#I hope people understand what I’m trying to say

[rockscanfly]

Noshir Dalal’s response to my prompt “Please record Charles roasting Dutch post-refinery/Eagle Flies’ death”

Please please go throw money at @noshirdalal over at his newly established cameo. He’s such a talented and dedicated artist who really brought Charles to life and I love everything about this insane five minute monologue he made in response to my joke prompt. The pathos. The catharsis.

This is the only thing I’m going to be able to think about the rest of the week. I have so many questions. Starting with, of course: What did Charles do to his father, and what were the circumstances where Charles told Dutch about it, when that’s not something even Arthur seems to know?

(image ID and audio transcript below the cut)

[Video ID: Noshir Dalal, in the voice of Charles Smith. He is performing with head and shoulders in frame, periodically looking at the camera as if to address Dutch Van der Lin. There is a stone fireplace in the background

End ID]

[begin transcript]

He’s dead.

Eagle Flies, the boy that you rallied to glorious war who died taking a bullet for the man that you called son and then abandoned, is dead.

Relax, Dutch, I’m not here to hurt you. And if I was, you really think your pistols would save you from me?

I’m—I’m here to say I’m sorry. I’m sorry I—I didn’t see it sooner. I was so caught up in Arthur and how sick he is…that I didn’t see the sickness in you.

And you are sick, Dutch. And from that sickness, there is no medicine. How else do I explain it? Your willingness to turn your back on the most loyal man you have ever known. The welcoming of a snake hissing in your ear, how desperately eager you are to hear the worst lies about the people that love you?

That man will be your ruin, Dutch. He is no Hosea. He has you desperately scrambling after a paper crown but you’re paying for it with your kingdom. You will die with nothing and no one.

I leave in the morning. Rains Falls needs my help, and I will try, try, to undo some of the damage that you have done.

But before I go I hope that you will hear me. Arthur, the man that you left to die, is angry. Angry at himself because he doesn’t understand what he’s done to make you turn away from him. And through it all he stands with you, Dutch. He can’t bring himself to do it, because he loves you like a father.

But you know what I did to my father. So just imagine what I could do to you.

[end transcript]

[tenitchyfingers]

No, because there are no other ethno-national countries. Not in the UN anyway.

Here’s the thing: genocidal maniacs don’t get sympathy from people. You are not the underdogs. You aren’t even nice to anyone. You spit on chrisrians, vandalize cities everywhere you go, break shit in other people’s houses... How the fuck do you expect anyone to sympathize with you? Because of the Holocaust? That was 80 years ago and the survivors and children of survivors are against you (like Norman Finkelstein, who also yelled at you for crying like bitches every time there’s a debate, and like him I’m done giving any credence to crocodile tears, and people are quickly getting tired of that covert narcissist behavior too). You also never cared about Holocaust survivors, because the way y’all treat them is ABYSMAL. Leaving them in abject poverty, throwing leftovers on the ground and letting them pick it off the floor? Making fun of them and saying they were weak cowards who “let themselves get caught”? Stealing their reparation money when Germany sent it?

You are all disgusting. Fuck Israel. Fuck Zionism. Fuck you. And you’re not converting anyone on tumblr by the way. We’re the punk ass queer commie cockroaches (and Israel ain’t queer-friendly considering how you murderously chased a Zionist actor who’s on your side and made him break character while cowering for his life like a hunted animal just for playing the parody of a gay character, look up Sacha Baron Cohen and what happened to him in Israel, and if that’s how you treat a straight guy who is ONE OF YOURS just for PRETENDING to be gay, sure as fuck queer people who might disagree with your genocidal campaign ain’t safe with you). The people on this platform have principles. you ain’t changing our mind on the basic fact that MASS MURDER AND ILLEGAL OCCUPATION AIN’T RIGHT. No matter what excuse you have.

But I also understand why you’re throwing spaghetti at the wall and hope something sticks. Nobody in Europe believes the “antisemitic pogrom” shit about what happened in Amsterdam, nobody in the world and online believes any of your excuses and lies to motivate genocide, but tumblr? This is the last place where you should be. Everyone here hates your Nazi ass. But you’re trying. I guess the hasbara people really are desperate. And it’s funny because it’s all failing. Justice will come. Israel is falling apart right now. It’s over. You lost.

“it doesn’t matter what zionism ACTUALLY is because it's being used to justify horrible crimes-“ ok well antizionism is being used to justify hunting down jews in the streets. so where does that leave us exactly.

[danikamariewrites]

Hi I hope it’s ok if i request this you really don’t have to do it. But a Xaden riorson fluff and angst where the reader gets really hurt but they are trying to help people so she hides it from Xaden and when he finds out he’s really mad at her but he’s really just scared of losing her and hates seeing her hurt with a happy ending. I hope this is ok and there is no pressure to do this I completely understand if you don’t want to.

My Greatest Fear

Xaden Riorson x reader

Note: I haven’t written for Xaden in so long, I’ve missed him. I’m so ready for Onyx Storm and I kind of want to do something to celebrate. Should I do a countdown with fics for each FW boy for the week leading up to the books release? I hope you like this fic anon and thanks for requesting :)

Warnings: mentions of blood, injuries, and stitches

More than anything you want to sneak away from the crowded hall. To blend in with the shadows of Riorson House and limp away to your bedroom. Clutching your side you skillfully dodge riders, healers, and everyone in between.

“Y/n! Can you assist over here?” Violet calls to you, her arms full of bandages. You meet her pleading gaze, putting on a generous smile and nodding as you make your way over to her. The slash on your ribs can wait. Others with worse injuries need help.

