shadabalvi

[blackmoonoracle]

𝓑𝓵𝓪𝓬𝓴 𝓶𝓸𝓸𝓷 𝓸𝓻𝓪𝓬𝓵𝓮 𝓟𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓼.....

ᴘɪᴄᴋ ᴀ ᴄᴀʀᴅ

What should you stop worrying about?

ᴘɪʟᴇ ᴏɴᴇ

The transformation of a project or relationship, you left something behind in search of something greater and you may be fearing this was your last chance. I think that you saw something very clearly and while others may not see it right now you're dodging a bullet. Hiveminds don't help, they usually harm. The fact you have the strength to go against the grain says everything about your character. You know what you witnessed, do not be afraid to stand your ground. I'm thinking of that one Kendrick song at the beginning "why god why god do I gotta suffer every stone thrown at you resting at my feet". It seems like people may be attacking you and you feel cornered, this could be that you removed yourself from a friend group and you feel vulnerable. They could have secrets about you that you're scared will be spread, but I promise you it's all good. I think what you don't see is this person only has a good reputation in that specific circle. LOL people fear them, but I feel like they're high-key becoming super irrelevant. Like no one outside of that circle listens to them anymore or wants much to do with them. You may have misjudged someone that warned you about them? The reality is the worst this person is going to do is watch you, you have too much dirt on them that's irrefutable. I feel like they said too much to you, trusted you too much, others are questioning them on why you removed themselves from the situation because they understand and trust in your character. You're actually not being negatively judged, people really adore you. Stop caring, this person is a complete loser. Even if you thought you guys were tight this person is FAAAKE. I'm feeling cancer, Libra, and Aquarius energy. This person could be a Capricorn, you might also be venusian? You'll be good babe, do you and watch the building burn behind you LOL.

ᴘɪʟᴇ ᴛᴡᴏ

You need to stop worrying and allow yourself to recover, you may have experienced something traumatic recently. Money is coming slowly but surely, you may need to be doing something to release pain from your mind and body. I'm thinking of screaming for some reason, like you need to scream or be angry. Things just may be rough right now, but it's temporary. I literally hard tough times are temporary, you may be about to start your period and that could be why you feel so antsy. Things are dying right now so that new things can enter into your life, things wont be as painful as you think. You're solid, stop worrying about some relationship in your life being destroyed or ruined. I feel like you and this person are really good at avoiding and resolving conflict but you're in denial. You're so scared you're unable to properly enjoy things, and it's honestly kind of sad. Good things can happen to you too babe, you're not fated to suffer. You're recovering, from a lot of pain, and a lot of abuse, and a lot of emotional wounding. Sometimes you just need to learn to relax and allow things to flow as they need to.

ᴘɪʟᴇ ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ

Recovering some kind of money, I feel like a loss you experienced is only going to lead up to a massive massive gain! Your idea of financial wealth and abundance may come from a place of trauma and self doubt. It's possible that you haven't ever experienced true stability, and that you've felt like you're constantly in limbo moving around pieces and trying to make things work. Sometimes you have to allow the universe to be silent, there's a control issue that roots from your insecurities. You have to learn to allow things to unfold, if you don't let things unfold they simply won't. Especially when we're dealing with manifestations, we may not understand why or HOW our manifestations are unfolding because we exist in a trauma based reality still. It's okay to let things close out, sometimes things must die and we must accept that at some point everything must end. I heard "all good things must come to an end". It doesn't mean good things don't last, and I feel like you're not understanding that whatever this good thing was you are genuinely viewing through rose colored glasses. It's going to be okay! I swear :(

[kisses4lao]

OMG I LOVED YOUR CURLY MARRIAGE HCS SO MUCH YOUR VISION OF HIM IS JUST >>>>>>

I have a little question tho!! How do you think Curly could react if reader won't want kids for some reason?? Will he be okay with adoption or maybe having some pets instead?? 🤔

AHHH TY FOR THE FEEDBACK!! I always appreciate when you guys comment positively on my writing, it makes me wanna write more and I'm genuinely so in love with Curly atm so expect more content(pls request if you have any ideas, sfw and nsfw welcomed <3)

As for your question; I think that no matter the circumstances, if you didn't want children, he'd be completely okay with having a dog or two. He's DEFINITELY a dog person, I see him as someone who'd want a fierce dog like a cane corso or rottweiler. But if you guys got dogs specifically because you just didn't want kids, he'd definitely hold hope that you may change your mind in the future. But if you don't, he's content either way.

Now, let's say you couldn't have kids. Whether it was being infertile, or potential health issues coming into play while being pregnant, he'd definitely want to adopt or look into surrogacy. Curly would have a long conversation with you if you wanted kids, if you did but couldn't have them, he'd mention alternatives. He'd genuinely be okay with whatever you wanted, human baby or dog. It's your body, and he understands that, so he just wants you to be comfortable <3

[pikahlua]

i think some people wanted the students to change society enough that someone like toga would find acceptance at the end of the story and be allowed to live freely (as a normal school girl in her case) instead of eg having to go to prison. horikoshi not writing the manga that way means that he never created the enviroment where the villains had a "realistic" chance at getting a happy future even though he could have done so as the author of the story. and this is considered to be a "failing" of the themes. as i understand the ideal ending would have included toga never having a need to die for ochako at all because it would have allowed for her to find full acceptance within society as a "normal girl" because then she would have been truly "saved" (and the students would have achieved their goal)

Oh thank you. Finally a reasonable topic to discuss.

I'm going to be real, I don't know how Horikoshi could have believably written something where a serial murderer gets accepted by society without having to go to prison. Sure, that'd have seemed like a happy ending to some, but there would be a nonsignificant number of people who would have a real problem with that, and I don't think they can be dismissed out of hand. When we're talking about good writing, believability is a large component. I receive asks telling me that somehow it feels cheap that society would not completely change at the whims of three teenagers reaching out to villains, but if society HAD magically changed and accepted a bunch of murderers with no penalty for their crimes? I'm sure there is an audience for that, but THAT is a writing choice that would receive a lot of flack too--and I would have been one of those critics.

That said, I don't think the environment Horikoshi created is the major issue standing in the way of the villains' so-called happy futures. The environment for how any sort of redemption would look was set up for us to see with Gentle Criminal. Punishment and then rehabilitation. I agree that Horikoshi did imply the villains would go away to prison for life if they had been caught, but let's say for the sake of argument the villains did live and go to prison and were allowed rehabilitation in the same way Gentle Criminal got. I think that would have been a happy ending a lot of people craved, and for a while I thought I might like it too. However, I kept hitting a wall when I imagined it for Tomura specifically (I didn't devote much brainpower to Dabi or Toga at the time). It didn't feel like a happy ending for Tomura to me, and it's because to get there would have required Tomura to change SO MUCH it would've destroyed his character for me. Tomura didn't want rescue or redemption or rehabilitation, and so to force that on him and change him would've felt like society quelling a dissenter with no regard for the principles the dissenter stood for. It would've felt like only Izuku's wishes were fulfilled while Tomura's were erased. So even if that environment existed, I don't think it would've made sense with the characters Horikoshi wrote. I genuinely thought Horikoshi would go the rehabilitation route, but I had my reservations about whether or not he'd pull it off in a way I liked. When he DIDN'T go that route, I was shocked, but ultimately it all made sense. It was about his characters and the consistency in how they were written. I can only call that excellent writing, even if I'm a proponent for rehabilitation in real life. Horikoshi doesn't have to write a story that agrees with my principles for the writing to be good (and to be clear, just because Horikoshi wrote what he believed made sense for his characters doesn't mean he's opposed to rehabilitation in real life either).

