#when a person from a vulnerable group says they're being hurt. stop the problem at the ROOT

[sunfoxfic]

about the “recognizing stereotypes is actually what’s racist” thing NO BC THAT TAKE HAS BEEN SO AGGRAVATING TO ME FOR SO LONG.

without going into the eight page long essay about how passionately i feel about this, all i have to say is how important it is to recognize stereotypes in media in order to accurately understand what’s wrong with them and criticize the media we consume in our everyday lives.

if you just Watch Media without recognizing the problems the stereotypes represent, you just end up internalizing them. to better describe what i mean, its just like the problem with anime and misogyny. you see it happen again and again and again and again, and eventually your brain (since it learns from patterns and familiarity) starts to expect that women and feminine-presenting people are in those roles and Only those roles.

go into it with a mindset of “oh these stereotypes are okay, i cant think about it or else im the bad one” and suddenly theyre just like the people on tiktok who just throw around buzz words without any critical thought behind it.

okay thats all, thank u for coming to my summarized ted talk

Anon, you're so valid. It was such a bizarre take and unlike anything I've personally run into before. It's like?? It almost treats coding as though it's a retroactive association with *insert group here* rather than an intentional insinuation. Coding in and of itself is a neutral thing - plenty of coding is used for good, plenty of coding is used for bad. Sometimes it's really hard to tell the difference between subtext and coding, too (and subtext is also in and of itself neutral).

When you frame coding, and in particular racist sorts of coding, as a retroactive association, it turns it into a no-win situation - the person who points out the coding is the one creating the association, and therefore is the one who is bigoted.

In my eyes, when you're calling out bigoted stereotypes via coding, the "best" outcome is for the creator to have been thoughtlessly replicating bigoted media. We'll never know if she-who-shall-not-be-named was doing it intentionally or unintentionally at first (it being anything you can think of, there are more than a few examples) but clearly her reaction to being called out is to dig her heels in the ground, so considering the "best" outcome is kinda moot in this particular case.

But yeah, you're really spot on with the thing about stereotypes. Because even if you can recognize that the stereotype is wrong while simultaneously keeping your mouth shut about it in fear of someone thinking you're the one who's doing the coding, you're the one who's bigoted - even if you can manage that, you're letting these ideas perpetuate to someone who doesn't know.

My politics recently have shifted to the ideology that "what works > what is ideal." I'm not interested in debating whether the person who knew it was wrong and said nothing is more innocent than the person who wasn't educated on the matter and adopted the ideas without critical skills to challenge them. I'm not interested in debating whether the latter was a victim, whether the former is part of the problem. Ideals are great when applied inwardly but nothing trumps results when trying to change the world - and it is true, great is the enemy of good.

In an ideal world, everyone could just agree to stop this sort of bigoted coding in works and then we don't have to worry about whether it's retroactive or not. We don't live in an ideal world. The actual way that it works is that, regardless of innocence and morality, change depends on Person 1 calling shit out so Person 2 doesn't fall into it. Is that sort of act an act of social justice, or just what a good citizen does? Should people get credit for it?

Man, fuck if I know. People in three hundred years won't be studying me in their textbooks either way because I don't want them to, but where we are now, people are dying and the climate is changing, so I really prioritize making a world where they have trees to make into textbooks and a history that's written not only by the victors, but the good guys.

[unforth]

I started to write this as a reply to @vex-verlain but realized it should be it's own post.

To be clear, this is about @end-otw-racism and why I support this movement (even if I don't agree with all their proposals).

I am profoundly anti-censorship. It has been one of my biggest personal issues my entire adult life. I will absolutely defend the speech rights even of people I think are utterly reprehensible, even the rights of people who want me and my family dead. I think their speech has a right to exist, full stop.

But.

