50 Shades of Grey, or whatever, are not setting out to be a guidebook for developing a healthy marriage. They're fantasies for the writers and their readership.

Etc. etc. there are many many more examples but I guess 1) Not all media are alike and the genre and demographic they are aimed to can and should influence your reading of them 2) For the love of everything good don't listen to the Twitter/TikTok/what have you kind of analysis where every single piece of entertainment media should act as a moral and behavioural guideline for its readers and also cover literally every theme ever

There is so much more to this matter that doesn't fit within the post or my energy to write it but please carry on and remember kids, media literacy is very fun and includes a lot of meta aspects!

[aroaceking]

And lots of teens don't have crushes, don't have sexual desires and aren't otherized for it at all. And aren't ace or aro for that.

I feel like we are somehow having two entirely different conversations on this. I don't disagree that there are plenty of teenagers who don't have crushes or 'sexual desires' and that are not aro or ace.

I don't even know how to make a list of all the numerous tiny and large ways I personally was treated as strange. 'Sexual desires' it's not. Ugh. Developmentally appropriate ways people may get into it are things like admiring cartoon characters or celebrities, wanting to act out dating or marriage through both pretend play and as they get a little older childhood dating (like when kids say 'blahblah is my boyfriend' regardless of even a change in behavior).

Sometimes this includes recognizing feelings of discomfort or shifting attitudes towards how they would play or imagine themselves in these dynamics for their future. Many gay and trans children may shut down on this because the roles more directly press on some of these struggles or they get attacked for the roles they attempt to play through--I know some girls where when younger it was okay for them to play the husband in pretend play but as they got older, not only were people less willing to play house, but also became critical of their desire to play a certain role within it.

This is so. I don't even know how to get into this topic. I minored in developmental psychology to try and understand myself. I tried to understand why the things that happened to me did. It feels absolutely irresponsible to both other people in situations like I had been in and just dishonest to interpret any attempt in the conversation to acknowledge why some might go towards the label at a completely developmentally appropriate time to question it.

Would you say 14 is a developmentally inappropriate age to recognize you're gay? Also I understand some gay children will shrink into the identity because they're scared of unpacking that, and sometimes they cling to it even after it would be healthier for them to move on. But they could just as easily do that with identifying as straight, especially women, who are constantly taught that it's normal to not have desires because it would be wrong for them to experience attraction (like how many lesbians who realize later in life because they just thought it was normal to not like the boyfriends or even husbands they tried to have, at least to not like them the way they actually would like a woman they were attracted to).

I just feel like so much of this conversation is weirdly centered on disproving the experiences ace and aro people try to discuss, so much so that it can also devolve into defensive aro and ace people lashing out instead of building our resources. I withdrew years ago from these conversations online because I was frustrated by the way it was escalating. Seems we never fucking moved on past 2015 discourse, just more into it.

I remember the fucking abhorrent conversations about AIDs, I remember the derailed conversations about 'queerness', I remember both the refusal to acknowledge that, yes in fact, there were aces that are both cis and het, and also the refusal to acknowledge GLAAD accepting aces as LGBT+ anyway. Because it's not a fucking innate thing, like everything it's all socially constructed and maintained and it was already a coalition, not a singular thing, and yes I am also still bothered by the refusal to properly discuss things like misogyny or trauma that props up in the community I am a part of but I am also involved in other communities that have their own struggles to identify and discuss certain issues and it's also frustrating and it's also something that does NOT get better when you make a group more defensive and upset.

quotes under read more because I'm literally confused:

"Realizing I had an experience that could be defined and also was outside of many of my friend's helped alleviate some of the panic surrounding what attraction even meant."

"it's weirder and creepier to me that you 1) equate it with sexual activity"

"It's very alienating to be a teenager and not have any crushes or understand what people are even talking about when they discuss crushes or what makes someone 'hot' or whatever fucking else and sex doesn't! Have to be a part of that even!!"

"I have friends that have admitted my confusion and lack of attraction messed up their processing of their own sexuality because of how intensely I expressed bewilderment over it."

"I know there are plenty of people who developed later. I am 28 years old now. I have seen people who developed later. Or whose development was delayed because they were dysphoric, traumatized, or struggling with internalized homophobia/just straight misogyny."

"Realizing my differences helped me with understanding and being more compassionate with my peers. It also gave the ones who cared a basis of understanding said differences in a way that helped them, too."

"And yes, plenty of people develop later/DONT have crushes and aren't ace. There's a million reasons for it."

[lunarsilkscreen]

The Infantilization

The title is gonna make you think "of Women" thanks to today's discourse. You might even add "by Men" or if you're really cheeky "especially by trans women who are just man-children in disguise and trying to find an excuse."

That last one speaks to what everybody already knows, every single person acts like a goofball from time to time. Man/Woman/Etc. The core factor is knowing when it's time to be serious. Because you don't always need to be.

However, I'd like to take a look at how people with so-called "disordered thinking". ADHD and Autism especially. Look at how they're described, how they're treated, and the expectation that they "cannot exist in normal society."

One line: "They have no executive reasoning."

And then the speaker goes on to describe an ADHD child using executive reasoning in the context of video games. They gloss over the content, the context, or the skills involved in the game itself.

They completely believe that Video Games have no value outside of being a cartoon with a controller attached. And even then, they believe that one CANNOT consider the themes and morals as one would after reading a book, or even critique the work as art, like every single other art form.

That's how out-of-touch they are. They need a class of of people that "can't function without punishment" so they go towards the children with "developmental issues" regardless if it's warranted.

Not too long ago, and even still today, we KNOW that standardized testing was created with a race-bases bias in mind. An examination of what the authors *think* you should know, but not an examination of what is actually known.

And, to some residents, before English was the standardized language, would give it to citizens who did not speak English!

And even after making English a standardized language, expected non-native speakers to speak English as if it were the only language they had ever spoken.

