#fucking romanticizing dictators

[appleflavoredkitkats]

i am swarmed so this isn't a coherent post but please don't support here lies love the musical as it comes to broadway. the entire show is historical propaganda that romanticizes the marcoses and makes imelda marcos, wife of dictator ferdinand marcos, the main character. there's so much things wrong with marcos, but to summarize, he declared martial law in the philippines 50 years ago, used his position as president to funnel billions of dollars to himself and his family, murdered and tortured thousands of activists, educators, politicians, etc. who opposed him, committed genocides against indigenous folks, and so much fucking more. i despise him and his family. what's worse is that marcos' son bong bong marcos is the current president of the philippines.

if this musical becomes highly-rated, i fear how much people are going to be miseducated. i'm scared of how much power this is going to give the marcoses now. most shitty politicians here are professionals at propaganda, vote buying, and disinformation that if this musical comes into play, i don't know how hard it would be to get leaders like marcos out.

even if the musical does talk about the cronyism of marcos during martial law, making imelda the main character and attempting to peer into her psyche is obviously still gonna make audiences sympathize for her! and i'm so fucking tired of everyone making imelda look like a fucking girlboss when she's part of the reason marcos did all he did! i'm so fucking tired of people attempting to humanize her or make "nuanced" takes on the marcoses WHEN THEY ARE STILL ALIVE AND IN POWER!!! if they rlly wanted to make a musical informing other abt martial law uhhh idk maybe make it in the perspective of those who fought against the marcoses?!?!?!?

please boycott the musical. please constantly shut down their attempts of celebrating their "inclusivity". insult them for all i care. i have no respect for people who don't want to acknowledge the thousands of people who died and were tortured under marcos. marcos has stunted the growth and development of the philippines and i will forever detest him for this.

[ms-moonlight-inn]

💥💥It’s the Wednesday Tag Game💥💥

Today’s tag game is about our wonderful fandom! Tagged by my lovelies @jrooc & @vintagelacerosette & @guinguin1984 & @blue-disco-lights & @mybrainismelted & @energievie & @doshiart

How did you get into the fandom? 

I started watching the show 'cause I was raised in the inner-city & heard that there was this new show that was doing this really good, honest depiction of inner-city life. Tell me the 'hood is being accurately depicted & neither romanticized, nor made into a caricature & I show up. Those first few seasons were so familiar to me in both comforting & repulsive ways.

And THEN there also happens to be a gay 'ship in this show?! 😱 I mean, there was no way I could escape the pull of Shameless.

So, it started with me binging back episodes, and it escalated to fanart. Then I tripped across some fanfic... I was a creepy creeper lurking in the background for a long time. Eventually, I struck up a conversation with @dancermk in her comment section. And it all snowballed from there. (Sorry, I just said snowballed –it's not meant to be used as a euphemism.)

What’s the first fandom channel you found? (Youtube, Reddit, Tumblr, Insta, Twitter, FB, other?)

Strangely enough, it was Pinterest, I think. It was some fanart or fanfic that was pinned & I followed the thread to AO3.

what’s your favourite now? 

Tumblr, but I find myself on Discord a lot lately. I used to spend my time on Twitter until musk took over.

Which mutual have you known the longest in the fandom?

The longest who is still in the fandom is @notherenewjersey. The longest who aren't in the fandom @dancermk & @stillbeatingheart

Which tumblerino’s did you have your first fandom crush(es) on and want to get to know?

😆 Anyone I've wanted to get to know has, unfortunately, been subjected to my extrovertedness. I don't think you can stop me from talking to people. 🫠 If I'm intrigued by someone's approach to Gallavich, I will interact & it's normally the response to my interaction that dictates how much I'll "harass" you.

First Gallavich fan fic you read (or that blew you away that you remember)

The first one that really drew me into the fandom & made me want to find other things to read was "As Long As The World Keeps Spinning," by @doodlevich. The whole Husbands and Shit series is so good.

First Fan art that blew your mind? 

So many, but the first one that really made my eyes pop out & my heart beat thump loudly in my chest was this one by @darthvaders-wife . It's so very representative of Mickey.

Fanfic trope that you were sure wasn’t for you but now you low key (or high key) love?

🤫🤫🤫 (but also any shade of monster fucking? though I always liked that. so, maybe praise kink, though I've always liked that, as well.)

ACTUALLY, now that I think about it, a lot of the fluff tags I thought would not be for me. And I wouldn't say that they are a high-key love of mind, because I do absolutely adore angst. But, I am much more tolerant of semi plotless domestic fluff than I ever thought I would be.

What surprised you most about this fandom?

The amount of good writing & art'ing we're privileged to have. There's just SO MUCH good here. 🥺🥰

Moment in the show (or YT vids if you’re one of those) that you fell in hyperfixation with Gallavich?

The scene at the docks. All of it. Before the kiss, during the kiss, after the kiss. 🫠

Ian or Mickey?

