#so clearly their suffering is equal and comparable and the same!!!! why are you being so mean!!!!!

[some-stars]

thin people in the notes don't make Literally Every Post About Fatphobia about yourselves challenge: failed as usual

gonna start talking about skinny characters the way some of yall talk about fat characters

[broiamjustalilguy]

TLDR: Gortash should have had an optional redemption route exclusive to a Durge run

i've only seen a few people talk about it, and it really is extremely sad to me that Gortash has no redemption path. he really is the bad ending version of all the other characters' cycle-of-abuse backstories. SO many bg3 characters can be saved from that, and a huge point of the game is how you can be more than what your abusers tried to make you be, and that doesn't happen for Gortash. no matter what decisions you make he has a bad ending, suffering eternally at the hand of his own god.

it's just so odd to me the way that was handled: ESPECIALLY in a durge run. i understand being unable to redeem him in a normal Tav route; he doesn't know you, why would you be able to give the help and support he needs. but in a Durge run, you two were clearly *so close* to the extent that when you arrive, he shows genuine joy at your arrival, calls you his "nearest and dearest" and has MANY other lines showing that he deeply trusted and respected you pre memory-loss.

they also give you as the player proof that durge felt *the same way* about him with things like the prayer of forgiveness letter they wrote about him: "Forgive me Father, for i can't help but admire the Chosen of your sworn foe..."

Gortash meant so much to durge that they were genuinely having a religious crisis over caring about someone and something that wasn't their Holy Father and his plan for you to kill everyone and end the world.

he cared about Durge when they were fully under their Father's control. he cared about Durge when they come back as an amnesiac. he keeps caring, even if you choose to reject your Father. he tells you you'll never be a servant, that he views you as his sole equal, that now that you have returned to him he wishes you two to rule together as one. and if you reject him or side with him, his fate is the same, and you barely acknowledge when he dies. it just seems so counter to the rest of the game and its messages. i know a lot of content was cut and changed in act 3 and that a lot of people, myself included, felt like the end of the game fell flat compared to the earlier parts, and Gortash's utilization is one of the biggest examples of that.

(sorry this is a bit of a mess lol i have strong feelings about this and his story is such a tragic waste)

[pokikichuu]

MUSE | A Wangxian drabble.

•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•

Warning: Major Character death.

This drabble includes: Immortal Wei Ying, Poet Lan zhan, Dead Lan zhan, angst but make it poetic, inspired by poetry (Iamnotapoet), love letter, this entire fic is a love letter, first person pov of wei ying.

Summery: Immortal Wei Ying falls in love with Lan Wangji, a Navy Soldier and poet. His faith catches onto him and he looses his love, down to the ocean. In order to forever engrave Lan Wangji's face in his mind, Wei Ying makes paintings and sculptures of him, waiting for the eternal end where he can get a glimpse of him again...

Word count: 969

•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•

M U S E

Lan Zhan, my dear,

The smell of soil after a drizzle, the sound of leaves grumbling with the wind, the sight of the sun setting under a blanket of purple and orange clouds, the taste of fresh water after a run, nothing can compare to the feeling of your skin against mine. 

I don't remember when my life began, I don't see it ending anytime soon either. However, I remember one thing, when your eyes met mine, I felt the most alive. 

You were frowning, I was not. I met you on a whim, in the midst of an adventure, but I forgot my purpose when I caught a glimpse of you; your brunette hair flowing with the wind. 

You sat straight viewing the vast ocean in front of you, the sunset in front resembled your hazel eyes. Oh, you were breathtaking. I had gathered my courage to approach you, and with God's wish, I had succeeded. 

And since then, I remember my days clearly. 

At first glance, one might assume you were somewhat of a crude man, even I assumed the same. However, you were as gentle as a lily on a lake, your soft gaze, kind laughs and gentle kisses kept me awake at nights. Even during the sleepless nights, you laid by my side. Then I would admire your lips, your eyes, your pretty scar on your left cheek and you would chuckle.

Your chuckles were my favourite, it still is. It will forever be. 

When I look out into the sunset, I see your eyes. When I make my way to the market and come across the water lily on the lake, it only reminds me of your touch, your fragrance. 

Pity me, for falling for a sailor, a soldier, a poet and a writer. You were all those things, but to me, you were always my friend, my family and my lover. 

You had pages after pages of poems about my eyes, I had a hut full of paintings of your face. How can we be so different and similar at the same time? As if, you were the full moon who only shows up every twenty eight days, where me, the sun, waited to meet you everyday. 

Pity me, for waiting for you still, knowing you will never reach the shore. 

Pity me, for being a widower without ever eloping with you, my love.

My love,

You were the one I would paint with, laugh with, the one I was willing to die with. If only I had known, you would never return, I would’ve drowned myself in you, with you. 

Dying with the earth seems to be a blessing to an outsider, only I know, how much of a curse that is, how dying and lying beside your astray grave is more peaceful than living forever with the thought of you gone from this world.

Why? Why must I suffer? Why must I be cursed with such a power? 

I remember very less, my family, their image is something I can’t seem to recall. I only linger with their voices and some words they have written down; I cherish them. My acquaintances from childhood, I neither remember their faces nor their names. They have escaped my memory; like wind flows through spring. 

However, I can not bear to forget you. Forgetting you is equal to losing the most precious treasure of my life. I can’t bear it.

Slowly, my little hut became your shrine. The painting of you, your details that only I know of, your smile that only I saw, your gaze that only I received, each moment, each fond memory ended up on wrinkled paper with paint made from berries you and I planted together. Your face, body, hands, I captured them in soil from the island I first met you on. 

Tears roll down my freckled cheeks as I sculpt your face, from memory that is as vivid as my dreams of you. The softness of the soil can not justify your soft skin, however I had to make do of what I had. As my fingers go over your jaw, I almost expect the lifeless sculpture to smile and tell me “I love you,” like you used to. Oh, how I wish that came true! How I wish I could sculpt you back to life! 

All I, a hopeless man, can do is wish for something that is not meant to stay mine. 

God gifted me you for only thirteen years, equal to spec of dust in a desert compared to my lifetime. However, how pathetic am I to hold onto that for the rest of eternity? Hold onto a grain of sand and think of it as my desert?

Even the sunset in a desert reminds me of your eyes. 

My lips have gone chapped, by kissing the hard stone that I made into your lips. My fingers have calluses from moulding your pretty face out of the soil. My cheek now has the same scar you had, whilst mine was intentional. All my clothes have the same paint stains as the hundreds of paintings I made of you.

I would rather die than forget you, I wouldn’t let you be the gust  of wind that flows through spring, that blows through my mind in a few years.

I don’t know when My time will come, but when I will get to meet you, if I do, I want you to look at me the same way you did for thirteen years. With your eye-smile, with your blushed ears and with a tight hug.

I will forever wait for that day, while I spend my life recreating you in every art form there is.

Except poetry, as you were the best at that.

[ae-azile]

that ask game: 2, 12, 14, 17, 18, 21, 22

This is for the KinnPorsche fandom, since I think most of my active followers know me from there. 🙂

2. Compelling argument as to why my fave would never top or bottom: 

Hmmm, this one is a bit hard for a couple reasons. For one, I don't have one definitive favorite. I actually enjoy/appreciate a lot of the characters for different reasons so it is hard to narrow it down to one, singular character. For another, I feel like all of the characters could go vers under the right conditions, and I don't think it matters when it comes to who tops or bottoms. But I will go with two characters who I struggle to see as potentially vers. 

Kim: I feel like Kim (at least in the show) struggles with relinquishing control, but also needs someone he trusts to take over. Personally, I think he needs someone he loves and trusts to have sex at all. While topping does not always equal control (and bottoming doesn't always equal submission), I think many mistake it as such. To me, if he found the right person to take that step with, he would likely show that devotion through a willingness to bottom. He struggles with words, so this is the next best thing: Letting someone take care of him and trusting them not to hurt him - something that is very hard for him to do otherwise. 

Kinn: I wouldn't necessarily call Kinn a fave, but I have compassion for him and I find him very interesting. I struggle with seeing him bottom. The thing is, I don't struggle with seeing Porsche top. If Porsche found someone more vers, I think he would be down for either role. However, I also think Kinn’s rigidity in these roles also stems from a struggle to relinquish control. However, I think his control issues are much more pronounced due to his position. While he goes soft for Porsche and clearly adores him, he has been trained to be a leader, masculine, tough, etc. Despite Korn accepting his sons and their sexualities, the environment Kinn was not only raised in, but trained to lead is a breeding ground for toxic masculinity and not getting too close and comfortable with people - even those you should be close and comfortable with. Taking that into account and the fact his first known significant love betrayed him, I feel like he would really struggle opening himself up enough to bottom, even with Porsche. He would most likely CONSIDER it for Porsche and I don't completely rule it out, but it would be a struggle for him to get to that point. 

12. The unpopular character I really like:

 “Like” may be a strong word, but I find Korn and Gun FASCINATING. I would eat up an entire prequel series about these brothers. Gun is an abusive father, Korn appears to be a passive and kind one, yet Gun sees his brother as pure evil. While I don't necessarily think Korn is 100% evil, I truly believe he has less of a conscience than Gun does. Gun manipulates and beats his oldest son. He stabs one of the guards and has him beheaded posthumously. We witness those things because we are SUPPOSED to be on the major family side and see them as the much lesser evil. The thing is, they aren't, and I believe Korn is the colder and more sadistic one in the scheme of things, even while being an accepting father who probably genuinely loves his sons on some level. Both Gun and Korn are guilty of terrible crimes. They have had the same traumas passed down to them by their likely terrible father, but emerged from that trauma as very different people. 

I read Gun as someone who is perpetuating the abuse he likely suffered as a child. He is not a born villain. Korn was older, and likely calmer and more level-headed. He was assigned as heir, while Gun was the spare. Gun used the comparison of Korn and their father as a way to compare their capacity for evil. It is the only time in the show Korn genuinely looks taken aback and offended. It's subtle, but it's there. They both likely suffered at the hands of this man and were traumatized by whatever crimes he committed, but Korn never passed that down and hit his sons. As for Gun, he never killed his foster brother-in-law, faked the deaths of his foster sisters and her sons, and kept said foster sister as a prisoner for years and years (unless you believe Korn’s story about Gun killing Pat, which I don't). 

