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ranna-alga · 3 months

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I admittedly got into RDR2 five years late and I remember being confused seeing older comments of fans completely dogpiling on Mary Linton (née Gillis - a character who I interpreted much differently than these users did), but assumed maybe people would have grown up a bit since then and understand Mary better. Unfortunately, I still see so many people completely misunderstand and shit on Mary's character and I want to talk about it (this meta will be my opinion AND biased as a Mary defender, but idc)

I cannot stand it when people, particularly male fans, call Mary "manipulative" or someone who just "uses Arthur when it's convenient to her" because that just isn't true, and it really shows that a lot of the people who just trash on her have no idea what they are actually talking about.

Labelling her as someone who uses Arthur just for her own personal conveniences makes no sense when you consider the fact that so many other characters, including members of the Van der Linde gang, have also asked Arthur to do things for them, including requests that are much worse than anything Mary could have asked for (you know, like Strauss for example?). Not only that, but if Arthur rejects Mary's help, she doesn't get angry - if anything, she understands why he may be reluctant to help her. If Mary truly only wanted to use Arthur, she wouldn't have shown how grateful she was for his help and how much she truly did miss spending time with him by asking him out on a date to the theatre.

And to those who criticise her for not being able to leave her family sooner: do you... not remember the time period this story is set in? All of RDR2 (1899 - 1907) takes place before women got electoral equality with men (1928) and during the main story's time, women were very much under the control of their husbands - or their fathers if they were not married. A big reason as to why Arthur wasn't able to marry Mary in the first place when they were courting each other was because her father didn't approve of his outlaw lifestyle (also, I am unsure if Mary ever alluded to her marriage with Barry Linton being an arranged one, but I lowkey got that impression - perhaps her father wanted to severe the relationship between Mary and Arthur completely by arranging a marriage for her with another man who was also from a seemingly middle-class background/very much not an outlaw and ensure the relationship between her and Arthur would end).

Even if she had more of her own autonomy, we must remember that Mary is part of an abusive family unit. She often tries to excuse her father's terrible actions even though she knows how awful of a man he has become over the years. She is isolated and is hopping from one temporary shelter to another (Valentine, Saint Denis, etc) - she is a widow, she cannot depend on her father obviously, she cannot depend on her mother since she died, nor could she depend on her brother Jamie since perhaps she thought that she was meant to be the source of dependency as the older sibling. Mary said it herself in her goodbye letter (if Arthur rejects to help her) that she truly had no one else to turn to. Arthur was literally the only other person she could ask help from and even then, it seemed like a last resort after not interacting with each other for many years before her first mission and her being apologetic for taking up his time.

Mary holds a lot of regret and remorse for how things ended and it is clear she still thinks about what could have been between her and Arthur. When she fully accepts that she doesn't want to continue living such a miserable life because of her family, she makes a big leap in suggesting she and Arthur run away together, a parallel to Arthur's proposal years before, showing that she has grown and no longer wants to accept a life she feels trapped in.

People who criticise Mary for not being able to leave her family + the life she has always known behind should also consider how Arthur is the exact same. He is as much of a victim of this unfair circumstance as Mary is, but we have seen how he couldn't leave the gang life behind. It was what he died for, after all. He failed to meet the promise he made to Mary that he would run away with her after getting some money and ensuring the gang members' safety - which technically isn't his fault since this was pre-Guarma, but Mary couldn't have known about that. To her, he kept making promises he couldn't keep/getting dragged into violent crime life and she couldn't bear to continue having false hope anymore.

It's a shame that Mary has been given such a bad rap by certain fans who have mischaracterised her. Her story is a sad one and so is her love story with Arthur. I will always love and defend Mary (+ the other main female characters of RDR2) and I truly wonder how different her and Arthur's lives would have been if they managed to run away and get married (TB ideally excluded) and how happy they would have been.

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daenerystargaryen06 · 3 months

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I saw a comment on another post about how fans of Daenerys (and those who also support TB) cannot accept criticism of Daenerys' character and go overboard with our love for her.

This statement is entirely false. Daenerys fans do entirely accept Daenerys' flaws and criticism to her character- so long as the criticism is done properly and makes sense. We only go against criticism when said criticism entirely misconstrues Daenerys' character in a false and gross way. Bending the text of the books or even early seasons of the show as an excuse to "criticize" Daenerys is obviously going to be ignored because it presents an entirely false narrative. The ones who do this mainly are Daenerys antis/Sansa stans/Jonsa stans. Most critical points/metas they make against her can be disproven (and have been many times) by reading the text of the books and analyzing Daenerys' show scenes early season before her character became entirely ruined by s8.

Daenerys fans do accept criticism of Daenerys and we do acknowledge her flaws. But the difference is that those who do criticize her often tend to paint her out to be 'evil' or the main villain for ASOIAF/GoT, when she isn't. Daenerys, like every other character in the ASOIAF series, is a gray character. Us fans see and know this. But Daenerys antis only look at her through a lens of black-and-white, which is an issue of itself, considering she isn't meant to be viewed that way. The reason why us Dany fans/stans go against criticism of Dany so much is because it's often wrong and entirely out of proportion, in which we make counter points/arguments backed up with actual textual evidence from the books or scenes from the show. The criticism against Daenerys isn't just critically analyzing her as a character, it's blatant hate and often misconstrued to paint her in a light that makes her seem worse than she is.

When we look in the world and setting of ASOIAF/GoT, Daenerys' actions are just like any other character in that world, only not as extreme, and when she makes the decisions she does within the books she questions the choices she's made and thinks heavily over them.

When you look at the men of ASOIAF and GoT, their actions are in line with/far worse than what Daenerys has done. Tywin has eradicated an entire house, slaughtered countless people, treated his son with disdain for being born a dwarf, etc. Robb executed a man for going against his orders. Jon killed a child (despite the child having taken part in his murder- it was still a child) and is much darker in the books. Tyrion has fantasies of violence towards Cersei, expects Sansa (a child) to want him when they're wed, etc. Robert nearly slaughtered and eradicated an entire House, laughed over dead bodies of children, r*ped Cersei often when drunk, etc. Ned executed a deserter of the Night's Watch. And we all know how terrible Euron and Ramsay are in the books/show.

And yet Daenerys receives more hate than these men over her actions, is viewed more critically, and is 'criticized' far more than said men. Which is unfortunately driven by misogyny. The difference between Daenerys and the men of ASOIAF is the fact that she is a woman. If she were a man, I doubt her actions would be so heavily analyzed and torn into by antis. Anyone could say that isn't true- and yet, it's evident in the way Daenerys is heavily hated and discussed most over compared to anyone else who has done far worse compared to her.

It's not the fact that we don't accept criticism over Daenerys. It's the fact that us fans have to always constantly defend her over hate that is unjustified to her character. Is it even so wrong that we show love and support to her character anyway? I'm sure everyone else does that for their own favorite characters as well and deny criticism to them often if the criticism is actual bullshit over a valid critical and neutral analysis. Why is it so wrong for us fans to do so?

A blog I will always recommend that actually does amazing metas character analysis- @rainhadaenerys.

#daenerys defence squad #daenerys stormborn #daenerys targaryen #daenerys targeryan #daenerys appreciation #mother of dragons #pro daenerys targaryen #breaker of chains #khaleesi #team daenerys #queen daenerys #anti daenerys antis #yes you can have criticism for a character #but when it's misconstrued and the text is used in a false manner- is it really even valid?#this is the same as people who say they like Daenerys but then say she's gonna be a villain and go crazy #bffr #a song of ice and fire #asoif/got

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stopthebig3 · 1 year

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One thing very annoying about Western fandom is they don't realize how to read in between lines in scenes or interviews. A lot of Asia cultures will not state negative things outright, and in Japans case is very polite by nature, what Kishimoto says about Sakura and how he says it makes it super clear how much he hates her, as well as her treatment in the manga, but western fans take everything at face value. She said caught up? she must have. Kishimoto doesn't outright state hate? he doesn't 🤦

Yes. Japanese are not so direct. It's considered rude, especially if you're a famous mangaka.