[trapped-in-the-valley]

My open letter to the Moomin fandom

cw: swearing. Not a lot of it, but it's there.

I don't know if I'll ever actually post this, but I need to get this written down because I just can't with this fandom anymore and I need to get my emotions out somehow.

Before I actually get into it, I want to make one thing clear. This is not a personal attack against anyone. You are allowed to have your own opinions, to ship who you like, to do whatever you want to, really (try to stay on the legal side tho), just like I have the right to the very same things.

You can disagree with me, you can even tell me just how much you disagree with me, as long as you stay kind and respectful about it. That's just how people work. We're not gonna agree on everything, and that's fine. Great even. Otherwise the world would be a very boring place.

Mostly, I love this fandom. The people are very open and welcoming and the vibes are absolutely top notch. There are a lot of very skilled and passionate people here who fill this fandom with joy and life and creativity.

But ever since I first joined this fandom, there has been a certain attitude on here concerning Snufmin, the most popular ship in this fandom (for understandable reasons), that has irked me every time I came accross it in any form.

"Well, obviously they're more than just friends, you have to be blind not to see that."

I hate that fucking phrase so much.

Now, before I start going into my biggest problem with this wide-spread attitude, I'm gonna look at that expression for a second. "more than just friends."

Usually I try not to get snagged on phrases like this, because it's really just a common expression (even I use it occasionally. probably.) and people probably don't mean it that way, but in this specific case it's actually relevant to the larger problem, so bear with me for a bit.

"More than just friends" explicitly implies a sort of ranking or hierachy. That romantic love is inherently more valuable than platonic love. It devalues platonic relationships despite the fact that they're actually equal to romantic relationships.

This is a very important point here. Equality. I am not trying to put either of them above the other. In my opinion, neither of them is more important than the other. They're just two of the many ways you can express your love for someone. Both of them can be equally deep and important.

Okay, it's time to finally take a look at the actualy contents of this phrase. The part of the attitude that has been chipping away at me for the past few years until the dam finally burst.

It's not a secret that, while they're incredibly close, Snufkin and Moomin are not canonically a romantic couple. Now, would Tove have made Moomintroll and Snufkin explicitly a couple if she had lived in a time where that would have been possible? Maybe. We'll never know, since we can't exactly ask her anymore.

But regardless of Tove's intentions, what we ended up with is this beautifully ambigous relationship, that could be anything, really.

The relationship is beautiful. It's close and trusting and endless and admiration and adoration and written in the fabric of the fucking universe. But it's not defined.

It's very fitting for a relationship that serves as an allegory for longing to be that way.

Longing isn't defined, it's complicated and deep, and everyone feels it differently and it can be felt regardless of what kind of relationship you have with the person or the place or the thing you're longing for, which is why the ambiguity of their feelings for each other and the deep love and complex emotions they feel is a perfect representations of a very complicated emotion.

Now, to make one thing clear: I'm not bashing anyone for shipping these two. Again, the relationship is ambigous, and a romantic reading of the source text is just as valid as a platonic one or everything in between.

There's a lot to like, and they make for a very compelling ship.

My problem is with the people who act like Snufmin is the foregone conclusion. The only valid interpretation.

The people who don't tag their fanfics as Snufmin because "It's basically cannon."

The people who post stuff about how you have to be stupid not to see that they're obviously a couple. How the people who prefer a platonic reading are willfully ignorant or blind to the elephant in the room.

Maybe it's the aromantic in me, the person who was told growing up again and again that that you had to find romantic love to be complete, that was made to feel like something was wrong with me because I didn't.

The kid who was told "they must be more than friends."

Who was made to feel like platonic love, the only kind of love I felt, was inherently less valuable, less cherishable than the romantic kind.

So yeah, maybe it's the aromantic in me, but I haven't been a huge shipper ever since when I was around 18. I'm not anti-shipping, but when I'm in a fandom most ships just end up on a scale from vaguely positive to vaguely negative for me, with most of them ending up in the neutral zone.

I'm not gonna seek out any content of the ship specifically, but a good piece of fanart is a good piece of fanart and a fanfic with an interesting storyline intrigues me, regardless of whether or not it has a ship in it.

Snufmin was on the upper end of this scale for me when I first joined the fandom. Not even neutral, but vaguely positive. They're really cute together, to the point where I'd actually seek out content specifically for it being Snufmin (There's some really cute animatics out there. 10/10. would recommend) and even came up with an entire AU based around the ship.

But as the years went on, and the comments and untagged fanfics and this fucking attitude in the entire fandom went on and on and on, it all started piling up. Chipping away at me. Discomfort started to settle in, and I felt more and more uncomfortable, less welcomed in a fandom that used to be a source of comfort for me.

I started to hate this fucking ship. Genuine hatred, which is a rare thing for me. I guess I blamed it for the loss of something dear to me.

It got to the point where I left this fandom almost entirely, only staying tethered to it through the fact that I still enjoyed and consumed the source material.

I've been getting better about it recently, slowly finding my way back through the things I originally found joy in while trying to avoid everything else best as I can, but that's my personaly journey and I'm not going to bore you with the details. Just know that the hatred is gone, with only occasional annoyance left.

The attitude that caused it though, isn't. It's still there, just as it was back then.

Again, I'm not telling you to stop shipping Snufmin. I get it. It's a great ship and I'm glad you find joy in it.

But the next time you post about it, try not to devalue the just as valid platonic love these two can feel for each other.

I'd appreciate it, and while it's probably not the most popular opinion, I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one.

Thank you if you read this basically-a-breakdown until here. It genuinely means a lot to me.

All your best,

Trapped-in-the-valley

PS: Tag you fucking fanfics. Please.

[drenched-in-sunlight]

Hi there! I wanted to say your art is absolutely incredible and always brings me back to Elden Ring when I forget just how amazing the game is. I live for your depictions of Marika.🥹

I was partly just curious after you posted the recent family tree, is there a reaspn Ranni and Radahn don't make as much of an appearance in your drawings? What is your thoughts on their questline/storyline in general?

Thanks for all the cool art, you're getting better with every piece!!

tbh... i think draw Ranni a lot, she's literally the cover of my first fromsoft fanbook 🥲🥲

though most of my art of her is from 2 years ago, i wouldn't say i don't draw her often at all 😭 i've drawn Radahn 4-5 times too. i understand because i draw too much, it's easy to have an impression that i draw some specific characters less, but compared to, say, the Omen Twins or Rykard or Melina (who i keep meaning to draw but haven't got around to do so yet), Radahn and Ranni are two Carian characters i draw the most of that side of the family (well, Rellana is looking to dethrone them soon but you get what i mean aksfkjdfkj)

Radahn dudebro fans keep pointing fingers saying i hate him but i actually like him. as a guyfailure that is so obsessed with these symbols of a Lord in his father and Godfrey, yet failed to live up to any of them (*stare at that scene of Morgott whooping his ass*). his involvement in the DLC is an interesting spin on things to me, and make a lot of sense in the grand scheme of things (when i saw that we found like... 11 Miquella's Lily in places most personal to Radahn like Carian Manor and Sellia. hoo boy).

lately, i lowkey think Radagon specifically picked him for Miquella and encouraged his obsession with being a Lord. to me at least Radagon is really bitter that Godfrey is the First Lord and not him (her actual other's half! sentenced to live away from her while another man got to be her first in everything! the injustice!), so him not only discrediting Godfrey's descendants (whole thing with Hunters of TWLiD) but also preparing a whole new pair of Lord and God that should have been how he and Marika could have been from the start sounds like the kind of overcompensation he'd be doing (look honey that could be us but you tripping).

so in a way i do feel for Radahan and Miquella falling victims to Radagon's list of issues (though it's only one reason in many other reasons for them to turn out that way ofc. Radagon merely nudges the pieces into certain direction, they go barreling head first down on their own). and i actually like that i could come up with all that thanks to the DLC. imo it actually adds a lot more to Radahn and Miquella's character (depends on how you view the story though whoops).

you can say i like him (and Miq) the way one likes AC6 Iguazu... or Genichiro. the kind of hater characters that are doomed to fail from the start, but they are stubborn and will run head first into the wall again and again. and it's fun to put them in a jar and shake them.

