#Means lots to have some interaction when I don't even seem alive on this account <333< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[liesmyth]

i am.. hip deep in tlt meta and theories bc i can't sleep but i am thinking about like, when discussing whether or not john intentionally gave some of his friends necromancy (i agree he didn't choose) but it always comes up that he doesn't seem to think super highly of pyrrha/how critical of him cassiopeia is but i do think that is highlighted not just bc it happened but also bc john is telling this probably post pyrrha absconding w/ harrow's body AND the sixth break clause becoming known.

the only doubt i have there is i don't think he's changing much about how a- and m- are portrayed but there might be very different feelings about All That vs like. the sixth house break clause meaning for THOUSANDS OF YEARS cassiopeia had been considering the need to leave john behind if need be. like i don't doubt c- was critical - i think it seems most of them were at different points, you see m- and a- were - but. idk where i'm going w this

I think A LOT about when the flashbacks take place. Like, chronologically. Because Harrow IS interacting casswith John by the end, but idk how much of her account of John's story is actually John talking TO Harrow (a few months before NtN) or is Harrow remembering John talking to Alecto (pre-Resurrection). I think a mix of the two!

Also, I'm not sure John knows about the break clause, and most likely doesn't know about Pyrrha being alive. Ianthe has no idea about either—it took the Houses a few months to figure out the Sixth was gone and not destroyed, but Cassiopeia's involvement remains a mystery to Ianthe until NtN. I can believe John would've withhold that from her, but there's no way he would've kept to himself if he knew Pyrrha was around. (I also think John praises Pyrrha a lot in the flashbacks, actually. She's one of the gang people John has the highest opinion of, saying he'll never forget how she left behind her career to help him)

IDK where I'm going with this either but I think John's retelling was true to how he felt about his friends at the time (before their deaths) and not about the disciples they became post-Resurrection, when IMO the group dynamics changed a fair bit even before the betrayal set in

[fabdante]

Related to a post I just reblogged (can I send you a link in an ask, or will Tumblr eat the ask if I do that?), but Dante and/or Kat with plant powers would be cool, too. Especially if Dante gets his plant powers from his mom's side, since the Angel barriers in the game already look like vines, and the first Angel weapon you get, Osiris, is a scythe.

I also kinda like the idea of Dante occasionally working as a psychopomp, just because things have gotta be kinda fucked after Mundus died, right? I'm not really sure if I remember exactly what Mundus did with human souls, but it was mentioned in Mission 17/Furnace of Souls, right? I think that's the main thing I'm thinking of. Help? Is it explained more in extra/side content?

Anyway, Dante helping lost souls/ghosts pass on would be Neat, especially since, at least in the original DMC continuity, ghosts exist, and can even interact with the living to carry out their unfinished business. I'm not sure if ghosts would exist in the reboot universe, but I mean, maybe?

Seeing Dante freeing more souls like the ones trapped in Bob's prison or Mundus' tower would be cool too. It's not really clear if those people are still ALIVE- Bob, at least, tells his prisoners that "suicide is impossible", and there's those weird, screaming trains that run through Bob's prison, and its never explained wtf is up with THOSE, but it looks bad, and it's Bob's prison, so something's gotta be fucky there- but if so, they probably need some help. Or, well, a LOT of help, but it'd be good to see Dante do whatever he could to help them.

Same for Dante working with Kat and Phineas to help stop places like St. Lamia's Orphanage from running. The most they could probably legally get away with is killing any demons that run the place cruelly, but at least it'd be SOMETHING.

I'm not sure if links cause asks to get eaten but I checked your account and found the post in question! I suppose also I just never thought of plant powers as something relegated to like softer, healing uses before either asdfghj i feel like all plant based characters I know of tend to use their plant powers fairly aggressively so I just sort of saw that as the default.

But, anyway, the connection between Eva and possible plant powers is cool I think (especially with the Osiris, scythe connection)!! Though I'm not sure if it's a powerset I think fits Dante, even when used more aggressively. I would love plant powers Kat though, it feels fitting to her particularly in the duel use of plants as both something soft and healing but also dangerous and deadly. It feels fitting to her. I could see this as something Eva might have been able to do to, especially given her blue roses she seems to somehow be able to grow despite them not being real. I think it makes a lot of sense for Eva and it'd be interesting to see her sharing that ability with her sons.

The game is very vague about what Mundus did with the souls. There's an implication that the souls torment is some sort of power source for the demons but it's not really elaborated upon. I'm assuming that no one found it particularly relevant to clarify which I guess is fair, it doesn't really come up all that much.

We also don't really know the status of the human souls in the game but I figured they were all dead at this point. As for Bobs prison I think there's probably a mix of the dead and the living and those kind of in between though we cannot forget also that he has demons and other supernatural beings in there as well, who likely are not dead at all who he can easily be referring to. I imagine trying to bring some piece to the dead would be something Dante and the post game gang would be interested in, though it's probably a daunting task given how many there are.

Also the trains I always assumed were a hold over from an earlier level design. The devs talk a lot about how they really, really wanted a train fight scene for the bulk of the games development but it either got too complicated or constraints got in the way so they had to get rid of it during development. I always figured the subways in Bobs mission were just a holdover from that plan or a sort of consolation prize for the effort that went into the non existent train boss fight asdfghjk so they got to keep their train, even if it didn't get used as intended. if it has larger implications to the lore that's possible, but the part of Bob's prison its in is modeled after a subway hub so I think it's just to tie into those visuals from the real world location Bob's prison is mimicking in Limbo. All of this is to say I'm not sure if the trains are exactly carrying anything as much as they are mimicking their real world counterparts (the real world metro system of Limbo City)

I also just kind of figured the orphanages like St. Lamias just sort of fell apart when Limbo collapsed into the real world. With their staff revealed to be demons, I'm not sure if they'd be allowed to continue operating. I'm also not sure how much Kat, Dante, or Phineas would care about keeping up with legality when it came to dismantling that kind of thing seeing as Kat was willing to join the Order to dismantle the system which abused her and nothing the Order did was particularly legal. I can see this however being something that'd be on Kat's radar, given it's a major motivator for her this whole time. The issue though now I think would turn a lot to the systemic issues within the American foster care system which is a far bigger fish to fry then demons unfortunately.

Which is all to say I do think the systems that hurt them would be on Kat and Dantes radar but that'd definitely be a tricky one to deal with in the midsts of Limbo City's mayhem.

[septembersghost]

It seems like the recent haters/trolls on here keep getting their information from this one biography/book by Joel Williamson (I think it's called "Elvis Presley: A Southern Life"). Have you ever heard of this book or read it?

And why do the trolls take Williamson's word (someone who never even met E) over the word of the women who were actually with E? I don't understand it.

i don't know anything about this specific author though i have heard this title in passing, you'd definitely be better served asking april or bee or tam about this. that said, i did quickly find the following:

a few things in this article stand out to me, for example: "The cultural and academic snobbery that for a long time dismissed Elvis as being a figure worthy of academic consideration, unfortunately, is still alive...it is reasonable to observe that, on balance, there is a narrative undercurrent where the author’s choice of word, phrase (and sometimes) narratively rather judgmental (value laden) social snobbery (but not malice), do suggest a negative message about Elvis (or at best provides a mixed message)."

"Having said this, importantly Ownby highlights a seminal theme in the book...that it suggests the roots of Elvis’ failings lay in the roots of his rise to popularity.  This is a theme developed in Williamson’s work and one which deserves proper consideration. Whether one agrees or disagrees with the idea (theory) it is implicitly a strong one.

Other issues which have incensed some early readers of Elvis Presley: A Southern Life include Williamson’s portrayal of Elvis as obsessed with sex. 

In defence of the author, how many males aren’t obsessed with those thoughts at that age? My view is that the significance of Elvis' sexual proclivity is usually overstated.  Certainly in the 1950s and for most of the 1960s Elvis is recorded as satisfying a robust sexual appetite. In this respect he is/was no different to other young, or older, adult males provided a similar opportunity to satisfy their hormonal urges – and instructively the stories around Elvis’ sexual escapades are quite conservative and prosaic when compared to those of many other celebrities of his time through to today.