Anyway, I don't LOVE them, but I wish more fic writers explored their complexities. 

14. The one thing I see in fics all the time: 

ABO. I get that it's popular, and I will admit some aspects of it are kind of hot. But I feel like the dynamic taking over the whole environment and twisting it into something strongly dependent on these roles in society is what keeps me from ever seeking it out. Despite that, it comes up a lot in so many fandoms. I might still watch PitBabe though, since the acting looks good from what little I have seen.

17. There should be more type of this fic/art: 

I have a list! 

Crack fics, preferably crack treated seriously/semi-seriously. I want some high quality works that suck me in and make me laugh in this fandom. There are some great ones, but not enough. I need MORE.

One half of the couple believing the other half is dead (but are they?) I need to see KinnPorsche, VegasPete, ArmKhun, KimChay, etc going through that angst. 

Brotherly bonding fics. I love writing sibling dynamics and exploring them, likely because I was deprived of one and grew up feeling pretty isolated due to my home situation. So I really would love to see more fics putting a strong focus on one or more sets of siblings.

 

18. The fandom has been sleeping on: 

ArmKhun. It's somewhat recognized, but I need more people to open their eyes! Arm is so soft with him (with the exception of pushing Khun towards Pete’s ghost, but Khun did throw his effigy in the fire). He calmly and gently explains plot points of shows Khun misses. He is the first one to offer physical comfort. He knows how to get his mind off of things. As for Khun, he seems to trust Arm so much. If you look at them closely, Arm is the first one he often gravitates towards for physical comfort when he is feeling anxious. He also chose to stay with him rather than in a safe room or off the property during the attack. 

The mothers. I want their backstories, I need to know how the Theerapanyakuls feel about them. All we have is Kinn saying he is more like his mother before shooting a man in the head, and Vegas looking heartbroken when Gun says he is stupid like his mother. 

Namphueng. The woman was locked up for close to twenty years and even in the best written fics I have read, she is often a background player. There is so much potential to explore memory and speech loss, disability, regaining some memories and independence if the story allows, her rebuilding a relationship with her sons and interacting with the others, etc. 

21. What part of canon do I think is overhyped? 

Initially, I would have said KimChay. They didn't pull me in first watch. I didn't hate their storyline, but I wish it was a little more interwoven into the main plot, and part of me still does. However, they really did pull me in when I watched it again, and now I guess I write about them the most. Still odd to me, but I find them to be really interesting when exploring them in fic. 

Now? I really couldn't tell you. I guess I would have to look into everything else that is hyped up and go from there. 

22. My favorite part of canon everyone else ignores: 

I don't know if everyone ignores it, but I love that Arm is working multiple guard positions? Boy does surveillance, builds and distributes weapons, designs high tech spy gear, and goes on missions with Kinn (which is sort of dumb in hindsight because he is one of the main people holding that compound together). On top of that, he was the first one to tend to Big when he was shot, implying he has some medic or strong first aid knowledge, led the clean up crew after Tawan set off the bomb, and then built bombs of his own for the attack on the compound later on. 

He does all of this, and still manages to be a guard to Tankhun, who is likely the safest yet most emotionally demanding family member. And he seems committed to that position. I am sure Arm could easily be removed from Tankhun's team. He has plenty of other work demands, and he better be the highest paid guard other than Chan. Yet he chooses to stay with Khun along with taking on all of those duties. Hm. Love that for him though. 

[aesterblaster]

Hi there! Lovely blog 🥲 I came across a post about Rin (and his jaded side), which inspired me to rant a bit myself. I apologise if this lacks distinctness - English is not my native language, I also write on the bus so it must be worse than usual. Lastly, I don't have the alchemy of the verb so I tend to write more mud than gold lol. Anyways, I'd like to say something about Rin's ego (I'm consciously using arguments that I haven't seen yet, so I'll say very little about Rin's material living conditions such as the role of his age, his personality, the social impact of being Sae's brother etc, his “brother complex”...)

Well, mainly I find there are many parallels to be drawn between Nagi's character and Rin's, especially when it comes to their relationship with soccer (incidentally, the discussion they had at the end of the Manshine VS PXG match highlights their common problem; they have no ego). No… in fact I would say that there is a fundamental distinction between Nagi and Rin (absence of ego versus negation of the ego). I'm going to use schopenhauerian elements here (lightly) by integrating them with Kojève's ideas (the most primitive to the development of his thought on history). I don't think this is Kaneshiro’s ambition (but Schopenhauer (SC) drew heavily on Buddhist (anatman) and Hindu philosophy, so why not...) but Rin deals with the suffering of the world (equivalent here to the abandonment of his brother, who initially served as the pivot around which his reality revolved) by sublimating his own interiority (ego); he erases his 'ego' so as to become a footballer (he disappears in his work). For SC, the aim of the work is to develop an intuition that proposes a division of the world (a feeling of strangeness in the face of the notion of existence), which in itself makes it possible to overcome its absurdity (of the world). Moreover, everything Rin enjoys revolves around the question of the place or confirmation of the self within its realm (horror films = quest to feel/ his favorite music evokes the inability to find one's place in the world + Ciguatera (one of his favorite manga) tells the story of a young hopeless man with no goal outside of getting a bike and his new friends who gradually build themselves up in the midst of adolescence). Besides, in the same way that the abandonment of the Self is achieved through sublimation (freudian) in the work, it is also achieved through "charity" for Schopenhauer, and in some respects we could compare this to Rin's attitude before Sae's return (complacency towards his team-mates’s play style but also the stoic behaviour that emerged following Sae's departure).

It's true that, in the past, Rin undertook every action symmetrically to Sae's (theory of mimetic desire, which partly explains his disproportionate reaction to Sae's new purpose), whether through peer pressure or "willpower", although these dynamics can be criticised, they enabled Rin to situate himself in the world (shared existence creates a sense of belonging). He was the brother of the best (“even if my brother is stronger, he is still my brother, he treats me like his brother, we are equal, perhaps equivalent, we share a common humanity”). Except that this repression of the ego comes into conflict with the desire or struggle for recognition after Sae's return when he challenges Rin's perception of their shared humanity. Sae rejects Rin's humanity by telling him that he didn't see any value in him other than his ability as a player (which Sae doesn't recognise at the time). At this point, Sae imbues Rin with the idea that a being IS based on the object of his desire (to be, you have to desire something that surpasses the "need". A position that Sae continues to defend, particularly when he tells Sendo that his quest was primitive, even animal, so much so that it focused on primary needs (reproduction/affection (family), security (good salary/ position in the national team)... during this exchange he clearly establishes himself as the authentic human (free) being compared to a bunch of animals or sub-humans (enslaved)). One’s humanity (unlike animality, low things) is defined by the victory of conquering the desire of another being (the recurring theme of bllk). Whoever achieves this on his own, is in a sense, the master and the vanquished is a slave (master-slave dialectic), and while the master obtains recognition of his humanity from the slave, the master does not recognise the humanity of the slave.

In this way, self-awareness becomes a function of the other's awareness of us, and Rin integrates (even if he fights against it) his inhumanity (animality, even) and his subordinate position in relation to his brother (he’s the slave). Therefore, they are no longer brothers since they no longer recognise each other as equals. As a result, Rin performs a double negation of the ego (more or less voluntary and/or undergone), first through self-denial (for the benefit of others) and then through non-recognition (Sae’s abandonment). In addition, this could explain his jadedness and the disdain that you pointed out in your susdite post, because the value of the recognition I receive is a faction of the value of the recognition I give to others. In other words, the master gets recognition from the slave but it's not adequate because he doesn't recognise the slave, so the slave's recognition is worth almost nothing (as for now Rin doesn't care about soccer or blue lock, the aristos/master in his microcosm is Sae (Isagi only in relation to Sae) and, as in ancient Greece, the aristoi only recognise each other. In this sense, Rin seeks to recognise his own existence in the approval of his master (someone he wants to be equal to) and not in his work (if we're talking materialism, in Marxian thought, work is a means for man to recognise his own existence in the world in a broader sense, Rin really does live in a microcosm, but that can be explained by other factors) using outdated or even archaic means (for the venerative connotation of the term). It's funny that it's during the u20 match that he thinks it's imperative for him to make his mark on history. Even if I doubt Kaneshiro's qualities in this area, I'm still looking forward to seeing Rin's evolution in the quest for his true "ego" or "personal identity"now that he's started it, and he's wondering (I don't believe in these things but it could be interesting).

That said, I apologise for the length (I did try my best to keep it short), grammatical errors, spelling mistakes and inconsistencies. I only hope that I have been sufficiently comprehensible. Thank you for reading if you happen to do so. Have a nice day 😁

woah this was a full on psych thesis. Thanks! It was pretty long but I do enjoy your points and connections. I def agree that to Sae, Rin is still attatched to sub par desires and his recognition means nothing. I wonder if Sae's edginess isn't fully due to trauma but also realizing how futile Rin's way of thinking is. He just doesn't know how to properly explain it without being rude as hell.

[fleurelinathehybrid]

💛[Chapter 26: Keeping up with a deal]💛

If one were to compare kingdoms among the members of the Endless, undoubtedly none would equal the kingdom of Night of the Endless in beauty and danger.

The structures of her palace bore a certain similarity to those of the palace of her "favorite son", Dream. However, the enormous difference was that the color of the pillars could easily be confused with the darkness of the night itself; the same darkness that she used for her preferred method of torture: Black Holes.

Desire recognizes, deep down, that perhaps Dream desperately longs for his kingdom to resemble hers, only in the vague hope of receiving a token of her affection.

