#half baked post

[privateenemy]

i think theres a certain way people try to position cis women as blameless for perpetuating social, especially patriarchal (but also homophobic) harms in a dehumanizing way. at least when i talk about transandrophobia, people will tell me "you're blaming women as your oppressors as men" and, no, but also cis men are who cis women call when they need someone to protect them from a perceived threat, cis men are the ones who police cis women's communities, it is frequently being hurt by cis men because of cis women being afraid of a trans man/masc. when my social groups are cis women (because they were that before i came out) they are the ones calling for harm to come to me. im not saying im particularly safer around cis men but because there's no cis woman around to feel threatened, they are often (not always but another post) avoiding direct especially physical confrontation with me. cis women's feelings of (false) unsafety is the motivator of a lot of cis men's violence

[shaftking]

Comparing the trans regret rate to het divorce statistics is funny and yes the divorce rate is way higher but these are very different situations and kinds of regret. The regret around a failed relationship is not the same as the regret of medically/surgically changing your body permanently and having to live with that forever.

[classicslesbianopinions]

actually, i should just say this in its own post--if you're ever looking for a translation of anything ancient greek, ian johnston has a ton of translations that are both genuinely good and completely free to read. a lot of the time free translations are really old or just not that good but this man has translated, like, everything from homer to sophocles to kafka to nietzche and he's done it extremely well. i didn't think he had an antigone but i just looked and not only does he have one but it's genuinely very good. so i highly recommend his website as a resource!

[sp0o0kylights]

Steve Harrington was wearing a Hellfire t-shirt.

It was far too tight on him, the name of the club stretched wide over his chest. The sleeves dug into his biceps, making them pop even more than they usually did, and that was before he crossed his arms. 

Worse?

It was short.

Which meant the damn shirt was constantly riding up to give everyone a nice show of the smattering of hair that trailed down past the band of Harrington's jeans. 

The same hair that Eddie was determinedly not looking at. 

“Henderson, a moment?” He crooked a finger, a smile on his face that was more feral than welcoming. 

Rather than cower or even acknowledge that Eddie was two seconds away from murder, Dustin just gave him a gummy grin, all too pleased with himself and his scheme. 

“Sure Eddie. Steve, don't just stand there, go help set the booth up!” Dustin gestured to Hellfire’s sad little table, crammed all the way in the back of the gym. 

Jeff and Gareth both reacted to the suggestion like a rabid squirrel had been set upon them, nervously inching towards the other side of the booth as Harrington sighed and--shockingly--did as he was told.

‘What,’ Eddie thought angrily, ‘in the everloving fuck.’

“Do you guys mind if I set this down on the table?” Eddie heard Harrington ask as he stormed away, Dustin on his heel. 

They wandered just around the corner, out of sight and hopefully, out of the fallen king’s hearing range.

Eddie wasn't sure if Harrington would try and white knight the very much deserved dressing down he was about to give. 

Didn’t want to chance it, considering the downright weird relationship he had with Hellfire's freshmen.

(While he’d heard many a tale at his table regarding King Steve since the newest recruits had joined Hellfire, most of them dissolved into arguments without ever really going anywhere.

 Best anyone could figure out was that Dustin and Lucas had a bad case of hero worship, while Mike owned a begrudging amount of respect that hailed from a series of misadventures. 

The very same misadventures that, despite all protests to the contrary, was clearly some sort of babysitting gig for Harrington.) 

Either way, plenty of the King’s court would have loved to take this opportunity to fuck with Hellfire.

Given that Henderson was absolutely too old to require a babysitter at fourteen, Eddie would bet his lunch money that was what Steve was here to do.

Something the club couldn’t afford since they were forever and always two seconds away from being stripped of club status and banned from school grounds. 

“I would love to know what went through that all A’s brain of yours when I said,” Eddie whirled on Dustin when they were firmly in the clear, voice low and furious.  “no Henderson, do not invite King Steve to help, he is an invading force and would ruin our peaceful kingdom!?”

