#neither popular statements are right but only the

[mrsbrookemunson]

I've seen a few stories about the reader being Eddie's secret admirer but what about the other way around? Eddie is your secret admirer and leaves you little notes in your locker. He praises you and encourages you-- maybe a little pick-me-up when you're feeling down. Occasionally he'll slip small gifts into your backpack. Anything to see you smile :)

I love this idea. This is going to be a little self-indulgent, not gonna lie.

Warnings: TOOTH. ROTTING. FLUFF. a lil angst, insecure reader, no use of pronouns, no use of 'y/n', Eddie's a little bit of an idiot, very low-key stalker!Eddie, Robin, mentions of unrequited feelings (it's rumored he likes Chrissy), not proofread so most likely grammar and spelling errors (sorry)

Word Count: 3923

Eddie Munson was absolutely enamored by you. He didn't quite know what it was that drew him to you. You weren't part of the popular crowd, you only had your small group of friends, and you always seemed to be so... self-conscious - or so he noticed.

Maybe that was where he got the idea in the first place.

He noticed you were especially quiet one day. Head down, headphones over your ears as you wrote seamlessly in your journal. He wondered what you were writing about, what you were listening to, and why you had a small frown etched onto your face.

Had someone said something to you?

You suddenly raised your hand.

His head snapped forward.

Had you caught him staring? Were you going to say something? Humiliate him? He pictured a thousand ways this could go.

"May I go to the restroom, please?" you asked, timidly.

But, that wasn't one of them.

"Quickly please..." the teacher granted.

You got up and walked out of the classroom. Eddie glanced over at your journal, a pen in between the pages, bookmarking where you left off. He bit his lip, concentrating on something before a lightbulb lit up in his mind. He glimpsed at the teacher than at the door before ripping a small piece of paper out of his notebook. His tongue ever-so-slightly poked out as he scribbled down something in a hurry before leaning over to slip it in between the pages of your journal.

The bell rang right when you stepped back into the classroom, giving Eddie the perfect opportunity to leave undetected. He smoothly slipped passed you, your shoulders brushing each other's. It sent sparks up through his body. The feeling lingered and he couldn't wipe the smile off his face.

He wanted to watch your reaction, but that would risk giving him away. He forced himself away, already planning his next plan of action.

You on the other hand were in shock.

Good job on the test. I saw you got an A. You're too smart for the rest of this school... and too pretty. - Love, your secret admirer <3

Your eyebrows furrowed a little. Neither one of this person's statements were necessarily true. There were people way prettier than you here, not to mention smarter. But, nonetheless it was nice to hear. It brought a smile to your face, but it slowly fell.

Surely, this is a joke.

You were surprised to say the least the next morning when you opened your locker and a note fluttered down, out and onto the floor. You leaned down to pick it up and carefully looked around whilst standing upright. You unfolded the piece of paper.

Did I mention you were pretty in my last note? I did't mean to sound creepy - not to say you aren't pretty because you are very pretty, I could stare at you all day. Don't read that. - Love, your secret, not creepy, admirer :)

You giggled at the slight awkwardness the writing held. It was almost endearing. Key word: Almost. You still couldn't help but think this was some kind of joke.

"What's that?" Robin asked, pointing to the note in your hand.

"Wha-oh nothing!" You stuck it in your pocket.

"Oooo, does someone have a secret admirer?" she teased

"What?! No, that's-that's silly," you denied "It was just trash, something from an old assignment."

"Uh huh, sure."

"Robin!" you scolded, annoyed. "I'm being serious."

She put her hands up in surrender. "Whatever. You. Say."

You rolled your eyes, as the two of you began to walk side-by-side to your first period.

"But, if it is a secret admirer, who do you think it is? Who do you want it to be?"

"Look." You stopped walking, cuing Robin to also stop. "Even if it is something, it's probably a joke. One of the jocks playing some cruel prank on me." You glanced behind you and saw none other than Eddie Munson standing there staring at you. You smiled when you met his eyes.

His eyes widened a slight blush creeping up onto his cheeks, as he rushed off.

Robin caught the interaction. "What was that all about?" she asked, excitedly.

"Nothing!"

"What if it's him?"

"Who? Eddie?"

"Yes, Eddie!"

You shook your head. "No. That can't be possible, wasn't it rumored he liked Chrissy a couple of months ago?" You started to walk again.

"Firstly, that was a couple of months ago, and secondly, it was 'rumored'. It was never confirmed."

"Doesn't sound unreasonable to me," you said, not trying to sound too upset. "Guys like Eddie, don't like girls like me."

"You want it to be him, don't you?"

"Forget it, it's not important. What is important is the Econ test."

Robin groaned loudly, reluctantly stepping into the classroom. You turned back to where Eddie was previously standing and with a loud sigh you entered the classroom.

Eddie's eyes were glued to you in the cafeteria. You were cheerfully talking to Robin about something and his heart couldn't help but flutter at the way your eyes lit up. What he'd give to be able to talk with you, and listen to that sweet voice of yours for hours.

He watched, intently, as your eyes suddenly caught your reflection on something. He saw the way you slumped before attempting to sit up more. The grimace on your face growing more evident by the second.

Why the Hell were you looking at the love of his life that way?

He ripped out a piece of paper and wrote something down. Standing up, he stormed out of the cafeteria and to your locker where he slipped the note in. He scanned his surroundings and saw no one around to ruin the secret before it had really even started. Whistling, as he goes to his locker. He opened it when a note fell from it. He picked it up and read it.

Meet me in the woods at 12:15 tomorrow. Bring whatever you have. - C.C.

C.C.? His eyes widened in realization.

Chrissy Cunningham wants to do a drug deal?

You smiled, softly, when you saw your secret admirer had left you yet another note.

No matter what you think, you look absolutely beautiful today - and everyday. I like you in blue. - Love, your secret admirer <3

You felt as though you were in a daze. You looked down at your blue sweater which - until now - you felt like a blimp in. Guess, whoever your secret admirer is thought otherwise. You bite your lip and tucked the note in between the pages of your journal where you'd keep - like all the rest of them - it there for safe keeping.

"Anymore love letters?" Robin asked, scaring you.

"Don't do that!" You put a hand over your heart as if it'd help slow it down from its rapid pace. "Yeah, if you consider them love letters."

"Do you want me to try to help you figure them out?"

"If you say-"

"I'll start. Eddie."

"Robin!" You slam your locker and walk away. "It's not him."

"Talk to him, be friendly, see what happens-hey, I might be right!"

"That would be the first."

"Hey!" She grabbed your shoulder to stop you. "I know it's really hard to be brave because you're scared of what the outcome could be, but think about it-if this person is being genuine, you might have something really special here."

You sigh. "I'll think about it, okay?"

Robin grins, widely. "Now, start with Eddie."

You roll your eyes. "Fine, but only to get you off my back, and cross him off the list."

It can't be him, it's impossible.

You sat down at your usual seat, now being awkwardly aware it's next to Eddie's seat. You pull out your journal, smiling when you see the note previous notes you've received. You turn back to your backpack to grab your pen but are surprised to see that there is a new set of pens next to your pencil bag. You pull it out and observe it. They were nice, really nice. One in blue, pink, red, black, orange, green, and purple. A note attached to them.

Thought you might like these since you write so much. I noticed you color code things sometimes so I bought you a couple of different colors to give you some options. Hope you like them - Love, your secret - now broke - admirer.

You laugh, pleasantly surprised. You remembered leaving your backpack on a chair in the cafeteria that morning while you used the bathroom. You tend to forget to go at home due oversleeping, leading to the frantic rush of trying to get ready in time.

Eddie perked up hearing the sound of your laughter beside him making him look over. His breath hitched in his throat - you liked his note, you liked him present, you were liking him. He cleared his throat. "What's that you got?"

You froze for a moment. "Huh?" You looked at Eddie.

He pointed toward the note. "Got a secret admirer or something?"

You bit back a smile. "Something like that." You couldn't hide your giddiness.

Eddie found it absolutely adorable. "Any ideas of who it is?"

"Nope, not a clue." You narrowed your eyes at him. "Wouldn't be you, would it?"

Eddie nearly choked, but he somehow held his composure. "Sorry, sweetheart, but it is not."

You shrugged, not even noticing the slip of the pet name in his answer. "I figured."

He gave you a confused expression. "You-you figured?"

"Well, yeah, everyone knows you-" you leaned closer toward him. "You like Chrissy," you whispered.

He gaped at you. "Chrissy?"

"Yeah."

"Where on Earth did you hear that?"

"People were talking about it a couple of months ago. Don't tell me it's not true."

His posture straightened. "What if I told you it wasn't?"

You weakly smiled. "I'd call you a liar," you replied, softly. Paying attention to the teacher as she started the class.

It made it so you didn't catch the way Eddie sunk further into his seat.

What had he done?

That was his chance to tell you how he felt, and he blew it.

Chrissy Cunningham?

Now, all he thought about for the rest of class was the fact that he was having a drug deal with his so-called 'crush' tomorrow in the woods.

Wasn't it obvious he was in love with you?

The answer is no, no it wasn't because if it was maybe you would've already pulled the plug and ask him out, but you hadn't and you wouldn't especially not after his lack of denial for liking Chrissy Cunningham.

Robin was wrong.

"You were wrong," you said to Robin, passing by her quickly in the hallway.

It was the next day, the bell for the lunch period had rung just a few seconds ago and you were briefly explaining your avoidance to your best friend.

"But, I'm never wrong!" she claimed in a shout over the crowd. "He's lying!"

You rolled your eyes, leaving the hustle and bustle of students going to the cafeteria. You needed to be alone. Alone in your thoughts, where it's just you and your journal... and maybe a few tears.

Because though Robin may have been wrong about it being Eddie, she wasn't wrong about you wanting it to be Eddie. You had gotten a note from your secret admirer yesterday before school ended saying,

I know you don't know who I am, but I need you to know I like you... a lot. And I know we don't talk that much, but I want to, because you are so amazing and why wouldn't I want to be with you? Who wouldn't want to be with you? Everyday I question myself on why I haven't bit the bullet yet and asked you out and it's because I'm afraid. Of how you'd react, of how others would react, and I don't want to risk having you hate me. Which I doubt you would anyways because you're you, the nicest person I've ever spoken to. So, please, give me time to work up the courage, don't give up on me, I don't think I could take it. I'm done now, maybe this scared you off - probably scared you off... um... bye- your secret admirer.

You thought back to how your heart squeezed as you read every word. You wished you knew who it was, so you could put their mind at peace. So, you could put your mind at peace.

You found yourself in the woods, setting your stuff down on the wooden table that was placed in the most secluded part of the area. Hardly no one goes out there. It was a place you could allow yourself to pace around and think things through.

Who is it?

That was the number one question. You attempted to conjure a mental list of possible candidates but you always drew a blank every time you tried.

Who would ever like-

You screamed as your back collided into something behind you. You spun around.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Eddie chuckled, holding out a hand.

"Eddie? Wh-what are you doing out here?"

"Confidential," he said, analyzing your overall physical presence. "You okay?" he asked.

"Define 'okay'." You dryly laugh, sitting down at the table.

He frowned and sat across from you, setting his metal lunchbox next to your stuff. "You want to tell me about it? Or do I have to guess?"

You rest your forearms on the table. "Do you ever feel like-like you don't fit in?"

He looked taken aback. "On-like-a daily basis," he answered, a wide smile taking over his face, directed toward you. "You forget you're talking to 'the freak', sweetheart."

You groaned softly.

That made his smile falter. "Why d'you ask?"

You shrugged, suddenly your hands become fascinating as you stared at them fidgeting. "Guess I haven't been feeling-" You cleared your throat, "-great about myself lately, that's all?"

He propped himself up slightly on the table. "Something happen?"

"More like someone." You glanced up at him to gauge at his expression. It held concern. You carelessly threw your hands up. "You know that admirer I spoke about the other day?"

He nodded, slowly. "Yeah."

"I've been wracking my mind trying to figure out who it is, and I just... can't. Sometimes I believe I'm a little unlovable at times."

"What?!" he blurted. "Sweetheart, that's not true, you are so lovable!"

You grew very confused by his sudden outburst, but he didn't seem to catch on as he continued.

He stood up and walked over to your side of the table to sit next to you. To have your full attention. "You are smart, funny, talented and so, so beautiful." Your heart skipped a beat. "God, who wouldn't want to be with you?"

Your eyes shot up to meet his. "What did you say?"

"Huh?" He tilted his head. "You-you didn't hear any of that?"

"No-yes! I mean what did you say at the end?"

"Who wouldn't want to be with you?" he repeated unsure.

Why wouldn't I want to be with you? Who wouldn't want to be with you? You recalled from the note.

"Eddie?" you called out in the same tone as his previous one.

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to ask you this one last time, and I want you to tell me the truth." You took in a deep breath. "Are you the person who has been writing to me?"

He suddenly turned pale. His eyes nervously flickered away from yours. "Ummm..." He couldn't seem to form any words. "Maybe-well-I-um..."

You shifted a little closer to him.

His eyes moved back to focus on you and how close you've gotten. "Hi," he whispered, taking in every single inch of your face. Every flaw and imperfection.

So goddamn beautiful.

He exhaled shakily. It fanned your face causing your eyes to flutter shut. Both of you gravitating toward each other unknowingly. Your noses barely brushed each others when another voice broke the silence.

"Am I interrupting something?"

You abruptly moved away from Eddie and met the eyes of none other than Chrissy Cunningham. You gaze averted to Eddie who looked rather frantic and disheveled.

