#fourth circle

[mask131]

Dante’s Hell: Two sides of the same coin

VIII) Fourth Circle: Greed

Upon entering the Fourth Circle, Dante and Virgil are confronted by a being that is alternatively called “Pluto” and “Plutus”. Called “mankind arch-enemy’s”, this entity, called by Virgil the “cursed wolf of Hell”, after frightening the visitors with an ominous sentence, is promptly shut off by Virgil, who reminds him that their journey is ordered by the powers of Heaven themselves, which makes Pluto/Plutus fall onto the ground, vanquished. Dante here reuses another figure of Greco-Roman mythology, or rather two figures conflated into one: Plutus, the Greek god of wealth and riches (it makes sense he would appear in the Circle of Greed), and Pluto, the alternative name for Hades/Dis Pater, the ruler of the underworld and king of the dead in Greek/Roman mythology. This confusion was originally present in the Greco-Roman culture itself:  “Pluto” means “the wealthy one”, “the rich one”, and already the Greeks and the Romans had established that the god of the underworld ruled over both the dead and the underground riches (metals, gemstones, etc…), to the point Plutus himself was sometimes seen as part of the chthonic gods. The fact Virgil’s world so easily break down Plutus/Pluto, as he falls on the ground “like a ship’s sail when the mast breaks”, “deflated, tangled in heap”, shows how this embodiment of wealth, while seemingly grand and frightening, is actually empty and quite weak when confronted with the true powers of good. And more importantly, Pluto/Plutus is given a line that has been a true mystery…

“Pape Satan, pape Satan aleppe”. It is the mysterious sentence that this entity tells to the protagonist as he enters the Fourth Circle of Hell, in a rage-filled tone, to threaten Dante/the Wanderer – and this sentence isn’t written in any actual language or dialect known. Some words can be recognized, such as the name “Satan” repeated twice, but otherwise it is a cryptic mumbo-jumbo, a nonsensical sentence to decipher. Many people have interpreted this sentence without ever agreeing on what it could mean: the most common theory is that this sentence is supposed to be an invocation to Satan, where Plutus invokes the devil himself onto the Fourth Circle, or maybe alerts him of what is going on, possibly invoking him as the “pope”, “emperor” or “god” of Hell.

Unlike the previous circles, here the sinners of Greed are divided into two clear groups, the Prodigal and the Misers, who embody the two aspects of the sin of greed (at least according to Dante). Both groups are cursed into constantly rolling before them enormous, heavy weights, while circling around each other, constantly shouting insults and war-cries at the other group, before finally throwing their weights at each other in a big, thunderous clash. Then each group gains back their weight, rolls out again with more insults and screams, clashes their weights again, and it all repeats forever and ever… Dante throws in a LOT of Greco-Roman references, from the constant rolling of a big boulder/weight as a nod to the legend of Sisyphus, to the clashing of the boulders being described as Charybdis making the waves crash against each other – but here the punishment still fits the contrapasso, because each group is doomed to constantly exhaust themselves by pushing aimlessly a huge, heavy rock that represents the material wealth and the earthly riches they grew so fond and attached to in their life. Of course, there is also a morbid irony in the fact that these two groups are locked into an eternal hatred, each one accusing the other of being the sinner, the vicious, the criminal, while no one realizes they are both in the wrong, due to the embodying the two extremes of greed: the Misers hoarded their wealth for the sake of owning and being rich, selfishly keeping all for themselves in a pure act of avarice, while the Prodigal expressed the reverse excessive love for money and goods, by spending their existence wasting their riches and squandering their belongings instead of putting them to good use. But both are now in Hell two undistinguishable groups in both body and action – only the specifics of the insults they throw at each other can allow to differentiate them. Or little proverbial details – for example the Hoarders have tight fists (showing their inability to lend a hand and their tight hold over their money), while the Squanderers have no hair (because an old Italian proverb says that prodigal will “spend even the hairs on their heads”).

