#apparently it's upsetting and not actually useful to many to have me post the links per this anon

[copperbadge]

Supposedly, people with Anphantasia don't get scared reading scary stories, or at least not much. Is that true with you if you ever read Horror?

You know, I'd never thought about it, but I suppose it is. To an extent, anyway.

Follows a discussion of my relationship to horror prose and media; if you don't know what aphantasia is, as many people coming to this tumblr don't, I have a tag for it here that may help -- it's basically the lack of a "mind's eye", a visual imagination, so I hear/read things and don't see an image of them in my mind. If you are scoffing right now that nobody actually has a mind's eye, congratulations, you may also have aphantasia. The articles linked in the tag will be useful to you.

I have definitely been scared by prose before but it's very rare, and not much since I was a child, when the stories I found scary were preying on fears I already had. I loved the Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark books, and I think it's not unusual that I found the illustrations more frightening than the prose, but the only story that ever scared me was the one about the vampire who kept trying to grab a kid through a window -- because I had a window over my bed in my childhood bedroom and I was terrified I'd look up to see someone looking down at me through it. Likewise, as an adult, the only content in horror I find scary is what I think of as "mind horror" -- the loss of faculty or the loss of awareness of faculty (think the end scene of the novel Hannibal with the brain). Which is one of my biggest fears.

I don't read much horror because generally I get bored, which has in the past made me feel faintly appalled at myself, but which now makes more sense. Certainly I have no interest in slasher-style gore in prose, because I find it uninteresting and it goes on a really long time, while I don't watch it in movies/TV because the visual is upsetting -- so if I was getting the visual from the prose I might react more emotionally. I am a fan of Stephen King but mostly his early work where he was shorter on suspense, and I was reading it because I liked the ideas and the characters. Carrie is super interesting because of the personalities involved, not because of the violence or the horror aspects. But I've never seen a movie adaptation and I can imagine I would be deeply unsettled if not distraught by certain scenes if depicted visually. Although I didn't find the Hannibal TV series super upsetting (I mostly was put off by how bad I imagined Will smelled) so perhaps body horror just doesn't do it for me.

This may also explain my hard-no on zombie media, because I'm not scared at all of zombies, I just find them boring and gross, and that leaves the post-apocalyptic humans. My hard-no on post-apocalypse anything is an aversion to imagining the end of my world, though, which isn't visual, it's conceptual, and not scary, just upsetting.

Like, people kept suggesting Zombies Run! to me when I was taking up running and -- well, one, I needed the music to keep my pace, I didn't want it interrupted. But two, I didn't see why a bunch of random groaning noises would make me run faster. If you could see zombies chasing you in your head, yeah, that'd probably be more motivating.

It kind of explains too why I haven't written much horror. I used to be very curious about how people worked out what's "scary" in horror prose and I guess part of the curiosity came from not experiencing it myself. It's tough to know how to write a scary story when stories don't scare you.

To be clear, I definitely experience fear. Reading Stephen King's "It" didn't really scare me, but there were scary moments in the film adaptations. I startle at jumpscares. There's plenty of stuff in real life that I'm scared of. And even podcasts -- I don't get mental images during podcasts like apparently most people do, but Magnus Archives got me with the "digging into your pre-existing fears" thing once or twice, and while I didn't finish The Left Right Game (I just got bored) the hitchhiker scene definitely got me. But I think, unless it's playing on something conceptual that already existed, yeah, I don't find prose particularly frightening.

Huh. This feels like the kind of thing that could have a significant impact on my creative output if I could crowbar my way into it. Knowing that I as an aphantic don't need descriptions that other people do has already, I think, impacted my editing process, but this feels like it maybe would somehow have an effect on the whole thing -- the fact that I don't experience emotions when reading in the same way other people do because I don't get the visuals is something to meditate on.

How the fuck did I ever even become a writer. Like what's up with that.

(Ironically it was X-Files fanfic. X-Files, a show that very much did scare me, for which I wrote and read a lot of fanfic, none of which did...yikes. Well, that's something to meditate on for the weekend.)

[evil-mcytblrconfessions]

honestly i just wanted to make a confessions blog. i have no clue if this is an original or even acceptable idea (im sorry if its not. thats why im not linking this to my main haha)

AHEM. do you love @mcytblrconfessions (unaffiliated)? do you get sad when they turn their asks off because theyve got a fucktonne of them (which is very valid, this is not me being upset at them for doing so)? do you wish that said blog was run by one (1) unstable dsmp fan who definitely doesnt write hermitcraft rpf? well too bad for you about that last one.

THIS IS THE BLOG WHERE ALL OF THAT IS REAL! why is this evil? i dont fucking know; it just is. send in all of your confessions (vaguely) related to mcyt! honestly if you send in something completely unrelated but i find it funny ill still post it bcs idk why not

i am fully expecting to just fucking die within a week. tumblrs already ruined my mental health; lets go for round 2 WOOOO

im your host cedar (pronounced like cheddar) and welcome to making bad decisions with me !

actually important stuff (im gonna pin this post):

- we do polls now apparently. add the 🗳️ emoji to your ask and yeah a poll will appear

- i will be stealing parts of mcytblrconfessions tagging system. PARTS.

- this blogs asks will be open WHENEVER mcytblrconfessions asks are closed. no matter how many asks i have in the inbox. theyll be thrown in queue and answered whenever.

- this blog is only evil because its funny ! please do not be a deplorable person! do not send in things such as: discourse-related, nsfw, drama/ragebaiting, being a fucking weirdo. just. yeah, use common sense please <3 there is non-zero chance that i will just block you <3

- yes thats a squishmallow in the pfp; hir name is éloïse.

[alexanderlightweight]

I was going through all of the writings that you have posted and rediscovered the Kelpie au. So if you have more of it that has not been posted, can we have another taste? I just love it

oh gosh so most of kelpie!au hasn't been posted because it's at like 20k and it's mostly smut.

so i'll have to post to ao3 and post links here probably

here we go! i picked something some that file with Cat & Alec since i wasn't sure if you wanted nsfw/sfw and i've only posted sfw for that fic so far i think

its finally named undertow because @saeths insisted

lumine

-

Brunch relaxes again and Cat thinks she could get used to this again, seeing her family happy and being happy with them

Later, when it’s more night than day and Ragnor has convinced Magnus to follow him to his library, Cat sits alone with Alec. 

“Tell me?” She asks quietly, hoping he will. Normally she would ask Magnus directly, but she never wants to put that look on his face again. 

“I’m not really sure I understand it. It doesn’t make sense to me. I mean I don’t know why Magnus does most things.” Alec pauses and takes a slow sip of his drink. .

“I’ve been mostly eating the foods Magnus is introducing me to, but it’s not quite the same. Most of it is delicious but it’s not filling. So he hunted me a meal, took me to a lovely little grotto and insisted on watching.

“It didn’t go well?” Cat asks in surprise. “Magnus has never been squeamish.” 

She, Ragnor and Magnus have all participated in the deep rituals. They’ve all eaten still beating hearts and cracked the bones of the Elders to suck down the marrow and claim the power in them. 

Alec scoffs and shakes his head. “No, he was actually pretty excited at first. And then I got about three bites in and got a mouthful of ash for the fourth. He disintegrated the body and dragged me home and then kissed the taste of blood from my mouth for hours before he let me sleep.”

Cat blinks. 

This is not the problem she was expecting.

“He tried to explain it. Something about how he can’t stand me being so intimate with anyone else.” Alec actually snorts, a dry sound, “apparently, even if it’s a corpse. Which is normally fine. Except eventually I’ll need to eat and it’s going to upset him. He’s already upset that he ruined my meal. He just also doesn’t regret it, which upsets him more. I think maybe he’s not used to having so little control of himself.”

Cat blows out a breath and looks across to where Ragnor and Magnus disappeared.  

“I’ll look into it, see if I can’t find something that will help keep you healthy until Magnus figures it out.” 

Alec shrugs, like it doesn’t really matter to him. 

“I don’t really mind. Magnus is the one who is really suffering.”

“Oh?” Cat asks with a raise of her brow and Alec grins, a mischievous little grin that just oozes smugness.

“No more blowjobs for him. I can’t control my instincts when I’m this hungry and neither of us want to risk his cock. He’ll break and find a way around it before I get too hungry. 

Cat laughs and shakes her head, relief flooding through her.

“Alright then. I’ll send over some tinctures and supplements. They’ll keep you healthy until this gets worked out. Ragnor and I will intervene if needed.” And they would, because to keep Magnus safe and sane, they needed Alec healthy and whole. 

Alec looks at her carefully and then he smiles, his-too-sharp-too-many teeth gleaming and Catarina remembers suddenly that he too is a predator.

And he chose to be prey. 

“Thank you, Catarina. But we’ll be fine. Magnus will figure out his instincts sooner or later. I’m very good at waiting.”

There is a wealth of hidden meaning and Cat nods, looking at Alec with a new light. 

“Call me Cat.” She offers, the first time she has and Alec nods, respectfully acknowledging the change. 

He reaches out and presses his knuckles to hers gently, “I’m Magnus’ Alexander, call me Alec.”

Magic sparks between them and Cat smiles as the magic of names settles smoothly between them.

Alec withdraws his knuckles and raps them against the second, empty glass with a sigh.

