#but I will take that. I have always preferred sexist shows with few female characters vs. sexist shows with a lot.

[llycaons]

I got so happy when I saw jyl...I don't list her as one of my favorite characters often but she honestly probably is, I adore her

[lucysarah-c]

Following your answer on homosexuality in AoT, how would sexism in AoT be handled on both sides of the spectrum, female and male, on Paradis and in Marley?

Hi, dear! How are you?

Ah, that's such a good question. You know, I did a post about it a LONG time ago, but it’s a topic I touch on a lot in my fics and here from time to time.

I'll set the context of my reply with three ideas. First, sexism or misogyny ALWAYS exists. It exists in our society like oxygen does. In many countries, it’s not the same sexism as in the 1800s, but it still exists. Second, the Scouts PER SE are the "wokes" of their time; they don't have the same views, lives, and beliefs as regular people inside the walls. So I always think that the Scouts are a bit of an "exception" from the rest of Paradis.

Third, and I state this because my blog is Levi-centered, Levi is ALREADY a person, and in particular, a man, with a very different and unique upbringing. I DO believe that Levi has a more "modern" or "woke" view on "women," "women's rights," and "house chores" than the rest of the men. I'll simply say this: a man who saw his mother being treated like garbage because she worked as a prostitute, a man who had to raise himself, and a man who RAISED a girl out of pure heart. I hardly think he judges women on how they dress, who they sleep with, or thinks that "a man shouldn't cook or clean/take care of the kids." So Levi is kind of an exception for me. This doesn't mean he doesn't have internalized misogyny or "micro-sexism" (which I'll talk about later).

Overall, despite both societies allowing "women" in the military, I don't think their views on women or men's roles are much different. I believe there are a few clear examples of this in the manga. If my memory serves me correctly (and take this with a grain of salt because I know that Isayama gave multiple interviews, and a lot of them were edited), he said on one occasion that the Scouts were different because usually, everybody helps with all the chores, like cooking, cleaning, etc., because they work more united and as a family than the rest of the military divisions. Second, he said in one interview right after the manga ended that when he draws "military boards or higher ranks," he always keeps in mind not to add women because they aren't allowed.

Other scenes that quickly come to mind that make me think that Paradis (and I'll speak mostly of Paradis because we don't see much of Marley as a society) is a very sexist society with traditional views:

Most of the time, when we are shown military members from the Garrison OR the MPs, they are mostly men.

Which women are shown that are "recalled" from the Garrison? Riko and Anka… What role does Anka have? Being a secretary for Pixis, more or less, a very stereotypical role for a woman.

A very memorable woman from the MPs is Hitch, and there's a scene where it's clearly said that "there's only one way a woman like Hitch can get into the MPs," basically stating that she made sexual favors to get into that position.

Not a single scene from the military board or higher-up positions shows a single woman.

All the mothers of the characters shown in the story are "housewives" or "stay-at-home moms," which is absolutely fine if a woman decides to dedicate her time to her family as long as it’s a decision she made and not because she didn’t have "other options." Even Eren's mother, Carla, is shown to work as a waitress before she became a mother and a housewife.

All this makes me conclude that probably women inside the military never reach far, either because they aren't allowed (men are preferred over them, offered better positions, promoted first) or because once they get married, they are expected to become stay-at-home wives. I can clearly imagine people thinking that if you get promoted as a woman, it's because you're sleeping with your boss, or if you haven't gotten married and had kids at a certain age, "you're wasting your time" or "a woman's role is to be a mom; they only feel fulfilled like that."

This creates a power dynamic: women are expected to be wives; therefore, men are expected to be the main providers. And this is something I can see men, particularly Levi, being affected by. In my fic, I wrote once that Levi gets very offended when the reader invites or pays for him because she comes from a wealthy family. For Levi, as internalized misogyny, HIS role as a man is to provide. What kind of man is he if he's not paying? Especially for the Scouts' men, it's said that the Scouts have the lowest salaries in the military. If they can't provide, their chances of getting married are probably low. Even today, a lot of men get sensitive or offended if their wives make more money than them. Or men get irrationally jealous and butthurt if their women are more successful than them.

Another way men might get the sour end is in terms of emotional availability. While women's harsh reality is known, men's struggles often aren't. For example (one from Marley), Reiner's mother suffers a lot of social prejudice because she had a kid out of wedlock, and her only "salvation" is that Reiner becomes a warrior. Even today, men struggle with being emotionally available and having more feelings than just "lust and anger." I can totally see men all over the AoT world having to be these "very tough" guys who are only allowed to be "human" when they are alone with "their girl/wife." This happened a lot after WWI; men were sent back home with horrible memories of war and society expected them to just "toughen up and be men." Go, work, and provide for your family; and if you're suffering from everything you lived, then learn to be a man.

It's like I can literally imagine Erwin perhaps complaining that he's having a hard time, and Zackly or any other dude would be like, "You know what you need? A wife; she will take care of the rest."

"I don't have time to dedicate."

"Doesn't matter, a good wife always understands."

"… my salary isn't that good."

"Oh well, you know it's never too late for you to change divisions and settle down." pat on the back lmao end of the advice, and Erwin has the same emotional stress as before.

Overall, I think their views are probably as traditional as they were only a couple of years ago. This is completely ignorable for the sake of fanfiction and having fun; not every piece you write has to send a message or be political. But if you ask me how I think canon AoT characters are, I believe a good part of them, if not most, would be very traditional.

Hope this helps! I tried to cover everything I could remember while being as concise as possible. Thank you so much for your question!

Lots of love!

[a-stitch-in-time-and-space]

ok i agree w/ everything you said about those ladies besides, lwaxana gives s*xual pr*dator vibes and that is why i dont like her.

I can see that reading for sure and all things are subjective. I do strongly disagree, but hey, fandom is a space for that! Super chill.

to go a little more into this though, since it's not really so much about what any of us feel, but more about how we engage with female characters (and I'll use your example of why you don't like her - not to drag you, your dislike is totally fair, she's fictional, she won't mind, but just because it's a single line that kinda puts her in a box. And not a very nice box to be in, that's for sure...)

a little tw for mild references to some of the shadier writings of star trek vis a vis sexual assault and otherwise sexist and/or strange relationship dynamics

okay so you know how Riker has like. two? episodes that're suuuper shady in terms of his treatment of women and the rest of the time it's pretty chill. and he's one of my favourite characters, but I have gotta skip those episodes, because whatever they were trying to do, they Did Not Succeed - and there's a reading of him that incorporates those elements and if you do you've gotta contend with the character being quite probably someone who's assaulted women.

or how Worf at times espouses sexist shit that makes me roll my eyes outta my head and you're either gonna say "I don't fucking like this character" (and again, totally fair, I've seen people who don't Vibe) or you've gotta find a way to make this work for you if you want to explore that character - or both of those things, you can dislike a character and want to write about them

Or some of the weird shit the writers have Geordi do (which, Geordi is my favourite character in TNG, but sometimes ya gotta breathe and go "the writers are fucking dumb, the writers are fucking dumb")

or - the spiritual successor of Geordi, Julian Bashir (my favourite character from DS9 - clearly I have a Type). You've gotta go: This is stupid writing. I can make it work with my own read of the character, but first and foremost The Writing Is Dumb!

Or hell, Q - since we're talking about Lwaxana and I assume her interactions with Picard and Odo, let's not forget to mention Q, both in TNG and on VOY with Janeway - some of the more urgh-inducing scenes between Q and Janeway are, I think, meant to be charming and funny? And I'm a massive QCard shipper here, okay, I actually vibe so hard with him as an alien who doesn't get shit about boundaries (this mostly with Picard, with Janeway I have gone: "Hm. This doesn't feel good" a fair few times).

or how the writers of DS9 had Garak be in a very uncomfortable relationship with Ziyal, who was a teenager, then not a teenager within much too short a span of episodes (and actress changes)

or Quark. Remember the episode in which Quark tries to get Kira's likeness so he can put it in a sex-fantasy roleplay that she did not consent to? or how there are two cold opens where his female employees are told they have to sleep with him to keep their jobs

or like... Neelix (okay, I am not a fan of Neelix anyway, but for people who are fans, there are times when you've gotta wonder what in the heck the writers are thinking - not the character, the writers)

what I'm trying to say with the post I wrote is that this same graciousness isn't offered to female characters - especially female characters of colour, but in the case of Lwaxana

she's older, she's an ongoing female guest star, she's very (sometimes uncomfortably) sexual towards especially Picard and for a short while Odo, before they become really good friends.

she's also in-text several times in positions in which men are trying to control her (the episode where she gets kidnapped, the episode in which the guy who's married her is a misogynist) and she uses or tries to use her "wiles" to escape these situations.

She's really more of a faded beauty who's putting a pressure onto her daughter (in a rare interesting, complex, fraught mother-daughter dynamic that I loooove) and refuses to let go of the past, because (and here we get into my read, but mildly supported by canon) it's the only way she seems to have learned how to be loved and have relevance. She's terrified of letting that go, because where does she go next, without everything that's defined her? which is why her final episode with Odo is actually so powerful to me.

Picard is never threatened by her in-text. He's not massively fond of her (at first, she grows on him... like a mold), he would prefer to avoid her, but he's not in a powerless situation here. She undoubtedly makes him uncomfortable at times in a way that - like some of the above examples have made me go "mmmmokay" but certainly not the worst example of this in the writing.

With Odo I also don't like how some of her interactions with him go in the first episode they're in together. But once they're friends and you see how easily she accepts him ("I can swim" is always going to be one of my favourite little chuckle lines) that no longer applies. He clearly likes her and enjoys her company. There's something incredibly lifelong platonic partners in their easiness with each other.

You can argue in both cases (and argue well) that there are scenes that are kinda sus. But there are lots of scenes that offer you depth of character. She's not one-note. She's got off moments.

Some of these guys (and others - I haven't watched as much TOS and Voyager so I don't want to misrepresent anyone, but I feel sure that Tom Paris has made me squint once or twice + I've not seen Enterprise yet) have whole episodes that make me shudder.

It's really - within this fandom for sure - open how we interpret characters and I'm not saying anyone needs to read Lwaxana like this or change their minds and like her.

The point of the post is not to say you have to like any of these characters. Or even to say you have to engage with them regardless of how you vibe or don't vibe with them. It's just... I have listened to several up-until-then-enjoyable deeply analytical podcasts where at some point one of the (guys... always guys... I'm guessing white) makes a sneering comment completely dismissing their value within the series.

My point is that Lwaxana (since we're on her) has value as a character within the Trek universe. She added something important. She's not everyone's cup of tea, but it's a big series, we're not all guaranteed to like everyone.

and in the original post I used "shrill" and "cringy" on purpose, because those are descriptors I've heard. And they are absolutely rooted in misogynist dismissals of female characters no matter what shape they take (Keiko, Lwaxana, Michael, and Ezri are radically different from each other and yet all easily brushed aside regardless of screentime, personality, show, age, role/job).

I'm not making points about having to engage with or like characters. I'm just saying we need to be aware of how easily we specifically look down our noses at female characters (and specifically female characters of colour - apologies, this was just because we were talking about Lwaxana, but some of the shit I've heard about especially Michael and Keiko have made me want to bang my head against a wall... or other peoples heads against walls... you know, for a nice change)

so how much sympathy or analysis of behaviour is afforded to female characters vs their male peers. What judgements are we making and how do they compare to our readings of their male counterparts?

sidenote: I hate using male and female about star trek, my brain is just like "why anyone gender? why do this? you're in space? there are aliens? y'all can't chill with the binary for two fucking seconds?"

different post

[meta-enthusiasm]

You know what I am really fucking tired of seeing in popular media?

The "evil, hysterical woman in power" trope. The clichè that potrays women who are in a position of power as overzealous, unhinged, power hungry maniacs who are a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.

Female leaders are shown as less resonable and down to earth as their male counterparts, and are often villainized by either the fandom or the narrative of the story itself. They are doomed to fail because of their womanliness and need to be taken down before they enact their evil plans, preferably by a man, or a woman who performs the 'right' kind of femininity.

This trope relies on the sexist misconception that women are more fragile than men, more emotionally unstable and unpredictable.

"Women aren't cut out to be leaders, they should be nurturing and supportive and tend to their families. Having higher aspirations is against their nature and will eventually break them and drive them crazy."

That type of bullshit that was designed to keep women out of leadership positions and keep oppressing us. To keep us quiet and submissive.

Here are a few examples to further explain this stereotype:

Daenerys Targaryen is one of the most well known characters to fall victim to this trope. She is an abuse and rape victim, seeking to change the current social and political systems of the world because she knows how many people suffer under its injustice. ("Crush the wheel.")

For all her compassion and charity she has shown over the series, the writers decided that it would be reasonable for her to go crazy at the end of the show and, despite promising she wouldn't inflict more damage than necessary, kill thousands of innocent people whose government had already surrendered to her.

And guess who had to kill her in the end? Yup, another man. Her love interest, who was "forced" to betray her.

Next, we have:

Morgana Pendragon, from "Merlin". To remind you, she is an abuse victim who had to endure her father's controlling behavior and bigoted attitude towards people with magic abilities which, suprise suprise, she turned out to have. She had to watch as her father murdered and oppressed people just like herself, and when she challenged that behavior, he would come down hard with punishment. (Going so far as to actually throwing her in the dungeons for a couple days.)

Eventually, she rebelled against the corrupt system and had her genocidal father killed. She led a rebellion against Camelot after Uther's son (Arthur) continued to oppress magicians under his reign, and sought to create a better future for herself and her people.

So far so good, right? Well, no. The problem here is that she is the antagonist of the story. She is portrayed as being in the wrong for not quietly taking the injustice and watching it happen.

Halfway through the show, she becomes obsessed with power and status and desperately chases after the throne of Camelot. She is extremly vindictive, manipulative and cruel to others to archieve her goals. She is a "hysterical woman" who is out of control, emotionally unstable, challenges the patriarchy, and therefore needs to be defeated.

Her death was portrayed as tragic, yet absolutely necessary.

(Of course it had to be a man who killed her.)

Azula is the epitome of this horrid, misogynistic trope. She is a fierce, ambitious leader and highly skilled fire bender, respected and feared among her people. She is highly driven and succeeds at almost everything she sets her mind to.

Ever since she came into this world, she was better at everything than Zuko. She was a better fighter than him, a better bender, better strategist, better child. And that is precisely the reason why she had to lose in the end.

