#actually it kind of feels like the only reason she really aligns herself with “the left” is because she's a female supremacist

[here-there-were-dragons]

my mother is absolutely convinced of some nonsense conspiracy theory that (in her words) "originally humanity lived in peaceful all-woman societies of goddess worshippers who took care of eachother and lived in harmony, while males were roving loners that had no society and never cooperated. that changed when the men banded together and overthrew the peaceful woman-dominated societies, and enslaved us all." and, according to her, this is proof that a woman-dominated world would be innately more peaceful, and that men are innately violent and evil and should be either barred from holding any legal power or leadership roles or at least should be (again in her words) "gelded like bulls" to remove their testosterone before even being considered for such a thing.

she also evidently believes that the problem with all religions today is primarily that they aren't "goddess worshippers", because she seems to think goddess religions are inherently peaceful and pure too and seems to be especially obsessed with "Isis" in particular. the very very few times she's openly considered it unambiguously bad for some population or another to have been exterminated (she's got a bad case of devil's advocating genocide brain), she's gone out of her way to make up some crap about how said people were a peaceful society of goddess-worshippers, almost always of isis. delusions of isis-worship seem to be the only thing that ever causes her to consider any arab or middle-eastern culture, society, or ethnicity to be relatively uncomplicatedly undeserving of extermination, in fact, because every fucking time she doesn't immediately start devils-advocating it and making remarks about how "the rest of the world should box them in and let them blow eachother up" it's when she's whinging on about how whatever specific micro-ethnicity she's thinking about are or were traditional persecuted isis-worshippers.

the sole major exception to her weird fixation on isis worship justifying worthiness of life is the whole israel thing going on, in which she has consistently made very obvious that literally the only reason she's against the genocide of palestine is because it gives her an excuse to even more openly hate jewish people than she already did. and honestly i'm not sure even that's true because i think she's made some offhand remarks about palestinians having probably been peaceful isis worshipers before the jews infected them with christianity or something anyway.

so for the last, however fucking long it's been i've been constantly having to listen to her go off about how this behavior is in the jew's blood or whatever and that they literally invented all genocide because somehow the concept didn't exist before them and wouldn't have ever been invented by the rest of humanity without those jewish aliens dropping it in i fucking guess apparently and she furthermore goes on about how every single genocide and mass-oppression movement in history is directly inspired by them, ESPECIALLY the nazis, and THEN i have to listen to her rant about how, basically, wwii was something they entirely brought on themselves by "dominating the economy and treating everyone not them like shit" and the nazis were just "using their own tactics back at them". and then she goes on a rant about how the people the original jews exterminated back in the day (aka the first ever genocide, which they invented, because jews invented genocide and hate according to her) in the middle east region were peaceful matriarchal isis-worshipers.

and then she starts making comments about arabs being backwards and palestinians either being mysogynist muslims that should be boxed in to blow eachother up with everyone else or secret peaceful isis worshippers corrupted by men's cruel hand, sometimes in the same sentence, entirely dependent on which group she's more in the mood to hate at the time.

it's exhausting. beyond exhausting. her sole purpose in existence seems to be to have the singularly most exhausting set of politics physically possible to fit into one person.

just, sometimes i think, if there really is anything at all to the incredibly stupid and inexplicably popular idea that anyone or anything has a Purpose tm to exist for, i feel like my mother's purpose is to be walking proof to me of a Type Of Guy That Is Real, cause i sure as fuck would have trouble inventing this mess if it wasn't standing right in front of me spewing confusingly bipartisan hate. all of her thoughts and opinions are these long winding nonsense chains that feel like if that man carrying thing sketch about the friend with confusing politics was a person. on meth.

[cowboys-tshot]

Circe and Odysseus in Epic: The Musical

EDIT: DO NOT TAKE MY WORD AS THE 100% TRUTH!!

I took some classes and wrote a paper about ancient Greek culture, but I am in NO WAY an expert. Please read through the reblogs to see some good criticisms and discussion about this topic further. My point overall stands that you can't apply modern rules and standards to ancient stories, but my evidence is undoubtedly flawed! This post has been edited to try and better reflect this.

I'm seeing everyone pointing out the possible issues with Epic the Musical's deviation from the original story of Circe and Odysseus, and as someone who's studied Ancient Greece/ancient Greek myths a bit, I wanted to say some stuff about it. This will be a bit of a long one, so apologies for my rambling!

Note that I'm not trying to shit on SA survivor's perspectives and (completely valid) arguments. I'm just trying to offer some context surrounding the original myth and how it fits (or rather, doesn't fit) with a modern audience. If I'm wrong with any of this, feel free to call me out! Criticize the shit out of me! I like learning about Greek culture and myths and would 100% love to hear other perspectives on this.

So, a few points about Ancient Greek myths to kind of explain the context around Circe and Odysseus:

Greek myths often did not have good views/depictions of women. Women were very often depicted as conniving, selfish, sexually insatiable creatures. There are a few deviations from this trope, the most prominent of which being Penelope herself—she's basically the ideal Greek wife, staying loyal to her husband for 20 years and all that.

Adultery often only applied to women. Husbands cheating on their wives wasn't merely tolerated, but kind of expected. Men often cheated on their wives with various kinds of prostitutes, concubines, mistresses, etc. Although, sleeping with unmarried women (that weren't specifically prostitutes) or married women was still looked down upon. Women didn't have this same standard. They could only sleep with their husbands—hell, their husbands (and family) were pretty much the only men they could even interact with once some really sexist Asiatic practices were brought to Athens.

The original myth has Hermes very plainly lay out how Odysseus' confrontation with Circe will go: Odysseus will eat the moly, draw his sword at her, she'll proposition him, and Hermes directly tells Odysseus to accept. Basically a "sleep with her if you want your men to live" situation. (See this post for more specifics on this).

So, let's apply this to Epic: The Musical. Here's some reasons I think may explain the Circe myth being changed:

The Greek "women being evil" stereotype is... problematic. While I 100% understand that it's important to acknowledge male victims of SA, I don't think the original myth was focusing on Odysseus being a victim—I saw it more of an emphasis on Circe being a sexually selfish woman, as women were often believed to be. Changing Circe to be less conniving and evil deviates from the concerning Greek stereotype.

The SA in the myth is not actually very clearly SA. Yes, with a modern perspective, it absolutely is sexual coercion, but for ancient Greeks, not so much. It made sense to them that sex could be transactional, especially when gods were involved. It's already been established that Epic, while still generally accurate to the original myth, does change things relating to morality/themes in order to better align with modern Western ideas (i.e. OG Odysseus not being as remorseful and merciful, as that was expected of a Greek hero, but Epic Odysseus having more empathy because that's more modernly heroic). If something from the original myth doesn't translate well into modern culture, then it's understandable to want to change or omit it.

In the case that the original Circe myth wasn't SA (I'm not saying one is more right than the other, I'm just covering all the bases), then it wouldn't even constitute as cheating. Like I described earlier, men often slept with women that weren't their wives. Plus, being a goddess, she's already kinda exempt from being blamed if Odysseus slept with her—only women are ever really blamed for sleeping with (or being SAed by) gods, and even then, their husbands sometimes don't even give a shit. But modernly, we would not see it that way. To us, it's not societally acceptable for a married man to sleep with another woman (without his wife's consent, at least). While Ancient Greeks viewed Odysseus as a good (or at least okay) husband, a modern audience wouldn't. Making Odysseus loyal to Penelope and not sleeping with other women (assuming this wasn't SA, but again that's one interpretation) makes him the good, loyal, empathic, modernly heroic man that Epic is clearly aiming for. Repeating my last point: If something from the original myth doesn't translate well into modern culture, then it's understandable to want to change or omit it.

Applying modern perspectives on Ancient Greek society and mythology isn't worth it. Like, we all joke about Greek mythology/Ancient Greece being super gay, but it was often just what we consider pedophilia (it's called pederasty if you'd like to know more). Y'know the Hades and Persephone story? Like, the original one with the kidnapping? Yeah, that was kinda normal in some areas. The myth of Demeter and Persephone is tragic, yes, but it was so normal that a lot of wedding ceremonies included references/recreations of it! Girls got married off ASAP after their first menstruation to men of at least 30 years old. We don't tolerate that shit today (for the most part, at least)! But it was normal in Ancient Greece. Applying modern rules and standards to ancient culture just does not work.