Remember this interview? When it first came out, many Japanese fans commented how rude Kishimoto was in it, and they started asking if he hates his characters (yes, he does clearly hate Hinata and Sakura). They especially commented on Kishimoto calling Sakura addicted (中毒) and how she must be crazy, a stalker and belong in mental asylum. They commented on her feelings for Sasuke being contrived. But they also did not miss Kishimoto's careful diss at Hinata. They commented saying at least Kishimoto admits Hinata has nothing except her boobs.

I can see why misogynistic men would like Hinata. But it's depressing how Sakura and Hinata have aggressive FEMALE stans who defend these terrible portrayals of women like their life depends on it and call people who dislike them misogynists! The cognitive dissonance is real. And very sad. Even on shonen standards they are the bottom of the barrel.

#anonymous #anti sakura #anti hinata

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set-wingedwarrior · 10 months

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I need to talk about Adam Taurus and James Ironwood, and why they are good characters deserving of apreciation.

You see, as much as it's true that a lot of fans of their are crazy stans who see them as men who did no wrong, I don't think it's fair to get mad and attack all the people who enjoy their characters. I do enjoy them for example.

Yes, they are terrible people, but that's what makes them good characters! I love them for playing their role well, not because I condone their actions or think they are in the right!

Let's take Adam for example. I hate him as a person, while watching the show i wanted to beat the shit out of him, and that's precisely why I love his character! He gave me emotions, and played his villain role in Blake and Yang's story arcs masterfully! It's partially thanks to him and the way he played his role that their relationship got to shine this way! He is part of why I love bumbleby so much, and I can't just ignore that.

He's the victim that turned into a monster (even if we find out specifically about that very far in his story), the wronged person who took that in the worst possible way (the fact that you got influcted pain doesn't give you the right to inflict it to others). A boy who had no control over his life that decided to get revenge and control everybody else instead. It's tragic when you think about it this way, and I love that!

Or, even more clearly, Ironwood. From the beginning we see good intentions and terrible actions, that later on, under so much stress and pressure and ptsd, just made him go down. All of his faults come from a place of untrust toward others and the idea that only he could know the best course of actions, never taking into account other people and ideas. This obsession and hero complex is what leads to his and Atlas' fall and, again, even if I really wanted to bash his head for all the stupid things he did (or wanted to do), I still loved watching him play this part and fall deeper down every episode. Again, it's sad and tragic and I love it!

This isn't meant to be a full blown analysis of the characters, but I just wanted to point out that it's unfair to be authomatically hostile towards anyone who likes their characters. I understand that so many of them are people defending their actions, and it is very frustrating (and sometimes worrying) when very clear evil actions get misinterpreted or justified by someone, but it's not like everyone is like this.

They are characters, vessels to tell a story, and people aren't just allowed to enjoy a well played part, but it's actually good being able to apreciate the executions and characterization of villains! Both understanding their roles on a "technical" level, but also understanding their characterization and why they do what they do.

I love when it makes all sense, when I completely see how a character is reasoning and it's consistent with everything else around them! It's part of what I enjoy in stories, and the fact that I do have a good time watching, analyzing and understanding them, doesn't mean I am condoning their actions. Understanding and justifying are two very different things.

So, take this post as a little show of love and apreciation for Adam Taurus and James Ironwood: you are two assholes, but you are so good at that, entertaining and you played your roles well; thank you for your service in the story!

#rwby #adam taurus #james ironwood #please do not start dumb useless discourse #I'm just here to remind people that liking characters is not the same as liking a person #i judge a person from their actions #i judge a character for their consistency and role in the story #people need to remember the differences between reality and fiction #also for the record #i am not saying you HAVE TO like them either #i personally enjoy villains and to see their roles #you might not #and that's fine!

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dootznbootz · 7 days

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Literally just found out about you today and I'm already follow in you. As fellow tele-GONE-y hater, I absolutely stan with all the hate we have for that stupid fan fiction. Circe used to be one of my favorite books, I still think the writing is good. But when you look at the original source material? Yikes- I don't get why Miller chose CIRCE out of everyone. If she wanted to write a feministic story that's fine. But why chose a female character whom you have to make better and corrupt all the other characters in the source material so that Circe is more sympathetic? Why couldn't she write a TRUE feministic story about some other character?? I personally would've loved a story about Nausikaa. Which would make more sense considering she is a character who is often forgotten in most retellings of the Odyssey.

Circe isn't a sympathetic character, she was never supposed to be one. To make her sympathetic is to make everyone around her terrible. I'm so angry when people use this book for insight on Circe character because it is so different to actual Circe.

I'm also so very salty about what she did to my boy Hermes because what.

Thank you so much!!! Sorry this took a while to answer! Thankfully most folks are not a fan of the Tele-GONE-y either :'D it's mostly the "well, actually" folks who talk about it. >:(

"If she wanted to write a feministic story that's fine. But why choose a female character whom you have to make better and corrupt all the other characters in the source material so that Circe is more sympathetic?"

This right here, is exactly how I feel with so many of these "feminist retellings". Feminism is about lifting each other up. If you have to make everybody else "worse" to make your main character better, then...that's just not good storytelling.

This goes along with the whole "all men are bad no matter what" that happens all the time and I hate it so much. Even if the system may be sexist, that does not mean that every single male agrees with it.

You put everything into words well but I like to ramble so Ima say shit too but it's basically the same thing lol

With the whole "every horrible thing Circe has done is done fo a reason. she's defending herself, she was wronged, men are so evil uwu" is just fucking lazy and SUCKS. >:( LET WOMEN BE FLAWED, COWARDS!

I actually really love Odyssey Circe as a character. She's morally gray and does whatever she wants as a goddess. Yes, she terrifies Odysseus but she's COMPLEX. Why does she need a reason to turn men into pigs? Why can't she just do it "for funsies"?

I think it takes away from her as a goddess to always have a reason for her to do the things she does, you know? Immortals are fickle and don't have the same morals as mortals. I think Miller changed so much as "to have a morally gray protagonist?? No, that's wrong!" which BORING!!!!!!!

I fucking love Penelope. But I still have her a lil mean and even a bit snooty sometimes as her and Odysseus are like-minded. Hubris would be her downfall as well. She is petty and holds grudges like no other. because she's a PERSON. Not "bland empowerment in a can for everyone to consume". Ofc, she has her wonderful qualities like her intelligence, devotion, determination, and yes, she does have her kind moments (she goes 0 to 100% real quick. She takes the "Do no harm, Take no shit" phrase to the extremes. lol)

But honestly? I think there's a real problem in writing in many YA books and especially in fandom where people treat female characters as goddesses (which yes, understandable) but then they can't...make her human you know? Almost like they cannot see any of the woman's flaws or even WANT her to have flaws because "woman doing a bad thing that isn't done 'cutely' ("endearingly clumsy", "quirky chatterbox", etc. traits that are usually not the greatest are "cute" now simply because she's a woman. Maybe a love interest sees her that way but those traits would probably be considered annoying to many others.) regardless is antifeminist"

And even then, so many things that I want to write about are what many would consider feminist when...She's just existing. And I'm getting silly with it. Penelope is athletic and a naiad (75% but you know. with her parentage) but I don't write her that way TO make it feminist. I'm not doing it for that. I just like tiny but mighty wife ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I don't plan to write other women as "lesser" for not being athletic for example. Anticlea doesn't understand why Penelope likes doing that stuff but she's still supportive and they enjoy weaving together. I am NEVER putting down another female character for not being "girlboss" enough.

I really hate that this book has made people constantly bring up the Tele-GONE-y AND Shittalking all of them. I don't like looking at retellings and seeing "a new feminist take". Usually goes against the entire story to begin with. Often portraying good male characters in the original as "bad and horrible".

Also no hate to those that enjoy Circe the Book, but to me, it sounds like trauma porn. adding rapes that were never there, making the victim of the situation the PERPATRATOR because, clearly, a man cannot be a victim. I heard about her hating being a mom despite her literally having servants and she's a GODDESS in the Odyssey. She could literally have a nanny/nurse if she wanted.

