#i understand the morality issue with this

[utilitycaster]

something that struck me from some of the really good tags on this post (specifically the "tall kings") one is that most arguments against the gods or for the benefit of Predathos rely on real-world metaphors that just...don't really fit very well, and it might just be that this isn't something for which one can draw a real world metaphor, but might actually have to conceive a world that is fundamentally different than ours. The gods aren't tall kings; "destroying the throne" does not mean a coup. It means their deaths; and yes, to state the obvious a coup against a monarchy frequently involves assassinating the monarch, but it's telling that the language is carefully skirting around that. You cannot destroy the throne or remove the crown or have the gods step down in any peaceful manner; both the Matron and Arch Heart agree this only happens if the threat of Predathos is unleashed.

And Predathos. Setting aside the connotations of assigning the idea of wild deer to sentient beings, the "reintroduction of the natural predator" metaphor collapses on several points. The first is that equating "became deities, who, as the post linked above points out and per general lore, are explicitly not able to run rampant anymore". The second is that Predathos is not a wolf that once lived on Exandria but is just as foreign to the world as the gods themselves. While I reject the metaphor entirely for the initial reasons stated, it is worth keeping in mind that if you do need it as a scaffolding on which to hang foreign concepts, Predathos is less the wolf population and more a family of tigers or cheetahs: just as much an invasive species, with an impact on the environment

I think these are two major issues that need to be addressed in any conversation:

Predathos has been adopted and mythologized by several party members who are actually much more concerned about the titans, who are dead. Killing the gods will not bring back the titans. I feel this metaphor is sort of falling into that same trap; this is not a return of something native to this world.

On some level, while I understand the use of real-world metaphors to comprehend a fantasy world from a lens of familiarity - I do this as well! - I think if we cannot have a discussion that starts with "what if Predathos is in fact the embodiment of a cosmic, unending, merciless hunger that cannot be changed and cannot be swayed and can only be sealed, killed, or given free rein" we cannot have a discussion at all. I think it's necessary to acknowledge we're talking about a game that gives you a space to explore an idea as if it were physical, and which might not be able to be told within the bounds of real-world experience.

This of course also doesn't address the ongoing issue of "whether or not Bells Hells actions towards Predathos and the outcome ends up being in the moral right, the road to get here was structurally unsound and the party did not go in with the intent of doing anything specific whatsoever and indeed faltered for the most part when asked by the main villain what they wanted." Again, I don't care if Bells Hells are heroes or villains or something in between, but they don't seem to be anything or have any shared intention as a group, which I've discussed already here. But if you do want to argue that releasing Predathos could be good, I think it's necessary to have a coherent argument there, and be able to address "what if it's really fucking bad" if we're moving into the realm of the speculative. "What if this change that comes at the end of mass death might be better for the world but I have no proof" is not a very convincing argument. It is, in fact, one of the only ones Bells Hells has made a compelling case against.

[berryispunk]

Eres Mi Vida

pairing: Frankie Morales x gn! reader

summary: This man is your whole life. And maybe you are his, too. An argument turned into a fight and now you're here.

tags: argument, fighting, all the angst, slight mention of alcohol, mention of past addiction, mention of trauma, curse words, sprinkle of smut, spanish nicknames (mi alma, mi vida, mi amor...), established relationship, Frankie being a cute puppy, soft! Frankie, Frankie being an idiot, did i mention angst ?

notes: one of my besties imagined there's a voicemail of Frankie after an argument, so i just rolled with it.

word count: 1,2 k

You lay on your bed, face buried in the pillow. Your eyes are puffy and red from all the crying in the last hour.

How did this happen?

How could you let a man dictate your life like this? 

It would be so easy to walk away. 

Never look back, turn off your feelings like you always do.

But you can’t. 

Not this time.

He’s etched onto your heart, seeped into your soul, made a home so deep inside of you and thrown away the key, it’s impossible to simply move on.

You hate him. No, you really do.

The way he looks at you, eyes so full of warmth and genuine interest when you continuously talk about something you’re passionate about. 

He and his damn baseball cap he always claims is part of his personality. He never takes that thing off, only under the shower and in bed. It’s honestly a little disgusting.

