#I can't stand the misinformation I'm seeing

[bookofmirth]

I've searched literally every ask I've gotten in the past three years because I know I've said it before and I wanted to reblog it, but:

Elain is not the only person who can find/wield Dread Trove items. She never has been. The main requirement for finding Dread Trove items is being Made - it is not related to specific powers. So who is Made?

Elain

Nesta

Feyre

Amren

Miryam

Amren and Miryam's circumstances are a little different, but they were all Made if different ways - Elain and Nesta in the Cauldron, Feyre by the High Lords, Amren made herself, and Miryam... I forget and don't really care. The only reason Feyre didn't try to find the mask and harp in acosf is because she was pregnant. She is still alive and can still find/use those objects, because she is still Made. The main reason that Elain didn't try to find/wield those objects in acosf, despite offering, is because Nesta and Az prevented her.

The point is that all of these characters are Made, and are still Made, and Elain is in no way the only person who can find and/or use these objects.

[intheholler]

re: hurricane helene hey, y'all. so... immense survivor's guilt, subsequent depression and an overall helpless malaise has made my presence on tumblr here weaker during this horrific time. but there's nothing like some good ol appalachian rage to light a fire under the proverbial ass so i'm back to push back on some of the bullshit i keep seeing get spread about what's happening in the aftermath of hurricane helene, and in western north carolina especially. 

appalachia has always been low hanging fruit for the rest of the nation, and now that disaster has struck and we are even more vulnerable than we have been in a long, long time, bad actors are using us as a way to further their political bullshit and conspiracies.

please use some of the cited-information below the cut to push back on and educate any family members, friends or otherwise when you see them spreading misinformation. now is your chance to help appalachia, no matter where you are in the united states. myths, rumors and other flavors of horseshit regarding hurricane helene debunked under the cut. please reblog.

Let me just get my heart out of the way before we get into the nitty gritty, cause I got things to say. #1: "Why should we help these people? They get these storms there all the time. They didn't move away or do anything to prepare for this, and now it's our responsibility?"

These storms are not at all commonplace. For much of this area, especially WNC, this level of flooding and damage--spanning an area the size of Belgium between NC and TN--is largely unprecedented. Growing up, we get told our mountains protect us, that they shield us from the really bad, and that's because historically, they have. Hurricanes blow through, and they bring with them hella wind and rain, but nothing like this.

We do not have the infrastructure for this, physical or otherwise. So many of our homes, businesses and everything in between have been standing for more than a century, unkept and brittle. Dams are breaking or near breaking because they are not meant to hold this kind of water. Our roads tend to follow creeks and rivers and thereby have been completely washed out. Keep in mind that in the individual hollers, and in most of these small mountain towns, we only got one road. You go up holler one way, and you don't come out the other side of it; you leave the way you came because it's the only path to take.

We are not built for this. We were not ready for this. We could not have prepared for this. And even if by some miracle we all received some premonition about this disaster, telling us to "just move" is NEVER the answer to vulnerable people living in volatile environments, especially ones as impoverished as Appalachia. Fuck you.

#2 "Appalachians are lazy and just want handouts, anyway."

First off--which one is it? Are we poor, pitiful fodder for concern trolls who deserve more than we're getting, or are we lazy, needy, greedy people who deserve to rot? Can't have both.

Second off--we been hearing that about us since the dawn of time. Wasn't true then, ain't true now.

Appalachia has been verifiably exploited as long as there have been people to exploit, but that is a topic long since discussed here.

We don't WANT anything. We NEED it. Alongside the aid coming in through donations, official search and rescue and organized volunteer services, much of the boots on the ground are Appalachians themselves!! We take care of our own, and it's always been that way.

They got people on foot hiking up into the hollers to bring supplies to cut-off communities. They got pack mules passing otherwise impassable roads where no car nor other vehicle can tread to get lifesaving necessities to the hollers. Look around, and you'll find countless stories. Just in my personal circle alone, I got a sister bringing supplies up by foot, and her hiking group is moving through so much toxic mud that the soles of their fucking boots are melting. I got a brother in law taking chainsaws to downed trees to clear the path for supply deliveries. I got another sister meeting friends of mine at the state line to collect donations and distribute them by hand to counties all over WNC. We can do this, but we can't do it alone.

#3 "It's a conspiracy/It's not that widespread outside of Asheville because we don't see pictures of anywhere else."

It's happening. It's fucking happening.

You don't see pictures because many of us don't have reliable cell service right now, let alone wifi. Hell, even in perfect weather there's a joke that you better have a friend with a cell phone from each provider when you go out because only one of you is getting service at any given time in any given place. There is no way to document this from the inside for many folks at this point in time, and there is NO WAY IN from the outside.

As I mentioned--you got one road leading up the holler. That road is now gone. No one is making it up the mountain to take pictures of these horrific scenes, y'all. If they're going up the mountain its to care for their neighbors, to bring supplies to individuals and entire communities so isolated by the devastation that the only way they can be reached is on foot (or hoof!).

Which also brings me to my next counterargument: "Nothing is being done to help."

#4 "Volunteers are being turned away/Donations are being confiscated."

Volunteers are being DISCOURAGED from coming in out of state, but they're not being told to leave with a malicious intent. And they are not even being forcibly denied. They can still come, but it's really not a good idea. As I mentioned, these roads wasn't meant to take this kind of damage. They are falling apart, and all this extra traffic coming in on these streets barely hanging on is making them worse and making it harder for organized relief and rescue operations to actually get in there. People are getting stuck and taking away time and resources that could be going to survivors. Outsiders with good intentions are eating up the scarce gas and using up even scarcer water. Some of these places, like Black Mountain, physically do not have enough hands to manage and distribute the amount of donations being brought in in, so they're getting rerouted. Donations are not fucking being confiscated.

#5 "They aren't letting people be rescued/They're closing the airspace off."

The airspace is OPEN, with some temporary restrictions in place by the FAA for civilians and volunteers. Civilians can still access airspace in coordination with officials and emergency responders. What they ain't allowing is people just flying in willy nilly. What they ain't letting in is unauthorized air traffic that is clogging up airspace which otherwise needs to be used by official aircraft to bring in donations/S&R groups. Airspace is still accessible in the area, but it's not safe to just have everyone with a big heart trying to search and rescue, especially with no training, organization or proper skills. What they ain't letting happen is people trying to take trucks up obliterated roads that can't be traveled, no matter how confident you are in your vehicle. Christ, y'all. The point isn't to add more bodies to the count!

#6 "National Guardsmen are being told not to go."

The National Guard HAS been deployed.

And in numbers, too. What you're hearing is rumor of people asking to be deployed and being told no, because that's not how it works. That's not how any of this works. People can't just rush in unorganized. There is a system. There has always been a system.

#7 "But I saw TikToks of people coming to help and locals shouting them out of town!"

Oh, honey. No, what you saw was people doing what they LOVE to do in Appalachia: take poverty tours. Record how we live. Post their poverty (and now disaster) porn with thoughts and prayers and oh those poor creatures to get likes. That's been happening to us since before TikTok. Before the internet.

During FDR's administration, photographers from the Farm Security Administration went down to collect poverty porn and turn it into Hollow Folk, a collection of photographs which was then used by eugenicists and corporations alike to dehumanize us further so we could be exploited and relocated with the favor of the nation behind them.

We're done with it. We been done with it. And now, in this time of crisis where people are DEAD, you're clogging up our roads, taking up our gas, AND shoving cameras in our face. Y'all ain't from here and now more than ever y'all kinds need to get the FUCK out.

✨ FEMA ✨

FEMA deserves its own section, because holy shit. I'm mad that I'm about to defend the man in any capacity but it needs to be done. So, I'm gonna preface this by saying, largely, fuck FEMA. There are many valid complaints against FEMA and their inefficiency, but right now is not the time to use them as a tool of misinformation against Appalachia. We got enough problems without pouring the salt of government conspiracies into these raw, gaping wounds that barely even have bandaids applied to them right now.

SO. Let's get into it.

#8 "This is all planned and by design/Don't evacuate, because FEMA is just gonna take your land and mineral rights!"

If they wanted the fucking lithium or anything else for that matter, they would just enact Eminent Domain. They don't need elaborate schemes and """weather control""" to take it. They can just literally... do it. Did we all fail civics in middle school?

(And this is purely anecdotal so I have no proof of this, but a friend of mine told me a few days ago people were actually being told NOT to evacuate in Lake Lure because they didn't anticipate the flooding to be this bad.)

What y'all SHOULD be worried about are these companies and their "disaster investors" who swoop in like fucking vultures and try to get people to sell their land before FEMA has a chance to assist them. These companies prey on the vulnerable, offering them quick cash for their land and for far less than they'd get if they held out for FEMA's relief instead.

#9. "But... but FEMA is only giving out a piddly $750 in relief!"

Yes, they are giving out $750. INITIALLY. This $750 is initial relief money for immediate needs. Medicine, food, supplies. It is NOT all that's being allocated to folks. From FEMA's website:

This is a type of assistance that you may be approved for soon after you apply, called Serious Needs Assistance. It is an upfront, flexible payment to help cover essential items like food, water, baby formula, breastfeeding supplies, medication and other emergency supplies. There are other forms of assistance that you may qualify for to receive and Serious Needs Assistance is an initial payment you may receive while FEMA assesses your eligibility for additional funds. As your application continues to be reviewed, you may still receive additional forms of assistance for other needs such as support for temporary housing, personal property and home repair costs.

A service being offered in the meantime, for example, is for temporary housing and you can still currently apply for it!

Long-term disaster relief funds are not being released immediately. That does not mean they do not exist.

Here is what FEMA has already allocated for North Carolina alone.

Please note I said "allocated" but not "paid out." Which brings me to my next point.

#10 "FEMA is giving their relief money to undocumented immigrants!"

This is false, and you can verify this for yourself. Cash payouts to undocumented immigrants isn't even a thing, dude. They haven't even paid out to citizens in their entirety yet. From the FEMA page "Questions and Answers for Undocumented Immigrants Regarding FEMA Assistance:"

This is in regards to STATE, LOCAL AND VOLUNTEER AGENCIES. Not through FEMA or any other federal programs. This is probably what people are hearing about, and not even bothering to look into it before running off to tell lies.

And in this, as you can see--undocumented immigrants who CAN receive assistance are not receiving cash. They are not just getting money handed over to them to spend on whatever your racist, xenophobic uncle thinks they are. FEMA is required by law to report on the use of their funds each month by the 5th day. Historically, it looks like it takes about a week for them to be posted. Keep an eye on this page to see for yourself in coming days that FEMA is not giving out money from their funds to immigrants.