IX) The Fifth Circle: The Styx

It is quite interesting that the second of the rivers of Hell, the Styx (also taken from Greek mythology) actually overlaps with the Fifth Circle of Hell. Indeed the Styx/Fourth Circle here is a sort of swamp, a marsh created by a spring of dark waters “boiling and overflowing” into a ditch, and drowning gray slopes until they turned into the great “slimy pond” that is this circle.

The Fifth Circle is often called the Circle of Wrath, because the main group of sinners here are those that allowed their life to be dominated and burned up by anger – now they forever wander in the swamp of the Styx, naked and muddy, their faces distorted by rage. In a constant state of wrath, they constantly fight each other with their bare arms, heads, feet (and even teeth), into violent muddy and swampy battles where they end up tearing the limbs of each other, without ever resting.

But there is a second group of sinners in the Fifth Circle… Sinners that are not wandering through the marsh, but rather sitting at the bottom of the slimy water, waiting in the black muck at the bottom of the Styx, constantly sighing and making bubbles as they only way of proving they exist. Their crime is apparently to have been “sluggish” or “sad” even in the most joyful and happy of days, and to have let “dejected/gloomy/slothful” smokes smolder in their hearts… This second group of sinners, doomed to stay under the surface, in the dark muds forever, is the subject of one of the big debates of the Divine Comedy… Indeed, from the choice of words and the general behavior they show, many read them as being the sinners of Sloth. But not of Sloth as we know it – rather as Sloth was originally… the vice of Acedia. A quick history lesson: “Sloth” in the seven deadly sins is a very recent addition. Or rather Sloth as “not liking work and loving too much rest and comfort” is a modern reinterpretation of the original sin it corresponded to. Originally, the sin of “sloth”, the sin that led one to not put any effort into things, to neglect their duty, to waste their talent, to dislike hard work, was not “sloth” but a thing called “acedia”. Acedia has been described as many way: the vice of despondency, a spiritual sloth, or the precursor to today’s burn-out. Acedia was a spiritual evil, a mix of sadness and boredom that led one to lose any kind of interest and involvement into whatever project or cause one could be part of, a spiritual torpor and numbness that destroyed any kind of love, hope, joy or care people could pour into the world – and, more than just causing one general disgust and indifference towards anything, could ultimately lead to despair/depression. This was the original sin part of the “seven deadly” – which only came to be known as a material, work-related “sloth” later in history. Many people consider that the sinners at the bottom of Styx are sinners of acedia, and thus it would make the total of deadly sins treated in the Upper Hell five instead of four, by adding Acedia/Proto-Sloth to Lust, Gluttony, Greed and Wrath.

However, there is a group of people that do not agree with this theory because they point out that ALL of the Circles of Hell are focused on one specific vice or sin, and that no other Circle hosts two vices at once. For example Greed has two groups of sinners, but they are both aspects of the disorderly love for wealth that is Greed. So, they argue that the sinners at the bottom of the Styx must be, like those at the surface of the swamp, sinners of Wrath, instead of suffering from Acedia (which is a distinct and different vice). Their theory is that we have to interpret their sin as one of “slothful and apathic wrath”, that make them constantly sad and burning inside – in this viewpoint, the sinners here (often called the “Sullen”) are thought to represent an internalized, passive form of wrath (unlike the exterior, active, violent wrath of the sinners of the suffer), to be sinners guilty of grudge-holding, rancor, spite and bitterness.

The debate is still up – maybe it is one, maybe it is the other, or maybe it is both at the same time, who knows!

Passing by the marsh, our protagonists arrive at the foot of a high tower, with at the top two flames appearing – that another fire answers far-away in the distance. It is actually the signal to call another boatman of Hell, here to take the Pilgrim and Virgil across the Styx proper (as a river flowing away from the marsh), and the one riding those “filthy waves” across the “marsh vapors” and swamp mists is yet again another Greek mythological figure: Phlegyas.

