#like is this some sort of gotcha argument???

[fairuzfan]

also stop fucking talking about "what if indigenous americans did october 7th to you today??" you weirdo. stop! what a disgusting argument to make, have some fucking shame.

[karokawwo]

i feel like people who compare jade and dottore as proof that people hate jade because she's a woman fail to realize that dottore doesn't feel as "real" as jade. he's literally a mad scientist with clones of himself running around in his place so he doesn't feel as close to reality as a predatory higher-up from a money hungry company would. dottore's victims are a living puppet piloting a mecha and a girl with a magical disease, jade's juniors are children from the planets which her company invaded

[bitterkarella]

Midnight Pals: X-Men

Stephen King: Submitted for the approval of the midnight society, i call this the tale of when the X-Men fought the literal embodiment of hunger King: it was for a charity comic Poe: oh right right of course Lovecraft: of course Barker: gotcha Koontz: wowww! x men!!

King: so kitty pryde goes to the get some food King: but then suddenly King: she starts losing weight! King: now normally King: i think that sort of this is good King: usually i think the opposite is way scarier King: but this time King: it's bad

King: what's the cause of Kitty Pryde's unnatural weight loss? King: it's the evil mutant ghost embodiment of hunger King: the monstrous force known as King: "hungry" Barker: ba ha ha ha Poe: clive

Barker: "Hungry!?" King: yeah, his name is hungry Barker: like, the adjective? King: yeah i Barker: ah ha ha ha King: i don't see whats so funny King: yeah, his name is hungry King: see, this one time he said to his dad "i'm hungry" King: and his dad said "hi hungry, i'm dad"

King: anyway the point is that its about kitty pryde King: that super hero you all know and love Koontz: i like superman! superman is the best super hero King: ha ha well dean you're certainly entitled to your opinion King: there's no reason for us to fight King: King:

Alan Moore: [appearing in a clap of thunder] who dares call upon the arch magus? King: we need you to settle an argument Moore: speak your question, mortal, and gain wisdom King: who's the best superhero Moore: Moore: do you have any questions that aren't about that

Moore: the arch magus can see through time, control the very movements of the cosmos Moore: and you dare to ask a question about comic books King: well i just thought since you love comics so- Moore: the answer is herbie popnecker King: Moore: herbie popnecker is the best super hero

King: i'm sorry, herbie popnecker? Moore: yes herbie popnecker King: Koontz: Barker: Poe: Lovecraft: Moore: "you want i should bop you with my lollipop?" Moore: haha it doesn't get old!

Moore: i must now return to my mountain fortress [disappears in a clap of thunder] King: Koontz: Poe: Barker: Lovecraft:

[a-polite-melody]

“AFAB trans women can’t exist and the fact that people are bringing up intersex people to counter that shows you think that intersex people can’t have been AMAB.”

Plus, that this argument is even being tried does actually show, by nature of the argument itself, that you think that the sorting of intersex people into AGAB categories should determine their ability to be trans in certain gender directions, which is one of the things intersex people are trying to get across is happening.

Like. The argument quoted at the top of this post implies that of intersex people, only AMAB intersex trans people can be trans women/fem, and then also that only AFAB intersex trans people can be trans men/masc, and that AFAB intersex trans women’s and AMAB intersex trans men’s very existences or support of their existence means you think the other isn’t a type of intersex person or doesn’t exist.

Stop shoving biological determinism onto intersex conversations around gender and how that intersects with transness as some sort of “gotcha” to shut them up.

[aringofsalt]

yknow. i think what makes the "friends don't just do that!!!" argument for buddie even more silly to me is that...i literally do do that. in fact i would argue that i do way more than buck does for eddie or christopher, excluding the tsunami of course. my roommate is my best friend. we are not dating nor have we ever dated in the nearly 15 years we've known each other. she's fully 1000% straight. and i literally co-parent her kids. like actually live-in co-parent, not babysitting and group hangouts. we've lived together since her middle child was 6 months old, so over 5 years now. i was at the hospital when all 3 of her kids were born. i do school drop off and i'm debating joining the pta this year.

i love her and those kids so much and they are absolutely my family and i would do anything for them.

and it's still fully platonic.

so, like. can you not fathom caring about people unless it's romantic? really???? i'm truly not diminishing anything about buck and eddie's friendship, nor buck's relationship with chris, i fully believe they are soulmates and family no matter what weird form that takes, but good grief this insistence that buck's caring about christopher is some sort of romantic gotcha for him and eddie drives me up the damn wall.

you know what you sound like when you insist that they've gotta have romantic feelings just because of chris? you sound like every gross straight man i've ever met who leers at me and asks if i'm "getting something" out of helping out my best friend. so congrats on that, i guess.