Completely defunct of any biases imposed by those authors.

A proper argument acknowledges one's bias. If you don't, you're considering yourself to be a perfect judge of character and intelligence. Something that has been proven time and time again to only ever be a flawed kind of thinking.

And there's a bias, a huge one, that says "I am incapable of having this flaw that I am talking about currently" and demonstrating, unequivocally, that you do have that flaw and are blind to it.

This includes institutional biases introduced by our predecessors, whether intentionally or not. And denying that one can be biased about what they are speaking is akin to admitting maliciousness when eventually, you make a mistake, or negligently cause harm irreparable.

I point out these flaws in people for a reason, not because I think I'm not flawed, but because I see the damage currently being done by negligence through certain words and actions. And yes, at times I'm clumsy with my words.

But that does not mean they should not be said, and that doesn't excuse you for your own inelegance.

You are speaking on introducing consequences that you yourself would not face because you fundamentally disagree with how somebody thinks.

Were this a person who could not stop themselves an uncontrollable desire to injure or kill others you were speaking about, that would be one thing. But it's not, you're speaking on what amounts to imprisonment because somebody might disagree with your understanding of how time should be used.

And thus creating a problem three-fold.

1) a person who cannot think or act like you, or emulate how you think they should act, requires punishment.

2) a person who solves problems differently than you, no matter how correct, has a disorder.

3) a person who cannot think in the correct manner should be put in an institution where they can be made to think "correctly" by force, if needed.

This speaks to the "jobs nobody wants to do" debate that's common these days, and maybe all days.

Where people were imprisoned in order to do a job that didn't pay anything, because the job was necessary, and nobody wanted to be paid so little for the work. The necessity of being paid for your labor is the quintessential meaning behind capitalism.

And this thing fills the gap when there are not enough criminals to be punished.

This, by the way, is what many parts of the world call "Liberal Thinking". To close that gap in understanding why Lib is often used as a bad word, when so many people use it as a banner of peace.

In the U.S. however, that "Liberal Thinking" is found in many a conservative state. Just look at every republican who wishes to make more criminals to work for prison wages so that their state can turn a profit.

The prison industrial complex isn't dead yet. And slavery by any other name is what Ted Cruz calls freedom. Because he wants the freedom to cross into Cancùn as a refugee, where he would refuse those from Mexico for the same reason. He did it even, remember that time Texas had a power outage, and he flee'd the country? Not to a warmer place with power, not to a place he knew with a backup generator, he left the entire country. And to a country he agrees when Trump says is full of "undesirables"

This is the kind of thinking that our leaders are not immune to. The people that we hired to be self-aware when that line of reasoning and fear is crossed.

Where was I, I seem to have gone on a wide tangent.

When you don't acknowledge your own biases, your own fallible reasoning, and your own desire to put people to work for free, that you know should be paid a reasonable wage for their labor, that creates Infantilization of a populous. And, at its worst, a need to create an underclass based on an arbitrary line of reasoning.

All starting at how you look at children and determine their "inability to grow up" while simultaneously doing some of the most pettiest s* imaginable.

[theliterateape]

Grappling with What is Important: The World or the Personal?

by Don Hall

A few weeks ago I had to delay my car payment by a couple of days. Despite the (now) regular bi-monthly paycheck, I have some holes I dug myself in during the Summer of Disillusionment which need filling in with cash thus a bit of of financial balancing. On the app, the delay indicated a penalty of nearly double the payment owed and for five days it buzzed around my brain like a drone camera at a traffic stop with a young black driver.

This anomaly in my days was very important to me. No one else in the world (including CarMax) gave two shits about it. It was my thing, my trouble, my problem to solve. What wasn't important or pressing at the time was whether drag shows were grooming grade school children. Reading about Floridian Republicans frothing at the mouth to ban these sorts of bizarre shows (you have to admit that having a man dressed hyper-sexually as a cartoon woman teaching children to read is not quite the replacement to Sesame Street we envisioned) was a diversion but not a hill for me to die on. It was not an issue that connected as I don't have kids, haven't seen a drag show since Zombie Burlesque in Vegas two years ago (no kids present), and how was I going to afford a double car payment and still make the loan repayment to my friend?

Since the divorce, I've gained around fifteen pounds that stubbornly refuse to drop. Certain vests fit too tightly, my pants are a bit too snug, and, while I know exactly how to drop the weight, getting that very specific calorie in/calorie out ratio in practice has been challenging.

No one else on the entire planet cares if I drop fifteen pounds. No one. Anywhere. Joe Biden isn't holding court regarding Don Hall's waistline; no reporter on even the tiny Wichita television stations is mentioning it on the air on a Sunday evening. It is my issue to solve. You know what wasn't even a blip on my radar as I rationed the carbs vs protein and hit the gym? How to define the term 'woke.'

Over at the NYT, conservative columnist Ross Douthat attempts to define the term in the most generous terms:

"...all of this is necessarily a cultural and psychological project, which is why schools, media, pop culture and language itself are the essential battlegrounds. Yes, economic policy matters, but material arrangements are downstream of culture and psychology. The socialists have merely gentled capitalism, the environmentalists have merely regulated it. If you want to save the planet or end the rule of greed, you need a different kind of human being, not just a system that assumes racist patriarchal values and tries to put them on a leash.

You think this is too utopian? Consider a proof of concept, what we’ve already seen with gay rights. There the left overthrew a system of deep heteronormative oppression by establishing a new cultural consensus, in the academy and in pop culture and only at the end in politics and law, using argument but also shaming, social pressure and other “illiberal” means.

And look what we’ve learned: That once homophobia diminishes, millions upon millions of young people begin to define themselves as what they truly are, as some form of L.G.B.T.Q.+, slipping the shackles of heteronormativity at last. Which is why the backlash against the spread of transgender identification among kids must be defeated — because this is the beachhead, the proving ground for full emancipation.

