#THIS IS SO SAD

[fangirlism-for-life]

This is so sad

I actually did notice this, when i start a new fandom and i go on ao3 to read the ffs i go all the way to the oldest ffs. And i noticed a couple years ago the interactions were so much more than now. To the point where they used like all the feature ao3 uses including the ones of asking permission to use the idea to inspire another ff. Now people rarely comment. Unless you wrote something that's popular. Now you have to either be a big creator or have a super popular story to even get any comments.

Writing now is harder to do than it used to be. And it has nothing to do with improvement.

A writer friend told me something that broke my heart a little bit today; they're going to quit publishing their fanfic.

My instant thought was that they had been trolled or attacked or that something terrible had happened in their life because this person is so passionate about their writing. It wasn't any of that. Engagement with their works has been going down, as it has for many of us. Comments are like gold dust a lot of the time, and just looking through the historical comment counts on old fics on ao3 demonstrates this trend very clearly. It was not simply the comments dropping off which caused them to decide to stop posting, however.

My friend came across a discord server for their fandom (I should point out here that their fandom interest and mine diverged a couple of years ago, we stay in touch but don't currently read each other's posts because I'm not into their fandom and they would rather gouge their eyes out with a wooden spoon than read anything Star Wars) and specifically to share fic in that fandom. They joined, because we all love a good fic rec, only to discover that their latest multichapter fic, which has almost no comments and very few kudos, is being hotly discussed in this server as one of the best stories ever. Not one of these people has bothered to say this to them on the fic. When they asked, none of participants could see the point in telling the author of the fic they apparently loved so much that they love it.

This discovery has absolutely destroyed my friend's love of sharing fic. They share because they love seeing other people's enjoyment, and fic writers do that through comments and kudos/reblogs/likes because we don't get paid. There is no literary critic writing a blog post/article about how amazing the story is for us to copy and keep/frame. There is no money from royalties. All we have are the words of the people reading our works.

Those people on that server could have taken five minutes of the time they spent gushing about how amazing my friend's story was to other people and used it to tell the one person guaranteed to want to hear that praise how much they loved it. They could have taken a moment to express their opinion to the person who spent hours upon hours plotting, writing, editing, and posting those chapters. Instead, they deprived my friend of thing that keeps them sharing their writing, and in the process have killed their love of it. My friend now feels used and unmotivated.

I won't be sharing a link to their fic, they said I could share their experience but not their identity. I know they plan to post one final chapter. I know they intend to express their hurt at being excluded from the praise for the thing they created, and I know they intend to announce that as a consequence they will not be posting for a long while, if at all.

So please, I beg you, don't hide your love of a story from the writer. It's just about the only thing we have.

[leclerc-s]

no one is in greater mourning than jenson button. trust me.

[filmloversociety]

Rest in peace, Shelley Duvall (1949-2024)

[bry--st]

YO- I'M IN THE EPIC SERVER AND I PUT THIS THUMBNAIL AND SOMEONE REPLIED THIS:

HOMIE? WHY?? AND OK I GET IT, THEY HAVE A SAD ENDING, BUT THAT WAS GOING TO BE A FUTURE ME PROBLEM, NOT A NOW ME PROBLEM I WILL MAKE IT AN EVERYONE PROBLEM NOW, HAND ME MY EURYMENE LORE

Chapter 1:

Odysseus hugged the baby, Ctimene came to his mind, when she married Eurylochus, they tried to have children. She cried every time she lost the baby, begged every god and goddess, but nobody heard her request. The first kid she had in her arms was Telemachus, and he saw her cry even harder. His second in command told him that he was worried for the princess’ mental health. Maybe he could give her the baby. But what if he doesn’t end him now, and years later there was no one left to save?

“The blood in your hands is something you won’t lose; all you can choose is whose.”

Chapter 3:

Take orders from Poseidon, that was the offer, he would get the benefit of being the ruler of Ithaca. Eurylochus didn’t want that, he didn’t marry the princess for the power, they didn’t even live in the palace. And also they don’t have an heir. The perfect solution was kill Odysseus and Penelope, then raise Telemachus as if he was their son.

— I don’t want any of this, I don’t want to be king.

— Then wouldn’t you like to save Ctimene?