(I don't play this reindeer game)

Which Gallagher or Milkovich are you? 

Ugh. I wanna say Sandy, but I'm probably more of a Lip 😭

***

Tagging @notherenewjersey

[g00ngala]

hopefully this is the last long post i will ever have to make about hit disney show the owl house but I am so sick of people posting paragraphs of lukewarm takes on philip's death so. one last rant for the road, i suppose.

belos's death wasn't unsatisfying, nor was it purely physical. first of all, philip is a representation of greater societal problems (which are notably still there, remember, there's people who want to reestablish his order for their own gain). he is a plague and parasite on the world and a demonstration of humanity's worst cruelties, and his pathetic death by boiling rain and stomping as the most true and good character, who does her best to do right by everyone and believes in second chances, in the entire show, looks at him with no emotion in a way that directly parallels the way caleb's ghost looks down upon him, and he claws at her feet in a desperate attempt to use another person's good nature once again to get what he wants, and fails and dies, is INCREDIBLY symbolic.

and TWO. the point ISN'T that philip is an Evil Liar Who Lies and his backstory is being shafted for simple evil, he is an incredibly realistic depiction of how many people are consumed by their fear of what they don't understand and their hatred, let it fester into a desire to harm, and then elaborate lies to not only manipulate others but trick themselves by their own rhetoric so they don't have to feel bad for it

throughout the show philip is paralleled to cult leaders and militaristic dictators, and he is LITERALLY a puritan colonizer. philip is white man ego in its purest form. yes, the awful society is 75% the fault of Just One Guy, but this is a cartoon. he represents every man who has tried to build a world like this, who burns what he doesn't understand and makes up lies to justify it and trick his own guilt into not eating him alive.

people keep bitching that philip didn't truly face his own lies and realize how awful he was before he died, or that he wasn't given any chance to change, but philip has run the fuck out of chances. the point is he will never learn because he chooses not to. philip had to die because he'd rather lie and rot and take everyone down with him than EVER admit he's wrong. he killed his brother because he tricked himself into believing that caleb betrayed him, romanticized the idea of Caleb in his head and delusionally convinced himself that he tried to save him, while his knife hangs over his brother's ghost eternally, symbolizing the shoved down guilt he'll never truly outrun.

he made hunter believe it was his fault that philip repeatedly harmed him, he told the people of the isles after slaughtering them over and over that it's better if he rules them because he is better than them, he eternally victimizes himself over and over because he is an abuser. his lies are not just to others but to himself. he makes himself believe that the ends justify the means, when the ends are nonsensical rhetoric and the means are horrific violence. because philip is a person who may have had the capacity for good, but he chooses to live in his own hatred and rot everything around him, taking advantage of hunger for power and good natured kindness in the same breath, and he chooses to turn away from the mirror every time, to refuse to acknowledge the monster he's become because he's a coward.

the titan said it themself. his motives aren't genuine, not because he's evil for evil's sake but because he'd do anything to continue to live in his own delusion of heroism and perpetual victimhood. philip is someone you can find in the behaviors of dictators and colonists and evangelical christians and run of the mill abusers all throughout history. this doesn't make him a cookie cutter villain, it makes him a REALISTIC villain, or as realistic as you can get in a cartoon on the disney channel. he wants power and he wants admiration and he wants death and suffering to the people he's scared of, and he'd rather kill himself and take everyone down with him than ever face who he is.

not all villains need a redemption arc to be complex. he doesn't love to rub his hands together cartoonishly and watch the world burn, but some people do actually enjoy harming others. but the realism comes from how he lies to himself and others about it.

sometimes someone can be truly evil, not because they were born that way, but because they choose to be, and because they choose to live in denial about it until they're rotting in the ground.

[mackeralsauce]

'kay gonna rant ab some frustrations (very opinionated) with the cuttletavio community and whatnot. don't like it? move on! more down below:

(TW for mentions of heavy topics and similar. I'm tired of people being uncreative and diluting the ship to 'toxic yaoi yay!!!'. Oh, and mentions of NSFW in passing.)

Oh my fucking god. Can we stop with the boring-ass 'Toxic Old Man Yaoi' bullshit already? It's so overplayed and uncreative.

There's gonna be a lot of people who disagree with my takes in this, and frankly, I don't care! I'm shrimply tired of seeing the same old cycle repeat in this fandom of 'cool big artist or writer ends up making something frankly disgusting with cuttletavio'. I block liberally and whatever so there's your forewarning and whatnot.

Another forewarning is that I am very much autistic and so these issues drive me to this point because I see much more potential in the ship! This is one of my special interests.

Part 1: Toxic Tropes, Abuse, and Everything Inbetween.

Every time I hear about something in this fandom, it's someone making content of Octavio and Craig that involves abuse, homewrecking, non-con, racism, fetishization, or anything else under the shit bucket! Yeah, yeah, people on the internet can have their opinions. It's not inherently bad to represent issues like that, but it's the fact that it is ALWAYS portrayed in a romanticized light! Because let me remind you, this community is for the *ship* between these two characters. Representation of such topics need to be done tastefully. Real people are harmed by shit like that, and spoiler alert! I should fucking know.