Here to take our protagonists to the famed and dreaded City of Dis…

[wolfythewitch]

I was curious to know. Out of everyone, why is Odysseus your fav character?

Good question!

The third one doesn't quite fit but you get my point. I'm a very predictable person Haha

[kyouka-supremacy]

There's at least five different versions of this cover

[corallapis]

[quirinah]

i! ro! ha! (six years edition)

[violentdelightshavevioletends]

"Sorry to inconvenience you, but this year the role of Violet Sorrengail will be played by Xaden Riorson"

[miredball]

THE BEAR social media part 11: community love

[meanwhile-in-hell]

tooday eric went to the fortth circle of hell. in the ayyteenth century eric accidentally tempted a human to start spending enuff munny on enuff material objects for a long enuff tyme to qualify him for damnation for greed. eric would never tell anydemon, but he had lyked spending tyme with mozart. and it really has been a long tyme senss he last saw him. becaws of staffing shortuhjes, no one stopt eric from interupting mozart’s punishment to have a totally normal frendly chat. he showd him a video on his tablet of some humans performing his mewsik, and told a few jokes that the human did not laff at (being in hell for a few hundred yeers can sometymes have a neguhtiv effect on someones sinss of hewmer) eric evenchewally returnd to the main floor of hell, and mozart returnd to halling vareeus heavy things arownd the fortth circle for eternity.

[skyfallscotland]

So this has been in my head all day and I just had to get it out. I don't know if I'll just leave it here or uh...yeah. @justallihere I want you to know you're taking FULL responsibility for this nonsense. This is your fault 🫡

(consider this some AU world where Tyrrendor successfully seceded years ago, Xaden is king, and they have their own riders academy but Tairn still bonded Violet because he lives to make Xaden's life difficult, also...violet/cam/liam has a certain appeal to it...no, someone stop me)

“You know you can enjoy yourself while you’re here.” Violet Sorrengail says judgementally. “If you’re forced to follow me around, you may as well have some fun.” 

“I’m not forced to follow you around.” He replies immediately, shifting on his feet as his eyes scan the dark tavern, noting each of the patrons lingering by the bar. It’s true he’s not. His brother had asked and he had accepted. It’s the least he can do while they try and figure out how to deal with this—the mess that Tairn has caused, bonding a rider from Navarre.

“Sure you’re not.” There’s that judgemental tone again.

“Perhaps I just enjoy your company.” He tosses back, a hint of flirtation in his voice. Violet eyes his boyish grin before snorting, shaking her head as she picks up her drink—some sweet-looking lavender concoction. 

“And if I decide to enjoy someone else’s?” She challenges, a hint of conceit in her voice as she leans around him, nodding her head. “Like maybe Prince Cam’s? He’s been watching me since we got here.”

Liam’s head whips around and he instinctively moves to the side, shielding Violet’s body with his own as his eyes search out Navarre’s third prince. It takes a moment to find him, shrouded in darkness where he sits in the far corner of the tavern, boot on his knee as he nurses a glass of bourbon, his posture unnervingly relaxed. 

He can’t quite make out the other man’s eyes across the room, but he knows from memory they’re a deep forest green, just like the rest of his family. “Yeah, totally fine with it.” Violet says sarcastically, drawing his attention back to her. She looks pointedly at his torso and the way it’s shifted automatically to shield her from the prince’s view. 

“I’m not forced to do anything.” He insists, dragging his attention back to their conversation. “But I am here to keep you safe and that,” he shifts his eyes back to Cam, “is not safe for you—not anymore.” 

It’s entirely out of her control—out of all theirs—but Violet Sorrengail is now the key to taking down Tyrrendor, so regardless of how she might feel about it, he’s going to protect her and that means not going anywhere near Navarrian royalty. “I’ll go and see what he wants.” Liam says sternly, his hand on the shorter girl’s shoulder. “Go back to your friends.” 