[ffverr]

On the discourse (that somehow still exists) of why the X-Men are feared and hated but other genetically modified heroes like the Fantastic Four or some of the Avengers aren't :

I still see this argument online that some people, usually not X-Men fans, pull out in a sort of gotcha moment. To kind of stick it to Marvel for being unrealistic or to vouch for the fearing of other heroes in the marvel universe to tip the scales.

There are two points for the "why is *random x-men* oppressed and not *random marvel hero*" discourse that people are always intentionally missing.

One- A base of mutant fear and repression is the argument that "it could happen to your children too". It could happen to ANYONE, from birth, and there is nothing you can do about it. No being careful of scientific experiences can stop your close ones from becoming a mutant. (Kind of like people are okay with gay celebrities as long as they're doing their thing from afar but it's a threat when it comes to their children/Friends/family being gay)

They layed it on thick with this amazing advertisment back in the day: "do you know what your children are"??? I mean come on it's not rocket science

Fun fact, the kid labeled "mutie" here is actually Franklin Richards, son of Mister Fantastic and Invisible woman. He used to be a mutant and this goes to show how somehow johnny storm can be beloved but his super powered nephew doesn't get the same treatment.

Two- Spider-Man, the F4, the Avengers etc... All these heros who get some powers by some incident. They're supposed to be rare and few in between. The fear of mutants mainly comes from the fact that they started popping up in the MILLIONS. A mutant isn't necessarly seen as an honorable individual that acquires powers and realises they have the responsibility to use it for good. To humans, they're millions of people (or at least hundreds of thousands) that are, just by existing, threatening the status quo of humanity. They are changing the natural dominance of humans for good.

So of course humans love the F4 (usually). Because they're not scared to be replaced by them in their day to day life, however they are scared to be rendered obsolete by mutants. When humans look at the F4 they see brave selfless HUMAN heroes. They relate to them, they identify with them. They're a sweet family dedicated to the world's safety. In contrast, the mutants represent a world changing threat that truly shifts the balance. And that's not comfy at all no matter how cute or harmless the power is.

This difference can even cause very understandable tension in between the X-men and other super powered groups:

In short, the mutant moral panic comes from the fact that for exemple:

-humans are afraid to loose their jobs to super powered level talents.

-humans are scared from groups of super powered people that could threaten their safety.

-Governments are scared of these groups being the equivalent of entire armies concentrated in a single individual.

- They're scared that their children could turn into something unimaginable once they hit puberty

-And some just hate the idea of being manipulated by a random telepath on the street without ever knowing.

In contrast of Spider-Man, humans feel like nature is done with homo sapiens and THAT'S what brings hate and fear.

That's why everytime a mutant hate crime happens in the comics, it's always accompanied by some human saying "y'think you're better than us weirdo".

+ Contrary to the avengers, mutants also claim a culture, a shared history and common experiences between thousands. This binds them together in a way they doesn't necessarly make them identify with humans. And this is overall irritating and scary to humans.

Also, religious fear-mongering of mutants is rampant!!! It does a ton to set appart the mutants from the scientifically modified heros of the marvel universe.

In the end, one of the best comic to portray this whole thing is still God loves man Kills.

It depicts a villain, Striker, that gains popularity by spreading religious propaganda to justify mutant hate. In an emotional and shocking twist, we come to find that Striker has had a mutant son, that he killed with his own hand because he was a "monster".

You can understand how Captain America, with his super body, doesn't really evoke the same existential dread. Bigotry isn't rational, but also, a shit ton of things complicate the mutant's inclusion into society that doesn't necessarly parallel perfectly with real world struggles so that's also to take into consideration.

[ot3]

Tbh ignoring all the "ai is soulless" stuff cause who cares if art is soulless, I think one should oppose it just due to how it damages the earth

here's from the verge:

The figures were notably larger for image-generation models, which used on average 2.907 kWh per 1,000 inferences. As the paper notes, the average smartphone uses 0.012 kWh to charge — so generating one image using AI can use almost as much energy as charging your smartphone. ... “Definitely this is not representative of everyone’s use case, but now at least we have some numbers,” says Luccioni. “I wanted to put a flag in the ground, saying ‘Let’s start from here.’"

is AI image generation's energy use negligible? i woudn't say that at all. however that number is important to contextualize because having your computer/tablet/etc running an art program for the number of hours it would take an illustrator to make that drawing would use more energy. just straight up it would.

the associated water use for cooling the data centers is trickier to pin down, and this seems to be one of the big complaints. from forbes:

Tech giants have significantly increased their water needs for cooling data centers due to the escalating demand for online services and generative AI products. AI server cooling consumes significant water, with data centers using cooling towers and air mechanisms to dissipate heat, causing up to 9 liters of water to evaporate per kWh of energy used. ... Already AI's projected water usage could hit 6.6 billion m³ by 2027, signaling a need to tackle its water footprint.

this doesn't really distinguish between stuff thats used in AI image gen and the entire field of AI because those numbers aren't there. i'm kind of exclusively talking about ai image gen in these conversations because that's just where my focus is. without knowing what percentage of the demand for AI comes from image generation it's hard to get a feel on the environmental impact. it's definitely bad. tech people should not just be allowed free reign of the world's water supply. i think we can all agree on that.

something i would be really interested in is to see how AI data centers power/water usage compares to that of like. FFXIV and genshin impact. i dont mean this as a gotcha but i feel like it would help contextualize it for me and allow me to really understand the scale this is operating on in a way i currently can't with how abstracted these numbers are.

anyway another angle to consider that i dont see talked about a ton: the physical components of these data centers need to be made out of Something. rare earth mineral mining for computer components has a huge impact both environmentally and on the wellbeing of the communities that are used as borderline slave labor to try and mine it. the congo one of the prime exmaples of this. i'd be really interested to know what sort of demand for high end computing components these data centers have drummed up in numbers that have any kind of meaning to me but i'm not even sure where i'd begin acquiring or understanding this information.

but i think looking at ai specifically as the problem misses the forest for the trees in a lot of ways. AI is one point in the ever-rising graph of ecological destruction wrought by the tech sector. getting rid of it will not address the fundamentally underlying economic structures that necessitate this level of exploitation of the earth and foreign laborers. i think the exceptionalism around AI as a unique evil of the tech sector is not actually based in ecological concerns, as much as ecological concerns are often trotted out by people who already believe ai is ontologically evil in order to bolster their arguments.

[butchbarneygumble]

Imagine how I must feel as one of the only fans of Mighty Magiswords. You know. A headcanons-and-fanfic kind of fan. I even cosplayed Prohyas once.

Of course, it's nothing compared to what the actual victims went through... I'm fine. But it still felt like a part of my identity has been permanently soured. I don't want to seem like I somehow have it worse, that's not my intention. Nothing bad happened to me personally. I'm only posting my own side of how I deal with the situation, to get some closure myself and show solidarity with the victims.

I don't admire him anymore, and that's putting it lightly.

Full story under cut. Content warning for non-graphic discussion of csa.

The news came to me from my ex-but-still-friend. He told me privately, out of nowhere, just dropped it on me. Like, "Hey, sorry to tell you, but the guy you like got arrested for csa". However, I am glad he told me rather than me having to find out on my own.

The news hit me, and I felt nothing in my body. I usually would get this painful fight-or-flight all through my body whenever I read something that upset me, something I've been training myself to get better with. But right now? I just felt like... "huh. That happened." It helped a lot that Magiswords wasn't my fixation of the moment. And like... it's been like I've been slipping away from it. Like I didn't need it anymore.

More and more people were talking about him, and it wasn't positive. Who? Kyle.

I talked to him. Personally, like many people did. He never acted weird to me. I admired him. I loved his art, sent him physical fanart, all that stuff. I knew more than one person said he was not trustworthy but hey, he made a show that saved my life, so it was a constant struggle between feeling like I had to pick sides. I was going through hell by virtue of my dad being terminally sick and needing constant care, so I was gonna ignore the red flags and enjoy my silly sword show that brought me such joy.

Even if as time went on it started get harder and harder.

But you know what a certain depressed horse show said? When you're wearing rose coloured glasses, red flags just look like flags.

I now think dodged a bullet.

What emotions do I feel? Betrayal. Anger. Disgust. Disappointment.

The irony about it all. The sheer painful irony of blacklisting somebody for *drawings*, and then going behind everybody's back to actually hoard *actual* csa, and revenge porn, and all sorts of nasty stuff. For the record: there is nothing wrong with being put off or disgusted by specific sorts of drawings. But the irony here is what's most painful to me. I do not like people using this as a "gotcha" for either side of this tired argument. It's disrespectful to the actual victims.

People say I can easily seperate art from the artist if I want to but... right now I don't think I want to. He's in every pore of its identity. I do not want to talk or think about Magiswords right now, and I don't know if I ever will again.

It meant so much to me. Prohyas felt like Me. Being a goofy capable adult who doesn't stop collecting things he likes just cuz he's an adult. I thought I was trans for a while and the euphoria of relating to Prohyas helped that. Then he got lowkey confirmed nonbinary and I was over the moon.