"Confidential," he said.

Oh.

"Oh," you said aloud. "No-I-um-I was just leaving." You rapidly gathered your stuff.

Eddie watched helplessly, instinctively reaching out to grab you, to stop you, but you dodged it. He got up to try again, this time he was able to catch your hand, gently grasping it. He leaned toward you. "It's just a drug deal, I swear," he said, lowly. "You have to believe me." His eyes pleaded.

You dared a glimpse at Chrissy. She looked uncomfortable as she scanned her surroundings as if anyone could be watching. At that moment it didn't seem like a lie, but at the same time your mind brought you back to the rumor, and the fact that you didn't know if that was a lie or not.

You formed your lips into a tight-line. "I'll see you around, Eddie," you bit back before pulling away and storming off.

Eddie debated on running after you, but instead he took in a sharp breath before shooting a fake smile at Chrissy. "So... let's get started, shall we?"

Your foot tapped against the tiled floors. Peering straight in front of you, not really paying attention to the lesson. How could you when you felt Eddie's eyes on you the entire time next to you? From your peripheral vision you saw Eddie writing something down on a sheet of paper. He slid his foot over to nudge yours, trying to get your attention to take the paper out of his hands.

The devil won the argument in this case as you carefully grabbed it and set it down on your desk.

Can we talk, please?

After reading it, you grabbed your pen and wrote back.

What is there to talk about?

You handed him back the sheet of paper without looking at him. You heard him sigh loudly along with a scribble of something. He pushed the paper back into your hands.

I need you to know the full story. Five minutes? That's all I'm asking for.

You thought through it. You clicked your pen twice then wrote a response.

Fine.

He let out a breath of relief.

Thank you. Meet me by my van at 4pm.

Your eyebrow quirked up.

Are you planning on kidnapping me?

If that's what it takes to get you to listen to me Does 4pm work for you?

I read that. And yes, that works for me.

Eddie's hope grew a little at your words. He prayed - to whichever god was out there, ones in which he didn't believe in - that he didn't ruin what hasn't even had the chance to begun.

'Cause God, he's in love with you.

You stood by his van with your arms crossed. The front of your shoe kicking a nearby pebble. Eddie rushed over to you.

"You're late," you said.

He looked down at his watch. 4:10, he read. "I'm sorry."

"For what? Being late or....?"

"Everything," he paused. "You know when you told me that thing about me liking Chrissy I knew I messed up."

You shifted your weight to one side. "How so?"

"Because, I thought it was so obvious how I felt for you. I thought people saw it from miles away, but I guess showing my feelings is just another thing I fail at doing in my life."

You frowned.

He continued, "I hope you know now that I've always liked you." He bit his lip. "Man, I think I liked you before I even knew I liked you." He chuckled. "I was scared though, even if you said you felt the same I was scared you'd back away once you realized what a freak I am. I'm not someone who can give you everything you've wanted... but I would try."

You smiled a little. "Eddie, I don't like you because I thought you could give me the world, I like you because-as corny as this sounds-you are my world. I never believed in the how soulmates thing, but ever since I met you, it was always you. And I have to admit I wanted you to be my admirer so bad, but my life-it never seems to go easy on me, so the first thing I thought was that it was a joke, and then when it seemed to be becoming more real and Robin of all people was telling me how she thought it was you... I didn't want to give into the hope. Then you told me it wasn't you, and I didn't have any proof to convince me otherwise."

"I'm your world?" he asked, breathless.

"That's all you got from that?" you joked.

He shook his head. "No, but it definitely was the part that lingered the longest."

"Eddie, I-"

"I meant every word I wrote, and it wasn't even half the things I've wanted to say to you for so long. Because there's so much I want to tell you, and we have so much to make up for, but that's only if you want me."

You opened your mouth then closed it. Finally you spoke, "Where do we start?"

He broke out into a large smile. "You mean it?"

"Yeah," you reply, mimicking his smile.

The two of you stared at each other for a few moments.

"You can kiss me now, if you want," you said.

"Oh, thank fuck," he breathed.

He leaned in, cupping your jaw to bring you lips to meet his. You breathed him in immediately, the smell of cigarettes, cologne, and a hint of mint clogging your nose. Delightfully suffocating you in his warmth. You wrapped your arms around his neck to bring him closer as the two of your fell in a fast rhythm, making up for at least some of the lost time, then slow and steady to savor the moment as this was something neither one of them every wanted to forget. Ever.

A note fluttered out of your locker.

"Another one?" Robin groaned.

You picked it up with a lovesick smile plastered onto your face. "Don't sound so annoyed Robin, you should be pleased."

"Just because I'm always right, doesn't mean I like to be always right."

"You're right. You love to be always right," you quip back, unfolding the piece of paper.

Morning sweetheart, just wanted to say I love you and I can't wait for our date tonight. - Love, Eddie.

"Why can't he just tell you that when he see's you at school today?" Robin asked.

You dreamily sigh. "He wanted to keep the memory of how we got together alive, so we decided to continue writing each other notes. It doesn't matter what we say in them." You eyes met Eddie's figure a few feet away from you. "It's the thought that matters." With that last word to Robin, you run toward Eddie who immediately picks you up and spins you around.

"How are you doing today?" he asked.

"Good!" you chirped. "I got your note."

"Oh, did you? Have any thoughts about it? Responses?"

"A few..." You smiled, and pecked his cheek, making him blush profusely. "I love you too."

[tobiasdrake]

By the way, while we're talking about Gohan, Piccolo, and that moment, I want to take a moment to focus in on what he says here. Because it's fascinating to really stop and think about.

In his dying moments, Piccolo says this to Gohan.

"You were the only one who ever really talked to me."

Piccolo's existence is so complicated at this point that there's some ambiguity here. The first person ever to really talk to him. That's a bold statement. What does he mean by that?

What does Piccolo mean when he says "ever"? Let's stop to really think about that.

The first interpretation is that he's referring to this incarnation of himself. Going back to the day he was "born" anew.

I love how he was born wearing clothes apparently. Maybe he popped out of that egg and immediately used his signature Clothes Beam, an obscure technique but a valuable one.

For real, Piccolo's ability to create matter from ki is probably the most underutilized ability in Dragon Ball. This is, like, the one and only time we ever see it. It is never explained. Even Cell wound up having to create his arena from existing resources nearby.

But I digress.

Piccolo was reborn to finish the work he'd started: Kill Son Goku and take over the world. The 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai was his opportunity to do just that.

So. When Piccolo says "ever", he's talking about this, right? He talks to attendees at the tournament but their interactions are strictly hostile. He's here to kill Goku; He's not interested in socializing.

This is the closest thing to a friendly chat that this incarnation of Piccolo ever had prior to Gohan's training. So it's easy to hear him say "You were the only one who ever really talked to me," and go, "Yeah, that checks out." Though that's not really their fault.

But. Hang on. Piccolo's sense of self goes back further than that.

"Majunior" is always referred to and always refers to himself as though he and Piccolo-Daimao were one and the same. He is not Piccolo's son. He's a copy, splintered off from the Daimao and given a new body.

Kami explains it like this.

Effectively, Daimao split himself in two. One piece of him created the egg and sent it across the horizon for the other piece to escape inside, and that piece hatched into "Majunior".

It's a popular fanon to treat Piccolo Jr. like he's a totally newborn baby saddled with the Sins of the Father, but this is never how the source material treats him. Piccolo is Piccolo is Piccolo; the two are one and the same. Except one's a Mazoku and the other is not.

A revelation that comes at the cost of Goku and Raditz's lives.

So when he says "You were the only one who ever really talked to me," he's probably not talking about this incarnation. He's probably reaching all the way back to the birth of Piccolo as an entity.

When the Nameless Namekian ascended to the throne of God, he had to purge himself of the evil that had accumulated in his soul. That evil took form and shape, and it became Piccolo.

Given the description of Piccolo having "escaped", it sounds like they tried to imprison him moments after he first came into being. Makes sense; He's literally evil incarnate. A half-person Mazoku formed of pure evil, incapable of moral agency. Why would you want to let that loose?

But they failed. Piccolo got free and descended from Heaven into the human realm to wreak untold havoc upon humanity.

So. Y'know. Nobody's out there having civil chats with that.

...

But. Hang on. Piccolo's sense of self goes back even further than that, doesn't it? After all. As much as "Majunior" is a fragment of Piccolo-Daimao, Piccolo-Daimao too is a fragment of the Nameless Namekian, and he retains that knowledge, memory, and experience as well.

When Piccolo and God begin to speak candidly with one another in the ring, they don't speak Japanese. Instead, they're speaking their own language. A language not of this Earth. With courtesy translation for the audience.

They are speaking the Namekian language. A language from a race neither Piccolo nor God even knows exists. This is confirmed by Bulma and Popo, when they discover the Nameless Namekian's spacecraft.

This was the first language Piccolo ever knew, in the very first incarnation of himself.

This isn't God's history he's sharing. It's theirs, his and Piccolo's together.

Because Piccolo is pure evil. But he isn't. Like. The concept of evil. He is Nameless's evil. The corruption, the bitterness and resentment and fear and anger and uncertainty and despair that's cultivated in his heart over a lifetime of loneliness and isolation.

A Ryuzoku Namekian, child of Katatsu, sent to Earth to escape a climate catastrophe that destroyed their planet and killed their entire race, but two. An orphaned child landing in a deserted wasteland with nothing but an empty promise from a parent who would never make the trip.

We don't know what happened between then and his ascension to Godhood. All we know is that these days were spent alone. And a worm of evil grew in his heart.

This, it should be noted, is not standard procedure for becoming God. When Dende took the throne, he did not have to do anything to purify himself.

That's basically the entire vetting procedure for Dende's ascension.

The way God describes the process, creating Piccolo was something unique to his experience, because his predecessor had noticed a growing darkness unworthy of God inside of him.

I legitimately wonder if God spit Piccolo out as an egg, the way he later spit out the egg of his copy.

In the Namekian language, the word "Piccolo" means "Another world".

It's a word that Nameless knew intimately. Not just because it's from the first spoken language he ever knew. But because that voice command opened and closed his home.

Every day of his lonely life, waiting for a parent that would never come, this is how he came and went. Piccolo as he goes out and Piccolo again once he steps outside. Piccolo on his return and Piccolo once he's safe inside the only home he knows. Piccolo, Piccolo. Piccolo, Piccolo. This word defined his childhood.

This word was the only parent he had.

When he fractured, breaking off the darkness in his soul and externalizing it into a new body, that body took Piccolo as his name.

This has been his existence, since before he could remember. The life of a Namekian whose name has been lost to time. The man who became the man who became Piccolo. God, in his temple in heaven, has Popo by his side to offer companionship and assistance. But for the life he lived before that and for the part of him that fractured off, not once in this long and winding 300-year journey has he ever had a friend.

So when you really stop and take a look at where not just the original Piccolo but the original came from, at the foundation of where Piccolo truly began, those words take on a bit of a different meaning, don't they?

When Piccolo says, "You were the only one who ever really talked to me," that cuts a little deeper when you stop to really think about it.

[correlance]

Remember that one fan theory I wrote about Alastor having a rivalry with Thomas Edison in the 1920s? Well, I decided to do a bit more research; it turns out that, not only was I right, but Edison really hated radio. He loathed it so much that he wrote not one, but several articles railing against the "radio fad" in 1926, to the point where an anonymous person wrote "letters to the editor" to argue with Edison.

Gee, I wonder who it could be doing that in the Hazbin-verse? /s

GIF and art originally by karumkin on Twitter/X (2019).

There was also a slew of increasingly aggressive telegrams sent back-and-forth between Edison and radio proponents, with Edison penning thinly-veiled insults that offended even mild critics of the "Wizard":

"The radio is a commercial failure, and its popularity with the public is waning. Radio is impractical commercially, and ethically distorted, and is is losing its grip rapidly in the market and in the home. There is not 10% of the interest in the radio that there was last year.

Radio is a highly-complicated machine in the hands of people who know nothing about it. No dealers have made any money out of it. It is not a commercial machine, because it is too complicated. Reports from 4,000 Edison dealers who have handled radio sets show that they are rapidly abandoning it; and, as for its music, it is awful.

I don't see how they can listen to it. Thousands of people have signed a petition asking that sopranos be kept off the air. Of course, most of them don't know that the soprano voice distorts the radio. The phonograph is coming into its own because people want good music. The fact is that the radio never had a high peak of popularity.

In towns where 25 or 30 dealers were handling radio sets, only one or two are now handling them. A farmer 5 miles from town buys a radio, perhaps on the installment plan. A wire becomes loose. The dealer has to arrange to fix it. This happens time and time again. The business becomes unprofitable for the dealer to engage in. He does not make any money out of it. None of them has. They are giving it up as fast as they can. It is not a commercially successful machine, because it is too complicated.

Static is awful, and the difficulties of tuning out--and now, they're stealing each other's wavelengths! It is too bad that the radio has to be too complicated. It was a big and interesting thing, and the people responded to it, but they want good music, and they found it is not to be had on the radio. That is why the phonograph is reclaiming its own."

