#please don't take this the wrong way

[pynkhues]

Poor Lestat laying in fetal position, looking so small and having dead eyes :( Armand saying he's come home was so creepy, wtf was he thinking. You know, this scene just doesn't make any sense to me, why would Lestat go out of his own will to a place that's the biggest ptsd trigger you can imagine. To punish himself I guess? Sometimes it feels like Rolin wants Lestat to have so much agency that he never allows him to be a victim. Kinda worried how they'll handle s3 wrt this. I hope they won't victim blame him for every bad thing that happened to him because 'he deserved it'.

Oh, anon, I'm sorry because this is probably not what you want to hear, but I love that Armand said that Lestat's come home by going back to the place he was turned and assaulted, because it feels really emotionally honest and true to these characters.

Claudia, Armand and Lestat are all victim-survivors, and I think the show's demonstrated that it's really curious as to what that means.

There's a school of thought that's currently becoming more understood in feminist circles that victim-survivors can often not believe each other, or diminish each other's experiences. The nature of the sort of abuse that Claudia, Armand and Lestat have all experienced is that they've had to process it to a point where they feel they are the expert of their story. They know what happeend to them, they've gone through a lot to know what happened to them, and it's a way for them to take control back of their own stories. An unfortunate side effect is that it can lead to these victim-survivors feeling they know more about your story than you.

They've survived it, so they feel they can tell who's the liar and who's the truthteller, who got off easy, who had it worse, who's stories are more than or less than, and that idea itself is a trauma response manifesting as something ugly, right? Abuse and assault are felt in so many different ways and manifest in so many diffferent forms, but this idea can take hold in victim-survivors as a means of taking control over what happened to them. If they can use - which Lestat does when he weaponises Claudia's rape against her in the train to force her to come home - undermine - which Claudia does against Lestat when she tells Louis not to take Lestat's truth as fact - or diminish - as Armand does against Lestat when he shrugs off Daniel's question about Magnus in 2.03 and talks about Lestat coming home in 2.08 - this subset of people will.

Armand is a character who has endured unimaginable sexual abuse. To divorce that from his understanding of Lestat's own trauma does both characters a huge disservice. How they navigate each other as two survivors of (very different!) forms of sexual violence is interesting, and it's unsurprising that Armand, having been groomed and assaulted by Marius, would view a maker's home as - - well, home.

And frankly regardless of that, if the show stays true to the book, Lestat will live there for a while after Magnus' death because he has no money, no one to call on, and no idea who he is now that he's been turned. Gabrielle lives with him for a while there! Magnus' tower is, in the books, a very complicated place for Lestat.

[demon-of-the-ancient-world]

So hm. How do I say this without coming across as mean.

Obviously it is fine and acceptable and normal for ace people to still want to engage with romantic/sexual media. Of course it is possible and a lot of ace people can relate to it! You're not any less aspec if you enjoy smut or romance.

However. I do see a...hm. preference I guess for this 'type' of aspec person, especially on here. And while I'm grateful that positivity posts and acknowledgement for people who can relate to that experience exist, it kind of rubs me the wrong way to see almost nothing about or for people who just straight up don't want to engage with sexual media/content. I guess because there's been a resurgence in sex positivity socially (which, again, good thing), there's also this idea that if you aren't interested in that sort of content it's assumed that you're against it all together, that you're an uptight old fashioned person and a prude, that you're boring. People jump to that conclusion even if really, you don't care what others enjoy -- but it isn't for you.

And I guess this all comes back to like...how ace people are still perceived even within supposedly inclusive spaces. It feels like it's gone from "ace people can still enjoy sex" and "ace people can still enjoy reading romance/smut" (again, correct statements I agree with) to "it's okay if you're ace, as long as sex still kind of interests you. It's fine to be ace if you still read smut, because we can still relate to you on that level."

And this also reminds me of just how "weirdness" is treated by society --even on tumblr, which claims itself to be a haven for "weird". If you're into something unusual, that's weird - unless it's a fetish. Then it's still weird, but it's weird in an intriguing way, it's weird in an acceptable and at least somewhat relatable way, because it's about sex. If it's not about sex...it's just weird, even to the "weird" people.

I see writing posts all the time encouraging people to "write that dark fucked up story", and it's clear what they mean is "write that dark sexual story with a bunch of kinks you've been told are socially unacceptable". The second you write something "dark" that has nothing to do with sex, it's just labelled depressing, or overly bleak, or something only an "edgelord" would write.

And I do get it - people, especially people who have been raised to strongly associate sex with something that is forbidden and "bad", want to break those barriers and indulge in the sides of them that are considered taboo by their society and social circles, without shame. It makes sense. And I support you in creating art and expressing yourself in ways that show that off if that is what makes you feel liberated. I really do.