There's so much "Craig being racist haha!" jokes from certain groups. That's primarily the fault of the NA translation of Splatoon, but it's still quite irritating. There is much more to his character than just that. Really, is that the ONLY fucking joke you idiots have? Damn. Boring as hell! Not to mention we know from interviews that even nowadays he wished for peace and tries to help any Octarian he comes across... Oh, and I won't name names, but some people just straight up BUTCHER his character. Yuck.

Then there's the portrayal of Octavio. Typically, people outside of the cuttletavio community will end up portraying him as a fascist dictator (gross and wrong). We have the opposite problem here. People straight-up infantilize him, make him woobified, etc. which annoys me quite a bit. I think we forget that, y'know... HE IS A SHOGUN? A COMMANDER? Such a government is going to be militaristic. I'm not saying that he's evil, but making him out to be an innocent 'widdol guy' is just. Eugh. Not to mention this is usually done because of headcanons involving him to be trans. I love Trans Octavio headcanons! But I hate the overfeminization and overtwinkification of him. Let him be strong and trans, is that so hard?

And these topics are the small potatas. My biggest gripe is when people make their ship to be just 'toxic yaoi' and bluh bluh boring. Look, I get it, there's people who eat that slop up. Whatever floats your boat. But holy FUCK the amount of straight-up garbage and romanticization and lack of creativity I see...

Part 2: Missed Potential and Lack of Creativity.

Oh my fucking god. We have this one ship between two queer adults who grow to old age, and you guys can't even let it be healthy? Yes, I get there was war, but it doesn't mean they were fucking toxic when they were dating. Whatever your interpretation is, you don't have to make them cruel, horrible people to each other. Even if your interpretation involves them being morally grey or complex characters, you can make them have flaws without making them abusers.

Let me explain this: Romance is very, very complicated. It's not all sex, and it's not all fluff either. Most interpretations I see of cuttletavio are often 'All or Nothing' on certain factors. The three popular topics people put their stocks in are Angst, Sex, and Fluff. This is expected in fandom, but what bothers me is that so few people actually consider the alternatives, and that its usually ALL of one trait without anything else. Angst for the purpose of just angst doesn't hit, it's just edgy and boring. All smut with no love will wear thin. Tooth-rotting fluff has no substance if you don't even show the platonic side of their relationship. A good romance is oft built on a good friendship. Why not delve into those aspects? If you need them to kiss to tell they're in love, then you're doing it wrong.

Of course, that critique is moreso a small one. Beginner writers can easily fall into those and that's alright. Why it bothers me is because there is such a drought of good content- at least from my scope of view thus far- in cuttletavio. There is potential for greatness (and I am not slacking on trying to showcase this; I am working on my own content in the meantime), but hardly anyone delves into it. Why not explore how they got to know each other? The complexities of their characters? Tropes are alright, but get to a deeper level, and find the human within the idea. Not only that, but explore the world they're in! The circumstances of why they're in war! The politics, the governments, and the cultures of the time. These are old men in a fictional post-apocalyptic society devoid of humans. The inkfish could have evolved culturally in completely different ways! Please, just explore SOMETHING!

Y'wanna know why the whole toxic yaoi shit bothers me so much? Because it lacks creativity. It's overdone. Stale bread. It's like the slop they serve in a school cafeteria. You can get toxic yaoi ANYWHERE! It's such a common, overplayed trope for mlm ships, that you'll never go devoid of it. So why make cuttletavio into it? I haven't seen anything creative enough to excuse it. All i've seen is people committing character assassination and stripping them of any of their intrigue or humanity. It's bland. I'm sick of it.

Conclusion.

I'm too exhausted to write any more of this but yeagh. Just sick of this shit. There is potential to these two old men, both in their youthful and elderly years. Let them make love, war, friendship, and peace. Don't reduce them to poor dollar-a-dime toxic yaoi tropes that have become tired and sloppy from years of poorly written BL and similar.

If you can't write/draw/etc. good romance or sex without making them abusive in ANY way (cheating, non-con, physically, emotionally, etc.) then you need to learn how to write complex characters and complex stories. You can have characters argue without it being abuse. You can have complicated dynamics without all that.

[yermes]

PAC: 🐈‍⬛ 

Have you ever felt like kiki when she lost her magic?

From my misadventures of thrashing through life with nothing but my inherited existential crisis and my romanticism of love and general beauty. With so much thrashing, however it can be hard to take a step back and realize wow I cannot do this and I am really fucking burnt out. Like BURNT TO A CRISP! Anyways, my advice for you my sweet step kids is :

Disclaimer: please take what I say with a grain of salt and not as the gospel. I just want to share some ideas of practicing and giving advice using the medium as often as I can with school, work, and my own personal studies and practice. Started the organization phase of the passion according to cixious hopefully the podcast will get better and more organized 🥹thank you for being patient with me! Liking and sharing does a lot 🥰

Socials: TipJar | Follow me!