Her jaw tightens and she opens her mouth like she might protest, but clearly thinks better of it. “Fine.” She rolls her eyes, swiping up her drink and turning on her heel. She tosses one final glance over her shoulder towards the dark corner the subject of their conversation is in, but otherwise doesn’t falter, storming back over to her squad.

He watches, waiting for her to be safely ensconced between Rhiannon and Ridoc before striding slowly to the other side of the tavern, moving easily through the Saturday evening revelry until he’s standing over a man he’s only ever seen in passing.

“Liam Mairi.” The prince’s lips tick up. He drags his eyes up over Liam’s frame as the blond rider does the same. He’s sprawled out in the chair, relaxed as could be, his knees slightly spread as he takes a long draw of liquor. “Come to threaten me away from Sorrengail?” 

“You know who I am.” It’s half statement, half question. 

“I made it my business to know.” He taps his fingers on the table in front of him. “A Tyrrish citizen attending Basgiath War College? That sort of news travels fast.” 

Liam crosses his arms over his chest. “What do you want?”

Cam’s lips tick up like that’s something amusing. “Many things.” He pauses for a moment, studying Liam’s face. “Where’s your king?” 

Liam tenses. “In Aretia. Obviously.” He tries to appear as relaxed as the prince in front of him, but he’s certain he fails. “Xaden has a country to run, unlike…some.” His tone is mocking, challenging in a way he should probably refrain from, given his status as a diplomatic representative. 

“Yes, it’s terrible being third in line. I really detest having all this free time to do whatever I like, truly.” He downs the rest of the bourbon in his glass, dropping it onto the table. “Tell me, does she know?” He climbs to his feet, circling around the table slowly, like a predator. “Do you plan on filling her in? After all, it’s only fair given the danger it puts her in—being bound to your king.”

“She doesn’t know.” Liam lowers his voice threateningly, “and you’re not going to tell her.” Blue meet forest green in a fierce glare. “Interesting that you do though,” he moves closer until there’s only an inch or two separating them. “I guess that means you’re just like the rest of your family—happy to sit back and watch the world burn.” 

That gets a reaction out of him, the younger man stepping forward with a snarl on his lips. “You know nothing about me.” He looks up into Liam’s eyes. “You riders always think yourselves so superior to everyone else.” His voice drops to a low murmur, barely audible over the revelry of the tavern. “Just because I’m not flying around on the back of a dragon, doesn’t mean I’m doing nothing.”

He’s slightly shorter than Liam but just as well built and when he steps further into the blond’s space, Liam can’t help but look. His sandy brown hair is immaculately styled, his clothes are clean and pressed, and when he glances down even the man’s boots shine. It’s obvious he doesn’t belong here but…there’s something in the way the other man holds himself—with a spine of steel—that stirs something within him. That same steel is reflected in his eyes. 

“So what are you doing?” He murmurs, the corner of his lips quirking up mockingly. “What’s your plan to help fight a war your family would stop at nothing to keep quiet?” Cam’s jaw is clenched, like he’s fighting to keep something in, rather than speak his mind. Almost against his will, Liam’s hand rises, his fingers sliding over the scruff on the other man’s jawline as he cups it gently. “All that power and what do you have to show for it?”

Cam’s lips part, his eyes roving over the blond’s face. “Nothing I can talk about here.” His green eyes are hard, unflinching as he tilts his head, pressing his cheek into Liam’s hand.

“Are you asking to get me alone?” The Tyrr’s lips curve up in a smirk.

“Would you like that?” The prince fires back.

He would actually. The shock of that revelation has him faltering, his usually unflappable composure dissipating as he stares down at the slow, arrogant smile spreading across full pink lips. 