“I liked this one. Which one was it?”

She summons a new one and tells him. Alec takes a moment to stare at the glass in betrayal before he picks it up with a sigh.

“Magnus is going to be obnoxious, just so you know.” He warns and Cat smiles at the dry humor in his tone.

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I  liked the barley tea.” Alec rolls his eyes, “Magnus is going to take this as inarguable proof that he’s right.  Next thing I know, he’ll be trying to make me oats and molasses again. And I don’t think I’ll get away with accidentally knocking it off the balcony this time.” He gives her a morose, pathetic look. “He put up wards the third time I accidentally knocked food off. Apparently it landed on some mundane and nearly killed him. But Magnus was more worried about why I was being so clumsy than the mundane. I told him it was allergies and now he won’t even let me go to the park without warding me for protection… against pollen.” 

And Cat laughs. She’s still laughing when Ragnor and Magnus rejoin them. The pair are red cheeked and bright eyed and Cat knows they’ve had a delightful and scathing disagreement about literature.

Ragnor is clearly pleased to see her happy and Magnus flutters like a hummingbird. He presses a delighted kiss to her forehead and hugs her from behind for a moment and then darts over to Alec. He’s hovering around him, little tiny constant touches and Alec merely leans into them, smiling up at Magnus with a softness that transforms his face. 

Her boys are doing well and Cat finds she doesn’t mind adding another to the number she claims. 

Not this time.

[misskattylashes]

The Dichotomy of Being a Teenage Alex Turner Fan

In this article I look at why I think so many teenage fans direct so much hate towards Miles.

Look at this image search I did on Alex’s name. First person whose name comes up ‘Miles Kane’, first other person he is in another picture with, Miles...before a puff piece about Louise or Taylor. It’s Miles. There are more results with Miles than anyone else. Whether people like it or not, Miles and Alex are intrinsically linked.

In the words of the big man himself ‘stop and wait a sec’...... imagine Miles was Mila, a constant female companion of Alex’s who he had been close to for nearly twenty years. Had been at his side more than any other woman, had done two duets with him and whilst touring the second one, their performances were so sexually charged you thought any moment soon they were actually going to have sex on stage. What would you think? You would think they were or had been in a romantic relationship. And even though you haven’t seen much of them together over the past few years, Mila constantly talks lovingly about Alex in her interviews, and Alex invites Mila to be the support act for the final days of a very long world tour, and on one of the dates he lets Mila stand side-stage (something his official girlfriend doesn’t get to do) and throughout the set he sings to Mila and can’t stop glancing at her. People would be enamoured with their love story and desperate for them to be together.

So why is it different just because Miles is a guy?

Of course there is the obvious. If Alex is gay, then the teenage fans stand no chance with him, which would be upsetting. But even me, as a creaky old Gen X-er, had gay pop stars who were attractive and sexy – Holly Johnson and Paul Rutherford from Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Andy Bell from Erasure, even Boy George got screamed at, but we accepted they were gay and we didn’t stand a chance and that was it.

Of course, there was no social media then, but did we write hateful letters to them or their partners, or put up posters on street corners saying how disgusting they were? (the 80s equivalent to posting all over Twitter) No.

So why the anger towards Miles?

Unfortunately when I was growing up, homophobia was acceptable. Gay people were constantly the butt of jokes, straight comedians would pretend to be effette just for laughs. At school we even had the reprehensible Section 28, imposed by Thatcher’s government where any mention of homosexuality was banned, even books featuring gay characters, to apparently help prevent us from experimenting and catching AIDS (yes I grew up in the Dark Ages)

But there comes the rub. Because homophobia was acceptable, any negative feelings we had towards our gay pop stars or their partners wasn’t something we felt bad about so we felt no need to pick on anyone as a way of dealing with our own conflicted emotions

Fast forward to 2023. Gay people have rights, can marry, have children, are positively represented in the media, we have Pride, which is on the point of becoming too commercialised, and to be homophobic is to most young people not cool or acceptable.

Those same girls who spew hate towards Miles probably paint rainbows on their pencil cases during Pride, have male gay friends at school and would have a go at anyone who doesn’t support trans rights.

But then there is the fact that the celebrity they desire has a constant male companion, who he has been more publicly intimate with then any of the girlfriends he has had. Scratch beneath the surface and you can spot the differences in them when they fell out after EYCTE -both a shell of their former self. When there was a brief break in Lockdown in the UK, who did Alex choose to meet? Miles. Whether the fangirls consciously or subconsciously think there is something going on, it makes them feel uncomfortable with themselves. The presence of Miles Kane makes them realise they’re not necessarily that right-on girl who is into gay rights, because when they actually think about it, and think about what men do, they don’t like it.

But instead of realising that this is just part of being a grown up – we all have things about ourselves we don’t like, they direct their anger and frustration at Miles, as if he didn’t exist then they wouldn’t be confronted by these unpleasant feelings they have.

So, what I am trying to say is whilst I find the comments about Miles disgusting and cruel, just remember with these girls the person they really hate is themselves, while Miles lives his lovely life with his career and his friends and Alex and Maxie.

I think we know who is the winner here.

[arkus-rhapsode]

So I try to keep recent news out of my posts. Usually I like to wait for a situation to pan out to avoid snap judgements. But recently, some news has been playing out that really made me upset.

If you haven’t heard, SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) had recently signed a deal with an AI voice production company known as Replica Studios for licensing actor’s voices in video games.

This is coming off the massive strike where SAG was fighting against things like AI implementation in film and script development. Though the claim is that this will be an “ethical” implementation of the technology. And the irony and backlash was quite apparent. But the important thing that should be obvious to everyone is the ones this affects the most, voice actors.

This article by Forbes has many links to some of the people I’ll be citing and their reactions. So please check that out if you want a more professional run down: https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2024/01/10/video-game-voice-actors-criticize-sag-aftra-over-agreement-with-ai-company/amp/

So the reaction from VAs has been pretty understandably upset. Well known VAs like Steve Blum, Veronica Taylor, Allegra Clark, and Brenden Blaber. Expressing disappointment in the union and that this opening a gateway for video game companies to cut use their voices without actually needing them to record. Now this deal is for just Replica Studios, but it’s still very disheartening that this was a concession.

Now I am not an actor. My career and life doesn’t hinge on the choices of millionaires running film production companies and what policies or investments they make that would require me seek out a union’s protection. Any discussion around how SAG itself internally operates and it’s treatment of certain professions over others is not my place to talk about. I instead implore you to listen to people have been a VA and part of that Union and listen to their experience with them. So why make this post? I’m not particularly important or an influencer. Well the answer is simply I love voice acting and care about it as a profession. Even if I’m not one, I can’t tell you how so many of my favorite moments in fiction/media were elevated by someone’s acting. And this is prominent in video games.

This blog has many times devoted itself to live blogs and posts about games. Games like Fire Emblem Three Houses, Persona 5, and Danganronpa. Games with noticeable voice acting involved in their presentation and their narratives. And in my experience some of those performances are tied to some of the enjoyment and identity of the game. And it sucks knowing how all those things you love or admire can potentially be replaced by machines. When there was a union that had been fighting to avoid things like this for on screen actors.

I cannot imagine the hurt this has caused for people’s whose job is to be a professional VA, and you are hearing about companies in the video game sphere like Square Enix and Microsoft going hard in AI. I can imagine many are scared for their livelihoods. And knowing how greedy or unscrupulous some game companies can get, the possibility they go through with AI will be not in the favor of “ethics” it’s in the favor of profits.

All I can say is that im a VA fan. And I know plenty of games that have been elevated by their voice acting. And I will say that voice acting is acting. It is an art form that deserves the same amount of protection as screen actors.

Please support the VAs. Even if you don’t think about it as much, if there’s a character you liked in Persona or Fire Emblem game, please check out who is doing those voices. Because their work is part of the experience.

[knickynoo]

BTTF: The Animated Series, s01ep02, "A Family Vacation" Review and Commentary

Previous episodes will get linked HERE. (top of page)

I didn't mention in my last post, but I have seen the first season before--about 2 years ago. I have basically no memory of it (I guess my brain was like, "yeah, no, we don't need this" and just dumped it), so this is a lot like watching again for the first time. Never seen the second season, so that'll be all new to me.

In this episode: We travel to England, Doc duels with one of Biff's ancestors, and we meet Marty's goofy relative Harold McFly.

Ok, let's jump in.

Interesting. I thought all these episodes began with Real Doc in his lab, but this one seems to skip that part and goes straight to animation. Christopher Lloyd is narrating, though, which is nice, I suppose. Still not as good as getting to actually see him. Automatic points deducted from this episode for not immediately showing me Doc's face. More Real Doc, less cartoon, please. Thanks.

I am thrilled to announce that we have found Clara! (she did not appear at all in episode 1) She's voiced by none other than Clara herself, Mary Steenburgen.

As you may be able to tell, she's shed her 1885 attire in favor of modern clothes. And right away, we learn that she's become super tech-savvy as well. The Brown house has many futuristic features to it (either from Doc's travels or his own inventions) and Clara is using two of them here. The device on her leg allows her to work out without actually having to move, and the thing on her finger has some sort of laser feature that allows her to grade school papers on a screen across the room. And I can only wonder how it is that Clara has managed to get a job teaching in a modern school—not so much because of any gaps in knowledge she may have (Clara's super smart, I'm sure she could catch up) but because I'm wondering about the interview process. Surely she must have had to show identification and fill out forms. I can only assume that Doc has gotten forged documentation somehow for his entire family with made up birth years, medical records, etc.

