#but i would go so far as to say its entirely inaccurate.

[capfalcon]

btw media literacy is not the same thing as english class and i am please begging people to read more about media literacy because it is so far from english class, signed sincerly someone with a degree in media studies

[survivalove]

debunking lies zutara shippers say about the atla creators & writers

disclaimer: this is in no way an endorsement or defense of bryke or anyone mentioned. literally just debunking false statements i see spread throughout and outside the fandom as it pertains to kataang

1. that bryke made kataang endgame because the nice guy should get the girl

this is something I see often usually linked with this video of a man ⬇️ who they claim to be bryan/mike echoing this sentiment.

this man is in fact john o’bryan, one of the three known zk shippers in the writers’ room (we’ll expand on this in point 5) talking about how he saw aang. not the creators. so of course it shouldn’t surprise anyone that he doesn’t even like kataang in the first place.

2. that bryke made kataang endgame last minute and zutara was the original pairing

bryan and mike (notice how i’m using both of their names separately. this too will be important in the next point) have talked about how kataang was planned since they originally wrote the show.

they have also talked ad nauseam in a video (which I will not share here cuz it made a lot of ppl angry) about why they do not like zutara and its shippers, so this entire point is bogus.

++ the reason why they say zk was the original pairing is because of one of the zk writers (joshua hamilton) wrote this in the atla fun facts that used to run on tv. (we’ll get into him later) those atla fun facts contain a lot of inaccurate/non canon “facts” which you can check and verify on avatar wiki if you know what i’m talking about.

3. that aang is bryke’s self insert (specifically mike)

yeah, here’s where the separation becomes important. bryan (L) and mike (R) are two different men. mike has never said that aang was his self-insert, nor has he directly talked about relating to aang. bryan, however, constantly talks about how much he relates to zuko. even, going as far to say he tries to think like zuko when he writes characters and shows.

the only time mike has come close to saying he relates to aang is when dante said he thinks mike is more like aang while bryan is more like zuko, and they, mostly bryan, agreed. (mike has actually said he relates to korra more than aang but hey) bryan also is the one who drew mike’s beard on adult aang because he considered it a nice reference to his friend. this is the main reason why shippers ran with that self-insert narrative because half the time, they think bryke is actually one person ☠️

++ in fact, aang’s original character design is based off the mixed black-chinese son of sifu kisu

4. that atla was supposed to have a season 4 where katara and zuko got together

this is mostly something that has come out of a fabricated interview by the head writer, aaron ehasz. he was allegedly asked what he would have liked to do if given the chance to write a fourth season of the show and talked about an azula redemption arc among other things. zutaras then made up a whole fake interview including that he wanted to make the two characters endgame.

ehasz then came out to say that most of these “interviews” were faked and that he has never talked about having a preference for any ship. if you go on his twitter, you will see him talking about an azula redemption arc tho.

as for atla having a 4th season at all, it was never intended. the creators, the music composers have all said at various points in time, the show was written and pitched as three seasons, three elements.

5. that most of the other writers shipped zutara and bryke’s authoritarianism shut it down

as I said above, only three writers on the original show have come out to say they preferred zk at some point. atla has had a total of 21 staff writers. 3 out of 21 is not most if you ask me.

as for bryke (yes now i’m using the shorthand cuz i proved my point earlier) being authoritarians, no writer or staff that has worked with them on the show has said this so…? idk where that came from but i’m not here to back them up just mention facts.

6. that all the women who worked on the franchise shipped zutara while only men shipped kataang

atla has very few female staff as it is:

5 writers (elizabeth welch: zk; others: unknown)

1 director (unknown)

5 storyboard/character artists (lauren montgomery: ka; elsa garagarza: ka; angela song mueller: zk; others: unknown)

1 comic writer (faith erin hicks: ka)

2 comic artists (gurihiru: ka)

++ mae whitman (katara’s voice actress) has expressed her like for both ships throughout the years.

so i’m not sure what defines all and only for some ppl but those definitions are not in my dictionary. disclaimer: i’m not declaring anyone here as a shipper in any official sense. this is just based off statements they have made that you can google!

7. that katara is written poorly in post-atla content because of kataang/bryke

I mean the first part isn’t really a lie, more of an opinion which I can agree with to an extent.

why I mention this here is because zks will not only go on a tangent and link the misogyny in the writing to a m/f ship and say the other m/f ship would have been more feminist…

but they also refuse to hold all the men involved accountable. like I said, 3 known atla writers shipped zk and 2 of them (joshua & john) were men (who would’ve thought men could like a ship and it could still be considered feminist 😃). they were also 2 out of only 4 atla writers that came back for legend of korra, outside of the creators. (19 to 4 ☠️ no comment). these shippers very well know this and instead of holding these men accountable for the misogynistic writing, they instead brag about them shipping it and ask them about zk whenever they have the chance.

another example is gene luen yang, a comic writer who again shipped zk (another man GASPPPPP) responsible for the first 5 comic books. everyone knows his comics suck in terms of characterization, particularly katara’s. in fact zutaras have made multiple threads on how poor the writing is. funnily enough, they always fail to mention that gly was the script writer or acknowledge his part in this mischaracterization, while bragging about him shipping zk in other posts. ironic.

meanwhile, bryke have never offered writers’ commentary on any of gly’s comics besides the search - mike (because they were mostly writing legend of korra during his run.)

basically these shippers don’t care about misogyny or holding male writers accountable if they ship zk which is funny because I thought it was… for the female gaze? why are you hyping men shipping it anyway? confusion.

[asterdisaster06]

Strawberry Pie

Simon "Ghost" Riley x gn!reader

summary > The four times Simon helped you, and the one time you helped him.

word count > 2.5k

cw > Serial killer AU. Inaccurate police information + procedures for plot reasons. Allusion to murder + getting away with crimes, yeah, that’s the kind of help (:<

a/n >  inspired by hannibal + “strawberry” by andrew montana

ao3

“How does it look?” A simple twirl following the words accompanying the small smile. Lips painted blood red with a new lipstick. 

“Beautiful love, absolutely stunning,” Simon says with a slow blink, a cat-like behaviour to express his adoration for you.

“I found this sundress while out shopping. And I got my nails done while I was at it! I followed your recommendation,” You answer with a smile as soft as the blanket beneath your rosy fingertips. 

“And the lipstick?” Simon asks, tilting his head. 

“Something I found in college. It’s served me well all these years,” You send a grin filled with sharp teeth towards Simon. His sweet little vixen. 

“Others would call you crazy,” Simon mentions, the teasing tone trailing off as he stares at you intently.

“But?”

“But, I admire your gumption, sweetheart,” Simon says, cupping your face gently in his hands; laying a tender kiss on the tip of your nose.

“You missed,” You remark with a twinkle in your eye.

“Oh did I now?” His voice softened from its usual gruff timbre. 

Simon RIley leans in to kiss your forehead, and then one corner of your mouth to the other, and then finally landed home onto your lips. He didn’t seem to mind the transfer of dye nor the chastising you did because of it. It was messy, it was sweet, it was entirely and so wholefully the two of you with the only disturbance being the gentle breeze shifting the pastel curtains. The ones that Simon insisted on keeping open to let the precious sunlight in - he claims that the way it brushes against your skin is a look into heaven itself. 

“Okay, okay, I really have to go this time. You’ve kept me trapped here like your little Rapunzel for far too long, Simon,” You urgently get out between fits of laughter and giggles alike. 

“So satanic, the way you plan to simply leave the love of your life here to die alone,” Your boyfriend sighs, sagging back into the comfort of the mattress you both were now laying on. Of course, he was being dramatic. As per usual. It would be endearing if it wasn’t so humorous to see the giant of a man turn into a feeble ghost of the soldier he usually is. Price would be proud to see that his subordinate does in fact have some humanity left within himself. 

“Don’t panic. You’ll live, I’m sure of it,” You reply, giving him a sympathetic kiss on the cheek, before getting up.

“Hey love?”

“Yes, Simon?”

“You missed,” Was all he could get out before you rolled your eyes and gave him exactly what he wanted - despite the fact that it made you a minute late. 

. . .

“Welcome to our humble abode,” You smile, giving a sweet little twirl and a flourish of your arms. The team had to admit that it was a cosy little thing out in the sticks. The interior design was no doubt your doing, a cottagecore vibe, considering the fact that Simon was limited to plain walls being his entire experience. Plants here and there, sunlight streaming through the glass paned windows, and pots and pans hanging with their herb friends. 

“Thank you for having us,” Price responds.

“What he said,” Came from the other two. 

“Where’s your lover?” Soap asks teasingly.

“Oh, he’s out in the garden gathering a few last minute spices,” You say, a gentle expression taking over your features at the thought of your love doing so much for you. You see the group share a knowing look and a few chuckles were heard from behind you. A soft reminder is all they need to stop with their shenanigans while you’re cooking. Of course, Gaz offers a helping hand with chopping up various vegetables for the stew and Price had called dibs on doing the dishes. He claims it was the least he could do for the host. Soap on the other hand insists on being the taste tester. A gentle ring of a bell alerts you to Simon coming in from the outside, completely drenched. 

“What happened to you? You look like a stray dog,” You laugh, leaning against the counter. 

“In my defence, it started as a drop before it ended up pouring a minute later,” Simon grumbled, 

“We’ve needed a good shower, wouldn’t you say? Good for the fertiliser,” You say, sending your lover a wink as you scoot over to allow him access to the sink.