Pulling the laces of your vest tighter with shaking hands you take the bandages from Violet to help distribute them. “Thank you,” Violet breathes out. She rushes off to take another box from Liam, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek.

A small sigh escapes your lips at the sight, making you wonder where your own boyfriend is. Xaden wasn’t among the injured, not that he would ever let himself be seen like that thanks to the Colonel’s words in the last Assembly meeting. But this wyvern attack has been the worst one yet. Healers are still bringing people in and you don’t want to thank the gods until you lay eyes on an unharmed Xaden.

————

After an hour you were exhausted and light headed. The more you felt the cut on your side dripping blood the tighter you pulled your vest, hoping to keep your skin together. Slumping on the ground you rest for a moment.

Taking deep breathes you try to focus on the chaos around you, tuning out the pain.

Opening your eyes you see Liam staring down at you, a worried look on his face. “Hey,” he says softly. “Xaden is back and asking for you.” Your heart picks up at the mention of your boyfriend.

“Is he ok?” Liam smiles at you. “Of course he is. He’s Xaden.”

You chuckle, “Don’t let him hear you say that. It’ll go right to his head, it’s already big enough.”

Liam holds his hand out to help you. You brush him off, using the wall to help you stand. Liam eyes you as you take a shaky breath. Pulling yourself together you do your best not to limp toward Xaden. You can feel Liam’s gaze burning on the back of your head at your slow movements.

Whipping around — as slowly as possible — you scowl at him. “Stop it. Are you coming or not?” You snarl. Liam holds his hands up in surrender, hurrying his steps to catch up with you.

Stepping into the throne room you take another steadying breath, using the wall to help keep your balance. As leaders of the rebellion mingle, discussing the wyvern and Venin, your eyes immediately find Xaden. You let out a sigh of relief at the sight of him unharmed.

Before you can make your way to him Liam waves him over.

The first thing Xaden notices is how pale you look along with the dark spot growing on the side of your uniform. He wordlessly reaches for your ribs, watching for your reaction. Your hand flys out to grasp his wrist. Your grip weak. “Don’t,” you whisper harshly.

“What’s wrong?” You shake your head. You’re struggling to breathe now. Xaden looks to Liam for answers but all his brother can do is shrug, mirroring his worry.

Your other hand grips Xaden’s bicep as hard as you can. “I can’t…I need,” Xaden holds you closer to his body. His hand gently touching your side. You hiss at the contact and try to push Xaden away. “What do you need baby?”

You don’t know what happened after that. When you blacked out all you heard was Xaden yelling for help and your vest being ripped apart.

When you came to the dizzy feeling is still with you. You try to sit up but a large hand on your shoulder stops you. “Don’t even,” the worry clear in Xaden’s voice. You stare up at him with big eyes, remaining flat on the bed.

Xaden sits on the edge of the bed with a huff. He looked like he was struggling not to scold you. “Why?” Is all he asks.

You knew what he meant. Why walk around tending to the injured when you were bleeding out. Truthfully, you knew it was bad. The Venin you went hand to hand with fought nasty.

“Colonel Gerault yelled at me last time, saying leaders shouldn’t look weak even if we feel weak. You know how he gets about image. Violet needed help and so did our other riders. I needed to know they were ok before I asked for help.”

Xaden let out a deep sigh, annoyed with your selflessness. He rolled his neck while simultaneously clenching his jaw. The tension this man holds in his whole body is astounding. “That’s not true and you know it.”

The two of you sit in silence for a while as Xaden contemplates his next words.

He gently holds your hand, running his thumb across your knuckles. “Do you know what the biggest loss in this war would be to me?” You shrug as the possibilities run through your mind knowing Xaden can hear your thoughts.

With each passing thought his frown deepens. “Not this house, not my dragon, or my father’s legacy. It’s you, sweetheart. You would be the greatest loss for me. I can replace a house and all that other shit. But there is no replacing you.”

A tear escapes down your cheek. Squeezing Xaden’s hand you give him a sad smile. “I need you.” He whispers, leaning down to press a kiss to your forehead. “I’m sorry.”

Xaden shakes his head. “There’s nothing to be sorry for, baby. I just need you to get better.” You hold out your pinky for him. Your sacred tradition when making sure one sticks to their word. “Promise.”

He wraps his pinky around yours before adding, “And, you will stay in bed until that wound is fully healed.” You open your mouth to protest but Xaden gives you a look, lifting your entwined fingers. Showing that you are bound to do as he wishes while you’re hurt.

“Fine.” You agree begrudgingly. “Thank you.” He drops your finger, pressing another kiss to your head, then your lips. You grab the back of his head to deepen the kiss. Xaden moans at the feeling of your tongue swiping against his bottom lip. After a few more minutes of passionately making out Xaden pulls away.

You whine at the lack of lip contact. “You need to rest. If we do what I want to do you’re going to need new stitches.” He smirks at you. “Guess I better get to healing.”

[marauder-misprint]

Lion

Remus Lupin x gn!reader

Microfic - 663 words

cw: fluff

“Can you make it make sense?” Remus asks.

“I can try,” you reply, looking up from the essay you’re working on.

You and Remus are in the library working on homework. You don’t think it’s too odd that he’s asking for help with his Ancient Runes homework despite you not taking that class; sometimes you just need a fresh set of eyes to look something over. It happens all the time with your Divination work. However, when you look at him, he’s not looking at the assignment in front of him. He’s staring off in the distance at another table. You follow his gaze and see James and Lily canoodling. 

