#But it doesn't necessarily apply to the stories themselves you know

[yoihino]

You know I was going to add orv to this but actually thinking about it it kind of has the opposite message? So. But it's still thematically revelant

Trying to articulate something

[our-arospec-experience]

Some Arospec Identities:

This is a list of some Arospec identities! It may be incomplete, and I am not an expert, so please let me know if there are any mistakes/identities you want added. :D

Aromantic: experiencing little or no romantic attraction to anyone; not having romantic feelings.

Aro flux: someone who fluctuates between experiencing romantic attraction and not experiencing it, and/or experiencing romantic attraction to different strengths.

Abroromantic: a fluid attraction, that can mean a fluctuating attraction between genders and/or on or out and/or throughout the aromantic spectrum, to some it's just one or the other, and to others it's both. (explained here by an abro person)

Akoiromantic/lithromantic: an individual who experiences romantic attraction but has no desire or need to have their feelings reciprocated. Sometimes an akoiromantic person’s attraction may fade if a romantic relationship is established.

Alloromantic/zedromantic: someone who does experience romantic attraction. An alloromantic person may be allosexual as well, but not necessarily. This identity is not on the aromantic spectrum.

Cupioromantic: someone who does not experience romantic attraction but has a desire to be in a romantic relationship.

Demi(a)romantic: someone who only experiences romantic attraction after establishing a strong emotional connection to someone.

Frayromantic: someone who experiences romantic attraction, but this attraction fades after getting to know the object of attraction.

Grey-(a)romantic: someone who sometimes, occasionally, or rarely experiences romantic attraction. The attraction they experience may be weak, or it might be infrequent. Also used as an umbrella term for all romantic orientations that fall between alloromantic and aromantic.

Quoiromantic/WTF-romantic: someone who finds romantic attraction confusing, or cannot differentiate between platonic and romantic attraction, or is unsure of whether they experience romantic attraction. It can also mean someone who feels like the concept of romantic attraction doesn't apply to them.

Nebularomantic: is a neurosexuality specific to neurodiverse individuals, and it falls on the aromantic spectrum. It's a label for individuals who have difficulty telling the difference between romantic and platonic attraction specifically due to their neurodivergence (or can't tell the difference at all).

Caedromantic: having been able to experience romantic attraction in the past, and not experiencing romantic attraction any more, with the feeling that the romantic attraction was taken away/destroyed or left because of a traumatic experience.

Aegoromantic: Someone who is aegoromantic enjoys the concept of romance but does not want to participate in actual romantic activities. An example of this would be an aegoromantic individual enjoying watching a romantic show or reading a romance novel. However acting out these romantic stories in real life would not be appealing to an aegoromantic person. An aegoromantic individual would typically not desire a romantic relationship.

Apothiromantic: individuals on the aromantic spectrum who consider themselves to be romance-repulsed, are called apothiromantic. A romance-repulsed aromantic is repulsed by the idea of romance all together. Like with any romantic identity, apothiromantic individuals can have any sexual orientation. Their aromantic identity is not directly connected to their sexual identity.

Arospike: is an aromantic orientation on the aromantic spectrum. This identity is for those who usually do not feel a romantic attraction. Sometimes however, an arospike can experience a (rare) sudden spike of aromantic attraction that will last for a short amount of time. After this they will return just as quickly, to aromantic.

Autoromantic: is a term for individuals who experience a romantic attraction (exclusive or not) towards themselves. It can occur in different forms, such as: fantasizing about a romantic relationship with yourself. Or, as described above: feeling little to no romantic attraction to others but being able to feel romantic attraction to yourself.

Bellusromantic: defined as someone who has interest in (certain aspects of) traditional romantic behaviour such as holding hands and cuddling. However, a bellusromantic would not experience romantic attraction and does not want an actual romantic relationship. So they keyword here is ‘interest’. The interest is there, but a bellusromantic can’t and wouldn’t want to put it into practice.

Fictoromantic: falls under the aromantic spectrum as they do not experience romantic attraction to (real life) people. Fictoromantic is a term used for individuals who experience romantic attraction exclusively towards fictional characters. Fictoromantic is also known as fictonromantic.

Myrromantic: Someone who identifies as myrromantic is on the aromantic spectrum but might feel confused as to where exactly, as they can experience multiple aromantic identities at once. They can also rapidly fluctuate. As an example: a person who considers themself to be both demiromantic as well as grayromantic. This might be confusing to some, which is why myrromantic can be a more comfortable label to identify with.

Recipromantic: (also known as reciproromantic) someone who does not experience romantic attraction until they know that the other individual is romantically attracted to them first.

Requisromantic: someone who experiences a very limited, or no romantic attraction and interest due to some form of emotional exhaustion. The reason of emotional exhaust may have many reasons such as (bad) past experiences dealing with romance or other emotionally draining reasons.

Amicusromantic: means you don’t have romantic attraction to someone unless you form a platonic bond/ friendship with them.(explained here by an amicusromantic person)

Uniromantic: also known as oneromantic or unianthroromantic, refers to someone who feels romantic attraction toward one person and one person only for advanced periods of time, or perhaps one’s whole lifetime.

Desinoromantic: when one does not experience full-on romantic attraction, but a romantic attraction akin to "liking" someone rather than "loving" them

Idemromantic: when one experiences no notable internal differences between platonic and romantic feelings, often categorizing relationships (and feelings) as platonic or romantic based on external factors.

Alicoromantic or Agnoromantic: someone who knows they are somewhere on the aromantic spectrum, but their romantic orientation does not fit in any aromantic spectrum label.

Iamvanoromantic: the desire to not show romantic affection to someone but you may have the desire to receive some (via @/aroace-safe-space-for-all)

Placioromantic: you don’t have the desire to receive romantic affections but you do have the desire to show some (via @/aroace-safe-space-for-all)

Arohaze: alabel for an arospec individual who’s other orientation(s) are in between or both allo and ace/void. source

Apathromantic: Someone whose orientation form of "romance indifferent" which can also be used as a title. It does not distinguish if the person does or does not have romantic attraction, but just that they are indifferent in receiving it or acting it out. Source

Loveless Aromantic: describes someone who is on the aromantic spectrum that is in some way disconnected from the concept of love, does not feel love, may doubt that they feel love, or rejects the idea of experiencing love. source

Lovequeer: someone who fully rejects the concept of “love” as society applies it for romance, and to redefine the word around oneself and the types of love neglected by amatonormativity. source

Subtiliaromantic: someone who experiences zero romantic attraction.

Non-SAM aro: an aromantic individual who doesn’t use the Split Attraction Model, aka the SAM.

Again, tell me if there's any I can add/ have got wrong :)

[spockandawe]

You know what I can't get enough of? Speculation about what the fictional novel Proud Immortal Demon Way says about its fictional author. Because it would be completely possible to make a story like this without that connection. I'm not sure I've read any other transmigration story where the author was a character, so just that addition adds a lot of interesting texture to the situation even without getting deep in the author's head, but it's so interesting how deep I can speculate in so many directions if I think about getting in his head.

And oh man, I could talk for AGES about how Shang Qinghua and his iconic protagonist reflect each other, but a lot of people have written about that already! Including in the medium of fic, which is my favorite way to consume that kind of crunch. So let's talk about familial neglect and mistreatment and the author's favorite character.

Honestly, when I look at how iconic this ship is, I'm astonished there aren't more hit novels where the author gets yeeted into their own book and has to navigate platonic or romantic relationships with their own characters. A lot of the parallels between Shang Qinghua and Luo Binghe are about them being alike in ugly and vulnerable ways, ways I don't think either of them likes about themselves, and regarding aspects of their personalities that I don't think they'd be happy discussing period. Like, Binghe very much hates himself, that's right there on the page. And Shang Qinghua is a ridiculous character, he's very funny, but he's also not stupid. He's very aware of who he is and what he is, and makes a decision to behave the ways he does. I'm typing this up because I was scrolling through an old chat looking for something and tripped across a conversation about shang qinghua and fawn trauma response.

He knows he does this thing! He has an easy opening to turbokill Mobei-jun while he's unconscious and decides to go the route of begging for his life and trying to ingratiate himself after Mobei-jun wakes up instead, which is a much trickier process. He says it himself, that Mobei-jun is his ideal, that he embodies everything Shang Qinghua wants to be, that etc. And that's hilarious and all, especially in light of the eventual romance and the clownery it takes to get there, but in classic svsss fashion, it also becomes a lot sadder when you add up all the pieces and see everything Shang Qinghua hates about himself.

In some ways he's an even more avoidant narrator than Shen Qingqiu, he deflects and jokes like a motherfucker, so it really is a matter of assembling all the pieces and seeing where there are gaps. But what really underscored the connection for me was Mobei-jun's reaction to parental neglect. Because that's what pushed Shang Qinghua into being an author in the first place, his parents divorced and remarried and kinda just.... forgot about him.

Mobei-jun's dad doesn't exactly do that, but he is operating without a mom in the picture, and rather than remarrying, he just chooses to ignore the thing where his shitty brother is persistently trying to kill his son. That really sucks! But Mobei-jun never shows the smallest hint of weakness or vulnerability over this, even when it would have really helped to use his words, like 'hi my uncle is coming to kill me and i trust you to protect me.' He's everything cool, aloof, arrogant, proud, all a bunch of adjectives that really do not apply to Shang Qinghua. Mobei-jun honestly looks like a boring character if you just stick to the main story, because he's so self-contained and controlled. Compare and contrast to Shang Qinghua, who accidentally outs himself as a transmigrator like two minutes after showing up and proceeds to be hilarious for the rest of the book.

(Brief aside to say that I don't think Mobei-jun is necessarily a happier or healthier person for all of this, lmao. The conversation that fawn reaction thing came from was talking about freeze (tee hee) versus fawn in response to threats or stressful situations. But that goes along with the svsss theme of people used to engaging with this universe as a fictional property coming to terms with the depth and complexity of other people's emotions and not just seeing them as simplistic not-real characters in a book)

(Additionally, this makes the ship hilarious as a take on 'opposites attract,' but also it gives me actual Emotions that Shang Qinghua's ideal who he wishes he could be, purely incidentally, he is able to value and love Shang Qinghua in a way that Shang Qinghua can't and doesn't seem to totally understand)

And what's very interesting here. Is that Shang Qinghua made these two characters, Luo Binghe and Mobei-jun. His protagonist ultimately reflects a lot of his own vulnerabilities and insecurities (secretly and quietly in pidw, much more.... overtly in svsss), and Mobei-jun corrects for his vulnerabilities and insecurities. He's the person Shang Qinghua wishes he could be, which is basically... the opposite of Shang Qinghua, to an almost comical degree. And he then gives Mobei-jun the VERY BEST plot armor he can devise. It's hard for a male character to exist near a stallion protagonist without getting swept up in rivalries/suspicions/etc and getting killed by the protagonist, but he makes sure that his favorite character is safe from these things. He's protecting the character he wishes he could be from the character whose faults most reflect his own. That is very sweet and weird and sad, and that's very reflective of the svsss experience, I think.