I would have liked an episode about that. Kids would've enjoyed an episode all about Doc creating fake birth records for his wife and kids, right? Right??

Elsewhere in the house, Jules and Verne are busy playing with remote control cars and an elaborate model train set. Hmm...seems like this episode is setting up lots of scenes with technology in preparation to give us the ol' "too much tech is bad for you" lesson.

Our good buddy Doc is even in on the tech craze. He's busy building robot arms that will turn newspaper pages for him so he doesn't have to do it himself, lol. Unfortunately, this causes a power surge, and all the lights in the house go off. The family is not happy. Doc comes to the realization that they've all become spoiled by technology. He declares that they all need to take a vacation to a time without electricity and ushers them to the DeLorean.

As the car flies off into the sky, Marty and Jennifer are walking down the street.

Um. That's—that's Jennifer. Yeah. I don't know what happened there. Her design upsets me. Marty is still in his silly letterman jacket. I'm thisclose to photoshopping a denim jacket onto him. Why is he wearing high-waisted jeans?

As they watch the car, Marty tells Jennifer, "I don't guess we'll be borrowing the car tonight." So, apparently, he's allowed to take the DeLorean through time all willy-nilly whenever he wants? That sounds like an absolutely horrible idea.

Doc takes the fam to England in 1367 because I guess he figures a good dose of dysentery will help put things in perspective for them? Anyway, he uses this high-tech camera thing to "change" all their clothes into Medieval ones. He says it's only an illusion that lasts a few hours, though. Idk, don't think about it too hard. To ensure the family all stays put and "enjoys" the trip, he programs the DeLorean to fly away, back to present day, and return later on to pick them up. There is no way that can possibly go wrong.

Clara is not happy with her husband.

"Of all the pig-headed, insensitive, macho things you've ever done, this takes the cake," she says. And. Can we just talk about how un-Doc-like those descriptors are? Insensitive? Macho?? OUR DOC? Cartoon Clara and Doc have a weird dynamic in this so far. I don't like the exasperated wife with a bumbling, inconsiderate husband trope.

We soon meet Lord Biffingham, Earl of Tannenshire. If you read my episode 1 review, you know that Thomas F. Wilson voices all Tannens in the show. He's really a bright spot in this series because the guy can do so many fun voices. We'll meet many more Tannen relatives in the show—Biff evidently has family roots all over the globe. Lord Biffingham orders Clara to be kidnapped by his cronies. Uh oh. Doc is also kidnapped. Double uh oh! It's up to Jules and Verne to save the day now.

They soon meet one of Marty's relatives! Harold McFly of the Sussex McFlys. Here they are all hanging upside down in a tree because they got caught in rope traps.

Those are traps Harold set, btw. He caught himself in his own trap. I love him already. Harold tells the boys that he's vowed revenge against Biffingham for stealing away "his lady" Jennivere (assumed to be one of Jennifer's relatives due to the name and fact she is literally just the Jennifer character from the earlier scene but in Medieval clothing). They team up to try to sneak into Biffingham's castle to rescue Doc, Clara, and Jennivere.

Meanwhile, Lord Biffingham asks Clara to marry him. First, though, he has to kill Doc. Yep. So far, we've had a Civil War episode featuring guns being pointed at Jules and Verne, and now a murder plot. Very fun.

Doc, however, isn't too concerned with his predicament. He's locked in a dungeon, having a grand ol' time identifying various bugs and rodents by their scientific names. And while I can't see Real Doc being quite so calm in such a time of crisis, I can see him taking breaks from his panic to be like, "Oooh, rattus norvegicus." (That's literally just a Brown Rat, btw. Doc is fascinated at seeing it.)

We go back to Marty Harold, Jules, and Verne, who are enacting their plot to infiltrate the castle. Harold sings and says some things to the guards, but I can only understand like a third of the words coming out his mouth because of his exaggerated accent. Harold what are you saying.

Lord Biffingham prepares for a jousting tournament against Doc, during which he plans to "eliminate" Doc. Biffingham has this massive horse, tons of fancy armor, and a huge sword thing. Doc has this:

I mean. I dunno, I believe in you, Doc.

Jules and Verne show up just in time to rig Doc's pathetic little "horse" with their motorized car that they snuck on the trip, which makes it go super fast. He's able to avoid Biffingham's attacks for a while, but eventually gets captured. Biffingham orders Doc, Jules, Verne, Harold, and even poor Einstein to be executed.

Doc makes a joke about himself and the boys being the first people to ever die before they were born and I just. I feel like this isn't the time for jokes, Doc? Your children are about to die and also—ALSO!—one of Marty's relatives, thus causing him to never be born in the future. Your vacation is destroying entire family lineages, Doc. This show belongs in the horror genre.

It's Clara who ends up saving the guys just in time! She and Jennivere use a ton of fabric to somehow make a hot air balloon, and they throw ropes down and fly the gang away.

With everyone free, Harold and Jennivere are reunited! He says it isn't safe for them to stay in England but he doesn't know where they can go. Doc suggests *drum roll* Ireland! And there are several things that come to my mind here.

One of Marty's relatives and one of Jennifer's relatives got married in the 1300s, moved to Ireland, and had kids—establishing the McFly family line in Ireland.

According to this, Doc is the one who caused the McFlys to even go there in the first place. So. How did they end up there originally? I guess Harold and Jennivere eventually decided on Ireland as well on their own.

It's Clara who helps to free Jennivere from the castle. Who got her out in the original timeline? Maybe Harold?

Shhh, Nikki, it's a cartoon

Anyway, Harold and Jennivere fly off to Ireland right that very moment in the hot air balloon.

Byeee! Goodbye Harold and Jennivere! Enjoy life in Ireland, you crazy kids.

I miss Seamus. I wish he was in this cartoon. That would make it better, I think.

Wait, wait. I just got sidetracked looking at the Animated Series wiki, and it turns out the opening live-action segment of Doc from this episode was cut from the DVDs, which is where I'm watching this on. It was apparently of him flying above Hill Valley in a hot air balloon. Why was this stolen from me?

Let's wrap this up. We finally get to see Real Doc! We also get one of my absolute favorite gags in all of media. And that is: when a character falls from a big height or is getting dragged or spun around and it's very obviously a fake, stuffed dummy. I cannot describe how much this gag amuses me. It is the peak of comedy, and more shows and movies should use it. Look.

It is hysterical. I watched this gif loop upwards of 15 times.

Based on the context I now have regarding the removed opening segment, it appears that Doc fell from his hot air balloon. He recovered from the lethal plummet like a champ. Must be due to the medical overhaul in 2015.

Bill Nye then shows us how to make our own hot air balloon using a plastic bag and hair dryer. That's basically the end of the episode.

Overall, I'd rank this episode as being better than the previous one. I did miss Marty, though; he was only in those 10 seconds at the beginning. But Harold was a fun guy. I like that they're keeping with the "all of Marty's relatives look just like him" thing. (Except for Arthur and George, of course)

Join me next time to see dinosaurs wearing clothes.

[writeious-hand]

Holding Out for a Hero: Part 5

Beep Boop - I rewatched the movie on Paramount + (its an extended cut, btw) and found inspiration to continue on.

Xenk X Cleric!OC, expanding the movie further along with Sword Coast, using dnd logic in a story format.

As always, No Beta, we die like Edgin's Wife.

IDK how to link the previous parts, I don't post THAT often so you should be able to find them on my page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

His head felt... cloudy. Light.

Actually, his entire body felt that way.

Immediately sitting upright and opening his eyes was not his best idea, however.

He could feel the tenderness of a freshly healed wound, the phantom pain that tended to linger after a wound was healed with magic.

The battle. The cursed Nor'enth. Alariel!

His last memory was of her leaning over him, hair falling from the braid to frame her concerned face. He had said something to her, but he wasn't- No. How many times had he told the same advice to recovering criminals? The most harmful lies are the ones you tell yourself.

Xenk could remember his blather, the weakness he had shown at being close to her again. Of course, he had just been stabbed in the back by an assassin, but that was no excuse. Had she noticed?

Looking around at the tent he was in, he was surprised to see the chair by his bedside was occupied by the object of his thoughts. At first, he had felt his heart jump at her open eyes, until her lack of movement or focus on him made her state of trance apparent. He hadn't traveled with many full-blooded elves since they had traveled together. Xenk had for a moment forgotten the trance of the elves, their ability to go for much longer without a full sleep as mortals did.

He had been lost in his memories, seeing her sitting there. Xenk had reached a hand towards hers, which lingered on the edge of the cot he had been placed on when there was a quiet *ahem*. Not quite sure why he felt embarrassed being caught in the situation, his hand jerked away from it's intended destination and he had trouble looking the bard in the eyes.

"If you were wondering why it's me and not say, Simon, its because we drew lots and I got the short stick."

"I would expect you to want to bask in my discomfort."

Edgin uncrossed his arms and moved to help Xenk by passing him his overcoat. "Yeah, but when Little Miss Sunshine over there stormed in earlier, she scared Holga."

"I find it doubtful that it was true fear."