#11 "But FEMA has appointees from Biden!!! How can we trust that this is the truth?!"

Please use critical thinking skills. Please, we beg. Yes, there are appointed FEMA officials from this administration, but there are also appointed officials from Trump's time in office. What sense does it make that during Trump's administration, FEMA employees were Good And Pure, and suddenly, just because they are active under Biden's administration, they are suddenly Evil And Corrupt? This is clear bias and has no solid footing.

Besides, the President doesn't even have any sway over FEMA funding like this. That is ALL congress.

H.R. 9747 "Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025," which provides relief funding (among other things) for the 2025 fiscal year, was ACTIVELY VOTED AGAINST by Republicans, including Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene--two people spreading the bullshit the loudest. UGH. Okay. In exasperated conclusion: Please, please, PLEASE leave Appalachia alone and let us get back on our feet without having to constantly dodge dumbass conspiracy theories. We are heartbroken and grieving and would really appreciate a brief reprieve from being the nation's fucking punching bag. Help us, don't hurt us.

[getsuuna]

I can't stress enough how this Fandom can be fxcking stupid so I'll take advantage of it to make a brief analysis

TikTok is back at it with being extremely gullible

people seriously believe this is Koyoharu Gotōge's official account. a quick glance would debunk it immediately, but if we wanna look into details there are mainly 3 things that are really obvious and they all piss me off SO bad:

1) they posted fanart. literal fanart, without consent, of course, and without any credits, badly cropped and filtered too. I couldn't see signatures in most of them, but I recognized some art styles and overall it's easy to spot non-official art when you also follow Ufotable's official account. from which, by the way, this fake account takes all of the content they post, then they write a silly and pseudo-cool caption and that's literally it. what's the point? one of the captions said something that quite fucking literally made me want to scream, joking about Shinobu possibly being Tengen's 4th wife because there was a pic in which their VAs were standing close....what. Gotōge would never say that???

2) they reply to fans, which isn't bad per se but let's be SO fr...and it's not even the worst part.

3) said replies include misinformation. saw them saying Masachika would be reincarnated as Sanemi's son or stepson (what the fuck) AND that Sanemi and Kanae would've been canon if Kanae didn't die, which, I'm sorry, is the fakest fucking thing I've ever read despite being a common misbelief.

I don't want to digress too much into this but imagine you're an author, you have the power over your characters and you decide to add a couple that will be doomed inevitably...you would make it canon, if it was supposed to be. you would AT LEAST make said crush remotely relevant in AT LEAST one of the two characters' arc...which it isn't. in ANY of the canon universes. the Academy is right there, the Timeskip is right there, both had Kanae alive and both don't make SaneKana canon, not even remotely. HEAVY ON THE TIMESKIP in which ObaMitsu are married, but they're canon in all the verses...Mitsuri had an actual impact on Obanai's character and even when there's silly trivia about him in databooks or even in the manga it always somehow involves Mitsuri, something that we did NOT see with Sanemi and Kanae.

now, as much as I would talk *endlessly* about this, I don't want to sound hateful to shippers, but it pisses me off that a Gotōge-wannabe is reinforcing the toxic shippers' delusions.

I would've lost my shit even if they said the same thing about my fav fanon ships, because it's FAKE.

if the author wanted them canon, they would be. there's no "if" nor "but", there was no excuse.

they clearly and luckily wanted to leave it to open interpretation

as an OC creator if I want a couple canon I simply write them in a way in which would make them canon in at least one AU 😭🙏🏻 tf

this being said please don't fall for such weird ass stuff 💔

[ianduncankinnie]

I often post about Palestine but I'd like to take a moment to talk about what's happening in Bangladesh.

KEEP YOUR EYE ON BANGLADESH

TL;DR Students killed for protesting the government's quota system. Students are being arrested and murdered for speaking up about their deceased friends. Everyone is being threatened by the government and many social media platforms are being banned.

All I'm asking is to spread the word. Please. International pressure really works for our nation. We're dying here. UNICEF reports 34 children dead. There might be more. All reblogs and likes and shares are appreciated. Thank you. I guess I'll see you tomorrow.

Past

A movement protesting the government's quota system put forth by the father of our nation Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. This was placed in the first place to help the grandchildren of those who fought in the Liberation War of our country to get government jobs. We have a terrible job market here which is why many highly educated people leave the country. On 16th July, While protesting, a Student named Abu Sayed of Begum Rokeya University was killed by the police. This only stoked the feelings of injustice between the students.

During a press conference, the PM was asked about the quota for the grandchildren of veterans. Her response? "If we don't give jobs to the grandchildren of Veterans, will we give jobs to the grandchildren of Razakars?" Razakars are the people who collaborated with the Pakistani Forces to bring down the Bangladeshi freedom fighters. They betrayed the nation for their own gain.

Traitors.

Imagine calling the youth of your nation traitors.

Imagine calling almost 14 million young people who can't find a job despite their credentials betrayers.

Imagine cursing people who are protesting for job equality under a government with the all time highest corruption in the history of this nation.

On 17th July the broadband connection centre in Mohakhali was burned down. Mobile data services and communication were shut down by the PM. After 11 days the internet was properly restored.

On 19th July, A National Military Curfew was put in place by the Prime Minister to mitigate the unrest.

But that was last month. If you need details I highly recommend sources in Bangladesh like the Daily Star or reputable like Al Jazeera. The quota has since been lifted. Lives were lost. But it was for a good cause, right?

Right?

RIGHT?

Present

Well no. There's still a curfew in the capital. Several districts like Cumilla are still under attack. The government warns of not spreading misinformation yet still lie about the severity of the issue. The police are arresting those who protest as well as those who speak up. The students are demanding for the resignation of the PM. The PM obviously refuses to apologise or even acknowledge the deaths of some 147?

or is it 200?

They're not counting how many they're killing. They're not letting anyone else count either.

It is midnight here. This morning as in 4th August 2024, the students have called for a non cooperation movement. The Ruling Party Awami League will also be holding rallies across the nation tomorrow. I do not know what is going to happen to me. I do not want to think of what will happen to my family tomorrow. I don't really care. What I'm truly scared for is the future. As these protests do not end well here.

Future

Precedence says the PM will eventually resign. Every student protest of our nation has ended in momentary success.

Momentary

What comes after is usually a military regime. A caretaker government until a next government is chosen in a supposed election. Even then if they decide to hold an election. The caretaker government is usually run as a dictatorship. It was true for the 60s. It was true for the 90s. I don't doubt it will happen again.

I'm graduating next year. My niece is still new to the academic system. I wish her the best. My grandmas and grandpas are dead. Nobody left to pray for me. My aunts and uncles are growing old. My cousins can't speak up for fear. My mom is so tired. My dad is angry. I'm unsure if I will still be able to post the next couple of days.

All I'm asking is to spread the word. Please. International pressure really works for our nation. We're dying here. UNICEF reports 34 children dead. There might be more. All reblogs and likes and shares are appreciated. Thank you. I guess I'll see you tomorrow.

[cityofmeliora]

about Terzo's height...

while i LOVE LOVE LOVE short king Terzo (as a short king myself), he might actually be the tallest brother and the implications are SO FUNNY.

so the idea of short king Terzo seems to have gotten really popular because of the clip from Unholy / Unplugged in Los Angeles where he says:

"Now look... people have had the decency to comment on the fact that without my hat being on, I'm a little bit, uh... short." Los Angeles, CA (Unholy / Unplugged, 2015)

but the thing is, he says that right before he raises the microphone. he was joking about the fact that, at all of the Unholy / Unplugged shows, the mic stand was set way too low for him.

in Baltimore and Phoenix he makes it more clear:

"But these last couple days, I've come out... you've noticed me not wearing a hat. Some people have noticed that, 'He's a little bit shorter than I thought!' [...] But what has happened a couple days in a row now is that I come out and the microphone is like, [gestures at chest height] about here. I'm not that short!" Baltimore, MD (Unholy / Unplugged, 2015)

"Now... we've got a fundamental problem here. [...] It is my– what people expect my height to be. Yes, I will– I will agree that myself without hat is not very, uh... imposing. But I am a little bit taller than this." Phoenix, AZ (Unholy / Unplugged, 2015)

the joke was that people were assuming he was much shorter than he actually was.

he doesn't appear to be super short! if you consider every Papa to be the height that they are in real life, they'd all be the same height as TF (about 5'8" / 173cm) due to the fact that they are all played by him. BUT there have been occasions when two Papas have been present at the same time: during the coronation ceremonies. in Secondo's coronation, he's shown to be about the same height as Primo. and in Terzo's coronation, he's shown to be MUCH taller than Secondo.

Metal Myths: Ghost pt. 2 (April 2022)

Metal Myths: Ghost pt. 2 (April 2022)

Youtube Video

so Terzo might be the tallest brother. he is still insecure about his height, though.

"Is there a sound engineer here? Hello. Could you please give me a little spooky reverb. Just a slight. I need to sound taller than I am." Brooklyn, NYC (Unholy / Unplugged, 2015)

not so insecure that he can't joke about it, but he will joke about it and then remind you that he's not that short!

and Terzo wanting to be taller seems so in-character for him. for the pursuit of better, y'know? hahaha

obviously, he's not a very tall guy either. he's a little short. just a little below average. he's a perfectly normal height, but he seems to have become more insecure about it because he has a reputation for being short, and every time people see him in person they're like "huh. you're taller than i thought you'd be!" and he's like "wtf?? uhhh. thanks???? 🤨😓"

i genuinely think it's sooo so so so funny that the fandom does this to him too LOL.

for the record: the thing about Terzo allegedly being 4'9" is totally fake. there are no sources for that. and i hate misinformation, so i will not stand for people spreading that as if it's canon. that said, if you headcanon Terzo being 4'9" anyway, i think you're incredibly based and that rules actually–

again, i love short king Terzo and i accept all headcanons!! i just think this particular angle has not been explored a lot and it is simply hilarious to me.

[acourtofthought]

can you genuinely say at this point in time, Elain wants lucien? I'm not asking for theories or headcanons. I am asking if you genuinely think that Elain in any way is secretly pining over Lucien, and what textual evidence supports that.

People have argued about her mentioning his name, but I don't think that has to do with romantic feelings for him, moreso basic respect for another. People have talked about a "half-step" which I must've missed bc I do not even remember that - but i don't think a "half step" necessarily conveys anything romantic.