Fun fact: I was watching a video essay about villainesses and how to write them well and as soon as it started to talk about historical villainesses and how Circe was a "femme fatale", I exited the video. She's an "antagonist", she lets them stay there but she's still...Not GOOD. To be a femme fatale means to usually seduce. She does not seduce Odysseus. He was literally commanded to by Hermes and her.

#Hope you don't mind that I'm all over the place :P this is just how I am honestly #ask #Mad rambles #shot by odysseus #tamaruaart #save me morally gray circe #anti madeline miller #anti circe #<-I like her in the odyssey. She's a good antagonist.

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davekat-sucks · 1 month

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homestuck's fanbase is really making me feel like giving up on the story as a whole... Jesus, I might just call it quits soon. Listening to idiots try to defend how shit Homestuck's story became is too exhausting. It reminds me of when I was listening to lectures of, people who hardly counted as, writers go off about how important it is to prioritize representation over all else. They never realized if you do a terrible job with writing a story, you do a terrible job of representing women, different racial groups, gay men, ext. They don't want to write female characters like they're people who make mistakes and grow. Those authors wanted women to always be perfect and always in the right and her biggest obstacle is that men don't believe in her. You can see that in Star Wars with Rei or Captain Marvel as an example of the mindset I'm talking about.

I liked homestuck because so many of the female characters had challenges and flaws. Aradia, Terezi, Rose... They had amazing stories and their flaws made them interesting.

Homestuck could have been a story about different people who have completely different mindsets coming together for a common goal. Homestuck is just... soap opera drama and shitty teen romance at the end of the story where the characters just wait for the story to finish and most of the audience left. In the epilogue, it feels like all of the characters gave up. I suppose Kanaya did put in effort to find Rose and make sure she is safe, I'll give the story credit there. Dirk wants something too. Dirk's goal is just to close the loop and create the first universe in the first place but all you ever hear people talking about is how his motivations have something to do with the shitty meta fiction gimmick the story has going on. "Gotta keep the story going or else the characters fade out of memory" That is such bullshit concept. Sounds like a justification for why there are so many Star Wars shows now. Sounds like milking an IP. Quantity of quality kind of excuse.

And, for the record, my beef isn't with how the fandom represents it's own headcanons or interpretations of the characters, my beef is with how people talk about the canon. Fandom and canon should be two different things. But people act like the fandom should influence canon. I thought the point of both of the cherubs were to show that is a bad idea. Fanon being in canon feels like it derails the story, even the homosuck part that Caliborn came up with.

I'm getting tired of trying to even find a space in this fandom. It's occupying too much of my freetime now. I have so much nostalgia for homestuck but now it feels like trying to get back on the swings of a playground, too old for this shit. Fuck, I adulted too hard and I outgrew fandom I guess. Shit sucks.

Ah well, at least they fans are having fun. But how much fun can you really have when Rose screwed over Kanaya in two timelines? Kanaya felt like a better character in the epilouge cause she's given a challenge to face that is unique to her and her relationship with her wife. Rose's dad brainwashed(?) her to leave her wife, wow, Kanaya that's some shit. Just sucks that she is getting cucked AGAIN. Is it a universal constant that Kanaya is just going to keep falling for women who don't respect her? Maybe she should have stuck with Vriska. All of this Kanaya Rose drama is a bad sign of what's to come. I think it's disrespectful to the fans that are still sticking around. I'm not really included in this bunch. My horse tapped out of the race years ago. People who are still holding out for hope this story is going somewhere are either the most optimistic people out there or the most beaten down.

It's no wonder so many people who worked on homestuck abandoned ship. Toby looks like he's having a good career and Hussie looks like he's afraid of what he created. Maybe there is poetic justice to be gleaned from all of this.

It had lot of creative ideas and talent. But through it, there are cracks and messes that can't be ignored. Even now, the same kind of messes appear again in present times and I think people are scared to talk about it in fear that the thing they love was not as great as they though it was. We really are suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. Even when moments in the series and narrative itself that tells the audience that we were stupid to even care, we stayed because we loved it for what it was back then before the meta shit kicked in. The whole revival of the series so it won't fade away and being comparable to Star Wars is a good way to describe it. The team not taking risks to actually go outside of the Homestuck cast, tell a new story, or even trying to focus on the base webcomic alone that made it popular in the first place. They can't even put more focus on Hiveswap just yet because they know people know Homestuck first before Hiveswap, despite said game could make a better introduction or entryway for people to get interested in the webcomic. I'm not sure what is going on through Hussie or James Roach's mind for all this.

#homestuck #homestuck fandom

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witsserviceablesubstitute · 1 month

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It’s definitely a majority of newer fans who both don’t get the history between Buck and Eddie, but also who don’t care. They came into the series because Buck kissed a man, as well as already knowing the rep that a lot of Buddie shippers tend to hate all the women love interests. So their entire experience watching the first six seasons is clouded by wanting be contrarian.

Which is not a terrible thing since the women didn’t deserve the hate as they got, but rooting for bi!Buck while actively ignoring the relationship built between him and Eddie just so you can not be called a Buddie shipper and champion for Tommy once you get to that season, is weird.

That said, my post was mainly because I was trying to scroll the tag and was only seeing post after post after post about Tommy being the greatest friend and love interest Buck has had, so I was being mildly petty. Because Buck has great relationships with the people in his life, and Eddie is extremely important to him regardless of if they become a couple. There is no need to punch down on him because folks want to uplift Tommy, but they don’t seem to get that.

And I know there are Buddie shippers who punch down on Tommy, but I’ve said before, they’re the same people who dragged the women. So at least they’re consistent. This new wave of drama is purely because Buck is bi now, and a lot of the shippers who defended the women no longer care about them and are actively dismissing Buck’s past relationships to praise Tommy. Which is hypocritical and very common in fandom, but goodness is it annoying sometimes. Especially when it’s as unnecessary as it is in this context.

Heya! There's a lot of magical overthinking in fandoms because it comprises a very large group of different people from different places writing essays about a text (like the nerds we all are). Fandoms are kinda big tutorials and when things become toxic it's a little like when academia becomes toxic. Do you know how many articles I've read that were basically hating on the previous article? I was an English Lit Major— there are entire novels that are aggressive refutations of the arguments made in other novels (so much effort).

Toxic divisions in fandom aren't so much about people trying to be contrary or consciously hateful. It's fear of in-group rejection and trying to say something bigger about themselves, their experiences, and their beliefs and using a text to do so. Cycles of creating in-groups and out-groups within fandoms (which is what ship wars do) is more about what state the individuals are in, and what they're trying to communicate and signal about themselves then it is about the characters or relationship. Protecting a fictional relationship becomes about protecting the ego, the pride, a world view, a sense of self, of self worth, of decorum... Etc. Therefore, a position is chosen and ground cannot be ceded because doing so is an ego death and others doing so feels like a betrayal.

It's why I hate ship wars so much. It's not about the bigger picture or the queer narratives or about championing anything. If it were then conceding would be easier. I could say something like, "I think the writing for Karen, and Buck and Eddie's love interests is misogynistic but indicative of network television" and it wouldn't feel like an attack. Instead they'd want to expand and evolve my points on misogynistic storytelling. I could talk about how the choices they made with Buck and Eddie were homoerotic, how denying it is unhelpful, without triggering a flurry of passive aggressive refutations. Instead they'd want to engage in why television storytelling is full of socialist brotherhoods (thank you Chinese danmei fans for that term). I could talk about how honestly amazing it is that Buck can explore an attraction to men at all, no matter who he's with, without it feeling like I'm hurting people. Because it is a big deal. I'd argue Stiles and Dean were more bi-coded and they absolutely weren't coming out of that celluloid closet.

Speaking of Dean. Another thing that ship wars do is choose an enemy. This can looks like one side making an enemy out of the institution of television itself and that being the justification for harassment (it's not). When that happens the other side can overcorrect by being the institutions greatest protectors and that becomes the justification for harassing fans in the out-group (it's not). However, unlike people in television who have systems in place to deal with harassment, disenfranchised queer fans do not. And, honestly, the thing that made me hate Supernatural was not Destiel. It was watching a young woman tell Jensen Ackles that Dean meant so much to her as a bisexual woman and the room turning on her immediately. An overcorrection. The rage I felt as I watched her tremble as they boo'd her... I can't watch Supernatural without feeling some echo of it.