A playful eye roll is what you earn in response as he says, “This is what I get for agreeing to hide out in the country.”

“Bite your tongue if you know what’s good for you,” You nudge him good-naturedly. 

“You know I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world, love,” He says, facial expression softening into pure adoration. He sends you this look even as he’s scrubbing his hands of the dirt and blood from the garden. The scent of decay quickly running down the drain, tainting the water black. 

“I know. My saviour day in and day out, wouldn’t you say?”

Before Simon got the chance to answer, the timer - the one in the shape of a chicken because Simon just couldn’t say no when you held it up to him with those puppy dog eyes - went off. 

“Your world famous strawberry pie? Again?” You click your tongue and shake your head with a sly smile.

“It’s world famous for a reason, love. And, we have guests that have yet to taste my creation,” Simon grins back at you. 

“Whatever you say, Simon,” You huff out with a laugh. 

Laughter filled the air as the dinner party continued later into the night before it all quieted down with the departure of the boys. A simple contentment washes over the two of you left on the couch, a fleece blanket encasing your figures. Something about it warmed your beating heart as you listened to the rhythm of Simon’s long after you drifted off into unconsciousness. 

. . .

“Simon, you wouldn’t happen to be busy right now, would you?”

“Of course not, love. What do you need?” Simon answers over the phone.

“There was a roadkill accident, and my car isn’t in tip top shape anymore. Do you think you could come pick me up? I’m about two klicks down the road from our house,” You say, your phone tucked in between your ear and shoulder as you slide latex gloves over your hands. 

“As you wish,” Simon’s voice rumbles in your ear, sending shivers down your spine. 

You drag the corpse into the bushes and thank whoever was listening that the only evidence left was the blood pool. It would be quite a shame if any innocent had to feast their eyes on the remains of the carrion. Vultures would have to find another meal elsewhere - this one was yours. Right on time, Simon’s car reverberated down the gravel lane. 

“I didn’t think you would become so reckless, angel,” Simon chuckles, hopping out of his truck to help you lift the body into the back of his car. 

“I like the word hasty more. It sounds better, don’t you think?”

“Whatever you call it, just remember I’m always here to help clean up your messes.”

“And I you, darling,” You nudge Simon as he opens the car door for you. 

“I should’ve seen it in your eyes when we first started seeing each other. You were trying to warn me,” Simon chuckles, humour lacing his words. 

“I always wanted to be able to see you in the morning, Simon,” You begin solemnly. “I don’t wanna be alone, it’s quite boring, isn’t it?” You shrug. 

“Oh, baby, let me finish. I’m keeping you, you menace. Until the day one of us kills the other,” Simon smiles, giving your hand a tight squeeze. 

“That would be how it ends, wouldn’t it?”

“Of course, there’s no other way,” Simon says, a simple grin on his lips. A rare sight, but a common one with you. And just like the rain, it was washed away just as quickly.

. . .

“Shit, love, did you go after a military man?” SImon asks as he gently wipes away dirt and grime from your face. Your clothes were receiving the same treatment in the washer after you took a shower.

“I somehow doubt her boyfriend got into the military with that weak of a punch. He just got the jump on me. . . and had a pocket knife,” You explain, wincing when Simon brushed over your wounds. 

“That would explain all these lacerations, now wouldn’t it?”

“Actually those were from the girl clawing me half to death. The guy did jack all if I’m being honest. Tried to run like a pussy too,” You laugh, your ribs protesting at the act. 

“Sounds like you did her a favour, showing her the real colours of her boyfriend. A shame she isn’t alive to make a change,” He hums, confidently bandaging your arms and face like he had done a million times before. And like he would continue to do a thousand times over. As he does that you down a cheap whiskey from the bottle to ease the pain. 

“Quite a shame. Almost as much as the fact that I have some cleaning up to do later. They were surprisingly bloody for how little it took to bring them down,” You sigh, raking your hands through your hair before realising your hands were still stained metallic red.

“You just take a shower and leave the rest to me,” Simon says with a quirk at the edge of his lips. 

“What would I do without you?”

“Probably end up in jail.”

“That’s both true and insulting.”

“Whatever you say, love.”

. . .

“Simon? I think it’s time for a change.”

“What colour?”

“You know me so well. I was thinking something colourful this time around, really make the sight a seemly one before they meet their end,” You say, looking in the mirror and preemptively mourning for the identity that would be no longer. 

Not if Simon had any say in it. He had a surprising knack for disguise; although, you suspect that a few missions would require a little bit of magic to make it work. Odd, though, considering it’s doubtful that anyone would be left to tell the tale of the infamous Simon “Ghost” Riley. 

“You just get into the bathroom, I’ll be there soon with the dye,” Simon calls out from across the house. 

“Have I ever told you how much I love you?”

“Not today,” Simon answers.

“Well, I love you very much for all that you do for me,” You say, expressing your thanks.

“I love you too, sweetheart,” Simon chuckles, entering the bathroom with all that you could ever need for an identity change. “Although, have you ever considered wearing a mask? Speaking from personal experience, it does make a wonderful impression alongside shielding you from the public eye.”

You hum thoughtfully before responding with, “I have, although I’ve discovered the personal touch makes it all the more better. That, and, I think between the two of us, you pull it off way better than I ever could.”

“If you insist, love,” Simon laughs, the sound reverberating throughout you. 

“It’s the truth, now which colour would suit me better?” You ask, alternating two dyes in your hand and in your favour. 

“Tough question. I fear we might need a second opinion,” He teases. 

“You know me too well, get the team on the phone,” You grin, practically bubbling over with excitement. Some may say you were too enthusiastic given the circumstances, but not Simon. He always supported you in your little hobby and dinner parties - much to your surprise. He was everything that you could’ve ever asked for, and more.

. . .

“Hey, love, are you busy right now?” Simon asks over the phone - a surprising event considering that he was never one for calls. They irked him, verbatim words that make you giggle at the absurdity of all.

“No, of course not, Simon. What do you need?” You ask, slightly busy with cooking dinner but Simon always came first. You did put him on speaker though to make it a little easier. 

“Could you come down to the station? Some stories need to be set straight, if you know what I mean,” Simon almost growls out.

“I’ll be there in five,” You reply, dropping the pleasantries as a dark look overtakes you. 

. . .

“What seems to be the problem, Officer?” You ask, acting the part of an innocent victim.

“Can I get you some water?” Fake pleasantries. Nothing upset you more.

“No thank you. I’d prefer to get this cleared up as soon as possible, sir,” You spit out, decisive and curt with your words. 

“Of course. There appears to be significant evidence that forty-eight hours ago your significant other was put at the scene of a crime near the Lincoln bar. Likely as a perpetrator,” Is what the officer tells you, much to your chagrin. Despite the calm facade that you were putting forth, you were fighting the urge to roll your eyes. You know exactly what happened, exactly who was killed, and the reason behind it was all because of a jealous spat between Simon and a man who had the misfortune of hitting on you in front of the infamous Ghost. He just couldn’t control himself when it came to you.

“I find that highly unlikely,” You say brusquely.

“And why is that?”

“He was at the Lincoln bar, but both myself and three other people were with him the entire night. Here, I’ll write their numbers down,” You say, quickly uncapping the pen on the table. 

“We’ve already checked the surveillance, but thank you for these witnesses. There is a gap of time between 9:31 PM and 9:39 PM that we are awfully curious about.”

“From what I remember, he went to the bathroom,” You answer genuinely.

They continued their line of questioning, asking if you had any connection to the victim, if you had seen anyone suspicious, along with other interrogations that all ended with the classic ‘if you think of anything else, notify us.’ You had high hopes that Simon would be released almost immediately and you were proven right when he walked right out of the building over to where you were on the curb. 

“There’s my saviour,” Simon says, embracing you tightly.

“You haven’t forgotten our promise, right?” You ask with a smile.

“Of course not, love. I simply wanted to show my appreciation, as per usual,” Simon chuckles lightly.

“Be your alibi, and never ask why,” You say, interlocking your pinky with Simons.

“Never ask why,” Simon whispers back, promising it like a vow. 

“The boys invited us out to dinner at Price’s, angel. You feeling up to it?” You ask.

“Always if it involves you,” Simon flirts.

You roll your eyes, replying with, “You menace.”

“You know you love me,” Simon laughs. And you did. So, very, much. 

[doll-elvis]

have you ever read child bride by suzanne finstead? do you find it accurate.

thank you very much for this ask ꨄ︎!!

I have indeed read "Child Bride” and as for its’ accuracy I wouldn't go as far to say it's entirely inaccurate but I do have several bones to pick with Suzanne Finstad as a biographer as I believe she has let her bias (obviously not liking Priscilla) get in the way of her better judgment, which in turn, has corrupted the overall validity of her book. For example, giving Currie Grant a platform to tell his version of events regarding Elvis and Priscilla in Germany, including a claim so egregious that I truly have trouble understanding why so many in this fandom praise this book 😭

I think a lot of Elvis fans consider/recommend “Child Bride” as the antithesis to Priscilla’s “Elvis and Me” which is fair considering Finstad highlights some very valid criticisms against Priscilla i.e her hiring a second, much more aggressive, lawyer to get more money out of Elvis, and her introducing her family (Lisa Marie and later on Navarone) to the “church” aka cult of Scientology etc. etc.

