#especially because it always resulted in like; half of the people agreeing there should be some sort of talk with the Hornets in particular

[liltaz-asatreat]

Binging Amnesty is all fun and games until you hit the end of the Calamity Tree arc and you start the beginning of the snowball effect- well. The Calamity Tree arc was the beginning of the snowball effect tbh. The interlude after is just the start of the snowball picking up speed lol :/

[ossifer]

the paul poll compelled me to just quickly write up my little opinion piece on paul and necromancy in the tlt verse bcs tags are a pain in the ass to elaborate on my opinion in: paul horrifies me. i think that a lot of people read palamedes' interpretation of lyctorhood as being some sort of objective truth and that there is a right way to do lyctorhood and paul is it, but i just don't agree with that; i think in a series rife with unreliable narrators, palamedes' views on lyctorhood should be considered as subjective as any other person's.

“Can one person even be two people? I feel like I’ve only got enough room inside for me, and sometimes like that room’s not even enough.” “Lyctors can,” said Palamedes, “or at least—they thought they could; in fact all they became were half-dead cannibals. I think a true Lyctorhood is a mutual death … a gravitational singularity creating something new. A true Grand Lysis, rather than the Petty Lysis of the megatheorem [...]

what he says here about lysis is in response to nona asking if one person can be two people, and thus it is a very loaded statement when coming from someone heralding from a society where the extreme co-dependence of the fundamentally unequal necro/cav bond is encouraged, especially considering camilla and palamedes are called out by others from that same society as being an exemplary case of co-dependence in that department!

camilla and palamedes are arguably more equal than any other cav/necro pair in series, in part due to that co-dependence, but we even see in NtN that cam does stuff that undercuts that equality (telling pyrrha to lie to palamedes, 'don't tell him i was weak'). and that equality, that love, is shown to be thought of as coming at the cost of freedom: when palamedes says, “I cannot bear the thought of using you.”—camilla responds, “Love and freedom don’t coexist, Warden.”

in the end, every permutation of the necro and cav pairing is irrevocably descended from john + alecto's example and while i think beauty can be found in some of them, they all suffer from the same fundamental imbalance that bond hinges on; nonconformity abates it, but abolishment is required for real freedom from it. the so-called indelible sin of lyctorhood is just an echo of the original sin john committed.

If there was one thing Gideon knew about necromancers, it was that they needed power. Thanergy—death juice—was abundant wherever things had died or were dying. Deep space was a necro’s nightmare, because nothing had ever been alive out there, so there were no big puddles of death lying around for Harrow and her ilk to suck up with a straw.

necromancy necessitates consumption, taking by its very nature: death, especially violent death, is what fuels it—infants producing more thanergy on death is literally a noted phenomena! paul's birth, while it could be seen as triumphant in the sense of it being an act of creation, is literally identified by palamedes himself as a mutual death, death being required to fuel it the same as any other necromantic working. i don't want to say 'necromancy is fundamentally evil' but uh... it is irrevocably tied into john's conception of human nature: "This is the problem, the incorporation, this is the hardest part … It’s the human instinct, to take."

something i always point out about camilla and palamedes' grand lysis is theparallel with gideon and harrow's incomplete petty lysis: both come about as a result of a fully-realised lyctor (ianthe, cytherea) having cornered the pair, resulting in both being threatened with imminent death (camilla critically injured and palamedes facing expulsion from naberius when ianthe re-emerges; harrow necromantically spent and gideon having suffered multiple injuries, both going to die when cytherea breaks through the bone dome). paul's birth only happened as a direct result of the continuation of the lyctoral cycle of violence, with ianthe in cytherea's position; per palamedes, “I am not saying this was our inevitable end … I am saying we have found the best and truest and kindest thing we can do in this moment.”

paul may be the best and truest and kindest thing cam and pal could've done in that moment, but that moment should've never came to pass: the codependency instilled into them through their society, the violence that put them in that position, and the consumptive necromancy that made paul possible. paul is horrifying because they are the most hopeful and kind thing, and they are the product of two people, one sans his own body, undergoing mutual death to fuel their birth.

they're the truest response to one flesh, one end: an oath purportedly coined by cristabel and alfred, who compelled their necromancers to ascend via a suicide pact.

valancy says one flesh one end sounds like instructions for a sex toy. can’t stop thinking about that so can someone stop cris and alfred before the sex toy phrase catches on, thanks.

did the sex toy phrase really need a response?

[thealogie]

Gotta preface it with ‘I’m not from the US, so obviously don’t understand lots about how election results affect everyday life of people living there’. Also, if I suddenly, still being myself, became a US citizen with a right to vote, I can’t imagine voting for Trump. Saying all that, I don’t think labelling half of the country, tens of millions of people, genuinely evil is very productive or even mentally honest.

I am from the part of the world, which suffered from both republican and democrat US administrations, and lately most of the geopolitical games resulting in tons of blood, have been played, obviously, by democrats. I have to say that I find their utter hypocrisy deeply disgusting. At least your republicans, how I see it, don’t even mask being monsters, they say it like it is. When two negotiating sides state their goals outright, it is possible to come to an agreement at least marginally better than when one side is always being two(3,4,5)-faced, making a point to wrap their actual goals (if they even know them) in pretty words about democracy while double-crossing their negotiation partner even before the ink has dried.

I know that you’re from Iran and are aware of how deeply destructive US foreign policies can be, increasingly so since the start of this century. With one caveat that Trump seems to be especially hostile to Iran, and a democrat would’ve been marginally better when it comes to the US policy regarding Iran. It’s not the same for all parts of the world though, so we might not all be unbiased observers here.

I know that foreign policy doesn’t decide US elections, I only wrote this longwinded nonsense to say that maybe there are solid reasons for half of the US to prefer Trump and reject the democrats, like for the rest of the world there are reasons for either. Economic, political, whatever. Maybe liberals should look into these reasons before dismissing millions of people as genuinely evil, like Hillary did in her time. Idk about you, but when she called half of the country ‘deplorables’ or whatever, no one I know and no one I read (not from US) felt sympathetic. It just sounded incredibly entitled and delusional, and plain dumb. And it looks like since Hillary democrats haven’t learned or even attempted to learn anything, it’s still ‘half of our nation is broken and evil and we can’t do anything about it’. But it’s not how people work, in my opinion. Yes, they might not care about minorities first, they might care about themselves first, but doesn’t it mean that politicians should identify their problems and offer solutions? Isn’t it how it works? Dehumanazing Trump supporters will only radicalize them more, isn’t it what in fact happened, and how it always works with people in general?

Idk about life inside the US, like I said, but how I see it, the only ones to blame here are democrats and liberals in general. If people in the world, and I’m sure inside the US, will see that they finally start addressing the problems instead of hiding behind empty rhetoric, if the level of hypocrisy and delusional entitlement decreases at least to some degree, the support for right-wing populists will also decrease, I’m sure of it. Because most people are not ‘genuinely evil’, but they become embittered and cruel when their concerns are continuously dismissed, things start to fester resulting in ugly political outcomes. I mean, I know you know all this, sorry for being so boring and longwinded. It’s just that I usually like your takes (I came for MASH and stayed for the neighbors as well), including political ones, but here I got a bit of a whiplash, sorry.

I appreciate this thoughtful note. You don’t have to like my takes for us to be on friendly terms. And to be clear I do forever and always blame democrats and liberals for not energizing the people who agree with them.

But as you say you don’t live here and so there’s no way for me to convey to you without asking you to spend months reading right wing political accounts here and talking to people here that a sizable number of the people who support this man are genuinely bad people and want me and people like me out of this country.