If you find a lot of this narrative persuasive, even filtered through my conservative mind, then whatever “woke” describes, it probably describes you."

I describe myself as a classic liberal and find the extreme left to be fucking annoying but I do find his version of the narrative persuasive. Before I give too much of my attention to the utopian restructuring of society, how many calories does a boiled egg have?

The state of the climate with its ridiculous weather patterns and disastrous effects on everyone is a scud missile headed right now to destroy us all—not the planet but our continued ability to live upon it—but before I get into all that the tire light on my Prius is on and it's driving me nuts.

The government is dropping cash on too-big-to-fail banks like a drey horse on an all taco diet while ignoring the very needs of the working people scurrying around trying to afford their rent but hold that thought while I feel disempowered at work and I'm bathing in the addictive bath salts of self pity.

The generational divide in progressing society to a better place, in addressing the injustices of the world, is that when your mom still does your laundry and you haven't had enough life on this particular hellscape to feel genuinely cheated by the health insurance industry, the personal is pretty easy to ignore. Once some time has been served in the penitentiary of humanity, the personal becomes increasingly urgent like a bread crumb to a seagull.

College students and academics with tenure have all the time and mental space in the world focusing on the horrors of society. They get to coin phrases like 'systemic racism,' 'climate justice,' and 'the patriarchy' because the wait in line behind an old lady with a clutch full of coupons clipped from a newspaper slowly bleeding out has not become an existential crisis.

Who reasonably gives a fuck about disproportionate incarceration rates when someone smashed in their Honda window last night and stole their Duran Duran CDs and secret box of Newports they were hiding from their husband? Who has the bandwidth to spend five minutes on the dangers of algorithmic AI when they can't remember their Ticketmaster password? Who has the time to take their camera phone into a government building in order to get security to 'violate their rights' in order to put up a (hopefully) viral video of authoritarian overreach in the Omaha DMV but someone without a neighbor who lets his dog shit in their yard and, goddamnit, if I could only catch it in the act.

So pardon me if I wave off your impassioned cry that the Supreme Court has become a rightwing crossing guard because right now I'm dealing with the fact that I can't find the fob to my car and I'm late to pick up my dad who's getting out of dialysis in ten minutes and needs a ride home.

[jinxthejubilee]

SAVE RISE OF TMNT!! 🐢 💖

Look, I know this is a little late, but I just binged the first season of the show and watched movie, so I NEED to talk about it!

This movie is gorgeous! Absolutely gorgeous! And so is the show. I never thought that I would ever describe fight scenes as beautiful, yet here I am.

I'm ashamed to admit that I was one of the many people who didn't give ROTTMNT a chance when it first came out, but allow me to present my reasoning:

Teen Titans Go! 😑

I'm pretty sure everyone between 2016-2019 would agree that we were all pretty burnt out on this show.

Honestly speaking, I didn't hate TTG. It was funny at times, and even though it was mostly a parody of a show that I deeply enjoyed, I never took it as disrespectful. It was just that, a parody show.

However! The people running Cartoon Network milked this show waaaayyy too dry. It was everywhere!

I present to you all as evidence: The Cartoon Network Schedules (There are no dates, so let's say that these were between 2017-onwards).

And these idiots wonder why their network was slowly dying off...

But aside from this! The second reason for folks disliking the show at first was also due to the fact that TMNT 2012 ended only a year after Rise started airing.

So suffice to say, this show wasn't given the warmest welcome.

BUT! It was wrong of me to misjudge this show, because it is a GEM!

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles formula is all mixed up here! From the characters themselves and their distinct designs, to the beautiful worlds they explore (seriously I can't express to you all how pretty this show is), and the comedy aspect is handled really well.

The same goes for the movie. You can tell that the people behind it really put their heart and soul into what they made.

As for the turtle brothers, I appreciate how realistic their brotherhood was. You can really feel that familial connection they all have. They all love each other, they know that, and they bounce off of each other perfectly. Just like real brothers do.

I encourage all of you to watch the show and movie on Netflix if you have it.

Unfortunately though, Netflix has once again screwed us over by not have each of its seasons. I have yet to find a website that has all the episodes of Season 2, but if you do, please let us know!

Now, onto why this is important...

Well, the creators have told us...

If the movie does well...

WE GET ANOTHER SEASON OF RISE!!

AND. We get more characters! Including a certain female turtle who has not been given a chance to shine until she debuted in the IDW comics.

Yes. We might get Venus De Milo back. And maybe Jennika. We'll see.

So please! Watch this movie! I beg of you!

But that's just my two cents! I hope you all have a fantastic day, and I'll see you later! Byeee! 💗

(I'll put a few different tags for this so we can get more traction for this movie/show. Hope that's alright!)

[haikyuupaladin]

TLDR; Flashing lights as a trigger is common knowledge, even if most people choose not to acknowledge that or a few people genuinely aren’t aware, and we need to stop pretending that it’s not.

Something I’m tired of seeing, both in the context of excusing large companies and in the context of talking about individuals who have made mistakes along these lines is the claim that flashing lights are not a common knowledge trigger. People may not realize how many people it affects, or think it’s not that big of deal, or may be choosing to be ignorant, and a relatively small amount of people may genuinely not know, but claiming it’s not common knowledge that it’s a trigger just because a majority of people don’t act like it has an impact is extremely frustrating.

Anyone who has ever played a video game has seen the photosensitivity warning, which outlines that flashing lights and other patterns in games can trigger seizures. That alone is a huge population of people. And yes, I understand that not everybody actually reads the warnings, but I also find it hard to believe that a warning that’s in every insert, on every startup screen, and before every game itself, that’s about 3 sentences long, has gone completely unread to the extent that this could be considered “obscure knowledge”

And that’s not taking into account the amount of ableist portrayals that either turn photosensitive epilepsy into a joke or something to be gawked at. Almost every adult cartoon, including the Simpsons, (which I single out because I know most other adult cartoons will get a response of “well nobody should be watching that show anyway so you can’t call it common knowledge”, though I will still point out that a lot of people do still watch those shows as well), includes an episode making fun of the incident where an episode of Pokémon caused seizures all over Japan because of the flashing lights. Medical dramas almost always have an episode where photosensitive epilepsy is a plot point. The portrayals being ableist does not mean that people aren’t aware that it’s a trigger because of them.