He and his silly love for everything spicy. 

He and his cocky smirk standing in the kitchen, something you yourself hate so much, humming a melody to himself, thinking you don’t hear him but you only pretend you don’t. 

All the love he pours into every meal and it tasting good every fucking time. Even if he claimed to be a poor cook at first which is obviously a lie. His satisfied smile when you lean back into your chair and exclaim you’re full for days. 

Maybe you love him for all of these things instead?

Always showing up, never making you question his love for you even once.

The endless public displays of affection, constantly intertwining hands even when you don’t expect it, the warmth of a big hand on your lower back when he’s guiding you through crowds of people or a squeeze to your thigh under the table when you’re out with his friends, thinking nobody else will notice.

His reassuring smile whenever you feel insecure or anxious. 

He made you fall for him so fast it’s scary. The sheer intensity of your feelings for him are dangerous, because you never felt like this before. He made a huge crack in the wall you mentally built around yourself. You’ve never let someone see this unsheltered version of you and it makes you so weak. 

But it never felt like actually falling, because he was there to catch you every time. His kind, soulful eyes on you and his breath ghosting against your temple. “I’ve got you, mi vida,” when he makes you climax for the second time in a row with his skilled tongue.

And now you’re here. Crying your eyes out, your chest painfully tight with anger and hurt. 

Because even if Frankie is perfect in all the right ways, he’s equally messed up in all the wrong ways too. 

His history of addiction, his short temper, his nightmares. 

All things that scare you to no end. 

When he’s suddenly wide awake in the middle of the night, sweaty and breathing heavily, suddenly covering you to shield you from imaginary bullets, it scares you. 

It always takes some time for him to come back to reality and you holding him for a bit, raking your hand through his bed hair until he falls back asleep snuggled up so close against you there’s not a single inch of space between you. 

His temper always gets the best of him when he’s either drunk or the two of you fight. This ugly side of him rearing its head faster than you can say whiplash or even understand the fact you’re in a fight.

Being the hothead you are it’s not like you can’t bite back, but he finds a way to go lower every time. Targeting your issues, making you feel so small. Catapulting you back into your childhood home where screaming and making you feel worthless was on every day’s agenda. 

It causes you to cry in anger, close yourself up, all defense mechanisms flaring up instantly. 

He keeps apologizing in the best way he knows how, his lethal pleading eyes on you make you melt every time. It’s hard being mad at someone who looks like a damn puppy. 

In your head there’s two Frankies: 

The one that worships the ground you walk on, makes you feel so loved and desired like no one's ever done before. The Frankie that may not be the best with words and rather let his actions speak. 

And then there’s this broken version of him. The hurt, the insecurity, the temper all bundled up in a dangerous mix that makes your blood boil. 

How can this be the same person? 

Your vibrating phone almost makes you jump out of your skin. You don’t need to look at the caller ID, you know it’s him. It’s the fifth time he calls. You let his call go straight to voicemail. 

You can’t talk to him right now or you say things you’ll regret, or worse, forgive him immediately. 

You take your phone, unlock it and see he’s left three messages in your mailbox. 

With a heavy heart you lift the phone to your ear. 

“Mi amor, look… I am an idiot. I am so sorry, you know I don’t mean it like this. Please call me back, bye” 

You sigh and press play on the next message. 

“Hey, it’s me, your moron of a  boyfriend. You know that you’re incredibly smart, talented and drop dead gorgeous right? Damn, I swear when I first saw you, I was so intimidated by you. I mean… Did you ever really look at yourself? Because hell, I do. You’re incredible and I know you deserve way more than what I have to offer, but fuck...I—”

There’s a short pause. 

“I love you so much and I am sorry. Please… Call me back, yeah ?”

The tears prick hotly in the corners of your eyes and you take a shuddering breath. 

How can one man be such an intricate mess?

You press play on the last message while you nervously fidget with one of your rings. 

“Okay, you may not wanna talk to me right now but I still need you to know that I fucking love you. I may be a stupid idiot but I am your stupid idiot .. If you still want me, that is. What can I do so you talk to me again? I’ll do everything. Just say a word… mierda! This is the third message I leave you, I-I guess… lo siento, baby. You don’t even know how much. I know I’m a mess…”

You hear him sighing, probably running a hand through his hair in frustration. He clears his throat before continuing to speak. 