I'm trying to form an opinion in this ship war, but its hard when I see a ton of misinformation from every side. The elriels have their own faults, but they can point to text now that shows Elain wants Azriel.

Can Eluciens do the same? I'm not trying to start a fight, I really just want to know what portion of each ship is backed by the current books vs. how much is just people theorizing they are end game and what they want to happen. And if the Elucien ship is purely just "SJM will always pair fated mates together" that's also fine and valid imo, I just want to know if there's anything in the books you can point to that shows Elain wants Lucien at this moment in time. I don't want to argue about hypotheticals and foreshadowing and what a rose symbolizes. I want cold hard words on the page.

Please note: I know just because it might not be there YET doesn't mean it's not going to happen. I want to evaluate the current standing of these books and the rationality of each argument. But to do that, I need people to be honest about what's there and what's not. I'm asking you because you run one of the more...logical shipwar blogs. But if you don't want to answer this - I also understand why.

At this point in time I don't think that canon supports Elain wanting anyone and that includes both Az and Lucien.

The only person Elain ever confessed having feelings for is Graysen. Real feelings. The "my heart belongs to you" kind of feelings.

Elain specifically said she did not want a male or a mate and those are categories Lucien and Az fall under, despite the almost kiss with Az in SF. It's been proven that a FMC in a SJM book can hook-up with a guy but not want a relationship with him (Feyre / Isaac, Nesta with fae who were not Cassian, Mor / Cassian, Mor / Helion) so Elain's actions in the Az bonus don't prove Elain wants him for more than a night of fun. In fact, the text in canon has her agreeing to "just a taste and that would be it". That's not a confession of long term commitment nor was there any to be found in any other interaction she's had with Az. Even crushes don't mean you're wanting forever with someone. Not to mention she was not written as looking towards either Az or Lucien in the 5 months after Solstice so absolutely no canon supports that she wants to hook-up with Az anymore. Elain's past actions from months ago (including those with Az) can't really be used as proof of canon of now, otherwise we should all be claiming she's still in love with Graysen since she never specifically stated she no longer has feelings for him. Nobody says that though, we use the canon of her no longer breaking down over Graysen to show she's moved past wanting to be with him and currently the canon suggests she's also moved past whatever she was about to do with Az on Solstice since there are zero signs to argue otherwise. There is also zero evidence of Az still wanting to be with Elain in any way now that we're 5 months beyond Solstice. 7 if you count HOFAS.

Right now I think the only thing canon truly supports is that Elain is showing no romantic interest in anyone, male or human. 5 months is a long time. Feyre left Tamlin then was mated to Rhys within 5 months and Elain was not mentioned as shedding a tear for Graysen in that same length of time, not mentioned as looking Az's way in that time, not having a reaction (good or bad) to Lucien in that time.

So to your question, canon does not support Elain wanting Lucien but it doesn't support her currently wanting Az. Canon also never supported her wanting to start a relationship with Az, canon doesn't support her wanting a mating bond with Az, canon doesn't support her having any desire to go forward with a forbidden love with Az.

Does that mean it's what she's actually feeling for Lucien or even Az? We can't say for sure because we don't have her POV but if we're truly basing this discussion off canon alone than Elain doesn't currently seem interested in anyone. It's not fair for e/riels to claim she still wants Az 5 months later as they have no evidence supporting it. It's only their headcanon that she does. Not to mention it's their headcanon she wanted to have a relationship with Az in the first place. They have zero evidence to show she'd be willing to seriously date him.

But as far as what I genuinely think (your phrasing)? I think Elain is struggling with the pull she feels towards Lucien and it scares her.

I don't think all Elucien's assume Sarah will pair Elucien together simply because they're mates. There are many layers behind what we feel.

I do think Elucien's use logic based on Sarah's writing and that logic tells us that characters don't simply ignore a mating bond. In canon, the bond creates a tug to the other that can never be truly forgotten. Based on that canon we hypothesis that there is a lot going on under the surface which is why she's hidden Elain's thoughts from us. She's the only main side character from the original cast who has never been given a POV and there's got to be a reason for that. Sarah was willing to share her almost kiss with Az but never her actual thoughts for Lucien who she suddenly began ignoring in ACOFAS after the events of ACOWAR and that seems a bit purposeful doesn't it? How a kiss isn't a secret but what she feels about the bond she says she doesn't want is?

While we've got no proof showing she wants Lucien, we were given so many examples of the author making an effort to show their compatibility. We were given a bunch of crumbs as to where Elain's future journey could take her and many crumbs placing Lucien in those same places. The author wrote Lucien (not Az) meeting Elain's father. We were given a bunch of scenarios where we're left wondering WHY Elain behaved a certain way towards Lucien especially after she defended him to Graysen, after she took a step as if she'd stop him from searching for Vassa, after she did follow he and Feyre instead of staying behind at her father's grave, after they were left together to wash up after the war, after she invited him to come back to Velaris but only after all that she began completely ignoring him for unexplained reasons. Based on Sarah's writing that pull and push typically means a character is struggling with her pull / desire for the other person and things aren't so one dimensional as "she doesn't like him!" If she didn't like him then why take a step as if to stop him? Why follow him instead of staying with her father's grave? Why peer up at him? Why invite him to Velaris?

We've been in this place before with a Sarah book. "Why did the character do that only to do an abrupt 180?" We saw it with Nesta, who was willing to die with Cassian in ACOWAR only to do the most 180's of all 180's by giving her virginity to someone else in the novella. To telling Cassian she wanted nothing to do with him though we knew she did. So Elucien's are only waiting to see how the author deals with Elain and her inner thoughts of Lucien. We don't think Elain's setup is going to be any less complex than Nesta's was. We believe the author is going to tell a story that is deep and meaningful. And while Elain's current setup doesn't prove this to us just yet, it is canon that Sarah has given that exact treatment to every single one of her mated pairs, whether the FMC was struggling with what she felt or the MMC (as we saw with Rowan and his bond with Aelin), so it would be silly for us to think Elain would be the only one who isn't given that same complexity.

While the textual evidence does not necessarily prove Elain has feelings for Lucien, I think it's valid for Elucien's to use textual evidence of Sarah's past writing patterns to predict the direction she's taking them.

I have no problem admitting that current canon doesn't prove Elain wants Lucien but I've never seen a e/riel admit that current canon, by the end of SF, also doesn't prove Elain wants Az. That canon never proved she wanted a relationship with him at all. Canon doesn't even prove she called his scars beautiful considering Feyre said she wasn't sure if she was referring to his Siphons yet they still hold on to that one.

Canon proves Elain loved Graysen though he was an asshole, canon proves that she was willing to hook up with Az with no proof of anything more, and canon proves that she shares a mating bond with Lucien that she'll never be able to completely forget ("it will be a bond that will trail her for the rest of her existence") though she's currently trying her best which results in weirdness for everyone. That is all the canon proves.

From a romance standpoint, only one of those storylines typically has staying power.

[amiti-art]

HI! I’m here to ask honest opinion on….Lore Olympus. I’m sorry for putting my opinion here….but I hate it. I’m sorry, I try to see it in a good way….put it paints Apollo as a horrible person. And there are other things that I’d respectfully don’t like about it.However, I want to see your opinion. That is if you’re willing to share it. BTW, I fricking love your drawings., especially the ones about Apollo and his myths! Have a good day or night!

Hello!

I'm glad you like my art 🫶🏻

So, Lore Olympus.

This probably won't come as a surprise to most people, considering how much Apollo art I've made, but I hate Lore Olympus. And not only because of how poorly Apollo was portrayed there.

I'm going to be honest with you: I never read much of it. I read maybe a few chapters some years ago because it was advertised as Greek mythology retelling, but I didn't continue because it was boring to me.

Much later, I saw a lot of posts pointing out all the things wrong with Lore Olympus, and boy oh boy, it's bad.

From what I've seen, it’s hardly a retelling; if the names of the characters were changed, nobody would realize this is supposed to be myth-inspired.

And look, I'm not saying you can't change anything when making a Greek mythology retelling, because it's simply impossible to keep everything the same as in the myths—especially when you want to create a story that covers many myths. The math isn't mathing when it comes to Greek mythology, because the myths changed over time, and different city-states had their own versions of the stories, so it's pretty impossible to make a cohesive timeline without changing something.

But from what I've seen, there isn't much Greek influence in this Greek mythology retelling. From the way the characters dress and speak to the food they eat, there is nothing Greek about this comic, it’s completely Americanized.

And I hate Americanization so much. I remember watching Netflix's "The Witcher" and being so disappointed because there was nothing Slavic about it. They kept Jaskier's original name from the books and called it a day. They turned it into another generic fantasy show.

I know that many Greek people feel the same way about Lore Olympus and other American adaptations of their myths. I love Percy Jackson, but the whole "gods moved to the USA because this is where Western civilization is" is just so icky to me. Greece still exists, hello??????

Back to Lore Olympus. For some reason it's fans think that the comic is a valid source for mythology, and they spread so much misinformation.

For the last time: Persephone was abducted in the myths. There is no version where she goes to the Underworld on her own.

Demeter is a heartbroken mother looking for her beloved daughter, not some evil helicopter parent standing between Persephone and her happiness. Justice for Apollo and Demeter.

Also, Persephone is sometimes drawn like a child and looks more like Hades' daughter than his wife. Why?????

And from what I've seen, Persephone is ridiculously powerful for some reason and fights Kronos or something???????

Also, apparently, Leto is portrayed as a manipulative mother????? Leto??? The Titan goddess of motherhood??? Why????

I don't understand why this comic got so popular, to be honest. Probably because of the artstyle.

[smbliaaa]

Hi, I'm not here for this misinformation.

I got this comment in my post 2 days ago. Pissed me off. You know who you are.

While I'm not gonna fight, I am gonna debate.

I'm gonna break down the points one by one and respond to each individually. This is because while I don't know if this person being purposefully racist, there are several statements I read as very harmful. (And just? Wrong??)

1. "Don't draw Ludwig with a dark skin tone."

I'm the artist. I can draw him however I want, so long as it is not harmful to other communities. I do not see how drawing him black is harmful to POC. Telling someone how to draw a character (if they're not being harmful) is disrespectful.

Not to mention: after a near full year of drawing him black (the post this comment was on was from APRIL) to suddenly draw my design white WILL get me in some deep shit. For whitewashing. No thanks.

2. "Germans aren't Black."

My version of Ludwig is NOT GERMAN???

