#I guess I don't get it because I'm not religious but it just seems absolutely sick

[ventbloglite]

The way Israeli Zionists are using the long history of Jewish suffering against those who are now suffering and dying at their hands and against those from outside the warzone who wish to end that suffering and support Palestinian rights to be alive is sick. It's manipulative. Imagine looking at the suffering of your people and going; "I can use this to freely commit genocide on a different kind of people and escape criticism. Anything they do, anything anyone does, except sit and take it, will be deemed anti-semitic which we all know is considered morally the worst thing ever and will make people think of Nazi's, so shutting down negative conversation about us and help for them." And imagine that fucking working.

[neverendingford]

.

[jennelikejennay]

One thing that bugs me about the way Vulcans are usually depicted (with some lovely exceptions) is that their philosophy—logic, or the teachings of Surak, for short I'm just going to call it Surakianism—is very often shown as a bad thing. Either that, or Vulcans aren't following it at all.

Writing about religion (and I do think Surakianism is best approached as a religion*) is always fraught. Because generally as a writer, you don't actually practice the faith in question, so naturally you'll have an outside view. That's doubly true of Surakianism, a way of life humans basically can't follow and it would probably be bad for us to try.

[*I know they don't call it a religion. But the way it deeply affects the interior life of Vulcans, their ethics, and so on feels very religious to me. It doesn't seem to have a position on theism; Vulcans get their beliefs about god(s) from elsewhere, such as traditional Vulcan polytheism and their own perceptions of the universe. But the way it exists as a social structure AND a guide to the inner self is absolutely religious to me.]

We are told that Vulcans developed this philosophy specifically because they needed it—they were destroying themselves without it! Their emotions were overpowering and violent, and they were clannish to the extreme. So despite what most of the human characters say, especially Bones, I think the path of logic is a good thing for Vulcans, even if humans don't get it at all.

Surak's teachings can be summed up into three basic points (a Vulcan somewhere just raised an eyebrow clear into their bangs at this oversimplification, but I'm doing my best here):

1. Logic, or the use of reason as a guide and the control of emotions

2. Nonviolence

3. IDIC—infinite diversity in infinite combinations.

Of course we only ever hear about the first one, because that's part humans notice. I'd say it was like reducing Catholics to fish Fridays and Mormons to underwear, but that's exactly what people do, so I guess it's understandable.

But I think the ordering goes the other way for Vulcans. First, acknowledge that others are of value, including and especially when they're different from you. Then, do them no harm. And finally, to achieve that goal, control your wild, violent emotions.

People imagine pre-reform Vulcans a lot of ways (and I never get tired of reading about them), but I think the best guide as to what they're like is by looking at Romulans. Romulans aren't wildly expressive with their emotions, we're certainly not talking about people who would otherwise be laughing and crying constantly. Instead, they're secretive and carry long, hateful grudges. They're loyal only to those closest to them, and they seem entirely without empathy otherwise.

Imagine the Vulcan emotions are like that. They have strong bonds to their clan, probably in part because of their telepathy. They're suspicious of outsiders, angry, prone to violence. Preferring the familiar is an instinct in humans too, but a mild one. Certainly humans have been and still are racist, but it's something we can generally overcome. I'm not sure the Vulcans could, not by relying on their emotions.

So they came up with the solution to control their emotions completely. Use reason instead as a guide to behavior, because logic will tell you that your own clan is not more important than another, and that reaching out in peace is beneficial to yourself and others. Don't give your emotions any credence and don't let them run wild.

Humans do some of this ourselves, and should arguably be doing more. We spend a huge chunk of our childhood learning to control antisocial impulses like screaming, hitting, and biting. We demonstrate self control in many tiny, unnecessary ways, in order to show to others that we are in control of ourselves: stuff like etiquette, social rules, even just leaving the last cookie on the tray for someone else. These are signals that say I am not governed by my appetites; I can be trusted to consider the needs of others.

And we could obviously be doing more. Too many political questions are being answered by people's emotional, knee-jerk responses like "I feel threatened by people who are different" or "I am angry about my enemies and want them punished" instead of "what produces the most benefit for everyone?" If we leaned more heavily on logic and reason to get us our answers, we'd make way better decisions than we do. Star Trek doesn't often acknowledge that in real life, making a snap gut decision doesn't actually have a very high success rate. Logic gives you better odds of saving the day.

But, you might say, Vulcans aren't doing very well at any of this. A heck of a lot of them that we've seen are racist. And while they repress their emotions just great, they don't actually make the most logical decisions most of the time.

But I don't think this actually discredits a religion at all. We all know Christians who are great at the easy parts of their religion—learning Bible verses or saying rosaries—but don't seem to be even trying to love their neighbor. That's in fact the way religions are usually practiced! External elements that people can easily see (like never smiling) are adhered to by social pressure, but more heart-level things are aspirational at best. That doesn't mean the message of a religion is bad; it doesn't really tell us anything.

This is especially true for a religion whose practice isn't optional. You have to follow Surak to stay on the planet. I can see this rule was necessary during the time when the Romulans were kicked out—pacifism doesn't work as a global solution unless everybody's doing it. Now, it seems a bit harsh. I think they get around it by not exiling anybody who's at least giving lip service to logic. That racist baseball guy in DS9 isn't a good Vulcan, but as long as he doesn't do anything violent or openly reject Surak, they're willing to say he counts.

Why are Vulcans so often the opposite of what their religion teaches? I think it's the other way around: their religion focuses specifically on their chief faults: clannishness, racism, ego. It just hasn't successfully transformed everyone. Makes perfect sense, really. We might as well ask why Christianity goes on and on about sex when humans are well known to be super obsessed with sex. Well that's WHY! It's one of our strongest impulses which in the past we felt the most desperate need to control.

The best argument against Surakianism is that total repression isn't the best way to handle emotion, that we need self-awareness of our emotions before we can account for them.

To which all I can say is, don't you think Vulcans know that?

I imagine there are lots and lots of viewpoints on this among Vulcans. Some favor repression and some favor understanding and acceptance; some think it's okay to have a little dry humor and some think we should be serious. We have the kolinahri who believe in the excision of all emotion (which I imagine is universally seen as extreme, like we might see cloistered nuns or monks who reject the world to achieve enlightenment). And surely there are ancient, wise Vulcans who deeply understand all their emotional impulses and are completely in control of them. Spock certainly seems this way by the movie era if not before: he knows that he has emotions, what they are, and how to respond to them. He has overcome the emotion of shame. So he seems not impassive on the outside, but a person at complete peace inside and out.

I just feel like we could stand to see more good Surakians, who are good not in spite of their belief in logic, but because of it. Kind of like how we see both good and bad followers of the Prophets on Bajor. I'm kind of anti religion myself, but I still want to see it given its due—especially a religion founded on such good principles. Sure, it's not a religion humans can really practice, nor need—a good half of our emotions are positive and pro-social, so it's no wonder a person like Bones would be convinced Vulcans are just punishing themselves unnecessarily. But it successfully turned Vulcan from a planet so violent it almost destroyed itself to a home of peace and learning. Of course Vulcans aren't going to mess with what works!

That has been my rant about logic for today. I highly recommend @dduane 's book Spock's World for a much deeper dive into logic and the path Vulcan took to get there.

[dragon-ashes1485]

TROP s2 ep8

Wow. OK I...am mostly not coherent at the moment so I will be doing character breakdowns because SHIT A BRICK there is so much to unpack.

Durin:

I want to start by saying how fantastic that opening was?! Durin bidding goodbye to Disa as he went to confront his father was so good. Owain portrayed the look of a son in this episode, someone who truly admires his father and wants the best for him, but he also portrayed a king, a dwarf that desires the best for his people with all his heart. I am disappointed we didn't get an Elrond & Durin reunion but his dad had just died so...fair I guess.

I really enjoyed the dwarf storyline, especially watching them descend into greed, especially Durin III, who let me say had an absolutely metal exit. The story of them arm-wrestling when Durin was a child really shows that he feels put under by his Father, only for Durin III to admit in his final minutes that Durin was always strong, and that he would need to be strong. I loved that part, the dialogue made me very sad.

A moment to appreciate this scene please!

The end of the story in season 2 for the dwarves feels like we might see more of them in possible season 3? I really hope so. I liked that Durin was ready to offer aid to the Elves, it's clear how awful he felt that Eregion fell in part because he could not send his army until it was too late.

Aside: DISA LIVES SO I LIVE ALSO.

Also: baby Balrog, anyone? I love how that firey bastard looked. They made it look like it had been plucked straight from the depths of hell itself.

I really hope the Dwarven storyline is a key focus in season 3, especially if it means getting the three amigos (or the two amigos and their tag-along elf) back together.

The Stranger:

It has been revealed! He has his beautiful staff! I love that it was taken from the ruins of the Stoor tree, kind of continuing the storyline of beauty coming from peril that seems to follow Gandalf around in the finales of the last two seasons. I very much enjoyed the little scene with Tom Bombadil. I'd heard them singing in the soundtrack and was very pleased to see it.