“Their relationship or how he got Head Boy?” you ask, trying to suppress a smile. 

“Relationships in general,” he sighs. “I don’t understand how people are able to just get together.”

“It usually involves one person liking another.”

He looks at you to make sure you see him roll his eyes. 

“Well, duh.”

“And, I guess, they communicate that they’re both interested. And a relationship is born.”

“That’s where I get lost. How do you tell someone that?”

You chuckle, setting your quill down. “You’re asking the wrong person.”

“Yeah? You got your eyes on someone?”

“Someone? Rem, I’ve fancied the same bloke for years.”

“Why don’t you say anything to him?”

It’s your turn to roll your eyes at him. “Have you met me? I break into a sweat when I raise my hand in class. I’m not a lion like you.” You pause for a moment. “The fear of rejection and losing the friendship I currently have with him is too much.”

He shakes his head. “How could anyone reject you, love? You’re wonderful.”

“You’re my friend. You have to say that,” you say with a soft smile. 

“No, really. I haven’t met a single person who doesn’t like you. Brilliant, friendly, kind, beautiful, considerate…”

You blush at him saying ‘beautiful.’ 

“Stop it! Now, what about you? Someone capture your attention enough? Or are you just jealous of James and Lily in general?”

Remus scoffs. “I’m not jealous. But yes. There’s someone. Haven’t been able to stop thinking about ‘em lately.”

“Then you tell them how you feel. Channel that inner Gryffindor lion and go get ‘em.”

“I don’t know how. What do I say? Do I just say ‘hey, I fancy you,’ and wait for a response? Do I walk away? Do I immediately plan a date? Why would I plan a date before I even know if they like me back? Merlin, how could anyone like me back?”

“Hey,” you say, reaching out to grab his jaw to quiet him. He stares at you with wide eyes. “If I tell my person that I like them, you’ll tell yours?”

He nods and you let go of his jaw. Something about Remus being so nervous about this lit a fuse in you that convinces you to risk it. 

“Remus, you’re the one I fancy. I really, really like you and I have for years. Since we practically met, I’ve been enamored with you.” 

You stare at him, trying to get a read on him. His jaw goes slack as he stares back at you. The lack of response tells you that he doesn’t feel the same. You had hoped that maybe, just maybe, you were the person he was talking about. You had no real reason to think that he liked you back, but a person can dream. 

“Oh, sweetheart,” he whispers before leaning in and smashing his lips to yours.

It’s a bit rough and sloppy, but Remus is kissing you and you couldn’t ask for anything else. When he pulls back, your eyes are wide with shock.

“Shit, I hope that was okay,” he says, sitting up straight in his chair and looking away. “I… it’s just… You’ve been… I like you.”

You smile and shake your head. “There’s that lion-esque confidence I was told you Gryffindors have.”

[erinsunmentionables]

Veilguard—The Apotheosis of Victim Blaming

I am an abuse survivor. Part of the reason I empathize so heavily with Solas is because of this. I’m not the first person to point out that his behavior in DAI has all the hallmarks of an abuse victim, and everything we know about Flemeth/Mythal from the first three games and all supplementary content has characterized them both as abusers. Because victims becoming abusers is indeed a real and tragic phenomenon.

I was so hoping they’d handle the subject with the nuance and maturity we’ve come to expect from BioWare. Instead, we spent all of Veilguard combing through the most painful and traumatic memories of someone who was coerced and abused by a person he trusted, all the while the characters we’re meant to view as good and empathetic people mock him and glorify his abuser, who among other things willingly owned slaves.

Because there is no grey area, Mythal abused Solas just as Flemeth abused Morrigan and her son, and Justinia abused Leliana. And it’s clear this was the intention. It was always the intention. The foundations of it were too strong to remove entirely from the game, but I guess someone higher up wasn’t comfortable acknowledging that women can in fact be abusers, and men can in fact be victims.

So instead we get a group of relative strangers rubbernecking the tragedy of an abused man and going out of their way to heap the blame on the victim. At one point Lucanis literally says that he ‘should have just said no’ which is the kind of talk you hear about victims of assault and abuse all the time from the worst kind of people. I should know, because I’ve had the exact same experience.

It’s not just a disappointment. Disappointment doesn’t begin to touch it. I feel sick and I feel betrayed. I came to Dragon Age with DAI. It remains my favorite (or was, now the whole thing just makes me depressed) because, despite how dark things got, compassion and empathy were always there. The abused always had a voice, however singular, to stand up for them and defend them. Not so here.

There’s a sense of callousness and mean spiritedness that permeates Veilguard. Not sure if that was the intention, but that’s what we got. I couldn’t even finish the game—‘just say no’ was the last straw for me—but against my better judgement I looked into the endings, and really that was my mistake. Because the ‘good ending’ essentially boils down to the abuser oh so magnanimously releasing her victim while a group of strangers gaslight him into submission. I don’t really understand how we got here, but I hope the Devs understand just how damaging a message they ended up with. I know what it’s like to be judged with malignant bias by people determined to hate you while your abuser is lauded and praised. Because abusers are often charismatic and excellent at keeping up a saintly appearance to hide their monstrosity and further alienate their victim. That’s what this feels like.

They can try and retcon it all they like, maybe new players won’t notice, but anyone who remembers the last three games knows better. Flemeth and Mythal may have been victims once, but both went on to use and abuse the people closest to them. Sugarcoating them in the interest of ignoring/making their victims look worse is genuinely vile.