And yes they are? Literally anybody from ANYWHERE can be??? Mixed people exist????

2 1/2. "Germans who are born of African descent are not fully German."

??????

Being German is not just a matter of who's in your bloodline. German is both an ethnicity and a nationality, similar to others (American, Hispanic, Asian, the like.)

If you're born in Germany... You're still German, no matter how much blood you have. To say otherwise reeks of outdated racist ideology. (E.g: "You're not a real [insert ethnicity here] bc you're black")

Gross.

Hell, you don't have to be German at all to be considered German.

(You can still have citizenship by:

Being born there - making you a German citizen

Either of your parents being born there - making you a German citizen

Or, through the process of naturalization, immigration.

In the eyes of the law, you'd still be a German citizen.

3. "Ludwig, from the accent alone very much is (German), therefore cannot be dark."

Ludwig is as German as Wario.

Ludwig used to have that accent before the 2000s, back when he was still canonically Bowser's eldest son.

Around the same time, Wario, too was canonically German, due to the portrayal of his voice actor prior to Charles Martinet.

Both things have since been retconned, and are no longer canon.

Ludwig being German is a popular headcanon now (meaning anyone can consider him whatever ethnicity or nationality they'd like. British, German, Polish, even.)

But the point still stands:

To my knowledge,

Ludwig hasn't had that German accent canonically in over thirty years.

DiC Cartoons (1990-1991) Around the same period he was canonically Bowser's son. No accent.

Mario is Missing (1992-1993) - German Accent, voice actor Rob Wallace. (It ages... badly today, I fear.)

Superstar Saga (2003) - No accent.

Paper Jam (2015) - No accent.

Paper Mario: Color Splash (2016) - No accent.

Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser's Minions (2017) - No accent.

Bowser Jr's Journey (2018) - No accent.

Mario and Sonic at the Tokyo Olympics (2020) - No accent.

"But Lian!" I hear you say, "Most of his more recent appearances are text alone! You can't tell if he has an accent or not.*

FALSE.

Alphadream (before their bankruptcy, in charge of ALL the RPGs before ending at Paper Jam) had at least two characters with a noticeable accent, and they adjusted the text accordingly.

One is Monsieur Broque, the other is Antasma.

Broque has a heavy French accent,. occasionally slipping back into his native tongue while communicating with the player.

Antasma has a heavy accent as well. Of what?

GERMAN.

If Ludwig had an accent at all, Alphadream (RIP) or Nintendo would have found a way to make it noticable in text.

It's not. There is no accent to speak of.

Stop using the idea Ludwig is German to tell people how to draw him. At the end of the day, nothing is confirmed until the day Nintendo gives them human forms, or makes it REALLY damn clear where they're from. (Which, at this rate... Not likely.)

[sharonccrter]

what's baffling to me is this group of fans who feel very confident that lestat is going to continue to be this mustache twirling j depp stand in for the entirety of the show. like do they honestly think the writers are going to throw away 13 books worth of characterization in favor of the one depiction in the Lestat Misinformation Novel or have they somehow managed to avoid all book spoilers?

i think the writers will be able to navigate the flip from antagonist to protagonist with the genpop who don't know anything about the books because they arent thinking as deeply about the societal implications as much as a tumblr/twitter stan looking at this show through a social justice lens. But I have a hard time seeing it work for that subset of fans, and i'm bracing myself for the space here becoming even more contentious than it already is.

Oh, I agree. I think it's going to get worse, especially when we shift from Louis to Lestat being the main character. I definitely think Louis is still going to be a main player, but the narrative is gonna shift, and that's gonna make certain people unhappy.

I also think the writers and Sam have hinted that there are scenes from s1 they plan on revisiting in s3, from Lestat's POV, and I think that's also gonna make certain people unhappy. It will mostly be the non-book readers looking at this show with 2024 morality glasses who can't see that Lestat is more than one thing. Like, I do think s3 will win some people over, but I think people who are dead set on thinking Lestat is some irredeemable abuser are gonna have a hard time. Especially seeing as their looking at this scene completely differently to how the writers intended it to be received.

But hey, book 2 is my favourite, with book 3 coming in a close second, so I'm ready to see them adapted well.

[hestzhyen]

Chapter 59 Pain Posting

Here we go, dear void. What fresh hell awaits our MC this week? We are back to setting up for the next big story moment, for one, so there's lots to speculate over before waiting to see how it all plays out. Oh, and suffering of course. There's plenty of that for almost everyone.

Bad TL of editor's notes and the colour page (second editor's note could technically be spoilers I guess):

First page: 慘状を前に… [sanjou wo maeni...] "Standing in front of a terrible scene..."] Last page: 死んだハズ… だが…?! [shinda hazu... daga...?!] "Supposedly dead... and yet...?!"

Colour Page Text (removed in EN version): 見据える過酷な旅路 [misueru kakoku na tabiji; "Sights fixed on the difficult journey ahead"]

Not much to say about the colour page except I like how moody it is (and big Makizumi guy is pretty cute with his pose). Guess I was wrong as usual about the Makizumi following Samura. Would be cool if they acted like personal bodyguards to Chihiro! They're the only ones who can really fight against Samura right now due to being presence-less ninjas after all. That's a really interesting conflict for them too- they clearly care for him a lot as the only person who treated them as actual people, and he definitely cares for them in return. His desire to save them during the Hishaku raid wasn't an act in the slightest! But more on that later.

Samura vs. Chihiro: Round 1

Stressed-out scribble-eye Chihiro returns... someone give him a hug.

Glad I didn't try to predict shit because I would have been totally flabbergasted by how this went. Way to make a (technical) liar out of me by saying Chihiro can't die since he's the MC, Hokazono-sensei.

Watching Chihiro break down in real time was so hard, man. This poor guy got his shit rocked by John yesterday at the Rakuzaichi, watched Tenri die a pointless death for the same reasons he's on his own journey, witnessed the horror of his dad's Civilian Murderton 3000 at 1% capacity, and now Samura, one of his heroes, betrayed them all with his dad's legacy. He even got one-tapped when he finally lost his cool for real.

Chihiro seriously can't handle all of this and it's so heartbreaking to see. This guy was not built for a bloody revenge mission at all. Now that he died, though... seriously, what's going to happen next?! Do we switch PoV to a different character while Chihiro's dealing with whatever's happening to him in what looks like a hospital morgue?

There are also some questions about the circumstances of his death and apparent revival- did he really die, or was that Kamunabi misinformation for/from the Hishaku mole? If he did, then how did he come back? And how does that affect his contract with Enten? There's absolutely nothing to go on right now so it's time to hunker down and not go crazy waiting for answers.

Apropos of nothing: I wonder if that wound that Samura gave him will scar. If so, it would mirror the one Uruha had on his shoulder:

RIP I'm still not over you, Uruha.

Probably just a nit-picky detail thing that won't amount to anything, but I wanted to post Uruha from when he was still alive so there you go. I'd be very surprised if Uruha came back somehow even though Chihiro apparently may have escaped death... It seems super-duper extra final that he's toast thanks to the duel he had with his master before getting done in. May you please reappear in flashbacks from time to time so I can get sad that you're no longer with us all over again.

One last thing before we move on to the Hishaku at Disused Building Full of Trash HQ:

SHIBAAAAAA SAVE YOUR NEPHEW AND HIS (BOY)FRIEND

Shiba showing up was in "delusions" territory for me but I'm so glad he's here!

Of course he's getting called out (kind of) for not telling Chihiro the truth- we saw him being one of Kunishige's top glazers back in chapter 1 despite how uncomfortable it made the dude to be praised. So we just have to sit back and wait for the secrets to come out once Chihiro's well enough to at least listen. And if Shiba can bring himself to talk. All the older guys in this manga are so guilty they'd put a Catholic to shame and Shiba already struggles with not being able to deter Chihiro from taking this bloody path in the first place. He almost failed to save a Rokuhira twice now too.

Samura's kindness towards Chihiro is so genuine even when he's trying to kill the kid. Don't ruin the image of Kunishige for him, Shiba- let him live and die in ignorant bliss.

"Your dad's legacy is the problem."

A man who shared Kunishige's vision has come to want to destroy everything about it and help expose the lies that made them into "heroes"... man, is there any non-Hishaku character in this manga that isn't encumbered by some huge amount of guilt?

Toxic Old Man Yaoi

Nice trashed warehouse HQ, bros. Definitely getting "we lost the war and suffered for it" vibes from these guys. I'm willing to stake 1 (ONE) slice of birthday cheesecake on everything I've talked about in the past regarding their origin- that the Seitei War was a civil war, and the Hishaku were on an imperialistic/dynastic side that lost. BECAUSE:

The Owl spread was AMAZEBALLS

MY NEMESIS

It's deliberate! This is the third time this damn vase has shown up, and in four panels this chapter no less! I need lovingly detailed close-ups of every flower to better ID them for the hanakotoba interpretations but I've only gotten a few so far. Most importantly, a matsumoto (elegance/nobility), sakurasou (deep desire), kiku (Imperial imagery), and what might be a poppy (for assured victory) but I'm not completely confident on the last one.

But anyway, yeah. Another yaoi bomb has hit the fandom.

Look at John talking like a five-year-old about unbreakable pinky promises lmao

Did it have to be pinky rings? What's next, they're connected by a red string? HOKAZONOOOOOOOOOOOO

They're in some kind of toxic stew of a relationship for sure with how things went down this chapter. Worst Jeanist helpfully gave us the details of the pact they made to get Samura's help and he's the only one who's concerned that the guy can actually make good on his "promise" to kill them all. Hope he's got some good anxiety management techniques because John won't say a damn thing about what his contingency plans are until they're enacted, apparently.

Can't run from the blind man.

How do you manoeuver against the guy who is set up to be the tactician of the war, though? His ability to super sense things and scout with that awesome-looking Owl power will definitely make it difficult to go against him despite being blind. And the EN TL says "control" here but the wording in JP was closer to "flushing out" like someone who pursues and exposes prey animals or drives cattle/sheep/etc. So Samura's definitely someone who's used to scouting and hunting, making him quite the formidable assassin.

Of course they're using each other though. And of course there's a separate Kamunabi mole that gave away the Rokuhira household's info. Guess we'll get into that shortly since I'm doing a dangerous thing and assuming that the Kamunabi have rounded up the rest of the Bearers at the HQ to chill with them and the Sword Master. Will they have enough manpower to stand against both the Hishaku and Samura by next week? Will Hakuri even wake up by then? Will Chihiro be able to fight at all? Probably since this is a high-octane action series! I'll just have to shut up and accept the condensed timeline sooner or later. (Seriously though, only a week?!)