I'm including the Harfoots in this section, too, as they weren't in it much. Poppy's story of what Saddoc told her after she lost her family was so heartfelt and very Tolkein, I think that was my favourite bit of the Harfoot storyline this episode. For Nori...is it cruel for me to say that her ending of the journey with the Stranger felt a bit...sudden? I enjoyed her storyline and then she simply walks away from him. While I appreciate that she's doing her own thing, it feels like we were given such a character who was kind of swept away a little? I don't know, I liked parts of it but some felt like an untouched cup of tea, lukewarm and slightly disappointing. I might be alone in this but who knows! I only hope her story isn't left there.

Elendil: (and others)

Oh Elendil, thank you for acknowledging the existence of your other son, Anarion! Also he has Narsil now!! *happy noises* oh Miriel letting him go, sacrificing herself for him once more. This poor woman, please treat her and Elendil nicely next season? Pretty please? Eärien redeemed herself very slightly, I'm glad Kemem wasn't in Numenor when she snuck her father from the chaos. That scene reminds me of all the religious toil that took place during the Tudors, with the Reformation of the church, it all felt very alike. Anyway, I really enjoyed the little we saw of Numenor and hope there's more shown next season. It felt a little disappointing screen-time wise, so maybe s3 can give us a little more!

Alright then. Celebrimbor:

The amount of pain he endures to protect the rings was horrifying to see. I honestly thought they wouldn't show his torture at the hands of Sauron, nor the famous Celebrimbanner. But honestly? Good for you, not shying away from his tragedy of a death, giving him the honour he deserves. Also Charles Edwards? Brilliant work with Charlie Vickers. The writers really went for likening his time spent with Annatar to domestic violence. "Look what you have done to yourself" and all the talk in ep7 about how it was actually Celebrimbor's fault. The torture was horrifying, please feel for me as I had to watch it twice to find the screenshots. I will miss Celebrimbor's character but I am glad the writers gave him the true ending, evidenced the true tragedy of his death.

The shot of the forge is so upsetting. It was once a place of craft and happiness for Celebrimbor, all of Eregion was, but then it was the place of his torture and death.

Isildur:

Not much to say about him to be honest as it felt rather overshadowed by the Estrid romance that, if I'm honest, hasn't really interested me. Like, at all. The moment with Theo was sweet though, as was his acknowledgement of what he had become since his mother's death. I hope we find put what happens to Theo at some point, and that he might reunite with Arondir.

People who can get fucked:

Kemen. Little shit wanting to harm the trees, starve the settlers and this bitch threatened to kill Berek so he deserves nothing more than death. I'm getting angry just typing this so I will say no more.

Adar:

For a sec I was like, why is he so smooth. Then it all went to shit. I still want to know who he is! He was such a good villain but his death was inevitable. He had become too enamoured with killing Sauron, and his children suffered for it. I liked that his death mirrored when he killed Sauron, even the angle was spot on. It saddened me that Glûg was the one who did it, but not wholly unsurprising. His last words were awful and made me feel terribly sorry for him.As a side note, Glûg's death was sad, he had killed his father, found a new master and suffered a cruel death as a result. Also well done effects/makeup team for the transition back into Adar's scars.

Galadriel:

Flipping heck, the whole fight sequence with Sauron made me kick my feet. The part where he shapeshifted was so cool to watch! Also the fight was so dance-like, it was mesmerising. I am enjoying her character becoming wiser in this season, not even tempted this time by Sauron's offers. But she's still the warrior determined to vanquish him, literally crawling across the ground to defeat him. Oh the way I squirmed when Morgoth's stupid crown stabbed her so deeply.

SHE DID AN ELROND. SHE JUMPED. FORESHADOWING *CHEFS KISS*

Just saying, she looked fabulous in the cottage-core dress she wore in Imladris. I really hope the writers continue to make her the wise Galadriel we know in the third age, and also that she gets to fight in battle, of course.

I have so many hopes for her character in s3. Very proud of her not going back to Sauron, that bitch is abusive.

Sauron: dickhead. He killed Celebrimbor. Absolute kettle.

Gil-Galad:

He was great, I liked his joke about Galadriel. They might have redeemed his character a bit, in the last two episodes so I hope we see some more of that!

I love him fully about to rip off an orcs head because it made Elrond sad an dishonoured Celebrimbors work.

Elrond:

Best til last? I just have more to say about his character and also the parallels making my heart sing, so expect many crappy quality snapshots.

Firstly, I'd like to point out how much I loved that he was the one to save Galadriel. He has rejected the Elven rings (with rightful caution) but not enough to leave his friend to perish. He jumped off of a cliff to save his friends from the ring, and then when Galadriel mirrors his actions to stop Sauron getting them, he saves her. He is constantly looking after those he loves, rings or no rings.

This moment here made me sad. Elrond, fresh from the blood on the battlefield, trying to preserve the purity of Celebrimbor's legacy. He even addresses the orcs as they prefer, trying desperately to preserve anything of his friend, who he knows has fallen with Eregion. And they make him watch the burning, as though he was watching the last memory of Celebrimbor dwindle.

I swear, if he and Durin do not reunite in s3 and fix this look on Elrond's face, I will be disappointed. I need the comedy of those two again, help me recover from this season.

PARALELL OF S2 EP1 WHEN GALADRIEL PICKS UP THE RING. Oh I love me a cheeky parallel.

Please praise the cinematographers. They seem to give all the fancy shots to Elrond which is quite funny.

"We barely had the strength to flee" oh my heart fucking broke. Why do they do this to this guy? Let the poor elf retire in Imladris in peace. (Also, imladris?! Yay!) Thank you to the writers and Elrond for finally acknowledging the physical and mental toll of war. It's literally the reason Imladris becomes what it will be, because Elrond saw war and lived it, lived WITH it all his life. Let him retire please.

THIS IS WHAT I MEAN. PRAISE THE CINEMATOGRAPHERS. The look into the camera, the decision he has to make, chefs kiss.

I don't know what to expect to happen with his character next season, but I very much hope it involves Durin. His character arcs over the last 2 seasons have been insane, that's why he's so easy to ramble about, the characterisation and acting of him is phenomenal. Please be kind with them all, Amazon.

Lastly: ARONDIR AND VOROHIL LIVE. Please let Camnir be in Lindon, untouched, making maps and drinking tea.

Overall I really enjoyed the episode. Some of the Harfoots bits as I've said were a little odd but overall a great episode. Loved the parallels in this, the gorgeous shots, representing the mental toll from torture and war and also having the bravery to show that kind of thing on screen! I hope dearly that season 3 will only be better and continue to flesh out these character we love so much.

[allwormdiet]

Extermination 8.4

Armsmaster: I'm a genius! Armsmaster: Oh no!

Everything they do against Leviathan is insufficient. It's fucking horrifying.

Skitter just like "ehh, I don't think Parian's hardcore enough tbh"

Also, God, it's just getting increasingly dire just in terms of who's standing, huh? They're down most of the forcefield users at this point, the Triumvirate is down or handling other shit.

Also also I'm so sad that Purity didn't drown in the middle of the street like she deserves

Taylor is so fucking funny, she's like "I'm not brave like these other capes, I'm just standing and working to combat an Endbringer even though my power does absolutely nothing offensively or defensively against it. oh I'm not an adrenaline fiend or anything, I don't live for the thrill of battle, I just have an unreasonably high pain tolerance and not a whole lot of care for whether I live or die"

So her power gets stronger in especially high-stakes situations. Something about her emotional state, or something about an innate response to extreme threats?

Taylor's life seems to involve constant rapid-fire vacillation between predator and prey. It can't be helping with her stress levels, regardless of how good she is at being both of those things.

So this is a tactic that will slow Leviathan down, but if he gets to keep moving for too long then it will immediately turn around and bite them on the ass. Dunno how good of an idea that is tbh.

Fucking automaton freak of a superhero, truly

Also does the wider world never find it alarming that the order goes "parahumans < Endbringers < Scion" because I feel like that would prompt questions about Goldilocks on the regular

New Wave is at 75% strength and the invincible Ward just got fucking vincibled. God that's rough.

Wooo! Nazi down! Yeahhh!

WOOOOOOO NAZI DOWN!

Hope the water slide chaps your legless ass on the way to Hell, Kaiser, you rancid fuck!

Also haha whoops I sure hope that dead armband isn't indicative of some kinda foul play

Well yeah, fuck, I guess it's a good thing she had those decoys after all

Credit where credit is due, if it was possible to actually kill an Endbringer, which I fucking doubt, this would probably be the best show of doing it.

According to Wikipedia, "hubris" describes a personality quality of extreme or excessive pride or dangerous overconfidence and complacency, often in combination with (or synonymous with) arrogance.