#911 #911 show #kinda #queerness in television #queerness in media #911 abc #supernatural #buddie #the last i time I'll engage in this type of convo i think #i don't want the show to turn into a source of stress for me #thank you for the ask #and thank you for indulging my navel gazing ❣️

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lacependragon · 2 months

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I am prefacing this with I love Stardew Valley and Demetrius and I am not trying to start a fight. This is a frustration I feel with the game as well as many things I've seen. Just. Sharing it.

You know man I've been playing Stardew since. Forever. And so I've seen dialogue changes quite a bit. Vanilla dialogue can be... repetitive, and so when it changes I very much Notice.

And like. Demetrius' writing, whether intentionally or not, as gotten both much more racist and ableist in the last few years. And maybe it's not on purpose! Maybe it's totally subconscious on CA's part! I don't wanna assign malice. It's easier to think it's ignorance and accidental.

And it's easy to assume it's partially fandom response, considering how much people hate him. And CA is very fandom oriented.

But Demetrius' writing is bad. It is uniquely bad. It is bad in a way that none of the others are (yes I am repeating myself). And that is oh so very obvious in any run where you get hearts up with that family.

Oh the singular Black man in town totally ignores his white step-son, treats his white wife terribly, and dotes on his mixed race daughter as if she's the only person who matters? Insults everything his wife makes? Makes vague threats at the farmer?

"Oh but it's not because he's Black!" How do you know? Are you inside CA's head? Do you know what he thinks? Do you know every unconscious bias of a man you've never met? No. You don't. I bet you don't even know all of yours. Fuck knows no one does.

Don't defend him when you don't even know him. Listen. Listen. LISTEN.

Stardew Valley is a wonderful, awesome game. But it's made by a flawed man (everyone is flawed) and it reflects his biases pretty clearly if you ask me (as many works of art do).

And if that offends you, maybe you should ask yourself why. Maybe you should ask yourself why it's so important this game and man are perfect instead of acknowledging that this amazing game has flaws that can make the game uncomfortable or frustrating for many players. Flaws that diminish characters who could otherwise be very interesting.

I also said Ableist. I'd go on a whole rant about that, too, but because Demetrius' neurodivergence is implied, not explicit, it's hard to know what is and isn't meant to be taken. But again, making the clearly "different" character so awful to others is not ideal. Especially when they're the only one.

And before you ask: Yes. This has a lot to do with Demetrius being the only Black man in town. And fitting into a lot of awful stereotypes along the way. I'd be much much MUCH more lenient if there were other Black men in Stardew. But there aren't. Demetrius is all we get.

And he just keeps getting worse every update.

I love him so much. He's a neurodivergent father. He's the only non-white parent in town. He's the only step-parent in town. He and Robin and Seb and Maru have the only blended and mixed family.

There's so much nuance to him and to his relationships and to his family and his backstory. There could be so much going on with him and science, or him and Maru, or him and anything.

But nah he hates fun, talks about how dancing sucks (even though he dances every week) and seemingly hates both his wife and step-son in many dialogues.

Why? Why? It makes no sense to me in-universe.

Watsonian versus Doylist analysis. When there's no in-universe explanation that follows the world. Look to the people creating the universe.

#lace speaks #the subreddit is also so fucking racist that even bringing this up gets you downvoted into oblivion #rant #negative #critical #stardew critical #concerned ape critical #stardew demetrius

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kookieswan · 2 years

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Red Light - Curiosity killed the…?

Nightmare!Hoseok x Psychologist!Reader

Word Count: 800+

Genre: Horror!AU, Monster!AU, Angst, kind of messed up fluff…?

Warnings: Hoseok is a monster and is slightly obsessive, mentions of death, killing, blood… A bit of mind fuckery. It should be noted that this story will contain themes of horror/psychological horror and also explore obsessive behaviors and codependency. Many characters are morally gray. Please be warned!

Summary: Hoseok hasn’t been being a good boy lately, and you want to know why.

Notes: I’m obsessed with this concept, I sure am lmao. Here’s a little something before his new song drops. This would take place sometime after ‘Call Out My Name’ in the timeline! ♥️♥️♥️

This is the 2nd part of the Red Light series. Find the Masterlist here ♥️

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“Now, we’ve talked about this before Hoseok. What should you do if you feel like hurting somone?” Settling down in your chair, you glance at the nightmare that sits across from you. He stares you down through the bars that separate you in his human form, a good natured smile on his slightly blood face. Crossing your legs, the slight look of displeasure doesn’t evade you.

“Deep breaths, inhale and exhale. I know, but it didn’t work this time doctor.” Opening his folder, you glance up at him again and raise a brow. You thought you had been on the right track with him, thought he’d behave. You grab for a pen, clicking it a few times before placing it against the paper.

“… You killed a doctor randomly Hoseok, at least that’s what the report says.” Watching him, a smile of satisfaction flickers to his face, a smile that gradually turns into a satisfied grin as the silence stretches. It’s a familiar grin, but the blood that paints his teeth isn’t quite there yet.

“He was talking so terribly about you, I couldn’t just let that slide.” It’s enough to make you stop for just a split second, and also enough to let Hoseok notice. You continue to write down notes hesitantly, unsure if you should note that you were the cause of his… accident. It’s a new development, one that’s not completely surprising given past… Happenings.

“What was he saying that pushed you?” You’re fishing for info and it’s obvious, but Hoseok doesn’t seem to mind, no. It’s like he’s flourishing under your gaze, talking about the events both with excitement and badly hidden malice.

“How you’d spread your legs for him, how you’d look so pretty bent over his desk. Of that, I have no doubt, but you aren’t his to have… So, I ripped him limb from limb.” Well, that’s a curious thing. Also something that you really don’t want to write down… and so you don’t. You make note that the doctor had insulted Hoseok, and that’s why he had been slaughtered.

“And that angered you enough to kill him? Him taking about me?” Clearly it had, but you need to know more. If you’re causing him to lose control then you need to know exactly why that is.

“Not at first, no. It was all the vile things that came after when I cornered him. The disgusting things he spewed from his mouth; you’d think he was the Nightmare. I taught him a lesson dear doctor, that’s all.” It doesn’t shock you, knowing that some of the other workers down here talk about you. You’ve heard whispers, talk of your behind or other assets like they’re something to be gawked at. With most of the personal being men in the facility, the disgusting comments only seem disturbingly natural.

Still, Hoseok feeling the need to defend your honor in some way… It’s concerning mostly, but the smallest wave of comfort washes over you. He’s done it before, and he’ll likely do it again. Pushing it back quickly, you clear your throat and address him again.

“I see. Well Hoseok, you know we have a zero tolerance policy here for hurting people, and you went ahead and killed someone anyway. I will thank you for defending me, but that wasn’t quite the way to go about it.” It happens more often than it should. The security in this place isn’t great, and one nightmare getting a little too unruly can cause an obscene amount of chaos in just minutes.

Hoseok stands up from his chair then, the aura of the room somehow going more frigid. You don’t let your look of indifference drop though, cocking your head as he wraps a clawed finger around the bars. His smile is gone, now replaced with a look of curiosity, eyes slitted and dark as his words come out low.

“I do know that, and it makes me curious. Why am I in here, talking with you, instead of rotting away in isolation like I should be? I killed, I should be gone now.” Because you had asked to see him, asked them not to. Out of all your patients, his mind, the way he thinks and presents himself, it interests you the most. You’ll never tell though, never let the nightmare before you get into your head.

It’s becoming increasingly obvious that that’s what he wants. Hoseok’s wings start to expand outward as he speaks, his teeth extending slightly right before your eyes. If you didn’t know any better, you’d say he’s posturing for you, and that… That cannot be good. Not for you, not for anyone.

