#For voting for someone who hates most people and most kinds of people and who doesn’t care about helping anyone

[madlyney]

Spiderwho?! Chapter one

Megumi said WHAT?!

Spiderwho?! mlist

The crowd erupts in cheers and claps as White Noise has just finished their concert of the season. The atmosphere is lively, as everyone screams and cheers for their favourite members, some even asking for an encore.

You let out an offended gasp when someone bumps into you, not apologising as the girl was too busy screaming and shouting as if her life depended on it. "Geez, these people have no manners at all," you grumble to your friends.

Miwa laughs. "I doubt anyone ever cares when White Noise just dropped the best concert on campus ever? Like, are you seeing all the confetti?! " she gushes animatedly. "Their new songs are so addictive that I play them on repeat!"

"I won't be surprised if White Noise is one of your top artists on Spotify Wrapped this year, " you hum, raising your eyebrows in amusement. You don't hate their music, a couple of them show up in your personal playlist as well.

"Hey hey!" Toge yells into the mic, earning a lively response from the crowd, which also caught you off-guard, "Have you enjoyed yourselves so far?" Another loud reaction from the crowd. You swear your eardrums might’ve burst from the screaming in your ears.

Maki nudges Nobara. "Great job styling their outfits, Nobara, " she says with a slight smirk on her lips.

Nobara chuckles, crossing her arms across her chest with a proud huff. "Of course! When Yuuji told me that this concert was gonna be like no other, I knew I had to go all out this time!" As a student in the design course. Nobara was chosen to be White Noise's stylist from time to time, as recommended by Yuji. No surprise though, this wasn’t her first time.

"Nobara, I didn't know you were their stylist!" Miwa gasps. The girl is so excited you fear that her heart would just jump out.

"Aw shucks, it's nothing..." Nobara chuckles sheepishly. You find it funny how one moment, Nobara acts all proud, the next she’s shy because an acquaintance compliments her.

On the stage, Toge says something about how each of the members would say something short to show their appreciation and gratitude towards the audience–a tradition done by White Noise at the end of every concert. He adds on a few brain-rotten comments, along with a few jokes which had the crowd laughing and cheering. 

“Toge Inumaki,” he begins charismatically, “and I'm the vocalist of White Noise!” He blows a kiss to the crowd, earning a whole lot of screaming(in a good way or bad, it’s up to you). 

Toge hands the mic over to the bassist. “My name’s Yuta Okkotsu, and I’m the bass player of White Noise,” he says into the microphone politely. “Thank you all for your support, and for allowing us to make this happen.” Yuta’s kind words filled with appreciation had gotten girls swooning over him—nothing new. 

“I’m Yuuji Itadori!” He cheers, beating his drums a couple beats enthusiastically. “Thanks for coming tonight, you all are the best!” With Yuuji's lively demeanor, he is like a puppy. Ending his word of thanks, he plays a couple more beats on the drums which earns another loud roar from the crowd.

"Megumi Fushiguro, the guitarist of White Noise,” he says when it is his turn. “Uh, thanks for all your support." He backs away from the mic and looks at Yuta, who narrows his eyes, making Megumi sigh, and plays a couple of notes on his electric guitar. For someone as dry and nonchalant as Megumi, he's quite popular. Even Toge was in disbelief that Megumi was the first to receive a fan edit when they first debuted.

"That was so dry, Megumi!" Toge whines. "How do you even manage to be the most popular in the band? " He turns to the audience off-stage, a look of disbelief plastering all over his face. “I swear, I’m going to lose it if you guys vote for him in this month’s popularity ranking!”

٩(˃̶͈̀௰˂̶͈́)و

"I'm so hungry," Panda groans as he pats his stomach. The concert has ended, and people are already making their leave. 

Maki snickers, "Fatass," she mutters. Panda gasps in offence. 

"Wait!”  A voice could be heard. Yuuji and Toge approach you guys, panting as if they had just been running. The pink-haired boy’s gaze flickers amongst you guys. From you to Nobara, Maki, and then Panda. He smiles widely.

“I knew I recognised some familiar faces in the crowd." He then notices Miwa, who looks as if she is about to pass out from excitement.

"Woah, who's this?" Toge asks, approaching the blue-haired girl, as if to hit on her. Protectively, you push him away, making him yelp. “Hey! Let me have my moment!”

You click your tongue. “Smear your brain rot somewhere else, Toge,” you hiss. Regaining your posture, your expression returns neutral, a small smile appearing. “Anyways, this is my friend.” 

Miwa straightens her posture, then dips into an almost 90-degree bow. “I’m Kasumi Miwa, pleasure to meet you!” She begins, and you chuckle at how she is practically shaking, a mixture of nervousness and excitement to be able to meet her idols so up close. 

Before the two boys could say anything, another voice could be heard a little further away. “You both! We were supposed to have a meeting with Gojo after the concert!” The voice source comes from another member of the band, Yuta. He approaches them both and begins pulling them by their ears like elementary school students.

“Owwowoowo Yuta!” Yuuji whines, who desperately tries to save his ear from being torn off. 

You notice a familiar yet unpleasant figure trailing behind Yuta. You almost scoff at the sight. “Didn't know it was a real thing that the Megumi Fushiguro actually appears off-stage, given his annoying presence that might make me want to pull my ears and gouge my eyes out,” you mutter under your breath with a snicker, but loud enough to reach his earshot. 

Megumi swears he can hear a vein pop in his head, and it’s barely been two minutes since he left the dressing room. “Can’t keep your mouth shut even for a second I see,” he retorts back. “The only reason I don’t go out here after concerts is to avoid meddling idiots like you.”

Miwa raises her eyebrow, noticing how you and Megumi are internally strangling each other. 

Ignoring the tension between you both, Toge approaches Panda, bumping his fist twice against his white stomach. “Eating well?”

“No,” Panda pouts(never a sight to see). “I’m being starved by these women.”

Nobara smacks Panda’s arm. “What do you mean being starved?! You’re emptying the fridge every single day as if you’re paid to do so!”

“Like a fucking rodent,” Maki murmurs.

“I heard that!”

૮꒰ ‘⁠◉⁠⌓⁠◉⁠’⁠ ꒱ྀིა

The band is walking back to the meeting room backstage, where Gojo awaits.

Yuta looks over to Megumi, who has an annoyed, grumpy expression from the previous banter between you both. “Getting along with Yn back there, huh?”

“They were getting along? I swear I could see murder in their eyes,” poor Yuuji is clueless. 

“It was sarcasm, idiot.” Toge nudges Yuuji with a snicker. 

“Oh…”

Megumi scoffs. “I think I’d rather chop my dick off and eat it raw than touch her with a ten-foot pole.” Hearing nothing but just silence, he looks up, instantly noticing the mixture of emotions in his bandmates’ faces. “I’m kidding. But never in my life would I get along with her.”

“I think that’s the most disturbing thing I’ve ever heard in my life,” Toge murmurs.

Yuta raises an eyebrow. “Don’t you always say the most disturbing/outrageous things?” 