[mixelation]

it is always dangerous to be like "i don't think this was explained well in canon" because someone will immediately pop up and explain it to you and how it actually IS explained in canon (or, if you're in the star wars fandom, in a random book or comic). but really i'm not necessarily criticizing the presence or absence of an explanation so much as (these do NOT all apply to JJK. i also just had this conversation about Naruto lmao):

Did your fighting manga stop for a long ass time mid-fight to explain something? Might have been a bad pacing move, even if the explanation does exist!

Did you use a ton of words and airtime to explain something but the explanation still didn't super make sense? Might be a writing issue, even if some fans understand you!

Do you have to keep coming back to explain things over and over? Sometimes necessary in a long-running manga/show, but also might be a symptom that readers are having a hard time following along, or that you're wasting time that could go to moving the story forward instead!

Do you keep revealing more and more motivations and random actions of your character without actually fulfilling any sort of overarching theme or character arc? You might be having characterization problem, even if someone can physically write out the listed motivations!

Do you keep retroactively inserting details to "explain" things which don't actually need further explaining? Unless you can clearly verbalize a reason this was necessary for the story, then maybe leave that to the fans!

Is your main character the only one of fixing any problem, at the cost of other characters suddenly becoming incompetent at things they were previously good at? You might have another writing/characterization issue, even if there's an in-universe explanation!

Did you just stop the entire plot so one character can explain to another some facet of the world building, even if it's not particularly in character or setting appropriate for either character to have this conversation? Congrats, you might be in a ratfic!

To be clear, not all of these scenarios are AUTOMATICALLY bad. I actually kind of like the shounen anime trope of some guy just thinking to themselves about what just happened in the fight, and I know the format of ratfic I just teased about is enjoyed by many people. My point is that "but this IS explained!" doesn't mean the explanation was good or well-executed, and depending on your genre, might frustrate some readers.

[beels-burger-babe]

Why is it that in all of your obey me fics MC is either dumb and obvious to all the brothers concerns or a weak bitch who’ll lose an arm wrestle match to a 7 year old boy??? Dont get me wrong I like your fics I do and I do appreciate your talent as a writer however you write MC as if they aren’t 1.Master of the 7 sins and 2. Solomon the wise’s apprentice. They know magic yet in all of your fics it seems like they either forget everything they learned or just can’t summon any of the brothers to take care of them, so like what the hell is up with that?

Hello Mx. Anon

I would argue my MCs I present aren't weak or stupid. They are human.

I prefer the MC we have in the early stories of the game over the MC in the later episodes. The MC who is still learning about the Devildom, and magic, and the culture around them. Most of my fics take place during that time when they AREN'T Solomon's apprentice yet and either haven't formed pacts with the brothers yet or respects them enough to see themself as their 'Master' and abuse that title. Because of this, the MC I tend to write often doesn't have magic, and yes I make them the victim in several scenerios of the over 70 fics I have as those tropes are very popular and often times requested.

However.

Just because they may be oblivious to the advances of the characters (which is not true for the majority of my fics where MC is actively in relationships with one or more of them) that does not make them stupid in general.

I believe in the strength of the average. I don't like writing super strong, super powerful MCs because I don't find them relateable. You can have a super badass MC who is trying their best and never so much as casts a spell, and they are still a bad ass. I think MC being mundane in the Devildom is what makes them so unqiue. Their strength doesn't lie in their magic, but in their emotional intelligence, their empathy, and their words.

That said. I have written fics where MC tries to kill their ex. (Changes in Behaviour). I have written an MC who punches Levi across the face and spits blood on Lucifer's shoes, and who refuses to take any bullshit from the brothers. (Sister's Keeper). I have several MCs who does not allow others to cross their boundaries and abuse them (What's in an Apology?, The Pain is Yet to Come) I have a deaf MC who stands up for themself and doesn't allow others to see them as less (Deaf MC AU). I have written a siren MC who attempted to murder the brothers, their captors, in order to escape. (Waves are Calling) I have had MC flirting right back at them with confidence enough to take control. (Class is in Session.) I could go on.

I see your critique. I hear it. I appreciate it, because writing strong, bad ass characters who take no shit and who can and will fight for themselves is important.

I just prefer to show that strength internally over externally. If I do come back to writing here, which I haven't done in over a year, I will remember your words. But that said, my inbox is filled with prompts asking for more MC being saved or in situations where that physical poweress wouldn't necessarily apply.

Thanks. Have a nice day.

[youzicha]

Simulacra, Simulation, and Girls' Generation

That take that "anime girls don’t correspond to anything" reminded me of one of my own pet theories, which is that the same is true about Kpop groups.

Groups like Girls' Generation are like the opposite of American singer-songwriters. The singer-songwriter's core value is authenticity. Their songs are taken to be autobiographical, and to be valuable because they are a true description of the emotions that the songwriter felt. The singer-writer must be a single person so we can be sure that nobody has tampered with the depiction before it reaches us. This is Baudrillard's "first order" image, we in the audience should believe that the song is "the reflection of a profound reality".

With the kpop groups, what we enjoy is that the song does not represent any underlying reality. Each music video is the impersonal product of songwriters, producers, choreographers, stylists, video directors, etc. Rather than a spontaneous expression, you can see the moves being developed in the behind-the-scenes dance practice videos. The online discourse emphasizes the role of the entertainment agency (e.g. SM Entertainment): the group members themselves do not have "agency" so we can be confident that their own emotions didn't make it into the love songs they sing.

Let’s look at the music video for Oh! (2010) to see how this plays out. It's like a game of dress-up, showing off two different cheerleader uniforms. Argumate once wrote that Girls' Generation perform "a detailed sequence of dance moves that are very 'sexy', i.e. strongly coded as suggesting sexiness without necessarily being sexy-without-quotes", and I think we can say something similar about cheerleader outfits. They are not there to convey a message or story (and as if to stress the arbitrariness, the last few seconds of the video show the girls dressed in a completely different "strong woman" style, to tease the upcoming next look). Rather, the "sexy cheerleader" is itself a stylized, free-floating signifier to be quoted. "The whole system becomes weightless … an uninterrupted circuit without reference or circumference." (Although I believe it is still possible to overcome the ironic stance.)

So far everything is straightforward, but now consider the lyrics:

Oppa please see me, please look at me It's the first time I talk like this (ha!) I did my hair and I did my makeup too But why is it only you who doesn't know? […] Don't think of me just like a little sister You might regret that after a year

I claim that this also works in the opposite direction to the normal mode of storytelling. When creating a movie or play, the auteur-director starts with an idea or a story, and then casts actors to best represent his vision. Or, if that is not what it in fact took place, it is still the convention the viewer is supposed to apply to interpret the work. But with an idol music video, the starting point is the singer, who already has a fanbase. "Please see me, please look at me"—well, we already were. (This is not the only Girls' Generation song about looking at the idol, by the way, compare e.g. The Boys, which begins "I can tell you're looking at me / I know what you see".)

Given the opposite starting point, the representational function of the lyrics changes correspondingly. Rather than focusing on the new fictional person who emerges ex nihilo, the fan's attention is still on the singer, and the "little sister" character is yet another stock signifier for them to bring out and put on, much like the uniform. The function of the story is erasure: there was in fact a hairdresser and a makeup artist who styled Yuri, but instead we're invited to project a different fantasy over her. The effect is to further stress the unreality of all the symbols involved.

With this in mind, I think one Girls' Generation song has a really interesting concept for the lyrics. In Paparazzi (2012) the idol looks out across the crowds, spots a photographer who is trying to be discreet, and speaks directly to him: "shall I give you a better photo? let's be friendly, after all aren't we allies?"

It re-establishes the inauthenticity and unreality of the idol! As time goes by, pesky reality intrudes. People will follow the individual group members devotedly, and there are paparazzi images of them. Members will capitalize on their fame through individual brand endorsement deals. There is the perennial problem of girl group girls getting boyfriends, jarringly peeking out as an actual human being from behind the illusion. Or in the extreme case they can even use their new independent existence to leave the group.

In Paparazzi, those candid photos are re-imagined as performance. And furthermore, just like in Oh! we are invited to imagine a fictional character speaking directly to us. But in this case the character is superimposed not just over the image from the music video, but also over all the already existing photos. The actual person of the idol is crowded out by the fantasy…

[3hks]

I write fanfics but I was wondering if you could give some tips for writing angst? Or like just how to write angst in general

Thanks in advance if you do

-anon

Yes, of course! I LOVE angst so much, so thank you for asking! There's a lot of different types of angst, so I'll briefly go over several and give you some advice on how to make it hurt!

First of all, let's talk about the two different types of angst briefly (I'm sure there are more, but I think these two categories cover most of them!). In the first half, I'll roughly cover the internal/emotional one, which is pretty much a one-man-show for angst!

Let's start with the emotions involved with this group. There are a few key feelings--besides depression--that you'll want to be able to utilize because they are the foundation of good angst!

Emptiness: Not necessarily sad, but it's emotion where there's nothing except for a hint of melancholy and perhaps loneliness or a lack of fulfillment.

Numbness: In all honesty, numbness is essentially the same as emptiness but it's usually the result of another emotion. (Grief, shock, stress, etc.)

Regret/Guilt: This hurts A LOT. The feeling of regret for something you did/didn't do is incomparable. Painful reflections, agonizing over a sorrowful mistake, and being forced to accept it knowing there's no going back is absolutely HEARTBREAKING--which is why it makes good angst!

Loneliness: Being isolated and/or feeling alone makes one feel disconnected from everyone else. This is a common factor in depression.

Self-Hate: A traditional one; nothing hurts more than seeing a character beat themselves up when they shouldn't.

Despair: The feeling of excessive hopelessness leaves your character feeling powerless and in a metaphorical sense, drowning.

