#there actually multiple instances where it is condoned and/or done.

[jeffbezos--official]

*this is not a joke, or satire like the rest of this page*

If you are in a state that is/has put forward motions to criminalize abortions after the supreme court ruling, you need to be prepared.

If you have the means, stock up on plan B. Don't get brand name unless you really really want to as generic is significantly cheaper.

Do not just go and buy out your area's local stores of emergency contraceptives.

It is imperative that those are available in emergencies. Instead order them online. Daddy Bezos has options available for purchase, tho as you may have guessed from the way I post on here, I personally believe alternatives would be better.

Nevertheless, here's a link to the cheapest version I could find on Daddy Bezos' shop

My Choice Emergency Contraceptive 1 Tablet

[noshitshakespeare]

When goes through your mind when reading stuff Shakespeare wrote that is racist by today's standards? Can we justify it by acknowledging that he was simply a man of his time? I've been finding it to detract from my enjoyment of plays that I otherwise love e.g. lines like "if I did not love her I would be a Jew" or the pejorative use of "Ethiope" in Much Ado About Nothing. And then just...Shylock. Is there evidence that Shakespeare was actually progressive for his time?

Thanks for this question, anon. This is an important point that’s worth thinking about in some detail, because, while you can’t really judge someone in the past by standards they didn’t even have a word for, Shakespeare is not just a past author but someone whose works continue to have meaning for people today. But it’s not as simple as a case of blame or justification, nor are those examples quite as straightforward as they may seem. 

Let’s think first about the question of pejorative uses of words like ‘Ethiope’, or ‘Jew’ in passing phrases. These are definitely offensive by today’s standards, but are more like set phrases in Shakespeare’s time, where ‘Jew’ is used as a shorthand for anything un-Christian, especially those things stereotypically associated with Jewish people, such as avariciousness. The same goes for ‘Ethiope’: since the beauty standards of the day dictated that white, gold and pink were the signifiers of beauty, anything dark is used as shorthand for unattractive, and calling someone with dark features an ‘Ethiope’ is then an exaggeration of those features. They’re lines that you have to either cut or bring attention to in modern productions because you can’t really justify their usage. But it’s really important to see that set phrases are phrases that have become common and therefore that people use them without necessarily thinking of their implications. To position ourselves as somehow better because we have the benefit of the many wonderful things that people have done to advance human rights and equality is a little wrongheaded. We need to be aware that we have similarly offensive terms that people use today that most likely won’t stand up to scrutiny in the future. I know when I was younger, people used the word ‘gay’ pejoratively without thinking about who that might offend, and people use ableist phrases like ‘I’m so blind’ without consideration too. In other words, as unjustifiable as it is that there are such phrases, there’s a difference between using them directly to injure and using them unknowingly. 

And that brings me to my second point: Shakespeare is writing plays, which means that these are phrases he puts into the mouths of particular characters. We don’t really know how Shakespeare himself spoke, but it’s necessary to distinguish between an author's position and his depiction of certain characters. Writers regularly write from the perspective of people whose views they don't share, and there's no way every single one of Shakespeare's characters is a mouthpiece for his beliefs. We can't attribute racism to Shakespeare any more than we can say he must have had thoughts about regicide because he wrote Macbeth. This definitely applies to The Merchant of Venice: the so-called 'Christian' characters mistreat Shylock, but that's not the same as saying the play condones that behaviour.

As for whether Shakespeare was progressive... Personally, I'm not sure about judging a work based on what one thinks of the author, especially if the author is long dead and no royalties are going to them. While I can understand that one's feelings about a particular author might hinder the enjoyment of the work, on some level, once a work is produced, it acquires a life of its own which is not up to the author's control anymore, especially for someone like Shakespeare who is surprisingly quiet about what he thinks of his own work (unlike, say, Ben Jonson).

So perhaps it doesn't matter very much, but I do think that Shakespeare writes in a way that shows something of the breadth of his view of life. As I've already said, we don't know what he thought. Still, the multiplicity of perspectives that is characteristic of his writing suggests he could think outside of the common understanding of his time. So, for instance, he really doesn't go in for low blows about religion the way many of his contemporaries do, and whenever there is a character like Aaron, Othello, or Shylock, he includes something that complicates the stereotype. Thus, we have Aaron being a more caring and loving father than anyone else in Titus Andronicus, and asking 'Is black so base a hue?' (4.2.73); Shylock's famous 'Hath not a Jew eyes' (3.1.55) speech; Othello's nobility, and Shakespeare's sonnets on the Dark lady, which really question the beauty standards of the day. This is far more than we get from the general use of stereotypes in city comedies, or in two-dimensional depictions of the stereotypical early modern Jew as in The Jew of Malta.

Though he often starts from the stereotypes he's familiar with and depends on the language of his time, Shakespeare shows an imaginative empathy that makes him consider what it might be like to be the characters he depicts. What could be more progressive than empathy? Shakespeare can write from the perspective of characters we'd consider racist now, but he also writes, and writes convincingly, from the perspective of those who are abused, regardless of their religion, sexuality or gender.

[nataliaphantomhivesblog]

In the end of it all, Monaca Towa was still a child.

To start this off, this isn't my usual Black Butler posts but ive been meaning to talk about Danganronpa for a hot minute, so please bear with me! Second, this is solely my opinion and before anyone wants to attack me please read thoroughly first. Thank you:)

(Spoiler warning for Danganronpa: Ultra Despair Girls and Danganronpa 3)

Also, before we dive in I'm going to list some trigger warnings:

Physcological abuse

Physical abuse

Manipulation

P*dophillia

Suicide attempt

Violence (?)

Childhood trauma

Please take care and read at your own risk<3

Hello there Danganronpa fandom! Today I will be talking about Monaca Towa (as stated in the title) and how people often minimize her trauma and sometimes forget the fact that shes still a child who got heavily manipulated by Junko too.

Monaca is seemingly very amiable and caring, because of her charming personality, all of the Warriors of Hope love her and try their best to keep her happy and go along with what she wants. However, it's slowly revealed that she is actually manipulative and cunning behind her friendly facade.

Monoca is a character that is cruel, manipulative, and extremly unhinged. Many of her actions cannot be excused or justified, but you can understand where she's coming from.

Monaca's Backstory:

She was born an unwanted child by both her father and her mother. Monaca's mother was supposed to take care of her but instead abandoned the child soon after her birth. Because of all her actions, Monaca saw her mother as a completely selfish and pathetic person. Monaca's father thought of giving her to an orphanage but instead took her into his family.

However, Monaca was always unwanted and everyone else felt uncomfortable around her. Every time Monaca smiled or joked, the others looked at her coldly, as if she didn't deserve to laugh. Every time she spoke, the others turned silent. His older-half brother thought of her as an alien, not part of the family.

She was also physically abused to the point that she pretended to be seriously wounded for them to stop as a result.

Monaca also attended Hope's Peak Elementary School and was part of the "trouble-makers class" along with Nagisa, Masaru, Jataro, and Kotoko.

Along with her fellow abused classmates, she planned a group suicide; however, Monaca never had any plans to commit suicide in the first place and was planning to let the others die as a prank.

The group suicide was stopped by Junko, who took the kids in and manipulated them by treating them with kindness and love.

Monaca then helped Junko mass produce Monokumas for the Tragedy by using her position as a representative of the Towa Group.

She lied to her father and the other adults in order to produce the Monokumas, telling them that she wanted to create futuristic robots that could be domestic helpers and emergency aid workers.

Due to her separation from the family and her genius, her family decided to give her leg room to do what she wanted as long as she brought in profits to the company, and didn't delve too deeply into her plans.

Things to keep in mind about Monoca's backstory:

She was emotionally and physically abused from a very young age.

She started to pretend to be paraplegic because she was finally treated with some kindness and she could have more control over people.

She convinced Nagisa, Jataro, Kotoko and Masaru to commit suicide.

Out of all the Warriros of Hope, Junko took the most intrest in Monoca due to her position, meaning that she was the one who got used and manipulated the most.

How Monoca's mindset works:

The moment she got physically abused to the point that she had to fake her injuries to make her family feel bad was the moment she learned that through sympathy from others comes power. Due to her families neglection and abuse, she started to quickly pick up on things in which benefited her yet hurt others.

She started to use manipulative tactics on her family to gain control over them. She then started implicating these tactics with the Warriors of Hope.

When Junko got into the picture, everything changed for the worst. Junko was the only person in Monaca's life who showed her affection. Even though deep down Monaca knew Junko only cared for her as a means to use her robotics genius for the Tragedy, Monaca didn't care, and happily helped out Junko with her plans if it meant being loved and appreciated in return. At the heart of it, despite all her horrific acts, that's a very child-like thing to do, right? So when Junko dies, Monaca's entire reason for living basically disappears.

AI Junko via Kurokuma may have planted the idea of a successor in her head, but in Monaca's mind it's a way to get her big sis back, and very specifically chooses to mold Komaru into becoming Junko's successor. That's for a big reason, Monaca doesn't want to become Junko, I'd say she actually just wanted her big sister back who would love and appreciate her again, and hence tried to make someone else take on that role initially. Once again, that's the mindset of a child.

Monaca's relationship with the Warriors of Hope:

The Warriors of Hope are a group of children who are extremely resentful and hateful of adults, regardless of whether or not they were involved in their rough paths. 

We all know that the Warriros of Hope are extememly tramutized kids. Masaru had alcoholic parents who physically abused him, Jataro was physcologically abused to the point he bealived he was so ugly that if anyone saw his "repulsive" face they would die, Kotoko was r*ped multiple times by disgusting p*dophilic men (not to mention, Monaca's brother was attracted to her), and last but not least we have Nagisa who had pressuring parents who wanted to raise him as the child prodigy and expirimented on him constantly.

Monaca used the Warriros of Hope's trauma against them, manipulating them to the point were they had to do her bidding completly.

As much as I hate to say it, Monaca truly saw them as pawns. Although there are some instances where she openly declares her care for the Warriors of Hope, it's likely she does that as a form of emotional manipulation.

