#it doesn't really matter if the answer is yes or no

[notthewriteryourelookingfor]

Yeah, Bidens a coward at best and a genocidal POS at worst

But Trump is also literally a white supremacist who is BFFs with Netanyahu and has been helping him stall any "peace" ("ceasefire") talks

Trump is not the answer to the situation, he will make it worse.

This past election wasn't about who would help Gaza, no one with the ability to become President cared about Gaza.

This was about how many American minorities, including Palestinian refugees, were taken with them.

It wasn't about Gaza, unfortunately, it was about harm reduction. It was about "who is easier to fight? A party who kinda doesn't wanr to act or fix anything or a party who is actively setting the house on fire?"

And y'all chose to throw trans & queer people, immigrants, people of colour, the environment, the economy, the poor, the sick, the homeless, women, and everyone else on the fire as well.

Also:

The genocide didn't start in 2023, Israel has been trying to erase Palestine since the 1940s and the reaction of the western world shows that it didn't matter who was President of the USA, if it did places like Australia, the UK, countries in Europe, Canada, some of them would have condemned Israel.

But they didn't.

Because it's not about Biden, it's literally just racism. It would have been the same or worse if Trump had won in 2020.

Acting like this is happening because of Biden is ignorance at best and misinformation at worst, Netanyahu isn't doing this because Biden is in power, he's doing this because Israel is a colonising state built on eugenics and a jewish-centrist version of white supremacy that has existed Before Hitler even came to power before WW2.

Colonisers gonna colonise and this was always going to happen without outside intervention.

Look at native amercians, native Australians, natives that have been displaced, murdered, and subjugated for centuries.

Israel took its playbook from them, and this was always going to happen. Israel put Hamas in place to begin with in like 2004. There was always going to be a ramp up in violence, no matter who was President of the USA.

Literally the only difference between Harris winning 2024 and Trump winning 2024 is that if Harris won, less people in the USA would have to worry about their rights/livelyhoods/safety/etc.

Now that Trump has won, a ton of people have gone into "duck, cover and survive" mode meaning that there is less help for others.

People can't rally if they have to work more for less, if the cops are gonna drag them off the streets cuz they 'look like an illegal immigrat'

And don't bring up "well people died under Biden" like it's some kind of "gotcha" cuz a ton of those deaths are from impacts of Trump's term and being like "well people were gonna die either way" is just the worst take.

This election was about "how can we limit and reduce harm?" And y'all went "Biden sucks im voting for the literal Nazi"

Netanyahu is not ramping up his actions because he's worried he won't be able to finish it when Trump is in power, he knows he can.

He's ramping up because of several reasons: 1 - this war is tanking the Israel economy, 2 - slowly public opinion is turning - not really in politics but in every day people and boycotts are working causing companies like McDonalds to withdraw many franchises from Israel & illegal settlements, 3 - that's what colonisers do. Its literally part of the playbook.

It has basically nothing to do with who's in power anywhere else. If it did, then the majority of the rest of the world's politicians wouldn't also be just standing by or, even worse, supporting Israel.

To summerise:

Yes, Biden is a coloniser, a genocide supporter, a coward, and a piece of shit

No, the genocide in Israel isn't connected to who's in power in the USA because it's actions have been consistent since before world war 2 & as far as I'm aware we've had a Lot of people in power since then all over the world.

Places like the US and Australia have been supporting Israel since the 1940s. And the USA has been sending weapons since the 1960s at least.

This isn't a modern day problem, this is a systematic issue that's existed for decades.

If you threw everyone on the fire just because Biden & then Harris didn't support Palestine, the blood of Palestine and everyone else is on your hands.

If you voted for Trump: you're a white supremacist. It doesn't matter if you agree with all his policies or none, if you vote for a Nazi, you are a Nazi.

White supremacy is worse than mold: if you let it take root for even a second you'll have to strip the entire room to weed it all out

[gem-de-lune]

Daily Vibe Check 11/26

To lighten the daily read load but still ensure I get to everyone, i will be reading on 1 Riize member daily, and Seunghan every other day or just if something with him shifts significantly. I will do Riize collective reads every other day that I'm not doing a Seunghan Read. So today it is Seunghan + Sohee and then an SM read i found in my asks. Tmw it will be Riize collective + Any other member + something relevant to current topics or asks. Hope that makes sense.

Seunghan

Knight of Chalices + King of Wands + 6 of Wands

Honestly bro is just chilling right now...lowkey this is his card when he is at his most neutral/leaning positive state. Very charming very vibey. He seems to be cheeky lately. He is doing well. I asked about how he felt about Rolling Loud in Thailand, and he responded with the King right there. He's feeling very very high up about the ordeal. Rather than being the King, he sees Briize as the King, and him gathering his graces and motivation to push gorwards simply by watching. There are a lot of fond and just overall respectful and "in awe" emotions attached here. To the point where he may wonder if it is overbearing for others (cough OT6 cough) leading me to believe he may have seen their distainful reactions. Nonetheless it wasn't enough to erase his positive feelings on the matter. He really feels like he should bow down in gratitude lmfao.