Being anti-censorship in no way means being anti-moderation. I often see people who are pro-ship, anti-anti, or "too old to use a name for telling yall you're clowning" say that AO3 is supposed to be a safe space for WRITERS, not READERS, and that to me is one of the big ways that the current harassment and moderation policies are badly failing writers of color. There's no way to 100% protect all writers, period, on AO3, and to me it seems like a no-brainer that if the goal is "protect all speech, avoid all censorship, minimize harm to real people," the only way to accomplish all those goals it to have a really robust, well-moderated system that prioritizes reducing harassment - ALL harassment - without looking the other way on certain topics just because they're harder and thornier to sort through. A way to section the groups that are oil and water away from each other, through blocking, powerful filters, comment options, etc (some strategies we do have now, btw! They HAVE been adding functionality in this direction, but it's clearly not enough.)

Currently, protecting people who write bigoted shit is causing active harm to fans of color. We see the impacts of this harm constantly; I personally have seen many, many Chinese and Chinese diaspora fans driven out of white danmei fandom circles for all sorts of reasons, and if yall are in fandoms that often have bipoc in them I'm sure you've seen the same (and if you are in a fandom that doesn't have many bipoc it might be wise to take a moment and consider why it doesn't.)

I just really want more people to take a step back and ask themselves why they think an anti-censorship position necessitates an anti-moderation stance, and also why they think being pro-moderation is the same as being pro-censorship.

I defend the rights of bigoted shit to exist.

What I don't defend is the right of the people who create that stuff to weaponize it against vulnerable people.

Regarding AO3, I personally support a solution that involves some way of sectioning off the bigoted shit. I'm not sure exactly how that would work but I think some kind of major archive warning is a solid start. Also maybe a way of flagging authors who are frequent offenders. And to be clear...it's not my job or responsibility to know exactly how to accomplish this. I'm no expert. That's why I'm supporting a movement that explicitly says AO3/OTW SHOULD HIRE AN EXPERT. And I know it would be expensive...and I know many, many of us would donate to a funds drive to raise the money to cover that expense.

I've seen too many friends get profoundly hurt, and I'm so tired of (overwhelmingly white) fandom circles pearl clutching over this not being an issue, that the real problem is that this will lead to censorship of (checks notes) Nazi shit, spitefic, and the other dregs of fanfiction (which, again, has a right to exist! But God why are so many of y'all favoring IT over ALL THE FIC THAT WILL NOW NEVER EXIST BECAUSE BIPOC GET BULLIED OUT OF WRITING IT.)

It's clearly an issue.

And we have to speak up and demand better or it will continue to be an issue.

Please, please listen to the bipoc who've managed to not be driven out of fandom and understand that *things need to change,* which means, for us white folks:

1. A lot of listening to the people who've been harmed

2. Using our voices to amplify theirs

3. Standing up to bigotry we see in our fandom communities

4. Shutting up when they ask us to shut up

5. Checking our own behavior and doing our best not to be part of the problem, and, if and when we go awry, owning it with maturity and apologizing and doing our best to make amends and not repeat our mistakes

...and probably more but those are the first things to come to mind.

Please stop siding with people who've decided they are entitled to spew vile shit, stop prioritizing their writerly protection over the safety of equally valid writers who also deserve protection and are being targeted and hurt. All you do by siding with the assholes is amplify their voices while silencing bipoc and create a space that protects bigots. Is that REALLY the hill you want to fight on?

None of us know it all. We can all learn to do better. I'm personally here to learn, and listen, and improve.

And I'm here to shout from the rooftops that we can be anti-censorship and pro-moderation.

I am, and you should be too.

[the-autistic-agoraphobe]

I was scrolling through my Facebook when I came across this monstrosity. There is alot wrong with this post and I am going to discuss it.

First Autism isnt something that should be prevented or cured  to "prevent" or "cure" Autism is like trying to stop me from existing in a way because if I wasn't Autistic I wouldn't be the person that I am. Being Autistic affects every aspect of my personality and my life. When I hear the words "preventing Autism" or "curing Autism" I hear that people like me shouldn't exist. Which is very harmful and hurtful. Autism is not a bad thing it is a neutral thing and a natural variation of humans. To "prevent" or "cure" Autism is like trying to "prevent" or "cure"  gayness which isn't right. Autism isnt a disease or illness.