"消耗 [used up/exhausted/depleted]" is one way to put it, I guess.

Wonder why they didn't kill Hakuri outright if he was such a problem. Do they have something planned for him later? It's not like John cares about sparing people's lives in the way Samura does, so wouldn't he have mentioned it would have been better to get rid of him for good? Eh, probably just a pointless nitpick. Hakuri's staying to the end of the series in all probability, so he just couldn't die here.

Needing to negotiate with other members-John's a first among equals like Beard Guy at the Kamunabi, maybe? Let's meet all the Hishaku members soon to find out!

Samura, Chihiro, Hiurhiko, and Worst Jeanist Musings

[slaps Samura] This bad boy can fit so much misguided grief in it.

This guy is already an incredibly compelling villain that I've done analysis on bit by bit as we got new info, and I gotta say that if I wasn't sold hard on Kyora for personal reasons then Samura would easily be #1 already. He's so complex and multi-layered! I think the detail that makes him great as a "villain" is that his convictions are colder than the surface of Pluto compared to Chihiro's (and most other character's) who burn bright and hot. Samura doesn't have any passion behind what he's doing, just an inflexible will to see a miserable but necessary job through to the end. If Chihiro's an unstable blazing young star, Samura is the black hole that remains after a supernova finally burns out.

The contrast during their first face-off is extremely telling too. Neither hesitate but Samura easily wins due to his composure alone, never mind the skill and experience gap. Poor Chihro's broken inside and out after finding out one of the people his dad trusted is helping his mortal enemies; the stoicism that John fractured the day before completely falls apart here to reveal Chihiro at his lowest.

"Better dead than a guilty sinner," is it? Too late for that!

And Samura's doing it all because he wants to spare him from becoming a tainted sinner. I can't hate Samura at all- he's doing this as an act of kindness with sympathetic motivations despite how far gone off the rails he is. This isn't a typical villain who just wants the world to burn after he wallowed in his misery for too long! I'm looking forward to seeing how Chihiro recovers and prepares to face him again. If he's going to be the one to do it, that is.

Look at this pathetic ugly frog guy.

Just putting this in my back pocket to pull out later if it manifests somehow. I don't have strong feelings one way or the other about Hiruhiko being the one to kill Samura right now, but I do hope he's not redeemed somehow to join the main cast. My feelings on why are extremely petty so I'll just leave it at "don't make him the bonkers former criminal ally guy that everyone sorta tolerates because he's earnest and useful". I will concede that he was almost cute this chapter, though. Worst Jeanist probably deserves a raise for putting up with him.

And now we know how John got his arm back too.

Another healing utility person like the Makizumi, huh? I wonder if we'll get more lore on if this is a field of study that anyone who can use sorcery can take advantage of (like tools), or if it's how their personal abilities manifest. Probably won't get answers unless we spend more time with the Makizumi so here's hoping!

WARNING: TERMINAL BRAIN ROT AHEAD

Not kidding in the slightest about the absolutely mind-numbingly stupid takes about this (very cool!) cover illustration. Skip this if I don't cut it from the final draft of the post unless you're into batshit ramblings from an insane fudanshi.

[feral screeching]

I've got really strong feelings about this cover. REALLY strong. Only the first of them is justified though. Kinda.

One, HIYUKI IT'S BEEN SO LONG I MISS YOU COME BACK TO THE MAIN STORY SOON! She looks so cool too! I love that she doesn't have to do blatantly feminine stuff ever- she's 100% badass and awesome every time she shows up. I'm waiting warmly for your return, my Spaghetti Queen! Use your frenemy rival status to help Chihiro overcome his issues this arc!

This cover and some of the community's reactions to it sparked a lot of thoughts that I've been working out for the past few days. Some about how leaks are being handled, some about how people are reacting to the characters and the composition, a lot about Hiyuki herself. The first easy enough: yes, this cover and colour page count as leaks. Don't spread that shit all over social media! Keep leaks a purely opt-in experience for everyone. The rest, well... probably going to have another massive essay since I love Hiyuki but I don't love why she's so refreshing, if that makes sense? And by God do I hate the way she gets treated by most of the fandom. But I'll work all that out over time.

Two, the Hiyuki-Chihiro design parallels are getting to me in a bad way. Like "tinfoil hat and red string on a tack board" levels of baseless speculation. But I think it's extremely deliberate on the author's part to keep using the same black-with-a-splash-of-red-up-top colour palette for them now that they even have matching undone bandages in this art for some reason. Why not have those two do their own thing like Hakuri got to? He actually kind of sticks out as if no one told him to dress all in black for this photo shoot!

I don't want to let my HakuHiro shipper bias get the better of me here though, so I'll just keep the crazy to myself until we learn more and/or I finish getting the Hiyuki thoughts in order.

Three, HEROINE HAKURI PROPAGANDA!

I'm being completely serious here! I've been banging pots and pans while screaming from the rooftops (internally) about how Hakuri is in the traditional heroine role since I wrote that HakuHiro essay around Chapter 38! He spares Hiyuki from having to balance things out by providing a soft touch because that's his job. And he's so good at it!

Seriously look at his pose! He's leaning in to Chihiro and doing a cute little gesture with his hands, looking so soft while Chihiro and Hiyuki are the baddest motherfuckers to ever exist! Hokazono-sensei was extremely serious when he said he intended for Hakuri to add cuteness. He's so cute! CUTE! But it's not like he's a total uwu marshmallow either- he's still got a really cool outfit on that highlights his boyish charm. He's just the "soft" one to Chihiro's cool and Hiyuki's fierce.

I know I'm a delusional lunatic for going nuts over this. And I hope it's clear that I'm not taking this as a sign that Hakuri's going to be an actual love interest. I'm not that far gone. I'm just always appreciating that Hakuri and Hiyuki essentially swapped roles in a traditional shounen trio in terms of what kind of balance they bring to the dynamic. I think it's an underrated aspect of Kagurabachi's appeal and I wish more shounen did this! Hokazono-sensei seems to love cute guys and cool women and I am 100% behind him if that's the case.

Rough entry but I'm not having a good time lately. Do your best to survive the rest of the year, kind void. We'll make it through for the sake of finding out how the Kagurabachi cast suffers from week to week if nothing else. Give yourself a little treat today, okay?

[ultimate-marysue]

I’m hoping you can answer a question for me. I need a Jason Todd expert, and you seem like one.

I’ve seen two big posts recently. One argued that Jason and Tim can’t stand each other, don’t trust each other, and can barely work together (if at all). The other says that in the new canon, Jason and Tim are basically best friends, and Tim is Jason’s favourite sibling. Both posts cited a bunch of different runs and authors/artists, and called the other side misinformed.

So, I ask you: what is the actual relationship between Jason Todd and Tim Drake? Are they close friends and brothers, friendly/neutral acquaintances, or enemies?

I hope you can answer me, or if not point me in the direction of somebody who can. Thanks!

Hey! I wouldn't call myself the Jason expert (that's @glitter-stained ) but I'm currently writing a fic about the relationship between these two so I feel like I can explain the two conflicting versions.

The most important take away is: people are really unhappy with current canon for a variety of reasons, one of the most notable ones being Jason's writing in general (RHATO specifically). This means canon has lost a lot of power after New 52 because characters act, well, out of character and fans point out how it doesn't make sense.

As for canon: yes, they are good siblings that get along pretty well with varying degrees of sassiness depending on the run. This happens after Jason "makes amends" with the family at some undisclosed time in new 52. This new canon is way more wholesome and it shows the members of the family getting along way better than their pre-New 52 counterparts ever did. My favorite comic depicting this good relationship is Knight Terrors: Robin, but the most canon option is RHATO (which has plenty of moments between the two) as pictured below or even Chip Zdarsky's Batman run where everyone gets along pretty well.

So, it's canon right? Yes, but what is canon if fans don't accept it? The first thing I said is how people are dissatisfied with New 52 and RHATO specifically, which happen to be where the examples of these two getting along come from. I'm not going to get into why they think Jason or Tim are out of character cause that's its own post, but in the relationship between them it's pretty easy to point out: it's just not earned.

Tim and Jason have genuine gripes with one another and opposing morals most times. We don't get to see a moment where post Red Robin, Tim decides maybe sometimes killing is the answer, even if not for him. We don't get to see him learn that Jason wasn't an idiot disobeying Batman and that he was tricked by his mother. Jason doesn't know about Tim's 16th birthday and thus assumes that he just blindly idolizes Batman. He thinks his Robin run was just like his own and doesn't understand just how much shit Bruce put him through, thus assuming he's a bit spoiled.

Fans don't think either of these characters could just turn around and suddenly start liking each other the second Jason gets admitted into the family (something that also happens without much of an actual explanation?? At least not a satisfying one). It's not even that they necessarily have a personal vendetta (at least not Jason, and Tim is a very forgiving character), so it's not something out of the picture. A lot of their problems with each other stem from Bruce and his teachings and the language around Jason after his death.

In conclusion: it's not like the characters can't overcome their differences and come to find friendship or siblinghood in one another, it's more so that it requires more development. This has always been DC's weakest point, relationships and characters changing suddenly to suit a new direction disregarding their actual personality and values. So, it is canon, but a lot of people argue it shouldn't count if characters don't behave like themselves. There's a dissonance between the original characters and their current iterations that has not been bridged with character development.

But by all means, it is actually canon! People just have genuine gripes with how current canon disregards the previous canon. It's like getting attached to a character but suddenly it becomes this unrecognizable caricature that has barely anything to do with the OG but you're meant to acknowledge it as the same person. So, yeah, fans aren't happy, but I guess everyone gets along now.

Again, not a lore expert, but I hope I could explain why you could find two post with plenty of evidence arguing for opposing points.

[hyperpotamianarch]

Next, I'm going to try and pour out information about Jewish religious literature. To be fair, there are probably way more extensive posts, websites and YouTube videos on this topic, but I chose to talk about it because I've seen some slight misinformation going around. Hope I won't come off as patronizing. Note, I'm writing it to be comprehensible for none-Jews as well as Jews, so I might say a lot of things you already know if you're Jewish.

So, Jewish religious literature can be divided to three main branches: Mikra, Mishnah and Talmud. This is not a completely precise division, nor can it be applied to every Jewish religious book, but it's helpful for the basic books, those considered obligating by Rabbinic Judaism.