And as stated in Elvis Presley: A Southern Life, not all of Elvis' close relationships with women were of a sexual nature (making him no different to most people (male or female) in the mix of his interaction with the opposite sex)."

you all know i don't like talking about this (in regards to ANYONE), and i grow exhausted by its omnipresence, but the outright obsession with elvis via objectification and elvis' thoughts about and approach to sex and romantic relationships is somewhat insane to me (this is not a dig at fans here on tumblr, but i mean in regards to surrounding/wider cultural discussion). when you do any cursory investigation into this at all, you're immediately met with exaggeration, salacious yet unfounded rumor, and occasionally outright lies, and because it cannot be corroborated (or disproven, or refuted or even broached at all by elvis himself), it's easy to perpetuate. and then you'll read accounts from any of the women who were verifiably (this part is important, because there are a lot of unverified things floating around) involved with him that paint quite a different picture.

his attitudes about gender roles and the home were fairly common for someone of his upbringing, cultural roots, and understanding of society at that time. he loved and respected women in general, not only in those parameters, and there's very little that sounds substantively weird (lighthearted role play and preference for white garments are not enough to send me over the edge here lol), compared to basically ANY OTHER MALE ROCK STAR YOU CAN FIND. even of that same time period! it's bewildering how this is pasted onto this man as if he was anywhere close to some of the other behavior that was happening, and continued to happen, in that business. there are true horror stories of abuse and exploitation (including from successful male musicians who are still living). while i may not agree with elvis' patriarchal outlook or demands at times, nor how things unfolded with cilla and the infidelity in various situations, i just cannot be bothered to condemn him as a monster for human failings or for views that were standard while he was alive. there's so much to take into consideration in regards to context with him, and his unresolved trauma/ptsd, and various health struggles...he wasn't some angry abuser, it's ludicrous.

furthermore, this is by far the most damning information about that book: "Undue reliance on several sources including Elvis (Albert Goldman) and Child Bride: The Untold Story of Priscilla Beaulieu Presley (Suzanne Finstad) help explain Willliamson's narrative content, but at the same time urge caution in accepting all of his exposition." goldman's book is garbage and you can easily find many explanations as to why, and i doubt you need me to explain why ANYONE using child bride as a source is horrific - finstad and currie grant are despicable, and priscilla sued over that dreck for a reason. it being used as a "source" immediately invalidates practically any other research or anything an author has to say because it proves they don't vet their sources properly nor with any integrity or consideration, not only for elvis, but for other people in his life. so yeah. my respect is minimal here.

the simple truth is people enjoy dirty laundry and tearing others down, they always have. the slightest whiff of scandal is like blood in the water. we are also consumed and obsessed by things that are none of our damn business (unless someone is actively doing harm or perpetrating abuse, their private lives are not ours to police). why listen to the experiences and testimony of women who knew him and were there when that doesn't fit the vilified narrative they want? they don't care to hear about him as a real, complex human being, they want a carnival attraction to leer at and attack. it's boring and facile.

he wasn't a perfect person nor partner, he wasn't a god (and vehemently, sincerely expressed as much and asked not to be seen as one), he was a human being with flaws and struggles and a fame previously unseen in this world that was difficult to bear, and though he had his missteps and bad choices and foibles, he did his very best to keep improving, to make amends, to give whatever he could, and to be as good a man as he could keep striving to be. you'll never find me diminishing that.

anon, editing to add this astute information from chelsea:

from what i have read about it, the author leverages his status as an expert on southern culture to disparage elvis, playing up rumors and scandal to portray him as white trash (southern writers, stop being self-hating classists challenge), dismissing his musical career as a middling fluke and finding more interest in speculation about his sex life. he makes ample use of albert goldman, suzanne finstad, and other secondary sources of questionable veracity or relevance. the book got some reviews from academic journals since the author is known as a william faulkner scholar, and almost all of them were unimpressed and found it really rambling and pointless, despite starting off with 1-2 interesting things to say about how women in the south helped create his image and reputation. but a lot of buzzfeed type articles used the book's publication to create listicles that just assemble things in it as if they're 100% true. i was actually just looking for reviews again just now and mindi BLEW UP at this book and her response is on some of the fan forums. and while i was reading her post, i saw that she was leaving comments on it just two weeks ago, saying nothing ever seems to change with the way the media portrays him, based on nothing, and she wishes there was more she could do about it.

[phantomoftheorpheum]

so I just watched all the eps of School Spirits that are out (honestly, I thought they'd finished releasing the season or I wouldn't have started rn, but that was my bad) because I am a sucker for a murder mystery & apparently I like ghosts (sensing a theme on this blog??), so anyway, I have some thoughts/theories.

spoilers for the first 5 episodes below the cut!

If you had asked me to put money on a suspect after the first episode, I would have put it all on Nicole, but I'm feeling less good about that the further we get into the show, despite her "creepy" moment in the last episode. At first, I felt that her character didn't justify her own existence (she was basically just "there" and seemed suspiciously optimistic about Maddie being alive, etc.) and also had potential motive- she could be mixed up in the money stuff because she mentions not being able to afford college. I thought at first she might have had feelings for either Simon or Maddie & there was a jealousy thing going on (since Maddie was with Xavier, and Simon seems pretty in love with Maddie), but she doesn't honestly seem all that interested in spending time with Simon, and I don't feel like they've dropped many hints about her having feelings for anyone in particular.

My immediate gut feeling was that Xavier wasn't involved, since they were so quick to the point the finger at him and make him look suspicious in the first couple of episodes. I suppose they could be pulling a Billy Loomis, trying to get people to write him off by immediately accusing him, but I really hope not. Not because of him as a character, really, but because that's kinda interesting in a movie with a 2 hour runtime, but kinda boring when you spend hours and hours on something and then it loops around to the first ever suspect.

I'm assuming that the ghosts do not have the ability to kill anyone, and I suppose that could be a bad assumption, but that's what I'm working with, so I'm automatically ruling out the other ghosts as Maddie's murderers. That seems like A LOT, if they were going in that direction. Unless they're going to address how many students have died on campus & it has something to do with that. Because that is a bunch of dead people at their school. Like this school has had multiple murders on school property, multiple major accidents, etc. What are the odds? But rn I'm leaning towards, they just wanted Maddie to have characters to interact with & to make their points about life/death with.

Mr. Anderson & Claire both seem too obvious at this point (I mean, obviously they are/were hiding things & it might even include evidence of what did happen to Maddie, but I don't think they killed her) and are low on my suspect list for that reason. There are 3 more episodes (if they even wrap up who killed Maddie) to fill out, so inevitably more twists.

Current top of my suspect list- Ms. Fields. Why is she here? I mean, obviously there need to be teachers, so I understand why her character exists, but she gets just a little too much screen time, imo. That makes her inherently suspicious. Generally, you want to make sure that when a killer is revealed, the audience actually recognizes them and felt that they had some shot of puzzling it out. She & Maddie's mom talked about how little money teachers make (did she pose as Maddie to get money from Mr. Anderson? is she who used Maddie's account to like Nicole's photo? did she take the video of Mr. Anderson and Claire?) so she could have a financial motive mixed in with other things.

I'm still trying to decide if I think we're dealing with one or more person for the above actions. There seems to be a good chance that whoever got money from Mr. Anderson (pretending to be Maddie? with her phone?) is who killed her (this does make me still a little suspicious of Nicole, since she has a potential financial motive, but that bothers me because some of Nicole's actions make no sense if she killed Maddie), but are they the one still using Maddie's account? Are they who took/released the video? Or is there another unknown party who is aware of certain things and trying to make them come to light. The photo being liked & the backpack being in the house feel like things someone would do to try to keep police believing Maddie is alive (and presumably only the killer would have her backpack, since it was with her when she died), so they would be done by someone who knows she's dead. IDK.

Where. Is. Maddie's. Necklace. ???. They only mentioned it briefly when she's talking about not having her phone or her necklace, which means she didn't have it when she died. That's gotta come back around soon, though I wonder if it will be in a red herring kind of way (like they'll show us a character with the necklace to make them look extra suspicious, but it will have reasonably innocent reasoning) or as a real clue.

Um. I want more ghosts. Rhonda, Charley, and Wally are a lot of fun & I would like more of them. Like, no offense, but I would rather spend more time with those three than Simon, Nicole, & Xavier. BUT I get it, because the ghosts can't leave the school & they don't have tangible impact on the world, so it would be hard to get things done with just them.

Other suspects - Maddie's mom, Xavier's dad, and the principal all have roles just big enough that they could turn out to be involved. I don't really think that makes a lot of sense for most of them (the principal is barely in the show so far, so that would be a stretch, Xavier's dad could have a motive involving the election [interesting that they included that detail], but we haven't seen him much, and it being Maddie's mom would be really dark, but I never completely cross off people the list just because it would be dark).

Not a theory, but I'm actually quite pleasantly surprised how little romance there has been in the show so far. I'm not against romance, and I won't even be mad if we get a little in the next few episodes, but I do like that that hasn't been a big focus because it can get really tiring when a show just becomes solely about ships.

Anyway, I think that's all my thoughts for now. Idk if anyone else is even watching this show tbh, but I've been super drawn to things that my friends aren't talking about & that don't have a lot of episodes lately, I think because it feels freeing to go into something with no expectations and to not have any of your friends be disappointed if you end up not liking it.

[more-than-a-princess]

mun meme

𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐔𝐍!

★  NAME:  Rae

★  PRONOUNS:  she/her.

★  BEST EXPERIENCE:  I'm...not actually sure what this means? Is this the best RP you've ever written, or where you've enjoyed writing the most? I have no clue, actually. But I tend to prefer 1x1 storylines in a chatroom or email-based format. Tumblr isn't my favorite place to write, honestly: but it's one of the most active, so I'm here.

★  PREFERENCE OF COMMUNICATION: If we haven't written much/at all and you don't enjoy plotting or interacting OOC? Tumblr IMs are fine with me. If you like plotting and sharing a bunch of art/aesthetics/reddit threads that remind me of our muse(s)? Then discord is best. Bryn can attest to this, because I will spam her with memes from relevant muse/aesthetic tags.