According to studies, hubris, arrogance, and pretension are related to the need for victory (even if it does not always mean winning) instead of reconciliation, which "friendly" groups might promote. Hubris is usually perceived as a characteristic of an individual rather than a group, although the group the offender belongs to may suffer collateral consequences from wrongful acts. Hubris often indicates a loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of one's own competence, accomplishments, or capabilities. The adjectival form of the noun hubris/hybris is hubristic/hybristic.

The term hubris originated in Ancient Greek, where it had several different meanings depending on the context. In legal usage, it meant assault or sexual crimes and theft of public property, and in religious usage it meant emulation of divinity or transgression against a god.

Hesiod and Aeschylus used the word "hubris" to describe transgressions against the gods. A common way that hubris was committed was when a mortal claimed to be better than a god in a particular skill or attribute. Claims like these were rarely left unpunished, and so Arachne, a talented young weaver, was transformed into a spider when she said that her skills exceeded those of the goddess Athena, even though her claim was true. Additional examples include Icarus, Phaethon, Salmoneus, Niobe, Cassiopeia, Tantalus, and Tereus.

These events were not limited to myth, and certain figures in history were considered to have been punished for committing hubris through their arrogance. One such person was king Xerxes as portrayed in Aeschylus's play The Persians, and who allegedly threw chains to bind the Hellespont sea as punishment for daring to destroy his fleet.

What is common in all of these examples is the breaching of limits, as the Greeks believed that the Fates (Μοῖραι) had assigned each being with a particular area of freedom, an area that even the gods could not breach

In its modern usage, hubris denotes overconfident pride combined with arrogance. Hubris is also referred to as "pride that blinds" because it often causes a committer of hubris to act in foolish ways that belie common sense.

Anyway I guess Armsmaster has to be called Armmaster now, s- oh, what's this?

Congratulations allwormdiet! You are the 4,000,000th Worm reader to make the "Armmaster joke!"

Oh boy what do I win

Nothing!

O-oh.

Tfw the teenager you deliberately attempted to sacrifice in order to get your moment of glory soloing the raid boss still tries to save your stupid ass

Fucking remarkable that Skitter is still contributing at all considering how hard she's been rocked through all of this

And she's gonna keep doing it, too.

Tfw the teenager you deliberately attempted to sacrifice in order to get your moment of glory soloing the raid boss is the only thing saving your life

Current Thoughts

Colin, Colin, Colin. We'll get into it more once the fight's over but you truly fumbled on this already rancid day. I hope like Hell this will finally get you to be a little humble.

So, some more bad losses in this chapter obviously, sad to see Aegis go for all he was kinda bland and I'm sure New Wave is going to feel their losses something fierce.

But hey, two more dead Nazi capes, so it's not all downsides!

[gotta-get-back-to-hatchetfield]

Here's what you missed on Hatchetfield...

Okay so Nerdy Prudes Must Die is happening in a month's time and I'm aware that lots of people who enjoyed guy who didn't like musicals and black friday might not have had time to watch nightmare time. While Nick has said this musical will be fully stand alone and no knowledge of nightmare time is required, nonetheless some of you might be curious about what we've learned that might come up

Presenting a tldr lore drop for nightmare time:

1) Wiggly has brothers (aka the Lords in Black)

You remember Wiggly from black friday? That ugly green little fucker? Well turns out he has brothers. They call themselves the Lords in black because they're pretentious little fucks and they all have different 'powers'.

Itemised list

Pokey (pokotho) - mind control type stuff, likes to make hiveminds

Wiggly (Wiggog Y'wrath) - idk you saw black friday whatever the fuck goes on there

Blinky (blinklotep) - massive eye, likes watching things

Tinky (T'noy karaxis) - fucks with time

Nibbly (nibblenephem) - massive mouth, eats shit

You've actually met Pokey before - remember the blue shit from guy who didn't like musicals? That's the same blue shit leaking out of the cracks in pokey's face in the picture above.

They also have a sister called Webby that I believe Hannah references in Black Friday. We don't know much about her but thus far she seems like a good guy

2) Grace Chasity is a nerdy prude

Remember the girl Bill is trying to set Alice up in guy who didn't like musicals because 'at least she's nice to him in church'?

Well turns out Alice was right. Grace Chasity is a nerdy prude. And also coincidentally one of the main characters of Nerdy Prudes Must Die (to be played by Angela Giarratana).

We meet her in nightmare time 2 (episode 2 part 2) which takes place at a religious camp designed to educate people about the perils of pre marital sex.

Grace Chasity is, well she's many things, but she is very much the stereotype of an American evangelical Christian. She even showers with a swimming costume on so as not to tempt herself into sin.

Despite all this, however, she is a devious motherfucker who will absolutely fuck you up

3) You remember Ted from guy who didn't like musicals...

Well not only are he and the homeless guy the same person (time travel, its a whole thing, blame the yellow guy from the Lords in black photo)

But also we learn that his surname is Spankoffski (because of course it is) and he has a 'nerdy little brother' called Pete Spankoffski who will be one of the leads in nerdy prudes. In nightmare time he's played by Nick Lang but in nerdy prudes he'll be played by Joey Richter

We meet Pete in nightmare time 2 (episode 2 part 2) but we've actually met him before in guy who didn't like musicals. You remember hot chocolate boy? The one who had very low blood sugar?

Yup you guessed it that is one Peter Spankoffski

(If you've been super out of the loop and are wondering why he was recast and for that matter where the heck is Robert anyway just trust that that is a whole thing im not going to get into and it's for the best he's gone)

4) Meet the Lauters

Two more characters who have been announced for NPMD who we met in nightmare time 2 are Stephanie Lauter (Mariah Rose Faith) and her father Solomon Lauter (Corey Dorris)

Steph is actually pretty nice and chill on the inside but definitely has a reputation for being a bit of a party animal/wild child.

This isn't helped by her father who is the mayor of hatchetfield and from what little we see of him will always put his career before his daughter.

Steph and Pete hook up in nightmare time so look out for a possible romance between these two

5) What the fuck is a Holloduke?

You may have seen the word 'holloduke' batted a lot around this fandom lately which refers to the ship of two characters that we've been introduced to through nightmare time.

While it's unclear if either of them will appear in nerdy prudes, given that both Kim and Curt are in the cast and they go a long way out of their way in nightmare time to show Kim's character getting a job at Hatchetfield High in set up for *something* a lot of people think there's a good chance she at least will be appearing.

The Hollo of these characters is called Miss Holloway although at the end of nightmare time she ends up ret conning herself and is forced to assume a new identity as Miss Holiday so if we meet her in nerdy prudes that will likely be her name. She is a witch who has a deep love for all things 80s. We don't know a huge amount about her but that might be because she's cursed(?) so that anything she reveals about her backstory will be instantly wiped from the mind of the listener.

Curts character is an ordinary social worker called Duke who among other things works with Hannah and Lex when they're having troubles with their mum. He's in love with Miss Holloway/Holiday, and it's reciprocated, but due to the curse(?) et al things keep not quite working out for them.

They're both absolutely wonderful people who deserve the world and are absolute OTP fodder

6) The Gift

We don't know a huge amount about this yet but we do know that some people in Hatchetfield, notably including Hannah from black friday have something called 'the gift' which gives them some loose powers

Most people grow out of the gift as they go through puberty, for instance Lex also used to have it, but they may be able to use it in some scenarios (such as manifesting a firearm from the black and white as Lex does in Black Friday)

People with the gift were historically persecuted in Hatchetfield by a group of people called 'the hatchet men' who may or may not have turned them into trees(?)

7) The Black Book

There is a book of spells called the black book which Miss Holloway/Holiday uses to do her magic

[im-not-a-l0ser]

I’ve seen a couple posts of yours pop up on my dash, and (absolutely no hate here) I’m getting the impression that you don’t really like Grace? Now, I am incredibly new to the Hatchetfield community (as in, I watched early Starkid, fell out of it because Darren Criss left, and am just now returning), so I’m not sure what all has happened in all multiverses.

With characters like Grace, maybe I tend to project a little bit of my old high school self onto them, because I used to exude an air of moral superiority since I was vocally and unapologetically Protestant in a classical Catholic school. I find ultra-religious characters interesting to play around with, especially in predominantly queer spaces like Starkid, since I was that ultra-religious kid (who is now vocally and unapologetically queer).

So, I guess what I mean to ask is: What is your opinion of Grace, and why? You seem to know a lot about this universe, so I’m hoping to grasp at the general attitude of this fandom towards women before I jump back in.

Oh, so you're... you're going to make it about gender then.

I actually had a whole thing typed up about why I don't like Grace and people's perception of her, but I suppose I'll just post it separately. Maybe I'll link back to this idk. Good base for a post I was already planning on making.

So here's the thing. I don't hate Grace because she's a woman, I hate Grace because she's a fucking psychotic bigot who people need to stop perceiving as something she's not.

