#is this a bad piece? I hope it isn't a that bad of a piece ;-;

[song-of-stardust]

Hi! I'd like to add something with my own experience of art history.

The first thing we learned in any art history class (and we learned it EVERY ART HISTORY CLASS) is that it kinda matters how you display things!!! Masks must be presented with full costumes to get full context, etc. How you display them matters too, like if you place that mask on a wall, stand, or lay it on a display or even the ground. We can always get into the whole "should it be leaning against a corner or laying on the floor" debate, but that's not the point I'm making here (although I hate the way it is just laying on the floor).

The point is, if you don't include context, the FIRST THING YOU LEARN TO DO IN ANY CLASS, you have failed as a museum or display. You have taken away what makes it "art." Anyone can lay candy on the ground. Not everyone can make a portrait of someone they loved dearly in a way that reflects the time and stigma around them.

Items MUST be presented with context. Without it, the piece is meaningless. Not only is this queer erasure, but it could be said they are claiming The Portrait of Ross isn't art at all. Would that be a stretch? I'd like to hope so. I'd like to chalk this incident up to some idiot director who doesn't fucking know the first damn thing about displaying shit, but IT'S THE SMITHSONIAN. You would THINK they MIGHT know how to display things. Regardless of what happened, IT LOOKS BAD. Not just for the piece, but the museum itself.

As a queer artist, this makes me so mad on so many levels. The incompetence, intentional or not, cannot be excused and I hope someone gets fired for this.

the david zwirner gallery and the felix gonzalez torres foundation in the smithsonian removed the descriptive plaque for portrait of ross in la by felix gonzalez-torres. the old plaque explained portrait for ross' origins as the artist's partner's aids related death, and replaced it with a plaque with absolutely no information about the piece itself, who ross was, or who gonzalez-torres was either. portrait of ross was also reeranged to lay on the floor long ways instead of in a pile as it typically is situated, and the plaque outside the exhibition FOR GONZALEZ-TORRES omits his sexuality, as well as his aids related death. i'm in utter disbelief

[utilitycaster]

I follow someone who peaced out of C3 like a month ago, and while she still throws out the occasional post about it, despite mostly running on ✨vibes✨ since pre-Predathos fight. one of her latest takes caught my attention. The wording was a little messy, but the core argument seemed like it might have a point. She’s saying the biggest issue with the story is a lack of internal logic, which makes the characters feel kind of disconnected from their own world and setting. Her main example was the Schism, like, the general idea that the Titans were bad news for mortals should be widely accepted, and they’re dead so they’re not coming back even if the gods leave. She also argues that the idea that the gods would always choose each other over mortals isn’t really backed up by history. Basically, she thinks Bells Hells ignore some of the fundamental structures of modern religion in Exandria, which in turn makes a lot of their arguments about the gods fall apart.

So I guess I’m wondering does it seem like there’s a lack of internal logic to you? C3 is my first campaign, so I’ve been piecing together older lore as I go, and I can’t tell if this is a niche take or if there’s some bigger context I’m missing.

Yes. Or rather, I have a couple of different guesses as to what happened. In short: I think that either Matt wanted to set up a big dilemma and failed to do the worldbuilding to really support it textually; he didn't have a clear vision of what this would be at all (HUGE fucking mistake, like, actually concerning me re: the potential of a 4th campaign level of mistake and I hope it's not that); or, alternately, and honestly right now my guess is that this was the case, he straight up did not think the characters would be such selfish dickbags and thought going in that this would be a clear "we have to stop Predathos" and intended the familial connections within the Vanguard and the scene in Hearthdell to be added nuance to provide some understanding of the Vanguard not as simply mindless evil monsters but people who have genuine grievances that have been exploited by predatory cult leaders, and was not prepared for a campaign where the party immediately took the Vanguard's side.

Religion in Exandria has never been super formalized or organized. Some of this is, of course, that you don't have to like, convert or even attend services if you have a relationship with a god. But as a result, it means that any exploration of religion as hegemonic falls apart. I am not saying religion needs to fit the regular daily or weekly practices many people irl have (depending on one's levels of observance), and those characters whose powers canonically involve a deity often do observe either restrictions (Caduceus's vegetarianism) or have some form of meditative personal worship, but we never see like, a system of worship outside of Vasselheim, and Vasselheim lacks the powers that the real-world pope has (let alone the medieval era pope). Tuldus was forced by his family to pray, but it's never depicted as part of How All Worshipers of That God are expected to behave. This is really the crux of a lot of problems with this campaign - people keep taking very individualized issues - which are real, but individual - and treating them as a sign of widespread oppression that simply isn't backed up by the text. In fact, the biggest case of widespread religiously-involved oppression is the Empire going after worshipers of illegal Prime Deities (as we see with the Schuesters - the parents are arrested, leaving their young children to fend for themselves) - and the biggest case of widespread proselytizing and missionary work is from the canonically theocratic (and ruled by one person for over a millennium) Kryn Dynasty, which, hilariously, might end up even more powerful given that the Luxon - the source of their religion, their philosophy and cultural practices, and their arcane prowess - has been brought up as relevant to the gods-become-mortal plan by the Raven Queen and seems to not be under any threat from Predathos, and might even get more powerful. Vasselheim's colonial efforts, while certainly not defensible, are small potatoes.