Pick a gif (was to lazy to find memes today sorry)

1

2

3

The cards

Snake + ship🚢 🐍

Trouble lies in a journey ahead and you are aware of it. This constant strife causes mental strain and causes you to question if the next step is even worth it. Most things that are hard are worth doing because it just better prepares you for the next hard adventure, and the next big step in your life. It’s disheartening but unfortunately my dear its just practice.

Dog + Women 🐶 🧤 

Check in on your girlfriends for support. You were not put on this earth to suffer burn out or to suffer burn out alone. Its hard being a feminine presenting individual you wish to just exist within a tender state without it being judged or having a label with a specific connotation. However, no one gets the struggle like another girl friend. The condition of being feminine is always under scrutiny by those who have never step foot within the world of it.

Paths + key 🍁🗝️

You need to make a decision, however you are not alone in the decision and have many people to talk to with many different opinions. Almost too many and it can be overwhelming. Take a step back and think about what YOU want to do, maybe speak to some about it but do not let the perception of others dictate your life. It’s your life.

Extras:

Story/vent:

Doing my daily magic rituals earlier in the day with natural/ ambient lighting is lowkey a serve.

[lukeskywalking]

Every year when 9/11 comes around I listen to a couple tracks from The Rising by Bruce Springsteen and I’m just reminded that it really is one of the most needed and important albums for American culture of its decade and onward.

I just think about modern mainstream country for example, and how it was shaped by 9/11 to be this ultra conservative, gung ho, “fuck with us and die” type genre. In contrast, Bruce took real people’s rage, grief, and trauma and channeled it into something cathartic but not vengeful. He allows room for anger but warns against being dictated by it. He verbalizes grief and mourning in ways that perhaps not everyone could describe in words themselves. He promotes healing and honor. He reaches out to the Arab and Muslim communities as well, collaborating with their artists and promoting love and solidarity — a gesture that was SO needed (and still is). It’s not some fanatical, romanticized version of America that so many “patriotic” moments post-9/11 exhibit. It’s genuine, and raw, and grounded in humanity. The fact that he wrote it because in the days following the attacks, some random guy saw him in the street and told him “we need you now” and he said okay, let me grab my pen. And it was out within the next year. Although it was written largely as a reflection of 9/11, the lyrics still transcend beyond it.

Mr. Springsteen, the artist you are.

[fromevertonow]

I take The Hunger Games series incredibly seriously. As should you. Yes, there may be some jokes that WE could laugh at because WE are living the capitalist Capitol life (for now), but once you peel away the layers of this story and get to the core of it, nothing is funny anymore. Everything becomes deeply ironic in a very dark sense and all of it serves as a warning for the direction we as a society are heading in.

The Hunger Games is a critique on OUR society, not a future one that does not exist yet. It does. It is alive. We may not see it yet in full, but we can identify the traces of governmental oppression, climate crises, propaganda/censorship, hierarchical structures, division and segregation… it’s all here. This series is not a fictional world that Suzanne Collins thought we would enjoy for entertainment. It’s fucking real. She wanted us to realize what the fuck we’re doing here and to open our eyes.

And yet there are people dressing up like citizens of the Capitol, romanticizing a dictator, and asking for ALL Hunger Games to be made into movies… you’ve missed the fucking point there, buddy. Congratulations to you, you’re a fucking idiot.

[servitudeofsadness]

relapse & restriction

CONTENT WARNINGS: EATING DISORDERS, RESTRICTED EATING, TRIGGERING DISCUSSIONS OF FOOD

Remember food is fuel and fuel is absolutely necessary for your body to stay alive. Don’t let silly beauty standards dictate your eating and your life. If you are easily triggered by discussions of disordered eating and negative perceptions of food, please do not read the following prose. eat & stay hydrated! <3

…

i.

“she has malnutrition,” my home doctor says as she checks my wrists and prescribes me on sugar fluids and nutrient pills. i have not been eating for a week. it is code for eating disorder.

mum looks on. ”is it treatable?”

“yes.” time ticks on and my brother waits outside.

i am starved out of my soul. deep hollowed eyes, violet-knuckled bruises, and devoid of thought. one week.

ii.

my one week low-calorie morninglunchdinnersnackfest! guaranteed to loose more than 20kg! foodspo/mealspo thread!! <33:

one medium-sized fried egg? ~ 78 cals!

1 cup matcha protein almond latte? ~ 60 cals!

1 saltine cracker? ~ 10 cals!

½ cup of tomato soup? ~ 105 cals!

⅓ slice of white bread? ~ 22 cals!

⅓ roasted chicken drumstick? ~ 33 cals!

½ cup white rice? ~ 121 cals!

4 oz air-fried salmon? ~ 194 cals!