Your hesitance is enough to make him smile surprisingly gently again, eyes bordering on sultry as he chuckles. His wings are out fully now, gnarled and boney, long enough to touch either side of his cell, clearly trying to show some sort of dominance. It’s then that you finally have to pull your eyes away, your voice for the first time ever coming out unsure.

“T-That is none of your concern. Moving on…”

#red light ♥️#hoseok x y/n #hoseok x you #hoseok x reader #hoseok angst #hoseok fluff #take that one with a grain of salt lmao #bts x y/n #bts x reader #bts x you #bts fluff #bts angst #bts drabble

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forgetimabluedreamer · 8 months

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I watched a video the other day of a young Jewish American woman discussing the pro-Zionist propaganda she was exposed to in Hebrew school when she was younger. How in one instance students were asked what their first thought was when thinking about Israel, to which she responded with the word war. This train of thought was then immediately shut down. But it stuck out to me because my answer to this question was the same. More specifically my first thought has always been their military.

Even before the terrible and horrific events that have occurred this month, before more attention was brought to what is happening in Palestine, since I was a child and the only thing I knew about it was what my mother would discuss with me when talking about history (at the time she was my only source of information because I was all of nine). They don’t teach you these things in school, nothing about the occupation and apartheid that is instituted in Palestine. Nothing about the genocide or ethnic cleansing.

Whenever I would happen to hear about Israel, any off handed remark, I would think about their military. When I was a child it was a strange concept to wrap my mind around the idea of mandatory military service. I knew it was different from the draft and that it was mandatory for all Israeli citizens, men and women, to serve in the IDF once they were of age. There are countless countries that implement mandatory military service, to different degrees and within specific circumstances but my entire life, living on an entirely separate continent, this was a nation I knew to be renowned for it. I have seen this notion be disseminated through popular culture and news without any of the historical context, or if so there were firmly assigned roles between who was the hero and who was the villain.

I still remember when I was in elementary school all the headlines and commotion that occurred when a model refused to serve in the IDF back in the early 2000’s (not that it was for any altruistic reasons or condemnation of the occupation of Palestine, made that much more obvious by her current instagram posts 16 years later) and the widespread condemnation she received. I have seen countless movies and television series were a character is mentioned having a background of serving in the IDF (or Mossad as western media treats them as interchangeable) as explanation for their fighting prowess and capability. Consistently and without fail, this idea of the supremacy of the Israeli army has been perpetuated throughout the years. Since before I was born. In none of those instances were the Palestinians ever mentioned aside from being the foe that threatened Israel. Nothing of the slaughter, occupation, and discrimination that they have faced for the better part of a century. Always implied to be a religious fueled aggression on their part when in truth it has everything to do with territory and resources. With extreme nationalism and the far right.

It is horrifying to watch the rate at which misinformation is being spread through the news and social media. Israel has had more than fifty years to perfect their propaganda methods, to weave this tale that what they are doing is just and right. Condemning anyone who criticizes their actions as antisemitic. They have the backing of countless western politicians, businesses, and celebrities because at the end of the day they only care about the bottom line. It’s why the American government has given Israel billions of USD in aid to Israel with Biden promising billions more. Why former chief of Mossad Tamir Pardo was slammed for saying that what is occurring in Palestine is apartheid. Why so many news outlets have reported outright lies, and why you continue to hear journalists repeat the same question “Do you condemn Hamas?” over and over again. All the while Palestinians are without resources, shelter, clean water, no military whatsoever, no means of defending themselves from this annihilation.

#free palestine #free gaza #please stop conflating anti Zionism with antisemitism

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winns-stuff · 1 year

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LO RANT:

You know what I just realized? The rant I did for Persephone about her trauma can actually be said for Hades. I know what you’re thinking, “what are you talking about a big chunk of that section was speaking on how Hades’ trauma is treated better than Persephone’s!” which I’m not denying since I did state that, but I only really meant the Kronos stuff that Hades has been suffering through every other season. I’m talking about the relationship with Minthe and Hades.

Listen as much as I relate to and adore Minthe’s character I won’t ever lie or disregard that she was a shitty partner. They both were of course but no one has the right to put their hands on another person and shout all types of insults at them, no matter how much I hate Hades I’m not going to defend stuff like that. But with the presence of his very toxic relationship I think we were genuinely robbed of the effects that it had on him in the long run. We never got to see his thoughts completely and we didn’t get to see how it affected his everyday life, each time there was a toxic panel of Minthe and Hades we got transitioned to the next happy uwu romance scene like nothing ever happened. I’ve never been in a toxic relationship before but I have been through many platonic relationships that were utterly terrible, I know it’s not the same thing nor is it comparable but it’s the only thing I can really speak on that sorta correlates in some way. But toxic relationships, especially those that last a very long time, do indeed affect you and your behaviors you start limiting your emotions and stop doing things that the person you were in that relationship with dislikes. You change yourself entirely since you want to make something out of the scraps that they chose to give you and you’re forced to conform to their ways because you’re under this guise that they care about you and you deceive yourself by giving yourself the comforting thought that “they’d never do this to me” or “we’re friends/lovers so they didn’t mean it” or even “I deserve this treatment.”

These emotions and thoughts could’ve been easily explored during the Minthe arc since especially being a man and being a victim of mistreatment is rare in the media with romantic relationships. This could’ve been a great exploration of mental health issues with men and how getting their feelings and traumas validated should be respected and welcomed within our society, the things that Hades faced would’ve probably reflected that of other experiences that other people faced within similar relationships and it would’ve been a good door for representation for male abuse survivors. But sadly, all of that got overshadowed by the building and foreshadowing of Kronos and Persephone coming into Hades’ life to be the better woman and “heal” him instantly.

Did we see pieces of how Hades was effected by Minthe and the trauma it left him with? Yes, but the thing is we only saw it while we were gathering evidence for Minthe to be season 1’s villain and it felt like it was there for drama only. After Minthe slapped Hades and bruised him no one else should’ve put their hands on one another, I hated how this very serious moment got played for jokes and giggles throughout the comic when it’s obvious that the narrative was trying to argue against stuff like that. I don’t understand why Hades had to immediately be lovey dovey with Persephone as well, something like that happens to you I’m sure the very last thing you’d be worried about is a girl you met a few days ago that you started having feelings for. Maybe instead of that Hecate and Hades had a moment so that he could be properly comforted and talked to in a gentle manner (no I’m not saying use a baby voice or anything but just be a friend??) which would’ve been very powerful and empowering since a lot of men’s traumas do not get validated by others because of the “be a man” stigma. Showing people that men deserve to be sheltered and cared for like a normal human being, especially after something traumatic happened to them, would’ve been adding onto the theme of mens mental health.

Instead of that though we have Hades going over to Hera’s house and seeing Persephone after she lured him outside. Now listen, I understand that maybe he was trying to distract himself from the situation or even trying to forget about it in some way but throughout that whole time Hades never even mentioned or thought about Minthe. He got assaulted physically and a girl he barely knows keeps on touching him and getting close and personal without his content. It would be pretty stressful to deal with and it could’ve went to showcase how much damage this stuff does to people. Abuse is not just something you can forget about entirely to the point it doesn’t exist, you can try but like all trauma it’ll always be there and that’s what Lore Olympus gets wrong every time. They make something traumatic happen with the two characters and only ever validate it to either use it as drama, a plot, or to have a cute moment. And that’s entirely fucked up.

I don’t like how Lore Olympus used Hades being mistreated in his relationship as some one up. “I’m so much better than you because I don’t put my hands on people!” amazing I’m so glad that Persephone is a decent human being but why is that even in the whole “better woman” thing. It’s just weird how they’re using that as some crutch instead of giving the situation the respect it deserves. No one should be putting their hands on anyone and that shouldn’t be something that makes you better that should just be common decency. Same could be said with the whole Hades vs Apollo thing, it’s just depressing honestly that that’s being used as some sort of badge even though the comic should be trying to normalize it. These are normal things, no one should be doing any of that stuff to other people it’s sick and utterly deranged. Stop rewarding the bare minimum.

Anyways, that’s all I really have to say. It’s disappointing that it was used as a way to make a cute uwu moment and I hate how they glamorized it almost immediately after moving on completely. But I’m not surprised since it happens all the time.