But idk, it's just not my experience as an ace person, and I can't be the only one. Sexual desires aren't things that I find "shameful" or something I need to "indulge in" if I'm going to be in any way rebellious, because I very rarely experience them and don't really understand them. Being "myself" in a way that lets out what I've been holding back and suppressing just looks different.

Yet there's this pressure now to "let your weird out" --only if that "weird" somehow relates to sex, though. It's this idea that sex makes things relatable and idk more palatable? Even the weirdest shit is "less" offputting if it relates to sex. If it doesn't though, then you're just weird in a way that's alienating and unforgivable.

[selfshipping-haven]

.

[manonamora-if-reviews]

Neo Twiny Jam - bite-sized review

The Neo Twiny Jam (@neo-twiny-jam) is an interactive fiction game unranked jam where participants could not write more than 500 words per entry.

You can find every submitted piece on the jam's Itch Page.

=============

Please Don't Take This The Wrong Way by Crosshollow

Entry - More by Crosshollow - @townofcrosshollow CW: Frank discussion of self harm

The things we want to say to empty our hearts A personal piece about wanting to talk about the past and trauma without judgement or pity. About feeling seen without making a bit deal out of things.

[rouuxrouge]

i love the fact that oda could be like a brother, father or lover to dazai depending on which way you look at it/slice it

which is the funniest thing to me because dazai's affection towards oda is THAT ambiguous

meanwhile for soukoku:

dazai, to chuuya: i hate you more than anything in the world. i live to see you suffer. i hope you die a painful death choking on your own blood.

fandom: omg they're so in love and dedicated to each other!!! i ship it!!!

alternatively:

dazai, to chuuya: i hate y-

the bsd fandom: LOVERS.

[heartreactor]

Would you consider writing Tony/Bruce story? I enjoy your writing style and would love to see your take on this ship. I would really like to read a fiction where Tony is really sick and vulnerable, Bruce takes care of him and it leads to a relationship (can be sexual or just romantic depending what you feel comfortable with).

Hi! Thank you for the ask! I haven't posted any of my writing to Ao3 in years, and it has been an interesting experience to come back.

I absolutely adore the ScienceBros! I've honestly lost count of how many times I've watched the first Avengers movies, but Tony getting attached to Bruce 0,0001 seconds after meeting the man still gives me the fuzzies. They are so, so cute! However, I'm not certain I'm completely comfortable with writing them as a ship at the moment, and I don't think it would be fair to warp your prompt to fit my liking as I'm certain that you're looking forward to something heavily ship-centric.

Mind you, I have nothing against against Bruce/Tony! They're super cute. I just don't think I'm a good fit. In any case, if you would like a story along the lines of platonic relationship instead of slash, I could probably come up with something there. Otherwise, I would be glad to share your prompt and hopefully someone will give it more justice than I ever could.

So, if you want to bargain, hit me up!

[starsifter]

I think the reason I hate rainbow dash so much is because she reminds me of my older siblings who would pick on me a lot and prank me in very mean and horrible ways. Like i'm sorry to the rainbow dash lovers but that motherfucker pisses me off.

[klorophile]

Do you also sometimes dream of a beloved pet that is now dead, but in those dreams they are alive but just happen to have been... forgotten? Like they were alive this whole time, even if you thought they were dead for years, and the reason they disappeared from your life is because you had forgotten about them, of all things. Like they somehow got lost one day and you eventually gave up looking for them, so they had to fend for themsleves ; or one day you decided you were too busy to say hello, and did the same the next day, and slipped and slipped and slipped into forgetting they existed at all? And suddenly they're in front of you. And they are in bad shape because of your negligence, and you can't remember how to make this work again, and you don't know how to heal them. They don't belong with you anymore, because you've failed them. And it's not something you can change anymore.

[enjolras-in-valinor]

the last post I reblogged made me think of something but I didn't want to write an essay in the tags, so

I've been doing genealogy research and I came across something about my Welsh ancestors. how they were forced to change their last name in order to assimilate according to English law. and I remember gasping when I read that sentence, and feeling like something had been lost. and feeling anger on their behalf, because the English had no right to make them do that. to lose a part of themself.

I am not Welsh. I don't speak the language. I've never been there. I don't know any Welsh traditions. but those people are still my ancestors. I feel the separation from them keenly, like something cut us apart from each other. and when I read about ancient Wales, I feel like I have a right to be mad at England on their behalf.

I have Irish ancestors too, and you better believe I'm mad at England on their behalf as well.

I don't face oppression today, in the US, because of my race. but I do feel this loss of a culture. this emptiness where something should be. and I do feel angry about that loss. and I do think that, as a white person, dismantling white supremacy would help me as well.

[skitterjitter]

I have come to the conclusion that I do not enjoy reading Jane Eyre. it's well written, I just don't like it

[dream-of-the-bitchless]

Please omit my boomer-level skills for bypassing Netflix's screenshot ban because I really need to talk about this line.