When I had asked if he had contacted members recently i got the 6 of Wands, which is a yes signally a positive and celebratory? Chat. Therefore, it is probably around or on Taro's birthday they spoke.

One thing of note that I and maybe many have noticed is that Taro seems the most standoffish out of all the members regarding this entire situation from the start. This is true-ish deep down. I pulled another card to clarify the 6 of wands, which made everything I already knew click into place for me- but I accidentally reshuffled it in my deck and I do not remember exactly what card it was- but I know it fully cleared this up for me so I will share the explaination I came to here:

Taro doesn't really know how to deal with negative situations. At all. He acts as if they do not exist unless he must face them. He is not good with them. He will spiral out of control and doesn't know how to work through those things properly, so he believes the most mature thing is to not engage to begin with. Therefore, it was very awkward for him to try and contact Seunghan directly. He does not know what to say. He has been avoiding it even if he also believes he was wronged and is still OT7. He is the most awkward member about this. I do believe that Seunghan mayhaps reached out during his birthday, and this relationship is starting to mend again. Wanted to share bc this makes me sad and happy.

Sohee

The World + 6 of Chalices + 2 of Pentacles

Sohee is generally feeling really good, maybe like something has been completed to an extent sucessfully. I think, tbh that he is glad to be home lmfao, but he really enjoyed the adventure. That sort of feeling. Since people were asking, I decided to ask if he had really smiled and nodded at the Riize is 7 banners at Rolling Loud, to which I pulled 6 of Chalices. This is a yes, it made him think of some other memories- so since that is the case I really think he may be referring to Madrid, which is funny bc Briize were saying he was grinning just like he did back then!

I then asked him how he thought things were progressing for Seunghan's return, to which I got 2 of Pentacles. Things are still being prepared and there's not a clear answer at the moment. This question led me into the next few things we will discuss regarding SM.

SM

Knight of Pentacles + 8 of Swords + Knight of Wands + Queen of Wands

Generally, there is a lot of turmoil here. Careful planning and preparation, but its almost like one team is like "let's do this now, this is stupid and we need to act now" and the other is like "why do we have to do that? I don't wanna". One side wants to do as they have always done, and the other side is younger and more open-minded, wanting to avoid disaster due to refusal to adapt. The older side sees this as reckless, the younger side sees the older as lazy and slow. It is very tough, and they are at odds. I will come back to this energy a bit later.

8 of Wands + 2 of Chalices + 10 of Wands

Someone asked if SM was making a decision regarding Seunghan this week. Pulled 8 of Wands and 2 of Chalices. Yes?? I think they 100% have the intention to do so. But with the 10 of wands as the outcome I think that whatever outcome it is it will be while before it is released, and whatever it is will be due to a lot of pressure being put on SM. So I advise that OT7 really make sure to keep laying it on as thick as possible as this will affect the outcome.

Bottom of Deck:

8 of Chalices + 5 of Wands

The theme here is still a lot of conflict. One side will need to grow mature enough to give up their stance. Whoever gives in first wins.

Final Notes:

Mainly, what I wanna speak on is the energy SM is feeling right now. I made a transit reading when Pluto went into Aquarius that discussed what tf is going on with SM lately and what will be going on for the next few years. I will link it HERE (for twt users, i will link in the twt)

Other than that, again, keep spreading the truth and laying on the pressure here. We are approaching a kind of finale situation rather soon. Or at least some news regarding such. Note that even if we win, we may not KNOW right away. We may not know 100% until closer to a CB. I hope not, but it's certainly possible. So please keep doing what you're doing, and do not give in!!

[tinylilacbun]

I feel like it would be so funny qhen the pogues find out jj already got a new job, and then find out is a job babysitting for kooks. I feel like everyone in the room would be speechless at first and pope would be like "babysit to what, a dog?" "no?? she's three. very cute by the way-and wait, is that even a thing?" "oh, poor kid🤦🏿‍♂️" and altought they all suport each other, they're all kiiind of insecure reguarding jj's new "awesome" plan, because, well, they don't think jj is actually the most patient and responsible to be around kids. I mean, how did he even got this job? How could someone look at jj and think "wow, he's so good with babies"

but then they would all change their minds on the first time jj brings reader to hang out with them, and they witness JJ turn into a role different version of himself - helping reader do basic things like braiding her hair or eat her veggies, and even nap with her laying on his chest in the couch while the pogues are all staring in... awe and confusion? lmao I would be too

Wait, can I request something with this concept?

I can so imagine them being like "Nah, you gotta be joking." And then JJ pulls out his phone showing all the silly photos he has of you both together, being all smug about it too and the pogues are completely baffled looking at him like: 😦

They're asking him various questions, like how's the pay? How the hell he managed to get a babysitter job, knowing this boy can't even take care of himself for all we know. How kooks trust JJ freaking maybank with their kid??

The pogues are concerned that their friend is being threatened to say that your parents are actually really nice and pay him well, so well that he doesn't want to bring it up.