Anyways, I'll shut up now! I'm gonna go keep listening to The Circe Saga lmao

[calamiitywrites]

— qimir x reader

trigger warning: graphic scenes and descriptions of violence, blood and death. please proceed with caution.

request via ask: "I actually would like to request a one shot or maybe even a story where the reader ( or an oc doesn't matter ) is hunting Jedi for her own reasons and is on her way to becoming a sith, but she's terrified of her force because it's not only powerful, but full of rage so needless to say it stems from the dark side. I don't want her to replace Osha or Mae, in fact I want them included in the story. however, I do want Qimir to end up teaching this character. Add some seduction of course, some mystery and I want it from the character's pov. I know this idea is all over the place and I'm not giving you much to work with but I would definitely like to see him interact with this character who could learn a lot from him but has the potential to be a stand alone character herself."

note from author: I think I understand the gist of what you're requesting so I will definitely interpret it in my own way. Please let me know if this is what you had in mind :) also, sorry it's so long, I had to introduce the character first haha!- calamiity

There's a distant hum that tickles at her brainstem and finds itself traveling down to the pit of her stomach. she should be weary of this sensation because it was nothing more than the force riddling through her body. decorating her veins in a fire that could coat the 7 levels of hell in different degrees of flame. What kind of beast had she become to worship a power that made her feel this way? The moonlight, a silvered blade slicing through the night did nothing to hide her or shield the outside world from seeing what she truly was, a beast in human form. it whispered to the stars about her, but the sky was her only companion. Without judgement, It listened to her battle cries and the pleas of the Jedi that she cut down mercilessly. Crimson clung to her robes and dripped slowly down the exposed pieces of her face outlined by the fabric that covered her nose and lips. the deep red of it was in complete contrast to the darkness reflected in her irises. She had allowed the force to nearly consume her from the inside out and the eerie abundance of obsidian that nearly took over her entire vision told her that she had gone too far tonight. Her power — a forbidden curse with a seductive allure. The force must be exercised and properly managed, but the emotions beneath the surface of her consciousness were far too powerful for tradition. Wrath, Loss, Pain and Vengeance. They all danced the danse macabre within her soul, drenching it in affliction. there was no turning back now. Her veins were like molten lava, but they were chilled by the sound of the whimpering jedi that lay at her feet. Before she could stop herself, her eyes wandered to the delicate skin under his chin and she could feel the power of the force expand and contract around his throat. It took half of a second for her to realize that he was choking. a gentle tilt of her head was the only give away to her true curiosity. could she really end his life this way? how long would it take? A thread, a piercing silver stream of light slid through the forefront of her mind and she followed it. It broke off to her left and her eyes caught movement behind the shop window that sat uncloaked. It occurred to her that the 4 jedi she had murdered in front of the shop window was witnessed by someone. rather or not she was wearing a mask didn't matter, the idea of being seen in her most volatile state nearly made her shutter. however, there was no turning back now. With the distraction of the hidden bystander, the once choking jedi had gotten up and began sneaking away. She couldn't let that happen. Refocusing, she retrieved his lightsaber and ignited it with deliberate slowness. Aligning her gaze with his position, she extended her left arm to match his height, letting the dark blue blade hover above her other hand. Once she was certain of her aim, she harnessed the Force and propelled his saber like an arrow. It flew straight and true, embedding itself in the center of his back and causing him to collapse lifelessly where he stood. She turned back to the glass in search of the movement that she had seen before, but there was nothing. although she was sure that the person was still there, there was no reason to pursue them. instead, she flexed her force once more to create a smoke screen and vanish into the night where she had come. The night’s embrace was both her refuge and her torment, and as the echoes of her power faded into the void, she was left with the haunting realization that the greatest battle she would ever face was not against her foes, but against the seduction of her own darkness.

Her ragged gasps were the only thing that filled her ears as she removed the bloodstained robes that clung to her skin. A bath would do her some good, but it wasn’t until she was completely bare that she noticed the weight missing from her belt—the sai dagger made from cortosis was gone. Panic surged through her as she realized she must have dropped it during the chaos. however, she couldn't go back to that shop now. the bystander from before had already seen her cloaked figure, if she chanced it now then he would most likely get a glimpse of her. her best bet would be to return in the morning disguised as a merchant.

At first light she followed through with her plan to return to the shop where she had committed the atrocities from the night prior. it was strange to see that the fallen jedi had been removed, the ground cleaned and the sound of murmuring voices questioning if the chaos they heard about last night was even real. "I heard it was a rumor." said one store vendor. "No way, there have been many Jedi killings over the past few days. You heard about that cloaked figure that went after Indara a few nights back?" another spoke.

She paused for a brief moment at the name, she had never killed a jedi named Indara....perhaps there was another seeking out revenge? either way, it made her job easier. one less monkey for the zoo.

"I heard it was a drunk bar fight that went wrong and that they turned on each other." she chimed in. if everyone was going to put out some gossip, she might as well add her tidbit to throw them off a bit.

"There have been a lot of them spotted at the pub lately." the older woman agreed.

She hid the half hearted smile that graced her lips when she turned away from them, but her heart sank as she locked eyes with her missing dagger prominently displayed, as if it were for sale, in the window of the shop from last night. The idea of it being displayed as a trinket for someone to snag it nearly made her mouth run dry. She knew she had to retrieve it before the blade—or its significance—fell into the wrong hands. but how?

[essektheylyss]

This was entirely tangential to this post from @utilitycaster which is why this is its own post, but the tags made me think about what feels most compelling about Liliana to me, and it's really because there's such an interesting approach to redemption in terms of the sunk cost fallacy to be had there.

There have been plenty of comparisons between Liliana and Essek, but I don't think they're really situations that can be compared. Essek had done one horrible thing (that was of relevence to the story; it is implied that he's taken other actions that he feels were wrong, but we don't know what those entail nor do the Nein care enough to ask, so per narrative convention, they do not matter for analysis) and was only still involved in it to the extent that he couldn't take it back, so to survive he had to continue covering his tracks. But he was also incentivized to otherwise act in alignment with the group that was not those on behalf of whom he had made terrible choices, because he was still living in the Dynasty, and as such wasn't actively perpetuating those actions beyond the cover up.

Liliana on the other hand is acting with the Vanguard and has been furthering if not personally committing atrocities on their behalf for a number of years, continuing to the present. Like Essek, she believes her involvement in the cause to be a difficult choice that was made for noble reasons, and now can't see a way out. But she is also relieved to be told to stay, though at the point that they discuss her leaving, she is alone and outside the immediate range of contact or oversight from the Vanguard. It seems reasonable that she could disappear with a decent headstart, and perhaps become untraceable quickly enough to be safe from anyone following. With this context, returning to the Vanguard with the intention of feeding information to the opposition feels like the riskier choice, but crucially it is the devil she knows.

I actually liken this more to Cassandra de Rolo than Essek. Cassandra was manipulated against her brother by the Briarwoods, but this was also spurred by having watched Percy seemingly leave her for dead. There are legitimate reasons why the Briarwoods, as the people who rescued her and then kept her alive for many years, are the easier option in which to place her trust. She knows what she's getting from that vantage point and how to handle it. She doesn't inherently have faith that someone she only knew as a young and helpless child, who ran from the hardships she's faced, would have the strength or willingness to do what she has found necessary for survival.

I think that Liliana's actions are more willful, not least because she was not a child nor in mortal peril when she joined the Vanguard, but she sees herself as having made difficult choices when only faced with difficult options, and I do think they have been difficult. She didn't want to leave her family; she doesn't want to hurt the young Ruidusborn under her care; she is probably genuinely sorry that innocent people were considered a necessary sacrifice for what she sees as the greater good. It is psychologically taxing to feel as though one is always picking between bad options, which is a significant contributing factor for why people buy into a sunk cost for so long. And over time, those hard decisions become easier, because you know what to expect from the outcome. Though Liliana is well aware that she might be killed for a misstep among the Vanguard, she already knows how to act to maintain their favor, but how she might be received on Exandria by those fighting the Vanguard, even with the Hells vouching for her, is anyone's guess.

This is a very real reason why people remain in cults and struggle to push back against this kind of conditioning: because the decision to leave feels more immediately perilous than the decision to stay. (On a certain level making these kinds of choices and actions habitual is a fundamental basis behind a lot of military conditioning.) And if you are acting in the interests of your own survival, but that survival comes at the cost of that of countless others who have not, in fact, made any threat or harm against you to begin with, then is the nature of your survival morally defensible?

This analysis isn't a question of whether Liliana will commit to her role as double agent and turn fully against the Vanguard, or even which one of these is a "better" story; this is about what the story might say if she doesn't. Yes, she might commit to a different path than the one she's on and make an effort to redeem herself, but it is also a perfectly coherent and interesting story if she doesn't.

[maxdibert]

can i vent here?

i wanna scream every time marauders stans pulling snape-creepy-obsessive-stalker narrative (ugh but he’s not the one with a tracking map and invisible cloak, is he?)

or

when regulus stans(that are also anti snape) listing reasons why they like his character in canon discussions, and they just…describing canon snape???(i guess fanon too impactful for them huh)

istg they were not this bad before, i have a theory that the shift on the behaviour of these stans is marked by the existence of ⏰app and *redacted* fic

This obsession with Regulus has really caught me by surprise because I’ve been out of the fandom for a few years, and when I first got into it back in the days of Fanfiction.net and LiveJournal, he wasn’t a character anyone really paid attention to, or at least if they did, they portrayed him as a sort of 70s Draco Malfoy and that was about it. The fact that he’s now being treated as a victim of abuse and mistreatment who had no choice but to join the Death Eaters is laughable to me because it’s well-established in canon (Sirius himself says it) that his brother always followed the family’s rules and was actually Walburga’s favorite because of it. (Though I’ve always thought that if Walburga had so much contempt for her eldest son, it wasn’t just about politics, but because Sirius and she had very similar personalities: both were uncontrollable and insufferable, and she couldn’t stand seeing herself reflected in someone who despised everything she valued. And that Regulus probably had a calmer, more malleable, less confrontational character like his father. But anyway.)