Yuuji nods in agreement. “Yeah! Didn’t you mention how you’d do Chris Hemsworth raw—“

“Won’t you?”

Tuning out his friends’ disturbing discussion, Megumi looks back to see you laughing with your friends. Thankfully, you didn’t notice him. He returns his gaze forward, the annoyance in him growing. Maybe he should go to that place to cool off. Maybe bring her along this time.

ಥ_ಥ

Tossing and turning in his bed, Megumi could not sleep for whatever reason. Perhaps it is the remaining adrenaline rush from the concert earlier, but that’s impossible. It normally wears off during the shower after that. 

With a small groan, he shifts himself so he lays on his side. Megumi picks up his phone, which is charging on his nightstand and begins scrolling through it, aiming to just kill time until he feels sleepy.

There are countless tweets from his friends, acquaintances, fans, about the concert, latest gossip, etcetera. But what catches his eye is your tweet. With a small ‘tch’ of irritation, he scrolls through the replies of your tweet(partially hoping someone would have the same thoughts as his). 

Megumi couldn't exactly pinpoint why he hates you, it’s just an automatic system for you both. “What a freaking chatterbox…” he mumbles quietly. His gaze stays on your username for a little before letting out a small huff, putting his phone on DND and placing his phone on his nightstand. “She never gives up, for fuck’s sake.” and with that, he manages to doze off, the adrenaline from the concert (or what he suspected) finally wearing off.

Behind the scenes...

-yn and megumi actually follow each other on social media despite their hatred for each other, mainly for stalking purposes!

-toge dm’ed miwa that night after the concert. Miwa left him on read(she forgot to reply.)

-I imagine Yuta flopping on his bed with a long sigh from exhaustion because of the shit he deals with the WN members every single day. Oh, along with their manager, Satoru! 

-WN members slept till noon that night!

Taglist: @qtnfer @greenday-bingus @walllflowerrrsss @saltypuffin1040 @starrysho @nothegemstone @1l-ynn @applepi25 @q2uq2u @mbekgsv @reblogwhoreowo @dilucsleftshoelace @quack-quack-snacks @kasumitenbaz

[romicat]

So, given that the Stepford Cuckoos had a discussion and vote on which one of them would try to honey trap Kamala, how do you think the others would've done if it had been them instead of Sophie?

Esme feels like the predictable Mean Girl situation. She puts too much Regina George into it. Maybe she genuinely makes Kamala mad at her sometimes but Kamala never just outright dumps her as a friend. Even if she was about the "plan" would mean Esme would have to swallow her pride and try to meet her half way most of the time. Out of all of them she's the most ambitious and like Sophie I think she might even expect that Kamala wouldn't hate for what she did. Esme wouldn't just give up on the "plan". In her mind it's only a matter of time for Kamala to see things her way, she wants "the throne and the girl" in a manner of speaking.

If Esme is the one that most wants to be the center, then *Phoebe* is the one who most wants to have things of her own that she doesn't have to share with others. She dated Quinton in part because the rest of her sisters thought he was so annoying and gross. She's also one of the nicer sisters so she probably clings to Kamala's friendship and maybe something more as part of that. Of having something her sisters can't. Someone just for her. 50/50 on if she turns against before or after the last fight with Hellion though. Could go either way, but she probably takes being separated from the Hive Mind a lot better than Sophie. She might also cling to Kamala harder afterwards.

Mindee has consistently been the sister that's most likely to ditch their collective plan. She doesn't usually jump to active revolt so much as let them know she doesn't agree with them until they push her too far. Everyone she keeps falling for tends to genuinely warm, kind hearted heroic individuals. So I think she's the easiest for Kamala to turn, but also the one least likely to actively do anything about it at first. Her turn however wouldn't be a shock to the rest of her sisters as she would've been trying to argue against the plan at some point earlier or maybe tried to ask them to reconsider using Kamala for it. She has an awful record with love interests though as they all keep dying. I wonder how that would effect her relationship with Kamala 🤔.

Celeste probably 1 to 1 Sophie honestly. Except with also being way more outwardly affectionate towards Kamala. Like that girl tends to be very forward with the people she's interested in. . .

[bi-planeandsimple]

You (wsj article author, not op) supposedly cherish “freedom of expression” and ���stories” - which party is doing book bans?? And Which party is against censorship?? Hmmm??? And by voting for Trump you proved everyone else right! You are too stupid and racist and sexist, especially if you think Trump winning will stop these “divisive and destructive” arguments. Leftists and liberals still exist and we still know we are smarter than you and that trump is bad. Or were you hoping we’d all be put in jail? Which trump said he would do-jail all his “enemies” but oh no Democrats enacted constitutional overreach to address actual treason on Jan 6th. You are also stupid for not knowing what 3rd graders are actually taught, and that it’s not Critical Race Theory. I will also bet $1000 you don’t know what CRT actually is or who Kimberlé Crenshaw is. You fear the sway of Big Pharma and you voted for trump?? When Biden has been capping insulin at $30?? And got us vaccines and covid tests for free?? Like none of what you wrote makes sense!!

Thank you, Wall Street Journal, for giving us an editorial that tells us "I voted for Trump because Democrats were mean and rude and 8 year olds are learning CRT and Trump will bring us freedom." Fuck's sake. You bought into Republican propaganda.

[catgirlcaliphate]

Voting is a tool.

By which I mean, voting is just a tool; it isn't sacred or magical.

And by which I also mean, voting is one tool that is good for one kind of purpose. If it isn't suitable for the goal you're trying to achieve, you need different tools.

Every time someone makes a post on here rightly criticizing Joe Biden's support for genocide, there's at least one person in the notes saying "but remember, you still have to vote for him!" or, "did you know Trump wants to deport Muslims?" or, "then who do you want me to vote for?"

But that's like going into a plant nursery and demanding they sell you the correct drill bit for planting a tree. They will never sell you the drill bit you want, because the drill bit you want--the drill bit suitable for planting trees--doesn't exist, and also plant nurseries don't sell drill bits.

Standing in the plant nursery asking about drill bits will probably initially get you people explaining to you where to find a shovel, and a watering can, and some mulch, because those are tools that will help you plant the tree. If you ignore the attempts to educate you, and start yelling about how they must just want you to throw away your drill, and also they probably hate trees and hate you and want you, personally, to suffer in a world without shade, you'll start getting different answers, like "please stop shouting" and "I'm going to have to ask you to leave now."

Because you're demanding that they tell you how to use the wrong tool for the job. They can never give you the answer you want; the answer you want doesn't exist.

I can't tell you who to vote for to prevent the rise of fascism in the United States, both because you can't prevent something that's already happened, and because you can't vote your way out of fascism.

You need different tools; you need to ask different questions and be willing to sit with the answers, even if they aren't the answers you want.

Boycotts are a tool. Protests are a tool. Shutting down highways, physically blocking weapons shipments, picketing arms companies, those are tools. So is going to your library and checking out books about Palestine, and about decolonization generally.

Instead of asking which war criminal you should vote for, perhaps ask how you can organize members of your community to support and look after each other and keep each other safe. Perhaps ask how you can support Land Back and prison abolition. Ask how you can organize a union in your workplace.