½ gluten-free medium-sized oatmeal chocolate chip cookie? ~ 33 cals!

diet coke? ~ 0 cals!

do the math and tell me if it’s less than 1000 cals!! <3

remember kids, nothing tastes as good as skinny feels !! <3

iii.

if beauty standards are a person, and the purge is real.

they are the first i’ll tear the door down to

on account of falsifying the determiners of beautiful:

skinny legs tutorial!! look, brandy melville carries a one size fits all??

do you fit in? “bye-bye booty: Heroin chic is back!!”

try this A4 paper thin waist challenge!! see how fat you are??

noo why is th1nsp0 content banned on twitter??

tumblr?? tiktok?? join edtwt!! though, pro-recovery dni!!

(i was in scout camp when i dizzied, circus of purple visions

collapsed with blood soaking my undergarments and

half awoke to blankets that weighed heavier than me on my near dead body;

i still feel the bland slick of porridge forced down my throat.

proana girlies?? mitigating censors in the prospect of

pursuing an early death. ed tumblr diaries of all hedonistic thoughts.)

these are fruits you should avoid as it induces sugar euphoria!!

clean girl aesthetic!! kale smoothies will help you lose weight!!

i walked 20000 steps today to achieve a thigh gap!!

body-checking disguised as ootd and grwm tiktoks

sketchbook detailing rampages of eating disorder content

the striking thump of my collarbones and my wobbly knees

a 2 hour loop subliminal messaging “i am so skinny“ “i am 44.4 kg” “ i am thin—“

SHUSH! SHUT UP. SHUT THE FUCK UP!!

this is existing in a society that curbed the living in me,

to strive for an empty heartbeat and rotten-tinged bones for legs

low calorie food still eaten in moderation

the constant desire to clasp my wrist in assurance of how skinny i am

clumsy rhetoric spilled in between sips and spits

of my no calorie pungent pomegranate mineral water

you should skip your lunch too and snacks except

water and maybe some yogurt-zero

starvation is never salvation

thin is glazed over with honey

And so easily fractured with bones

hunger. starving. eat. EAT. EAT!

on december 18 2018, i started recovery

i have relapses, days of unintended calorie deficits;

but i am healing unlearning,

trying, escaping, living ~

…

“you are embarrassed about your blood, its redness, the way it is just coming out of you with no concern for anyone’s feelings. You are … embarrassed to be alive.”

- Carmen Maria Machando

—————

is 90’s thinness coming back? - Mina Le

please stop romanticizing eating disorders on tiktok - Sarah Hawkinson

tiktok is bad for women, actually - Jordon Theresa

The Evolution of Pro Anorexia - Of Herbs and Altars

i lost weight to fit into Brandy Melville - Letao Chen

“Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.” - Kate Moss

Are you a femcel? - Roisin Lanigan

bye-bye booty: Heroin chic is back - Adriana Diaz

[herrlindemann]

KERRANG! - Great review of the 15.07.2005 concert in Birmingham

Weaving out into the balmy Brum night, the sound of ‘Stripped’ still ringing in your ears, you’re all over the place. Yeah, Rammstein were fucking incredible tonight, an inspirational transmission of pure joy and poetry and drama to a few thousand quaking souls. At the bus stop home you prise your jaw from the floor and feel somewhere between a Demi-god and a mere speck in Rammstein’s universe, an extra in their swirl. And you realize, no other band can do this to you. No-one even comes close.

In fact, we’ve only seen two other bands be this damn good in the hangar-like space of the NEC and they were AC/DC and Black Sabbath.

In 10 years Rammstein have achieved precisely that kind of greatness, knowing exactly how to fill out a stadium with sound and spectacle like no one else at the moment. Where US bands would try and be just a rock’n’roll band and end up sounding weedy in this enormo-vacuum, Rammstein have the smarts to pump every moment with pure theatre — a stunning ‘Reise, Reise’ the first to singe our eyebrows and pop our eardrums with the flames and fireworks we’re all expecting but that still seem so startlingly life-threatening and spontaneous. As Till and co set their mic stands on fire and roar into ‘Rein Raus’ you’ve got too much to take on, your mind melting at the sheer fuck-off sleaze-disco putsch of ‘Mein Teil’ and your funny-bone tickled to distraction by Flake Lorenz’ lunatic dancing and electro-convulsive clowning. Crucially, none of this flash and dazzle would work without the band’s ability to swing from epic romanticism to pulverizing electro-rock in a heartbeat, the Elvis-meets-Stooges style stomp of ‘Los’ delivered raw-as-fuck and shredding your face off with a down-home brutality that’s incredible.