Quote from "Edison and Radio", Radio News, December 1926, "in which the Editor takes issue with Mr. Edison's claim that radio is a failure; yet it is pointed out that the radio industry owes Edison a great debt; wherein facts are figures are given to show that radio is on a steady increase; granting that neither radio, nor the phonograph, is yet perfect; how the interest in radio is steadily increasing, and radio dealers are now making good money":

"Since the publication of the famous interview with Mr. Edison, the press, and particularly the radio press across the entire country, has been more or less agitated...I do believe that Mr. Edison has not been recently in-touch with radio sufficiently to appreciate fully the tremendous advances that have been made. Mr. Edison is a busy man, and a tremendously busy inventor. It would be well-nigh impossible for him to be in-touch with all of the various commercial phases of radio all over the country; and, like other executives, he obtains his reports from his subordinates, and such reports often as not may be highly colorful, and even wrong...[thus, the radio industry is unwilling to accord Mr. Edison anything]...as to Mr. Edison's remarks, the statements that follow are facts, which can be checked up by anyone who is unbiased."

Imagine Alastor and Vox with "Stayed Gone" in Episode 2, and Alastor and Lucifer with "Hell's Greatest Dad" in Episode 5, but happening entirely over letters and telegrams, because mass media and television didn't exist yet. The closest musical numbers would likely be "Farmer Refuted" and "Your Obedient Servant" from Hamilton.

Per the book The Wizard of Menlo Park: How Thomas Alva Edison Invented the Modern World by Randall E. Stross:

Page 276: "[Edison's] phonograph business faced a challenge in the 1920s unlike any that had come before: the advent of commercial radio stations, and the wide availability of free music broadcasts and other entertainment. By the end of 1921, an estimated 1 million listeners had access to radios, and listened to programs broadcast from the Eastern seaboard. A single station in Roselle, New Jersey, which offered the voices of operatic stars among its musical programs, had a broadcast range of a thousand miles, covering New England and the mid-Atlantic states, and reaching as far west as Missouri. A contemporary newspaper account explained to readers not yet acquainted with the phenomenon that those who owned radio sets could enjoy entertainment that was 'literally as free as the air'. Charles and Theodore Edison [proposed a combination phonograph-radio]...their father need not feel slighted because the vacuum tube, a key component of the radio set, was a modern descendant of Edison's experimental work on the incandescent lightbulb. Edison did feel slighted, however; such, at least, was the opinion of Thomas Cowan, a former Westinghouse employee...[who conducted experiments in radio broadcasts with the aid of a phonograph Edison was willing to loan him in 1921]. Cowan had several conversations about radio with Edison, who became upset and recalled the loaner when he heard the Westinghouse broadcasts...[Edison's sons were embarrassed, humiliated]."

"Edison calls radio a 'failure for music', thinks phonograph will regain its own": The New York Times, 23 September 1926. Underlining the usefulness of radio for purposes other than musical programs, Edison did tune in to a radio broadcast of the Dempsey-Tunney fight in 1926, which he was too deaf to hear. He had to rely on family members [usually his wife, Mina] to summarize what had transpired at the end of each round.

"Radio satisfactory on bout, Edison says": The New York Times, 24 September 1926. Defending the quality of musical broadcasts, the radio industry offered expert testimony to rebut Edison's claims [in the next week's newspaper]. See: "Broadcasters disagree with electrical wizard", The New York Times, 3 October 1926.

The "radio fad": A few months later, [after much outcry from the radio industry], Edison was willing to grant that radio might not disappear, but he had a new criticism: listeners' aesthetic sense would be damaged. "Undistorted music, in time, will sound strange to those brought up on radio music," he predicted, "and they will not like the real thing." See: "Thomas A. Edison sees a menace for music in the radio", Musician, January 1927.

"Edison's fears [about the Edison Company not succeeding in the radio business] were realized, though it had been Edison's intransigence (refusal to change one's views) that put the company at such a great disadvantage as a late entrant...on 9 October 1929, Charles Edison prepared a report for his father that showed a loss of $1.3 million due to start-up costs for the [Edison] radio...he could not know that, two weeks later, the stock sell-off would begin with Black Thursday, on 24 October, followed by Black Monday and Black Tuesday...a few days later, Thomas A. Edison, Inc., announced that it would cease producing [music] records [altogether], and refit the factory for the production of radios. The announcement was accompanied by a mention of regret, as the phonograph was 'one of Mr. Edison's favorite inventions'."

"An employee reported observing Harvey Firestone tearfully explaining to Edison that the collapse of business due to the stock market crash of 1929, and the Great Depression, meant that he could no longer continue to financially support Edison's laboratory. Edison was heard, sneering, 'He's a Goddamned lightweight.'" ("I saw your fiasco on the picture show, and I just couldn't resist. What a performance! Why, I haven't been that entertained since the stock market crash of 1929, hahaha! ...so many orphans.")

Edison's death at the age of 84 on 18 October 1931 was also, ironically, commemorated through radio broadcasts: "[The next] night, two radio networks, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and the Columbia Broadcasting Company (CBC), jointly broadcast an 8-minute tribute that ended on the hour, when listeners were asked to turn out the lights. The White House did so, and much of the nation followed, more or less together, some a minute before the hour, others on the hour. On Broadway, 75% of the electrified signs were turned off briefly. Movie theaters went dark for a moment. Everything seemed connected to Edison: the indoor lights, the traffic lights, the electric advertising, everyone connected via radio, which Edison now received credit for helping to 'perfect'. In the simple narrative that provided inspiration for posterity, one man had done it all..."

Some numbers provided for how much radio was making:

1922: $46.5 million (~$860 million in 2024)

1923: $120 million (~$2.2 billion in 2024) (156% increase)

1924: $350 million (~$6.3 billion in 2024) (186% increase)

1925: $449 million (~$8 billion in 2024) (27% increase)

1926: $520 million (~$9.1 billion in 2024) (14% increase)

Overall, per another source:

1922: $60 million (a little more than the previous statistic)

1929: $842.6 million

From here, we can tell the biggest gain was in 1923-1924. Per another source: "Total cost was about $120.00 to buy a new radio in 1926; in today's money, that is about $1,500 to own a radio." That would mean that 7.6 million radios were sold by 1926; an impressive feat, considering that the United States only had a population of a little over 117 million people at the time.

Percentages of United States households with radios:

1925: 19% (5 million households)

1929: 35-40% (200% increase)

1930: 12 million households

1939: 28 million households

The number of licensed broadcast stations surged from just 5 in 1921 to 500 by 1924, per yet another source. In the early years, household radio ownership was highest in the Northeast and on the West Coast. In large sections of the South, Midwest and Great Plains, stations and radio sets were scarce. However, there were notable exceptions.

There were 732 radio stations total across the country by 1927, and the average radio was on 2 hours and 25 minutes per day. People who couldn't afford radios purchased them on installment loans, through which the full price of a new radio could be paid over time. Radios had even more advertisements for washers, dryers, and refrigerators, causing people to use even more merchant credit and installment loans to purchase these shiny, new technological devices.

However, radio sales also took a hit with the Great Depression, as average income levels fell from $3,270 per year in 1920 ($53,300 in 2024), to $2,300 per year by 1929 ($41,500 in 2024), then to $1,500 per year by 1932 ($35,500 in 2024). However, buying a radio also became cheaper, dropping from a costly $200 ($3,200 in 2024) in the early 1920s, to just $35 ($630 in 2024) by 1929-1930.

By the time Alastor died in 1933, 3.6 million radio sets were sold that year alone. By the mid-1930s, 67% of American households had radio sets, and by 1939, about 80% of Americans—over 100 million people—owned radios. Radios were in almost every house, and some Americans even had radios in their cars. The Golden Age of Radio lasted from the 1930s to the 1940s, before being eclipsed by television in the 1950s. Radio hosts went from being paid $10 per broadcast in 1921 ($180-200, 1-2 hours per night, 3-4 nights a week, for a weekly salary of $720-800; monthly salary, $2,900-$3,200; annual salary, $34,800-$38,400; modern-day annual salary range for a radio show host is $30,000-100,000, depending) to making triple-figure salaries in the later 1930s.

Another source lists the following salary ranges for radio hosts:

$2,500-2,700 a year to be an announcer in 1927* (~$45,000-$48,000 range in 2024)

$2,400 a year to be a dramatic director (~$43,000 in 2024)

$4,000 a year to be a program director (~$72,000 in 2024)

New Orleans' first radio broadcast was on 31 March 1922, with WWL. The station wasn't started as a commercial one; but rather, "more of an experiment, started as an interest in wireless communication picked up nationally". The station did not go commercial until 1929, meaning that Alastor also probably had at least one other side job.

Also see:

"Early Radio Announcers Invented Their Profession in the 1920s"

"The History of the Radio Industry in the United States to 1940"

"'A Godlike Presence': The Impact of Radio on the 1920s and 1930s" by Tom Lewis

American Babel: Rogue Radio Broadcasters of the Jazz Age by Clifford John Doerksen (see excerpt here)

Race and Radio: Pioneering Black Broadcasters in New Orleans by Bala James Baptiste (Note: The earliest Black broadcast in New Orleans was in 1945, meaning Alastor was white-passing.)

"Golden Age of Black Radio - Part 1: The Early Years" (Note: The first Black radio announcer, Jack L. Cooper, hosted in 1929.)

"How African Americans Entered Mainstream Radio" by Bala James Baptiste, the author of Race and Radio: Pioneering...

[actual-changeling]

I have written many meta posts and s3-theories, and read even more, but I got hit by an idea I have not seen before. (If there is another post, please link it!)

After vibrating for an hour and losing my mind in my dms, I have no scraped together enough brain cells to present what is probably my first actual 'main-plot meta'.

Welcome to another edition of Alex's unhinged meta corner, today with a title to honour Crowley's James Bond obsession and the possibility of another heaven heist.

I give you:

From Jesus with Love - You Will Live Twice

Now, let's get right into it.

I think Neil might have told us more about the main s3 plotline in the announcement article than we previously thought. We all got stuck on 'they're not talking'—for good reason—but it is the part before that which has been bugging me ever since then.

The plans are going wrong—and this time that is a problem for earth and humanity. Turning that around, it means that whatever that plan consists of would be the way to go and beneficial for everyone, the opposite of the main plot of s1.

"They need to prevent the Second Coming (SC)" is pretty much the only and most popular idea I have seen, hundreds of fics and metas and whatnot have been written about it, but I think there's a good chance we're wrong. If we're not, well, I will honestly just be happy to be watching season 3.

Whatever the Metatron is planning will have negative consequences for everyone, or as Michael puts it: "And so… it ends. Everything ends. Time and the world is over, and we begin Eternity… forever and ever."

It sounds very much like Apocalypse #1 - Same Old Plan, same expected result, yet if we look at different interpretations of scripture we find that the SC is not entirely about complete destruction and death for all of humanity—it is about creating a new world/migrating to the kingdom of God.

This is taken from the Wikipedia article about the SC

Resurrection and life in a world to come are a direct contradiction to the result Michael is explaining—total annihilation of humanity.

Now, I am neither religious in any way nor have I ever received any sort of biblical education. Luckily, Christians seem to love talking about the bible because there are dozens of bible website to wade through. If I get anything wrong, please point it out, I have never touched a bible in my life.

So, after reading many, many quotes by a bunch of different guys, I tried to create a somewhat coherent picture of what the SC might look like based on the assumption that the end result is positive. I will talk about how they can be interpreted more in-depth later, otherwise this would turn into a string-net very fast.

Additionally, we can also see where these points overlap with the statement Jimbriel gave in the bookshop in episode three.

What is Jesus' job description?

only God knows when and how exactly it will begin/happen, no one else does, including Jesus and the Metatron

a lot of different catastrophes are mentioned or quoted as something Jesus said, like earthquakes and storms -> Jimbriel mentioned a tempest and great storms

there is also the line "All these are the beginning of birth pains." Birth pains dictate that there will be a birth—birth of the world to come perhaps?

dead people will be resurrected/leave their graves so that they too can be judged (I'd say participate in it but that sounds like the Second Coming is a summer camp activity)

there are also mentions of stars and the heavens in general falling from the sky and the sun going dark -> Jimbriel also mentions darkness as one of the signs

great lamentations, as Jimbriel says, are also a part of many different passages, with humans mourning the world as it was

the Lord will descent with the voice of an Archangel and the sound of a trumpet/the trumpet of God; the grammatical structure of that sentence seems to be interpreted differently depending on who you ask, but the voices of angels/an Archangel and some sort of trumpet are common terms

once everyone is in heaven/wherever the 'main even' will take place, a judgement call will be made for every single person in relation to the book of life, which decides whether they will be punished forever or not (one passage talks about a lake of fire and mentions it several times in a row)

And this is where it gets tricky. To figure out what the SC looks like, we first need to understand a) what the Metatron's capabilities are, b) what he has to lose, and c) what exactly would be a threat to him.

If you ask me, all of this comes down to the Metatron wanting to stay and be in power for eternity with full control over angels so he can do as he please, aka keeping the system running as it is.

We know the book of life (bol) is a thing in the Good Omens universe, whether it does what Michael said is an entirely different question. So far, we have also only got confirmation that hell collects and tortures souls—in such large amounts that they are understaffed—while heaven looks completely empty.

The Metatron runs heaven as an institution, he seems to be the highest power any of the angels have access to and the one they defer to. He refers to himself as the voice of God and combines judge, jury and executioner, making him one great celestial dictator.

From what we know of hell, they do things a lot more democratically, having different councils, dukes, and ranks that are responsible for different levels of command.

We also know that that the Metatron wants the world to end, his goals can probably be summarized as the statement Michael makes, which would leave him in charge without any opposing forces.

We also also know that he sees Crowley and Aziraphale as a threat—why exactly remains a mystery for now—and that the success of his plan hinges on having a Supreme Archangel (SA) he can control. Gabriel decided to become princess of hell and Beez' sugar baby, so he was out of the equation, and after the Armageddon disaster, I don't think he wants to risk failing because of an unfamiliarity with earth (plus, y'know, getting our two idiots away from the plan).