"Yeah well," Edgin turned his back as Xenk finished getting his clothes together "Let's just say Holga thought her small-clothes were in a twist."

Xenk turned sharply, "Holga could see her undergarments?"

"No! No, she could just tell how upset she was. If you had been awake for the tongue-lashing you were given - and no she didn't actually hit you with her tongue - you wouldn't have been staring at her like that when I walked in." Edgin moved to his side, "What's up with that, by the way. You certainly weren't looking at her like you were the one to end the relationship."

Xenk turned back to the sleeping elleth. He could not hide the tenderness in his eyes, nor the deep sadness. Even if his oath forbade it, Xenk was a bad liar. "Weakness. She was always my weakness."

"Oh," Edgin paused with him "You didn't like feeling weak so you ditched her. At least I now know what makes Mr.Perfect-"

"That is not why I had to leave Alariel."

Edgin was egging him on, "Well if you say it like that-"

"You also know my surname is Yendar."

"Maybe you should explain it a bit more, to make sure no one gets the wrong idea." Edgin sat in another empty seat by a thankfully empty cot.

"I once gave you advice. To drag your lady... Your lady-love back to her old life is to deprive her of her new one. Alariel and I had started our journey together under the guise of traditional party members. There were others with us, but they came and went, our missions were so aligned that it made sense to stick together. Until it wasn't."

Xenk could feel the memories threatening to drown him. "But somewhere in-between that you two fell in love." Edgin looked confused.

"That's what I said."

Edgin was confused.

"So you loved her because she had the same goals as you?"

"No."

"Okay, maybe start at the beginning."

So Xenk began the tale of his engagement with Alariel.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

See where this is going? Now I get to write knight fluff. :)

[severus-snape-apreciation-blog]

Apparently telling someone that the issue isn’t the Harry Potter game and wishing death on every player isn’t okay. And that the real issue is the governments especially the US one and asking why they aren’t getting angry at them. Commenting to the governors instead of getting mad at strangers online who don’t want to crucify their 50+y dads. Could result in them proving they are worse then the game players.

(There is a poll at the bottom)

Telling someone you will watch as they get raped and killed doesn’t make you a good person. I believe people mad about the game are good people. Y’all have reason to be. I just look at the situation differently that the government is a hugely different problem. And it’s proving so. If someone disagrees with me I’m okay with that. But to tell me to die. Or kill myself or that you will watch as I get raped by Nazis. Tells me. You are not as good a person as you think you are. You are just as bad as the Nazis. Cause that is beyond messed up to say to someone.

Even said to me that I’m a traitor to my gender and the community doesn’t accept me. That’s also fucked up to say. Not as much. But still not good. You pretend you have the moral high ground. But ignored everything I said in these comments. Which tells me I’m right. It’s not that you have the moral high ground. You want to feel as you do. Because people that actually care. Would care about how Florida wants to kill parents who let their kids be trans. Or one state banned all reaffirming care for everyone under 18. And if above are not allowed to have any mental illness. Or that trans people are not allowed in the correct bathrooms. And have to put their lives in danger just to go to the bathroom. Cause a dad might not understand why a buff man is using the woman’s bathroom. Or what’s happening to Zooey Zepher. Or the fact that all “pro trans” business have been really quiet and proving they aren’t really. Except funny enough. BudLight

@penisgoblin

Anyone who wants to read the full Exchange it’s under one of my posts explaining where Sirona comes from (also before anyone sparks that again. It’s not a transphobic name. But was a horrible choice for them to do)

For everyone wanting to learn more about real issues going on that are really anti trans here’s a link of all anti trans laws they are doing

I would post more articles but the apps not letting me paste atm so feel free to google it

To address some of the other stuff expressed to me in the comments.

Someone told me the whole gaming and media industry isn’t needed and that they would be okay if the whole thing collapsed. I will explain why it is needed. People watch/play for many reasons. It builds serotonin. Entertainment and joy are vital in helping lowering suicide and depression.

And the media industry is one of the biggest in the US and it is hugely vital for the economy. The writers strike will help cause another depression (not blaming the writers but the asses that refuse to pay them) and people don’t even realize that outside the writers that are striking. Thousands of others are losing their jobs. Editors. Animators. Costume design. Set design. My sister. (No seriously she lost her job editing frames for shows)

If the entire industry collapsed so would the US. and even other country’s. The sad part is when I explained that. They didn’t even care. They don’t care that people will go homeless and starve with their families. It was messed up.

Or one person said they hoped everyone who played the game or worked on it dies.

Saying stuff like this shows me you are on a false moral high ground. That you are just as bad or worse then the people you are upset at.

Disclaimer: I do not support jk assface. She is a cunt and a bitch. I understand why people are upset about the game. I am not disagreeing or mad at you. I personally have never played the game. Will I someday? Idk. Probably not. I am Non Binary and Pan. I am more upset at the US government then my elderly father.

[gwyns]

It seems like e/riel’s can’t handle Gwyn’s popularity. I wasn’t in the fandom when Silver Flames came out, but apparently within a week of the book being released there was tons of fan art and praise towards her character. Gwyn really does seem to be loved by many in the fandom. The only people I’ve seen that are anti Gwyn are e/riel’s, which to me, is both sad and embarrassing. Not liking a character is fine, but not liking a character only because they’re a potential love interest is so stupid. They can’t come up with a reason as to why they’re so anti with her character other than she’s possibly a love interest. I have seen a few though that make fun of Gwyn by calling her “ribbon cutter” because of her being tied to Illyria and how she’s going to “save Illyria”, which I don’t think any Gwynriel has even said that she would. Most E/riel’s give off toxic mean girl behavior. Gwyn is probably the most unproblematic character in the series.

hey look it popped back up! first, let me link my previous post about this here. now, onto the rest of your message...

i have never seen any gwynriel say that gwyn will "save" illyria. literally no one wants that lol we don't want a white savior story. i've only ever seen gwynriels discuss her being there with az to help try and sort out the conflict there, that's it. anyone with half an ounce of critical thinking would understand that it's better if someone who is actually illyrian helped settle that matter

gwyn is literally the most unproblematic character in this series, like genuinely the saying "they did nothing wrong ever" only applies to her and emerie in my opinion. like i love other characters and personally think they acted in the best ways they could at times so i don't fault them for any of it, but you hopefully know what i mean

e/riels are the most toxic group i've ever encountered but unfortunately the sjm fandom as a whole has become very toxic. not to sound my age but i miss the old days when it was more about discussing the books in a healthy manner and sharing things you created for it. were there arguments? sure. did people have bad taste even then? as a chaol stan, i can fully say yes, but it was never this bad. it upsets me, like i've said before, this fandom used to be my safe space. it brought me so much joy and now it just makes me anxious most of the time. of course there are beautiful people here and i appreciate every single one of you but it can be tough some days, as i'm sure we're all aware

but, and not to sound too dramatic, we'll get through it together and be stronger because of it 🥰

[missnight0wl]

Buckle up - there's a whole flood of datamined story chapters! Peregrine seems to be possessed, due to a cursed amulet. Don't know how to feel about all of this. I think I'd prefer for him to just have turned evil on his own, and not because of a cursed amulet. And Rakepick is nowhere to be seen during those chapters either. Sigh. And Merula took the crown from the sunken vault? There are so many unexplained issues. Coral key, Rakepick losing her pin... Curious what you make out of all of this!

First of all, sorry for the late reply!

Now, you might’ve seen this already, but I talked about the amulet already in this post, so I’m not gonna repeat myself. I just want to add that I agree with you, and I’d like it better if Peregrine turned evil “naturally”. I don’t know, the explanation with the cursed amulet simply feels lazy. Especially in its current form because JC is super sloppy about it. So, as a result, I feel like it doesn’t even explain much.

I also mentioned in the linked post that JC apparently ignores their previous plans for the story again. In one of the options in Azkaban, Rakepick can tell us that R wants to “save the world”, which suggests that R wants to execute Ryusaki’s original plan with traumatic memories. Yet it wasn’t even mentioned by Peregrine, so… I’m afraid it means we’d just have to accept that some things will not be explained at all. The Coral key is probably one of them. Rakepick losing her pin probably too… Although I had a random thought right now that maybe Peregrine used it to copy the pins for his members (I’m thinking here about these datamined models). I theorised in the past that Peregrine started using the Eye of Ra to further frame Rakepick, but I have to admit that I don’t have much hope for it anymore. I suppose it’s more likely that they decided to ruin this symbolism entirely.

There are a couple more things about the datamines you didn’t mention, but I want to address, but… I might make yet another separate post for that. But one thing you mentioned I do want to address is Merula taking the Crown from the Sunken Vault. Because… seriously? I mean, I was totally expecting that she did something in there, and I talked about it in my commentary post. But now it turns out that she simply drank some potion, so the curse in the Vault wouldn’t hurt her. And I have to ask:

Could the Sunken Vault be any lamer??

Like, JC already made it super lame. You just have to dive into the Black Lake and then you don’t even need any help because the Vault’s location was marked with the trident. Then, you have to blow up some rocks and fight Grindylows, but none of it is particularly difficult. And at last, you might get defeated by a pretty terrible curse, but you’re still not totally helpless in this situation because… there’s a potion to deal with it. A freaking potion.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure this potion was difficult to brew and whatnot. But… it just feels too simple. Couldn’t they at least say that Merula had to master Occlumency for that? Especially since there actually are hints about it in the plot (Merula seems to know a lot about Veritaserum, and it was even said in the game that Veritaserum can be used to learn Occlumency). Seriously, it’s so incredibly disappointing, in my opinion. But the Sunken Vault was quite disappointing in general, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.