#lo critical #anti lore olympus #anti lo #lo hades #lore olympus criticism #lore olympus critical

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opinated-user · 2 years

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the new video of LO...

-claims that every trans woman (trans men and non binary people don't count) always hated Rocky Horror Picture Show. show no record of this. while doing so she makes a joke about "i know you all know that trans women existed during this time period because you all think one was the one who started Stonewall" while flashing a picture of Marsha... according to her own word, Marsha didn't threw the first brick but she was there resisting the police and she did plenty of activist work for the trans youth of NY. this is the first time that i remember her even mentioning Marsha's name so it feels... dismissive and kinda gross make a direct reference to her just to diminish her role on LGBT+ history without further context of her other accomplishments that only recently got any recognition at all. LO already throws to the trash the work of LGBT+ black activists of the past on a regular basis when she goes on her queerphobic rants so this doesn't make it any better.

-at 3:14 LO says at the time RHPS came out cis gay men didn't cared for what trans women had to say (who "didn't really cared much about"? LO really needs an editor) because the movie "it's a film that had all the decandent fucking around and rape they could want, dancing to shitty songs because that is the only thing some of us still care about apparently" (while showing a picture of a character in SU sampling "Other Friends"... and heather the musical for some reason.).

if you were wondering it, that was indeed a homophobic mask off moment. to insist that gay men (which i don't know if LO realizes includes MOC) enjoy rape more than any other demographic is homophobia. make a direct connection between enjoyment of rape and cis gay, or any kind of gay man, is homophobia given the long, long history of gay men as predators. LO seems to be under the assumption that only trans women have been accused of such a thing but that can't be further from the truth. at some point everyone on the community had that accusation thrown to their face, but before bigoted people concerned themselves about "bathroom laws", they concerned themselves about gay men being teachers or becoming parents or being around children on any capacity because to some gay men were all pedophiles, all predators, all rapists. to some they still are. that's why gay characters existing is considered "grooming" for them.

LO's basically whistleblowing decades old homophobia. racism too if we take into account how many black cis gay men also enjoyed the film.

this is disgusting.

-LO claims that the only trans people she has seen defending/liking the film are millenials calling it an icon without ever explaining why does it deserve that status besides the "terrible music and fucking." this is because she has barely actually researched on this or she actively refuses to concede that the movie could have done anything positive beside being about rape and music.

-LO compares an old anime called Hibari with "Quagmire Dad" episode. at least now she brings out that Hibari also had some racist elements (over anti-blackness actually) that she "forgot" to mention before because of her bad flu.

only now she tries to say that both those pieces of media portrayed very real transphobia that trans women are at risk for as jokes, which makes them less able to be taken seriously by the public, and... that is the only criticism she thinks that episode deserves. many trans people have criticized the show for many reasons and this is the first time ever she recognizes the slightest negative point about it, but she's still under the (unjustified) idea that the episode is actually trans positive because "it's mocking the bigots."

how convenient that the only trans people worth listening are those that LO agrees with in order to defend her favourite show.

-at 6:23 she blames people calling her out for being a creep and a predator with receipts on why her last video was so bad.

"fickle patronage" means more fans abandoning her because they didn't find anything on her content worth supporting with their money, and that it's their fault and not LO's because she has never done anything wrong.

that "right wing pickme" is a trans femme youtuber who continuesly makes videos calling out transphobia from a leftist perspective. who LO has misgendered multiple times, admitted to it and justified it anyway when said trans femme youtuber called her out on being openly a creep with her audience, some of them minors.

-at 6:45 she says that only the opinion of trans women count on RHPS... with the implication being that opinion is always going to be negative, because she certainly didn't made any mention about how Laverne Cox acted on the reboot or how other trans women had positive opinions about the film.

none of this is to say that there can't be issues with the movie or reboot still or that anyone who doesn't like it is wrong for doing so. but LO's actually advocating for sucking all the nuance out from the whole topic to have one unified, one single opinion that erases or leaves on the dust the experience of many other queer people.

-at 7:34 LO "jokingly" imitates what she thinks is a souther accent where she "jokingly" uses the n-word but it's censored.

-a cheapshot to "fandom racism", something we have discussed before LO either doesn't really understand or only uses to weaponize against character she doesn't like, given how much she ignores actual examples of it in fandom or happily engages on it herself by holding a POC protagonist to unfair standards she doesn't hold for the rest of the cast.

-LO insist that "a problem with LGBT+ white spaces" is that they don't know that the right way to deal with problematic media is to do it critically... said the white passing Cherokee appropiating woman who can't even accept criticism for Disney actively sabotaging their first movie where the queerness of a main character is actually part of the plot and not easily edited it out.

-at 9: 17 LO engages way too gleefuly on a fantasy where she grabs two writers of WOW and the woman who writes novels about Sylvannas to "beat them to death with a fucking rock because they're vile human beings who get off to the suffering of women and non white people." reminder that LO has barely said anything about the actual real harassment that the real women employees suffered at the company... no, she only has an issue with the writers and the direction of the story of WOW has taken.

she cares more about how Sylvannas, a fictional blonde white woman, was treated than how real women were actually traumatized.

-at 9:32 she add that she'd beat Rowling with the same rock.

-at 10: 46 she "jokingly" says the n-word again but it's censored, without the bad accent. it wasn't funny the first time, it isn't funny now.

-the conclusion is not terrible... but coming from LO's so full of double standards, bad arguments and contradictions that it's hard to ignore.

#lily orchard

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magnorious · 3 months

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Eowyn and the "Strong Female Character" debate

In the ongoing argument about Strong Female Characters (SFCs), the usual poster-women of “characters no one ever complains about” are the strong badass women from classic movies, like Elen Ripley, Sarah Connor, Princess Leia, and Trinity. Modern SFCs no one hates include Wonder Woman, every female character in Last Airbender, a handful of Marvel women like Gamora, Nebula, Agent Hill, Black Widow, and *some* of the heroines from teen dystopian fiction like Katniss Everdeen.

The attention paid to the women of Lord of the Rings goes, “Galadriel is a badass in her own right and the movies could have had more women, but the women we do have are great.”

And, yes, I agree, but I want to look at Eowyn in particular and answer this question: Would Eowyn, written exactly the same, in the exact same story, be criticized by today’s audiences? We’re looking at movie-Eowyn, not book Eowyn, for familiarity’s sake.

Eowyn looks a lot like the terrible so-called “strong female characters” modern audiences hate from modern movies. She’s strong, she’s skilled, she’s smart, she’s capable, and her whole story is about overcoming the stigma against women warriors and joining the battle in the end, and killing the great evil Witch King that “no man can kill” by virtue of having a uterus. She’s also one of… I think five named women in the cast, Arwen, Galadriel, Eowyn, Freida (little villager girl), and Rosie (the hobbit bartender).

She checks so many boxes, she’d have to fail in a movie written today, wouldn’t she?

I love Galadriel and Arwen and I love the argument around them—that SFCs don’t need to act like men to be considered strong. They don’t need to be physical warriors, they can champion their femininity and that in itself makes them strong. Their wisdom and compassion and wits, not just their muscles.

Eowyn, though, is a warrior through and through. She literally goes “I am no man,” as she stabs the Witch King, a line specifically and implicitly subverted by Wonder Woman in her debut solo film during the No-Man’s Land scene when it’s softballed to her with the line “It’s No-Man’s Land, that means no man can cross it.”

Surely, a 2024 Eowyn would be ripped apart…. Right?

—

Getting this out of the way first: Every character is written with depth and nuance, including the women, and, thus, no character feels like an agenda with a face taped to it. So already Eowyn has a leg up on so many other terrible releases lately. But let’s take it piece by piece here.

Eowyn is one of three prominent women in the cast

Yes, no arguing that. Why? “Because it’s fantasy and the author is sexist-” no. This is an author who lived through the World Wars, from a time period without women soldiers. Young men and boys being ripped away from home to never see their sisters, daughters, wives, aunts, mothers, best friends ever again is what he lived through and what this story is saturated with.