If anything, she probably did see them as equal in the beginning but then when she started to gain control over her own family, she started to do the same with the Warriors of Hope as a way to protect herself from getting hurt, then again this is my baseless assumption.

Her dynamic with Nagito:

Monaca was amused by Nagito's strange behavior and contradicting beliefs and appeared to be somewhat annoyed with him at the times. However, the two appeared to at least seemingly respect each other in some way, as they treated each other somewhat formally as allies.

Her dynamic with Nagito is one of the most intresting ones. Obviously I think that her being rasied by Nagito was potentially a dangerous thing, considering Nagito's goal was for Monaca to become Enoshima's successor. Monaca seemed to agree with this goal, but Nagito's constant rambling about hope and despair made Monaca bored and feel embarrassed about the whole thing.

She claims he made her an adult in a way, as she grew up in the mental sense and became more cynical and apathetic, not really caring about anything.

In the end, Monaca found Nagito creepy and annoying, but she also appeared to get closer to him during their time together, while originally calling him just "Mister Servant" in UDG, she later refers to him as "Big Bro" in Danganronpa 3. I do think their dynamic was sort of soft and I would've loved to have seen more of it. Honestly the concept of Nagito being a soft brother to Monaca warms my heart, and the wasted potential will forever anger me.

(If any Danganronpa fanfic writer or any writer in general is reading this post: if u could be so kind and do a PLATONIC Nagito and Monaca prompt and tag me in it, I would love you forever!!)

My opinion on Monaca:

I think that Monaca was a very well-written character who deserved more than what she got in the end of Danganronpa 3. She was abused, mistreated and belittled by her family. If anything, I see her as a completely misguided little girl. If she actually had a positive authoritative influence in her life, she wouldn't have turned astray.

A lot of people disregard Monaca's trauma and forget that at the end of the day, Monaca was a child who the moment she was born, the people who were supposed to love her were unwelcoming.

Don't get me wrong though, there is no way in hell I will ever justify or condone the things Monaca has done. If anything, I just think that she alongside the rest of the Warriors of Hope should've been properly taken care of.

Also, if you dislike/hate Monaca thats 100% valid! She did a lot of inexcusable things and its alright to hate on her. I personally love her character but I know she is not everyones cup of tea.

If you read all the way, I'm actually surprised! Thank you and I hope you enjoyed<333

[freddieofhearts]

Bye bye, dears (for now!)

I know there have been a lot of rumours and some posts about me leaving, so here I am to set the record straight and say a quick ‘au revoir’. This post is long, and I don’t expect everyone to read the whole thing—if you just want information on how to keep in touch, or about access to my removed fics, scroll to the bottom. ⬇️

*

Why are you leaving?

Firstly, of course I’m not leaving Freddie. This is just an ongoing hiatus from the social side of fandom, because while I have some incredible friends here, who have done all they can to support me and have made this experience wonderful in lots of ways—it’s also true that the social space has become more and more toxic for me.

I get a wild amount of hate. Despite never having my ask box enabled on here, people create new accounts just to message me and tell me all the problems in this fandom are my fault, that I’m faking being sick, that I should kill myself, that I’m fat, etc. I also very regularly get hateful comments on AO3.

Obviously I realise that I’m not the only one who receives these cruel attacks, but it’s become increasingly hard to handle them—especially as some people (‘real’ accounts, not faceless anons) do continue to blame me for wider problems in the fandom. It makes me feel consistently sad, anxious, and paranoid, so that I can’t focus on anything Queen-related that I enjoy.

More pressingly, it’s affected my mental health, which is—imperfect at the best of times. As I’ve occasionally alluded to in older posts on this blog, I have a history of anorexia, OCD, PTSD, and some other overlapping issues. Most people who know me in the fandom are also aware that I’m ‘clinically extremely vulnerable’ to Covid-19, significantly immunocompromised, and have been isolating at home for eleven months.

The combination of all of these things + the constant toxic messages has really been triggering me, and leading to an uptick in disordered behaviours, which my body cannot sustain. Every new instance of hate from an anon—every time there’s another indication of groups in the fandom wanting to ostracise me further—my reaction is deeply self-punitive and unhealthy. Ultimately I need to be out of this environment for, at least, a protracted period. My therapist, my partner and my close friends in the fandom support this decision.

*

So, what went wrong?

In 2019, I expected to be an absolutely tiny blog in the Queen Tumblr landscape. The fandom was already well-established, and I have never worked to ‘build a following’ on here—I think I’ve linked my own fic a maximum of three or four times!—in fact, more or less the opposite. As I mentioned above: ya girl is nutty as a fruitcake. As a result, I often avoid extremely niche things in daily life which cause severe anxiety for me, Relevant examples here: I never look at my timeline. I never intentionally look at my follower number. Yup, it’s strange, I fully admit it, but it’s best for me to go with these things—usually. In Queen fandom, however, this avoidance both of analytic stats and of most direct engagement led to some problems... My followers grew without me realising, and way more people were reading my blog than I was aware of. I was still in a—“Wow, this fandom is very frustrating, and rife with ableism, racism, etc., so how do we fix this???”—mindset, and I wanted to share my opinions, sure! but I also thought I was sharing them with 15-20 like-minded people.

Now, intent is not impact, and I recognise that I was brusque, didn’t phrase things particularly sensitively, and absolutely did hurt some people by criticising the fandom so freely. I still regret this—and I regret just as much the fact that some assholes have used my criticising the fandom on my own blog as implicit justification for attacking authors. I have said on here many times that I don’t condone that behaviour—but I also think there’s some truth in the presumption that these anonymous malcontents felt my critiques somehow ‘permitted’ them to engage in abuse. For the first few months, though, I genuinely had no idea there was a link at all—and so I was initially slow to condemn this abusive behaviour in public, because I was taking it for granted all authors agreed it was shitty. It took someone directly telling me (shoutout to @a-froger-epic) that people had identified a connection between my posts and the anons, before everything fell into place.

I would like to offer my apologies to the fandom at large for not being more quick on the uptake about this, because I feel that had I realised sooner that these people were taking ‘inspiration’ in some way from me, it might have been easier to put a stop to it. It does seem that there is still a lot of confusion about whether I support them and which of their views I agree with. Let’s be 100% clear on this: I do not support the anonymous commenters on AO3. At times there is some, limited overlap between parts of their views and parts of mine, but even that is less than you may think—I often see anonymous comments from so-called ‘Freddie fans’ that I substantially disagree with.

Perhaps even more importantly: I do not support anyone who sends anonymous hate on Tumblr.

*

What’s all this about ‘overlap’ with the anons?

Let’s do a mini-summary of the myths vs. the truth. There are views I hold which are genuinely unpopular in the fandom—but which I own up to completely, and have never tried to hide in any way. I’ve never needed to use anonymous to share my opinions because I’m completely open about them! What people who don’t know me tend to have ‘heard’ about me, though, is usually a drastic distortion of my real opinions.

What people think I think:

- Freddie should never top.

- It’s okay to send anon hate if someone writes Freddie ‘wrong’.

- It’s more important to correct ‘wrong’ portrayals than to respect other writers.

- It’s inherently wrong to be more interested in band pairings than canon pairings.

- Freddie should be overtly written as a r*pe survivor/victim (and not doing this is wrong).

- Freddie should be overtly written as having an eating disorder (and not doing this is wrong).

- Kink fics are wrong.

What I actually think:

- I believe Freddie did have a strongly defined sexual identity with marked preferences, but I don’t think Jim Hutton lied when he said that Freddie topped. I believe Freddie did top, but this isn’t the time or place to get into my thoughts on why/when/how much. I do believe that my analysis of the sources relevant to this subject is as historically accurate as one can reasonably be in matters of sex (where historical accuracy will always be particularly limited and imperfect)—but I don’t think it’s morally wrong to write Freddie as topping more than he probably did.

- I don’t believe there’s only one ‘right’ version of Freddie (all others being ‘wrong’). I do believe it is possible to be more right or less right—but I’m also conscious of the fact that this scale of value is not one by which everyone measures fanfiction. As a result, then, I don’t think that any perceptions surrounding ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ justify sending anonymous, non-constructive criticism, or outright hate.

- I do believe constructive criticism is a good thing. I welcome and appreciate it myself; I have received it on my fics in Queen fandom, and it has made them better. I have been in writing workshops which included very forceful criticisms, and the value of such feedback has been intimately and immediately part of my life as a writer for years. However: in this case, I have accepted that my opinion differs from the general community preference, and so I no longer offer any constructive criticism (outside private beta-reading). I haven’t changed my view, but I’ve changed my practice to align with community norms.

- I do not think any single, individual writer has a personal responsibility to write about Freddie Mercury in any given way. That ranges from including the more distressing topics to which I’ve devoted attention (such as trauma)—to concentrating on ‘canon’ pairings like Jimercury—to, even, focusing on Freddie at all.

“Now, that doesn’t sound like you, @freddieofhearts,” you might be thinking. And I know it doesn’t; I think something I’ve done a poor job of articulating is the difference between how I view each individual fan—namely, as free to shape their creative experience at will, even in ways that I might find distressing or offensive; even in ways that you might find distressing or offensive—and the way I view the Collective. I think people have interpreted some of my critiques of ‘Queen Fandom’ as meaning something like: “You-in-particular, a specific Queen fan, are doing it wrong and should change everything about how you do it; also you don’t really care about Freddie.”

And—that’s not it. What any given fan, as an individual, does, isn’t a problem. And that can be true alongside—concurrently with—a multivalent critique of how the fandom is lacking in representation of Freddie’s life, with all that that (wonderful, deservedly celebrated, but also profoundly traumatic) life entailed. I still hold that view; I still have myriad problems with ‘the fandom’ (structurally, collectively, historically and presently—from the 1990s to the 2020s). Some of what I want to work on (away from the social life of fandom) is expressing those critiques with greater nuance, in ways that can’t be misinterpreted as shading any particular fanfiction author or subgenre of story.