Mikra (which, roughly translated from Hebrew, means "something that is read") is the one of those three that is pretty much closed: you can't really write a new Jewish book that'll be considered a part of it. It's also called the Written Torah, and includes the entirety of the Hebrew Bible, AKA Tanakh. In case you're wondering, that includes all books in what Christians call "the Old Testament", only sorted differently and into three categories: Torah - the Pentateuch, Nevi'im (Prophets) - which includes every book named after a person outside of Job, Esther, Daniel, Ezra and Neḥemiah, and in addition to those books includes the books of Judges and Kings, and the Ketuvim (Written texts) - which includes all the rest of the books. The order of the books in the Tanakh is as follows (using their English names for convenience, I don't necessarily stand behind those translations): Torah: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Nevi'im: Joshua, Judges, Samuel (1&2), Kings (1&2), Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Twelve Prophets (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Naḥum, Ḥabakuk, Zephaniah, Ḥaggai, Zechariah, Malachi). Ketuvim: Psalms, Proverbs, Job (transliteration did a number on this one), the Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra&Neḥemiah, Chronicles (1&2). Overall, there are 24 books in the Hebrew Bible. It is only later divisions, some of which are outright nonsensical, that made the number into 39.

Those books are ones that are considered to be written using some degree of Divine Inspiration or outright prophecy (which doesn't have to do with knowing the future). Common tradition considers the division of the Tanakh to be between three levels of prophecy, of which the Ketuvim were written in the lowest. As the Written Torah, the entirety of these scriptures is meant to be read (and not repeated by heart). There are occasions where there's a difference between the reading tradition and the writing one - but that's another story. The last books in the Tanakh were written around the 5th Century BCE according to tradition, and it was closed to new additions a couple of decades, perhaps a century or two, later.

The other two branches are both considered parts of the Oral Torah, to varying degrees. You see, according to Jewish tradition, Moshe (Moses) got the Torah in Mt. Sinai in two parts: the Written one (which at the time only included the Pentateuch) and the Oral one, which included explanations on how to actually act upon the commandments in the Written Torah, in addition to deduction laws to be used on the Written Torah (at least according to Rambam, AKA Maimonides). Both the Mishnah and the Talmud, at their core, are based on that. But much of the things said there are things clearly said by Sages and Rabbis from the 1st Century CE onward. How does that work, then?

The answer kind of depends who you ask. But the Orthodox way to look at that is usually that people either have old traditions that were passed down to them, or are using the deduction laws given to Moshe at Mt. Sinai. But I guess all that was a digression, so let's get back on topic.

The Mishnah is called that way after the Hebrew word for repetition. It's supposed to be sturdied this way to be memorized, though it mostly exists as written text nowadays. Back in the time it was codified - the Tana'ic era (10-220 CE, approx.), called that way after the Aramaic word for people who memorize through repetition - there were many versions of traditional laws memorized this way. This stemmed from many different people teaching the same laws, and it ended up being a game of Telephone. Also, it probably needs to be said that while I call those "laws" they weren't usually the bottomline Halachic rules, since it included disagreements and multiple opinions.

The end of the Tana'ic era came when one person, Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi, composed an authoritative collection of those after studying all the different traditions he knew of. This is what we nowadays call the Mishnah. It's made of 60 tractates- (whisper, whisper Wait, really? Whisper, whisper Huh. All right, then.) I have been informed that the number is actually 63. Who knew? Anyway, those 63 tractates are sorted by topic into 6 orders. Those orders are: Zera'im (seeds, concerns itself with matters related to plants with the odd tractate about liturgy at the start), Mo'ed (occeasion/time, concerns itself with Jewish holidays), Nashim (women, concerns itself with marriage laws in addition to two tractates about oaths and vows), Nezikin (damages, concerns itself with court procedures. Has two miscellaneous tractates that don't make sense there but belong nowhere else), Kodashim (holy things, concerns itself with matters relating to the Temple procedures as well as one tractate about Kashrut and one about heavenly punishments), and Taharot (ritually clean things, I guess? Though this translation is less than accurate. Has to do with - you guessed it - ritual cleanliness). The tractates aren't divided evenly between the orders, and inside of them are sorted by length. The longest tractate is 30 chapters, the shortest is 3. And yes, all of that was supposed to be remembered by heart - possibly only by a number of specific people.

Now, I didn't mention it previously, but there were certain books written that didn't get into the Tanakh - Apocryphal books. Those are not only considered outside the religious canon, but are not to be studied as well - though this might be a little flexible, the bottom line is they can't really be used for anything religious. I'm saying this right now because the same isn't true for Oral traditions that weren't codified in the Mishnah. Some of those were codified in other ways, and can be used to help understand the Mishnah better - which leads us to the Talmud.

Talmud, translated literally from Hebrew, means "study", as in the study of the traditions from the Mishnah. It is a separate book from the Mishanh, but is structured around it. Due to that, there are occasions people will tell you a given quote is from the Talmud when it's actually from the Mishanh - since the Talmud quotes the Mishnah when talking about it. The Talmud usually tries to reason the origin of the opinions in the Mishnah and to delve into the intricacies of those laws: what happens in fringe cases? What about other situations that the Mishnah didn't mention? How does what this specific Tana (rabbi from the Mishnah) says here fits with what he himself said in another place? And such things. The Talmud is, in essence, a recording of centuries of debates and discussions about the Mishnah. Oh, and there are two Talmudim (the plural form of Talmud).

One could say that the Jerusalem Talmud (Yerushalmi) is the equivalent of the oral traditions that didn't get into the Mishnah: it's less studied and considered less obligating than the Babilonian Talmud (Gemara, or Bavli). It still is occasionally quoted and used to study things the Gemara doesn't talk about or doesn't elaborate on. The main difference between the two is where thy were codified - the Yerushalmi is a codification of the study as it was conducted in the land of Israel (mostly in the galillee; the name Yerushalmi is a little misleading), while the Bavli codifies and records the study of Babylon. There's also a different in the language - both are written in Aramaic interladed with Hebrew, but in different dialects. The Yerushalmi was also codified a couple of centuries earlier than the Bavli - the Yerushalmi was codified around 350CE, due to persecutions under the Bizantine empire, while the Bavli was compiled by the 5th century CE.

While those two Talmudim are separate from each other, there is some intersection. Travel between the land of Israel and Babylon wasn't too rare at the time (called Tekufat Ha'Amora'im in Hebrew, the era of the Amora'im. Amora means interpretor or translator in Aramaic), and so you can see rabbis from Babylon mentioned in the Yerushalmi and Rabbis from the land of Israel mentioned in the Bavli. The easiest way to tell the difference is by their title - in Babylon, a rabbi is called "Rav [name]", while in the land of Israel they are called Rabbi. There is a reason to that, but I'm not getting into it yet. In addition, the Bavli regularly talks about how things are done "in the west" - which is the land of Israel, since it's to Babylon's west. As mentioned, the Bavli is the more authoritative of the two, and is the one usually referred to when people say "the Talmud". The Bavli directly discusses 37 of the Mishnah tractates - it nearly doesn't talk at all about the first and last orders of Mishnah. The Yerushalmi, meanwhile, talks extensively about the first one - but has nothing about the next to last one. There are also other tractates missing in the middle for both.

Now, technically the Babylonian Talmud was codified at the end of the Amora'ic era. However, somewhat unlike the Mishnah (well, I'm not being accurate, the Mishnah also has a thing or two that was shoved later), there were still later additions from a time known as the Savora'ic era. Savora is a word that means "a reasoner" in Aramaic, and I probably could've explained how appropriate this name is for them if I'd have studied enough. From what I know, the characteristics of a Talmudic piece from the Savora'ic era is having no names mentioned/having names of known Savora'im mentioned (the latter is a little rare, to my understanding), and reasoning about the language and meaning of words from the Mishnah. the Savora'ic era probably ended at around the 6th-7th century CE.

From that point on, we'll need to more or less abandon the comfortable division I offered earlier, because it's kind of hard to say which book belongs where, besides many books that might technically fall under the same category but be different enough to require their own categories. In addition, from here on out, no book is considered as all-obligating: you can't go against the Talmud in a halachic ruling, but you can go against anything later.

But, since this thing is long enough as it is right now, I think I'll just write a couple of additions about important books I chose not to mention, and then finish it here for now - with the next couple of periods of history of Jewish religious literature left for a future date.

So, the most significant genre of books I've been ignoring are the Midrashim. I mean, sure, I could talk about Apocrypha, or about the Tosefta/Baraitot (oral traditions that didn't get into the Mishnah), but I mentioned those already. The Midrashim, however, are a genre of writing I completely ignored so far.

I think the best way to explain Midrash is that it's a loose interpretation of the Mikra, based on traditions. There are generally two sub-genres for Midrash - Midrash Halachah and Midrash Agadah. The former concerns itself with the law, the latter with the stories and ideas. The books of Midrashei Halachah we have that I can remember are Mechilta (lit. "Including", more or less. On Exodus), Sifra (lit. "Book", from Aramaic. On Leviticus) and Sifrei (lit. "Books", from Aramaic. On Numbers and Deuteronomy). Those are mostly from the Tana'ic era, I think. There are two major books of Midrashei Agadah, both encompassing all of the pentateuch, named Midrash Rabbah and Midrash Tanḥuma. Those are named after specific people, likely the ones who compiled them, and those names indicate they are from the Amora'ic era.

So, to sum it up: 24 books written during the vague time of the Biblical era, codified into the Tanakh at around 300 BCE, with lots of disagreement on the exact date. Oral traditions passed down between generations, including ones clashing with each other and rulings added through the generations, passed around throughout the Tana'ic era (10-220 CE), and codified into 60 tractates of Mishnah by the end of it. In addition, at the same time, some loose interpretations of the Tanakh that have led to the rulings of those oral traditions are written down in the Midrashim. Discussions and elaborations on those oral traditions of the Mishnah as recorded from places of learning in Babylon and the Land of Israel through the Amora'ic era - around 220-500 CE - are recorded in the Talmud, with some additions from around the 6th century CE.

Any inconsistency in spelling and terminology is to be blamed on my unwillingness to go back and edit this. Sorry.

Thank you for reading, have a good day, and I hope to see you for part 2! Once I get an idea about what I'm going to say in it...

[starlightshadowsworld]

04.07.2024 To all people of colour and Muslims in the UK, please be careful when you go out.

I'm sure you've heard about the tragedy in Southport and how it has given the far right in this country even more fuel for their rhetoric.

