#Who this would technically also be true for?

[chocolateteepot]

#mmm#like yes good#ive also loved the idea that the camera panned on Loki BECAUSE he was the loved one that Thor betrayed#or like the only loved one that Thor would care he betrayed#thor#thor 1 (via @galaxythreads)

I love this shot because both are true. We know about Loki's machinations, but his manipulation of Thor was just him putting the idea out there that Thor could still do his murder campaign without his dad's permission. Thor wasn't tricked into doing a massacre, that was what he wanted to do all along, Loki just makes him realise he could still do it!

The Shakespearean tragedy of it all for Thor is that this manipulation only works if Thor is exactly as dangerously arrogant and reckless a warmonger as Loki is convinced he is. Which is why Loki does it in the first place. I also feel like his immediate facepalm after Thor takes the bait makes it look like it was a test? Thor taking the bait proves Loki right. I don't think anyone's even looking at him when he does this:

Is he just that committed to the bit? Or was he hoping Thor would prove him wrong? Thor also then dismisses Loki trying to talk him out of it.

At this point, as far as Thor knows; Loki tried to talk him out of going in the first place, then tries to get them out without bloodshed, then Thor blows the genuine GIFT of retreat Laufey just handed them becuase someone calls him a princess and goes full murder rampage.

Loki is one of the loved ones Thor just betrayed. He almost got his brother and friends killed, and he didn't even notice when one of them was gravely injured. He ignored them desperately calling for him to stop and retreat. He put his own selfish desire to 'teach the Jotuns a lesson' (and seeming just pure enjoyment of enacting it) above the safety of his friends and his little brother.

(His little brother who, ironically, would also have been injured if he hadn't secretly been Jotun all along.)

And I think that dynamic is particularly relevant here too - the whole 'older sibling feels real or imagined duty to protect their younger sibling' - for Thor and Odin. It's a specific kind of betrayal to find out you cannot trust your oldest child with the most basic safety of your youngest.

For Odin as a parent (if we can call him that), this must read as your arrogant, violent oldest son dragging his pacifying-voice-of-reason little brother into a war you expressly forbade him from starting.

Obviously, out of the group that Thor took with him, Loki is the most important - to Odin (for cynical reasons at least) and to Thor. And yeah, Thor betrayed Odin by going against his ruling (technically treason??? how many times has treason been committed in these films.) - and basically all of Asgard by starting a war - but the camera focuses on Loki. Because their wildly co-dependent relationship is Thor's most important one, because Loki is his younger sibling, and because Thor would feel guiltiest for betraying Loki specifically.

But also, tragically, Loki is the impetus. He lit the match, got the ball rolling to prove Thor would betray them all (including him) in this way, in order to prove him unfit to be king. Loki is the instrument of his own hurts, he had to prove Thor would hurt him in order to prove Thor would hurt him.

You’re unworthy!

[sulumuns-dootah]

Can I request a headcanon of whb king (plus any other characters you want) reacting to gn mc avoiding them for as long as she can because mc got dared to by some random demon

WHB kings' reaction to MC avoiding them because of a dare

⟡ Masterlist ⟡

A/N: Hi! This was so fun to write since each king had a completelly different reaction ^^ Sorry for the long wait though t-t

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Oh, Satan doesn't like this at all

The moment he notices your suspiciously long absence, he's on the prowl

Where are you and why tf are you avoiding him?

He'll even send out Amy and his group to look for you and bring you to him

Hopefully he'll during his search find out about the dare

At least hopefully for you

Poor demon who dared you will find himself homeless after Satan in his demon form destroys his place

Once that's dealt with, the next time you go outisde, you come face to face with Satan, leaning back against his bike

"Talked to that mf. The dare's called off :)"

    ༺☆༻

Mammon notices that you haven't been around him much, but he just chalks it up to you being busy

He's okay with it, knowing that eventually you'll come back to him anyway

Besides, if you needed something, you'd surely call him

After finding out that it's a dare, he's also curious how long you'll be able to keep away from him

If he ever gets worried about you, he'll just send one of his nobles to check up on you

Once you're back to him, he's taking you out for a dinner to congratulate you on how long you lasted

    ༺☆༻

Leviathan knew from the beginning thanks to Foras

You don't even get to leave the Hades castle so it's easier for you to avoid him when you get a message from the devil who dared you that the dare is off

It doesn't take a genius to realise that the poor demon had been visited by His Majesty himself and forced to end your dare early

Most likely, if you video-called with him, he'll be gasping for air, hung by a noose

The next time you see Leviathan, he acts like nothing happened, but you can feel his piercing stare when you're not looking at him

He's most likely not sure how to punish you yet...