This comes from hundreds of personal encounters over the past 8 years and spending the past three months reading dozens and dozens of pieces of reporting that are like “I went to talk to voters in a small town, here’s what they had to say.” And the things you hear are: purge this country of immigrants, make America a dominating force in the world again, get us back to traditional values where women are popping out babies…oh yeah and also the economy would be better under him.

Like idk what you want me to call sexist, homophobic, white supremacists but I think they are evil. And I think it used to be that the Republican Party was more polite about all of these beliefs so I could understand people being disaffected and voting for them for reasons other than hating other humans but now we’re just saying the quiet part out loud and there’s no plausible deniability

[bloggingboutburgers]

Hey, so I'd like to start off this by saying that I'm very certain that I'm straight.

But.

I find most of your comics very relatable, especially the ones where you struggle to understand how people try to put romance/sex everywhere and make it the central part of their lives.

Like, I've had conversations with my friends who seem to think that not finding a romantic partner is some sort of personal failure or a life not worth living.

And like, i get the appeal of romance and sex. It's there for me too, but. There's also video games and books and food and cats and looking at the stars. Why spend so much time and effort on this 1 thing?

One guy i know even said to me that he's only pretending to be friends with girls if he thinks it increases his chance of finding a girlfriend. Like, he's given up on being friends with half the population just for that?! I can't understand that at all.

Sorry if i ranted for too long, but do you have any idea why im like this or they are like that, it's really been bugging me recently.

Thank you so much for reaching out!! Honestly, it's always a relief when someone who doesn't identify as ace related to those things I express. Because yeah, I don't believe that should be an ace-only thing, really!

I've got guy friends, most of which are very supportive of my queerplatonic partner and I, and have been supportive of me being asexual before that. But people like that one guy you mentioned are why I always have that conditioned initial sort of "fear" of guys in the back of my head, and I hate it.--" It makes me implicitly disrespectful of guys who may mean me no harm or have zero ulterior sexual or romantic motives. I'm very glad I have those friends as proof that not everyone thinks this way – and I'm very glad I have those friends overall because they really rock.

But yeah, I honestly don't get the whole idea of why it's portrayed as so freaking crucial to the human experience as if it were an obligation. There could be many reasons. On the one hand, I guess being romantically or sexually excited brings in levels of dopamine that act pretty quick and hard and that might be why people latch on to it – my bad if I misunderstand that, I'm definitely not a sciency person, and I don't understand those appeals at all as an aro-ace, so I might be totally wrong about this. On the other hand, there might be a result of deep-rooted societal and traditionalist constructs of "people must get paired and make lots of equally traditional babies". Though not everyone agrees with traditionalist principles, and yet a lot of people will hyperfixate on those ideas of love and sex as ultimate single ideas anyway. So I'm not sure. I'm one of the least well positioned people to get it, really TwT But it's always a big reassurance when other people of any orientation take a look at the situation and are like "that's not all there is". I truly appreciate it.

[utilitycaster]

Someone needs to fight back by drawing Imogen with sharp angle+narrow frame glasses that sit just on the end of her nose so she looks down through them, and they make her seem distant and haughty about everything.

Ok so anon I know this is you joking (and while personally I'm like let's just not do the glasses*, I agree that angular art styles for Imogen are really good and love to see them), but like...frankly, I'm in a hotel for the night for work and have very little going on so I just want to talk about Imogen! I think she has a somewhat elusive personality, especially compared to Laura's past two characters, both of whom were pretty extroverted and I think the fanon is simply so wildly different from reality that despite her central role she at times feels like an unknown quantity.

Imogen is not sweet and retiring. She's not terribly haughty; but she's definitely a little sharp, even from the start. She's frustrated with the administrator at the Starpoint Academy despite asking for what is essentially a significant favor, and doesn't attempt to hide it - and that's in episode 1. The fanon idea of Imogen didn't even get past the half-hour mark of the first episode of the campaign before zoning out, briefly coming to at the word "headache" because the sickfic fodder alarm went off or something, but Imogen is prickly and possessive of a certain ruthlessness from quite early on. Nor is she the innocent - her first thought to cover up the noise in the hotel room is to grab Dorian and unbutton her shirt. The idea of Laudna being the prickly, worldly one and Imogen the sweet ingenue should have been dead before Bertrand.

I think the best way to describe her though is that she is walled off. There's the figurative but extremely real psychic walls, which she's only recently been able to let down, but in general Imogen just doesn't quite mix into groups. There's always a certain amount of distance that she holds. It's an incredible change from Jester, who was famously the one to bridge gaps, or even Vex, whose post-adventuring career is the most openly political of Vox Machina's. I think Orym's leadership pep talk, while a good thought, fails, because Imogen is comfortable playing the leader in a lie, but ultimately she wants to neither lead nor follow.

Anyway, that's the thing about Imogen: I genuinely do not think she consciously believes herself better than other people, certainly not in an "I'm so awesome" manner; but she does hold herself aloof. She has concrete proof of the terrible thoughts that strangers have and I think does not realize the flaws of her own thought patterns as a result. I don't want to say it's a lack of shame or embarrassment but it certainly feels faintly atrophied. It's like the social contract has been just a bit corrupted. I think I described it before as that she sees hypocrisy as "not honestly saying what you're thinking to your allies" rather than being about a discrepancy of word and action. I also wonder if the fact that Imogen spends so much time in people's heads is tied to the fact that it took her until she was 26 and had no other options in order to leave Gelvaan, despite the fact that she wasn't happy there.

I'm really interested to see how it goes because I don't actually see this as a story that can resolve purely because of the power of love and friendship. I suspect Imogen is just starting to realize these things about herself, and I similarly suspect she doesn't really care for them...but I don't think she knows quite how to stop or change nor does she entirely want to.

I think this sense of being caught between so many things - always being the secret third option - is really well demonstrated with her powers. A pretty consistent theme in Critical Role through both Campaign 2 and 3 is regarding the sources of power and their disconnect from any morality - power simply is, the wielder's choices are what matter. Imogen started out wishing to be rid of her abilities, and she's increasingly moving to embrace them, even as she simultaneously has found out that the source of her powers is likely a literal cosmic horror and her mother is much more than a voice in her dreams. It's fascinating to me that the people she tends to be most honest with are the people with the most unknown pasts, and I feel she's moving towards an era of reinventing herself. Which will put that big question of aloofness at the forefront - it is, to be fair, faster to go alone, and easier to reinvent yourself when the people who knew you before aren't around.

Anyway this is a really long way to say "haughty, not really, but she is all angles, in multiple senses of the word."

*tangent here but: I was scrolling the Imogen tag recently and something I noticed that's very telling is that most art of Imogen in glasses (and to be fair a lot of art generally) isn't described, but when it is, the description also almost always leaves out her glasses. Which really puts the kibosh on the idea this was ever about normalizing glasses or uh, any aids for people with visual impairments, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[soliloqueeer]

13 Questions Every Harry Potter Fan Should Be Able To Answer

Question 1: Which house do you belong to?

Ravenclaw. I'm curious, creative and introverted. But I would also be happy in Hufflepuff since I am, at the end of the day, baby.

Question 2: Which Deathly Hallow would you choose?

If I'm being honest with myself probably the stone, to have one final conversation with my mother who recently, and very suddenly, passed away.

If that hadn't happened then I would've chosen the invisibility cloak because I love the idea of not being perceived.

Question 3: Which Character do you have a (not so) secret crush on?

Interesting question. I had to pick someone compliant with their characterization in the books then I'd probably say I'm most attracted to Tonks or Sirius, or the Weasley twins. But if you saw my AO3 history you'd think Tom Riddle.