I CAN'T WRITE ANYMORE, I'M TOO SAD, ALEXA PLAY OPEN ARMS

Eurylochus and Ctimene, not much to say, I just did it while listening to Flores amarillas (let's just not talk about the flowers, I got lazy af), gonna write a one shot about them cuz I got inspired

[inthiskingdomwewillendure]

Favorite Aragorn moments in Fellowship of the Ring voted by my tumblr poll

Nr. 3: Boromirs Departure 4k

[azulmagpie]

Aw hell nah they turned Hange into a witch 🗣️🗣️ (happy Halloween!!)

[ab-meri-jeene-ki-tammana-nahi]

Do you'll realise that the moumita case is vanished from the media and public? No like the whole case, tragedy seem to vanish literally, no one is talking about it NO ONE. IT IS LIKE AS IF A TREND CAME AND GONE...dude tf is wrong?no one is talking,media,newspapers,public no one. Was it all a drama? That sympathy? Parade? But to be honest I'm not surprised.After all, we're living in fastest developing country. Aren't we?

[balloonsandguacamole]

Oh oof ouchie emotional pain

got into dst w the partner. they make me mad

[huyandere]

apollo goes to Khura'in klapollo week day 6: long distance

[fairuzfan]

[royalarchivist]

This is the saddest thing I've ever seen, poor Mariana (and JuanaFlippa) can NOT catch a break.

[winter-rossie]

POV: You realise how the first time Patroclus saw Achilles, his father, his own father tells him “That’s how a son should be.”

How years later, Patroclus dies on the battlefield in the same boy’s name and armor, making two entire fucking armies belive he’s Achilles?

[just-a-fun]

ok. I'm going crazy on this.

Callum's father died of lung disease, right?

Callum's first spell is aspiro. ASPIRO. A SPELL IN WHICH HE BREATHES THE AIR AND THEN BLOWS IT AWAY.

[mintharabaenrelore]

Minthara & the High Priestess of House Vandree

A breathtaking- literally- portrayal of this relationship and its sad ending by @faun-draws.

I asked @lunastrophe about this at one point; her answer was a huge help for this!

We know about Minthara's first lover from Act 3 banter, if the player character is romancing her.

Karlach: It's funny seeing you so smitten, Minthara. Didn't think you were able.

Minthara: I took my first lover before you were a spark in your father's eye, child.

Karlach: Go on.

Minthara: She was a high priestess of House Vandree. Beautiful, elegant, ruthless.

Minthara: I adored her, and had been sharing her bed for some time when the order came that she must die.

Minthara: I stayed with her while the poison did its work, and whispered words of comfort as she slipped away.

Karlach: Oh no.

So, there's the information, but what can we infer?

As this was Minthara's first lover, it was before any of her many suitors ("I had a thousand suitors. Some were only attracted by my status, many wanted my body, and a rare few wanted all of me") and before she graduated Arach-Tinilith, part of Tier Breche.

Minthara likely joined Arach-Tinilith at age 40, being born around 1280 DR and likely adhering to that custom rather than the one of 1361 that had students enter by 25 years old. (Reminder that, either way, Minthara was very young for a drow at this time!)

Priestesses are expected to study there for 50 years.

I'm not sure when Minthara's romance with the high priestess occurred. I have two theories:

When Minthara was beginning her education there.

The Ceremony of Graduation.

We'll discuss the Ceremony of Graduation later.

Minthara states she was sharing her bed, so we can infer she was going to her bedroom, not the other way around. Only older priestesses and instructors have single rooms, while novices have to share with one or two others for the first several years. Considering the relationship lasted for "some time", I think this confirms that the high priestess was a fellow student, and quite a bit older- although the fact that she was a high priestess in the first place (which takes some time to do) makes that obvious.

I don't think it was one of Minthara's instructors at the school because I can't think of any who match the description- House Vandree, high priestess, etc.

There is a power imbalance in this relationship, as @lunastrophe pointed out to me. House Vandree is by no means unimportant, but House Baenre is the most powerful family in Menzoberranzan, by far- by 1480 DR, House Vandree was at their most powerful as a member of the Ruling Council, but still several spots below House Baenre. Then again, Minthara's lover was older and a high priestess.

If they were sleeping together for "some time", if Minthara "adored" her, and if House Baenre and House Vandree were allies, why was Minthara ordered to kill her?