But once he does...

Oh boy, now comes the moment to avoid him for the sole sake of your survival

    ༺☆༻

Funny :)

You think you can avoid Beel? :)

I mean, technically you could do that by hanging around in the Abyssos castle, but even then you can't exactly avoid Beel

If Beel wants to see you, he'll come and see you

Doesn't matter where you are or what you're doing

Even if it means that he'll have to sneak through his own castle to escape Bael's wrath

And even more so, if he finds out about the dare...

Oops, he just reminded he meant to take you to this place and booked it in advance and can't cancel it

Sorry, guess you'll have to spend the whole month with him :)

I guess the rule with Beel is that the more you want him, the less he'll be around

(True story with my pulls for his cards tbh T-T)

    ༺☆༻

Belphie would probably realise that it's been a while since you were there when he woke up, but eh...

Maybe you're just busy doing your work

No sweat

That is until Beleth accidentally slips up about the dare

Oh?

Now that is something different

Prepare to start dreaming about him every night

That'll eventually make you come back...

And if not, don't worry...

Belphie's ability can bring you back anytime, so enjoy your time away from him before he decides this little game is over

    ༺☆༻

Keeping away from Asmo is honestly your day-to-day task, so I don't think there's much difference

That is until you realize that it's time for another annual king meeting

The real challenge becomes coming up with a good reason to excuse yourself from it

And all the nobles are helping you at this point

Sure, you could just not go, but Asmo might then leave the meeting to come and see you since he was so excited to meet you after so long

In the end Leviathan coems to save the day and hides you inside his coffin for as long as the need be

Phew

You're safe for another year

    ༺☆༻

To Lucifer, not seeing you for a long time is a good thing

It just means you're healthy and safe

But he does eventually start to miss you

And then Gamigin talks a bit too much and mentions that you've been avoiding Paradise Lost because of a dare

So whenever you need medical assistance one of the nobles has to do a house call

...

A house call?

That sounds unsanitary

Who even knows what germs and bacteria you might catch

Lucifer better make his way over to you for a surprise visit to make sure you're doing well

And no apples can save you from this doctor

[gaywineauntsstuff]

Dick Grayson Olympics

Dick has absolutely been in the olympics multiple times by the point he's Nightwing.

Dick just also happens to have like 9 different countries in which he is a citizen. So he competes for a new country every 4 years and every time the olympics is near his phone gets absolute bombarded by a bunch of official teams and recruiters begging him to join.

He is also the world's youngest Olympian and gold medalist in general. (the youngest Olympian on record is 12 but Dick Grayson was beating up grown men by 8 so i'm starting there, he's an overachiever, no I will not accept criticism)

here me out

first one at age 8 right before his parents die, he competed for France

second one at age 12 and he competes for Italy

third one at 16 and he competes for Switzerland

fourth one at 20 and he's with Romania

you get where i'm going with this

There are 6 events and he wins gold in every one of them except one time he showed up hungover, concussed with a stomach flu (he got a silver on the uneven bars bc his vision was so blurry so he did it blindfolded so he wouldn't throw up.)

No one except Tim and Alfred know (Tim bc he's a stalker and Alfred bc Dick needed his help getting to the airport as a child) but he takes a sabbatical from work and does missions covertly in the countries he's competing in (not as Nightwing bc that would be too obvious)

He also refuses to compete for the USA bc he's still bitter about being thrown in Juvie and they can't make him

He leaves every medal by his parent's grave as a promise that he has not abandoned their dreams for him.

When anyone ever figures out he was in the Olympics he just smiles and said he competed for France once when he was a kid (bc its technically true he's only competed for France exactly one time) and he's like really bashful about it and says stuff like "oh even though my routine wasn't perfect as a kid it was still an amazing experience to have with my Mom and Dad." (he is absolutely faking the bashfulness he just doesn't want people to google him and see he's won 15 gold medals before he turned 25 bc then there are questions and he's a relatively private person).