The player character's grievances against the gods all boil down to "I prayed to the gods and they didn't make my life better" while failing to consider that a combination of genuinely wild specific personal circumstances (being Ruidusborn; being the child of an elemental-worship cult with terrible instincts and later running a heist on a Vanguard collaborator; being a shadow sorcerer who caught the eye of an evil Vecna-worshipping wizard in need of a host body) are the root cause. It's like. If your parents kick you out for being gay, that's homophobia, but if your parents are part of a cult that blows itself up and you are orphaned as a result that is not systemic oppression, that is a very specific cult and shitty parents. So that fails to really ground them in the setting. Compare to campaign 2, where Caleb wants to ensure the Volstrucker program is brought to light and eliminated - as he says, no more children on the pyre - vs. here, where arguably Laudna and Ashton are opening the door to far more unregulated cult/evil necromancy shenanigans now entirely unmitigated by the gods. At least Imogen will probably end the Ruidusborn I guess, as a side effect completely unrelated to her actual goals (which are, frankly, unclear) In a campaign that talks about tethers, the characters seem untethered to anything - institution, place, even for the most part family, and only loosely to each other, and it shows in their lack of care.

The other part is that yeah, a lot of things that were given to the Mighty Nein and Vox Machina as "things people would know" aren't given to Bells Hells. Now this could have a mechanical basis, namely, no one has much of a formal education and most of them are also not terribly intelligent on their own. However, it does feel baffling that they can't recognize holy symbols, or don't know the story of the titans at the time of the Schism (which...setting aside the many issues with the concept of "history is written by the victors" which is both inconsistently true in the first place and is frequently used in an anti-intellectual manner to undermine historical study that points out such things as historical racism; just because history might be inaccurate that does not mean that wild speculation otherwise is necessarily true, especially since we do know from EXU Calamity that titans did, indeed, intend to side with the Betrayers against mortals at the start of the Calamity). It furthers this feeling, after Vox Machina being relatively educated even in a story that was not as worldbuilding-focused, and the Mighty Nein having multiple research-oriented characters and a party deeply rooted in a rich world, that Bells Hells feel off and adrift and ignorant, especially since they don't even seem to remember history they lived through such as the Apex War.

Honestly, what I think is most interesting actually is that we don't ever get anyone express a motivation based on structural oppression in-game. Ludinus never got over his parents dying in a war where the options for the Prime Deities were leave mortals to die or fight the Betrayers, knowing there will be devastating casualties, but in setting up his elaborate plot he murdered countless people, destroyed through his communing with Predathos the first rebuilt elven society in Western Wildemount, and participated in actual structural oppression within the Dwendalian empire for literal centuries; he cared not for any widespread liberation and would remain on top, as an archmage, after this imagined revolution, which makes it not much of a revolution worth having. Liliana's problems were caused by Predathos, and many of the Vanguard we see are Ruidusborn. The only other Vanguard we really get to talk to are Bor'Dor, who was oppressed on the basis of his religion and preyed upon by the cult; Tuldus, who see above; and various Paragon's Call members who are mostly just following orders and getting paid. And Bells Hells, when they have the audience of Vasselheim and the rest of the world - a golden opportunity to call out the colonialism - fail to bring up Hearthdell.

In the end, the motivations are all personal pain - in many cases, inflicted, in fact, by Predathos and not the gods - or vengeance. I honestly don't know if the narrative is trying to claim there is something deeper, or if it's simply some of the characters and a chunk of the least knowledgeable fans, but yes, the worldbuilding fails to support a morally complex narrative. It fails to debunk that which was established earlier (and indeed makes the fall of Aeor far more sympathetic than when it was introduced during Campaign 2) and fails to establish any widespread harm the gods did that wasn't the result of someone threatening to kill them. I do not think one can meaningfully debate with someone who puts a boot on your throat, presses down, and claims you're the oppressor when you fight back, nor with someone who argues along those lines, and that's all that fans and Bells Hells have ever done. And yeah we might actually make a world with a formalized hegemonic religion as a result of Bells Hells' actions; it just will be a different god, underscoring that this is either motivated by people who don't know what the fuck is going on; or by vengeance rather than justice.

[fakeagatha]

Mrs Fletcher | Prof! Eve Fletcher x Fem!Reader | Chapter Five: Bill's on Me

Summary: Your impulsive thoughts win, and you find yourself "treating" your professor to coffee.

A/N: Yes, the professors' discussion about books, eggs and bottlecaps is based off of the things I'm currently witnessing in highschool.

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1490

AAA Community

Divine Headcanon Generator

You and Steve finish your food, and you wiped yourself off with the napkin the waiters had left. Throughout your entire meal, you kept shooting glances towards Eve, who was sometimes already looking at you, making you have a small heart attack each time. Unbeknownst to you, Eve was mortified at having been caught, pretending to look out the window next to you.

She could see the determination and passion in your eyes every time you uttered a word, admiring your facial expressions and hand movements that you used to emphasize. She was knocked out of her trance when her mind warped back to the reality of her coworker complaining.

"And I told our excuse of a principal that these kids need to be expelled, but he won't listen to me!" She sighed, "I kick them out of every class but it isn't enough. One day, one of those bottle caps is going to take out one of my eyes." Mrs Davis crossed her arms, relaxing back into her seat. "It's exhausting."

"They used to throw books in my class, but after one of them was kicked out of my course none of them dared to do it again." Mr Butterfield added with a smirk.

"Teach me your ways, Carlos!" Mrs Davis groaned, making the rest of the group chuckle.

"I need to know how as well. I found pieces of boiled egg on my classroom floor once." Mr Rogers joined in, rolling his eyes."

Eve shook her head with a smile, and darted her eyes back to you for a moment, unaware that this whole time you had been talking about the interaction you had with her earlier that day.

"But yeah, I still feel pretty bad about how I kind of, shut the door in her face while sweating profusely..." You bit your lip, looking towards her and quickly looking away, pretending not to have seen her when she was already looking at you again.

"We talked about this already, she seemed fine just now, didn't she? I doubt she cares that much, she knew you were in distress." Steve reassured,  "You don't think she actually read the whole thing, right?" He grinned, and you rolled your eyes.

"No, she wouldn't. I know because she probably would've confronted me. Well I hope anyway, unless she was lying so I-"

"Hey you guys!" You were interrupted by the familiar voice of your professor, making your mouth hang open mid sentence. "I was just coming to say goodbye. The others already went outside, but I'm not as rude as them." She teased, almost letting her professional walls crumble.

