#because it was factually incorrect (which it was!!! i fully admit that)

[thefirstlie]

im so glad i don't post analysis anymore girl what was i doing

[gattmammon]

This is driving me insane ALDO MORO WAS NOT THE LEFTIST PRESIDENT OF ITALY WHEN HE WAS KILLED HE WAS NEVER THE PRESIDENT OF ITALY THATS JUST NOT WHO HE WAS PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD THIS PUTS EVERYTHING ELSE YOU SAY IN DOUBT FOR ME.

1) he was the leader of the executive (president of the council of ministers, i think youd call him the premier) at a point in history where that particular title held less power than it does now (pre Berlusconi holding that title). The president of Italy, like that actual title, is mostly a representative charge with some key ceremonial roles and less important judicial, legislative and administrative powers. Straight up if you say Aldo Moro was the president you are not just using a mild misnomer for a foreign title you are being factually incorrect. It's not the same thing with a different name it's straight up different. The Premier is a govt charge which is a direct expression of a party, while President should be a nonpartisan position that upholds the Constitution outside of party politics.

2) he was NOT the Premier at the moment of his murder anyway.

3) Aldo Moro was democratic Christian, which is centrist right wing at best, not a leftist himself, altho in that case I understand the mistake more because he is the one who started the whole strategy of opening up to the Communist party so from an American standpoint he might as well be Lenin. (This is called "compromesso storico" - historical compromise - and is theoretically the reason why the Red Brigades singled him out as particularly dangerous to the cause of revolutionary communism).

Also can somebody offer me proof of the whole "American secret services were involved in the Moro murder" thing because all of the American leftists I talk to are so sure of it and here thats not like. Certain? There are suspects but there is no proof. I fully believed people like Cossiga (*spits*) used the murder politically and strategically and might have had an hand in obfuscating facts after the event and i might even go as far as to believe that there were external forces at play in the Red Brigades picking that specific victim and the govt choosing to go with the hardline of non-negotiating but thats a pretty big jump to "yeah this one specific named guy formerly from the US state dept who is now a lead conspiracy theorist and used to regularly appear on Info Wars had Aldo Moro killed". I'm not saying I'm not open to believing it but when you start out by having no idea who Aldo Moro is it makes everything else you have to say about his murder immediately sound sus you have to admit. It's like if I went around saying I 100% know who killed JFK but also called Kennedy "the leader of the American Supreme Court" in the same breath. Like would just take my word for it.

[bravomckenzie]

Not being funny but how can you and Kat talk all this smack about everyone else’s fics when Olivia is a Mary Sue who never really progresses and Kat writes nothing but self inserts who can’t even portray WOC without using micro aggressions, wrote a gay character shagging a straight woman because her MC is oh so sexy and perfect that even gay men go for her as well as romanticising abusive relationships. Like I get that you’re probably seething because you’re not as big of a deal as you used to be back when the fandom was a microcosm with a few fics going around, but the fact you’re so bitter as to sneeringly turn your nose up at new content? You and Kat are so fixated on positioning yourselves as people who are better than everybody else, it’s why Kat writes all those whiny Reddit posts about how hard it is to be a fanfic writer in a community where everybody is oh-so jealous and bitter because she’s getting so many more reads than everyone else and how it’s such a stwuggle to be a big writer in this mean space. You aren’t as big as you used to be and you’re so bitter about it, it’s actually hilarious. Stay mad that the fandom is thriving without your output and stay mad that people are doing things bigger and better, life goes on.

first of all, wrong kat mama LFHSKFJSJFN i am not and never have been friends with the kat you’re referring to and i fully agree with what you said about it. my kat has nothing to do with litg anymore. like interacting with me is as close as she gets these days.

next, i’ll give you credit where credit is due - i am not as important here as i used to be. and i’m the first to admit it. i used to be one of the most popular bobby stans in the fandom. i am not that anymore. my relevancy i still have is because on the fact i did write such a popular fic. i am a fandom elder at this point who newer blogs really probably only follow because they’re kind of just “supposed” to. like i was very popular at one point, making me just a standard litg blog you follow when you show up here. and once again, i can admit it. i will always be just the author of ciwyw now. and i am more than fine with and even proud to be that. i love my fic more than ive ever loved anything i’ve ever made.