If not I suggest you look it up to know what's going on.

But long story short on July 31st 2024, 3 children were killed at an event in Southport. And there's been a lot of misinformation surrounding the suspect.

Particularly that the suspect was a Muslim immigrant and that their identity was hidden for some conspiracy.

These claims have been proven false. (And the suspects identity was hidden because they are 17 and can't be identified by reporters unless a judge rules they can. Which has now been ruled. )

But the fire has long since been lit. There's riots and protesters going on across the country from far right groups like the EDL (English Defence League.)

There is hope in the solidarity many are showing. As well as the police and the government trying to contain these protests crack down on them.

But just be mindful. There's posts online about when and where certain protests are happening. Please if you can avoid these areas at those times.

They have been attacking people of colour, attacking Muslims and police. They are vile and cruel people and I hope they never cross any of your paths.

Stay informed but don't let yourself consume only this hateful content.

You are not alone. So many people are standing here with us and I know it's hard too see that. You belong here, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Stay safe.

[curatoroffiction]

Overprotective Part 2

The first post of this story can be found here. The post this story was based off of can be found here.

Your words hit Lucifer like a truck. He grabs your arm, stopping you, and when you turn to yell at him, you pause when you see the visible fear and pain in his expression.

You two are soon joined by Mammon and Beelzebub standing in the doorway, having followed you in your frustration. The two arrive just in time to hear Lucifer ask you "What do you mean you hope you die?"

You didn't really mean it, you were just SO tired. So fucking tired. So done with having every little thing in your life softened and controlled.

Before you can answer, Mammon blurts out "WHAT D'YA MEAN YOU WANNA DIE!?" while Beelzebub quietly stares at you, trying to understand.

Mammon's outburst attracts everyone in the house. It's hard not to hear him.

Soon the brothers are all spilling out the door, and you think you can even see Belphegor somewhere hidden in the background.

You sigh. "… I can't keep doing this thing where you guys control every part of my life. I can barely deal with you controlling ANY part of my life." You shrug Lucifer's grip off your arm, and you finally begin to address the issue head-on.

You look to Levi; "I want to be able to watch sad movies and sad shows. I want to enjoy the angst. I want to be able to cry. It's good! It's healthy! What ISN'T healthy, is avoiding sad things all the time, like they're going to kill me!"

Levi cuts in; "But they COULD kill you!" before quickly getting quiet again, not meaning to talk over you.

You stare at him in frustration and confusion. "… What do you MEAN they can kill me?"

"Humans who watch more sad shows tend to live shorter lives.."

"…" It begins to click for you. But you also have to rectify this misinformation; "Levi, those statistics don't imply causality. If they're even real, they'd imply correlation. People who only watch sad things that are painful probably aren't living very happy lives to begin with. They're probably trying to cope through a tough reality, which would likely be the REAL cause of their shortened lifespan, in conjunction with a HUGE number of other factors."

"…"

"Watching sad shows is good, and can even help with test-running sad scenarios before they happen in a low-stakes environment, which is GOOD for emotional health and wellbeing."

"…"

"If all I ever do is watch sad shows, then yeah, maybe I need help. But that's not the same as watching a few in a rotation of other medias."

Leviathan looks rather embarrassed.

"And you!" You turn your attention towards Asmodeus. "Asmo, you can't keep trying to destress me all the time! Stop giving me creams and tinctures and your new balm of the week! I want to stay up! I want to live a little messy!"

"But those things are GOOD for you! I never push anything on you that I didn't already use myself!"

"That works FOR YOU - It's not going to work for everyone! It makes my stress WORSE when I have to adhere to your strict regimen! It's exhausting and frustrating, and it takes any joy I got out of sharing those bonding moments with you, and sucks the life out of it!"

Asmodeus realizes he never considered that you weren't enjoying being doted on. He LOVES being doted on, so he thought you would want the same thing. Looking at you now though, and realizing his behavior contributed to this stress and this problem that's coming to a head now, he feels… Not great.

As Asmodeus gets quiet, you look to Satan, who is surprised. "Satan, I get that you're worried about my health, but when you treat me like I'm not doing enough? It's so fucking insulting. Telling me to take care of my health like I'm not already doing that. Telling me the statistics of illnesses and injuries isn't useful, it's fear-mongering at best."

"I just thought that someone in this house should be wary of what can befall a human - You're all so delicate."

"But when you treat me like I'm paper, all I want to do is just tear myself apart! If I can't walk down a set of stairs without you telling me the statistics of stair-related injuries and trying to hold my hand, I'm never going to feel like I can live my life! Imagine if YOU had someone constantly walking through your room, telling you the statistics of book avalanche-related injuries, while touching all your stuff and changing everything so you can't live the way you want to!"

The contrast to his own life makes Satan double-take. He never realized he was being controlling and invasive, but your comparison brings light to how his behavior could damage your relationship. "… It would be rage-inducing."

"Exactly! And Belphegor!" Belphegor tries to hide himself, but the brothers part under your frustrated gaze, and you can see the sleep demon anxiously shifting under your scrutiny. "Belphegor, why are you avoiding me??"

"….." He's quiet, struggling to put words to everything. Beelzebub realizes his brother's been hurting, and he hasn't realized because he was so concerned with your wellbeing. Beelzebub gently rubs Belphegor's back, and Belphegor covers his face, looking away as he finally is able to get out the words; ".. I didn't want to hurt you."

His reasoning is different from everyone else's. It's reasonable in the fact that it's already happened.

Though, what DOES make it unreasonable, you have no problem telling him; "If you don't want to kill me, you're not going to! You don't kill people you don't want to! And besides, if it's a fear of accidentally hurting me, that's normal! People accidentally hurt the people they love all the time! People don't accidentally KILL the people they love all the time, and what you did to me when I first arrived in Devildom WASN'T AN ACCIDENT!"

Belphegor is silent, soaking in your explanation.

Your voice softens as you become a little less frustrated, being able to voice everything that's been bottled up inside; "SO- As long as you don't want to kill me, you're not going to. And if you accidentally hurt me? I'll heal. We'll work through it together-"

"What if I hurt you in a way you can't heal from? Demons are strong and- …" It chokes on the edge of his tongue, threatening to come out. He tries to hold it back, but he can't. "And.. I know better than anyone how easy it is to snap your neck. It was like a toothpick. Do you know how terrifying it is to realize that I have to control my strength to that level around you? All it takes is one playful shove, and you could end up in the hospital- Or worse. You're so much more delicate than you realize, and we have to be so much more careful than you realize."

It's here that a silence comes over everyone as you soak in his explanation. You never really realized how difficult it was for the demons to reign in their strength to keep you safe. You thought it was fairly breezy, since everyone else seemed so relaxed until recently.

It's your turn to feel sheepish.

".. I'm.. Sorry. I didn't know. But there has to be a middleground. You avoiding me makes me feel awful. I feel unloved and unwanted and ignored. I don't want to be safe at the cost of our relationship. And my safety shouldn't be an ultimatum."

"…." Belphegor's eyes are sad, and he's been trying to hold back the tears, but he can't. Beelzebub holds him and tries to comfort his brother.

The demon of gluttony realizes he too has been trying to control your life too, which has probably been causing you undue stress, which is probably why you ran out here in the first place. ".. I'm sorry for making your life more stressful, _. I want to keep you safe, but it's obvious that I should have talked with you about it."

The apologies start spilling as one by one, the brothers begin apologizing for controlling your life and making you feel ostracized.

Mammon doesn't apologize as he doesn't feel like he crossed any boundaries, and makes it known when Asmodeus elbows him. "Hey, I didn't cross any boundaries!"

"… I mean, trying to feed me shady vitamins out of a bag is hilarious, but also probably not exactly healthy."

"But I've been making you better food too! Packin' the nutrients in!"

"Is THAT why you learned to cook all these new dishes??"

"YEAH!"

"…" His kindness and effort were sweet, and the least invasive of the brothers' attempts to help you and prolong your life.

But those weren't the only things he was doing. "I need you to stop trying to give me protein shakes and vitamins and whatever 'health supplement' you find on the shelf. The health supplement market is really messed up. I've lowkey been avoiding most of what you give me, because there's no regulation in that market, and it actually COULD hurt me."

He's stunned. He figured some of his methods might've been a bit harmful, but he also figured he would get enough right that it would cancel all the bad stuff out.

You continue; "Can we all find a middleground? Why are you all so scared of me dying right now? Did something happen?"

Lucifer nods, having been listening; "I think a middle-ground would be better. If you're feeling stifled, that's not healthy either. And it's obvious we need to take better care of you-"

"Why do you NEED to take care of me?" You turn to Lucifer, exhaustively. It stops him in his tracks and he stares at you, confused.

"… Because you're precious to us."

"But I'm not helpless. Do you not trust me to reach out when things are getting difficult? I can advocate for myself, Lucifer! It's so demeaning when you treat me like you know better, and like I'm just some bumbling idiot who you have to keep from dying!"

The words cut deep. The last thing he ever wanted to do was to make you feel like he looked down on you. You are one of the most important people in his life, and he adores you. The fact that you haven't been able to see that causes Lucifer to become quiet as he reflects on his own behavior.

He should have reigned in his brothers. He should have given you space. He should have advocated more for giving you your own voice, not talking over you with what you should have been doing.

It all seems so clear and so obvious, but it took you speaking up for him to realize how much he's been ignoring your emotional needs in care of your physical health.

And with this whole meltdown, he's realizing that it was the breaking point.

"I too, am sorry, _. I never meant to make things more difficult for you. I love you dearly. I will be better, going forward."

You finally seem to relax as he apologizes.

But he continues; "Can we please talk about your mortality, though?"

Everyone can see it's not exactly a conversation you WANT to have. But you know it's one you need to have. ".. Okay."

Levi sputters out with his frustration first; "If you die, then I won't be able to share the rest of my life with you. There's so much that can happen when you're gone. I know you're not going to live long, and it scares me. I don't want to reach a day where I want to knock on your door to ask you to hang out, but I know you'll never answer." He's tearing up as he says this, his body physically shaking.

Asmodeus gently rests a hand on Leviathan's shoulder, looking to you, a sad expression on his face. ".. I think a lot of us share that sentiment. We want to get in as many good memories as we can, because you are such a precious, amazing, wonderful person. You are a once-in-eternity kind of person, and we will never be able to fill the hole you'll leave when you die. It's so hard to think of moving on when we've barely gotten to share a life with you."