Ranni... after the DLC my feeling for her is a bit more complicated. before i get why she did all those things and i like her story enough, but after the DLC as you see i come to really like Godwyn and links him closely to Marika. so now it's kinda awkward for me to insert Ranni in all the scenarios im drawing lately?

it's not that i stop liking her, it's simply that the scenario doesn't line up for me to add her in that's all. and it goes to other characters i haven't drawn tbh. not because i don't like them, i simply don't have anything in my brain about them to draw out. i don't think there's any characters in Elden Ring i hate tbh (yes i do like even the Hornsents. i find the stories in the scorpion stew and dried flower talisman really somber and give them a lot of humanity too, fucked up rituals aside).

and thank you for your kind words! my editor has been on my ass for a whole year about my art and it does help me improve a lot, im glad to know it shows in the quality of my fanarts as well!

[lizzyscribbles]

In honor of the Vengeance Saga's release tonight, I'm taking a break from my regularly scheduled MHA content to have a little ramble about something Epic related that I've had brewing for a while.

I want to talk about Eurylochus (who, for some reason, my brain desperately wants to call Eurydice, which is an ENTIRELY different greek myth inspired musical that I love but it REFUSES to remember that, but that's besides the point), specifically the hatred he seemed to get after the Thunder Saga.

Now, let me just say, I have not read the Odyssey, I don't plan to and I don't particularly want to. I am solely coming at this from the perspective of someone who has just listened to Epic and kept up with Jay. So, if you have read the myths, this is probably not the post for you. :)

I understand where the hatred of him comes from, I honestly do. At first glance it is kind of hard to understand why he had the right to be upset with Odysseus after everything he did, but I think just taking it at surface value is doing the story a huge disservice.

Let's start allllllll the way back in the Ocean Saga with the wind bag incident. Now, I'm absolutely not saying that Eurylochus should bear no fault for this, he DID disobey Odysseus's direct order and could some of that have to do with the fact that he wanted treasure?? Maybe? But I'm not convinced that was entirely it. That's mentioned at the beginning of the song, and then never really brought up again. (Yes, I am aware that the in the myth it is because of treasure, but again, I'm going off just Epic).

Jay tells us that every character in Epic has an instrument, those in the fandom know this, and we also know that Eurylochus's instrument is actually the crew. So, when he sings, he's usually singing for the combined opinions of the rest of the crew. In "Keep Your Friends Close", we hear Odysseus start to really deteriorate for the first time. You can hear the crew start to get a little weirded out by it, because until this point Odysseus has been pretty steadfast and strong and suddenly he's turned into this paranoid, tired mess. He doesn't talk to anyone after the beginning, he just sings to himself while the crew sings backup. The crew has never seen Odysseus like this before, as far as we can tell, and I think it worries them, especially since this whole bag situation seems to have started it. What I'm trying to get across here is that Odysseus is acting really suspicious in the crew's eyes. We know this because the crew actively tells us this in the line "Everything's changed since Polites." There has been a massive, unsettling change in Odysseus and I think it's deeply concerning them. I think they brought those concerns to Eurylochus, who I think was also being actively shut out, and Eurylochus got worried that there was something much worse than a storm in that bag. If you come from that perspective, it makes sense he waited until Ithaca was so close to try to open it, because with home so close, if there was something horrible then they were close to salvation. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, and I guarantee Eurylochus tortured himself for that mistake for the rest of his, unfortunately short, life.

Again, I'm NOT saying that this was the right decision, but I am saying that I can kinda see why he did it.

Let's move onto the Circe Saga. I hear a lot about how it wasn't fair that Eurylochus was so mad about the Scylla incident when he wanted to leave the men who became pigs behind on Circe's island. However, think about it this way, Eurylochus didn't actively send those men into Circe's palace, nor did he choose to turn them into pigs to save himself. When they turned, he had no idea whether they COULD be brought back, he probably already considered them dead. He was not the one who condemned them, and I don't think he wanted to leave them behind, but he didn't know if they could be saved and trying to do so may have lost the rest of their feeble crew. Remember, they've just lost nearly their entire fleet, I wouldn't be surprised if Eurylochus was scared he'd lose even more if they tried to save the men that may have already been condemned.

Was this the right decision? No, I don't think so, but I understand why he thought it was.

That's why I think trying to compare the Scylla incident with the Circe one is like looking at apples and oranges, they're really not the same thing.

Next, the cow incident. The infamous "my father will hear about this". I don't have much to say here. It was stupid, yes. However, have y'all ever been so starved you'd do anything to get something to eat? I become a bitch if I wait a few too many hours between meals, going for days, your perception is going to be MASSIVELY screwed. Still, after all, not too surprised that Eurylochus didn't listen to Odysseus. Again, stupid ass move, Eurylochus, but I get it.

Finally, Mutiny, the song that brought this all about. I think a lot of people took this song as Eurylochus being a bit of a hypocrite, that Odysseus isn't allowed to do the things he, himself, did. I don't think that's the case here. I think Eurylochus is confused, because this is COMPLETELY out of character for Odysseus. This entire musical has been Odysseus trying to avoid death in any way he can. He's tried to protect his crew even when it puts himself in danger (see the Circe Saga) and then, seemingly out of nowhere, he sacrifices six men to Scylla without so much as a discussion with his crew. This is very, VERY unlike him at this point, and it scared Eurylochus. It scared all of them.

I don't think he's doing this because he's mad that Odysseus gets to do shit he didn't get to do. No, I think he's terrified because this is a complete 180 and now they're all at risk. He's confused as to why Odysseus is suddenly okay with everything he's told Eurylochus NOT to do up until this point. He's saying, "you told me not to do this, why are you now doing this? The whole time you fought for the crew and now you just killed them no warning, what the hell?? What's happened to you?? This isn't you??" He's not saying that he didn't do anything, he's saying this whole time you've protected us and now you're not, wtf? In simple terms, "you told me not to do something and then you did it"

The prophet said as much, "It's no longer you." This was no longer the Odysseus they knew, and when he willingly sacrificed his crew, they realized that they were no longer people in his eyes, they were tools to get back to his wife and child.

I'm saying this to bash Odysseus AT ALL. In fact, the scariest part of Thunder Bringer is that I fully understand why Odysseus did what he did, and in his shoes, I'm not sure I'd have done anything different. I think Odysseus is an excellent character and I LOVE HIM, we see that these decisions haunt him constantly throughout the rest of the Sagas, but we have to remember we get to hear a lot more about the situation than the crew did. We're inside Odysseus's head, they were not.