Obviously they want proof of that and see it for themselves, so JJ asks your parents if he could take his friends with him next time he babysits before anything else and of course your parents said yes, why wouldn't they? They trust him.

And so the pogues finally meet the reason JJ has been rather busy lately as you come running from your room the second you hear his voice, crashing into his awaiting arms.

"Jayj! Missed you so much." You giggle as JJ stands up with you clinging to him, your legs dangling in the air.

"I was here two days ago." He reminds you with a chuckle and you pout.

"Still missed you!"

Then you notice his friends standing behind him, a smile growing on each of their faces. JJ sets you back down and you go to hide behind his legs, suddenly shy from all the new people as you whisper out a small 'hi'.

Kie and Sarah coo at how adorable you are, just wanting to pinch your cheeks. John B, Pope, and Cleo just give you a small wave, which you of course return.

"You gotta give her some time to warm up, and don't touch her until she says it's okay." JJ warns them, his hand ruffling your hair.

Some time later the others are actually impressed by how attentive JJ is with you, always answering when you ask something no matter how silly it is, playing with you what you want, even getting you to eat the nasty veggies.

Now you all are sprawled on the big sofa in the living room, your favorite movie playing on the tv but you're already napping on JJ's chest as he draws shapes on your back.

"I have to be honest, I really thought you were kidding us with this whole thing but damn JJ you really know what you're doing." John says, watching how gentle the blonde is with you, he's never seen his best friend being this soft with anyone, much less a kook.

JJ shushes him, pressing a finger to his lips. "Princess is getting her beauty sleep, don't you dare disrupt that, bro."

Taglist

For everything:

@my-river-lilly @pauntedblacknails @fanfictioniseverything @buckymydarlingangel @hallecarey1 @daybreakwinter @loveshineslikethesky @vase-of-lilies @white-wolf1940 @simpingbutch @mischiefsemimanaged @alina02 @teddybearsgrr @doozywoozy @angelbabydoll28 @glxwingrxse @lilymurphy03 @veryvaughnny @lokigirlszendaya @youngstarfishdinosaur @little--baby--bear @minideathgoddess @rach2602 @gh0stgurl @flourishandblotts-inc @lovelyy-moonlight @yoruse

@mythixmagic @iris-xoxo-juhu @mylettterstoyou @sunf1ower16 @sweetstars-posts @rafecameronsloverrrrr

For JJ:

@chiaraanatra @chimindity @flora-eva

[markrosewater]

Happy Saturday Mark,

I really enjoyed listening to your Drive to Work podcast on stickiness. It was one of my favorites in months! It was an interesting look behind the curtain design wise and the factors you consider when designing mechanics.

I definitely prefer mechanics that are sticky.

You mentioned that you still think it's worthwhile to design mechanics that aren't sticky but I don't think you really explained why the benefits of this outweigh the counterintuitive nature and memory issues that complex mechanics that aren't sticky create.

You mentioned that Magic is a complex game and that's part of its charm and intrigue. I think that's true, I also think it's true that everything can't be done by memory but I don't think going out of the way to create mechanics that are overly wordy and aren't sticky in a game that is inherently very complicated is helpful to the player. I think there's a fine line between tic-tac-toe and overly complex where it strongly goes against player intuition and memory bandwidth.

I also think you've proven that for 30+ years, Magic can make designs with new mechanics (and reuse existing ones) that appeal to players without going out of the way to make excessively wordy, complex and unsticky mechanics.

By the way, this doesn't mean there isn't merit or value in designing individual cards at higher rarities that are less sticky. Most planeswalker designs aren't sticky and they are often dynamic and interesting cards, although they almost always appear at high rarity and are only a small handful in a single set rather than them being full fledged mechanics that appear at common.

For example, Gemstone Caverns is a fun and dynamic card design that isn't particularly sticky and is fairly complex. That's okay but that doesn't mean it would be a good idea to keyword the mechanic, right?

I feel nearly every time there's a keyworded mechanic that isn't sticky and has memory issues, these mechanics are controversial or divisive. They seem to never be overwhelming popular (i.e. Mutate, Tempted by the Ring, Attractions, The Initiative, Day and Night) and they create so much more baggage and mental load issues compared to sticky mechanics.

I also find it counterintuitive that you acknowledge and understand that more people are playing Magic in eternal formats that are backwards compatible (i.e. Commander) but you seem to highly value creating mechanics that are highly words, complex and not sticky. In my experience, those types of mechanics overwhelm players more in those types of formats compared to less popular (but still very fun) formats like Limited Sealed.

I guess my question is that for most of your podcast you highlighted why sticky designs are a great thing and that while every mechanic can't be as elegant and sticky as Flying, it's important to make mechanics as intuitive as possible to help players, if that's the case, why do you sometimes create mechanics that are very anti-sticky?

Keep up the awesome work and have a great day!

You're conflating "wordy" with "unsticky" and those are not synonyms. I'll use one of the mechanics you listed as an example - daybound/nightbound. The issue with the mechanic wasn't a lack of stickiness. The idea of there being day and then there being night, and things caring about it is pretty intuitive. Players got the gist of what the mechanic was up to.