Secondly most Autistic folk don't believe the colour blue should be used to represent Autism because it is associated with a group known as Autism Speaks. Autism Speaks has been very problematic to Autistic folk as they advocate for a "cure" for Autism and subject many Autistic people to abusive therapies. They don't listen to the voices of Autistic folk when it's our disability. Most Autistic people prefer to use the colours red and gold instead.

The next problem is that Charlie Brown and Snoopy are wearing shirts that depict a puzzle piece symbol. Even though some Autistic folk like to use the puzzle piece as the missing piece to the mystery about why they have felt different for many years and found out that they're Autistic many Autistics are against the puzzle piece symbol for Autism. There are a few reasons for this. One reason is that Autism Speaks which was mentioned above uses it heavily. Another reason is that it implies that we are a puzzle that needs to be solved. Again Autism doesn't need to be cured. Only Autistic people should use the puzzle piece. A popular symbol amongst the Autistic community is the infinity symbol which implies that there are infinite ways of thinking.

The last thing I want to mention that it is highly likely that the business "Cooly sunny" isn't ran by Autistic people as they have made many mistakes with his post that an Autistic person wouldn't make. I feel as though they are taking advantage of Autism to make money. If you wish to support Autistic people this April I would advise buying Autism stuff from businesses owned by Autistic people. There is plenty of good Autism stuff for sale on Etsy.

I would advise that Cooly Sunny should stop selling these shirts and make an apology to Autistic folk and learn more about Autism from Autistic folk. They also contradict themselves by saying that they want to get rid of Autism but yet to accept Autism that doesn't make sense. Remember this April to listen to Autistic people about Autism. It's our disability and we know what being Autistic is like through first hand experience.

Image Descriptions:

1: There is an advertisement on Facebook from a brand called "Cooly Sunny". There is black text on a white background that says "Autism Awareness & Prevention Autism Awareness Month is is coming! We Wear Blue to rep the love, support and attention we give to those we love. Join the fight to end Autism with our new Autism Awareness & Prevention T-shirts. Care more about the vulnerable groups around you, they are kind but need your love! To help others is to help yourself, let's unite, give this cold world some more warmth! Everyone is matter! Everyone is loved! Shop Now (link to shop)

Hashtag AutismAwareness hashtag Autism hashtag Blue hashtag Love" Their profile picture is "cooly sunny" written in black text on a white background.

2: There is a blue shirt with white text on it. The white text says "I wear blue for Autism Awareness accept understand love" Snoopy who is a cartoon black and white beagle dog is on the shirt beside his owner Charlie Brown. Charlie Brown is a white cartoon boy. Both Charlie and Snoopy have their heads tilted up so you can see underneath their chins. They are both wearing blue shirts with puzzle pieces on them. End Descriptions.

[sunnyzzz-starz]

this is gonna have a lot of bias from my own experiences and the experiences of people im close to but im gonna yap for a minute here

the relationship of adults and children as whole groups at least in my experience comes down to "an adult says "youre just a child what would you know" which then leads to adults not understanding what the issues are/kids not telling them" way too much of the time, im not like saying kids know everything adults do or that they should be treated like they do, they're not adults and should be allowed to just be kids, but when a child tells you theres an issue or they're struggling, it shouldnt be brushed to the side so simply as it often is, if a child says their struggle is the worst thing ever, it very well could be to them, or even if its not, brushing past a small thing can lead to them feeling as though their emotions and struggles are being disregarded, which can prevent them from telling you issues in the future. listen to someone, you dont know how much it could affect them.