Regulus is no martyr. Regulus was a young aristocrat completely aligned with his social class and its prevailing ideas, just like Draco or many of the Slytherins who were Death Eater children during Harry’s time. I’ve always seen Regulus as similar to Narcissa (in contrast to Sirius, who’s like Bellatrix) with pride in his surname and bloodline, with the belief that being who they are makes them superior to others, and with the firm conviction that those beneath them are worth much less or nothing at all. And, like Narcissa, I don’t see him as sadistic, just someone who joined what he joined feeling quite sure of himself but then got scared when things got out of hand. It’s something that happens to many people who join far-right groups, completely convinced of what they’re seeking, but then back down when they come face-to-face with extreme violence. But to project him as some poor victim… Please. Not only is it incoherent and a betrayal of canon, but it also takes away all the character’s depth. You’re stripping away the tragedy of his regret. You’re robbing him of the chance to become disillusioned with what happened and rebel against it. It’s a mess.

I’m convinced that the new Marauders fans simply hate Snape because: 1) he’s the living, canonical representation that their favorite characters were bullies and abusers, and it completely destroys the narrative they’ve created of the idyllic, super-progressive group of friends; 2) because they’re classist jerks who prefer to fangirl over the cool rich kids with money and status who are on the dark side, essentially turning it into some kind of magical Gossip Girl; and 3) because he’s not canonically attractive, and therefore they can’t make aesthetic TikTok videos with him. It’s such a superficial and absurd perspective, much like treating as canon a bunch of characters whose personalities, relationships, and stories don’t exist in the books because for most of them, we only know their names. But hey, fans like this have just enough brain cells to not crap themselves, so…

[sokkastyles]

When people are like "all Azula wanted was love!"

...and to subjugate the Earth Kingdom. She also very much wanted that.

I'm seeing so many posts about her dream in that Spirit Temple preview that ignore that in her dream, she's being praised not just by the people she wants praise from, but specifically she is being praised for conquering ba sing se by Iroh, becoming fire lord by Ursa, and killing the Avatar by Zuko.

In real life, the reason why she doesn't get that praise is not because these people hate her unfairly, it's because those are actions she does not deserve praise for.

Like, so many people are missing the point, which is that Azula still thinks that if only she were successful and powerful, everyone would love her. She thinks that her mother would love her if she were fire lord, when in reality, her mother already loves her, but tried to teach her kindness, lessons which Azula rejected. She thinks that Iroh would love her if she conquered Ba Sing Se and Zuko would love her if she killed the Avatar, when in reality, they had to stop her from doing those things.

Instead of realizing that she needs to change her values, Azula blames the people around her for not aligning with those values. If only THEY would change, not her.

I think it's interesting that of the group in her dream, Ozai is the only one saying things he would actually say in reality, exclaiming "my favorite child!" but of course the reality is that he is imprisoned and that his favoritism is empty and abusive.

It kinda makes me wonder why, in this fantasy, she doesn't imagine her father telling her he loves her, instead of "my favorite child"? I feel like the reason is because even in a fantasy she can't admit to herself that her father never really loved her, that he was abusive and that the things he made her do and want were wrong. So instead, she imagines a scenario where everyone else is wrong and she gets praised for being the daughter Ozai made her into.

And she can continue going on being the favorite. One of the most interesting things about the dream is Zuko's lack of a scar, but that also highlights the wrongness of everything. Zuko sitting next to Ozai, scarless and placid while Ozai calls Azula his favorite child is perverse for one because it's wrong for a parent to talk about their children in front of each other that way, but most importantly, Zuko's scarring was caused by Ozai's favoritism. As I said in that other post, there is no world where Azula gets to be the favorite where Zuko isn't hurt, because in the golden child / scapegoat dynamic, the golden child cannot exist without the scapegoat. The reality is also that Ozai roped Azula into his abuse of Zuko as part of making her the favorite. The reality is that Azula cheered when she saw her brother burned, because it meant she was still the favorite.

Azula imagining her brother without a scar might be a manifestation of caring for him deep down, but it's really a manifestation of the things she's still in denial about, and one of those things is that Ozai used his favoritism of her to justify hurting her brother. She might, somewhere in her subconscious, feel guilty for the part she played, for cheering when he was scarred, but she hasn't yet reached the point where she can actually admit that what happened was wrong, and that's still an issue.

[borgialucrezia]

Lowkey if Juan had an arc about his time in Spain, how would you write it?? I hadn’t thought about the resemblance between Lucrezia and his wife before this blog and now my eyes are OPEN. Do you think she would catch on?? I also find it interesting considering the contrast between Lucrezia and Sancia, who Juan maybe didn’t love but was at least physically attracted to. Like how much it manifests in his subconscious as the family becomes more entrenched in the papacy (and by extension the more he is torn from the siblings he wants to cling to) is insane

"Neil [Jordan] was always keen on Juan coming back different and secure and grounded. That’s how I wanted to play it when he came back. I think the shock of Lucrezia actually manning up and trying to kill him had a huge effect as well. He’s growing and maturing. He definitely was becoming an adult. Certainly there are moments in the second season where he manipulates other people in a similar the way they’ve been manipulating him. The scene between Jeremy and myself with the dagger is a last ditch frantic attempt at trying to win him over. It’s kinda successful in a weird way. He’s just a bit useless at that point" — DAVID OAKES

knowing the intent behind his development while he was in spain, i would have definitely focused on his experiences, challenges, and growth. i feel that if the show had given more screen time to juan during his time in spain, his downward spiral would have been even more sorrowful than it already is. it would've allowed more people to understand and empathize with his character, making his untimely fate more poignant. considering he has always been one of the most intriguing morally ambiguous characters and such a tragic figure throughout the show, exploring his time in spain could have added depth.

i imagine him spending a lot of his time there thinking and self-reflecting on what went wrong between him and lucrezia, his baby sister whom he's fond of and with whom he is his best self. she loved him until yesterday. and in losing her love for him, he loses a chunk of his capacity for kindness. after she tried to kill him, everything slowly hits him:

the peasant he murdered wasn't some random guy who wanted to take advantage of his 'angelic sister'; he was his sister's lover. his sister tried to murder him back. and that manic episode juan had after the realization that his face is just like, 'my beloved lucrezia tried to kill me…'—a kind of shock of knowing she hated him and facing up to it.

then his father threatens him with peasanthood if he doesn't shape up and get married, and subsequently exiles him to spain, leaving him to cry shamefully and out of frustration because he doesn't quite comprehend why everyone is angry at him, since he believes what he has done is to protect his sister and family in general lol.

what takes the cake for him is cesare and lucrezia solidifying their relationship by banding against him. the fact that seeing her aligning herself with their brother (who already hated him for not measuring up to the family's expectations and sees him only as a hindrance) against him is really what has provoked juan to act like an arrogant narcissist towards lucrezia. he spitefully refuses to admit he has wronged her (even though we saw him earlier feeling remorse and trying to make amends), instead, he bickers with her.

at juan's departure to spain family dinner, he makes a speech of gratitude to their mother, who, he says, held the family together through all their early hardships in rome, despite the romans' harsh treatment of her. it's basically a speech about how their blood binds them and they should all stick together instead of fighting. this is one of the main reasons i'm fond of his character because, despite his troublesome nature, he has self-awareness about their hurt and his self-destructive nature driven by pettiness. during the speech, he appears genuinely serious, devoid of snarkiness, conveying hurt caused by their internal conflicts. he's too complex yet heartfelt about his feelings for his family and always has their best interest at heart, even when having misguided notions to protect them.

*a moment of silence for the most fucked up dysfunctional incestuous siblings ever*

"I felt in the second season I got to play every aspect of Juan’s character. Some of which I would have liked to explore further, but he kind of had a finite life expectancy (laughs). Opposite François, it was nice to watch Cesare do something, which he probably shouldn’t have done. You can kind of justify most of what he does but as soon as you get that final sequence you realize that Cesare is doing something purely for his personal jealousy. I always wanted to play that. You’ve got this boy. And he is a boy at that stage still. He’s confessing that he’s always been quite miserable and been quite harsh on himself. He’s given them every opportunity to change their mind and see him for what he is. The ability (for Juan) to come back from Spain and be everything that everyone didn’t expect me to be. You get this noble character, who comes back and you think he’s been made into a better character. There’s a strength of character to Juan that everyone doesn’t give (him) quite enough credit for. I think he would have actually won Forlì if it weren’t for his brother. He finally gets things in order. He finally starts to work well. He gets a whole siege together and it’s working. Then it all turns around because of Cesare. And he gets shot in the leg (laughs). How many times must he try to get something right before someone ruins it for him (laughs). He has the worst luck. He never gets a good break. A lot of the times it's his own fault – he’s a bit of a douchebag. But every now and then when he gets it right, he still gets it in the end. He does a successful siege. He loses. He apologizes to his brother and gives his heart to him. And he still gets stabbed and thrown off a bridge (laughs)." — DAVID OAKES