In brief: I haven’t changed my mind, but I think Tumblr is an untenable environment in which to discuss the things I want to analyse, especially as there is an ever-present danger of hurting someone.

*

Can we keep in touch? Where is the fic?

I will drop by this account periodically to check out posts that friends have sent me, so you can always sent me a private message to ask for my contact details on the other app that I’m using now for fandom friends. Multiple Freddie conversations and projects are going on over there, off-Tumblr, with a much ‘gentler’ environment and no bad actors—I personally love it!

All my fic has been downloaded and saved. I don’t want to deal with constant harassment on AO3, but I’m happy to share a copy with anyone who missed it and wants to read/re-read something. I also saved everyone’s lovely comments and thoughtful con-crit, so none of that has been lost or erased.

Thank you to everyone who welcomed me to the fandom, made me think, taught me, shared with me, sent me into fits of the giggles, collaborated with me creatively, and otherwise made this one hell of a ride! Love you all. ❤️

[prorevenge]

Bully me? Fine, but Ill start a fire as I leave.

I posted in Nuclear Revenge, but was also told to post it here! Sorry its so long, TL;DR at the end!

I worked at a fortune 500 company for almost a year and a half, I wont name names, but it was a shady company to say the least. I started in their quality department, but I was literally fired for being "too quality" for the quality department because I would report sales agents that were forcing crying retirees into making a purchase. So they moved me to the Business Verification Department, so I could instead make these customers happier with their purchase.

Im sorry to say I was far too good at this job as well. I got constant kudos from the quality department that I always hit my marks. I always verified and corrected information, followed procedure to a T, and even took on several extra projects just to help out, including preparing and sending gifts out to our higher volume customers on behalf of the sales reps. I was always on time, I was friendly with everyone, and yet I didn't quite fit in. As a matter of fact, only one person on this new team was someone I could talk to, the others were all mid to late 30s, with kids and husbands/ex husbands. Best way to describe them, its the Heathers that grew old, and hated it.

They would constantly bully me. I dont mean tease me, I mean they would joke about forcing me to work in a broom closet, they would report me for cell phone use even though cell phones were allowed, just no recording or video calling since we would verify card and address information verbally, they would deliberately leave me out of company food orders and celebrations, and even convinced the manager not to promote me, and instead promoted someone who had been there less time with worse quality, only because she 'fit in' better. Shed literally cost the company money shipping product to the wrong address multiple times, and still was promoted within the department.

They would also berate me for the state of my desk. I will say I dont keep a super clean desk, but we are not customer facing, and it was my organized chaos. It wasn't old food or trash, just a general scattering of notes and trinkets that NEVER overflowed past my desk. The real juice here though, was about 4 months into this position, I started documenting all the bullying. Every instance, every word, with a date and time and often a reference within the companies system for where to locate proof of the bullying, all on those little note pads. Well one day I come back from lunch and they had GONE THROUGH MY DESK to "clean" it, going so far as to move my trinkets and pictures around on my desk. I took everything home that day, but I know they'd actually been after my notebooks. Thankfully Id just had to buy a third one (I filled the first two up!) So it was mostly empty.

The final straw came on a fateful February afternoon. It was a Thursday. The one co-worker I got along with and I had been texting back and forth, mostly Craigslist ads for job openings and funny memes to get us through the day, because remember, phones are allowed. She goes to lunch as Im coming back, and I get called into their lawyers office. Me and my one and only friend, were being given formal write ups. Why? (Direct quote) "Your co-workers know you are texting about them and laughing, and they dont like it." So I was getting a write up... Because of an assumption that they had no proof of to begin with, and wasn't even remotely true. The topper of this was as I exited the write up, one of them was face timing her husband. Which was against the rules, but of course she wasn't even spoken to about it.

I was done. Beyond done. I put my head down, barely worked the rest of the day. When I got home, I texted my manager and let her know I was using PTO and Id be out Friday. I spent the whole weekend working on my resignation, because I wanted it to be -just right-.

You see, Id been there a year and a half at that point, and I knew a few things about how this shady company operates by now. I knew on Thursday this was going to be my first time ever to quit a job, and I wanted to do it up right. I wrote in there specific details of the bullying. Dates, times. I mentioned I had many more examples documented. I wrote how it was known behavior and even condoned by the manager. I wrote about the write up. Then, after many critiques, I saved it as a draft.

I walked in on Monday morning, 8 am on the nose. I didn't bother clocking in, and Id already cleaned out my desk remember? I sat down, printed two copies of my email, and then sent it DIRECTLY TO THE CEO.

I of course dropped a copy off with HR, and then walked out. Not a word to my manager. Only my one friend knew the plan. You see I knew theyd snuff out the fire if I said anything to them about why I quit. Sweep it under the rug, oh well, one more person who quit. By involving the CEO, I eliminated that as an option.

In 30 minutes their lawyer was calling me for an "exit interview". They were worried I would sue for a hostile working environment. In hindsight, I should've, but I was more worried about my mental health than monetary compensation.

I found out from my friend that I had in fact started that fire. The whole department was put under review for bullying, cell phones were completely banned, and the manager and her lackeys (last I heard) had been demoted. I also heard whispers that theyd dissolved it completely and merged it with the Quality team, but Im not positive on that.

Im sure it didn't fix everything, but I hope they at least keep their hands out of other peoples desks from now on.

TL;DR my entire team at a fortune 500 company and bullying and harassing me to the point of unfair write ups, so when I quit I sent an email directly to the CEO about my resignation along with the information that everything was thoroughly documented, causing them to majorly reform the department and demote people after I walked out.

(source) story by (/u/Audginator)

[tawaifeddiediaz]

reblog, don’t repost

Hi!

So recently, it’s come to my attention (thank you so much @extasiswings for bringing it my notice) that people have been reposting my fics (among others’ works). And that account wasn’t the only one I found my fics on, actually, so I’m writing this post. 

I do appreciate the love for my fics, but reposting them is not something I will ever allow nor condone, because it’s not just a problem with me, it’s a problem with all creators on every platform. And I think a lot of them will agree with me here.

This is originally from my reblog on one of these kinds of reposts, but I’ve elaborated more here. And no, this isn’t going under a cut because it’s important and if you don’t find it important, I’m sad for you.

Please feel free to add any other points I’ve missed, and in fact, reblogging this post might actually help too! Win!

Two important definitions before we get started:

Reblogging - takes less time, is more worth it; gives creators due credit

Reposting - the same as stealing work; it’s pretty much plagiarism

Let me break it down: When you repost fics/art, even if the link might say our AO3 username or there’s an art signature or whatever, it still does not give us the credit for it because our Tumblr usernames are practically nowhere. So many of us have different usernames for different accounts; I am zeethebooknerd on Tumblr but I’m tkreyesevandiaz on AO3 and Twitter. And some viewers might not recognize watermarks/signatures or all that. 

When you do something like share links directly from AO3, it’s not a fic rec, you’re legit posting it as if you wrote it, because to viewers that aren’t familiar with AO3 names, that’s exactly how it comes off. Some readers might not realize that you aren’t the author because you’ve shared it the exact same way authors share their work.

I know this has been a problem before for many accounts where people are reposting. Some of them are doing it because they don’t know the difference, so here it is outlined above. Please, please, please if you would like to share any fanfic author’s work, use a reblog button. 

Most people on AO3 do have Tumblrs where they post their fics, and you can reblog it from there (if you can take the time to share from AO3, you can definitely take the time to reblog). In fact! Reblogging takes the press of only one button! It’s great! Thanks Tumblr! :D

Also, even if they don’t have a Tumblr blog, or they haven’t provided a username, make it clear when you post a link that you are not the author.

That’s a problem I see with fic rec posts all the time. First, let me mention that a rec post is not the exact same as a repost, provided that these fics get the due credit. Please make sure you include the author’s usernames and make a distinction that you do not own any of the links you post. I know that not every platform has a reblog button, but find a way to give the authors due credit.

If you still don’t see a problem with posting only links, lemme expand it a little more. Its the ownership and recognition part of it. Fanfic writers only get likes, reblogs, comments and kudos for their efforts. Fanart creators only get likes, comments, reblogs and the recognition. 

We don’t get paid to create these things, and let me tell you that we work VERY hard to present our art to audiences. I’ve seen works that I would pay thousands just to have commissioned and they’re all presented to us for free. The very least that could be done is not steal their work.

It’s just like if you screenshot an artist’s work and post it without any names or credits. It’s plagiarism. ALSO, some artists have the luxury of adding watermarks or their signatures to places where they can’t be cropped (how horrible is it that they have to mar their work to prevent stealing) but fanfic writers can’t even do that. In fact, I’ve seen multiple instances where people edit out watermarks to present work as their own, so even that’s kinda useless and all of us creators are back to square one. Do you not see something wrong with that?

So. TL;DR - when you repost, you come off as the author/creator and that’s not something any artist will EVER condone. always reblog and never repost and give the creators goddamn credit for providing us with free work. Please understand the distinction.

Additional warning for fic writers: some people are copy-pasting work from AO3 and reposting them on their blogs. It’s happened to me with quite a few paragraphs of my works, and I’ve reported and blocked them, but please keep your eyes open for your own, and other writers if you recognize it.

Other fic readers/art viewers: if you notice it, speak up. Let the author/creator know about it because that actually goes a long way, considering no one can be on every single blog at all times.

Thank you.

[raisingsupergirl]

Spread Hope, Not Disease

Earlier this week, a couple of friends were having a Facebook discussion about how, "Jesus wouldn't have condoned masks or social distancing." And they were serious about it. Like it was an irrefutable fact. I didn’t know what to say. These were people whom I respected. Smart people. Mature Christians. And because of this, I didn't engage in much debate, but… I'm still baffled.