Again, was Eurylochus completely in the right? Absolutely not. But he also wasn't completely in the wrong. He was working with the information he had available to him, it just happened to be missing important pieces.

Eurylochus was trying to protect the crew and himself from a man he didn't recognize anymore, and I can't blame him for that.

...Plus, I think we can all agree that the real bitch here is Zeus who made Odysseus choose between himself and his crew and then immediately punted him to Calypso's island FULLY KNOWING that the only reason Odysseus made that decision was because he wanted to see his wife and son.

Screw you, Zeus.

[evergreen292]

Okay, in my opinion, we have three possible explanations for the wind bag situation:

1. Aeolus plays really dirty and puts some spell or hypnosis on the bag, making Eurylochus want to open it without any logical reason. Honestly, I don't think he/she/whatever Aeolus is would do this, as it would make the game far less interesting. But still, it’s a possibility. If this is true, then the gods are to blame for the opening of the bag; Eurylochus can only be blamed for a weak willpower.

2. He opens the bag because of treasure rumors. This is possible, but still kind of... dumb. Is the crew, and especially Eurylochus, really that greedy? Doesn’t he already have his share of the treasures from Troy? And more importantly, what was he planning to do with the treasure in the middle of the sea? Ok, Ithaca was near, but they were still on the ship. The captain was going to notice, and there aren’t many hiding places on the ship, so... just why? Is it really because of simple greed? If so, then Eurylochus is totally to blame for this.

3. Because of distrust toward the gods and toward the (supposedly tricked by them) Odysseus. This is even dumber than greed. It's so dumb that I feel the need to elaborate with several points here:

3.1 Odysseus is (and it isn’t a secret to anybody) Athena's champion. Athena is a goddess, right? She guided Odysseus through ten years of war. With her help, Odysseus didn’t lose a single soldier during those ten years. So, Eurylochus should know at least something about trusting the gods. I won’t even mention that this is a world where gods walk on Earth, and you could actually meet one, so he should be significantly more religious. If a god in such a world gives you something dangerous, are you sure you shouldn’t trust them about this danger?

3.2 This leads us to a crucial point. Eurylochus knows that gods are dangerous, so their gifts are dangerous too. He was specifically warned about this ("something dangerous, friends"). He knows that Odysseus is willing to risk his own life (staying awake for 9 days) to prevent the bag from being opened. So, one simple question arises: What makes him think that opening the bag on a ship full of people is truly safe? Why is he so sure it won’t kill all of them? If he believes the bag is dangerous (as he really should), why not throw it overboard? Or find a safe, deserted place on land to open it (if he is crazy enough to risk his life for this)? Why literally poke a finger inside what is most likely a divine bomb, risking the lives of his own crew? I think this is really silly and selfish on his part, and I just don’t understand this level of... well, stupidity.

By the way, because of Poseidon, we just don’t know if some people on the ships were already killed by a sudden storm burst from the bag, which is totally possible.

On the other hand, if Eurylochus considers the bag safe to open... that’s just too naive for him...

3.3 Anyway, what was Eurylochus expecting to prove by opening the bag? That the bag was dangerous? As if that hadn’t already been made clear enough? Or did he think the bag was safe to open and that it was just a joke from Aeolus? The danger might not even be in the bag itself but rather in the conditions the god placed on their agreement with Odysseus. What if the god intended to kill Odysseus or the crew if the bag was opened? Eurylochus couldn’t know this for sure. And what was the point of risking it when they were almost home? Just curiosity? Or some urge to prove that “Odysseus was or wasn’t lying about the bag”? Was that really a good enough reason to risk lives over it?

So, I think the third reason is the worst. But it seems like Eurylochus's defenders prefer it the most...

Thank you for coming to my TEDtalk

[darcytaylor]

You may be tired of this discourse and in that case, feel free to skip this lol, but I was thinking about some things today after rewatching S3 and seeing the new pap attack on N&JD and Tom H getting fed up with Zendaya being swarmed by fans, and I was thinking, what would I do if I was in their position or I was the normie partner of a celebrity? Like, I can't even imagine dealing with something like that, but if I had to, what would I do?

I was also thinking about why I was really put off by A's latest photo dump and I've come to some realizations. I was aware of her existence early on but I wasn't deep into the fandom until May, so I wasn't phased by the stuff with her and L that came out after. I didn't look into her much because frankly I wasn't interested and I was very vocal about people giving her grace or barring that, at least ignoring her. I felt like whatever she did, the fandom would find a way to hold it against her, so she might as well live her life. That is why when people spoke of her "playing SM games", I scoffed at it and interpreted her posts as typical GenZ SM activity. But that started to change for me when she posted those two stories where she literally bent over backwards to show us that L was her phone background, and resurfaced again with the latest summer dump, where she went out of her way to post parallel photos with L when he'd made every effort to make this paid-for promo as free of any hints to his private life as possible. And I started to think, why would she do that, especially if it was a sponsored post (which, mind you, is still up), which he would be expected to be professional about? If I was the partner of a celebrity and they clearly wanted us to be private, and made every effort to make it so, why, out of everything I could be posting, would I post things that would be sure to rile up a trigger-happy fandom and heap further hate onto my partner? Why, after everything that's happened, would someone do that? The only reason I can think of is - they care more about the attention they're getting from being with that person than the person's actual wellbeing.

Both him and his entire friend group changed their posting behavior post-Sorrento. Everyone... Except A. Now, I don't know what goes on in her comment sections, I don't go there nor do I wish to, so I don't know what she might be responding to with her posts. However, when everyone else in their circle has pulled back and learned lessons about fame and unhinged stalker behavior, why hasn't she? I used to make the argument of, well, she's a model and dancer, and therefore she has to maintain an SM presence to book jobs. Yet... These kinds of posts - the hints, the random limbs, the implied company, the specific timing and locations... These are things that contribute nothing to her professional aspirations. Most of them are empty landscapes and very generic photos without her in it. There's no purpose to them other than to maintain a back-and-forth with a small but captive audience that's build up around her. I now realize that I got this all wrong because to me, desiring and actively seeking out attention or fame is an alien concept - I don't understand why anyone would. But something about watching Portia say "my girl" to Pen after her speech and then remembering that that's exactly what A's mom commented on the papgate pics made me realize that I need to look at this from the POV of her having gone on a talent show and having a dad who's a DJ and how chasing fame (or in A's case, it's moreso notoriety) might not just be normalized, but perhaps even the "done thing" in her household. If my mom saw me plastered all over the tabloids with me and my partner looking freaked out and miserable, I'd really take issue with her if that was her reaction. What about that sordid incident was to be celebrated??? I understand now why so many people felt strongly it had been staged.

So now that my lens has shifted, I've been analyzing her actions from the POV of - what if they're calculated? And while L isn't entirely without fault here, he has course-corrected, so what's her endgame here? Both of their careers seem to have suffered. If I'm not mistaken, she used to be able to book better gigs, and while the Hollywood downturn is something that is happening, one has to wonder if all of this drama hasn't impacted L's ability to book roles, especially when compared to his costars' bookedness and busyness.

