#like do I find it especially insidious? yes

[guiltyidealist]

Imagine understanding that labor under capitalism is coercive -- all of it, by nature -- and being anti- sex work 💀

[san-sebastienne]

With truly all the love and empathy in my heart: crying daily over the sexual assault allegations against Gaiman isn’t healthy. I’ve seen multiple people –especially fans of GO – saying this since they came out, and it’s really fucking concerning me.

I wonder if it has to do with the insidious ideas that 1) people are either Bad or Good, 2) Bad people can only do Bad things, and 3) liking Bad things or Bad people makes you Bad.

None of these things are true.

People are mixed up and incredibly complicated. Someone can be an incredible artist/friend/chef/ally against racism/drag queen and still be predatory/homophobic/antisemitic/never tips their wait staff. People do things that harm others in big and small ways all the time. You do too. I promise.

(Also the idea of anyone, even people who do genuinely insurmountable harm, becoming somehow less than human is an inherently fascist ideology)

The fact that you (yes, you!!) do harmful things doesn’t immediately make you Bad. There are certainly things that someone might do that causes more harm (say, assault) versus less, but that doesn’t somehow infect all the things they’ve done in the past with their Badness. Gaiman helped write Good Omens. There’s no way now to say “I was wrong and this book was Bad all along” or even “oh, all the parts I like were written by Pratchett, the Bad parts must have been Gaiman.” You didn’t miss an inherent evil by liking the book in the past. It doesn’t make you Bad for liking it now.

(It also doesn’t mean that people associated with Gaiman, like David Tennant, are also Tainted by inherent Badness. Tennant isn’t, you aren’t. Saying otherwise is also a slippery slope argument into dehumanization and fascist ideas)

By all means: if it feels right, stop giving Gaiman your money. Stop tagging him in your Azi/Crowley fanart. But do this as a way to disentangle yourself from parasocial relationships that are actively causing you grief and to vote with your wallet, not because unlinking yourself from Bad Art and Bad People will somehow absolve you and make you Good again. If you already have a copy of Good Omens or Sandman, whether you reread it is between you and your gods. Interacting with a text you find important doesn’t make you Bad or Good. It’s just reading. What you do with the stories is what matters (ironically, that’s the message of a lot of both Gaiman and Pratchett’s work).

Maybe take a peek at Good Omens and re familiarize yourself with its other core message: People are not Bad or Good. People do bad and good things.

Then maybe drink a cup of tea. You need to rehydrate.

[velvette-hussle]

VELVETTE’S BLACK-CODING & THE HH FANDOM’S RACISM

A lot of y’all (and especially the ones of you that will cry about how ‘not racist’ you are without having actually unpacked any of your racism, and who are more scared of being called racist than actually being racist) are so viscerally against even the mere headcanon— let alone active canonical race-coding of Velvette being black, and I’m so over that shit.

Y’all will fight tooth and nail when a show has one barely purposefully black character — out of an already predominantly white cast of characters & more non-black poc characters than there are black ones (who have speaking roles, most notably) — to deny (black) fans the ability to celebrate and actively acknowledge that character and their race. Especially if y’all can’t ignore that character, or if before you realized they were black/black-coded you liked them.

⚠︎ I wrote this out of pure utter frustration and anger so I’m going to cuss and I sound fairly mean and angry so do with that what you will. ⚠︎

P.S. — This isn’t necessarily meant to be educational; I’m allowed to be angry without having to teach y’all how racism works while crying over my phone (because, yes, I am an emotional bitch) for free.

Some of you people are truly insidious. We get half of a bone tossed to us (because Velvette’s demon form is still dark grey which gives the audience a lot of plausible deniability when it comes to not accepting that she’s black) and everyone is still trying to snatch that half a bone out of our mouths despite the fact that y’all are eating good. It would be embarrassing if you bitches had any shame about your anti-blackness, but y’all don’t.

Then all the little pussyfooting-ass bench sitters can sit around talking about how they don’t care either way, they just don’t think everything should be focused on race (which is what y’all always say, but if people didn’t care ‘too much’ about rights and how a lack there of for minority groups seeps into everything including our entertainment media most of you wouldn’t have the rights or entertainment you do now - these things are systematic so you have to attack and address the racism everywhere, not just in the areas y’all find it more appropriate/appealing to be hit with that reality in) - but fuck it if real people are actively being exposed to the fandom’s racism though, right? Or how they just prefer Velvette white (while explaining away her afro as her just having been a curly haired ginger in her human life so that’s not actual evidence towards her being black-coded or over-emphasizing that she’s WHITE British as if black British people are some nonexistent group) and they don’t see how that should be labeled as them being racist when it’s “just a preference”; but why does the sheer idea of Velvette being black repulse you in such a way in the first place?

Like everyone will accept Vaggie’s, roughly Valentino’s and even Carmilla’s coding as some form of ethnically Latino because they speak Spanish and because their voice actors are Latino of some sort, but when the same type of evidence gets brought up for Velvette’s black-coding (her VA being a black woman, her hair being in an Afro, the type of British accent she has sounding like it took inspiration from predominantly black British areas - though definitely less so than a character like ATSV!Hobie Brown, and the audition sheet for her character allegedly specifying that she was to be a black woman even) all of a sudden coding doesn’t exist, because y’all said so I guess. It’s the same fans of the show too that will whip out Alastor’s being black biracial to brandish it like a fucking weapon against those who call out Medrano for her racism and misrepresentation/demonization of vodou and voodoo in order to absolve her of any culpability or fault that will then turn around and deny the hell out of Velvette being black, and ain’t that just a bitch? Fandom has a racism problem (and me saying this is NOT new) but despite y’all thinking your radical because of some of the shows you watch and characters you like y’all are so obsessed with keeping the status quo in tact that every time someone points out a fandom’s racism it somehow manages to keep getting swept under the rug every time.

Regardless, Alastor’s alleged page in Medrano’s Pitch Bible says he could be ‘Any Ethnicity’ which was then retroactively changed for poor accountability reasons (but most everyone takes even that retroactive change as gospel and acknowledges that, as he is now, Alastor is biracial), but when Velvette’s alleged page in the Pitch Bible explicitly states that she’s a ‘black woman’ (and that hasn’t been redacted)

now everyone spontaneously doesn’t care about treating Medrano’s words like they’re the word of God and Velvette’s race is in the “eye of the beholder” or some shit. At this point just admit that you guys are racist and can’t stand the idea of having to regularly see, having genuine enjoyment for and interest in, or having an attraction to a black character. Y’all are so transparent in your anti-blackness, but too cowardly to admit it, that it’s almost painful.

Velvette’s coding (especially before you hear her voice, see who her VA is, and see her character’s appearance in s1ep8 where she’s depicted with textured hair) is not great, and I’d be remiss not to acknowledge that. She’s got the same skin tone color-coding problem as the other black - and only supposedly black - characters where she’s somewhere between a medium to dark grey in lieu of just making her brown skinned (which I get is because she’s a demon, but still), and in general there’s just enough not going on to make her black-coding more explicit that all the ‘I don’t really see her as black’ people can have a field day, and that makes arguing her blackness a necessity because you have to provide a whole bunch of evidence before people concede defeat or call you some backhanded insult that’s almost a slur before blocking you. That’s the reality and it sucks, but I am glad that there is at least things we can point to and that (even though not the best established/depicted) Velvette is supposed to be black.

