#anyway I have no issues with people who aren't big fans of kids but the hatred some people express... get a grip please

[ca-suffit]

This antiblack campaign the fandom just tried to kick up again (to avoid talking about the real issue with Nalyra) reveals how powerless they're starting to truly feel now.

They don't have many users left to vilify so they're putting people on blocklists who are brand new (I was here 3 days lol) or not even really in the fandom. That looks goofy and desperate but then it keeps going. DMing strangers to say "the truth" isn't about racism and "talk to me if you really want to know about anything." Everyone's reblogging those blocklist posts now and adding large commentary suddenly, when before they often fully sat it out. They're doing this in a group to look like they have larger numbers and are "revealing" there's a "big secret bullying problem"....except nobody believes them. Because there's plenty of accounts who are out here saying this shit straight to their faces and they pretend we all don't exist. All of this group has to manufacture drama solely because they just don't want to talk about harmful shit they actually do.

Neil has to make an antiblack statement she made suddenly be about antisemitism towards her, Nalyra's antiblackness is "actually" fans upset about shipping and "what's REALLY coming" in S2, showmey0urfangs is always happy to show up with her dumb screencaps and villain monologue nobody asked for so she can make her everlasting outrage about popular black fics and "feminized" Louis sound deeper than it is, Virginia suddenly cries about IRL issues and wants to leave the fandom because she wants to distract from the Nalyra receipts, Keybearer accused another black fan of trolling people and getting accounts suspended on twitter in 2023 when a Marius fan eventually confessed to it and his eternal shame for that means now every black fan except him is a bully (despite nobody talking about this ever anymore except him), chicalepidopterare mocks a black fan for blocking her "because I thought we were supposed to talk about racism" and then poorly tries to frame any retaliation against her to look like bullying ("see, they're misogynistic, they're bullying my art, they're mean for disliking these ships!").

To quote Claudia here, "You must think me an idiot." And the big cherry on top is also how none of these losers can stand to hear any mention of race....in the fandom of the show that nonstop talks about race. They're using very basic (and meant in a gentle, loving way) teasing of Jacob as proof that black fans are racist against Jacob too, black fans hate Jacob's white wife. People hate Lestat for being white too (what?). They can write crap meta all day about Lestat letting Louis "rape" him and only white victims (Lestat) being real victims to the evil black and brown "true" manipulators (Claudia, Louis, Armand) but gentle teasing from black fans about Jacob's haircut is the real racism. Okay lol. Care to tell us again why you think Delainey's Claudia looks "less innocent" now then? This 3D chess you think you're playing isn't playing how you think for anyone else.

I also notice that afaik there's not a single black American in this group. Idek if there's many Americans of any kind in the group. It's been a lot of shaming to black Americans specifically though, again from the show that's focused on black Americans....by people who aren't black Americans.

"There's people pretending to be black so it's okay to keep hating this whole group." It's not enough you already nonstop shit on black fans as it is, now you have to try to angle it as if none of this could be authentic in the first place. Vile behavior. For what? Tumblr isn't even a platform that pays you for whatever clout you have, so really what is the point here. In a small ass fandom on top of it. Some of you have pretty grown kids too, this is extra sad. It makes all the jumping through hoops to coddle Lestat's behavior make sense though, if you're the same kind of person yourself. Anyway, maybe you don't actually know everything because race exists in the real world beyond how Anne Rice wrote about it in her useless books! You make books written by a racist white woman your whole personality and guess what your outlook on life is going to be.

It's been really pathetic to especially watch any fans of color move more to this extreme bullying side as time has gone on. It will never pay off to promote white fandom ideals. These accounts you're trying to cuddle up to aren't even that big. The fandom outside of the tags actually has much more popular posts, supporters, and fics...although that's also half of what this all is actually about, fic numbers. Again, these are grown adults obsessing over this. We could have a whole different fandom if this group didn't exist and keep wanting to gatekeep everything and be the only people who get praise about anything.

It's no surprise that people who worship Anne Rice have major ego problems themselves. It's been fucked up to deal with but the good thing now is that big egos have big collapses eventually and that's what we're starting to see happening now. People are sick of you and able to see through your basic ass manipulation techniques. People just want to have a fandom, they're not here to worship fans who want to be dictators. Nobody is here for your fragility, losers.

[punkeropercyjackson]

Before i forget again,here's the Flowerghost(Jason Todd and Miles Morales)parallels + They are BROTHERS and Jason's a canon pedophile killer so fuck off if you ship him with canon minors

Black and red-coded

Genius'

Nerdy interests(classical literature for Jason,anime for Miles and video games for both)

Caused great controversy for taking over longheld mantles because of being minorities(Jason poor,Miles afrolatino)but are now widely beloved

Mama's boys and the mom's in question have brown hair and a deep grip on their cultures in a positive way when the writers aren't being ass

Can't flirt but have big rizz

Type in women is woc(Gwen is Miles' only white girl one and to me she acts more black mixed than anything else and imma do my own thing like Miles and say she's canon afrolatina + Jason's never shown interest in white girls fullstop and actively rejected Kory specifically because they deblackified her)

Poor social skills

Very similar sense of humor

The guy they're closest to is a black troubled kid who grew up in a dystopia but only let that make him kind and optimistic,an instigator and a freedom fighter on a team that all share a title(Duke and Hobie).Do not come at me with 'Hobie is Miles' older brother' bs though,that's Jason's job and Hobie is Miles' boygirlfriend

And the other person they're closest to is a black biracial girl with a ghost motif and abusive dad who's also a pastel punk,very sweet and tender but also has anger issues and no hesitance to get brutal in fights and is their counterpart yet also their foil(Stephanie and Gwen + Imma also do my own thing with Stephanie because people think she actually takes pride in being blonde for some reason + This is reverse of the above because i'm a Ghostflower lover and a J*ysteph hater out of reading comprehension)

Eh,i'm gonna say it-They're both afro-caribbean and nonblacks and gringos can't stop me since they love lying about Jason's canon traits but get upset when comics readers tell the truth about him and my take actually makes a lot of sense with him unlike theirs and i've got like every fellow afrolatino DC fan agreeing with me on it anyway

Autistic,adhd and anxiety-coded with trans swag that can be read in any direction

When they were 15,they went to a far off place to find themselves thanks to an important woman in their lives only for it to turn out she was betraying him and this caused a major shift in their narrative-Although Miles was lucky enough to have his be with good intentions while Jason's very much did not

Robin!Jason was a soft ray of sunshine boy like Miles is and Miles G is a goth asshole and a vigilante to cope with trauma like Red Hood!Jason is.He even has green eyes like he does which is very interesting and fitting difference

If we're being specific with Eras:Into=80s Batman,Across=A Death in The Family,Miles G becoming The Prowler=Lost Days,Beyond=Under The Red Hood and Spidey and His Amazing Friends=Wayne Family Adventures(but good)

Not quite the same thing but their animal variants are a cat and a dog so they match

This

[foster-the-world]

Fun!