It was good. Emphasis on "was".

And to the man himself I have one thing to say: you're another one in a long history of cartoon artists who end up being unsavoury, slimy people, taking advantage of young people, especially girls, in the animation industry. Not something to be proud of. I know we talked and you seemed perfectly okay to me, personally. All I can think is thank god it never went beyond casual chats.

I guess I can finally say I never liked the joke about Vambre not liking pants. Sure, sensory issues exist, but I doubt that was the intention of the design. I have deleted my sideblog where I chronicled ooc screencaps of the show and deleted my little spotify playlist of songs that reminded me of the show. I don't want to finish my longfic where Prohyas and Flonk fell in love anymore. I can't even change it into ocs because it's just so ingrained in the show's lore. So yeah, there's that.

I'll be fine. When the news hit I took it surprisingly well. I was going to an Alestorm concert and it was the most fun I had in ages. So yeah, I've got Christopher Bowes and His Plate of Beans to fill the void of comedy music. Was fixating on Simpsons already so there's that in terms of cartoons. I'm fine.

All I can say is my heart goes out to all the victims, and I'm deeply sorry I didn't see you sooner. I hope you can heal and have some semblance of closure now that he's gotten arrested. My heart goes out to all of you and again, I am so so sorry. I wish you all the love and healing.

[greens-spilled-tea]

Good lord I saw a post along the lines of "if you've hit final fusion you're still disordered because you can still potentially split" and while I understand what they're trying to say it's just such a bad argument, especially since it was said within the context of how "non-disordered systems don't exist".

When the disorder is no longer causing distress or impairment, is it a disorder anymore? Yes, I still have a DID brain. My brain is likely never going to be the same as that of someone who has never developed DID. There is no "cure" for this. At the same time, saying that I'm still "disordered" feels wrong in the grand scheme of things. I've heard of people who have achieved final fusion or functional multiplicity who had their diagnosis removed from their chart because they no longer fit the diagnostic criteria for said disorder.

Also, saying I can still split even after reaching final fusion and using THAT as some sort of a gotcha to prove that I'm still disordered is so harmful. Yes I still split sometimes, in fact I still split quite a bit! But those of us who have reached final fusion have learned how to cope and manage our symptoms enough to be able to handle that without them necessarily fucking up our lives. Also, *gestures towards functional multiplicity* when you reach a level of symptom management even with dissociated parts where you can thrive and the symptoms are causing little to no issues in your life anymore, you literally don't fit the criteria for the disorder anymore and that doesn't mean you're cured, it just means you're no longer disordered. There is a difference between the two! This is why I love using the phrase "in remission" because that's very much what's going on here.

Anyways I'm just rambling and tired and angry.

[a-very-tired-jew]

"It's not my job to educate you."

How often have you seen this statement?

I've personally lost count, and I'm a scientist that has been active since the anti-GMO, anti-Ag, and anti-Vaxx discourses of the 00s.

I've seen it for years used as a way to completely halt discussions when the speaker is backed into a corner and cannot support their position. I've seen it used as a defense when they try and put forth extremely biased and/or outright incorrect resources and are called out for it. I've seen it used when a person wants to make their opinion and outrageous claims known without defending them whatsoever.

And here's the thing, you're right. It's not your job to educate others.

But you've also entered into a conversation, discussion, or debate where people are backing their opinions with arguments, experiences, and citations. When you use this statement you essentially say you want to enter this conversation with no confrontation to your own personal beliefs, thoughts, and ideals.

That's childish. That's the kid on the playground saying "nuh uh, you didn't get me cause I'm actually on base right now. Yeah, I know it's a stick on the ground, but I said it's base so it's base."

Personally? I hate this statement. In my own circles I've seen it used by the most uneducated ignorant people to justify conspiracies or beliefs that actively harm them and/or others. I've seen my friends with no formal scientific education or experience who fell down the anti-science rabbit hole use it as a way to deflect from their ignorance.

In Leftist spaces I've seen it used to bring discussions to a stop and dismiss another person. "It's not my job to educate you!" while the very same person was just trying to educate the other on the topic being discussed. This is often accompanied with the "Do your own research", which inevitably leads to the person not coming to the same conclusions as the person who uttered the aforementioned phrases. Said person then becomes upset when the other doesn't come to the same conclusions, but again..."it's not my job to educate you (I'm just mad you're not educated in the way I want)".

In a professional setting I have seen it used to justify outright ignorance, conspiracy, and vitriol by people who have no understanding of the subject matter at hand.