Let’s start by discussing what I believe to be the truth behind the meme—at least, the only truth that I can find in it. And that's the fact that a person's soul is more important than his body (aka his mortal life). Jesus most certainly did preach that his followers should be willing to risk their lives for the salvation of others. It's a fact that's completely at odds with our current culture. Society proclaims that a long life for everyone is the ultimate goal, and most Christians will reject this because of the Bible's clear teaching. However, the people in the New Testament didn't have Zoom. They didn't have personal protective equipment. They didn't know anything about germ theory (with the exception of Jesus, presumably). So Jesus coming into contact with lepers was not only a symbolic act for us to show love to all at the expense of our physical health, but it was also a necessity. There was no other way to minister to these unfortunate people. That's just not the case today. If we're being honest, which of these two options would more often lead to a lost chance at ministering and spreading God's love and Good News: wearing a mask or not wearing a mask. Which one would be more likely to provoke fear, or at least standoffishness? Maybe that's different in different cultures, but I can definitely tell you which one it would be in my neck of the woods.

Now, let's move on to the first debatable aspects. The first one is this: did the Jesus of the Bible act in a way that would have backed up the memes claim? The example used was the fact that he willingly came into contact with lepers on multiple occasions in order to minister and show love. Okay, yes. But he didn't just shake their hands and then turn around and shake someone else's hand. In most cases, he would heal the leper physically (leper, by the way, was the word for any number of diseases of the flesh), so there was no risk of communicating the disease to someone else. He did this in order to heal them spiritually by legitimizing his divinity (which he did so almost begrudgingly because humans require proof instead of having faith). Also, he was (is) God. Do you think God had any chance of communicating disease in the first place? But what about his disciples? Well, I actually don't know of any instance where any of them actually touched lepers. If I'm missing it, please let me know, but to my knowledge, none of them did. Why? Because lepers had leprosy! And neither God nor Jesus said, "Perform this act in my name and nothing bad will come of it." Now, that's not to say if God did make that command that it shouldn't be done. I mean, God works through us, so there was nothing to stop a disciple from healing a leper in God's name. But, as far as I'm aware, there are no instances of anyone other than Jesus knowingly coming into contact with someone with a communicable disease.

Also, we're comparing leprosy to an invisible, airborne virus. The first is easily detectible. The second is a wolf among the sheep. Social distancing and PPE are our best defense against it in order to save lives—to show love and respect for others. Jesus hugged lepers in order to show the legalists of his time that love was more important than self-preservation. But he didn't do so at any risk to anyone else. Doing so would have been at direct odds to his goal. Every person is a unique child of God. In most cases (not all, since there are certainly times when the Holy Spirit specifically calls people to buck normal conventions for a specific goal), if we go hug a bunch of strangers without PPE, we're not spreading love, we're spreading fear, and potentially disease.

And lastly (and most importantly!), Jesus at no point taught us to use his name in defense of political motivations, or out of fear. He called out the Pharisees because they were a direct affront to God's rules and regulations, because they were distorting the Word. But not once did he condemn a Roman soldier for oppressing his people. In fact, he proclaimed, "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's." Our world is corrupt, and that includes our leaders. They seek all sorts of selfish things, but as long as they're not infringing on our religious rights or trying to normalize sin, there's no Biblical precedent that we should use God or Jesus to condemn them. That's not our purpose on earth.

So what is our purpose? As I said earlier, it's to show love. First, to love God with every fiber of our being, and second to love our neighbors as ourselves. Posting divisive memes on Facebook isn't the best way to do that, and engaging in debates over these memes on a public forum probably isn't effective, either. If you don't believe you should socially distance or wear a mask for whatever reason, it's not a topic that needs to be shouted from the mountaintops. It's one for two or three friends to speak about in love… over a beer (j/k… kind of). That way, it won't cause others to stumble and form erroneous opinions about "those Christians" they saw arguing on Facebook without having all the information. And aside from the obvious, the main reason I believe this is because Jesus hated crowds. Yes, it's true. He often spoke to groups of hundreds and thousands of hungry followers, but in each of those instances, he "retreated" to a quiet place to either commune with God or to speak more personally to those hungry enough to seek him out. He loved connecting with people on a personal level, and that's hard to do when preaching to thousands.

Sometimes it's difficult to imagine what Jesus would do in our current world. And this fact is revealed in the original claim at the beginning of this post that Jesus "wouldn't" have condoned these things instead of "Jesus doesn't condone them." Why is this claim being made? Is it with a heart of love, in an effort to show compassion and spread forgiveness? Or is it with a heart of frustration and fear of losing civil liberties. The people of Jesus's time were oppressed in a thousand ways, and yet, not once did he tell them to speak out against the government for their earthly freedoms. He is the Way, the truth, and the life. Our goal is to topple sin, not governments.

So, as for me, I'll do what I can to live a life mirroring Jesus's. If I hug a stranger, it'll be with a mask on. If I speak to a crowd, I'll do it at a bit of a distance. And if I feel the Holy Spirit telling me to forsake these precautions in order to minister to someone, I'll do it. But until then, I'll continue to spread his Word without spreading disease. Simple as that.

[bigskydreaming]

Do yoy think dick hates bruce?

No, absolutely not. 

I have a lot, a LOT of issues with Bruce’s canon abusive behavior - I believe it needs to be addressed, I believe he needs to be held accountable for the things he did to cause strife in his relationship with Dick and so often are shifted onto Dick instead, I believe when his abusive behavior IS acknowledged in fics it needs to be done so without engaging in abuse apologism, and I believe that Bruce has a LOT of work his character needs to do in order to be what his kids deserve, based off of certain stories.

I also believe that there are a number of takes where Dick would be fully justified and valid in separating himself from Bruce and going his own way. I believe he had every right in the world to stay with the Titans and separate from Bruce after being fired as Robin, if Bruce refused to make the first move and initiate trying to repair things with him. I believe Dick absolutely had every right to make a clean break from Bruce after the events of NTT #55 which were flat out abusive, regardless of Bruce’s own grief. I believe that for sure, after Forever Evil at NW #30, Dick absolutely would have every right in the world to say fuck this, I’m done.

None of that means I WANT that....and I don’t think its what Dick wants either. I believe that’s the last case scenario for Dick, the option for when there’s no other way to protect himself and his sense of self-worth because it doesn’t look like Bruce will ever manage to give him what he wants....which is just...a reason to stay, ultimately. I think all Dick really wants is his dad to once again be the man who first made him feel safe again, like he belonged again, after his parents were killed. To step up and say I understand where I went wrong and what I broke, and I’m committed to fixing it and making it better, rather than just let things stay broken and think that’s the best it can be.

Dick loves Bruce, because if he didn’t, he would have left by now. A long time ago. You don’t stay around people who have hurt you if you hate them. You stay around people in spite of them hurting you because you love them, even if sometimes its hard to remember why. It would be easy for Dick to stay away, if he could manage to hate Bruce - but he can’t, I don’t think. And he doesn’t want to. He just wants Bruce to be the man, the father that Dick still believes he can be.....but the thing is, its up to Bruce to be that man.

And that’s the source of my frustration with so many of the takes on Bruce and Dick’s relationship. 

Because I don’t think Dick hates Bruce. I don’t want Dick to hate Bruce. I want them to be a strong, happy, healthy father and son and family.

BUT BRUCE’S CANON BEHAVIOR IS THE ONLY REASON THEY AREN’T. EVERYTHING DICK HAS DONE IN THEIR RELATIONSHIP IS A REACTION TO WHAT BRUCE DOES FIRST. BRUCE IS THE PARENT. AND HE IS THE ONE WHO HAS MESSED UP WITH DICK, OVER AND OVER.

It is up to HIM to fix what HE broke in multiple places, and my frequent rants about Bruce and his behavior and the abuse apologism surrounding his actions and Bruce and Dick’s family narratives....have absolutely nothing to do with wanting Dick to move on from him and everything to do with simply believing that making Dick responsible in any way for condoning, absolving, repairing OR ignoring Bruce’s mistakes and poorest instances of parenting....is looking in the wrong direction.

Bruce already HAS Dick’s love and devotion.

I just want him to be written as WORTHY of it.

And to show that Dick has his as well....instead of just being ‘told’ this, without evidence, when there’s so much pointing to the contrary in Bruce’s actual behavior.

I don’t want Dick to be without Bruce in his life, because Dick doesn’t want to be without him....and that’s why Dick goes back to him, time and time again, even after Bruce has hurt him in a myriad of ways.

I just want Bruce to be GOOD for him.

And the only character who can make that happen...is BRUCE.

[ober-affen-geil]

Alright. Today I want to talk about Max Evans, and I want to do it because I see a lot of people (in my corner of the fandom) who give him grief that I don’t think he’s earned. Max has flaws, that is undeniable, but so does every other character on this show. 

Importantly, overall, it’s emphasized several times in the show that a lot of Max’s behavior we see is unusual for him. Liz appearing in town after 10 years of absence and then getting shot literally upended his life, and almost everything that I’ve seen people up in arms about is fallout from that. Also importantly, Max acknowledges he’s done wrong almost every time he screws up. While I know that his apologies don’t magically fix everything, he is sincere in them and they mean he’s thinking critically about himself and is willing to change his behavior.

*I want to make it clear before I get going that I do not condone Max’s problematic actions. I DO, however, think I understand why he does them and that’s what I’m going to talk about here.*

The way I see it, most of the reasons Max does something problematic can be put down to two causes: he’s protecting someone (usually Liz or his alien family), or he’s being negatively affected by alien stuff. Sometimes it’s both. (1x05 and 1x07 present exceptions, but I will save those for last.)

Negative alien stuff first because I think that’s what brings out the worst, most obvious examples.

We know, from dialog cues, that healing Liz in the pilot heavily affected Max. And we also know that his being “off” doesn’t change until he lets off a massive power surge at the end of 1x03 and knocks out the town’s electricity. Which means that everything Max says and does between healing Liz and blowing out the power is said and done under the influence of that “wrongness”.

This includes telling Michael he “never did anything for anyone” in the pilot, yelling at Isobel in the pilot (which he immediately apologizes for in the moment), punching Michael in 1x02, attacking and attempting to kill Wyatt Long in 1x02, accidentally zapping Liz in 1x03 (which she herself admits she provoked), yelling at Isobel again in 1x03, and getting territorial about Liz with Kyle in 1x03.