The tool you're most comfortable using isn't going to work for this job. Learn how to use another.

[temiizpalace]

☆┊DRESS TO IMPRESS!

SUMMARY: playing dress to impress with him!

CHARACTERS: all dorms + others

GENRE: fluff

WARNINGS: none

NOTES: i feel so bad for having people with requests wait so long but im losing ideas and idk what to write 😭😭😭 please bear with me event requesters,,,,, ik i suck at this

reader gender is not mentioned, reader not specified to be yuu

VERY COMPETITIVE

if he catches you trolling it’s on sight. he takes this game very seriously, and refuses to get anything lower than 3rd. when you play together and ask to duo, he carries. you’ll see him with the most impressive and beautiful outfit you’ve ever seen and watch him lose his mind when he gets 5th. he spams poses, like in full concentration mode. also a very harsh critic. if he sees you off theme it’s an immediate 1 star, no exceptions. anytime he critiques your outfit you feel like an office worker with an overly harsh boss that demands better. he also probably has VIP. and beef with 10 year olds. (so think of when caseoh plays, but less yelling)

riddle, azul, jamil, vil, rollo

PLAYED IT AS A JOKE : IS NOW HOOKED

at first he thought it was just a dumb and silly dress up game for girls.. boy was he wrong. when he first played with you, he was expecting to hate this game to its core. he was a troller at first, purposefully making dumb outfits that don’t even match, barely adding anything to his outfit at all. suddenly, something in his mind flipped, and now he’s addicted. you’ll catch him sometimes playing his free time, teasing someone like him for playing a dress up game. not that you have room to talk. duos are fun, he likes being partners with you. he’s probably the kind of guy to vote everyone one star and then vote you five, but he expects five stars in return.

deuce, ruggie, epel, idia, skully j. graves

LOVES THE GAME

he’s played this before, he loves it! dressing up in cute outfits and watching other people dress up in cute outfits? why wouldn’t he play? and to play with you? that’s even better! wouldn’t be as competitive as the first category, but does take the game seriously. he doesn’t despise trolls, actually laughs at them sometimes. he does find it unfair they make the podium sometimes, but it’s really just a game. he loves duoing with you and wearing matching outfits, absolutely adorable! he either votes pretty fairly or votes everyone five stars depending on who they are. please play more with him, he loves this game!

cater, kalim, rook, ortho, lilia, neige

NOT THAT INTERESTED

what’s the appeal to it? it’s just playing dress up, nothing special. he’ll play once in awhile with you, but don’t expect it to be a regular thing. it’s just not his cup of tea. obviously since he doesn’t play often, his outfits are subpar. nothing podium worthy. votes pretty fairly, giving criticism and critique on other people’s outfits (though his aren’t that much better). he doesn’t mind being a duo with you, but you definitely carry. personally he thinks trollers are ruining the game and making it annoying for those who play religiously. overall, just a dress up game. would play but only if you play too.

trey, leona, jack, sebek, silver

THE TROLLER

is that one guy who has nothing on their character and walks onto the stage with no hair or makeup. skin tone is still at the default, colors on the clothes are unchanged, and it’s all on purpose too! would dress up in dumb outfits for a completely different theme and loves watching people argue about it in the chat. votes everybody one star because they’re just silly like that! absolutely cackles if he gets on the podium and loves watching the server get into fights about it. you don’t duo with him, you know better. loved playing with you, but it doesn’t seem the feeling is mutual.

ace, jade, floyd, che’nya

HOW TO POWER HANDHELD DEVICE

teach him how to use a phone first. doesn’t know how to log in to his account. when he joins the game, poor baby kept running into walls trying to put on shoes. outfits are usually incomplete or unchanged because he doesn’t know how to take off accessories or how to put them on. votes fair enough, but doesn’t ever make the podium. if you ask to duo, you’ll have to teach him cause he also doesn’t know about that either. basically just a big man baby who needs help using technology for the first time.

malleus

A/N: obsessed with this game lately (idia would know all the lana lore)

date published: 10/10/24

© temiizpalace — do not copy, steal, or put my work into ai. thank you!

[temiizdotcom]

✦┊DRESS TO IMPRESS

SUMMARY: playing dress to impress with him!

CHARACTERS: various teams

GENRE: fluff

WARNINGS: none

TWST VER. (MAIN ACC)

reader is g/n

VERY COMPETETIVE

if he catches you trolling it’s on sight. he takes this game very seriously, and refuses to get anything lower than 3rd. when you play together and ask to duo, he carries. you’ll see him with the most impressive and beautiful outfit you’ve ever seen and watch him lose his mind when he gets 5th. he spams poses, like in full concentration mode. also a very harsh critic. if he sees you off theme it’s an immediate 1 star, no exceptions. anytime he critiques your outfit you feel like an office worker with an overly harsh boss that demands better. he also probably has VIP. and beef with 10 year olds. (so think of when caseoh plays, but less yelling)

oikawa, kenma, semi

PLAYED IT AS A JOKE : IS NOW HOOKED

at first he thought it was just a dumb and silly dress up game for girls.. boy was he wrong. when he first played with you, he was expecting to hate this game to its core. he was a troller at first, purposefully making dumb outfits that don’t even match, barely adding anything to his outfit at all. suddenly, something in his mind flipped, and now he’s addicted. you’ll catch him sometimes playing his free time, teasing someone like him for playing a dress up game. not that you have room to talk. duos are fun, he likes being partners with you. he’s probably the kind of guy to vote everyone one star and then vote you five, but he expects five stars in return.

hinata, nishinoya, kuroo, lev, bokuto, atsumu, terushima, goshiki

LOVES THE GAME!

he’s played this before, he loves it! dressing up in cute outfits and watching other people dress up in cute outfits? why wouldn’t he play? and to play with you? that’s even better! wouldn’t be as competitive as the first category, but does take the game seriously. he doesn’t despise trolls, actually laughs at them sometimes. he does find it unfair they make the podium sometimes, but it’s really just a game. he loves duoing with you and wearing matching outfits, absolutely adorable! he either votes pretty fairly or votes everyone five stars depending on who they are. please play more with him, he loves this game!

yamaguchi, koganegawa, akashi, tendou

NOT THAT INTERESTED

what’s the appeal to it? it’s just playing dress up, nothing special. he’ll play once in awhile with you, but don’t expect it to be a regular thing. it’s just not his cup of tea. obviously since he doesn’t play often, his outfits are subpar. nothing podium worthy. votes pretty fairly, giving criticism and critique on other people’s outfits (though his aren’t that much better). he doesn’t mind being a duo with you, but you definitely carry. personally he thinks trollers are ruining the game and making it annoying for those who play religiously. overall, just a dress up game. would play but only if you play too.

kageyama, iwaizumi, kyotani, kita, sakusa, shirabu

THE TROLLER

is that one guy who has nothing on their character and walks onto the stage with no hair or makeup. skin tone is still at the default, colors on the clothes are unchanged, and it’s all on purpose too! would dress up in dumb outfits for a completely different theme and loves watching people argue about it in the chat. votes everybody one star because they’re just silly like that! absolutely cackles if he gets on the podium and loves watching the server get into fights about it. you don’t duo with him, you know better. loved playing with you, but it doesn’t seem the feeling is mutual.

tsukishima, futakuchi, osamu, suna

HOW TO POWER HANDHELD DEVICE

teach him how to use a phone first. doesn’t know how to log in to his account. when he joins the game, poor baby kept running into walls trying to put on shoes. outfits are usually incomplete or unchanged because he doesn’t know how to take off accessories or how to put them on. votes fair enough, but doesn’t ever make the podium. if you ask to duo, you’ll have to teach him cause he also doesn’t know about that either. basically just a big man baby who needs help using technology for the first time.

ushijima

A/N: yes this is the same as my twst post but haikyu

date published: 10/14/24

© temiizdotcom — do not copy, steal, or put my work into ai. thank you!