- however -

The book as a whole comes at the expense of Elvis and what I mean by that is that Suzanne Finstad is not someone who has his best interest at heart (I mean look at what she has said in some of these recents documentaries about Elvis) and in order to push her narrative that Priscilla was some fourteen-year-old s*xual deviant, she has made some incredibly inflammatory statements about their relationship, and it literally starts with the title of her book (referring to Priscilla as Elvis’ “child bride”)

And the main reason as to why I cannot comprehend how fans praise this book is that Finstad goes with the story that Currie Grants tells, which includes him saying that Elvis (24) and Priscilla (14) were having penetrative intercourse after their 3rd or 4th date ⬇️

excerpt is from “Child Bride” by Suzanne Finstad

So this is why I tend to cringe when I see other fans praise this book… I know it’s not their intention but they are inadvertently promoting a falsehood that says Elvis was committing statutory r*pe against a fourteen year old Priscilla

Not only does that go against what Priscilla and others have said about the physical relationship she had with Elvis in Germany, but it goes against the pattern that Elvis followed for almost every single (long-term) relationship prior to Priscilla and even after

A girl that Elvis deemed “special” or in other words- good enough to marry- was not a girl that Elvis was going to have penetrative s*x with, especially not when he had the more worldly starlets of Hollywood and the showgirls of Germany and Paris at his disposal

PRISCILLA PRESLEY: “In the past, he said that he wanted a virgin (to marry)”

DEBRA PAGET: “He always said he’d marry a virgin”

LAMAR FIKE: “Elvis respected virginity. He used to tell Alan, “I’ll never break a virgin. There are too many whores around”

We saw this with Dixie Locke, we saw this with June Juanico and Anita Wood, all of whom, in their many years of dating him never had penetrative s*x

We even saw this with women like Linda Thompson and Ginger Alden who he waited several months with before consummating

So because of that I have an incredibly hard time believing that Elvis would abandon his morals after just 3 or 4 dates with Priscilla, especially when he was having s*x with age appropriate girls like Elizabeth Mansfield, who often took Priscilla’s place in Elvis’ bed after she left

Another issue I have with “Child Bride” is that she has often either misquoted people, or written things that contradict what they have said to other biographers- basically many things haven’t added up when cross referencing between books

I have mentioned this one before but it is just so blatant, that I feel compelled to mention it again ⬇️

So here we have Joe Esposito re-telling a throwaway comment about Priscilla made by Elvis

excerpt is from “Good Rockin’ tonight” by Joe Esposito

And then here we have Suzanne Finstad’s retelling of that comment, where she has misquoted Esposito in order to make Priscilla out to be the s*xual aggressor

excerpt is from “Child Bride” by Suzanne Finstad

Instances like this give me extreme pause when determining if a biographer could be trusted or not- and when I was reading through her book again this comment about Sheila Ryan nearly made me bust out laughing

excerpt is from “Child Bride” by Suzanne Finstad

“Sheila never had an orgasm when she was with Elvis”… like are we talking about the same Sheila Ryan or-? ⬇️

excerpt is from “Baby let’s play house” by Alanna Nash

All in all, “Child Bride” definitely makes for an interesting read (mainly the second half of the book) but it’s one that I will probably never pick up again as I cannot get over Currie Grant’s involvement, especially his claims about Priscilla and Elvis that are completely unfounded

Scandal sells quite frankly and I no longer underestimate what people will say for money, ESPECIALLY when it comes to Elvis- I mean look at the claims made by Dee Stanley who got a whopping $100,000 from the National Enquirer to tell stories about a woman she never even met (Gladys)

So I would not be surprised in the least if Currie has been handsomely compensated for selling his stories to biographers like Finstad, because again, scandal sells, and him approaching Priscilla first isn’t nearly as page-turning as Priscilla offering up s*x in order to meet Elvis

[the80srewinders]

We were looking at r/fakedisordercringe and r/systemscringe (bad idea) and we found a lot of misinformation. We're going to correct the myths in this post, and this will be a team effort by a few other sysmates. They will be credited at the end of the post.

Trigger warnings for abuse, RAMCOA and denial apply.

This person is trying to invalidate RAMCOA. And they're using an inaccurate study to prove it.

We have, in fact, read this study. It seems largely stereotype driven instead of a true unbiased study because people with other, often traumagenic mental disorders (like cluster b personality disorders) often are open about the trauma they truly experienced if these disorders affect them to have attention seeking behavior. And this study failed to mention that. For the "having told persons other than close confidants" part, its often unsafe for people with DID, much less people who developed it from RAMCOA to be open about it in person to people they know. They feel safer venting or sharing their experience online because theres the optional anonymity you can choose and you're safe from anyone who abused you. Its not attention seeking- its seeking support.

I do agree with the telling of alleged abuse without accompanying shame, guilt or suffering" part to an extent. If you're talking about trauma you claim you remember and have no distress, that's a sign you're either faking or really detached from your memories. But most of the "alleged" abuse these people are talking about they don't remember because thats how childhood trauma and DID work. Many singlets with childhood trauma don't remember majority or any of it because the brain "forgets" different aspects of trauma. And DID is a posttraumatic dissociative disorder entirely based on amnesia of trauma to survive. So if the person is being open about abuse with no distress, it could also be because they don't remember it but know it happened because of clues. Can't feel distress of remembering something you don't remember.

While RAMCOA has strayed away from its original meaning, that's because of misuse (and we blame both the ISSTD and misinformed mental health "professionals" for that along with media presentations.) RAMCOA stands for ritual abuse, mind control and organized abuse. The hyped satanic panic and gory sacrifices are only a small part of the acronym. Mind control doesn't have to be done by a cult. Ever been brainwashed by anyone? Thats a form of mind control. Organized abuse is more common than the satanic, stereotyped ritual abuse. OEA is a simple and inclusive term, and can encompass all forms of RAMCOA but also isn't widely recognized or used yet. And as far as the "HC-DID" term, DID is already highly complex even in people who aren't OEA survivors- DID and OSDD-1 are considered complex dissociative disorders. The term is basically just a fancy way of saying "hey I'm polyfrag because of RAMCOA!" All you need to say is that you're polyfrag because of RAMCOA, you don't need a fancy label for everything.

And yes, introjects are common in neurodivergent systems. Lets go ahead and do autism as an example: being autistic causes distress from hypersensitivity, its a common and documented autistic trait to hyperfixate, people with autism deal with rejection and social anxiety because of how autism works, and people with autism are more likely to be abused. Being autistic is traumatizing itself and this is why neurodivergent systems have plenty of introjects. Especially fictives; people with autism often seek comfort in fiction. And if alters in DID only develop during or after trauma, then this whole theory is solid.

This person is truly uneducated in how abuse survivors brains work especially RAMCOA. These survivors don't label the organization, cult or not, out of fear; when they were programmed, the idea anyone they told - especially if they shared the organizations name- would be in danger or die, or the survivors themselves would be in danger or die was programmed in them. If they're talking about it for awareness, just sharing their lived experiences is all that's needed. Sharing the name of the organization paints a target on the backs of the survivors and their close family and friends. And not every cult is going to present itself in an obvious way especially if they involve RAMCOA. They're going to make it seem like some new religious or pagan movement instead of a traumatizing cult. And yes, they do remain hidden.

This is ableist. If this person is referring to DID/OSDD, that's permanent and even if all alters fuse the ability to split them off again is still there. DID/OSDD are not disorders that can be fixed. Its a permanent rewiring of the brain due to frequent and overwhelming trauma. This involves a missed neurodevelopmental stage (the ego states fusing into one cohesive sense of self before the age of 6-10) and a posttraumatic survival response. Basically, DID/OSDD can't be "fixed" because our brains missed that developmental stage and this is how our brains are permanently. The "you get therapy to fix what went wrong so you can be one whole person as you were meant to be" is ableist and outdated. Its based on the old view of DID/OSDD treatment back when it was called multiple personality disorder: work on the trauma then force the system to fuse into one identity against their will so they'll be "cured."

Don't believe anything you see on r/fakedisordercringe or r/systemscringe. These are the most ableist, hateful subreddits on there and these subreddits set our recovery back when we were in the vulnerable, most important stage of treatment- the diagnostic process and trauma processing. We wouldn't have near the denial or alters that developed from the distress of the host thinking they're faking and much more.

Sysmates who contributed to this post- Finley (host) Everly (gatekeeper) and Marcia (trauma holder)

[lobotomizedlady]

You’re pro gun? I’m not from the USA so I’m just curious. I’d feel so anxious if people around me were carrying a gun.

Is it not scary to have a weapon that could possibly take someone’s life?

long winded rambling answer under the cut, to my many mutuals who hate america with a fiery passion (I get it #ally #hero #oneofthegoodones #pleasedontholdyourapplause) I advise that you scroll past this bc it's just an american talking about american issues & may cause your blood pressure to rise

So, I would say that I'm pro gun under specific circumstances-I carry a glock as a self defense weapon & am trained to use it, and I frequently advise other women to do so as well bc it's by far the most reliable way to stop an attacker that is larger & stronger than you are. Knives, tasers, & pepper spray, while better than nothing, all have significant limitations and downsides & due to being close range. An attacker can usually overpower you and take your weapon away once they get close. The idea is not to allow them to get close enough to disarm you in the first place. Guns are long range weapons and therefore ideal for protecting yourself. I actually feel WAY safer walking around while I'm carrying my gun than I ever did before! It's genuinely empowering imo.