Your eyes widened again, and you slowly looked up at her. "So soon?" You chuckled. "Why don't you... Let me treat you to another coffee?" You blurted out, making both Eve and Steve look at you in pure shock.

Eve cleared her throat, "It wouldn't be nice of me to deny your offer." She chuckled, being unable to refuse your offer, even though she was your professor. Steve quickly stood up. "I'm just gonna go to the bathroom for... A bit. It's an emergency!" He lied, smiling awkwardly as he quickly walked away.

You shot him a death glare as Eve sat down in the now empty chair. "You know, it's very kind of you to offer me a drink, Y/N." She smiled, and you blushed at her comment.

"It's my pleasure, take it as a way of me thanking you for that perfect score on my last essay." You smirked at her, and she shook her head. 

"That was all you, dear. It was tremendous work and I had to give you the credit you deserve, hm?"

Your cheeks reddened a bit more, looking at her thankfully. "Either way, thank you." You smiled quickly drawing your attention away as you flagged down the waiter walking past, ordering two more coffees for the pair of you.

Eve sighed, folding her arms and looking out of the window, before resorting to an attempt to break the silence.  "You grew up in New York, didn't you?"

'How does she even remember that?'

"I did, I'm surprised you remember that." You chuckled.

"Do you miss it there?"

You paused a little, biting your lip. You loved California, but at the same time, the life you lived in New York was nice too.

"Sometimes. I miss my parents occasionally, but..." You bit your lip, "I do enjoy the freedom here. I'm lucky enough that my best friend since highschool attended the same university as me." You stated, looking up at her understanding expression.

"I do understand that feeling, hon." Eve smiled, "I lived my childhood in New Jersey before I moved here in my late twenties to become a professor." She admitted, and you felt special knowing that she was beginning to open up to you, in a way. "Even though I've been here for twenty odd years already, and of course I love my friends here, but I think about my old life too." Eve added, twirling her fingers. She was very thankful for Amanda, Jane, and Julian, her closest friends who had stood by her through it all. "I have this friend around your age back in New Jersey, but we still keep in touch, so if you're worried about losing touch with anyone back home, remember that you will most likely-"

You couldn't help but smile as Eve kept rambling on about her life and her friends, as she kept trying to reassure you about your worries.

The pair of you were interrupted by the sound of Eve's obnoxiously loud ringtone. She picked up her phone from when she left it on the table, and stood up:

"Excuse me dear, but I need to take this. I won't be long!" She smiled, quickly getting up and stepping outside, pressing the "Accept Call" button on her screen.

You nodded to Eve, taking note of the empty cups in front of you. You raised your hand, signalling to a nearby waiter you gave you a look of acknowledgement. You looked at your phone, realizing that Steve had disappeared off of the face of the Earth. Was he actually hiding in the bathroom this whole time? You opened up his chat.

"Where tf are u???"

"I escaped through the bathroom window. I'll pay you back!"

You silently cursed, raising your head when you saw that the waiter was already heading over.  He approached you, smiling politely as you began to speak, "Hey, could I have the bill?" 

The waiter raised an eyebrow, checking through his phone on the system.

"It seems your bill has already been covered."

You looked at him, dumbfounded for a moment, and you suppressed a shocked smile when you realized, rolling your eyes a little. "Right, I see... Uh, thanks." You stammered as he walked away from your table.

Right at that moment, you saw Eve coming back from her phone call outside, tapping on her screen as if she had only just hung up.

"Mrs Fletcher!" You exclaimed, looking at her, and she simply smirked.

"What?" 

"You didn't have to pay for the bill, you know. I was supposed to be treating you, and you even paid for mine and Steve's orders!" You sighed, looking up at her in mock annoyance.

Eve chuckled and shook her head, "Please, don't worry so much about it. I don't often cover the bill for anyone, so really, it's no biggie."

Your expression turned to one of humor, crossing your arms. "So you're telling me that I'm an exception to your money?" You laughed, making Eve pause for a moment.

"For today, yes."

You stayed silent for a moment, before chuckling, stumbling over your words. "Ugh, I- fine. But I'll pay you back eventually!"

Eve went to protest, but eventually gave in after seeing the determination in your eyes, making her put her hands up in defense. "Alright, hon."

HON.

"I hate to cut this short, but I have somewhere to get to." She got up from her seat. "Are you okay walking back, or would you like me to take you?" She offered, and your heart swelled.

"It's a five minute walk, but I won't deny your offer." You shrugged, standing up next to her, "You don't have to walk me if you don't have the time," 

Eve shook her head, "I've got some time. I wouldn't have offered if I couldn't, eh?"

You agreed, stepping out of the cafe door behind her, quickly walking up next to her as you began to cross the street. The two of you took in the scenery, the sun making the grass beneath you glow in its rays.

"You know, as much as I love thunderstorms, this part of town looks so gorgeous in the sun." Eve broke the silence, putting her hands into her pockets as she looked up at the sky.

Eve looked back at you, only to redden when your eyes were already locked onto hers. You smiled awkwardly, looking back down at the grass beneath you. 

Entering the campus, she gave you a smile. "I will see you Monday morning, Y/N." 

"I'll see you on Monday, Mrs Fletcher."