Bruce doesn't know that Dick was in the Olympics because an 8 yr old boy who grew up in a circus would have no idea of scale. (this is based on a random fic I read where a 12yr Dick Grayson did not call Bruce when there was an active gunmen at school -he found out from another parent a week later- but called him absolutely balling, making him rush home from work bc someone stuck gum in his hair.

So 12yro Dick just tells Bruce he wants to go to an acrobatics competition and Bruce is like sure, okay how long will you gone? and Dicks like a few weeks. And because Bruce has no scale of normal parenting things, he does not see this as an issue.

By the time Dicks 24 he just doesn't tell Bruce because he thinks it's hilarious he hasn't figured it out yet. Alfred doesn't tell him bc he's hardcore judging the 'world's greatest detective' very British-ly.

The only Titans that know are Wally and Donna and they are sworn to secrecy.

And yes he is mad bc he likes the women's gymnastics stuff more bc he grew up in a circus and he thinks it looks more fun.

[janahanooo]

So, many of you liked my silly headcanons for the ramshackle gang, so have some more. And yes I do like to pretend that, these are all cannon. :) I swear I'm mentally ok

The Ramshackle gang is scary, quite literally. For starters, Rollo is a pyromaniac who is not afraid to burn down the whole world if it's about that. Fellow is a cunning, manipulative man who is already an adult, compared to everyone (except maybe Leona cus y'know, they are both over 20). Skully is literally from the past. He is if not, considered as a ghost by the students of the campus. Gidel, Gidel my boy is just cute.

Everyone thinks it's Rollo who takes care of everyone, because he's the mature one, while in reality... he is the most insane one in the group...

When in reality, it's still Yuu. The prefect, who already has enough on their plate. One can only pity them.

On the other side tho. Upset the Prefect of the Ramshackle dorm and you are gone for good. Not only you have a cat with a bad temper chasing you down the hall, no no. The whole Ramshakle gang is after you, and they dont care if you are a student or the headmaster.

Speaking of the headmaster, Crowley doesn't have any options other than smiling and letting them get away with things. Since, 1 he does not want to end up as the dinner, 2 now he can't say that the Ramshackle dorm does't have dorm members.

Yuu and Fellow take up on questionable part-time jobs around the campus all the time. One day they are helping out Sam in the Mystery Shop, the other day cleaning the courtyard and on another day running errands for the headmaster.

Skully just loves to scare the shit out of everyone. So does everyone tbh... but mainly Skully

Skully and the ghosts are inseparable. One might call them besties.

Gidel is the new face of the dorm. Well, him too, Grim is very irritated that he's not the only one now.

Also about Gidel, I do believe he has heavy sencory issues and dosnt like touching things with his bare hand. That is one of the many reasons why he wears oversized things.

Most of them (meaning everyone except Rollo) stays in the dorm in holliday season. Although, after some time and some treathening persuaiding, Rollo does eventually invite the gang to his home so they can stay there.

Huh... technically it's not a headcannon, but it is in a way... so, when Yuu goes home finally after who know long, the group collectively agreed to look after Grim and that they would still get together and never forget Yuu.

Another honorary mention(s): Ace and Deuce. They are considered dorm member even if they aren't. The sheer amount of time they spend there, makes them a true member (much to some peoples *cough* Rollo and Fellow *cough* saddness).

[kizzer55555]

Ok first off, we need to address the fact that Lancer is apparently Deathstroke’s brother. I vote they had a dramatic childhood where Lancer basically raised himself and his brother. He did a lot to raise them and it was a struggle for money yet he managed. However Deathstroke learned that they could get more money through ‘less than legal’ ways but Lancer always disapproved of it. He refused any money his brother tried to give and kept trying to talk him out of it. They got into a fight with Lancer unable to accept any money and stay in his barely surviving way of living, while Deathstroke wasn’t willing to give up the easily attained income and couldn’t understand why his brother would reject it. Lancer still gets upset about the ‘methods’ and is the only people who can tell off Deathstroke and fight him about it. (Which he does…every time they see each other.) Deathstroke doesn’t even fight back really.