Every song is played perfectly to its strengths by a band at the peak of their powers, a band executing their catalogue and detonating their classics with a seemingly ever-renewed purpose and belief. So by the time Till Lindemann has roasted Flake in a cannibal’s cauldron and ‘Amerika’ has showered us all in red white and blue fall-out we’re so caught up in hurricane Rammstein we never wanna leave. Hollered back by a ecstatic, hugely diverse crowd for two stunning encores (‘Rammstein’, ‘Ohne Dich’, and ‘Ich Will’ are particularly awesome) — as Till blow us a kiss and the band take their bows you feel tearful, like you’re waving goodbye to friendly dictators whose occupation of your soul is coming to an end you’d forgotten would inevitably come.

Reality seems even duller, even crueler, after the wonder and magic of a Rammstein show. Put simply, they are one of the greatest live bands on earth. Like there was ever any doubt. All hail.

[fairycosmos]

do you ever feel like you’re not good at ANYTHING lol?? like every job I work the schooling I’ve had I don’t really finish it and jump around so my skills are always half baked and the same can be said about my hobbies too it’s like I look around and everyone seems to be really good at something 😔 like I always love seeing posts where it’s like you don’t have to be good to be loved and I try to keep that in mind but sometimes it feels like we all romanticize talent and skill more than anything else

hiii literally ALLL the time lol. i have always been one of those people who has no natural affinity or talent + am slow to pick up on skills that i try to learn. but the older i get the less i let that dictate whether or not i do things i enjoy/am interested in. i'm not saying it's easy or that it often doesn't feel super discouraging and embarrassing - it really, really does. i walk around a lot of the time feeling like a complete waste of space. but i just think the benefits of developing your hobbies and interests despite your conventional skill level are always going to outweigh the negatives. like even at a very basic level, life can feel so unfulfilling without them. + i mostly think the whole romanticizing of talent and skill thing is a symptom of the stupid capitalist world we live in - people don't see worth in anything unless you have the ability to monetize it or unless it makes you somehow special. as if those are the only two things we get out of enriching our lives and our brains with human activities that people have been practicing throughout all of human history lmfao </3 every time i play guitar it fucking sucks and most of the sketches i do are laughably bad. and ive been doing both of those things on and off for years now bc the invisible audience in my head is not going to take away what i gain from doing them. i'm mediocre at my job and i don't have a singular life's purpose either. you really don't have to good to be loved but you also don't even have to be good to just like. Enjoy yourself and fulfil your natural curiosity lol

[maxellminidisc]

Look dont get me wrong, I love and will always hold a majority of Miyazaki's filmography in a special lil place in my heart, but I find it interesting that people who are a lil more conscious of his underlying political messages and insist others need to grasp and keep it in mind in his films don't also take the time to find the contradictions in these political messages.

I think the most obvious example being how the Wind Rises is a massive contradiction of a film to the entirety of his filmography. Like imagine spending decades making anti war films and producing projects about the horrors of ww2, and then you go and make probably your most pussyfooted, blinders on film ever as one of your former swan songs. One where the underlying message is "We live in a world where sometimes you have to get your hands dirty, and if that means building planes for the axis powers because it's the only way to live out your dreams, so be it. You're innocent because the choices you make are dictated by the times you live in." *Ignores people who have historically gone against the grain of the wrongs committed in their time*

You decide a movie about a guy who designed planes for the axis powers AND ROMANTICIZE him and his callous selfish passion is THE movie to sign your career off with, is THE film to frame your metaphorical life parallel on all because you just love planes way too much, because you still consider the creator of machines that contributed to mass genocide and death "brilliant" and "genius". Not to mention writing the most misogynistic script like ever in the entirety of your filmography; a film where it's only central woman has no agency or point except to be this frail dying muse of purity for some fucking airplanes aosnkddkkksk

Like it's interesting to me that it was criticized when it first dropped but it's funny how like nobody ever mentions it anymore unless they ACTUALLY like the movie, like it's just been purposefully omitted from larger discussions of his filmography when it's far more honest and conducive a conversation to include it. We're very much capable of loving these works without acting like Miyazaki is a perfect creative. Like gotta accept both ends of the spectrum of what really capturing his works means.

[autistically-zoinked]

Honestly I'll forever be mad about Inglorious Basterds.

The story had so much potential but instead it killed off it's best characters, specifically Donny and Shoshanna who were also the two most prominent Jewish characters. It also romanticized Nazism by making Landa smart and capable, and he didn't suffer any REAL consequences. Yes, I'm aware that characters don't represent the creator and that having immoral characters don't mean that their actions are condoned, but there is a reason why so many Neo Nazis love this movie.

All of the Nazis are depicted as either intellectual, strong, charming men that are never once punished for their actions, or as sad men that leads to an empathetic portrayal. This leads to Neo Nazis glorifying these characters and seeing them as some male power fantasy.

This mixed with the two biggest Jewish characters dying makes it perfect for Neo Nazis to enjoy, despite the entire message of the movie being that Nazism is bad.

I'm sorry, but if Neo Nazis love your anti-Nazi movie, you clearly have fucked up. Prime examples of anti-Nazi WWII movies done right are Jojo Rabbit, The Great Dictator, and The Grey Zone. I am begging that if you enjoyed Inglorious Basterds, go see those much better anti-Nazi movies that neo-Nazis actually hate.