Day/night's issues had to do with creating inconsistencies (mostly with Werewolves) and having tracking occurring when it didn't matter. So yes, there were play problems, but not because players couldn't wrap there brain around what it did.

Haunt, as a counter example, wasn't particularly wordy, but was very hard to remember.

I believe your question is really "why do we make complex mechanics?" And the answer is there's an audience that really adores the complex mechanics, and we're trying to find a good balance to allow every player to make Magic the kind of game they enjoy.

As to complex mechanics having a bigger burden on eternal games, I agree they do, but I believe that's what players sign up for when they play an eternal format. We're not going to simplify modern day Magic for all the other players that are enjoying the many other ways to play simply to keep eternal formats, which are already highly complex, slightly less complex.

[abearinthewoods]

This last post here is so clearly an example of whats wrong with feminism's way of looking at men. How quick it is to ascribe some malicious intent onto the actions of men.

>Do I vocally object to the slur? To the objectification? To the very premise of the question? This was obviously set up to be bait, to catch me out somehow, to "trigger" me, to gauge where my ideological loyalties were - he didn't really care about my response, he cared about how I worded it, which things I objected to, where my lines in the sand were. He didn't like that I was "the quiet guy." He needed material to pick on me with, and I didn't want to give it to him.

Protip: these trade guys don't consider tranny a slur. it is just the name they heard somebody else refer to them. Its why they tend to call generics by specifics (coke or pepsi for soda in general). Their use of speech is not that complicated.

Anywho, yes, this was setup to bait you, the whole point is no answer is free from mockery. You won by not being effected by this and just answering matter of factly. Being cagey or timid would have been what actually lead to mockery. The other path to "victory" is taking the "brave" or unsafe path and defending it with confidence. You could have answered that "i don't care if shes got a penis or used to be a man, if she looks like that any hole's a goal if you know what I mean" and if you passed the confidence check you'd be treated like a manly man. If they pushed back "you telling me you would turn down those lips around your dick?" and now they have failed the masculinity test.

The only truly unacceptable answer would have been to call it out as objectification. This would have lead to becoming the quiet outcast nobody interacted with.

Women have the same kind of discussions about rather or not they want fuck male celebrities. It doesn't all of the sudden become problematic just because its men doing it.

Anyways, back to the point in my opening sentence. So many assumptions are being made about this coworker's intentions. And almost every single one of them proven to be untrue by the dude's reaction at the end to op's answer, yet his post doesn't even realize this. OP got praised for not being held up by chromosomal ideals around sex and gender but still treats the entire interaction like an example of transphobia. Too blinded by the othering of his coworker as a cis gendered straight tradesmen to even see what actually happened in this interaction.

I'm this close to just sending that trans inclusive radical misogynist post, the one about how there's loads of guys who'll go "oh, you're a man now, great, come shit talk women with us" to every blog insisting that trans men can't have male privilege and it's transandrophobia to say they do. Not every trans man has this experience but it's actually pretty common even for out trans men to be seen as, if not "real" men depending on who you ask, certainly non-women, and encouraged to perform misogyny as part of their social transition.

[god-syndicate-if]

I don't know if this is an unpopular opinion, but I think I respectfully disagree with the last anon.

I mean Ares just has naturally violent feelings and tendencies towards everything that pisses them off. Yes, feeling the urge to hit people when you're mad isn't a "good" urge to have but it's consistent with the character, that's how Ares is and they feel it indiscriminately towards everyone.

If you're playing as a professional boxer then punching someone will all your strength is going to hurt them either way, it doesn't matter much if they're a man or a woman, because you're going to do a lot of damage either way. I don't particularly think that it's "worse" to inflict harm on a person just because they're a woman. In my eyes, a professional boxer could hurt anyone badly, and to me, inflicting harm on a man is the same as doing it to a woman because they're both equally bad. So I don't think the lesson should be "don't hit that RO because she's a woman," but rather "Don't hit ANY RO because hurting your partner is always bad and it shouldn't matter what gender they are."

But like you said, feeling the urge is not the same as actually doing it. I think it makes sense for Ares to be feeling these feelings towards everyone/anyone, regardless of gender. You can't control what emotions and thoughts pop up, but the difference is that we have some control on when to act on them or not act on them.

(Plus, even fem dame is probably not exactly defenseless, they're still a god with healing and powers, and have a lot more going on than an average human who can't stand up for themselves)

So I did delete the ask that you're referring to so most people reading this wont get the full context of what the previous person said. but Essentially yeah. There are a lot of themes in this project I'm working with. Violence being bad and thoughts not equally action are two that kind of come up a lot. Hell the entire point of the project is how violence is bad and you shouldn't do it even if you really want to. Like if you didn't get that from the prologue then I'm sorry.

In general this type of discussion is going to be difficult, especially through anon ask/poster. So i probably won't answer any more like these just because of that. I feel like I can't really express my full thoughts on through asks because there are potential spoilers and stuff too.