[ms-demeanor]

Not to be This Guy I’m sure you have 100000 asks about this but do you figure the trump felony convictions actually mean anything

Probably not, honestly. I doubt very much that he will ever serve a term of imprisonment after this conviction and it's not going to do anything at all to erode his support.

It does, however, mean that he can't own firearms. Generally speaking, in most states, in most circumstances without having to take extra steps, people who have been convicted of felonies can't own guns.

I don't think that matters much because I don't think he's someone who actually uses firearms, but if you're looking for solid, material impacts of a felony conviction that's the one that I can think of off the top of my head.

Other than that? I don't think it's going to do much. In most states you've got more of a right to run for office than you do to *vote* if you've been convicted of a felony (and, to be perfectly clear, I don't think that a felony conviction should bar people from voting or holding office).

I mean, I guess a lot of people are going to get a lesson on how ineffective norms are at stabilizing politics when you're dealing with people who don't respect norms.

Like you're going to be hearing a whole lot about "hypocrisy" aimed at the GOP from dems who are like "well don't you want to strip felons of their rights? Don't you hate criminals? He's a criminal!" when yeah no that was never actually the problem for the criminals the GOP hates.

And the problem isn't that he's a *criminal* it's that he's the personality at the center of a fascistic cult of personality.

Though honestly I think the extremists kind of blew their wad at J6 and sank into the background to lick their wounds when they realized they hadn't been able to drum up massive popular support for their movement.

I don't know the entire thing is a giant fucking tire fire make sure to pay attention to your local candidates and check in with the lefties on your local school board to see how you can support them.

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

You seem like an incredibly well read person, plus someone with a lot of insight into intimacy because of your work. So, in light of your romance book reviews, which are an absolute highlight on your patreon, do you have any insight into what is needed/suggested for a good romance novel?

g o d this is so fucking hard and also really fun to chew on. I want to preface this by saying this is ENTIRELY subjective and based completely on what I *PERSONALLY* find that I enjoy in a romance. this isn't, like, an objective guide on how to write a romance that doesn't suck. that doesn't exist because people like different things, and I'm speaking from one perspective.

also I should say that my preferred flavor of romance novel is solidly contemporary. I haven't read many historicals, certainly not enough to opine well on them, I don't do those mafia dark romances or whatever the fuck, and I've barely dabbled at all in any kind of fantasy romance, whether they're full high fantasy or witchy urban fantasy stories. (although I'm about to do one of the latter next month, you can vote for a book on my patreon rn!)

having gotten all of those caveats out of the way, here's some shit I like and dislike:

there are exceptions to this but broadly, I prefer a POV for everyone involved in the relationship. to me a romance where we're only seeing events from the POV of one member of the relationship automatically makes it seem like one person matters more in a dynamic where everyone should be of equal importance. also, god, if the plot's really going to hinge on not knowing what's going on in one partner's head suggests that miscommunication is going to be a pretty critical part of the plot, and I hate that shit. TALK TO EACH OTHER. I'LL KILL YOU.

on that note, there needs to be an actual compelling reason why the characters can't be together, okay? the #1 driving tension of every romance is "why the fuck can't they be together yet" and you BETTER have a good answer. whether it's interpersonal or external forces, if there's a very easy solution to what's keeping them apart then your characters look dumb and I'm bored. one of the most frustrating romances I've ever read involved two characters who were mutually attracted to each from the JUMP, who refused to act on it because they were coworkers (neither of them in any position of authority of the other, nothing unprofessional or inappropriate about it) and they were "only" living in the same state for A YEAR. A FULL YEAR !!! shut up. get a grip and kiss each other.

now, having said that: whatever your bullshit reason is for these two characters to be interacting with each other, you need to COMMIT to that shit so hard that I, the reader, will feel silly for even questioning the logic. the worst offender I've ever seen on this front is D'Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding, which pulls its protagonists together via a reality TV competition and then just... promptly loses any interest in really dealing with the actual realities of being filmed 24/7? it's insanely distracting how little the book engages with its central hook, and was a huge point deduction for me. whereas you have, like, The Bride Test, a book with a premise that skirts dangerously close to a little bit of human trafficking but embraces the whole premise so wholeheartedly that you completely forget about the potentially horrific elements in there. who cares that Esme was bribed here with the promise of a green card if she seduces a man she's never met? there's whimsy happening! we've moved on! it's literally fine and she's in no danger except the danger of a BROKEN HEART.

this one is going to seem SO obvious but like. I need them to be actually like each other. I'm not saying they can't be mutually bitchy while they grow to like each other or anything, they don't have to always be NICE to each other, but there are so many M/F romances where the dude is just flat out fucking MEAN and condescending to the girl until he decides he wants to fuck her. and sometimes even after that! stop it! after a certain point I don't want her to fuck him I want her to run him over a car!!!! there's suuuuch a line between "guy I butt heads and exchange banter with but could fuck if we just got to know each other" and "man who hates me and is for real fucking bullying me."

"kisses only," "doors closed," whatever term they use for a romance novel without any sex scenes on page, I don't like it. listen: I know that they're not everybody's cup of tea, and I FULLY recognize that a lot of romance novel sex scenes are unfathomably cringe. and yet, I need them. partly because they're funny, but also because if this book wants me to be invested in the developing relationship between two adults who are supposed to be WILDLY sexually attracted to each other, then I want to see the damn sex. no matter how many bad similes or unfortunate adjectives it entails. and if you're not going to show me the sex, don't you dare have the characters gushing about how great it is. I'll be the judge of that, thank you very much. (I'm looking at you, Sorry, Bro.)

related: there's this thing that I call "Horny Wolf Syndrome," which is derived from this tweet:

initially I used it to refer to when previously sweet-tempered male romance protags inexplicably started talking like horny wovles during sex scenes - "LET ME SEE YOUR PRETTY CUNT ON MY COCK" and the like - but now I more generally use it to refer to scenarios in which characters of any gender completely dispense with their established personality while they fuck in order to fulfill a more broadly appealing, one-size-fits-all sexual fantasy. I hate that shit; if your characters act like completely unrecognizable people during sex, you didn't write very strong characters. one of my favorite things about writing sex scenes is that it's so SO interesting to see how their the characters' personal quirks translate into a setting that's very different from most other contexts, and it's deeply disappointing when authors take the easy route in favor of some pornhub dialogue.

one of the things that actually won my most recent read, Raiders of the Lost Heart, a HUGE amount of points with me was how frank the female lead was about initiating sex for the first time. it was completely in character for her and felt really different than any other book I've read, and honestly? it was a breath of fresh air.