Satan fidgets with his fingers against his leg, but he can't keep himself contained any longer, cutting in; "Solomon's here to stay forever, why can't you be too? We know it's possible. We know you could stay alive forever. The bastard says he doesn't remember what he did to curse himself with immortality, and every immortality curse I've found comes at a great cost…" He finally looks to you directly. "But all of that aside, it's hard to even broach the topic with you. Do you WANT to live forever? It would be selfish for us to ask you to carry the pain of watching every one of us die, just because we can't bear the sight of losing you. I can't bear the sight of losing you.. But it feels so selfish. And I don't want you to ever reach a point where that sorcerer is the only friend you still have left that hasn't died. …" His voice trails off in frustration, losing his train of thought to the idea of you living eternity alone with Solomon. You can see Satan's grappled with this issue for a while.

Belphegor picks up where Satan left off; "It's hard to imagine a world without you. You came into our lives, and it was like breathing for the first time in a long time. We love who we are because of you.. And I think we're all scared of who we'll become when you're gone. Losing you will be right up there with losing Lilith as the worst things we've ever experienced, and we won't have another you who can help us through it. We wouldn't WANT another you. …. But we simultaneously recognize that it's not your responsibility to help us through it."

Seeing his brothers going back and forth about their feelings, Mammon can't help but be grounded in the moment. ".. I think we wanna take responsibility for it now, because when you're gone, we're gonna hafta take responsibility for it anyways, yeah? …" He looks anywhere but directly at you. "…" His silence is hard as he chokes back the tears, trying not to fall apart in front of his brothers, but between Levi's crying and Asmo's sniffling and everyone else's pain, it's hard for Mammon to keep strong.

So Lucifer steps up to the plate. "We're sorry for pushing all of this on you, _. It shouldn't be your responsibility to help us through the pain and loss that hasn't even afflicted us yet. It's hard to talk about this without accidentally putting pressure on you to choose an eternity that could hurt you so much worse in the long run, just to keep our own heads on straight. Do you understand? We promise, it was never meant to make you feel belittled, we just.. We've never dealt with something like this before; A slow attrition of loss that we either have to accept, or find a way to fight.." He gently rubs your back, looking you in the eyes. ".. And we've never really been the kind of people to back down from a fight."

"…" It all makes sense. And hearing their hearts laid bear like this clutches at your heart. You never wanted them to feel like they couldn't come to you about this, but you understand how it got this bad. It would take facing all of their fears and letting you come to an answer at your own pace, without pressuring you. THAT'S why they tried to prolong your life without saying anything. THAT'S why they kept talking about your health. THAT'S why they kept trying to circumvent the issue.

You continue; ".. I appreciate the honesty, guys. I love you all too. I don't want to leave you guys all alone, but.. You're right. Immortality would be a huge decision. If it's even achievable. … And I understand why this all happened. I understand why you guys pushed the way you did. I think we should keep talking about this, but, taking it a little slower. That way, you guys aren't completely holding back the floodgates, but I also don't get overwhelmed. Whatever happened, whatever fate I choose for myself, I do want it to be my own decision. But I think I NEED to make that decision. I've put it off because I didn't really want to think about it, but.. I don't want to put it off until it's out of our hands."

Lucifer rubs into your back, listening. All the brothers listen.

"Until then, until I figure out if I want eternity or not, can we please go back to how things used to be? I'll do my best to take good care of myself, and advocate my needs, but I need you guys to trust me that I'm going to take care of myself and let me live a little, even if it's risky. I promise, I'm not going to be diving off the roof, but I want to be able to play games that make me sad, eat junk food that gives me pimples and might not be GREAT for my heart. I want to hang out with you guys, even if I could get hurt. I want to not be reminded of my mortality constantly, and be able to make my own choices about my own limits. I promise to be good to myself and reach out if I'm struggling, but you guys gotta promise to be willing to let me take more responsibility for my life again."

"You need some good things in your life though." Levi doesn't want his efforts to get lost in the shuffle.

"I'll make sure to set aside time to enjoy good shows with you that are happy and show how good life can be. Can you sit with me through the sad ones and help me pick up the pieces?"

Levi nods, wiping his eyes.

Asmodeus takes this chance to add; "You also need to be gentler with yourself. You can't be up at all hours of the night every night."

"I'll be good about my self-care, making sure I'm getting good sleep and relaxation. Can you love on me when I don't want to be presentable and good and I want to just throw caution to the wind sometimes when it comes to the littler self-care things? I don't want every minute I spend with you guys to be an exercise in avoiding death. I want to LIVE a little, which means we'll get messy and make some bad decisions sometimes."

"Of course. But only if you're not letting yourself fall to ruin. I don't want to watch you waste away.."

"I promise I'll reach out if I start to struggle, and I'll accept your help if that time comes."

"Thank you."

"And your health-" Satan adds, a little embarrassed, but not wanting it to go unaddressed. "You need to be wary of how dangerous this world is, and how fragile a human body is."

"I won't go throwing myself down the stairs or taking wildly unnecessary risks - So long as you let me take risks and get hurt sometimes. I'd rather you help me patch myself up after getting burned or cut than to live my life constantly cushioned." You look to him so earnestly that Satan is flustered, but he understands. Life without risk isn't exactly living.

"I think I can do that."

You look to Belphegor, who has been quiet this whole time. ".. And Belphegor, can you please be in my life again? I miss you."

"… What if I hurt you again?"

"We'll figure it out together."

"What if I can't control myself?"

"You have 6 brothers who will happily kick your entire ass if you go Human Murderer on me again. You should rely on your support system. Don't be afraid of fighting with me. We need to be able to have fights and disagree and have bad days sometimes. What matters is coming back together and making things right, and relying on our support systems so it doesn't get out of hand. Alright?"

Upon mention, his brothers quickly crowd him and hug him and hold him, reminding him that he's not alone in this. He's not alone in learning how to be better to you.

"…." Belphegor nods, tearing up again, soaking in everyone's love.

Mammon scratches his cheek as he looks to the side and adds "Since we're all talkin' about ways you can stay alive longer.. Can we come to you when we find stuff that could be an option? There's gotta be more options than forever immortality an' death, yeah? Witches stay alive for ages!"

"… Only if you don't pressure me to take it, and you let me be the ultimate decider, and you don't bombard me with stuff all the time. I don't want you coming at me with 'Prolong your life now' schemes every other day. I want to be able to live with you guys, and live the life I have, however long it's going to be. Alright?"

".. Alright." Mammon seems more comforted in the idea that he can keep looking for ways to give you more options.

Beelzebub slowly moves towards you, silently wrapping his arms around you in a hug. You hug him back. The brothers begin all coming close to hug you. Beelzebub apologizes once more; ".. We're sorry for stressing you out. Thank you for listening to us and our concerns. You're important to us. We love you."

Hugging as many of them back as you can as you're squeezed softly into the fold, you respond; "Thank you guys for talking to me about it instead of continuing to be weird and stand-offish. We'll figure it out as we go. In the meanwhile, let's make good memories."

The brothers begin heading inside, you following them.

Lucifer lags behind a little, tugging a trinket out of his pocket. It's a pendant which would keep you from aging which he picked up thinking you might like it - But considering the conversation and the boundaries you've just set, he thinks it would be best to just.. Be in the moment with you.

He stuffs it back into his pocket and comes to join the group in the house, and he opens the door just in time to hear Levi cry out "NO BUT THAT IS THE SADDEST ANIME EVER-" followed by your hallowed cackling of 'making up for lost time'. Lucifer smiles to himself.

However long they have with you, it's the greatest treasure of all.

[saxandviolins77]

I am genuinely curious, what are some of the bad takes people have about the Constructicons outside of being misinformed or misleading about the [REDACTED] as you call it? I struggle to picture what those could even be! Just endlessly nitpicking the toys of them, or...?

*cracks fingers*

I'll try to be objective here and not fall into the helm of "personal preference".(even if the line is thin.)

First off, just so people know where I stand, when it comes to the Constructicons I always take their G1 appearances and bios as my reference, and so I always seek content that will somehow appease that "niche" (it's a niche nowadays.)

Sadly, there's no outside of the [REDACTED] ship, it is what people in general consider the law and it informs their view of all discussion around them. AND if it's not that godforsaken nightmare, it is the TFA characterization, which... Why? Can't we keep them as their own thing? Also goes a bit into toy territory, since I keep up with it (SADLY.)

So here's a short and sweet list of things I see on the regular, not a personal attack on anyone, and no strawman here, a reminder that I check their tags on most sites daily.

Constructicons are blue-collar workers: WHY? First off, just in TFA. In G1 they are quite CLEARLY engineers AKA white collar workers (workers in creative fields). Just lack of attention and most jokes involving them fall flat, because, it's not true! (Maybe the fact that they ALSO execute their projects may influence this take, but like, there are only 6 of them, so you can't do much).

The leader should be the guy who turns into the head: just vapid and unimaginative. I see this one at least once a month.

The Constructicons are oafs in one way or another: of all the explicitly incompetent and dumb characters in the cartoon, the Constructicons are not it (Again [REDACTED] ship and TFA.) Get another joke.

The Bayverse Constructicons are better and should be the default: oh yes, make the Constructicons a canonical conglomerate of interchangeable drones! YES! I'm a Bayverse apologist and enjoy ROTF Devastator, but PLEASE stop glazing the Bay Constructicons if you don't know the G1 ones, AND stop comparing both, THEY ARE TRYING DIFFERENT THINGS. (The studio series Devastator discussion is being and will be maddening, I will not survive.)

Construction vehicles are ginormous, and the scale is wrong: Please, American-brained individuals, remember that there are DIFFERENT types of vehicles and NOT every fucking construction vehicle is ten meters tall!! G1 Constructicons are SMALLER JAPANESE VEHICLES FROM THE 70's and 80's!

The Constructicons all look the same: Why are we still here? Just to suffer?/ref

Now, put this all in a loop and have fun being me!

[olderthannetfic]

I abandoned all fandoms with lots of discourse ongoing for my mental health, but also because I couldn't stand the multitude of people with huge blogs whining that, if anybody told them they had been rude to someone, their immediate response would be "You're just saying this to me because you can't stand a woman of color not bowing down to your will."

For fuck's sake, dude, I'm not seeing your face in real time, I've got no fucking clue of how you look. Unless your blog has a very specific name, no one knows who you are or what experiences you've gone through.

"You're telling me I'm wrong because I'm a POC"

How about I'm telling you you're wrong because you're talking shit/are spreading misinformation/are being a bigot? Why is that never an option?

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