It’s also made the news multiple times, such as when Incredibles 2 issued a warning after the fact, when the Weeknd had a music video pulled from showing before Suicide Squad in theaters, when Cyberpunk 2077 came out, or the aforementioned Pokémon incident. (Granted the Pokémon incident happened decades ago, but also it’s a pretty well known piece of trivia about Pokémon even if you’ve managed to avoid media references to it, as a lot of people talk about the banned episodes and why they were banned).

These were all just examples I could think of in roughly 30 seconds. And they’re all prevalent enough to make the topic count as somewhat common knowledge on their own, but when put together, I’d say it’s fairly clear that this is common knowledge.

And to address my earlier statement that someone not knowing doesn’t mean that it’s not common knowledge, plenty of people learn new common knowledge things every day. And not just children or people who have a specific reason not to know. But people who have just somehow managed to never come across information like how to pronounce certain common words in their native language. That doesn’t make the knowledge obscure, it just means that that person hasn’t had the opportunity to learn it yet.

1 in 26 people have epilepsy and have most likely been warned that flashing lights are a possible trigger. Let’s assume that epilepsy was the only condition that was triggered by flashing lights (which it’s not) and that on average they only shared that information with 1 person. That alone brings the number to 1 in 13, almost 10% of people. And sharing that information with 1 person on average is probably significantly lowballing it. While that might not be enough to call it common knowledge on its own, that’s just an estimate that excludes other conditions and other means of people finding out, and 10% is a significant portion of the population to find out just from having epilepsy or knowing someone with epilepsy, and again, I was lowballing it.

I am addressing this from an epilepsy perspective because I am epileptic myself, and that’s why my examples are heavily epilepsy focused, but the fact that I can name so many ways people could have found out and I’m only speaking off the top of my head about examples that are epilepsy related also means that this is even more common knowledge than the examples in this post imply.

[cf56]

Welcome to the final installation of "overanalyzing the Warners," at least for now. I present my ultimate Animaniacs fan theory: the Warners could have been dezanitized. In fact, they almost were.

This is going to be a very long post.

First, I want to talk about the fundamental nature of the Warner siblings as I see it. They are chaotic, they abide by only their own rules, they act as a painful check on society's uppity adults. Generally, the show presents it as if they are this way by default; that's just their character, and there's no changing it.

I have a different viewpoint. The Warners clearly have free will. Yes, they were created with certain fundamental character traits. That doesn't prevent them from changing, though. We all have fundamental personality traits we acquired at a very young age. Does that prevent us from changing our nature, or acting against it at times? Not at all. The Warners act the way they do because they choose to, not because they were pre-programmed to always be that way. Look at their origin: created to be zany cartoon stars, by an insane artist, which explains some of their more outlandish traits. However, they didn't rebel right away. For the first few years of their existence, they were mostly compliant, acting in company shorts and doing their best to play along. It was only five years later, after the company had enough of playing nice with them, that they began to run around acting crazy. This is all covered in the Warners' 65th Anniversary Special Episode, which I covered in my last big post. In that one, I talk about the events that led up to their contract's cancellation and their eventual capture in the tower. Is it possible that the cancellation, even after all of Wakko's hard work directing his own cartoon short, is what drove them to be so antagonistic to the studio? In any case, it's clear in my mind that this was a conscious choice on their part.

"We're the Warner Brothers!"

"Like the studio?"

"Not very much, but we don't have a choice." -Yakko

(Also, look at how offended Wakko is at the mere mention of the studio. If you watch the clip, his expression changes from happy to this at the very instant Pfeiffer mentions the studio.)

That leads me to the episode I'll be focusing on today, "Taming of the Screwy," Episode 5 of the original series. It's appropriate, and perhaps not a coincidence, that this episode takes place so early on in the series. I believe it sets the foundation for everything that comes after.

At the beginning of the episode, we see Dr. Scratchansniff in Mr. Plotz's office. Plotz tells Scratchansniff about an important party they'll be having in honor of some rich foreign investors, who want to meet every employee of the studio- including the Warners. Plotz orders the doctor to teach the Warners good manners and appropriate behavior for the party, which is in 24 hours. Scratchansniff doesn't seem confident in his ability to do this.

In the next scene, the Warners are delivered to his office.

I mostly posted this screenshot so I could point out the portrait of young Scratchansniff in the background there. Never noticed that before today.

The Warners start out with a nice little ditty about Scratchansniff, before he explains to them why they were brought in. They get very excited upon learning they've actually been invited to this big party with all the huge stars. Yakko wants to see Michelle Pfeiffer, Dot wants to see Mel Gibson (heh), and Wakko wants to see Don Knotz, of course. Scratchansniff then tells them that they have to be behaved, clean, and nice children if they want to go. He asks them if they're willing to abide by these terms, and, after discussion, they agree.

This is pretty interesting to me. The Warners can go anywhere they want. There's no doubt they could get into the party whether they were invited or not, and that does in fact happen in the last act of the episode. So, why agree to these terms that they're less than enthused about? It must be because they want to be included officially. They're willing to follow the normal rules and procedure, if they're given the opportunity to do so. The problem is, they're almost never given that opportunity by the studio, so they're forced to do it the chaotic and zany way instead. Their whole lives, the studio has deliberately barred them from feeling any sense of inclusion, making them feel like outsiders, and then gets upset when they act outside of the rules.