I don’t know who let this change happen, but they’ve contributed to an already skewed public perception about what abuse looks like and how abusers get away with their crimes.

[saintsenara]

idk if you have ever talk about this before but in case you havent, what do you think of the infamous "Albus Severus" Potter name? overall how do you feel about Harry's naming his kids?

thank you very much for the ask, anon!

i'll be honest, its infamy always strikes me as a classic case of the fandom not being able to separate what characters would do from what they would do.

because i completely appreciate that most people probably wouldn't name their children after a teacher who bullied them and a man who sent them to the death...

but harry would.

albus severus makes perfect sense as a name on the basis of who harry is, how he understands honour and lineage, how he comes to think of both snape and dumbledore over the course of deathly hallows, and how those thoughts would expand and deepen as time passes after the end of the pre-epilogue canon.

i also don't find the james and lily thing weird. i know plenty of people who are named after their dead relatives, including a couple of people who are named after murdered relatives, and it's not something anyone i know would look twice at. nor do the families of any of those people have trouble understanding them as their own person. i presume this would be considered stranger - and/or more inhibiting to a child's sense of identity - in other parts of the world, but i just understand it as something families do.

what does strike me as odd, though, is how much of this fandom forgets two things: that there are generally two people involved in naming a child; and that ginny is not a doormat.

it always seems to me that - whether people think the kids' names are suitable or not - harry is assumed to have been exclusively responsible for them, while ginny is assumed either to have been railroaded into doing what harry wanted, or to have nobly forfeited any say in the naming process because her only goal in life is to sacrifice everything to make harry happy.

[when it comes to the boys' names, at least. people do seem to go for the idea that ginny's responsible for the luna part of lily luna.]

but i think this is nonsense - and it clearly puts enough of a bee in my bonnet that i've had her say so in two pieces of my writing...

in everlasting ink:

James will be born with the cord wrapped around his neck, grey and still, and there will be hours - or maybe just seconds which feel like hours - in which she doesn't breathe, skin going cold and vision whiting, until he roars, rattly and indignant, as though being born was an unwelcome disturbance in his otherwise busy day.   That's why she'll want him to have Sirius' name. His first cry will sound like a motorbike.

and [when i finally get around to posting the next chapter] one year in every ten:

'What on earth possessed you to agree to that name?' 'I didn't agree to it. I picked it. I hope you don't think so little of Harry that you think he'd deny me a say in the names of my own children?' 'But Albus -' 'He was very kind to me. Dumbledore. After what happened... It was like I was sleepwalking. Nothing felt real. It was like I wasn't fully in my own body. And everyone was acting like everything was fine - yay, Ginny's back to normal! - and I just went along with it. I don't know why... There was this afternoon, just before the end of term, and I was trying to go down to the lake, but I'd got stuck - I guess that's the word - on the stairs. I literally couldn't move... And then Dumbledore came round the corner and he said "are you quite alright, Miss Weasley?" and I said "oh yes, I’m right as rain" and he just looked at me - you know the way he used to look at you, like he could read your mind - and it all came bursting out of me. How I didn't think I'd ever feel happy again. How I thought a little bit of me might have been left in the Chamber. How I worried my whole life had been broken by what you did to me and it would never be fixed. And he said - I'll never forget it - "there is nothing wrong with being broken, Miss Weasley, if you try to see the cracks as how the -" '"- light gets in". I should have known that was a pre-rehearsed bit of sentimentality...' 'I remember thinking about it when he died. He was lying there, broken, and I remember thinking "where's your light now?" But it turned out that he knew what he was doing.' 'That's one way of putting it...' 'And then we picked Severus for his middle name because we thought it would annoy Snape and that would be funny. And it did and it was.'

[hunter470]

More 9-1-1 Ranting

I wish I could stop thinking about this show. I’m hoping once I get all my rants out I’ll be able to move forward. I’m definitely not watching anymore. The sad thing is I decided to drop the show after season 6. It was no longer bringing me joy. However, with the move to ABC, I gave it another shot. I still wasn’t sold but then on April 4th, which happens to be my birthday, we got the Buck/Tommy kiss and I was all in. Kinda wish now that I wouldn’t have watched those episodes. What a waste of great storytelling. Sadly, this is what happens when a show runner has no idea how to craft an overall season story and flies by the seat of his pants.

Anyway, I’m just gonna say I don’t believe or trust anyone connected to this show, especially TM. I’m sorry but that man has no idea how to write or run a show about relationships…and yes, this show is just a soap opera with firefighters. Everything is just a plot point that he thinks will be cool but has no interest or idea how to actually make it work. There’s minimal or no follow through on stories and no understanding of how time works or how people actually share things about their lives based on the latest Abby fiasco. I mean really, she was engaged to a firefighter from the 118 and then dates another firefighter from the 118 and she says nothing? SMDH

It really doesn’t matter anyway because people will continue to watch and that will be the green light for him to keep doing what he does. I wouldn’t be surprised if the ratings for this week’s episode go up. TM blows up Buck/Tommy making people feel bad for Buck and wanting to see how he handles it and poof, engagement and viewers. Exactly why he did it. TM’s all about ratings and doesn’t care how he gets them. Don’t fool yourself otherwise. It’s show business not show friends.

Oh, and don’t forget, he’s also trying to launch a spinoff so he has to prove to the network that he deserves one. Also, don’t forget, the audience is just a means to an end. That’s all. Maybe I’m cynical, but doesn’t make me wrong. They’re selling a product and need viewers to keep making money. Again, it’s show business.

Nothing will change because people will keep watching and ultimately, that’s the only thing that matters to the network.