“Tell your king I want to speak to him, Mairi.” The younger man whispers, reaching up to lace his fingers through Liam’s before removing the blond’s hand from his face. It feels like it takes an eternity for their hands to separate, his fingers sliding purposefully over Liam’s own. “Whenever that dragon of his drags him back here.” The prince turns to leave, his torso brushing Liam’s as he slides past him, far too close for it to be considered accidental. 

“And where will you be until then?” Liam enquires, his eyes dark.

Cam looks over his shoulder, a smirk on his lips. “I’ll be around.” He disappears into the crowd, going unnoticed by the rest of the taverns patrons and Liam watches him go, a dangerous, terrible curiosity stirring in his chest. 

He remains frozen for a moment, unmoving until a flash of silver catches his eye and he shakes it off, striding across the floor to rejoin his new squad.

“That looked like it went well.” There’s laughter in Violet Sorrengail’s voice and a hint of arrogance as she ribs him. “I’m glad you took care of it.” A sarcastic grin slides over her face as she lifts her drink to her lips. “I’m fine here if you need to take care of anything else.”

He stares at her, unimpressed. “Very funny.”

“Mhmm.” She hums, her eyes dancing with mischief. “First time with a man?” This woman is entirely too smart for her own good and it’s only going to cause him more and more headaches as time goes on, he just knows it. 

“I’m not into men.” He shuts her down. 

“You’re a consummate flirt, Liam Mairi.” She laughs. “I refuse to believe that.” 

But he’s not lying. Consummate flirt he may be, but he’s never been interested in anyone of the male gender…until now. Liam knows himself and his own mind well. He’s not into men, but Navarre’s third prince and his quiet arrogance, his ridiculously green eyes and the way his skin feels beneath Liam’s hands? That…that he may be into. 

Shit. 

[fourswords]

i know i don't shut up about it but i think it really truly says something about link's nature as a whole that the four of them got attached to shadow so ridiculously fast. vio at least had the excuse of hanging out with him for however long it was but it was still indicative of that same nature that he quite literally accompanied shadow in burning down a good portion of hyrule's lands and STILL quietly mourned him after they'd "killed" him. but then you have the most obvious examples of blue and green getting so unbelievably distraught when shadow "died for real this time (he did not die for real this time)" after interacting with him in a manner that wasn't "trying to murder each other" for a grand total of like. five minutes. ten minutes tops.

shadow helps them out exactly one time (and really you could see it as him just doing the bare minimum to clean up the mess he created by getting link to release vaati in the first place) and suddenly the links as a whole are like "FORGIVEN!" and if "making friends" was a button they all started hitting it so hard that it broke. shadow was like "still doesn't make me part of the body :(" and green speaking for all of them was like What the fuck are you talking about. Of course it does. We're friends. and by god is that going to influence everything that happens after the manga. like no matter what issues themselves arise between link and shadow that they're gonna have to work through (namely: vio's betrayal) if anyone ever tries to tell him that shadow still poses a threat to hyrule as a whole and he's an enemy and should be taken out then link is just gonna hit them with some flavor of this and that's gonna be the end of the conversation:

[maroonmused]

U ever think about the fact that the MSM games canonically exist in Spiderverse Miles' universe? Imagine Spiderverse Miles seeing Insomniac Peter and recognizing him as "that Spider-Man from my friend's video game"

it takes about 5 minutes for insomniac peter to go from thrilled over meeting another version of miles to mid-existential-crisis because what do shapes have to do with his fighting style…circle triangle what exactly. now that he thinks about it maybe the world does kind of slow down every time he executes a finishing move but he’d just been chalking that up to adrenaline. and sometimes his life does kind of neatly fit into a three-act story but may used to say that’s more of a circle of life kinda thing than narrative convenience…but is it? things have actually been a little fuzzy since the whole doc ock and sable and maggia thing went down….at least until he and miles were fighting rhino. then he took off for symkaria and huh….they did get kinda fuzzy again. almost like it was narratively unimportant. he also feels this weird, nagging sense of anxiety every time he puts off a major task and it’s almost like the world shoves him in that direction anyway. conveniently timed phone calls. an inner monologue that guilt trips him when he lingers. now he’s hyperventilating in the middle of the lobby and 1610-miles is about to join him in the panic session because somebody just recognized him as the guy from those cool animated movies. peter’s still trying to find his health bar because he feels like he might be dying

[respectthepetty]

The streets are talking, and they are saying GeminiFourth will be in the Semantic Error remake, but . . .