Question 4: What are your Indepth and controversial thoughts on Severus Snape?

I think that Severus is a very tragic character. He came from poverty, was abused and neglected by his parents. The only person to ever show him kindness was Lily. He was canonically ugly, weird, and had bad hygiene. He was bullied by two classist Gryffindors and craved power and vengence which led him down a dark path. He died a hero who was courageous and self-sacrificing but I don't think she-who-shall-not-be-named wrote a convincing enough redemption story, especially not one in which the hero would give one of his son's Severus's name. He was still a wholly miserable person who was stuck in the past and verbally abused the child of his former nemesis for six years.

My controversial thoughts surrounding Snape was that he was first and foremost a genius - a potions prodigy who literally crafted his own spells as a teenager.

There was an unequal power dynamic between Severus and the Marauders. He was a dirt poor half-blood and they were rich purebloods. There was never any equal footing between them and as much as he participated in the feud, it was always in retaliation to their cruelty. (I can say this without bashing Sirius and James as all people contain multitudes).

I also don't believe Severus was a bigot. I think there's a good chance he hated muggles, as a result of the abuse from his father, but I he was too smart to buy into the idea of blood supremacy when he, a half-blood, was smarter than most of his pureblood peers. And when Lily, a muggleborn, was at the top of their class.

One of the more controversial headcanons I have is that Severus was recruited into becoming a Deatheater, not because he believed in their agenda but because he was allured by the promise of power, influence and vengeance. I believe he probably moved up high in the ranks after graduating Hogwarts because he was cunning, ambitious, and committed to proving himself and gaining Voldemort's respect. I also believe during his time as a Deatheater he most likely had to commit horrible acts of violence and cruelty, and that while Severus does have a sadistic streak (one that gives him the allusion of power), he does not wish suffering upon innocent people. He probably dealt with these peforming these acts by compartmentalizing his responsibiltiies as a Deatheater and using occlumancy.

One final thing I want to add is that I don't think Severus was obsessed with Lily in a 4Chan, incel sort of way (in fact, he kind of gives off ace vibes). In my opinion, Lily was the only person to ever give him love, kindness and compassion, and while he was in love with her, he was above all else, completely wracked with guilt over being responsible for telling Voldemort about the prophecy. He agrees to protect Harry because he feels indebted to her until the day he dies.

Question 5: Who, In your Opinion, Is more evil: Voldemort or Dolores Umbridge.

What a funny question. The first thing that comes to mind for me is Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump and the discourse in 2015-17 about which politician was worse. Voldemort (like Trump) is honest about who is is and what he stands for (self-interest and accumulating power). Alternatively Umbridge (like Clinton) tries to create the perception that she is good and righteous.

Umbridge represents the banaltiy of evil. She's sadistic and abusive, even towards children -all while wearing a polite smile on her face. She has the same vibe as a Catholic nun who abuses people in the name of god, and for Umbridge it was about the rule of law.

However, Voldemort's evil can't even be measured on the same scale. He's a meglomaniac eugenicst willing to purge the world of things he deems inferior to him. He was inspired by dictators like Hitler and Stalin.

It's far easier to hate Umbridge because she's not honest about who she is, and we've met a figure of authority who's exactly like her. Voldemort by all accounts and purposes, was far more powerful, influential and destructive, but too grandiose to relate to.

Question 6: Which death in the series is the most heartbreaking?

Sirius, Fred, Remus, but especially Fred. It was cruel to take him away from George. I think it would've been more satisfying if Percy, as a way to redeem himself to his family, sacrificed himself to save his brother during the Battle of Hogwarts.

Question 7: What Quidditch position would you play?

I wouldn't. I'd probably be in the stands or take advantage of the school being empty and fuck around in the empty castle all day.

Question 8: What Wizarding Career would you pursue?

Probably a teacher or academic/Unspeakable as I love research. That or someone who paints the magical portraits.

Question 9: Which book in the series is you favourite?

PoA was always my favourite as a kid because I really loved Lupin's character, and hearing about the Marauders. The time-turner plot gives me an eyeroll now but the climax is still one of the most thrilling to me. We also got a taste of Powerful Harry, which actually never came to fruition, but I really loved the idea that Harry was a very exceptional wizard who was coming into his powers and not just an every-man character.

Question 10: Who should have ended up together? Hermione/Ron or Hermione/Harry?

Hermione/Harry if it was developed earlier on. The author explained that Ron/Hermione was something she pigeonholed herself into in the first two books but later regretted it. I think canonically, Harry and Hermione are like siblings, but if their relationship was developed after PoA then it would've been really satisfying to see.

Question 11: Have you read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child?

No. Never will.

Question 12: Was Dumbledore a Hero or a Villain?

A hero. His plan worked in the end, as convoluted it may have been. I don't see Dumbledore as an all-good Santa-Claus-Grandpa character like his die-hard fans do, but I also don't see him as a chess-player villian twirling his moustache from the shadows.

I used to really hate Dumbledore because of how secretive he was. It was absolutely insane for him to have put Harry on that wild goose chase with such little information and it was a miracle they won the war at all.

At the end of the day, I think he was a man that feared having too much power due to the mistakes he made in his youth when he was hungry for it. He influenced things from the sidelines because he knew he was imperfect. He made mistakes all the time, and owned up to them, and if he was all-powerful those mistakes would have much graver consequences.

He loved Harry, in the end, and did not want to see him in that mess, but had the pressure of saving the world on his shoulders.

Question 13: Who is the real Hero of the Story? Harry Potter or Neville Longbottom?

Seems like a redundant question to me, but perhaps there's discourse around it I'm not aware of.

Harry is. But he doesn't carry that tile alone.

[liljakonvalj]

I watched Disney's Robin Hood tonight, and here are some of my highlights:

This movie is so FUN. Even as an adult who has seen this movie so many times I laugh out loud multiple times when watching it

Prince John being fooled by The cross-dressing Robin Hood and little John because he cannot fathom the idea of Female robbers

Everything about their heist is fun- but especially kissing away the ring jewels, the entire conversation between Robin and prince John, Prince John's reflection in the ball, sir Hiss being stuck in a basket and the thieves colliding when running out with their bounty

We're really shown how wicked the sheriff is, stealing coins out of the cast of a cripple, the birthday gift from a kid and a beggar

Robin is very good with kids and gives the birthday boy a bow, arrow and even his own hat

Turns out both Marian and her Lady in waiting Kluck are also terrific with children and their little playing with the children is absolutely adorable

Marian having a wanted poster of her beloved in her room is so funny to me, I cannot get over it.

Robin being a horrible cook because he is thinking about his lady love 😍

The cartwheels he does when he hears that the winner of the archery competition will get a kiss from lady Marian!❤❤👌

Also he has zero chill during the competition. Someone with brain cells might think that he should mess up a couple of the shots to be more inconspicuous, but not him.

Cleaving the sheriff's arrow with his own is a Legendary TM moment though

The little turtle cheering for his dad was adorable. I really enjoyed the looks of all the contestants too!

Robin and Marian's love confessions when he's been found out 😭

Little John is literally saving the day multiple times during the aftermath of the contest while wearing a crop top. Also him just vibing with the prince, or "PJ", is a testament to his acting skills.