★  MOST ACTIVE MUSE: I only keep up one blog right now, so it's Sonia. I don't have a lot of time or energy to write much at present, so juggling two blogs would be very hard. I miss writing Fujiko Mine, though.

★  EXPERIENCE / HOW MANY YEARS: I started roleplaying in 1999. My RP experience is old enough to have a mid-life crisis. I have probably been roleplaying longer, or just as long, as some of you have been alive and this knowledge sends me into...well, a mid-life crisis.

★  RP PET PEEVES:  

I've been roleplaying for a long time. I have quite a few, but I'll share some of them.

Muns who do not read rules, or a blog in general. Not just for the sake of boundaries, but just to even get an idea of activity, writing style, and so forth of the blog they're hoping to write with. Maybe it's because I've only written canon muses for the past 15 years or so, but when I've had blogs on tumblr or Livejournal, I've found that I'll get followed by other blogs interested purely in interacting with a canon muse without any regard for writing style, frequency, or other essential components that factor into good writing partner chemistry. Admittedly, this has happened plenty of times because someone wanted a romantic ship with whatever canon muse I happened to be writing without even asking if I wanted to ship my muse with theirs, or had any interest in writing romance at all. I feel like a lot of misunderstanding or bad communication would be helped if some people really looked at the accounts they're trying to interact with, beyond just wanting to write with that character.

Muns with canon muses who do not write out actual bios, or just link to a character's wiki page. Look, it seems like quite a double standard if we as a roleplaying community ask OC writers to produce a small novel describing their muses so canon writers have an idea of where they might fit in a canon or original verse and, in turn, canon writers give absolutely nothing in return to how they portray their muses. Anyone can do an internet search on a canon muse: I want to know how you see and portray your canon muse. Doubly so if you are a new blog with no IC content. Do not assume every mun is familiar with your canon muse, and do not assume that even if a mun is familiar with your muse, they'll interpret them the same way you do. Show your followers how you see them, show your followers how you write!

And the last pet peeve I'll share: muns who drop threads/blogs before interactions even get a chance to start. Doubly so if they clearly just wanted to write a romantic ship without any real chemistry or interactions. I don't mind when writing partners take time with replies: I actually prefer that to muns who reply in 24-72 hours, because it gives me some time to breathe in-between replies and brainstorm about what could happen next. And I don't mind at all when muns have other commitments, jobs, and hobbies that are in need of their attention: if we have interactions going and someone needs to step away for a little while (and it's communicated!), that's understandable.

What I don't like are muns, often with new blogs, who either abandon the blog entirely or constantly ask for new memes, asks, and interactions when we've got active threads going. It's one thing to not have muse, but when you're actively soliciting new threads without replying to ours and not communicating that you'd like to just drop threads?

Yeah. I just don't have time for that. That sort of writing habit works for some muns, but I enjoy long threads with complex storylines (some of which have taken years to write!). I like slow-burn romances, humor, drama, and the progression of life and situations between muses. I'm not fond of one-off interactions that never really form a plot, if that makes sense.

★   PLOTS OR MEMES: Yes! I think memes are great to start off but if my writing partner is wanting to build off initial interactions, then I think plotting is best. Especially if writing partners are looking to write romantic ships: I pretty much exclusively plot these at this point.

★  ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S)?: Sonia and I both enjoy tea, chocolate, anime, and horror movies (she likes anime and horror movies more than I do). We also both have similar fashion styles (preppy/tailored/classic with traditionally feminine touches) and come from families with some Rich People Problems. Otherwise, she is the most cheerful glass-half-full sort of woman and I have predominantly resting bitch face and a degree in sarcasm. I also love historical fiction and royalty gossip and news far more than she does.

tagged by: @rolliesanimeclub

tagging: @quickdeaths, @dcviated, and you. I was this close to tagging all of my over-30 brethren in the RPC because you are seen and valid (and also if you're like me probably tired).

[golbrocklovely]

Im so glad I found older snc fans because I was starting to think it was just pretty young fans who can’t seriously discuss their relationships and lives and content.

this got to be a very long response, so sorry in advance lol

what i find very interesting about fandom culture as it is now is that when i first joined snc's fandom back in 2018, i was on insta only and literally there were confession accounts on there. basically in a similar vain to here, ppl would dm the person that owned the account "confessions" or opinions they had about anything related to snc and then the account would post it, and ppl would talk in the comments about it. usually those accounts would get out of hand eventually bc ppl would send in a lot of mean ones that would end up getting the person that owned the account in trouble.

wow, things haven't changed lol

but i think what ended those accounts was at one point there was an account that talked about a girl colby was possibly dating at the time, and the confession was shitting on her, and then colby commented on that post and said the equivilant of "hey i get you guys have opinions and i love that you want to share them and i don't mind seeing them, but if they are hurtful or mean i don't want that in my life". and i think that solidified the end of confession accounts, at least in this fandom.

i also think there was a major shift during the pandemic where ppl just didn't want to see anything deemed "negative" so now ppl are hyper vigilent to call out those that seem to be doing anything not positive. which i can understand sometimes, but i think a lot of fans take things too far. both sides do this.

my thing is, i've always enjoyed seeing other ppl's opinions, even when i don't agree. especially when related to fandom stuff. bc a lot of what we talk about on here is meant to be light-hearted and goofy and not to be taken seriously. i mean for christ's sakes we talk about the girls colby may or may not have hooked up with. and mind you, we barely have proof of any of them ! so again, it's all supposed to be silly and not urgent, important info.

but i think the reason why a lot of fans, sometimes younger, don't like seeing conversations like this is bc they think it's inappropiate or goes too far or bc it's not ultra positive all the time, it's deemed not worth having. which i get. i won't argue over that. my thing is….. yall are having these conversations too, you just keep it in dms and gcs. and if you pretend that isn't the case and "no i would NEVER talk about snc like this", you're lying. or you're very foolish to think that not everyone else around you is doing the same thing. the difference is i allow these conversations to happen publicly on my page.

i think bc i also allow ppl, for the most part, to vent about snc and others related to them, i'm seen as agreeing with their opinion - whether good or bad. but that usually isn't the case, but bc i'm allowing someone to have a voice when they otherwise wouldn't, i'm deemed bad or a hater.

on twitter, i think a lot of the disconnect comes from this idea of younger fans vs older. i think a lot of the younger fans don't want to interact with the older, and that's totally understandable. god knows 16 year old me wouldn't have wanted to talk to someone a decade older than me. and vice versa. i think the issue that arises is that the younger fans see the older ones as�� too old to still be here. they see someone my age and go "why are you still around, you should have left already" or that i shouldn't be on social media to begin with. that whole idea is funny to me bc i've been online longer than some of them have been alive (but please note i ain't saying that as a flex lol). i also think a lot of older fans make younger fans uncomfortable, especially on twitter, for being very…….polarizing. and i think the older fans see the younger ones as annoying. like younger siblings that just won't fuck off.

do i agree with either one? no. i don't see younger fans as annoying, for the most part. and i don't see older fans any different. i think a lot of the problems that have appeared over the years is bc of the pandemic; too many ppl stuck inside for too long with nothing to do, mixed with a terrible world getting worse, and now everyone just feels the need to be assholes whenever they can bc they're sick and tired of being sick and tired all the time. and it's easier to take it out on one another in fandoms than it is to do it irl, but even that doesn't stop those from doing it.

i will note that there are a decent number of older fans on twitter in the snc fandom that make it very hard to be an older fan. like a lot of the ones that are on twitter say a lot of extremely sexual shit about colby. and look, i don't mind talking about that man sexually. but there's also a level to it. some of these women borderline write fanfics about him, but include themselves in it, and then all of that is one twitter. and that can be off-putting. i won't name names, but some just need to take it down a peg or two, that's all.

but that also isn't to say that younger fans don't do the same in some regard. i'm just saying some of the older fans take it farther than necessary.

i think there is a lot of nuance to this, and a lot of reasons why ppl act the way they do. i'm not trying to blame any one or any particular age demo, i'm just saying what i've witness and what i believe to be true. doesn't make me right however.

[helixcraft]

Mika Kagehira my beloved

SO TRUE he's just the only ever, never recovering from that card by the way HE MAKES ME FEEL THINGS HES JUST SO

[thevindicativevordan]

Finished Halo Infinite (that and school are why I haven't been as active of late) and I want to talk about it. SPOILERS below.