I've gone on a whole rant already specifically about this. But there are spoilers in it, so if you haven't seen NPMD bc you're waiting to get a grasp on the vibe of the fandom, you shouldn't read it. Or you should at least watch NPMD first.

So, just a rundown. I hate Grace because she is hyper-religious and I have religious trauma. I hate that people don't see her religion as a core part of her identity, making her fundamentally for and against some things, but still joke about her being christian.

And, before someone get's at me about how I still like Mark. I really didn't, but Curt Mega posted this, which made him a much more complex character in my eyes. I'm sure he was joking, but Mark being gay and having a double life that causes him guilt in both directions is forever embedded in my head.

And sure, Grace is a complex character, she really is. But parts of the problem are 1, people don't pay much attention to her actual complexities, and 2, she's seriously psychotic. And that's not me being like 'women be crazy,' that's me watching the show and thinking... 'oh my god, she's fucking insane' at the end of act one, and at the end of Virginity Camp.

But Grace is really the only girl character in Hatchetfield that I dislike, especially so passionately. I like Emma and Steph and Becky, although Linda I'm not really a fan of actually. But y'know, another "she's a fundamentally bad person" thing there. I even like Ruth, who I initially didn't (I'm asexual and her whole thing made me really uncomfy watching it). Jeri's a weird case, but mainly because both her and Jerry are fucking stupid. Like... just get married! Just get married, you two have liked each other for over a decade, just get married!

So, if you want my attitude on women, there it is. I like good characters and I dislike bad characters. I dislike characters who are against things that I stand for, like being queer, and... idk, not starting cults.

[donnerpartyofone]

Going to church with absolutely no religious training, context, political alignment, or social obligation is fun because I get to ask these questions that have seemingly never occurred to anyone who takes Catholicism for granted. My latest question is, does transubstantiation take place AT the Last Supper? Or does it only happen later, after the Ascension? i.e. When the alive Jesus says "This is my body/blood," is that metaphorical, and just a training session for when the Eucharist is instituted by humans, during which transubstantiation really happens? This has completely stumped several Catholics I have asked. The understandable gut feeling is that transubstantiation only happens after Jesus leaves the Earth, but nobody really knows; nobody wants to assume too much about Jesus speaking figuratively while describing a miracle.

There's a lot of argument in general about what it means when Jesus takes part in what will become the sacraments. Like obviously it's sort of alarming that the eternally pure Jesus gets baptized, it alarms John the Baptist who seems sort of embarrassed by the whole thing. I looked this up and found that there is a surprising resistance among a lot of scholars to just say that Jesus is demonstrating what his followers should do later on, there has to be more to it somehow; one thing said something along the lines of "Jesus says he came to fulfill all righteousness and baptism is the righteous thing to do," which is like...yeah, I guess, but what's the actual point? Are you saying getting baptized, even when he doesn't need it, is somehow just in his nature? A lot of religious commentary is confusing, perhaps deliberately so. My interpretation of the baptism of Jesus is that when you tag somebody for a job--when you give them an important responsibility--it validates them and infuses their actions with meaning. That can give their life and choices meaning, and they can involve other people in those meaningful actions, which spreads a sense of purpose and worth. Of course this is my natural projection because I want someone to give me a fucking job, preferably a good job where I'm not exploited and I don't exploit others. But that's my problem.

I also have an interpretation of the Last Supper, I think it does involve transubstantiation. I have this fantasy that it's like GHOST IN THE SHELL; Jesus is spreading his essence out through natural elements like grapes and wheat, to be integrated with all human bodies, so when his singular body is destroyed in the Crucifixion it doesn't destroy Christ himself because he has already escaped into everything.

I like my idea, but it does kind of break down when you start to think about how Jesus is God and God is infinite and eternal, so really they are already in everything, prefacing every object and event in the world. Which is actually why I have a hard time with causal narratives in scripture, like the basic premise seems like a pretty clear recipe for predestination and everything being simultaneously extant...but I'm just a poor heathen, what do I know.

[amoneki-ramblings]

this is a pass to do a couple things:

finish the manga!!! u can do it so u can follow all the other blogs without getting blindsided by a spoiler

do the ship ask thingy for amoneki :]

Gahh I'm trying !! I'm so busy with school and life stuff so it's hard to squeeze in time to read but I'm trying! I'm getting through volumes very slowly but hey, I'll get there ! Just. Well. There's 16 volumes so. Okay it might take a bit orz

For now I'll just be in my little fandom limbo corner I suppose orz, as for the ask thingy:

when I started shipping it if I did: Several months ago, probably a few months short of a year? It's a bit complicated, Basically I decided to rewatch the anime (because my original exposure to tg was. the anime :') ) and vaguely remembered that I really liked Amon (honestly the encounter at Kanou's Lab/Cochlea was one of the scenes I remembered the most), and after rewatching and seeing Amon and Kaneki's interactions they piqued my interest again. Then I got into the manga and. Yeah that interest turned into insanity and now i'm here

my thoughts: Well I have a 119-slide 15K+-word google slideshow for starters. But I'm taking that to my grave so I guess I gotta condense that somehow. On one hand I feel like everything needs to be said about these two to the point that there's too much to talk about but also nothing needs to be said at the same time. They parallel each other in just about every way possible, it's impossible to ignore the ways that they foil each other. They also have had irreversible effects on the others' character. Kaneki finds resolve in Amon's words ('the world is wrong'), and turns to them at pivotal moments (when he leaves Anteiku, Kaneki's own mantra is also basically a derivative of Amon's, wishing to take out the "bad/wrong" things in the world, and he basically takes them to his grave, "The world is wrong", Amon's own words, being his opening to his final dialogue in the last chapter of the original series)

Similarily Amon is just haunted by Kaneki. Like. In general. He thinks about him constantly (even under more mundane circumstances, in the novels he gets reminded of Kaneki just by staring out a window because it reminded him of the Aogiri raid. lmao). Kaneki is basically the catalyst to his character development, and Amon is constantly bothered by his presence/existence, and even comes to recognize how they always encounter each other at important moments. Amon is so haunted by This Guy (creature) it's both a little funny but also makes me very insane. He's basically being a failure of a ghoul investigator, and it's even more ironic, given his hatred of himself for being raised by and potentially caring about a ghoul (also he's catholic, something something religious guilt), yet he seems to have a lot of faith in Kaneki, even to a faulty degree (I'd daresay it's almost to the point where he puts Kaneki on a bit of a pedestal/idolizes him to an extent. I have a whole other ramble about Just that on the self-rb'ed half of this post. Like I'm sorry but Amon definitely fell hard for this guy I'll die on this hill and I'm going to poke fun at him endlessly for it, he could've done so much better, he starts off the manga hating ghouls with a passion and his mentor's disdain for ghouls runs ten times as deep but nope now he's chasing after the dangerous somewhat unhinged (/affectionate) half kakuja guy and it's not even to fight/kill him like okay, sure.) They have affected each other in irreversible ways. They reflect each other so much even if they don't know it. They just want to sit down and have a conversation. They didn't get to. And instead They Killed Each Other (okay not really but it was very close and they absolutely could, not that they want that) ((It's also partially Kaneki's fault for losing control of himself and he feels awful for that (sidenote but any scenario with Centineki and Amon make me lose my mind))). They're also married by first-encounter marriage bite, apparently. I think we should talk about that more that's kinda?? Donato approves btw

What makes me happy about them: Everything that makes me miserable about them makes me simultaneously happy about them because I am an Angst Guy but honestly just how much they clearly respect each other. While they're not allowed to understand each other because of their circumstances they still very much Want to. They recognize that they probably share a lot of views and could really have a meaningful conversation with each other, and it really shows, even if they're fighting. Amon again has a surprising amount of trust in Kaneki (not assuming he's fighting for Aogiri when he saw him during the ward 11 battle, having faith in Kaneki as a person even if he just saw him potentially killing his superior and being presented with the possibility that maybe he was just being fooled all along, when he's nearly dying at Kaneki's own hands but says he won't die because that would make Kaneki a murderer, having faith still that he hasn't turned into one). They recognize that they're equals (well technically they're not, obviously Kaneki is much stronger objectively, being a ghoul, and a kakuja at that), but they treat each other as equals and that's what really matters. I just think it's a very neat dynamic and their roundabout way of caring about each other despite their positions makes me happy :)

What makes me sad about them: I was gonna put images but then I quickly realized that I'd basically be pasting almost all of chapter 133-134 just uh. The fact that Kaneki really lost control of himself and the parallel with him biting Amon's shoulder escalates to him cutting off his entire fucking arm, the way that Amon's first thought in regards to that is simply that Kaneki is strong, how he doesn't reprimand him for it whatsoever (also Amon's blow pretty much takes out the entire area of where Kaneki's kakuhou should be, which is a detail I find Extremely Interesting and I think it should genuinely be talked about more). This fucking line that happened literally the panel before all of that despite their mutual wishes for the other to simply Not Die:

Amoneki divorce. Absolutely life ruining :thumbsup:

(Also just. Again Amon Please. This guy bit your shoulder (probably gave Amon rabies honestly) and almost ate one of your colleagues; when he loses control of himself for the second time you just tell him to take a break, and now he's cut off your whole damn arm and you're Still not complaining and are instead praising him by calling him strong. I just. Yeah that's Not Normal. It's kind of impressive, really /derogatory)

Oh yeah also the fight at Kanou's lab also kills me and takes over my brain constantly but I wouldn't classify that as making me sad I would classify that as making me lose my mind, laugh hysterically and start climbing up and clawing at the walls (like Centineki, actually)

things done in fanfic that annoys me: Maybe I'm just extremely picky but I feel like people tend to fumble Amon's characterization a lot. It's kind of a fine line, and Amon has a lot of conflicting feelings as is, so I get it, but I'm especially bothered when Amon is written as way too harsh. When he's first introduced he has a strong hatred for ghouls, and it's not like that just goes away, but when he's written as especially harsh or even cruel towards Kaneki, especially if it's just because for him being a ghoul it feels like it kind of defeats the point, as Kaneki is supposed to be the reason why Amon starts changing his mind. When Amon sees him for the second time he doesn't think about fighting him at all, even that early on he decides he wants to talk instead, 'cause He's Different. I don't see this kind of characterization too often but I don't really vibe with it at all when I do (Also this is definitely just a me-thing but I wish there was more angst in the tag. Which is ironic considering these guys are surprisingly normal most of the time and have so much potential to be actually Happy but uh *vague hand gestures*, hurt-comfort would also be a decent compromise)

things I look for in fanfic: I love pre-:re fics that explore the complicated-ness of their dynamic. I'm really fond of fics where they kind of dance around each other in a sense, they won't just straight up completely directly interact because that's Still a bit dangerous but they see each other in passing, maybe Kaneki watches over Amon sometimes, etc. Also you probably saw this coming a mile away but yeah religious references mean instant bonus points from me. I could go into some (too much) detail but. uh. stares down at my feet look I'm normal I swear

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other:  Saying Amonhaise is definitely cheating but I'm not really invested in any other Amon ships. I'm not particularly against any I'm just neutral. As for Kaneki, like I mentioned in a previous post, I see potential with Etoken, and it's pretty hard to go wrong with Hidekane, though neither drive me to insanity like these two do at the moment

My happily ever after for them: Let them finally officiate their marriage ghsfdljbhf

who is the big spoon/little spoon: Well that's pretty easy huh. Kaneki small spoon he is a Little Guy just let him feel comfortable and secure y'know? Kaneki is probably someone who runs very cold and Amon is very warm so it works out :) If he's super tired he very carefully (and cautiously) wraps his kagune around Amon he will now be Trapped there until Kaneki wants to get out of bed (good luck)

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: Well I would say that Kaneki loves cooking for Amon probably. He makes food at home and tries to make new sweets following recipe books. It's a bit of a mess because y'know, he's a ghoul, and at first Amon tries to hide that, unfortunately, his previous experience with cooking does Not, in fact, hide the fact that he cannot taste or smell human food, but eventually Kaneki is able to get a hang of it (with Amon's help) and it's very nice :) That's what I would say but. well. Amon is Also a Ghoul now so that doesn't really work :')

[ryttu3k]

Thoughts on Doctor Who - Boom! Some negativity ahead, maybe a 6/10 overall.

Well that was about as subtle as a sledgehammer XD Yes yes the algorithm is bad, yes yes capitalism is bad, yes yes war industry is bad, yes yes religious extremism is bad. I agree with all that! And tbh there are people who do need that message to be about as subtle as a sledgehammer because they Do Not Get It!

But holy shit, this one made Orphan-55 look subtle XD

(That said, kind of adore the chutzpah of doing the Capitalism Is Bad story in the first season of the show as owned by fucking Disney.)

A… weird aesop at the end. "Blind faith is bad. Also, just because I don't like it, doesn't mean I don't need it, because apparently I need religious people to tell me what to do."

Splice was… odd. Grew up in a warzone, also launches herself into said warzone because Dad sent a weird message. Seems singularly unable to recognise what had happened despite, y'know, growing up in a warzone, but that's okay because Holodaddy mentioned seeing antelopes. I feel she was written to be much younger (like, five-ish), which is an issue with the casting, actually, because as it is she just kind of came across as dense as a sack of bricks. No, stupid child, you do not run into the minefield! I did see commentary about how chilling it was for her to be so easily placated by the AI, though, so that could be a deliberate choice, I guess?

Mundy is okay. Didn't make me go, "Yes, she absolutely needs to be the new companion!", which is a pity, and the whole romantic tension between her and the other dude felt whoppingly out of place. Yes, half the planet is going to blow up but that's okay, her crush likes her back! Hoping that either she's playing someone totally different as companion (like Freema Agyeman and Karen Gillan having smaller roles before being cast as companions, to say nothing of some of the actual Doctors!), or that Mundy actually develops some personality beyond 'romantic yearning', 'Christianity', and 'portents of doom'. That said, if she is playing Mundy again, I do enjoy the idea of Mundy Sunday XD

Last annoyance, promise - lmao god if Moffat's head was any further up his arse he'd be a mobius strip. Villengard (although setting the episode in the 51st century is at least consistent with its destruction), the Anglican Marines, preservation of dead people in incomplete digital formats, the president's wife poem/song thing, even fish fingers and custard. Dude. I know. You're still salty about being replaced as showrunner. Doesn't mean you have to yell about how great your era was by throwing in every single self-congratulatory reference you could think of XD

(That said: I much prefer him writing standalone/double episodes. Do Not let him write arcs or be showrunners, but he certainly can work a single narrative.)

Positive notes: Even if it was as subtle as a sledgehammer, I did enjoy the reveal - that there wasn't actually any war, and it was entirely a self-perpetuated conflict based on algorithm and profit. Like the writing could have handled it better, but the premise was really cool.

Ncuti Gatwa's acting was fantastic. Beautiful tension and stress. Loved him monologuing to Ruby's dead body because if he doesn't talk, he can't think right.

"I'm more explosive than I look - and honey, I know how I look."

"Ruby, I forbid this." "Yeah, good luck with that :)"

"- and frankly, your lifespan sucks." (Just wanted Ruby to go, "Dude. I've been dead for the last ten minutes.")

Continuity

Enjoying the continuation of Ruby's snow.

Susan Twist has appeared again, although I still have no idea what this could be building up to. Much bigger role than some of the earlier ones.

This is Ruby's first alien planet, but The Devil's Chord implies she's been travelling with the Doctor for six months? So this would have to be set before Devil's Chord, or else they've just spent six months in space stations and time travelling on Earth alone.

A lot of emphasis on the Doctor as a father, tying in with his mention of Susan last episode, which also dealt with the familial connection between the Toymaker and Maestro and the whole Pantheon thing, and brought up the stuff with Ruby and her lineage again (the AI glitching out when trying to work out her next of kin, although I feel Moffat forgot that… next of kin doesn't mean 'blood relative'… she has a Mum!). I feel there's definitely going to be something about the Doctor's family in this season as well as Ruby's. The TARDIS identified her as human, but could there be a connection?

Season ranking

As of s40e03:

The Devil's Chord

The Church on Ruby Road

Space Babies

Boom

And on a deeply silly note: I initially heard 'Kastarion' as 'Karstarion' and went :D because BG3 ship mentioned <3

[utilitycaster]

This feels like a weird thing to ask someone but I greatly respect your ability to speak your honest critical opinion (and in such well spoken terms) in an internet atmosphere where you can get crucified for saying anything less than full-throated praise--and that's exactly my issue. I run a small, fandom-oriented Youtube channel and despite knowing that I'm entitled to critical opinions, that I don't even want the attention of delusional reactionaries anyway, etc etc I'm finding it incredibly difficult to share what I really think of some shows + aspects of fandom and shipping. I've become weirdly terrified of saying one perfectly logical thing that does not align with the elaborate fantasy some people have built in their heads and getting canceled/losing the small base of followers I've managed to cobble together. The real nightmare is sharing something harmless like a shipping opinion and having purity culture come for me and call me a p*dophile for absolutely no reason. But at the same time I feel like a spineless coward for letting the toxic side of fandom win by scaring me into silence, especially when one of my goals for the channel from the beginning was to create a place where level headed critical opinion could be shared without fear of gross overreaction and slander. So I guess my questions are: is it as easy for you to speak honestly as it seems? Have you ever flinched before? Is it just about not caring what irrational people think or is there something else to it I'm missing? Sometimes it feels like my fears are valid and sometimes it feels like I just need to grow a backbone and get over it already.