After the fight breaks out Robin and Marin agree to marry, where to go for their honeymoon and discuss their future number of children (robin:"We'll have six children". Marian: "no, a dozen at least") They both have zero chill and are so hot for each other, it would be sickening if i didn't love it so much

Lady Kluck literally being Player of the Game during the fight, every single thing she does is a win

The entire fighting sequence is a joy from start to finnish

The song "Love" while Robin and Marian just walk around in the forrest talking and being well ... in love 😭😍❤

The scene with the warerlillies, fireflies and the flower-ring while they gaze into each others eyes is the textbook definition of Romance

Much of the animation in A Phoney king of England is borrowed from earlier movies, but I like the little game I make of trying to remember wich animations are from which movie

I also like Friar Tuck's little theatre setup and Robin using his bow as a, well, bow when playing the violin

The song becoming such a hit in the town that Prince John raises the taxes even more, resulting in several people being put in jail (The jail part is not a favourite but the song being a hit is)

Friar Tuck absolutely losing it when the sheriff steals from the box for the Poor in his church.👏👏

The double take Robin does when he hears his friend is to be hanged on the morrow, first out of character then in character as the beggar.

(In the swedish version Trigger, who is suspicious of the beggar remarks that "han har en räv bakom örat" lit. trans ="he has a fox behind his ear" which means that he is up to something. I thought it was a fun pun considering Robin is a fox)

I view the whole breaking into the castle sequence each Christmas (as is tradition) but I always forget how much from the movie they cut out of the Christmas show

(The whole sequence with Robin masquerading as Nutsy, John freeing the prisoners and about half the fight/flight when they escape is cut from the Christmas show)

Trigger being unable to properly secure his crossbow is a great running gag. He calls his crossbow "gamla Bettan" in Swedish- probably translated: "Old Betsy". I wonder what he calls it in other languages?

And each time I watch I lament that Robin gets too greedy, just leave that last money sack that the prince is cradling in his arms!!

Robin (and little John) turning around to fetch the little bunny is so in character and kinda heartbreaking because Robin almost dies

Robin is really fearing for his life - especially in the burning tower

Robin's face after his escape and Skippy claims that he could've swum double the distance

Was the ending rushed? Yes. Do I care? No.

[dojae-huh]

Hello! Just want to say again that I'm glad I found your blog, your down-to-earth commentary, especially about the business side of it all, is very much appreciated :)

Hi. Thank you for letting me know, I'm glad you find some more down to earth posts useful. In part, I run this blog to offer an alternative in fandom experience.

Thing is, we, as k-pop fans and as people who don't work in showbusiness or South Korea, don't have enough knowledge, experience or inside information to have a strong educated opinion on most of things when it comes to idol companies and their executives. We can have opinions as customers - I like this music, this promotional strategy works on me, these outfits are ugly, this concept rocks -, but not as business analytics. Especially considering how much media play, false information and difference in cultures we face.

However, nowadays everyone has the illusion that they know better, that their opinion and feelings are valid when it comes to any topic. And spread and defend their opinion like it is the ultimate truth.

I've recently come across a twit starting with "it appears that" and ending with "for sure". In a span of a few sentences the fan offered an imaginary scenario and finished with a "this is truth". Of course to "prove" that SM is evil, heh. Such baseless statements easily play on fans' love for their biases, evoke an emotional response, call to arms, they give an answer to "Who is to blame?!", provide a target for unleashing frustration and anger.

When one solo-stan blames our bias, we can call bullshit because we know how things really are. When a fan blames Chris Lee or SM, other fans are ready to accept the words as believeable. Either because they share the sentiment, or have no own opinion on the matter, so any will do. If everyone around says the same thing, it should be true, afterall? That's how our brains are wired: follow the majority, agree with the tribe, mirror everyone's current emotion.

We can't see the inner works and we don't know the inner rules, but we can see the results of labour and sometimes a reflection of things.

When I came to k-pop, I knew SM as the company that overworks its artists, has lawsuits with them, is super strict. Broken in two halves TVXQ and EXO with half of its members gone weren't a good representation. So when I started to get to know NCT better, I started to wonder if I was lied to or that something had changed in SM (the latter). Neos were taught how to songwrite, SM persisted with good quality music for NCT despite the group not taking off right away, artists not looking slavelike, there was SMstation and interesting projects.

Sure, I can observe bad work: poorly prepared concerts (Link), constant failures with album production (omitting Doyoung's name, boring designs for 127), tasteless stylists, etc. However, I also see good work: artists flying first/business class and living in 5 star hotels, being given opportunity to go to the beach, museums, to enjoy sightseeing in new countries; opportunity to explore one's creativity (soundcloud, NCTLabs, solo performances for Link); SM giving artists second professions (MC, variety host, model) that will aid professional longevity (Doyoung hasn't finished school and doesn't have a degree, but I'm not worried for him, even if SM collapses, he'll always find a job. Same for Taeyong, he came as a blank page, now he is a songwriter and a producer, he can even become a choreographer); neos progressively being given more choice and say, their opinion being consulted and their ideas being implemented once they gain enough experience (Golden Dust story, Taeyong making his own setlist for his concert, Doyoung saying Unity should not have solo-stages, Ten choosing the mood and genre for his solo, etc).

Most importantly, I can see many friendships between neos and producers/managers, and that Haechan and Doyoung, who experienced all of SM's downsides personally and not once, continue to like the company. Meaning, the good should outweight the bad. At least for now.

Fans learnt the name of Chris Lee and continue to blame him for everything to this day, although he doesn't own any shares in SM and has stopped being a CEO a year ago. He is a token scapegoat.

Should I blindly trust fans or should I go read Wikipedia, interviews and listen to the guy himself? In situations like these I always choose the latter.

Sure, I can't tell if he evades taxes or participates in shady business, and what neos think of him (aside from Doyoung calling him "hyung" in public and not being afraid of getting punished for it), but I can see he was the person who overlooked all the early NCT songs (we have "Limitless", "Cherry bomb" thanks to him); created SMStation and SMClassics (say thank you for "Try again", "Star blossom"); found Dem Jointz ("Kick it", "Punch", "Sticker") and multiple other songwriters who now work for SM; brought to Korea the idea of songwriting camps, in which Kun participates nowadays and where he befriends foreign creators; invested SM money into a publishing company (and not a winery or a hotel business), which means SM artists will be secured to have a lot of songs to choose from in the future, and Korean young producers will have access to the global market. He has been with SM close to 20 years, and he is evidently a music nerd, ergo he understands artists and their love for music. So why should I hate him? I have no proof of him taking money away from neos, but I have evidence he was very essential to formation of NCT and the quality of SM sound being maintained. On the contrary, I'm inclined to suspect the quality of albums (song setlist, production) is raising again because he is back to supervising A&R in SM.

[m00nbunny1]

Just finished your tarot reading! Here's the results!

Question: What will m00nbunny1's future job be like?

I got the fool, the star, and death upside down!

THE FOOL:

The fool usually means to take chances. When upright, it is a positive sign that new beginnings are coming, and anything that you are unsure or doubting you should do, like a new project or buying a new house, you should do it!

However, the fool upside down is a warning to reevaluate your motivations, inner guidance, and intentions. You can interpret this anyway you want, but for me, I feel like you not staying true to your heart. Maybe you want to do a specific job or career, and your parent don't align with it. Even if your parents don't like your career or job, go for it, because the job that your parents want is not ideal for you.

THE STAR:

The star usually represents hope and positivity. When upright, it means to walk with your head up high if your feeling down or depressed, because it can only get better from here!

However, the star upside down is a sign that you need to reconnect. Your job is most likely something that you tired to do already, but lost trust because (1) it didn't bring enough money, or (2) you gave up your dream job because someone else you know didn't agree to it. This is a sign you jump back on that career and start over again!

THE DEVIL:

The devil usually means that you have a lust for money and sexual pleasures. Upright, it is a negative card, and it's a sign to change your morals and align with God.