People often say they love discussion and debate, but in reality they just like making their opinion known with no opposition.

And this leads me to the point of this wall of text...it's a very culturally goyische thing to do.

The conversations on Cultural Christianity made me think about this and it sort of hit me. We, Jews, are a "contentious" people. We question, argue, and debate to the point where it's a stereotype in media (an accurate one, but a stereotype nonetheless). But what this stereotype leaves out is that discussion and debate is often accompanied by education. We, typically, revel in this type of discourse and love to argue and learn from the argument. Even if none of us come away with a new position.

The joke "2 Jews, 3 opinions" actually highlights how we come to a greater understanding through our "contentiousness". Our discussions are often meant to educate one another and explore trains of thought we didn't previously have. At no point in the Talmud do you ever see someone state "It's not my job to educate you" and only after every avenue of argument has been exhausted do they devolve into sniping at one another about dick size. If you've seen any posts since 10/7 by Jews on here you will often see an active discussion with an attempt to educate if and when people interact.

However, there is the caveat that some people end up sealioning. In these situations it is completely fine to shut down the entire thing as they're simply wanting you to waste your energy until they have a "gotcha" moment. Eventually you will say something that does not necessarily agree with a previous statement and they will pounce on that. In such a situation you just need to leave the conversation entirely. Sealions are bad faith actors and not actually interested in anything outside of their own opinions.

Healthy discussion and debate, which is encouraged in Judaism, does not look like sealioning. It does not look like getting answers you don't like so you keep asking the same thing in a different way until you get what you want. It's like someone arguing with the DM repeatedly to get a spell to do something outside of its defined application and way outside of its possible application even when the DM says no.

Now, you might be saying "but in my non-Jewish household we encourage this kind of thinking!" and that's good. But we are talking about cultural generalities and trends here. If you live in the Midwest or Southern USA you will have encountered a multitude of Culturally Christian people who have their own personal history about how discussion, debate, and education is shut down (sometimes in a violent manner). If you've existed anywhere a hot button topic becomes discussed there is a strong chance you have experienced this statement, either online or in person, and witnessed the complete halt and shift in dialogue it causes. This is by no fault your own or the other persons, but there is a distinct cultural difference in general.

If you're someone who is offended by this, I want you to sincerely ask. Is questioning, discussion, and debate earnestly encouraged in your culture? Is it encouraged towards authority figures? Does it make certain topics taboo? What happens when children question authority figures?

[zot3-flopped]

One thing I haven't seen many people mention, and that's surprised me, is that in the comments of some posts about the Charli and Taylor charts situation some swifties are using the lyrics to Charlis song "sympathy is a knife" as some sort of gotcha against her. The "I couldn't even make it if I tried" line is one I see a lot that they use to say "of course she couldn't, she's nothing compared to Taylor" and like.. it's not a good look to use someone's very vulnerable moment of honesty about their insecurities as a weapon against them it's actually incredibly cruel to be spitefully validating her insecurities and all for the sake of an online argument? If I were Charli I'd wanna start molotov cocktailing some of these swifties houses ngl

Brat's 94 on Metacritic is making Swifties feel very insecure and so they're lashing out. Tortured is sitting there with just 76, Taylor's lowest score since Reputation.

[micamicster]

HII MICA i just wanted to ask your thoughts in the new season now that youve finished it, especially your favorite moments, episodes, and songs!!

Ok here are my long awaited (sorry babe!) season 2 thoughts! This really got away from me haha but long story short: I loved it ❤️

Long story medium: Nida Manzoor has done it again—beautiful, vibrant, funny, and poignant. A season 2 that succeeds in expanding the world and deepening our understanding of the characters. And the songs are great!

Long story LONG: under the cut <3 (and also I’ve reread this and i have managed to avoid any major spoilers so if you haven’t watched yet this post should be safe!)

I went into this season VERY apprehensive. I think the first season is a practically perfect season of television, and over the last few years I’ve had plenty of time to think of all the ways a second season could fail to deliver. But as the credits rolled on season 2 episode 1 my sister and I just sat there grinning at the screen like you guys we are SO back!!!!

Some thoughts, in no particular order:

The writing: Nida Manzoor has a knack for putting her finger right on the sore spot—right on the place where the show is most likely to receive criticism, and digging in. Not in a gotcha, bad faith sort of way, but by pulling those issues apart and showing how painful and complicated and nuanced these questions of representation and responsibility really are. Not to give too many spoilers but whew. Her episode fives! Other people can speak to this better than me but this seasons episode 5 was raw, painful, pointed… simultaneously a criticism of art and representation as political commentary, and like the only possible political commentary that could be made under these conditions. Fictional battles with censorship, identity, representation, and responsibility meet the very real world, where Nida Manzoor is producing a real show. To quote manzoor herself, “i don’t want to give the answer to the audience because i don’t have it—I don’t want to ever feel like I’m preaching or delivering a sermon about anything; instead, just posing the question.” It’s such a good show guys.