Ok, now back to Ellie. Dan finds a nearby daycare to temporarily babysit his sister when he’s out doing ‘work’. (Also, I head cannon that the case Robin had everyone get during that big race scene with red X was actually a photo of Robin’s family. That’s why he wanted it back but also why he didn’t want enemies to find it. It’s one of the last photos he has of them and it’s a link to his identity. Dan would understand the importance of family). Also, Dan is spending a lot of time with his baby sister. She’s smarter than people realize and mostly she’s fine but sometimes she gets bored and decides to sneak into Red X’s gear. Red X is also known for NEVER putting kids in danger or possibly stealing some children supplies. (Danny said he could help pay for some but Dan feels like he needs to care for Ellie too. To contribute somehow since Danny already makes ecto dejecto out of his own ectoplasm to send to them so Ellie can eat it like baby food.)

Second idea. Angst. Phantom is a ghost, AKA dead. This dead child is revealed to be related to Red X (Likely a younger brother) who is also caring for a toddler. Then he accidentally slips something about his parents being dead. Now we have a tragic backstory about Red X basically losing his entire family and watching them die in front of him, having to deal with his dead brother’s ghost, and raising his baby sister all by himself. (Worst thing is that Dan can’t even deny those assumption since they are ‘technically’ all true.)

It's the 20th anniversary of Danny Phantom and I'm back to share memes about a dcxdp crossover idea I had and never posted.

These have been sitting around in my gallery for months now

[pocketsizedquasar-3]

technically posted this to the comic site last week but oops! executive dysfunction

reminder that i am raising money for @fahedshehab-new’s family! i am selling Moby Dick prints and old copies of my queer post apocalyptic comic to raise money for him and his family in Ghazzah. please consider buying some art or donating to them directly!

anyway. chapter 3 of Moby Dick: or, the Webcomic coming soon (within this month). I actually have 5 pages Complete presently, and another 7 in progress. I am holding myself to this. I am sorry for the long wait. thank you for being patient with me.

also, for who have been keeping up with some of my goings on may already know I have been long working on a fic I’ve lovingly and uncreatively referred to as “Good AU,” a Starbuck/Ahab centric fic exploring the possibility of Starbuck successfully convincing Ahab to abandon the chase, and thus saving the ship. I just last week!!!!!! posted the final chapter. You can read the whole thing on ao3, called “The Chase, Unraveled.” Obviously, it does include spoilers for the true/canon ending events of this book, so if that’s somehow something you’ve managed to avoid, since it is a 170 year old book, and would like to continue avoiding, maybe skip it for now.

anyway. thanks for reading. we will return shortly.

[ultimategenshintournament]

Ultimate Ship Tournament: Round 2

Propaganda below cut

Ayatitto (submitted 3 times):

ok so I'm kinda coming at this from a queerplatonic angle but hear me out. They're Bros. they hang out together regularly and play games. now Ayato is a very busy, stifled, emotionally repressed, and kind of sadistic person. so why on EARTH would be hang out with Itto to just play games? he doesn't even like, torment him or anything. HENCE!! this is where I posit that Ayato ENJOYS spending time with itto because he ENVIES him, he envies how carefree and happy and playful and ignorant he is, he envies how he can just...be. and when Ayato is with Itto, he gets to feel a bit of that too. he's not the head of the kamisato clan, he's not an important figure in the tri-commission, he's just My Bro Ayato. it gives him the relief to just exist. itto on the other hand experiences so many hardships, people harass and attack him just for existing in a way that is obviously queer (in race, in neurotype, in orientation....(though i HC him aroace)). he's relieved just to have a non-child companion who seems to respect him and play with him and hang around him for who he is, not for who the law wants him to be. i posit that, similar to how Ayato feels accepted in a way that lets him shed his family crest and weight of responsibility by Itto, itto feels accepted in a way that lets him wear his horns with pride. because itto's unabashed ADHD and oni heritage and love for his hobbies is exactly what is ATTRACTIVE about him to Ayato in the first place. there are only like 200 fics for these guys on AO3 the last time I checked. i feel so strongly about them. does anyone see my vision. please

i just think their dynamic is neat! rather than balancing each other out, they just feed into each other's personal form of chaos and yknow what. Good For Them

Xiaoven (submitted 3 times):

THE YEARNING. Xiao's true dream is to find freedom but he still feels bound to his contract with Rex Lapis because technically he Did free him from his previous master so therefore his current duties are technically a form of freedom so to look for another form would be a betrayal and then we have the god of freedom who would probably never initiate for fear of issues with consent but probably also just wants to be seen as himself and not just a god and. yeah

It's sunshine x grumpy character I rest my case.