Could there have been scenes of prominent women nurses, or lady elves at the Council of Elrond or any member of the Fellowship? Yeah, sure, but it’s not at all a lack of women because Tolkien discounted women warriors. This cast is hefty enough, these movies are long enough, and they’re based on a book that’s almost 100 years old.

Eowyn is objectified by male characters and trapped in a love triangle

Yeah… the love triangle bit was weak. However! Eowyn was never bitter over Arwen and didn’t know she existed until Aragorn tells her basically, “yeah, I love her, but I’m guaranteed to never see her again,” so… can you blame Eowyn for holding out hope? It doesn’t at all define her character either, and she likes Aragorn not because he’s Protagonist Boy but because he’s a high-ranking, noble man who doesn’t bat an eye at her desire to join the war effort. She then gets Faramir, so, win-win.

Grima objectifies her, but Eomer, her brother, Aragorn, and Theoden, her uncle, all defend her. Eomer gets banished under punishment of death for standing up for his sister (among other things). She’s not the butt of jokes or slights or innuendos. No soldiers look at her with lust and desire. No one degrades her or belittles her or mocks her for being a woman. Nowhere do the writers get to satisfy their own sexism by writing in gratuitous insults and slurs against her.

Eowyn is repeatedly told to run from the fight and hide with the other women

Theoden has no living siblings and his only son dies off-screen. Eomer is (I think) older, but he’s busy being a general. Eowyn is Theoden’s best chance at an heir to the throne and he can’t let her get killed on the battlefield. Eowyn being told to hide is strategic, not sexist. Not only that, she may be competent enough with a sword, but she can’t have trained as well as the battle-tested soldiers to not be at risk in a nasty battle.

Also, at the rate men are getting killed on the battlefield, sending too many of your women off to war risks so much collateral damage.

Even putting strategy aside, Theoden loves his niece, loves her strong and pure and good soul, and doesn’t want to see it destroyed in the fog of war. All he wants is to see her smile again, so he can give her a world and a future worth smiling for. War is the “realm of men” not because they’re male, but because it’s a horrible, terrible, violent, depressing, scary place to find oneself in, and he’s trying desperately to protect her from it. Eomer tells her this explicitly in a deleted scene, that they’re only trying to spare her some horrific trauma.

When Eowyn does finally see real battle up close, she’s rightfully horrified and terrified and out of her depth during the battle for Minas Tirith. She’s not riding into war all smug and overconfident, and she’s not magically a better fighter or rider than the rest of the cavalry.

Eowyn constantly complains about being looked down on for not being a man

She’s not allowed to be a soldier, yes, but women of Rohan aren’t treated as lesser by the men. She’s not being teased or mocked, her station as the crown princess is uncontested, being relegated to the caves with the women isn’t seen as a time-out, but a necessity to make sure all the vulnerable non-combatants don’t get murdered and the entire kingdom of Rohan doesn’t get exterminated in one night.

She herself isn’t putting other women down for not wanting to fight, or putting men down to make herself look better. No one is telling her she can’t be a soldier because she’s weak and womanly. If she was Denethor’s kid, he’d be singing her praises right next to Boromir (within the context of movie Denethor, at least). She wants to fight, not because she hates her own femininity, but because “women of this country learned long ago that those without swords can still die upon them”.

Eowyn single-handedly kills the Witch King because Woman

Actually, Merry stabs him in the leg to distract him first, giving Eowyn a few seconds to breathe and surprise him. The legend goes that “no man can kill the Witch King,” but it’s not meant to be the fault of men and instead the arrogance of the Ring Wraiths. These nigh-immortal spirits are so cocky and overconfident they don’t even register women on the list of potential threats, to their own doom. The legend also didn’t specify no Elves, Dwarves, or Hobbits, since “Man” is a race, not just a gender.

The Witch King is the Witch King because he was seduced by a shiny ring and a lust for power by Sauron. The “power of womanhood” isn’t the point, it’s the overinflated ego of the Witch King that is his downfall.

So Eowyn’s “I am No Man” is as much a “yay feminism” as it is a dig at his arrogance. It’s the fulfillment of this line by Galadriel: “Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.” Frodo is small in stature and worldly presence, and Eowyn is small in prowess and authority.

*headcanon that Sauron also hates the Nazgul and wrote in that little clause for the Witch King so he could get the last laugh on these snot-nosed, so-called “kings of men”.

—

So would Eowyn be panned by today’s audiences? No, I don’t think so. Another well-written woman who wants to learn swordplay and join the men’s war, and kills an unkillable witch king is Arya Stark. That “victory” went over like a box of rocks and no one hates Arya for it.

You can write women warriors in a no-women-allowed fantasy land. You can write them championing feminism without cramming an agenda down your audience’s throat, or insulting the audience for presumed bigotry. You can write women who kill the Witch King through a prophetic loophole. You can write them in a love-triangle and give them all the “women empowerment” speeches you want.

She is still feminine. She’s still nurturing, still has her wardrobe of pretty dresses, still sings at her cousin’s funeral and pines after men she absolutely deserves. She’s also a terrible cook and independent and not afraid to put creepy men in their places. She has flaws, she’s humble, she’s shown having fear. She’s not built up by stepping on her male counterparts, and her big moment isn’t detracted by Merry going “Wow! A woman! Who’da thunk it?”

#lord of the rings #eowyn #strong female characters #female characters #feminism #retrospective

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iheartbookbran · 2 years

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How was the relationship between Rhaenyra and Criston Cole in the book?

Ok so like everything else related to the Dance… it depends which version of events you’re choosing to believe. The first ever mention we get of Rhaenyra in the main series is in aSoS in a Davos POV chapter, and it’s not exactly a favorable one, however she’s then again mentioned during aFfC by Arianne Martell when she’s discussing women’s rights of succession, and we as readers also get our first introduction to Ser Criston Cole.

"The first Viserys intended his daughter Rhaenyra to follow him, do you deny it? But as the king lay dying the Lord Commander of his Kingsguard decided that it should be otherwise."

Ser Criston Cole. Criston the Kingmaker had set brother against sister and divided the Kingsguard against itself, bringing on the terrible war the singers named the Dance of the Dragons. Some claimed he acted from ambition, for Prince Aegon was more tractable than his willful older sister. Others allowed him nobler motives, and argued that he was defending ancient Andal custom. A few whispered that Ser Criston had been Princess Rhaenyra's lover before he took the white and wanted vengeance on the woman who had spurned him. "The Kingmaker wrought grave harm," Ser Arys said, "and gravely did he pay for it, but . . .” — The Soiled Knight, aFfC.

Now I’m bringing the main series up because I think it’s interesting that it is precisely Arianne, a princess heir to her family’s seat who fears being replaced by her younger brother, who shines a more sympathetic light on Rhaenyra and her struggle. She’s telling this to Arys Oakheart, who, like Ser Criston, is a knight of the kingsguard and sworn shield of a princess (Myrcella and Rhaenyra, respectively), and, if we are to believe Arianne’s story, Ser Arys, like Ser Criston, is having an affair with a princess heiress (Arianne and Rhaenyra, respectively).

He’s also called the Kingmaker, like Arianne is called the Queenmaker, so that’s another parallel we can draw between these characters.

Now TW for mentions of grooming under the cut:

It is not possible that Criston and Rhaenyra had a romantic relationship before Criston joined the kingsguard because, if we’re going by the established canon, Rhaenyra was 8 years old at the time, and Criston was 23. I suspect when GRRM wrote this he was still working around the story of the Dance, I know that in one of his earlier drafts Aegon and Rhaenyra were full siblings and Aegon was just a year younger than her, so there’s that.

I think the show tried to implement GRRM’s first idea for Criston and Rhaenyra by having Criston be the spurned lover who turns on the woman he loved and actively works to ruin her life, and while that’s still true in f&b, things do play out a little more complicated imo.

Like I said Criston met Rhaenyra when she was extremely young and soon after became her sworn protector, and by all accounts he was firmly on her side when it came to the blacks vs. greens conflict, though this was still in the early stages of development because again, Rhaenyra was a child, and a vulnerable one at that, because after her mother died and her father remarried, Rhaenyra became more and more isolated in court, mainly thanks to the actions of her stepmother Alicent, who was around 10 years older than Rhaenyra in the book and definitely not her friend.

