#from one hypocrite to another

[accultant]

Of course they take his hands when he offers them, it's hardly a question ( but they appreciate it anyway ). When he lets go, they hold their own hands instead, loosely lacing their fingers together in front of them while they wait for him to go on. The worry is going to kill them before he finally gets around to it, they're sure, but he starts again after a few more moments.

It's... bizarre watching him explain so clearly now. It's what they wanted, yes, but not exactly what they thought they would get. It's another thing they're adjusting to - actually talking with Puck. They spoke in the temple, yes, ( not enough ), but they had long since stopped discussing things like feelings and conflict. Not so candidly. Now, with this Puck, it's something Iago must relearn. Both of them, they suppose.

What he says first makes them freeze, their nerves immediately pulled taunt to attention. Threatened. That word scared them. They conjured ideas of a fight, a threat met with violence, with blood, all in the name of protecting Iago. It wouldn't be the first time. They should've figured there would be no last time. Ormor left? He's gone? Gone? The six-feet-under kind of gone? Or maybe Puck discarded him in the river nearby? Stuffed him into a chest? Was it quick? Painful? Did he suffer-

When he makes his clarification, their train of thought is halted. They have a brief realization, one of disgust that their first thought was something so horrible, and their second concern was what he did with the body. Old habits die hard. Or lessened, at least. Redirected.

Their hands are held together tightly now. Too tight, but they're sure they'd find them sparking if they lessened their restraint as they comprehend what he's telling them. They've done this before. With more bloodshed from Puck and more passivity on Iago's part, but it's the same dance. Protection and jealousy - so easily confused when they're all the other has ever had. He must still understand that, somehow, even after all he's lost, if this is still happening.

It would be easy to let it wash over them. So easy. A sigh, a roll of the eyes, a day or two of irritation, then letting this be a thing of the past. All else pushed to the back of their mind, into a pile with whatever else they've grown used to ignoring. Again, the dance is old. They know how they would - how they should react. It was so easy, so tempting to be cold sometimes.

But Puck is trying. He's trying to be better by letting Ormor leave alive in the first place, but mostly by acknowledging what he's done, why he's done it. So, it's unfortunate that Iago's version of trying, of being better than they were, is to do literally anything other than tell him it's okay, they forgive him, and move on. They would forgive him, of course they would, but for now -

"You-" they start, unsure of where they were even planning to go from there. It's their turn to pace now, take a few steps away with their back turned, looking at their hands. Oh, no, yes, they are twitching quite a bit now. But how could they not when- They whirl back towards him, fists clenched at their sides. "You demanded him to leave? You? You, who is always looking after everyone in this camp, who is always accepting, always forgiving, always so understanding- but this is when you draw the line? Everyone has their limits, I know, I genuinely, genuinely admire your patience, Puck, it marvels me. But for it to break over this? Jealousy? You claim you're no leader here, but this is a decision you feel you can make? All in the name of protecting me? I'm the exception here and I don't even get a say in the matter."

Their hands are starting to burn, making them flinch. They shove them in their pockets and start pacing again, "Protecting me from someone who hasn't done a thing, might I add. He's been nothing but pleasant. Kind. Everything that you would've liked in anyone else but because I'm involved- You were right, Puck. I am angry. I don't want to be, I really don't. I understand. I would love to just shut up and move on but..." They finally unclench their hands to gesture where they have trouble articulating their feelings. The candle on their desk flashes with a purple light as that familiar sting in the air starts building and they clasp their hands together again to try to quell it.