Character Arcs: The arcs given to the band members who were secondary characters in season one were executed beautifully. Getting more insight into Taz, Ayesha, and Bisma (and giving more to do to their incredible actresses!) was exactly what I’d hoped for from a season 2.

God I Wish The Show Was Longer part A: While I loved (and badly wanted!) more time with the other girls, I did miss the tight focus on saira and Amina as narrative foils and drivers of each others character development that season one had. Not just from a shipping perspective! (although we all know I’m guilty of shipping for sure lol). But I did miss their relationship, and a longer season would have given us more time to spare from the other important arcs going on to return to things I loved about season one.

Compared to season 1: One difference I noticed was how the surrealist elements aren’t only contained to Amina/her narration anymore, but that other characters have them or interact with them (Bisma pausing her arguments, Ahsan trying and failing to interrupt the spotlight on Amina and Billy). I thought it was a great way to show how much closer the characters have become (that Ahsan would even notice Amina’s little fantasy!) and also as a way to give narration over to different characters (Bisma being the clear pov in those fights as compared to Amina narrating things she’s only heard about in season 1). Another difference is how each episode of season 1 is so well-contained and precise, while I feel the show sprawls more in season 2 as a result of expanding the world and becoming more of a true ensemble show. This isn’t a criticism—shows need to expand in order to continue to grow! Just an observation, which leads us to:

God I Wish The Show Was Longer part 2: Around episode 4 and 5 I wondered if they were going to be able to tie everything up, given how many complex issues and conflicts had been raised. I had no reason to doubt—Nida Manzoor brought these conflicts and arcs to deeply satisfying conclusions, without feeling like these issues lost nuance or were reduced in complexity for the sake of a finale. It’s incredible what all she managed to achieve in 6 episodes! That said, I would have loved to have been able to see more of the characters journeys, and one or two more episodes would have given things more room to breathe. I would have loved to see more of Taz’s work with other artists, or Saira becoming more comfortable with the idea of herself as a mentor. Bisma’s arc in particular I thought could have used more time, although Faith Omole’s stunning performance of Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood does beautiful emotional work for her arc (and tbh for everyone else’s arcs—it’s a centerpiece of the episode and a great example of what a song can do for character, emotion, and arc in a musical narrative). Which brings us to!

The performances/songs: Putting these two together to say that every actress delivered an incredible award-worthy performance, juggling comedy and dramatic acting skillfully. And the songs! Villain Era is on fucking repeat in this house. Already said Misunderstood is amazing but it should be said again. Nina is pretty much the toughest act in the world to follow but Faith fucking does it. Stunning ❤️ Speaking of Faith her doing the voices in Oops I Did It Again was the happiest I’ve been all year oh my god this show is so much funnnnnnn everyone watch it it’s so! fun!

[giggly-squiggily]

Can I request Rohan from Jojo with 💛 I’m Yours?

{Candy Heart Prompts: OFFICIALLY CLOSED!}

Rohan!!! :D God I love him so much akjrkjeakrjeakj I've gotcha covered, anon!

I'm Yours: "You like being tickled, don't you?"

“You like being tickled, don’t you?”

Rohan would have had a proper counter for such a question- a haughty laugh, a sarcastic response, maybe even some sort of way into twisting it about being manga-related- had he not been currently fighting for his life not to cave beneath your fingers. “W-What proof do you h-have?” He gasped out.

“Well, for starters, you’re always wearing crop tops.” You smiled against his chest, fingers tracing the bare skin of his stomach as you laid on him. “Your closet is full of them- so that means something.”

“I li-hike the fashion!” He grunted, a giggle escaping.

“Secondly, you rarely ever retaliate whenever I poke your sides. It’s like you want me to keep going!”

“I hahave work to dohho!”

“Finally…you’re letting me tickle you now, and not once did you tell me to stop.” You grinned when you felt him stiffen, his heartbeat racing a mile a minute against your ear. “Gotcha, Rohan.”

“Mohohost certaahhahainly noh-ehahhahhahahat!” The manga artist couldn’t hold in the giggles any longer as you intensified your tickles, squeezing his side with one hand as you scratched along his belly with the other. “(Y/N), pleahahahahahse!”