⟪Who are we trying to fool? She will never love us. We only played at being a family when she felt like it. Neither she nor Time have loved us as much as they loved themselves.⟫

Theirs thoughts were expressed clearly; Making this sacrifice was as valuable or even less than Night could value. However, it was the only way to prevent her from causing suffering to their siblings and niece. No, she is definitely innocent of the atrocities this disturbed woman could inflict on her.

—I've arrived! —they exclaimed with a hint of panic in their voice.

The silence was something thunderous and terrifying, despite being illuminated by the stars that adorned the walls of their mother's palace. They looked like they had been painted by the most talented mortals who had ever existed on Earth, despite their true material. And even their brother Dream had the same kingdom design as her.

—Mother, are you here? I'm here! —they shouted again, with a little impatience. —I kept my part of the agreement! If I come in peace, you don't bother my brothers or the girl!

Once again it was the most uncomfortable silence, and Desire was already getting desperate.

—I'm not playing, Night! —they exclaims, their face already red with impatience and anger—Don't make me regret it! GET OUT THE DAMN TIME!!

And this time, there is no silence.

The structures of their mother's palace begin to shake, causing them to fall abruptly to the ground from the sudden shaking of the pillars. Desire feels, genuinely, that they should not have opened their mouth and uttered insults at their mother, even if they were desperate and almost regretted having entered the wolf's teeth.

"Watch your tone of voice in my presence, Desire"

The fifth Endless swallows after hearing that; without being warned, she was capable of cutting out their tongues.

A pool of stellar waters located in the center of the pillars begins to tremble, causing the drops within the water to vibrate in time with the tremors in the place. And when Desire thought this wasn't getting any worse, Night proceeds to appear from within the pond, making the color of the water lighten as the voluptuous and beautiful figure of her mother emerges from the pond, wearing a black dress. Her wet and wavy hair like her sister Death's, barely stopped touching the water, fluffed up with a single shake.

—Sorry… mother. —the child speaks with their voice hanging by a thread.

Night smiles at them, with an obvious hint of sarcasm. She comes out of the pond, dazzling as she always does, and approaches her child after noticing that they're still on the ground. Desire, on the other hand, tries to recover from the near heart attack caused by their mother's reception.

—So you made a decision about the deal I offered you, huh? —Night speaks to them flirtatiously, while with her magic she levitates her child to help them get up. Once standing, she begins to surround them and look at them more closely. —Why are you dressed like that, child? Your clothing is usually more elegant.

—I'm not in the mood to dress as usual, mother. —they say dryly, feeling extremely uncomfortable after her approach. —Why would you care to know?

—Because I am your mother, Desire. I must always know everything. —she responds with a touch of coldness, placing her hands on her child's shoulders.

—I doubt it, seriously. —Desire looks at her with a small glimmer of bravery. —Besides, I only came to fulfill the deal. Don't you dare bother my brothers or my niece, and... I'll stay with you.

A small giggle escapes Night's lips, putting Desire on alert. Immediately, around them, there was nothing but darkness itself. The anthropomorphic being of Wishes looked at their mother with obvious mistrust, until they noticed: she did not get lost in the darkness as she did most of the time.

And, much more terrifying, his eyes shone like two lighthouses pointing at a ship.

—You? Stay with me, voluntarily? —their mother asks them, very intrigued. —Don't make me laugh, Desire.

—My intention is not to make you laugh, no, it is to make sure that you are going to keep your part of the deal. —Desire clarifies, with a burning flame of anger in their golden orbs— And I do it voluntarily, because I am not a coward like you and Time. I've already disappointed those I love, and I'm not going to do it again. I won't let her down too.

A look full of evil seeks to penetrate Desire deep into their bones, they tries to keep the flare of anger in their eyes, but it immediately goes out and they feel fear right in front of their nose.

—Well, child, if you say so. —she holds their jaw with her hand, so that his nails try to pierce her child's perfect face. —You are very brave to have the guts to come see me, very surprising.

Desire's teeth are shown to Night, letting her understand that she was fulfilling her purpose of tormenting them.

—However, you were wrong. —smiles maliciously— I will not attack your siblings, only my favorite son; obviously I won't do that either because I made a deal and you fulfilled me from the beginning.

Behind Desire, a strange portal opens with the matter made of their mother. They did not need to turn their head, not only because their mother prevented them from doing so with her grip, but because they already recognized perfectly that it was what was behind them.

It was a fucking black hole.

They focused their gaze again on their mother, without any hint of bravery whatsoever. Night no longer had the headlights in his eyes, only darkness. That same darkness that characterized her as always.

Like the evil mother they were used to fearing.

—I'll see you soon, child.

After these words, she decided to throw them into the hole. Without giving them a chance to fight.

[faiseuse-d-histoires]

https://www.tumblr.com/bookish-cravings/759469305363578880?source=share

Why you don't post my questions??? This is a lie. The hate that white people is receiving now its huge so if marina was white, all the peoplw likw you two who defend her now would have hate her. Because her actiond were shit but you all forgive her only because she black. Let me ask you, black people can't do wrong???? Marina is and was a bad person. She tried to tame people and she was mean and evil. I don't care she was pregnant.

Oh, Calimero, your lack of self-awareness is alarming. Don't you ever question yourself? Are you even able to?

If i don't reply to all of your asks, it is because you are a bully and keep repeating and projecting the same things. I am always tempted to reply "cf previous answer", as you are always turning round and round around the same things, and I wonder why you do not choose to go rather on reddit, where you could delight on répétitive stories like "SO cheated on me, so I wasted parts of my life to get my revenge", which would certainly satisfy you better.

Should I say to you "poor poor white woman"? I won't.

The amount of hate you describe against white people shall never equal the amount of hate, of injustice people of color received, the weight of History, and if as a white person, I can admit it, and admit that white priviledge still exists and should be fought against, why can't you?

But other than that, Marina being white wouldn't change the fact that she is a young woman in a precarious condition, in a society that could destroy her if she is unmarried, and that tries to secure her and her unborn child's future. This is worthy of compassion, no matter the color of the skin. Compared to that, you want me to think Show Penelope, who began her work because she did not get the attention she wanted, and keeps using gossip for her own gains, is worthier of compassion and that Show Marina is a bitch for (check notes) taking her willing crush, that keeps friendzoning her, from her because she hopes to be at least with a kind man that could protect her and her child... Well, I am sorry, but for my part, I shall never agree with that. Show Penelope's situation will always be more priviledged than Marina's. Show Penelope's sufferings were never equal to Show Marina's. The evil is in Show Marina' s situation, which leads her to despair, not in herself. Show Penelope, who was not even in a desperate situation such as that, only did what she did for herself (for validation, to keep her crush from marrying another, and out of spite for not getting what she wants). Clearly not the same stakes.

Grow up. Some situations just can't be compared as you do, in an extremely limited, narrow-minded and binary view.

[theocddiaries]

Eda and her curse

When I watched "Keeping up A- Fear- Ances" for the first time, I cried so much when Eda's mother apologised to her about how she treated her condition, that she understood why she pushed her away and she loved all of her daughter's parts... Also, she acknowledged she should've paid more attention to Lilith because she is also her daughter.

I've read and heard so many arguments about parents with personality (or plain) disorders. As someone who is raised by someone who is undiagnosed but clearly suffering from the same disorder I have (I think it is genetic from one parent's side of the family, as more members struggled to some degree), I have to say that it is very difficult, but no because of the disorder, but because the actions, the gaslighting and the unfairness. If I had X compulsion, I was 'fucking crazy'; if my parent had it, it was excused, justified by 'they're unwell, leave them alone, be a good daughter'.

I was told I'd never been able to have a normal life because of my OCD, because I was 'letting it' boss me around and controlled me because 'I wanted to (?)'.

Now, The Owl House did so many things right, especially this subject.

Edalyn was cursed, had to learn not to let things get to her or she'd turn into a literal monster she could barely control because she ran from it instead of confronting it, because that's what their parents and everyone else taught her, by being afraid of her 'monster form'. STILL, she never used this as an excuse to be a shitty person. She took in King, Luz, forgave Lilith and helped her when the curse was shared, always tried to be good and strong for those around her and never let her curse define her entire personality, just learnt to live with it and accept it as part of her.

And then... there's this scene in the finale, when Belos, who would deserve several posts because I love him so much as a villain... When he is defeated, 'back to his human form' and tries to play the victim saying he was doing unspeakable things because he was cursed and couldn't help himself. He even tried to play with Luz's kind-hearted nature by comparing himself to Eda. "I was cursed, like your mentor".

Luz isn't moved in the slightest, and I think that silent, cold glare she dedicated Belos/Philip said so much more than an hour-lenght monologue. Even if he was cursed, he is responsible for his actions, and he didn't show remorse, just try to excuse everything, never admitting blame. So, she knew he was buffling once again.

You can't choose to live with a disorder or a personality disorder. However, abuse is a choice. I know I can be difficult when I get in spiral mode (I've got pure OCD, so it's more obsessive and mental), but I don't abuse people, I don't mistreat them, I try to be kind, I try to spread awareness, be understanding. Just being a decent human being, which is difficult, but totally worth it.

I am sick of enablers more than abusers. Especially with double standards. Being compassionate, understanding and good-natured will NEVER mean you have to tolerate abuse 'because the poor person is sick'.

When someone tries to pull that crap, I remember Luz's cold, inexpressive glare. And you should, too. Being good does not equal being trampled over countless times. Have compassion with yourself first, and then you'll know when and how to be it with others without hurting yourself in the process.

[onewomancitadel]

As I have expressed in the past, Cinder wouldn't have a completely different reception if she were a male character. The difference between her and Adam (say, or separately I/ronwood) isn't just on the basis of gender: notably, Adam and I/ronwood's confidence, bravado, rhetoric, indeed entire belief system and the way they justify themselves (through a greater good persona), etc. are all appealing traits - they don't 'fail' or suffer narratively in the same way Cinder does, and so her 'entitlement' reads differently, and the reveal of her emotionality, vulnerability, and othering torture is too revealing. Even Cinder's own bravado clearly registers (and is observed by other characters) to be covering something up.