Internal angst can create highly pensive situations while involving one person! Thus, first person point of view or third person limited (to the character) is the best option because focuses and highlights the character. Not to mention, thoughts are crucial to angst for it offers insight to their person and obviously, first person is the best at accomplishing that goal, but third person limited can also achieve a similar effect!

Next, there's the romantic/platonic type of angst. This not only relies on the emotions and thoughts of the characters, but is also subjective to the situation they're in, which means there's more freedom to explore around! Again, let's look at some emotions that are commonly used!

Hate: Hate is frequently found in problematic and/or toxic romance tropes. Sometimes it could be one-sided hate, where one resents the other, but the other holds absolutely no hate, and sometimes it's mutual animosity.

Fear: This fear is typically along the lines of being afraid of rejection, so much so that it feels difficult to make a decision and progress forward. Fear can easily delve into anxiety.

Longing: Unrequited love hurts a lot, but it doesn't always have to be one-sided. Both sides pining for each other unbeknownst to them also makes a good story.

Grief: The loss of a loved one is hard to cope with yet relatable, generating a lot of empathy and empathy from your readers

Hesitation: In particular, when the ship or close friends are hesitant to get close. This could be due to outside factors, fear of opening up, or self-doubt.

Additionally, the emotions I listed in the previous division still applies here! Contrary to the internal angst, this type works better when both perspectives are written to fully demonstrate their current circumstances and dynamic. Third person is recommended!

But on top of emotions, the situation matters a lot too, so I'll quickly go over some examples of situations that can induce angst!

Anxiety/Panic attacks: This includes a lot of intrusive, scattered, and overwhelming thoughts. Description-wise, make sure to focus on their senses! (Ex: Breathing: heaving, struggling to breath, etc.) Chest/heart: tightening up, pounding loudly, etc.) Eyesight: Blurring, unfocused, etc. Hearing: Too loud, drowned out, etc.)

Final Messages: Did your character die or leave? Their final messages matter a LOT. After all, that's they last thing they're remember by. Sometimes these messages are kind, but they can also reveal confessions (love, regret, mistakes) that hurt, and they can even completely change how your character views themselves and the world.

Misunderstandings: Misunderstandings can go from innocent mistakes to detrimental oversights. Many romantic slow-burns incorporate this tool, as a matter of fact!

Coping: For the most part, it's good if someone's able to cope with a devastating situation, but sometimes these can be quite painful. For example, maybe a character's coping mechanism is to avoid all topics of their previous love, preventing them from facing the issue head-on.

In conclusion, writing angst involves a lot of aspects! From start to end, there will be a huge mix of emotions and thoughts. It may be hard to figure everything out, but try your best to apply your past experiences and do what you think fits the best!

Happy writing~

3hks <3

[seventeenlovesthree]

Hey I thought I would you ask you something about the Digidestined that makes me really wonder about their relationships.

Minus any shipping,

Which Digidestined do you think brings out each Digidestined the best of themselves? It could be as a friend or a love interest.

The show seems to imply that DNA digivolving/jogress means they are matched together well, but is this really the case?

I think an analysis like this would be helpful.

I would agree that the idea of "brings out the best in the other/makes the other better" is not applicable to every single Jogress combination - and sometimes, it applies more to one side than the other, but it also really depends on the time and place the characters are currently at. While there is a certain theme of complementation going on between all existing Jogress pairs ("one is having something the other lacks"), they also don't make each other "perfect".

Personally, I would also always distinguish that Jogress compatibility doesn't equal romantic compatibility - it CAN be a factor, but is not the main theme in my opinion. But let me look at all individual cases... May be a looooong post!

Taichi: For him, it REALLY depends on what timeframe we want to look at, because it's incredibly context-reliant. To nobody's surprise, I gotta name the 3 characters that - aside from Hikari - have the greatest interpersonal impact on him: Sora, Koushirou and Yamato. Sora's influence makes Taichi softer and, as we know, makes him question his cowardice - she is indirectly responsible for activating his Crest for a reason after all and I still maintain that, despite the miscommunication that goes on between them throughout the series (OWG, Tri), him caring for her is pushing him to do his best. Yamato can be seen as complementary here, because, while Omegamon was never formed BECAUSE of their bond, Yamato still challenges his sense of courage, he makes him more contemplative and considerate in times of emergency (Dark Master's Arc, Tri, Kizuna). Yamato also pushes him to rethink his strategies, pushing him to be better - the problem is that they sometimes have to get physically violent for it to happen and that's not necessarily the healthiest approach. Koushirou is here for the simple fact that he enables Taichi to make the right decisions and even if Taichi still has a tendency to do things himself, he knows he can rely on Koushirou's strengths to do so (Adventure, OWG). Similarly to how he relies on Yamato, even though it has less of an emotionally visible impact. Long story short - he can be his most COURAGEOUS self when his heart, his gut and his head are in the right place. (Hikari can be mentioned here because she gets him to try to be responsible and protective thanks to their past experiences, but that should be self-explanatory.)

Yamato: Jyou and Taichi. Similarly to how Yamato has an emotional impact on Taichi, the same goes the other way round - I'm still ranking him after Jyou, just give me a moment to explain. First of all, both Jyou and Taichi used to have their rocky moments with Yamato, some involving punching, others shouting and accusations. You can argue that, as adults, a.) they have overcome most of their arguments and quarrels and b.) Taichi and Yamato seem to be much, much closer than Jyou and Yamato. I still maintain that, personality wise, Jyou is more emotionally compatible to deal with Yamato's temper. As said, most of Taichi's and Yamato's quarrels have been solved by now, Yamato doesn't perceive Taichi as a threat of his own sense of leadership and ability to be a brother anymore; he may still see him as a mirror displaying his own worst qualities whenever he's at his lowest point though. They have become good, close friends, that will always be capable of saving the world together, trusting in each other blindly; as mentioned here, I think that they are not necessarily able to save each other outside of that though. We may spin this into a direction that, Jyou is more compatible with Yamato romantically in my book; because he could look through Yamato's insecurities and, by being inspired by him, inspired Yamato in return as well - and activated Yamato's Crest after all. I know, I know, I may be biased and it's been a while since they've smiled at each other softly like they did in the Dark Master's Arc - but at least the stageplay validated me in how Yamato was eventually able to open up thanks to Jyou's encouragement. Long story short, both Jyou and Taichi tickled Yamato's sense of FRIENDSHIP in very particular ways - and this is remarkable, because Yamato is good at "finding people" (as in, doing investigations and knowing whom to contact), but not necessarily good at maintaining bonds. (Takeru may be mentioned, because he nurtured Yamato's protective attitude, but just like with the Yagami siblings, this can be seen as a given.)

Sora: Mimi and Taichi. I am a big fan of the idea that Sora and Mimi complement each other in the best possible ways - while Sora used to be the mom/big sister friend to take Mimi under her wing, protect and guide her, she encourages Mimi to bloom into a confident flower that got enabled to support Sora in all the ways she needed for once. Granted, Sora still struggles to accept Mimi's help, even as an adult, but the analogy of Mimi being the flower who softens the thorns in Sora's heart is just too beautiful to me. Speaking of hearts, if there is any other character that reaches hers in character-defining ways, it's Taichi. The same Taichi who, after saving her, vanished, caused her to look for him on her own while still protecting everyone in the back, just to end up reunited, with everyone having gotten stronger than before, helping her to realize that she indeed knows how to LOVE. As pointed out here, they are continuously on each other's minds, almost telepathically connected (as implied in the novels) - and similarly to Mimi, Taichi has a very strong impact on how Sora defines herself. Starting off as his football buddy and partner in crime, regardless of her gender, I still maintain that it particularly confused her when she got that hairclip from him, challenging her own identity problems and issues with femininity even more. And while I already said that there is an ongoing theme of miscommunication between them, up until Kizuna, the care and connection between them does not fully vanish. Mimi is the one who tells her to spread her wings freely (To Sora), Taichi is the one who tells her that her caring attitude is not a flaw (Tri) - she still has to embrace both of that first though and since she currently prefers to take a bit time for herself, we gotta wait and see if and when that might be the case...

Koushirou: Taichi and Mimi. I will try to keep this briefly, as you all may already be familiar with my stance on this anyway, but still: Without Taichi, Koushirou would not have gone to Summer Camp. Without Taichi relying on Koushirou's skills, enabling and encouraging him, the group would not have saved Sora, would not have been able to solve the card riddle and get back to the real world, would not have solved The Prophecy, would not have been able to find medicine for Hikari... You see where I am going with this. Koushirou, according to the novels, used to not think very highly of himself as a person who also didn't get along well with other people - and Taichi just naturally took him under his wing, invited him to camp, indirectly helped him to believe in his KNOWLEDGE and skills more and become more of a hands-on person, which naturally led to him become a guidance and eventually a mentor and teacher for his friends and especially the younger kids. Basically, he could open up and become more vocal due to his bond with Taichi (again, literal novel quote), being his best friend, right-hand-man and partner in crime, solving riddles and saving the world together. The other person who makes him get more vocal at times is Mimi - not only does she challenge him to question his own approaches by having a completely different priority system (positive!), but also makes him question his wardrobe (slightly less positive in my opinion and I still wish I could name Sora as honourable mention at this point, because fashion could have been a wonderful bonding and development theme for them, but they simply never got executed like that!). The fact that both Taichi and Mimi cause his polite attitude to fade at various points in the series is a clear indicator that they have an impact on him like nobody else - especially because he is very connected with a lot of people online and makes sure to keep everybody always up to date, but is not necessarily the most social butterfly outside of Chosen Children duty.

Mimi: Sora and Jyou. I'm not sure who deserves spot 1 and who gets spot 2 here, because both of them have such a vital influence on why Mimi is as confident in herself as she is. As already mentioned in Sora's part, Sora has been protecting and guiding Mimi ever since they have known one another and it's quite obvious that Mimi, despite not aspiring to be like Sora at all, still greatly admires her and all her qualities. When Mimi loses her way, she knows she can rely on Sora to pull her out of it - which is exactly why their bond, Sora's kindness and encouragement helped to make Mimi's Crest glow for the first time, making her admit her faults and wrong-doings. And Mimi, despite her outspoken, opinionated attitude, needs encouragement. Which is where Jyou comes into play - not only was he the one to accompany her on her pacifist path of self-discovery once, but he was also by her side when she needed to vent over her insecurities and self-esteem issues twice. Making her be her most SINCERE self. Which in both cases, was a mutual experience, as I will go into detail about down below. Long story short: Both Sora and Jyou are capable of making her open up in the most genuine way, she feels safe and loved by them in ways nobody else can. Because even if they (indirectly) scold her for things she does wrong - they still do so softly, signaling her that she is fine the way she is. (An honourable mention here goes out to Stageplay/Kizuna!Koushirou who inspires Mimi to try out "something with computers".)