another issue is a lot of the time (again mostly focusing on the relationship between kids and adults but specifically parents on this one, although this can apply between friends and shit) someone will make it more about them than the person who opened up, as much as you cant always stay strong for someone and other people's struggles can hurt you, im not saying they cant, if someone tells you something has happened to them, or any other issues, listen to them and focus on their feelings, dont sacrifice your own health completely for others, you need to look after yourself as well, but look after them too, you dont have to always let people load their problems onto you, please dont do that actually it can really take a toll on you, but be there for someone and let others help you too

if someone opens up to you, fucking listen, you don't know how important it can be to listen about something small until something fucking major happens and they dont tell you because you disregarded them in the past

and tell someone if youre struggling, anyone, youre not alone in this shit, hell fucking text me if you dont have someone, id rather listen to you, whether we're friends or i dont even know you, than have you suffer in silence

that was a lot to basically say, dont suffer in silence, and dont let yourself be the reason that others do. fucking listen to people if theyre willing to open up to you, for some people, they'll open up to basically anyone, but for others it is so fucking hard to, and i fucking know how impossible it can feel. listen to those people, and listen to the ones who are able to open up easily too, dont be the reason they stop being willing to. this shit fucking matters, dont be a dick and disregard someone when they're vulnerable.

life can be so fucking hard.

but hey, im just a kid, how would i know?

[luimagines]

I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable, so please delete this if it makes you uncomfortable/think it'll make anyone uncomfortable. Deepest apologies if it does.

How would the reader deal with their periods if they get them? How do you think the chain would react? Personally, I think more than half of them would be very confused and the others would try desperately to keep them from upsetting the reader/making them uncomfortable.

Again, really really sorry if I make anyone uncomfortable 😣

Trigger warning?? Blood??

I don't know. You're fine buddy. I'm not personally uncomfortable with it. It's just a fact of life. But if you (the reader) are, then just skip this one..... I'll put it under the cut for your convivence! Problem solved. :D

Now they vary between reactions obviously.

I try to keep Reader as gender neutral as possible but I must admit this does bring up some specific scenarios in my head.

I'm sure Reader would have dealt with it before if they've traveled before. If they're just yoinked from home then it would be a different thing entirely. I would like to assume they would have asked for supplies secretly when they entered the next town over. Which would be the smart thing to do.

If they didn't do that, then the next best bet is to find some gauze or say goodbye to their pants. The chain mostly likely have some gauze though, in their medical supplies, so Reader is covered and the damage can be lessened to their clothing.

Wolfie notices immediately, naturally. The pup can smell it.

Twilight suddenly appears to be more understanding and offers them to ride on Epona. No questions asked. They can't stop progress over cramps and bleeding, he knows this but he can try and make it more comfortable for Reader at least and help them not feel like they're holding the group back.

He ignores the idea of stains on the saddle. They have soap and water and he can give Reader some more cotton or gauze if they need it to help out.

Twilight gives hints to the others in the group. If they catch on, great! They can help. If they don't, well. It saves Reader some face and they don't have to explain much.

Warrior catches on quickly and offers some pain meds in private. He has a lot. Warrior would carry them out of habit from being on the battle field for so long and again- more of the main warriors from his troops were females. He knows.

Sky and Wild take the initiative to make sure that Reader stays as comfortable as possible. Wild provides the comfort food and the hot water bottles and Sky works with making their bed roll and horse ride comfy. Sail cloth included.

Wind doesn't really know what's going on and Hyrule doesn't know what's happening either. They get told that Reader is a bit hurt and is going to feel sick for a few days but they'll be better in no time. Hyrule offers the healing spell- which... doesn't help as much as he wants it to but a little bit goes a long way. Wind tries to keep their spirits up and tells them stories of his life and home and the other stupid things the group did before Reader showed up wanted to keep quiet but he's not above taking out all the dirt he has on them.

Legend and Time figure it out quite quickly and also do their best to make Reader comfortable. They're vulnerable in this state and the group can't afford to slow down on their behalf unfortunately. they must be covered until they recooperate.

This only solidifies Wind and Hyrule's idea that Reader is quite injured and need just a little more support.

Four doesn't realize what's happening period. (ha!) Like, he knows what it is and he's been around it. But everyone does a good job of just... smoothing things over that he just... doesn't notice. ^.^*

He thinks that it's business as usual and Reader caught a weird bug and it's just how things will be for the next few days. When Reader is back to normal he'll be happy to have them feeling better and be none the wiser. (if he figured it out earlier- which he will when it inevitably happens again- then he'll be kinder and snag them some chocolate and a soft blanket next time their in town).