"You can't do this anymore. I can't... I want to... I'm trying..." They press their fists to their eyes, frustrated at how hard it is to find their words for something so simple. "I am so bad at being around other people, Puck. Making connections. Friends. It is so hard. Ormor is someone I... someone I liked. It was getting easier in his company. I was getting better. I'm trying to be better. This is not helping."

he's still not used to freely looking into someone's eyes. it comes so naturally with iago, but it startles him every time. always gives him a brief second of panic where his gaze darts away before he remembers. this time, it bounces around the tent, almost trying to avoid iago, before giving up. the comfort their eyes provide is hard to resist.

the handkerchief is sweet. a bit useless at the moment as fresh tears well up in his eyes again, but sweet nonetheless. they manage to make him laugh, face leaning into the touch of their cool palm. ❝ sorry, ❞ he mumbles about the snot.

delicately, he reaches out in an invitation to hold their hands, if they'd like. he doesn't touch, waiting for them to take the offer or not on their own. if they allow him, he gives their hands a quick, gentle squeeze. it helps him calm down.

❝ i am almost entirely certain that you will be angry with me, unfortunately. i would be concerned if you weren't. just ⸻ warning you now. ❞ puck pulls his hands back to himself, wipes at his eyes one last time. takes a deep breath as he tries to think of where to begin.

tell them the truth. don't mince words like you try to do in your own head. they deserve to know how ugly you are. they already know that.

puck looks them in the eye again. ❝ i felt threatened by ormor, so i threatened him first. i had thought i was protecting you, but i wasn't. i was being selfish, and it led to him leaving the camp because i demanded that he did. i don't think he intends to come back . . . ❞ his eyebrows furrow. i'm missing something- oh, ❝ ⸻ i did not attack him, to be clear. but i almost did. i know that doesn't make it any better. i'm sorry. i know you like him. ❞ that's the reason why.

❝ i was ⸻ ❞ face red, he averts his gaze again, tail thumping against the ground in irritation. or embarrassment. ❝ i was jealous. ❞

[lunamond]

Rhaenyra‘s sons‘ illegitamcy is actually such a fascinating topic to discuss. Because on one side, yes, she should be allowed to have children with the partner of her chosing. But on the other side, the way she handles the situation, she manages to upset almost every cultural norm surrounding this issue, further alienating potential allies.

According to the social and cultural norms of their world, Rhaenyra and her sons are being valued as lesser for the circumstances of their birth. This a result of westerosi male primogeniture, which has to police woman sexuality in order to ensure that wealth and power get passed through the male family line.

Bastards born from the affairs of male lords are tolerated because they do not endanger the system of power, while male bastards especially are still marginalised (as seen with Jon) the father isn‘t subjected to any form of social scorn.

On the flip side, a noblewoman fathering a bastard is a direct threat to the system of male primogeniture. A woman will always know her biological children by the simple fact that she gave birth to them.

Men, however, don’t have this certainty. To ensure that their heirs are their own biological offspring they need complete insurence that their wives are soley sexually active with them, hence the policing of female sexuality and the obsession with female virginity.

This tactic is obviously not foolproof. A clever wife might still manage to have a secret affair and pass off another man‘s child as her husband's. This anxiety and continued incertainty is reflected in the social censure woman receive for acting as sexual beings and the severe social and legal punishment a wife who has been judged as unfaithful can face.

What makes Rhaenyra‘s position unique, however, is the fact that she is Viserys‘ heir.

So if the crown is to pass down from Viserys to Rheanyra and through her to her own heirs, why does Jace‘s legitamacy even factor into all this? Some people in the fandom make that argument: If Rheanyra inherits in her own right, why does it matter who fathers her children?

The problem with this is that even the Lords can‘t declare their bastard heir without expressed permission from the king. So, firstly Rhaenyra would need to publicly aknowledge her sons as ilegitamte for Viserys to legitamise them.

Secondly, even if inheritance in the male linegage is important, marriages in Westeros are still utilised to forge political and economical ties. Any Lord, who wants to make their bastard heir instead of the children born by his legal wife, will at best destroy any goodwill given by her family or at worst start a generations long feud.

Rhaenyra‘s position isn't as simple as a mere reversal of the genders. She can't just take the role of the Lord, she is still a woman and society will continue to treat her as such. Laenor is still bringing his own inheritance of Driftmark to ther union, separate from any claims Rhaenyra holds.

While she is lucky enough not to lose the Velaryons as her allies, it does lead to tensions surrounding the succession of Driftmark.