“Please what? Keep tickling you?” You grinned as you watched him twist and giggle beneath your fingers, cheeks pink and eyes squeezed shut with mirth. “I’m already doing that, you big silly! But I can certainly keep going if you want me to!”

“Thahahhat’s noohooht whahat I meaahhaha-ehehehe dohohohon’t! Rohan arched beneath you as you prodded at his ribs, finding yet another good spot. “Noohooht the rihiihhibs!”

“Again, you aren’t telling me to stop~” You cooed, relishing his blush. “I think someone likes this~”

“Thahahhat’s it! Cooohohme here!” Rohan twisted suddenly, sending you both falling to the floor. A hand came behind your head to protect it- leaving you staring up into his eyes. “Theheere…now stahhap.”

“No arguments here.” You smiled, taking in the view. Breathless and flushed, he was quite the sight. “Hehe, I should tickle you more often for this kind of view.”

Rohan sputtered- then he attacked your sides, making you squeal and shriek beneath him. 

Totally worth it.

[dearweirdme]

The collective desperation is really showing today. Everyone trying to use Tae going to see Hyoshin as some sort of gotcha for why Taekook can't be together is confusing me so bad. Because if they're Jikookers, their same arguments can easily be applied to their own ship (we don't see enough of their lives, they don't do things with each other that are exclusive to them, etc.) And if they're non-shippers, then literally whyyyyy are they so pressed about what Taekookers believe about Taekook's relationship and why we believe it? They're so mad, like genuinely so annoyed, that we could possibly have come to the conclusion that Taekook are likely in a romantic relationship, and they're trying so hard to belittle our reasoning for it -- but why care at all, unless they see it too and they're so desperate not to that they have to denigrate it and lash out at us?

Honestly the more we do see, and the more fandom reacts, the more it seems to me like more people see the difference than they let on, and it must genuinely upset them so much. But that's a them problem. If they'd rather hate and belittle the bond Taekook have, they're only depriving themselves of joy, because Taekook themselves have made it clear that they aren't bothered by the opinions of those who don't see them and love them as they are. And BTS have made it clear that they love and support Taekook exactly that way. These people are only setting themselves up for disappointment in the long run, just like those who have insisted on denigrating and belitting NJ are disappointed to see that Jungkook does not agree with them today. The members are limited in what they can show us, and it's true we see a small portion of their lives only, but they do show us their genuine selves. Anyone missing that is doing just that -- missing out.

Hi anon!

It’s so funny how all this comes once again right after we see some tkkry. It triggers people so much. I think a lot has to do with just wanting to put Tkkrs in their place.

[koinotfish]

Excerpt 2 from The Secrets the Sun Keeps:

Hey, you- angsty fantasy reader who enjoys supporting indie authors- come check this out! I post... regularly on AO3 here. Please read, comment, reblog, and do whatever it is you lovely people on Tumblr do. Much love <3

~~~

“Hm. With the amount of customers visiting your booth,” He looked around demonstratively, making a show of landing on a competing leather and hides merchant. “I’m sure times are tough for you. I apologize, but I’m on a long journey from out west and the trip is far from over. I cannot afford to give away my valuables to charity. Farewell.” He turned with a flourish of a wave and the woman lashed the backs of his knees with her jagged spined tail. <em>Gotcha,</em> he smirked before morphing his expression to one of bewilderment. 

In lieu of the broken common tongue she grated out earlier, she thrust a poly and… Yep, 50 agars into his palm. He stroked along the sharp grain of the snake’s hide, and its dark gold colored scales in phony contemplation. After thinking her offer over for a tense minute, the heavyset reptilian lady glaring a hole in between his eyes, he returned her coins to her and walked off again.

“You not find better deal than what I give you, stupid stranger!” Fumed Risha. 

“Your prices offend me, miss. This exotic beast is from the west, further beyond Faulk than any in Minden have likely ever been. I owe it to the serpent to find somebody capable of rendering it into workable armor, rather than simply sell it to a higher bidder. Again, have a good evening.” He said all of this from a distance so that he had cause to yell it over the din of the market, and heads turned towards the ensuing argument. The higher quality vendors with finer wares wouldn’t have given an outsider a second glance, but the words ‘out west’ captured their attention. Still, he paid the solicitors no mind as he pretended to peruse other stalls and booths, the poly from his boot in hand to show that he was wealthy enough to deal with. Poor people were paid poor prices even for expensive items, and the rich got richer. Thieves, liars, and con artists were above both.

With time to kill, Erik milled around town and briefly debated on buying a drink at the tavern, but if he reeked of alcohol the group would assume he’d spent <em>their</em> hard earned money. There was a stable in town that looked like a strong wind would send its abused supports to their knees. He decided to scope that out. Although the building was dilapidated, there were three people standing guard- a middle aged man, a younger boy, and a woman around his age. So it was a family business, then. Walking by looking around the streets as if lost, he realized their house was connected by an alleyway to the stables and had windows facing over their business. The second time he walked by, he noted the woman looked up from scooping hay to watch him. Her husband barked something at her and she jolted, averting her gaze and getting back to work. 

She was pretty in figure but had a plain face. It wasn’t clear what type of fae she was, so that meant there was a good chance she was a mutt or halfbreed of some sort. Certainly too low bred to be capable of magic. That husband of hers was a fearsome orc. Maybe even purebred with the length of those tusks. They were a hideous people with a temper to match their brawn, especially the males. A female orc who had a problem with you was no party either, though. How strange to see such a pure blooded male in this puny, filthy town. Had to be an outlaw or something. Or an opportunist seeking to profit off being the only source of a mount in the area. Erik had the feeling it was the former. His opinion of orcs was not favorable, thanks to the slavers that distracted him from the task of recapturing Meredith. 

Erik walked through the barn style door of the stable with his hands in his pockets, stealing glances at the woman when her son and husband weren’t looking. The dark skinned boy, who took after his father more than the mother, announced they’d be with him in a minute. Clearly it wasn’t the woman’s job to handle customers. She looked like she had something to say, so he started the conversation with her anyways. Erik remarked casually on the beauty of the tall, fit black stallion they had. Nervously, she agreed and reached up to place her palm on his nose. The horse had to bend down for her to reach him, but seemed calm with her. Only two horses were kept here in the same double wide stall. Every other spot had weird, lanky otter looking creatures with webbed feet. 

“You’re looking at the dire otters. Small, powerful, and capable of pulling cargo in groups,” The orc said, wiping sweat off his pronounced brow with one hand and pushing his tiny wife behind him with the other. She was all but flung towards the back of the shed and did her best not to squeal in surprise when she nearly tripped forward. “Whatcha in the market for, foreigner? Or did you just stop by to chat?” The last comment was spat at him, but he feigned ignorance and stated that he was only curious what types of animals were for sale here. His excuse only earned a grunt and a snort in response. Their boy was watching him like a hawk as well, but the woman’s eyes were turned down as she continued to sweep the same place on the floor, pushing the dirty hay around in a pile. He’d embarrassed her, and that worked to Erik’s advantage perfectly.

[transmutationisms]

Epigenetics anon, just to say you answered it 👍 by "alternatives" I meant in explanatory power, but it seems we agree both that it's the best for "how organisms work" broadly, & that recognizing it doesn't suddenly mean we can better target genetic "improvements" (ie, increase an organism's profitability). But now I'm curious about the Yellow Wallpaper critique? High school taught it was an epic clap-back against hysteria diagnoses and views of (upper-class) women as fragile.

gotcha. but yes this is a great post from najia gothhabiba about the yellow wallpaper:

it's important i would say for anyone to learn to recognise these ideas and contextualise them as eugenic, but esp if your work bumps up against ideas of heredity, epigenetics, biological improvement, &c. the idea of changing an organism thru action on its environment, for example, has a history; there's clear transposition from animal and plant breeding in the 18th century to schemes for social control and improvement in the 19th and onward. this sort of discursive & cross-disciplinary slippage absolutely still occurs today; it is never politically neutral when we start hearing about ways to improve organisms, whether thru crispr-style genetic engineering, or cross-breeding, or efforts to control bodies thru environmental meddling (u can see this latter in, for example, theories of the 'obesogenic environment' in public health/nutrition sci).

& i also have to say here: yea, this story IS a response to the hysteria dx and the idea of white female 'fragility'; it IS ALSO a eugenic argument. those two things are not in contradiction; again there is a massive history here of feminist (& socialist!) eugenic projects. feminist discourses are not only capable of engaging with eugenic and racist logic, some have historically and presently grounded their arguments on these very points. in fact part of the argument of gilman's feminism was always an appeal to white men that it would be in their interest to improve their own racial stock and position in the social hierarchy by attending to white women's biological betterment, such as by turning against things like locking their wealthy wives up in the attic. the demonstration of the 'barbarity' of such treatment is an appeal to the fear of degenerating the race thru mistreatment of wealthy, otherwise respectable / capable women. the story is both feminist and eugenicist; the two don't contradict. this is a really good example of how 'white feminism' is not just a feminism that 'lacks' attention to race and racism; rather, it is feminism that makes its appeal for women's liberation explicitly on racist & racialising grounds, & at the direct expense of racialised people.