And I think that’s it, at least for now! I’m sorry my reply is not more detailed, but as I said, the issue of Ryusaki’s amulet was already addressed separately. And I didn’t want to mix you there. On the other hand, the rest of the things on my mind is not really connected to what we talk about here. But if you’re curious about it, I hope you’ll stay tuned!

But anyway, I think the main conclusion we have to take from this is that… JC doesn’t really know what they’re doing anymore. It’s quite sad, but not surprising, I suppose.

Oh, and I'm also upset that Rakepick is not in the upcoming chapters :< I'd love to see her again, even if it'd be through more memories.

[kaijutegu]

What can a picture of an angry snake really teach you?

When you see a picture of an angry snake on social media, it’s a very striking visual. The curved teeth, the tension in the coils and neck– it definitely catches the eye. But is it fair to the snake?

When you’re posting animal content, is it ever ok to post a picture of an animal in obvious distress? I personally think that there are times when it’s actually very valuable to post images of an upset animal, provided that:

It’s well explained and the condition that led to the animal’s distress was necessary.

The distress wasn’t prolonged any longer than it had to be for the animal’s overall health and well-being.

The human is in control of the situation at all times and isn’t putting themselves, the animal, or anyone else at risk while photography is happening.

One of the things that people like Jay Brewer/The Reptile Zoo/Prehistoric Pets likes to share on social media that gets me so upset is Jay provoking female constrictors for no apparent reason when they’re on their eggs. He claims that he does this to remove them so that he can properly incubate the eggs. That in and of itself isn’t a bad thing, but the way he does it is dangerous to both the snake and himself. Personally, I don’t care if he gets bitten, but this isn’t remotely the educational content he likes to think he promotes. I’m not going to link to his social media accounts because attention is a currency, and I don’t want to drive any traffic his way, but here’s some stills that show what I mean.

In this video, Brewer was talking about getting bit in the face while poking at a nest-guarding female by himself with a small snake hook. The responsible way to go about this is to have at least three handlers: two to move the female’s heavy body, while one uses a plexiglass shield to gently hold her face down. A hook is simply not enough to handle an animal this size, and nobody should be attempting to handle an animal this size alone. (Note: I’m not touching on his husbandry here. That’s bad for many other reasons. But what I want to focus on is why he’s showing off an angry snake.) At the start of the video, he’s not even using the snake hook correctly; when you’re working with a distressed snake, the point of the hook is to gently control the head to limit the animal’s ability to strike and ability to hurt itself by striking into something hard.

Anyways, what does he have to say about this video?

Do you learn anything from this? The video is just him talking about how it’s unpleasant to be bitten in the face. It’s all hashtags with no explanation of what he’s doing and why, and there’s none of that in the video either. You learn nothing from this content, despite him claiming to be an animal educator.

Just because you say you’re an educator does not make you one. If the content you’re posting isn’t educational, you’re not educating.

But I truly think that showing animal body language and talking about distress can be educational. Take this instance, posted in the Advancing Herpetological Husbandry group on Facebook:

I think this is a really good example of an educational post featuring a distressed animal. It explains why the animal is distressed: she was defensive over having been removed from her pond so that her enclosure could be cleaned– necessary for the continued well-being of the animal. The picture was taken in the enclosure before the removal process began in earnest, and the caretakers went in with a plan to ensure that neither snake nor humans were injured. And perhaps most importantly, it shows an important reality of keeping large constrictors. Normally when this person posts, his snakes are very chill and relaxed. But when you have an animal that’s potentially quite dangerous, it’s important for people to understand that even though he makes it look easy, caring for these animals isn’t a walk in the park.

[buck-yyyy]

my complete, organized thoughts on volume two of stranger things.

spoiler alert: i'm really fuckin upset.

obvious spoiler warning for under the cut.

so. where to begin. lets start with... well, there's too much i'm disappointed in to pick a notable one to lead the pack, sooo a random one it is:

continuity between the seasons

there was none. there were so many plot holes and things left unmentioned from previous seasons that were important and completely left out. starting with will's birthday- what the hell? they made a specific point to mention it in season two. it was important enough to be one of the few confirmed birthdays in the cast of characters (actually, is it the only? a quick google search tells me that apparently, of the main kids, only mike and will have a confirmed birth date, and of the two, only will's was actually mentioned in the show). and yet, they somehow forgot it- with a team of hundreds of people, no one caught the fact that the date they used at rink-o-mania was one of the few dates ever mentioned in the show.

moving on from that fiasco, we have the fact that the upside down's air is harmful. they have to use hazmat suits in season one, in order to safely enter the upside down without getting sick. hopper gets sick in season two from the particles, when he's in the tunnels. yet, when steve/robin/nancy/eddie/dustin go into the upside down this season, they're perfectly fine with no masks or anything? that makes ZERO sense. there are a million other continuity errors, but i simply do not have time to name them all.

chekhov's gun

for those unaware, chekhov's gun is "a dramatic principle that suggests that details within a story or play will contribute to the overall narrative. This encourages writers to not make false promises in their narrative by including extemporaneous details that will not ultimately pay off by the last act, chapter, or conclusion" (courtesy of masterclass.com). in even simpler terms: a detail that was important enough to be brought up in the story isn't going to be shelved and ignored. it's a fairly important concept in writing; it confuses the audience when you bring something up then don't ever address it again. so why did that happen so much this season?

hopper's broken ankle wasn't ever addressed after he escaped from prison, even though an injury to that particular body part is detrimental to one's mobility (trust me- i ran cross country for years. when i fucked up my ankle, even a little bit, like simply twisting it the wrong way, i couldn't run. and while his situation was life or death, there was NO MENTION of it). max's letters were unopened and unread, except for billy's- so why did they chose to make such a big point of her writing them for everyone of her friends? mike's behaviour at the airport was COMPLETELY unexplained, and just made him more of a douchebag this season. and again, the upside down particles and the general atmosphere of the upside down being harmful was completely ignored.

all of these things add to the shoddy continuity, and lazy writing of this season- particularly volume two.

max's story line

what. the. fuck. i am so beyond angry at this. volume one featured max, a deeply traumatized girl struggling with PTSD, survivors guilt, and suicidal thoughts, choosing life and deciding to fight as hard as she could to survive. that story was and IS so deeply personal to me. however, they chose to resolve that plot by having her FUCKING DIE as a self-sacrifice. i should NOT need to explain to you why that's so shitty.

harmful tropes/stereotypes - part one

so, i'm dividing this one into two parts, one for what i'm about to bring up and another to put with all my byler/queer rep thoughts (i told you it'd be organized :0). this season (although this is NOT the first time), they employed SEVERAL overused stereotypes for POC as a main feature of various character's stories. i'm the first to admit that i am not the best person to talk about this, because i'm white, so i'm going to link a post by meembyers, who did a quick summary of the tropes.

mike and eleven's relationship

i'm going to be upfront about this, i'm particularly biased on this front because i'm a byler shipper, but hey- none of this is unbiased. you clicked to read this because of bias. plus, i don't think any milkvans follow me, so whatever.

their relationship has deteriorated to the point that it is genuinely laughable. i used to think that it was so that they could set up byler, but i now i don't fucking know whether that's actually what they're trying to do or if the duffer brothers just can't fucking write a good relationship between the two characters- we've seen them do well with lumax, so what the hell is the problem with el and mike?

if we're forgetting about byler for this analysis, their relationship is such. a mess. mike couldn't say 'i love you' for months, and in fact has never said it properly to her face in a way that she could respond to. he says it himself, that he practically worships her. there's a complete disconnect in his mind between jane, a very real girl who is in love with him and just wants a happy relationship with him, and eleven, the teenage superhero who can move things with her mind.

mike is the first person that she met outside of the lab. everything that she liked was just stuff that he liked. el latched on to him because she was a traumatized, abused child who had no one else in her life, nowhere safe to go. she didn't know what a boyfriend was, let alone the meaning behind a romantic relationship- and while we can see that this is what she wants now, that is not at all how it started.

mike has been reduced to nothing more than el's boyfriend. he has no development- even when he finally managed to say 'i love you', it was only because will told him to, encouraged him. and again- he has never been able to say it in an environment where she can respond to it.

mike's character assassination

i said it in the above paragraph, and i'll say it again- mike has been reduced to simply being el's boyfriend. gone is the mike of season one and two, the mike who yelled at his friends for being the only one who cared about finding will, the mike who stepped off a fucking cliff to protect dustin, the mike who could instantly tell whenever something was wrong with will, the mike who tried so hard to carry will out of the lab when hopper had to go back for joyce. all of that is gone.

he's one-dimensional, a massive jerk to his friends, painfully oblivious (and not in the funny or plot-moving way), and again- he only cares about el.

i mean, for fucks sake, he couldn't even tell that will was sobbing in the van next to him. season two mike would have noticed instantly and tried to make things better- but nope. none of that.

the fucking queerbaiting? what the fuck?

holy fucking shit it was bad. it was. so bad.