All this to say, VELVETTE IS A BLACK BRITISH WOMAN (just black-coded or otherwise) and you can certainly argue about it, but I will not be responding; I have better shit to do.🫶🏾

The one thing about fandom and fan spaces - and just any media I consume for joy, period - that has always stayed consistent is the racism (and especially the anti-blackness & misogynoir). I can never escape that shit and I hate you people for it, I really do. Y’all’s favorite phrases to hit black people with are either ‘it’s not that deep’ (which it is, because your fandom preferences and reactions likely channel into how you vote, for instance, and how you regard the real life human beings in front of you’s worth at a given moment; I’ve seen it, because the same way that y’all take in misinformation about irrelevant shit like HH & HB is the same way y’all take misinformation and run with it when we’re discussing real life instances of oppression & discrimination) and that ‘be the ones to give black characters attention/make your own black character & predominantly black media’ bullshit. News flash though, a couple of black people in every fandom cannot cure the levels of systemic racism that’s sunk into you all like a fucking disease, but that so many people are just totally fine repping. If you’re “tired” of hearing black people complain about racism don’t you think black people are tired of feeling it? Of never being able to escape the effects of it? Of dealing with it? We hate this shit (at its most extreme it gets us killed and at it’s tamest it ensures we have less enjoyment & feel less welcomed in a given space), but if we can’t enter a physical or digital space without being hit by racism and anti-blackness then neither will you bitches. Also - because I’m looking back at this & can’t help but edit - I fully understand the desire other black people have to go into entertainment/fandom spaces and not have to think about racism, and so we’ll ignore the racism we do see (and sometimes even push back against its existence & downplay its harm), but ignoring the problem doesn’t fix anything. So while I also feel that desire and the majority of my stuff (especially my posts and creative endeavors) that’s aimed at black people is “escapist” or just not “trauma porn” to some extent, there is a point where I have to deviate and bring the shitty side of reality back into focus. So yeah.

P.S. — I kept saying alleged to the Pitch Bible because I didn’t trace the Bible pages all the way down to some official Vivziepop page, but you certainly can if you want to.

And here’s the full Pitch Bible page if you want it:

It also fucks over the people that want to insist Velvette stay Vox and Valentino’s ‘daughter’ figure despite Velvette’s redesign and characterization in season one of HH— and her age.

If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading (if you actually read the whole thing that as, but if not then whatever)!🩷

[lightofraye]

A Little Perspective

This may be lengthy and detailed and potentially triggering for some. I will be covering a number of possible points of view about things covering why Jensen hasn't left--and may never. (A prospective I'm not thrilled about, to be honest.)

So. Let's begin.

1) Abuse: This is double issue for Jensen. Potentially a triple. How do I mean? For instance, Jensen himself admitted his father beat him with a belt--and from the sound of it, a lot, while he was growing up, as Jensen knew thinner belts hurt more. Worse, his father said he did it "out of love", so there's that bad, unpleasant association right out the bat.

Plus, his mother... this is only speculation, an assumption. She either looked the other way and accepted the abuse, or she was a participant of the abuse and thought it was normal/acceptable. That too may color Jensen's perspective and not a good way either.

Then Jensen became a model... and the modeling industry is/was rife on abuse. A lot of stories come out later where those who quit the industry or endured it suffered a great deal of sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexual abuse.... A "pretty boy" like Jensen likely would've suffered as well. I don't believe he's ever shared stories and he likely may never.

(Hi, toxic perception of men as victims again.)

I can't even begin about the sexual abuse that is rampant in Hollywood itself. Yes, women were largely targets, but as we've heard the last few years,... so have been men.

Hell, Jensen was sexually assaulted by Misha! It was used in a fucking gag reel! It's not funny! Jensen even said if he had known they were going to put it in the gag reel, he would've asked them not to. That to me speaks volumes.

There are brief stories out there. A PA witnessed Danneel slapping Jensen when she thought Jensen was flirting with the PA. (He wasn't; he's just that sweet.) There's another story of some restaurant goer who saw how harsh Danneel was bullying Jensen outside the restaurant.

He's... diminished. His baseline for normal is not the baseline for normal for non-abused people. His self-esteem, confidence, and ability to stand up for himself is heavily damaged. He doesn't know how to stand up for himself. Every time he has, he's been smacked down.

Yes, he can stand up for others time to time, but there are instances when he didn't and gave up in face of authority. (Mark Sheppard being demoted to guest star and losing pay and choosing to quit instead... only had Jared standing up for him in the end. Misha caved instantly and Jensen gave up as well.)

So what then does it mean for him and Danneel? Did she become abusive off the bat? No. That's not how abusers work. There were likely instances where she slipped and he mentally made excuses, ignored the red flags because that's how it tends to happen. Hindsight is ever perfect. Being in the heat of it, we tend to try and excuse, defend, or otherwise rewrite it in our minds. We don't want to think of it as normal.

Then once they were married, Danneel began to let that completely slip and fall, and he was "trapped". The cycle continues. By now he thinks of it as normal, acceptable, maybe impossible to escape. He has likely been told no one would want him. He's "middle-aged", damaged goods. This has also been told to female victims and it's hard to break that mindset too. It's hard to find strength to completely break free when you've been fed insidious lies since childhood.

It's a trap. A difficult trap to break. Can it happen? Yes. But it's very, very hard.

2. Blackmail: This one can fall under two very different categories. One, the abuse one. Where the children (I've mentioned this before) are being used as hostages to guarantee Jensen's continued marriage to Danneel. As in, "If you divorce me, I'll make sure you never see the kids again!" It's a common threat, to boot.

Despite what some people have said, I believe Jensen loves his children. Yes, "especially" JJ, but I believe he loves all three. He may not be home a lot to see them, but he loves them. He would like to keep that access to them. It may be he believes Danneel's threat, and I'm sure there's some who believe it'd be "easy" for a woman to make such a threat and keep it.

Here's a hint, folks. The truth to that lie. If a father asks for full custody of the children in a divorce, they usually get that request granted, no matter what. But most of them don't ask for that, and so, the parent that does ask gets it granted. So... if a husband and wife vie against each other and both ask, guess who wins? The father.

Most fathers don't think to ask because of the perception of mothers always win. Mothers are the ones who should be responsible for children. And so forth.

Regardless... Jensen likely might believe that threat and feels some access is better than none.

Then the other kind of blackmail. Note: I do not believe nearly all that I'm about to write. This is purely speculative and a number of possible blackmail that Danneel might have over him.

There's the J2 tinhat rumors. I could see why those rumors lasted as long as they have. I've seen the stories, the posts, photos, watched them in conventions. It's entirely possible that Jared and Jensen did have some romantic/sexual relationship for a time. Maybe even after they got married to Genevieve and Danneel, it might have continued.

It could be Genevieve just accepted it and when it ended (as there was a gradual separation even before the whole The Winchesters/Prequelgate debacle), Jared and Gen were okay. Danneel... however... might not have been as okay with it as she indicated. Her posts over the years, where she tried to make it seem she and Jensen were together when fan photos and such came out at the same time of Jensen and Jared together, might've been wildly embarrassed by it all. She might not have been as okay with it as Genevieve was and just collected evidence to hold over Jensen's head.

After all, sadly, Hollywood still isn't as accepting of LGBTQ as we'd like. When actors come out, their careers usually don't continue, out of the weird perception that gay men can't act straight. (When I hear that, I look at Matt Bomer and go "Are you sure?!" I believed Bomer was a charming straight man even after he came out--his character on White Collar was awesome!)

So there's that possibility.

Then there's the orgies rumor we've heard about in the past. Or rather that one tweet that led to a threat of a lawsuit--which sadly made it valid and legitimate. Danneel really didn't know how to let a rumor die. It might make her look weird and bad too, but her career has been nonexistent for a long time and her reputation has already been destroyed by her own actions. It wouldn't hurt her nearly as much as it might hurt Jensen.