This post really covers it, but the emotional archetype of Cinder is part of what's the problem, and it's why even a version of the story where Cinder is male, she wouldn't have the same popularity (or determined argumentation for 'redemption' or justification narratively from Adam-esque fans). In her case, it is certainly a worsening of the circumstances (which similarly doesn't attract the general fandom which is into the male Byronic hero or the male suffering villain), but there would be unacceptable traits about her if you even kept the story as-is. Her ultimate quest is never moralised and there is no ostensible greater good she's working towards. Her story is on much deeper psychological and fairytale terms.

Adam and I/ronwood are both secure masculine figures, and not ideologically in pain: what they struggle with is getting everybody else to go along with what they believe, and make concessions at their own behest, in concordance with what they're willing to allow, which frames the power dynamics very differently - even compare to the way Cinder negotiates and you get a very different picture. This is a really compelling trait, because the conflictedness and the vulnerability (in a physical power sense as well as emotional one) of a character like Cinder - and any other villains of her ilk - is uncomfortable. It doesn't align with traditional male fantasy, made doubly more complicated given that she should be a straightforward bitch. (Separately, this is why Jaune's a tough nut to crack and tends to have most of his characterisation chucked out the window).

I have seen the opinion expressed in the past that Adam is bait for Kylo Ren fans, and I think this is a serious misreading of Kylo Ren and probably equally a serious misreading of Adam. They're not the same villain archetypes, because the draw of Kylo Ren is that he is not ideologically motivated and he is suffering; he represents the decay to be rooted out (and even communicates this very emphatically: It's time to let old things die) but he doesn't have the full thematic picture of regrowth. He's not a political ideologue, he doesn't think what he's doing is for some abstract 'greater good', he's not a utilitarian, he's a mythically trapped Lost Dark Prince Prodigal Son (in a space opera). This is not Adam. Adam is really a reversal of this: the political ideology covers the expression of his ego. I/ronwood is a similar case, even if there is more pathos to his story.

Critically, Kylo Ren (and many villains of his ilk) are often rejected by masculine fandom on the grounds of being too emotional, or too sympathetic - too whiny, too feeling, even when Kylo does cut an imposing figure. It is a complete misreading of his character and other conflicted villains to think they are universally accepted amongst 'that' fandom. You know the ones. 'The bad guy had a point all along' is rarely about empathising with the other side, but usually a contrarian edginess motivated by 'the guy who really understands you have to do bad things to get good outcomes'. Classic ends-justify-the-means I/ronwood adjacent type.

Cinder is a character foregrounded in upheaval and redemption. It's a paradigm shift, not through validating her perspective, but challenging it, and integrating the restorative characteristics.

I think it is absolutely true, though, that interiority is generally not assumed of female characters and discarded even when presented with the opportunity (once again I reject the idea that female characters just 'aren't written well' as an argumentation against this; reconstructive work of male characters with five lines tells you all you need to know) whether she be heroine or villainess. Specifically to Cinder there are detractions to her character that are gender-based: for instance, the very notion of entitlement (compared to Adam or I/ronwood, again, for the sake of this case study) both in terms of what she wants in the story and the very presence of her character, as if she were 'taking up too much space' feels rooted in the fear of feminine hunger. That they have unconsciously leant into this with her is quite interesting. It does give a different flavour to her character (and certainly her perception) that would be different were she a Kylo Ren. There are 'good' female characters who deserve her place, who by no conincidence happen to be fan-favourites meeting (their own projected) acceptable feminine archetypes (even if it leads to a total misreading of everybody involved).

I don't think all is lost, and I don't intend to write a fingerwagging post. I think if you try to humanistically engage with a work and think deeper about it, it tends to mitigate this issue anyway. So, surface-level meta and fandom surveys are always going to highlight these fault-lines, but there are plenty of people who don't necessarily fall prey to this. It's just true of greater fandom troughs and peaks. Equally, it's not like male characters are universally received with praise, because the issue is a little deeper. Morally, redemption-wise, story-wise, there are issues which persist which I've covered under my redemption arc tag as well as my narrative cynicism tag. So I think this reflects gender as well as how people socially engage with basic ideas of change, vulnerability, redemption, even philosophical ideas at large like the ubiquity of utilitarianism (shit).

I don't know if this is any consolation to Cinder fans - and certainly not for the ones who reject similar villains of her fare, for their own reasons, since these fandoms don't necessarily cross over - but I think it's an interesting topic nevertheless, with a certain amount of distance, once you get over the fact she's leagues more interesting than Adam and I/ronwood and whyyyy can't people see it hahaha. I mean, people can like what they like, they can't really help it. Including myself.

[randomvarious]

Today's compilation:

Back to the 60's: Country 2010 Country

Buncha little thoughts about this album and country music writ large, but the most pressing one doesn't really have anything to do with country music at all, and it's that I've now found a second album in this Back to the… series from K-tel that is actually on Spotify, but appears to have been excluded from their own search results for some reason?! Which inevitably makes me wonder, how much music does Spotify have in its library that's actively being hidden from us? And why the hell are they doing that in the first place!?

See if you get the same results as me. Go on your Spotify app, search "Back to the 60's country," and see if it brings up the album. Mine doesn't do it on my phone app, or my laptop, or in their web app, but I can find the album through a Google search, and here's evidence that it's actually on Spotify:

Very weird and disconcerting!

OK, now for some more specific thoughts: the prolific and eclectically sprawling K-tel label, which has always stressed quantity over quality, can, naturally, be very hit or miss with its releases. But one thing you have to appreciate about them in particular is that within the broad compilation label landscape, I'm hard-pressed to think of another company that has a scope similar to theirs that digs as deep into the country vaults as they do. They may be a pretty chintzy label, overall, but I think the fact that they were such a midwestern staple in their heyday may have lent to them taking on country in a way that I don't think other similar labels did nearly as much of. And you may or may not like country music yourself, but regardless, I think you have to hand it to a label that makes it as much of a part of their own identity like they did, treating it as an equal to other commercial genres with deep and rich histories, rather than as something more secondary to pay mere basic, inch-deep, lip service to.

However, like the rest of this Back to the… series that I've explored thus far, this too has a lot of re-recordings on it. But I actually don't think that country music suffers nearly as much from the inherent deficiencies of re-recordings like other genres do, and that's primarily for two different reasons: one, while a lot of other genres incorporate a whole bunch of instruments that cheap re-recordings end up trying to poorly replicate with keyboards, a lot of country music doesn't necessitate that. Sure, there's plenty of glitzy country stuff with a lot of studio wizardry that goes into it, but there's also a lot of country stuff whose setups are far more sparse, and when you have maybe just a bass and a guitar or two, that's going to be something that's a whole lot harder to fuck up with a re-recording, I think.

And second, I think another thing that's so off-putting about re-recordings in general is that when the vocalists are tapped to make them, they've very clearly aged, and when it comes to genres like pop and rock & roll that have an inherent nature to promote youth, it's disappointing when the people who have returned to recapture that magic are obviously not so young anymore. But youth is not necessarily an asset with country music. And specifically with male performers, guys with deeper voices who sound weathered, wise, and mature are adored. So when someone sounds older in a song, it's not as much of a liability as it is with other genres.

Now, I've made no bones about how I know almost little to nothing about country music myself, which is something that I'm committed to publicly working on sooner rather than later, but because I don't even know what any of the original versions of these songs on this album sound like, I think I'm a decent mark for something like this, due to the fact that I have nothing to actually compare these to and then be disappointed by. Like, every single one of these re-recordings is probably inferior to its original master, but for the moment, ignorance is totally bliss for me! Whee! 😎

And so, I didn't hate this album nearly as much as the other dispatches from this series thus far. I may have not liked very many of these tunes, but they didn't make me seethe like when I heard an absolutely awful rendition of The Crystals' "Da Doo Ron Ron" yesterday 🤢.

And I don't even think that every single one of these is a re-recording anyway. Like, I'm pretty sure that Jack Greene's tender crier, "There Goes My Everything," is, because it really doesn't sound like it was recorded in the 60s, but Dave Dudley's Johnny Cash-sounding trucker ode, "Six Days on the Road," totally does. And if you dig that classic Johnny Cash sound, you'll probably dig this song too then.

Last thing I'm gonna say here before I wrap up is that I'm pretty certain that this album was released on CD and cassette in either the late 80s or early 90s—like much of the rest of this series was—but I can't find any actual evidence to support that, so the year of release I'm forced to go with is the one that, I think, represents when it was added to streaming services instead, which is 2010.

So I can't believe I'm saying this as someone who doesn't ever dive much into country music, but *this* is now my favorite volume from K-tel's Back to the… series so far. The four other albums I've listened to dealt with more general pop and rock-oriented hits from the 50s and early 60s, but this country-specific one is just leaps and bounds better, and probably because of many of the reasons that I outlined above.

✌

Highlights:

Jack Greene - "There Goes My Everything" Dave Dudley - "Six Days on the Road"

[sneezemonster15]

No, Naruto was not mad in chapter 699. He certainly looks contemplative and perhaps a tad melancholic.

Because like I said in the post, Naruto is not ready to come out of the closet, which was made pretty clear in 698. And it makes sense because he lives in a heteronormative and homophobic society, and now that he is the fated hero and savior, the burden of responsibilities he has to carry has increased triplefold. In the entire war arc, it was emphasized how he is now the captain of the ship, while everyone else has also accepted and acknowledged him as such. Naruto was clearly depicted as the one with repressed sexuality, who struggles with the nature of his feelings for Sasuke. Naruto always was Sasuke's well-wisher. He wanted to bring Sasuke back, as in to rescue him from Oro's clutches. He didn't want Sasuke to be lonely and suffering and miserable. He wouldn't ask Sasuke to stay for his sake, just so it would make Naruto happy. That would be selfish and insensitive behaviour, let's not confuse him with Sakura. Naruto understands why Sasuke did what he did, Naruto knows about the truth of the Uchiha massacre.