so with that being said!

olivia’s growth and development is something i pride myself on. and saying there’s no growth on her behalf means you either didn’t finish the fic or genuinely lack reading comprehension skills. more than anything, ciwyw follows olivia’s journey in discovering her worth and the way she deserves to be treated. she isn’t a mary sue. she isn’t a cookie cutter mc. she has flaws and she makes shitty choices. she’s both an objectively shitty girlfriend and shitty friend at several points throughout the fic. to say she’s anything less than that is deadass just wrong. like actually factually incorrect. and i do take insult to that so i guess you made your silly little point.

stating my opinion on not being into the new content being created doesn’t mean i think i’m better than anyone. because like i don’t? i have said a billion times that i consider myself an okay writer AT BEST. my characters and plot as concepts are where my work shines. my actual writing is nothing special. i just genuinely do not vibe with the repetitiveness that the fandom has come to at this point. and i don’t enjoy the concepts for the other pieces being written rn with the exception of a few.

since day one, i have said this blog exists for me to scream into the fandom void about fandom things & a place for whoever wanted to do that too. i never meant to or even tried to become relevant. it just happened. my current or former levels popularity have nothing to do with what i think.

the anon who sent me the asks made valid points about issues in a popular fic in the fandom. like genuine problems that exist within the story. she was funny about it which is why i was funny about it back.

anyways. y’all should know by now, especially since you’ve apparently known me for a hot minute… i’m literally not going to stop posting whatever i feel like screaming into this void. like idc how much yall get mad at me and tell me to shut the fuck up. it’s literally not happening.

i do not care what you think of me as a person. i’ve settled into my mean girl narrative quite comfortably. i’m fine here. i realized it was something i’d never shake off. your opinion of me is your own. much like mine is about fanfic.

stay mad. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[heyblaidydd]

ghostyrivergirl replied to your post “Literally all Crimson Flower does, for me, is validate everything Rhea...”

Rhea also kinda intended you to be a vessel for her mother, denying you any right to be your own person. Like, I don't fully support one side or the other. But Rhea's definitely got some flaws. Slaughtering anyone who defies the church is one of em too.

@ghostyrivergirl Yeah, but Rhea also admits that was wrong and apologizes for it in both VW and SS. So like, what’s your point? This post wasn’t even tagged in the main game tag it was tagged for Rhea and is specifically about Rhea, calling out people for labeling her as a “crazy bitch” when the one route where she devolves the most is literally the route meant to push her to her breaking point.

You say you don’t support one side or the other, but you also accuse Rhea of “slaughtering anyone who defies the church” which is factually incorrect. As I, and many others, have stated before Cyril and Shamir both openly do not support the religion or even believe in the Goddess and they’re two people who are in near proximity to her on a regular basis. Like I don’t know how many times I have to say this, but the interactions are there all you have to do is pay attention to them.

The individuals that everyone is so keen on defending for some reason are literal assassins and grave robbers--because those are actually the people she executes. And ironically, they do believe in the Goddess so they’re not defying anything, they’re really just making a political power grab that ultimately failed.

Again, I didn’t even tag this in the main game tag, so clearly you’re scrolling through the Rhea tag looking for a bone to pick for whatever reason.

[i-dreamed-i-had-a-son]

Thoughts on that (formerly?) annoying episode

Star Trek Season 1 Episode 24, This Side of Paradise, is (was) a frustrating episode for me. Spock, who up until this point has never explicitly shown romantic interest in anyone, falls in love with a girl. Not naturally though--no, he is drugged, and begs, on the ground, in agony, for her to stop the effects of the drug. When he finally gives in, then he appears to be free, but we know that he is certainly not himself.

Bones and Jim notice this as well, while talking to Spock over communicator, and Bones is immediately concerned, thinking Spock might be in trouble. What is Spock up to? He's chilling out with his girl.