Moving on, Scratchansniff begins to teach the kids proper manners. I don't want to highlight every gag in this segment (I greatly recommend watching it for yourself- I think it's one of the funniest episodes), so I'll just summarize. In separate lessons, he tries to teach the Warners how to do a proper greeting, how to enunciate correctly, and how to eat politely. They fail at all of these tasks, but it's very clearly deliberate. They're actually listening to everything Scratchansniff says- they just wanted to have some fun in the process. At the end, when it seems like they're a lost cause, Scratchansniff disinvites them from the party, at which point they show him that they really have learned and perfected everything he's taught them. He asks them why they gave him such a hard time-

"'Cause we love ya!"

And he actually hugs them back!

Now understanding how they operate, Scratchansniff seems to be on their side. He proudly introduces them at the party, and the Warners perfectly follow the proper protocol.

Yakko even cracks a joke in Japanese to the Japanese investors, getting them to laugh. So, not only are they acting politely, but they immediately prove that they can be a great asset to the company if the studio would just let them be on its side.

Of course, the company immediately does the opposite. Just as the Warners get into the party and are about to join the festivities, Plotz orders Scratchansniff to kick the Warners out, because he believes they'll ruin the party (even after having just witnessed Yakko having great chemistry with the investors). Scratchansniff tries to argue against it, but there's not much he can do to stand up to the CEO, so he has to walk over and break the news. The Warners' reaction is one of the most heartbreaking things I've ever seen, period.

"Huh?"

To his credit, Scratchansniff does actually explain why he had to kick them out.

"But we behaved!"

Yakko never seems more like an actual child than right here. Scratchansniff apologizes and walks away.

This is the pivotal moment, not just in this episode, but the entire series. The Warners played along, did everything asked of them, only to be immediately betrayed, a promise broken. This is the moment any possibility of the Warners ever being dezanitized was shattered. They learned that if they try to play along with society's rules, that if they make an effort to be accepted, all they're gonna get is heartbreak. From this point on, they never genuinely try to be polite or "normal" ever again. To them, it's pointless. And it's hard to argue with them.

From the studio's perspective, Plotz dug his own grave, without ever realizing it. He had the Warners exactly where he wanted them. If he just let them stay at the party, prove that their efforts would be rewarded, it could have been the start of a new era. Maybe it wouldn't happen right away, but Scratchansniff would have had the ammunition he needed to work with them more, make real progress, and eventually teach them to control their zaniness. Plotz threw that all away, while continuing to solely blame the Warners for the way they act. These characters aren't even real, and it infuriates me.

The Warners predictably respond in the only way they know how, when they've been spurned by the studio once again. They go back to the party and cause chaos. They do whatever they want. Plotz tries to capture them, making things much worse. In the end, the investors are entertained by the Warners' antics and hand over the billion dollar check to them. Plotz then chases them in pursuit of the check, while Scratchansniff signals that the CEO has gone crazy himself. This ends the episode.

So, I don't think I have to summarize much. The point was made pretty clearly already. I do want to look at this from the writers' perspective. Do I think they intended to put all this deep layered character building in this episode? No, not really, but there are a few subtle hints here and there that seem to work a little too well with my theory. I think it's a possibility that they deliberately structured the plot this way, though it's still unlikely.

I think what this episode is truly meant to be is an important lesson for adults. Most of us probably remember a childhood experience where an adult told us to do something in the promise of a reward, only for that promise to be broken once you go through with their demands. It's a very powerless feeling, because adults always tell children not to lie and make false promises, when many of them don't seem to have an issue doing those things to children. Animaniacs is a very child-oriented show. By that I don't mean that it's childish, but that it shows the world through a child's perspective. According to the show bible, the Warners are meant to do the things children wish they could do to mean and arrogant adults. This episode attempts to teach the lesson that breaking promises to children will only result in mistrust and heartbreak- that children recognize hypocrisy just as well as the rest of us. The Warners do what we wished we could do as children by going back to the adults and basically sticking their tongues out in their faces.

Focusing back on the plot of the show, if anyone ever feels like the Warners are in the wrong for how they act, just watch this episode and you'll understand their perspective a lot better. The studio deserves every torment the Warners can give, because the studio is the one that created not just the Warners, but the conditions that make them do what they do. The studio then hypocritically tries to blame it entirely on the children they've deliberately mistreated since birth. Animaniacs is quite unique in that regard, because the main antagonist of the whole series is actually the very studio that produced the show in real life. I wonder if they ever realized it.

That about wraps it up. This is the last deep analysis I'll do for a long time, since I'm sure almost all Animaniacs discussion for the next few months will be centered around season 2 of the reboot.

(I also don't have any more ideas.)

[meeedeee]

The First Post To The First Slash /Shipping Mailing List

The Date: October 19, 1992 ("it was almost 29 years ago") The Poster: sherrold* 

Context: the first pan fandom slash (shipping) mailing list, Virgule-L, was in its infancy. Safe spaces for women to talk about slash online were rare. And most fan fiction was distributed in print fanzines (which is why fanzine reviews like the one Sandy wrote were so important as a single fanzine cost $15-20 or around $30-40 in today's dollars.) Fan run conventions were the only way to meet other groups of fans and mailed letters and phone calls were the tenuous tethers that strung these fan groups together. The mailing list - and the Internet - was about to change...everything. ****************