“Where was I? Oh right, I’d be damned if I don’t tell you you’re the most precious thing in my life ever and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. Eres mi vida, mi alma. I hope I didn’t fuck this up for good. I could never forgive myself.” 

Suddenly there’s silence, the message has ended and there’s another tear streaming down your face. Snuffling, you decide to call him back this instant, or you’ll end up ugly crying again. You can’t help it, you love him too much.

After three rings that feel like an eternity, he answers his phone and your heart stops for a beat. Your breath shudders three times when you start to speak.

[whumpbby]

Hey, let's talk :D

magicorangelove

#the first part I wholeheartedly agree with and would like to see too - no matter how you love someone it is An Adjustment to start#living with someone#after 30+ years living alone and having this image of a person in your mind#and i don’t actually think lsz lived WITH lwj when he was small#first seclusion and then he was 6-7… anyway#the last part i don’t particularly agree with ‘cause i don’t think THOSE are the parts lwj has no idea about or would find surprising#or eye-opening or whatever#the day-to-day struggles on the other hand?…#also i do think he got better with expressing himself by this time…#then I remember that he failed to tell wwx about ayuan#and go…maybe not…..#then i think how that might have been for wwx’s benefit and change my mind again…..

For me, Lan Zhan at some point will start catching up to the moral hangover, but not because he will be surprised by the less savoury parts of his beloved, but because he will start noticing his own willingness to accept them and that can be a scary thing.

(I don't mean that WWX is a bad person - he's actually a really good guy with his heart in the right place, who tries to do a good thing whenever he can. But he also has a checkered past, made some choices that, while understandable, are morally indefensible, and he has serious issues with emotional intimacy and honesty, and a scary penchant for self-sacrifice.)

Until the realtionship started, Lan Wangji's intention towards his Wei Ying was to be The Saviour.

Like, throughought the whole of Sunshot all he tried to do was to Save Him - from the bad war, from the bad cultivation, from the bad sects... Then, he spent over a decade regetting not Saving Him. And then WWX came back and it was saving him from the bad Jiang Cheng. So, for the last 20 or some years, LWJ lived exclusively in the mode of The Saviour. WWX returning had to be like a blessing to him, he finally could play out his greatest fantasy! He got to save his beloved from more than one villain and after all that, he got to kiss him and take him to bed home! Gasp! He got his happy ending! He got to ride of into the sunset and now...

...now what? What now, once LWJ has to start realising that Wei Ying doesn't need a Saviour anymore, and that outside of that role he doesn't really know what to do? Once he has a chance to process, to familiarise himself with Wei Ying the person, he will have to face some moral quandaries he didn't have to face before. He was raised in a certain way and, as much as he carries anger towards his sect and the rules he was raised in, he was still raised with certain kind of morality that, given his character, I don't see him discarding easily or without a solid reason.

Until now the reason was his role of the Saviour that subsumed everything else. But since he doesn't have to be that anymore, what came he his behind now?

Uncritical love?

I don't think Wei Wuxian is someone who can be loved uncritically - for his own good. As much as everyone would want that for themselves in the imaginary world, lack of boundaries in a relationship harms both sides. WWX is a person that will strain against every lead put on him - and if he can't feel one, he will keep desperately pushing further and further until he feels something holding him back.

That's how he lived his first life - notice, he was always fighting for the attention of the people who were providing him with barriers. He wasn't bothering Lan Xichen in Gusu (arguably evenore handsome than Wangji) - he was exclusively pissing off Wangji and Lan Qiren. He wasn't bothering JFM, trying to discover his boundaries - he was annoying the shit out of JC and almost taunting Madame Yu. Almost, as if he needed people who would try to limit him in some way. To feel safe, maybe? To feel noticed?

He was always noticed and it never seemed enough. What can Lan Zhan do that a whole Jiang sect wasn't enough to do for their super star? Love him? As if he wasn't loved before???