[ranhaitanisbitch]

Mammon has nightmares after lesson 16

Spoilers for obey me lesson 16

- mammon x gn!reader

warning: angst with comfort (i think, i'm not good at this T_T), shirtless Mammon in a non-suggestive way

synopsis: mammon can't sleep because he keeps having nightmares about seeing mc die, he decides to pay them a nightly visit.

author's note: this is my first piece of creative writing ever, so please don't be too harsh on me hehe. hope you enjoy it! also would love more suggestions and ideas to write about, so i can practice some more ^_^ (also english isn't my native language, so i apologize for any mistakes)

word count: about 1.1k

3:24 AM. Mammon sighed. It was already the third time he had woken up from his sleep tonight. He had had another nightmare. Nothing unusual for the demon lately. Ever since that one particular day he had had trouble falling asleep. Whenever he laid back and closed his eyes the one memory, he tried so desperetealy to forget, kept replaying in his mind. On nights he was able to miraculously fall asleep he would be plagued by nightmares, being forced to relive that traumatic memory again and again. The demon would wake up from those nightmares drenched in sweat and repeat that process until he'd decide keeping trying would be a waste of time. Then he'd start with his daily duties, extremely sleep deprived, but at least he would have a distraction from the scenes that haunted him whenever there was a moment of quiet.

Mammon sighed again. He could feel his wet shirt clinging to his skin. He could tell he wouldn't get another second of sleep tonight, but the lack of sleep from the previous days were starting to catch up to him. During the past week he kept falling asleep in class (very much to Lucifer's disapproval) and even the photographer at his modeling gig sent him home, lecturing him about the importance of beauty sleep for models. The man told Mammon to come back when his eye bags, which were so dark they were impossible to cover, were gone. One week later the eye bags were still there if not even worse. "I can't go on like this", Mammon thought. He moved his blanket off of himself and left his room. He didn't even think about what he was doing or where he was going, but his own feet seemed to have a plan.

When he arrived in front of a door he knew too well, the demon stopped. "What am I doing? It's almost four in the morning. I shouldn't wake them up.", Mammon scolded himself as his hand was already reaching for the door handle and pushing it down. "This is so inappropriate!", "I shouldn't be here", "(M/C)'s gonna get so mad if they wake up.". Mammon's heart was pounding like crazy and suddenly stopped when he saw your sleeping face with your brows furrowed. The demon had seen you sleep once before, when he barged into your room a few months ago, in the middle of the night, to get you to sneak out with him. You looked so peaceful sleeping back then, but now your face looked all scrunched up, not peaceful at all. And now Mammon even noticed the small lamp, that was still turned on, on your bedside table. Where you having a nightmare? Were you being plagued by nightmares too? Were they the same ones he had? Were they worse? As traumatic as that day was for Mammon he couldn't even imagine how bad it must've been for you. You had literally... died. The thought alone was enough to make goosebumps rise on the demon's skin and the urge to touch and embrace you was getting stronger. He just wanted to make sure you were still there. Really there. His feet slowly approached the bed. Without thinking Mammon's hand moved to your face, softly caressing the crease between your eyebrows with one finger as if to smooth the lines. You suddenly opened your eyes and Mammon's hand shot back. Your face softened as you recognized Mammon's face and gave him a small smile, "You scared me". "Sorry", was all that the demon could come up with as he stared at your face like he couldn't believe you were real. "What are you doing here?", you asked softly. Mammon was acting unlike his usual self and that seemed to concern you. "I don't know". Oh, he knew exactly what he was doing here, but he would never admit that. Even if he wanted to, the words seemed to be stuck in his throat. You lifted your blanket up and gestured for him to slip in. Mammon immediately complied and laid down beside you. The blanket was too small for two people, so you two were practically smooshed against each other. "Mammon your shirt is drenched", you whispered feeling the damp shirt now cling to you too. "Sorry". You sighed, "Take it off. You'll get sick...". The demon blushed, but pulled his shirt over his head and let it fall down on the floor beside the bed, "is that really okay?". You just giggled softly at his shy demeanor. The skin of his cheeks turned an even darker shade of red and the demon quickly turned off the small bed side lamp, thankful you wouldn't be able to see the embarrassing color his face had taken on.

With his shirt off Mammon could feel even more of your warm skin. The feeling made him calm down. The anxious feeling he had when he first stepped through the door completely gone. You were real. You were still here. Suddenly Mammon had the strongest urge to hug you and never let go, so he carefully turned his body in your direction and put an experimental hand on your right arm. When you didn't protest he put his whole arm around your waist loosely. He felt a sensation on his arm and expected you to move his arm away. Feeling dejected he got ready to pull his hand away, but only felt your own hand caress his arm softly. Mammon let out a small sigh of relief and boldly put his head in the crook of your neck. Your free arm sneaked under Mammon's neck and started playing with his head. The demon relaxed completely. This was probably the most relaxed he had been in the past weeks since the incident. He could feel himself become more tired and was slowly starting to fall asleep. He muttered a last "good night" and drifted off to sleep.

[ndrv3expert1]

The ending of Danganronpa V3: Not the cliché twist people think it is.

Probably the most controversial part about V3 is the ending. I love it. I love it so much I have a shirt of it. I can see why others don’t somewhat but at the same time I’m like why?

Many people say the fact the game is fiction makes it meaningless, but I strongly disagree. I understand that an 'it was all fake' or 'and then they woke up' ending is annoying and overused and, depending on what happens in the piece of media, just bad writing, but DRV3 isn't one of those endings.

And if you do believe the game was meaningless, then congrats you fell for Tsumugi's lies, hook line and sinker.

In the sixth trial, Shuichi talks about how even though the game was fiction, it still hurt him to see the people he cared about die.

Even though they are being told that everything they went through is meaningless, it is real to them; if they feel sadness and anger and love, it’s just as real; it’s just as meaningful as in the real world.

Another thing is the theme of the whole game is truth vs. lies, so wouldn’t it make sense for the final twist to be that what they thought was the truth is a lie?

In the first two games, the final trial ends with a battle of hope vs despair where hope always triumphs and despair is crushed, but in V3 it’s different.

Tsumugi wants them to continue the game. The fans want them to continue the game.

Choosing hope—sacrificing someone to go on to the next killing game—will just cause the cycle to repeat, but choosing despair is also bad; it causes people to give up and lose everything.