[abysshare]

Wow..i saw the leaks and just. Wow.

I was hoping they were fake and its everything i hate in a series. I was biting my tongue until i saw the episodes but here we are.

Before i go into spoilers i do want to say that i AM grateful that we even got anymore of Arcane, but sometimes less is more.

Spoilers underneath

Edit: these are kinda messy thoughts.

My biggest gripes:

Too many plot points for a finale

Family trade in ( Bio sister for found sister for bio sister again )

Vander dying, Alive but fucked up, okay, fucked up again, dead, alive but fucked up, dead.

Not bringing up Isha at all??? Not even a quick funeral?

People being brought back to life but Isha and Jinx has to die.

Jinx has to sacrifice herself to save Vi and herself. 😒

The SEX scene.

Better explaination:

Too many Plot points:

I knew it was gonna be too many. I KNOW we needed answers/resolved plots, as well as needing things to make sense. But it.. was too much. Like most media at this point.

Family Trade In:

So... no one really talks about this trope? Or whatever you want to call it. But it bugs me, so much. If you don't know what I'm talking about..

To me a family trade in is when a Character, no matter their role, has family, turns evil or gets lost and finds a family of their own, and then when it seems perfect for them, they end up back with their original family because the new family died for them/their old family or they just.. don't belong/want to go.

Perfect example that isn't Arcane: Amphibia. Anne has to leave her adoptive found family from another universe and can never go back ( until she dies basically ). As well as her friends have to leave their found families as well and also cannot go back. Anne loves both her families..

And while i understand life isn't fair, and that people are allowed to not want to stay here or there.. it just bugs me the trope is to always trade back in for the old.

With Jinx, she "loses" Vi ( and yes Silco but it isn't about him right now ), And gets Isha. I KNEW the second i saw her she was gonna die ( this isn't a bash against those who didn't see it coming ( /genuine ) at some point. While i adore Isha and i am fine with Jinx adopting her, i am not okay with the writers choice of adding her just to kill her and be practically a trade in for Vi later on.

It sucks. I'll just say it out right.

And i want to be very clear. By trade in i do NOT mean replace. I know Isha was never a replacement for Vi ( or Powder ).

Again, i know life sucks, and you just don't get everything you want in this world, especially when it comes to war. But since this is a trope or at least a thing i see constantly, whether its in a pg way or an R rated way... its annoying.

Which brings me to....

People dying / Jinx / Vander:

Why? Other than shock value?

Jinx Dies, and it felts uncomfortable to me as a Psychotic/Schizospec person like her. She should have lived, she should have been able to find her own happiness after properly grieving Isha.

Isha Dies, happy to do so for her big sister(s), but like.. it ends up not being worth it. It both does and doesn't. She saved them time but then-

Vander. Vander is killed, then brought back to life in a fucked up way, then okay for awhile, then fucked up again, then dies ( by Isha ) and then is fucked up again and alive, and then dead.......... and then fucked up and alive again! And then dies, with Jinx!

It doesn't feel satisfying. Of course that one moment was very sweet and worth it. But oh my god? Why do it at all if you're just gonna kill and reanimate him again and again. Its not shocking its annoying by the third time and a joke by the fourth.

Viktor.. Same deal with him? And I'm not even clear if he is dead or just fucked off to space-time with Jayce, but still. It wasn't shocking anymore. Or thrilling. Just like "ah. Okay. Cool mask".

Heimerdinger... when i read the leaks i thought he was gonna die. Then i was watching and thought "oh no okay, he's gonna stay in that universe. Thats nice he deserves that". Nope. He's either also dead or also in space time. I just sighed really hard rather than be sad.

And finally.. The Doctor's daughter gets to live- AND HIMSELF- even he gets a happy ending? Over Jinx or Vi? What.. i mean yes Vi gets Caitlyn , but.. ? Ugh

The Sex scene:

I'm glad for Sapphic rep i really really am. I like Caitvi a lot as well. But this didn't feel comfortable for me. Not because it was an intimate moment, but because neither of them talked things out properly. On top of that it was really random.

Vi was upset, then suddenly horny for i guess.. make up or grief sex? Or both? And Cait was obviously fine with it, but then to suddenly try and talk about Maddie. I'm glad Vi wasn't the typical ">:( you fucked someone else while i was hurting?!" It was so... random. This is why they needed to talk before hand. At LEAST say it before getting into it.

And doing it in Jinx's cell? It feels so.. weird and wrong in a way? I don't know how to describe it.

TLDR: what in the five marvel hells was that other than visuals pretty

[butts-bouncing-on-the-beltway]

I know that people are rarely their best selves at a funeral, but do you ever just watch your family move through the process of mourning the Patriarch and have a sudden and violent and vivid understanding of Why Everyone Is The Way They Are

[katerinaaqu]

Yeah and is indeed used when source is hard to be traced or if the source is unknown or low-key unreliable and yet the story is too juicy not to include to the narrative or linked to different versions.