[jewishvitya]

I'm annoyed, I need to vent. I keep seeing this "a few bad apples" kind of attitude:

The reply isn't wrong. Yes, he's considered an extremist. Just like Ben-Gvir is considered an extremist. Just like Smotrich is considered an extremist.

Ben-Gvir and Smotrich got 10% of the votes in the last elections.

Just a bit ago someone sent me a video of Smotrich calling for genocide and asked me "are those subtitles real?" Because people check with me for Hebrew. And it was real. He said, explicitly, "Rafah, Deir al Balah, Nuseirat, total extermination." None of this is surprising from them. They've always been like this, this isn't new, and they won 10% of votes.

Often on posts by myself or other anti-zionist Israelis, especially posts showing protests, I see people saying "remember the people aren't the government" and yes, that's true, we're not, it's so important to remember that. But it's so infuriating to me when I see people talking like Israeli society wants to reach fairness and justice and coexistence and politicians are getting in the way. Like we aren't in line with our government on a lot. Why, because we hate Netanyahu?

Hating Netanyahu means nothing. I know people who hate Netanyahu so they voted for Bennett, who is further right than him. I know people who hate Netanyahu because he isn't brutal enough for them, they think he's holding back, they'd want someone like Ben-Gvir or Smotrich to be Prime Minister. I don't know many people who hate Netanyahu for being too far to the right. The biggest group are on the same page as him in terms of what the goal is (no Palestinian state), they just think he's doing a bad job of it and he's too corrupt. They're good with the Likkud, they just want to get rid of Netanyahu and his people, and then the party will be fixed in their eyes.

That's why, for me the next question I always want to ask is, who are we voting for. Which policies are we voting for. And the left-leaning political parties don't get voters.

In Israel "left" and "right" are practically decided according to opinions about Palestine. You could be pro-LGBTQ, pro socialist policies, pro all sorts of lefty ideas, but if you're right wing on Palestine you'll call yourself a right winger in Israel. I knew an antifeminist pro-capitalist MRA incel who considers himself a leftist because he supports a Palestinian state. I am not exaggerating, I'm not making up a character, I met him a few years ago through shared friends, he visited my apartment at some point.

So when I'm saying leftist parties don't get votes, that's because Israeli society broadly agrees with the right wing ABOUT PALESTINE. It's the first priority most of us have when voting. And we don't vote for anything that has a chance to improve their lives, because we're scared. We want to keep them in check.

Israelis are in denial about the fascism in our own society, so those who are too explicit about it, too outspoken about being nationalist, are just... "who can take them seriously?" All while they have the support of 1 out of 10 Israelis.

I'm not saying "assume that every Israeli is evil, you should want us all dead." Just... we're in denial about our own society, and it drives me crazy when people pretend like the problem isn't as big as it is.

[theothersarshi]

So Romania just invalidated the first round of this year's presidential elections.

In short, we get a first round of elections with alllll the presidential candidates (who need to obtain a certain number of signatures to be in the presidential race), and then the two candidates with the highest number of votes enter the second round (unless one of them obtained over 50% of votes in the first round, which has never been the case).

This year, a surprise far-right candidate showed up and became the most voted candidate. A lot of people had no idea who the hell he was. This'd be the independent candidate Călin Georgescu.

The second and third candidates were neck and neck: pro-EU, right-leaning Elena Lasconi from the new party USR, and Ciolacu from PSD, the largest Romanian party (left-leaning). Mind you, „right” and „left” mean something slightly different here, so anyway.

Elena Lasconi was a bit of a surprise. Everyone was expecting Ciolacu to be the guy with the highest number of votes, but... guess not. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So right after the first round of elections, everyone was busy googling Călin Georgescu, and finding out that he's New Age, "I met aliens", "Latin is based on Romanian", "Water isn't H2O, it's information", "Pepsi contains nanochips" sort of guy. Also hanging out with the local nazis and saying the EU and NATO are bad for Romania (THEY ARE NOT). And he was vastly promoted on TikTok and in conspiracy groups.

For the past two weeks, the country's been in turmoil. Half of us are like "Actually, we want someone sane to lead us!!!" and the other half are like "No, I believe in aliens/nationalism/God/I hate LGBTQ+, and Elena Lasconi would have gay people fucking in restaurants where kids can see them."

Elena Lasconi has become tolerant of the LGBTQ+ community after strongly opposing gay marriage. LGBTQ+ is on nobody's agenda right now, except maybe a couple of tiny parties that didn't make it in parliament. But why let the truth stand in the way of propaganda?

But back to Georgescu! Everybody kind of guessed his super-sudden rise and amazing number of supporters on TikTok was suspicious and probably involved a lot of money changing hands, but it took a while for the secret documents of the secret services to be revealed to the public - and... yup. It sure looks like there's been external interference in our democratic choices.

There's been a lot of back and forth about what should be done, all the votes were recounted (for Reasons; Ciolacu's supporters were pissed he didn't make it in the second round of elections), then it was claimed the first round couldn't be invalidated, then... fuck, man. I don't even know. It's been A Couple of Weeks.

And now, in the light of foreign interference in our elections, the first round of elections was invalidated. But we've already got a lot of people shouting and screaming that they want Georgescu because of The Propaganda they swallowed.

Everybody's back to square one, nobody's sure what next, Georgescu's probably investigated, signatures will have to be obtained again for candidates, I don't even know man.

I'm really hating this, but also I think I'd have hated it more if we'd just gone on as if nothing happened and pretended this was Fine.

I'm banging my head against the wall. This is insane. This is the most insane political situation I've ever personally witnessed. What next? Fuck if I know! All I know is that I'm not voting this weekend, I guess. And writing and writing about how you shouldn't vote to be fucked yourself just to fuck over other groups.

And also write that, yeah, it really hurts to fall for propaganda, but we're all susceptible to pretty lies we kind of like. But at some point, you've got to admit you were wrong, or you'll fuck yourself over more. Trust me, I was in a cult. That shit hurts.

[antoniothebrachio]

i have seen some tweets about how some korean ot7 fans from debut/neutral/non hateful ot6 fans are leaving the fandom due to this terrible incident, especially since sm ent is carrying on like nothing is happening. I point this out not with any glee. neither am I implying riize will fail, especially in east asia, because they most certainly will/should not and it's ridiculous that anyone is implying that. I say this merely to point out that we are not alone in our frustrations as intl briize and this incident has had more of a damaging long term impact than sm/ot6 probably realized.

i have seen some tweets about how a korean ot6 fan now supports and likes seunghan because of the kind actions and love shown by ot7 briize.

normal people are talking about seunghan now. people are talking about the support projects outside sm for him. public opinion on him is shifting even though sm is controlling the media narrative. a lot of regular people know him and are cheering him on.