Hey anon,

So I think there is one really big factor here: I am posting anonymously and facelessly and I don’t mind if I alienate people on the basis of an opinion I genuinely hold. If you’re actively trying to build a following and/or if you’ve made yourself identifiable, then I do in fact understand holding back more for reasons of trying to keep that following, or for reasons of personal safety.

But yeah: it’s mostly just that strangers who send anon hate don’t know jack shit about my life or me as a person; they just see an opinion that, as you said, challenges the elaborate fantasy in their head and attack the person who said it. I have, genuinely, been told things that I know for myself to be demonstrably false about my life (not even opinions about me I reject - demonstrably false things) by people who are ultimately just mad that I don’t like their characters or ships. I would obviously feel terrible if a person I knew in real life accused me of something terrible, and I’d still feel bad if it were someone I interacted with online with any sort of regularity, but someone hiding behind complete anonymity? They’re not calling me names because they genuinely think I’m bigoted. They’re calling me names because they are willing to use tools to try to drag me down because they cannot accept I don’t feel the same way they do about a character. They’re like when conservatives claim that denying service to queer people is religious freedom - they are using what appears to be a legitimate appeal to ostensible shared values, but really they’re exploiting the system and people's desire to take things in good faith because they can't stand not getting their way.

The other thing, and I recognize how much I sound like my parents here, is that your bullies are thinking about you more than you think about them. Anyone who sends hate desperately wants you to agree with them. Show them you are not thinking of them.

And finally, some of the hate I’ve gotten has genuinely been about the most anodyne things, which ironically helps because once you realize that no matter how bland an opinion is, some asshole will foam at the mouth about it.  Like, again, I definitely talk plenty of shit about ships or characters or choices I don’t like, but I got some wildly out of pocket shit from people who apparently could not tolerate the completely random example I used to illustrate a fairly uncontroversial and popular opinion re: ship tagging on ao3. And once something like that happens you realize that there’s no point in avoiding the spicier stuff.

I don’t know if this helps, and I recognize that I happen to have a particularly contrarian and not remotely conflict-averse personality. I respect the many people who are not willing to put up with hate and I don’t blame you if you’re one of them; at points in my life I have not been in a place to put up with it and was much less outspoken. But in the end, the thing about people who harass you is that they care so, so much about you agreeing with them, and if you tell them a flat firm no while also making it clear you don’t give a shit if they ever agree with you, they do tend to eventually give up upon realizing how one-sided their obsession is.

[anonymityisfunwriter]

New to tumblr, please bear with me😭🙏 I love Bucky x sunshine fics and read them religiously on ao3! Wondering if u could do one where Peter/sunshine are hanging out a lot bc he feels safe with her/looks up to her. Bucky is craving sunshine’s attention so he flirts with sunshine but she just doesn’t really pick up on the ques, and the team is teasing them bc they’re all assuming she understands. Bucky progressively flirts more obviously to try to get her to notice but it’s not working.

Hi! Welcome to Tumblr, friend!

Thank you so much, I'm glad you're enjoying them. So for the flirting ones, I definitely have a few like that already, I can link them here:

From Friends To This, Snow Day, The Compound Conspiracy, 5 + 1 (Flirting Edition) (especially that one, Bucky really lays the flirting on thick), if none of those are exactly what you had in mind, just let me know, I'm always open to more ideas!

BUT THAT PETER ONE. OKAY. OKAY. You're not the only one that's asked for more Sunshine + Peter interactions and that it so cute. Love it. Absolutely love it.

I'm hoping to put Peter in some more one-shots, but here's a little drabble for you. I hope you enjoy and thank you so much for the ask.

Advice

"Can I ask you for your advice?"

Peter's voice comes from the other side of the common room where he'd been working on homework. It was a common enough occurrence. Today, it was just you and Peter, but there were plenty of times that MJ and Ned also joined him.

You look around the room to find no one else besides you and Peter. You turn back to him pointing at yourself, "You're asking me?"

"Yeah."

"Er... I don't think I'm supposed to be giving advice. That's Steve and Sam territory."

"Nah," Peter disagrees. "I want to hear what you think. Besides if I ask them, Steve'll start calling me 'son' again, and Sam's still pretending I'm invisible."

"Again?" you sigh, shaking your head. Peter wordlessly nods. You dismissively wave your hand, "Don't worry about it, I'll talk to Sam."

"Wait, that wasn't what I needed your advice on! Please?"

"Oh.. sure!" you shrug.

"Well, I guess, I'm sorta having a hard time with the superhero thing. Sam told me that you've never, you know," Peter hesitates, tugging at his collar as an insinuation. "Killed anyone."

You frown, "Oh."

"I mean, I just - I wanted to know how you do it."

"How I don't kill people?"

"No - I mean - Sorta. Sam told me that you hold back a lot," Peter sheepishly explains. "And I guess, I sorta knew that already. I mean you could kill us all if you wanted to. Not that I thought you would do that or anything, but like even with bad guys. And you're just like so happy all the time!"

You take a moment to process Peter's rambling. Your mouth twists apologetically, "Pete, I won't lie to you, I don't think there was a question there."

"You seem decently happy with Mr. Bucky, not that I can really tell because he's always frowning at me. But you are. You're happy. You have a life. I just wanna know how you do it."

"You want to know how I have a life?"

"Is that a stupid question? It's a stupid question, isn't it?"

"No!" you assure Peter. "Of course not! I'm glad you came to talk to me, I'm very wisdomous."

"So?"

"Oh, right..." Your mouth twists as you think about Peter's question for a long moment. "I dunno, that was a choice that I made when I was thrown into this. I didn't want to be someone other people were scared of. I want to be good. I want to believe that people are good."

"Even when they're not?"

You chuckle, "I didn't say it was easy. I forget that sometimes too. That's why you surround yourself with good people. They'll remind you when you forget."

"That's really it?"

"And I listen to a lot of Taylor Swift."

Peter nods in agreement, "Already do that."

Grumpy Sunshine Series Grumpy Sunshine Drabbles

Reblogs and comments are always appreciated 💛

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[mchiti]

I've never understood why people get so mad at Salah for the tree posting but this year they are even madder? 😟

They are mad because he's the biggest Muslim and Arab footballer and they can't stand him being not as religious-driven as others. Sure he fasts and everything but he does seem a bit detached from the usual Muslim footballing sphere - no Alhamdulillah hashtag and whatnot. The tree thing, after years, is obviously a statement at this point - on the fact that he wants to establish himself as a footballer for all the people and has an international borderless aurea around him. Which you know what, it's absolute fine to have in my opinion and it's not even a criticism. I don't care what people do in their homes. And I'd rather have him as the biggest Muslim star - a serious, mature, family driven person - than footballers who preach Alhamdulillah and all while they are involved in r*pe and abuse cases or cheat many times or are homophobic and just horrible people in general. Also wishing someone merry christmas is labelled as haram via them. I'd never have a christmas tree in my house but I do wish merry christmas to people who celebrate becase it's called respect, so I guess I'm in haram jail today, wish me luck.

As for this year, it's because he used his platform to talk about Palestine with a christmas tree post - it's the combo that got people mad. It makes very much sense to me in my opinion, because there's not really much to celebrate regardless of which holiday and which religion we are talking about. If Eid was tomorrow I would say the same. I know he said "war" and no "genocide" so people got mad about this too, but to be fair I think it sounds fine to me, he mentioned Gaza clearly. There's an important line between war and genocide, I get the difference, but I'm not going to hold a poorly worded caption against someone who is not clearly standing for isra*l here. He could've done more in general but it's whatevs, I stopped demanding shit from footballers. They are mad at him for not being the perfect muslim in their books, a lot of them don't even give a shit about Palestine...in tune with many Arab politicians after all.

[softguarnere]

Fic Writer Interview

Thank you for the tag @mercurygray!

How many works do you have on AO3?

Currently 6, but hopefully that number will go up over spring break

What's your total AO3 word count?

119,136

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Like A Girl (Like A Man) - Band of Brothers

Just A Kid - The Outsiders

Bear The Burden Alone - The Chronicles of Narnia

For Whatever We Lose - Band of Brothers

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes, absolutely! I share my writing because it allows me to connect with people who share my interests. If I'm not posting replies, it feels more like a one sided conversation, imo. Also, it seems the polite thing to do

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

It's about to be Like A Girl (Like A Man)! You'll see why soon >:)

What the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

On AO3, it's probably Bear The Burden Alone, but I try to keep the fics that I post here on Tumblr kinda upbeat with hopeful -- albeit open-ended -- endings.

Do you write crossovers?

Yeah! For Whatever We Lose is actually a crossover with The Pacific, and I'd love to do more crossovers in the future

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Yep! I've deleted the comments, but some people were VERY ANGRY about the background Babe/Roe content in LAGLAM -- you know, despite the fact that the plot of the fic is driven by a queer woman's decision to cross-dress. Guess they had to draw the line somewhere, but the hypocrisy of it all makes me chuckle

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Kinda? I deleted most of it from the original LAGLAM drafts and instead just alluded to it, but things are going to be different in FWWL. Get ready for crappy ocean metaphors and religious imagery, babes!