QUEER PEOPLE ARE NOT AN ADVERTISING TACTIC.

i mean, for fucks sake, i don't even want to talk about this. it might sound stupid, especially to casual viewers (although, lets be honest, what casual viewer is reading this- it's longer than essays i've written for a grade), but i feel so, so heartbroken. i've linked a post i made last night about why byler meant so much to me, if you want any extra context, but it's really not necessary to read.

https://hey-its-bucky.tumblr.com/post/688553205043511296/this-will-probably-be-my-last-post-before-i-go

queerbaiting is fucking horrendous. i'm not going to talk about any more. it makes me genuinely sick to my stomach to think about.

harmful tropes/stereotypes - part two

now, this one is about queer stereotypes- and this, i feel like i'm equipped to speak about, with my own personal experiences.

will's whole story line this season was an overused trope. it was the 'gay person is in love with their best friend, but oh no the love is unrequited, so gay person steps up as the "bigger person" and hides their feelings and helps best friend with their relationship while feeling broken inside' mixed with a little bit of 'sad gay boy' and then some 'in love with a straight person' thrown in for spice.

i'm not going to say that this doesn't happen. that would be a lie. this is word for word, something that i experienced. but that doesn't mean that it isn't a trope or a stereotype.

some people are going to fit a stereotype, and as long as that's actually who the person is and not just a caricature of them, that's okay. the issue arises when it's the only thing we see in the media, because it reinforces the idea that there's only one type of gay person.

i'm not going to go into this much more, because i know a large portion of people on this website are queer and very much understand what i'm talking about, but if you're really curious you can do some research on your own.

and, now, for the grand finale of my rant:

will's feelings for mike being used as a plot device

dear fucking god.

they used will's feelings for mike as a way to push mike towards saying 'i love you' to el. his personal connection, his love for mike, was only seen to progress a straight relationship. again- i should NOT have to tell you why that's problematic.

conclusion

i'm so tired, guys. physically, because it's 12:40 am, i've been writing this for an hour and a half, and i got like. five and a half hours of sleep last night. but i'm tired mentally, too.

i'm so fucking sick of the treatment of queer characters in media. i'm sick of lazy writing. i'm sick of stereotypes, of poorly-thought out decisions, and especially: I'M SO FUCKING SICK OF QUEERBAITING.

i'm tired, and i'm angry, and most of all, i'm disappointed. so, immensely disappointed.

i'm going to bed. i hope this all made sense. i'm sorry to those of you who feel the same way as me, because we all deserved better. best of luck to everyone. take some time for yourself- it might seem silly, but i know how much disappointment on this scale hurts. remember to drink water, and, of course:

fuck the duffer brothers.

[zhenjun]

white people, your cosplay is yellowface

Content warning: images of yellowface that may be upsetting below

Note: I have made the decision to remove the images of modern-day cosplayers. I stand by my initial choice to include them, as I believe actually seeing images of modern cosplay side by side with “real” yellowface was essential to understanding the point. However, this post has gotten much more attention than I ever anticipated. I had, at the time of making it, fewer than 30 followers.

In addition to harassment from sockpuppet accounts, assertions that my opinion on racism is less important because I am in the diaspora, misinterpretation about what this post was initially about (several people claimed cultural appropriation), threats to report and suspend me, and, apparently, discussion on twitter, for my own mental health, I am taking these images down.

I will no longer be responding to criticism or questions on the post, but I will happily answer DMs or asks on the subject. If you disrespect this or try to start more discourse, you are getting blocked, not because I want to silence your voice, but because I am a real person who can choose not to engage with people for reasons as seemingly unfair as my mental health and not wanting to continue filling my blog with the same post that honestly is upsetting for me to look at (as I already stated within the post).

If you have been blocked by me it is either due to disrespect and/or some form of unrelated drama due to how I like to interact with fandoms (i.e. ships like Ch*ngxian, Xu*xiao), not because I am trying to silence you. As I have so few followers, I am sure you can make your own post and gain even more traction than I did.

If you are white, please stop cosplaying MDZS/TGCF characters. It often looks like/is yellowface, and honestly there’s no way to respectfully do it when these media are based so heavily on Chinese culture. I’ll try to sum up why these fandoms need to be more mindful. You can find links and citations at the bottom that read best on my desktop blog theme.

The goal of yellow face in the past wasn’t always to look “authentically Asian;” white directors, actors, set designers, and playwrights set out to use what pieces of East Asian culture they found most inspiring, fun, cool, violent, or backward. Sometimes, white people had "good" intentions" with their use of yellowface and were not "trying" to demean our cultures, but the practice itself did so regardless.

To summarize, white people of the past did yellowface to erase our identities, take aspects of our culture that they liked, or ridicule us. Most modern-day cosplayers are doing the first two.

Below are examples of early Hollywood yellowface and modern-day theater, as well as modern-day cosplay:

[Previously pictured was a white Xie Lian cosplayer who was very receptive after seeing this post and has since removed these images from their social media. If you happen upon any of their cosplay or other social media, please do not send them any hate.]

As you can see actress Katharine Hepburn in “Dragon Seed”[1][2] is in very traditionally inspired Chinese clothing. The previously pictured Xie Lian cosplayer was in a similar hat and wearing white robes. They both had some sort of eye makeup; Katharine Hepburn darkened her hair for the role while the cosplayer was wearing a dark-brown/black wig.

Of note, the character Katharine Hepburn plays in "Dragon Seed" is supposed to be positive; an adaption from (white) author Pearl S. Buck's novel about a brave Chinese woman who stands up to Japanese imperialism. Like modern day cosplayers of Chinese media, just because the white people creating this film did not intend to be harmful does not change that it was yellowface and racist.

[Previously pictured was a before and after picture of a white Xue Yang cosplayer with blue eyes, brown hair, half of which was dyed blonde in the before image. In the after, they were wearing a long black wig, heavy eye makeup, newly shaped and darkened eyebrows, and robes made to emulate CQL in warm lighting]

Here are before and after pictures of actress Katharine Hepburn in 1944[3] and, previously, was a white Xue Yang cosplayer in 2020. Both had altered their eyes and eyebrows as well as donned black wigs or darkened hair.

[Previously pictured was a Jiang Yanli cosplayer in a black wig and robes meant to emulate the donghua]

Yellowface does not always involve modification to the eyes. In these two images, neither Mary Pickford in Madame Butterfly[4] nor the previously shown modern Jiang Yanli cosplayer have done anything noticeable to shape their eyes. They were, however, both wearing black wigs with traditionally inspired outfits. Jiang Yanli wore a modified version of Tang Dynasty fashion.[5]

[previously pictured was an image of a Wei Wuxian cosplayer with face powdered white and rouge around the eyes. Their eyes were still blue as the Madame Butterfly’s were on the left, and they were wearing a long black wig as well as robes designed to emulate his. This image has been replaced and amended with an additional example of modern theater; the production of The Mikado where one actor is wearing a black wig, the other a Japanese inspired hat, and both are wearing Japanese robes]

The final comparison was an example of a stage actress from the 2015 Fargo-Moorehead Opera production for Madame Butterfly[6] on the left (the earlier movie is an adaptation of the play). [This image was previously erroneously attributed to the Knoxville Opera which faced backlash for their production as they had an all-white cast depicting actors in yellowface in 2019.][7]

Honestly, these images just had a strange similarity to me so that’s why I chose to put these two together. Most importantly, was the similarity in makeup, hair, and East Asian clothing. Though the image is not there any longer, but just google Mo Xuanyu cosplays and ask yourself, if you didn’t know the fandom, would you be able to spot the difference of which one is supposed to be worse?

The new image is just another example of modern yellowface in theater, where the actors do not necessarily wear extensive eye makeup to emulate East Asians but, much like modern cosplayers, nonetheless are trying to look like the Asian characters they play in a Seattle production of The Mikado.[8]

As you can see, it’s pretty sad and disturbing to see how the rise of East Asian media is creating a new modern wave of yellowface. I think white people tend to think that black/brown/yellowface is only about darkening the skin, but that is just not what many depictions of yellowface have been for East and Southeast Asian people.

I know a lot of people recognize this is wrong and I appreciate those of you that do, but if you didn’t recognize the past parallels, please read up on the links below! Researching this was honestly triggering and emotionally taxing and caused a mild breakdown, so if you clown on this post you’re getting blocked.

Despite the post losing effectiveness to an extent from taking down the modern day photos, I suggest a quick google search of cosplays from the series during/after reading this. And if you don't agree with me, feel free to block and don't send more hate to me! I'm not trying to get into fights. I just wanna feel like I have a semi-safe space in the fandom but if this annoys you, it's better to just block me.

HISTORY, Casting White People in Asian Roles Goes Back Centuries[↩︎]︎

Youtube, Dragon Seed (1944) Trailer [↩︎]︎

NBC News, 'Correcting Yellowface': One Woman's Project to Fix Whitewashing[↩︎]︎

IMDB[↩︎]

Stony Brook University, The Influence of Chang-An Culture to Korea and Japan: Cultural Diffusion in the Glorious Age of Tang Dynasty[↩︎]

Howard Sherman, Yellowface Bait-And-Switch With ‘Madama Butterfly’ In Fargo[↩︎]︎

OnStage Blog, Knoxville Opera Forgets It's 2019 and Opts for Yellowface for "Madame Butterfly"[↩︎]︎

Seattle Times, The yellowface of “The Mikado” in your face[↩︎]︎

[chispas-and-broken-bindings]

What Dany stans do with Dany , you do the same thing with Jon and Sansa .