Then there's other possible vices. Alcoholism seems to be the more... "acceptable" of vices. As is smoking. If an actor is an alcoholic, they just go to rehab, get help, and be fine. But for someone who is self-conscious about their image, it might be more difficult to accept. Being seen drunk time to time is not the same as being an alcoholic, after all.

The same goes for drugs. Not that rumor has been very well-known, but it can exist.

Then there's the blackmail of affairs. In Hollywood, affairs and flings are considered a part of the life. They happen. Couples that are apart for a while time to time may dabble in affairs and flings. Even with co-stars. This happens too. More than most would like. (The more infamous one would be Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie on the set of Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Others have happened too. It's just common and accepted. Anyone saying otherwise is just wrong.)

Again, image-conscious and wanting to push the solid love marriage, this could be damaging. Even if Danneel hadn't really made it much of a secret that she's been having an on-and-off affair with Steve... it's still different. I repeat: she has no career or reputation to destroy. Jensen does.

Even if Hollywood wouldn't give that big of a damn about it.

3. PR Marriage: Now I know this has been pushed by other antis, and even suggested to me, but I find myself... hesitating on it. If it was in fact a PR marriage, why would he tolerate the abuse at all? Surely there'd be something in the contract about demeaning him and belittling him? It doesn't fit.

And there should have been protection over mistreatment or not fulfilling parts of it. I don't know... it doesn't quite fit. Not for me.

--

This was a long, long essay. I knew it would be, and it was still hard to write parts of it.

I want to end it with another point.

Female on male violence is often portrayed as a joke. Wedding Crashers had a female on male rape and it was a joke, a comedy bit. The one time I remember seeing such a scenario used on Law and Order: SVU, the male victim wasn't believed because he was a man and should have been able to overpower the woman.

Like it's expected of men to be able to just beat the shit out of their abusive partners... as though no one realized that if come upon by the police, any bruises on her would be taken more seriously than over him! Even if he had bruises too! Unless there's video evidence of physical abuse on him, anything else is considered... a joke. Impossible.

What's sad is that this too is an aspect of misogyny. Men are expected to be able to overpower women, so when a man is "taking" abuse and not fighting back, it's another part of misogyny. Because he's "lesser" than a woman, and that's shameful.

We have a lot of growing to do as a society. We need to realize that just because one person is making the money does not mean they hold all the power. We've only begun to see the problems of abuse, and all the areas it covers.

There's physical abuse, the one most commonly known. Then sexual, the second commonly known. The lesser recognized are financial (unless a person is a senior citizen, then it's considered a legitimate crime), and mental and emotional being the least known or recognized (only considered legitimate if done on a child and with proof).

Until we end the toxic expectations of men, and yes, women, and realize anyone can be a victim, and that we all, as a whole, deserve respect... we have a long way to go.

Just remember: It begins with you. It begins with us.

[cath-lic]

Thank you for your super sweet and kind response to my ask :) You're a wonderful person and I hope all is well today!

I wanted to say that your tags didn't hurt me! You didn't say anything wrong - there's sadly a number of converts who are highly reactionary. It was just the entire sentiment that I've heard time and time again from others. Many of whom can be ignorant on the topic, so it's just a bit of a frustrating experience and I wanted to share that with somebody who seems like they would understand :)

American Catholicism is... An interesting and disappointing case, and that often the core teachings of Christ and the Church tend to be watered down and twisted in order to fit political and often reactionary narratives. What I've found interesting is that, from my experience, the online reactionaries tend to be converts, and that the offline reactionaries tend to be cradle Catholics. I think it also manifests differently among cradle Catholics and converts. With converts, especially online ones, they're very vocal and loud, whereas it's a much more subtle, insidious problem among cradle Catholics. That's why I feel converts in general get the short end of the stick sometimes. The loud converts are so noticable that people want to focus on them, and end up ignoring cradle Catholics who the exact same thoughts and ideas because they happen to be quieter about it. Either way, it takes both to hold up reactionary Catholic organizations and movements, and I think people forget that. Also vast majority of people who have been nasty and judgemental towards me personally about the way I've received the Eucharist in the past, about my own queerness, about how my femininity isn't exactly traditional, and the fact that I wear pants as a woman (yes, this actually happened) have been cradle Catholics.

It's just a really complex and unfortunate situation and aspect of the current state of the Church in the USA, and I think it really runs deep within a lot of people regardless of their status :( but I've got tons of hope :)

ah, hello again! happy to hear back from you!!

i absolutely agree with your points, especially on how uniquely warped (both positive and negative, lol) american catholicism is. there’s actually 2 books i really want to read on the subject—the making of american catholicism and american catholic history.

like me, my mom is a cradle catholic, and i’ve definitely found myself butting heads with her on issues i thought would be obvious (e.g. divorced people being able to receive communion). it can be fascinating to watch (and try and debate), considering she’s liberal, but not “online” at all.

when attending various churches, i do definitely get the feeling that though they might not be loud about their views sometimes, they aren’t going to budge. most, if not all, have a sector dedicated to pro-life activities, which, as a pro-choice person myself, makes me pretty uncomfortable. (though i understand that finding a pro-choice catholic church is like finding a needle in a haystack. beggars can’t be choosers, i suppose).

so sorry to hear that you’ve faced this outrageous opposition. gender is a touchy subject in america (as though it ever wasn’t), and i really despise how american catholics are making a golden calf out of gender roles.

i myself have faced some issues re: gender presentation, so i know how you feel on some fronts. i can’t believe that they actually shamed you for wearing pants 😭 seriously!

thank you for another message, my sibling. it was great to hear back from you ❤️ have a blessed Sunday!

[lesbianrobin]

Hello yes I’m thinking about that cult ask and it fits so well it would have been such an interesting direction for them to go!! Like, Buck is still very insecure about his place with the team and we see that in his coma dream and he’s so desperate for that feeling of being loved unconditionally type family and a cult would so easily prey on this insecurity

And I could easily see some more insidious cult figures get into his head about who his family is and what he needs to do in order to be worthy of “unconditional” love further driving a wedge between himself and the 118. And you know Eddie would not react super rationally and might lash out at Buck/his new “friends” which would further reinforce the narrative that the cult is pushing

Anyway now I’m desperate to read this

hiiii ok so first of all yes. buck has so many like. risk factors that would make him particularly vulnerable to a high-control group (cult). especially at certain points in his life, post-lightning in particular as well as like his whole pre-firefighting journey. i think it's an interesting concept to consider because it lets us rly dig into like what buck is Looking For out of life (home and family and a sense of worthiness) and the various ways he's tried to find it and how he Has found it but struggles to really trust and believe it.

also i'm maybe writing something that is not the "buck gets into a cult post-lightning" idea but it is. something! and that will come eventually. no ballparks on when though because it's shaping up to be long and i want to figure out an exact length before i post the first chapter

[pantalaiimon]

I've seen dune part 2 twice now (both within a 24 hours interval lol)

the expectations were humongous, the hype was real

and at first, I was a bit thrown off by how much it veered away from the book compared to part 1 - so much so that I was thrown off the pacing of the movie and had trouble getting into its rhythm (because i kept thinking back to changes from 5 minutes before), anyway that first viewing experience was a mess for me

now that I've had more time with it, I can safely say I love the movie. I think I prefer part 1 in some ways (I prefer contemplative & moody to action-packed & drama), but I also love how part 2 leans even more unapologetically into the utter weirdness of the source material, and how cinematic it is

it looks gorgeous (even moreso than part 1), the acting is good to superb, but the dialogue could be better (compared to the books and to part 1), and hans zimmer recycled the first score which I found to be a real disappointment: even though it's still good, it's too repetitive

now unto specifics (incl. potential spoilers):