It is also specifically noted in show dialog in 1x02 that Max’s aggressive behavior is out of the ordinary. Isobel comments on it multiple times (What, you’re hitting him now?/Something is wrong Max. I can feel it and so can you.), and Max himself admits it both in 1x02 and in 1x03. 

Then there’s what happens in 1x13 with Michael’s hand. I have already talked about this briefly, but Max is so far from his right mind after he kills Noah it is not even funny. He is high on power and everything about his body language and actions screams it. Noah specifically states in 1x12 that taking a life makes them stronger, gives them a boost. Makes them feel good. Here, Max has not only taken a life, he did it while being hopped up on lightning. Literal lightning. From the sky. x

After he kills Noah, Max is a hyperactive mess. His speech is rushed and giddy, he’s incorrectly reading Isobel’s tone/mood, he brushes aside perfectly valid and logical statements by both Michael and Isobel, and he outright ignores Michael’s obvious protests about healing his hand. All of this is out of character for Max. There’s no dialog between Michael and Isobel deliberately addressing it but their expressions and body language, as well as traded looks with each other, tell us that this is really unusual behavior. 

It’s clear from dialog early in the show that Max doesn’t use his powers all that often, if at all. Not in the recent past. He has spent his life trying to repress his alien nature, this means he has had no chance to experiment with his powers or see how they affect him. He has no way to anticipate or combat the ill effects of healing because he has nothing to base anything off of. This is all happening to him for the first time.

Now it is true that Max’s aggressiveness when he’s affected by alien stuff doesn’t seem to be present when he’s around Liz, which might appear to indicate he does actually have some amount of control over it. But he says to Liz in 1x02 “Ever since I healed you I’ve felt wrong, like there’s a tornado inside me and I can’t fight it and I can’t run from it - except when I’m with you.” Max is calm around Liz because she is the only person who can bring him peace simply by being present.

Which brings me to the other reason Max acts out: protecting Liz. And his siblings, to be fair. To be clear, this is not a product of something that “happens” to Max beyond his control. This is a part of his nature and his personality which is positive, but causes him to misguidedly commit negative actions.

Protecting Liz is the reason Max abuses his position as a police officer to go after Wyatt Long in 1x07, twice, which both Cam and Liz call him out on. It’s not a “bad” action necessarily, but protecting Liz is the reason Max goes after the hospital shooter alone in 1x10, which Cam point out is uncharacteristic. Protecting Liz, combined with bad alien effects, is the reason he tries to kill Wyatt Long in 1x02. Protecting Isobel, and by extension his and Michael’s secret, is the reason he covers up three murders when they were 17. Protecting Isobel is the reason he kills the drifter when they were children. 

Protecting Liz and Isobel is the reason he pulls a gun on Michael in 1x12/1x13. Note that it is not that Max values Michael less than Isobel or Liz, it’s that Michael in that moment was trying to help Noah. Michael is not the threat, Noah is. This is why Michael is absolutely correct when he says Max won’t shoot him. He shoots the serum in Michael’s hand, which is the real problem for Max in the scenario.

Max loves Michael; Michael is his family. He says as much several times throughout the show. Max loves Michael just as much as he loves Isobel, they’ve just becomes distanced from each other over the last 10 years. Incidentally, the deep love he has for both his alien siblings leads directly to his negative actions in 1x05/1x07, which are the only examples I can think of where Max does wrong while not being driven by protectiveness or being under the influence of alien somethingorother.

The actions I’m talking about are when he yells at Isobel and throws Michael against his truck in 1x05, and when he disowns Michael and tells Noah that “people like [him] deserve better than people like Isobel” in 1x07. (Yes, horrifically ironic in hindsight.)

This is Max after finding out that Michael and Isobel got Liz to leave town 10 years previous. Max, at this point, is completely free of any alien influence other than his normal levels. He is also not reacting to the fact that Isobel got into Liz’s head without her consent. This is personal for him, this is about Michael and Isobel separating him from Liz and letting him think it was his fault. Max here is deeply hurt and angered by what he sees as a betrayal committed by both of the only two people he loves and trusts most in the world.

It is because he loves both Michael and Isobel that his reaction is so strong; “The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.” He throws Michael against the truck because Michael tried to dismiss the incident as being in the past. He yells at Isobel because she tried to tell him she didn’t know the depth of his feelings when they have a psychic connection. He slams his hand against the truck next to Isobel and yells again because she is in that moment (as he sees it) once more trying to keep him from Liz. (Also because he suffers from Male Privilege and in this instance fails to recognize the severity of the effect of his physical aggressiveness, but that is for a future meta.)

He tells Michael to get off his property and throws Alex in his face because Michael again tried to explain that his and Isobel’s actions were for Max’s own good. (I talk more about that scene here.) And he tells Noah that he “deserves better” because he sees Noah in that moment as someone else who loves Isobel that she lied to.

It should be noted that the second Max finds out about Liz creating a serum that she herself describes as a “weapon”, he circles the wagons. Everything he said to Michael about him not being “family” goes out the window when his siblings are threatened. It does not excuse his actions or words (as I said at the beginning, that’s not my goal here), but his apology to Michael and his immediate willingness to literally abandon his life in Roswell to protect Isobel (and Michael) shows his true feelings on the matter.

Max Evans is honest-to-goodness a really good guy. This season we see him get a lot thrown at him very quickly and he doesn’t always manage to deal with it with the best solution possible (understatement). Which doesn’t make him a bad guy. Ironically, it just means he’s human.

[sparrowofsong]

Here are the humans for my g/t au!! Here we have Remy, Emile, Patton, and Logan. Emile and Remy are married, and have adopted Patton. They live with Logan Sanders, Emile’s brother, due to lack of funds and Logan having the adequate space to accommodate them. Character descriptions under the cut!

Also, you can find the ask blog for this au at @ts-mythical-tinies, which is where the remainder of the story and any asks about it will be posted from now on.

Logan Sanders

Emile’s twin

A very successful scientist

Very emotionally distant

Puts progress and discovery and “logic” over morality

Basically encompasses that meme that’s along the lines of “he was so focused on if he could do it that he didn’t think about whether he should”

Laws put in place are the only things that hold him back from some experiments (and there are no laws about creatures most people don’t know exist…)

Doesn’t spend a lot of time with his family

Really only let them stay because it was the logical thing to do, as he already had a large empty house.

Doesn’t disapprove of his brother’s marriage so much as believe it was a logically unsound decision

“With people’s attitudes about people like you, perhaps marrying another man was not a good idea if you wanted a higher chance of getting a stable job.”

(secretly a very repressed gay but convinces himself it doesn’t exist for a similar reason)

Also doesn’t think adopting a child was a good idea, but tolerates Patton.

(he insists he doesn’t do any more than tolerate him, but we all see him wearing the necktie Patton got him for his birthday)

All in all just. a mess. Who has forced himself out of feelings “for the sake of science and logic”, but does slip up every so often.

Emile Picani

Logan’s twin

A counselor who helps children and teens, and some adults who specifically request him

An empath, feels other’s emotions and sometimes projects his own onto others if he isn’t careful

Is very sad and disappointed about Logan’s mindset with emotions and logic

Constantly tries to reach out to him, but tries not to annoy him so much that they get kicked out

Loves Remy with all his heart

They actually knew each other since college

Combats Logan’s argument against their marriage with “If no one challenged their views, nothing would change!”

Also loves Patton so very much

Decided to homeschool Patton after one too many instances of bullying

He was fine with Pat dying his hair so long as it was done safely

The bullying was the only issue he had, and he took care of it as soon as he could

Is really calm and open minded about most things, as long as you aren’t condoning violence or harm or something

(and the fact that Logan’s fine with either for the sake of science upsets him a lot)

Adopted a stray kitten from outside their old apartment

Bc kitty!! Somft

And most of the time the catto is an angel and Pat especially loves her but

Whenever the cat escapes she likes to bring back birbs as gifts

Which freaked Patton out the first time

And concerned Emile and Remy

So they don’t let her out

But sometimes she escapes

Remy Picani

Trans dude

Stays at home to keep an eye on Patton, but is constantly searching for legit online jobs

Does not like Logan

Is searching for online job so fervently because he wants his family away from Logan as soon as possible

He can’t stand how much Logan’s aloofness hurts Emile and Patton

He also got really really mad about Patton being bullied, and had to be convinced not to teach those kids’ parents a lesson

It especially stung him because the last straw was over Pat’s hair

Remy and Pat had both dyed their hair together, because while Patton was excited, he was also scared of being the only one

Remy’s hair was initially all red, but he didn’t redye it, so now it’s just the ends

Remy also loves Emile and Patton with all his heart

He is the embodiment of sass, much to Logan’s distaste and Pat and Em’s amusement

He doesn’t censor himself a lot, unless in a situation where it’s necessary

Patton Picani

Has synesthesia in multiple varieties

Letters and numbers and words and music have colors for him

People have tastes and colors based on their personalities and feelings respectively

Emile is lemonade, a really great drink (just like he’s a really great person), refreshing, cool, but can sometimes be bittersweet

Remy is hot chocolate, warm and toasty and homey and sweet, but can burn

Logan is lemon water. As in plain water that you just squeezed a bunch of lemons into. Sour and bitter and unpleasant, because there is no sugar to balance it out. But somewhat similar to Emile, as if there was a point in time where he could have been sweet.

Loves color. He loves color so much.

He was allowed to pick out his own clothes, and every single article of clothing is brightly colored.