[shyrose57]

Brothers anon and I actually was skipping through the official City of Mizu episode and realized I missed Skeppy as a idol. So if you follow Skeppy you get to learn about different kinds of gems and what they can be used for, get trained on proper safety when mining, what to look for and avoid when mining, and they also get to go on supply runs that specifically require mining, though not many people follow Skeppy because mining is dangerous. Also I missed Charles personality a good bit so ima change it to where he's still quite, reserved and anxious, but is adventurous, curious, dedicated to his interests, and when given the chance or talking about his interests he gets very excited and talks a lot. Like a excited puppy. 

1: People can get kicked out of a idol following for many reasons, like disrespecting the idol and their peers, claiming some of the history their learning is fake, attacking anyone in the city (like stabbing, they just get chastised for fist fights), and breaking multiple rules of the city. And some people don't choose a idol, though its highly unlikely as those who don't know what idol to pick tend to pick Tommy or Tubbo. Those who choose not to choose a idol, tend to only work in farming, as its a easy job to learn. Its for these people that the idol-less council member was added, the council member also represent other cities and kingdoms that do still acknowledge and trade with Mizu. Most houses are actually built out of the side, like how we saw the idol rooms in the official episode, and their kind of scattered about, theres some halls filled with homes, but some halls have no homes. The halls with the homes tend to be the biggest/widest halls of the city, as to allow for room for the families living there, and also because theres sometimes stores in this area. Some halls also have multiple levels to allow for more room, these specific halls are referred to as Residential Complex, and only house homes in their multiple levels. While halls that hold only a few homes arent called anything special. Because outside affairs are very complex, most kingdoms and cities ignore Mizu, treating them with disgust and some times, people who have done supply runs that go into cities have reported having higher prices on what they want to buy, and disrespect from all citizens and police. But some kingdoms and cities respect them and trade with them without any tricks. The councils main agurement in this situation is that, the nice city is very far away, a weeks travel, but the mean city is close, only a 2 day walk away. They agure about what to do and what city to travel too for all supply runs. And another agurement that the council often has is what to do with visitors, they had visitors in the past that had destroyed and stole items in Mizu while causing disruptions, but some also brought their own culture and items and happily exchanged said culture and items. So their conflicted on if visitors should be welcomed or turned away. 

3: He went through what Ranbob did, being held to high standards that he just couldn't meet. But unlike Ranbob, he spoke up about his problems and managed to get held to lesser standards and allowed time to recover. When he moved out he originally lived on his own in a forest, and because he was vulnerable to monsters he didn't know how to handle, he had to make many fast paced despite when cornered by monsters or when trying to save crops or his house. And since he was also the oldest child of a 6 child family, he had to constantly look after his siblings, giving him his father-like attitude and knowing how to help people in basically almost any situation. His siblings are (current ages) Nick-17, calm, information nerd, introverted and Benjamins favorite brother. Rock-10, a tiny gremlin that loved to mess with people, he often broke bones or broke items when playing due to his rough play style and broke rules, Benjamin was the only one who could calm him. Ion-16, a teen that is very adventurous and always wandering off, she always talked about traveling the world, the hardest one for Benjamin to keep track of. Stellar-13, in love with space, but other than that is a normal child, but she also has a fascination with monsters like enderman, often wondering where they come from, Benjamin doesnt have any strong opinions on her.  And finally, Juka-15, they are very invested in redstone, often experimenting on it and trying to make different things with it, often the stuff they make blows up, Benjamin admires Juka's persistence and love for redstone but also wishes they'd stop blowing up the damn kitchen. 

8: Totems do exist, their just so rare its not believed Techno managed to have and use one. So that part of the story got lost and left out over time. Pandoras vault has fallen, mostly because of a break out by Dream that destroyed most of it, and because it had fallen into disrepair. And they do have such advanced technology to make such a prison now, but they doubted the SMP had such technology and availability to do it in their time. And there is also a great lack of evidence (expect for the actual building, but even then people agure it was used for something else) supporting the existence of Pandoras Vault. 