It had really really really bothered me, though, that when all is said and done, and Spock has gone back to normal, and he is asked about what he has to say about his experience, he says, "For the first time in my life, I was happy." This was super frustrating and hurtful for me, because I relate to Spock's lack of romantic interest very deeply. (I perceive him to be aroace, but other interpretations are, of course, valid.) Is he really saying that all the good times he's had on the Enterprise, all the moments he's shared with Jim and Bones--all the companionship he has found in them isn't enough? That he has never been happy? That he needed to find a girl before he could be? What does that say about someone like me, who is aroace?

It especially bothered me because Spock only explicitly expresses romantic feelings when he is fundamentally not himself, and he recognizes this as well. (This post is already long, so I'll skip the details, but if you're curious, let me know.) Something deep and intrinsic about him is changed, and then he expresses romantic feelings--which further convinces me that he is aromantic. So why was he repeatedly subjected to this invasive altering of his identity? Was he not sufficient as he was? It felt humiliating to watch him behave in ways I knew he would never behave when he was himself. And it definitely felt like the producers were pushing him into a relationship to "fix him" and show his "human side".

But then I looked at it deeper, and I realized that maybe that's not what was going on at all.

While it is likely that a heteronormative message was intended, part of art is its interpretation, and I am choosing to internalize the other narrative that I see. And before we get going, a warning (if you haven't gotten it already): this is a long post. I'm on mobile and can't figure out how to make a "read more".

Firstly, I will say that aside from the romantic element, the episode had very good moments. Especially when Kirk confronts Spock, and you can tell that Spock is holding himself back, and doesn't want to believe that Jim means what he's saying, and he's utterly shocked that Jim would ever say something like that--and particularly that he uses the word "half-breed". (Spock, in an earlier episode, had actually told Jim that it disturbs him to hear that word from someone so close to him...essentially, he admitted that it hurts him. Jim hadn't outright said that he wouldn't use the word again, but it was clear that he knew the damage it could cause and that he had only used it as a last resort.)

But it gets more interesting when we consider what Spock actually responds to, and what he avoids. Firstly, he responds to that word, which he even tries to make into a Spock-version of a joke ("While the term 'half-breed' may be partially accurate..."), using defensive humor instead of addressing his feelings about it. The other thing he responds to, which is the only thing he actually directly answers, is Jim's taunts about his parents. Equally notable is that he didn't respond to any taunts about his relationship with Leila (the girl) that had insinuated he was unable to truly love her. Jim makes several attacks on this front, calling Spock a "carcass," a "computer," a shell of someone "pretending to be a man". "Does she know what she's getting, Spock?!" Jim yells at him. Spock says nothing.

Here's the punch in the gut: Spock only responds to things he believes are wrong.

Spock fights back when Jim maligns his parents, he responds to anything that is factually incorrect. He responds to the word "half-breed" by calling it "partially accurate"--implying he believes it to not be fully apt, but equally, implying that it does have some truth in it...and when it comes to the other personal statements Jim makes, he is silent. He doesn't believe he has enough evidence to dispute Jim's outrageous claims--because a part of him believes it himself.

Not only does this offer insight into Spock's insecurities, it also supports my view of Spock as someone who doesn't have those romantic feelings. Spock hasn't lost his memory while under the influence of the spores, nor does he lose it after their effects are removed; he knows who he really is and how he really behaves. There is a part of him that is freed by being expressive, and that part mostly focuses on appreciating the beauty in things. He comments on how beautiful the clouds are, and rainbows--and yes, perhaps he finds Leila beautiful, but I think he does so from a purely aesthetic and (shall I say it?) scientific stance. He likes feeling free to admire and experience the beauty of things, her included. But deep down, he knows what he's feeling for Leila isn't really love.

He might even like the sensation of kissing her, but not because of any romantic feelings--rather, because it is so clearly and intimately linked with being known, being understood, being trusted; not just from a physical perspective, but (especially for the touch-telepathic Vulcans), an emotional one. That is what truly appeals to him.

Spock feels freed because his usual inhibitions are gone (forcibly battered down, but we'll say gone). So he swings around on a tree branch and does other equally wacky things, and he kisses someone and speaks causally and comments on the beauty of life. He wants to experience the things he's never let himself experience before, because he feels at home; he is accepted, and that frees him. But he knows, deep down, that the freed "Spock" is fundamentally different from the one we've come to know, the one Jim and Bones know, the one on the Enterprise.