(I also recommend watching Remembering With a Twist by Ladyknightthebrave on YouTube, she's a Jewish content creator that makes video essays about movies and she does a wonderful job explaining my point)

[opinated-user]

Oh god Lily orchard is talking about politics I fucking hate it here.

For anyone who needs to know, social liberalism is the kind of ideology the current US Democratic Party tends to follow, it is not something that is in support of UBI, Free Healthcare, or other similar Social Democratic or socialist positions. Also, socialists are not all revolutionary, many socialists, such as Bernie Sanders in the modern day, are reformists who want to achieve socialism by attaining a majority of support within the current system. Lily is just wrong about her political posts once again, and honestly from someone as immensely stupid as Lily “I wrote Stolkholm” Orchard, no one should be surprised.

LO is the same person who already thinks that Canada is a "real country" unlike the USA and more socialist. LO, the same person who thinks "a dictatorship can be quite lovely when the dictator is lovely" and keeps romanticizing fascist characters. LO, the same self proclaimed leftist who continuesly seems to advocate more for authoritarianism and colonialism than anything else. i don't honestly know why would anyone expect her to have good political takes when her own media takes are already debatable. it feels like another opportunity to try to flaunt how more informed than debate bros she is, since her video about them not only is not performing that well but has been mocked by everyone responding to it.

[wild-houseplant]

romanticism asks - 17 for Rhodri 🥙🥤

ICY my friend my cool permafrost bean!! I was turning this thing over in my head like French toast longer than the authorities usually allow :o It's funny because it really hammered home how your average Warden is probably not getting a chance to show who they are most of the time because of the circumstances they're in. Just... damn! You give me falafel food AND you give me food for thought! Legend.

The question was: What sort of role do they take on in relationships, either familial, romantic or platonic. i.e. are they a defender, protector, nurturer, etc.

I'm going to divide this into levels of authority, because this is essentially what dictates the role she takes with anyone. Under the cut because I have once again written a lot x)

I realise that most of what I write about Rhodri basically portrays her with the mindset of a patriarch with embarrassingly chivalrous manners-- and to be fair that's her with anyone who she could have some sway over power-wise, which is a lot of people. Provide, protect, defend honour, hold open the door for and pour drinks for-- all that stuff we'd relegate to one of those bygone eras where women didn't have the votes and used fainting couches for the purpose their namesake would suggest. People in this category include every relative who's not a Magister, any employees or assistants, people she's charged with looking after (students, children). Anyone who can't fully care for themselves- kids etc., she'll tend to step into a surrogate parenting/older sibling role almost immediately. Especially since your average Circle kid doesn't have family and they're starved for affection and warmth. The harsh environment bred a sort of urgency in her to act in loco parentis effectively after laying eyes on any newcomer before the Templars could make them feel marooned.

For people with similar authority to her (mostly friends and peers), she is much less fixated on doing many of those things above, namely because there's no privilege gap to bridge over, and they don't rely on her for anything. Still more the dominant, giving-type, but markedly less so. With these people, she's blunt about everything. What she wants, how she's feeling... compared to the average Northerner, she's not much of a complainer, but she'll put in a lot of Tevinter groaning and throwing-her-hands-in-the-air if something is on her mind. She expects the same from the other party. It’s a very quid-pro-quo relationship, and often far more affectionate than I’ve made it out to be here. Tends to be more physical on the whole, too. She never grew out of holding hands, so if she's walking with a friend, or even just an acquaintance, she might just take their hand without even noticing. Also a fiend for coming up behind someone and putting a head on their shoulder when they're busy and she wants attention. If she's not pulling someone onto her lap (assuming they haven't already simply availed themselves of it- it's public property at this stage), then she's crawling into someone else's lap. She's also... a lot more flirty? Only if they'll let her be, of course, but assuming it's permitted, those touches will linger. Her idea of flirting is paying a sincere compliment and then rounding it off with an assertion that said complimented quality is unbearably attractive. Winking is a common occurrence (in case you weren't sure she was flirting- she likes to be thorough, god bless her), and her voice will dip into the lower, softer registers if she's feeling very confident.