Despite coming from the exact same circumstances as Zuko, the story and the fandom at large see Azula as way less redemable and likable than him. Even though she is an abuse victim whose own mother hated her and is a literal child soldier, she doesn't get any sympathy from the protagonists of the story. The otherwise so understanding and wise Iroh even calls her "crazy", (which is, if you've done some basic research into misogynistic expressions, really fucking problematic.) and tells Zuko that there is no saving her. Why? He doesn't tell, but it's obvious that the writers made him say this because of their own internalized sexist beliefs. She isn't offered a way out of her toxic environment like Zuko was. She didn't get the support from Iroh because he had already given up on her.

To top it off, she has a nervous breakdown near the end and loses her remaining sanity. Because, you know, "She's craaaazy!! And SO unstable!! Typical woman." (Not to mention how this further stigmatizes mental illness and portrays it as something only evil people get.)

She was supposed to become the next fire lord, a position that carries utmost power and influence. Of course, such authority could not be given to a woman. That's why Zuko, a man, gets to be the next fire lord, and we are left assuming Azula will be spending the rest of her days in prison.

The writers assume the audience detests Azula and wants her to suffer. She doesn't deserve a happy ending, or the love and support that Zuko got.

Why? Because she poses a threat to the status quo, the patriarchy. She challenged the belief that men had to be the best and most efficient at everything they do, that women could indeed be better leaders and be happy with having a career and not be nurturing, motherly figures to the men in their lives. And for that transgression, for breaking gender stereotypes, Azula was punished.

(It's also why Katara, someone who performs the "right" kind of femininity by being nurturing, motherly, supportive, healing, doting, and is the care taker of the group, ends up taking Azula, the evil and perverted form of femininity, down. I believe @batboyblog has made a similar post about this.)

This is Carmilla from the popular Netflix show "Castlevania", and if you've payed attention to my previous points, it should be pretty obvious what her character represents and how her story ends.

Note that she is also an abuse and rape survivor who is represented as evil and cruel for being angry at what was done to her.

To top it off, she is also an example of the man hating woman stereotype, whose anger at the misogyny and sexism of the world is portrayed as an "overreaction" and as "too much".

At the end of the story, she had to be taken down by another man (Isaac) so that the status quo could be preserved, and the reign of a crazy bitch like her could be stopped. Horay, the day is saved from yet another unstable, selfish woman who would have brought suffering and pain over her country if allowed to rule. Hysterical women with their demand for equality.

Conclusion:

In all these examples, we can see female abuse victims thriving for power and status, for respect, being represented as something negative and something to avoid. Trying to fundamentally change a system that is rigged against women/female representing people is a fruitless endevour that will eventually fail and drive us crazy, because our minds aren't strong enough to handle this type of responsibility and status.

Holding on to anger and bitterness over what was done to us is the sign of a bad person, and the only morally acceptable path is to forgive/ignore our abusers and let the injustice continue to happen.

Strangely enough though, that same gaslighting, victim blaming mentality gets almost never applied to male characters. Men who seek vengeance are never portrayed as weak or crazy for giving in to the wish of changing a corrupt system/killing bad people. (Batman, the Punisher, Hawkeye, John Wick, Jason Todd, Erin, Scar from FMAB, Iron Man, and so on)

The reason why these stereotypes almost never apply to men but almost always to women is sexism. There is no other explanation for this. These tropes were specifically designed to make society believe that women aren't cut out for leadership positions and are happiest with domestic, easy tasks like watching after our children and taking care of the household.

Women who are angry, women who are dominant are to be feared and distrusted. They are represented as a danger to the general public and need to be taken down before they enact their evil plans.

Feel free to add further examples.

[masterthespianduchovny]

As much as I understand the need for queer representation, queer shipping around mlm ships tend to be misogynistic as fuck. Doubly so if one of the male characters has a canon female love interest. They have to shit on her and "punish" her for interfering with a ship that isn't canon and was never going to be canon.

And that's important to note because, within the last few years, fans of these ships frame these relationships as barriers to their preferred ship or they get mad that there isn't an open ended to pretend these two characters ended up together.

As if this is somehow the fault of the female characters and not the writers. Most importantly, it overlooks the fact that, more times than not, these character sexualities were considered and there is a vague outline of where they might end up. It's unfortunate that queerness isn't often considered, actually very little, but it's not okay to engage in misogynistic rhetoric all because your mlm ship didn't happen.

From my own personal experience, a prime example is Steggy.

Steve is framed as straight. Maybe there's a chance that his bi--idk. But the MCU has always positioned him as being into women with the subtext that he'll end up with a woman. Yet, because he ended up with Peggy, she's constantly attacked and doesn't "deserve" him because she didn't know him as long as Bucky. She's been called all sorts of derogatory things, slandered, criticized for random bullshit, etc. Reduced to just her reproductive parts, having ageist remarks leveled at her, and so forth.

Most of this didn't exist before Endgame, but after Endgame, the attacks are non stop. People are triggered whenever she comes her. All because Cap chose her over someone he wasn't even interested in. All because fans shipped him and Bucky together and the MCU didn't bend to their will.

Another example: Darvey. Harvey and Donna from Suits.

No one has to like a character, but usually, the way certain fans rip into Donna usually ends up with it being a Marvey shipper. They'll contort truth, ignore details, and color her in the worst possible light to prove how she's bad for Harvey, yet ignore all of Harvey's bullshit to prove how he and Mike are MFEO.

Let's be clear: I don't fucking care if people ship non canon ships or think two other characters, whether or not they're the same gender, are better together. However, When you're being misogynistic and sexist to upload your OTP, you can rightly fuck off. It's so easy to ship what you like without bringing that bullshit into it.

Tragically, many of these critics are women who have massive internalized misogyny, but believe they are being progressive, inclusive, and ship without prejudice. If you're tearing women down to uplift any ship, even if it's queer, that's not progressive and feeds into the patriarchy.

It's okay to prefer something else, it's not okay to feed into a pre-existing, harmful, and sexist narrative.

And it's really bothersome because these same people call themselves trying to validate the LBGTQ community, many of these shippers are straight (which this opinion is based on various discourses and criticisms of how gay characters are written in these stories and dialogue surrounding them) and ironically end up invalidating Bi, Pan, and NB people.

Some of these ships are due to these characters being hot, which is fine.

Other times it's due to chemistry, which is also fine.

But as another person argued years ago, one of the reasons why mlm shipping is so popular and prevalent is because male dynamics are actually fleshed out and explored meaningfully. This leads to wanting to ship characters who have real relationships, conflicts, and history with each other no matter how small or large.

However, the issue comes in for some because it's not canon. These meaningful relationships aren't romantic and many women tend to want some romance included, which isn't a bad thing. But when you know the romance will never happen, it's easy to get upset about that. And they know people who ship canon pairings have that over them, which is infuriating.

Which is understandable.

Regardless, diminishing, trivializing, and insulting women is not okay, esp when some of these women have the relationships with men that are usually reserved for male dynamics.

Donna and Harvey have a long, complicated relationship that is based on a professional dynamic, friendship, and romantic yearning. This was established in the first season and didn't come out of nowhere, yet people either ignore that, play it as one sided, go on and on about why they couldn't be just friends (they never were), and hilariously, refer to it as fan service.

Peggy and Steve develop a friendship of sorts, are supportive of one another, genuinely are in love with each other, and have worked alongside each other is criticized because Peggy didn't know Steve as long as Bucky. Appalling things are said about her.

Thing is: these aren't the only fandoms that do this. Trust and believe, whenever there is a major male pairing, if any woman is canonically paired with ether one of them, she's being attacked and called gross things. That's not okay even in the name of representation. If you genuinely hate this female character because of who she is and not because of her gender, I get that. However, a lot of it is gender based and it's quite obvious when reading these criticisms.

Wanting better and more representation doesn't excuse or justify shitty behavior.

Lastly, people factor in compulsive heterosexuality regarding their criticisms of various straight pairings. That's a validate take, however, we need to be honest about our issues with certain pairings rather than piling on undeserved hate towards female characters, and then have nuanced conversations about what this means in context to that specific series.

No. You're not going to have these conversations with show runners, writers, and actors. I get this. But some of you need to stop harassing others and acting like assholes because they don't support your pairing (which they don't have to). If you believe Steve is bisexual, then stop fucking harassing people who ship him with Peggy. If deep, meaningful relationships are important, then stop undermining them to push a ship. And stop turning women into fucking mascots in your fanfic and fan art to prop up your ship--that shit is so dehumanizing. Often times, when these shippers don't hate the women, they only exist to say, "when will these two silly kids get together?" OR "I'mg lad you two silly kids finally got together."

Turning a woman into a mascot isn't any better than harming her or killing her to fuel a man's story--even if the man is gay.

Ironically, I'm less likely to see this from wlw ships or ships that has more queer support and than het support.

Quite interesting.

[bamf-jaskier]

the way this fandom goes so hard for the white guys and i, a queer woman, do not care for them at all 😩😩😩 i just wish people would take a look at their biases and start giving all the awesome ladies/POC the love they deserve. it's especially infuriating because i see so many queer people in fandom yet they keep only caring about these same white dudes when so many other ships are equally as queer and awesome.

But—-but the white dudes are queer so it’s representation 🥺

Okay but I think it comes down to a few things

1) white mlm is comfortable for people - you don’t have to step outside your box and consider the impact of writing characters of color and women

For example when writing female characters you have to be aware of stereotypes and how to avoid them in your writing, you have to be open to listening to people and to understanding that you have bias and be willing to confront it

2) white mlm is ultimate escapism - since white men are incredibly privileged in Western society, fandom can escape IRL problems and project them onto someone whose issues aren’t as systemic but more individual

For example, when you write a female character you might have to think about sexualisation or sexual assault or other possible traumas the character might have gone through and it might be too personal for you. But a white male character can hold your trauma and projection without being too personal. There’s still that layer of separation.

3) white mlm is easy to sexualize and write with little critique - not many people are coming to bat talking about how white men should not be portrayed in these ways even when there are harmful mlm tropes

For example. In many fandoms, every gay men MUST be classified as a top or bottom and physical appearance and femininity always makes a man a soft boi uwu. This is mostly allowed because white men are seen as privileged so sexualizing them and stereotyping them is seen as a reclamation of societal power. When it comes to characters of color and female characters, people are much faster to call out harmful tropes which creates this idea that white mlm characters are better playgrounds for fandom.

Overall it comes down to the idea that including women and characters of color in fandom takes works on the part of white fans. It takes the acknowledge that we have societal bias against poc and that sometimes our “preferences” for characters and ships are racist and/or sexist. It takes time to actually talk to fans of color and creators to see how to be more inclusive. It takes an understanding of harmful stereotypes and how the media perpetuates them.

At the end of the day, it’s work. And many creators and fans would rather have white mlm that is relatively free of criticism and very easy escapism than try and address why fandom is so white and so male-character heavy, in both who fans are and in the transformative work fans create.

Because the media sees fandom. And when media staring women and characters always ends up circling back to white men, media notices that and makes note that white men are more marketable. And it’s true. If you were looking to have a popular piece of media and you include two white men with a throwaway line or two about a deep connection, that is far more likely to garner a following and a fandom than say, a show with a queer woman of color.

It’s why Teen Wolf had queer-bait Derek/Stiles promo clips. It’s why The Witcher Twitter account makes things like the Jaskier-trailer and photoshoot. It’s why Supernatural became more popular after they queerbaited their entire audience.

Even in shows like the Witcher where a lot of the cast is either characters of color, women, or both, the fandom focuses strongly on white men and has the most extensive headcanons, fanfiction and even fanart for those characters.

Being inclusive in fandom takes work. And for many people, it’s simply easier to maintain the status quo.

[whythehellnaut]

Discussion regarding my gender identification

Hey mutuals, so since it's national coming out day, I wanted to make a post, not necessarily to come out as anything but to have an open discussion about how I identify. Right now I'm cisgender, but for a few years I've considered the possibility that I might be nonbinary gendered, but thus far have not found any conclusive reason to identify that way, as I feel there are as many reasons to think I am NB as to think I'm still cisgender, albeit somewhat gender nonconforming.  Lately though, I've been seeing posts that imply my tendencies reflect NB mindsets, so perhaps I should still consider it.  Since a large portion, if not a majority, of my friends list is LGBTQ+, I'd like to discuss why I'm considering it and ask what you all think, based on these traits and tendencies that make me unsure:

-I find women more relatable than men and am more interested in pursuing relationships with women and feminine folks.  At first I considered that this might just be that I'm straight and looking for a romantic partner, but this also applies for platonic relationships with women.  I'm just not into making new guy friends that much.

-I'm feminist to the point of borderline misandry and take misogyny as a personal offense.  That last part is something I'd hope most men feel similarly on, but I guess it's not.

-I have a serious problem with general male culture.  My gripe isn't necessarily with identifying as male, as I'm fine being called a man, dude, etc, but it infuriates me when men confide in me their sexist thoughts because I'm a "bro like them," and frustrates me when I'm lumped in with them in studies that show that a majority of men have opinions that I find utterly disgusting.  I could always just be a minority and fight against the majority, but it's still disheartening.

-I've been warned not to simply identify as NB as a way to avoid taking responsibility for what men do, or to fit in with my NB/queer friends.  I can't confirm or deny if that's what I'm doing subconsciously.

-I consider myself more masculine than feminine, but I think my masc-fem ratio is smaller than it is for most cis guys.  Whatever masculinity I exhibit might be due to how I was conditioned since childhood, but it's hard to say.

-Whenever a video game or RP like D&D allows me to choose my character's gender, I always go with female because I'm sick of male characters dominating media and would find a strong woman more interesting and relatable.  I initally thought this was normal for cis-het guys since they'd find women attractive (as I do too) but apparently it's rare?

-I don't have any desire to crossdress or wear feminine clothes in normal settings, but in cosplay, I'm not only comfortable cosplaying female characters, but I feel more passionate about it than I do with my male cosplays.  This might have to do with liking female characters more.

-I don't have any body dysphoria; I'm comfortable in my male body, but it does disappoint me when I don't have the right feminine look for those female cosplays, because otherwise I'd be way more into it than I already am.

-I've noticed a lot of my favorite shows are queer-oriented.

-I wouldn't prefer to be female over male, but I do often consider how life would differ if I were born female.  I can say I'd be comfortable enough that if I woke up with a female body, I'd just live with it instead of trying to change back.

-Sometimes I feel I could do without (or with less) testosterone, mainly because it makes me bald and angry.

-If I did identify as NB, I would use he/him pronouns regardless.  They/them is fine, but I've been fine with that since before I knew what NB meant.

Based on your experience, (especially my queer friends out there) does this mindset reflect that of a nonbinary gendered person or a cisgender GNC person?  Serious answers only, please, as I'd like to hear honest opinions without the "join us" subtext.  Thanks all!