Might be my second favorite campaign after Halo 4 and a huge step up from Halo 5. 343 has done a much better job at getting me to care about Chief as a character compared to how Bungie approached Chief, and Infinite is a continuation of that. Throughout the game we are given constant reminders of just how tired, sad, and downright broken Chief has become. Cortana's betrayal has really fucked Chief up emotionally, and now he has to work with her "sister"/clone who looks exactly like her. Was absolutely shocked when I saw him promise the Weapon that he would protect her while at the same time he's loading up the deletion protocols in case she turns against him. Level of cold-bloodedness displayed there from Chief that we don't usually get in the games. The Weapon herself was a great audience stand-in and replacement for Cortana as Chief's AI helper. Enjoyed her chipper attitude and naïve sincerity, contrasted well with Chief's stoicism much as Cortana's snark did. Weapon is explicitly framed in-universe as a do-over for Cortana, letting us have a Jen Taylor-voiced AI companion we like without all of the "galactic tyrant" baggage. I appreciated that they finally followed up on what Halo 4 teased by giving us a "Cortana-model" AI who isn't the same as Cortana despite coming from similar origins. Just praying that tease at the end doesn't mean she's actually going to start calling herself Cortana, that would be unbearably idiotic. Elsewhere I saw a theory that she could be named Joyeuse or "Joy" to continue the theme Bungie established of naming AIs after Charlemagne's swords, and I hope that's true. Ended up liking the Pilot a lot more than I expected, having someone act as the representation for how the "civilian" population reacts to all the batshit insanity of life in the Haloverse was a nice change from the usual focus on military personnel.

Gameplay was an absolute joy, haven't had this much fun playing a FPS since the first Destiny game. For all the hate the campaign got, people really seemed to dig the gameplay and MP side of Halo 5, glad to see 343 kept and improved on the gameplay aspect (I haven't touched multiplayer yet). Grappling around made the game feel like first person Spider-Man at times, certainly made terrain traversal a more enjoyable experience for me personally. Throwing in my ten cents here, as a fan of the Forerunner guns from the previous 343 games I was sad that they were all removed. Miss the ground pound as well, but I guess those were necessary sacrifices to try to appease the Bungie diehards.

Infinite doesn't do as much with the open world as I was hoping for, storywise the open world aspects aren't acknowledged at all. Far as the story goes all the FOBs I reclaimed and the Marine Squads I liberated might as well not exist. Gameplay wise however, conquering Banished outposts with a squad of Marines armed to the teeth was utterly exhilarating. Definitely feel like a badass hero leading your 5 man squad into enemy territory and just cleaning house with it, so I can overlook the Gameplay and Story separation.

Having gushed over how much I enjoyed it, let's get to the part that's likely to be divisive: Infinite essentially torches everything Halo 5 set up on account of how unpopular 5's plot was. Cortana and the Creator/Created War? Gone, happened completely off-screen including Cortana's death. Infinity? Destroyed. Palmer/Locke/Spartan-IVs? I'm assuming some of them must still be alive elsewhere on the ring, but as of right now it's just Chief again. Hell even though the main bad guys are the Banished, our only interaction with Atriox, their founder and main foe of Halo Wars 2, is a cutscene at the start where he kicks the shit out of Chief and the post credit scene at the end. Otherwise he's believed dead the entire game by everyone, and his follower Escharum has taken over instead. Infinite is a weird mix of nostalgia throwbacks to the Bungie era - which admittedly makes sense given this is the first game in years set on an actual Halo ring - and also still trying to push the franchise forward. We get a new Big Bad replacement at the end that's hyped up to be "EVEN WORSE THAN THE FLOOD!" which is a bit of an eye roller.

Cortana is the big hurdle 343 had to clear, and I'm feeling mixed about how she was handled. On one hand she got about as good of an exit as she possibly could get given what she became. Dying a villain, but one who tried to give Chief a chance to set things right with her last act was really the only way to try to "redeem" her without using the copouts of "actually she was mind controlled/hacked/someone else impersonated her". Infinite walked a fine line between tossing out as much of what came before as it could without completely disregarding the past, and Cortana was the one element they really had to address.

Still I can't help feeling upset that the amazing ending she got in Halo 4 was undone, just to give her a much shittier ending in Infinite, where she died after having completely fallen off the deep end. As Cortana herself says "we keep saying goodbye to each other" and every one since 4 has just been dragging a character through the mud who should've been done after 4. In 4 she died a hero whereas in Infinite she died a genocide committing monster who had a last second change of heart. Story is constantly pulled between trying to appease the Halo fans who were upset she was made a villain while at the same time having to deal with the fact that she was a villain. Final goodbye with Cortana in Infinite is well-executed - it's pretty much a meta apology on 343's behalf for how they fucked her character up - but it just doesn't feel as satisfying a goodbye as you'd want from a character we spent years bonding with.

Halo's plot has gone in a loop, fitting I know, but we're essentially right back where we started. Chief and not!Cortana (who may end up literally calling herself Cortana if that tease at the ending means what I think it does and 343 are braindead) are on a Halo Ring fighting the not!Covenant who want to destroy humanity, while another alien race imprisoned on the Ring wants to break free and threatens both groups. Credits hit right as it felt like the story was just starting to ramp up. They still don't even have a way off the Ring by the end!

Despite the entire game making ominous references to "The Endless", we end the game knowing practically nothing about them, same as when we started. Harbinger doesn't exactly strike fear in my heart based on appearance either, so I hope the rest of the Endless (assuming she was one which we aren't sure of either) are more intimidating in terms of design. Plot isn't much to write home about either, it's just Chief and the Weapon trying to piece together what the fuck happened during the 6 months he was out. Billing the game as being about "exploring the mysteries of Zeta Halo" was pretty dishonest. Other than the fate of Cortana, none of the mysteries are answered, we're left with more questions than answers. At the end we still have no real clue what makes Zeta "different" from the other Halos.

Reason I'm not more negative about the game overall is it appears we're getting more DLC soon that will progress the story, and I also understand that the new regime at 343 is basically trying to tie up the old guard's loose ends, so that they can then move on to the stories they want to tell. Much more interested in whatever Staten is cooking up than I am in trying to turn Reed's proverbial straw into gold. Plus the story is really about the emotional relationship between Chief, Cortana, and the Weapon, and that aspect is absolutely nailed and helps carry the campaign. Gotta admit that all those cutscene hologram/flashbacks to various moments from Halo lore, in both the games and the books felt very rewarding as someone who only casually dips into the deeper ends of the Halo universe.

Infinite feels like a better executed attempt at what the Star Wars sequels tried for, mixing the old and new. While I'm still sad about how badly the potentially exciting ideas set up in Halo 4 and Halo 5 were executed and are now abandoned, I'm interested in the new mysteries and plotlines being teased. 343 seems to have at last settled on a direction for the franchise, and seemingly more campaign DLC is coming soon to continue the story. Infinite isn't a perfect game, it's not the ideal sequel to Bungie era Halo or even Halo 5, but it's a damn fun game that brought some new ideas to the franchise while jettisoning what didn't work before. Excited to see what comes next for Chief and company!

[twisted-legacies]

What Horror Trope Are You?

the monster

it was not your fault– at first, at least. you can not help being the way you are. and even if you could, would you choose to change? they met you with torches raised and screaming mouths, the only choice you had was to flee. but you will not stay away forever. they whisper your name in fear, and you will make sure you hurt them just as much as they hurt you.

My, another that reference to Quentin being damaged and more than capable of fighting back if she wants to!

Because while yes, while Quentin is a good soul at heart-This was not her fate.

Quentin was meant to have died before the story started according to fate-But she still lives regardless. She interacts with the main cast by magic, blot, machine or choice, Quentin lives and breathes. Quentin herself isn't exactly aware why she lives-But she's not going to let it go to waste just because some god said her time's up.

Hence why she has a disliking of fate-If you ask her about even the concept of fate-She'll say it's complete bullshit to her as to her then everyone's life isn't their own and it's determined by someone else, which doesn't add up from Quentin as she's had experiences where she avoided her 'fate' because she made a choice that she made on her own. Nobody else decided it for her-Quentin made a choice and people write it off as fate when no. That's just not the case for Quentin at all, as someone who has had experiences someone making choices for her. She'll probably bring up Overblotting and how many times she's almost died then-saying all magicians are doomed to Overblot if fate truly does exist, which doesn't explain how some magicians Overblot during their lifetime, and some don't. Then she'll bring up the number of near-death encounters she's had-She's had so many she knows that something's after her, so there's no way fate wants her alive in the long term. So, if fate exists, why is Quentin alive now? Is that fate too? Because fate certainly seemed to be not so happy about her growing up.

Hence, why Quentin is the way she is-She's chosen the path that she isn't meant for-Hence, it could make her more dangerous than her classmates as she wasn't meant to be a villain, but Quentin is making a choice to be the villain because it will get her to her goals and why her Void magic changes after she Overblots-While Quentin is more on the Anti-Hero spectrum then a traditional Villian like her classmates, she still is more than capable of committing the same crimes as her classmates. Maybe even worse if you take into account the fact, she isn't twisted from who was ever meant to do that. Quentin is capable of being a villain at heart.

Quentin is making the conscious choice to play the part of the bad guy for the sake of her goals, and it is reflected in her Void magic change.

Tagged by: @macrcphylla! Thank you very much for the tag, I didn't mean for this to get all analytical about Quentin, but here we are!

Tagging (Are Ya'll Ready? This'll Be A Lot!): @underaseaofmuses @sphinxstwistedxmuses @taterswonderland @compassionatedestiny@kinships, @magiclcss @glacierwitchery @magatsunohana @pctchwork @xpeculiariity @strcped @hcrned @pulchramusae for any muse you all wish, oh, and for anyone else who wishes to be tagged!