Oh Mary play was fun. Bizarre fun. Not sure it was my favorite but def some clever moments. My husband was a big fan.

A few years back I mentored one young mother through a very small nonprofit that helps former foster youth. Its basically two middle aged ladies who helped out a group of 8-10 former foster youth. They act as the informal support most people would receive from their family + recruit mentors. Anyway, they reached out today because one of the people in their current group has a ten year old whose struggling in school. Apparently her's in a not great school in the Bronx. Asked if I had any resources since we aren't that far. Neither of the group leaders have school aged kids. Wanted to know if a charter school would help him. So hard to know. If he's just having trouble because the schools not great then most charter schools will provide extra hours support to get him caught up. If he has a learning disability then most charter schools are going to counsel him out. They don't want kids who are going to bring down their test scores :( So depressing.

I tried to provide the DOE process of getting special need services but that takes months to even get an assessment spot. Compared to 99.9% of places there are a shit ton of resources. You can get literally hundred of thousands of dollars of services provided by the city. I know so many people who get over $200,000 of services per year free of charge from the city. Top notch/can't be better services. But its a fulltime job to figure it out and you've got to be first in line or its not happening. Or you need the cash to pay for assessments, etc that prove your kid needs these services. I have some friends that work in charter schools so if she's in the right neighborhood I can see if they still have room. I provided info on an organization that helps. But its all going to take so much time. For example today I've spent at least 2.5 hours researching, talking to other parents and texting with his providers. Its not an abnormal day. I'm not currently trying to chase down any new services. It just what is normal. I mean a little extra as its only the second week of school but still. I'm lucky I can do it at work/lunchtime. Anyway its all depressing. I don't know a solution. I'm thankful services are there but there has to be a better way.

I'm touring a school geared for ADHD kids next week. It would be for Kindergarten next year. Looks good for him. My only fear is they don't accept kids with behavior issues. He's a four year old boy with ADHD of course he has behavior issues. Why else would we be there? I assume they mean aggression? Going to find out. I read they require the kids to be medicated. I'm assuming that's for older kids. I can't imagine its a requirement for 5 year old. The APA doesn't even recommend until 6 unless there are extreme issues. We are unfortunately in the extreme issues territory hence looking for a school for kids with ADHD. I'm surprised private schools can make that requirement but I guess private schools can do whatever the hell they want. Seems fishy considering I'm sure every kid there has sued the city to have them foot the bill.

Baby boys doctor wants us to try Flovant to stop the asthma. Its the normal protocol. Not excited that some people have behavioral issues as a side effect. Not what my kid needs more of. Of course, as his doctor pointed out kids behavior gets much worse when they are feeling bad because of an asthma outbreak. Also, nervous because we are thinking of trying ADHD meds next month. I don't want to mix new things. Also, don't want to wait on the Flovant because Oct/Nov are his problem asthma months.

Feeling stronger about trying the ADHD meds. Every medical provider I've talked to has encouraged us to try. I know some people would take that as doctor's wanting a quick fix. I don't agree. I think they've seen it work from other kids and don't want our kids to suffer unnecessarily. Our ADHD parent coach- whose a big wig that's done a ton of published research on ADHD was very supportive of the idea.

Baby boy has also been using some language that is so sad. "My body feels wild. I can't stop it." "I'm mean to my friends. I don't know why." "I'm bad." He's only four. We don't use "bad" language. I don't want him thinking these things about himself. He has a really hard time controlling his body but he has the sweetest little heart.

Parent Teacher night for the girls. Excited to hear from Bee's teachers - as they are both new to the school. Bee had Rebel's teacher last year so that's not new.

The very kind teacher at the school who produces a morning announcement video created by/with the kids every morning announced she was pregnant today. I happened to be in the office. The kids were so excited. Very sweet.

[em-writes-stuff-sometimes]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

I wasn't tagged directly, lol. I'm doing it anyway, though!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

I have 12 works on AO3!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

390,129 words, at present.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently (and I suspect forevermore): House of the Dragon. Previously: Harry Potter (back before JKR was a massive cunt).

4. Top five fics by kudos?

dōnus riñus (sweet girl) (3,417) gevivys (beauty) (2,971) ñuhus prūmȳs (my heart) (2,276) ilībītsos (little slut) (1,881) darilaros (princess) (883)

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes, I do! I like to thank people for reading, plus it satisfies my odd-number issue (they make me weirdly uncomfy). When people take time out of their day to leave me a message, I want to make sure I'm recognising that and letting them know that I appreciate it.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Yikes. I think it's the Harry Potter one, where I have Harry and Hermione marry and have a kid during the war, and they both die in the Final Battle and Ron ends up taking the kid to visit their grave.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I think that pretty much all my terms of endearment fics have happy endings - or near enough for ASOIAF-verse!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Weirdly enough, no. I'd resigned myself to it given the themes and content, but people are weirdly accepting of it. I sometimes get strange comments (like someone who keeps insisting I make Daemon cheat with Rhaenyra), but they aren't hate, just... odd.

9. Do you write smut?

Yes. Feels like that should be overemphasised, haha. My writing is diiiiiirty.

10. Craziest crossover?

I haven't written any crossovers! If I were to do so, I'd probably do a 'Daenerys teleports back in time to House of the Dragon and gets with Daemon and Rhaenyra'. Hot.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Three damn times, lol, all from the same fic series (ToE). Once in May of last year, where someone stole my work and only changed the names to fit the Shadow and Bone fandom. Once again in June of last year, where someone plagiarised multiple ways and multiple times to write their fic (a whole other drama, yikes). And once in May of this year, where someone stole the entire first part of one of my chapters to write their Daemon x OC fic on Wattpad. All have been removed, because I'm not down with plagiarism at all.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I think so? I cannot remember for the life of me. I know I've been asked, and I gave my approval, but I haven't seen the translations myself so no idea if that ever went ahead.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes! But it hasn't been published. We call it 'the Socussy fic' because it involves an unnamed female OC being hired by the Blacks to off the Greens during the Dance, only she does so by banging them to death in hilariously macabre ways. I wrote the establishing part featuring Daemon hiring her and the Larys footfuck death. We're missing one final bit, I think? It started in the big HotD Discord server I run, and @bottlesandbarricades @targaryenrealnessdarling and @ewanmitchellcrumbs have all collaborated on it. We're waiting for a final victim to contribute and then we shall convene as the Socussy Council and bestow the posting of it upon one poor soul! (I vote you Rach @bottlesandbarricades)

14. All time favourite ship?

I'm a die-hard Daemyra (Daemon Targaryen x Rhaenyra Targaryen) fan, but I also recognise that this is likely going to fracture and perish as the series progresses. I'm also hella into Jonsa (Jon Snow x Sansa Stark) and Jonerys (Jon Snow x Daenerys Targaryen). Plus, I like Jaimsa (Jaime Lannister x Sansa Stark) and Sanseryn (Sansa Stark x Oberyn Martell). I don't really know what this all says about me as a person, both the pairings themselves AND the fact they're all ASOIAF ships.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I have an Aemond WIP fic that I'm too scared to finish given Aemond stans are a little intimidating to me! Also, I have a Klaus Mikaelson x OC/Reader x Elijah Mikaelson threesome fic that lingers in my files.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I like to think my strengths are my flowery prose, my relative era-accurate world-building and my characterisation.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I ramble way the fuck too much. Seriously, shut up, Em. Explain those three paragraphs in one goddamn sentence only.