Yeah I have already mentioned that to my initial response too that we cannot be sure that this absolutely isn't part of it given how the majority of texts are gone but I by n large compare not only the sources and their chronology but also artistic representations of the ancient Greeks themselves. As for the Nostoi maybe it is not a hundred percent the fault of the historiographers but rather the traditions that enriched the original myth from the areas themselves. Or of writers before them like Hesiod who writes at the same period as Homer (potentially a bit later) and he gives his own version of stories (see for example his take on Calypso) so in one way the takes they have to Nostoi might as well appear so because of the local traditions already piling up. Either way yes as I mentioned the Palladium seems similarly a later adittion or a type of spoken legend that somehow got incorporated to the people's minds in regards to the story or gained popularity because of its juicy features (see how in modern day and age we hear more people talk about the made up story of Medusa by Ovid than others)

Well according to Conon's version of the story or to my belief his creation, the term "ανάγκη" indeed stands for Diomedes as I mention to my post, overlooking the betrayal of Odysseus and not kill him personally or hand him over for trial because he was thinking the greater good of the Greeks and he knew they needed Odysseus to achieve their goal. But in other contexts could be many things such as him stealing the Palladium (a necessary evil to fulfill the prophecy) or even killing soldiers within temple grounds (some art depicts the killing of guards or soldiers during the night potentially within temple grounds). It can still connect the proverb to the Palladium heist without the stabbing or treason necessarily.

I would disagree in a few parts. For example Neoptolemus being the killer of Astyanax. Like I said most pieces of art from classical greece depict Neoptolemus killing both Priam and the baby not to mention it seems to fit on Andromache's prediction/fear in the Iliad when she said someone would try to kill her baby as revenge for someone's kin he killed. Patroclus was Achilles's cousin so he was related to Neoptolemus or consequently how Achilles died because he took the decision to fight Hector so in a way indirectly Hector killed Achilles who is Neoptolemus's kin. Seems like Little Iliad is more accurate than Iliou Persis on that matter given how many ancient pieces agree with that version of the Epic Cycle. The retrieving of Philoctetes by Diomedes is also named by others. Usually it involves Odysseus and Diomedes sailing together and then Diomedes retrieve them. It seems that Sophocles is one of the exceptions mentioning Neoptolemus being the one to retrieve him. As for the mutilation of Paris and all in general Little Iliad deals with different aspects than the other Epic Cycle and since both that and Iliou Persis are lost is hard to pinpoint which is really a contradiction to the Epic Cycle and which is not and in many cases art doesn't help much either.

Well philosophers mostly criticized Cypraea as a "plain state of events than a story". Don't remember the same criticism being made for Little Iliad so I'll take your word for it. But in general rule every ancient writer criticizes something based on their liking of storytelling. And yeah it is not. Scholia by n large are done by much later sources and yeah they often include personal bias, misunderstanding or deliberate fabrication but so far the earliest sources I can find to this are Roman times sources who also seem to place the scene as you said in Little Iliad but nothing concrete can come out of it (which again makes me look some answers to art instead to fill in the gaps and so far as I said most of the artistic representations I see do not seem to imply the hatred between the characters as described by Conon but again of course is hard to say with absolute certainty given how the text is lost.

Yes and that helps crystallize certain legends as well. Haha yeah Eurypedes basically creates some characters as his almost antagonists and still gives them some credibility and then he goes to Odysseus and basically is like "and then there is this asshole" haha it seems indeed he had something with him hahaha and let's face it he wasn't alone. Even Menelaus was depicted in a more negative light but he was made more sympathetic.

Well we can also say that "Odysseus is portrayed negatively in athenean media" basically we have most samples from Athens as well given how most plays we have were created in Athens so that played its part too. Which is another reason why the negative view of Odysseus seems to monopolize the greek literature of classical era.

Heyo!

I don't know how exactly to phrase this but I was wondering if you know anything about Odysseus trying/planing to kill Diomedes while they were stealing the Palladium. I have heard some people say that Odysseus did try to kill Diomedes while doing so but Diomedes noticed him so Odysseus stopped.

This feels so strange to me as Odysseus and Diomedes aren’t antagonistic in the Illiad and Diomedes is loved by Athena like Odysseus so betraying him, especially for hubris, seems like a good way to end up on Athena's bad side.

Also the translated summaries of Little Illiad I know don't mention it either but I know those translations can be missing out context. I suspect the Odysseus Betrayal is a "later adition" to the Epic Cycle but I am not that confident on that opinion.

Yes absolutely and I understand completely what you say. That is because the Palladium Heist betrayal story was peobably not part of the original epic cycle but rather a later adittion. More specifically through the work called Bibliotheca by Photius I, the ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinopole in 9th century seems to be mentioning in his work a Roman mythographer named Conon.