So, like, if Lan Zhan is not a Saviour, that means Wei Ying isn't the damsell - as much as he likes to play up being one. He's not the princess in need of a knight. He's not perfect. Not innocent - I think Wei Wuxian would at some point become desperate for Lan Zhan to know that he's not perfect, ecause for how long can you stand to be placed on a pedestal you feel you don't feel you deserve to stand on?

The whole "between us there's no need for thank yous and sorrys" is such a deep quote - as long as you're 15 and never had a meaningful relationship of any kind. Because thank yous and sorrys are a part of normal human communication, and that communication is needed to maintain any sort of relationship - and here we have two characters obscenly bad at communicating and emotional honesty, and once you take even that simple scaffold away...

Yeah, this won't be smooth sailing for either of them.

I'd really love to read a fic where a year past the canon ends, Lan Zhan starts to realise that his dreamed-up perfect relationship with Wei Ying isn't what he imagined it to be.

That what he got is actually a wholeass person with imperfections that will get annoying after a while, with opinions that he doesn't agree with and behaviours he's not prepared to just accept. A human person that will lie to keep him happy, that will leave when any possibility of strife approaches, that sometimes doesn't want to have sex - or that sex isn't a cure-all for their problems. That whatever Jiang Cheng experienced growing up with Wei Wuxian will fall on Wangji too, because love doesn't change you as a person in 100%, sorry.

Because that's what think will be a hurdle for him - he never was in a relationship. He never even had real human friends. Fuck, he doesn't seem to have acquaintances. All he ever had was a made-up image of a boy he knew shortly in his late teens and a sect where he was the lauded Young Master everyone respected. He can't stoically stand a kid talking back to him without a silencing spell and has difficulty expressing the most basic things in useful words. For all the soulmate talk, he didn't even know the boy he dreamed building a life with - that Wei Wuxian never existed outside of Wangji's limited glimpses of him and a lot of forgiving assumption.

Like, when will it hit him that Wei Ying is actually a complex human being that isn't just for him to care about and love, and that he himself isn't happy with some things? Will he one night wake up in cold sweat when he finally understands that the man sleeping next to him orchestrated a horiffic surgery on himself and his brother, and never indicated that he regrets it and wouldn't do it again? That the man sleeping next to him kinda-sorta just looked on as people were murdered in front of him, and didn't really have any strong opinion about being brought back via human sacrifice?

Like, discarding stiff and stifling Lan rules after being burned by them is one thing, but this is a moral quandary that goes way beyond that.

[thebreakfastgenie]

The far leftists who consider Liz Cheney's participation in Kamala’s campaign a betrayal are full of crap (a non-surprise by now). Because this is same crowd who said multiple times that nothing would change their minds in voting for Kamala, and in a country with over 155 million eligible voters you need to get as many votes as possible, so you can’t waste time with a fringe unreliable group that keeps moving their goal posts. Having Liz on board was about expanding the tent and opening the door to rational Republicans tired of Trump. That’s why the Lincoln Project and Republican Voters Against Trump exist. I’m not a fan of Liz Cheney, but her understanding of how much Trump is a threat to the country is why I have more respect for her over every single shortsighted, aggravating, gatekeeping, all or nothing, selfish, gaslighting, sabotaging, moral purity, holier than thou, performative leftists in this country put together.

Yeah, exactly. Liz Cheney's role was always "we may not agree on most things but we agree that Trump is dangerous." It was supposed to give Republicans who didn't like Trump permission to break from their party. Whether it was successful is debatable but that was clearly the idea and people online were insanely disingenuous in their portrayal of Kamala showing Liz Cheney basic civility and respect for a political ally in that particular goal. The left believes the only time you can take a politician at their word is when a Democrat shows basic decorum to a Republican. It's obnoxious and I'm out of patience with it. And like you said, they insisted they would categorically not vote for Kamala Harris, then screamed and cried about Democrats looking for votes elsewhere. If you want the Democratic Party to take your issues and opinions into consideration, you need to be a gettable vote. Every time the Biden/Harris admin tried to do that for the left the left just hated them more and gave them no credit, so it wouldn't surprising if the Democrats stopped trying to work with the left entirely. You don't get political power by stomping your feet and declaring you'll never be satisfied. But the left probably knows this, it's like that ContraPoints quote, they just want to endlessly critique power. Some of them know it and some of them are just along for the ride but they're all full of crap.