18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

I think it's cool! I've made sure to research how one would format the inclusion of this in a standard fiction novel, too, so that it reads as 'professionally' as it can be. I manually translate High Valyrian to include in my writing, because the translators aren't at all accurate and I don't want to break the immersion (even for myself). (As an aside, I can and do assist others in this too - hit me up if you need it!)

19. First fandom you wrote in?

Blegh. Harry Potter. Don't shoot me, I was a child.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

My series terms of endearment. If I have to choose within the series, probably ñuhus prūmȳs (my heart); it's the first proper divergence from show material featuring my own plot, and I think it's where my writing truly takes form.

YAY! Done.

No pressure tags: @vampire-exgirlfriend @emilykaldwen @marthawrites @mini-kunoichi @selfproclaimedunicorn

@ripdragonbeans @flowerpotmage @presidenthades @queen--kenobi @lady-morrigen

[lesbianrobin]

i would just like to say that byler is boring as hell. like all other ships in st have soul they have energy, they have angst even some of the non canonical ones (well written stoncy/ steddie loml). but byler is just, damsel in distress x depressed hero. maybe it's cause the fandom has completely watered down both will and Mike to that stereotype when they aren't that to fit them in heterosexual gender norms of relationships, but idk I get bored about byler

my personal issue with will is honestly like 90% just the fact that he doesn't feel like a super fleshed-out character to me so i'm not very invested in him. mike felt the same in s4 to be fair but like. will wasn't even There in s1 and was possessed for almost all of s2 and barely did anything in s3 and s4. which wouldn't even necessarily be a problem yknow eddie's only in one season robin's only in two but the problem is that noah schnapp is not that good at acting and you can Tell that he's absolutely phoning it in whenever he isn't like the focus of a scene. usually if you watch a character like eddie or robin in any given scene even if they're just hanging out in the background they're still in character and they're interacting with other characters/the environment and reacting to whatever's going on but noah literally doesn't even bother like if you try watching him in any big group scene he's usually just. there. noah's allergy to acting seems to have spread somehow to finn in s4 so all of their scenes together just do not hit for me personally they all feel very. high school play quality acting. sorry finn.

which brings me to the issue with byler which is that their most impactful moments occur when will is either in the upside down or not fully himself. mike's devotion to will in s1 and s2 pretty much forms the entire basis for the ship yknow because by the time will is actually Around mike is dating el and generally more concerned with her than he is with will, and the moments they Do have aren't as effective as things like the will possession scenes. i don't read any byler ship content so idk how they write the little fellas so i won't speak on that but it wouldn't surprise me if that damsel/hero dynamic is popular because that's like. what the best canon byler content (s1/2) Is.

now that will is actually around they tend to argue and the arguments are literally always because will feels like mike is leaving him behind and he's upset that mike and el are dating. which i don't even object to as a storyline actually but my point is that the crux of the conflict between their characters is literally that will has feelings for mike that mike does not return. so if you're approaching byler as a ship where mike Does return will's feelings, you kinda have to just. invent a whole new dynamic for them bc you've lost a lot of their s3/4 canon dynamic. and a lot of people aren't great at coming up with interesting dynamics and new conflicts between characters to keep things engaging.

also all of that said: i want to be clear that i know a lot of byler fans are kids and i am not trying to bully fifteen year olds who see something valuable in some fifteen year old characters and write fics about them. i'm sure a lot of people write wonderful fics about their little guys and have fun and find fulfillment in it and i'm never gonna hate on that. i'm just explaining my own perspective here and all of my negative byler energies are 100% directed toward the weirdo adults who are obsessed with the ship and insist it's going canon and get angry and send hate to people that disagree with them. also toward the ones who say weird ableist and misogynistic things about el those people can go fuck themselves.

anyway yeah <3

[f3r4lfr0gg3r]

just right [goldilocks general headcanons] 🐻🍯

(art cred to Zac Retz)

cw; some angst but that's about it :^

author's note; Sorry this took so long! 🙇‍♀️ ty to those who waited

General

From what can be seen in the movie, I definitely perceive Goldi as someone who doesn't have much sense of belonging as an orphan and in a family of literal bears and actively searching for a connection with someone she can highly relate with. She's seemed to yearn for normalcy for years and part of me thinks a small part of her is insecure, comparing her life to the stories of what "just right" or "happily ever after" seems to be.

As the perfectionist I interpret her as, it would be reasonable for her to reach out to these conventional standards for families as the right way to do things– in the process ignoring what she had right in front of her. Despite the amount of conventional social norms in fantasy she breaks just being herself, I assumed she clinged onto the family ideal as a way of coping as an orphaned child.

Dreaming of the perfect family, and this feeling of everything being just right all the time…when in reality families aren't truly like at all. I think that's what she learned in the film's ending. But anyways enough analysis of Goldi and her behaviors– onto the headcanons!

- She refuses to let anyone touch her hair but herself and sometimes Mama Bear due to trust issues.

- Continuing on the topic of hair, with the amount of curls on her head it knots up easily. Every night she has to brush out curls that are tangled together.

- She styles her hair primarily out of convenience because her hair gets too wild when it's down and makes it hard to see or do things (part of me thinks her current hairdo is a product of her having too much hair to put into two buns and improvising)

- Very acrobatic as can be seen in the scene of her climbing on the bears

- Many kids were scared of Goldi when she was younger because she tended to get into fights and played rough (always been a biter)

- Goldi just seems like a picky eater to me, very particular about what she eats

- With her need for things to be "just right", Goldi is a definite perfectionist when it comes to many things as I've mentioned above in my analysis

- She has a habit of not asking for help when it's needed (Probably due to her having to become pretty independent from a young age)

- I believe she already had a bit of a criminal record and was a street urchin before meeting the bears, so I bet she's a pro at pickpocketing by now

- Smells like grass and honey with a hint of bear, which is surprisingly comforting

- Has a habit of correcting people when they speak about her interests (totally not projecting )

- Likes messiness but in an organized way if that makes sense-

- A very stubborn person!!!!

- Goldi loves fantasy stories, has a stash of them in her room (her taste changed a bit as she got older though so while I believe she's still a sucker for fairytales, she also likes a good novel on pirate adventures at the moment)

- When playing games she can be both a sore loser and winner 💀

- Let's be honest, Goldi is competitive...to a really high degree. She can make anything into a competition-

- Concerningly good hearing, the type of person who'll hear you whisper something across the room

- Secretly pretty good at drawing, but Goldi never talks about it because she never thinks her drawings are good enough to her ridiculous standards

- idk why but I feel like she'd really like sea shanties and idk why (pirate obsessed goldi???)