All that being said...I obviously don't like the fact that it's so easy for deranged men to buy weapons like AR-15s, which are designed not for self defense but to slaughter as many people in as little time as possible (there's a reason almost all mass shooters use this type of gun). I also hate the NRA & their lobbying efforts. Gun control is a really complicated issue that I think both sides simplify for the sake of winning an argument when there's really no easy solution to this problem. Yes, other countries have had success with outright bans, but the thing is we already have more guns than people in America, it's extremely easy for criminals to buy them illegally, so what libertarians say about gun control only applying to law abiding citizens is not entirely inaccurate imo.

The other thing is that trying to implement gun control to the level of other countries would legitimately start a civil war in the US. That's how strong gun culture is here. It doesn't help that the right to own a gun is baked into our constitution & that our government was founded on well organized militias overthrowing a tyrannical monarchy that had a more structured military.

Conservatives & libertarians (as well as many leftists, like me) think that there may come a time where we need to ride up against a tyrannical government again, and obviously a well armed population is a less vulnerable population. People say "well, the government has nukes, what are some guns going to do?!" but they're making several wrong assumptions about the nature of guerilla warfare, how civilian resistance operations are carried out, and what governments are generally willing to sacrifice. To explain it all would turn this already long answer into an essay but in short, the US government is not ever going to drop an atomic bomb on one of its own cities to get rid of some insurgents. It would kill their supporters as well, turn more people into radicals, the collateral damage & financial ruin involved is not a price any leader would be willing to pay unless they were actually clinically insane.

If I had to make the decisions myself I would focus primarily on the social problems that lead to violence as well as repairing the broken mental healthcare system in this country. Of course Republicans always SAY they want to do this whenever a shooting happens but they clearly don't give enough of a fuck about it to actually pass any legislature that would make accessing mental health services easier for people in poverty on account of them all being money hungry psychopaths.

[thatoneluckybee]

inaccurately assigning the sbg kids marina songs

Yes, I KNOW these are NOT the actual meanings of the music, nor are they even that accurate. But I am being self indulgent here and you can't stop me (:

Ashlyn Banner

Solitaire: A major part of her character is learning how to balance her introverted nature with opening up to others. I like how she isn't shamed for being a private person, though, just encouraged to give others a chance, so I'm giving her the song about that.

Oh No!: Ashlyn is a very confident person as far as we've seen (though there are still some insecurities she has to work through) who isn't going to change her entire self for some random kid. Oh No! fits that kinda in that Ashlyn has flaws, but she is aware of them and she decides what's worth trying to change.

Aiden Clark:

Too Afraid: Aiden. Buddy. CHILD. He is incredibly extroverted, outgoing, social, and tends to take up the spotlight wherever he goes. This isn't a bad thing in its own light, however we've seen that it's largely become a coping mechanism for him. This kid's mind is or at the very least WAS in a very dark place before, and it's being repressed largely (at least, that's what it seems like.)

Primadonna: Like the exact same thing as above. Takes up the spotlight because the minute you stop off the stage, what's left?

Ben Clark:

I Am Not a Robot: Ben is a very stoic-seeming character. We've gotten to know him and he's a gentle, kind-hearted, nervous, and sweet person, albeit one with astoundingly destructive and angry tendencies. A bit part of his character, to me, has been seeing him balance not allowing his rage to run away with him but also not bottling up until it overflows. He is NOT a robot.

Valley of The Dolls: Yeah this song's about a book I've never read so uhhhhh ANYWAYS. Ben's past self was ANGRY. He was hurt and upset. No matter how many people he fought, or how much it hurt, he couldn't feel better, if anything at all. There was an emptiness he couldn't heal. Maybe it's still there. But he's healing.

Logan Fields:

Karma: I think this song could fit his relationship with his bully (Baron or Barron? Can't remember how to spell it), especially in the arcade fight scene (LOVED IT). Baron has been getting away with horrific acts simply because nobody knew, but now that it's come to light, now that Logan is stronger, now that he has people in his corner, karma's coming.

The Family Jewels: I'm concerned about Logan's home life, honestly. We don't know (as far as I'm aware) why he lives with his grandparents. Did something happen to his parents? Is he an orphan? Is he not with them for another reason? Also, what's going on with his grandparents? Is it because they're florists that they have access to painkillers and sedative type drugs, or another reason?

Taylor Hernández:

Orange Trees: I don't even know. I just really like the song. And I really like Taylor. And i think she would vibe to it. Taylor has a really fun personality and I think this fits her.

Can't Pin Me Down: On a more serious note, oftentimes Taylor (by both characters and the fandom, myself included) is unfortunately reduced to "aww happygolucky bestgirl!" Especially after Tyler's tragedy, we've gotten to see a new side of her: fierce loyalty and pure anger that stems from her kindness. She's going off the rails and I LOVE this for her, but I can only hope she doesn't lash at out the wrong people.

Tyler Hernández:

Are You Satisfied?: Giving him one of my ALL TIME favorite songs! Since the death of their father, Tyler has been caring for both his mother and sister and keeping the household afloat effectively. Through this, my dude doesn't seem to know what it means to take a break. He needs one.

Highly Emotional People: Furthermore on that note, I can see Taylor saying these lyrics to her twin brother. Tyler has gotten to used to being the caregiver at such a young age he doesn't seem sure how to be cared FOR. My dude is repressing and lashing out and everything in a very unhealthy way. If anything good comes out of the tree kebab, it's forcing him to accept outside help and let others take on some burdens. We're highly emotional people, and everyone deserves to show that.

Anyways I didn't expect this to take so long to type :^

[livia-dovehallow]

Tlh feels so disconnected from the other series. It ignores so many things established already, it's like it's in its own universe. For example:

- We know Cecily's father was an alcoholic and yet none of the adults noticed Matthew's problem.

- Cecily is very active and a fighter but in tlh she's like a stay at home mom and just takes care of Alexander.

- How is it that everyone is so accepting of all the lgbt characters. Like I know shadowhunters don't follow the same social rules as mundanes do but at this point in history being gay is illegal. LIKE YOU COULD GO TO JAIL. And you're telling nobody had a problem. I feel it really undermines Alec's story. He being the first gay consul is a big deal, his fight for himself and his identity is huge and here it's like it's not even a problem for someone being gay. I know history not always improves, so you could say that people got more homophobic with time, but how. How did we go from this generation to the Circle. Like let's pretend Alexander is the Lightwood ancestor, it means Robert is his grandkid, and we know Robert's father was awful. Are you telling me Alexander, Cecily and Gabriel's child, raised a person so badly? Like how? There's no connection.

- Also, how is it so easy for Anna and Ari, and possibly Thomas and Alastair, to adopt a child. Again, it was a huge deal for Alec and Magnus to adopt Max and Rafael, but for the tlh people is this easy?

- Also, we know Alex is the first gay openly gay consul, so should we assume Charles didn't get to be consul? Or he did get to be consul and the historians erased his sexuality?

SECOND TO LAST BULLET IS A MODERATE SPOILER TO THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE NOT FINISHED CHAIN OF THORNS BUT IT DIDNT MAKE SENSE TO ME TO COPY THIS ALL OVER WHEN IT'S AT THE BOTTOM SO I HOPE YOU SEE THIS WARNING OKAY SORRY

I have seen this sentiment a lot and I do agree with it. Alone (entirely detached from the rest of TSC and ignoring the fact that these characters are the children of my beloved TID characters), it's an all right series. But knowing that it is a TSC book, you're right. Ignores so many established things.

I just try to think of some of the more historically-inaccurate items as intentionally inaccurate so that TLH feels more welcoming and a better version of history than we know truly happened. However, that disconnects from TMI, as we know, because of how much prejudice Alec faced being gay. If TLH truly connected to all established events, I don't think Alec would have been so scared and felt so threatened.

(And, no, I don't think Charles ever became Consul but that's another story entirely).

Given that we know TLH familes are the ancestors of the TMI families (or most of them, at least), it just doesn't connect well. Obviously, big things could have happened between TLH and TMI that made the Lightwoods go back to being assholes for a generation (don't get me started on that either because Gideon and Gabriel would be so disappointed in them).

I get not wanting to feel tied to the family tree to create the TLH story, but CC should have stuck to what she had already established in a main series. Side books I think have more leeway of being retconned or adjusted, but not a main series, especially not the one that started it all.

So yeah, I can overlook historical inaccuracy to a pretty far extent, but stay consistent in your storytelling among the 4/5 published main series, at least. You wrote yourself into that corner; figure it out. Sigh.

TLH would have made a better series if it had been written as an NA series rather than YA and wasn't confined to a trilogy.

Cecily being reduced to a housewife angers me too much to even address it in this already long post but suffice it to say that I ignore that part of canon because Cecily Herondale-Lightwood is not a fucking housewife ksjflkjs

[dotthings]

So I watched the part of the J2 panel where Jared and Jensen talk about the finale and as usual the "brosonlies" takes are completely warped, fangasm's tweet coverage of that question was simplistic and inaccurate, and people distorted everything. They didn't even actually praise the finale. Jared: "It's better than bugs!" Jensen (humorous self deprecating tone): "Sure! Yeah why not you've come this far, go and tie it up with a bow" And mind you this is after Jensen said his biggest regret for Dean is not dodging the rebar.