He clasped his hands behind his back before leaning into Dustin’s face. “Because clearly whatever you heard wasn’t that.” 

To Eddie’s continued frustration and confusion, Dustin did not treat this like the threat it was. 

None of the freshmen had ever truly treated Eddie like a threat--had somehow skipped that part of the usual onboarding ritual entirely.

Eddie, town freak and drug dealer, who had cultivated his looks and craziness to such a degree that most everyone steered clear, wasn’t used to it. 

Everyone had been afraid of him at some point in this shitty school. Jeff, Gareth, hell even half the staff--and that the dorky trio of fourteen year old's clearly thought this all was play-acting made his eye twitch.

Even if it was--maybe, sometimes--welcome. 

“I know what you said, but I’m telling you I’m right.” Dustin argued immediately, and oh God, he was using that tone again. 

A hand went up into the space between them and Eddie groaned aloud, knowing what was coming.

“First,” Dustin ticked a finger up, “Hellfire really needs the money. Even thirty dollars would get us new figures, but more than that, if we don’t fundraise, we can’t go to Gen Con!” 

Dustin's eyes bored into Eddie’s, full of fire and conviction

“Yes,” Eddie said through gritted teeth, “but--”

“Second!” Dustin cut him off, and God the little shit even threw him a look while he did it, like Eddie was the one being ridiculous here!

“We had to fight just to get our table! Principal Higgins was in algebra today practically begging the mathletes to show up, but then tried to tell us we couldn't be here? That’s messed up!” 

As if denying them a spot to fundraise was the worst thing that asshole had ever done.

Eddie sighed, breath blasting out of his mouth like a dragon’s. 

“Because people think we’re freaks and satanists, Henderson. You don’t typically invite freaks and satanists to the school’s annual Holiday Bazaar. Especially not when all the local moms are paying to hawk their bullshit crafts and tupperware!” 

It was more than that of course. The Hawkins High Holiday Bazaar was a tradition spanning several years now. Starting in the gym and spilling clear into the parking lot, everyone from local artists to even some local shops came to host a small table for the day, thus growing the event from a small school fundraiser to a Hawkins' “must-do.” 

Half the fucking town was here to sell, and the other half was here to shop, which meant Principle Higgins had wanted Hellfire banned from the fucking premise. 

Eddie had been forced to pull out one of his trump cards he’d been saving--blackmail on Higgins that related to the man’s not--so--legal addiction to Percocet that he relied on Reefer Rick for. 

(And bless Rick, that hadn’t been the only tidbit he’d shared with Eddie about Higgins. That information, however, Eddie needed just so the asshat wouldn’t give him the boot from school entirely.) 

The only reason Eddie had pulled it out to secure their rightful spot, was because of Gen Con. 

It was Hellfire's White Whale, their grand adventure, and this was going to be his year to take his friends on one last epic quest to make memories of a lifetime surrounded by people who understood them.

Come hell or high water, Eddie was going to Gen Con--but being able to fundraise by selling wares and baked goods at the stupid Holiday Bazaar would go a long way to help.

Even if he had to listen to the band repeatedly play ear-bleeding renditions of Christmas songs.

“All the clubs get to have a table, and we’re a club!” Dustin continued, like it was that simple. “But you know, I get it. We look scary.” 

He gestured down to his own Hellfire shirt, before gesturing towards Eddie’s entire outfit.

Like Eddie didn't know what he looked like, let alone that he'd made this outfit specifically to scare people away from him.

(And maybe add some rockstar flair to this dinky little hick town.)

“You know who doesn’t look scary?”

Dustin held out his hands and swiveled his body like he was presenting a prize instead of gesturing in the vague direction of; 

“Steve!”

Eddie’s left eye twitched.