264 stores are boycotting worldwide.

sm's instagram account is viewing stories with seunghan's support projects.

a lot of j briize are ot7, though they won't boycott, but are atleast funding support projects for him.

the number of k briize who were previously silently supporting seunghan are coming out more and more to support him loudly. because they are gaining confidence and strength from us intl briize (they said this)

I'm saying this so that you guys know that the boycott is working. we are being noticed. things are changing. you have to be patient it'll take time. but be consistent. that's better than a massive outrage and then silence. sm is waiting for this to blow over and be a temporary inconvenience. dont do that pls!!! I saw someone voting while claiming to boycott?? NO!! please don't give up. we are doing extremely well!! as you can see above, our boycott is having effects that we can't even really see due to diff language and location etc. but its working!! so I'm begging you not to give up. it's only been a week. do not give up.

i would also suggest if you have instagram to make insta stories supporting seunghan and rii7e and tag smtown in it since they're monitoring. make it known that we are brii7e and how much we love the 7 of them. PLEASE BE CAREFUL NOT TO SAY ANYTHING THAT REFLECTS BADLY ON RII7E OR BRII7E!! insta is important in korea so please try to do this!!!

(pls reblog so more ppl see!!)

[thrashkink-coven]

Okay here’s the hard part.

I think a lot about that guy, so called Jesus, and his philosophy of radical forgiveness and empathy. For a long time I thought that was just a line abusers use to force their victims to forgive them (AND IT IS)

But! I also think about Lucifer and the things he taught me regarding the concept of hell. If I was the ruler of hell and I had to manage all these terrible people, what would I do? Torture them? Give them endless suffering so they feel guilty? Do to them what they did to others so they can understand how bad it feels?

Latinos who voted for Trump, oh you disappoint me, but no, I don’t want you to be deported. Women who voted for Trump, *sigh*, no, I don’t want to see you get an ectopic pregnancy or carry your dead baby. No I do not want all those conservative gays to lose their right to marriage. And no, I don’t even want all of those fucked up fascist nazi racists to die.

It would be SO satisfying to see them get what they deserve, right?

God, I’m so sick of being apart of a species that loves to conquer. We bleed, they win, they bleed, we win. I’m sick of patching wounds. All I see is hellfire.

My friend Taylor Mcnallie is facing fraudulent charges because of an altercation that happened while she was protesting in Calgary. The bitch of a cop who assaulted her not only received no punishment, she got a fucking promotion. I remember during one of Taylor’s speeches someone said something like “I hope she gets arrested and goes to jail,” and Taylor said, “I don’t hope she goes to jail. Jail shouldn’t exist. I just want her to get fired and apologize. That’s all I want.”

Pacifism, true pacifism, like the kind that guy preached about, doesn’t mean laying down and accepting every terrible thing assholes do to you with a smile. It means taking away their ability to harm without harming them yourself. Eliminating the evil without becoming evil. Punching nazis does not make you a nazi, but praying for the death and destruction of people, human beings, because you hate them as much as they hate you? *sigh*

The hardest part about this whole radical empathy thing, is the fact that I cannot even wish harm upon those who want me dead. Isn’t that funny? That literal neo nazi, yeah, I hope he has shelter. Fuck I hope that rapist still eats tonight. I hope he feels shame until the day he dies, but I don’t hope he gets raped in prison. I don’t even want him in prison to be honest, I want him to be cared for, and I want his ability to do harm stripped away.

“Even if he hurts a child?”

God damn it, yes. I can’t add more suffering into the world, even if it is inflicted upon the people I’d love to hate most. I want to take away his power to do evil, I want everyone to know what kind of person he is and the terrible things he does so they can keep themselves safe… and then I want him to be safe.

I want all those terfs to have clean drinking water. I know they hate my guts, ugh, it is what it is. But praying that they experience the pain they’ve caused me, hoping that they die or suffer only makes me more like them.

WHICH SUCKS. This way of thinking is NOT satisfying AT ALL!!! Being vindictive and petty is FUN and it FEELS GOOD!!! That’s why it’s so fucking easy, and that’s why we keep eating each other over and over again.

Having said all of this, we should definitely bring back the guillotine lmao. I’m not saying that we should be super nice to people who are trying to kill us, do fight back. If the people need to kill their oppressors to be free then, hey, I’m not going to tell them they’re wrong for that. This isn’t a “we should all hug and sing kumbaya together! Kindness is always the way!!!” take. If the only way to bring death to the empire is to bring death to its owners, then so be it. Do so in the way that produces the least amount of degradation to your soul.

But wishing natural disasters on Texas, hoping that that racist woman’s parents get deported, out of spite and hatred… what are they doing to you? What are you doing to yourself?

Humanity is disgusting, truly truly abhorrent. I want to be able to look at us and embrace us with acceptance of that. Every single fucking terrible person on this earth deserves liberty, life, and freedom. Even when you spit in my face and hurt the people I love, damn it, I won’t hurt you. I see you as a rabid animal that needs to be sedated and slowly acclimated to compassion. And I will keep trying, even if you never learn. I can’t give up on humanity.

This is the most important and the hardest part. I’m not telling you to forgive, forgiveness is for you. If it doesn’t serve you, don’t forgive. But don’t let people without humanity kill the humanity that exists within you. Don’t let hatred fester in your soul. You’re allowed to be mad, hell, you should be furious. Let that fury keep you warm, but do not become a monster too.

To all you stupid fucking fascist pieces of shit, I hope you get exactly what you deserve. And what you deserve is not death, pain or suffering. It’s self reflection and growth, guilt and humility. As much as I would enjoy seeing you hurt, I refuse to become like you. And damn it I love you, I love every human being on this planet. I love you so much that I cannot become you. I love you so fucking much that I will continue to fight for your rights even when you’re trying to take mine away. and I hate that I love you like this, but I can’t stop.

So I will stop you.

- James Baldwin

[rotzaprachim]

like it’s not even surprising because political freaks are always hypocritical but jd vance pushing a white Christian ethnostate whilst he has Indian-American children and a Hindu wife, sahra wagenknecht cosying up to the afd and pushing anti immigrant ideology despite her father literally being an immigrant from Iran, the sheer number of first gen Americans who voted for trump, victor orban running a war against "western soros-backed" education he benefitted from personally, the fact plenty of american voters and likely conservative women were willing to vote for abortion but not the dems, abby johnson the anti-abortion crusader having herself had abortions, the entire history and present of conservative american catholics, jews, and muslims (often with recent histories of immigration) deciding that hey MAYBE this time the right wing protestant order will finally accept them if they hate abortion and lgbt rights TOO, and so on and so forth forever.

there's even a fun little dem example with the centrist democrat marie gluesenkamp perez (who, by the way, i think dems need to take very seriously as part of the future of the democratic party that might remain in america, as much as I dislike some of her politics), who rails against college educated "elites" and voted against student debt loan forgiveness - despite having herself gone to REED COLLEGE.

these are patterns that that cut across nation, party lines, and religion, and what really strikes is almost all the above examples are some kind of populist. they run with the idea that there's some kind of ominous "liberal" elite that doesn't know the common person - unlike THEM- and that they are for the people! and yet at the same time is a complete and total lack of the most basic principal of solidarity - that you help others in the way that you have been helped. that if someone gives you a casserole, you return the dish with stew. poplulism without solidarity for those unpopular little liberal things that saved us - that's what's on the rise

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for backing out of an art exchange because the person who pulled my name has an art style I really don't like?