The post is not about Naruto vs Sasuke. You can like both their characters equally and still be able to judge their motivations, characteristics and dynamics correctly. There is absolutely no reason or evidence to believe Naruto decided to reject Sasuke and marry Hinata because he got mad at Sasuke abandoning him. It would be monstrous and immature of Naruto to ask Sasuke to stay in the village after what the village did to Uchiha clan. Naruto came of age at the end, he wouldn't display immaturity by forcing Sasuke to stay in a place that betrayed Sasuke so thoroughly. Don't you think Kishi made Sasuke leave at the end for a reason? Protecting Sasuke and being with him turned out to be a greater motivator for Naruto's character in Shippuden, more than his becoming hokage. Naruto was single-mindedly focused on bringing Sasuke back but Kishi wrote Sasuke to leave at the end and Naruto didn't stop him. Instead he gives him his hitaiate back in good faith. Kishi wrote it like that to show Naruto has matured, also because now he knows much more about himself as compared to the start of shippuden. He knows he loves Sasuke and Sasuke loves him back. Even if the conditions in Konoha aren't positive for them. They are shown as having a very strong relationship post shippuden, a very intimate relationship, they both understand each other. They understand each other's problems.

And not 'godknowshwere'. Naruto knows Sasuke's whereabouts at all times, even if he isn't in Konoha, like it is pretty much stated in Gaiden. They are in contact at all times. Sasuke pledged to Naruto to assist him in reaching his goals and he is doing everything to satisfy it, even benefitting the same village that destroyed Sasuke's family and childhood. Sasuke has done enough to 'atone' himself as he calls it. Let's not throw stones at Sasuke's character because he left at the end.

I am sorry to say but the interpretation that you have drawn out is insulting to both Sasuke and Naruto's characters. I think I know where this kind of reading comes from, Naruto stans that ship SNS and I will say it right away, their understanding of both Naruto and Sasuke's characters are very clouded by their prejudices and less than comprehensive understanding of the manga. I mean if they think Tobirama and Sarutobi were portrayed as good leaders...

Sasuke knows how much he hurt Naruto. But Naruto doesn't care much about that. This panel makes it clear.

Sasuke was ready to die at this point of time to make things easier for everyone else. But Naruto won't have it. So Sasuke wants reassurance from Naruto whether things will sort themselves out after what Sasuke did. And Naruto gives that reassurance to him. Sasuke is still not convinced but Naruto tells him - Don't make me say it again.

And Sasuke smiles. He has his reassurance. He trusts Naruto.

Which means that if things didn't sort themselves out with Konohabitants, and if they didn't accept Sasuke, Naruto will make them. And it makes sense. Naruto's efforts were what gave Sasuke the out of jail card after the war.

There's no question of anyone being innocent here. They were both victims to their circumstances, they were both kids and they had no control on how their fates were designed. Naruto didn't ask to be a jinchuuriki, just like Sasuke didn't want to attack Konoha for the cheap thrills.

Sasuke abandoned Naruto in vote one, and Naruto couldn't understand why Sasuke was doing it. But after Jiraiya died, Naruto understood. Naruto never resented Sasuke for leaving after that. And he understood even better after he got to know about the truth of the massacre.

I don't understand why Sasuke looks very sad in Gaiden when talking to Naruto about their "collaboration" (for some reason it's written bolded too)?

Ah Anon.

Okay so I have wondered about this too and I had been thinking of writing a post about it, but kept avoiding it. Mainly because Gaiden is convoluted, to say the least. And in order to make sense of it, some contained speculation was in order. However, it is informed speculation, in any case. Here goes.

Why did Kishi write Gaiden? To give Sarada a back story. But he is doing so many other things in it. It's like he is helping outraged fans to make sense of the ending, the one that made SS canon. It's like he was trying to provide a bridge, to fill a gap, in order for us to understand what happened to Sasuke and Naruto at the end.

My suspicion started here.

This was the point when I felt like Sakura has had a clear realization. The clear impression that I got here was that Sakura knew what Sasuke meant. Sasuke did show her some consideration when he was still part of team seven and I felt like she still entertained the thought that maybe Sasuke still had that consideration for her. But war arc showed her again and again, how Sasuke's goals and feelings and priorities had absolutely nothing to do with Sakura and that irrespective of how Sakura feels for Sasuke, Sasuke wouldn't reciprocate.

He saves Naruto from the lava dimension despite a very able Naruto's admonition, but not Sakura who, if weren't for Kakashi, would certainly have perished. And to add insult to injury, Sasuke even explains to Naruto why he did it, while not mincing words about how much Sakura and Kakashi were just circumstantial by-products of his rescue operation. Sakura knows that Sasuke has prioritised Naruto over her before and is still doing it, even at the cost of her potential death. This incident served as a failed litmus test for Sakura.

Sakura would plow on regardless of course, because she still thinks she deserves it, that she deserves him. She has a very twisted sense of self importance, something that is a product of entitlement and immaturity. She was ready to abandon Konoha and become a traitor to trail after Sasuke the first time he was leaving, she was still begging for his attention during the war and even afterwards, while he announced his intention to kill Naruto. Even the horrible genjutsu Sasuke put her in without a second thought wasn't enough to make her re-evaluate her feelings for Sasuke. Her obsession for Sasuke isn't at all about him or how he feels, not like she was ever interested in knowing, but it's about her and that she wants to possess him, even if only in name. So even when she knows Sasuke doesn't and probably never will reciprocate her feelings, she never stops trying. She is after the glory of nailing Sasuke, pun unintended; because it uplifts her own image in her head, that 'she' was the one who finally got to 'get' Sasuke, not Ino, not anyone else, her. At the end of the day, her burning desire to claim Sasuke as hers is stronger than her need of Sasuke's reciprocation, loyalty to Konoha, protecting Naruto or anything else.

So when I saw this panel in chapter 699, it made sense.

Sasuke rejects Sakura's offer, like always, after giving her an unenthusiastic monosyllabic apology in the previous chapter, but it made sense that she would still follow after Sasuke. If a surefire murder attempt, a disturbingly malevolent genjutsu, steadily consistent apathy and vocal disdain wasn't able to budge Sakura's resolve of pursuing Sasuke mindlessly, why break from tradition now?

Sakura's attitude towards Sasuke made me think, what more needs to happen for this girl to realize Sasuke just isn't interested? Everything that ensued after lava dimension convinced me that it doesn't matter what happened or didn't happen, Sakura won't change. That it was never really a question of what would finally make her understand that one sided love doesn't work, but it was always a question of how much was she ready to go through, as long as she gets to have Sasuke.

Well, we are probably never going to find out because Sakura's obsession and one sided 'love' is a much stronger motivation for her than her self respect and long term happiness. I kinda feel sad for her, she just makes for such a forlorn and pathetic figure, so wrong about what really constitutes happiness in life and hence, suffering for it in a world where Sasuke, her husband and father of her child doesn't see her, call her, write her, touch her or recognise their child. :/

When Sasuke was leaving Konoha in chapter 699, his statement to Sakura intrigued me. He does give her an explanation, and assuredly states that he needs to sort out some other things that have been on his mind. I wonder what those things were and how much they had to do with the events that transpired in the preceding chapter, the intense interaction with Naruto that acted as his emotional catharsis and changed his direction in life. Because I believe chapter 698 was a love confession. Post chapter 698, Naruto knows how Sasuke feels for him. Sasuke knows how he feels for Naruto. Sasuke also knows how Naruto feels about him, but that he is still hesitant and confused, as he can't reconcile feeling that way for a boy. But on a fundamental level, he knows.

Of course, Kishi had to find a way to write this whole thing creatively and effectively to mitigate the risk of being too explicit about writing a gay love confession in shounen. But all the evidence of Naruto being a closeted homosexual was already established shrewdly by Kish. He obviously knew he couldn't legitimize a gay couple in shounen so he wrote that horrible ending for money but he knew that he was breaking rules of storytelling. He indicated, like I wrote in another post, that Konoha didn't present the ideal conditions for Sasuke and Naruto's relationship and possible union to be legitimized, especially because now Naruto and Sasuke had the weight of the world upon their shoulders.

I surmise that Sasuke thought deeply about Naruto, their relationship and the possibility of a potential union during his journey after the war. He came back and perhaps presented such a proposal to Naruto but Naruto couldn't accept. Naruto had the weight of Konoha's, his friends', and more importantly his parents' expectations on his shoulders, that he will marry a girl one day.

So even though he realised that he felt quite differently and passionately for Sasuke, he decided to reject the offer. He subsequently married Hinata with what is decidedly the most uncharacteristic and lacklustre of motivations and emotional affectation (I mean, Kishi meant for us to notice it in The Last where he decimated Naruto's character, don't you think?).

But Sasuke accepted him nevertheless. His love for Naruto is like a rock steady faith, a prayer. No matter what happens, he can't and won't stop loving and caring for Naruto. He joined in Naruto's goal of uniting all shinobis, and he is accountable to Naruto. So when this panel appeared, I couldn't help but notice a few things.

Sasuke is a man very much in control of his facial expressions, he doesn't let weakness or vulnerability show in any way, it's his character trait. Except when he is with Naruto. His expression here is clearly sad, dejected, resigned, this is very uncharacteristic of Sasuke especially when he is not in an extreme situation. He sounds like a man who didn't get what he wanted (from Naruto) and now is just going through the motions. He sounds like he is taunting Naruto plainatively, kinda like - You got what you wanted Naruto and I am doing what I promised you. What else is there to it?

There's an element of suffering and melancholia here.

Of course he would rather put himself in harm's way over Naruto, but I couldn't help but notice, like you said, how the lines were bolded out, like Kishi really wanted it to be emphasized. Like I said earlier, one has to pay attention to the deliberation and intent with which the author decides to relay information about the characters and their respective equation.