Conon lived and created during the times of Augustus. It seems that he is one of the oldest if not the oldest mythographer to ever mention this story. So the story quoted by Photius goes as such;

Basically after the revelation of Helen's Diomedes and Odysseus enter the city. Odysseus helps Diomedes on his shoulders so that he could climb but when he reaches out his hand Diomedes doesn't take him in and goes for the Palladium himself. When he comes back apparently Odysseus asks him on it and, according to Photius who quotes Conon, Diomedes "knows his cunning" and says that he didn't find it. That a spirit stole it and that he has another one. Odysseus realizes he is lying so he eventually draws his sword to kill Diomedes and take the Palladium to the Greeks himself. Apparently as he goes to stab Diomedes in the back, his sword casts a shadow by the moonlight or the glint of the weapon, Diomedes sees it and deflects him. He draws his own sword and threatens Odysseus with it wishing to "punish him for his cowardice" but eventually he decides otherwise (arguably knowing that the war needs him) and thus he drives him back to the camp while hitting him on his back with the flat of his sword. And according to Photius this is what gave the famous phrase to Greek language διομήδεια ανάγκη (Diomedes Need) which basically means "do something unpleasant out of necessity for the greater good"

So as you see the story does seem pretty bizarre. First it implies mutual distrust and rivalry between the homeric heroes for Diomedes doesn't take Odysseus in the temple, Odysseus asks him on the Palladium obviously with intention to steal it and Diomedes lying to him and of course the actual act. For starters Odysseus ready to kill Diomedes for the sakes of fame (while he literally saves his life in the Iliad) and not only that, be greedy and stupid enough to hold a sword to the moonlight. So it holds many contradictions to the entirety of Epic Cycle even Iliou Persis which also shows a more unpleasant side of Odysseus.

My guess is that the story is mostly linked to traditions of later years especially Roman sources and is not directly linked to the Epic Cycle. Even art of later years doesn't depict the Palladium Heist as a negative aura between the two heroes. If anything they seem to be cooperating just fine. And as I said this myth as told by Conon shows BOTH Diomedes and Odysseus as rivals and equally antagonizing and deceiving each other which doesn't usually appear to the Epic Cycle. Although of course we cannot be 100% sure given how the Epic Cycle is lost, it seems to me more like a roman legend that usually depict Greek heroes of Troy in general and Odysseus in particular, in the most negative light possible given how Odysseus is known for taking Troy, the mythical city of origin to the Romans (given how Aeneas who barely escapes with his life from Troy is the ancestor of the founders of Rome)

I hope this answers your question; to summarize it seems to me that this story of the Palladium Heist has as much connection to the Epic Cycle as Ovid has to Medusa legend; seems more like a version either created or told by Conon based on traditions of his time and the general anti-Odysseus climate.

[demaparbat-hp]

Kyoshi Warrior Zuko hugging Painted Lady Katara from the back and kissing her on the head.

Zuko kissing Katara hands in your halfblood au because you said Kanna taught Katara to hide her bending so Zuko is saying embrace who you are.

Keep the AU kisses coming!

[lloydfrontera]

javier realizing how much he cares for lloyd, how deep his loyalty to him runs, how ready he's to lie down his life for him, not because he's the son of his lord, not even really knowing exactly why he feels like that but just being absolutely certain that lloyd is his friend and he can't allow anything to harm him

And yet, why am I trying so hard to protect him? He had no way of knowing. But one thing was clear. It was a very simple matter. I want to protect him. Lloyd is my true master in my heart. Lloyd was his friend. And now, Javier wanted to protect Lloyd. He would sincerely protect him with everything he had.

he doesn't even know why!! he just knows that lloyd is his friend and his true master in his heart and that's!! more than enough for him to decide he's willing to put his life and everything he has in the line to protect him!! i'm just!!

[skyward-floored]

📚

Twilight princess, Link is a disaster after Midna leaves, but he can't feel anything. It's been months, but he hasn't cried, he's barely emoted at all, he just... feels numb. He keeps busy helping the Resistance, but he's still just numb about everything, and going through the motions. But when they find some weird ruins, he perks up a little, because they seem like they could be influenced by Twili, and despite hesitancy from Shad, Link goes right in.

And next thing he knows he's waking up as a wolf and staring at a kid in raggedy clothes who looks just as confused as he feels.

He's been time-traveled to botw.

The story goes along, Link gets to trusting this kid, and the kid him. Link figures out what's going on, he realizes this kid is a hero like him, he helps him hunt for food and fight monsters, he nuzzles him when he gets a memory and comes out shaking, curls around him when he cries because he can't remember, feels less and less numb as this adventure goes on. He realizes at some point he could turn into a hylian if he wanted, but at this point it's... easier, to stay as a wolf. For both of them. This kid is like his brother now, and he doesn't want to break his trust.

Until one day when the Other Link does something stupid, fights something he shouldn't have, gets hit by a guardian, I don't exactly know. But the point is he's hurt, and badly, and by the time Link deals with the danger and gets to him he's actively dying. Link freaks out (he's come close before like this yes, but he's out of healing items, they were about to stock up--), he's about to lose somebody close to him, he's about to leave him, and he can't do anything about it again, and he turns from a wolf to a hylian because he can't do anything else.