Then Jensen's more serious respectful pitch for the fan was that since the fan had already watched all the other episodes, they might as well finish the journey. There's no throwdown here shaming anyone for skipping it and neither of them were singing its praises. Jensen was just saying it's part of the story, which it is, I don't want it, and I don't want to accept it, but I can't yell that it's not canon, it is. Now it's part of the story. And Jared echoed Jensen's stance that the last episode of the tv series known as spn doesn't mean it's actually over.

I have every confidence in Jensen, Robbie, everyone at CMP that they're going to do something that will make 15.20 feel better, the story's not over, Dean's story's not over, whatever it is that hurt about 15.20, will get some additional context and further story that will make it better.

Anyone in this fandom using that comment from the j2 panel or fangasm's chronically incomplete tweet style to weaponize it and tell people they're fake fans for skipping something that they KNOW will give them too much pain or any other reason people might skip it, maybe they just don't want it to end (which seems to be why the fan on this panel asked, they thought ep 19 made for a gentle landing and was hesitant to move from there and there is nothing wrong with that.) and continuing to dump all over Dean fans and people who actually care about the show beyond "Just the brothers" with lectures about how "it's about the brothers so it's PERFECTION and you're a stinky bad horrible fan for being hurt by it." The series finale was a harm to Sam, Dean, Cas, and the whole show and I will continue to hold that position. It's not an attack on the hard work of cast and crew. It's not an attack on spn.

Jensen's not shaming anyone. Reminder Jensen already said whether you like the finale or dislike the finale, that's valid. Jensen's comment at Vegascon was not him peeing territory or meant as a lesson to those evil hellers/AA's or whatever deranged thing whatever antis have decided to assign to Jensen, or what maybe others fear he meant.

Jensen loves the whole show and I respect his completist approach. Even though for my own well being I wish I had skipped the finale because that would have been better for me.

It's immensely trashy of brosonlies/jared stans to shame people for disliking it and being hurt ("It's just fiction! Fiction can't trigger you! Fiction can't hurt you!" while they themselves raged against SPN and what made THEM mad pretty much 75% of its entire long run and went on and on crying about their feelings about 15.20 and how beautiful it was but if they're going to insist fiction can't hurt you, then they need to stick to their own rules, fiction can't make you feel feelings in a good way either.) and then turn around and shift to rhetoric about how everyone HAS TO WATCH THE FINALE OR THEY ARE BAD FANS.

And all of this nonsense is disconnected from what J2 said about it at Vegascon.

[amostfoolishgold]

It is not necessarily that people forget that Lazuli is a wild animal. Almost gutting a member of another faction and getting away with it was certainly memorable, and it was hardly the last time she had cause to flash her claws or fangs. It is simply that when she spends so much of her time eating and drinking with humans, like humans, the particulars of her diet can slip the mind.

No one blinks when she slips away from her friends to ingratiate herself with the new crew that docked earlier today. No one bats an eye when, several drinks in, she wraps an arm around the guy who's been loudest about flashing his coin. No one even notices when she leans in and sings ever-so-softly and ever-so-sweetly directly into his ear. They'd be hard pressed to, really, a siren's lure is at its most potent when sung, but she's been talking everyone in the vicinity into trusting her for the past hour. They probably wouldn't flinch if she started stabbing people.

It's not even really something she decided to do an hour ago. She just hasn't eaten since lunch (fish, cooked whole, drizzled with lemon juice and paired with the kind of bread typically reserved for long voyages, eaten with flagrant disregard for bones) and she started getting hungry. The criteria for an easy target are different on land than at sea, and different again for a siren than for a dolphin or a wolf, but her eyes had slid away from the chalkboard menu and instead found Thomas. Here for the first time as part of a crew that hasn't been to the Isle in years, quick to throw his coin around and always smiling and nodding like he's definitely involved in the conversation around the table but, crucially, rarely opening his mouth outside of calls for a new round. A wild animal does not hunt prey that will be more trouble, more danger than it's worth.

Thomas follows Lazuli out of the bar and his crew does not care.

It would be inaccurate to say that Lazuli doesn't know what she's doing. Running on instinct will only take you so far and a hunt is hardly a mindless activity. It is more that some part of her hindbrain has kicked in and she no longer remembers why she's not meant to be eating people.

Lazuli has Thomas pinned to an alley wall and her lips and the pulse point in his throat before she hears someone call her name. She turns with a snarl prepared only to see Neb staring at her from the alley entrance. It can be hard to read Neb's expressions, what with the beak and all the feathers, but if Lazuli had to guess (which, she supposes, she very much does,) she'd probably go for somewhere between interest and caution. Lazuli kind of loves that about them. It's maybe not necessarily the right thought to be having when she was about two seconds away from killing a man despite the perfectly good food in the kitchens and is now being witnessed doing so by someone who would be entirely justified in freaking the fuck out right now, but nevertheless. Neb tilts their head like Lazuli is a new slightly damaged book and Lazuli's heart does a little flutter.

"What was the plan here, love?"

Thomas tenses at the endearment.

"Oh shit, is she- I'm sorry I didn't, I'm new, I di-"

Lazuli presses a hand over his mouth and layers her lure into her voice.

"Shh, it's okay, you're fine."

She casts an apologetic look back at Neb and tries not to look as embarrassed as she feels.

"I was hungry?"

Neb let's out a little chuff of a laugh at that.

"May I make a proposition? You let whoever this is go and we go get you some food that isn't going to get you kicked of the Isle. Maybe if you're very good, I'll even tell you about that island no one's allowed to visit."

Their voice goes teasing at the end but Lazuli drops Thomas in a heartbeat. He stumbles to the ground like he hadn't quite realised how much she was holding him up. Lazuli presses herself to Neb's side, wrapping an arm around their waist and looking up at them with the widest eyes they can pull off.

"I would like nothing more, darling."

Neb gives her a smug look and tucks a wing around her before setting off in the direction of their house.

The rest of the night goes far better.

---

Neb as always belongs to the wonderful @solsearchingnights! This has actually been stuck in my drafts for a while bc I didn't know how to end it lmao

[soyouareandrewdobson]

Elf on the shelf and pedo on the net

Merry Christmas/Holidays, everyone!

So I think you know what this post is going to be about. The one comic, that has become a christmas tradition at hypocrisy's blog.

Released mere days before Christmas of 2016 -which Dobson likely considered ruined, because it was Trumps first Christmas after he won the election 2016- the comic shows two male stripers, with one pondering that the reason he joined the profession, may be related to some rather “unsavoury” kinks he developed as a result of a Christmas tradition.

Now being from Europe, I myself didn’t even know of the “Elf on the Shelf” until I saw this comic. Though a quick google search made me realize, why that was: The entire idea of putting an elf doll on the shelf to “watch over the kid” wasn’t even a thing until a children book came out in 2004, that promoted the idea. The real take off of the Elf being around the first half of the 2010s and since then having managed to creep its way into the popcultural subconscious.

Yeah, if you can’t tell, I am not really a fan of that thing, based on the designs I saw. Also the idea of “surveilling” your children to see if they are naughty or nice feels rather creepy. And I grew up in a culture that accepts the idea of good old Saint Nicolas and his henchman Rudolph/Krampus putting the bad ones into their place via spanking or worse.

However, Dobson managed to make the concept even creepier by virtue of relating it to a masturbation punchline. Which in turn makes you just ponder, what the heck is wrong with Dobson?

So, let us just dissect this thing quick, before it sours any positive Christmas mood.

First, Dobson supposedly did the comic, because in his opinion the “Elf on the Shelf” sends a strange message to kids…

And to be fair, a lot of kids seemingly hate the creepy little doll and “experts” have called it out at being psychologically damaging. Going so far as to say the toy “normalizes” the concept of constant surveillance and that it would be okay. Which personally I think is a bit of a stretch, but not entirely inaccurate also. So making fun of the concept of the doll, totally okay with me. Heck, Teen Titans Go did an entire episode mocking the thing.

But Dobson’s attempt of making fun of it, just crosses into genuine creeper territory, for one simple reason: Sexualization of minors.

Look, I don’t believe Dobson is a pedophile -though his poor choice of wordings on twitter posts and certain aspects of art pieces can give the impression- and the situation Dobson shows in the comic is not explicitly pornographic. After all, we don’t see the kid like buttass naked pumping the bike pump while the elf stares. I now give you five minutes to hopefully delete that mental image with enough eggnog at your disposal.

But it still turns “sexual”…

An implication that is not very subtle for a couple of reasons.

First, the person asked and thinking back to the Christmas tradition is a male stripper. A job in the sex works. By the way, respect for people in that job (independent of the sex) for being able to work without feeling objectified (or too much) and managing to keep a decent body shape. Hope also for your safety out there.

Which I am not just saying because Dobson incidentally tries to mock male strippers in the comic in my opinion. After all, we all know Dobson hates men. And when men aren’t some MRA morons or fat misanthropic nerds, they can’t be anything but dumb male himbos or potentially depraved homosexuals who got kinky by perverting a Christmas children tradition.

Yeah, I am stretching here a bit, but we are talking about Dobson. The guy was always more than open to the idea of making gay men the butt of some joke in Alex ze Pirate.

Am I really supposed to believe he changed that attitude?