I was also thinking about all the WT-related events that she awkwardly tagged along to and what I would've done if I was in a situation like that, getting bombarded with hate from strangers over my very existence, but I liked the person and I wanted to stay with them. And honestly? I wouldn't have gone. Or at the very least, I would've been as discreet as possible. And while it's clear that it's L who had to invite her and he's the one who waffled on launching her until someone else did it for him, she could've conducted herself differently and at least flown under the radar more. Yet she elected to be photographed on red carpets, stepping out of cars with his family, knowing that people would pay attention to that group of people. What did she think would happen? That the public would swoon over her, someone with very little to her name? And it's like, at this point, she could stop. She should stop. L, R, S all have, to the best of my knowledge. But she can't seem to help herself. She had to make it known that she was in Spain with him, and for a second time, too. At this point I can no longer reasonably attribute these patterns of behavior to her age or inexperience. She's not changing her ways because she's feeding off of this. I mostly wasn't paying attention, but I was also naive, because I don't think like people who desire fame think. I just wonder where L is at with all of this and why he's going along with it still, is it rose-colored glasses? Does he feel guilty for everything that's transpired? Is he now stubborn and feeling petty, so he'll keep indulging her and trolling the fandom by proxy?

I was thinking about how there are so many celebrities whose partners I couldn't pick out of a lineup - I know they exist, but they aren't front and center. Some even have rabid female fanbases, yet they've managed to keep their private lives on the DL. I couldn't tell you what David Tennant's wife looks like, or Dan Stevens', or Jamie Dornan's, to name a few. There are actors who have been with their partners for a long time but almost never take them to events and they're still fine. So, I don't know if N&L landed in the spotlight too late in life so they still think of themselves as regular people and couldn't really anticipate this, but in A's case, given everything I know about her now, I'm honestly done giving her the benefit of the doubt. My biggest question now is - why does L continue to? And for how long? Is he complicit in these games or does it not even occur to him that's what they are, like in my case? I guess if we don't look too closely at things, we can't see them for what they are.

Anyway, I hope you're having a fun rewatch like I did and I hope our faves are safe and happy and DM burns to the ground, amen.

I wasn’t too sure if I wanted to respond to this ask because I was concerned it might add unnecessary drama to this whole situation. However, I thought about it and realised that you seem to be approaching this with a lot of empathy and depth, which I really appreciate. Your long, drawn-out paragraphs (which I definitely appreciate!) tell me you’ve put a lot of reflection into this.

You raise some interesting points about navigating a relationship with a public figure, especially when the partner isn’t someone in the public eye (and maybe they want to be and their family wants it for them as well). It’s understandable to wonder what someone would do in that position, especially when you see posts that seem to clash with the other's desire for privacy. Something about it feels like it's part of a social media game - or even a subtle taunting of the fans/fandom.

I do like that you questioned if it could be Antonia being Gen Z and that it might just be part of that always-online mentality, where sharing life moments (even indirectly) is natural, without considering public repercussions. But at the same time, if you’re dating a public figure who wants privacy, it would make sense to be more mindful. Part of being in the public eye is knowing that people will observe your every move, and when those closest to you don’t understand that reality, it will create issues.

I understand the shift in your perspective. When actions repeatedly go against someone’s implied boundaries, it raises questions about motivation and whether they’re prioritising attention (self-image or fame) over respecting the relationship they are in.

I noticed the change in the friend group after the Sorrento trip as well (I think I also mentioned it somewhere in a blog post), and while I will say Antonia did change her habits a bit (she deleted a number of Instagram posts of her trips with Luke), I agree that out of everyone, she’s still the one who continues to post and make it known that she may be with him (but then fan's also imply and spiral over the smallest things as well). It’s strange to continue doing that when you know these posts will only fuel ongoing speculation rather than help reduce it. And honestly, I think that, at this point, reducing speculation could only be beneficial for Luke. Antonia's posts seem more detrimental than supportive.

I’m sure fame would be hard to navigate, and I think it’s fair to say that, in certain situations, some people might see an opportunity to maintain or even leverage attention, regardless of how it might play out publicly.

In the end, I have no idea why any of the people in this situation continue to do what they’re doing, or why they keep posting things that only fuel more drama. I’ve mentioned before that maybe this is Luke’s way of not letting the fandom dictate his life - but, like you said, maybe he’s seeing things through rose-coloured glasses, or even feeling a sense of guilt or responsibility to make Antonia happy given the amount of hate she’s received. It could be any combination of loyalty, stubbornness, or simply him wanting to show support, even though the public perception won’t be positive. Luke could be trying to balance his desire to keep things private with Antonia’s approach, which may be different. But we won’t know for sure without knowing him personally (or being him!). It's all speculation and guesswork.

In the end, these kinds of things are complex, and I think reflecting on why people make the choices they do is absolutely valid and normal. But like I always say, there are so many possibilities for why things are taking place and unfolding the way they are. There are countless options and scenarios, both now and in the past, that could explain each action. Even if something seems clear, as fans, we don't know anything about motivations or anybody’s relationship status.

I really enjoyed reading your ask - it offers a lot to consider about how fame and notoriety affect both personal and professional lives, especially when someone’s actions seem intentional or at odds with their partner’s approach to privacy. So thank you!

I am having fun with my rewatch! I also wouldn't mind if DM burnt to the ground!

[sumarak]

we all know and love "because someone fucking has to" and "you deserve to be happy, and I hope that you can find that here at camp" and for good reason- but can I share the scene that encapsulates the show for me? what i think is its thesis statement of sorts. I have so many thought on this so bare with me but:

It's from "Cameron Campbell the Camp Campbell Camper" - at the very end when David and Cameron are having their confrontation and Cameron is raving about David chosing a bunch of "bratty children" over him. and David says "That's the job. You really don't get that do you?"

Cameron thinks that because David is his employee, and more then that views Cameron as a father figure - he "owes" him blind obedience. And at that point, Cameron viewed all of the kids at camp as walking representations of their parent's wallets. Cameron doesn't see anyone - but especially not children - as people worthy of respect. Children are just devices through which he makes money. That philosophy includes and has always included David, who's literally been making Cameron money for over a decade as both camper and councilor.

David on the other hand sees things for what they are. It doesn't matter that Max is a troublemaker or that Nurf creates problems or that none of the campers listen to him - at the end of the day they are human beings deserving of care and happiness. David doesn't see children as extensions of their parents, meant to be entirely obedient to adults. Instead he sees them as young individuals who are learning to be alive for the first time and are going through all the trial and error of being a Person. And children being infuriating and disobedient is both understandable and comes with the territory of being an educator/caretaker/parent. Children are "bratty" because so far that's the only way they know how to demand for needs that aren't being met (think: "you have every right to be angry" convo). And THAT'S THE JOB. the job is teaching them how to grow, and communicate, and to make sure they're safe all the while.

as I see it, one of the running themes in the show is "even flawed people deserve a chance at community/redemption/joy." and that's something that David full-heartedly believes. I think he pities Cameron in that moment because he recognizes that Cameron both 1) doesn't see the source of genuine joy David finds in his job, and 2) is incapable of extending grace to kids learning how to be better people. and by extension is incapable of extending that grace to anyone else -including himself. (A realization Cameron later has in "Candy Kingpin") David pities him because Cameron can't see the humanity in children, and also cannot recognize that humanity within himself.