Another argument then is, if Laenor and Corlys aknowledge Jace, Luce and Joffery as Velaryon their blood shouldn‘t matter.

However, that is also not how westerosi society works. Because to them, blood does matter. Laenor and Corlys can claim them as Velaryon as much as they want. But as Varys puts it: „Power resides where men believe it to reside“, and as long as the westerosi people believe that blood lines are vital to the right to rule, the boys‘ right to Driftmark will continue to be questioned. Family names and blood lines are super important (and not just socially, considering how many magic blood lines exist in this world).

And to me it seems pretty clear that Corlys is aware of this fact as well, because he never publicly anounces that their blood doesn‘t matter, in fact he claims them to be Velaryon as Laenor‘s sons.

And this is ultimately the issue at heart of all the vitrol thrown at Rhaenyra. The reason she faces so much push back isn’t just because she had bastards but specifcally because she tries to pass them off as legitemate. With this she triggers the deeply ingrained social anxiety about women duping their husband and disrupting the blood line with their own kuckucks child.

It doesn‘t truely matter that her position is slightly different, because for one Westeros is deeply misogynistic. Even as a female heir she is still subject to the misogynistic standards put on women, because no matter her personal circumstances, their society is still built to cater to male power.

But even more damming is the fact that she ends up proving all these fears true, because she does take Driftmark away from a true Velaryon heir and gives it to Luce.

I think it is really fascinating (in a very concerning way), how some fans are so ready to take these societal rules as hard facts. Instead of thinking how they might reflect on inherently flawed systems of power.

As viewers we should be capable to recognize that these cultural norms are wrong. Jace, Luce and Joffery might be bastards but this doesn't devalue them as human beings. Nor does it impact their capabilites as future rulers. Nor does Rhaenyra‘s gender impact her‘s. There is nothing that make a trueborn man more worthy of ruling than a bastard or a woman.

But important to remember is also that Rhaenyra isn‘t going to make a better ruler soley on the virtue of being the firstborn or chosen by Viserys. Nor are her sons going to make better heirs because they are her children.

[rhysie]

a hard pill to swallow ... rhys not telling feyre during her pregnancy is not as ooc as u think it is

[bigothteddies]

I think that part of what like. kills me about the whole media literacy and critical thinking aspect of enjoying media these days is that people refuse to like. contextualize that

A. Bad media can still hold significant meaning to people

B. Media made for a demographic you aren’t apart of is not inherently bad media

C. Media made for and consumed by the opposite demographic is not inherently shallow or flawed nor is it above criticism for its media tropes either.

[hsslilly-blog]

source

[birthofvcnus]

im not really a fan of GOT7 either, so i didn't know what was going on with bambam, so I checked it out and?? someone reach out to him?? why isn't his company doing anything??

and if I'm being completely honest, seeing him post that scares the shit out of me in itself, but remembering he's also 27? hope he's getting the support he needs :(

apparently his company doesn’t care because they’ve been overworking him for months despite him showing clear signs of burnout/depression? like they allowed it to get that bad at this point and that’s insane. i don’t want to be making comparisons when it comes to mental health because it’s disrespectful to everyone involved, but like we’ve seen this exact pattern before. we’ve seen where it can lead. why is no one helping him. like he’s at a point where he feels depressed enough to imply he won’t be alive in 2025?????? that’s in four months. it’s clear something bad is brewing and he needs all the help he support he can get, and most importantly of all he needs REST. if his company doesn’t understand nor respect that then they should be boycotted

edit: apparently, according to what he seems to have been saying on social media, his label won’t allow him to see his family, which i can’t believe is even legal. he needs to get out of there as soon as possible and/or sue them because this is. beyond dehumanizing

[fiona-fififi]

...

[bite-the-bloody-hand]

Love when idly wondering how to tie in the Kingmaker plot to my own worldstate turns into 'oh I'm about to give Zell the MOST intense heartbreak imaginable.'