- Really protective of the bears, especially Baby– just those older sister instincts ifykyk

- Why do I feel like she'd just be a big fan of apple flavored stuff-

- I get sapphic vibes from her idc what anyone says! (I'm writing gn reader for her but still >:D)

- Along with that I feel like if Goldi truly found someone she thought of as cool she'd try to play it cool but stumble over her words the second they compliment her (gay panic for the winnn)

- Seems like the type to unknowingly ramble about stuff she's passionate about (those people>>>>>)

- Tries her best to hide vulnerability as she's someone who sorta views vulnerability as weakness when it comes to herself

- From their interactions, it's safe to say Goldi's closest to Mama Bear

- Part of me thinks Goldi tried for years to imitate the bears when she was younger, trying to be one of them so they could be somewhat of a "real family"' (But when it wasn't working out the way she hoped, Goldi just began wishing for a human family– maybe even her biological parents)

- Very well read, and knows alot of fun facts despite keeping it to herself

- She's really good at climbing trees and hunting, looking at where the bears live it's safe to assume they live off the land around them

- Never has her hair down around other people (it's embarrassing in her as bc it's so messy)

- A horrible singer but knows it, and loves to sing because of how much it annoys others around her (finds it funny)

- That walking stick she has, I think it may have been a gift from Papa Bear (he just has the vibe of someone who widdles/carves things idk why)

- Goldi definitely tried archery before (kinda gives me Merida from Brave vibes so...yeah)

- Stronger than she looks, I don't care what you say Goldi has some muscle to her

- Forgets her own strength occasionally and accidentally broke a few things because of it

- I feel like she makes her own clothes, they just seem handmade

- Very random, but Goldi does parkour, urban climbing, or both

- Goldi's favorite color is definitely always changing around, one day it's orange and then another day it's purple– just seems like the type of gal to appreciate vibrant colors

- Definitely has loads of random shiny trinkets she's stolen in a box

- As an older sister, I definitely know that Goldi and the family are the only ones allowed to insult Baby, as that's how they show love- if anyone else did it they're asking for a fight

- She's not touchy in a conventional way, instead opting to playful wrestling and things of the such to show physical affection at first (lowkey a softie for hugs in secret tho)

- Not the best at opening herself up, Goldi always seems to be a bit guarded so it definitely takes her quite a while to warm up to people

- Winter is her least favorite season because that's hibernation time, aka the time where she feels the most alone

- Because despite how much of a front she puts up sometimes, she loves her family with her entire heart and is highly affected by the sudden quietness that fills their home

made by @f3r4lfr0gg3r with the help of @saplingofspunk, go follow her for togachako content! Thanks you bestie for helping me with this <3

Taglist: @zenmieisaa

[pinketine]

God Kiki I need to get intoxicated with you in your method of choice and discuss the Discourse cause fucking. YEah.

When I was still a fan of Dr*eam I literally ignored ALL criticism cause like the fucking call out doc the one that said "I've heard he's transphobic I have no source but I'm gonna say it anyway" or my favourite, all the people saying that my favourite creator at the time (Ponk) was actually DREAMS OC. So no shit I ignored all criticism until my attachment to MCYT stopped entirely. It wasn't even grooming allegations it was me just not liking mcyt as much which allowed me to start listening to criticism of him.

And you know where I see the exact same nonsense happen again?? Fucking Hazbin Hotel! I have SO many issues with that show, the racism, the obvious swerf undertones, the fact that the creator is clearly still not quite over that time she was a full on terf, but I see sooooo many bullshit criticisms and just feel like,,, It's happenign again, these fans aren't listening to real criticism anymore, they're gonna do more harm and we just get to sit and watch cause people are just being bullies,,,,

Hi I got off topic but do you see what I mean, no one learnt, they dont give a fuck if them using progressive language as a coverup to harrass kids will end up causing more harm in the long run, no one cares that the kids they bullied for having a lmanburg flag are now so insular they're gonna give money to a nasty abuser, because they don't CARE about helping, they just want to bully people. What The Fuck.

Honestly I'm not a big fan of any kind of drinking but thinking about that shit makes me wanna have a fucking DRINK.

And no you're so right about the Hazbin Hotel thing. There have been sooo many sketchy things involving Vivziepop but people are way too invested in their """politically correct""" cringe culture to the point where it gets lumped in with all the petty shit and gets ignored and it's like. Thanks I hate it here.

Like, I get wanting to mock what you don't like, I do it too. But when everyone does it, and all the criticisms are (supposedly) proofless hearsay, the fans who know more than you are gonna be on edge because it seems like you're being cruel (which they usually are). And they're not gonna wanna listen. At all. In both cases of Dream and Vivzie, this resulted in them being able to wield their fanbases like weapons, which just causes more discourse and normal fans get defensive because it's just a small minority and everything gets even more lost and the actual criticisms are barely relevant.

So basically, exactly what you said: People online don't actually give a shit, they just wanna bully and still look morally superior. This combined with misinfo means that nothing legit gets done.

[fareehaandspaniards]

Hold up, you like Valtr x Henriett too???? I should have guessed because you are one of the last surviving 5 people that aren't restrained by age gaps in shipping but still I thought it was TOO obscure hghjhjk

That's my SECRET side xD I may talk about Damian mostly, since I have a thing for white-haired (blonde) grandpas who are rather evil sexy lords or pure angels. BUT(T). I enjoy really many ships and characters that I never mentioned because I never have enough energy to talk about ALL of them... (in 95% of times I need a lot of energy just to talk so yeah I want to tell a lot but often forget or don't have energy for that)

I am secretly big enjoyer of Valtr, Henryk, Yamamura, Tomb Prospector Olek (lol), Arianna equally with Adella, big FAN of Yurie, Eileen and Bloody Crow of Cainhurst, Ludwig... and etc!

So YES Valtr x Henriett ship looks hot (as you said age gap doesn't scare me. It makes ship even hotter than it was. I don't understand people who scream when two characters who are in love aren't the same age. And by "scream" I mean publicly shaming anyone who ships couples like that! Hope after this I won't receive a message from anon like "SO you can ship 10 y.o. girl yeah???? If age gap in a relationship is cool then you ship kids right????!" because it's pure absurd and hysteria. Age gap is always perceived by fandom-society like something AWFUL, DISGUSTING and mostly by people who enjoy even more weird kinks)

(And you might ship 18 y.o. character with a 2000000010010903 y.o. eternal being and everything is fine for a fandom while eternal being looks sexy BUT WHEN IT COMES TO GRANDDILFS, PEOPLE ARE BEING BITC-)

(sorry it's not a vent post :'D Completely changed the topic)

I can't say I know much about Henriett except for her being beatiful and her connection with Amelia, Ludwig and Laurence. Also she has something against League. And this shit when two fantoms can't be summoned simultaneously makes me go HURRRRR because you know the two have something between them???