Shuichi doesn’t want Maki (and Kiibo) to have to go into another killing game, but they also don’t want to fall into despair. So he refuses to vote, and as much as Tsumugi begs and pleads, he stands his ground.

The viewers also refuse to vote, proving that fiction does have the power to change reality, a powerful message that is one of the main reasons this ending is so great.

Even though Shuichi Maki, and Himiko were fictional characters, they changed the outside world and stopped a whole franchise, a whole movement, and in real life, fiction can spread ideologies, beliefs, and concepts, and these things can spread to people like wildfire and bring people together in ways that normal methods, (like by mouth,) cannot.

That's why artists try to put messages in their art, musicians in their music, and directors in their movies and TV shows. They know that's the type of media that will have the most reach and spread the fastest.

Or even social media spreading information; it might not be the best source, but it still spreads rapidly.

Media has influenced our way of life for years, influencing our speech, thoughts, and cultures because of what it says; this is what V3 is trying to show.

Shuichi also talks about using his friends deaths and the lie of the killing game to change the world.

This is why it matters; this is the power of fiction.

Shuichi using his friends' deaths, which may have been seemingly useless anyway, to take down the show that has trapped them in a cycle of deceit and forced them to play their game.

It’s also great when you remember that Shuichi was afraid of finding the truth, and Kaede and Kaito helped him gain more confidence.

He vowed to Kaede he would end the killing game, and this man not only found the biggest truth ever, he not only ended the game, but ended the whole franchise.

If that's not character development, I don’t know what it is.

Another reason people hate the ending is the portrayal of the fans, the fans are portrayed as Danganronpa obsessed, and they are shunned by watching the senseless killing of people for entertainment.

It’s a world where everyone has become so desensitized to kids getting killed on TV that they gather around screens all over the world eager to watch the next installment; that’s why there are 53 seasons.

The fans in the ending are an exaggerated view of what Kodaka feared would happen.

It's not trying to bash the fans of today but the fans of the future if this continues and we don’t care about the deaths anymore, and we just want more because you can have too much of a good thing.

It also has good messaging about fans (and corporations) tearing a TV show or game series apart in compensation for more, deriving it from the original message.

For example, Squid Game a show about the flaws of capitalism and exploitation for entertainment, was remade into a reality show by Netflix, Mr. Beast, and Amazon Prime to capitalize on the success of Squid Game when it first came out, actively hurting real people in the process, just for the sake of making money.

The ending of V3 reminds us that the connections we make and the experiences we have give our lives meaning. And even if we only affect one person with our actions, it will be all worth it, and that's the greatest truth of them all.

It’s about freedom, the problems of beating a piece of media to death just to have more, using deceased loved ones' wishes to help move forward, and finding meaning in the things that seem meaningless.

The V3 ending is a roller coaster of emotions and a masterful experience. It serves as a great ending to a great series that keeps you on the edge of your seat, makes you feel sympathy for some fictional characters, and still holds up even eight years later.

I don't think this rant/analysis will fix the wedge in the fandom this ending has caused (we've argued about much more ignorant things in the past.) But I hope it at least resonated with you and re-kindled elements you remember loving about the ending for people who did enjoy it; and for those who didn't I hope this gives you some insight into why I and many others appreciate the ending.

So before your start to conclude that V3's ending was meaningless think to yourself-is that the truth or just the lie you were meant to believe.

[11queensupreme11]

Hi, I wanted to ask you a question about a hypothetical scenario: Let's suppose that the time between dimensions is different, so while Hera thinks that 2 years have passed, for Percy many more have passed, he got married and had a son, in this case there is only one, Hera seeing that he does not want to return decides to kidnap the baby to use as a hostage. How would the Yanderes and the Pantheons react? (Considering how much they love Percy, let's say that the baby completely resembles her)

HERA IS SOOOOO FUCKING DEAD OMG 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

poseidon: oh gods in pjo universe can't die that easily??? PERFECT, BECAUSE HE WANTS TO SKIN THIS BITCH ALIVE. he will put hera through the worst sort of torture once he gets his hands on her, it'll be so bad that she might actually fade away just from the despair and agony alone 💀

hades: welp, looks like cerberus got a new chew toy! 😍 okay but seriously, the beings of helheim have NEVER seen hades so furious before, not even when poseidon killed zagreus. some goddess breaks into his home in an attempt to kidnap HIS wife only to snatch their BABY instead??????? hera better fucking run because the entirety of helheim is gonna come after her now

apollo: this man damn near almost blew up the sun when he witnesses pjo!hera flee through the bifrost with his baby in his arms. the only reason he doesn't is because percy's already dragging him to the bifrost to get their son back. once he gets to the pjo verse, THEN he'll blow up the sun to plunge the world in darkness and then hunt hera down alongside his wife. she better hope apollo never catches her because he's always been very good with dishing out slow punishments

beelzebub: this man has LOTS of experience in experimenting with gods, but hera is a different kind of god that he's never experimented on, and now he has the chance to! yaaaaay! congrats hera, you've gone from queen of the heavens to another one of the devil's lab rats. he will pluck this goddess into pieces and sew her back up again, study everything about her (and thus, learn how gods work in pjo), and create some sickening curse that could only slowly kill pjo gods. this is the worst yandere to piss off because not only will he hurt hera, but he'll find a way to hurt every OTHER god in the pjo universe too

cú chulainn: YOU TRIED TO KIDNAP HIS WIFE AND THEN YOU GO AND KIDNAP HIS NEWBORN SON????? this dude was an absolute MENACE when he was a demigod, and now that he's a god he's 1000000x worse 😭😭😭😭 he doesn't know how pjo gods work yet, so he can't kill hera but man is he gonna give her a brutal beatdown. the worst is that he'll get so angry he shifts into ríastrad mode and rampage everything in his path, so it's not just hera that's gonna get hurt