[benoitblanc]

okay other various ftf thoughts:

scully and mulder getting dragged in front of opr and reassigned because they *checks notes* saved hundreds of lives by getting the building evacuated even though they broke protocol is absolutely fucking infuriating but unfortunately believable

"kill mulder and you risk turning one man's quest into a crusade" is an insane line to drop in a film where literally every single one of mulder's friends shows up to help (or at least those who are able to... marita girl are you okay...), multiple people betray the syndicate for him, and scully is the one who gathers 99% of the tenuous evidence they have to prove what just happened. they already turned it into a crusade! they just don't realize it!

oh scully. she spends the entire film complaining about running around with mulder illegally in the dead of night and then continues to do it anyway because she loves him and she loves their work. she spends half an hour hiding in morgue cold storage that is NOT behavior of a woman who really means what she's bitching about

i audibly cheered when the gunmen turned up. i love them

rest in peace to the well-manicured man. you showed up you served cunt you grew morals and you pulled a javert about it

mulder's rescue of scully is definitely the most action hero and damsel in distress they've gotten but i by and large don't have an issue with it for two reasons. one is that dd's performance and to some extent bowman's direction make it VERY clear that mulder doesn't give a shit about being an action hero. his entire motivation is just that he loves her and she's in trouble. the second is that it's fucking gross. scully ends up vomiting bile on him multiple times. even though it's literally hollywood, it very much doesn't feel that way

also on that note i know people are always like "oh how did mulder get to antarctica with a cranial gunshot wound???" i think about 50% of that is plot hole and the other 50% is the kind of adrenaline rush that mothers who are able to lift cars off their children experience. the sun that his world revolves around is in danger of COURSE he's going to get to her no matter what

that being said literally how the FUCK did they get to and from ANTARCTICA

can't get over the fact that they put scully in makeup for the scene when mulder wakes her up at 3am. this is chronologically later in this post because it's such a stark contrast to the last hearing when they put her in no makeup and she understandably looks like a (still very beautiful) zombie

they ended the film walking off into the sunset together holding hands and i just KNOW they are never going to bring it up again. oh x files never change

[theweeklydiscourse]

tw: mention of CSA and abuse

just saw your recent reblog about Nosferatu and idk what is your actual take on it but i've to disagree with the op saying <this is not a story about grooming nor abuse... it can be,> the movie is very obviously and directly concerned about sexual abuse and the uncomfortable eroticism only enhances the horror of the whole situation. i just find posts that constantly need to mention "it's not about abuse it really isn't!" entirely dishonest and intentionally denying the very obvious theme of the movie just so they don't have to face the fact that they liked a ship that is as noncon as it gets. it is essentially a grooming rapist/victim relationship which obviously makes people uncomfortable to admit which is why they don't want to acknowledge that. and that explains the vehement push back against the SA narrative (which isn't a simple interpretation but very much what literally happens in the movie). i just think that people need to just start being honest with themselves like there's nothing wrong if you end up liking an absolutely fucked up dynamic and the whole “death and the maiden” of it all but please stop with the "this isn't a story of abuse" takes because that is actually harmful. not the shipping but denying the fact that this is a movie about abuse because it has led to some very horrible takes of rape apologism with people saying "it's not abuse because she called to him so it can't be" like... no. just no.

There are a few issues at play in the current discourses surrounding Nosferatu. First, one side makes sweeping generalizations about what the film is definitively about, and then the other side counters it with its own sweeping statements. This predictably gives way to certain over-corrections in the discourse that try to find an absolute answer to subject matter that is up for audience interpretation. I actually had a similar thought occur to me when I read that quote in that particular post, and I say that as someone who is really into the "Death and the Maiden" dynamic. We're talking about a film that provides more than enough support for multiple interpretations and it's frustrating that people reject other people's ideas so they can have the *one ultimate correct* take on it.