Rant over!

[unknown-cold]

I’m convinced that people don’t even know what fascism means, after how many people are calling Caitlyn that. Gives me the same vibes as conservatives calling all liberals communists. Anyway, they just seem to have such a hate for all of Piltover (idk how much more clear the writers have to be that Piltover isn’t all bad…points to Cassandra, etc). So much of the messages they are trying to convey are just going straight over peoples heads. Cait tried to do everything she can to protect Zaun but she keeps getting kicked down.

I can’t wait to see her glowing and determined again (like those photos , that seem to be from act 3). Breaks my heart that she’s getting so much hate, girl can never win. I empathize with both her and Jinx, something that many seem to struggle with. Jinx is always the hero/forgiven and Cait is a villain

Exactly I hope these people understand that,

They know the essence of Caitlyn's character, starting with giving her titles they don't even know what they mean. I literally feel from the way they talk like they're talking about a real character who kills real people. They're so angry and overreacting. They have to trust the writers and understand why the show's writers are doing this.

And speaking of Piltover really, their hatred is so overrated, and as you said the people of Piltover isn't all bad, the writers showed us that Cassandra wasn't that bad and did they forget Jayce that they make me feel like all the people of Piltover are evil and they should die and have no right to defend themselves.

And about Caitlyn literally she tried her best to do the right thing all the time and in the end things end in a tragic way, it is natural and expected that her personality would change even temporarily, until she realizes the situation and Caitlyn will return to her original personality. These people really need to calm down a little and watch the show until the end, then evaluate the characters and story and so on.

As for Jinx, I don't hate her, I sympathize with her, but I don't forget her bad actions towards the rest of the characters, but did Jinx's actions come without a reason? Of course not, and the same goes for Caitlyn, I sympathize with her, but do I agree with her actions? No, but does she have convincing reasons to do that? Yes.

And as I always say, there is no character who does not make mistakes. Every character makes mistakes and will recognize their mistakes and correct them. That is why the Arcane series is interesting to watch and learn about the characters’ challenges, etc...

And about the villains in the show, if we talk about them, they are two clear from the beginning, Ambessa and Silco, they both do not care about society or people if they die or anything else, all they care about is themselves and getting what they want even if it causes people to die, Silco flooded all of Zaun with shimmer and killed Vander and was planning to kill the rest of the children with him, then he made the children work in factories, as for Ambessa, it is clear that she has no mercy at all and we saw her from episode 1 how she caused a massacre at the memorial ceremony just to incite the people of Piltover to wage war on Zaun. So that she can benefit from the weapons that they will manufacture.

[gardenschedule]

could you elaborate on your tags from that "writing about white walls" post?

I don't think this is a very unique take here but basically I believe that John was trying to achieve certain goals via Yoko's presence, and it was an intentional and purposeful disruption of the Lennon-Mccartney relationship. John, Yoko and Paul, as well as many fans and authors, treat this disruption as an inadvertent, inevitable side effect of the johnandyoko love story, that they were just so obsessed with each other Paul naturally got pushed to the side and it couldn't be helped, but I really think that was the whole damn point. I wouldn't go so far as to claim that was their point of J&Y's *relationship*, but I certainly think it was the reason John refused to physically separate from her while he was still active in the beatles.

I mean, the thing about John and Yoko is that their relationship was just kind of bizarre and confusing, right? You can, in fact, be in love and also be in separate rooms, you can have a job and a wife at the same time, you can have a creative partner and a romantic partner simultaneously. For some reason John couldn't, and the way he/Paul explain it is so weak and unsatisfactory. Like:

“. . . I mean, I think really what it was, really all that happened was that John fell in love. With Yoko. And so, with such a powerful alliance like that, it was difficult for him to still be seeing me. It was as if I was another girlfriend, almost. Our relationship was a strong relationship. And if he was to start a new relationship, he had to put this other one away. And I understood that. I mean, I couldn’t stand in the way of someone who’d fallen in love. You can’t say, “Who’s this?” You can’t really do that. If I was a girl, maybe I could go out and… But you know I mean in this case I just sort of said, right – I mean, I didn’t say anything, but I could see that was the way it was going to go, and that Yoko would be very sort of powerful for him. So um, we all had to get out the way.”

I mean, that shit is insane?? It makes no sense for a platonic partnership. For Mclennon shippers, it can be interpreted in a way that makes some sense. But the rest of the world can't make sense of it, so they latched onto blaming Yoko for decades. And while it's partially racism and misogyny, it's mostly because people intuitively know there's something really weird about the way things went down and the best explanation they can come up with is that she manipulated or bewitched John somehow. I don't think that's the case. John can be pretty gullible and he loves a guru, but he's not so delusional he wouldn't foresee the conflict and tension that being joined at the hip 24/7 and trying to bring her into the immediate beatles circle would cause. I don't believe he could be manipulated into thinking it would be tolerable or positive for the group. He would never have accepted another beatle doing the same thing, he acknowledged this himself:

JOHN: But I understand how they felt, because if it had been Paul or George and Ringo that had fallen in love with somebody and gotten totally involved, suddenly… It wasn’t like, you know, somebody – George coming in and saying, “I’m going to work with Eric Clapton in a band now, and screw you.” It wasn’t that kind of thing at all. It was just suddenly this involvement.