anubis: this had to have happened during the ONE time he was away from his baby's side cuz he's too attached to stay away. he'll be at a meeting one minute and rushing back home the second he senses something off with his mate and then he goes absolutely feral when he finds out that percy got attacked, nearly kidnapped, and their baby got taken. hera's become the prey to his predator, he's hunting her down now and once he gets his hands on her, HE WILL RIP HER TO SHREDS

loki: idek how hera managed to get past all his protective wards and spells, but well, she did it! oh, but did you really think he wouldn't put a tracking spell over his baby in case this exact scenario were to happen??? HAH, well hera better run fast because loki's already hot in her heels ready to cut her open like a fish

as for the pantheons, they're all ready for war 😂😂😂 hell the whole UNIVERSE is ready for war. this isn't just a simple kidnapping. a goddess from a DIFFERENT UNIVERSE broke into theirs, tried to take one of their own (percy), and then successfully took another (the baby). aside from personal reasons, hera's actions aren't something that they can let slide. they ALL are ready to work together to get the baby back and punish the criminal

[thevoicefromanotherworld]

"LET'S GET OUT OF HERE"

This is the first fic I post here on tumbrl (I have many more on my Wattpad account) of Rafe Cameron. English isn't my first language, so I apologize if there's same mistakes on the spelling

I hope you like it!

You didn't like wearing dresses, and Rafe knew it.

That's why, when you were invited to that party where the dress code was men in suits and women in dresses below the knee, he tried by all means to convince the organizers to change the damn code.

In the end you told him it was okay, that everything would be fine. You would wear a dress that night and that was it. What was the worst that could happen?

On the day of the party, when Rafe came to pick you up at your house to go together in his car and saw you coming down the stairs, he knew he was lost.

The scene played out in slow motion before his eyes: the wine-colored dress you had put on fit you like a glove. You had painted your lips the same color and outlined your eyes in black, giving them an almost cat-like touch.

Around your neck, a silver necklace in the shape of a snake sat, as did the earrings. A smile appeared on his lips as soon as he saw you. You looked up at him, blushing instantly under his scrutiny.

“What's wrong?” you asked, he shook his head.

“Nothing, it's just that…” he whispered. “You look gorgeous,” he confessed, staring his blue eyes into yours.

“I'm not good at accepting compliments, so thanks, I guess,” you replied nervously, giving him a quick once-over with your gaze. “You're not bad either.”

A hoarse laugh came from the back of his throat, as he opened the car door for her to sit in the passenger seat.

“Thanks,” he replied before closing the door.

The drive to the mansion was quiet, soft background music playing through the car speakers. Rafe could sense your anxiety emanating from you in waves.

He brought his fingers to the necklace around your neck, running his index finger over the snake's tail repeatedly.

-Hey- he called you delicately, you turned your head to look at him- everything will be fine, okay? I promise

-Okay- you murmured, forcing yourself to smile, you didn't want him to feel like he had to worry so much about you-

When they arrived, they left the car with the valet at the entrance, and walked towards the garden where everyone was. The party was very elegant, one of those where the dishes cost a lot of money and fit in the palm of your hand.

The evening passed in a relaxed and relaxed manner.

Rafe made sure you were okay at all times by glancing at you from the corner of his eye every so often, placing the palm of his hand on the small of your back, letting you know he was there, by your side.

You took a sip of your glass of champagne when, after the Campbells left to talk to other people, you felt him move his hand up and down your covered back, sending shivers down your spine.

-Rafe – you murmured in a warning tone, he gave you a sidelong glance, acting like he was crazy-

As if he didn't know how much that touch was affecting you.

-Mhm? –he questioned holding you by the waist with equal parts gentleness and possessiveness- Is something wrong, honey?

-Don't call me that – you said, gathering all the willpower you could to resist him-

You knew he had gone out with a lot of girls, you on the other hand didn't have that much experience, and you were afraid of not being enough for him.

But what terrified you even more was letting him into your heart and then having him break it into pieces.

You didn't think you could recover from a breakup like that, not after what you had suffered with that idiot Topper.

Rafe knew the whole story.

He knew that the day you came home from a party with your friends you found the one who was then your boyfriend in bed with a Pogue.

At that moment you didn't have the courage to say anything to him, you were so devastated that you simply left there and went to the only person you knew you could always count on: him

His touch brought you back to reality, making you look at him, his blue eyes shining in the glow of the mansion's lamps.

-You look beautiful –he murmured, catching a piece of fabric between his fingers- this dress… it's driving me crazy –he confessed, you slowly put the glass down on one of the tables before turning completely towards him-

-It's not true –you answered- nothing you said –you whispered, head down- you just say it to make me feel better

-Hey, look at me –he murmured, holding your chin between his thumb and index finger- I'm not that kind of guy, do you understand? when I say something I say it because I really mean it -he whispered, lowering his gaze to your lips- What I said before was true, all of it -he stressed, looking straight into your eyes- You're gorgeous, and this dress makes the little control I had over myself and my actions fade away little by little- he raised his hand to the bow that tied it around your neck, the tips of his fingers on your neck causing you to tremble under his touch- Will you let me take it off, please? -he added, his hoarse voice causing you to shrink your feet into the shoes you had decided to wear-

-I don't know, I… - you swallowed hard when he caught your gaze with his-

At that moment, the whole world around you disappeared. There were only the two of you and the tension between you and him.

-Rafe… - you repeated, making him sketch a half-smile as he tilted his head for a moment before focusing on you again-

-God, stop saying my name like that – he whispered, closing his eyes for a moment-

-In what way? - you asked, waiting for his answer-

-As if you really wanted me to take your dress off tonight – he answered-

You didn't know what to say.