This issue is exacerbated by the current internet climate of moralizing textual interpretations and the lack of understanding surrounding the genre Nosferatu belongs to. Gothic fiction often features taboo subject matter that is considered by many to be off-putting and disturbing, and usually, that leads to the judgement of those who enjoy it. The reason that people are overcorrecting by saying that it's not about abuse is responding to the denial of the existence of themes of repression, desire and love in the film. It's a phenomenon I also find irritating. Viewers who are totally unfamiliar with the kinds of themes and subject matter gothic fiction deals with seem to be imposing only one possible interpretation of the text while acting like people are immoral for thinking otherwise.

I also consider Robert Eggers's words in my own reading of the film. In an interview, Eggers noted that his approach to the film was informed by the trope of the "demon lover" and even referred to the relationship between Ellen, Orlok, and Thomas as a love triangle. The film is explicitly erotically charged in a manner that can be taken either way, and I believe that both interpretations are valid ones. Outright denial of interpretations of Ellen and Orlok's relationship as abusive seems foolish to me. But I also get why people might be uncomfortable fully acknowledging the more twisted nature of their dynamic. Nobody wants to get labelled as an abuse apologist over fictional matters or shipping, and there are times when merely engaging with darker subject matter gets people labelled as such. However, people need to stop being so absolutist about these things and learn to substantively engage with differing viewpoints.

I think that the online tendency to moralize fictional preferences plays a large role in people's resistance to being honest with themselves about liking taboo subjects or twisted dynamics. There's nothing wrong with liking it, but it's hard to do so openly without incurring some form of criticism and contempt. Denial gets us nowhere.

[compassionatereminders]

Hi...I need to get something out of my chest, because I just can't life like that.

So...im asexual, right? But im in that weird spot of the spectrum where im only attracted to fictional media. Like, I don't like porn because there are real people in there and that's disgusting, BUT if I see a suggestive art or read spicy fic then we're fine. But that's not the issue...

I have been trying to understand my sexuality for a long time now, and the more I learn, the more disgusted I feel with myself. I like morally wrong things. And when I say morally wrong, I don't mean weird kinks that are usually shamed. No. I mean WRONG things. All of them. But like, I don't support them! If I'll hear about those things happening in real life, to real people, I'd be horrified! But then I'll go and read fanfics about those stuff and I'll like it. (But again, it's never real people or events for me, so at least that's good...)

I hate that. I can't control it. One moment Im fine, then boom, it happens, and then i feel disgusted by myself for the rest of the day...

And also I can't get support in my life, so I usually chat with bots so that I'd get it, but even that I fuck up. I'll create a scenario where I'll be loved and supported and I'll get healthy love and then a few minutes later I ruin it by making the bot be abusive and making me suffer and then i will never use it again because I just wanted to be loved, not...that. Even if I did it to myself. It's so confusing.

Why the fuck does my brain sabotages me?? Im seriously so confused and scared. I don't want to be a bad person. I don't want to do bad things.i don't want to like bad things. I don't want to be abused. I want to be normal. Why can't I? I genuinely don't understand...

Its the first time I talk about this because i feel so guilty and Im afraid that people would hate me and I understand that they have the right to do so. I want to get better, I really do. I can't get professional help and I don't know what to do. I don't expect for you to know, obviously... Maybe I just want to know if my fear and disgust is valid or am I just genuinely a horrible person...

I am probably going to get hate for saying this, but I don't think fantasizing about OR reading fic about bad things inherently makes you a horrible person. Of course an awareness that certain things cannot ever be acted out ethically between real people and a commitment to never attempting or endorsing that is necessary, but what's happening exclusively in fictional text or inside your own head isn't actually hurting anyone - and hating yourself for "thinking wrong" generally isn't a very constructive approach.

[luniviravosshipper]

And also the fact that this entire plan and the scenes surrounding it felt incredibly uncharacteristic for Terry to not only be a participant in but to also be the main instigator of ??