And for people with MORE authority than her she is. Well. In Tevinter, she'll behave much better there because the Magisters know each other and the worst possible outcome is an offended Vint sending thugs after her family. Non-Vint nobles are of less concern to her, barring perhaps some Orlesians and Antivans (the latter only for Zevran's sake). The rest can fuck off. If they're nice, though, she'll play along and happily do the whole 'kiss their hand and may the Maker bless thy radiant, ample bosom' gig. Politely distanced, ask for nothing, do as told. Too easy. The sole exceptions to this are her father and grandmother. Tata and Avia. They are required by their very own laws to put up with her shit, because she's not allowed to be like this with anyone else. Rhodri's younger twin siblings, Mazarin and Evander, are dramatic as all-get-out, and Rhodri ended up learning a little of that from them, as Aurelio and Revka found it incredibly funny (and so did she!). Make Tata laugh, be a silly sausage all the while. What's not to love? Except for the fact that now three kids are doing it. So with Dad and Grandma, Rhodri asks for ALL the affection, ALL the walks, ALL the readings (even if she could read the book perfectly well on her own). A lot of ice cream, too. "Tata. Tata. Ta-taaaaaaaaaaaaaha-ha-ha-ha-haaaaaa." "Sic, Severissimus, I heard you the first time you said my name. What is it, my little love?" "Tata, I need you to read me pages four to seven of my precious stones book, please. With the excited voice." "Mmm? I have a little work to do before I can read to you. Go to bed and wait for me." "Tata. Indulgentis. My childhood is running out--" "Severin, you are six years old--" Rhodri claps an agonised hand to her cheek, the ubiquitous Tevinter woe-is-me gesture. "I am so old already Tata, I am passing away right now--" "Aeya-a-a-a-a... no hope of Tata finishing his work, then, is it?" With a defeated, if slightly amused sigh, Aurelio takes the book in one hand, uses the other hand to hold the ancient child in the underarm hold, and trudges out of the office. Grandma doesn't have it any better. In fact, she gets it from her son AND from her grandkid. Gotta love that familial hierarchy.

[timogsilangan]

just learned abt that imelda marcos musical. filams are literally the weakest link. hashtag fxlxpnxxxxxxxcxx pxnxxyy representashun!! in the musical meant to ROMANTICIZE A DICTATORS WIFE. WHOSE POLITICAL DYNASTY IS CURRENTLY IN POWER AGAIN. FUCK!!!!!

ok edit its apparently made by a white guy but i saw a lot of filams celebrating it so my point still stands -_- tangina naghahanap ng representation sa revisionist propaganda 💀💀

[sweetofsin]

i feel like allo dating in our current society can be seen within predominantly two different lenses

either it's full of people that are doing the whole situationships, 14 month talking stages, chasing after emotionally unavailable people, creating all these weird social rules that they feel like everyone else should abide by although it's clearly making them miserable

Or

it's full of people that are seeing this stuff and being like, omg! guys dating shouldn't be so complicated. either you guys are dating or you aren't! if someone doesn't want to date me after a month then i'm gone! it shouldn't be this difficult! love should feel easy and effortless!

and i get where both sides are coming from, but as an aroace person it's just... it's just a little rough out here

because truly, i think for the most part, people should mind their business and do what is best for them. and what is best for them may look like what is worse for me. and this doesn't mean that i condone people chasing after people who clearly aren't good for them, no. but if someone desires that, i can't force them to stop. i can gently try to guide or help, but that's it. i've been trying to accept that living in a world means you have to be open to people where they may choose to play it safe and continue with what's comfortable with them. it's understandable

most importantly though, i think the issue is people projecting so much dating advice and expecting everyone else to abide by it. it's one thing if you're sharing your experience and what you choose to do, it's another if you create an entire generalizing statement where it should be applied to everyone. because too many things require nuance

i also think about how every relationship/dynamic is different, so trying to constantly apply this baseline of advice is so wild to me! every romantic situation i have had with someone has progressed in different variations and forms. and there were some similarities sure, but also some differences

i'm not saying to forsake your identity when you're dating. of course it's good to have boundaries, know what you want/don't want, figure out your non-negotiables. AND i think it's also crucial to be flexible when it comes to other things because no person is going to fulfill your every need, desire, or standard in a partner. it just won't happen

for me, i love listening to dating advice when it comes to certain older people cause i feel like it's a breathe of fresh air, i don't know. they oftentimes do not romanticize the hell out of love. they'll just be like, yes. i love my partner. yes, they can annoy me and kinda drive me insane sometimes. yes, we respect each other and try our best to treat each other kindly. yes, this took a lot of work, trial and error to get here. no, it was not easy

it just sucks because i feel like people don't desire to intentionally communicate what they want, they go based off of what society wants (which is definitely not isolated to our generations). and then they let the social rules and norms dictate what should/shouldn't be allowed within their relationships. they leave little to no room for questioning, for growth, for uncomfortability. they leave little to no room for anyone who isn't extremely allo, doesn't have severe trauma or mental illness, etc. i'm just like, who are people trying to date where love genuinely feels so effortless? because it feels like people are trying to sell an image that isn't there. love, especially radical love, requires a FUCK TON of work. it's not even just in the sense of love if you have mental struggles or not. it's also because of the deconstruction we have to do when it comes to a lot of the narratives we have been sold about what love is, and a variety of other things

anyways it's just frustrating because i feel like more and more stuff just becomes so polarizing where it's like two sides arguing at each other, and still not recognizing how complex these things are. and also god forbid if you don't want to date someone or have sex with them immediately after meeting them! because clearly that means you're wasting their time and the other person should move on or whatever bs... as if ace people just don't exist