It's interesting to me that right at the end, he says to Aziraphale "We call it the Second Coming"—call, not it is or it will be, CALL. We know that nothing Neil writes is a coincidence, definitely not with such an important line.

Just because you CALL something a specific name doesn't mean it IS what you call it, e.g. Aziraphale calls Crowley a foul fiend when we know he very much isn't.

The Metatron is selling his plan as part of the "Great/Ineffable Plan", so any questions can be blocked by saying it's God's will, it's ineffable. Whatever his plan is, he hides it behind the concept of the Second Coming, which angels know just enough about to understand the basics without having in-depth knowledge of what exactly it entails.

It is a good fucking strategy, I'll give him that, and it WORKS because angels—even if they have doubts—do not question. They simply don't; fear of punishment and millennia of conditioning have left them in a horrible place. When they encounter something unknown, their response is "I already knew that" as to not ask questions.

Crowley questions, we know that, and Aziraphale, ohhhhh, Aziraphale ALSO questions, but he does it in a less dangerous and obvious way. The Metatron is vastly underprepared for that.

(Side note: That alone would be its own meta post, but the gist is that he questions heaven's plans and then adjusts his assumptions of what God might want to what he WANTS God to want, e.g. Job, the Arch)

To summarize everything I just said, the Metatron wants to do what Armageddon failed to do—destroy earth and the universe—so he can be supreme dictator of all remaining celestial beings and gorge himself on power.

But instead of calling it his Big Evil Plan, he calls it the Second Coming, making everyone play along without resistance.

We cycle aaaaall the way back to the sentence I quoted—the ACTUAL plans are going wrong since the Metatron's would mean total destruction.

But what is the SC supposed to be if not the Apocalypse 2.0?

When I look at all the different aspects of the SC and assume a positive outcome, then the end result to me would be a new world that is pretty much like the old world, or maybe even literally the old world but with any destruction reversed. Heaven and hell get dissolved since now that everyone has been "judged", they as institutions are no longer needed, they have fulfilled their purpose.

No more judgement means there is no reason to keep track anymore, so why do you need to run celestial corporations whose only job is doing exactly that? You don't—and THAT is what I believe is the biggest perceived threat to the Metatron, losing full control over everyone and everything, losing his position, his title, and whatever else he has.

On top of that, Good Omens has told us again and again that God doesn't seem to give a fuck about good and evil anymore, and that without heaven and hell being all wrapped up in it, humanity would have 100% free will without any consequences.

Maybe the BoL is empty, maybe it isn't real, maybe Jesus stole it to straighten a wobbly table, who knows. There is a chance it is what Michael says, but I would admittedly find that a bit. too obvious and boring since it would boil the plot down to "they save their own asses again" and not "they save humanity at all cost".

Regarding Crowley and Aziraphale's role in this—I have Thoughts TM but those definitely need their own post. In short, they have to get the SC back on track, the real one.

-

If you have made it this far, thank you for working through what I hope are more or less coherent rambles. Any spelling or grammar mistakes are my own.

Questions? Thoughts? Corrections? Expansions and additions?

Feel free to add to this post however you like (and I can't believe I have to mentions this but if you clown on my post or behave like an asshole you will be blocked).

[kitorin]

OUR SPRING

003. perfect

5:01 pm

"Fucking hell."

Normally, you'd have more shame, but given your current circumstances it was understandable for you to curse loudly in the middle of the hallway on your way home from the school library. All of this was so irritating, the rumours and all the attempted manipulation, both which, were from the exact same source; Kira Ryosuke.

It should be fine. That's what you've told yourself for a long time. But you've been corrected. Because rumour after rumour, it kept accumulating now it's consumed and become your school life, until your identity is once again established as one that only revolves around some guy who likes you.

"You better drop dead next time I see you."

"May I help you?" You pull yourself out of your livid trance, looking up from staring at your feet as you walk and realizing with horror that you say that right in front of someone else. What's even worse, is that you recognise who it was, possibly one of the worst people to unintentionally curse at. It's Chigiri Hyoma. Rising star of the jpop and jdrama industry, who also happens to be a member of one of your best friend's favourite band.

"I am so sorry. I swear it wasn't directed to you- A lot had been going on recently." You prayed, begging that he wasn't one of those celebrities who enjoyed tormenting regular people with their obsessive and toxic fanbases, or liked exploiting their fame to ruin others.

Despite being apprehensive of the social power he holds, Meguru was right every time he called Chigiri attractive. It was evident through photos, but they don't capture his beauty fully. There wasn't a blemish on his pale skin, his tied up hair seemed perfect, it was obvious people would die for his skin and hair care routine. Long eyelashes compliment soft features and his rose coloured eyes clouded with what seemed like concern.

Even though his features weren't inhumanely perfect or complied to the beauty standard to a T, everything just synergises together, curating his natural charm.

Visually, he embodies perfection.

"Ah I see. I understand." Just when you thought he couldn't look any better he smiles, teeth perfectly white and shiny, which were adorned with dimples. It made sense why he was an actor and idol, he pulls off school uniform and even makes it look fashionable, heck his school photo probably came out gorgeous too. "So, what happened?"

You were too busy admiring his visuals to realize you were going to reveal your current struggles to a total stranger. "Well it's just- wait, I don't even know you?"

"Neither do I. All the more better to open up to, no?"

He's kind of weird. No wonder why Meguru loves him so much.

Instead of addressing and responding to his statement, you take advantage of this opportunity, since he's always surrounded by fans. "Then, how do you deal with rumours? You're apart of that band egoism, right? You'd know a lot about this"

"Well. I'm not apart of the PR team, so I don't know the full details. But rumours don't have some sort of secret formula or trick to getting rid of them. Hence why most celebrities have a PR team."

If only you had one too.

"Are you the one everyone assumes is dating Kira? I'm guessing you're referring to all the gossip related to you too." Chigiri continues, seeming genuinely curious regarding your situation.

You nod, and barely process being dragged into a janitor's closet by him, the complete shock taking too long to register.

"Oi Chigiri, what're you doing?" Ending up in a janitor's closet with one of the most popular artists of your age was not expected.

"Dating rumours, you say?" He breaths out, dismissing your question, a chuckle soon rises in his throat. "We're not too different, no? I have the perfect solution for you."

"Which is?" Once again, he ignores your questions, slowly coming closer towards you, face close in proximity to yours.

"Date me."

TWO | FOUR | MASTERLIST

PAIRING. chigiri hyoma x reader

SYNOPSIS. school gets overwhelming with constant rumours and accusations, thankfully someone is willing to help. but what happens when this mutually beneficial agreement escalates into something more?

GENRE. social media au, fake dating, idol / actor au

TAGLIST. @izzylovestnbhd, @angelchigiri, @punkhazardlaw, @silly-ez, @y-sabell-a

© kitorin : do not repost, plagiarize, change, or translate

[bleghcourse]

You people would do well to develop some ideological and ethical consistency, but you'd rather act like partisan morons about everything.

No, you are the asshole if you call yourself a "libertarian," but foam at the mouth when anyone mentions transgender people. The statement "I don't care about what adults do to their bodies, leave kids alone" is a steaming pile of horseshit, and an appeal to one of the oldest political "arguments" in American history. You want to legislate people's identities out of existence, and you think nothing of using children to push your narrative nor betraying your "principles" to create a nanny state.

I'm going to call you an authoritarian if you support gun control. An AR-15 is not a weapon of war. The AR-15 has never seen a single combat situation outside of use by the ATF (it's ACAB until it's federal cops, amirite?) against private citizens because the federal government has a bonner for murdering its own people. The only "common sense" gun control I support is baring people who can't tell semi-auto from full-auto from writing firearms policy forever. No AK-47, no opinion.

I could go on, but I'd wasting my time trying to enumerate the many ways neither side of the aisle has any real integrity, not the rank-and-file party registered voters and certainly not the baboons we send to congress. All of you hate freedom and worship ideologies that will, if taken to their logical conclusions, leave you shot in the back of the head, in some unmarked ditch in the woods.

This obsession with right vs. left is so frustrating because it's all ultimately a meaningless grift that you're not only happy to uphold but proud to enable.

But Vote Blue, No Matter Who, right? Let's Make America Great Again, Again! Fuck all that gay shit about being principled, we have a popularity contest to win!

[matt0044]

So... where are we precisely on Vivziepop?

I don't want to make... assumptions of anybody's specific intent but the recent rumblings of discontent seems to follow certain patterns that I've become... a touch too familiar with.

Thing becomes popular to an unprecedented degree. Fanart, fan edits, maybe even full on fan music videos. Might be because the creator had made a name for themselves or they just got lucky right out the gate. Either or.

Thing grows in popularity in ways listed above and has its praises sung for a variety of reasons. Many of which may pertain to how certain social demographics are portrayed compared to elsewhere or whatever came before.

Thing had continuous installments that built on and craft a narrative for the characters portrayed with revelations galore. Certain aspects are revealed to be more... complicated.

Said aspects intrigue fans by having more than meets the eye while... souring others due to their first impressions, feeling their initial takes were "retconned" at best or "deficated upon" at worst.

This... disenchantment as it were results in alienated fans becoming more critical of the story and characters. Some of this revolves around certain types of characters being scrutinized in how they don't measure up to who the story appears to be focusing on most.

Something like queer representation is called into question when the female cast feels... off in retrospect.

The setting may be established as a less than morally conscious place to be and have the residing characters be hot messes as a result. However, some actions and choices of words may come across as a step too far lest it be a reflection of the writer/creator's beliefs.

This coalition of criticism may be met with pushback from those who dispute much of their points. Sometimes it's well worded and brings up new perspectives. Sometimes... it's largely could be just "Aw, shaddap!" on repeat.

Unfortunately, neither side (oh boy...) has a monopoly on assholes that put their emotions first and pleasantries second. The critical side will cite the stans as the reason why they exist and that "it's okay to be critical of the things you love." But some of the more overzealous members of that side may make you wonder, "So... where's the love?"

These overzealous members in question may often voice their discontent with various blanket statements and take counterpoints to that as being from stans who can’t take criticism. This often exhibits a mentality that because they’re calling out “the bad thing” and “the bad creator,” it’s end of discussion.

The creator may feel prodded to throw their hat into the ring not just over their creation but over what people try to construe them as purely based on their art. Sometimes they can come across as overtly defensive and averse to criticism themselves but with how much bile seem to be slung their way, it's never as clean cut.

Among the detractors who do care and want to approach in good faith, you have outrage merchants and outrage addicts that do in fact only want to stir up drama. Rather than help solve anything at all, the former wants to sell these stories TMZ style while the latter wants something to be angry at to feel in control of... anything. These muddy the waters for whomever might be hoping for a more productive discussion.

Adding fuel to this fire nobody actually asked for at those who have always disliked the creator be it for past works or as of recently due to word of mouth. Because a lot of their art revolving around what point number seven goes over, there's a very Anti-Shipper mentality of hating the "bad thing" on principle. Especially when the work is purposefully incorporating tasteless elements that this circle of "fans" feel should be avoided period.

I could go on and on but the point is that I've seen this dance routine more than a few times before where Popular Thing(TM) needs to be "taken down a peg and nobody can stop trying one up the other before it escalates.

Now more than ever with smaller indie projects like for animation. It's so hard to take certain people at their word at times because they either operate with a limited perspective or are willfully ignoring other points of view to feed their feeling of betrayal.

They comes of as jilted ex-partners who despise that the one that broke their heart's been able to move on. There's a sense of, "If I can't like it anymore, nobody can."

[thisnameisnotspokenfor]

IN CELEBRATION OF THE ECLIPSE I AM RELEASING A (SUPER ROUGH) PART OF CHAPTER 26!!!

Please enjoy the Cepheus Lore ft Asha laughing ((I just realized that she doesn't really smile or laugh a lot in this story??? Maybe she does but it feels like it's superficial to me??? IDK))

He nodded, but his gaze nearly looked distant, as if his mind were elsewhere. “So you’ve always lived with your family,” the star said softly. Strangely, it almost sounded like more of an observation or a confirmation than a statement. “You stayed with your father here, and you live with your mother and grandfather at home.”

She nodded, picking up a few more books and scrolls that had been scattered across her desk.. “Well yeah…that’s how most humans live. We’re social creatures. Unless you’re extremely introverted, but even then, we need social interactions” The star hummed, as she risked a glance in his direction, asking, “are stars not social creatures?”

He shifted uncomfortably, his eyes nearly lost in thought for a moment or so until he slowly shook his head. His voice was low and quiet, he nearly sounded tired.“No. Not quite…when stars are born…we’re sent to a nebulas where our caretakers look after us. I suppose it’s what you’d equate to a nursery, at least that’s what she told me.” 

“The wishing star?”

He nodded, his lips pressing into a thin line. “Yeah. Her. But during our stay there we are usually visited until we undergo our naming ceremony. After that whether or not we are visited is -,” Hold on. Cepheus-Sirius had a family?! Cepheus had parents?!? What did they look like?! He continued peacefully oblivious to the shock she was experiencing at his words. “-ultimately up to our parents or family. So it’s not uncommon for some nebulas to be more popular than others.”

More Popular? So were there nebulas out there with tiny stars neglected and lonely? Waiting and hoping for the day that their parents would acknowledge their existence? Something about that image didn’t sit right with her. Every child deserved to have a parent, even if said child wasn’t human…

“Asha?” he was staring at her.