[considerthehorses]

Heterosexuality Is A Misleading Term For "No Homo"-Moids. Men Do Not Feel Attracted To Women, They Do Not Like Women, And They Do Not Love Women.

1.) Men are not attracted to women.

Men constantly talk about how disgusting vaginas look, smell, taste, and how much they hate the idea of going down on women. If they have the choice, they prefer female genitals that are mutilated: either via "old-fashioned" techniques like in some African and Islamic communities or via "modern" cosmetic surgeries that some women in porn have performed on them. The goal of this is always a kind of sexless, "genitalless", pedophilic look of a pink little slit.

Men also hate any amount of natural body hair on women although (or because!) it is a sign of sexual maturity. Men hate normal amounts of body fat on women although (or because) it is a sign of sexual maturity and fertility as well.

Men want babies with big tits.

And what do they want to sexually do to these babies with big tits? Fuck them in the ass, fuck them in the throat, beat, rape, torture, and humiliate them until they cry.

Male sexuality is nothing but fetishized violence against women. They love anal sex because it is hurtful to women and doesn't give women a chance to orgasm themselves. And the moment they realized that some women actually enjoy giving blowjobs have they come up with "throat fucking" and "deep throat": they HATE women, they HATE female bodies, and they HATE the idea that a woman could enjoy sex.

It is often said that "Porn tells lies about women, but it tells the truth about men". And the truth is that if you take the brutal anal/throat penetration out of male sexuality, what's left is men casually beating, hurting, whipping women. The distinction between "vanilla" and "kink" doesn't make sense in the case of men. It's just a matter of degree. "Vanilla" men want to rape women and beat them - "kinky" men want to rape women and beat them and electroshock and water torture and mutilate them.

Men are not attracted to actual female bodies. Men only enjoy the idea of DESTROYING female bodies: both through absurd beauty norms that effectively destroy these bodies and turn them into absurd dolls and through sexual practices that are always about hurting, beating, whipping, raping, anal fucking, throat fucking female bodies.

Men are MONSTERS. There is some creepy shit in nature: viruses and predators and parasite larvae that eat their host alive. And, of course, other animals also rape women. But nothing is as cruel and disgusting as the human moid: at least a lion doesn't masturbate over the idea of a female lion being torn to pieces by an elephant or whatever. A predator just wants to eat you, a coronavirus just enter a cell nucleus and replicate ... but the human moid gets erections and masturbates to the thought of women being humiliated and tortured and hurt until they cry and bleed or even die.

2.) Men do not like women.

Men do not feel attracted to real women. And men do obviously not LIKE women. They hate women so much that the moment women like something, men hate it: if women like flavored-coffee drinks from Starbucks, men hate it BECAUSE women like it. (As if bacon and bacon memes are funnier or better than women making memes about pizza or enjoying pumpkin-spice lattes!)

If women join a fandom, men leave because the moment women like it, they start hating it. Some sociologist has coined the term "gender pollution": it is a sexist term itself but it describes a real phenomenon: the more women enter a particular space (e.g. a profession or a hobby), the more it is "polluted", the less it is valued and the less people in this job get paid. I think in some Eastern European countries this is actually the case with doctors even: but as there are many women in this field - both among nurses as well as among doctors - doctors are also not valued anymore.

The moment women became good in school was the moment boys increasingly dropped out. Men now associate doing your homework and reading books with women - and they rather ruin their lives than to be engaged with something women like! So instead of doing their homework are they now playing video games 24/7. But now women have obviously started playing video games as well. So now they become mass shooters because they hate the idea of female video game characters.

3.) Men do not love women

Winston Churchill famously said that you have the Germans either at your feet or at your throat.

Now, I’m not sure about the Germans, but I think that this is definitely true for males: they are always either at your throat or at your feet. Males fall in "love" with e-girls … but the moment they find out that those women already have boyfriends they want to kill them. (I’m not even sure if I have to put "love" in quotation marks here because the idea of a REAL love in contrast to quotation-marks-love feels a bit like the idea that only "men" in quotation marks are toxic and shitty while REAL men are all these heroes and these supermen…)

I think pornsickness and “lovesickness” are, in a way, two sides of the same coin. “Love” feels like the surrogate religion of a secular age. I’m not a Buddhist but I agree with this part from a text, explaining why this religion is critical of the concept of “romantic love”:

The love of a man for a woman and a woman for a man is often the floor to which people fall after the collapse of other dreams. It is held to be solid when nothing else is, and though it frequently gives way and dumps them into a basement of despair, it still enjoys a reputation of dependability. No matter that this reputation is illogical — it still flourishes and will continue to flourish regardless of what is said in any book. Love, or possibly the myth of love, is the first, last, and sometimes the only refuge of uncomprehending humanity. What else makes our hearts beat so fast? What else makes us swoon with feeling? What else renders us so intensely alive and aching? The search for love — the sublime, the nebulous, the consuming — remains sacred in a world that increasingly despises the sacred. When the heroic and the transcendental are but memories, when religious institutions fill up with bureaucrats and social scientists, when nobody believes there is a sky beyond the ceiling, then there seems no other escape from the prison of self than the abandon of love. With a gray age of spiritual deadness upon us, we love, or beg for love, or grieve for love. We have nothing higher to live for.

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/price/bl124.html

I couldn’t agree more. Just consider how many males murder others and/or end their own lives because of love. Just like being pornsick makes it hard for males - and for women - to develop a realistic understanding of human sexuality with its possibilities and limitations, being “lovesick” makes it hard for males - and for women - to develop a realistic understanding of human relationships. People these days expect love to do what previous generations expected miracles and gods to do. “All you need is love” vs “All you need is Jesus”.

There are also studies that show that males fall in love easier and earlier than women. And they surely fall out of love easier as well. Males are like the flickering flame of a candle that burns brightly for a second and then goes out again. This is why it’s so super common for women to think that they do not know their husbands anymore because they feel that these males are completely different persons suddenly.

Males can be lovesick and pornsick at the same time. They masturbate to torture porn in one moment, and the next moment they write a 20-page love letter to some e-girl and emotionally vomit all over them, confessing their undying love. (Many women receive as many rape threats as they receive cringe love letters in which males emotionally vomit all over them.) And one moment later do they already want to kill those terrible “e-thots” again: males are always either at your throat or at your feet: the romantic concept of "love" is a literary construct at best and a religious tool at worst but it's simply not true that men are able to "love" women in the sense women dream about being loved.

Men are not attracted to actual women.

Men do not like actual women.

Men do not love actual women.

PS - Quote from the Reddit Comments:

Regarding love, this is hormonal thing. The feeling of romantic love, of falling in love, "the honey moon period" etc is caused by hormone called Oxytocin. Oxytocin induced social bonding including bonding with sexual partner, and maternal love. It is found in women in far higher amounts than in men and it is major reason why women exhibit more pro-social behavior, are less selfish, more empathic, better parents, more generous, more trusting, more romantic etc. Men do not normally have much Oxytocin, but they get a temporal boost when they fall in love, which makes them bond to their partner and mellows them down, making them less dangerous and more attentive partner and father. But the effect is always temporal and only lasts few months.

PROOF : The results showed that OT plasma levels (pg ̸ ml, mean ± SD) were significantly higher in women than in men (4.53 ± 1.18 vs 1.53 ± 1.19, p ˂ 0.001).

[idreamtofmanderleyagain]

Hellraiser Fandom and the Invisibility of Women’s Abuse

I’m starting to come to terms with why the Last Drive In interviews stuck with me in a bad way.

It kind of eluded me for a while, but to give you guys the emotional lead-up to what was underlying my sense of discomfort and irritation, let me explain a few things. When I heard the interview was going to happen, I watched some portions of a different Last Drive In episode to get a sense of what the whole thing was about. It’s your standard hosted horror movie show. 

It’s also awkwardly sexist. They have a character on it, Darcy The Mail Girl, who as far as I could tell in my first viewing, basically exists on the show to be ogled and be the butt of sexual humor. The men filming would even break the fourth wall to snicker and whistle when she would say something sexual. In 2020, it was extraordinarily cringe-worthy to watch, and I’m at a loss that we’re still living in a world where this is normalized. It was like watching something from the 80′s. She is extremely objectified on the show. 

I don’t blame her for this. Apparently, she was the victim of some awful bullying and body-shaming fairly recently, and I don’t want to put more suffering on that girl’s shoulders. I respect her. I think she respects herself. The circumstances surrounding a woman being in a position like this are complicated, and I do not pretend to understand her situation. She’s also allowed her own feelings about what she can and cannot handle, and what is and is not okay with her.

Nevertheless, the segment I saw in that other episode with Darcy was alienating and even rather upsetting. I felt a second-hand humiliation and pain. I didn’t feel like Darcy was put in a position where she was in control of her own sexual expression. Perhaps Darcy’s actress disagrees with me, and that’s fine. But as a female audience member, I was already feeling a sense of unease and unwelcome.

So I was obviously primed for discomfort before the interviews even started.

Joe Bob Briggs (the host) said a few things that did not sit quite right with me. Quite frankly, he repeated some more annoying fanboy statements that tend to stick in my craw. His rather basic interpretation of the film, juxtaposed against the awkward, stifling feeling of watching Doug and Ashley try to explain the deeper concepts that eluded him reminded my of my own frustrations listening to the male fans of these films’ constant comprehension failure.

How many times does Doug have to repeat the words he’s basically memorized by heart regarding the tragedy and complex nature of Pinhead? Why does this get forgotten, glossed over, even retconned so much?

Why does it always feel like Ashley gets disregarded? Every time we see an interview with her (which is comparatively rare), nobody really speaks to the deeper thoughts she expresses on her character or the narrative, but every man in the comments has something to say about her hotness level.

When we got to the point that Ashley tried to explain to Briggs that she thought Pinhead was fair in a certain scene, and that Pinhead was speaking to Kirsty’s accountability for her own desires, Briggs responds incredulously; “You think Kirsty OWES Pinhead?!” 

Ashley had spent a portion of the interview having to dismiss the relevance of characters like Steve and Kyle in Kirsty’s life, and was now suggesting a deeper subtext in her interactions with Pinhead that both A) did not cast Kirsty as pure and sexless and without culpability, and B) did not cast Pinhead as her aggressor but as her psychological mirror. 

This is the subtext that is most often disregarded by casual fans and some hardcore fans alike, that Kirsty may not be the innocent and sexless Final Girl, and that Pinhead may not be the predatory Slasher monster intent on using a sharp weapon to penetrate her violently for his own gratification, and that dynamic may not be the be-all-end all of their relationship for the rest of time.

I’ve been turning Brigg’s incredulous response around in my brain for a while. And it’s made me realize something about how men experience Hellraiser’s narrative, and why it differs so greatly for many women.

Doug has more than once spoken to the fact that women react to Pinhead very differently than men. He was of course speaking of the sexual interest he would get, but he has remarked upon the fact at least once that he’s not entirely sure why that is, exactly.

It’s...not that strange to me that women desire rather than fear the character, or that Ashley would have a more positive response to Kirsty’s relationship with him rather than her relationships with the seemingly benign boys of the films. 

There is an order to which women first learn about sex. For some it’s a little different but I believe this is a fairly common experience: The very first thing we learn is that it’s going to hurt (but maybe also feel good after). The second thing we learn is that boys will want to take it from us and will manipulate and lie to us to get it, but that it’s supposed to happen in a loving relationship. The third thing we learn is that we want it too, but we aren’t supposed to because it’s dirty and wrong for us to want it. 

Women grow up with an inherent anxiety around sex, an anxiety that is complicated by our own desires.

Everything in Hellraiser is perfectly reflective of a reality that men clearly do not have the context to fully comprehend, because women’s real experiences of desire, and of male violence, are a blind spot.

The men who hurt women don’t have pins in their head and wax gothic poetry about suffering. They don’t wear dark capes and turn into bats and hypnotize women from their windows to drink their blood. 

The men who hurt women look like Frank, or J.P. Monroe, or Trevor, or Channard, or every bumbling aggressive fool Julia seduced home. 

They look like Larry and Steve. 

Larry let his wife scream “no” and “stop” several times before he responded, regardless of the true reasons she was screaming those words. And when he finally did stop, it was out of anger rather than concern. This is, as far as I’m aware, the most common form of sexual violence a woman can experience - a man they give their trust to suddenly doesn’t respect a “no.”

So, so many times, I have heard men say how badly they felt for Larry, how innocent poor Larry was. 

Men live in a fantasy world where it’s more comfortable for them to imagine characters like Larry as good man, a victim of Julia’s callousness who isn’t in Hell not because he never touched the box, but because he is inherently innocent. They live in a fantasy world where it’s odd that Steve abandoned Kirsty the minute something deeply traumatic happened to her (Briggs remarked upon this). Raise your hand if a man has done the same to you when the cards where down.

Steve’s response to Kirsty getting too drunk to stand properly was to “jokingly” tell her to lie down in this sleazeball way that indicated he was insinuating taking advantage of her intoxicated state. Also one of the most common forms of sexual violence a woman can experience.

The men who Julia took home would respond aggressively when she chickened out of sex, either blindly or in an attempt to shame and guilt her into proceeding.

Should we talk about the fact that Kyle is a psychiatrist who shouldn’t be romancing a traumatized patient in his care who’s parent was just fucking brutally murdered? Or does that feel too petty in comparison?

The men who hurt women are more typically their friends, their fathers, their uncles, their boyfriends, their husbands.

What’s so funny about all of this is that Pinhead somehow does better at consent than these men, at least in a manner of speaking. He’s the only man who legitimately listens to Kirsty, and responds to her “no.” No matter what he threatens, he always stops to hear her out, lets her do what she wants, is always talking about her desires and pleasure, and in the end always ends up destroying the men abusing her rather than going through with ever harming her. 

Briggs seemed keen on viewing Pinhead as a Satanic figure. Historically, what is the role of women who are in a position to encounter the devil? Usually, they are witches, wanton women who gain magical power through sexual communion with the devil. A framework of propaganda that men have historically used to persecute women.

The men who hurt and oppress women in real life don’t look or act like Satan, but they sure as hell are ready to write narrative after narrative of Satanic figures menacing women while they save the day, and they sure as hell like to blame women for preferring “bad boys” and “assholes” over the “nice guy.” 

It’s more comfortable for men to imagine Pinhead as this cool figure of pure evil with no feelings or capacity for mercy, because they can live vicariously through his violence (particularly when they’re writing him doing it to half-naked women, looking at you H3) and yet simultaneously distance their moral identities from him. 

It’s more comfortable to compartmentalize what good vs. predatory masculinity looks like in a way that benefits their self-image and the status quo. This is a lie men tell themselves.