Another thing I also love about this scene is Max's reaction. When Max is upset, he defaults to anger. That's where what he's most comfortable with expressing, that's the feeling most familiar to him. So when he asks David "You seriously feel sorry for this piece of shit? How are you not pissed?" It comes from such a genuine place of concern and sense of injustice. Because in that scene, it wasn't enough that Max outsmarted Cameron. And it wasn't enough that the Millers were already aware of his plans. Max specifically seeks out a reaction from David. He wants - or at the very least expected - David to be angry. This can be read so many ways but the way I see it - this is Max's way of relating to someone, or hoping to. Max often doesn't understand David's POV, but anger is a place where he can meet him at. MAX is angry at Cameron, he can't fathom someone feeling any type of sympathy for him- let alone pity. It almost comes across like Max is angry FOR David in this scene. Because at the end of day, despite all their differences, Max still won't stand for David being unfairly screwed over. But let me know if you see it differently :)

To make a long story short, what I perceive as the "thesis statement" of the show (or at least one of the things I took away from it) is this critique on how parents view children as an extension of themselves rather than their own people. which enables parents to mistreat their children because they have the "right" to - and the antitheses to that being genuine communication and recognizing that you as an adult still have things to learn. even if it's from kids. and it's your job to both listen to and protect them.

[halloween4life]

The Orange Side is going to represent Impulsiveness and the rest of y'all are wrong: a thread

For obvious reasons the title of this post is a joke. But anyway, hi hello. I wanted to talk about my theory of what I think the Orange Side is gonna be! Now this post is going to be looong so for the sake of everyone it's going to be put under the cut.

Disclaimers that I want to get out of the way now: I have just recently re-entered the fandom and I haven't been into Sanders Sides in years. I'm not a Patreon supporter nor do I have Twitter so I lack any information that may have been revealed there. Also I am still in the process of rewatching the series. So as of now, I don't really have a complete understanding of the series. I apologize if I get anything wrong, and if any of this puts you off, totally valid.

Oh also, general spoilers for like, anything Sanders Sides related but specifically Working Through Intrusive Thoughts (if you still somehow have not watched it). Honestly I recommend watching it before reading this as a refresher, because most of this theory is based around/supported by that video. It's like, really the only foundation for this theory as I don't really delve much into the other episodes.

First things first, I am going to lay down some rules on what the Orange Side could represent:

1) The concept needs to in some way be the "opposite" of logic. Realistically this doesn't have to be the case in the series, but based on how the other Dark Sides function, it makes the most sense for now.

2) The concept needs to be generally considered negative for them to be considered a Dark Side.

3) Whatever they represent needs to REALISTICALLY make sense as an aspect of C! Thomas' identity. I think a lot of people forget that the Sides are that, Sides of a whole person. So I tried my best to make that work.

Now, with that out of the way,,,I'm going to "debunk" some theories first. Yes sorry there is a lot of set up to this theory, but I feel like it's important. Also, reminder, if you believe in either of the theories I am going to debunk, that is TOTALLY 100% VALID! I'm just going to discuss why I don't think they work, so this is all just my opinion!

Theory 1: The Orange Side represents Rage

I'm pretty sure this is the most popular theory right now, and I know a lot of people also disagree with it. I think this one mostly came about because our only real evidence of the Orange Side is through Logan's anger fueled outbursts in WTIT and Learning New Things About Ourselves. While I definitely understand this line of thinking, I don't think it's right.

First and foremost, it breaks the third rule set up earlier. Again, all these characters are facets of Thomas' personality. And from what we've seen of him, it just doesn't make sense with his personality. Now, again, this could obviously be different in the series, we could learn that this is actually his rage and he's just been repressing it, but I doubt that'll be the case. (Also I feel like this could break the first rule but I don't know how to explain why).

Secondly, and I just think that rage in and of itself is just, way too specific of a concept to be represented by a side. This kinda works in tandem with the first point, since again, it just doesn't seem that large of an aspect of Thomas that it would be represented by its own side. As well, all the other sides represent either much larger concepts or multiple at a time. For instance, Logan, Patton, and Roman represent logic, morality, and (good) creativity respectively. While Virgil and Janus do represent anxiety and deceit, those titles are rather reductive, as they also represent vigilance and self-preservation respectively. (Really I think we need to talk more about the fact that Janus is canonically Thomas' self-preservation but is really only viewed as "deceit"). Remus is a fun case as although he is viewed as "intrusive thoughts", he as a whole represents the bad side of creativity. TLDR: Rage is too specific a concept to be its own side.

Theory 2: The Orange Side Represents Emotion

Okay I'm going to be honest, I've only seen one person on here with this theory (and for the life of me I can't remember their name). But I just want to say that if you are reading this, this isn't me calling you out or anything (honestly I really agreed with your theory until I came up with this one). If I remember correctly, this theory is more built on the Orange Side being an opposite to logic, and how emotions tend to cloud logic, similar to the reasoning for rage.

I think this theory most obviously breaks rule 2. Now emotions as a whole do have the capacity to be bad, I think the concept of just emotion is not generally considered bad. Definitely not enough for it to be considered along with the Dark Sides. It's simply too big of a concept to be either "good" or "bad".

On that subject, I think this theory has a similar issue to the rage theory, but in the opposite direction. While rage was too specific, emotions are waaay too broad to just be one singular side. Especially given that all of the current sides have some sway over Thomas' emotions. And it's also possible that this side would be considered too close to Patton. While yes, it is not explicitly stated that he is in charge of Thomas' emotions, he definitely has the most sway over them. Ultimately, I think this theory is just too vague to work.

Okay, now with that all out of the way, let's get into my actual theory. So,

Why do I think the Orange Side will represent Impulsiveness?

I'm going to start this off by comparing my claims to the rules I made up. Because tbh, that's how I came to the conclusion in the first place before I started finding evidence to support it (but isn't that how all good hypotheses work?)

1) Does impulsiveness act as a counter to logic?

According to Merriam-Webster's dictionary, Impulsive is defined as "prone to sudden illogical changes of mind, ideas, or actions". Now I was gonna go on a big explanation of how they are opposites but it literally says illogical in the definition. So uh, yayy 🎉🎉🎉

2) Is impulsiveness seen as a negative thing?

Now, truthfully there is no way for me to prove that impulsiveness is either "good" or "bad". That being said, I feel like a lot of people generally view impulsiveness as a bad thing. While in small amounts it can be seen as good and fun, the more frequently you engage in impulsive behaviors, the more destructive it can become. Often leading to bad decision making, i.e. avoiding work, making big financial decisions without much thought, and generally just doing what you want over what may be important.

3) Does this fit within Thomas' personality?

Yes. It has been shown time and time again that Thomas has an issue with his impulsive behaviors. Oftentimes manifesting in him avoiding chores and general self-care in favor of doing something easy or entertaining. The most clear example of this being the video "Growing Up." While yes, most of these decisions are made due to Patton, it's not entirely uncommon for the sides to be affected or swayed by the others. (Also if I'm being honest, I don't think it entirely fair to analyze the earlier episodes with the same critical lens as the later ones, it's definitely not fair to Thomas (the real Thomas) to criticize the early episodes for not perfectly aligning with later lore).

Now, finally, we can get into some evidence to support all these claims I'm making. First things first, as of right now Logan and the Orange Side are one in the same. We haven't been given any proof that they are at least physically different beings (unless you want to count the orange eyes in the Sanders Sides anime intro parody). So all of our evidence is just Logan acting really out of character. So, where does Logan act impulsively?

Our first major incident of this (I'm pretty sure) is in the episode "Learning New Things About Ourselves", specifically the scene where Roman essentially pisses him off so much that he throw's a crumpled up note card at him. Most important is his reaction afterwards, being shocked at himself.