[lurxof--thxmaw]

Is it true you float to make yourself look taller 👀

The Lady rolls her eyes, shaking her head. To be fair, she did float quite often, but not for a reason as silly as this － she needs to look after her legs! They can't be strained too much, and the Maw is such a large place... she had spent years walking around the submarine, she deserves to be cut some slack after so many years.

"There is no need for me to do such a thing. I was graced with excellent genes." The growth sprout she had as a kid did make her much taller than all her peers. Even in her youth she had been tall, yet the Maw seemed to have accentuated this aspect of hers among... other things. She leans forward ever so slightly, towering over the smaller Guest. "One should be grateful of what they are given, no? Regardless of how... favorable their attributes are."

[r3dblccd]

Every time I see something about people hating on Sa.kura it's just so heartbreaking

[optiwashere]

How do you feel about other people making fan art or fanfic about your oc Asheera? Like interacting with other Tavs or writing their own scenes?

Art? Please do! If anyone ever wants to they can. I'd love to know what an artist is making, and I'd love to see it before it's out for the rest of the world so I can offer early praise as well as suggestions or corrections, but please go ahead!

I expect people to credit artists, so I would expect another artist to credit Asheera as my OC and link to my stuff. That's basically all I expect.

Right now I can't commission anything (holidays go brrr) so please don't solicit for them 💜 Also, I have a lil blurb on my AO3 profile that covers the things that people have blanket permission on! It's never come up, but I made it years ago so I think I'll add onto it now...

I really appreciate the love and interest in Asheera if anyone felt compelled to write fic with her in it, that's really flattering! I really do mean that. Like, I wanna express that up front. Super flattering and I'm honored. I love everyone (mutuals, followers, drivebys, anons, all y'all) that pours love out for her and asks questions about her. I really do! But there is a line.

This is the condensed version of what I've spent the better part of an hour writing.

In advance, you don't really have to do this but for people that don't know — it's considered common courtesy in fanfic circles to ask about using other people's OCs in fanfiction.

Also: this is about fanfiction specifically, not the fun asks that come in, and it isn't a permission thing. I can't stop people from writing about her. I also can't stop how I know I will react, emotionally.

I would be very wary of why people would want to use her in fic and, if it was on AO3, why they felt the need to publish it. My immediate answer to a total stranger doing that is: I would probably be demotivated and depressed by it.

Please don't do it if you respect me as a person. This is for me as much as it is for you. Trust me.

Asheera isn't a self-insert, but I am very emotionally attached to her. She has projections of my transition and experience with transition in her. I would be extremely uncomfortable/borderline depressed to see her depicted in ways that don't conform to what I think of her. I also don't know what "interacting with other Tavs" really means without hard specifics. I do mean literally word-by-word on that.

I'm not pretending that this is a moral high ground or a logical stance. It's all an emotional reaction. I've had experience with my OCs being written in strangers' fics and it never ends well. It's made me possessive and controlling and I recognize that. I also recognize that it is not anyone else's job to monitor my emotions or feelings, so take my word at face value here.

This isn't even touching on the part where I'm actively writing for Asheera, have lots of unused ideas that I wouldn't want to see someone else write, and the clusterfuck it can create on tumblr/AO3 if someone assumes a one-time pass equals free reign to fanfiction.

Please respect my wishes 💜

[bisexualamy]

i keep seeing "i've read fanfic better than some published novels!" passed around again and like. i'm sure you have. they're still two different mediums though and comparing them is not as descriptive as you're implying.

it's like saying "i've seen movies with better writing than some published novels!" i'm sure you have, but that doesn't really say anything about published novels though. they're two different mediums with two different sets of conventions trying to achieve, to some degree, two different things. just because fanfic and novels are two longform written mediums doesn't mean they're the same medium.

[clickbeetle]

for people who have played fangans: which one is your favorite? because truthfully i’ve never been into them, but since i’m making one myself, i would feel better seeing someone else’s.