I like them, but if they get a university BL, when these grown folks are still playing high schoolers, I'm gonna be salty like that sea between Israel and Jordan -> Dead.

However, I don't want them near the Love Sick remake, so . . .

Can we get a third secret option?

[sabrina-bee-art]

The Wizards are Sad Pieces of Toast, change my mind.

The Wizards are this seasons big bad villains. Or, the attempt at villains, ig. The way they are introduced, set against all the other villains the Winx have already beaten, it sets the expectation for the audience that the Wizards are even more evil, cruel and dangerous than all the villains that came before. And I guess on paper they are. Theoretically they are responsible for the genocide on the Terrestrial Fairies, which is pretty horrifying. Even Faragonda doesn’t dare speak of them out loud. And initially that’s intriguing. But when we meet them properly, they are just so boring and ineffective in comparison to Valtor or the Trix. Or even Darkar and he mostly hung out in his creepy cave castle.

I like the Wizards entrance, sort of. I like that they initially are after Bloom and want to steal her power (we’ll disregard for a moment the fact we learned in season 1 that a fairy’s power can’t be stolen) and when they realise, she isn’t the one they were looking for, they just yeet her to the side. That’s funny and unexpected. Every other villain before was after Bloom, and now for the first time, she isn’t the main centre of attention. She’ll make herself into that, later. But back to the Wizards.

We quickly realise that the Wizards are just…ridiculous, not menacing. Their actions don’t live up to the expectation set by their introduction and I think that is the main problem I have with them. How am I supposed to take them as a serious threat when the first two thirds of the season, the Wizards spend their time essentially playing pranks on the Winx? All they do in their brief moments of screen time, is to stand around and complain about the Winx. Then they try to ruin the Winx reputation and get so angry over the people of Gardenia liking these girlies. How very high school mean girl of them. It gets to a point where even the Winx are just annoyed when the Wizards show up and treat them more like an inconvenience than the evil final bosses that they end up being. Well, unless the plot demands otherwise.

It doesn’t help that, until the Winx get Believix at the end of the sixth episode, the Wizards could beat them at any point, since they canonically created a spell that renders Fairy Magic basically mute. But they don’t do anything with their advantage. Instead, they are absent for a good chunk of episodes and then only start messing with the Love & Pet shop, for no other reason than that they don’t like the Winx and find them annoying. After Episode 7, when the Winx insta-defeated them, they just sometimes attack randomly, but not with any sort of plan they want to achieve. Even though Roxy is not very protected, like the Winx don’t organise a watch for her or coordinate schedules so that someone is always with her, the Wizards only try to kidnap Roxy once. Unsuccessfully, because they conveniently forget to take her powers that particular time.

At the end, when they reveal themselves to be the Big Evils after all, I couldn’t take them seriously, with all the silly bullshit they pulled. They don’t even have any memorable personalities either. I can’t even recall all their names: there’s Ogron and Duman. Gantlos? And??? I'm sure there's a fourth one, but I couldn't remember his name if you'd held a gun to my head.

Ogron, or more like budget Valtor, in a sad attempt to be the next “charming” villain, monologues all over the place, throwing around threats and sassy lines. When Valtor did it, at least he made his threats reality thus giving his words weight. Ogron just talks shit and then gets jobbed by the Winx.

Another aspect to the detriment of the Wizards is that we don’t really get to spend much time with them. In season one and season three we spend a good chunk of most episodes with the Trix and Valtor and get to know them, their plans, and personalities. That’s why they are so memorable. The Wizards don’t get the same treatment. We barely cut away to see what they are up to, and when we do, they mostly complain about the popularity of the Winx. I’m serious. These are our villains!