Ran and Ranbob used to feel confused and hurt, not understanding why the world hated their home and why the world was so mean to them. Over time they learned why they where shunned, but still didn't completely understand. Eventually they grew used to it, and learned to avoid saying where they lived, unless they wanted to partake in a fight. They very very rarely say that they came from Mizu, as they had learned long ago from both classes and personal experience. But a few times it was revealed they lived in Mizu, they had to just endure it and move along, even though Ran really wanted to punch a fucker. They became friends when Charles went to him during the trip to the flower field, asking to join in on a game he was playing. Its a miracle the two didn't get a heart attack tbh.

10: He was not! Ranbob was too weak for Dream to access all of his powers. And Dreams constant hold of control and withholding food and all the essentials from him, made him even weaker. No one is aware of it, not even Ranbob. A mix of pissed, a weird sort of pride, and determination. The pride and determination is there because knowing Dream thinks that way of them, confirms that they're enough of a threat that Dream actually acknowledges them. And helps them believe that they could truly beat Dream if they tried. Though it also means Dream will try his damned best to kill them. 

13: Yeah he comes out on top, he still has some advantages over the others even without tatics, like his speed and he knows how to sneak around and use the area to his advantage pretty well. 

14: He seemed more finicky, more nervous and anxious. Constantly trying to seperate himself from the group when he tends to stay very close by. And more on edge/quick to snap at others.

 Ayy! Starting off with Skeppy and Charles, what a wonderful way to begin. How did Skeppy’s few followers mine? Were there mines under the sea floor? Did they travel out of Mizu to go find mines in the earth? 

1: Hm, interesting. The idol-less leader seems to have quite a bit on their shoulders, if they deal with all outside affairs. Were they specifically selected to learn their position? Since you said most of them farm, but all those politics and stuff seem kind of different from it. Does Ranbob remember any of the nice cities? Did either boy ever meet a former visitor that recognized them from back then?

3: Benjamin’s family sounds really cool. Does the gang ever get to meet them? If so, how do they get along with them?

8: Huh. Well, how about Woodland Mansions? What happened to those, to make totems so rare? So Pandora still stands today? Cool. Does the gang ever come across it? Where would it be located-or well, what areas would be around it? Is it used for anything else nowadays?

And that sucks. If this happens while the brothers are at odds with each other, do they still help each other out with it, since they’re being mocked about their home, or do they just ignore it, and such. How do their respective groups feel both about them being from Mizu, and how they’re treated for it, both before and after the two hauntings started to merge? Did it effect how they thought of them in anyway?

And that sounds cute. What game was it, and who won? 

10: Hmm. Was Dream aware he was causing Ranbob to become weaker, or was he that out of touch with human needs? Also, I think I remember way back then, you mentioned this part of Dream was the evil bits that survived his death.

What do you think would happen if they somehow managed to end up seeing the good parts, maybe with a similar artifact that Ranbob found in your supposed fluff?

13: Nice.

14: Oh, no. That’s not good.

[sprinkledonion-blog]

Another real long “I don’t like Bumbleby” post (Part 2)

Part 1 is here. 

The Adam fiasco

We’ve reached the most controversial point in the essay: Adam.

Adam was… a symbol. He didn’t have much to offer in personality and screentime, but he represented. Until he stopped representing and became a mere tool for Bumbleby to develop.

I know, I know, another Adam fan who coincidentally dislikes Bumbleby. What can I say?

Adam was the sacrificial goat for Bumbleby. His existence became so tied to them that his whole faunus vs SDC plot became just an afterthought. He became a puppet to do Evil Things; if you pay close attention, especially in daylight scenes, you can actually see the strings on his back.

Adam had lost his way in every sense of the word. And he became a monster: Bumbleby’s heart.

Bees are gonna beat me up for this one.

