Forfeda

Artist, writer. Ravenclaw. 20. San Diego. INFP. Leo. Woman of Letters. Queen Dollop. My blogs a bunch of stuff: my art, fandoms (the hobbit, Lotr, tlok, atla, hp, spn, Merlin, and more.) Marco Polo. House of cards. Tyrant. 007. ships, like merthur, etc, tbd. (Art, me, pretty, travel, nature, fashion, important, funny, gold etc)

[justintimberlakedoingthings]

Justin Timberlake does his best Robert De Niro impression

[ithelpstodream]

[theonceandfuturedollop]

as silly as it sounds, making a lifestyle blog actually helps with like, getting out of bed in the morning and all that jazz. So go follow my other if you're interested in that kind of thing: 

http://theonceandfuturelegacy.tumblr.com

It’s still got a little fandom to it :)

[sweetsummertide]

[tattooedarm-deactivated20180130]

Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.

Martin Luther (via tattooedarm)

[isawatree]

Falling through clouds. by Douglas Arnet

[bunnypets]

Apple Cider Cinnamon Rolls

[psych-facts]

There are some things about myself I can’t explain to anyone. There are some things I don’t understand at all. I can’t tell what I think about things or what I’m after. I don’t know what my strengths are or what I’m supposed to do about them. But if I start thinking about these things in too much detail the whole thing gets scary. And if I get scared I can only think about myself. I become really self-centered, and without meaning to, I hurt people. So I’m not such a wonderful human being.

Haruki Murakami  (via psych-facts)

[ladyofthelake]

All the times merlin asked Arthur for a hug…and in the end Arthur asked him

[clueless-gay]

I have no words for how perfect this is

[socialjusticepaladin9-deactivat]

this but

we know she has a history dating men (Rpat and Rupert Sanders the guy she cheated on him with)

why did we go from straight to lesbian?? if only there was a word for people who liked both ……..

[rainbowreverie]

Gay….lesbian?….(looks at smudged writing on hand) bi….binoculars?

[earloffabulousness-deactivated2]

just a baby hippo

[seraphsfire]

the worst cat

[lokgifsandmusings]

Why are you making an essay on Sexism in GOT? I mean, it's set in midevil times, and there weren't many rights for women then. It sucks, but it is historically acurate. And there are plenty of strong female characters(Dany, Arya, Cat, etc).

Because the show plays into sexist tropes that demonstrate the showrunners’ clear and fundamental misunderstanding of the source material. You don’t need to tell me that ASOIAF isn’t sexist. It’s not the world that bothers me. The power of speculative fiction comes from our ability to distance concepts from our own cultural experience in order to truly understand them. And the mistreatment/relegation of and violence against women is a major theme that Martin explores and addresses intimately in his books, to exceptional effect.

But the show is sexist. I talk about it more on my Game of Thrones blog so I’d direct you there, especially in light of the most recent episode. The writing is sexist, and the show-runners make very, very problematic assumptions about men being entitled to the affection of women. Also read point #1 from this post.

[scarvesandcelery]

It is also worth pointing out that the show and books aren’t set “in medieval times”, they’re set in a fantasy universe that looks rather medieval. But… just because it’s set in a world that looks rather medieval, doesn’t mean Westeros has to be set in a sexist universe. There are frost giants , dragons and sorcerers in this world - you can’t call it “historically accurate”. And I don’t see why a lack of sexism should be the thing that makes it unrealistic, frankly, given all the existence of fantastical, magical creatures.

Not that it’s sexist to portray a misogynistic world in fantasy - sexism is a real thing and it can be constructive and useful to write fiction about fighting sexist values. But it does bother me when fandoms use “historical accuracy” as an excuse for sexism in shows like GoT and other media of a similar genre.

[lokgifsandmusings]

Right, there’s a fundamental difference between a sexist setting and a sexist narrative. And it is true that Martin has complete control over his universe and opted to choose one that does, in many ways, mirror our own history and social struggles. Is it set in medieval times? Of course not. It’s set in “Planetos.” But it purposely and specifically evokes our problematic past (also people would do well to remember that “medieval times” spanned like 1,000 years and Europe wasn’t nearly as socially stagnant as Westeros…but I digress).

From (x): “[in ASOIAF] magic lingers only on the periphery of the world in which the characters dwell, and is something more terrifying than wondrous. […] It’s a fantasy story that defies expectations by ultimately being less about a world we’d like to escape, at times becoming uncomfortably familiar to the one we live in.”

ASOIAF isn’t escapism like many other fantasy series, and Martin’s narrative actually forces us to face issues such as the mistreatment of women head-on. Which is why I find ASOIAF to be simultaneously uncomfortable and rewarding. It is the gritty and familiar societal structure that provides a “realism” despite the existence of magic and dragons. So to me, its setting can be justified, but not because “oh it’s just like old times”; because it was a deliberate choice on the part of the author to provide commentary on this “history” and these issues that are still unfortunately pervasive. This is why for me, being a feminist and understanding the value of Martin’s setting don’t sit in contention.

Now, that’s not to say we should automatically love “gritty realism,” or that realism puts something above critique. I totally understand why ASOIAF may not appeal to many. This is also why I come down hard on the TV show: the way in which this world is portrayed is often one that is meant to titillate or shock us, rather than challenge us. And it is worth pointing out that you can still address these themes and issues in a setting that is less problematic.

Hey! Let’s bring it back to Avatar! Bryke very clearly provided commentary on sexism, capital punishment, environmentalism, and political corruption in ATLA alone. LoK certainly pushed the envelope a little bit more, exploring race relations, violence against women, poverty, and the queer experience (and by the way this is not an exhaustive list by any means). While the Avatar-verse is far from idealized, it certainly is one that seems to be guided by more egalitarian principles than our world. And that Bryke were able to address so many of these complicated issues to a great effect is praise-worthy. Especially on a “kid’s show.”

There’s no right or wrong answer to which setting is “better.” In my opinion, they both have their merits. Like I said…the power of speculative fiction.

[inhabitude-deactivated20231116]

Morning Affirmation

There’s no use being anxious. It doesn’t help anything. You do have enough. Any more, and you’d probably waste it anyway. I think you’re doing alright. Pretty damn good really, especially considering how it used to be. Don’t go looking for problems they aren’t there. Real ones will show up soon enough. You can handle those when they come.

You have incredible gifts to share. Keep your heart open. Let go of opinions, yours and other’s. Stick with the truth. Keep your practice vibrant and take the next breath like it really matters.

[punziella]

♡ casual princesses and a queen ♡ I’ll add the others some time soon. For now I need to work on commissions uwu

BONUS:

[grickenfish]

And now to set fire to my enemies!

[roguemermaid-deactivated2014102]

[bitchyblue]

So my friends have a little boy, he’s like 2.5 and they’re already teaching him about consent. He has this friend at daycare, a little girl, and the other day he wanted to hug her goodbye but she didn’t want him to, and his dad said “No, buddy, not everybody wants hugs and she doesn’t so you have to just wave goodbye.” He was sad and confused for a sec but then he was just like “K bye” and waved. Later that night, he tried to pet the cat but she ran away and he was just like “[cat’s name] just wave bye, not hug!” Like he got it. Immediately. Teach kids about consent as early as possible. They’ll get it.