It’s safer for men to point to Pinhead and say, “this is what a predator looks like,” while curiously never speaking of the callous, scummy and predatory behavior of every single other man in the films, even to the point of occasionally discussing the perceived tragedy of fucking Frank’s spiral into darkness long before they can feel entirely comfy imagining Pinhead as having a past where he was a good man with sad feelings, or regard his act of self-sacrifice for Kirsty as anything but a moment of weakness that was “bad writing” and therefore should never have happened.

There is an extraordinary irony in a man arguing with Pinhead’s own actor over the nature of his evil, while running a show where a female character’s fuckability is her main characteristic and it’s okay to behave as if she doesn’t even have real feelings.

All this nonsense in the spaces I go to have fun, while we’re dealing with the background radiation of a President who’s sexual abuses are swept under the rug, his masculinity praised regularly and his violence against our people gaslighted. While we’re dealing with the mass-recorded aggressive violence of police - white men in positions of authority whom we are supposed to trust to keep us safe. While men make other men laugh about the violation of girls so they don’t have to deal with the reality of one of the “nice” funny guys being a predator.

Fuck you. I’d rather burn.

[purplesurveys]

1010

survey from diggitydoo

Have you ever felt a baby kick? Yes, when my mom was pregnant with my brother. What color pants/shorts are you wearing? I’m only wearing a duster gown; no shorts underneath. I just got it last night, actually - my mom wanted to donate clothes to victims of a recent fire incident in Manila and so she asked my sister and I to sort through our closets for clothes we were willing to give away. My sister ended up giving away a comfy-looking duster gown that she never even wore and even smelled brand new to boot. It ended up in my hands, ha. But apart from that we gave away a lot of stuff that aren’t old uniforms or costumes (which is what most people tend to ‘donate’, ugh), so we just hope they end up with people who really need them. When is the last time you did something truly fun, and what was it? Last night I went on our org’s Discord server and we played Jackbox games for around an hour or so. It was my first time to socialize again after around two months and I really, really needed that moment. I even met the org’s newest roster of applicants for this semester, which was neat. :) What was the scariest moment of your life? Men terrorizing me or near-car crashes I’ve had.

Have you ever heard of Leonard Cohen? The name is familiar, but that’s the most I know.

Pancakes or flapjacks? I guess pancakes, since I don’t even know what flapjacks are. What kind of computer are you on? It’s a laptop. Do you eat Chinese food? If so, what's your favorite dish? For sure. Pork buns or minced pork with eggplant. With century egg on the side, yum. What are you usually doing at midnight? Either passed out or desperately trying to sleep because I don’t want to lose any more hours of sleep and risk being cranky for the whole of the next day. Have you ever developed feelings for a friend, but you were already with someone? No. The worst thing that’s happened was being someone’s ball date (and unbeknownst to me, they apparently had feelings for me at the time) while I was already with someone. If so, how did it turn out? He figured it out by himself, which I still feel bad about. But the timing was super off and I just couldn’t find a moment to sit him down and set the record straight...ah well. It was just super complicated at the time. Give me your brief definition of love. My favorite love-related quote is “Love never says ‘I have done enough’” and for the longest time, that has been my guiding principle when it comes to it. Definitely a tad bit cheesy, but telling myself that over and over makes it easier to continue loving the people I care for and be patient with them when they’re being asses. Gab included, then and now. What is the most beautiful part of the human body, male or female? It differs for everyone but I’m a thigh girl through and through. What kind of shoes do you wear? Uh...various ones? I have sneakers, flats, heels, flip-flops, probably a couple more kinds that I can’t place at the moment. What is the worst thing you've ever done when you were really angry? Resorting to physical violence. I was a kid constantly exposed to violence in my old home, and at the time I genuinely thought that’s how most things were settled or pacified. I still feel like shit about it to this day, and my backstory isn’t an excuse at all; but the past is the past and I’ve been trying to make up for it by being a much more gentle angry person in the last few years. Are there any pills you take on a daily basis? If so, what? Nope. Do you like the smell of coconuts? For some reason I can’t stand anything coconut (which is a damn shame considering I’m Filipino) but I love dishes with heaps of coconut milk in them, like curry. That’s the one coconut-related thing I enjoy, but otherwise I’ve never learned to appreciate the taste and smell of buko juice, coconut shavings, coconut pies, and everything else coconut. What is the heaviest you think you can lift? From what my old PE class showed me, around 70 to 80 lbs. Do you take Tums? Idk what that is so I guess I don’t. Have you ever walked on a pier at the beach? I’m not sure if I’ve been to a pier before. I bet it feels wonderful and freeing and I’d love to visit one; but I also can’t keep myself from associating piers with the recurring image of Jennifer Connelly’s character standing on one from Requiem for a Dream. How about under one? No. At what age do you first remember feeling butterflies in your stomach around someone? Not sure if it was 11 or 12, but it was definitely one of those years. Do you feel that way around anyone now? Yeah, if they allowed me to see them. But I’m shut out now so I haven’t had that sensation in a while.

Do you ever talk to yourself or think deep thoughts while on the toilet? No. Do you ever sing to yourself? Sure. I’m sure most people do every once in a while. What is a sound that relaxes you? Ocean waves have never failed. How hard has it been to reach your main goal in life? ‘Main goal’ sounds so overwhelming; I make it a point to avoid one overarching goal and instead make little goals and plans here and there depending on where I am in life. Do you remember the song about hoes in different area codes? Never heard of it. What is your main heritage? Filipino. What kind of pickles do you prefer, if you like pickles? I hate pickles. What kind of cheese do you prefer, if you like cheese? Mozzarella and feta are my faves, but I love cheese and am willing to be adventurous when it comes to it. If you could have a sea creature as a pet, what would you want? Eh, they can stay in the sea where they can actually survive. I don’t exactly have the best track record when it comes to keeping fish as pets. How about a farm animal? Probably pig. So, do you have hoes in different area codes? No, and ew. What is the most annoying song you can think of that came out recently? Haven’t been exposed to a lot of new music lately and the songs I do get to hear on the radio whenever I drive are actually pretty good. This totally doesn’t answer your question but my favorites so far have been Birthday by Disclosure, Kehlani, and Syd; and Plain by Benee, Lily Allen, and Flo Milli. What is a song that you hate to admit you like? Any Kanye song I like. What inspires you to get off your bum and do something productive? Not wanting to go into another downward spiral. Do you ever use Urban Dictionary? Extremely rarely. I only do when there’s a new slang I’m completely unfamiliar with. Do you find the definitions on there to be generally funny or stupid? Stupid for the most part. I find them too immature or vulgar, but that’s one of the points of the website so I guess I’m just not in their target audience lol. What comes to your mind when you hear the word 'transformation'? Uh, the Transformer robots.

What was something you regularly played with as a child? My cousins’ toy soldiers.

Have you ever given in to peer pressure? Eh, a few times. If so, what did you do? I’ve been pulled to drinking sessions here and there when I really shouldn’t be drinking because I had an important test tomorrow or something else was happening the next day that was just as significant. What part of your body have you had the most problems with in your life? Teeth, I’m pretty sure. I’ve had braces, needed a tooth extracted, gotten a cavity, and gone through a severe toothache.

Do a lot of people check you out when you're in public? Idk I never look around because being aware of it would just freak me out and make me feel like I’m naked. What is a good name for a turtle? Would depend on their personality. And this applies to all kinds of pets, at least for me. I don’t decide on their names until I have a good grasp of their attitude. Can you imitate any accents well? If so, which one(s)? Stereotypical Filipino mom and valley girl. Do you like having your ear nibbled on? Sure. What makes a good kisser a good kisser? I’ve only kissed one person so I’m not the best judge for this; but I always like it when my lower lip is tugged or grazed on. How many times a year do you have a family thing? This is a little vague for me. Do you mean get-togethers? Giant-ass reunions? Movie nights? Game nights?  What are the best things to put in a smoothie? I only like one kind of smoothie and it’s sold by a local joint – and I think I’ve already shared this before but that smoothie of theirs that I like has “apple, banana, cinnamon, oats, coco sugar, chia seeds, greens, and soy milk,” according to their menu. So I guess those are the best ingredients for me, ha. Do you ever eat with your eyes closed and just focus on the taste? When I find something extremely delicious, yeah. What do you dislike most about where you live right now? For the most part I can’t wait to get out of suburban residential villages. I’d love to finally experience living in a condo in a super busy and active city. Has anyone ever given you a rose/roses? Yes.

Are you watching your weight? Not really. I’m trying to gain pounds though, if anything. I haven’t eaten much in the last two months. Have you ever become really good friends with someone you found online? I trust y’all with my life, so that’s one. Apart from Tumblr, the best friends I made were probably the people in the AJ/Punk fandom, back when I had a stan account on Twitter. I don’t remember most of their names now and we fizzled out pretty quickly when both parts of the ship left WWE, but I look back on that period with fondness. Those people made high school a lot easier for me. What makes your best friend your best friend? She doesn’t care whether I’m on top of the world with happiness or completely self-destructive and crying my eyes out; she has always been present. Do you have a drunk uncle? *rolls eyes* We don’t wanna open up that can of worms... Do you hear weird noises in your house at night? Nope. What is something you do that is generally more like something the opposite sex does? Based on personal experience and not to come off as sexist, but it’s liking wrestling. I have never met a girl in real life who has even the most remote interest in pro wrestling or can tell me who Hulk Hogan is. And the ones I’ve had discussions with - from shallow/casual to in-depth - have all been guys. Seeing girls who are into wrestling is like finding a rare Pokemon, at least in real life. What is the girliest thing you do, if you're a girl? Idk. What is the coolest tattoo you've ever seen? Probably the spork tattoo of Josh, a crew member from Good Mythical Morning. It’s just a line tattoo. Of a spork. On his arm. But he managed to make it so goddamn fascinating lmao; and apparently, as I learned just now, it has a pretty touching backstory to it too, which makes it a million times cooler. Have you ever created anything artistic that you're proud of? If so, what? I’ve never finished any of the crafts I bought. Never finished a coloring book page much less an entire coloring book, a painting, a gem painting...it’s something I’ll have to bring my butt to do one of these days. I can’t imagine how fulfilling it would feel. Do you only eat the middle of the oreo, if you eat oreos? I eat the whole thing but I honestly find Oreos too sweet and I’ve always much rather preferred Oreo-flavored stuff instead of the actual cookies.

Do you know anyone with a huge ego? My mom. If so, is there anything else about them you actually like? She’s fed me for 22 years and gave me an education, I guess. Though it’s something I appreciate more so than like. Have you ever used a racial slur, even jokingly? Probably as a dumb kid, when historical context wasn’t a thing to me yet. I still wince thinking about it, but I suppose what matters is being better and more responsible moving forward. Do you have any friends who are more like siblings to you? Angela and to some extent Andi. 

If so, what about them do you like most? They are both understanding when it comes to me - almost to a fault. What do you like on your hotdogs, if you eat hotdogs? When you say ‘hotdogs’ here, it refers to the sausages itself. The sandwich kind of hotdog isn’t super popular here. What is everyone else in your house doing right now? My siblings are still resting in their rooms; my dad is preparing for work, I think. What is the most money you've ever had at one time? Something like P10,000 or P15,000 when my mom needed me to pay for something in cash. How long do you think it would take you to run a mile? Idk, maybe 10 minutes. I won’t be fast, that’s for sure. Look down. What do you see? My legs and the pillow I’m sitting on. What is a subject that makes you uncomfortable? Right now, probably my failed relationship. I haven’t gotten to the sharing stage yet and remotely thinking about it gets my voice all shaky. What is a subject you can talk on and on about and not get sick of it? Paramore. What kind of mood were you in most of today? It’s only 7:52 AM. My only mood so far is just woke up. Has anyone ever walked in on you naked? Yeah. Because people in this damn house never knock. Tell me an inside joke you have with someone. The word ‘ariba.’ What is the worst thing someone could do to you emotionally? Break my trust. So simple but it packs a punch. What is the worst thing you've ever done to someone emotionally? Idk if I’ve ever been that aggressive. When I want to do something destructive towards someone I always end up asking what it would feel like if the action was done to me, and it’s always been enough to sway me away from doing the thing. How do you feel now about the first person you ever dated? Sad. How about the last person (your last ex)? Same person. What is the best invention ever invented? Air conditioners.

What is something that needs to be invented? Portable air conditioners. What always makes you burp? My burps come randomly. What are you doing tomorrow? It’s my last weekend before my new job, soooooooo...I’ll be bumming around for my last two days of freedom.

[prorevenge]

my sexist teacher who humiliated and insulted her students gets what she deserves

TL;DR at the bottom.

So this is my first post on this subreddit, and one of my first on reddit in general, so please forgive me for formatting errors. If rslash is reading this, it's an incredible honor and I love your videos! And this is a super long one so buckle up, and let's get on with the story.

So this story happened a few years ago, when I was about 14-15 years old, during my freshman year of high school (Grade 9). If you talk to my friends now, and even if you talked to them back then, and asked them what my favorite subject in school was, it would always be English (Literature, reading, writing). [I'm in the american school system lol]. Anyways, I met my horrible teacher on my first day of high school, which we'll call Ms. Z. Ms. Z seemed like a nice, caring, normal teacher. How wrong I was.

She would give us projects sometimes, as English teachers do, and would give us specific instructions, and she even called herself "the queen of directions". My classmates and I thought that it was simple enough to follow them, and we did. We even double checked out project twice. However, when it was time to turn it in, Ms. Z started screaming at us about not following the directions, even though we had followed the directions exactly. We didn't think much of it, and just fixed whatever little reason that she called us out on, which happened to be not writing the character analysis although it was literally RIGHT under where she was looking. We wrote another one and went on our way. This seemed to happen at every single project that we did in in her class.

​

The next incident was her refusing to let us say, "Hey guys!" in the classroom because apparently, "It doesn't include girls". So we had to say, "Hey y'all" or "Hey guys and girls!" which was really annoying. I am a girl, and don't really care when somebody acknowledges the group with "hey guys!", and several of my female friends agreed that it was really stupid. She also was extremely sexist, and preferred the girls in my class over the guys, and more guys were called out in class for simply being guys. They hadn't done anything wrong.

​

Yet another incident happened after class was over. I had her for the last class of the day before we all went home, so of course everybody was antsy during the last few minutes of class. She always made us say, "Thank you Ms. Z for teaching us today" after class was over in this stupid musical tone. We forgot to say it one time because we all had different activities to go to, and she actually made us stay for thirty minutes after school to "teach us a lesson". Try explaining to your parents why you were late to your VERY EXPENSIVE TUTORING LESSON.