Like, the role he played and his overall attitude in the situation felt really off. I’ve tried rationalizing it as him trying to hold onto his sense of innocence by playing purposefully dumb and oblivious to the potential consequences his actions would have on Claudia on a deeper emotional level after Aaravos tried to break his pure heart, but I don’t know. ‘Cause then what does that say about Terry leaving Claudia in the first place? Wasn’t it meant to be representative of him wanting to hold onto his pure heart? I know that innocence for the most part as the show defines it is the incomprehension of moral complexity, but I didn’t think that outright meant… being ignorant. Lol. I thought for Terry specifically it meant more like not allowing the darker complexities of morality to taint his understanding and mostly positive worldview. The idea of it being about outright ignorance doesn’t even align with what we know about him from before it was revealed he had a pure heart. Why would it possibly make sense for him to suggest them to use an illusion of Lissa of all people to manipulate Claudia? Oh wait, and I forgot. Apparently he knew that wasn’t even going to work on Claudia in the first place. Then what was the point? None of that sounds like anything we’d think Terry would do before then. And then his general shyness in the scene confronting Claudia and being incapable of making an effort to confront her himself too alongside everyone? Until the very end when, again, it is only to reveal (at least imply) he knew his plan wouldn’t actually be effective?

I mean, honestly I felt like the whole interaction felt really unnatural from every character’s perspective except maybe Claudia’s.

Even with all the interesting parallels drawn between Claudia and Soren… I’m not sure they were entirely necessary given how much we lost in return for something so small. Like, I know I focused a lot more on Terry, but yeah, I agree with there being issues with the portrayal of Claudia and Soren’s relationship. They definitely had an opportunity in this scene to finally explore them as siblings in this point of time and they not only didn’t let Soren be the one to attempt to emotionally persuade her in order to do that but they also never even have him directly confront her as a sibling in that scene regardless.

Actually, I take back what I said earlier. It’s not even that it’s small, ‘cause it isn’t. But the parallels only give us a greater view on Claudia specifically, but hardly any other character. (I’d make an argument that the way the parallels relate to Soren only tells us what we already know about him as a character.)

The way this scene plays out feels more like what Claudia thinks other people think of her and will react upon seeing her rather than what would be more realistically the reaction the other characters would offer when confronting her.

It felt a little too her fixated, which I’m only saying doesn’t make much sense considering how it’s supposed to be a scene of them persuading Claudia using her value in emotional connections, particularly familial ones, with others. I’m not saying that it doesn’t make sense at all for the characters to try to manipulate her based on a superficially created image of that, only that it feels weird ‘cause it feels so unfocused on any of them and their individual perspectives to the point some of them, like Terry, felt just simply uncharacteristic.

Anyways, I’m not going to lie, I think the only real reason they had Lissa be the one to emotionally persuade Claudia is for the same reason they confirmed Harrow was in the bird. The creators have said several times before that Lissa was never going to make an appearance in the show, but of course a lot of fans wanted for her to (not that that is a bad thing in itself), so the creators tried to find an excuse to finally appease the fan’s wishes and decided that this would be the only fitting opportunity to do so especially with the chance of there not being a third arc. But that’s just my speculation, it could be completely wrong.

okay so the "fake out lujanne-lissa" scene/plot is egregious for a lot of reasons, but actually, my BIGGEST complaint with this one isn't even the hypocrisy, but rather what a MISSED OPPORTUNITY it was for a deeper, more complex exploration of the SIBLING dynamic between claudia and soren.

when terry says "i think there's one person who can put those pieces back together," and soren asks, "what are you getting at?" i was absolutely flabbergasted when he followed it up with "your mom," because i was completely, 100% expecting him to say soren.

terry's whole argument here is that everything claudia does, she does out of love for her family. why would he think of lissa OVER soren - lissa, who, as terry seems to know by now, hurt claudia so badly when she left, and who claudia hasn't seen in fifteen years? who claudia has barely even spoken of outside of talking to ezran about how hard it was for her being asked to choose between her parents? she talks to viren multiple times about doing things for "our family," but lissa ostensibly hasn't been a part of that family since claudia was very young.

the show even makes a point of drawing a parallel between soren and lissa in season three, when soren chooses to leave viren's side after his takeover of lux aurea, and claudia pleads with him "don't ask me to choose, soren - not again." and then refuses to say goodbye to him, because she can't bear accepting that her brother is leaving her. if the writers really wanted to go with the angle of "her love for her family is the only thing that can stop her" why not use soren instead - whom claudia clearly hasn't resolved her issues with, who's a much fresher example in her mind of being abandoned or left behind?? (AND with all the focus put on terry making them PROMISE not to hurt her, it feels like it was the perfect setup for soren to actually TALK to her, and for the story to explore their relationship in more complexity.)