But back to the comic. The second reason why obvious the entire thing has sexual undertones as punchline… just look at that face

That is the face of someone masturbating under the blanket. The sultry eyes, the blush on his face, one hand under the cover while the other is above, bitting his lip… if that thing were animated, I bet the kid would be moaning and I could report Dobson to some authority.

And yeah, that is really what the entire creepiness of the comic boils down too. The face of the kid that leaves no other room for interpretation except “a sex pun, based on a “Christmas tradition” targeted at really small kids. With the final panel feeling like Dobson likely had a good laugh at his “joke”, thinking others would react the same.

Well, the reaction doesn’t seem to have been what Dobson hoped for, cause he would later release the following tweet.

Two things to that: First, I think the reason people were “confused” Dobson (confused likely means here, asked him if he is a pedo), was that they kinda didn’t want to think you were going into that “sexualized” territory because that would raise more red flags than you obsessing over KorraSami. And would have also felt rather out of character for you, cause of how prudish you become at the subject of sexualization.

Second, accusing others of lacking imagination and that therefore little things like that comic stump them. Dobbitch, I have read every major comic you ever made, if anyone lacks imagination, it is you. Your mental capacity for imagining stuff is lower than of a braindead person in a coma. And the fact that a self declared “child friendly” webartist focuses most of the time on the punchline “character X is thirsty”…

even if the character in question is underaged, makes me think you are enjoying Belgian porn on the sideline.

Overall, the comic is just creepy. But not in the way that it makes the doll itself creepy and therefore the butt of the joke. Rather it makes the artist behind the comic creepy, because he tries to imagine a scenario where that thing causes someone to spring their first boner.

The sad thing being, Dobson could have easily made the comic creepier and funnier at the same time, fi he just had put the focus of the comic on the puppet and not the kid. For example, of all the things in the world, I think Family Guy could make the joke of a creepy elf puppet work, if it played out like that: Lois puts an elf on the shelf for every kid in the house, including Chris.

Chris goes to bed, camera focuses on him, turning around, the puppet is cut off from you.

Chris says “good night”  to the elf.

Zoom out to show the shelf, now it is Herbert the creepy neighbour in an elf costume on the shelf saying “Night, Chris”

There. Now if you excuse me, I need to take a shower. Not necessarily from reviewing that comic, but because I actually wrote out a Family Guy joke.

[mychemicalraymance]

Good art doesn’t have to have accurate proportions or anatomy

?????????? Depends on what you mean by "accurate". What i was implying was the fact that gerards art suffers from an obvious lack of experience in figurative observational drawing, only because his chosen area is specifically comics and illustration. Tbqh a lot of the time you can tell when, in attempting to stylize the figure, an artist does not have that experience and understanding of observational figure drawing. In fact a lot of art suffers from artists not taking the time to learn how to draw from observation (<sue me for thinking this, I went to a very traditional foundations based art school. Also my art often has bad proportions bc I overestimate my stylization not claiming I dont).

All of this also is with the understanding that accurate figurative drawing is way more important to comics and illustration than fine arts generally. In order for people to take your premise seriously, the anatomy and general figurative quality of your characters if by far more important than in say an oil painting that is questioning ideas of pop culture and incorporates those design elements into its premise, rather than something that wants your brain to take as something in its own narrative right and not necessarily question its graphic or material qualities.

Just as an example, compare the figurative quality of someone like yoshitomo nara and Raymond Pettibon to that of, my favorite illustrator, Jamie Hewlett

Which of the above is gerard trying to achieve? The gorillaz, I would say, because hes not trying to question the boundaries of fine art pushed up against popular culture and ideas of ability, and IS trying make a comic that is engaged in one to one language about figures.

Jamie Hewlett DOES break his figures and proportions, like if you take 2 seconds to look at what their bodies actually look like its very easy to see that its entirely stylized, but when you're going for "narrative comic and illustration" his is more successful because you can see his drawing ability underneath quite easily.

Gerard is not a bad artist! In fact his static illustrations are awesome, and why his lightly "inaccurate" album cover is well suited to being an album cover and iconic.

But in terms of comics and illustration, you can see really readily where he could fall through the cracks in comparison to others.

None of this is ACTUALLY that contentious anon, you're not like, wrong? Or even really arguing with me i think but I love taking the time to talk about these things because I love art so. Forgive my long reply

[cantarella]

Actually losing my mind bc someone said that reading Furina and Neuvillette as father & daughter infantilizes her character and I’m??? Genuinely what? I’ve been trying to understand what romance these ppl are gleaning from their interactions/dynamic… it also seems like viewing their relationship through a romantic lense is what actually lends its hand to infantilizing her. But it’s such a popular pairing; I feel like ppl would have my head for simply saying they *look* related on purpose

"I’ve been trying to understand what romance these ppl are gleaning from their interactions/dynamic" you and I both my man I've been feeling like I'm in the fucking twilight zone for the past month. their shooters say they're coded, like how the "the little oceanid" play in her sq would be a parallel for their relationship and like that's... just inaccurate in so many ways. like 1. that's not how any of it went down are they hallucinating 2. IF it was a parallel then it'd be one to focalors specifically and that's another character 3. why on god's green earth would hyv have to use coding for a m/f pairing. do they even know what that shit is for? why would a chinese company need to use that? ofc they don't I forgot 90% of the fans are homophobes they don't care. anyway

you've got it exactly right, viewing their whole dynamic as romantic is the infantilization here actually. you can't deny what happens on screen, and furina acts quite literally like if you put fischl, or any theater kid you can think of, in charge of an entire nation with no guidance. she is overwhelmed and scared of the fact everyone would die if she fails at her task, and by pretending to be someone else she was in stasis for 500 years, never allowed to live her own life and grow up as a person. so in a situation far beyond her she seeks protection from the only person always in her life, who is an older looking man who has his shit genuinely just more put together than her despite everything about him, and has the power to actually protect their people

if you read this as meant to evoke a familial dynamic then it's easy to see how this is a coming of age narrative, of a young adult who has been going through a lot of pain (hello metaphor for adolescence in the form of 500 years of repetitive torture labyrinth. does anyone here like utena) breaking free of the life that chained her and starting to live her own, while learning to not depend anymore on her guardian who still supports her from a distance, but aknowledges her growth through gifting her the last push for full independence (the vision)

if you look at it romantically... well what is there exactly. you have to deny furina is mentally meant to be young to not be gross, so you have to deny the 500 years being stasis so she presumably grew, so she's a deeply emotionally unstable woman seeking protection from her stronger male partner bc she's too damaged to be competent at her job. great fucking dynamic you got there, I think my parents put on a less heteronormative display during their marriage than this. not to mention how it disregards all the pain furina went through with her lack of sense of self and inability to form emotional ties, and neuvi's own arc of isolation from everyone around him. 2 hit mischaracterization combo

also yeah you essentially get hunted for sport if you say it but they literally look related lol. everyone forgot about what visual storytelling is overnight bc the cishet demons possessed them

[mawlaeina]

-BACK TO MOUNT SETSU-

“There are many things a god can’t do—for example, saving a living thing from their death.”

A/N: it was a random idea that came up on a random tuesday, so idk how it’ll go •v• also my tumblr needs sum content lmfao

this is part 1

⛩️cw: some angst, minor character death, mentions of (inaccurate) religion

>story under the cut<

There was something peculiar happening in the office that Kumo couldn’t quite put her finger on.

'What in the world...' She muttered as the elevator door opened.

It was apparent that today had been busier than usual—with employees rushing around the room, holding several files and documents close to their chest. Meanwhile, others who were sat in their respective cubicles were busy talking on the phone.

Kumo lightly scratches her lower cheek as her other hand takes hold of the strap of her backpack. She cautiously moves to her cubicle, trying to avoid bumping into her busy co-workers.

She sighed as she took a seat beside her desk. Not knowing what to do, she leaned back—albeit, hesitant to do so. What on Earth was happening now? Did they finally manage to catch a story for the headlines today? It should be pretty important since she'd been pulled out from the private interview scheduled today.

"Alright everybody, calm down now." Someone says out loud—their voice echoing throughout the entire office, catching everyone's attention and making them stop for a moment.

Kumo raises her head slightly to see who it was. It was their boss.

"Listen up. We don't have much time until the information's spread out by other medias." He announces with dissatisfaction written on his face. "How are our articles?" He asks, his head turning towards the cubicles occupied by journalists.

"Almost done." Their supervisor replies calmly. "We should be able to publish and print some copies by mid-afternoon."

"No. We need to finish them by lunch." The supervisor raises an annoyed look towards the boss.

"Alright, got it." He says monotonously.

Not wasting another moment, the boss shifted his gaze to the newscasting team. "We'll have the news recorded today."

"Wait, what?" One of the news anchor asks, seemingly confused. "I thought we'd go live tonight."

"Unless everyone wants their heads shot at in their sleep, I suggest you go with what I say." The boss says in a calm manner. "Recording starts in ten, get your script and move."

Without needing to say another word, Kumo observes as her co-workers began rushing around the office once more. Judging by the look of the situation, Kumo had concluded that they indeed caught big headlines—though it would seem like it would cost their lives.

While Kumo knew that working for an underground news network had its dangers and troubles, she definitely did not expect things to go this far—again.

"Ah, Kumo, there you are." She heard her boss call her name as he approached her cubicle. "Sorry for dragging you out of that interview, but I could really use your help for the next couple of days." He smiled, seemingly almost unaware of the chaos happening inside the office. "Treat it like a day or two off from the office."