However, the devil downright is a positive sign. In this case, you need to get rid of or confront negative relationships that are trying to control your future career, and start looking into yourself. Ask yourself, "do I really want this job?", or "why do I want this job?" It's a sign not to give two shits about what other people say and jump on the ball wagon to ride through your career path!

ANALYSIS:

Essentially, the cards say that your desired job is one you wanted in the past, or a career path that you started walking down on that someone negative in your life influenced you to get out of. Based off the first reading hat negative person in you life took you out of that spefix career path, because money wasn't pouring in. This is your sign to leave the relationship or confront that negative person, ask yourself if you really want this job and why, and continue on your career path.

Based off this reading, you seem to be a people pleaser. I advice you to learn how to tell people NO, especially if this person is not giving you constructive criticism and is pinning you down. Remember, this is YOUR career path. If something goes wrong, you can always walk down another one. Take care of yourself! 💗

-divine half angel

Huh, that's pretty interesting... Thanks for the reading Rena, and I'll be sure to keep this in mind! 👍

[lilac-udon]

Alien stage thoughts

I saw many hate round 7, the plot is logically this result is understandable and very valid, however it’s not a good aftertaste for the audience . I guess I give some critique? I did make a post about the story, logically I think till should die. the story always seems interesting to me because I feel it’s not standard, not taking usual paths. for me I think it’s cool too see creative goes to places ppl never goes before and explore more unusual none traditional plots , which I think that’s why round 6 is big, usually no one will write it like that. ( ivan a side character being this devoted and etc) However I also did consider if this is a writer flaw . story wise round 7 is confusing and depressing . how I see my love for ivan because he is the most in depth character, simple straight forward of lover boy angst over his love. he’s story is full, refined, understandable. I said this also led characters unbalanced of sua, , till and mizi who especially is the mc is out of focus, and results many cheering for till who ivan put his effort on that the audience can attach their feelings to . What I was expecting was more story of till however we doesn’t get it( and logically we shouldn’t bc he isn’t the mc), it make till felt hollow. They really put too much insight for ivan where luka till mizi etc all just glanced through their activities. Another problem of alst , they always add more explanation and info out of the video which sua and ivan is actually quite different from only viewing the mvs. Paid content and post to explain the motive that you completely can not get from videos, however ivan gets a lot in his videos time. Was too hype for till to be a complex character but he met his end before anything. I can only see them all alive in some ways to save this part for the explanation.

so I was looking at others criticism and I do agree about some, mostly about the ship, like it’s logical what had happened , but viewing ppl opinions I do agree, the series was heavily depending on selling their official ship, and their mismatch pairing of the final give viewers bad taste ,confusion and mostly sadness, the lack of mizi internal really made till became the main character everyone voting for … the ambiguity of timeline. So yeah the video is short and you can’t put all the information you want to say. I do see this happening however it just sad, my worries is they make them all alive but that really hurts the writing a little, viv always like to be sad, is my joy to read and see people idea after round 6, now everyone is dead ah , also joke on u I love my ship dead :) I’m just concerned about the story continuity

half way in the story??? And half of them is dead????????

Oh there’s one thing I dislike about… the art book gives us what the author explained of what is what… ugh

Add I’m gonna add here so no one see at first sight, it a joke I love them: till has such a miserable life, abuse, and harass two time before death

But the overall video is hype I love it but the story just a bit sad, but for till that pretty nice too I guess, he can finally leave this horrible world

[dreamingbrownie]

Rewrite your stories until they tell you the truth.

This quote from Cornelia Funke in a Zoom Q&A I had the honour to be part of last January has genuinely changed the way I write. For those of you outside the German-speaking countries; Cornelia Funke is one of Germany's most popular teenage- and young adult novel authors, her bibliography at this point eclipses that of some history professors of mine, and her books are what got me into writing 15 years ago. I'm 26 now, so like many of us in fandom spaces, I started very young, got around a lot on the internet, and had my fair share of creator burnout over the years. I also have ADHD, unmedicated for a lot of reasons I won't get into here, so the wip curse is strong in me. I currently have three big longfic wips in three different fandoms - Yuri on Ice, Fantastic Beasts and Merlin BBC - all of which are just lacking the ending. I have worked on all of those for more than a year and a half now. Up until a few days ago, I felt like What few still understand, my House of the Dragon Long Night do-over, would become one of them.

Being on tumblr for something upwards of eight years now (and having created a tumblr account for the sole reason to keep up with the Sherlock BBC Season 4 speculations ahead of the disastrous launch), I have seen a variation on the "we are authors, not creators, for fuck's sake stop capitalizing fandom" post every other week on here for years now. And as wholeheartedly as I agree with that statement, somehow I failed to internalize it. To make it true for myself, for my works, the time and effort I put into them. I don't know if university has made me a chronic perfectionist or the rejection sensitivity aspect of ADHD, either way, I have a high standard for my own work inside and outside of fandom, which isn't a bad thing persé but lately i have found myself dissatisfied with my works as I was writing them. Coming back to them a couple days afterwards usually shows me what sections really do work and what needs editing.

"Re-write your stories until they tell you the truth" - I was never a fan of thinking of a story as a first draft, as the sand you just build your castle out of the second or even third go-around. Writing long fanfictions takes enough time as is, and living with chronic pain especially in my arms, I probably should be writing less than I already am. But this time, with What few still understand, I really tried to follow that advice from one of the authors I admire most in the world: Why does this conversation between three characters feel off? Why do I keep working on it in the back of my head like nagging a loose tooth on the way to work, why does this scene feel wrong days after I have written it? Why did I keep procrastinating the finale? (Because I hate writing battles. That's why.) Now, recently I have been reading everything dear Cecil (@softest-punk) over in the Sandman fandom puts out, and one thing they said a while ago also really stuck with me: Fanfiction isn't the published book world (thank the stars), so we're all just playing doll together. We can have our cake and eat it too. And somehow, this clashes with my perfectionism despite that it resonates with me so much.

So, lately I have been trying to find the golden middle for myself. At which point am I satisfied enough with my writing that I can publish it online and be okay with the result, and what does it take to get to that point without obsessing over the details? How do I get rid of the demon of doubt on my shoulder making the pain worse because I spent too many hours on my laptop pouring over the Targaryen family dynamics in this fix-it world I accidentally created? Let's leave aside this volatile fandom making my anxiety over publishing worse; what I am hoping to achieve is to brighten some people's day. If I am yanking on their heartstrings in the process, promise there's always a happy ending waiting at the end of my stories. I just have to find that happy ending to my own creation process, and that is going to take time, I suppose.

[emblazons]

Listen I like Duffers and I don't doubt that they are successful writers, but I have to be honest here that some of the writing choices they made were poor. Like I get the 'reason' behind them, to an extent, but if those overall writing choices resulted in poor takes and when pretty much more than half of your audience doesn't get the message? I think it kinda shows that the message was not delivered well.

Like people still thinking to this day that Will was being childish for wanting to play DND and that he should just grow up...? The message clearly wasn't delivered lmao. And I get that you can say the audience ''doesn't get it'', but isn't part of the writing making the audience get that, to portray your narrative so it tracks with the show. It's not always the audience's fault. Ofc the majority of the audience is not going to think Will is an important character when he receives the least screentime/focus each season and he's painfully sidelined in the narrative, this also is connected to LGBT characters and narratives on the show because they're given minimum care at best and that's also partly why people think Byler won't become canon. These are all connected and I just wish we can criticize them more because it ultimately put a hindrance on the narrative, ultimately. Yeah, they are still fixable to an extent and the writing in S5 can make up for it, but there is also the issue that these takes would not have been there in the first place if the buildup/narrative writing was different.