‘You can't kill him, you need his character for the campaign.’ He told himself firmly, even if he envisioned strangling Dustin like a chicken.

Cartoon squawking and all. 

“The King isn’t going to help us fundraise, Dustin.” Eddie said, in an effort to break down why Harrington couldn't be here. “He's just going to cause us problems that we can’t afford to have.” 

So many problems, half of which Eddie couldn't think of because if he did, he'd start spiraling.

“Really? Because as you keep saying, Steve used to be the King. People love him, Eddie! Mom’s love him.”

Eddie had pulled himself back up to his proper height a while ago, and now rocked back on his heels while he ran a hand down his face.

There was no getting through to Henderson when he was like this. 

Not unless Eddie really lost it, and it was practically club lore that he only lost it when someone missed an important game. 

One cannot keep a herd of sheep if their flock is terrified of them, after all. 

(“Perhaps you’re just a giant fucking softie.” Tiff, one of Hellfire’s graduating members, told him once. “Honestly dude, I bet you throw up stuffing.”

“Shut up Tiffany, your choker is on backwards again.” He'd spat back, completely offended and not at all trying to distract from how true that was.) 

“We can’t be satanic if Steve’s the one selling cookies!” Dustin finished doggedly. 

“We’re not even selling cookies--that’s not the point!”” Eddie shook his head, hair flying. He was not going to be sidetracked, he wasn’t!

 “Harrington is going to end up siding with all the moms about how we’re all wasting time with D&D, if he even spends the whole time at the table. Is that what you want?” 

He stuck out a ringed finger, poking at Dustin’s chest.

“Every single person who comes by our table has to be convinced D&D is a writing and math based game. Good for the mind and souls of growing, impressionable children. A game that got a bad rep because of  a few silly images.” 

A pitch he and Tiff had come up with during the third or fourth time they had to convince an adult that no, just because their shirts had a dragon on it, didn’t mean they were summoning demons in the drama room. 

“Harrington can’t do that because Harrington doesn’t even know how to play!” 

This Eddie punctuated by throwing his hands in the air. 

Given the startled look of the mother-daughter duo passing him by, clearly was louder than he’d intended--but screw it!

He was right!

Hellfire was in a precarious position to both fundraise and do a little damage control among the slightly smarter members of this shithole small town, and Harrington rolling his eyes and gossiping about how stupid it was would hinder that.

“Okay, first of all, Steve’s played D&D with me and he didn’t even kill his character.” Dustin said it like he was unveiling a smoking gun and not lying through his ass--which Eddie would absolutely be calling him on the second he was done talking. 

Because King Steve? Play D&D?

'Ha!'

“And he’s not gonna say shit because we--me, and Lucas and even Mike!--asked him to help, and he helps when its serious. I know you have some weird grudge with him, but I’m telling you Eddie he’s our golden ticket to Gen Con!” 

“You’re killing me. You are standing here, acting as a friend, when you are bringing a-- a dark force into the midst our of mission--” Eddie hissed, because he was losing the fucking fight and he knew it.

Dustin Henderson was not a man easily swayed. 

Had never been, even when the odds were stacked against him (and Grant and Gareth were howling in his ear.) 

The set of his shoulders and the glint of the little shithead’s eye meant Eddie wouldn’t be able to use him to oust Harrington--if he even could get him out without the dick causing a massive scene anyway. 

As always when outgunned, Eddie flipped to dramatics.

“Betrayed! By my own chosen heir no less!” He moaned, pressing the back of his hand over his eyes as Dustin scoffed.

"Don’t be so dramatic! Steve will help, I promise! Just don’t be a dick to him.” 

 Conversation apparently over, Dustin turned around to head back to the table

Snidely, he added over his shoulder: “Plus we’ve all caught on to the heir thing Eddie. You tell everyone that so they do what you want.” 

The dick.

“You’re too fucking smart for your own good. I’m gonna start feeding you paint chips to bring that IQ down.” Eddie muttered angrily as Dustin went back to their little table.