​

Then there was this other time when we had written and turned in essays. After grading them, she walked up to the front of the class, and proclaimed that "our essays were HORRIBLE", and that "I wanted to puke on them as I was reading them," and that "(other teacher's name)'s students had written better essays then you guys". She hadn't taught much about writing during the year, and I was thinking, 'woman, if you had taught us how to write essays they would be much better, but you haven't taught us anything!'. It was at that point when one of my good friends said, "Well maybe it's because (other teacher's name) actually teaches her students how to write!" I watched as her face fell, and the bell to end the day rang then. We hastily stammered out a "thank you Ms. Z for teaching us today" and rushed out the door. I still chuckle about this to this day.

​

Then there was this last incident, which still makes my blood boil. My friend had been walking home from school when a car hit her. She had been in the hospital for about two weeks recovering, and when she came back, Ms. Z had the nerve to ask her "Why didn't you do your homework?" and all I could think of as I watched my friend on the verge of tears was, 'Lady, when was she supposed to do her homework? Under anesthesia? She doesn't even have the book!'

​

She has also singled me out on several occasions, specifically for not "following the directions given by 'the queen of directions'", and for forgetting to bring a pencil this one time.

​

It got so bad that I started to hate English, and would hear my heartbeat in my ears whenever I walked into her classroom. Everyone in my class hated her as well.

​

Yeah, it was pretty much the end of the school year but I was done. REVENGE STARTS NOW. I waited until we had a substitute teacher one day (she was at a meeting or something), and collected statements from each of my classmates. I asked them to write down exactly what they thought about Ms. Z, and what had done to them. I then typed up each of the statements (so that Ms. Z wouldn't recognize their handwriting),and sent them to my counselor and assistant principal. I then walked into their respective offices the next day and told them everything that I had witnessed in class, and encouraged them to read the file that I had sent them. I talked with my parents, and I set up a meeting with Ms. Z, my teacher, my assistant principle, my parents, and I.

​

The day of the meeting arrives. Ms. Z has set up chairs arranged in a circle. She sits at one end, this stupid grin on her face as the rest of us take our seats. I sit on the chair opposite of her, so I can see her face. Ms. Z starts about how she was an amazing of a teacher, how her students were amazing, bla, bla, bla. She stops talking and looks at me. My counselor says, "(my name), what do you have to say?" I notice that we all have copies of my classmate's statements except for Ms. Z. I hand Ms. Z an extra copy of the statements, and I start to speak.

​

I talk about what I had seen her do in the classroom, and how she affected my classmates. I talked about how English was my favorite subject, and how she had almost ruined it for me. I talked about she was the first teacher that had made me cry. Aren't you supposed to go crying to your teachers instead of crying because of them? I talked about how unfair she was. I presented the evidence, aka all of the above incidents, and after I finished talking, I smirked a little as Ms. Z's face turned from a grin to a look of absolute horror. I looked at my counselor and assistant principal. They had faces of absolute shock. My assistant principal said, "(My name), thank you for bringing this to our attention. You and your parents may leave now." As I'm leaving with my parents, my counselor says, in an ice-cold tone, "Ms. Z, please come to the office with us". I don't know exactly what went down, but she was surprisingly nice the next day. But I wasn't done yet.

​

After a quick google search, I found Ms. Z's facebook, twitter, personal website and youtube videos. Apparently she was trying to be this comedian, and her husband hosted this pretty bad tv show. I texted my friends in her class the links, and told them to spam the pages with what she had done to them, and how bad of a teacher she was. I also told them to pass it on to students in her other classes.

​

At this point, there were only two weeks of class left before school let out for the summer, and we all watched as her mood dampened day after day of strings and strings of comments from angry students in every class. I remember her on the last day of school, her lips looking like she sucked a lemon and as pale as death, trying to keep it together. I internally laughed, knowing that that monster deserved it.

​

During that summer, all of my friends texted me that I was a hero, and that we had finally put an end to Ms. Z's reign of terror. Now, the my school's administration was not supposed to disclose information about what exactly happened to Ms. Z, but all of us are pretty sure that she was fired because it's been a few years and her room has been given to a more pleasant and understanding teacher.

​

I've had more patient, understanding, kind, amazing english teachers since then, and I love the subject more then ever. I'm usually an understanding and patient person, but I do have a limit. I may look harmless, but you should not underestimate the lengths that I will go to to make sure that you get proper punishment for your wrongdoings.

TL;DR: my sexist english teacher was horrible, insulted, and belittled all of her students. Took statements from classmates, called a meeting with her,counselor, assistant principal and parents and got her fired.

(source) story by (/u/seiza_is_a_dork)

[meagan-marie]

Six Months at Riot Games

I’ve been up all night after reading Kotaku’s article on the company culture of Riot, and its effect on women in particular. Cecilia contacted me as a potential source, but I didn’t commit to providing my experience on the record because I was worried about the ramifications of speaking out. The discourse around this conversation and the reticence to believe the women who came forward has stunned me. I’ve been carrying around a heavy weight on my shoulders since 2014, and I feel it is finally time to let it go. I only lasted six months at Riot before resigning.

In 2014, I left a job I loved and colleagues I adored to take up a post at Riot Games in Dublin. One of their recruiters had reached out to me nearly a year prior, and while I was immensely happy at my current place of work, I had always wanted to work abroad at least once in my life. I was becoming addicted to League of Legends, Riot had a history of great community-centric initiatives, and I felt that if I turned down the opportunity, I would always ask myself, “What if?”

I was initially apprehensive, as I had been told firsthand that Riot could have a “bro” culture at times. So I did my research. I asked the recruiter directly about the mysterious “culture” of Riot, and why conforming to it was so important. I even messaged a handful of women ex-Rioters to ask about their experiences. They all confirmed that Riot could have a “frat party” type atmosphere at times, but didn’t relay stories of overt sexism or harassment.

I took the job in early 2014. I sold my car, packed up all my belongings in a shipping container, committed to a long-distance relationship with my partner, and sent my cats off for the mandatory 30 days of quarantine. I fully committed, expecting to work there for several years at the minimum.

Before I detail some of what I experienced at Riot, first, let me state the obvious. The behavior below is NOT indicative of all Riot employees. The large majority of Riot employees I’ve met have been lovely, and as evidenced above, there are many people who weren’t subject to sexist behavior and harassment. That being said, from my own experiences and that of many others speaking out this week, an unacceptable number of people – primarily, but not exclusively women – have been subject to inappropriate behavior at Riot for years. It is systemic to the company’s culture and needs to be addressed as such.  

I’ve outlined some of the most notable negative encounters with Riot staff below. These don’t account for the daily microaggressions and condescending remarks that are too numerous to detail. For transparency, being four years removed from Riot has not degraded my recollection of these events. I am drawing them directly from the eight-page resignation letter I sent to Riot in August of 2014.

Content-Warning: Sexist, racist, homophobic, and transphobic language, as well as mentions of sexual assault.

At Riot, employees are encouraged to play League before/after work, or during lunch. My very first week at the Dublin office, I heard shouting from individuals playing together, calling each other “f*ggots” repeatedly. I was unnerved, but it was my first week and I didn’t know if this was a common occurrence. I didn’t say anything at that time. Eventually, the language would escalate to “n*gger”. No one flinched, and I realized it was considered the norm. Nearly the same thing happened my first day of meetings at the Riot LA office, where two men were loudly calling each other “c*cksuckers” right outside the office of the CEOs.

Soon I began to notice gendered language regularly being used among male Rioters to insult each other. Guys would tell each other “not to be such a girl” and call one another “p*ssies” quite regularly. They would casually refer to women as “b*tches” and say that “all women were crazy.” I also overheard a group discussing how a female professional made it far in the industry, suggesting she “sucked c*ck to get to the top.

My first month at Riot we had an opportunity to talk with one of the CEOs for an office-wide AMA. We were encouraged to submit questions anonymously. I submitted something that had bothered me for some time as a League player. I wondered why – other than the child characters and Yordles – nearly all the female champions had the exact same body type. The male champions were young, old, skinny, athletic, obese, handsome, monstrous, and more – they were unique and diverse. The most prevalent characteristic of female champions at the time was sex appeal. I wanted something more. I wanted to know when we would get a female equivalent of Gragas. 

The senior staff liked the question so much that they requested I ask it live, rather than anonymously. I was apprehensive at first because I was so new, but I also understood that this was an important opportunity to directly challenge someone in a position of power who could make a change. Unfortunately, the response boiled down to “giving the players what they want”, to which I rebutted that Riot was big enough to influence player perception of what characters are cool or fun to play. I was very disappointed by the response, which felt dismissive of the issue. (As a side note, I was happy to see Riot’s efforts to diversify their female champions these past few years.)

After the meeting, I realized I had put a target on my back with some of the men in the office. I didn’t even make it to my desk before a male colleague came up and told me that “women don’t want to play unattractive champions. They want to feel beautiful.” I was stunned. A woman behind us audibly laughed at the fact that he was informing us of our gender’s gaming preferences. A few male coworkers also asked why I would like to see an “unattractive” female champion, or a plus size female champion, because “no one wants to look at that.” These were several of dozens of conversations I would have on the matter.

Things only got worse the longer I stayed at Riot. I didn’t go out with colleagues after events because strip clubs seemed to be a common destination. Asking me what age I lost my virginity at was deemed appropriate conversation during a team dinner, and employees I didn’t know prodded into how my sex life worked in a long-distance relationship.

I felt out of place in my direct team as well. Our Jira sprints were named things like “thong.” I was the only woman on that particular team, and so a senior staff member named us the “Bros and Ho”.  I immediately tried to shut that down, but it was used for weeks regardless.

Rape became a punchline to jokes quite frequently, including one instance where an employee went on for several hours about how he was going to rape his male colleague, who was his hotel roommate. He was graphic in exactly how he was going to rape his roommate, who was a new hire, and it was obvious that the individual in question was extremely uncomfortable.

While on a team outing, the same senior staff member messaged a new employee’s girlfriend on Facebook asking if she was “DTF” - shorthand for “down to f*ck”. He thought it was a funny joke. The new staffer didn’t feel comfortable challenging him, even though his girlfriend was very uncomfortable and called to ask why she was being harassed by his boss.

Then came the final straw. At a work dinner, it came up that I thought I’d been paired in a hotel room with a male Rioter. It turned out to be a typo in the name, and, as was standard, I was paired with another woman. A senior staff member proceeded to repeatedly call me sexist for not being willing to room with a man I’d never met before. At first, I thought he was kidding, but he continued to make arguments to his point. I explained why I would be more comfortable sharing a room with another woman, and told him I wasn’t enjoying the conversation and would leave if I was continued to be called sexist. The conversation continued, with him eventually saying that my unwillingness to room with a man was the same as not hiring a woman due to her gender. I left the table in the middle of dinner, unwilling to take any more after six months of such behavior. I submitted my resignation shortly after.

My biggest concern with Riot – putting my own experiences behind me – is the inappropriate and sometimes predatory behavior that some staff exhibited towards fans. I frequently pushed back against comments and scenarios like these but found I was one of the few that would speak up. Rioters are often seen as celebrities with dedicated fans, and it is easy to abuse that power. 

I regularly witnessed lewd comments about women passing by at events, discussing their level of attractiveness, whether someone would sleep with them, and guessing if they were the age of consent.  

Several times I heard male employees bragging and sharing intimate details about hooking up with players at events, including a cosplayer we worked with in an official capacity. Several male colleagues even asked me to “hook them up” with cosplayers.

When I brought up the inappropriateness of a young League cosplayer having silly-string unexpectedly sprayed across her chest during a video piece by a third party – the gag being that he had ejaculated on her – I was told I was the “comedy police”.

I overheard at least a dozen employees comment on how cosplayers only make costumes for attention and ask “is this even considered a costume?” when a very famous cosplayer recreated a scantily-clad female champion. I showed them that she was one-to-one with the splash art. They begrudgingly conceded that it was an official outfit. This is obviously highly hypocritical.

At least three times Riot Dublin employees made inappropriate comments via work email about a female cosplayer’s breasts (one they regularly worked with).

While in LA, I had a week of very successful meetings with Rioters to help get a new cosplay initiative off the ground. In a recap meeting, I expressed how happy I was that we were creating such great programming for cosplayers. The senior most staff member responded with “Who wouldn’t want to work with cosplayers? Because Boobs.”

During one event, a first-time cosplayer came to our booth crying because someone had commented negatively on her weight in relation to the character. Another coworker and I consoled her for nearly 30 minutes, and she left, feeling much better. After she left, a fellow Rioter called her a “fatass” and asked why she would try to cosplay the character she chose. I was in shock but told him how inappropriate that was to say about our fans, especially those passionate enough to make and wear costumes. Cosplayers have also been called “tr*nnies” and “attention whores” by Riot employees at events.

In meetings, I was told that we shouldn’t put cosplayers on stage to play League live, because they are mostly women, and therefore not very good at the game.

Further examples of disrespect include when I argued that we shouldn’t let a cosplayer in blackface on our stage for a parade, keeping in mind that Riot is a global company. I was repeatedly called racist by my colleagues, who tried to convince me that it was an acceptable practice and I was overreacting.

This is not a comprehensive list. These were only the very specific examples I could draw from when I drafted my resignation letter at Riot. After word got out that I quit, I was contacted by several other women from the office, asking to meet. I was told more horror stories, discovering that some of them had been physically touched, cornered in shared vehicles, and faced professional retaliation for turning down advances. They asked for advice. I told them that they needed to speak up too.

The reason I didn’t share any of this before is because I felt trapped. I am not proud of myself for staying silent. After I quit, I was stranded in Ireland with my entire life in an apartment, no job, no car, and not even a cell phone, as it was immediately taken away from me once I resigned. I needed to get back to the United States somehow. Riot was my best bet, and I worried that if I didn’t agree to their mandates or went public with anything that I’d ruin my chance of getting home. After six months of near-daily misery, I was exhausted. I signed their agreements. I needed to get out. I recognize that I put myself at legal risk by disclosing my experience now. After years of regret and the thought that these practices could still be going on today, affecting countless others who also feel alone and outgunned by a company they were once excited to be a part of,  I am willing to take that risk. I want to work towards a better and more inclusive industry and show solidarity with the other women who have come forward.  

I left Riot feeling like a failure. I felt like I wasn’t tough enough to stick it out or make a positive change at the company.  I had been very public about my new adventure in Ireland, and all I could post about the return home was an agreed upon “culture fit issues’ statement to my social channels. Friends and followers could tell that something was wrong, but I couldn’t expand further.