I am 100% harkonnen trash (which could mean anything, as paul states quite clearly he's harkonnen too, so...) (but yeah i'm harkonnen trash as in I absolutely loved the whole giedi prime sequence, and have soul-binding devotion to & utterly unhinged sexual desire for Feyd-Rautha (yes, even bald and less scheming than in the book), because boy is he twisted in interesting ways

Alia was robbed of a lot, BUT I love the fucked up deranged codependant mother-daughter relationship she and Jessica have got going. actually i live for it, for the abomination. bring it on. Also Jessica, who was the most OOC character to me in part 1, switched to being the most IC in part 2 and i couldn't be happier?

more desert lore, from details like wind traps, to weather & travel conditions, to hints of the sandtrouts, and the whole ecological system linking spice, worms, desert & water. yay for fascinating and immersive worldbuilding (that movie makes you feel the desert, unlike the first one)

more charlotte rampling is always a good move. also sets up dune messiah beautifully. on that note, irulan was well paced, that is, she's allowed to stay muted and observant rather than front and center, again, setting her up nicely for dune messiah. however, stilgar's arc was pushed way ahead and it displeased me, because I feel it lessens the mourning and regret I remember feeling reading the books as he evolved, and how tragic his changing was (highlighting through him, that of his whole people, and their downfall into fanaticism). if the movie rushes to the end result, I care less about that change, for i can't realise and mourn for what was lost along the way. on a similar note, as they played paul as more moral at the beginning of his journey (to make him more likeable), the switch to his mahdi era was a bit jarring. so yay to mohiam & irulan character arc pacing, nay to stilgar & paul.

chani was also allowed more breathing room and dimensions/depth/inner life than in the books, and as I remember finding the book lacking in that respect, can't fault the movie for fixing this.

the ruthlessness of the politics of the landsraad and the intricacies of the manipulations by the bene gesserit were perfectly show-cased. The commentary on the dangers of messianic religions and its melding to politics was too overt for my liking. especially at this stage of the story, it's less of a warning to the insidiousness of fundamentalism if there are glaring neon signs at the onset of that path telling you "do not go, there be dragons"... I know villeneuve wanted to set up herbert's course-correction from dune messiah earlier, but it's too much too early imo

anyway, to conclude, i'd like to lick feyd-rautha's abs

[bloodyshadow1]

People can say what Siuan did to Moiraine was abusive or character assassination, but people need to realize that just because you don't like something doesn't make it out of character, and it doesn't make the characters wrong.

Between siuan and moiraine went down, I get that for people who ship, them it was rough to see but I don't think siuan was in the wrong. The biggest problem is that siuan is a character in a TV series, she is not privy to everything the audience and other characters know. She knows that moraine has been keeping secrets from her, huge secrets, disobeyed her by breaking rand out, and and from siuans perspective lied to her, something only the black ajah can do.

Aes sedai cannot go against the 3 oaths, not its hard to do, or it hurts to do but can be pushed through, they cannot. I don't believe compulsion can force an aes sedai to go against their oaths, but I know in the books even an aes sedai collared by an a'dam can't be used as a weapon like other women who can channel. Moiraine truely believes she was stilled, which is why it isn't a lie, just a tied off shield by one of the most powerful channelers in existence, which doesn't seem to be a thing outside of the age of legends and women can't see male weaves so why would she assume that's what it was. unfortunately that means to Siuan, it looks like Moiraine is a liar something only the black ajah can do, which means the only logical explanation while Cairhien is being assaulted by a woman channeler more powerful than herself, is that the woman she loves is a dark friend and has been for at least 6 months since the eye of the world.

Yes, siuan compelling moiraine into obedience with her oath is a bad thing, especially to someone u love. But moiraine is trying to manipulate her just as much by using their love for each other as a shield for justice. Siuan is going to feel awful when she finds out the truth, but as the Amyrlin she did what she thought right and forced a dark friend and member of the black Ajah to obey. we know darkfriends in the show and in the books, they can be insidious, they can even be kind people who were forced into a bad situation or fell into a bad crowd. But they can be tricky and yes, as we can see since Moiraine's own nephew is a darkfriend who almost became the king of a country, they can be the people you least suspect.

Siuan did what she thought was right even though she was incorrect, it's not going to be the last time she does this, it's going to be from the last time any character in the Wheel of Time does it. And look, if they go through the whole series, hopefully the two of them can be together in the end and work through this. I can't believe I'm defending Siuan this much, I'm not even a big fan of her character, but I think fair is fair. (also found out I've been spelling moiraine's name wrong this whole time, which doesn't have much to do with the post, just something that happened to me and will happen in the future)

[peachym00]

I can’t believe y’all will excuse build’s racist, homophobic and sexist comments he’s made which he admitted to and still support him how many times is he gonna keep apologizing and all his fans are gonna fall for it every time

I'm not going to keep repeating myself, so this is the last I'll say on the matter. This is my opinion, so do with it what you will.

Firstly, I'm not sure why you think I excuse his behaviour in any way. I'm assuming you're saying this to me because you read my post about him, which confuses me because I clearly say I don't justify anything he's done. The things he said are fucked up, and I do not agree with them.

However, the leaked texts are presumably old and unless it comes out that he still displays these views now or continues to in the future, then yes I support him in moving on and doing what's best for him. I also feel the need to point out that with these leaked texts come mistranslations and little to no context. And as someone who is a native English speaker and does not speak or understand Thai, I cannot take these at face value. Especially when the woman behind leaking them has a clear insidious agenda of not seeking justice, but tearing this man down and destroying him until he is nothing.

I'm going to add a few more things here to get my point of view across for anyone else that comes across my account.

I think what people are forgetting is the simple act of being human. And humans are multifaceted and highly complex. Labelling everything as simply as he said this bad thing therefore he should be cancelled and I am better than him because I would never do that is incredibly short sighted.

It is in our human nature to make mistakes, errors and bad judgements but it is up to us as individuals to decide if we should allow someone the grace of being forgiven.

You are completely justified in feeling whatever you like about Build and the situation at hand, but cancel culture does not work. I am not here to punish him and neither are you. I believe he is trying to become a better person. You don't have to agree with me but that is my belief, and if you can't handle that then block me instead of sending me or anyone else anonymous asks.

I fundamentally disagree with the witch-hunt that people are subjecting him to. If you think he is a bad person and you do not support him, then simply leave him alone, block him on all social media, and refuse to contribute towards any kind of monetary support that involves him. Sending him or anyone hatred, vitriol, and death threats make you a bully. And then, if you're acting that way because you think Build is a horrible person, does that not make you just as bad as him?

It has completely astounded me how much nastiness I've seen in this fandom. We all need to remember to be kind. You should be kind to those around you, and you should be kind to yourself. And the moment you find yourself being anything less than because of a man you do not know and who does not know you, you should take a step back and think about what you are doing.

Please don't send me any more anon asks about Build. Vegas and Pete are the characters that I have brainrot over, and they are who I will mainly be focusing on. I am able to separate the character from the actor, but I understand that that is difficult, and I don't blame you if you want to block me for that reason alone or disengage with the fandom altogether.

[forabeatofadrum]

Just Some Guy (1/9)

Summary: Matt Christopher Davis lives a simple life, since he doesn't do much. He wants to study magic at Watford, find a girlfriend, and hang out with his best friend John Johnson at the Watford Chess Club. After all, unlike his famous classmate Simon Snow, he's just some guy.