He gave himself a moment to get his shit together and stomp a foot like a child when Dustin was around the corner and thus couldn’t witness it, before following his wayward sheep back.

Could only pray to any deity listening that Henderson’s meddling didn’t blow up in Hellfire’s face.

[tsukinoshinjiu]

Is this what they mean when people say "he's got that dog in him"?

[unfamiliar-ghostly-system]

To my understanding this post is about the terms pro and anti endogenic.

Stance labels aren't ever going to get your beliefs down to a tee, especially not in something as vast as system discourse. I think this is where a lot of the frustration is coming from - the assumptions and misunderstands that naturally come with these two relatively vague terms which are up to interpretation.

Discourse stances exist to serve as a quick message and in terms of origin discourse pro/anti-endogenic fulfills that role wonderfully (outside of actual syscourse and in the grand scheme of things). They are very well established terms and deliver the intended message. If you see a blog with pro/anti-endogenic you know if that blog is safe for you. It works for filtering tags as well. There are numerous "anti-endo" and "anti-endos dni" tags which can be blocked.

Systems, I've been seeing a lot of talk about changing the stance labels and I was curious what everyone's thoughts were. Do you think we should change them to something else and if so what would you like your sides stance label to be changed too? Or alternatively would it be better to get rid of the labels altogether?

Please refrain from hate filled attacks against any individual, syscourse stance, or identity. These will be deleted/users blocked.

Feel free to utilize anons for anonymity.

[beguilingcorpse]

weaponry in the locked tomb is so interesting because when you break it down it's like:

guns exist in-universe but are used by the freedom fighter terrorist organization almost exclusively

swords are (were?) commonplace enough that gideon was able to find and train with a decently well-balanced two-hander on the ninth, despite the fact that the ninth has no military force or even interplanetary traffic. gideon's sword is at least 20 years old, probably older

swords are definitely still in use within the empire, at least by cavaliers, but likely within the cohort as a whole. to my memory there are no mentions of cohort members carrying military-issue guns

even though they're trained in a variety of weapons and techniques, cavaliers (are supposed to) carry exclusively rapiers. gideon prefers her two-hander and cam carries twin shortswords, but these seem to be rare and shocking exceptions to the standard.

rapiers are used by cavaliers explicitly for the purpose of lyctorhood. they're light enough that a scrawny necromancer without swordfighting experience can pick it up and rely on their cav's training without needing to build the muscle to wield the sword effectively

because of the secretive nature of the megatheorem, and lyctorhood as a whole, most people just follow the rapier rule because it's tradition. it is what is done. harrow makes this pretty clear at the beginning of gtn

cavaliers can carry a variety of offhand weapons. it seems like the full spectrum of middle age weaponry is possible - but still, no guns. not even secretly, as with cam's dual blades. some cavs choose to carry material for their necromancers as their offhand - ortus carries a bowl of bones for harrow, and i can only assume "the powder" mentioned as harrow's choice for gideon's offhand towards the beginning of gtn is some kind of bone dust

from a doylist perspective, all of this creates a aesthetic that starts very analog and gothic and gradually grows into a more standard sci-fi space opera through the series. by ntn, we've hit most of the established genre weaponry tropes that we've come to expect from older futuristic space media like star wars and alien. blasters and guns are standard fare, and it makes sense to hold off on introducing them until the scope of the story gets broader and more interplanetary

from a watsonian perspective, it's a little more difficult to draw concrete conclusions without the context that atn will inevitably provide. but if i had to hedge a guess, i'd say that, as with most things, It's All John Gaius's Fault. when he resurrected the galaxy i'd assume that he wanted to keep the aesthetics of medieval imperialism, and given his 21st century liberalism probably didn't want guns to be part of the equation. but they were anyways - we know this because wake carries a big one - and instead of standardizing firearms within his military and for his lyctors, he clings to the aesthetics of swordplay. please correct me if i'm remembering it wrong, but to my knowledge every gun shown in the series is either directly linked to boe or implied to be sourced from them. jod dooms his own lyctors and military by refusing to update their weaponry.

all of this poses a lot of questions about atn: who will carry a gun, and why? where did the gun come from? why DON'T the lyctors just use firearms? and most importantly: will they be fighting zombies with swords???