Yes, Adam became such a vital piece for Bumbleby to develop, their whole relationship revolved around him. Yes, he traumatized both girls, but V1-V2 gave us nothing else to chew on. No bonding, no cute smiles, no development. Adam triggered the rise of Bumbleby like kaboom. Bam, now there’s Bumbleby. And what cemented their relationship? Killing him.

I need to ask: why does a wlw relationship revolve around a man? Why does everything in RWBY come back to a man? Jaune speaks over Ruby. Pyrrha dies so Jaune can have development. Qrow steals screentime along with Oscar like a madman. Adam is a matchmaker. Can the “RWBY is a feminist show” take die already? It ran away when Pyrrha was fridged.

Worse is? Bumbleby is good because Bumbleby is BETTER than Tauradonna.

Or so it seems. Ahem.

Now. Of course it’ll be better than Tauradonna, as it isn’t an abusive relationship. But what I mean is, this is the ONLY thing going for it. Oh, you should ship it because it’s better than Tauradonna. No, it’s not its own thing. It’s just better than Tauradonna. And no, we can’t stop comparing to it.

I know abuse leaves you a wound it’s difficult to heal, and you’ll inevitably make a comparison. I’ve been in an abusive relationship too. But Bumbleby should be its own thing, developed separately from Tauradonna, and then compared. I didn’t get enough screentime and reasons to ship them, and now you want me to compare it to an abusive relationship? Of course I choose Bumbleby! The other option is horrendous and… hey, this is more manipulative than I thought!

And the killing… oh, there’s nothing more romantic than killing a guy together. Maybe I’ll try this next time I wanna date a dude. Forget Netflix and chill, this is the real thing!

The show handled it… shakingly okay. Blake cried, Yang comforted her. Alright. Fine.

But now Adam’s not here, what’s gonna happen? Let me guess: we’ll get all the Bumbleby screentime we didn’t get early enough. Some say “Great, now it’s gonna be RW-BY instead of RWBY”. Maybe. I don’t really care. Ruby seemed to be more comfortable alongside JNR, and Weiss does what she can. Maybe she could get incorporated to the team too? Or form a new one with Qrow and Oscar (and Ozpin)? Hey, it’s not a bad idea. Either way, the dynamics will change, but as long as they don’t take too much time off other characters, it’ll be fine. I gave up.

DC comics development

I’m not 100% sure of how to feel with this one.

I couldn’t read the DC comic, but some… definitely interesting screenshots were posted. I could see that they don’t care very much about canon (I can’t take Raven seriously anymore). But they also patched some things up, meaning: Bumbleby.

Remember when I complained about not seeing enough Bumbleby bonding to actually buy the ship? Well, DC comics gifted us one, two, eight panels of Bumbleby bonding: borrowing books, offering food, braiding hair. Sounds very nice… and very late. And very fake.

Why didn’t we see this on the show? This feels like those eight panels are supposed to show peak Bumbleby bonding and we must be satisfied with it. Peak LGBT+ representation right there. Why didn’t we cut off Arkos, Renora, Iceberg and Blacksun and spent time with Bumbleby instead? Why should I feel satisfied with a mere eight panels?

Not genuine at all.

Bonus: the newest take goes like “DC comics was CRWBY trying to build more Bumbleby with moments at Beacon we didn’t get to see in the show because the episodes were ONLY 6 MINUTES LONG”. So CRWBY had time to build Arkos, Renora, Iceberg, Blacksun and not the main ship? Those 6 minutes were enough to build straight relationships but not the main wlw one? What an unfortunate coincidence.

What would have you done differently?

Team BSCE.

Bonding: why is Yang interested in Blake? Why is Blake interested in Yang? What does make Yang feel like she can be vulnerable around Blake instead of, let’s say, Weiss? What do they talk about, that isn’t Adam, or Ozpin? Do they have private jokes? Do they look forward to spend time together? Does Blake know what Yang’s favorite food is? Do they train together more time than they should? Why do they love each other? How do they support each other? Does Yang read books about faunus?