Notes: Hello, hello and welcome to Just Some Guy, the story of all years of Snowbaz at Watford told from an outsider perspective of someone who doesn't really care about them. I came up with this idea back in 2022 and I am glad I can finally share it. I was inspired by Niamh Brody not keeping track of the Chosen One bullshit and by Patrick Ness's book The Rest Of Us Just Lives Here. I hope you guys like Matt as much as I do.

The name Matt Christopher Davis is courtesy of @mostlymaudlin​, @raenestee​ and @aristocratic-otter​, with the idea to use MCD as initials from @facewithoutheart. I asked the Carry On Discord for suggestions for a basic bitch name, and they delivered. Matt is sometimes referred to as Matty Chris D., a nickname from @cutestkilla.

Lastly, it's time for a good ole fanfiction disclaimer, but not because of Rainbow Rowell, but because of Ngozi Ukazu. John Johnson belongs entirely to her. He's originally a character from her webcomic Check, Please!, which y'all should totally check out. The reason Johnson is in this fic is because, well, I thought it'd be funny, especially since Johnson is as usual aware of his fictionality. "John Johnson" is the most basic bitch name possible, and I almost picked it for MCD till I realised there's already a John Johnson.

And with all that, enjoy.

AO3

--

Year 1

MATT

To be honest, I can’t quite believe I am finally at Watford. My parents give me a final hug before it’s time for them to leave.

“You’re going to have an amazing time,” my mum says as she pets my hair.

I shrug. It’s not as if there’s going to be anything interesting happening in my life. You could state that I am the most generic person ever, and that is fine by me. Not everyone needs to have a grand adventure, and that is definitely what I realise when I see Simon Snow walk around the Great Lawn.

Of course I know about the Chosen One. Of course I know that the Chosen One starts Watford in the same years as me, but I don’t really care about him. I’m here to learn magic, make friends, and maybe meet my future spouse, which is a must for the World of Mages.

After all, I am just some guy.

--

I leap into this new magickal life. The Crucible casts me together with John Johnson, who claims he’s in the wrong universe, which is off-putting, but we still become fast friends.

“Like, I should be playing hockey,” John grumbles during breakfast somewhere in the year. I nod absently. John talks a lot about hockey.

“Sure,” I say. There are plenty of other sports to join, but I don’t really know. I have eight more years to figure out what to do, so I am not in a rush.

“Whatever man, you’re about to go on your own narrative journey. It’s going to be amazing for the both of us!” John says excitedly, “Look at me, I’m British now! I am eleven!”

I shove some toast down my throat and I look around the dining hall. There are so many students. My eyes fall on the Chosen One who’s talking to a girl, who nods along to every word. I don’t really keep track of what the Chosen One is doing with his life, but I’m glad he’s made a friend. The first few weeks of classes were unbearable because of his sheer magic exuding into the classrooms. We’ve all gotten used to it now, but it did isolate him a bit.

I don’t know the girl’s name, but she doesn’t seem to mind the magic.

I take a look at the Chosen One. He has only been part of the World of Mages for a few months, but he’s already gotten himself in a lot of trouble because of this whole Insidious Humdrum stuff. He’s constantly missing classes and Miss Possibelf says he’s on missions for the Mage and the Coven.

I hear him coming home quite late. Yes, John and I live across the corridor. It’s honestly quite annoying to live on top of a tower. There are so many staircases to climb. I occasionally hear the Chosen One bicker with his roommate.

What a life he must be living.

But honestly, I don’t care. I mean, I care about the Humdrum, because that thing eats magic, but our Chosen One can be the hero who saves the day. The rest of us just lives here, you know?

--

“Mate!” John slams the door open. The window in our small shared room almost seems to shatter. Did John do that?

I nod towards the window, but John shakes his head.

“No, it’s a dragon!” John screams.

I jump out of my seat. That’s when I hear the roar. Our window shatters for real this time and I duck to avoid the glass.

“The Humdrum sent a dragon to Watford!” John grabs my hand, “We have to run!”

“Where to?” I yell as he leads me through the corridors of Mummer’s Hall. We descent the many staircases, not knowing where to go. Right now, we just want to get outside before the building collapses. Merlin’s pants, what will happen to us now? The Humdrum was always this entity sucking the magic out of the atmosphere, but if John’s to be believed, it (he?) can now also attack? That’s never happened before!

More students are making their way outside. There are screams and panicked cries. John doesn’t seem too bothered by it. Instead, he is determined to get me out of here as fast as possible, and he succeeds. He manoeuvres us between the many, many students and the teachers who are trying to keep everyone calm.

We finally make it outside and more students are evacuating to Crowley knows where.

To my shock, it seems like John is leading me towards the Great Lawn.

I try to stop him. I’m pretty sure that the dragon is right there.

“Are you mad?” I yell, “We can’t go there!”

But John is stronger than I am and he drags me towards the Great Lawn. I was right. The dragon is there, with its wings spread wide. The Chosen One is in the air. He must’ve jumped from somewhere. His skin is shimmering and his eyes are glowing. He has the Sword of Mages raised over his head.

Then he plummets it into the dragon’s neck.

The dragon’s eyes widen and it lets out a horrendously loud roar.

Then I watch the dragon fall to its side.

A hush falls over the Great Lawn. Students and teachers alike are stunned into silence. Even the Chosen One’s chatty best friend looks shocked.

“Wicked,” John mutters next to me.

I blink a couple of times. Is this the life of the Chosen One? Of the elusive Mage’s Heir?

Speaking of, the Mage runs towards the Chosen One to help him clean up the dragon. Where was that man? He’s our headmaster, for Crowley’s sake!

“Well, that’s enough adventure for today,” John says. He’s broken out of his shock and he isn’t the only one. The Chosen One and the Mage leave the Great Lawn. The Chosen’s One’s friend (sidekick?) (isn’t that how it works with chosen ones and heroes and what not?) rushes after them. Slowly, everyone’s coming back to their senses and it’s clear that people talk about what just unfolded, but life goes on, even though the Chosen One just saved the school.

I need a bloody nap.

--

My parents pick me up at the Gates. It’s summer vacation and I am glad. I like Watford, but I love my family as well. We talk plenty over the phone, but it’s good to see them.

We drive home in silence. There is a weird tension between my parents, but I brush that thought aside. I just haven’t seen them in a while.

Eventually, my dad breaks the silence.

“And how would you describe your first year at school, Matty?” my dad asks.

I think about classes, and John, and my daily life here.

“Uneventful,” I answer. I didn’t do much.

[entropic-fantasy]

I'm going to say it a million times until all these butt-hurt solo stans and akgaes get it:

Just because Jungkook got a treatment that seems preferential (I'll add to this later), doesn't mean that none of the other members got a similar offer from Hybe nor that the company is preparing to turn from a BTS focus to a JK one.

We don't know ANYTHING about the behind the scenes negotiations, but we know something:

All members re-signed with Hybe, even having shares in the company. BTS could've split and made an unbelievably beneficial deal with one of the other companies because they're BTS. They are incredibly powerful, and you bet they have just as incredible lawyers. They could've founded their own label easily, if nothing would have been to their liking. BUT THEY STAYED. BTS aren't weak teens, unable to fend for themselves. They never had issues with standing up for their beliefs, which is why they stood out, and still continue to, from other Kpop acts.

The relationship between OT7 hasn't fallen apart. I've seen so many speculations about "oh, Vmin aren't close anymore" because of ONE hug. A speculation that was promptly debunked in a BangtanBomb. They all support one another whenever they can, and especially behind the scenes. No matter what Canon and motives certain parts of this fandom are trying to establish. I'm adding shippers onto the Solo-Stans and akgaes here, because it often are the more accepted shipping spaces that seem to give a platform to a lot of the harmful rethorics (i.e. the mistreatment of Jimin and Tae in comparison to Jungkook etc).