Well, welcome to my adventure in mailing! I hope to have this set up soon as a 'real' mailing list, with it's own address. Until then, I only know one way for one of you to write to everyone at once. Just reply to a letter from the list, and answer yes, when it asks, 'reply to all'. So far there are 7 of us. I'll let everyone introduce themselves. I am Sandy Hereld,* I write as Alyx (often with a friend who used Alys) the pen name is *not* a secret. I started in "/" fandom in trek, moved to Pros, and now am very crazed about B7. I still love Pros, and like a lot of different fandoms, including Wiseguy, Starsky and Hutch, and Muncle. I helped run a slash con here in town last week, Virgule, and hope to make Escapade** this year (in February, in Santa Barbara--one of the list subscribers co- runs it--memberships still available), but not Revelcon.*** Maybe, if I get a new job, Media West. I've never been there, and I've always wanted to go. I just finished a great Multi-mediazine called Homosapiens Too. It has an interesting variety of fandoms and crossovers; even more important, there wasn't a single story that stunk (though I liked some better than others, of course.) Page count is Pros/Booker 18 pgs (Bodie/Booker) Eroica/Muncle 5 pgs (Eroica/Illya) Batman 4 (Batman/street punk) Nightflyers 6+ (cartoon, from the movie) TNG 5pgs (Beverly/symbiote) B7/TOS trek 5 pgs (Blake/Spock) Dangerous Liaisons 7 pgs (Valmont/Danceny) Damiano 2 pgs (from the R.A. McAvoy books) MUNCLE 2 pgs the usual Star Wars 4 (cartoon, original characters) Pros 4 pgs the usual B7 50 pgs (Blake/Avon) Perhaps I should mention at the there was a contest for most outrageous crossover pairing. My favorites were: The Right Place To Be (Bodie/Booker) by Arcane Annie & Stew--Bodie quits in a huff after an Operation Suzie, and is too embarrassed to go back; Booker has quit somewhat similarly. Seeing how stupid the other's foolish pride looks, they both learn things about playing roles and 'what really matters.' They also have pretty good sex. Do Blond's Really Have More Fun? (Eroica/Illya) by Barbara T. This definitely is set at a time when Solo and Kurykin are having some problems. The crossover is a fascinating one, and it works. (Anyone needing Erioca explained, just e-mail me. It is a pretty new/small fandom, but growing fast.) Brand New Day (Spock/Blake) by Jane Carnell follows immediately after Blake's pod makes planetfall after Star One. A great Blake, and if not a totally convincing Spock, it's close. Worth it for this scene alone. --Blake "What do you like?" "Anal penetration," "Which way round?" Blake inquired. "I am a telepath. It hardly matters. Whichever way pleases you." Valmont (Valmont/Danceny) by Stew -is a romantic, but very plausible retelling of the movie Dangerous Liaisons, all from Danceny's POV. For any that have read the book, you know it is told solely in letters and diary entries, so this collection of Danceny's diaries is very faithful to the original feel. It is also an amazingly concise retelling, squeezing 2 hours into 6 1/2 pgs. Submissive It Ain't (Pros) is basically just a sex story, but one firmly based in the very different personalities of Bodie and Doyle. Nice idea, beautiful sex, slightly weak ending. Puppeteer (Blake/Avon) by Bryn Lantry is a convoluted but beautiful story where: the action is in the emotions, everyone has multiple motives, and no one truly knows their own minds, much less understands their crewmates. A bit alternate, set sometime in the months before Star One but after Blake has already got the idea in mind, this is a wonderful character study of Blake and Avon, with Vila and Cally in strong supporting roles. Not my favorite type of story -- I think I prefer something a bit more straightforward, but undeniably compelling and well written. The other stories weren't dogs either... The Muncle story, Hanging In Time, by Y.J. is a very disturbing portrayal of the hurt-comfort syndrome in Illya, The Batman story will appeal to anyone who liked "The Dark Knight Returns" With All My Symbiotes -Susan Douglas- has some nice female slash. Why Couldn't It Be Me has gotten a certain amount of press as "Biblical slash." It does have two biblical characters in it, but it is just a vigniette, and has no overt slash content. A few caveats: I disliked the art in the first story, and was indifferent to the rest. I had a hard time reading the 2 cartoon sections; I thought the penning needed to be clearer, and the xerox needed to be darker for those sections. With those few quibbles in mind, I recommend the zine highly. It has an interesting collection of stories set in an amazing variety of universes. The editor is joining a growing number of publishers and putting the word count down -- 80,700, with 40,700 of it in Bryn's B7 story. It is available from Manacles Press here in the U.S. at  [address removed]. There is no U.S. price on the zine; it says to SASE Manacles Press, and I can't remember whether I paid $15 or $18 at the con. From Australia, it is available from the publisher...[address removed] $12 within Aust, $20 posted overseas airmail. (I assume that's $Aus)”

*Sandy passed away in July 2011 of cancer. One of our final joint projects was going  through our emails dating back 20+ years to find fandom history we could share

**Escapade is the longest running slash convention and is still held in Southern California (as of 2021)

*Revelcon is a slash friendly multi-fandom convention held in Texas. As of 2021 it is still running

[midgardianweasley]

Build-a-bear adventures

Build-a-bear adventures.

Natasha Romanoff x fem!reader

Summary: A top trained assassin, her girlfriend, and a build-a-bear workshop, what better way to spend a day off. 

Word count: 2.1k

Warnings: Agonisingly fluffy.

I was planning on posting angst, but, decided on a fluff instead<33 

“But babe. Babe. Babe.” You poked your girlfriend, fully aware that with every prod, you were only contributing to the headache worthy eye rolls she had been giving you for the past hour. You were joking, of course you were, she knew that, but she also knew that it was possible you were about to be single in 0.2 of a second if you didn’t stop poking her. 

With a sarcastic smile and a deep breath, she turned her head towards you, momentarily stopping your movements as you returned a sickeningly sweet smile back. 

“Yes?” 

“I don’t think you understand.” 

“I do understand.”

“This is life or death.” You spoke with a poker face, a weak attempt to try and make your point valid. 

“I think that may be exaggerating just a little bit honey.” She chuckled lightly at your tone and the way you moved in your spot on the sofa, now having your legs crossed in front of you, hands enthusiastically moving in front of you. 

“No. No, see, you don’t understand! We need to do this!” 

“Is my unconditional love not enough?” 

“No.”