Jyou: Mimi and Yamato. Due to the consistent trope between Jyou and Mimi, I am very inclined to put her before Yamato in this ranking, but in the end, the theme between them is very similar. As pointed out before, Jyou decides to join Mimi in the Dark Master's Arc, primarily to protect her - but through witnessing and admiring her for finding her way, he felt inspired by her AND Yamato to go search for his own path, approach and attitude towards basically everything. It's something that both of them trigger in him at various points; even when he ends up questioning his intentions and motivations again, Mimi's sincere way of opening up to him (Tri) is what brings him back on track himself as well, allowing him to be honest to her and to himself. Not only that, Yamato (stageplay) validates him in believing that it all comes down to choosing for yourself to stay on track. Yamato (Adventure) who had once left the group, leaving Jyou in particular with the wish to believe in himself and his qualities. It's just a wonderful theme that keeps coming up, that helps Jyou to develop such a strong aura of confidence, which in turn makes him the senpai others actually feel capable of opening up to freely and safely. Which is significant considering how busy (and/or absent) he is most of the time. He IS Mister RELIABLE for a reason, so his validation causing Yamato's Crest to glow and Mimi to be confident enough to reach Ultimate level does mean something...

Takeru: Hikari (and Iori as honourable mention). You may or may not personally be pleased by the fact that Takeru and Hikari took the longest to conduct here. This can technically be seen as a negative, since it may imply that Takeru's bond with other characters doesn't go deep enough. Don't get me wrong, he DOES have bonds with QUITE a few other characters, he's looking up to Taichi a LOT, he loves to quarrel with Daisuke, he seems to know what is going on in Sora's and Koushirou's lives, his path from despising to trusting Ken is incredibly interesting, we already know that he and Yamato would die for each other and so on and so on... But you get the sense that he's not letting anybody really in too closely - which, as I observed before, applies to his brother as well. On the other hand, it also means what I already said in previous analysis posts: That he and Hikari are too glued together by the hip to let anybody else really come in between. There may have been times when one could have called it codependency, but considering all their parallels, everything they have seen and have gone through together, it can at least be assumed that they overcame some of their communicative barriers by the time of The Beginning. As much of a fun little time-killing exercise it may have been, he still spent his time practicing his fanfiction world-building skills with her and while the viewer cannot tell how much they have been talking about and processing their trauma, their brother complexes, etc., you simply cannot deny that they have consistently been there for each other. So one can only hope that he has stopped projecting his own overprotective brother tendencies onto her (ever since Tailmon called him out on them in 02), taking off the masks he has been showing a lot of people. Allowing himself to be the HOPE to her Light so to speak. I still want to give Iori a small honourable mention, because while I maintain that Iori "profits" more off of their relationship, I do believe that there was a time in 02 when he was also capable of making Takeru softer, offering him a bit of a mirror to himself.

Hikari: Takeru and Miyako. While the same issues apply to Hikari that have been mentioned with Takeru, her case is still a little bit different. Of course she had been hyperfocusing and depending on her brother for big chunks of the series and while she doesn't seem good at letting others in too closely either, her kindness still attracts people around her - including Takeru, who, as described, is both parallel and sidekick to her. You may already refer to them as trolls and partners in crime - and Hikari intended to stop depending on Takeru for protection as well, wanting to be equals ever since 02. Which, by the looks of it, may actually be the case, considering how they have been fighting rampaging Digimon side by side in Kizuna almost in sync. Again, she is acting as the LIGHT to his Hope. On the other hand, there is also Miyako, who, in contrast to Hikari, is loud and brash and tells the world when she doesn't like something - which is a skill Hikari basically longed to develop herself. So her admiring Miyako to at least some degree - while also being admired and encouraged by her in return - may have been a trigger that allowed her to grow more and more confident, balanced and equal to Miyako. As well as to Takeru too. And they may only grow further from here...

Daisuke: Ken. Daiken are probably THE prime example on how a Jogress combination gets the best out of each other. Simply because them working on their bond, their friendship, drags them away from toxic or dangerous habits (playing roles, hiding behind masks to impress others, bragging, catastrophizing, self-sabotage, etc.) and instead helps them to focus on what's really important. Daisuke gets naturally more comfortable, confident, downright happier and more enthusiastic thanks to Ken; his wish to BEFRIEND Ken basically makes him discover his own sense of COURAGE... There simply isn't a better example than this, because nobody else makes him get as honest as Ken does, as he basically plays a role towards everyone else (Hikari, Takeru, Taichi - and especially with the latter, it's a shame, because he used to look up to him, but finds his own style along the way, which never got that much focus...).

Ken: Daisuke. It's the reverse situation as described above, Ken is being enabled to overcome or at least deal with a lot of his self-esteem issues thanks to Daisuke's encouragement. The best thing is that, as soon as he opens up thanks to Daisuke, literally letting all of his KINDNESS shine through, he is capable of forming (potentially beautiful) bonds with several other Chosen Children and may have the greatest growth with the members of his core group (Iori, Takeru, Hikari and Miyako) than any other 02 kid. And in contrast to what I've said at the beginning of the post, Ken and Daisuke may or may not also be romantically compatible after all...

Miyako: Mimi and Hikari. While there are other characters who have an impact on her behaviour, I would argue that these two may have the biggest influence on how Miyako defines herself. Her identity and self-image are basically challenged by how she perceives these two; Mimi is oozing freedom, self-expression and brazenness when Miyako meets her for the first time, which are not only things that make her look up to her, but also things she would like to possess herself. Hikari is on the other end of the spectrum, she appears to be more reserved, collected, lady-like - and still possesses a drive, confidence and courage that Miyako admires. Her bond with both of them makes her more confident and also more SINCERE and LOVING, more aware of herself, her flaws and limitations, while also making her softer. (I would LOVE to add names like Sora and Koushirou here too, but they did not have screentime nor long-lasting "revelation" appeal to her. Sure, they both basically made her see that it's okay not to jump if you don't feel up for the task, but overall, they didn't have too much effect on her in comparison.)

Iori: Jyou and Takeru. Koushirou gets an honourable mention here, because he doesn't get nearly as much opportunity to see Iori at his lower points or have meaningful emotional moments as the other two do. Jyou and Takeru get way more opportunities to get to know and bond with him - we all know he still gets the shortest end of the stick in terms of screentime and relationship development, but it's still interesting to see how he loosens up, softens thanks to what he experiences with and observes through them. Takeru and him both have a lot of pent-up anger, but Iori learns that lashing out for revenge may not be the right path. Likewise, Jyou used to be a lot more tense and stiff on rules when he was younger - and is now teaching Iori that it's okay to take things easier, to be kinder with oneself. Plus, neither of them treats him like "a child/the youngest" and so he gets the best of both worlds, making him become more resilient through the gained KNOWLEDGE and letting him take on tasks to show his own RELIABILITY.

[mxtxfanatic]

Heyy ✨ hope you're having a good day. I wanted to ask:

What are your views on lan qiren and the so called "righteous" lan sect?

Their hypocrisy baffles me SO MUCH especially if we see the parallel drawn between the situations of madam lan and wwx. Without even knowing the full story or giving them a chance to explain their actions they just serve their judgement upon them. They spend their whole lives conforming to a set of strict rules but then go on and break those same rules (which they punish and berate others for) when it suits them .They go on about rules to not be prideful, to not be arrogant but ARE prideful borderline arrogant about the fact that they are righteous, that they are elegant, that they are the LAN sect . Again, They have rules for forbidding gossip and to not make assumptions but all the judgements they laid about wwx were based upon rumors. The RUMOURS they didn't even bother to check. Moreover, after the siege when they were all proved wrong, they (and all of the jianghu) just kept silent. They didn't even acknowledge their mistakes and wrongdoings. They didn't correct the false assumptions about the wen remnants. They kept on willfully being blind. They fucking portrayed the history with THEM being the beacons of justice and then have the AUDACITY, the NERVE to call themselves righteous, moral and good. I recently read a post comparing wwx and the lan righteous and I couldn't agree more with it.

I'm sorry I'm new to Tumblr idk how to attach it here (I think I was successful at adding a link). Basically it was drawing a parallel between Hindu religious texts like Bhagwadgeeta and Mahabharata with MDZS pertaining to morality and righteousness, and the parallel drawn between Lord Krishna and Wwx's character.

""  The lesson is - don’t do good deeds out of pride or with the desire to win God’s favor. Do it because being righteous is its own reward. That is the distinct difference between the Lan righteousness, which has become performative - done to preserve reputation and save face, and WWX’s righteousness, which is done simply because it is the right thing to do. The former is a slippery slope that can lead to mistakes and an unrighteous path. The latter is a difficult but ultimately the superior path."

Pheww... I'm sorry.😭 I got carried away and started ranting 😅 but it just makes me so MAD. it was so unfair what happened and the jianghu didn't got any punishment neither did they repent. I bet, post canon, even after the whole truth is out, they wouldn't treat my boy wwx as he deserves.

So coming back to the question what is your take about the lan sect and lan qiren?

Btw I love your blog 🥰especially your takes on MDZS. Your arguments and opinions are very concise and factual it leaves less to be desired.

This is a very long and engaging exchange I once had with @/ladyqueth on the topic, and with a few small changes to my view on Lan Xichen (I said he "isn't shown to have learned" by the end of the novel when I should have said he's still processing; the former makes it sound like he pulls a jc or lqr) and a caveat that there is validity to wangxian choosing to leave the Cloud Recesses to enter seclusion elsewhere and I just couldn't find it during that convo, this is pretty much how I still feel.

Idk who said it or if this would even apply to a translation of mdzs since I do not know the language breakdown, but someone once said that it was a mistake that cultivation sects/clans got translated as "righteous" instead of "orthodox," because "righteous" holds a connotation in English that doesn't necessarily carry through to what is meant when used to describe the clans/sect in cultivation cnovels. Can't say that you are a "righteous" cultivator in a world where it is perfectly acceptable and expected of you to kill someone on the street and steal their stuff just because they're weaker than you. That's like the opposite of righteousness as English speakers use the word lmao!