I mean I can agree with you to a point, but…I feel like I won’t be able to say “you did a bad job because the audience doesn’t understand” or even “you could have done xyz better” until the story is finished, and it’s because they’ve literally told you up front that it isn’t done—and with this show, recontextualization is key.

I think the real problem isn’t that people don’t understand, or aren’t capable of understanding—it’s that they are under the impression that the seasons stand alone, and that the duffers aren’t leading to a specific point. When you look at stranger things as a series of independent seasons—seasons they made up as they went, just exploring the characters and finding a random monster, as most people believe the show is—it’s easy to misunderstand intent, believe a character has been sidelined, and that “they don’t know what they’re doing…” because it’s not interconnected.

I can't say I agree that they "should have done it better" because a lot of the audience didn't catch it either, because in truth a lot (and I do mean a LOT) of even this nebulous "GA" people talk about did—down to my 60 year old relatives, who saw clearly what was happening with mlvn v byler and didn't bat an eye at it, because it's actually not even remotely subtle...unless you insist on looking at things through a heteronormative or even homophobic lens. Not to mention (when it comes to the DnD point) lot of people don't agree that "you should take your nerdiest interests into adulthood" as a message is true in real life—which is why I'm not surprised they missed the point they're leading to in the show lmao.

Still, to your point about "the writing choices being poor," I don't agree—not yet, and especially not about why they 'sidelined' Will or the leadup to byler, given the build-up to byler is literally the same exact sort of build up they've done for "Henry/One/Vecna" being The Main Villain—something that there have been hints of across seasons, that came to a clear !!!! moment of question in S4, and will be finished in S5. People were smart enough to back-connect how the Demogorgon and MindFlayer could fit into that storyline (and even some of its foreshadowing) despite us not yet being done with the show...and no one bats an eye at it despite it being just as subtle as byler because it wasn't challenging their heteronormative or "everybody needs to grow up & out of their 'childish' interests" value system in any way.

In my opinion, Byler's writing being just as subtle as their other plots is a feature and asset, not a loss solely because people don't see it (especially given that they do—literally not one soul I've met whose seen Stranger Things isn't aware there's at least something happening in "The Byler Corner" even without a single moment spent in this fandom). The problem isn't the writing's subtlety, but rather that people don't want to acknowledge the upending of classic expectations for nerds winning over "adulting" as much as they don't want to see the clear build up of a queer relationship over the heterosexual one, which means they're going to try to interpret the events of the show through a value system entirely different than The Duffers...solely because the show is popular.

Essentially: Most of the "the audience is missing the point" comes from a value system difference, not a skill one on the part of The Duffers...which goes back to that whole "Stranger Things was made for a specific audience and expanded past that" thing I've talked about a million times over now. If you like your shows more blatant, I'm sure that would be irritating—but for someone like me, that's almost the entire appeal.

I can accept and fully agree with criticism that maybe The Duffers took a deep dive transition with S3 that was rather dramatic given the previous tone of the show. That's just a fact, and the tone change really did put people off of understanding what their primary themes were hard enough that S5 will require some really blatant and potentially heavy-handed "smack you over the head" moments to make its point. That's probably why they say they regret indulging fan service and maybe even giving "The Netflix Look" to their show, even—and why they say they're not doing that for the final season. That, to me, is a very valid criticism.

That said...I would rather have a chance to dig and think about my media here than have something that just tells me everything I need to know to get the point on first viewing, or that didn't require me revisiting it to understand the point it was trying to make. To me, that's boring, weak storytelling, even if it makes sense to "the majority" of the audience...and I'm almost positive the Duffers would view it the same way. 🤷🏽‍♀️

Thanks for the ask!

[away-ward]

About the DN series, I would've loved a bit more diversity (like between the girls), and especially with Emory (like she would've been another race, another religion...) the drive between Will and her would've been more significant, so more angst and her being way more different than everyone else at Thunderbay Prep (or in the whole town in general). High school Emory mentions that she felt really different because the school or town was full of WASPs (white Anglo-Saxon Protestants), so she was a minority. The only times POC were mentioned were in Killswitch (the young black escort) and in conclave (the Asian lady that Alex was taking nude pictures of), which was only about sex work (nothing wrong with sex workers, but as a POC I felt weird undertones about it). I know Kai is a POC (half-Japanese), but it doesn't really feel like it, it was just giving diversity hire.

I also found Rika and Winter really bland. In the sense that they're both blonde, white girls with blue eyes, wealthy, privileged sure they have their traumas, I actually sympathize with Winter more, since she's blind and all. But with Rika, when she becomes Ms ninja, swords and knives, he didn't feel authentic, I just think PD wanted a heroine that they could live through, but chose the wrong girl to do that.

Also, I would have loved it if Damon ended up with a girl as intense as him. I appreciate Winter's character being soft and strong when needed, but she lacked intensity.

Also, is it just me, or does Michael doesn't really have a personality, one that screams him. Kai should have been the leader, it makes more sense.

I would really like your opinions on this and love your WillEmmy fanfictions

(sorry if there are any mistakes, English is not my first language)

You’re English is wonderful; probably better than mine! Please don’t apologize.

So, first, I want to say that I agree with you. I have wished and thought that there should have been more diversity in the books. Whether it would have made sense for the part of the US it’s set in (small town in New England) or not, it’s a work of fiction and including more POC is a choice. There was no reason not to in this case.

Second, I want to say that PD’s choices seem to be… on the safe side. I think they wanted to include POC but, and speaking only from my experience as a white person who writes on occasion, there’s a very real fear of getting it wrong. From personal experience, even having a wide variety of friends that have backgrounds and heritages from across the globe that I am free to consult at any time, I still have a fear that I’ll give it my best effort and still get it wrong, even for a minor character much less a main one. The added pressure of publishing to a wide audience would be enough to make me hesitate and pull back some. The thinking is people will get mad if I don’t include POC characters, but people will also get mad if I don’t portray them accurately. It takes a certain skill level, and honestly, some authors and writers just aren’t there yet. I’m not saying this is what happened with PD. I just don’t know. But I wouldn’t be surprised if it was. All that considered, the result tends to be POC characters that are a bland and neutral and don’t feel like authentic POC.  PD is always going to put sex-positivity first because that seems to be something they’re comfortable with, and it seems to be for them a safe way to include any minor character, POC or not.

Again, not an excuse but a possible reason. I haven’t contributed any negative motives to PD on that area, taking from my own experiences with writing. Then again, I’m not a person of color, so maybe it’s not for me to say.

All of the girls felt very similar. Two blonde, two brunette. PD tried; Rika is technically South African; Banks is half-Russian; Emory is at least a quarter Jewish, possibly half. But it didn’t feel like any of it affected their characters. At least, I wasn’t sensitive enough to it, and that could just be me. Though it sounds like it felt that way for others as well…

As for Emory, she is a minority but with her being agnostic or only taking part in certain traditions, it doesn’t feel as important to her or the reader. Though, that is a very real identity that people have, being Jewish culturally or ethnically but not religiously, so I don’t want to pick on that. I have found myself wondering how deep it goes for her. Like would she get a tattoo? Will is obviously very into them, so would she get one as well? Even a little one? Where are her boundaries? We just don’t know, because she never talked about it really.