[goldlightsaber]

No Country for Old Men

No Country for Old Men doesn't really need my praise, given that it won the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor and several other awards. But I'm here to give it anyway! It is truly a work of art. Over a decade old and it has stood the test of time as a gripping thriller. Warning: this review is a bit all over the place, but I covered the bits I liked best!

The Big Bad

Javier Bardem. Where do I begin with him? I could watch this man clean up gunshot wounds in a cheap motel room for hours. It was so fascinating to see him work -- even if a lot of that work was brutal, cold-blooded, psychopathic murder. Watching him was like watching a true crime documentary. He felt real and chilled me to the core.

I commend the script for all its cleverness, but especially the intentionality behind Anton Chigurh's dialogue. I have never seen more unusual, rhythmic dialogue. What stuck in my head was his relentless way of asking questions. "Where does he work?" he asks the trailer park management lady. She tells him she can't tell him. Again, he asks, "Where does he work?" She tells him again, more firmly, that she can't reveal the information. In the same monotone, he asks for a third time, "Where does he work?" He puts on no charm. He does not bribe or threaten. He asks questions straight. He disguises himself as --but does not claim to be-- something he's not. He pretends to be a cop; a man stranded on the road; a hotel guess. People believe what he only appears to be. They make something of him, something recognizable, so that they know how to interact with him. Except slowly, through dialogue, he reveals to them his true, sadistic nature. And no one wants to believe it. Often the people he speaks with are dumbfounded, stammering out "Sir?" and "I don't understand." It doesn't dawn on them until its too late that he is someone they should run from. It's ironic, really. The goodwill and trust of other people is his bread and butter -- it's what allows him to extract information without force (at least at first) and to obtain all the resources he needs. There's a Southern hospitality theme that runs throughout. Many of the Texans he runs into offer him help -- little do they know that, with Anton Chigurh, it will likely cost them their lives. Everyone is a means to an end unless they are the end -- the person he means to kill.

Don't even get me started on his weapon of choice. It looks like he's carrying around an oxygen tank. It even gives him a misleading look of frailty -- like he might be using it to survive despite it not being attached to his person. If he was carrying around a gun, people might run in the other direction. But, seeing a captive bolt stunner, people are often just confused (I had to look up what it was called) -- and that's part of his genius too.

Yet he's tone deaf. He is easily irritated by small talk, seeming not to understand its point (award for most extreme introvert like, ever?). He nearly killed a gas station worker seemingly because of the small talk. A hint at his disturbed, unusual mind. As I mentioned earlier, he always cuts to the chase -- no fluff. He will get what he needs now, or else. Unless you're lucky and the coin toss flips in your favor. Or there are too many witnesses nearby. But rest assured -- there is no escaping this man. As Woody Harrelson's character, Wills, asks Llewelyn: "You've seen him, and you're not dead?"

Subverting Expectations

With a crime movie, you hope the good guy lives and the cops catch the killers, or that at least one of the two things happen. Nope! Not that simple with a Coen brothers film. Llewelyn is a law-breaking and a "street smart" guy but has a golden heart. He's empathetic (like when the "agua" man hung over his conscience) and only shoots people when he needs to -- Anton Chigurh is his foil, in that sense. Even though his resourcefulness and quick thinking gets him out of trouble for the majority of the film, he is suddenly killed by the Mexican cartel. We don't see it happen, we only see the drug dealers fleeing the scene and the aftermath. It comes minutes after a flirty motel patron tells Llewelyn that, whatever is coming, Llewelyn will never see it coming. And he doesn't. And neither does the audience, for that matter. With Llewelyn seemingly gearing up to fight Chigurh, I expected the two of them to have a showdown over the money. Llewelyn's death was sudden and abrupt. He didn't go out with guns blazing. He didn't get to showcase his strength. For all the times he has healed from injuries, Llewelyn--likable, honorable--still dies.

The sheriff retires -- he doesn't manage to track down Chigurh or anyone else for that matter. To him, Chigurh is a "ghost." The sheriff, at the end of the movie, describes himself as "ummatched," and that is underwhelming too. You fully expect -- or I did, based on previous crime thriller movies-- for some sort of justice to be served, for someone to be caught and locked away, but Chigurh is alive and free at the end of the movie and so are all the anonymous players of the drug cartels working these deals. There was no justice. Not for Llewelyn, not for his wife, not for all the collateral damage.

A Brilliant Script

Speaking of Llewelyn's wife! I loved her last show of defiance in the face of Chigurh. She was shocked but not surprised. Surely, his appearance scared her, but she knew death was coming for her -- and she didn't give Chigurh the liberty of making her death her responsibility. He was fully accountable -- and she made that clear. Was it a foolish choice? I don't know. It did leave me thinking for a while -- what would I do in the situation? The coin toss is the greatest mercy Chigurh is capable of bestowing on anyone. He is a Harvey Dent without a grudge. She chooses not to participate in the game and he kills her. I asked myself: were I in that situation, would I have chosen not to play? There were two options: she plays and has a 50% chance of living. She doesn't play, and she will, for certain, die. She chooses the latter. Is that bravery? I think so. It's certainly strength of character. She is principled in a wholly other way than Chigurh. I feel that I would have wanted to "call it" -- give myself a chance at living. But even that phrasing is misleading. No matter the "choice," Chigurh is the real judge, jury and executioner. And he chooses to kill. Always.

When he exits Carla Jean's house, I found myself wondering what had happened. In the first few seconds of the scene, it isn't yet clear whether he killed her. What follows is one of the more brilliant, subtle moments of the film: Chigurh checks the bottoms of his shoes. We know from an earlier scene that he takes care to keep them clean from the carnage of his crimes, and so, we also know he was checking to see if Carla Jean's blood had spilt on them. He murdered her.

The Ending

I have not yet uncovered the symbolic significance of the car crash, but I can try to take a guess. The car crash brutally injures Chigurh, breaking his arm and God knows what else. It is a random accident, not someone intentionally trying to kill him. Two boys who were riding their bikes behind him approaching Chigurh, who is sitting on the sidewalk, seriously injured. The boys offer him help only out of goodwill. But then he offers them money for one of their shirts, which they initially reject until he insists they take it. Is the symbolism in that? Of yet-uncorrupted youth starkly contrasted with his total evil? In offering them a large sum of money, is he corrupting them to think of life transactionally? As he walks away, the boys argue about splitting the money and he is no longer their concern -- greed is on their mind but only because he brought up money in the first place. (I feel like I cheated on this one because I read somewhere how the movie is about the rising forces of evil in the world that are hard to defeat -- hence the sheriff is unable to defeat them). Will this start them down the path of chasing money and power? Who knows. Maybe.

Overall: a movie I couldn't look away from except to run to the bathroom. I could watch hours of Javier Bardem in this role just sitting. Or eating. But preferably treating his own wounds.

Watch if: you're a fan of Ozark (TV show); or Fargo (movie or TV show).

[kakyoingdom]

A new dramatic chapter of my writing issues.

mainly rumbling, putting some feelings off my chest. don't feel obligated to read, but it's important <3

Hi! As the title says, I’m going to introduce all of you to my online life’s new problem/drama. Calling like this because I have the very awful tendency to invalidate my own feelings and today I’m not even able to try being less mean to myself.

So. I opened requests. I opened event requests. I did fucking nothing and that’s no news for you, since I constantly come here to say I’m damn sad and I can’t write when I’m sad. I owe you apologies because I’ve broken the confidence you’ve put on me by sending a request. I’m really sorry I’m not the stable and mental healthy writer everyone else seems to be. (Also sorry about this ridiculous text where I’ll mostly curse myself).

These days something happened in my private life; something that got me even sadder than I was feeling. See, I’m a very shy person. But not the cute kind of shy. I fucking don’t do things I want to do because of my embarrassment of even thinking about it. It’s not different when it comes to writing, especially fanfics where you must keep at least a little faithful to the characters personalities and features. So, when I decide to write something, I thought about it a million trillion times. I asked trustable people (a single person, to be honest) and I thought about every single detail of it. Even when I write something quick, just a tiny drabble, I’ve been thinking about it for hours. Or days. Weeks. Months. I spend hours thinking of how would x character be in y situation, trying to see if I’m not being ridiculous and if there’s a chance people are going to post my stuff somewhere and say I’m an awful writer. I’m not insecure with writing at all—I post things I just wrote and I’m not ashamed of any mistakes. I’m insecure about my creative process, because it’s very hard for me to accept either I’m doing something really bad or I’m doing something really good.

Thereby, when I received the cursed self consciousness about my writing these days (that I’m lazy envious messy talk more than do), it affected even more my insecurities. Obviously. More my second blog—where I write for One Piece, JJBA, mainly—more than this one because I’m already more comfortable with Naruto characters. I haven’t written a single thing with any of those characters (either Naruto’s and One Piece/JJBA’s), hiding myself in a fandom I do not quite belong to in an account I managed to keep totally unrelated to my main. But I still feel bad, because I have requests here I was so excited to write and now I just think about deleting every single thing. Like, my whole account. Years of interactions, almost 3.5k liked posts, lots of people I appreciate and support despite not knowing them very well. And I’m closeto do it. If I don’t find the solution to this mf problem, don’t know if I’ll be able to keep this alive.