Everything was too much: him, his presence, the suit, his hair combed delicately, framing his beautiful face… You didn't know how the night would end, but what you did know is that you wanted it to be with him, preferably in his bed. He held your gaze for a moment, before gently taking your hand.

-Let’s get out of here -he whispered, and it almost sounded desperate, which made you smile amusedly-

The valet brought the car to you as soon as he saw you leave the mansion, so it didn’t take long for you to get to his house.

He turned off the engine and turned to you, his eyes resting on yours, before he held your face in his hands to kiss you. His lips felt warm and firm against your mouth.

The kiss grew in intensity, so that without separating from you, he pushed the seat back so that the two of you had more space.

That was how you ended up sitting on Rafe Cameron’s lap, with your wine-colored dress pushed up over your thighs, his hands slipping under your waistband.

You pulled away from his mouth to let out a sigh as you felt his long fingers pull down your underwear.

-Rafe – you gasped when you felt him slide two fingers inside you with ease-

-Shhh, beautiful. You're doing so well – he praised, curling his fingers, searching for that spot inside you that he knew you would scream at-

Nothing could be further from the truth. His index finger brushed your clit masterfully, making you hold onto his shoulders to avoid collapsing against him.

-That's it, such a good girl for me – he murmured, your hips began to move against his fingers, as if they had a life of their own- cum on my fingers darling – he whispered – I can feel you tightening around me – he smiled – you're so fucking close… Are you going to cum?

-Please – you moaned – Rafe, make me cum – you screamed, throwing your head back as he continued his assault on your center-

-Whatever you say, my princess – he whispered, outlining a half-smile-

Within a few seconds you emptied yourself against him. You rested your head on his chest and as you caught your breath you felt him leave a loving kiss on the top of your head.

-Rafe -you called, he lowered his head to look at you- you haven’t cum

-It’s okay, honey. It’s okay-he assured you, placing a lock of hair behind your ear- rest

He didn’t have to ask you twice.

You were exhausted after such a delicious orgasm, so you fell asleep against his chest.

The last thing you felt was his strong arms lifting you up to get you into bed.

[imsailorpluto]

When Dowon said:

"I was hit by an arrow. Do you not wish to know if I am fine? Father, have you ever loved me even for a short moment? Have you ever thought of me or missed me, even just once? Have you ever felt affectionate toward me? I am asking if you have ever truly thought of me as your child."

[spikeisawesome456]

.

[gingerbreadmonsters]

I just discovered you via Ao3 and lemme tell you, finding someone who seems to feel the Sam way about Blake as I do? Immaculate. Writing? On point “Return to me?” My new favorite fic.

CBHD"WK%£^72JDNB"D&YEUODJ"*YDI"QSKXTHANK YOU

aaaaah return to me is one of those funny ones in my mind - i got a bit worried when the balance got a big push lately, but thankfully my characterisation of blake seems to be holding up pretty well!! and vshbdkjvbhwidasckj i'm so glad you like my writing - i know that my particular style can sometimes come off as overly flowery and winding (in this fic it's particularly egregious!) so i'm SO happy that you're enjoying it 😍😍😍

aside from being a rather strenuous exercise in the conditional tense, the idea was basically just 'blake is so fucking redpilled and nobody is talking about it we should talk about it'! to me, blake is a fascinating example of a reasonable, rational bad guy - in the sense that he's gone so far off the deep end in pursuit of keeping his listener close to him that he's circled back to behaving semi-rationally, just operating under a completely batshit set of rules that he's convinced himself (and been kind of convinced by closeknit, although that's since been slightly disproven) are real.

it was a LOT of fun to write, and i'll never pass up the chance to stick one of the redacted 'bad guys' under my little microscope - very glad you had fun!! <333

[castrovulcant]

Hi there, if you don’t mind me asking, why don’t you like moffat?

Hi, Anon,

Okay, so, this is going to be very long winded as I ramble on and go on tangents like all the time so I'm going to hide it under a read more (I hope it works, I'm on mobile.)

Okay, I've let it be known multiple times that I don't like Moffat, I don't even like his solo episodes during RTD's era and they're the most popular of RTD's era. There are so many things but they mostly boil down to his sexism, his ego, and his poorly written characters. He's very much a Tell, Don't Show, writer and he writes for himself

Now, I'm not saying he's completely terrible, he does have some good episodes. But it's not enough to for me to see past his flaws.

His female characters (excluding Bill because I've only watched two of her episodes) are all written to be very flat and one dimensional, they're often referred to as girls (The Girl in the Fireplace. The Girl Who Waited. The Impossible Girl.) And their entire life revolves around The Doctor like Reinette being a French Princess and very powerful woman, yet left pining for him, Amy dedicating her life to him returning, River being brainwashed to kill him (yet still somehow becoming his wife,) Clara literally being made to save different versions of him. The way he took Queen Elizabeth in the 50th and made her obsessed with marrying The Doctor.

His sexism. There's this one scene I remember during Eleven's run, he's with a monk and he's talking on the phone, the monk asks who's on the other line, and The Doctor says, "A woman." And the monk does the hand to head and chest cross sign, and it's like??????? Haha there's a woman on the phone, women are scary? There's a moment in The Doctor Dances, where Nine realises Nancy is the boy's mother and Moffat just completely looked down on her, judged her for having sex, judged her for being a single parent, acting like she was beyond a terrible person. He introduced a lesbian couple but then had a male character forcibly kiss one of them and made it a joke. The repeated comments on Clara's appearance. The First Doctor's characterisation and comment when there was literally no need to portray him that way. He originally turned down an actress for the role of companion because, "she's a bit wee and dumpy." Whilst commenting on Karen Gillain's legs.