I think I would have liked to see Kai struggle a bit more with his cultural backgrounds, but he seemed to struggle more with his class. As he mentioned, his father was poor growing up and his mother was wealthy but knew how to manage money. He seemed to take it all for granted. Somehow, through all of that, he was in touch with his father’s Japanese side and his mother’s Italian side fairly well, which felt odd to me. I would have thought that taking his wealth for granted would have transferred to other parts of his life, such as his heritage. I would have thought he’d try to be more American TM, like his friends. But in the narrative, I don’t remember him fighting with it all that much. I think he probably did struggle a bit to balance them, we just didn’t see it on the page, which is sad.

Honestly, the one I felt was the weirdest was Aydin, a Middle Eastern man, becoming so completely obsessed that he derailed his entire life for what I considered to be an average white American woman. Like? I mean, don’t get me wrong; Alex was obviously gorgeous. But… So are a lot of people. And Alex was obviously confident and appeared to him to be smart. But so are a lot of people. This was a man who was going to be a doctor, but was sidetracked by a 19 year-old white girl?

I guess it’s just one of those ���you had to be there’  kinda things. TBH, a lot of the romances in this series relied on what feels like an insta-connection that is quickly approaching insta-love. Not saying it doesn’t happen in real life. Just saying it happened a lot here in this series.

Maybe that’s partly why Will and Emmy felt different. At least he had three years of watching and obsessing over her before we got to the start of the story, and even then, she was still resistant and in denial of the connection, unlike the other girls. That made a bit more sense to me.

At times Rika did feel like a self-insert for PD wish fulfillment, but I’m not going to begrudge them for that. We all do it. If they put a lot of themselves into Rika – thinking Corrupt was going to be a stand-alone – then they probably weren’t thinking about where the character was going to go in the long run. At least that is where I place the blame for the progressive weakening of Rika’s character. She really wasn’t meant for more than one book.

Same with Michael. After Corrupt, his personality tends to disappear too. It’s not just you; a lot of readers say that I think.

I will say, if I were to make any changes, I would keep him as a leader but show more of his strategic side. To be a team captain, he’d have to have some sort of mind towards that. And in Hideaway, we see him seeking out Banks’ guidance because he knows he needs to improve in this area and has identified her as someone with the same skill (sidenote: which, oh my god! Why are you seeking out Banks’s guidance? She doesn’t like you! Just dumb.). I would keep him as leader and keep Kai as his second but give Kai more opportunity to display the wisdom he’s supposed to have from his father. That way, he can act as the team’s heart. This isn’t to say that I think Kai’s unintelligent; it’s just a different kind of intelligence. Kai would have to have the skills to follow Michael’s thinking, act on it, but also know when he’s going too far. In some ways, he need to be smarter, both mentally and emotionally, than Michael. I think Kai is to start with, so that’s a good building block. It just also think there was more that could have been done there. These two are supposed to complement each other, work in tandem. I really would have focused on showing that. And even if it was weakened by Kai going to prison, I would have tried so show that too. I’m not sure if I could have executed it any better than PD, but that’s what I would have focused on as far as Michael.

Oof Damon and Winter. I agree with you. I liked that Winter was soft at times, because Damon needed someone that contrasted his own hardened shell, but I kept waiting for that moment where I understood what he saw in her other than her softness. I kept waiting for that moment she showed me she was something different, but it never came for me. So she bit him once and showed him that pain can be redirected? And that’s why he’s obsessed? I didn’t get it. I didn’t see anything else for him to latch on to, other than her being a pretty dancer. But maybe I’m missing something; other people seem to get it. I’m still not sure what she “brings to the table”, so to speak. For me, Winter is still… loading??? Buffering? Processing? If any of those make sense. Idk anymore.

Thank you for your love of the willemmy fics. I appreciate it. Always happy to share the joy.

Thanks for the ask. It’s an interesting topic I haven’t been able to get into before, not being sure how to approach it. I’d be interested to know what other’s thoughts are of the diversity, or lack thereof, in the series. What could have been done better?

[acourtofthought]

Hi! I just saw your ask where you say you don’t see Gwyn + Az as very compatible right now and I agree. Honestly, the reasons I don’t see them together are also why I don’t see him with Elain. Gwyn wasn’t scared of him because a) he killed rapists, not random people on the street, and b) by killing them, he was protecting her and the rest of the people at the temple. She has literally no reason at all to fear him right now. He has been aggressive around her, not toward her.

I don’t know why people believe this means she’ll be fine with him torturing people as part of his job, especially if there’s a chance they’re innocent and can’t actually tell him anything. I don’t think she’ll be scared of him or judge him for having to kill during a war or a fight - she’s literally training to be a warrior. But SJM hasn’t really given us any indicators that she has a darkness in her that will match Azriel even a little bit.

That’s why I saw him with someone much older (I’m talking 200-300 years old) who has seen darkness like that and knows how to manage. I know Gwyn is almost 30, but even Rhys (the most powerful High Lord to ever live), who has known Az since they were kids, says Az scares him sometimes… it’s honestly ridiculous to believe she’ll get to know the real him and not fear him at all, even if they’re mates and she knows he won’t hurt her.

If they’re endgame, I just hope it’s not a book where a young woman has to basically just deal with it and learn to live with someone who scares her or where Azriel loses his edge and becomes a lapdog. His edge is what makes him interesting to me - without that he’s really just a quieter, more boring version of Rhys.

The reason I’m saying this on anon is because some Gwynriels have started moving like Elriels and it’s getting obnoxious. Analysis is fun, but doing all that over a fictional ship… just nah.

This was a very thought provoking ask so thank you for that!

I am sure that Az will resolve some of his main issues, especially his lack of self worth and his anger towards the Illyrians, but he has 500+ years of some heavy baggage. If Nesta wasn't able to do a complete 360 in her novel (because SJM didn't want to make her healing completely unrealistic) than I hope Az doesn't either, becoming some entirely new character by the end of it.

On that, I'm with you, I think Az would be pretty boring if he was suddenly full of light and happiness and retained none of his darkness. People don't really go through went he went through without it resulting in a little madness and I don't think a healing arc can wipe that away completely.

Regardless of finding his Mate, Rhys still plots behind the scenes, deciding the course of action then informing everyone at the last minute. It's the thing that makes him half extremely cunning and calculating and the other half asshole (I say that lovingly) because there's always someone who should have been told beforehand but ended up somewhat screwed over as a result. It's not that it's done selfishly, he really wants to just solve everyone's problems without involving them. And he usually does choose the best course of action to solve those problems but we often see someone who feels he should have told them (Feyre, Mor, Nesta).

So I would hope that Azriel still retains what makes him, him. Because that darkness is fascinating and the fact that he only lets the most powerful High Lord in Prythian's history see that side of him is kind of a big thing. Feyre mentions being a little freaked out by Az, Rhys says Az has scared him, Mor was obviously very shaken by Az's actions with Eris.

So, if SJM keeps him true to character (while still giving him a journey of healing and acceptance), that means his ideal Mate would be someone who could witness the dark depths Az sinks into and not be scared of him. If Rhys, who rules over the Hewn City and has no issues witnessing the torture of their enemies has the occasional moment where he's scared of Az, then really, what female have we met that wouldn't feel that at all? Rhys knows Az would never hurt him yet he still feels that way. To Gwyn, Az is a hero. But what would SF Gwyn think if she were to witness him attacking Eris in a political meeting for no real good reason? What would she think if she saw him sink into those dark depths while strapping someone to a chair and cutting them up for information? Because that's not quite the same thing as slaughtering people who are in the middle of causing you and your loved ones physical harm.