She gives me vibes of hmmm... Irene Adler who is now Sherlock Holmes? I remember Crow drew Henriett for you mentioning Shelock Holmes and now this is stuck in my head. Stoic, beautiful young lady who is interested in justice for all. From a good family, maybe even noble, but who chose a path of a Hunter with her huge weapon. I headcanon Valtr to be her former "mentor" until she found out that League is built on his insanity and he can't even see evil bugs himself. Disappointing :с Her vibe is like:

Also I thought that Gehrman/Maria also has a vibe of a teacher/student, but with gehrmaria it's more about romantical guiding the one you love with both mutual respect and tenderness. While these two have... Have some problems with that. I headcanon Valtr as a person who was REALLY interested in Henriett, but could show it through mumbling and telling her his own vision of the world and wanting from her to join him in everything, while she has own plans and ambitions, for example aeeeehhh destroy the wicked ones from the Church? haha so funny, unless...

Anyway good ship.

Little ambitious lady who is ready to kick some asses and tall sad unstable man, who has issues

[nono-bunny]

I have yet to watch the Barbie movie, but the more I hear about it the more convinced I'm becoming that I'm probably not gonna like it, and it sucks because I LOVE Barbie but... That's just the thing.

The Barbie movie was made for the people who dislike Barbie as Mattel's way of reclaiming her as a the feminist icon she was literally ALWAYS meant to be from her very conception... And also serving as like, their most visible way of fighting the weird "Barbie promotes unrealistic beauty standards" thing that's been attached to her for forever

Like. The Barbie movie feels like it's literally meant to make people that hate Barbie reevaluate their opinions on it to boost the brand image, which? Yeah, it's probably actually doing a good job at that as far as I can see from the reactions, and I for sure am happy to see more love and less hate towards Barbie!!!

But also... At the same time it very much feels like it's not gonna be a movie for people in my position- those that grew up playing with the dolls and/or watching the CGI movies. I don't need to be convinced that Ken is Kenough or whatever, I don't need to see Margot Robbie as Barbie cry for me to know that Barbie has been unfairly hated... I don't need that movie to tell me that it's OK to love Barbie despite all the very real issues it encountered along the way, because fr the "unrealistic beauty standards" thing is infuriating to me, fUCK OFF WITH THAT SHIT IT'S NEVER BEEN A REAL THING, AND ITS THE WRONG THING TO FOCUS ON WHEN CRITICALLY EXAMINING THE BARBIE BODY MOLDS and anyway....

That movie isn't for someone who already loves and appreciates Barbie now, but it's also like. Literally not even targeting the core audience of the Barbie brand in at attempt to introduce new kids to it, because it's all just. A weird, bloated and way overdue stunt of damage control, but it's also the first one I've seen to have such an impact so I can't even like? Hate it because it DOES do what it's meant to, it's just... Kinda focusing on the completely wrong thing? Current fans aren't overly impressed with it the way a lot of newcomers are, and it doesn't attract new young fans because it doesn't even attempt to appeal to them... So in the end, rather than serving as a big ad campaign, it feels much more like those long Youtuber apology videos using receipts to disprove a rumor and regain positive public sentiment

2023 Barbie isn't for the Barbie people, it's for all the people who looked down on them for liking it, and... Yeah, while that's still important and satisfying to see in it's own way, it also definitely very much stings to have the biggest Barbie thing in forever very deliberately focus on pleasing everyone who DOESN'T like Barbie rather than those of us who DO.

I feel like I might enjoy/appreciate the Barbie movie on it own if I manage to detach it from the Barbie I already love, but... It's almost certainly not gonna be like, a fun "Barbie Movie" for me to watch, because everything I've seen points towards it using the cool aesthetics, the unfair and bad criticism of it and the historical circumstances of Barbie to deliver a feminist message rather than being like... A movie fully about Barbie, for Barbie, by Barbie... Which is what I would expect from a "Barbie Movie"

Anyway, everyone go watch Barbie in The Diamond Castle, it's very lesbian cottagecore, it's good shit

[kooldewd123]

thoughts on the pokemon presents:

path to the peak seems really cute. probably too corny for me to handle, but a really nice little animation for kids wanting to get into the tcg.

ok, i'm not one who really cares much about graphics or performance, but detective pikachu... well, it looks rough. i really think it must've gone through some development issues. it was announced all the way back alongside LGPE, and it doesn't seem to have any paldean pokemon like you'd expect for a gen IX spinoff title.

a new trailer for the horizons dub which says nothing and doesn't even commit to a release date. god, netflix fucked the anime up so bad. at least we got a brand-new shot of the pendant turtle at the end, so we can hopefully expect more of that soon. we don't have an episode title for the 18th, and Tomiyasu is on storyboards, so maybe it'll show up there?

the go, cafe, unite, and sleep stuff doesn't particularly interest me, but the masters news is fun (even if we already knew it all from the datamine). more types of sync pairs, and an event for spectrier, which is one of my favorite legendaries. i was hoping nemona would have at least a slight spanish accent, but at least she accents her own name.

tcg and stadium coming to nso are cool, but i never really had any interest in them anyway.

paldean winds is really exciting. it seems like a twilight wings style with a more focused story. way more hype than the actual anime news.

i see a lot of people excited about the mew/mewtwo event, but... god, just let me catch my own mew. let me shiny hunt it. randomizing all its attributes for the mystery gift is a cool gimmick to personalize it, but i can just never care about freebie pokemon like this.

huh, i felt much more positive watching the presentation, but writing it down makes me realize how mixed my thoughts actually are. whatever, we're on to the mostly positive stuff now.

i'm glad that we do actually end up returning to paldea for the dlc story. it felt really weird that "the hidden treasure of area zero" takes place in a place completely separate from area zero. on a similar note, i really hope we rejoin with at least arven, since he's the character most connected to area zero.

not sold on the new characters yet, but sv had strong enough writing i have confidence in their ability to pull them off. the idea of a second elite four in particular is a lot of fun.

dripplin and archuladon are exciting just in concept, since they show that likely do intend to continue forward with giving new evolutions to old pokemon. and these are very recent pokemon, too - it doesn't seem like there's a limit to how they'll innovate old designs, and i can't wait to see what the future holds.

scarlet stays winning with its paradox designs. iron crown is... whatever, but i love raging bolt. never been the biggest fan of raikou, but give it the exeggutor treatment and i'm all over it. i'm just keeping my fingers crossed that these guys (along with walking wake, iron leaves, and the inevitable paradox entei and terrakion) aren't shiny locked.

one odd absence - we still haven't heard about any way to get old legendaries. i think a lot of people expect it based on precedent, but there's been no sign of it thus far. i wonder whether they're waiting to unveil it or if the feature is missing this time around for whatever reason. praying for news about it whenever our next big news drop rolls around.