Naruto here looks stung and properly admonished, like Sasuke's taunt really needled him. It doesn't look or sound like their usual banter. It sounds serious, something that is coming from a much deeper place. And then I noticed Sakura's eyes. She looks panicked, alarmed. Why? Why would she panic at Sasuke taunting Naruto like this? By this time, she knows that Sasuke would always prioritise Naruto over her. It just made me think that she knows something about Sasuke and Naruto. Or suspects something. It's possible I am reading too much into it, but Kishi didn't do it without a reason, that much I am sure of. Everything is intentional. I felt like there's a lot of unsaid things here, just roiling under the surface begging to be noticed since Kishi's hands are tied. More so because of the repeated insistence of Kishi to portray SS as forced and unloving, like it was written to keep appearances. Like the way they talk about each other, calling each other 'my husband' and 'my wife'. Who talks like this in Naruto universe? It's weird. Like Sakura mostly sounds like she is overcompensating for the fact that her husband is almost always away and her child is missing because she couldn't do her job properly.

Then there's obviously Sasuke's very visible distaste at seeing Sakura, his wife he has seen after a decade, followed by his general lack of interest in being around her.

He is quite frankly admitting that the only reason he is with Sakura is Sarada. That's how they are connected.

It's not like Kishi doesn't set up the plot for this. It all starts because Sarada cannot reconcile her mother's lack of knowledge about her husband and his whereabouts with the paltry explanation Sakura has been giving Sarada her entire life. Sarada basically represents the curiosity of the fans, since we are all asking the same questions she is.

It's also very amusing to see how Kishi makes Naruto know and tell the answers to the questions Sarada was asking Sakura. And Naruto obviously knows Sasuke's whereabouts at all times. This makes my suspicion even stronger that SS was written as a sham couple, an couple in name only, just for keeping appearances, because well duh. The real couple is very much still Naruto and Sasuke.

And the way Naruto and Sasuke interact with each other or talk about each other, like an actual married couple, only strengthens this suspicion.

It's the fact that Kishi underlines the fact so pointedly that where Naruto and Sasuke know each other intimately, Sakura doesn't even know if Sasuke wears glasses. Where Naruto and Sasuke actually sound like how old married couples sound, Sakura and Sasuke still talk of each other in a very cosmetic manner, which sounds put on. Where Naruto was able to comfort Sarada about her father in a span of a few hours, Sakura couldn't do it in over a decade.

Sakura is still pulling her usual manipulative endeavours to force Sasuke's hand but Kishi relentlessly points out, certainly more times than necessary, how Sasuke and Sakura's marriage is only just a sham, a couple that has never kissed.

Like seriously, why is this needed? If the objective of the story is to provide a sob story for Sarada so that the audience might feel like potentially rooting for her, why imply that Sasuke is just not into Sakura. Like what narrative purpose is it serving in the story exactly? If Gaiden is supposed to serve as a story to set up Sarada's character firmly in Boruto series, through unraveling her central conflict (estranged father daughter relationship), and subsequently resolving it, either ideally do it with Sakura's help (Kishi does it through Naruto :/) or at least don't make it worse by dropping hints left and right about how absolutely farcical SS is! It totally defeats the purpose of the story.

Why would Kishi do it?

From what it looks like, it seems like Kishi is only providing an explanation as to what might have happened in the blank period after the war.

On his travels, Sasuke meditated over the course of action he should take about Naruto and then, he finally proposed to Naruto. Like a love proposal. But Naruto wasn't ready to come out of the closet, so he declined. He haphazardly married Hinata to satisfy everyone's expectations, and Sasuke understood but wasn't necessarily happy with it.

Meanwhile, Sakura relentlessly chased Sasuke and Sasuke, somewhere along the way, relented for a misjudged moment, and as a result, Sarada was conceived (even though the story of her conception sounds very shady), but Sasuke's first priority was always Naruto and the promise he made him. So he couldn't be around, didn't help that he didn't love Sakura. But since family ties were important for him, having grown up with a strong understanding of what a family entails, he couldn't completely abandon them either. So he married Sakura. But is he happy about it? Well clearly not.

In conclusion, Sakura would gladly take the tiny scraps Sasuke throws at her as long as she gets to call Sasuke her husband. Sasuke would give her those tiny scraps if it means his child would get some semblance of a family life, and Naruto would call Sasuke his rival but would talk and act like Sasuke's spouse for all means and purposes.

Does it happen in real life that closeted gay men choose to stay closeted forever for the sake of societal expectations? Sure. Does it happen in real life that people in unloving relationships stay together for the sake of their children? Absolutely. Has it been documented and portrayed in media? Also yes.

Is there a speculative element in my theory? Yes. But I simply don't see any other way to explain this rationally, everything considered.

It's upto fans to decide which theory works for them. But this works for me.

[nabilla3]

Animal Liberation by Peter Singer

The extract that I chose to read was from Animal Liberation by philosopher, Peter Singer. Animal Liberation is a book originally published in 1975 and explores the humans' relationship with animals, particularly the ethics surrounding how we treat them and their rights.

Singer starts off by talking about the history of the phrase “animal liberation.” Explaining about how the term was first used in A Vindication of the Rights of Brutes (1792), written by Thomas Taylor. Which was a satirical piece in response to A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) by Mary Wollstonecraft. Singer Quotes Taylor asking “Why should [equal rights] not be applied to dogs, cats, and horses?” (1792). I think that this is quite a striking way to start the book especially the first time I had read it,  at first it can be interpreted that comparing animals to women is degrading however Singer goes on to explain why Taylor’s argument does not make sense as it does not investigate the issue further. 

To summarise here are two important quotes that I think explain Singers thoughts well are: One of them is “equality does not require equal or identical treatment, it requires equal consideration” Which is also known as equity. A basic example applied to humans is you could give everybody the same pair of shoes or you could give everybody a pair of shoes that fit. The other quote is “Can they reason? Nor can they talk? but, can they suffer?” This directly responds to Taylor’s question at the beginning by delving into the moral justification of suffering. It is obvious animals cannot vote so they do not need the rights in order to be able to. However, they do have an interest in not suffering therefore should be given the right to be protected against harm. Thus, this is why it does not make sense to compare women and animals in relation to voting rights.  

I found the extract to be somewhat repetitive, although I believe this is because this is a difficult theory to understand so it was a writing technique to make it easier to read. Ultimately I think that this work is to do with empathy. Animals are seen as “other” so people can find it difficult to comprehend that animals can experience the same type of pain as humans can. He uses examples of race and gender to explain how you cannot cast out living creatures purely based off of the fact they are different from us. He attempts to teach the reader to empathise to with animals by saying what if humans with an IQ less than 100 is inferior to others, which is clearly unfair. 

Reading the extract reminded me of a Black Mirror Episode “Men Against Fire”. The episode follows a soldier who is sent out to exterminate a type of mutated human nicknamed “roaches”, with the help of a augmented reality chip implanted in him. After the chip is disrupted, he realises that the so called “roaches” were actually an ethnic group that is being genocided. I found this episode to be extremely powerful and think that Singer tries to create the same effect, although I personally do not find it to be as effective as it is harder to relate with animals. 

This links to Hannah Arendt’s ideas about how banality produces evil. Being passive, and not caring about issues allows for individuals to pursue evil actions without reason against it. Docility and being unquestioning are values engrained by capitalism in order to create a perfect workforce and shows how modernity has influenced mans relationship with animals. Singer tries to inspire empathy with animals, waking them up from being ignorant of the issue. 

I think that the way that Animall Liberation is interpreted is based off of the readers current relationship with animals. For example, I have never had a close relationship with any pets although, empathy is a topic that I do like to explore in art so using this analogy made sense. I think that this extract has become more influential on me as I have started to research beavers and their relationship with man. I look forward to investigating further into the relationship between man and animals and looking for other parallels that i can infer. 

References:

Arendt, H, 1963, Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, Viking Press

“Men Against Fire”, 2016, Black Mirror Season 3, Episode 5

Singer, P, 1975, Animal Liberation 2nd Edition, HarperCollins 

Taylor, T, 1792, A Vindication of the Rights of Brutes, Edward Jeffrey Pall-Mall

Wollstonecraft, M, 1792, A Vindication of the Rights of Brutes, Simon and Schuster

[thranduel]

reminder that will byers is the only reason mike could say the words “i love you”. this is canon and nothing will change that. he could only say it because of will.

will gave mike strength. will made mike feel like he was worth something. will listened to mike express his struggles and insecurities when no one else would. will chose to sacrifice his own feelings just to help mike because that’s how much he loves him. will made mike feel more confident about himself. will made mike feel more loved than anything.

will gave mike the painting he worked so hard on and basically told him “there’s nothing wrong with being a nerd. you talk down on yourself and think that you’re lame and worthless compared to el just because she has powers, but you’re not. you’re the furthest thing from that. and yes, you’re a nerd. but that nerd is the boy that i fell in love with. that nerd is the boy that has made me feel safe my entire life. that nerd is the boy i immediately related to when he walked up to me all alone at the swingset on the first day of kindergarten. that nerd is the boy that has never made me feel like a mistake; like i’m better for being different. that nerd is the boy that holds our party together. that nerd is the boy that understands me better than anyone else. that nerd is the boy that changed my life in the best way possible. and look, here’s a painting of us; our nerdy party, from our nerdy game that we play. i don’t know about you, but i think that being a nerd is the best. and here you are, my knight in shining armour with a heart on your shield, because that’s exactly what you are to me. i’ve always loved you for exactly who you are. not because of societal pressure. not because you’ve done things for me. not because i feel like i owe you something because you saved me. but just simply because you’re YOU. you mean the world to me. i would never walk away from you or leave you behind. i’ll always be by your side and i hope that you’ll always be by my side too, because i will always need you. i love you more than anything.”

all it took was one painting and a beautiful monologue for will byers to make mike wheeler feel more loved than he’s ever felt in his entire life. and although what i wrote above wasn’t what he said exactly, it was everything he was thinking. because will has always loved mike for who he is. it doesn’t matter that he’s a nerd. will is a nerd too! they went through the same struggles growing up and they’ve always shared the same interests. that’s why there’s so much understanding. that’s why they feel safe with each other and why they can actually be themselves without being fake. but it’s heartbreaking that mike doesn’t realise will was talking about his own feelings in the van because THAT is what gave him strength and made him say “i love you”. seriously, no one else has ever made mike feel loved the way that will did in that scene, and that’s exactly why they can’t leave this storyline unresolved. mike’s current relationship is unhealthy, there’s so much miscommunication and misunderstanding and he only said “i love you” because of a lie and because he was forced and pressured into it. he feels inferior and insecure (and so does el) and they don’t feel like equals. it’s not good for either of them. also, will can’t suffer anymore after everything he’s been through.

anyone who can’t see that mike and will have the closest, strongest and most genuine relationship on the entire show clearly isn’t paying attention or simply don’t want to admit it. it’s always been THEM. they were each other’s FIRST friend. they are each other’s safe place. the show started with them. most of the other characters wouldn’t have even met if it weren’t for them. mike’s current relationship would’ve been over if it weren’t for will giving him strength and making him feel loved. they need each other. they understand each other better than anyone else. their relationship has always been different to everyone else’s. mike and will are the heart of this show. they belong together and they deserve to be happy after everything they’ve been through.