[opportvnist]

hey! white tumblr users! if you’re considering making a post about rap, try closing out of the post editor and listening to DNA by kendrick instead. I guarantee he’s said everything, and he’s said it better than you ever will.

[corviiids]

ok hear me out about this vaguely Your Name inspired lawlight au told via notes they leave each other while bodyswapped

[unfamiliar-ghostly-system]

Yes, the series left me feeling pretty really disappointed that the 'dhampir revolution' never happened - especially since because soon after I finished the last book for the first time we started our history unit on the civil rights movement in America. It would have been incredible to see the dhampirs (and moroi) actually combat the segregation and discrimination.

At the start of the series we see Rose's opinion on the Badica's guardians choosing to leave to get married and live in the human world, here she backs the system. "They come first" is a phrase and concept we're also introduced to in these early chapters. It would have been really neat to see a perspective change by the end from Rose. I believe Dimitir tells Rose "they come first" in the last book in one of the last chapters, if I'm remembering correctly.

do you think rose dismantling the system would have been a better ending? that’s quite complicated to write and keep at a YA level…

Yes, Rose dismantling the Dhampir system, or at the very least seeing a singular concrete change in the system, absolutely would have been a better ending for Vampire Academy than the half baked, out of no were murder mystery that we got in The Last Sacrifice. As much as I love VA the end was so, so disappointing to me. It felt rushed. Hell I remember going What the fuck even was the "last sacrifice"? Nothing was lost. Frankly, besides Lissa being queen and the bond being broken, everything was pretty much exactly the same as the start of the story. It honestly felt like Richelle had given up on the story she had been building.

From the very first book we establish just how poorly the Dhampirs are treated by the Moroi. The Moroi literally only believe they should exist as assets to them, and the Dhampirs are so desperate to not die off they buy into this narrative. Think about how easily Viktor exploited Rose, a child he'd known her entire life, as a means to an end. Despite the Moroi being fully capable of protecting themselves with their MAGICAL POWERS, Tasha and Christian are considered freaks for even suggesting it. Most Dhampirs are born from a Dhampir mother not a father. The Moroi women won't lower themselves by having a Dhampir baby, but Moroi men will use the Dhampir women as a sexual outlet. The Moroi don't respect the Dhampir. Hell even Rose and Lissa's relationship highlights just how unfair this dynamic is. Rose lived her life for Lissa. She was her protector, her confidant, her food source. Shit Rose even took the insanity from Lissa. What did she get in return from Lissa? (Yes I know Lissa resurrected Rose this is just to highlight the grander Moroi issue) The series spent 5 books highlighting the injustices Dhampirs face. How they die young, how their women are systematically abused, and the lack of freedom to do what they want in life without shame. This isn't subtext these are active conversations, and arch's through the story. Then they have the age law passed, and you see how, universally, Dhampirs are against it. I honestly thought when Rose was framed for Tatianna's murder it was going to be a catalyst for the Dhampirs to start acting out, to push back against this system. Yet the Dhampirs are sidelined to focus on the family laws for Royal Moroi????? It was truly ridiculous. We don't even see change in Bloodlines, just small references that focus on the Moroi council. Rose was exploited by the Moroi in literally every single way imaginable, and the books were building to her realizing the problem with it. Yet, it's all ignored for her to focus all her energy on making sure Lissa was elected queen. (Yea, she was spurred on by trying to stop the age law, but it really came back to the fact Rose viewed Lissa like a deity) The story set up a revolutionary change for the Dhampirs, but it was cut because Richelle couldn't commit to acknowledging how all Moroi, especially Lissa, were flawed when it came to the Dhampirs.