[hextechmaturgy]

i'm sorry but you and the person in your replies are stupid if you think "we all agree israel should be kicked from the show ❤️" is a good excuse to watch and fund by viewing a TV show that OPENLY supports israel and zionism, going as far as even having a ZIONIST SONG win one of the contests. what you're basically saying is, "Yeah, we all agree, amazon should treat its workers better ❤️" then ordering next day delivery. european or not, you're dismissing the struggles and suffering of palestinians and funding a show that openly supports israel and zionism. saying, "i disagree with israel and want them off the show," literally isn't enough. but honestly, this is the most european attitude to have towards the situation, so i honestly don't know why i'm surprised. also - some contestants holding a flag for palestine doesn't negate the support the show itself gives to israel. you need to remember that the people suffering in palestine are real and more important than a competition show for, historically, the most racist countries on earth with shit music on it. the fact that you stating "indeed!" and the user in your replies stating you're both aware of the situation is worse than being ignorant and unaware. i will block you just because you are clearly going to die on this hill because what does it matter to you, a white european person, if brown people die so long as you get to watch your silly little music show, which you know, is still openly supporting israel by not excluding them from the competition despite russia's removal. i suppose the white victims of russia are easier to empathise with than the brown lives lost in palestine. i'm embarrassed that i ever bought any of your art.

hello again :) first of all, i appreciate that you're passionate about this topic, it's a good cause to champion and i'm sure there are a lot of ignorant ESC fans that could use the reminders, lord knows you can't escape the zionists on twitter. alas, you don't know me personally, and i don't know you at all, so our back and forth here on tumblr dot com asks seems a bit pointless, especially if you're blocking me anyway? hence my brevity before, but maybe that came across as me generally not giving a damn about anything, and if so, i am sorry

eurovision's 'apolitical' stance (as if anything can be apolitical) is and always has been bullshit, whether it's about how hip europe pretends to be regarding queer issues, misogyny, and other major conflicts like the ones you brought up, such as the war with russia and, of course, israel and palestine. this really isn't a well kept secret, and neither is the response this incites in activists everywhere. there have been protests, petitions, boycotts, there's a heated discussion about eurovision every time we have eurovision, and rightly so, i fully encourage them. the sad truth in my eyes is that people people can only do so much to set things right. EBU is in this to make money and they're fucking great at it. nobody fixed russia by booing and banning them from the show, it was just more profitable to throw them out than keeping them in because 'communism bad', which is a trend among western countries

i've watched eurovision almost every year since i was a little kid, and it's pretty obvious that my stance on this whole thing is privileged. war has never been loud outside my door, i have a reliable supply of food and water every day, a sturdy roof over my head. i can spare myself some respite, and music is a big part of what constitutes my peace, always has been. i'm an enthusiast of foreign arts, of songs and languages that are difficult to get exposed to with how american-centric the music charts are nowadays

and so, the way i see it - and i understand if this is a line you're not comfortable drawing - the artists performing at eurovision aren't the EBU. i watch it for them. many of them who are just young singers looking for their big break, many others who are older and confident using their platform to say the uncomfortable things the organizers want to keep on the low. they're all gathered in one spot to represent a different culture, many singing in different languages, sharing traditional garb and dance. ethnic and LGBT minorities take to a huge stage that connects them to every point of the world, and i'm sorry if this all sounds quite silly in the grand scheme of things, but this is the one thing the show can do right in it's current state. europe is diverse, and sometimes it looks like even europe doesn't know that

i'm sad to see you go, but i respect that you've drawn this line, and i'm thankful to hear you've supported my art in the past. keep fighting the good fight, and may the world be a little less shitty sooner rather than later

[numbuh-1507]

Well, here's something I had on my mind for a while: a fan design of what Sam from "The Rhino and The Redbill" might look like when they hatch.

The main challenge of this was finding a good "child bird" design to use as a base. Most chicks in animation use a round body design, but I've decided to go with something akin to Tweety, with a head as big as their body, but with tiny feet. The second issue was translating the colors of a baby oxpecker, based on very little visual refs I could find (seriously, there's more pictures of the eggs of these birds than the chicks that hatch from them), as well as sourcing from the  ever (un)reliable Wikipedia, which states that oxpecker babies are a darker shade of brown than its parents, as well as having dark olive beaks (which I don't think it looks very good on this drawing, honestly. Maybe Mr. Henderson will pull it better). Unfortunately, the source article didn't mention anything about this particular coloring (as well as not providing any illustrations), so maybe someone who's more of an ornintologist can call me out if I turn out to be wrong.

Overall, I've tried my best to make sure that Sam looked like a separate entity, instead of an "Age regressed Red", which is why it has Red eyes (I can imagine Sam having the same eye color as their mother... whom we currently have no clue of her whereabouts or apperance, if she's still alive at all), like real-life Red- billed oxpeckers have.

I've though of putting a height chart to compare how tall Sam stands compared to Red (about half his height), but I've discarded it. You can imagine how extremely small this kid is compared to Niles. I don't think they'd live in the backpack any longer after they hatch, without disconsidering the amount of time their egg has spent without proper incubation (it takes around 2 weeks for oxpeckers to hatch if they are incubated normally , which might mean that it wasn't a very long time between their laying and Red meeting Niles). And let's not even start with what purpose would they serve in TRaTR, assuming they hatch before the series finale... if it has one.

Ok, I gotta admit I'm starting to run out of ideas for "The Rhino and The Redbill" drawings (that aren't NSFW), and you can only do so much for a short that has only 5 notable characters (not counting the scavengers), one of them is an egg and another one has their face in the shadow, as well as a very limited amount of settings (entrance to the mine, inside the mine, the prisoners room, the cave, the minecart rails, the exit to the mine...). Arguably I could bring out the other characters that Mr. Henderson drew concept art for back when the short was still called "The Rhino and The Oxpecker" (such as this warthog fellow www.deviantart.com/alexanderhe…), but then I would have to adapt their designs for the modern version of TRaTR, as well as finding what roles should they play. At this point, most of my remaining drawing ideas are continuations of previous drawings, which most of you will find repetitive if nothing else.

Besides, I want to give more chance to other people to also make fanart of that short WITHOUT my imput. Let's see how this goes.

Anyway, rant over. Hope you enjoyed this. Property of @artofalexhenderson

IMAGE DETAILS

[leatherbookmark]

man i'm reading a livetweeting thread of beast and 🙄

i KNOW it's adonis' Thing that ooh he looks bighugescary terrifying uncontrollable BEAST!!! so clearly he gets the role of the "beast", aka a jekyll/hyde kinda guy in a drama who murders people at night, but. this kid is 17. he's 178cm tall. he's brown. give him a fucking break :/ honestly i feel bad for ado fans because no matter what, even if a story shows that he's smart, thoughtful, gentle and caring, there's always going to be this undertone of "and who knew! yknow considering what he LOOKS LIKE". he looks like a person, happyele. foreigners are people, happyele.