That's why he doesn't disagree with Jim when he starts attacking Spock's ability to love. He knows he can't. He knows this freedom, really, is false--and he knows how it came about. Not by a choice of his own, but one forced on him. Nevertheless, he is desperately attached to one particular aspect of that freedom. Just look at what he says as soon as the effects are broken.

First, he says to Jim, "You did that to me on purpose." An interesting choice of words, that belies his now emotionless facade. "You did that to me" acknowledges there was something inflicted on you that you did not want...in a way, that statement alone is Spock's guarded way of saying, "That hurt me. And you knew it would hurt me. I could not believe you would do such a thing...but now, I begin to understand..." And honestly, his face says the same thing. He's shaken up, he looks a little dazed; he's trying to reframe what happened--Jim didn't suddenly hate him for being how he was, it was a calculated move, meant to help him. But, it was clear that Jim didn't want Spock to stay that way. There was a Spock Jim knew, and he wanted (and needed) him back. The "freed" part of Spock needed to be repressed again, or at least that's how Spock saw it.

Think I'm way off base? Listen to what he says next:

"I don't belong anymore."

The entire episode, there's been a repeated mentioning of "understanding", of "being one of us"--but Spock is the only one that calls being affected by the spores "belonging". (Even if he wasn't the only one, it wouldn't detract from the importance of that statement.) His entire life, he has desperately wanted to be loved, known, accepted, and to feel at home, and he never had been able to be fully himself. He was always keeping a part of himself under wraps--not a romantic part, but a sentimental, emotional, free-spirited one. On Omicron Ceti III, Spock was finally able to express that part of himself and find only acceptance for it. Even though he knew the truth of why he was able to do that, he loved being loved and accepted so much that he couldn't bear to give it up.

He even begged Jim to stay with him--and you know what he said the spores offered? "There is belonging...and love..." (The theme of belonging returns again.) And is that a surprise? Unconditional love and acceptance, a sense of belonging--of course Spock would treasure those things; he has been searching for them his whole life! And of course he would want to share them with Jim too; even aside from the spores influencing everyone to infect each other, he is clearly more able to express his fondness for Jim, since during the entire time Spock is affected by the spores, he never once calls him Captain--only "Jim". He has always wanted this closeness, this openness, and he finally found it. It's no wonder that he seemed so heartbroken when Jim broke the spell of the spores--that feeling of belonging, despite how much he treasures the people on the Enterprise, was gone. Not for any lack of care from Jim or Bones or anyone else, but because he had never been able to accept himself before. If the spores hadn't forced him to, he never would have; now that they were gone, he found that he could not do so again.

When he says to Leila, as she realizes that he does not love her and has gone back to being who he really is, "If there are self-made purgatories, we all must live in them. Mine can be no worse than any other," he is not saying "I can't love you because I'll be going away on this ship and that wouldn't be logical." He's saying, "I know a lot of how I am, my refusal to express certain things, stems from how I see myself." In a way, his purgatory is indeed self-made. I don't believe this applies to his romantic feelings, or lack of them--they are not a decision--but instead to the freedom that came with accepting who he is.

And that is why the final line of the episode no longer bothers me. Jim gently nudges him by saying, "We still haven't heard much from you about Omicron Ceti III," and Spock replies, "I haven't much to say about it," pauses, and says,

"Only that...for the first time in my life, I was happy."

I had originally thought that he was saying he was happy because he had "found love", but now I see what he was really saying.

For the briefest of instants, he felt what it was like to love himself.

[travllingbunny]

I'm not sure what exactly happened at the end of TBOSAS (except that I'm sure Lucy Gray ended up dead) so I like your theory, as one of the possibilities.