(also i had a dream that i played one and it was very good. maybe that’s a sign that i’ll enjoy it)

[tenshindon]

I just saw the cell post and like, yeah, makes sense. Evil gay bug man. But then I started thinking "damn wait how many dragonball villians are straight?" And the only ones that came to mind were Mercenary Tao, Red, and Bu

Thoughts?

anon learns that most lgbt characters in media are antagonists, more at 11

[sage-nebula]

I can understand having a preference for one type of pet over another, for a wide variety of reasons (e.g. allergies, what goes in to taking care of them, your lifestyle, etc) but I'll never understand people who hate a certain type of pet. Like self-professed cat people who say they hate dogs, or vice versa. I've had dogs my entire life, and I consider myself a dog person, but I do like cats, too. Why wouldn't I? They're soft and cute and do funny things sometimes. Even when it comes to pets that I don't find as interesting, like fish, I don't hate them. And even ones I'm legitimately scared of, like tarantulas . . . again, I don't hate them, I'm just afraid of them, just like I'm afraid of all arachnids. It's an irrational fear, but it's one deeply ingrained in me nonetheless.

Anyway.

I just don't understand when people are like "I hate cats" or "I hate dogs" . . . how can you hate an entire species of animal? Being allergic or afraid, okay, I can understand that. Even if I don't understand being afraid because you've been attacked before (I have been severely bitten by dogs and severely scratched up by cats), I'm afraid of arachnids even though I can't remember the last time I had a spider bite, so you know, fears are fears, you can't control them. But hate? I just don't understand it, man. Hate an individual animal, sure. Just like humans, individual dogs or cats can have bad temperaments and behaviors. But a whole species? When most of the individual animals in those species are so easily befriended? It just makes no sense to me. Again, I get having a preference for one pet over another, especially if the needs of one animal suit your lifestyle while the needs of another don't. But to hate a whole species . . . I will never understand.

[elliewiltarwyn]

FFXIV Write 2023 | Prompt #14: Clear

TIL i use clear as an adjective and adverb way too much

-1164 words

----

“But do not think I reserve all of my scorn for Cid nan Garlond… adventurers.”

Nero tol Scaeva curls his gauntlet in front of his masked face. “Certainly, that Lord van Baelsar desires him at his side stings. Indeed, the thought that he would desire any such fool, one who has also made clear their lack of interest in ruling this blighted land, rankles.” And then his masked visage turned slightly to Elilgeim’s right. Towards Mia. “And you, traitor, are no exception.”

What? Elilgeim blinks rapidly, curling her fingers tighter around the haft of her cane. Traitor?

And then Nero moves, faster than any of them expects—it may be because of jets or boosters on his armor, but Elilgeim can’t see—and slams to a stop right in front of Mia, his gauntlet crackling with levin and glowing with energies, and he curls his fingers and delivers a fierce punch to the direct center of Mia’s brow; she cries out and staggers backwards onto her knees, clutching at the struck spot with her left hand. “Mia!” Lilyana shouts, and Elilgeim focuses her energies and slams a small blast of wind forward; Nero’s still too quick though, and he jets backwards, the blast flying by harmlessly. Lily capitalizes, lunging forward with knives bared, but he raises his hand and an electronic signal emanates from it, just before a massive jet-propelled iron hammer slams into the floor between them. Lily yelps and skids to a stop, and Elilgeim focuses again, drawing upon her curative spells this time—then stops herself, confused.

Mia’s not actually injured—from a solid punch to the face. How in the…

“When were you going to tell them?” Nero demands, grasping his hammer and hefting it over his shoulder. “When were you going to let your Eorzean allies know you hail from the very nation attempting to stomp them out… Maia jen Asina?”