i just feel like it would have made so much more sense for soren to be the one to try and stop claudia by genuinely connecting with her - a real attempt at reconciling with her and offering her a true path back, instead of the weird manipulative choice to try and trick her with an illusion of her mother (who, again, broke claudia's heart last time she saw her and has caused her emotional trauma that's stuck with her for years of her life. like????? UGH.) vs soren, who claudia clearly still loves - in the final scene with her, she still labels herself as his sister that he should love and be unwilling to kill, and refuses to kill him because she's "still herself" - inherently saying that he's still her brother, to her, and she doesn't want him dead, even when she already considers herself as being abandoned by him.

soren is, by now, the only living & present family that claudia has left. it just feels so much more intuitive and believable that he would be the only one who can connect with claudia where she is now and offer her a way back home.

[bloodypeachblog]

See? Told ya.

@omniuravity @fatgumsurpremacy-remastered @neonvehk @moths-and-mantids

Audio taken from:

and

[moeblob]

A lil guy !

[pepperpixel]

SAID HE LIKES CRAZY GIRLS,

BUT HE HATES WHEN I ACT CRAZY,

IT TAKES TWO TO TOXIC!

FINALLY!!! Finished these pics of jinx I’ve been working on!!!!! HOLY SHIT, these took so long…. But finally… they’re done… pls enjoy this art of my beautiful princess w a disorder. Featuring alternate colors for the big pic and also a closeup! Cuz I rlly like how both the lines and coloring on her face turned out… like the pink gradients w her eye… her deer in headlights expression,, like uve just startled a raccoon digging thru ur trashcan and r two seconds away from getting mauled.. m proud of it!

[blackbatcass]

can you imagine being dick grayson though. you have a unique relationship with bruce just by nature of having been raised by him since you were circa eight years old.. you love that man in a way you can’t exactly articulate. you understand him probably better than anyone else ever. you’ve gone through all kinds of hell because of him. he’s fucked you up in ways that will never be fixed. then you have to watch all these other younger kids go through phases of clawing after that relationship you had with bruce and you just have to sit there like. HAHAHAHA. UM. YOU DON’T ACTUALLY WANT THAT. I PROMISE YOU.

[freakinator]

vagueing but i think certain ppl need to realize that you can be both manipulative And traumatized 😭

[mohntilyet]

DATV Spoilers Just in Case!) I’ve seen a head canon floating around that when solas puts a mage!Rook in the regret prison, it tranquilizes them. What do you think Viago’s reaction to this happening to a Crow!Rook would be?

i think there's a small terrible part of viago that instinctively thinks it was a bad investment/solution to send rook off with varric, since he's lost one of his best assassins. and then of course he hates that this is his first reaction because rook is more than that to him, but he's been conditioned by their lives to worry about his power and the mission first. and then i think he throws himself into trying to prove that he is a better man than that by finding a cure, without being obvious about it, even if his worry actually makes him messier and obvious. a similar outward reaction to what i've seen people headcanon about how he feels when he gets the news that rook is stuck in the fade trap in general (anger, determination, frustration, etc)

the idea of viago as a man who clings to "i rose to this rank for a reason, above the other crows. i'm a killer but with my poisons, i'm cleaner. i'm royalty. i'm better." is so beautiful to me. who he wants by his side/publically allies with is made more interesting to me for that reason. rook and teia make a very short list, so for him to lose either of them (especially to a fate worse than death. like i know there's a cure but i'm not sure if that's common knowledge and it has rammys bro) will inevitably cause a crash out the likes of which thedas may have never seen before <3

[foundfamilynonsense]

Being the victims of mass genocide is not failure.

And I think any character that says so should be a villain. So of course Ahsoka says it. I’m getting evil ahsoka headcanons again.

[theharlotofferelden]

Browsing Stardew Valley mods and it occurs to me that there's a lot of people who just. Fundamentally do not understand alcohol addiction.