[completeoveranalysis]

[3]

HELLO CLOW REED LORE TOO?

Clamp are generous today!

The subtle change in the story from “Even Clow Reed couldn’t do that” to “Even Clow Reed couldn’t COMPLETELY fulfill that wish”. 

The narrative-altering mention of the fact that he partially pulled it off. 

That there was someone he managed to kind of raise from the dead, but not properly and not really. 

And Yuuko’s stonefaced expression as she doesn’t respond to that at all. 

I think we all have a good guess about who it was. 

Meanwhile Lava Lamp is frantically trying to piece together the backstory they’re all talking about over him and OH he’s SO Syaoran about this. 

Oh ALSO

Also also also also

Let’s spread out the picnic blanket and enjoy the view as we consider which of his parents he mentions as being related to Clow Reed

Spoilers for the original Cardcaptor Sakura manga

From the not-quite-completely convincing thread of hints that Clamp keep dangling that Lava Lamp is the son of Cardcaptor Sakura, his reaction here would match Lava Lamp being Clow’s descendant. However - and it’s possible they just didn’t tell him this by age seven - Sakura herself has a much closer and very direct relation to Clow Reed. If he knew about this, it would have been a more relevant thing to remember about Clow Reed. If he was practically your grandfather, you would remember that first. 

So either he doesn’t know or it’s not true. Like all the other holes the story is hinting at, he’s most likely not the son of the Cardcaptors. 

He’s the son of Syaoran, “The Descendant of Clow Reed”. Whichever one that is. (And have we met him? Because it would so unbelievably wild if we had)

[centrally-unplanned]

This seems like a made-up critique of Yglesias? The Dem candidates who ran "ahead of Harris", particularly in relevant swing states, were typically running more conservative campaigns! The Dem ballot initiatives that passed weren't on the topics under discussion, how is that relevant?

You can't take the guy saying this:

This was the original point about popularism. There really are popular progressive ideas. If you center those ideas *and do not push other unpopular ideas that crowd them out* you’ll do great and make meaningful progressive change.

And be like "his idea is lurch right on every issue", it is pretty much the opposite; stay left on all the popular ones and give up losing issues.

Additionally, why would moderation lose queer voters? This is turnout trap logic - what, are they gonna vote Republican? Will Republicans try to outflank them by becoming more pro-queer then Dems are? That is technically possible but come on, they won't do that. So in 2028 the community will face the obvious tradeoffs of one party being way better than the other one, even if that party is only 90% as aligned as it used to be. That 10% isn't gonna shift vote share - every time someone proposes this "lose the base" idea it is just always wrong! Swing voters decide elections. The math is merciless on that.

(I also think equating queer people in general with trans-specific issues is a big trap, but w/e)

I have no real stance on the object level issue here - I don't know what the polling says. I see data like this and I go, okay, seems in the middle here. And see polling where shit like inflation is the bigger decider, so right now I think that is the big stuff to focus on. But we are really young on data from the actual election right now, it is all preliminary. And I know what case the "popularist" faction is making is:

Is this true? Maybe, just a few early polls. But if it is true than Dems almost certainly should moderate their rhetoric on these topics. Since not doing that is actively making things worse for trans people. Because it makes Dems lose elections to a party that wants to ban all trans care for youths regardless of patient/parental consent and strip away discrimination protections. You can pick the way-less-impactful topics like athletics and triage in response, like all politics must do. This is not throwing trans people under the bus! If this data is true, you are throwing them under the bus.

Which I don't think you are actually doing ofc, point is just that you really should be overwhelmingly concerned with "what do the American people actually believe" and be trying to win elections with them. The general approach of the "popularist" wing seems very much on the money right now. They are the same guys outlining how sure thermostatic opinion will swing back but also the Senate Map is unfavourable by a ~5 pt margin. You should want to win the senate! That is far, far more important than any specific issue, definitionally so. There just is no actual upside to maximalism here.