[squeiky]

BEASTARS PARALLELS

Volumes used: 10-13 (with slight mentions of volumes before.)

WARNING: Images are edited to fit the book that I (myself) was reading. Since I've been reading the VIZ media books, Its come to my attention that the translations very are different online than it is here. Thus, I've concluded I must translate it all, in order for my points to come arose clearly.

Reminder: Click for better quality, or if you want to read it.

First parallel, is the "I love herbivores/I love carnivores" moment between Legoshi and Louis. Even funnier is that, it seem seems Legoshi is the reason, and Ibuki is the realization.

Also, in my book, When Ibuki ask if his freind is more important to him than the Shishigumi, Louis mentions that both the Shishigumi and Legoshi are both equally important to him. Which is a lot, considering that a parallel drawn within the manga itself is Louis comparing Ibuki to his father.

With the Shishigumi being basically family to him, its astonishing that Legoshi is on the exact same level of importance.

Another note, is that before this interaction and declaration about herbivores, Legoshi was thinking of Haru.

Unironically, Louis made a "eat me" joke to Legoshi, which (atleast in my book) is similar to the "how would I taste?" joke Haru made. This joke was duiring Louis's dream of Haru, before being waken up by Ibuki. This was after Legoshi thought of Haru, though.

Second parallel between the "dreams" and "nightmares" of Louis and Haru. Unsurprisingly both herbivores, that of which he keeps having repetitive dreams/nightmares about.

Weirdly enough, Legoshi agonizes about both of them. Unable to control what he's dreaming about, and slightly suffering because of it. Albeit, different levels of agony.

^goes with Juno and her realization, but eh

Third parallel with Riz vs Legoshi and Louis as the Moth.

In my book, during the fight with Riz (the last panel before he turned into a illusion of moths), Legoshi says "Isn't that right, Moth?", which was within the page that Legoshi was reminiscing over the Moth. Here, instead of a Moth, its Louis. Instead of Riz, its a bunch of drug dealers. Yet, its still the same concept of: for the sake of herbivores.

Of which both battles, he has the enemy surrender.

Also, Legoshi visualizes Louis similarly to how he did the Moth, which... weirdly enough, have both entered his body. Both the Moth and Louis visuals motivate him, and both Moth and Louis teach Legoshi something that he later carries on. (In my book, while conversing with Louis- before eating his leg- he tells him, "That's not all I remember. A lot has happened to us over the past year.//Louis, thanks to you I didn't become a monster.".

Moth and Louis both teach him, or help him in some way. They also motivate him during his fights for justice. They are also both were consumed by him (although Louis is still alive, of course.) Oh, and they were both dreamed about (as the Moth interaction took place when he was knocked out).

Forth parallel is this Louis and Legoshi scene with Juno and Haru's.

(My book for this scene is unavailable, so a direct translation cannot be made. That's why I don't have a picture.)

The scene at the gardening club where Juno calls Haru "cute" and interacts with Haru, realizing why carnivores can never "win" against herbivores

It's not an exact parallel between the two wolves, but its interesting that scenes like this take place in locations where hthe two are alone and simply enjoying anothers company.

The difference being while Juno rejects her emotions towards Haru in fear of ending up "wrapped around her finger" like Louis and Legoshi", Legoshi ends up admitting his emotions towards herbivores, fulling embracing them. (Louis does the whole, "I know." thing too, its great.)

One detail added are the soft hexagons and the dotty gradients that appear in the room. The soft geometric shapes only appear when he's thinking of Louis (see the soft triangles during his "reminiscing over getting high" scene), when he's admitting something deep/personal and when Louis sits next to him/ when they have a nice heart-to-heart.

It's not a parallel, but its a detail I noticed and wanted to bring up.

Thats all for now.

(I'm still learning about Yahya and Gosha, but I can see parallels between the two and Louis and Legoshi. The difference is that I don't think Louis has a grudge against Legohsi for wanting to date haru and stuff. They're not important to this post yet, but I'll bring it up.)

[empty-blog-for-lurking]

@headspacedad

First of all thank you so much!!! Ngl creepy and dark really arent my strongest strengths so this genuinely means a lot to me. I just am really really fascinated with idea of the scars remaining. The Empire ruled the universe for 10,000 years, our written history is younger than that, humanity was still living in caves during that time. Like? That is genuinely a lot of time for nothing but war and colonization and suffering and genocide. Pain like that can not be ignored, whether it be in the shape of empty planets with long forgotten pasts, ruins still intact and abandoned and forgotten, or corpses of every being from the sentient species to the wildlife, of the plants and insects even the microorganisms like bacteria that causes the bodies to rot who died when their planet was destroyed.

(And just imagine Coran who is the only person alive who was there 10000 years ago when Altea was destroyed. Imagine him setting foot and seeing Altea in any of the above three states, each equally as devastating and horrifying as the other. Coran is an old man who has outlived his family and his friends and his people and his planet and his daughter figure and knowing how little humans live compared to Alteans, he's going to outlive his human friends too)

Second of all, agreed on Monsantos saying crap things in interviews, and i dont know if it is me and Monsantos being completely different people, because honestly? So much of the characterization, ideas, and concepts that interest me the most in vld are the ones that were never really explored, written on accident, or just werent supposed to interpretated the way i interpret them

Like for eg, Hunk, one of the first things that stood out to me about him was that yeah he is kind and he is nervous, but also he doesnt trust anyone he doesnt know easily (he didnt initially trust the lions, that episode with Rolo) And he can be insensitive (Keith Galra reveal and him making fun of Lance's very very serious crush on Allura) and also has a tendency to disregard personal space. Now the last bit i know wasnt really meant to be Hunk scene as much as it was to set up Pidge's backstory, because if it were it would have come up.

But the point is when i look at this i see an actually a complex and interesting character who is very much more than a fatphobic comic relief and gentle giant than he was portrayed as, and someone who could have had a much bigger role in the story he was given (i for one think it should have been him who should have had discovered Lotor's truth and it should have happened because he never trusted Lotor and so decided to investigate him. Seriously are you telling me he went all "Yeah, he's cool, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯" about a guy who has tried to murder the team multiple times? Like i am sorry but even Lotor had a plot armour almost as thick as Keith)

Similarly i am very interested why different aliens cultures seem to have different types of quintessence magic despite the source being same, and why humans who despite living in that universe dont seem to have any inclination towards quintessence (something that seems to be life itself), and how would it look if they Were able to use it.

I am interested in Zarkon who says he loved Honerva, says he did all of this for Honerva, maybe even did love Honerva or atleast believed himself to love Honerva, but also let her do experiments that were clearly killing her and than proceed to lie to her about her own identity for 10,000 years because this gave him power and control

I am interested in the Space Whale and the altean colony and how it showed Keith future and how it means it most likely also shown Lotor future as well. Are Lotor's actions a result of some future he saw? A danger he decided needed sacrifices to prevent only to lead to his doom in a Greek Tragedy style? Could he have seen Honerva's rampage or is there another danger that has yet to come? (Also there's very likely chance that all the Alteans with Mark of Chosen are dead. It seems to be a genetic thing and Lotor went for all the Alteans with high quintessence which is linked to the Mark of Chosen. Soooo yeah. Oriadne if it was revived is very likely closed for good)

And just so many things i could go on about that interest me but clearly didnt interest the EPs. Maybe they didnt do it cause they didnt have the time to explore them (this show did 8 seasons in 2 years after all) maybe they didnt do it cause they simply werent interested in it. But yeah i am paying close attention to Monsantos ideas cause so many of them can be good, but also simply do not care for what they have actually do have to say.

Ok so i dont particularly care about what monsantos have to say about vld especially after it ended but i still think about LM saying Allura only brought back those who died during Haggar's tantrum and "planets which died before their time and not the life on it" (or along those lines. I think it was in the interview after the show ended? Someone made a post detailing it). Like i dont know about you all, but i found the idea absolutely fascinating in a morbid way.

Cause like maybe they come back as completely empty. The planets and their landmasses come back intact, rejuvinated, but not even a whisper of the lives that once lived. The planets are back but they lay bare, even the memory of life upon it now long dead. They have potential to nourish life, but what is the point? When there is no life, no beings to be nourished. These planets came back empty shells, with their children long dead and forgotten.

Or maybe they come back as they died. Maybe their soil is deep and rich, only in the way forest soil can be, maybe there are islands made up of what used to be bones of corals. Maybe there are well trodden paths, leveled lands, diverted rivers, and mined grounds. Maybe there are empty buildings, unused roads, abandoned items of every day use, each telling a story of life that once lived but the pages are long torn and the pictures have faded. Planets which were scarred and loved by the unique life that lived on it, but the beings that did that have long since been dead. These planets come back as ruins, still haunted by its inhabitants.

Or maybe (and i am going full SCP 2935 here) the life does come back, but dead. They had been dead for thousands of years but now there are bodies here waiting to be buried. They do not rot, because decay itself needs life and everything on that planet is dead and has been dead for a long time. Frozen in time, to see them is to come face to face with the devastation brought, because it is much harder to deny personhood of a fresh corpse, than of stories and ruins and fossils. No one is left to mourn them, to remember them, to hold a funereal because everyone that could died with them. These planets come back as graveyards and memorials, holding the grim proof of what was taken from them.