Every member has had his moment to shine. All 7 of them could've gone on a world tour like Yoongi did, and sold out. With ease. All 7 of them would've slayed a more US focused album promotion like Jungkook. Yes, there was certainly forecasts and finance meetings because Hybe are a company which BTS are employed by. But, again, BTS aren't mindless puppets. They didn't get where they are if they didn't stand up for themselves. So, at some point, they said no. What I find especially insidious are the people constantly focusing on the maknae line and trying to prove mistreatment while ignoring the releases of the hyungs/rapline. For certain issues people keep pointing out (restocking CDs) I have also seen posts from other fandoms saying similar things. Also: dear US-Army, the world doesn't revolve around you. Sincerely, an EU-Army that hasn't seen BTS live since before the pandemic.

Sorry to everyone who disagrees but I see Jungkook's success as a bonus to the entirety of BTS. A win for one of them is a win for the team. Everyone from OT7 had that effect, bringing in different subgroups and music fans into the fold. And no matter how much I myself f.e. love D-Day and Face, I also know that Jungkook has by far the biggest starpower apart from the group. They're ALL charismatic and beautiful, talented and intelligent, yet it's always Jungkook that has been shoved into the limelight by everyone else. It wasn't Hybe that gave him so many followers on Instagram, or TikTok. So many people online are quick to make his success a character flaw, assigning narratives and traits onto him, when we should be celebrating him like his hyungs are celebrating him.

Hybe isn't perfect. But there's no reason to vilify them or Jungkook until there is factual, irrefutable evidence and not just "trust me bro" rumours.

We don't even know what the JK brand is going to be - as far as I'm aware, at least. So let's hold our collective horses and not jump the gun.

I trust BTS 100%. I trust these full grown adults, who have been fighting their way upwards through an industry stacked against them for 10 years.

I trust Namjoon's intelligence.

I trust Seokjin no-bullshit attitude.

I trust Yoongi's tenacity.

I trust Hoseok's austerity.

I trust Jimin's fighting spirit.

I trust Tae's quiet strength.

And I trust Jungkook's perfectionism.

BTS don't do inequality - not after they fought so much to become the very sunbaenims they never had in the cutthroat industry of kpop. They run, and fight and pave the way.

To quote Haegeum:

Endless influx of information prohibits freedom of imagination, and seeks conformity of thought

All these painful noises blind you, and

Now it even infringes on freedom of thought

All the controversy incessantly

Triggers confusion in judgment uh

Really, what is it exactly that’s been restricting us?

Maybe we do it to ourselves

Slaves to capitalism, slaves to money

Slaves to hatred and prejudice

Slaves to YouTube, slaves to flexin’

Selfishness and greed have gone off the rails

I close my eyes and it's easy, it’s all so obvious

Opinions clearly split depending on what's to gain

Everyone's been blinded by envy and jealousy

Without realizing that they're putting shackles on each other

[princesssarcastia]

i have no personal or professional experience with OCD or psychology so I can't speak to whether those things can contribute to this specific mentality. but setting that aside;

i fundamentally disagree that the ONLY way you can hold the mentality of, "i am personally responsible for the bad things done by politicians I voted for," is by having some kind of moderate to severe mental illness. I don't agree that it's inherently unhealthy. I don't agree that it automatically leaves you unable to meaningfully navigate through life. I don't agree that it's always dysfunctional. I don't agree that it always means you won't take action, or that you will be unable to substantially change things when you do take action.

in fact, I find that assertion to be kind of insidious! because you cannot abdicate responsibility for the things your government does in your name. you CANNOT. especially when you are one of the people who said, "yes, this is the person I choose to lead us." if you put someone in power then the things they do with that power ARE your responsibility.

I personally believe that we are responsible for each and every thing our leaders do in our name, from our local county sheriff on up to our president. I believe that I am responsible. Because if I am not responsible, then who is?

Obviously our leaders themselves are responsible for the things that they do and say. But when we elect them, we become responsible for the things they do in our name, with our permission.

(Frankly, even though it's wildly unfair, I also believe we are responsible for the things that our leaders do in our name even when we didn't vote for them, but that's a separate, more depressing, much longer conversation involving political theory.)

I'm assuming the person who wrote this is an American who votes for Democrats. I'll also assume that more than a few people who follow me can also be categorized as such. So if that applies to you, let me ask you this: do you think that the people who voted for Trump in 2016 are responsible for the things that he did? And let me tell you: if your answer to that question is no, I kind of don't believe you.

If Kamala Harris is elected, it is inevitable that she will do horrible things in our name. It's our job to take responsibility for that by punishing her for it politically and electorally—I'd say legally, too, but obviously that's a pipe dream, because no American president has ever been legally punished for the horrible things they've done.

The same way that Trump did horrible things in our name, and the same way that we punished him for that politically and electorally and, fingers crossed, legally, though I'm not holding my breath. Did I vote for him? No. Am I, as a person living in America, as an American citizen, still responsible for the things he did? Yeah. Yeah, I am. At the very least, it was and is my responsibility to stop him if i can, and mitigate that harm and remove him from power after the fact if I can't.

My local elected officials, like local elected officials across America right now, are trying to further criminalize homelessness. To make it harder, if not impossible, to exist in the place where I live if you don't have housing. It's despicable. I'm doing my best to try and stop it. These officials are doing this terrible thing in my name! I voted for some of them. I didn't vote for others. But I am responsible for all of their actions, because they're my leaders. What they do with the power I give them, willingly or unwillingly, is my responsibility.

And further, because I'm feeling a little bitchy tonight: the idea that I could feel that way in order to justify my own moral cleanliness is darkly amusing to me. You know what a person would actually have to believe about their leaders in order to still be able to claim that their hands are clean?

They would have to believe that the hold no responsibility for the things the leaders they voted for do once they're in office.

[sol-draws-sometimes]

Disc World bookclub thoughts- Monstrous Regiment

Pages 20-28

Hey @anna-neko ! Did I miss last week… yes. BUT JUST BECAUSE I MISS ONE WEEK DOESN’T MEAN I JUST ABANDON THIS. Look, finals are the week, so these past few weeks have been alot… also I’ve been hyperfocusing on dnd(stares in adhd). I’ve barely read but that’s alright. Once finals are over, I’m going on a roadtrip, so I should have time to read when we’re driving(unless I catch up on critical role…we’ll see).

It’s so late and I’m literally way too tired for nuance. With expectations set, Lets go

“Ankh-Morpork is a godawful city,” he said. “Poisonous, just like its river. Barely fit for humans now, they let everything in—zombies, werewolves, dwarfs, vampires, trolls—“

Something something we live in a society. Cue family talking about how NYC is corrupting the youth or something 🙃. Tbh, insert any big progressive city, and it should work for most of them.

A lot of good stuff in this page(and the next few ones)

1. Something Something colonialism bad. They[Borogravia] are the bad guys here🏃🏃🏃

2. Cool POV stuff coming back. Especially with the song and what not

3. Damn Strappi’s certainly something

4. I hate nationalism. The line b/w patriotism and nationalism is real hard sometimes. I mean, something something, true patriotism is knowing how your country’s fucked, and wanting to it be better. You fight for change cause you love it, and that is way more patriotic than just blinding fighting for country and defending it, even when it is in the wrong.