“Ouch.” She dramatically placed her hand on her chest, a smirk plastered onto her face as she watched you rile yourself up with every sentence.

“Okay, sorry, I didn’t mean that, your unconditional love is more than enough, and while I unconditionally love you too, that doesn’t change the fact that this is a necessity.” 

“Like the ones from the jungle book?” 

You groaned loudly, throwing your head back as the assassin teased you. 

“Baby, please!” You moved once again, now clambering onto her lap with your hands interlocked behind her neck, your faces mere inches away from hers. Her hands immediately went to your waist to steady you, pure energy coursed through your veins as you tried to convince Natasha to go ahead with your idea and she wasn’t certain you wouldn’t fall off of you if she didn’t hold you down.

“You seriously want to?”

“Yes.”

“Today?”

“Yes.”

“Instead of cuddling in bed with movies?” Her eyebrows raised in question, not faltering as she watched you pretend to ponder, stroking an imaginary beard on your chin.

“Yes.” You smiled, your inner child shining through. 

Knowing she wasn’t going to win, she sighed gently, running a hand through your hair and giving you a quick kiss on your temple before tapping your thighs to signal for you to stand up. 

“Alright. Get ready and we’ll go.” 

“Really?” You squealed, clapping your hands together as you rocked back and forth on your heels. 

“Really. Now hurry and get your shoes on, we don’t want to get stuck in traffic.” 

She watched with nothing but adoration as you whizzed off to get ready to leave, swearing that she’s never seen you move so quickly in her life. Despite her playful protest, she walked over to the kitchen counter to pick up her car keys, swinging them around her pointer finger as she walked over to the doorway of the compound living room. 

‘I can’t believe I'm doing this.’ She thought. 

Although she’ll deny it to anyone that asks, she’s absolutely whipped for you. 

“I’m ready!” Your voice called out, encouraging Natasha to shrug her leather jacket on and walk towards her smiling girlfriend, taking her hand as they walked out together with content smiles on their faces. 

‘Let’s do this.’ 

_______________________

It didn’t take long to arrive at your destination, your eyes immediately drew themselves to the store windows filled with stuffed bears in a variety of different outfits, some bears were dressed up to fit a theme, some bears were characters from loved movies, some were just bears in dungarees. 

That’s right. You’ve managed to bring a trained assassin to a build-a-bear workshop. Why? 

To get matching bears. 

You looked towards Natasha, a huge grin on your face, only faltering slightly as you were met with her hands and forehead on the drivers wheel. You tugged on her sleeve, ignoring her disagreement, her head not leaving the wheel, but turned to face you.

“Stop being silly, c’mon, you’re looking forward to it! I know you are!” 

“Babe. We’re parked outside of a teddy store.”

“Exactly! It’s fun, you’re excited, I'm excited, let’s go!” 

You didn’t hesitate to open your car door, jumping out of the car and shutting the door behind you, the redhead not far behind you as she once again took your hand, reminding you how lucky you are that she loves you. Your response was a simple kiss on her cheek, a small blush following shortly afterwards.

“You’re cute.” You pinched her cheek.

“Yeah yeah, let’s go get our bears.” 

_______________________

“So, that’s both of your bears stuffed, do you guys want to put voice boxes in them?” The kind staff member asked the pair of you. 

You glanced towards Natasha, silently asking if she’d like one or not. She gave you a brief smile before looking back at the woman helping you with your bears. 

“Sure, I don’t see why not.” She winked at you before following the woman over to another station within the store. There were rows and rows of different shapes and coloured voice boxes to choose from. 

You had the option of choosing a pre-recorded sound, like animal sounds or a bunch of different ‘i love you.’ in different voices. You didn’t mind what voice you had, honestly, you would’ve been content with an ‘i love you’ from Elsa at this point. However, you saw your girlfriend make a beeline for the ones that you record your own message into. 

“You’re gonna do your own one?” You asked, moving over to stand beside her. 

“Nope. I’m making one for yours.” She said proudly, holding two of the small items in her hand, holding it out for you to take one. You couldn’t help but feel your heartbeat quicken at her words. This is the sweetest thing you’ve ever done with someone else, and to think she wasn’t even that eager to come in the first place. You knew she’d have fun. 

Taking the small blue speaker from her hand, you were instructed to press the button on the back of the plastic, hold it down to speak, and release it when you were finished, but it can only be a short message. The both of you tucked your bears under your arm, bringing the box to your mouth and cupping it so that it would come out loud and clear, and so the other couldn’t hear what you were saying. 

Once your messages were done, you handed each other the speaker to place in the paw that had a ‘press me’ sign sewed into it. The woman ensured it was inserted correctly before taking them elsewhere to be sewn up, leaving you both to look at the racks of tiny clothes hung on the wall. 

It was almost as difficult as choosing clothes for yourself, there were too many options, and every single one was adorable. How did literal children do this? 

“Please tell me you can’t decide on an outfit either.” The Russian spoke from beside you, her gaze focused on the fabrics, styles and patterns in front of you. 

“It’s easier trying to take a pop tart off of the demi-god at home than trying to pick a pair of jeans and a t-shirt for a stuffed animal. What the hell?” Your arms gestured to the wall in front of you, exasperated as you tried to decide whether you wanted the blue jeans or black.” 

“Hi guys, here are your bears, just letting you know, there’s also some dresses over there if you want to check them out.” The woman smiled, watching as you and Natasha shared a glance of horror. 

The two of you were gonna be here for a while.

______________________

Finally, you and Nat had dressed both your bears. You chose a pair of black jeans, a white t-shirt and a black leather jacket for yours, and Natasha had chosen a Y/F/O. It appeared as though each of you had made ‘mini me’s’ of the other, and they seemed pretty damn accurate too. 

After successfully creating and dressing your bears, it was time to name them, pay, and then you could both go home and relax. You had no idea building a bear could be so exhausting. 