Logging in this account has my hands shaky, my mouth dry and my heart fast as fuck. I also feel like throwing up because, hey, I’m such a failure. Dirtbag. Feel anxious and sad as fuck. I want to disappear whenever I think “hmm, I could use my time to write” and the single thought has me sick. Disgusted. With myself. I can’t even think of something to write, because my mind blocks every idea I have. Sounds ridiculous, and it is, but it’s a feeling I just couldn’t get rid off despite my trials.

I’m going to delete my 600 Event, but the requests are still in my askbox. So, again, apologies if I didn’t answer your request. I really wanted to, and maybe I’ll be able to do it after I find the cure for this bullshit illness of mine. I appreciate that you took some minutes to ask me something. To read something, to like, to reblog my stuff. I wouldn’t be so happy if it wasn’t for your belief in my stupid writing skills. Thank you a lot!

I will try to come back. Just don’t know when, because every single day it seems to be harder.

You can always talk to me, though. I check this account regularly (anxious girl thing) and I’ll never miss a message. Although being here makes me sad, the little things always cheer me up.

Sincerely sorry,

Gabi

[oloreaa]

While I know that smut vs fluff/angst is always a hot topic of debate, I've noticed there has been a drastic step back from the fandom in general. People leaving and/or deleting their accounts from the constant fighting and drama that has been going on over the past few months. As one of the smuttier blogs with a large following, even my interactions are down.

Yeah, I've noticed that as well, and this drastic step back highlights it even more. I think it's just the constant fighting, the cycle of racism towards content creators and readers, petty arguments between blogs (some of which I've been involved with, much to my shame), etc, that make this fandom pretty hard to be in, ngl.

Between the like, 10 large names and top blogs this fandom has since the initial boom after Mando S1, there are so many smaller writers that literally never get the chance which is super disheartening: you're both not "in" the cliques (like this is some kind of middle/high school again) and you're not getting recognition for your work, which you put a lot of time and love into it.

I think that with lack of new content, people who are either bored or cannot let go of this particular fandom in the meantime do everything to cling to it and keep it alive, by any means possible. And when it's becoming more drama and more call-outs and distressing and exceedingly petty fights, those who are staying have even less motivation to do so.

What it boils down to, basically, is that this fandom is extremely unwelcoming, which drives new fans away and slowly makes old fans leave as well. Its racist, its petty, its overwhelmingly sexual in nature and anyone who does not fit into "straight white cis woman writing a lot of dirty smut" does not get any kind of attention, at ALL.

Maybe this is me going a bit off topic, but there is almost no content around for minors, for ace people, for people who don't want to engage in sexual content for whatever reason, and that's actually so upsetting. I'm sorry if it seems that all I do is rage against how there is "too much" sexual content, I want to state again that I'm personally fine with any kind of fic and writer, it's just that even if you're a successful smut writer, you CANNOT deny that there is a lot, an overwhelming amount of it.

[vidalinav]

As someone that loves almost every character in ACOTAR but still wants to discuss their flaws and slip ups I really liked your post about Nesta and how she treated Feyre as a sister. None of the characters in ACOTAR are perfect. They have flaws and people in the fandom need to keep the same tone about all of them when it comes to that. Don't excuse one character and bash on the next. Like of course you can have your favorites, but Idk I just love seeing the characters as flawed rather than put them on a pedestal. Cheers 🖤

I mean I absolutely love flaws. I love Nesta for that reason. She’s such an imperfect, easily debatable character. Her interactions with others are amazing because of this, because she’s not so easy to be around, so she pushes a lot of boundaries or expands the way these characters have learned to adapt in their world. They’ve never met anyone who is not so easily swayed, which is obvious in all her interactions with them. Though I won’t get into it, since this post will be a thousand times longer. 

But I think if any character is most human-like, as in she is based on how someone in the real world would act, she’s probably the most authentic in my opinion. But authenticity requires a level of flaws that can’t be denied or overwritten. So, I really did want to stress that, that she can keep her mistakes, her cold demeanor, her sometimes harsh words, her standoffishness, her distrust many times, but at some point she’s going to have more character development and will she really exonerate herself and claim she played no part in her own life or the lives of her family members? She hasn’t before. She’s acknowledged that Feyre went out and kept them alive, but to what extent does she feel guilty or regretful or even blameless? Not specifically about that situation, but... the lack of friends, her relationship with her father, her sisters, or any close relationship before and after the trauma, her own wants, wishes, goals, the lack of purpose. In the case of the cabin, and now in the case of her father’s death, she’s really coping the same way. Someone else is supporting her, and she’s really mentally unhealthy and very closed off. You know maybe I’m taking a page out of my own psychotherapy textbook, but I think healing for her would require her to see more options, to be open to more opportunities, and for her to see the world and how she interacts with it a little bit differently where she has accountability for her own wellbeing and happiness, but also accepts the role she played in the past that she could’ve changed.

*But* if she copes that way throughout the series and she doesn’t allow anyone in and she unintentionally hurts someone’s feelings, for lack of a better term, then their feelings are still valid whether we understand them or not. That’s how POV’s work. A change in the narrative. And if in Feyre’s POV Nesta’s done wrong in some way even though some may not agree, even if Feyre herself has done wrong, it doesn’t mean we erase the mistakes as if they didn’t happen. I think to really analyze a character you need to see the whole character and not just the things that make them palatable or the things we’d rather ignore/excuse, even in the pursuit of defending them. As readers, we’re the third party observers, so we can see more things than the characters, but to Feyre for example, Nesta has an odd way of showing her love to the point where we have instances where she questions it throughout the series. It doesn’t mean necessarily that Nesta has to change or that she doesn’t love Feyre, but it also doesn’t make Feyre wrong to feel that way. or Elain or Cassian or Amren whatever happened to them. It also doesn’t make the Inner Circle wrong for not liking her, though the situation is more complicated than that. If Feyre’s hurt that Nesta won’t come to her after all they’ve through, after she’s reached out, and tried to help in the way that she knew how, then she is allowed to be hurt. And if Nesta’s perspective says that Feyre wronged her after what happens in ACOSF, even if Feyre had good intentions and explains her intentions, Nesta has been wronged. I think there’s a certain level of validity that we need to keep when discussing their interaction or any interaction, otherwise we start playing a blame game, when no one is at fault. It’s too complex to be simply one person’s fault and we know practically nothing of Nesta’s POV. It’s not Feyre or the Inner Circle’s fault that Nesta is in a bad way. But it’s not Nesta’s fault that Feyre sometimes feels hurt or betrayed or unloved. Which unfortunately makes the situation very complicated and quite oxymoronic. 

Also I think that sometimes people feel (which people have also said to me) that discussing Nesta’s flaws is a direct attack on her character, because other character’s flaws are not as highlighted in the fandom nor Feyre’s POV. But I think that in itself is a whole other post. Because Feyre has grown up with Nesta, and she has seen her in so many lights, and she’s really only beginning to know how the Inner Circle are truly when the wars are over and the dust has settled. You know, they took her in when she was really low and in an emotionally abusive relationship and having had a traumatic experience with the Amarantha situation, and they supported her and her decisions. So, I find that it would be hard to really expect that from Feyre where we ended in ACOSAF. But this of course doesn’t mean that we can’t dislike a character or question why they do things. It just means that we can dislike a character for a lot less than having to make one character seem inherently greater than another and making people feel bad about it. They all offer value to the series that we all are so obsessed about. But also we as posters can’t reasonably post essays. Like I can’t post something discussing Nesta’s flaws and a specific circumstance and then equally talk about several other character’s flaws in the same post to make everyone feel better and sure that I’m not taking a side. 

Which is what I try to get at sometimes when people comment and they seem a little bit too aggressive. Which is why I really don’t like the whole anti/pro debacle, even though I understand the practicality of being able to filter certain posts you see on tumblr because of those hashtags. Thankfully there hasn’t many people who are uber aggressive and honestly I block a lot of people who continually post things in which they don’t allow their opinion to be challenged in any way. Because at the end of the day, none of us are wrong, but... some I’d say are more right than others--simply because they have and use textual evidence to back up their claims or they make reasonable connections that don’t stomp on anyone’s opinions and open up a discussion in which everyone exchanges their ideas. There are so many posts I absolutely adore in either direction, because of how well-rounded they approach the topic. 

That being said, quite honestly that post that thankfully you appreciate, absolutely drives me insane. Every time someone likes it or comments I get so afraid that it’s going to be someone telling me off. But I’m a very anxious person so that’s probably why, but also I’ve seen many people being told off lol. I really was hoping it wasn’t too bad or being too biased. I absolutely hate that. And I certainly don’t want to be just agreed with, I love active discussions and will have them with many people on here, but I don’t like feeling like at any moment I could be invalidated and my opinion worthless when all I did was post something I felt was accurate to my own analysis. So I’ve almost deleted that post so many times. But thankfully, y’all are not horrible... so far. 