Is cool with both traditionally boys and girls stuff, wearing pink dresses with blue light up race car tennis shoes

The moment he learned about hair dye, he asked his dads if he could get colored hair, and they allowed it

Draws and paints all the time

Can have trouble focusing quite a bit, which led to issues in public school

Got bullied for being girly and having gay dads and being adopted, none of which he had an issue with until being made fun of

Some parents (and even a teacher) also got onto him and his dads about their “lifestyle choices”

The last straw was when he dyed his hair bright purple, and some kids pulled his hair and poured milk and ketchup and such into it, which got into his eyes and caused an infection

Luckily for Pat, Emile had been saving up to get him homeschooled since the very first day he came home and said something about a kid laughing at his tutu, so he had enough shortly after the event

Remy was ready to throw hands

(Emile was too, but he convinced himself and Remy that it was a bad idea)

And since Emile is a good counselor, he was about to help Pat cope with everything in a healthy manner until he could leave

Patton does a lot better in homeschooling, which is catered in a way that makes doing things with his attention and memory issues a lot easier

He also got the pink and blue ties for Emile and Logan for their birthday

He said that “you guys are serious people, and serious people wear neckties!”

Emile laughed, and Logan silently tucked the tie in his pocket, mumbling a thanks

Logan never forgot the gift, and catches himself occasionally muttering that “serious people wear neckties, and I’m wearing a necktie” whenever someone tries to not take him seriously and he doesn’t feel like having a full on argument

[the-citrus-scale]

Chaotic Neutrals: The Walking Dead Edition

Fandom always seems to flock to morally gray characters, or as we call them here at The Citrus Scale, chaotic neutrals. The Walking Dead, in particular, is a fandom made up pretty much only of chaotic neutrals, but some are a little more chaotic than others. In this edition of our feature, we’ll talk about my personal favorite chaotic neutral, Negan, and another character very similar to him that many might not view as a chaotic neutral, Rick Grimes. Negan and Rick both do many, many questionable things throughout the series that fans attempt to justify for the sake of not vilifying them. This is why they are both great, albeit infuriating, characters.

Analyzing any character from The Walking Dead is a little tricky. While most of them originally lived in a world that functioned like ours, they don’t live in that world anymore. Their rules are dramatically different. With Negan and Rick, there’s also another layer to worry about, and that’s the fact that they’re foils. That means that their backgrounds and character arcs mirror each other, but are just varied enough to highlight the differences between them. You also have the wrinkle of comics vs. television show. At this point, it’s really best to consider each version as separate from the other. There are too many differences in character development and plot that make it disingenuous to try to smash everything together and analyze it that way. Therefore, we’ll be talking about the television show versions of these characters today.

Ultimately, in the question of who’s better, it’s really a wash and Negan and Rick end up about the same. We know, we know. It doesn’t seem possible, right? Well, trust us, it is. Negan isn’t as bad as everybody thinks he is, and Rick isn’t as great as everybody thinks he is.

That’s largely because the two men are very similar. Both Negan and Rick had positions of authority in their original roles in the world. Negan was a teacher and Rick was a cop, and these professions show in the way they treat people. Negan views others during the apocalypse as in need of a protector and organizer, someone who will tell them exactly what they need to do to stay safe and thrive. However, much like a teacher in a classroom, Negan isn’t afraid to make his own rules. Rick sees himself as policing a societal structure that already exists, the same structure that the original world operated on. He is also very focused on actions that we would call illegal, despite the lack of that structure in the new world, whereas Negan is concerned with all actions and how they affect the whole. Rick is mostly concerned about those closest to him, particularly his family, and he has shown repeatedly that he will prioritize their safety over everything else. Negan, on the other hand, since he has no family left to care for, leans more toward the welfare of everyone, not just one person. Regardless of their methods, the big similarity between these two is that they are both working towards the same goal. They both want to reestablish order in a world that no longer has any. Their methods may be different, but they want the same result.

What fans generally take issue with, though, is that methodology, and that’s because, quite frankly, both Negan and Rick’s motivations do not excuse any and all actions. Justifying the protection of a few key people is not enough to warrant jeopardizing a larger group, but the protection of the larger group doesn’t excuse any and all actions either. It also doesn’t necessarily mean that Negan’s actions aren’t justified just because he has no family to protect. Both men, at various points, say that what they’re doing is for the greater good, but that’s not a blanket excuse that can be used to bury all sins. It’s also very easy for fans to argue that an action was justified because they know the result, but when you’re forced to consider all the ways that situation could have turned out, the justification becomes murkier. It’s also pertinent to point out that Rick’s supposed commitment to democracy, which conveniently vanishes when he doesn’t get what he wants, by the way, also does not make anything he does more excusable simply because we think we’d like his system better.

But I’m sure you want some specific examples, don’t you? Sure you do. Let’s break these two bad boys, so to speak, down.

Negan’s a little easier to tackle, so let’s take him first. Negan runs The Sanctuary in The Walking Dead. It is arguably one of the safest communities we see during the course of the series, especially considering that it’s heavily implied that Negan has been there for a long time. In addition, the people in The Sanctuary are actually equipped to deal with the apocalypse, unlike, for example, Woodbury, where most of the inhabitants lived in ignorant bliss and were unprepared for what happened when their walls came down. Rick tried to establish a permanent community like that from day one, but he never really managed. Even Carl is impressed by what Negan has built during his visit. This alone lets us see some of the good in him. However, Negan’s primary means of control are extreme psychological warfare and violence, which leaves a lot of fans with bad tastes in their mouths.

Certainly violence is justified in the new world of The Walking Dead. Pretty much every character has to use it at some point, no matter how hard they try not to. And don’t get us wrong, a lot of the people who have violence directed towards them on the show deserve it. But how much is too much? Clearly a line can be drawn. While Negan doesn’t resort to violence unless it’s the absolute last thing he can do, the fact that he starts off his interactions with other communities with threats still doesn’t sit well. Although Rick’s diplomatic approach doesn’t always have the best outcome either (Terminus, anyone?), it seems like there should be some sort of happy medium. This could lead to some less unsavory methods of running The Sanctuary for Negan as well. Maybe a little more freedom within his system would be good for everyone.

Not that Rick is running things much better, really. Let’s put his multiple failures aside for the moment and focus on a few key instances when he goes, well, a little bit off the rails. The first is when his group is staying at the prison. Rick, Michonne, and Carl come upon a lone hitchhiker who runs after their car asking for help. They drive past him not once, but twice. Later, they find his abandoned bag by the side of the road and simply take it without another thought. And okay, we get it. Other people are potentially very dangerous in this new world. But this was one guy. And they were living in a prison. A prison. With cells. That they could close and lock. They kept Merle Dixon, a known threat who was working for their enemy, in one of those cells, and they couldn’t give this random guy a chance? Just letting him die seems unnecessarily cruel. At The Sanctuary, he would have at least been given a chance, and his fate would have been up to him.

Then there’s Alexandria. When Rick and the others arrive at Alexandria, it seems like a dream, but Rick and his group quickly decide that Alexandria is being mismanaged. Despite his supposed commitment to democracy and making the world a better place, Rick simply says that if Alexandria won’t do things the way they like, they’ll just take it over, which is exactly what they do. Now, we’re not saying that Alexandria wasn’t being mismanaged, but this seems like a pretty rapid escalation, and if it was being done to Rick, he certainly wouldn’t have liked it. It was a power move, and it worked out in the end, but that still doesn’t mean that it was justified.

Which brings us to Oceanside. Yes, Simon definitely overstepped when he culled the population of Oceanside. No doubt about it. But it wasn’t Negan’s order, and he didn’t condone it, so let’s put that aside for the moment. What we do know is that Rick marches into Oceanside and demands that they comply with his demands. He wants to take away all of the defenses of a terrified group just because he wants to fight after he let Negan take away all of his defenses, and he somehow thinks this is justified because he’s fighting their former oppressor, and is therefore the ultimate hero crusading for the greater good. Um, no, Rick. Just no. When Oceanside disagreed and didn’t want to do it his way, he made them get on their knees just like Negan made him get on his and he took what he wanted. Not the greatest move, dude. For all his talk about doing the right thing, Rick is definitely willing to step into the gray when it gets him what he wants. That is not being a good leader. We’re not saying that means he doesn’t ever do anything good, but he’s not the morally upright character everyone imagines him to be.

But Rick often receives the gift of the morally upright image because of other traits that make Negan seem a little less appealing from that same perspective. Specifically, we’re talking about his wives. Negan has multiple wives, and since we don’t see a lot of them in the series, the implication we’re left with is that these women trade sex for survival. While it’s fairly obvious why this arrangement gives viewers pause, it’s also hard to really judge Negan on it when we don’t actually know how it operates. Despite the implication that the trade is sex for survival, there is never any confirmation of that. None of the wives mention that sex is part of the deal, and the only sexual contact we see between Negan and any of his wives is one kiss that was clearly more about psychology than desire. I have a personal theory about this one, in fact. I think that the wives are not about sex at all. I think they’re Negan’s loophole to help those who might not be able to support themselves within his system because they don’t have skills that are particularly useful in the apocalypse. Frankie, for example, was a masseuse. Well, that’s not really something people are going to be looking for in this new world. But Negan likes massages, so he lets Frankie trade them for survival. Okay, okay. It’s a headcanon. But it could make sense, right?

And we can’t forget where these characters are now in this discussion. Negan is obviously not devoid of morals. He cares about people, even if it’s in an abstract way, and his particularly vicious stance against rape is something any woman can honestly appreciate. And no, these things don’t excuse his character flaws and actions. But in the end, Rick doesn’t learn as much as Negan. His victory and subsequent torment of Negan simply teach him that his unilateral decision-making was right in the end. Yes, he sacrifices himself for the people he loves, and that is admirable, but Rick hasn’t changed that significantly since the beginning of the series. Negan, on the other hand, has had time for self-reflection and has come to realize his mistakes. He has already proven that he’s capable of redemption, and hopefully we’ll see some more from him before either his character arc or the television series is over.

No matter what, the moral of the story is that while both characters are flawed, you are allowed to like them, and no one is allowed to demand that you explain why or make a case for why a character is good enough to be liked. You do you, and they can do them, and no one has to get in anybody else’s way.

[lucidlucy]

I gotta send this through three anons I am sorry! Part One: Lucy girl I’d hate to see you go. I am choosing to send this as an anon because I am trying to stay put of this discourse but I have to say I support you as a fanfic writer- you are amazing! Reylo writers are NOT here for our entertainment. We all read fanfic and interact with each other in what should be a supportive way.