[deafchild2000]

I don't care how you guys feel about Charlotte, if there's one thing I'm glad S2 (in it's prime) explored - it was generational merfolk magic.

(Admitting Charlotte truther here) I find it fascinating exploring Mako Island and the generations of mermaids over the years for many reasons. Let's be honest, there's plenty of H2O fanfiction on Fanfiction.Net that tried exploring the H2O gang growing up and having powers to various degrees. Some focus on adulthood and drag it out while others get to the marriage and children phase a bit too quickly, but a few stand out just right (and by right, I mean "I could read this as if I'm watching it on TV"). But what I gather trying to read is Next Generation fics. Some writers opt to say the girls had normal children and don't tell them the Secret - which leads to history repeating and the daughters and/or sons finding their way onto Mako and going through the Metamorphosis. Others say the children are born with their powers, therefore automatically in on the Secret. And I think I recall a fic that ventured into the girls (or maybe just Cleo) becoming grandmothers themselves.

(FYI: It's a lot more telling how long ago a fanfic was written if the mermen in them have orangey-gold tails or any other colors pre-Mako Mermaids.)

Overall, I do appreciate those stories, but that doesn't diminish my preference for the past mermaids or what they could've/would've done if taking the present canon into account. I wanna explore how being mermaids in the 50s had worked out, if Gracie's choice was what split the group up, or if it was the tip of the iceberg. But mostly, I wanna know why Gracie was the only one to have a family and the implications of her ties to Mako after no longer being a mermaid. Did Gracie leave and never look back? Could Annette have been an 80s mermaid if she had returned? And regardless of how she came in, was Charlotte being drawn to Mako and becoming a mermaid really shocking?

Or what about Julia? The only reason we found out she died was because her locket sold at an estate sale and ended up at a jewelry shop. But did that have to necessarily mean she was alone or could it be implied she did have family and they sold her stuff without realizing the significance of the locket? What if someone did try to look for it and couldn't track it down? Maybe, if not directly a grandchild, but a grand-niece or nephew?

So in that hypothesis, out of the 4 known members of the 50s group, Gracie and Julia had more reasons to have had families in their lives while Louise (an elderly widow) and Max (a recluse hermit) didn't.

I understand we got used to the iconic OG girls, but there are too many holes and plots to be left unexplored.

((Before I end on this note, let me send this off that next-generation tropes don't necessarily have to apply to children and grandchildren. I'll fan the flame that Kim Sertori could have received the torch and become a mermaid. Cleo and co. were off the college and with the moon pool supposedly damaged, it wouldn't be like more mermaid hijinx could occur...that they'd be aware of. And what if Taryn Marler (Julia in S2 and Sophie in S3) had been brought on as a twenty-something woman who endured Metamorphosis, unlike the teenagers before her? Her character - Rachel Samuels from Blue Water High S2, free to watch on YouTube - had a much more preferable persona for H2O, so why not combine them into someone fleshed out? Instead of the main characters having children or having them help out the next random group of teenaged Merfolk - why not focus on a narrative of a mermaid's siblings finally stepping into her shoes and a woman entering her adult years as a mermaid?))

[katerinaaqu]

Hello, I really enjoy reading your analysis so I hope this is okay to ask. When I read the odyssey, especially in contrast to the Iliad, I thought it put a surprising emphasis on women, stereotypically feminine emotions, and subversions on masculinity. Do you think this is intentional? Do Odysseus and the Odyssey actually subvert any Ancient Greek patriarchal ideals, or is it just that the modern American idea of patriarchy is different?

Also what do you think about the idea that ancient women “wrote” or had any input on the story of the Odyssey? I know Samuel Butler famously suggested it, but he seems to have been largely shut down by modern English/American scholars. Is there any Greek support of this?

Lastly, if there is no concrete or cultural evidence for the odyssey being a “woman’s text”, is there anything wrong with believing so? I worry that it could potentially be an example of English/american feminism co-opting and rewriting Greek tradition, which I know is an ongoing headache.

I’m sorry for asking so much, I’ve just had these questions burning for a while and I wanted to ask your opinion, thank you :)

Hello and yet another time you drop a very intriguing question!

For your first question I believe that it tells more about us rather than about them. We do read the ancient texts and ancient laws about the inequalities of women and patriarchal societies and imagine some society in which women were always in the dark never be given any sort of attention whatsoever or that they are always crushed and all but quite honest the ancient sources prove us otherwise. How many ancient tragedies feature women in antriguing way? How many times we have heroines like Iphigenia, Antigone, Helen of Troy etc depicted in ancient tragedies being the protagonists and the sets of plot? Even those who are said to be "villains" like Clytemnestra or Medea, how much more complicated is their psyche really in clasical texts?

I think it is wrong to question the emphasis on women and domestic matters in Odyssey because simply women always had emphasis in greek texts. Sure in society they weren't equal and the world was far from perfect but at the same time I believe it is wrong to assume that the ideals of the centuries of modern era are applying to ancient Greece. Women were not equal, that doesn't mean they weren't emphasized or appreciated. Quite honest more than half of divinities in the pantheon are women and all of them are shown to be powerful and often make decisions. Hera, Athena, Artemis etc. I daresay in the Iliad we see the same emphasis on women. In fact we have Atena beating the hell out of Ares quite easily, Hera speaking her mind among gods to the point of being yelled at by Zeus, Athena also disobaying her king and father to pursue what she believes is right etc.

Briseis expresses her views in her lament even if she is a war prize, speaks on her love for Patroclus, how she cares deeply for him and his promise to her. Helen talks directly to Priam, she shows her knowledge on the army, she talks back to a goddess AND her current husband etc. I believe the emphasis in women in Homer in general and in Odyssey in particular shouldn't make us question the writer of the epic necessarily but rather what we have perceived on the function of patriarchal societies in the past and try to see it from the view of the time. Yes, women were unequal, yes by n large they didn't walk around or associate themselves with men etc. yes society had a long way to go and yet we have countless example from mythology or sociey where women are not only present but daresay thriving, just not in the fashion we do nowadays.

And no I am not convinced that the Odyssey is the subversion of Musculinity. If anything Masculinity plays a great role in it. Penelope still waits for her husband to send away the suitors. His role is not subverged. Telemachus still waits to come of age to take over, his role as the man of the house is not subverged. The role of the king and a man is not ignored. It is just transfered to a domestic field rather than as a commander of the army. Even the suitors bring out aspects of musculinity to the negative level; the power they have over a situation and how they abuse it, which is a trope we do see in myths often.

Well it was an opinion that was not frequenly expressed and daresay Butler was much more reasonable than other of his peers. For example Alexander Pope expressed the thought that BOTH the homeric poems were written by a woman but Butler didn't agree to that totality and based his hypothesis that only the Odyssey was written by a woman. I believe though that his notion was by n large rejected because of how oddly specific he wanted to become like some "young, headstrong and unmarried" like...yeah that sounds oddly specific even if someone does seem to point out detail such as domestic matters in the Odyssey the notion to me seems a bit off to say like what makes him think the woman is young just because there is emphasis on young women let's say. Couldn't be recollections of an older woman who nostalgically speaks on the past etc.

Either way as I said makes more sense for someone not to speak on a woman writer for the Iliad not because of thematic but because of the details given on arms and battlefield which indicates to many that Homer was possibly a soldier and a high ranking one in the past for we have great details on warfare that seem logical to assume they are given by a person who served the army or a war, something that doesn't fit much for a woman of that time (unless she writes down someone else's recollections).

He also suggested that the elleged woman-author of Odyssey portrays herself in the poem as princess Nausicaa. So he goes way too much into things that seem more like his personal beliefs than anything but then again it is not totally impossible given how many writers have placed themselves in the poems. And many legends even spoke on how Homer himself was a descendant of Odysseus (hahaha although of course that was more like a legend starting from antiquity than actual theory! XD)

Another reason why Butler is considered an iconoclast is, to my knowledge, that he has a habit to repeatedly pass the paternity of great writings to someone else. For example I read somewhere that he also expressed that he supports Darwin's Evolution theory but he also makes the claim that most of that theory was written by his grandfather. So to me he often seems revolutionary theorist solely for the purpose of being revolutionary! Hahahaha! So that could also be a reason why his peers by n large do not take all his theories that seriously. Or it could be as you said that even if we have the appearance of the first feministic movements at that time, we still do not have THAT many women authors so people were not really supporting such theories in the official levels as often. But still the theory doesn't seem to prevail as much to the official study referendum nowadays so it seems less believable by n large compared to the idea of a school of writers titling themselves "Homer"

Either way haven't heard many Greek professors of mine refer to the matter. I have had one professor in my postgraduate degree that was convinced on the theory that Homer was in fact a team of writers and not one person but haven't heard much on the "woman-writer" theory. I haven't heard many Greeks quote Butler. The most prominient two theories that are bouncing around is whether Homer was a real person or a team of writers. I have made a quick search but yeah not much. There are some references on Butler as "strange dude" in some greek pages so I would take it that this theory is not that popular in Greece mainly because it didn't pass to the public I suppose. Maybe also because the language of Odyssey being Ionian dialect in both texts didn't occur to greeks that the story was written in Sicily given how Sicily was linked to the Chalkidian Greeks more than the Ionians and they have prominient theories either that the Chalkidians were northen greek tribes or Corinthian.

Taking under consideration how little concrete evidence we have on anything at this point regarding Homer I wouldn't say there is anything "wrong" with believing one theory over the other, since everything is on the table. I should say it would be "wrong" only when seen through as you said the "american feministic" view aka "all great work is done by women and stolen by men" then it will be wrong in my opinion. But if you believe that the story written in the Odyssey focusing on domestic matters and taking a gentler approach to life, masculinity and femininity is enough for you to consider it a woman's work that is good enough for you.

I, personally, am not convinced. Change in thematics doesn't necessarily mean deifferent writer or different gender. I mean we have Shakespere that writes stories of love like Romeo and Juliet and then we have stories of betrayal and battle like Macbeth or King Richard. Different thematics do not mean different writers. I side more with Aristotle theory who said that Odyssey was written after Iliad with several years of difference, potentially at the end of Homer's life and his theory is supported by some linguists who also claim that the language used in Odyssey seems to indicate the story was written several years later.