“Huh” she shook her head, snapping herself out of her daze. “What? What is it?”

Much to her chagrin, his smile returned in full force. “Oh nothing you were just staring at me so intently that for a second I thought you were about to pull out your telescope to get a better view.”

She rolled her eyes stepping past him as she turned her attention to the rest of the room that she promptly decided would have to be dealt with ‘later’. “Ha ha very funny. I wasn’t staring at you. I was just wondering…Was your nebula popular?”

His expression somewhat soured as she watched him run his hand through his hair, completely combing away the black strands from his now bluish grayish eyes as they narrowed at her. “Maybe? I don’t know..” 

She couldn’t stop herself from asking her next question, “Were you the most or least popular star in your nebula?”

His brow furrowed in thought as he frowned, “Hmm neither? I was the only ‘child’ there so to speak.”

“Well were you popular with your caretakers?”

He shrugged, “Ehh I don’t know. I’m pretty sure I had them on rotation. I wasn’t exactly an angel back then per se.” 

She grinned, imagining a toddler Cepheus wreaking havoc on his poor caretakers. “So you were a bad child huh? I guess it checks out.”

He smiled sheepishly, as he scratched the back of his neck “Ok so I might have started out bad, but-,”

“But?” She repeated, not quite able to completely stifle her own chuckle.

“I got better.” She snorted. “I swear I did!” 

She could barely keep herself from laughing as she asked, “So you’re what you’d consider good now? A reformed person? You’ve (no pun intended) seen the light?”

“Eh…Close enough, I suppose,” he smiled. Now she was laughing, not necessarily at him but at the whole revelation of Sirius- Sirius, being a bad child.

“Don’t feel too bad about it starboy,” she smiled as she sat next to him. “it’s not a bad thing to be a boisterous child, alright? Trust me, when I was little, I don’t think I was exactly an amazing child either.”

[iridescent-solstice]

𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲, 𝐀𝐬𝐫𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐝 . . . (Pre-plague drabble) ⤷ ɪ ꜰᴇʟᴛ ʟɪᴋᴇ ꜱʜᴏᴡɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅʏɴᴀᴍɪᴄ ʙᴇᴛᴡᴇᴇɴ ᴍʏ ᴀʀᴄᴀɴᴀ ᴏᴄ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀꜱʀᴀ

It’s a slow day that eventually ended with the shop closing early so the two esteemed magicians could enjoy the evening together. Alone. With Winter fast approaching, most of the citizens spend their days huddled up next to their furnaces. A chilly breeze sweeping over the city only makes the baker’s shop and many other food stalls more popular. Eager for any kind of warmth, tourists are eager to even pay extra for a hot meal. Not Estrella though.

But of course, neither Asra’s nor Estrella’s day is complete without a cup of tea so that is actually what the pair is up to now, and well not just tea . . .  However, teatime would be quite boring without idle chatter Asra’s curious questions alongside it, and without question some hidden information is revealed.  

“Wait really?” His eyes widened at her statement. “So that means . . . you’ve never experienced real winter before?” Asra’s eyes follow her figure returning to him from the tiny kitchen before his gaze lowers to the cup in her hand. He eyes the cup of tea she places in front of him. She merely flashes him a smile as a reply before nodding. “Strange, isn’t it? No one would believe me,” she chuckles to herself as she realises just how contradicting this all seems. “Considering just how many clothes you own that are better suited for colder weather? . . . Hmmm~ I don’t think I believe you; you’re lying through your teeth.” He says in jest, tone shifting from inquisitive to a low humorous raspy one after a short pause. Sensing the shift in his mood Estrella slides onto the stool next to him.

Her thighs brush up against his own as she settles down. Shooting him a questioning look before taking a moment to breathe in the scent of tea. He exhales with a low whistle over his own tea, trying to cool it to an appropriate amount. “Now why on earth would I lie to my favourite person in the whole wide world~” She replies in a sing song voice to rile him up. Mission successful because he tenses up and looks away. For someone so affectionate, Asra sure was shy. A mesmerising shade of red brightens up his face and ears. But before he could say another word, she continues. “That is precisely why I couldn't choose just any other location for my shop y'know?” She sighs out, recalling the frustration it was to find a cheap building when she first arrived.

“I’m glad I found this place when I did, because I was almost about to cave. Then I'd be sweaty all the time.” She chuckles, “it was just too hot elsewhere in Versuvia and I definitely have too many clothes a tad on the winter side.” She thinks to herself, pondering on whether this was a bad decision or not. Meanwhile, seeming to have recovered from her jest, Asra strikes back right away. “Is that so, my prissy little princess just adores her closet that much, doesn’t she?” He teases and she almost chokes a little on her tea. Concern flashes in his eyes as he immediately leans forward and pats her back gently. When she's calmed down enough, she huffs and turns to glare at him but that just makes his smile widen even more. “I,” she motions towards herself with the hand holding her teacup, the other arm placed on the dining table to steady herself. “Am not a prissy princess, thank you very much mister magician man. I’m just very selective with what I like . . . Though the same cannot be said about you it seems.” She speaks that last bit with a very fake snobby voice with her eyes looking him up and down, mimicking those that reside in the heart district of Versuvia. Those who are extremely obsessed with appearances above all else. Even if she didn't admit it . . . Asra never looked half bad, but especially not today. He was dressed in his usual loose white shirt that hung off his shoulders just a little more than usual today, leaving his upper chest on full display right now . . .

In response to her bad imitation, Asra snorts out a laugh, before pulling her stool closer to his, his face now a little too close for comfort. “You mean . . . the very same fashion sense that drew you to me? It must not be too bad if I have you here fawning over me” His voice drops to a very soft whisper, as if this was only meant for her ears. Eyes twinkling with amusement, and a smirk on his delicious lips. It’s very tempting to close the distance between them right now. An offer too good to deny, she leans even closer until their foreheads are brushing against one another. “Well i’m certainly not complaining about it, but your handsome face might be doing the heavy lifting here.” She whispers right back. He laughs once more before her smooth hands grip the sides of his shirt to pull him towards her. To smash his lips against hers before he could mumble something else that would really tick her off . . .  

[ ᴅɪᴠɪᴅᴇʀꜱ ʙʏ: @grungenglam]

Although I don't have a design for my oc rn, I do have literally everything else figured out lol. I think my oc's relationship with Asra is really cute and sweet with A LOT of sass from both of them. Lots of teasing and jabs at each other haha.

If people rlly wanna see my oc's design, y'all have to bully me into learning art faster so I can actually draw her pfft-

[mariacallous]

“My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over,” Gerald Ford, newly installed as U.S. president, proclaimed on Aug. 9, 1974, after the resignation of his predecessor Richard Nixon. “Our Constitution works; our great Republic is a government of laws and not of men.”

Well, maybe. The conviction of one of Ford’s successors on 34 counts of falsifying business records seems as if it should be confirmation that nobody is above the law—a consolidation of the traditional interpretation that Watergate strained but ultimately reaffirmed the constitutional order. Yet the elite consensus in the hours after the verdict was pronounced took a more grimly realist—or even cynical—tone, with both convicted felon Donald Trump and a spokesperson for President Joe Biden agreeing that the real verdict would be delivered by voters in November.

Downplaying Trump’s conviction may make tactical electoral sense. Parsing the worldview of the handful of swing voters who will decide crucial states is no easy task, and ensuring they swing in the right direction is even more complicated.

Yet hoping the voters will sort it all out is not a useful governing philosophy for those who seek to revitalize U.S. institutions over the medium term. The expectation that institutions besides electoral politics should produce consequences for wrongdoing to which Ford’s statement appealed is a better guide not just to how Americans should want their institutions to operate but to how those institutions should operate.

Punting on accountability cannot be the basis for a lasting solution. Appealing to voters as a means of checking Trump assumes facts not in evidence—namely, that Trump respects the will of the voters at all. In neither of his campaigns to date has he won a majority of votes cast. Instead, he has sought to subvert their will on both occasions. In 2016, he accepted (and may have encouraged) assistance from elements linked to the Russian regime—and his conviction on Thursday stemmed from a separate form of election interference: paying hush money to avoid the release of damaging information during the campaign.

After voters cast their ballots in the 2020 election, Trump participated in (and may have led) efforts to overturn the popular mandate through chicanery in the Electoral College and, ultimately, by trying to thwart the legal counting of electors’ ballots.

Nor does Trump’s record in office suggest any great care for nurturing a thriving democracy. To the contrary, Trump’s election and first term weakened U.S. democracy. On all five of the indices measuring the quality of democracy tracked by the Varieties of Democracy project, Trump’s administration coincides with a reversal of U.S. democratic scores to levels not seen since the 1970s or even earlier.

The consequences of Trump’s election extended beyond U.S. borders. His administration dealt a significant blow to the country’s reputation and bolstered anti-democratic movements and oligarchic regimes around the world. A second term could well see Trump follow through on his oft-toyed-with idea of pulling out of NATO and, even more likely, reducing or ending U.S. assistance to Ukraine—both undermining the security of democratic regimes. And it seems unlikely that a second Trump administration would carry out specific pro-democratic measures, such as the Biden administration’s moves to protect Brazil’s democracy.

The current crisis of U.S. democracy, then, is a domestic struggle with global consequences.  Alas, Trump is far from the only actor undermining U.S. democracy and liberal institutions. The disregard for judicial norms demonstrated by many members of the federal judiciary, including Supreme Court justices but lower court jurists as well, constitutes one strand of the threat. Many state governments have similarly adopted measures to restrict voting and other practices. Combined, these trends make explicit partisan gerrymandering more feasible than ever, compounding racial disparities in political power and weakening the accountability via the possibility of losing elections that ultimately motivates democratically elected politicians.

These conditions call for a more aggressive strategy. To make the world safe for democracy, pro-democracy officials must embrace a broader set of tactics to protect U.S. values at home. These include prioritizing the quality and integrity of the judiciary above secondary norms, such as the number of Supreme Court seats, but also employing tools from prosecutions to civil suits and beyond to investigate, publicize, and punish those who restrict or resist democratic processes and civil rights.

Without such moves to protect democracy, voters may not be able to make their voices count. That is one reason why prosecutions of actors like Trump matter: Election interference is not a technicality but a threat to the constitutional order.

Fifty years after Ford’s proclamation, then, the jury is out on whether U.S. institutions can protect democracy and hold elites accountable. If Trump is defeated in November, the work will have only begun. The culture of elite impunity that Trump symbolizes must be brought to an end.

[teruthecreator]

TW FOR RACISM, CHILD IMPREGNATION, EUGENICS, & TRANSPHOBIA

okay @silvercistern! thats okay! if you dont wanna be here for this conversation then i'll have a conversation without you! for all those readers out there who might've missed it

FOR EVERYONE'S INFORMATION:

Side Quest is definitely one of the weirdest fics I have ever seen get popular, for several content-related reasons.

Firstly, the racism. She writes her Serizawa to be half-black, half-Japanese, which is a perfectly valid hc if not for how she handles this fact. Ignoring the moments of subtle racism she gives Reigen (having him comment on the apparent "sloppiness" of his afro--which she also refuses to call an afro, by the way--and also having him guess his race via his racial characteristics), she blatantly and openly makes Toichiro racist towards Serizawa in a way that I feel we cannot ignore. For example:

I shouldn't have to say that calling a black man a "slave" in any context is fucked up, but I will for the sake of this post! Since she already think I'm insane :-) Also:

Once again, shouldn't have to say this but I will: Saying a black man has a "brutal masculine appeal" is so obviously and blatantly racist while also being entirely unnecessary for his character! We understand, as both readers and watchers of the base material, that Toichiro is a bad guy. We do not need him to then become racist, borderline-pedophilic, and a supporter of eugenics! And if you need quotes for some of these points, I will include one that has both:

Even if he is saying that he won't facilitate the "impregnation of a child", why the fuck is he laughing about it? Just a reminder: Toichiro in canon is only a terrorist and a child abuser. Yes, he is a bad person. However, I think elevating his evil to this level removes any concept of character depth that you could possibly have, and makes the ending of this fic (where he is seemingly normal and fine, with both his wife and child in his relative good graces) all the weirder. But again, I'm insane, right? Oh yeah, one more point about Toichiro that I found from the comments:

Now this tells me several things. Firstly, it's that she lacks the oversight to recognize when there is blatant racism in her works of fiction. Which is questionable, but I'm willing to let that slide because people should always be given the opportunity to grow. HOWEVER, the second part of this tells me that the first part might be a lie!!! Because hey!! If you are headcanoning a person's parent as being a WHITE SOUTH AFRICAN WITH EUGENICIST BELIEFS, you are basically saying your character was raised by an APARTHEID APOLOGIST. So I really don't know how you can avoid the racism embedded in that statement.

Now, let's move away from Toichiro because he's not the only character she completely butchers with weird concepts. Shimazaki is a trans chaser in this fic.

That's right. I'm not kidding. He is a chaser.

Once again reminding you that I'm the insane one.

There is literally no reason I can see as to why she would write this, other than that it is supposed to be a joke. Now, as an afab trans butch, there is only so much I can say to this point, but I will still ask: Who is laughing here? Who is this joke funny to? Is it to the trans women, who have to deal with similar kinds of harassment each time they try to go on a date? Or is it the Shimazaki fans, who I guess aren't weirded out by their fav being a chaser? Or is it just you, silvercistern? Is it just funny to you?