Other Link is understandably shocked by this, but then he smiles and his last words are literally something like "somehow I knew you weren't just a wolf".

Other Link stops breathing, and Link just stares at him,not willing to process this, not willing to even entertain what this means. But then he starts glowing, and Link stares at him because he doesn't realize what Mipha's Grace does. Other Link hasn't had to use it yet.

It activates, and Link is staring in shock, and then Other Link opens his eyes and sits up, and probably says something stupid like "why are you looking at me like that"

And the dam finally bursts, and Link is crying, all of the stupid emotions he'd been plugging up and unable to acknowledge all come out right then and Other Link sort of just pats him on the back with not much clue what's going on, but the hugging is nice since dying is kind of traumatic actually.

... and that's all I had XD

[discjude]

I think I should focus more on the link between Rafal and Japeth in TCY because I was typing out a joke post that went something along the lines of "TCY is so funny because the whole division between the two Pens comes down to "omnipotent omniscient harbinger of fate" vs "some snake guy" under the assumption that the scim that was Lionsmane was just one of Japeth's, but I realised I didn't have a source for that so checked flesh and blood again and what do you know Lionsmane is apparently "made out of my father (Rafal's) spirit.". I was aware of the reference to 'Rafal's spirit' mostly because it's a concept never mentioned by name again in the series but somehow never noticed that Lionsmane WAS just. Rafal. which has horrible consequences for the Japeth Lore

Basically. It seems very important to me that the "Storian VS Lionsmane" duo can be boiled down to "Fate VS Japeth", given that a lot of Japeth's motivation comes from his desire to be able to control fate, stating in Flesh And Blood "soon I'll be fate's master, with the power to take love back (where he's talking about Aric)." . Saying that he IS Lionsmane ties into that nicely, given that he'll write his own fate with the pen that Is Him. This also fits into the "Past is Present" prophecy, given the last line of "Until you change it", being exactly what Japeth aims to do.

However, Japeth does not 'change it', because he's not the one writing his fate, because He's Not Lionsmane. RAFAL is. The fate that Japeth thinks he's creating for himself isn't the one he wants, but is Rafal's fate instead... which is exactly what ends up happening to him, given the second fratricide incident. This also works with Past is Present, because Past IS Present, given it's the same fate. Which also works as a lovely little reminder that Japeth has absolutely no control over his fate in the slightest, reflected by a few other pieces of book 6 information: Rafal's message to him (that happens before book 4) instructs him to remain loyal to his brother, and to always put his brother first. He doesn't win a single one of Arthur's Trials. It is literally stated by Rafal in a flashback that it was LITERALLY IMPOSSIBLE for japeth to end up being One True King. what I am Trying To Say is that there was absolutely no way in hell Japeth could ever have "changed it", ever. Anyway because of all of this I firmly believe that Soman should've put at least a couple of vague references to the TCY twins in the prequels given that Japeth and Rafal might have the most interesting link between them in my opinion

[countdown-to-love]

i've been semi-inactive on tumblr and i come back to the best url ever ,, please forgive me but what was your previous one again? /gen 😭

hey anon!! i used to be @/hwang-intak (and then @/hwang-intak-archive while i was inactive^^)

[tera-starstorm]

wonder if FV volo regrets that he has long since severed any chance to have a positive connection with yasuta but knows he deserves to have it be that way

[girltomboy]

My bf was acting sus abt Tr^mp's election and he kept telling me about some bullshit conservative content ("youtube shorts") that just "appeared on his feed" and I asked him why he keeps watching shit like that and what he understands from them. Like in what way do they speak to him, what itch in his brain and soul do they scratch? And of course he couldn't give me any straightforward and clear answer other than "it's funny, it's entertaining". So he was like trying to tell me that Tr^mp is funny and El0n M^sk is "a cool guy"??? And I was like in what way do you benefit from the actions and success of these men, like what can you tell me about them that isn't regurgitated conservative propaganda? And he asked ME to tell him why he shouldn't "like" them. While I was in the grocery store. So I was like well YOU look it up and form your own opinion. Look up information about their lives, their past, etc. and think thoughts on your own based on your principles and priorities. Why is it that you can only form thoughts through second hand propaganda, someone whispering in your ear at all times. This is the same guy who had to ask his dad who to vote for in the EU elections. And will probably do the same for the presidentials 🤡 so ok this conversation remained in the air for now because he stopped replying (he was on the train) and I continued my shopping. But wow how sobering it is to realize the person I've been dating for 5 years might be a closeted right wing freako and I didn't even know because every time we had a remotely politics related discussion nothing concerning sprung to my attention. Like everything he said sounded rational. Idk why I accept some of the things that I do about him. Like his lack of interest in books or politics, things that matter to me. I just didn't care that much bc I don't really discuss the topic of "books" with other people. Even other readers. Nobody I've met so far seemed interested in talking about books even if they claimed to love books & reading. My theory is that a lot of people are posers. Anyway. I've been really overlooking a lot of important things. And I might stop cause he's ruining my vibe and my aura. Like I can't go on dating someone with whom I'm so incompatible.