To be clear, not everything from my time at Riot was negative. I became good friends with several of my co-workers and loved interacting with fans. Riot is a massive company that employs thousands of people. There are going to be women at the company who’ve never experienced sexism or harassment from their colleagues. I am very happy that they have found a safe working space with their particular branches or teams. That being said, these harassment-free experiences don’t invalidate the experiences of women like myself, and the dozens of others I personally met while working at Riot, who struggled with fair and respectful treatment on a daily basis.

The in-depth article on Kotaku and outpouring of other stories from both current and ex-Rioters finally gave me the courage to speak up, despite my concerns about professional or legal ramifications. I should have done this four years ago. I tried to facilitate change while working at Riot and after my departure. I’m hoping the groundswell of voices will now finally cause real, meaningful change within one of the most influential gaming companies in the world.

Two final notes:

To the many good eggs at Riot:  I’ve seen many of your posts. I understand your frustration if you have not been witness to this type of behavior, or experienced it yourself. That being said, you can support your company and the individuals who have come forward. Your anger shouldn’t be directed at the subjects of this abuse and maltreatment, but rather the individuals who perpetuated these acts in the first place. Please keep an eye out for your peers, and hold others accountable for their actions.

To young women hoping to work in gaming: Gaming can be a tough industry, but please don’t let conversations like this drive you away from pursuing your passion. The more we dissect and discuss these situations in a public forum, the more steps we take to making the industry a more inclusive place. As tough as gaming can be, it is equally welcoming and rewarding.

[dailysassfromshego]

Controversial topics about my country!!!

As some of you might now, I live in a pretty damn Balkan Eastern European country that is pretty misogynistic, homophobic etc etc….

-ABORTION We all are shocked now about USA anti-“pro-life” propaganda these recent days…Thank God in Albania abortions are legal for some several reasons that the poorest states of America (like Alabama) are failing to actually understand!  1) POOR EDUCATION!!! Poor education means high illiteracy rates followed by low average income (Albanian’s average monthly wage is around 200-300 euros). Poor education also means incest, rape and unprotected sex! Yes, our rates on these are pretty high! I got friends whose moms and/or themselves work at maternity centers/hospitals and they say the average of teenage pregnancies are too damn high and a good part of them end up in abortion, specifically or if possible in other cities so nobody specially their parents won’t see them to “publicly shame on them somehow”, simply because falling pregnant at a very young age is also humiliating to their parents and if they found out those girls better commit suicide rather than being actually killed by their fathers or bigger brothers!!! Rarely these girls get the support of their own family tbh and specifically if these girls are from the rural parts of the country. This happens mainly because a girl should be married first and give birth later, and in most scenarios this is because of unprotected sex due to their partners being total assholes for refusing to use protection and most of the cases later dumping them!  2) Health risks for mother or kid! These were the cases that were tolerated even back during communism (also rape and incest were part of the exclusion at that time), but even then there would be a lot where women would fake illnesses to want a pregnancy terminated for sorely their personal reasons. (At least they’d better fake documents at a very trusted person or they could easily face Spaç, the Albanian Gulag, cause spies were fucking everywhere!) And “yes” there could be complications that show up after the 5th month.  3) THE GENDER OF THE KID! Being a very misogynistic country aborting simply because the upcoming child is a girl will push wives by their husbands to commit an UNWANTED ABORTION! This is by far the most controversial and this is the only reason that should be banned by law if you ask me! Thankfully abortions cost less than 200 euros. And to all those “pro-lifers”: You really are pro-life but if the kid dies within the next 3 years by the poor life conditions don’t @ me cause ya all the real anti-lifers! Or lets say that those kids end up in an orphanage where in most cases the conditions are equally as bad as if their biological mothers would keep ‘em, specially in poor countries most kids in orphanages are malnourished, psychologically and physically abused by the people who work in those orphanages or by their older fellows! (I can not even count the amount of the cases we had here and most are within the last 3 years!) “If are a pro-lifer then you better want a life with quality not with the guaranteed fear of abuse and death!!!”

-LGBTQ RIGHTS Not the most welcomed country for the LGBTQ community, I see actors and politicians being openly homophobic and swearing to kill their own sons if they found out they were gay, live on TV programs! However the more educated and informed the common society gets the better for the community! Here you got a source for more info into this topic if interested! Thankfully we are progressing into this topic and we got 17th of May on 2014 as the 1st LGBTQ pride and since then held every year! (Currently speaking we have some exchange students from Spain that are gay and one of them has cried for having a very good time here and being accepted from his fellow students and my father, who is his teacher and if not actually the only one of the teachers to truly accept him for whom he is rather than in his home where he is very badly treated by his teachers simply because he is gay and drags!) However we also got a kind of “transgender” culture that is more of an old tradition in rural parts of Northern Albania, practiced under the “Kanun of Lek Dukagjini/Rules of Lek Dukagjini” (check on internet about this one, is a very interesting topic to even study on it if you are a non-Albanian + it will get you to understand the whole old mentality of this country better) the women called “Burrnesha” or else called the “Sworn Virgin” who are the women that take a vow of chastity and wear male clothing in order to live as men in patriarchal northern Albanian society, cause due to the family not having any sons therefore they’d become “the sons their family never had” keep their childhood surnames and inherit the family properties. There is also a whole National Geographic Taboo series episode dedicated on this topic + a lot of documentaries for you to check out! In this patriarchal country is basically more acceptable if a woman condones with the life of a man than a boy with a woman’s. Notable is one of the best live-on-air TV programs “wrecks” was when a transgender got asked by the dumb ass hostess what kind of community she represents and her respond was “I represent the community of women!” and the host went by in a very pushing way “but you are a different kind of a woman it should be something more or else…” and the other ones interrupts “…let me take is this way honey, just because you are blonde you represent the community of blondes?” and the host says in a thinking way “…mmm yes, actually, yes!” This scene became one of the best memes against the illiteracy of that particular TV hostess whom is known to make stupid questions and totally out of place comments + a boom against most of those so called journalists that have and are filling our media courses full of unprofessionalism, lies and trash content! “Your genitalia preferences are none of my business and shouldn’t be anybody’s! What matters is your character!”

-WOMEN RIGHTS Believe it on not Albania allowed women to vote before Italy, starting in 1920 and gaining full rights of voting in 1945! The very 1st feminist movement was started leaded by Urani Rumbo (who happens to be from the same city as me, Gjirokastra) who promoted woman’s emancipation by publishing the newspaper “Drita” (light in Albanian) and protesting in 1923 so girls could get high-school education! It is known though that actually the Tosk part (Southern part of Albania) was always more matriarchal compared to the patriarchal Geg part (Northern part), and women where seen with far more equal rights towards men while in the other part women were seen as objects. However in 1945 Albania became the 1st communist country that actually applied the ideal of gender equality compared to others that were more symbolic rather than actually applied! That system also put a whole ban on pre-arranged marriages, gave them their rights to get a full education, vote and work equally as men did! You finally had female doctors, drivers etc. even mine diggers!!! (When my grandmother had my father she was just 19 and my grandfather, 26 at the time, was begging to her to continue her university studies on economics where she had won a scholarship, but she kept on declining saying she had to raise the kids while he was saying that her mother could do that as she was living with them! Now she regrets not listening to him!) Anyways by the fall of communism in 90′, things got a bit out of control and the “Kanun” (friendly reminder the “Kanun” is basically medieval rules made somewhere in the 1400′ for the rural parts of the north) got back in tracks and a lot women lost their rights not “legally” but “morally” and this being applied till recent days where the law and authorities would actually do nothing on cases of domestic abuse, rape and incest. And as if this is not enough most of these cases are not even reported due to fear from their husbands, relatives or even family for putting a shame on them! Not to even mention some sexist laws that were put the recent years… Though thankfully there are people fighting about that but yet again is a lot to do due to poor education specially mainly in the rural parts which consists around 70% of the country! “There is still a lot to be done!”

-RELIGION Now this one is my fave! Here nobody gives a flying fuck about your faith! Once again the 1st communist country to truly apply the ideology’s terms making us the 1st Atheist country in the world, in the 60′! Sure a lot mosques and churches were demolished, yet the most important ones were preserved (compared to now that only a few are being founded by Turkey, Greece or Vatican regarding on where they apply their interests on, which is totally unacceptable, and most of them aren’t legit ones with real historical values) and a lot of priest and believers where imprisoned (this one wasn’t a fair move tbh), yet it was the best option to finally unify the nation based on nationality rather than on religion that most nations actually do and/or have! If that wasn’t done on the right time Albania would have ended up in a Bosnia of 90′ scenario where people slaughtered each-other for identifying with another religion=nationality! That, cause if religions weren’t banned people would not accept each-other only because of having another faith, not to add the slurs each of them had and still do somehow! This opened up to marriages regardless of religion which is truly an amazing thing and impossible in most of the world! (My mum is Christian Orthodox from her family, my dad Bektashi Muslim from his and it was his choice to baptize me Christian Orthodox... Funny part? None of us is actually a believer!!!) Why still does? After 90′ a lot people, mainly non-Albanians, found free space to mess up with people’s minds and pushing them to become believers of a certain religion for a considerate amount of money in exchange! Believe it or not this still is a very high risk these days using all sorts of forms to brainwash the illiterate part of the society and condone with a lifestyle that is borderline morally and physically illegal or at least should be illegal! Simply because religion is a very personal topic and nobody should push that on anybody in any way possible! However the best part of being a secular state is that you get to celebrate extra vocations!  “In the end of the day Albanians’ real faith is “money and food”... as for the rest we don’t really care as long as we got to celebrate!” XD

[eyecicles]

Thoughts on canon vs fandom treatment of female characters? Like the source material not having much in the way of female characters in general (at least relatively in the sense that I can count significant/developed female characters on one hand compared to the much larger number of important male characters) and how that translates into fandom treatment of female characters (misa and kiyomi being treated like shit in fanfics, ect). Sorry this is vague I just like your spicy opinions lmao

That’s a very interesting question! …Also a topic I’m very careful with but I do have some thoughts I would like to share nonetheless.

I completely agree that it’s quite obvious that Ohba cares more about the development of his male characters, about making them more unique in their motivations. Large parts of Death Note are about Light manipulating people (not about being accidentally successful and smart because of his ~magical powers~, that’s such an annoying take, honestly). And when you look at how he treats female characters, starting with Yuri, later Naomi, then Misa, Rem and Kiyomi, it becomes pretty clear that both he and Ohba always use the same tactic. Yes, because while writing a sexist character doesn’t make you or your story sexist per se, it’s just the sad truth that Ohba wrote it that way for a reason. (From what I’ve heard about his other works, DN is comparatively mild in the sexism department though)

If you compare that to the much more complex ways Light manipulates male characters, you can see very easily how they’re more developed by default. Not only has Light a much harder time with them, he evades characters like L and Near or even Aizawa, who isn’t a certified genius, by, well, not getting caught until the end.

Actually, I think it’s pretty interesting how characters deal with the fact that Light is Kira. The only female character who figures out his identity on her own is Misa, and she mostly manages that due to her special powers (the Shinigami eyes). Of course Misa is never praised for that and she’s routinely portrayed as dumb, while most of her character is about her obsession with Light… which only poses a problem for a few chapters. 

Very popular fanon but fanon nonetheless: Naomi figuring out Light is Kira. She didn’t; Light told her himself and she’s in fact more than a little shocked by it, and of course, already doomed when she finds out the truth.

Kiyomi is told as well, and she’s a Kira supporter anyway, in love with Light, and relatively easy to manipulate - even though we see her struggling with being ordered to kill people. What’s apparently more of a problem is her questioning Light about Misa, but really, he’s mostly just annoyed and her jealously is something the narrative actively makes fun of (confirmed by Ohba himself).

And I agree that that’s mostly why the fandom finds it so easy to reduce especially Misa and Kiyomi to romance- or sex-obsessed dumbasses who are basically only there to be annoying. I wouldn’t defend that kind of treatment ever, but yes, it’s obvious where it comes from.

It’s more mild with Naomi, and Rem might be the only female character whose motivation is her love for another female character, but most of the main female characters have one thing in common: their character arcs being about love. Compare that to main male characters, and you can tell that the narrative treats love and romance as a “woman thing”. (Even Matsuda, who does show interest in romance, gets a surprisingly interesting and even touching arc. His character is mostly about being painfully average (painfully is the keyword here: the narrative shows much less pity for our average women, actually; they aren’t necessarily average, just not as much as smart as Light which is treated as given), about seeking recognition, about being bitterly disappointed by the person he trusted (Light) and his final moments with Light are ridiculously intense and well-written.)

(Soichiro isn’t motivated by personal love per se, but his “blindness” for who Light really is treated as something tragic and relatable. Soichiro dies, yes, but he’s seen almost as a hero for his strong morals and love for his son. Not comparable to Misa and Kiyomi at all.)

I indeed can’t count the fics where female characters only made an appearance to show the reader how much dumber, or even more evil, they are compared to Light’s love interest (which is usually L or a female OC). And while I don’t see Misa as just a victim of Light, it’s disgusting how people take what those characters are mainly about and make it (+ their personalities) worse than they were in canon. Instead of, you know, giving them more agency. It’s fanfiction, guys, they don’t have to be an obstacle for your ships if you don’t want to. Considering that Light shows no real interest in them either way, I find it even more arbitrary to write them that way.

Even though I’m used to see that kind of treatment, since I’ve been in fandoms for almost 15 years, it still shocks me how nasty and spiteful people can be about characters like Misa and Kiyomi. I rarely see male characters treated like that in fanfics, even when the general fandom opinion about them is a negative one. (The exceptions are unlikeable, ugly, comic relief kind of antagonists like Demegawa)

The fandom can be wildly different depending on where you look; on websites like YouTube or Reddit, it’s definitely more difficult to find people who like them, or people who at least try to see past that one trope the fandom likes to reduce them to. I’ve seen people making fun of their deaths or writing their own gruesome deaths for them, I’ve seen people praising Light to no end while hating Misa for being a serial killer.

While on tumblr, I often see the exact opposite of that. I wouldn’t say it’s just as bad, obviously not, but it’s still worth discussing, I think. It makes a lot of sense to try and make characters like Misa, Kiyomi, Naomi, Sayu, or Rem more intriguing and complex. I absolutely love what “Those” did to Kiyomi for example; it shows very clearly what we could have had with a better (or at least less sexist) writer than Ohba.

But if I’m being completely honest, what I’m not a fan of, is people completely taking everything about a character to make them something they’re 100% not. It’s one thing to make someone more complex, but something quite different to make Misa a feminist and mere victim who only pretended to like Light. I guess that’s partly a personal preference, but something about making a female character just a victim, when they’re canonically not, is a bit… icky to me. I think we can treat Misa with more compassion than Ohba did without making her a mere victim.