I think he knew perfectly well it would be received badly, but there were beneficial outcomes he hoped for. On that post I said it could be taken as both an aggressive or defensive move, I reckon it's probably a mix of both. It could be seen as a power grab. He's got himself an ally in the studio who will unconditionally support him, increased artistic credibility (notably in a type of art Paul was also into), the implicit threat that he doesn't need Paul or the group, the leverage that comes with needing the others less than they need him, and the ability to induce creative, professional and personal jealousy in Paul specifically. After all, that's exactly how Paul most effectively hurt John:

JOHN: [Paul] even recorded that all by himself in the other room, that’s how it was getting in those days. We came in and he’d – he’d made the whole record. Him drumming, him playing the piano, him singing. Just because – it was getting to be where he wanted to do it like that, but he couldn’t – couldn’t – maybe he couldn’t make the break from The Beatles, I don’t know what it was. But you know, I enjoyed the track. But we’re all, I’m sure – I can’t speak for George, but I was always hurt when he’d knock something off without… involving us, you know? But that’s just the way it was then.

On the other hand, John at the time was particularly vulnerable and sensitive. Yoko must have been a protective mechanism, a barrier between himself and the person most able to hurt his feelings and his confidence, she made him feel good about himself and his art. He may not have been able to cope with the pressure unless she was there to believe in him and create some distance between him and Paul, to give him some physical and emotional space from the intensity of their relationship and competitive rivalry. And if we put our tinfoil hats on, we can certainly speculate that showing off a shiny new partner is an effective way to deal with unreciprocated feelings or romantic/sexual rejection.

Truthfully, sometimes I feel like John wanted Paul to be badly hurt by this situation so much that he kind of convinced himself of it? I have a tonne of quotes about how Paul reacted to Yoko here, and one thing I notice is that John seems to exaggerate how much Paul hated her, and Yoko's a lot less accusing. That's not to say Paul wasn't jealous, but he clearly made efforts to hide it. We have evidence that Paul tried his best to be accepting and kind despite how negatively it affected him. He went out of his way to help and defend them on multiple occasions, and yet John still thinks that Paul was singing 'Get Back' to her directly or he can't stand them being in love or whatever. It seems almost like wishful thinking on his part, which makes perfect sense if you think his goal was to hurt Paul in the first place.

[rita-repulsa-ke]

Death and Time

“Why don’t you want me?”

Why don’t you want me.

Hey, Agatha, why don’t you want me?!

Before Agatha, there is nothing for Rio to lose. She is loss, the final end of all things. Nothing can be taken from her. All things die and so all things are hers. Until Agatha, and then, for the first time, she understands loss from an outsider’s perspective.

“And when I do die, a long, long, long, long, long time from now, I don’t want to see your face.”

Sure, she can do that. It’s not like she appears personally for everyone, though she could. Some people find their way past the veil without a guide. Some are ready for it. She picks the one who aren’t, those who feel their time has come too early, the ones who want someone to complain to or a long-suffering shoulder to cry on. She does her best to talk them around, but ultimately, one way or another, they’re coming with her.

Agatha will probably hurl herself past the veil and immediately start causing problems on the other side. She will never go gently into that good night. She’ll find the rules and then she’ll try to break them, arrogant creature that she is.

Rio misses her every day.

Or however long. She has trouble with Time. Not her domain. A day is a week is a month is a year; it all blends together.

Until she gives some to Agatha. Then she watches, unseen, and sees the hourglass tick down, grain by grain, until the inevitable end.

Which is, of course, her.

All she knows is that it has been too long. They did battle across continents until Agatha hid from her with dark magic and that hurt worst of all, the long stretch where she can’t even find the woman she loves. She doesn’t know how long it was. It felt like an eternity. It wasn’t.

When they were together, Agatha handled Time, mostly by being annoyed at it. Nothing has ever moved fast enough for Agatha. Rio doesn’t understand—there is only one thing to hurry towards.

And now that she’s arrived, Agatha doesn’t seem too happy to be here.

Too bad. This time she’s coming with Rio. It’s been too long (how long?). Death wants her favorite girl.

Only, Agatha is kissing her. Properly, even hungrily, and all she can do is let it happen.

How long has it been since Agatha kissed her?

Agatha’s mouth is so warm, exactly as she remembers, and Rio’s anger abates almost instantly, transmutes into something far more tender and adoring.

Agatha is so good at kissing her that it takes her some time to realize she has been cheated out of her prize.

She stands next to the grave. Agatha stands—floats—next to her.

“So,” she says. “I was thinking. Maybe we should let bygones be bygones. You know, dying really has a way of changing your perspective.”

If only. Rio knows her too well. “What do you want, Agatha?”

Agatha’s ghostly lips shape themselves into a cruel smile as she abandons the pretense that she isn’t doing what she always does, manipulating Rio’s fondness for her own gain. “Information. How does all this—“ here, a motion to her ghostly form, a bit of a twirl. “Work?”

Rio snorts. “How would I know? Ghosts aren’t mine. They deliberately defy the natural order.”

“Oh. Well, then. Ta, darling,” Agatha says, starting to fade.

”Actually, there is one thing I do know about ghosts,” Rio says, contemplating the grave.

“Oh?”

“In the end, they always come to me.”

Agatha considers that, then leans over and taps her on the nose, a whisper of something spectral against her skin that Rio has to work not to flinch back from, she’s really not the biggest fan of ghosts.

“Not the worst fate in the world. But I’m not done yet,” Agatha says with a wink and disappears.

Rio stands frozen for some unknowable duration, then shakes her head with a small smile. Agatha never fails to surprise her.

Fine, then. She’ll wait as long as she needs to—Time means nothing to the end of all things. Eventually, everything is hers.