He was basically pushed so far that he reacted without thinking (impulsively some may say? ok I'll stop, I'm sorry). Which, obviously, is EXTREMELY out of character for him. He is logic, he is supposed to think first before he acts, go through possible scenarios and decide the most favorable outcome. Yet, here he loses all control.

Our next example is less of Logan acting impulsive and more so how I believe his actions are affecting Thomas. In the episode "Working Through Intrusive Thoughts", Thomas basically spends the whole time being tormented by Remus because he can't keep his mind off of the risky text he sent Nico (I'm aroace but I'm gonna assume valid? So real?). While Logan is simultaneously trying to keep Thomas on schedule, accommodate his struggles, and accommodate Remus' actions as part of Thomas' identity. Basically, it's a lot, and when he's finally at his limit, well

Yeahhhh, a certain something makes itself known. And while Logan doesn't act particularly irrationally or impulsively in this moment (literally all he does is yell at Remus), it is what Thomas does after this outbreak that I find interesting. As immediately afterward he gets a call from Nico, inviting him out. And given the choice between what he has planned to do and needs to get done for the day, vs spending the day with Nico?

He decides suddenly to just drop everything he is doing for Nico. A rather impulsive decision if you ask me. And while yes, technically none of what Thomas was doing needed to get done that day (it was mostly chores), it was part of a plan and he promised himself to stick to it. Logan doesn't react well to any of this, both his own outburst and Thomas deciding to just leave him behind like it's nothing. And I don't think it's gonna spell anything good in the future for Logan and the rest of the gang.

So, where does that leave us now?

Well, moving a bit on to what I think is going to happen next. Obviously things are going to get worse before they get better. Logan will fall more and more into impulsive behaviors, which will only become more destructive for Thomas. As well, I think (hope, pray) that there will be some sort of team up between Logan and Remus. They're the only sides who I think could "properly" get along (I know that Janus and Remus have some sort of friendship, but it can only work so well as Janus being self-preservation can only really run counter to Remus' intrusive thoughts). Most likely they will feed into each other in a horrible cycle of "I can make him worse." I don't think that would be either of their genuine intentions, as I don't like labeling the Dark Sides and "bad", but I definitely don't think they would be good for each other. I do also think this will come about because Remus either knows or understands something about Logan that the others don't, not even Janus. As well I do hope that Logan and the Orange Side are one in the same somehow, and not just Logan being influenced.

Anyway, sorry for the insanely long post and sorry if it started to devolve towards the end. I am quite literally writing this on no hours of sleep, so give me a bit of grace. Also, another sorry if I have gotten anything wrong or if I have missed something. It has been very long since I've engaged with Sanders Sides, but I'm trying my best. Anyway, thank you for coming to my ted-talk, I hope Logan gets to commit murder in the next episode.

[what-have-i-unleashed]

will love come to me someday?

mtt poly for horror story time... kinda stupid but bear with me for this premise...

don't mind the sloppy writing i'm writing this as i go

(cw: love triangle, toxic relationship, obsession, cannibalism)

when horror joins the nightmare's gang, the tangled ball of interconnected threads starts rolling down and down the steep hill.

the first stepping stone is dust honing in on horror with an intensity that borders on frightening. horror and killer both notices the strange obsession, but each of them reacts in completely different ways. horror is weirded out by dust, because who wouldn't? but he has eyes on someone - someone with enough power in this precarious power struggle who can help him. someone who his survival instincts scream at him to both avoid and appeal to. someone who is always attached to dust by the hip. killer, right-hand man to nightmare - that's who horror has eyes on. and, on the other hand, killer - with a shimmering feeling that he belatedly realizes as dulled possessiveness towards his long-time chew toy dust - contemplates offing the new addition and leaving the body somewhere far, far away from here. but eventually he decides against it - after all, isn't it fun to have a rival in this war of love? and this is a war he intends to win.

the tension just keeps getting higher and higher the more they're together.

and the ball keeps rolling down and down the hill as it catches more dirt and gets more tangled.

one day, killer looks at dust who is looking at horror who is eyeing killer out of the corner of his eye. and so dust turns to killer, something maddened in his bi-colored eyes.

"i want you to help me with something."

it's certainly something mad, but killer can't turn down an invite to spread his hands all over dust's pristine bones. and, he thinks giggly to himself, once horror finds out about it he will cut dust off entirely. and dust will be his again.

and horror, despite being the most careful person in the trio, has little defense when it comes to killer. killer isn't harmless per se, but he doesn't have any reason to harm horror specifically. so he accepts whatever killer demands from him or throws in his way. just like a desperate starved dog honestly, how pathetic.

sometimes killer wonders if nightmare knows what's going on between his minions. if he feels disgusted or delighted by it. but if killer hasn't been punished for this thing specifically, then it must be fine, right?

just how long can the ball of threads roll for? no one wants to find out.

until one day that is. horror and dust are together on a mission, and dust suddenly falls over. horror, while wary of dust, couldn't exactly leave him there. so he carries dust on his back, surprised how light dust is.

"... are you even eating anything?" horror asks dust, to which dust grins.

"are you worried about me?"

"just answer the question."

"i eat enough," dust stares at him with his intense gaze again. "how about you? how well do you eat lately?"

horror thinks about how much killer has been trying to feed him, all the while with dust watching both of them. the attention to his eating habits is weird, but understandable. finally he settles on, "well enough."

and he can feel dust hum thoughtfully into his shirt. the uneasiness doesn't go away.

one day, the ball has to stop eventually. but for now, all of them can still enjoy the anticipation for when it ceases to roll.

"when do you think he'll find out?" killer asks dust while they're alone in killer's room, with their usual routine. dust grunts.

"when he realizes what's going on, the spell will have worked already."

killer hums, part-amused by dust's delusional conviction, part-fascinated enough to slice open his toy's skull to see what's going in there.

"you'll die if you continue to do this," killer breathes out, but his tone is not admonishing. his bloody and dusty hands grab dust's sweaty face, as if appraising a valuable object. next to dust, a bowl of bone pieces, lovingly taken out by killer and ready to be ground into fine powder for the skeleton not with them to ignorantly consume as always.

"i won't die," dust replies deliriously. "i'll live in him forever."

"you're crazy," killer laughs. "but so are all of us in here."

killer wants to mark dust so badly. but he has to wait - wait for horror to be out of the picture, because there's no way he'd stay after the secret is revealed. one day, in one of these rendezvous meetings he has with dust, he'll sneak horror in. and horror will see dust for what he is...

and the ball will finally bursts apart, with all its threads cut into pieces.

love spell use with caution you can always use blood to cast a love spell, as they are the most powerful magical ingredient. but you can also make use of other bodily parts. if your crush ingests your blood, they will be passionately tied to you for eternity. this is the ultimate union love spell, the most powerful love spell to ever exist.

[arynneva]

wait do people read first person stories and think they're the ones in the story???

Saw people talking about not liking first person, which is fair, but their reasoning was like "I would not do that" and I don't understand that mindset.

First person stories are still about a character. A character making their own decisions. First person isn't about you???? At least I thought it wasn't. What am I missing? I've always seen first person as just a more in-depth look into a character's mind and stricter POV. Not as a reader stand-in.

[inkskinned]

you have to go to work so you can pay for your doctor, who is not taking your insurance right now, and if you say i can't afford the doctor's you are told - get a better job. it is very sad that you are unwell, yes, but maybe you should have thought about that before not having a better job.