And some goes for Naomi; her indeed being tricked by Light, her being naive, yes, even in “Another Note”, doesn’t make her less sympathetic or cool. It often feels like we want to put female characters on a pedestal just so we can allow ourselves to stan them just as much as the male main characters.

I can’t see why Light is allowed to be a complex serial killer you can love or hate, while Misa isn’t. It’s telling how even people who like Misa often seem to feel the need to make her an angel, while Light fans often find it more easy to accept that he’s a bastard indeed. (There are Light apologists as well, but they at least rarely try to reduce him to nothing more than a puppet who got screwed over big time)

Even when female characters are very well-written and developed, like Discworld characters, the fandom often scrutinises them way more harshly than the male ones. But yeah, having a distinct difference in the writing of male vs female characters in a story… definitely makes the fandom react in more extreme ways. 

I would actually love to read more Misa, Naomi and Kiyomi centric stories where they’re allowed to keep their flaws while getting the development Ohba never gave them. And your ask reminded me that I can, want and should write stories like that too, haha.

[martincart]

SF 64 lieutenants headcanons

I'm a bit bored, so, I'm sharing more headcanons here, this time from the bosses of Starfox 64 (I promise to upload more headcanons of other characters), and although they are few, I would like to share them here.

In case you do not understand some points, I leave the references of the characters here where there are also more headcanons of them: https://martincart.tumblr.com/post/180221335218/martincart-the-bosses-of-starfox-64-are-here

Meteo Crusher Pilot/ Aaron Galaxicos:

 Before entering the Corneria academy, Aaron worked at his 25 years in various bars, and even in cabarets (and several of these, he ended up being fired by fights with clients) as a singer. For many people, he was really a good show (especially among women). During the war of Lylat, he sometimes sings in public to encourage the soldiers.

Also one of the many jobs he had was in a movie theater. He hated it a lot when a movie portrayed the chimpanzees (their species) as canibals.

Related to the first point, several of the songs he sings are romantic music, preferably of genres such as rock, jazz or swing (exam.of real music: Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra or Depeche mode ).

Already inside the military academy of Corneria, he was a brilliant student. He specialized a lot in body to body duels and in target shooting, he was also an expert in flight tests. The few weaknesses he had were in swordsman battles classes ... and in swimming.

His former classmate from the academy has always bothered him with the fact that his name sounds nice to a dog.

 He's a womanizer. Even in his advanced age, he continues to seduce and sleep with several women, younger than him. That also includes sleeping with several of his female soldiers durint LW.

His command during the war was mostly chimpanzees, but he also accepted other species of primates, such as baboons or gorillas.

Even though he wants to look like an elegant or disciplined person, there are times when Aaron acts derisive and it shows that he loves to have fun.

Aaron is an expert in hand-to-hand fighting, but he also has his own weapons: A Venom's pistol, and a whip (A riding crop) that can change to a long whip to attack his enemies from long distances.

 His mechanical eye serves to show holographic images of planets or files, also of people. Holographic images have no size limit.

He and Andrew have an enmity that looks childish in public. Many of these end up both wanting to humiliate each other or commenting on horrible words. Everyone thinks that this is due to the behavior of the heir.

He has a "good" relationship with Wolf, giving him advice on how to act in Venom and his society, in addition to military advice or information from other soldiers, especially Andrew or Andross. Wolf relies on him, apart from the fact that he likes to see how Aaron mocks Andrew (at the beginning).

He and Leon do not get along. Aaron respects Leon for being a good fighter and killer. Leon has his own cold opinion of Aaron.

Like the others, Aaron despises Pigma and does not understand why Andross recruited him. Pigma knows that Aaron is smart, but very sensitive. In addition, each one has a discriminatory / racist vision among them.

He has a good relationship with several of Venom's lieutenants, but he always wins a negative criticism from them when he commits something stupid and does not realize that, especially it is the Macbeth engineer who scolds him. It can also happen that they joke about him to make him angry.

There's a horrible, rather obscure relationship between Andross and Aaron.

 Among the soldiers of his squad, his most loyal soldier (best friend) is a mandrill named Marshall, who not only shares personal talks, but also intimate secrets.

Area 6 Commander/ Cobra Ryota

 In his hometown of Venom, he was the most specialized soldier of all, winning his position as commander.

Due to the first thing, when being considered a strong man, his family hope to have inheritance as strong as him. He was engaged in his 18 years with another warrior as strong as he, Dusa. It was a difficult relationship because both were gloomy character, but they could marry in love with each other. However, the inheritance plan could not be made upon discovering that Cobra is sterile. Andross promised Cobra that he would help him build a family during the war.

He was one of the first Venomians to meet Andross. He was interested in the old monkey just seeing him for the first time. When Andross decided to fight for all his people and create a better future for all, Cobra was the first to accept it, and he told Andross that he trusted all his faith to him and would always be his ally.

Andrew taught Cobra a lot about Corneria's culture, and even though he preferred to continue with his Venom culture, he gladly accept listening to music with the little monkey. He really liked Corneria's music a bit, but he prefers only the instrumental ones.

Speaking of his relationship with Andrew, Cobra has affection for the young heir, despite not showing it. Although, like many others, he detests Andrew's pampered and conceited attitude, and repeatedly punishes him for mistakes he makes, he does not blame him for participating in the war, and Andrew does it only for the acceptance and love of his uncle . There are also many occasions that Cobra protects Andrew from other people, or even, other Venom soldiers.

Also Cobra (and Caiman) accept that Andrew is staying at his base in area 6. Only this happens when Andrew feels insecure going to Venom, and prefers to stay away from the dark environment of the empire or Aaron.

For these reasons, Cobra fully relies on Wolf and Leon. He knows that Wolf is quite reliable and powerful, and that he cared for the young heir (even if it is reluctantly at first).

The same with Leon. In fact, Cobra and Leon have a very good relationship for their protective characteristics towards their friends.

Cobra threatens Pigma several times to eat him.

Previously, Cobra was very reserved when speaking, and during Lylat War he continues to be so, but sometimes he can respond to someone insulting him ( Exam: Pigma or Aaron).

Another detail that he hides is that he is very proud and loves to destroy enemies of Venom. That is why in battle, many see him laugh or act cruel (and for many, it is a terrifying image).

The favorite instrument of Cobra is the drum (of any type).

He is always seen drinking coffee at his base, many assume that he does not sleep at all because of his dark eyes (caiman is the only one that forces him to sleep ... and he does it ). It is also common to see him yawn.

Caiman Dilia 

The whereabouts of Caiman's biological parents are unknown. Caiman only knows that Cobra and Dusa found their eggs since they were very young, and both decided to raise him as a friend. Since he was born, he has a close relationship with Cobra and Dusa.

From a very young age, there were already exiles from the lylat system in Venom. All Venomians distrusted these unknown beings, and others preferred to kill them. Caiman was fascinated by these creatures, and he wanted to investigate them in secret from others. Even if it cost a little, he learned a bit of talking like them, becoming a translator between Andross and the Venomians when they met.

He also became very close to Andrew from his childhood. being always by his side and helping him to adulthood.

The only moments where Caiman acts rude to Andrew is when he loses respect to someone when it is not necessary, or when he sees Andrew bothering Cobra during his work.

There are times when Caiman gets "funny" with Andrew and makes him spend uncomfortable moments (especially in front of Wolf, Leon and Pigma).

Caiman loves Wolf and Leon. He admires Wolf's strength and bravery, and he adores Leon's agility in his attacks. but yes, he admits that Wolf is too proud, and warns him that that pride could go wrong. About Leon, he is only afraid of his cold personality, but he loves his cunning and that he is always to give reason to wolf.

Caiman does not hide his spite towards Pigma. When he sees him near Andrew, he decides to take him away or look at him in a bad way.

In spite of his admiration with Andross, Caiman can notice the stress that the emperor gives Andrew, thinking that Andross is a really cold person.

An excellent relationship has with the other lieutenants. He loves to do any activity with each of them (except for Magno, who is more than brute force). He has a special relationship with Cobra. Like Cobra, he does not have much confidence in Aaron.

In the squadron of Caiman any species of reptile and primate is accepted.

Caiman's favorite instrument is the flute (like Cobra, of any kind).

Attack Carrier Captain / Magno Doenis.

Magno grew up under a patriarchal upbringing. Where he should be the leader despite being the third child of a family with eight children (he only has sisters). Despite that, his sisters had to fight at his side, becoming brute warriors like him. Magno still has a sexist mentality, and he shows it a lot with Dusa. He would do the same years later with Caiman and Cobra when the two become partners (he only complains in silence).

Magno was one of many who murdered the exiles before the war of lylat. There were times when he decided to eat them for lack of food, or just for his little nieces and sisters. That's why at the beginning he has a very bad image of Andross. He became his most loyal and strongest soldier during the war of lylat.

Magno can only see Andrew as an annoying child, and often shows his contempt for the young monkey. Luckily, Cobra always stops him before he does something bad to Andrew.

Magno was very happy to have Wolf and Leon in Venom because he sees the two as powerful, reliable soldiers, and especially, fun people. There are times when Wolf and Magno share beers or fight as training or for fun. Leon prefers to be next to Cobra for his more relaxed personality.

Pigma is Magno's favorite person to abuse.

Magno has a good relationship with Hook silver, the only problem is that he is very rough with the poor old captain who manages to hurt him a little, and that is why Fidel always threatens and watches over him. he rivalry much with Osamu to show his exploits in the gym. He and Granga had a very bad start in their relationship, but now they are able to tolerate each other. Magno worships his friend Cobra (who like Granga, did not have a good friendship before) and tries to become Caiman all a "real" man. Aaron is also one of the many victims of Magno in his heavy jokes.

His favorite instrument is the harmonica. 

Forever Train engineer/ Fidel Macbeth.

Fidel has grown up under the command of a strict man. From a very young age he has matured more than any other child in his city, and has become quite lonely by concentrating on his family affairs.

His favorite musical instrument is the violin. Since he was young he has always been practicing to play at his family's parties.

Fidel is much more mature than the other lieutenants, and is always punishing the others when they do any stupid things (especially Aaron and Magno).

Fidel and Andross have a very good relationship, especially when the two are two elderly people among several "young boys".

He relies on Wolf, and he knows he's a good driver, but he also knows he's an immature person, and it makes him angry to see him fight Andrew or Aaron.

Fidel considers Leon an excellent soldier, better than Wolf. He also admires that he can have a relaxed chat with him and Cobra.

He is very strict with Andrew, he often scolds him for his immature character, telling him that he must act as a better heir of the empire and wants to get him away from the war at all costs. Andrew obviously acts like the conceited child that is in front of these answers. When Andrew was just a child, he considered Fidel a grandfather.

His contempt for Pigma is enormous, especially for being a pig.

With the others, he appreciates and admires Cobra for his good work as a commander, he despises how Magno can be very rough as a person but knows that he is a good soldier. Fidel sees Osamu and Granga as two young boys despite the fact that they are both 36 years old, the same goes for Caiman. . Fidel and Aaron have a difficult relationship because of the extreme behavior of the chimp. Even so, no matter what happens, both appreciate each other.

His best friend is Hook Silver. The two of them know each other well before being exiled and before Silver decided to become a pirate. Despite the cold personality of Fidel, he admits that Silver is the only one that makes him laugh.

Sarumarine’s Captain / Hook Silver

Before becoming a pirate, Silver was known to be a sailor with a good heart. Many admired him for several reasons. Unfortunately, several of those jobs that he had was to arrest several primate criminals.Giving him some discomfort and hatred for some part of the primates in Zoness.

Many people remembered how Silver was very friendly with children (That's why Andrew also considered him a grandfather when he was a child). He would only reveal to a single person that he wished to have a family at some time in his life.

He and Fidel met when he needed a new boat and went straight to ask the best engineer of the lylat system (Fidel's father). While waiting for his appointment with Mr. Macbeth, Silver heard a beautiful violin song and discovered that it was Fidel playing. After a little interruption and talk, Silver asked him if they could play together with his melodica and his violin.

Mentioned in a previous point: Silver, like the others, looks at Andrew as a spoiled boy. Every time Andrew opens his mouth, silver pretends not to hear his words and proceeds to punish him. He is the only one of the other lieutenants who gives Andrew a job in his marine ships so that the heir learns discipline.

Like the others, he believes that Wolf is a very funny person and a good soldier for the empire. He also shares play times with Wolf and Magno.

He loves the agility that Leon has when fighting and piloting. He also thinks he is a great pilot.

At this point you should already know his opinion of Pigma (?.

Silver is a person very loyal to his emperor, and loves to spend time with Andross. More than anything, he loves to play chess or appreciate the sea of Zoness with him.

The crew of Silver is composed, in its majority, of macaques and gorillas. Although he can also accept another soldier from any other primate species.

A special feature of Silver is that he has more qualities of real Japanese macaque. Aka. his movements and gestures seem more like that of a real monkey.

His favorite instrument musical is the melodica.

Shogun Pilot/Osamu Kumo

Osamu learned about the handling of weapons and how to build them under the ruins of an abandoned library in Papetoon. I practice too much until becoming a great dangerous criminal on the planet.

In his spare time, he loves to exercise (and always tries to make his best friend, Granga, exercise with him). Or he may also be simply playing hide and seek with the other members of the empire among the trees.

Unlike the others, Osamu sees Andrew as a little younger brother. Try to have more patience than most others do not do with Andrew, and always prefer to give him advice about becoming a better person than simply punishing him. But yes, who does not lose patience with a boy like the young heir?.

Osamu and Wolf have a good relationship. The two are pretty similar with their proud and bearable personality. Think the same of Leon as a pilot, except that he sees him as a boring man.

Osamu loves practicing target shooting with Pigma.

Osamu always jokes calling Fidel "papa" because of his strict attitude and for always scolding him. With Silver he does not know what to have fun with since he is very old and he finds it boring. He has too much fun together with Magno and Caiman and he thinks Cobra is boring. With Aaron he is very mocking, since he always reminds him between jokes that he is only a man who destroys rocks and the other an expert high-ranking soldier of the empire (Osamu does not want to admit that he has a huge affection for Aaron, even though he now became a horrible person).

Osamu greatly appreciates Granga not only as his best friend, but as his lifelong brother (a younger brother, specifically). The two love to practice together any kind of skill for their empire, make jokes to others and spend time together. In addition to trusting and protecting each other. Osamu will always say that the main reason he wants Granga is because he never had a brother or a family during his whole life until he met him.

His favorite instrument is the acoustic guitar.

Granga / Jacob Jr.