Part Two: The problem comes down to Tumblr and the call out culture on here. While it is okay to lay out concerns and have positive discussions about critiquing stories especially about POC concerns, there is a way to go about it. Publicly, on Tumblr through a post is not. That’s what private messaging is for. From what I can see you never said anything out of the way, just offered your opinion. It is unfair that you are being targeted for that.

Part Three: I cannot condone what was done to MR; the invasion of her privacy regardless of who said what. I have never followed Empress and never will now. I am a reader not a writer but I follow many writers on here and I am shocked by what has gone on between my fellow Reylos. Many Reylo blogs I would have never dream of saying/seeing, the things I seen done. It was shocking and saddening at the same time. I am sorry you got involved with all this and people are attacking/hurting you.

Last Part!! I support you but I also support MR. I love and support all my fanfic writers. I just wish we all weren’t fighting amongst each other- we are all Reylos but I guess this is sadly changing. Take whatever time you need but please come back when your ready ❤️

Thank you for the kind words. Honestly, at this point the original concerns I had when I expressed my opinions have long since stopped becoming the issue and the wank has moved at breakneck speed towards territory I am wholly unfamiliar with. I have heard stuff from all sides and new information keeps coming out that contradicts previous information regarding your third point, and so as of right now, I’m both utterly lost on wtf is fully going on because it’s become a nasty fight of who-dun-it and fingerpointing over something that was NOT my and other people’s original discomfort w/ a racist trope being used.

People have lost sight of the fact that, regardless of personal beef between the author and the callout OP, those of us who did speak up otherwise saw something that made us personally uncomfortable. That was lost the second it became about “oh this is all about personal drama between x and y, nothing more,” and so all the other things being addressed by z (us) got brushed aside. We did go about it in the only way available to us, which is with grace and manners and by the textbook definition of what they tell people like me to do, which is to play nice. Unfortunately for us, tumblr is the only platform we have which allows multiple voices to be heard in semblance of a conversation, given as there’s no universal “reylo fandom” discord where literally all of us congregate at once to talk things out, or twitter, or even AO3, and it’s clear how the author responded to being approached personally one on one. Unpopular opinion, perhaps, but to me it feels more honest to make a post on tumblr signed under your own name than to go spreading things through the grapevine, regardless of what the post says. I think a lot of people fear and conflate calling out instances of potentially harmful behavior within fandom to it being the same as making stupid callouts over dumb things for the sake of driving people out. People misunderstood this callout post as “punishment” for the author when it was more about warning other people for whom this may turn to be harmful, so others are quick to defend the “wronged,” i.e: the author, rather than listen to the ones who may have been ultimately harmed by that content. 

 And I have had people trying to drag me back into this as if people are taking sides with ME, and I just want to reiterate not only do I not speak for all people, I am not asking people to rally to my banner, I am not fighting a war, there’s no “siding with Lucy.” I gave my two (very large) cents on what the original issue was as patiently and gracefully as possible, and that was ignored and made fun of, and there was a severe lack of empathy there that made me aware of who I can and can no longer trust, but aside from that, personally my part in this whole mess came to an end there. I am disillusioned with this fandom and how people treat others, but seeing as I have no actual freaking clue as to what is happening anymore, I am abstaining from further comment. 

If anything I’ve just decided I’m going to binge watch turkish shows on netflix and step out of this fandom for as long as it’s necessary to not want to just permanently leave, which is very much where I’m at. I do, however, leave you with this, Anon. The idea of a “reylo fam” is as toxic as it was ever useful. A reylo fam was a good thing when outsiders tried to gaslight us and patronize us and sent us death threats for daring to like a fictional ship. A “reylo fam” however is toxic and poisonous to hide behind because it also allows nasty people to hide behind the same banner, and it blinds others to the consequences and the harm it causes to let those people hide behind it. This is the internet, we may all be friendly, but that doesn’t mean we’re all friends, much less family, and “why can’t we get along” is oftentimes burying our heads in the sand when big, REAL issues crop up that should be addressed by us all. 

That should be common sense. but common sense, as it is, is often very uncommon, so I hope you don’t take this the wrong way but be wary of anyone trying to tell you to conform and not speak up when you see something inherently wrong happening just because we’re a reylo fam. If you stand for nothing then you fall for everything. 

[blackvail22]

im just ranting because im tired of keeping my thoughts in

2021/02/02, 4:08am - something that i’ve noticed is that i excuse a person whenever they cause me trauma because they mean something to be. i’ve done it with my mom, dad, and every guy friend i have/had (besides you). i’m doing it to the two friends i play games with everyday, and i’m letting them deeper and deeper into my life. they are misogynistic and homophobic and just... they have the views that are completely opposite of mine and are offensive. they’re about my age, maybe older, maybe younger. they take advantage of my kindness sometimes, and they sometimes make jokes of my trauma. i dont want to get rid of them, though, no matter how toxic they get. i know that this is wrong, to put myself and my needs before the bigger issues they feed into (homophobia, etc.). in a way, it’s saying that i condon their behavior. i usually speak out against them, but theh pick such a fight that i makes me start to shake and have blurred thoughts so i cant think of anything to say.

they are completely opposite of me in every single way. am i this desperate for someone to care about me? yes.

i dont have many friends, i dont have many people that actually care for me. i’ve been bullied since i was starting school and it got gradually worse, to the point where i was told be multiple different people for years to off myself. people doubt me, now. i let them abuse me, but now whenever i defend myself, they laugh. i get angry at them, and i get told on. i remember an instance two years ago, when i started to talk more often. for a math class, 5 people were going to be chosen to explain different problems, and i was the last one to be chosen. this popular kid said, “oh, come on! why her? she never even speaks!” and people in the class started to laugh at me. i felt so ashamed. the reason it hurts so much is because of the fact that i was talking so often to different groups of people. it showed how invisible i was, how invisible i am.

i crave to be cared for because ive never really had that before. it’s why i love relationships and having crushes. the problem, though, is sometimes my interest in someone will be false because of my crave for attention, for affection. it’s wrong, and it’s why i never want to get married. that, and the fact that being with one person until i die seems boring and terrifying.

i stayed up until 6am yesterday. when i woke up, i felt a feeling that i’d never felt before. i went to sleep to avoid it, and each time i woke up after the first time, i kept going back to sleep. it went on for about 5 hours, but my mom made me get out of my room. as much as i hate sleeping, i hate being awake just as much. for the most part, ive grown out of my fear of missing out while sleeping. no one really talks to me anymore unless i talk first, so it’s not like i’d be missing anything.

it’s okay, though. all of this is. i’ll be fine.

[compareandcontrast113]

essay writing service

About me

Best Essay Writing Service For College Students

Best Essay Writing Service For College Students I have the habit of procrastinating, and fortunately, discovered Management Writing Solutions to write my essay. Writers, here, are completely proficient and write essays like professionals. When you pay for an essay to be written, we value the belief you instill in us and guarantee you might be glad with the top product. Here’s what you should search for in an essay writing service earlier than placing your money on one. Due to her excellence within the subject, all of her clients completely love her dedication in the direction of writing high quality essays. Compare us to any faculty essay writing and you’ll see how we stand out in terms of pricing. As for the standard, our loyal customers are here to testify on it. Even if you rent a prime writing service, you could have a job to play. Give all the details on your project, so the writers can meet your expectations. When it involves delivering as many as a hundred pages of a dissertation, this writing firm will do justice for you. In writing, when a consumer is not glad with the work carried out by a specific author, PaperNow assures you of a free, custom revision inside the first two weeks of the assignment. This method, the writer may have enough time to recall the analysis and again up his or her research in case additional revision is required. With as little as $7 for editing and $13 for research, PaperNow assures all clients excessive-high quality assignments. PaperNow corrects all grammar mistakes and plagiarism points before submitting any project to the consumer. Bear in mind that an essay isn't finished once it’s written. Even skilled writers make structural errors or typos. Almost all service suppliers hire workers who're skilled to proofread texts and proper any errors. Make positive the company you choose offers such a service. Another necessary aspect of WowEssays service is that we don't restrict our useful supplies to essays only. Many students in each college and high school hire for on-line essay companies . Unlike other writing providers, EssayShark has an internally constructed plagiarism and grammar checker that enhances the quality of all carried out jobs. This platform covers countless topics in all fields of life with out losing time. The goal is to offer authentic papers whose reliability is past the slightest doubt. While we don’t condone outsourcing your homework or faculty assignments, there are some essay-writing services out there that may ‘help’ your academic efforts. Surely coming back with the subsequent research paper and essay assignment. Students, like you, prefer to maintain the personal credentials enveloped and that’s what we value probably the most. The method we provide our essay writing service where the absorbed database is extremely encrypted and no third-celebration has access to that. We present affordable essay writing service to ensure value for money. Rosa has done her skilled diploma in nursing courses and has been offering high quality nursing essays to all the customers. For occasion, you'll be able to see how argumentative essays are structured; or how APA/MLA papers are formatted; or what the titles of cause & impact essays are articulated. So testing an internet site that writes essays for you free may be a extremely good concept. It must be borne in thoughts, however, that the actualization of multiple academic features necessitates common follow. Furthermore, you have to perceive why the writing options provided by a free essays writer work and whether they apply to your explicit case. Order from us and you'll understand why we're the best choice on your custom writing needs. If by 'free session' you mean speaking to knowledgeable essay author in regards to the writing craft, then no, we don't have such an option available in the intervening time. Instead, we provide free essay writing assist in the form of samples' library, writing guides, and actionable ideas. Alternatively, you'll be able to contact our Customer Managers and get a detailed consultation regarding the paid services we provide, nuances of the ordering process or request a free price quote. The benefits of free on-line sample databases stem from the fact that you get hold of a chance to be taught by instance. Choosing an exciting subject for an essay and making a relevant outline are two difficult steps in writing. Legit essay providers let you focus on these points with the writer immediately by way of emails, chat, or phone calls.

[its-a-queer-thing]

Since they missed it...