Time itself seems to stop as Elilgeim—and Lilyana too, judging by the way her ears flatten against her head—processes what he means. Then she snaps her gaze over to Mia, who remains on her knees panting through clenched teeth and glaring at Nero with eyes blazing with fury. Underneath her hand, still resting over the spot where he struck her, is a strange shimmering wave that bends the light and warps the air. It takes her a second to narrow down that it’s the sort of phenomenon that appears over entities or clothes when a glamouring spell is cast upon them… or removed. But as far as she can tell, Mia looks the same…

“If you think… that means anything… about my allegiances… about what I fight for…” Mia exhales one more breath and curls the hand on her head into a fist. “Then you’re even more ignorant than I thought, Nero tol Scaeva.” And as she rises to her feet, she finally lets her hand drop, to two-hand her blade and level it in Nero’s direction. There’s a small black pyramidal object upon the spot, emanating the waves, but it finally fades away to reveal a small, pale, pearlescent orb, directly where Nero had struck—embedded directly in the middle of her forehead. Elilgeim’s heart stops. The Garlean third eye.

She’s pureblood Garlean.

And then she thinks about it for one split-second further and turns to slam a spell of Stone upon Nero’s head. He shouts in pain and swings his hammer wide, but Lily ducks underneath and strikes at his side, and it’s clear the battle has engaged. But even after everything Nero had already laid bare, he still isn’t finished somehow—

“What is it that draws his attention!?” he demands as Mia charges forth, slamming her shield against his hammer’s head before stabbing from behind her guard with her sword. “What is it about expatriates, heirs to the legacies of the most brilliant engineers in Garlemald’s history who deliberately spurn those legacies and turn their back on him—why does he give a whit about their loyalties, and not mine!?”

“Do I look like I care an onze?” Mia growls gutturally, just as she forces the hammer aside and lays into him with a hard slash. Elilgeim catches up to her right side at that moment, Lily on her left; and Elilgeim’s shocked by the look of consternation and contrition on her face. Her eyes flick to Elilgeim’s, then to Lily’s on the other side, and she freezes, paralyzed by uncertainty and doubt all of a sudden.

“Do we?” Elilgeim mutters with a bemused smirk.

Mia blinks at her, then back to Lily, who’s side-grinning fiercely at her. She takes in a deep breath, looks at Nero with clear resolve swelling within her, and charges forward once more to meet his attack.

The battle is short and furious—and so is Elilgeim when the power is cut, and he vanishes into the darkness, cackling. That they had been forced to slay Rhitahtyn and Livia, but let this one escape… She regulates her breath and clamps down on her rage as Cid breaks back in over the linkpearl, and she quickly updates him on their situation. In turn, he updates them on the other moving parts of Operation Archon. It’s all coming to a head—their final duty is set before them. As she lowers her hand from her ear, she glances back up at Mia; the other woman gulps, nerves settling in and wrinkling her brow around the little grey stone.

“I… I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to— I mean, I was hiding it, but… I was afraid that—”

Elilgeim claps a hand on her shoulder as she walks by. “Seriously: it does not matter even a little bit.”

“Huh?”

“We’re working with Cid Garlond, in case you haven’t noticed,” Lilyana says slyly, and as Elilgeim casts her gaze back she watches Lilyana gently nudge Mia’s other shoulder with her fist, that cheerful grin ever-present. “You’re literally not the first defector from Garlemald. You’ve also led the charge on fighting the primals and investigating for the Scions and a thousand other little things.”

“But—those things Nero said—”

“Does not matter,” Elilgeim repeats, rolling her eyes and shaking her head in bemusement; she crosses her arms and taps her foot, and jerks her head over her shoulder towards the giant funicular elevator behind them. “Do you seriously think we’re the sort of people to judge based on homeland? Nero’s amorality, Gaius’s madness—they’re not remotely because they were born in the same country as you. You’re annoying and you’re preachy and stupidly purehearted—”

“Elilgeim!” Lilyana snaps, her eyebrow arching sharply in indignation.

“—but it’s been clear from the beginning: you hold no love for the Empire and its ways and ideals.”

Mia blinks, meeting Elilgeim’s gaze. “Now are we getting on this lift or not?” Elilgeim says impatiently, a little quirk at the corner of her lips.

Lilyana rolls her eyes, squeezes Mia’s shoulder, and sprints past Elilgeim towards the console in the corner, and a small smirk of disbelief slowly grows on Mia’s face.