I am also not convinced because I do not find terrible inconsistencies to the character of Odysseus between Iliad and Odyssey. In the Odyssey we get to explore him more since he is the protagonist and we get to explore him after the years of war, after the conquest and after the arduous trip. If anything seems to me like the same writer made an effort to apply the subtle changes to a character's personality to their journey from their 40s till their 50s after a terribly difficult period in their life. Which again doesn't make me feel there are different writers involved.

I am also not convinced because I do not find terrible inconsistencies to the character of Odysseus between Iliad and Odyssey. In the Odyssey we get to explore him more since he is the protagonist and we get to explore him after the years of war, after the conquest and after the arduous trip. If anything seems to me like the same writer made an effort to apply the subtle changes to a character's personality to their journey from their 40s till their 50s after a terribly difficult period in their life. Which again doesn't make me feel there are different writers involved.

So in my opinion if the author of the Odyssey was a woman she was a great fan of Homer for the character written in the Odyssey was seamless with the Iliad in my eyes so I will say what someone said about Mozart Requiem: "if Homer didn't write the Odyssey then the person who wrote it must have been a Homer" lol 😉

However if you are more convinced by Butler who says that Odyssey was written by a woman of course you can theorize it. Any theory is up for the table. I could also cite you some of the works of Butler. I believe one thing he wrote has the title "The Authoress of the Odyssey" if you want to read on his theory on it in his own words.

I am sorry if I cannot be more of help! I will keep digging if you need more info! ^_^ You shouldn't be apologizing! You give me some of the most intriguing questions! Love them!

[goodluckclove]

Hey so like I get I might be unqualified to say this, but if you're an artist frustrated by the lack of feedback on your work and considering reacting by publicly berating/threatening/guilt tripping your audience - probably don't? Probably don't do that?

Like I get it, art is vulnerable and it can be tough not to get feedback from the dopamine machine that is social media. At the same time, I have literally never seen someone execute that strategy in a way that was remotely successful.

When a standup working my old open mic said "I have better jokes but I'll save them for a better audience", he found an efficient way to look like an asshole and not get a laugh in the process! Likewise, when an artist online says they're quitting their dreams of animation because we're assholes that won't fund a very loose premise for a comical amount of money - it's not a good look!

Maybe this applies less to fanfiction. I don't know about fanfiction. And I don't necessarily believe that everyone has to solely write for themselves - though I am pretty confident that should be the main driving force in a successful work ethic. I have, however, published and produced my writing enough to know that you do have to get comfortable with a lukewarm, or even silent reception.

I've published short stories to online literary journals I'm not convinced that anyone reads. I wrote a column for a culture website for like three years - solely because the editor kept asking for me to keep writing. I never got any feedback on anything I wrote. I later found some of my old articles republished on other weird websites, which was odd, but since my editor silently deleted all my old articles without saying anything I was just glad they still existed somewhere.

I think my only experience I have with instant mass validation in art was through theater, and those were only in cases when an audience knew ahead of time that I was the playwright.

Is this a cool situation? I don't know. I go back and forth on it. I mean I want to be appreciated as much as anyone, I want to know my art is being valued the way I value it - but I'm also weird about compliments sometimes. That's beside the point. What I mean to say is that when I get in the headspace of wanting more feedback, my impulse is not to complain about my audience on the same platform where I'm trying to establish and cultivate a relationship with them. This account is under my actual pen name. I don't censor myself really, but I am cognizant about what I say in terms of - you know - an online paper trail.

But yeah when I really want to complain I talk to my friends. You can be petty as shit to your friends, online and in real life. No one gets hurt, and if you decide later that you overreacted you don't have to meekly crawl back and retcon a bunch of Hard Takes.

This isn't really a moral lesson because it's not a flaw to want praise, or even just acknowledgement. It's more, like, professional? For people with career or career-adjacent aspirations? There are definitely a lot of professional artists who act pretty wildly, and unless they've already proven they're capable of quality work it doesn't really turn out great for them. So it doesn't hurt to be at least surface-level chill in more visible spaces.

[susansontag]

I haven't seen many people stressing this point, but it is important to foreground that the ways in which people have conflated jewish people and the israeli government, and in this case I'm talking about pro-israel people, bc it actually is insane if you compare it to the way in which we talk about any other group. if you're a prominent jewish intellectual, celebrity, etc, and you have said something even moderately critical of israel, you can get branded a self-hating jew who doesn't understand your own culture, its significance, how much israel has done for you, etc. it doesn't matter how factual your criticisms are, it doesn't matter how well-regarded you are or how good your grasp is of the history, you will have even non-jewish pro-israel commentators regarding you as though you're a pariah who doesn't understand the stakes.

and this, when compared with any other group and nation, is insane. imagine british citizens commonly being called anti-british for daring to speak out against their government. imagine them being told they just don't have a good enough grasp on their history and culture by even non-british people. imagine it not even mattering one bit the ideology of the party in power — right-wing, nationalist, left-wing, liberal — if you spoke out against the state as such, no matter if your own politics are reflected or not by the party currently passing policy, you are some kind of pariah who has positioned yourself as anti your own people's existence. and now imagine people of british heritage but who have never lived in the place, who owe it little to nothing, also being held to this standard.

this is insanity! it shows how incredibly successful the propaganda campaign has been that a jewish person daring to say something bad about israel would even be deemed slightly suspicious or, more commonly, awkward. you simply would never get this reception from any but the most patriotic nationalists for any other state, or else you'd get it from your government themselves if they criticised you for lack of loyalty, or even branded you a national security threat. and if they did, it would be recognised instantly by the common person as a fundamental violation of a group's human rights, of their ability to safely criticise their government (or a government who claims to speak in their interest), and of their freedom of expression and belief more broadly. if china was branding every dissenter as a traitor and threat we all know damn well europeans would be up in arms, because in that case we've been encouraged to think in an entirely contrasting way.

a nation state tells its citizens stories to justify it behaving the way it is. israel isn't special in this regard, but it's an example of where many people, even those entirely unaffiliated with israel, have fully accepted the relevant mythology — that the longevity of jews (in general) is necessarily tied to the state of israel and therefore justifies anything israel deems necessary for national security, and that anybody, jewish or otherwise, who suggests otherwise has necessarily positioned themselves as against the longevity and continued existence of jewish people and culture. we would never typically accept this kind of faulty yet extreme rhetoric if it were applied to other populations of people and would criticise it for being the controlling, limiting, and censorious ideology that it is. if we agree minority groups are allowed to speak truth to power and not show their undying political loyalty and gratitude to those professing to speak in their place then we agree this is a fundamental right across the board for everyone, no exceptions.

[chu-diaries]

Hi! As someone who also struggles with chronic skin picking, what has helped you? I just found your blog!

hello! First of all we need to look at skin picking as a disorder and not just as a "bad habit". I've struggled with skin picking disorder for 18 years and I got tired of hearing people say I could "just stop it" or that I just needed more "motivation". It is a disorder and should be treated as such. I will share below some tips that helped me:

recognize the triggers that lead you to skin picking. anxiety? boredom? mirrors? scan the body to see if the wounds are healed? exposing certain parts of the body? We often pick because we are stressed or nervous about something, but we can also pick because of procrastination, external triggers (mirrors are my biggest trigger and they always lead me to pick at my face) or an internal sense of self-harm, as a punishment for something you did or didn't do. recognizing what makes you pick at your skin is a big step.

find support groups. There are currently some specialized therapists, but not everyone can afford it. If it is financially accessible to you, I recommend that you seek help, as these professionals know validated techniques that can help a lot. I don't have access to this type of therapy, but what helped me a lot was finding communities of people who suffer from this disorder. The best group I found was on Reddit and I joined their WhatsApp group with people from all over the world fighting against skin picking. It is important for our mental health that we do not feel alone and wrong in the world. there are other people struggling with this too.

find your own method of dealing with the disorder. This requires testing and you will get things right and wrong in the process. I mix a little of several techniques that I have found: sometimes I cover the mirrors in my house, sometimes I apply techniques from cognitive behavioral therapy (like reducing access to my face or exercising mirror exposure without necessarily scanning the skin for blackheads to pick), sometimes I define a strict time to pick at my face (like a facial scanning session in the morning and one at night, both timed), sometimes I apply them all at the same time. what has worked the most is tracking my progress and trying to beat my own records. Currently my biggest record is 288 pick-free hours (equivalent to 12 days). Now I really want to get to 14 days because I've never gone 2 whole weeks without damaging my face. I'm not very good at rewards, but the right thing to do would be to reward yourself after breaking your personal record (it doesn't matter what it is. It could be an hour. You'll know how hard it goes for you).

Understand that you might not stop picking at your skin. The goal I've been aiming for is to reduce the damage and frequency of skin picking, but I've realized that I can't stop it completely. and this is fine. This is me, this is my story and I decided to be kind to myself. Maybe one day I will be able to stop it completely, but today that is still impossible for me. I'm happier reducing the damage, but I still have massive episodes that I regret later. it is part of the process. I try not to blame myself. I restart my pick-free hours tracking and move on.

accept that you are certainly more aware of the wounds than those around you. Something I've learned in this long process is that, in general, people who really love and care about me don't care about how my skin looks like. They know that I suffer from a disorder and that I have good and bad days. They love me for who I am and not for my appearance. As for people who don't know me, they usually don't notice my wounds, and when they do, they just assume it's acne or something. people are too worried about themselves to care about me. Still, if there are negative comments about you, you can always choose to distance yourself from that person (highly recommended) or teach them about the disorder. Few people know what skin picking is and many of them could benefit from this knowledge. see what fits you better!

I hope this helps and I’d love to hear what you have to say about these tips! I'm here if you want to talk more about this. I hope you find the best way to deal with this.

[aechii]

₍⁠₍ SPEAK NO EViL ₎⁠₎ ~ CH. 1

[ a kylian mbappe series ]

SYNOPSiS ! it's summer break, where, yes, academic freedom ensues, but for stellar, upcoming young football stars, an unmissable opportunity springs. bondy elite summer academy prepares its youth for the professional world, and inevitably, everybody is hungry to succeed. girl or boy. life isn't kind to 18 year old kylian mbappe, and being mute seems to be a limiting factor of his progress. but once he's accepted into the football camp, he's determined to prove that his football speaks for itself. yet, in the midst of fatal determination and apathetic competitiveness, he doesn't expect to grow intrigue for [y/n], a profound player in the camp's feminine unit, whose kindness and exquisite skill awakens a visceral feeling within kylian, showing him someone else that he could love in a world filled with hate.