Recently, in a Twitch stream, Jayden Revri said that Charles is a Taurus, which, of course, can still be called into question, but supposing that's canonically true, we can safely assume that Edwin is referring to him in this scene. He knows Charles is a Taurus and is checking their compatibility, right?

But wait! Thanks to Monty, we know that Edwin is a Cancer. So, who is he talking about then?

Crystal. It's Crystal, y'all. Please observe her behaviour and tell me she's not an Aries. She's confident, competitive, honest, and impulsive. She's passionate and feels things intensely!

Edwin is investigating Charles' and Crystal's compatibility, which is a very Edwin thing to do, and we love a research king.

Now, I'm not an astrology person, so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. However, I'm certain I can make a pretty strong case for this one.

So yeah, do what you will with this information <3

[svartalfhild]

Unsurprisingly, people are already being fucking weird about Mizu's gender.

Headcanons are all well and good, but maybe we shouldn't be so eager to apply modern Western gender politics and terms to a character whose identity is so tied to the time, place, and circumstances in which she exists.

Please remember that Mizu was forced to present as male for her own safety and agency. Please remember that allowing others to see her as a man and call her he/him is not a choice; it's protection; it's a means to an end. Until we see Mizu talk about her gender in further detail, that's all the context we have.

Don't project what you want to see onto her and then treat it as fact.

[thelilylav]

Hmmm... very interesting to me that Taylor Swift is trending rn and yet for some reason no one in that tag is complaining that her trending is taking away from what's going on in Palestine and what's happening in Rafah. And yet for some reason, people couldn't seem to shut up in the Kendrick Lamar tag when he was trending about how the whole beef was just two celebrities beef (it's much deeper than that) and were making up theories abt how the whole thing was taking attention away from Palestine and everyone talking about it should feel ashamed of themselves (every single account I saw in that tag was posting about Palestine too).

And the thing that's really getting me is that Taylor is trending bc of a change to the Eras tour. An objectively unimportant change to make, especially when compared to what's going on in Rafah. But that's not what gets hate, no, it's the predator getting called out in an industry known for exploitation by one of the biggest artists in said industry. The racism isn't even implicit atp...

Edit: ok so just to clarify no this wasn't meant to insinuate that Taylor trending was some setup of Israel (that's just... like objectively wrong lmao), it was to point out that when it comes to a black artist in hip hop (a predominantly non-white genre) people wouldn't let fans of said genre just enjoy the music and shenanigans happening in that genre and that's it's hypocritical to act like people can't care abt two things at once, but they can enjoy their white "feminist icon" pop star (a much whiter genre) without anyone bringing hate into that tag. like i put in the tags, the anti taylor tag is for filtering bc i honestly don't see this post as particularly negative for taylor swift, it's a critique of the fans. and i'm calling out swifties particularly bc the ones who were saying that the beef was manufactured to take eyes off of rafah were swifties, and the ones being racist in the kendrick tag were swifties. i'm not exaggerating like almost every hate post i saw mentioning the beef being manufactured was a swiftie account. it is weird to act like people caring about very serious allegations happening in a genre of music isn't reason enough to make a big deal of the situation and go INTO THE TAG and complain, but it is especially hypocritical and frankly quite infuriating to see the same people who complained about a big deal of a situation being a "distraction" from gaza and then blog abt taylor swift . it's fine if u want to blog abt music u like, honestly idc abt that, if that's all u do then this legit isn't targeted at u, this is targeted at the swifties who came into the kendrick tag to complain and then went back to talking abt swift two seconds later like they weren't doing the same thing they were complaining abt two minutes before. (sry for the long explanation, but i just don't want ppl taking my words out of context and i rlly tried to word this all clearly, but idk man sometimes u think u word something well and then nobody undrestands wtf u were on abt so i wanted to make sure it was clear) also, if you're a zionist or israel supporter, i will be blocking u if u interact with this post. ok ty bye bye

[foundfamilywhump]

see like the thing with 'carewhumpers' as a concept to me is it just like... i know this is prrrrobably not really how it's meant but something skeeves me out about the idea that kindness or caretaking mixed in with hurting someone can somehow meaningfully complicate or dilute the harm done to the point of making that character no longer a 'whumper' whereas someone doing the same 'bad' things but not ever being gentle or caring for them would just be a straight-out whumper. when like... that's how 90% of irl abuse dynamics work? so i just... don't really get the point, i guess. like to me it implies something about the 'care' provided somehow mitigating or combating the harm done that. i just do not personally appreciate or enjoy.

[mvjerbs]

this was so rushed, I didn't want to lose my inspiration. Now have sad Wally. This was inspired by this one animation called Good old neighbor Wally made by Rezmei Seno. Seeing Wally being scared of Home made me inspired to draw and also think of a scenario where wally was forced to work for Home just to keep his friends safe, but things took a dark turn. Might animate it soon :))

[braceletofteeth]

1x01 || 1x04