Matt Yglesias seems to think the only thing for the Democrats to do is to lurch as far to the right as possible and throw trans people under the bus, but I think this is stupid; MAGA candidates not named Trump ran behind their peers, plenty of Democratic policies passed in the form of ballot initiatives, and many Dem candidates outran Harris by at least a little bit. AFAICT the election was genuinely a backlash against incumbency and not a repudiation of Democratic policy positions generally.

Which sucks! But it also implies you shouldn’t screw over members of your core coalition to try to seize ground already firmly occupied by reactionaries. People with reactionary politics will vote for the brand name version, and you run the risk of alienating people who up til now voted for you. The problems liberals have relate predominantly to messaging in a fragmented media environment and the uniquely troubled circumstances of 2024 than they do to an electorate disgusted by trans women in sports or pandering to people who use the phrase “toxic masculinity.”

[kizzer55555]

DP x DC: The Most Dangerous Card Game

Ok so Danny has essentially claimed earth as his. And he is fully aware that there are constant threats to the planet. Now he can’t stop a threat that originates on earth (that’s something he’ll leave to the Justice league) but he can do something about outside threats. Doing some research on ancient spells, rituals, and artifacts, he cast a world wide barrier on the planet to protect it from hostile threats so they cannot enter. This will prevent another Pariah Dark incident. However, barriers like this come at a price. You see, there are two ways to make a barrier. Either make one powered up by your own energy and power (which would be constantly draining) or set up a barrier with rules. The way magic works is that nothing can be absolutely indestructible. It must have a weakness. The most powerful barriers weren’t the ones reinforced with layer after layer of protective charms and buffed up with power. Those could eventually be destroyed either by being overpowered, wearing them down, or by cutting off the original power source. No, the most powerful barriers were the ones with a deliberate weakness. A barrier indestructible except for one spot. A cage that can only be opened from the outside. Or that can only be passed with a key or by solving a riddle. So Danny chooses this type of barrier and does the necessary ritual and pours in enough power to make it. And he adds his condition for anyone to enter. 

Now the Justice league? Find out about the barrier when Trigon attempts to attack, they were preparing after he threatened what he would do once he got to earth. How he would destroy them. The Justice league tried to take the fight to him first but were utterly destroyed, so they retreated home to tend to their injuries, and fortify earth for one. Last. Stand. Only when Trigon makes his big entrance…he’s stopped.

The Justice league watch in awe as this thin see-through barrier with beautiful green swirls and speckled white lights like stars apears blocking Trigon and his army’s advance. The barrier looks so thin and fragile yet no matter how hard the warlord hits, none of his attacks can get through and neither can he damage said barrier. That’s when Constantine and Zatanna recognizes what this barrier is. Something only a powerful entity could create. For a moment, the league is filled with hope that Trigon can’t get through yet Constantine also explains that it’s not impenetrable. And clearly Trigon knows this too for he calls out a challenge. 

And that’s when, in a flash of light, a tiny glowing teenager appears. He looked absolutly minuscule compared to Trigon and yet practically glowed with power (this isn’t a King Danny AU though).

And that is when the conditions for passing the barrier are revealed. And the Justice realize that the only thing stopping Trigon and his army from decimating earth. The only way he can get through….is by beating this glowing teenager in a card game. 

Not just any card game though. The most convoluted game Sam, Danny, and Tucker invented themselves. It’s like the infinite realms version of magic the gathering, combined with Pokémon, and chess. And Danny is the master. So sit down Trigon and let’s play.

(The most intense card game of the Justice league’s life).

After Danny wins, this happens a few more times with outer word beings and possibly even demons attempting to invade earth, yet none have been able to beat the mysterious teenager in a card game. Constantine might even take a crack at it and try to figure out how to play. He’s really bad though. Every time this happens, the Justice league worry that this might be the time the teenager looses. Yet every time, he wins (even if only barely). 