PAiRiNG ! mute!kylian x fem!reader | fem!reader x oc!boyfriend

A/N ! FIRST CHAP!!! bro im actually excited for this series, there's alot in store heheh. this chapter- moreover, the whole damn story lol- is mainly kylian-centric, but dw, reader has her little spotlight in this chap too, and will be more integrated into kylian's very life soon 👀 see this chapter as establishing context/introducing the characters, so it isn't necessarily long (3.3k-ish), and i am expecting to make them longer (hopefully >5k) anyways, i hope you enjoyyyy ❤

SERiES MASTERLiST ! here!

TAGLiST ! [ ask here, those in bold i couldn't tag ] @sad1esgf @ts1mp0ne @fezlvr @ippid @kyksgirl @user6373738 @kenjekwownwjn @lalunaenamoradasworld @mywhimsyjournal

“[y/n].”

it takes a while for the girl to respond, and even, she does so with a near-muted hum. the navy blue envelope stares back at her, rich in elitism, unopened. she doesn’t know why she’s hesitant to read it, she hadn’t cared much about her fate with bondy, applied for the sake of doing so, but deep inhibition craves the word ‘congratulations’ at the top of the sheet. 

“[y/n], babe, open it.”

the voice that comes from beside her, galvanises her conscience out of its reverie, and nimble fingers slowly dig into the fused flap, tearing it. slips the paper out of its casing, stares at it, but shakes her head, giving it to her boyfriend instead.

“i can’t do it- you do it-”

zion laughs, taking it from her hands as he begins to unfold it, “i thought you didn’t care.”

“well i do,” she fiddles with the rings on her fingers, “get on with it, zion.”

quietude absorbs the space as zion reads the words on paper, face neutral so as to not reflect any emotion of what he scrutinises, and it propels [y/n]’s palpitations. 

“what does it say?”

her boyfriend stays silent, and her fingers begin to vibrate anxiously, “zion, what does  it say?”

the smile that inculcates his face showers [y/n] in relief, and in the process, her first instinct is to laugh heartily.

“no way!”

“you got in, babe, you got in!” in an instant, his arms rope themselves around his girlfriend, squeezing her tightly as her giggles seem to be endless. 

“now you don’t have to worry about going alone,” [y/n] jokes as she unravels herself from her boyfriend’s embrace, pinching his cheek. he slaps her grip away, rolling his eyes before pulling her in for a cuddle, “worry? i can do just fine without you.”

his statement triggers a loud snort and a questioning glance from the girl. they both knew that him lacking her presence could result in endless amount of calls, all of which could last for hours. 

“zion. don’t lie.”

he sighs, “fine.”

they don’t talk for a few minutes, seeking solitude in the warmth of each other. the excitement that broods within the both of them is inexplicable; proceeding into a new stage, a momentous opportunity, with their lover was something that they had always wanted. and now that it was finally in fruition, they were impatient for the 5 weeks to pass. 

“imagine how powerful us as a football couple will be,” zion says.

[y/n] shuffles a bit in his arms, “indescribable, i suppose. though, people will love me more.”

zion scoffs, “don’t shit yourself, [y/n]. i’m better than you at football– and don’t lie!”

“yeah, yeah whatever,” she brushes him off, “literally hate you.”

he presses a kiss into her cheek, hard and sloppy, “love you too babe.”

+_-

“kylian.”

the boy stares, astonished, at the piece of paper in his hands, and his eyes rake over the words countlessly as if to permanently imprint them in his brain. though, he thinks that if he does it enough times, the letters would swirl into an incomprehensible smudge of black and he would wake up from this too real dream. 

his mother calls him again, and he grants her the etiquette of looking at her. 

the smile on her face is soft, fragile, like it is inches away from crumbling into a relieved sob. kylian rules the probability of that happening not entirely impossible, his mother is, afterall, renowned for being overly emotional.  

“are you happy?” she asks. he nods, reading the paper again before hurriedly pulling his mother into a tight hug. she laughs, circling her arms around her son; savours the warmth that emanates through his skin into hers. it’s scarce that kylian initiates any touch, and when he does, it is overwhelmingly grounding. 

“i’m proud of you.”

he untangles himself from his mother’s embrace, grin gleaming so brightly, and it makes her heart swell. 

“thank you,” kylian signs, “couldn’t have done it without you. or dad. or ethan.”

his blunder evokes a chuckle from his mum, and she brings him into another tight hug. kylian feels the tender tremble of her arms and jokingly rolls his eyes, “you’re scared, aren’t you?”

“why won’t i be, ky? you’re growing up-”

“not about that.”

his mum sighs, breaking the hug as she takes her son’s hand into her palms. she notices how her’s only takes up half of his and it’s gratifying, the realisation that kylian was no longer her waist’s height. 

“i will be fine maman, you don’t need to worry.” a charming smile crawls its way onto his lips. his mother tries to render it convincing, but every bad what if runs through her head in that instance, and she can’t help but grow anxious. yet she knows how much this opportunity means to kylian, which had, in the past, seemed like an unobtainable chance for a boy who loved football just as much as any other, but was just a bit too different to be deemed right. 

a period of silence passes as his mother ponders and weighs her thoughts, then kylian’s voice snaps her back. 

“maman?”

the frown that dips her lips diminishes quickly.

“sorry i… zoned out.”

kylian exhaled, “you’re overthinking again, don’t do that or i’ll find myself bound at home when i’m supposed to be meeting ronaldo.”

his mother laughs at his words, “you think you’ll meet him there? i haven’t heard of such a thing.”

the boy walks over to the sink, grabs a glass, and starts filling it with water, “it’s bondy academy,” he shrugs, “anything can happen.”

eyeing her son as he gulps down his drink, she shakes her head whimsically, leaning against the counter, “you stay focused when you’re there, okay? i don’t want you to give them a reason to not refer you.”

kylian makes a face, as if her words were pungent, “it’s just me and football there, can’t and won’t give them what they want.”

it isn’t the first time kylian had applied, but with how competitive the spots were, and after being, inevitably, incapable of undergoing an interview, he had been rejected 2 years in a row. he finds it rather bewildering how, after all these years, he is being considered to become a bondy elite, and knows that he will need to try twice- or even thrice- as hard as the rest to prove his deserved place there. 

“you know, they will do anything to throw you off, right?” his mother’s tone hardens as her face falls stoic. 

“i know,” he drags a chair, sitting on it backwards, before his shoulders rise and fall, “and i’ll prove to them that i’m stronger than i may seem.” 

he barely finishes as his mother’s phone rings. she excuses herself, picking the call, and as he hears her accent grow thick with familiarity, he rules the caller as one of her close peers. she leaves the kitchen, but no more than a second later, ethan shuffles in, legs sluggish and eyes barely open,manoeuvring around the room as if by muscle memory. kylian glances at the time and sees the clock both hands pointing at 12. 

“what time do you call this?” kylian playfully reprimands. knows that his brother takes advantage of the lenience of summer break, sleeping in until the sun was way too alive and excited to greet any late-risers. frankly speaking, the extra 3 hours he had stayed in bed for, in kylian’s eyes, could’ve snuck in a good practice session. 

“i care for my rest, kylian.” 

the older boy perks up an eyebrow, vision trailing the mass of flesh and bones of his brother, “but until 12pm?”

ethan stops his movements, turning around to glare at kylian, before the distasteful ripple of a ravenous stomach reminds him of his initial intentions in the kitchen, “if i wasn’t so hungry, i would be in for longer.”

kylian throws him a disgruntled look, rolling his eyes, “so what time then? the summer doesn’t give you the excuse of sleeping in so late. i say it every year and will continue to do so.”

ethan groans. he’s endured too much hellish education during the year to suffer through the same routine during the holidays and waking up at 12pm, which wasn’t even that serious, is the least kylian should worry about. 

“you know training went over time yesterday. i literally walked through the doors at 10pm last night!”

“as if anything would’ve changed if you came home normally, ethan,” kylian deadpans. by now, he has walked over to the fridge, reaching in to grab a drink. he feeds off of lucozade, however unhealthy it may be. 

ethan ignores him, pouring milk into a bowl. he sits down by the table, about to shove a spoonful of cereal into his mouth before he notices the letter, opened and bearing the unmistakable inscription from a football camp that he has garnered too much disdain for over the years.

he sighs, dropping the spoon, “don’t tell me you signed up for bondy and allowed yourself to be rejected… again?” he sounds as if he is all too familiar with the ordeal, face unamused, “i thought you agreed to not sign up this year…”

ethan loves his brother too dearly to put up with his crushed mood, extending over days where he refused to communicate verbally and resulted to signing, even which was lacklustre and was scarce of its normal gusto. bondy is a dream for any teenager within the precinct, and was undeniably kylian’s also, yet it were times like this, when the summer begins and he’s still met with a deflated kylian every morning (afternoon), that makes ethan come to terms with the fact that football was structured against anybody who didn’t fit their ideal, no matter how small a difference may be. 

but what he doesn’t expect to see is a smile beaming on the face of his brother, and his initial thought is no. way. 

“read it, ethan.”

he doesn’t hesitate to, snatching the paper from the table with neck-snapping velocity, and kylian watches on with an undying grin as ethan’s eyes rapidly scan the words on the page. they widen with every passing second, and the next, kylian feels winded as his brother crashes into him with a bone-slamming hug. can’t dissipate the laughter erupts out of his throat; it’s endearing, how much this means to his brother, and it’s not even him that’s going (and truthfully, he never plans to). 

“alright, alright, you can let go of me now,” kylian’s hands press into his brother’s shoulders to push him away, but is met with an even stronger force as ethan tightens the hug, replying with a muffled, “no way.”

he doesn’t fight his brother’s resistance, and rather basks in the affection for a little bit longer. it’s not always they hug like this, but when they do, it's a feeling kylian likes to revel within for as long as he can. 

he’s released from the hug, not long after, ethan looking at him with something that could equate to pride, he doesn’t know what, yet it makes him want to cry. 

“you did it, bro.” then a soft punch to the shoulder. kylian just smiles back and says, “yeah, finally.”

ethan doesn’t stop looking at him as his face glazes over with earnest, “be strong, yeah? get through those 5 weeks and come home with a referral.”

“that’s my aim,” kylian’s gaze drops, but he picks it up again. he doesn’t want to reflect any hesitation or chances of second thoughts. wants to show ethan that he's ready, upfront in whatever battle may come in due time. 