"We're going outside… again?" Kumo asks with a raised brow, knowing where this conversation was going—at least, the intentions behind the conversation that is.

"Even better, we're travelling to a remote area." He says brightly, except those words were all to familiar with Kumo. "The area's probably haunted—but, but! It would create such great horror articles for next month's issue. Doncha think?"

Kumo sighs. “As you wish.”

Just as her boss told her, they travelled to a remote area—a village that only had a hundred or so residents. Kumo was told that the residents rarely ever meet visitors or tourists, since the cabin available for them was usually either too run down during the winter or too haunted during spring.

Kumo had her doubts regarding the entire ‘haunted’ area thing that her boss kept pestering her about.

“Good thing we travelled during the summer, ‘cause jeez, I wouldn’t really want to be running out and about in the middle of nowhere after seeing something I shouldn’t.” Kumo’s boss remarked as they stopped right in front of the wooden cabin.

Truth be told, the cabin was almost falling apart.

“Er, can’t we rent another place?” Kumo asked her boss, ignoring his antics. “It feels like a little rain could tear this thing down in an hour.”

The boss laughs at Kumo. “Oh, please, you’re acting as if you’ve never been here before. The cabin’s perfectly fine.”

She raises a brow at him. “That’s because I’ve never been here before.” She simply stated. “Are you high again?” The boss laughs again and dismisses her words.

“C’mon, let’s unpack before we run out of daylight.” He says as he opens the cabin door.

The door creaks loudly, exuding fine particles of sawdust towards them. Kumo lightly waves it away from her face as she and her boss enter the cabin.

Her eyes scan the entire place, from the ceiling, walls, floors, and windows. She lets out a quiet but worried sigh as she’s meeted with the dirtiest room she could imagine.

‘They could’ve cleaned it before we came here.’ She mumbles to herself as her boss walks in without much care.

“Well, we certainly have our work cut out for us.” Kumo’s boss says as he places a hand on his waist, observing the room calmly. “I heard the owner of the cabin doesn’t usually stay here, so he just lets the visitors do whatever they want with the Cabin.”

“So, he’s lazy.” Kumo commented as she looks around the nearby dust that began to surround her.

“I guess. Then again, I’m told he’s not the type to be messed with.” The boss says as he picked up a nearby broom. “According to the locals, he single-handedly provides for the entire village—hah! What a guy.”

“You sound like you’re making fun of him.” Kumo pointed out, crossing her arms at him.

“Well I mean, think about it. He’s either a farmer or a thief.” Her boss says. “But you don’t see any fields with crops out here, do you?” He asks Kumo, and she rolls her eyes at him.

‘As if you don’t act like a thief yourself.’ Kumo muttered.

“What?” Her boss asked with a sharp tone.

“I’m saying maybe he’s just a businessman. Maybe he’s got a pretty big job, like, I don’t know, maybe he’s making six figures?” Kumo’s boss looked unimpressed.

“Well, that makes him a thief even more.” He says, though Kumo only shrugs. Her boss sighed helplessly. “You could at least act a little livelier.”

“Should I be happy that I’m perfectly secured here while my co-workers are running and hiding around Japan right now?” Kumo asks.

“If you’re a little bit selfish, then yes.” Her boss says plainly. “You should get used to this by now, this is the second time we’ve done this after all.”

“I’m not some heartless bastard like you are.” Kumo’s boss sighed once again.

“Jeez, give me a break, are we really going to argue right now?” He said with a frown. “You know what, fine, have the rest of the day off, I guess. I’ll clean the cabin for our stay today.” Kumo doesn’t say anything except she frowns at her boss’ behavior. “I don’t wanna deal with your yapping right now, so get out.”

Kumo sighed quietly before exiting the cabin in silence.

Not knowing what to do, Kumo decided to approach some of the locals nearby that didn’t seem too busy. She sees an elderly woman who was watering some plants outside of her house, and immediately walks towarfs her.

“Um, excuse me.” Kumo says, catching the old woman’s attention.

“Oh, hello young lady.” Kumo felt weird being called as such but dismissed it. “Do you need help with something?” The old woman asks kindly, smiling at Kumo softly.

“Oh, not really, I was just wondering if you could tell me things about the village? Like should there be things that we’re not meant to do or… um, just anything?” Kumo laughs awkwardly, yet the old woman smiles reassuringly.

“I suggest that you just go on about with your business, no one really judges you for your manners here.” The old lady says. “Ah, however, when you venture near the old mountain, it would be best if you prayed to the god of Mount Setsu first.”

“Mount… Setsu…?” Kumo sounded confused. She looked around the village yet saw no mountain nearby.

The old woman laughs amusingly at Kumo. “No, no. The mountain no longer exists dear, only the god of it is left.”

“I don’t understand.” Kumo was overly confused. Perhaps it was the local dialect that was messing with her hearing.

“You see, a long time ago, there used to be a mountain here. It was called Mount Setsu.” The old woman pointed northeast of the village. “Back then, it was believed that Mount Setsu was occupied by a god, a lonely and distant, yet loving god.” The old lady smiled, as if it were her own memories that she was recalling. “My mother used to tell me how the village would celebrate for the god every month, offering lanterns, kites, flowers, crystalline water from the lake, and such similar things at his shrine.”

“Did it bring them any good luck of sorts?” Kumo asked.

The old woman shook her head. “Good luck, no. Portection, yes.” She answered. “The god of Mount Setsu adored the people who lived here, and protected them despite not showing himself.”

“How did he exactly protected people if he wasn’t showing up?” Kumo asks, a bit confused but quite absorbed with the story.

The old woman smiled. “My dear, a god works in many ways.” She says. “Especially when they have a favorite.”

Kumo frowned when she heard the word ‘favorite’.

“Well, what happened to the mountain?” Kumo asks , and the old woman’s smile faded into a frown.

“The new government of the Meiji era wanted to expand their railroads up here in our area—insisting that it would create some convenience for people to travel.” The old woman explained.

Kumo was shocked to hear how long ago this was. She eventually realized that the village was quite old.

“Because the new government threatened the lives of the residents here back then, it was believed that the god of Mount Setsu deemed them as bad people.” The woman continued. “It took them about twenty or so years so take down the mountain completely before building a railroad. It was around that time that the village had its first recorded murder.”

Kumo could only guess that someone from the new government had done this.

“And to think it was the god’s favorite.”

‘How unlucky.’ Kumo thought.

“Angered by such brutality, the god of Mount Setsu placed a curse upon people who come here and carry bad intentions. That’s where the stories of this village being haunted began.” She smiled thoughtfully, amused by the story she was telling. “People who had bad intentions would usually see things that people wouldn’t normally see—they’d see it during the day, night, and even in their sleep and dreams. Eventually, seeing such things drove the people from the new government mad, forcing them to leave the village in tears.”

Kumo’s face began to show discomfort, and she began to think if she ever committed some crimes herself. She frowns, instantly remembering why they came here in the first place.

“What if people… dont necessarily have directly bad intentions when they come here?” Kumo asks the old lady, catching her curiosity and attention.

“What do you mean dear?” She asks worriedly.

Kumo pauses, hesitating for a moment. “Ah, I don’t know, I must be out of my mind.” Kumo laughs awkwardly but immediately finds herself frowning.

‘Maybe I shouldn’t have come with.’ She thought to herself. ‘No, I should’ve declined coming with the boss the first time he asked.’ Regrets started to fill her head.

She snaps back to reality when she felt a warm hand gently touching her shoulder. “Dear.” The old woman said softly. “A loving god isn’t necessarily that strict—at least, not all the time.” She chuckles at Kumo, which confuses her. “The god will judge you according to your intentions.” The old woman says reassuringly.

“Worry not.”

part 2 coming up (if i ever update on time lmao)

[sun-in-retrograde]

Pluto Eris Square

I woke up from an awful dream in June of two thousand sixteen In a far right fake news fucked up universe And though we sang the Mountain Goats loud enough to bruise our throats Every year that followed still got worse and worse

-Grace Petrie “Fixer Upper”

So 2016 was a weird year, wasn’t it? Brexit, Harambe, Trump, clown attacks, The Orlando Shooting, Syria. Things got weird, and then, in 2017 they got weirder. I think it’s fair to say 2020 was the weirdest of years and things are still pretty weird now, to the extent that normality starts to feel, in itself, weird.

I would never want to blame everything on one astrological aspect, but it has to be noted, the 2016-2025 Pluto-Eris square maps really well onto this period.

Within 1 degree

16 February 2019 - 28 June 2018

27 December 2019 - 13 March 2020

24 April 2020 - 23 July 2020

8 November 2020 - 9 Jan 2021

9 July 2021 - 24 November 2021

Within 3 degrees

31 Jan 2018 - 2 June 2018

2018 15 december - 2019 August 9

22 October 2019 - 24 January 2022

23 June 2022 - 10 December 2022

Within 7 degrees

8 Jan 2016 - 15 May 2016

23 November 2016 - 10 March 2024

10 May 2024 - 11 January 2025

19 July 2025 - 26 July 2025

This year, for the first time in years, the Eris Pluto Square let up a little bit. We’re heading back into it now as Pluto retrogrades back towards Capricorn. But for the first time in a while this particular energy has cleared, leaving us to see what normality looks like without this square active.

What is Pluto-Eris Energy?