I'm still not inclined to fully believe it thought, that is that Snow actually found Lucy Gray's body and dumped it into the lake. It's not impossible, because of the state of his mind at that point iand how much disassociating and paranoia is going on. However, while Suzanne Collins likes to use the Unreliable Narrator to present the events through skewed perceptions and wrong interpretations, I don't think she has ever used it to present factually incorrect physical events, so I'm not ready to believe that Snow found Lucy Gray's body and dumped it in the lake but still kept on thinking she might be alive (including even that part where he leaves the suppies at the house before leaving, thinking "hopefully she will use it to escape").

I do think he either killed her when he was shooting at her after he heard her sing, or wounded her and she went on to die alone in the woods. Somehow, whatever version happened, I imagine her dying alone in woods, rather than being killed instantly - it just fits the entire character and the mood of the story better.

But in any case, I think you're spot on with the rest of your analysis. It doesn't even matter if he found her body and knew 100% sure she was dead - he was already having a sort of mental break and weird disassociated thoughts about intending to kill her, as if his mind was struggling to admit to himself what he was about to do:

"Still, to think he would kill her? He looked down at the loaded gun in his hand. Maybe he should've left it in the shed. It looked bad coming after her armed. As if he was hunting her. But he wasn't really going to kill her. Just talk to her and make sure she saw sense.

Put down the gun, he told himself. but his hands refused to cooperate."

And the entire scene is then him coming up with a scenario in his head where she is laying traps for him and trying to kill him - which she is not - until he talks himself more and more into repeatedly trying to kill her. I don't think we need to imagine that he also knew he had succeeded - the fact that he would intentionally murder her to cover his own tracks and remove her as a potential threat to his ambitions is enough of a horrific realization of just what kind of person he is deep down - the "vicious animal" he first felt he was after killing Bobbin in the Arena - and all the things he is ready to do when push comes to shove.

Whether he found her body or not, I don't think it makes any difference - the Lucy Gray survival theories are IMO all extremely unlikely, and I'm sure Snow is aware of that deep inside (it doesn't sound like he believes she survived even after he thinks she might be) - so I think your assessment of his mental state and how he deals with this is spot on:

"Was she alive, dead, a ghost who haunted the wilderness? Perhpas no one would ever really know. No matter - snow has been the ruination of them both. Poor Lucy Gray. Poor ghost girl singing away with her birds."

SPOILERS!

Obviously the ballad of songbirds and snakes and Lucy gray’s fate is meant to be up in the air and for the reader to speculate on, but I really think snow killed Lucy gray and sunk her body to the bottom of the lake with the guns in the sack. That’s why he gets sick, that’s why he’s in such pain and disorientation and he blames it on the snake bite, which ends up not being venomous. He killed Lucy gray and hid her body and it’s so horrific to him that he makes up his own story in his head, he lies to himself and creates his own mystery like the song in order to keep going, because snow knows if he thinks about Lucy gray and what he actually did to her he will never forgive himself, and he won’t survive.

Suzanne Collins walks a fine line in writing Coriolanus snow in this book between deep, burning hatred and genuine sympathy, and I’m in awe of it. It’s interesting though, the fact that after he drowns the weapons (and Lucy grays body, but again that’s just me) in the lake, it’s like a baptism for his presidential life. His family photos and his mothers powder are unsalvageable, but his fathers compass survives. In killing Lucy gray, snow finally chose his ambition over his heart, and it rules his life for the rest of his days.

[calvinwatchesstuff]

Let’s Watch Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V: Episode 3

Once again, no time for an intro; let’s jump right in!

Last time on Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V, Yuya looked like a goddamn idiot trying to Pendulum Summon (which I reluctantly admit I can relate to), and now some asshole is after the Pendulum Cards I think.

Also, I just noticed how impractical the school building is. Seriously, what’s with the tube? How does the area with the cage stay in the air?

Ah, so here we have the obligatory training montage. I’m a little disappointed we didn’t get to see more of it, but I like how they’re effectively having him try to reverse-engineer the method of Pendulum Summoning.

Okay, Gongenzaka is growing on me a little bit.

Wait, now the city is called “Maiami”? Okay, it was definitely Miami in the last episode, but sure, they changed it I guess.

OH MY GOD YUYA WHAT ARE YOU

“Sh…should I make up an excuse?” I like how self-aware he is about this.