And now she’s got something new. Hope—also not her domain—that by the time Agatha comes to her, her beloved will finally be ready to admit how much she wants Death.

For something cute, try the wedding

for something angstier, try jealousy

[brothernasty]

I find discussions on this super fascinating because all my friends are visual artists and they “see things like it's a movie” in their minds. I mostly think in words, so when I have an idea for something, I tend to go straight into narration/verse without planning it out. Obviously it's still first draft stuff, so I don’t skip any part of the revision process, but I’m not sure I do as much image-to-word translation as other people do.

I want to add my two cents and say that doing writing exercises can be a great way to find ways of writing and thinking that work for you. Writing exercises can involve basically anything, so if you’re googling I’d look up “dialogue writing exercises” or some other specific aspect of writing to get ones that aren’t too broad or complicated.

For a little context, I used to write fiction growing up, got addicted to poetry for a few years in college, and now I'm writing a novel.

One exercise that's useful no matter what you write is to get into the habit of translating sensory experiences into words. If you see/hear/smell/whatever something interesting, think about how you would describe that. You can write these down, or not - it's more about the practice of turning sensory experiences into words.

It's like the artists’ exercise of breaking down an object into its component shapes so you can understand and draw it easier. Practicing turning the world around you into words makes it easier to take the detailed image you have in your head and put it on the page.

Another easy one is to take a piece of writing (including film/TV!) that you like and figure out what you like about it and how the author did that. What plot beats created tension that made you excited to see what would happen next? What does a character say/do that makes them likeable or unlikeable? How did the writer create a certain atmosphere?

Just thinking about how stories work is always useful, but you can also turn this into a sort of study by trying to write a few paragraphs in a certain writer’s style or try to write your own episode of your favorite TV show. This can be a great way to put that analysis into practice.

All that being said: all writing is practice. I spent my childhood writing a looot of short stories that I simply never finished lol. And that wasn't wasted time! So don't feel bad if you end up with a bunch of WIPs that never go anywhere.

Anyway! I hope any of this is useful!

I am curious, writers. Im a visual artist and its smth that has come to me very naturally my whole life, ive worked hard to get better at it and to learn how to observe the world but i feel like ive always had an inclination for it

Ive always wanted to write more, but it doesn't come to me as naturally as pictures

Which doesn't mean i shouldn't put in the effort of learning it, and it's somwthing i want to definetly do :D

But it made me wonder, bc i have such a solid understanding of how i approach the process of drawing (which can be different ways 2 be clear)

At writers, what are some of the ways you personally approach writing? Does it come from just opening a page and fiddling around sometimes, like doodling on a page? Do you do studies like, drawing from life but writing from life??? Or is it more the usual concept of like... a scenario pops into your mind and you start working from that?

Idk im just rambling Curiously i would rly like to push myself to write more bc. A) its a rly important skill to have b) even if i only end up using it supplimentally in my artwork, processing stuff through written pacing, drafting a story etc. Can be so. Well detrimental

[kiwisandpearls]

writing characters to be victims of trauma doesn’t always have to be for ‘raising awareness���. It can be, and there’s nothing wrong with writing characters who have certain trauma in order to raise awareness towards real people who have experienced that trauma. But that isn’t always have to be the case, and it shouldn’t be assumed that if a writer writes character(s) with certain trauma, they are doing it expressly to ‘raise awareness’.

if a writer wants to write a character who is a victim of certain trauma in order to raise awareness of irl victims of similar trauma, then they should be able to. But it should not be made to be an obligation that writers writing characters with trauma have to do it to ‘raise awareness.’

[the-hot-zone]

the imagery and audio of the opening scene of s1e1 of arcane is just insanely well done for the set-up of the show’s themes and central conflicts. this is just a quick analysis (that spiraled) of what i notice as i’m re-watching, but—

a) the POV of “jinx” with the scribbles overlaying the aftermath of destruction and devastation lay the groundwork for not only what represents her POV to us, the audience, but also to where it originates. this is one of the first things we see in e1: the scribbled faces appear on the enforcers and on the dead bodies even as powder herself has her eyes covered. the echoes of violence reach her even as she tries not to look. retrospectively, we are meant to notice how "jinx" was already forming years before she started “jinxing” jobs with vi and the gang—the violence of her circumstances and the impact they have on her as a child played a key role in what the show calls her "instability," in what we understand as her development. her scribbled vision is first associated with violence done to her and those around her before it is associated with her later choices, which arguably can be rooted in her circumstances (more on this later). this is central to what arcane as a show wants to establish wrt their commentary on violence as a cycle and consequences that cannot be undone regardless of one's actions.

b) the most striking imagery to me: blood running down the faces of the statues on the bridge between piltover and the undercity, being made to look as though they are crying. the bridge is a key piece of imagery introduced in this opening sequence that arcane returns to throughout later eps. the expression of these statues is still, solemn, and silent. they are guardians of the bridge between piltover and the rest of the city. the tears of blood, however, have moved the unmovable. this can be interpreted in a couple ways, but here's mine. the blood as tears represents the ongoing mourning for those lost to violence. vander's resistance failed in multiple ways in that it did not end piltover's rule over the undercity, nor did it save those who fought in the resistance. moreover, this bridge is revisited in e2, and we see the bloodstains never left. they cannot be washed away; the memorial to those who were lost—vi’s parents—remain, and we see vander ask vi if she’s willing to lose powder to a war, just like she lost her parents. later on in the ep when vi approaches deckard, a drop of blood runs down her face like a tear. she, too, steps into the role (or tries to), as a stone-faced guardian, but violence moves her. particularly, it moves her out of powder's life, contributing to jinx's development.