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I hope not :( That would stink

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not to my knowledge

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, but I think it would be fun!

What's your all-time favorite ship?

Everlark! (said while frothing at the mouth because they make me go insane) I've been obsessed with them since I first read The Hunger Games at age 9. I could write you a whole novel about why I think they're perfect together, but I'll spare you the ramble (unless anyone wants it?)

What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

Tears in my eyes when I tell you that it's probably the requests in my inbox. I keep telling myself that I'll get to them, but I've just felt unmotivated with all the stuff I've had going on in my personal life/at school. I really really do hope to get to them someday, though, because some of them will be really fun to write

What are your writing strengths?

I have no clue, lol. I tend to get compliments about how I describe settings, so I'm gonna say that!

What are your writing weaknesses?

My abuse of commas and italics.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Personally, I love doing it. Especially in a fic like LAGLAM, where even though most people don't speak the language I'm using (Cherokee), I feel like they can still see the importance to the characters and to the story. And I like tricking people into caring about Indigenous language preservation. My teachers told me that anything can be a vessel for carrying language on, and by God, I took that to heart

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Oh boy. I was in the fifth grade. I had won many writing competitions. Two classmates approached me and told me that they wished The Hunger Games had more post-Mockingjay Everlark content, and that since I was a good writer, they wanted me to write it. I was traded many cosmic brownies and other such snacks throughout the year for my services in providing my classmates with Everlark fics on pages of notebook paper that are probably crumpled up in a landfill by now. At the time, I had no idea I was writing fanfiction, but it was the start of my favorite hobby. Look at me now, baby!

What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

I've always wanted to write for TURN: Washington's Spies but have never had the courage haha

What's your favorite fic you've written?

I have a couple of one-shots that I'm pretty pleased with, but currently I'm going to say LAGLAM because it's been so special to me <3

Tagging (but no pressure!): @almost-a-class-act @latibvles @footprintsinthesxnd @liebgotts-lovergirl

[manyothermusingsofmine]

Quick Step || Drabble

Fandom: Xmen

Warnings: None (let me know)

Wordcount: 3013

Summary: Miranda got upgraded to a new opponent and uh she's having A Time TM about it.

Cause trying not to love you, only makes me love you more

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She had about ten more minutes before she actually needed to be in the danger room for the session she very much didn't want to have. Clutching onto the staff she had recently been given at Gambit's recommendation, Miranda was trying to strong will herself into not just turning the other way when a voice came from somewhere behind her

'Sugar? What are ya standing by the door for, actin' like it's gonna sprout teeth to bite ya?"

Sure, have Rogue see this, that would definitely stop this feeling of being pathetic that rang through her torso. Shooting a sideway glance at Rogue, Miranda clung onto the staff like it was her only lifeline left in the in the world.

"… Think there's still a chance for me to book it to the nearest church and beg for sanctuary? Do they still do that?"

"Thought ya weren't religious?"

"I'm not, but this might be the day that changes."

Rogue rolled her eyes at that, though it was far more out of amusement than anything else. If the girl really thought she could just vanish out of an appointment like this she was sorely mistaken. Watching as Miranda made absolutely zero progress in getting a move on, she placed her hands on her sides.

"Oh for heaven's sake, girl, just go in. Standing 'round here worrying what's waiting for ye on the other side of the door ain't helping anyone, now. Go on, or need I make ye go myself?!"

“Okay, okay, fine, damn; I get the hint!” Miranda snapped, her response fueled by her nerves.

Entering by herself instead of being dragged in by another resident of the mansion didn't mean she entered the danger room with any more confidence to her, and whatever she did had sank a little at seeing Kurt stand there. Yeah, okay. Facing a swordsman. What could possibly go wrong? Aside from just about everything.

"Och, meine Freundin, you seem even paler than usual. Are you feeling alright?"

"As alright as anyone can feel having to face someone with three swords."

"That I didn't bring."

".... Come again?"

He crossed his arms over his chest, clearly feeling at ease in the room as he claimed his space there, tail lightly and calmly swishing around him. He looked at her with a light smile on his face; was that because he was glad she showed up when she really felt like bolting several times over before even starting?

"I'm not bringing swords to a staff fight; that doesn't seem very fair with you being a beginner."

Miranda quirked an eyebrow at that, taking one hand off the staff so she could twirl it with the other, easily making it go airborne and catching it on the way down. With a similar ease she flipped it over her shoulders, letting her wrists rest on the staff while shifting her weight to her hip.

".... Not that much of a beginner. Impressive."

"Yeah well," she huffed, "turns out Gambit's favorite variety of lies is 'by omissions,' so I guess he got us both there. If you didn't bring swords, what did you bring?"

"Myself."

She blinked twice at him, not really following where he was going with this whole thing. If this was meant to be some kind of weapon training, then him not having any didn't seem fair either. He said nothing, merely shifting to a position where he held out his hand, gesturing at her to come and attack. Okay. sure. She could do that. Could she? Did she want to?

"Well, wait, hold on a minute. Just exactly what is off limits here? Are we using our powers?"

"I'm not."

"How wonderfully vague that leaves me on my end, but fine, and you sure you don't want to run out and grab a weapon? This hardly seems reasonable if I'm supposed to attack an unarmed-"

"Miranda," how did he manage to sound both so polite and so firm at the same time- However he did it, it shut her up immediately as he continued; "you're stalling."

Okay, fine. Actually, not fine; she didn't want to do this if he was unarmed from the start. Maybe that was why her attack was so halfhearted that Kurt avoided it completely by smoothly stepping aside.

"Ach, Drifting, please, I do expect a little better from someone who I've been told 'fights like a stray street cat once cornered'. Gambit's words, not mine,” he ended as a conclusion, and though it was clearly meant to be critique on her choice the tone of his voice was calm and polite

A deep sigh left her, as she slowly turned back around to him. That had been incredibly easy to dodge, but.....

"I don't want to hurt you."

She was so soft and genuine about it that Kurt couldn't help but feel his heart flutter at it ever so slightly, but he shook it off because in reality, that made the root issue clear. What if the opponent didn't give her the luxury of that choice?

"We deal with more than just Sentinels eager to destroy us. Sometimes it's other mutants we have to fight, for a myriad of reasons. If we happen to need to restrain or help a mutant who's just discovering their mind control abilities, there's a high chance you'll end up fighting someone you don't want to face off against. I want you to feel like you can hold you own in a situation like that; for your own sake."

He had been calmly and slowly approaching her, in no rush to be anywhere as he gave her a soft, reassuring smile. As soon as he felt like he had eased her mind a little, mischief started to mix itself into the smile.

He grabbed onto the staff, pushing backwards with enough force and direction to make her spin around. Getting his hand in between her and her grip on the weapon he easily twirled her hand around until it made her let go of the staff, gently pushing her off balance and claiming the weapon for himself by grabbing hold of it with his tail. As she wobbled for a moment to regain her footing, he calmly held the staff to his shoulder like it was the lower part of an umbrella.

"Besides," he said, an airy tone to his voice in order to lighten the mood, "I sincerely hope you don't assume I got where I am just by batting my eyelashes at the right people. I appreciate that you don't want to hurt me, truly; but I've been through far worse than a danger room fight with a newcomer."

"... they just gave me that," Miranda huffed, realizing how much of a completely valid call out that was as the heat of shame burned in her cheeks, "the staff."

"I'll be honest, I don't feel much for seeing you claw and bite your way out of a fight to the death today. You don't want to hurt your friend? Disarm them instead."

She exhaled sharply, something in her attitude towards this whole thing changing. At the very least, he deserved to be treated with the same respect she had for any of the Xmen and the genuine hard work they put in- and for her to put in the effort as well.

But charging with the appropriate valor did nothing as he blocked her, redirecting her energy by twisting, turning and flowing all with the pure grace of a gymnast. He guided her along his back, half spinning her by the end to throw her off balance once again, with her desperately trying to stay on her feet. Tossing the staff into his hand, he used his tail to spin her back around his way.

"I do have to say," he started, blocking her hand as it reached towards the weapon and easily guiding her backward by moving his feet in between hers so she had no choice but to back up, "our Cajun Freund was right about one thing-"

Hooking his foot right behind one of her heels he fully tripped her up, only to easily and gently catch her with his tail so she didn't actually fall flat on the floor

"Your footwork is really poor."

For a moment she didn't respond, needing to comprehend just how easy it had been for him to change her trajectory like he had- and how all of a sudden it actually sank in just how physically capable he was- had she really never noticed before just how much power he held behind his kind nature and gentle touch? She tried to ban the thought out of her head and resummon her focus

"... Okay, first of all, he called it horrendous. Secondly, how am I supposed to overpower you when you could easily throw me across the room if you wanted to?!"