Showing: how does Yang feel when Sun flirts with Blake? How does Blake feel when Yang flirts with guys? What makes them blush? What is their body language? Do they notice things about each other no one else notices? Do they think about closeness? Do they think about each other at night? Do they think about kissing each other? How does their attitude change? Do the rest realize something’s going on?

Conflicting: besides Adam, what problems do they have? Blake has been shown to feel like a burden and isolate herself, but what about Yang? Do they have things about each other they barely stand? Do they share the exact same mindset? Do they have arguments and about what? How do they handle disagreements and arguments? How do they approach problems? How do they fix them? Do the same problems come up over and over again? What things they don’t tell each other? What do they hide from each other? Do they expect each other to defend them on arguments with others?

Exploring: what’s their endgame like? What are their dreams and goals, and do they collide with each other? Do they think about the future? Do they have a theme? Did they develop separately, as individual people, before developing their relationships? Are they dependent? If one of them died, would the other (take revenge and) move forward, or fall into deep depression? Can they live apart from each other and things don’t change? And what if things do change? What things change? How do they face change?

Yes, I love asking questions. One brings another, and another, and before you realize, you thought a lot about the couple and their core. You don’t need to answer every single one of these questions, but it can help you develop a clearer and deeper relationship, better than… I don’t know, sudden love?

Show bonus (what I posted on twitter):

·         Yang interested in faunus. It is sudden, and Ruby realizes (Yang taking lots of notes during history class but only on faunus lessons, finding her in the library reading about faunus [allows for cute funny moment! Yang never reads!], talking to Velvet)

·         After being informed, Yang asking Blake about her experiences (Adam topic could be brought up and thus foreshadowed), making them closer. This also has an impact on Yang, which drives her to defend Velvet from Cardin, making friends with Sun, etc

·         Yang would also be more careful about the jokes she makes, trying not to make any racist ones and letting Blake explain her which ones are

·         Just talking in general. Deciding to spend time together when they're free (that does NOT mean they're never with the group)

·         Free time together allows for more talking and deeper topics brought up more naturally (ex: more about Yang's mother, maybe some other insecurities, further deepening her character)

·         Blake realizing Yang is allowing herself to be "weaker" around her, so she supports her a lot

·         They would defend each other in an argument against Weiss for example, and if that isn't the case, whoever wasn't defended would feel hurt and they would have to talk about it (fixing problems and talking out disagreements)

·         LISTENING AND TALKING TO EACH OTHER

·         Knowing small things about each other, for example Yang's secret place when she wants to think, Blake's favourite tea, etc

·         Yang trying to show off her strength, making flirtatious comments that Blake doesn't get and getting embarrassed

·         Yang feeling hurt when Blake spends more time with Sun and seems to be falling in love with her, but not acting on it because she doesn't wanna to get in their way and wants Blake to be happy

·         Blake missing Yang

·         Yang trying to flirt with other girls and Blake feeling strange

·         When talking with Sun, the Yang topic is brought up frequently and Sun realizes and tells Blake she seems special, Blake starts to realize something

·         Blake running away breaks Yang as she had put a lot of trust on her, even allowing herself to be "weak", and she knew about Yang's abandonment issues. Yes it's the same in canon, but it had more buildup and thus is more heartbreaking

·         During Menagerie arc, Yang is brought up often and Blake finally realizes her feelings, while Sun accepts his place as just a friend and supports her all the way (also Yang is his friend too, remember!)

·         From this point on you can drop canon on it just fine

·         BUT ADD THE TALK™! They need to talk about Blake running away. PLEASE.

Conclusion

This is not me saying “Do NOT ship Bumbleby”. Ship whatever the hell you want. I ship things that don’t even make sense. This is me saying “Your ship isn’t as good as you think it is, please stop attacking other shippers for pointing it out, and no, your argument ‘you’re just homophobic’ isn’t always valid”.

I don’t want to talk about bees anymore. Never again. But I probably will, when volume 7 drops. Until then…

Beehaw, I guess.