His plots just fall apart, he builds them up to be something big and massive but the resolution is underwhelming. The Silence were built up to be this big thing, but then they're almost completely wiped out by the next episode (The Doctor asking the human race to kill an entire species for him??????? That's the solution you came to????) A repeated moment in that season, "Silence will fall when the question is asked." "The question that's been staring you right in the face the entire time." And the question was, "Doctor Who. Doctor WHO. Doctor. WHO." An entire season of hints for that?????? No. It's bad, Silence didn't fall, it wasn't a question, it resulted in nothing (the emphasis on The Doctor's original name always felt wrong to me, that's his birth name but he refuses to use it/go by it and hasn't done for a long time. Why are you putting so much into it?) Amy being pregnant but not pregnant due to being replaced by a Ganger and The Doctor said nothing. The moon is an egg being an anti-abortion allegory and The Doctor refusing to save the life of billions of people because he didn't want to.

The lack of character development, Amy gets kidnapped, becomes aware of it right as she goes into labour so she's just wakes up one day, finds out she's been kidnapped, finds out she's pregnant, is actively in labour, her child gets kidnapped, and she's just like, "WHERE IS MY BABY?" for one episode and that's it. There's no exploring her trauma, there's no coping with it, there's nothing.

There are so many penis jokes and innuendos, there's one scene where a woman walks in and The Doctor is holding a poker that's pointing downwards but then rises upwards. But I'm super ace and I project that onto my faves, so just ignore this point. I'm not uncomfortable with sex (I'm sex positive to those that have it, but neutral towards myself having it) but there's just so many.

The way he just wants to get his hands on every aspect of the show, Clara saving each version of The Doctor, River knowing all versions of The Doctor, Clara being the reason The First Doctor stole that specific TARDIS.

The Fiftieth Anniversary of saving Gallifrey, I was fascinated by the concept of the Fiftieth exploring the Time War, I wanted to see the moment that led to The Doctor wiping out his home. I understand that parts had to be changed because the BBC wouldn't let him have McGann. But saving Gallifrey ruined the emotional impact from moments like The End of the World, "You think it'll last forever, people and cars and concrete, but it won't. One day it's all gone. Even the sky. My planet's gone. It's dead. It burned like the Earth. It's just rocks and dust before its time. There was a war and we lost. I'm a Time Lord. I'm the last of the Time Lords. They're all gone. I'm the only survivor." The emotional impact of taking Rose, a stranger, to see the death of her world because he's suffering and just needs someone else to experience what he's feeling is lost somewhat because Gallifrey is fine and it's all in his head.

Everyone dies, but no they don't. The universe is ending, time itself is unraveling, the big bang is happening again. But no, it's not. I hated how overdramatic it all was, the stakes are so high all the time and yet, they're not. I know this isn't exclusive to Moffat (look at RTD's S3 and 4 finales) but it felt so much more prevalent with him.

This ramble has gone on long enough and I still feel like I could say more, but I'll stop now, and I can say more another time.

I know Moffat improves over time the middle of Eleven's run is nothing compared to the end of Twelve's run. I follow several Moffat enjoyers and I can see why it appeals to them, his characterisation improved, his plots weren't as underwhelming, he got more consistent.

I tried to rewatch it during 2020. He has some good episodes, but Moffat isn't for me. I can see why other people enjoy him, but I don't and I won't.

[cowsaresushi-coral]

got his ass. (P-1, not P-2. Again, spoiler embargo (for the recent update) until Thursday/Friday) 👍

Got to P-rank 4-2 (sweats), 5-3 (sweats less), Gabe2 (<3). One per layer!

I had a harder time with FP, though that’s more of skill issue, and not knowing how he works in the first place. Pinos I already knew how to beat (still beat my ass plenty. The majority of those restarts are him. Haha P-ranking, you’re funny. ...Someday~) because of speedruns. More or less.

[dbphantom]

[checks which chapter was just adapted] but I want gear 5 to be animated nooooow

Wailing sobbing sliding across my desk like a pathetic little slime

[silent-sentinels]

yeah we've got a guy called Yearning but apparently the kid's bested him with the sheer amount of homesickness she feels.

[maraczeks]

+

[lizzy-bonnet]

Working in the yarn shop on Sundays, I have a group of regulars who come in specifically then for my advice on their knitting projects and over the years I've gotten to know a lot about them - their ailments and their spouses and their children and their careers and their mothers are all things they find themselves telling me about over the course of trying to bring forth a knitted piece. Most of them are women, most of them are over 50, and most of them have been through a lot and are trying to reclaim something for themselves through the act of creation. A while back, one of these older women opened up to me about how when she first came to this country it was just her and her daughter and they were so happy until her husband joined them, when he promptly began making her miserable. Now, decades later, all her children live far away, she spends all her time taking the husband to dialysis, her sciatic is bad and she may need heart surgery (who will take care of her, I find myself wondering), and she comes to see me once a month or so to talk about a new project and tells me it is the only thing she does for herself.

Today she came in with a smile on her face and delightedly introduced me to her son, who will soon move closer to home with his family. Then she says, as if commenting on the weather, that on Friday her husband died, and tomorrow they will hold the funeral. For a second I had tonal whiplash from the conversation and then I realized, oh, you're unburdened now. Like the relief in her face and her body were palpable. The son shows a picture of a cardigan to me and asks if it can be knitted, and we pick out yarn and a pattern. She's so excited to make it for him. She beams when she looks at him; he is tall and handsome and polite, and wants to wear something she made for him. She is proud of this man she raised.

It just made me think of the many, many women who come from cultures where leaving a crappy spouse isn't an option so they shuttle along doing their best and trying to find some beauty and joy in whatever way they can. Kids may not visit often because their spouse isn't welcoming or there is bad blood, so they are lonely. I remind her, we have our social group. She hasn't come to it much before because she is always taking him to dialysis, but now she says she will come often and meet the other women. Many of them are like her, but in the craft they find companionship that has been absent for so much of their lives. I hope there will be renewal for this dear lady and that she can learn more about herself and what brings her joy.