We never learn their plans either. Why do they want the Terrestrial Fairies powers so badly? Just to have it? Because that’s an evil villain thing to do? Why did they start the genocide in the first place? What is their end goal now? Why do they want the White Circle? What are they planning? The audience not knowing the villains plan is a problem. That’s our frame of reference for the stakes of the season. Whenever the Winx and Wizards fight, we should clearly know what happens should the Winx lose. When we don’t understand the Wizards ulterior motives, their actions become meaningless and confusing. I would go so far to speculate that there never was a concrete plan for them, writing-wise. They are just a trope, a vessel, a hinderance for the Winx to fill this season with something. They aren’t real characters.

Let’s look at their plan, or lack there-of: At first, they want to steal Roxy’s power, then they leave her alone for a bit, messing with the Winx instead. Then they suddenly forget about Roxy and want the White Circle. Then they play more pranks and inconvenience the Winx some more. And in the end, they want to destroy Tir Na Nog…for some reason??? Because the show needs an evil final boss? With the other villains in previous season, the audience always clearly understood what their next steps would be. That adds suspense and urgency, like “Oh no! The Trix are about to steal a codex, can the Winx stop them in time???” Because we understood, that if Darkar gets all Codex pieces, he would be super powerful and destroy the Magical Dimension, the audience understood the gravity whenever the Trix managed to steal another piece. Now granted, that’s not a particularly original plan, but that’s not the point. The Wizards just randomly show up to fight, not really following any plan, or rather, whatever this episode’s plot requires. They don’t have an overarching plan. I’d argue because they don’t need one, because they will lose at the end regardless, but there not being any really just makes the Wizards seem like nothing more than a mild inconveniences to the Winx. Depending on the episode, of course, and whether we need to bring in artificial tension.

The fact that they don’t even have a proper villain’s lair speaks volumes. The Trix had Cloud Tower in season one. Darkar had his fancy underground castle. Valtor first had his cave on Andros, then Cloud Tower. What do the Wizards get? An unspecified industrial looking area and then…the sewer. They hide out in the sewer. Ewwwww. They don’t have a creepy castle, nothing. They could have had a sort of Tir Na Nog foil, a creepy old castle maybe, or even lived in the Ruins of Tir Na Nog. No. They hide in the sewers of this random Californian town.

I cannot stress enough how the majority of the season the Wizards are just sad pieces of toast and then at the last minute, they are revealed to be the big bad final boss. Their tactic of feigning their surrender could have been interesting, but by that point they already had lost all their intrigue. The Winx had already won against them every time they fought, so why should I feel any sort of threat or danger?

[minijenn]

I think Dreamworks only knows how to make like, three kind of movies. Ignore the ones not sitting in any circle. They're the weird fucking outliers.

[star--nymph]

some random rec on tumblr/tiktok/reddit: this Persephone and Hades retelling is so good! it;s so romantic and feminist and really puts a spin on the myth

said retelling: Hades and Persephone were actually in love and Demeter just threw a hysteric fit because she's a borderline abusive helicopter parent and oop now she's a terrible in-law keeping these soulmates apart hijinks ensue

[keepittoyourshelf]

More Reddit idiocy..

There truly is no accounting for taste. Rhysand and Xaden? That’s like the the 1 and 1a of basic AF shadow daddies, a term which I abhor almost as much as the aforementioned characters.

PLEASE internet book gods show me one redditor that understands nuance and won’t just consent to being treated like shit by the first dark haired generically tanned a-hole with bad tattoos that comes along.

…I realize I have only myself to blame for continuing to enter communities in the hopes of finding new books and actual stimulating conversation that doesn’t center on how Rhys/Cassian/Azriel/Xaden/Rowan makes them cream their pants repeatedly.