“brice will probably be there with me, you know he gets accepted every year,” kylian attempts to reassure his brother when notices his eyes flicker with worry, but ethan shakes his head. 

“and even if he isn’t there, i know you can-”

“okay, maybe not that far yet,” kylian is fast to quench ethan’s thoughts. he’s aware that life is fast paced, he’s already 18 and classified as an adult. knows that soon, he’d need to survive the world by himself, but there is an ever undercurrent of anxiety that hums through his veins anytime he would think about it. wishes that he could suck it up, but he knew he wasn’t ready. like he physically could not. 

“soon, ethan,” kylian murmurs, “soon.”

his younger brother exhales, nods, then reaches out to initiate a bump of fists. 

“proud of you.”

+_-

when brice calls, kylian is knowing of the words that he greets him with. an exchange that occurs every year, for the past 2, on the same day, as if he hasn’t been told many times and is already forecasting what is to be said. 

“got the letter from bondy again. i’m turning it down-”

“like you do every year, i know brice.”

the other side of the phone is silent. kylian hears indistinct shuffling, before, “why do you sound so… gleeful?”

“what? is it a crime to be happy?”

brice scoffs, “i’m not saying that. it’s just… you’re not normally this happy when i tell you.”

kylian, in his room, slumps into his bed, back against the mattress as he stares at the ceiling. the exhilaration in his flesh is omnipresent, “you don’t need to do that this time.”

“what?” brice’s voice lacks amplitude but is riddled with utter shock. kylian can imagine the boy, mouth agape, eyes disclosing their tinted scleras.

“i’ll be joining you this year, brice.” when they undulate into the air, the words sound so foreign to kylian. he’s waiting for the pinch to his skin that would wake him up, but it never comes. 

“i don’t believe you,” brice says, absolute, “i need to see the letter for myself, send a picture- no actually, i’m coming over.”

kylian laughs at his friend’s antics as he rolls his eyes, “yeah no. you stay where you are and i’ll send you a picture of it.” brice has the tendency to invite himself over, unannounced. conjures excuses that don’t make half sense to give him a reason why he’s doing so. kylian would never admit it, but he finds it endearing. 

“aw come on,” brice whines, “i’m just a street away. it would save you from wasting your energy, you’ll need it for summer camp, you know.”

kylian just sighs, giving in, but decides it comes with a cost, “fine, since you want to come over so bad, do so. but whilst you’re here, you might as well help me pack.”

“and i now don’t have packing to do?”

“please, brice, who are you kidding? you’ll leave it until the last minute,” kylian expresses monotonously. he hears the boy grumble over the phone, then a slam of the door follows shortly after.

“get off my phone. i’ll meet you in 2 minutes.”

kylian snickers, then slips in a “gladly,” before cutting the line. the doorbell shrills the second he does, and he thinks that brice had speed walked there. his predictions are correct as he tumbles down the stairs, opening the door to see an out-of-breath brice before him.

“you’re more eager than me.”

brice says nothing, shoving him out the way inside. the cool air that bleeds out of the air con and diffuses around the house presses comfort into his skin. he makes a cry of satisfaction, standing in front of the conditioner placed near the front door.

“i love how you’re using me for thermal advantages.”

brice closes his eyes, tilting his head as the chilled air blows in his face, “i will pretend i never heard that- matter of fact,” he suddenly opens his eyes, “where’s that damned letter?” he doesn’t wait for kylian to tell him where it is, and makes a beeline for his room. 

“it’s… upstairs…” kylian shakes his head, smiling softly, then follows his friend. 

by the time he gets there, he sees brice already studying the paper, mouth mumbling the words that he reads. a grin accumulates gradually on his lips, “i can’t believe it. after 2 tedious years,” he folds the paper into its habitual creases,”but… why now? not that i’m questioning your ability or anything, you know how good you are.”

“no, i understand where you’re coming from,” kylian exhales as he sits on the edge of his bed. brice joins him.

“i’m still wondering why they’re now accepting me, but they have, so i’m not worried about it.”

a hand comes to ruffle his hair, kylian shoves the boy off instinctively, “bro- what are you doing?”

“i’m so proud of you kylian!” 

“thank you, but hello? my hair?”

brice waves him off, standing up again as he walks toward the wardrobe, “you’ll get over it,” kylian does not. he glares at the boy before him, reaching for the table beside his bed to grab his brush, smoothing his hair down. 

“where’s this suitcase that we need to pack?”

“look up, brice.”

he does, and notices the luggage bag resting upon the wardrobe. makes a noise of surprise before turning to his friend, “so, are you going to help me or not?”

huffing, kylian aids the boy to drag the case down, flipping it open as brice digs through the pile of clothes situated in a drawer, “you don’t need that many clothes,” he tosses a few pairs of jeans to kylian, “they have washing machines there.”

kylian looks at the jeans, perplexed, “then why do i need 3 if i’m barely gonna wear them?”

brice doesn’t respond, just smiles, and continues rummaging.

“brice.”

“kylian.” he doesn’t look up and instead, excavates a couple of graphic t shirts that he hurls in his friend’s direction. the shit-eating grin that scours his face doesn’t dissipate, leaving kylian in deeper scepticism.

“stop looking at me like that, k, you’ll find out soon enough.”

kylian’s face flashes one devoid of humour, “you make it hard to forget that you’ve been to bondy before.”

“you’ll thank me for my experiences soon enough,” brice chides and kylian shakes his head, “it’s been like, what? 2 years since you last went? how can you remember anything?”

brice huffs out a laugh, “oh trust me, bondy is one hell of an experience,” throws another faded garment at kylian, who takes one look at it and chucks it back, “doesn’t fit me.”

“why is it still in here then?” brice sounded like a chastising mother, and it evokes a chuckle out of his friend.

“dunno,” kylian starts to fold, or rather roll, his clothes, situating them neatly in his suitcase, “and even so, didn’t you last go when you were a junior? elite camp is obviously different-”

“in terms of training intensity and expectation, yes,” brice educates, “but i can assure you, the same shit goes down in elite camp just as in junior– probably just a bit more… thrilling, if you will.”

“you mean dangerous, riddled with debauchery.”

brice feigns contemplation, then nods, “absolutely.”

a grimace makes its way upon kylian’s face, “don’t make me have second thoughts, i’m only there to play football and get referred.”

“and so is everyone else,” brice is helping kylian fold now, “just that teenagers like to mesh ambition and fun into a hellish, potentially fatal mix.” 

he then stops, half creased shirt in hand, and looks kylian dead in the eye, “just hope you get out of there alive.”

brice notices kylian’s muscles tense and cease, then starts laughing. kylian shoves him roughly, “i didn’t find that funny.”

it takes a while for brice to settle down again, apologising with sorries that he didn’t half mean. kylian, disgruntled, ignores the boy in front of him, shoving items upon the growing pile. 

he doesn’t know why he tolerates the guy.

[lullaebies]

How do you wished helaegon would be written in the show? Their characterization and their relationship as well?

Oh, this question... I have a lot to unpack here, haha. Get ready for an essay, this is going to need a readmore. This may come off a bit as a surprise, but I wouldn't necessarily want them to be a very romantic pair. In my own writing, my favorite aspect of them is that they are kind of groomed into their circumstances and left to deal with the consequences and the exploration of it, which applies here too. My main thing would be to establish them as a contrast to Rhaenyra and Daemon, while also being empathetic about it. We are speaking here about two children, brother and sister, forced into a marriage by either House Targaryen customs +/ political ploys to establish legitimacy (depending on if you speak of the books or show).

While Rhaenyra and Daemon tap into the Targaryen incest, hammer it in with the extra grooming aspect of it, I think I'd like Helaena and Aegon to be established as a couple who are aware that their circumstances led them to the forced marriage. They would struggle as children, but they enter the marriage knowing this is not what they chose, and they bond more as parents or life partners rather than romantic partners.

They should be friends and have a good enough relationship before the marriage where they can still trust each other, but it should be difficult for them with the extra layer of being husband and wife to represent how the sibling marriage tradition is not good and should not be glamorized. Aegon would struggle a lot because he feels like the only firstborn son in the realm that can't give his family anything. Most brother-sister marriages in the Targaryen line so far were either out of love or preparation to be ruling monarchs - and he can't give Helaena a crown or be the love of her life. He can't give their children lands, and their prospects will never be as good as princes of Rhaenyra's line because again, they are not the main line. which is why he finds himself more away. For Helaena, she also tries to cope and relish in the good moments they have as partners, but she struggles because the way things ended up, the children do grow up in a tough situation and she doesn't feel like she's good enough a mother no matter what she does. Sometimes she doesn't feel good enough a daughter in comparison to Rhaenyra, even. And then Viserys dies, and suddenly Otto and Alicent are propping them as King and Queen. And they're both terrified, because it's everything all at once and they are scared of their TB relatives due to... Daemon being Daemon, and well, the Driftmark incident. Criston tells them their brothers and children will be put to the sword, it's terrifying. And then they suddenly have hopes, however. They can make their choices, now. That nobody will ever look down on them again, that their children would be free to marry who they want unlike them (the Queen's leave would be required for royal marriages, and it's not likely Daemon would allow their children have good marriages to houses that may lead to a rise up against the crown imo), that they can make a happy life for themselves - it's within reach. Nobody will speak about their children, or brothers, or mother again. [ I imagine Aegon would convince Helaena in it - she would be more of a pacifist]. And they take up the King and Queen titles, in an attempt to make good lives for themselves and their children, in complete fear of what has been told them was going to happen if they don't.

It all shatters in B&C - as any hubris to take up the crown is met unkindly in ASOIAF stories, and their pain and grief and wroth eats them alive. Aegon's resentment and hate towards Rhaenyra festers as he thinks back how everything was taken away from him and how if he could do anything to turn the wheel he would've, and the story continues as it does. TL;DR: I want them to be a commentary about the Targaryen sibling marriage system. I want there to be sibling love muddled with their relationship as husband and wife, which they learned to vaguely embrace but not fully - and I want them to find their independence to say I don't want the same for my children, but in this lifetime this is what we have - each other. When it's all ruined by B&C, it's their greatest pain - they wanted the exact opposite and were left with nothing once more. ⁕ EDIT NOTE: I do also want to say Aegon can certainly be a nasty piece of shit in this case anyway. Helaena does not like it and speaks against it, but in this case, cheating that isn't expressed via sexual harassment is not relevant to how they feel about each other because they have an established relationship about it.