(i'm not expecting enst to be a morality play, lmao, but it would be better for Me Personally if at least One (1) person was like "hey this isn't right" but like. adonis has it all internalized! "oh it makes sense that people are scared of me, since i'm big and scary". same for kuro. like, no, it doesn't make sense, when i see a bighuge guy i think that he's bighuge, damn, he must have it rough shopping for shoes, or that i wouldn't want to piss him off if he looks like a hooligan. i don't freak out or start whispering that kyaaaa he's scary! what the everloving hell.)

also i briefly forgot that enst is the Epitome of extra At All Times Always and got caught unawares by the "rei takes the guys to talk to some dangerous loan sharks and a fight almost erupts, but! it's actually just a bunch of extras, it's all been planned so that adonis can find his confidence for the role he was struggling with ^__^". enst for god's sake... and wasn't rei supposed to stop meddling in people's lives and "solving" their problems for them? as much as it counts as "solving", lmao. i get senpai acting like an issue they got under control is more serious than it actually is so that their kouhai can try to figure it out by themselves and learn from experience, but i get it every once in a while! jesus.

AND THEN adonis apparently feels bad, because while rei managed to come up with such a scheme, he only could "resolve the issue with violence". WHAT DID I JUST SAY. i'm out of loop for most enst characters so i don't know, but please tell me the only (1) one (1) mixed race character isn't the only (1) one (1) character who ~struggles with being violent~ ^____^ please tell me that...

like... rei wants undead's image to be friendly and approachable for everyone, including kids -- which is just... weird? idols like those in enst, where each group has a concept, obviously aren't going to be for everyone! i don't like shota boys, so i don't really care about rabits, tori or branco, and that's perfectly fine! i don't get why they couldn't just focus on maintaining the audience they currently have. is it different in japan? because from what i've seen in korea, groups with a smaller group of dedicated fans achieve more than groups popular with the lukewarm "oh hey, it's them, yeah, i like them" general public, because lukewarm gp doesn't buy albums, stream mvs and mass vote. and like. i don't think preschool kids can bring lots of capital, but what do i know. ANYWAY they want to be friendly and approachable? then maybe work on dis-othering one of your members 🙄🙄

i just checked and the story's written by kinosei w/ akira... i think i understand what people mean now 🙃

[thefact0rygirl]

hey there i have a question.

i’m writing a fic rn and it’s getting good and i have so many ideas for it, but i’m terrified to actually post it. i’ll write for maybe an hour and then take a break and once i read over it again i feel like it isn’t good and nobody would want to read it. i’m writing these ideas down that i know are great and are my own, but every time i think about posting it, i just😳😰.

any advice???

love all your work🖤

Hi babes 💕 I’m so sorry it’s taken so long to respond! I keep going back and forth about what to say because I feel this is cliche as fuck, but I promise there is truth behind it. 

First and foremost, your fear and doubts are totally normal. Worry is okay, it means you care. 

And you aren’t alone in your fear. 

So many writers, myself included, get intimidated to post. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been writing, it’s still scary to share your ideas. They are an extension of you; you’re putting a piece of yourself out there for people to read and analyze. That is scary as hell, but it should’t paralyze you. 

Your biggest critic is you. Comparing yourself to others has its place, but it can also be a confidence killer. The conversations you have with yourself can hold you back.

Sharing your ideas is the next step in fan fiction. Every next step of a hobby is going to be intimidating. That’s okay! Embrace that fear, but don’t let it stop you. 

Have a "fuck it" moment and go for it.

You don’t know if your ideas are bad or not if you don���t post it. The voice telling you they aren't good isn't reliable. It isn’t looking out for you and it isn’t there to help you, so why the fuck are you listening to it?

Sharing your ideas is terrifying, but also hugely rewarding. It’s an amazing feeling see people reblog your work and the high you get when people leave comments is unmatched. 

And remember - you can’t please everyone. Not everyone is going to like your ideas. I’m sure you’ve read a fanfic you didn’t like. It’s not a reflection on the writer, it’s just you not vibing with an idea. That’s just life. We all have different preferences and likes.

But if there is one thing fan fiction has showed me is that for every person who doesn’t like your idea, there are at least two people who do. We're all here to talk and muse about our blorbos.

If you’re worried about interaction, I recommend first posting on ao3 rather than Tumblr. Tumblr’s algorithm is totally fucked and it may not push your fic to the tags. It can have you second-guessing your writing when in reality it’s the algorithm fucking up. Try posting first to ao3. Ao3 doesn’t have as many issues with tagging and posts not showing up. All fics are presented in chronological order with the most recent fics at the first page.

And if you decide to post on tumblr, share your work! Reblog like hell. Recommend your own fic. Interact with other writers. This fandom is so big, it's easy to get lost in things. You need to push your way and make room for yourself. You can't expect others to love your fic if you don't show that you love it. You know the corn kid from tiktok? That has to be you with your fic.

Anyway, hopefully this wasn't just one big cringe cliche. If you do post, please send it to me! I'd love to read and share 💕

[mewtonian-physics]

Can you sum up Killua? I watched the show (the old one) but im just wondering if you can sum him up?

It doesn’t even have to be right! If you told me he was from Ohio, well he does have that energy to him

KILLUA... KILLUA IS MY BELOVED

so hes this kid who was raised by a family of assassins and as a result has been trained to kill since birth. this has involved a great deal of torture for him. when we first meet him in the story he's like. twelve years old and is taking the hunter exam because he thinks it will be fun. unfortunately he fails because right at the end of it his shitty abusive big brother reveals himself and fucks everything up for him along with a deeply horrifyingly relatable display of ptsd on killua's part. (he also gets his ass promptly kicked by gon for his actions. yay, gon!)

anyway we find out he's really different from most of his family because despite everything he's still a pretty sweet kid. Lil murdery but it's okay. he's working on it.

"Clean living is tough."

over the course of the series we get to see some really wonderful character growth from him as well as more of his childish side (he LOVES chocolate robots and uses yo-yos as weapons). we also find out that he is completely gay.

he's a good kid.

he also gets lightning powers during the greed island arc. it's pretty cool. i'm a fan. he can use 'em for all sorts of things too.

but none of this is my very favorite part. my very favorite part comes in during the election arc. because it's at that point that we find out about alluka.

alluka is killua's little sister. there's a lot to say about these two. for one thing, alluka is canonically transgender, of which killua is very supportive.

for another thing, alluka has a very powerful entity from the dark continent (a landmass outside of the known world) living inside her. this entity is known as nanika.

as i said, nanika is extremely powerful. see, she can grant wishes. any wishes. however, there are a lot of rules. for one thing, in order to gain a wish, the person in question would have to fulfill three requests first. if her requests are declined four times in a row, that person along with those closest to them will instantly die. quite messily. on top of that, the bigger the wishes are, the bigger her requests will be, and the bigger the consequences if refused. for example, someone once wished for a billion dollars, after which the next person was asked for organs. since that person obviously couldn't just give her their organs, they died, along with a great deal of other people.