"I was trying to be nice about it; and it has nothing to do with brute strength. Here," his tail pushing her back up on her feet while he held his arm out to her, "let me show you. Put your wrist against mine. The opposing one."

She wanted to give some kind of dry remark to that, but the soft look in his golden eyes made it die down in the back of her throat and she just sighed, following his instructions. He simply and slowly showed how he rolled and hooked his hand over her wrist, giving it little choice but to go in the direction he wanted it to turn.

"Try it."

She mirrored what he did, surprised when his wrist reacted much the same way and obeyed the direction she send it in.

".... And how do I know that's not you going easy on me to give me a false victory?"

"Because I would never patronize you like that. It has nothing to do with strength and all with how to block and dodge. As for Gambit, minus the decorative ways he uses to asses you, he is right. You leave your flanks wide open, your footwork needs quite a bit of help, and for a mutant so dependent on her peripheral and perception you tend to focus so hard your mind becomes a one way track dead set on completing the task at hand. Which begs the question; how did you beat Gambit?"

"By playing dirty?"

"By taking enough time to think about your plan of attack. When put under pressure you have enough insight to whisk yourself away from the line of fire to assess what your plan of attack should be. You need to start doing the same for your defense. I truly don't care how dishonorably you get out of any given fight you're in; I just want you getting out. Alive. Because I don't want to see you hurt."

Her gaze went to the ground, a small sigh leaving her as she knew he spoke the truth with the same kindness he always possessed, and her breathing seemed to ease up a little when his feedback came caveated with compliments.

"Und so," he said as he easily stepped back, twirling the staff in his hand, "challenge still stands. Want this back? Disarm me."

Okay, he knew that was never going to happen, right? ... Eh, it was worth another try if she followed his instructions and advice.

Though knowing what she was doing and what she was up against didn't mean it was suddenly easy for her to copy him. Sure, she now managed to actually turn the tides a few times, making his limbs bend to the direction she wanted to go instead of being rag dolled around with no control over the situation, but her staff remained tantalizingly just out of her reach, constantly pulled away from her grasp as she felt like she was just about to actually reach it.

Kurt even managed to use it against her, guiding the staff along her lower back and grabbing onto the end he wasn't holding yet before pulling her in and closing what gap was left between them. He had her caught- did he?

Ignoring the way her heart had skipped a beat when they were suddenly chest to chest, she seemingly trapped herself further by pulling her arms in close and dropping them down, but it was only to twist and hook both around his hands as she gave a sharp pull upwards.

He dropped the staff; and thats where she realised she had miscalculated where he would drop it. It pretty much immediately rolled under her own feet, completely tripping her up. Kurt reacted faster; grabbing onto her wrist and pulling her back the way she came- as her own feet crisscrossed each other he gave her a slight twirl and caught her in his other arm as if they had ended a dance routine in a dramatic dip.

"Don’t worry; I've got you."

Dance- it really had felt like that, and not like a slow waltz which seemed like the more logical choice for the resident German. It had felt much more like a ballet routine with a partner, or- or a tango.... When had this room become so incredibly, uncomfortably warm? She found herself suddenly, genuinely, deeply concerned that he could somehow hear her heartbeat as it raced in her chest and almost seemed to throb against her ribcage. That was just from the exercise and fear of falling at the end, right? Right?!

"Miranda?"

"Please don't drop me."

She mentally facepalmed at just how damn obvious of a request that was. Of course he wasn't going to drop her; if he didn't care about keeping her from falling on the ground he wouldn't have caught her in the first place

"I won't," he answered in a soft, warm tone, gently pulling her back up, paying it little mind that she held onto his other arm as she still felt wobbly on her feet.

'We are so close together right now; it would be so easy to kiss him,' and at that thought from somewhere in the back of her skull her entire brain just absolutely panicked.

She tapped the arm she was holding three times, handing the victory to him. Before he could see how the heat was tinting her face red, her invisibility switched on as it finally realized it had to do damage control on the situation, all while her brain was somewhere in the middle of just panic screaming and hard crashing and- She had to get out of here. Now.

 

Shoving her foot under the staff on the floor as she walked towards it, she smoothly kicking it up and grabbed it while b-lining it for the door; hitting the button to open the mechanical door with her fist.

"Miranda," she heard him call after her, "are you alright?"

God, he sounded so sweet and concerned it almost felt criminal to- would some braincell deign to formulate a damn response instead of leaving him hanging like that?!

"... Uhuh," she responded, sounding as if she was in a daze, and she hoped that later on that would help in playing the whole thing off as another bout of nausea and vertigo instead of- Her mind almost hissed at her to not repeat it, slipping out the door and finding somewhere to hide out until her heart stopped feeling like it wanted to leap out of her chest.

Kurt just stood there, gaze to the side for a moment as he thought of what happened and what made her rush out like that all of a sudden- Oh. Uhm…

As red heat mixed with blue fur, the slightest hint of purple dusted itself onto his cheeks. Maybe he had overstepped some boundary by how close this fighting style required people to be. If that was the case, he better apologize to her about it later. Or now. Sticking around here wasn't going to help much either way. He waited until the heat in his cheeks left, opening the door only to immediately run into Gambit. Wait, into who?

"... Weren't you supposed to be otherwise occupied?"

"Oui," Remy calmly responded, arms lazily draped over his chest as he stepped out of the way and leaned against a wall, "in about an hour or so- Did Gambit fail to mention that?"

"Wh- Oh, are you for real?! What was this whole set up for, then?!"

"Gambit does genuinely want your opinion on her skills, is all."

"... Well, it's as your own commentary says; flanks, footwork, one track mind. But she's a quick learner, once she's willing to listen and stops putting herself down."

"So can you help her?"

"Of course I can," Kurt answered with a small smile, as Remy barely moved from his spot while observing the blue mutant. The Cajun couldn't keep a small amused huff of air from escaping him, only slightly distracted by something rather telling.

"Well, if you're wanting to be ‘professional teacher lingo’ about this," and with his index finger, middle finger and thumb he grabbed onto Kurt's tail to stop it from wagging like it was, "you gotta stop doing that, mon ami. It's giving you away."

As it went from happy puppy wagging to cat deeply offended you dared to touch them, Gambit let go as soon as he felt the tail giving even the slightest hint that it was going to yank itself back, lest it would fling him down the corridor instead.

"Let go," Kurt said firmly while pulling his tail back to himself, "don't you have somewhere better to be?"

"Don't you?"

".... Shut up," and with that Kurt disappeared in a puff of purple smoke to get out of the conversation, leaving Gambit there laughing to himself.

"Ai, mon ami, sounds like Drifting is starting to be an influence on you. In more ways than one," he said just to himself now, before pushing himself off the wall and leaving to tend to his own business.

[doberbutts]

Would love to hear more about Panic but have no idea what I want to know about him... I guess, what kind of fun facts do you have? Anything that would be surprising to learn about him that you wouldn't assume about him? Absolutely love hearing about OCs🙏🙏

Panic has no real connection to other tieflings. He was raised by human monks at a temple where tieflings were more commonly bandits and similar to the region. He is, however, devoted to his patron and is traveling on his regular pilgrimage when Plot Happens.

Panic is named Panic because that's what visitors to the temple would do when they saw him. He was named something else but discarded it when he decided he liked Panic better. Even I don't know what his previous name was.

Despite being a fairly lawful good character (and the fact that his patron specifically commands *against* this practice), Panic dabbles in recreational substances. Mostly hallucinogens. It is a religious experience with him. In one of his iterations, he bonded with his kobold friend over a love of moon radish. Shenanigans ensued.

His patron is known for commanding followers to pacifism and neutrality, so he does try to avoid fights when possible. His charisma is pretty high and he has a bunch of traits to make him a smooth talker. This is useful for getting out of fights he doesn't really want to be involved in. If talking his way out doesn't work, he also packs a mean right hook and took out 5 goblins in only slightly more turns while the rest of his party kept fucking missing.

Every iteration possible of Panic knows the Draconic language, which enables him to converse with kobolds. My dwarf version of him, no longer named Panic because he has a different backstory, sadly does not. But his friend Rukbah and he share an understanding of Common, so they can still talk to each other.

I'm yet undecided what Panic's sexuality is. Generally all of my characters are played the same way I myself am- gay. But Panic... I don't know that he's actually interested. I've had him shoot his shot a couple times but just for shits and giggles. I AM romancing someone in BG3 with him but I'm deciding how in character of a choice that is for him. I think the more I think about it the less urge he really feels for that type of intimacy.

Despite the appearance of being open and friendly, he's actually quite guarded when it comes to personal matters. He's one of those people who you could know as an incredibly lovely, helpful, kind individual... until you think really hard about how much you actually know about him, and at that point you realize that he has offered very little about himself over the years. Again, lawful good, so there's nothing malicious behind it. He is simply very private without seeming to be so right away.