[snow-in-the-desert]

Dramione Recommendations

Ok so, 2020 has been A LOT but on a personal note one of the most surprising things to happen was me discovering Dramione fanfiction and becoming unashamedly obsessed with it. I really didn’t see that coming but I’m here now and I’m here to stay. 

I think I started reading in the Dramione fandom around mid July last year?? (In all honesty I’ve lost any true sense of time’s progression at this point so I could be well off the mark with that) And I’ve decided to compile a list of all my favourite fics I’ve read so far. Why? I really just want to gush over all the amazing writers I have found through this fandom because y’all deserve it. 

Side note: If any of the authors actually sees this post just dm so I can buy you coffee or post you writing supplies or something idk I feel like that’s the least I can do for all your amazing work x

Remain Nameless by @heyjude19-writing

Ok I have to start with RN because this fic is pretty much the sole reason I decided to create an account with A03 or a tumblr or just decided to get involved with this fandom at all. 

I headcannon this story hard. But I think even if you aren’t a fan of Dramione you should just read this because it is so unbelievably good and well written and poignant and Draco’s sarcastic personality in this is truly a thing of beauty in this - I relate to his inner monologue’s on a deep personal level. 

I could rave about this story any time, any day of the week, just ask me. In fact, maybe I’ll just start a HeyJude19 fan club to fulfill that urge.

There are so many elements that I love but for the sake of brevity, RN is a beautifully told story of Draco and Hermione finding love and healing in a post-war HP setting. Heyjude19 had the very special ability of making me want to simulatenously laugh, cry and swoon with the power of her words. Just stop what you are doing and go read it now if you havent already, ok?  

I also really enjoyed reading Bells on a Hill, Beers, Potions and Unwise Notions and A Shift in Focus, if you are looking for smaller fics, definitely give these a go. They are all funny and heartfelt stoires that will make your tippy toes wriggle with glee. 

The Rights and Wrongs Series by @lovesbitca8

The Right Thing To Do, All The Wrong Things and The Auction are the holy trinity of Dramione writing. I have christened it thus, so mote it be. And frankly I’m not interested in any other opinion than that one, thank you very much!

After reading this series I don’t think I’ll be able to look back on the orginal HP books without thinking of Hermione’s and Draco’s memories of their time at Hogwarts in these fics as anything other than strictly cannon. 

So many things to love about this series but I think one of the major highlights was Hermione and Draco’s use of occlumency. LoveBitca8 created such beautiful visuals with how occlumency works as a magical practice and seeing Draco and Hermione so devoted to eachother to the point of safeguarding their inner most feelings to protect eachother was unbelievably romantic and poetic. 

Also the smut is divine ;)

Manacled by @senlinyu​

My heart will never be the same after reading this story. Like I actually can’t think about this fic without getting a lump at the back of my throat. I have never felt so emotionally ruined after reading anything, compared to the likes of this fic. Just please, please read it. To badly quote HP, reading Manacled will make you suffer but you’re going to be happy about it.

The flashbacks are a rollercoaster in of themselves but the way Hermione inadvertently refers to them when she is still in a state of memory loss was so heartbreaking to read. My heart still aches for them both. Also its a truly satisfying to see Draco and Hermione written in a way were they are both so fiercly protective of one another. They make my insides go soft. 

I also really enjoyed Snow Fall, Now Is A Gift and All You Want by the author but to be honest anything written by Senlinyu is always thoroughly enjoyable and worth a look. 

The Erised Effect by @adaprix​

Ada is QUEEN of dramione smut but ‘The Erised Effect’ is top tier. Its equal parts funny, romantic, sentimental and oh so sexy. Ada really knows how to build and build on sexual tension and doesn’t disappoint on the final delivery. I’m a big admirer of her writing style and just veraciously read whatever she posts but ‘The Erised Effect’ is just golden. A must read. (Also Pansy’s sexual fantasy in this story is a visual I don’t think I’ll ever be able to remove from my brain so thanks for that Ada)

Also quick side note: Adaprix’ stories were the first I read when I was looking into this fandom and it was enough to get me hooked on the pairing from the get go so I have that to thank Ada for too. I remember devouring all the stories she had posted to A03 and when I was done I was like... now what am I supposed to do with my life?? And that’s basically when I began to look deeper into the fandom and thus the course of my life in 2020 changed for the better. 

Some other stories I love by her are Break for Me, All My Sins, The Big 4-0, The Fucklust Series and The Flat in Bath. 

Clean by @olivieblake​

This 6th Year AU where Draco and Hermione work together on a class assignment and end up falling in love had me feeling all kinds of ways when I read it. I almost don’t know where to start but I think one of the stand out things for me was how immersed I felt in reading it. 

Hogwarts is captured really well, you get a good sense of class atmospheres, character nuances and behind the scenes of events that happen in HBP but from a Draco and Hermione’s perspectives. It’s well executed and intricate tapestry of a fic. With an excellent plot twist ending! 

Also Hermione and Draco’s relationship in this is equal parts fluffy and smutty and it just ticks all the right boxes that you want to see for those characters ;)

Breath Mints / Battle Scars by @onyx-and-elm​

The angst in this one is just *chef’s kiss*

God I love this fic. The way Draco is portrayed is very true to his defensive and tetchy character in the original books but he is also given so much more depth. The way his diary entries are written are just so well executed. It’s a true testament to the author’s creative writing skill. And I LOVE how even though Draco is clearly in such a messed up place, he still has a basic level of self respect and dignity that he won’t tolerate being used or undervalued in his relationship with Hermione. 

Yep, I really love Draco’s characterisation in this one if you can’t tell.  But Hermione is also well written too. Her stuggles and trauma of returning to Hogwarts after war is described in a believable and grounded way. And my heart definitely ached for them both. I just wanted to wrap the pair of them in a big fuzzy blanket and tell them that everything will be alright. 

WANDS OUT! by @persephonestone​

This murder mystery / Dramione / Theo x Harry / AU crossover is everything I didn’t know I wanted until I read it. I felt like I was picked up and plonked right into an alternative dimension where all the characters of HP are just living it up in an Agatha Christie novel. 

It’s a funny and clever story that I found refreshing to read amongst all the other fanfics that are usually cemented in the HP timeline or universe. Theodore Nott in this fic is perfection he should be written like this in every fic from now on in my opinion. I couldn’t stop giggling any time he had a scene in the story.

And the ‘only one bed’ trope in this fic is 10/10. I don’t want to give spoilers but ohmygod. It hits all the right notes. 

The One With Technical Difficulties by cassielassie 

Cassielassie has an excellent three part series of Dramone called ‘The One with...” but I have to give special credit to this story in particular for one main reason. ELEVATOR TROPES. I can’t get enough of em. I think I have my early childhood viewings of NCIS to thank for my obsession with elevator tropes they just do something to me that simply cannot be explained with mere words. The palpable sexual tension of being in a broken down elevator with an ‘enemies to lovers’ pairing, a heated arguement breaks out followed by a discovery of mutual feelings and a romantic embrace...

Eugh. It gets me everytime. And this fic is no exception. I loved it for all the reasons I’ve already stated above but also for the attention to detail in Draco and Hermione’s careers makes this one particularly immersive. The dynamics between them established in this one-shot are convincingly portrayed and the chemistry between them is so undeniably hot. 

The Light is No Mystery by @masterofinfinities​

Yooo if you want to read a dramione fic that is a deep dive into Pureblood culture and Post-War recovery but is also a perfect allegory for discrimination and today’s political landscape of moral grandstanding for votes then look no further than this one. 

This story has a bit of everything. Intrigue, mystery, ptsd and recovery, enemies to lovers / secret relationship, government conspiracy and humour, to name a few. I eargerly await every update to this story and am anxious to know how it ends!

The Eagle’s Nest by HeartOfAspen 

Finally! A fic that gives me the Ravenclaw representation I crave. I think I could recommend this fic on the lore depicted of Ravenclaw house alone. ‘The Stacks’ and Rowena Ravenclaw’s own ‘come and go room’ are just such cool details that I could see being real in the HP universe. 

This fic is so cosy and makes me feel like I’m just popping back into Hogwarts for another year. You get to see all the usuals like prof. Mcgongall, Nearly headless Nick, PEEVES, Hagrid, as well as learn more about minor characters from the other school houses. The story follows Hermione going to her day to day classes and there are interesting concepts about magic and alchemy that are explored. 

Draco and Hermione’s relationship in this one is of course very fluffy and heartfelt. But it’s the attention to detail that really makes this fic outstanding and the experience of reading it feels fleshed out and true to HP universe.

A shorter fic by HeartofAspen that I recommend is one called Set in Stone, it has an adventurous, Indianna Jones vibe to it, that I am so down for. 

Teachable Moments by @purplesugarquills

In this fic Hermione is an innocent little virgin determined to learn everything about sex. And Draco Malfoy is her tutor. If that isn’t enough to get you on board then I don’t know what is. Both Heartfelt and Steamy. PurpleSugarQuills writes smut so well but it’s the progression of their growing attachment and the nervous treading of new uncharted waters of romantic relationships for both of them that just adds a whole other level of feels to the story. Also chapter 9 is like reading poetry - its so good. Eugh just give it a read if you haven’t already.

Les Pèlerins by @pacific-rimbaud

This story is high art. It’s transcendent. Reading this story feels like the emotional equivalent of standing around a hundred glowing fairy lights, sipping hot cocoa and being wrapped in the loving embrace of a s/o. I can’t speak my praises highly enough or even become passably coherent in my words when I try to articulate a review. 

From the very first paragraph I felt like I was just whisked away on a Parisian holiday and I’ve never even bloody been to Paris but damn it if this story didn’t make me feel like I was there. The writing style is just so tactile and intense it’s like I could feel the cold winter air brush against me as I read it. Eugh I just completely fell in love with the story and the writer. 

New Year’s resolution. Read everything PacificRimbaud has ever posted online.