Okay, nonny...I’ll admit it. I have a bad memory, so by all means pass on receipts, but in the mean time let me try and find all the times I've written about how Jon or Sansa's feelings and intentions excuse their actions (since I'm assuming you are referring to this post here).

Let's start with Sansa. 

Outside of fan-fiction, which is totally separate than canon analysis, I’ve written about Sansa Stark in the context of the books exactly once. 

While she is great and all, she’s not all that exciting for me to analyze...her potential is there, and I think her chapters are sad and lovely to read, but we’re five books in and she’s yet to have much of any power, and power is largely what I’ve been interested in examining when I have the urge to write. That being said, there is a meta or two hanging out there, written by others, about what Sansa does with the little agency she does have, and I found them to be interesting reads. Perhaps a kind soul will drop some links. 

But I digress. This is about me...and what I do with Jon and Sansa, right? 

Even in my tiny nothing post about Sansa, did I use her feelings to justify her many crimes? (Since, again, I’m assuming that is what I’m being accused of. Your ask was a bit vague, nonny. Please work on your specificity next time.) 

Well, what are her feelings? Oh yeah. She’s very upset about being forcibly married to Tyrion after spending months as a prisoner of war. What a baby. 

What are her actions? Minimizing Garlan and Leonette’s concern for her well-being by putting on a brave face and telling them she is well. Jerk.

What was my conclusion? Let me just quote myself: 

I’m sorry, but who reads passages like this and thinks, “ugh, Sansa…what a conniving villain”. I re-read the chapter where Sansa is married to Tyrion and the whole thing makes me want to cry. Also, all the kudos to Ser Garlan Tyrell and his wife, Leonette for making an effort to comfort a traumatized child.

I don’t know, nonny.

 If you want to use that post to write an essay about how Sansa’s courtesy is actually a cover for her great crimes of poisoning Sweetrobin and killing Mycah...by all means go for it. 

Now on to my boy, Jon. Let the evidence of favoritism commence!

I’ve definitely written more about our sad bastard in the North than I’ve written about Sansa, so I’m sure we’ll find some fruitful returns on your accusation here. 

How has one currently dead Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch fared beneath my pen? 

Well, there is the post that I cannot find because Tumblr is a black hole and I’m bad at tagging, where, if I remember correctly, I said I’d never forgive Jon Snow for what he did to Gilly and her baby.

But, without evidence, I suppose that isn’t admissable in a court of fandom discourse, is it? 

All is not lost dear nonny. Do not fear. I apparently can’t shut up about the topic. 

First, I have this ask where I must totally defend Jon because he’s obviously my fave, right? Wrong. I accuse him of hubris and abuse of power. 

Regardless of his noble intentions with the baby swap, Jon displays a lot of hubris in thinking that he can control what happens to either child afterwards, that the greatest danger is Mel’s zealotry, and that his intentions make his actions excusable. I think he is wrong on all three counts.

He abuses his power over Gilly and meddles in a situation he has no authority over because he knows he has no such power over Stannis or Mel.

Hm.

I also used this ask, about a totally different subject, to wax on about the same topic, because as I said, I can’t shut up about it (or Daario). Surely, in this one, I talk about how flawless and awesome Jon is, right? 

Oh yeah, I call him an utter ass, a potato, a manipulative little shithead, and a coward. 

But please, go on about how I give Jon a free pass. 

I’m bored now, nonny, but if you want to make this interesting with an actual rebuttal essay, where you point out all the times I’ve forgiven Jon for his misdeeds because of his lonely bastard vibes and plain-at-best looks, I’ve made the endeavor easier for you by linking out to my other mentions of Jon Snow. 

Have at them. 

Jon and Dany foil ask

What sort of man can stand by idly and watch his own brother being burned alive?

Qhorin and Jon by the fire

Chispas Does a Meta, Pt. I and it doesn’t even mention Daario

Chispas Does a Meta, Pt. II - Let’s Build a Fire & Make Speeches!

Chispas Does a Meta, Pt. III - Murders & Miracles! Yay!

Thanks, I guess, for giving me an excuse to make a master post linking to my “metas” about Jon and Sansa. If you choose to return, please bring me something more interesting to chew on. I bore easily, but love to play. 

[attllhak]

Adoption AU - Wild and Warriors: The Epic Quest For Taco Bell at 3 am

@tortilla-of-courage so you mentioned you’d be interested in my Adoption AU one-shots, and now that things have calmed down in my house a bit I figured I’d post the first one-shot I wrote; the one about Wild and Warriors going for a Taco Bell run. Theoretically, I was going to do a one-shot for each grouping of boys, as an introduction, but I don’t think that’s happening anymore. Either way, here’s the first thing I wrote!

(And, anyone else who would like to be tagged if/when I post more for this AU, let me know here and I’ll make a list or something)

---------------

“anyone know any good substitutes for love and personal fulfilment?”

Warriors sent the tweet without much thought. He didn’t actually care about an answer, he just felt like venting about his most recent break up in a vague way, and thought he was being funny. He could already see Legend rolling his eyes.

His phone dinged a few times, one reply from Twilight, asking why he was up so late (which he’d responded to with the same inquiry, which had Twilight going silent), one from Legend mocking him, one from Hyrule trying to actually help. He was surprised how many of his brothers were up at this hour.

He dropped the phone on his bed, rubbing his eyes. He wasn’t actually all that tired, probably a consequence of having all afternoon classes and a habit of leaving his work to the last minute. Eh, the first year was supposed to be mostly parties anyways. (Not that Time would ever find out he said that.)

His phone dinged again and he groaned, eying the clock and the small bottle of melatonin next to it. 2:43 am. He should sleep. He didn’t have anything tomorrow, he finished his last final earlier that afternoon, though, so a few more minutes couldn’t hurt.

He picked up the phone and woke it up again. He blinked a few times at the new reply.

“crunchwrap supreme from taco bell”

He ignored Twilight yelling at Wild for being up, as apparently Wild did have a final tomorrow still. Not that Wild was paying any more attention.

He snorted, hitting the like button on Wild’s tweet and clicking off his phone. He reached up to stretch, yawning as he did. He eyed the melatonin bottle again. Technically, he didn’t need the supplements to sleep, but with how messed up his sleep schedule was, they did help him knock out when he planned on sleeping at a reasonable hour. This wasn’t a reasonable hour, but sleepiness hadn’t set in yet either.

Before he could decide, his phone lit up with a text notification. He tilted his head back and pointed his phone down to look at instead of dropping his arms.

Gordon Ramsey 2:44 am

lets go

Warriors blinked once. Then again. He unlocked his phone to type back.

what?????? go where?????

A second passed when he got a reply.

taco bell

for your substitute for love

since you got dumped and need something

oops was that too soon

sorry 

Warriors blinked at the screen again. Wild lived twenty minutes away from the university Warriors was attending, and the nearest Taco Bell was no closer. Plus, Time had revoked Wild’s driving privileges after he crashed his bike into the barn and broke both and his arm. There was no way Wild was getting to the university, much less a fast food joint. Especially at this hour.

and how do you plan to do that? You aren’t allowed to drive yet Mr. Broken Arm

you have a care

*car

That was a very good point.

you are suggesting that I drive 20mins outside of town to pick you up, drive another 20mins back into town, then drive around downtown until we find an open taco bell, at 3am on a school night before you have a final?

There was a few seconds pause, just long enough for Warriors to consider that he’d given up on it.

no

we wont be driving all over town

i googled it and found one

its like 10mins form your collage

*from

*college

Warriors considered that.

twilight won’t be happy

only if he finds out

Wild made a very good point.

how do you plan to get out of the house without him noticing?

i have a window war

The response was so immediate, and he was probably sleep deprived enough, that he burst out laughing when it sent.

20mins

He clicked his phone shut and shoved it in his pocket, grabbing a jacket and his scarf on the way out of his room. He was struggling to shrug them both on at once when he realized his roommate was still up too. There was a tense staredown as their eyes met and they both froze.

Volga broke the standoff by closing his book. “And where are you going at this hour?”

Warriors considered that. “My brother bribed me with food to break him out of the house,”

“At,” he glanced at his watch, “two forty-nine am?”

“Yes,”

The silence was tense.

Volga sighed and opened his book again. “Don’t crash and die, I’d hate to have to get a new roommate when I’ve finally gotten used to you,”

“Don’t burn the dorm down while I’m gone,” Warriors joked back, finally getting the fabric to work with him.

“It happened once, and it’s not like you’re any better at cooking!”

“I don’t set what I make on fire, and then freak out and throw it when blowing out that fire doesn’t work,” he grabbed his keys from the dish by the door and waved behind him.

“It happened once, Link!”

“And it’s why we order out now,” he grinned, ducking out the door. “See you later, Volg, be back in an hour or so,”

He could hear Volga’s angry shout through the door, so hurried down the stairs to the ground level as quickly as he could, before Volga woke their neighbor again.

He was still giggling when he got to the parking lot. Volga was just too easy to rile up.