5. Uggh, the national anthem. Yes the flag thing is an actual thing we do in US. And certain teachers DO loss their shit if you don’t stand up/sing. Look, it’s not like I’m trying to disregard veterans, it’s just… weird and indoctrinationy. Plus, they added, “Under God,” during the cold war so, that feels even more insidious.

6. Poor Wazzer man. I’m glad he rebels in his own small way. Small acts of rebellion are still rebellious.

7. Learning new phrases! I figured due to context clues, but it’s always good to check.

Literally this conversation is literally my fucking thoughts

Uuuuh. War bad! Look. See!

“Well, I’m not buying into it. It’s all trickery. They keep you down and when they piss off some other country, you have to fight for them! It’s only your country when they want you to get killed!” said Tonker.”

Tonker. King Behavior!

And just as they’re going to sleep, so am I.

Fuck this book is good!

Here’s another quote good night!

It’s all lies, she thought muzzily. Some of them are just prettier than others, that’s all. People see what they think is there. Even I’m a lie. But I’m getting away with it.

Ps: I realized last time I stopped at pg 20 but wrote 60… my bad.(should be fixed now tho)

I will add ID text some other date cause I don't have the mental energy rn. I just did, scan text, and copy pasted it into alt w/out checking. If someone besides Anna finds this post and wants them, just @ me in the comment and I'll @ you when I finish this.

First | <-Previous | Next->

[karouvas]

emison, nationalism, time loops

(For the send me a ☕️ + topic ask game)

Emison — I generally like them, not without caveats but the parts of it that are good (by good I mean the more messed up parts) are really good and compelling to me! Have said before that *peak* Emison era to me is 4b-5a. The era when Emily has just learned Ali is alive and is reckoning with all her different complicated feelings about her, trying to tell herself she’s over Ali but then repeatedly acting in ways that prove how much of a simp for her she still is (things like “You always saw the best version of me” “I don’t see that anymore” *proceeds to go to the kissing rock* *gives Paige lengthy speech about how she’s finally over Alison* *stashes money for Alison, meets her in abandoned warehouses and makes sure to dress hot before*) I eat that kind of dichotomy up in general for my ships! And there was great work for Emily as a character there to me, in having a space for her anger and also her messy feelings, and because Alison is now alive but not concretely *back* the writing was still fun and ambiguous regarding her morality, how much of her was real and how much was either performance or the liars in this case Emily specifically projecting onto her.  … And 5a there was really good longing and pining and again, just enough emotional nuance to keep things interesting. The flashbacks in s1-3 are overall good for them too / I enjoy the whole character is haunted by their first love with who they had miscommunications with and the ambiguity will haunt them forever and influence all their future relationships thing so yes I was mostly a fan, but that mid season arc was what really gave me *feels*. And then the show just never did anything interesting again… In general I’ve been vocal about the fact that I almost never like storylines about pregnancy and raising kids for chars and dynamics I like unless the writing does A Lot of work to convince me to like it… so you can imagine that I was Not A Fan of one that was incredibly lazy with a side of bodily autonomy violation (that is never addressed as such…*sigh*) coupled with other issues I have with misogyny and homophobia in pll (and racism too regarding Emily) and how the way *canon era* Emison was ultimately done played into a lot of said issues. Then the perfectionists wise on a watsonian level it’s not that I necessarily hate the divorce, especially since I’m on record as often advocating for divorce for ships I like <3 but the lack of Emily actually being present robs that of the character work potential it could have for both of them, and then on a Doylist level I do Hate the implication that They’re the toxic horrible relationship that can’t be sustained while Ezria and even then other het relationships that aren’t as insidious but still had major problems are totally fine to be together 4 evah *barf*.

So basically the sum of my Emison feelings is that I do like them, aside from maybe Emaya they’re my favorite canon pll ship, but it is one of those ships where I feel a lot of what I like and find interesting about them either wasn’t intentional or wasn’t a priority when it came to the writing. The Emison I would have written >>>. But I do appreciate when the show was aiming for more than a typical cookie cutter wlw ship with them, and I side eye some wholly negative takes on them that dismiss that and why it would appeal to sapphic fans over it not being purely wholesome and sweet.

Nationalism — I don’t think I have any groundbreaking takes on nationalism as a concept, I think the best use of it is advocating for a country’s freedom/independence so it’s not really a useful sentiment for countries like the U.S. or UK etc. that are already recognized / have political power and are more likely to pose harm to ones that don’t and are founded partially on colonialism. My pov on it is as someone who’s a U.S. citizen / born there but spends a fair amount of time in Pakistan because it’s where my family is from but also I obviously have privilege to be mobile in terms of traveling which many don’t … so I guess my stance is as a concept in general nationalism can be neutral or a good thing but for a U.S. context it’s more likely to be negative for the world in general.  

Time Loop — I generally like time loop stories I think they can be really fascinating, I don’t think I actively seek out time loop media but when it turns up in something I like I’ll be excited for it! Some favorites of mine are “Life Serial” the Buffy episode very on brand of me to insert Buffy into the conversation but I think it’s such an underrated episode… and I love “As I Have Always Been” the Agents of SHIELD episode it’s probably in my top 2 for the entire show. SYFY’s The Magicians is a show partially founded on time loops and I enjoy how it plays with / uses them a lot I even enjoy the Margo and Eliot time loop ep in s5 despite really disliking a lot of what’s going on in that last season. And Russian Doll s1 was great I really need to get around to watching s2…. for someone who blogs a lot about tv I am actually very bad at watching things sometimes :/. But there’s a lot of popular time loop media I haven’t seen and/or have no interest in. 

[distort-opia]

this is going to be a wild ask... i'm reading comments on this silly twitter post ranking DC characters by misogyny( joker is in the " do not perceive women" category), and i wonder " is joker misogynistic???". he abuses women, but not because of their gender, right?? I AM NOT EXCUSING HIM GOD FORBID 😭 but are you misogynistic if you abuse everyone equally?( awful sentence) he will beat anyone to death, he does not care. sexual comments he makes regardless of gender as well. can you be an evil egalitarian 💀 i think he shapes his words and actions in a way that will hurt the most and for women characters it does mean some misogyny. but i don't think he uses it from a misogynistic stand, rather from 'convenient social tool for hurt' stand. his whole thing is valuing everyone else as worthless in the same way.

Alright, yeah, a bit of a wild ask :)) Sorry for the delay in response; I've sort of answered this already when addressing Joker's potential racism, so I will link you to that answer here.

The principle is pretty much the same. Yes, Joker is an "evil egalitarian" at his core; he uses whatever hurts the other person, no matter what it is, or how it comes across. He doesn't actually believe it-- he doesn't believe in anything. His whole schtick is the fact he thinks nothing has any inherent value. However... that's when he's written well. Like I mentioned in that post too, there are plenty of instances in which Joker is a vehicle for the writer's personal biases which can obviously include misogyny, or used as a Deus Ex Machina of evil ("Oh we need a horrible thing to happen! What's Joker doing nowadays"). But Joker's relationship with Harley is the biggest elephant in the room in this department. It was undoubtedly an abusive relationship, and Joker has been depicted as genuinely sexist especially in relation to Harley (and Barbara too), though perhaps even moreso since Harley's redemption arc began. In order to write stories that frame her as triumphing over her abuser, Joker had to become this particular type of horrible person, so her victory over him would be more impactful -- despite this not entirely connecting with previous characterizations. And yeah, you're right that Joker's abuse is canonically not limited by gender (though lmao, what a sentence). He's been shown to act in similar ways to male henchmen in comics like Joker: Year of the Villain or Harley Quinn: 30th Anniversary Special, as he did towards Harley. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter to him the gender of the person he's getting power over. He'll manipulate whoever he finds cracks in to his own advantage.