c) when vi is about to cry, it looks like she’s holding herself back before she breaks down, and only then does powder also cry. there are a couple subtle moments throughout this first scene that express the extent to which powder revolves around vi, and this is one of them. powder takes her cues from vi: just minutes ago in the scene, powder only looks at the bodies because vi stopped. so we have this interpersonal level of reliance between these two, but the show doesn't want us to forget where the cues for vi come from. powder looked because vi stopped. vi stopped because the devastation around her made her stop.

d) throughout this scene, music is the dominant auditory experience. however, there is one sound that breaks through the music: the weight of vander’s gauntlets dropping to the ground. the break in the music is meant to express the weight of this decision. it's the only sound of an action that reaches the viewer as he throws the gauntlets down in favor of picking up the responsibility of vi and powder. with this action, he attempts to abandon his cause in hopes to protect vi and powder,

e) but vi looks back. we see her glare back across the bridge towards piltover, her eyes narrowed, and we understand that a key part of her character will be resistance. and to cross that bridge, she must put on vander’s gauntlets. we see her try to embrace this legacy throughout the first ep and beyond—“this is the exact job vander would’ve pulled when he was our age” is what vi says to her friends when on that first job to steal from jayce's workshop. and throughout the first few eps we see vander’s legacy called into question, with a focus on his legacy of resistance against piltover. that's the legacy those around him prefer, including vi herself. but it’s also a legacy he’s rejected in favor of another: his work to protect the lanes through non-violent means. silco’s later criticism of “you’re willing to die for a cause but not fight for it” towards vander perfectly encapsulates vander’s decision to put the gauntlets down, and why he still fails to prevent violence, particularly against vi and powder.

overall: the opening sequence is vital for establishing the link between vi's and powder's relationship and the violence enacted against the underground by piltover. the show's theme expresses that the former would not exist without the latter. the tragedy of jinx isn't just an interpersonal tragedy. it's a circumstantial one. it's an environmental one. it's a societal one. remember: mylo first drops the name jinx when he says powder jinxes every job. but there wouldn’t be any jobs to do--the coins coming into the lanes wouldn't be "only from crime"--without the violence piltover has enacted against the undercity.

there’s a lot of pain in asking ourselves the “if only’s” of these first few episodes. but if the alternative for powder killing claggor and mylo was for her to come on the mission to save vander anyways, to fight anyways, then there was never a choice. when powder says, “I’m not a fighter,” and vi responds, “you don’t have to be,” vi fails to understand the consequences violence has already had on her sister. in powder's mind, you don't have to fight translates as you don't belong here. the only way powder knows how to help is to fight--it's what vi (and everyone around her) taught her, even inadvertently. the show tells us that there was never a real choice in any part of this sequence. the real legacy was the violence topside enacted and continues to enact against the underground. what prevents vi from coming back to powder is ultimately marcus, regardless of his motivations.

what the opening sequence, and those first three eps, tell us about the show’s defining conflict is this. in a system built on inequity, its defining characteristic will always be violence, and whether those subjected to that violence try to fight it, live within it, or take advantage of it, the consequences cannot be undone. there is no going back.

[velmashaircut]

When I first began reading/ watching OPM I use to really, really hate Tatsumaki. She was probably my least favourite character from the main cast for over a year. I tried to hide it in my posts but I despised her.

Even back then I knew why, Tatsumaki reminded me of my older sister who at the time I did not have a great relationship with. Not only would I say Tatsumaki has my sisters personality and motivations amplified to the extreme, but my sister was seen as ‘better’ by everyone around me, or at least it felt like that to me. My sister obviously isn’t an esper prodigy but she is seen as smarter, prettier, more likeable you know the drill. The Psychic sisters arc was probably one of my least favourite arcs unsurprisingly, I can understand Fubuki’s feelings towards her sister completely. You would think this would make me like Fubuki …but back then I didn’t like her that much either lmao.

The manga, especially the chapters for the monster association arc, did a great job of changing my perspective of Tatsumaki. I can see why she’s the way she is and even if I disagree with her methods I do like her character now, I prefer her to Fubuki. I used to hate webcomic counterpart as well but ever since the mangas MA and psychic sisters arc I like her webcomic self also.

The relationship improvement with my sister played a part in this as well. My sister wanted to make sure I could stand in my own two feet but she went about it the wrong way, which was what Tatsumaki also did. So understanding my sisters motivations and the manga chapters made me understand and like Tatsumaki more.

[the-casbah-way]

What’s your opinion on the English

[anarchne]

Every day new massacres are committed against children and women

We are being subjected to genocide, and the entire world is silent and unmoving

I am writing to express my concern about the slow progress of our campaign and the lack of support in deploying it to achieve our goal. I ask everyone involved to help us save our family.

We live in very difficult circumstances

The daily suffering we experience is unimaginable to anyone, the difficult living conditions, constant anxiety and fear

Thank you for your interest in this issue.

https://gofund.me/345e1bc0

at the time of this post the GFM has raised: $2,591 / $48,000 CAD

please donate and/or share.

thank you for reaching out, israa. i am so sorry you and your loved ones are going through this. i completely validate your worry. i honestly don’t know what to say other than i won’t stop talking about the genocide you’re going through, others in my life have not and will not, and i will continue in attempting to boost traction by sharing your campaign. i have donated, and ask everyone reading this to either do the same or to reblog this post and your posts so it reaches people who can.

here is also some additional resources to help palestinians in general.