Meanwhile, Danny, Sam, and Tucker have gotten addicted to the game and play it almost daily. Some teachers might seem them playing the game are are like ‘awww how cute’ not realizing this game is literally saving the world. Jazz is just happy they aren’t spending as much time on their screens playing Doomed.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

LUO BINGHE CASUAL SENSHI COSPLAYER

OH, ABSOLUTELY.

(context)

[puck-the-devil]

"How is it you're thinking of Shinichi Kudo and yet you call him by his English name, 'Jimmy'? Anyway, if you don't recognize Tsukumoya, then nevermind. I know what you were intending to illustrate. My point is that I know that what I believe is the truth doesn't necessarily mean it is aligned with the truth of reality - something that is subject to change at any time. I'm not presuming or pretending to be perfect or infallible simply because I can't tell a lie."

"So the real trouble here is that you don't define a lie as the same thing that we Fae do. In the human dictionary, it's known as 'intentionally giving a false statement'. By Fae standards, lies are 'actually uttering falsehoods' as you put it. To us, just because you don't tell the truth doesn't automatically mean you're lying or make you a liar. So by our definition - unlike yours, it seems - there is no straightforward way to lie without actually intentionally speaking something one believes to be untrue. Does that make sense? To you, it sounds as though being dishonest or deceitful in any way may be considered the same thing as lying. To us, they are technically and literally completely separate things. While we can do the former, we are incapable of doing the latter." He sighed. "Fae - and most demons, I thought - are actually very particular about wording and things like names. Words and names hold power, especially for beings like us who can be summoned with the right utterance of them, who can use them to manipulate magic, and who can be bound by them. So if you go around saying things like 'everyone's secrets are lies by omission and therefore everyone is a liar because everyone has secrets', you start to not make sense; to sound like a madman. Deals, contracts, favors - things of that nature done with Fae and demons are very literal and technical with words, so to say that one can lie by omission will really mess you up when it comes to trying to figure out the logic of our kind."

"I'm not trying to lead you in circles or invite you to expect so little of me. I'm merely attempting to warn you about being so general about things that we have to follow to the letter because that can be the difference between freedom or slavery for us. Or even the difference between life and death."

The fairy slapped a hand to his face before sliding it downward. "Yes, I know humans and demons can lie without having to be clever. What about it? Actually, there's a human I know who detests lies for that very reason and refuses to use them because of that. He values intelligence and cleverness and thus thinks lies are far too easy to tell, so he tries to utilize the same techniques that us Fae do in order to avoid telling the truth. I wonder what you'd think of him..."

"Ah ah ah! My full statement was that I believe you're overlooking that friends are not something immortals have. It's important to take the full phrase in context. However, I didn't mention which immortals. Like you said, there are many implications there; one of which is that I am one of said immortals, but it was not explicitly stated. And, yes, as you mentioned yourself, the definition of 'having' a friend was also not explicitly stated. So there are many ways that statement can be considered true without being true specifically in the way that most people - especially humans - would assume it to be." Puck spread his arms. "Therefore, as you helped me point out, I can be deceitful while at the same time being honest. And, therefore, I can still avoid outright lying. So do you see now why simply being deceitful or withholding information does not equate to lying? At least in the eyes of the Fae and in the rules that bind our kind?"

"To start with, the name is evoking Jimmy Kudo from Detective Conan and that just makes me certain wires got crossed... I intended to illustrate that, even at such a hypothetical meta level, whatever magic might tell you the truth is cannot be considered a constant. That you are capable of being mistaken, as well as under-or-overestimating me in this game we're currently playing."

"Moving back to lying by omission and other methods: I do consider everyone liars, but operate on faith until I'm disappointed. You're only reinforcing my point that there's a plethora of ways to lie without actually uttering a falsehood. Are you trying to lead me in circles, or simply inviting me to expect so little of you?"

The game was honestly a bit fun. Fang would start losing track of the moving pieces at some point, though. His short-term memory wasn't that amazing, so he is baiting a stress migraine. The two really were just playing semantics chicken until one of them lashes out or concedes.

"I also stand on no moral high ground about demons lying. I do caution you that the Tanar'ri are unique among outsiders in that, from the most lowly dretch all the way up to demon prince Demogorgon, each of us remembers and acts upon memories (and associated neuroses) of our mortal lives. Now, that statement does ignore the Liveborn- but they too have souls, and I contend that their being living proof of condemned souls driven to destruction choosing to create (for good or ill) makes them just as precious and complex. Point is: demons and humans can tell lies without having to be clever."