Anyways, I for some reason go on tangents that only half make sense. Stream of consciousness and ADHD I guess. But hopefully this reply wasn’t so drastic. I absolutely love that you support the active discussion of flaws and the character’s who have them and you are more than welcome to discuss with me anytime :D As long as your okay with the fact that I write essays as opposed to simple thanks haha!

[danthezan]

So today i decided to join Tumblr ( because Twitter jeeps suspending my account ) and i actually wanna post art and memes here i hope Tumblr is gonna be more friendly then Twitter but im surprised this site is still alive like i thought its just will dead but it seems like its still alive but not a lot of people use it any more ( not that this is a bad thing ), i also remember a lot of people talking about how this site used to be toxic ( i didn't used Tumblr until today so I don't know how it was back then ) but all of that aside, im not sure weather this is a good idea or not however I don't think must of my friends or artist that i used to follow on Twitter are here so this kinda makes this site feel more empty and boring its like when you move to a new home or a new country and you miss your friends from your old home/country and everything feels odd and new and you don't see your friends and you miss them too and this site feels like a ghost town ( i know some people still use Tumblr ) but like its not as...... I don't know how to describe it because i don't think a lot of the people i used to follow and interact on twitter use this site and the first thing i decided to post was a meme i made in 2019 when i first joined twitter but MAN when i joined Twitter back in 2019 i met a lot of fantastic artists , funny people with funny meme , great people and more i felt like i actually exist and i actually can say my opinions not just saying to myself inside my head and the really really funny memes too however one thing that still hunt me and makes me to this day is ( Twitter suspensions ) i understand sites will always have rules and such but TWITTER keep suspending over and over like even if i try to follow the rules one day my account is gonna be locked ( because Twitter jeep thinking im a bot ) and i have to verify my phone number to enter Twitter again or i have to ask them to unlock my account but GOD the last time i did that it tock me 5 months FIVE and then after one day the SUSPENDED me again so i tried to use a fake phone number and it actually worked but now i can't use the same number any more so that means i can't unlock my account.... again and the only people who can help are Twitter themselves...again. anyway sorry for this long post 😅 i just wanted to say everything inside of me. im pretty sure your eyes are hurt by reading everything (or by just looking at the post alone ) here and im sorry for that so last things i can say is ( if you know anything that can help unlock my account on twitter or something please tell me ) anyway i hope you have a wonderful day and i hope you stay healthy as well ���

[malachi-walker]

What character(s) from other fandoms that you're a part of remind you the most of Catra? Personally, I don't think I've seen too many, aside from maybe Vegeta from DBZ and maybe Jason Todd from DC comics but that's about it for me

Ok, anon, thanks for your patience. Let's go.

Firstly, I have two ladies that do give me a similar vibe to Catra (though they aren't 100% matches as you'll see.) And I want you to take particular note of that: it's very telling that the characters you mentioned are both dudes. This is something I have been thinking about for literally decades because it is a deeply entrenched stereotype in our culture: male abuse victims are angry, frustrated loners who lash out until they find that one (girl) person that gets through their facade, female abuse victims are portrayed as either anxious messes (more common in recent years) or as just... These smiling caricatures who continue to pretend to be happy because that's what our societies expect women to be. And this is something I took note of at a very early age, because as someone growing up with an abusive birth father I looked to the MALE characters as a guide book on how to act, because getting angry and lashing out was what made sense to me at the time and I resented the hell out of that unspoken implication that I was supposed to just suck it up and plaster on a smile when I wanted to rage against the injustice of what I was dealing with. In hindsight it wasn't great behavior, but it was what I needed to keep myself sane at the time. I'm not even exaggerating when I say I have waited my whole life for a character like Catra: someone who is reflective of my experiences as an ex-abuse victim, someone who is angry and wrathful and still allowed to be sympathetic. Now on to our two ladies.

First up: Vriska Serket from Homestuck. (I know, Homestuck is a huge fandom with a lot of assholes, but I do still enjoy the original comic. I just don't interact with the fandom.) Vriska and Catra both have similar vibes in the way they project their outward personas of being the badass bitch who takes no shit and is on top of things, but we all know that's a lie. And they both come from abusive backgrounds: Vriska was forced to become a killer at a very young age because her parental guardian (a literal giant spider) would eat her if Vriska didn't feed her other kids. Doesn't excuse her jerkass tendencies or her terrible actions, but that was how she started out. And Catra's deal with SW needs no explanation.

They both have developed very similar gadfly tendencies in order to maintain a sense of control around other people (though Vriska is a lot more mean spirited about it) and both have moments when the facade cracks and they show actual sincerity and frustration at themselves and other people. The main difference between them is that Vriska's actions are driven by a sense of grandiose self-importance that she has cultivated and fed into as a way to avoid looking at her own actions (because she's the best, so everything she does is awesome, right?) whereas Catra's primary driving motivation is pain: either making sure she doesn't have to hurt anymore or hurting those who hurt her. Plus Catra grapples with her sense of guilt a lot throughout Spop and maintains those sympathetic undertones while Vriska's moments of clarity are so rare that you basically have to keep a chart to locate them. But you could totally picture them both teaming up to make fun of their respective frenemies, assuming they didn't kill each other first for reminding themselves of their deep underlying self-loathing.

Second candidate: Anthy Himemiya from Revolutionary Girl Utena. And boy howdy, if anyone is interested in this show and wants to avoid spoilers, skip to the end now, because we're going on a deep and dark journey here.

At first glance, she and Catra don't have much in common. In fact, she seems to fit the stereotype I described above: the placid smiling doll who takes the abuse and keeps going. Key word: seems to. Anyone who actually watches the show knows exactly where I'm going here.

We're introduced to Anthy as the "Rose Bride": the prize in a series of sword fights between students at a very strange school, with the ultimate promise being that whoever owns the Rose Bride at the end of the duels will gain some nebulous ultimate power. And yeah, I said "own" for a reason: whoever possesses the Rose Bride effectively owns her and some of the most uncomfortable scenes in the show reinforce the fact that Anthy tailors her thoughts and actions to whoever currently controls her. And as you can expect, this leads to BUCKETS of abuse. Literally everyone in this show is culpable in some manner for this, no matter how well intentioned.

But remember that "seems to?" Because that's only one side of Anthy; the outward persona if you will. On the other side of the coin you have Anthy the Witch, and that's where the parallels with Catra come into play and why Anthy was my go-to abuse representation before Spop rocked my world. Because the big twist we find out at the end of the series is that Anthy and her older brother Akio (formerly Dios) are the former literal personifications of the fairytale damsel in distress princess and the noble prince on a white horse, respectively.

But the balance was upset: having to constantly go around saving people was literally killing Dios, because one of the major points of RGU is that you can assist people in saving themselves but doing it yourself strips them of agency and traps them in a cycle of needing to be saved again and again. The more people the noble prince saved, the more people needed saving. When it became clear that he couldn't keep going, Anthy took a stand and prevented the people coming for Dios (angry that he wasn't saving them anymore) from getting to him, and thus incurred the wrath of everyone and got skewered alive by an angry mob in the process. This isn't hyperbole: the role of the Rose Bride is to instinctively bring out the disdain and hatred of everyone on the planet. It's a punishment for stepping out of line, for not being the placid princess who needs to be rescued anymore.

Because we're operating on fairy tale logic, no longer being a princess means that Anthy became a witch, and no longer being the prince made Dios into satanic archetype Akio. So behind the scenes of the entire show, Anthy is the witch assisting her brother in orchestrating the duels, and their ultimate goal is to find someone pure of heart enough to embody those princely virtues Dios once possessed and to steal that power so Akio can return to being who he once was. All of the psychological torments and head games are designed to weed out the potential candidates to find that special someone... Except it's an impossible goal because no human being can live up to that standard. And with each atrocity they commit it becomes even more impossible to return to being that person.

Ok, tangent done, here's where it gets interesting: Anthy is a character with two sides to her, the suffering Rose Bride fated to endure the hatred of the entire world and the Wicked Witch who manipulates and orchestrates the torment of those around her. But here's the deal: she's a victim too. She's a victim of a system that won't let her be anything other than these two binaries; she's a victim of her brother who has all the power over her and has trapped her in a codependent incestuous relationship, and I don't care how awful the things she's done are: nobody deserves to go through the shit she does. So with all of that in mind, the actions that she goes through as the witch make perfect sense. Why shouldn't she torment these people who do nothing but abuse her and deny her of agency? Even the best hearted of the duellists (aka the ones who don't hit her or abuse her sexually) nonetheless fall into the trap of projecting their own biases and expectations onto her, biases that her role dictates she carry out. Her actions as the witch aren't right, but nothing about this situation is. That's the entire point.

And that's where she ties into being like Catra. Catra does some truly fucked up things, but it doesn't cancel out the fact that she's an abuse victim that has been literally tortured for most of her life for no good reason and has received zero acknowledgement of that abuse in universe. And much like Anthy, she can't begin to heal until the situation is acknowledged, because that's literally step one of breaking the cycle: confirming that this is not okay and that no one deserves the shit she's been through. Just knowing that herself isn't enough: it's acknowledgement from others that enables that process to begin, because no one can recover from abuse in a vacuum. You need outside people to be touchstones, because so much of recovering from abuse is confronting the way it warps your perception and thought processes. You need at the minimum one normal perspective to give you that, preferably more, but one minimum.