In the fandom based Discord I'm in we had a small art exchange last month. Everyone got randomly paired with someone else to exchange art based on their prompts.

I'm a big believer in all art having value and that people enjoy different art styles, but unfortunately the person I was paired with has a really specific art style that I just.

Honestly, I hate it.

Our fandom is soft-anime style, think something like Genshin or similar art. Anime but more rounded off, 3D style.

However this artist has a really sharp, angular, honestly a little strange kind of art style that makes the final result look nothing like the original character design at all except for features like their clothing being the most obvious clue as to who they are.

If you ever read the really old Roald Dahl books with the super pointy, triangular art style, its kind of like that. Huge, super sharp pointy chins and noses, super long faces, all of the eyes drawn in the same long, sideways triangle style.

Its amazing that they have a style they like, but its 100% not my style and I really didn't want to have to fawn over it and share it across my socials when it is clearly the opposite of the art style I like.

I wound up pretending I had an unexpected work trip which meant I had to back out of the exchange (which actually wound up being true, but the trip was only 3 days so it wasn't like I wouldn't have had the 3 other whole weeks to work on my side of the exchange.) I was super polite about it, because again, its not my style but its theirs and I'd never deliberately make someone feel bad about their art.

Well, turns out some genius in our server forgot we all follow each other on Tumblr too and made a post basically laughing about how I had the balls to get out of it and how funny and smart they found it.

The mods sent a screenshot of it into the server and said bullying would not be tolerated and I got a warning for bullying. I pointed out I hadn't lied about the trip and I wasn't even the one who made the post, but they blacklisted talking about it further and made a new rule that if you fail to participate in future exchanges for anything less than like, someone dying or whatever, you get removed from the server completely.

All around nobody is happy about any of it, and there's talks about voting to just veto exchanges completely both because nobody wants to single people out and nobody wants to be forced to fawn over art they don't like.

I'm mostly angry with the person who poked their nose in because before they said anything it was completely fine with me and the other artist. They understood completely, we joked about how shit work is, and they were just going to do an art piece for the server as a whole which I thought was a really cute outcome, but now both of them have gone silent in the server and won't reply to anyone.

What are these acronyms?

[crownmemes]

Assorted Media Sentences, Vol. 17

(Sentences from various pieces of media. Adjust phrasing where needed)

"If you could see the things I've seen, you wouldn't try to stop me."

"Do you have any idea who the father may be?"

"There's a fine line between protecting someone and smothering them."

"You can't play around! When you play around, people die!"

"I hear you've been looking for me. I'm flattered."

"Mums always know when something's not right."

"You don't know me. You don't know anything about me."

"You can love someone and not like them."

"I'm really sorry about this. I wish we were talking under different circumstances."

"Aren't you a little too grey to be making these mistakes?"

"Pass the blowtorch! This safe isn't going to open itself!"

"I think the captain has some kind of problem with me."

"Hold on, how can you not know about Watergate?"

"I can delay this, but it won't go away."

"I've been waiting for years to hear you say that."

"In our current environment, self-control is an asset."

"I talk to my cigarettes. The most they listen is ten minutes."

"I used to hate the water."

"We don't all feed on humans. I choose not to."

"You're no fun in a fight - do you know that?"

"Maybe somebody else ought to be in charge?"

"Come on, it's a party!"

"The city is just a prairie that combs its hair and shaves its face."

"Regardless of what you may have read in the tabloids, there have never been any spacecraft recovered by our government."

"When you break all the laws of physics, do you seriously think there won't be a price?"

"Do you think some people are born evil?"

"And I had you down as a goody two-shoes!"

"You shouldn't apologise for asking so many questions. It's the only way you're going to get better at this."

"You can't fall in love with a dream."

"You've been voted one of the ten sexiest men of the year!"

"I don't even understand you half the time."

"You see this? This is why I worry!"

"Blackmail does not suit you, my friend."

"Everyone's a food critic these days!"

"Not everything's like a movie. I know that."

"You don't want to go in there. It's bad."

"I have all the characteristics of a human being - flesh, blood, skin, hair - but not a single, clear, identifiable emotion."

"There are two things I never forget: faces, and being fucked over!"

"I should have known. I should have seen the signs."

[olenvasynyt]

I have always been uncomfortable with the SF scene where Cassian takes Nesta on the hike, but I didn't fully understand why until my most recent reread. And it is one of the reasons why I am anti-Nessian.

This is a summary of my tiktok video, feel free to check it out, and follow me over there as well if ya want.

So this hike was right after Nesta lashes out and tells Feyre that the baby was going to kill her during the birth, and this was because of her frustration and hate towards Rhys and the IC and how she has been treated.  

Chapter 46 of ACOSF: “Is it respect that she offers you?” Nesta spat.  “Is it respect that your mate offers you?” Feyre went still. … “What do you mean?” “Have any of them told you, their respected High Lady, that the babe in your womb will kill you?” “…I do know that your mate ordered everyone not to inform you about the truth.  Did you all vote on that too?  Did you talk to her, judger her, and deem her unworthy of the truth?”

It broke something in Nesta—broke that rage, that roaring—seeing those tears begin to fall, the fear crumbling Feyre’s paint-smeared face.   She had gone too far.  She..oh, gods.

But as Feyre and Cassian both point out, she saw the parallels between Feyre’s situation and her own, and decided to avenge both of them.  Rhys and Amren were hiding the truth about Nesta’s powers, she knew that a lot of them did not trust her to know the truth about her own body.  

Chapter 47 of ACOSF: I think she saw the parallels between your situations, and, in her own way, decided to avenge both of you. That’s my feeling too.  Rhys disagrees.

I think Feyre’s situation was much more serious than Nesta’s powers being kept from her, but that is also why it was good for Feyre to find out the truth even if the situation was upsetting.  

Cassian was like oh "I’m sorry you found out the baby could kill you" and Feyre was like "I’m not.  I’m mad at you guys for not telling me.  Nesta was the only one brave enough to."

Chapter 47 of ACOSF: “I’m sorry you had to learn of it.” “I’m not.  I’m furious with all of you, I understand why you didn’t tell me, but I’m furious. Well, we’re furious with Nesta. She had the courage to tell me the truth. She told the truth to hurt you. Perhaps.  But she was the only one who said anything. — I wish you’d found out a different way. Well, I didn’t.  But we’ll face it together.  All of us. — I want you to come back home.  Both of you.

I love how Feyre, who is the one was the victim in this moment, was like “I’m not sorry this was how I learned about the baby but I’m glad someone told me.  Rhys overreacted, I calmed him down and I want both of you home.”