Both you and Natasha had to pick a name. You thought it over, whereas Nat had just rushed right in, choosing to call her bear ‘honey.’, the nickname she always reserved for you. Gripping your bear tightly, you observed the birth certificate being printed out, the name, the owner’s name and the date clearly written in bold, black letters. You could’ve sworn you saw Natasha’s eyes light up when she was handed the sheet of paper. 

“What about you, miss?” The woman asked, ready to type in whatever name you gave her. Glancing behind you quickly, you caught the eye of your girlfriend behind you, immediately knowing what to call it. 

“Snoopy, please.” 

You heard one loud and short laugh erupt from Natasha’s lips, her hand shot to cover her mouth, not intending to be so disruptive when she heard what you had called it. 

‘Snoopy’ is the name of a cartoon character, which was probably what people would think you named the bear after. In reality, it wasn’t that at all. 

When you first met the team, you were informed of what everyone’s roles were and how they contributed to the group. There were supersoldiers, scientists, a god, all different kinds of people, including the incredibly attractive spy. When you went on your first mission, she had to hack into a computer to retrieve some stolen data, but took her time to also look at some other things they had on there too, just to kill time. 

The first words you said to her on that mission that wasn’t to do with what direction you were running in, was ‘Alright, hold off Snoopy, you can do that in your spare time, hurry up.’, and at first she was annoyed with the nickname, claiming she wasn’t snooping, nor does she ever ‘snoop’, but she soon took it in her stride. It was still a running joke between the pair of you 2 years down the line, and you never let her forget it. 

“Nice name, babe.” She coughed, unable to fully settle down from her laughing fit.

“Why, thank you! Yours isn’t so bad yourself.” You spoke as you blew her a kiss that she grabbed in thin air and pretended to shove into her jean pocket, earning a small shake of the head before you took your printed certificate and went to purchase the bears. 

_______________________

Once you got back to the compound, the both of you were completely shattered, unable to keep your eyes open to watch some TV before bed. Eager to get some sleep, the two of you just ended up changing into your pyjamas, following your shared night routine before collapsing onto your bed. 

You lay beside her, still able to smell her perfume after so many hours, the scent making your eyelids feel like rocks. Grabbing your bear, you put it in between you, Natasha doing the same thing, before snuggling up close together under the covers. She reached over to put some fallen hair behind your ear, smiling gently at you as she did so, the gesture lazily returned. 

“Thank you for suggesting today, baby. I really enjoyed myself.” She whispered, a murmur of agreement following her words.

“Thank you for taking us Natty, I had fun.” You mumbled with closed eyes, sleep quickly taking over. 

“Get some sleep, my love.” 

You nodded once before responding. “G’night Nat.” 

“Goodnight baby.”

And that was you, out like a light. 

Natasha reached over to give you a kiss on the forehead as her final goodnight, not realised that she’d leant on the teddy in the process, only noticing when she heard your voice in a non sleepy state. 

“I’m madly in love with you, Romanoff.” She heard you laugh, followed by an excited “I’m done!”, obviously you forgot to let go of the button after you recorded the initial message, but it had made it even more special. She couldn’t help but adore you with every bone in her body. 

You weren’t awake now, but when you were, she hoped to see your reaction when you listened to her message in your bear, the words spoken in Russian, but you’d heard them before, so you’d definitely know what it meant.

“Moye serdtse tvoye, lyubov' moya.” (My heart is yours, my love.)

She was right. 

She’s absolutely whipped. 

 Taglist: @natashas-favourite-knives @eilarch @natashaswifey @lostandsearching​ @wandaromanova​ @pottahishotasf @d14n4ol @xxromanoffxx 

[skloomdumpster]

For me , I don’t want this but I had feelings that they might make Flora the stereotypical bad cousin to Terra. Also Grey be bad boyfriend or he turns out to be working with Rosalind in secrets

shit I forgot to answer this?? i'm so so sorry anon!

Okay, I really don't think they'll make Flora evil. Her most distinguish characteristic from cartoons (I think? Again I didn't watch), was being very sweet and the writers already changed Stella's personality and then- Then there's the Terra issue.

We know from interviews that Terra WAS written as Flora originally. Plus sized yes, but Flora nonetheless. Sweet and chatty, a little insecure, absolute badass, that's Flora-Terra. But then they got so much backlash they had to slap a new name and now we have Terra, whom I adore to bits!!

But this does make me wonder, how are they circling this situation. Are they gonna stick to cartoon Flora, who basically is just Terra 2.0? Or are they gonna risk backlash again and change her character?

I know OG fans want one thing, but as a solely Fate fan, to ME it would be more interesting to see a completely different Flora. Not a "bad cousin", but someone to push Terra out of her comfort zone, to bring out her best or hell, even to bring out her worst. Just a character with personality, which sadly certain Harveys were not granted.

I think you are right on Grey and I fucking hate it. I hope we're both wrong, I hope they have Grey be real sweet to Aisha. I want a dude who's openly, unabashedly into her, I want someone who makes her rational side fry and seize, makes her stutter a little. I don't care if there's a romance, if they're endgame, etc. But I DO want someone to just look at Aisha and go "her, I'll pick her first."

When it comes to the only black female character in the show, and honestly in any piece of media who does this bullshit where they only have ONE character represent an entire sexuality, gender, race or whatever, the representation becomes delicate matters.

This is a very long discussion, one that could be averted and sidelined had Fate included more people who aren't fucking white, but seeing as they haven't, this means Aisha's representation gotta not fall into a bunch of harmful stereotypes, because she represents Everything.

And, if we look up misogynoir and creative content, Aisha being loved, being allowed to be girly and sexy and wanted would be ten times more meaningful than her being cold, abused and ignored.

This is not to say those narrative aren't valid, simply that in Fate's current circumstances it can be an extremely delicate issue that I honestly don't think they have the tact to handle. So yes, I want a Grey who looks at Aisha and sees the fucking sun.