*self-indulgently posting juan/lucrezia for shipping biases purposes*

in his triumphant return to the vatican from spain, he bears gifts to the family members whom he hurt and felt betrayed by, as a way to win back their respect. his father was so happy to see his younger son back that he even forgot about their last confrontation, which had also affected juan, besides his sister telling him he should ask for her forgiveness for 'being himself' and toying with his fear by threatening to visit him in spain to try to kill him there. keeping her cunning wrath in mind, he presents her with a beautiful, rare panther in a gilded, heart-shaped cage. the gift not only symbolizes his love for her but also reflects his perception of her. the panther represents her feistiness and beauty, while the gilded cage signifies her entrapment within their father's ambitions. the image of the panther biting her also symbolizes their eternal disconnection, despite his efforts to earn her respect and reconcile with her. he attempts to bridge the gap, but he never quite succeeds.

and this sequence is so special to me because of his maturity, as he stopped drinking and sleeping around in brothels. like he genuinely wants to impress his family since he had enough of being the screw-up who tries not to mess up, etc. i think cesare's betrayal of him at forlì has shaken him to his core and made him return to his old habits, and it doesn't help knowing that he has a disease rotting him while alive. considering how juan was aware that cesare tried to seize him from his position at first, but didn't expect that he'd even attempt to indirectly kill him to get the position that juan has, since he never even took his quarrel with cesare seriously and would never betray him despite everything. when juan tried to make rodrigo believe him about cesare's scheming, yet rodrigo refused to believe juan and implied giving his position to cesare, that's when he grabbed the knife and truly threatened to kill himself and guilt-trip rodrigo into keeping it...

wait i just realized this is getting too long (and a bit off-topic) oops! to answer your question, i don't think lucrezia would ever realize that juan has chosen a wife who bears a striking resemblance to her. for those who don't know or haven't noticed, it wasn't the real maria's portrait used in the show, but rather a picture of someone who resembles holliday grainger's features (curly blond hair, full lips, and chubby cheeks) as some sort of subtext of juan's feelings for lucrezia. i don't think juan even realizes that he has incestuous feelings for lucrezia, unlike cesare who already knows but is repressed about them. lucrezia didn't even suspect juan's drunken, stalkerish behavior, his anger-driven jealousy, and his obsession over her purity, all of which could stem from incestuous feelings lol.

like any privileged, womanizing youth in a patriarchal system, he enjoyed his carnal relationship with sancia, struck by her beauty. she asserts her dominance in the relationship with her fearless personality and seductive charm. it was exciting for her too as marrying into the family didn't stop her from living her life and having an affair. that being said, there was no romance between them, and it was rather obvious that none of the three siblings had managed to find a romantic relationship that would actually work...

it's sad that cesare, lucrezia, and juan are unaware that they're cursed with being incestuously involved with each other, either emotionally or physically. these taboo feelings stem from the dysfunctional and unhealthy dynamics that have driven them to extremes with each other, leaving them feeling trapped in their father's vicious cycle of ambitions. while lucrezia and cesare realize this and act on it, leading to the collapse of everything around them, juan only realizes it when it's too late, through an opium-induced moment of clarity. however, his siblings will always see him as someone who antagonizes them, when in reality it's quite the opposite. there are so many misunderstandings, misconceptions, etc. peak doomed siblings kind of tragedy tbh

[miimo96]

Thoughts on My Adventures with Superman S2 episode 7

This was really the Best thing to happen to Waller, She already hates Superman as it is and has been trying to find a reason for Exterminatie him all season, So to have with Kara show up and Destroy the city last week, this was literally the perfect opportunity for her to label Superman and his kind as threats, and get to finally carry out her plan; but by initiating this H.D.C. program thing She isn't really making herself look all that good either, having giant mechanized robots Patrol the city and labeling it as "Protection" Isn't actually protection, and is giving off more of a Fear rather than Safety vibe, also are we Not going to talk about how she literally "silenced" that guy for trying to Expose her, like she really wants people to believe that Superman is a problem and is willing to go through Disturbung lengths to keep it that way, She really is effing crazy no matter what adaptation she's in

Alight Jimmy olsen is Officily the Best character in this series, not only did he literally just waste his entire Bank account in order to Save his best friend, without hesitation mind you, but he also was able to completely talk lois out of trying to Kill kara, which in my opinion would have ended horribly for her, also the fact that lois was even able to think like that, felt like she was sounding more like her Father; Also *Gasps* what's this, Livewire and Heatwave are a THING!? ^w^

I find it so funny that after traveling the multiverse and nearly almost dying to another version of themselves, they just act like nothing happen and casually decide to have brunch in the park with Jimmy afterwards like what do you think Jimmy's reaction was to that, probably something along the lines of "wow, must've been some hell of a Honeymoon huh" 😅

Livewire: "if something goes wrong, we switch to plan B" Lois: "And what's plan B?"

PLAN B: *CHAOS*🤣🤣🤣

I totally love the Take on Livewire for this series, while people Normally compare her to be Basically like Superman's version of Electro, she really feels me more like his version of Shocker in my opinion, for example instead of her using her powers to Simply cause chaos and Destroy superman, she instead uses them to Rob banks and take on odd jobs for people, kinda like how shocker does in both the Spiderman series and games, not mention her feelings towards super heroes is more align with Shocker view of Spiderman, where as Electro is unstable and Just Wants to Kill Spider man, Livewire is completely the opposite when it comes to facing Superman, and would prefer avoiding him in general, similar to how shocker is about spider man, while They don't necessarily HATE their Hero, they just find them really Annoying to deal with, she isn't a Super Villain in this Show, just more of a Petty thief, also her motivation is completely 1 to 1 with Shockers, with both of their main goal being to simply gain wealth and live a comfortable life; Also can we all agree that her powers in this show are really Freaking cool, Not only can she generate and summon lighting at will, but she can also create a force field, turn herself into freaking electricity, and give herself the ability to effing Fly, like she's seriously OP, and she chooses to rob banks

Ok Is it me or is lois completely dense because WHAAAT!? What'd you mean you were afraid that he would leave you, I mean sure I get that you have abandonment issues considering the relationship between you and your father, but c'mon the guy has literaly been right by your side since Episode 1 and was afraid that YOU would leave HIM instead when you found out who he was, Saying that the reason you broke up with him was because you got scared and thought he wasn't gonna Love you back is Freaking understatement because if you don't call him literally complimenting you every chance he gets Day in day out, treating you the way he does and how he was even ready to Stand up to your dad when he was treating you like a little kid again Love, then idk what is to you, *sigh* but I'm glad she realized her mistake is ready to get back with him after this is done

Also ladies and gentlemen we have our New Power couple, and They're so cute Omg!! >_<

Ok I'm officially dub this Ship as "WaveWire" fight me

I really don't enjoy the rivalry between Lex and Slade, like I get that he's still young and therefore isn't the Slade we all know from the comics, but c'mon he shouldn't really come off as more of like a dick in this Series, like I hate how smug he is and how he is always trying to please waller every chance he gets, like you're telling me that that this the Guy who took defeated the Teen titans, was the main Villain for ARROW, and was truly a force to be reckoned with!? Like this Isn't Deathstroke he should be more badass instead of always trying play the rules, he needs to be more Cool and shouldn't really care about Waller at all, he shouldn't feel like some lap dog who is desperate for attention, I see what they're doing by having Luthor slowly being his replacement, but in my opinion it's just Not how I usually View this character, as much as i love to give this series praise, Slade is the only thing I really don't like about it

JIMMY x KARA!!! ^_^ I hope we get to see these 2 together by the end of this season, Now that Jimmy is in the mix I feel like we'll be more or less seeing the relationship unfold between Jimmy and Kara Next episode, maybe even get to see an Argument between lois and Kara

Apart of me kinda wonders if These shots are ment to represent the viewers seeing the perspective of Kara from Jimmy and lois, with the last episode being from Jimmy's perspective, seeing a girl who is misunderstood and mistreated by her father, Someone who is just looking for their place in the world, unaware that they're being manipulated by a Machine Who just want's to use her as a weapon, while in this episode we get to see her from the perspective of lois, Seeing the person who kidnapped her boyfriend and tried to conquer the planet, I hope this really is the case because if so that's freaking Genius, I can't wait to see what they have in store for us Next episode (also I'm sorry but without the Cape, Kara's suit just looks boring to me, the cape really brang it together balancing out All the black with the red)

[genericpuff]

Hope you don't mind my asking but do you mind elaborating on why you don't like Mongie too much? I know all about why everyone dislikes Let's Play itself. There are various videos and post upon post online tearing it to shreds with criticism but I've not heard much about the creator herself like I do Rachel Smythe. Does she also run into the same issues that Rachel does or is her behavior different but equally questionable/annoying?

It's kinda equally questionable, kinda different. They both have the same issues of like, fetishizing youthfulness and creating unhealthy power dynamics. They also haven't done a great job at depicting POC in their comics, you can tell they're written by white women who don't understand other cultures but are trying to make their series more "progressive" by including stand-ins for representation.

That said, considering Let's Play is set in a real world setting, the POC characters (and the casually racist issues in their writing) are a lot more obvious than in LO (where you have to know the context that the neon-colored nymphs are based on POC to really realize that they're lower class POC people who are getting the shit end of the stick from the rich upper class main protagonists).