That point brings me to one of my last points with context. She seems to enjoy throwing in random "edgy" topics for either shock value or a laugh, neither of which I think her wording lands on. I did collegiate improv comedy for all four years of college (yes that may seem pathetic to you, but it was fun)--if anyone knows how a joke should sound, I think I'm one of the few. And, frankly, none of these land. For instance, the repeated "joke" of calling Reigen a creep or alluding to him being a pedo:

But, again, me? I'm insane, apparently. If you take issue with any of this, like I did, then to her you are insane.

This is not surprising to me, given that she already had a kind of breakdown to my friend regarding when they asked if silvercistern could tag one of her fics with sa.

Here is the link to their post. I ask that you respect their wishes and do not send harassment to silvercistern (as that is my wish as well) and do not be weird to them in their inbox.

But this is why it does not surprise me that she 1. would private her twitter account when faced with even the slightest backlash, 2. would then talk about the situation to her mutuals to garner sympathy, and 3. not even bother to read a single thing I said, given that she replied to my post in less than a minute after I had posted it.

By the way, one of those mutuals? Yeah, they are literally a toichiro/shou shipper. Here's the proof:

Anyway, this is not an excuse to go harass her. I DO NOT CONDONE HARASSMENT OF ANY KIND. ANY OF MY POSTS ABOUT THIS SITUATION WERE MADE TO DIRECTLY ADDRESS HER AND THE ISSUES I HAVE. IF YOU FEEL THE NEED TO CHIME IN, DO IT ON YOUR OWN TIME WITH YOUR OWN POST. DO NOT HARASS HER.

So yeah. Guess this would be something an insane person does, right? lol

[catdotjpeg]

At 6 a.m. on March 22, pro-Palestinian activists Said and Yasemin, who were asleep in their respective Berlin homes, were awakened by armed and masked police officers who broke down their doors at the same time. Berlin police then looked through their belongings and confiscated their electronic devices, including their phones. The simultaneous raid was to deter one from communicating with or warning the other. In a series of posts on social media, Said said that this raid was the police’s third visit and he maintains that he is being targeted for his activism and that he did nothing wrong. “I am not okay,” he wrote, “Why is the German government trying everything possible to criminalize me? I have done nothing wrong. I make the German government and the media responsible for everything that might happen to me!”  Yasemin tells me that she was targeted due to a social media video she made on the action against Israeli diplomat and ambassador of Israel to Germany, Ron Proser. “I explained why the activists are protesting Proser in my video, but the police [took that as evidence that] I was there.” Yasemin was not.  Yasemin, however, believes that the raid was not an isolated incident, but was in fact part of a bigger campaign against pro-Palestinian activists by the authorities. “We are not only attacked and arrested, but prematurely handpicked from a crowd while attending lawful protest gatherings.”  “One time, after they arrested me for absolutely no reason, they took my fingerprints and mugshots and imprisoned me,” Yasemin said. On at least one occasion, undercover police even followed her home. “All of this because I am actively protesting against human rights violations by Israel. I am worried because for me, now there is this question of what’s the next step? Are they going to shoot me?”  This is not the first time Berlin police raided people’s homes over social media posts. Earlier this month, police knocked down the door of a middle-aged woman who wrote “from the river to the sea Palestine will be free” on her social media and arrested her. She was charged with “using the symbols of unconstitutional organizations,” Berlin police said in a statement. In Germany, the Interior Ministry determined on its own that the popular protest chant was the slogan of Hamas and the Samidoun Solidarity Network, a banned pro-Palestinian organization.  Germany functions as an extension of the Israeli apartheid state. Not only does it extrapolate the same propaganda onto Palestinians as Israel, but Germany has also adopted similar tactics of psychological warfare against activists to deter solidarity within the country.  The raids due to social media rings extremely similar to Israel’s “zero tolerance policy” toward social media activity in Palestine, which has led to the arrest of hundreds of Palestinians with Israeli citizenship who expressed solidarity or support for the people of Gaza. In a viral video earlier in this war, Israeli police arrested a woman over a Whatsapp post, and in the video she pleads with the officers, and out of fear even retracts her statement by saying, “God protect Israel.” Of course, the posts do not pose a threat, neither to Israel nor to Germany. The raids and arrests are meant to instill fear and deter others from participating in protests or speaking out against Israel’s genocide in Gaza. 

-- From "Germany is becoming a police state when it comes to Palestine activism" by Hebh Jamal for Mondoweiss, 7 Apr 2024

[letmetellyouaboutmyfeels]

Well. I guess today is the day I post this.

Putting this all below a cut to spare your dashes.

This statement will seem dramatic. I apologize. I don't know any other way to put this.

For a long time, I've felt unsafe in this fandom as a bisexual person.

At some point we got a new wave of people in this fandom (I can't pinpoint when since I never know anything that goes on in this godforsaken cesspit), and we started to get a growing wave of people talking about Eddie as a gay man, rather than bisexual or queer or ambiguous/unlabeled in his sexuality.

It was something I could easily ignore at first. I didn't agree with it, but I rolled my eyes and kept on keepin' on. It didn't really affect me. I had my own little corner and that was that.

But as time has gone on, it's become so popular and pervasive that every time I turn around, I'm running into it. It seems to be (but might not be, I could be wrong) the more popular interpretation of Eddie.

For example, I got an ask at the beginning of February, asking me what was wrong with gay Eddie, since it seems to be the "general consensus." Additionally, there was a podcast episode an anthropology student made where the host said that they have also seen people have generally decided Eddie is gay, not bi or queer. I'm not the only one who's noticed this and decided this is the general/most popular opinion of the fandom.

And I'm here to say that it's unbelievably hurtful.

It's not a new thing for people to dismiss Shannon. And let me tell you, it brings me no joy to defend her. I deeply, deeply dislike her and always have. But I must, because whether I like her or not doesn't matter as much as her importance to Eddie and her role in his life. Not just as Christopher's mother, but as his first love and as his wife.

However, over the past year or so there's been a serious shift within the fandom to ignore or gloss over Shannon, and to paint Eddie as a gay man who has always been gay, and never been attracted to women, and never wanted to sleep with one. Even though, canonically, he and Shannon jumped right back into bed together and wouldn't stop fucking every time they met up, despite that choice being detrimental to their relationship and preventing them from discussing important things.

Eddie was so busy fucking his wife like a rabbit in springtime that he couldn't settle down and talk with her. He fucked her repeatedly even though he didn't fully trust her with their son anymore. If that's not thinking with your dick I don't know what is.

Eddie's grief over Shannon's loss and his complicated feelings about her (his love for her vs his anger at her choices vs his own poor self-esteem) haunted him throughout season three. It's why he joined the fight club. It haunts him in season four, when he chooses to date Ana to give Chris a substitute mother even though he is not yet ready to date/move on from Shannon.

Even if I put on my Buddie shipper goggles and say, "what about Buck?" I do not think it makes any sense whatsoever for Eddie to be aware of his feelings for Buck pre-shooting. I think that is the moment he realizes what his heart wants and where he's chosen to love again. Not before.

Bobby moving on with Athena does in no way erase his love for his previous wife, and he went through a process similar to Eddie - in fact that similarity is part of why Bobby sees so much of himself in Eddie and why he tries to give Eddie advice on the subject. But I have to wonder, if Bobby had dated Michael instead of Athena, if the fandom would react the same way they do with Eddie - if they would claim Bobby was gay the whole time, and never truly felt sexual attraction for his wife.

I know Shannon is a disliked character by and large (I'm one of the people who dislikes her) and that her relationship with Eddie was complicated. Eddie wasn't always happy in his relationship with her. But neither was Athena, and yet the fact she was once attracted to and in love with Michael is never questioned.

Eddie is simply not allowed nuance in his relationship with Shannon. He is not allowed (as Bobby and Athena are) to have a complicated relationship with his spouse or to move on with another character while not denying his previous attraction to her. Eddie's relationship with Shannon is reduced to something he did because he had to, without any genuine sexual attraction, and without any sexual enjoyment. He is allowed to love her, but to never have been in love with her.

Eddie's biggest arc and piece of character development for two whole seasons (seasons two and three, arguably parts of season four) are erased.

The underlying message, whether intended or not, is that they are erased because they do not matter. And they do not matter because if they did, Eddie would be bi, or queer, or anything except 100% homosexual. And that means that the underlying message is that being gay is more important, more valid, and better than bisexuality.

I'm not saying this message is intentional. Frankly I don't think it is. I'm saying it is there.

And of course, when others have pointed out that this is hurtful and erases a big part of Eddie's history, and that therefore makes them feel ignored and erased as a bisexual person, there's been hostility. Some of it's been openly hostile and frankly feels like fighting for the sake of fighting, the kind of self-righteous love of blood in the water that has kept me a lurker in fandoms for so long.

The more insidious hurt, for me, is the people who refuse to publicly support people who call out the biphobia. They say nothing when people talk about how they're attacked for pointing out the issues with gay!Eddie, or they support both gay!Eddie and bi!Eddie sides, depending on the time of day and who's saying it. It makes me distrusting of a lot of people who try to tell me they support me. How can I believe you when you turn around and agree with the people saying Eddie's gay? Reblogging posts and championing it?

At best it feels like being accidentally hurtful while supporting/being open to multiple headcanons. At worst it feels like lying to placate me.

I don't appreciate being placated.

Fandom can give a skewed perspective on things such as representation in media. I understand that many people who identify as 6 on the Kinsey Scale have struggled deeply with repression, self-loathing, ignorance, and compulsive heterosexuality. I understand wanting that representation, especially in an older character when it feels like a lot of our media is still about queer teenagers rather than queer adults (especially queer adults over the age of thirty). And so with many slash ships having to deal with the existence of opposite-sex love interests in the characters comprising that ship, bisexuality can feel like the norm when in reality, characters who are gay (whether they always knew it or discover it later) are still much more prevalent than bisexual characters in media.

For example, in Our Flag Means Death we have Stede. In IT, Richie is inferred to be gay rather than bi (god forbid they confirm Eddie K's gayness but that's another matter...) In fact, in 9-1-1 alone, we have Michael. There's also the matter of who gets to be gay and who gets to be bi. In Glee, for example, Santana is the one who gets the nuanced coming-out story with drama and depth. Brittany, her bisexual girlfriend, doesn't get nearly as much attention or thought, and off-screen cheats on Santana in a staggering moment of biphobia (a decision the likes of which Ryan Murphy is not-so-affectionately known for).

Yet from people who headcanon Eddie as gay I repeatedly see the rallying cry of "letting us have this," as if 'this' is something they never get, or get less than bisexual people. Again, I understand the way fandom might skew things. But we cannot allow the broken goggles of fandom to, in turn, blinker our reality of the media landscape. Bisexuality is still less represented, and the wounds of "oh being with X man is nothing like all those women I was with, this is special and real" are still fresh (looking at you, Destiel shippers circa 2009-2012).

In fact as I out myself here as uh one of those veterans, I implore people to understand how this was the norm for so, so many years. Fandom has a short memory, I get it. It's hard to keep track of everything. But this embrace of bisexuality is rather recent. You look around and you see, for example, people happily joking about Dean Winchester's bisexuality. That was not always the case. For a long time, it was about perpetuating biphobia and casual misogyny as shippers wrote meta and fic about how no woman could ever make him feel like Cas does.

*pause for war flashbacks*

This was not the only instance or fandom. But I don't have time to name all the examples. My point is that there is a false collective narrative. My point is that when you are hurt, and have struggled, it can be hard to see that others have also been hurt and have also struggled. My point is that there is a continued instinct to put a certain type of character in one box and another type of character in a different box, and to try and expand the boxes, or move one character to another, is treated as a personal attack rather than an expansion of our understanding and a dismantling of our stereotypes.

Why is it always the character who has a lot of sex and/or is super comfortable on the subject of sex, or is very casual about sex, who gets to be bi/pan/fluid in sexuality? Why are bi people never allowed to be reserved, or have only one or two partners in their life?

Why is the character who is casual (or seems like they will be casual) and relaxed about sexuality the one who is labeled bisexual? Why are bisexuals never allowed to have angst around their sexuality or come out later in life? Why is our pain, our internal struggle, never allowed to be discussed?

I'm not saying Buck should be viewed as gay. I think it's correct to talk about him as bi/pan/queer. But I do think it's fair to examine why Buck's relationship with Abby is viewed in its proper important context while Eddie's relationship with Shannon is diminished and ignored.

Buck gets to talk about Abby. He gets to have genuinely been in love with her. He gets to retain that piece of his character. Eddie does not. Eddie's relationship with Shannon ended up hurting him just as much as Buck's relationship with Abby, in fact even more so, and yet people handwave that away as compulsive heterosexuality (which is not restricted to gay people, by the way, bi people experience that as well) and act like he didn't actually fall in love with her and have repeated enthusiastic sex with her.

People love to tout Ana as proof that Eddie is gay, but it doesn't matter what your sexuality is - if you aren't attracted to someone and you don't want them touching you, then you don't want them touching you. If you don't want to have sex with someone, you don't want to have sex with someone. Your sexuality doesn't matter. Just because a man is straight doesn't mean he wants to have sex with all women. Just because a man is gay doesn't mean he wants to have sex with all men. Just because a person is bi doesn't mean they want to have sex with everyone on the planet. And just because someone is asexual doesn't mean they have no libido or would never have sex at all for another reason (intimacy, fun, etc.). Sexual desire and drive are a very personal things, and both romantic and sexual attraction can play various roles or no role at all depending on the individual.