Also onto your second point, that it would be too complicated for a YA novel. Richelle didn't shy away from other really heavy, complicated topics. Bloodlines is literally focused on indoctrination, and cult deconstruction. The latter half of Blood Promise is an allegory for intimate partner abuse. Also remember that The Hunger Games are YA novels. Avatar the Last Airbender is a children's show. Media being for a younger audience does not mean it cannot cover and deal with complex, and dark topics.

Thank you lots for this question! It was fun to respond to - Missy :)

[privateenemy]

i dont know fuckinh how to not bring up lesbians when im talking about transmasculinity because under cisheteropatriarchy they just are linked. the Male and Female gender are linked to attraction to Women and Men respectively. under strict medical gatekeeping you could only be a transgender man if you were attracted to women (straight) and that's how a lot of doctors even today think of transgender people in general. I dont fucking want to, i dont believe in blanchard but what? im just supposed to pretend no transphobe has ever said it? and fucking yes the inclusion of trans masculinity/manhood in lesbianism is linked to the transmisogyny what do you want me to say. trans men / masculine nonbinary people just start from scratch build a brick house and leave your belongings. what am i supposed to say? all the genderfuckery in the world would it still be accurate to say trans men arent women?? all of this shit is so incompatible with each other. are trans men/mascs more prone to genderfuckery because this identity is an unnavigable cesspit. im doomposting tonight sorry

[shaftking]

People will say “fuck religion” and then have zero principles. My brother in Christ you are the one it is for.

[secretarysong]

art block is KICKING my ASS

[abyssal-ilk]

taking in elgar'nan and solas' view of ghilan'nain vs how she presents herself is so,, okay.

in one of the memory scenes we see, solas refers to her as "the most sensitive of us." in a letter written to ghilan'nain, he claims that she has some moral standing that she is sacrificing for her love to andruil- just as he did for mythal. solas and ghilan'nain clearly knew each other prior to both of these interactions and potentially even knew each other very well, but!

ghilan'nain denies his claims in her letter back to him. she says she is doing this of her own will and that andruil is supporting her want for more magical ability, not that andruil is pressuring her or she is sacrificing something for this. yet. in the same letter she says she could not make something like the halla again. not that she did not want to, but that she couldn't. something has changed that is preventing her from being able to.

thanks to two seperate codex entires, we know that elgar'nan has insisted that ghilan'nain needs to take time to mourn andruil, implies that she has a soft spot for the halla after she vists them, and makes active efforts to try and "cheer her up" after the loss of razikale. he clearly expects ghilan'nain to need some sort of emotional care/recuperation after losing her lover and archdemon, but what does she say in response?

she holds no fondness for the halla, her interest is purely to investigate how they have changed. (she is grimly pleased when the venatori killing halla are slain.) she does not need to mourn andruil, for andruil has been remembered in this new world as being fierce and swift. (she will build a monument for her once they have won). she does not need time. there is work to be done.

(in contrast she DOES mourn razikale quite openly. or rather, she rages over her death and vows revenge while onscreen, while elgar'nan describes her as being listless in his own written accounts.)

idk!!! just the way solas and elgar'nan insist that there is something more to her and the way ghilan'nain shuts it down to try and seem in control of her situation and emotions is soo,, shaking her in my brain

[lunarmothim]

just a half-baked thought

imagine being on 141- maybe you're a total badass or maybe you're just a bit too full of yourself, a bit too cocky- and approaching ghost and soap in the gym, just fucking blurting out "you two wanna take me at the same time?"

soap chokes on his water and ghost just gives you a bemused stare while he pounds on soap's back to get him to breathe again

you meant in a spar, but when you end up between them back in one of their rooms you're definitely not complaining

[cartarg]

various stream doodles