And I don't even mean in the usual "there aren't any POC in this comic" or "the POC in this comic are stereotypical/poorly written", I mean in the sort of white-victim-complex "I added in other ethnicities and people got mad at me anyways so what more do you want!" kind of way (paired with the "they're poorly written and stereotypical" aspect).

Dean is a good example of the stereotypical designing and writing, IIRC he's a Hispanic man but he's written like some Spanish soap opera character who flirts with every woman he sees and always has rose petals falling around him.

Even in that sentence he says "part Asian" which is weird because he's looking for Marshall who's supposed to be his best friend and it's been established in the comic that Marshall is half-Japanese, but that brings us to the other instance of mongie being casually (if not directly) racist and even more so than with Dean...

Apparently mongie thought it was a good move to say that it was "more inclusive" to make Vikki only vaguely Asian. Which is just... so not true LOL Asia is an entire continent made up of MANY different cultures and ethnicities and so generalizing all of them to just "Asian" is not a great take from someone who's trying to seem "more inclusive".

But of course, when her community called her out on this and asked her to elaborate, she and her mod team basically dug their heels in and made up excuses that made mongie out to be a victim instead of just acknowledging she made an error that didn't connect well with members of her audience.

And theeen in comes mongie ready to torch the place. Note that up until this point, it's basically been her mod team speaking up on her behalf and giving her benefit of the doubt, so when mongie DID get her chance to speak, she jumped right to:

"FINE, SHE'S HALF CHINESE HALF KOREAN THEN, STFU AND STOP ANALYZING ME WHEN I INCLUDE CHARACTERS FROM RACES THAT DON'T ALIGN WITH MY OWN !!!" (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻ is very much the vibe people got from this, understandably so. It's also odd (and extremely privileged) for her to say that she'd "rather focus on a character's personality and not their race" because it's very "I don't see color" which has been proven to be counterintuitive to understanding and celebrating different races.

And then we get a lot of self-victimizing "well I can't win no matter what so you people are ungrateful and actually it's MY feelings that are hurt" excuses:

Again it's weird because she had NO problem specifying that Marshall was half-Japanese and she didn't make him into any sort of weird stereotype like she did with Vikki. So I don't know why she's having such a hard time grasping that being vaguely Asian for Vikki isn't inclusive.

Although, let's be real here, the only reason Marshall is half-Japanese at all is because he's a self-insert of Markiplier, a half-Korean Youtuber who mongie apparently worked for on payroll as a graphic designer prior to Let's Play. Which is just a whole layer of ick that I think surpasses even Rachel Smythe and Mads Mikkelson. Like the Rachel and Mads thing is definitely creepy and weird because she's literally drawn herself - an adult woman nearing her 40's - being swept off her feet by a smoochy-faced Mads. But at least she didn't work for the guy or ever interact with him directly like mongie did with Markiplier. That's a whole separate level of "ew".

That said, mongie continues:

Which is just such a half-assed non-apology. Not "I'm sorry for misrepresenting a culture" or "I'm sorry I didn't do proper research", but "I'm sorry people think I'm being insensitive or that they need specific representation in my work that I'm claiming to be representation to be good". Completely shifting the blame from herself onto her audience for not being happy with the bare minimum that she gave them.

There's more though. Probably one of the worst parts and it's not even her, but one of her mods:

The fact that this is one of mongie's mods telling mongie's audience that her feelings - as a white woman who's just legitimately patronized her audience - are more valid than the people whose feelings were hurt by mongie being so insensitive... it's a real gross move and I can't believe they even pulled that.

Oh, and of course, as people like this tend to do, she goes on about "cancel culture" and how "terrifying" it is to her and then comes up with some imaginary scenario where a kid pays a hitman to kill her ?? as a defense for herself that really just further victimizes herself over her own misled actions ??

And this is something mongie does a lot, at least in this instance - she comes up with justifications for her decisions based on completely imaginary scenarios that she came up with and assumed, rather than just, idk, doing her research and being open to learning new things about cultures she's clearly not educated on. Shit like "well if I do xyz you'll be mad at me anyways so fuck you!"

When in reality? No one would have been mad at her if she didn't have any non-white characters in her comic. Would readers be disappointed? Probably. But - and I can't speak for everybody out there obviously so this is just my opinion - I know I'd much rather representation from someone who wanted to represent my respective groups and identities and put love and effort into it, than get it from someone who was just doing it because they made up a scenario in their head that they would be cancelled for not doing it. No one really has any tangible ground to stand on if they get mad at you for writing a cast of all-white characters you wanted to write, there are plenty of webtoons like that on the platform. We do need more stories that uplift and represent POC voices, but it shouldn't be from white victim complex people who only do it to virtue signal and ensure they don't get "cancelled". You know what WILL get you cancelled? Attempting to write other ethnicities and racial groups purely based on stereotypes for the sake of "representation" and then getting mad when people ask you to be a little more specific than "Asian".

Oh yeah, and then have your mods censor/delete any mentioning of educational resources regarding Asian cultures, and then essentially dox one of your community members by revealing their Twitter to the entire Discord group to boot!

oh boy mongie, if you think THAT'S drama, wait until you see the shit I do here LMAO

[taxinealkaloids]

I do adore how absolutely unhinged all of the Eye-aligned characters are; Jon is trying his best to be normal but is also the "it's remarkably easy to buy an axe in London guy," Gertrude mutilated a man and threw his body in a hole, and Jonahelias did...all that. Maybe the spooky eyeball really does eat social skills/morality because the 3 of them are freaks of the highest order

Oh I think you’re sort of getting at something that I consider one of the defining features of the Beholding as an entity! (Keep in mind this is all just my interpretation and I don’t claim to be the defining authority on this subject.) 

 While the Eye certainly could be the reason for the general unhinged-ness of our three featured avatars, I would like to submit the alternate theory that it was the other way around; they were Already Like That, and that’s what drew the Beholding to them. I feel that the Eye is kind of unique in how it views its avatars. Many of the entities behave primarily as predators; they are interested in their avatars only insofar as they can use them as tools with which to hunt, and they override their original form and personality to facilitate this. They don’t really exercise their own will anymore; rather they exist as an extension of their patron. In ep 47 Jon asks The Distortion, Michael, whether he owns the hallways Helen got lost in; in response, Michael replies, “Does your hand in any way own your stomach?” I think this sums up the way avatars become incorporated into their patron entity really well. Michael isn’t a person anymore, he’s an appendage, grabbing the Spiral’s prey and dragging it into the hallways to be digested. Now some entities, notably the Web, clearly DO have agendas beyond simple consumption, but the Web is, to put it lightly, a control freak. It doesn’t have any interest in its avatars having free will. Annabelle is a puppet with a head full of spiders. She’s not herself anymore either. Basically, most of the entities don’t gain anything from their avatars having free will, so they take it away. 

The Eye, though? The Eye does gain something from its avatars having free will. In fact, their free will is kind of the POINT, isn’t it? Elias, Jon, and Gertrude aren’t puppets, because puppets aren’t any fun to watch. In my opinion, the Eye isn’t USING its avatars so much as it is excitedly observing them like lab rats. You wouldn’t want your lab rats to be puppets subsumed by your own will, because that would be boring as hell and also pointless. You wouldn’t learn anything that way, and nothing exciting would happen because you’d already know everything the rats were going to do. You want them to participate in the experiment! Their participation is essential, actually! So, instead of taking over their minds or twisting them into monsters, the Eye provides its avatars with the necessary tools (compulsion, partial omniscience, etc) to be really great at data collection and then it just sort of…sets them loose and watches to see what they find out! Of course, for this laissez-faire approach to work, it needs the sort of people who are already inclined to do the necessary legwork. If you’re a voyeuristic eyeball god and you have the ability to bestow individuals with cosmic powers, you’re gonna give them to people who are gonna do something interesting with them, and Elias, Jon, and Gertrude certainly don’t disappoint. Even before Jon started to feel any of the physical effects of Beholding’s hold, he was exploring the murder tunnels, stalking his coworkers, and  throwing himself in the path of avatars in a desperate attempt to satisfy his own curiosity. Gertrude was basically running around trying to fistfight every single entity and blow up their shit. Both of them were basically putting on the best show possible. Tragically, we don’t know much about Jonah’s own path to Beholding, but I bet the room the Eye allows for its avatars to retain their free will and find things out for themselves would have drawn him to it over the other entities. (I do also headcanon that he originally was quite impulsive, inclined to throw himself into potentially dangerous situations in order to satisfy his curiosity like Jon, and had to learn over the years to temper these inclinations in the interest of not dying.)

Anyway, tl;dr, the eye WANTS freaks of the highest order and that’s why they’re all Like That. Thanks for your ask <33

[pastelwitchling]

Thoughts on Percy Jackson and the Olympians, episode 3:

(Disclaimer: I loved everything about the episode except, mostly, Annabeth herself. So if you're going to get offended because someone doesn't like the same fictional character, because that's what Annabeth is, and if you're going to try to turn the argument into something else, please don't bother reading.)

So. This is a bit difficult because I feel very conflicted/wary about what's to come, mostly because Disney has not been historically good at girl power or badass female characters. Let me just say this; while I used to love the CW's Flash, it quickly went downhill when the Flash took a backseat to his own show for the CW's half-assed "girl power" message. I fear the same might happen here.