Rhaenyra appeared to have had very few friends in court growing up, which was why she was extremely attacked to Ser Criston, and also, to her uncle Daemon.

Rhaenyra’s vulnerability is definitely important to take into account when discussing her character and her relationships with men, and one that the author does point out in the text.

[…] Princess Rhaenyra continued to sit at the foot of the Iron Throne when her father held court, and His Grace began bringing her to meetings of the small council as well. Though many lords and knights sought her favor, the princess had eyes only for Ser Criston Cole, her gallant young sworn shield. “Ser Criston protects the princess from her enemies, but who protects the princess from Ser Criston?” Queen Alicent asked one day at court. — Heirs of the Dragon, a question of succession, Fire and Blood.

I think this passage alone sums up the relationship between these two pretty well. Let’s not forget that Rhaenyra is around 12 years old at this time, and obviously infatuated with Ser Criston, this doesn’t necessarily mean that she’s being taken advantage of by him, but they’re definitely not equal. It’s also worth noting that, at this stage, the two are mentioned to quite enjoy spending lots of time alone with each other.

After this things get muckier, because, like in the show, Daemon comes back to court from his war on the Stepstones, and he and Rhaenyra get… closer. She’s still very much a child, around 14 or 15, since, unlike the show, Daemon stayed for half a year in KL after conquering the Stepstones, and there’s conflicting accounts on what happened between him and Rhaenyra in that time, but whatever it was, there was some grooming involved. So either:

Daemon slept with Rhaenyra and was discovered by some servant, pissing off Viserys and making him have to leave the city to avoid his brother’s wrath

or, if we’re to believe Mushroom’s version of events, Rhaenyra was in love with Ser Criston and wanted to seduce him, so she asked her uncle to teach her how to do it. Daemon took her on a tour all across KL, especially the pleasure houses. and was like “take notes, young padawan” but he didn’t have actual penetrative sex with her (wow, dude) because Rhaenyra wanted to give her virginity to Ser Criston

But then it gets even more confusing because, according to Mushroom, Rhaenyra did go to Criston at one point, after the whole fiasco with Daemons and being forcefully betrothed to Laenor as a result, and offered herself to him, but he was too honorable and committed to his vows to accept her, and there’s also some claims that, much like in the show, it was Ser Criston who offered to leave his kingsguard’s vows behind and run away with her to Essos to be together, but was rejected, like in the show. Rhaenyra then ran straight into the arms of Harwin Strong.

And like, this is why I don’t buy that Criston was the poor virtuous victim in this situation… his fucking reaction, man. After this he loathed Rhaenyra, he was not even subtle about it. He hated her and he hated anyone even remotely associated with her or with her cause, which was why he killed Joffrey Lonmouth when the opportunity to do so presented itself to him, it wasn’t a spur of the moment, couldn’t-control-his-anger kind of thing, he did it at a tourney being held in celebration for Rhaenyra and Laenor’s wedding, when they were competing on a melee and there was plausible deniability of it having been an accident on his part. There was vindictiveness and viciousness behind his anger that wasn’t equivalent at all with what Rhaenyra allegedly did to him.

So, my take, solely based on what we know from the information available to us on the source material? Maybe Rhaenyra was in love with him or maybe she wasn’t, maybe she tried to seduce him or maybe she didn’t, that’s not what’s most important. To me it’s the fact that Criston obviously held Rhaenyra into this high pedestal of untouched virginal purity, and when she couldn’t live up to his Madona/Whore complex standards, he did a complete turn on her and decided to join the side of court that was trying to usurp her throne, and aided them into ruining her life. That is the reason why I despise this character more than any other from the Dance era.

That is also why I deeply dislike the idea of making him dornish, and I’m bringing up Arianne again, because yeah she does share a few parallels with the story of Rhaenyra and Criston to an extent, but the idea of making a man who does… all that, dornish out of all things is so disrespectful to Arianne. I literally can’t believe that, after they completely cut her off of GOT, and now that we’re on whole different adaptation that takes place hundreds of years before ASOIAF even started, HBO is still finding new and creative ways to do my girl dirty. Personally I will never forgive them for it lmfao.

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tomatoart · 2 years

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ive been really wanting to get into metal gear lately and i noticed you draw art for it, do you know where i should start??

HIIII 💙 YES . this is the playlist but Ok so I know it may seem intimidating at first, I thought it was too when I started watching it a few months ago, but it was so easy to get rlly into that It stopped feeling so massive! I watched the first two games (“metal gear” 1 & 2 (not to be confused with metal gear *solid* 1 & 2)) but I don’t think they are a great place to start watching for attention span’s sake. Especially bc everything in them is retconned later on, but the summery IS still important so I’ll put like that for you before you start getting to the starting point under the cut:

MG1: The first Metal Gear game follows Solid Snake, a rookie of the FOXHOUND special operations unit. He is sent by his superior Big Boss to the fortress in South Africa known as Outer Heaven, with the goal of finding the missing squad member Gray Fox and investigating a weapon known as Metal Gear. Big boss was secretly the leader of a terrorist nation state. Big boss was holding nuclear weapons/robots ready to threaten the world with, he wanted to make an independent military nation for soldiers to be free. Snake defeats Big Boss in the last battle and escapes the Outer Heaven compound as it crumbles in flames behind him. After the end credits, a message from Big Boss is displayed saying that he will meet Solid Snake again. (You may think this is confusing since he died in the fires, but it’ll make sense way later LOL)

MG2: Set in 1999, a few years after the events of the original game. Solid Snake must infiltrate a heavily defended territory known as Zanzibar Land to rescue a kidnapped scientist and destroy the revised "Metal Gear D". Snake faces off against Gray Fox in Metal Gear D and eventually destroys the mech. Both men later fight hand-to-hand in a minefield, and Snake finishes him off. (because greyfox had remained loyal to Big Boss.) also Kaz Miller, FOXHOUND’s survival consultant also sided against Big Boss during the Zanzibar Land Disturbance, in favor of Solid Snake (this is just letting u know solid snake and miller were familiar and mutually respecting since he is in mgs1) As you can imagine this entire “i was tricked into helping a nuclear development and had to kill my bro” bummed solid snake out. So by MGS1 (METAL GEAR *SOLID* 1) he is a legendary solider who repeatedly has tried to retire.

Congrats! Now you can start watching, if you’d like to play them most of the games are accessible on the xbox and such but I watched most of them on YouTube. Skip metal gear 1 & 2 (THE FIRST TWO THT DONT HAVE “SOLID” IN THE TITLE) and start from this sequence onward (its already in order on the playlist dw i just wanna diagram it:

Metal Gear Solid -> Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty -> Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (this is a Big Boss centered prequel very important) -> Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (ends Solid Snake’s Story timeline) -> Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (continues the prequel story that continues onward from this point) Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes (this is a short game demo that sets up the main setting of Phantom Pain. also TW on this one for very detailed torture tactics..) -> METAL Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain (end of series)

they made another game but kojima left the making of MGS Rising which is pretty irrelevant (2 me) but takes place during the Solid snake and co.’s timeline. but I haven’t played it yet/ it’s spotty in canon-ness

i sooo so recommend mgs, it helps if u know whats happening in its real world counterpart (our real world rn) because its a rlly fun game thats all abt how war is a terrible thing in many ways. but its also a game tht doesnt take itself too seriously and thats why i love it sm too, it keeps you smiling and laughing at how crazy all the characters act and how silly some of the situations are. most ppl hate mgs for that reason but i think its such a specific brand of goofy that it makes it an unforgettable experience. for example: solid snake has a rant where he explains bisexual men dont rlly care what a homophobe would think of them. kojima is canon god. big boss believes in santa clause. people are named stuff like deep throat. its insane.

#asks #PLEASE GET INTO IT P #EASE PEKASE PLEASE. i hope u like it im sorry if im not tht good at explaining but i prommy its so fun n hilarious and touching #also no one asked but my fave characters r david otacon and quiet. just have to say ok ty

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