I 100% feel that Gwyn is a match for the lighter parts of Az in a way that no other female has been. Elain would never push him out of his comfort zone while I imagine Gwyn would, she wouldn't be deterred by his first response which is to deflect. Elain isn't competitive in the way Az and Gwyn are so they share something that would make their interactions playful and fun. Elain likes socializing while both Az and Gwyn (while caring for their close friends) do seem very comfortable with solitude. But honestly, the only females that come to mind that would be an amazing match for Azriel's darkness are Manon or Nesta. Probably Manon more but Nesta because she didn't bat an eye over the thought of Az torturing people and she picked up TT and beheaded the King of Hybern after he was already incapacitated and she sort of sunk into a blank state while doing it. That's not someone who shies away from gory revenge 😂

SJM could have written Cassian to be a puppy dog with Nesta the entire series. Where Nesta was constantly biting and he only ever playfully nipped. But she gave Cassian teeth and he bit right back at times. They both said some pretty terrible things to one another because SJM didn't want to create a major imbalance in their relationship. She wanted to show that Cassian was the right male for Nesta because he too could lash out as she could. Yes, Cassian is definitely the softer of the pair but he wasn't just constantly meeting Nesta's harshness with soft words of affirmation and understanding. He had a few asshole moments.

So does it really make sense that if Gwyn is his Mate, she's going to be the plucky, cheerful girl who would never be dark like Az but is his constant cheerleader for all his torture sessions and darkness which scares the other characters at times? Right now Gwyn is a lot like Mor and Elain in terms of her bright optimism. And I'm not saying she should lose that. But, if Mor and Elain aren't good matches for Azriel's darkness than what about Gwyn will be? This bright, curious, playful, sweet, female who has hope of a better and braver world for herself. Is SJM going to have her meet Azriel halfway for the place he at times sinks too? Or should Az only ever be destined to have a female who is willing to accept that side of him but doesn't really understand it because she would never tie someone down and exact a slow revenge while they're defenseless (which is not the same as killing the enemy in battle)?

I do think Gwyn is the right kind of female for who Az will be 60-70% of the time and I haven't seen that from anyone else (in terms of how the characters have developed through SF). But I think some in the fandom (on both sides of the ship war) wash away the extreme darkness SJM has told us he has and I've yet to see any real contenders in the series who could match that side of him. Not just accept it, but at times feels that darkness and rage too.

[spaceorphan18]

Sorry if this is presumptuous, but have you considered finding a new job? This one is impacting your mental health in a really negative way and it doesn't seem to be getting better (at least not long term). Obviously you shouldn't quit, but if I were you, I'd be looking at other options.

Answering under a cut, just because it's personal, and easier to skip this way.

Okay, so I get it, and I do believe you're coming from a good place, Nonny. it's not an easy thing to watch someone you don't know constantly be negative about their life on the internet -- especially when there seem to be better options out there. I remember when I first joined fandom, I followed someone who just downward spiraled into a messy divorce and it was painful to watch and listen to. And you're just screaming -- just change x, y, or z - but it isn't always as simple as that.

Believe it or not - I actually love my job. I love running a bookstore, and it's my ultimate dream to run my own store someday. And being in the position that I'm in is a stepping stone towards being where I want to be. It is a temporary thing -- even if it'll take a few years, but I have to go through this.

My boss is difficult, but she's not the worst -- she's not even the worst boss I've had while working for the company. My anxiety comes more so from having issues in dealing with confrontation, issues with lack of self confidence, and needing to stand up for myself more than it is with her specifically. Are we ever going to be bff? No, we're not. But I will come out on the other end of this being a much better boss myself after learning from her.

I've had anxiety and mental health issues long before I got this promotion. I've had severe social anxiety (and a plethora of trauma resulting) ever since I was a child. I have a hard time navigating social situations no matter what it is.

There's a real possibility that there are other medical things going on. I've been going to the doctor frequently so we can make sure I'm on the right meds. And one thing that I do need to actually do is find a good therapist.

(I do agree -- one should get out of seemingly toxic situations, and probably on the outside, this feels toxic, I'm sure. But there's also a lot of this that's in my head.)

There are other things going on in my life that I'm also not really talking about -- my last grandparent is in the process of dying of cancer, and it's not fun. My brother is still in jail, and I haven't seen my nieces in five years. The world around us seems to be burning to the ground and half of humanity just does not care. It's easier to pile on one thing than get into the complexities of it.

I realize that putting out my issues into a public space seems like a cry for attention or something, but that's not why I do it. honestly. Tumblr has become a kind of safe space to put my thoughts where I can easily access them -- and it is a way to let the small group of people who know me more personally check in. It's honestly kind of therapeutic to write things out because it helps kind of work through what's going on. Also, the reason I put tags on it and put it under a cut is so the average joe follower (or the occasional pornbot who's now invested in the blog, can skip it if they like).

(And I'll reiterate, I do need to find another therapist at some point this year. What's stopping you? Oh, the social anxiety, definitely.)

Also, sometimes taking a nap, eating, taking care of yourself on a fundamental level, cleaning your space, and getting warmth and sunshine are all helpful, too.

Thank you, Nonny, this was rather therapeutic. :)

[sugdenlovesdingle]

Oh My Lord!!! 😳😳🤯 What's going on in your asks!! 🥴 Sending you lots of love and hugs 🤗❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ I wish people would take a raincheck on calling people names especially when they have never met the person!! I genuinely hate it when people use very serious allegations at the drop of a hat. 😔 It is nasty. ❤️❤️

I came here to say thank you for your lovely answer to my ask. I should have responded sooner but I have been moping about the US election results 🙎

First things first, you can't lose hope about Hawley!! 😊 You lose hope, I lose hope and I can't really afford that right now. 😂❤️‍🩹 But yeah, I hear what you said. I am half convinced that the Hawley family has temporarily moved to Brazil so that their kids can grow up on the farm. And Ryan will be traveling to do short gigs. The thing is, I don't mind Robert serving his 14 years (because it was without parole). He could record a few voice notes just like his other voice jobs and then shoot the Robron scenes when he is in England! 🤷 Job done 👍 😊 In fact it suits me better because I always wanted a sl where Aaron is the one who first fights with Robert for sending the papers and then fights for their relationship! I would love such a sl with a stronger Aaron supporting Robert. See! Possibilities 🥸🤡🥸😂

As for Lou/Tommy. I am sorry. It was a classic case of plot! 😔 The breakup genuinely didn't make any sense. I am with Lou on this. If you feel so deeply, give it a shot. The thing is, probably everyone other than Buck and Eddie can see they are in love. So, they remove themselves from the situation before they get hurt. I saw a sketch on TikTok where Buck meets Taylor again and she is surprised to know that Buck didn't realize they were in a Bi-Bi relationship. And when Buck mentions his bf, Taylor casually says- I am glad you finally confessed, you were halfway in love with him. Taylor looks up to see a very confused Buck 😳😂

Yeah it's been A LOT today. I guess everyone was bored and some people were looking for a fight 🤷‍♀️

And hey if I had the money to spend a winter in Brazil living with family - I'd do it too. I just checked the weather for Rio for the next few days and it's 25-30 degrees. I'm not sure where Daisy's family lives but I'd take that weather over miserable cold English winters any day!

But yeah a few voice notes or zoom call videos can work wonders! They could do it back in the pandemic, they can do it now. Surely they can afford to pay him for that!

As for Buck and Eddie... I get that people see their bond as romantic, but to me it's more platonic/familiar. But there's been enough arguments over that already so agree to disagree to keep the peace here 😉 It's funny you mention that tiktok though because I have read a bucktommy fic with basically this plot. I think it was Taylor/Lucy but I could be wrong. But I'm pretty sure it was with one of Buck's exes dating another woman and Buck being a confused puppy about it.

something something we're not so different after all