Let me be very clear about something. It makes sense why Annabeth would seem like the more formidable opponent at the start of the story. She was more or less that in the first two books because, not only is she the daughter of the goddess of wisdom and battle strategy, but she'd spent a lot of her life training for quests, studying about the gods, and she just knew more than Percy did. I didn't like Movie Annabeth for most of the first film either for the same reasons I'm about to list below, please keep that in mind.

My issue will come here; if Percy starts to take a backseat to his own show just so we can highlight how great and awesome Annabeth is and girl power rules and whatever, I'm going to be very, very miffed. Again, it's fair for me to worry about this now because Disney is all tell and no show when it comes to women. Just like they did with Marvel, just like they did with the most recent Disney Princesses, it's more important to them to show how woke they are instead of caring about the actual stories they tell. And I'm Middle-Eastern, so don't even try any of that self-righteous white woman racial crap with me, okay?

I know I'm saying what a lot of people probably think but aren't allowed to say, but -- call me crazy -- I want the show based on the Percy Jackson books to focus on Percy Jackson. To be honest, I've never loved ANY of Rick Riordan's female characters, save for Ana from Daughter of the Deep, as well as the other female characters in that book, but that's not even in the Percy Jackson world, so it doesn't count. And I ONLY say this now because, again, Disney has SUCKED with their female characters. It's all pandering and nothing but pandering.

The first book especially always frustrated me with the way Grover never really seemed to defend Percy against Annabeth's snobby behavior, so this aligns fine. I'm not really saying anything against the character either (not yet), as this frustration with how unfair and snobby she is towards Percy very much aligns with the book. I guess I was just hoping that since I always hated Annabeth in the books and she was actually likable in the second episode, that maybe the show would be better about her portrayal. I was actually thinking how cute they would be as a couple in the second episode, but now? I'm kind of back where I was with the books, I don't see why she deserves him, not yet.

Much like Grover was in the episode, I was just looking at a lot of her behavior as Really? The guy had NO reason to invite you on this quest, you NEEDED him to pick you, and you still act like he's the idiot for caring about his mom and not knowing anything about this world that he's just found out about, and it's so freaking entitled, I --

I've been part of the Roswell, New Mexico fandom since season 1, and I know just how ridiculous people get when you DARE criticize a character who HAPPENS to be played by a black actress. I don't give a crap. I'm critiquing the CHARACTER here, and I'm disappointed, not with her, but the writing itself. It's too soon to tell, I know, but I do hope Disney is better about Annabeth's character than the books were, because I saw Book Annabeth as rude, selfish, and unfair, it bothered me that everyone in the story still idolized her despite how toxic her behavior was (save for Percy, but just in the beginning, and then he was fine with her hitting him and calling him stupid all the time), and I saw glimpses of that in episode 3, so I'm hoping for better.

Also, that whole, What are you afraid of? conversation felt so weird and forced. They JUST started the quest, Percy is throwing in suggestions, Annabeth treats him like he's stupid for it, and then demands to know why he's scared of who he is, and I'm like ?? What warranted that question? He hasn't used his powers yet, he hasn't refused to use his powers yet or talk about his father or anything, so why would he seem afraid of who he is? It just makes no sense.

Honestly? At this point, I just feel bad for Leah because Annabeth is a very difficult character to make likable in my eyes, and it's made worse when the writing won't allow her to be any better.

Aside from that, I really did love the episode a lot. I wish Grover had done more to defend Percy in the beginning, but he did the same thing in the book and he eventually did step in. Medusa was actually great. I hated the actress's character in the Flash, so I was wary, but she really knocked it out of the park. I love some of the extra details they put in, like Percy giving her a chance because of his mom and kindness (fatal flaw, if you know you know), I LOVED the consensus song, and YES! I was SO worried they wouldn't have Percy send Medusa's head to Olympus, but they did and he was perfect and it was AMAZING! When Annabeth said that what Medusa said isn't what happened, I would've liked an explanation of what actually did happen. Then again, it feels like there's a bit too much exposition already, to be honest. Like there were more creative ways to explain Thalia, there were more creative ways to explain Annabeth and Luke finding camp, and I don't know if it's because I've memorized the books at this point, but it feels like so much of the episode is just dedicated to explaining things that don't really need explanation or could be saved for later to show through flashbacks or something. I don't know, just more creative than standing and sitting there while someone explains everything.

It works great sometimes, like with Sally and Percy, but other moments just feel very... exposition-y.

I love this show. It's the highlight of my week. I maintain that we are getting the best possible adaptation. It's just because I love this story so much and it's so sacred to me that I can't help but critique. I don't think the books are flawless (i.e. the female characters), so it stands to reason that I won't find the show completely flawless either. Is it still sacred to me? Absolutely. Percy Jackson has always been too important not to nitpick, I think.

[pet-genius]

"No one deserves to be praised for kindness if he does not have the strength to be bad" - La Rochefoucauld

And is that not just "Snape to a T," as @dementedlollipop had put it while I was contemplating making a meta?

I think I can relate to the concept of goodness vs. greatness in HP that I've been toying with for actual years. The distinction first comes up in Ollivander's shop, IIRC, where Ollivander remarks that Voldemort did things that were "terrible" but "great", which makes Harry uncomfortable. But of course it does, because Ollivander is literally calling his parents' murderer "great". And that word keeps coming up: "You could be great, you know," the Sorting Hat whispers to Harry.

What if Harry's praiseworthiness is not in ending up in Gryffindor, but in choosing his idea of goodness (which was naive, as he was only 11 and his only source of intel was Hagrid)?

Dobby has always known of Harry's greatness, but not of his goodness, because the too things are not the same. The main "lesson" of COS is that our choices make us who we are, but how many 11 year olds are offered the choice? How many children ended up in Slytherin because no one had warned them about that House, because they had no personal stake in where they would be? Harry is not only a Gryffindor but someone who might as well not have been, hence his goodness. Harry constantly grapples with the knowledge that he is actually not special and has no outstanding power, and Dumbledore constantly has to remind him - the power of love. The power of choice. Picture young Snape, torn between the two, with Lily representing an idea of goodness that is increasingly foreign to him as she aligns herself with people he has good reason to despise. On his other shoulder, greatness - as he conceives it - whispers. It might be telling him something like... "There is no good or bad. Only power and those too weak to seek it." Or even something like... "our choices make us who we are. Do you choose to stay weak or come under my wings and learn how to be strong?"

He has every power to be bad, because his tragic life made that path the easier one. At some point, it might have looked like the only option. Certainly Dumbledore would not have humored a young Snape who had never been corrupted to start with, by the way. What glory or greatness could the Order offer him?

Funnily enough, his biggest criticism of James is that he was "mediocre" and "arrogant," neither of which translates directly to a "violent bully" in my eyes. I don't want to make another post about James, but I do think it says a lot about what Snape valued - at least at the time when James had been alive, when Snape probably verbalized his criticisms.

"Ought implies can", Kant tells us, meaning (as I read it) that moral duty arises only when the possibility exists. But we don't deserve praise for merely doing as we ought. Snape deserves praise just as much as deserves condemnation, because his story has always been that of choice between viable options. The option to be good must have seemed less viable when he was a short-sighted and traumatized teenager, but he always had it. Greatness, and goodness, praiseworthiness... belong to the adult we met, the petty and vindictive and still-traumatized and still embittered man who - even after killing Dumbledore, when capitalizing on his strength to be bad could not be easier - still chose the struggle. It feels like a good point to end the meta, except that I read it and I feel ridiculously self-important and like I barely skimmed the surface. I guess the quote in the title just really encapsulates why Snape is so endlessly fascinating, on top of just being, ultimately - good.

[thewickedkat]

'How am I more useful to you, Imogen?'

and, like, that right there, to me is the most obvious tell of Liliana's. it's so raw and earnest, so open the way a child would be, and so at odds with her own actions that we know of (both having seen ourselves as an audience, and what we have been told through the lens of other characters), because here is a woman who has demonstrated consistently that her interests do not lie with her daughter or the safety of Exandria as a whole. she has routinely shown that her loyalties lie with Ludinus Daleth first and the Ruby Vanguard second. her daughter maybe has a slot in the top five; more likely the top ten of her concerns (seeing as how Liliana did tell Imogen to run when Imogen dreamt of the storm).

i don't buy this version of Liliana. not at all. immediately after the attempted assassination, Imogen heard Did she know?! from Liliana, all anger and fear and surprise (especially given the last conversation they had), and then after losing FCG...no one says anything? what, just playing at the polite fiction that no one heard Liliana lose her temper at that? what, are they secret Midwesterners? or are both sides just waiting to see what kind of hanging the other will do, if given enough rope? i know Imogen doesn't trust Liliana (and thank god she said so out loud, because i was about to genuinely question if Imogen was really that naive), and maybe that distrust cuts both ways. i almost hope it does, because that brings me to my next point.