“Dark Town - The Stolen Pendulum Summon” Well I guess we know what this episode’s gonna be about, don’t we?

I love how Yuzu just barely reacts; I wouldn’t either.

Oh, he’s one of these assholes. That’s nice.

“What were they called again? Those cards you used?” Well, considering the summoning method is called Pendulum Summoning, and a giant pendulum appeared on the field, take a wild fucking guess.

‘This couldn’t possibly be some sort of trap! I accept!’

Oh, I get it. So this guy’s like the male version of Chloé from Miraculous Ladybug. I now understand everything I need to know about this character.

Okay, I just saw a sign for something called “Fire! Fire! Duel School”. Is…is that a Beavis and Butthead reference? I mean, I can’t imagine it is, but I also can’t think of any other context for that name.

I like how there’s just some guy randomly doing really weird push-ups in the lobby.

Again, it’s kind of ridiculous how seriously everyone is taking Duel Monsters- the fact that there are not one, but SEVERAL schools based on it pushes my suspension of disbelief quite a bit- but I’m willing to let it slide for now.

“Meaning they have everything You Show Duel School doesn’t!” OH SHIT LITTLE GIRL IS FUCKING SAVAGE

WAIT WHAT

Holy shit, they’re actually acknowledging the existence of Fusions, Synchros, and Xyz! (And Ritual Monsters, but those have always been just sort of lurking in the background.) Okay, while I find it kind of ridiculous that each one of these has a separate class to learn, I’m now legitimately impressed; I was fully ready for Pendulums to start overriding everything like Xyz and Synchros did in their respective series. Good on you, ARC-V. Good on you.

And now we have a kid with blue hair and a lollipop. Can’t imagine he’s significant in any way, especially with that dramatic sting they just played over him glancing at Yuya.

Yeah, that’s a…pretty big stadium, alright.

Oh no, who could possibly have seen this coming except for literally everyone?!

And of course, now the mastermind is getting screwed over because Asshat Whose Name I Didn’t Care Enough To Memorize doesn’t want to hand over the Pendulum Cards anymore.

Or he could be totally fine with it. That’s cool too.

And now for no apparent reason Asshat decides to take Yuya’s friends hostage. I guess he realized Yuya could probably beat the crap out of him if he wanted.

Seriously, this is kind of fucked up for so early in the series. I mean, this is basically a Shadow Game we’re dealing with, and we’re still in the first few episodes!

Oh gee, I wonder if that spider card is going to be relevant at some point in the duel.

For some reason the “Action Duel” speech happened twice: once before the commercial break, once after. Why? The other episodes didn’t do that.

What was up with the random slow-mo shot?

I’m just glad he didn’t start out by summoning that damnable hippo again.

Well that was a pretty cool shot, even though I’m not at all certain how it worked.

Damn, for all that talk about diverging plans, Sawatari (I figured that by now he’s threatening enough for me to learn his name) sure seems to be absolutely fucking terrified of the guy behind this all.

Oh, and of course he has fucking dartboard monsters.

Wait, so Action Traps are a thing now?! How does that even work? Action Spells need to be played by the finder in order to be activated, but Action Traps activate the instant they’re picked up?

THE QUESTION MARK OH MY GOD

Welp, there goes the bridge.

“Big Bro Yuya doesn’t cry, so I won’t either!” Um…have you met the guy? He’s cried at least three times in the series so far. I mean, I’m not criticizing him for that; I’m just saying, that statement the kid made was factually incorrect.

Oh hey, a holofoil card! Not sure I’ve ever seen one of those in the anime before.

NO BACKSEAT DUELING, NOT-KAIBA

Oh, that’s probably not good.

I love how not-Kaiba is acting out the Pendulum Summoning process in his office. That is an amazing image to me.

Huh. There was no actual pendulum during that summon; I guess that’s only when Yuya does it.

And suddenly Lollipop Kid comes back for the end of the episode.

Well, this series is certainly ramping up faster than I thought. This makes me incredibly curious what the hell the rest of the series is going to be like, if this is the third episode. Well, tune in tomorrow for the conclusion of this duel, in which we figure out what the hell Lollipop Kid has to do with anything.