People often talk about Pluto and Eris as the Higher Octaves of Mars, but this is inaccurate. It’s useful to say because our society is obsessed with the idea of higher, transcendental truths and astrologers who study new astrological objects are going to want to associate their findings with higher truths because that’s good capitalism. But it would be more accurate to say that Pluto is a lower octave of Mars and Eris is a lower octave still. 

Mars covers all the planets in the zodiac in just 2.1 years. Its time in any one sign is measured in months. Pluto takes 244 years and its time in any one sign is measured in about a generation. Eris has a 557 year cycle and because its orbit is extremely elliptical it’s in Aries from 1922 to 2044 - 122 years, or 21.9% of this entire cycle. 

What this means is that in terms of octaves Pluto and Eris are much lower and slower than Mars. This seems to give them an element of depth. If Mars is attraction, Pluto is obsession. If Mars is violence, Pluto is trauma. If Mars is energised, Pluto triggers the survival drive. I’d argue Eris goes deeper still. It is cutting so deep that what you get to are the things that can’t be removed. 

When Eris and Pluto meet you have irreconcilable differences, major conflicts, things that are foundational to society coming into conflict. This is especially true this cycle. 

This Eris - Pluto cycle began with the conjunction on 17 December 1756 at 18°36 of Sagittarius. Despite this they had their waxing square, waxing trine, opposition, waning trine and waning square while Pluto was in Aries and that’s where Eris will be for their waning sextile. Eris is in 6 signs during this Eris-Pluto cycle but all but two of the key aspects happened with Eris in Aries so has an active, martial energy to it.

If you’re following this, and agree with me that Eris is fundamental planet alongside Pluto, you will be unsurprised to hear the last Pluto-Eris square was 1936-1949 and was at its strongest during World War Two.

What this means for us now

2024 is the last hurrah for the current Eris-Pluto Square. It’s not as strong as it’s been in the past but it’s still an underlying important energy of our time. In 2024 over half the world’s population is having an election and in the UK, USA and India the far-right are leading the conversation. We have ideological conflicts, a moral imperative to engage in anti-fascist work and deep fears for how this period will impact the survival of all of us, but especially the most vulnerable people. 

We know this energy. If you’ve been fighting in this time, you probably have the methods to fight ready to go when the next inevitable crisis comes up. But there’s a bigger problem coming up and that’s normality. What happens when the current square ends and the fight for marginalised people stops being such a fiery spectacle? For years the fight against global fascism has been massive, dramatic, and very visible. What happens when there is no crisis and we’re stuck with the new normal that’s emerged from all this? 

Sadly, it seems unlikely that the end of the Eris-Pluto square will be the end of extreme violence, fascism, and war. What I would expect is these conflicts becoming more a matter of attrition and normalisation - the banality of evil. The genocides continue, but they no longer shock us. 

The promise offered by the astrology of Eris and Pluto is that we come out of the Eris-Pluto Square into a quintile, where the skills and experience we’ve gained harden into a playbook of methods to keep fighting. We have experience and we have knowledge and we keep going.

In natal astrology

The oldest people with an Eris-Pluto square in their birth charts are now eight. That’s still young but this is a generation that’s going to come up and start looking into astrology before you know it. Mars-Pluto squares in a birth chart are often indication of pretty bad trauma. Eris-Pluto Squares in charts will mean an early childhood defined by traumatic experiences. Just the nature of being raised by parents experiencing the pandemic ensures that. The astrology indicates that this generation could replicate some of that trauma throughout their life and astrologers will be seeing that for years to come. 

As most astrologers don’t use Eris, I would argue they’ll be cutting themselves off from a key diagnostic criteria that would really help explain the lives of the 2016-2025 generation. But whatever. There are usually more than one tell for a traumatic experience in a chart. The underlying, fundamental, Eris-level truth of this square that all of us have to face is a generation who will need care and time and understanding beyond what we might expect looking at their lives now. We can do that, that’s what we need to offer younger generations. 

[feleshero]

¥ Felicia stealing Khonshu's tomb and he gets her in the act 🗣️

She'd been told, time and time again, that picking a fight with divinity was not a very good idea. 'Mercurial', that's how the Gods were described. Mercurial beings that would lay a blessing at your feet in the morning, but curse your entire lineage before dinner. Ancient entities with too much power and far too little time spent learning manners. Attracting their attention, for good or for bad, was a fast path to suffering because they held grudges like no one else.

The row of cloth-wrapped, pitch soaked torches was a very good touch. Pulling one from its sconce and setting it ablaze over her head gave her just the Lara Croft feel she was going for! On the far end of an ancient temple (or was that... a tomb?), armed with only her wits, her mitts (two sets of very sharp claws), and a very reliable tip given to her by one heavily inebriated soul at the Midnight Mission, Felicia was making the loudest decision of her week: Picking a fight with a God.

And what a dirty fighter God was.

Crescent-curved blades were launched at her from hidden slats in ornately decorated, crimson-splashed walls that she had to pounce and prance around.

Storms of arrows flit through cobweb-coated rivets looking to perforate her.

Gouts of flame rose through hair-trigger pressure grates at her feet needing to immolate her.

Even the walls of the temple were closing in around her, compelled by an absentee landlord to turn HER into a lovely crimson splash adorning the walls! She hadn't had a workout this intensive since robbing Fury* all those moons ago.

[*Read Issue #7 - Sifr. ]

❝ You'd think they didn't want people to get down here, or something... Were you this anti-social back in your day? ❞

Can you blame her for taking a few seconds to catch her breath between traps? She may be the greatest thief alive, but even legends needed some moments in-between moments... and if the golden statue of a man with an owl-skeleton for a head minded her taking this moment, then he sure wasn't speaking up about it.

❝ Tell you what, bud. ❞ A groan of effort as Felicia lifted off of the floor, stretched and swayed to loosen up some. ❝ I can tell I'm crowding your space... so I'm just gonna get my things and go. ❞ Social grace didn't abandon her, even in a golden treasure horde of a hidden chamber. Oh, and what a horde it was.

Surrounded by gold idols, figureheads, weapons, trinkets, talismans... canopic jars? (who's organs were THOSE?), she'd danced her way all the way into God's secret little hidey-hole! She could've started hauling this stuff topside by the barrel load, but that wasn't her goal. Course it wasn't. If she wanted just riches, she could've saved herself a flight from New York to Cairo.

She wanted something very specific, something that even old Owl-Head himself wasn't supposed to have. Bast's Diadem. A funky little crown, marked with the sigils of life & death, and hidden away from the feline goddess for centuries, maybe millennia! What the Owl's beef with the Panther was, Felicia was sure she didn't care.

All she cared about, in this moment, was carefully being lifted from the dusty bust she'd found it on. It felt warm in her hands, like a gem that'd been sitting in the sun, smooth to the touch and heavy. A lot heavier than she'd expected... as i- as if someone were pressing down on it - !

"HAS CURIOSITY CEASED ITS RELENTLESS CAMPAIGN AGAINST CATS IN THIS ERA, GIRL?"

OHWHA-! Felicia pivoted on her heels so quickly, the dust she kicked up didn't move until she had already settled again. Staring, with an only lightly masked concern, as the large, owl-esque statue of a deity canted its head down toward her... and spoke again.

"THAT. DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU. RETURN IT, AND YOUR DEATH WILL BE WITHOUT SUFFERING."

... ... ...

To say that the thief was - a bit - caught off guard? Well, it wouldn't be too inaccurate. She really only allows herself a moment to gawk, wide-eyed. A single moment to catch her breath...

❝ It doesn't belong to you either, sir! In fact, I think Mother Bast would be VERY interested to hear just why it is one of her favorites is riding the Duat instead of getting her tiara out of here. ❞

If - If that play worked, she can't tell. Owl skulls are notorious for not having readable expressions. The statue sits there for a spell. Silent, immobile, watching without watching. Felicia stands her ground. Diadem in hand, heart padam padaming something vibrant against her ribcage, but confidence on her features.

She's not going to die here. In a tomb? Killed by Moon Knight's patron? It would absolutely not be the end of her sto - !

"LYING TO A GOD HAS CONSEQUENCES, FELICIA HARDY. CONSEQUENCES YOU HAVE ELECTED TO SUFFER."

I - ugh. Tremors at her feet, the very room around her had been warbling steadily since old owl-head wke up, but now? Now it was rattling. Shaking itself loose, as if it were about to... crumble. Fuck.

❝ Okay, well... I can see that there's no talking to you about this. ❞ Time to go. Time to go! Stuffing that diadem in her go-bag, scooping up a gold coin, as a memento, the thief was RACING toward the exit - Or... well, she was about to be.

❝ Hey! ❞ Atop a large set of stairs, she paused. Turning back toward the statue, she crouched a bit so she could make eye-contact with the thing actively trying to murder her.

❝ Hey! Tell Marc & Stephen & Jake, that I said 'Thanks for the tip!' before you send them! ❞ And she laughed as she fell backwards down a rapidly crumbing hallway, narrowly avoiding a crescent-shaped blade of energy hurled at her head.

Sure, she'd been told, time and time again, that picking a fight with divinity was not a good idea. They held grudges like nobody's business and they always came to collect.

Luckily! She had a philosophy of her own she so enjoyed whipping out:

Don't miss heaven by two inches. If you're gonna piss a God off, give it your all and make them remember you!

Send me a ¥ and a command and my muse has to obey. ft. @nantosueltas