with regard to being the presumptive Vessel, Liliana is either terribly stupid, having abdicated her critical thinking skills ('As far as I understand it,' she phrases it; 'the Ruidusborn have something the gods can't stop, and only we can truly reach him [Predathos].'**), and not questioning the absolute bullshit she has been fed from Ludinus for the past couple decades. if we entertain this notion, the idea that she was nothing more than some naif from a backwater town, maybe Liliana Temult was just looking for answers about why she was tormented with visions she didn't understand, or why she had to endure listening to everyone else's mind the way Imogen did growing up. maybe she wanted a reason for suffering the stigma that most Ruidusborn do on Exandria, being shunned and side-eyed simply for an accident of birth. maybe she just wanted to be Special, and Ludinus gave her that reason when he plucked her from whatever detritus she was languishing in.

after all, everyone wants to feel special, everyone wants to know why them. maybe Daleth simply provided. who knows?

on the other hand, if Liliana is not in fact terribly stupid, then she is morally bankrupt and ethically bereft: she abandoned her family with little to no reason--at least, none that satisfied Relvin and certainly didn't leave Imogen at ease--and no contact with nearly thirty years, and she aligned herself with the Ruby Vanguard, to sit at Daleth's right hand and orchestrate whatever machinations are underway on Ruidus, to hop planes and build terrible weapons of unmaking; to aid in the attack on a leader of a sovereign people of Exandria, one of the most powerful ArchDruids of the time; to assist in the Exaltation of already-disenfranchised people of Exandria in order to utilise them toward the Vanguard's ends--to let Otohan Thull hunt the child she professes to love--

no. i don't buy her spiel about being 'useful' to Imogen or the Hells. she wants to be useful? she can make herself useful and choke on something.

because someone who wants to 'do good,' or curtail the horrors Daleth is allowing, would actually do something, or would have networked more assistance over the years in an effort to stop him, not just half-heartedly reach out to their estranged child after so many years. i can't help but think that, once confronted with the Consequences of Their Actions, would do everything they possibly could to unravel what has been done.

instead, Liliana just mouths platitudes and 'oh, he's different with me, I understand him, you don't know him like I do; without me he'd be so much worse,' and i find that to be tremendously mealy-mouthed and awful.

**i can't help but wonder, idly, if Liliana doesn't believe there have been other Ruidusborn throughout Exandrian history. i mean, i know we as an audience haven't been informed for certain one way or another, but i personally assumed that Ruidusborn have been present in Exandria's populations since...well, since the containing of Predathos, maybe a little bit afterward (say a generation or two, because god-time is different than mortal time). given her words here, it makes me think that she believes the Ruidusborn are a more recent phenomenon, only occurring in the past couple-three generations, as if perhaps there had to be a critical mass of them reached, or maybe an increasing urgency coming from Predathos. because if there have been Ruidusborn throughout history, then...the gods don't really care? and maybe they don't care because left on their own, the Ruidusborn are just...an unfortunate side-effect of Predathos' containment? until, of course, Ludinus Daleth had to come along and fucking meddle.

[avesomnia-inhoramortis]

[ooc]

Very brief collection of headcanons I'm operating on, while I rush to work:

Trina first split off from Miquella as a spirit/dream/nonphysical entity, and the reason for the split was Miquella's desperation to cure his sister, as well as the perfumers giving up on her.

Trina/Miquella only has one body. Miquella's body is technically Trina's body, and she has inhabited him before. Miquella truly deeply dislikes that and does not want her doing it.

Under certain circumstances, Trina can grow herself a body in the waking world to use, but it's basically a complicated flower rather than true flesh. Like a more functional Miranda Sprout.

Miquella doesn't want anyone to know he and Trina are at all related. The less people know about his powers the better, plus Trina can be extremely impulsive and emotional- she's the more vulnerable of the two, in his mind, and no one but Malenia is allowed to see his vulnerability.

Trina loves Miquella the way only a self can love another, truly and deeply with infinite understanding. She's still hurt by him.

Trina could technically qualify as an Empyrean, if anyone knew who she really was, and Miquella is slightly worried that Trina's femininity could qualify her more than him. That's a risky complication.

An Empyrean is a potential vessel. An "outer god" is an elemental force capable of desires. Trina is not a vessel of sleep, she is Sleep Herself. Her inexperience, youth, and mortal attachments are the only things holding her back from being a full Outer God.

Sleep is influenced by the Arcane stat, which seems to be related to the body, visceral as opposed to faith or intelligence. I'm definitely going to play with what that could mean in terms of her powers and the expression of them.

Sleep as an eldritch force is elementally aligned with water and flowers. If she had proper Creatures and Things in her service, I'd expect kelpies and huldra and related water/plant entities.

Trina's sleep is a kind of death, which exists in contrast to Miquella's eternal abundance. The fall to his spring.

Particularly when she's in her flower-body, Trina is beholden to the instincts of it in the same way that people with their own flesh are beholden to their animal nature. This girl is a plant and she's weird about it sometimes, particularly since she doesn't socialize with anyone much.

Trina can, has, and will continue to enable euthanasia, as well as the generally addictive habits of her followers. It's the comfort they want, so it is the comfort she will give. At her most human she mourns them- at her most godlike she feels at most satisfied about it.

She hangs out with ghost jellyfish a lot, and feels a kinship with spirits in general.

She only has two "sacred sites": the Village of the Albinaurics, and the Apostate Derelict. I'll link a more thorough post on that.

This means that she has no home or bed. Technically, the only bed she "has" is whatever one Miquella owns, and it's arguable that she's rarely (if ever) actually slept in one. Somebody should fix that.

[tadpolesonalgae]

‘I imagine hopping from angsty cbmthy to smut riddled basically-everything-else might be a bit surprising at first 😭’

I for one am a very happy camper of angst and smut🤫 especially when they’re so well written like yours are!🌸

‘And it’s not like anyone other than Mor might have any reason to go to the Winter Court so it’s like he’ll be completely out of reach once he’s gone!’

And we all know reader has a wonderful relationship with Mor HA HA…ha…(laughing in pain🫠) WKJDJWJD BUT TRULY I WILL MISS BAS WHILE HES GONE🤧 he was in so many ways…kind of a consistent light in reader’s life. I can’t imagine the kind of guilt and sadness she has, believing that she’s gone and ruined another good thing (even if she’s really just being WAY too hard on herself most times🤧🤧)

‘do you think anyone might spot a single empty chair and pause? Or pass a pair of gloves and remember sensitivity in their fingertips? After six months has passed, I mean’

*GASP* TABBY STOP, TOO REAL🤧 (AND I LOVE THIS STORY AND YOU FOR THAT BUT- AHHHHH)

The amount of thoughts that would pass through their minds. I’m sure they’d be constantly thinking of all the ‘maybe’s, and ‘what if’s. I can just feel the guilt and longing radiating off that

‘If reader could accept that offering I think things could be very happy though’

I hope she can be happy with the outcome!! It would really show her that they pay so much attention to her! Even though…I think she’d probably feel some more distress over the fact that all those gifts they gave her are still gone…🫠 BUT HEY MAYBE ITLL PUSH HER TO ACTUALLY PUT THE STUFF THEY BUY HER NOW TO USE!

‘Yes! Yes! Finally! I’ll shower you in metaphorical flowers!! Thank you!! I promise it’ll get better, just stick with me and everything will be fine!! ‘

I am totally in this for the long haul🫡 in Tabby and Az I trust

‘I think it’s very funny that they keep meeting, and trying to have a normal conversation and just,,,failing,,,consistently 🤭’

(SOMEONE TAKE THEM BACK TO THAT LITTLE SIDE SHOP)

*me finally getting the chance to send in a reply but already read Chapter 23 knowing Az and reader bout to have many more failed attempts incoming*

‘To be fair, in that moment Azriel thought that reader was accusing him of sexually taking advantage of her which is why he opposed her in a way that was kind of embarrassing for her, when reader was actually talking about Azriel using her to get a read on Elain (which yay, reader’s keeping that in mind now!!)’

That’s almost where I’m sad Azriel thought that’s what she meant. I understand it! Buuuut, she also made it really clear when she confronted him the first time in the library, that she didn’t/doesn’t like that he only comes to her when he wants to know something about Elain. And sure maybe that’s cause he was so focused on showing he doesn’t reciprocate but honestly…there are definitely better ways to tell/show someone you aren’t interested🤧

But to be fair, maybe that’s just how I see it. Honestly I’m someone who has gone through what reader went through with the lack of reciprocity in like- every “close” relationship I’ve ever had💀 Not a cool move on Az’s part to only seek her out when it aligns with his interests. Anyone would feel hurt and used

‘I’m not going to elaborate on this part because it will be expanded upon later in the series and I don’t want to spoil anything, but yeah. It was fun to write those two paragraphs from Az’s perspective 🥲’

I can tell you had fun with that!! It surprised me that we got any Az POV in Chapter 22 BUT WOW- IT ADDED SO MUCH TO IT (I have reread it so many times, that and the scar..bonding(?) talk)

AHHHH I can’t wait for the next parts! I’m dying to know what Az means. I’m really wondering just how “bad” his hidden thoughts or opinions are for him to choose to watch her rive in pain and panic than to be honest. I suspect that it’s his own view of himself stopping him from being accepting of her. But who knows! (You do…go ahead and call me a fool Tabby😔)

‘since Reader was obviously raised human, and time alone with a man + TOUCHING??? = Marriage. Horse and carriage. COURTING. (I’m being hyperbolic 😶)’

‘Like him touching the spot atop her heart?? Much more intimate than a one night stand where it would only be physical nakedness 😭’

I totally get it!! Screw the sex am I right?!