When he lived in Corneria, he tried to enter the best technology-computing university in the whole city by passing a compulsory exam. Unfortunately, he did not manage to enter, feeling horrible and stupid at the thought that he was not smart enough to pass.

Due to what happened to the previous point, the only job that Granga managed to get to work was as a waiter in a luxurious restaurant (he admits that he was doing quite well and his boss treated him well).

He was only raised under the arms of his sweet mother, Leonor. The two had a beautiful mother-son relationship, but granga always disliked her too much as she only called him "Junior" even when he was 20 years old (until now he even hates to be called Junior or by his name).

Leonor took care of Granga alone when he was barely a child. Nobody knows about his father. Granga only makes mention of his father by making horrible comments about fatherhood or when another character talks about his relationship with his father.

He also had a nice girlfriend at the time, but when he started working as a hacker, she was the first to leave him (he does not care much).

Andrew always saw him, and he will see him, like an older brother, but one quite stupid. The two always fight and insult each other, and if it were not for Fidel, Cobra or Osamu, they would even fight hand to hand between them. He has the least patience with Andrew.

his opinion about Wolf or Leon is the same as the others, except that Granga shows more his superiority than the others want to hide towards Wolf and Leon.

Pigma knows that Granga is not as powerful or brave as the others, but even so, the worst thing that Granga can do to Pigma is to hack his machines.

Granga adores his emperor, not as much as a fanboy would, but he would certainly try to do whatever he wants by the name of his leader. The biggest reason why he appreciates him too much is because Andross showed a lot that he saw potential in him.

Granga has a difficult relationship with Magno due to past events, but neither do they have much trouble between them. Unlike Osamu, Granga only sees Fidel as an old nut, and Silver as a laughing old man (even so, he secretly admits that he loves them). He appreciates Cobra, but advises him to talk more like Silver or Caiman (even if that means being scared by his laughter). Since they have known each other to the present, Aaron and Granga always fight among themselves. In itself, Granga is the most honest with Aaron to tell him that he is a shitty person.

The only person (besides her mother, previously, and also of andross) who always teaches her affection for the unimaginable, is Osamu. Granga loves the spider monkey too much as a brother, and he will always do his best to rescue him from any fight or disaster in the war (knowing that he is a very weak and cowardly person inside him). There are certain things that Granga does not like about his friend, like the fact of smoking or that always forces him to exercise, but already being by his side he will be quite happy.

 He loves to listen to electronic music, dubstep or Spanish music. The funny thing is that his favorite musical instrument is the tambourine.

For some rare reason, he insults a lot in Spanish.

That's all for now, if you have any questions, have my ask open to ask! See you!.

[himbosims]

The Simself Challenge? Is that what this is called? I have no idea. . .

The challenge is basically to make a simself then answer a fuck ton of question so here we are. Thanks @willowbomb and @sim-borg for tagging me. I’ll tag: whoever wants to do this because idk who hasn't done this yet

1. WHAT IS YOUR FULL NAME? Taylor

2. WHAT IS YOUR NICKNAME? My childhood nickname was Tot. My friends call me d*ke and slut though so hey

3. BIRTHDAY? July 23, 2001

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK SERIES? Series definitely The Mortal Instruments or the Infernal Artifacts by Cassandra Clare

5. DO YOU BELIEVE IN ALIENS OR GHOSTS? Both i think, definitely aliens. I don't fuck with ghosts and all that because I don't want to die

6. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE AUTHOR? Right now my favs are Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli

7. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE RADIO STATION? Where I live we have five stations, one that plays music from the 30’s all the time, three country, and one that says it plays pop but ends up playing country anyways. So, none.

8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLAVOR OF ANYTHING? Idk man, thats a loaded question. Probably vanilla

9. WHAT WORD WOULD YOU USE OFTEN TO DESCRIBE SOMETHING GREAT OR WONDERFUL? ??? lit… idk dude I was trying to think of something that's weird but I can't think of anything

10. WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT FAVORITE SONG? Be My Mistake by The 1975 or Not Warriors by Waterparks

11. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE WORD? Serious answer, lunacy (there's a reason its my username) not as serious, I just heard someone outside yell for the chillin’s and I started laughing because that word is great

12. WHAT WAS THE LAST SONG YOU LISTENED TO?  I’m currently listening to From Eden by Hozier

13. WHAT TV SHOW WOULD YOU RECOMMEND FOR EVERYBODY TO WATCH? Shameless, Glee, Shadowhunters, Grey’s. I could go on.

14. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE TO WATCH WHEN YOU’RE FEELING DOWN?Love, Simon, Call Me By Your Name, or The Perks of Being a Wallflower

15. DO YOU PLAY VIDEO GAMES? Obviously

16. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR? Spiders and needles

17. WHAT IS YOUR BEST QUALITY, IN YOUR OPINION? nothing

18. WHAT IS YOUR WORST QUALITY, IN YOUR OPINION? Everything, in seriousness, my selfishness or narcissism,  

19. DO YOU LIKE CATS OR DOGS BETTER? Cats are my favorites but dogs are cool

20. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON? fall

21. ARE YOU IN A RELATIONSHIP? Never have been

22. WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU MISS FROM YOUR CHILDHOOD? NOT AS MUCH STRESS

23. WHO IS YOUR BEST FRIEND? Irl- my friend EJ. Online- @hallowiamshebsims

24. WHAT IS YOUR EYE COLOR? Green

25. WHAT IS YOUR HAIR COLOR? brown

26. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU LOVE? Read 23

27. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU TRUST? Read 23

28. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU THINK ABOUT OFTEN? Read 23

29. ARE YOU CURRENTLY EXCITED ABOUT/FOR SOMETHING? I don't remember the last time I was excited for something

30. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST OBSESSION? Writing I think

31. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW AS A CHILD? Hannah Montana, Ned Declassified, Drake and Josh, Flapjack, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Chowder, Rugrats. I'm a true early Gen Z kid

32. WHO OF THE OPPOSITE GENDER CAN YOU TELL ANYTHING TO, IF ANYONE? My girl best friend, I dont tell him everything because i'm a secretive bitch

33. ARE YOU SUPERSTITIOUS? Nah

34. DO YOU HAVE ANY UNUSUAL PHOBIAS? Read 16

35. DO YOU PREFER TO BE IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA OR BEHIND IT? Both

36. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE HOBBY? Writing, reading, creating imaginary worlds to live in

37. WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? I am almost done with History Is All You Left me by Adam Silvera and oh boy that book

38. WHAT WAS THE LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Paranorman: “You’re gonna love my boyfriend, he’s like a total chick flick nut.”

39. WHAT MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS DO YOU PLAY, IF ANY? N/A

40. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ANIMAL? Cats

41. WHAT ARE YOUR TOP 5 FAVORITE TUMBLR BLOGS THAT YOU FOLLOW? @hallowiamshebsims @simmerberlin @willowbomb @pollinationqueen @gunthermnch

42. WHAT SUPERPOWER DO YOU WISH YOU HAD? The ability to always have the money to pay for things

43. WHEN AND WHERE DO YOU FEEL MOST AT PEACE? My room probably

44. WHAT MAKES YOU SMILE? People falling down, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJq4jWSQNd

45. WHAT SPORTS DO YOU PLAY, IF ANY? That’s cute

46. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DRINK? Coffee

47. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WROTE A HAND-WRITTEN LETTER OR NOTE TO SOMEBODY? I have two teachers that are really weird about phones and talking in class so we pass notes instead

48. ARE YOU AFRAID OF HEIGHTS? Nah

49. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST PET PEEVE? LOUD EATERS

50. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO A CONCERT? I went to a christian concert when I was like 5 so there's that

51. ARE YOU VEGAN/VEGETARIAN? Nope, I live in the south how do you expect me to not eat meat

52. WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE, WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GREW UP? Teacher since I live in the south and that's the only jobs beside retail or waitress in my town

53. WHAT FICTIONAL WORLD WOULD YOU LIKE TO LIVE IN? The Shadow World, but I wanna be a warlock, not a dumb shadowhunter lol

54. WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU WORRY ABOUT? Everything

55. ARE YOU SCARED OF THE DARK? I’m afraid of what's in the dark, which is a hard ass way to say yes

56. DO YOU LIKE TO SING? All the time but im tone deaf so its bad

57. HAVE YOU EVER SKIPPED SCHOOL? If I was sick, yeah. Other than that, I did twice. Once because I had a really bad panic attack right before the bus got to my house and I called my mom claiming I was really sick, and once a few weeks ago because my dog got sprayed by a skunk therefore making me smell like a skunk

58. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE ON THE PLANET? uhhhhhhh

59. WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO LIVE? New York City, LA, San Francisco, Toronto, Portland, London. Any big city to be honest

60. DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS? A dog and three cats

61. ARE YOU MORE OF AN EARLY BIRD OR A NIGHT OWL? Both. I sometimes stay up super late and sometimes i'm up really early. And if I can actually force myself out of bed I can get a lot done in either of those times

62. DO YOU LIKE SUNRISES OR SUNSETS BETTER? Sunrises

63. DO YOU KNOW HOW TO DRIVE? Yeah but im gay so its not good driving l

64. DO YOU PREFER EARBUDS OR HEADPHONES? Everything that wont break in a week

65. HAVE YOU EVER HAD BRACES? Nah

66. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE GENRE OF MUSIC? I don't really have a favorite, I listen to all kinds of stuff

67. WHO IS YOUR HERO? Uhhhhh, Deadpool, or Spiderman

68. DO YOU READ COMIC BOOKS? Nope

69. WHAT MAKES YOU THE MOST ANGRY? It takes a lot to make me angry but when im angry it's bad and I forget what i do when i was angry so i don't really know

70. DO YOU PREFER TO READ ON AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE OR WITH A REAL BOOK? Real

71. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL? English and Creative Writing

72. DO YOU HAVE ANY SIBLINGS? Younger sister, younger step brother

73. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU BOUGHT? A starbucks coffee last night

74. HOW TALL ARE YOU? 5’7 or something

75. CAN YOU COOK? Depends on what i'm cooking

76. WHAT ARE THREE THINGS THAT YOU LOVE? Books, music, friends

77. WHAT ARE THREE THINGS THAT YOU HATE? Racists, homophobes, sexists- so basically most the people in my town (hell what am i kidding, this side of the Mason-Dixon line)

78. DO YOU HAVE MORE FEMALE FRIENDS OR MORE MALE FRIENDS? One of each

79. WHAT IS YOUR SEXUAL ORIENTATION? I am on the ace spectrum and I am panromantic

80. WHERE DO YOU CURRENTLY LIVE? ‘Merica the brave

81. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TEXTED? Sheb

82. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Like, yesterday

83. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE YOUTUBER? CallMeKevin RTGame The Shane Dawson squad

84. DO YOU LIKE TO TAKE SELFIES? sometimes

85. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE APP?I guess this hell site

86. WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR PARENT(S) LIKE?My mom and I are kinda close, i don't really talk to my dad much (even though I live with him half the week)

87. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOREIGN ACCENT? Aussie, British, Scottish, Irish… all of them

88. WHAT IS A PLACE THAT YOU’VE NEVER BEEN TO, BUT YOU WANT TO VISIT? Everywhere that’s not my state and the ones touching it

89. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE NUMBER? 23

90. CAN YOU JUGGLE? notta

91. ARE YOU RELIGIOUS? Yes, but not crazy religious. I just believe in fate and that there is some type of higher power

92. DO YOU FIND OUTER SPACE OF THE DEEP OCEAN TO BE MORE INTERESTING? Nasa bitch

93. DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF TO BE A DAREDEVIL? I have an issue with adrenaline. As in, although i am an anxious person with too much adrenaline anyways I like to do things that give me a rush of adrenaline

94. ARE YOU ALLERGIC TO ANYTHING? I can't have my eyes pierced because I'm allergic to metal in the sense of having it in my body

95. CAN YOU CURL YOUR TONGUE? Yep

96. CAN YOU WIGGLE YOUR EARS? Nope

97. HOW OFTEN DO YOU ADMIT THAT YOU WERE WRONG ABOUT SOMETHING? Next question

98. DO YOU PREFER THE FOREST OR THE BEACH? I mean netiehr, but i'm not a huge fan of sand

99. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PIECE OF ADVICE THAT ANYONE HAS EVER GIVEN YOU? You’ve made it through your worst day before, you can do it again

100. ARE YOU A GOOD LIAR? I think so

101. WHAT IS YOUR HOGWARTS HOUSE? Sytherlin, not surprise

102. DO YOU TALK TO YOURSELF? I’m talking to myself right now

103. ARE YOU AN INTROVERT OR AN EXTROVERT? Introvert

104. DO YOU KEEP A JOURNAL/DIARY? Nah, my writing is kind alike my diary

105. DO YOU BELIEVE IN SECOND CHANCES? I give people too many chances

106. IF YOU FOUND A WALLET FULL OF MONEY ON THE GROUND, WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Check the ID, maybe take the money and leave it in a bush or something. I don’t know

107. DO YOU BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE ARE CAPABLE OF CHANGE? For sure

108. ARE YOU TICKLISH? Please don’t  tickle me

109. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON A PLANE? Nope

110. DO YOU HAVE ANY PIERCINGS? Read question 94

111. WHAT FICTIONAL CHARACTER DO YOU WISH WAS REAL? Alec Lightwood or Magnus Bane, but young Alec because I can't be friends with 27 year old Alec

112. DO YOU HAVE ANY TATTOOS? Scared of needles, remember?

113. WHAT IS THE BEST DECISION THAT YOU’VE MADE IN YOUR LIFE SO FAR? Doing things for me

114. DO YOU BELIEVE IN KARMA? YES

115. DO YOU WEAR GLASSES OR CONTACTS? Both

116. DO YOU WANT CHILDREN? Not really but if my future partner wants some i’d be open to talk about it

117. WHO IS THE SMARTEST PERSON YOU KNOW? My ex-best friend. I used to hate how she never had to try to get good grades or be good at things, she just was

118. WHAT IS YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING MEMORY? All my memories are embarrassing if you look close enough

119. HAVE YOU EVER PULLED AN ALL-NIGHTER? At least twice a month

120. WHAT COLOR ARE MOST OF YOU CLOTHES? Nutruels and black

121. DO YOU LIKE ADVENTURES? Sure

122. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON TV? I think I wa son the news once

123. HOW OLD ARE YOU? 17

124. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE? I have a lot, “Words have the power to change us.” “perhaps it is because of time that we suffer.” “I remain a work in progress until I die.” “The thing you are most afraid to write, write that.” I could go on

125. DO YOU PREFER SWEET OR SAVORY FOODS? Sweet