Rhys overreacted.  He completely and utterly overreacted. — Rhys had no right to chase you from the city, or threaten Nesta.  He has realized that, and apologized.  I want you to come back home.  Both of you.  

Now kind of going off topic with Rhys threatening to kill Nesta: people get mad at Cassian for not standing up for his mate.  And I can understand that, I also think that’s frustrating and Cassian not standing up for Nesta is something we see often, including the Ember and Randall bonus chapter in HOFAS.  But it can be complicated because a lot of people will defend Cassian like this: Rhys is high lord and it will be very hard to stand up to him as someone who’s not on his level, so of course Cassian couldn’t do anything to defend his mate in this situation.  And yes this is true, and we see a very similar situation between a High Lord and their superior with Tamlin and Lucien in ACOMAF. Lucien tried to stand up for Feyre but couldn’t, and was shut down and abused. 

But if people are going to use this idea to defend Cassian, that he couldn’t stand up and fight his high lord, we have to make this comparison between  Rhys to Tamlin.  And a lot of pro-Rhys people don't like that conversation.

But anyways, this argument cannot be applied to this hiking situation at all, because Feyre mindspeaks with Cassian and says that Rhys overreacted, she isn’t mad at Nesta, all of those things I talked about before.  Feyre says that she wants both of them home but Cassian still brings Nesta to a hike and says he’ll call it a punishment to sort of appease Rhys because he knows Rhys is still mad about the situation.  “Tell Rhys it’s a punishment.”  Rhys was not the victim in this situation, Feyre was, and she was like fuck Rhys!  He was wrong for overreacting!  Nesta was braver than you guys and I want her home.  

Where did you even head off to? The wilderness.  I think we’ll stay out here for a few days.  We’re going on a hike.   Nesta has never been on a hike in her life.  I guarantee she will hate it. Then tell Rhys this is her punishment.  Because Rhys, despite apologizing for his threats, would still be furious.  Tell him that Nesta and I are going to hike, and she’s going to hate it, but she comes home when I decide she’s ready to come home.

But Cassian still brings Nesta on the hike.

And he was definitely doing it for Nesta and to help her work out her thoughts and not solely because of Rhys, but this hike is a terrible way to help a suicidal person work out their thoughts.

This hike pisses me off so much. The way the IC decided to “rehabilitate” Nesta in general pisses me off.  I liken Nesta’s “rehab” to those therapy wilderness camps where people get kidnapped and brought to the middle of the mountains for.  Those rehab camps revolve around forcing people to get to their lowest to rehabilitate, to acknowledge their mistakes, and it is a horrible, abusive system and very often results in resentment at best and death at worst.  And I think Nesta being locked up was the same thing and this hike is the same thing.  One of the several things those rehab boot camps do is force their patients to go on strenuous hikes for multiple days, and when it’s beyond their physical capacity.  It can lead to exhaustion, dehydration, injury, and death.

And one of my least favorite things in this entire book is that when Cassian realizes that Nesta is suicidal, he continues the hike up the rocky cliffs of the Illyrian Steppes with barely any food and even less talk.  He doesn’t look at her or speak to her in days.

It is to force Nesta to get to her lowest moment so she’ll break down.  Exactly like what happens during those rehab camps.  It is forcing her into this breakdown in an unsafe place with no professional help. 

Cassian knew that Nesta often hated herself.  But he’d never known she hated herself enough to want to…not exist anymore. He’d seen her expression when he mentioned the threat of falling. And he knew going back to Velaris wouldn’t save her from that look.  He couldn’t save her from that look, either. Only Nesta could save herself from that feeling.

When I read SF for the first time I was so weirded out by this hike and I couldn’t figure out why.  I do not find these chapters moving or inspiring, I thought they were toxic and sad and I still very much do.  And if I’m going to be honest I felt like I was also being manipulated into getting emotional like how Nesta was.  

And this is where I’m going to get into my criticisms for SJM.  

I don’t know if she realizes this comparison between Nesta’s rehabilitation in general and the boot camps and just, bad, toxic therapy in general.  I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt because I think a lot of Silver Flames is about how the Valkyries helped heal Nesta and SJM and their hike during the Blood Rite was so much more inspiring at least for me and was definitely the climax and resolution to Nesta’s healing journey.  SJM illudes to the IC’s biases very often in SF and I thought she was making Nesta’s rehab toxic on purpose, but the reason why I struggle with giving SJM the benefit of the doubt is because she said in an interview that that hike Cassian took Nesta on was inspired by a hike she and her husband went on during a vacation.

I also hate how she adds the idea that the mountains are healing, and there is a voice telling Cassian to keep pushing Nesta forward, “just one more mountain”.  Like no.  This again adds to the comparison of the fucking bootcamps because that is also a tactic they use.

Chapter 48 of ACOSF: The peaks weren’t as brutal and sharp as those in Illyria, but there was a presence to them that he couldn’t quite explain.  Mor had once told him that long ago, these lands had been used for healing. Perhaps that was why he’d come.  Some instinct had remembered the healing, felt this land’s slumbering heart, and decided to bring Nesta here.

This is fantasy, of course, so I am fine with this element of a higher presence that is healing to the characters who are struggling.  And there is the symbolic element of climbing your mountain.  But I need people to stop saying that this is a realistic way to treat people with actual problems in the real world, not only with this hike but also with all of the rehabilitation the IC made her do by locking her up.  I might make a whole other video on that but if Nesta was in the House of Wind because she was addicted to alcohol and fucking strangers and spending money, this is not the professional way to go about it.  

I like a lot of parts during this final breakdown where they talk about forgiving yourself, leaving the past behind.  But I did not like the journey they made Nesta take to get to this point.  Nesta could have very well had this breakdown not on this hike.  

And this part ends with Cassian comforting Nesta. 

“I’ll be with you every step of the way,” he whispered into her palm.  “Just don’t lock me out.  You want to walk in silence for a week, I’m fine with that.  So long as you talk to me at the end of it.”

Like I appreciate this sentiment.  

But, another thing that annoys me is Cassian’s conclusion after this scene

Chapter 50 of ACOSF: “She’d been suffering, and he’d had no idea how much it consumed every facet of her life.  He’d seen her self-loathing and anger—but hadn’t realized how much she’d been aware of it.  To know she’d hurt this much, for so long.

First of all, how would Nesta not know she was aware of her self-loathing and anger?  She had actively talked about it before this moment??? She fucking has. And how did Cassian not know that she had been hurting this much for long long?  I thought he was her mate who understood her?  He talked about her traumas before in ACOWAR.  Plus, I thought she was being rehabilitated.  Helping her get not addicted to alcohol and spending money and having sex?  

There is such a lack of awareness when it comes to the IC and this situation and I get frustrated when readers don’t understand it.  People say that Nesta’s rehab was very serious and complex but no.  It wasn’t.  It is a terrible way to help anyone.  

I think Nesta and Cassian still have to work on a lot to be an actual healthy relationship.  And we saw the issues they still have in the Randall and Ember bonus chapter so I am very curious to see how SJM resolves their issues in future books, if she does so at all.