(where is the better job? who is giving out these better jobs? you are sick, you are hurting - how the hell are you supposed to be well enough for this better job?)

but you go to the doctor because you had the nerve to be hurt or sick or whatever else. and they tell you that it is because you have anxiety. you try your best. you are a self-advocate. you've done the reading (which sometimes pisses them off worse, honestly). you say it is actually adding to my anxiety, it is effecting my quality of life. so they say that you are fat. they say that all young people have this happen to them, isn't it a medical marvel! they say that you should eat more vegetables. they say that you probably just need to lose a little more weight, and that you are faking it for attention.

(what attention could this doctor possibly give? what validation? that's their fucking job, isn't it?)

there is always a hypochondriac, right. someone always tells you about a hypochondriac. or someone who is unnecessarily aggressive during the worst days of their life. or someone looking "for a quick fix". or some idiot who wasn't educated about how to properly care for themselves who just abandons their treatment. and again, the hypochondriac, the overly-cautious hysteric. these people don't deserve to be treated like humans (right), and since you might be one of these people, you also don't get treated like a human. because those people can really fuck with the system, you now have to pay for it. and besides. you're actually probably faking it.

(more often than not, you find a 2:1 ratio of these stories. for every "hypochondriac", there are 2 people who knew something was wrong, and yet nobody could fucking find it. the story often ends with pointless suffering. the story often ends with and now it's too late, and it's going to kill me.)

you are actually just making excuses. someone else got that procedure or that diagnosis and he's fine, you should be fine too. someone else said they watched a documentary about other inspirational people with your exact same condition, maybe you should be inspirational, too. you're just too morbid. your pain and your experience is probably just not statistically concerning. it is all self-reported anyway, and you're just being a baby.

(once, while sitting down in the middle of making coffee, you had the sudden, horrible thought - i could kill myself to make the pain stop. you had to call your best friend after that. had to pet your dog. had to cry about it in the shower. you won't, but that moment - god, fuck. the pain just goes on and on.)

you know someone who went in for routine surgery and said i still feel everything. they told her to just relax. it took her kicking and screaming before they figured out she wasn't lying - the anesthetic drip hadn't been working. you know someone who went in for severe migraines who was told drink water and lose weight. you know someone who was actively bleeding out and throwing up in the ER and was told you're just having a bad period.

in the ER there are always these little posters saying things like "don't wait! get checked today!" and you think about how often you do wait. how often the days spool out. you once waited a full week before seeing the doctor for what you thought was a sprained wrist. it had actually been broken - they had to rebreak it to set it.

but you go into the doctor. the problem you're having is immediate. the person behind the counter frowns and says we're not taking your insurance. you will be paying for this out-of-pocket.

they send you home with tylenol and a little health packet about weight loss or anxiety or attention deficit. on the front it has your birthday and diagnosis. you think about crying, and the words swim. it might as well say go fuck yourself. it might as well say you're a fucking idiot. it might as well say light your money on fire and lie down in it. and the entire fucking time - the problem persists.

it's okay. it's okay, it's just another thing, you think. it's just another thing i have to learn to live with.

[gingermintpepper]

In my Zeus bag today so I'm just gonna put it out there that exactly none of the great Ancient Greek warrior-heroes stayed loyal and faithful and completely monogamous and yet none of them have their greatness questioned nor do we question why they had the cultural prominence that they did and still do.

Jason, the brilliant leader of the Argo, got cold feet when it came to Medea - already put off by some of her magic and then exiled from his birthland because of her political ploys, he took Creusa to bed and fully intended on marrying her despite not properly dissolving things with Medea.

Theseus was a fierce warrior and an incredibly talented king but he had a horrible temper and was almost fatally weak to women. This is the man who got imprisoned in the Underworld for trying to get a friend laid, the man who started the whole Attic War because he couldn't keep his legs closed.

And we cannot at all forget Heracles for whom a not inconsiderable amount of his joy in life was loving people then losing the people around him that he loved. Wives, children, serving boys, mentors, Heracles had a list of lovers - male and female - long enough to rival some gods and even after completing his labours and coming down to the end of his life, he did not have one wife but three.

And y'know what, just because he's a cultural darling, I'll put Achilles up here too because that man was a Theseus type where he was fantastic at the thing he was born to do (that is, fight whereas Theseus' was to rule) but that was not enough to eclipse his horrid temper and his weakness to young pretty things. This is the man that killed two of Apollo's sons because they wouldn't let him hit - Tenes because he refused to let Achilles have his sister and Troilus who refused Achilles so vehemently that he ran into Apollo's temple to avoid him and still couldn't escape.

All four of these men are still celebrated as great heroes and men. All four of these men are given the dignity of nuance, of having their flaws treated as just that, flaws which enrich their character and can be used to discuss the wider cultural point of what truly makes a hero heroic. All four of these men still have their legacies respected.

Why can that same mindset not be applied to Zeus? Zeus, who was a warrior-king raised in seclusion apart from his family. Zeus who must have learned to embrace the violence of thunder for every time he cried as a babe, the Corybantes would bang their shields to hide the sound. Zeus learned to be great because being good would not see the universe's affairs in its order.

The wonderful thing about sympathy is that we never run out of it. There's no rule stopping us from being sympathetic to multiple plights at once, there's no law that necessitate things always exist on the good-evil binary. Yes, Zeus sentenced Prometheus to sufferation in Tartarus for what (to us) seems like a cruel reason. Prometheus only wanted to help humans! But when you think about Prometheus' actions from a king's perspective, the narrative is completely different: Prometheus stole divine knowledge and gifted it to humans after Zeus explicitly told him not to. And this was after Prometheus cheated all the gods out of a huge portion of wealth by having humans keep the best part of a sacrifice's meat while the gods must delight themselves with bones, fat and skin. Yes, Zeus gave Persephone away to Hades without consulting Demeter but what king consults a woman who is not his wife about the arrangement of his daughter's marriage to another king? Yes, Zeus breaks the marriage vows he set with Hera despite his love of her but what is the Master of Fate if not its staunchest slave?

The nuance is there. Even in his most bizarre actions, the nuance and logic and reason is there. The Ancient Greeks weren't a daft people, they worshipped Zeus as their primary god for a reason and they did not associate him with half the vices modern audiences take issue with. Zeus was a father, a visitor, a protector, a fair judge of character, a guide for the lost, the arbiter of revenge for those that had been wronged, a pillar of strength for those who needed it and a shield to protect those who made their home among the biting snakes. His children were reflections of him, extensions of his will who acted both as his mercy and as his retribution, his brothers and sisters deferred to him because he was wise as well as powerful. Zeus didn't become king by accident and it is a damn shame he does not get more respect.

[shopcat]

i think in the hamster wheel of my mind a big part of where people go wrong with eddie and his shitty garage band as an extension is that they for some bizarre reason think he's gene simmons metal when he's jack black metal. heavy metal. he's tenacious d metal. he's school of rock. he's stoner lord of the rings metal he nearly wore blue jeans and plaid. jack black literally in real life once said eddie was the best character bc he's heavy metal like him. LOOK AT THIS

[disastergenius]

by far the worst take i've seen so far post-ep19 of Junior Year is that having a week-by-week live play would have allowed fans to essentially influence the direction of the story in the way they want it to go and that would have resulted in the cast being more sympathetic to the Ratgrinders (ie getting them a redemption arc)

why do you feel the need to try and control this story? YOU ARE NOT THE ONE TELLING IT. if you want to tell a story please go write your own, or go write fanfiction to cope or whatever but you don't get to say that the players are telling the story wrong when it's their story they are telling