as you can see, alluka and nanika are powerful to a degree that can be extremely dangerous if people aren't careful. this isn't something they intend to do--alluka looks very confused the first time someone dies after refusing her requests. however, it will still happen. due to her powers, the zoldyck family locked alluka up. she's left all alone with nobody to talk to her or play with her--and she's only eleven years old.

but during the election arc, killua goes to save her. (i theorize that the reason he didn't before was related to some of the brainwashing techniques illumi (the oldest of the zoldyck children) canonically used on him. he breaks out of them in the previous arc.) he is able to rescue her and take her out of the zoldyck estate, though not without illumi chasing after them.

alluka and nanika both love killua very, very much. ('if i was the only person in the world who loved you, would you be sad?' 'i'd be so happy!') nanika even asks killua to pat her head when she does a good job. because of this, killua even gets to know special rules about nanika's wish-granting powers:

If a wish is made for healing, she must make physical contact with the target. Also, there will be no repercussions. It is also shown that healing is very taxing to her, causing her to fall asleep from exhaustion.

Killua has the special privilege of issuing a "command". When he does, his request will bypass any existing backlash and will be granted without any repercussions. If somebody else wishes other than Killua, they will suffer the same repercussions of the previous wish that was supposed to be given, with the command itself not affecting the requests.

Issuing a "command" allows Killua to have his wish granted even if she is in the middle of making requests of someone else, as well as if it is his second consecutive wish.

unfortunately, killua sees nanika as a threat to alluka's safety at first, fear of illumi hurting his little sister causing him to order nanika to never come out again. alluka, however, is furious with him, causing him to realize his wrongdoings and apologize to nanika, recanting his order and asking instead that she never use her powers again, because he'll pat her head whenever she wants.

he loves them both so much. she'll scold him and he'll say 'isn't she the greatest?' gon? who's gon? gay rights are real but sibling rights are more real.

after this they travel the world together. that's where we leave off. just killua and alluka and nanika traveling the world. in case you somehow couldn't tell, their relationship is unbelievably important to me. like... it doesn't get any better than this, okay? it just doesn't.

[unconditionally-bella-love-light]

Anti-Wokeness Must Not Become Its Own Religion

By Chris Hearn (source)

Wokeness is often called a religion. Anti-wokeness must not take the same path

Wokeness. It's a hot topic, as the kids say. The kids still say that, right? Anyway, wokeness has been compared to a new religion. And those describing it that way aren't wrong in their assessment, really.

So, why is wokeness seen as a religion by some? Generally speaking, when it comes to wokeness, there is a set of dogmas that has been developed around issues like race, gender, sexuality, privilege, oppression, colonialism, etc. You must adhere to the narratives engrained in these dogmas and repeat the mantras that have manifested. If you do not, you are deemed a sinner and must repent. If there is no repenting, then there must be excommunication. There is little room for blasphemy and if you dare cross a line, cancel culture comes calling. Yup, a very religious structure. To be woke is to be very strict and unforgiving - fundamentalist, shall we say. It often involves brimstone and fire rhetoric. There are sacred cows that must not be criticized or spoken ill of. So the analogy is apt.

The whole woke culture thing has made some quite angry, creating a negative pushback. Critics of wokeness are starting to gain traction. There are those who are tired of the narratives, tired of the demands for conformity, tired of being called racist or a bigot for not saying the right things. They are tired of lectures, of diagrams fitting everyone into neat categories of victimhood, tired of seemingly everything revolving around race and gender. People are tired of being shunned for questioning questionable ideas. So, yes, there is a pushback. It's understandable and necessary.

However, the growing backlash risks become it's own religion in short order, in which case we are all back to square one. It is important to stop anti-wokeness from becoming the new wokeness if it's not too late already.

Too often, in the woke camp, words are thrown around to discredit those that go against the doctrines of the woke. Nazi, fascist, alt-right, grifter, transphobe, TERF...this a small sampling of the lingo that the woke love to use against those that dare disagree.

But, the anti-woke camp would be better if it didn't adopt a similar way of dealing with opponents. Unfortunately, it may be too late. In fact, using the term woke as a slur and writing off the opinions or ideas of anyone deemed woke is a perfect example of the anti-woke brigade slipping into religious territory. The sin, in this case, is being woke. In order to regain acceptance, denouncing all that is woke is necessary for some. That's not good. That's not progress in this matter.

Some have made a good career out of being woke and selling wokeism. Some will cite people like Ibram X. Kendi or Robin DiAngelo who have made a lot of money from white people telling white people how awful and racist they are. Can't blame people for that, really. The same thing seems to be happening in the anti-woke camp. Now, I am a big fan of Bill Maher, for sure. BUT, I have noticed much of what he is doing these days is obsessed with anything and everything deemed woke. Honestly, there is plenty of comedic material in some of that woke stuff. He's often quite spot on with his assessments, but sometimes it just seems like the obsession with being anti-woke is equal to the obsession I see some have with being woke.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YapmWpPO2AM

Ya, there you go. Funny? I think so. But, you know, when every week it's an anti-woke fest, at some point you want to say, "Hey, Bill, maybe expand your repertoire again." Big fan, think he's funny, but, definitely, turning anti-wokeness into a bit of a religion in itself.

And then, we have critics of being woke, like Ben Shapiro, who fall decidedly on the right-wing side of the debate who have their own crazy ideas going on. So, him and folks like him being critical of the woke and their crazy ideas often comes across as hypocritical and short-sighted because they are the anti-woke bizarro world, mirror image of the craziest of the woke.

The thing is, not everything woke is bad. Woke can get pretty cringy, nasty, ugly, bizarre, hypocritical, lazy, judgmental. But, you know, there are some good ideas at play. Things like racism or homophobia do thoroughly suck. Maybe those deemed being woke don't handle anti-racism or anti-homophobia in the best way. Quite a bit of anti-racism, for example, has just turned into a new form of racism in itself. But, to just shun everything that is considered woke is a bit foolish, if you ask me. I can agree with a LOT of wokeness, honestly, even if the execution is a bit on the questionable side.

Many in the anti-woke camp see themselves as free-thinkers that don't want to conform to the scripts set forth by the woke brigade. But, it seems at times that these free-thinkers start to develop their very own scripts and quickly stop actually being free-thinkers.

Who would have thought? Two polarizing schools of though mirroring each other? Again? And, as often seems to be the case, the woke and anti-woke are divided by a tribal line, with many anti-woke folks being on the more conservative side of things, while those deemed woke are on the left side of things. Funny how this keeps happening. But, because it does, it almost seems that it's a very natural thing. It's almost like this is how humans are, this is how are brains are wired. It's almost like us human animals have a predisposition to tribalism and conformity in thinking. It probably has some kind of evolutionary benefit. Or, at least, it highlights the fact that even though humans are intelligent, we are still animals with limitations.

By Chris Hearn (source)