Eddie’s refusal to sleep with Ana or touch her is not a sign of him being gay as opposed to bi or queer or any other sexuality. It’s not a sign of any sexuality at all. It’s a sign that he was forcing himself into that relationship. He didn't want to be with Ana. He didn't love Ana. He didn't want to have sex with Ana.

Now, do I think how he broke up with her - his words about "the idea of us" - is insanely queer? Yes. Yes I do. And yes, for the record, I think that was deliberate on the part of the writers. But that simply says to me that he's queer. Not gay, not bi, not pan, not demi, not anything other than not straight.

To take that speech and those words and to say they could only possibly apply to a fully 100% gay man as opposed to anyone under the queer umbrella is hurtful. People's experiences as gay people are valid, and often, sadly, painful and just like Eddie's. But so are people's experiences as bi people, as pan people, as unlabeled people, as 'queer as in fuck you' people.

To wit: People ignore canonical evidence about Shannon, and claim canonical evidence about Ana as their own and no one else's, in order to support their interpretation of Eddie's sexuality.

That erases the rest of us.

I know that's hard to hear. I know that sounds like it comes with judgment. You are trying to speak your own truth, and you are identifying strongly with a character that you love, and it's hard to then hear that in doing those things, you are hurting or erasing others. I've had to hear that in my time, and I'm sure I'll have to hear it again, and it's never easy. But we must sit with this discomfort as our friend, not our foe, and use it to grow.

However, since fandom is our safe space, we often view anything and everything as a personal attack, and we often make judgments and interpretations based too strongly on our own experiences. Sometimes this is a good thing - I think the number of people who say Buck reminds them of their own ADHD are correct and that it adds great depth to his character. I'm glad Oliver has embraced it. I think the people who say Eddie speaks to their own demisexuality have a great point and I think it adds nuance to his character and behavior.

(In fact I also love trans!Buck headcanons! I think they're neat and I've read some fics I enjoyed that featured that.)

On the other hand, however, it often leads to people adding interpretations onto things that do not reflect canon or the actual character. They then view others pointing out the lack of support for this in canon, or the contradiction with canon, as a personal attack (looking at you, "Chim is abusive" people, go jump in a lake). It's hard to take that breath and recognize that not everything a character is or does or experiences is the same as what you are, or do, or have experienced. Especially when it touches on something as personal and important as our sexuality.

Because of this, I debated a long time on whether I should say something. I tried to identify the difference between what hurt me because it didn't line up with my thoughts and what hurt me because of actual stereotyping. I worked to make sure that this was more than simply taking an innocuous difference of opinion and twisting it into a personal attack.

Which brings me to why I say the word 'unsafe'. That seems like an extreme word. But I've seen people say that they "got a brain" and realized Eddie was gay, not bi. I've seen people take gifsets that mention Eddie being bi and tag them 'okay but I believe in gay!Eddie' or 'I'm a gay!Eddie truther'. I've seen people go out of their way in fics to mention Eddie disliking/being grossed out by female genitalia. I've seen fanartists put Eddie in gay colors/flags as opposed to bi/demi/etc colors/flags, on art that really didn't need it to convey the story - as if one cannot make a piece of art with Eddie on it without declaring one's opinion on his sexuality.

(Yes, I think there's a strong possibility that Eddie is demisexual. I wish people would embrace that idea more. Personally, I think he wouldn't label himself at all and simply say he was queer if asked. But given the discussion we're having right now on this post about gay/bi headcanons, I think it's clear a lot of people actually aren't as ready to embrace or consider minority sexualities as they might like to think.)

I repeat: this is not just happening on a person's own art or post or fanfic. People are reblogging posts, gifsets, and so on that mention bisexual Eddie and saying, okay but I see him as gay. They are not content to live and let live. They are actively saying they disagree. If you disagree, then why reblog the thing that talks about/mentions Eddie as bi? Why not simply leave it be?

I cannot overstate how hurtful this is; how much it feels like erasure, dismissal, and condescension.

You cannot tell me if that was something you saw about your gender, or sexuality, or so on, that you wouldn't begin to feel unsafe. That you wouldn't begin to question if you would be unheard, or dismissed, or viewed as less-than. Tell me you wouldn't start to wonder, if you were a character on a TV show, if people wouldn't erase your sexual and romantic history and ignore a big piece of yourself because certain sexualities just weren't good enough for them.

You cannot tell me that in seeing these things you wouldn't walk away with the idea that bisexuality (or other sexualities in general but bisexuality is the one brought up and to which being gay is compared in regards to Eddie) is viewed as lesser to these people, and to the community at large. You cannot tell me that some people are not internalizing this narrative, no matter what their own sexuality might be.

And, yes, reading that earlier paragraph you might say, "Mads, are you vagueing?" That is not my intention. I want to head off at the pass the rebuttal that this isn't happening. I want to cut off the demand for examples. However, I'm also not going to name names, because I don't wish to cause harm to people who I think, by and large, are well-meaning.

That's what I'm hoping is true, in writing this. That most of the people reading this, and pushing the Eddie-is-gay narrative, are well-meaning. "I'm bi myself!" many of you will say.

Yes, well. I'm a woman and I was perfectly capable of a lot of misogynistic thinking growing up, and I often fell into sexist stereotypes in my headcanons and writing and so on.

But I hope, since most of you are well-meaning, this post will instead cause you to think, and examine, and ponder.

I'm sure many people reading this are rolling their eyes and thinking, "what about the first rule of fandom? Ship and let ship? Kink tomato? Etc? Let people have different headcanons." I've certainly seen such flippant remarks from people before on this very subject in this fandom.

And the thing is, I have really tried to do that. I have tried to take it that way. But I think that it's also entirely fair for me to be hurt when a person's headcanon/interpretation ignores canon and erases a big part of a character's life and history.

I know, I know, we could get into a big philosophical discussion about how slash and femslash shipping by nature does something along those lines. But I feel that in the now-common interpretation of Eddie as gay, there is a pushing of stereotypes about both gay and bisexual people. There is a splitting of hairs on queerness. There is a subtext, whether acknowledged or not by those who push this interpretation, that being gay as opposed to a more fluid sexuality is more painful, more fraught, more challenging. That bisexuality, pansexuality, queerness as an umbrella term - those are less fraught and inherently easier. It's one of the pillars upon which exclusion in the queer community is based.

It also, generally, ignores the idea that one's sexuality can change over time. Maybe I'm wrong and maybe most people with the interpretation of Eddie as gay actually view him as being gay now and that's how he identifies now without erasing his canonical (and important) sexual and romantic attraction to Shannon. But that doesn't seem to be the case, and I certainly don't want to risk myself emotionally by trying to find out.

Not to mention that hey, when people are saying something is hurtful to them, seeing people make posts hand-waving and saying "get over yourselves, relax, take a chill pill" feels beyond condescending and dismissive.

I'd like to make it clear, I'm not asking for people to never write Eddie as gay, and that we should never see Eddie as gay again in this fandom, or that anyone who writes Eddie as gay should be dogpiled. I'm not the boss of anyone, I'm not the fandom police, I don't make the rules. But I think, when a certain behavior brings people pain - and more people than just myself, as I have learned in many private conversations - there comes a time when the least one can do is speak up about it.

Sometimes someone needs to be the one to stand up and say, "this hurts me. I am in pain, and this is why."

Again, especially when people are going out of their way to say "but I disagree, he's gay" on posts, gifsets, and so on mentioning Eddie having a different sexuality. You might feel this post is unnecessary. You might feel it's preachy. You might feel I should shut up and get off my high horse.

But the fact of the matter is when you come into someone's house tracking mud and they tell you to clean it up, you don't get to yell at them and claim they are trying to stop you from playing outside.

I kept my silence on this for a long time and part of that was I didn't want to police anyone. Now, however, we are at a point where people who think Eddie is gay are invading other people's spaces. It's not just that this headcanon is everywhere. It's not just that people are using such dismissive language when the possibility of Eddie liking women comes up. It is also that people are going out of their way to dismiss Eddie's bisexuality and argue that their interpretation is better on posts about Eddie being bi.

So frankly, I don't think anyone gets to walk away from this scoffing "don't like don't read" at me when nobody else around here is offering me that courtesy. If I could avoid reading it, I would. You came into my house, and the house of everyone else who makes a post, a fic, a gif, about Eddie being anything except a Kinsey 6.

Yes, reblogs are turned off for this. Anon is also turned off. You might say that's cutting off discussion, and you would be right. The blunt truth is I don't trust people online to respond with thoughtfulness, good faith, and care. I don't trust people to take their time and think before shooting off an emotional, defensive response. And I don't care to spend my time and energy educating people.

Maybe if I was a better person - a more social, more patient, and less private person - I would be the kind of person who would have the long hard discussions to educate and share my thoughts, to help you see my side. But that's not who I am, and I certainly don't owe it to anyone, not a single person here, to scrounge up my nonexistent trust and goodwill to have that discussion with you.

I've said my piece on this. I'm sure my tone seems harsh. The tone with which this is actually written is weariness, exhaustion, and, yes, nausea. It makes one sick and wears one down, to feel so on edge in a space and yet to try and ignore that to find joy anyway. Because I get a lot of joy in sharing my fics, and reblogging gifsets and meta, and I don't want to lose that joy.

But I suppose it needs to be said. I know others have said it, but I hope that I have said all this with enough calm and articulation that it will truly be understood, and it will not start drama or discourse, because that's not what I want. Truly. I spent enough of 2020 being dragged into one piece of bullshit drama after another. I'm not interested in wading back into that. I've kept pretty extreme radio silence for a reason.

My hope is simply for people to step back and take a long hard look at why they've decided one half of our ship is gay, and one half is bi, and what that might say about their subconscious stereotypes about gay and bi people.

If I've gotten you to do that, then this post is worth it.

I'm sorry I don't have any answers. I'm sure this would be a lot easier for people to read if I ended it with "and here's what to do moving forward." I think the desire to provide answers - for themselves and for others - is what drives people to make posts that condemn, or get aggressive, or seem to simply be out there to shut people up. People want to have a solution. They want the problem to go away.

I don't have a solution. I don't have answers for anyone. I truly wish I did. Part of why I've waited so long in posting this is trying to come up with a way to end this that would give people actionable steps. But at the end of the day, all I can really say is that I hope the people reading this will do some internal searching, and thoughtful discussion, and understand better the subconscious choices we make, the biases we hold, and how we can hurt people without meaning to.

I don't want apologies. I say that with love - I'm not looking for people to self-flagellate before me or make some kind of mea culpa post. I don't think that would help anything, and I don't think anyone owes that to me. Frankly I'm not interested in public discussion, and if there are posts others make about this, I don't want to see them.

You can make posts on your blog ranting about me (just please don't tag me, again, I don't want to see it). You can discuss this in your discord groups. You can vagueblog about me and chat about me in DMs. I don't care. I'd just like people to hear me say, "I am hurt, and you are hurting me, and I know it's not intentional, but this is why." Anything else is up to you. Any changes, in thought or behavior, are up to you. Probably nothing will change. But at least I've said something, and I've tried.

Thank you for reading this far, and I hope you have a great day. Stay safe and take care of yourself.

[herrlindemann]

Sonic Seducer - February 2003, interview with Till

Thanks to ramjohn for the scans!

Till Lindemann doesn't like to talk. Since 1995, the Leipzig-born Berliner-by-choice has been sharing what he has to say with the lyrics of his band Rammstein, using his very own imagery to the music world, which is now taking notice around the world. There were almost never any explanations; Misunderstandings and misinterpretations, on the other hand, by the meter. His first volume of poetry, Messer, was recently published. Now we must speak. Plain text with Till Lindemann.

Probably only a few local bands of popular music have been misinterpreted, misunderstood or simply slandered to a similar extent as Rammstein, who already with their first album 'Herzeleid' more or less intentionally became the typical German problem child from supposedly violence-glorifying Leni Riefenstahl aesthetics meets Bodybuilding studio sledgehammer charm support Teutonic lyrics of the most morbid color and international mega rock stardom. One of the main people responsible: Frontman and lyricist Till Lindemann, who now gives an insight into collected poems from a good two decades in 'Messer' and who today, after many years of reluctance, publishes such as Der Spiegel, Focus, Welt am Sonntag, TAZ and similar speech and answer stands. Escape to the feuilleton or the real end of the cold (information) war?

Lindemann, the eternally misunderstood one.

« Neither of the two. The fact is that I very rarely and very reluctantly give interviews about my work. So many things have been overrated in the past that I actually don't feel like expressing myself anymore. But this time there are unfortunately not five colleagues who could represent me at this point. It's not that I'm still annoyed by any rumours, half-truths and strange interpretations, but I don't have to actively contribute to their creation. In the case of Rammstein, the success proves us right and makes us above any stupid accusations. There is this typical German calf-biting mentality of wanting to pee on everyone's leg. We now smile at this with a clear conscience. Certainly, with 'Messer' I make myself vulnerable again in a certain way. If the media are not able to reproduce my statements in the actual context this time either, there will probably be no more statements from me in the future. »

Clear words. However, one should be all the more free with the poems in 'Messer', which, roughly in the manner of Rammstein, express in their very own way Lindemann's fondness for explicit and metaphorical depictions of the primal instincts of violence, sex and death, which are often misunderstood, and thus express the millennia-old Reflect the engine of human development between plush pink prose and the gnarliest gutter expressionism in all its range. Lindemann, the versatile one. Strictly speaking, a rather unusual career that began in 1979 in the then workers' and farmers' state as the son of a writer from Schwerin with an apprenticeship as a carpenter and defined itself over the years through the intersections of carpenter and basket maker. Subsequent work as a gallery technician, drummer for the punk band First Arsch and ultimately Rammstein's lyrical and visual figurehead left their mark. Today: Till Lindemann 2003 - artificial figure or multifunctional personal union of musician, lyricist, lyricist, entertainer, rock star, artist?