[sigh] However, the issue of sexism and misogyny in comics is such a big, insidious one. If you acknowledge that Joker is written with misogynist undertones, acknowledging everyone else is inevitable. Looking at the way Batman's character has been written certainly doesn't do him any favors either. His 'Brucie Wayne' playboy persona has treated women... less than ideal; and I'm not even getting into the whole "every woman he encounters is a love interest and wants to fuck him" thing. This is a famous and pervasive problem within DC comics (and not only)-- many writers are intentionally or unintentionally catering to a male power fantasy that a big segment of the fan demographic projects. You've got the skewering and inconsistent characterization of many female characters in the Batman universe over time (man, Poison Ivy suffered a lot), and the blatant oversexualization and "male gaze" problem in comic book art... to name a few. The issue of misogyny and sexism in comics has always been there, and is unfortunately a systemic one.

[shadowcrafter-28]

About my own concept for an extended story for the unreleased short, "The Spider Within," It'll still be about Miles having to face his demons (manifestations of his anxiety) in the form of a dark figure and spiders, but they will take a sinister turn with how I'm about to tell y'all.

There are multiple ways the story can go. I'll let everyone decide which fits best. I might need someone to help me write this, if I do it, so I don't mischaracterize anyone.

Btw, this'll be inspired by some horror films such as "Insidious," "A Nightmare on Elm Street," "The Boogeyman," "Smile," and "The Conjuring." Most involve paranormal activity, nightmarish visions or dreams, demonic entities, astral projection, and of course, possession.

As for the astral projection part, I thought of Miles walking around, outside of his body, looking for his relatives in the spiritual world. We'd know if Miles did this, he'd look for Uncle Aaron. So, I'll make separate concepts where Miles can astral project and one where he doesn't but still encounters the shadow figure.

So! Miles Morales struggles with certain things in his life that impact his mental health. These things include school, being Spider-Man, being a friend, and being a son. Of course, if all of this bothers him, he'd talk to his parents about it, especially his dad. However, he doesn't discuss it with them, yet, especially since one of those struggles involves being New York's hero. The only person he shares about being Spider Man with is his friends and Uncle Aaron. (All of this happens before summer break; two weeks before school ends.)

Miles's friends, Gwen, Hobie, Pavitr, Margo, and Ganke, all encourage him to talk with them but still exclude the hero part. However, Miles believes his parents would think he's still hiding something. And even if, in Miles' head, he told his parents he were Spider Man, they wouldn't love him the same. He keeps all this in until he finds the right time and words.

His friends have struggles of their own and tell one another about them, including Miles. Their relationships between each other, like Gwen and Margo, are the typical teenage girls that tell each other girl stuff and sometimes gossip about their lovers (and yes, Margo is super supportive of Gwen and Miles' relationship). Miles and Gwen went on dates too. The gang visited Miles from time to time, especially Gwen. Her spider sense always goes off when Miles felt a deep emotion or needs help. The gang would take turns or help out as a group in their universes if something big came up.

Miles dreams about his uncle and speaks to him about his problems. He can do anything in his dream, which means he teleports himself to wherever his uncle is, which is usually his old apartment. However, the visit takes a dark turn when he discovers the shadow monster messing up his dream.

The shadow is an evil being that originated from the spirit world and reaches into his victims through the darkness of their dreams. As they progress, the more physical the entity can become in the real world. This strategy feeds off the victim's struggles and trauma that has affected them, making it worse, to the point where the victim is unable to fight and is vulnerable to possession.

(Headcanon: Anytime Miles encounters something or someone new, he'd draw them into his sketchbook so he wouldn't forget. His encounter with the shadow gave him the opportunity to include it in.)

At one point, Miles' parents take him to the doctors for a CT scan and a polysomnography. Everything seems fine, except Miles being attacked in his nightmare. His parents, including the doctors, witness him fighting something they cannot see. His parents agree to let him spend the rest of his last week at home.

Through another and last week of school, Miles faces this entity every night. This causes his sleep schedule to fall apart as he remains awake to prevent haunting. However, since the nightmares have persisted on long enough, the shadow has become more tangible, causing hallucinations, physical appearances, random whispering, and physical injuries. For example, Miles would hear a knock on a door, open it, but find no one present. Or he would see something coming into his room and try to hide under the sheets or something to avoid it. However, the shadow would still attack him but nothing would be there afterwards.

(Headcanon: Miles used to sleep walk at a young age; sometimes, he'd be invisible as he walked around.)

After a bit, the final week of school ends and Miles' condition hasn't improved. His friends take notice but Miles brushes it off (the shadows whispering would change his mind sometimes to get his friends off his back.) One night the spirit finally possesses Miles' body, which makes him fall ill (cough; nausea; vomiting; headaches; chills; stuffed nose.)

(Wanna hear the scary part? The way this happens is Miles tries to sleep but undergoes sleep paralysis, with the entity confronting him and tormenting him. Miles fights back but the entity is strong enough to make him not fight back as he strangles Miles and possesses him. Gwen's senses go off, leading her to travel to 1610 and check on him. She catches him in the air with his eyes rolled to the back of his head (white). She'd attempt to enter the room once he drops down on the ground aggressively before his dad hurries into the bedroom to see his son on the floor, unconscious. Gwen would observe from the window, waiting for both his parents to leave (Mrs. Morales would inevitably enter the room to investigate).

Miles becomes ill the next day, and his friends visit. Gwen didn't tell everyone what she saw but she told herself that she must've been seeing things. However, she still senses something wrong with him but can't figure it out. Miles' behavior changes as the days pass and his friends worry.

He has told his friends and helped him conduct some research but haven't found anything. They don't believe him until the last minute when they discover he's possessed. They find more details about something like this having happened to another family years earlier.

The shadow would find a member of a functioning family and begin to feed off their most impactful pieces of trauma and the stress they've endured. After they get to their weakest point, they become possessed and are driven to murder their family with everyone believing it never involved possession. The entities' attempts at possessing the living have failed numerous times due to their victims dying. That means the same will happen to Miles and his parents.

Miles' appearance is pretty disturbing as he has bright yellow irises, black eyes, black goo leaking from his mouth, pale skin, darkened eye bags, a distorted voice, and dark veins that cover his neck, arms, legs, and face.

Before Miles kills his father first, he is stopped by his friends who try to stop him the Spider Man way, which involves a small goose chase running on the walls and combat between each other, with Miles getting the upper hand and defeating them. Of course, the Spider Gang aren't yet defeated and embrace Miles to get him to fight the entity. As they continue this method, it gets through to him. The strength of love and comfort banish the entity.

(I'm thinking of the shadow leaving Miles' body like a dark cloud exiting out of his mouth. Hobie lit it on fire so it stayed away. (He found out evil entities aren't immune to light so he decided lighting it on fire would help. Of course, this nearly burned the building down, but it turned out that not much was affected except Miles' parents, leaving them with concern; they're more worried about their son's safety.) After all this, Miles is alright, but left weak for a bit before getting back on his feet.

Still pondering whether Miles would tell his parents he's spider man and they accept him or he discusses his issues but not reveal him to be spider man (but his parents still support him with anything.)

I'm also still wondering how the story would differ if Miles could astral project and the spirit discovering him in the spiritual world. Then his friends have to reach out to Miles, possessed by the spirit, and free his soul from its confinement in the spirit world.

At the moment, I'm sticking with this concept. I’ll probably make changes once the short is released (very soon hopefully). Anyways, hope ya'll enjoyed and leave any suggestions and opinions!