"Let's entertain the notion that Robin Goodfellow somehow did not utter a falsehood when he made the sweeping claim that 'friends are not something immortals have': there could be an implied 'the possibility that' from the first thing you posited that I may have overlooked, or it may be that such a broad statement only hasn't been refuted in your inherently narrow experience. Perhaps it's a philosophical nuance about 'have' implying ownership? Can anyone you own really be a friend? It can be as simple as an outright personal refusal to acknowledge any of those attachments as friendship... I also have no way of knowing if there's exceptions for misspeaking or other honest mistakes. Did you take any of this for granted? Do you seriously just believe everything you're able to say?"

[nocek]

Wade is always winning at the pay attention to me game.

In this case grand prize is hour long lecture about spiders reproduction (and also genetics, don't forget the genetics ;P)

[possamble]

I'm not allowed to be on social media for more than two seconds today but I just wanted to say that Laios will absolutely have his own reaction to all this as someone who would die for Falin but has also imprinted on Marcille as his Emotional Support Comphet White Girl Not-Girlfriend along the way

[skogsdotter-draws]

Ok but, regarding TMAGP 27, I can't stop thinking about Jonah writing, after sending Archibald to a certain death, "It is done, and I am surprised to find how little remorse I feel." It reminds me of his statement in MAG 160:

"The discovery, not simply of the dark and horrible reality of the world in which you live, but that you would quite willingly doom that world and confine the billions in it to an eternity of terror and suffering, all to ensure your own happiness, to place yourself beyond pain and death and fear. (...) It is an awful thing to know about yourself."

I will never get tired of little details about his life being revealed (regardless of the timeline/dimension) because the parallel between his discovery of the supernatural world and the discovery of his own true self and the things he's capable of is so interesting and compelling to me.

Along with the knowledge of the horrors that exist in his world comes the horror of the realization that he might be capable of anything to stop feeling scared and vulnerable, to put himself over everybody else if necessary. Every time curiosity leads him into a new experiment, a new sacrifice in the name of knowledge, he lets go a little bit of himself and his morality. And then, as it happened with Archibald, and as it happened with Barnabas in another world, he feels surprised of how easy it was. Of how he doesn't feel regret or grief, how at most he finds himself thinking that it was all a pity. So it becomes even easier each time, he finds freedom in it, as he also mentions in MAG 160— and one sacrifice after another, it all becomes incredibly simple. There is no fear of losing himself, only the fear of death and pain remains, and only after that process of two hundreds years can one condemn the world for his own sake.

The progressive descent into evil of Jonah Magnus, slowly exposed through statements and letters, will never stop being one of the more interesting parts of this podcast imo.

[scarlettfevor]

Finally got ahold of the audiobook of Penance by Eliza Clark and I have mixed emotions about it. On one hand I love the premise and I feel like it's written well enough to where I feel like the author isn't going to clumsily stumble through her own story and fall on her face at the end like the majority of popular thrillers. But also this story suffers from having someone who hasn't been in school for a long time attempting to write teenagers. The funny thing is that whenever I see a horrible portrayal of teenagers, specifically of zoomers its never like, inaccurate portrayals of slang and trends that most teenagers cringe at, it's extremely unnatural dialogue that I don't understand how even a 30 or 40 year old can't see how awkward and cringe and flat out bad of a portrayal they're doing. You can claim that it's regional differences, even if we were all teenagers once I still don't know what it's like to be a popular mean British girl, but I'm fairly certain that actual popular mean British girls don't go around describing themselves as popular mean girls. The funny thing is that they've mentioned several times that these girls (ok it was actually like one girl but she introduced too many characters and I got confused so I can't even remember the name of the girl who said it) are trying to imitate the mean girls in popular American shows/movies. But I think that it's SO funny how instead of going for the obvious Regina George or maybe the more posh Blair Waldorf, they chose Sharpay Evans....I'm very familiar with the popular mean girl trope because I always love the girls who fall into this category and I can say with 100% certainty that none of these girls act like this either. I don't know what the author is going for but it's very painful to listen to.