The cool night air woke him up a little more so, and he took a deep breath as he located his car. A hand-me-down vehicle, he inherited it from Time when he was old enough to drive. Mostly this was so he could stop asking everyone else for their cars when he wanted to go somewhere. A little elbow grease however, and no one could tell it was at least 20 years old and not fresh off the lot. He made sure none of his brothers were allowed to drive it, especially after Wild got his bike stuck in a tree, or Legend crashed into a lake, or Twilight picked up drag racing, or Wild got his bike stuck on the roof, or Hyrule lost his car, or Four rolled his truck, or Wild and the barn literally last week. A lot of the crashes in the family came from Wild going ‘oh yeah? Watch this!’ now that he thought about it. It was a miracle he still had the same bike.

The twenty minute drive to the farm was pretty boring, nothing of note really happening.

He turned off his headlights as he pulled into the drive, not wanting to wake anyone, especially Time, up. He shot off a quick text to Wild when he parked.

A window opened and Legend’s head poked out to glare at him. His phone dinged.

Royal Pain 3:12 am

what are you doing here?

He glared back at Legend and typed out a response.

taco bell run

Legend glanced down, presumably at his phone, then back up a Warriors with an incredulous expression.

at 3am????

and if so why are you /here/????

Warriors pointedly looked around the house where Wild emerged from the bushes. Said brother grinned and popped open the passenger door to climb in.

“Hey,” he grinned. His hair was a mess, with at least two visible sticks stuck in it, and he was still in his sleep clothes. Despite this, he seemed fine.

“Legend has us made,” Warriors nodded to their brother, who was still glaring with his head out the window.

Royal Pain 3:15 am

twilight won’t be happy about this

Warriors frowned, trying to shield his phone from Wild as he typed back.

twilight won’t know

Warriors did not like the look in Legend’s eyes as he got the next text.

unless i tell him

Warriors glared up at his brother, working his jaw.

what do you want?

He hated the pleased grin Legend shot him.

the most expensive thing on the menu on your dime

fine

Warriors shoved his phone away with a growl, flipping off the overly smug Legend as he put the car in gear. “Asshole,” he muttered.

“What was that about?” Wild asked.

“We’re buying him food too now,” Warriors growled, flicking back on his headlights.

“Oh, cool,” Wild leaned back into the seat and pulled out his phone. “So the Taco Bell we’re going to only has the drive thru open, and it’s just off main street,”

Warriors nodded, focussing on the road and not that Wild had found the aux cord.

About thirty minutes later, as Wild finally turned down the music to provide directions, he snapped and turned to Warriors mid direction. “Do you want to sign my cast?”

Warriors blinked. “Maybe when we stop, I’m not crashing to sign your cast right now.”

Wild nodded, and pointed across Warriors at the street they had to go down.

They pulled into the drive thru and ordered, then had to wait for the very expensive thing Legend wanted. Warriors turned to Wild as the car idled.

“Do you have a marker?”

Wild blinked at him, then brightened up and offered out a sharpie and his right arm. The cast, under the signatures and well wishes of their family and all of Wild’s friends, was painted in very poorly drawn flames. Warriors raised an eyebrow as he searched for a clear spot to sign.

“Hyrule painted it for me,” Wild explained with a grin.

“Ah,” Warriors hummed as he finally tracked down an empty space by Wild’s elbow.

He scrawled out his name, not much room for anything else, and then handed the capped sharpie back to Wild while he twisted around to accept the food from the drive thru worker.

He shot off a text to Legend to let him know they had his food, alongside an upset emoji. Legend sent him a devil face emoji back. Wild dug through the bag for his food, sharpie stuck in his hair alongside the twigs, which seemed to be multiplying.

Warriors rolled his eyes and pulled back onto the road.

At some point, Wild pulled the wrap out and handed it to Warriors, who ate one handed as he drove. Wild was right about one thing, the wrap did taste very good.

He pulled into the drive of the farmhouse, headlights off, just as he finished off the wrap. He phone dinged the second he put the car in park.

Royal Pain 3:58 am

where’s my food bitch

Warriors looked up to the window where Legend was leaning out and glaring at him.

Wild laughed at the surly look on Legend’s face, climbing out and taking the bag with him. “I’ll feed him,” he promised, grinning. “Thanks for the trip, War!”

“No problem,” Warriors grinned back. “Just make sure you get to bed once you’re inside, so Twi doesn’t suspect in the morning,”

Wild gave him a thumbs up. He shut the door a little too hard, making Warriors wince, and bounced up to throw the bag up to Legend. Legend caught it the second time, when Wild opted to use his not broken arm to toss it, and disappeared inside again. Warriors’ phone dinged again a few seconds later.

Royal Pain 4:00 am

thanks pretty boy

your secret is safe with me

for now

Warriors rolled his eyes and sent him a thumbs up back, then pulled out of the drive again to head back to campus. He was actually starting to feel tired now, so he figured he’d get home and just crash. It’d be like, 4:30 in the morning by then, and he was pretty sure Volga would be asleep. And if he wasn’t, they had a rule that after 4 am until 7 they were allowed to ignore each other, so it’d be fine.

Volga was asleep when Warriors snuck in, passed out in a chair with the book on his chest. Warriors took the sight in, then sighed.

He dropped his keys in the dish, then pulled off his jacket and scarf to hang in his room. He grabbed a bookmark off his shelf and wandered back out to pull the book off of Volga’s chest and set it down so the spine wouldn’t crease. He left Volga like that, however. He didn’t want the books to get damaged, but if Volga was dumb enough to fall asleep in the common room without a blanket, then he deserved what he woke up with.

He was very lucky that Warriors was too tired to find a sharpie.

He fell asleep before remembering to take off his shoes.

(---)

The next morning, so about noon, he was woken by Volga pounding on the door to put his phone on silent.

His phone buzzed on the desk next to him and he pulled it off and up to his head, hitting answer before looking at the contact.

“Hullo?” He slurred, still half asleep.

“Twilight knows,” Legend greeted him.

“What?” Warriors sat up, groaning as his back complained from sleeping on his stomach all night. It took a second for his brain to catch up.

“Twilight knows,” Legend repeated. “Hyrule sold you out, unintentionally, and I can hear him selling you both out to Time,”

Warriors blanched as the words registered. “Oh shit,” he threw himself out of bed, hissing as he realized he slept fully dressed, and scrambled for the things he’d need in order to flee. “How long?”

“Twenty minutes if you get lucky and Wind pulls through, less if not,”

Warriors cursed under his breath as he changed his shirt and tried to make it look like he hadn’t been sleeping in what he was wearing. “Thanks for the heads up, I’d say I owe you but,”

“You’d rather not owe me,”

“Yeah,”

“Look, if you get caught and cave, I go down too. This is self-preservation. Don’t cave and we’re even.”

“Got it, I won’t,”

“You better not,” Legend hissed. “Good luck,”

“Thanks,” Warriors nodded, even though Legend couldn’t see him.

He tossed the phone on his dresser as the line went dead and he went about trying to comb through his hair so he looked presentable.

A hard knock on his door came a few seconds later.

“I put my phone on vibrate, Volga!” He shouted through the door. “You can drop it now!”

“Link?”

Warriors paused, then opened the door. Lana, Impa and Artemis waited on the other side, Volga glaring at them and hovering behind them.

Warriors blinked dumbly at them. “Uh, hi?”

“Hi Link! Good morning!” Lana grinned and waved at him.

“It’s noon,” Impa reminded the group, eying Warriors up and down.

“Oh, right,” Lana nodded, then went back to grinning at him. “Good noon, Link!”

He snorted and shook his head to clear it. “Good noon to you too, Lana. Can I ask what you’re all doing here?”

“We were hoping you’d join us for something,” Artemis smiled at him, also looking him over, trying to find whatever Impa had picked up on. “We’re going on a small road trip since all our finals are over, and we were planning on hitting a few different cities over the week,”

“Mhm,” Lana nodded quickly. “We’re leaving today, and are taking no calls until we get back, and we’re camping in the car, which is why we’re using my van, and we were hoping you’d come with us,”

“I’m in,”

The three girls blinked at him. Maybe he answered too fast, but taking no calls, meaning no contact with his family, for a week gave them time to move past this, and he really didn’t want to deal with a lecture from Time. His friends just offered him asylum, whether they knew it or not.

Impa narrowed her eyes. “What happened with your family?” She asked, already onto him.

“Nothing that’s my fault,” he responded, ducking back into his room. “What should I bring with?”

Lana listed off what they figured they’d take and he pulled out a suitcase, nodding along as he started packing. He fired off a text to the group chat as he grabbed his jacket, tossed over one arm, and wrapped his scarf around his neck.

World’s Best Captain 11:39 am

Leaving on a road trip with some friends. Be back in a week, but I can’t take calls until I’m back. Don’t kill each other!

He put his phone on silent and slipped it into his pocket.

He might have a hellish text backlog when he got back, but it’d be better than the lecture from Time. And besides, he got to spend a week with the best girls he knew.

As far as he was concerned, everything worked out win-win for him.

Wild was right, the crunchwrap supreme from Taco Bell did work wonders in supplying love and personal fulfilment, even if not in the way he meant it.

He made a note to get Wild something as thanks while they were out. Maybe some crash pads. Goddesses knew that his brother needed them.