“Definitely not an artificial figure. Basically, I see myself as a copywriter who is currently making the first steps as a poet. The whole book is a kind of flashback; a conclusion, a showcase. Comparable to the existence of a band that, after 20 songs, decides to immortalize the whole thing on an album. The publisher Gerd Hof and I made a selection from more than 1000 poems from a good 15 years, which we wanted to publish in Messer. Like probably every artist, I am to a large extent inspired by my environment. In a way, the texts represent a reckoning with myself, revenge on myself and also a coming to terms with myself. It doesn't matter whether this is caused by dreams, nightmares, films, books and just a walk. I'm actually a 24/7 receptive medium who usually has my notepad within reach. My type of texts is almost exclusively subconscious. When I sit down with the thought of writing something positive, something dark comes out of it anyway, because there seems to be some kind of automatic negative flow inside me. » Which in the final form of the text can of course not be enjoyed without the necessary, tongue-in-cheek and often neglected distance and, on closer inspection, does not want to deny certain (albeit dark) humoresque intersections with 1960s comedy icon Heinz Erhardt. ‘Herzeleid’ without sheet music? Lindemann does not play melodies. But he laughs and nods. And vowels aren't rrrrolled this time.

« That is indeed a very good paraphrase. Surely the lyrics are superficially characterized by violence and every kind of provocation. But a closer reading also reveals a latent, almost comic-like joke that most people go unnoticed. Although the lyrics are almost exclusively created subconsciously from a word, a vague idea or a story, I still leave a kind of back door open somewhere, so that you can usually still somehow smile about the lyrics. This is certainly most evident in the poem 'Big In Japan', which I wrote after visiting a night bar in Tokyo. There was an artist there who hung really enormous weights from his cock. It is well known that the Japanese aren't very well endowed by nature, but the whole thing was raised so big that the pastiche based on the Alphaville song was simply compelling. There is nothing more satisfying and interesting for an artist than creating friction, polarizing and observing the many different reactions. In the case of Messer, this ranges from fear to dismay to genuine pleasure. I'm sure I ask myself from time to time: what kind of monster did I actually create? But on the other hand, you also chuckle to yourself now and then and are happy about your little, dirty, black something. »

So willful provocation combined with negligently conjured up misinterpretation as a stylistic device to intentionally break a taboo? The name Rammstein was used more as a battle cry than as an elementary contextual component, and not only in the chorus of the debut single ‘Wollt Ihr das Bett in Flammen sehen’? Till Lindemann: Federal citizen terror. Enfant terrible. Gigolo of morbid eroticism.

« We/I don't aim to be misunderstood at any price, but on the other hand it's always very fun to watch how people get upset in this country and what waves this band is making. Otherwise, the tool of provocation is no longer as interesting for us today as it was after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Back then it was almost all about being as evil, provocative and bold as possible; just doing something new and wacky in German. Today it's about other things, the art and the overall result are our top priority. On the other hand, it's not my thing to interpret my texts in a great way and to give content a certain direction. It's much more exciting for everyone when people can make up their own minds about art such as pictures, texts or sculptures and the artist doesn't also have to be enlightened. I've found that many people have been disappointed in the real meaning of my lyrics since they've already made up their own minds and my final explanation must have seemed far more unspectacular than they imagined. Some things are better left unsaid... »

The specially made photos also play an important role in 'Messer', which show Lindemann in an unusual pose in the midst of a whole army of naked mannequins as an androgynous outsider - supposedly far removed from the self-chosen, superficial gloomy macho image of the muscle-bound pyromaniac on the prowl female prey. « The interpretation is completely free in the context of the poem/photo and vice versa. It is a very interesting experiment to see how the perspective on the poems changes with the help of the photos, what different variations are possible. There is no direct correspondence between the two art forms, but if you want, a small dialogue can be established. The pictures certainly show me from another side that you may not have known about me before... », but which, on closer inspection, reveal exactly the individual who, at its core, constitutes the true protagonist in Lindemann's work: the vulnerable one, looking for affection and security the craving oddball, the outcast freak, the sensitive love killer in search of fulfillment - there are many role descriptions in his very own personality pattern, potential misunderstandings always included.

[animentality]

Your hot take on the boys and invincible kinda piss3d me off, not cause I totally disagree, but only because superhero media as a whole is lazy. Specifically for these two, though? The boys isn't just evil superman, it's corporate owned supervillainy, vigilantes who don't have powers, and yeah the shock value gets too much sometimes but like clearly you haven't seen it. And invincible is about a kid (son of superman) who is betrayed by his idol and forced to fight him and lose. Maybe don't judge so quickly!!

What, I have to watch the entire show to judge it?

That would necessitate that I take time out of my day to watch something that I don't like.

And if I watched the entirety of both, and still hated it, you'd tell me I shouldn't watch things I "hate" and I should just leave you and your dumb opinions alone.

So we're discarding that part of your argument because it's pointless.

oh wait.

but that's your entire argument.

hm.

well.

ok. let's talk anyway.

so first off. you just said that superhero media as a whole is lazy.

that's quite a generalization to make about a genre.

I don't disagree but you're giving me shit for saying deconstructions of super hero movies are worse, to me personally, than super hero movies themselves, when you just made a blanket opinion statement disguised as a fact.

Think about that for a second.

Then I wanna talk about the whole "it's about politics" and "subversion of superman" schtick.

you're telling me that the boys is about politics, and invincible is an alien invasion story.

yet neither of those things need to be told through a superhero angle. they just are because of the superhero hype justifying their existence in the market.

and that's fine and all... but to me that's what they are.

gimmicks based on what was hot at the time, which was super heroes.

so they don't exist without the superhero genre to make fun of. they don't have relevance except by being reactionary.

and that's a lame selling point for me.

super hero movies have been dying lately, and frankly, I didn't even know invincible had a season 2 until I saw invincible had popped up on fortnite.

and even then I didn't see anyone talking about it, aside from the shock value of the rape scene.

but don't worry. we'll get to that.

as for the boys, well, I don't know, it could last for some time... but do deconstructions that wallow in misery and mega angst and are highly topical based on the year they were released really stand the test of time?

I don't know. we'll see.

all I know is that no one anticipated the fall of marvel after the success of Endgame...

but look at it now.

The Marvels, Antman 3, Madame Web... the lackluster performance of DC...

if you look back at the boys 50 years from now, what will you see?

a satire of the Justice League.

but it's not something on its own.

at least watchmen, as garbage as it is, has unique characters and a weird, but mildly interesting take on history.

the boys is like oh what if there was a world where superheroes existed and they killed people?

yeah that'll stand the test of time I'm sure.

Spiderman has lasted this long because he's relatable. He was the prime example of a changing genre, that allowed its heroes to be more down to earth.

Batman has his gothic detective thing, and you can tell so many stories with him, as he's just an ordinary man, who's also coincidentally a huge freak at the same time. what's not relatable about that?

And even Superman... oh, so he's boring because he's a good person?

yeah. sure. I don't particularly like him. I don't think he's that deep.

but his popularity did come from the basic idea that people should be good to each other.

what is the average jackass going to learn or remember from the boys?

oh that homelander likes drinking breast milk.

gee, that's relatable.

also that the deep fucked an octopus.

because haha... Aquaman, am I right?

so.

now let's move on to shock value.

It sucks.

the boys is made for people who hate super heroes.

it's fine to hate super heroes, but Jesus Christ.

you hate them so much that you make them edgy. you make them rapists and mass murderers. you make them do nasty shit just because you wanna make someone vomit.

like. ok.

I don't like shock value in anything, not even horror movies.

if there's no plot reason for it, then I don't want to see it.

but the boys is all about throwing in sex scenes wherever they can, and making them as fucking weird as they can just because "oh we're not marvel."

yeah. I know that. even marvel pretends to have a story from time to time.

the boys literally starts off with a fucking 90s ass rape revenge story. like seriously?

so revolutionary ahahaha.

with a guy who fucks animals.

and is meant to be sympathetic later on because he's pathetic.

soo soooo deep.

good rape revenge plot.

reminds me of the misogyny of blade runner, and the director saying well I'm objectifying women because sexism exists in real life.

gee thanks, guy.

forgive me if I was turned off by a show that immediately sexually assaulted its main female character.

I'm a triggered snowflake, hahah, you got me.

but when I look at all this, it's like...

I never got into game of thrones because I never liked the mega edge lord plot of that either.

but at least game of thrones was doing something different with a genre, rather than just making a satire or parody of the genre.

it stands on its own.

the boys relies entirely on shock value and superheroes having sex in depraved ways.

it might have some valid political commentary somewhere in its messy gory insides, but nothing I couldn't get, and much better, from the Wire.

[squirrelwrangler]

Do you have any tips for naming Elf OCs?

I've had a lot of practice over the years with a large cast of OCs, but am neither expert or best at this. But here's my guidelines and methods:

First, look at the canon names and notice a few trends. Sindarin (and Sindarized) names are short. One to three syllables. Quenya is longer but rarely goes over five and stays usually around four. But two-three is the sweet spot. And use one-two elements or concepts. Don't fall into the trap of making a long name with a detailed meaning and notice that a surprising number of Tolkien's names don't have a deeply meaningful and poetic name. 'Fin' means hair but it's hazy if that's what the Fin in Finwë means and that's a solid chunk of important canon character names right there. Names can follow a family theme and while we're told Elves don't repeat names like the Edain did, we're also told that Argon became a popular name after his death and there is the case of Fëanor giving his son the exact same name. He also named his sons One through Seven, but that was a dickish political statement and not a convenient Elven cultural naming scheme.

Next, there are Tolkien elf name sites and lists out there, or least back in the early 2000s they were easy to find and I copied them onto a much-used document (particularly for gaming purposes), with the caveat that they are flawed.

What I tend to do now is go directly to the dictionary, pick a term, then modify it usually by adding the appropriate gendered name suffix. Parf Edhellen (man I remember when this was the brand new site) became my go-to for comprehensive convenience.

How to pick a term? The majority of my OCs are based on another character or have an inspiration concept. Also, and here's the top secret method - borrow names that other people have made. And ask others for suggests and help.

For instance, the Tol Sirion Ten. The Leithian Script's usage of the other ten that died in Tol-in-Gaurhoth as supporting characters was my main inspiration, but they only ever named one OC, taken from canon itself - Edrahil. For the rest, I pulled the inspiration from a variety of places. "Heledir" is kingfisher, which already has the 'thir/dir/dor' masculine endings. "Ethir" is spy/watcher. I could leave as is, and for a while I did, but then I added Ethirdor to make it look more canon. Arodreth was a pre-created Sindarin name without a canon character and I think originally got it off one of those name sites - but it means Noble Endurance so it was a good generic name for any of the ten. Now in the Leithian Script it only really made characters out of Edrahil. the Captain (my Heledir), and Youngest Ranger (my Ethirdor). So as documented in my tag when I brainstormed these OCs, I went to other fictional character deaths for inspiration. Well, except for Tacholdir. That character was inspired by two things: I needed one of the imprisoned elf stories to be about a plot to escape, so picking the locks of the chains. And I'm seriously annoyed when fantasy, be it published or fanfic, focuses the cast solely on the hyper-wealthy and highest class. Elves in the Silm are guilty of having almost no named commoners except Eärendil's sailors and some scouts. So I wanted a lower-class elf represented. "Worst Jobs in History" pulled through. Now Tancil/Tancal (Q) and Tachol (S) was in my favorite category of Elven Dictionary finds- both Sindar and Quenya with slightly modified spellings. The entry said 'pin as in brooch'. But good enough. Tacholdir/Tancildo. Back to Arodreth. If there's the Youngest Ranger, there has to be a contrasting Oldest OC. The final book from The Wheel of Time was fresh on my mind and I was still upset over Gareth Bryne's death. Arodreth had a similar sound to Gareth. Floating name now has a home. And if I did Gareth, I might was well use Gawyn (and then from there pull in the rest of the Trakand family and make Elf OC versions of Galad, Elayne, etc..) Now all of those names are heavily based on Arthurian myth names. Gawyn is Gawain and lo the Welsh roots make it Sindarin-ish already. Hawk, battle, talon...all terms I was looking at in the dictionary and name lists. But, also important for story purposes, I wanted a name that wasn't a visual copy to the rest. So the Gadwar instead tacking on another ending, and one that reminded me of Ohtar, a canon minor character - Solider that survived Isildir's death. Two syllables like Gawyn and very close without being a direct copy (Aerith to Aereth is an almost direct copy with the added bonus that Aer mean holy and -eth is feminine name ending). Now Galad is already Sindarin, but the inspiration character is Galahad, so I wanted to shift the focus there instead of making an OC sound like Celeborn's family. Galad in the books was famous for being the world's most beautiful man. But at that point I'd already used Ban/Van. So I mused on the general concept- a guy that women would fight to be with, the ultimate catch. The perfect husband. Which - venno. Haven't used that as a male name ending yet. And that's another element to making OC names - have a good variety within reason as a help for readers. Alma as a hazy Quenya word for good fortune or beauty and maybe flower. Almavenno, a four-syllable Quenya name from two parts for the Amanyar Noldor half-brother that when translated over and squished down becomes Galuven. We're back to the matching G names, it sounds roughly like Gallivant. Perfect.