Okay guys so today I found the doozie of all posts about Gallavich and it is negative so here is a doozy of a rebuttal. 

Ironically, I'm doing this new weekly thing and it's going to be called “In Case You Missed It” and OP, you definitely missed it. So I'm going to go through and just explain briefly why these statements are inaccurate.

literally constantly abuse each other

*while beating him up* “you love me, and you’re gay” ???? imagine thinking that’s how you heal internalized homophobia wow ian can choke

they’re just??? not fit for each other at all??

like mickey is dangerous af to be in a relationship or even near with how does that work for someone who’s bipolar

pretty sure mickey is bi (??), and ian is canonically biphobic like that’s so bad

they had so much potential???? like if they changed A Lot they could’ve been great

that last part of s7 was,,,kinda unnecessary lmao

 So the only instances of true abuse that we see in this would be their first meeting/the fight before they have sex for the first time, Mickey’s punching Ian in season 3, and Ian punching Mickey is season 5 (so quite inconsistent and usually with an explanation; not to excuse it but to understand it). I've already posted my first argument for their first meeting, so I'm not going to go too deep into it, but what I will reiterate is people tend to forget that Mickey was chasing after Ian not because he just wanted to... he didn't just follow him around trying to beat him up because he didn't like his face or wanted his lunch money like a playground bully; he was trying to punish him supposedly raping his sister. Mandy falsely told Mickey that Ian raped her! So what's he going to do? Well I know plenty of people in real life who are going to go after him and do what they can to fuck him up, so I would probably say that his reaction is a normal one. Then they fight before they have sex for the first time a few episodes later. Let’s all remember what just happened: Mickey stole a gun Kash pulled on him and Ian went to the Milkovich house while everyone was asleep with a tire iron in hand to get it back. Obviously, Mickey fights back. We can blame his response on his being a thug and having a background which teaches him to be too proud to just hand the gun over quietly, or even blame the patriarchy for his male ego which tells him to teach the scrappy kid a lesson about sneaking into his house to try to take something from him (not an unreasonable reaction from anyone honestly. I know lots of people who probably would have responded similarly). Then they have consensual sex. Mickey gives the gun back. 

The only thing I can think OP is referring to about abuse up until the punches in 3x09 is how Mickey deflects any attempts from Ian to be intimate and establish an emotional connection. Let’s remember what is going on in Mickey’s world: He has a homophobic father, Ian has already established that being gay in his neighborhood is just begging for fagbashing, and Mickey probably literally hates himself for being attracted to men despite the fact that he has been taught to beat up gay people rather than be gay himself. OF COURSE he doesn’t want to show Ian any emotional connection! If there’s no emotional connection, it’s just sex and remember: “Liking what I like don’t make me a bitch.” He’s basically reduced his sexuality to a kink and refused to allow any of it to externally mean anything to him, even when it’s PAINFULLY clear that Ian matters to him. And even though he was trying to keep his distance, his jealousy makes it all too clear (to most) that Mickey cares and Ian sees right through it! That’s why he dangles Ned in Mickey’s face to show him what he wants and that Mickey COULD be in this position if he’d just open up. Mickey kisses Ian when Ian reveals that’s what he wants, he tries to spend as much time with Ian as possible... I just don’t know how I can make it any clearer that Mickey has been head over heels for this boy since practically day one.

So now let’s move on to the punch in 3x09. HAVE WE FORGOTTEN THAT MICKEY WAS JUST RAPED AT GUNPOINT AND NOW IAN IS COMING INTO MICKEY’S SPACE TRYING TO PUSH HIM!?!??!?!?! Mickey is showing classic signs of rape trauma syndrome and here Ian is trying to push him into just letting everything go back to the way things were, and to Mickey that is too painful at this point. He can’t look at Ian because if Ian had been killed by Terry that would have been his fault. Because he was just raped because of his relationship with Ian. Because despite all of that he still loves Ian and is even more determined not to admit it because the wounds haven’t even completely scabbed or scarred over yet! He tries to distance himself emotionally and physically from Ian but Ian keeps following him and won’t let up! So, he shuts him up. I’m not saying it’s okay, but I am urging anyone to look at this situation remembering Mickey’s perspective and even try to tell me that they wouldn’t have done what Mickey did. I probably would have. Is it okay? No. But it is a fight-or-flight reflex at this point. Flight wasn’t working, so he fought. 

As for Ian, I doubt he thought this would cure Mickey’s internalized homophobia by verbalizing what Mickey is trying to deny to himself. I just think Ian was desperate to make a point and get through to Mickey. Why? Because he’s in love with Mickey and knows Mickey returns the feeling but refuses to acknowledge that. Can you even imagine how badly that hurts?! Ian was just trying to get through to him because let’s be honest, Ian’s kind of invisible with the Gallaghers. That’s why he’s so attached to older men that give him (negative and pervy) attention and to Mickey, his best friend and someone who is actually good for him. When he’s with Mickey, he has someone to talk to, be himself with, be with someone his own age AND at least he isn’t fucking 40 year old men!!

 Then things are great between them (and I mean effing GREAT!!!) until 5x10 when Ian punches Mickey. Now in this case, Ian is feeling backed into a wall because he’s feeling coddled and like he’s losing his autonomy because of the disorder and doesn’t like it. All Mickey was trying to do was prove to Ian that nothing was going to change, and sadly he went the complete opposite direction with it. Granted, this isn’t a very good excuse either, but I do understand it! Though I will NEVER condone domestic violence in any form, the fight they had on the baseball field I think was a much needed release of pent up frustration they each had towards each other from everything going on in season 5. And even if someone were to consider these things domestic violence, let’s talk about “consistent.” Three physical altercations over the course of 7 seasons?? Consistent? M’kay.

So... what part of their relationship makes them not good for each other? And when is Mickey dangerous for Ian? The part where they give each other someone to confide in and trust? The part where neither of them judges the other for literally ANYTHING and will do just about anything to help the other? The part where Mickey did literally everything to help Ian with his bipolar from trying to keep him from being labeled crazy at a mental institution (which he feels SO guilty for when it backfires, let’s remember) to doing his research to make Ian’s transition into his meds as easy as possible so they can get back to their normal routine, which he knows they both want. Was Mickey dangerous when he tracked Ian’s ass all over southside looking for him and brought him home to a jealous wife (his rapist) after discovering him in a pile of ice? When he told Ian that it was fine if he didn’t want to see him but to go home because his family is worried about him, even though it’s clear from the number of times Mickey asked about Ian in the beginning of the season that he wants him back in his life probably more than anything? Was he dangerous when he defended Ian against perverts? When he refused to allow Svetlana to kick Ian out after the diagnosis? When instead of breaking up with Ian (or even lashing out in any way really) for cheating he recognizes this as the final straw to show that Ian is sick and needs help? When he encourages Ian to get help? When he resorts to asking for help when Ian is bedridden? I can’t even take these points seriously because it’s abundantly clear OP only watched season 1 and MAYBE two. 

Mickey is not bi. Gay men are capable of having sex with women but it’s usually harder to accomplish because they are not attracted to women as they are men. Mickey had sex with women (we assume multiple?) to assert his straightness but we don’t know to what degree he did so successfully. For all we know that afternoon with Angie Zago ended the same way it ended with that random girl from 5x12 in which they had been going at it for like an hour and things still weren’t working out. Trust, Mickey is gay not bi. I think you’d be shocked by the number of gay men who say they are capable of having sex with women, but DEFINITELY prefer men.

As to Ian being biphobic, that is a load of horseshit. If anything, he may be uneducated on the subject, and now he’s going to be even more confused because Caleb fucked it all up. If people are seriously upset at Ian for being angry at Caleb for trying to say gay men can have sex with women and are still gay... I don’t even know what to say. GAY men CAN have sex with women but won’t want to because they are sexually attracted to men. BI men are attracted to men and women and CALEB was not representing bisexuality. Caleb is a bi man who refuses to acknowledge his bisexuality because he doesn’t recognize bisexuality as a thing, so tries to say all gay men are also attracted to women too to a certain degree (which Ian then sets out to discover if it’s true or not and finds out it’s not). Caleb is a horrible bi representative. Bi people don’t go out and cheat on their partner just because they are in a “straight” relationship and so feel they can go have sex with someone of the same sex or vice versa with a “gay” relationship. If a bi person wants to have sex with someone else, they should do what any other sexual preferenced person does and TALK TO THEIR PARTNER BEFORE STICKING ANYTHING ANYWHERE WITH ANYONE ELSE! Had Caleb talked to Ian about it, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation. The fact is, Caleb is a cheater and Ian did give women an honest try and discovered (again) that he himself is 100% gay. Too many people confuse bisexuality with polyamory and while there is nothing wrong with polyamory the fact is they are not the same, and I will forever resent Caleb for further mixing up the two for people who don’t know better. (BTW, I am a bi woman in a f/f relationship so don’t even try to fight me on this one).

HOW COULD THEY HAVE CHANGED ANY MORE THAN THEY ALREADY DID?! Mickey literally went from “Kiss me and I’ll cut your fuckin’ tongue out” to “C’mere.” From “What do you think we are boyfriend and girlfriend?” to nonchalantly referring to himself as Ian’s boyfriend/partner/lover/family. Went from distancing himself from Ian to openly admitting to missing him and worrying about him. Saying that they had potential if only they’d changed more after all of the fucking development they had is a slap in their beautiful faces. Those young men changed so much for each other and did so much for each other and honestly expecting more out of either of them is literally not paying attention.

All of season 6 and 7 was unnecessary... Moving on.

So, OP, I dedicate my series “In Case You Missed It” to you and people who feel similarly. I sincerely hope you read the masterpost and go back to watch the series in its entirety and this time actually pay attention. In my first post I mention that basically all of the characters in Shameless are unreliable narrators and that’s because in Shameless just about every character has something they are hiding from others around them and themselves. So the brilliance of Shameless comes from the actors who show the audience how the character is really feeling with their eyes and their actions rather than their words.

I have officially spent too much time shutting this bullshit down and I’m getting a much needed glass of wine.

Cheers!