Hurting the people who care about her is definitely not okay and I'm not excusing her actions in that category, but it doesn't change the fact that she is justified in wanting to rage and lash out, because she is still trapped in that cycle. She can't heal or let go because the process hasn't even been started. She's not off the hook for the things she's done, but neither should she be automatically condemned without taking those factors into account (which is the entire reason why the distinction between an excuse and a justification exists.)

And if I can be a little pithy... The other similarity between Catra and Anthy is I can guarantee that in twenty years people will STILL be arguing over whether or not Catra "deserved" to be freed from her abusive situation.

Good God this turned into an essay. Hope this makes up for how long it took, anon. And anyone else who makes it this far, treat yourself. You earned it.

[lionheartedqlf]

text || Faberry

R: [233AM] It was easy to forget.

Q: [300AM] I'm sorry.

R: It doesn’t matter now.

R: How was dinner?

Q: It does to me.

Q: It was good. I guess.

R: Okay. I just needed to get that off my chest.

Q:Can I ask why you still wear it, or is that something better left alone?

R: I love you.

R: That’s why. It’s the only thing I have left of you.

Q: Oh.

R: If it makes you uncomfortable I can throw them away.

Q: DON'T

R: Ok

Q: Sorry. That wasn't supposed to be in all caps. And I'm sorry for the voice I took with you earlier too. It just slipped out because I still hate hearing you talk about yourself like that. But I know that's not my place anymore and I need to remember that. Because that won't be my place until I've made up for so much more than I think even you know.

R: I was saying what feels like the truth.

R: You wouldn’t have taken that tone with me in the first place had you believed it wasn’t warranted.

R: We can go back and forth all day on who hurt the other more.

R: I think we’re not meant to go there.

Q: I still do not have your consent to dom you and that is what I am apologizing for. Because we both know what that tone means and I am not your dom, you are not my sub, and as such I was out of line. For which, I am sorry.

R: I accept your apology.

R: Like I suggested, I can just throw them away.

R: It’s clear I’m holding onto them and I shouldn’t be.

Q: I don't want you to throw them away. You can if you feel you need to, but believe me, it is not what I want. But whether you know it or not, I was a bad dom to you. And until I can sit down and explain to you why I feel this, until I can apologize to you and make amends, I do not even remotely deserve to have you associate me with such. But that does not mean that, when all is said and done, I do not wish to be given a second chance.

R: I was bad to you in general. I’m trying to be better.

Q: I wasn't good for either of us and maybe you weren't either, but at least we're both working on it, apart.

Q: I hate to admit it, and if you ever tell them I said this I will purposefully buy a sheet of gold star stickers and burn it JUST to send the video of it to you, but your dads were right, to do what they did with us. To interfere.

R: That was not a very nice thing to say!

R: I’m going to plead the fifth.

Q: But you get my point, which is what counts.

Q: It's just something I personally feel, though pleading the 5th ONLY protects you from self-incrimination so... things to consider.

R: I’m not sure I could incriminate myself more than I already have. I’ve been doing nothing but owning up to my failures and mistakes.

R: They didn’t have to make you leave me.

Q: You and me both. You and me both.

Q: Yeah, they did. NOt because of you, but because of me.

R: I don’t know what to say to that.

R: I should be sleeping but I can’t stop thinking about you.

Q: I'll explain later, it makes more sense in context of everything I know now.

Q: I should also be sleeping, but not sleeping because I'm thinking about you is common.

R: Fine.

R: I know that feeling.

Q: Believe me, it's not the kind of conversation one can have over text. OR so says my sponsor...

Q: Would me not texting you help?

R: I’m not asking you to text me anything. I was simply complying.

R: I just found out for myself you’re actually alive. I don’t know what I want right now.

Q: I know, but I've learned telling people the reminders I need to keep for myself is helpful in actually getting them to stick. Accountability and all that. Still not that great with it.

Q: Okay. Well, I'll be here, if you still want to text.

R: I get it. I try and do the same.

R: There’s no such thing as great

Q: Yeah but saying "not that great" is better than "completely terrible" so... little things.

R: You’re right. Thanks.

R: Little things turn into big things to be proud of most of the time!

Q: Yeah, they do. Doesn't matter how big the step is, as long as you're making it in the right direction.

Q: Which is why "12 step program" is a misnomer

R: Seems misleading and stressful

Q: I mean, it's 12 sets of things you should do but it's more like floors of a building and each stairwell is located in a different place on each floor, cos each individual "step" tends to have a lot of little parts and then you have to navigate from the end of that "step" to the next one and it's not always the easiest thing to do.

Q: So, yeah, it can be stressful.

R: So it’s not really 12 steps?

Q: It's like those math questions with like parts a through f or whatever. It also isn't the best system as it's highly biased and religious but I like parts of it.

R: Sounds frustrating. To me anyways.

R: That’s all that matters though, that you like it.

Q: My sponsor is cool. He only abides by the idea of knowing you've got problems, doing what needs doing to help yourself heal, and making amends to those you hurt along the way, and then working to keep from backsliding and if you do, knowing how to move forward from that. It's less stressful and more open minded.

R: Sounds like exactly what you need.

Q: It is

R: How was the day?

Q: Lazy, mostly. Yours?

R: What does lazy mean to you?

R: Busy but in a good way

Q: Video games, some reading, music, a trip to the gym. And now Netflix with my cat.

Q: That's good.

R: I knew it wasn’t actually lazy.

Q: I don't know how to do proper lazy since getting clean. So, I improvise.

R: I like it.

Q: It's nice. I actually do Zumba, keeps me from overdoing it at the gym. It's fun, but I'm the only guy.

R: I do yoga for that reason.

R: It sounds fun though. I’m sure all the girls stare at you.

Q: The scars tend to scare them off.

R: Right.

Q: It's the kind of honesty that makes people uncomfortable.

R: I understand to some extent.

R: I’m sorry.

Q: Nothing to be sorry for.

R: Is the music fun?

Q: Usually, yeah. If we're talking about Zumba still.

R: We are. I am I mean!

Q: I mean, that's not to say I don't find the music I spend my free time playing not fun, but just wanted to be sure.

R: I’d hope what you do in your free time is fun!

R: I started taking singing lessons again.

Q: Sometimes it's more for catharsis than fun, but usually... I have a banjo now.

Q: Really?!

R: A banjo? What for?

R: Yes really.

Q: To play.

Q: I'm really glad to hear that.

R: That sounds fun!

Q: It is. I've even started singing again myself...

R: I’m so happy to hear that!!

Q: I sound nothing like I used to but... I'm not terrible, at least?

R: I hope to hear one day!

Q: I hope so too.

R: Really??

Q: Yeah, really.

R: That makes me really happy.

Q: Maybe next weekend we can do something?

R: I know of a place that does karaoke? That sort of something?

Q: As long as it doesn't get me near alcohol or drugs I'm down for anything. Just as long as you want to.

R: Hmm.

R: I’d like to see you. I would love to have you as my friend.

Q: We could meet in Central Park, talk a walk through the Shakespeare Garden? Something nice, public, and lacks any sort of pressure to come or leave together.

R: You always know the answer 🙂

R: Sounds perfect.

Q: I definitely don't, but I do have my moments.

Q: Saturday then?

R: Often with me

R: It’s a date!

Q: I look forward to it. I've missed you.

R: I’ve missed you too.

R: A lot

Q: If Saturday goes well, maybe we can figure out when will be best for me to apologize and explain myself. I don't want us to get too far into friendship and then blow it all apart because of that. If that makes sense.

R: Right.

R: I think that we should maybe talk first.

Q: And we can, if that's what you want. I just figured- we've only seen each other once in public since then and I worry about what happens if the second time we interact is in private, as the talk will need to be. Y'know?

R: What do you mean?

R: I’m not sure I can have fun with you before hashing out all the yucky stuff.

R: I dong think I’d like the fun being taken away.

Q: I don't know if I trust myself to be emotionally vulnerable with you in private and not do something I'll regret in the process, yet. I feel like I need more time to build up the right defenses for myself and I can only do that by being in public with you. I don't even know if that makes sense, but... I'm scared of slipping into old habits because of what we need to talk about.

Q: But if you don't want that I can figure something else out. Maybe you can plan to come by a couple nights this week just in case I can't do it all at once and then if you still want to be around me we already have plans for Saturday?

R: It doesn’t have to make sense to me.

R: I need to respect that. And I will. Saturday is fine.

R: Thank you for telling me.

Q: I... thank you.

Q: How about this. We do Saturday in the park and because Monday is labor day, we do something small together in public and then come back to my place (should we both feel ready) and have that talk?

R: That’s as long as Saturday goes well 😛

R: I can commit to that.

Q: Yes, but that was stated earlier so I wasn't going to repeat myself.

Q: Thank you, for even considering the idea of allowing me the opportunity to do this.

R: I want to know you again.

Q: I want to know you too