Truly I think reader had felt and seen Azriel’s true nature and fell in love with him. The REAL him, not this cold act (seemingly) that he puts on.

I’m going to be trying to send in messages whenever I can now! I just really want to show my appreciation for you and your amazing works!! Hopefully you’ve been doing okay and taking care of yourself! Until the next message!!

(P.S. I’m hoping the 🌸 emote hasn’t been taken👁️👁️ but I also feel like I’ve seen it🫠)

'I WILL MISS BAS WHILE HES GONE🤧 he was in so many ways…kind of a consistent light in reader’s life.'

I'm going to miss him too honestly. He completely started out as a filler character but he just ended up kind of sticking with reader throughout the series so far so it's really strange that we're seeing him off? And I agree with you that despite their slightly unusual dynamic (unusual for reader, that is) Bas was there for her in the beginning so I imagine she'll have a lot of feelings she won't really know what to do with once he's left the Night Court :/

'I can just feel the guilt and longing radiating off that'

I'm hoping to write some other little parts where thoughts like that kind of begin to pass through some of the sister's minds? Because yes it's a loss for reader but her sisters are the ones who'll have to potentially deal with life on their own after the six months? Theoretically?

'(SOMEONE TAKE THEM BACK TO THAT LITTLE SIDE SHOP)'

Okay, funny note about that scene: It was going to happen anyway at some point in the story but I hadn't decided when? And then I suddenly thought that if reader and Azriel's relationship only started improving once he knew she's been given six months to live I would probably have to write reader as worrying that he was only being nice to her to make her last few months nice and that it wasn't actually sincere? So that's why I decided to write that scene when I did, so reader can remember her and Az have had a good exchange before he knew anything about her limited time!

'*me finally getting the chance to send in a reply but already read Chapter 23 knowing Az and reader bout to have many more failed attempts incoming*'

I don't know what could have possibly given you the idea that reader and Az being basically completely alone for two weeks together could lead to anything remotely bad

I think looking at how chapter 24 is coming along her and Az will have their trip up northeast to collect weaponry and get reader fitted for some leather armour and then they'll be heading briefly back through Velaris before going off on their exciting adventure!!!

'That’s almost where I’m sad Azriel thought that’s what she meant.'

Well don't you worry there are going to be plenty more moments of those two misunderstanding one another 🤦

I also think that fundamentally with the kind of people they are/the vastly different lives they’ve lived, there are going to be quite a few sections where their differences come out? I think in particular reader experiences a much stronger romantic/emotional attraction to Azriel than a sexual one? I haven't really decided if that's down to her upbringing or whether that's just the type of person she is, but I imagine Azriel potentially thinking of her affection/misunderstanding her tenderness for him as lust-fuelled would probably be a blow to her self-esteem 😭

'AHHHH I can’t wait for the next parts! I’m dying to know what Az means. I’m really wondering just how “bad” his hidden thoughts or opinions are for him to choose to watch her rive in pain and panic than to be honest. I suspect that it’s his own view of himself stopping him from being accepting of her. But who knows! (You do…go ahead and call me a fool Tabby😔)'

Thank you so much for anticipating the next parts because I'm convinced I feed off your enthusiasm to write :')

Don't get me wrong I'm really excited to write the rest of cbmthy, but with the type of series it is, it can be very draining in parts? If that makes sense? So whenever I know I'm going to have to write a scene or section that's a little more angst-heavy/angst-centred, it really helps to hear that someone is looking forward to reading more, so thank you 🧡💛

Though I'm not yet sure how in-depth I'll go into Azriel's mindset? I don't want to go so far in that we theoretically have a complete understanding of who he is because point blank I don't think I'm anywhere near capable enough to write him as complex as I would like to, but also because I very much enjoy leaving certain elements up to your/my interpretation? I like there to be wiggle room so writing too much from Az's perspective is something I'm wary of? I’ll likely just keep it to a few paragraphs every now and again, but we'll see how things go!

'Truly I think reader had felt and seen Azriel’s true nature and fell in love with him.'

Yes, that's what I'm going for! It's just that since the story starts from when Azriel becomes more detached towards her, as the reader readers we haven't gotten to see Az how Reader saw him while she was falling in love with him - it's going to be fun writing the warmer sides of him eventually emerging again after hibernation! Or when they occasionally pop up and how reader reacts to them if/when she notices a shift in his behaviour!

'I’m going to be trying to send in messages whenever I can now! I just really want to show my appreciation for you and your amazing works!! Hopefully you’ve been doing okay and taking care of yourself! Until the next message!!'

I'd love to hear your thoughts yes whenever ch. 24 comes out!! I'm sorry though that I've taken such a long time to respond to you and I hope it hasn't totally put you off from writing in 😭 My life's pretty busy at the moment so I'm not getting as much time to do fanfiction-y things which is why there's been a delay :')

'(P.S. I’m hoping the 🌸 emote hasn’t been taken👁️👁️ but I also feel like I’ve seen it🫠)'

Oooh, I think I've seen it around in messages but I don't think I've seen anyone use it as a sign-off emoji, so you should be good to go!! I hope to hear from you again!! 🧡💛

[eggsploded]

moar you say.. why then gregor and rodya of coarse....

where would i be without rodigor. where would WE be, without rodigor.

first impression: THE fuckin guy. this dude owns. (insert 50 invasive questions about cockroach anatomy and behavior) i was peeved his roach arm resembled more of a beetle horn than a arm

current impression: when chef greg dropped i got so horny i went to bed lightheaded i still love gregor dearly but my love for him has mellowed like the fondness for a favorite pasta dish.

favorite moment: literally every old fart moment he has. when he forgets names when he berated sinclair for not cleaning his plate when he goes uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh in his dialogue because he doesnt know where hes going with this

story idea: despite his deep frying and boiling during hells chicken i think the bus kinda Likes this guy. gregors a bit of a hot commodity. hes just a fella you can Jive with. a real Stand Up guy. now let him be loved, if obliviously through his own self consciousness. a friendly heathcliff rough slap on the back delays his depressive episode by 15 minutes

fav relationship: oh boy where to start!!!! rodigor. enough on that. meurgreg, not really romantic to me but i like the art of it that is. it revolves around a big fella carrying him under his arm so automatic slay. ive seen a little gregcliff action on the TL but its more of a 'work got me friends with people twice my age like whats uncle greg up to' ordeal to me. now lets get insane. gregsang is incredible to me because yi sang is the only mf on that bus EASIER than gregor. gregor got game? that hes aware of? while stuttering the whole journey? its kind of crazy. i dont actually have a reason why they would even like eachother yet but put rodya in there somewhere to toy with them if you want true crackshipping fun

fav headcanon: hes a little chunky

RODYA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! my favit

first impression: me furiously searching for her height on the wiki + nodding my head sagely deciding woman with sleepy eyes is peak character design (faust included). i trust her wholeheartedly even if she leads me hand in hand into a woodchipper

current impression: waiting for projmoon to drop more lore on her desperately because i know canto 2 wasnt everything. i feel a disconnect with the fanbase about her because i see rodya characterized sooooo differently than how i think of her. the gambling thing and her effortless confidence for example isnt really questioned like how it is with dons bravado. i see her gambling as an outlet for her complicated views on money. she feels as though being financially 'secure' as the lone survivor as a betrayal to all the deaths she caused. gambling not only aligns with her current im the hottest shit attitude but also is a way for her to not be responsible for money. the hoarding of wealth is what caused her community to starve, why would she want to do something that seems to harm others? shes very self destructive, and feigning as slots star is just one of the ways she forces herself to 'stay in the cold'. ummmmmmmmm anyway im really normal about rodya and think about her a normal amount also her love for decadant food really resonates with me as someone who was poor in childhood because the difference between eating to live and living to eat is Astronomical

favorite moment: shes started branching out and calling other people than greg pet names and it is so exciting. faust has now reached babe status!! good for her!!! also when she infantalizes sinclair its terrible for him but REALLY funny for me when he responds back and reminds her oh right this is a 22 year old man. also her random interjections that are socialist ideology are really funny because they always feel so fucking random and like projmoon is remembering why crime and punishment was written and going drop this bomb ass line itll go so hard guys

story idea: i want her to play poker against yi sang because hes weird and also his poker face is like. genuine and dear adoration for being able to play with his companions because deep in his soul is gardens and butterflies. she would be so freaked out not only because this guy agreed to playing poker but also because he is invasively (he didnt mean it) staring into her SOUL to find solutions

fav relationship: my thoughts are half the bus are in love with gregor and the other half with rodya with cases of overlap. rodya is so epic because shes seemingly got it together to the more deranged sinners but to anyone else its like oh my god this paper mache bitch the former being more faustish the latter being more ryoshuish. faustya is cute because faust initially wanted to absorb more Bad Bitch Strategems and then kinda got a crush and is hardcore malfunctioning also kurokumo ryodion got sumn GOING yall crazy love is love though

fav headcanon: shes actually really short for Lobotomy Corp Backstreets Russia and everyone there is just freakishly tall (see: sonya)