Perhaps Minthara got too attached. Perhaps the high priestess was deemed a threat. Perhaps it was just the sadistic whim of someone in power. Maybe it was just a test- to see if Minthara had what it took to be a "soldier in Lolth's service", a paladin. A Baenre princess. Perhaps it was a test from Lolth herself.

Knowing how close Minthara was to her mother, I assume- if it was an order from the Ruling Council- it would have come directly from her.

How did Minthara kill her, is the question? I like to speculate that, since Minthara was clearly keen on granting her mercy- why bother with words of comfort if you wanted to make the death unpleasant?- the poison was in Ulaver wine, a delicacy in Menzoberranzan. Most likely, the poison was something obscure and expensive, as 1. a Baenre could afford such a thing and 2. Minthara is not the only drow to dose herself with toxins to build up immunity. I imagine it was Belbol d'Elghinn ("Gift of Death"), as it is a powerful poison drow nobles prize for assassinations, one that works remarkably swiftly.

Of course, it's possible that it was her famous poisoned kiss, but as darkly romantic as that would be, it's unlikely considering that if Minthara used such powerful poison, she could have died in the process.

The aftermath was probably... minimal. Approval from Lolth and her mother, fear and respect from her peers. The drow philosophy is basically "If we can't prove it, it never happened" and considering that Minthara says she "slipped away", not "loudly screamed and flailed and summoned all of Menzoberranzan to her aid", I think that's about it. I'm not sure how the high priestess would have been dealt with after death- most likely used as a food source for spiders, as she died in subtlety and disgrace.

A very unlikely theory that I have- wishful thinking, really- is that the High Priestess betrayed Lolth by turning to Eilistraee, and Lolth punished her by having her lover, Minthara, end her, and in those dying moments, Minthara learned the word "Alurlssrin" from her.

Remember, Minthara is praying to Lolth in the prisons of Moonrise Towers up until the PC rescues her, and then she turns her back on her goddess- abruptly, it seems, but is it really? Did this test, if it was a test, if it originated from Lolth, sow the seeds of rebellion in a young Minthara? Perhaps the abandonment in her hour of need was just the final push.

It's unusual that Minthara stayed with her lover as she died, offering comfort- risking Lolth's wrath, and defying drow culture in general. This proves she wasn't exaggerating things when she said she'd "adored" her- she did, and does, if her praise is anything to go by. In Minthara's world, it wasn't an act of cruelty to kill her; a betrayal, yes, but it was mercy for it to have been Minthara rather than someone who would have done it far more brutally and with far less remorse. If Minthara had tried to reject this order, things would have gone worse for them both.

About the Ceremony of Graduation: This high priestess having been Minthara's first lover aligns with the theory that their laison began at the infamous ceremony. Minthara's only dialogue about that is this: "Straj. This reminds me of my ceremony of graduation. *laugh* What a day that was" which I found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vYBaYJgz_c. @mogruith discovered that line triggers in Philgraves Mansion.

Anyways, the Ceremony of Graduation is a drow rite of passage for the graduates of Tier Breche as of early 14th century DR (which aligns with Minthara's timeline, if I'm not mistaken). I won't go into details about the Ceremony of Graduation, as I'm going to make a separate post about Minthara's role in said Ceremony, but it's worth noting.

Minthara appears to remember this fleeting romance vividly, which is telling. This relationship evidently, left a lasting mark on the young Minthara- from her anxieties about poison and her paranoia when it comes to lovers and people in general.

Remember, Minthara- if romanced- doses the PC with poison, to help them build an immunity. She says it's in case they visit Menzoberranzan, but I'm not so sure that's her only motive. I think she's trying to protect them from her first lover's tragic fate.

For a beautiful- and sad- portrayal of this story, I suggest "Her Priestess" by @faun-draws on AO3.

[tentacle-therapissed]

Why is Billford evil Cecilos

[demigods-posts]

it just dawned on me that annabeth probably has repressed memories. think about it. the only thing she really remembers about her childhood is being and feeling neglected and insignificant at home. then running away at seven. and she has vague memories with luke and thalia. but once she watched thalia die. the next couple years are a blur. maybe the most consistent and prominent thing her brain lets her remember are her moments with luke bc those were the good ones. and that's why she's so adamant on justifying his mistakes throughout the first series. bc he is the only proof she has of something of an identity. who is she without him?